VN Ren'Py Abandoned Estate : Dominate [v0.36.1] [Henissart]

[f96zonetrooper]

unless you make one of the few big 'mainstream' games.

Success may require some time to gather a sufficient audience.

I don't think that pirates are the problem since most of them don't pay for a release anyway and just wait. At the moment there are more free and interesting games on this site to download than one can play. But free versions can attract new supporters if a game meets the individual taste.

On the other side people may not support a project if it does not meet their expectations. ED has high quality images but with almost 2000 images in the game it is still mostly teasing the player. Lewd scenes are rare, e.g. shaving, spanking, art posing, tea party, blow job, foot worship, some upskirt views. And if the player does not hit the right combination of decisions he might miss the scene or the best images of the scene. Other games feature animated sex scenes every update ... and players do not have to play 3 different paths in parallel to find them. I suppose that ED is just starting slowly ... or targeting a different audience. Maybe also the character cast with 3 Mistresses and a Maid next to mc + friend/sis is too limited. Other games feature more characters with more options for lewd scenes.
The writing may also be a little bit too excessive for the 'mainstream' audience ... not everybody is interested in the inner thoughts of the mc or his childhood memories. The player usually gets information on all characters and the situation and can draw his own conclusions. Often the motivation for player decisions is more simple and opportunistic : I now have to be hard and push Heather or I will miss this lewd picture in the next scene. Sorry Heather!

 

[Henissart]

Success may require some time to gather a sufficient audience.

I don't think that pirates are the problem since most of them don't pay for a release anyway and just wait. At the moment there are more free and interesting games on this site to download than one can play. But free versions can attract new supporters if a game meets the individual taste.

On the other side people may not support a project if it does not meet their expectations. ED has high quality images but with almost 2000 images in the game it is still mostly teasing the player. Lewd scenes are rare, e.g. shaving, spanking, art posing, tea party, blow job, foot worship, some upskirt views. And if the player does not hit the right combination of decisions he might miss the scene or the best images of the scene. Other games feature animated sex scenes every update ... and players do not have to play 3 different paths in parallel to find them. I suppose that ED is just starting slowly ... or targeting a different audience. Maybe also the character cast with 3 Mistresses and a Maid next to mc + friend/sis is too limited. Other games feature more characters with more options for lewd scenes.
The writing may also be a little bit too excessive for the 'mainstream' audience ... not everybody is interested in the inner thoughts of the mc or his childhood memories. The player usually gets information on all characters and the situation and can draw his own conclusions. Often the motivation for player decisions is more simple and opportunistic : I now have to be hard and push Heather or I will miss this lewd picture in the next scene. Sorry Heather!

You're wrong. I know the exact time I release, and I know the exact time it's uploaded here. The drop-off in new Patrons is immediate and unmistakable for every release. The many people in this thread who've been playing every version for free, while saying how much they love the game are also an obvious counterpoint.

But I didn't come here to lecture you on piracy. Do what you think is best. Just saying that it's one of the main reasons I don't see myself making another full game, and it's also the reason I usually don't come here.
I couldn't care less if someone hates what I'm doing, like some of the recent arguments in this thread. Doesn't bother me one bit. But a hero like Eldar backstabbing me for worthless internet points, or reading things like 'Keep up the great work', or 'Amazing game, hope it doesn't get abandoned', by people who are apparently blind to the connection between their behavior and games being left unfinished, that just makes me sad. So I prefer to stay away for the most part.

 

[f96zonetrooper]

I know the exact time I release, and I know the exact time it's uploaded here. The drop-off in new Patrons is immediate and unmistakable for every release.

It is unfortunate if the game was leaked within 1 hour after patron release.
In other threads like CMA the community usually waits 10-14 days after a patron release to upload on this site to not affect the high tier patrons with their privileges. In general they wait until the 1$ patron release is out to "minimize" damage. And it is discussed by the community and there is consense to have some balance between patreon support for the dev and free uploads here.
True patrons of a game however should support it independent of an early leak.

On the other side : Without this site most players including myself would probably never have heard of ED since it is not advertised nor discussed on conventional gaming sites. If you complete ED, you should maybe consider a STEAM release (without incest) to reach a broader audience and get additional revenue for your effort.

 

[Twistedrem]

The writing may also be a little bit too excessive for the 'mainstream' audience ... not everybody is interested in the inner thoughts of the mc or his childhood memories. The player usually gets information on all characters and the situation and can draw his own conclusions. Often the motivation for player decisions is more simple and opportunistic : I now have to be hard and push Heather or I will miss this lewd picture in the next scene. Sorry Heather!

Oof. You may not be wrong, necessarily, but... ugh. Fuck that. I have no patience for that.

Anyone who wants “simpler” writing irritates and confuses me. Why even play a VN? Just watch porn. If the choice element is what does it for you... choose a different clip.

The whole appeal of VNs *is* the writing, paired with great art. Henissart is only the second dev to get me invested in the story and characters (the first being “My Sister, My Roommate” by Sumodeine, who I’m also patroning. I don’t come here to pirate, just to read about the different games.)

There are so many games in this community filled with broken English, flat characters, and zero concept of story structure. Which, again, I feel is the whole point of a VN. But people fucking *laud* them. It’s insane.

People need to raise their fucking standards.

 

[Blaze616]

You're wrong. I know the exact time I release, and I know the exact time it's uploaded here. The drop-off in new Patrons is immediate and unmistakable for every release. The many people in this thread who've been playing every version for free, while saying how much they love the game are also an obvious counterpoint.

But I didn't come here to lecture you on piracy. Do what you think is best. Just saying that it's one of the main reasons I don't see myself making another full game, and it's also the reason I usually don't come here.
I couldn't care less if someone hates what I'm doing, like some of the recent arguments in this thread. Doesn't bother me one bit. But a hero like Eldar backstabbing me for worthless internet points, or reading things like 'Keep up the great work', or 'Amazing game, hope it doesn't get abandoned', by people who are apparently blind to the connection between their behavior and games being left unfinished, that just makes me sad. So I prefer to stay away for the most part.

I am sorry that you feel hurt and I am not gonna justify piracy. I myself do it. But I think most people who pirate will always find a way to pirate. It goes for any piece of entertainment from music, movies to AAA games. But despite all that good works find an audience. You have found an audience. Those people could have taken and enjoyed the game for free. But despite all that, they support you, your story and are invested in it.

I am not trying to lecture you or anything. I justed you to cheer up a bit; you seemed down. Sorry if it came off a little pretentious. I hope you get to keep doing what you love despite if you make another game. Thanks

 

[slider]

I know this is a pirate website, but it's got to a point that I think it would be best if the site had a policy of not allowing posting update links for at least a week or two after first release. Even if people were not concerned about ethics or the devs' right to make a profit, we have to understand that if we keep OVERexploiting this ecosystem it will eventually dry up and die.
In order to keep pirating and pillaging, we need some healthy merchants and profitable trade-lines.

 

[Twistedrem]

I know this is a pirate website, but it's got to a point that I think it would be best if the site had a policy of not allowing posting update links for at least a week or two after first release. Even if people were not concerned about ethics or the devs' right to make a profit, we have to understand that if we keep OVERexploiting this ecosystem it will eventually dry up and die.
In order to keep pirating and pillaging, we need some healthy merchants and profitable trade-lines.

That’s an interesting idea. I’d argue for a month, rather than two weeks. Pirates are still getting it for free, but at least it’d be on the other side of a Patronage cycle.

 

[slider]

That’s an interesting idea. I’d argue for a month, rather than two weeks. Pirates are still getting it for free, but at least it’d be on the other side of a Patronage cycle.

I also consider a month to be somewhat fairer, but I'm not sure that such policy could be enforced without most people moving to other game sharing websites. Maybe after everybody would get used to having to wait for a bit?

 

[ZTex]

I also consider a month to be somewhat fairer, but I'm not sure that such policy could be enforced without most people moving to other game sharing websites. Maybe after everybody would get used to having to wait for a bit?

The proposition is a no-win for both devs and the site.
If people don't pirate it from here, they'll find it from somewhere else. So all you're doing is changing the venue.

The only way this changes is for everyone to give up being pirates and that's never going to occur. It sucks but that's kinda where we are at.

 

[Twistedrem]

The proposition is a no-win for both devs and the site.
If people don't pirate it from here, they'll find it from somewhere else. So all you're doing is changing the venue.

The only way this changes is for everyone to give up being pirates and that's never going to occur. It sucks but that's kinda where we are at.

That sounds like simply justifying piracy, honestly.

 

[ZTex]

That sounds like simply justifying piracy, honestly.

Not what i was going for. I was just explaining that the solution won't solve the problem.
If you try to place an embargo here people will just go elsewhere. It's not a solution unique to the issues of piracy it happens everywhere.

 

[f96zonetrooper]

Hi everyone, Henissart here, the guy developing this. If you have any questions, let me know. Better yet, get out of here and play!
Oh, and if you end up liking it, please spread the word, hit the like button on the release post here or maybe even write a review. I really need any help I can get with making people aware of the existence of the game.

That sounds like simply justifying piracy, honestly.

Our world is not black and white, good patrons and bad pirates ... it's more complex.
But usually you can find a compromise which is ok for both sides like the 10-14 days delay for a release.

 

[Twistedrem]

Our world is not black and white, good patrons and bad pirates ... it's more complex.
But usually you can find a compromise which is ok for both sides like the 10-14 days delay for a release.

What are you hoping for two weeks to accomplish?

 

[slider]

What are you hoping for two weeks to accomplish?

Regardless of its fairness, nowadays it's impossible to stop a game from being pirated; you have to convince the player to pay for it. Helping the dev or securing the future of the game is not always enough motivation so, hopefully, a two weeks delay for the pirated version could be enough motivation for SOME users to choose to pay for the game. It's the "at least I get something specific from paying" spirit.
This two weeks is something that is both palpable and that I think could be enforced without alienating most pf the community to move somewhere else.

 

[f96zonetrooper]

What are you hoping for two weeks to accomplish?

Other games on patreon use a system where the top tier patrons get the new release exclusively first. Every following tier has its own delay of a few days with the 1$ patrons getting the new release last around 10-14 days after the highest tier.
By delaying release on this site until 1 $ tier release, the higher tiers stay more attractive for players who can't wait to play the next release.

See the patreon page of Cure My Addiction as example.
https://f95zone.to/threads/cure-my-addiction-v0-11-1-thegary.18207/

 

[Blaze616]

You guys have to be practical man. Nobody going to support a dev just for getting a release. Maybe some of them will pay for it to get it in advance but they were gonna support it regardless. Think about it for 5-10 bucks people could get Netflix or Disney+.

I have been on this thread long enough to see these kinds of discussions before. Its not the pirates on these sites that are the problem its the patrons. Also, a piracy site blocking piracy is lubricious. Its harsh but truth. it is a very very niche industry. If it weren't for these sites people would not have found out these games.

This is the reality of this industry and any entertainment industry for that matter. Sure it feels bad to see your hard work getting pirated but this is the world we live in. And no these games won't die out because of piracy. If it were the case we would not have music or streaming or any other entertainment industry.

 

[Nikko_]

It seems to me that the dev and some folks here have no understanding of what a dom or even a neutral male really is. A male dom is not someone who is uncomfortable with being in a sub setting and just THINKS his situation sucks, a dom would do whatever he can to get an edge(the one in this story just lets things happen and bitches within himself about it). The setting is not the problem here, nor the lack of a reversal so far. There are just some lines that a dom, neutral and even a large portion of sub males won´t cross, and one of those is having their junk caged. Next you will have the MC taking a d*ck up his ass and you people will still say that is fine because he didn´t like it, or because he is going to get a "revenge". That´s bull, no man would allow that to happen without a fight, debt or no debt, guards or no guards, capable or not. If they do, they need to immediatly turn in their man-card.
The dev can do whatever he wants, but his response is just deflecting the real issue, and it won´t change the fact that forcing that route on a neutral/dom male was bad writing.

P.S: With all that criticism aside, I want to add that Henissart´s work has generally been good, props to him for his renders and writing cause is miles better than most of the stuff here. Since there will be no retcon, and the "setting" will force ridiculous situations(it shouldnt', character is king in stories) I´m still out. Still I hope to see more of the dev in the future, maybe in a less "ridiculous" setting.

 

[Twistedrem]

It seems to me that the dev and some folks here have no understanding of what a dom or even a neutral male really is.

It seems to me you have no idea what story progression really is.

 

[Nikko_]

It seems to me you have no idea what story progression really is.

Wtf does that have to do with anything?. Story progression can be good or bad, so your sentence means nothing. His story is progressing, so what?. That doesn´t make it good. If you meant it the other way around as in there is still story that needs to happen, that also doesn´t negate the quality of the writing in the last update. Again your words mean nothing. Like I wrote before, character is king in a story. All great stories delve deep into their characters, and the attitude showed in the last update for the dom/neutral MC is inconsistent with what had been presented previously, and also with what would happen in real life. That is bad writing. It really isn´t hard to understand. But Fanboys( actually people in general) won´t have it, cause whatever goes against their belief can´t be. Dammed be the solid arguments, proof or facts, right?. That stubborness is a curse upon humanity.

 

[thanks for the demos]

Remember folks: whenever you wonder how people you know to be gentlefolk and scholars of impeccable taste (they frequent the same threads you do, so what else could they be ) could hold such strange and outlandish opinions as [whatever you happen to disagree with] - kinks are vast, varied and differentiated. Your definition of dom is correct. So is theirs. And that other guy's too. Everyone is speaking from very specific and limited experiences (/fantasies /likes /preconceptions).

If you can't fathom how X could possibly be consistent with your kink, it's probably because you enjoy a rather narrow, small aspect of it. That's not a bad thing, but it is a thing.

Avoiding protracted semantics debates 101:
-"Hey devster, is this about the variation of kink Y I enjoy? [short definition]"
-"Nah broseph, it's more along the lines of [different aspect of same kink]"
-"S'alright, cheers mate."