This is blatantly false. The game was never abandoned, the rework was announced in advance and right after a content update, and you'd have to be blind to miss the very significant improvements.
Receipts:
Well, you do have a history of falsely accusing devs of milking or abandoning games, which you do so often that I even started recognizing your name. Same old, same old.
I think the main question with reworking things is whether it is an actual improvement, and if it's worth the time and effort.
For a positive example, DevilsDad has completely reworked the early chapters of MurMur, and it was for the better. Graphics and dialogue have improved, and nothing valuable was lost in the process. What looked like prosthetics now looks like proper human hands, textures and lighting have much more depth, expressions are more natural, and so much more. It took him months to do that, but he let us know in advance. Now he's back on track and his fans are as hyped as they were before.
Then there's the other extreme, with a creator I won't name. His female characters were very sexually forward, but also clumsy in their flirting, which made them relatable in a way that was unique as far as most games go. It was a struggle to keep up with how fast they went, but as they would make themselves vulnerable too, it was a shared struggle that created a strong connection. It was a great story of a bunch of young idiots stumbling through the confusing mess that sex and romance often is, and doing so together.
Then a few people complained that they were too "slutty", and he turned these brave, adorable, and perverted women into calculating, manipulative seductresses that would lead the MC on without taking any risks themselves. The graphics didn't improve visibly (some looked worse), Lewd content was removed, dialogue was hastily patched together in a way that created disappointing setups, and to make matters worse, he never let people on Itch know that he was remaking the old chapters, even leaving up the progress bar for the new chapter. In other words, he spent a lot of extra time to ruin some of the best aspects of his game.
---
So, you've cleared the first hurdle in communicating your plans. It's fine to take the time the game needs to be up to your standards. Do not compromise on quality.
The main hurdle you need to clear is to avoid fixing something that wasn't broken and breaking things in the process. You need to be one hundred percent sure that all the things you remove really are detrimental and that new additions are not making things worse.
For one, make sure you understand every facet of the character you wrote, particularly the ones you wrote by accident. There might be a beautiful side to the character that you didn't see and that is getting destroyed.
Then, and this might be even more important, be very careful not to demonize male libido in an erotic game.
Upskirting is clearly a transgression, but being able to look at breasts without being shamed for having a libido is how it should be, and one of the reasons people play this kind of game when they could use the time dating in reality. Remember to see the MC as a human with feelings, one that your readers will empathize or even identify with.
Frankly, the fact that you unironically used the word "creep", a term commonly used to shame men for having a sexuality even when they do no more than look at what is shown or just dare to exist in the presence of a woman, is a warning signal that you're in a bad mindset for writing erotic content that is enjoyable. That's like writing a black protagonist and talking about fixing his "n**** moments". Define very clearly how what he did was harmful without using sloppy terms like "creepy", and if you have to think about it, consider that maybe there's no need to fix it.
Anyway, I'm wishing you the best on the way ahead, good luck navigating that tightrope.
How did I not see this reply? Anyways, there's a lot to unpack there.
"If you haven't read the full original comment, don't jump to conclusions about why it was removed"
For starters, I did not jump to conclusions. I formed an opinion based on all available information. You can't purposely delete a comment and then act like others are jumping to conclusions for not reading something you actively prevented them from reading.
"Yeah she's pushy at the start and it ends there."
I can't imagine why you would tell such a blatant falsehood. Yes, I only replayed the first few minutes back then, but it's obvious that I would eventually continue playing and see her continued controlling behavior.
She's pushy until she's in control, and then she continues to exert control, but she never stops acting in a controlling manner. Throughout the story, she is constantly playing power games, making the MC do her bidding while denying his desires. She tells him that she'll wait until he's ready to tell her, but then forces him anyway by ambushing and tricking him. She wants to blow him, but won't allow him to touch her afterwards. She makes him eat her, then sends him away blueballed. Those are objectively occurring events in the game, and they aren't the only ones.
"I read and ask for criticism frequently, I believe it is important to hear it if I want to know where I can improve things."
If you seek criticism, you're not doing it visibly. All I see here is censorship and deflection. You couldn't even answer the simple question of why Chris Evans is in the game. I did not call the scene goofy, and I did not ask for a story reason, but asked "What is your beef with Chris Evans?" In other words: Why you would choose to include a real life person in your fantasy game, why would you pick this particular person, and why would you depict a real person with such malice? Why would you break my immersion just to take a jab at someone? All that scene is doing is taking away from your own story and making it about him. It isn't goofy either, it's just blatantly malicious and immersion-breaking. I don't care for your beef with real-life celebrities, I just want to play a game without real-world issues breaking into the illusion. The same goes for the TV screens, by the way. There's no reason I should have to see controversial news lines from Fox and CNN in a game I'm playing for fun.
"I also could have immediately removed this new comment (which lead to a negative review)...."
"I don't think it's a fair move to make when all you get to see is the revised comment..."
His new comment did not lead to my negative review, your censorship did. It is precisely because you took my ability to see the old comment that I took away two of five stars. I literally told you that, so don't pin your own fault on him.
"It was rage and hate laced with occasional moments of actual criticism."
Which is admitting that there was actual criticism that you deleted. Maybe he was choosing strong words, so what. The rage and hate part is just your guess, unless you have a way to telepathically read his feelings. Whether it was you or him that was raging, I can't tell. Of course, I could look at his words to see if your interpretation has merit - if you hadn't deleted them.
"hurling insults at a character in an unhinged manner"
Again, I've seen too many authors get legitimate criticism and mistake it for insults to believe this without seeing the exact criticism in full context.
"diagnosing them with a mental illness they clearly do not have."
That is not as clear as you may think. Let me guess, it was probably something like borderline or narcissism? You see, she is objectively exhibiting behavior patterns that match those of a narcissistic personality disorder. Being manipulative, trying to control every situation, playing power games, not respecting boundaries, giving commands rather than requests... You can look it up yourself, she is checking the boxes.
If her objectively occurring actions match those of a narcissist, it's not an insult to call her one, just fair criticism. Maybe you didn't intend to write her that way, but that is how she's written. Frankly, the more remarkable part is that you don't see her behavior for what it is. How does that seem normal to you?
"In the future, if I delete a comment, I will keep the comment saved somewhere to avoid this exact situation. That way if they come and complain that they were deleted, I can point out the exact quotes that caused the removal and show proof that I wasn't just butthurt that someone criticized my game."
That is not how it works. If you delete a comment that contains criticism and offensive language, and quote the offensive language, then all you have effectively removed is valid criticism, while contradicting the reason for removal by posting it yourself. Besides, once you delete a comment, we have no way of telling whether the quotes are presented in the proper context, and if they were real to begin with. It doesn't give you credibility to hide a person's words from us, and then cherry pick which parts we are allowed to see. It is quite the opposite.
So, let's see what you do with this criticism, and how much of it you will try to frame as insults. Personally, I hope at least some of it is getting through to you.
Are you using an old savegame? I'd guess there probably are no gallery flags to read if it's from before the gallery was implemented.
I'll try to confirm once I get that download through my slow internet connection.
Edit: Confirming that the gallery does work with newly unlocked scenes. A quick replay with autoskip should unlock everything.
I don't quite recall the SFX in 6.1 (good sign?), but my general stance on sound effects is that between bad effects and no effects, the latter is preferable. I remember dropping a game because of the dev just poorly recording himself sucking spit through his teeth and mixing that into the only audio channel. That was not only gross, it was insulting to think the players wouldn't know the difference. The game had other flaws, but that was the final straw.
Just make sure the effects are somewhat realistic, not too exaggerated or gross, and timed properly. Less is more, accuracy matters. Keeping music, voices, and SFX in separate audio channels with their own volume sliders will keep you safe no matter what, so I highly recommend it.
Hmmm... If 0.8 is closing two of three (or more) chapters, I guess we will get to see the 0.10 at some point? Hah, I'm looking forward to see the reaction of those who don't know how version numbers work. Gonna be fun. ^^
In my experience, many creators can't tell the difference between criticism and insult. Many also can't tell the difference between being misunderstood and failing to portray their story as they intended.
I recall just one such case not so long ago, I think it was on a game called "young again", where a commenter pointed out things that were objectively present in the game and told he "misunderstood".
Now, normally, I'd say that the benefit of doubt applies, but deleting the comment tilts the scales in his favor. You don't delete something and slander the person when you can just let the facts disprove it, you delete things when you can't.
Now, speaking objectively, does the MC have to get permission for everything from Melanie, gets ordered around by Melanie, and is humiliated by her? If the answer is yes, then you cannot say that he's misunderstanding.
It's been a while since I played, and I don't even remember which character to put with that name. Which means I'll replay eventually. When i do, and if I find the instances he mentioned objectively present in the game, I'll correct my rating to reflect my disdain for censoring criticism and gaslighting.
P.S.
Okay, it took me about five minutes to replay the beginning and regain my memory. Now, you're both right and wrong. [Edit: I was wrong about this, he's mostly wrong.]
Melanie DOES order him to her room, she IS having trouble respecting his boundaries and pushing him to reveal his business to her. She IS acting in a controlling manner, that's objective fact. What is not true is that she does it all the time, and that she is humiliating him, as far as I recall [Edit: I did not recall correctly, she actually does humiliate him and continues to act in a controlling manner]. Aside from that, she has a very good reason to be that pushy, and she's acting in his interest.
So, he didn't quite misunderstand, he's just more sensitive to certain behavioral patterns than you are. That's what's called a difference in values, leading to a difference in judgment regarding the same objective facts.
As a side note, you'll have to tell me what your beef with Chris Evans is. That scene is so weird and out of place. Why waste narrative space on a negative cameo when it only achieves to make you look petty?
Kinda lost interest after the MC got NTR'd by his dream alter ego and she keeps it a secret from him. It's a bad day when an author puts NTR in the game and gaslights you about it.
Doesn't help that the author doesn't know how to write a sex scene without calling the woman a slut - which is extremely jarring after all that wholesome jazz about bonding souls.
In "common parlance", "literally" means both "literally" and "not literally". "Common parlance" has become a joke of a language used by idiots who don't actually speak English. In English, a cat won't ever be a dog no matter how many confused people use the wrong word.
And no, "vagina" specifically refers to the flesh tunnel between vulva and cervix. A penis is not a scrotum, a vulva is not a vagina. Get some basic sex ed, for fuck's sake.
Yeah, that scene is kind of iffy. I remember it being close to a dealbreaker.
The girls' complete lack of consideration for the consequences he might face is quite offputting and cost them a lot of sympathy. Whether they intentionally put him at risk or just didn't care to think about how their actions might affect him makes little difference, both are revolting.
Even if you ignore the possibility of being mistaken as sex offender, they forcefully exposed him in public against his will. That's sexual assault, along with a number of other offenses. This is made worse by the fact he would not get away with such behavior. I can't really see a way to justify that even if they were to "fess up" about their involvement.
You can't blame him for evaluating the scene based on the events that objectively happen. If anything, you misjudged the severity of that "joke", and did not manage to strike the tone you were trying to. That scene might be worth reevaluating.
Heads up: Steam has the same inane policy, and might arguably be worse.
Just read the old dev logs from... eh, what's it called now... goodbye eternity? The dev has sold the soul of his game to please the steam censors again and again, turned the non-sexualized minor into a romancable adult to avoid the "no kids in 18+" rule, and still got banned in the end.
Now you're losing it. I just need to look at how far the game is, how long it took, and then do the simple math to know that this is going to be a decade-long wait. No idea why you're confusing what I said and what you said.
Well, maybe it has to do with your need to project your faults on me. You flying into a rage and abandoning logic isn't the same as me calmly rebutting your comments.
Either way, the fact remains that after so many years of waiting, with years to come, you can't fault anyone for losing interest, faith or patience. The size of the promised update changes nothing about that. Missing the point won't make it go away.
Ah, yes, expecting people to stick around for a decade is totally not ludicrous, good job countering nothing. And why do you think daily dev notes are real when a dev can sell just the notes for as much as an entire game? The more you try to argue the doubts away, the more doubts you create. The more you try to contradict, the more you confirm.
If anyone is overly invested in internet arguments, it is probably the guy who spammed three half-baked posts in a row and then goes stalking someone's profile before posting another failed reply rather than cut his losses - you.
Do you realize that you're overcompensating right now? Are you trying to convince me, or yourself? And at what point have you actually countered anything I said? In fact, you're just confirming my points one by one.
Besides, never assume how much someone knows. I am no stranger to coding and game design, I know how much work it is, and that's part of the problem, because it's too much for one person to get done in the time most people are willing to stay alert for. So, you will inevitably have people lose faith or interest. That's nobody's fault, except maybe the guy who tries to make an entire game all by himself and ends up taking a decade doing so.
The prologue has been done for years now. Ch1 has supposedly been in the works ever since, but what we see is mostly patches, overhauls, and specials. What makes you so sure it really is going to come?
Even if it is legitimate, the timeframe is ludicrous. How long will the game take until completion if just ch1 is already taking several years?
If we're in for a decade of production time at best and a letdown at worst, is he really wrong to lose faith?
Itch is a bit weird. Each download gives you an expiring access token, and taking too long or losing connection results in getting a "forbidden" response. Chrome does not handle that well.
Just get a dedicated download manager that can update and resume downloads, and re-start the download as often as needed.
Phones these days tend to be at least full HD (1080x1920) or more, and tablets often reach quad or higher. They are also used at point blank range (20-50cm), so the effective size and visible details are no less than on PC or TV, quite the opposite.
What many phones (even new ones) don't have is the processing power to fluidly play heavily compressed animations, because a lot of models skimp on the GPU and the CPU is too busy with rendering the video and running renpy to also decompress the files.
So, I'd recommend to be very careful with compression in the android version.
I took the time to read, and none of your "arguments" even address his criticism. Part is missing the point, part is just your imaginary headcanon, and part is blatant lies.
For example, when he said that he has no problem with glasses, but no one would wear them e.g. in the shower, you called that "hating on glasses". You went on about him being insulting, all while insulting him yourself. There's similar non-sequiturs in all your arguments. And before you ask me to list them: Why would I go to the trouble of addressing your nonsense when you didn't bother to address his valid points?
What you said about "that guy" is true - if "that guy" is you.
This looks amazing. The remake seems well worth waiting for. The reflections on the swimsuit look great, and it adds a lot more depth.
I'm glad that you fixed the death claws, btw. They actually look like human hands now. I know hands are hard to draw/animate, so congrats on that.
Someone needs to teach MC the proper way to hold a knife though. ;P
I think you missed their point. They want the tutorial to be streamlined and focused rather than bloated with dialogue that does not move the tutorial forward.
Above, you have another person with a similar complaint, namely that you're mixing your narrative into the tutorial.
At this point, you should be reflecting on what a tutorial is, and realize that it's better to keep humorous dialogue and character introductions in the story while making the tutorial as concise and short as possible.
Your mental health comes first. If you need to take it slow, there's nothing wrong with that.
Don't worry too much about the players either. Miserable people tend to write miserable stories, so it won't serve anyone if you're forcing yourself to write when you're not feeling it.
Best wishes to you and your mother.
Bug report, paste incoming...
```
I'm sorry, but an uncaught exception occurred.
While running game code:
File "game/n_events.rpy", line 742, in <module>
NameError: name 'Natalie_Path' is not defined
-- Full Traceback ------------------------------------------------------------
Full traceback:
File "n_events.rpyc", line 742, in script
File "renpy/ast.py", line 2131, in execute
File "renpy/python.py", line 1097, in py_eval
File "renpy/python.py", line 1090, in py_eval_bytecode
File "game/n_events.rpy", line 742, in <module>
NameError: name 'Natalie_Path' is not defined
```
