We are now one week out from the end of August, which is my big warning that it’s time to start wrapping up this month’s workload. In terms of my schedule, I am proceeding right on time for all four. I should start finishing up a few of them in the next few days, allowing me to accelerate the remaining and get everything done by the 31st. I want to try and finish my Wakeup Call chapter a few days in advance, as I have the somewhat lofty goal of trying to get chapter 4 done by the end of September. Since Wakeup Call is starting to become a serious consideration for me, I need to see how feasible it is to make my releases monthly instead of bimonthly.

In terms of my other projects, I want to get a working simulation ready by the end of the month. The biggest hurdle from beginning to present has been trying to make sure combat is stimulating/fun to watch. My previous two simulators both had that “fun factor” that made it fun to both watch and develop, and I need to make sure that holds if my simulator is to capture my interest long-term. I want to capture that same feeling that Paper Mario/Super Mario RPG combat manages to produce. Or failing that, something with the same kind of energy that’s unique to my simulator. I’ve only got 3 aliens left to draw for next month’s Cosmic contribution, so I should be able to focus on my simulator this coming week.

Despite 100% completing it, Monster Train continues to be my most played video game. With over 500 hours in it now, Monster Train looks to be the one game with a chance of dethroning Team Fortress 2 as the game I put the most time into. It’s still got around 300 hours to go, so we’ll see if it can keep me engaged for that much longer.

I also finally got around to reading the new volume of the Overlord light novel. The series continues to captivate me with how fleshed out the in-universe RPG system is, matched only by the realism of the in-universe systems of government policy, military strategy, resource management, and logical reasoning. The fact that we view this world and story through the lens of an all-powerful unrepentant villain leaves me wondering where the story is ultimately heading toward. There are so many things the story could do that would be highly interesting to see, and I’m hoping it manages to explore some of them.

Okay, back to work. If I get everything done today, I may have a chance to play some more Monster Train before bed. Wish me luck! And make the most!