VN Ren'Py Abandoned Three Rules of Life [v0.5.0] [Red Dust]

[Avaron1974]

Yeah, I financially support one dev, someone who has already completed one game and communicates regularly. When I first got here I was more supportive but with the number of on hold, abandoned, and delayed games (valid reasons or not) I am not willing to open my wallet. It's such a shame to get so close to the end of a game, supposedly, and see no movement in 7 months. I didn't agree that the game should be resolved in two updates but at least we'd have some ending. Now I am just biding my time until the game gets an abandoned tag. Honestly should at least have an on hold tag.

Thing is, it's understandable when real life issues happen and development needs to be paused but that isn't the case here.

The dev is posting regular renders but not a single comment on the game leading me to assume he is milking his playerbase.

I hate the whole milking claim thing, it's said so much recently but I can't think of any other reason a dev would keep posting yet say absolutely nothing about their game.

It's just shady.

 

[Deleted member 1571716]

Thing is, it's understandable when real life issues happen and development needs to be paused but that isn't the case here.

The dev is posting regular renders but not a single comment on the game leading me to assume he is milking his playerbase.

I hate the whole milking claim thing, it's said so much recently but I can't think of any other reason a dev would keep posting yet say absolutely nothing about their game.

It's just shady.

Not to be the 'Devil's Advocate' on this, but, the dev did post a patron only vote in February. No idea what it was and it could very well have been a vote on a new render. Maybe one of the patrons can let us know what it was.

 

[bacienvu88]

Personally I would pay more often if I could do a simple "buy the game in its current state now", rather than having an indefinite subscription. Would stop any claim of milking also. But I understand why devs prefer subscription since it gives a much more stable income each month.

 

[bananabrown]

I wouldn't be surprised if the dev's struggling to figure out how he's going to finish the game in 2 updates. The 2 updates thing seemed to be an out of the blue knee-jerk reaction to the "toxic players"

The dev went from being enthusiastic after the first few updates with polls on patreon asking us how much better this update was over previous ones. To getting offended that people didn't like his favourite Li after she was re introduced into the game and taking any criticism as a personal attack.

He's probably demotivated after believing he had made a perfect game only to find out people weren't happy with some aspects of the story and the Li's

Obviously this is just speculation, but you can read the thread from the beginning and see how the dev's attitude towards the players changed between the first updates and the last.

 

[Avaron1974]

I wouldn't be surprised if the dev's struggling to figure out how he's going to finish the game in 2 updates. The 2 updates thing seemed to be an out of the blue knee-jerk reaction to the "toxic players"

The dev went from being enthusiastic after the first few updates with polls on patreon asking us how much better this update was over previous ones. To getting offended that people didn't like his favourite Li after she was re introduced into the game and taking any criticism as a personal attack.

He's probably demotivated after believing he had made a perfect game only to find out people weren't happy with some aspects of the story and the Li's

Obviously this is just speculation, but you can read the thread from the beginning and see how the dev's attitude towards the players changed between the first updates and the last.

I hate to be "that girl" but i've got zero sympathy.

You put your work out there for people to see and you are going to get negative reactions along with the positive. A dev being too immature to handle criticism isn't going to win him any favours.

When it comes to LI's in any game people are going to have their favourites and dislike others.

Rather than see the big picture and how many people were playing and enjoying his game he spits his dummy out and throws a tantrum over some people disliking one small aspect of it.

I get that devs put a lot of effort into these and some get really attached to their work but everyone is going to have their own opinions and you can't put work out to the public and start getting pissy when criticism comes in.

You just can't take this shit personally.

Now he's self sabotaging. This is a game that could potentially get his name to a lot of players but instead of focusing on that and making the best game he can make he starts with the attitude and loses the goodwill he started building.

The problem when you start down that road is it isn't just the people on the recieving end that get put off, it's everyone. No one wants to back the dev getting arsey over a bit of criticism.

Rather than try and win over the playerbase by taking it graciously he pushed them away and now here we are, 7 months from the last update and the only people talking about it are F95's more regular posters that are here anyway.

It's a good game with a dev that doesn't know how to handle people and that's cost him.

He could have possibly turned it around with regular posts about what he's been doing except all that's happening are a few shiny pics while he lets his player base twiddle their thumbs wondering WTF is going on.

 

[morty2301]

Feels bad, was really looking forward to getting to know the other girls better, especially the blonde one. Also I agree that Li wasn't great, though seems like through the game the dev was hyping her up and was disappointed when others weren't. They were expecting us to want to get back together with Li or whatever, but I was just like, cool, have a nice life, MC stop getting hung up on her, she's not that great

 

[Canto Forte]

The blonde babe has a lot of scenes compared to the hot teacher or the hot doctor.
The cop also has a lot of scenes and the painter has quite a few.
The babes MC could be longer with are gatting many scenes:

biker bombshell,
cop powerhouse,
pollitical firecracker,
draws you in lust painter fairy,
beach body nymph ...

Quite a sellection, what do you say?

 

[Deleted member 1571716]

I hate to be "that girl" but i've got zero sympathy.

You put your work out there for people to see and you are going to get negative reactions along with the positive. A dev being too immature to handle criticism isn't going to win him any favours.

When it comes to LI's in any game people are going to have their favourites and dislike others.

Rather than see the big picture and how many people were playing and enjoying his game he spits his dummy out and throws a tantrum over some people disliking one small aspect of it.

I get that devs put a lot of effort into these and some get really attached to their work but everyone is going to have their own opinions and you can't put work out to the public and start getting pissy when criticism comes in.

You just can't take this shit personally.

Now he's self sabotaging. This is a game that could potentially get his name to a lot of players but instead of focusing on that and making the best game he can make he starts with the attitude and loses the goodwill he started building.

The problem when you start down that road is it isn't just the people on the recieving end that get put off, it's everyone. No one wants to back the dev getting arsey over a bit of criticism.

Rather than try and win over the playerbase by taking it graciously he pushed them away and now here we are, 7 months from the last update and the only people talking about it are F95's more regular posters that are here anyway.

It's a good game with a dev that doesn't know how to handle people and that's cost him.

He could have possibly turned it around with regular posts about what he's been doing except all that's happening are a few shiny pics while he lets his player base twiddle their thumbs wondering WTF is going on.

That's a bit harsh. He took criticism fairly well, when all the toxic motherfuckers came in whining about how the MC looked. He even changed the MC before the next scheduled update and put out a patch to 'fix' it. So, saying he can't take criticism, is far fetched at best. He was even accepting of the retards who cried when he brought the ex back, myself included in that. I was a bit hostile, as it made no sense to me to bring her back. The MC was a piece of shit with her and deserved to lose her.

Anyway, I don't think it has anything to do with that. I think it's more the self-imposed '2 updates' he put on himself, once again, due to all the whining, and toxic retards this site has.

 

[bananabrown]

That's a bit harsh. He took criticism fairly well, when all the toxic motherfuckers came in whining about how the MC looked. He even changed the MC before the next scheduled update and put out a patch to 'fix' it. So, saying he can't take criticism, is far fetched at best.

You're over using the word Toxic just like Red Dust. Criticism isn't toxicity.

The MC looked horrendous, this is a fact and not toxicity, he looked like a pink MR Popo from DBZ. Nobody disagreed with this and this includes the dev. Hence the change.

When it comes to the Ex it's a lot more complicated. Some people arguably could have found her attractive, but to the majority of players she wasn't and also she's arguably a bad person/character. The dev hard disagreed with this.

The criticism of the EX plus the criticsm about the way most of the Li's were still glued to their ex bf's is all valid and not Toxicity.

Please I want to know how you come to the conclusion the player base of this game is poisonous without using player criticism as your reasoning.

BTW the word "retard" is pretty toxic.

 

[Deleted member 1571716]

You're over using the word Toxic just like Red Dust. Criticism isn't toxicity.

The MC looked horrendous, this is a fact and not toxicity, he looked like a pink MR Popo from DBZ. Nobody disagreed with this and this includes the dev. Hence the change.

When it comes to the Ex it's a lot more complicated. Some people arguably could have found her attractive, but to the majority of players she wasn't and also she's arguably a bad person/character. The dev hard disagreed with this.

The criticism of the EX plus the criticsm about the way most of the Li's were still glued to their ex bf's is all valid and not Toxicity.

Please I want to know how you come to the conclusion the player base of this game is poisonous without using player criticism as your reasoning.

BTW the word "retard" is pretty toxic.

Your opinion. I said it before and I'll say it again. The MC's original look was the classic 'Roman look' you could find back in the 70s.

The ex was NOT a bad person. The MC was a piece of shit for how he treated her. He felt the world revolved around him. Classic narcissism. As for her looks, she was pretty. As in the 'girl next door', NOT the million dollar model most of these people want. I could go on about other games where people bitch about an LIs looks, but, I won't.

As for the word 'retard', yeah, it's toxic and I use it when dealing with stupid people. Plus, I AM toxic. I'm an asshole. If I say something that offends someone, that's on them. Not my problem. I don't give a shit if I offend others. I'm not here to coddle and headpat people.

 

[bananabrown]

I'm not here to coddle and headpat people.

Nah just white knighting for the devs behaviour without giving a reasonable explanation as to why the devs correct in calling us toxic.

"Roman look" yeah you're right it looks perfectly fine

Spoiler: Roman look

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[Deleted member 1571716]

Nah just white knighting for the devs behaviour without giving a reasonable explanation as to why the devs correct in calling us toxic.

"Roman look" yeah you're right it looks perfectly fine

Spoiler: Roman look

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Ah, I should've known you're one of 'those' people. As for the 'classic Roman' look. The caricatures people used to do. But, I doubt your brain can comprehend.

 

[Avaron1974]

Ah, I should've known you're one of 'those' people. As for the 'classic Roman' look. The caricatures people used to do. But, I doubt your brain can comprehend.

View attachment 1837073

Regardless of whether the look has been used before, it doesn't make it a good look.

I have a hard enough time getting into male protag games as it is but it's made harder when the MC looks like he's having his testicles tazed in every shot.

 

[Deleted member 1571716]

Regardless of whether the look has been used before, it doesn't make it a good look.

I have a hard enough time getting into male protag games as it is but it's made harder when the MC looks like he's having his testicles tazed in every shot.

I agree. I never said it made it a good look. I mean, most of these people that were overly vocal, were the same ones who loved the old, shriveld Orc look of that one MC in that other game. Forgot the name of it now.

Anyway, that means squat in this game. I just think this dev deserves the benefit of the doubt. He clearly went over and above to please people, and maybe he just got tired of the bs from the more vociferous crowd. Who knows? I don't.

 

[Avaron1974]

I agree. I never said it made it a good look. I mean, most of these people that were overly vocal, were the same ones who loved the old, shriveld Orc look of that one MC in that other game. Forgot the name of it now.

Anyway, that means squat in this game. I just think this dev deserves the benefit of the doubt. He clearly went over and above to please people, and maybe he just got tired of the bs from the more vociferous crowd. Who knows? I don't.

He would get the benefit of the doubt if we weren't looking at radio silence and 7 months with no update.

Regardless of my own personal opinions, i've not got on the devs case until now.

We're way past the stage where he should have been communicating to looking like yet another Icstor.

 

[Deleted member 1571716]

He would get the benefit of the doubt if we weren't looking at radio silence and 7 months with no update.

Regardless of my own personal opinions, i've not got on the devs case until now.

We're way past the stage where he should have been communicating to looking like yet another Icstor.

Maybe. But, not really. But, he did communicate to the patrons in February. So, if you take that into consideration, it's been about 3 months. They know wtf is up, we on the other hand, while being the dominant player base, don't know shit. So, I get it. Even though I'm pissed for some of the shit he's pulled in the game itself, I'm willing to put that aside and not just go for the throat. At least for a bit.

You know me. I don't 'White Knight' shit. I've blasted the shit out of devs for even the smallest things before. Anyway, just my 2¢.

 

[MrFriendly]

The dev did agree that the MC looked horrid but didn't want to change it until there was such a negative response (and there was a poll wasn't there?). I think his agreement was why that happened, most of the rest of the criticism, valid or otherwise, wasn't something he agreed with and he spent a lot of time and energy arguing with us assholes on F95 about it all. Overall, I don't believe he takes criticism very well (not that a lot of people are great at taking criticism) and argues too much for his own good.

I agree with Avaron1974 that he has wasted a lot of potential that was building up with this game. If he'd finished in 2-3 updates (maybe 2 for the main story and then an epilogue) it would have shown that he could make a game with an intriguing story and garnered him some attention - it isn't that often that we see a completed game.

As for communicating in February I believe someone mentioned that was a poll, a poll isn't the same as an update that explains where he stands on the development of the game. Even if it was an update the fact that there was 1 in 7 months compared to the communication beforehand makes it obvious he isn't in a hurry to get this game done OR to maintain his fan/playerbase. It is disrespectful to his patrons if all he is doing is renders and 2 updates a year (1/6-7 months in theory). We (the collective group of assholes on this site) don't warrant a lot of consideration but f95 is where a lot of patrons come from, I don't honestly know of another way to find these games.

All that said I would like to see the dev come back to the game, that he will be making a post soon explaining it all, and that he really is dealing with IRL issues. However, as I am not an optimist, I doubt any of that is true.

 

[Deleted member 1571716]

The dev did agree that the MC looked horrid but didn't want to change it until there was such a negative response (and there was a poll wasn't there?). I think his agreement was why that happened, most of the rest of the criticism, valid or otherwise, wasn't something he agreed with and he spent a lot of time and energy arguing with us assholes on F95 about it all. Overall, I don't believe he takes criticism very well (not that a lot of people are great at taking criticism) and argues too much for his own good.

I agree with Avaron1974 that he has wasted a lot of potential that was building up with this game. If he'd finished in 2-3 updates (maybe 2 for the main story and then an epilogue) it would have shown that he could make a game with an intriguing story and garnered him some attention - it isn't that often that we see a completed game.

As for communicating in February I believe someone mentioned that was a poll, a poll isn't the same as an update that explains where he stands on the development of the game. Even if it was an update the fact that there was 1 in 7 months compared to the communication beforehand makes it obvious he isn't in a hurry to get this game done OR to maintain his fan/playerbase. It is disrespectful to his patrons if all he is doing is renders and 2 updates a year (1/6-7 months in theory). We (the collective group of assholes on this site) don't warrant a lot of consideration but f95 is where a lot of patrons come from, I don't honestly know of another way to find these games.

All that said I would like to see the dev come back to the game, that he will be making a post soon explaining it all, and that he really is dealing with IRL issues. However, as I am not an optimist, I doubt any of that is true.

If it had been me, instead of arguing with us assholes, I would've told everyone to suck my cock and fuck off. My game, not theirs. But, I'm not him and my game won't be out for quite sometime. At which time, I can then tell people what I said I would.

 

[SteveyP]

Message from Red Dust on Discord

"Hi all,

An overdue update, which I probably should have done a while ago. Progress isn't being made as quickly as I'd like, so I've paused the Patreon billing cycle & will keep it paused until the next release.

Like a lot of projects, this one started in the early days of the pandemic, when WFH was the norm. Now that things are "back to normal", I find that I have a lot less time & energy to spend due to other obligations. Unfortunate, but it is what it is.

I can't put all the blame on corporate, though. There have been a number of my own creative frustrations in the way as well. I will work through them, as I've worked through every other obstacle, but it wouldn't be fair to keep taking in the process.

Thanks to everyone who's stuck w/ the story so far. I know that Episode 5, when it releases, will be the best yet."

No word on a release date but it is being worked on.

 

[Deleted member 1571716]

Message from Red Dust on Discord

"Hi all,

An overdue update, which I probably should have done a while ago. Progress isn't being made as quickly as I'd like, so I've paused the Patreon billing cycle & will keep it paused until the next release.

Like a lot of projects, this one started in the early days of the pandemic, when WFH was the norm. Now that things are "back to normal", I find that I have a lot less time & energy to spend due to other obligations. Unfortunate, but it is what it is.

I can't put all the blame on corporate, though. There have been a number of my own creative frustrations in the way as well. I will work through them, as I've worked through every other obstacle, but it wouldn't be fair to keep taking in the process.

Thanks to everyone who's stuck w/ the story so far. I know that Episode 5, when it releases, will be the best yet."

No word on a release date but it is being worked on.

Thanks for giving us the info, bro. I'm sure many will appreciate it, while others will start in with some bs. But, again, thank you.