VN Ren'Py Ripples [v0.8.0 Public] [Jestur]

[Daermon420]

On the other hand, you can't stay in HS1 forever.

Who says? This game looks fucking great as is, and changing it to make it look very slightly better seems like it'd be a huge waste of time. Especially since as Walter Victor points out, for continuity sake Jestur would have to re-render the entire game. Changing to HS2 without doing that you'd be left with a very jarring style change once you hit that point in a playthrough, which is never a good thing.

Is there some AVN rulebook somewhere I didn't know about that says you can't keep using the engine you've already successfully been using for years to make a great looking game once X number of years pass?

But still using HS1 in 2030 and beyond is a scary thought.

Even if this game is still being made and not completed yet 5+ years from now, unless Jestur starts letting the quality slip, it'll still look great then. Why is that a scary thought?

 

[Meiri]

On the other hand, you can't stay in HS1 forever. If we're waiting for Ripples to end, when will that be? 5+ years at the rate we're going?

I don't know what the future holds. Will HS2 keep improving and can HS1 keep up with all the mods? only time will tell. But still using HS1 in 2030 and beyond is a scary thought. Tech moves fast.

This really has nothing to do with technology, there will never even be an HS3 for example.
Changing from one engine to the other isn't just clicking a button, also the models would be completely new, even if he tried to recreate the looks of the girls they would still be clearly different and I doubt you would want another game stuck in a remaster loop.

So I would rather he finishes Ripples with his original vision and after that if he still wants to continue developing games then sure.

 

[dolfe67]

Because of its anime style, HS ages better than DAZ's realism, so less need to upgrade. It can look bad if you use the basic version without any mod. The company that made it (Illusion) has been closed and so stopped its support. There is less mods for HS2 than for HS1 because it's newer, and HS2 is a little different than HS1 to use (such as lighting).

Alternatives seem to be Koikatsu (closer to 2D style than 3D, looks worse imho) and AI Shoujo (don't know much about it, way less assets/customisation? I don't know any AVN using it)

 

[EternumiteMember]

Who says? This game looks fucking great as is, and changing it to make it look very slightly better seems like it'd be a huge waste of time. Especially since as Walter Victor points out, for continuity sake Jestur would have to re-render the entire game. Changing to HS2 without doing that you'd be left with a very jarring style change once you hit that point in a playthrough, which is never a good thing.

Is there some AVN rulebook somewhere I didn't know about that says you can't keep using the engine you've already successfully been using for years to make a great looking game once X number of years pass?

You're missing the whole point completely.

The game looks great as is. No one is denying that. And Jestur can develop in HS1 until the day he dies if that's what he wants to do.

But five years from now, the game might not look as good. HS2 keeps improving, and HS1 modders who are keeping the engine alive will gradually move on to HS2. Even if Jestur maintains the current quality, other games will surpass it simply because they have better tools and support.

And don't come at me and say the game looks great now so it will still look great in 5 years. People thought GTA San Andreas was life like when it came out.

 

[Maccabbee]

Because of its anime style, HS ages better than DAZ's realism, so less need to upgrade. It can look bad if you use the basic version without any mod. The company that made it (Illusion) has been closed and so stopped its support. There is less mods for HS2 than for HS1 because it's newer, and HS2 is a little different than HS1 to use (such as lighting).

Alternatives seem to be Koikatsu (closer to 2D style than 3D, looks worse imho) and AI Shoujo (don't know much about it, way less assets/customisation? I don't know any AVN using it)

I am out of reactions, but thank you very much for this post. I appreciate gaining knowledge.

 

[torpedogoat]

You're missing the whole point completely.

The game looks great as is. No one is denying that. And Jestur can develop in HS1 until the day he dies if that's what he wants to do.

But five years from now, the game might not look as good. HS2 keeps improving, and HS1 modders who are keeping the engine alive will gradually move on to HS2. Even if Jestur maintains the current quality, other games will surpass it simply because they have better tools and support.

Switching to HS2 isn't going to magically improve all the existing renders of the game. I am not sure what you are asking for, but it seems to be either a lengthy remake of what's already in the game, meaning a delay of at least a year, or a break in image quality as you play through it. Neither is a good idea for a game that is as far advanced as this one and already has really good renders.

In case you are not aware: Ren'Py games don't ship with HS or Daz engines and render on the fly. They ship with pre-rendered images. And all existing images in the game were rendered with HS1. Even if we assume that the developer still has all the sources of these renders and they are really well organized (not a given), rerendering with HS2 would still be a huge project. And doing it because of future improvements to HS2 mods (the main application is as dead as Illusion, the company that used to develop it) would mean doing it in the future, when it's still more work because even more renders need to be redone. Why would he want to do that instead of starting a new game with HS2?

 

[Daermon420]

But five years from now, the game might not look as good.

This makes zero sense, you realize that right? If I download this game 5+ years from now for a replay it'll still look exactly like it did the first time I opened it, fantastic.

People thought GTA San Andreas was life like when it came out.

If you mean by comparison to other newer games out? This might be a problem if this game was going for a realistic look like GTA San Andreas in your example. Games like that age like milk because as other games get more realistic looking it becomes obvious how lacking the earlier ones were.

But this game isn't going for that at all. It's using a stylized look that will continue to look good, even in comparison to other games, if you like the style.

 

[innocentGameDev]

The whole visual novel was made with HS1. My first update was close to being done when HS2 was released. Also, when HS2 was first released, there were hardly any mods so I decided to stick with HS1.

If you started again today, without knowing either HS1, HS2 or DAZ, which one would you go for?

 

[Julius Kingsley]

Well I just started this game and I'm on Episode 2 and really enjoying it. But I don't know how to feel about the 1999 stuff. Like we've been introduced to some Lis, but we know they're mothers in the future, so in the end it will lead to nothing. And if it does lead to anything and you change the future, the Lis in 2019 will disappear, lol.

So I guess I shouldn't get too attached to any love interest from 1999, because we know it leads to nothing. Anyway, I’ll keep playing and see. Just wanted to share this because it’s been bothering me.

 

[Rehwyn]

Well I just started this game and I'm on Episode 2 and really enjoying it. But I don't know how to feel about the 1999 stuff. Like we've been introduced to some Lis, but we know they're mothers in the future, so in the end it will lead to nothing. And if it does lead to anything and you change the future, the Lis in 2019 will disappear, lol.

So I guess I shouldn't get too attached to any love interest from 1999, because we know it leads to nothing. Anyway, I’ll keep playing and see. Just wanted to share this because it’s been bothering me.

You're assuming that those same girls from 1999 wouldn't be fine starting things up again in 2019 when they're MILFs.

 

[Julius Kingsley]

You're assuming that those same girls from 1999 wouldn't be fine starting things up again in 2019 when they're MILFs.

Yes, that would be the best option but it would feel cheap, no? Like hey, we fucked in 1999 when you were in college and now I know you have families and husbands but let's start again. And even if we took the husbands out of the picture, they already moved on and had their families so that means the MC was just a fling they had or an ex boyfriend figure.

It doesn't make sense for them to still be in love and agree to share a man with their daughters. Anyway, I'm just ranting but the author needs a really brilliant idea to fix this if he even intends to.

 

[Rehwyn]

Yes, that would be the best option but it would feel cheap, no? Like hey, we fucked in 1999 when you were in college and now I know you have families and husbands but let's start again. And even if we took the husbands out of the picture, they already moved on and had their families so that means the MC was just a fling they had or an ex boyfriend figure.

It doesn't make sense for them to still be in love and agree to share a man with their daughters. Anyway, I'm just ranting but the author needs a really brilliant idea to fix this if he even intends to.

I might be misremembering, but I'm pretty sure none of them have husbands in 2019, or at least any they're on good terms with.

The whole mother/daughter thing could prove tricky, but without spoiling too much, some of the 1999 and 2019 LIs have already demonstrated pretty open-minded thoughts on relationships and sex.

In any case, my advice is not to immediately write them off as lost causes.

 

[Julius Kingsley]

Damn, they're watching Grisia. That took me back. Jestur has great anime taste.

 

[BeenThroughHell]

Wait... cindy is Scarlett's Sister right? i forget who she is haha

 

[Daermon420]

Wait... cindy is Scarlett's Sister right? i forget who she is haha

No, Cindy is the woman who works at the power plant you interview with to steal documents from. Scarletts sister is April.

 

[Ozymandias037]

Well I just started this game and I'm on Episode 2 and really enjoying it. But I don't know how to feel about the 1999 stuff. Like we've been introduced to some Lis, but we know they're mothers in the future, so in the end it will lead to nothing. And if it does lead to anything and you change the future, the Lis in 2019 will disappear, lol.

So I guess I shouldn't get too attached to any love interest from 1999, because we know it leads to nothing. Anyway, I’ll keep playing and see. Just wanted to share this because it’s been bothering me.

Yes, that would be the best option but it would feel cheap, no? Like hey, we fucked in 1999 when you were in college and now I know you have families and husbands but let's start again. And even if we took the husbands out of the picture, they already moved on and had their families so that means the MC was just a fling they had or an ex boyfriend figure.

It doesn't make sense for them to still be in love and agree to share a man with their daughters. Anyway, I'm just ranting but the author needs a really brilliant idea to fix this if he even intends to.

Oh man, I am excited that I get to watch you play another of my favorite games! I am looking forward to your thoughts.

As others have said, without spoiling TOO much, I encourage you to keep an open mind about those 1999 LIs. You have stumbled across one of the biggest perennial battlefields in this thread, haha. I'm interested to see which side you land on, although I have my guess.

 

[Julius Kingsley]

Oh man, I am excited that I get to watch you play another of my favorite games! I am looking forward to your thoughts.

As others have said, without spoiling TOO much, I encourage you to keep an open mind about those 1999 LIs. You have stumbled across one of the biggest perennial battlefields in this thread, haha. I'm interested to see which side you land on, although I have my guess.

Glad to see a familiar face here. Yeah, I'm really enjoying it so far. The writing is witty and self aware, and the Lis are all charming in their own way, even though there are too many if you ask me, lol. But it's working so far and nothing feels forced.

I will heed your advice and keep an open mind about the 1999 Lis. I just hope he cooks something great with it. My suggestion would be to just forget about the fathers altogether, not bring them up, don't explain why or how, just make them recognize the MC in the future and get back to it.

 

[Julius Kingsley]

Hmm, I'm at the scene where he meets Scarlet again and it got me thinking. Does every time the MC goes back to the past, the future change a little? Or is everything predetermined and everything we see already happened?

Well, I guess it doesn't matter. Even if they remember him and loved him at some point? they won't think a guy who just looks like him is actually him. Unless their first thought is, yeah, that's him, he must be a time traveler, lol.

 

[Discrepancy]

Hmm, I'm at the scene where he meets Scarlet again and it got me thinking. Does every time the MC goes back to the past, the future change a little? Or is everything predetermined and everything we see already happened?

Well, I guess it doesn't matter. Even if they remember him and loved him at some point? they won't think a guy who just looks like him is actually him. Unless their first thought is, yeah, that's him, he must be a time traveler, lol.

There's hundreds of pages here around that discussion but we don't know yet, if MC is changing the past of if it's already predetermined.
About Love, for what we saw till now I think love is a strong word for any relationship the MC had till now, most were flings and a few were a bit more strong but don't think he had time to deep relationship with any girl yet.

 

[MrBubu]

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