Follow-up to the previous post
Yoo, so my plan to drop into discord didn't pan out, but even so here I am with an update on what's going on. Posting this one public again for what feels like fairly obvious reasons.
Ok, first thing, Itch have not got back to me as of yet. That is not good news. I'm gonna keep my eye on that, but in the meantime, I've done two things.
Firstly, took a week off. That was pretty nice. Secondly, I started taking the idea of a second project more seriously, which I know will come as a disappointment to the majority of you, since you're all ultimately here for Stormside. I think I described my reasoning in the previous post, but after my week off I decided to try just making something that didn't have crazy routes and branching choices and that kind of thing, just to see what it was like, based on the potential plotline I mentioned before (Taliya's early discarded plotline). Part just to see how it felt, part to see how quick it was. Like I said before, I had plans in mind for it, but I hadn't actually tried making them material until now.
In short, I've enjoyed it. I still enjoy the process, and it's actually kinda nuts how fast things can be scrambled together when you don't have to consider branching. It reminds me of when I first started Stormside and everything was simple, except this time I actually know what I'm doing regarding RenPy and HS2. (Also, I had a shitload of code and sound assets to copy across from Stormside.)
Now, with that said, I haven't forgotten about what will need to be done with Stormside. I'll be honest, at this point, with life as it is, I will be placing it on indefinite hiatus. I differentiate it from being abandoned because I do want to finish it at some point, but right now after this year I feel that to dive back into that I'll need to be in my old headspace, which seems quite far away at the moment. A lot of things play into that. The world, personal finance, general mental health, all that. Essentially what's happening is that by the end of the month, I should have a 0.1 ready for this other project, which will of course be released here first. I haven't made any promotional material for it for itch or whatever, so once it's released here it probably won't end up hosted anywhere else for a few weeks unless it gets leaked.
Back to Stormside though. I've been scrambling this new project 0.1 together because I feel the need to release SOMETHING this month, but unfortunately that thing isn't Stormside. I'm making my intentions clear now, and my intention is that I will transition to this new project, about which I'll probably release more details in the next few days. Once the 0.1 is released, I will switch my focus back to Stormside for the last time in what I expect to be a while to get the content for the update that never came released. Given my intention to transition to a new project, I plan to package the Stormside update as a kind of standalone send off exe, which will ask you a few questions about your previous choices at the start, and then let you play the content. I've been thinking the last two weeks about how to release it, but the reality I kept coming back to is that I just wasn't enjoying working on it, and 90% of that was making sure everything actually worked together will all the branching and shit. Also I'm fairly sure I accidentally broke save files like 2 months ago, and that finally sent me to the shadow realm. The content will be released because it is owed, but I only expect to connect it to the main game if I pick it up again in the future.
I should also bring up at this point that I have previously said that if I ever decided to abandon the game, I would release all assets, all code, everything, so that people could continue it if they want to. I'm in two minds about this at this point, because I've said a lot of things previously which I now recognise as "Haha, look how ethical I am" kinda bullshit which I said assuming it would never it would even come up. I'm fairly adamant about this one though, but I also don't consider the game abandoned, just on hiatus. If I were approached by someone with proven ability who wanted to take Stormside and continue it without my involvement, I would consider it depending on what they had planned, but at this time you can assume that for the foreseeable future, I will not personally be making new content for Stormside. I'm sorry guys.
Back to the new thing again though, I'll be completely honest. I have no idea if any of you guys will like it. That's an awful way to phrase it, but it's because whilst it's based on Taliya's old story, you have to remember that her character was a camgirl (Never officially confirmed in game, but that's what was going on with her). The new project leans into that pretty hard, and I know that's not going to work for some people. I do not expect everyone here at the moment to stick around for this new thing I'm making, simply because it isn't Stormside, and I also don't expect everyone who might be open to a new project to be on board with the subject matter I'm going for. All I can say for now is it's basically the same animation, sound and writing effort, except put into a linear game about camming. (More details in the next few days about that.)
I'm posting this at 4am my time, and I'm gonna go to bed right after this, so I'll have to wait until tomorrow to see how this news is received. Thanks for being chill before guys when I eluded that this might be coming, and I hope this doesn't ruin anyone's day.
TLDR : Stormside on hold, new thing coming by the end of the August, scary times ahead for me potentially.
Comments (8)
wait. so i just played the first renpy game that was actually fun, funny, interesting, dynamic. Instantly joined patreon only to find its abandonware. Storm side is good. With publicity he could have a team.
I hate to say this, but after all this time, I don't believe he will ever pick up Stormside. He dug himself into a hole and then turned it into a mine. Now realizing what kind of effort it will take to clear it all up, it's easier to say F it. He doesn't have the grit to see it through. He would need a team to pull this off, and I recall him being a one-man shop. He doesn't have the heart needed to finish the job. And we all know if your heart isn't into it, it just won't happen. It's a shame, as he is a very talented Dev. However, talent will only take you so far. You have to have persistence. I would love to have to eat these words at some point.
This is dire news. You might as well abandon it. Stormside is such a great work, verging on masterpiece with what little bit is currently there. It doesn't need branches, it doesn't need multiple endings. It is so far better than The Headmaster, or That New Teacher in the same genre. It's a shame to be losing it. Others seem to think that hiatus is a good thing because it means the project isn't dead. But given how long it has been already, and what you have said in these last 2 posts, I don't think they (or you) realize that if you don't get back to it soon, you simply won't at all. There is a lot of what you didn't say that is pointing to that. I say let someone else have it. Better that than let it be dead for another however many years. And an AVN about a camgirl? Really? No thanks. You might be taking steps forward in technology and fresh headspace, but you are definitely moving backwards in originality and creativity. Sorry, this is just how I feel. I am glad you are feeling better, and that things are moving in a more positive direction for you. But I'm not gonna blow smoke up your ass and tell you you are great for moving on from what was already a great work like these others.
Glad to hear Stormside is going onto hiatus and is not dead as a lot of people feared. My intent/dream with playing the game was to get Cassie Riley and Akemi Collared and slaved, potentially ordering ring-pierced nipples for them!(I can Wish!) and then having the rest of the girls in class collared, of course the fun is in the Corruption!
As much as I love the story and want to see it finished, putting Stormside on hiatus is a good choice for now. If there are blocking problems, then instead of banging your head against them and getting more frustrated and dispirited, putting it down to focus elsewhere is beneficial. Don't touch it for some time (6 months at least). Let it settle into the back of your head and if you think about it, make a note about that thought, but don't come back to it immediately, no matter how tempting it might be. re: breaking saves. I don't care. Break'em! It just means I have to replay from the start. I do that anyways when I get bored with other games. I never understood why a dev would bend themselves backwards trying to maintain backwards compatibility with saves for an AVN. I also dislike the 'what choices did you make'. Just make people start over. A suggestion for a stand-alone game if you stay away from Stormside, and that is Sasha's story and the ghost hunts with the MC. As much as I love the Stormside story as a whole and the potential for the MCs past to interact with it, I recall you saying how much you enjoyed Sasha's story. Why not a stand-alone exploring that and her goal of rescuing her mother? I think that would be interesting outside of the Stormside. I had been looking forward to a few more jump scares! And if you still love Stormside and the idea, you could also just stop with the branching and 3 routes and such, and pick a route for each girl and write just that story. No need to write and render all the variations. If you don't know which branch you want for a particular character, you could even make it a poll on the discord and let the fans weigh in. As for your story about Taliya, I'll reiterate what I said about your last post. I like your story-telling style. I look forward to seeing what you are going to create. TLDR : You do you, and just keep creating what you are passionate about and what brings you joy. Your fans will follow that.
Glad to hear from you again, Atem. I’m looking forward to seeing what you release, and am definitely going to be trying it out. Hope it’s all going well!
Stormside on hiatus is going to sit better with everyone than Stormside scrapped, and I have to applaud your courage in keeping it alive. Mainly, I'm glad to see a more 'together' tone this time! I hope things are really improving. And it'll be interesting to see what your imagination does with this storyline. Go for it!
Super excited to see new thing! Whilst I am sad for stormside, I do enjoy your storytelling and humor and am looking forward to more of it even if it’s a different story