VN Ren'Py Abandoned Nothing Is Forever [v0.7.3] [MrSilverLust]

[Jalapenosbythehandful]

I am sorry to say, but I think his other game Decked in Love pulls our devs focus from Nothing is Forever (it's a new project and as such more fun to work on). And while I love this game the new project isn't for me at all. Unfortunately being such a different game I am sure will not be positive for the current supporter base which in the long run probably will lend to even longer production cycles.

Though who knows, there's been no messages on Patreon since he decided to pause billing until the release of the 0.8 version (kudos for pausing billing I must say).

I really doubt this is the case; it's a lot easier to pump out an AI CG game in theory especially if you aren't the hold up but rather someone else on the team is or might be (or there's a failure to expand the team or integrate a new team member). However, actually pumping out solid quality AI CG images and integrating them in such a way that they actually look reasonable quality is exceptionally difficult and atm probably just as demanding on your GPU.
I'd guess it depends on the issues at play; if the lead dev was a coder and writer and the hold up is related to a 3d artist (which is what I'm baselessly guessing the issue is) then Decked in Love is a way to show you as a dev team are still active but it is a bad look.

 

[SteveНandjobs]

I really doubt this is the case; it's a lot easier to pump out an AI CG game in theory especially if you aren't the hold up but rather someone else on the team is or might be (or there's a failure to expand the team or integrate a new team member). However, actually pumping out solid quality AI CG images and integrating them in such a way that they actually look reasonable quality is exceptionally difficult and atm probably just as demanding on your GPU.
I'd guess it depends on the issues at play; if the lead dev was a coder and writer and the hold up is related to a 3d artist (which is what I'm baselessly guessing the issue is) then Decked in Love is a way to show you as a dev team are still active but it is a bad look.

As far as I know, the developer does everything alone. Well, except for one person who helps him correct the text after writing or something like that.

 

[LordofEntropy]

Disheartening to see things seeming grim at the moment, I really have enjoyed this one so far and was nice to watch it progress each update. Dev pausing the Patreon shows integrity and some respect, makes me hopeful he'll either return or at least announce if he's dropping it for good.

I want to return to best girl Kim!

 

[datwinman]

Just wanted to say I LOVED the never have I ever scene. It was awesome!

 

[PickerLewd]

I don't know, in my case it's one chess game after another with a lot of analysis in between, in fact, this is a game of chess that I don't seem to be able to play .

 

[osanaiko]

I am sorry to say, but I think his other game Decked in Love pulls our devs focus from Nothing is Forever (it's a new project and as such more fun to work on). And while I love this game the new project isn't for me at all. Unfortunately being such a different game I am sure will not be positive for the current supporter base which in the long run probably will lend to even longer production cycles.

Though who knows, there's been no messages on Patreon since he decided to pause billing until the release of the 0.8 version (kudos for pausing billing I must say).

I can categorically state that this is not the case - MrSL spent a relatively small amount of time on the prototype of DeckedInLove, and even less for the second update release. At the time he described it as a way to let off steam because the complexity of NIF was getting to him.

In hindsight, it's probably possible to speculate that that was a sign of the beginnings of burnout. NIF has an enormous amount of dialogue and a lot of complexity in the code to handle all the consequences of the various player choices and love interests. It's a lot to hold in your head while you have to write a volume of dialogue that is equivalent to a novella, and then render 100s of images, all within a deadline of 6-8 months. I do know that NIF was not his primary "day job" - it was a side project while he actually was doing real-life work/study.

In the end, I guess it was too much.

However, we should remember that he has not publicly said that he is abandoning the project. The most recent info was "targeting the end of January" which is only 2 weeks ago. The more concerning thing is that we don't have any newer update on that status.

In the end there's nothing we can do about it except wait and see. He's not milking anyone, so there's no real damage except people's thwarted desire in knowing what comes next...


Edit: I also wondered if the game is autobiographical, and what has really happened is that MrSL has gone on the run after getting a little too involved with a redhead chess genius...

 

[Joshy92]

I love this game, so I wish we had just an assurance from the dev that the game is continuing.

 

[dusk serenade]

I think we have to chill and for how much we want to play the release, we don't need to worry or hold the dev accountable. He has a good track record and he is not scamming anyone. He was targeting end of Jan for release and we are only two weeks into February. I agree an explanation would be better but the game is very complex at this point, there are tens of branching paths and for sure it is not easy to deal with everything.

 

[Krytax123]

The first like 5 chapters were very good but imo it started to went downhill after that point already, in the beginning it really felt like the dev was motivated to tell a story and to create characters and dynamics between the group.

But at some point it devolved into (imo!) what felt more like the dev had a checklist with the various kinks he still has to make scenes for and just went along with it, creating scenes simply for the existance of the kink instead of weaving it into a coherent story.

I felt like these were the first obvious signs of the dev losing motivation as he proved that he could do better already.

 

[dolfe67]

But at some point it devolved into (imo!) what felt more like the dev had a checklist with the various kinks he still has to make scenes for and just went along with it, creating scenes simply for the existance of the kink instead of weaving it into a coherent story.

Yeah that's the downside of having a (useless in my opinion) kink tree made even before you finished the story. You now have to create scenes to cover it all

 

[LordofEntropy]

Yeah that's the downside of having a (useless in my opinion) kink tree made even before you finished the story. You now have to create scenes to cover it all

I do agree with what you're saying in principle. I would submit the possibility that he does have a "finished" story planned or even outlined, that provides for all the kinks. However, implementation of the planned story beats into a reactive choice driven video game is another challenge—even more of a challenge if you're also the one that has to do all the art, or even if you just have to spec it out for an artist to do, including the iteration and refinement that goes along with distributing work. Even if the story is clear, there are a lot of threads and permutations to bring together to make it into an interactive game. Easily can become overwhelming, especially after the initial excitement that many people start a project with begins to wane.

Just a possibility that came to mind; since, for me his work so far has actually been detailed and seemed fairly focused with a clear concept of where it was going. Of course it's completely possible he's just been winging it

 

[mtran.hs]

So putting asides all the arguements, when is the release?
We can keep argueing back and forth, but at the end, the result is what we are expecting.

 

[ViperGts151]

So putting asides all the arguements, when is the release?
We can keep argueing back and forth, but at the end, the result is what we are expecting.

Thats the point untill we hear from the dev nobody knows his last patreon post in october said he was pausing patreon payments untill ch8 is released as progress on the game has been slower than expected and his estimate for a release was late january, that has passed and noone has heard from the dev since october so its just a case of waiting at the moment. To be honest sounds like the dev has been getting burntout so progress has been slow.

 

[FlorenThanos Perez]

So putting asides all the arguements, when is the release?
We can keep argueing back and forth, but at the end, the result is what we are expecting.

his last post was in october, he said he wants to release in the 2nd half of jan. we're in the 2nd half of feb. he'll probably post a patreon update in the 2nd half of march saying that it''l be released in the 2nd half of april, only for it to be release in the 2nd half of may.

 

[dolfe67]

Or maybe we never hear from him again

 

[Dickthunder]

Or maybe we never hear from him again

Don't say that buddy

 

[mtran.hs]

Don't say that buddy

I mean... why not?

 

[Joshy92]

Well there's the abandoned prefix

I knew it was coming but still.

 

[Dessolos]

Man I knew this tag was coming but man that sucks to see and oddly enough makes me want to replay the game now

 

[justin.case]