Hey, folks! It’s that time of the year again when the lazy bum dedicated professional in charge of this studio returns to get things rolling with our latest project. Well, technically not our latest project. That’s going to be discussed in another blog post in what is likely to be a series of posts over the next week. Enough of the puzzle pieces are in place that I feel comfortable about showing some of the amazing things that IDHAS has in store over the next several months. We’re going to start with our biggest presentation first, the one I know most of you have been waiting to hear about! The special project is…

Possessing the crystal that almost killed the lives of the brave crew of the KSS Nimross, Special Investigations and Tactics officer Natalie Puccile is on the run from those she once served alongside. With nothing but the scraps of information from her previous investigation, Natalie is forced to scour the galaxy for hints of the truth and support from those who trust in her. But with threats from all sides closing in, will her skills as an investigator and the faith of those loyal few be enough to prevent the truth and safety of the galaxy from disappearing into nothingness?

That’s right! It’s Rising Angels: Fates. Not Rising Angels: Fayes, like I keep misspelling. I was pondering how I should make the first public announcement. In the end, I decided to go with some of the biggest questions that have hovered over development and discuss them first. We’ll go more into the cast and plot in our next Fates post.

• One of the biggest things I heard from the audience is that everyone wanted to have more impact on the story. More choices, more story impact. The good news is that this time around we will have considerably more interactivity for you folks who want to cause some chaos. It will consist of two separate types sections, the investigative sections and the story sections.

  • In story sections, it will play out like a traditional visual novel. While a lot less interactive than the investigative sections, there will still be choices in the story sections. These choices will more likely be about Natalie’s relationships with the crew and their day-to-day lives during the investigation. These choices will have an indirect impact upon the story, however. Your relationships with the crew can turn friends into enemies or make the insidious threats less likely to sabotage your endeavors. When you are a government special investigator, the right person can make or break your quest.

  • In investigation mode, you get a lot more hands-on into the mysteries surrounding the crystals and the players seeking them. Investigation mode will allow you to interact with your surroundings, finding clues and unearthing new evidence that may lift the shroud around the events that are transpiring. With these clues, you will be able to gain light from those around you or push the right piece of evidence to force those who would work for evil back into the shadows. However, tipping your hand at the wrong point or pressing your allies too hard could easily undo everything you seek to accomplish. A good investigator will have to know when to let the little fish get away to snag the big one.

• Since we are on the topic of things that everyone wanted added, let’s talk about some romance. There was a large breadth of responses to this. Some of you were happy with just having the growing love with Zuri. Others wanted some time with Sol and Alphonse, while some wanted to just have some friendship. I will take a moment and confirm what is set in stone.

  • Zuri: I know I’ve said this several times, but I will say it again. The Rising Angels series is primarily a yuri series. Zuri is still a confirmed love interest and arguably the main female lead behind Natalie. Zuri’s story is going to be a continuation to what went on in Reborn and develop as their adventure goes on. Will it last though when a figure from the past returns to Zuri’s life?

  • Kika: The problem with writing a Kika romance route is that Kika really isn’t interested in having a romantic relationship. Where as Zuri wants someone to give her heart to, Kika just wants a friend she can trust. That being said, her route is going to be a lot more focused on their bonding as close friends through the rigors of war. That, and seeing what Kika is hiding behind her attitude of supremacy.

  • New characters: Right now, there is at least one more romantic lead coming out of the woodworks. The new character isn’t really a new character to the series, but she’s been sitting in the wings since her last appearance. She’s a lot more experienced in matters of the heart than the crew, so don’t expect a simple video game or toot on the flute to win her over. There may be others, but I’m not making anything official yet. I do want to make sure there is a calm, sweet girl to accent some of the more dynamic ones of the group. A certain white-haired lupide might fill that roll well.

  • Otome/Sol: Otome is probably going to depend on how the kickstarter does. Remember earlier in this when I said that RA was a yuri series? I meant it. Shoujo-ai is the primary focus. For once, I’d like to assure the yuri audience that they are going to be the main cater, not the tack-on at the last minute. That being said, I am still planning on writing a Sol route because I’m curious how it would go.

• Funding… Funding is a major issue right now. Unlike previous games where I fronted everything at personal expense, I don’t have the same amount of operating capital this time around. Everyone knows how much I dislike Kickstarter, but it currently seems like the best way to raise the needed money. I hate to say it, but if things go bad with the kickstarter, we are gonna have to give this some serious cuts. It may be the premature death of the series, I don’t know yet. We’ll be counting a lot on the support of fans this time around.

• Will it be commercial? That’s a tricky question. Right now, yes, it will be commercial. However, despite the numerous arguments I’ve gotten in with my assistants, I am going to make sure there is a free version. It might only be Zuri’s route or less interactive content, but I refuse to let those who can’t afford it be unable to continue the series. It’s just cold and cruel to let you play RA: Reborn, get attached to the story, and then cut off the rest of the series.

• Release date: I have not set a hard release date. The tentative release date is going to be October 30, 2015. Depending on how things go, I might be able to bump that date up. I want this out so I can play it just as much as you all want it.

• What happens if the kickstarter fails? Well, there won’t be any funds. No backgrounds, no CG, no new sprites, no nothing. Everything will be dead in the water. If the kickstarter fails, the novel will still continue on, but that’s about it. No playing investigator, no amount of gameplay or options, and no choices of romance. It will just be a text story.

• Sound effects? Yes, we screwed up with sound effects last time. This time, we are ahead of the power curve and will be including sound effects to help promote immersion.

• Will there be voice acting? No. There will be no voice acting. I’m not budging on this one. Reborn was supposed to have voice acting, and some of the voice actors did deliver. They worked hard and I wasn’t able to make that dream happen because of complications with other VA. This has happened every time we want to do voices. No. I’m not going to waste anyone’s hard work again.

• What platforms will it be on? The traditional Ren’py four; PC, Linux, Mac, and Android. The android version will be customized this time to be easier on the android people instead of being a direct port.

• The soundtrack was very, very well received. The great news is that we are going to be expanding the soundtrack as well as well as including a music box so you can listen to your favorites outside the story.

• The codex was very sparse in the original release. Not only are we doing a massive addition to the codex, but one of the kickstarter rewards will be a copy of the ultimate codex. This codex will not only go into great detail about the various elements that Natalie interacts with in her journey, but will talk about the decade of lore that has been generated. You’ll get more KDF background than you cared to read.

• Setting? Unlike last time, where we were stuck cruising around in the Nimross, we will be spending some more time on the ground for Fates. The background list doubled from our deep space adventure, so expect to see some more sights of the universe.

I’m probably forgetting a lot of things, but this is already a long post. Our next discussion is supposed to be about Rising Angels: Hope, the Red Rose remake, but I think I might buck the schedule a bit and write some tidbits on the plot and cast. I’m very, very excited about some of the awesome storylines coming up and it has been hard lately not to go into super chatty mode. Anyway, I hope you are all excited. All updates will also be appearing on the Rising Angels: Fates page you can access at the top of the screen. It’s barren right now, but it will be growing as the week goes on. Spread the word, Rising Angels is back.(Special thanks to Jason for chibi Zuri!)

Our video of the post is one that’s been bugging me. I’m particularly fond of it while I write Nat and Zuri scenes.