VN Ren'Py Our Red String [Ch.14.1.4 Beta] [Eva Kiss]

[dolfe67]

Part of the problem is that this industry is not regulated. This kind of thing will always happen when there is no regulation since self regulation cannot actually be trusted.

Regulated industry is no better, do we have to talk about all the scam "micro" transactions (or giga transaction with $500 skins), lootboxes and co? AAA games unpolished or unfinished at release?

 

[Tierra_Azul]

1. AI generated fanart has caught up and in parts surpassed what EK is producing. However the game still relies on tracing in some cases pretty obvious porn stills and small framecount animations. It is difficult to change this mid game, but for the next project this should be the foundation (well trained models for each character and guardrails for the artstyle). This will also free up resources (since currently a lot is being outsourced already.

VNs thrive on personal artistic touches, and over-dependence on a LoRAs or similar could stifle her ability to adapt art dynamically to the narrative, a strength she likely maintains with her current methods. I don’t really want to get into a for or against AI debate, but personally, AI only leads to frustration for me, things don’t look like I envisioned, forcing me to go back and edit or redo tons of stuff. There’s also the pipeline of generating numerous images of the same scene before you’re satisfied, which could end up taking a lot of time. Additionally, AI might limit EK’s creative spontaneity, a key asset in VNs where personal artistic evolution often enhances storytelling.

I might be talking out of my ass, as I don’t know much about setting up these models (it might be much simpler than I realize.). But I think EK would still need to invest time in preparing the dataset, ensuring quality control, and iteratively adjusting the LoRA to avoid errors, inconsistent animations, or art issues, which could still be time-intensive without specialized support. Moreover, the process might not be as "simple" as it seems, as her art style has evolved across the two projects, potentially requiring multiple LoRAs or constant retraining, which could complicate her workflow rather than streamline it. While her existing body of work is a strong foundation, the practical overhead and need for ongoing oversight might limit the time saved.

 

[vgbestly]

View attachment 5223481

Pppffft, aren't we all +100k a year game dev farming out work for $10/hr to Jimmy in India.

 

[BlandChili]

I feel like it works as the emotional climax of this narrative block.

triple anal penetration?

Ivy grazing Jeremy's cock with her pinky on accident?

 

[What'sNew]

Every update there is whining about having difficulty working out the overlaying branches, variables and permutations. Well don't bite of more than you can chew.

This exactly. At this point all Im expecting is good sex scenes and the occasional animation, which I do love. The photoshoot is at least a good excuse for some nice eye candy. So fingers crossed Eva at least delivers on that and lessens the number of reused drawings/animations.

EK gave us the same crap before the beach update, "you're gonna see what you're gonna see",

God I hope it turns out better than the beach event.

 

[ffive]

You are obviously right, EK gave us the same crap before the beach update, "you're gonna see what you're gonna see", and in the end no path genuinely advanced except the throuple and the degree of commitment in the relationships.

Uh, yeah. No relationship path has advanced except for all those which did have advance. A brilliant critique that gets right to the heart of the matter.

 

[sztrb]

Regulated industry is no better, do we have to talk about all the scam "micro" transactions (or giga transaction with $500 skins), lootboxes and co? AAA games unpolished or unfinished at release?

I think if other jurisdictions passed similar laws as the EU on the loot box phenomanon, or they just went after EASports, we'd be in a better position.

Having said that, outside of VNs, I generally don't play modern games.

 

[sztrb]

God I hope it turns out better than the beach event.

Emma's scenes were definitely the best part of the beach segment (especially since she's dtf even if you're sleeping with Lena) and the set up to finally bed Louise was worth it.

But overall, not my most favourite update, although beats Lena fucking the old man or micropeen Stan.

 

[ffive]

Emma's scenes were definitely the best part of the beach segment

I've got hard time picking between Ian punishing Lena and slut Holly getting to tap freshly single Ian.

 

[IlikebeingaDIK]

I feel like it works as the emotional climax of this narrative block

'Emotional' climax? It's a goddamn Diddy party

This weekend I’ll need to take a couple of days off to head home and celebrate my birthday

the final stretch is proving tough. I’ll use these two days to catch my breath

Lol

 

[varpep]

TBF Eva had a good work flow up until a few months ago. She was releasing update every 3 to 4 months. Even though the updates were short, at least they were something. To give credit where it's due, Eva has been remarkably consistent since the second part of the beach update. Sure it's frustrating waiting for an update that doesn't even contain content you're looking forward to. But these things were always going to take time considering the scope of the game.

I sense the problem came when she posed the question whether she should release part of the update or delay it to a later date so ppl have more content. I'm gonna be honest, this coming update doesn't interest me that much but as long as the story progresses in some way I have no qualms. I've also heard the same sentiment shared amongst commenters on this forum (of not being interested in the upcoming update). So I believe she should have released the earlier part of the update a few months ago cause a lot of ppl were not willing to wait so long for an update they weren't even interested in. But alas the patreons voted to move the release back and honestly they seem happy waiting.

 

[dolfe67]

TBF Eva had a good work flow up until a few months ago. She was releasing update every 3 to 4 months. Even though the updates were short, at least they were something. To give credit where it's due, Eva has been remarkably consistent since the second part of the beach update. Sure it's frustrating waiting for an update that doesn't even contain content you're looking forward to. But these things were always going to take time considering the scope of the game.

I sense the problem came when she posed the question whether she should release part of the update or delay it to a later date so ppl have more content. I'm gonna be honest, this coming update doesn't interest me that much but as long as the story progresses in some way I have no qualms. I've also heard the same sentiment shared amongst commenters on this forum (of not being interested in the upcoming update). So I believe she should have released the earlier part of the update a few months ago cause a lot of ppl were not willing to wait for an update they weren't even interested in. But alas the patreons voted to move the release back and honestly they seem happy waiting.

I don't think shorter updates would have solve your issue, as this part of the story had to be made. It would have made 2 or 3 updates instead of 1 bigger that doesn't interest you

 

[varpep]

I don't think shorter updates would have solve your issue, as this part of the story had to be made. It would have made 2 or 3 updates instead of 1 bigger that doesn't interest you

Yeah but at least we'd have something to play and new plot developments (maybe...dunno). Instead of waiting for long and still having to wait for the next update.

 

[BlandChili]

Pointless to discuss anyway since Eva already offered the option of early release and the patreons told her to keep working on it.

 

[Blurpee69]

This update is taking longer because she polled her Patrons and asked if they wanted her to take longer and release most of this Billy adventure as one whole release or break it up into parts. They choose the former. We're pushing into two update territory now with the wait which tracks with what we were going to get anyway, it'll just all be playable at once instead of having a weird ending point.

I'm not really seeing the need for concern here.

 

[Turret]

Pointless to discuss anyway since Eva already offered the option of early release and the patreons told her to keep working on it.

This update is taking longer because she polled her Patrons and asked if they wanted her to take longer and release most of this Billy adventure as one whole release or break it up into parts. They choose the former. We're pushing into two update territory now with the wait which tracks with what we were going to get anyway, it'll just all be playable at once instead of having a weird ending point.

I'm not really seeing the need for concern here.

IMHO this is one of the biggest flaws EK as a developer has. Making polls with the patrons and always listening to them instead taking it as an indicator and deciding herself. The patrons are in no matter what and are often not representive of the whole player base. Also these polls end up on the lowest common position most times, which is rarely good for development.

Take the yearlong gap between new content a couple versions ago due to the patrons voted for waiting. This was certainly not good for the game development nor EK´s reputation. She should tell the players that the polls are for info-gathering what the players think, not a decisionmaker.

 

[Blurpee69]

IMHO this is one of the biggest flaws EK as a developer has. Making polls with the patrons and always listening to them instead taking it as an indicator and deciding herself. The patrons are in no matter what and are often not representive of the whole player base. Also these polls end up on the lowest common position most times, which is rarely good for development.

Take the yearlong gap between new content a couple versions ago due to the patrons voted for waiting. This was certainly not good for the game development nor EK´s reputation. She should tell the players that the polls are for info-gathering what the players think, not a decisionmaker.

They're not representative of her whole player base, but they are representative of the people that pays her bills. So it's probably a good idea to at least pay them lip service, no?

 

[Ray_D]

I learned that Eva attended more birthdays/weddings/funerals in the past 4 years, than I have in my entire life.
jk... also: "update when?!?!?!?"

It's something I call the “AVN developer syndrome.” This syndrome is simple, and it can be bad or good in Eva's case. It consists of the following: when someone becomes an AVN developer, suddenly everything that had never happened to them in their life suddenly starts happening to them one after another.

 

[El_Magnifico]

It's something I call the “AVN developer syndrome.” This syndrome is simple, and it can be bad or good in Eva's case. It consists of the following: when someone becomes an AVN developer, suddenly everything that had never happened to them in their life suddenly starts happening to them one after another.

I swear. Dépression, anxiety, haters, burn out, harassers, Dying computer, death threats, accident, sight issues, death of a relative, recuring cold, German taxation...

It's like the most dangerous job ever

 

[DatBoit]

Is Eva ever going to release a status update where she actually has good news? I swear, in every single one of them, there is always something to complain about.

But it just goes back again to the fact that she has bitten off way more than she can chew with ORS. Everything about how she approached this project is a disaster. It was never a good idea to have two protagonists, and it most certainly was not a good idea to have two protagonists, while also having a workflow that relies heavily on sudden inspiration and ad hoc ideas, rather than a defined plotline with a clear beginning, middle and end.

ORS is simply beyond salvation, and not in the sense of the game becoming worse (because it isn't), but because there is no way of altering the approach without either giving it a very abrupt and unsatisfactory ending, or changing some very core aspect of it (such as removing one MC), both of which will massively disappoint people. This means that, ultimately, we will be stuck on this rocky road of setbacks and delays, until the interest finally dies out or Eva is forced to wrap up the project as it becomes ever more unmanageable.