One does need to beat one's meat
And this whole conversation is entering dangerously close to masturbatory territory anyway.
So where can I buy/download it?
"Finished" does not mean "released".
So it is not finished yet.
Please refer to previous point.
When I asked her about the current status of Chapter 3 at 14 June, she said that delivered dates are "mostly solid". That would mean that Chapter 3 should be released that day or in a few days. A small delay was due to that she was "just tidying up minor errors in renders". But now we know that it wasn't true. Chapter 3 was released at 13 July, about one month (4 weeks) later. And it had nothing to do with the disease. It is another story.
While this is true, let me remind you that no one is your personal slave entertainment provider and thus does not have to justify themself to you. Not Notty, nor any other dev. I know it may feel like the devs owe us something, since after all, a few of us give them money, others give useful criticism, etc. But ultimately, devs owe us nothing. Zip, nada, nichts. The end of the matter is that they are the creator of a product we wish to enjoy, so the power is all their. Getting frustrated because of a lack of release is one thing, starting to point accusingly is quite another.
And now we have Chapter 4, which is "almost" finished.
This analogy would be quite good indeed if you did pay for a Puma shirt and you were given a kitten and a blank shirt (which would be way better, in my opinion).
But as I understand it, you didn't pay for jack (you may be a patron though, I don't know) and someone is giving you a kitten. Take the kitten, dude.
But don't make kittenade, that shit is sick!
It is her choice, but she also has to accept that not all users will be happy about it.
This is similar to what happened with Two Sides, but on a much smaller scale.
And she does accept that. And so do we (the Defenders™). We do accept that everyone won't be happy with this. Heck, I'm not happy with this, since I would like to play the new chapters already. But this is happening anyway, so the choice is yours now: either you accept it and go your merry way, or you don't and spend more time talking about it. Ultimately, it won't change a single thing, except that negative energy is going to give you ulcers, which would benefit no one.
So we can't really blame Gumdrop for delays, because all dates he gave us were only estimations, right?
Please, just
Gumdrop it.
If not animations, other things will take her time. In the first chapter we had "only" three women. Now we have... well, a lot of them. There are also two guys! According to the old walkthrough, there may be romantic paths with them in the future.
I believe that the next chapters will be more and more complex. This means that they will require more and more time to make them.
Firstly, making assumptions is like fucking your
cousin in Alabama roommate in an incest game. It's easy, but makes you look like an ass.
One thing you don't take into consideration is that in the first chapter, we only had three women, but Notty only had 0 experience as well. With each passing chapter, she did gain experience (and a better rig). This is why she's now able to make way better renders.
I don't know if you ever used Daz or tried to make your own game, but I do (as an amateur), and I can tell the differences are staggering between the old renders and the new ones. The example you used before between the two characters is visual: the use of a new model makes a big difference, but it's way less impressive from a technical standpoint. That being said, I can understand how you, as a player, would not care too much to see old parts getting revamped.
The big advantage Notty has upon most other devs is that the plot is already set AND written on countless binders and sheets. She actually has to write the word into .rpy files, but having the whole plot written in advance is a freaking huge timesaver, believe you me.
Could you remind me what extraordinary circumstances occurred between 13 June and 13 July?
My trollish self would like to answer something like "my dick in your sister's mouth", and that's indeed what I'd say if we were IRL friends (I like to make crude jokes with my friends, sue me
), but more seriously, in this instance, the circumstances were simply real life consequences from real life disease that Notty had to take care of. Even if a few of us (such as myself) spend way too much time on this forum and on adult games, one has to admit that real life should take precedence once in a while.
I believe that Notty has honest intentions and she is not going to milk her patreons, but that does not change the fact that she is not able to keep her promises.
She promised to release Chapter 2 for free when Chapter 3 will be completed. It didn't happen. Officially, it was because of Patreon rules. But other devs have no problem with this. Even Gumdrop was able to publish free version of Dual Family on Game Jolt.
I understand your point. I do. Patrons aside, she did indeed give dates and could not make them. The only thing I take from that is that one should not give date. Ever. The huge majority of adult games devs are not professionals, and for most of us, it is only a (freakingly time-consuming) hobby. I, and a few others, advocated that she stopped giving deadlines, estimations, etc. because, in the end, it serves no one. The game will be out when it's out, and that's it. It may seem like a lack of respect from devs to players, but I think releasing a half-baked update to make a deadline is equally a lack of respect.
Ok, it is her choice. I can pay $1 for Tier 1 if she wants to. But even for that I have to wait until Chapter 4 will be released. Why? I don't know. Maybe you will tell me what is stopping her.
Or maybe you could ask her directly (and maybe you did). And according to her answer, you'll decide if she deserves or not your $1. Way I see it, you don't owe her anything, and in return, she doesn't owe you anything. The perfect relationship.
Personally I think that EA is much better than CDP.
To be honest, I prefer medium-sized producers, like Pandemic Studios or Remedy Entertainment in 2000s.
Good for you. You got my point though.
As I said, I'm not ruling it out. I'm just giving it up for now. Maybe I will return to the game when it is closer to completing. Probably in 2021.
And no one is stopping you. This is actually a good idea to leave a game for a while and come back when the amount of content is to your liking. Where we disagree is when you spend multiple posts making blatantly trollish comparisons.
But there are not visible "typos" or visual glitches. There is nothing to be "fixed".
Maybe not to you, there aren't. But to the creator of the content, this isn't just a game, this is a product that embeds her name, her reputation and her pride. You could argue that releasing on time also makes or breaks reputations, and you would be right. But once again, quality takes time. In this instance, Notty decided that the first chapters needed a do-over in order to grow better in the long term. I happen to think it's sound reasoning.
I don't force her to do anything. I'm just expressing my opinion.
This game requires attention from the player. The story is important. You must know game universe well to make good choices.
For example, at first time I didn't notice that Kelly is our sister. I didn't realize it until I chose the "evil" path (with Eric).
But after a few months, I don't remember what we were talking about with Chis, and what exactly she was involved in. I don't remember too much about the planet on which we have to carry out our mission.
How is it any different from the vast majority of games here? Or series? Or books trilogy where the third books is years late?
(looking at you, Patrick Rothfuss è_é)
Serialized stories tend to have this issue. You can't both have and eat your cake
which is a lie anyway
Answering from my phone at work, so it might feel a little disjointed, but long story short: devs don't owe us shit, yet you're right to be disappointed. If you feel the need to leave and come back later when there is more content, feel free to do so.
