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

[Joshy92]

Maybe the evil path is to show that evil Guy is such a piece of garbage that he can't see how much destruction he's causing to the people he torments?

Guy is evil and doesn't think of anyone or anything but himself.

I don't know, I don't play it, I'm just speculating.

 

[Cutestarr65]

Is the reworked chapter 1 in the Friends in Need version, or is that sill forthcoming?

 

[LWtbo]

Is the reworked chapter 1 in the Friends in Need version, or is that sill forthcoming?

I's on the OP. (original Page/Front page) of this thread
I know it doesn't say it's Friends in need like the other version that says Patreon also says Friends Indeed.
But if it's from Subscribestar it's friends in need which is the one your after.
Hope that helps.
DOWNLOAD
Chapter 1 Remake (Subsribestar Version)
Win/Linux:

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- MEGA -

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- PIXELDRAIN -

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[ffive]

Okay, but like.. The dark path was never "justified." It was always Guy having a gross overreaction to a mostly reasonable ask: "Hey, can you please give me 0.0004 of your net worth, so a loan shark doesn't cut my hands off?" The idea that Nicki needed to be unsympathetic/distant, in order for the dark path to work, just doesn't hold water for me.

It's true that you'd have to have a very unfavorable reading of Nicki in order to think Guy's actions were justified, but it doesn't change the fact that some of the players had such reading of her and thus had much easier time justifying the dark path as actions their Guy would take in response to Nicki's approach. It may not hold water for you, but the evidence is right here, in the shape of people all across the thread voicing this kind of opinions. Both before the update, and after the changes.

Those players had the proverbial rug pulled from under them, with the narrative changes, and it changes how Guy looks when taking these actions, to them.

Besides, where was this energy with Viola or Ashe?

This was also explained by other posters: once you buy into the idea that Guy gets a taste of demeaning people when he explodes over Nicki's "betrayal" and "gold digging", it's easier for him to seek the same emotion even when it's no longer "justified". Without this catalyst the whole dark personality of Guy is kind of out of nowhere, and for some players it's harder to take asshole options "just because" when they didn't witness/orchestrate their MC's corruption themselves.

Guy (especially at this point) is a giant ball of neuroses, and he doesn't always make great decisions.

I think it might actually be part of the problem. Players generally hate to be saddled with a loser MC and have dumb decisions forced on them for the sake of the plot, and this is now their first and thus potentially long-lasting (if not last) impression of Guy. "I don't want to play (or associate with) someone this dumb" is a valid reaction.

The previous iteration was more of a blank slate, with prologue being relatively simpler and done in rougher strokes. This one in comparison doesn't leave much room for interpretation. Guy is what he is, a paranoid, easily conned idiot and also maybe a creep.

 

[Bombmaster]

ffive
It is going to be a conscious choice to embrace darkness. I miss the autopilot, low self-esteem, and hate psyop fueled by Nicki's money situation.
With this change, Nicki is in a new light, but darker, enjoyers like myself can't easily turn into creeps.

Being creepy with Ashe is kinda easy, she is easygoing and flirty. She is asking for it... The creep protagonist thinks.

Viola is tricky. for a Damsel in distress. I would like a soft corruption into maledom.
But alas too much work for our boy Neonghosts.

 

[Ragnar]

Okay, but like.. The dark path was never "justified." It was always Guy having a gross overreaction to a mostly reasonable ask: "Hey, can you please give me 0.0004 of your net worth, so a loan shark doesn't cut my hands off?" The idea that Nicki needed to be unsympathetic/distant, in order for the dark path to work, just doesn't hold water for me. Besides, where was this energy with Viola or Ashe?

There was an action > reaction dynamic in that interaction like I have explained in my previous post. It doesn't excuse the rape and all that but it was there like a trigger for an unstable person (Guy). Changing that bit of the story hurt greatly Guy's character and motivations in the dark path imo.
By the time Darth Guy met with Ashe/Viola he's already on a power trip after bashing Nicki's ass at the Jedi Temple

I think the new dark path works better because it's not Guy going all-in on evil, right away. It's the first step on his journey to realizing that he's above reproach or consequences. And if you want justification in a character-based way, look at the actions that lead there. It requires you to be cocky/superior, and behave like a bit of a dickhead and misogynist, for the dark path to even be unlocked.

Different strokes for different folks. I think that change is the most nitpicked one in the remake by far, at least here on F95.

 

[DogSwordWhychm]

There was an action > reaction dynamic in that interaction like I have explained in my previous post. It doesn't excuse the rape and all that but it was there like a trigger for an unstable person (Guy). Changing that bit of the story hurt greatly Guy's character and motivations in the dark path imo.

I think you hit the crux of it here. I like most of the changes in the update, but the dark path actually feels more like

Guy going all-in on evil, right away.

 

[cccxxx]

what i take from the above postings

so there will be somewhat 2 main paths
1 helper love, finding jobs for girls
2 user using , getting into pron and webcam

maybe various degrees with different characters based on taste

i'll play both


now get viola and gabby in the pool already!

 

[zoe_meat]

The milk session is in full effect why tf a game hardly 2yrs games going great suddenly it needs a Remake

 

[soprano31]

The milk session is in full effect why tf a game hardly 2yrs games going great suddenly it needs a Remake

 

[Kuolemanlaakso]

Still no android of the Subscribestar version?

 

[DefaultNK]

In my mind, the dark path Guy was probably always a bit of a creep, but his creep tendencies were held in check by his self-loathing and insecurity. Like, how many "nice guys" are harboring a dark side, which they never really show to anyone? When Guy's suddenly given money and the ability to act on his fantasies, he does so not because they suddenly manifested, but because they were always there, and an opportunity presented itself.

People aren't looking for a moral justification or claiming that a moral justification existed in the previous version, or at least I really hope they aren't. They're asking for character-level justification; what is it about this specific moment that makes Guy start acting on his secret evil tendencies after hiding them for years? You can say it's justified based on the actions that led there, but that doesn't solve the issue so much as it moves it. What is it that makes Guy start aggressively shit-talking Nicki after being nothing but a good friend to her for two years, other than the meta-knowledge that the player has to pick that option in order to see dark path content? The original chapter one answered this question easily. The remake technically sort of has an implied answer, which is applied retroactively once the player selects options that only start to make sense in-universe with the addition of information that isn't given until they have already selected those options.

There's a reason no one who played the good path is saying they don't understand why Guy would choose to gift Nicki ten thousand dollars, and it's not because dark path players are more prone to complaining. Well, we may or may not be more prone to complaining, but that's not the reason.

As for Ashe and Viola, the answer is pretty much what ffive and Ragnar said (and I think ffive was sort of indirectly quoting me to begin with). This is even supported in the remake itself, with the blurb near the end about Guy realizing for the first time what his money will let him get away with. While it is technically possible to be ultra nice to Nicki and then rape Ashe or Viola later, the simple reality is that no one brings the inconsistency up because few if any people actually play the game that way in the first place.

 

[NeonGhosts]

People aren't looking for a moral justification or claiming that a moral justification existed in the previous version, or at least I really hope they aren't. They're asking for character-level justification; what is it about this specific moment that makes Guy start acting on his secret evil tendencies after hiding them for years? You can say it's justified based on the actions that led there, but that doesn't solve the issue so much as it moves it. What is it that makes Guy start aggressively shit-talking Nicki after being nothing but a good friend to her for two years, other than the meta-knowledge that the player has to pick that option in order to see dark path content? The original chapter one answered this question easily. The remake technically sort of has an implied answer, which is applied retroactively once the player selects options that only start to make sense in-universe with the addition of information that isn't given until they have already selected those options.

There's a reason no one who played the good path is saying they don't understand why Guy would choose to gift Nicki ten thousand dollars, and it's not because dark path players are more prone to complaining. Well, we may or may not be more prone to complaining, but that's not the reason.

As for Ashe and Viola, the answer is pretty much what ffive and Ragnar said (and I think ffive was sort of indirectly quoting me to begin with). This is even supported in the remake itself, with the blurb near the end about Guy realizing for the first time what his money will let him get away with. While it is technically possible to be ultra nice to Nicki and then rape Ashe or Viola later, the simple reality is that no one brings the inconsistency up because few if any people actually play the game that way in the first place.

Why would a deeply insecure person who has a crush on someone suddenly begin to flaunt their wealth before said person? I don't know, it is a mystery. Like everyone always says, money doesn't change you.

 

[Vidal the king of Pervert]

Why would a deeply insecure person who has a crush on someone suddenly begin to flaunt their wealth before said person? I don't know, it is a mystery. Like everyone always says, money doesn't change you.

Money doesn't change you, it just brings out who you always were deep inside

it's like why some people, when they're drunk they become violent, and some people, when they're drunk they become

a lovable little kitten kissing you all over the place

the alcohol doesn't change you, it just brings out who you really are inside


When nice guy gets money, he becomes a really sweet person because that's who he always was inside, but never had the chance

 

[Pixillin']

Personally, I wouldn't make any sweeping generalizations about the human psyche - not even when it comes to money or substance abuse. People are complicated, and do things or don't for complicated reasons, including their own psychological makeup, their environment (past and present), who or what influences them, and even their DNA and what they are instinctively drawn toward. There's a reason psychology is a profession rather than a decision tree.

 

[Master of Puppets]

As for Ashe and Viola, the answer is pretty much what ffive and Ragnar said (and I think ffive was sort of indirectly quoting me to begin with). This is even supported in the remake itself, with the blurb near the end about Guy realizing for the first time what his money will let him get away with. While it is technically possible to be ultra nice to Nicki and then rape Ashe or Viola later, the simple reality is that no one brings the inconsistency up because few if any people actually play the game that way in the first place.

That actually makes more sense; a friend of his takes thousands of dollars from him then ghosts him; he thinks he's been conned by someone he trusted and turns bitter. Or the reverse, when he's drunk and she comes begging for money, he "makes her earn it", then when he sobers up the next day he regrets it but she's already gone. He decides to do some good with his money to make up for it.

 

[Jack Townsend]

"Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power."-Abraham Lincoln

 

[armond]

"Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power."-Abraham Lincoln

Ironic

 

[NewTricks]

The milk session is in full effect why tf a game hardly 2yrs games going great suddenly it needs a Remake

 

[Elhemeer]

View attachment 4833655

Thanks. I forgot to update The List™.