VN Ren'Py Abandoned Due Process [v0.3.6.0] [kivik]

[saintvermillion]

Seems he's gotten the ball rolling again which is good to see as I liked the idea and execution of this game (in terms of what he actually produced) but I'm worried by the scope he's planning. A whole system of exponential complexity just to ensure that saves don't need to be restarted during development, turned based combat, lore about gems that have attributes etc etc who gives a fuck? why not just continue the story? especially when development has already stalled to near death once already.

 

[Deleted member 609064]

I hope this game makes a comeback. Interesting premise.

 

[bacchusplateau]

I hope this game makes a comeback. Interesting premise.

If you check kivik's Patreon, he posted on September 2nd about redesigning the game because kivik had a roadblock with the current system. Unfortunately, radio silence since then. I'm with you, I really hope that this game makes a comeback though.

 

[joe powa]

A good ending where you are with catherine but she's note brainwashed and yoyr slave is possible ?

 

[bacchusplateau]

A good ending where you are with catherine but she's note brainwashed and yoyr slave is possible ?

No. That option isn't written in the game.

 

[Darin68]

sounds good, might check this out later

 

[c3p0]

So, now follows four of kivik patreon post.

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Hi everyone,
I hope you've all been safe during the pandemic, and that your family and love ones are safe. Things have certainly been crazy the last few months, and I thought 2019 was a bad year...
I can't believe how many of you have stuck around despite my lack of updates, you only have my truest appreciation. You guys clearly saw something in me that I've been struggling to see myself - but enough pessimism as it's not helping anything..
So I've gotten further with the game design, from mechanics to characters to story to the history of Violet City, but I've still been struggling to work on the coding side yet. So things are in writing, in the abstract, and I have some ideas of how to bring it to live, I just need to slowly rebuild my confidence with the development side.
Over the past few months, I've been putting side time to work on something, just anything to move the project forward. Being on lock down certainly gave me some time, even if I haven't utilised all my allotted time on the game.
Well, in terms of things that I can share, the fruits of my labour, I have character renders. I've restarted multiple times as I've just not been happy with the results. But after playing the amazing Disco Elysium, I finally found some inspirations in terms of what I can do in terms of presentation.
Instead of using the same light settings on all characters, which reveals flaws in the assets, I've decided to finally use different lighting to bring out the characters' best features.
And so I bring you the first of many posts I will be publishing in the coming days.
As the game will have a "heist" element to it now, it comes with "operative" characters. These are characters that you can recruit and go on missions with. In time you'll be able to develop relationships with them, which will influence their performance and attitude during heist missions.
After arranging, rendering and tinkering in photoshop for the last few months, I finally feel like I've got something that I'm actually happy with sharing. And so I'd like to introduce Nova and Apex above.
Nova specialises in infiltration and making shit burn. Apex is especially adapted at getaway driving. Of course they'll both aid your missions in various capacities as well to give missions greater variety.
Hi everyone,
I hope you've all been safe during the pandemic, and that your family and love ones are safe. Things have certainly been crazy the last few months, and I thought 2019 was a bad year...
I can't believe how many of you have stuck around despite my lack of updates, you only have my truest appreciation. You guys clearly saw something in me that I've been struggling to see myself - but enough pessimism as it's not helping anything..
So I've gotten further with the game design, from mechanics to characters to story to the history of Violet City, but I've still been struggling to work on the coding side yet. So things are in writing, in the abstract, and I have some ideas of how to bring it to live, I just need to slowly rebuild my confidence with the development side.
Over the past few months, I've been putting side time to work on something, just anything to move the project forward. Being on lock down certainly gave me some time, even if I haven't utilised all my allotted time on the game.
Well, in terms of things that I can share, the fruits of my labour, I have character renders. I've restarted multiple times as I've just not been happy with the results. But after playing the amazing Disco Elysium, I finally found some inspirations in terms of what I can do in terms of presentation.
Instead of using the same light settings on all characters, which reveals flaws in the assets, I've decided to finally use different lighting to bring out the characters' best features.
And so I bring you the first of many posts I will be publishing in the coming days.
As the game will have a "heist" element to it now, it comes with "operative" characters. These are characters that you can recruit and go on missions with. In time you'll be able to develop relationships with them, which will influence their performance and attitude during heist missions.
After arranging, rendering and tinkering in photoshop for the last few months, I finally feel like I've got something that I'm actually happy with sharing. And so I'd like to introduce Nova and Apex above.
Nova specialises in infiltration and making shit burn. Apex is especially adapted at getaway driving. Of course they'll both aid your missions in various capacities as well to give missions greater variety.

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Today I'm bringing you a couple of familiar faces. The new Catherine and Karen.
Personality wise they'll be mostly the same, Catherine will be the easy going girl and Karen the uptight scientist. Their relationship with you however will be very different.
Karen is now an uneasy ally with your mission. She's still focused on creating mind control technologies, using the secret resources available within Violet City. You meet each other at the start of the game as she recruits you to steal some valuable crystals for her research (funded by a mega corporate). As you fail your mission, you both need to help each other realise your goals.
You'll notice Karen's sporting a newer hairstyle that has much better texture, and comes with the colour I wanted out the box.
Catherine on the other hand is no longer the first volunteer for Karen's experiment. She's still connected to Karen through a family friend, but it will take longer before she becomes entangled in the story.
She may look a bit different as I've put a much better quality skin on her that I feel brings her to life a bit more.

You'll have noticed that I've added foreground and background elements to the new character profiles. I've not completely decided on the presentation of the characters in game yet but I'm considering "cards" as part of the presentation, since under the hood a lot of mechanics will likely have a card game approach to it.
This approach will allow me to fully embrace the background and foreground design you see above that brings additional personality to the characters, and I don't have to worry about characters looking off when they're onscreen together with different lighting.
The down side is this would further move the game away from a Visual Novel style, but I haven't got a solid idea of how I'd present character interacts in various locations, however it's very possible that a lot of dialogue interactions will happen over video calls, which could leave all in person interactions cut scene driven.
I'm not sure yet.

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Can't believe I hadn't noticed that upon re-texturing Catherine that her eye colours had changed. I've felt for a while that she looked odd and couldn't place my fingers on it, so thanks for rmover87 for pointing out where I went wrong!

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At the beginning of the game, you'll be restricted into a part of Violet City as you await your trial for stealing from a corporate facility. This district naturally attracts a lot of seedier activities and a more lively night scene.
You'll be able to meet Ava the barmaid from one of the underground bars, where you'll be able to mingle with other patrons whose work may align with yours.
One of these patrons is Ruth, a PI whose clientele are exclusively looking for information on the wrong side of the law.

 

[Futuredark]

Never took off the alerts I've had for this thread since the 1.x releases in the all-too-optimistic hopes it might get picked up again. In my opinion, there are few projects I've seen here more worthy of a revival. If you drop back in to see this, keep up the good work. You definitely still have fans ready to see what comes next.

 

[Chili Dog]

He should have just finished this game and then made all the new characters, plots and scenes in the sequel.
Why? Because then he would have started building a reputation as a creator that can deliver a finished game.
As it stands, he's gone and made all these grand plans but I wouldn't be surprised if he stops part of the way through just like he did with this one.

 

[kaiten]

He should have just finished this game and then made all the new characters, plots and scenes in the sequel.
Why? Because then he would have started building a reputation as a creator that can deliver a finished game.
As it stands, he's gone and made all these grand plans but I wouldn't be surprised if he stops part of the way through just like he did with this one.

You're not wrong on this, but if you take into account the dev's self admitted workflow issues, maybe refreshing the game is just the kick he needs to get back into it and become a consistent developer. I find I have problems finishing projects that don't grip me and bringing in a fresh approach makes things interesting enough to get me through the tedium.

 

[c3p0]

He should have just finished this game and then made all the new characters, plots and scenes in the sequel.
Why? Because then he would have started building a reputation as a creator that can deliver a finished game.
As it stands, he's gone and made all these grand plans but I wouldn't be surprised if he stops part of the way through just like he did with this one.

Short answer: No.

Regardless if it's small hobbyist project or has a triple-A company behind it is normal that some project are stop during development. In the "worst" case even if the project is fully done and only marketing/sales is missing.

Yet we have her a hobbyist project and most of the dev whant to have a project they can be committed to it. If their ideas or vision change then they should - only my view of things - change the project so that it fits their new new ideas or vision. Otherwise in you have often a so-so fininished project and can cleary see when the dev has losen his committment and only do it to not dissapoint his patreons or fans.

 

[c3p0]

Next kivik posts:

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Every city inhabits powerful people, and the upper echelon of Violet City includes people like business mogul Ashia Khan and Mayor Paige Thompson.
Khan is a popular figure in the city, as her father had major parts in the city's development projects. There are lots of buzz around her campaign to replace Paige in the upcoming mayor election, and bring independence to Violet City.
Thompson has served as mayor for two years, who has brought in huge corporate interest with her relaxed tax laws. She's been popular with many citizens for bringing in thousands of high paying jobs, but unpopular with others for creating a massive wealth divide and increased crime rate.
You'll unlikely meet these characters in person, especially at the beginning of the game, but they will be powerful figures that has stakes in the type of activity you'll be undertaking throughout your time in the city.

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Your main story-arc is that you're awaiting due process for your crime of stealing from a corporate facility, and with it comes the law element of the city.
Here we have Olivia, a defense lawyer representing your case. She's been hired by Karen's bosses to help you escape jail time, as well as keeping taps on you that you won't be exposing the works and interests from her main clients.
Meanwhile we have Joyce, a cop who has an unusual among of interest to uncover who you tried to steal the assets for. Stationed at the district you're restricted in, she'll be keeping her eyes on you every opportunity she has.

 

[Rosen King]

I wasn't able to read all of that, but the main thing I'm wondering is whether the rebooted game will still be about brainwashing women, or is it something completely different now?

 

[c3p0]

And next one:

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You were hired by special interest because of your reputation for your skills in "asset transportation", as well as your lack of affiliation to the denizens of Violet City. Yet your experience in your professional didn't prepare you for what the city had to bring, in the form of Super Heroines.
You will meet one of these two unknown vigilantes at the start of the game, which leads to your arrest and subsequent situation in the city. Little is known about them besides the odd rumours in the underworld.
They will continue to foil future missions if you're not careful, and one of your many quests should be to uncover their identities.

And more:

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Violet City is a dangerous place for people in the "alternative" businesses, with enemies in form of law enforcers and vigilantes. Luckily you will find allies as well from the likes of Dina and Leonie.
Dina is a fence who can move certain assets you alleviate from various private entities, as well as supplying you with resources others are trying to move in the sector.
Leonie is a mechanic who specialises in custom tools and assets that the average denizen never have needs for. She can repair and modify your equipment for a price.

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Let's revisit operatives characters that you can recruit, here are Gambit and Karma, both thieves who love risks and live on the edge.
Gambit specialises in digital assets, and she's well prepared with her various gadgets, leaving little to no digital footprint behind. Her smarts will also come in handy in the planning stages.
Karma on the other hand is a thrill seeker who particularly enjoy stealing from the rich. She spends almost as much as she steals, and is well connected to finding your next mark.

 

[c3p0]

Bump. I don't understand what this game will be about now ? And will there be tactic again or will it become a VN ?

Don't know it either. For me it seems that the dev has reached a point where he wasn't happy with the game anymore or couldn't think of a way to continue the story.
And I'm more happy with a dev that do what he likes than one that only do a game for his patreon.

And now, more post from kivik:

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It's not always possible to stay undetected in your line of work, and muscles certain help in many situations. Cobra and Falcon have you covered.
Cobra retired early from her spec-op background, and now takes on certain missions that lend themselves to firearm utiltisation. She may be quiet on the topic, but her choice of missions definitely lend heavily against corporate with military dealings.
Falcon meanwhile graduated from street thug to hired muscle, and seems to seek out violence wherever she goes, including but not exclusive to hits against the city gangs and crime bosses.

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Successful missions rely on a good balance of brains and brawn, Blink and Loop here are all too happy to provide that.
Blink, blinded since birth, is ironically the best at being eyes on your missions. Using her neural implants and access to various surveillance systems, she can help you navigate in the shadows, all the way from her hideout.
Loop is your classic hacker, programmer, gamer, who helps you from remote locations. Get her connected to a network and she can do her magic in between her CS:GO matches. Outside active missions, she's also valuable help with decrypting digital assets and creating custom software for your needs.

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To avoid giving out spoilers, and due to the fact that I haven't fully mapped out everyone's backstory yet, the final character renders update will just be the current full characters sheet. I'll likely go back to refine a few of the characters, but I'm stopping here for now.
In the long run, it'd be nice to be able to get hot and sexy with everyone, but that's simply not feasible at the start. So my plan is to focus on your relationship with the operatives (bottom two rows and 5 right columns) and a few selective NPCs (to have more POC choices).
The playable characters will be in silhouette form I think, due to the complexity and exponential growth of necessary renders. I will however be keeping the option for gender and genital options for representations.
One area I'm curious about is whether the characters should have sexual preferences that limits your intimacy opportunities. Of course as a mind control themed game, there would be a mechanic to unlock these opportunities down the line.
The obvious problem is how this may come across as "Conversion Therapy" which I absolutely do not agree with. My LGBT friend who's very experienced with H-games said to just make everyone pan, but I feel it limits narrative opportunities, and it doesn't really give great LGBT representation.
So currently I'm thinking of using a disclaimer to firmly state the "fantasy" nature of the game, but I'd be interested in your thoughts!

 

[Obsidion69]

Well it certainly seems like Kivik is expanding the crap out of the game to try to give it more depth. Hopefully he doesn't ruin it in the process. That said I agree with c3p0 on it's better for a dev to make what they want than just doing it for the money cause as a dev myself I can speak to the fact you're more likely to do good work and see it through to the end if you like the project rather than just doing it for a buck. Eitherway I think we can safely take the abandoned tag off this thread since he's active on patreon again and his billing is starting up again in October.

 

[bacchusplateau]

Well it certainly seems like Kivik is expanding the crap out of the game to try to give it more depth. Hopefully he doesn't ruin it in the process. That said I agree with c3p0 on it's better for a dev to make what they want than just doing it for the money cause as a dev myself I can speak to the fact you're more likely to do good work and see it through to the end if you like the project rather than just doing it for a buck. Eitherway I think we can safely take the abandoned tag off this thread since he's active on patreon again and his billing is starting up again in October.

As per site rules (?) or maybe just past precedent, but the Abandoned tag will probably get removed when kivik first releases a game/demo.

 

[Obsidion69]

As per site rules (?) or maybe just past precedent, but the Abandoned tag will probably get removed when kivik first releases a game/demo.

As I recall the rule is no activity here or on patreon for 3 months gets marked abandoned. Clearly the latter isn't true anymore with a dozen posts in the last 2 weeks explaining the inactivity, plans for the future, and their page showing it's gonna start accepting funding again in 2 months. That said I wouldn't blame them for waiting til there's a new release.

 

[UnDeaD_CyBorG]

The rule is when it gets marked abandoned.
I'm not even sure if there are rules for it being unmarked, but it's probably not when someone says he's working on it again.
Unless, I assume, he/she tells it here, and tells someone able to un-mark it.

 

[Rosen King]

I mean, there's also the fact that it sounds like it's more of a reboot than a revival, and may even be a completely different game that just happens to have the same name. When it does release, it might make more sense to make a separate thread for it and call it "Due Process (Reboot)" or something, depending on just how different it is.