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

[fixrapid]

There is no notification (exclamation mark) on the basement icon after saving Kyra, but it should be as this is the main quest. (quest: "Friends in low places", objective: "See her in the basement")

Spoiler: screenshot

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It would also be nice to have one on the Dining Room and the Common Rooms icons when Emilia is about to be introduced

 

[Cynicaladm]

There is no notification (exclamation mark) on the basement icon after saving Kyra, but it should be as this is the main quest. (quest: "Friends in low places", objective: "See her in the basement")

Spoiler: screenshot

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It would also be nice to have one on the Dining Room and the Common Rooms icons when Emilia is about to be introduced

that's on purpose... between the black banner hint, the quest log and the icon activating, we feel it's enough of a hint on how to proceed. We mark quest starters.. and the rest is mostly done via quest log.

 

[fixrapid]

well it's up to you
but if you advance quest "Friends in low places" to "She has a point" you'll get the notification on Basement icon...

 

[Kellermann]

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Dev update 06.06.2021 + Announcement

View attachment 1232777

Part 1: Announcement

Hello everyone, I hope you're having a nice Sunday.

I am taking this opportunity to make an announcement with regards to general development before we go to the usual dev update.

The support for this project has been climbing steadily over the past updates, and I am very thankful for that. Over time I have come to the realization that I lack one very important resource if I want to remain consistent in both pacing and quality of the work, which is an adequate work/life balance.

The way it is now, it's more work/work juggling, than any semblance of balance. A 40h a week job makes it nearly impossible to not be seriously stressed out by the time a scheduled release date comes around. The simple time constraints limit my ability to experiment and improve on the things I would really like to try to do for the game.

0.05 has been the biggest update yet and has shown me this: if not for the help received by Paz, who almost singlehandedly reworked the entire UI of the game, and Cynical, who helped with script reading, playtesting and plot development advice, (not to mention the kind help of several of you who assisted with further editing), this release would have taken a non insignificant number of weeks longer to develop than it took.

Two concurrent solutions to these problems present themselves:

1) Hardware: I will start looking for a new, dedicated PC, to increase rendering efficiency and capacity. Your support has reached a level where allocating the money for it has become possible.

2) I have set myself a target for the end of this year, that target being switching my day job to a 20 hours part-time commitment in order to free more time for game development and production. For this to become a realistic plan, I hope that Desert Stalker will become a project that is financially viable, capable of standing on it's own legs, generating enough revenue to take care of both my fixed expenses (basic rent and such) and allow for further investment in the tools necessary to continuously improve the quality of the game.

I will still care for the project either way, but reaching that ambitious target would certainly improve matters for the game and how I approach it.

Turning this hobby into something more is both more exciting and challenging than my current day job, so I'm really stoked to give it a try. There is however no realistic way to know for how long the project will be able to captivate your interest and that of new players and supporters, so this decision must be made with caution in mind, which is why I will take this long a time to make it.

This is not a call for more support and I am not making any requests. I'm just being up front with the thoughts that come with developing the game and making it the best it can become in a sustainable way.

To help me make that decision and to be fully transparent with you about the actual numbers involved, I will make my DS related earnings public, at least until the end of the year.

Thank you for reading!

Part 2: Dev update

We are starting off development 0.06 in a different direction this time. The last release was focused outwards, developing the factions and setting the stage for the main story to both progress and allow the context to generate side quests.

This time we will be looking inwards, focusing on the home front, generating repeatable situations and meaningful conversations at home. This will provide some character development and expand on the relationship between characters. Some of the side quests that are part of establishing the general setting will possibly also feature in the next release. We plan for a shorter release schedule this time.

Lastly, a big thank you again for the interest and support for this game. Have a great Sunday, and until next week.

Progress:
Home interactions: 5%
Scene A: 0%
Scene B: 0%
Scene C: 0%
Scene D: 0%
(...)

I like this. I'm happy to hear that the next episode will focus on the home front. You don't want to expand the cast of characters and locations too rapidly, so I think this temporary shift in focus is a smart move. The MC's home offers a nice change of pace from the dungeon crawling desert adventures and the interactions with the household are always excellent. Adding repeatable events is a great idea that really makes the home life seem more dynamic. I think it's safe to say that Shani and Ain are the game's two fan favourites, so a lot of people will be excited to play the next episode.

 

[myuhinny]

Shani Kateryna Ivy Mandisa and the queen are the hottest ones in the game followed by fangs the twins the one guard is pretty hot and then Ain. Hope there will be some Shani queen fun time.

Some of the script might need tweaking as one spot I closed the game and when I loaded any save file Shani's name was shown as none instead of Shani. I had to go back to a old save right before introductions and pick her name again and then load a save before her name was back to Shani in the saves.

 

[ss23312]

cant wait for this to be complete.

 

[Paz]

Some of the script might need tweaking as one spot I closed the game and when I loaded any save file Shani's name was shown as none instead of Shani. I had to go back to a old save right before introductions and pick her name again and then load a save before her name was back to Shani in the saves.

Hmmm, this should not happen at all since the names are stored separately of the saves themselves (they are persistent data). Did the game somehow not close properly after setting the names for the first time?
That said, I'll look into making it more robust (and maybe add the option to set/reset names at all times).

 

[Kellermann]

Hmmm, this should not happen at all since the names are stored separately of the saves themselves (they are persistent data). Did the game somehow not close properly after setting the names for the first time?
That said, I'll look into making it more robust (and maybe add the option to set/reset names at all times).

I like that idea. I think it would be cool to temporarily give the ladies pet names, but still be able to change it back. Or even better, give them pet names in addition to the real names with the option to use the pet names only while at the home.

 

[BigDaddyDom]

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Dev update 06.06.2021 + Announcement

View attachment 1232777

Part 1: Announcement

Hello everyone, I hope you're having a nice Sunday.

I am taking this opportunity to make an announcement with regards to general development before we go to the usual dev update.

The support for this project has been climbing steadily over the past updates, and I am very thankful for that. Over time I have come to the realization that I lack one very important resource if I want to remain consistent in both pacing and quality of the work, which is an adequate work/life balance.

The way it is now, it's more work/work juggling, than any semblance of balance. A 40h a week job makes it nearly impossible to not be seriously stressed out by the time a scheduled release date comes around. The simple time constraints limit my ability to experiment and improve on the things I would really like to try to do for the game.

0.05 has been the biggest update yet and has shown me this: if not for the help received by Paz, who almost singlehandedly reworked the entire UI of the game, and Cynical, who helped with script reading, playtesting and plot development advice, (not to mention the kind help of several of you who assisted with further editing), this release would have taken a non insignificant number of weeks longer to develop than it took.

Two concurrent solutions to these problems present themselves:

1) Hardware: I will start looking for a new, dedicated PC, to increase rendering efficiency and capacity. Your support has reached a level where allocating the money for it has become possible.

2) I have set myself a target for the end of this year, that target being switching my day job to a 20 hours part-time commitment in order to free more time for game development and production. For this to become a realistic plan, I hope that Desert Stalker will become a project that is financially viable, capable of standing on it's own legs, generating enough revenue to take care of both my fixed expenses (basic rent and such) and allow for further investment in the tools necessary to continuously improve the quality of the game.

I will still care for the project either way, but reaching that ambitious target would certainly improve matters for the game and how I approach it.

Turning this hobby into something more is both more exciting and challenging than my current day job, so I'm really stoked to give it a try. There is however no realistic way to know for how long the project will be able to captivate your interest and that of new players and supporters, so this decision must be made with caution in mind, which is why I will take this long a time to make it.

This is not a call for more support and I am not making any requests. I'm just being up front with the thoughts that come with developing the game and making it the best it can become in a sustainable way.

To help me make that decision and to be fully transparent with you about the actual numbers involved, I will make my DS related earnings public, at least until the end of the year.

Thank you for reading!

Part 2: Dev update

We are starting off development 0.06 in a different direction this time. The last release was focused outwards, developing the factions and setting the stage for the main story to both progress and allow the context to generate side quests.

This time we will be looking inwards, focusing on the home front, generating repeatable situations and meaningful conversations at home. This will provide some character development and expand on the relationship between characters. Some of the side quests that are part of establishing the general setting will possibly also feature in the next release. We plan for a shorter release schedule this time.

Lastly, a big thank you again for the interest and support for this game. Have a great Sunday, and until next week.

Progress:
Home interactions: 5%
Scene A: 0%
Scene B: 0%
Scene C: 0%
Scene D: 0%
(...)

It's a crime that unique games like this with excellent writing, gameplay, immersive worlds, strong renders, and hardworking devs have such few patrons. Meanwhile mediocre games producing one damn tiny update a year are raking in $8000 a month

It's all about advertising - producing more signatures for fans to use, posting periodically in the Daz threads, and advertising on other forums will drum up more interest for the game!

 

[JaxMan]

I'm going to sound pretty dense, but there have been mentions of several females that I don't remember and I've played through several times. Who are Emilia, Mandisa and the twins? Where do you encounter them? Could be I just skim over the names when reading through some dialogue, but I figure I would have noticed new female characters.

 

[Paz]

I'm going to sound pretty dense, but there have been mentions of several females that I don't remember and I've played through several times. Who are Emilia, Mandisa and the twins? Where do you encounter them? Could be I just skim over the names when reading through some dialogue, but I figure I would have noticed new female characters.

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[JaxMan]

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Thanks

 

[Paz]

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Thanks

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[Mr. Mosaic]

this game seems to hit the spot, any similar games like this??

 

[Bruno3]

do you guys know approx. next update time, been a while for me since i played it

 

[Cynicaladm]

the last one dropped roughly 1-2 weeks ago.. so.. no, we don't have a date yet.

 

[Bruno3]

I probably missed the last update then which is odd cuz i always pay attention to latest updates

 

[Misosoc]

How do we trigger the "death till we part" quest? Can't seem to get to discuss the map with Shani.

 

[JaxMan]

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I never got that option later so I must of choose incorrectly at that point too.

 

[TurkeyDinosaur]

I'm stuck with "Her Majesty" wait for her new task, it's been quite a few days and nothing has changed? Also, on "Till death do us part" I can't show the map to Shani I can only workout with her and nothing else... what am I missing?
Everything else is showing as done (well, to be continued).