0.4.3 Released

Hogi here,

Still trying to get a regular release schedule going and giving a lot of thought to how to expand marketing and funding so that I can hire extra hands to increase development speed. I'd like to add a 3D animator or 3D environment artist if I could, so we'll see how that lines up as time goes on. If I'm able to increase the funds that come in, I'll be able to make those types of improvements.

That being said, I'd like to start offering Itch a monthly build update,  while offering weekly build updates to my Patreon supporters. This monthly build will remain free to play and those who are interested in getting access to new features and fixes often and early will additionally be able to do this, while helping me with the funds I need to expand more.

I will also be implementing an uncensored chatbot on my discord server,  available to Patreon subscribers as well, so keep an eye out for that update and keep and eye out for my push further in Patreon monetization to support the development and expanding quality of Drift Bounty Blues.

Without further ado, here's what was changed for 0.4.3:

• Implemented LODs throughout the ship, improving overall game performance.
• Adjusted "culture physics" for females, depending on who the female is.
• Removed redundant meshes and lighting, further improving performance.
• Fixed feet sfx to occur less often and be quieter (aka, less annoying)
• Added FPS mesh with basic animations.
• Adjusted music on Main Menu.
• Gave Kofi some minimal eye animations.
• Began implementing logic for shooting functionality (some code in place but inactive now).
• FIXED Robot Punch API chat history no longer breaks or is corrupted by special characters.
• FIXED Robot Punch API chat history now correctly saves and loads when requested (persistent chat history now works.  Confirmed to work correctly for OpenAI, LM Studio, Robot Punch, but still need to check out Claude).
• Added Resume Game screen to display companion details before loading (this ensures the intended companion is being loaded).
• Added character portraits to resume game screen for models: Lexi, Alice, Kofi (Ruby and Leo still to go).
• improved readibility of some ui elements with background blurs: popups and chatbox text.
  
  
  I personally think the biggest addition here is the optimization upgrade and the fixes to the Robot Punch API. I want to use Patreon to support development, so it's important that that API work correctly.
  
  The Robot Punch API is currently using Llama3.2:3b-instruct-q8_0.  I would like to see this upgraded to llama3.2-vision:11b-instruct-q8_0 and then perhaps the 90B model. With Vision, I can begin to implement features that would be only available on the Robot Punch API through the use of Llama 3.2  with Vision, but this would require more server hardware than I can justify at the moment. But with your support, we will get there and the companions in Drift Bounty Blues will reach closer and closer to full immersion.
  
  This has all been a long, difficult, and often times lonely journey for me. See people download my game and give me feedback, good or bad, encourages me to keep on keeping on. Thank you all for your support and I'm looking forward to bringing you more Drift Bounty Blues.

Cheers,
Hogi