Ren'Py Desert Stalker [v0.19.4] [Zetan]

[Flowing Thought]

I've never seen a game that does reworks of old content that I felt like was a good use of time and effort.

 

[muschi26]

Still petitioning for Reyna and bandit girl comeback.

 

[GetOutOfMyLab]

I've never seen a game that does reworks of old content that I felt like was a good use of time and effort.

Maybe not to someone who has already played and/or doesn't intend to replay, but it will matter to the dev who is about to launch on Steam... where that first impression could affect the success of the game.

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When you look at older renders compared to new renders, it's like night and day. The lighting, camera angles, and poses have all been improved to match the newer parts of the game.

 

[X|Mortis]

hope he is a slave owner and we get to snatch his slave from him

Could be a rework of the slave owner scene we saw in previous versions perhaps....

 

[GetOutOfMyLab]

Could be a rework of the slave owner scene we saw in previous versions perhaps....

 

[X|Mortis]

look at older renders compared to new renders, it's like night and day. The lighting, camera angles, and poses have all been improved to match the newer parts of the game

Yeah, those were the elements that struck me the most. The lighting especially gives it that real cinematic appeal which makes for a more immersive viewing experience. Whereas the previous renders sort of had this "glossy/low saturated look" look to it that didn't appear as sharp/finely detailed as the scenes do in the newer renders per-se.....

The poses look a lot more refined I have to say and really showcase Shani's acrobatic capabilities in much more expressive manner I would say...

 

[GetOutOfMyLab]

Dont know what the quality of art has to do with anything whether the game gets a green light on Steam or not.
I would think its rather about how controversial it is or extreme, like some illegal stuff, if you dont follow their rules, not the aesthetics.

Not about the green light to go on Steam, but player's initial perception of the game that would be reflected in reviews, refund requests, etc.

 

[X|Mortis]

Dont know what the quality of art has to do with anything whether the game gets a green light on Steam or not.
I would think its rather about how controversial it is or extreme, like some illegal stuff, if you dont follow their rules, not the aesthetics.

My understanding is that it's probably less about the art, and moreso about the depiction of certain characters and the extent/level of debauchery on lewd acts performed upon them. Prepubescent characters that are displayed in such a regard concerning their body type and other aspects of their model, will certainly not allow for Steam to green light such games, as is the case with Patreon on that very same matter.

As a content creator you have to tread a very fine line on what topics/themes that your game is touching upon, otherwise its back to the drawing board for you when you want to get certain games green-lit on highly regulated gaming distribution and hosting platforms like Steam.

 

[Mxiio]

Does this have an alternative title on Steam, wanna wishlist this asap but can't find it

 

[GetOutOfMyLab]

Does this have an alternative title on Steam, wanna wishlist this asap but can't find it

It's not on Steam yet. Planned for Q4 this year.

 

[X|Mortis]

Does this have an alternative title on Steam, wanna wishlist this asap but can't find it

Not to my knowledge, no alternative title exists.... others can chime in if I am mistaken, but AFAIK DS hasn't yet been greenlit to be featured on Steam just yet.

 

[X|Mortis]

that does reworks of old content that I felt like was a good use of time and effort

I generally agree with your POV. Some devs end up doing too much that it ends up being too repetitive/cyclical where one would question whether those reworks necessitated the need for dev time and resources to be assigned to be worked on, when those resources could have been used for other aspects of the game. E.g., advancing the main plot or storyline narrative.

But that might moreso be the case for devs who get caught up in the vicious cycle of analysis paralysis so to speak. I don't see that reality being a huge concern with Zaton here (fingers crossed) IMHO.

In that, from a dev POV you spend a good chunk of developer resources reworking scenes, polishing up previous events, dialogues, reworking character model renders/bodily shapes, and other misc rework initiatives that gobble up a significant portion of dev time (not to mention the backlog of other tasks needing to be attended to in the dev backlog). E.g., advancing the plot and main story elements that would constitute the need for a significant content update.

I guess, really once we see 0.17 in action and play through the game from scratch, we can do our own mini-cross comparison to see (i.e., from a cost vs benefits perspective), were the reworks of old content substantial enough that made it worth the wait or not. We will have to see, but both my gut feeling and heart says yes, it will be absolutely worth the wait. But once pencil goes to paper, and we see things in real-time from our gaming purview, then that will reveal the devil in the details more conclusively.

 

[X|Mortis]

Btw, out of curiosity, what do y'all think about the following soundtrack from the Mummy movie?

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Obviously copyright issues ofc, and the current soundtrack suits the Zetan marketplace environment well, but just hypothetically speaking, I feel like this soundtrack would fit in really nicely in the markets of Zeta, for example, when Zeton visits Omar and his family, and the street outside Omar's home is filled with merchants and other peddlers looking to sell various wares to Zeton and his family in the hustle and bustle of the city...it would fit nicely me thinks....

 

[Mxiio]

Btw, out of curiosity, what do y'all think about the following soundtrack from the Mummy movie?

You must be registered to see the links

Obviously copyright issues ofc, and the current soundtrack suits the Zetan marketplace environment well, but just hypothetically speaking, I feel like this soundtrack would fit in really nicely in the markets of Zeta, for example, when Zeton visits Omar and his family, and the street outside Omar's home is filled with merchants and other peddlers looking to sell various wares to Zeton and his family in the hustle and bustle of the city...it would fit nicely me thinks....

View attachment 3967152

I kind of think its' annoying to be honest. Maybe this

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, royalty free too. The one called At the Bazar seems somewhat similar I guess?

 

[X|Mortis]

kind of think its' annoying to be honest

Oh yeah true, I see your point on that. Might come off as too obnoxious or unpalatable for some listeners, because of the different musical instruments being conveyed in the track....seems a little too repetitive as well to be looped in the game and might come off as too distracting.

Maybe this

You must be registered to see the links

, royalty free too. The one called At the Bazar seems somewhat similar I guess

These tracks are pretty nice! Yeah, some of them are quite suitable indeed. At the Bazaar is really nice to listen to. Definitely see that fitting for the Zetan markets/street bazaars

 

[Machete]

Maybe not to someone who has already played and/or doesn't intend to replay, but it will matter to the dev who is about to launch on Steam... where that first impression could affect the success of the game.

When you look at older renders compared to new renders, it's like night and day. The lighting, camera angles, and poses have all been improved to match the newer parts of the game.

I agree with you on this. The problem is not the rework tendency. The problem is us players who start playing a game before it had the 'complete' tag. It's a habit we should force ourself to lose.

 

[GetOutOfMyLab]

I agree with you on this. The problem is not the rework tendency. The problem is us players who start playing a game before it had the 'complete' tag. It's a habit we should force ourself to lose.

I don't mind it for DS because we're still getting new content and the game is progressing forward. It's understandable that people are skeptical about reworks since so many devs who do them don't seem to do so in the most efficient way... but I think Zetan is doing it right and from what I've seen from previews and the things he's shown me privately, I think the game will be better for it.

 

[Machete]

but I think Zetan is doing it right

It's his project. He should feel free to run it the way he deems the best and if he wants to remake his early steps with now years of experience, by all means he should. Mine is a general consideration. Starting to play an ongoing game might well mean to wait several years to see the end of it, if ever. And the chances are not great, with the abandonment rate.
I just prefer not to start playing games which are not completed already, now.

 

[xapican]

I don't mind it for DS because we're still getting new content and the game is progressing forward. It's understandable that people are skeptical about reworks since so many devs who do them don't seem to do so in the most efficient way... but I think Zetan is doing it right and from what I've seen from previews and the things he's shown me privately, I think the game will be better for it.

Of course, and adding to the melodie, machete already mentioned, I should really not take it as an attack to the game or the Dev himself, when sombody mentions, you are right, so many remakes and reworks failed, that it is comprensible people are skeptical,

 

[Leinad_Sevla]

Exactly.

Merneith is at the same time cute and a complete psycho, but in a different way than the raider sisters.
She's in her own way more level headed and of course also much more powerful.

Abrax also has some duality, but I think in his case, his humanity is more of a shadow of his past rather than something he might increase in the future.

Therefore it should be easier for Zaton to steer Merneith towards a lighter path, compared to Abrax. Plus of course that the Decayed as a faction is pure evil, even if their leader might not be completely evil. Zeta also has it's problems but it tries to build some kind of civilization.

Well put.

Merneith psycho side seems to be more a mask that she wears but doesn´t really want to. She even tells Zaton that, that she doesn´t really want to those things but as a ruler she feels like she has to, to show she has the capacity to rule and also to dissuade potential candidates to overthrow her. The raiders psycho side seems more genuine because they grew up in the wild, so they had to be like that. That´s why I think with Merneith you have a choice to either make her a benevolent ruler or a vicious one, but not really both. AS for the raiders, they never really lose the psycho aspect, particularly Kyra, we just use that to our advantage (like when dealing with rival raiders or when we get the wild sex scenes with them).

Abrax still has some humanity from his human years, but unless there is a cure or he is a special case somehow, that will eventually fade.