PhanesDionysos

Queer Pervert (they/them)
Game Developer
Mar 25, 2020
84
293
I'm a bit puzzled by the fact that the file size varies on the download links provided...
They all use the same art/audio assets, but since they're built for different platforms they need different amounts of supporting code. The PC download is for both Linux and Windows, so that's presumably why it's the biggest. This sort of thing is less noticeable with games that have a lot of animations or full-screen art, because the difference is just a smaller proportion of the total file size.

I now think that this was talking about the F95 mirrors.
 
Last edited:
Oct 19, 2021
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They all use the same art/audio assets, but since they're built for different platforms they need different amounts of supporting code. The PC download is for both Linux and Windows, so that's presumably why it's the biggest. This sort of thing is less noticeable with games that have a lot of animations or full-screen art, because the difference is just a smaller proportion of the total file size.
Three of the links for the PC version are 97MB, two are 101MB. Though, I downloaded a 101 one, and it was actually 97, so... dunno.
 
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PhanesDionysos

Queer Pervert (they/them)
Game Developer
Mar 25, 2020
84
293
Three of the links for the PC version are 97MB, two are 101MB. Though, I downloaded a 101 one, and it was actually 97, so... dunno.
Oh, never mind: I don't control the mirrors here. I wonder if some are calculating using KB/MB and some using KiB/MiB? That roughly accounts for the discrepancy. If you're ever concerned about a mirror, the public version on itch.io is free and controlled by me.
 

sadiyaflux

Newbie
Oct 18, 2020
29
29
Discovered this game via the "Latest Update" page, and I have to say: Amazing game so far! It really is captivating, engaging, and indirect/subtle sometimes. Finally something more cerebral and not just THE SAAAAME shit like every other broken, sub-demo-concept-alpha title you can find here or elsewhere (no pun intended).

Sure, the art is... a placeholder (RIGHT!?!?!?), and a LOT of polish needs to happen at some point. But I've just kept playing and playing and... is this completable? Certainly feels like it! I'm multiple days in and have not even begun to see everything (gauging by the perceived story progression). It really is rare that a game, with this kind of graphical assets, is so rich already.

I totally dislike RenPY, but I see the benefits. It might be way too late to recommend switching to Unity (and then facilitate the VN function via a custom, low-price framework like Naninovel or something like it). But this weak HTML wrapper will bite you in the ass down the line, IMHO.

Just imagine folks what this game could be with proper (not super expensive) multi-state character artwork, fitting backgrounds, item assets and a proper, finished UI! One of the best Lovecraft-Inspired stories I've seen yet. Will think about supporting this long term.

One last question, to further cement the wall of text here: Is there a reason why this game is not listed on TFGames? Even though the TF Content is, as far as I know, relatively slim in terms of the typical options. Psychologically - it's already up there =)
 
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Varik8876

Active Member
Sep 17, 2019
566
298
Sure, the art is... a placeholder (RIGHT!?!?!?), and a LOT of polish needs to happen at some point. But I've just kept playing and playing and... is this completable? Certainly feels like it! I'm multiple days in and have not even begun to see everything (gauging by the perceived story progression). It really is rare that a game, with this kind of graphical assets, is so rich already.

I totally dislike RenPY, but I see the benefits. It might be way too late to recommend switching to Unity (and then facilitate the VN function via a custom, low-price framework like Naninovel or something like it). But this weak HTML wrapper will bite you in the ass down the line, IMHO.
Problem with this of course is the cost side of it, all those animations and fancy graphics, well unless the dev is doing them themselves, cost money, money they either may not have or may not want to spend on such things, to be honest the graphics are fine, they do what they are supposed to do, and do not look like a 10 year old drew them.
 

Dargondo

Member
Mar 3, 2018
307
664
Just started playing this and wow, I really hate Meg Yagnik, like god damn is she prejudiced and bigoted.
I literally did nothing but be kind and courteous to her in every interaction and she just constantly was making it about race or position while acting like she was talking from the moral high ground.
I wish there were options to snap back at her for her attitude, because she's a serious bitch with a massive adam's apple and no tits or ass.
I'm partially worried that it's the creator's choice to have her act that way too based on your character creation choices, because she wasn't so bad until after I chose light skin for my character.
 
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KopretCZ

Newbie
Jan 24, 2022
98
79
Discovered this game via the "Latest Update" page, and I have to say: Amazing game so far! It really is captivating, engaging, and indirect/subtle sometimes. Finally something more cerebral and not just THE SAAAAME shit like every other broken, sub-demo-concept-alpha title you can find here or elsewhere (no pun intended).

Sure, the art is... a placeholder (RIGHT!?!?!?), and a LOT of polish needs to happen at some point. But I've just kept playing and playing and... is this completable? Certainly feels like it! I'm multiple days in and have not even begun to see everything (gauging by the perceived story progression). It really is rare that a game, with this kind of graphical assets, is so rich already.

I totally dislike RenPY, but I see the benefits. It might be way too late to recommend switching to Unity (and then facilitate the VN function via a custom, low-price framework like Naninovel or something like it). But this weak HTML wrapper will bite you in the ass down the line, IMHO.

Just imagine folks what this game could be with proper (not super expensive) multi-state character artwork, fitting backgrounds, item assets and a proper, finished UI! One of the best Lovecraft-Inspired stories I've seen yet. Will think about supporting this long term.

One last question, to further cement the wall of text here: Is there a reason why this game is not listed on TFGames? Even though the TF Content is, as far as I know, relatively slim in terms of the typical options. Psychologically - it's already up there =)
I agree that person must get used to that art..... But i find it beautiful in the end - it´s unique. Specific for this game, this content. It can grow to u when u let it.

Not everyone likes Unity games - personaly i avoid them cuz what i tried wasn´t.. exactly wellmade. But more the opposite tbh. Even now i´m watching how my fav textbased game Malevolent Planet is converted slowly to unity and well - surprisingly it changes the whole feel of game when instead of building atmospehere through nicely wrote text u are looking at cartoonish npcs moving in straight lines etc. It´s not exactly bad, bad - just absolutely different. And using unity for simple VN can be troublesome - so far every one kept crashing at some points
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and there´s absence of quick save which is very handy

And for TF - it´s simple. U answered it yourself - because there is so little of that content and personaly i don´t see how it can fit on that site.
 
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PhanesDionysos

Queer Pervert (they/them)
Game Developer
Mar 25, 2020
84
293
I'm partially worried that it's the creator's choice to have her act that way too based on your character creation choices, because she wasn't so bad until after I chose light skin for my character.
She doesn't act differently based on race. I think there are a few subtle differences if you're trans, but generally she just has an abrasive personality.
 
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sadiyaflux

Newbie
Oct 18, 2020
29
29
Interesting remark about Meg - she is just not into this sort of stuff, period. And keeps her relationship with her Employer in a certain fashion - nothing problematic for me here.

About the "Unity is bad" reply from KopretCZ
Hmm, I hear you. But I suspect this is more a case of inexperienced developers testing the waters with something that is inherently too complex for a 1st project =) Eventhough Unity can be a rather smooth first start with modern, complex engines.

What you describe has nothing to do with the engine itself, in my humble opinion. It's more their implementation of it. I know Malevolent Planet and ... for the life of me, I can't really understand why you would port a Visual Novel to an RPG-Maker-esque format with Unity! That seems.... like a super poor design choice. The overall immersion and quality of MP - at least for me - was the closeness to our protagonist through the artwork and layout. It felt CLOSE and somewhat PERSONAL, like YOU were there. Captured the feeling of some games from way back when. But when viewed from an isometric or Top-Down perspective, all this immersion is totally gone. It becomes another totally generic RPGM Game. In another Engine... yay.

Parasite Infection is another example, I think. It's just not for me, those types of conversions/ports. Coming back to Ruin me here, I believe this game is already in a very good place. I'm still (!) not through, but past the "graduation party". And I stand by my original praise: If the artwork of the game AT LEAST gets completed so that every collectible and every encounter has some corresponding imagery (even with the current art style) it's a really good, immersive and cerebrally perverse game! What a mouthful this was :sneaky:
 
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PhanesDionysos

Queer Pervert (they/them)
Game Developer
Mar 25, 2020
84
293
Regarding Unity vs. Ren'py:

First, I think there's a bit of misunderstanding about the depth of Ren'Py. It's not a "weak HTML wrapper" at all; I don't think it uses any HTML except as a transpilation target. While Ren'Py's built-in features are dedicated to pretty traditional VN functionality, at any time you can drop down to Python to do complex things, even including importing arbitrary libraries if necessary. Ruin Me already contains some mildly-complex procedural text generation that makes extensive use of good-old-fashioned Python code.

Unity is a fine development environment, although I have my concerns about their maintenance practices in general and the direction the company leadership is going in specific (more adware, more military contracts). Generally, though, it's just more bulky than would ever be necessary for a game like Ruin Me. I don't need access to an entire 2D/3D game suite to make the game, and I'd probably mostly just be interacting with whichever VN plugin I chose to use. At that point, I might as well use Ren'Py and take advantage of its excellent built-in VN features like rollback, robust saving, easy text handling, scene building, and so on.

As someone who's shipped commercial games in both Unity and Ren'Py, I'd definitely recommend anyone use Ren'Py if they were making a VN, unless they wanted to do something genre-breaking like have free movement or true 3D (in which case I'd recommend Godot with Rakugo, although I don't have personal experience with that plugin).

tl;dr: Ren'Py does everything I need it to and allows for a lot more. A non-domain-specific system like Unity would add unnecessary bulkiness and complexity and probably require reinventing some wheels that are already built into Ren'Py.
 

PhanesDionysos

Queer Pervert (they/them)
Game Developer
Mar 25, 2020
84
293
screenshot-0.49.0.jpg
Hey, perverts! There's another version of Ruin Me up for patrons with some particularly kinky options: you can visit Theresa at night and even creep on her while she's sleeping if you get permission, and there's a new optional, opt-in mode that adds teasing of the player and implications of consensual cuckolding to existing scenes. Don't worry if sleep-creeping or soft NTR aren't your thing; there are plenty of options in the nighttime visits that appeal to more general tastes.

The free version adds in a new horror expedition featuring a shadowy figure at a crossroads, plus a handful of smaller improvements.

You can get the free version and see a full changelog for both at:
 

okokok

Member
Aug 19, 2016
450
587
View attachment 2085813
Hey, perverts! There's another version of Ruin Me up for patrons with some particularly kinky options: you can visit Theresa at night and even creep on her while she's sleeping if you get permission, and there's a new optional, opt-in mode that adds teasing of the player and implications of consensual cuckolding to existing scenes. Don't worry if sleep-creeping or soft NTR aren't your thing; there are plenty of options in the nighttime visits that appeal to more general tastes.

The free version adds in a new horror expedition featuring a shadowy figure at a crossroads, plus a handful of smaller improvements.

You can get the free version and see a full changelog for both at:
Your art has come a long long way
 
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Kikinaak

Newbie
Apr 26, 2020
26
27
I dont understand why we have mirrors on 4 different services, and now a torrent, for the same version that is free to download off itch, yet we do not have the patreon release?
 
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Cenwen

Member
Sep 28, 2018
385
645
Hey there.
I want to bring up a suggestion.
A controversial one at that.

I fully understand that development time and writing takes the most amount of time.
However a lot of the time, it's also art that draws in people.
As of now, the art is not in a very good place. If anything, it can deter people away from playing the game.
At the same time, yes. Of course, it takes some serious amount of money to actually hire artists who will draw art for you.

So, I propose a temporary solution.
What if you TEMPORARILY used AI generated images for the scenes?
Something like NovelAI is fully capable of generating consistent images for most part. As lazy as it sounds, it may be a lot more appealing than the current art.
 

sadiyaflux

Newbie
Oct 18, 2020
29
29
I second that - for visual AI networks, not story-telling per se! It is a very nice idea - however, it will be rather challenging to maintain the "right face" with these AI generated images. Yes - they are super versatile and can be rather incredible, but it is (currently) a weakness of the software workflow to preserve a persistent character. For backgrounds however? What a great an useful tool to have. Any of the available software suites (that you would power with your local BEAST rig, if you have one) and online services (that run these ai networks on their servers) should work wonders on items, buildings and background. Which this game needs desperately.

In any case - it should be prioritized. Like many stated before - it's not really about who "likes" the artwork and who doesn't, the way I see it. The artwork is, objectively, out of touch with the actual story and the topics discussed therein. This might not have been the intent, I reckon, but it's the end result regardless. I respect the author's choices here, however, this is not ideal. I would prefer that development on new content halts now and a quality pass on all artwork-related objects should be focussed. Why? To reel in more fans - obviously =) Many other games prioritize catching the audience with visuals, and many players will never discover this story and this game - which is a shame. There are only a few titles that actually deliver a captivating story - something some of us pervs here enjoy.

So please @PhanesDionysos, take these suggestions to heart. Your game deserves some quality upgrades in the art department.
 
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