This is a writing trick: pander to a very driving force in a woman: envy derived from her assessment of MC, based on how many other women show interest in the same guy - one on one interactions make her squemish, but once the others build MC up as a beef cake in the eyes of literally everyone else, she might - with the stress on ”might” - get a different investment into MC and actually propose to him a different kind of relationship.
Hmm...I'm hoping we will see a change with Amy constantly friend-zoning the MC (at least let MC fuck her). I guess MC is suppose to get with all the other girls before Amy...the best girl, will accept MC as BF. Odd way of building the harem, by sidelining the main girl, to make way for the other woman first.
Some other game updated recently has the same trouble for the girl best friend who keeps rejecting MC left and right (while telling your other common friend she likes you but is ”too shy” to tell you), has erratic behavior while friendzoning him by treating him like a boyfriend in reserve kind of thing - she has unlimmitted access to MC and can literally say anything to his face and geta way with it - something relationship gurus all say it: this means she is not worth your trouble at all. If she had any interest, she would put it in your regular interactions, not keep it for herself whyle catfishing MC into falling into someone who is not getting across her half way of a couple relationship.
Dev has done some silly shit like changed the master variable for the MC's name... amongst about a thousand other things. You'll likely have to start from scratch as there is more changes to the scripts than I can now count without using calculus. I might now be out as he's done just about everything to make the mod as obsolete as possible. Anything I do would require a complete rewrite from scratch.
I've only scratched the surface and already fixing to hit the whiskey bottle. Don't hold your breath for a SanchoMod update... I'm moving forward on the other VN's that just dropped first... this one's going on the backburner.
Dev has done some silly shit like changed the master variable for the MC's name... amongst about a thousand other things. You'll likely have to start from scratch as there is more changes to the scripts than I can now count without using calculus. I might now be out as he's done just about everything to make the mod as obsolete as possible. Anything I do would require a complete rewrite from scratch.
I've only scratched the surface and already fixing to hit the whiskey bottle. Don't hold your breath for a SanchoMod update... I'm moving forward on the other VN's that just dropped first... this one's going on the backburner.
Best to wait until the game is finished unless you enjoy replaying from the start. Seems it is locked behind not finding clues, so you'll have to use the reset clues in the settings and replay ch 4. WARNING if you do this it erases ALL clues found including the ones in your saved games. Kinda stupid to lock something behind not finding something you put a mod in to find IMO. There is a post a few pages back that told it was locked behind finding little to no clues about Whisper or surveillance, forgot which. So after finishing everything for the first time and making an end of chap 4 save. I reset and replayed a speed run to unlock it, now all my saves have no clues despite having found them all already in my first playthrough. Not even sure I want to replay or continue with the story with having scenes locked like that so late in the story. Would be different if it didn't clear all the saves but as it is, if you reset, you'll have to replay to find them all again.
Huh didn't know there would be scenes like that, ah well I'm gonna assume it means that's not a sex scene and is just an alternate scene instead. Though I am curious, considering how the characters already stay talking about their secret identities and powers even when you spot the "clues" (active surveillance in this case).
I'm just glad the scene isn't locked behind choices I didn't make or something like that, means I can ignore it/use the mod to see it, I assume there's going to be the inverse I.E scenes locked behind having all of/a lot of clues so I'll keep on trucking with my current saves
This is a writing trick: pander to a very driving force in a woman: envy derived from her assessment of MC, based on how many other women show interest in the same guy - one on one interactions make her squemish, but once the others build MC up as a beef cake in the eyes of literally everyone else, she might - with the stress on ”might” - get a different investment into MC and actually propose to him a different kind of relationship.
After angering Destiny for rejecting Amy too many times:
That's the end of the game for me.
If you're giving me choices, and don't allow me to follow up on them, then I'm done.
The only reason why I would sleep with Amy, is because this is an AVN. The AVN/story itself doesn't offer me any characterization or motivation. Amy has been described as a life-long best friend. At no point did the MC have feelings for her, at no point did the MC have any lewd thoughts about her, and that was consistent with the choices I made. Amy says that the MC needs "it", but the game failed at informing the player of this. This is the evening of his father's funeral FFS, and he should be DTF? The last thing I thought of after dispersing my father's ashes was fucking.
Reading other comments here, about Amy friendzoning the MC, it seems to me that this event ends up being an empty experience anyway. So why make it mandatory?
”a life-long best friend” - someone you give your whole to whenever they ask anything of you, even it being the most minute mundane of favors - you do it no questions asked, no holding back and no second thoughts, from you. A best friend means you are devoted and are there for them no matter what. End of story.
a life-long best friend. At no point did the MC have feelings for her, at no point did the MC have any lewd thoughts about her, and that was consistent with the choices I made. Amy says that the MC needs "it", but the game failed at informing the player of this.
”At no point did the MC have feelings for her ”- we have wildly different life stories about what it means for anyone to have friends .. let alone life long best friends. This game seems to agree with me.
”Amy says that the MC needs "it" ” - turning the best friend - one of the strongest relationships anyone has in their whole lives - into a romantic relationship has always been the wettest dream for all mankind in existence - conforting someone after a great loss through the most heartwarming selfless devoted action she could think of is also a fantasy that endured through the ages - strong emotional impact life events bring people closer than ever - in this game - closest they can ever be.
Probably. I wouldn't just fuck a friend, no matter how well we get along. The game telling me Amy is the MC's best friend doesn't mean he has to be DTF. Greg is his best friend too, after all.
It failed to make this event believable for me, time and again I confirmed that I saw her as a sister (no, I wouldn't fuck my sister either), never flirted with her either...
If the game had framed the event, maybe had some character development, I'd be fine with it. But there is no framing, and on top of that, Destiny wants to force me to agree and make up the reasoning myself. Sorry, but that's the writer's job, not mine.
I LOVE seeing good solid cameos from other great games!
I saw a Blonde coffee house owner named Janine I believe from one game,
and my FAVORITE Genius Level Demon Librarian named Cerea, keeping that name here as she plays a reporter working for the aptly named Atae News...
from a game named Ataegina.
Im only in the second act I think, just passed the career change for the MC and I recognized 2.
I suspect there will be more later, and HOPEFULLY, I will get to see more of my Librarian, I mean the reporter.
Edit: SWEET another Cameo in the form of a stuffed animal on the Detective's shelves.
This one is a cat-shaped assistant to a Love Goddess in another game where the MC is a high-ranking General/ turned co-ruler...
Edit: AND in chapter 4 there is my FAVORITE glowing-eyed Sorceress Chloe from one of my FAVORITE games "Love of Magic"!
There isn't a known presence of magic in this universe, so those glowing eyes would HAVE to be conversation starters!
Keep them coming!
After some friends encouraged me to finish the current version, I gave it another try.
I'm posting this here instead of a (Steam) review because I'd rather have a conversation first than to just give a low score.
TL;DR:
Positives: A polished UI, great superhero action, good-looking LI's and hot lewd scenes. The animations look great as well.
Negatives: Character- and world building, lack of cohesive story (cause and effect), and lack of impactful player choices.
SPOILERS !
The good:
Renders are well done, interior and exterior locations are well-chosen and serve their purpose.
Lewds/Animations are excellent, and the MC doesn't have a gigantic cock.
Maybe the best UI I've seen so far in an AVN. I love the scene replay feature which allows players to replay any scene they unlocked. (Though I'd love to be able to filter these, based on characters, lewd content, and plot relevance)
Sound design is great, though some tracks stand out/become repetitive due to how often they're used.
Vigilante choice: during vigilante scenes, the player gets to decide which behavior the MC shows. Usually, this comes down to running in heroically like an idiot, or taking a more measured and careful approach, assessing the situation first.
It's clear that the dev has improved their skill during developing this game. Later chapters have more (visual) attention to detail, I think.
MC: There's no individuality to this MC, he hardly has an opinion of his own. The game is mostly Amy deciding what to do, and him agreeing to it. This is one of the reasons why this game doesn't feel like it has an actual story, and feels more like a collection of loosely connected events.
Characters: This game isn't character-driven. There is some effort to have characters introduce themselves, but they fail to leave an impact. The dev obviously made an effort to make the characters feel real. They have a personality and interests, likes and dislikes, and have baggage/history. On paper, this is perfect. In practice, they way they're introduced and talk at the MC (instead of with) makes them feel more like a trope than an actual person(ality).
Player choice: Most choices can give a romance or friendship point increase. As far as I can tell, there's no actual use for friendship points (yet). Romance points determine how far an LI will go sexually, or how extensive their lewd scenes are. These points aren't an assessment of how an LI feels toward the MC, but more of a measurement of how the MC has shown his romantic interest, and him knowing the LI's preferences. Though, I suspect, Amy will be the exception here, and she'll only (eventually) be interested in the MC if he simps for her enough.
Apart from these points, dialog choices only change a few lines. Even an agree/disagree option will just have the MC agree anyway with only a few lines of dialog.
World building: Going by Amy's reaction to the MC's performance after the fight, one could think that superheroes already exist in this world. They don't. Our MC might very well be the first one. This, to illustrate that players often don't have the required context to place what people tell him. The most egregious here, is the anti-corporate rhetoric. Nobody seems to like the corporations, except for Cassie, who's more neutral about them. All of them seem to have good reasons for not liking the status-quo... But we also learn that corporations provide health insurance, that crime has lowered, that rent is affordable, and the MC earned enough at his corporate job to pay for him and Amy... Not only that, he did well enough, and had the opportunity to dream about opening a gym with Greg. So, it's not like the corporations have a stranglehold on the economy/city, people are still free. However, all of these nuances are for the player to pick up from context, while the anti-corporation remarks are thrown in his face.
Hidden object & missable scenes: Because I dislike hidden objects, I immediately enabled the hint. Only after finishing the game, and looking through the code, I discovered that finding these objects actually unlocks different dialog, and enables/disables certain scenes. So far, so good, I think this is actually nice. However, I'd suggest to only show these hints if the player has finished the chapter once already (think 'new game+', but per chapter), and to stop the player fast-forwarding when they appear (QoL).
Sound effects: I don't think there are any. There is a slider for them, so they might get added in the future?
English version: I have much respect for the dev, translators, and proofreaders, but there are still several instances of weird translations and metaphrasing. Some have an effect on how players interpret what is happening. For instance, in Chapter 0, Amy will say “Besides, it's the best occasion to get laid. And, as far as I know, you've yet to do so since I came over, despite my best efforts!”, in context, it's not “came over”, but “moved in”. In the case of Amy, with this being one of the first things she says, it can cause confusion about who she is to us, and what her deal is.
The bad:
Story: So far, there isn't one. This game is a collection of loosely connected events. We learn that the MC's mother died when he was 14, and his father moved them away to protect them. The MC lost contact with Amy, but they later reconnected. The MC's father dies, but not before sending him a (Glowing) Stone as a birthday gift. Thanks to the gimmick, the MC ends up with powers, and without a 2nd thought, he agrees with Amy to go out and play vigilante. Stuff happens, more people get powers thanks to the gimmick. Whisper takes an interest in the MC and becomes part of the team.
None of this is interesting because it never gets connected to the MC's actions or way of being. He isn't curious about suddenly getting a superpower. He doesn't think to train, or to test his limits. Instead, he immediately embraces becoming a vigilante.
I think that the dev failed to realize that most superheroes are tragic characters. They have a deep-seated trauma that drives their whole being. This shows because there isn't anything driving this MC, and certainly not the death of his mother or why he needed protecting. It's Amy who drives his decisions, not his own wants and needs. She even tells him when to go to bed! (Seriously, count how many times she says something like “we should get some sleep”.)
Events happen because the dev requires them to. To hand out a power, introduce a character, or to set up another B or C plot, while, what seemed like the A-plot (his father and the stone) seems largely forgotten. Even meeting Cassie makes no logical sense. The MC used his car to meet with Greg, went grocery shopping on the way home, but then (without carrying grocery bags) sees the youngster steal Cassie's purse and gives chase.
Gimmick: The gimmick of “climax near the stone and get powers”, seems fun for a lewd game. But it isn't a great gimmick for telling a cohesive story due to its limitation. When your characters require powers, they'll need to climax close to the stone, in the MC's room. And this is precisely what we see happening. Amy's proposal, Aurora listening in, Celeste's forwardness, Samantha flicking the bean while we're in a coma, and Sheila and Greg fucking in his room while he was out (Chloe just about confirms they both have powers as well). It gets so convoluted and bizarre, that soap operas should be taking notes.
This gimmick lets me suspect that the game was originally envisioned as a kinetic harem game.
Mantra: “The future is ahead of yourself.” I suspect that in its French version, this mantra has a deeper connotation, maybe through clever word use or double meaning. But, as far as English goes, this line is nonsensical.
I get what the dev tried to do, it's a version of “with great power …” or “Life is locomotion …”. The MC describes the mantra as mystical, but it isn't really. What's wrong with the good old “Be the change you want to see”? At least, that's how I think the MC is interpreting it. This wouldn't be so bad, if it wasn't for the MC yelling it at opponents or musing poetically about this mantra to others, and having to explain what it means.
Lack of friendship: In my first playthrough I got annoyed with Amy pushing the MC toward women, and decided I wouldn't date anyone she had a chance to influence. Celeste's remark about how the MC's dick was better than how Amy described it, just put me off (and almost made me quit again). Then, whenever I turn down an LI, either Destiny, Love or Strength comes along to press on me how important love and friendship is, and that I need to promise to be a good friend to them... But, we don't get that opportunity. Aurora will more or less disappear, and Celeste will cry on Amy's shoulder (as it should be), but the MC isn't getting any opportunity to get to know them better as a result. Why can't the MC reach out to them (possibly after a player choice), or have them reach out to the MC, who they thought so fondly of? (Answer: In essence, they have nothing in common and nothing to talk about. They hardly know each-other. This friendship will only matter when they learn about each-other's powers. But, is that really friendship? How's that compatible with Celeste's reasons to be drawn to the MC and urging him to stay friends with her?)
Dialog: There's a lot of it, but little of it matters. Luckily, this vastly improves in Chapter 4, where more of our previous choices start to play a role. But, except for the interview with Cerea, none of it actually advances the MC's understanding of what's going on. Some dialog is expertly crafted, but this was so rare that it (pleasantly) surprised me every time. There's little empathy or subtext, and not even all that many jokes during conversations. As I mentioned a few times already, Amy will always get her way, and when she steps out of line, there's no way for the player to admonish her. She's telling Celeste about his dick, tricks him into going into Sam's room, where she's sleeping half naked, and listens in on his private conversation with her as well. She'll receive something from a stranger (Whisper?) at the bar, we can click this hidden object, but we'll never confront Amy about any of it.
Some stats, because why not: (checks are 'if' statements, dialog can also be actions like staring. Most romance checks either change a few lines in dialog, or show a different render/sequence.)
Character growth: There is none. Characters make plenty of mistakes, but instead of learning from them, the consequences are waved away by 3rd party intervention (or Deus Ex Dev). Be it Doomsday Yads Mood's generous bribe gift, or Whisper's involvement, the team never has to think about what they're doing, or how they can do it better. Several weeks after getting their powers, they consider doing some training, but only because Samantha suggests it. Samantha, a firefighter, can't think of anything better than to train the MC's reflexes by throwing fireballs at him on the roof of his building. The same building where we clicked on a camera drone hidden-object moments earlier, but the MC thought was secluded enough to not draw attention.
There's very little confrontation going on in general. People aren't asked about their reasons or motivations. The MC learns from Sellers that there was no camera footage of his fight with the thugs, but later, Sheila shows him that footage. He thought he had a guardian angel (Whisper) who protected him, but then doesn't confront her about potentially leaking it to Sheila, that she has her own agenda. The MC can voice his displeasure about Greg having sex in his room, and Greg just laughs at him. The MC is about to go into business with this guy, and he can't even apologize for overstepping boundaries.
If the MC decides not to trust Cerea, she'll say: “Okay, yes. I understand. And you're right to be careful... Here's my card, if you ever decide to trust me, I'll be around.” This can only be interpreted as Cerea already knowing that the MC has a Glowing Stone. This, she could only have learned from Sheila. But, the MC won't even suspect it, even if he turns out to be wrong, and Cerea is just great at reading people. When characters aren't growing, a story can't happen. They need to make mistakes and suffer the consequences, to then overcome those and come out better and stronger for it. The MC's drive to work toward a better future is admirable, but how interesting is it to just see him succeeding?
Bugs:
A friend reported one bug for me already, about a heroic/survival choice having the identical route.
There are two other bugs I noticed while browsing the code, they have to do with 'actualTime'. The time on the tablet doesn't change after 'ch4_sheila', and in 'ch4_amy_apt', time goes backward (from 13:25 to 11:29)
All things considered, and seeing how complex the entire game is, this is an excellent job from a technical standpoint.
