VN Ren'Py Move the Chains [v0.2 Bugfix] [MissFortune]

[DuckDairyDip]

>Got mentioned in Play Sheet while already compiling grammar and typos for episode 2

Appreciated. Glad to see my list helped.

 

[DevinHesi]

[Move The Chains] | S01E03 | Play Sheet #8

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Feels like it's been a super long time since I've written one of these, and it probably has been. Before I get into the meat of the Play Sheet, I'll just talk a little bit about Episode 2, its release, and some leftover thoughts.

Firstly, I'd like to mention how appreciative I am of the patience I was given in getting Episode 2 out. Especially by the people who are financially supporting the game. For those who follow these, you already know the reason why. But all the same, it took far, far longer than I wanted it to. Which was both damaging to potential growth and making supporters spend more money when they aren't getting the product they're supporting. For those supporting, and even those who are supporting in other ways (sharing, etc.), it really is appreciated. Very much so.

Secondly, I saw both a fairly massive spike in support on all three platforms (Patreon, SS, Itch.) and a 1,000+ jump in wishlists (likely due in part to the demo coming out around the same time, but I imagine the link in the game helped a good bit.). Before even going out to curators (more on that below.). It's thanks to that support that I'll likely be able to afford Storyblocks/a music platform. Something other than free/public domain stuff (which I'm starting to run low on.). So, thank you for that. A lot of what I'm making off of this is going right back into the VN, and ultimately making it a better product.

Thirdly, it was a pretty bumpy update. A lot of bugs, both avoidable and completely out of my hands. Namely the locale bug. I never really know just how broken locale was in Windows. It worked fine Windows 10/11 machines (and MacOS. AFAIK, at least. You guys tend to be pretty silent.). But with a lot of the framework already done (UI, stats, traits, etc.), most of the major issues should be out of the way. As for what I said about future Android releases, I've had a couple people reach out with their services to make an Android version. I'll be looking into rates and such and see where to go from there. A small portion of my supporters tend to be Android, so I don't know how worth it it would be at the end of the day. Typos and other grammar issues are going to be fixed soon. Will happily taken on some volunteers who want to help out (more below)

I want to do bigger things with Move The Chains. Stuff like voice-acting, outsourcing animations (or learning Blender myself and doing the animations in that), more custom music, and perhaps even some custom assets in the future. I'm not trying to build my own store or studio (which would be sick if I had the funds to bring in multiple projects and let the artists work without worrying about living, but not happening anytime soon lol.), hire 15 people (or 1), or start milking people. I just genuinely want to make the game the best version of itself. Animations aside, this is my project and I don't intend to hand anything off onto anyone. Stubborn? Sure. But I don't want to be College Kings, either.

Needless to say, stuff like that requires support. The more support Move The Chains gets, the more likely that kind of stuff is to become a reality. Anyways, onto why you're actually here:

• In the previous Play Sheet, I mentioned hitting 1000+ renders for Episode 3. Well, if you've been paying attention to the pinned E03 progress tracker, you'll see we're already a little over halfway there. The soft goal for E03 is to spend 3 months rendering (give or take a week or two for other minor renders/re-renders/etc. and other fixes), and if I keep on the current pace, it should be quite a large update.
• We're sitting at 522 renders currently for those that don't feel like looking (or are reading this on another site). With two week since the public release, I think we're in a good place pace-wise. Much better than the last update, at least.
• There's no lewd animations yet. But we have three non-NSFW animations done. Just some stuff to add some flair in between scenes.
• I've been mixing in a newer rendering style into Episode 3. Not so much in the lighting or style of characters, but more in the compositions and angles. Some are a lot tighter, more constrained. A lot of videography techniques being brought into play. A couple of the preview renders shown are in that said style. It might not be super noticeable to an untrained eye, which is a good thing.

• An On/Off toggle for the quick menu. This will only appear in Episode 3, to avoid a potential restart by inserting variables into older code. Annoying for those who requested it, but it's the best option.
• A redesigned (and likely moved, will most likely be a poll) quick menu.
• Thanks to Pierced_Freak, MrPocketRocket, and DuckDairyDip for pointing out some typos that the public missed. Especially DuckDairyDip. A 100+ item list of typos/grammar issues is insane, especially for free.
• Furthering on the above, I do intend on releasing a 2.5 update for just the typos and such. Nothing major. I'll be looking for volunteers pretty soon here. Feel free to DM and I'll write you down to send a link to. Or feel free to download the public copy and use that.
• Once the edits/proofreading are/is done, I'll be uploading it to Steam for curators. At which point, I'll be collecting wishlists until the October NextFest - which should lead into a release date.
• The Character page and Superstar Traits will be fully implemented after rendering and animations have finished.

I'm aware that this is a shorter Play Sheet compared to the novel's I typically write for them. But there's just simply not a lot to say. It's mostly been rendering thus far. Will update again soon! Make you check out the preview renders above (or below)

 

[Karalhowski]

Wondering when we would have actual game related stats, speed, strength, agility, etc...and i Guess will BE in the next update. Nice

 

[Clarence2992]

Yu is MC childhood friend right? Loving the game so far!

 

[zeph19]

Tried this for the first time. It seems that sports-avns are on the comeup recently, and this one is definitely one of the best, although it is at the same time worthy of lots of critique, I feel.

First things first, the good:
- The characters are obviously beautiful and I love the black / yellow theme.
- I don't know what you call it, but I appreciate the yellow words that I can click and get an explanation, because as a European I have no fucking clue what's going on with college sports. Feel like I learned something.
- The characters and lots of assets are original. Thinking about the three main girls so far, although Laura isn't part of the LI-circle, I think I haven't seen the models used yet.
- The music is great
- Haven't found any big problems with how the game runs or the interface or the grammar/spelling. At least I have no gripes with any of those things, even if they might be there if I were to actively look for them.
- The tattoo chick is fucking hot, just want to point this out right here.
- So is Yuna.

Now, the things I personally feel need improvement:
- The game is full of tropes that remind me of a teen drama series. MC and his "sister" have this deep, spiritual connection and somehow they are unable to talk to each other like normal people just to keep the drama alive.
- I think at some point I was really just overwhelmed with all the NIL meetings and wished for some normal human interactions instead of getting bombarded with new faces and business propositions. It felt like we were rushing through all those deals so we could get them out of the way and just have the MC become a millionaire over night so they don't have to worry about money anymore.
- Every shady dude uses the word <removed>, seems forced.
- A lot of "current things" in there. I didn't feel like I was getting lectured, but I play games to get away from all that nonsense.

All these things aren't that bad really. It's really fucking difficult to write a story without tropes or some parallels to real world issues, I get that.

My biggest problem is probably with the MC, who just doesn't make sense to me.

- Being "dense" is just a very boring way to extend drama. He's proven to be very perceptive, so this feels like lazy writing to solve the drama between MC and his sister in ch. 3, 4, 5 or so because her love for him would get in the way of the current storytelling.
- Who runs after a guy with a gun, after the guy proved he is willing to pull the trigger? No one was in danger. MC has everything to lose. Going overboard to make him a badass made him more of an idiot here.
- He's an unlikable cunt right now and I wonder why people put up with him. He's complimented on his play in an earlier season and retorts with a "yeah want me to embarrass you again?"
- He just got out of jail, has a big monologue about how he was granted this chance and wants to make use of it and then gets himself almost killed and threatens multiple people in a matter of days. Is he retarded or smart? I can't tell.

While this list is pretty long, I have to stretch that I really enjoyed this playthrough. It was chunky and coherent, despite it only being version 0.2. Great potential!

 

[MissFortune]

zeph19 I'm glad you enjoyed it, or at least a lot of it. Everything's a work in progress, and not everything is going to perfect off the bat. I do appreciate the detail you went into. Some of it is intentional, some of it felt right when I was writing it, and some of it is actively being touched up already. I add some notes to your negative points, and some reasoning behind them.

Spoiler

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I don't expect everyone to agree with or like what's in the game. It's all highly subjective. And I'm totally for someone respectfully disagreeing with them/some of them (which can be a rarity in these game threads). The criticism and the good, when put like this, are appreciated all the same.

 

[zeph19]

I don't expect everyone to agree with or like what's in the game. It's all highly subjective. And I'm totally for someone respectfully disagreeing with them/some of them (which can be a rarity in these game threads). The criticism and the good, when put like this, are appreciated all the same.

Hey, I appreciate the beefy reply. Seeing things from your perspective, I understand why things were written the way they were and I'm looking forward to the MC's development.

I think some aspects I have a gripe with come with the cultural difference and aren't necessarily bad. Maybe calling the MC retarded was a bit much.

It's a great project, keep at it!

 

[shamtiiomi]

zeph19 I'm glad you enjoyed it, or at least a lot of it. Everything's a work in progress, and not everything is going to perfect off the bat. I do appreciate the detail you went into. Some of it is intentional, some of it felt right when I was writing it, and some of it is actively being touched up already. I add some notes to your negative points, and some reasoning behind them.

Spoiler

You don't have permission to view the spoiler content. Log in or register now.

I don't expect everyone to agree with or like what's in the game. It's all highly subjective. And I'm totally for someone respectfully disagreeing with them/some of them (which can be a rarity in these game threads). The criticism and the good, when put like this, are appreciated all the same.

i dont think he is a douchebag bcs he wants,i think the top athletes are all kind of assholes at some point like in any other profesional work ,the best of all are kind of like that,arrogance is part of the character in almost everyone even those who lack skills or talent,or both,but more in those who knows they are good and they need the fell to show off,and im totally can understand that ,is not unmoral to being arrogant or being a hunble person,is part of who we are,and sometimes is part of our charm,those who talk about being a complete asshole or a douchebag , they are lacking the backstory and the need to understand that,this vn isnt for everyone ,like any other vn has flaws and virtues,but is a good one [a very good one]for me is one of my top 5 in site right now,but im talking about the story and the mc.....i like those 2....but im pretty bummed about the models of the girls ,they dont do nothing for me,only 1 or 2 in 10 or 12 i saw are nice to think about,but have almsot the same body types are not doing much.i love curves,and whn i talk about curves im talking about asses ,tits and hipes,doesnt matter if is irl or in a game skinny girls dont bring nothing to my table,and no before dev tell me that they arent skinny ,well they are from my point of view ,and im totally fine with that bcs i can chosse to not have any kind of relationship with them,like i planning to do ,one save for all one save for only what i like ,and i think is like any other fan right here ,we do something bcs is an harem game but we do another with only ours choices ,and i pleased to see the dev is totally fine with that,and dont take that part of the game from us.
so yeah im ok withe mc being a asshole,and im ok with the storypace and writing,and sometimes thats what matters most sometimes we want a fast fap and thats it ,but from this one here MissFortuneyou have plenty of time to rework redone change or not but only if you want not bcs someone have a say in it,pls dont fall trap of that kind of patrons,.
i really loved WWJK and i hope you continue this one in the future ,and i will prefer 100 times over the kind of models u use in that one from move the chains,...i really hope you take this like a consturctive critic and also a complment to your hard work bcs like i say is in my top 5best writing avn in the forum.....good job

 

[pavan23559]

zeph19 I'm glad you enjoyed it, or at least a lot of it. Everything's a work in progress, and not everything is going to perfect off the bat. I do appreciate the detail you went into. Some of it is intentional, some of it felt right when I was writing it, and some of it is actively being touched up already. I add some notes to your negative points, and some reasoning behind them.

Spoiler

You don't have permission to view the spoiler content. Log in or register now.

I don't expect everyone to agree with or like what's in the game. It's all highly subjective. And I'm totally for someone respectfully disagreeing with them/some of them (which can be a rarity in these game threads). The criticism and the good, when put like this, are appreciated all the same.

I do have the same issues. as this. But this game is so well done. It's just, I kinda love Diana. I always hated even mentioning of an LI's past sexual relationships. But I kinda grew from that phase. Everyone has a past. It's just, there was a flashback, of dwight being verbally abusive about D, but she mentions they were fuck buddies. This made me a bit sad, but it is kinda realistic too. It's not like mc is some prude too lmao.. if he's fucking around, why shouldn't any LI.? But why dwight.? that guy.??? You already mentioned, her character and plot goes much deeper. And I'm here for it all. MC x D. all the way. I only want to play single LI, but if there's a possibility of harem with love too.. why the hell now. So, would she be angry if it's a harem.?

 

[PickerLewd]

If you have the iPatch installed, I don't know if the game will still consider Diana a love interest. It will certainly cause a lot of trouble for the poor mother, who seems to be a very good person, but is very long-suffering .