n2thefire
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Last Human reception (Public Post)
🕑 Added 2022-08-31 16:50:13 +0000 UTC(Please note that this post will contain spoilers from the first release of LH)
Hey everyone! This is a long post so bear with me. Last Human (Episode 1) has been public for little over one day now. From the messages I am receiving via DM's and my various websites, it has done even better than I expected. I also noticed that a few people whom I know did not like Serenity, really enjoyed LH. And that's great because I was hoping to pull in a few new "N2" followers. Subscriptions and money are great and help me keep doing this... But followers and kind comments are truly the greatest reward for me. I love seeing the discussions (and sometimes debates) about the story and that sometimes even brings new ideas to the table. Of course, I have also received negative comments and that's okay. I have learned not to let those get to me. The first release of Serenity taught me a lot about this community and how particular some people can be when it comes to their beloved AVN's.
With Last Human, I chose a sci-fi theme because it's my favorite genre. Does that mean that the terms I use in the story and how I craft this world will make sense to everyone? NO. And it is NOT meant to. I am trying to be very careful not to make this a Star Trek clone because although I had to use a Star Trek based 'bridge' and the basic story may follow a similar formula, it is far away from what Star Trek was about. I am crafting my own world or trying to. This includes coming up with my own terms for things. Like the wormhole generator, as an example, is something I came up with rather than having a "Scotty" 'beaming us up', I needed to use something very different to try and distance LH from something so common in the Star Trek universe.
Now, let's talk about the word 'pet', lol. Most people who mentioned this really liked the use of this word, and totally understood its use immediately. But there were a few who didn't like it. I wanted Pantherians to have some type of custom where they 'claim' a male and put it before the Queen and her council. I mulled over probably 100 different words and 'pet' just seemed to fit the best. I didn't want some weird made-up word, but something more common; simple. For Pantherians, 'pet' has a completely different meaning than your dog, cat, or goldfish. More details about this custom will come to light further into the story. There are some laws associated with how a pet relationship works. Similar to 'marriage' in the humans' world, yet different in many ways because a single pet can have multiple claimants.
Something I knew would come up (and did): repopulating. I joked "repopulate what though?" since Earth is no more. Imagine there really is no Earth. You have a badass starship, and a crew of Nekos who have claimed you as 'pet'. This means that each of them EXPECT to procreate with you. So, in theory, we are already on the path to repopulation. But any significant repopulation will never completely happen within the scope of this series. However, that is NOT to say there won't be some pregnancy and possibly even 'kittens' later down the story arc. Pregnancy is something I have wanted to add to my list of tags, so that is a very real possibility. Of course, this will mean the addition of 'midwives' aboard the Aurora because, well, the main girls will be busy running the ship and various missions. When not working of course, they'll spend time with kittens and so forth. These are all things that are still VERY far away in the story though. But this is definitely something I want to write.
One issue in the story that came up (and I was aware of): Queen Tessa tells you that she wants to 'map' the Pantherian system. Since they are obviously technologically advanced, shouldn't they have already mapped their own system by now? The answer is YES. And this will get a rewrite. Somehow, I completely forgot to go back and correct this. In fact, a reviewer on F95 mentioned it and that is what reminded me. Sad that the mistake ends up in a three-star review, but it is what it is. I recognize the mistake and will correct it. Tess was supposed to tell him that they wanted to do a deep, scientific study of the Pantherian system. Due to the war with the Acladean rebels (culminating in the very recent loss of their starbase), they had barely begun to really study their own system. The Pantherian system contains four planets including Pantheria itself. We've only learned the name of one: Nexus, described as a "junk planet".
Nanobots. Surprisingly, very few mentioned the nanobots (either positive or negative). I bring it up here only to let it be known that the nanobots also have a place in the story later on. You will learn that these little guys are an integral part of Aurora and will have their own issues to contend with. In Serenity, we had the 'Fade', a magical energy source feeding off of lust and romance. In LH, we have nanobots... and I'll stop there in the interest of not spoiling the fun that will happen later.
The Aurora ship design. You guys have no idea how long I spent "shopping" for a ship that I had pictured for this story. Needless to say, when we found the Paladin Battleship, it was exactly the shape I was picturing. Yes, I'm sure you've seen that ship somewhere before. But come on, with these games you're going to see that now and then. Maybe someday if I become a 3D modeler and can craft my own stuff, then it would be more original. In reality though, I would think you would prefer me NOT doing that because then we're getting into more mainstream gaming stuff where things cost more and take longer to develop.
And speaking of that, I think we're fine using assets most of us have seen in other things, as long as it isn't trying to copy that project's content. In the grand scheme of things, most of us developers doing AVN's are just people who enjoy doing this and enjoy the simplicity of it all. Although there are big teams out there doing those 'more popular games' (MrDots, etc...), I'm just one guy that loves to create.
Anyway, back on topic here. I am very happy with the reception of LH's first episode. Although I need to fix a few minor things, I love where it's going. And I have plenty of content planned to keep this going for quite a while. Meanwhile, right now I am working on Serenity Chapter 2 (Episode 2), which also has a crowd of waiting fans who want more of that. I expect it to take two months from now until beta. And at that point, the next episode of Last Human will take two months to beta. Since I have most of my core assets for LH, now things will go a bit faster - as this first release took a bit longer than expected because of having to find everything I needed to display on the screen.
One more thing and then I'll end this long book (sorry this is so long, but you guys know how I am) - I am fully aware that android users are having an issue with the menu not working. I am going to fix that and get a new download link ready asap. So, hang in there. Please take note that I do not own an android, only an emulator on my PC where I can try out my game. I did not have a chance to try out this build before it went out... I basically "built" it then sent it out and crossed my fingers. Anyway, I apologize for that and will get you guys sorted before the weekend.
That's all for now my pets. Again, sorry for the long book! I love all of you and thank you so much for your support and kindness. Please be well, follow me, and support if you can. But mostly, if you really enjoy any of my stuff, please go post a good review. It's easy to get bad reviews because there is no shortage of people who are ready and willing to tell you what's wrong. It's less easy to get people who love something to actually write a nice review. Now I'm back to work coding Serenity's next release. More to come on that soon!
...Fire
Comments
Shane Ducharme
Well done, really enjoyed it so far. Looking forward to the next part.
N2TheFire
Good point. I'll consider reducing how often the word is used. It probably doesn't really need to be used too much.
Chesty
My only issue with the pet thing is how often it is used. I understand that is basically a "marriage " thing to nekos and that is perfectly fine but I do not refer to my husband as "husband " in every single sentence. Also yes to nekos it is normal but to a human it has an entirely different context and I honestly can't imagine that a badass superhuman starship captain would be perfectly fine with being called pet constantly.
Just finished and phenomenal work. Just really good stuff. You didn't address the real issue which is of course MC would never call for pineapple on pizza. That's just wrong.
DeadMan
I wanted to spend today on the games, but life threw the curveball and struck me out. But they will be play tomorrow, because I made it so I don't have to leave the house. Work in the morning then the rest the day is more LH and Serenity.
bishop083
The Pet thing threw me off, but the rest was really good, and I assumed we would get an explanation that gave it better context at some point. As for the map vs deep survey, I did find it weird, but not jarringly so. On the other hand, if correcting something like that can improve the flow of the story, I am all for it, and being ordered to do a deep survey definitely makes more sense.
Mat Hill
After just playing another VN where the MC starts off in a long-term adult relationship, and then spends the game being unsure of himself and a bit of an idiot .. Last Human is so much a welcome relief. The characters are smart, the pacing feels just right. I kinda wished the queen had had a quick casual "making sure I don't make my people do anything I wouldn't do" thing before they ship out again. But very much looking forward to this and Serenity continuing.
RuarZ
Aurora: Welcome aboard Captain Me:why am i getting Thalassaphobia in space all the sudden
Anthony Docimo
I had a great deal of fun playing _Last Human_. thank you for making this great game. as to "pet" - initially seeing it, I thought of it like a pet (horse, chimp, etc)......but as explanations and demonstrations of it appeared, I began to see it as a term of affection {its used here on Earth, or used to} and occupying a space between "Nekos see themselves as superior" and "need to deal with this population crisis". Its a very nice touch; kudos. as to the surveying of the Neko star system -- they might not have done anything as in-depth as Aury can do, and it may not have been particularly important for Tessa's predecessors {they had at least one other world under their authority, and they may not have wanted to spend time or resources on "junk world" and whatever else the system has}.........we've sent probes to the Jovian moons and rovers to Mars, yet we're not done making discoveries of huge tracts of Earth} again, marvelous work.
Equinox
Yeah.... Both games are Fire! And it´s worth waiting! Don´t rush yourself, keep it steady! =)
tonymack21
I just played both games over a night and the next day and loved them both. Love the parallel dimension thing and love the characters.
