VN Ren'Py Being a DIK [v0.11.1] [DrPinkCake]

[ename144]

Just to clarify, Heavy Five has over 200 paths plotted, not endings. Paths diverge and converge. There's no marketing ploy, it just has to be understood for what it is. The number of significantly different endings will of course be a lot smaller.

Fair enough, but my point still stands: how different are the paths? BaDIK has a huge amount of minor variations: you can skip various scenes, a lot of choices will get dialog references later in the game , the MC's speech changes if he has DIK or CHICK status, etc. Do those qualify as paths? They are obviously less significant than LI romances, or the Episode 4 branches, but they still give the game a surprising amount of variety in my experience.

In H5, I respect the number of options available, but I find I just didn't care about any of them. The MC theoretically has a mission, but it progresses at a snail's pace even if I focus on it. There are a bunch of characters you can interact with, but a lot of the interactions feel extremely trite.

To me the "minor" variation in BaDIK feel like they build into distinctly different gaming experiences, whereas the variations in H5 just feel like a laundry list of different things that happened individually. Obviously we'll all have different preferences, but I think we need some sort of objective guidelines to try to compare choice between the games. That will probably have to wait until both games are complete, so it could be a while.

It's not a flaw. The first three chapters are mostly introductory. They do the worldbuilding - introducing the setting, the plot, the characters, etc. There's huge emphasis on logic and details. I'd argue it's actually many other games' flaws that they ignore this aspect and don't do it properly, ending up with a bland, generic, uninteresting universe. They don't give you enough opportunity to get comfortable in the MC's shoes, to get bearings and to get to care about things, before going full on with the main plot.

I think the world is interesting, but the presentation is bland and the backstory is too disconnected from the events we experience.

Plus I find the "logic" rather dubious much of the time. The ship's computer is smart enough to handle distributing orders on the death of a soldier, but still sends those orders to civilians outside the chain of command? Soldiers need to take birth control pills, rather than having dedicated implants?

IMHO, H5's emphasis is entirely on the details, to the detriment of everything else.

So, I can only compare both games after three episodes, but as far as choices and consequences go, and in extension potential for meaningful endings reflecting player's actions, my money is on Heavy Five. Still, as you say, it's early to say, and we're comparing two games with vastly different settings, so the more quality story-focused adult games there are to cover different genres, the better for the player.

No argument there. I'm all for more games that the developer(s) actually care about!

 

[ename144]

Thanks of that!

So do I really only need like 3-4 saves? It seems I can add multiple girls together just by doing the Major Dik snd Chick paths.


Also, does Reina fit into the DIK path? I assume she would since she's always with Quinn.

And wouldn't Josy be apart of the DIK alignment? In my playthrough, she always seemed receptive to DIK choices.

You can see most of content with ~3 saves at the moment, though it is likely you will need to branch into more saves as time goes on and relationships with the LIs get more exclusive.

If you want to see everything, you'd need to meticulously plan out everything to make sure you cover all the right variables on each of the saves. Probably better to either have more saves, or play through a bunch of variations on each one. Or just skip some of the minor variations.

 

[felicemastronzo]

I mean he had no choice:
- Derek helped him to get a place to sleep when Dik's didn't let him sleep in their house,
- he stopped MC from going back to home,
-MC was basically forced to work with him to join Dik's

Plus don't say that you don't have this one weird "friend" who can be compared to Derek atleast in his easy going character

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all consequences of the stupidest and least realistic choice of the game: MC decides to leave HIS room, the one his father PAID for, when they paid the registration, because Troy is unpleasant ..

now, i'm a relatively peaceful and non-violent type, but i would never leave my room, rather poop under Troy's pillow every day.

about Derek: I have known several people like him, but none of these have ever considered him a friend of mine, too unreliable and dangerous, he was just naked I could even bear it

 

[Deleted member 3006697]

MC decides to leave HIS room, the one his father PAID for, when they paid the registration, because Troy is unpleasant ..

this part was really stupid lol
I mean we beat his ass once why not do it again and throw HIM out

 

[lolgotem]

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

Here's to hoping this isnt the DnG of episode 7...

 

[DavDR]

Here's to hoping this isnt the DnG of episode 7...

I don't think DnG is going to go away. Maybe not in seven but I feel certain it's going to show up again.

 

[sbarabaus]

all consequences of the stupidest and least realistic choice of the game: MC decides to leave HIS room, the one his father PAID for, when they paid the registration, because Troy is unpleasant ..

I think MC joining the DIKs as a maggot only because they brutally kidnapped him, sexually abused him and... said so, even if he showed no interest in them until then is a quite dumb series of events

 

[RC-1138 Boss]

Here's to hoping this isnt the DnG of episode 7...

I sure hope not.

I think MC joining the DIKs as a maggot only because they brutally kidnapped him, sexually abused him and... said so, even if he showed no interest in them until then is a quite dumb series of events

If we stop to analyze we will see the story is full of events that make little sense and exist just to progress the plot no matter how absurd they look.

 

[MoarDakka123]

analize

I must be exhausted, because I'm finding that misspelling absolutely hilarious.

 

[felicemastronzo]

I sure hope not.


If we stop to analize we will see the story is full of events that make little sense and exist just to progress the plot no matter how absurd they look.

I agree that there is no point in applying excessive realism to a game's story


but the other "stupid" decisions are at least related to sentimental issues, and there one is easier to accept an illogical choice, but to give up the room (and then consequently risk giving up college) because you have found a roommate not pleasant (when either MC has shown him to be stronger than him, or has basically decided to forgive him) I really have a hard time swallowing it

and in the end it is fundamental, much more than Maya and Josy, in the plot

 

[sbarabaus]

to give up the room (and then consequently risk giving up college) because you have found a roommate not pleasant

IIRC he goes to the secretary demanding to change room, and she answers that it's possible but it takes time

so i don't think that finding a temporary place to stay with the idea of applying for a new room later is necessarily a bad idea
i mean, living with an asshole like troy must be the worst case scenario at that point

 

[Canto Forte]

Yes I can .. because the bond was enour mosly strong in the 1st episode and Josy made Mc melt and be all giddy!
He and his old man felt she was the one, it was his date, he was going in thinking of the beauty of his ma!

Remember he fantasized about her?
He showered thinking of her!
His old man talked about his ma like this gurl he was going on a date with was the one?

Remember that?

Let us see the wonderful 1st episode awesomeness BADIK is!!!!
View attachment 978062

Say wha ?!?!?!?!?!

View attachment 978063

Should this be not romantic, sweet, lovable, all bubbly inside kind of babe flowery power statement of attatchment,
I dunno what is !

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

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

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

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.

... Oops. I think my brain just went '[any kind of relationship]=romance with Maya because of course you romance Maya' and called it a day, my bad.

A little bit immersion killer.

The game does have some forced plot elements to it, for sure, but personally I think one just needs to accept that products like these need to have a central plot with its own drama with or without player intervention, otherwise starting from your very first choice you would basically need to start baking an entire branch of a game next to the first one. Like, there is always a central line as the plot (because unless it's a completely free-form sandbox game like, say, Kenshi, there simply needs to be one) and all your choices are just little branches and loops that quickly return to the main route.

And if it's any consolation, lots of people that are more invested in this scene than I seem to be convinced that you'll eventually have the option to pick either Maya or Josy, so that may or may not be a thing.

lol, we are on the same boat phuto

 

[Canto Forte]

If his is not throbbing deep smothering love, I dunno what is!

Josy sure puts everything in to her kisses:
View attachment 978104
View attachment 978096

 

[felicemastronzo]

IIRC he goes to the secretary demanding to change room, and she answers that it's possible but it takes time

so i don't think that finding a temporary place with the idea of applying for a new room later is necessarily a bad idea
i mean, living with an asshole like troy must be the worst case scenario at that point

let's not waste time defending this choice, it is at the beginning and we have overcome it.

MC gives up something for which his father, very poor, has paid, and he does it because he cannot reason with a much less annoying and dangerous boy than Tommy (and Derek)

furthermore MC either beats him, and at that point Troy should be looking for another room, or he forgives him for which it is no longer clear why he has to leave ...

everything makes even less sense when thinking about a new assignment, because Mc does not look for this temporary solution, which can no longer even be Maya, but finds a definitive one with the DIKs (those who at the first meeting send him around naked for college) and then rather than confront Troy again he thinks about dropping out of college.

this is for the plot, and that's it

 

[ZokiPl]

all consequences of the stupidest and least realistic choice of the game: MC decides to leave HIS room, the one his father PAID for, when they paid the registration, because Troy is unpleasant ..

I agree that it propably was the stupidest thing that MC did (atleast for now), but it was driven by emotions in that moment.
MC lost something very precious to him that someone close gave him as a present,
MC just got into fight with his roommate - what will he do? Propably wont stay in the room and look at Troy laying on the ground,
The reasonable move he did was to ask for other place to stay - but it wasn't avaible

The problem with analyzing the game characters and their decisions is that we judge them without feeling emotions that they do (actually they don't cause they don't exist but shh).
I can say "yes it was stupid that MC cared about guitar that his father was saving money for, but didn't care about room that was paid for", but in the heat of moment most people don't make logical decisions. Of course i also agree that it was forced to move Maya's story forward.

But Derek helped MC to calm down and is basically used to prevent MC doing stupid thing.
However because Derek seems helpfull, MC is going to do another stupid thing which is fully trust a naked man who he even don't know. Like, ok he can be good friend and can be trusted but cmon.

If we are starting to analize some things, the game seems logical or illogical (or sometimes both) depending on how you look at it.

 

[ISSOU78400]

There are'nt BDSM or hard scenes I suppose?

 

[Canto Forte]

We got hazing 4 gurls and boyz ... game to see how far they get .. no lock stock or 2 smokin” barrels kind, no.

There are'nt BDSM or hard scenes I suppose?

 

[felicemastronzo]

I agree that it propably was the stupidest thing that MC did (atleast for now), but it was driven by emotions in that moment.
MC lost something very precious to him that someone close gave him as a present,
MC just got into fight with his roommate - what will he do? Propably wont stay in the room and look at Troy laying on the ground,
The reasonable move he did was to ask for other place to stay - but it wasn't avaible

The problem with analyzing the game characters and their decisions is that we judge them without feeling emotions that they do (actually they don't cause they don't exist but shh).
I can say "yes it was stupid that MC cared about guitar that his father was saving money for, but didn't care about room that was paid for", but in the heat of moment most people don't make logical decisions. Of course i also agree that it was forced to move Maya's story forward.

But Derek helped MC to calm down and is basically used to prevent MC doing stupid thing.
However because Derek seems helpfull, MC is going to do another stupid thing which is fully trust a naked man who he even don't know. Like, ok he can be good friend and can be trusted but cmon.

If we are starting to analize some things, the game seems logical or illogical (or sometimes both) depending on how you look at it.

I'm fine with that, I'm not saying it's not worth playing for.

but a stupid scene remains stupid, I can't justify it

then about Derek I basically joke, but even then, the dumbest of my friends would have escorted me back to my room and made me talk to him or talked directly to Troy, he would not have embarked me on a business that basically interests him and not me .

they are all decisions that serve to justify the plot, I accept them, but I do not justify them

 

[Holy Bacchus]

There are'nt BDSM or hard scenes I suppose?

No.

 

[Akamari]

Obviously we'll all have different preferences, but I think we need some sort of objective guidelines to try to compare choice between the games. That will probably have to wait until both games are complete, so it could be a while.

Indeed, we do. And no, I don't believe every minor variation count as a path in Heavy Five. There are tons of those. It is said there are over 80 paths by the end of Chapter Three. If you asked me to list them, I couldn't because a lot of those paths will only become apparent as the game progresses. I can count about 30 now that I know either lead (or will lead) to different scenes. Thing is, it's a very much unlinear game, with paths weaving around several story/character arcs connecting and disconnecting at different places. At any given point you are not on one path but on a number of them. And this number and their composition changes with nearly every choice.

Now, I'm at a disadvantage that the last time I played BaDIK was a year and a half ago, so remembering minor variations is difficult, and I can't go into detailed comparisons, but what I can say is they didn't leave lasting impression. A lot of the choices were of the simple "chase this girl/don't chase this girl" variety (which is the most basic a game should offer). I strongly disliked the DIK/CHICK system because it forces you to play either "good" or "evil" character. As I recall staying "neutral" was very unsatisfying, as the content was aimed at one or the other. I might remember wrongly, but didn't being neutral often mean only a single option available in a minor choice - so no choice at all?

Are there many choices that have major impact on the story by now?

Plus I find the "logic" rather dubious much of the time. The ship's computer is smart enough to handle distributing orders on the death of a soldier, but still sends those orders to civilians outside the chain of command? Soldiers need to take birth control pills, rather than having dedicated implants?

Spoiler: Under spoiler, as it's off topic

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Yes, it's a lot about the details. It's a game where it's rewarding to use your head. I bet that if you find something illogical you probably missed them. That is not a fault of the game though.