VN Ren'Py Homelander [Ch.4 P2] [JabbonkGames]

[Zoltan Redbeard]

Jabbonk, I know that not a sure thing, however, some devs have managed to get their games published despite the first hard rejection of their games by changing the "offending" part of the game (often taking a total guess as to which) and then resubmitting the whole game with a modified title after some time. For instance, Lucie Adult Game by SecretGame became Lucie Adult Game HD and then was released on Steam, Summer with Mia Season 2 by Inceton had been approved as Returning to Mia and will be released sometime in the future, even Astaros3D tried to retify Girl House as Lust & Life, but his work on the little girl seemed to be not enough and was rejected again, which is absurd by the way and, sadly, the same is also for the recent X-Centric works

I don't know, maybe they've just been lucky to not being reviewed by this Mary again with their second submission, however a possibility seems to exists.

For what it's worth, even if I admit that I know nothing about it, I continue to be convinced that greater communication and sharing of experiences among all the developers, especially those who have run into this type of problem, could be useful for everyone, both legally than solidarity. Even simply using this forum in a more proactive way to make these proven experiences better known could be very useful.
And, maybe, the creation of some sort of “trade union” for (small) independent (adult) game developers would not be a bad thing to make their voice count a little more.

Going more into science fiction (but also not), if this Mary is to be considered seriously a "problem", perhaps a way to make those in charge aware of it could be found, I don't know, maybe with a petition on change.org (or a similar platform) with a letter to be sent to the "bigwigs" at Steam, from Gabe Newell to others in the company who could read it and maybe take action on it. Maybe even attaching it to some online industry magazines, so as to create a little more awareness of the issue outside of just the industry insiders (I don't know, it's just a guess, but maybe even the porn industry, like PornHub, might have some interest in supporting causes like this).

In the end, I know it's almost just ranting, but, for example, we are almost 6 million registered users here on the forum alone, with an active average of more or less 20 thousand users online at all times of the day, they are not such irrelevant numbers after all, I hope that somewhere it will have to be possible to make them count a little

 

[Jabbonk]

Jabbonk, I know that not a sure thing, however, some devs have managed to get their games published despite the first hard rejection of their games by changing the "offending" part of the game (often taking a total guess as to which) and then resubmitting the whole game with a modified title after some time. For instance, Lucie Adult Game by SecretGame became Lucie Adult Game HD and then was released on Steam, Summer with Mia Season 2 by Inceton had been approved as Returning to Mia and will be released sometime in the future, even Astaros3D tried to retify Girl House as Lust & Life, but his work on the little girl seemed to be not enough and was rejected again, which is absurd by the way and, sadly, the same is also for the recent X-Centric works

I don't know, maybe they've just been lucky to not being reviewed by this Mary again with their second submission, however a possibility seems to exists.

For what it's worth, even if I admit that I know nothing about it, I continue to be convinced that greater communication and sharing of experiences among all the developers, especially those who have run into this type of problem, could be useful for everyone, both legally than solidarity. Even simply using this forum in a more proactive way to make these proven experiences better known could be very useful.
And, maybe, the creation of some sort of “trade union” for (small) independent (adult) game developers would not be a bad thing to make their voice count a little more.

Going more into science fiction (but also not), if this Mary is to be considered seriously a "problem", perhaps a way to make those in charge aware of it could be found, I don't know, maybe with a petition on change.org (or a similar platform) with a letter to be sent to the "bigwigs" at Steam, from Gabe Newell to others in the company who could read it and maybe take action on it. Maybe even attaching it to some online industry magazines, so as to create a little more awareness of the issue outside of just the industry insiders (I don't know, it's just a guess, but maybe even the porn industry, like PornHub, might have some interest in supporting causes like this).

In the end, I know it's almost just ranting, but, for example, we are almost 6 million registered users here on the forum alone, with an active average of more or less 20 thousand users online at all times of the day, they are not such irrelevant numbers after all, I hope that somewhere it will have to be possible to make them count a little

There have been a lot of Dev discussions regarding this topic, and from what I've seen, they mostly agree that it sucks but there isn't much that can be done. Also, if I try to resubmit a game under a new title/developer name, I could get a permanent ban from their platform, not just for my game, but for my developer accounts as well! While I don't have plans to work on another game any time soon, I'd rather leave that door open for future projects.

I've put in a request for reevaluation and plead my case, giving all my reasoning and explaining that there is literally no sexual content with minors in my game and that the reviewer must have made a mistake somewhere. I also asked for more details about what disqualified my game, as they just send a standard denial email with no actual details.

They say there's no hope for another review, and no discussions, so I don't expect much to come of it... But at least I tried. They're very clear about the decision being final and I've never heard of a ruling being overturned after being labeled with such a claim.

Honestly, it's mostly Steam's lack of consistency and refusal to discuss the issue that really bothers me. If they had even just given me details about what I did wrong then this wouldn't be such a gut-punch decision. I mean, there are games on steam that are muuuuuuch edgier than mine, or have some very questionably aged characters. Obviously I don't want to call any of them out to Steam because it could result in their games being taken down too and that doesn't solve any problems lol.

It just really sucks that as soon as a dev gets hit with the "Suggestive content with minors" BS, there's seemingly nothing you can do about it, however unjust or undeserved it might be. I suppose it's possible that if enough people emailed steam complaining about the unjust ban of Homelander that they might be convinced to take another look, but it would have to be A LOT of people and even that's a hell of a longshot lol

 

[Zoltan Redbeard]

There have been a lot of Dev discussions regarding this topic, and from what I've seen, they mostly agree that it sucks but there isn't much that can be done. Also, if I try to resubmit a game under a new title/developer name, I could get a permanent ban from their platform, not just for my game, but for my developer accounts as well! While I don't have plans to work on another game any time soon, I'd rather leave that door open for future projects.

I've put in a request for reevaluation and plead my case, giving all my reasoning and explaining that there is literally no sexual content with minors in my game and that the reviewer must have made a mistake somewhere. I also asked for more details about what disqualified my game, as they just send a standard denial email with no actual details.

They say there's no hope for another review, and no discussions, so I don't expect much to come of it... But at least I tried. They're very clear about the decision being final and I've never heard of a ruling being overturned after being labeled with such a claim.

Honestly, it's mostly Steam's lack of consistency and refusal to discuss the issue that really bothers me. If they had even just given me details about what I did wrong then this wouldn't be such a gut-punch decision. I mean, there are games on steam that are muuuuuuch edgier than mine, or have some very questionably aged characters. Obviously I don't want to call any of them out to Steam because it could result in their games being taken down too and that doesn't solve any problems lol.

It just really sucks that as soon as a dev gets hit with the "Suggestive content with minors" BS, there's seemingly nothing you can do about it, however unjust or undeserved it might be. I suppose it's possible that if enough people emailed steam complaining about the unjust ban of Homelander that they might be convinced to take another look, but it would have to be A LOT of people and even that's a hell of a longshot lol

Ouch, I wasn't aware about the risks involved in resubmitting a modified version of a game under a different name, and these sucks too, even if I can more or less understand it a bit.

Yes, it's true, their inconsistent rules and their not-so-apparent double standards are already are bad enough, but the total impossibility of discussion and the hard bans without any possibility of appeal as early as the first submission of the game are totally unfair and unprofessional... if maybe something could be done to change these ridiculous policies, or maybe even just have a group of reviewers rather than one person would be something. I mean, if it's one person that has the hard hand
I mean, if it's just one person going hard on bans, if we could extremify her for lack of professionalism or something like that, or make her part of a team where she doesn't have the one and only word of judgment, that would already change things, otherwise it would always remain a bit of Russian roulette for games and developers, which is really bad

 

[Jabbonk]

Hey homies!

You must be registered to see the links

It might be a little wordy, but I like to be upfront.

Hope everyone has another great week!
Much love!
JB

 

[jthunderk89]

holy shitballs, I'm no animator, but 18 hours to render 32 frames sounds like it'd be maddening

 

[Jabbonk]

holy shitballs, I'm no animator, but 18 hours to render 32 frames sounds like it'd be maddening

Very much so! It doesn't happen with my scenes very often anymore thankfully

 

[walker188]

I had a feeling it was Mary, I was about to ask then i scrolled down and saw Jabbonk said who it was.

Mary has a hard-on on banning these games.

Can someone send me a link to one of her steam reviews?

I'm legitimately curious now.

 

[NutellaOrgies]

Can someone send me a link to one of her steam reviews?

I'm legitimately curious now.

https://f95zone.to/threads/chloe-18-fake-family-v0-69-2-01-gds.56142/post-6747211

https://f95zone.to/threads/fashion-business-ep-3-v16-decentmonkey.11501/post-6700515

There are a lot more but that requires research lol

 

[Blackhearts]

https://f95zone.to/threads/chloe-18-fake-family-v0-69-2-01-gds.56142/post-6747211

https://f95zone.to/threads/fashion-business-ep-3-v16-decentmonkey.11501/post-6700515

There are a lot more but that requires research lol

Legit just a Karen with another name..

 

[Jabbonk]

Hey Homies!

Much better

You must be registered to see the links

this week. Knocked out a couple of animations and some coding/scripting. Click

You must be registered to see the links

for full deets.

Have a good week!
Much love!
JB

 

[Britfinder13]

Looking forward to the next release. That Smith needs some hammering for sure

 

[ILoveSucuk]

Hello. Do updates always take 6 to 10+ Months (or something like that) for a Single Chapter? Knowing myself well enough, if I had not found and started it literally a couple hours ago, I would have already lost all interest. I am simply too impatient.

Also (sorry if I missed the answer to this Question in this Thread): As

Spoiler

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Thanks and good luck with the Project! Added to the Watch List for now.

 

[FatGiant]

It is so lovely that people feel like they have the right, nay, the duty, to come to some place like this, insult the Dev, excuse it with saying they are impatient (as if that clears them), proceed to make demands, AND, after all that, wish good things, while throwing the amazing boon of adding the game to their watch list (it was added automatically after posting, anyway).

What a feel good story, almost a work that equals those of other famous writers. We've all been elevated by this, by showing us what NOT to do.

Thanks for making all of us look smart in comparison, you really are a trooper.

Peace

 

[Uthuriel]

It is so lovely that people feel like they have the right, nay, the duty, to come to some place like this, insult the Dev, excuse it with saying they are impatient (as if that clears them), proceed to make demands, AND, after all that, wish good things, while throwing the amazing boon of adding the game to their watch list (it was added automatically after posting, anyway).

What a feel good story, almost a work that equals those of other famous writers. We've all been elevated by this, by showing us what NOT to do.

Thanks for making all of us look smart in comparison, you really are a trooper.

Peace

Eh... he was rude but that's nothing... I hopefully got someone thread banned from another game for real insulting stuff earlier.

The thing that people don't get is that waiting for a game to release is a stupid tactic... just play something else in the meantime...
There are literally thousands of games available...

 

[ILoveSucuk]

It is so lovely that people feel like they have the right, nay, the duty, to come to some place like this, insult the Dev, excuse it with saying they are impatient (as if that clears them), proceed to make demands, AND, after all that, wish good things, while throwing the amazing boon of adding the game to their watch list (it was added automatically after posting, anyway).

What a feel good story, almost a work that equals those of other famous writers. We've all been elevated by this, by showing us what NOT to do.

Thanks for making all of us look smart in comparison, you really are a trooper.

Peace

Eh... he was rude but that's nothing... I hopefully got someone thread banned from another game for real insulting stuff earlier.

The thing that people don't get is that waiting for a game to release is a stupid tactic... just play something else in the meantime...
There are literally thousands of games available...

Yeah I totally agree! People should stop trolling and complaining about People WHO ARE NOT COMPLAINING BUT ASKING AN HONEST QUESTION! Please get rid of those unnecessary Trolls...

 

[FatGiant]

Uthuriel did you hear a rumbling down by the swamp?

I think somebody is bothering the under the bridge guy. He's getting restless.

Peace

 

[Jabbonk]

Hello. Do updates always take 6 to 10+ Months (or something like that) for a Single Chapter? Knowing myself well enough, if I had not found and started it literally a couple hours ago, I would have already lost all interest. I am simply too impatient.

Also (sorry if I missed the answer to this Question in this Thread): As

Spoiler

You don't have permission to view the spoiler content. Log in or register now.

Thanks and good luck with the Project! Added to the Watch List for now.

There's only been one update since launch (I held off launching the game until 0.02 so there would actually be some adult scenes), and unfortunately, it did take about 8 months for 0.03 because I'm the only developer working on the game (in my spare time). I realize it's a long time to wait, but I can't really do much about that as I still have to work a job to help pay the bills.

I've toyed with the idea of releasing the chapters in smaller updates, but I'm not sure if it would work for the kind of game I'm making. There would inevitably be updates that wouldn't contain any adult scenes, and I'm not sure how that would go over with players. Besides that, I'm personally not a fan of the smaller/more frequent updates method as I almost always feel like there isn't enough content to satisfy me.

For some reason, I always think of this analogy when thinking of my development strategy:
Would you rather have a small snack every hour, or a giant meal at the end of the day?
Do you want to get a little taste and always be hungry for more, or do tough it out and get a big satisfying meal when dinner finally arrives?
It's honestly kind of a dumb policy for someone relying on the patience and good nature of their supporters, but I feel like it's better for the players in the long run. I could be wrong, and I may change my mind in the future, but for now, it makes sense to me.

Also, 'No comment' for any speculation on future story arcs, but I'm trying to make every future relationship optional. Right now the only relationships that aren't optional are Olivia and Ariana.

Sorry for typing too much but hopefully this helped answer some of your questions.

 

[FatGiant]

There's only been one update since launch (I held off launching the game until 0.02 so there would actually be some adult scenes), and unfortunately, it did take about 8 months for 0.03 because I'm the only developer working on the game (in my spare time). I realize it's a long time to wait, but I can't really do much about that as I still have to work a job to help pay the bills.

I've toyed with the idea of releasing the chapters in smaller updates, but I'm not sure if it would work for the kind of game I'm making. There would inevitably be updates that wouldn't contain any adult scenes, and I'm not sure how that would go over with players. Besides that, I'm personally not a fan of the smaller/more frequent updates method as I almost always feel like there isn't enough content to satisfy me.

For some reason, I always think of this analogy when thinking of my development strategy:
Would you rather have a small snack every hour, or a giant meal at the end of the day?
Do you want to get a little taste and always be hungry for more, or do tough it out and get a big satisfying meal when dinner finally arrives?
It's honestly kind of a dumb policy for someone relying on the patience and good nature of their supporters, but I feel like it's better for the players in the long run. I could be wrong, and I may change my mind in the future, but for now, it makes sense to me.

Also, 'No comment' for any speculation on future story arcs, but I'm trying to make every future relationship optional. Right now the only relationships that aren't optional are Olivia and Ariana.

Sorry for typing too much but hopefully this helped answer some of your questions.

It is THIS:

Spoiler: Because the images are too big

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In the end, we get the same content, but with varying satisfaction levels, also, our memory of the experience is different. With small updates, we will always be in a state of waiting and that will paint the memory of the experience, somewhat dissatisfying and always "late". With bigger updates we will have a long period of fullness where if asked we will state that we are pleased.

There's also a higher risk of burnout on a small updates cycle, the stress is always high, for the Dev. On a large update cycle, you have more control of the workflow, less "imediatism" and stress.

What I've seen some Dev's do, is the attempt to reach a mid level compromise, with meaty updates on a 2 or 3 months cycle, or 3 or 4 if you need more time. Something along the 300 renders area, sometimes a bit more. It may help with the "waiting blues" and keep the game in players memory. This isn't even a suggestion, please, do what you feel is right, this is merely pointing out a different method. It has some cons too, like more frequent cliffhangers (I hate them above all else) and "half-parts" that actually leave a bitter taste.

So, do what feels right, play on your strengths. Oh, and remember to rest and relax and have fun, otherwise what's the point...

Peace

 

[FunFuntomes]

soon.....

 

[Sharktopus13]

Both methods of update have there pro's and con's, just stick to what you find most comfortable, you're running the show, if you're happy, you're more productive.
Either way, this is one of those, can't please everyone all the time situation's, so you just keep putting out the great work you have been so far, and we'll keep loving it.