- May 21, 2020
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Feels like every project here ends up like Star Citizen eventually.
HTML Female Agent [v1.20.1p] [Crushstation]
That's the business model for sure. Open-ended projects keeping the monthly subscriptions going for as loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong as humanly possible.
Only solution to this would be for patreon to charge subscribers per deliverables, not every months.
That's not bulletproof either.
Instead of dishonest people withholding content for nebulous reasons like they do now, they'd just start making bunch of tiny updates that don't really add anything new.
Or people could only subscribe if they are happy with the monthly output of a content creator. This is what I do--I have a grand total of 3 subscriptions on Patreon right now, and that can go down to 1 or 0 whenever I want.
- Jan 10, 2018
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And people could realize that people who remain subscribed to a game are happy enough with the progress and don't need to be saved by white knights. That is what I do. I judge games by what they contain, not what they do not. How often a dev updates is between the dev and his patrons.
That is absolutely true. It is also true that people can talk about it and express their opinions.
In my case, I don't really care about patrons. They're all adults, it's their money, why the frack would I care? My beef is the lack of progress in what is essentially a text based game.
I do not know if the author is purposefully delaying progress to milk his patrons, but I wouldn't be surprised if he was doing that at this stage. I'm just talking about it, I'm not trying to force anyone else to change their position.
So, I don't really want to "save" anyone", but I feel it is VERY important to keep repeating this as to make potential new patrons aware of the issue so that they can make an informed decision. They need to know that they're dealing with a dev who, at best, didn't add almost any content to the game for 5 years or is, at worst, a scammer.
If after knowing that, they still want to support the dev, that's perfectly fine, and reverts back to first point of "adults, making informed decisions about their own money".
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I didn't presume anything about the author. I was talking about status of game development and there are two possible answers.
1) either the author is doing it on purpose
or
2) the author is terrible at organization
Whichever it is (and I truly don't know) it is important fact for people who might be stumbling onto the game and thinking of becoming patrons should know.
1) either the author is doing it on purpose
or
2) the author is terrible at organization
Whichever it is (and I truly don't know) it is important fact for people who might be stumbling onto the game and thinking of becoming patrons should know.
Or, perhaps, the author only ever had a premise for a game and not an actual plan. No actual story. It's extremely common in indie porn, with the exemplar probably being Harry Potter takeoffs. Someone has a fantasy they want to turn into a game. They have some success setting up the fantasy and it finds appeal with people who share that fantasy. Then they run into the fact that they never bothered to turn their fantasy into a story.
It's totally possible that Crush just never had any idea about what happens to the MC in Thailand aside from getting fucked a lot.
I think people are overreacting a bit.
You can critique a developer, but it needs to be constructive to either the developer or to the community. Being open and honest doesn't mean being cruel, but sometimes honesty is painful. Let me give you an example.
I think Crushstation is actually not a scammer, I think he is something worse. I think he is sadly incompetent. Like many developers he seems to have feature creep. He starts with a cool idea and then expands upon it, the problem is that he lacks the ability to do the things he adds. Like the idea of making the game open world in bangkok, which means you need to add in tons of random events. 1) This is a problem since it created GENERIC sex scenes, but also 2) he also seemed to not know how to do it. So he learned how to do it with trial and error and that takes time. Him learning to code isn't fraud... but it does make development slow to a crawl.
His feature creep is all over the place, clothes being a major one. He wanted people to wear different clothes for different events to make it feel more authentic but in the end it clearly was to much work for him. He ended up majorly cutting clothes into a more simplistic form, but what he should have done is just not added new clothes and recycled what he had. He ends up wasting time on these features that don't matter, and making everything look worse.
To be a scam Crushstation has to be intentionally making his game bad, and then pretending on fixing it. Personally I don't see evil intent, just incompetence. If he wanted more money and was unethical, he could have been significantly more greedy in design, like selling save slots LOL. Note he is greedy though by selling perks on patreon, for those who don't know how to edit variables in their browser console. So he isn't a saint...
In the end I think Crushstation has created a monster that he doesn't know how to fix. Clearly this game needs to be more linearly focused around a story, with well written sex scenes, like how the beginning of the game is but quality is hard and he is struggling with it.
In the end, if people think if development is to slow then DON'T DONATE. If enough people stop supporting him he would be forced to change, which can be good or bad. What I can tell you is ranting at him on this message board is pointless. Even if he does read this message board he wouldn't respond back to someone being rude.
You can critique a developer, but it needs to be constructive to either the developer or to the community. Being open and honest doesn't mean being cruel, but sometimes honesty is painful. Let me give you an example.
I think Crushstation is actually not a scammer, I think he is something worse. I think he is sadly incompetent. Like many developers he seems to have feature creep. He starts with a cool idea and then expands upon it, the problem is that he lacks the ability to do the things he adds. Like the idea of making the game open world in bangkok, which means you need to add in tons of random events. 1) This is a problem since it created GENERIC sex scenes, but also 2) he also seemed to not know how to do it. So he learned how to do it with trial and error and that takes time. Him learning to code isn't fraud... but it does make development slow to a crawl.
His feature creep is all over the place, clothes being a major one. He wanted people to wear different clothes for different events to make it feel more authentic but in the end it clearly was to much work for him. He ended up majorly cutting clothes into a more simplistic form, but what he should have done is just not added new clothes and recycled what he had. He ends up wasting time on these features that don't matter, and making everything look worse.
To be a scam Crushstation has to be intentionally making his game bad, and then pretending on fixing it. Personally I don't see evil intent, just incompetence. If he wanted more money and was unethical, he could have been significantly more greedy in design, like selling save slots LOL. Note he is greedy though by selling perks on patreon, for those who don't know how to edit variables in their browser console. So he isn't a saint...
In the end I think Crushstation has created a monster that he doesn't know how to fix. Clearly this game needs to be more linearly focused around a story, with well written sex scenes, like how the beginning of the game is but quality is hard and he is struggling with it.
In the end, if people think if development is to slow then DON'T DONATE. If enough people stop supporting him he would be forced to change, which can be good or bad. What I can tell you is ranting at him on this message board is pointless. Even if he does read this message board he wouldn't respond back to someone being rude.
- May 21, 2020
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Looking at version 1.6.3 really cements this theory for me. I mean look at all these skills, all these variables:
It's like he was gearing up for a porn version of Alpha Protocol. Instead, we're getting a linear VN. While the old procedurally-generated club and sex scenes were quaint, I think a system of RNG events where you could put some of those skills to use probably would have worked out better in the end. Oh well.
I can say that I never dream that Crush will actually read or spend much time comprehending what I say on these boards. The fact that he spends time reporting posts is far more than I expected. Instead, like I've said before, I think this is a great case story. Whether or not Crush is a good game designer is moot to me, since we can't know that.
We can know two things:
1. Game development is extremely slow.
2. He makes bank anyway.
So I really have no idea whether Crush is a good game designer or not, or what his intentions are. However, I do know one thing: he is an excellent blogger, and that makes tons of money for him.
Also I'm not sure why we are talking about how we spend our time on this site. What are people doing while playing these games? It must be what I expect or I would be very much surprised.
*I'm hoping that I don't need to add this to explain, but this post is not really about Crush. It's about people. People like those blogs and seem to be happy with them as a product. Would they be as happy if he dropped in once a month with an apology, no photo, and no reader engagement? I suggest not. These blogs don't just appear fully formed from 5 minutes of work. They take extreme time and effort, which is why many other game designers have much less impressive posts on their Patreon.
We can know two things:
1. Game development is extremely slow.
2. He makes bank anyway.
So I really have no idea whether Crush is a good game designer or not, or what his intentions are. However, I do know one thing: he is an excellent blogger, and that makes tons of money for him.
Also I'm not sure why we are talking about how we spend our time on this site. What are people doing while playing these games? It must be what I expect or I would be very much surprised.
*I'm hoping that I don't need to add this to explain, but this post is not really about Crush. It's about people. People like those blogs and seem to be happy with them as a product. Would they be as happy if he dropped in once a month with an apology, no photo, and no reader engagement? I suggest not. These blogs don't just appear fully formed from 5 minutes of work. They take extreme time and effort, which is why many other game designers have much less impressive posts on their Patreon.
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- Jul 21, 2017
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So many skills that are useless in a brothel. I believe the plan to make this a brothel worker sim was a problem from the start. If Crush had changed what you needed to do in Bangkok to something more like an escort role with a need to charm and seduce guys (and girls if you want) these skills and a need to improve them would fit.
So you have random guys with different interests and desires and as you succeed you find progressively higher status guys with the goal of becoming an escort of enough repute to get a date with your target and use that to gather the info your agency needs, maybe even need to have several dates with them until you can get access to the info.
Now you have a situation and structure that uses the skills and gives you enough freedom to work on them (being in a brothel is pretty restrictive).
Sure it becomes something of a life sim but with a clear objective and therefore each area can focus only on what you need. Add a beach and you only need swimming to work on that skill and sunbathing to relax, you don't even need random events as you have the random guys element as the focus of the gameplay loop.
Unfortunely the talk about the brothel in Bangkok was there from the start and I think they just felt they had to go there even if the scope of the game had changed.
Seemed like I want to make a separate post about variables and all that. To me, I like to have a list of variables available when I'm on a roll coding, and then comment them out or delete them if it turns out that I will never need them. I can say that I tossed Twine in the dumpster long ago and I am so happy that I did that. Twine itself was my biggest time sink after my games got large. It has a role as a nice way for a beginner to start game design, or for a making a simple game, but I would never, ever try to code a complex game in it again.
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Yeah, that's my thing about Crush. He tries to do too much making systems with twine that just aren't really possible or worth it at the end of the day. He could have just hand-written a huge game by now (which is what he ends up doing when he actually gives us any content, AND IT'S GREAT) but instead he seems to spend all his time trying to develop these non-linear game elements in a program made to make linear games.
I'm messing around making a twine game myself and pretty much every time I try to automate something it ends up being more of a headache and time-sink than just manually writing it would have been.
- Jan 10, 2018
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It is endlessly amusing to me to see people moan about Crush because he makes more money from his Patreon account than the moaners think he should. It is even more amusing when pointing out the fact that 80% of the last 20 reviews of his game were unfavorable means that one is accused of being an "absolutely dedicated [defender] who will go to bat for him!"
I doubt that there is a person on this forum that doesn't think that Crush deserves criticism for his inconsistent development decisions and abysmal development pace. The only actual controversy here is whether or not he makes too much money on Patreon.
I doubt that there is a person on this forum that doesn't think that Crush deserves criticism for his inconsistent development decisions and abysmal development pace. The only actual controversy here is whether or not he makes too much money on Patreon.
That did not answer my question--I guess you can't or won't--but I am pleased that you are amused. I suppose if you had a real answer, you would say it plainly, instead of trying to guess at what other people are thinking or feeling, but maybe you never say anything plainly. I mean, you could just ask if you really wanted to know. I don't hide things. Still, maybe you enjoy expressing contempt for others, but have a difficult time finding an outlet.
And no, I don't believe that people deserve more money than Crush for trying and failing to adhere to a decent schedule in game development. That guess was wrong on your part, but maybe being wrong does not bother you much. Instead, I will always consistently praise Crush for knowing how to keep a Patreon audience enthralled. They seem to like what he does, and I won't blame him for having that skill. The fact that certain others both lack that skill and cannot develop on schedule means that Crush has at least one significant skill that they lack.
Still, do you want to defend other creators? Some others might need it if you do. I will say that trying to find positives in Crush's situation has potential parallels in the situation of others. Maybe there is a positive explanation for them as well.
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- Jan 10, 2018
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Your question was "However, why not defend them?" It begs the question, of course of whether or not I do "defend them." I cannot answer that because I don't know what "defend them" even means. I do point out logical fallacies and made-up data wherever I encounter it, so if I am defending Crush here I defend all developers I follow everywhere.
I have no idea what "if you had a real answer, you would say it plainly" even means. Maybe you should work on "saying plainly" what your question is, if you really wanted to know.
I don't know why you bring up your lack of belief that "people deserve more money than Crush for trying and failing to adhere to a decent schedule in game development." I don't even understand what that means, despite your claim that that was my guess. I didn't guess anything. I simply noted some facts. You keep saying that I "guess things" and then guess that "maybe {I} enjoy expressing contempt for others, but have a difficult time finding an outlet!"
You will find, if you actually read my posts, that what I express "contempt for" is arguments without merit. Like the one I quoted in the line above.So you didn't understand my posts. That is too bad. And you are referring to your speculations as facts, which might just explain why you can't understand others' posts. How can such assertions have merit? I therefore don't believe what you just said. With all that going on, I see no reason why you appear to feel a sense of entitlement **ooo there's that word again** to express contempt for others.Your question was "However, why not defend them?" It begs the question, of course of whether or not I do "defend them." I cannot answer that because I don't know what "defend them" even means. I do point out logical fallacies and made-up data wherever I encounter it, so if I am defending Crush here I defend all developers I follow everywhere.
I have no idea what "if you had a real answer, you would say it plainly" even means. Maybe you should work on "saying plainly" what your question is, if you really wanted to know.
I don't know why you bring up your lack of belief that "people deserve more money than Crush for trying and failing to adhere to a decent schedule in game development." I don't even understand what that means, despite your claim that that was my guess. I didn't guess anything. I simply noted some facts. You keep saying that I "guess things" and then guess that "maybe {I} enjoy expressing contempt for others, but have a difficult time finding an outlet!"
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I would say this is not in any way correct representation of what's happening.
I don't care how much money he's making. It could be 1$ or 5,000$, that's irrelevant. All the people who give him money are, presumably, adults who do it of their own volition. What I do care about is that new people should be aware of the status of development. If there's another game on this scope, I sure wish other people would raise enough ruckus to make me pay attention to it. If after that I still want to contribute money, well, that's my choice. I've been warned aplenty.
Considering your other points, regarding reviews - well just the fact that the majority of recent reviews are negative, if it is indeed true what was reported, that he's going around trying to take down negative reviews, and even encouraging his fans to do it, that's very dishonest practice, regardless of how successful it is. I sincerely hope that's not true, because it is utterly despicable if it is.