VN Ren'Py Captain Lance [0.75.4-PRE-RELEASE-2] [TearStar]

[OctoSky]

Bad news: Posted July 13th on Discord.

Just a heads up. Currently - even if I wanted to - CANNOT continue working on the game. I just got the news today we are fucked with energy consumption basically tripling down on the prices (it's extremely high now it is). Bit sadge because it's actually wouldn't be too far off - if I got the time and was not tired all the time due to overhours - to due a release but since both night power AND abolishment of energy discount is no longer, it's no longer possible to render for the game. Would make it where each render would cost me a triple AAA game each time (Averaging at 200 renders which is not a lot), just on energy prices. I'm really, really disappointed.......

Fuck 2022 too


(Looking at the state of the world currently, I don't see it getting any better anytime soon, so it looks like more years of waiting, maybe, I don't know. For all I know all the world leaders could stand up tomorrow and announce they plan to stop being stupid and actually fix the world.)


Even more bad news: Posted July 16th.


Gonna run a poll. I had this idea a long time ago before the shit went down. The question is: would you play the story in its entirety with minimal art, that is reused every time. E.g: Everyone has a set of two of each character (some cases 3) and when they talk they appear on the screen. This would allow me to finish the story but no real art/scene setting which can be damaging to the story itself.

Basically: would you play/finish the story as a "text-based" game? It means I only need to do about 40 renders total for the rest of the game, can finish the story and later, when ready, I can finish the rest of the renders. I set a month expiration date, we have all the time. Going to check it on a bi-daily basis whether it has shifted or not and in 2 week I'd say I end the result.


(Don't get me wrong. I'm fine with text based games. Some of my favorites are Inheritance, TiTS, and CoC 1 and 2, but to turn a VN into a text based game is just not a great idea to me. Some may tell me to go fuck my mom and others may tell me they agree, its all up to the person.)

(I would post the poll but I don't want to upset TearStar if its a Patreon/Discord only thing.)

 

[Avaron1974]

This was in my top ten at one point but I gave up hope of ever seeing it completed a long time ago.

 

[Motoko Kusanagi]

To be honest, its been 2 years . The On-Hold tag just feels disingenuous. Just lay the project to rest and let people move on, don't give people hope about this.

 

[TearStar]

TL;DR Discord posts

I might have some good news though, but it's not solid enough yet. "Negotiations" are in progress. "Anti-Text-Based" community was louder than "Pro-Text-Based", even though they won the poll. I have a small "community" (like 14 peeps voted all-together and currently stands at 50-50 which is not a lot) who engages with any posts. I don't mind, 14 peeps feels also a lot (there are more people in my IT Department, and can barely name 20). So it's not gonna happen. It was just an easy alternative to finish the game.

This was in my top ten at one point but I gave up hope of ever seeing it completed a long time ago.

Kinda surprised me but feels good. Even the last part. That I know too...

To be honest, its been 2 years . The On-Hold tag just feels disingenuous. Just lay the project to rest and let people move on, don't give people hope about this.

Maybe... I am hanging in the balance between "scam artist" and "just an occupied person". But I want the looming feeling in my head that I still have not done anything, and "guilt-trip" myself for not doing anything. Currently... it's just too expensive. And won't be opening any option to "donate". Not after 3,5 years of development. THAT would feel even more disingenuous.

Also once again I need to find a proofreader who would help me out of good-will.... that is my next pain on the list after rendering.


Genarally: I do have like 90% of the renders prepared for the next release. The last 10% is the worst. And gonna spoil what that is.

Spoiler: Be warned, content warning ahead, major

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I won't say be hopeful. I am not going to promise anything.

 

[Corvo20]

IF it's continued I'll play it. If it's not......then that's ok. There's plenty of games out there.....although this was in my top five adult games.

 

[Lillen B.]

Aww, man, that blows to get stopped on the last 10%. If you do choose to continue, I'll be around to check it out in whatever form it takes. If that means moving to a more simplistic, text-heavy style, then so be it. You can always fill in with more art later. After all, limping across the finish line is still better than not finishing at all

 

[JNev]

Captain Lance was always one of my favorite games, even when it was buggy or not in best quality. I think TearStar got me with the story mixed with the part of playing a female heroine. Maybe this one moment in the game, when you lose someone, that you want to survive so bad, kept me thinking of this game. I really still hope for a happy end

 

[Karl Speidel]

So you are still working on this game? Im not sure if to try it as it is or wait IF it will ever be finished.

 

[TearStar]

So you are still working on this game? Im not sure if to try it as it is or wait IF it will ever be finished.

Finally I can answer that: 'Yes'.

I'm posting regurarly on Discord with the adjustments I make and there will be a lot.

 

[Karl Speidel]

Finally I can answer that: 'Yes'.

I'm posting regurarly on Discord with the adjustments I make and there will be a lot.

What is the current ver on discord? Im guessing it is ahead of the one here.

 

[TearStar]

What is the current ver on discord? Im guessing it is ahead of the one here.

Exactly one ahead though it was not a full but a test release because of changes.


Planning to release ONE more test-build before the actual one but that's a bit far away.

 

[Lilithblackbriar]

No sounds in the game in my opinion makes the game worthless.

 

[Avaron1974]

No sounds in the game in my opinion makes the game worthless.

The masses disagree with you.

There have been many polls on here and most folk give zero fucks about sound.

 

[damnedfrog]

The masses disagree with you.

There have been many polls on here and most folk give zero fucks about sound.

Totally agree.
I almost always play with the sound off.
One exception: Mythos, because Nine of Swords makes all the musics herself, so I feel like I have to listen to them to give respect to all the work she does.

 

[afterlights]

The masses disagree with you.

There have been many polls on here and most folk give zero fucks about sound.

This same opinion, too - too often - about animations.

 

[PadroPedro]

This same opinion, too - too often - about animations.

Ye animations are only good if they are hight quality, but 99% of the time they are very low quality. I dunno why creators want animations in their games, they take a lot of work and almost no one is skilled at them (and to ebcome skilled they'd take a very long time praticing).

 

[TearStar]

Ye animations are only good if they are hight quality, but 99% of the time they are very low quality. I dunno why creators want animations in their games, they take a lot of work and almost no one is skilled at them (and to ebcome skilled they'd take a very long time praticing).

Shit... I guess I won't include them...
Animations cancelled I guess.

About sound: I do think that a good game music CAN add to the overall experience. However, at this stage of the development, it's impossible to add them, because it requires planning. And I think the classical funky songs of free value are just adding to the 90s Z category porn movie vibe (that's a negative). Since I have no intention (and had no intention) of using free assets that are generic by design.

It's not worth the effort if more than half of the players play it turned off. And I don't think it would add to the experience that at a random part of the game the "I'm happy" or "La-Hee" song starts blasting.

 

[afterlights]

Shit... I guess I won't include them...
Animations cancelled I guess.

It's your game. I just caution because it seems to often be a demand that adds to a dev's workload.

 

[starfarts]

Yeah, do what you want. But I could care less about animations and I always mute AVNs while playing my own music.

 

[Avaron1974]

Shit... I guess I won't include them...
Animations cancelled I guess.

There have been numerous polls by numerous devs on animations and sound and they all end the same way.

While a few people really care about them most of us don't. They increase costs and development time, time that could be better put into more renders for the story.

I won't deny that animations and sound can make a game look good but to step into that territory you need to resources for it and most solo devs won't have that.

Devs that have games with a lot of animations, music and huge updates like Philly with City of Broken Dreamers have insane power in their rigs and enough people willing to help out to make a render farm. Some of the bigger devs work in teams which make it possible.

Now you think about most small time devs put out updates with 150 - 300 renders and call it an update. That amount of renders is 1 animated scene in the bigger games.

Thirsty for my Guest adds up each amount of renders for each update and you're talking thousands per update.

It's not something smaller devs can keep up with especially when most won't care.