Quick question concerning the story how/where can I cut the ropes when I'm in that old factory/building I tried every possible way or at least I guess so and love the game btw but haven't been able to play I through yet.
I am, yes. The 0.4.3 .zip doesn't have a bash script (the .sh file) to launch it. I tried copying over the bash script from the 0.3 version but the errors seemed to be caused by some missing libraries.
I don't think Itch recognizes it as Linux compatible either as the windows versions that are compatible have the Linux penguin icon, and the new version does not.
Click on the heart icon in the UI and hover over the girls photo. You will see hints on how to progress individual girls storylines. You need to progress Mia storyline to increase lust. Have fun!
It says u have no way to increase at the moment. U need to continue her storyline and there will be an event that increases her lust. Just follow the hint system ;) U get some fun time with Mia!
Could I get some help for how to max out rapport, intimacy, and liberation for Beatrice on the couch? I haven't unlocked any abilities after getting her naked. I go snuggle, movie, snuggle, movie, strip, strip, snuggle. Intimacy always comes up just a little short.
On Android can't read what the prompts are when asked to type on the keyboard as it covers everything maybe move the textbox to the top of the screen when needed
Oh just remembered something else! As cool as the easter egg is. You gotta remove the musician. You WILL get sued. Maybe not today maybe not tomorrow maybe not even this year but it absolutely positively will happen. Working in the entertainment industry you quickly learn that an artist often doesn't have the rights to what you think they do. Labels own the music, the brand, the style, the persona all of it. The artist owns the rights to their songs once out of contract if stipulated in the contract. But their "likeness" is usually owned by the label itself. And if they want it to be "family friendly" as they do. They WILL sue you. Even if you have the artists permission they will still sue you it just isn't worth it unfortunately. You could make it look kind of like them. Make a fake famous musician but ya it's not worth the risk.
If it makes you feel any better when the Neopets website first started they had a pet called Macy Gray. They weren't even hiding it was just straight up Macy Gray. No idea if they had permission or not but it was promptly removed. They also had a guy named Bruce who just looked like a Butler and they changed him to a penguin but ya. However cool having that musician is it just isn't worth the headache it WILL cause you.
And i actually completely forgot I have a personal experience regarding this. My cousin is a film director mostly short little films. He and his friends made a great short film about a guy having an absolutely terrible day in black and white and the joke is that the song "What a wonderful kind of day" is playing in the background. He was getting ready to submit it to a festival and then. He got a cease and desist from the estate of Marvin Gaye I guess the melody of the tune was too similar? He had to remove the music and since the video was directly in reference TO the music the film was completely useless. There is no "alternate music" to use. He need looked up copyright laws he was very careful of what he did and didn't use and how much and how often. It was an automated strike from the melody itself from the record label/estate. This is an extreme situation but your game could end up being REMOVED just because of that one character. OR even worse they could demand payment from you for using the musician. For someone who looks like its a 5 second kinda cool easter egg. Just not worth it.
Thx for your detailed Shira! Realy happy you liked it. And also thx for letting me know about the issues you mentioned. I will change some things next update.
Holy shit! I don't say this lightly you made a great game. I don't even mean the sex aspect I just mean in general. The story is phenomenal I say this as a writer. I do have notes a ton of them but only because you are damn close to making one of the best visual novels I have ever played which is a nigh impossible task usually for a non-japanese visual novel.
One of the only gripes I have I doubt will be an issue as you add more to the game. You end up having to "rest" quite often in between events.
In the warehouse when you have to sneak? I don't know if it was a bug or I just sucked at it but it seemed like the first guy turned around too quick (I know who it is I am just trying to give tips as vaguely as I possibly can as your story is just so damn good.
There are many instances in the game where the screen goes to black and a message pops up that says something like "not available in this update under development etc" This is a great indicator to let players know that though that is unavailable currently it is on the way. However there are plenty of instances where this is clearly the case and no indicator appears.
In a perfect world you wouldn't have to do anything to change it. However there are going to be players that think the game glitched or has some kind of bug. Most people will initially think there is an issue and then realize otherwise but there will be enough that you may be answering a lot of bug feedback that you don't need to. Or maybe it is to far in development to change it in which case ignore this minor gripe.
One example is after a certain woman says you can "stop by anytime" when you go there as indicated absolutely nothing happens. it is clear that this is the end of her content but no message pops up. Since there are instances in which you can "mouseover to highlight" something else in a scene I could see people thinking there is something they are supposed to "find" in said scene in order to interact further with her I too was thrown off for a few seconds looking for some kind of mouseover for speaking. Only for a few seconds I have alpha and beta tested plenty of games of all genres over the years but I then stayed in the room to see how "easy" it was for players to understand there was nothing further to do and it isn't straightforward enough.
This is handled better with an electronic salesman who outright tells you he is too busy to talk right now. This lets the player know no further action is available at this time BUT it doesn't OUTRIGHT tell the player it leaves them to wonder what is next. This is a better way to handle the barista and the woman at her house in question.
The fight minigame needs a little more polish. Most of your UI is pretty great the only exception I can find to this is your stats menu and the fight minigame. The quality is inconsistent with the rest of your interface Maps/Phone/Rooms/Investigation/Inventory etc are all great.
I am not sure how randomized your jan ken pon like system of fighting is. I feel like intelligence should affect it. This seems to be dialogue cut based for the most part but I don't mind it being randomish as long as it isn't 5 or 6 or 7 or 8 sequences in a row like that one encounter was. it is clear this is something you are already working on as in one much later encounter you and your enemy both have health bars. The one at your house though? (Which is done so well as is that one scene in the rain.
I love that you influenced by Illusion games (several scenes directly show this and I can tell it is going to be much much much more so as the game progresses) as well as Detective Conan! In the instance of the Illusion inspiration though there are two scenes in the game that are VERY severe as they absolutely should be as the fit the theme of this game but after they happen and after a dialogue comes up outright telling you in so many words their will be repercussions it is NEVER mentioned again. PRETTY DAMN important to the story but maybe this is just a plot thread you haven't full developed yet. Speaking of which I have some bad news that you may or may not have already been aware of.
I think your game is absolutely awesome so far I expected to get a few hours at the most out of this demo and I experienced well over 10 hours (maybe even more than that!! worth of content) To rip the bandaid off though.
There is no way in hell they are going to let you sell this on steam. You made a great game but it is far more twisted than what they allow in regards to certain scenes and I am not the type of guy to say "well all you have to do is edit this and you could release it" There are games on steam that were given the greenlight and have since been edited to stay there or were removed after testers PLAYED the game and found scene A or character B or Plot C that they felt took things way to far. Your game reminds me of a specific illusion game that was banned in the US and is why it was almost impossible to get an illusion game stateside. Your game has a MUCH better plot! You and I both know the game I am talking about but I won't mention it as your story is so damn good I really don't want to spoil even a modicum of information for players. so you have itch.io you have patreon and hopefully plenty of other sources as though Steam allows adult games now they keep waffling back in forth on WHAT they allow and they have outright stated they won't allow even the tamest of some things your game has so far that seem central to the entirety of your game.
I would love to continue to play your game as each update comes along but I don't think I will because I am paranoid that as you add more and more to the game there will come a point where my save will be incompatible. I love the game but it is over 10 hours so far. I can't imagine playing any game over and over and over again as it develops no matter how good it is. This is ok because it means you are taking the time to make something truly magnificent. its a damn shame there is the stigma of a non japanese visual novel not being "good enough" your plot is good enough that if it was a visual novel from Japan you would probably get a hentai adaptation explicit comics the whole nine yards. It makes me think you are some well known published author or screenwriter who is doing this as your true deep dark passion. It makes me think you are either from Europe or the US and desperately wanted to work on visual novels in Japan but do the their apprehension of foreigners infringing on their creative mediums it is almost impossible to get in there (have several friends who want to do the same are artists and can't even get their foot in the door. Japan has a lot of national pride especially in their entertainment medium. You can guest star but you can't BE a major player. So you branched out on your own and made a damn good game with your team. I see nothing but a bright future for you and am truly amazed by what you have accomplished here.
This also doesn't look like it is going to be finished anytime soon. I have never ever supported anyone on patreon and I have only contributed to a handful of kickstarters but I really believe in what you are creating here so I WILL contribute. Not yet I don't really have the funds right this moment but I am just blown away by the quality here so credit where credit is due. If I still reviewed games I would ask to interview you and put it as a damn featured article that is how good your game is. This isn't brownnosing I never give a compliment that isn't deserved. I thought I was going to play an hour long game with "bewbs" and that would be it. I spent every waking moment of the last two three days of freetime I had playing your game. Initially I was going to complain about no dialog for the female characters now I don't even care. You do need a hell of a lot more moaning sfx though. Those DO need to be everywhere in the game. So you do need VA for SFX and Foley for sexual sounds. You also need to proofread some of the dialogue I think I already read a book and halfs worth of dialogue so I wouldn't know where to begin with what or where but you have a great game here and you could make it a damn masterpiece with more polish which I know is something you plan on doing already with the amount of work you put in. I also saw something about this being version 0.43 and someone complaining i n the comments about how this was inaccurate as it can't possibly be half finished. I looked on your patreon page and found the game is 5% complete!!?!?!? How the hell are you doing this?
As great as the game is I can't play it over and over and over again. I genuinely think this is a project you are going to be working on for several years adding a chapter or two every few months and I can't wait to experience it I know alot of people get pissed off about games being anthologies but I think you could get away with it here. Especially if each game takes you three years to make. If you are really only 5% complete it looks like your game will rival the length of some of the longest most well known visual novels out there. You could very well set a precedent (along with Dr. Pinkcake who is also very good) That a visual novel doesn't have to come from Japan to be amazing. We already know that but the industry at large needs to know that for your credibility to truly skyrocket. As soon as I am able to I will start donating to your patreon (I am one of those assholes who paid nothing for the game but that is DEFINITELY not the case going forward) I probably will play your game only every 6 months or so unless there is some way to retain the save files. I feel very fortunate I was able to play as much as I could as quickly as I could I expect every 3 to 6 months you will add another hour or so worth of content and hope that OH!!!!
I KNOW HOW PEOPLE CAN KEEP THEIR SAVES I JUST REMEMBERED?!?!?! I have seen games do this before. Use a password system! kind of like what Mass Effect 2 and 3 did where they ask you questions of choices you made but your game has SOOOOOO many damn choices and options you would need probably about 30 different passwords for save states. Which trait a player started with, which sidequests were completed, current status of women, depravity or innocence level.
Seriously though I am sure it is on its way but there needs to be dialogue and interactions in reaction to those two scenes we both know I am talking about the people they happen to there is no way they wouldn't treat you differently. Positive or negative have to win their trust back. Be investigated yourself? Honestly I like your game enough that I wouldn't mind giving you some character development/dialog/plot info. Also something I have never offered to anyone. I am a wannabe writer who is unfortunately a professional procrastinator but if it is just a matter of something like phrasing a line more creatively that is written generic currently? or ideas of repercussions? I am your guy. Let me know.
Yes buds. WAnted to change the game but simply no time yet. Maybe next update I refurbish the whole fight to be android friendly. As of now you can save scum till u win. The chance of winning if you skip is 50%
Still early days on this but a coupls of comments I wanted to make.
1) during the first nightmare/snowstorm sequence, coming down the stairs there is no snow visible through the window. And in the next image where you see the snowstorm, it only appears in the right window, not the left.
2) The screen distortions during this section might be a little much, Im assuming that they are supposed to happen and enhance the creepy mood, but to be honest I was worried the graphics chip might be melting the first time I saw it. Also, not sure if it applies here, but given the flickering nature of the distortion you may want to consider an epilepsy warning or something. (I dont have epilepsy so I dont know if this would trigger it, but better safe than sorry I would have thought.)
3) I know you can swipe up to get the menu, but an icon on the top left toolbar might be useful as well.
Other than thqt, enjoying it so far. Looking forward to the rest.
Im playing on an android tablet at the moment and I am dealing with the Spear of Longinius (Convent) case.
I have all nine clues and have talked to all of the nuns and the policewoman, there are no more talk options available. So Im kind of stuck for what to do next.
Judging from Detective Spades comment at the start Im supposed to accuse some suspects to generate additional talk options, but for each of the nuns it just says that I dont have enough evidence.
This is the new version you released a couple of days ago.
If its any help when others complain of not being able to find the last clue, the last one I found was the one in the middle of the right hand column. Quite difficult to see.
You are correct, I was missing one of the visual clues. Shouldnt they all be part of the list of clues that the player finds?
As for the ANdroid port, I have upgraded from 0.4.3.1 to 0.4.3.3 using the link you added to the relevant discord channel. Ill let you know if anything has changed when I continue later.
Regarding the Convent case, nun-hood should probably be sisterhood and novitiates should probably be novices. A novitiate would be the period of training a novice completes to become a nun.
Would just like to comment on the readability of the text on the android version. Im playing on a 10" tablet but some of the text is still coming up as quite small, not so much whisper text but the yellow internal voice text.
The setting for the textbox opacity, even when set to 100% is still quite transparent, which can make it hard to read the text. D(epending on the colour of the objects behind the text.)
I would also say that the morning/afternoon/evening text on the top toolbar is sometimes difficult to read as well do to the colour of the text on the background.
Similarly some of the menu pages seem to have selected options as white on a very pale background making it very hard to read. The History page in particular is difficult to use, but also the preferences page.
Im sorry to say that despite having the 0.4.3.1 version I cannot see a gallery option on the menu.
These are perhaps mostly issues caused by playing the game on a smaller screen, but if Im having problems on a 10" screen, with a slightly increased text size, those on a smallr screen may be struggling too.
I agree wholeheartedly with the epilipsy warning but I wouldn't change the distortion for anything. It gives an Eternal Darkness or Metal Gear Solid breaking the 4th wall vibe. Don't change that it is one of the more creative wtf moments in your game. I didn't catch the snow inconsistency either. I actually thought it was snowing INSIDE your house.
While we are talking about the original snowstorm. What you see in the tub? You only see ONE of those two who are supposedly there. I would reanimate that to make it more obvious there are two people there. I looked and looked and looked your graphic shows one person.
I can definitely get behind that. My brother in law has epilipsy no way in hell would he play this game but if he did I wouldn't want his experience to be hindered. So ya epilipsy warning some kind of toggle to enable or disable distortions and or visual patterns?
Depending on the route your game takes maybe just maybe for one of them it would be cool to not "need" a key or for said key to have a different purpose like locking doors from the outside only or something? ;)
I don't know if Big Boobs also works the actual answer with phrasing and everything is Big Breasts (and you won't get it right without the space in the middle)
the 2 factor authentication should indicate that the date you are looking for is Europe...or wait maybe it already does? Ya I think I am wrong on this one I think I just overlooked it. Now I remember you have a (DD/MM) indicator. Maybe phrase it more explcitly? Like maybe it could say Use the DD/MM Date format maybe even give an example (nowhere close to the answer of course)
Have u completed beatrice/eleanor events and reached the total defense party? if so you have reached the end if that quest. The ending is for that quest is not logged in hint system and will be fixed in next update
Yeah the trigger is specific. It's just hard to trigger now because there's nothing else to do. When you start walking around a lot and doing mroe quests it will trigger. But for the message, I believe you didn't check your text messages did you?
I had trouble with this as well but have your answer. Moolah you could maybe make a "chime" sound when receiving messages? Or have the phone flash at home?
Granted it does say its in beta. It isn't a bug though. You will ONLY ONLY see it at night at home. Not morning or afternoon or evening and as soon as Morning happens it won't be selectable again. it HAS to be at night. (This should maybe change as I doubt Rahader is going to be the only one that overlooks it) You will know you can check the message as it will be highlighted in blue and you can mouseover and click the actual message. HAS TO BE AT NIGHT.
I don't remember seeing one. My guess is there will eventually be some kind of gallery but I don't even see an option in the main menu or in the in game menu so as of now it doesn't look like there is one. I get that it is usually "standard" for a game like this but this game just has so much content and there are "repeatable scenes" or at least there are supposed to be but it doesn't look like I actually can repeat them. (There is another bug I forgot about) at that womans house and in that bathroom those scenes make it seem as if they can be repeated I think there is even a message that pops up saying they can but they can't.
Yup catherine is glitched. The options are there but they don't do anything.
Decent game and decent update though I think calling this 0.4.3 is a bit too optimistic. This seems to be more of a sandbox/visual novel combo than a pure VN and I doubt anybody, the author included, will be satisfied with this ending too soon and with not enough cases for us to solve. Just my 2 cents.
The naming system is just that. A naming system. A way to distinguish between updates. 0.4 does not mean 40% completed. The game could be 0.11 or up to 0.17. Who knows. But i understand some might be confused. Which is why i will refurbish the naming system after next major update which ends chapter 1 arc.
read your comment and then checked on his patreon page to see just how off 40% was. I think you will be pleasantly surprised. If I remember correctly it said 5%!!!!! And that was 10 hours worth of content O_o
Normally I'd be with you on that but some devs think the number after 0.9 is 1.0 indifferent of the state of the game. Just look at Lord King as an example of someone doing just that fairly recently.
I always thought 1.0 meant full release? If this is fragment based or episodic my understanding is something like 0.19 ver would be 19 percent% Or it could just be 19th alpha version or 2 beta version. No idea how the naming nomenclature actually works its definitely up to the developer but as you mention with the AAA titles it does usually follow the pattern you mention. But the game not officially being released would have its own version numbers initially after a full release is usually when it goes 1.0 and so on. Look at cyberpunk or no mans sky updates for examples of this.
I actually deleted my F95 account after a spat with someone on there in regards to the topic or such games being release episodically. For some (most?) devs that episodes are nothing more then internal chapters and every "new" episode is just the latest version of a game. For others an episode is just that, a stand alone game short game that continues from where their previous game left off. The 1.0 debate is the same. For some (again, most) 1.0 means final release. but for some devs, 1.0 is just an arbitrary point that means nothing. That's why I was concerned. I like the direction of this game, but if it hit's 1.0 with this little content I'm out. The same for games whose devs suddenly, decide to split the game into the old version and the new version - see My New Family for an example of that.
As for AAA games doing shit like this... well, that's our fault frankly. If we keep doing shit like preordering, buying games before reviews are out, and not asking for refunds of newly released games that don't work in the hope that they might one day work the only people to blame are us, not the corporate execs overworking developer who make the decision to release games before they're ready.
On your 2nd point I agree with you 100%. Thanks for the warning about My New Family I won't even bother with it.
But ya on that second point I know exactly what you are talking about from both first and second hand experience (different situations.)
I used to review videogames (didn't really go anywhere really due to my own fault) and you get to interview devs. I have also alpha and beta tested several games and have more than a few friends who work in and around the industry still. There are reasons things like Cyberpunk happened and we are certainly a contributing factor but most of it is being taken for granted. The simple fact of the matter is that for whatever reason.
The standard for a game to "go gold" has absolutely plummeted. You used to need about 90% of your game ready to go out of the gate Excluding PC which due to constant updates have always had a similar problem but it has gotten more severe over time.
These are the contributing factors
1. Publishers forcing developers to rush a game to completion during the home stretch as the game has been delayed too long (Sometimes this is more than justified. Other times they may see you have 24 months to finish a game then come back a few weeks later and say you have 18 months. Or they slash your budget in half. Or you might be 90% done with your game and they say "no we want to save it for the new console release) Alot of this happened with Xbox to Xbox 360, PS2 to PS3, Nintendo 64 to Gamecube and Gameboy Advance to Nintendo DS to 3DS (in that case games often needed to be rebuit from the ground up to either take advantage of that godawful "3d Prism nonsense" and Dual screen support. Other times developers are told to start working on additional platforms as a game nears completion. In the case of the Wii version of an anticipated PS3 or Xbox 360 port this was always apparent (Though with large publishers agreed to in advance)
2. The videogame industry is the last entertainment industry that has no union. I absolutely love videogames but the way developers are treated is often terrible. Crunch is absolutely ridiculous in the industry. This has always been the case but with information being more widely accessible on the internet and with more gamers in general there is more of an interest in the actual industry which leads to more coverage, leaks, understandably frustrated devs and just outright burnout to a criminal degree. Crunch has always existed but as games have gotten bigger the crunch has gotten more severe what used to be 60 hour weeks for the last 2 months of a release has now become 80+ hours a week at the minimum for 6 months to a year before release!
3. Once upon a time the videogame industry was a niche. (As much as we love classic videogames maybe MAYBE 10% of the amount of people playing videogames now initially played them at release. Fast forward to about the time of GTA IV and mobile games (GTA V was the evidence but it was happening long beforehand) and the videogame industry is the most profitable, expensive and time consuming entertainment industry. Yet developers are treated the same. Companies have gone from a handful of people on a team to a few hundred working across two or three different countries to now nearing a thousand across 5 or 6 or in the case of something like GTA V or Assassins Creed up to 10 countries. Who are all expected to coordinate, develop at the same time at the same quality. The videogame industry is now the most profitable entertainment industry in the world yet with that success has added pressure and expectations. From 10 different bosses instead of 2 (The TPS reports in Office Space are a great example of this.
4. With the size of the teams changing and larger publishers absorbing smaller companies (more often that not by design and destroying those smaller companies in order to poach top talent for first party titles (Midway, Akklaim, Atari, Sega, 3D0, are just a handful of victims of this practice) Development teams often change mid development (Uncharted 3 to The Last of Us is the most glaring and well known example of this as is Anthem where more than half of the developers had no experience making FPS and were taken from EA Sports and RPG teams to develop a Destiny Killer (itself a victim of the same practice when Activision bought Bungie Destiny 1 is average and generic fight me. When Jason Rubin and Andy Gavin (original founders of Naughty Dog each left the studio and the new guy came in (TLOU creator) Naughty Dog went from one of the most coveted developers to work for to one of the worst) The game quality was still great but the developers were not treated the same and had several times higher expecations without more pay. The previously mentioned Uncharted to the Last of Us example above involved the A team leaving Uncharted 3 Mid development (if even that far) to work on TLOU instead. You can actually see the exact point this happens in Uncharted 3 (when you crawl through the cave crevice with the spiders when you come out the other side the story changes entirely more bugs are apparent and there is sometimes even a tip in quality of the graphics. You can actually tell which parts of the game are developed by which team. That isn't meant to imply that the B team sucks but they were probably less experienced and weren't as familiar with Uncharted as the previous team (Naughty Dog tripled in size over the course of Uncharted's success.)
5. The shitshow of the mobile app based game industry. Publishers can now successfully argue that the quality of a title and/or size of the team doesn't have to directly correlate to the sales potential of a title because look at how well all these average titles sell and how little they cost to make?) The mobile gaming industry IS the most successful part of the gaming industry and the comparison isn't even close. I used to trash mobile games (and still do a little) but most of the games that I play are mobile now. I buy all the great AAA titles and they sit on my shelf unplayed while I play crappy mobile games. (I am NOT proud of this they are designed from the ground up to addict you they are modeled AFTER the way someone becomes a drug addict and how casino games work FROM THE GROUND UP) At least with an MMO you get consistently high quality content but this mobile nonsense... It is improving as spec potential of our cellphones and tablets increase but you still have 1 in 5000 apps worth playing as opposed to 1 in 50-100 traditional videogames worth playing TT.
No one single factor is to blame it is all of these factors combined that lead to the poor state of the industry as it stands and they all have to be fixed (but won't be) in order to return to the golden years of the The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of time, Metal Gear Solid, Gran Turismo 3, Donkey Kong Country, Armored Core 2, Final Fantasy ( Playstation and PS2 Era) there is a reason why So many great indie games get started from Kickstarter and Indiegogo comprised of well known developers and it is more often than not how they were treated at their previous employers, empty promises, new regime changes within the developer itself. There is one factor however that we the consumer is almost entirely to blame for.
Videogames need to cost more money than they do period. There are a lot of people who would fight me on this and all of you are wrong. Development teams have expanded in size 10x The game costs 100x more to make than it used to yet the cost of a AAA title has remained the same for the last 25 years even though the US dollar is worth less than 5 dollars than it was 30 years ago. IF games cost more to make and there was a union in place to protect developers the added cost of development would lead to a better overall work environment and quality of the game itself. Developers paid next to nothing with 10 producers who know nothing about how to develop a videogame breathing down their necks but working twice as many hours aren't really all that invested in delivering you a masterpiece. Except they are since instead of 1000 people who want to work in the videogame industry you have 100,000 who do. DLC's are often garbage money tie ins but they exist as an alternative for additional funds to make up the difference of our refusal to pay more for our videogames. Expansion passes are often genuinely worth it but DLC's are dog shit. Looking at you horse DLC from Elder Scrolls IV Oblivion. This is how we get shit like every fighter already on the disc of Street Fighter IV but locked away so they can force you to pay for the costumes and additional characters (One used to unlock characters through specific goals met in games now they have to "pay" for the privilage of playing them) The same with those dreaded Deluxe Editions (here are a few extra weapons and an hour of extra quests BY DESIGN 10 dollars less than the game costs at retail) Unfortunately since the DLC standard has long since sailed now they want us to pay more money for the game AND the DLC which is an unfortunate side effect of how long we have waited to address this. And the consumers revolted and forced Playstation and Xbox to backpedal on asking for the perfectly justified increase in game cost.
These factors combined together are why 90% of videogames are garbage now. It used to be like half the games now it is almost all of them. A game of the year quality title is now more often than not equivalent in quality to a title that would be rated an 8 or 8.5 in the days of Metal Gear Solid and Ocarina of Time. That is a substantial difference in quality. But this whole "The game can be half finished as long as a day one dlc is available and the companies who determine whether a game is ready to "go gold" those are the real P.O.S. to blame for allowing all of the above scenarios to take place. if they had more checks and balanced even auditors making sure developers were being treated fairly and DID NOT GREENLIGHT THE GAME FOR release until it was ACTUALLY ready to play. If publishers didn't force a game to developed on 6 different systems at once. This crap would happen far less. We would go back to the time where the half the games released are worth playing. Indie games do as well as they do because their business model is run the way the teams who created Super Mario Bros, Sonic The Hedgehog, and Crash Bandicoot were run. Small teams who treat their staff well and are focused on releasing the game complete instead of rushing a release to appease a publisher breathing down their necks to release on X day. They release the game when they want to and don't have to worry about their budgets being halved, they don't have to worry about all of their development team being poached to another division of the company thereby changing the entire feel of the game. Don't have to coordinate with development teams from 5 other countries. They focus on creating something new and interesting instead of the same grey titles all of the large development companies make based off of their oh so successful focus groups who show that a game must be 100 hours long (even though 10% of them finish it, feature an open world, must have violence but no sex, be easy to play, puzzles can't be too hard etc. Indie developers don't have to put up with that shit. They can make the game they want to make.
Also, the discord wasnt much help for where the gallery is in the mobile version 4.3, its on the main page in all the other versions but i dont see it here.
Just downloaded 4.3 on Android. Loved the previous version and have no doubt this will be as good.
Only question is around the install. Upon installing, I've ended up with another instance of the app rather than replacing the previous version. I know I can copy the save files over but wonder why it doesn't supercede the old version like other apps. I noticed the download was called something different "inc gallery..." but the app is called the same so it's probably a red herring.
I think I'll start this version from scratch as I think I missed a few bits the first time around however thought I'd mention it in case you weren't aware.
I was not able to find the last piece of evidence for the nun case and my auto save didn't go back far enough to be able look for more evidence. I didn't see a "skip" function meaning if I want to complete it I need to start over again and manually click my way through. Which is saddening to be honest as I just finished all the other content for the update. Is it possible to find all the evidence on the first try or am I just tripping here plz help >-<
No u dont need to restart. I dont know which clue you are missing so i cant help you. U need to be more specific. Head on down to discord and ask for help ;)
As long as you keep your save files you can continue next update :D but the next major update (v0.5) must require a replay from beginning. Stuff will be added and stats cleaned up and tabulated so its no worries for now.
How can i move the save files in the data folder in android? because i can't when i try to move into that folder 😡 fucking android of shit i hate this stupid things!!
Hi, I'm a huge fan of the game but why can't I access replay gallery in the android version? This has been bothering me since I can't replay any scenes. Thank you!
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Quick question concerning the story how/where can I cut the ropes when I'm in that old factory/building I tried every possible way or at least I guess so and love the game btw but haven't been able to play I through yet.
you would probably need a knife to cut the rope. Well, luckily theres a knife on top of a box. What a coincidence.
I am officially blind af, thx mate
aha no worries its a little small. I think its hard to spot for androis users
Does this game have walkthrough guide? Also where can find main menu for Android
Swipe up/dwn/left/right for menus and systems
Any chance you're going to release the Linux version for 0.4? Loved 0.3
are u unable to run the windows version on linux?
I am, yes. The 0.4.3 .zip doesn't have a bash script (the .sh file) to launch it. I tried copying over the bash script from the 0.3 version but the errors seemed to be caused by some missing libraries.
I don't think Itch recognizes it as Linux compatible either as the windows versions that are compatible have the Linux penguin icon, and the new version does not.
Thanks for taking the time to look at it though!
Click on the heart icon in the UI and hover over the girls photo. You will see hints on how to progress individual girls storylines. You need to progress Mia storyline to increase lust. Have fun!
But that's the same issue I'm having, and the hint says "you do not have any way of increasing lust" so I'm just stuck here with no where to go
It says u have no way to increase at the moment. U need to continue her storyline and there will be an event that increases her lust. Just follow the hint system ;) U get some fun time with Mia!
Does the taboo option just turn off incest or does it remove other stuff too?
How do I get the bathroom key? I just started the game and I got a dialogue saying I should buy the key online, but I'm not seeing the option.
Bathroom scenes not available yet this update
I don't know where you are at. You need to be more specific. In any case, just follow the hints and solve other side quests and main quests first.
I can't download for Android
Android Link is fixed!
I need help in the two factor autentication please
Hint: Rubbish bin and letter on her table.
Could I get some help for how to max out rapport, intimacy, and liberation for Beatrice on the couch? I haven't unlocked any abilities after getting her naked. I go snuggle, movie, snuggle, movie, strip, strip, snuggle. Intimacy always comes up just a little short.
There are hints on what the actions do. Snuggling while naked will give bonus points vs snuggling clothed
I need help as well i have been on this for 20 days
I need help too!!
Help me also please i cant know how to do its above a week but i cant do and now i am pissed that i think i delete this game 😑😑
Is there any other option to download?
Android Link is fixed!
Android Link is fixed!
thanks bro
i dont know where to get the date for the two factor authentication
help im stuck in the lab
Scavenge the trash bin then you'll have clues
On Android can't read what the prompts are when asked to type on the keyboard as it covers everything maybe move the textbox to the top of the screen when needed
Oh just remembered something else! As cool as the easter egg is. You gotta remove the musician. You WILL get sued. Maybe not today maybe not tomorrow maybe not even this year but it absolutely positively will happen. Working in the entertainment industry you quickly learn that an artist often doesn't have the rights to what you think they do. Labels own the music, the brand, the style, the persona all of it. The artist owns the rights to their songs once out of contract if stipulated in the contract. But their "likeness" is usually owned by the label itself. And if they want it to be "family friendly" as they do. They WILL sue you. Even if you have the artists permission they will still sue you it just isn't worth it unfortunately. You could make it look kind of like them. Make a fake famous musician but ya it's not worth the risk.
If it makes you feel any better when the Neopets website first started they had a pet called Macy Gray. They weren't even hiding it was just straight up Macy Gray. No idea if they had permission or not but it was promptly removed. They also had a guy named Bruce who just looked like a Butler and they changed him to a penguin but ya. However cool having that musician is it just isn't worth the headache it WILL cause you.
And i actually completely forgot I have a personal experience regarding this. My cousin is a film director mostly short little films. He and his friends made a great short film about a guy having an absolutely terrible day in black and white and the joke is that the song "What a wonderful kind of day" is playing in the background. He was getting ready to submit it to a festival and then. He got a cease and desist from the estate of Marvin Gaye I guess the melody of the tune was too similar? He had to remove the music and since the video was directly in reference TO the music the film was completely useless. There is no "alternate music" to use. He need looked up copyright laws he was very careful of what he did and didn't use and how much and how often. It was an automated strike from the melody itself from the record label/estate. This is an extreme situation but your game could end up being REMOVED just because of that one character. OR even worse they could demand payment from you for using the musician. For someone who looks like its a 5 second kinda cool easter egg. Just not worth it.
Thx for your detailed Shira! Realy happy you liked it. And also thx for letting me know about the issues you mentioned. I will change some things next update.
Cheers!
Holy shit! I don't say this lightly you made a great game. I don't even mean the sex aspect I just mean in general. The story is phenomenal I say this as a writer. I do have notes a ton of them but only because you are damn close to making one of the best visual novels I have ever played which is a nigh impossible task usually for a non-japanese visual novel.
One of the only gripes I have I doubt will be an issue as you add more to the game. You end up having to "rest" quite often in between events.
In the warehouse when you have to sneak? I don't know if it was a bug or I just sucked at it but it seemed like the first guy turned around too quick (I know who it is I am just trying to give tips as vaguely as I possibly can as your story is just so damn good.
There are many instances in the game where the screen goes to black and a message pops up that says something like "not available in this update under development etc" This is a great indicator to let players know that though that is unavailable currently it is on the way. However there are plenty of instances where this is clearly the case and no indicator appears.
In a perfect world you wouldn't have to do anything to change it. However there are going to be players that think the game glitched or has some kind of bug. Most people will initially think there is an issue and then realize otherwise but there will be enough that you may be answering a lot of bug feedback that you don't need to. Or maybe it is to far in development to change it in which case ignore this minor gripe.
One example is after a certain woman says you can "stop by anytime" when you go there as indicated absolutely nothing happens. it is clear that this is the end of her content but no message pops up. Since there are instances in which you can "mouseover to highlight" something else in a scene I could see people thinking there is something they are supposed to "find" in said scene in order to interact further with her I too was thrown off for a few seconds looking for some kind of mouseover for speaking. Only for a few seconds I have alpha and beta tested plenty of games of all genres over the years but I then stayed in the room to see how "easy" it was for players to understand there was nothing further to do and it isn't straightforward enough.
This is handled better with an electronic salesman who outright tells you he is too busy to talk right now. This lets the player know no further action is available at this time BUT it doesn't OUTRIGHT tell the player it leaves them to wonder what is next. This is a better way to handle the barista and the woman at her house in question.
The fight minigame needs a little more polish. Most of your UI is pretty great the only exception I can find to this is your stats menu and the fight minigame. The quality is inconsistent with the rest of your interface Maps/Phone/Rooms/Investigation/Inventory etc are all great.
I am not sure how randomized your jan ken pon like system of fighting is. I feel like intelligence should affect it. This seems to be dialogue cut based for the most part but I don't mind it being randomish as long as it isn't 5 or 6 or 7 or 8 sequences in a row like that one encounter was. it is clear this is something you are already working on as in one much later encounter you and your enemy both have health bars. The one at your house though? (Which is done so well as is that one scene in the rain.
I love that you influenced by Illusion games (several scenes directly show this and I can tell it is going to be much much much more so as the game progresses) as well as Detective Conan! In the instance of the Illusion inspiration though there are two scenes in the game that are VERY severe as they absolutely should be as the fit the theme of this game but after they happen and after a dialogue comes up outright telling you in so many words their will be repercussions it is NEVER mentioned again. PRETTY DAMN important to the story but maybe this is just a plot thread you haven't full developed yet. Speaking of which I have some bad news that you may or may not have already been aware of.
I think your game is absolutely awesome so far I expected to get a few hours at the most out of this demo and I experienced well over 10 hours (maybe even more than that!! worth of content) To rip the bandaid off though.
There is no way in hell they are going to let you sell this on steam. You made a great game but it is far more twisted than what they allow in regards to certain scenes and I am not the type of guy to say "well all you have to do is edit this and you could release it" There are games on steam that were given the greenlight and have since been edited to stay there or were removed after testers PLAYED the game and found scene A or character B or Plot C that they felt took things way to far. Your game reminds me of a specific illusion game that was banned in the US and is why it was almost impossible to get an illusion game stateside. Your game has a MUCH better plot! You and I both know the game I am talking about but I won't mention it as your story is so damn good I really don't want to spoil even a modicum of information for players. so you have itch.io you have patreon and hopefully plenty of other sources as though Steam allows adult games now they keep waffling back in forth on WHAT they allow and they have outright stated they won't allow even the tamest of some things your game has so far that seem central to the entirety of your game.
I would love to continue to play your game as each update comes along but I don't think I will because I am paranoid that as you add more and more to the game there will come a point where my save will be incompatible. I love the game but it is over 10 hours so far. I can't imagine playing any game over and over and over again as it develops no matter how good it is. This is ok because it means you are taking the time to make something truly magnificent. its a damn shame there is the stigma of a non japanese visual novel not being "good enough" your plot is good enough that if it was a visual novel from Japan you would probably get a hentai adaptation explicit comics the whole nine yards. It makes me think you are some well known published author or screenwriter who is doing this as your true deep dark passion. It makes me think you are either from Europe or the US and desperately wanted to work on visual novels in Japan but do the their apprehension of foreigners infringing on their creative mediums it is almost impossible to get in there (have several friends who want to do the same are artists and can't even get their foot in the door. Japan has a lot of national pride especially in their entertainment medium. You can guest star but you can't BE a major player. So you branched out on your own and made a damn good game with your team. I see nothing but a bright future for you and am truly amazed by what you have accomplished here.
This also doesn't look like it is going to be finished anytime soon. I have never ever supported anyone on patreon and I have only contributed to a handful of kickstarters but I really believe in what you are creating here so I WILL contribute. Not yet I don't really have the funds right this moment but I am just blown away by the quality here so credit where credit is due. If I still reviewed games I would ask to interview you and put it as a damn featured article that is how good your game is. This isn't brownnosing I never give a compliment that isn't deserved. I thought I was going to play an hour long game with "bewbs" and that would be it. I spent every waking moment of the last two three days of freetime I had playing your game. Initially I was going to complain about no dialog for the female characters now I don't even care. You do need a hell of a lot more moaning sfx though. Those DO need to be everywhere in the game. So you do need VA for SFX and Foley for sexual sounds. You also need to proofread some of the dialogue I think I already read a book and halfs worth of dialogue so I wouldn't know where to begin with what or where but you have a great game here and you could make it a damn masterpiece with more polish which I know is something you plan on doing already with the amount of work you put in. I also saw something about this being version 0.43 and someone complaining i n the comments about how this was inaccurate as it can't possibly be half finished. I looked on your patreon page and found the game is 5% complete!!?!?!? How the hell are you doing this?
As great as the game is I can't play it over and over and over again. I genuinely think this is a project you are going to be working on for several years adding a chapter or two every few months and I can't wait to experience it I know alot of people get pissed off about games being anthologies but I think you could get away with it here. Especially if each game takes you three years to make. If you are really only 5% complete it looks like your game will rival the length of some of the longest most well known visual novels out there. You could very well set a precedent (along with Dr. Pinkcake who is also very good) That a visual novel doesn't have to come from Japan to be amazing. We already know that but the industry at large needs to know that for your credibility to truly skyrocket. As soon as I am able to I will start donating to your patreon (I am one of those assholes who paid nothing for the game but that is DEFINITELY not the case going forward) I probably will play your game only every 6 months or so unless there is some way to retain the save files. I feel very fortunate I was able to play as much as I could as quickly as I could I expect every 3 to 6 months you will add another hour or so worth of content and hope that OH!!!!
I KNOW HOW PEOPLE CAN KEEP THEIR SAVES I JUST REMEMBERED?!?!?! I have seen games do this before. Use a password system! kind of like what Mass Effect 2 and 3 did where they ask you questions of choices you made but your game has SOOOOOO many damn choices and options you would need probably about 30 different passwords for save states. Which trait a player started with, which sidequests were completed, current status of women, depravity or innocence level.
Seriously though I am sure it is on its way but there needs to be dialogue and interactions in reaction to those two scenes we both know I am talking about the people they happen to there is no way they wouldn't treat you differently. Positive or negative have to win their trust back. Be investigated yourself? Honestly I like your game enough that I wouldn't mind giving you some character development/dialog/plot info. Also something I have never offered to anyone. I am a wannabe writer who is unfortunately a professional procrastinator but if it is just a matter of something like phrasing a line more creatively that is written generic currently? or ideas of repercussions? I am your guy. Let me know.
Sincerely,
George E. Spears III
0.o Very looong
If I am to understand, this is a great game and you wanna help in any way u can
Playing new content, at the bar fight. Is no way to win on Android? Don't have keys to press.
Yes buds. WAnted to change the game but simply no time yet. Maybe next update I refurbish the whole fight to be android friendly. As of now you can save scum till u win. The chance of winning if you skip is 50%
Cool, thanks.
here we go again
Sup dtmr
Sup dude, hope you're doing well
Still early days on this but a coupls of comments I wanted to make.
1) during the first nightmare/snowstorm sequence, coming down the stairs there is no snow visible through the window. And in the next image where you see the snowstorm, it only appears in the right window, not the left.
2) The screen distortions during this section might be a little much, Im assuming that they are supposed to happen and enhance the creepy mood, but to be honest I was worried the graphics chip might be melting the first time I saw it. Also, not sure if it applies here, but given the flickering nature of the distortion you may want to consider an epilepsy warning or something. (I dont have epilepsy so I dont know if this would trigger it, but better safe than sorry I would have thought.)
3) I know you can swipe up to get the menu, but an icon on the top left toolbar might be useful as well.
Other than thqt, enjoying it so far. Looking forward to the rest.
Wow nice catch. No one ever notices the snowstorm in windows. This is first time.
Yeah, ima put epilepsy warning.
Thanks for ur feedback grimlar. very helpful and glad u enjoyed it
Im playing on an android tablet at the moment and I am dealing with the Spear of Longinius (Convent) case.
I have all nine clues and have talked to all of the nuns and the policewoman, there are no more talk options available. So Im kind of stuck for what to do next.
Judging from Detective Spades comment at the start Im supposed to accuse some suspects to generate additional talk options, but for each of the nuns it just says that I dont have enough evidence.
This is the new version you released a couple of days ago.
If its any help when others complain of not being able to find the last clue, the last one I found was the one in the middle of the right hand column. Quite difficult to see.
Heya grimlar. Thx for the feedback on the android port.
Regarding the church, have you observed the nuns to find clues on them?
You are correct, I was missing one of the visual clues. Shouldnt they all be part of the list of clues that the player finds?
As for the ANdroid port, I have upgraded from 0.4.3.1 to 0.4.3.3 using the link you added to the relevant discord channel. Ill let you know if anything has changed when I continue later.
Thanks for the help.
Yes the Gallery menu option is there in 0.4.3.3.
Regarding the Convent case, nun-hood should probably be sisterhood and novitiates should probably be novices. A novitiate would be the period of training a novice completes to become a nun.
Would just like to comment on the readability of the text on the android version. Im playing on a 10" tablet but some of the text is still coming up as quite small, not so much whisper text but the yellow internal voice text.
The setting for the textbox opacity, even when set to 100% is still quite transparent, which can make it hard to read the text. D(epending on the colour of the objects behind the text.)
I would also say that the morning/afternoon/evening text on the top toolbar is sometimes difficult to read as well do to the colour of the text on the background.
Similarly some of the menu pages seem to have selected options as white on a very pale background making it very hard to read. The History page in particular is difficult to use, but also the preferences page.
Im sorry to say that despite having the 0.4.3.1 version I cannot see a gallery option on the menu.
These are perhaps mostly issues caused by playing the game on a smaller screen, but if Im having problems on a 10" screen, with a slightly increased text size, those on a smallr screen may be struggling too.
I agree wholeheartedly with the epilipsy warning but I wouldn't change the distortion for anything. It gives an Eternal Darkness or Metal Gear Solid breaking the 4th wall vibe. Don't change that it is one of the more creative wtf moments in your game.
I didn't catch the snow inconsistency either. I actually thought it was snowing INSIDE your house.
While we are talking about the original snowstorm. What you see in the tub? You only see ONE of those two who are supposedly there. I would reanimate that to make it more obvious there are two people there. I looked and looked and looked your graphic shows one person.
For me its just a little much. I appreciate that you like it, Perhaps a menu option to reduce it for people who are adversely affected by it?
I can definitely get behind that. My brother in law has epilipsy no way in hell would he play this game but if he did I wouldn't want his experience to be hindered. So ya epilipsy warning some kind of toggle to enable or disable distortions and or visual patterns?
Where can i see/have the bathroom key?
Not implemented yet. Coming soon im working on all the toilet events
Depending on the route your game takes maybe just maybe for one of them it would be cool to not "need" a key or for said key to have a different purpose like locking doors from the outside only or something? ;)
Sorry?
Oh really? Are you unable to join with the link on this page?
I can't write maeve's lab password
What is the cule
BIG BOOBS
I don't know if Big Boobs also works the actual answer with phrasing and everything is Big Breasts (and you won't get it right without the space in the middle)
Check the gorrila book and the note on maeves pc
the 2 factor authentication should indicate that the date you are looking for is Europe...or wait maybe it already does? Ya I think I am wrong on this one I think I just overlooked it. Now I remember you have a (DD/MM) indicator. Maybe phrase it more explcitly? Like maybe it could say Use the DD/MM Date format maybe even give an example (nowhere close to the answer of course)
There's no gallery on the Menu, this is for the mobile one.
Hope you address this issue, coz unfortunately I can't play games with my laptop ,it's monitored by my employer.
Yesh will have gallery
Can't progress quest all about da money "talk to her at the bar and choose one of the girls Chanel has selected" only option there is to drink
Have u completed beatrice/eleanor events and reached the total defense party? if so you have reached the end if that quest. The ending is for that quest is not logged in hint system and will be fixed in next update
in total defense party quest i have to wait for eleanor text msg but ive skipped 4 days and nothing :/
Yeah the trigger is specific. It's just hard to trigger now because there's nothing else to do. When you start walking around a lot and doing mroe quests it will trigger. But for the message, I believe you didn't check your text messages did you?
I will add an exclamation icon next time
I've check my text msg, nothing new there, I'll just try to roam around etc anyway love the game ♥
I had trouble with this as well but have your answer. Moolah you could maybe make a "chime" sound when receiving messages? Or have the phone flash at home?
Granted it does say its in beta. It isn't a bug though. You will ONLY ONLY see it at night at home. Not morning or afternoon or evening and as soon as Morning happens it won't be selectable again. it HAS to be at night. (This should maybe change as I doubt Rahader is going to be the only one that overlooks it) You will know you can check the message as it will be highlighted in blue and you can mouseover and click the actual message. HAS TO BE AT NIGHT.
Need Help plz, Does anyone know the password to Maeve's Laptop???
Hint: Look at the note on the monitor screen and look at the gorilla book in the shelf for clues
Where is the gallery???
I don't remember seeing one. My guess is there will eventually be some kind of gallery but I don't even see an option in the main menu or in the in game menu so as of now it doesn't look like there is one. I get that it is usually "standard" for a game like this but this game just has so much content and there are "repeatable scenes" or at least there are supposed to be but it doesn't look like I actually can repeat them. (There is another bug I forgot about) at that womans house and in that bathroom those scenes make it seem as if they can be repeated I think there is even a message that pops up saying they can but they can't.
Yup catherine is glitched. The options are there but they don't do anything.
Really GOOODD!!! I have a great time playing this and can't wait for future content. ;)
Glad u liked it buddy
Decent game and decent update though I think calling this 0.4.3 is a bit too optimistic. This seems to be more of a sandbox/visual novel combo than a pure VN and I doubt anybody, the author included, will be satisfied with this ending too soon and with not enough cases for us to solve. Just my 2 cents.
The naming system is just that. A naming system. A way to distinguish between updates. 0.4 does not mean 40% completed. The game could be 0.11 or up to 0.17. Who knows. But i understand some might be confused. Which is why i will refurbish the naming system after next major update which ends chapter 1 arc.
read your comment and then checked on his patreon page to see just how off 40% was. I think you will be pleasantly surprised. If I remember correctly it said 5%!!!!! And that was 10 hours worth of content O_o
Normally I'd be with you on that but some devs think the number after 0.9 is 1.0 indifferent of the state of the game. Just look at Lord King as an example of someone doing just that fairly recently.
I always thought 1.0 meant full release? If this is fragment based or episodic my understanding is something like 0.19 ver would be 19 percent% Or it could just be 19th alpha version or 2 beta version. No idea how the naming nomenclature actually works its definitely up to the developer but as you mention with the AAA titles it does usually follow the pattern you mention. But the game not officially being released would have its own version numbers initially after a full release is usually when it goes 1.0 and so on. Look at cyberpunk or no mans sky updates for examples of this.
I actually deleted my F95 account after a spat with someone on there in regards to the topic or such games being release episodically. For some (most?) devs that episodes are nothing more then internal chapters and every "new" episode is just the latest version of a game. For others an episode is just that, a stand alone game short game that continues from where their previous game left off. The 1.0 debate is the same. For some (again, most) 1.0 means final release. but for some devs, 1.0 is just an arbitrary point that means nothing. That's why I was concerned. I like the direction of this game, but if it hit's 1.0 with this little content I'm out. The same for games whose devs suddenly, decide to split the game into the old version and the new version - see My New Family for an example of that.
As for AAA games doing shit like this... well, that's our fault frankly. If we keep doing shit like preordering, buying games before reviews are out, and not asking for refunds of newly released games that don't work in the hope that they might one day work the only people to blame are us, not the corporate execs overworking developer who make the decision to release games before they're ready.
On your 2nd point I agree with you 100%. Thanks for the warning about My New Family I won't even bother with it.
But ya on that second point I know exactly what you are talking about from both first and second hand experience (different situations.)
I used to review videogames (didn't really go anywhere really due to my own fault) and you get to interview devs. I have also alpha and beta tested several games and have more than a few friends who work in and around the industry still. There are reasons things like Cyberpunk happened and we are certainly a contributing factor but most of it is being taken for granted. The simple fact of the matter is that for whatever reason.
The standard for a game to "go gold" has absolutely plummeted. You used to need about 90% of your game ready to go out of the gate Excluding PC which due to constant updates have always had a similar problem but it has gotten more severe over time.
These are the contributing factors
1. Publishers forcing developers to rush a game to completion during the home stretch as the game has been delayed too long (Sometimes this is more than justified. Other times they may see you have 24 months to finish a game then come back a few weeks later and say you have 18 months. Or they slash your budget in half. Or you might be 90% done with your game and they say "no we want to save it for the new console release) Alot of this happened with Xbox to Xbox 360, PS2 to PS3, Nintendo 64 to Gamecube and Gameboy Advance to Nintendo DS to 3DS (in that case games often needed to be rebuit from the ground up to either take advantage of that godawful "3d Prism nonsense" and Dual screen support. Other times developers are told to start working on additional platforms as a game nears completion. In the case of the Wii version of an anticipated PS3 or Xbox 360 port this was always apparent (Though with large publishers agreed to in advance)
2. The videogame industry is the last entertainment industry that has no union. I absolutely love videogames but the way developers are treated is often terrible. Crunch is absolutely ridiculous in the industry. This has always been the case but with information being more widely accessible on the internet and with more gamers in general there is more of an interest in the actual industry which leads to more coverage, leaks, understandably frustrated devs and just outright burnout to a criminal degree. Crunch has always existed but as games have gotten bigger the crunch has gotten more severe what used to be 60 hour weeks for the last 2 months of a release has now become 80+ hours a week at the minimum for 6 months to a year before release!
3. Once upon a time the videogame industry was a niche. (As much as we love classic videogames maybe MAYBE 10% of the amount of people playing videogames now initially played them at release. Fast forward to about the time of GTA IV and mobile games (GTA V was the evidence but it was happening long beforehand) and the videogame industry is the most profitable, expensive and time consuming entertainment industry. Yet developers are treated the same. Companies have gone from a handful of people on a team to a few hundred working across two or three different countries to now nearing a thousand across 5 or 6 or in the case of something like GTA V or Assassins Creed up to 10 countries. Who are all expected to coordinate, develop at the same time at the same quality. The videogame industry is now the most profitable entertainment industry in the world yet with that success has added pressure and expectations. From 10 different bosses instead of 2 (The TPS reports in Office Space are a great example of this.
4. With the size of the teams changing and larger publishers absorbing smaller companies (more often that not by design and destroying those smaller companies in order to poach top talent for first party titles (Midway, Akklaim, Atari, Sega, 3D0, are just a handful of victims of this practice) Development teams often change mid development (Uncharted 3 to The Last of Us is the most glaring and well known example of this as is Anthem where more than half of the developers had no experience making FPS and were taken from EA Sports and RPG teams to develop a Destiny Killer (itself a victim of the same practice when Activision bought Bungie Destiny 1 is average and generic fight me. When Jason Rubin and Andy Gavin (original founders of Naughty Dog each left the studio and the new guy came in (TLOU creator) Naughty Dog went from one of the most coveted developers to work for to one of the worst) The game quality was still great but the developers were not treated the same and had several times higher expecations without more pay. The previously mentioned Uncharted to the Last of Us example above involved the A team leaving Uncharted 3 Mid development (if even that far) to work on TLOU instead. You can actually see the exact point this happens in Uncharted 3 (when you crawl through the cave crevice with the spiders when you come out the other side the story changes entirely more bugs are apparent and there is sometimes even a tip in quality of the graphics. You can actually tell which parts of the game are developed by which team. That isn't meant to imply that the B team sucks but they were probably less experienced and weren't as familiar with Uncharted as the previous team (Naughty Dog tripled in size over the course of Uncharted's success.)
5. The shitshow of the mobile app based game industry. Publishers can now successfully argue that the quality of a title and/or size of the team doesn't have to directly correlate to the sales potential of a title because look at how well all these average titles sell and how little they cost to make?) The mobile gaming industry IS the most successful part of the gaming industry and the comparison isn't even close. I used to trash mobile games (and still do a little) but most of the games that I play are mobile now. I buy all the great AAA titles and they sit on my shelf unplayed while I play crappy mobile games. (I am NOT proud of this they are designed from the ground up to addict you they are modeled AFTER the way someone becomes a drug addict and how casino games work FROM THE GROUND UP) At least with an MMO you get consistently high quality content but this mobile nonsense... It is improving as spec potential of our cellphones and tablets increase but you still have 1 in 5000 apps worth playing as opposed to 1 in 50-100 traditional videogames worth playing TT.
No one single factor is to blame it is all of these factors combined that lead to the poor state of the industry as it stands and they all have to be fixed (but won't be) in order to return to the golden years of the The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of time, Metal Gear Solid, Gran Turismo 3, Donkey Kong Country, Armored Core 2, Final Fantasy ( Playstation and PS2 Era) there is a reason why So many great indie games get started from Kickstarter and Indiegogo comprised of well known developers and it is more often than not how they were treated at their previous employers, empty promises, new regime changes within the developer itself. There is one factor however that we the consumer is almost entirely to blame for.
Videogames need to cost more money than they do period. There are a lot of people who would fight me on this and all of you are wrong. Development teams have expanded in size 10x The game costs 100x more to make than it used to yet the cost of a AAA title has remained the same for the last 25 years even though the US dollar is worth less than 5 dollars than it was 30 years ago. IF games cost more to make and there was a union in place to protect developers the added cost of development would lead to a better overall work environment and quality of the game itself. Developers paid next to nothing with 10 producers who know nothing about how to develop a videogame breathing down their necks but working twice as many hours aren't really all that invested in delivering you a masterpiece. Except they are since instead of 1000 people who want to work in the videogame industry you have 100,000 who do. DLC's are often garbage money tie ins but they exist as an alternative for additional funds to make up the difference of our refusal to pay more for our videogames. Expansion passes are often genuinely worth it but DLC's are dog shit. Looking at you horse DLC from Elder Scrolls IV Oblivion. This is how we get shit like every fighter already on the disc of Street Fighter IV but locked away so they can force you to pay for the costumes and additional characters (One used to unlock characters through specific goals met in games now they have to "pay" for the privilage of playing them) The same with those dreaded Deluxe Editions (here are a few extra weapons and an hour of extra quests BY DESIGN 10 dollars less than the game costs at retail) Unfortunately since the DLC standard has long since sailed now they want us to pay more money for the game AND the DLC which is an unfortunate side effect of how long we have waited to address this. And the consumers revolted and forced Playstation and Xbox to backpedal on asking for the perfectly justified increase in game cost.
These factors combined together are why 90% of videogames are garbage now. It used to be like half the games now it is almost all of them. A game of the year quality title is now more often than not equivalent in quality to a title that would be rated an 8 or 8.5 in the days of Metal Gear Solid and Ocarina of Time. That is a substantial difference in quality. But this whole "The game can be half finished as long as a day one dlc is available and the companies who determine whether a game is ready to "go gold" those are the real P.O.S. to blame for allowing all of the above scenarios to take place. if they had more checks and balanced even auditors making sure developers were being treated fairly and DID NOT GREENLIGHT THE GAME FOR release until it was ACTUALLY ready to play. If publishers didn't force a game to developed on 6 different systems at once. This crap would happen far less. We would go back to the time where the half the games released are worth playing. Indie games do as well as they do because their business model is run the way the teams who created Super Mario Bros, Sonic The Hedgehog, and Crash Bandicoot were run. Small teams who treat their staff well and are focused on releasing the game complete instead of rushing a release to appease a publisher breathing down their necks to release on X day. They release the game when they want to and don't have to worry about their budgets being halved, they don't have to worry about all of their development team being poached to another division of the company thereby changing the entire feel of the game. Don't have to coordinate with development teams from 5 other countries. They focus on creating something new and interesting instead of the same grey titles all of the large development companies make based off of their oh so successful focus groups who show that a game must be 100 hours long (even though 10% of them finish it, feature an open world, must have violence but no sex, be easy to play, puzzles can't be too hard etc. Indie developers don't have to put up with that shit. They can make the game they want to make.
How do i sneak from the mob after I freed my hands? I keep getting caught. Also how do i start my own harlem?
wait for them to look away, then sneak.
Stuck in the warehouse can't figure out how to untie hands. Just scrolling cursor over every pixel at this point.
There's a knife near the grill or stove thingy idk i forgot, increase your brightness its kinda hard to see.
Its on top of the box. I will increase the size next update since it sewms it might be too small for mobile.
Also, the discord wasnt much help for where the gallery is in the mobile version 4.3, its on the main page in all the other versions but i dont see it here.
Just downloaded 4.3 on Android. Loved the previous version and have no doubt this will be as good.
Only question is around the install. Upon installing, I've ended up with another instance of the app rather than replacing the previous version. I know I can copy the save files over but wonder why it doesn't supercede the old version like other apps. I noticed the download was called something different "inc gallery..." but the app is called the same so it's probably a red herring.
I think I'll start this version from scratch as I think I missed a few bits the first time around however thought I'd mention it in case you weren't aware.
Keep up the good work.
Your save files will be inside hour phone and ypu can carry over every update.
I was not able to find the last piece of evidence for the nun case and my auto save didn't go back far enough to be able look for more evidence. I didn't see a "skip" function meaning if I want to complete it I need to start over again and manually click my way through. Which is saddening to be honest as I just finished all the other content for the update. Is it possible to find all the evidence on the first try or am I just tripping here plz help >-<
No u dont need to restart. I dont know which clue you are missing so i cant help you. U need to be more specific. Head on down to discord and ask for help ;)
hello do you know maeve birthday I need it for the password on the computer please help
hello do you know maeve birthday I need it for the password on the computer please help
Love this game and love that reference to Once In A Lifetime.
Glad u liked it budddy. Esse est deus
I've been stuck on chanel's side quest. The one where the MC has to find something to free His hands from the rope
Edit: already Sölve this problem (the knife is small AF)
I've another problem though
Its maeve's computer password (her birthday) i already knew the answer but when i type it in,it say wrong password
Like how do you type in? I try type in
0810 and 1008 but Its Still wrong
Your first two digit number is wrong..
Read it again.
What first two digit
the '08' or the '10'
08
Damn
i'm getting a effing headache cause of this effing Numbers
She was fired two days before her birthday. It's on the back of the photo... now if you haven't found the photo yet...
Gotta read the clues carefully buds. Was it two days before or after her bday? ;p
Its okay i've got it. I must say....... I'm a effing idiot not realizing the Riddle sooner
><' haha. Its ok. Many peeps took some time to figure it out too.
having the same problem. have tried 1012 and 1210. still wrong
What?
nvm, i insert them in door code instead of computer. my bad.
can i get a hint where this little knife is? been stuck for awhile.
Its on the crate besife the grill
The knife is on top of the box (on the 2nd floor) just tap the box rapidly and you Will got it
Just curious.. first timer here..
So,, i have recently completed this version of 4.3 ..
And later on , if any new update is launched ( i am sure it will , hoping for it to come soon ;p )
Do i need to delete this current version ? And install the new one,,,or are there some other ways to update it..
#sorrymaconfuseguy
#splendid_awesome_game
#thankyou
As long as you keep your save files you can continue next update :D but the next major update (v0.5) must require a replay from beginning. Stuff will be added and stats cleaned up and tabulated so its no worries for now.
Um You just answered the same question with both answers. ><
Someone asked you is the sky blue or red?
You answered
Yes!
How can i move the save files in the data folder in android? because i can't when i try to move into that folder 😡 fucking android of shit i hate this stupid things!!
Keep calm buddy. Join discord and check the android port channel. This issue discussed many times and people will help you there.
Hi, I'm a huge fan of the game but why can't I access replay gallery in the android version? This has been bothering me since I can't replay any scenes. Thank you!
Thx for reporting. Pls join discord, go to android port channel. People will guide you there.
Esse est Deus.