I'm always glad to hear that! It definitely makes getting through the tougher points like right now a lot easier to bear, heh. Most kind, and thank you!
There's still more to come, but the lingering bugs will take a little longer to fix. More inconsistencies are also being targeted from earlier work, so I hope to get to those, too. I'm never done!
Thank you so much, Purple; I'm really glad to hear that you're enjoying the story so much! There's a lot more update goodness to come, and I hope I can continue to earn this reaction all the way to the end!
Let's drop the passive-aggressive, shall we? It's exhausting, and there's only so long I can respond politely to someone behaving in a rude manner (as you'll see momentarily), and I intend to drop this matter after this response.
I am not responsible for how satisfying you find my answers, only for the provision of those answers. You raised a concern, I explained how you'd misread the text and admitted it could be my fault as the author, and polled other readers to see more opinions. I determined the fault was in your reading, not my text, based on that polling. You have clearly held on to this discontent for an entire year, which is unhealthy at best.
What you seem incapable of realizing is that no one else in the community is reading this the way you are. The implication that not only the author is wrong, but also the entire rest of the readership save for you and you alone, is arrogant and self-entitled. The irony that your tone implies that I'm the arrogant one for failing to recognize your superior literary analysis is not lost on me.
I am not going to address the problem because there is no problem here to address. I have made many mistakes and cocked up many things, both in this project and in many others over the decades, but casting my net for a wider source of critique of the scene in question sees you standing alone. The problem is not the text. The problem is your reading, and that is not something I have the power to fix.
You are not my editor and you are not my co-writer. You are a reader, immensely valued and very appreciated, but a reader nonetheless. You can like my work, or you can leave it. I know I can't please everyone and I don't even try. Some people will enjoy what I do. Some won't. I'm going to do everything in my power to create something wonderful that means the former outnumbers the latter by orders of magnitude, but I will not compromise my characters or my creative and narrative vision for any single reader, especially not one with such a jumped-up sense of self-importance that he feels the need to hold a grudge against a single scene for a year and vent that grudge in this public space.
I appreciate and respect that you care enough to be this up in arms about one scene in a VN that you otherwise seem to enjoy. You have not, however, presented an attitude worthy of consideration, a critique backed by common opinion, or any special insight or discovery that requires me to alter my approach to my work. Certainly the implication that you and you alone have the narrative literacy and literary wisdom to fix what's broken in my work is a feat of ego worthy of legend.
So to your issues with the scene in question, as I said at the top: No.
This matter, from my perspective, is closed. I've spent far too much time that I could have used to work on the project on this instead, and I am very glad to put it behind me. I suggest that you do the same.
People who disagree with me, or have criticism of my work, are completely valid! We don't learn and grow if we're not willing to entertain the thoughts and feelings of those who disagree with us. The difference is only in the method of critique and the validity that it implies.
As for the numerical matter, I'm aware of that but appreciate the warning nonetheless! As an 80's baby who's seen plenty of usernames with a date of birth in them however, I'm not the sort to immediately castigate someone like that until I can be certain it's anything more than innocent coincidence. I try not to assume malice if I can help it! Something that, admittedly, is growing harder in this day and age.
I hope so too, but I'm optimistic in the meantime! If it happens, it'll give me time to get further ahead in the writing and to put some extra effort into other things for the project, so even in that bad outcome there's some good to be found. All I want is for Void Dreaming to be the best that it can be!
When you commented about this a year ago, I explained how you'd misinterpreted things. I also suggested that I wouldn't engage any further, and yet you've returned with your same grievance. You're also presenting your read on the situation as authoritative, when you've framed the circumstance in question falsely. It makes it very difficult on my end to be measured and diplomatically since, as has been done in another comment here, you're essentially twisting my characters and the circumstances in a public forum.
I recommend again that if you're this upset with Void Dreaming to channel that energy toward any number of other, wonderful FVN projects that you might actually enjoy. If you want only to revisit your frustration here on a regular basis I sure can't stop you, but I'll only have so much patience for it. No one is going to force you to read something you abhor, and I'm sure your time would be better spent praising work you enjoy than to come back here and revisit something you do not and vent your frustrations in public.
As my (hopefully) final word on the matter, as the writer in question and in response to your last line: you're welcome. I hope you can find enjoyment elsewhere.
Thanks so much for the kind words, Milo! I'm really glad that you're enjoying the crew of the Dreamer, especially Obaa. She's a riot to write, I can assure you!
And no need to be super sad for much longer; the public build and Patreon builds both update this coming weekend, so there's a lot more to see just over the horizon now. Hopefully you enjoy it just as much as what's come before!
Thanks so much for the kind words, and for giving Void Dreaming a read; I'm glad that you're getting invested in it! Psychological Horror isn't a genre I'm particularly into, but I'd be lying if I said that sci-fi didn't have a lot of horror baked in if you're unafraid of exploring it, heh heh.
Also always very glad to hear that Tulemeni's getting some love! She's such an interesting character to write, so I'm glad that you're enjoying her; hopefully her journey is one you find satisfying!
Thank you so much for the kind words, and I'm glad you're enjoying it! I have a lot of fun with these characters so it's always nice to know people are appreciating them. And no worries mentioning other projects! They're my peers, not my competitors!
Your saves should be intact as long as you overwrite the old install with the new; I admit I don't actually know how Ren'py handles save integrity. Its pretty robust though, so you should be fine; let me know if there's any issues and I'll see what I can do!
And hey, if you really need more right now, the Patreon's got an update coming... oh! Today! Just in case you're looking to get to the next day (and a bit more) a little early!
Thank you very much for the kind words! It's a lot of hard work to make all the variable choices work together, but I feel like the effort's worth it to make something that feels truly reactive and organic. It's always nice to know someone thinks I've pulled it off, and I hope you continue to enjoy what I've got in store!
I'm glad you like Rael so much; he's a lot to write, I can assure you! As for the main menu screen, I'm going to have to disappoint you, I'm afraid; that's just a distorted reflection thanks to warpspace!
Thanks so much, I'm glad that you're enjoying it! I try not to give instructions for how to see specific content since I feel like the fun is in finding it yourself, but there's plenty of readers on the discord who I'm sure would be very happy to assist!
Thank you so much for the kind words! The choices can be very daunting, I don't doubt. There's no wrong way to make your path through the story though, and I've tried to make every choice and every outcome feel satisfying, so hopefully that helps you worry less!
Goodness, thank you so very, very much for the incredibly kind words! There's so much here and I'm incredibly grateful that you seem to be enjoying it so much. There's even more on the Patreon if you're inclined and able to help support the project, but even if not there'll be a lot more fun to come here; I hope to entertain you for a long time yet!
Wow, that's one hell of a demo! You're going to be waiting a while, unfortunately; if everything works out the way that I'd like it to, then at the earliest Void Dreaming will be releasing its final public build in early 2029. Fingers crossed that I can get the Patreon support necessary to make it there!
Thank you so much for the kind words, Hat! I've put a lot of work in to make sure the choices all feel good, so it's very encouraging to hear your praise for it. And hey, if the To Be Continued line bugs you, the Patreon is always there with upcoming content early!
There's already an option for the reader to not get involved in anything that other crewmembers are getting up to; Rael can leave before anything is discovered. The option is there for that reason, and I can't see a need to add anything more than that since if the issue is not wanting to intrude on private moments, it's already covered. If the issue isn't that you can see them and more that they're happening... well.
I've heard that some people take issue with those scenes because they consider it cheating/cuckolding content, and to that I disagree firmly. Even if you remove the notion that the setting is far more sex-positive and easy-going with such things, at no point in any Void Dreaming content available right now (and potentially for a long time) is Rael in a committed relationship with anyone on the crew. If people want to call that cheating, that's their prerogative, but I've no intention of trying to meet every requirement for every potential reader. That's impossible, after all!
As ever, I heartily encourage people who think that Void Dreaming is not for them to simply stop reading. There are many other wonderful FVNs out there that may not rub them the wrong way, and if not I equally encourage them to perhaps create something of their own and share that with their own audience. I'm not going to yuck anyone's yum, but I'm also not going to bend to the desires of every reader who takes issue with an aspect of my work.
I'm sorry that this has caused some frustration for you! If this is the circumstance I think it is, then it's not supposed to be able to happen; there could be a programming fault in there that I need to address to prevent the scene in question from coming up after such an important Event scene. If that's what's happened, I'm doubly sorry; it'll be fixed in an update for sure!
I will point out that the other person who responded to your comment was factually incorrect about a number of things. I'm not inclined to go point-counterpoint since I'm certain their tastes and values are colouring their experience to the point where they're actively making up scenarios that never existed in the written text, but when they're going to go ruining people's perceptions of my characters when they're making shit up? I'll step in to at least point that out. Quite irritating.
The ace Rael option was definitely included for those who wanted to consider that option, though. It's always good to see it getting some use!
I'm so glad that you're enjoying the story so far! The characters in Void Dreaming are a lot of fun to write, so it's great to hear that they're resonating. Thanks so much for the kind words, and don't worry: there's a lot more to come!
I'm sorry that this has upset you! The nature of the setting is a lot more loose and free regarding sexual activity than is often seen in the current real world day, and the characters of the story have existing dynamics and situations that have nothing to do with Rael. Rael is the lead character of this story, but he's not the centre of the universe. The crew do not exist to revolve around him; the story's not about that.
Regrettably, if you're upset by the members of the crew engaging sexually with one another absent your involvement, Void Dreaming may not be for you. Fortunately, there are many other FVN projects that will no doubt be much more pleasant for you, and I wish you good luck in finding one you enjoy!
It depends, actually! The amount of effort is variable, but as a general rule, it takes about two or three sessions to see development in a single specific skill. It might get changed up eventually based on feedback and the way it feels by the time the 1.0 release eventually arrives, but we'll see!
Hey, and thank for your words and your thoughts; it's very much appreciated. And don't worry! Your English was absolutely fine.
Obviously I can't give too much away given the potential for spoilers, but I'm sorry that certain aspects of Rael's existence aren't working well for you. I do wonder if getting the information you did when you did may have coloured things, or if you may have picked up something that I didn't intend, but Rael's certainly not in any danger of dying anytime soon (not from natural causes, anyway!). Maybe by the end of the story you'll have a clearer picture of where this has all been going, and I hope when you get there you find the conclusion to Void Dreaming to be a satisfying one.
Thanks again for taking the time to share your thoughts, and I hope you continue to enjoy Void Dreaming!
I'm glad to hear you're enjoying the story, Vundorm!
I was tempted to make Rael's name something the reader could change when I started out, but I decided against it. You're inhabiting Rael in this story and guiding his choices, but Rael's his own character and I felt in the end that leaving his name as it is was the best choice narratively. I hope it doesn't negatively impact your enjoyment too much!
For the first question, you'll always (if you're pursuing romances or not) wind up gravitating toward one crewmember above all the others. This won't lock out any intimacy with other crewmates before the lock-in, but if you're messing around romantically with compatible crew, you may be able to leverage that into a polyamorous situation. It'll depend on if the crewmembers are compatible with both each other and Rael, though, and that's much later in the story yet!
And for question the second, Event scenes do have limitations to them and some are very specifically locked to certain days. Most Event scenes, however, are viewable within a set timeframe. As the story goes on, you may start to see why they're structured the way that they are; it's a very complex web of potential. But Void Dreaming is made to be explored multiple times and in multiple ways, so just because you miss something on one run through doesn't mean you'll miss it in another!
You're certainly not being dumb; your insights are going to inform how you enjoy any story! The setting Void Dreaming takes place in is pretty easy-going about sex, and these two have known each other for quite a while. Things make sense from their perspective, even if Rael, and you, are an outsider to it. How you feel about it is all up to you, though!
And thanks so much; I'm glad to hear you think Void Dreaming is peak! I hope to only make it even more awesome as time goes on!
You're very kind; thank you! Please don't worry if you're not financially able to support the project; spreading the word is a great help anyway, and I'm glad you're excited for Void Dreaming. I'd love to hear how you like it once you get started!
Art is more important now than ever I feel, and all I want is to make cool things for people to enjoy. I've been overwhelmed by the responses to this issue and the support for the project shown, and I'm just glad to have the opportunity to share this with everyone.
Thanks so much for the kind words! I'm glad that you're enjoying Void Dreaming, and by all means, take your time! I try to make sure every update is packed full of stuff to enjoy, but you're not wrong; the longer you wait, the more there is!
Thanks so much for the kind words, Nein! I do love me some good worldbuilding and technobabble, so finding the balance between it and being coherent is always fun! Rico also does amazing work on the backgrounds for Void Dreaming; I'm sure he'll appreciate your praise and I'll pass it along!
I can't make any promises, but I'm glad you're excited for what comes next! Patreon has the full Day 5 experience now (and starts Day 6 soon!) if you can't wait another month and a bit!
