VN Ren'Py Defending Lydia Collier [v0.17.0.2] [White Phantom Games]

[mnemosynememory]

What's the community general consensus on the latest update? Personally, I thought it was a tad underwhelming, especially because seemingly there is not much left for the game to be done?

 

[-CookieMonster666-]

What's the community general consensus on the latest update? Personally, I thought it was a tad underwhelming, especially because seemingly there is not much left for the game to be done?

IDK about general consensus, but I personally thought it was decent. It wasn't mindblowingly amazing or anything, but it was all right. Given that WPG was recovering from hand injuries (burns) and also delayed by two different office moves, there was far less time put into this latest update than the time between updates might make it appear. IDK how much that might have thrown things off content-wise, though (probably not a lot, but more so just caused delays). But as you say, we're in the final stretch of the game, so there's not a lot of content to come. Maybe the next update will be beefy to give everyone a fair amount of LI stuff at the end of the game, but it could also ofc have minimal content outside of the story itself. I wouldn't bet on either over the other.

 

[Redplanetblues]

I would love an epilogue of MC and Emma tearing it up at Fresher's Week.

 

[gthmf]

So. Looks like the loop fix is never coming here.

 

[MagicMan753]

And Tiff too?! So you talk about how badly Steph was treated and then mention Tiffany (who absolutely was let down by her fiancé) as one whom you'll treat well... by cheating on Vanessa and having her own daughter stab her in the back. Don't get me wrong: I have almost every route the game offers (don't like bimbo Steph with fake-ass boobs, so I didn't do that one). And I have to admit, I've enjoyed the Wickes-family corruption route, the Jenna-gets-cucked scenes, and the Vanessa's daughter's friends scenes. But your post comes across as the "let's treat all the women the way they deserve" which somehow includes probably hurting Vanessa very badly. Not sure how that would amount to treating Vanessa well.

You know, I think you are assuming that going with Tiffany will automatically hurt or cause drama with Vanessa. Which I don't think is true. In a walk-through or somewhere else, the path for Sophia is called queen path I think, then there is the Tiffany path which is called something Princess. Which makes me think things will work out.

I feel as if, wirh Vanessa being a cuckquean and how much she loves her daughter, especially after the wedding and the fiance, I feel like its possible that Vanessa will see how much of a good man we are and give her blessing in the end to be with her own daughter Tiffany too.

But those are just my thoughts on how things will play out, I guess we'll see. Also I am really excited for the Tiff date, hoping for something really sweet and romantic. Wish Tiffany started earlier in game just cause I wish their was more of her.

 

[-CookieMonster666-]

You know, I think you are assuming that going with Tiffany will automatically hurt or cause drama with Vanessa. Which I don't think is true. In a walk-through or somewhere else, the path for Sophia is called queen path I think, then there is the Tiffany path which is called something Princess. Which makes me think things will work out.

I feel as if, wirh Vanessa being a cuckquean and how much she loves her daughter, especially after the wedding and the fiance, I feel like its possible that Vanessa will see how much of a good man we are and give her blessing in the end to be with her own daughter Tiffany too.

But those are just my thoughts on how things will play out, I guess we'll see. Also I am really excited for the Tiff date, hoping for something really sweet and romantic. Wish Tiffany started earlier in game just cause I wish their was more of her.

Well, to be clear, Vanessa is not the cuckquean; Sofie is the one getting cucked (by the MC "taking" Vanessa from her). The way Vanessa doms Sofie makes it clear she's not the one getting cucked. So I don't think your comparison is a very good one.

That said, it's always possible she'll be OK with it. I'm just saying it's a pretty big risk, since none of us know for sure how she'll respond. RL relationships have gone down the shitter for exactly this kind of thing. But, as a VN, maybe RL consequences can be avoided. It ofc depends on what WPG decides the result will be. (But Tiff does for sure say her mom can't find out, and that it would end Vanessa's relationship with the MC; whether that's just assumption or based on past conversations with Vanessa she's had is unknown to us.) This very thing is why I have separate playthroughs for each. If things blow up in one PT, I have another where they won't.

 

[SonsOfLiberty]

Defending Lydia Collier [v0.17.0.2] [White Phantom Games]

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[ZenIro8]

Defending Lydia Collier [v0.17.0.2] [White Phantom Games]

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is there any new content ?

 

[PTPorts]

is there any new content ?

Spoiler: Change log

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[Chrisdarock19]

is there any new content ?

OP Changelog

 

[dolfe67]

Is there a v0.17.1 planned? There is a wrong scene in the bimbo Steph+Lydia path, after the interview with Lydia and the "maid" you get a scene from the Ellie path I think when you meet Connie in the outhouse and call Ellie again (already went there previously)

 

[-CookieMonster666-]

Is there a v0.17.1 planned? There is a wrong scene in the bimbo Steph+Lydia path, after the interview with Lydia and the "maid" you get a scene from the Ellie path I think when you meet Connie in the outhouse and call Ellie again (already went there previously)

See the final quote (from his Patreon): https://f95zone.to/threads/defending-lydia-collier-v0-17-0-2-white-phantom-games.33797/post-17807526

There's no way to know what "changes a ton of old code" will fix, so we don't know if it corrects that bug.

 

[Raoddik]

I just can't make Helena appear no matter what, even with current update, what I'm missing?

 

[OWSam000]

I wonder if this is a bug where I choose to follow Steph normal path with lydia + jenna side path, I never get into the lydia dungeon scene to meet Fleur.

 

[WarriorSteel]

I wonder if this is a bug where I choose to follow Steph normal path with lydia + jenna side path, I never get into the lydia dungeon scene to meet Fleur.

That's not a bug. Normal Steph don't share, so you will not be and to see Lydia's path in full.

 

[OWSam000]

I got a question for Ellie dark path with Lydia, is it possible for Helena and Emma to stay at night while having the visit to Lydia dungeon scene?

 

[Dr.TSoni]

I got a question for Ellie dark path with Lydia, is it possible for Helena and Emma to stay at night while having the visit to Lydia dungeon scene?

I don't think so. To visit the dungeon you have to spend the night at Lydia's.

 

[SonsOfLiberty]

Defending Lydia Collier Development Log

Hello everybody!

I hope you all enjoyed the last update!

Just to let you know, I'm currently working on several improvements to Defending Lydia Collier that will make it a much better to interact with, while also make useful tools to integrate these features into future projects.

Coding

I don't have many previews since 99% of my work has been on the code.

I've finally tackled the long-put-off task of fixing the computer head-on, replacing thousands (probably tens of thousands) of lines of code.

I now have two fully functioning news websites, filterable by journalist and date along with the previous tabs. This lets you easily view the day's new stories or, when meeting a journalist, check all her articles to investigate her activities without manual scrolling.

This was tougher than just building a news site, as I had to sift through a dozen updates' worth of layered code, recover old data, and edit pictures to preserve everything.

You might have noticed the new computer I added a few updates back lacked older articles, limiting reading beyond a certain point—now it includes everything, plus I'm adding in all the articles I'd skipped from adding to recent updates due to the computer just being a mess.

There's a lot of story knowledge hidden away there now!

For those unaware, I lack a coding background, so I'd learn a bit, then force-fit it to my needs—like hammering a square peg into a circular hole.

In the past, I'd code one news article with what I know, then copy-paste and tweak for the next. Images were pre-made in Photoshop with text, requiring 3+ per article, which took ages.

It wasn't bad at first, but after years of updates, it has become a horrific mess of technical debt—dozens of articles across thousands of lines, and that all needed fixing.

Now, the sites are properly built. I input a headline, date, journalist name, and article, add the ID to a single list, and it's done—no copying and pasting anything, no having to add variables to a whole series of lists with every article (massively reducing bugs), and I've taken all the old articles, converted them into the new format and got it working.

Templates now handle the layout, so edits require changing just the template or article and actually adding new articles to the game now takes a minute or two (after prepping the images/content) versus 20+ just on adding an article before.

Why bother some will say? It's key to the story, with useful info that was painful to access—now it's easy. When I play games I really enjoy exploring in-game lore like Fallout 3 terminals or Mass Effect's Shadow Broker emails, and wanted something similar in my game. I've always aimed for more "game" elements beyond choice-based VN, and this fits my limits.

For future projects, this code provides a ready-to-use news website with minimal tweaks, so this work will benefit the next project as well as this one.

That's complete now.

Next, I'm fixing "Our Moments" (the game's Instagram), as with so many images I've made for this I want it to actually be properly accessible, and I'm doing that by making it full screen and usable from the PC rather than just the phone.

Again, once done, it'll be reusable for future projects.

The Radio

I've also redone the car radio.

It was a single long audio track—randomized start points, but always the same order, and hard to edit beyond appending tracks.

Now, I've added new adverts and tracks; it functions like a real radio, randomly pulling songs, inserting ad breaks with custom spots, then more music.

I've long wanted a GTA-style radio, especially given the cost of the custom audio—now it's here.

This should enhance the game's long car scenes, and provides a Ren'Py radio system for future projects.

This is really a side note, it didn't take long at all to do this, but listen out for the new tracks and adverts, I think they're pretty cool!

Character Reports

Previously, only some characters gave reports via mission screens; many didn't.

Now, everyone provides a report, adding immersion beyond just button-clicking to advance the story.

These arrive in your emails (which I've also redone); no separate screen or just no feedback mission anymore.

The Mission Screens

I considered removing this but kept it, recoding it properly to eliminate past bugs when selecting characters, so you'll still click them which I think is better than just a textbox choice.

In-Game Walkthrough

It's 99% done; I'm just integrating it with mission selection screen, considering an overlay or icon to highlight the best character if walkthrough is on, plus a separate icon for rescuing Tanya.

So that's what I've been up to - thousands of lines changed, some actually properly coded stuff and seeing it now working makes me feel like a real developer.

I've always wanted a story-heavy game, and fixing the computer was essential to finish Defending Lydia Collier off, especially with the finale near and endings tied to missions.

Sorry if anyone dislikes the time spent on this, but it's necessary for completing the game the way I've envisioned it. I just can't complete the game without fixing the missions, as the missions determine the endings, but that's now sorted.

This will all be in v0.17.1, hopefully done this month depending how much hassle Our Moments and Whistle cause.

Knowing a "coding and story" update might not excite everyone, I'll post a poll this weekend for supporters on a few ideas for scenes I cut from v0.17. I need to beta test all the coding changes, so the scene that wins I'll make whilst the computer is out for testing by anybody interested (or who wants to try and break it).

Thanks for all the new and continued support!

WP

 

[whatmi]

Will this game ever be completed?
and why is this so popular?
is it still getting updates?

 

[-CookieMonster666-]

Will this game ever be completed?
and why is this so popular?
is it still getting updates?

It is still getting updates, though typically it takes awhile between updates. The latest release (not counting patches since) was in mid-July, so not even 2 months ago. 386 pages of comments and around 160 ratings isn't all that popular, TBH. An actually popular game tends to have at least high hundreds if not thousands of pages of comments, and more like around ¼ to ½ that number of ratings. I'd love to see this be way more popular than it is.

The game is nearing completion. IDK how many more updates, but things in the primary plot have escalated to levels of pretty high tension. Relationships are generally into their serious phases now — not only a fair amount to a lot of sex for each (depending on the LI); but also many "I love yous" (unless you're on more of a corruption route, ofc). Anyway, without getting too precise or specific, things are probably at least 75+% of the way along on all fronts, likely even 85+% along.