Progress Report, Fan Videos, New Build

Hi!

Because this is the first blog post of the month, it seems like an appropriate time to talk about what I’m currently focusing on, and what I plan to accomplish in the near future.

The plan remains unchanged:

1. Fix every problem that people have identified in 1980s Mode – whether it’s a bug, an exploit, an oversight, an ugly asset, or a design flaw.
2. Use the feedback and criticism I’ve recieved to make a series of design changes to 1980s Mode that improve the experience in various ways.
3. Make a “How Your Feedback Improved 1980s Mode” video, similar to the one I made about the demo last year, going over all of the ways that 1980s Mode has vastly improved since its release.
4. Move on to the next stage of development. (Aesthetic improvements may still be made to 1980s Mode.)

I had planned to have completed Step 1 by now, but it turned out to involve way more time and work than previously expected. It turns out that giving people the ability to test a tremendous number of new scenarios that were not previously in the game leads directly to an enormous number of new discoveries – and when I say “discoveries,” I mean “bugs” and “ways that the game’s design can be improved.”

I planned to complete Step 1 before moving on to Step 2, but instead, I wound up working on both of thos Steps simultaneously. Every day, new feedback rolls in, and there’s always a new task to work on…sometimes, it starts to feel like there is no end in sight! However, that’s definitely not true; the number of tasks remaining on my “to-do list” is getting smaller with each day, so I can tell that I’ll eventually hit “0” and be able to move out of this phase of development. Until then, I’ll just continue to make progress on a daily basis until I’m through Steps 1 and 2.

Speaking of progress, I have an extra-large build for you today with a lot of fixes and improvements – and also a lot of aesthetic changes to the characters! I also want to share some interesting fan-made videos with you. It’s going to be an extra-large blog post! To get started, click “Continue Reading.”

First, take a look at this:

That’s the original concept art for Muja Kina, illustrated by Aea way back in 2014.

As you’re probably already aware, 1980s Mode is a giant collection of things from Yandere Simulator’s early history – the Rainbow students, the delinquent boys and girls, “Witness-chan”, etc. Someone generously volunteered to bring another thing from Yandere Simulator’s past into 1980s Mode, and here it is:

Yes, that’s right! The nurse in 1980s Mode now uses the design that Muja Kina was originally supposed to have back in 2014! Her model looks gorgeous, doesn’t it?! It was just too good of a design to throw away!

Here are some of the other improvements in today’s build:

Fixes, Changes, Additions, Improvements

• The 6th rival, Ai Doruyashi, performs a song in the school gym. The song that she was performing up until this point didn’t match my mental image of what her songs would be like. So, the composer and the vocalist re-worked the song, and now Ai’s song matches my mental image of how her performances should sound! I’m really happy with the latest version! You can check it out here:

• For some reason, typing ‘debug’ at the Extras screen was not enabling debug commands, as it was supposed to. I have been unable to determine the cause of the bug, so I have implemented a new way to unlock debug commands. While at school, type the letters “d e b u g” and debug commands / easter eggs will be unlocked.
• Fixed bug that would cause certain types of accessories (bracelets, kerchiefs, club accessories, scrunchies, hoodies, loose socks) to appear floating outside of garbage bags after a student’s corpse had been wrapped up in a garbage bag.
• Attempted to fix bug that would cause delinquents to spawn in the school plaza instead of spawning like everyone else. I don’t know for certain whether or not the bug is fixed, because it was very random and would happen inconsistently.
• When selecting your save file on the title screen, the option to enter the “Week Select” screen will now only appear if you’re highlighting a new save file (it was never intended to work on pre-existing save files.)
• Attempted to fix bug that would make Yandere-chan spawn wearing the wrong school uniform in Mission Mode. This bug never actually happened for me, so I can’t tell for certain if I was able to fix it or not.
• Students who have already been kidnapped once in the past (and have been released by the Yakuza after their family paid a ransom) will now refuse to follow the player once they have returned to school.
• Fixed bug that prevented the game from saving a suitor’s stats at the end of a day during which the player had increased one of the suitor’s stats.
• Fixed bug that would cause a student to teleport/disappear if the player tried to change their hair style using Pose Mode.
• Fixed bug that was preventing club leaders from sitting down during their weekly Friday meetings with other club leaders.
• Updated the Sports Club boys’ swimming leggings with new textures that feel a bit more realistic and aren’t so cartoony.
• Fixed bug that caused Ai’s idol stage to appear in the school gym while a memorial service was taking place in the gym.
• From now on, activating the Cyborg Mode eastre egg will deactivate Raibaru’s “instantly counter any attack” feature.
• Updated the Student Council girls’ appearances slightly to make them match their new official artwork more closely.
• Updated the texture of the hedge behind Senpai when viewing his portrait inside the Senpai Shrine.
• Made slight adjustments to the hair models of the rich girl rival and final rival of 1980s Mode.
• Fixed bug that caused the Journalist’s “reputation chart” to look really glitchy in 1980s Mode.
• Fixed bug that caused Osana’s bookbag to continue appearing at school even after she was dead.
• Fixed bug that prevented the 1989 gym teacher from having the correct face texture.
• Updated the “Schoolday 5” music track with a more gentle lead instrument.
• Fixed bug that caused the bully girls in 202X to use 1989 bookbags.
• Updated the textures used in the Cyborg Mode easter egg.
• Updated the appearance of the 1989 nurse.
• Updated the Rainbow 6’s socks slightly.
• Updated Raibaru’s hairstyle.

Fan Translation Bugs

I mentioned this in a previous blog post, but I’ll say it again: if you play the game using a mod that changes all text in the game from English to another language, certain features of the game might break. This happens because those features are checking for the presence of specific English words in some of the text labels.

To let non-English speakers play the game without issues, I have updated the game’s code so that those features are no longer dependent on the presence of English words. If you’re playing the game using a mod that changes the language, you should now be able to use the following features without a problem:

• Setting up a meeting with a student using a note in their locker.
• Asking a student to pull a knife out of a box.
• Feeding food to students.

Recent Fan Videos

It wouldn’t be a YandereDev blog post without sharing some fan art, right? Well, today, I’ve got three fan-made creations to share with you!

The first one is something that I thought was absolutely hilarious. It’s a “Create-A-Wrestler” match in WWE 2K20 where the wrestlers have been customized to look like Ayano and Megami.

Haha, I love it!! I just can’t help it, this stuff makes me laugh so hard!!

The next video is a parody of the opening sequence to my favorite anime of all time, Neon Genesis Evangelion, using characters and footage from 1980s Mode.

God-tier thumbnail, by the way! Evangelion fans will understand.

And last, we have a “Concept” video created by a talented group of fans. In case you’re not familiar, “Concept” video is a fan-made video that proposes a feature or event that the game might have one day.

These videos often stray far away from my intended plans for the game…but even if these videos don’t line up with my own vision, it’s still very heartwarming to see a group of fans put a lot of effort into a long video with a lot of production value. I can clearly see that a lot of hard work and love is put into these videos, and I respect that a lot!

Okay, time to get back to work! Hope to talk to you again soon!

As always, thank you for following the development of Yandere Simulator!