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

[Dashxp4k]

WARNING!
If you haven't played episode 6, there may be minor spoilers for you in this post.
This post contains minor spoilers for an updated feature in episode 7, but it's nothing that's story related.
Read at your own discretion.
This week's status update is a bit different than usual.

I wanted to present parts of an updated/new feature that will appear, starting episode 7.

Many of you have guessed it already, and for others, it might come as a minor surprise.

I have worked hard on updating the in-game phone to accommodate the future needs of the game.

The phone is updated starting episode 7, so it's not a retroactive change. The MC just got a new phone, and it's going to be an improved version of the old variant.

So, what I've done is a rewrite of the phone code. I've left functionality that works well, added new functionality that's needed, updated the GUIs, and more.

I could probably talk about the phone features for hours, but I have to limit myself and let you discover most on your own.

So, I'm not going to go overtly into details, as it's also a work in progress feature, but I will show you a few of the implemented features and my thoughts for them below.

The main GUI is completely new, but it should still feel familiar.

Note that the phone in the picture is from a playthrough without mini-games.

During free-roam events, there's a music bar displaying the name of the song that's currently playing. You can toggle this bar on or off if you'd rather see more of the wallpaper behind it.

In this picture you can see three new apps, and also notice the absence of some. Some apps may have been removed, some apps may have been merged.

The two new apps in this picture are 2D art and Pack Quest. You've come into contact with both of them in episode 6.

They will be handled directly from your phone starting episode 7.

With the exception of a few apps, most apps have been (or will be) revamped.

Two apps I'm particularly excited about are the Music and Bios apps.

In the Music app, you can now filter songs by genre, and I have included a genre for licensed music that many of you wanted to be able to play.

You can also set songs as favorites and have a playlist with just your favorite tunes.

This means that you can choose to have a customized playlist that you can play during free roam events.

I can't show you too much of the Bios app, but it's going to be a tilted version of the phone where each character will have their own screen with past choices and events.

Without getting into detail, a subset of other features that you can expect from the new phone are:

• Customizable/favorite/randomized wallpaper functionality.
• Simple emoticons in text messages.
• Animated transitions and screens.

The phone feels very modern and it's an enjoyable experience using it.

I hope that you will come to love it as much as I already do.



Have a nice weekend!

Dr PinkCake

each episode he add a new feature

 

[scarp1]

I applaud the effort, I really do, but I question whether features like this are really more important uses of time than the actual story of the game and all the various paths.

I think it adds to the overall game and can make games stand out from the usual make a few choices, bang some people, rinse and repeat.
Doubt it will effect the story etc. in terms of time taken or rushing things as since he updated his PC to better GPU's he will probably have more time on his hands to add new features.

 

[felicemastronzo]

Phone update looks as expected.

Nice to see the new paintings being put to use, still most likely gonna be two episodes until they're available to unlock.

Not surprised to see Swyper gone, I think it was mentioned in game that MC was likely done with it, but then he got with Nora. But more than enough college girls to go around.

Not showing the mini games makes me think there will be a new mini game, or the DIK rebuild is moving to the phone, which makes sense.

Can't have a free roam outside the mansion if we need to do mansion stuff every free roam, but with mansion stuff on phone we can have free roam in the HOTs again.

I don't think the reconstruction of the DIKs headquarters ends up on the phone, in the end it can only proceed when MC is there.

a new minigames could be there

 

[scalvi]

Bye, Swyper

 

[godkingxerxes]

I don't think the reconstruction of the DIKs headquarters ends up on the phone, in the end it can only proceed when MC is there.

a new minigames could be there

He can easily communicate through "texts" what room to clean.

It's not like we see scenes of him telling everyone what room to clean.

The mini game can easily move to the phone if Pinkcakes wishes. Depends on what he wants the free roam to be going forward.

I think another two updates of only roaming the mansion would get a little boring. Plus then I'll have to come to this topic and see you guys bitch about the DOOR for another year.

 

[THIS_IS_AMERICA]

hello evryone, very good game.
I love this game
thanks,
albert

 

[amber77]

Nopy link?

 

[moskyx]

Nopy link?

Dead

 

[ALCapote]

I see a lot of you are saying that Swyper is dead...
In the news update, DPC mentions that some apps "have merged".
So, as far as we know, it may have merged with Rooster, for instance.

 

[felicemastronzo]

He can easily communicate through "texts" what room to clean.

It's not like we see scenes of him telling everyone what room to clean.

The mini game can easily move to the phone if Pinkcakes wishes. Depends on what he wants the free roam to be going forward.

I think another two updates of only roaming the mansion would get a little boring. Plus then I'll have to come to this topic and see you guys bitch about the DOOR for another year.

but he always works too, I can't imagine him commanding others and that's it

 

[phuto]

Can anyone explain to me why MC feels betrayed when he found out Maya dated Josy? I've played this game several times but never got that

 

[moskyx]

I see a lot of you are saying that Swyper is dead...
In the news update, DPC mentions that some apps "have merged".
So, as far as we know, it may have merged with Rooster, for instance.

Not sure how you can integrate in Rooster the swype up/down thing for new people. Maybe the ongoing chats with Nicole, Arieth and the other couple of girls that didn't block you by default can be moved to a 'private' rooster section but I'm pretty sure we won't be getting new meat, which was the original Swyper's purpose.

 

[AchedCroissant]

Can anyone explain to me why MC feels betrayed when he found out Maya dated Josy? I've played this game several times but never got that

He is a Drama Queen

 

[Gladheim]

Not sure how you can integrate in Rooster the swype up/down thing for new people. Maybe the ongoing chats with Nicole, Arieth and the other couple of girls that didn't block you by default can be moved to a 'private' rooster section but I'm pretty sure we won't be getting new meat, which was the original Swyper's purpose.

Once you have flirted and seen the words of the Mc (that a user has put up, scalvi I think) swyper is dead yes. But come on, seeing as Rooster is a kind of mix between instagram and twitter, the girls you've hooked up with can talk to you over there as well as sms. No problem

 

[phuto]

He is a Drama Queen

lol
sucks that we can't change his response based on how dik/chick he is

 

[Dr Krieger]

Hey guys! Is it possible to avoid romancing Maya from the start and focusing only on Josy?

 

[MoarDakka123]

Not sure how you can integrate in Rooster the swype up/down thing for new people. Maybe the ongoing chats with Nicole, Arieth and the other couple of girls that didn't block you by default can be moved to a 'private' rooster section but I'm pretty sure we won't be getting new meat, which was the original Swyper's purpose.

Yes please, I would like more Nicole, she seems like a really cool gal.

Can anyone explain to me why MC feels betrayed when he found out Maya dated Josy? I've played this game several times but never got that

Oh boy, there's a lot of layers to that one and I kinda agree that it's weird. In a very nebulous and undefined way I kind of get it, but sitting here, trying to break it down for you, I'm having some trouble finding the words.

Hey guys! Is it possible to avoid romancing Maya from the start and focusing only on Josy?

Nope, it's used as a center point for a lot of the early drama.

 

[Gladheim]

Nope, it's used as a center point for a lot of the early drama.

Yes, but you can avoid her romance xd

 

[Holy Bacchus]

Well what you want if these features wouldn't be there the game would be done in 8-10 updates not 12-14...

Honestly, that would be fine by me. If the story is engaging and each update lasts a significant amount of time with plenty of choices and paths along the way, I don't mind it being as short as a Netflix or Disney+ series in terms of update/episode length. It's about quality over quantity, and "quantity" doesn't just apply to update/episode length, it also applies to how much a dev packs in to their game and features like this, whilst impressive and ocassionally immersive, can be a bit much when it's the characters and story that are more engaging and deserve more focus.

Do you know why I think Being a DIK is the top rated game on this entire website? It's because the devs don't take those kinds of shortcuts, and release a product which only focuses on the next sex scene after the other.
Without Pinkcake's initiative this game wouldn't have a killer soundtrack, fun minigames, great visual design or little details in the cutscenes that take the characters from 3d animatrons to fully fledged people. None of these things were technically necessary for telling the story, but it's what makes it great.
Most games on this website feel lifeless because of the same reason a Ubisoft RPG feels lifeless: The game designers only care about efficiency, speed and money per hour worked, leaving their games devoid of any creative spirit.
That's why I think skipping details like this is a horrible idea. You'll get a product a few weeks earlier, but you'll end up heavily dissapointed and whine in the comments like it always happens on this website if quality dips half a percentage below the expected.
So let Dr Pinkcake work. The devs have earned MUCH confidence with their current and previous work.

Focusing on the main characters and story over updating the in-game phone feature is hardly "taking a shortcut", it's focusing on what's most important in a "visual novel".

A game can still have a "killer soundtrack, fun minigames, great visual design or little details in the cutscenes" and still be a great game without spending an inordinate amount of time on things which are extraneous to the main story. I do think that the phone feature is a nice touch, particularly the Rooster app which is very immersive, but it has no great impact on the story and was fine the way it was.

DPC said before Ep 6 that they were working on a couple of new features, so we know this has been in the works for a while, but whether it's this or spending who knows how long working out the mathematical computations of how to make the mansion repair system be doable within a few episodes, this is all time that, I feel, would have been better spent on the main game to not only provide more content that advances certain parts and answers certain things, but also iron out any plot holes and inconsistencies that seem to be cropping up more and more.

I see a lot of you are saying that Swyper is dead...
In the news update, DPC mentions that some apps "have merged".
So, as far as we know, it may have merged with Rooster, for instance.

This is probably still a WIP version so it's possible that's why it's not there.

Can anyone explain to me why MC feels betrayed when he found out Maya dated Josy? I've played this game several times but never got that

If you don't get it even after playing their paths, then you probably never will.

Yes, but you can avoid her romance xd

But why would anyone want to do that?

 

[Dr Krieger]

Nope, it's used as a center point for a lot of the early drama.

Uh, that is a little bit sad. So basically I can do whatever I want and I will still end up in the same situation where I have to choose between starting a threesome or going for the "friends" route.