In development
These are planned or only partly finished. Do not build your whole game around them yet.
Save and load menus
Saving, loading, autosave, and Continue already work. session.save_slots sets how many manual slots you get (1–99). You build Save / Load screens yourself in screens.json.
What is not ready: a polished, finished slot UI (layout, picture thumbnails, the overall Save/Load experience authors expect out of the box). Slot count and early screens are usable tooling; the menu finish may change.
Until that lands, keep Save/Load screens simple. Details while setting the count: Save, Back and story end.
Multi-scripting (several stories in one project)
One project can already list more than one story pack in game.json (stories: each pack has its own folder and script.txt). Saves know which pack you were in. Unlock flags can gate the next episode.
What is not ready: a polished story-select / campaign hub. Today you wire that menu yourself in screens.json. Labels, hub layout, and the overall flow may change.
Until that settles, prefer one story/ folder and one script for a shipped game. Treat multi-pack as early tooling, not a finished feature. Keys and hub wiring: Several stories in one project.
3D models (Blender → the stage)
The direction: use Blender models (GLTF) as characters, props, and eventually backgrounds — not only flat PNGs. Named animation clips play from the story (idle loops, one-shot gestures).
Parts of this already exist in experiments (characters and sprites can mount a model; clips can run and stop). What is not ready for handbook authors: a stable, documented way to export, place, and light models in a normal project folder; full background / room integration; and a finish that matches the 2D path for save, shaders, and interaction.
Until that lands, ship with PNG and layered 2D characters. Treat 3D as upcoming, not as something to depend on for a release.
Character idle (2D layered packs)
The direction: soft breathe / sway / bob on layered character packs so standing characters feel alive without a new expression every beat. Pack settings would choose an idle motion; talking and focus reactions stay separate.
This may already appear as early pack options in some builds. What is not ready: a calm, final set of motions, tuning that looks good at every resolution, and clear docs for when idle fights with expression swaps or talking mouths.
Prefer still poses and your own blink / mouth layers today. Idle motion is polish on top — not required to finish a story.
Stage locations (richer rooms)
The direction: backgrounds that behave more like places than single pictures — when the room resets between beats, layered background packs, clickable hotspots in the room, and a simple room camera (pan / focus) driven from the story.
Schema and tests for a stage-style flow are under work. What is not ready: author handbook pages, a finished Mode A spelling for everyday use, and a player-facing room editor. Clickable props today are still normal sprites / objects / screen hooks.
Keep using [bg …] and stage sprites for shipped games. Stage locations will extend that world later, not replace your current backgrounds overnight.
Video on the stage
The direction: play video as stage pictures — sprites / layers you place like any other prop — with simple controls from the story (play, pause, seek, loop, stop).
Nothing here is handbook-ready yet. Ship with still images and flipbooks (frames) for motion. Treat video layers as upcoming polish, not a release dependency.
Blend modes (sprites and layers)
The direction: choose how a sprite or character layer blends with what is behind it. A small set of common modes ships first (the usual multiply / add / screen family). Extra Photoshop-style looks would come from small built-in shaders you pick by name, not from a free-form editor.
What is not ready: author keys, a finished way to write it in the script, and docs for when blend mode fights with existing shaders or save/restore. Today, tint and opacity are the safe tools — Sprites and objects · Shaders.
Not scheduled here (but missing today)
Skipping already-read text, gamepad controls, and picture thumbnails on save slots — listed under What VN-Mikro handles for you. Thumbnails sit with the unfinished Save/Load UI above.
Panel height ceiling and body scroll for dialogue text are available now (theme max_height / sticky panel max_height). Choice-list scrolling inside a capped plate is still not a separate feature — a choice list taller than the ceiling can still clip.