VN Ren'Py Friends in Need [Ch.1 Remake v0.25] [NeonGhosts]

[NeonGhosts]

love this so far. love the art. love the variety of choices already (love/lust/violence/humiliation). can't wait for next update. going to support for now (hopefully the updates are regular and you don't get too busy/abandon).

Hey, hey! Thanks for the support! I have no intention of abandoning the game. On the contrary, I'm chomping at the bit to introduce new girls.

For anyone not subscribed to/following my Patreon,

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where I discussed some of the additions I'll be making to the mid-chapter update of the game, including a little new art. This version of the game should go out to $15+ subscribers no later than this weekend, with the $5 subscribers getting access on the 24th, and the free release coming May 1st.

I'd only planned to have 20~ pieces of new art for this update, and it rapidly grew to around 80. Some of these are just variations on camera angles, etc. but there are going to be entirely new scenes.

Hm, I wonder who our intrepid MC has on speakerphone while he finger-blasts Nicki.. Eh, probably just ordering a pizza or something.



In other news, I just got confirmation that my new PC is being assembled, and should ship in 7-10 business days. Hopefully I'll have it in hand for the last week of April, and can get a jump on rendering scenes for Chapter 2. The plan is still to have the next update out in early June. I'd love to have the public release out on June 1st, but we'll see what the new machine can do.

I lifted the Patreon embargo on some Gabby art, too. This isn't game art - these were just experiments to see what my old PC could do, with the Render Optimizer and copious smoothing enabled. But, they'll give you an idea of what I have planned for our favorite little punk in pink.

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Until next time! I'll be sure to post here once the Ch 1.5 update is available to Patrons.

 

[NeonGhosts]

FYI: Chapter 1.5 of Friends in Need went up on the Patreon today, for $15 patrons.



Look at the shiny new GUI/menu screen!

In addition to the planned financial domination scene, I also updated one of the negative alignment scenes, so you can have more of an aggressive, transactional relationship with Nicki. Hopefully that'll satisfy the people who didn't want to be too nice or too mean, but also didn't like only being able to get a BJ on that specific route.

I also removed all the single-choice menu options. If you see a single-choice menu now, it's probably because a certain patch isn't installed.

The $5 Patreon release will be available on the 24th, and the free version will follow on May 1st.

Oh, speaking of Patreon tiers - I got my hand slapped for having nudity on public posts, so I had to put all of them back behind the paywall (boooo). So, before Chapter 2 releases, I'll be doing two things - creating a $2 tier for people who just want to follow along and support me while seeing some fun art and behind-the-scenes stuff, and creating a Subscribestar where I can be a little less evasive when talking about game content.

Anyhow, with Chapter 1.5 out, now I'm just checking the code for Chapter Two, and trying to finish the script/code for Chapter Five, before my new computer arrives and I've got to start rendering like a maniac.

 

[TheDick69+]

Played all variations, but ended in nice guy! As I'm a nice guy by nature! Keep up the good work Dev!

 

[NeonGhosts]

Played all variations, but ended in nice guy! As I'm a nice guy by nature! Keep up the good work Dev!

Thanks for playing! I think the v0.15 "nice" financial domination route is my favorite one so far.

Honestly, as much as I like dark content (and boy do I like it! ) I find writing the nice routes really fun. It's always an interesting challenge trying to write exciting, kinky sex scenes, where everyone's enjoying themselves.

 

[NeonGhosts]

Still waiting on my new PC to arrive, but until then I wanted to experiment a bit. It's pretty frustrating using anything even vaguely resource intensive on my poor old PC, but also? Kind of fun when I squeeze something usable out of it.

Always nice to give Gabby some new hair, too.

 

[NeonGhosts]

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v0.15 expands the financial domination paths, and adds a little material to the opening, showing a few little flashbacks to the MC and Nicki's friendship at the convenience store. I also added a tiny bit of material to the end of the bad alignment path, but it's just a little extra dialogue and a couple renders I was able to repurpose from the new financial domination scenes.

In other news, my new PC is slated to arrive here on Tuesday, and I can't wait to get started on the next chapter. In the meantime, I wanted to start designing another character you'll meet in Chapter Two..

 

[Professor Black]

ehh playing the good path wasnt rewarding and I felt used. There was no romance on that sex scene, it just played out like FWB. Plus she cheated on her bf. So imo moving forward with her as love interest is going to be meh for me. Hopefully there are more love interest? or im just going to play evil path the whole way through the entire game.

 

[NewTricks]

ehh playing the good path wasnt rewarding and I felt used. There was no romance on that sex scene, it just played out like FWB. Plus she cheated on her bf. So imo moving forward with her as love interest is going to be meh for me. Hopefully there are more love interest? or im just going to play evil path the whole way through the entire game.

I can see why you feel that way, but really you are being used either way. She really is only there for the money, at least at first, and it is kind of up to you whether you want to catch flies with honey or vinegar. But either way, she didn't know who she was dealing with and her boyfriend was holding the monkey's paw when he wished that she would get him the money from you. I can understand why you would have a preference for the tough path, though. That shit was wild. You choked her, slapped her, gaped her ass, and fed her a chilidog and she still is gonna come back for more next chapter. Somehow I don't think that this is going to be a love interest friendly game.

 

[NeonGhosts]

ehh playing the good path wasnt rewarding and I felt used. There was no romance on that sex scene, it just played out like FWB. Plus she cheated on her bf. So imo moving forward with her as love interest is going to be meh for me. Hopefully there are more love interest? or im just going to play evil path the whole way through the entire game.

Hey, first of all, thanks for playing!

Check out the update for Chapter One when it it's publicly available - there's a new path that allows you to be a nice guy, while making the relationship more transactional. I added it so people could end feeling more like the user than the used.

But, it's also important to remember this is the first time Nicki and MC have crossed that line in their relationship, so in a way they are just friends with benefits right now. If you continue to pursue her in future updates, that dynamic will continue to evolve.

Finally, I direct your attention to the two posts above yours, where I posted some teaser art for future girls. I'm keeping the cast relatively small at the start, but by Chapter 5 there are six romanceable characters introduced, though it might take a little while for those relationships to really develop.

I can see why you feel that way, but really you are being used either way. She really is only there for the money, at least at first, and it is kind of up to you whether you want to catch flies with honey or vinegar. But either way, she didn't know who she was dealing with and her boyfriend was holding the monkey's paw when he wished that she would get him the money from you. I can understand why you would have a preference for the tough path, though. That shit was wild. You choked her, slapped her, gaped her ass, and fed her a chilidog and she still is gonna come back for more next chapter. Somehow I don't think that this is going to be a love interest friendly game.

It's as friendly as you want it to be.

This is something I'm interested to see people's reactions to, as the game progresses. Many of the girls you'll be meeting only wander into your orbit because they need something - hence the title. They may not always be explicit in asking for help, but part of the long arc of the game is examining the effect of money and prestige on the MC's life. One element of that is always wondering if people are only talking to you, because of what you can do for them.

 

[NewTricks]

Hey, first of all, thanks for playing!

Check out the update for Chapter One when it it's publicly available - there's a new path that allows you to be a nice guy, while making the relationship more transactional. I added it so people could end feeling more like the user than the used.

But, it's also important to remember this is the first time Nicki and MC have crossed that line in their relationship, so in a way they are just friends with benefits right now. If you continue to pursue her in future updates, that dynamic will continue to evolve.

Finally, I direct your attention to the two posts above yours, where I posted some teaser art for future girls. I'm keeping the cast relatively small at the start, but by Chapter 5 there are six romanceable characters introduced, though it might take a little while for those relationships to really develop.



It's as friendly as you want it to be.

This is something I'm interested to see people's reactions to, as the game progresses. Many of the girls you'll be meeting only wander into your orbit because they need something - hence the title. They may not always be explicit in asking for help, but part of the long arc of the game is examining the effect of money and prestige on the MC's life. One element of that is always wondering if people are only talking to you, because of what you can do for them.

That said, there will always be options to be a jerk, or not, if you feel you're being taken advantage of..

As poor Gabby is finding out in this test render.

View attachment 1775861

I have to admit that it is going to be interesting to see if the girls act differently toward you after you have spent the whole night treating them like your cellmate at San Quintin. After getting all that sweet prison love are they going to be able to shift gears quick enough when you show up with candy, flowers, and poetry when the previous night they were on the receiving end of a plumpkin and a donkey punch.

 

[redraw]

Just want to propose the notion that being able to give freely without needing anything in return is, for whatever else it might represent, the objectively more powerful position.

 

[NeonGhosts]

Hey, hey! Big news - my new PC finally arrived today, and I'm already making progress on the renders for Chapter Two. Rendering on a good machine is honestly a hoot, and I'm having a hell of a lot of fun!

I feel really confident that Chapter Two will be completed on schedule by June. If I can do that, I'll have plenty of runway for the next few updates.

Lookit this nice-looking render! As Nicki might say, "Aouw, aouw, aouwww!"



In other news, v. 0.15 will be publicly available Sunday, and I'm introducing a new tier for my Patreon at $2/mo tomorrow, which offers access to all the NSFW stuff I have to keep behind a paywall, as well as access to the game one day early. This is my way of keeping all the content as accessible as possible, and giving people a way to support me with a couple of their hard-earned bucks each month.

 

[DoverDad]

yes, this is one of the best vn I played in a while on another note that cook of bf of hers is gonna be tasting my special sauce.

 

[NeonGhosts]

yes, this is one of the best vn I played in a while on another note that cook of bf of hers is gonna be tasting my special sauce.

Aw, thanks so much! Very kind of you. Consider dropping a couple bucks on my Patreon if you're moved to do so.

Just a quick thread update, while I'm here - I've finished 60ish renders for the new chapter. I'd planned for roughly 300 renders total, but I'm thinking I'll blow past that. But, I feel really confident I'll have the new chapter completed well before June, so I can put it out to patrons early, and drop it on June 1st for the public release. Fingers crossed!

In the meantime, here's a little more teaser art for Chapter Two.

 

[NeonGhosts]

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As always, if you're looking for certain content, please refer to the patch on the first page of this thread.

I've updated the change log on the first page as well.

 

[crotch69]

Good luck dev, sounds promising

 

[mr.AwesomeGameTaste]

so the new findom path is like nicer one?

 

[Dave@30121987]

will there be ntr??

 

[Harem Trooper]

Checked the new update out but I saw only the flashbacks. I see in the changelog that there is a new, benevolent financial domination path but I seems to miss it because its the same which I choose before.
I did these choices:
-Wait for her to finish
-Treat her with kindness
-Tell her to keep doing whats shes doing
-Tell her you want to fuck her
-Tell her how good she feels
-Tell her to take it and fuck her ass with your thumb
-Come
-Come inside her

Keep in mind I choose these because I think these are the most "Love" options I could get.

 

[NeonGhosts]

so the new findom path is like nicer one?

Correct - and the mean findom path has been expanded to include sex. Some people didn't like that there were basically three options:

Be a total nice guy.
Be kind of a jerk, and as a result not be able to have sex with Nicki.
Be a total asshole.

By expanding and splitting the findom path into two paths (one where you're kind of nice and one where you're kind of a jerk) it provides people with more options for how they want to play. Plus, it simplifies things a bit for the next time Nicki shows up, in terms of tracking what the MC has actually done with her, sexually.

I figure the nice findom path will mainly be of interest to people, because there's an opportunity to more explicitly cuck Nicki's boyfriend, Brent.

will there be ntr??

No plans for it, unless the player is the one fucking a girl who already has a boyfriend/husband.

Also, just another quick update while I'm here. I spent the day doing more renders for Chapter Two, as well as redoing several. I wasn't happy with some of the lighting and posing. You can see the before/after below, and tell me if you think it was worth the effort.

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