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

[Geralt From Rivia]

As interesting as this rundown is, you have to remember to add a lot of caveats to your conclusions.

1. Your sample size only includes steam, we don’t known if these trends are similar in the GOG, Paterson or pirated only play throughs which severely limits the validity of the numbers.

2. We don’t know what the players preferred/ main runs are. In addition multiple players will probably do multiple runs, thus not necessarily having as strong of a preference. Also players may choose affinity’s primarily based on their LI preference. This scrambles things further.

Also the achievement percentages in general are low. I don’t know when they were introduced to the game, but I have a feeling a lot of players choices aren’t represented because they only played prior to achievements.

In addition the chosen LI paths are very close to each other most of them within 0.5-1.5%+- which isn’t exactly huge gaps.

Still an interesting post, but I doubt the general usefulness of those stats as they seem quite flawed imo.

Yes, this research concerns only Steam, I mentioned it. For example, I said about the differences with F95 - Steam players are not very interested in Bella.
Why such small numbers? Not all players bought the second season. For example, the achievement for completing Episode 4 is 56.7%, Episode 8 is 23.3%.
Only a small fraction of the players make multiple runs, these are psychos like me. As we can see, some of the players do not complete the game even once. For Steam this is the norm, I notice this in all games.

 

[Ilhares]

Few people like that here, best to just skim through their posts, they add nothing to the conversation but are funny so you don't want to outright ignore them.

I'm going to disagree. The best way to discourge wildlife is to stop leaving food out for it. Don't read them at all, so you're not inclined to leave a trail of crumbs that brings them back. I rarely feel the urge to block people outright, but if I see more than 2 posts from somebody that's just full of vitriol and serves no productive purpose (e.g. spurring thoughtful conversation about the game), they get on the list. Others wind up there for completely inane garbage. Jimayo, J.A.L., etc.

Even dalli_x, despite his posts being 99.6% bullshit holds a much higher standing, as he gets people talking in an amusing manner. That's a good contribution, even when he and I disagree strongly (re: pregnancy test location).

We'll see if this post persists for more than 3 hours, though. A mysterious number of my fully topical posts in this thread have been deleted in the last week.

 

[ffive]

I asked you what the Interlude would add of interest to Zoey's character

Giving only screen time doesn't necessarily add much to the characterisation

Am confused, because i thought it's pretty clear i was talking about what you've written originally:

now plus we know that she got bored in San Diego, that she went there for granny (if she had played astronaut she would have gone to Cape Canaveral, if to be a cop to Quantico) and that she comes back mainly because she ran out of money

That's the elements i was referring to; the reasons why she left, the fact it didn't turn out the way she thought, realization how much she liked her hometown, etc. Those were the bits that, to repeat myself, fleshed out her character and gave her some depth she originally lacked. Which i consider a good thing.

 

[ffive]

Affinity results:
Most players prefer DIK affinity (forgive me those sensitive CHICK players who take other people's choices to heart, but this is reality). Achievement to permanent DIK affinity chosen by 18.2% of players

The second most popular is the path of Neutral. Balanced path chosen by 14.8% of gamers

And the least popular is the CHICK affinity. Being a white knight aka Captain America selects a minimum of players - 10%
As you can see, I don't have this achievement.

Conclusion - the majority loves DIK route

I'd add a caveat that "a minimum of players" is rather misleading way to put it -- when you recalculate the numbers as percentage of total recorded amount (18.2 + 14.8 + 10 = 43), you get: 42% for DIK, 34% for NEUTRAL, and 23% for CHICK. So yes, the difference is considerable, but the amount of those who select the CHICK route ain't that small.

 

[Kassandara]

A little research on achievements in the Steam version.

Idk about others but for me some of the steam achievements are bugged. For example I didn't get the pack quest achievements even though I did them all in-game. If there is a known fix for this I'd appreciate the help but honestly I don't care that much.

 

[lemonfreak]

Idk about others but for me some of the steam achievements are bugged. For example I didn't get the pack quest achievements even though I did them all in-game. If there is a known fix for this I'd appreciate the help but honestly I don't care that much.

Maybe ask on Steam?

 

[Geralt From Rivia]

I have to disagree based on your own numbers: 23.3% finished ep 8. However the path achievements add up to 40%, that's an average of nearly 2 achievements per player who finished ep 8. Extrapolate out with the players who aren't interested in any LI (so only have an others route) and those only interested in a single LI (or one/both of the throuple), who probably number say a third of the ep 8 finishes (8% of total players) the majority of players who don't have a set preference clearly do have multiple playthroughs.

That actually makes sence. Perhaps our game is not abandoned halfway by the players

I'd add a caveat that "a minimum of players" is rather misleading way to put it -- when you recalculate the numbers as percentage of total recorded amount (18.2 + 14.8 + 10 = 43), you get: 42% for DIK, 34% for NEUTRAL, and 23% for CHICK. So yes, the difference is considerable, but the amount of those who select the CHICK route ain't that small.

Yes, if you use a sample count for 100% of all who have reached the moment of determining affinity. But the ratio of DIK vs CHICK vs Neutral does not change.

Idk about others but for me some of the steam achievements are bugged. For example I didn't get the pack quest achievements even though I did them all in-game. If there is a known fix for this I'd appreciate the help but honestly I don't care that much.

I had this problem in Episode 6. The quest was in Rusty's laptop and I just...forgot to go into the game menu and turn in the quest. Also, I don't get the achievement for all the special renders in Season 2. I found them all... but I have a hunch that I can't get them because the game considers 2D art to be "special renders". And I have only Maya left there (I need CHICK-affinity) and buy Sarah level 2 from Jacob.

 

[Kassandara]

Maybe ask on Steam?

I could just open them with achievement manager but why bother

I had this problem in Episode 6. The quest was in Rusty's laptop and I just...forgot to go into the game menu and turn in the quest. Also, I don't get the achievement for all the special renders in Season 2. I found them all... but I have a hunch that I can't get them because the game considers 2D art to be "special renders". And I have only Maya left there (I need CHICK-affinity) and buy Sarah level 2 from Jacob.

I don't have the special render achievement either despite having everything unlocked, including the 2D art.

I don't really care about Steam achievements that much, I'm fine with having stuff in the game completed

 

[felicemastronzo]

Am confused, because i thought it's pretty clear i was talking about what you've written originally:



That's the elements i was referring to; the reasons why she left, the fact it didn't turn out the way she thought, realization how much she liked her hometown, etc. Those were the bits that, to repeat myself, fleshed out her character and gave her some depth she originally lacked. Which i consider a good thing.

and instead for me they are essentially screentime, then it is normal that with a character in the scene something about her we see, but for me they are elements that we already knew (the fact that Zoey ends up not having fun was predictable considering how many problems she has socializing) or fundamentally negative, so not interesting

the desire to chase her dream, it seems so strong at first but then, for no reason, shatters at the first lesson in the water, like any whim. the dream to chase which, she wanted MC to drop everything.

but even though the dream vanished completely she still stays there, doing what she should have done at home (finish her studies) and only when colleges reject her (if they had accepted her I suppose she would have gone there), her money runs out and of relationships with her friends anyway become complicated, only then does she decide to go home.

the only important thing the interlude was supposed to convey to us was this acceptance of her own feelings, but it fails in this very thing, because in order to set the stage for more (screentime for its own sake) it makes everything more a consequence of several failures than a real choice by Zoey

the Zoey of the story in Bella was better , a girl who seemed to have something to teach MC

 

[ffive]

and instead for me they are essentially screentime, then it is normal that with a character in the scene something about her we see, but for me they are elements that we already knew (the fact that Zoey ends up not having fun was predictable considering how many problems she has socializing) or fundamentally negative, so not interesting

I have to call bullshit on this, given we had zero information about Zoey's relationship with her grandma, the reasons she left for San Diego and a number of other elements you even list yourself, which were only shown in the interlude. So we absolutely didn't "already know" these things.

You didn't personally find these things interesting, that's fine. But i strongly disagree with the idea that negative things we learn about characters aren't interesting. Flaws and shortcomings are vital in character building.

the Zoey of the story in Bella was better , a girl who seemed to have something to teach MC

It's still the same girl. She's still the person who has taught the MC things. Except now thanks to the interlude you know more about her, and you've seen other side(s) of her. But these extra things you've seen aren't to your liking and contradict your initial impression of her; so it seems you'd rather they didn't exist, and call them worthless.

 

[DougDimmadope]

does anyone know who Emily is?
there is a "MC <3 Emily" sign on the train

 

[felicemastronzo]

That may be the point, Zoey in Fuckface's eyes is fundamentally different to Zoey in the interlude. The way Zoey is coming back into the story will be different than how the Zoey that Fuckface remembers would enter the story.

Zoey from Fuckface's memory would stroll straight into the story and if she wanted Fuckface back would not care who she hurt in her pursuit of him. Zoey from the interlude will have conflicting emotions, especially if Fuckface isn't on the others branch.

Zoey from Fuckface's memory was a confident outsider, however we now know she likes to make friends, but also now one of those friends betrayed her so she's going to be timid around the girls in college, if you threw the phone then Zoey would probably be putting on a front to avoid getting close to new people, if you don't throw the phone then Zoey would be scared to do so.

but if that were the case, wouldn't having shown it to us earlier be narratively an autogoal? if the point was Zoey's change (my guess is that when they meet again that surprise will be Zoey and not MC): anticipating it what's the point?

 

[ChipLecsap]

That may be the point, Zoey in Fuckface's eyes is fundamentally different to Zoey in the interlude. The way Zoey is coming back into the story will be different than how the Zoey that Fuckface remembers would enter the story.

Zoey from Fuckface's memory would stroll straight into the story and if she wanted Fuckface back would not care who she hurt in her pursuit of him. Zoey from the interlude will have conflicting emotions, especially if Fuckface isn't on the others branch.

Zoey from Fuckface's memory was a confident outsider, however we now know she likes to make friends, but also now one of those friends betrayed her so she's going to be timid around the girls in college, if you threw the phone then Zoey would probably be putting on a front to avoid getting close to new people, if you don't throw the phone then Zoey would be scared to do so.

maybe, but I think you overestimating the effect of Zoey on MC. Its one of the fault of Interlude, to convince us, that somehow, despite MC never ever mentioning Zoey ever, somehow she is worty to be in his mind in the first place.

and I'm pretty sure, that at least 98% of the people had no fucking idea who is she when she showed up at the end of episode 8. and those 0.2% is us here, on this forum, who knew who she was.

 

[ChipLecsap]

At what point could it have been shown earlier? A mix of showing what is happening with Zoey in San Diego alongside the current story at B&R? That would annoy people even more than the interlude. Timeframe is also important, there seems to be a lot of ambiguity about what happens when with Zoey and the main story. But we know when Zoey leaves for San Diego Fuckface has not finished school, yet when the game starts Fuckface has been working in the store with Josy for three months. So events 6 months into San Diego happen contemporary with ep 1. It also appears like the cluck happens prior to the story, it certainly happens prior to Fuckface's chat with Bella and we don't see it on Rooster. So basically nothing happens in the interlude while the main story is happening other than Zoey working in the tattoo shop and slowly running out of money.

Isn't the chat with Bella on every playthrough? And he also talks with other girls about how his only relationship ended badly after the chat, which is DPC trying to draw attention back to her each time.

Therefore she obviously is still in his mind, if you're right about the amount of players who remembered her then that justifies the interlude to put her back into the mind of that 98%.

Yes, and she had Zero fucking line in i the flashback. Rest assure you, it was only there because it's a porn game, and to show us that MC is not a Virgin isekai protagonist.
and I think MC only mentioning to Sage that he was only in a relationship once, kind of , and ended up badly. However, this conversation sparked because of the recent Josy & Maya drama. so its not really the effect of Zoey at all.

if DPC has planned Zoey return since the beginning, he should have at least, put some effort into it. for example, MC and Zoey could stay in touch, but as we learned Zoey pretty much ghosted him, and MC didin't care about it , He was Busy stearing at Josy when she was not looking.

so all in all, Zoey was indeed insignificant, and while Interlude at least properly introduced her to us, all it did was to paint a very bad picture about her. The trip, to Sand Diego was a total failure. She came back, without Dreams, Money, and also Burned a few bridgest while she was there.

but I still don't know, why my MC should care about her.

 

[felicemastronzo]

At what point could it have been shown earlier? A mix of showing what is happening with Zoey in San Diego alongside the current story at B&R? That would annoy people even more than the interlude. Timeframe is also important, there seems to be a lot of ambiguity about what happens when with Zoey and the main story. But we know when Zoey leaves for San Diego Fuckface has not finished school, yet when the game starts Fuckface has been working in the store with Josy for three months. So events 6 months into San Diego happen contemporary with ep 1. It also appears like the cluck happens prior to the story, it certainly happens prior to Fuckface's chat with Bella and we don't see it on Rooster. So basically nothing happens in the interlude while the main story is happening other than Zoey working in the tattoo shop and slowly running out of money.

After.

First mc discovers that Maya and Josy are a couple and then there is a flashback to their first time at camp.

If zoey's return was supposed to be a surprise, a twist, the explanation should have happened after, not before

 

[gamingdevil800]

Zoey has not completely lost sight of the MC all this time. In Interlude, Zoey thinks to herself that she reads his Rooster posts and gives him a few likes.

Furthermore, the MC has mentioned his previous relationship to Maya and Josy as well.

MC has completely lost sight of her though. Despite AchedCroissant 's simping the encounter is going to be awkward as fk. Plus MC's initial reaction at the end of the interlude was practically "oh no not this chick again"

 

[allanl9020142]

MC has completely lost sight of her though. Despite AchedCroissant 's simping the encounter is going to be awkward as fk. Plus MC's initial reaction at the end of the interlude was practically "oh no not this chick again"

That's kind of the vibe I got from the MC. It was either "God, I am in the middle of this clusterfuck of women right now. I will deal with it later!" or "Well, just tell her to get in line and I'll get to her when I get to her!"

 

[AchedCroissant]

MC has completely lost sight of her though. Despite AchedCroissant 's simping the encounter is going to be awkward as fk. Plus MC's initial reaction at the end of the interlude was practically "oh no not this chick again"

That's why the MC will die and Zoey will take his place

 

[lemonfreak]

It's so weird popping into the thread having played neither the interlude nor the prior update

 

[gamingdevil800]

That's why the MC will die and Zoey will take his place

Are you alright there Croissant?