Hello, fellow netrunners.

Time for a quick pulse check and status update!

Quick Summary:

• Creating/updating our sprites takes a really long time.
• Revisions to older chapters are planned to take advantage of updated sprite expressions.
• The “Intermission 1” release will be beta dropped on Patreon/Subscribestar this month; public release sometime after.
• The “Chapter 5” release is in development.
• “Bringing the Heat” episode 3 is done when it’s done, but is still in (slow) development.

Sprite Updates

Development continues apace. As per usual, my estimations for the next release window were inaccurate, and various issues have delayed asset completion. It’s worth noting that String Zero’s sprites are all completely rendered/painted (a poor decision in hindsight, but we’re committed to it now), which means any small adjustments require repainting… and the compositing of ALL of our sprites has meant a thousand small adjustments.

To forestall future delays, we’ve decided to only use flat colors on sprites for beta releases so our sprite painter will have more time to render without bottlenecking future builds. This unfortunately means there will be longer wait times between the patron/subscriber beta drops and public releases, but it does mean patrons will get to see content sooner and more regularly.

Chapter Revisions

I’ll also be updating older chapters to take advantage of the new expressions available from the composites sprites (since eyes/mouth are separated into separate pieces and can be mix/matched). This will probably be released as part of the Chapter 5 build; there’s a few content edits I also want to apply to older chapters, and I don’t want the Intermission to be delayed any longer. Best to do it all at once.

Intermission

We’re wrapping up all the sprite needs for the Intermission now, which are the final assets, so everything should be with our programmer shortly. Once they’ve got the beta ready, we’ll release it on patreon/subscribestar, pass it through several polishing rounds, and then upload a public build.

The Intermission will dive a little more into the world’s history, introduce the Chairman, and clarify some of the political stakes.

Chapter 5

I’m not ready to project any release window for Chapter 5, but the script is through its first editing pass (of 2), and assets are already being ordered and developed. Where the Intermission is quite short compared to previous builds, Chapter 5 is larger than Chapter 4, so there’s a lot of content coming.

Chapter 5 is a “fun and games” chapter that will show Ravy on his first Jazzrunning mission, the impacts on his relationship with Kavir, and some more familiar cyberpunkian action/drama.

Bringing the Heat Episode 3

This is still in progress, but was deprioritized in favor of more pressing concerns, so it’ll be done when it’s done. In the String Zero timeline, it happens right after Chapter 3, roughly parallel to the events of Chapter 4. Several String Zero characters will make appearances.

That’s it for now. Happy New Year, and here’s to a great 2026!

Reo