Thoughts on the release of Chapter 8

I'll add my voice to the full and complete chapter release crowd. But in the end do whatever you feel is best of course. Your own mental health and well being is important.

Whatever allows you to tell the story best would be my preference. If waiting will definitely lead to you cutting things, then release what you can and work on the rest after. Honestly, I would even support adding some of those cut scenes back (assuming that is a narratively viable) as a part of a completing Medb's path if you opt to release in two parts. What I enjoy about your work is the narrative, not that I get content at regular intervals. As someone with AuDHD, I can relate to your situation from similar experiences. Hopefully you can find that balance for yourself and maintain your vision too.

Personally I prefer shorter faster updates. Unless it's important from a story standpoint to release it all together

I had to make a similar choice recently. It was presented to me as "Fidelity" vs "Speed". I chose Fidelity. I hope you do too.

Hi From a purely selfish point of view yes i want more and I want it now but in reality I also know that it will be worth the wait for an excellent game one of the best ever here so you must DO YOUR THING and we are happy to follow / wait for whatever CHEERS and GOOD LUCK Dave S

Just the preference of one person - please consider going with 2 releases so that you have the time and focus to give us both part one as well as a Medb path that Rocks! I'd prefer your complete vision, and I Know my patience will be rewarded. Thanks!

In which month the update will be released ??

youir missing something important you need to mention. how many lines of code is there if you release what you have no medb path? because for example 6k lines of code is a good night if you keep renpy on auto and read every line. that would take you like 2 hours to get through if you dont skip...but if it is only like 2k lines of code then its almost not worth the download and i would rather wait for a update that will entertain me longer. if you see this post can you tell us how many lines of code

Thank you sir

Fantastic story and art. (check) Plentiful updates. (check) Timely updates. (check) Meaningful updates. (check) Preview renders. (check) Connection, communication, and transparency. (check) I can't imagine complaining about either option, but ... Would doing two sub-releases add significant time, effort, or complexity to your process? If so, then I definitely vote for option 1. Would doing two sub-releases create the potential for issues with save files or logic from the first that was invalidated by the second (sounds like no so far)? If so, then I definitely vote for option 1. Otherwise, do what make you happiest and keep us in the loop as usual! Cheers! :-)

Ich bin mir vermutlich genauso unschlüssig wie du, einerseits isst das lange warten auf ein Update nervenaufreibend.... Auf der anderen Seite will man natürlich auch ein komplettes Update haben das fertig ist.... 🙈🙉🙊 Es ist eine grausame Entscheidung

No cuts. If it takes time, it takes time. You'll just end up getting annoyed if you start dividing things up when looking back. Like you do with Chapter 6. Besides, you'll have to deal with a bunch of people who don't know the full story why it's cutted and only think of themselves. That's frustrating, and it's just not worth it.

Ja nix einsparen oder wegkürzen Ceo - das machen unsere Regierungen schon genug, wir kriegen teilweise nichtmal mehr die Munition für die verpflichtenden Schiessübungen und unsere neuen Fahrzeuge sind geliest, die können wir Mitte des Monats abstellen weil die Kilometerbegrenzung am Limit ist - der ganz normale Wahnsinn wo du hinschaust...

No Shortcuts, give Medb what she deserves. :-) You can also do that in option 1 while taking few more months to.

Personally feel option 1 would be more meaningful to you as the "better" outcome because it'll help you not have any regrets. Perhaps you could consider taking breaks of 1-2 days in between while making the chapter to rest, recharge and clear your mind to have some "space" to think about how you wish to progress with the release of chapter 8. Just my 2 cents :)

As a player, I've always favored the "take your time and finish it completely" approach. I hadn't really considered how it feels from the developer side until recently, though, and it does seem like the endless work with minimal feedback can be a real slog. Given that perspective, I'm more inclined to favor splitting the update to keep things progressing at a comfortable clip - but I'm not entirely on that side. I still think your instincts to produce "complete" chapters is the right one. Snippets of a story (even if that story is part of a larger work) just don't have the same impact as a fully formed story would. The details stand out less, and repetition between different branches will feel less satisfying when we've already had months to ponder the big picture and the subtle distinctions are left to do the heavy lifting. Obviously this will be less of an issue when the game is complete, but even then the thrust of the narrative can feel weird if the two halves wind up belaboring points that need to cross that temporary boundary. So I guess my best advice is to look at the overall set of stories you're trying to tell and give a thought to how they will work if you divide this chapter in half. It sounds like Medb's content is largely exclusive to her path, so that's a good start. But will the split leave her half covering a lot of the same general information? If so, consider how to keep the exposition from feeling like a new skin on old content. Also, what will Medb's role be afterwards? If she's going to be largely absent from Chapter 9, it may start to feel like she's in a separate game altogether and you'll likely feel the same pressure to cordon off her unique content in later chapters, too. That's probably not a good position to put yourself in. Whereas if Medb's arc will be closer to the other branches moving forward, spinning this part off and giving it room to grow is probably a more beneficial exception. Not sure how helpful this advice is, but those are the parameters I'd consider if I found myself in your shoes. Good luck!

NO SHORTCUTS on whatsoever brother, your work is too good to risk not to see your complete Vision ! The decision is yours because you know yourself best...like i said, i am ok with both as long, as long we see every little bit of it. Personaly i am waiting hard for the Medb part because we lost Finnabair and thats one of the most important parts of your beautiful tale.... To Shorten it, even by not so important parts would be a loss for all of us. Whatever you decide, i will play it only when the whole chapter is complete, no matter what. Like always, thanks again for the ride you took us with, i love it very much ! Just my 2 cent...🫡💯👍 p.s. if something i wrote above sounds funny or makes no sense i apologize, its 0500am here and i am deadly tired after a whole night of checking the silent streets in Kosovo EX-Jugoslavia looking for bad guys...still at least 3 hours till we can go to sleep, refilling our patrol car, cleaning equipment etc. etc. See you after some sleep today, good night. 😉

We love your content and would love to see more updates so i go for option 2. Even though a complete release is for the better it would be complicated if it becomes something like Being a Dik that takes ages for releasing something new. I have seen lots of developers that release small chunks every time and it's not bad in any way. It keeps the interest in the game alive and it provides an independent developer as you with more revenue. I am all for small chunks and I would support releasing even smaller parts. Also, there is no need lowering the price for those parts. Everyone who won't agree with the price may wait a bit more to buy it as soon it's cheaper. I'll keep supporting your work either way.

Option 1 obviously! You've said it yourself: "I cut scenes that I thought were unimportant, but looking back, I should've kept them." I want to experience the best you can produce and,if I have to wait a "little" longer I'll gladly do it. Well, I'm an older guy, I have more capacity to wait, even if I feel I still have little patience... But I think you muster the necessary discipline to keep you from feeling you're failing someone or even yourself, just to do the opposite. In the end we'll be very happy with your work and so will you. Take care.

I choose option 1

I'm glad you're open about all of this. Considering how you've approached releases thus far it's not an easy decision. I honestly thought you'd start with Medb path cuz' it seems like it's bigger part and I'd have thought it was the first part of the episode but you have your way of doing things and I respect that. If you want my two cents I think you should release Ch8 in two parts. You don't want to feel like you've compromised the experience on either path but you're also fighting with yourself so that this development won't take year or something like that. If you release part 1 it will probably give you peace of mind like "it's done" and you can easily give yourself another 4 - 6 month for part 2 , treat it almost like new development while people have something to play and you make some money (personally I don't think it's a ripoff if there are two parts unless it's really small like less than 1000 static per part). I don't know you but from what you're saying you really hate to take shortcuts so putting all of this work and time no matter how long and be disappointed with the result you don't want that but like I said I feel like you don't like long development so it's a middle ground and you have some time to breathe cuz' part one will be behind you. Side note as a result I'm almost certain the whole episode would be bigger at the end which is a plus in my book

i say follow "Your" script we can wait till its finished in Total :)

How you look at your own work is paramount. Split into two. Do not think of this as 'half-assing' it. This is ensuring you're telling the story you want to tell, as well as you can tell it, while not going insane or burning out. Due the story justice. Find the point where it make sense to end Part 1. Release, and then throw yourself into part 2. This is not taking the easy way out; this is the hard way. Making your story to the best of your ability while respecting the interests of your fans.

Other devs were struggling with the same question as you. In the end they decided to split the chapter in 2 parts as it would avoid them rushing to try to complete the chapter and maybe cutting some corners. A release, even part of a chapter, also means a spike in interest in your game, while a too long period without updates can turn people off to your game

1 If you can't make a decision, flip a coin, hold a vote, or just get some sleep — sit down in the morning and think it over, gauge your strength, and decide. Either way, we're with you.❤️ Get some sleep anyway.

I feel your pain! My personal inclination would be for option 2, especially since it seems that's the option you feel will result in the best final product. I trust your instincts for the story and your own work capabilities.

My feeling is that I would rather see the release split, wait longer for Medb, and get her path as complete and polished as everyone else's. On the other hand I would also like to play some of the other paths while I'm waiting, so my vote would be for option 2 - a kind of best of both worlds. Although, truth be told, your vote is the one which is key here: as creator of the story you know which works best for it.

I'll admit. I was digging the direction. Heartbroken on the ending of the last chapter I'll admit. I rage quit for a while. Then I bought the steam version too. YOU, and Cardib are the only 2 I'm willing to wait for.

While I always say "Take your time, we'll wait", this time it really seems like you need to do a release, for your own sake. I understand how it can feel like too much is bottled up if you work for so long on one release. Also: Medb's path is important to me. Of course you need to be rested and inspired when you write it! So I'll recommend option 2.

Well Ceo, I am of a split mind myself, but I am leaning toward waiting until the entire chapter is completed. I'm willing to wait for completion. It's like I always say, I love your game, but it's not like it's the only game I play.

My personal vote would be for no shortcuts. I am one of those eager to find out how the story progresses, but the main reason I fell in love with this game was for the story.

It's understandable. I'm on both sides. Take your time we'll be here. But taking your time and feeling that way leads to rushing and/or tired of the story. But without Medb...a key story line, dangerous.