I mean: in a "classical" VN with no freeroaming but just multiple choice menus, you can replay from start while skipping already seen content, and just focus on new contents determined by new choices.
This is a quick and not boring way to see new contents.
With free roaming to see new contents you are forced each time to solve old enigmas and carry out old errands which are fun only the first time when they are new.
It's like if in a crossword magazine once you solve the crossword puzzle at page one you are forced to erase it and solve it again before being enabled to solve the crossword puzzle at page two...
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You may disagree with my opinion on freeroaming, of course, but I don't see any catch-22-like contradiction.
With no freeroaming, in new gameplays you can focus on new contents while just skipping already seen contents by FF.
If freeroaming is involved you can't, instead you are forced to do the same things again and again.
As simple as that.
I think he meant it's sort of a catch-22 in regards to DPC and the player. Not just the player.
For freeroams:
- DPC can just reuse a lot of the code and doesn't have to write entirely separate scenes in separate locations for each branch. On the development side: it covers all the many branches and it can be done quicker.
- For the players, it's a tedious hell. We spend 2 to 3 hours for each run but after the first time, we're only seeing maybe 10% new content like you said. We're spending the same amount of time doing everything step-by-step with only 10% of the reward. Reward being new things we haven't seen yet.
For just normal playthrough:
- DPC may have to make new renders for the characters, new objects, the location, etc. Also write more extensive dialogue, soundtrack arrangement, and so on. This results in a possibility of it taking more time for the development overall. Both for the writing aspects and for posing then rendering images. Which could mean updates come out even later than once a year.
- For the players, obviously it's what you've stated before. It's not as tedious just skipping forward until you either get to something new or something you don't mind seeing again. Either way, you're not wasting 2 hours each run for that 10% of new content.
On one hand:
If you make individual scenes for each path (like different dates for all the LIs) he would have to write and render all these paths on their own. With freeroams he can just have one big freeroam, keep like 80-85% of the renders for every path and then just modify or add certain scenes for the individual paths to make them feel coherent.
But I'm not 100% sure on that argument, either. Just from a quick glance at the image folders and comparing Ep 8 to Ep 9. It seems like there are sometimes 2x or 3x more images for a specific LI in Ep 8 compared to Ep 9. At the same time, the dorm party free roam is massively dwarfed by the Halloween Party in Ep 9.
Even if you add in all the other free roams from Ep 8, it seems like it doesn't or barely breaches 1000 renders. All 3 folders combined for the Halloween Party surpasses 2700 renders. The dorm party by itself is a little more than 600. (Side note: There are probably more freeroam renders for both Ep 8 and 9. I just took a quick glance afterall and did some some rounding
down of both of the figures to keep things simple. It's also kind of iffy because it's not like every render that contains an LI/character goes into a designated folder with their name on it.)
To me, it really seems like just an unfortunate allocation of potential renders. I say unfortunate because I believe he only did a giant free roam for Ep 9 because he 1. thought it was a good idea and 2. people had been anticipating something big for Halloween since before Ep 8. I think without the Halloween party hanging over his head, it's more likely he'll scale it back.
Otherwise, it just doesn't seem to add up that he'd need more time to make separate renders for every path and not for giant freeroams. Environments? Maybe. But how much additional time can that even amount to? Especially if he could reuse some assets. Even the waterpark date with Maya and Josy was only 172 images.
The only thing I could really see him taking more time on is actually having to write out all those scenarios. In that case, it'd make sense.
In conclusion:
From a rough glance at the number of renders in Ep 8 and Ep 9, it seems like he could make separate paths work without using a freeroam. And it was a matter of it just being a one-time thing for the Halloween party or it was some reason other than it being more time-consuming to create renders for all those separate branches.
I'm still not sure. What are your opinions?
it'll be funny to check who's able to finish episode in one go this way xd
