Ren'Py Desert Stalker [v0.16b] [Zetan]

[Cynicaladm]

I don't 100% agree with Cena here, but he does have a point.
Do you know how much development time will be spent on sharing content going forward? Because if this will be a heavy theme of the game, then its best for people who dislike this content to get out now or let a few updates in a row add up because those who dislike this content and disable it are only getting a 1/2 sized update if it will continue in the future.

the size is marginally relevant in terms of time spent on it... so far 14 panels have been drawn with content in that direction.. from a total of 720+ panels for that update.. so... do the maths (it's hot and I'm grumpy so I can't be arsed to do it for you ).
timewise, the variance really is not relevant because the variance is part of a scene that we need to plot and draw anyway, just a fraction of it. I take anything between 30minutes to 2 hours to write a scene when I'm in the saddle, so to speak, and more often than not Zetan himself writes the scenes he comes up with as he renders, so it really comes down to inspiration of the moment and drawing something he likes. You can remove the sharing part of a scene, but the scene is still there... you're missing out on a few panels and lines of dialogue WITHIN a scene, not on an entire scene, so the whole 50/50 thing is definitely not true.. I just agreed with it for the sake of debating the specifics of the scene.
I am not going to give you an estimate on how much production time will be "wasted" on scenes or panels you might end up not seeing, because I simply don't know, but I expect the overwhelming majority of the scenes are still going to be stuff you'll want to see. Will there be full scenes dedicated to something you don't want? it's possible but we don't know. We try to craft the best story that we can come up with and occasionally we might come up with new ideas or follow Z's inspiration of the moment.
We have no interest in disappointing the early players of the game, who we know like it for the general tone and vibe of the MC and content.. we are also not going to be limited by that very narrow motivation if we want to expand the story a little bit..and if it ends up including scenes that might be objectionable, they will, as always, be behind a lock, or simply be playable with the options for the player to manipulate events in a way they like.
Full on NTR is not something any of the devs are interested in...so I am fairly confident in saying that that won't happen. Adiacent themes such as sharing and such might..probably will, occasionally.

That said, I do resent a little that people should feel they get to have a say (I know it's not what you're doing, don't get me wrong), over how Z allocates his development time, especially since that time comes at the back of a 40 hours day job. I understand the reasoning of "if half the game is going to be crap, I'm out." and if you ever get that feeling, I will understand you bowing out... but we're not here to try and screw people over and I think we can all agree that so far we haven't let you down content-wise. Yes, player choices have consequences, and yes, applying half a braincell can lead you to the ones you as a player prefer...and if it does mean that you miss out on a couple of panels here and there, or, god forbid, an entire scene, but the story is more to your liking, that should be a good enough tradeoff.

Comments in the vein of "oh yes, I can not click and miss out on content" makes no sense to me... you are "missing out" on stuff you don't want in the first place, and the majority of the content is still to your tastes.
The game is not, and will never be, tailor made..no game ever is.. but the gaming experience near damn is, given how much control you have over what happens in the scenes.

 

[EmperorGus]

Hey so complete side note, I see you have Wicked Rouge in your sig line, can you keep the girls to yourself in that game? I was under the impression it was a prostitution game, I would of given it a chance if you could just keep the girls for you alone so that's why I ask. (I know, completely off topic, sorry)

You're correct that WR is a brothel management game. So, no, you can't keep them to yourself.
It doesn't register as NTR with me because they're consorts who work for you, not your girlfriends/wives/whatever.

...
Cynicaladm
I don't 100% agree with Cena here, but he does have a point.
Do you know how much development time will be spent on sharing content going forward? Because if this will be a heavy theme of the game, then its best for people who dislike this content to get out now or let a few updates in a row add up because those who dislike this content and disable it are only getting a 1/2 sized update if it will continue in the future.

While I'm not a game dev, I'm comfortable saying that if you're worried about how much of a dev's time is spent on content you don't like. It's not much of a factor.
Just from a CG standpoint... Think of all the renders in the game, not just the lewd renders. Each of those take time. In the grand scheme the 'sharing' renders you don't want to see are just a small portion.
Then there's writing the script.
Code work. Etc....

Even if 50% of the lewd renders are one's you don't want. That'd still only be a small portion of the total time put into making the VN. Out on a limb, I'd guess tops of 10%? Maybe?


Edit:
See post before this one.
Much better answer posted while I was typing

 

[The ArcKnight]

The extra renders that were relevant to that content were about 15 out of the 750 the update contained. Soooo about 2% of the total rendering time (which is the biggest time sink). So not exactly a lot.

Edit: In any case, it's not a quota to try and meet. There's not a defined goal of "each update should contain X amount of Y kink".
It all depends on the scene itself. If the scene allows for leaning into certain kinks (and that's not only relevant to sharing but other things as well), it might contain it. If not, then it's not there.
So trying to quantify things like that would probably be inherently misleading I'm afraid.

While I'm glad that there was little actual renders dedicated to that our of the update count, your edit does not fill me with optimism that portions of future updates wont have a significant amount of said sharing content. (Hence my thinking face rather then the good ole' thumbs up like I wanted to.)

I guess it would better to rephrase it as: Is sharing going to be a primary theme which will be revisited alot in Desert Stalker?

Obviously BDSM is a primary theme and so the chance of BDSM themed scenes will come up alot (yay!).

 

[Cynicaladm]

Was all other 735 renders were mc was just fucking girls
.....
Of course no
Mc in action would be also 15 or 20 renders

your arguments are invalid.. shut up and let the big boys talk.

 

[Echoesinthedarkness]

Idk where is this agenda that most fans dont like sharing scenes came from. I am completely on board for mc+masked wives in exchange for their decayed hubby+Ain and Shani action, that would be hot.

 

[Cynicaladm]

I guess it would better to rephrase it as: Is sharing going to be a primary theme which will be revisited alot in Desert Stalker?

Obviously BDSM is a primary theme and so the chance of BDSM themed scenes will come up alot (yay!).

my best answer to that is probably not/very unlikely. We have no intention for that to be the case. Does it mean it won't feature again?..no, it probably will.

on a different note.. you have obviously read my lengthy post where I go in depth on the scenes... and your sentiments on NTR are noted... can I get a feedback on those 3 scenes from you, now you know they exist and what they are about/how they play out? would you have disliked all 3 if you had encountered them organically in the game? (genuinely interested.. not asking to get any point across or anything like that)

 

[Paz]

I guess it would better to rephrase it as: Is sharing going to be a primary theme which will be revisited alot in Desert Stalker?

Obviously BDSM is a primary theme and so the chance of BDSM themed scenes will come up alot (yay!).

A primary theme as in "a significant amount of scenes tailored specifically for that content"? Almost certainly not.
Is there a chance that some scenes might lean on that again? Maybe, it's likely.

I'm not trying to lead you on by any means, but also don't want to pretend we have answers we actually don't. None of us can guarantee with certainty what scenes exactly will be in the game 3, 4 updates from now or even beyond.
But it's certainly not on the same level as BDSM.

I would rather equate it to the watersports content. There are a couple of scenes containing that where it's appropriate, but it doesn't mean that Zaton will eventually go around pissing on everyone's faces just because some of that content happens to exist in the game.

 

[Cynicaladm]

it doesn't mean that Zaton will eventually go around pissing everyone on their faces just because some of that content happens to exist in the game.

it's a damn shame, that's what it is!

 

[The ArcKnight]

the size is marginally relevant in terms of time spent on it... so far 14 panels have been drawn with content in that direction.. from a total of 720+ panels for that update.. so... do the maths (it's hot and I'm grumpy so I can't be arsed to do it for you ).
timewise, the variance really is not relevant because the variance is part of a scene that we need to plot and draw anyway, just a fraction of it. I take anything between 30minutes to 2 hours to write a scene when I'm in the saddle, so to speak, and more often than not Zetan himself writes the scenes he comes up with as he renders, so it really comes down to inspiration of the moment and drawing something he likes. You can remove the sharing part of a scene, but the scene is still there... you're missing out on a few panels and lines of dialogue WITHIN a scene, not on an entire scene, so the whole 50/50 thing is definitely not true.. I just agreed with it for the sake of debating the specifics of the scene.
I am not going to give you an estimate on how much production time will be "wasted" on scenes or panels you might end up not seeing, because I simply don't know, but I expect the overwhelming majority of the scenes are still going to be stuff you'll want to see. Will there be full scenes dedicated to something you don't want? it's possible but we don't know. We try to craft the best story that we can come up with and occasionally we might come up with new ideas or follow Z's inspiration of the moment.
We have no interest in disappointing the early players of the game, who we know like it for the general tone and vibe of the MC and content.. we are also not going to be limited by that very narrow motivation if we want to expand the story a little bit..and if it ends up including scenes that might be objectionable, they will, as always, be behind a lock, or simply be playable with the options for the player to manipulate events in a way they like.
Full on NTR is not something any of the devs are interested in...so I am fairly confident in saying that that won't happen. Adiacent themes such as sharing and such might..probably will, occasionally.

That said, I do resent a little that people should feel they get to have a say (I know it's not what you're doing, don't get me wrong), over how Z allocates his development time, especially since that time comes at the back of a 40 hours day job. I understand the reasoning of "if half the game is going to be crap, I'm out." and if you ever get that feeling, I will understand you bowing out... but we're not here to try and screw people over and I think we can all agree that so far we haven't let you down content-wise. Yes, player choices have consequences, and yes, applying half a braincell can lead you to the ones you as a player prefer...and if it does mean that you miss out on a couple of panels here and there, or, god forbid, an entire scene, but the story is more to your liking, that should be a good enough tradeoff.

Comments in the vein of "oh yes, I can not click and miss out on content" makes no sense to me... you are "missing out" on stuff you don't want in the first place, and the majority of the content is still to your tastes.
The game is not, and will never be, tailor made..no game ever is.. but the gaming experience near damn is, given how much control you have over what happens in the scenes.

It's hot and your grumpy, I fully understand it as the AC is on the otherside of the house from my master bedroom, so I feel you there.

Taken in the context of what you say here, I have little problem. If there is that little of the game development spent on "Objectionable kinks" then I should be fine with the vast majority of each update going towards scenes I personally would want to see. You do have to forgive people for not trusting Developers though, how many times have people scene games suddenly introduce "Objectionable kinks" and suddenly they've taken a huge spotlight in the game? You guy's don't deserve that though.

As for people feeling entitled to having an opinion... I mean, this is an internet forum for discussing the game.
If I didn't have an opinion, why the fuck would I be commenting? I'd just be like the mass of people who download and don't say a thing. I speak about the things in the game that I like and that I dislike to show the developer what one of the fans thinks of their work. Every player will advocate for the things they like.
Overall, I love the game, there are a few things I dislike and If you would be so kind as to NEVER DO THEM AGAIN, I would be appreciative! Do I expect you to tailor the game to me? Fuuuuuuuuck Noooooooooo! xD I'm just one dude expressing his opinion. I try not to be an asshole, but I am very blunt about what I like and what I don't. (The big colorful text is a joke, just so people don't understand.)

But If a lot of people are agreeing with said thing I didn't like? Then maybe its not just me.
As a developer, never completely throw out negative feedback, absolutely filter some if it if people are being trolls, but weigh the positive against the negative and sift through it to see what's useful and what's not.

Like I said, as you and Paz have explained, so far its a minor amount of content and will more then likely remain minor in future updates pending Zetan's inspiration, so that being the case, I'm in it for the next few updates.

 

[The ArcKnight]

I would rather equate it to the watersports content. There are a couple of scenes containing that where it's appropriate, but it doesn't mean that Zaton will eventually go around pissing on everyone's faces just because some of that content happens to exist in the game.

Thank gods!
But that is a good thing to equate it to in terms of scope and theme.

it's a damn shame, that's what it is!

See my earlier sick emoji!

 

[The ArcKnight]

on a different note.. you have obviously read my lengthy post where I go in depth on the scenes... and your sentiments on NTR are noted... can I get a feedback on those 3 scenes from you, now you know they exist and what they are about/how they play out? would you have disliked all 3 if you had encountered them organically in the game? (genuinely interested.. not asking to get any point across or anything like that)

I don't think my opinion on this would be useful to you as in my game I turned sharing content off as soon as the game asked me if I wanted to.

I dislike games where it feels like the only purpose of other male characters is to be a threat to me and my loved ones/fuck toys. I would love to have a male friendly character with their own love interest in a game who didn't just want to fuck/steal my Wife/sister/mother/daughter/sidepiece ect.

Had I encountered a male who wished me to share my love interest in this setting, I would murder them immediately. They obviously want what I have and in this setting its take what you want and fight to keep what you have. Any male who shows an interest is a potential rival, strike fast, hard, and first.

The Queen scene doesn't bother me as I am A-okay sharing with other women. I'm not a tyrant who would keep sex within the harem only to the MC, let the girls fuck each other, so long as they don't rob Zetan of his right of first taste for any new girls, its his by right after all and don't take lovers outside the harem but anyone MC can have, if she's bi, any of the girls IN the harem should be able to have as well or workout their own power dynamic ala basement scene.

The Queen though is a special case for how batshit she is shown to be by how she straight up barbeques the would be kidnapper. I'm glad he died but Fuuuuck it was brutal! I don't know where her story is going, which is why I had Shani not reciprocate in my game. I don't want the Queen to get the idea to take Shani as the queens personal concubine or something so I'm hedging my bets against future content. If it turns out you can get to the Queen through Shani and still preserve Shani's chastity for MC then I'll go back and redo the scene as I make a save for Every decision just in case.

Also, I would of loved for the queen to of given the female kidnapper to Shani as a "Reward for her valiant upholding of my laws" by the queen instead of just giving her to the guards. Would of been an interesting dynamic for Shani specifically to be given a girl as she wouldn't be MC's but Shani could "lend her out to daddy" every so often.....
too late now as no one wants used goods.

 

[Ragnar]

I would love to have a male friendly character with their own love interest in a game who didn't just want to fuck/steal my Wife/sister/mother/daughter/sidepiece ect.

This would open another can of worms.
- Why can't I fuck that girl? Why is best girl with that douchebag? and so on.
In Desert Stalker so long and as far as we know nobody can steal our women. Zaton is the one deciding what happens to them, always.
No point in discussing what's not there.

 

[Cynicaladm]

I don't think my opinion on this would be useful to you as in my game I turned sharing content off as soon as the game asked me if I wanted to.

I dislike games where it feels like the only purpose of other male characters is to be a threat to me and my loved ones/fuck toys. I would love to have a male friendly character with their own love interest in a game who didn't just want to fuck/steal my Wife/sister/mother/daughter/sidepiece ect.

Had I encountered someone who wished me to share my love interest in this setting, I would murder them immediately. They obviously want what I have and in this setting its take what you want and fight to keep what you have. Any male who shows an interest is a potential rival, strike fast, hard, and first.

understood.. not asking you to play through it.. I just thought you might have a specific opinion on the 3 scenes as detailed...on account of how they really are very different in the content an in how they approach the "objectionable" parts of it... but ok.. not going to press you on it
nice talking

 

[The ArcKnight]

understood.. not asking you to play through it.. I just thought you migh have a specific opinion on the 3 scenes as detailed...on account of how they really are very different in the content an in how they approach the "objectionable" parts of it... but ok.. not going to press you on it
nice talking

I edited that post to at least give you an opinion on the queen at least!

 

[The ArcKnight]

This would open another can of worms.
- Why can't I fuck that girl? Why is best girl with that douchebag? and so on.
In Desert Stalker so far and as long as we know nobody can steal our women. Zaton is the one deciding what happens to them, always.
No point in discussing what's not there.

That is completely fair, people would absolutely bitch about not being able to steal your best friend's girl.

 

[Ragnar]

That is completely fair, people would absolutely bitch about not being able to steal your best friend's girl.

Good thing the decayed concubines have face masks

 

[The ArcKnight]

Good thing the decayed concubines have face masks

There are a number of ways to take that, what do you mean?
Are you saying for MC to steal them away and replace them with any other hoe off the street and hope the decayed don't know?
That would be hilarious imo.

 

[Paz]

Good thing the decayed concubines have face masks

 

[Cynicaladm]

Also, I would of loved for the queen to of given the female kidnapper to Shani as a "Reward for her valiant upholding of my laws" by the queen instead of just giving her to the guards, too late now as no one wants used goods.

as a matter of fact, that's what she does with Emilia, the maid.
If you played the Fairy route and didn't get Emilia from the first encounter with the queen, after her meeting with Shani, she will send Emilia as a thank you for upholding the peace. Of course if you did have Emilia already, that's not the case... so.. yeah.. you could say that there are no big differences content-wise and choices don't matter.. but thematically and in context, they do... at least plot-wise.

 

[Cynicaladm]

View attachment 1252332

is there anything you're not into?