Total Rendition
Total Rendition Early Access to end
By bringing the early prototype of Total Rendition to Steam, we had hoped players would get excited in anticipation of the final result, being necessary for the investment needed to recruit a large team necessary to help Total Rendition attain gold status. Unfortunately, the opposite happened. Early Access made Total Rendition a sitting duck for (Neo-Nazi) trolls. Over the past year, we have witnessed an endless litany of trolling in the form of smear campaigns, review bombs, refund trolling, sealioning, etc. Investors could even be tempted to think narrative-driven single-player games are dead in general.
We are now discussing with Valve the possibility of suspending Total Rendition’s availability on Steam wholesale, until it has attained Gold Status, as to safeguard its reputation, and our own. I, for one, am quite incensed at this state of affairs. On the other hand, it showcases why Total Rendition premise is relevant. Hopefully, not too relevant as to render work impossible.
It does not mean that work on Total Rendition will stop, however. In my most recent Devlog entry, I have outlined my outlook on Total Rendition’s development and game development more generally. In the meantime, I advise not to buy Total Rendition, awaiting the outcome of our negotiations with Valve.
-Mordechai
October update
SchiZotypy Games wants you to know Total Rendition is absolutely not finished, and is still on track to be completed. Game development is a lot more than sitting behind a computer, writing design documents, code or doing 3D animation, to name a few examples. Game development also involves getting yourself out there. For Total Rendition, 2023 has been all about that.
Total Rendition promises to become a game offering 40 hours+ amount of gameplay, huge amount of interactivity and replayability. A monumental undertaking which requires excellent logistics.
If you want to gain the deepest insights into the development of Total Rendition, pay a visit to the official SchiZotypy Games Devlog.
Upcoming changes in open playtest participation
However, we have come to a realisation: The amount of people who like to play the open playtest yet aren’t ready to dip their toes in the Early Access is quite small. By early October, we will – at least for a limited amount of time – deactivate the open playtest. We may thereafter reactivate it to test potentially controversial changes to Total Rendition, or permanently deactivate the open playtest.
Right now, we are making preparations towards the long anticipated and overdue update to Total Rendition’s Early Access, which is intended to see the introduction of plenty of originally made assets and a more visible narrative. For this, we are bringing onboard new people to the Total Rendition Dev Team. We hope to bring the resultantly massive overhaul either later this year or the next.
Thank you for checking out Total Rendition, and we hope you are looking forward to see the drastically improved next build of Total Rendition!
Calling all High Net-Worth Individuals on Steam!
Then SchiZotypy Games wants to hear from YOU! 🫵
The current prototype of Total Rendition only has a level or two (out of dozens planned) and still uses placeholder assets. This is because SchiZotypy Games currently lacks the funding to onboard additional talent necessary for level design, 3D art, voice-overs etc.
We have been looking for investment into this project for years and one thing is certain: The big bois (that is to say, guys like EA, Ubisoft, T2 Games and Activision-Blizzard) have given up on narrative-driven single-player games, so it is up to us to pick up the pieces. One hell of a mission if there ever was any!
With your investment, you can take part in a potentially lucrative and in any case rewarding enterprise of building an entirely new IP in the form of AAA narrative-driven single player experience sadly becoming increasingly rare since the turn of the millennium.
Give Total Rendition a whirl and get in touch. Together, we can build a truly great game with a socially conscious touch so sorely lacking in recent titles!
Early Access Reopens 🎉
For whom is it intended?
Purchasing during this stage primarily appeals to those who enjoy the bragging rights of being early adopters, as it carries the risk that we may not be able to finalise Total Rendition as intended. You must only take advantage of this option if you are in a “shut up and take my money” kind of mood in respect to Total Rendition’s high concept AND believe we can execute it. The pricing of Total Rendition is aligned with the intended content of the final version, not the current build. Speaking of which, the current build, which you can already access for free through the playtest, is still a work in progress with various placeholders and ongoing development. 🚧🏗️
A note of warning
⚠️ It's important to note that the current Early Access build provides a foundation for Total Rendition's future, which means there will be uncertainties regarding its final quality and features. Embrace the idea that the game will undergo significant changes during its development process. 🔨🔧
Try the open playtest (first)!
For now, the open playtest remains free during the Early Access phase, and we strongly recommend taking advantage of that before making a purchase decision. Regardless, we hope you're excited to dive into the world of Total Rendition, whether it's through the current build or the full version that lies ahead!
SchiZotypy Devlog now live!
In it, I will keep you informed on Total Rendition’s progress. Also, I will showcase my personal opinions pertinent to the craft of game development (i.e. what in techbro-speak is called “thought leadership”). You don’t have to agree with everything I say and as a matter of fact, I hope you are going to enjoy Total Rendition for what it is to become, even as I express opinions you may oppose. Finally, the devlog is also intended to prove to investors that I absolutely know what I am doing (even if I’m actually not, but please don’t tell that to the venture capitalists or the UK’s [contemporary] arts quangos unless you want yet more games with lootboxes).
Pay it a visit!
-Mordechai
Self-censorship (is pointless)
I will have to be very frank. I have severely compromised my artistic integrity since I started making Total Rendition. As some of you may know, past versions of Total Rendition included Ukrainian Neo-Nazis as enemy NPCs. Indeed, the Odessa Battalion (a fictional organisation though with some real-life inspirations I will not mention,) were to be prominently featured as mooks supporting the main antagonists of Total Rendition. When it was Special Military Operation time for Ukraine, I removed these from future versions of Total Rendition’s because in the UK (where I live exiled from the Netherlands after harassment from a woke student association), we are supposed to view Ukraine as “the good guys”TM.
I wanted to say that I feel very bad for the aforementioned act of artistic self-sabotage. As the специалоператия rages on, I’m beginning to realise the idea of a Ukrainian Neo-Fascist blowback against their erstwhile benefactor countries (such as the Netherlands, the US, Britain) is not at all far fetched. Indeed, I have had faced a lot of abuse from the very Ukrainian Steam users I have had tried so hard to appease (which is an appropriate choice of words indeed). Even though I always envisioned one supporting (and one time main) character in the plot as an actual female (a.k.a. a “ciswoman”), I once suggested players could assume she was trans, even when I personally never believed that.
I have had pandered to the woke lobby and they rewarded with a flurry of false stalking accusations. Since December I have become bereft of necessary equipment to work on Total Rendition. Yet, as Ritter von Kuehnelt-Leddihn pointed out, Fascism is a Left-Wing ideology. Now, I have finally learned to trust the plan: That is to say, I have found the hope to complete Total Rendition which I have had always envisioned Total Rendition to be a homage to the immersive sims of the 1990s and 2000s, and at the same time, as a depiction of the contemporary political situation of the Netherlands, which is ruled by paedosexual frat boys such as Joris Demmink and a host of gender ideologues.
But the morality of this tale is also that self-censorship is utterly pointless. I will now embark on completing assembly of the team so necessary to complete Total Rendition. I will raise the investment necessary to compensate that team. And I am confident that Total Rendition can be made, uncut.
So, Gamergaters, after more than five years, your prayers have finally been heard. Total Rendition is going to become the game you have been waiting for! I will succeed, or at least I will die trying.
Mordechai
New year, same bull manure?
I have good news: Total Rendition is not yet lost!
Since we (that is, the Total Rendition Dev Team) have come this far, in spite of all the obstacles which Total Rendition’s development has faced, there is hope that Total Rendition will one day be completed. Right now, a mere seed has been planted. Let’s hope that it will become the tree - so to speak - which I have imagined!
In the last few months, some enormous logistical hurdles have arisen. This has prevented me from working on Total Rendition hands on. In fact, I find it unfortunately easy to imagine why so many people seem to believe that narrative driven single player games are dying off. I speak for the entire Dev Team as a whole, that these challenges are daunting, disheartening even.
In the coming months, I will work mostly alone, though with the intention to expand the Total Rendition Dev Team to a size the undertaking needs. “Indie” developers focus on gimmicks; professionals focus on logistics! So, logistics are what I will be doing. Hopefully, these efforts will help us to deliver you the most exciting update to Total Rendition thus far!
Best,
Mordechai
2022
In short, it's very hard - if not impossible - to understate the importance of 2022.
Anticipated logistical Milestones for 2023
Yet, the year 2023 is perhaps going to prove to be an even more momentous year for Total Rendition's development. By the end of next year, Schizotypy Games aims for Total Rendition to have reached at least some - if not all - of these following milestones:
Development milestones
- Version 0.6 as Milestone
- 4 to 8 hours of gameplay (altogether marking the completion of Act I) which includes;
- 8 unique areas
- At least 10 unique kinds of inventory items
- A multitude of NPCs, including a cast of long-anticipated major characters
- A complete overhaul of the game's look and feel, more closely in tune with the design specs
Logistical milestones
- A Dev Team which will have grown to at least 10 contributors (let's be frank, that'll be necessary)
- Investment into Schizotypy Games (for most part, to facilitate all of the aforementioned)
- An end to the ongoing vexatious litigation campaigns frustrating progress otherwise attained
While it is not necessarily guaranteed all these goals will be reached, then again, over the years, numerous pettifoggers, hypocrites, censors, and moral and cultural gatekeepers have tried to delegitimise Total Rendition.
Thus far, Total Rendition has survived all of them! Schizotypy Games has the tools to do so for as long as necessary, until Total Rendition can begin to truly flourish and the haters will be proven wrong definitively. Of course, happy holidays everyone!
We will be taking our well-earned breaks as well, so we'll see you back in 2023!
Total Rendition 0.4.8 - TRUCK here!
- BUG FIX: Fix issue preventing expiry of Attribute boost/drain
- BUG FIX: Fix issue preventing expiry of Skill boost/drain
- BUG FIX: Player inventory refreshes properly
- Smooth crouching on and out motions
- POLISH: Event-triggered lightswitches will not make a sound
This version will be the first to ship with TRUCK, making it easier to create your own levels for Total Rendition and to mod it, should you feel so inclined. It also gives you an insight how Total Rendition is being made.
We're still committed to make Total Rendition into a lengthy plot-driven title. Therefore, Total Rendition is NOT intended to become a game creation station. As such, TRUCK requires Unreal Engine 4.21 to run. The Windows version of TRUCK comes with a precompiled binary, however.
While TRUCK is only available to those who own an official Early Access copy, the new version's bug fixes and polish will still be rendered available to playtesters as well. If you own an official Early Access copy, you will be able to find TRUCK in the installation directory.