VN Ren'Py Friends in Need [Mini-Sode: Blue Valentine] [NeonGhosts]

[RC-1138 Boss]

This one looks older than Jamie, plus i don't remember him having scars on his face.

 

[fleetp]

There a reason the patch isn't working? I'm getting no options outside of the normal ones.

you need to start a new save for the patch to work

I got the patch to work on an in=progress game. In the file ch4_3.rpy,
after the line
label ch4_3_variables
I immediatelyadded the line
$ patch = True

Then I loaded a saved game from when Ashe and the MC left Ashe's parents house.

Note: ALWAYS make a back-up copy of a file BEFORE making changes.

 

[SlapE]

I just remembered something RC-1138 Boss

The photographer that took advantage of Ashe got beat to a pulp by her dad after he found out, that could be what caused that scar?

 

[boobsrcool]

Viola in the update yes!

 

[Ulrich37]

Overall a really good write up here but I'd like to touch on this point specifically a little more. There's a scene where you can fuck Nicki while she's on the phone to Brent. In this scene Brent will refer to the $100K he wants Nicki to ask for. Nicki, however, lowballed the request to $20K. The exact amount of money needed to pull herself out of the debt Brent dumped them in. Nicki is not doing this for Brent. Nicki is doing this for Nicki. It's a similar song with Nicki fucking you. Brent catches a lot of shit for trying to whore Nicki out but he wasn't really down for that. He expected Nicki to bat her eyelids, maybe give you a little kiss and then you'd simp out and throw one hundred grand at her. Nicki fucking you is a Nicki choice. I think this is an interesting scene because it demonstrates that Nicki isn't a blind puppet being pulled around on Brent's strings. She has agency, she has choices and is an active participant in what happened.

Hot damn, how did I miss this? Does this phone call happen in the prologue? I've done the Nice way, the 'pay you for sex' way, and the Assault way and I don't recall that. Is this later, after she's escaped from the porno shoot?

 

[JumboSalami]

I didn't make it very far into this one, but I wanted to ask why this game has such a high rating? Does the quality just drastically improve at some point? The early sections were really not engaging me at all. I read through the reviews and I just don't understand the disconnect between what I read and what I was playing. Thanks in advance.

 

[RC-1138 Boss]

I just remembered something RC-1138 Boss

The photographer that took advantage of Ashe got beat to a pulp by her dad after he found out, that could be what caused that scar?

Maybe.
But why would he appear now? He doesn't own the pictures anymore since Guy bought them and plus Ashe's father likely threaten to kill the guy if those pics ever surface on the net

 

[Master of Puppets]

yeah even with all the fucked up things you can do to here on the dark path with the patch it felt a little out of place for her to leave at least for a game where she feels like she is a second main character t but realistically makes sense. I'm hoping she does come back in some way though at the same time not a big deal for me since im almost always gonna play good path anyways.

I don't really like when people try to justify things with "realistically", because that's basically just saying that her sticking around would be unrealistic, and plenty of women put up with worse, and for far less financial stability than our guy offers too.

 

[Boogie]

I didn't make it very far into this one, but I wanted to ask why this game has such a high rating? Does the quality just drastically improve at some point? The early sections were really not engaging me at all. I read through the reviews and I just don't understand the disconnect between what I read and what I was playing. Thanks in advance.

Not everyone needs to like the same stuff. There is plenty about FiN that I don't think is so great, but I believe what most of us like is the amount of agency given to the player. There are plenty of choices with significant consequences. Notably, there are options to play as a true paragon of human virtue as well as the option to play as a total sleaze bag. It's up to the player.

 

[PHIL101-YYouPPHard]

Fuck me, this update's hitting hard. You were right Neon, it's honestly a good thing the dark route is ending before the rest, it's crushing my heart and the wee little thing is starting to break under the weight I mean, I guess I shouldn't play dark route while high anymore...

Fuckin'... this song started playing on my playlist while on dark Guy's route after falling asleep to the orc thing on TV... and damn, dude, the sequence of all the girls when the song got to this part... it made me wish I was playing the good route instead, it fits the mood you've created imo Feels sad and hopeful at the same time, in a weird way.. like shit's happened, but things are getting brighter.

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I mean, that sequence was just pure art Neon man; and the collars and the dialogue give a glimpse into their struggles throughout the story. Nicki's struggle with getting free from cycles of abuse. Brittani's obsession with being who others want her to be, hiding her true self behind a commodity. She lit up in bed when MC asked her to just be herself instead of putting on an act I don't think she's used to that. Gabby's experience of inferiority and constantly comparing herself to other girls who she thinks are prettier than her; to the extent that she received abuse and racism yet still was the one crushed about her breakup, blaming poor, innocent Brittani instead of her pos ex... and all because she thought that was the best she could do. Viola's of course being her immense pressure to look after her mother all by herself. And Ashe's sequence isn't as clear to me; still a bit of a mystery. Not sure why she's sorry; also not sure if we find out in other routes. Makes me curious about her past.. hope she didn't accidentally hurt someone Maybe her friend with the leg? I can't remember how that happened to her.

Anyways, sorry. I haven't even come close to finishing the whole breadth of the update, but what little I've seen is very impressive and makes me excited for what's to come

 

[JumboSalami]

Not everyone needs to like the same stuff. There is plenty about FiN that I don't think is so great, but I believe what most of us like is the amount of agency given to the player. There are plenty of choices with significant consequences. Notably, there are options to play as a true paragon of human virtue as well as the option to play as a total sleaze bag. It's up to the player.

Very true. People can absolutely like what they like, and it's to everyone's benefit when we don't all blindly like the same stuff. Appreciate the response.

 

[Dessolos]

I don't really like when people try to justify things with "realistically", because that's basically just saying that her sticking around would be unrealistic, and plenty of women put up with worse, and for far less financial stability than our guy offers too.

Wasn't trying to justify anything I was just more or less saying her leaving if you are on the dark path would make sense to me but you are equally right her staying would too. Tho like said while I think it makes sense as to why she would leave it also felt out of place to me cause she kinda seemed almost like a second main character im my personal opinion.

 

[pranabray]

Is there any compressed version to this game?

 

[Elhemeer]

You know, I get that part of the point of this game is to be able to explore your deepest, darkest fantasies, but I'm glad you can also enjoy the game if your kink is The Good Guy™ too.

 

[Dessolos]

I didn't make it very far into this one, but I wanted to ask why this game has such a high rating? Does the quality just drastically improve at some point? The early sections were really not engaging me at all. I read through the reviews and I just don't understand the disconnect between what I read and what I was playing. Thanks in advance.

I can only tell you why I liked this game as not everyone likes the same things.

Simply it comes down to the characters for me as to me it out weighs the negatives and yeah their appearance does help some. As from the start the story just felt more like it would be a fun story more than anything else. Also the dialogue between certain characters I found fun, funny or a little wholesome which I enjoyed tho I will say that dialogue I liked was mainly towards Nicki tho other character did have their moments.

Also some characters feel like they are somewhere between easy and slow burn which I like as I don't like easy LI that much unless it's a good character. Like Nicki for example while she is easy to have sex with she shows resistance to having a romantic relationship that is what I love to see in a AVN game. I don't care about sex with LI I want the MC to slowly built a relationship. I also suspect 2 other LI might be similar once they get more updates.

But I think the main reason I liked the game so much is because of Nicki without her I don't think it would of been as an enjoyable experience. Sure at first she seemed like a gold digger so some never liked her or have her a chance because of that. Maybe im a softy while she did have her gold digger moment I couldn't help feel bad for her as I felt she truly felt bad for what she was asking for. I even thought she felt bad a minute or 2 before even asking it. The fact it's established she is the MC's best friend and she actual spends the day with him being a friend, before asking for money made me feel she truly didn't want to ask and was trying to be a friend first. Sure some may say that was just a tactic she used to soften the MC up before going in and asking for the money. I don't think so it felt like something she truly wanted to hang out for fun since they are friends first.

Then when she comes back into the story I couldn't help but feel bad for her again as she did her best not to ask for more help / money but try to solve the problem on her own as she felt really bad asking the first time. Which to mean says alot about her and honestly I respect the character more because of it. Even if this decision made the MC feel shitty for not having contact with his friend for a long time. Because of what she did to try to not ask for help a second time she felt like a broken character to me. This part is a personal preference but I find I have a thing for characters that are broken or have some trauma they are dealing with. As I personally find most of the time broken / trauma gives characters depth and makes them a better character than your average LI.

If you don't write her off after all of this then she becomes fun just to be around and even read her dialogue imo. I know this makes me seem biased towards her but how it's how I truly feel about the character and I'm surprised myself as at first I wasn't a fan of her looks as i'm not really into short hair. After getting to know the character made her grow on me and I started to like her looks more than my usual prefence when it comes to appearance.

With all that being said the other characters feel like they have a good start of depth or background to them none of them really feel like super simple generic LI to me. I don't wish to explain about the rest as it may be a spoiler for you. Maybe I just like this game to much cause of the characters since it's on my top 5 list I cant say for certain.

Also this is all my pov from the good path as I dont like playing the Dark path more than once to see the content.

for other reading this post and dont agree with me this is just my personal opinion of the game and how I interpret my opinion of the character of Nicki

 

[Dessolos]

You know, I get that part of the point of this game is to be able to explore your deepest, darkest fantasies, but I'm glad you can also enjoy the game if your kink is The Good Guy™ too.

Honestly to me the good path is the best and most enjoyable one Dark is just there for me to explore the content but not something I like to do even in a video game setting especially since it's the MC doing it.

 

[Lightaces]

Quick patch to add save naming - makes it easier to keep track of paths.

Just extract to main folder (where .exe is) and overwrite if prompted.

The save game naming patch is causing an error when I start the new version of the game. Instead of the main menu screen, I get an error message. If I hit ignore, it starts a new game, and it is easy enough to get to the loading screen, so it's not a particularly critical error, but it is an aesthetic annoyance.

 

[HentaiKami]

I didn't make it very far into this one, but I wanted to ask why this game has such a high rating? Does the quality just drastically improve at some point? The early sections were really not engaging me at all. I read through the reviews and I just don't understand the disconnect between what I read and what I was playing. Thanks in advance.

Three words, Gabby and Ashe

 

[PHIL101-YYouPPHard]

You know, I get that part of the point of this game is to be able to explore your deepest, darkest fantasies, but I'm glad you can also enjoy the game if your kink is The Good Guy™ too.

Subjective I know, but personally, it seems clearer and clearer to me as I play that the point of this game is the opposite; to watch wounded characters heal, to basically have Satan (aka Neon sorry buddy ) tempt you with terrible things, or just simply mean things, and to say 'back to the pit with you!' as you proudly select the most Joshy wholesome choices. Ok, ok, maybe you pick the darkest stuff to satisfy a curiosity or a full-on kink in a playthrough, but you also have to watch everything around MC crumble as you do it. I feel like the thing that really keeps you coming back is the catharsis of watching people help each other and grow deep, meaningful relationships; actually, that catharsis is even more impactful once you see just how bad things could be and is why I try to play dark route before nicer routes. Feels like a warm blanket

But yeah, no other game represents both extremes of humanity so well, imo. It's honestly sad that some people would look at a game like this and judge it instantly because of some of the choices and scenes, completely ignoring all the other beautiful stuff that is served well by its complimentary opposites.

 

[Dessolos]

Three words, Gabby and Ashe

I think Gabby is the only one I don't want to do anything lewd with but she is a good character for sure. Probably 2nd best to me or tied with Ashe not sure. Tho I have a feeling once Penny gets more character updates she might be up there for me as well. Tho really there is something to like about all the girls here for me they don't feel super simple or generic like other LI I wanted to like more in other AVN games, at least to me.

I feel like the thing that really keeps you coming back is the catharsis of watching people help each other and grow deep, meaningful relationships; actually, that catharsis is even more impactful once you see just how bad things could be and is why I try to play dark route before nicer routes. Feels like a warm blanket

I didn't even know about the true dark stuff my first time since I didn't know about said patch. But after exploring it it's a interesting way to playthrough once. I don't know if id do it first tho cause I think the minute a new update comes I would want to explore more of the Nicki romance. Tho id be lying if I didn't say it would be tempting to try it first just see what else crumbles just to end on a positive note.