Thanks for the help! + some thoughts on the next game

First of all, we want to thank all of you for your support and cooperation.
And especially I want to thank Kyrieru for his advice and help, without him I wouldn't have been able to fix this.

The game is now being reviewed by Curious Factory (or DLSite?) once again, and I hope it passes this time.
Anyway, as soon as this happens, I'll post the news on this blog of course.


But lets get to a new topic:
I always mentioned, that we don't want to invest more time (and money) into Paperheads.
So everyone who thinks about this statement can easily guess that we will be working on something new.
(while occassionally fixing stuff on the Paperheads game)

Budget wise, there is no budget currently...
Which means, yes, we can't pay for music or other stuff right now.
And so far, it will all depend on the sales of our last game (Paperheads).

We planned it out as a 2 months project (with the possibility of it taking 3 months, but not more than this).
So if we assume that Paperheads doesn't go on sale, I'm going to have to look for a job.
This would mean that the game won't be finished in 2 months, but well, the ammount of work is still aproximately 2 months full-time, it doesn't get more work, it just gets delayed quite a bit.


What we planned for this 2 month project:
- platformer based gameplay
- strong focus on good and fun gameplay
- graphics in pixel art (small graphics)
- one heroine
- 11 enemy types (all different ones)
- 4 bosses
- 4 stages
- 15 CG scenes with several pictures each, as well as text and backgrounds
(so it's definitely a lot more than 15 CG pictures, and it has story this time)


These things are optional:
- voice for the heroine
- sound effects
- music
(all depending on budget)

And also optional but unlikely:
- hentai sprite animations (unlikely to be implemented)


I don't think that we will apply grabs to this game, but in case we do, it will be different than in Paperheads, I don't want to make it too complicated anymore.
And it shouldn't slow down the gameplay, this time the game should be fast.
(so yes, the heroine you can play is actually quite fast)
At any rate, we might not contain any hentai sprite animations in this game.
Yes, I know that lot's of people like them, but the budget for this game is really tight (well, even "tight" is pretty optimistic, considering the fact that it's pretty much non existent right now), the graphics are really small, and we decided that it's best to skip them this time because the game should be done in 2-3 months.

Hentai sprite animations are really time consuming, and we overdid it with Paperheads, as every enemy type that has had grabs, had an overkill ammount of different hentai animations.
(while looking back, I think that one animation per enemy would have been enough)

On the new game, there is more focus on the (hentai-less) gameplay, as well on the hentai CG-scenes and the text of the CG-scenes.

I would say, that we implement hentai animations on the 3rd game we make (if we even be able to finish the 2nd one we just started), as well as slightly bigger graphics so it's more enjoyable.
(not as big as the graphics of Paperheads, but bigger as the graphics on the new game are)


There isn't much to show yet, but as soon as we get enough stuff together, I'll do a blogpost.
But I think this will be not earlier than 2-3 weeks from now on.
(well, we just started the "real" work this week, the last weeks we planned, learned to do pixel art, etc.)

So yes, the upcomming blogpost will hopefully be finally the release of "Paperheads".
Lets all hope that it will get trough this time.


P.S:
No the next game won't be a game with our wolfgirls, because I want both of them to be playable in a game.
(we will have only one playable heroine in the next game, so it's going to be someone else)
But maybe it will be their turn in the 3rd or 4th game we make?
(depends on budget, since a game with 2 heroines means twice the work, especially on the CG's)

Trial Version 1.03 & new vote

Thanks to Kyrieru I was able to improve the game a bit more.
It uses up even less GB Ram now, so the system requirements should be as follows:

2 Ghz
2 GB Ram (Win XP)
3 GB Ram (Win 7)
800 x 600 Resolution

Here is the download:
[Paperheads trial v1.03E]

password: prowo

(sorry, but there is still just only one file-hosting service to download from, I'll chose another one in the upcoming days)

The game itself now uses up 1 GB Ram to 1,3 GB Ram for me, depending on the OS and the computer/notebook I start it up on.

I also hope that the further reduction in RAM usage fixes the problem that a lot of people had with their Nvidia graphics cards.
I can't test it myself, because I just have ATI cards.
(or older Nvidia cards)
And I don't know what exactly causes this problem with the newer Nvidia cards...

So please vote at the new poll, if it now works for you, or if you still get errors.
Thank you very much! 

Known issues:
- the game doesn't run on computers with Nvidia GT and GTX-series
(please post a comment, if this issue has been fixed)

New demo version & vote

After DLSite reported an issue with the game again, I tested the game on several more systems.
But as it turns out, no matter where I tested the game, I never get the reported error.

That's why we need your help!
I opened up a vote, and I want to know for how many people the game runs fine.
(please only vote if you fulfill the system requirements)
So either I find someone to co-op with to solve this issue, or in case (nearly) noone has any issue at all, I can tell DLSite that they should just put it finally on sale.

The more people vote, the better it is.

Here you can find the new demo version:
[Trial ver1.02 eng]

password: prowo

In case you can't download the game, please vote at the appropriate option.
(I've edited the vote once, so it's reseted now, sorry for the inconvinience)
And it would be great, if you would write into the comments what issue you had.
Thank you very much. 


Here is the old version, for anyone who wants to try it out too:
[Old Trial ver1.0 eng]
(don't vote for this one! only for the new one) 

We decided to delete the old version here, to avoid confusion.
(it will be placed into the download section of the blog)



Both with english patch and uncensoring for the CG's that are available in the demo-version.
There is only uncensoring for the CG's, not the ingame graphics.
(you can take a look at the CG's without starting the game, but if you don't want to get spoilered, don't look)


The system requirements are as follows:

2 Ghz
3 GB RAM (Win XP)
4 GB RAM (Win 7)
800 x 600 Resolution

There is a chance that the game runs on weaker systems, but I wouldn't bet on it.

Have fun testing, and please don't forget to vote!

Release delay

パフォーマンスの問題のため、ゲームにいくつかの変更を加える必要がありました。
現在Curious Factoryがゲームの最新バージョンを見直しているところです。今回こそうまくいく事を強く願っております。
(注意:時間がかかる可能性があります。)

変更についてのお知らせ:
CGの枚数が42から34に減りました。
ステージ1用のExeファイルそしてステージ2，3用は別のファイルにあります。

さらに、MediaFireは私たちのいくつかのファイルを降ろしたので、ファイルホスティングサービスに切り替えるつもりです。
(しかしそれは大きい問題ではありません。ゲームの公開が早くなる事を願っています。あと、次のゲームプロジェクトのコンテンツを表示できるようになるまでまだまだ時間がかかりそうです。)


Because of the performance problems we had to make some modifications to the game.
Currently Curious Factory is reviewing the new version of the game, and we hope that it works out this time.
(but be aware, that it might need another week)

To inform you about the changes:
- the number of CGs have been decreased from 42 to 34
- there is now one exe-file for stage 1, and a seperate one for stage 2 and stage 3

Furthermore, we are going to switch the file-hosting service, since mediafire took down some of our files.
(but this doesn't matter right now, since the game release should be hopefully soon, and the next game project will take some time until we can show some content)

Donations opened

Here you can find the blog with the donation option:
[click here]


Like I stated on my last blog post, our team talked about starting to accept donations.
Our boss decided to open up a new blog, where you can donate to support us.
The blog exists also to show those who are interested in artwork, how you best draw CG's and stuff.
(coming up in the next days or so)
Though there will be no adult content shown.


The money donated on that blog goes to our boss's account, and it will be used to support our projects.
By supporting our projects I mean, we need money for our daily lives, so we can continue to work on making games.
(money for food, rent, etc.)
Also some of the money will be invested in BGM for the games.
So far we used up our savings to be able to invest enough time into making games.
(to tell the truth, right now noone of us has a job, and we would love to continue to work full-time on making games)

Thank you very much for your support!


P.S:
We are done with testing the game, and I hope we were able to remove all major bugs.
Currently the game is being checked up by DLSite, and it should be on sale in the next days.
Of course there will be a blogpost here, once it's on sale.

Last minute problems...

 scroll down for english text

ゲームをテストしてた最中にまた最大な問題が発生しました。
パーフォーマンスの問題をコントロール出来るように頑張って解決をしようと思いましたが、解決できなかったようです。
解決できないって事は、パソコンによって遊べないって事になります。
(残念ながら僕は素人のプログラマーなので、正確な原因を突き止めることはできませんでした。)


現在これを解決する唯一の方法は、最初からゲームを一から作り直す事ですが、全くの現実的な解決方法ではありません。
これまで仕事とかで貯めてきたお金で何とかゲームを作り上げましたが、お金がほとんど残ってない状態になり、ゲームを再構築する余裕はないんです。
原因は僕のプログラミングなのは知っています。でもこれでゲームのキャンセルをしてしまったら、気長く待っていた方、パーフォーマンスの問題があっても遊べる状況である方に申し訳ないからです。


まぁ、僕にとっては別にお金がなく、またはお金を出す価値がないって思う人がいて、それらの理由で違法ダウンロードでゲームをDLする人もいればそれで良いと思います。
本当にゲームを楽しんでくださる方は開発者をサポートすると思いますし、最も重要なことは、それらの人々が存在していることだと思います。
問題もいっぱいありながらも僕はその思いでゲームを完成させることが出来ました。
そして最終的に誰もゲームを購入してくれなかった場合は、私が単に失敗をしてしまった原因とみます。


この問題に対して、少なくとも何かをするために、僕は次のことを行うことを決めました。
僕は公開されるゲームと新しく出来上がるデモ版をアップロードします。デモ版は技術的にフルバージョンと同じ量の資源を消費します。
(すべてのグラフィックスなどが含まれていますが、"ロック"されているのでアクセスはできません。)

デモ版が実行できる場合は、フルバージョンも実行できるということです。
100％確実にしたい場合は、デモ版のステージをクリアすることをお勧めします。
それと、ゲームは２BG メモリーを使うので、３GBか４GB メモリーのあるパソコンでしか遊べません。
(OSとその他もメモリーを使いますので。)



何人かの人々がゲームをプレイすることができない可能性がりますが、それでも私たちがゲームを続けられるようにサポートをしたい方に私たちは寄付金の受け入れを開始する可能性を考えてみました。
馬鹿な失敗を犯してしまった事はまことに申し訳ないです。始めてのプログラミングだったので、次回からはもう同じ失敗しないよう頑張りたいと思います。







During testing we ran into another unforseen problem.
It seems that though we tried our best to get the performance problem under control, it didn't disappear entirely.
This means, that the game seems to be unplayable on some computers.
(unfortunately, since I'm a novice programmer, I'm not able to pinpoint the exact cause of this)


Currently the only solution to this that I can see is, to start building up the game from scratch, which is no viable solution.
I financed the developement of the game so far with money I had saved during previous jobs, but since there is nearly nothing of it left anymore, I can't afford to rebuild the game from scratch.
I know that my poor programming skills are the cause of this, but I think it's sad if I just cancel this game, because people enjoy playing it, and because some people are still able to play it despite the performance problems.


I think I’m okay with people pirating the game, if they don't have the money to buy it, or if they don't think it’s worth it, because of the problems.
The ones that really enjoy playing a game will buy it to support the developer and the most important thing is, that those people exist.
That's what I think, and that's what made me finish development, even though there have been so many problems.
And in the end, if no one buys it, it simply means that I failed and in that case, I'm fine with it.


So to do at least something against the problem, I decided to do the following:
Along with the release I'll upload a new demo version, the demo version technically uses up the same amount of ressources like the full version.
(since all the graphics etc. are included, but "locked" so they can't be accessed)

If the demo version runs on a computer, the full version should run too.
To be 100%ly sure, you should play through the complete stage of the demo version.
Other than that, since the game uses up 2 GB RAM, you should have a computer that has 3 or 4 GB RAM in total.
(since the OS and other stuff uses up RAM too)



Because some people might not be able to play the game, but still want to support us so we can continue to make games, we tought about the possibility to start accepting donations.
I sincerely apologize for the stupid mistakes I made while programming the game, it's my first game project and I'll do my best to not repeat those mistakes on future games.


~Wolfenstahl~

Finally done!

scroll down for english text & screenshots

やっとゲームが完成しました。
もうすぐDLSiteで売る予定です。ご期待を！
(他の販売オプションは今の所予定しておりません。)
今の所バグの修正や色々とテストしています。

そして、只今大問題が発生しており修正に時間が掛かっています。。。
一番の問題は、資源が物凄くいっぱい場所を取い、
このゲームだけで２GB　RAMを使い切ってしまいます。
(というわけ、２GB RAM以上のパソコンしか使うことができません。)


原因は最大グラフィック、CGなどなど使用しており、そしてすべてプリロードされています。
RAMを始める前からゲームグラフィックがロードされます。
 なんとかRAMの使用量を削減できるかどうか色々試してみたのですが、残念なが２GBRAM以下に軽減することはできませんでした。


BGMやグラフィックの切り取りややり直しはおいておいて、他の唯一の方法はゲーム自体の再プログラムコアパーツ。必要なときに外部からのデータを格納し、それをロードするとう方法。
しかし、それをやるには余りにも時間が掛かるだろう。。。
(もうすでにお金と時間を使い切っています。。。)

も うとっくの昔にこのゲームを完成したかったんだ。本音を言うともう一回やり直しが出来るほど力はありません。
それだったら最初から他の新しいゲームやグラフィックや、コードを作ったほうがいいです。

今までたためてきた経験を他のプロジェクトに使いもっといいゲームを作る予定です。
正直にいうと、我々が作る将来のゲームはKyrieruさんと同じ方向にいくと思います。
別に彼のゲームをコピーしようとは思っていません。ただ彼のゲームを遊んでいる時、とても楽しい気分になるので私たちは彼みたいな道を歩むことを判断しました。
(目障りなグラブから離れて、もっと２Dアクションとチャレンジゲームにする予定です)


 過去を見て　2012年の3月に作り上げたゲームがとうとう完成するなんて変な感じがします。
我々全員初心者として始めて作り上げたプロジェクトです。
 (ゲームアート、プログラミング、翻訳、アフレコ、音楽などなど)
 二人はフルタイムで半年間働いて、他の人はいくつかの小さな課題をやってくれました。
すべてのチームメンバーとヘルパーとすべてのファンのサポートに沿って、ありがとう！


Well, the game is finally done.
We are planning to sell it on DLSite soon, so stay tuned.
(no other sales options are planned as of now)
Right now we are testing the game, and fixing all bugs that we might encounter.

We also ran into a problem that did cost us a lot of time to fix...
The main issue is, that the game eats up a LOT of ressources.
As far as it is now, the game alone uses up roughly about 2 GB RAM.
(so you need MORE than 2 GB RAM on your computer in order for the full version to run!)


This is because of the large graphics, CGs etc. and the fact that it's all being preloaded.
Yes, the game loads all the graphics it has, right at the beginning when you start it up into your RAM.
We already tried everything to reduce the RAM usage, but we were not able to reduce it beneath 2 GB RAM.

Aside from removing/reworking some of the graphics or music, the only other way would be to reprogramm core parts of the game itself, in order to externally store the data and load it up when it's needed.
But those solutions would cost too much time to do...
(we spend way too much time and money on this already)


We wanted to finish this game a long time ago already, and to be honest, we are not willing to rework so much stuff...
it would be easier to build up a completely new game from scratch, with new graphics, new code, and external data usage.

That's what we plan to do, using all the experience we had made with this project, taking it over to the next one, and doing a way better game.

To be honest, I believe most of our future games will be oriented into the same direction that Kyrieru takes with his games.
I'm not saying that we will copy the way he does his games, but I admire the way he makes
his games playing experience feel, and I think it would be the right decision to shift the gameplay feeling into a similar direction.
(away from annoying grabs etc. more towards 2D platformer action, and challenging gameplay)


Looking back, it's a weird feeling to get a project finally done, since all of this "officially" started back in march 2012.
It's our first game project that we ever did, and all of us started out as novices.
(game art, programming, translation, voice acting, music etc.)
In total 2 people had been working about 6 months full-time on this.
While several others helped out with smaller tasks.

Thanks to all team members, helpers and of course all our fans for their support all along!