So it's been a year since I first released this

....and I'm not gonna lie, I'm putting more work into this than I expected to. Now, I know, I know, it's been months  since the last update but trust me, I'm making some necessary changes for this. So, since it's a big day for the VN, I thought I'd at least talk about what's going on behind the scenes.

Some of you may have seen this picture posted on the game's Bluesky, if not that's fine, you're seeing it now.

The good news is that there's been significant progress since then, there's very little to do in terms of backgrounds, a new notebook echanic to help all of you (and myself) keep track of my batshit insane lore, the basic flow of the new day 1 is set in stone, and things are looking up. While I'd have loved to have the big update out for today, I'm afraid this is where we run into the bad news. Currently the majority of NA assets (the new sprites, a good portion of the backgrounds, and the actual code itself) are stuck on my old computer, which as of present won't even turn on. Not all hope is lost though, once I've gotten some money together I do have a nearby tech shop where I can recover all the old data off my computer! Rest assured things will move smoothly after that point!

So for now, how about a sneak peek?

Since I don't have much to show on my new computer I'll be sharing three things. Some of the backgrounds I've wrapped up on this computer, screenshots of the new layeredimage sprites, and some little lore tidbits. Let's get to it!

The backgrounds

The eventual goal of Natural Attunement was always to have everything (except maybe sound effects, which I get from freesound.org) done entirely by myself. While this project started off as a way for me and my girlfriend to enjoy some inside jokes, and to enjoy our favourite tropes and character archetypes from FVNs it's quickly turned into a passion project I'm using to grow myself as an artist, a writer, and general creative. Learning how to actually make backgrounds was just the first step in this, and here's some of what you can expect to see lingering behind your favourite characters in the coming updates.

The Sprites

This one is a bit difficult to show off, but there have been some touch ups I'll post at the end of this segment. If you're not familiar with the VN development process there's two types of sprites, the type I was using before were a huge grouping of images, a new one for each expression, outfit, any time you needed the character to look different you'd need a new image all over again. This was a mistake, and a nightmare to manage for the amount of characters I've got in my game. Layeredimages is a type of sprite with a lot of versatility depending on how deep you go with it. You can have a separate file for each eye position, the mouth, clothes, down to how the arms are positioned if you'd like, and uses some fancy renpy coding to bring it all together into one cohesive image. It's more difficult to manage, but will turn out better in the long run, allowing for more expressions, more fits, and more all around. If there's one thing I suggest you do if you want to start your own VN, it's to look into layeredimages. So, with that ramble out of the way here's some screenshots I managed to take, and upload to the discord before losing access to my old computer.

Including an upgrade for River's sprite, with their glasses being visibly on their eyes when needed.

and Lilith having legs now, instead of being cut off past her weird thigh belts!

characters like Klara being free to wear, or not to wear, whichever layers of their clothing they so choose

Some new motorcycle gear, heavily scrutinized by a fellow motorcycle safety enthusiast like Kai himself

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and a HEAVILY improved Magnum sprite.

THE LORE

While there's not much to add here I will be sharing with you some notable changes. First of all, I'm committing to River being asexual. Not aromatic, this is still a game where the characters get together and kiss, but lewd scenes will be cut from the game, and any nudity will be treated casually. If you want sex look to the extras menu, and hope that in the future I'll learn how to properly write a saucy scene between your favourites.

There'll also be some tweaks to character stories, the major plot beats remain the same but I've found one specific question coming up between all the characters that I plan on hammering into the details a bit more to add a bit more flavour to their stories.

Next, I'm sorry to everyone who wants to see these characters prosper and thrive, but I've realized that the world just isn't hard enough for them to live in. I've built up being overloaded as a massive burden, but I haven't committed to it in writing enough. This is a world that was built on the back, and prospered through magic, and overloaded attunements who have been shown to not be able to use magic without negative side effects still feel like they're relatively breezing by to me. The main difference will be technology, fueled by an exolae's own mana instead of electricty, will be more harmful to use. But more than that there's now pockets of raw arcane energy, areas left more impacted by the phoenix's impact on the world where mana flows freely through the air, and through any unfortunate overloaded exolae unlucky enough to stand inside these sacred Restoration Zones.

Finally, since it's Natural Attunement's birthday, what better time to share with you

The Official, full birthday list

for all important characters

River - Oct. 16

Magnus - March 10

Klara - July 26

Jax - Feb 20

Kai - Oct 26

Rudy - Dec 4

Nora - Jan 28

Berry - May 30

Lilith - June 5th.

WITH ALL THAT SAID AND DONE

Happy birthday to this weird project I've grown more attached to than I ever intended, and I look forward to another year of coming to love my characters. I hope you're looking forward to enjoying this huge update as much as I am to finally get it ready and released, and I'd like to thank you all for your patience as I work through it all.