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VN Ren'Py Summer's Gone [S1 Steam + DLC] [Oceanlab]

4.30 star(s) 570 Votes
Discussion Reviews (570)
Ray_D

Ray_D

Forum Fanatic
Nov 13, 2022
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Marley300 said:
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Hello,

Season 1 has been released on Epic and GOG on the 5th of June.
I sadly have no way to check how it's going with GOG, as I can't access my partner's account anymore. (Apparently, it's not activated.)

And they keep telling me it's due to temporary maintenance... that's lasted 8 days, while all the other devs I asked who use GOG have no issues and have never seen this error message before.

Sadly, GOG's Partner Support hasn't answered my last E-Mail in which I asked if they are sure that this is what's happening... So, I will wait a little longer, and if nothing happens, I will contact someone else at GOG.

Of course, I don't expect anything game-changing from either GOG or Epic. But as we say in Germany, "Kleinvieh macht auch Mist." (Means something along the lines of small things add up.)

But it's a real feeling of accomplishment now.
There's one more thing, though. I'm now in contact with the German rating agency USK. If I had gotten the official rating, I could've sold SG in Germany. It does cost a minimum of 1300€ (in my case 1800€), but I think it's worth it.
It would've been amazing if I could've released it in Germany last month, but, well, you learn things.
This means I will now get back to the German translation, and I hope to have it out in Germany by the end of the month.

Season 2 - Chapter 1

I'm implementing new strategies to smoothen development. I made a gigantic mindmap of everything that needs to be done.
I also included every single scene for Chapter 1.
Chapter 1 has 28 scenes.

Just for comparison, Season 1 - Chapter 5 had 16 scenes.
Of course, some scenes are small, and some are quite big. But overall, this will be the biggest update I've ever done.

Previews
Today, I have a few Noji focused previews... I just felt her today. I wanted to show some really great Zara renders buuuut... I don't want to show too many previews at once.
Zara's next time. (If she brings home an A)
View attachment 3730020 View attachment 3730021 View attachment 3730018

And a bonus preview:
When you're on edge 24/7, and he touches your hand.
View attachment 3730019
I know some would like a render count or a percentage, but I'm sorry, I'll keep it to myself for a while.
I will only say that S2 - Chapter 1 is planned to be released this year.

Taxes, taxes, and even more taxes.
There's a lot of tax talk coming now. If you don't care about it, you can click away. The Dev log will end here for you.
Thanks for your support and time to read until this point.

I think it's important to be somewhat transparent about what's happening behind the scenes, especially regarding the support you guys give me and the planned upgrades.

In the last log, I mentioned that I'd be waiting with the workstation until I know how much pre-tax I'd have to pay...
Less than a week ago, I got an email from my tax office with this information. In the mail were 17 PDFs, all of which had a "Checked" in front of them.
So, my tax offices reviewed them, and they were fine.

When I opened the PDF, it told me how much income and business tax I have to pay every three and two months.
And when I saw the number, I was like... Well, I guess I'll be developing the games from prison soon.
It turns out that there was a typo in it that inflated one of the numbers to something in the late five digits. That was a good scare.
Income tax and business tax are paid separately.

Anyways, what they want from me is still way too much. They're using my 2023 numbers + growth to calculate my pre-tax.
And... There's something I had in 2023 that I don't have anymore... So, due to an unfortunate event, support is down by ~35% compared to 2023.
The amount they want now, if broken down to a monthly base, is 80% of my pre-tax income.
Which is obviously insane. I'm deliberately not adding Steam/Epic/GOG, as I have no numbers of which to go to.
It will still take until July when I see the first payment from Steam. Almost all of it will also go to taxes.
Why?
Because my tax office declares my VAT/UST every month, the government has my 2023 numbers.
Usually, I would have to pay the 2023 taxes in 2025. But because they already saw a rough estimation of my numbers, I have to pay three different bills.
1. The taxes for 2022. Those were calculated in.
2. They raised my pre-tax for 2023 by A LOT, and I have to pay it all at once.
3. The insane 2024 pre-tax on top of the upper two.

That's where all the Steam money is going.
It would've been okay if it had been spaced over a year or so, but not all at once. This ruins my upgrade plans.
And while we asked for the 2024 pre-tax to be lowered with proof that something happened that justifies it, it doesn't mean the government will accept it. They could just say no.

Maybe the Steam or Epic Summer sale will bring in a little extra, which I can dedicate to the workstation fund. Then there's also still WIAB's Steam release in Q4.

I also have to contact Late Kids, Youth 83, The Intangible, and some other artists for Season 2, which is going to cost me a lot again... But it takes priority over the workstation.

So, I will be honest and say I most likely won't be able to get a new workstation this year. It's just not in the cards. The Summer sale or WiAB's Steam release could always surprise us, but I can't rely on it.
I'd say we're just set back by a year in terms of PC upgrades. It's kinda meh, considering that I can set up more renders than it can render overnight, but it's still a good boy.

And yes, I'm thinking about leaving Germany. I actually have a call scheduled for tomorrow with a tax office in a different country. If I can use said "law," I will seriously consider moving in 2025. Unfortunately, thanks to my apartment lease, I'm still stuck in Germany until mid-2025.

It's not great, and I hate that more or less every penny I earn goes somewhere into the expenses, but I'm so incredibly motivated.
Workwise, it's still going to be a great year.

Take care, and thanks a lot for the support!
  • Ocean
Click to expand...
Well let's hope that ocean doesn't decide to evade taxes or we will be left with no game to play.... :KEK:
Tax.jpg
 
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P

PaxHadrian17

Engaged Member
Sep 8, 2020
2,717
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I am trying to keep Noji Off my MILF radar...

Ocean is Not making this easy with these previews.

Noji1.png

The following preview pic made me wonder if Noji is just having a bit of a wardrobe malfunction (most likely from a 'she's my pure/innocent landlady' perspective).

But... I thought about Noji and Amber knowing each other far longer than they have admitted to the MC and my - you are on my MILF radar - tweaked to the idea that Noji might just tease the MC when it is just the two of them. She wants to see what he pays attention to and give Amber some additional feedback on the impact her therapy is making on the MC.

Noji is, objectively, Hot IMO!

Noji3.png

Noji now has My attention! ;)

Cheers!! :coffee:
 
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Winterstale

Winterstale

Member
Oct 3, 2018
178
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Marley300 said:
There's one more thing, though. I'm now in contact with the German rating agency USK. If I had gotten the official rating, I could've sold SG in Germany. It does cost a minimum of 1300€ (in my case 1800€), but I think it's worth it.
It would've been amazing if I could've released it in Germany last month, but, well, you learn things.
This means I will now get back to the German translation, and I hope to have it out in Germany by the end of the month.
Click to expand...
1718231289558.png

Marley300 said:
You must be registered to see the links


Previews
Today, I have a few Noji focused previews... I just felt her today. I wanted to show some really great Zara renders buuuut... I don't want to show too many previews at once.
Zara's next time. (If she brings home an A)
View attachment 3730020 View attachment 3730021 View attachment 3730018
Click to expand...
I'm a bit puzzled by Noji's scenes. I love how she looks at the MC, but I hope it's not just my dirty imagination running wild.
Really curious to see if we'll get a good explanation for her, um, flashing moments. It's such a weird contrast to her usually prude character. Maybe she just had a bit too much to drink ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°).
Poor Nick :KEK: (I think that's his name)

Marley300 said:
And a bonus preview:
When you're on edge 24/7, and he touches your hand.
View attachment 3730019
Click to expand...
Oh boy, with this Bella image, Ocean has really opened Pandora's box... I can already hear the meme factories cranking up :HideThePain:

Marley300 said:
Taxes, taxes, and even more taxes.
There's a lot of tax talk coming now. If you don't care about it, you can click away. The Dev log will end here for you.
Thanks for your support and time to read until this point.

I think it's important to be somewhat transparent about what's happening behind the scenes, especially regarding the support you guys give me and the planned upgrades.

In the last log, I mentioned that I'd be waiting with the workstation until I know how much pre-tax I'd have to pay...
Less than a week ago, I got an email from my tax office with this information. In the mail were 17 PDFs, all of which had a "Checked" in front of them.
So, my tax offices reviewed them, and they were fine.

When I opened the PDF, it told me how much income and business tax I have to pay every three and two months.
And when I saw the number, I was like... Well, I guess I'll be developing the games from prison soon.
It turns out that there was a typo in it that inflated one of the numbers to something in the late five digits. That was a good scare.
Income tax and business tax are paid separately.

Anyways, what they want from me is still way too much. They're using my 2023 numbers + growth to calculate my pre-tax.
And... There's something I had in 2023 that I don't have anymore... So, due to an unfortunate event, support is down by ~35% compared to 2023.
The amount they want now, if broken down to a monthly base, is 80% of my pre-tax income.
Which is obviously insane. I'm deliberately not adding Steam/Epic/GOG, as I have no numbers of which to go to.
It will still take until July when I see the first payment from Steam. Almost all of it will also go to taxes.
Why?
Because my tax office declares my VAT/UST every month, the government has my 2023 numbers.
Usually, I would have to pay the 2023 taxes in 2025. But because they already saw a rough estimation of my numbers, I have to pay three different bills.
1. The taxes for 2022. Those were calculated in.
2. They raised my pre-tax for 2023 by A LOT, and I have to pay it all at once.
3. The insane 2024 pre-tax on top of the upper two.

That's where all the Steam money is going.
It would've been okay if it had been spaced over a year or so, but not all at once. This ruins my upgrade plans.
And while we asked for the 2024 pre-tax to be lowered with proof that something happened that justifies it, it doesn't mean the government will accept it. They could just say no.

Maybe the Steam or Epic Summer sale will bring in a little extra, which I can dedicate to the workstation fund. Then there's also still WIAB's Steam release in Q4.

I also have to contact Late Kids, Youth 83, The Intangible, and some other artists for Season 2, which is going to cost me a lot again... But it takes priority over the workstation.

So, I will be honest and say I most likely won't be able to get a new workstation this year. It's just not in the cards. The Summer sale or WiAB's Steam release could always surprise us, but I can't rely on it.
I'd say we're just set back by a year in terms of PC upgrades. It's kinda meh, considering that I can set up more renders than it can render overnight, but it's still a good boy.

And yes, I'm thinking about leaving Germany. I actually have a call scheduled for tomorrow with a tax office in a different country. If I can use said "law," I will seriously consider moving in 2025. Unfortunately, thanks to my apartment lease, I'm still stuck in Germany until mid-2025.

It's not great, and I hate that more or less every penny I earn goes somewhere into the expenses, but I'm so incredibly motivated.
Workwise, it's still going to be a great year.

Take care, and thanks a lot for the support!
  • Ocean
Click to expand...
Ugh, taxes... can't even escape them on a porno site...

1718230748003.png
 
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AlexFXR

AlexFXR

Member
Sep 24, 2023
487
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This is the weirdest developer log I've ever seen. Usually in such magazines they talk about the game, its possible development, and also tell what has been done. But instead we are told about taxes that no one cares about, everyone pays taxes, not just Ocean. The same can be said about the eternal whining about new video cards.

Marley300 said:
I know some would like a render count or a percentage, but I'm sorry, I'll keep it to myself for a while.
Click to expand...
Of course, everyone is interested in this, SG has been in development for 2.5 months, and there is no information on the game.
 
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B

bombo

Newbie
May 12, 2017
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i want to ask you guys, in your opinion, if 1 chapter takes at least 5-6 months, how long it will take for this game to be completed?
i hope for a serious answer, not a sarcastic one if you may, please
 
BobTheDuck

BobTheDuck

Engaged Member
Dec 24, 2018
2,777
18,472
660
bombo said:
i want to ask you guys, in your opinion, if 1 chapter takes at least 5-6 months, how long it will take for this game to be completed?
i hope for a serious answer, not a sarcastic one if you may, please
Click to expand...
Honestly, with no sarcasm, it'll be years. Think of it as a comic. How many years has it taken for Xmen to be completed? A different comparison would be The Sandman. The story had a definite arc, rather than being open ended, but it took a while.

Ocean originally had 32 chapters planned, of which we've seen 5. Since the rework removed everything developed in the first year and a half, it's been 3.5 years for 5 chapters of the current content.

Ocean's changed the way he's listing the chapters so now it will be 60 chapters as he won't call half chapters that any more.

The caveats are, he has to start getting output continuous enough for steam players to maintain interest - this will hopefully mean more reliable release schedules. But that will take a while to smooth out.

If you're curious about the story, just be prepared to have other hobbies in your life while you wait.
 
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PuroBogotà

PuroBogotà

Newbie
Jul 8, 2020
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bombo said:
i want to ask you guys, in your opinion, if 1 chapter takes at least 5-6 months, how long it will take for this game to be completed?
i hope for a serious answer, not a sarcastic one if you may, please
Click to expand...
I seriously doubt next chapter will take "only" six months.
It's very unlikely this game will ever be completed.
 
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Penfold Mole

Penfold Mole

Engaged Member
Respected User
May 22, 2017
3,449
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bombo said:
i want to ask you guys, in your opinion, if 1 chapter takes at least 5-6 months, how long it will take for this game to be completed?
i hope for a serious answer, not a sarcastic one if you may, please
Click to expand...
I doubt there has ever been anyone denying that completion of this game will take years and years.

The difference is in attitude. While there are people being negative and pessimistic about the fact, saying that the game will never be completed, they will die before it happens and so on, I and many others are saying "Yay!! This is great! This game development will take years or decades to finish, I'll have new chapters of the story to wait for and read for years and years to come. There'll always be an update to play, maybe 'til the day I die!" :cool:(y)

And when this one gets completed one day, Oceans has new stories already cooking!

In fact, I kind of hate story endings because however good they are, the ending always sucks. Because after this there is no story any more. Nothing to wait for, nothing to read or watch.
I've developed a habit of avoiding the endings of the stories I like the most over the years. I think I watched the last episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer about 2 years or something after the episode aired. Off the VHS recording (kids these days don't even know what that is :HideThePain:). The same with the Angel series of the same Whedon Universe, the ending of the 5th season that many don't even know exists.
Battlestar Galactica, the "new" series. Same thing. Although this one has one of the best endings of any stories that I know of.
Oh, and The Game of Thrones series. The story was pretty great before it rushed ahead of the books. And it wasn't too bad after. But the ending... I wish I didn't watch.

I haven't played the last updates of several games on F95 tagged as "Completed", avoiding the ending. Mostly because the endings are rarely any good and never better than the progress, the way there. I'm afraid of the level of the ultimate disappointment seeing these endings :HideThePain:
 
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4.30 star(s) 570 Votes