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

[Raziel_8]

Hah! I'm not ruling anything out, but I want to be honest about the odds. I have the game loosely mapped out through the first "season" of eight chapters. If this little project is successful and people are still enjoying it, that may well lead to the creation of a second season, which could allow for a time-jump where something like player-driven pregnancy content is on the table.

But in the immediate future - already-pregnant, fantasy/dream sequences, or general talk around pregnancy is the best you're likely to get. It's not really a kink of mine anyways, so I don't know that I'd be the best one to carry that torch. But like I said, I plan to (eventually!) start implementing girls for short/self-contained stories decided on by Patreon polls, to allow for the introduction of specific kinky content, that might not fit in the game.

Already pregnant woman will work, it's not the same of course, but still good.

Fantasy/dreams i would advice against it, in general, not only preggo content. Only exception if it is story relevant.
From my experience it is not really well recieved. It spoils the fun before u can actually get it, has no impact on story or LI's, takes time and ressources which could go towards 'real' content/progress etc.

''It's not really a kink of mine anyways, so I don't know that I'd be the best one to carry that torch.''
It's an acquired taste, but when u learn to enjoy the big bellys and milky tits, u would never want to miss it again

 

[Mr.Nonnypants]

Great first entry and a good idea to work ahead with regards to development of the story. Love the concept plus the amount of freedom you have given the players with regards to their actions. However I will warn not to try and appeal to everyone but focus on what you enjoy making the most. This industry has more than enough abandoned games because the dev burned out doing things they didn't enjoy.

As it has been pointed out before but I would like to reemphasize, the facial expressions can sell a scene more often than people realize. Though that takes a ton of effort and work to make people jump over the uncanny valley and start to grow attached to the characters. This works both in the vanilla and hardcore routes as the more a player embraces a character the more their choices matter regarding that character.

Finally I can't wait to break in each new girl till I find the one who breaks my heart instead!

 

[Harem Trooper]

• Beryl, 19 year old social media influencer, recently cancelled for faking Tourette syndrome for clout.

Wait I minute...I think I heard something like that already from a "news"/drama youtube channel who got the same story and treatment. Based dev. for making game playing in the "reality". This gives such a nice flair.

I read the comments here and its kinda surprising that some people didnt liked Nicki for what she did.
I mean it obvious she will fall for the MC in the end, be it the romantic or corrupted way. I mean we already have the conformation that Nicki didnt expected MC to be that good at sex (+ she got destroyed during this interaction )
I dont mind if he get to romance/corrupt her time after time. Makes it more interesting and since dev. said we wont see any LI having sex with someone else then MC, I dont mind that Nicki still is in relationship with her idiot BF.
For me personal taste its ever better since I like to steal a woman away from someone else.

I get what you wanted to portray here and I my eyes you did it good.
If I should have the option to choose of the next girl, it would be either Brooke or Ashley.
Taming a lesbian character has his nice appeal while helping a adult woman out and getting naughty with her is always a win in my eyes.

 

[Maverick1965]

Really loving this one quite a bit. The option to be the 'good guy' is a welcome change from a lot of this genre and definitely a direction that I'm enjoying. If Nicki decides to dump the douche and get on Team MC, all the better though. Keep up the most excellent work.

 

[SevenCostanza]

Is the general idea going to be:
-MC starts charity to meet chicks
-introduce several diff types of women in diff circumstances
-either romance or corrupt them
-repeat steps 2 and 3

Is there a goal or something the MC/player is working towards?
Continue the above cycle until he either meets his one LI or completes his harem?

 

[The ArcKnight]

I don't know what people were complaining about, I thought gabby looked super hot but then again I adore the punk/goth style.
When we getting a big tiddy goth girl as a friend in need? Buying corsets and fishnet gets expensive after all...

 

[NeonGhosts]

I will warn not to try and appeal to everyone but focus on what you enjoy making the most. This industry has more than enough abandoned games because the dev burned out doing things they didn't enjoy.

As it has been pointed out before but I would like to reemphasize, the facial expressions can sell a scene more often than people realize. Though that takes a ton of effort and work to make people jump over the uncanny valley and start to grow attached to the characters.

Oh for sure, for sure. I promise, I won't put anything in the game that I'm not full-throated in my enthusiasm for.

As for the facial expressions, that's something I'll definitely pay attention to as I move ahead with the game.

Is the general idea going to be:
-MC starts charity to meet chicks
-introduce several diff types of women in diff circumstances
-either romance or corrupt them
-repeat steps 2 and 3

Is there a goal or something the MC/player is working towards?
Continue the above cycle until he either meets his one LI or completes his harem?

I don't want to give too much away, but there is a bit of an overarching plotline, which draws directly from the first chapter, and culminates in a decision to do something very good or very bad.

Here's what I'll say about the plot, though - I'm not interested in mafia conspiracies, or sudden sci-fi elements, or government intervention in the MC's affairs. I feel like a lot of writers in this genre, as they get stuck on a plotline, decide to throw a Hail Mary and add a bunch of weird, fantastic stuff into their game. That's not me.

The stakes are always going to remain kind of small and intimate, because I think that best allows the player to insert themselves into the fantasy, and it's what I like to write! So, the game will see the MC continuing on his journey of transformative self-actualization, while dealing with the lives and problems of the girls he comes into contact with.

Before I began writing this, I studied romance novels, erotica, romcoms, and slice-of-life/harem manga, trying to pin down what worked, and what didn't. I realized that, as long as I cared about the characters, I'd be willing to watch them do whatever over the course of a story - so long as they got naked every so often. So, that's going to be the formula.

I don't know what people were complaining about, I thought gabby looked super hot but then again I adore the punk/goth style.
When we getting a big tiddy goth girl as a friend in need? Buying corsets and fishnet gets expensive after all...

I think even the haters will warm up to Gabby eventually. Especially once they see her in her work clothes.

Speaking of Gabby, I put some more renders of her on my Patreon, along with a general state of the union for the game.

TLDR; I'm buying a new PC that can handle the renders I'm going to need. While I wait, I'm taxing my current PC to the limit in making the renders it can handle. The render quality below isn't indicative of what will be in the game, these were just me doing little fifteen minute renders to experiment with facial morphs, and seeing how presentable I could make them with judicious post-processing.

If all goes to plan, I should have a new PC by the end of this month, and the next chapter will be out in early June. While that's all going on, I continue to work on the script/coding for Chapter 5.

 

[fleetp]

Re: Haters. Not everyone will like your work. Write for yourself, and enjoy. There are MANY folks so far who have commented favorably on what you've done so far.

 

[NeonGhosts]

Re: Haters. Not everyone will like your work. Write for yourself, and enjoy. There are MANY folks so far who have commented favorably on what you've done so far.

No worries, I say “haters” with affection. Honestly I’ve been incredibly happy with the response from the community so far. It’s my hope that, as I prove my commitment to the game and people come to appreciate the scope of the story, the enthusiasm here will translate to financial support.

On that note, I plan to create a Subscribestar in time for the next release, which will distribute the patched version of the game. Hopefully that will ameliorate people’s concerns regarding the patched content or potential sanitization of the game.

 

[Boristhejonsan69]

friends with benefits you say ...mhh oh friends in need, she is cute i will give it a try

 

[The ArcKnight]

Oh for sure, for sure. I promise, I won't put anything in the game that I'm not full-throated in my enthusiasm for.

As for the facial expressions, that's something I'll definitely pay attention to as I move ahead with the game.



I don't want to give too much away, but there is a bit of an overarching plotline, which draws directly from the first chapter, and culminates in a decision to do something very good or very bad.

Here's what I'll say about the plot, though - I'm not interested in mafia conspiracies, or sudden sci-fi elements, or government intervention in the MC's affairs. I feel like a lot of writers in this genre, as they get stuck on a plotline, decide to throw a Hail Mary and add a bunch of weird, fantastic stuff into their game. That's not me.

The stakes are always going to remain kind of small and intimate, because I think that best allows the player to insert themselves into the fantasy, and it's what I like to write! So, the game will see the MC continuing on his journey of transformative self-actualization, while dealing with the lives and problems of the girls he comes into contact with.

Before I began writing this, I studied romance novels, erotica, romcoms, and slice-of-life/harem manga, trying to pin down what worked, and what didn't. I realized that, as long as I cared about the characters, I'd be willing to watch them do whatever over the course of a story - so long as they got naked every so often. So, that's going to be the formula.



I think even the haters will warm up to Gabby eventually. Especially once they see her in her work clothes.

Speaking of Gabby, I put some more renders of her on my Patreon, along with a general state of the union for the game.

TLDR; I'm buying a new PC that can handle the renders I'm going to need. While I wait, I'm taxing my current PC to the limit in making the renders it can handle. The render quality below isn't indicative of what will be in the game, these were just me doing little fifteen minute renders to experiment with facial morphs, and seeing how presentable I could make them with judicious post-processing.

If all goes to plan, I should have a new PC by the end of this month, and the next chapter will be out in early June. While that's all going on, I continue to work on the script/coding for Chapter 5.

View attachment 1737498 View attachment 1737499 View attachment 1737501 View attachment 1737502

She lookin a little skinny in these, but loving them long legs and those stockings. <3 So overall she's a keeper.
Can't wait for Gabby's chapter.

Will be hella interesting to see how her story goes and then eventually to see how well or not well Gabby and Nicki get along...

I do not envy the monumental work you have ahead of you planning for each of the three routes and how they will interact with another girl's three routes...

 

[NeonGhosts]

She lookin a little skinny in these, but loving them long legs and those stockings. <3 So overall she's a keeper.
Can't wait for Gabby's chapter.

Will be hella interesting to see how her story goes and then eventually to see how well or not well Gabby and Nicki get along...

I do not envy the monumental work you have ahead of you planning for each of the three routes and how they will interact with another girl's three routes...

Hah! I actually noted the same thing when showing these images to a friend of mine.. I think she looks a little thicker from the back, so I hadn't noticed. I've since thickened her thighs/hips/arms up a little bit.


I should note, not every girl necessarily has three routes. This is something that's gotten a little easier as I've gotten better at coding, and I no longer need to do such concrete paths. So, instead of a good/amoral/bad route system, it might be more like.. okay, the MC has just had sex Gabby on a nice path, and then taken a photo of her cum-covered face without her consent after. (Pretend situation, but just for the sake of argument.) Before, I would have coded each of those routes under individual labels, and it would have been really inefficient. Now, I'd do it more like this:

Spoiler

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As for characters interacting.. the nice thing is that, by virtue of the girls having their own reasons for seeking out the MC, they won't often need to bump into each other. And when they do, there might be a certain level of polite/public face, where they don't feel comfortable being entirely transparent about what's happening.

That said, I'm writing Chapter 5 now, and two love interest characters interact who have reason to, and there's good/good, bad/bad, good/bad, bad/good dialogue, and it's surely killing me a little bit. But, the final scene should be worth it!

 

[NewTricks]

I really enjoyed this first chapter more than I wanted to. In playing both routes I got the impression that no matter what choices you made it left the door open to see Nicki again. I can't help but think that the couch conversation could have used more endings that indicated that you would continue some kind of relationship. Maybe as a love interest. Maybe as a sex slave. Splitting the difference, I think that there should have been an option to tell her at the end that you were not going to give her 20 grand, and when she protests you should be able to tell her that you are giving her 50 grand. When she asks you what for, tell her you want her to be your sugar baby. She doesn't need to accept on the spot, but rather talk it over with her boyfriend and the extra money is a show of good faith. It would be neat to have this sugar baby b plot going while Guy uses his charitable foundation to corrupt/romance other women. In any case, I do hope we see Nicki again because I enjoyed the character.

 

[The ArcKnight]

Hah! I actually noted the same thing when showing these images to a friend of mine.. I think she looks a little thicker from the back, so I hadn't noticed. I've since thickened her thighs/hips/arms up a little bit.
View attachment 1739336

I should note, not every girl necessarily has three routes. This is something that's gotten a little easier as I've gotten better at coding, and I no longer need to do such concrete paths. So, instead of a good/amoral/bad route system, it might be more like.. okay, the MC has just had sex Gabby on a nice path, and then taken a photo of her cum-covered face without her consent after. (Pretend situation, but just for the sake of argument.) Before, I would have coded each of those routes under individual labels, and it would have been really inefficient. Now, I'd do it more like this:

Spoiler

You don't have permission to view the spoiler content. Log in or register now.

As for characters interacting.. the nice thing is that, by virtue of the girls having their own reasons for seeking out the MC, they won't often need to bump into each other. And when they do, there might be a certain level of polite/public face, where they don't feel comfortable being entirely transparent about what's happening.

That said, I'm writing Chapter 5 now, and two love interest characters interact who have reason to, and there's good/good, bad/bad, good/bad, bad/good dialogue, and it's surely killing me a little bit. But, the final scene should be worth it!

That is fair, the coding is a good point so now you have some leverage to be a bit more freeform with it and it doesn't lock players into one choice.

As for interactions I just thought it could be hilarious seeing one of the girls react good/bad to others.
Like, for instance you treat Gabby like a princess and she grows real protective of "Daddy" so when Nicki comes back around its not "Oh this is your friend? Hi I'm Gabby" its "Oh... so this is that slut you were telling me about who's boyfriend pimped her out? Sorry Sugar, bark up some other tree, Daddy gets everything he needs already."

Could be hilarious to see Nicki get jealous of Gabby and then have to confront her feelings as to why...

But I'm sure whatever you come up with story wise it will be interesting! Now get back to work, I want that update!

 

[NeonGhosts]

I really enjoyed this first chapter more than I wanted to. In playing both routes I got the impression that no matter what choices you made it left the door open to see Nicki again. I can't help but think that the couch conversation could have used more endings that indicated that you would continue some kind of relationship. Maybe as a love interest. Maybe as a sex slave. Splitting the difference, I think that there should have been an option to tell her at the end that you were not going to give her 20 grand, and when she protests you should be able to tell her that you are giving her 50 grand. When she asks you what for, tell her you want her to be your sugar baby. She doesn't need to accept on the spot, but rather talk it over with her boyfriend and the extra money is a show of good faith. It would be neat to have this sugar baby b plot going while Guy uses his charitable foundation to corrupt/romance other women. In any case, I do hope we see Nicki again because I enjoyed the character.

I'm glad you were pleasantly surprised! I take it as a really nice compliment when someone came for the dark path and decided to try the light path, or vice versa!

And no worries, Nicki will definitely be back! I don't know if it will be as a sugar baby exactly, but financial domination will continue to be a big part of the game.

As for interactions I just thought it could be hilarious seeing one of the girls react good/bad to others.
Like, for instance you treat Gabby like a princess and she grows real protective of "Daddy" so when Nicki comes back around its not "Oh this is your friend? Hi I'm Gabby" its "Oh... so this is that slut you were telling me about who's boyfriend pimped her out? Sorry Sugar, bark up some other tree, Daddy gets everything he needs already."

Could be hilarious to see Nicki get jealous of Gabby and then have to confront her feelings as to why...

But I'm sure whatever you come up with story wise it will be interesting! Now get back to work, I want that update!

No spoilers, but I suspect you'll be very happy with Chapter 5.

As for getting back to work, I finally found a PC build that fit my needs and budget, and will allow me to swap parts out when I need to..



Good things are ahead! New PC should be here in two weeks or so, and by that point, I'll have cleaned up some of the messy code for Ch1/Ch2,* written and coded Ch5, and compiled a full list of all the renders I'll need. Then I can just throw myself into rendering with my new machine, over the month of May. Probably looking at 300+ renders for Ch2, based on my current notes. Official release should hit in early June, provided there's no hiccups with the delivery of the new rig.

*I'm removing the single-choice menu options from Chapter One, since y'all really didn't care for those.

 

[Balub]

I really like the characters in this game and the realistic story. It fully takes me into this game instead of being some "wouldn't it be awesome if A, B and C were real?" and I'm starting to see it as more of a movie than anything else despite being narrated first person.

I'm also a bit baffled that people hate Nicki. Like wtf? Yes, she has a stupid bf, but given how she knows that the MC has a shit ton of money, why wouldn't she ask him? It's clear that it's hard for her and people would call her a whore if she just offered sex.
I don't know. Yes, she's a stupid little girl. But she wouldn't be the only one. She's still tragic in a way though and I like her as a person. Which makes it so hot to take advantage of her, too.

Personally I felt like the whore and the humiliation path (pics and all, I guess for blackmail later?) were too similar to really be separate paths. Instead they should've been the same path, but with options of whether you want to slap her, spit on her, write on her, take pics (if not, no blackmail. Choices matter!), force anal, etc.

what I really missed was a middle path that, if things really came to it, I could see myself taking IRL in a moment of weakness and sexual desperation:
Offer her the money for sex with her. No degradation and asshole behavior, just the MC telling her that he doesn't want to ruin their friendship, but *if* she wants, he'll pay her way more than any client would, that is $20,000 for her visiting once a weekend for a month. Maybe even make it part of a hangout they'd have anyways, it'd make her bf less suspicious as well.
Let the MC admit to her how he has fantasized about her in the past etc., but that he also understands if this is just too weird for her and ask her for forgiveness in overstepping his boundaries in that case. Basically what seems the most realistic path to me (which would fit this game imo).

If she agrees, make her go along with it and indulge some of the MC's fantasies (e.g. dirtytalking how he's fucking her bareback ("my money, my rules") while Brent waits unaware, how he has wanted this a long time) while at the same time make her wet, but unwilling mentally (slightly pissed off, but more at herself than of us; going along, but just talking the talk). This could of course change later when she starts fantasizing about this encounter again and again, at night or during sex with Bren.

At the end of the first fucking, let there be some awkwardness as it would be irl. Let them discuss how this is purely transactional, but how the MC has enjoyed this long-time fantasy of his very much. How outside of this, they can still spend time together as friends. Let her voice concerns that we'll now see her as either a whore or think she'll become our gf now and make the MC tell her that he doesn't see her that way.
Make her tell the MC that she finds it awkward, later on in a weird way flattering that he gives her so much money just to have sex with her when he could spend a fraction to have sex with somebody else. Personally I'd love a cuck route in this (her denying Bren sex, first at MC's command, later because she wants to as well), but I understand that's not everyone's cup of tea, so I'll speak no more of it.

Anyways, if this isn't getting a rework ( mean, it's 0.1, so maybe there'll still be some changes?) then I hope that this will become a thing with some of the future paths: You don't have to be a simp with your money, but you don't have to be an asshole either.

Edit: Sry for all the edits. Lots of thoughts and I'm not a native speaker. I'm done revising now.

 

[NeonGhosts]

Personally I felt like the whore and the humiliation path (pics and all, I guess for blackmail later?) were too similar to really be separate paths. Instead they should've been the same path, but with options of whether you want to slap her, spit on her, write on her, take pics (if not, no blackmail. Choices matter!), force anal, etc.

what I really missed was a middle path that, if things really came to it, I could see myself taking IRL in a moment of weakness and sexual desperation:
Offer her the money for sex with her. No degradation and asshole behavior, just the MC telling her that he doesn't want to ruin their friendship, but *if* she wants, he'll pay her way more than any client would, that is $20,000 for her visiting once a weekend for a month. Maybe even make it part of a hangout they'd have anyways, it'd make her bf less suspicious as well.
Let the MC admit to her how he has fantasized about her in the past etc., but that he also understands if this is just too weird for her and ask her for forgiveness in overstepping his boundaries in that case. Basically what seems the most realistic path to me (which would fit this game imo).

If she agrees, make her go along with it and indulge some of the MC's fantasies (e.g. dirtytalking how he's fucking her bareback ("my money, my rules") while Brent waits unaware, how he has wanted this a long time) while at the same time make her wet, but unwilling mentally (slightly pissed off, but more at herself than of us; going along, but just talking the talk). This could of course change later when she starts fantasizing about this encounter again and again, at night or during sex with Bren.

At the end of the first fucking, let there be some awkwardness as it would be irl. Let them discuss how this is purely transactional, but how the MC has enjoyed this long-time fantasy of his very much. How outside of this, they can still spend time together as friends. Let her voice concerns that we'll now see her as either a whore or think she'll become our gf now and make the MC tell her that he doesn't see her that way.
Make her tell the MC that she finds it awkward, later on in a weird way flattering that he gives her so much money just to have sex with her when he could spend a fraction to have sex with somebody else. Personally I'd love a cuck route in this (her denying Bren sex, first at MC's command, later because she wants to as well), but I understand that's not everyone's cup of tea, so I'll speak no more of it.

Anyways, if this isn't getting a rework ( mean, it's 0.1, so maybe there'll still be some changes?) then I hope that this will become a thing with some of the future paths: You don't have to be a simp with your money, but you don't have to be an asshole either.

First of all, thanks for the kind review you left - I'm glad that some of the things I'm trying to convey regarding consent and power dynamics are connecting with people! I hate that for so many games it's a strictly binary thing - be a good guy, or be an asshole. I really want to make the experience feel a little more true-to-life, with all the messiness that entails. Sex and relationships are, at the best of times, a little chaotic and full of uncertainty. I hope to write something that can really explore those grey (and black, and white..) areas.

Now, onto your comment - you bring up some interesting ideas! In retrospect, that humiliation/domination path could have been a little more fleshed out. My initial thought was kind of.. what does the MC feel he could get away with, in paying Nicki for sexual favors? He's new to having money and being in this position, For some reason, the blowjob option seemed most reasonable. And I wanted to keep the outcomes relatively contained to three options, to simplify Nicki's reactions to the player, later.

That said, there's definitely space where I could build a path from the middle of their photoshoot, to more of a financial domination with sex route.. Like -- what if instead of calling Nicki a whore before/during the photoshoot, he flattered her and encouraged her to open up? Could lead to some interesting opportunities.

I don't necessarily love the idea of making people restart their game after one release. But, in the lead-up to Ch2, maybe I could put together a v0.1.5, which would incorporate some of the notes I've gotten thus far, removing the single-choice menus, adding some new CGs (since I'll be able to render them myself), and adding a few of the options people have requested. I could also introduce a few things like customizable pet names.

I don't want to get too bogged down in addressing players' concerns, because down that way lies madness. But, since I have a comfortable lead time (I've already written through the first act of Ch5), and I'm stuck doing simple renders until my new PC arrives, I could write and code some things for Ch1 to refine it a bit. Then I'd just need to get 20~ renders assembled to complete the scenes.

Plus, it would give me an excuse to bump the game back up the Latest Updates page, ahead of Ch2's release. No promises, but it sure sounds like an idea that makes sense!

 

[NeonGhosts]

Brief update!

I've completed the writing and coding for a "1.5" version of Friends in Need. This features a (slightly) expanded explanation of Nicki and the MC's friendship/history, some tidied-up dialogue, and the introduction of a new path. This route will see the MC combining some flattery and financial incentive, in order to provoke some different responses from Nicki.



This mini-updated will largely be comprised of existing art, but I have asked Horizontical to come back and complete 20+ new pieces of art for a handful of scenes. This will help keep the first chapter feeling homogeneous in terms of style, instead of having a little art from me sprinkled in there.

Otherwise, things continue apace! This update also sees the single option menus go away, and I'm working on some basic GUI updates, adding a Patreon button to the front page of the game, making a custom title/logo, and so on. I paused writing Chapter Five for a bit so I could add this content to Chapter One, but I'll be back at it soon enough, putting me further ahead of schedule.

I don't plan on doing a lot of these .5 updates, but I'm hoping Chapter Two will see a nice little swell of attention, so it made sense to clean up things that irked people in the first chapter. I wouldn't want anyone coming to the game fresh, to encounter the same problems.

 

[The ArcKnight]

Brief update!

I've completed the writing and coding for a "1.5" version of Friends in Need. This features a (slightly) expanded explanation of Nicki and the MC's friendship/history, some tidied-up dialogue, and the introduction of a new path. This route will see the MC combining some flattery and financial incentive, in order to provoke some different responses from Nicki.

View attachment 1745603 View attachment 1745604 View attachment 1745605

This mini-updated will largely be comprised of existing art, but I have asked Horizontical to come back and complete 20+ new pieces of art for a handful of scenes. This will help keep the first chapter feeling homogeneous in terms of style, instead of having a little art from me sprinkled in there.

Otherwise, things continue apace! This update also sees the single option menus go away, and I'm working on some basic GUI updates, adding a Patreon button to the front page of the game, making a custom title/logo, and so on. I paused writing Chapter Five for a bit so I could add this content to Chapter One, but I'll be back at it soon enough, putting me further ahead of schedule.

I don't plan on doing a lot of these .5 updates, but I'm hoping Chapter Two will see a nice little swell of attention, so it made sense to clean up things that irked people in the first chapter. I wouldn't want anyone coming to the game fresh, to encounter the same problems.

I like it!
As for quality of life updates, have you considered getting rid of or adjusting the text box opacity?
I know there are some universal updates that do this: https://f95zone.to/threads/renpy-transparent-text-box-mod-v2-6-3.11925/ But having a built in version might help. I believe this is done by using white for the words with a black boarder/shadow/outline to make it pop but don't quote me on it.

I might have to replay to have the new path ready for Gabby's chapter. <3

Oh, and wondering about the art, you say you are having the previous artist do some renders for you, I assume you will be using the same models for Nicki and MC when you do your own rendering, right?

 

[NeonGhosts]

I like it!
As for quality of life updates, have you considered getting rid of or adjusting the text box opacity?
I know there are some universal updates that do this: https://f95zone.to/threads/renpy-transparent-text-box-mod-v2-6-3.11925/ But having a built in version might help. I believe this is done by using white for the words with a black boarder/shadow/outline to make it pop but don't quote me on it.

I might have to replay to have the new path ready for Gabby's chapter. <3

Oh, and wondering about the art, you say you are having the previous artist do some renders for you, I assume you will be using the same models for Nicki and MC when you do your own rendering, right?

I'm not too worried about the text box for now.. At some point I'd really like to package the entire first season of the game and sell it on Itchio or Steam or something, and that might be a good time to give it a bit of a "remaster." Not saying it won't happen, but I kind of like the semi-opaque text boxes. If I was going to do anything in the near future, it'd likely be tweaking the font for each character's name. But, I'd want to put some more thought into it before I committed to a certain visual style.

As for the art, Nicki and MC's models will absolutely stay the same. Horizontical linked me to all the resources he used, so I could keep the characters consistent. This is also why I was able to put Gabby in the MC's apartment, in some of those teaser renders. I want to make every effort to make it a clean, even transition.

That said, once the MC gets used to having money, he might start dressing a little better, or get a new haircut. And Nicki might have a couple changes as well..