If you play it that way, sure.
If you're not interested in that, and have a modicum of common sense and aren't just blindly clicking for something to fap to, then no.
Ren'Py Seeds of Chaos [v0.4.05 Dev] [Vénus Noire]
If you're not interested in that, and have a modicum of common sense and aren't just blindly clicking for something to fap to, then no.
My is unwanted and unneeded review of the game thus far, and yes, I have supported the game on and off for 2 - 3 years on Patreon, before anyone asks or claims otherwise; this is just a better avenue to post a review.
Pros:
The experience this game provides is awesome. The setting is fantastic, the writing is fantastic, the art is fantastic. You can definitely see where the developers want the game to go, and what they want it to be. The game is massive as is and it's not even the end of Act I yet. I'm saying this even well knowing that my favorite aspects of the game have seemed to be more of an after thought to the dev team. Is the game worth playing? Yes. Is the game worth supporting? Yes. The game is awesome.
Cons:
Here's where things get tricky, and don't take "Cons" as in "THIS IS BAD REEEEEEEE!"; take it more like these are my subjective opinions as an avid gamer both sexual and non-sexual, as a game developer myself in the game industry (non-sex related), and my honest critique of the game.
The first con and the biggest, is the actual game play. The developers have repeatedly said on almost every platform of media available that they mechanics are getting an overhaul. My question is why? Removing the mechanics of the game wouldn't hurt the game (as it stands now) in the slightest. The stats are useful for random events and clearing certain CG checks (which tend to be random events) that you may never get in a play through despite having the proper stat level. Almost all the main events do not require a stat (if this isn't the case and there's hidden stats, such as Alexia's Corruption, that'll be tackled in a later con). I find myself doing the main things so that I don't get off'd at a certain week and then not even visiting the map at all. I'm not saying the random map events are useless or not needed, I 'm just saying they feel empty and I hope this is an aspect that gets some love in the mechanic overhaul. Either that, or just remove the stats. I once played to about week 150 and got the majority of scenes I wanted to see without even leveling up. Just doesn't seem consistent with what the game is portrayed as trying to be.
The second con, is hidden stats. I love living with my choices, and I love not being able to go back and fix an outcome to my liking, but having hidden stats that dictate what is and isn't going to happen is a game developer no-no. I get it, smoke and mirror it until you make it (I work in the game industry, I do get it), but hidden stats are absolutely a no-no. I can't think of a single game where hidden stats were well recieved. Give us an indicator of Alexia's corruption without needing the debugger. Give us indicators of relationships or progress with characters. So much of the game is centered around using stats and then they're just used poorly. As said before, I hope this is an aspect that gets some love in the mechanic rework.
Third: Items. Same thing with hidden stats or, well, just about all the stats. They're largely unused from what I've seen in my years of playing the game on and off. We'll see how things go with the mechanic rework, but honestly, the game would be just as good without them. I understand Cla Min would need to be able to sell something, but what she sold to begin with didn't change the game at all. Maybe you can buy materials from her, or eventually, quest items? Just a thought.
Fourth: This is probably the most personal out of the cons, honestly. Rowan was designed to be the main character. Alexia has become the main character. There's a recent comment on Patreon saying "If the scene has Alexia in it, you might as well just order the art." That sentiment isn't wrong. I would love to agree with the Greyhide fandom, but it's not Greyhide that's winning the polls, it's Alexia. Alexia and Tarek would win over Rowan and [Enter some side character here]. It's a bit late in the game to switch ideals and go for a more "Choose who you'd like to control" playstyle but if Act II is it's own separate game, it might be worth noting. Again, this is just my personal reflection and viewing from a very outside looking in perspective.
Fifth: The last con I have has to do with either random chance OR the structure of the writing. My most recent playthrough, I completed all the main quests needed, was working on upgrading every building, etc. Alexia was at high corruption and I chose to have her go the Andras route. After the scene after the actual sex scene, all side character scenes (for jobs and stuff, the ones that are repeatable) stopped. This is a criticism I had with another game I supported on and off over the years (Fleeting Iris) where it locks you in a path. This could have been bad RNG, and I hope it is, because locking players in a path is bad news. There's a difference with living with your choices and locking them into a path. A way around this would be 1) If you decide to lock the player to a certain path, put repeatable scenes for that path they are locked in, or 2) Don't lock the player in a path.
All in all: Great game. Looking forward to more updates. Keep up the good work.
Edit: Don't know how I missed the word "is" at the very beginning. Added it in, lest you all think I'm an illiterate twit.
Pros:
The experience this game provides is awesome. The setting is fantastic, the writing is fantastic, the art is fantastic. You can definitely see where the developers want the game to go, and what they want it to be. The game is massive as is and it's not even the end of Act I yet. I'm saying this even well knowing that my favorite aspects of the game have seemed to be more of an after thought to the dev team. Is the game worth playing? Yes. Is the game worth supporting? Yes. The game is awesome.
Cons:
Here's where things get tricky, and don't take "Cons" as in "THIS IS BAD REEEEEEEE!"; take it more like these are my subjective opinions as an avid gamer both sexual and non-sexual, as a game developer myself in the game industry (non-sex related), and my honest critique of the game.
The first con and the biggest, is the actual game play. The developers have repeatedly said on almost every platform of media available that they mechanics are getting an overhaul. My question is why? Removing the mechanics of the game wouldn't hurt the game (as it stands now) in the slightest. The stats are useful for random events and clearing certain CG checks (which tend to be random events) that you may never get in a play through despite having the proper stat level. Almost all the main events do not require a stat (if this isn't the case and there's hidden stats, such as Alexia's Corruption, that'll be tackled in a later con). I find myself doing the main things so that I don't get off'd at a certain week and then not even visiting the map at all. I'm not saying the random map events are useless or not needed, I 'm just saying they feel empty and I hope this is an aspect that gets some love in the mechanic overhaul. Either that, or just remove the stats. I once played to about week 150 and got the majority of scenes I wanted to see without even leveling up. Just doesn't seem consistent with what the game is portrayed as trying to be.
The second con, is hidden stats. I love living with my choices, and I love not being able to go back and fix an outcome to my liking, but having hidden stats that dictate what is and isn't going to happen is a game developer no-no. I get it, smoke and mirror it until you make it (I work in the game industry, I do get it), but hidden stats are absolutely a no-no. I can't think of a single game where hidden stats were well recieved. Give us an indicator of Alexia's corruption without needing the debugger. Give us indicators of relationships or progress with characters. So much of the game is centered around using stats and then they're just used poorly. As said before, I hope this is an aspect that gets some love in the mechanic rework.
Third: Items. Same thing with hidden stats or, well, just about all the stats. They're largely unused from what I've seen in my years of playing the game on and off. We'll see how things go with the mechanic rework, but honestly, the game would be just as good without them. I understand Cla Min would need to be able to sell something, but what she sold to begin with didn't change the game at all. Maybe you can buy materials from her, or eventually, quest items? Just a thought.
Fourth: This is probably the most personal out of the cons, honestly. Rowan was designed to be the main character. Alexia has become the main character. There's a recent comment on Patreon saying "If the scene has Alexia in it, you might as well just order the art." That sentiment isn't wrong. I would love to agree with the Greyhide fandom, but it's not Greyhide that's winning the polls, it's Alexia. Alexia and Tarek would win over Rowan and [Enter some side character here]. It's a bit late in the game to switch ideals and go for a more "Choose who you'd like to control" playstyle but if Act II is it's own separate game, it might be worth noting. Again, this is just my personal reflection and viewing from a very outside looking in perspective.
Fifth: The last con I have has to do with either random chance OR the structure of the writing. My most recent playthrough, I completed all the main quests needed, was working on upgrading every building, etc. Alexia was at high corruption and I chose to have her go the Andras route. After the scene after the actual sex scene, all side character scenes (for jobs and stuff, the ones that are repeatable) stopped. This is a criticism I had with another game I supported on and off over the years (Fleeting Iris) where it locks you in a path. This could have been bad RNG, and I hope it is, because locking players in a path is bad news. There's a difference with living with your choices and locking them into a path. A way around this would be 1) If you decide to lock the player to a certain path, put repeatable scenes for that path they are locked in, or 2) Don't lock the player in a path.
All in all: Great game. Looking forward to more updates. Keep up the good work.
Edit: Don't know how I missed the word "is" at the very beginning. Added it in, lest you all think I'm an illiterate twit.
- Feb 25, 2019
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Mostly because adult games don’t have the same recourse to obtaining resources as non-adult ones. There’s a pretty big stigma surrounding porn, so access to money, talent, and advertising tend to be more limited.
For the record, I don’t mean those resources are non-existent for adult games, just that the options to obtain them are fewer. Until the fundamental mores of society change significantly, you will never find a porn game that can raise the kind of hype that Minecraft was able to, to use one of your examples.
- Apr 19, 2018
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What resources tho? They have access to the same engines and tech, can land on steam, etc. As far as i know the main thing is reliable earning potential, which is why i granted that the terrible value you commonly see in lewd games is, depending on the specifics of the case of course, more understandable. But I mean, for example, games like Stardew Valley (pertaining to the original base game at least), Dwarf Fortress, and Rimworld are famous for being the product of one person and their home PC. We're not talking about projects with a wealth of resources and connections here. And yet their output tends to be much more impressive (when it comes to the high end, anyway).
There are only so many explanations for why this could be.
Of Stardew Valley: "This statistic puts the title's estimated revenue at over $25 million on PC alone. Given its performance on Xbox One and PS4, it is very likely that it's now sitting on a growing pile of $35 million."
It's not just reliable earning potential, it's the overall earning potential. Splitting that estimation and going $30M for Stardew Valley, at the current Patreon monthly amount (Ignoring things like Patreon's cut and taxes, but also ignoring stuff like Steam sales) Seeds of Chaos would need to have 2,270 months of current Patreon revenue to equal that. That's a mere 189 years. And money IS a resource. It pays people to work on games, buys better equipment, commissions art, etc. It also means more free time to work on the game.
Also, for something like Dwarf Fortress, keep in mind that was originally released 15 years ago and worked on for years before that. (Imagine all the people that complain about how long it's been worked on. /s) Also while Dwarf Fortress may be famous for being the product of one person, it does in fact have two designers. (And another studio that handles all the hassle of publishing and so forth.)
Edit: Since I didn't actually say my end-point (Which to be fair is just the same as diebesgrab's), more money is more resources. And while niche adult games can often make more than other adult games, the much larger broad appeal of non-adult games generally sees a lot more money, Steam sales (never mind that it's a relatively recent thing that Steam allowed adult games), press, and obviously true investment.
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- Apr 19, 2018
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This is all completely beside the point. Full time with all things besides earning potential equal (earning potential IS 'overall' earning potential) is full time with all things besides earning potential potential. Smut game devs aren't working less hard or not doing their best because they are much less likely to be set for life afterward.
You are off the mark. Reread the posts to better understand the argument being made if necessary.
- Oct 17, 2017
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For starters. Porn devs I've worked for have been literally kicked off PayPal when their line of work was discovered. The SoC team personally have even been kicked off Mega before for terms violations somehow.
Steam only became an available distribution platform within the past two years and we're really only seeing the results of that now. We still cannot sell into many markets including Germany and China.
No major publisher will pick up a porn game or enter a distribution deal.
Steam only became an available distribution platform within the past two years and we're really only seeing the results of that now. We still cannot sell into many markets including Germany and China.
No major publisher will pick up a porn game or enter a distribution deal.
- Oct 17, 2017
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Also, consider briefly how many nsfw games at how much level of resource and how much level of dev skill are being made vs all of the history of gaming.
Our market is growing fast. Sure, you can cherry pick the most successful small projects in the medium. But they're a vast minority. By the standards of all indie studios, SoC is a top 10% performer.
Our market is growing fast. Sure, you can cherry pick the most successful small projects in the medium. But they're a vast minority. By the standards of all indie studios, SoC is a top 10% performer.
Cheers to anyone who plays porn games on Steam.
I have friends and family on Steam and Discord however, so I usually play Patreon releases whenever I sub, and go Invisible on Discord in case there's integration.
Serious question, do you all ever plan to commercially release sans a platform? One time buy like Steam but without the account association?
...What?
You asked (And admit yourself that it's a rhetorical while vague-posting about suspicions) why western adult game devs shouldn't be held to the same standards as western devs in general. You cite a bunch of games that have either been in development for longer than SoC (Heck, I'm pretty sure no adult game has been in development for 19 years, which after checking is the total development time of Dwarf Fortress), have made many many times the money, or have been made for longer with more money.
You then argue that adult devs have access to all the same resources (Oh, I forgot! Engines often cost money to use, so that's another way money = resources) as non-adult devs while seemingly also separating "money" from "resources."
I pointed out issues with those statements. You then misread my post*, but claim that I'm off the mark and need to re-read.
So...seriously, what? Not gonna post on this any more since I don't like being in long back-and-forths not directly related to the game in a game's thread, but please double-check all that was said, the monetary earnings for the games you listed, their time in development, and their dev team sizes.
*I never stated adult devs worked harder or didn't, I never even brought work rate/effort up at all. I didn't compare "earning potential" to "overall earning potential" I compared "reliable earning potential" to "overall earning potential." (I.E., non-adult games can make a hell of a lot more total money than even the most successful adult game, even outside of reliability.)
- Apr 26, 2017
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Just set your game details to private in your profile privacy settings. No reason for some random friend/family to see what you are playing.
As I recall, while this hides the game you're currently playing and your play-time it sadly still shows you own a game if someone on your friend's list looks at the store page. I suppose there's always the fact that if they mention it, you can point out they were on that game's store page, but...not exactly the most comforting consolation.Just set your game details to private in your profile privacy settings. No reason for some random friend/family to see what you are playing.
I just use a second Steam account.
- Nov 2, 2017
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I'd just tell them "yeah I was jerking off to it, so what?"
- Apr 26, 2017
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And if they are looking at the store they either have the game or are interested on it so fuck them hypocrites
- Oct 17, 2017
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He's the cuck.
Game has two protaganists, but the male protaganist has more screen time. If you're explicitly looking for female protaganists games, this is not one.
Presumably. But, that depends on that team's progress. They've been working hard on it and the test builds are looking nice.
Yes, you can still interact with the wife within reason. However, some scenes are exclusive to high relationship Rowan and Alexia, and I can't promise the current status quo will persist into next game.
If you merely mean, want the possibility of lending Alexia without it damaging relationship, some of the content like one of the Greyhide Routes fills that niche.
Soon (tm)
Thanks for the report.
It's going pretty well I'd say. We're going to reach a point where so much of the major material is done that key staff is going to move to SoC 2. But, some folks, including the art team will probably move over later. So the game is going to have diffrent "stages" of being done.
First off. Thanks for your support man, we really appreciate it. Second, I want to applaud a thoughtful and specific critiques that kept things spirited and respectful. I read them over and on some areas you've highlighted some of the stuff we've discussed improving internally.
Regarding the mechanics rework, my request to you is to simply keep an open mind and try it out when you get the chance, ideally. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised by some improvements, even if you might not think it solves everything. I look forward to hearing what you think afterwards.
We've discussed this as well. I think we actually do have an Itch.io version of the game for purchase, but I do not believe it updates automatically like steam does.
If Patreon and Itch aren't for you, and you can't buy on steam, I advise waiting for a more finished build. But, we'll take people with your particular plight in mind for sure.
Just say you play it for the story.
While that's not completely untrue for this game, that statement might lose its power for as much as I might need to say it if I didn't have a second account.
- Aug 4, 2020
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The game lets you turn off the NTR content at the start.
But turning it off will only disable the wife content with other characters. You as the MC can still fuck around with whoever you like. The wife will not touch, flirt and do anything with anyone.
So be careful, I personally play a loyal Husband and Wife playthrough. Feels right to me with the game's setting.
Anyway, I suggest you dont bother reading this thread. A lot of people here are vocal how they just want to see the wife fucking everyone and everything. They just want her to betray and cuck the husband every step of the way. Reducing her to a simple whore.
So when there is a new update just check the changelog in the 1st page. And if you like check the last few pages to see what the devs have to share news for upcoming updates, overhauls, bug fixes etc ...
The devs here are Rein and T51bwinterized (you can use the search function here to see their posts only)
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