Unless he's taking advantage of Unity's more advanced features, such as physics simulation, real-time lighting, advanced animations, etc., it's overkill. Unity games will usually have higher memory and CPU usage and larger file sizes due to the core libraries included.
If he is taking advantage of those features, well... more power to him, I guess.
Yup, pretty much almost all games I download and play from this site are compressed versions (to save HDD space).
With Unity, that gets literally thrown out the window sadly, with game size continuously ballooning up to infinity.
Not a good sign I think.
I prefer Ren'py for vns but for actual rpgs, like the dev wants to make, I think unity is fine. Having said that for actual rpg games on this site I prefer rpgm. I actually really like it when games on this site try to play more like an actual game, the issue is the execution sucks most of the time.
I still think it was a big mistake to shift gameplay styles... and now engines too? Anyway, since apparently that might be happening, I'd say it entirely depends on what the major features of the game will end up being going forward. For instance, RPGM is very strong on built-in combat mechanics while also being overall much less demanding than something like Unity. There's a reason the wandering / map part of RPGM games don't ever have characters that look much like the actual renders that get used in specific event scenes. If you're going to go with that, generally there will be other mechanics that try to rationalize the map traveling, like resource management or finding hidden areas / items. Anyway, typically these are the kinds of reasons to use RPGM.
If you're going with Unity, you do so with the purpose of taking advantage of the types of things GetOutOfMyLab already mentioned. Actual open-world exploration — like in Rust, Layers of Fear, Slender: The Eight Pages, or 7 Days to Die — is not all that uncommon, but again, you'll want a real reason for it to be open world and not just have the wandering meant to be the thing that captures players' attentions. I assume he's likely wanting to go to something more like Pillars of Eternity or Starship Troopers: Terran Command for the management portion of things, but with cutscenes or events that are more of the type of renders the original parts of the game used. But again, he should choose the engine for his game's purpose, not just because he finds a few things easier to implement or not.
For a game that was intended to be a roleplaying game with stats and other management, he sure did spend an awful lot of time making a game that was story-driven with VN-style choices and progression. I definitely agree with JJJ84 on this point. He should've finished the game he started and then (if he wanted to or felt the support to) create the RPG version of the game after finishing the VN version. Anyway, I've said my piece on this now. I don't have anything really more to add than the above.
Lol not really.
Him and anyone else who are pessimistic about MadKing's return are justified to feel that way, especially given the way this game was going (RPG mechanics introduced out of nowhere, then less and less frequent updates, to being put "on hold" while he does another game) as well as the way he left (just vanished wiping away his patreon, discord and almost all social media, leaving only his deviantart).
That lost a lot of trust from his players/fans; MadKing would need to do A LOT to regain that trust he lost.
And once you lose trust, it isn't so easy to regain.
But if you feel so optimistic about his return, I guess more power to you I suppose.
If he didn't delete everything I'd feel better about it. Him deleting it all clearly showed that at least at the time he had no plans to ever continue the project
Yeah. I mean, even if a game thread ends up getting the "Abandoned" tag in this site, that doesn't necessarily mean it's always abandoned as long as Patreon and Discord are intact (there are some devs who may abuse that, but that's another can of worms I won't talk about lol).
But when a dev literally wipes away his Patreon/Subscribestar (or whatever platform his main income for game comes from) & Discord, then it's pretty much a confirmed death sentence of the game.
So MadKing does that, and leaves everybody thinking he gave up (which as you said is clear he gave up at that point when he wiped away his accounts), and he thinks people will just come flocking back just cause he said he's taking it to Steam? lol
What's to stop people from thinking 'this dude gave up once already. If things get even a bit hard, he's gonna be giving up again'?
I said before it was a huge mistake for MadKing to not put RPG gameplay on backburner and not finishing Vis first completely in VN mode. And I still stand by that.
But I think it was even a bigger mistake by him deciding to wipe away all his accounts leaving people thinking Vis is abandoned.
Basically he initially built a solid fanbase with the game - at least up till he introduced the RPG stuff.
Yet whatever he built I think pretty much crumbled down with him deleting everything.
The issue of trust and that skepticism of "dude gave up once, so he can do it again" will always be present, and my guess is it's gonna be very difficult for him to get the faith back from previous fans.
But I guess as for myself, even if by some miracle does come back?
I would feel indifferent about it for most part. I may try it out, but it certainly won't be with "Oh, Vis is back, I must certainly try this!" reaction that I would typically feel from some of my favorite currently ongoing AVNs on this site & certainly won't be in a rush to try it out.
Him deciding to take this to Unity just adds further to that "Meh" feeling.
So MadKing does that, and leaves everybody thinking he gave up (which as you said is clear he gave up at that point when he wiped away his accounts), and he thinks people will just come flocking back just cause he said he's taking it to Steam? lol
I think a lot of players on Steam aren't interested in Patreon/Subscribstar and therefore they don't know Mad King before from those platforms. Not a good beginning, I agree, but I assume not only a few of them would judge the game there for what it is without giving a real fuck to what happen before.
The whole rest, sure, he had make too many promise and it would be better if he had finished one game.
What I don't see is why he know is back. With Vis he has written once that he didn't earn enough - valid argument - and at the end try his luck with another game.
Now he want to do Steam, so he didn't earn anything until that game hits the store and depending on what he put on the store and how it goes from there, he could have the same issue as he had with Vis.
If I would go this way, I would probably strip Vis from anything that isn't working or need a huge workload - so sandbox/city builder - and stick with Ren'Py. And I don't have anything against a good working sandbox or other any other working game element.
Honestly, I think far too many devs start out with overly ambitious things in mind and let their projects either overwhelm them (in which case, they quit) or run away with them (in which case the quality plummets b/c they've bloated their game with so much content that it takes forever or they have to rush their work). I get wanting to get free of a "normal" 9-to-5 job or something, I really do. But I feel like a "grand design" attitude is a cousin to a greedy one. You shouldn't expect to become huge overnight, and you shouldn't expect to pump out the next masterpiece in your country's art with your first work.
I think at least for the majority of devs, starting with smaller projects and finishing them in a shorter amount of time (1–2 years, maybe?) benefits them far more. They demonstrate they can finish what they start. They can learn from any mistakes they might make without investing as much time in the process of learning (i.e., they avoid reworks / remasters that are relatively common with projects spanning 4+ years). They thus build a fanbase and can continue to increase momentum from there, with each new project getting a little bit bigger (if that's what they want).
Honestly, I think far too many devs start out with overly ambitious things in mind and let their projects either overwhelm them (in which case, they quit) or run away with them (in which case the quality plummets b/c they've bloated their game with so much content that it takes forever or they have to rush their work). I get wanting to get free of a "normal" 9-to-5 job or something, I really do. But I feel like a "grand design" attitude is a cousin to a greedy one. You shouldn't expect to become huge overnight, and you shouldn't expect to pump out the next masterpiece in your country's art with your first work.
I think at least for the majority of devs, starting with smaller projects and finishing them in a shorter amount of time (1–2 years, maybe?) benefits them far more. They demonstrate they can finish what they start. They can learn from any mistakes they might make without investing as much time in the process of learning (i.e., they avoid reworks / remasters that are relatively common with projects spanning 4+ years). They thus build a fanbase and can continue to increase momentum from there, with each new project getting a little bit bigger (if that's what they want).
I think the problem also lies with how much dev actually knows about any new mechanic that they decides to implement.
Cause if a certain mechanic is something the dev wants to implement, then they sure as hell should savvy about how everything works with the gameplay as well as how the code and all the knitty gritty stuff works.
And if they don't, they should at the very least be collabing/partnering up with a coder or some sort of expert who is well versed in what works and what doesn't.
And with Vis's RPG gameplay, it was clearly the latter. From day one when the RPG content update was out, people were reporting bugs/crashes and all sort of issues to no end.
So unless MadKing during all this time has become an expert of sorts in the RPG gameplay code etc, or partnered up with someone who is, well..... history is bound to repeat itself.
But I guess only time will tell.
p.s. But really, dude should have, and I still think he should just finish the VN mode first then worry about RPG mode later lol
Lol not really.
Him and anyone else who are pessimistic about MadKing's return are justified to feel that way, especially given the way this game was going (RPG mechanics introduced out of nowhere, then less and less frequent updates, to being put "on hold" while he does another game) as well as the way he left (just vanished wiping away his patreon, discord and almost all social media, leaving only his deviantart).
That lost a lot of trust from his players/fans; MadKing would need to do A LOT to regain that trust he lost.
And once you lose trust, it isn't so easy to regain.
But if you feel so optimistic about his return, I guess more power to you I suppose.
It is unlikely that such speeches increase the developer's motivation
People like to complain without even understanding the reasons for what happened.
The developer quit the game because he worked in complete solitude, earned less than five hundred dollars and felt colossal pressure from fans.
Some people don't like the sandbox, some don't like NTR, some don't like femdom, for some MC was weak. For some, too little attention was paid to the main LI. Some didn't like the rendering. Among this stream, of course, there was constructive criticism, but he is only a man, and for a man of his position, he has done a lot. But the fans were not satisfied with everything, and he simply burned out.
And when he wanted to take a break to take on the VIS game with renewed vigor, the patrons simply turned away from him, and he made the next game with money from his own pocket.
Expectedly, he decided to quit everything. I didn't like his actions either, but who am I to judge him? And now, when the opportunity to see this great game again looms on the horizon, people are complaining again.
People, understand one thing: he doesn't need us, we need HIM. You'll spend 1% of your earnings, and he'll work like a slave. Even working as a laborer is more profitable. And if you want him to try to work better, think about helping him financially next time, advertise the game, and don't put pressure on him.
Do you want to see the game finished?
People, understand one thing: he doesn't need us, we need HIM. You'll spend 1% of your earnings, and he'll work like a slave. Even working as a laborer is more profitable. And if you want him to try to work better, think about helping him financially next time, advertise the game, and don't put pressure on him.
You do need to understand one thing: He don't need us and we don't need him. He is one dev of many.
I do respect the descision he made, but I neither understand them fully nor would I possible make the same. He has a long history of what some or many of us think where the "wrong" choice and I don't talk about add femdom, remove femdom, "NTR" or not "NTR". More like his developer choice. Adding a city builder into the game at the "late" state could many did many of us not understand. Not because we don't see his vision, but because we seen that he was a single dev with limited resources.
Same goes for other desciscions from my viewpoint he used a lot his limited resources and spread them thin instead of focus on a single thing.
Also that the people didn't like that he "quite" Vis and started a new game and make their voice with their feet, I can fully understand - as well as the other site. But the poeple on Patreon wanted Vis and not another game, so their deciscion make sense.
Now he goes for Vis again, this time on Steam and with Unity as an engine and although I wish him well, I don't believe in the slightest that it will work out for him.
I also have other games I would wish that they get finished. Yet I'm not a dreamer, but I'm either a pessimist or a realist. Therefore, I doubt that will happen.
It's not meant to be increasing his motication. I highly doubt MadKing even has an f95zone account anymore let alone bother to make another one lol. I'm only saying my opinion on the matter, that people are absolutely justified to feel pessimistic, even if you feel otherwise.
People like to complain without even understanding the reasons for what happened.
The developer quit the game because he worked in complete solitude, earned less than five hundred dollars and felt colossal pressure from fans.
Some people don't like the sandbox, some don't like NTR, some don't like femdom, for some MC was weak. For some, too little attention was paid to the main LI. Some didn't like the rendering. Among this stream, of course, there was constructive criticism, but he is only a man, and for a man of his position, he has done a lot. But the fans were not satisfied with everything, and he simply burned out.
And when he wanted to take a break to take on the VIS game with renewed vigor, the patrons simply turned away from him, and he made the next game with money from his own pocket.
Expectedly, he decided to quit everything. I didn't like his actions either, but who am I to judge him? And now, when the opportunity to see this great game again looms on the horizon, people are complaining again.
And?
This is what basically the environment that every dev goes through for their game (with exceptions of the very few at the top who are top earners).
You do realize vast majority of the devs are solo-devs?
Very few devs of these AVNs devs actually work in a team, and out of every single dev only a handful of them decide to take their game to Steam and enjoy success or not.
Every game has what fans like and dislike. Some devs also have burnouts. Regardless several of these solo-devs keep on going and don't abandon their game.
Several others abandon their game, and while we can't always determine why they do, some decide to call it quits because their game weren't earning enough on their Patreon.
At least with those who quit for purely monetary reasons, I can fully respect their decisions about it.
Him coming back, with a history of giving up well why should I or anybody else for that matter think he won't do the same again when "going gets tough" when we have other devs who may strive through under same or similar conditions?
Hence, being a solo dev is not really an excuse here given almost all other devs are.
And as c3p0 said above, MadKing does have a history of making bad developer choices.
People, understand one thing: he doesn't need us, we need HIM. You'll spend 1% of your earnings, and he'll work like a slave. Even working as a laborer is more profitable. And if you want him to try to work better, think about helping him financially next time, advertise the game, and don't put pressure on him.
I really don't care all that much at this point.
Since he abandoned Vis, there have been A LOT of other AVNs coming out from other devs which I'd say are far better than this game.
I'll give the resurrected Vis a try (that is, if it even comes out, lol just cause I played the OG game back in the day) but honestly?
Whether he finishes Vis or not, I feel indifferent about it.
Because we are indifferent. Whatever hype anyone had for this game died during the past 2 years. I've moved on and played other games and I'm only replying because I'm getting alerts. The dev pretty much destroyed his reputation on this site when he jut disappeared. Any other project he starts will likely also get abandoned and since it's pretty obviously going to be sandbox this time the peple who only like the vn aren't happy and don't care either.
Honestly, aside from Morrigan I thought the game was just ok. Infact I remember explicably disliking the mc. Compared to a lot of the other high fantasy games on this site I never really thought this one was anything special. But it's been like two years so maybe I'll have a different opinion if I replay it.
Vis was alright for what it was when MadKing was active (well at least until he brought in the RPG mechanics), but if you are seriously singling this game out as large scale and good game, and classifying rest as trash/mini games, then you obviously haven't been playing enough games by other devs lol.
There are plenty of better games than this out there.
Oh, I dunno, has it never occured to you that we're not feigning anything?
And that we are actually indifferent?
Only reason I posted back in this thread after never bothering to come back for most part after MadKing abandoned it, was someone posted today that MadKing made a post in his DeviantArt and a friend mentioned it to me.
Not to mention I got an alert on my notifications cause I had forgotten to "unwatch" the thread (if happens when you're following so many games where you forget to unwatch several of the threads of games you no longer play).
There's no sitting in this thread for third year.
Most of the folks like myself who are indifferent as storm said above have already moved on to other games, and only came back on this thread cause of notification.
So nice try jumping to conclusions, but you are 100% incorrect there.
Also here's a free advice;
Don't use the word "we" when it's just your opinion.
Cause people are bound to make fun of you lol
Is Morrigan not a sufficient reason for you to wait for the game? Besides, the soundtracks were more than just ok. Plus good characters and dialogues. And if you don't like the MC, you can treat him as an appendage of Morrigan
Oh really ? You can laugh as much as you want.
When I said we I meant the average player. Maybe you specifically are really not interested in this game anymore, but since you advised me not to speak for everyone, it would be a good idea to speak for youself.
When I said we I meant the average player. Maybe you specifically are really not interested in this game anymore, but since you advised me not to speak for everyone, it would be a good idea to speak for youself.
