VN Ren'Py Cyberheart [v0.3.5 (Extra 1)] [DiPeppo]

[zeph19]

Spoiler

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Hey man, thank you for your reply. I'm glad that what I said doesn't seem to have come across as rude or.. I don't know.

First of all, please take care of your health. I hope you're doing better and that you're on a good path now.
Second, thank you very much for giving some insight on your project. It's incredible to see you being so invested in it. I legit had no idea you could pay modders to fix clothing sets for HS2 characters. I knew about custom locations being built for some games, but face maps and clothing? Color me impressed.

I think it makes sense that the more serious you take your own story, the more difficult it becomes to create it. Your characters and the plot become more complex, and you have to do them justice and take into account so many small variables - things they've said, done, hinted at and felt in the past - you can't forget about any of those things, otherwise their actions might not make sense in the future, for example.

Also, keep in mind that striving for perfection is great, but that perfectionism will likely kill the fun in the long run, as we've seen from other creators and projects already!

Wish you all the best!

 

[DiPeppo]

Hey man, thank you for your reply. I'm glad that what I said doesn't seem to have come across as rude or.. I don't know.

First of all, please take care of your health. I hope you're doing better and that you're on a good path now.
Second, thank you very much for giving some insight on your project. It's incredible to see you being so invested in it. I legit had no idea you could pay modders to fix clothing sets for HS2 characters. I knew about custom locations being built for some games, but face maps and clothing? Color me impressed.

I think it makes sense that the more serious you take your own story, the more difficult it becomes to create it. Your characters and the plot become more complex, and you have to do them justice and take into account so many small variables - things they've said, done, hinted at and felt in the past - you can't forget about any of those things, otherwise their actions might not make sense in the future, for example.

Also, keep in mind that striving for perfection is great, but that perfectionism will likely kill the fun in the long run, as we've seen from other creators and projects already!

Wish you all the best!

Thanks a lot!

Yeah, I did realize that I need to be alive to develop, who would have thought. I broke my own rules that I needed to take breaks when I should have and I didn't, so hopefully I will be able to learn from this now.

And no, really, I didn't know as well - until I really needed to fix it, and it turns out that they can sculp and port it from Blender. Obviously, it's nicer to home-grow something - that I should modify the clothes/hair/map by myself; but I honestly just did not want to add more time to the development, and I did not want to take up the path of DPC in which I would hoard every tasks under the sun for myself. That does not benefit anyone, including the supporters for myself. As for the face maps and whatnot, it's really like... let's just say I want something that doesn't resemble Lara Croft's blocky tits. I know it's hard in HS2 but I still want skins of characters to look a bit more realistic.

Spoiler: Tits and bits.

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Right, about characters, it's true. I want to create folks that are consistent throughout the story, but at the same time, unravel their characteristics. I can't turn black to white, and no one is redeeming anything. It's still the same characters - we are all just finding more about them, just like how you date someone and the more you know about them, either you love them more, or your desire to dump their bodies behind Wendy's got more intense. I understand that people are attracted to different personalities so that's hopefully I can bring to the table - the consistency of how one character acts, for example, just as you said.

And yeah, that's something I learned the hard way. Perfectionism, that is. I felt like it's a full cycle of development - that I have been making all of the mental mistakes I made initially! At least this time, I consciously know it's a mistake, granted a bit too late; but I'd consider it as an improvement.

Cheers!

 

[ラMr Shadow悪]

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Hey folks,

I've got a significant update for you all at the end of this dev diary, so I'll keep the log portion brief and open this update to the public. We've completed 42 renders and added 2 new animations, including a key one. Currently, 19 renders are still pending. The update is closer to the end than to the start.

Now for the big news... After much thought, I've decided to take a short break from development. You might have noticed the pause in Patreon billing and wondered, "Is Cyberheart being abandoned?" or "How long will the break be?". Rest assured, Cyberheart is far from abandoned. The break is primarily because I need to focus on an upcoming crucial exam in July that could determine my academic future. I'll need to dedicate more time to studying, which means less time for development.

But there's more to it. I also need this break to recharge. The truth is, the development became more of a job than a hobby, especially during Chapter 3, to the point where I was "working" on the game after a long day at work, while it should have been a time where I enjoy developing the game. This unsustainable pace led to a recent health scare that forced me to step back and reassess my approach to this project.

For now, it’s time to rethink how I handle the workload. I plan to either maintain the quality of renders as in Chapter 3 or enhance them like I am doing it now, though the latter would extend development time. To balance this, I’m considering enlisting more help, starting with a friend of mine, Mei, who might assist with scene setups.

As for when I will enable Patreon billing again, I'd say...around late July or so. That doesn't mean that I will pause on working on Cyberheart itself though, I will still continue pushing and hopefully we get something before August.

TLDR: I need a break for my exam and to prevent burnout. The plan is to streamline the development process with some extra hands. Estimated time of returning is late July, new update is hopefully out by August.

While I won't be able to spend as much time on the development progress, I will update you with development log still just in case I have any new updates on my end. I appreciate your support, and will always do.

Peppy

Ps: To compensate for the extra wait for the chapter, here's another preview.

 

[luckyluca01]

is there going to be sexual content in the next update or at least some romantic developement (kissing or second base) with one of the girls?

 

[DiPeppo]

is there going to be sexual content in the next update or at least some romantic developement (kissing or second base) with one of the girls?

Uh initially, I don't want to post this, because I don't want to spoil for everyone, so if you prefer not to know in advance, do not click:

Spoiler: DON'T CLICK!

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[MrSancini]

Hey Man, good luck with your studies

 

[DiPeppo]

Hey Man, good luck with your studies

Thanks, Sancini! Really a do-or-die moment, and I don't think that I can afford to lose this time, so we will see!

 

[DevinHesi]

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Well, hello again, folks. Some people are probably like "the fuck is this guy doing, posting a dev diary on a Saturday".

After the pause on development to study for the exam, I've survived it. Results are not in yet - but I have a hunch that all sections on the exam should be good enough for a pass.

Now comes the bad news...You might notice for the past two weeks, my online hours have been funky, and then I've become less and less active during this week. Here's what happened so far.

I came back to visit my grandfather again, not to celebrate him succeeding in chemo, but to really celebrate the miracle that he's still with us - so any days spent is a precious day for me and everyone back here. And somehow, funny enough, fate has other plans for me. My visa for reentry into the U.S. has been refused. I was placed under 221(g) - they specifically said that they needed more time to review my application. That, of course, means that there's a chance that I can get denied - and if that happens, that will lead to the domino effect of me having to quit my program entirely, and me being unsure how the hell I will clean out the apartment and get my stuff back in the U.S., how to cancel the services and shit there, etc. and mostly, the elephant in the room is, what I am supposed to do after I have to quit the program. I don't share this to whine, but rather, I want to be transparent with you about what's going on, and why the development has not really been solid. Turns out devs are human too.

Here comes something interesting. After a few days of stressing out and checking the application status literally every 10 minutes, I've made peace with the thought that I might have to derail my future to a different path completely, but still I needed something to distract myself from losing it. I ended up with development as some sort of therapeutic treatments for the soul (won't recommend this for everyone). With my current laptop not being able to handle HS2, I decided to treat myself and bought a new laptop that is capable of running that (unoptimized, piece of meat) beast. The past 3 days were all about downloading Honey Select 2 again, copying this and that, setting some shit up, figuring why shit doesn't work, etc. Pain in the ass, but I'm slowly getting used to it now . One of the reasons why I posted this dev diary is because I was able to turn on Honey Select 2 the first time on this laptop. There are still many missing mods, of course - and many issues since my PC were using BR14, and this version installed on the laptop is BR15. But with how waiting has been the excruciating factor for me for the past few days - having something done, anything at all, feels good.

But, uh...yeah! I don't know what else to say, really. If it really comes down to me not being able to continue my program, then that will be a headache - but that's a only possibility, not what's happening now - so we take one step at a time. On the bright side, I get to spend more time with my grandfather. I will still work on the game for now, will try to keep a positive attitude, and will keep you guys posted. Progresses should be back by Monday after all mods are installed.

Cheers, folks.

Peppy

Ps: Here, enjoy a peek of the temporary behemoth. Not too close to what I have back in my apartment in the U.S., but it runs HS2 and Chrome, that's good enough.

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[DevinHesi]

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I'm back! (I'm back?) Who would have thought I would make a render out of a laptop one day...All mods are now working as intended (though I still have errors with the character and scene loader for some reasons...and the laptop is not very stable to work with).

But at least, here it is - a quick test render. Should be an alright ride to render the in-game renders for the upcoming weeks...if nothing dies on me. Cheers!

Ps: Oh yeah, the inspiration was The Matrix.

 

[slick97]

DevinHesi - You're slacking mate! (Just kidding )

For those curious, here's the latest update from DiPeppo:

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August 2nd, 2024*


Hello, folks.
I really wanted to get you more good news, but recently, it's nothing but extremely bad news for me - so much so that it now sounds like I'm making up excuses. The only bright spot of the whole two weeks is that, I was able to output 9 renders.

You might have remembered that I bought a new laptop 2 weeks ago. Of course, to be able to facilitate the work flow of Cyberheart and my school work, I decided to "pimp" my laptop - 32GB DDR5 RAM, 2TB SSD, a cooler stand for the laptop, etc. All was well, until Tuesday this week marks the dead day of my SSD. I thought that when my laptop refuses to boot to the login screen, it was just an error regarding some Windows updates I installed the previous night. But nope - the error of the laptop not recognizing any running Windows made me realize that it was not recognizing any SSD at all...which meant that my brand new SSD was a goner. Thanks Kingston, y'all made wonderful drives, but thank the Lord, I was able to put those 9 renders up on my cloud. Sadly, everything that I worked on the previous 4 days was gone.

And on top of that, a close family member of mine who got sacked literally 30 minutes ago. We were planning on the next steps on how to deal with it - but really, we know that the majority of the so-called "plan" involves sending hundreds of applications on LinkedIn and Glassdoor and Indeed for the next however many months. No update on my visa either.
I...I don't know. My drive is intact, my will is there; but I just want to curl up in my blanket. I just want to dial back for a moment and don't have to think about all of the shit that is hitting the fan now. Yet, my body somehow still operates - still opens the online portal to check the visa status, still writes down the list of things to do for the said family member, still opens HS2 and work on some WIP. Perhaps my mind will catch up to my body soon?

My apologies for the rant, but I just really don't have anything else to update except for a bunch of bollocks. At the very least, I got my self a new SSD while the other one was sent to maintenance - and everything was installed successfully (again). It's a tiny beam of hope to observe, but still hope regardless.

Peppy

DiPeppo - Always prioritize your mental health. I cannot emphasize enough just how difficult it is to climb out of that hole, and how easy it is to fall down in the first place. I say this with the nearly 2 decades of battling mental health issues and partial/full hospitalization. Focus on IRL, all of us degenerates here will most likely still be around


*Edit: I know DiPeppo has the date list as August 3rd, however I received the update on August 2nd since I'm in the US timezones.

 

[DiPeppo]

DevinHesi - You're slacking mate! (Just kidding )

For those curious, here's the latest update from DiPeppo:



DiPeppo - Always prioritize your mental health. I cannot emphasize enough just how difficult it is to climb out of that hole, and how easy it is to fall down in the first place. I say this with the nearly 2 decades of battling mental health issues and partial/full hospitalization. Focus on IRL, all of us degenerates here will most likely still be around


*Edit: I know DiPeppo has the date list as August 3rd, however I received the update on August 2nd since I'm in the US timezones.

It recently just felt like I won the lottery of bad luck, but I will try to hang on for as long as I can. But I appreciate your kind words, slick! Hopefully you are doing okay.

 

[TigerWolfe]

It recently just felt like I won the lottery of bad luck, but I will try to hang on for as long as I can. But I appreciate your kind words, slick! Hopefully you are doing okay.

Take care of your brain first always. Good luck duder.

 

[DevinHesi]

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Hello everyone,

Guess who’s back in the land of burgers and freedom? That’s right - yours truly! I really felt like the past month of mine could be made into a Netflix series (of bad luck, that is) - but it has its own ending: my visa was officially approved, issued, and delivered a few days ago, and I wasted no time booking a flight back. It’s been quite a journey - just a few weeks ago, I was looking at programs in Canada: I was ready to let go of my previous plans. But here I am, back in the States, and though I still have a few dragons left to slay, getting here was the biggest boss battle. I'll tackle the others one step at a time.

Alright, enough about my visa adventures - let’s talk about Cyberheart. I managed to prepare (but not render) 7 scenes. The last couple of weeks were mostly about sorting out the logistics of getting my desktop up and running again. I successfully transferred all the data from my laptop to my desktop without any issues (at least none that I've noticed yet). I've upgraded from BR14 to BR15, and it's running more efficiently now that I've removed some unused mods and plugins. I'm back to working on the scenes, and should have more updates for you next week.

Cheers, and it’s great to be back on home turf!

Peppy

 

[eggrik]

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Hello everyone,

Guess who’s back in the land of burgers and freedom? That’s right - yours truly! I really felt like the past month of mine could be made into a Netflix series (of bad luck, that is) - but it has its own ending: my visa was officially approved, issued, and delivered a few days ago, and I wasted no time booking a flight back. It’s been quite a journey - just a few weeks ago, I was looking at programs in Canada: I was ready to let go of my previous plans. But here I am, back in the States, and though I still have a few dragons left to slay, getting here was the biggest boss battle. I'll tackle the others one step at a time.

Alright, enough about my visa adventures - let’s talk about Cyberheart. I managed to prepare (but not render) 7 scenes. The last couple of weeks were mostly about sorting out the logistics of getting my desktop up and running again. I successfully transferred all the data from my laptop to my desktop without any issues (at least none that I've noticed yet). I've upgraded from BR14 to BR15, and it's running more efficiently now that I've removed some unused mods and plugins. I'm back to working on the scenes, and should have more updates for you next week.

Cheers, and it’s great to be back on home turf!

Peppy

glad to hear everything is coming back together for you, Pep! I hope your new BR15 treats your well

 

[DiPeppo]

glad to hear everything is coming back together for you, Pep! I hope your new BR15 treats your well

Thanks Eggy!

And yes, so far BR15 is...it's alright, not much different from BR12 that I've used a few months back.

 

[DevinHesi]

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Holy fuck it looks foul, man. Though to be fair to my old self, many scenes in Chapters 1 to 3 were tougher because it requires lighting from differerent angles, like the sun light needs to shine on Remi but also needs to bounce back to shine on Ezio and the room.

Just a quick WIP of what I was trying to practice

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[DevinHesi]

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Shoutout to Chryzoa for the original scene, blud's a genius

 

[ixvytopx]

man, i love it when protagonists aren't chronic perverts with raging boners all the time. the writing is really good too! cheers!

 

[DiPeppo]

man, i love it when protagonists aren't chronic perverts with raging boners all the time. the writing is really good too! cheers!

Thank you, and cheers too!

 

[CinderFall201]

So question when Meredith mentioned Artemis was that supposed to be a callback to the android of the same name from Artemis or am I wrong?