VN Ren'Py Being a DIK [v0.10.1] [Dr PinkCake]

[Holy Bacchus]

Maybe. Then again, maybe it's just that hard for Quinn to let her guard down around someone: one or two examples aren't enough, the MC needs to go above and beyond in proving he's trustworthy (in her eyes). It's one thing to fool around with a hot guy, it's another let that guy see her at her most vulnerable.

I can believe Quinn would trust an MC who thinks/acts like a DIK far more than a CHICK, even if they had both done the same thinks objectively; she hates showing weakness and would never fully trust someone who is comfortable doing so. If we assume for a moment that the Affinity system made a lick of sense, tying Quinn's decision to it would be reasonable. Of course the system is a mess so the requirement feels arbitrary.

But that's what I meant about being stuck with a bad system. DPC thinks affinity means something, so he will tie future events to it. We just have to take our best guess about what the intended rationale was and try to reconstruct the scene in our heads to fill in the gaps. It's frustrating, but I'm willing to overlook a few major flaws if the rest of the game delivers.

But this is why it doesn't work. The MC can think and act like DIK while having CHICK affinity because it's the status choices that have more determination on this than the affinity choices. A CHICK affinity MC can do everything they can with Quinn, be friends with M&J, and have DIK status, yet because of that one affinity check, which could be based on making as little as 2 more CHICK than DIK choices, his offer to help is rejected. In this scenario, Quinn's decision still does not make sense because the status means he acts more like a DIK which is what you might say she likes, but she'll reject him because of this other system that overrides that.

Also, if there are only 3 direct actions with Quinn required for that scene on the DIK path, then you could say that she doesn't require much to gain her trust and since affinity seems like less of a determining factor of personality and behaviour than status, it again seems questionable as to why this puts her off. I honestly don't think there's any logical reason, storywise, to explain this, and it's just an arbitrary way to force content on to other paths to make the game more replayable even when this content separation so often doesn't make sense within the narrative.

 

[BryanElliot21]

Hey, for the version 6.1 download, I have tried multiple download options and it is unable to open. It does not say it is a security thing, it just says it cannot be opened. Is anyone else having this issue? Maybe I just have to wait till the next update. Thanks

 

[moskyx]

yet because of that one affinity check, which could be based on making as little as 2 more CHICK than DIK choices, his offer to help is rejected.

This reminds me of a discussion I had with Tlaero some years ago, when she decided to drop completely any type of "scoring" system from her games (I think it was before Saving Chloe). Basically, she reasoned that it just doesn't make sense to block a lewd scene or block a path because you complimented the girl twice and joked once instead of complimenting her three times. Human relationships are built from a lot of interactions that can't be properly recreated during a game (not even one as long and detailed as BaDIK) so it was easier and more logical both for players and devs to just tie those checkpoints to the most important actions/moments within the story.

If the dev gives you the chance to say different things in different tones but in the end that other character is going to stick with you for plot reasons and you're going to share important moments with that character anyway, that can be seen like a proof that, no matter how the player acts, that NPC likes the MC to be around just the way he is (which is the way the player has chosen to be). And, in this case, if all your major interactions with a given LI go in one way, a real person would give more weight to what you did in those important moments you shared, where you proved her what your "core values" and interests actually are.

So all those minor interactions should be considered just a way for the player to express their own personality, leading to minor dialog variants or some extra cutscenes, this helping immersion, and the major choices should be the ones that decide the paths. And everything would feel more natural for everybody

 

[KoolMe]

“‘If a priest’s daughter defiles herself by becoming a prostitute, she disgraces her father; she must be burned in the fire” [Leviticus 21:9]

and so on.

Now I understand why the bitch gave off such strong LEAH vibes

DPC warned us from the start
cant blame him this time

 

[R1viel]

Also think about some of the songs in some of her scenes. Like don't count on me when she's giving you the tour, for one and if I'm remembering correctly emptyV plays during one of the freeroams in her room. I don't have a save for all her free roam so I could be wrong about the second song

 

[Gladheim]

Also think about some of the songs in some of her scenes. Like don't count on me when she's giving you the tour, for one and if I'm remembering correctly emptyV plays during one of the freeroams in her room. I don't have a save for all her free roam so I could be wrong about the second song

This isnt a Nolan movie... you all are overthinking things xD

 

[R1viel]

This isnt a Nolan movie... you all are overthinking things xD

I know it was just a random thought that amused me when I was listening to the soundtrack playlist

 

[Gladheim]

I know it was just a random thought that amused me when I was listening to the soundtrack playlist

Then you should know that a song called By your side also plays in some of her dates/rooms whatever

 

[R1viel]

Then you should know that a song called By your side also plays in some of her dates/rooms whatever

Yes but including that would make me sound less insane but seriously I honestly had't thought too much about it

I also didn't mention that in the scene where 'don't count on me' plays is also the first time we see a bunch of characters including close ups of Quinn and Sage as well as the frat houses.

in all honesty I also didn't know the song that plays when you take Maya out for lunch was called Guardian Angel but then I was a fan of Melodic In Fusion before playing this game which is why I remember their song names over some of the others

 

[felicemastronzo]

This isnt a Nolan movie... you all are overthinking things xD

if I think about how it ended with the letter about the mother, I think you are right

 

[Gladheim]

Yes but include that would make me sound less insane

I also didn't mention that in the scene where 'don't count on me' plays is also the first time we see a bunch of characters including close ups of Quinn and Sage as well as the frat houses.

in all honesty I also didn't know the song that plays when you take Maya out for lunch was called Guardian Angel but then I was a fan of Melodic In Fusion before playing this game which is why I remember their song names over some of the others

Can you put a video or link to the song that you say about Guardian Angel? From this game, the songs of the parties have remained in my memory (almost all of Meizong) and those of the dates/moments with the girls (which is to listen to them and memories come to my mind and they make me quite emotional ) and of course Punk rock flu xd

 

[R1viel]

now that I listen to it I think the youtube thumbnail decieved me

Spoiler: the yt link for guardian angel

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

 

[Nscovil88]

Whoo. That Isabella scene. and that SONG! (changes pants and fans self)

Oh baby, you know I'm crazy for you.

Google doesn't even know that song.

 

[Gladheim]

Whoo. That Isabella scene. and that SONG! (changes pants and fans self)

Oh baby, you know I'm crazy for you.

Google doesn't even know that song.

Look here Episode 6 songs

 

[Dr. Psychedelic]

so I checked DPC's Patreon he posted a development news
so has anyone shared it here?

 

[R1viel]

so I checked DPC's Patreon he posted a development news
so has anyone shared it here?

I don't think so, but not been up that long

 

[ename144]

But this is why it doesn't work. The MC can think and act like DIK while having CHICK affinity because it's the status choices that have more determination on this than the affinity choices. A CHICK affinity MC can do everything they can with Quinn, be friends with M&J, and have DIK status, yet because of that one affinity check, which could be based on making as little as 2 more CHICK than DIK choices, his offer to help is rejected. In this scenario, Quinn's decision still does not make sense because the status means he acts more like a DIK which is what you might say she likes, but she'll reject him because of this other system that overrides that.

Also, if there are only 3 direct actions with Quinn required for that scene on the DIK path, then you could say that she doesn't require much to gain her trust and since affinity seems like less of a determining factor of personality and behaviour than status, it again seems questionable as to why this puts her off. I honestly don't think there's any logical reason, storywise, to explain this, and it's just an arbitrary way to force content on to other paths to make the game more replayable even when this content separation so often doesn't make sense within the narrative.

But there aren't 3 direct actions to get Quinn's scene, there are 4: you need DIK affinity (however you get there). You seem to be using the fact that it requires an Affinity check as proof that the Affinity system doesn't mean anything because there are other checks too. That's circular reasoning. Each decision can have its own consequences, but the Affinity system is intended to represent to net result of all those choices on the MC. I agree it fails at that task, but I disagree that a better system wouldn't serve a useful purpose.

You say a Neutral MC can do all the things a DIK one would and so Quinn has no reason to reject him, but that just isn't true. In the Neutral case, DIK actions by the MC are a bare majority at best. In the DIK case, they are a solid majority at worst. If there was a clear logic to what constituted a DIK or CHICK decision, that distinction would matter. Sure, a Neutral MC might be willing to take advantage of Quinn, but would he really have her back when the chips are down? Based on his actions, it's reasonable for Quinn to conclude he might not (again, assuming the Affinity system made sense).

Of course this is why I think the Permanent Affinity idea is a bad one: when the system is this arbitrary, what's the difference between restricting the choice and denying it was a major choice to begin with? Yes, neutral characters can potentially combine choices in a way that Locked characters can't, but is that really any different than keying non-choices off specific actions? If the only way to make get a choice in Episode 10 is to go back in time and reverse a different choice in Episode 2, does that really make the character feel different in a coherent way, or is it just upping the opportunity cost to respec? I say the latter. DPC is letting his hatred for min-maxing blind him to the shortcomings of the system he designed.

But again, we're stuck with this version of Affinity so we might as well make peace with it and hope the rest of the game is worth it. That's a separate argument from whether it ever makes sense to have NPCs react on their own based on things the MC has done previously (rather than giving the player individual control over each outcome). IMHO denying the player direct control can help if it establishes the NPCs as independent actors with their own thoughts and feelings. Like any tool, it isn't inherently worthless just because one guy used it incorrectly, but it may only be useful on projects that just don't interest a given player.

All that said, I think the idea this is being done for play balance reasons is just plain wrong. If the goal was purely to balance content on different playthroughs, there would be no need for all these extra checks. Unless you think DPC plans to add unique content specifically for Neutral/CHICK MCs that accepted Quinn's offer, had sex with her on the roof, and rejected M&J, clearly something else is at work here.

 

[IcemanVincy85]

As software developer i think the flag are managed using boolean data, so boolean are true or false. If the check, could be an if or a switch case, find that boolean data is false they skip the scene. For example if the boolean value is dik, if dik is false this event is skipped. I'm unfortunately not good enough for create videogames, i'd like that, but i can't draw and realize animations.

I was a bit disappoint that the Neutral path with Quinn was blocked, since i have a neutral "hot" path where i take the number, use her restaurant and fuck her, Sarah, Melanie in the shower, Camila and Lily....i do the DIK choices and use CHICK choice to keep the neutrality but, as i told before if the main flag is dik should be true the event is skipped.

 

[Sorrow85]

so I checked DPC's Patreon he posted a development news
so has anyone shared it here?

I don't think so, but not been up that long

Today, the v0.6.1 patch was made available for the $5 tier. Please note that you need the full Patreon version (v0.5.0 up to v0.6.0) to be able to patch the game to v0.6.1.

This week I've been writing and posing animations while testing the new GPUs.

The speed is truly amazing and I've been increasing the length of the animations so far and also increased the render quality.

42 animations of varied length (1-20 seconds) are complete already.

I've estimated that the efficiency of these cards is 400 frames (or static renders), per day. 400 frames is equal to a ~13.3s animation @30fps.

Just as I thought, the bottleneck has thus shifted from animations to manual labor; including writing, coding, posing renders, post-processing art, and more.

When it comes to future updates, the goal for me isn't to stress and release them faster, but to include the content I want and increase the quality of the art.

If an update is released faster than usual, it's a happy bonus. Regardless, development has gotten a huge boost, all thanks to you.

Poll news

The winner in the poll for an extra wallpaper was Jill with the option front focus. I will order and include this 2D wallpaper in Episode 7.

In December, there will be new polls to participate in.

Walkthrough news

I will write the walkthrough soon and release it to the $15 tier. It should be ready sometime in early to mid-December.

Getting the development for episode 7 up and running smoothly takes priority at the moment.



Have a nice weekend

Dr PinkCake

 

[JohnnyCrunch]

and she's supposed to be heterosexual all through college? (when she's not even sure she's bisexual ...) denying her feelings for Josy and 50% forcing MC to pretend to be her boyfriend, often after rejecting him? it would be useless and morally very negative

she would put herself at a worse risk, only she can change her father's mind and lying to him is not a good first move.

Who says Maya has to make MC pretend to be her boyfriend? All she has to do is say she's concentrating on school and not dating anybody. Her Pops did see the pink covering on the other bed in the dorm room, but Maya can just say that she was assigned a female roommate... and that she doesn't spend a whole lot of time in the room & doesn't really know much about her.

Considering her father is holding the tuition money over her head (which doesn't really make sense to begin with), now is probably not the best time to have it out with him. She could, but unless she thinks there's a good chance at her magically being able to change his mind, then it will do more damage than good. Her best bet is to say she's not in any relationship... and then finish school.

Also, depending on which route you're on... the MC may already be in a relationship with Maya (and Josy), so him saying he's her boyfriend isn't really far off from the truth.