But if the game gets booted despite having only consensual adult scenes, I'm afraid I have no solution. I'll simply have to pack my bags and leave. I sincerely hope it doesn't come down to that.
From my knowledge and Patreon being Patreon, it could happen. Some of the devs have a plan B, some of them are on Subscribestar and so on. But with every platform and their terms and conditions, if they are too unspecific and you are in the gray, all shit can happen.
This is the writer of Zia, here to address some of the concerns regarding the latest update of the game, and share a few more important details.
Please feel free to jump directly to points 3 & 4, if you already like the game.
---
1. The waiting period is too long / the update is short.
I'm sincerely sorry, but Sarnko (The artist) and I really are trying our best to work efficiently within the limitations of our personal & professional lives.
I don't want to bore you with the details of my sad life, but just know that nobody wants bigger updates at a faster schedule than us.
Unfortunately, this is just the speed in which we can deliver the updates right now. And we're in no way trying to deliberately delay the releases.
We had also properly informed our patrons about the increased development time months ago. And only after they voted for it, did we choose this longer release schedule.
2. The straight erotic content isn't as promininent as the lesbian content
The only reason this has happened is due to the fact that Conner has been the primary partner for the straight route.
Unlike Nina, a childhood friend she already shares a strong bond with, Conner is a stranger who needed the time to build the connection with her.
Additionally, unlike Gloria or Nick, who is sexually open and romantically forward, Conner is more straight-laced and slightly reserved. So, he doesn't take any giant initiatives by himself.
So, I'm sorry if my promise about the straight content in 0.5 didn't meet your expectations, but I genuinely believed that officially kicking off Conner’s relationship with Zia was a milestone event. But I've come to realize that for anyone expecting full-on sexual content, it could have been a disappointing update.
IF you can give this game another chance, I'd humbly request you to stay with us just for one more update... as
3. For anyone who wants a good female-female romance, I personally think the Nina route is at its finest with this update. So, I highly recommend checking it out.
4. Lastly, about the overall story of Zia,
While the game will work perfectly fine (as a stand-alone experience) on any of the routes, I've carefully split some interesting information about the world and the characters across each route.
And so, those who try all the routes are bound to have a lot more info (and hopefully fun).
With 0.6 coming up, we're also entering the second half of Season One. (Which, judging by the financial performance, will also be the last & only Season.)
So, you can expect the big mysteries to gradually unravel from hereon.
Just to clarify, ending at Season One DOES NOT mean the game is going to be cut short.
Right from the very beginning, the plan was to tell a stand-alone story with season one, and if it does well, the story will be expanded into seasons two & three.
So, if anyone's worried about that, then rest easy. Season one will have a proper ending to the story.
---
That's everything I can share as of now. I'll drop by once in a while to answer any other doubts or concerns anyone. But for now, this is goodbye.
P.S: To those who liked the game so far, but are unable to (or don't wish to) support it financially...
Kindly consider leaving a review, or even sharing a comment about what you liked about Zia, as it'll really help us not just in promoting the game, but most importantly in keeping us motivated.
Whoa, there has been a lot of activity (and negativity) on this game lately. We have to do better, F95.
I'm sad to see that, because from what I can tell Arisushi (together with Sarnko) is passionate about her product and all the negative energy is harming far more than it is doing good. Arisushi, I commented on ONS a few months ago and I wanted to wait to give this game a proper try. Seeing your messages last week, I thought now would be a good time as any.
I'm going to offer three things - some heartfelt words for Arisushi, my 'review' for Ziv 0.5 and a small list of ideas that could potentially help improve the product. For the developer, feel free to toss any of these three aside as my only goal with writing this is supporting your cause. Forget anything that doesn't support it.
TL;DR: Go play this game, it's a delicate and sometimes silly but fun story.
We can only admire the time, love and energy you put into responding here on F95. It takes away from development time and seems to also cause stress for you, so again I am thankful you are taking time out to address all these things personally while we don’t make you any money that you can reinvest into the game.
In all honesty this thread read like a splinter in my toe because you need to defend choices or explaining yourself most of the time. I hate that F95 berates you for choices your clearly made and stand on, while they could have easily just accepted it and move away from the product. It would have saved time and energy. Now I should probably believe these people are to the best of their ability trying to tell you how your product could cater to their demographic. But that doesn’t mean it needs to cater to it. It’s okay to say no. It’s okay to do it for you. I just wanted to put that energy out there.
Now on the other hand, (monetary) support probably comes from people who like what they see or support an idea which your product stands for. Although I don’t agree on the way it was said, a previous user did remark on how the game was branded. I personally think Zia could be branded stronger so that the audience better knows what to expect. It might also mean you’re leaving out a large group of people, as it seems Zia thrives on a more delicate, sensitive energy and this particular forum seems to be anything but that. You would cater to a niche, but be super upfront in the kind of story you are telling.
From what I could gather in responses I have seen and you have given to me about ONS, you are extremely passionate about your work and you want this to work for a bigger audience. I sincerely hope it does, but more importantly I hope you can still find joy in developing a story you felt needed to come to life. As hard as it is, please don’t let all the petty squabbles of tags, framing and unrealistic expectations get in the way of your joy for game development. F95 pays you nothing, you owe us nothing. I don’t care how many people try to say otherwise - filter out the information that will actually help you create a better product and leave the rest to the side.
Thank you very much for the kind words of support, the review, and taking the time to share your thoughts on the game in such detail. (It really means a lot to me.)
I'll do my best to improve the experience wherever I can, while also staying true to the story.
So, when all is said and done, I hope most of the stuff in the game will genuinely feel important and worthwhile.
(And everyone, who stays with Zia till the very end, gets the satisfaction of having played a solid visual novel made with a lot of passion and effort.)
Thank you very much for the kind words of support, the review, and taking the time to share your thoughts on the game in such detail. (It really means a lot to me.)
I'll do my best to improve the experience wherever I can, while also staying true to the story.
So, when all is said and done, I hope most of the stuff in the game will genuinely feel important and worthwhile.
(And everyone, who stays with Zia till the very end, gets the satisfaction of having played a solid visual novel made with a lot of passion and effort.)
Thank you for your response. It helps to know you planned the entire ride out, as I suspected while writing my review. You write your dialog far too well to not have a good grasp on who Zia is, so my main question was really why it wasn't communicated. If you have a storybound reason for slowly unraveling what is going on, I'm totally with it. I'm guessing there are a few people out there who are happy to know what you're creating is deliberate to that degree. I just have to be patient and play the experience when the first season is complete. Take as long as you need, you'll see me when the time is right.
I look forward to playing your full season and updating the review. Good luck!
Thank you for your response. It helps to know you planned the entire ride out, as I suspected while writing my review. You write your dialog far too well to not have a good grasp on who Zia is, so my main question was really why it wasn't communicated. If you have a storybound reason for slowly unraveling what is going on, I'm totally with it. I'm guessing there are a few people out there who are happy to know what you're creating is deliberate to that degree. I just have to be patient and play the experience when the first season is complete. Take as long as you need, you'll see me when the time is right.
I look forward to playing your full season and updating the review. Good luck!
There is one more "proper romance" route starting in 0.6.
While the no partner route will have an optional erotic scene with a new character in 0.6.
(I haven't made up my mind on this one yet, but) I might add one last story branch close to 0.8 or 0.9. That depends entirely on whether the game picks up any new patrons or not.
Thank you for your response. It helps to know you planned the entire ride out, as I suspected while writing my review. You write your dialog far too well to not have a good grasp on who Zia is, so my main question was really why it wasn't communicated. If you have a storybound reason for slowly unraveling what is going on, I'm totally with it. I'm guessing there are a few people out there who are happy to know what you're creating is deliberate to that degree. I just have to be patient and play the experience when the first season is complete. Take as long as you need, you'll see me when the time is right.
I look forward to playing your full season and updating the review. Good luck!
I fully agree with that.
I had a problem with the amount of content we got after a seemingly long wait and the choices seemed to have little to no effect.
Not the story itself.
(I haven't made up my mind on this one yet, but) I might add one last story branch close to 0.8 or 0.9. That depends entirely on whether the game picks up any new patrons or not.
I fully agree with that.
I had a problem with the amount of content we got after a seemingly long wait and the choices seemed to have little to no effect.
Not the story itself.
I would, but I hate that place with a passion. And I'm not alone in that sentiment.
If you'd make an account on subscribestar on the other hand ...
I would try to have as many different way for earning money as possible. Doesn't mean that its benefit outways the invest, but it does mean if you e.g. have Steam, GOG, Itch, Patreon and Subscribestar and perhaps others as well, if Patreon decided to close your account - or any other for that matter - you still have the others and not all your (possible) income depend on one company.
I don't know what my partner's regional policies are with regards to steam and itch, and whether he can make it happen. (Because I certainly can't at the moment.)
But I'll be sure to share the idea with him. And hopefully, we're able to explore at least some of these options.
A very nice update on Nina's path. Everything was lovely. I'm rather worried about Zia's secret and I hope their love will overcome any obstacle. Congratulations to the developper(s)!
A very nice update on Nina's path. Everything was lovely. I'm rather worried about Zia's secret and I hope their love will overcome any obstacle. Congratulations to the developper(s)!
