I’m planning on doing that at some point. It’s harder than it sounds, though. Ren’py isn’t exactly a sophisticated tool. It’s been hard enough to make it scroll to show new messages when they come in.
There’s a lot of higher-priority fit and finish things to do before I really start making the messaging app pretty. Some parts of it are entirely impossible to make perfect, just because of limitations in ren’py. Maybe a custom engine is in order…
@GoldenSkull I would like to remind you that asking for updates is against the forums rules. Please refrain from asking about when updates will be releasing in the future. Thank you.
Another few weeks down, another update! This one actually marks a milestone…
When the decision was made to change the Forks backgrounds from photos to painted, FoxFire committed to delivering a genuine, studio-grade VN experience. That’s a tall order for any one artist, but after three months of sketching, coloring, and rendering, he did it. As of an hour ago, he uploaded his fifteenth* new background, finished the demo list, and did it all in his spare time. No big deal 
Again, this is only for the backgrounds included in the demo. We can’t go big, but we have at least another seven on the drawing board for the full release. With backgrounds done, FoxFire’s moved to portraits, and that brings me to the next bit:
WE WENT BIG!
I know what I just said, but this is for the good stuff! Long character sequences were always a goal for Forks, and when we agreed on 31 unique sets of portraits and outfits (for the five focus characters), we thought we’d struck a good balance. We’ve already finished and implemented seven of them! However, after so much time away from everyone’s lineups, we decided we can use FF’s turbo-charged pipeline and go for moar. What does that mean?
MOAR:
Right! Unfortunately, more stuff means more time, and I’m thankful that we have the few extras months we’ll need to fit this into our production schedule. FoxFire’s drawing faster than ever, and it’s why we can even attempt these extra portraits at all. We want to make something special, and 46 steps split between five characters sounds pretty dang good.
For now, I estimate it’ll be about three months to finish up everyone’s sequences. After that, it’s on to CGs. When you account for real life surprises, I’d like to say we’ll still have the demo out this year. As with the backgrounds, getting the portraits done will be a massive step forward, and should ensure that the full game comes out quicker than it otherwise would’ve.
As for how else the game is going:
Coding
Coding’s all done for now! The ball is firmly in my court to finish the demo using the tools @e123b has graciously made and refined.
Music
Ars is currently working on something a little different. Some of you might discover something a little different in your playthrough, and should you hear something a little different, please think back to this post when I told you he was making it. As ever, this man’s got some serious range!
That’s it for now, from here to the next update it’s back to the grind. Hope this kept you all a little busy while we’re stuck indoors!
*Including variants, there are actually 37.
Nice to see a new update and I’m looking forward to seeing those higher weights.
But are we close to the new demo?
You magnificent bastards. Take all my money! All of it, I say!
In all seriousness, very exciting stuff. I can’t wait. 37; sweet Jesus. I wonder if a body can die from carpal tunnel…
Complete and utter madness… Bless all ya’ll! 
I can’t remember, but will the finished project cost money? If not I’d definitely like to throw some dosh at you hard workers!
Goodness me!, you really went above and beyond with this update and i do hope that the demo and the full release is amazing with all the effort you guys have put in you and firefox have earned it were i am considering paying money!
Though i am curious about how much larger those characters are going to get with how many more your making now and you mentioned variants as in some routes might make a character gain differently than originally or perhaps muscle gain instead?
I have to second @Tightfit’s comment. This is something I’d be more then willing to financially support.
Thanks, everyone! There’s a lot of work ahead (as ever 
), and due to the increased time, I may go ahead and show character portrait previews along the way. Hadn’t planned for it, but it’d be a looooong wait for updates otherwise. Now that backgrounds are done, you’ll definitely see more before the demo!
@TDG We are indeed closer to the new demo! Our dev experience has allowed us to try and bring Forks back to its original scope, but it’s still a monumental task for only a single artist and writer.
@LeftHandManGary It gets even better! That asterisk was referencing the number of backgrounds; there are 15 demo backgrounds, but 37 when you include all time/seasonal variants. For portraits, there are actually 46 total now for the five core girls 
If that sounds crazy, it might be! However…
FoxFire’s already knocking new portraits out like the powerhouse he is. Cropped for now because this is not Grace’s starting weight 
@Tightfit Big thanks to you and everyone who liked your post 
! Seriously, that’s incredibly motivating for us. Since Forks has always been a passion project done in our spare time, we’ve always known that life could put it on hold. We’ll likely open up a Patreon and Discord server once we get the demo out and know that we can commit to regular updates. I do not want to take any money until I’m confident I can give you all a regular return.
If we then truly got close to the finish line, we’d look into putting the game on Steam at a competitive price. Longtime patrons and such would get the game for free, I’m just looking to break even 
@maldy Thanks, we’re working to get it as great as we can! Currently, the circumstances and amount that characters gain will change depending on your route, but they themselves won’t gain it differently. There is no strict muscle gain planned.
For now, the art development schedule for the Forks demo is:
Three steps, it’s just that easy 
!
This is looking to be the best game in WG history lmao.
If I may ask, how is fox doing with the coronavirus? He mentioned that he had it on his twitter and I just wanted to make sure that he is well. Thanks.
Wait, they’re rendering the WHOLE portrait image, and not making facial expressions a separate layer? Dang, that’s a lot of renders.
@cheddar Ha, that would be nuts! I should’ve been clearer, he’s rendering portraits sans expressions. Expressions are indeed on another layer, 60 renders for Alex’s outfits is quite enough 
@diorite He’s doing well! Our work chats are more or less back to normal, and it’s been a positive and productive distraction from the pandemic. I’ve been fortunate so far, and I hope you and everyone else stay safe and healthy too😊
First off, very happy to hear Foxfire/Toroboro is doing well. Was a bit shocked when I heard the news myself.
And regarding the quote above, amount gained is fairly self-explanatory. Circumstances has me a little curious. Without going too far into spoiler territory, are you merely referring to a difference between accidental and intentional gain (accidental in this instance meaning gain resulting from poor diet and lack of exercise), or something considerably more detailed then that?
I do have the sneaking suspicion that just being friends with Alex is a very fattening experience, even if the person in question isn’t intentionally gaining.
“I did just eat an entire large pizza. Do I really need a slice of cake? Well, Alex just ate two pizzas, a cake, and half a pie. I can have one slice…”
“Oh, wow! I gained twenty pounds this semester. Christ, that’s a lot. Well, Alex put on over a hundred. Next to her, I’m downright anorexic.”
pant, gasp* “Holy… shit… were these stairs… always this bad!? It has been awhile since I took them regularly. Once Alex got so big, we started using the elevator. Shame it was broken. Well, at least I managed to climb them; Alex gave up after one floor. At least I’ll make it to class… I just need… a short break…”
“Okay, I’ll admit three super burritos for lunch is a little excessive, but this is my long afternoon, so I need this, right? Besides, Alex just ate seven. I’m eating like a bird by comparison. Better grab a coke before heading back to class…”
“I can’t believe I broke a chair in the cafeteria. God, this is so embarrassing! How did I get this big!? My weight is really getting out of hand. Maybe I should diet? But I get so hungry between classes… well, maybe I won’t worry about it. I don’t need the extra stress during finals’ week. Besides, Alex needs two+ chairs, and overhangs both of them pretty thoroughly. Heck, she usually needs us to help her rise after a meal, and she can’t even bend over and tie her own shoes anymore. I’m not even sure she can put on her own socks, actually…”
“Excuse me, could you help me up? Thanks. This low couch will be the death of me. Oh? Yeah, I know I’m pretty fat, but if you think I’m big, you should see my friend. I look SVELTE next to her…”
I imagine it would be really easy for a person to convince themselves that Alex is the one with the problem, not them.
Always excited to see progress. And I have to second the above comment; this is shaping up to be the best weight gain VN ever made, bar none.
Out of curiosity, how far into the story will the demo go? Will it be like the old one, where we just scratch the surface of the burgeoning friendship(s) and get one or two stages of Alex’s burgeoning weight, or will we get to follow her story a wee bit further?
This’ll definitely be a day one purchase for me when you do finish it and put it up for sale, I can tell you that. 
That being said if you could put it on itcio or another platform that’d be a great help, since I sort of have family members friended on my steam account lol
You can always set your games to hidden. I’ve a couple adult games on my steam, and that’s all I do.
For a brief moment I thought that it was leak of the actual plot, huh.
Lol. Yeah, I have a bad (or good, depending on your perspective) habit of including bits of writing in my rambling questions and comments.
We have not discussed plans to release on any particular game service yet. While we have no specific plans yet, keep the in mind that there’s a lot that goes into distribution of something like this. Everything from licensing, to making sure you can’t get to the CGs without unlocking them in-game.
I understand entirely, I didn’t mean to imply you should cater to me. I can figure out how to keep a thing hidden on steam haha
No worries, I didn’t take it that way lol. Forks certainly wouldn’t be the first Ren’py game to be distributed on Steam.
