Others Abandoned Secret Horse Files 3 [v0.38] [Levy]

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Discussion Reviews (10)
Horacio55555

Horacio55555

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Nov 11, 2020
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jack546
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KL-001-A

I wholly welcome the responses given. Please don't feel that I meant to detract from the opinions and feelings of others and yourselves, I was simply trying to express something that I've been thinking of. Truthfully I find the fact that folks like yourselves have actually taken the time to respond in a more constructive way to be admirable and highly appreciated.

The issue I noticed that seemed to be most prevalent was the lack of updates. In truth I believe that's why having someone run your PR is so important as it can be very difficult to find ways to formulate the posts but having someone experienced in that can help reduce the backlash and feelings of dejection regarding the creator not updating. Truly I agree that they could do to update more and I was trying to offer a reason as to perhaps why they don't. Typically growing to understand why something is can really lead to hating it less and being more understanding.

I didn't come here with the express intent of defending, though it seems that way. Certainly a great many of us can agree that pondering on the reasons of something being the way it is can be very interesting way to spend time.

Granted... I still feel a great deal of, at the very least, sympathy for the creator here. Anonymity tends to bring out some nastier sides in people which do hurt. Screwing people over is bad but I believe it's wrong to assert that the creator in this instance is doing that, they've still tried to update and they've still tried been contactable. The word they've done is pretty fire imo, and I don't want to detract from that at all.

Again... Apologies if I come across as sanctimonious or arrogant, I'm truly not trying to and I often worry I may well do so. I do hear where people are coming from and I know it's frustrating... I started off my initial comment terribly by setting the standard of ignorance and I apologize for that too.

Thanks for any and all time those who take to read this, I know it may seem a little silly. Overthinking shit and over rationalizing things is kind of an issue I have. :/

tl;dr brain go brr

Edit 1: Holding people accountable is absolutely paramount, I get that folks voicing frustration is way of doing that. In saying that I do like to believe that if I found myself in a situation where perhaps I took on too much and was in over my head... that people would have a degree of understanding. Treat others how you'd like to be treated and all that. I'm really not trying to upset folks, if you want to respond more then I'm happy to take on board your insight :)
 
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U

Uenvly

New Member
May 17, 2018
5
22
So, caught the last stream(or atleast the last hour and a half) yesterday and can confirm he is still working on the game... atleast while he's streaming.
It appears that he is in the final process of aligning all the vectors on the characters and assets to work with the new mechanics, and mentioned something about allocating more RAM to the software he is using to render faster or more efficiently.
He stated he should be done soon but we all have heard that before.
That being said, fingers crossed. Might get it soon(tm)
 
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LordBalkara

Member
Oct 31, 2017
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Someone I'd like to contrast Levy with is the Captivity dev, Perveloper.
He's also stopped updating his game for months, however there's very little if any annoyance with the delay, for 3 good reasons:
1. You can communicate with Perveloper at any time, so there's no feeling of "Well here's hoping I catch that Thursday stream for a glimpse of what's been going on". You can at any time ask him about the game, and he'd tell you.
2. And they've provided a good reason for the delay. Levy's reason for the delay sounds like when someone in an interview tries to portray a good quality as a flaw. Essentially saying he's just gotten caught up in feature creep. Meanwhile, Perveloper gave a very good reason for why he hasn't updated in months: He's the only developer and is in college right now, so he has to focus on school.
3. Levy expects you to pay atleast 10$ monthly for access to the most recent builds of his game. Altogether, this is making him $3,393 a month. That's enough that he could literally abandon anything he needs IRL to make money and just go all in on this game. And it used to be even more money, before he went on the never ending hiatus. Meanwhile Perveloper just wants a one-time $5 and you get access to all of the game forever. He's even talked here, on these forums, in the thread about his game, which I don't know if Levy has ever done.
So in summary, Levy is making a lot of money, barely communicates, and gives bad excuses for why he hasn't updated in months. And when you compare him to a Dev in a somewhat similar position who doesn't have the same negative reaction, you can see what he's doing wrong.
 
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Mistervd

Mistervd

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Nov 25, 2017
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Uenvly said:
So, caught the last stream(or atleast the last hour and a half) yesterday and can confirm he is still working on the game... atleast while he's streaming.
It appears that he is in the final process of aligning all the vectors on the characters and assets to work with the new mechanics, and mentioned something about allocating more RAM to the software he is using to render faster or more efficiently.
He stated he should be done soon but we all have heard that before.
That being said, fingers crossed. Might get it soon(tm)
Click to expand...
Soon™? Now we are talking.
 
U

Uenvly

New Member
May 17, 2018
5
22
Today's stream has started, which can be found on his most recent patreon post. Streams usually last 3+ hours and ill update after the stream has ended if any significant information presents itself. Running a stream of consciousness writing this so itll be a bit of a jumbled mess.

That being said, the stream started out with the dev loopy as all hell(implied from lack of sleep, hopefully from him WORKING ON THE DAMN GAME) talking about cake and it being an inferior pastry. Briefly saw his personal trello which listed quite a few bugs/features/whatever the fuck that he is currently working on(mostly with dragons and getting them to work with the new features), the actual number of which listed was in the medium double digits. Current programming being worked on at the time of this post is Ember and how her rig interacts with oral mechanics(ie, floating necks, eye bulging).

On a side note theyre currently talking about the inadequacies of cyberpunk and no mans sky, specifically their PR and the idea of early access vs a full game and how game releases are done nowadays.

Briefly touched on tentacles, and i do mean briefly - said something along the lines of "I have an idea for tentacles, IF i do end up doing tentacles..."(one of said ideas, btw, is 'all the way through'). Said itll be waaaaay further down the road, past a few updates(listed portals, UI update and a few others that ive forgotten, ovipostion among them). Portals was stated to be for next update. Dev also asked for dick pics

Alright, saving everything else for another post to be vaguely more composed, instead of writing as I'm listening
 
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Uenvly

New Member
May 17, 2018
5
22
So i transitioned from attempting to have a concise, coherent post about important info to just sitting hear monitoring the stream and chats and listing everything ive thought might be of interest - essentially going to be writing down random shit im hearing/seeing as the stream goes on. Please note, this is all WORD OF MOUTH or, if you prefer, RUMORS - everything written here is what ive heard, but that does not mean it is set in stone

Notes on Dev and Game:
-has two friends on him constantly hounding to work, talked about having a third
-main struggle is volume of work - seems to be the main issue for this update specifically. added/adding alot to have this update up and running(scope creep). talked about having a conversation with his friends/colleagues to prevent this in future
-very antisocial/introverted(despite being a very talkative person?), likely explains lack of communication with supporters[still doesnt explain why he doesnt hire a PR manager(actually touched on this, albiet indirectly: wants someone who is familiar with game to be able to essentially coach/feed him suggestions that are feasible to be added - wants someone who knows the game as well as he does)]
-does read chats during streams
-sleep deprived on this stream, first occurrence from the streams ive seen
-game is written in Dart
-*next updates(atleast two) after this one(Oral) appear to be Portals, then UI, then a few more listed that i didnt catch*(original statement)
-still having fun developing game, not burnt out. frustrated with current update, but still happy and excited to be working. appears to be making living fully from patreon(personal note: general attitude suggests that update delays are genuine, and not a result of "milking" his patrons. goes against my initial thoughts on his motivation, but signs point to the dev being a genuine person suffering from the sickness known as "being human"... either that or he is remarkably good at hiding his true intentions)
-FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, THIS IS A RUMOR BUT IT DID COME FROM THE DEV'S MOUTH: confident in finishing in next day or two, BUT we have heard this before, and the dev personally said that "I've said this before, but..."
-is working every day on the game for 8-10 hours
-has adhd, struggles with concentration, but tries to adhere to his schedule as best as he can
-(used to?)deals with stress by avoiding things, used to dread working on game till did some soul searching through meditation and shit
-up to 5 or 6 different Secret Horse Files games, 5/6th is Factory(factorio-like lewd production game, ponies optional/more furry oriented, more people and artists to collaborate with), talked about posting something about his hidden/forgotten project(#4)
-has atleast one artist dedicated to items such as collars
-wants to work on Factory after this update, and then work on some tangible content that will be able to be delivered quickly for SHF3(assuming new dicks, toys and items but not explicitly stated)
-wants to expand future projects into furry territory, ie taking this game and creating an offshoot for it to use only a single character to create a more focused experience(mentioned rig work becomes exponentially harder as more characters are added). further in future, likely after game is completed
-*stated along the lines of "long term update plan after adding this update(some aspects of oral) is portals, mental stuff/time passage stuff, then focus on polishing and expanding upon the then-current mechanics and freezing putting in new mechanics"*(stated explicitly later in stream)
-did seem very "rushing to finish" this stream, and was mostly focused on bug fixing

Future Ideas(apparently from the hidden idea/suggestion trello):
-Makeup touched on(running down face specifically), stated that he liked idea further down road, likely in an update involving making things 'messier'
-Faces(and probably rigs in general) have been made more complicated with layering while being simplified(?), allows more to be done with the rigs for future updates
~~In same vein, character customization planned further along(scope seems pretty extensive, talked about some chimera type shit like swapping dragon legs on a pony body), talked about drip feeding it along multiple updates
-Changing color palates is planned, likely with UI update
-Winking and heart clitoris is an idea that is liked, specifically because dev is unhappy with current vulva appearance. stated for future. possible vulva customization and/or rework
-Milking equipment
-Something about tits/nipples/portable nipples/nipple dicks(but not dick nipples)
-Portals. size scaling was touched on, but hes unsure of how to proceed with that(scaled on character, or scaled through portal? leaning toward former). also talked about flipping dicks and needing references(ie, underside)
-Pawjobs/hoovejobs/handjobs(for the uncultured) from characters, stated likely with portals, would be probably passive instead of active(rubbing instead of gripping). unknown about handjob as a "toy"
-talked about watersports, missed a bit about this due to outside interference/lack of paying attention, but think they stated its planned(talked about it later, aware that if added it would be divisive and that IF it was added it would be completely optional - assuming all fetishes will likely be optional)
-more body parts(ie, lizard tiddies)
-full depth penetration(ie, losing sex toys inside subject), stated after portals
-toggles, likely coming in UI updates(ie, turn off/on bulges)
-pregnancy talked about, however no clear decision on for or against to be added(or i just wasnt paying attention). was in a joke conversation about lootboxes and not mentioned as a clear topic(ie, forced to log in when your waifu get a craving)
-condoms and fluid filling really liked as an idea, stated fluids are hard to work with but want to implement. also mentioned condom skirts and filling and adding more to said skirt(after base features added)
-ovipositors
-wants to work on dick expansion in next update after this current one.... no not EXPANSION in the fetish sense but more assets and types
-different sizes of changeling characters, also had an idea about feeding chrysalis with, ahem, "love" and she becomes bigger, with every orgasm causing her to become smaller as she expends energy
-urethral play or sounding
-no fluid expansion explosion
-away from the stream at this point to do something, but caught the tail end - dislikes idea of having Yak characters in-game, but possibly open to having another artist make the assets?
-tube PSI pressure(fluid filling rate adjustment)
-adamant about NEVER adding easter eggs in his games
-double dicks
-SciTwi

Current Bugs and items being worked on(seen/heard, not from the trello):
-googly eyes
-a HOLY SHIT WTF moment of rapid clicking causing the character to explode with only eyes and a mouth showing. shit was creepy
-track/animation issues(animations playing in wrong order)
-working on non pony characters(implied done with current pony characters, but cant confirm)
-current programming is still Ember's(large blue dragon) rig and how it interacts with oral mechanics, along with the bugs that ensued from that. then moved onto another character's rig(BonBon), doing same.

Trello notes quickly screencapped below
 
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Azero

Azero

Member
Jul 24, 2017
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Uenvly said:
So i transitioned from attempting to have a concise, coherent post about important info to just sitting hear monitoring the stream and chats and listing everything ive thought might be of interest - essentially going to be writing down random shit im hearing/seeing as the stream goes on. Please note, this is all WORD OF MOUTH or, if you prefer, RUMORS - everything written here is what ive heard, but that does not mean it is set in stone

Notes on Dev and Game:
-has two friends on him constantly hounding to work, talked about having a third
-main struggle is volume of work - seems to be the main issue for this update specifically. added/adding alot to have this update up and running(scope creep). talked about having a conversation with his friends/colleagues to prevent this in future
-very antisocial/introverted(despite being a very talkative person?), likely explains lack of communication with supporters[still doesnt explain why he doesnt hire a PR manager(actually touched on this, albiet indirectly: wants someone who is familiar with game to be able to essentially coach/feed him suggestions that are feasible to be added - wants someone who knows the game as well as he does)]
-does read chats during streams
-sleep deprived on this stream, first occurrence from the streams ive seen
-game is written in Dart
-*next updates(atleast two) after this one(Oral) appear to be Portals, then UI, then a few more listed that i didnt catch*(original statement)
-still having fun developing game, not burnt out. frustrated with current update, but still happy and excited to be working. appears to be making living fully from patreon(personal note: general attitude suggests that update delays are genuine, and not a result of "milking" his patrons. goes against my initial thoughts on his motivation, but signs point to the dev being a genuine person suffering from the sickness known as "being human"... either that or he is remarkably good at hiding his true intentions)
-FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, THIS IS A RUMOR BUT IT DID COME FROM THE DEV'S MOUTH: confident in finishing in next day or two, BUT we have heard this before, and the dev personally said that "I've said this before, but..."
-is working every day on the game for 8-10 hours
-has adhd, struggles with concentration, but tries to adhere to his schedule as best as he can
-(used to?)deals with stress by avoiding things, used to dread working on game till did some soul searching through meditation and shit
-up to 5 or 6 different Secret Horse Files games, 5/6th is Factory(factorio-like lewd production game, ponies optional/more furry oriented, more people and artists to collaborate with), talked about posting something about his hidden/forgotten project(#4)
-has atleast one artist dedicated to items such as collars
-wants to work on Factory after this update, and then work on some tangible content that will be able to be delivered quickly for SHF3(assuming new dicks, toys and items but not explicitly stated)
-wants to expand future projects into furry territory, ie taking this game and creating an offshoot for it to use only a single character to create a more focused experience(mentioned rig work becomes exponentially harder as more characters are added). further in future, likely after game is completed
-*stated along the lines of "long term update plan after adding this update(some aspects of oral) is portals, mental stuff/time passage stuff, then focus on polishing and expanding upon the then-current mechanics and freezing putting in new mechanics"*(stated explicitly later in stream)
-did seem very "rushing to finish" this stream, and was mostly focused on bug fixing

Future Ideas(apparently from the hidden idea/suggestion trello):
-Makeup touched on(running down face specifically), stated that he liked idea further down road, likely in an update involving making things 'messier'
-Faces(and probably rigs in general) have been made more complicated with layering while being simplified(?), allows more to be done with the rigs for future updates
~~In same vein, character customization planned further along(scope seems pretty extensive, talked about some chimera type shit like swapping dragon legs on a pony body), talked about drip feeding it along multiple updates
-Changing color palates is planned, likely with UI update
-Winking and heart clitoris is an idea that is liked, specifically because dev is unhappy with current vulva appearance. stated for future. possible vulva customization and/or rework
-Milking equipment
-Something about tits/nipples/portable nipples/nipple dicks(but not dick nipples)
-Portals. size scaling was touched on, but hes unsure of how to proceed with that(scaled on character, or scaled through portal? leaning toward former). also talked about flipping dicks and needing references(ie, underside)
-Pawjobs/hoovejobs/handjobs(for the uncultured) from characters, stated likely with portals, would be probably passive instead of active(rubbing instead of gripping). unknown about handjob as a "toy"
-talked about watersports, missed a bit about this due to outside interference/lack of paying attention, but think they stated its planned(talked about it later, aware that if added it would be divisive and that IF it was added it would be completely optional - assuming all fetishes will likely be optional)
-more body parts(ie, lizard tiddies)
-full depth penetration(ie, losing sex toys inside subject), stated after portals
-toggles, likely coming in UI updates(ie, turn off/on bulges)
-pregnancy talked about, however no clear decision on for or against to be added(or i just wasnt paying attention). was in a joke conversation about lootboxes and not mentioned as a clear topic(ie, forced to log in when your waifu get a craving)
-condoms and fluid filling really liked as an idea, stated fluids are hard to work with but want to implement. also mentioned condom skirts and filling and adding more to said skirt(after base features added)
-ovipositors
-wants to work on dick expansion in next update after this current one.... no not EXPANSION in the fetish sense but more assets and types
-different sizes of changeling characters, also had an idea about feeding chrysalis with, ahem, "love" and she becomes bigger, with every orgasm causing her to become smaller as she expends energy
-urethral play or sounding
-no fluid expansion explosion
-away from the stream at this point to do something, but caught the tail end - dislikes idea of having Yak characters in-game, but possibly open to having another artist make the assets?
-tube PSI pressure(fluid filling rate adjustment)
-adamant about NEVER adding easter eggs in his games
-double dicks
-SciTwi

Current Bugs and items being worked on(seen/heard, not from the trello):
-googly eyes
-a HOLY SHIT WTF moment of rapid clicking causing the character to explode with only eyes and a mouth showing. shit was creepy
-track/animation issues(animations playing in wrong order)
-working on non pony characters(implied done with current pony characters, but cant confirm)
-current programming is still Ember's(large blue dragon) rig and how it interacts with oral mechanics, along with the bugs that ensued from that. then moved onto another character's rig(BonBon), doing same.

Trello notes quickly screencapped below
Click to expand...
Nice and thank for this news
 
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atur

atur

Member
Nov 5, 2019
156
181
Uenvly said:
-main struggle is volume of work - seems to be the main issue for this update specifically. added/adding alot to have this update up and running(scope creep). talked about having a conversation with his friends/colleagues to prevent this in future
-very antisocial/introverted(despite being a very talkative person?), likely explains lack of communication with supporters[still doesnt explain why he doesnt hire a PR manager(actually touched on this, albiet indirectly: wants someone who is familiar with game to be able to essentially coach/feed him suggestions that are feasible to be added - wants someone who knows the game as well as he does)]

-is working every day on the game for 8-10 hours
-has adhd, struggles with concentration, but tries to adhere to his schedule as best as he can
Click to expand...
Ahh its a management issue, a true classic. Doesnt make it ok though, why he cant just hire more workers??
 
U

Uenvly

New Member
May 17, 2018
5
22
atur said:
Ahh its a management issue, a true classic. Doesnt make it ok though, why he cant just hire more workers??
Click to expand...
Far as I can tell it's only him actively working and he wants to keep it that way for whatever reason - his friends appear to pitch in sporadically to help make the game better just for the sake of it but they dont touch any of the code, only the art and visual side of things
I'd wager the antisocial side of him doesnt want to deal with the additional hassle of trying to coordinate with another coder to get the desired results but is happy to get assets and suggestions that are reasonably feasible
This all being said, I'm not an expert on his mentality and its all conjecture, but this is what it appears to me from listening in. Mostly inferred this from a statement that there is approximately three people he's actively "working" with, and I use the term loosely, who appear to be there solely to motivate him to get his shit together
 
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