Hey everyone!

Buckle up, for this devlog is a big one. I’ve got a lot to talk about: characters, updates, shaders, art direction, rewriting, and the future of ROTM as a whole.

There’s a saying I love: “Before you make it beautiful, make it exist.”

Well, it exists now. And I’m finally ready to make it beautiful.

Let’s dive in.

1. State of the Overhaul

This week marks a major turning point in how I approach ROTM’s overhaul.

At first, I imagined it as a relatively contained update: fix some shaders, touch a few early scenes, polish the colors, adjust the lighting…
But as I progressed, one thing became p(l)ainfully clear:

Releasing a rushed update just for the sake of releasing something is not who I am.

It would betray the work I’ve done, the world I’m building, and the players who are following this project even if the community is still tiny for now.
And actually… the fact that the community is small is a blessing.
It gives me the freedom to tackle this gigantic task now, before the project grows larger and expectations solidify.

I’m still a beginner.
It hasn't even been a full year since I started learning to code, to use Blender, to write shaders, to build a full game pipeline…
But today, I finally have enough experience and understanding to give ROTM the shape it deserves, one closer to my original vision, and far more faithful to the story I want to tell.

That’s why the overhaul has expanded far beyond its initial scope:

• A full artistic rework : stylized NPR shaders, unified visual identity, proper normals, Kuwahara-based compositing, and consistent rendering across characters and backgrounds.
• A complete character overhaul: shading improvements, possible design adjustments, and eight unique sprites per character to better reflect their personality and position in the world.
• Rewritten chapters: Same story foundations, but with stronger emotion, clearer pacing, and far better structure.
• A reworked free-roaming system, to make exploration clearer and more intuitive.
• A complete rework of the peripheral structures: Battle system, UI, combat animations, codex/library, in-game guide, affection and desire systems, and more.

To be transparent:

There’s no way all of this fits into a single month.

Not if I want to do it right.

But I will pour everything I have into it.
And whenever the next version releases (I don’t know when, yet), ROTM will have transformed.
A clearer tone. A stronger identity. A visual style that finally matches the ambition and emotional weight of the story.

This is the biggest upgrade I’ve ever attempted for ROTM.
And for the first time, I feel like the project is catching up to the game I see in my head.

2. Visual Before/After

The visual overhaul is still in progress, but here’s an early look at where the new art direction is heading.

Even at this stage, the difference is striking: cleaner silhouettes, stronger stylization, richer atmosphere, and unified shading across characters and environments.

This is much closer to the visual identity ROTM should have had from the start.

3. Behind the Scenes

Alongside the overhaul, I’ve been working on character sprites, a core element of the new visual identity.

Amaranth

Her expressions and poses are coming together nicely.
The NPR shading fits her serious, composed personality while still offering emotional nuance she needs in key moments.

And yes, that means no more default Koikatsu poses.

I’m aiming to make her sprites as faithful to her character as possible (same for all characters, of course).

Saori

Saori is more challenging, as expected — and for one simple reason: her face is mostly hidden behind a mask.

The easy solution would be to remove it, but it’s not just a design choice.

It has a purpose. A backstory. It plays a key role in Saori’s arc, and removing it would weaken her character.

So I have to work around it.

Showing emotion becomes far more complex when half the face is permanently covered.

Most of her expressiveness must come from her eyes, posture, and the subtle tension in her body language, which means her spritework requires much more precision.

It’s a constraint, but one that fits her perfectly.

The stylized shading also works in her favor, and her sprite set is slowly stabilizing.

For now, I’m focusing on these two characters.
The rest will come once the visual guidelines are fully locked in the following order:

Yuno → Sasha → Elana → Master → Ryu-Chan → Selena

(No, you haven’t seen the last two yet)

4. Narrative Progress

I completely rewrote the prologue.

My goal was to strengthen the emotional impact of the opening, clarify the lore foundations, and improve the pacing of the early-game scenes.
And honestly… it was about time.
I hadn’t touched the prologue since the very first release back in April 2025.

A friend of mine recently told me:
“Yeah, your story is great, your latest update has strong renders, but look at what people have to see in the first minute. That would be a red flag for me.”

AND BY THE MONARCHS, HE WAS RIGHT.

Some scenes will be entirely new, others expanded, and several will be restructured to better fit the tone and scale of ROTM.
Free-roaming will also be revised to feel more intuitive and narrative-first.

The aim is simple:
A stronger beginning, better flow, and a more engaging introduction to the world.

Oh, and I might have a very nice idea for a better opening sequence…
But for that, you’ll have to wait until release.

5. Next Steps

No deadlines this time. No pressure to rush.
Just a clear direction:

• Refine and unify the NPR visual style across the entire game;
• Finalize the characters’ sprite sets;
• Stabilize the shader pipeline (Kuwahara, lighting, normals);
• Continue rewriting the prologue and improving the early chapters.

The overhaul is enormous, but necessary. And I’m genuinely excited to keep working on it. Every week, ROTM grows closer to the version of the game I always dreamed of creating.

Thank you all for your patience, support, and interest.
More updates soon.

ZephyrA0