Ren'Py Rogue-like: Evolution [v1.61b] [Oni]

[ronchonbon]

Hey there!

I've been mostly active on the Discord for Rogue-Like modding, but decided to take a peek in here. Seems like it was a good idea, since I can share some of the info that I've been sharing through discussions over there.

Any chance we can see the works of the artists on retainer? Definitely has my interest piqued!

I'll start with this one! This is a really, really reasonable request. I'm going to hold off for now for two reasons:

1) The art style is in flux as I go back and forth with the artist about what works with some of the existing art we want to keep (ie. the new backgrounds, which I absolutely love). The artist has a portfolio that's spread across things like realistic DnD portraits, semi-realistic renditions of famous movie scenes, and even tattoos (that kick ass btw). I don't want people assuming the art for the game will look like something that it won't.

2) I want to afford the artist a degree of separation, and therefore protection, from the general public. If there is ever a situation where y'all don't like a character design, I want to be able to tell him directly - I don't want him to start receiving random messages telling him he sucks. The same goes for our principal writer for now.

Fortunately, you won't have to wait for long. The main character artist is chunking away at the first design, and his first drafts are *chef's kiss* in my opinion. Once the body is more or less settled upon, I will pass the art onto the main outfit designer, who already has schemes to bring the best of that character's outfits to fruition. I'm very optimistic I'll have some samples for interested parties by next week. People looking for those updates should head over to the Discord, as I don't plan on releasing many dev updates in such a public forum until we've solidly hit the ground running and I can start demonstrating results.

The beautiful thing about commissioning our own art is that it means I can feel no guilt in telling the artist to start over or looking for a new artist who better fits the game's vision, *if* it were to ever come to that.

 

[ronchonbon]

I don't want to paint the devil on the wall. I smell trouble there, so far it was more or less a free mod, but now they are trying to make money through oni's preparatory work. I think they should contact oni first if they could work together or something similar. there are still copyrights. money changes everything. in the worst case, lawyers will have to be paid in the end.

This is another concern that I completely understand, but I think can be set aside.

1. We are not trying to make money on this project. The game will be released for free, forever. I (Ron Chon) have hired artists, programmers, and writers to help me - this is out of my own pocket. I chose to do this because I really, really, really believe in the project, and I've come to the conclusion that monetary incentives are the best way to get results.

I have set up the Patreon for one reason: I do not have unlimited money, and so I can only commission art/writing/code at a finite rate. It may be enough for updates every month or so - but not eg. every week, which is my goal. Therefore, anyone who wishes to donate is welcome to do so, and those donations will go directly into - you guessed it - more art/writing/code.

With this setup, the only people profiting are the artists, who damn well deserve it; the writers, who deserve it just as much for breathing life into this horny world we're creating; and *the other* programmers (NOT ME), without whom we'd be stuck looking at static pictures like cavemen.

2. We are not using Oni's art. Full stop. Every image from the base game has been purged from our game.

What I said (or was trying to say) in the quotation above was that it will be easy to "drop in" custom art into the game. Indeed, I have no control over the custom art you choose to use. It may be your own stick figures, it may be art from a popular Ren'Py trainer game. The goal is for the game to be designed agnostic of the art and even its particular implementation on the code side - at the end of the day, the game will say "show Rogue_sprite blowjob", and whatever that image is, it will display.

*Since* this project started as a mod for a popular Ren'Py trainer game, and *since* many of the project's mechanics were designed with the art for that original game in mind, I think you will find that it is quite easy to find both the code and the art to facilitate this end-user modification to our game.

Does that clear things up?

 

[Crichton]

We are not using Oni's art. Full stop. Every image from the base game has been purged from our game.

What I said (or was trying to say) in the quotation above was that it will be easy to "drop in" custom art into the game. Indeed, I have no control over the custom art you choose to use. It may be your own stick figures, it may be art from a popular Ren'Py trainer game. The goal is for the game to be designed agnostic of the art and even its particular implementation on the code side - at the end of the day, the game will say "show Rogue_sprite blowjob", and whatever that image is, it will display.

I'll miss Oni's Laura design. For a minute. Ain't it great when you can mod things with a drag and drop?

Is there a specific run/iteration you're focusing on for inspiration on the character design?

 

[ronchonbon]

A general comment:

I think it is a very wise thing to be wary of new projects with ambitious goals. It's important to keep your expectations measured, as even best intentions don't always pan out.

If you are on the fence about supporting the project in any way, the answer is simple: don't. Wait until you see the art to decide if you like it. Wait until we can get a demo into your hands. Wait until we're on v0.99 and are fine-tuning the sheen on the player's pubic hair. That's okay!

The reason you are seeing information about this project at all is that I believe in transparency and hope. I want people to know that someone out there is working on this game. That's why the project git is public - if you want to stay up with me all night, refreshing the page to see my commits trickle in at 1, 3, 6, and 9 AM, you can do so.

I can promise that this project means a lot to me - much more than it does to anyone else on this forum. I have no intention of letting it fail.

 

[ronchonbon]

I'll miss Oni's Laura design. For a minute. Ain't it great when you can mod things with a drag and drop?

Is there a specific run/iteration you're focusing on for inspiration on the character design?

It is indeed great! It's funny, I've always hated his Laura, but I'm all about choice. I'm going to hold out hope that you'll want to use our Laura by the time you see it .

I've been picking and choosing from a wide range with regards to references for the artists. Funnily enough, many of my favorite images of Laura specifically are fan art. Let's chat over DM, it sounds to me like you have some thoughts on the matter!

 

[mp82rw]

Hey there!

I've been mostly active on the Discord for Rogue-Like modding, but decided to take a peak in here. Seems like it was a good idea, since I can share some of the info that I've been sharing through discussions over there.



I'll start with this one! This is a really, really reasonable request. I'm going to hold off for now for two reasons:

1) The art style is in flux as I go back and forth with the artist about what works with some of the existing art we want to keep (ie. the new backgrounds, which I absolutely love). The artist has a portfolio that's spread across things like realistic DnD portraits, semi-realistic renditions of famous movie scenes, and even tattoos (that kick ass btw). I don't want people assuming the art for the game will look like something that it won't.

2) I want to afford the artist a degree of separation, and therefore protection, from the general public. If there is ever a situation where y'all don't like a character design, I want to be able to tell him directly - I don't want him to start receiving random messages telling him he sucks. The same goes for our principal writer for now.

Fortunately, you won't have to wait for long. The main character artist is chunking away at the first design, and his first drafts are *chef's kiss* in my opinion. Once the body is more or less settled upon, I will pass the art onto the main outfit designer, who already has schemes to bring the best of that character's outfits to fruition. I'm very optimistic I'll have some samples for interested parties by next week. People looking for those updates should head over to the Discord, as I don't plan on releasing many dev updates in such a public forum until we've solidly hit the ground running and I can start demonstrating results.

The beautiful thing about commissioning our own art is that it means I can feel no guilt in telling the artist to start over or looking for a new artist who better fits the game's vision, *if* it were to ever come to that.

I get it. The internet is toxic as hell, and it's actually kind of refreshing to see you protecting the artist.

I'll be honest, Oni's art is what pulled me in and kept me interested, even with the years of delays, so your artists definitely have their work cut out for them... However, given your attitude and passion for the project, I'll trust your judgement and wait with baited breath.

Good luck, man! Looking forward to it!

 

[mp82rw]

It is indeed great! It's funny, I've always hated his Laura, but I'm all about choice. I'm going to hold out hope that you'll want to use our Laura by the time you see it .

I've been picking and choosing from a wide range with regards to references for the artists. Funnily enough, many of my favorite images of Laura specifically are fan art. Let's chat over DM, it sounds to me like you have some thoughts on the matter!

On more question: Are you making your own game page any time soon? Just want to make sure to follow when it's up!

 

[ronchonbon]

On more question: Are you making your own game page any time soon? Just want to make sure to follow when it's up!

The best place to go for now is the Expanded Mod Discord! Despite posting on here tonight, I'd rather not spend a lot of time managing a page.

 

[splamo]

Someone please get Chonky his own thread here. Perhaps labeling it as a "mod" might be good enough?

 

[Ghostload]

The best place to go for now is the Expanded Mod Discord! Despite posting on here tonight, I'd rather not spend a lot of time managing a page.

I just want one thing.

Raven from Teen Titans.

Please do a multiverse crossover between both franchises, if at all possible.

 

[ronchonbon]

I just want one thing.

Raven from Teen Titans.

Please do a multiverse crossover between both franchises, if at all possible.

Don't even get me started on all of the crossovers on my wishlist. Raven is top 3 for sure. Gotta take care of the core roster first, though .

 

[BurnerIc]

Man, you all were not joking about that chonky mod making it harder to go back to the vanilla experience, patiently awaiting a more official release for it

 

[leathermax]

So, Ron, now that you're here, I'd like to ask you, what are you planning to do with the story? Is it gonna be optional, very focused on, perhaps? Will some stuff we already have in the base game (eg: sex with Jean, unlocking Jubes, raising Rogue's resistance, becoming couple with Emma, etc.) be locked behind X story requirement, or will those story bits offer extra stuff?

 

[Abysssnake]

ron is it maybe possible to finish the mod somehow? emma sex is unfortunately still missing i'm worried that i might not like the new models i don't want to miss my emma and kitty. that's why i love them so much.
look at my profile picture that's the face what i do when emma and kitty striping in front of me.

 

[ronchonbon]

So, Ron, now that you're here, I'd like to ask you, what are you planning to do with the story? Is it gonna be optional, very focused on, perhaps? Will some stuff we already have in the base game (eg: sex with Jean, unlocking Jubes, raising Rogue's resistance, becoming couple with Emma, etc.) be locked behind X story requirement, or will those story bits offer extra stuff?

The narrative structure is written out like this:

There is a "main" plot that shapes the game world. Things will be happening in the background/alongside your exploration of the school and the development of your relationships with the characters - how much you choose to interact with the story vs. laser focusing on seducing every single character is kind of up to you, but these story events will provide lots of opportunities to build up your rapport your with the characters. It's possible that some characters will be unlocked as the main plot develops - that's going to be a case-by-case situation and will most likely be used for villainous characters.

Then there are independent, parallel character arcs that develop your specific relationships. This is more like the examples you've given: it's how you'll unlock major milestones in each relationship.

Just in case you're wondering, we aren't keen on endings, and we're also going to keep away from plots that block off certain characters. You'll be able to keep playing in the world as long as you want.

 

[ronchonbon]

ron is it maybe possible to finish the mod somehow? emma sex is unfortunately still missing i'm worried that i might not like the new models i don't want to miss my emma and kitty. that's why i love them so much.
look at my profile picture that's the face what i do when emma and kitty striping in front of me.

Two things:

1. The issue with "finishing" Chonky Mod is that it takes so many of the core game systems and upends them, such that it's difficult to imagine an end state for it that isn't effectively a new game. That's why the mod is so buggy: it would be like if I went into a house that had been built one room at a time by different architects and tried to make it all look contiguous. You don't get very far without destroying a lot of the existing structure.

2. I really, really don't like most of the animations that aren't finished in Chonky Mod. Let's be honest, what fraction of Oni's animations are actually good? The standing sprites, Rogue and Kitty's various poses, and...? It's hard for me to justify dedicating time to the existing art and animations. I've spent too many hours staring at Jubilee's soulless eyes blinking at me while refining the animation code. That's why I started commissioning artists.

If you really don't like the new art but are keen on playing with new mechanics, then you should hold out for the drag-drop mods.

 

[BishopSec]

It is indeed great! It's funny, I've always hated his Laura, but I'm all about choice. I'm going to hold out hope that you'll want to use our Laura by the time you see it .

I've been picking and choosing from a wide range with regards to references for the artists. Funnily enough, many of my favorite images of Laura specifically are fan art. Let's chat over DM, it sounds to me like you have some thoughts on the matter!

Few things I'd love to see:
- Tighter abs on Laura (or at least an option for tighter abs)
- Recoloring (on hair, pubes, clothes and even lips, maybe nails but don't care much for nails)
- For the love of god tanning with some tanlines options
- More piercings (lips, nose, belly, etc)
- Some r63 girls? (cyclops, nightcrawler, etc)
- Some kind of progression, like missions or something and hopefully optional (so those who dont care about it dont get tied by it)
- No frog sex pose please

And good luck with the project, I really hope it succeeds, the stuff you were doing on the mod was pretty nice

 

[redknight1]

- No frog sex pose please

 

[Buttholder]

So is it still going to be based primarily on the Evolution artstyle? For me, the primary draw of the base game is that it's based on one of my favourite shows of the 90s/00s and Evo Rogue's design makes her one the Best Girls of All Time. Losing that would be losing a big chunk of what interests me about the game, and probably a large number of the game's fans in general - goes without saying, but, with all the available alternate versions available, Oni chose the Evolution setting for a very specific reason.

 

[Dirty_Dan]

I think it is a very wise thing to be wary of new projects with ambitious goals. It's important to keep your expectations measured, as even best intentions don't always pan out.

You know what? More power to you.

A lot of us have been banging the same drum about certain aspects of the game and if this is what it takes to get the functionality and content we've been asking for for a couple of years now, so be it. I'm interested in seeing the art style for this new game. I'm sure I'll be fine with it either way, but it'll be nice to see if it can stand out enough from Oni's art, while still being somewhat reminiscent.