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State of Affairs! Arf!

  • Punkitt
  • 10/15/2019 09:48 PM
  • 2707 views
Hi y'all! So, if some of you have been keeping up elsewhere on Happup's development, you might have known my motherboard failed nearly a year ago (which lead to a big debacle), and progress was halted while I got my desktop fixed. A lot of people were hoping that I could salvage Happup off of it, and...

Unfortunately, no. :c After months of trying to get my hard drive fixed by the computer place, it seems that I'm not going to be able to recover the game.
The computer place that lost my hard drive in the first place was unable to recover the drive, and uh, also screwed up my desktop, which now can’t start. I don’t know what I’m going to do in regards to that (maybe small-claims court?? I really don’t know (at least I can still work on my laptop!)), but I do know one thing; sitting and waiting to maybe get some progress back on Happup is really making my developer drive itch, and I’m tired of waiting.

As of today, I will be restarting Happup’s development from scratch! I know this sounds like a lot of work, and it is! But, it’s not as much work as you all might think. For how much I was able to show off the progress of Happup in its old form, the ocean was wide but not deep, if that makes any sense. I had a lot of graphics done for the game, but no interconnectivity or missions were really in place, even up to my computer crashing. I’ll be honest with you all, I was more focused on creating new things to show to you all instead of creating things that would make a playable game. However, this might be the most helpful hubris? I showed nearly everything I made to this forum and other places up until relatively recently, so you, as the audience, have seen a large majority of what I had made for Happup. That means that, to recover the development for Happup, I’m going to be ripping, recreating, and improving on sprites I’ve shown in the trailer and screenshots for the game. This is gonna take a while, but I think it’s better than sitting around and waiting for some computer technicians to screw up my PC for the third time. (Sorry if I come off a bit salty, but I’ve had to deal with this for months!)

I also view this as an opportunity to build a better game from the ground up. While Happup isn’t a very traditional game (that’s kind of inherit when you make a Yume-Nikki-like!), I think there’s been things that I’ve issues with in the game since its inception. I’ve stuck with it since I had a fear of getting rid of things that I had spent so much time building, but now that the game’s original version is gone, I have the opportunity to build a better foundation for Happup. I suppose that’s what I get for starting to build a game in the 9th grade - fifteen year-olds aren’t really known to be efficient with their work, and they definitely don’t think ahead!

Speaking of, this isn’t the first time this game has been through developmental issues; if you’ve been following it from this thread’s inception, you’d know that I’ve had to deal with lost data, file crashes, and I’ve even had to restart development entirely before I started showing the game around here. Happup is a resilient game, and I’m not gonna let a crashed motherboard get in the way of making a game that means so much to me. I’m sorry for getting a bit personal here, but this is a very special game for me! I’ve been working on it since I was in middle school, and its continued development has allowed me to meet some of my very best friends ever. Working on this game has allowed a creative outlet for me that I’ve never really had the chance to experiment with before, and its netted me relationships with some of the kindest, most wonderful people I know. I suppose all the ‘eras’ of my life have had Happup in them? I’ve kind of grown up alongside the game, and now that I’m an adult (wowza!) I think I can finally give it the proper treatment I think it deserves. I may run into developmental issues a lot, but if there’s one thing I’ve learned over the numerous hang ups over the years, it’s that I am one stubborn indie developer. I’m not gonna stop until this game is done, darn it!

I suppose this was a pretty wordy announcement, but I hope it makes up for all my silence on the matter! I’ve been pondering this decision for a while, and I think I’m finally in a position where I can act on it. I hope you can all understand where I’m coming from in making this decision, and I hope we as a community can make Happup the best it can be!

If anyone would like to help me restore Happup to where it was before the crash, please send me a note on RMN, DM me on twitter, or send an email to art.punkitt@gmail.com ! I can't pay anyone, unfortunately, as I'm an independent college student now, but any help from any one would be appreciated.

Much thanks and love!
-Punkitt


Posts

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Gretgor
Having gotten my first 4/5, I must now work hard to obtain... my second 4/5.
3420
I'm so sorry to read about this, it's really sad to lose all our work like that :(

Unfortunately, I cannot help much, but I wish it all turns out well somehow.
I am glad that this game is BACK UP and in development!
Sorry for the loss but having lost data in the past myself, heres a little hot tip.

Set up a local dropbox directory for your project and work from it. Everytime you save it will upload the updated files to the cloud. With the filesize of RPGM content it takes the blink of an eye. I have been using this process for years now and its seriously saved my ass. It also means I can directly access the files from both my PC and Mac without ever having to transfer anything. Its all seemless.
Punkitt
notorious rpgmaker 2k3 shill
3341
Thanks visitor, I'll do that from now on. :)
Visitor's advice on dropbox is spot-on. It's how I've kept some of my oldest rm work even across, like, 5 computers of varying stability

That said: Good luck, Punky! I dream of that day I get to play Happup with my own two hands. If you ever need any of my help just say the word~

Even if it will be a lot of work - it's a labor of love. You've got this!
A more extreme measure would be to use something like Sourcetree, basically lets you revert to any revision you've made in case the project gets corrupted, if you made a bad overwrite, liked the way you did an event that you've since deleted, or any number of possibilities. Also good for collaboration.
Frogge
I wanna marry ALL the boys!! And Donna is a meanc
18536
I came here with the intent to go "State of Arf-fairs lol" and i'm still making that joke;
State of Arf-fairs

but anyway it's really a shame to hear about you losing the progress! I hope reviving it won't be too painful! I know how losing progress can really drain your motivation so I wish you the best of luck with this whole arf-fair punky. Not sure I can help with recovering anything old, but do let me know if you need help with anything else.
Punkitt
notorious rpgmaker 2k3 shill
3341
Thanks for all the advice y'all, I appreciate it. I'm using Dropbox now! I'm gonna see if I can find any super early backups of Happup I might have that might assist in gettin' this game back up off the ground. Losing this progress hasn't hindered my motivation at all, actually; I'm more pumped than ever to be working on this game again!!

If anyone wants to track my progress on getting this back up and running, I'm gonna be streaming on my Youtube channel while I work on restoring Happup. I don't super enjoy advertising, but having someone there while you work is a lot nicer than deving by yourself. ;w;

I'm gonna see if I can stream today, I'll be at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCl6n4TYr1PB7JwGwbDbP2JQ
I'm friendly, I swear!!
Really sorry to hear about your loss, Punkitt, but I'm glad you're still determined to finish the game anyway despite it all. You're honestly kind of an inspiration to me, especially as someone else that started their project in 9th grade.

I wish you only the best in your endeavors!
Punkitt
notorious rpgmaker 2k3 shill
3341
Ah gosh, Claus, you're too sweet! Comments like that only motivate me more to get this darn game done. I appreciate your constant support over the years, it means a ton to me. c:

Thank you so much!!
IF you do the dropbox method, I found it best to NOT work directly on dropbox version. I found it better to work offline then paste updates to dropbox after. Dropbox has eaten.progress for me before when working on a project directly on it. On phone so not sure if I conveyed what I wanted to say properly haha.

What type of help do ya need? I wouldn't mind flexing my musical abilities a bit but if you have that covered then don't worry about it haha.
Punkitt
notorious rpgmaker 2k3 shill
3341
I'd actually adore some music help! I can draw n' gammake just fine, but music has never been a strong suit of mine. I'd love some musical help. Shoot me a PM or somethin'!! c:

What I really, definitely need is people to help rip tilesets and sprites currently! I actually have a super generous person who's ripped 80% of the sprites already, but now I'm looking towards reassembling the tilesheets for Happup. If anyone wants to help with that, please let me know!
ESBY
extreme disappointment
1238


looking forward to techno pup
Wow, so many people start their magnum opus at 9th grade? Because I did too. And still doing that dang gam.

Sad to hear about the
l l¡
ll l_
I always remember that time I almost lost my game due to me being a dumball and screwing up my hard drive while trying to install Linux. And by random chance, I accidentally backed up my game in a CD, because I wanted to upload a demo to some Spanish RPG Maker site, which still exists today btw.

Anyway, hope everything goes well. All of my support on you, and let's pray for a safe Happup.

Also yeah, Dropbox thing. If I can count correctly, I've passed my game via Dropbox by... maybe 4 computers already? And 2 more before Dropbox. It was the first thing I installed in this PC, and it's not because pure unadulterated Dropbox love (I actually kind of hate it nowadays), it's because my game is there.
Cap_H
DIGITAL IDENTITY CRISIS
6625
Man, I meant to post on this one. You've always had and you always will have my support. Keep on rocking, punk.
Ok, this might sound little rough and cynical (and I'm cynical sometimes) but listening to your case I wouldn't care too much about losing everything as it seems that it only made you stronker and more determined. Happup's gonna be a better game thanks to it.
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