Image number for a game

[DeafPerv]

How many images do you think are enough for initial release or even per release?
Game like A Wife and A Mother had like 900 images in it's first release while some other games like My Girlfriend's Amnesia or Depraved awakening had very few.
But i prefer the later two.
What do you think?

I'm currently developing a renpy game. And due to my hardware limitation i'm unable to make as many renders as i want. But i would like to make it up with the story and tasteful arts.
Will 100 images do the job if they are good enough?

 

[bas]

Personally, I'd look at from number of events/content. That's what people walk away talking about from a new game; what happened in the release.

Get your events tight and then put the appropriate number of renders in there for you to feel like it's telling your story seamlessly. If 100 gets it done, cool. If not, make more.

 

[DarthSeduction]

How many images do you think are enough for initial release or even per release?
Game like A Wife and A Mother had like 900 images in it's first release while some other games like My Girlfriend's Amnesia or Depraved awakening had very few.
But i prefer the later two.
What do you think?

I'm currently developing a renpy game. And due to my hardware limitation i'm unable to make as many renders as i want. But i would like to make it up with the story and tasteful arts.
Will 100 images do the job if they are good enough?

100 to 150 is kinda standard. However, you need to commit to a number you can continue to reach. I would stray from measuring by renders and instead focus on time. If someone reads all your text and makes it to the end of your release, how long will it take? For me, I think 45 min to an hour is a good release. That might be a bit long though and not always feasible for someone with a full time job. However, remember renders are only part of the equation, and you need to give your players something to come back for. MGA and DA which you mentioned are some of the more quality story based games out there... MGA has kinda faltered more recently, but DA is objectively in the top 3 stories I've played in all adult gaming. Philly Games spends painstaking hours making every part of DA really interesting. He has good and sometimes humourous, sometimes dark, writing, he has great art, and he has quality code. All of these combined with a release that hits good story beats that keep you invested while still giving you something to fuck.

 

[Philly_Games]

Thank you guys for the props and I will pipe in a bit here since my game was mentioned specifically, @bossapplesauce kinda hit it on the head. At first I was focused on the amount of renders but since 0.3 I try to focus on the number of scenes or events. The first thing I do per release is take my main outline and zoom in so to speak on the episode at hand and flesh out all the scenes that will happen in said update. Typically there are about 14 scenes which includes alternates. Sometimes these are just 5 or 6 renders such as talking with Eddie outside the station. Other times they are 40+ renders for certain H Scenes.

Now I will say I didn't realize my game was on the low end of the render count per update (or do you just mean the first release cause DA did have like 100 renders for 0.1), I normally have around 200-250 renders per release. Some of these renders take 30 minute to create (Basically anything outdoors), but then the scenes such as Judy in the morning in 0.7 each took a painstaking 5 hours to render. This also doesn't count the numerous renders I throw away during testing of a new scene. Yesterday for instance It took me almost 5 hours to get a scene setup where the lighting worked for me.

So the actual timeframe of my releases sadly, is based on rendering, everything else I can finish pretty easily in a couple weeks. I setup renders to go over night and while at work. Then I setup and render more when I get home. Rinse and repeat every day My gpu barely ever stops. Once all the scenes I have planned out are complete. Then its ready for launch.

 

[DeafPerv]

Thank you guys for the props and I will pipe in a bit here since my game was mentioned specifically, @bossapplesauce kinda hit it on the head. At first I was focused on the amount of renders but since 0.3 I try to focus on the number of scenes or events. The first thing I do per release is take my main outline and zoom in so to speak on the episode at hand and flesh out all the scenes that will happen in said update. Typically there are about 14 scenes which includes alternates. Sometimes these are just 5 or 6 renders such as talking with Eddie outside the station. Other times they are 40+ renders for certain H Scenes.

Now I will say I didn't realize my game was on the low end of the render count per update (or do you just mean the first release cause DA did have like 100 renders for 0.1), I normally have around 200-250 renders per release. Some of these renders take 30 minute to create (Basically anything outdoors), but then the scenes such as Judy in the morning in 0.7 each took a painstaking 5 hours to render. This also doesn't count the numerous renders I throw away during testing of a new scene. Yesterday for instance It took me almost 5 hours to get a scene setup where the lighting worked for me.

So the actual timeframe of my releases sadly, is based on rendering, everything else I can finish pretty easily in a couple weeks. I setup renders to go over night and while at work. Then I setup and render more when I get home. Rinse and repeat every day My gpu barely ever stops. Once all the scenes I have planned out are complete. Then its ready for launch.

Wow thanks for the insights.
I have two questions though if you don't mind me asking.

Do you make your characters and backgrounds separately? Or it's just one render.
And which gpu are you using?

I'm rendering characters and backgrounds at once. Hence they are too large in size and taking too long for me to render.
I have the gtx 1050ti. It's a lower end card. And not really good for 3d stuffs.
But i'm adamant and passionate about this project.
I could hire someone to make them but that will be too expensive. The ones i know charge 10 dollars per sprite. So if i plan on having 100 renders then there goes 1000 dollars. I can't afford such amount

 

[DeafPerv]

I rendered this image in 4k. Then resized it to 1080p.
Took me 1 whole hour. Only 2500 samples

She is one of the main characters in my game

 

[DarthSeduction]

I rendered this image in 4k. Then resized it to 1080p.
Took me 1 whole hour. Only 2500 samples

She is one of the main characters in my game View attachment 74720

There is a setting on patreon so that you can charge your patrons per update, rather than monthly. If you can't, due to hardware constraints, render fast enough to stick to a monthly schedule, then it wouldn't be the worst idea to start that way. Then, as you make some money, upgrade your video card, system ram and processor so that you can start moving faster on the project. Maybe even set one of your goals as explicitly, "system upgrade"

 

[Philly_Games]

I render everything in scene. I cheated once and did an overlay. There are also various ways to gain some time such as using animation to make a few renders for over night, canvas settings which work well for dialog where the subject is not casting a defined shadow in the scene. I try to ensure that translucent objects are not in the scene if possible and the same goes with reflective surfaces since those bog the render.

I am also using a 1060 currently for my card. Id love to upgrade but prices are outrageous right now.

If i were you I would do what @darthseduction said and go with pay by major update. You can't change that later which I wish I could because updates are taking longer now as the story gets more complex.