I'm in the same boat as you in the sense that I think I'll only be playing my main Bella save from now on. Although I didn't particularly enjoy it, I do appreciate the effort DPC made with the haunted mansion and planning mini-game, but the freeroams completely broke me, I was never a hater before but by the middle of this episode I felt like I was doing a chore...
After replaying Bella's scenes a couple of times now, I do like what DPC did with her, despite her being my favourite LI, I also realized that MC didn't look like he'd fit in with her at all even without taking the age gap into account, but man did DPC make it work in this episode in my opinion. MC now understands her better and her sense of humour, their back and forth felt really natural and I found it it funny, their relationship was done well and EP9 Isabella is completely different from EP1 Isabella, seeing her actually smile, laugh and be happy was wonderful to watch and I look forward to see how it evolves.
With this said, I also acknowledge the lack of progress in the story and my main fear became true, even with Jill confronting her, DPC still refuses to bring James into the conversation, it seems a bit absurd to me at this point... But I do understand why Jill is so angry and is avoiding her, Bella really broke her trust, even if MC only goes on one date with her, it was still Bella who incentivized it (in a CHICK route) to the point where she called Jill to the library to try and hook her up with him. The moment Bella involved herself with MC the secret wasn't only hers to keep and should've told Jill as soon as she realized she couldn't fight against her feelings.
Then there's the issue with Bella's route itself for me which is the drama that keeps piling on without none of the other issues she has, being dealt with, there's James, the teacher thing, the Jill thing and now there's also Nick finding out about them, it almost feels like the relationship is reaching a point of no return and Bella's life will be completely ruined... I'm curious to see how DPC will handle it.
But yeah, for the first time since I started playing this game I'm not actually excited for the next episode, I'll certainly play it, but I can't feel hyped after EP9's Bella ending was literally a repeat of EP8 and after DPC pulled that stunt with that bullshit intro which might not even come into play until the end of the season or even on season 4 only.
Wow... kudos to you, Internet stranger. You have my EXACT sentiment after finishing the episode and mulling over it for the last 2 days. I quite literally have adopted the same mindset as you and will only be playing my main Bella save going further into the series. It's a shame too because through all the fog, I can still see aspects that drew me into BaDIK in the first place. Echoing your thoughts, I too enjoyed Bella's character progression and the banter between her and MC becoming way less one-sided... however actual progression of the story has slowed to a halt. I understand that not everyone is invested in her story as players on her path but it feels like the Bella drama is snowballing with new things every episode and dragging on with no mention of these prior issues established. I suppose that's why it's called the Bumpy Road, but damn. We are going on Episode 10 with still little to no knowledge of her past. My biggest fear is that her subplot will be put on the back burner to the very later stages of the game and hopefully by then I won't be completely checked out (a very strong reality if massive free roams become the status quo - however that's 100% my opinion, some may like this format). And after slogging through 3 free roams, our reward is an exact repeat of EP8 Bella ending, save for maybe a different camera angle. At least in EP8 we got 2 different scenes back-to-back. And yet again I find myself agreeing with you in regards to the intro - which is something that could hold big implications if Bella is your chosen LI - however I find myself almost totally apathetic towards it, because, what's the point if it's going to take 3 or more years for an explanation? Or even worse than the wait, the Christmas cutscene is one big nothingburger like dinner at the Burkes. Barring story progression not being flushed down the toilet and replaced with large free roams and minigames, I will see the game through, but I feel way less enthusiastic about it then say, when I first discovered BaDIK.
I've no clue what "tc" stands for and I can't find any outcome but it surely will come in future episodes. Maybe "tc" is a "truth counter" or something like that.
I'm in the same boat as you in the sense that I think I'll only be playing my main Bella save from now on. Although I didn't particularly enjoy it, I do appreciate the effort DPC made with the haunted mansion and planning mini-game, but the freeroams completely broke me, I was never a hater before but by the middle of this episode I felt like I was doing a chore...
After replaying Bella's scenes a couple of times now, I do like what DPC did with her, despite her being my favourite LI, I also realized that MC didn't look like he'd fit in with her at all even without taking the age gap into account, but man did DPC make it work in this episode in my opinion. MC now understands her better and her sense of humour, their back and forth felt really natural and I found it it funny, their relationship was done well and EP9 Isabella is completely different from EP1 Isabella, seeing her actually smile, laugh and be happy was wonderful to watch and I look forward to see how it evolves.
With this said, I also acknowledge the lack of progress in the story and my main fear became true, even with Jill confronting her, DPC still refuses to bring James into the conversation, it seems a bit absurd to me at this point... But I do understand why Jill is so angry and is avoiding her, Bella really broke her trust, even if MC only goes on one date with her, it was still Bella who incentivized it (in a CHICK route) to the point where she called Jill to the library to try and hook her up with him. The moment Bella involved herself with MC the secret wasn't only hers to keep and should've told Jill as soon as she realized she couldn't fight against her feelings.
Then there's the issue with Bella's route itself for me which is the drama that keeps piling on without none of the other issues she has, being dealt with, there's James, the teacher thing, the Jill thing and now there's also Nick finding out about them, it almost feels like the relationship is reaching a point of no return and Bella's life will be completely ruined... I'm curious to see how DPC will handle it.
But yeah, for the first time since I started playing this game I'm not actually excited for the next episode, I'll certainly play it, but I can't feel hyped after EP9's Bella ending was literally a repeat of EP8 and after DPC pulled that stunt with that bullshit intro which might not even come into play until the end of the season or even on season 4 only.
Do you know one thing I enjoy about this game. The music in this game is just so catchy and sounds good. I think there is a like over a hundred songs in the game. I almost think I wouldn't have heard half these songs if it wasn't for this game.
Im halfway thru the episode but i believe the cause of everyone's major complaint (lack of story progression) was due to DPC's decision of creating branching storylines.
Multiple storylines will take up rendering time, which will result in more scenes but slower story progression in the same amount of development time.. Add that to the fact that some scenes are unique to a storyline path? Well, then it requires multiple playthroughs to fully appreciate the update. If that's not your thing, then what you get is a saturated experience for the player, with the same amount of effort & time from the author.
I think DPC needs to make a choice after this update; if he decides to continue pursuing the multiple story path experience, then he needs to begin hiring people to help with the updates. This will ensure more content is generated within a faster time frame and progression.
If not, he might consider merging the storylines again in future episodes in order to get a concentrated effort in game story development.
Go back to the door, read the note, then next time you click on the goo (jelly) boxes and the skeleton cage (go up), it'll give you prompt.
Decent update, but I wish there was more Rooster stuff. I love doing the reply and getting reply back thing on fake-twitter during free roam and it's been getting less lately. Much better enjoyment than these minigames imo.
This is the trouble of long developments games - girls hardly develop and starts to get bored. Yes, at first they were all interesting, but now? Maybe it's just me.
This is a DPC problem - he likes the technical side of development more - many new long animations - many mini-games, free roams etc.
For me, it would be better if we saw more text, some new sides of the characters.
Hardest choice in the episode. I went with gently place hand. Couldn’t tell if the grab was a lip bite or annoyance so played it a bit safe. I’m gunning for a threesome so wanted to express interest. (Hoping it doesn’t backfire if you reveal her BF is cheating)
I really don't know what DPC was thinking when he made this episode. All the other episodes had so much story. Like so fucking much. The game just went on and on, there was so much to digest, your head was spinning with the possibilities, the conspiracies, the characters. It was great.
This episode is 95% literally running around the DIK mansion looking for people so that random shit can occur. I get that the mc was pretty much the host, but even from that perspective, he mc'd (haha, the mc "mc'd") the first drinking competition, and maybe replaced some food. So he was just running around for no reason at all!
And of all the free roam environments, the DIK mansion is the most tedious and the most nonsensical to navigate. We've already had I don't know how many free roams in the mansion, so why not dedicate an entire episode to that?
I reckon DPC should have announced, episode 9 was gonna pretty much be entirely an epic Halloween party, because I don't think anyone expected it to be the whole episode. When it came to an end, I was shocked. Never has a BaDIK episode just ended and I've gone, "WTF! That's it!?!?" Usually about half way through I'm like, "Man this is such a long episode, so cool!".
Nah, it just ended and I was just left going, "oh...".
Really, it's like the "Popeyes Cheddar Biscuit Butterfly Shrimp" fiasco all over again!
I fucking hope this was a one off. It's like he's getting bored with just telling the story, now he's experimenting with shit, trying to come up with some new way of presenting it. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Well it's broke now motherfucker!
I tend to agree with most of what you said, we certainly had similar highlights. My main problem is just how complex it is to get everything lined up in the way you need it to unlock everything.
A small example on my Sage exclusive run I wound up neutral. But part of her sex scene requires DIK status. Is it worth having to run the entire game again to unlock one alternative animation? No. Do I happen to have a hardcore DIK run I can use. Yes, but the average player isn’t going to have the better part of 20 playthroughs to go back and forth on.
anyone got a pic of what Jamie's original outfit was supposed to be? I heard he does change into the outfit leon wanted him to wear when Danny leaves the party but I dont remember it happening
anyone got a pic of what Jamie's original outfit was supposed to be? I heard he does change into the outfit leon wanted him to wear when Danny leaves the party but I dont remember it happening
Overall I'm satisfied with my Jill run this update.
Would love more Rooster content and texting stuff in the future as well cause it just makes the characters more alive and interactive. Maybe a reaction to your Rooster replies as well if you said something. I know it's a party episode so there're less of that but feels like we've been getting less of that lately.
Does Sarah (girl in bunny suit) has her own path or is she just a side character? She's hot as hell
Now that episode 9 has finally come out and the emotions have subsided, there is time to analyze a little. Episode 9 was good and fun, it was a kind of experiment for DPC with a narrative format and a way to relieve tension.
You know what, the more my emotions "are subsiding", the more I dislike episode 9. The more I play it, the more I dislike it.
I had stored many different gameplays (and, mind you, I've never completed a Bella path because I really can't understand why my 19 years old might be interested in a 35 years old grumpy librariar, and why a 35 years old woman with a fresh failed marriage might be interested in a 19 years old boy) - all sort of types: monogamic chick routes, multiple dating chick routes till the final decision, chaotic DIK path, monogamic Sage DIK/neutral/chick routes, Others DIK route, Others neutral route.
If I played all of them, I might see almost every ep. 9 content, but... is it worthwhile?
Honestly, while playing my 4th gameplay I stopped because I felt I was doing a chore. Yes, guys, playing them was a damn chore.
Every episode 9 subplot gameplay feels like a short wandering through the same old place with a few different changes (a couple of scenes, a few lines here and there).
Man, that's totally the opposite of what the previous episode were.
The sad sad sad sad sad truth is that even though this episode contains the most CGs and animations ever, it feels like the shortest episode ever. It feels like the infamous despised interlude.
Anyone want to summarize the last 20 pages that happened while I was playing the game?
My thoughts:
Renders look great. Like, WAY better than the early episodes.
Damn, that's a lot of branching.
Felt a bit like the episode with the Prep Party, except I might have actually wanted to go to this party at some point in my life.
Not nearly enough man-whoring around on the "Others" route. The whole point behind that route was to NOT make a choice, and then you just have to make a choice (Lily and Nicole, of course). (Who am I kidding, I tried all the "others" routes.)
Oh look, Chekov's gun.
There should have been an "end the night with Zoey" scene - she came back from San Diego because she missed the MC and Karma's 3rd Leg. I don't want to see her skipping the invite to take a go on the magic disco stick.
Sage is still the best girl, but Josy and Maya's scenes were great.
Progress on Sally, but none on Karen. Sigh.
MC should have sent Sandy either Derek or Rusty's way.
