itch.io

I appreciate you leaving the classic version up for posterity, respect your vision, and wish you the best. Keen to see what comes next!

My two cents would be to finish this game with Ren'py. You could write and develop a final update for this version of the game, while leaving it available for those who would like to still experience the original version, like a Monster XXXperiment Classic vs Monster XXXperiment 2. This way you can take the lessons you've learned from finishing the Ren'py version and carry that over to the next game, so that you're not spreading yourself too thin working on both, but you're still getting that valuable experience from finishing the original project.

I think having plans to wrap up MXXX and being very transparent with your customers about the plans for 2.0 would build customer loyalty - especially if you offered a discount on the sequel to those who supported the initial version of the game through Early Access. 

This has been my only gripe about another of my favourite games, Venture Seas, doing an entire remake in a different engine. Inevitably the art style and gameplay will change, and those who really enjoyed the original art style and gameplay will miss out. Wrapping up the original version, and then taking those lessons into the sequel, I believe, is the best of both worlds.

I think you should save those things you really want to do with MXXX that can't be done with Ren'py, and put them in the sequel. This will add draw to people curious about Monster XXXperiment 2, and how its different from its predecessor.

You learn more by finishing a project than by changing direction halfway through development. But thats just my take. Hope this helps!