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

[Ebonheart (FR)]

I wouldn't be too sure about that either lol. But in all seriousness, ocean needs to get some good help to speed up the work. I understand where he's coming from, he feels like a perfectionist for me ( which isn't a bad thing because it means quality). But perfectionists are very protective of their artistic vision. And the more people involved in the project, the more that vision is at risk of being diluted.

If the problem only concerned the organization and distribution of tasks, it would probably already have been solved. But it seems to be a matter of personal choice and the nature of the developer. Ocean had plenty of opportunities to expand the team, divide up the work and increase productivity (maybe even bring in a real author, because he's really lacking that in both his games, and even more so in SG).

From the early days of modest income to the present day, the developer could have built a team for both games, employing volunteers, part-timers, contract workers or full-time employees.

A glance at Graphtreon (for stats on the old deleted account and the active Patreon account) or Steamcharts (which doesn't show revenue but does provide an estimate of player numbers) suggests that finances are no longer an obstacle to expanding the team. However, the "perfectionism" cited as the reason for delays, game revamps, or reluctance to hire staff or even set up a company, seems to me to be a dubious justification, if not an outright lie (among many others).

It seems to be less about maintaining an artistic vision than a selfish clutch at profits. That's just my opinion, of course, but in view of all the time that's gone by, the false excuses and the lies, I'm probably right.


P.S. I don't have access to SubscribeStar's statistics (or GOG either), but I'm fairly convinced that the revenue generated there is quite decent, if not higher.

I'm prolly not gonna live long enough to see this game get to the halfway point. Hell my procrastinating ass would even finally start writing my own script before that.

Haha, don't worry, I doubt anyone will live long enough to see it. ^^ As long as he can enjoy life and take it easy, the games he makes will be around for a long, long time. x)

 

[SDDA]

Because what he does is more than enough to keep supporters and gain more, the only thing that matters in AVN-s these days are the visuals, even if the whole story is below mediocre no1 cares as long as the image is pretty. Only looking at the first chapter of SG at least 80% of LIs and the MC-s relationship don't make any sense and plain stupid. Most of the fans played the same scenes for the last years and were happy about the visual changes while not moving forward at all. Why would he even expand the team?

 

[Adhdclassic]

Yeah i think he changed her nose and lips.

View attachment 3910101

Probably the eyes too but that might just be the perspective.

View attachment 3910102

Old Sonya looked so innocent. New Sonya looks sinister

 

[Ebonheart (FR)]

Because what he does is more than enough to keep supporters and gain more, the only thing that matters in AVN-s these days are the visuals, even if the whole story is below mediocre no1 cares as long as the image is pretty. Only looking at the first chapter of SG at least 80% of LIs and the MC-s relationship don't make any sense and plain stupid. Most of the fans played the same scenes for the last years and were happy about the visual changes while not moving forward at all. Why would he even expand the team?

I wasn't reacting to this, but I completely share your opinion. It's becoming a noticeable trend for games that are enjoying recent success. Ocean also emphasizes this aspect, almost exclusively. As I suggested, if his aim was to produce quality games (not just visually) in the best possible way, he should have considered a broader scope and expanded his team to achieve that goal. He's content to work essentially alone and at his own pace, if not for very long (and certainly not full-time, by the way), because his income allows him to maintain this very leisurely lifestyle.

These days, it's hard to find a captivating game that isn't boring, insipid or absurd. Character interactions tend to be dull, stereotypical and one-dimensional, and sexual elements are often very vanilla. What's more, many games feature outdated aspects, simplistic graphics, poor animation or offer no real choice to the player. I almost forgot that the absence of beautiful music is to be found everywhere, when it's not just a matter of very simple and repetitive royalty-free tracks (the same tracks are repeated quite often in Ocean's games, whether or not you agree with his justifications for this choice).

 

[Adhdclassic]

View attachment 3916369
After five years still no erection,wet dream,nothing..
Where are the scalpels here,so that i can slit my wrists,
because my life is as unrealistic as possible,as if I have the body of an adolescent,
but a wrinkled,dead cock of an ninety year old man ..
View attachment 3916390

When I look at the Bella Pic. Feels like she said something snarky. Bella:Yup no life it's dead like your finances.

 

[yossa999]

The SG story is one of the best of what AVN writers can offer today.

The graphics in some new games just an half an inch behind Ocean, or maybe even on par - it's a matter of taste. It's a pity that this is an ontopic thread and I can't name other games here.

The best things about SG is the plot, the dialogues, the emotional involvement of the player in what is happening, the cinematic quality and composition of the static images. In fact, this is a movie script with a storyboard. By collecting all the frames of a certain scene in one gif file, you can easily get a short video.

Now if I ignored all of this and just scrolled through the pictures without reading the narrative and immersing myself in the game, then I would probably join your echo chamber and start shouting too "It's been five long years, and there's still no coitus anywhere near."

 

[Joshy92]

The SG story is one of the best of what AVN writers can offer today.

The graphics in some new games just an half an inch behind Ocean, or maybe even on par - it's a matter of taste. It's a pity that this is an ontopic thread and I can't name other games here.

The best things about SG is the plot, the dialogues, the emotional involvement of the player in what is happening, the cinematic quality and composition of the static images. In fact, this is a movie script with a storyboard. By collecting all the frames of a certain scene in one gif file, you can easily get a short video.

Now if I ignored all of this and just scrolled through the pictures without reading the narrative and immersing myself in the game, then I would probably join your echo chamber and start shouting too "It's been five long years, and there's still no coitus anywhere near."

Hey dude I got season one on steam and was wondering should I use any of those patches on the op page?

 

[yossa999]

Hey dude I got season one on steam and was wondering should I use any of those patches on the op page?

Hey man! I have never used any patches or mods in any game, except for the built-in walkthroughs, if they are provided by the developer. I respect the work of modders, but I don't see the point in playing someone's interpretation of the author's game. I'd rather play the original.

 

[Joshy92]

Hey man! I have never used any patches or mods in any game, except for the built-in walkthroughs, if they are provided by the developer. I respect the work of modders, but I don't see the point in playing someone's interpretation of the author's game. I'd rather play the original.

Thanks man I was a bit confused tbh because there is an infamous patch and also a lewd patch but after reading about them I won't bother using them for now.

 

[AlexFXR]

The SG story is one of the best of what AVN writers can offer today.

 

[yossa999]

Thanks man I was a bit confused tbh because there is an infamous patch and also a lewd patch but after reading about them I won't bother using them for now.

It's really a matter of taste, the most coherent and stable working mod, as far as I understand, is the uncut mod from alain8891
https://f95zone.to/threads/summers-gone-season-1-the-uncut-edition-v1-2-alain8891.209300/

He restored the semi-lewd scenes from CH5Beta, fixed the script accordingly, and applied the i-patch (I'm not sure about that last one)

How this relates to the future story from Ocean is a big question for me. I also don't know if the saves at the end of the modded game will be compatible with the second season.

Anyway, it's up to you to decide. I would play the original version and then, out of curiosity, tried the mod if you've never played SG before.

 

[Joshy92]

It's really a matter of taste, the most coherent and stable working mod, as far as I understand, is the uncut mod from alain8891
https://f95zone.to/threads/summers-gone-season-1-the-uncut-edition-v1-2-alain8891.209300/

He restored the semi-lewd scenes from CH5Beta, fixed the script accordingly, and applied the i-patch (I'm not sure about that last one)

How this relates to the future story from Ocean is a big question for me. I also don't know if the saves at the end of the modded game will be compatible with the second season.

Anyway, it's up to you to decide. I would play the original version and then, out of curiosity, tried the mod if you've never played SG before.

Oh, I've played it before but not for at least a year. The only thing I really care about is changing my relationship with Nami.

 

[yossa999]

Oh, I've played it before but not for at least a year. The only thing I really care about is changing my relationship with Nami.

Be careful then
I know you're into headpatting, but if you decide to bring Bella home, don't even think about patting Nami on the head!

 

[Joshy92]

Be careful then
I know you're into headpatting, but if you decide to bring Bella home, don't even think about patting Nami on the head!

Mate I want to shoot Bella into space. When I play this again it will be for queen Nami.
The most beautiful and wonderous girl in the whole game.

 

[SDDA]

The SG story is one of the best of what AVN writers can offer today.

The graphics in some new games just an half an inch behind Ocean, or maybe even on par - it's a matter of taste. It's a pity that this is an ontopic thread and I can't name other games here.

The best things about SG is the plot, the dialogues, the emotional involvement of the player in what is happening, the cinematic quality and composition of the static images. In fact, this is a movie script with a storyboard. By collecting all the frames of a certain scene in one gif file, you can easily get a short video.

Now if I ignored all of this and just scrolled through the pictures without reading the narrative and immersing myself in the game, then I would probably join your echo chamber and start shouting too "It's been five long years, and there's still no coitus anywhere near."

"The best things about SG is the plot, the dialogues, the emotional involvement of the player in what is happening, the cinematic quality and composition of the static images." Can you name one of these epic scenes ? and elaborate the plot of this game which tends to be so deep, with deeper relationships? Which LI-s story do u find the deepest and how its relates to our MC and his reactions?

 

[alain8891]

It's really a matter of taste, the most coherent and stable working mod, as far as I understand, is the uncut mod from alain8891
https://f95zone.to/threads/summers-gone-season-1-the-uncut-edition-v1-2-alain8891.209300/

He restored the semi-lewd scenes from CH5Beta, fixed the script accordingly, and applied the i-patch (I'm not sure about that last one)

Thanks, I went further than only CH5Beta though as cuts happened throughout the whole dev process. So-called i-patch is included in the Taboo version of my mod.

As for « would saves done with the mod still be compatible with Season 2 », time will tell. But most likely not, as current saves with my mod will trigger an error when loaded in the unmodded game.

 

[Hobocop Harrier du bois]

The SG story is one of the best of what AVN writers can offer today.

I don't judge a story until I've seen the entirety of it( *cough* Game of thrones *cough*). But it is very engaging for what I've seen until now.

The graphics in some new games just an half an inch behind Ocean, or maybe even on par - it's a matter of taste. It's a pity that this is an ontopic thread and I can't name other games here.

He does do very nice renders.

The best things about SG is the plot, the dialogues, the emotional involvement of the player in what is happening, the cinematic quality and composition of the static images. In fact, this is a movie script with a storyboard. By collecting all the frames of a certain scene in one gif file, you can easily get a short video.

If I'm being honest, i haven't been involved emotionally in some parts like the whole summer dilemma , but other parts like the bella's path has me hooked. Hard agree on the cinematic aspects of his renders though. It's probably the most important thing that lured me in. Most avn's like to use the player's pov to show conversations which just involves characters staring each other with little expressions in between. I'm not a fan of that. I want to see their body language from different angles, posing and interacting with the environment and with each other. It brings so much life to the scene and this game does it very well. Plus I'm a sucker for visual storytelling where you use environments to show how your character feels at the particular moment and it's perfectly shown in nika's room.

Now if I ignored all of this and just scrolled through the pictures without reading the narrative and immersing myself in the game, then I would probably join your echo chamber and start shouting too "It's been five long years, and there's still no coitus anywhere near."

Meh, i usually skip most of the sex scenes in avn's unless they're actually good looking like in unbroken or wiab. Couldn't care less, I'm in it for the drama.

 

[alain8891]

Hey man! I have never used any patches or mods in any game, except for the built-in walkthroughs, if they are provided by the developer. I respect the work of modders, but I don't see the point in playing someone's interpretation of the author's game. I'd rather play the original.

totally respect that and that’s why I had many second thoughts myself when I developed the Uncut Edition as to what small changes I could do to not alter the original script too much. In the end I restricted myself to changes that would only fix a flawed narrative there and there. But I totally get why you wouldn’t go there yourself, as I’m kind of in the same league there…

 

[deadh30775n]

Yeah i think he changed her nose and lips.

View attachment 3910101

Probably the eyes too but that might just be the perspective.

View attachment 3910102

I would laugh my ass out if I see this new Sonya start to stammer and be shy af

How can that be achieved with a face like that? It would be just wierd.

 

[vampires69'in]

When I look at the Bella Pic. Feels like she said something snarky. Bella:Yup no life it's dead like your finances.

Probably called it his dead skynet hobo-cock.