VN Ren'Py Friends in Need [Ch. 9 v0.60c] [NeonGhosts]

[DatGuy20]

Yeah thousands of other games where you go love route whereas dark routes are far and few between. It was the main appeal of this one for me but now we're pretty much getting forced onto the love route

I dunno if you guys just have 1 save or something but there's way more routes than the hardcore dark route and the love route.

 

[Dark Silence]

Look, I’ll just say one thing: you’re making a porn game. It’s a vehicle for porn. If your writing is getting in the way of the porn, it’s bad writing for the work it’s a part of.
Personally I have zero interest in the game going forward if the main girl is out of the picture unless I choose options I don’t care about. I don’t care if some side character gets more content on the darker themes, I’m not here for the padding.
I’m not complaining or trying to get you to do anything, for me personally the game might as well have been abandoned.

Neon never said he's makin a porn game. He's makin an Adult Visual Novel with porn elements. Story first, lewds second.

 

[SlapE]

Look, I’ll just say one thing: you’re making a porn game. It’s a vehicle for porn. If your writing is getting in the way of the porn, it’s bad writing for the work it’s a part of.
Personally I have zero interest in the game going forward if the main girl is out of the picture unless I choose options I don’t care about. I don’t care if some side character gets more content on the darker themes, I’m not here for the padding.
I’m not complaining or trying to get you to do anything, for me personally the game might as well have been abandoned.

Actually, it's an adult visual novel first and foremost. It has sex in it and other adult elements, but at the end of the day it's still a novel. There are many differing styles of these as well, some more sex focused and fast paced. Others more story-driven and/or slow-burn. This definitely falls into the more story focused side of things, with the sex and lewd scenes being an element that adds another layer to the story, but doesn't take the forefront.

Meanwhile, there are other novels/games where sex is in the forefront, it IS the focus of those games. It sounds like those games/novels might be more your speed. I say this because to me it seems like you're looking for porn instead of a story or even a game. This makes me wonder why you don't just go watch porn at that point though, or just go download games/novels and use a gallery un-locker, there's your porn.

 

[DatGuy20]

Here's what I'll say about the update, I am disappointed about the amount of scenes however I like where the story is going and NeonGhost isn't like other authors that milk the shit out of everything so personally i'm willing to keep paying

 

[Bruce F. Lee]

Quick FYI to touch on some comments I saw.

Not Enough Sex: No, there's not a ton of sex content in this one. Nicki has two alignment-dependent scenes, Ashe has a short one, Brittani has some teasing, and Pepper has some webcam content. I said this a few times over the last month, and over on my pages, but the original plan was for this to be part of a larger chapter, which would have included three more sex scenes at various points on the light/dark axis, and some big story developments for Gabby. But, I got in the weeds with the update, and would have needed to push the release date back by at least a month, and likely more. Which leads me to my next point..

Too Short: See my comment about getting in the weeds. Basically, my decision to end the last chapter with the player in several very different circumstances (Sleeping alone, sleeping with Nicki, sleeping with Ashe, sleeping with Risa..) along with several other modifiers (Did you know Pepper is a camgirl? Did you know Nicki left? Was Ashe happy with you when she slept over? Is Carolina and Maya happy with you?) just wound up being more work than anticipated. So, an update with almost 900 renders can be played through one time, and you may only see 450 of those.

Do I Need to Wait for the Next Two Official Releases? Not really. The new stuff will come after the events of 0.55, and it's just my attempt to put a nicer bow on the end of the chapter. I'll release that stuff as a patch for people who don't want to re-download the whole update.

Dubya-tee-eff, No More Dark Content? Not really.. Again, this has been a converstion before. I was warning of this even before the last update, and everyone was saying it'd be the death of the game and blah blah blah.. Then the Ashe chapter came out, and I think people realized the truth was more nuanced. My goal has never been to force people into the box of being a good guy. Just that there be realistic consequences for being a bad guy. Consequences =/= punishment, by the way. Learning that Brittani's mom is basically willing to sell her to you is a consequence of being a bad guy, feeding into the dark path. But, so is driving off Nicki, and dealing with the repercussions that come with that. I just want to explore what happens to a Guy who's basically constantly lashing out at the people around him. While he may drive a lot of people away, that doesn't mean everyone will be in a position to leave immediately, and it doesn't mean he might not attract other like-minded people.

Also, to be perfectly blunt, it's never been my intention to write pure misery porn. I've played games that went that route, and I don't think there's any real meat on that bone. I'm trying to make like.. Breaking Bad, not A Serbian Film.

Also, also? Even the vanilla paths for characters will get trimmed a bit, just based on what the story needs. Like, Nicki's around all the time because she's your assistant. How much do we really need to see a Carolina who's been relegated to a friend path? Not much, I'd reckon.

Now, I also think it's worth noting that Not Enough Sex/Too Short are the direct results of me trying to address other critiques I'd previously gotten. People complained that the story wasn't moving fast enough. Okay, now we have scenes advancing the story of Pepper's bruises, your relationship with Nicki, your relationship with Ashe, Brittani's relationship with her mom, the future of your collaboration with Brittani, another glimpse at a place MC's invested in, a look at the downside of fame with being stalked by internet oddballs, a look at Alex's past, the idea that MC's going to learn some self-defense, Maya and Carolina's relationship with MC being dependent on how MC's treated Nicki, the photo mystery having another clue put into place, and more stuff besides. Story movement tends to come at the expense of long sex scenes.

People also dinged me for only presenting the 'illusion of choice.' Well, now the game radically diverges based on what you chose last chapter. But again, that does come at the expense of having one long, mostly linear update.

I'm not putting the blame on people who commented asking for more story/more choices, by the way. Ultimately, I'm the one who made the thing, for good or ill. But, sometimes I like to take these things as a challenge, and use them as inspiration to try new things. It's not always successful!

If I had put this update out as I envisioned it, with sex content for Risa and Mason, and double the renders/story stuff, I feel a lot of these complaints would be moot. But, I've only got so many hours in a day, which I can only devote a few of to game development. So, I made the best thing I could with the time alloted to me, and got it into my paying supporters' hands, because I feel like I owe it to them. I've always said I don't want to be a dev who dithers around for a year or more and then puts out a single update.

The number/loudness of those who bitch are often disproportional to the people who are happy. You can’t please everyone. Keep up the good work!

 

[ImperialD]

Yup, next update picks up with Risa and MC's errand, then onto Mason's glasses, then finally taking Gabby and Madison to go bail out Mr. Barron.

yup poor drug dealer needs some help ... maybe he'll give our MC his wife for a quickie .. yeah probably wishful thinking .... awesome game btw NeonGhosts

 

[depeche mode]

we need brittani and ashe content asap dev, im dying over here

 

[NebulousShooter]

I don't play these vns for real life or realism if I did I wouldn't be playing incest or dark paths lol. I play vns for fantasy wishfulfilment and escape from the real life.

To me it's weird some want realism only when it comes to the dark paths and not with like virgins, incest and harems. But everyone is different.

I personally hate consequences in a vn, and to be honest in movies. I would find movies like Rambo boring AF if it was realistic and half the movie was him standing trial for all the people he killed e.g.

It's not so much about realism as is about keeping the story somewhat grounded and believeable. Characters have to follow the rules of the universe they are in, otherwise is shitty writing, If the story offers no consequences for your actions than what is the point in having choices and paths in the first place if the end result is all the same?

 

[sagerock820]

Quick FYI to touch on some comments I saw.

Not Enough Sex: No, there's not a ton of sex content in this one. Nicki has two alignment-dependent scenes, Ashe has a short one, Brittani has some teasing, and Pepper has some webcam content. I said this a few times over the last month, and over on my pages, but the original plan was for this to be part of a larger chapter, which would have included three more sex scenes at various points on the light/dark axis, and some big story developments for Gabby. But, I got in the weeds with the update, and would have needed to push the release date back by at least a month, and likely more. Which leads me to my next point..

Too Short: See my comment about getting in the weeds. Basically, my decision to end the last chapter with the player in several very different circumstances (Sleeping alone, sleeping with Nicki, sleeping with Ashe, sleeping with Risa..) along with several other modifiers (Did you know Pepper is a camgirl? Did you know Nicki left? Was Ashe happy with you when she slept over? Is Carolina and Maya happy with you?) just wound up being more work than anticipated. So, an update with almost 900 renders can be played through one time, and you may only see 450 of those.

Do I Need to Wait for the Next Two Official Releases? Not really. The new stuff will come after the events of 0.55, and it's just my attempt to put a nicer bow on the end of the chapter. I'll release that stuff as a patch for people who don't want to re-download the whole update.

Dubya-tee-eff, No More Dark Content? Not really.. Again, this has been a converstion before. I was warning of this even before the last update, and everyone was saying it'd be the death of the game and blah blah blah.. Then the Ashe chapter came out, and I think people realized the truth was more nuanced. My goal has never been to force people into the box of being a good guy. Just that there be realistic consequences for being a bad guy. Consequences =/= punishment, by the way. Learning that Brittani's mom is basically willing to sell her to you is a consequence of being a bad guy, feeding into the dark path. But, so is driving off Nicki, and dealing with the repercussions that come with that. I just want to explore what happens to a Guy who's basically constantly lashing out at the people around him. While he may drive a lot of people away, that doesn't mean everyone will be in a position to leave immediately, and it doesn't mean he might not attract other like-minded people.

Also, to be perfectly blunt, it's never been my intention to write pure misery porn. I've played games that went that route, and I don't think there's any real meat on that bone. I'm trying to make like.. Breaking Bad, not A Serbian Film.

Also, also? Even the vanilla paths for characters will get trimmed a bit, just based on what the story needs. Like, Nicki's around all the time because she's your assistant. How much do we really need to see a Carolina who's been relegated to a friend path? Not much, I'd reckon.

Now, I also think it's worth noting that Not Enough Sex/Too Short are the direct results of me trying to address other critiques I'd previously gotten. People complained that the story wasn't moving fast enough. Okay, now we have scenes advancing the story of Pepper's bruises, your relationship with Nicki, your relationship with Ashe, Brittani's relationship with her mom, the future of your collaboration with Brittani, another glimpse at a place MC's invested in, a look at the downside of fame with being stalked by internet oddballs, a look at Alex's past, the idea that MC's going to learn some self-defense, Maya and Carolina's relationship with MC being dependent on how MC's treated Nicki, the photo mystery having another clue put into place, and more stuff besides. Story movement tends to come at the expense of long sex scenes.

People also dinged me for only presenting the 'illusion of choice.' Well, now the game radically diverges based on what you chose last chapter. But again, that does come at the expense of having one long, mostly linear update.

I'm not putting the blame on people who commented asking for more story/more choices, by the way. Ultimately, I'm the one who made the thing, for good or ill. But, sometimes I like to take these things as a challenge, and use them as inspiration to try new things. It's not always successful!

If I had put this update out as I envisioned it, with sex content for Risa and Mason, and double the renders/story stuff, I feel a lot of these complaints would be moot. But, I've only got so many hours in a day, which I can only devote a few of to game development. So, I made the best thing I could with the time alloted to me, and got it into my paying supporters' hands, because I feel like I owe it to them. I've always said I don't want to be a dev who dithers around for a year or more and then puts out a single update.

Make the game you want to. You cannot please everyone. There are way too many people bitching and moaning on here, pushing their ideals and trashing everyone else's opinion.

 

[balvenie1401]

The dark path has consequences. You'll only get to do so much with them before they leave.

If you've done all the dark stuff so far then Nicki and Viola are gone with Ashe on her way.

Cool, thanks for the heads up Figuered we might run into her at a later stage. Well you win some you lose some, it is what it is..

 

[rogosh]

Love to see nicki get more depraved and into it, then get her some bigger tits etc.

 

[depeche mode]

ashe getting jealous of nicki was cute

 

[Bluee7]

Well here it is, a gallery mod to replay scenes in the game

Compatible with: Friends in Need
Game version: 0.4
Mod version: 0.4.1

Spoiler: Changelog

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Installation: place all files into the game folder and overwrite

Spoiler: Unlocker

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is this still works, in current version?

 

[eastorm]

Need more Britanny content!

 

[Joshy92]

Actually, it's an adult visual novel first and foremost. It has sex in it and other adult elements, but at the end of the day it's still a novel. There are many differing styles of these as well, some more sex focused and fast paced. Others more story-driven and/or slow-burn. This definitely falls into the more story focused side of things, with the sex and lewd scenes being an element that adds another layer to the story, but doesn't take the forefront.

Meanwhile, there are other novels/games where sex is in the forefront, it IS the focus of those games. It sounds like those games/novels might be more your speed. I say this because to me it seems like you're looking for porn instead of a story or even a game. This makes me wonder why you don't just go watch porn at that point though, or just go download games/novels and use a gallery un-locker, there's your porn.

Well said bro.
This is a fucking awesome game as it is.
Who cares if this update wasn't all about sex?

To me the sex scenes are a bonus.

Although I will admit I'm looking forward to the day I can make love to Mason.

 

[NebulousShooter]

Well said bro.
This is a fucking awesome game as it is.
Who cares if this update wasn't all about sex?

To me the sex scenes are a bonus.

Although I will admit I'm looking forward to the day I can make love to Mason.

Knowing you, it's Mason who will make love to you!

 

[bloodyasura]

So. I still don’t understand. Do I download 0.55? Will there be all the content of the game? From the beginning to the end?? Or is it like season two or some shit and I have to do both 0.4 and 0.55??

 

[hubvan]

It's not so much about realism as is about keeping the story somewhat grounded and believeable. Characters have to follow the rules of the universe they are in, otherwise is shitty writing, If the story offers no consequences for your actions than what is the point in having choices and paths in the first place if the end result is all the same?

I agree, but then again by appropriate writing and story telling you can make anything happen. For example Nicki returned to MC in the beginning because her bf tried to force her into prostitution and she considered MC a better choice than being violated by random strangers.

Now, Nicki leaving MC as a result of him acting like a jerk certainly could have been prevented if he somehow managed otherwise to establish a grip on her, without it becoming unrealistic. Or in other words: Girls leaving MC is ONE option for realistic behaviour in a universe similar to ours. I think other options which are not totally over the top also could have been possible.

 

[Hmong-sama]

Hey so...what's the difference between the original and vanilla version? Thank you.

 

[Vidal the king of Pervert]

Well said bro.
This is a fucking awesome game as it is.
Who cares if this update wasn't all about sex?

To me the sex scenes are a bonus.

Although I will admit I'm looking forward to the day I can make love to Mason.

so do I download the vanilla version and apply the patch or do I wait for the full version