VN Ren'Py Friends in Need [Ch.10 v0.71] [NeonGhosts]

[shaq9]

In my second playthrough, I paid more attention to the dialogue and pictures. I came across this picture and unironically, I think it's one of the most beautiful shots in the AVNs I've played. It reminds me of a shot I could expect in the Deluca Family. I ended up making it my desktop background.

 

[wizard321]

Yeah, I love the haunted look Nicky has; you've given her very expressivre eyes.

 

[ImperialD]

Think it is time to play again from the start when the next update is released.
I can not remember seeing Wren before.

She looks quite cute.
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why does she look pregnant in this render ? is it mine .. err i mean my MC's

 

[Jace_Herondale]

is it mine .. err i mean my MC's

Unless you have some fling while still working in the shop then no

 

[NeonGhosts]

Big huge thanks to everyone who replied to my question! Once again I'm reminded that I have one of the best communities in the AVN space. I really love seeing everyone's thoughtful takes on the girls.

Seriously when I read that sentence I did not read "of the bookstore" at first and my mind instantly thought "hell yeah, maybe he'll drop that fugly sweater!"

• Alex - love me some muscle girl but her eyebrows are too odd, they're too light and she looks like she doesn't have them at all

Hah! There's actually a line referencing MC's sweaters in the next update.. The actual explanation for those sweaters is that I thought MC would be the type of guy to read about how Steve Jobs only had one outfit, and decide to emulate him. Only to realize it's not really that practical to wear a sweater all the time.

Also! I did buy an asset to replace characters' eyebrows, so Alex's invisi-brows are no more!

NGL, that makes me a little worried Hopefully nothing too drastic?

BTW, er, um... you don't happen to have any GILF encounters planned, do you? It's just that GILFs, and I mean true GILFs not MILFs with white hair, are such a rare sight in VNs and it would be so fascinating to see the sexual and romantic perspective of an older gal from you. Maybe the gal that used to own the photoshoot apartment? (maybe she moved away, though, can't remember) Obviously your plate of characters is already overflowing, so I'm sure you have no plans especially for a niche market, but even a minor character w/ one encounter would be so welcome and refreshing for us wrinkle freaks

Ehhh it'll be pretty pronounced. But, I'll keep the previous version available as kind of a stand-alone thing.

GILFs are sadly unlikely. Like you said, I already have my hands full with the characters I have. Plus, it just doesn't really appeal to me personally. That said, there's always the possibility I stumble across an older-looking Daz model and feel a ping of inspiration.

And while I don't want to start an argument or something, I am seriously wondering, what is your LGBTQ agenda? The only thing I can think of is that Mason seems quite genderfluid for now, but I admit I just figured they were a girl trying to hide that fact, to live a little safer on the streets.

But even if they are trans or non-binary, one character out of so many wouldn't exactly make much of an agenda.

I believe it was MC responding positively to Nicki's suggestion of an LGBTQ-focused charity in Chapter 3. Which really has no bearing on the story, at all. He doesn't even fully commit to it, he just says, "Sounds like a worthy cause," which could easily be read as non-committal or sarcastic depending on how you're playing him.

In my second playthrough, I paid more attention to the dialogue and pictures. I came across this picture and unironically, I think it's one of the most beautiful shots in the AVNs I've played. It reminds me of a shot I could expect in the Deluca Family. I ended up making it my desktop background.

Aw, thanks! I really love how that shot came out. The biggest pain in the ass was getting Nicki's eye-line right. I had to put a little orb on the mirror and move it around to make sure she was actually looking where she should be.

 

[botc76]

I believe it was MC responding positively to Nicki's suggestion of an LGBTQ-focused charity in Chapter 3. Which really has no bearing on the story, at all. He doesn't even fully commit to it, he just says, "Sounds like a worthy cause," which could easily be read as non-committal or sarcastic depending on how you're playing him.

Jay-zuz! It's really unbelievable what can set some people off.
I believe most regular people are pretty tired of constantly being preached to by certain groups and of them trying to force their views on everyone, but you still got to stay rational.
LGBTQ people exist, their causes exist. It would be way more of an agenda to act as if they don't.
Everyone has a right to their opinion, no matter how much it differs from mine, but that just seems silly to me.

 

[shaq9]

Jay-zuz! It's really unbelievable what can set some people off.
I believe most regular people are pretty tired of constantly being preached to by certain groups and of them trying to force their views on everyone, but you still got to stay rational.
LGBTQ people exist, their causes exist. It would be way more of an agenda to act as if they don't.
Everyone has a right to their opinion, no matter how much it differs from mine, but that just seems silly to me.

I do think its a fine line that many writers cross with a monster truck. I still think the visual novel, "the assistant" is one of the most egregious instances of wokeism (in that case, 3rd wave feminist propaganda) that I've played. Ironically, the visual novel, "WMV" which a lot of people hate, is one of the BEST lgbtq+ representation I've played with their character, Skye, whom I love. I think you're right in that trying to erase them from media is just as toxic as when the media demonizes people who don't necessarily agree with their lifestyle choices (like the media demonizing hockey players opting out of wearing pride jerseys). Just my opinion.

 

[Ennoch]

LGBTQ people exist, their causes exist. It would be way more of an agenda to act as if they don't.

I do think its a fine line that many writers cross with a monster truck. I still think the visual novel, "the assistant" is one of the most egregious instances of wokeism (in that case, 3rd wave feminist propaganda) that I've played. Ironically, the visual novel, "WMV" which a lot of people hate, is one of the BEST lgbtq+ representation I've played with their character, Skye, whom I love. I think you're right in that trying to erase them from media is just as toxic as when the media demonizes people who don't necessarily agree with their lifestyle choices (like the media demonizing hockey players opting out of wearing pride jerseys). Just my opinion.

Can we skip discussing this nonsense in a game thread? You know.. general rules, point #2. Before it gains any sort of traction. Please?

 

[shaq9]

Can we skip discussing this nonsense in a game thread? You know.. general rules, point #2. Before it gains any sort of traction. Please?

well actually, the author himself was the first to mention it because he had people attack him over it in his GAME. But fine, if it makes you uncomfortable.

 

[keterboy]

well actually, the author himself was the first to mention it because he had people attack him over it in his GAME. But fine, if it makes you uncomfortable.

better bury it. this thread is one of the wholesome out there, dont want it to get toxic.

 

[NeonGhosts]

I think there's one rainbow we can all* agree on.

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[Xypher]

I think there's one rainbow we can all* agree on.

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Gabby is hot, cute and adorable. Enough said.

 

[NewTricks]

I think there's one rainbow we can all* agree on.

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I'm sorry. I couldn't resist...

 

[zeph19]

But hey, informal poll! Which girl is your favorite?

1. Definitely Nicki. I think she looks really good and her story is well written. I love that she's a bit broken and thanks to that, just takes whatever you throw at her in the game. I'm an asshole to her and the freeuse thing that's going on is super hot.
2. Brittani. Her face and the proportions she has are, to me, the best in the game. Good style and story.
3. Viola. Not much going on with her yet, but I like her model and you having her in your sig gives me hope that we'll see more of her.

There are many more characters that haven't seen much spotlight yet (big cast, not criticising) that have a chance of climbing those ranks. Carolina looks delicious and has great potential imo writing-wise and Risa looks fucking hot.

Lowest would be Ashe and Gabby.

 

[NewTricks]

I will say this -- I don't let the popularity of any of the girls dictate how much screentime they get. If anyone goes back and reads this thread when I first showed Gabby's character design, reviews were not kind. But, I knew I could make people love her, once they got to know her. I also regularly get excoriated on a few pirate sites for pushing my 'LGBT agenda,' but I think next chapter will show I'm not shying away from things that might piss people off.

The truth is, girls like Nicki, Gabby, and Brittani are well-represented for the moment, because that's where the story's at. Nicki's drama began the story and then came back in force with Chapter 3, but now she's easing into a supporting role. Gabby's story with her dad is a persistent mystery, and MC's pending redesign of the bookstore gives him a lot of reasons to be there, interacting with Gabby and Madison. Gabby's story is directly connected with Brittani, which then feeds into her drama surrounding her and her family.

But, as was teased in the last update, there's something swirling around Ashe that MC needs to investigate, Carolina's constantly in his periphery, and Viola's home situation is due for some attention. Eventually, everyone will get their shine. Some people just need MC more right now. But, once their needs are met, he can move on to helping other people.

Honestly, if I just did what was popular, the menu screen would look like this. :'D

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As for polls, I'd like to start polling for popularity once everyone's gotten their fair share of screentime. Right now it'd be really skewed, I think. In the short term, my plan is to do polls for which under-represented character people would like to see a scene with, and then use the winner to decide who gets a date/sex scene, provided it fits into the framework of the chapter.

When it comes to my favorite? Oof! Tough question! I love them all for different reasons. I try to give all of them distinct voices that make them all fun to write dialogue for, and they all serve different interests of mine. Tomboy, brat, bimbo, MILF, goth, Russian, muscles.. The broad descriptors of each girl are basically my PornHub search history. :'D But then I get to subvert those in interesting ways. Nicki's a tomboy who occasionally likes to show her girly side to her crush. Gabby's a brat who's really got a big, sensitive heart. Ashe is a bimbo with some surprising depth and empathy. On and on.

Right now, I'm finding the most fun in combining characters for scenes, letting them riff off each other. I'm in the plotting stage for Chapter 5, and I've been sketching out a dialogue scene between Risa and Maya that I think will be terrific.

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Buuuuut, gun to my head, my favorite is probably Nicki. I love her model, and her 'voice' is super comfortable for me to write in. My top three would likely be Nicki, Gabby, and Alex.

But hey, informal poll! Which girl is your favorite?

I'm still partial to Nikki even though I'm not sure if this bias is just because she was introduced first or because she is the one we have seen the most of. I feel like I should reserve judgment because there as so many girls we have barely been introduced to. For all I know Pepper is a great character but all that I know at this point is that she is spicy.

 

[Zerorox]

Favourite girl, hmm...
1) Nikki - I can't say I find her most attractive as LI, but great Character with mostly fleshed out personality.
2) Ashe - nice and simple (not much we know about her for now) Character so far, not really into blonde but she's Hot.
3) Brittany - I like that model and hair, nice and believeable personality so far.
4) Abby - she's not attractive for my tastes, but interesting and well-made personality.
?) Viola - nothing to say 'bout her yet, if she's bi-curious I'll ignore her or... , but quite good looking still not oversexy character, believeable, more problem from such types then satisfaction...

Bruh... I'm Just not into "teen type" characters, my fav probably still have not much content to decide.

 

[Alex5280]

But hey, informal poll! Which girl is your favorite?

Definitely Nikki with Viola coming as a close second.

 

[NeonGhosts]

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tldr; Almost 1150 renders completed. Currently working on Ashe's date scene. Her parents are a ton of fun to work with, and MC is finally wearing a suit. :'D



And hey, here's a bonus young Ashe and more beach Gabby.

 

[PHIL101-YYouPPHard]

GILFs are sadly unlikely. Like you said, I already have my hands full with the characters I have. Plus, it just doesn't really appeal to me personally. That said, there's always the possibility I stumble across an older-looking Daz model and feel a ping of inspiration.

I thought so No worries, of course, I love what's already there

Well, alright, then... he said no, ladies, so say goodbye..

Ehhh it'll be pretty pronounced. But, I'll keep the previous version available as kind of a stand-alone thing.

Oh, damn... hm... so, will the patch author's super dark path(s) still make sense? Not that you're concerned w/ what the patch author does But there are a couple things to keep in mind (not to sound like I think I know better about designing a VN than you, so hope this doesn't come off wrong):
1) The huge range of reactions towards Nicki in chp 1 helps inform the player of the kind of game they're playing and what sorts of things they can expect.
2) The super dark path of Ashe (as well as other LIs) directly after Nicki makes sense because, from the player's perspective, they already got away with Nicki's "treatment", and so it makes sense they'd have a perspective shift on the world, from 'be cautious and act normal' to 'I can do w/e the fuck I want, it's a rich man's playground'. Although, maybe you can just kind of assume that anyways from the amount of time that has passed since chp 1, a sort of "behind the scenes" character development? Are you planning on maybe transferring some of Nicki's darker content to later chapters perhaps?

I totally get your wish to redo chp 1 and I agree that it will provide more believability and what not, I just hope it doesn't introduce another set of potential issues. Just my (probably unwarranted) thoughts

And also, random realization: When Nicki arrives at the player's condo, she makes it seem like her porn shoot escape just happened, as she mentions running until she recognizes buildings and then she says she happens upon your apartment complex and that's what prompted her decision to stop by. What I wanna know is... if Nicki didn't go through with anything at the porn shoot (or wasn't forced to..), why is her vagina sore in the bathroom if you decide to be a dick? I get why she's sore everywhere else, she said they slapped her around and what not... but why her nethers? Either I'm missing something or she's not telling the whole story...

Personally, I always preferred the idea of her either going through with the porn shoot or being sexually assaulted... I think it's a natural conclusion for her vulnerable personality and the decisions she's made, and I think it also makes her story arc more poignant and the MC's romance with her even more bitter-sweet... a sort of darker version of 'Pretty Woman'. But, unfortunately, most players would probably just see her as undesirable sloppy seconds

EDIT: woah timing. I just wanted to add that Ashe's dad is perhaps a little comically large But maybe that's intention?

 

[tuskedkibbles]

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Also, incoming thirst for Ashe's mom. I hope you're prepared for what you're about to unleash Neon...