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

[omgx123]

Sure, and those small changes are what give it a more cinematic feel than most AVNs. That's actually a feature for me, that Ocean doesn't reuse renders; if a dialogue cuts back and forward between two renders, the conversation tends to feel stilted. I like the fact Ocean will render close ups of eyes or lips, the pupils dilating, the change of expression. It helps give a sense of the body language, whether a person really means what they're saying, if the situation makes them feel uncomfortable or if they have some sort of ulterior motive.

I think for this update, there will also be quit a number of optional activities - players who chose to ignore Nia for example, probably won't get as much content with her, different rnders for group scenes if you're on Nami's path (like we already have when she gets upset Nika is flirting if you've admitted you like her back) or Bella's path etc.

Everyone has a different idea of what the plot being developed is, to me it is not any singular LI's path, or the basketball or the criminal activities, the story is Nika coming to terms with himself learning to be a functional member (joke intended) of society. SO I see a lot of plot development. People who want to know about the Zane influence on the college haven't seen much development, people who want just Bella's path want more Bella etc. We're all seeing the game through our own preferences.

Details are good and all if the dev has the rig capable of rendering fast enough, but he doesn't, so these unnecessary renders are causing the update to be once per year for a visual novel game. This game and WIAB are gonna stay stuck in this circle unless the dev changes his way of thinking. Focus less on such "zooming, cinematics and extreme details" so he can dish out updates more often which in turn would attract more people and he can raise moeny faster to get more GPUs to render.

 

[dameromexxx]

I like Nami or Nika being Zanes, both of them is a big no,no. And I like more if Summer is not related to WiaB, I prefer the whole Summer thing only as a character trait to Nika and not a overall plot point of the story, in fact I prefer that we never discover what happened with Summer.

I understand your preferences but I think that interactive visual novels should be reactive and respond to what the player is pursuing. The ideal situation for me is one in which the game responds to what the player chooses. Those who cared about finding Summer should complete their investigation and find her and those who didn't care should not. At some point in the story, an important dialogue option should simply appear whether to forget about the past and focus on building a new relationship or continue chasing the ghost of the past even at the risk of burning out existing relationships. This could be an important element of the romance with Elsa if it is still planned. On the one hand, you tell her that you love her and on the other, you obsessively search for her cousin who you lost contact with years ago.

In the end it's an interactive medium different players react differently to what it offers some have already found their LI and are only interested in that others may still ask questions who is the mysterious red cheeto it's a long journey lasting over 10 years what do you say to those who have been following something else for all these years and the investigation in search of summer will come to a standstill or the ocean will copy lovecraft and Nika will disappear possessed by Cthulhu.

Mister Ocean stole mister a dozen years of my life mister they say. Using much more vulgar language

 

[LHDLLB]

I understand your preferences but I think that interactive visual novels should be reactive and respond to what the player is pursuing. The ideal situation for me is one in which the game responds to what the player chooses. Those who cared about finding Summer should complete their investigation and find her and those who didn't care should not. At some point in the story, an important dialogue option should simply appear whether to forget about the past and focus on building a new relationship or continue chasing the ghost of the past even at the risk of burning out existing relationships. This could be an important element of the romance with Elsa if it is still planned. On the one hand, you tell her that you love her and on the other, you obsessively search for her cousin who you lost contact with years ago.

In the end it's an interactive medium different players react differently to what it offers some have already found their LI and are only interested in that others may still ask questions who is the mysterious red cheeto it's a long journey lasting over 10 years what do you say to those who have been following something else for all these years and the investigation in search of summer will come to a standstill or the ocean will copy lovecraft and Nika will disappear possessed by Cthulhu.

Mister Ocean stole mister a dozen years of my life mister they say. Using much more vulgar language

I fully agree with you, ideally, this is what would happen. But I fear that even if this was something that Ocean wanted to do - and I don't think it is- the cost of realizing it would render it impossible. Every split means more render, more dev time, more resources. I am not saying that Ocean should do what I think is best, he should always do what he think is best. Maybe I will be proved wrong and having Summer disappearance being a plot point is gonna be excellent, maybe it is related to WiaB and that also will be a incredible plot twist. Just that we all have expectations while reading a story, and at the moment, mines are those.

 

[F.L.HX99X]

Season 2 - Chapter 1 - Dev Log #20
New
Just now
Hello,

So, I returned from my family trip and took an additional day off to take care of my apartment and return to the usual Wednesday Dev log.
Let’s get into the Dev Log.

Sound design.
In one of the first Dev logs for Season 2, I mentioned that I would improve the game's sound design.
In an ideal world, a game would be like a movie… However, I don’t have voice actors and would never consider getting them before the games are finished.
So, the "tone of the voice" relies on the reader's imagination. I can only influence it through expressions, music, and the composition of the images.
I personally dislike repeating playlists and would like an additional tool to transfer the right mood.

Contrasts & timing.
If you listen to a song repeatedly, it loses its power.
In future updates, I will implement ambient sounds. Not just random nature or street noises, but precise ambient sounds. There’s a clock in the room, you will hear from where it’s coming.
For example, in Summer’s Gone Chapter 2, Bella and MC are in her kitchen after the heist.
You would hear the room's ambiance, a slight buzzing from the refrigerator, a faint clock somewhere in the living room, etc.
Meanwhile, music would be used to accentuate special scenes. Or I might let it play quietly in the background?
I’ll figure this out and create polls about it. I will also have a scene in the upcoming update where I'll try out some different ideas.

Before I went to visit my family, I ordered the Tascam DR40X Audio recorder and started building my own library. “Why don’t you just buy the sounds?”
Because I’m sick of having to play Minesweeper with licenses and by building an SFX and Ambient library myself, I'll always be on the safe side.
I’ve already made several recordings, and they just need to be edited, dialed in, and sorted.
Don’t get me wrong; the game will still use a lot of music. However, sometimes less is more… Silence with some faint ambient noises followed by a slow introduction of, for example, Vesky—Aurora has a much bigger impact on the mood of the scene than a constantly repeating playlist.

I’m still in the figuring-out phase, but my wish is that it improves immersion, especially in future cinematics.
And I'm looking forward to your feedback on it.

Season 2 - Chapter 1

I’m currently working on three scenes simultaneously, and I really like what’s coming together.
It’s nice seeing the script fill up with all the renders. The holes vanish slowly, and we get closer to a release.

I’ve also continued the German translation, but my Discord admin, who translates the game into Spanish, has found that the generated translation files don’t contain all choices, etc.
I checked it in my German translation and noticed the same.

The translations will be out later than expected because we must determine what’s missing and then fix it.
But it has a lower priority than everything else.

Previews: 4K
Meet Miss Marla

A series of unfortunate events.

(The renders following the upper one are some serious gourmet shit. The composition & color sympathy... Damn. You'll see them in the update... Maybe. The scene is behind a choice.)
I’ll see you in two weeks on Christmas Eve with a new render count and a preview of that cute Bellchen render that I talked about in one of the earlier Dev Logs.

• Ocean

 

[LHDLLB]

Season 2 - Chapter 1 - Dev Log #20
New
Just now
Hello,

So, I returned from my family trip and took an additional day off to take care of my apartment and return to the usual Wednesday Dev log.
Let’s get into the Dev Log.

Sound design.
In one of the first Dev logs for Season 2, I mentioned that I would improve the game's sound design.
In an ideal world, a game would be like a movie… However, I don’t have voice actors and would never consider getting them before the games are finished.
So, the "tone of the voice" relies on the reader's imagination. I can only influence it through expressions, music, and the composition of the images.
I personally dislike repeating playlists and would like an additional tool to transfer the right mood.

Contrasts & timing.
If you listen to a song repeatedly, it loses its power.
In future updates, I will implement ambient sounds. Not just random nature or street noises, but precise ambient sounds. There’s a clock in the room, you will hear from where it’s coming.
For example, in Summer’s Gone Chapter 2, Bella and MC are in her kitchen after the heist.
You would hear the room's ambiance, a slight buzzing from the refrigerator, a faint clock somewhere in the living room, etc.
Meanwhile, music would be used to accentuate special scenes. Or I might let it play quietly in the background?
I’ll figure this out and create polls about it. I will also have a scene in the upcoming update where I'll try out some different ideas.

Before I went to visit my family, I ordered the Tascam DR40X Audio recorder and started building my own library. “Why don’t you just buy the sounds?”
Because I’m sick of having to play Minesweeper with licenses and by building an SFX and Ambient library myself, I'll always be on the safe side.
I’ve already made several recordings, and they just need to be edited, dialed in, and sorted.
Don’t get me wrong; the game will still use a lot of music. However, sometimes less is more… Silence with some faint ambient noises followed by a slow introduction of, for example, Vesky—Aurora has a much bigger impact on the mood of the scene than a constantly repeating playlist.

I’m still in the figuring-out phase, but my wish is that it improves immersion, especially in future cinematics.
And I'm looking forward to your feedback on it.

Season 2 - Chapter 1

I’m currently working on three scenes simultaneously, and I really like what’s coming together.
It’s nice seeing the script fill up with all the renders. The holes vanish slowly, and we get closer to a release.

I’ve also continued the German translation, but my Discord admin, who translates the game into Spanish, has found that the generated translation files don’t contain all choices, etc.
I checked it in my German translation and noticed the same.

The translations will be out later than expected because we must determine what’s missing and then fix it.
But it has a lower priority than everything else.

Previews: 4K
Meet Miss Marla

A series of unfortunate events.

(The renders following the upper one are some serious gourmet shit. The composition & color sympathy... Damn. You'll see them in the update... Maybe. The scene is behind a choice.)
I’ll see you in two weeks on Christmas Eve with a new render count and a preview of that cute Bellchen render that I talked about in one of the earlier Dev Logs.

• Ocean

Sound design is very nice and it seems that he is going at a steady pace. But the amount of Noji teasing in this update is gonna be criminal, truly criminal.

 

[NIAmyEMOgirl]

Emilia is Nojiko's best friend.


For some reason she hides from them whatever she knows.


While playing, I was thinking that Sasha and her friend actually know Nika but for some reason he doesn't remember them? What if he caused Sasha's scar, ended up in a hospital during the altercation (that flashback) and lost some memories in the process? Or maybe someone important (from WIAB?) asked Sasha and her friend to look after him 'cause I don't believe it's a coincidence how they are around him sometimes and also Sasha having those pills on her that Nika needs.

i also think Sasha and robin know Nika. but I don't think Nica mistreated them in the past, cuz they are kind to Nika. like LHDLLB said, which I also think is maybe Sasha might find him attractive, since Sasha is one of Nika's potential lovers.

 

[LeoL774]

My jod, Nadia side boob is insane

 

[BobTheDuck]

Details are good and all if the dev has the rig capable of rendering fast enough, but he doesn't, so these unnecessary renders are causing the update to be once per year for a visual novel game. This game and WIAB are gonna stay stuck in this circle unless the dev changes his way of thinking. Focus less on such "zooming, cinematics and extreme details" so he can dish out updates more often which in turn would attract more people and he can raise moeny faster to get more GPUs to render.

Well, to be fair that seems like the current plan - to buy a duplicate rig that means he can churn through electricity mining the renders. Currently his limit to rendering is not the speed of the rig, but that he has to stop rendering to work on scenes. Having multiple rigs with duplicate assets is a great plan, which (based on the tax dramas we've been bored by in past devlogs) is likely to happen once he's dealt with his provisional tax and ensured he meets his obligations. So you're right. But, consider that he's making an update that has 2/3 of the number of renders of Season one in less than a third of the time it took to make season 1. Despite us feeling like it's forever between updates, this is the fastest he's ever worked. The proof will be once he drops the update though, no point counting it until then.

Meet Miss Marla

So is the implication two Marlas?

...and for the cheesy comment, Summer might be gone, but damn it's hot wherever Wollust is, they all dress like it's permanent summer. Ocean missed the opportunity to make it permanent autumn

ANd thank you again for sharing the devlog with us F.L.HX99X it's always very appreciated!

 

[dan_roger69]

Seems like Noji has to help Nika often like a Physiotherapist with his problem.

If that's the case Bella and Nami might also pitch in to help Nika apart from Noji

 

[dameromexxx]

I fully agree with you, ideally, this is what would happen. But I fear that even if this was something that Ocean wanted to do - and I don't think it is- the cost of realizing it would render it impossible. Every split means more render, more dev time, more resources. I am not saying that Ocean should do what I think is best, he should always do what he think is best. Maybe I will be proved wrong and having Summer disappearance being a plot point is gonna be excellent, maybe it is related to WiaB and that also will be a incredible plot twist. Just that we all have expectations while reading a story, and at the moment, mines are those.

I agree with you with what you wrote earlier that the potential scenario in which she appears unexpectedly and causes drama reeks of cheapness, therefore in the case in which it turns out to be an inevitable element of the main plot, I would prefer that this confrontation would come from our initiative as a result of an investigation conducted effectively by us, and it is hard for me to find any other logical justification for the scenario to be the opposite. Let's think if she is somewhere there, she is an adult and considering her rather rebellious nature, what are the reasons for her not initiating the meeting with us first, other than the fact that she herself cannot, for various reasons such as disability, blackmail, was lied to by someone or because of some facts that Nika don't remembers due to trauma, because of which she does not want to deal with him herself. In the case when she finds us, it is difficult to do without some cheap explanations like Nika I saw you on TV and I had to see you

 

[NIAmyEMOgirl]

I think ocean finally upload the WIAB season 1 final . Can't wait him to share it public

 

[BobTheDuck]

I think ocean finally upload the WIAB season 1 final . Can't wait him to share it public

Why would you think that? He just mentioned in WiaB's devlog he still has scenes left to render.

 

[Cooling Prob]

Well, to be fair that seems like the current plan - to buy a duplicate rig that means he can churn through electricity mining the renders. Currently his limit to rendering is not the speed of the rig, but that he has to stop rendering to work on scenes. Having multiple rigs with duplicate assets is a great plan, which (based on the tax dramas we've been bored by in past devlogs) is likely to happen once he's dealt with his provisional tax and ensured he meets his obligations. So you're right. But, consider that he's making an update that has 2/3 of the number of renders of Season one in less than a third of the time it took to make season 1. Despite us feeling like it's forever between updates, this is the fastest he's ever worked. The proof will be once he drops the update though, no point counting it until then.



So is the implication two Marlas?

...and for the cheesy comment, Summer might be gone, but damn it's hot wherever Wollust is, they all dress like it's permanent summer. Ocean missed the opportunity to make it permanent autumn

ANd thank you again for sharing the devlog with us F.L.HX99X it's always very appreciated!

Miss Marla. That's the teacher in the accident right?

 

[BobTheDuck]

Miss Marla. That's the teacher in the accident right?

Yep, Stephanie is her first name. I'm wondering is the other one in the middle is her sister.

 

[dameromexxx]

Taking all the extra bells and whistles to enhance the experience like improved audio design that require our director to do some extra polishing. I'm starting to get used to the idea of a summer 2025 premiere, I'll treat the earlier date as a nice surprise

 

[vampires69'in]

Only problem thing with Sasha being Nika's guardian angel and knowing everything, is that she recognises Nami's earring, and as a Petrova, she knows whose earrings they were originally (as she has one) ...but she has no knowledge of Nami having a connection and it puzzles her. I'd find it hard to believe she knows Nika's medical history, but doesn't know about Nami's earring (most likely, she carries them for Robin or herself - the time she calms Robin down in the locker room suggests they're not all that stable). The thing about knowing Nika from before, well there's plenty of indications - the way Nika almost recognises something about her, the way she cryptically says maybe he dis deserve it, the way she cryptically says she'd rather not say if she's trying to kill him... my guess is Sasha's popularity is partially because of her mystery and always seeming to be in the background. The charlie's angels vibe when she's walking with her posse is a cute touch though.

Are we talking classic charlies angels or movie charlies angels ?

 

[vampires69'in]

That's probably because of the reworks too.

Or nephew.

knowing ocean...it'll be his Tenant, lol

 

[BobTheDuck]

Are we talking classic charlies angels or movie charlies angels ?

Quoting past me, I'm at least consistent some of the time

Regards Nephew Nika, we know an *uncle* (what even is an *uncle* anyway? A codename for landlord that actually doesn't own a house maybe?) taught him basketball. But maybe that's how Noji introduced all Emilia's male friends when she was visiting It'd be weird for an uncle to teach him basketball but leave leave their nephew to be raised by a stranger.

 

[NIAmyEMOgirl]

Why would you think that? He just mentioned in WiaB's devlog he still has scenes left to render.

i'm very sorry , i misread the post in subscribtar XD

 

[vampires69'in]

Quoting past me, I'm at least consistent some of the time

Regards Nephew Nika, we know an *uncle* (what even is an *uncle* anyway? A codename for landlord that actually doesn't own a house maybe?) taught him basketball. But maybe that's how Noji introduced all Emilia's male friends when she was visiting It'd be weird for an uncle to teach him basketball but leave leave their nephew to be raised by a stranger.

It sounds like some anime ocean would have totally watched though, lol