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

[OctoSky]

Hmmm....wonder if they put the character cards back into the merge? After all, it didn't come out in 2021 without them. Did they say fuck it and put them back?
Asking the real questions here.

 

[RandoCard3]

Hmmm....wonder if they put the character cards back into the merge? After all, it didn't come out in 2021 without them. Did they say fuck it and put them back?
Asking the real questions here.

MTL would actually chop a good portion of the work on those down, I would think. So, it's more possible than it previously was, maybe. Of course, if the MTL doesn't happen neither does anything else, so who knows.

 

[Blackdragon0083]

What the hell happened here ?!!!
I remember playing the last update a year ago and saying what a lovely game, I can't wait for the upcoming updates and I forgot about it only when I was cleaning my pc and found it again I said oh man it has been a year I wonder what this gem turned out to be only to come here and see this circus. Countless arguments, the community that once loved him so much is grilling him and sadly the game that bluecat always described as his baby is dying.
So can someone please explain what happened throughout this year or refer me to a post that does?

Reposting my old answer to this and updating it to fit new info.

Here is the long and short: The merge was announced. initially, BC gave updates regularly on Patrion, there were somewhat unknown complications but work progressed and positivity was high. Months dragged on, excuses mounted, promises were made promises were broken, then months turned to years. He locked his update posts behind a paywall, Every month it's a new excuse for why the merge is not done and no one has seen any actual proof of progress at any point. a month or two ago, a member named Dukez did their own merge in about 8 hours, it was a hack job but a proof of concept that to achieve a baseline of what we want is not that hard. Nonetheless, so a fan-made merge does exist and you can find it linked here if you look for it. this showed us there is a lot more going on here than simply merging things together or no work at all has been done.

At last report, the merge has been abandoned after a 2-year delay with no work to show for it and supposedly they will be releasing the next few days of game content independent of the merge but that magically came into issues too, I think it's translators now? It's hard to keep up with the latest excuse of the week.

but then there are statements by blue cat that now latecomer his chief translator and his coder are going to continue to work on the merge while BC himself starts work on the next update. then due to a lack of interested translators that new update is dead in the water. so the community asked him to just use machine translation he said it might be crap and should examples of latecomers translation and MTL next to each other and put it to a vote, the community overwhelmingly said the MTL looked better then the translation from his coder (who may have just been using google translate all along), when asked if he was going to go forward with MTL and get the update out BC said he is refusing to use MTL and will continue to tread water hoping a translator interested in his game comes along one day and that if people want to know the status of the game and whats delaying it he will only tell people that pay him money to do so. the community is pressing him to explain why he is refusing and once again to show proof of work and receiving only silence.

A bit ago Octosky assembled a combination of statements from BC that were contradictory and pressed Skummy ecchi (the supposed PR representative of BC's company) for some tangible proof that development happened. this set off a bit of a firestorm and a tonal shift of this place from amusement and cynicism to genuine anger. Rather than present said proof he apparently stepped away from his role and decided to no longer act as a shield and add fuel to the fire.

This week most everyone seems to truly have had enough and are now calling this a scam. at this point, most people watch this tread for the slow-burn drama. The forum has become ironically more entertaining than any update the game itself could provide.

As a personal note, it's a shame, this game for all its flaws is what got me into independent porn VNs, it was my first one. And without it, I never would have found some of the truly great titles I enjoy to this day I have been hoping for a merger and a continuation for 2 years now and at this point I am just accepting that it's not gonna happen.

 

[Blackdragon0083]

Hmmm....wonder if they put the character cards back into the merge? After all, it didn't come out in 2021 without them. Did they say fuck it and put them back?
Asking the real questions here.

you know as well as i that he almost certainly did.

MTL would actually chop a good portion of the work on those down, I would think. So, it's more possible than it previously was, maybe. Of course, if the MTL doesn't happen neither does anything else, so who knows.

Ohh your right, just another reason to go MTL.

 

[Skalli]

3 was something interesting for sure, idk. I'm not a german speaker myself, I just know that MTL more often than not doesn't make sense. But he really doesn't have many options available to him. I can't speak for anyone I just don't think MTL is exactly the best option. There could be others we just don't know about, but he did say in the thing you shared that if it comes down to it he will use MTL. I just more often than not have an awful experience when it comes to MTL. Hotsprings academy is a good example of a popularish game that just has dogshit MTL that doesn't make sense.

How good a MTL is depends a lot on the two languages translated between gets. Services like Deepl are very good for languages like English/German. I've tested it a bit when it was released out of curiosity, translated news articles and was surprised by the quality. There were very few errors and just a few things where some touching up was needed. In the examples posted earlier in this thread the chunky english is the result of grammatical errors/weird expressions in German. They were also translated accurately, e.g. the same mistake made in German appeared that way in the English MTL.

A friend of mine translates French texts for her company, she's not a translator but it's part of her tasks. She also uses services like Deepl and just touches up a bit on the results.

Seriously, in the examples posted the English is as good as the German.

If you're curious, go to deepl.com, grab some random German text and throw it into the translator and see how good the result of the translation is.

Also, can I shit on him for a second? That's not even Plan C, It's Plan D.

Plan A = original merge with all features
Plan B = merge with some features dropped
Plan C = merge on hold / worked on separately, new content made in a separate project to put something out.
Plan D = New content in separate project getting translated through MTL instead of a person.

I would go as far and say it's Plan E. Because Plan D was to hire other translators instead of having Latecomer do the work. But all 6 of them were enthusiastic but jumped ship when the work was due...


On that note, it's been a while since the use of MTL was proposed, if they had just gone with it at that point, test it on the next day, it should be finished by now, right? They could just release that version as an Alpha so we can see the MTL in action. If they were serious about releasing they should have something now.
I guess it's in this state of limbo where they WANT to finish the project, but can't give up on it yet, but motivation is down so there's no to little progress. I've been there too and it took half a year to finally admit to myself that a project was dead. I've seen it in other projects too. Usually there will be no announcement, the communication just gets worse and worse and at some point there is complete silence.

I mean, right before Christmas they announced some progress and again to show something soon. (The thing with the plans.) When new year came and they were asked about it, they admitted no progress because of vacation period. If one announces to work on something and right after that takes two weeks of, that calls for no motivation to me.

 

[OctoSky]

I stopped ignoring you after we reached a truce, I just also don't care enough to answer the questions

I'm an asshole, and I figured it better to shut the hell up rather than be banned for getting into too many fights, but yeah I'm highly restricted as to what I can say, and I have limitations on what I can influence Bluecat to do.

My assholery does not end on here, I can also be a dick on Discord, especially about shitpost memes about the delays :3

Hey Skummy, I got a question that is not hindered by your limitations..or at least it shouldn't be but if it is than you are being tied down and gagged by Blue.

The merge has been in development for almost 2 years. Bluecat or Latecomer, not sure, uses the github. My question is this: Why can't Latecomer or Bluecat tell people in a post how much percentage is done?

Its not new content but already existing, meaning that if they don't add anything to it the total amount of stuff stays the same. So, why can't Latecomer or Bluecat just give a 30%? Or 40%. Or just say something like "We've merged weeks 1 and 2 and are now working on 3"? Pretty sure this is not something that is in your "do not speak of" folder, or it is, what the fuck do I know.

 

[opiex942]

The merge has been in development for almost 2 years. Bluecat or Latecomer, not sure, uses the github. My question is this: Why can't Latecomer or Bluecat tell people in a post how much percentage is done?

Because when people started bringing up the git-lab channel and asking why it wasn't getting updated, they realized that it was a way to keep track of what work, if any, was being done. Also raising the possibility of people doing what they do with other VNs where devs are more transparent about what they're doing and interpreting the data available to figure out how much is being done and what's left. And if we're all right and they've done a grand total of barely anything for the past 16 months...that would be bad.

Also, I remember being told by Skummy to shut the fuck up about the git-lab channel and that it wasn't important a while back so, I wouldn't hold my breath for an answer.

 

[Smarmint]

The merge has been in development for almost 2 years. Bluecat or Latecomer, not sure, uses the github. My question is this: Why can't Latecomer or Bluecat tell people in a post how much percentage is done?

Because it is 0%.

 

[Dukez]

MTL stuff aside there is zero reason BlueCat can't release a german only version of his work if it's apparently all be written, "rendered" etc. It would also probably be a good learning lesson for them since when I looked at the code they did both german & english in the same script file whereas from what I saw Renpy already has a inbuilt way to do translations which they were also using but only for minor fix ups/corrections to stuff. Ideally the main script should be only in german, and the extra files for english etc do the translation layer using the way renpy has built in. Adding an english patch later would be easy.

Heck with how good these MTL things were earlier, I'd bet someone could MTL translate a whole episode and release an english patch in like half an hour lol. Computers work fast after all.

 

[layer1avn]

It's funny that the text quality is seemingly so important to the author when the in-game art is so poorly done and poorly thought out. (Imagine the injuries and subsequent lawsuits if a high school put a recessed, square running track around a volleyball court.)

I suppose the story is the only thing going for it, but trying to make sense of this mess is fruitless.

 

[Skummy Ecchi]

The reason they don't do percentages, is cause Bluecat has no clue what's left and Latecomer just never wanted to, I suppose at least. The honest answer as to why this is all happening? Is I have no damn idea what Bluecat is thinking really, I talk with him on it but his reasoning is bizarre, or we're getting meanings lost with his lacking of english and my lacking of german, one of the two and maybe both. I'm trying my damnedest to convince him to just put out an update, that's as far as I'll go with that for now.

Sorry that I'm not always more clear, eggshells man. There's a lot of them to be stepping on.

 

[RandoCard3]

The reason they don't do percentages, is cause Bluecat has no clue what's left and Latecomer just never wanted to, I suppose at least. The honest answer as to why this is all happening? Is I have no damn idea what Bluecat is thinking really, I talk with him on it but his reasoning is bizarre, or we're getting meanings lost with his lacking of english and my lacking of german, one of the two and maybe both. I'm trying my damnedest to convince him to just put out an update, that's as far as I'll go with that for now.

Sorry that I'm not always more clear, eggshells man. There's a lot of them to be stepping on.

That's actually good to hear, actually, if a little frustrating. At least we know what the issue is now.

Have you tried talking to the rest of the team about it? A united front might get through to BC, or if they agree with him, make your attempts impossible.

Any idea if my questioning in the Feedback channel is helping or hindering your efforts? I'm willing to change my angle if it gets this thing moving again.

 

[GuacamoleBen]

I'm feeling really dumb but could someone point me at the proper link(s) for week 3? I download the one i think from mega (under the heading "Week 3 - Days 15-21" but the file i get is titled EcchiSensei-D2021v1.0-FINAL.zip and only seems to have days 20 and 21. Do we need to play 15-17, 18-19, 20-21 as separate downloads on mega and dark mind patch? Or is there a combined file somewhere. For that matter i don't see a link on the main first thread for 15-17 or 18-19.

There is the Week 3 - Days 15-21 Final - Crunched link in the compressed section of that main first post... WOuld i then install that and then do the three separate dark mind patches (which seem to overwrite eachother).....

 

[SevenTenSplit]

RIP Crazy Nurse

 

[RandoCard3]

I'm feeling really dumb but could someone point me at the proper link(s) for week 3? I download the one i think from mega (under the heading "Week 3 - Days 15-21" but the file i get is titled EcchiSensei-D2021v1.0-FINAL.zip and only seems to have days 20 and 21. Do we need to play 15-17, 18-19, 20-21 as separate downloads on mega and dark mind patch? Or is there a combined file somewhere. For that matter i don't see a link on the main first thread for 15-17 or 18-19.

There is the Week 3 - Days 15-21 Final - Crunched link in the compressed section of that main first post... WOuld i then install that and then do the three separate dark mind patches (which seem to overwrite eachother).....

D2021 is Week 3. It's just poorly named.

 

[Skummy Ecchi]

That's actually good to hear, actually, if a little frustrating. At least we know what the issue is now.

Have you tried talking to the rest of the team about it? A united front might get through to BC, or if they agree with him, make your attempts impossible.

Any idea if my questioning in the Feedback channel is helping or hindering your efforts? I'm willing to change my angle if it gets this thing moving again.

I'll let you know when he wakes up and I talk to him again, for now I'mma just be vague but hopefully I can lift that curtain up soon. As for suggestions, we'll see

 

[opiex942]

The reason they don't do percentages, is cause Bluecat has no clue what's left and Latecomer just never wanted to, I suppose at least.

But you have to see how this would absolutely sap any sort of faith one would have in Bluecat's ability to deliver on anything he promises, right?
There's no point in having grand plans for the next 11 in-game months of content if you can't figure out a month-to-month real time workflow. Which should include progress reports from team members that are doing work.

 

[Wolfen5]

But you have to see how this would absolutely sap any sort of faith one would have in Bluecat's ability to deliver on anything he promises, right?
There's no point in having grand plans for the next 11 in-game months of content if you can't figure out a month-to-month real time workflow. Which should include progress reports from team members that are doing work.

Hence, why we are where we are now. 16 months of silence, fabricated delusions, disingenuousness and egg shells being sprinkled around, potentially triggering PR.

 

[FunkyD]

I'll let you know when he wakes up and I talk to him again, for now I'mma just be vague but hopefully I can lift that curtain up soon. As for suggestions, we'll see

I know you've been getting a lot of flak lately, being the spokesperson and current face and mouthpiece of the development, but i just want to say that without you this entire thing would be more chaotic and dramatic than it already is. While i do have mix feelings about some of the statements you and the other members of the dev team have said in the past, i do understand that those are to be expected when there are no clear objective in an in-cohesive team; and the fact that despite all of that and you're still here doing what you do, is remarkable. I just want to thank you for giving us information and updates of the game while being bombarded with our cancerous rambling.

 

[Blackdragon0083]

any update on this?

hahahahahahaha.

serious response:
* merge is either canceled or being worked on the side by the coder / main translator.
* Supposedly next update is done and rendered but BC cant find a translator to translate from German to English.
* community asked him to use Machine Translation (MTL)
* BC asked community to see examples of translator vs MTL community voted for MTL
* BC said he was gonna not do MTL and will not be updating people on project status unless they pay him.
* BC refuses to release the update or show proof that it exists after a 2 years delay despite it supposedly being done but only in German.
* Community is pissed and BC is slowly losing patrion money.

(edit: correction though BC did not say he wouldn't do MTL but rather that he will not do MTL until other plans fall threw)