4.20 star(s) 128 Votes

Old Man Al

Active Member
Jan 18, 2022
999
6,827

Hello, Patrons!
Hope you guys have enjoyed the update! I'm sorry there wasn't more Maeve in there, so I hope this helps ease the pain a little. You will see her more in the next update, I promise. :)
I will also have some pretty exciting announcements tomorrow!
-CB
 

ben_sylar

Member
Apr 26, 2019
278
591
You're saying if you enjoy your work you shouldn't get paid for it. That's nuts. I have a Patreon because I put hours and hours of work into this. It might not be as many hours as people who work full time on their games, but the more support I get on Patreon the less I have to work.

Additionally, the tools for this passion project are a little on the expensive side. 3090s ain't cheap. And I only have one. As things progress I'm going to need another (or a 4xxx series if/when those come out.)


No I think people are competent enough to understand you. It's just that "why should someone who puts hundreds of hours and several thousands of dollars into a project get voluntary donations for it?" is profoundly nonsensical.
I think he was saying most people have hobbys, a lot of people have expensive hobbys. Only VN devs insist that they have the right to an expensive hobby that doesn't cost them anything. If you take money for making a VN you're gonna get compaired with people who do it for a living, it's the nature of things.

I hope you keep going by the way, you're better than most people who do this for a job.
 

JB08

Well-Known Member
Aug 6, 2016
1,316
1,696
I understand some of the complaints. 10 months and only 400 renders is about 1.3 renders made per day on average. That..looks pretty bad.. Throw in a patreon and a 3090 the dev has said he has and yeah..

However I do think people tend to miss many other aspects to making a game. Its not just about raw render count. Some people can easily crank them out while others are not so swift to set up scenes and hit the render button, besides there is a lot of scripting work which takes a lot of time too as well as writing which itself is quite a task particularly if you want to craft a great and complex story regardless of individual skill. We know this game is a side project because the dev has a job and other life obligations and commitments to tend to. All this brings down how much work can be dont in any given time. But at the end of it all you still have 10 months, with 400 renders, with a patreon and 3090. That looks bad at face value. One final thing that is brought to mind when you see these numbers (10 months for 400 renders) or any other figures for other games, and thats the potential time it will take for the game to get finished (if it ever does). Nearly a year for a very short update. How many years at this rate, and at the average rate past updates have taken with the amount of renders they brought, until the game is finally done? 10 years? 5? 3? A valid concern. More so if a dev delves into remakes and reworks, resetting the entire game back to 0.

I suppose its just easier to look at that rather than looking and considering all the other factors at play here. I do see both sides though.

Maybe if you really like a game, just dont play it until its finished, and bide your time with the numerous other games here or just regular games on steam or console, anime, trading cards, etc until several updates have come out or its completed (or abandoned)

The person playing these games needs to accept the fact that most games will never finish, and that most updates will take time and bring small amounts of content. Not every game is made by a big team with large amounts of funds backing it, with crazy good hardware and multiple PCs like some games on this site and even then, some very big operations waste tons of time to push out small amounts of content, milk patreons, and/or get outright abandoned.

Be happy this game even got an update ultimately. And nothing wrong with having a patreon tbh.
 

bilbado

New Member
Jun 5, 2021
6
17
I can't speak for everyone but at least to me the issue isn't the the dev-time or the length of the update. Stuff happens, and even if it didn't CB has every right to stop, start, and quit for any reason. My dissatisfaction was how the story was distributed. Most of the content for this update was spent on expositional scenes that added little more than filler between the developments being made. The dialogue and charm was hit or miss for me this update because the scenario felt forced and it lingered too long. Writing 101 is to use the majority of the page/screen time for the points of interest, namely the climax. A lot of work went into elements that while important weren't interesting.

Imagine if the opening phone call was Angel calling Shannon after leaving the club. One of the car renders shows the strip club in the background. It hints that Angel works there while saving on rendering new models in a new setting. Things play out the same until after Angel tells Shannon what she has to do. Briefly OLJ says something to the effect "That was close, but we pulled through." Angel says "You pulled through. Thanks again!" OLJ says "Now that that's out of the way, can you help me with my girl problem." End scene. We know Angel well enough to know what kind of advice she will give. Then Shannon does the same hesitance display as before only this time instead of lifting her shirt for 5 seconds she has to make out with MC for 15-30 seconds. We then get four options. A) Reject her, B) In shock/going through the motions, C) Kiss her sensually, D) Kiss her passionately. A and B break the kiss too early and lead to another 3 options to outright reject her and close her path, reject her as a tease because she can't make good on her debt if you don't help her, or enjoy making out and thus bumping you back to the C route. C route has Shannon's hesitancy fade as she melts into the kiss. Minutes pass by before she pulls away and says goodnight (no quips). D route has her melt into the kiss too, but the MC takes more initiative and moves them onto the bed. Shannon knows this is going too fast but she wants it too. MC pulls up her shirt so we get the boob shot, but this causes her to panic and she pulls away before things go too far too quickly. She tries to make a punchy quip, but she's still frazzled by what happened and she leaves without being able to finish saying it. Then we wrap the update same as is.

This accomplishes all the same character beats while including a steamy scene that most would agree is about as "slow" as the flashing is. Maybe I missed something important. I don't know if this would fit into the same 400 render limit but I'd wager it's close. The main difference I see as a reader is that when the update ends I'm a little frustrated but I'm excited for where things are going next. If I teased and rejected Shannon now her pride is involved and she is going to be aggressive in making out to finish the bet. She'll try to kiss you while you sleep which won't count, and Angel and MC teasing her would be endlessly hilarious. Maybe we get to keep teasing and so several updates later Angel has to up the ante. If MC won't kiss, maybe he needs a "hand" or whatever the next step should be. Or if we did make out with her then some barriers are broken down and a relationship can start to bud slowly. So much potential for future Shannon and Angel updates. The way the real update went I have nothing to be excited for because I have no expectations of what could happen next. It could be anything. It could be entirely unrelated to this. I would be thrilled if this did turn out to be April fools even if the addition was a short scene that provided something specific to look forward to in the next update.

It is easy to play "script doctor" after the fact. Maybe there is a plan I'm not seeing and my ideas are bad. What I know is that CB is a special talent and I mean no disrespect. When this update ended I didn't close the game. I reloaded an old save and played through the previous content. More than anything this update made me miss the pacing and humor from those earlier scenes. The one and only time I will load a save from this update will be to progress into the next one.
 

KoGa3

Engaged Member
Modder
Donor
Aug 14, 2018
3,147
33,572
Had now time to PLAY the new release (for my Mod I only rushed through) - and I love it. Is it to short? Of course! Every game you like is always to short. Took the game update to long? Also the same. I'm already saying the wait for the next one is taking to long, too. I want more...

Of course I can understand some complains here, also comparing it to other games is ok. If you only count the renders per realease cycle it's probably bad. But for me it's way more important what I get, not how fast and how many I get. And here - at least for me - what I got was top. In most other games you have "filler" moment's where you actually "skip" through. Not here.

As said I really liked the update, already waiting for the next one. Also hope the dev is healthy again, all the best from me here.
 

Havenless_

Active Member
Oct 12, 2020
842
4,565
This update reminded me why I love Unleashed, wish there was more. Guess I shall wait again for next update.
Exactly.

As is always the case with all games/VNs, there are things I like and things I dislike about the game, but...

There's something about Unleashed that has me fascinated.
What? I don't know.

All I know is that I love this game. I enjoy in an almost irrational way every dialogue, every render, everything.
And I think that's part of this project. Something that makes you think: "I don't know why, but I love it". At least that's what happens to me.

Congratulations to CarbonBlue for this project. I'm really looking forward to continue.
 
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Ranting Old Man

Member
Donor
Oct 24, 2019
409
915
I think people don't fully understand what Patreon is. If your giving money to a Patreon, you aren't paying someone to do work for you, you aren't their boss, you are volunteering giving away your money to a project that you want to see grow. The only thing they have to be sorta careful about and even this isn't really enforced often, is making sure that the Patreon is giving the promised rewards for pledges. Often times with AVNs, this includes a monthly Render, An earlier release than the public (personal hate this one), a discord roll and updates about the games progress.
Although some, and i want to emphasize that this isn't mandatory but strictly a choice. Some Patreons try to stick to a strict schedule for updates, by doing this they give their backers certain expectations.
CB offers an estimate on release and has missed it a few times, this is why i personally chosen to stop backing them. CB does NOT garentee ANY release date nor do they have a release schedule and never has had one.
If this isn't something you can live with, then simply don't back them. If you like the game enough anyways and don't mind then PLEASE become a Patreon.
Both are acceptable and are good positions, not backing because you can't gauge how well your support is affecting the progress, or backing them regardless, in hopes that they g we t enough support to no longer have to work outside of game development full-time. (I strongly recommend against any Dev going full-time Game Dev alot of shit can go wrong. It's best to at a minimum keep working your job or career at least part-time.)

Now to put my two cents where it isn't wanted!

Again, if you making a game for the passion and whatnot, and have other obligations to fill, why would you make a patreon for it? That just isn't a good look. That's all I'm getting at about this whole situation.
That isn't what Patreon is about, it's for creators to find backers for what they create. It's not a good look for people to start backing someone without understanding at a minimum what the sites guidelines actually are.

Also to say the game is different, I will say this is one of the few games that actually has me laughing legit over just lil silly shit, but it's not too different. And I swear if ole buddy says it's different cuz it's gonna take longer just to sex whatever, I'mma be sick. :KEK: You know how many games on here are "Different" in that regard? Yea, no.
This game is very different and it's fucking hilarious that's why I keep playing even though it gets lengthy between updates

I hope I don't have to explain the patreon situation further. I hope people are competent enough to understand the gripe with that.
Sure, but people should still understand the site alot more and make smart choices on how to use their money. That isn't the obligation of CB, this is strictly on them.

You're saying if you enjoy your work you shouldn't get paid for it. That's nuts. I have a Patreon because I put hours and hours of work into this. It might not be as many hours as people who work full time on their games, but the more support I get on Patreon the less I have to work.
Based! This is a legitimate take and opinion.

Additionally, the tools for this passion project are a little on the expensive side. 3090s ain't cheap. And I only have one. As things progress I'm going to need another (or a 4xxx series if/when those come out.)
Understatement, I like how you only mentioned the GPU, even though you probably have a TON of expenses related to DAZ models and other software, not to mention the time which can't ever be gotten back. You went very light and soft on that one.

No I think people are competent enough to understand you. It's just that "why should someone who puts hundreds of hours and several thousands of dollars into a project get voluntary donations for it?" is profoundly nonsensical.
Based!

I think he was saying most people have hobbys, a lot of people have expensive hobbys. Only VN devs insist that they have the right to an expensive hobby that doesn't cost them anything. If you take money for making a VN you're gonna get compaired with people who do it for a living, it's the nature of things.
This isn’t correct. I have alot of friends who are into doing digital art and run Patreon accounts and they are also hoping to get what they put into equipment and software back out of it as well as a nice sum to make a living. The nature is to start small and build up, if you never get further support you will never make it "full time" unless you are naturally talented and have a fuck ton of start up money. Also consider people who play games on Twitch or YouTube, or people who play TCGs and do "opening" videos. They all also want to have an expensive hobby and have it cost them little to nothing as possible.
The issue here is people are often comparing to Devs who literally went to school for this kind of shit, are very familiar with the software, already have very nice equipment and have already been doing this for a while to people who started off with okay equipment, have to buy models and software, have to take the time to learn the software, have to write and then take the time to learn Coding for Renpy and do all of this out of pocket without a fuck ton of garentee support right out of the gate because of the previously mentioned access to resources.


I hope you keep going by the way, you're better than most people who do this for a job.
Based!

***I had to edit this post because my comments weren't showing***

:lepew:
 
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Mr_Mister

Member
Jan 9, 2020
181
428
my only critiques about this update so far are " to short and why the tittle card keep showing after some scenes? "

i pity the fool.jpg

oh! and "I PITY THE FOOLS" that hide insults and personal attacks as critiques .
 
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CarbonBlue

Developer of Unleashed
Game Developer
Oct 25, 2018
1,205
8,028
Only VN devs insist that they have the right to an expensive hobby that doesn't cost them anything.
I've never seen a VN dev insist that.
I understand some of the complaints. 10 months and only 400 renders is about 1.3 renders made per day on average. That..looks pretty bad.. Throw in a patreon and a 3090 the dev has said he has and yeah..
So I don't even get time consideration for spending a week in the ICU and very nearly dying? Man, rough crowd. :)
Writing 101 is to use the majority of the page/screen time for the points of interest, namely the climax.
I appreciate your post, but no. Writing 101 is to entertain your audience. Obviously I failed to do that with you. I did succeed with others. But this is creative writing, not objective-based writing. I'm not writing in order to get to a point, I'm writing to present a journey. And I should warn you, there are going to be future updates where I take the scenic route in order to get to a point.
The way the real update went I have nothing to be excited for because I have no expectations of what could happen next. It could be anything. It could be entirely unrelated to this.
I'm sorry you don't like this, but honestly, this is kinda music to my ears and exactly what I want. :)
 

Dyhart

Well-Known Member
Jul 30, 2017
1,967
1,453

Hello, Patrons!
Hope you guys have enjoyed the update! I'm sorry there wasn't more Maeve in there, so I hope this helps ease the pain a little. You will see her more in the next update, I promise. :)
I will also have some pretty exciting announcements tomorrow!
-CB
*Checks calendar*
Hmm good one. April first is that tomorrow.
 

Limura

Member
Mar 9, 2019
233
113
After going for a run with Maeve, and then looking at Shannon's ass as she walks up the stairs, the image still bugs out =( it has been buggy since it was first implemented.. I just want more of my Shannon haha
 

Tavi13

Active Member
Feb 1, 2021
631
1,033
I think people don't fully understand what Patreon is....
Just who do you think you are? Showing up here using logic & being reasonable? This is the internet dammit, we don't do that around here!!!!

Sorry, couldn't resist; I'm going back to my coffee & eyerolling now.....errr.....eyerolling at other comments, not yours.
Figured I better clarify that, 'cause...you know...internet....
 

MrPerson28475

Active Member
Game Developer
Nov 25, 2020
646
1,703
Er... are you using an Android version or something?
No, PC version downloaded through Mega Link, played last night and got the error. have skipped through from start to the end this time with no problems, weird, I think it could have been to do with using a save.
 
4.20 star(s) 128 Votes