VN Ren'Py Our Red String [Ch. 12 Full] [Eva Kiss]

[Manaemesjeff]

Hi guys. Anyone can share a link to join Eva Kiss discord chat? I can't use the link in the main page. Thanks

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let me know if this works

 

[JohnnyKiss]

I like the changes done to Lena's face. Her eyes became more "anime-like".

 

[manscout]

I mean, yeah, but there are multiple choices in that scene which leads me to believe there will be a big reveal surrounding it. Or at least something that comes out of it. Why give the option for Lena to choose how old she think Holly is if it's just a one and done scene.

Holly had already told Lena how old she was before, if you choose the right age your Lena gains +1 wits, pick the wrong one and you don't. It is just gameplay.

 

[Blurpee69]

You can point out that a dev is milking their supporters without you yourself being subject to the milking. A wrong is wrong even if it's not done to you.

Yes, and it's fair to point out something that is inherently wrong. But, and hear me out here, what some might consider milking, is different from what others might. A site in which the vast majority of the user base does not put money towards a project, doesn't seem like a productive place to have a conversation about a dev milking their supporters.

 

[Turret]

You can point out that a dev is milking their supporters without you yourself being subject to the milking. A wrong is wrong even if it's not done to you.

I don't think Eva Kiss is milking, I think she genuinely is struggling to juggle the scope of the game, but that is a different from maliciously stalling a game's development. But just because it's not happening with ORS, doesn't mean it doesn't happen with other games.

Very much this! I estimate the member you answered with your post is one of those people popping up in (unfortunately) ever greater numbers who only go by who say/does something, not listening what is said or done!

 

[John Doe Jr.]

Even without someone pointing out the file name of the background I think we could all agree that it was Cherry's place more than likely. I saw someone mention Jess, but tbh, is she even a character big enough in the story to warrant a totally new background for? I just can't imagine going through the work and effort to only see it once or twice.

 

[SerHawkes]

The thing is, while some will naturally suspect Eva of 'milking', the reality is is that she continually is trying to push herself with progressing theses chapters and is setting her expected releases on deadlines that she puts on herself and tends to overwork herself trying to meet thoses deadlines. If she would just slow down her writing and not put a deadline she places on herself, take the time to fully branch out the characters and chapters without pressure on herself, we may see a better product of writing and storytelling.

BUT... that likely won't happen and Eva will more than likely go on a two month cocaine bender vacation after this update is releases, only to then start working on it and say 'how complex the story and branching is' or something form of complaint...

 

[BloodyMares]

I mean, yeah, but there are multiple choices in that scene which leads me to believe there will be a big reveal surrounding it. Or at least something that comes out of it. Why give the option for Lena to choose how old she think Holly is if it's just a one and done scene.

Here's some detail: Not all dialogue options lead to big consequences. Some of them are there just to help you farm stats. If your Lena remembers Holly's age, she is rewarded a Wits point. It is totally arbitrary (especially since you can simply look at her Agenda screen) but at least it has a purpose. And some options exist only for roleplaying purposes and don't have any consequences at all. It's not like it's a deadly sin to have those, all RPG games have occasional "Pick how you want to say the same thing" dialogues. And it's comparing Eva's game to AAA giants.

 

[Asmodean2]

Eva would save a lot of time if she would just focus on best girl Minerva, just saying....

 

[SerHawkes]

Eva would save a lot of time if she would just focus on best girl Ivy, just saying....

Your not wrong. Ivy is clearly the best girl. Deserves alone time with Ian though. Much love there.

 

[jimul18]

I have said it before and I will say it again, since this issue of writers block/overwork, inconsistent communication and an update cycle that can only be described tectonic drift like (and the response here is always the same; same accusations, same defense, same build up of frustration till the update followed by praise and an erasing of memories).

The real problem is the approach to the game, both in writing (gardening style) as well as task of juggling two narrative perspectives with overlapping choices. I am not saying that another approach will definitely be better, but it should be tried at least. Maybe have one of the characters go on vaction or fall into a coma (telenovella style) and release two updates one for each character to test if this is more feasible.

 

[ffive]

I am not saying that another approach will definitely be better, but it should be tried at least.

The previous game of the author (Good Girl Gone Bad) has used this approach. For this one the whole point was Eva Kiss wanted something different.

 

[BloodyMares]

Good news for Ivy woshippers: Turns out the ian_ivy requirement for the sparring scene in Ch 10 was too high because of an oversight. Ian shouldn't need to confess his relationship with Lena to Axel to get that scene. It will be fixed in the future release - the requirement will be ian_ivy = 5 which is the max possible value.

 

[Gicoo]

Good news for Ivy woshippers: Turns out the ian_ivy requirement for the sparring scene in Ch 10 was too high because of an oversight. Ian shouldn't need to confess his relationship with Lena to Axel to get that scene. It will be fixed in the future release - the requirement will be ian_ivy = 5 which is the max possible value.

Mostly good, though it could be indicative of Ivy to be only interested in Ian if he went out with her best friend. I imagine people like her find this extra appealing. That whole scene with them and Axel decent, Ivy was clearly impressed and intrigued by Ian, who even points out that he is now in her debt.

My main issue with that scene is that it very easy to miss: If Ian works on his book or joins Perry, he misses it. I don't recall ever being a scene that is missable unless there is a fairly high indicator (e.g. Wades birthday vs Holly book fair, comforting Louise or inviting Mike). I don't associate the gym with Ivy, even if they are technically close, the build-up for that scene was way to loose.

I also wonder if that scene is even mandantory for the potential Ivy path or just one of many opportunities to score points which are necessary once the path truly opens.

 

[ffive]

I find the writers block stuff funny personally... like are these highschool just turned 18 adults making porn games? You should have an outline of your story from beginning to end, all paths organized.

You're, unironically, expecting higher professionalism from porn game writers than what you get with literally billion dollars worth franchises.

Writer's block is a real thing, happens to all writers no matter their age, and few writers have "outline of your story from beginning to end" that survives first contact with reality, if they even bother to make one in the first place.

 

[BlackIsBetter]

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Hi guys,
This week has been rather rough and I've been having trouble progressing with the writing. It's been hard to focus and sort out all the complex variations in any given scene but, most of all, it's the pressure of development that's being hard to handle. I would've liked to be done with the update by now, and the longer I take to release it, the harder the pressure gets; dealing with long development cycles can really wear you down, especially when there's so much moving pieces and interconnected tasks to take care of. Thankfully I have help with the art and coding, but managing and coordinating people is not that easy and it's not something I have a knack for.

Not everything is bad news though; I've continued to work in the art and that's almost done. We've been also working in implementing a text messaging screen, since the display method that I had been using so far felt really lackluster. We have the screen working, now we have to implement it. I think it will add a lot to the immersion and overall presentation of the game.

Also, the 3 new backgrounds are done, and I'll add a fourth one, so quite a few new places to visit in this chapter. Any guesses?

Regarding the writing, I have left 3 major lewd scenes to write. Once I manage to push through those, I'll need to ensamble the chapter together, make sure everything works and then it'll be ready, so hopefully the release isn't far away. I really need to get this chapter out.
I understand if some of you are disappointed, and I thank the ones who keep supporting the development patiently. Status reports aren't coming out as consistently as they should, but I struggle to write them when I can't share good news, and I'm trying to save my mental energy to focus on the game itself. However, I'm happy that I can start showing some of the work that's been going on for the past few months. Again, thank you so much for your backing of this project, and I'll try to publish a chapter that keeps elevating the experience, even if I'm struggling more than I'd like to do it. My promise is to not disappoint you, and that's what I'm working towards.

Soooo... update in 2 months?

 

[Turret]

Yeah I know, I've experienced writers block... but I never really had a problem with it. Take a chill pill for 1-3 days and it goes away, and find some inspiration in something else for awhile, and it goes away relatively quickly. Usually it never lasts more than one night

Pardon me, but that is BS what you write here! What you describe is not writer´s block, but simply some mental exhaustion, which goes away with some R&R rather quickly. But a real writer´s block can last a lot longer than a couple days!

 

[Turret]

Writers block is just a mental block of not knowing what to write.

I have had writer´s block too a couple times in my life! I knew exactly what I wanted to write, but the writing flow was not there, could not get into it and what I wrote did not come out as I envisioned. That is frakking annoying, writing stuff and erasing it because it isn´t what your mind´s eye sees! That can go on longer than just a couple days!

But one thing I agree with you is that a writer´s block is definitely not what lengthens the ORS development cycle to this degree.

 

[andybc]

And the age comment was in reference to being inexperienced and not making proper planning/outlines of your story... not about writers block. But anyway yeah, I'm an open source kind of person... porn game creators have some belief that everything needs to be kept a secret etc. and they want to gate shit behind pay wall on their patreon so they need something to gate. but i really hope they have good planning because i don't want to wait 8 months for the next update after this one.

Yea it's not like people want to be paid for their work and earn a living.... The entitlement is strong.

 

[Mr. Muscles]

Yeah I know, I've experienced writers block... but I never really had a problem with it. Take a chill pill for 1-3 days and it goes away, and find some inspiration in something else for awhile, and it goes away relatively quickly. Usually it never lasts more than one night. Some of the best writing happens before going to sleep or waking up the next morning too since that's when the brain is mentally more free to process things.

I'm not expecting, just stating they aren't professional writers. The bigger issue for me is that they need to come out and say 'yeah I didn't plan shit and I'm winging it as i go' or otherwise be fully transparent and release all their planning so people can take them seriously if they want to be considered good writers, or minimally if they want the delays to be considered as unavoidable and they've done their due diligence. Most of these game devs promote themselves as good writers, nobody can write like they can, can make great games like them and yet every time there is a delay it's on the writing end. I guess in eva's defense she's probably more of an art person than a writer anyway.

The fact that no outline is ever released? no planning shown for the next 10 updates? this is a bad sign imo, and so expect delays and updates that take 8 months - really this is what I expect if I expect anything from a none transparent developer team.

Writers block isn't truly an issue, 3 days here and there doesn't equate to a 8 month update cycle at all. Likewise there are ways to forge ahead through a writers block, by doing baby steps, focusing on other tasks, writing what you can/the aspects that are not blocked, and slowly your block begins to clear as you do the small things that you can do.... Likewise you can just write something really epically fucking shitty and then edit it to perfection later... the important part is to actually have something down than wallow in your feelings of not being able to write anything.

I can understand burn out, I can understand art delays, I can understand family emergencies and health problems... but writers block? nah, that shit you need to deal with by having good planning, good organization skills... having everything that will happen in the story already made? Now maybe there is a full outline of all events for the next 10 updates, maybe not? if there is then great... but writers block alone doesn't lead to 8 month cycles.

And the age comment was in reference to being inexperienced and not making proper planning/outlines of your story... not about writers block. But anyway yeah, I'm an open source kind of person... porn game creators have some belief that everything needs to be kept a secret etc. and they want to gate shit behind pay wall on their patreon so they need something to gate. but i really hope they have good planning because i don't want to wait 8 months for the next update after this one.

And not to fully criticize, eva is pretty fast on the art, perhaps if the writing aspects took as long as the art the speeds would improve for the updates.

This smells like "depression isn't a real thing, i got out of it just fine" type of argument lmao.