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

[Tadpol]

Assuming that the game will run for 4 seasons (16 episodes in all), and that we're at episode 2 of season 3, unfortunately this isn't the most exciting part of the story.

I have the impression that some of the various story arcs are more or less linked to each other (for example, Cathy's photo, the threatening/blackmail message received by Chad and Dawe, the hidden camera at the DIKs', all linked to the same person); not to mention the plots with potentially serious/dramatic consequences, which will only be resolved at the end. All this to say that the season is going to be a succession of cul de sacs for the plots that should last until the end (like what happened with Burke and Maya's parents), on the other hand, what isn't planned to be in the end game should be resolved now.


As a bonus, I'd like DPC to make an effort not to put LI-related events at the same points in the episode, so that we don't have the impression of replaying the same thing over and over again when playing the different routes.

 

[Dark Silence]

Well, it is a bit of a catch-22 isn't it?! He will mainly rely on freeroam events, because of all the paths and permutations the story has by now and because they are easier to implement in a freeroam event in which you only have to change some scenes. At the same time it is like you wrote: They make considerable parts of the game boring because you have to do the same stuff over and over again to see all the scenes.

And I will not be doing that. I only need/want one main scene, with Rio. Maybe another with Zoey.

 

[Takkatakka]

And I will not be doing that. I only need/want one main scene, with Rio. Maybe another with Zoey.

You really are very selective, aren't you? Like you'd order a Martini, eat the olive and leave the rest standing on the counter.

 

[ChipLecsap]

Am I understanding correctly that the charge for patreon subscriptions is December 5-8?
That maybe DPС announced the release date just in time for the subscription debit?
I know that patreon allows you to buy a subscription and cancel it before it expires. Does that mean he set December 8 to make more money?

Yes

 

[xx_cezalandirici_xx]

are you guys ready for the next "freeroam" update?

 

[ZenoMod]

Well, it is a bit of a catch-22 isn't it?!

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...

---

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.

 

[jd8097619]

Well, it is a bit of a catch-22 isn't it?! He will mainly rely on freeroam events, because of all the paths and permutations the story has by now and because they are easier to implement in a freeroam event in which you only have to change some scenes. At the same time it is like you wrote: They make considerable parts of the game boring because you have to do the same stuff over and over again to see all the scenes.

Is it even a catch-22 though when most of the non-freeroam scenes are 95% identical and have heavy repetition as well? To DPC's credit it has to be said they did try to have more variety of free-roam routes, way back in episode 4 IIRC, and the result was frankly less content in each one and feeling somewhat pointless as a result. The time difference between free-roam repetition and non free-roam scenes is basically minimal at this point given the fast travel option in each event.

The real pain in the arse in multi-playthroughs so far has been the English minigame. That is easily the absolute worst part of BaDIK and thankfully seems to have been ditched.

 

[Takkatakka]

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'm not disagreeing per se, it is more that DPC wrote himself into a corner by splitting the main story into different paths and then have the paths sometimes branch into different sub-paths as well. Now he still has to make episodes that have at least some meaningful playtime per path, but to do that, he has to re-use as much as possible and for that freeroams are ideal.

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.

If he wouldn't do that the playtime per episode per path would either be a lot shorter or the developing time would be even longer. Pick your poison, I guess.

 

[iggy.]

I have the impression that some of the various story arcs are more or less linked to each other (for example, Cathy's photo, the threatening/blackmail message received by Chad and Dawe, the hidden camera at the DIKs', all linked to the same person); not to mention the plots with potentially serious/dramatic consequences, which will only be resolved at the end.

Of course everything is linked, and you are right on money. However, if we look at drama, dramatical writing and pacing(narrative) we have reached the point where things should start to get interesting. A lot of people here suffer from fatigue and the reason is perception of time - maybe there is better way to form this sentence, but my english is still in a way limited.

Point is, someone can download this game today - it's going to take them few days to get to the end screen of episode 9. Our new player gets to see Jill lewds in few days, but it took us years.

The main plot is going to be resolved at the very end, however if there is lack of progress to us reaching that point, that is concerning. If Rusty and the boys don't get seriously concerned about the camera and call frat meeting, then it's just lazy writing. Shit keeps happening in and around your house and you just carry on ? I know college bros can be thick in the head, but come on. We should be approaching the point where the boys start looking for individual who is sabotaging them

 

[JiiEf]

Am I understanding correctly that the charge for patreon subscriptions is December 5-8?
That maybe DPС announced the release date just in time for the subscription debit?
I know that patreon allows you to buy a subscription and cancel it before it expires. Does that mean he set December 8 to make more money?

Mine always get collected either on the last or the first day, so I don’t think so. More like the 8th to not give the impression of releasing it on the money day.

 

[hakuna-matata]

I'm not disagreeing per se, it is more that DPC wrote himself into a corner by splitting the main story into different paths and then have the paths sometimes branch into different sub-paths as well. Now he still has to make episodes that have at least some meaningful playtime per path, but to do that, he has to re-use as much as possible and for that freeroams are ideal.

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.

If he wouldn't do that the playtime per episode per path would either be a lot shorter or the developing time would be even longer. Pick your poison, I guess.

Well.... if he didn't create over 300 animations.... like useless ones...... Maybe he could have created more useful, like more story renders?

I'm not playing that game!
My liver has to survive at least 4 more yrs....

A bunch of sissys.

I mean...my favorite "booze" is a good Pale Ale, which technically isn't even a booze, so...that would be a chilled evening.

You have to drink three times more if you to use Pale.

The problem with the freeroam is that it kills replayability.

It does. I didn't even want to play any of my other saves

 

[Takkatakka]

Well.... if he didn't create over 300 animations.... like useless ones...... Maybe he could have created more useful, like more story renders?

You have to drink three times more if you to use Pale.

We'll see how many of those are just for show. Probably keeping them at 30 FPS would've been a good step. Again: I'm not saying I'm a fan of freeroams or anything, I'm just trying to explain why we might get a lot of them for the rest of the game.

I'll probably have to order a 24 bottle package then, because I have none here.

 

[ZenoMod]

Is it even a catch-22 though when most of the non-freeroam scenes are 95% identical and have heavy repetition as well?

If the repeated parts can be skipped in FF, they make you waste at most a couple of minutes, between a choice and the next and at least you aren't forced to do anything during FF.

(And choice menus are the only part of the game in which you decide what to click and this has consequences. While free roaming errands are obliged sequences of clicks over which you have no control: you just have to execute them like an automaton. In the same way gameplay after gameplay.)

If the repeated parts are in freeroaming you can't relay on passively skipping them, and you must click here and there again and again (possibly "in the dark") and they make you waste 30 minutes to one hour.

It's another level of boredom, IMHO.

 

[jd8097619]

If the repeated parts are in freeroaming you can't relay on passively skipping them, and you must click here and there again and again (possibly "in the dark") and they make you waste 30 minutes to one hour.

It's another level of boredom, IMHO.

If it's taking you "30 minutes to one hour" to get through a single free-roam repeat then that's a you problem quite frankly.

Even Episode 9, which is almost just a single giant free-roam, takes maybe 10 minutes a time to breeze through the repetitions (outside of the party planning minigame) to see other routes.

 

[COACHRIDDLA]

Who will be know as the anal queen?
Who will be the first to go down the forbidden path?
Stay tuned folks

 

[Dark Silence]

You really are very selective, aren't you? Like you'd order a Martini, eat the olive and leave the rest standing on the counter.

Actually, I'd order a martini, throw the olive at the bouncer and down the drink. I'm gonna need it to fuel myself for the fight that's about to happen.

 

[Dark Silence]

are you guys ready for the next "freeroam" update?

You really should read the room before askin questions like that.

 

[robin312]

This was right during sex in Interlude. They didn't explore each other's bodies, Zoey was just the more active one, which she has always been since she met the MC.

we don't know about that. it's just your guess

the same thing with Josy: we don't know anything about her sex experience before Maya. she seems like very experienced in comparison with Maya and very likely had sex with other guys before

 

[Takkatakka]

View attachment 3113002
View attachment 3113004

Who will be know as the anal queen?

That would be Camila, NEXT!

 

[funkymonkeyjedi]

I'm seriously on the verge of doing something I think I've only done once in my online life, and that is to start blocking whiners.

We've just spent the last 4 months and more, practically having to tolerate the entitled little moaners about the update not being done quick enough, now that it's just around the corner, whiners now find something new to moan about even before the update drops.

I have a funny feeling that no matter what happens, most of you whiners will never be happy. If it's not the update delay, it's free roams, if it's not free roams, then it's which ever LI hasn't gotten enough attention. There's a lot of "mommy issues" roaming these threads... It's almost like the babies from the WVM thread are migrating here all of a sudden!