The future of the JDMOD

[JohnDupont]

Hello, I'm JohnDupont.

Spoiler: My Journey

I created my account on F95 in May 2017.

I really enjoyed the game

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but I would often get stuck. Although walkthroughs existed, I felt like they didn't cover enough paths for my taste so I started looking into the gamefiles ; I ended up creating by own walkthrough, for myself at first, then after a lot of formatting, I posted for the first time in October 2017:

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In February 2018, I wanted a way to check the stats for the walkthrough and I made

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.

In 0.4.0, Hreinn Games released a gallery for the game. The game had multiple independant bonus scenes I wanted to add to the gallery, I looked into the more complicated stuff to find a way but I didn't know enough about Python and abandoned. It was @Vinfamy who came up with a solution to unlock the gallery and it allowed me to

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into what it is now.

I have been updating the mod and the walkthrough ever since.


In May 2018, I made a

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for

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. I have been updating it, on and off, ever since.


After some lackluster updates for KoD, I started playing a lot more of another game:

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.
Like KoD, this game includes a lot of different paths and it lacked a gallery. But unlike KoD, it wasn't made with a gallery in mind ; it was my most ambitious project and I spent around sixty hours modifying the scenes to get the result I wanted:

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.
The first release was bug-ridden and I spend the next month fixing it,

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.

Making mods, walkthroughs and guides always felt like a way of supporting the game developers by drawing more attention to their work.


After the GGGB mod, I received 2 requests for other galleries:

• You must be registered to see the links
  , which was going to be too time-consuming to do ;
• You must be registered to see the links
  , which
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  ; it only took me 5 or 6 hours.

In the meantime,

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.

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at first but I gave it some thoughts: I could always use the money to support the game developers.
After more than a month, I created a

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; it felt like a better platform for donations than the pay per month system of Patreon. I didn't communicate a lot about it: if people wanted to donate, great ; if they didn't, I didn't mind. In the end, it didn't matter ; creating the page was a waste of time:

​

I have been updating the GGGB mod and the LoA mod ever since.

Spoiler: The Problem

I have been sick for the past week but it didn't keep me from working a new project: a gallery for another with multiple paths

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. I spent, I don't know, 5 or 6 hours making the UI and customization ; the fun part. But after thrice that amount of time spent on modifying the scenes, the tedious part, the mod wasn't finished.

Spoiler: If you to see screenshots of the unfinished mod.

Gallery Menu​

Customization Menu​

Then, I switched from developing the mod for The Tyrant to adding the scenes from the new update of GGGB, because the new version 0.22 Alpha was released.

I update the GGGB mod this way:
- PREVIEW: Check all the changes made by the developer, make the thumbnails, add the new scenes + spell correction + bugfix, test, post everything on F95.
- ALPHA: Check all the changes made by the developer, make the thumbnails, add the new scenes + spell correction + bugfix, test, post everything on F95.
- FINAL VERSION: Check all the changes made by the developer, update all the scenes to their final proofread version, test, post everything on F95.
Over the course of a month, it takes me a dozen hours. And I'm not counting solving the "errors" reported on the forum ; I thought it would be a good way to reduce the amount of testing I needed to do, it ended up being more about telling people how to install the mod correctly.

Anyway, I started working on it but I stopped halfway. I didn't feel motivated enough to spend 5 or 6 hours doing boring work I didn't enjoy, especially after I exhausted most of my motivation doing the same kind of thing on the TT mod. I realized I had spent all my time doing what I hated the most instead of adding the features I wanted and making the mod into something I'm proud of.

It's been 4 days. The TT mod is still unfinished and the update for GGGB is still halfway done.

Spoiler: Conclusion

Over the past few days, I have been trying to come up with a solution:

1. Put the mods on hold until I feel like updating them, if ever.
2. Have someone else update the mods. It implies spending time teaching someone and checking their work, which I don't want to do.
3. Create a Patreon page and monetize the mods. If it doesn't work, switch to solution #1 or #2.

I'd like to hear your thoughts, thanks for reading.

Spoiler: Special thanks

@UncleVT, @ponyguy, @random.guy

 

[Lucas90251]

To be honest I will be kinda sad if the KoD mod gets abandoned however i completely understand where you are coming from and i understand what you are going through but nonetheless i wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors and i hope you get well soon

 

[Abibliboop]

My recommendation would be start with 3 (you deserve something for your time and energy) if it is likely to motivate you again. If you are fully burnt out regardless of money, do option 2. It may not be fun to teach someone, but then your work lives on and when you feel motivated again you have someone to help share the workload to hopefully stave off burnout again. Also, no reason you can't do both 3 & 2 assuming some form of sharing money based on the work the person in option 2 does.

 

[mazul]

For what it's worth coming from a zero post lurker like me, your work on the gallery mod for GGGB is groundbreaking in its complete structure and user friendliness. It was nice being able to just see the scenes if you're a lazy cunt like myself, so it'll be greatly missed but totally understandable.

Best wishes and many thanks.

 

[ijako3]

Well, your mod is a really HQ one and big time saver, when you want to explore other branches in the game without replaying it from the scratch or grind your heart out for hours to see that one specific scene so thank you.

I think you should ask or look for some Dev teams hiring, many games could use some good gallery options, i only know few titles that have one.

 

[desmosome]

Maybe you can be The Mod Guy. Make a patreon. If it takes off, make some sort of voting system for people to pick what game and type of mod they want.

Then again, the legal aspect might potentially lead to some disaster. Not too sure on how monetizing mods works.

 

[Dredger]

Monetizing wouldn't work too well since you don't own the original works, it could get you into hot water. Have you considered opening it as an open source project where other's could examine the changes and contribute changes so it's not such a massive effort on a single person?

 

[JohnDupont]

Thank you for your kind words.

To be honest I will be kinda sad if the KoD mod gets abandoned however i completely understand where you are coming from and i understand what you are going through but nonetheless i wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors and i hope you get well soon

Just to be clear, nothing is "abandonned" for the moment.

Maybe you can be The Mod Guy. Make a patreon. If it takes off, make some sort of voting system for people to pick what game and type of mod they want.

It's one of the things I'm thinking about. I'll certainly write more when everything is figured out. In the meanwhile, I'm open to suggestions.

Then again, the legal aspect might potentially lead to some disaster. Not too sure on how monetizing mods works.

Monetizing wouldn't work too well since you don't own the original works, it could get you into hot water.

I know other modders with a Patreon:
- @D.S.-sama (

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)
- @Maim Lain (

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)
- Multiple modders for Witch Trainer by Akabur (

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,

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, ...)

Although I might be underestimating the legal aspect of monetizing mods, I don't feel like it's that much of an issue.
The only problem is

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.

Have you considered opening it as an open source project where other's could examine the changes and contribute changes so it's not such a massive effort on a single person?

I'm not sure what you mean. You can already examine the mods with a text editor. Do you mean using Github or something?

 

[Maim Lain]

I didn't feel motivated enough to spend 5 or 6 hours doing boring work I didn't enjoy, especially after I exhausted most of my motivation doing the same kind of thing on the TT mod. I realized I had spent all my time doing what I hated the most instead of adding the features I wanted and making the mod into something I'm proud of.

i feel your feels.

I received 2 requests for other galleries:

• Four Elements Trainer by MITY, which was going to be too time-consuming to do

I've been working on a walkthrough+gallery+cheat mod for FET.

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after underestimating just how many scenes there are that need to be added to the gallery and remembering how poorly coded the game is lol.


If you want some help with the KoD or GGGB mods I probably could learn how you do it by just looking at your code. I'm busy this weekend but if you want some help then let me know and I could try helping sometime next week.

 

[JohnDupont]

I've been working on a walkthrough+gallery+cheat mod for FET.

You must be registered to see the links

after underestimating just how many scenes there are that need to be added to the gallery and remembering how poorly coded the game is lol.

Good luck, the code for FET goes all over the place.

If you want some help with the KoD or GGGB mods I probably could learn how you do it by just looking at your code. I'm busy this weekend but if you want some help then let me know and I could try helping sometime next week.

It's nice of you. If you have the time to look at the code for the GGGB mod and tell me what you think of it, it would be great. Thanks.

It didn't write it in the OP: My least favourite option is the second one. It's hard to let go of something you work countless hours on.
I can't see myself doing it for the KoD Walkthrough or the GGGB Mod, I made these two because I really enjoyed the games and they are respectively my first project and my first ambitious mod.

 

[Maim Lain]

It's nice of you. If you have the time to look at the code for the GGGB mod and tell me what you think of it, it would be great. Thanks.

It didn't write it in the OP: My least favourite option is the second one. It's hard to let go of something you work countless hours on.
I can't see myself doing it for the KoD Walkthrough or the GGGB Mod, I made these two because I really enjoyed the games and they are respectively my first project and my first ambitious mod.

It's coded very well, good job. Does your job/career involve programming?
Looking at it though makes me realize that I'm not familiar enough for the game or more specifically the game's code to help much with the GGGB mod. It'd probably take me multitudes of time longer than you to do it because I'm not familiar with any of the variable names/choices and have no idea what they mean, like this:

# jackwhore or jacklove > 2 or sexjackv16/rejectjack or blockjack
$ options_selected = [0, 1, 4, 5] # Normal, Reject, Love, Whore

But yeah I understand if you don't want other people working on those two mods. I'm not able to help with the tyrant or LoS mods because I've never played either of those games.

 

[draslimeil]

One thing I've always been a bit perplexed by is how you update the mod for every single version revision, even the preview ones which only have 1-2 scenes at best. Updating it only at final release makes much more sense to me, even if those changes are trivial to implement.

 

[JohnDupont]

Thanks for all the likes, @Abibliboop

It's coded very well, good job. Does your job/career involve programming?

No.

One thing I've always been a bit perplexed by is how you update the mod for every single version revision, even the preview ones which only have 1-2 scenes at best. Updating it only at final release makes much more sense to me, even if those changes are trivial to implement.

I'm guessing you meant "why", not "how".

Pros:
- I want the mod to always to be up-to-date.
- Since I'm updating it 3 times a month, I don't need to release bugfixed versions.
- I can spread the work over a longer period of time instead of doing everything right after the final version is released.
- I don't necessarily play the final version ; if I didn't do it this way, I would be dependant on EvaKiss for bugfixing.
- I have 3 deadlines a month.

Cons:
- It takes a bit more time to do, but it's not that much more.
- I have 3 deadlines a month.

 

[draslimeil]

Interesting, so cutting down on the number of releases wouldn't actually save you more hassle/time, then?

 

[JohnDupont]

Interesting, so cutting down on the number of releases wouldn't actually save you more hassle/time, then?

It would.

Spoiler: Time saves are in bold

- PREVIEW: Check all the changes made by the developer, make the thumbnails, add the new scenes + spell correction + bugfix, test, post everything on F95.
- ALPHA: Check all the changes made by the developer, make the thumbnails, add the new scenes + spell correction + bugfix, test, post everything on F95.
- FINAL VERSION: Check all the changes made by the developer, update all the scenes to their final proofread version, test, post everything on F95.

But cutting 67% of the updates wouldn't reduce the time spent by 67%. It would save me maybe 10 to 15%, depending on how thorough I am at checking the changes.
It would also come at a cost:

• Check all the changes made by the developer + spell correction + bugfix: it improves my understanding of the game.
• Post everything on F95: being active in the community is important.

 

[Dredger]

I'm not sure what you mean. You can already examine the mods with a text editor. Do you mean using Github or something?

Yeah, using Github or Bitbucket so that you wouldn't be tackling it alone

 

[HopesGaming]

As you are doing something for people which takes a lot of time and energy you should definitely consider making a patron. As corporate as it may sound - money is a good tool to keep one motivated and not burned out.

About the legal aspect. I do not think it's a issue. You're not reselling or redistributing the games. Nor are you taking any games and making it your own. Simply adding to games. Which does not take anything from the original content creator. People support the dev for the game. And people support the modder for the mod.
I can't speak for every dev out there but this is my opinion however.

Good luck

 

[JohnDupont]

I'm in the process of creating a Patreon Page. Here is the

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.

Feel free to post feedback and suggestions.

Yeah, using Github or Bitbucket so that you wouldn't be tackling it alone

I don't really know how these work and I'd rather work on my own for the moment.

About the legal aspect. I do not think it's a issue. You're not reselling or redistributing the games. Nor are you taking any games and making it your own. Simply adding to games. Which does not take anything from the original content creator. People support the dev for the game. And people support the modder for the mod.
I can't speak for every dev out there but this is my opinion however.

My thought exactly. And thanks.

 

[random.guy]

@JohnDupont , I'm obviously late to the party and I beg forgiveness, but my current situation required me to stay away from home to attend university, so I haven't had the time to login in quite a while.

I think that the Patreon project will be an awesome thing if it kicks off, you totally deserve the support for the amount of work you put into your mods and guides. Keeping them updated is harder than it looks, since figuring out all the changes and content is a time-consuming process even when we get the source code as with Ren'Py games.
I really hope that you get some recognition via Patreon and some compensation for your toil, though I wouldn't expect much support if the word remains limited to this forum - we're all here for the FREE goodies, after all.
I would readily pledge had not my financial situation gotten bleaker this past year and a half. But as soon as I will get some form of income you can rest assured my name will pop up among pledgers.

In any case, I reiterate the appreciation that we all should give for your endeavour and I think you should take as many breaks and work at whatever the pace you feel like and for whichever game you decide to. Don't let any of us guilt-trip you to keep anything up to snuff, unless the Patreon page gets up steam, in that case patrons might have a say on the matter =P

If I were you, I'd try to figure out some way to automate some of the tasks you face for every update.
Of course the matter is game-specific, but after a while maybe it's possible to figure out some pattern for some of the projects you follow. This is very generic, I know, sort of brainstormy more than advice.

 

[Keioshin]

I'm amazed a pirate forum is telling someone to monetize a MOD for a game people are pirating from the original creator.

Yes his MODs are great and useful but I don't agree with making money off someone else's work. Maybe I would be fine with it if it was simply just donations but the fact that he's got a "public" version and a "patreon" version of his MOD with different features makes me believe his intentions are not as noble as he claims.

If he really cared he could just get in touch with the original creators and offer them his MOD to just add to their games, especially since he's getting burned out from updating them himself.