VN Unity Netorase Phone [v0.18] [Le Stag]

[jackypetersy89]

It's called milking. And thats one of the big problems with Patreon, compared to more decent platforms like Kickstarter.

i think this is ignoring the failed Oliver entry. Love him or hate him his character was aweful for the story. the dev had to backtrack and give players an option to remove him from their story he was hated so much.

that screwed up the game pacing a LOT because instead of progressing the story the dev had to write in a bunch of new shit to fix the stuff people hated

 

[metramaks]

time between each update becomes longer

It's always 3 weeks.

 

[flies12]

i think this is ignoring the failed Oliver entry. Love him or hate him his character was aweful for the story. the dev had to backtrack and give players an option to remove him from their story he was hated so much.

that screwed up the game pacing a LOT because instead of progressing the story the dev had to write in a bunch of new shit to fix the stuff people hated

Ironically, Oliver wasn't awful for the story. He was an addition that created a huge amount of emotion among the players. Some were ok with him and some hated his guts. He's the sort of character that most writers would love to come up with and then use as some sort of antagonist.

He popped up at the perfect point: right when Laura had gotten comfortable with sharing and was getting really into it. Oliver was exactly the sort of character that could have created some real drama and conflict. The problem is, instead of using him to create and advance a new plot line (say, about the importance of making sure both partners are 100% comfortable and how it's important to not get too into the rush of the situation to forget that), the writer went back and made him easily removable.

 

[AcornHunter]

It's always 3 weeks.

0.2 -> 0.3 (1 week)
0.3 -> 0.4 (1 week)
0.4 -> 0.5 (2 weeks)
0.5 -> 0.6 (2 weeks)
(patreon first wave)
0.6 -> 0.7 (3 weeks)
0.7 -> 0.8 (2 weeks)
(patreon new tier)
0.8 -> 0.9 (3 weeks)
0.9 -> 0.10 (3 weeks)
and after that 3 weeks between updates, some of them so short, not even funny

 

[QuiteQuiet]

Ironically, Oliver wasn't awful for the story. He was an addition that created a huge amount of emotion among the players. Some were ok with him and some hated his guts. He's the sort of character that most writers would love to come up with and then use as some sort of antagonist.

He popped up at the perfect point: right when Laura had gotten comfortable with sharing and was getting really into it. Oliver was exactly the sort of character that could have created some real drama and conflict. The problem is, instead of using him to create and advance a new plot line (say, about the importance of making sure both partners are 100% comfortable and how it's important to not get too into the rush of the situation to forget that), the writer went back and made him easily removable.

Not part of the convo originally, but as an aspriring writer, I wanted to chime in.

He absolutely should have stayed. His removal is a sign that the developer is inexperienced with narrative storytelling, which is fine, as everyone has to start from somewhere. But yeah, there needs to be some tension, some degree of conflict to push the narrative forward. It doesn't need to be physical conflict—only something that pushes back against the player and/or characters.

The dev had the perfect chance to make things very interesting. A way to pull players in by testing them. This is never a bad thing. Having characters people don't like is part of the job. Look at Joffery from Game of Thrones, or any antagonistic character that viewers/fans loathed. It kept them hooked. But most importantly, it kept the story interesting. Nothing wrong with fun moments like we got in the last update. Four friends having fun exploring their sexualities, with humor and all that. But Oliver was 100% an antagonist and should not have been removed.

 

[Fish_lip]

All good points around dramatic tension, but this is a game with bewbs in to fap to.

 

[Dungeridoo]

The developer is not milking anything. A free update every 3 weeks with no features at all locked behind payments is literally the opposite of milking. There are developers out there who milk their productions - you'll see an update once a month seperated into a half a dozen tiers with cheat modes and gallery unlocks and extra save slots hidden behind codes and logins and other crap. There's absolutely nothing like that here. Patrons get to see and bug-test a pre-public-release version and the rest of us get a tested slightly ironed out product a week after.

Why do development times vary, why isn't the amount of content per update always consistent? Because it's like 1 guy writing what they want to see, learning and experimenting as they go. Personally I love to see that. It's fine. It's going to be fine.

 

[deviousstorm]

Netorase Phone is probably one of the better ones, the only thing I agree with is I wish oliver was more in the story, and we had more friction between the characters? Like a bit more story to tell or IDK something a bit more motivating to realy capture the hotness. It might need a lil bit of rewrite, as the earlier bits with Laura kissing Nathan etc and the teasing of whats going on with her thats part of the NTs genre.

 

[jjv111]

Bug appeared once again. In notes there is a line "You didn't allow Laure to break rules" (OS 16.2, current story index 777, act IX). That story bit is not even happened and i stunlocked from progressing any dialogs. Reloading to save from couple of acts back don't help. Advice?

 

[Luc77]

I became a patreon (for the first time ever) precisely because of such bullshit. Le Stag does a good job and deserves to be appreciated

 

[Elkfood]

I wish there were some option between Patreon with it's monthly charge and Kickstarter with a one-time fee. Some developers are milking their patreons. But I get why a one-time fee isnt enough to keep developing something over time.

 

[Joshy92]

Not part of the convo originally, but as an aspriring writer, I wanted to chime in.

He absolutely should have stayed. His removal is a sign that the developer is inexperienced with narrative storytelling, which is fine, as everyone has to start from somewhere. But yeah, there needs to be some tension, some degree of conflict to push the narrative forward. It doesn't need to be physical conflict—only something that pushes back against the player and/or characters.

The dev had the perfect chance to make things very interesting. A way to pull players in by testing them. This is never a bad thing. Having characters people don't like is part of the job. Look at Joffery from Game of Thrones, or any antagonistic character that viewers/fans loathed. It kept them hooked. But most importantly, it kept the story interesting. Nothing wrong with fun moments like we got in the last update. Four friends having fun exploring their sexualities, with humor and all that. But Oliver was 100% an antagonist and should not have been removed.

That might work for a TV show, but this is a wholesome NTS game and if lots of people voice their displeasure about a character it's a better choice financially to remove them.

Tension belong in those shitty NTR games anyway. The game even says it's about mutual consent and respect from all parties.

 

[deviousstorm]

That might work for a TV show, but this is a wholesome NTS game and if lots of people voice their displeasure about a character it's a better choice financially to remove them.

Tension belong in those shitty NTR games anyway. The game even says it's about mutual consent and respect from all parties.

True but this is entertainment. I wouldn't mind if like we got to see more of Tara's prespective it does't have to be only from the MC's POV.

As a game we can even 'switch' phone and come from tara's prespective. Who would be a very fun MC at some point.

 

[flies12]

That might work for a TV show, but this is a wholesome NTS game and if lots of people voice their displeasure about a character it's a better choice financially to remove them.

Tension belong in those shitty NTR games anyway. The game even says it's about mutual consent and respect from all parties.

You can have mutual respect and consent from all parties and still have conflict. The story literally had conflict from the opening until Laura fully accepted that she liked and enjoyed the lifestyle. That entire thing with her, going from being unsure about it and hesitant but going with it because she loved her partner to totally embracing and loving it herself was a conflict starting and then resolving itself. Her hesitance was the force applying friction in that part of the story.

People have talked for months about there being something missing from the game lately and this is the thing: there's no conflict and no friction. Stuff just happens, there's no sense of build-up or escalation, and as a result sometimes updates hit and sometimes they doesn't. Conflict doesn't need to be two people yelling at each other, it can be two people with a difference in opinion coming to a mutual understanding over time. The way Oliver got written out could have been a whole story arc that reinforced the idea of mutual respect and consent instead of a two-line throwaway moment.

 

[JQuillon]

The way Oliver got written out could have been a whole story arc that reinforced the idea of mutual respect and consent instead of a two-line throwaway moment.

He wasn't written out, though. People who wanted to get rid of him were able to do so, but for the others, he is still very much there--we just haven't seen him for a few updates, that's all. He's much less important for the story than Nathan is, for sure, but he'll almost certainly be back (at least, for those who kept him in the game, figuratively and literally).

 

[Le Stag]

time between each update becomes longer

Sadly, the time between your interventions here, repeating the same things every time, hasn't increased.

The time between update has been the same for a long time now. 3 weeks exactly. With an showcase both other weeks.

I am not milking anything or anyone. If I was, believe me, I'd be writing content that I know would interest more people. I'd probably get a few hundred more subscribers if I released a creampie chapter today. But that's not the story I'm telling, or the way I want to do things. I'm prioritizing the story over what potential additional money I can get, and I'm prioritizing communication and respect over gains. That's also why I don't have $50 tiers, and also why the updates get public only a week after release. Because I think that's the right way to do it, even if that may not be the most profitable one.

My goal has always been to write a slow and steady story. To take my time. And the Patreon helps me do that. I know some updates will displease some people. But that's the story I want to tell, and the way I want to tell it. And judging by the subscribers, and the feedback on Patreon, it's what a lot of people want me to tell. As long as these people will support me, I'll keep telling that story.

So, just like AcornHunter repeating the same thing, I'll repeat myself: the story will stay slow. If that disappoints you, I'm sorry, but let's be honest, you have thousands of games that go deeper and deeper on each chapter. I'm sure you'll find what you want in those.

And, yeah, Oliver hasn't been written out. But because I made him optional, it's harder for me to use him. That's the point with choices and alternatives: you can't both ask for more variety, and more raw content, because variety makes content harder to produce.

Also, the current content already has a lot of variety. It may not be blatant, but the dialogues have a lot of variations depending on your previous choices. Yes, the situations are globally the same, but my idea is to put in the forefront the kind of kinks you'll enjoy, with smaller variations. That's the variety I'm aiming for. Chapter 33, which I finished writing yesterday for example, adds 6 variables tracking what you may enjoy or not. Variables that will be used later to have dialogues tailored to your very own preferences, on top of more than 70 variables already included in-game.

 

[deviousstorm]

Snip

Agreed. I am excited to see where you go with it.

Are you planning on doing anything for April fools for the game at all?

 

[jaimeastorga2000]

Also, the current content already has a lot of variety. It may not be blatant, but the dialogues have a lot of variations depending on your previous choices. Yes, the situations are globally the same, but my idea is to put in the forefront the kind of kinks you'll enjoy, with smaller variations. That's the variety I'm aiming for. Chapter 33, which I finished writing yesterday for example, adds 6 variables tracking what you may enjoy or not. Variables that will be used later to have dialogues tailored to your very own preferences, on top of more than 70 variables already included in-game.

I think a big problem here is that going through the game between updates is slow/buggy enough that a lot of us only ever use Memories to access the latest chapter, but that feature only lets you set the Dominant/Submissive variable, so most of the subtle variations you are working on to create a bespoke gameplay experience are completely lost on the player. There should be some way under Settings or Notes to manually adjust the variables other than replaying the entire game and making the correct choices.

 

[WhiteFireDaemon]

Sadly, the time between your interventions here, repeating the same things every time, hasn't increased.

The time between update has been the same for a long time now. 3 weeks exactly. With an showcase both other weeks.

I am not milking anything or anyone. If I was, believe me, I'd be writing content that I know would interest more people. I'd probably get a few hundred more subscribers if I released a creampie chapter today. But that's not the story I'm telling, or the way I want to do things. I'm prioritizing the story over what potential additional money I can get, and I'm prioritizing communication and respect over gains. That's also why I don't have $50 tiers, and also why the updates get public only a week after release. Because I think that's the right way to do it, even if that may not be the most profitable one.

My goal has always been to write a slow and steady story. To take my time. And the Patreon helps me do that. I know some updates will displease some people. But that's the story I want to tell, and the way I want to tell it. And judging by the subscribers, and the feedback on Patreon, it's what a lot of people want me to tell. As long as these people will support me, I'll keep telling that story.

So, just like AcornHunter repeating the same thing, I'll repeat myself: the story will stay slow. If that disappoints you, I'm sorry, but let's be honest, you have thousands of games that go deeper and deeper on each chapter. I'm sure you'll find what you want in those.

And, yeah, Oliver hasn't been written out. But because I made him optional, it's harder for me to use him. That's the point with choices and alternatives: you can't both ask for more variety, and more raw content, because variety makes content harder to produce.

Also, the current content already has a lot of variety. It may not be blatant, but the dialogues have a lot of variations depending on your previous choices. Yes, the situations are globally the same, but my idea is to put in the forefront the kind of kinks you'll enjoy, with smaller variations. That's the variety I'm aiming for. Chapter 33, which I finished writing yesterday for example, adds 6 variables tracking what you may enjoy or not. Variables that will be used later to have dialogues tailored to your very own preferences, on top of more than 70 variables already included in-game.

Just going to say that you're doing an amazing job. You've already shown way more effort and consistency than many developers. It's an unfortunate truth that sticking to a project takes an enormous amount of discipline, way more than most realize. This game might not be perfect, but it is impressive. I'm looking forward to seeing not only where you go with this game, but also what future projects you start next.

 

[AcornHunter]

Sadly, the time between your interventions here, repeating the same things every time, hasn't increased.
So, just like AcornHunter repeating the same thing, I'll repeat myself: the story will stay slow.
If that disappoints you, I'm sorry, but let's be honest, you have thousands of games that go deeper and deeper on each chapter. I'm sure you'll find what you want in those.

bro, I am repeating only facts I got from you directly, and I am addressing not you, but other players, who asked questions or expressed some hopes and wishes about something which will never happen.
When facts change, I will be repeating something else every time.
Do you want me to write something new? A list of my wishes and ideas?
For what?
YOU DO NOT LISTEN.
On Patreon you had only 4 pools for supporters, 1 of them was feedback about chat-to-text and 1 technicalities about picture format.
And it's OK. You don't have to listen to anybody, I respect it and I am still your supporter, but it also gives me a realistic answer about should I write here or on Patreon or Discord my ideas. The answer is - that will be a waste of time.
So, when somebody comes with a critique about Super Dom path or something else is not good and you (as a dev) should do it better, I just repeat your words, explaining why it will never happen.
And let me return the favor, by saying if that disappoints you, I am sorry, but let's be honest, you have thousands of forums and platforms that are more and more supportive. I'm sure you'll find what you want in those.