VN Ren'Py WVM [S2 Ch. 1 Ep. 13 B5] [Braindrop]

[lemonfreak]

Yeah I also think mostly option B. I think one main reason that WVM so quickly rose to the top trending games was because BD gave us so many updates so often. That gets of course more recognition on this page by pushing you more often to the front of games that were recently updated, giving you more attention, followers and supporters. There are many, many worthy games on this site that don't get nearly as much attention simply because they "only" update like once a month. Just this regularity can change a lot. But it's of course a lot of pressure on the dev, so burnout like in the case of BD is understandable.

I think we all realise by now that BD never considered the possiblilty that he would be able to build a fanbase this large at all, never mind doing so in under a year. I would like him to set a personal target of 100-150 renders/2-3 animations (more renders=fewer animatioms and vice-versa) per week. He pisses all over that target on a regular basis; sticking to that number would allow him to have future updates banked and, in turn, spend more time shaping the story ahead of time.

 

[Braindrop]

After reading info like this from yet another DEV (he said he worked too much under too high pressure for quality&quantity and need to slow down) I wonder if:
A) DEVs of successful games feel at some point they have enough fans supporting them financially that they can have easier life by slowly working less and providing less and less content, or
B) only DEVs who work too much at the beginning, putting insane amount of work into their game can really shine and gather support of players but eventually just need to work less because you are just a human.
That question always get back to me when I see that declaration from DEVs of popular and financially successful games.

(This is not a direct response to this reply but more so the topic of this reply and some of the things I've read recently)

I think the first issue is trying to take a sensitive topic and mash a large amount of people into two options.
All devs are human and all humans are different.

As someone who has had normal jobs before. (Stocking manager at a grocery store among other things) I can promise you there's so much more to this than just "do the work" like you can with one of those.
Not to take away from those jobs... they were hard but making a game isn't as easy as just doing the physical work.
There's a creative process that is on its own a difficult venture.

I can promise you this isn't "burnout" from the work. The work is the part of this that I love.
It was caused by everything else happening and having to read dumb shit about me constantly that has absolutely no truth to it. I won't repeat it all here but it's no secret I've had some shit luck recently.
Do you have any idea how sickening it is to tell everyone supporting you that you aren't able to deliver on time? Do you guys think as devs we enjoy having to do that?
It's fucking gut wrenching. And every single time it gets worse.

I want to deliver as much as I possibly can for those that believed in me. So I pushed myself hard. Like I said I don't mind the work, I very much love doing it but when shit happens irl weeklies take a hit and then it fucks my mental to have to delay and it was becoming something that was happening constantly and the momentum of it kept building and it was becoming hard to manage.
Then I have to hear from motherfuckers that don't know the first thing about me about how I just have excuses and how I'm milking.

I work from the time I wake up to the time I sleep and I have to constantly hear about "short updates" and all sorts of bullshit.
And then when I finally decide to do something to help myself I have to read about how people don't know if I'm going to turn into a milker or not.

Three things.

1.) Who said the amount of content in the bi-weekly updates would be less? The amount of work will mostly be the same it just removes the stress of if shit goes wrong for a weekly.

2.) I've given this game my all. If you honestly think the guy that solo has put out 5500 renders and many animations in 9 months in Daz. Who has also shown he's committed, who turned off payments the moment he needed a break is going to magically turn into a milker then you really need to readjust how you think because it must be fucking sad to be that cynical.

3.) To those that want to call me a milker: The only milk you'll ever get from me is the kind you can suck straight from my...

For me the best example that i found in this web that show how to do a good game and keep doing that in a long time is Bluecat the creator of ecchi sensei. That game is very popular and succesful, and the creator use part of the money for hire more staf and work more in the game for create more content and better quality in the same time.
But i think in general, they are 75% A and only 25%B. But i can't say yet if braindrop is A or B.

No, the answer is not hire others.
This is a solo project and I have very few skills in managing others.And it's very difficult to find people that can handle my schedule.
And what if they fuck up? There's way too many ifs involved and way too many potential headaches for it to be heavily considered.

 

[CrazyRabbit]

(This is not a direct response to this reply but more so the topic of this reply and some of the things I've read recently)

I think the first issue is trying to take a sensitive topic and mash a large amount of people into two options.
All devs are human and all humans are different.

As someone who has had normal jobs before. (Stocking manager at a grocery store among other things) I can promise you there's so much more to this than just "do the work" like you can with one of those.
Not to take away from those jobs... they were hard but making a game isn't as easy as just doing the physical work.
There's a creative process that is on its own a difficult venture.

I can promise you this isn't "burnout" from the work. The work is the part of this that I love.
It was caused by everything else happening and having to read dumb shit about me constantly that has absolutely no truth to it. I won't repeat it all here but it's no secret I've had some shit luck recently.
Do you have any idea how sickening it is to tell everyone supporting you that you aren't able to deliver on time? Do you guys think as devs we enjoy having to do that?
It's fucking gut wrenching. And every single time it gets worse.

I want to deliver as much as I possibly can for those that believed in me. So I pushed myself hard. Like I said I don't mind the work, I very much love doing it but when shit happens irl weeklies take a hit and then it fucks my mental to have to delay and it was becoming something that was happening constantly and the momentum of it kept building and it was becoming hard to manage.
Then I have to hear from motherfuckers that don't know the first thing about me about how I just have excuses and how I'm milking.

I work from the time I wake up to the time I sleep and I have to constantly hear about "short updates" and all sorts of bullshit.
And then when I finally decide to do something to help myself I have to read about how people don't know if I'm going to turn into a milker or not.

Three things.

1.) Who said the amount of content in the bi-weekly updates would be less? The amount of work will mostly be the same it just removes the stress of if shit goes wrong for a weekly.

2.) I've given this game my all. If you honestly think the guy that solo has put out 5500 renders and many animations in 9 months in Daz. Who has also shown he's committed, who turned off payments the moment he needed a break is going to magically turn into a milker then you really need to readjust how you think because it must be fucking sad to be that cynical.

3.) To those that want to call me a milker: The only milk you'll ever get from me is the kind you can suck straight from my...


No, the answer is not hire others.
This is a solo project and I have very few skills in managing others.And it's very difficult to find people that can handle my schedule.
And what if they fuck up? There's way too many ifs involved and way too many potential headaches for it to be heavily considered.

I know I can't really speak for anyone but me, but seeing the majority of the posts in this threadmakes me say that you shouldn't be that concerned by those who think you'll become a milker or turn out like ICSTOR. I know it's hard but people always complain. An sometimes they love to complain about complaining.

It happens all the time, life throw shit at you and at one point you can't take it anymore and you just have to take some time for yourself. Those who truly love the game and appreciate your efforts and great pace of updates won't mind if you just use your free time to heal and cope with everything going on in your life.

I understand the feeling you have of "failing" your fans by not delivering in time or with enough content ; but we can wait,especially if the dev is as commendable as you. Even if we are patrons ; especially for the patrons I might say.
If you invest money in a game, it also means that you care about it ; so you care about the person doing the job too.

I don't know if what I'm saying is useful or plain stupid or even if i'm getting ahead of myself ; but I wish for your recovery and for all of those who call you a milker or insult you to die horribly between the rumpled thighs of the nurse.

 

[lemonfreak]

(This is not a direct response to this reply but more so the topic of this reply and some of the things I've read recently)

I think the first issue is trying to take a sensitive topic and mash a large amount of people into two options.
All devs are human and all humans are different.

As someone who has had normal jobs before. (Stocking manager at a grocery store among other things) I can promise you there's so much more to this than just "do the work" like you can with one of those.
Not to take away from those jobs... they were hard but making a game isn't as easy as just doing the physical work.
There's a creative process that is on its own a difficult venture.

I can promise you this isn't "burnout" from the work. The work is the part of this that I love.
It was caused by everything else happening and having to read dumb shit about me constantly that has absolutely no truth to it. I won't repeat it all here but it's no secret I've had some shit luck recently.
Do you have any idea how sickening it is to tell everyone supporting you that you aren't able to deliver on time? Do you guys think as devs we enjoy having to do that?
It's fucking gut wrenching. And every single time it gets worse.

I want to deliver as much as I possibly can for those that believed in me. So I pushed myself hard. Like I said I don't mind the work, I very much love doing it but when shit happens irl weeklies take a hit and then it fucks my mental to have to delay and it was becoming something that was happening constantly and the momentum of it kept building and it was becoming hard to manage.
Then I have to hear from motherfuckers that don't know the first thing about me about how I just have excuses and how I'm milking.

I work from the time I wake up to the time I sleep and I have to constantly hear about "short updates" and all sorts of bullshit.
And then when I finally decide to do something to help myself I have to read about how people don't know if I'm going to turn into a milker or not.

Three things.

1.) Who said the amount of content in the bi-weekly updates would be less? The amount of work will mostly be the same it just removes the stress of if shit goes wrong for a weekly.

2.) I've given this game my all. If you honestly think the guy that solo has put out 5500 renders and many animations in 9 months in Daz. Who has also shown he's committed, who turned off payments the moment he needed a break is going to magically turn into a milker then you really need to readjust how you think because it must be fucking sad to be that cynical.

3.) To those that want to call me a milker: The only milk you'll ever get from me is the kind you can suck straight from my...


No, the answer is not hire others.
This is a solo project and I have very few skills in managing others.And it's very difficult to find people that can handle my schedule.
And what if they fuck up? There's way too many ifs involved and way too many potential headaches for it to be heavily considered.

Since none of what you said is in this post is a responce to my last post you should feel free to tell me to go fuck myself but, nevertheless, I wish to reiterite my desire to see you set a limit to the number of renders/animations per release (be that weekly, bi-weekly, monthly or, Saturn forbid, annually). That would allow you to get ahead and have content banked for those times when life fucks you in the arse (without lube, obviously)

 

[Krynh]

The amount of people that keep accusing BD of milking his patrons.. I just wish they'd do it elsewhere and leave this thread for game discussion/theorising.

 

[Avaron1974]

Who called him a milker?

I haven't seen anyone who's opinion I give a shit about say it.

 

[Englen]

Im guessing its mostly people who do it through Patreon and Discord PMs. He shared some pretty messed up messages he has gotten on Discord a while back.

 

[Hordragg]

(This is not a direct response to this reply but more so the topic of this reply and some of the things I've read recently)

I think the first issue is trying to take a sensitive topic and mash a large amount of people into two options.
All devs are human and all humans are different.

As someone who has had normal jobs before. (Stocking manager at a grocery store among other things) I can promise you there's so much more to this than just "do the work" like you can with one of those.
Not to take away from those jobs... they were hard but making a game isn't as easy as just doing the physical work.
There's a creative process that is on its own a difficult venture.

I can promise you this isn't "burnout" from the work. The work is the part of this that I love.
It was caused by everything else happening and having to read dumb shit about me constantly that has absolutely no truth to it. I won't repeat it all here but it's no secret I've had some shit luck recently.
Do you have any idea how sickening it is to tell everyone supporting you that you aren't able to deliver on time? Do you guys think as devs we enjoy having to do that?
It's fucking gut wrenching. And every single time it gets worse.

I want to deliver as much as I possibly can for those that believed in me. So I pushed myself hard. Like I said I don't mind the work, I very much love doing it but when shit happens irl weeklies take a hit and then it fucks my mental to have to delay and it was becoming something that was happening constantly and the momentum of it kept building and it was becoming hard to manage.
Then I have to hear from motherfuckers that don't know the first thing about me about how I just have excuses and how I'm milking.

I work from the time I wake up to the time I sleep and I have to constantly hear about "short updates" and all sorts of bullshit.
And then when I finally decide to do something to help myself I have to read about how people don't know if I'm going to turn into a milker or not.

Three things.

1.) Who said the amount of content in the bi-weekly updates would be less? The amount of work will mostly be the same it just removes the stress of if shit goes wrong for a weekly.

2.) I've given this game my all. If you honestly think the guy that solo has put out 5500 renders and many animations in 9 months in Daz. Who has also shown he's committed, who turned off payments the moment he needed a break is going to magically turn into a milker then you really need to readjust how you think because it must be fucking sad to be that cynical.

3.) To those that want to call me a milker: The only milk you'll ever get from me is the kind you can suck straight from my...


No, the answer is not hire others.
This is a solo project and I have very few skills in managing others.And it's very difficult to find people that can handle my schedule.
And what if they fuck up? There's way too many ifs involved and way too many potential headaches for it to be heavily considered.

Try not to let them get to you. You're doing impressive work on a schedule most couldn't follow even if their life depended on it. You rock!

But there's one thing I feel you may want to change: try making time to do something for your sole enjoyment. Trying to be successful at my job, to be a good parent, heck, just trying to be always there for my little ones giving my all... It's the time I've set aside just for me that's keeping me in one piece. It may be just the thing for you, too.

Edit: spelling

 

[lemonfreak]

Who called him a milker?

I haven't seen anyone who's opinion I give a shit about say it.

I have no doubt that idiots have said idiotic things, the fact is, as you clearly know, BD has gone above and beyond in delivering content to his patrons and pirate-scum fans despite personal issues that would emotionally cripple most devs. That he wants to take a break (for which he is willing to forgo his monthly income) is to be entirely commended; I realise you know this which is why this reply to your post is actually aimed at the people who bitch and moan about not recieving 1000 renders, 25 animations and 15 (they are too ignorant to read more than that) sentences every week

 

[Deleted member 158605]

(This is not a direct response to this reply but more so the topic of this reply and some of the things I've read recently)

I think the first issue is trying to take a sensitive topic and mash a large amount of people into two options.
All devs are human and all humans are different.

As someone who has had normal jobs before. (Stocking manager at a grocery store among other things) I can promise you there's so much more to this than just "do the work" like you can with one of those.
Not to take away from those jobs... they were hard but making a game isn't as easy as just doing the physical work.
There's a creative process that is on its own a difficult venture.

I can promise you this isn't "burnout" from the work. The work is the part of this that I love.
It was caused by everything else happening and having to read dumb shit about me constantly that has absolutely no truth to it. I won't repeat it all here but it's no secret I've had some shit luck recently.
Do you have any idea how sickening it is to tell everyone supporting you that you aren't able to deliver on time? Do you guys think as devs we enjoy having to do that?
It's fucking gut wrenching. And every single time it gets worse.

I want to deliver as much as I possibly can for those that believed in me. So I pushed myself hard. Like I said I don't mind the work, I very much love doing it but when shit happens irl weeklies take a hit and then it fucks my mental to have to delay and it was becoming something that was happening constantly and the momentum of it kept building and it was becoming hard to manage.
Then I have to hear from motherfuckers that don't know the first thing about me about how I just have excuses and how I'm milking.

I work from the time I wake up to the time I sleep and I have to constantly hear about "short updates" and all sorts of bullshit.
And then when I finally decide to do something to help myself I have to read about how people don't know if I'm going to turn into a milker or not.

Three things.

1.) Who said the amount of content in the bi-weekly updates would be less? The amount of work will mostly be the same it just removes the stress of if shit goes wrong for a weekly.

2.) I've given this game my all. If you honestly think the guy that solo has put out 5500 renders and many animations in 9 months in Daz. Who has also shown he's committed, who turned off payments the moment he needed a break is going to magically turn into a milker then you really need to readjust how you think because it must be fucking sad to be that cynical.

3.) To those that want to call me a milker: The only milk you'll ever get from me is the kind you can suck straight from my...


No, the answer is not hire others.
This is a solo project and I have very few skills in managing others.And it's very difficult to find people that can handle my schedule.
And what if they fuck up? There's way too many ifs involved and way too many potential headaches for it to be heavily considered.

Braindrop, one thing I would recommend. There is a you tuber that goes by Survival Lilly, She is a veteran you tuber and she has a video about becoming a you tuber. In that video she has some very good advice about how to deal long term with reading comments, she talks mainly about the inevitable negative comments that start coming after you start to post and start getting some success. I know this is not the whole of the problem that puts strain on you, but the negative side can start to bring any body down. You ought to look it up. Just remember you have a ton of followers that have your back, and love your work. You are very talented, and you seem to have a strong sense of honor, like I have said in a previous post, nobody can be all things to all people. One thing I have noticed recently is a large influx of newbies, and a lot (not all) of the negative posts seem to be coming from them. If they are not happy with the situation, there are other games they can mess with, nobody is twisting their arm to stick around. Frankly I'm getting tired of seeing the negative crap that a handful of people are spewing, these are the type of people that are never going to be pleased. Nobody is forcing anybody to donate or play your VN, and I really have to question if any of the people that are making negative comments are even or will ever be donors to anybody. Piss on the negative people, if you went two months without an update, that would just make you about average. So don't feel like you have to justify yourself to everybody that makes a negative post. That's my thoughts, ignore the negative and look at all the positive. You wouldn't have so many people standing up for against the crybabies on this thread if you weren't already doing such a good job. Hope this helps!

 

[LewdGameGuy]

(This is not a direct response to this reply but more so the topic of this reply and some of the things I've read recently)

I think the first issue is trying to take a sensitive topic and mash a large amount of people into two options.
All devs are human and all humans are different.

As someone who has had normal jobs before. (Stocking manager at a grocery store among other things) I can promise you there's so much more to this than just "do the work" like you can with one of those.
Not to take away from those jobs... they were hard but making a game isn't as easy as just doing the physical work.
There's a creative process that is on its own a difficult venture.

I can promise you this isn't "burnout" from the work. The work is the part of this that I love.
It was caused by everything else happening and having to read dumb shit about me constantly that has absolutely no truth to it. I won't repeat it all here but it's no secret I've had some shit luck recently.
Do you have any idea how sickening it is to tell everyone supporting you that you aren't able to deliver on time? Do you guys think as devs we enjoy having to do that?
It's fucking gut wrenching. And every single time it gets worse.

I want to deliver as much as I possibly can for those that believed in me. So I pushed myself hard. Like I said I don't mind the work, I very much love doing it but when shit happens irl weeklies take a hit and then it fucks my mental to have to delay and it was becoming something that was happening constantly and the momentum of it kept building and it was becoming hard to manage.
Then I have to hear from motherfuckers that don't know the first thing about me about how I just have excuses and how I'm milking.

I work from the time I wake up to the time I sleep and I have to constantly hear about "short updates" and all sorts of bullshit.
And then when I finally decide to do something to help myself I have to read about how people don't know if I'm going to turn into a milker or not.

Three things.

1.) Who said the amount of content in the bi-weekly updates would be less? The amount of work will mostly be the same it just removes the stress of if shit goes wrong for a weekly.

2.) I've given this game my all. If you honestly think the guy that solo has put out 5500 renders and many animations in 9 months in Daz. Who has also shown he's committed, who turned off payments the moment he needed a break is going to magically turn into a milker then you really need to readjust how you think because it must be fucking sad to be that cynical.

3.) To those that want to call me a milker: The only milk you'll ever get from me is the kind you can suck straight from my...


No, the answer is not hire others.
This is a solo project and I have very few skills in managing others.And it's very difficult to find people that can handle my schedule.
And what if they fuck up? There's way too many ifs involved and way too many potential headaches for it to be heavily considered.

I know I speak for the majority of us (whether it seems so or not) when I say this. Your game is fantastic and for this being your first VN (which not to mention entails learning Ren'Py, DAZ, acquiring the mountain of assets required to make the game, and more), I'm completely blown away. Personally, I've read a lot of VN's on this website over the past years, and every time I've found myself sort of skipping through dialogue and scenes just waiting for something to happen. But, this game is different for me, I've really been pulled into the story and have spent time playing out each and every decision you're presented with in the game. I'm not much of a reader myself, but when I play your VN, I really do enjoy every moment I spend interacting with it.

On another note, I've dabbled a bit in the VN world myself, never released anything, but I did try to get into it. For anyone wondering, it is in no way easy at all. Like BD stated, typical labor jobs can be tiring, but you always know what the next day is going to bring. Working on a VN is so much different. There are a lot of variables that come into play when working and if they don't all pan out, a whole new layer of difficulty can be introduced. It's not like this for all devs, but for BD, I imagine there's brainstorming, planning, writing, revising, checking asset availability, re-revising, posing, rendering, some more posing, some more rendering, coding, debugging, testing, and I'm sure much more. See where this is going?

It's easy to see how after all that hard work, receiving negative feedback (no matter how small), can cut deep into your mental state. I would say, "Well that's just how the real world is. Dicks are gonna be Dicks," but that would be extremely dishonest of me because, be it true or not, I don't know what it's like to be in BD's shoes. And personally, if I was, I think I would have failed long ago. So the fact that he's able to maintain the work ethic he has and produce work of this quality truly is a testament to his ability. Not to mention it takes true character to be able to pause billing due to missed deadlines and speak openly about your troubles to everyone.

And not to get all mushy (this is a porn game website after all), but BD, we truly do appreciate all that you do and just know that however many negative comments you get, they will always be outnumbered by the overwhelming amount of folks who support you and all of your decisions. Please take care.

 

[MysteryCrabs]

set a limit to the number of renders/animations per release

I don't think that will accomplish what you expect. Not every render is the same in complexity, not every scene needs the same number of renders to convey the necessary information, not everything needs to be completely newly built and sometimes earlier work can speed up later work. My point is, with a set render target you still end up with wildly different workloads. It's not a good metric to use.

 

[treyW77]

Braindrop --- Please do not let the trolls fire you up cause while i agree with what your said giving them your time venting about them is exactly what they want from you. They want to try and bring you down to there level so just ignore them and do what you need to do to get right so you can return to doing what you love to do.

The people who support you on your Pat page and even those that cannot and do so via this forum are who you should TRY and lean on and listen too. All we want for you or at least what i think is get yourself in the right frame of mind come back and crank out your game just do it at a pace that will not cause a repeat of the past few months.

Thank you Brain and stay healthy we all Love you and your work.

 

[xtr3mx7]

Wow, it's been week I haven't been following this thread and today, it's just blatantly some people here really do take things for granted as if they are supporting Braindrop and keep asking for things. I bet those really supporting him, does not complain that much as those freeloaders.

Anyhow, I didn't come here to blame or point fingers but to give Braindrop a piece of advice which is to take everything as a pinch of salt. We all know how human being are ungrateful and greedy brats, especially those spoiled one who hides themselves behind a screen all day without really the human touch. They dare to post negative comments because they feel they have the power to do so but can't even tell you face to face in reality.

I know that it will take on your mental health but mate, really whenever you see negativity, leave it alone and focus on all the positive. That's how I deal with negative people and we all know negative people are mostly toxic and I've learn from John Maxwell that we shouldn't care about them and get rid of them.

Well since most of them are here posting negative comments and you can't get rid of them, just a scan on their post and you should know the personality of that person and just skip through the whole post and leave it.

I wish Braindrop well and hopefully start to ignore these person and carry on doing what you love to do at your own pace.

I personally love WVM and what you did with it, it's a very different game unlike others.

 

[aaachris]

All on a sudden you cant put updates out and people blames you of milking and you cry incorrigible sht with no substance. If you cant do the work, just leave a simple sentence "on hiatus". Everyone got problems, just let everyone know you dont expect to get any work done in a few months. Clarity is the essence.

 

[xtr3mx7]

I believe in freedom of speech but when people start to add negativity on top of it, nah, that's no longer freedom of speech and entitle to their own opinion, that's purely and simple harassment and @moderators here should start doing their work enforcing rules.

I have seen too many similar scenarios where many Devs got fed up and leave the scene because of some stupid comments.

 

[✝Fenrir✝]

I stay out for a few hours and people come with an avalanche of texts... Shit just got serious

 

[Touroc]

Braindrop, this is one of the few games I look forward to the updates on. If people are giving you hell about the game like you said on your patron &^$&^% them. You're doing a great job, keep it up and do it YOUR way.

 

[Uncle Loco]

I have been trying to stay away from some of the negative posts lately, and was really hoping BD would not log on and see them. Just a reminder to everyone this site has an ignore button,I find it helps to get rid of the negativity pretty quickly. Sure it doesn't solve the problem it just brushes it under the rug.

On a side note this was one of the best comments I read here in a while I am still laughing about it.

3.) To those that want to call me a milker: The only milk you'll ever get from me is the kind you can suck straight from my...

Keep focusing on your health and well being man. Those of us who actually care about you and your game can wait until you are ready to share it with us on your time.

 

[ReDragonInc]

I might just be repeating a question, but did Rachael get an overhaul on her looks?