VN Ren'Py Being a DIK [v0.10.1] [DrPinkCake]

[allanl9020142]

I have some interesting thoughts.
1. We know that he made a Halloween's freeroam.
2. The final freeroam is quite large and variable that it's not even really finished (it has some problems with the code, but I don't think it's a big problem).
What is the last final event that probably caused him to increase the number of renders and animations?
It's hardly Pink Rose, because Isobella will be present at this freeroam.
So it's Thanksgiving after all. My past theory that he would want to combine Halloween and Thanksgiving into one episode is confirmed. Or maybe I'm wrong.
And of course the fact that he wants to add a few more scenes after alpha testing adds a bit of concern. I think this is due to the fact that rendering animations takes a lot of time and in order to avoid downtime, it will just add a few scenes as the animations are ready. It sounds logical.
But in general the development of episode 9 is a disaster. DPC said that he worked a project manager and it was enough to expect such a chaotic development from a person who previously had wonderful planning and a clear structure...unusual. Probably, before the release, he will explain what caused it, but perhaps it's psychological problems again, given that he dropped out for two weeks due to nervous breakdowns.

Ah shit. I didn't know about that. Now I feel bad about my rant. Also think a Thanksgiving thing would be kind of nice.

 

[felicemastronzo]

Mhmm now am kinda thinking Bella interlude would be pretty neat.

Cover her backstory from Bella's point of view, plus all the free screeching from people who'll think she is NTRing them by boinking her husband in the past.

I can't wait until June so I can play with it

 

[UnoriginalUserName]

If a run lasts three hours, the chapter is not 15 hours. 70-80% of the runs are identical

I HIGHLY doubt it's going to take 3 hours to play through the update. I mean, I'd certainly enjoy that much content, but he's saying it took him 3 hours to "playtest" it, meaning he was checking every detail as he went along, probably taking notes, maybe making himself something to eat in the middle of it, playing with his cats, and for all we know he reads like my 75 year old father (slow as all fuck in case you were wondering).

 

[darji]

I playtested Isabella's branch this week. It took me over 3 hours to complete it,

The only path I need XD

 

[felicemastronzo]

I HIGHLY doubt it's going to take 3 hours to play through the update. I mean, I'd certainly enjoy that much content, but he's saying it took him 3 hours to "playtest" it, meaning he was checking every detail as he went along, probably taking notes, maybe making himself something to eat in the middle of it, playing with his cats, and for all we know he reads like my 75 year old father (slow as all fuck in case you were wondering).

But without minigames and probably skipping the part he had already checked out

3 hours seems like a reasonable estimate for the single run

 

[HumperDoo]

given that he dropped out for two weeks due to nervous breakdowns

good lord find DPC a blunt and a coffee

 

[Geralt From Rivia]

I decided to dilute the panic mood in the thread with the help of logic and cautious optimism.
I don't understand the reasons for the premature panic in the comments. The static renders are almost complete and have reached the target figure. DPC is speeding up the development of the missing animations and MAYBE add more animations if needed. This is an assumption, not a fact. In three weeks, he will make the main remaining animations and so will make a decision based on how the game build will look. They may or may not be needed. We don't have numbers yet, only speculation.
Plus, it polishes flaws and bugs in the code, which is normal at the beta testing stage. So it makes no sense to write "see you in 2023".
So we are waiting for the numbers and a detailed report and don't panic. I'm still looking forward to a release within two months.

 

[scarp1]

Well, if you are a Patreon supporter, let me ask what is the general mood on the comment section after this announcement?!. are they at least start to get impatient?.

It's nice to be your own boss, but even in that way, you should set up a personal deadline at least, and not the: "it take ass long as it takes ". In the past, he at least had a reasonable development circle, with proper progress. Even Interlude was more Focused.
He knew what he wanted, what he needed to achieve, it was productive and visible, progress. EP9 is off the rail.

No unrest on Patreon at all, maybe one comment which just says 'Welcome 2023'

This update may have taken a long time but it will be bigger than what other games offer in a years period.

I've said before, DPC could throw out 6 updates a year, but they will have 3 scenes and half a branch of one LI.

The way the game is done with all the different paths it wouldn't really work for me, would be just too bitty and having different branches all over the shop in various updates over the year.

 

[hidden_robot]

Oh god don't take this away from me too.
Why are we being punished?

 

[hakuna-matata]

DPC is probably banning Patreons who complain about the wait times.

 

[gamingdevil800]

DPC is probably banning Patreons who complain about the wait times.

I dunno the guy loves his money. He probably sits there reading and deleting messages every day That's why episode 9 is taking so long

 

[Train of Thought]

People just like to overreact when they read some piece if information and immediately start to assume the worst or something bad in general. It's nothing new though or unexpected, so I don't see a reason why there are like 2+ pages of silly comments like 'see you in 2023', or that 'DPC suddenly lost track of his own progress' just because he said there might be some additional content potentially added if necessary. Today wasn't the first time he mentioned such a possibility for a BADIK episode, though people act like it's some groundbreaking piece of news
All the heavy lifting for this episode in terms of animations has already been done if you haven't followed the last status updates, so why panic at a mention of DPC getting back to animating?

 

[nyrek]

it's been 10 months since ep9 and 7 since the interlude. we don't even have anything to post about anymore
this was just what we needed to bring out the rocks and start chucking them at DPC's update

 

[dalli_x]

No surprises in this week's update from DPC. Last weekend I responded to someone's complaint about his "milking supporters" by saying that the increasingly complex and branching storylines would inevitably prolong the development cycle. DPC is proving that correct by indicating that there are "plenty of unique scenes for each branch." As players, we should receive this as good news. Yes, we are all very eager to play the new episode, but I love that when it is released, it will almost be like playing several new games instead of one, as each path will be unique.

My question is whether DPC will continue to let each path be so unique that his workload becomes overwhelming. Not just in terms of the time required, but also in terms of tracking all the plot and choice variations. For his own sanity and the sake of the game's progress, he will at some point need to curtail the uniqueness of the branches. However, I don't think he's there yet.

I think DPC creates EP9 precisely because he pursues all possible courses of action and decisions. He brings order to the chaos for himself and for us players.

He separates the branches, unravels certain secrets, and then reassembles the branches into a bundle. I wonder if we will learn all the secrets unless all 5 branches play.

Example.
If the MC is not in the Isabella branch, will he learn what is behind the door? Actually, the MC might not care, but the secret does not have its beginning in a particular Isabella branch. Will we only learn this secret in EP9 on Bella's branch or not?

I'll make it a little trickier. What if the MC chose Bella as LI and is in her branch, but doesn't learn this secret because Isabella would only tell a friend and not her lover?

This can actually be applied to all branches. I got this idea because I think Elena lied to JB when she told him so she wouldn't have another date in front of him. I'm sure she's not doing this out of malice, but rather to avoid hurting JB's feelings. I mean, even Maya says to MC that she has dated men and Elena hasn't?

But one thing DPC definitely seems to be aiming for. To unravel all the mystery, the player will probably have to play all the branches. However, these could be very different, for example, a Sage fan will be shocked if he plays the Jill branch, or if the Josy/Maya fan plays the other branch, he will see Josy and Maya in the Pink Rose as strippers, but this never happens in the Josy/Maya branch.

But one thing seems certain. EP9 will be fun for players who play all the branches for a long time. For players like me who play goal oriented but still bring 3 Hours gameplay. I will be playing it for 6 months.

 

[ChipLecsap]

I decided to dilute the panic mood in the thread with the help of logic and cautious optimism.
I don't understand the reasons for the premature panic in the comments. The static renders are almost complete and have reached the target figure. DPC is speeding up the development of the missing animations and MAYBE add more animations if needed. This is an assumption, not a fact. In three weeks, he will make the main remaining animations and so will make a decision based on how the game build will look. They may or may not be needed. We don't have numbers yet, only speculation.
Plus, it polishes flaws and bugs in the code, which is normal at the beta testing stage. So it makes no sense to write "see you in 2023".
So we are waiting for the numbers and a detailed report and don't panic. I'm still looking forward to a release within two months.

Art for 8 scenes remains, and three of those scenes need writing. I might need a couple more scenes after playtesting the episode if I feel something is missing.

I felt that some parts of this branch needed a bit more content, while other parts of it were perfect and unique.
And this is an example of how I will work after finishing the art for the remaining scenes. I will playtest and then polish and add any additional content I feel is needed.
I have to do this for five branches and all possible combinations of choices and consequences therein.

I started animating again, I will know how many more animations I need within a few more weeks.

- Yeah, absolutely no reason for Panic, or more properly for disappointment. after all, after all this time, He still dont even know how many thing he need to add, to finish it.

 

[felicemastronzo]

No surprises in this week's update from DPC. Last weekend I responded to someone's complaint about his "milking supporters" by saying that the increasingly complex and branching storylines would inevitably prolong the development cycle. DPC is proving that correct by indicating that there are "plenty of unique scenes for each branch." As players, we should receive this as good news. Yes, we are all very eager to play the new episode, but I love that when it is released, it will almost be like playing several new games instead of one, as each path will be unique.

My question is whether DPC will continue to let each path be so unique that his workload becomes overwhelming. Not just in terms of the time required, but also in terms of tracking all the plot and choice variations. For his own sanity and the sake of the game's progress, he will at some point need to curtail the uniqueness of the branches. However, I don't think he's there yet.

sorry but this is not what DPC says in the update

he says that Bella's route is almost perfect, but that by playing it he thought it was missing something, now this something he's going to add, to a route that he thought was practically perfect, is going to be by necessity something minor, nothing that's going to change the tide. a few renders and some secondary animations. or do you think he wants to add a sex scene or major plot steps?

and at the same time the big free roam, almost certainly of the halloween party, which if not half the chapter probably took half the production time, is not an issue of the branching of the different routes (except marginally, otherwise every free roam in the second season is)

then for goodness sake, we have to wait and we will wait, but whether it was worth it we will know when we see the chapter, and it is not that the longer we wait the more satisfied we will be, it has never worked that way

Art for 8 scenes remains, and three of those scenes need writing. I might need a couple more scenes after playtesting the episode if I feel something is missing.

I felt that some parts of this branch needed a bit more content, while other parts of it were perfect and unique.
And this is an example of how I will work after finishing the art for the remaining scenes. I will playtest and then polish and add any additional content I feel is needed.
I have to do this for five branches and all possible combinations of choices and consequences therein.

I started animating again, I will know how many more animations I need within a few more weeks.

- Yeah, absolutely no reason for Panic, or more properly for disappointment. after all, after all this time, He still dont even know how many thing he need to add, to finish it.

you will see the glory when that something missing from Bella's route is a nice lawn to mow, after painting the fence and making pancakes

 

[Geralt From Rivia]

Art for 8 scenes remains, and three of those scenes need writing. I might need a couple more scenes after playtesting the episode if I feel something is missing.

I felt that some parts of this branch needed a bit more content, while other parts of it were perfect and unique.
And this is an example of how I will work after finishing the art for the remaining scenes. I will playtest and then polish and add any additional content I feel is needed.
I have to do this for five branches and all possible combinations of choices and consequences therein.

I started animating again, I will know how many more animations I need within a few more weeks.

- Yeah, absolutely no reason for Panic, or more properly for disappointment. after all, after all this time, He still dont even know how many thing he need to add, to finish it.

A common thing for fanatical perfectionists. Personally, I don't feel frustrated, it's more of an impatience and a desire to play as soon as possible. Until things got even crazier in this world.
Reading his report, I rather saw that the game is entering the final development cycle and the polishing of the episode begins along with the production of the remaining animations.
Art left for 8 scenes, a week ago it was 13, two weeks ago he was talking about 20-30 scenes. The work is going on and at a good pace, I don’t understand why so many butthurts.

 

[bxchun]

Q2 of 2023, here we goo

If he says the same shit next week, I'm fairly convinced we'll get the update next year.

Microsoft is getting Activision sooner than we will be getting BADIK lol

 

[felicemastronzo]

I am sure that many of us will ask after the episode has passed. Why did he add a scene in the park/room/dorm? Why this animation was needed or why this one. I think some of us will be disappointed, but judging by the feedbacks in his discord server, he has tremendous support among fans, which means it will continue.

we will never know what scenes he actually added, so in the end we will only be able to say whether we liked the chapter or not, whether we liked Bella's run or not (among all the LIs the least accomplished story)

then for goodness sake, just in case the "perfectionist" manages to make Jill smile without the horses runaway and the bread stopping rising, after only 5 years of perfecting, and we'll all cry miracle

 

[Oliver Wendell Homely]

sorry but this is not what DPC says in the update

he says that Bella's route is almost perfect, but that by playing it he thought it was missing something, now this something he's going to add, to a route that he thought was practically perfect, is going to be by necessity something minor, nothing that's going to change the tide. a few renders and some secondary animations. or do you think he wants to add a sex scene or major plot steps?

and at the same time the big free roam, almost certainly of the halloween party, which if not half the chapter probably took half the production time, is not an issue of the branching of the different routes (except marginally, otherwise every free roam in the second season is)

then for goodness sake, we have to wait and we will wait, but whether it was worth it we will know when we see the chapter, and it is not that the longer we wait the more satisfied we will be, it has never worked that way



you will see the glory when that something missing from Bella's route is a nice lawn to mow, after painting the fence and making pancakes

"Being a DIK" is arguably the best game on this site and is certainly the most popular, all because DPC follows his instincts and builds the game as he sees fit. Suddenly people are second guessing him and his decisions. If DPC feels the episode requires additional scenes to flesh out the story (why does it have to be a sex scene or "major plot" step?), then he should add the scenes. I've been a patron of DPC's for two and a half years now. At my level of support, this means that "Being a DIK" is the most outrageously expensive game (or porn) I've ever purchased. It is worth every penny so far and I want that to continue. So I am content to let DPC create the game he wants. He hasn't let me down yet; in fact, for me each episode just gets better and better.

As of today, DPC has almost 12,600 patrons. If that number starts dropping rapidly, no doubt he'll reconsider his approach. Thankfully, it seems pretty clear that his other patrons feel more or less as I do.