VN Ren'Py Completed A Promise Best Left Unkept [Bonus S2 Ep 9-11] [Hangover Cat]

[Terix3]

The Edge Of got posted here by HC up to 0.8 or 0.9, and the full version got released on Steam (subject to certain conditions - time, amount of support - patrons got keys or download link). Then it got leaked here. Not by HC but some hero or mod. Easy solution, isn't it? That's when a leak comes in handy .

Then again. If the plan is to have it everything - to milk patrons and then start selling the final version via different establishments like Steam and/or Asian publishers - maybe leaking is the way to go.

How do you know HC posted the version ? he never said he did. It is possible to just report the op with link to the version and mods will update it.
Do understand that there is difference between leaking the game silently and openly stating you will be posting the game for free. If you release your game for free then you lose on the copyrights and the game henceforth can be redistributed without your consent (or at least you won't be able to sue for damages ) and so it is unlikely any publisher would pick your game.
Also the most successful Patreon projects do just that they get founding from Patreon and then sell game on Steam.

I'm kind of curious about 1-4$ level patrons by the way - what do they get in return besides some moral satisfaction of supporting the game they like and access to posts/discord. The new versions appear monthly. Will they get the final version eventually like it was with The Edge Of? If so, I think it's not explicitly stated on Patreon. Making it clear might help attract some lower tier patrons. If not, when a new version appears, and those patrons fancy to try it, do they have to rely on piracy e.g. look for the game to be leaked here? Even if they invested already, say, a dozen or two bucks? I'm not big with Patreon but isn't it unusual that patrons, even small ones, don't get access to a game which development they finance as it fleshes out over time?

Is this a serious question ? If you go to shop with 2$ and the product costs 5$ what do you get?
You seriously expect the dev to count every dollar he gets and see if someone should get some benefits?
If you can spend 2$ a month then you save till you have enough and pass tier. I don't think the dev decided how much total pledge is needed to get game when completed, i guess it depends how big it gets in the end.
Also Patreon got some static fees or its payment fees , anyway 5x1$ is far less for the dev then 1x5$.
Dunno if it unusual but it most certainly happens that there is no "accumulated" pledge reward.

 

[WhiteFireDaemon]

Is a debate about the pros and cons of leaking games really an appropriate topic for this thread? It's honestly getting a little tiresome at this point and I would even go as far as to say it's interfering with discussions about the game itself which is supposed to be the whole point of this thread. Not to be rude, but I really wish you all would take it somewhere else...

 

[Terix3]

Is a debate about the pros and cons of leaking games really an appropriate topic for this thread? It's honestly getting a little tiresome at this point and I would even go as far as to say it's interfering with discussions about the game itself which is supposed to be the whole point of this thread. Not to be rude, but I really wish you all would take it somewhere else...

Really interfering ? The patch been a while a go, there has been no previews yet there is no content related discussion happening, you would have couple posts a day top. In bigger game threads you have multiple separate discussions happening at the same time, multiple pages passing each day and people have to / are able to deal with it.
Also it is very related to the game as it's been first time when it got leaked so early.

 

[WhiteFireDaemon]

Really interfering ? The patch been a while a go, there has been no previews yet there is no content related discussion happening, you would have couple posts a day top. In bigger game threads you have multiple separate discussions happening at the same time, multiple pages passing each day and people have to / are able to deal with it.
Also it is very related to the game as it's been first time when it got leaked so early.

The conversation has literally nothing to do with the game though. It's a debate about leaking games from Patreon and the effects that has on a creators revenue. No matter how you slice it, that's not talking about any aspect of this game in particular but is instead a discussion that could be made similarly about any other game released in a similar way. Coming here to listen to people complain about how a game was pirated to a piracy website before you think it should have is honestly a little ridiculous. Are you going to go shame the people who use the plethora of torrenting websites to download various media next? You might not like that someone shared the game early, but that's just how things go. Sure we want HC to succeed, but rather than attack people for doing exactly what you'd expect on this website, perhaps your efforts would be better spend coming up with more profitable reward tiers to suggest to HC (and other creators while you're at it). You can't expect everyone to refrain from what you consider bad behavior because not everyone is going to agree that it's bad behavior. Some people won't agree that it's a problem and there will always likely be one person that will refuse to follow the rules just to be a contrarian and when people complain about it it'll just make that person all the more motivated to keep doing it. Asking for 100% cooperation is unrealistic.

As for interfering, yes. Reading through all of the posts about the leak is exhausting and off putting. Normally between updates, there's talk about people's favorite parts of the update, predictions for the future developments, but just like in real life, when there's a heated discussion, people tend to move away as they don't like to be around such arguments. As I said, I don't want to be rude, and I really don't have any control over what you all do, but I do wish ya'll would take the conversation elsewhere so we can get back to talking about the actual game.

 

[NewTricks]

Is a debate about the pros and cons of leaking games really an appropriate topic for this thread? It's honestly getting a little tiresome at this point and I would even go as far as to say it's interfering with discussions about the game itself which is supposed to be the whole point of this thread. Not to be rude, but I really wish you all would take it somewhere else...

The topic isn't one that is verboten on any other thread. It is discussed on and off, especially in threads where the dev is asking people to hold off for a reasonable amount of time so that they can fulfill their obligations to their patrons. This thread seems to have taken it a little deeper into data-driven impact statements, but there is no rule against that. What would put the topic back on the game is not focusing on whether or not it is good or bad for games in general but rather what impact it will have on this specific one going forward.

 

[Animefan_09]

So quick question, until when do i have time to subscribe to be able to get the game directly? Wether 15 or 10$ tier, i never remember how patreon, fanbox, etc count this stuff but i think i remember ayt least 1 of the 2 was tricky (like if you don't subscribe before x date of the month then it doesn't count for any rewards that month), really excited about the next update and i want to see if i can sub to get it quick xD

 

[Yambidexter]

Is this a serious question ? If you go to shop with 2$ and the product costs 5$ what do you get?
Dunno if it unusual but it most certainly happens that there is no "accumulated" pledge reward.

Is this seriously supposed to be some sort of an answer? In real world people don't go to a store to get a product that cost 5$ having just 2$ in their pocket. Yet lower tier patrons do it month in month out. They go to store, give their 1-4$ and get nothing in return (game wise). I don't know anything about accumulated benefits except for the case with The Edge Of I stated (which is logical cause what sense would it make to provide full game to the 1$ patrons that joined a month ago before it's out), but I question the sanity of this whole situation with those patrons providing support to develop the game with the new versions rolled out consistently yet having to rely on the game to be leaked like everybody else (non-patrons). And the idea about people accumulating money and splashing 5$ once in say 3-4 months to get the game doesn't relate to the existence of 1-4$ monthly paying patrons and doesn't answer my question at all. The question is essentially abstract so please stop dragging me into this nitty-gritty of savings or HC doing some calculations. I can simplify (strip it of any names and figures) and paraphrase question for the ones that need it as 'What sense does it make for some to be patrons of a game i.e. financing/investing in it's development and not getting the new versions of this product but having to pirate it like the others who don't support this game/author'.

Is a debate about the pros and cons of leaking games really an appropriate topic for this thread? It's honestly getting a little tiresome at this point and I would even go as far as to say it's interfering with discussions about the game itself which is supposed to be the whole point of this thread. Not to be rude, but I really wish you all would take it somewhere else...

I made my point twice already for HC to consider and I think I'm done with it, besides the situation changes if he plans to sell the full version on Steam or smth. later on - but tell me - if you are so bothered by this small discussion, are you not bothered by monthly whines for a game to be leaked and don't you think that public release could help with that, cause this would change the whole situation from 'no new version till it's leaked God knows when' to a certainty of its availability on a certain date?

 

[ajunghw4n]

Just finished with Harry POV + that 1 ending, question :
1. That 1 ending hasnt finished right? kinda clifhanger.
2. Should i go to "All" POV now? or should i wait for another updates, im afraid im gonna get spoiler-ed or maybe ruin the immersion before its complete.

this game is just wow, thank you for making this.

 

[Terix3]

The conversation has literally nothing to do with the game though. It's a debate about leaking games from Patreon and the effects that has on a creators revenue. No matter how you slice it, that's not talking about any aspect of this game in particular but is instead a discussion that could be made similarly about any other game released in a similar way. Coming here to listen to people complain about how a game was pirated to a piracy website before you think it should have is honestly a little ridiculous. Are you going to go shame the people who use the plethora of torrenting websites to download various media next? You might not like that someone shared the game early, but that's just how things go. Sure we want HC to succeed, but rather than attack people for doing exactly what you'd expect on this website, perhaps your efforts would be better spend coming up with more profitable reward tiers to suggest to HC (and other creators while you're at it). You can't expect everyone to refrain from what you consider bad behavior because not everyone is going to agree that it's bad behavior. Some people won't agree that it's a problem and there will always likely be one person that will refuse to follow the rules just to be a contrarian and when people complain about it it'll just make that person all the more motivated to keep doing it. Asking for 100% cooperation is unrealistic.

As for interfering, yes. Reading through all of the posts about the leak is exhausting and off putting. Normally between updates, there's talk about people's favorite parts of the update, predictions for the future developments, but just like in real life, when there's a heated discussion, people tend to move away as they don't like to be around such arguments. As I said, I don't want to be rude, and I really don't have any control over what you all do, but I do wish ya'll would take the conversation elsewhere so we can get back to talking about the actual game.

So you don't want to listen that piracy has negative effects because it is piracy site. At least be honest about it so i don't feel the need to reply to you.
Also don't misrepresent what I'm doing - spreading out information about negatives of early leak is not shaming. I know it makes people here afraid that patrons will leak less if they are actually aware of implications, hence the attempt to shut down the discussion.

Is this seriously supposed to be some sort of an answer? In real world people don't go to a store to get a product that cost 5$ having just 2$ in their pocket. Yet lower tier patrons do it month in month out. They go to store, give their 1-4$ and get nothing in return (game wise). I don't know anything about accumulated benefits except for the case with The Edge Of I stated (which is logical cause what sense would it make to provide full game to the 1$ patrons that joined a month ago before it's out), but I question the sanity of this whole situation with those patrons providing support to develop the game with the new versions rolled out consistently yet having to rely on the game to be leaked like everybody else (non-patrons). And the idea about people accumulating money and splashing 5$ once in say 3-4 months to get the game doesn't relate to the existence of 1-4$ monthly paying patrons and doesn't answer my question at all. The question is essentially abstract so please stop dragging me into this nitty-gritty of savings or HC doing some calculations.

There was more to my post then what you quoted...
There is price tag on getting patreon benefits just like there is price tag when you go to shop. You can go sub for less just like you can go to shop with 2$ to shop, not be able to buy anything and leave the money to cashier as tip.
Your attempt to present that the dev is somehow screwing the sub 5$ patrons by not offering them benefits is ridiculous.

I can simplify (strip it of any names and figures) and paraphrase question for the ones that need it as 'What sense does it make for some to be patrons of a game i.e. financing/investing in it's development and not getting the new versions of this product but having to pirate it like the others who don't support this game/author'.

I have already answered it earlier in part you cut off. If you can't pledge enough to reach a tier then you save until you have and then you pledge. Expecting that the dev will go and count how much people have pledged without getting a reward is ridiculous.
Also i can turn the question on you "What sense does it make being a patron to the game when it can be downloaded for free from here often enough within hours of release?"
Not everyone pledges for the sake of getting rewards but to just support the game and i assume that is what the sub 5$ patrons are doing.

If your suggestion is that dev should give patrons that have certain cumulative pledge the game once it is completed then that is fair. I think he will but like i said earlier i think he just doesn't have a price tag on the game just yet.

 

[Terix3]

Just finished with Harry POV + that 1 ending, question :
1. That 1 ending hasnt finished right? kinda clifhanger.
2. Should i go to "All" POV now? or should i wait for another updates, im afraid im gonna get spoiler-ed or maybe ruin the immersion before its complete.

this game is just wow, thank you for making this.

The game is not really designed to keep you guessing so you should be aware just from Harry pov what is happening. You are probably only uncertain of how far she has fallen. I don't think there is anything to be spoiled with.
But then next patch will complete the first ending so maybe you want to wait for that.

 

[subaru_dono]

Yikes. This was probably some kind of test I made with the animation render that ended up buried in that folder. The file is worthless, and its size is ridiculous. Kinda embarrassing. Thanks for telling me.

Just finished with Harry POV + that 1 ending, question :
1. That 1 ending hasnt finished right? kinda clifhanger.
2. Should i go to "All" POV now? or should i wait for another updates, im afraid im gonna get spoiler-ed or maybe ruin the immersion before its complete.

this game is just wow, thank you for making this.

If you're super interested in the immersion of not knowing the full extent of what's happening or Laura's thoughts and feelings as you're making decisions from Harry's perspective, then the best way of getting the total extent of that is to play through once it's complete and ALL endings are available. As is, my choices had led me to an incomplete ending. I would have wanted to see where my choices took me without knowing the rest of the story details, alas I wasn't patient and the scenes are VERY hot.

So, if you just want to see the story play out, maybe wait until the next update for the first ending. If you're super invested in the immersion of making decisions from Harry's ignorant perspective, you'll be best served waiting for a more full release. I'm sure you can find other NTR content in the meantime.

 

[BigDude11]

Just wanted to ask if there are actually more games like these, I have already played "The Edge of" please do suggest if you have some.

 

[Kuruma777]

Just wanted to ask if there are actually more games like these, I have already played "The Edge of" please do suggest if you have some.

Works by ntrman are great if you're a fan of ntr. Unfortunately I think his works were removed here in f95, but you can still easily find most of his games online.

 

[BigDude11]

Works by ntrman are great if you're a fan of ntr. Unfortunately I think his works were removed here in f95, but you can still easily find most of his games online.

Yess I know but would prefer if the relationship is of gf/wife instead of mother(no incest)

 

[HangoverCat]

Regarding leaks - I proposed earlier - and I hope HC sees that cause he's the main recipient of this proposal not some jerky irrelevant folks who couldn't grasp the idea with their dismissive comments - to make an official public release some time after release for 5$ patrons, say 5-10 days or even exactly on the day the new version is published, i.e. make 0.4.5 available publicly when 0.5.0 is out for 15$ level (alike N_Taii with Henteria Ch.2).

I appreciate what kind of site is this and I appreciate that the game has been leaked here and I was able to play it along with many others though I'm not a supporter; and I'm not the one to pay some AAA title price for a Japanese game once it's out. But current situation with A Promise Best Left Unkept is different from say when a new Japanese game is out on a certain date - there is no official public release and, accordingly, each month there is uncertainty about the time and fact of the game's availability which makes people to flood this thread invoking heroes and so forth every time. Public release won't mitigate the issue completely (the game will be leaked still), but I'm of opinion that having a certain date for public release will help with this a lot (patrons will be less willing to leak it because people will get the game either way just later on, which is kind of fair, cause patrons pay, eh? And people will whine less cause the date and the fact of public release will be set. There still will be all those jerky-junkies dying to have the game the moment it releases for free... as I say, this would help, not shut the issue down. If game is not leaked till set public release once in 2-3 months or leaks happen later than in comparison with the current situation it's a good thing already IMHO). Earlier availability depending on the patron level and support for the game will keep people motivated to subscribe if they can.

I believe, that HC originated this thread to gain visibility and get sensible feedback from a wider audience, as many other authors do. So leaking new versions is like a curve - something positive to a certain extent, but it's clearly negative in $ - be it 600 or any other considerable amount - when the project is relatively mature and starts to get leaked 2 days after top-tier patrons release. Which is obviously nothing good for this project and any future HC's games. Besides if HC finds this idea viable there will be less monthly 'hero invoking' flood and hopefully more meaningful comments in the thread. It's not only about HC and game feedback but about all the others who follow this thread.

P.S. I apologize if HC somehow noticed and commented on my previous post regarding this matter, I dropped reading the thread for some time cause idiotic replies got on my nerves.

P.P.S. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't recall mentioned Henteria Ch.2 being leaked here though there was a month between the initial and public releases each time.

As someone answered before me, I want to release the game on Steam, and so a public release would be counter-productive to my goal. Not to mention that linking a free version of a porn game on Patreon is probably against their TOS, though I haven’t personally checked.

While the idea is not bad per se, I still don’t really see the connection between leaks and public releases. I’m pretty sure that, the moment a game reaches a certain level of popularity, it will leak early no matter what. There is, unfortunately, a lack of data when it comes to your claim. You could be right, of course, but at least, to me, it sounds more like hopeful thinking.

In any case, I still very much appreciate that you would try to think of a strategy for me. Obviously, there are multiple ways in which I can improve, be it in my stories or in the way I handle my business. It’s just a question of how to do so in a careful, well-thought-out fashion.

 

[matsuy]

It is very hard to observe impact of early leak like in this case. Not only the updates come every month, month being the payment cycle it's basically same day in the middle of the month. I would say it is best case scenario for observing leak impact on patreon.

So let's see. From grapheon chart already it doesn't look good.
View attachment 1832147
We can see that the bump during patch didn't go anywhere as high like it did last month and patron count almost didn't bump at all!
But to visualize it better i put the last four month on one graph and scaled them to the first day of month. This is how much pledge $ changes throigh month relative to the beggining of the month. So say if day one was 3000$ = 100% and day 10 - 3300$ = 110%:
View attachment 1832183

Previous month the increase was over 140%, the March being a worse month peaked at 132% . May didn't even go above 117%. Let's visualize the patch spike better by using the last day before patch as base.
View attachment 1832187
So the patch alone makes the dev make 22-25% extra cash if there is no leak. Due to the leak the dev only saw a 5% extra.

How much less did the dev get this month in $ ? If i apply the trend from lowest month of March then the dev is short 600$. This does not factor in people that sub in get the patch and sub out as those are not reflected in the graph to begin with.

Only the dev knows how much he gets from this type of people. If i would say he gets 1k from them then this month he got like 200$. If i speculate then i might as well use April trend for my assumption - 780$ less from graph and another 800 less from invisible patrons would mean he got 1600$ less thins month.

Spoiler: Regarding March

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tl;dr: Due to early leak dev got at least 600$ less this month.

Have a nice day.

While I applaud what you did here, -- for the sake of thoroughness -- there are two or three other things to be taken into considation, too:

1) since now entering the "endgame phase", some ppl. -- who are not into replaying the the game over and over again -- might fear they won't get anything from the next 1, 2 releases -- and suspend payments until they are confident there's a return on investment in it for them;

2) some ppl. were disappointed by the "artistic choice" in the climax of the v0.4.0 release (which has been reworked now);

3) ...and ... that's where I lost my train of thought -- I swear there was a third thing, but obviously I'm getting old.

 

[Puma1978]

I just played the game first time and must say the multiple perspective experience the dev let us choose at beginning is really a genius idea. NTR is not really a fetish of mine i just like to enjoy how the dev tries to trigger feelings and gives you some sort of mindfuck. I expect this game is made with the intention to trigger unusual feelings and emotions and this works very well.
I was also surprised by how good and beautyful the Anime Setting and Animations are done. I am usually not playing Anime/Manga games because usually they are censored but here this is not the case.
I wish some other devs would pick up the idea of the different Perspective playthroughs...it has great potential and dont need to get used only for NTR but also for other kind of twisting stirrytelling.

 

[jaden000]

The first scene between Laura and Luca is one of hottest scenes in vn I have ever seen…builds up great anticipation for future scenes. Kudos to coming up with the scene.

 

[Puma1978]

The first scene between Laura and Luca is one of hottest scenes in vn I have ever seen…builds up great anticipation for future scenes. Kudos to coming up with the scene.

Agree..thats really a very good benchmark for corruption and manipulation as well as for NTR Fans. But i also hope that there will be paths possible to avoid the full alabama NTR at the end...because currently one of the endings in game which is not finished is called "hero".....i wonder what this stands for......but the Dev seems to be very passionate in writing and staging ...and i am not used to Anime Style in VN's but must say i am surprised how beautyful and engaging it looks here.

 

[Terix3]

While I applaud what you did here, -- for the sake of thoroughness -- there are two or three other things to be taken into considation, too:

1) since now entering the "endgame phase", some ppl. -- who are not into replaying the the game over and over again -- might fear they won't get anything from the next 1, 2 releases -- and suspend payments until they are confident there's a return on investment in it for them;

2) some ppl. were disappointed by the "artistic choice" in the climax of the v0.4.0 release (which has been reworked now);

3) ...and ... that's where I lost my train of thought -- I swear there was a third thing, but obviously I'm getting old.

1) The game already entered "ending phase" month earlier and there was no impact. This also would have impact on normal patreon trend (the part of graph before spike) but there is barely any difference there
2) Dev announced he will improve the scene so it should put people at ease. Just like in case of 1) it would have impact on the normal patreon trend But there is barely any difference there
Also third graph focuses on the patch spike itself and impact of the slightly lower normal trend is eliminated from it.