VN Ren'Py Abandoned Ecchi Sensei [Day 22-23 Final] [BlueCat]

[AnimeKing314]

You're not getting it. what you're saying might be true for an actual game. but this is using ren'py. there may be thousands of lines of code "which there should not be that much since more lines of codes > more bugs, optimization is required to make these code stripts lesser and lesser. Longer codes does not equal to a better game"

No you're not getting it. Ren'py is a wrapper for python that takes care of a lot of the basic bullshit for you but if you want to actually do anything with it then you're making custom python code. Mechanics such as the phone and the bios which are broken right now rely on actual coding not just pre-built baby's first coding ren'py libraries. Add in that they're adding sandbox elements into the merge which is a whole other can of worms plus all the other issues they're trying to fix and you can see why it would take so long. The fact that they were nearly ready before this team member got sick is quite the feat.

It very well can be done. simply because if you played the game you can realise a few things. This game is using generic ren'py asset library. no custom UI is present no additional game mechanics are there. so give me all the assets of this game "Pictures, scenes, plot and texts all of which already there." And give me 5k$ per month patreon money, I can hire a guy for 3k$ or something for a month, whom speciality is Ren'py. He can create the game from scratch using texts and images very well in a month. and then If I wish, I can just kick him or make him a permanent member of the team. also, I dont have to hire the guy in the first place, I can just give the work to a freelancer or something which will redice the cost. I mean, I can give you a thousands of reasons why this game could be merged in a month and why the "a core member is sick" joke is nonsense.

The thing with ren'py is, devs don't waste time on coding and developing, all they focus on is creating scenes and characters in HS or any other program/game and importing them into the re'py and adding texts. translating them creating a plot etc. it's like writing a book hence the name "visual novel".

What you're talking about is a featureless game but there are any number of features being added/fixed (described above) which is what distinguishes most ren'py games. If you think you can do better then go ahead and do it. Prove it to us with actions not words. Make your own game and see if comes even close to as good as this one.

 

[mythril0101]

Mechanics such as the phone and the bios which are broken right now rely on actual coding not just pre-built baby's first coding ren'py libraries.

I mentioned these phone and other assets, they're in WIP for years now. all you've said is true but you need to see, the game doesn't have any of these assets. the only thing we can talk about is phone, and they have been "trying" to implement that phone for years and it's UI is shite and buggy as hell. the rest and main part of the game is pre-built baby's first coding ren'py libraries. The reason why every merge is talking so frakking long and why there's a merge in the first place is the coding in this game imo. Because there are no big assets to speak of besides ren'py libraries. they tried phone and some other stuff that are still in WIP and suck at them massively. maybe that's why they're still in WIP and not being worked on.

What you're talking about is a featureless game but there are any number of features being added/fixed (described above) which is what distinguishes most ren'py games. If you think you can do better then go ahead and do it. Prove it to us with actions not words. Make your own game and see if comes even close to as good as this one.

There're no features to speak of literally. but if they're adding features in this merge, sure I can understand some delay. But I highly doubt they're. Dude, why are you challenging me to do that? I already praised the game. the game plot, the chracters is what makes a ren'py game a game. I can't pull a story and characters like this game out of my ass. The game is awesome, sure it could be much much much more at the hands of a better dev but can't complain about that. The issue here is dev giving half ass excuses and not giving updates on progress at all. But I sure as shit can take some screenshots, copy text from lorem ipsum and make a ren'py game in a month "I don't know in weeks even" where you just skip through text while background changes and I could add few choices that won't matter. it's all basic ren'py stuff that probably won't require any coding. and I am not saying this to make it sound like I am oh-so IT guy. anyone in this forum can watch a few videos and do what I just said. it's not hard. it's supposed to be not hard in the first place. that's why there's Ren'py. that's why it exists. People don't want to learn coding and stuff. they want to make a visual novel. they want to write, draw, and publish. it's supposed to be easy. just like writing a book.

I can accept the fact that dev isn't a coder so it takes longer to publish updates. but back then when the dev didn't have any experience, money, team the updates were consistent on 1-2 months. but gradually, as he gained more experience, money, staff members the update periods are lengthened, and now he's not even publishing anything at all. doesn't that ring a bell?

 

[RandoCard3]

I am talking about why it's not possible to delay "or take this long" a simple merge in an already existing engine "Ren'py" with already prepared asssets "Scenes, text, translation, etc" and since this is a generic engine "Ren'py" and not a custom game engine made or edited by BlueCat or his coder whom was sick, it's possible to just hire a Ren'py capable coder and finish the work.

If this game was made using custom made or edited game engine by that "sick" coder or BlueCat then it would make sense to delay the update until they recover since any other coder would not understand what's going on in game codes and would make it worse.

People have responded to you better than I ever could, so I won't bother.

That said, so far, you've only posted in this thread to complain at the moment. I'm not saying stop, but how bout you join in some of the other chats going on alongside that stuff. Like, maybe respond to Skummy's option a/option b questions or something. Y'know, be part of the community you're trying to represent.

 

[KnuckleDragger79]

Additional Question!

Be able to undo the mind control Crazy Nurse has been using?
or
Be able to reverse aging in all the females in the game?

Personally, reverse aging would be more fun and interesting.

 

[KnuckleDragger79]

Randomly have ten girls that will be forever off limits, but have a consequence free journey the rest of the way so you can go balls to the wall nuts on the rest with no repercussions even if you're flaunting it.

OR

Have the threat of being caught/exposed by independent watchdogs constantly lurking over your shoulder, however all girls remain on the table, it just became far more difficult to do anything anymore without a lot of plotting ahead of time to outsmart people.

I want THEM ALL!!!!!! MUAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!

 

[STARP]

Can someone please provide me with a save for himiko as dom for D8-14?
i have tried script editors but the change doesn't stick it returns to sub after i save again

 

[AnimeKing314]

There're no features to speak of literally. but if they're adding features in this merge, sure I can understand some delay. But I highly doubt they're. Dude, why are you challenging me to do that? I already praised the game. the game plot, the chracters is what makes a ren'py game a game. I can't pull a story and characters like this game out of my ass. The game is awesome, sure it could be much much much more at the hands of a better dev but can't complain about that. The issue here is dev giving half ass excuses and not giving updates on progress at all. But I sure as shit can take some screenshots, copy text from lorem ipsum and make a ren'py game in a month "I don't know in weeks even" where you just skip through text while background changes and I could add few choices that won't matter. it's all basic ren'py stuff that probably won't require any coding. and I am not saying this to make it sound like I am oh-so IT guy. anyone in this forum can watch a few videos and do what I just said. it's not hard. it's supposed to be not hard in the first place. that's why there's Ren'py. that's why it exists. People don't want to learn coding and stuff. they want to make a visual novel. they want to write, draw, and publish. it's supposed to be easy. just like writing a book.

Alright, I'm gonna try to not feed into this anymore cuz it's not like us arguing will change what the devs are doing anyway. The reason I challenged you is because you're acting like it's the easiest thing in the world but it does take some work if you actually try it. This isn't because ren'py is difficult, you're right that it's piss easy but it's all the other stuff that they're working on that makes it more difficult. Yes there are almost certainly better coders that they could've hired that would've gotten all those WIPs done by now but they have to deal with the team they've got and make their own decisions. As far as new/fixed features the dev team themselves have said that they are fixing the phone, the saves, and the bios, as well as changing the afternoons to sandbox. All of that is supposed to be fixed/added for the merge so it isn't "just a merge". If I were to hazard a guess, all the fixes shouldn't really take that long but I haven't seen their code so it could be an absolute mess that's extra hard to debug, it's most likely the sandbox thing that they're wanting to add that's going to add a lot of time to the merge. Yes there's a way to do it that's built into ren'py but adding it in would require a lot of rearranging of code and refactoring which takes time.

 

[Mab's Thrall22]

I think it is more complicated than you think. I only know what seems to be written here, but it sounds like BlueCat doesn't have enough experience with the game to know what to do to release anything. There isn't any new content, so there is nothing to release until the sick member comes back and merges everything. The merge won't have any new content either, so I don't know why any of us care. Personally, I think the merges are completely pointless, and just waste time like all the reworks and revamps I see in a lot of games here. I wouldn't even call it a merge, since just merging scripts and assets is trivial. Just cutting and pasting, and testing to be sure everything works. Like others have said here, it should take a week or two max, spending a few hours a day on it, if you know how RenPy works.

I don't think he will make any new content until the merge is done, so we might as well just assume it will be 4 to 6 months before we see anything new and just move on, or like you said, discuss other issues about the game. As has been mentioned many times before, BlueCat isn't communicating with his Patrons or his fans here, so I will continue to assume that there is nothing to report. No work on the game, no progress. I have heard others say that he is translating into Portuguese or making tweaks so that the game doesn't get put on hold, and he doesn't have to pause his Patreon, but unless we hear it from the dev himself what development has been taking place since October, who knows.

No offense Skummy, since I know you are trying your best to communicate with everyone here, which I appreciate, but you only have BlueCat's word yourself. It is not as if you are part of the dev team, so nobody really knows for sure. I can not think of any other game here where the dev refuses to talk to the fans himself and instead uses a proxy that is not part of the dev team. I think we should base our opinion on actions rather than what we hear second or third hand. We should just consider the game is on-hold, and just wait for a few months or so until BlueCat actually says something positive about the development, gives some sort of new timeline, and discusses the new content he and his team is working on.

I think other devs deserve support much more than this game based on the dev's lack of interaction with his fans and his secrecy and defensiveness. The development has been a total mess with all the wasted time merging, and broken saves, but I could look past it if the dev was honest about what was going on and participated in the community. For me, it is not about paying for a game since the total you end up paying after years of development is a lot more than similar games are worth. It is about supporting devs that are making a good product, care about their fans, and give back to the community by participating in the forums here. That is just my opinion.

There are many, good deserving devs, several of which I support, that would never refuse to interact with their fans for months. They would at least be on here every few days, BSing with all of us and posting something on their Patreon a few times a week. A few renders, info about the future story, polls for the fans, something.

it's never too late. Maybe BlueCat will change his attitude and start participating on the forums with the fans here, or at least on his Patreon. But, he is probably getting enough funds on Patreon each month, so he doesn't feel he has to. He clearly doesn't enjoy interacting with people here or on his Patreon, which is certainly his choice.

I agree with this entire post. I know that Bluecat is active on Discord, but not everyone is. So, to ignore people on other sites is definitely not good, especially on Patreon. There are definitely patrons who are very frustrated with the lack of communication on progress and are seriously thinking about stopping their support until some kind of progress is made. I have encouraged them to do so. I said that ultimately it is their money, therefore their decision, but why should they support something they are not happy with?

 

[Dirk220]

yeah, well, 10 girls off limit? nope, definitly not my choice, I'd risk it and take option 2,
there's always the save function and rollback if things go south.

AnimeKing314 forget it, he's O-IT-sama he knows his shit better then any other
bluddy pirat or ren'py gamedev. For him it's a chellenge and not reasoning.

@ Blue ganbatte kudasai! Some of us still trust you and are patiently waiting for things to go back on track.

Skummy Ecchi I like your new catchphrase, keep it.

 

[Skummy Ecchi]

So you wanna know why Bluecat doesn't come in and talk to you guys on here? Should eh be forced to subject himself to you all to yell at him? Who am I? I'm Skummy, a T8 member and a supporter since Day 3, I'm on good terms with the team and I slowly and organically became Ecchi PR due to the lack of information and the want to keep you all at least soothed. I won't speak on why he refuses to show up, just try to be a mouth piece to take us along for the time being.

Nothing to do for Patreon, if he started just posting "No progress" updates people would be getting madder and madder. What few of you there are on the patronage side, that are agitated over the lack of information, can either look to discord or wait for more to come. We won't hurt you, we're just as tired as everyone else. If people wanna stop supporting they're well within their rights to do so. I for one who find it deeply agitating to get weekly updates with nothing of substance.

I just got done with a 17 hour work day, I'm currently waiting on a tow truck hauling my brother's car, I am in no uncertain terms tired as fuck all. I do not have the energy to even read I.T.'s ranting let alone respond more to it, but rest assured I acknowledge you exist. Feel free to insult the lowly volunteer PR guy, that's what I'm here for, but if you do not like the project you are more than welcome to leave and not support it.

I don't have to care, all that matters is you're allowed to speak, and body's gonna stop you we're just not gonna like you either. Too tired for this, need naptime, but while I await a car on a truck how about we get another choice moving along huh?

Become total blind but have a supreme sense of touch?

or

Lose tough sensations but have perfect eyesight and x-ray vision?

or

Become half blind and limited in touch, but taste and smell are off the charts in return?

Throwin out them curveballs :3

Alright I'm gone!



Stay Healthy, Stay Ecchi! (Totes stole this from you Dirk, I just love using it, but if you ask I'll knock it off)

~Skummy Out!

 

[sklttles]

Awesome game

 

[mythril0101]

So you wanna know why Bluecat doesn't come in and talk to you guys on here? Should eh be forced to subject himself to you all to yell at him?

He's not required or has to come here to talk to us. we're pirates, he can hate us if he wants or curse us. It's his right to do so. I never said why isn't he coming here and explaining what's going on to piraters. But patreons who pay 5k is his resposibility. he should share roadmap, and reports there. for the people who pay. he delayed an update, he said it would be out in 1st jan. every sensible people think a delay should take 1-2 weeks and a month at most, and even these are extreme numbers. But he just goes raido silence, and never shares anything about what the hell is going on. for 3.5 months by now, and tell me, how can you delay an update that was coming out 1st jan to 4 months?

Nothing to do for Patreon, if he started just posting "No progress" updates people would be getting madder and madder.

so, we're on the same page on "no progress being made" huh. so why is he still charging people? and without even saying "I know you want update, I know we're not progressing because of ....... but I apologise I can't suspend payments we require the money, so if you want please unsubscribe until we release the update" or something like that? He's sitting there, you said no progress being made, he's not doing PR as well, so basically he's not doing much, not releasing any status updates, not doing anything. and getting paid, and you're efending him.

That said, so far, you've only posted in this thread to complain at the moment. I'm not saying stop, but how bout you join in some of the other chats going on alongside that stuff. Like, maybe respond to Skummy's option a/option b questions or something. Y'know, be part of the community you're trying to represent.

I never understand why skummy asking those questions, or what he's doing. the dev himseld doesn't care about anything. What I'm trying to do is, this game is a wonder. If I can convince enough people to withdraw from patreon, maybe, just maybe dev will take action.

they are fixing the phone, the saves, and the bios, as well as changing the afternoons to sandbox.

Well, the phone yeah a project but let's be honest here, have you seen other ren'py games? so many features, incredible UI's the phone thing is so so so basic in ES that you can guess it won't take much work. Bios??? dude, it's just text with some graphics, no comment on saves. But the only thing that would justify this delay and merge would be "sandbox" which I can bet that either it won't be there or will be there but without any worthy things to do. like, you can't magically change a game into a sandbox one. The game needs to be sandbox from the start. ES is one of the most linear games out there. I mean, it would take a shit ton of work to make it into a sandbox one, so many things to add/subtract but if they will do it, it would kick ass, it would be so good. but if I return and evaluate what devs have done so far in the past years, I can 90% surely say that IT's not happening. I mean, they failed to implement a single phone mechanic for years.

Yes there's a way to do it that's built into ren'py but adding it in would require a lot of rearranging of code and refactoring which takes time.

I completely aggree with you there, if they are indeed making a sandbox game in month 1. It would justify all the delays and time. but but but, he still should release reports on patreon, he's not making a small amounth after all.

 

[Smarmint]

A lot of good points were made here. Ecchi Sensei is one of the most linear games here. So linear that choices don't matter, since there are no saves. Plus, no renders.
And the UI is stock basic.

Sure, some people are claiming that the game will be getting all these new features, that it will be converted from a totally linear game that it has been for years into something completely different. Hence all the delays due to the massive coding needed.

Hmm. Does this seem likely? Let's look at the evidence. Here is what I have gathered reading here.

1 Almost total radio silence from the dev for months. Even on Patreon where he makes $5,500 per month or $66,000 per year.

2 Even simple things like the phone or the bios or even the saves, which all other devs of the thousands of games here seem to manage to use just fine, still don't work. After years of effort.

3 We find out that BlueCat isn't the project manager of his own game.

4 The project manager is sick and according to what I read here is totally irreplaceable, even on a temporary basis.

5 We are told translation from German into English is causing the delays, and later that the script is already in English.

6 We are told that BlueCat is at hard at work on other parts of the game, then that he is translating into Portuguese. Then we hear that the real reason he hasn't posted updates to Patreon is that he really hasn't made any progress at all.

And what do we have on the other side? What evidence that something is happening, that Ecchi Sensi will actually be released soon? That it was almost done back in December, and is just a little bit more work once the project manager is feeling better, and that all the promises and claims about the merge and the UI and save fixes will be proven true....

I haven't seen any evidence. No screenshots, no discussion of code, no timeline, no communication with any specifics at all.

BlueCat doesn't come here "because we are mean", but most people here, including me, praise the content of this game. We just want honesty from the dev., either here or on Patreon. All we have heard are stories second hand for many months, and really for years about the development of this game, and the story keeps changing, that is what has people rightly concerned about the future of Ecchi Sensei.

It's nothing about you Skummy. You sound like you have your own problems, like all of us, so peace. None of this is your fault, you are just the messenger.

 

[Deleted member 3482284]

I just hope that it gets released in the next month or two tbh, but I'm feeling more and more that it seems to be a year away. It's been said that progress on this merge is at a complete standstill, so I'm just focusing on different things to keep me busy, because I know that it won't be released anytime soon.
Having said that, BlueCat is not milking the patrons, they're more than capable of cutting funding to the game if they wanted to. They're notified monthly that they're paying their subscription, so the developer isn't committing robbery here. Everyone is aware that there is a delay on this game.
But I've discovered a lot of other games recently which has made this wait a lot easier. I'd recommend everyone else do the same. Because I really don't see this situation suddenly clearing up in the foreseeable future, it's been 4 months now of the same situation. We can all enjoy the game again when this has all been fixed.

 

[Skummy Ecchi]

Yeah I just make shit worse when I open my fucking mouth, and I just fanned the flames on this shit. Had like a 500 word whatever the hell and just rinsed it, gonna boil it down to this.

People are adults, let them spend their money how they want and stop trying to change their minds, its a very assholish thing to do. You are free not to support Bluecat because he is not living up expectations, that is more than okay, everyone has a right to complain. You are more than free to bring up grievances, but it's healthier if you don't keep going on and on and on, better to air them and then shut the fuck up, because you're just going to make yourself madder and madder.

The situation sucks, Bluecat could be handling it better, I could be doing better, and generally we're all just a little bit fed the hell up. Your complaints are acknowledged, so there isn't a need to keep beating the dead horse, its already a pile of unidentifiable meat bits by this point. Calm down, and lets just try to not focus on it anymore because it just makes things worse when you keep at it.

The questions bit is because I'm tired of this conversation, and wish to not focus on it, its a silly game and it works better when people stop derailing it. Nobody wants to keep focusing on this issue, so knock it off if you please.

 

[Motoko Kusanagi]

Yeah I just make shit worse when I open my fucking mouth, and I just fanned the flames on this shit. Had like a 500 word whatever the hell and just rinsed it, gonna boil it down to this.

People are adults, let them spend their money how they want and stop trying to change their minds, its a very assholish thing to do. You are free not to support Bluecat because he is not living up expectations, that is more than okay, everyone has a right to complain. You are more than free to bring up grievances, but it's healthier if you don't keep going on and on and on, better to air them and then shut the fuck up, because you're just going to make yourself madder and madder.

The situation sucks, Bluecat could be handling it better, I could be doing better, and generally we're all just a little bit fed the hell up. Your complaints are acknowledged, so there isn't a need to keep beating the dead horse, its already a pile of unidentifiable meat bits by this point. Calm down, and lets just try to not focus on it anymore because it just makes things worse when you keep at it.

The questions bit is because I'm tired of this conversation, and wish to not focus on it, its a silly game and it works better when people stop derailing it. Nobody wants to keep focusing on this issue, so knock it off if you please.

This is going to sound a bit harsh but you should take your own advice and step back from a PR standpoint. You are only making yourself and Bluecat look bad at this point. You seem to put more emotion behind what you say instead of relying actual direct information. If you are so tired of the discussion and its making you this angry then you need to stop and take a breather before you really end up saying or doing something worse.

 

[Dirk220]

Skummy Ecchi Feel free to use it, you even gave it your own twist

For your poll:
As someone who has his eyes on his fingertips im going for option 1
losing eyesight but emplified touchsense.
what do I whant with x-ray vision if I'm not able to feel.
Look at Masae, she's able to see without eyesight, a whole new world to explore!

 

[mythril0101]

Hmm. Does this seem likely? Let's look at the evidence. Here is what I have gathered reading here.

1 Almost total radio silence from the dev for months. Even on Patreon where he makes $5,500 per month or $66,000 per year.

2 Even simple things like the phone or the bios or even the saves, which all other devs of the thousands of games here seem to manage to use just fine, still don't work. After years of effort.

3 We find out that BlueCat isn't the project manager of his own game.

4 The project manager is sick and according to what I read here is totally irreplaceable, even on a temporary basis.

5 We are told translation from German into English is causing the delays, and later that the script is already in English.

6 We are told that BlueCat is at hard at work on other parts of the game, then that he is translating into Portuguese. Then we hear that the real reason he hasn't posted updates to Patreon is that he really hasn't made any progress at all.

This sums it up basically. I could add a 7-8-9-10... but it's not necessary atm. and I have already talked about all of them a few times by now.

People are adults, let them spend their money how they want and stop trying to change their minds, its a very assholish thing to do.

Skummy, I might sound offended to you. but I hold no hate towards you. I don't want you too feel bad. If I caused any harm to your feelings, I deeply deeply apologise. But the point you're missing is, There's other game that I won't name, that makes $14K - $45K per month

You must be registered to see the links

, what's so special about this game? the dev released the game in alpha, 2 years ago. The game was so awesome and so good, everyone loved it. and after reaching to a certain point. The dev of that game just left the whole project. but said nothing about it. He just disappered no updates no nothing. and people that were his patrons are still paying $14K - $45K per month for years by now. what I'm saying is, people who pay on patreon are no students or poors. they're usually rich, so even if they get monthly notifications. they won't care and pay it anyway. otherwise, who in their right minds would pay $14K - $45K per month to a developer that didn't post anything in 2 years? and the worst point is, that dev didn't stop the monthly billing on patreon neither did he said anything about not continuing the project. he just went absolute silence. so people didn't stop paying him. he even posted random mystrey shit to make it seem like he's working on something. but in reality he's not doing anything and eating away that patreon money. it's been two years and he's still sitting at $14K - $45K monthly, do you think that number will go 0$ in forseeable future? this is the point here. even if BlueCat leaves discord, never returns to patreon or anything, he will still get paid at least 1-2k$ per month for years. that's why I'm presssing this issue here. even if you're paying 1$ I would try to convince you to stop. because you and other 1000 people would just think that "it's just a dollar" and will pay him for years every month. even well after he leaves this game to rot. that's whats happening in that aforementioned game, He's just eating thousands of dollars for years without doing anything. and giving some lie status updates every now and then.

 

[Skummy Ecchi]

I'll take that advice, gonna take off this hat for now, and still just keep setting up questions for the time being. No more Ecchi PR for the time being, cause I am bad at it.

 

[Smarmint]

This is going to sound a bit harsh but you should take your own advice and step back from a PR standpoint.

I second that Skummy. Obviously do whatever you like, but there is no sense in you getting frustrated over something that is completely not your fault. Nobody here is blaming you or criticizing you for a bad situation. Ultimately, it is just a game, that most of us are getting for free, so take the whole discussion about what may or may not be going on lightly. I think as long as the discussion is polite, it's cathartic to talk about the development, or lack of it. It gives us all something to do while we wait for (hopefully) good news someday.

I have no problem with Patreon supporters continuing their support for this game or any others. Everyone is free to pause their donations anytime. Nobody is being tricked. They can see how the development is going and make their own decisions. If they don't mind paying $5 or $10 or more a month indefinitely, who am I to say anything. It is better that a few dollars go to independent game developers, even if their output is uneven, then a lot of other stuff people spend money on. It even costs $5 for a cup of coffee nowadays, at least in the US, so paying a cup of coffee or two for a game you like isn't much.

Is BlueCat another ICSTOR? Who knows. There are many, many popular games here that had a setback or other and just stopped. I can think of 6 or 7 of them just off the top of my head. Will Ecchi Sensei be one of them? Nobody except BlueCat really knows. Maybe he will learn how to manage his own game, and take charge and find a way to make it happen. Even if learning to use RenPy is beyond BlueCat's abilities, there are a lot of people that would be happy to fix up the game for a small fraction of the monthly Patron income. Give some experienced RenPy developer $1,500 (less than 30% the monthly Patreon income for ES), and I bet he could get a release together with new content in less than a month, if BlueCat wanted to do that. The recruitment and services forum here has many people looking for work on this type of project.

I know you volunteered to do PR duty, but since BlueCat is silent, and had no specific progress to report since October, there isn't really much to say on the PR end, other than hopefully things will get back on track in the future. I would just ignore discussion topics you don't like, and talk about what you do like, like the hypothetical situations you bring up. If there is ever any concrete information, either good or bad, I am sure BlueCat will post it on his Patreon and if you like you can share it here.