Thanks for this. First of all, I just want to be clear that I agree it can definitely be achieved without the mod. But as I mentioned before, to get there without the mod, it's an accumulation of our choices as per the requirements that augustus mentioned. So if people didn't use the mod but got offered the polyamory ending, then it's a result of their choices throughout the game.
You mentioned that you "accidentally" got that, and there might be other people in the same boat. But my question to you (and those in similar position), is it really an accident? The reason why I asked this is because of the said requirements being high love score for both Jaye and Mallory, as well as telling Mallory that you wish things could be different. To me, if the goal is to be with Jaye, there is no reason for either of those requirements to be fulfilled by the MC.
It's accidental in the sense that I used the one save I have that met the pre-1.0 requirements, and then proceeded to make the 2 choices in this release that were necessary first. Just because that was the one I ended my last replay on. It happened to be the path I'm the least interested in. I'm all in on the side-girls in this AVN, as Mal and Jaye just don't do it for me.
I'm still the one making the choice to accept the poly relationship or not. Nothing about
that was accidental.
While I can appreciate that you might not intend to go for polyamory ending (and therefore "accidental"), IMO this is the beauty of this game where choices actually matter. You did say you wish things were different with Mallory (clearly implying that you wanted more though you didn't act on it). You did keep high love score with Mallory (an accumulation of your choices throughout the game up to that point) so she is still interested in MC despite MC being in a relationship with Jaye. Based on these choices, it seems that the MC did want to have polyamory relationship if possible, and that's what the game gave you. This is the result of your choices.
It's funny, my motivation was completely different than actually wanting things to be different. It was something
I would've said out of compassion. Similarly that was the reason I decided to hit the "Phone a friend" option, that was a fuck this absolute cunt-waffle to hell and back. Granted I didn't expect to see Amanda there, as she wasn't really necessary (it was just a reference).
None of those choices were born out of an interest in a poly or open relationship. I tend to play most/all paths in AVNs when the AVN is interesting enough. I try to put myself into the main characters driving seat. Which leads me to monogamy as a default. I only play the Open/harem paths to see if and what the shit show will be.
This is not a knock on you or others btw. This is more of a conversation on a broader context where I think a lot of players do not expect that their choices can matter in an intricate way like this where there is no polyamory path but there is a polyamory ending. This is very different than most other games where often times paths are very obviously marked. As I mentioned on my other comment, this is a positive thing for me though I can understand that others might feel differently.
I really love it when those choices matter in AVNs, but I can't appreciate it when the AVN breaks and distorts it's own internal logic to force it to happen. In this case the choices make little to no sense with the characters we have. Not unless there's a long road between the previous release and this one.
It breaks the characters and what their choices would be based on the previous release. To name an obvious comparison, this is like GoT S8 where characters make nonsensical decisions based on their characterisation up to that point.
I hope people who are upset at the ending would look back in a few days time, think about it more, understand why it is the way it is, and able to appreciate the beauty of the game a bit more.
I cannot, I appreciated the beauty up till this point though. This will 100% remain a "fuck up by the Author, because they wanted to move on to the next thing". Or perhaps it was a 'need'. In which case I don't blame the author for making that choice, it doesn't absolve them and it does make their game much worse than it would've been otherwise. This game was never about the sex scenes for me, as the implied incestuous nature of the story prevents arousal. It was however interesting enough that I had grown fond of it.
Just for reference,
most games on here score below a 3/5 for me. This game went from a 4.25 to a 3.5 with this release. When it could've gone up if the story and the characters were given their proper due.
Edit: Separately, I also want to add that my main goal is to correct the false narrative that is somewhat floating around here where they said you'd get the polyamory ending if you're on solo path. This is factually not true. Choosing to be monogamous will result in monogamous ending.
I've since seen those replies and you're right. It's not like you actually get forced into the poly path. There are some strict requirements to be fulfilled.
