VN Ren'Py Where the Heart Is [S1 v2024-07-10 BETA] [CheekyGimp]

[BillyPlums]

I wonder how many people here complaining about this small schedule adjustment are working 100 hours/week between (technically) two full time jobs? Further still, how many are actually patrons, and not simply flying the jolly roger?

I, for one, am a pseudo Patron, donating $1.50 CA per month. I am excited about what Cheeky is doing, giving him my compete support, and won't even mind if he doesn't shut down his Patreon for the two months or however long it takes him to get his vision right.

 

[botc76]

The irony of people on a pirate site blaming a developer for making decisions because he needs to improve his income stream is mind-blowing.

Either there are a lot of people posting which I have on ignore, or there were like one or two people complaining. One of which was just doing the usual "all devs are milkers" spill.
Everyone else was either completely accepting the decision or even welcoming it, or was just expressing concern.
Expressing concern over the amount of games where the dev made a similar decision, which were then abandoned, does not mean blaming the dev for anything. It means being concerned that a rework might lead to an abandoned game as supported by past experiences, nothing more.
In addition, the people actually BLAMING Cheeky for anything don't BELIEVE his reasons, because they think he is lying anyway. So for them, it isn't about whether he needs to improve his income or not.

And let's not forget that many of us here are supporters of the game, often for a very, very long time. Am I okay, with expressing concern, with fearing for how this will play out, because I have the second ever (and very positive) review for the game, IIRC the patreon wasn't even up then, or because I've been a supporter on patron for years?

Sorry, if this might not have been directed at mine or similar posts, but I have a problem with the "this is a pirate site" approach.
It is not like this being a pirate site disqualifies any opinion expressed here. It never does, and this approach really is just an excuse to dismiss any form of criticism as worthless, without actually making any factual points that disqualify the criticism.
Criticism is either qualified or fair, or it is unqualified and unfair. Neither actually depends on WHO is making the criticism, unless there is a personal connection that makes the criticism completely biased, like a personal antipathy towards the target of the criticism.
There are valid reasons to dismiss arguments that Cheeky is a milker or that he is lying, use those.

 

[ename144]

Hi folks,



I know this won't be a popular decision for some of you but I need to pause development of the final two episodes of WTHI for a couple of months so we can focus on a re-do of the earlier episodes. This is not a decision I am taking lightly and I've mulled this over for the past few months. The re-do is not just an upgrade of the early episode art, it will be a full script overhaul of ALL of the earlier episodes (removing some scenes, adding some new ones, editing some scenes and extending some scenes) in addition to re-doing all of the art and adding animations. Why not finish WTHI first and then start on the re-do? (Fair question). Here's why...

As most of you know, I have a real-life job in addition to working on WTHI. For the first four years of working on WTHI, I used to do the equivalent of working two full time jobs where I would work my normal job Mon-Fri and also squeeze in 40-60 hours of WTHI per week ( 4-5 hours Mon-thur evenings, an all-nighter on Friday and then as many hours as possible on Sat-Sun).

But after four years, that was no longer sustainable (was burning me out) so what I have been doing recently is alternating my time between my real-life job and WTHI by taking unpaid leave from my job (either a couple of days a week, a couple of weeks a month or more recently, I have taken a whole month off work to concentrate on WTHI). When I'm working WTHI only, I can easily squeeze in 60 hrs per week. But when I'm working my real-life job, I can only manage about 20-25 hours per week on WTHI. And Cell (our long suffering artist) is continously churning out 50+ hour weeks. I thought we could keep this set-up going until I finish WTHI completely but I cannot. To finish the game properly (without cutting corners and ensuring we give each character the ending they deserve), I estimate there is at least 6 months work left (to complete EP24 and EP25) plus I want to do an epilogue scene for each character (or group of characters), so there's still many months of work needed to complete WTHI fully. I was hoping to get it all done by the end of this year with the current system of alternating between unpaid time-off from my real-life job but I can't.

Currently, WTHI requires over 100 hours per week spread across Cell and I. After Patreon costs, transfer fees and all the other outgoings associated with game development, this means that working on WTHI actually pays Cell and I less than minimum wage per hour (based on where we live). So continously taking unpaid leave from my real-life (decent-paying) job to earn minimum wage is just not sustainable for the rest of this year.

So, the current plan is to increase the audience/income for WTHI by releasing on Steam. If all goes to plan, the extra income from Steam will give me more financial wiggle-room to take more unpaid time-off from work to focus on WTHI. So, although it means a lack of progress on new episodes in the short-term, it is the best decision for the overall completion of the game.

In order to get onto steam, we have to re-do the earlier episodes, because they are just not up to scratch. So the current plan is to spend the next two months working on a re-do of episodes 1-10 (Season 1) and release on Steam. And obviously we will also release the new upgraded game on patreon too. And once Season 1 is complete, we can then switch our focus back to current episodes and complete and release Episode 24.

I know some people have been clamoring for a rework, while many others would prefer that we just finished the game before going back and re-doing but in the long-run (and based on my personal circumstances) this is the best approach for the overall completion of the game and to keep the quality high. So, for any of you that have been asking for a rework of earlier episodes, it is coming. For any of you that have zero interest in a re-do and only want the new episodes, then consider this a two-month postponement of the new episodes. And for those in the zero interest category, I fully understand if you drop/cancel your pledge.

As always, please ask any questions or add any inputs/comments in the comments section below or feel free to DM me directly.



Thanks,

CG

I can't say I'm surprised that the schedule has slipped, but put me in the camp that finds the announcement devastating. I understand and respect Cheeky's thought process, but I don't think it's going to play out the way he hopes. The work required to overhaul a game as long and complex as WtHI is significant. I'm sure Cheeky is sincere in his plans to limit the rework through Chapter 10, but it's going to be very difficult to stick to that when the time comes and he realizes the changes he wants to make won't quite mesh with the old game - especially when he's saddled with the ever-present burden of making sure the game puts its best foot forward to maximize the benefit of this whole gamble. And the longer it takes to get the game launched on Steam, the more he'll feel pressureed to push himself hard if and when he can return to Episode 24. That means there's a distinct risk we'll find ourselves right back in the same unsustainable situation we are now, just many months behind schedule.

Personally, I'd have preferred if Cheeky had simply cut back his working hours to a sustainable level and kept plugging away at Episode 24 in bits and pieces, even if it took the rest of the year to finish it. Slow progress towards a fixed goal feels like a better bet than banking everything on the siren's call of a quick fix. As they say, the road to Hell is paved with good intentions.

Well, what's done is done. Nothing to do now but hope for the best. Please prove me wrong, Cheeky!

 

[hcguy]

Either there are a lot of people posting which I have on ignore, or there were like one or two people complaining. One of which was just doing the usual "all devs are milkers" spill.

I said nothing about how many people were doing it.

And let's not forget that many of us here are supporters of the game, often for a very, very long time.

Obviously if someone is actually financially supporting the developer, he or she has some grounds for commenting. People stealing the game here - not so much

Sorry, if this might not have been directed at mine or similar posts, but I have a problem with the "this is a pirate site" approach.
It is not like this being a pirate site disqualifies any opinion expressed here.

I disagree - if someone is stealing the game here, then comments on the financial decisions of the developer are, frankly, bullshit, since those people are part of the problem the developer is facing. If someone who is stealing the game has comments about the quality of the game, that's a different story, although they should have no expectation the developer will care about their opinions.

 

[Snugglepuff]

Obviously if someone is actually financially supporting the developer, he or she has some grounds for commenting. People stealing the game here - not so much

Financially supporting a dev, be they good ones or bad, is entirely irrelevant when it comes to criticising (constructively or otherwise) a dev or their project.
The only time our own financial investment matters in that regard, is if we're calling a dev a milker/scammer etc. At that point, people who have not/do not provide financial support to the project, are just being obnoxious hypocrites and deserve to be called out on it when it's clear they're just parroting the same crap on no, or next-to-no basis.

 

[mmmonsterkill]

I disagree - if someone is stealing the game here, then comments on the financial decisions of the developer are, frankly, bullshit, since those people are part of the problem the developer is facing. If someone who is stealing the game has comments about the quality of the game, that's a different story, although they should have no expectation the developer will care about their opinions.

i mean depends. i for instance am gonna buy it if/when it shows up on steam or simmular, and i think alot of people here have simmular thoughts so us saying a serious delay in doing so might be counter productive is not bullshit. also even games i buy i still download from here cuz fucking steam likes to tell everyone just how many hours i spend on porn games

 

[milos1fan]

No way it'll be done in two months. Has he ever released an update in the first time frame he's given? He said he'll also be creating new scenes and what not. How many continuity errors will he have to fix?Will he ever be happy with his "fixes" or will he keep "fixing" the series until he's tired of it like George Lucas?

 

[J.R.]

Honestly, not sure what to think about it. I normally tend to be on the side of the developers. But I do have a problem especially with the time frame they announced. Two months for a rework of ten complete chapters, even with changing/adding scenes. That would be already very ambitious in normal situations. But with actually having lost Ace - 1/3 of the dev team! - that will be imo nearly impossible. I do hope I'm wrong. Also the wanted increase of the audience (=income) with the steam release hopefully doesn't backfire and they loose on the other hand to many Patrons because of the delay for a new update. Well, only time will tell.

 

[Krieg]

Feels like that Ace guy was more instrumental to the game than it was shown, and now I have that feeling like from all the other games that don't get finished *mooo* .... *cought* ecchi sensei, waifu academy, shut up and dance and so on....Man this is a bummer was excpecting some excitment for march...

 

[Zerorox]

So... rework of older episodes instead 24 ep.?
It might be better for new players, but I'm only interested in story progression... Fuck fuck fuck!

 

[BaasB]

Ace gone, Rework old episodes...this game had a great run, time to put this to rest.

Godspeed, Dev.

 

[dudeipoop]

keep clicking ignore in the bottom, it will eventually work

Thank you!

 

[JackMiejov]

I agree with those that think 2 months is very optimistic for

a full script overhaul of ALL of the earlier episodes (removing some scenes, adding some new ones, editing some scenes and extending some scenes) in addition to re-doing all of the art and adding animations

plus the overhead of creating a Steam-specific release and getting it setup on Steam.

However, I also agree with getting the game on Steam sooner than later as a pure business move. For developers with the goal of making money, I just don't understand why they plod along with the Patreon nonsense after they've got their game established, most even lowering their ROI even further by wasting time on special benefits like custom renders and crap for a handful higher-tier patrons.

Anyway, if the game was in danger of being delayed or abandoned due to money and/or burnout, this move seems like a good way to get it back on track, even if it takes 3 or 4 months instead of just 2.

 

[rodney dangerfield]

for the love of me tell me the game will have monica-katie-jenna content

 

[Jericho85]

for the love of me tell me the game will have monica-katie-jenna content

The game has Monica, Katie, and Jenna content.

 

[rodney dangerfield]

The game has Monica, Katie, and Jenna content.

with eachother?

 

[Snugglepuff]

with eachother?

No. This isn't an incest game.

 

[vivaloveyou]

I don't understand why the sudden announcement when we thought episode 24 was about to be released,? So episode 24 will have to wait a few more months? This means that it is impossible to finish episode 25 this year, and I think the real reason for this decision is to consider that finishing and then doing a remake could potentially result in less revenue for patreon, so continue to delay finishing work to launch a remake and let patreon continue to earn steady revenue for more than a year

But, gentlemen, what makes people pessimistic is that most remakes will result in the game going into milking and slowly being abandoned after a year or two of no more patrons, which is a very disappointing decision anyway!

 

[BeingADikDik]

I support whatever the dev feels is best to make this a sustainable endeavor not only for WTHI but also future games. He deserves fair compensation for his work, and if Steam is the best platform then 100% go for it!

Except if I cannot get Jenna and Katie in an absolutely filthy incestuous threesome. Then, it's full-on torches and pitchforks.

 

[JackMiejov]

what makes people pessimistic is that most remakes will result in the game going into milking and slowly being abandoned after a year or two of no more patrons

Thankfully, the people that might actually be affected by milking will already know that this dev pauses patreon when there's no progress being made on the game.