VN Ren'Py Harem Hotel [v0.17.2] [Runey]

[DigDug69]

I don't think that's the point he was trying to make. I think what he meant was normal people don't get multi year paid vacation to get the mood right. If any dev wants to take time off to reflect or whatever, it's only right they pause the patreon. Why collect payment while not doing the work and preying on peoples' good will? I think that's what the commenter meant was the type of behavior that shouldn't be encouraged. I am not a paying supporter but I have been here long enough to see this trend with most of the now popular games. The more supporters they get, the longer the delay becomes. The passion dies out as the money starts coming in and this makes me sad.

The dev was not taking the year off by choice.
The Dev's father died.
Then the dev got covid.
Then the dev's planned move to another country began.
Then all of the issues with immigration cropped up.
and then the legal problems of dealing with lawyers over his fathers estate.
The last being extremely difficult, and potentially long lasting, because they have to do a search and make sure that Runey's father did not owe money to anyone, before any thought could be given to dispersing the estate.
I have been through that, and it can be frustrating, and time consuming.
Unlike in the movies, it is never a case of the will being read, and bang, you get all of the stuff.
And the complexity can vary from case to case.
If money is owed, and cash is not available, you have to first liquidate assets into cash, pay off the money owed, and then you get whatever is left.
Especially when homes or land are involved.
Things like nick nacks in the house, for the most part, people can start grabbing, but art and valuable collectables and such, not so much.

None of that allows for a person to be in any condition to create what is essentially a work of art, that takes careful consideration and a clear mind to create the stories events.
If Harem Hotel was just a fapping game with sex being the main point of it, then I would agree that the dev could create something anyway, but it is not.

 

[TamreeFugar]

Amen DigDug69

 

[nicholas88888]

Is this game even alive?

no he gave up move on or just play it when it is finished in 2030

 

[DigDug69]

no he gave up move on or just play it when it is finished in 2030

The messages and the beta releases on the dev's patreon account say otherwise.

 

[nicholas88888]

The messages and the beta releases on the dev's patreon account say otherwise.

yea thats what I said did you even read it it will be done in 2030

 

[DigDug69]

yea thats what I said did you even read it it will be done in 2030

I would not complain if that were the case, because it is a fun visual novel with a great story and characters, but I highly doubt that it will still be unfinished for that long.
Every update has been sizeable, with a lot of content.
Far more content in each release than the vast majority of games on here.

Although, trolls and such keep insisting that it will take that long.
Perhaps that is where you got that idea from.

 

[nicholas88888]

I would not complain if that were the case, because it is a fun visual novel with a great story and characters, but I highly doubt that it will still be unfinished for that long.
Every update has been sizeable, with a lot of content.
Far more content in each release than the vast majority of games on here.

Although, trolls and such keep insisting that it will take that long.
Perhaps that is where you got that idea from.

were at about an update a year 6 more updates us certainly not out of the question. I don't really care either way the size is about normal for devs his size. vast majority of games on this site also have sub 500 supporters he has like 4k+ prob even more at his peak

 

[jamdan]

I don't think that's the point he was trying to make. I think what he meant was normal people don't get multi year paid vacation to get the mood right. If any dev wants to take time off to reflect or whatever, it's only right they pause the patreon. Why collect payment while not doing the work and preying on peoples' good will? I think that's what the commenter meant was the type of behavior that shouldn't be encouraged. I am not a paying supporter but I have been here long enough to see this trend with most of the now popular games. The more supporters they get, the longer the delay becomes. The passion dies out as the money starts coming in and this makes me sad.

It's a free game and people willingly choose to donate. Nobody is forcing anyone to keep their subscription.

This is one of the biggest things I alluded to in my last post. Nobody truly cares how people spend their money. On this or anything else.

People can choose to stop donating, or not, if they want to.

Will some people end up being "milked" by bad actors? Yeah, and that's nobody's problem but theirs. They should manage their money better. Just like people who subscribe to a streaming service and forget about it.

And on the flip side of that, there are plenty of legitimate devs who are slow for legitimate reasons. And in the end, they get treated the same as the actual "milkers." There have been devs that have paused payments for literal years, and people still go after them.

This is why many devs leave this site, even ones that are very popular. It's toxic.

All because a game they like isn't updated enough. Hidden behind false concern for others.

 

[DigDug69]

were at about an update a year 6 more updates us certainly not out of the question. I don't really care either way the size is about normal for devs his size. vast majority of games on this site also have sub 500 supporters he has like 4k+ prob even more at his peak

Do the math.
Game started in 2018.
Last release 2023.
It is version 17.
Except for this last year, which has been a shitty year for the dev, it has been 3.4 releases per year.

The vast majority of games on F95 are not as good, nor as popular as Harem Hotel.
The last one that I played that would compare was Long Live the Princess.
And it also had longer than average delays between releases.
But that dev had a shorter story planned out, with fewer twists and turns planned for it.

 

[nicholas88888]

Do the math.
Game started in 2018.
Last release 2023.
It is version 17.
Except for this year, it has been 3.4 releases per year.

The vast majority of games on F95 are not as good, nor as popular as Harem Hotel.
The last one that I played that would compare was Long Live the Princess.
And it also had longer than average delays between releases.

sure but its pointless to compare to bottom tier games. I haven't played the vast majority of games one here and I don't think most people have. Really only makes sense to compare with top games you wouldn't compare triple a game the same with a indie game with 3 workers. I have played a ton of better games but that is personal opinion. No reason to get that guys hopes up I used to be hopeful but then I realized why do I care? Better to stop caring then whine, the guy wasn't whining here but many do.

 

[DigDug69]

sure but its pointless to compare to bottom tier games. I haven't played the vast majority of games one here and I don't think most people have. Really only makes sense to compare with top games you wouldn't compare triple a game the same with a indie game with 3 workers. I have played a ton of better games but that is personal opinion. No reason to get that guys hopes up I used to be hopeful but then I realized why do I care? Better to stop caring then whine, the guy wasn't whining here but many do.

Well, since Harem Hotel is a solo project, with no dev team, it far surpasses any other solo project game or visual novel that I have seen on F95.
You are right, he was not whining, and his question had already been answered by several people.

 

[Sub-T]

The man makes one of the best games on this site, with insane levels of content for all walks of life, does 99% of the work all by himself, needs to take a break and immediately people think he's turned into your average Patreon scammer

I don't care if Runey is lying about his real life problems, the man deserves a fucking break for putting up with our shit for so many years. Most people abandon or move on to different projects leaving behind an unfinished mess only to start up and end the exact same way as before (looking at you Legend of Krystal devs, make a fucking game already) while Runey has stayed dedicated to Harm Hotel for so damn long and seemingly never faltering when it comes to making more content for his game - till now, which is interesting because as soon as that happens the entitled shit eaters comes crawling out of the wood work to complain

"where's MY update?"
"is this game dead?"
"no update in x amount of time? this dev is scamming people lol"
"that's just an excuse so he can be lazy and milk money"

It's like clock work, almost as if there's people out there who specifically made F95 accounts just to harrass devs who don't update once a month just because of how Patreons payment system works/worked. At the end of the day, this game has enough content to warrant some time off especially if what he has said is true and yes I get it having a family member die, getting covid and needing to move in a "short" span of time is basically the norm for most devs on here to use as an excuse - pretty sure some devs have had their mother die 4 or 5 times now - but if you've been here as long as many of us have then you'd know that Runey isn't out to scam anyone regardless of whatever his reasons are for not updating the game

Call me a simp if you want (or a weirdo for stalking this thread for nearly 6 years on 2 different accounts because I forgot the password for my old one and had to make this new one but despite that I only ever made a single post and just lurked for all these years watching progress and playing the game occasionally) but we know better, Runey would have to be one of the dumbest people alive to be playing the long game building up this much trust to lie to people who play his game for free many years later when it doesn't benefit him in the slightest

 

[tmu500]

I like the game thus far, keep up the great work.

 

[The_Melchior]

No it wasn't. It used to be once every three months back when Runey FIRST started it, with much shittier graphics, shorter updates, some super cringy dialogue, some boring tropes thrown in the mix, and kicking off from zero dollars in subscription.

Runey eventually started upping his quality, which slid the development down to give or take once every four months, starting from the second year that HH was in development. That minor 1-month delay also coincided with a huge leap in graphics and story telling.

Bingo. If you want to see what the quality used to be like, get the VR system on the MC's computer and watch the stories there. Runey has not bothered to update them yet. You'll see 2-3 frame sex animations, cringy dialogue (some on purpose, mind you), etc. The came a long way and part of what Runey has been doing was updating the old stuff.

 

[TigerWolfe]

I swear it's this level of entitlement that I fear is one of the reasons that kill game dev motivation and ultimately leads to you blokes speaking this sort of shit into existence. Leave the guy to sort his shit out, you lot are even making up numbers at this point!

And they're allegedly a dev themself, I only ever see them bitching about other devs though, it's a super good look.

 

[TigerWolfe]

off to reflect or whatever, it's only right they pause the patreon

Because it's patronage, not a paycheck. Look up what having a patron is. If you fundamentally don't agree with the premise of patronage or refuse to understand it don't spend your money in that way.

I personally don't, but I don't bitch constantly about others doing so.
All y'all patreon whiners come off looking dumb (cause you don't understand what being the patron of an artist is) or jealous.

 

[Lolicon Kami]

normal people don't get multi year paid vacation to get the mood right.

First of all, Runey's not taking a "multi-year" vacation. Where did you conjure such a fantasy? Last update was 2023 June, now it's 2024 april, that's less than a year, much less "multi-year"

Second, you clearly don't know how the creative industry works. It's all about getting the mood right. It's not like your typicall white-collar or blue-collar work, where you write up 10 powerpoints or dig 50 holes a day to measure progress.

Case in point: William Faulkner, one of the most renowned authors in American history, wrote a singular book in 1930. It's a book titled As I Lay Dying.

Faulkner wrote that in a bout of creativity; in fact, it only took him 48 days to actually write the book.

Does that mean he was just sitting on his ass for the other 312 days? No, because creativity comes in ebbs and flows. I bet you that as Runey's living his daily life, he gets glimpses of what future direction to take HH here and there. And that spontaneous, unpredictable, ebb-and-flow of creativity is what makes art beautiful.

Who wants to play a game or read a book by a robot dev who writes 200 words and produces 10 images a day, every day, like a souless ghoul?

 

[DeltaDuster]

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I don't even come to this thread that often anymore because of drama mongers like you guys. I was gonna be a jackass, but DigDug summed it up more calmly than I ever could.

The dev was not taking the year off by choice.
The Dev's father died.
Then the dev got covid.
Then the dev's planned move to another country began.
Then all of the issues with immigration cropped up.
and then the legal problems of dealing with lawyers over his fathers estate.
The last being extremely difficult, and potentially long lasting, because they have to do a search and make sure that Runey's father did not owe money to anyone, before any thought could be given to dispersing the estate.

Is it REALLY that difficult to take the time to check Runey's Patreon? All of this information is there. I've been slacking on this thread and even I know this information. One of you had the time to calculate how much Runey gets from Patreon, but not enough to read what he made publicly available? Y'all need a hobby.

 

[JoePlant]

? Y'all need a hobby.

This doesn't count?

And yes, I am being sarcastic/teasing. I just figure it is safer to mostly stay away from the drama, troll, and entitlement posts.

 

[shadowtempered]

I don't even come to this thread that often anymore because of drama mongers like you guys.

This is basically me at this point. Having discussions about the game, world, whatever and interacting with folks was interesting and much of that has been soiled.