Today, news from dsp3000…
Hello everyone,
Rumors of my demise have been greatly exaggerated. I am still alive, healthy and active.
It’s been a couple of years since I last released any material from the Academy series. Some have speculated that I quit and that the fabled ‘Part Five’ would never materialize.
Despite many ‘real world’ commitments and obstacles, I have in fact, kept my head down and never stopped working.
At present I have the equivalent of two more full episodes completed but as yet unreleased. One of these is the first half of ‘Part Five’ the other is a big expansion from existing episodes.
I’ve also been working on a new custom-built platform on which to host my games which will overcome the technical issues associated with browser-based games. Especially a series with over 25,000 image files like mine.
There is also the inescapable fact that Chaotic will be stepping back from his fantastic legacy. This has prompted my decision to go it alone and set up my own website. It’s something I’ve been considering for the past couple of years and now seems as good a time as any.
The website will launch in Spring 2022 and in the meantime, I have set up a Patreon account for updates and to hopefully gain some supporting patrons. You can find it here: https://www.patreon.com/dsp3000
I will be keeping in touch with Chaotic and hope to work with him again in the future should the opportunity arise.
I’d like to publicly thank him for his trust and support over the past seven or so years while I found my feet as a game creator. It was his work above all that inspired me to start making my own stories.
You may see some more updates here from me as the Academy project moves forward.
I will of course also be publishing updates on my Patreon page. You can find out what the plans are for this year.
A belated Happy New Year to you all.
Here’s to new beginnings.
dsp3000
That is FANTASTIC NEWS! so glad to hear you are alive and well and that The Academy series is going to continue.
dsp3000 while checking you’re patreon will you remake The Academy other parts as well and a date with Bridgette or is it just part 1 that gets the remake
It’s all going through a process of reviewing and updating to a greater or lesser extent.
You can expect lots of new and updated material though.
So, are you saying you’ll have a new web site dedicated to Academy series, aren’t you?
New/reworked games, ok. Will be a supporter able to download the game or it’ll be on-line game?
Thanks.
I’m not looking at making the games downloadable, at least not at first.
The new platform will allow players to access new features and save progress. To do this they need to set up a free account on the new website and play from there.
Without a connection to the player’s account the other functions just won’t work.
An online only platform will allow me to implement any ongoing updates to the game much more easily too.
I’ll be posting regular progress reports on my Patreon.
That’s… interesting. So will saves be account-based rather than cookie-based so you can’t lose progress even if you change computers or clear files on your client side?
Yes, that’s the plan.
I’m working with a really great developer. The technical side is a bit outside of my range of understanding. But basically a combination of cookies, encrypted strings, player accounts and database magic are what make it work.
It should mean that even if you don’t play for ages, change computer or whatever, you can just come back, login and pick up where you left off.
You’ll also be able to go back and play through episodes again from various checkpoints, try different paths and save a unique combination of achievements each time.
I’m all about creating a game that can be played again and again.
Interesting. Thanks for the information. Intrigued by this, though up front I’d prefer a downloadable game since it’s easier to deal with anytime, anywhere.
Usually, if I pay for a product, I have got that product wherever and whatever I wish, not a “login on-line”…
That’s work for all patreon project.
And, moreover, access to payment content is only for the payment month?
Sweet. I’ll be seeing you on Patreon. This is all excellent news.
A surprise to be sure but a welcome one
This is great! Looking forward to see your new stuff
Seven years! That is one long trip. Seems like two. Best of success to you.
Thanks for the update, DSP – really looking forward to see your journey continue.
I understand the reasoning for wanting to go the online-only route, but I do hope we will get updates that are available in offline mode, whether it’s something that fits within the existing browser-based html framework, or revamped via a new engine i.e. Renpy, etc. Despite the obvious pitfalls, I think this exposes the game to a wider audience.
I subscribed/purchased every previous installment of the Academy series, and hope to continue to do so going forward.
Very happy to know The academy isn’t finished yet.
However, I would like to know as soon as you can update us, which characters can we interact with in this Part 5.
My favourites to the moment are ”Lola” and obviously ”Bridgette”.
Actually, the date with Bridgette made me ”hope” that if there’s another part in the future, we would have the oportunity of an ”adventure” with Lola and her mother, just like we got the chance of Rachel and her mother in The photographer 2.
Thanks for your comment and questions.
Firstly, with the release of the updated parts of the series, I’ve also taken the opportunity to change how the episodes are named. Academy parts one to four become ‘Episodes 1 – 4’.
The existing Date with Bridgette parts become ‘Episodes 5 – 8’.
There is an additional ‘Episode 9’ which is complete but as yet unreleased.
The ‘part five’ are asking about will comprise ‘Episodes 10 & 11’. The storyline means the likelihood of a future ‘Episode 12’ is definitely there too.
I’ve pretty much completed work on Episode 10 now (ie. first half of part five) and at well over 4000 images it is another big episode.
I’ve been making some substantial updates and additional scenes to expand the ‘existing’ episodes. These introduce more ‘adventures’ with existing characters. The new material also explores some of the new characters that have briefly appeared before.
@Acron: You specifically mentioned Lola’s mother.
I had fun creating the character and intend to have fun creating a nice role for her too.
Even for those who have played the game before, the whole series should feel like a new game with plenty more to discover.
Hello DSP3000 I am very happy and excited for your return on the series! I have been a fan of the series for a long time. I was wondering if you would consider making a Subscribestar page because I would like to support the game but I don’t like Patreon and I always have trouble getting my payments through with Patreon. I am also wondering about the new website you are going to launch. I am concerned about the way the series will go mostly because it seems like you have people make accounts for the website and it will be available through online only. Will you give the option to download the games in the future because I don’t want to not be able to play an episode I already paid for because I couldn’t afford to pay for the other months.
Hi dsp3000
So will the academy pt5 will it be just on patron or on here as well
oops patreon
Firstly, the games won’t be released through Patreon.
I’ve just started using Patreon, mostly because it’s a nice way for me to provide updates, gauge support and show off some content.
There are benefits to supporting me on Patreon but I’ll come back to that…
The new episodes, and all the ‘existing’ but substantially updated episodes, will be released on my new website and the custom built platform that’s being built for it.
Effectively it will be like a having fully remastered and extended editions to replace the existing ones.
I’m not going to make it downloadable because frankly it’s too big a game and I intend to keep updating for some time yet. An online only model will facilitate this until I call time on the project and put it all out for free some time in 2032… 🙂
You will be able to play through the whole game series for free, but some scenes, features and content will be behind a credit based paywall.
I’m still working out the ratio of free versus paid content.
You will be able to buy credits through the website and/or earn them through ongoing Patreon support.
The ability to earn credits which can be used to access all the extra game features band content will be one of the main benefits of supporting me on Patreon.
I’ll be clarifying how that’s going to work on my Patreon after the first payment cycle goes through at the beginning of February.
It’s gonna be big.
I am sure that with help of Patreon and your hard work you can compete with currently the best creators in the world. You can easily find creators with average content that are famous and you are so much better than them.
Of course it is your choice about fighting with piracy but I don’t know if it is worth your work. The best creators with very good ways to prevent piracy still can’t win. In my opinion you should reward monthly your patreons with updates, teasers, early access etc. I can assure you that you will earn a lot money even without preventing piracy because people reward hard and good work and people that always cheat will try to do everything to play your games besides paying you money.
I am so happy that you are back because this industry changed to “skip” > “choice” > “sex scene”. Academy is building tension with good choices and hard work to get sex scene.
Firstly, thank you very much for your very kind words.
I must admit that I don’t really have much time to play other games and compare myself to other creators. I’ll have to take you at your word if you think I’m any good at what I do. 🙂
My decision to move away from a fully downloadable game isn’t just about piracy.
Because the Academy series is such a big game, that takes ages to make, I’ve naturally had to release it in multiple installments. However, until the project is complete, there is always an inescapable issue with downloads. That is that they are difficult to update effectively. As soon as they are released they are effectively out of date.
That said, I’m meeting with my key technical developer tomorrow. We had a very interesting conversation about download options last time we met. So downloads aren’t completely out of the question. We are focusing on the online content and new episodes first though.
Much of the game will be free to play, but some options will only be accessible through a credit based paywall.
I’ll be charging for premium content and I see absolutely no need to justify that.
As an analogy, all of the software I use moved to a subscription model. At first I was a bit reticent, but several years later I prefer this model because I’ve always got the most up to date, reliable version of the software I need, something for which I am willing to pay a fair price.
The move to a new platform will be a big step forward for me and for players.
I’m not deluded enough to think that I’ll find a solution to piracy, but I am very confident that people will like what will be on offer.
Hi DSP – maybe some sort of a hybrid method were the “online” version gets regular, “real-time” updates, and the offline/downloadable version has larger (but less frequent) releases that will always be a few versions behind.
Looking forward to the new content that’s coming, in any case.
DSP3000 we seen two students mother Lola and Annie will you create the other students mom
Who do you want to see in particular?
Hey DSP3000,
Will There be a walkthrough for A Date with Bridgette in the next time?
That would be very awesome.
Good to see you back and healthy
Good question.
One thing I intend to do is add in the option to get additional hints and guidance during gameplay.
It won’t be a full game walkthrough, but rather a scene by scene option as and when you need it.
Whenever part 5 comes out just letting you know I definitely do not have the codes from 1-4 anymore
One thing that the new platform will dispense with is the need for codes.
They were Just a way of passing achievements from one game to the next.
The new set up will allow players to save various versions of their play-throughs and use them to start the next episode.
Should be one of many improvements to the player experience.
In 2020, the thing about a few scenes of Maddison in the academy series was under discussion. Is it still happening?
It may sound ”ridiculous” ’cause you probably already have one of those, but I don’t know why I would also wanted to write the story for you to make a game.
I don’t know, probably something with romanticism, but also lot of lewd stuff before sex.
A little bit kinda Betsy story, but with more focus on the girl gaining confidence on you touching her, something like that.
With also the ”games” you ave us in some games like the date with Maddison where if you touch her a nice way, she will give you a reward.
And I don’t want you to think of me as a ”weird guy”, but I think I actually prefer the characters with big breasts. Sorry, my taste s like that.
When will we see some new free content?
WHAT happend to jodie at the end of part 4 will she comeback or she will appear on other games or her own game?
it would be great to have more sex scenes with the students