Ren'Py Abandoned Secrets of the Valley [v0.0.3 Early Access] [LUSTFER]

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EZ8lt

Engaged Member
Dec 24, 2019
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I just want to say that the pdf file included the release as a walkthrough isn't a walkthrough, but a very loose guide.

Also, seeing money, mood, energy stats make my skin crawl. I can take a sandbox, but not a sims simulator that even brings more grind. In my experience, that serves nothing but to stretch out gameplay artificially to hide the lack of actual content.
 
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LUSTFER

LUSTFER

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EZ8lt said:
I just want to say that the pdf file included the release as a walkthrough isn't a walkthrough, but a very loose guide.

Also, seeing money, mood, energy stats make my skin crawl. I can take a sandbox, but not a sims simulator that even brings more grind. In my experience, that serves nothing but to stretch out gameplay artificially to hide the lack of actual content.
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Perfect. Thanks for the contribution.

I just can't believe you don't have any positive points. Let me ask, did you even try to play a little bit?
 
LUSTFER

LUSTFER

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Dec 1, 2020
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Ladies, Gentlemen, & Friends,

One of the core values at Lustfer Games is our team's willingness to listen to the voice of those who enjoy our games. This isn't necessarily to say that we'll always implement every suggestion we receive (which would be impossible), but we'll always hear out those ideas that we find most interesting or that we feel can make our games more enjoyable to the largest part of our audience -- and put them into place, if possible.

With that said, we've received an overwhelming outcry from our players regarding the Sandbox format of Secrets of the Valley. After a great deal of deliberation, we've made the decision to shift gears while we're still in the early stages of the game, converting the game into a Visual Novel format. We realize that this decision will not satisfy everyone and apologize to those who are disappointed by the change. Still, we believe that this is the right move to ensure that our game can be enjoyed by the largest audience possible.

Soon, you can expect to see an all-new release of Secrets of the Valley, v0.0.3 which will reflect the above changes. After this release, Lustfer Games will continue its release schedule on its planned monthly basis.

Thanks again for your interest in our game -- and helping us navigate the growing pains associated with every new venture!

Lustfer
 
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Fazed

Fazed

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Nov 21, 2018
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The girls are cute but I'm not so sure about the writing. Relationships and pacing are moving blazingly fast. I mean, MC knows basically nothing about Norma or Alison(they went out for a few hours at best) yet he's already saying he feels a connection???? And the girls just say oh I guess its time to fuck? That's what happens when you are looking for a one night stand or casual sex, not someone who is supposed to be an actual love interest. Even with the corruption tag that doesn't make sense.

His father married his mother days after them meeting and we are to believe that actually developed into a lasting relationship? What? That is calling for the highest levels of suspension of disbelief. For a game that supposedly takes pride in its "realistic and well composed scenarios" I do not see any of that going on.

Apparently, MC will have to deal with a shady producer guy who is after Alison because she somehow knows about all(How?) of his crimes...which are inclusive of extortion, murder, and molesting minors? That went from 0 to 100 real fast. If feels like there is no build up, no development.

I did not find this compelling at all. Of course the plot is indeed "possible" but its not plausible. The way its presented leaves much to be desired. It's not even like I'm not a fan of the content. It just happened way too quickly and the scenes started and ended abruptly.
Some might say " Yah bro its a porn game, what did you expect?". In response to that I'd say, ok sure there is a place for instant gratification but after reading the Gameplay Highlights in the dev notes, I was expecting to find a lot more than what I did, in terms of writing and plot development.

TLDR
Render quality is top notch but some the facial expressions and posing are awkward.
Relationships progress with little to no development and the writing comes across as extremely rushed in general, which is the real issue IMO.
But hey, I'm just one guy with an opinion...and you know what they say about opinions. Best wishes dev.


N.B. I know it might seems like I am ragging on the game, but the dev asked for feedback and I feel like it had to be said. It's early access right? So that means things are WIP and can be changed so if I'm gonna say anything now is the best time. I wont put this in the review section for this reason as well.
There are many examples of erotic VNs that have excellent pacing, believable plot and character development even when the worlds and setting are not grounded in reality. I would love to see this game develop to be one of them, but I just don't see it in this version.
 
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The Raven King

The Raven King

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Game Developer
Mar 3, 2022
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Hey, Fazed!

Before I begin the process of replying to your thoughts, I wanted to take a moment to thank you for giving the game a try. I know I speak for Luster when I say we very much appreciate it!

Fazed said:
The girls are cute but I'm not so sure about the writing. Relationships and pacing are moving blazingly fast. I mean, MC knows basically nothing about Norma or Alison(they went out for a few hours at best) yet he's already saying he feels a connection???? And the girls just say oh I guess its time to fuck? That's what happens when you are looking for a one night stand or casual sex, not someone who is supposed to be an actual love interest. Even with the corruption tag that doesn't make sense.
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I can definitely see your point about the pacing. I think what you have to try and keep in mind is that you're playing an e-game, here. If I were writing Secrets as a novel, I'd certainly adjust the pacing -- probably almost exactly in line with your concerns. Were I to do that, however...you can rest assured that I'd be inundated with comments like "I don't come to F95 to read fine literature, man. I'm here to get off." Worse, we'd probably get our fair share of "oh, cool...another developer moving their game along at a glacial pace so they can milk their Patreon supporters to the bone".

So, yeah...you're not wrong. The pacing is definitely in "porno movie time". But in that respect, given the genre...it's kind of a "damned if you do, damned if you don't" prospect for a developer. Hopefully, that makes some sense.

Fazed said:
His father married his mother days after them meeting and we are to believe that actually developed into a lasting relationship? What? That is calling for the highest levels of suspension of disbelief. For a game that supposedly takes pride in its "realistic and well composed scenarios" I do not see any of that going on.
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I can't say I agree with that completely. Love at first sight is real and happens. As for the long-term prospects of a relationship with such a basis...well, all I can ask is that you pay attention to the next chapter (if you're still with us). I don't want to give too much away here, but we do address that to some degree.

Fazed said:
Apparently, MC will have to deal with a shady producer guy who is after Alison because she somehow knows about all(How?) of his crimes...which are inclusive of extortion, murder, and molesting minors? That went from 0 to 100 real fast. If feels like there is no build up, no development.
Click to expand...
I can see where you'd feel like that. What that scene was meant to convey was Alison just word-vomiting everything she knew to the MC, who she trusts to some degree, as she was basically on the edge of having a panic attack at the mention of his name. How she knows this and why...will be revealed. I'm sorry if that seems like a cop-out, but as you mention in your first set of comments, pacing is important and we just can't dump the whole story out there at once.

Fazed said:
I did not find this compelling at all. Of course the plot is indeed "possible" but its not plausible. The way its presented leaves much to be desired. It's not even like I'm not a fan of the content. It just happened way too quickly and the scenes started and ended abruptly.

Some might say " Yah bro its a porn game, what did you expect?". In response to that I'd say, ok sure there is a place for instant gratification but after reading the Gameplay Highlights in the dev notes, I was expecting to find a lot more than what I did, in terms of writing and plot development.
Click to expand...
Absolutely valid criticism. I'm sorry you felt left wanting on that note.

Fazed said:
N.B. I know it might seems like I am ragging on the game, but the dev asked for feedback and I feel like it had to be said. It's early access right? So that means things are WIP and can be changed so if I'm gonna say anything now is the best time. I wont put this in the review section for this reason as well.

There are many examples of erotic VNs that have excellent pacing, believable plot and character development even when the worlds and setting are not grounded in reality. I would love to see this game develop to be one of them, but I just don't see it in this version.
Click to expand...
I didn't feel that you were "ragging on the game" by any means. I think you did a nice job of respectfully putting your criticism out there. Plus, as you mentioned -- we did ask for feedback. It's unrealistic to expect that all feedback will be positive! Besides, you learn far more from critical comments than praise. :)

Your thoughts on the game are definitely heard. I appreciate your respectful candor and can tell you that we'll consider what we do as we go forward with your comments in mind. I can only hope you stick with us so you can help continue to guide the process -- and perhaps see how they shape the eventual game (and understand the places where I was unable to answer you a bit better!).


TRK
 
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Fazed

Fazed

Well-Known Member
Nov 21, 2018
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The Raven King said:
Hey, Fazed!

So, yeah...you're not wrong. The pacing is definitely in "porno movie time". But in that respect, given the genre...it's kind of a "damned if you do, damned if you don't" prospect for a developer. Hopefully, that makes some sense.
Click to expand...
I can agree that it is a bit of a damned if you do/don't situation. There are definitely examples where too much exposition is a detriment. That's where it becomes a "Show, not tell" situation. Also like you said some projects that seem to only exist to milk patrons. And some people are quick to write things off. I do see where you are coming from.

Personally, I prefer the ones that take the time to tell their story. Even if the plot does move at a faster pace there should still be solid consistent writing to support it. Otherwise its like the story is jumping all over the place or it seems things are just happening randomly out of nowhere.
I don't want to get into direct comparisons because that easily becomes disrespectful so I am just going to say that a medium between the two extremes already exists. That said, I am not a writer and I can't imagine that striking that balance is a trivial matter, and it's impossible to please everyone.

By this point I'm sure its fairly obvious that I am a fan of the slow burn approach(but not too slow). I want to enjoy the story and the setting as well, not just "get off". If that was the only thing I wanted, well...we all know where to go for that.:BootyTime:
As for the rest of your response I can only wait and see how it pans out.
 
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The Raven King

The Raven King

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Mar 3, 2022
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Ladies & Gentlemen,

It's been a while, so I thought it might be a good time for me to issue you all an update on the progress of our game!

1. As many of you know, LUSTFER and I listen very closely to your opinions and feedback regarding Secrets. After doing so, it became very clear that a vast majority of you had little appetite for the sandbox format of the game. With that in mind, Lustfer spent an immense amount of time, energy, and effort into making Secrets a Visual Novel. We're aware that this drastic change will not be to everyone's liking. In the interest of attempting to appeal to as many game enthusiasts as possible, however, we felt that this decision was a necessary one.​
​
2. Since it's been a while since our last release, Lustfer and I didn't want the re-envisioned Secrets not to have any new content. So the two of us worked on including some new scenes and locations, giving you all some hints at the shape of things to come with regard to the story. As we wanted to do our best to get this release out in a timely manner, the amount of this new material isn't immense...but I think you'll like what you'll see!​
​
3. With the change to the VN format, Lustfer and I have had the opportunity to re-evaluate Secrets from the ground up. The result of this is the inclusion of many more points where you'll be able to make decisions on the kind of person your MC is and the ways in which the story will develop. Likewise, we took a hard look at the pacing of the story. While we didn't make gross changes to the current script based on this evaluation, we agreed that the VN format will allow us the chance to slow down the way that relationships and plots will develop in the future, making them seem a bit more realistic. You can look forward to seeing these changes in upcoming chapters and releases!​
​
4. While Lustfer worked on his portion of the changes to the game, I provided him with a finished script to the next chapter of the game. I wanted to get a bit ahead, so as to be able to get back to releasing our chapters on a more regular basis. I'm very pleased with this upcoming release -- and I think you will be, too!​
​
5. Lustfer is currently finishing up renders for the inclusions I made to his VN-format Secrets. Once he's done with those, we'll do a bit of playtesting, tighten up whatever details are revealed through that process, then release the game as soon as is humanly possible. I don't like to give exact times, as they set up expectations that are doomed to disappoint -- but suffice it to say we're in the home stretch of things now. You should see the newest iteration very soon.​

Anyway, I think that does it! I'd like to thank all of you out there who gave us your opinions of the game -- positive, negative, and otherwise -- as they really helped us shape this newest version of the game. Lustfer and I are interested in making the games we want to make...but we also want to make the games you want to play. In determining what that last part looks like, your thoughts have been instrumental. So again...thanks! :)


TRK
 
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JonTommy

Member
Apr 9, 2021
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What's the voyeurism content is it just seeing the LIs naked/masturbating or do you spy on them having sex?
 
Hyperserver

Hyperserver

often the biggest step forward is to "step back"
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I can confirm:
The new version of the game (no sandbox) is REALLY worth to play.
Where the origin over here was a average 3 star game in early state with major annoying parts (sandbox) but promising to be able to turn out a good game, the new one is already a solid 4 star game with tendencies to be a true gem if the developer is keeping that attitute and effort into his project.

It's a 100% recommendation from my part !!!
 
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