VN Ren'Py Friends in Need [S1 v0.85c] [NeonGhosts]

[Ropyl]

No, wanted to see the original "redo".. Well it's just smt completely different!

But the patch enables what you seem to be looking for and the fact that it requires a patch is more because of a return to puritanism in general society than it is the fault of NG. The patch is "part" of the redo, just separate because of legal(-ish?) reasons, in my understanding.
Install the patch (and yeah it's empty, that's normal), enjoy the Dark path just as it was before (except for the beginning) and then...enjoy it some more?

 

[Deleted member 728308]

Bwaah played the game a couple years ago, what was fun was the freedom to be an asshole or a nice guy
Started the new version, looks like Woke Brigade assaulted the house, it's a rosey romance start now..
Then game has no originality anymore and loses most of its appeal
Author should have done a new game if we wanted to do that, instead of butchering what he's done

its phenomenom when the game/porn site become too big and popular, the prude start to flock in and suddenly, the narrations become less sharp, more disneylike prince charming saving the damsel in distress, the bad sides is shuned and shamed. the rosey vanilla become the norm. no gray morality or such, only good/evil.

 

[OneShotLarry]

Jesus, the "remake" of the first half of the game STILL isn't finished?

Hey Neon, next time you think about updating the early chapters:

 

[Echoesinthedarkness]

I dont know wtf you are talking about guys. dark path lost nothing (apart from scene with Nicki, which is different, but still hardcore), gained new scenes, and some existing scenes were expanded.

 

[Ropyl]

its phenomenom when the game/porn site become too big and popular, the prude start to flock in and suddenly, the narrations become less sharp, more disneylike prince charming saving the damsel in distress, the bad sides is shuned and shamed. the rosey vanilla become the norm. no gray morality or such, only good/evil.

But, no. I understand that some games or franchises went that way, and honestly that's also what I feared when NG announced the remake, and I hope he doesn't "forget" the dark path in Season 2, but for now what you're saying does not apply to Friends in Need, at all. You can still be purely evil but you can also still be kind to some, darker with others and an absolute psychopath with the rest. Of course there are limitations but that's true of anything. Saying that the darker path got shuned or that there are no more grey areas in the game after the remake is just not true...

 

[Ottoeight]

I would think (and that's just like, my opinion man) that when it comes to creative works, the author is the one that has the most credibility when it comes to what is and isn't necessary because at the end of the day, only the author of said creative work knows what he means to convey with his work.

Yeah, sure. Whatever.

Just think about when novelists used to publish their serialised novels on newspapers and magazines. Every week a NEW chapter came out. Then the serialisation ended, the novelist revised his work and he published the whole revised novel as a book.
After the serialisation ended. After he finished the novel.

Now just think about Dickens when he started David Copperfield's serialisation. Chapter 1 comes out and so on. Then, one fine day, instead of reading chapter 10 our beloved readers open their magazines and find a rewritten whole new chapter 1 instead of chapter 11. With a message from Dickens saying "well, I felt the need to rewrite chapter 1. Don't worry. Next time, chapter 11, I promise".
The following week, a rewritten chapter 2 instead of chapter 11. Wait a minute, our readers say, where is chapter 11? and why did he rewrite chapter 2? The following week... guess what? chapter 3!
And so on.

 

[Ropyl]

Eh, fair enough. I don't think I agree with the analogy but I get your point. I'm not sure you can compare things that exist in such different worlds/societies, but I get your point, really.
I think the main problem is more about the fact that yeah, before, it was done like that (in the world of litterature) and then it changed; now books are published as is which is arguably better for everyone. It should be the same with games (wether it's here or on Steam or wherever, adult-games or not) but the business model is still at the age of crowdfunding which is essentialy a modern version of serialization (although when it was done in newspapers and magazines, people bought them not ONLY for that story). So if Dickens (my example would have been Philip K. Dick but to each his own) did do that, people that were only interested in his stories would have stopped buying the magazine and the others would just have shrugged and either not care or just wait because it would be no big deal to them.
I think I'm getting side-tracked but... Yeah, well, fair enough. I still think the ultimate judge of what the story should tell is the author, although of course each person then sees what they want in any art piece.

Nowadays, at least where I'm from, authors (of books, I don't know for other artists) get an advance payment, so yeah they can write something, get back to it, tweak it, then release it. If that were the case for modern games (again, adult or not; how many non-adult games are early access nowadays? Which is a new-ish thing), we wouldn't have noticed the remake. But as this is the current business model, we have to "suffer" these kinds of things.
Honestly, even if I was paying NG on Patreon, I wouldn't mind because I just enjoy his process, writing etc. but that's obviously personnal taste.

ps : I feel like the comparison with Dickens saying "next week, Chapter 11" and then not delivering is not honest in this analogy because if I'm not mistaken, NG has been quite open about the process of the remake. He was late here and there but never said (I think) that it would just be "I'll do this and next update we're back on track". From what I've read and remember it was more like "The remake will take that long and I'll be doing this and that and then going back to Season 2" which, by the way, he has been working on WHILE doing the remake.

Anyway. Good talk!

 

[Jstforme]

But, no. I understand that some games or franchises went that way, and honestly that's also what I feared when NG announced the remake, and I hope he doesn't "forget" the dark path in Season 2, but for now what you're saying does not apply to Friends in Need, at all. You can still be purely evil but you can also still be kind to some, darker with others and an absolute psychopath with the rest. Of course there are limitations but that's true of anything. Saying that the darker path got shuned or that there are no more grey areas in the game after the remake is just not true...

The dark path may not have been shunned, but it DID get watered down. Those of us that have been playing this from the start can tell the dark path is more what a Christian good boy would consider dark now, as opposed to a deviant already corrupted guy would consider dark in the original version. With the entire game being "remastered" , the writing is on the wall the other dark stuff that made this game stand out from the pack is in for "remastering" as well.
Maybe the dev figures the money lost from the dark path fans will be made up for on Steam, and maybe he's right...but I for one wonder how much more he might have made if he just kept the dark path as it was. Shame though, this used to be a game I was looking forward to, but now I just pass over it when I see it's updated.

 

[Stakos]

Yeah, sure. Whatever.

Just think about when novelists used to publish their serialised novels on newspapers and magazines. Every week a NEW chapter came out. Then the serialisation ended, the novelist revised his work and he published the whole revised novel as a book.
After the serialisation ended. After he finished the novel.

Now just think about Dickens when he started David Copperfield's serialisation. Chapter 1 comes out and so on. Then, one fine day, instead of reading chapter 10 our beloved readers open their magazines and find a rewritten whole new chapter 1 instead of chapter 11. With a message from Dickens saying "well, I felt the need to rewrite chapter 1. Don't worry. Next time, chapter 11, I promise".
The following week, a rewritten chapter 2 instead of chapter 11. Wait a minute, our readers say, where is chapter 11? and why did he rewrite chapter 2? The following week... guess what? chapter 3!
And so on.

Dickens and this dev do exactly the same thing in the same era with the same means... Believe me, if Dickens lived today he would rewrite every chapter, every time he thought he needed to.

 

[Stakos]

Bwaah played the game a couple years ago, what was fun was the freedom to be an asshole or a nice guy
Started the new version, looks like Woke Brigade assaulted the house, it's a rosey romance start now..
Then game has no originality anymore and loses most of its appeal
Author should have done a new game if we wanted to do that, instead of butchering what he's done

The woke brigade is kink firendly, the anti-woke brigade is the one that kinkshames. Except if you're a pedophile, then you're alright...

 

[Ropyl]

The dark path may not have been shunned, but it DID get watered down. Those of us that have been playing this from the start can tell the dark path is more what a Christian good boy would consider dark now, as opposed to a deviant already corrupted guy would consider dark in the original version. With the entire game being "remastered" , the writing is on the wall the other dark stuff that made this game stand out from the pack is in for "remastering" as well.
Maybe the dev figures the money lost from the dark path fans will be made up for on Steam, and maybe he's right...but I for one wonder how much more he might have made if he just kept the dark path as it was. Shame though, this used to be a game I was looking forward to, but now I just pass over it when I see it's updated.

Honest question but how? How did it get watered down? I feel like I've been following this game for a while (with a different, lost account, before this one) and I don't see how it's been watered down. Sure, the beginning with Nikki is less hardcore (but that Brazilian girl, again I'm sorry for her, brings good balance to the start). The rest of the game, from what I've known, is the same.
I really don't see much difference and I've ALWAYS played the darker path because that's the main reason I've been astounded by this game, so I'm really curious to know. Like, was is an absolute rapefest, perma-gangbang with thorned-whips and selling-them-to-Dubai-after-they're-wrecked thing in, like, the first two version?
I don't remember when I started to follow this game but I feel like it's been dark-friendly for a while and hasn't changed that much since.


edit : Brah if your "Christian good boy" does to Nikki, Ashe, Pepper, Britanni, what is possible in this game, I'm preeeeetty suuuuuuure he's not Christian. I know Christ forgave a prostitute but that's not the same as raping Ashe while unconscious, live-streaming it, revealing her face and then facefucking her to puking; it's not the same as pressuring a 19 years old (do you remember how much of a child you were at 19, assuming you're not 19 now?) to take topeless photos and then shoving your cock in her mouth; it's not the same as strip-searching your employee and then fucking her in the ass while she's gagged with her own underwear... Dude, what? What kind of fucking Bible are you reading, seriously?

 

[terqwe]

I hope Neon can add some bgm to spice up the vibe

 

[Jstforme]

Honest question but how? How did it get watered down? I feel like I've been following this game for a while (with a different, lost account, before this one) and I don't see how it's been watered down. Sure, the beginning with Nikki is less hardcore (but that Brazilian girl, again I'm sorry for her, brings good balance to the start). The rest of the game, from what I've known, is the same.
I really don't see much difference and I've ALWAYS played the darker path because that's the main reason I've been astounded by this game, so I'm really curious to know. Like, was is an absolute rapefest, perma-gangbang with thorned-whips and selling-them-to-Dubai-after-they're-wrecked thing in, like, the first two version?
I don't remember when I started to follow this game but I feel like it's been dark-friendly for a while and hasn't changed that much since.


edit : Brah if your "Christian good boy" does to Nikki, Ashe, Pepper, Britanni, what is possible in this game, I'm preeeeetty suuuuuuure he's not Christian. I know Christ forgave a prostitute but that's not the same as raping Ashe while unconscious, live-streaming it, revealing her face and then facefucking her to puking; it's not the same as pressuring a 19 years old (do you remember how much of a child you were at 19, assuming you're not 19 now?) to take topeless photos and then shoving your cock in her mouth; it's not the same as strip-searching your employee and then fucking her in the ass while she's gagged with her own underwear... Dude, what? What kind of fucking Bible are you reading, seriously?

I was going to give you a play by play of what's watered down, but the patch download is totally removed.

patch.rpy
0 B

This is for both patch download options. So yea

 

[DannyLucifer]

For those who like myself have just arrived after some time and are confused.
The paying supporters for this game are of the connoisseur variety of AVN enjoyers who for their own reasons prefer remakes or perhaps just don't mind indulging the developers plans. The nature of it has always been less so paying for a product and moreso supporting the developers vision for the game. They do get a say in the developmental process but are more likely to allow the dev his creative freedoms at times, especially if he's fostered a good relationship with them over time.

It's funny cuz you'd think the ones paying would be the stingy ones but the opposite is true as what you see around here like us who get this game for free and instead find it strange to prefer all this backtracking rather than just getting on with it. It's just lost momentum.

Most important though is no ones loses out on anything. The situation is the dev doesn't care about losing fans who don't pay and said fans haven't lost a dollar for that reason either, fair. It's understandable dropping a game that already stretches it's time between many developing narrative threads amongst a never ending expansive cast that now due to the remakes has spent additional time being retroactively developed and reworked... easy to lose interest in a situation like that, factor in one that originally ended on a cliffhanger close to half a year ago and eventually you forget certain things, realize there are new things to replace what you already knew and then ... end up leaving it be. It's not a good thing or a bad thing it just happens. There are other games just as great that don't indulge in these practices, maybe put your money/time there instead. No hard feelings because for this dev, NeonGhosts, he already has all the friends he needs.

Tldr money talks. Sad because I am pretty sure at the very least 70% of all his paying supporters knew about it from here, I know I did. Sad really i let it marinate for so long thinking I would get but load of content, but like many other AVN that gets to the size of FiN they start milking. I just hope its not a MilfCity situation

 

[Ropyl]

I was going to give you a play by play of what's watered down, but the patch download is totally removed.

patch.rpy
0 B

This is for both patch download options. So yea

I don't get what you're saying but that's probably on me.
Yeah, the patch is only an empty file because the game now just checks if it's present and enables the dark content depending on wether or not it's there.

If you're saying it's watered down because the patch is now empty I feel like either I'm missing something or you don't get what it does. It's just a check, basically.
Again, if there was way darker content available before I'm really curious to know about it.

edit : and I gave you a play by play how the darker path is not watered down so return the courtesy, please.

 

[Jarulf]

I was going to give you a play by play of what's watered down, but the patch download is totally removed.

patch.rpy
0 B

This is for both patch download options. So yea

Not sure I understand what you mean, but the patch doesn't have any content. The game just checks if it's there or not and then allows the dark content if it is

 

[DannyLucifer]

Did people really complain about the graphics that much that it warranted a remake before its even finished? Or was it for the pure love of the milk?

 

[Echoesinthedarkness]

I was going to give you a play by play of what's watered down, but the patch download is totally removed.

patch.rpy
0 B

This is for both patch download options. So yea

yea just put patch in the "game" folder. and dont forget, everyone is eagerly waiting for your play by play breakdown and how you will dismantle this woke dev

 

[Ropyl]

yea just put patch in the "game" folder. and dont forget, everyone is eagerly waiting for your play by play breakdown and how you will dismantle this woke dev

Honestly, I kind of am I mean I've devoted my off-day to this kind of discussion today so yeah, I'm really curious. I'd be disapointed if it turned out to be just a "oops, didn't apply the patch because X, Y, Z reason".

 

[Eland51298]

I was going to give you a play by play of what's watered down, but the patch download is totally removed.

patch.rpy
0 B

This is for both patch download options. So yea

Poor trolling, very poor

The only thing that has been changed in the dark path is the Nicki scene, and yes, it's actually worse now, but the rest is the same, so you're talking nonsense.