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

[Pendrell]

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This week I worked on and completed a big and tricky scene and some smaller scenes.
I have started working on the remaining lewd scenes of the episode now, posing both static renders and animations for them.
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 playtested Isabella's branch this week. It took me over 3 hours to complete it, without mini-games and without being able to test everything, as the final free roam event is still a bit of a mess regarding the code.
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. Each branch is of similar length, meaning a single playtest of all branches will require at least 15 hours of playtime. I always do this many times, over and over.
While there is plenty of joint content, there is also plenty of unique scenes for each branch; this makes quality control a big task.
But I'm very much looking forward to playing the episode. There are many scenes I haven't even seen in-game yet, even though the art has been finished for months - it's crazy, even more so than usual.
I'm up to 4524 renders, and now that I started animating again, I will know how many more animations I need within a few more weeks.
I don't have an accurate estimation of the release date; everything will depend on the remaining animation render times and how smooth the last stretch of development goes.

Have a nice weekend

Dr PinkCake

Mostly the standard stuff, but a few red flags that I think warrant some comment:

"the final free roam event is still a bit of a mess regarding the code."

Knowing how complex the variables are getting, the words "mess" and "code" aren't hugely comforting this late in the cycle. I'm an optimist though; he doesn't seem to have had much trouble before on the coding front, so let's hope it's easily cleared up.

"[...] I will know how many more animations I need within a few more weeks."

This is the bit that I'll confess gets me slightly frustrated. A few more weeks (minimum three?) before he even knows how many more animations he needs to do? It's lines like this that start to make me question just how comprehensive his planning is for both the story in general and each episode in particular. It all feels much looser these days than it used to, like he's adding stuff all the time without any constraints at all. It really gives me the sense that he views the whole process as completely open-ended. On the one hand this makes me really excited for the finished episode, but boy the wait is long this time. And sometimes I just wish he'd find a way to nail down, earlier on in the dev cycle, exactly what he needs to do. I think he'll simply have to start doing that in future episodes, and give himself some properly defined limits, otherwise the complexity of it will become overwhelming.

 

[HumperDoo]

are you kidding me

turns out the halloween party is gonna be released in time for the carnival season

rite where's a team of japanese anime artists when you need them lol

 

[ChipLecsap]

Seems I called it last week too. It looks like December if we' re lucky now.
I'm sorry but being a developer is not only about renders and writing, but project management in general. And our good doctor is terrible at that, as he seems unable to control himself. Artistic independance and freedom is all well and good, but since this is a commercial product, the supporters/customers have some expectations.
As a patreon for over a year, I'm very disappointed today and will not be renewing my subscription. I believe that developement over 6 months is unreasonable, although I'm sure the content will be massive. It's just that I think that being unable to manage your material in order to deliver your product in a somewhat predictable time frame, is not good practice and should be discouraged.
I still think DPC is one of the best artists, just a bad project manager.

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.

 

[nyrek]

noone needs anime "artists"

 

[allanl9020142]

I liked it when the game updates were at max 2 months apart.

"Hey guys, this week I reached a significant milestone - we have surpassed the 4500 render mark for episode 9. My computers have been working hard for the past week but I am still not happy with some scenes and thus will probably add another 500 renders. Also, I have added 10 more animations into the queue to support those renders. I am also working on a new minigame, because the one thing the patrons wanted were more minigames. I also have to playtest the game, because a lot of areas have missing code

Next week I will be able to give a clear estimate about the amount of work left for the update. Anyway, here are 3 random renders of girls staring into the camera. See you next week."

I ... thought this was real for a second.

 

[hakuna-matata]

I liked it when the game updates were at max 2 months apart.

"Hey guys, this week I reached a significant milestone - we have surpassed the 4500 render mark for episode 9. My computers have been working hard for the past week but I am still not happy with some scenes and thus will probably add another 500 renders. Also, I have added 10 more animations into the queue to support those renders. I am also working on a new minigame, because the one thing the patrons wanted were more minigames. I also have to playtest the game, because a lot of areas have missing code

Next week I will be able to give a clear estimate about the amount of work left for the update. Anyway, here are 3 random renders of girls staring into the camera. See you next week."

Fucking Nostrodamus over here!

 

[Melissa fan]

I have to do this for five branches

Sage, Jill, Josy and Maya, Bella and I assume the 5th will be Zoey. Zoey is probably the worst character in a game on this site. Having an episode all about her has made it so there will be a year since the last time the story advanced. Also having to include her in future episodes will be more work making each episode take longer to make. Adding in a basically new character as a main LI to a 3 year old game is one of the worst things to do. If DPC was willing to add all this extra work then having a separate path for Josy and Maya like a lot of people have been wanting for years would have been a far better option or make one of the side girls we have known for years a main LI like Riona, Lily or Quinn. It wouldn't have been that bad adding Zoey to the game if there was some flashbacks of Zoey and the MC throughout the previous 8 episodes but just having the one didn't let me get to know her well or get attached to her. That's why to me she is just a new character.

I'm really losing interest in this game. Between the no solo route for Josy, lack of screen time for side girls especially Riona in ep 8, basically a new character in Zoey and now waiting 7 months with at least another month and that will probably be normal. I was really looking forward to episode 8 especially the closer it got to release but with episode 9 I don't really care when it comes out. If there isn't much content for Riona and Lily and still no sign of a possible solo Josy route in ep 9 I won't be playing anymore.

 

[felicemastronzo]

Sage, Jill, Josy and Maya, Bella and I assume the 5th will be Zoey. Zoey is probably the worst character in a game on this site. Having an episode all about her has made it so there will be a year since the last time the story advanced. Also having to include her in future episodes will be more work making each episode take longer to make. Adding in a basically new character as a main LI to a 3 year old game is one of the worst things to do. If DPC was willing to add all this extra work then having a separate path for Josy and Maya like a lot of people have been wanting for years would have been a far better option or make one of the side girls we have known for years a main LI like Riona, Lily or Quinn. It wouldn't have been that bad adding Zoey to the game if there was some flashbacks of Zoey and the MC throughout the previous 8 episodes but just having the one didn't let me get to know her well or get attached to her. That's why to me she is just a new character.

I'm really losing interest in this game. Between the no solo route for Josy, lack of screen time for side girls especially Riona in ep 8, basically a new character in Zoey and now waiting 7 months with at least another month and that will probably be normal. I was really looking forward to episode 8 especially the closer it got to release but with episode 9 I don't really care when it comes out. If there isn't much content for Riona and Lily and still no sign of a possible solo Josy route in ep 9 I won't be playing anymore.

the fifth branch is "others"

Zoey will be in all branches

 

[UnoriginalUserName]

Sage, Jill, Josy and Maya, Bella and I assume the 5th will be Zoey.

Sage, Jill, Bella, Josy/Maya, Quinn (she's in the banner now so I'm calling her a main LI).

Unless we get : Sage, Jill, Bella, Josy, Quinn and the super-secret 6th path : "Maya/Zoey got run over by a bus. Twice"

 

[HumperDoo]

True. the thing is I'm pretty sure there are enough content already, but this whole " I play test, and see if I have to add something to it " is really not encouraging thing to hear.

fucken aye rite, fuck mini games, just give me story and choice, do we really need a whole bunch of brain puzzles? "HOW ABOUT NOOOOOOO"-Dr Evil

 

[OFT]

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 pretty much what you would expect:

 

[nyrek]

Zoey is probably the worst character in a game on this site.

lol she isn't even the worst character in BaDIK

lack of screen time for side girls especially Riona in ep 8
...
If there isn't much content for Riona and Lily

perhaps, when talking about girls you like, you might take into consideration which are actual LIs and which are just not-that-really-important sidehoes
main girls get most of the time. others are there to fill the story.

I'd like to have cammy bangable in every other scene but sadly I have to refuse riona in certain scenes because why would DPC even consider wasting time on a character like riona instead on a sidehoe I like?
it's all in the eyes of a beholder.

 

[Melissa fan]

the fifth branch is "others"

Zoesy will be in all branches

Hasn't others been in all branches? I don't think I have a playthough without a main LI.

Sage, Jill, Bella, Josy/Maya, Quinn (she's in the banner now so I'm calling her a main LI).

Quinn has been in the banner for a while now. I don't think she is a main LI with her own branch because at the end of ep 8 when you choose who you want to be with she isn't one of the options.

 

[ChipLecsap]

It’s pretty much what you would expect:


View attachment 2073951

pff sheeps

 

[UnoriginalUserName]

It’s pretty much what you would expect:


View attachment 2073951

Spoiler: So basically his patrons are like :

You don't have permission to view the spoiler content. Log in or register now.

 

[anonnyscouse]

To play Devil's Advocate here: If there's genuinely 15 hours of content then that is considerably more than most games on this site have all together throughout 3-4 years of development, so if it does take 18 months between ep 8 and ep 9 that's still faster (and with higher quality content) than most devs.

 

[HumperDoo]

It’s pretty much what you would expect:


View attachment 2073951

good god, wat a bunch of boot licking smooth brains

 

[hakuna-matata]

It’s pretty much what you would expect:


View attachment 2073951

They remind me of the Apple Sheep.

 

[Melissa fan]

lol she isn't even the worst character in BaDIK

She isn't really a bad character but what I wrote about her after taking months away from the story for her episode, adding long waits to future episodes along with basically being a new character in a 3 year old game makes her the worst character in a game for me.

perhaps, when talking about girls you like, you might take into consideration which are actual LIs and which are just not-that-really-important sidehoes
main girls get most of the time. others are there to fill the story.

Of course they aren't going to get the time the main LI get and I have never complained about that or said they should.

I'd like to have cammy bangable in every other scene but sadly I have to refuse riona in certain scenes because why would DPC even consider wasting time on a character like riona instead on a sidehoe I like?
it's all in the eyes of a beholder.

I am not asking or telling DPC to give certain characters I like more. This thread is for expressing opinions about the game and all I said was if Riona and Lily didn't get many scenes in ep 9 I won't be playing anymore. I'm not asking for anything just saying what I wanted to say.

 

[georsak]

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.

I don't frequent the patreon comments, I prefer to hang out here. When I first played just after ep 7 came out, I was so enthusiastic that I wanted to show my appreciation so I subscribed, but that's all, I never engaged further.
That's over now, and one of the reasons, besides my disappointment, is that I realized that I gradually lost my interest first for the Friday status updates, which I looked forward to in the past, and lately even for when the next episode will come out. I mean it's been so long, that I'm kind of detached from the story and the characters.