VN Ren'Py Completed Chasing Sunsets [v1.10a] [Stone Fox Studios]

[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.

 

[doovel]

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.

No one is complaining about that because we're all afraid of el Jorge.

 

[MiltonPowers]

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.

I know what you mean. Tara was (maybe still is) in love with MC, but she was going to keep those feelings bottled up and never act upon them. The only way to win Tara would be to break up with Jaye, which would you lose you Tara anyway for hurting Jaye. A circle that there was no way out of.

PS. I suspect Lisa has thought about George a few times since the unexpected reveal.

 

[lorkdubo]

I know what you mean. Tara was (maybe still is) in love with MC, but she was going to keep those feelings bottled up and never act upon them. The only way to win Tara would be to break up with Jaye, which would you lose you Tara anyway for hurting Jaye. A circle that there was no way out of.

PS. I suspect Lisa has thought about George a few times since the unexpected reveal.

The Mc, Jaye and Tara throuple makes more sense that the potential Mallory and Jaye one. The emotional investment the three of them have in growing up together and Tara being Jaye's best friend and quasi-lover makes no sense having her in the next game. At least that's the hill I'm willing to die on.

 

[nalatoni]

Hi guys!
I ended this update but my gallery looks like this. Where are the other scenes?
Did i do something wrong? I use every mods from here but nothins seems to work.Can anyone help me?


thanks

 

[TonyMurray]

The Mc, Jaye and Tara throuple makes more sense that the potential Mallory and Jaye one. The emotional investment the three of them have in growing up together and Tara being Jaye's best friend and quasi-lover makes no sense having her in the next game. At least that's the hill I'm willing to die on.

I would go the other way. There are three people involved in a throuple, and they all have to be partners in it. Jaye and Tara have both stated they are not interested in this, and something that happened years ago isn't a good reason to say it makes perfect sense now.

The Jaye and Mallory relationship... there are two points here. One, the three are all close now, in the present. MC has (potentially) been intimate with both women, there are strong feelings on all sides - including Jaye and Mallory getting a lot closer and feeling like family. Two, it's actually polyamory rather than a throuple, so it doesn't matter if there are romantic feelings between Jaye and Mallory, as they are not set to be involved (Jaye clearly spells this out when offering the option). As marked in the character cards at the end, Jaye's/Mallory's love is "strong enough to explore polyamory". They love you enough to want you to have the other in your life, so long as you remain committed to both girls.

 

[MiltonPowers]

The Mc, Jaye and Tara throuple makes more sense that the potential Mallory and Jaye one. The emotional investment the three of them have in growing up together and Tara being Jaye's best friend and quasi-lover makes no sense having her in the next game. At least that's the hill I'm willing to die on.

I would agree it makes 100 times more sense as a throuple, but Jaye doesn't want a throuple. She doesn't want any sexual partner but MC, and she wants a family. Mal is family, Jaye is not threatened by her and really wants her to be around. She knows there is love between them that is a different love to what Jaye & Mal have. She also makes it very clear, that MC is going to have to work and ensure both of them always feel the center of his world. It's not the way I would have thought it would go, but listening to Jaye, I understand where she is coming from and what she wants. Jaye has got the Poly relationship she is happy to have, not the throuple we all hoped for. As long as MC remains committed to both of them and no one else.

Of course, this could all change in the next update.