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

[LizaS]

That's all fine, but it's not actually what I was responding to.

The previous poster had suggested that I was delusional because I thought that it was good writing, which clearly doesn't match their opinion. They then "fixed" someone else's post because he said it was "a top tier AVN" (to which he also specified "IMO"). Those two posts suggest that because our opinion doesn't match, it is invalid. That is what I was responding to.

Here’s the thing: if you played up to Chapter 6 and then completed the last three chapters without noticing a dip in the writing quality, I suppose ignorance is bliss.

I liked this game—emphasis on "liked". Years ago, around version 0.4, it had a lot of potential to be a game-changer in the adult visual novel (AVN) space. I believed it could become the most popular and best AVN on this site. The writing was strong, featuring humorous jokes, pop culture references, and solid character development with the two main love interests and to top it all, top-notch art. It had a coherent, easy-to-follow story.

Then something changed around Chapter 6. You could sense a shift in tone. Around that time, the writer announced that the game would consist of only nine chapters, ending with an epilogue. I thought, "Huh? But there's still a lot of story threads that were introduced and are nowhere near close in finishing."

Now that we’re here, with only the epilogue left to anticipate, and after the previous update, all dread have come to pass.

First, some important context: there are only two official love interests—Jaye and Mallory—and it seems these two characters will be the only ones with endings.
These are the thoughts that came to mind right away; I’ll discuss the rest once the game is complete and make a review about it.
I'll focus on some of the characters.

Stoya (the writer) introduced a redhead named Fiona early in the story, hinting that the main character (MC) longs for someone who resembles his stepsister. The writer included an unskippable sex scene with Fiona but later provided a way to ignore her messages, effectively for the players to have an some sort of escape hatch if they want to leave her "path". For those who texted and engaged with Fiona and attempted to flirt with her, reuniting with Jaye should have introduced potential conflicts, right?
Nope. Stoya never revisited that subplot, leaving it unresolved. I initially gave this a pass, assuming the writer thought a sex scene was essential in the early chapters of the game to gain traction/get more players. Okay, fine.

Next, Stoya introduced two blondes, Rikki and Linda. The backstory indicates that the MC had a crush on Linda when they were younger, and she felt the same way, but this detail ultimately feels inconsequential. At one point, while in bed with both Linda and Rikki (Linda's daughter, who has feelings for the MC), players are given the option to wake one of them for intimacy while the other remains present on the same bed. You might expect this choice to have repercussions later on, especially since only Jaye and Mallory are the designated endgame interests.
Nope, it ultimately didn’t matter. Stoya never revisited that subplot, even after some players expressed fondness for those characters.

Another character, Tara, was introduced early on as one of the MC's childhood friends and Jaye's best friend. Tara was integral to the plot, as she encouraged the MC to pursue a relationship with Jaye. How did she do this? One of the things she did this is through sex roleplay. Tara had a crush on the MC and engaged in an intimate scene with him while roleplaying as Jaye, allowing the MC to channel his feelings for her. It was a rather comical twist. Tara also played the role of wingwoman, facilitating the first kiss between Jaye and the MC while they were blindfolded in a closet. Throughout the game, she continued to support their relationship by sending enticing images of Jaye to tease the MC. Tara quickly became a fan favorite, with many players voicing their desire for her to have more screen time. You would think that, given her popularity, Stoya might reconsider and include Tara as one of the love interests with an ending, right?
Nope. The plan remained unchanged, and only two girls were considered LIs.
(This also applies to another character, Lisa, who is also integral to the plot and likely the second most popular side character.)

Need I talk about the battle in which who was the best choice for the MGs (which was clearly one-sided) and the nonsensical plot? The kinetic story that obviously is pushing the players to Jaye? Or with the last update to make the fierce, competitive, and obsessed Jaye in hinting at being okay sharing the MC with Mal? What about when the pacing shifted dramatically from slow in the early chapters to rushed in the final two? What about the cameo character in the latest udpate which was an Android and was protecting and hiding their internet presence so they wouldn't be located by the people who were trying to kill them. There was no set up for that. What about all the company politics and issues they had with it, why was it all resolved, in which feels like, all in one swing?

The epilogue has a lot on its shoulders answering all the questions about this and all of the ones I haven't mentioned, it better clear all of that up. Some have even said this is now comparable to Game of Thrones, when they had an excellent writing in the early seasons but then just spiraled down in the late seasons.

The thing is, what you see as a dumb pathing decision, others could see the signs for and appreciate as a good bit of writing. Just because this one didn't go the same way as most other games probably would, doesn't mean it makes no sense.

And this. It is obvious it was a dumb pathing decision. The writer himself admitted in a devlog he did a fuck up on that particular instance. And here you are saying it's a "good bit of writing". Please make it make sense.

Am I saying CS is bad compared to other AVNs? No. I think it had a strong start, but was just underwhelming in at the end.

It's great to drop a meme or two versus having an actual dialogue - right?

So we disagree... and still I 'cope' with the laziness of some of the responders on this thread...

Cheers!!

A'ight. Let's have that dialogue now.

 

[TonyMurray]

Here’s the thing: if you played up to Chapter 6 and then completed the last three chapters without noticing a dip in the writing quality, I suppose ignorance is bliss.

I liked this game—emphasis on "liked". Years ago, around version 0.4, it had a lot of potential to be a game-changer in the adult visual novel (AVN) space. I believed it could become the most popular and best AVN on this site. The writing was strong, featuring humorous jokes, pop culture references, and solid character development with the two main love interests and to top it all, top-notch art. It had a coherent, easy-to-follow story.

Then something changed around Chapter 6. You could sense a shift in tone. Around that time, the writer announced that the game would consist of only nine chapters, ending with an epilogue. I thought, "Huh? But there's still a lot of story threads that were introduced and are nowhere near close in finishing."

Now that we’re here, with only the epilogue left to anticipate, and after the previous update, all dread have come to pass.

First, some important context: there are only two official love interests—Jaye and Mallory—and it seems these two characters will be the only ones with endings.
These are the thoughts that came to mind right away; I’ll discuss the rest once the game is complete and make a review about it.
I'll focus on some of the characters.

Stoya (the writer) introduced a redhead named Fiona early in the story, hinting that the main character (MC) longs for someone who resembles his stepsister. The writer included an unskippable sex scene with Fiona but later provided a way to ignore her messages, effectively for the players to have an some sort of escape hatch if they want to leave her "path". For those who texted and engaged with Fiona and attempted to flirt with her, reuniting with Jaye should have introduced potential conflicts, right?
Nope. Stoya never revisited that subplot, leaving it unresolved. I initially gave this a pass, assuming the writer thought a sex scene was essential in the early chapters of the game to gain traction/get more players. Okay, fine.

Next, Stoya introduced two blondes, Rikki and Linda. The backstory indicates that the MC had a crush on Linda when they were younger, and she felt the same way, but this detail ultimately feels inconsequential. At one point, while in bed with both Linda and Rikki (Linda's daughter, who has feelings for the MC), players are given the option to wake one of them for intimacy while the other remains present on the same bed. You might expect this choice to have repercussions later on, especially since only Jaye and Mallory are the designated endgame interests.
Nope, it ultimately didn’t matter. Stoya never revisited that subplot, even after some players expressed fondness for those characters.

Another character, Tara, was introduced early on as one of the MC's childhood friends and Jaye's best friend. Tara was integral to the plot, as she encouraged the MC to pursue a relationship with Jaye. How did she do this? One of the things she did this is through sex roleplay. Tara had a crush on the MC and engaged in an intimate scene with him while roleplaying as Jaye, allowing the MC to channel his feelings for her. It was a rather comical twist. Tara also played the role of wingwoman, facilitating the first kiss between Jaye and the MC while they were blindfolded in a closet. Throughout the game, she continued to support their relationship by sending enticing images of Jaye to tease the MC. Tara quickly became a fan favorite, with many players voicing their desire for her to have more screen time. You would think that, given her popularity, Stoya might reconsider and include Tara as one of the love interests with an ending, right?
Nope. The plan remained unchanged, and only two girls were considered LIs.
(This also applies to another character, Lisa, who is also integral to the plot and likely the second most popular side character.)

Need I talk about the battle in which who was the best choice for the MGs (which was clearly one-sided) and the nonsensical plot? The kinetic story that obviously is pushing the players to Jaye? Or with the last update to make the fierce, competitive, and obsessed Jaye in hinting at being okay sharing the MC with Mal? What about when the pacing shifted dramatically from slow in the early chapters to rushed in the final two? What about the cameo character in the latest udpate which was an Android and was protecting and hiding their internet presence so they wouldn't be located by the people who were trying to kill them. There was no set up for that. What about all the company politics and issues they had with it, why was it all resolved, in which feels like, all in one swing?

The epilogue has a lot on its shoulders answering all the questions about this and all of the ones I haven't mentioned, it better clear all of that up. Some have even said this is now comparable to Game of Thrones, when they had an excellent writing in the early seasons but then just spiraled down in the late seasons.


And this. It is obvious it was a dumb pathing decision. The writer himself admitted in a devlog he did a fuck up on that particular instance. And here you are saying it's a "good bit of writing". Please make it make sense.

Am I saying CS is bad compared to other AVNs? No. I think it had a strong start, but was just underwhelming in at the end.


A'ight. Let's have that dialogue now.

Again, this is all fine, and it's good that you're adding lots of paragraphs to the discourse, but it still seems that you're trying to argue against an opposing opinion. My opinion isn't up for argument. It doesn't need to be validated.

Just because you have strong views doesn't make your opinion more valid than someone else's. We live in a world where we can have opposing views and yet both be right, because they are opinions.

 

[Jericho85]

Here’s the thing: if you played up to Chapter 6 and then completed the last three chapters without noticing a dip in the writing quality, I suppose ignorance is bliss.

I liked this game—emphasis on "liked". Years ago, around version 0.4, it had a lot of potential to be a game-changer in the adult visual novel (AVN) space. I believed it could become the most popular and best AVN on this site. The writing was strong, featuring humorous jokes, pop culture references, and solid character development with the two main love interests and to top it all, top-notch art. It had a coherent, easy-to-follow story.

Then something changed around Chapter 6. You could sense a shift in tone. Around that time, the writer announced that the game would consist of only nine chapters, ending with an epilogue. I thought, "Huh? But there's still a lot of story threads that were introduced and are nowhere near close in finishing."

Now that we’re here, with only the epilogue left to anticipate, and after the previous update, all dread have come to pass.

First, some important context: there are only two official love interests—Jaye and Mallory—and it seems these two characters will be the only ones with endings.
These are the thoughts that came to mind right away; I’ll discuss the rest once the game is complete and make a review about it.
I'll focus on some of the characters.

Stoya (the writer) introduced a redhead named Fiona early in the story, hinting that the main character (MC) longs for someone who resembles his stepsister. The writer included an unskippable sex scene with Fiona but later provided a way to ignore her messages, effectively for the players to have an some sort of escape hatch if they want to leave her "path". For those who texted and engaged with Fiona and attempted to flirt with her, reuniting with Jaye should have introduced potential conflicts, right?
Nope. Stoya never revisited that subplot, leaving it unresolved. I initially gave this a pass, assuming the writer thought a sex scene was essential in the early chapters of the game to gain traction/get more players. Okay, fine.

Next, Stoya introduced two blondes, Rikki and Linda. The backstory indicates that the MC had a crush on Linda when they were younger, and she felt the same way, but this detail ultimately feels inconsequential. At one point, while in bed with both Linda and Rikki (Linda's daughter, who has feelings for the MC), players are given the option to wake one of them for intimacy while the other remains present on the same bed. You might expect this choice to have repercussions later on, especially since only Jaye and Mallory are the designated endgame interests.
Nope, it ultimately didn’t matter. Stoya never revisited that subplot, even after some players expressed fondness for those characters.

Another character, Tara, was introduced early on as one of the MC's childhood friends and Jaye's best friend. Tara was integral to the plot, as she encouraged the MC to pursue a relationship with Jaye. How did she do this? One of the things she did this is through sex roleplay. Tara had a crush on the MC and engaged in an intimate scene with him while roleplaying as Jaye, allowing the MC to channel his feelings for her. It was a rather comical twist. Tara also played the role of wingwoman, facilitating the first kiss between Jaye and the MC while they were blindfolded in a closet. Throughout the game, she continued to support their relationship by sending enticing images of Jaye to tease the MC. Tara quickly became a fan favorite, with many players voicing their desire for her to have more screen time. You would think that, given her popularity, Stoya might reconsider and include Tara as one of the love interests with an ending, right?
Nope. The plan remained unchanged, and only two girls were considered LIs.
(This also applies to another character, Lisa, who is also integral to the plot and likely the second most popular side character.)

Need I talk about the battle in which who was the best choice for the MGs (which was clearly one-sided) and the nonsensical plot? The kinetic story that obviously is pushing the players to Jaye? Or with the last update to make the fierce, competitive, and obsessed Jaye in hinting at being okay sharing the MC with Mal? What about when the pacing shifted dramatically from slow in the early chapters to rushed in the final two? What about the cameo character in the latest udpate which was an Android and was protecting and hiding their internet presence so they wouldn't be located by the people who were trying to kill them. There was no set up for that. What about all the company politics and issues they had with it, why was it all resolved, in which feels like, all in one swing?

The epilogue has a lot on its shoulders answering all the questions about this and all of the ones I haven't mentioned, it better clear all of that up. Some have even said this is now comparable to Game of Thrones, when they had an excellent writing in the early seasons but then just spiraled down in the late seasons.


And this. It is obvious it was a dumb pathing decision. The writer himself admitted in a devlog he did a fuck up on that particular instance. And here you are saying it's a "good bit of writing". Please make it make sense.

Am I saying CS is bad compared to other AVNs? No. I think it had a strong start, but was just underwhelming in at the end.


A'ight. Let's have that dialogue now.

I never was much of a Tara fan myself, but I can see why people might like her. She's sort of a hot female version of the Cyrano de Bergerac archetype. A fairly common LI type in a lot of romances, so her interest in Alex could definitely have been expanded on if the devs wanted to, but they obviously had different plans for her. I don't consider that bad writing per se, just simply not what some people wanted and/or expected.

I will say though... I might agree on some of your points about the writing after chapter 6 but whether the writing is good or bad is completely subjective. Our opinions are not a source of truth, so people who disagree with you are not "ignorant" unless they're opinion is based on an a factual inaccuracy. Don't fall into the trap of conflating fact and opinion like I see so many people do on F95.

 

[NebulousShooter]

• Han solo shot first determining if Jaye is dick virgin.
• Suprise throuple with zero hints and buildup and disrepecting the solo Mallory route in the process.
• Highly anticipated Lisa scene turned into a meme about George' dick, because in true MCU fashion nothing is sacred, or serious anymore.
• Speaking of MCU every single character has the same type of humor and knows the same pop culture references that you could swap the names and you still would not know who is the original character speaking.
• Stuborness to adjust the story to the the mega popularity of Tara, but having no problem in making a alleged Jaye/Mallory throuple ending that if you believe it was planned from the start, I have a bridge to sell you.
• Decission to use existing character in the new game, which means that Lisa joins Tara in the list of pointless waste of storylines and potential.
• Do I even have to mention how pointless characters like Bianca, the island girl, the Aspen duo, Fiona have been in the end?

I used to play this the second it dropped, since 0.1, keeping up with dev updates, previews, live streams. Now I am 1 update and a half behind, have no desire to catch up, dont mind being spoilled...thats how much it plummeted in quality the last few episodes.

Kentyrr was always the star, but now he is hardcore carrying this once cool AVN. Honestly, at this point not even sure I will check the next game, since like every other dev(s) that get too big to fail, they suround themselves with yes men in their echo chmbers, so I feel it will be more of the same.

 

[Pl@y3r]

Kari looks good from there next game, but I am scared to play it, cause I don't want to get burned again with dumb decisions made by the devs like they did in this game and waste more of my time.

I don't care about their next game, but I hope there won't be dumb decisions regarding the endings for CS for those who haven't pursued Jaye/Mallory...

 

[Jericho85]

pointless characters like Bianca

*bangs on desk*

rabble rabble rabble rabble

 

[Pl@y3r]

View attachment 4153856

*bangs on desk*

rabble rabble rabble rabble

I don't agree either but I think they meant how pointless those characters became because of devs' decisions.

 

[felicemastronzo]

• Han solo shot first determining if Jaye is dick virgin.
• Suprise throuple with zero hints and buildup and disrepecting the solo Mallory route in the process.
• Highly anticipated Lisa scene turned into a meme about George' dick, because in true MCU fashion nothing is sacred, or serious anymore.
• Speaking of MCU every single character has the same type of humor and knows the same pop culture references that you could swap the names and you still would not know who is the original character speaking.
• Stuborness to adjust the story to the the mega popularity of Tara, but having no problem in making a alleged Jaye/Mallory throuple ending that if you believe it was planned from the start, I have a bridge to sell you.
• Decission to use existing character in the new game, which means that Lisa joins Tara in the list of pointless waste of storylines and potential.
• Do I even have to mention how pointless characters like Bianca, the island girl, the Aspen duo, Fiona have been in the end?

I used to play this the second it dropped, since 0.1, keeping up with dev updates, previews, live streams. Now I am 1 update and a half behind, have no desire to catch up, dont mind being spoilled...thats how much it plummeted in quality the last few episodes.

Kentyrr was always the star, but now he is hardcore carrying this once cool AVN. Honestly, at this point not even sure I will check the next game, since like every other dev(s) that get too big to fail, they suround themselves with yes men in their echo chmbers, so I feel it will be more of the same.

You forgot how asking one question instead of another decides Jaye's academic future for no real cause and effect reason.

Basically this game subverts the cause-effect relationship in the choices we make, big step forward.

Also the new archetype of the mc punished and endured hard if he wants to be monogamous is created.

History is being made here

 

[aaaaaaaaaabaaaaaaaa]

The part I'd like to add that hasn't been mentioned (at least in the last couple pages), is how the devs state at the beginning that they want the story to make sense, and that there won't be any 'gotcha' or trick choices, where the outcomes in the story are what you would have predicted.

If you want a throuple or harem ending, having to choose 1 LI over the other to get that ending very much feels like a 'gotcha' choice.

When the dev make that commitment, they are basically committing to following at least the most basic of the tropes of the genre. I get that writers like being able to put in surprising twists and break tropes and all that, but if you are promising not to do that, then end up doing it anyway, you can't be surprised that people get mad about it.

If you are going for a throuple ending, the typical way to get there would be keeping the 2 LIs on parity with each other. If you want to make it a "difficult" route to get, especially for a true throuple (where the LIs are also romantically involved with each other, in addition to each being involved with the MC), you would need decisions that push the LIs towards each other, maybe at the expense of some of the side characters, or even direct action for the MC himself.

Spoiler: Side character spoilers

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[Pl@y3r]

Spoiler: Side character spoilers

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Or maybe not...There is enough content with Jaye/Mallory already.

 

[pitao]

If you want a throuple or harem ending, having to choose 1 LI over the other to get that ending very much feels like a 'gotcha' choice.

If you are going for a throuple ending, the typical way to get there would be keeping the 2 LIs on parity with each other. If you want to make it a "difficult" route to get, especially for a true throuple (where the LIs are also romantically involved with each other, in addition to each being involved with the MC), you would need decisions that push the LIs towards each other, maybe at the expense of some of the side characters, or even direct action for the MC himself.

That is why my disappointment/anger on the devs when played last chapter/update, my main playthrough (Also had saves for all the other options, solo(s) and Mallory+Amanda) was with the intention of a throuple Mallory+Jaye that is why I was going in an open relationship path just to be faced with an "impossible" decision of choosing between the two or be alone I end up using that save for the alone ending .

That is why already knowing what to expect I decided to start a new main playthrough with Mallory+Amanda from the start (Mal was always my favorite LI anyway, and Amanda is funny by her special condition ), and on the way made different decision saves/playthroughs for Mallory solo and Jaye solo, using that last one to obtain the Jaye+Mallory save also.

I still love the game as it is in my top 15 games but yeah they (devs) wanted to get creative and only obtained some angry players and a few of those probably won't play other games from them, devs have to be careful when trying to subvert players expectations, not all are as forgiving as I am . But well not me, I'll still give them a chance in the next project because the overall production of this game is up high on par with the best on this site.

Edit: I'm not giving likes on the posts discussing this topic because I'm in between the middle and don't want to side with any, I agree with some valid points (except the ones that only serve to annoy/heat the discussion ) of each "party", so I'm trying to stay neutral .

 

[Krytax123]

Again, this is all fine, and it's good that you're adding lots of paragraphs to the discourse, but it still seems that you're trying to argue against an opposing opinion. My opinion isn't up for argument. It doesn't need to be validated.

Just because you have strong views doesn't make your opinion more valid than someone else's. We live in a world where we can have opposing views and yet both be right, because they are opinions.

Yeez people like you are the worst. Of course its possible to discuss opinions it seems more like you lack the ability to discuss or are simply not interested in a discussion.

But why than demand to other poster to write his viewpoint? If you dont give a fuck anyway. Your behavior is the equivalent of a little kid shouting "LALALALALALAA" when confronted with another viewpoint/arguments.

Of course you can think that for example "Conan the babarian" had the best storytelling ever possible but you shouldnt be surprised when people disagree and start to cry about that.

My main gripe is that the setup of the throuple kinda ruined Jaye for me, i would even have prefered no throuple at all over the way they decided to implement it.

It was literally the most unsatisfying solution ever possible to create a throuple and along the way made Jaye unbelievable and immersion breaking. Shes longing for this guy since like 20 years and the first thing she does when they are finally together is to make other girls join the relationship .... suuuuurre.

I did nothing in my pt with mallory, no sex at all and Jaye still suggested to involve mallory

It kinda ruined Mallory too, being the kinda inferior part of the throuple and only allowed to be there due to Jaye's generosity lol, not very equal

It was badly written AND badly implemented, i cant see how anyone reads this and thinks "Yes, this seems to be a natural development and close to reality."

 

[TonyMurray]

Yeez people like you are the worst. Of course its possible to discuss opinions it seems more like you lack the ability to discuss or are simply not interested in a discussion.

But why than demand to other poster to write his viewpoint? If you dont give a fuck anyway. Your behavior is the equivalent of a little kids shouting "LALALALALALAA" when confronted with another viewpoint/arguments.

Actually, I didn't demand the other poster write his viewpoint, that was someone else (although "demand" isn't the right word).

You'll note that I've not responded to anyone's opinions here to say they are wrong, all I've done is say I should be afforded that same courtesy. So yes, I agree that I'm not interested in a discussion, if that discussion is just aimed at telling my that my opinion is invalid, and why.

 

[Krytax123]

Actually, I didn't demand the other poster write his viewpoint, that was someone else (although "demand" isn't the right word).

You'll note that I've not responded to anyone's opinions here to say they are wrong, all I've done is say I should be afforded that same courtesy. So yes, I agree that I'm not interested in a discussion, if that discussion is just aimed at telling my that my opinion is invalid, and why.

I dont know what to tell you. Youre in a public forum.

Stating a opinion in public kinda invites other people to interact with it which usually leads to the people agreeing or disagreeing with it. There is no reason to cry about it.

Other posters cant make your opinion invalid but they can have the opinion that its not valid. Usually you exchange arguments to get the other ones viewpoint and agree in the end or not ...

If you dont want feedback about your opinion, dont post it in public?

 

[Lostanddamned]

Here’s the thing: if you played up to Chapter 6 and then completed the last three chapters without noticing a dip in the writing quality, I suppose ignorance is bliss.

I liked this game—emphasis on "liked". Years ago, around version 0.4, it had a lot of potential to be a game-changer in the adult visual novel (AVN) space. I believed it could become the most popular and best AVN on this site. The writing was strong, featuring humorous jokes, pop culture references, and solid character development with the two main love interests and to top it all, top-notch art. It had a coherent, easy-to-follow story.

Then something changed around Chapter 6. You could sense a shift in tone. Around that time, the writer announced that the game would consist of only nine chapters, ending with an epilogue. I thought, "Huh? But there's still a lot of story threads that were introduced and are nowhere near close in finishing."

Now that we’re here, with only the epilogue left to anticipate, and after the previous update, all dread have come to pass.

First, some important context: there are only two official love interests—Jaye and Mallory—and it seems these two characters will be the only ones with endings.
These are the thoughts that came to mind right away; I’ll discuss the rest once the game is complete and make a review about it.
I'll focus on some of the characters.

Stoya (the writer) introduced a redhead named Fiona early in the story, hinting that the main character (MC) longs for someone who resembles his stepsister. The writer included an unskippable sex scene with Fiona but later provided a way to ignore her messages, effectively for the players to have an some sort of escape hatch if they want to leave her "path". For those who texted and engaged with Fiona and attempted to flirt with her, reuniting with Jaye should have introduced potential conflicts, right?
Nope. Stoya never revisited that subplot, leaving it unresolved. I initially gave this a pass, assuming the writer thought a sex scene was essential in the early chapters of the game to gain traction/get more players. Okay, fine.

Next, Stoya introduced two blondes, Rikki and Linda. The backstory indicates that the MC had a crush on Linda when they were younger, and she felt the same way, but this detail ultimately feels inconsequential. At one point, while in bed with both Linda and Rikki (Linda's daughter, who has feelings for the MC), players are given the option to wake one of them for intimacy while the other remains present on the same bed. You might expect this choice to have repercussions later on, especially since only Jaye and Mallory are the designated endgame interests.
Nope, it ultimately didn’t matter. Stoya never revisited that subplot, even after some players expressed fondness for those characters.

Another character, Tara, was introduced early on as one of the MC's childhood friends and Jaye's best friend. Tara was integral to the plot, as she encouraged the MC to pursue a relationship with Jaye. How did she do this? One of the things she did this is through sex roleplay. Tara had a crush on the MC and engaged in an intimate scene with him while roleplaying as Jaye, allowing the MC to channel his feelings for her. It was a rather comical twist. Tara also played the role of wingwoman, facilitating the first kiss between Jaye and the MC while they were blindfolded in a closet. Throughout the game, she continued to support their relationship by sending enticing images of Jaye to tease the MC. Tara quickly became a fan favorite, with many players voicing their desire for her to have more screen time. You would think that, given her popularity, Stoya might reconsider and include Tara as one of the love interests with an ending, right?
Nope. The plan remained unchanged, and only two girls were considered LIs.
(This also applies to another character, Lisa, who is also integral to the plot and likely the second most popular side character.)

Need I talk about the battle in which who was the best choice for the MGs (which was clearly one-sided) and the nonsensical plot? The kinetic story that obviously is pushing the players to Jaye? Or with the last update to make the fierce, competitive, and obsessed Jaye in hinting at being okay sharing the MC with Mal? What about when the pacing shifted dramatically from slow in the early chapters to rushed in the final two? What about the cameo character in the latest udpate which was an Android and was protecting and hiding their internet presence so they wouldn't be located by the people who were trying to kill them. There was no set up for that. What about all the company politics and issues they had with it, why was it all resolved, in which feels like, all in one swing?

The epilogue has a lot on its shoulders answering all the questions about this and all of the ones I haven't mentioned, it better clear all of that up. Some have even said this is now comparable to Game of Thrones, when they had an excellent writing in the early seasons but then just spiraled down in the late seasons.


And this. It is obvious it was a dumb pathing decision. The writer himself admitted in a devlog he did a fuck up on that particular instance. And here you are saying it's a "good bit of writing". Please make it make sense.

Am I saying CS is bad compared to other AVNs? No. I think it had a strong start, but was just underwhelming in at the end.


A'ight. Let's have that dialogue now.

I agree with everything that is being said, and people in this thread know how much I defended this game early on. To say the ending is underwhelming is an understatement, it's rushed and lazy and Stoya seems to have run out of ideas for the story so he opted to tie things up, which didn't turn out that well.

But they knew they'd do 10 chapters at most fairly early on (like I vaguely remember it being mentioned around 0.1 or 0.2) and that only Jaye and Mallory would get endings. Honestly they could have done a better job of it, like they could have tied up the Aspen storyline with Linda and Rikki by the midgame and the Fiona storyline led nowhere (remember that episode ending with Fiona sending MC a gift and how we discussed at what repercussions it might have if Jaye sees it? Yeah nothing happened.)

Which is a shame because this game could have been so much more. Kentyrr is an exceptionally talented artist, and the last few chapters it really felt like his art was hardcarrying the game. I have defended Stoya a lot in the past - I thought he was a very good writer who sticks to his strengths and writes a straightforward story, but him trying to do too much at the same time with the story really exposed his weaknesses as a writer. Now I'm not saying he's bad - even with his faults, Stoya still remains one of the better writers in the genre. We'll see how he does with the new game, with more LI's and the decision of returning two fan favourites to be the main LI's of it. A part of me hopes that Stoya will bounce back and show that he's still got it, that he's still top tier, but time will tell.

 

[LizaS]

Again, this is all fine, and it's good that you're adding lots of paragraphs to the discourse, but it still seems that you're trying to argue against an opposing opinion. My opinion isn't up for argument. It doesn't need to be validated.

Just because you have strong views doesn't make your opinion more valid than someone else's. We live in a world where we can have opposing views and yet both be right, because they are opinions.

Blud's in a public forum and doesn't want to partake in discourse

I never was much of a Tara fan myself, but I can see why people might like her. She's sort of a hot female version of the Cyrano de Bergerac archetype. A fairly common LI type in a lot of romances, so her interest in Alex could definitely have been expanded on if the devs wanted to, but they obviously had different plans for her. I don't consider that bad writing per se, just simply not what some people wanted and/or expected.

I will say though... I might agree on some of your points about the writing after chapter 6 but whether the writing is good or bad is completely subjective. Our opinions are not a source of truth, so people who disagree with you are not "ignorant" unless they're opinion is based on an a factual inaccuracy. Don't fall into the trap of conflating fact and opinion like I see so many people do on F95.

I like you. At least, you're dishing out your own points, albeit still arguable. On the subjective point, would you say the people who trashed on Game of Thrones S8 only really hated it because of their preferences and not because it was objectively bad?

Han solo shot first determining if Jaye is dick virgin.

I forgot to put that in my post. Just another writing masterclass from our boy, Stoya, making a choice with if Han Solo shot first determining if Jaye's gonna preserve her virginity for the MC or not.

I dont know what to tell you. Youre in a public forum.

Stating a opinion in public kinda invites other people to interact with it which usually leads to the people agreeing or disagreeing with it. There is no reason to cry about it.

Other posters cant make your opinion invalid but they can have the opinion that its not valid. Usually you exchange arguments to get the other ones viewpoint and agree in the end or not ...

If you dont want feedback about your opinion, dont post it in public?

Well said.

I agree with everything that is being said, and people in this thread know how much I defended this game early on. To say the ending is underwhelming is an understatement, it's rushed and lazy and Stoya seems to have run out of ideas for the story so he opted to tie things up, which didn't turn out that well.

To see even Lostanddamned whom is prolly the #1 defender and fan of CS, switching sides is baffling and it says a lot.

Honestly they could have done a better job of it, like they could have tied up the Aspen storyline with Linda and Rikki by the midgame

Fiona storyline led nowhere

(remember that episode ending with Fiona sending MC a gift and how we discussed at what repercussions it might have if Jaye sees it? Yeah nothing happened.)

Kentyrr was always the star, but now he is hardcore carrying this once cool AVN.

Kentyrr is an exceptionally talented artist, and the last few chapters it really felt like his art was hardcarrying the game.

Actual live image, only captured today, of Kentyrr carrying Stoya on his back like always.

 

[PaxHadrian17]

Here’s the thing: if you played up to Chapter 6 and then completed the last three chapters without noticing a dip in the writing quality, I suppose ignorance is bliss.

I liked this game—emphasis on "liked". Years ago, around version 0.4, it had a lot of potential to be a game-changer in the adult visual novel (AVN) space. I believed it could become the most popular and best AVN on this site. The writing was strong, featuring humorous jokes, pop culture references, and solid character development with the two main love interests and to top it all, top-notch art. It had a coherent, easy-to-follow story.

Then something changed around Chapter 6. You could sense a shift in tone. Around that time, the writer announced that the game would consist of only nine chapters, ending with an epilogue. I thought, "Huh? But there's still a lot of story threads that were introduced and are nowhere near close in finishing."

Now that we’re here, with only the epilogue left to anticipate, and after the previous update, all dread have come to pass.

First, some important context: there are only two official love interests—Jaye and Mallory—and it seems these two characters will be the only ones with endings.
These are the thoughts that came to mind right away; I’ll discuss the rest once the game is complete and make a review about it.
I'll focus on some of the characters.

Stoya (the writer) introduced a redhead named Fiona early in the story, hinting that the main character (MC) longs for someone who resembles his stepsister. The writer included an unskippable sex scene with Fiona but later provided a way to ignore her messages, effectively for the players to have an some sort of escape hatch if they want to leave her "path". For those who texted and engaged with Fiona and attempted to flirt with her, reuniting with Jaye should have introduced potential conflicts, right?
Nope. Stoya never revisited that subplot, leaving it unresolved. I initially gave this a pass, assuming the writer thought a sex scene was essential in the early chapters of the game to gain traction/get more players. Okay, fine.

Next, Stoya introduced two blondes, Rikki and Linda. The backstory indicates that the MC had a crush on Linda when they were younger, and she felt the same way, but this detail ultimately feels inconsequential. At one point, while in bed with both Linda and Rikki (Linda's daughter, who has feelings for the MC), players are given the option to wake one of them for intimacy while the other remains present on the same bed. You might expect this choice to have repercussions later on, especially since only Jaye and Mallory are the designated endgame interests.
Nope, it ultimately didn’t matter. Stoya never revisited that subplot, even after some players expressed fondness for those characters.

Another character, Tara, was introduced early on as one of the MC's childhood friends and Jaye's best friend. Tara was integral to the plot, as she encouraged the MC to pursue a relationship with Jaye. How did she do this? One of the things she did this is through sex roleplay. Tara had a crush on the MC and engaged in an intimate scene with him while roleplaying as Jaye, allowing the MC to channel his feelings for her. It was a rather comical twist. Tara also played the role of wingwoman, facilitating the first kiss between Jaye and the MC while they were blindfolded in a closet. Throughout the game, she continued to support their relationship by sending enticing images of Jaye to tease the MC. Tara quickly became a fan favorite, with many players voicing their desire for her to have more screen time. You would think that, given her popularity, Stoya might reconsider and include Tara as one of the love interests with an ending, right?
Nope. The plan remained unchanged, and only two girls were considered LIs.
(This also applies to another character, Lisa, who is also integral to the plot and likely the second most popular side character.)

Need I talk about the battle in which who was the best choice for the MGs (which was clearly one-sided) and the nonsensical plot? The kinetic story that obviously is pushing the players to Jaye? Or with the last update to make the fierce, competitive, and obsessed Jaye in hinting at being okay sharing the MC with Mal? What about when the pacing shifted dramatically from slow in the early chapters to rushed in the final two? What about the cameo character in the latest udpate which was an Android and was protecting and hiding their internet presence so they wouldn't be located by the people who were trying to kill them. There was no set up for that. What about all the company politics and issues they had with it, why was it all resolved, in which feels like, all in one swing?

The epilogue has a lot on its shoulders answering all the questions about this and all of the ones I haven't mentioned, it better clear all of that up. Some have even said this is now comparable to Game of Thrones, when they had an excellent writing in the early seasons but then just spiraled down in the late seasons.


And this. It is obvious it was a dumb pathing decision. The writer himself admitted in a devlog he did a fuck up on that particular instance. And here you are saying it's a "good bit of writing". Please make it make sense.

Am I saying CS is bad compared to other AVNs? No. I think it had a strong start, but was just underwhelming in at the end.


A'ight. Let's have that dialogue now.

Great!

To your points about some relationships being left on the table or - at a minimum, underdeveloped - I agree with some of what you said:

Spoiler: Relationships left on the table

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Spoiler: Jaye versus Mallory

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Spoiler: Some final points of consideration - my perspective on Chasing Sunsets

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Finally - Chasing Sunsets will get a 'completed' tag - something far too many AVNs never see on F95.

Cheers!!

 

[PaxHadrian17]

Yeez people like you are the worst. Of course its possible to discuss opinions it seems more like you lack the ability to discuss or are simply not interested in a discussion.

But why than demand to other poster to write his viewpoint? If you dont give a fuck anyway. Your behavior is the equivalent of a little kid shouting "LALALALALALAA" when confronted with another viewpoint/arguments.

Of course you can think that for example "Conan the babarian" had the best storytelling ever possible but you shouldnt be surprised when people disagree and start to cry about that.

My main gripe is that the setup of the throuple kinda ruined Jaye for me, i would even have prefered no throuple at all over the way they decided to implement it.

It was literally the most unsatisfying solution ever possible to create a throuple and along the way made Jaye unbelievable and immersion breaking. Shes longing for this guy since like 20 years and the first thing she does when they are finally together is to make other girls join the relationship .... suuuuurre.

I did nothing in my pt with mallory, no sex at all and Jaye still suggested to involve mallory

It kinda ruined Mallory too, being the kinda inferior part of the throuple and only allowed to be there due to Jaye's generosity lol, not very equal

It was badly written AND badly implemented, i cant see how anyone reads this and thinks "Yes, this seems to be a natural development and close to reality."

That was me - and I made the point that a meme was not having a dialogue.

Since then, LizaS and I have each made more detailed posts, finding agreement in some areas and not in others.

Not a true dialogue, OC, but it fits the intention on F95.

Cheers!!

 

[aaaaaaaaaabaaaaaaaa]

Or maybe not...There is enough content with Jaye/Mallory already.

Right, I was just suggesting things that COULD be options for choices that the MC COULD make. Obviously if you aren't interested in J&M, you could still choose to mess around with the other side characters. You could have 1 ending for a full harem end, where the MC isn't really fully committed to any single girl, but just keeps hooking up with them all (on separate occasions from each other, with maybe more Mal+Amanda scenes sprinkled in here and there, or other pairings that would make sense). Then there could be a separate path that requires different choices that leads to the poly path where MC+J+M are all together all with each other.

Of course that is adding a lot of additional content, which takes more time and effort for the devs to put in. If they're not interested in making that content, or don't think it's worth the effort, there's obviously nothing we can do to force them to.

 

[felicemastronzo]

finished the several runs for the last but not the last chapter, quite disappointing.

the Prizer plot is resolved practically effortlessly after seeming all-powerful and willing to do anything, no use for killers and money in quantity when you become friends with Christian the third (adopted) son of Sara. George becomes a forum tiger after never being able to solve the smallest problem encountered. and then just sending Mallory, whom they had to hide at all costs, to prime time news to deliver the final blow.

there was not a single difficulty in this AVN solved according to logic, each time a rabbit was pulled out of the hat: David, David's friends, the cook who is a master martial artist, Amanda super hacker, Amanda super hacker friend of Artemis...

a curiosity, which is the least of the problems anyway, but since when did Mallory become into extreme sports? maybe they had bought the sets on DAZN and d at this point they had to use them. it still remains a harmless choice that gives and takes nothing away.

then going into more detail about the runs:

the only satisfactory one is Mallory's in this chapter, great sex scene that equals and in my opinion surpasses that of the first time with Jaye, too bad that the eventual third wheel Amanda, disappears completely from the relationship, except for her rebellious genius scene.

Jaye's the most annoying one, first MC or then Jaye full of guilt for excluding Mallory, what a jerk MC was to choose Jaye... (but I shouldn't be surprised in the end it's the same mechanism used with Mallory and Amanda “MC go ahead and choose!!!” “ah...you chose to love only me...whatever...")
a good sex scene and then yet another logic-less trabochet to allow Jaye to continue her academic journey. little else

the run without LIs is absolutely empty and bleak, the only “prize” the photo of Lisa which is still a farewell. Fiona even prefers to bother asexuals rather than show up. let's see what the epilogue will give us.

On the double open or closed relationship variant with Mallory that Jaye reopens, honestly there is nothing to say, poorly handled fan service with no content except the closing of the episode