Unity A Long Journey [v0.8.1] [Marvellous Lunatic]

[Morgan42]

nvm, I found it. Thanks.

For future people its around the top right of the room

 

[IamKhronos]

Thanks, I really appreciate it.

Regarding the inconsistency, that shouldn't happen. Those lines should be different if the "taboo" language was selected:
Regular:

        "line_888": "Uhm. Yeah, with a college professor and her two daughters, who are friends of mine.",
        "line_889": "You are traveling with your professor? How does that fit together?",
        "line_890": "I've known them for a long time, and I was friends with her daughters since we were young. And actually, the professor helped me get a place on the ship.",
        "line_891": "One of the worst things about waking up like this is not being able to talk to them. But I'd never wish them to be stuck in the same shitty situation as we are.",
        "line_892": "Tell me something about that professor of yours.",
        "line_893": "...Uhmm... Okay... Where to start...",
        "line_894": "... She's great. A really lovely person. Ever since I can remember she always made me feel welcome when I came over to spend time with her daughters.",

Taboo (replaces only specified lines):

        "line_888": "Uhm. With my mother and two sisters.",
        "line_889": "Your whole family is traveling together? What about your Dad?",
        "line_890": "We... don't have a good relationship with him. He's still back on earth, decided to stay behind with his mistress. I... don't really want to talk about him.",
        "line_892": "Tell me something about your mom.",
        "line_894": "... She's great. A really loving and caring mother. And she's got a such a happy personality, always lots of fun to be with.",

The only I could think of what happened that you played the regular version of dialogue, changed the language and rolled back and reading the dialogue. While rollback to 'old rendered' text will be loaded again, not the corresponding 'new' line. You have to rollback passed this lines and advance the dialogue again. In this case the line should be rendered with the correct line of the selected language and character configuration. If that was not the case and there are still problems would you be so kind to message me in private with the exact steps to reproduce your observation?

There is still an error somewhere in the text. in my case both game/vis and char config are on tabboo settings. the conversation goes as follow

 

[Marvellous Lunatic]

There is still an error somewhere in the text. in my case both game/vis and char config are on tabboo settings. the conversation goes as follow

You're right! After I changed the line to make a better bridge in the regular version I included their relation in some way. I need to adapt this line in the taboo version which I haven't until now because it was unrelated. Thanks for tip. I'll add that to my issue-list. But unless there are other game-breaking bugs I won't create a new bug-fix build for one spelling error. But at the latest it will be fixed in the next update!

 

[Solla_Maten]

Any Full Save ?

 

[BorgiaBou]

Holy shit i just played the sex scene with Selene, finally a f'in' dev who knows how to do a sex scene after some build up... also the fact that they went straight to sex and not the classic vn cliche firts i have to give you a handjob then a tittiejob then a blowjob yada yada and after lots of freakin jobs they get to fuck, i mean really if she gives me a bj then be motherf'in' sure imma gonna fuck her right then... so congrats to you dev for that well done scene...
Ah and also THANK YOU for finally having a MC with a normal size dick and not some horse size dick, THANK YOUUUUUU!
Now the game looks very good, storywise seems interesting so i'm looking forward to see how this will go... finger crossed.

 

[Aristos]

Holy shit i just played the sex scene with Selene, finally a f'in' dev who knows how to do a sex scene after some build up... also the fact that they went straight to sex and not the classic vn cliche firts i have to give you a handjob then a tittiejob then a blowjob yada yada and after lots of freakin jobs they get to fuck, i mean really if she gives me a bj then be motherf'in' sure imma gonna fuck her right then... so congrats to you dev for that well done scene...
Ah and also THANK YOU for finally having a MC with a normal size dick and not some horse size dick, THANK YOUUUUUU!
Now the game looks very good, storywise seems interesting so i'm looking forward to see how this will go... finger crossed.

It is indeed one of the best sex scenes I have ever seen in adult games. Absolutely brilliant. And I probably should have praised it long ago, when I first watched it.

 

[Psykoman1978]

i just sarted are there any choices in this game?

 

[Cabin Fever]

i just sarted are there any choices in this game?

That sounded so wrong.

Sorry, it was too easy to pass up.

Assuming you meant started, no, so far the game is rather linear without much of any choice of any consequences.

 

[Psykoman1978]

That sounded so wrong.

Sorry, it was too easy to pass up.

Assuming you meant started, no, so far the game is rather linear without much of any choice of any consequences.

all good better joking around as insulting people
ah so Selene is unavoidable? i just don´t like her after i think she did

 

[PapaPhat]

Wow! Not sure if it was Aristos or Cabin Fever or other friend that recommended this amazing title to me but whoever it was... thank you!

I have finally put a couple hours in and am getting a feel for the controls as I play very few Unity based games. My usual preference is Ren'Py. However, once I figured out the navigation options I am thoroughly enjoying Long Journey and look forward to seeing more!

Big kudos to Marvellous Lunatic for this intriguing tale!

Adventure ever on my friends, Phat

 

[Geralt_R]

My two cents... it's sad that a game like A Long Journey doesn't have more clicks, downloads, ratings... more of everything. Yes, it's basically "Passengers" the VN, with an added twist, but it's one of THE best story driven single love interest romance games I have ever played.

The one love interest, Selene, may not start on the best of terms with the MC, she's a bit abrasive, and things get a bit complicated once the truth is revealed, but overall the characters here behave like actual humans. And Selene is a complex character you grow to like (well, I did).
The dev does not bullshit you with some silly progression routes, once things get steamy, they do get really steamy and the scene with the MC and Selene is one of the very best I have ever seen, not just speaking about the animations, which are great, but mostly about the emotional aspect of it all. This really is hands down one of THE most rewarding scenes in any game ever. Tasteful, passionate, sweet, loving - virtually everything you may want (if you like vanilla romance).

If you have doubts about Unity or the few free roam sections... don't let that keep you from playing A Long Journey. If you like story driven games, if you prefer having one three dimensional love interest over a flock of more or less super thirsty sex partners, then look no further!

This game was a very pleasant surprise for me. Looking forward to more!

 

[PapaPhat]

My two cents... it's sad that a game like A Long Journey doesn't have more clicks, downloads, ratings... more of everything. Yes, it's basically "Passengers" the VN, with an added twist, but it's one of THE best story driven single love interest romance games I have ever played.

The one love interest, Selene, may not start on the best of terms with the MC, she's a bit abrasive, and things get a bit complicated once the truth is revealed, but overall the characters here behave like actual humans. And Selene is a complex character you grow to like (well, I did).
The dev does not bullshit you with some silly progression routes, once things get steamy, they do get really steamy and the scene with the MC and Selene is one of the very best I have ever seen, not just speaking about the animations, which are great, but mostly about the emotional aspect of it all. This really is hands down one of THE most rewarding scenes in any game ever. Tasteful, passionate, sweet, loving - virtually everything you may want (if you like vanilla romance).

If you have doubts about Unity or the few free roam sections... don't let that keep you from playing A Long Journey. If you like story driven games, if you prefer having one three dimensional love interest over a flock of more or less super thirsty sex partners, then look no further!

This game was a very pleasant surprise for me. Looking forward to more!

Me too, my friend You actually answered the dilemma you posed within the same first paragraph... story driven, single love interest, romance... None of those are big draws for an AVN title, more's the pity. However, a great story with some sexy good times interwoven in an immersive way is EXACTLY what I enjoy so I agree with you 100%!

As I mentioned in my previous post, I play mostly Ren'Py AVN titles so the Unity format took some getting used to but was well worth the time to figure it out. I was pleased to find most of the controls I like from Ren'Py titles, just in a bit different format. So, it's all working out just fine. Thanks for posting today because you reminded me that I need to get back to this intriguing story! Thank you

Adventure ever on friend, Phat

 

[EndlessNights]

The one love interest, Selene, may not start on the best of terms with the MC, she's a bit abrasive, and things get a bit complicated once the truth is revealed, but overall the characters here behave like actual humans. And Selene is a complex character you grow to like (well, I did).

I've found that polarizing characters are often among the most complex and well-done in a story even if it does take some time to come to appreciate them. It is a good thing for a character to invoke strong reactions and strong emotions. When I quit playing this game, I initially thought I was doing so because I didn't like Selene, but when I stopped and really thought about it I realized that actually Selene was a fantastic character...it was the MC and his reactions to Selene I couldn't understand or relate to.

Personally, I found the game's lack of branching frustrating. When Selene was being abrasive and unpleasant to the MC, I wanted him to able to respond in a similar way rather than just sit there and take it. Ideally, there could have been a love path, a path where Selene and the MC fight and bicker despite obvious sexual tension that they try their best to ignore, and a path where the MC and Selene dislike each other so much that they steer clear of one another as much as possible. I was really wanting to follow that third hypothetical path (I call it the "I'd rather devote the rest of my life to exploring an empty spaceship than spend another moment with you!" path), but instead I had to watch my character irresistibly fall head over heels for Selene and to add insult to injury he even began acting like a lustful teenager in an incest game whenever a chance to peek at or eyefuck the lady of his desires presented itself. I really enjoyed the game's worldbuilding and loved exploring the fantastically large spaceship, but I just couldn't stand to be inside the MC's Selene-besotted mind any longer past a certain point so I felt compelled to quit.

If you do happen to fall hard for Selene just as the MC does and also love good science fiction, I have to imagine this game could easily become one of your favorite VNs. A lot of people whose opinion I respect highly seem to love it, including osanaiko, Phat, Hildegardt, and jufot (though I'm beginning to suspect he reflexively likes all VNs that feature a female character who calls a male MC "princess" at any point in the game). I wish I could count myself among their number, but I'm not quite there yet. I probably will give it another go once additional LIs are added.

 

[Geralt_R]

(I call it the "I'd rather devote the rest of my life to exploring an empty spaceship than spend another moment with you!" path)

Highly hypothetical... but I think virtually everyone would rather be with a somewhat complicated character on a spaceship between the stars than being entirely on their own. If the alternative is complete and utter loneliness people will almost certainly choose the company, unless Selene would be a psychopathic serial killer, but she's not. She's reasonably attractive, she is not without her good sides. The two would learn to get along. That's the one thing Passengers (the movie) did really well... to show us the utter despair in the lonely man caught in a spaceship in deep space. With no hope. Decades of loneliness are ahead. So he did the bad thing and woke up a woman he found attractive, just to have company. The movie got a lot of flak for it by the media back then, none of these people understand the point of the movie though.
So no, I don't think anyone would ever avoid Selene in that particular situation. Thus "forcing" her on the player makes sense.

All that being said the lack of choices is certainly the one big weakness of A Long Journey. At least let me choose how to react to Selene. But the way the story is told it requires the MC and Selene to be together, to work together.
I hope we will get choices at least when other potential love interests are concerned.
I have no interest in a harem or romancing other characters here, even though I am pretty confident the MC's quasi family will be unfrozen eventually. It's certainly good to have other choices for those who can't stand Selene, but everything should then be entirely optional.

 

[Aristos]

If you like the game and think it's underrated, one way to help is by recommending it to other users and "wearing" it in your signature.
It may seem silly, but at least 4 people that I know of have tried the game just after a brief comment by myself in a different thread. It's just that the vast majority of people won't usually acknowledge it.
Those people will in turn recommend the game to someone else, and hopefully the cycle will continue.

This reminds me that this game isn't yet in my signature's rotating gif. Now I've got something to kill time with for a few minutes

And now that I'm at it, I'd like to share with Marvellous Lunatic a small gripe that I've been having since day one: when you make use of those fantastic pan shots from toes to head, you never let us get the full picture. This applies to in-game pan shots as well as to those in the secret gallery. Please, apart from the moving shot, which is cool, give us a way to see the full image

 

[EndlessNights]

So no, I don't think anyone would ever avoid Selene in that particular situation. Thus "forcing" her on the player makes sense.

You make a good point, but I think that "anyone" makes for too sweeping a statement. Personally, if I were stuck on a spaceship with a woman I considered an enemy I can easily imagine avoiding her for the duration of our time among the stars. In fact, the situation that came to my mind when I was playing the game is the story of the

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. Theoretically, those guys had every reason to be close friends -- they were alone in a society that often was hostile to them and had a common faith and ethnicity to bring them together. Instead, they were bitter and implacable enemies to the very end. It's not a perfect analogy since both those guys did have Muslim friends so they weren't completely alone, but I was hoping for a similar turn in the story: we would have two people who given their dire situation ought to have a common cause and be allies who are also fucking like bunnies, but instead they find that they just can't stand each other. I think that dynamic could have made for an interesting and unique story, albeit one exceedingly light on sex scenes.

Plus, it's not like the MC or Selene are ever really alone long enough to be absolutely desperate for human companionship. I don't think it's exclusively circumstance that drives them together. From the MC's perspective Selene really is perfection personified for him in terms of both looks and personality and someone he'd have fallen for even if he was surrounded by a hundred other equally attractive women. That overwhelming attraction the MC feels for Selene is something I can't really understand and it makes me feel disconnected from him as a character. I think it's just really hard to make a VN with a forced LI that an entire audience can agree on, and it's also hard to convincingly write love at first sight/love at first slap romance which is essentially what we have here.

 

[Marvellous Lunatic]

The one love interest, Selene, may not start on the best of terms with the MC, she's a bit abrasive, and things get a bit complicated once the truth is revealed, but overall the characters here behave like actual humans.

Thanks for the extensive review. I really appreciate it. I'll try to comment on some points below.

I'll tag EndlessNights, Aristos as well as I think this will tackle some of their comments too. Sorry, I didn't want to quote every section. Thought this would be easier.

Selene being abrasive
I think this image of her is mostly driven by the slap early on in the game. I said that before, I simply underestimated the impact of this scene for other people. To me this was just another fun reference to the movie Pulp Fiction, nothing more. If I would rewrite the first episode, I would leave that slap out. At the beginning I thought I will add way more humor to the game but reduced it down the line as the story developed.

Selene being the only Love-Interest
In the beginning of the story development I thought this story part of the story will only be a rather short introduction. But this being the first time I create a story this way I underestimated the time I'll need to create this and I really liked how the story developed and decided the spent even more time on it. When I started sketching the whole story for the game, I thought I'll be writing the second act, where more characters are introduced, within a few short updates and in less than a year. Obviously, I misjudged the time I'll need. Anyway, this means it will still take some time until there are more LI's available.

Branching / Story-writing
Before I started writing the story I considered branching and decided against it for a few reasons. Main reason, I don't have the time to develop a extensive story branching where I have to keep track of and make it consistent with the overall story I have in mind. It's easier to write only one branch and make it consistent without any major plot-holes. Foremost I can really focus on the one story that I have in mind. And this is the major point. I'm not craving to create a story that appeals everyone, or even 'just' most people. I want to create the story that I like, that pleases me. This won't be a project where community members or even Patreons will have major impact on the story. To me this isn't some kind of work that should drive my income, this is just my hobby, my balance to real-life / real job. If people decide to become supporter of my work than to show their appreciation that way and for some additional content and updates but there should be no expectations that they will have a major voice in the story development. However, I'm open for ideas, recommendations, advice or any kind of critic and I'll consider it, but it doesn't mean that I will add it.

Meaningless scenes with Pia (ex-girlfriend)
I think in the review it was mentioned that scenes with Pia where not really necessary and they were just added for having sex scenes. That's not true. For one, they give more background information about Elios, the way he sees and interacts with different kind of other characters and it adds more depth to his character. Pia is obviously different to Selene and also very different to MC. So there is a triangle to compare characters against each other, Selene with Pia, Pia with Elios and Elios with Selene. While they all have different views on some topics they can talk about and discuss them and still be close to each other. To address this topic at whole I would need more time, because there went more thoughts into it than it might appear, but it's already quite late.
Pia is important to the story and will have more impact down the line and it has been teased, but I wont say more about this.
But, you are right she serves me well for having those sex-scenes. And they shouldn't be just 'sell points'. Mostly and quite simply... they are there because I want to have them and I really like them and had fun creating it. Again, this is a story, purely to my liking.

Middle part of the story being repetitive / boring
I think I wrote about that before, so I'll just keep it briefly. One of the main reasons for this section was to show that time is passing and Selene and Elios are slowly getting closer to each other and their relation doesn't happen from one moment to another. I personally liked the section where Selene doesn't understand what Elios is talking about and he is trying to explain it. I think it makes the situation more naturally and immersive and makes the development of the story more plausible.

Vertical scroll images / secrets
I thought about an option to have a full-size view of them but haven't added it yet. One reason is I upload the full-size images of those vertical scroll images along the 4K render reward for my Patreons only at the moment. But like I said, I'm considering to add them in-game.

Free-roam / sandbox is unused
This also has been a topic quite a few times already, so I'll keep that briefly as well. I created most of the engine and environments before I started to create the story. And for it was always the goal to have a kind of sandbox style after the introduction (which you know by know, I thought would be shorter). When more characters are available the player will probably have the choice to follow the story paths of only certain characters if he wants to.
On another point I think it adds great to the immersion being alone on a big ship.
There are already a few free-roam activities beside the secret hunt, but I want to add more when I have the time and the story is progressed enough. For example after chapter 2 and before 4 there was a repeatable event in the observation or the dj mini-game in the dance-club.
Like I said, I want to add more exploring down the line and again, it's there because I like it and had fun creating the framework for it. I know there are people who don't like it, but I do

I probably forgot to address some points, but anyway, it's already gotten late

 

[ClockworkGnome]

I've found that polarizing characters are often among the most complex and well-done in a story even if it does take some time to come to appreciate them.

The problem with polarizing characters is, obviously, they're polarizing.

For every player who embraces the complexity of a character's personality and circumstances and winds up loving them for it and appreciating their intricate narrative, there will be a player who outright loathes them for the choices they make or the things they do (justified or not). For every player who appreciates why a character might be an abrasive asshole because of the traumas of their own past, there's going to be someone who just finds them incredibly annoying for being a total douchenozzle now. For every player who loves the satisfaction of slowly defrosting a tsundere out of her standoffish and abusive persona into a more loving self, there are going to be people who want to nope the fuck out right from the start because they have zero patience for that sort of shit. And so on.

I like Selene, but I can easily see why some people might not (and I can even more easily see why a hypothetical MC might go "You know what? Fuck you, fuck your sister, and fuck your friends - you forfeited any right to my sympathy the moment you ruined my life to save your own"). It's perfectly understandable that some players in that situation might want to actively ignore, avoid, or otherwise hate her for what she's done (even if they understand her justifications). The story can be just as interesting or valid if the MC chooses to never forgive her for using him. Or just tries and find a way to sabotage or kill the bad guys even if it gets Selene and her sister killed as well ("You were willing to sacrifice me and use me to get what you want, now I'm willing to use and sacrifice you and your sister to protect my family, everyone else on this ship, and the people back on Earth").

At the end of the story so far, MC is feeling straight up manipulated (even if we the audience understand Selene did everything under duress and probably does have genuine feelings for him now). Some players might absolutely want to explore that mindset and view her as "the enemy" rather than forgive her and incorporate her into future plans to save the day and live happily ever after.

Highly hypothetical... but I think virtually everyone would rather be with a somewhat complicated character on a spaceship between the stars than being entirely on their own.

I strongly disagree, if only because context matters.

Passengers mostly works because of the nature of how things are presented. The initial defrosting is an accident. He's alone for a year before he pretty much goes crazy from the isolation. After he wakes her up, their relationship progresses significantly before she finds out the truth. Then someone outside their pairing effectively justifies what he did to her, there is a major catastrophe that forces them to work together, and she's ultimately given a choice.

Now change those variables. Make the time he spends alone shorter, so he seems more selfish. Have the time they spend together be shorter before she finds out, so their connection isn't as strong when she feels betrayed. Have them have to solve the problems themselves without anyone else, so they never have an outside perspective to defend his position. I can easily see that scenario ending with her choosing to go back into hibernation. And if you go farther and take away her choice (so she's forced to stay awake regardless of how she feels), I could easily see her hating him so powerfully that she actively avoids him out of spite (or goes farther and tries to kill him out of revenge).

I can also imagine a scenario where he doesn't survive in the end (either fixing the ship or because she kills him), and now she's the one left alone... until she eventually loses her resolve, wakes someone else up to keep her company, and the whole mess starts up again.

Humans may crave companionship (at least most humans), but there are always other factors. Depending on who you're stuck alone with, you might be willing to be alone if the only alternative is to be with someone you hate.

And at the height of despair, suicide is always an option.

Personally, if I were stuck on a spaceship with a woman I considered an enemy I can easily imagine avoiding her for the duration of our time among the stars.

Personally, if I were stuck on a spaceship with a woman I considered an enemy I can easily imagine trying to outright kill her.

It can sound incredibly harsh from modern societal perspective, but when you're trapped on a ship alone with no oversight and no risk of punishment, the motivation to strike back at someone who has utterly destroyed your life (and who may continue to be a threat) can easily be a powerful force. Simply by existing she's using resources you need (it's already implied the food dispensers can run out of food - but those supplies will last longer for one than they will two), and if she's the reason you're in this mess in the first place revenge can be a powerful motivator all its own. Then add to the fact that you're dealing with someone who is working with people who are actively trying to sabotage the ship and its mission, and who have openly threatened your loved ones - regardless of whether or not you believer her excuses, it might easily be justifiable that the rest of the ship's crew will be far safer with her gone than they will if she sticks around.

Now all the MC has to do is figure out how to seal off a given section of the ship, then vent the atmosphere out of any area someone is in. Sure, it'll kill Selene and her sister, but it will also kill the people actively behind it all. And there are sayings about omelettes and eggs, after all...

 

[Geralt_R]

That overwhelming attraction the MC feels for Selene is something I can't really understand and which makes me feel disconnected from him as a character. I think it's just really hard to make a VN with a forced LI that an entire audience can agree on, and it's also hard to convincingly write love at first sight/slap romance which is essentially what we have here.

This is always the risk when you have a game with a forced love interest. And I think it's unavoidable, you can only hope that a majority of potential players will feel the same as the dev.

I could for the most part empathize with the MC here. Maybe it would have helped if the game was longer and had more scenes of the MC alone on the ship, but that could also be very, very boring from a gameplay perspective, so things are more condensed here.

Now change those variables.

I think the timeline is as short as it is here for gameplay purposes. Games with a single character, the MC, could become extremely boring. I think the game works for me because in my own head canon the timeline is more like in Passengers, with months passing by, not just mere days.
But sure, if you break it all down like that then the MC and Selene at best have a superficial connection, maybe he has a crush on her, she on him, maybe there's physical attraction, but they haven't had the time yet to grow really, really close.

About the other thing, the MC killing the terrorists (or whatever they are), I don't get that vibe from him at all, he would at least never ever harm Selene (and her sister).

The MC doesn't really have a reason to consider Selene an enemy, if he quit his "holier than thou" routine for a second he would realize that Selene had no choice here, since her sister is in the hands of the villains. For now he either flatly refuses to believe her or he ignores her explanation, but I think he will eventually meet the sister and realize that Selene is indeed as much of a victim as he is.

Again, Selene is not a psychopath or someone who wants to really hurt or kill the MC, the opposite. The MC never gets those vibes from her (in my opinion), so sure, he can be really angry with her, but even in his anger I doubt he would ever consider Selene his enemy. Neither would most other people if put in the same situation.

If the choice is: mend things with someone who was forced to do a bad thing to you... or kill everyone so you can live out your life in complete isolation (there's no guarantee the MC will ever be able to unfreeze other passengers)... I feel the prospect of 50, 60 or maybe 70 years of utter loneliness would have most people choose the alternative.

 

[ClockworkGnome]

Selene being abrasive
I think this image of her is mostly driven by the slap early on in the game.

I think part of it might also be how sarcastic and standoffish she is for most of their time together.

It's understandable in context (both in the sense of assuming she's been alone on the ship for a long time and is just "broken" by it, and then later when you take her backstory into account, but also once the truth comes out and you realize she's being asked to lie to and manipulate someone against her will), but it can still make some players feel like "Wow, what an asshole", and then push back against the idea that "they" would ever like this person.

It may also be partly influenced by the divide between players who are trying to explore the story from the perspective of the character as presented versus self-inserting into that character as themselves. People who see an MC as "someone else" will have a much higher tolerance for things than people who are trying to play as themselves and are just annoyed that they're being railroaded into doing things they don't want to do.

Pia is important to the story and will have more impact down the line and it has been teased, but I wont say more about this.

I've been assuming for a while now that she's part of the evil conspiracy, and is directly responsible for getting the bad guys onto the ship, and likely for pointing them at us as the best possible person to defrost to change the ship's course. Possibly to the point where her relationship with us in the past was deliberate manipulation just to get close to our father (and thus get codes/access from his files by proxy).

Her antipathy to the MC leaving Earth has been emphasized multiple times, and it seems logical that she'd be part of a group dedicated to sabotaging colonization efforts in the hopes of forcing people to fix the planet they're on.

My only real question now is whether or not she's actually in suspended animation somewhere on the ship (and will thus appear later as a character), or if she really did stay behind on Earth (and thus will only ever show up in flashbacks).

Not that I expect you to confirm/deny any of this.