VN Ren'Py Abandoned Midlife Crisis [v0.34 - v0.1 Dark] [Nefastus Games]

[artofwar]

It's been done and you can find a few examples if you look back far enough. The OG Harem started by ker in 22011 (funny to look back to 2011 /hgg times when "Harem" was a good enough name that wouldn't get confused with 15 other games) it had 8 years of constant updates then got abandoned in 2019. Afterwards it had several fan remakes that also got abandoned, surprisingly had ker return after a 3 year hiatus, admit that after all he went through he didn't want to start remaking Harem solo with an 11-year old engine and finally resulted in ker teaming up with Fylokon Games to give us the game we have today which is made in a new version of RPGMaker and Koikatsu and is getting regular updates which you can play here: https://f95zone.to/threads/harem-rpg-remastered-4m1-1-fylokon-games.158499/

So yes it happens, but it's rare and comes with many downsides. Like the fact that in current oversaturated market a 13yo story feels generic and the fantasy wish-fullfilment harem game's been done to death in the meantime with much smoother gameplay and much higher-rez graphics. I still enjoy it but I admit a big part of why is the nostalgia.

1) Not a VN
2) Doesn't look all that successful, though it's definitely not an outright failure.
3) Your example of a fan made continuation going on to be successful is.. a remake by the original dev in partnership with another? -_-

The rule with fan remakes when it comes to VN's (especially abandoned VN's) is that they're garbage, and will last the initial release plus an update or two at the most. I can't think of a single exception, but I'm sure they're out there. That said, I don't think you did your point any favors by choosing the one you did.

I wish that weren't the case because there's a ton of games that had amazing starts only for the original devs to just disappear, or start off down the milking rabbit hole. Still, it makes sense - competent writers tend to want to write their own stories, and people who can do decent renders find out pretty fast that writing is a bit more challenging than it might seem.

 

[Chucke1992]

I wish that weren't the case because there's a ton of games that had amazing starts only for the original devs to just disappear, or start off down the milking rabbit hole.

Reminds me a bit of Waifu Academy with dev milking it but still getting money that allows to finance a couple of mortages. But I cannot deny the renders there are top noch for HS engine (I think it is HS). One of the hottest around.

And also reminds me of Ecchi Sensei where dev disappeared and it had a great story albeit with slightly weak renders.

Shame that midlife crisis ended relatively close to ending potentially.

 

[Talmadge]

So the other site I follow to know when to go on here and DL a game says that a new update of this game came out. Version 0.4.
Am I understanding y'all that it is not from the original Dev? Because I'm not following what y'all are saying too well for some reason. I just want to know for sure before I DL it from that other site since it hasn't been updated here. Thanks!

 

[OhGodNotAgain]

So the other site I follow to know when to go on here and DL a game says that a new update of this game came out. Version 0.4.
Am I understanding y'all that it is not from the original Dev? Because I'm not following what y'all are saying too well for some reason. I just want to know for sure before I DL it from that other site since it hasn't been updated here. Thanks!

...Its on the latest updates page. It a fan made game.

 

[Danv]

So the other site I follow to know when to go on here and DL a game says that a new update of this game came out. Version 0.4.
Am I understanding y'all that it is not from the original Dev? Because I'm not following what y'all are saying too well for some reason. I just want to know for sure before I DL it from that other site since it hasn't been updated here. Thanks!

it's fan made off-shot, not related to original dev
https://f95zone.to/threads/early-life-crisis-v0-4-noegrets.228386/

 

[MrDL]

Well shit, how do you fumble so close to the endzone?

 

[Danv]

Well shit, how do you fumble so close to the endzone?

he's been fumbling through whole development process, starting from hundreds broken renders and transitions in first half of the game, what he leaved "for later" but never bothered to go back and fix, to constant disappearances and completely random release schedule in second half of the game - it was just matter of time...
...or not, with how fickle Nef always been - it's still not 100% abandoned, after all - it has been only a year

 

[Digitalzig]

we need a new update

 

[hatefuldisplay]

we need a new update

He hasn't even posted on Patreon for over 10 months. I can't see any update any time in the near future.

 

[Rey1966]

he's been fumbling through whole development process, starting from hundreds broken renders and transitions in first half of the game, what he leaved "for later" but never bothered to go back and fix, to constant disappearances and completely random release schedule in second half of the game - it was just matter of time...
...or not, with how fickle Nef always been - it's still not 100% abandoned, after all - it has been only a year

Isn't a lot of avn postponed for a year and later it's completely abandoned without any news for years lol
For example AOA Academy,the Relic, Luke's Way,Reluctant Archon, Detective Necro,etc

 

[Barbaric -Shelf]

Well there are alot of devs like this... take money and then promise updates and miss them to come back years later... with a rushed ending because they have promised so much and have done nothing...

 

[Chucke1992]

Well there are alot of devs like this... take money and then promise updates and miss them to come back years later... with a rushed ending because they have promised so much and have done nothing...

people basically lose interest. I am similar with writing stories - you gradually lose interest and then might want to return and revisit stuff. Or maybe abandon altogether.

 

[HornyyPussy]

Or maybe there is nothing nefarious about the why considering Nef's previous health issues ( I hope to all that is holy that he's ok!).

 

[Walter Victor]

Isn't a lot of avn postponed for a year and later it's completely abandoned without any news for years lol
For example AOA Academy,the Relic, Luke's Way,Reluctant Archon, Detective Necro,etc

Well there are alot of devs like this... take money and then promise updates and miss them to come back years later... with a rushed ending because they have promised so much and have done nothing...

I actually hope your suggestions are correct, because the other possibilities for the dev's absence are too depressing, and offer zero hope for the game being restarted.

 

[Joshuam303]

Or maybe there is nothing nefarious about the why considering Nef's previous health issues ( I hope to all that is holy that he's ok!).

What health issues?

 

[Romalous]

real shame been playing the updates for years always enjoyed the humor

 

[shamtiiomi]

and those games that are worth playing ,are ,...from devs who thing one update per year is good enough[it doesnt no matter how much waulity or qauntity you put on it] and those who put so little effort on the updates that you barely grasp the surface of the story.....and well those who scam and milk his patrons....we all know who those are...

 

[HornyyPussy]

What health issues?

Last time he dissappeared for a long time, he had to be rushed to the hospital with heart problems. He didn't have a phone with him so couldn't check in with anyone (his social life was a wee bit...problematic as I remember). Took a long time for him to get back in to it.

 

[Rexultara]

Not sure if it has been asked before, but is it possible to go through the entirety of the game without any sexual content besides the wife? I ask because I have played all the content for the more harem-focused route, and was attempting to go the route of only having sex with the wife.

Despite my choices pointing to the wife being the only sexual partner, both the scenes with Christine in the hotel and Amanda in the cabin still appeared, even after all choices I made regarding them were non-sexual prior to these 2 scenes. Am I correct in assuming these 2 scenes occur, regardless of your choices in the story leading up to them?

For reference, the Christine scene is after the father-daughter date, and the Amanda scene is after Jennifer brings her to the cabin after she is avoiding the MC. To be clear, I don't mind if that is the case, but it kind of throws continuity out the window, when the entire setup before those 2 scenes involves no pro-sexualizing them whatsoever (in reference to player choice).

 

[Count Morado]

Not sure if it has been asked before, but is it possible to go through the entirety of the game without any sexual content besides the wife?

no