To avoid being considered off-topic I will add that Ero set himself up for failure by prioritizing extreme visual fidelity. Sure, the models look quite pretty with every little detail being rendered, but now you're stuck rendering a 4k (or 8k image in some instances) with multiple post-processing effects just to imitate reality. Much like CFD (computational fluid-dynamics) models, trying to mimic reality can sometimes take exponentially more time just to complete one single task.
I wish more new developers understood this before starting their projects - we’d have a lot less abandoned content.
Every serious game developer, from your indie platformer to your AAA Call of Duty knock-off, re-uses assets.
In 2D games, this is usually in the form of layered images (sprites). In big AAA titles, they have built-in engine tools to duplicate textures and quickly modify characters to maintain the appearance of variety.
But for some reason, Daz3D visual novel developers think they’ll be able to pain-stakingly pose, render, and edit the 300 to 500 images required to satisfy their audiences’ need for a
short update.
And the tens of thousands of images needed for a full-blown visual novel? Forget about it. That’s why Being A DIK is 6 years into development with no end in sight. That’s why Demon Boy—despite it’s popularity—barely got the story rolling before being abandoned. The workload is too much for a single person.
It was short-sightedness.