March 24 Update
Added 2019-03-24 18:39:22 +0000 UTCOver the past week I've been spending a lot of time thinking about TLS art. If you didn't see the $5 thread you might be missing some context, but I wanted everyone to see the above. The picture for this post is the first one Annikath did where I actually commissioned it and was involved in the drawing process. What do you think?
As for the picture itself, it's not a specific scene from the game, just something I wanted. Lots of games aren't really about characters, just various porn scenarios. So I wanted to have a picture portraying the characters after sex, focusing on personality and comfyness. I'm quite pleased with how it turned out. ^-^
Nothing is decided yet and minor details could yet prevent art from going forward. But I figured using this as a test was win-win, because everybody gets a nice picture. Depending on how things go, there may be critical threads about art decisions in the future.
In other news, Street Cultivation hit the trending list and the number of readers exploded. Even with some people giving 0.5 star ratings, it's stayed in the top 50 in the site's quality rankings, once getting as high as 31. It's drawing new attention to the Sarah Lin Patreon and my other work, which is also nice.
Having said that, the ranking doesn't really make me happy. I don't like the pacing of posting chapters every few days and I don't think RoyalRoad is the site for me. This has given me some very valuable knowledge and ensured that I won't ever try to publish my fantasy books in serialized fashion. I think the experiment was good for me to do, but I probably won't be repeating it once this story is done.
Anyway, that's all for now! I'll get back to work and be away for a while, but let me know what you think of the picture.
Comments
When I first played TLS I kind of wanted pictures to accent the sex texts but seeing this picture changed my mind. It would be far more fitting to have art for before or after the sex. I have read a lot of NSFW vn's and there is only so many ways to draw "the act". Its honestly refreshing to see work done on characters enjoying the afterglow moments. Focusing more on the quiet portion of intimacy just feels right for a game that prioritizes character over smut... Side-note is it weird that a women who names herself "First Slut" has better personality then the majority of vn girls?
Nathan Phoenix
2019-03-28 01:28:36 +0000 UTCAnd if you are too busy, well, to quote a pretty important character: "I understand the concept of delegation"
DankPotatoes
2019-03-26 16:09:20 +0000 UTCHey Sierra. Now that the next TLS update seems a bit far off, have you concidered doing a new community poll? Favorite game character seems obvious, but it could also be something else, like favorite section of the story or favorite country. I know the wiki does something similar occascionaly but I think it could be fun to make it "official"
DankPotatoes
2019-03-26 16:08:06 +0000 UTCNo idea about the community tab, but at least individual posts from it are still accessible if you have the URL. For Gawnfall, conversations that might matter are: The Silver Stump's front desk, redhead errand boy at Silver Stump, restaurant manager in the Business District, and succubi in the guardhouse (if present).
Decanter
2019-03-26 07:30:06 +0000 UTCApologies for somewhat randomly posting this here, but the community tab appears to be missing alla sudden (and I can't ask in the Hrenn TLS discord any more). Can someone tell me what the purpose of the Ardford visit during the Gawnfall Summit is? I've talked to everyone and everything in the town (I think) and while there's some nice flavor stuff there I don't see what was important enough to make it a required trip. What am I missing?
Dubsington
2019-03-26 03:17:34 +0000 UTCReading through the comments here and with the earlier picture discussion, I love seeing how people are admitting that what they Really Love is the Story. It's a funny reversal for a NSFW game, because we're all admitting that the smut isn't the main draw...as if that's abnormal. It's like we're all worried some normal smut fan is going to come around the corner and cry out in horror. I can hear them now, "What have you done! You dirty intellectual, you."
StormyAngel
2019-03-25 21:52:27 +0000 UTCI will admit that I play TLS for the story; and the decision making. Though truthfully I skip through most of the sex scenes due to the fact that I want to get back to the story. The game does need them for it is integral to the story but something for down the road if someone starts to create art to your standard that you can implement starting out. Cant wait to the next update
Edward Culham
2019-03-25 21:38:05 +0000 UTCThis is an excellent point. It would probably be adding an extra...30 or so? scenes, but having something just depicting the characters with Simon whenever they have their affection locked would be pretty awesome. Preferably the depiction should be of however the conversation presents them as. I.E. locking in Lynine ought to be a drawing of her and Simon watching the sunset from the wall of the home base.
StormyAngel
2019-03-25 21:35:30 +0000 UTCI've love to see more like this. Non-sex intimacy is just as important to show as the actual fucking. One of the scenes in the game I'd most like to see illustrated is the one that (I think) is triggered by maxing out Qum's affection. Where Simon just holds her in his lap and listens to her try to explain her feelings. It's not really a scene, but I'd also like to see art of Simon and the early harem members dog pilled into his bed in Feroholm.
Trisk
2019-03-25 20:22:15 +0000 UTCThanks for your feedback! Feel free to use the other thread for OEA stuff.
Sierra Lee
2019-03-25 14:00:48 +0000 UTCI like the art above, but I agree that TLS doesn't really need it - the sex scenes can stand on their own, imo. The artist does look like she's getting better, and she's clearly a fan - which is important. That said, while I think she draws the women fine (Hilstara could be a bit buffer though. Or a lot buffer.) Simon always looks a bit weird - like he's just come off smoking a joint or something. Dunno. Maybe I'm too used to stern Simon from your games. Also, if I have a Once Ever After question do I post it here or down in the 0.20 thread?
genericname12345
2019-03-25 06:09:08 +0000 UTCA game like yours, should focuse on the characters and after the act, i find you due to my boredome with standar naughty games, and over time i grew to care for the characters and plot, yes that plot not the other one :p, sex is a secondary thing now for me on TLS, the same way kill la kill make fanservice feel natural, you make it not only a mechanic of the game but a natural way to see things, and even if i feel that art will help is more about what scenes or fealings you want to focuse on as well.
Leveler All
2019-03-25 05:07:20 +0000 UTCI respect this opinion and do hear you, I just think that there are a lot of other people who feel the opposite way about art in TLS. Glad you like Qum's playfulness, as that was what I was going for. ^-^
Sierra Lee
2019-03-25 04:23:52 +0000 UTCThanks for your detailed feedback! Is there any way you could pinpoint the precise details regarding Simon's eyes that don't work for you? Re RoyalRoad - I have the whole story written already, it's the reformatting for RR and replying to comments that I don't like.
Sierra Lee
2019-03-25 04:22:46 +0000 UTCThanks for the feedback! You will see a future experiment with shading styles, FYI.
Sierra Lee
2019-03-25 04:20:23 +0000 UTCThanks for the feedback!
Sierra Lee
2019-03-25 04:20:11 +0000 UTCI still stand by the fact that I do not think TLS needs art. I am worried not only how it will slow down things on your end, but also the workload involved for the artist. It just really feels unnecessary. However, I do really enjoy the picture above, and am definitely not against the artist continuing to make art using the game as inspiration. I especially enjoy Qum in this picture, because I feel like her playfulness comes across in it.
Badger66
2019-03-25 02:47:48 +0000 UTCThe bodies are great, much better than before. Criticisms: Simon: Simon's eyes are *bizarre*. Because he's on the far left of the picture, my eyes are drawn to his first, and they're weird. They don't portray *any* emotion whatsoever. Is he looking at the girls on him? Fondly? (His mouth implies that, and pretty well. His eyes do not.) Is he looking at the ceiling and thinking about the future? Who knows. It's not clear in the picture. It should be. (There are also way less scars on Simon's body than I think he should have - and speaking of, where's the scar on his face?) Qum: Qum's cute. Has piercings in her ears - are those Lust Earrings? Lovely detail and nice touch. Her ears are way more pointy than I thought, though. And Qum is...bustier than that. Even with breasts squished. She's really cute, though. Hilstara: Where's the muscle? =( Fetish-wise, Hilstara hits the muscular-girl fetish straight on, and in this picture...minimal muscle. Maybe it's padding in the armor, but Hilstara has broad shoulders - her default weapon is an axe - she's got to have at LEAST lean packed muscular body. Although, cute butt. And in line with at least one of the stories. Background: Those are sure some interesting curtains. And it looks like the bed is very firm and the characters are floating on top of it. No sensation of weight. No sensation of Simon ameliorating the weight, if that's what he was after. But much better background than the last one we saw. If I'm not wrong this one looks like it's set in the ambassador's area of Janine's palace. Otherwise, yeah, she's good. Re: RoyalRoad - there's a scheduled release button on the Add Chapter page. It's possible to wait a bit and add chapters in a burst, just schedule them to be three days apart. Entirely possible to finish writing first and then just slowly release them without really looking. I'm publishing as I go (and languishing somewhere around #17000 =P), but then, I'm much worse at writing long-form than you are. But it's sad to hear that RR, and serialized publishing, isn't the way forward for you. Still, looking forward to finishing Street Cultivation!
SEEQYR
2019-03-25 02:22:56 +0000 UTCI am a fan of everything but the shading technique. Personally, I think the very Japanese style in Once Ever After makes it look vastly more commercial and professional. Not to say that this technique is bad, I just think that cell shading makes the art look cleaner and stands up against art in other commercial games.
Sower of Systems
2019-03-25 01:03:03 +0000 UTCI'm happy with the artwork. I had precautions about it, but if she can crank out work like this regularly, then it will definitely be a nice addition to the game. Give the whole thing a visualization along with the narrative. Or just the occasional nice 2D pic to give an idea of what you envision the characters looking and acting like.
Alan Howard
2019-03-25 00:57:52 +0000 UTCSimon's canon height isn't actually very tall, though he can change that a bit via magic. This is possibly something I didn't communicate well enough to Annikath.
Sierra Lee
2019-03-24 21:36:45 +0000 UTCGlad you like the picture! As for books, it definitely seems like future work will be more toward what you'd prefer.
Sierra Lee
2019-03-24 21:35:20 +0000 UTCIt's coming, I promise.
Sierra Lee
2019-03-24 21:33:54 +0000 UTCI like the art but the size difference between HIistara and Simon isn't something I expected. The piece makes him look a head taller than she is!
Trevor
2019-03-24 21:28:51 +0000 UTCGlad you like the picture! I could write a lot about different genres, but I should probably hold off and get back to work. I intend to try to write fun stories in a variety of different genres, then try an epic fantasy series without any subgenres and hope people like it.
Sierra Lee
2019-03-24 21:26:03 +0000 UTCNo, you're not wrong. While it remains important to me, I'm in a rough place with the upcoming update.
Sierra Lee
2019-03-24 21:22:32 +0000 UTCWell, I was favorable to the art idea before, but now I'm really looking forward to it! If this is the quality the game will be getting from Annikath then that's perfect. I hope it works out. :) I'm still enjoying the Street Cultivation chapters, but to be honest I prefer publishing that comes in larger chunks. So while I'm sorry to hear the experiment isn't working out for you, I'm happy to hear we'll be getting more of your projects as books as a result. Thanks for the update.
StormyAngel
2019-03-24 21:22:20 +0000 UTCGlad you like it!
Sierra Lee
2019-03-24 21:21:25 +0000 UTCI will take a look! Mirroring on multiple sites increases the time investment, so no promises, but I'm always open to alternatives.
Sierra Lee
2019-03-24 21:21:14 +0000 UTCI love the art, it seems like the artist is improving steadily over time... But when will we kick the Fucklord's ass though?
DankPotatoes
2019-03-24 20:44:24 +0000 UTCSome specifics about "getting the characters": Cumdump appears to be happily prattling on about something, like she would be, and Hilstara is patiently and benevolently giving her full-but-sleepy attention, because even though it's probably silly nonsense Hil loves her and knows it's important to Qum that others listen. Simon, cocaine aside, is enjoying the physical warmth and, in a loving but slightly-aloof way appropriate for the lord of the harem, is just letting Qum talk without actually engaging because he knows that Hil has it covered and nobody's feelings will be hurt. Maybe I'm reading it differently than intended, but that's how it looks to me and it fits the personalities wonderfully.
Dubsington
2019-03-24 20:07:23 +0000 UTCI feel like the artist really gets the characters, and if you plan on personally providing feedback to her then I suspect that will continue to get better. There are a few nitpicks with the actual art-- Simon looks like he is coming down off a cocaine high (something about his mouth and eyes) rather than chilling in the after glow, but on the other hand the girls faces are just lovely. But like many have said in the other thread, an artist who is a fan and loves the character is far more appropriate for TLS than someone that can execute a gorgeous drawing but miss the point.
Dubsington
2019-03-24 20:01:09 +0000 UTCStrongly approve of the art sample. Depictions of the different character relationships is one of the strongest points of TLS, and in my opinion the illustrations which convey that are more important than any of the sex scenes which are less characterization-heavy. I can see how the serial format of Street Cultivation imposes limitations on the pacing relative to releasing works in complete form, but I think your ranking on Royal Road is also limited by your relatively obscure genre choices. Hopefully your site rank will continue to rise, but with Street Cultivation, I doubt it's going to reach a level commensurate with your skill. I love how you bring wit and artfulness to genres where genuine skill is so scarce, but in terms of audience exposure, it probably can't help that audiences who can appreciate the level of your craft aren't particularly concentrated in the fields you've been writing in.
Desertopa
2019-03-24 19:53:18 +0000 UTCI may be out of the loop owing to being at the $5 contribution tier, but it's been a while since we've heard tell of the next TLS update.
DukeLeto7
2019-03-24 19:45:25 +0000 UTCIt's interesting, I have the opposite intuition, where I envision Aka and Varia as both being leaner than Hilstara. Partly because Hilstara is older, but also, while her training would give her plenty of muscle mass, I don't see her worrying so much if she puts on a little extra fat with it. So compared to Aka, I see her as having more muscle (maybe not more than Varia, who's a dual-wielding powerhouse,) but less definition because it's more covered up.
Desertopa
2019-03-24 19:42:01 +0000 UTCI hadn't commented on the art post because I wasn't really sure how I felt about about it, but I have to say that I really do like this piece. I wouldn't object to art like this in the game.
Handsome Stalin
2019-03-24 19:21:04 +0000 UTCThere is a site that is similar to royalroad you could try. Scribble hub which is newer but has much better navigation. It has a respectable amount of traffic and an active community.
RevGen
2019-03-24 19:17:14 +0000 UTCIs it weird to say I really like the hands in this picture? But I like how Hilstara's hand gently rests on Simon's chest, how Simon's wraps around the other two (especially how it run's under qum's hair) and I like how even without dialogue you can tell Qum is eagerly describing something! The only thing I kind of think is a negative may be more of personal preference but I would kinda want to see Hilstara a but more muscled. There is already some obvious definition comparing Hilstara to Qum here but that's more what I'd imagine Varia or Aka's body would look like definition wise. With all Hilstaria's armor and shield I'd say she'd be pretty darn ripped! I feel like writing so many words might make it seem like a big problem but it's again more just personal preference to see greater diversity in the art! I'd say my opinion of this picture is a 8.5/10! And look forward to see if there is more!
WaxerRed
2019-03-24 19:15:51 +0000 UTC
