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

[NeonGhosts]

Still no android of the Subscribestar version?

It's publicly available on my SubStar.

 

[ename144]

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?

As others have mentioned, this isn't a question of objective moral justification, it's a subjective pretext the MC can use within his own mind to 'justify' blaming the victim for their abuse at his hands. "Rationalized" would probably have been a better word, but the point stands.

In the original version, while Nicki wasn't a particularly close friend, it was clear that she was one of the few people in the MC's day-to-day life that he respected. So when Nicki does something to undermine that respect (namely, flirt with him at Brent's request in the hope of borrowing some money), it makes a level of sense that the MC could potentially react very, very badly. In essence, he would feel infuriated that she suckered him all these years, and thus seize the opportunity to take his anger out on her directly - and in the process develop a taste for that kind of thing.

In the new version, not only is Nicki explicitly identified as *THE* one person the MC respects, she then goes on to prove herself entirely worthy of that respect when she blindly lucks into his generosity and refuses to take advantage of it. Moreover, she will vigorously defend herself if he tries to verbally pin any blame for his anger on her, effectively uprooting the previous rationale before it can even begin.

The end result, as others have said, is a situation where it's unclear why a "limp noodle" MC who simped after Nicki for years would ever decide to abuse her simply because he's now rich enough to hire a lawyer. For Pete's sake, Nicki is throwing herself at the MC in the new version! He should be too busy making out with her to flaunt his wealth! Personally, I feel like a deeply insecure MC should be taking his anger out on Brent, who not only actually deserves some of that anger, but who is easily vulnerable to the resources the MC can now bring to bear.

If the MC's 'righteous' retribution against Brent compelled Nicki to intervene on Brent's behalf and THAT was what caused the initial rift between the MC and his BFF, I think it could have worked, especially after Brent goes on to reward Nicki's efforts by swindling her yet again. At that point, the MC could see it as a twisted sort of tough love, trying to beat the misguided kindness out of her (and by extension all the other characters he will go on to meet).

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.

I think the problem with this approach is that it's effectively slowing down the game progression in what was supposed to be a drop in replacement for the original Chapter 1. The MC's actions against Ashe in Chapter 2 will need to be toned down to match his gentler slippery slope, which in turn drops the pace when he meets Gabby, Brittani and Viola, etc.

The MC's rise to wealth was supposed to be his backstory, the inciting incident that explains why the MC could go in so many different directions once the game starts. Now it's merely a facet in the MC's pre-defined psyche and the inciting incident is apparently when the MC decides to hire Lane as his lawyer (which largely happens off-screen). I find that change concerning, particularly if you weren't even aware of the implications when you were writing it.

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.

I think that's a gross oversimplification. The MC may have had the potential to fantasize all sorts of dark things, but that doesn't mean the MC was actually fantasizing about them during those ten years. To me, that's the crucial question that we, the player, should be answering through our choices: what sort of person IS the MC? Getting hung up on precisely when the MC became that person - or worse yet, insisting that the MC can only ever be a single type of person - is short-circuiting the key gameplay element in this game.

As for ghosting Nicki, I still don't see why this is something people keep getting hung up on. It's pretty explicitly spelled out that he did it for a bad reason (busy, exhausted, and worried about changing their friendship), and he acknowledges it as dumb in hindsight. Guy (especially at this point) is a giant ball of neuroses, and he doesn't always make great decisions.

People keep bringing it up because it's badly written. The revised MC and Nicki are way too close for Nicki to accept being ghosted for a full month - *especially* when she's explicitly worried about the MC feeling suicidal in the wake of the robbery! She would have beaten down his door within a couple hours of him going silent! But that would have required her to learn about his wealth, so instead she somehow ignores the problem until she needs a hug after her boyfriend tries to pimp her out.

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.

Really? Isn't the whole point of your new narrative that the MC will stop acting like a "limp noodle" once he has the resources to improve his life? That's an awfully fine line to draw, a bit like saying bullets don't kill people, it's only the blood loss and organ failure that kill people.

 

[ArDZer]

Spoiler: About the remake

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[DiTo]

Dev Update! 5/12/25

Spoiler: Pictures

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Hey, folks! Hope you're all doing well this week! Work continues, and right now I'm basically just doing the same stuff I was doing last week. I've been setting up scenes, shots, and costumes for Chapter 11, working on a scene that connects the new Chapter 1 with Chapter 2, and adjusting variables.

The Chapter 11 stuff is mostly just getting my ducks in a row, so I can hit the ground running when I begin rendering Chapter 11. It'll save me a bunch of time later, when I don't need to set up lighting, sets, etc. That's where Business Babe Nicki came from, up above. Is that.. eyeshadow on our girl?! Dressed to impress, Nickidoodle..

The scene(s) that connect the new Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 features a little ero scene, which I have mapped out to be similar to Dash's scene from Chapter 10. Not going crazy with positions and options, just a little somethin', somethin' to show what our plucky protagonist was up to while Nicki was gone. I'm about 90 images into that, which is more than I anticipated doing. Story of my life!

The variable tweaking is all going pretty well. I've been playtesting as I go, and I haven't broken anything yet. So, I'll take that as a victory.

Finally, I've got a new text-based short story featuring Madison, which I'm in the process of editing. That'll be up this weekend for all paid supporters, and feature a few pieces of art showing Madison in her younger days. People really seemed to dig learning more about Isabella in the last story, so I'm hopeful that this one will strike a chord as well. But, the soft-hearted will be happy to know this one won't tug on your heartstrings quite as much as Glitter and Grit.

Alright, I think that's it for me! Hope you folks have a great week, and I'll be back on Friday and Saturday for the Sneak Peek and Wanton Weekends features. As always, take care of yourselves -- and thank you for your support!

 

[Ragnar]

Dare I say we need a Nicki restoration path to restore the old convo of Nicki asking for money

 

[Mr. Muscles]

I'm a bit confused, so chapter 1 is reworked, but allegedly you can't play past it into the next episodes because the updated variables haven't been set up for the next episodes. But there's also a new chapter coming out.

I was waiting to play the game again in one go (saves-wise) as I knew the rework would requite a restart, is that possible?

 

[Pillgrim]

You should be confused because you didn't read back far enough or do a search.
Had you done either you might of learned that there is no plan to do a full remake.

...

Why should the OP post clearly explain what the differences are between the clown show of releases, when I can just search over 900 pages of "discussion" and do some detective work. So Chapter 1 to 11 Version 0.72 was the original release of Friends In Need, also a there's a Vanilla Version, also the game has a remake already, also there are two different versions for Patreon and Subscribestar, also the game was renamed to Friends Indeed but only for Patreon. I mean of course this is all very obvious and self explanatory.

Also I'm just going to play another game now.

 

[LWtbo]

Why should the OP post clearly explain what the differences are between the clown show of releases, when I can just search over 900 pages of "discussion" and do some detective work. So Chapter 1 to 11 Version 0.72 was the original release of Friends In Need, also a there's a Vanilla Version, also the game has a remake already, also there are two different versions for Patreon and Subscribestar, also the game was renamed to Friends Indeed but only for Patreon. I mean of course this is all very obvious and self explanatory.

Also I'm just going to play another game now.

I would explain it like the fact it wouldn't take 900 pages to find out.
And it do's if you read spoilers or thats it's not that hard to understand.
But thanks for the attemp at trolling... and as you not staying I don't think i'll bother.
So have a nice day but don't let the door hit you on the way out.

 

[ffive]

I'm a bit confused, so chapter 1 is reworked, but allegedly you can't play past it into the next episodes because the updated variables haven't been set up for the next episodes. But there's also a new chapter coming out.

I was waiting to play the game again in one go (saves-wise) as I knew the rework would requite a restart, is that possible?

You'll want to wait for the next update which should include bridge from reworked Ch.1 to the rest of the game, and new content added to the current end of the game.

 

[NewTricks]

Why should the OP post clearly explain what the differences are between the clown show of releases, when I can just search over 900 pages of "discussion" and do some detective work. So Chapter 1 to 11 Version 0.72 was the original release of Friends In Need, also a there's a Vanilla Version, also the game has a remake already, also there are two different versions for Patreon and Subscribestar, also the game was renamed to Friends Indeed but only for Patreon. I mean of course this is all very obvious and self explanatory.

Also I'm just going to play another game now.

It is actually much more simple than that. The chapter one release is what is called a stand-alone. In that it, you know, stands alone. It was released simply to prevent a huge gap between the updates since the next update includes both a revamped version of the first chapter and a new chapter. It will no longer be necessary when the next release comes out because chapter one will be, you know, chapter one. In the next release, there will also be a new chapter because that is typically how releases work. So the next release will be book-ended by new content. Which is why it is also necessary to play the next release from the beginning, because the game is different even though the meat in the sandwich is the same. This is why the next update is so highly anticipated and has been the subject of so much discussion. Basically, a replay of a game that has been recontextualized. Still tracking? Ok. The two versions are because Patreon has censorship that SS doesn't, and the differing names serve a purpose of assuring that the versions are not confused with one another by players. Further elaboration is unnecessary.

 

[soldano]

There's been a lot of talk about how the new Nicki is a different character after the remake. And yes, I agree. And not just different, but much more one-dimensional and uninteresting. However, another character who is seriously damaged by the remake is Guy.
In the original Chapter 1, "Evil Guy" had a reason for what he did. Even if that reason was only in his head, he did have one. Evil Guy resented Nicki. And he handled that pain in the worst possible way. But the new Nicki doesn't give him any reason, no matter how remote or twisted, to be an asshole. Nicki is the perfect friend. In fact, she's too perfect to be real. A classic Mary Sue, without any rough edges. And what does Evil Guy become now? A bad comic book villain. A guy who's an asshole just because, period.

I want to emphasize that the remake has good points. The new art is far superior, for example. And you have some interesting narrative explanations. However, in my opinion, it turns the story's two main characters into a joke. Especially in the Dark Path.
Nicki and Guy (especially Evil Guy) are no longer interesting. They're a bad cliché now.

 

[Siphon]

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 amazing how you accidentally lucked into creating a good story (originally) while thinking like that.

 

[prpa]

There's been a lot of talk about how the new Nicki is a different character after the remake. And yes, I agree. And not just different, but much more one-dimensional and uninteresting. However, another character who is seriously damaged by the remake is Guy.
In the original Chapter 1, "Evil Guy" had a reason for what he did. Even if that reason was only in his head, he did have one. Evil Guy resented Nicki. And he handled that pain in the worst possible way. But the new Nicki doesn't give him any reason, no matter how remote or twisted, to be an asshole. Nicki is the perfect friend. In fact, she's too perfect to be real. A classic Mary Sue, without any rough edges. And what does Evil Guy become now? A bad comic book villain. A guy who's an asshole just because, period.

I want to emphasize that the remake has good points. The new art is far superior, for example. And you have some interesting narrative explanations. However, in my opinion, it turns the story's two main characters into a joke. Especially in the Dark Path.
Nicki and Guy (especially Evil Guy) are no longer interesting. They're a bad cliché now.

The remake just made Nicki more consistent with her behavior in subsequent chapters. i don't see how that made her one-dimensional; she was always meant to be a good friend to Guy. The bulk of her character development comes in later chapters anyway.

Why does Evil Guy need a reason to rape Nicki? It's like people forget that he also brutally raped Viola and Ashe. What was the justification there? What reason did they give him? Evil Guy is a rich psychopath—he doesn't need any reason or justification.

​

 

[RC-1138 Boss]

The remake just made Nicki more consistent with her behavior in subsequent chapters. i don't see how that made her one-dimensional; she was always meant to be a good friend to Guy. The bulk of her character development comes in later chapters anyway.

Why does Evil Guy need a reason to rape Nicki? It's like people forget that he also brutally raped Viola and Ashe. What was the justification there? What reason did they give him? Evil Guy is a rich psychopath—he doesn't need any reason or justification.

View attachment 4835532​

Pretty much this. Evil Guy is someone barely holding back his dark impulses over anything that may set him of no matter what said trigger may be.
The remade chapter 1 brings his persona more in line with what he can do to Ashe or Viola.

 

[ffive]

Why does Evil Guy need a reason to rape Nicki? It's like people forget that he also brutally raped Viola and Ashe. What was the justification there? What reason did they give him? Evil Guy is a rich psychopath—he doesn't need any reason or justification.

Neither Viola nor Ashe are Guy's best friend forever and ever, something he acknowledges even to himself, so even accounting for this factor alone what he does to pretty much complete strangers has little bearing on Nicki situation.

The issue is mainly that, where before you could have some sort of "origin story" for the evil Guy, in this iteration this aspect is gone. "Guy is evil just because (deal with it)" makes the protagonist relatively shallow. And while you can have protagonist who "simply is like that" people are inherently interested in knowing those reasons and/or justifications "why they're like that".

 

[Pixillin']

Pretty much this. Evil Guy is someone barely holding back his dark impulses over anything that may set him of no matter what said trigger may be.
The remade chapter 1 brings his persona more in line with what he can do to Ashe or Viola.

Basically if your friend comes to you to get your help because they're in danger and you respond by violently assaulting them (no matter how they're dressed) you're a shitty person and if you're a shitty person, you don't need good reasons to do shitty things.

 

[prpa]

Neither Viola nor Ashe are Guy's best friend forever and ever, something he acknowledges even to himself, so even accounting for this factor alone what he does to pretty much complete strangers has little bearing on Nicki situation.

The issue is mainly that, where before you could have some sort of "origin story" for the evil Guy, in this iteration this aspect is gone. "Guy is evil just because (deal with it)" makes the protagonist relatively shallow. And while you can have protagonist who "simply is like that" people are inherently interested in knowing those reasons and/or justifications "why they're like that".

I didn't play Evil Guy as much as Good Guy, but I always regarded Evil Guy as a psychopath. I'm not a psychologist, but I've read that psychopaths can't form real emotional bonds with people/friends (no empathy or struggling with empathy)—they use them as a means to an end and cut them loose once they’re no longer useful. So I don't see why he would treat Nicki any better than Ashe or Viola.

I could be wrong (probably am), but that's just how I see it.

 

[Nerv_rr]

the story doesnt have to be that deep to have fun playing it ,i actually want good looking scenes wich have improved , but the sex content got shorter in chp1 so its a bit of a tradeoff

 

[ffive]

I didn't play Evil Guy as much as Good Guy, but I always regarded Evil Guy as a psychopath. I'm not a psychologist, but I've read that psychopaths can't form real emotional bonds with people or friends—they use them as a means to an end and cut them loose once they’re no longer useful. So I don't see why he would treat Nicki any better than Ashe or Viola.

The problem here is that if Guy internally acknowledges Nicki as his close friend, then you can hardly pretend to yourself that he's a psychopath who lacks emotional bonds and is just faking them externally. I mean, you can, but you'd be basically going directly against what the game shows you in this regard.

The separate issue is that, again, while just shrugging off Guy as a psychopath "well, he's just like that" can work for you because that's how you always viewed him, there's players who didn't play their evil Guy this way. And the more elaborate "self-justified" way of playing such Guy is now gone. That's what they dislike, and telling them "well, you can just play Guy differently now" isn't really going to make it any better (for them).

(and to provide a bit of different perspective, personally, i liked previous ambiguity the game had in the prologue because it made a Guy who decides to help his friend regardless of personal doubts/misgivings a relatively bigger person than the one who does it because duh, it's a no brainer)

 

[RC-1138 Boss]

Basically if your friend comes to you to get your help because they're in danger and you respond by violently assaulting them (no matter how they're dressed) you're a shitty person and if you're a shitty person, you don't need good reasons to do shitty things.

Pretty much.
There is no good justifications for what a psycopath/serial rapist do/did/can do. At least none that a person capable of empathy would relate to.