VN Ren'Py Completed Chasing Sunsets [v1.01] [Stone Fox Studios]

[Skylaroo]

You say choices should matter, but it doesn't feel that way when an MC who chooses to start an honest relationship with two women - telling them up front and turning down all others (whenever the script permits, anyway) - gets lumped in with an MC who bangs anything that moves.

I did say choices should matter, but I also said that characteristic matters in this game. Wanting to start a relationship with two women when they aren't ready for such relationship is very different than if they are ready for it. That's why the only current successful polyamory ending is through Jaye's solo path. (not sure what the future change would be like)

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.

IMO, this is a great example of why choice and characteristics matter in this game as I mentioned before. You were saying that out of compassion, but you were saying it to someone who is in love with you. This is a conversation between two characters. Your intention is to show compassion, but Mallory took it differently because her character is shaped by how you treat her throughout the game (i.e.: high love points = she is still in love with MC despite MC being in relationship with Jaye). Your choice misled her because showing compassion can be misleading when it is not honest.

Just like in the real world, if you are not interested in relationship with someone, it's best to actually say "No" rather than stringing them along and giving ambiguous hope. You even said it yourself that your motivation was not wanting things to be different. But yet, "wanting things to be different" is the dialogue option you chose. That's you purposely choosing an option that is directly the opposite of your motivation.

 

[Grim October]

There's a throuple option in Jaye's route, but it doesn't involve Tara...

 

[BeingADikDik]

From the dev team some 30 minutes ago...posted on Steam board and similar post in Discord:



This relates specifically to the open relationship path...

I know I said I would be out of this thread, but will add to the update the following dev post from reddit:

"For those who are wondering, MC can cheat precisely once without relationship consequences. It doesn't matter if it's Tanaka, Bianca, or Lisa, any combination of the two results in any committed LI seeing you as "not relationship material."
The Lisa consequence only occurs on the Jaye path. She explains that she will not get between her bosses.
The fuckbuddy path gave several instances of foreshadowing that neither LI was happy with that arrangement, but I feel I should have provided at least one offramp the MC can take after seeing it. I am putting some thought into giving the player an out before he gets dumped.
Even so, that seems more likely to work with Mallory to my mind than Jaye. "

So there you have it from the dev. The paths are intentional and by design, but he is willing to modify due to negative feedback.

In my opinion, this is a good start but falls short of what is needed for this game to have the lasting reputation it deserves. Let me briefly go over key missteps in this latest update (in my humble opinion):

1) No continuity with the pickup from the airport at the end of the previous episode. Tara just disappears entirely. No progress or closure for MC-Jaye-Tara. (Aside: I maintain it is a major mistake to sideline Tara and Lisa for the sake of a future game. Especially since they can have sex with MC in this game ...)

2) Little to no meaningful development for the MC-Jaye-Mal trio's relationship. If there is going to be a polyamory route, then this needed further progression. Dev even set it up perfectly - the trio would be alone at George's place for an entire week, secluded from the outside world with nothing to do but talk and fuck. Imagine if, on the open path, the girls decide to alternate evenings with MC but since they are stuck in the house are forced to overhear the debauchery. The first night with Jaye, second night with Mallory (and she makes sure Jaye hears it), third night with Jaye (ups the ante), fourth night with Mallory who further ups the ante by having sex in full sight of Jaye outside the bedroom. Fifth night is a truce, girls talk - MC recovers. Sixth night and seventh day all out threesome followed by discussion of polyamory. Now THAT would be an erotic means to progress from fuckbuddies to something more meaningful.

3) The Prizer resolution seems too convenient. After the week at George's, someone should have come looking for Mal. Perhaps Amanda saves the day with help from Artemis and Artemis MC's mom. After the resolution at George's, Mal could resolve herself to going public to prevent recurrence. After she does so, and again with Amanda's help, Prizer finally gets taken down and MC-Jaye-Mal-Amanda return to the Campbell residence where they grew up for a sentimental trip down memory lane. It can be revealed that it was not far from where Mal and Amanda grew up together, giving the group the opportunity to share surprise memories of an occassion of having met during childhood and to grow closer. Opens up the possibility of Amanda joining the polyamory grouping. (Can't see how Mallory functions without Peanut ...)

4) The update overall lacked erotic tension. Yes, there were individual sex scenes with Jaye and Mal, but that was really nothing new. Been there, done that. Stakes were not raised. The gang including Tanaka, Bianca, Lisa, Rikki/Linda, etc. doesn't get together in Boston prior to the start of the epilogue. The storytelling should have at least got everyone together ...

I'll stop there, but I think devs just need to push back Firebreak another six months or so to tie things up properly in this game. They apparently intend to have MORE LI's setup in that game, which IMO is another design mistake. If they think the work to close storylines with the cast of Chasing Sunsets is excessive, then that will only be multiplied 10x with the larger cast of Firebreak.

 

[korochan48]

Is it really complete? feels not complete to me. Is there a 2nd season or just an epilogue?

 

[siath70]

There's a throuple option in Jaye's route, but it doesn't involve Tara...

View attachment 3951719

It was stated by Tara and Jaye they were not a thing at all, they were friends.
Tara helped her deal with her emotions and desire for her brother and to support her when needed.
It was never said Jaye did anything back (and never showed), as a matter of fact Jaye states at some point she's not into girls.
I think that is when she is offering Mal into the relationship. However, she does tell the MC she came close to dating Tara, so kind of a mixed signal.
Very loose writing and there's a lot of examples in the story of one thing being said and something else being shown or said later in opposition.
So, you just have to enjoy the story and make your own choices. Some say she was intimate with Tara, other not, either way is fine it's up to the reader to choose the way it's written. Like the whole Christin thing, I say he wasn't a BF he was someone she was trying to help through a tough time, other say he was. You can see it either way, he could have been trying to date her and putting the moves on her even though they weren't dating, or they could have been dating. It's a grey area in the writing.

 

[siath70]

Is it really complete? feels not complete to me. Is there a 2nd season or just an epilogue?

No not really complete, there is an Epilogue coming. However, the way they end it you could say the end and let the reader decide what happens.

 

[ename144]

My guess it that you will have an option if in an open relationship with one or both girls to commit to one before you get set on the alone path.

My guess is if you're in an open relationship with Mallory you'll have a chance to commit to Jaye. I'll certainly be happy if they give you the option to commit to Mallory instead (or even to reject her at the last minute regardless of Jaye), but I'm not expecting it.

Okay let me try to wrap my head around the dev's relationship decisions...

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The issue, I think stems from the devs looking at the Jaye/MC pairing as a Princess Bride-style, one couple in a century, true love deal. The two of them are so perfect for each other that even someone like Mallory can only bow her head and acknowledge that her own desires must be sacrificed for the greater good. For the player to seek more than Jaye - when she is already everything he could want and more - would thus be a sign of greed and selfishness and should be reprimanded. If, on the other hand, the player acknowledges this universal truth and tearfully cuts things off with Mallory, then it's okay to reward his loyalty and so his 'sacrifice' will be returned to him.

Mallory's relationship with the MC falls a little short of that lofty standard, which is why the process can't work in reverse; the only valid reason to turn your back on Jaye would be if Jaye is just not the player's type at all, in which case they logically wouldn't want her included in a throuple either. In essence, Mallory was never intended as a *rival* for Jaye, she was an optional extra that could also serve as a consolation prize for those who just don't click with the main girl.

Obviously I don't agree with the devs' reasoning here (neither in how pure the Jaye/MC bond is, nor in why the MC might not leap at the chance to commit), but that's how they seem to have approached the narrative. In retrospect, I wonder if that's why the threesome with Amanda felt so discordant; the devs got near the end and realized Mallory's path felt too threadbare compared to Jaye's option to have the cake and eat it to, so they hastily wrote Amanda into Mallory route more for logistical reasons than for character ones. It would explain why the Amanda throuple comes out of nowhere and has next to no effect on subsequent chapters.

Little too lazy to revisit it now, but didnt Erica told the MC via phone that she is on a trip? So... this isnt at home/lodge

Err, the post you quoted is ancient, referring to a picture in Chapter 2. Erica didn't tell the MC she was travelling until Chapter 7.

I did say choices should matter, but I also said that characteristic matters in this game. Wanting to start a relationship with two women when they aren't ready for such relationship is very different than if they are ready for it. That's why the only current successful polyamory ending is through Jaye's solo path. (not sure what the future change would be like)

As I mentioned above, I don't think the polyamory ending we got has anything to do with waiting for characters to be 'ready for it,' I think it's based on myopic view of the player's motivations.

Besides, if that was the explanation it still wouldn't make any sense. People don't suddenly become "ready" for a polyamorous relationship by pretending they won't be in one! If Jaye is only okay with a polyamorous relationship once she's convinced Mallory will be nothing more than a second fiddle to her, then the whole relationship is doomed. The point of limiting the MC's interest to Jaye and Mallory but refusing to commit to either would be get all the parties ready for such a thing on an even footing.

I agree it would have been better if we established some sort of polyamorous framework before we started fucking the girls, but that's an option the game will not tolerate even on the solo paths!

 

[Grim October]

It was stated by Tara and Jaye they were not a thing at all, they were friends.
Tara helped her deal with her emotions and desire for her brother and to support her when needed.
It was never said Jaye did anything back (and never showed), as a matter of fact Jaye states at some point she's not into girls.
I think that is when she is offering Mal into the relationship. However, she does tell the MC she came close to dating Tara, so kind of a mixed signal.
Very loose writing and there's a lot of examples in the story of one thing being said and something else being shown or said later in opposition.
So, you just have to enjoy the story and make your own choices. Some say she was intimate with Tara, other not, either way is fine it's up to the reader to choose the way it's written. Like the whole Christin thing, I say he wasn't a BF he was someone she was trying to help through a tough time, other say he was. You can see it either way, he could have been trying to date her and putting the moves on her even though they weren't dating, or they could have been dating. It's a grey area in the writing.

I just find it ironic that Jaye and Tara have more ground to work on as a throuple than with Jaye and Mallory, or Mal and Amanda.

 

[siath70]

2) Little to no meaningful development for the MC-Jaye-Mal trio's relationship. If there is going to be a polyamory route, then this needed further progression. Dev even set it up perfectly - the trio would be alone at George's place for an entire week, secluded from the outside world with nothing to do but talk and fuck. Imagine if, on the open path, the girls decide to alternate evenings with MC but since they are stuck in the house are forced to overhear the debauchery. The first night with Jaye, second night with Mallory (and she makes sure Jaye hears it), third night with Jaye (ups the ante), fourth night with Mallory who further ups the ante by having sex in full sight of Jaye outside the bedroom. Fifth night is a truce, girls talk - MC recovers. Sixth night and seventh day all out threesome followed by discussion of polyamory. Now THAT would be an erotic means to progress from fuckbuddies to something more meaningful.

Problem with this is, Jaye says she isn't into girls and doesn't want a threesome, she just wants the MC. Even Tara says her and Jaye are friends and she helps Jaye with her problem (her lust for the MC basically). So from that you can get the Tara and Jaye thing is one sided. Jaye doesn't really care about anyone but the MC, he is all she wants, she accepts Mal based on events in the story and the underlying relationship between the MC and her (read DNA results).

Again, there is way to may conflicting things in this story, you have to make your own choices. The story needs a lot of clean up and rewrite if they want people to think about it in one specific way.
Diary, my first kiss, Tara brushed her lips across mine... Later, Tara puts MC in a closet and talks Jaye into getting her first kiss... Which is it?
Jaye, I never dated... Boy in room disagrees as he tries to rape you... It's is never really cleared up, that whole story line just gets tossed to the side. It's brought back up when she asks about her graduation, she could have simply said in that moment, 'You know, I wasn't dating him, I was trying to help him with a problem. I'm sorry I missed your last game, he ambushed me at the house before I left in need of someone to talk too. I felt so bad when you saw me standing there as I realized I had fucked up.' It can even be changed to she was starting to date him or thinking of dating him based on other choices made before the event.
Just little things, to clear up unclear things.

 

[siath70]

I just find it ironic that Jaye and Tara have more ground to work on as a throuple than with Jaye and Mallory, or Mal and Amanda.

But they don't, Tara was Jaye's friend. She had very little to do with the MC, she actually says she will never have sex with the MC again. Tara was only there to help them get together, not to interfere, she proves that by actually helping the MC.

The MC has more reason to want Mal in his life now that his mom is gone that any other girl except Jaye.

 

[Hahn1900]

Err, the post you quoted is ancient, referring to a picture in Chapter 2. Erica didn't tell the MC she was travelling until Chapter 7.

wtf, strange, of course you are right, why the fuck stumpled i over that old post? i just clicked 2 or 3 pages back, dunno what happened

 

[s4dam]

question is there ending with Tara? coz like her so much...

 

[MiltonPowers]

question is there ending with Tara? coz like her so much...

 

[micojive]

I do believe Jaye said she would accept only Mal and NOT Amanda. She didn't want to be involved, as a threesome, with Mal, but other than that it was all good.
The reason I feel a harem will not fit is the other girls are not really given the screen time.
They would have to work in more time for the other girls to make it work.
Jaye and Mal interacted a lot, Mal also has the DNA of her step mom which makes it easier on her. There is a ton of reasons why Jaye+Mal+MC works, there's almost no reason for one of the other one offs to be involved.
Maybe Tara, but Tara also told the MC it would never happen again, but things can change. So, I see your point with her.

There is also a reason for Jaye to accept Mal, and only Mal. She is literally family.

I would love a harem ending, I'm not opposed, just pointing out there would need to be some changes to the current story to actually fit that in.

I just feel they would need to add additional scenes for them all and then work on fitting them in with Jaye and the MC.
If you think about it, the end scene with the MC, Jaye and Mal (at the bar) never confirms they're a thing, it's just eluded too. You go from we're hiding here for a month or more to oh all good the next day to we're at the bar with no info in between. So rushed...

Lets be real, the entire Jaye+Mal end feels tacked on anyways. Up until Jaye and MC are in bed at the end of the game I never once thought it felt like Jaye's character would be open to sharing the MC. Imo to make even that route make sense a whole bunch of conversations need to be added throughout the entire game to make it make sense, let alone a actual harem end.

The reason of, well she is basically family isnt a real reason for a relationship.

 

[siath70]

question is there ending with Tara? coz like her so much...

Nope, Tara basically steps aside when the mc and Jaye start reconnecting, texting the mc to help him (which you can refuse) and texting (Jaye always talks to Tara about everything) and getting nudges herself.
Tara is a character that is there to show support for the MC and Jaye and basically that is it. Once they're back together I'm guessing Tara backs out of their lives while still remaining in contact with Jaye from time to time as she is never shown around them once they return to the states.
Tara also said she would never sleep with the MC again and she was only there to support Jaye in her time of need. Which hints she will take a back seat as Jaye no longer needs her to help take care of her needs.

Lets be real, the entire Jaye+Mal end feels tacked on anyways. Up until Jaye and MC are in bed at the end of the game I never once thought it felt like Jaye's character would be open to sharing the MC. Imo to make even that route make sense a whole bunch of conversations need to be added throughout the entire game to make it make sense, let alone a actual harem end.

The reason of, well she is basically family isnt a real reason for a relationship.

Does feel that way I agree.
But, she is basically their mother, the MC has shown he loves her and even to some extent Jaye has come to love her. Her and Jaye have some very close moments together as they go through different things in the story.
So, while I do agree, it seems last minute; the story was built to be this way. That is why you get the tally at the end of each chapter for Mal and Jaye and not every girl.
This is really a story about Mal, the MC and Jaye, again look at the love trust points which only include Jaye and Mal, not Amanda or Lisa or any of the other girls.
So, it was the Dev's intent, just poorly executed in the story.
I'm a writer/editor and I look at this story and shake my head, there is so much that needs fixed and clarified to make it much more solid. It could be so much better with just a few tweaks here and there...
I'd offer my help cleaning it up, but I doubt they would accept it. Nothing really needs major changes, just needs cleaned up and some little changes here and there to clarify things.
Not saying it's a bad story, just a bit unclear and jumbled up.
I really did enjoy it.

 

[s4dam]

View attachment 3951925

 

[MiltonPowers]

Silver lining though. Tara will be a main LI in their next game - Firebreak.

 

[s4dam]

Silver lining though. Tara will be a main LI in their next game - Firebreak.

yeayy maybe.. not quite
because i just like her then jaye or mel overall
is there jaye & tara ending?

 

[MiltonPowers]

yeayy maybe.. not quite
because i just like her then jaye or mel overall
is there jaye & tara ending?

Do I have to answer? It'll just make you cry again. Sorry.

 

[TonyMurray]

This has given me a good chuckle this morning. "There's no closure to the Tara path. Tara just disappears after the airport pick-up." etc...

You know who else just disappears after the airport? George. But no one is complaining about him, because no one wants to fuck him There's no Tara path. There's no indication of anything to close with Tara. It's clear from the pick-up scene (and before, frankly) that there's nothing there. Both Tara and Jaye spell it out anyway, but they don't even need to do that. Anything that happened was in the past, and now the relationship is friends only as opposed to friends with benefits. Romantically, it was never anything more than that.