VN Ren'Py Hillside [v0.15.1] [DarkBlue]

[TONYNICHOLAS]

Does the Game have Any Animations ?

 

[Deleted member 3313072]

Does the Game have Any Animations ?

The only animations right now I believe is Lucy's solo scene in the hot tub. Otherwise, it's just renders

 

[Turki 10]

DISCLAIMER: this is all my opinion. Please disagree all you want. But given I was asked, I am explaining why I think it is a bad idea.

Ok, let me paraphrase that so that you can see what I meant more clearly.

Your argument is valid if there is not limitation on resources. If, for example, DB could create any possible scenario, then sure, let include one simply for the reason of people that enjoy it taking. In fact I would also enjoy an scenario in which MC deviates from the sacred Timeline and he is captured from the Time Variant Authority. If there is an Alligator Loki, I want a Koala Emma*, given the way she hugs MC in one of the images.

The idea of a harem is very hard to pull consistently, without violating character's internal behavior. Here what you are saying is essentially that Charlotte, a woman that has suffered from the abused of multiple man, would be willing to share the same man with her two children and her sister in a romantic way. That Sucy, that has showed pure hatred towards MC (this could change though) would be willing to have her sister, the one she protects above all, date a guy that has to split himself between 4 other persons. Emma, that for all I love her is essentially a self centered child that goes to the point of justifying sex of her love interest as a manipulation made by a woman to rationalize not being number one in her lover's eyes would be ok to share MC among any other. And Lucy, that has always felt jealousy against her sister would forever feel she is simply being number two.

Of course, you could try and do something in which all this different personalities would learn to love and like such an scenario and all live happily ever after. But that is not consistent behavior.

Truth is, Charlotte will always find it weird that a mid thirties (my guess) guy is doing her extremely innocent daughter, imagine if he is also fucking her. Lucy will most likely never be able to stop feeling like an additional wheel if she was in a relationship with MC and her sister, given her inferiority complex. Suzy's personality would have to go from pure rage to a puppy that accepts everything and Emma would need a lot of maturing to understand that she would not be the center of attention but simply one from a group.

But realistically, it is an almost impossible scenario to pull in a way that would fit the rest of the story. This is not a comedy, not a parody, not a fuck fest in which MC's cock is god given. This novel is (obviously my opinion but I would guess is a fairly educated guess) is trying to go for a more serious dramatic approach.

It is also the kind of thing in which most choices are almost irrelevant, as they are not real choices. For a choice to be real you have to give up when you make a choice. If you can have everything, then why make the choice to have less than everything? Choices like that are not real options but simply a right answer and a wrong answer. If you want, a choice is only as good as what you leave behind. So having a harem, in which you are choosing all girls, also means you are choosing no one. It is really the most pointless decision in the game.

So given that DB still have to advance a lot the plot and that you have, on the very least 4 routes to make, I can only see a harem route as a waste of time and effort for something that would not fit the rest of the story. It is simply pure fan service made to inflate the reader's ego about how phenomenal they are that all love interest are willing to share him. They are fun to have? yes, but they are really a joke route most of the time in any more serious novel.

There is a lot of novels that are made simply to go and try to make a harem. But I personally don't see how a harem setting will work here.

DISCLAIMER 2: I do enjoy harem in games in which it make sense, if you have not played it play Once in a Lifetime. It is complete and it is fucking awesome! And the harem setting makes a lot of sense given the overall mood of the novel.

Edit: highlighted the most important part of this wall of text.

*Bunny, kitten or puppy also works

I agree with every word you said. All the games that present the Harem Road are clear from the beginning. You just a few minutes know that, but this game works on the drama. It is impossible in real life for two sisters to share the same man or a mother and her daughter There are games like that, yes, but they are completely different, and that's why I love this game and I love Charlotte's character Is Charlotte, one of the most respected and honorable women in the games I've ever played, would she enter into a three way relationship with a man and her daughter? That would be the most bullshit I've ever seen.

 

[fishbrain]

After seeing the achievements earlier I'm really wondering how deep this is going to go (Charlotte has 3 of 20). Keeping in mind there could be some only available on certain routes as well as several per release. Then what this is based around, and the reality of Hollywood. I wonder what Dark Blue might have up his sleeves for us..

Has there been any information on that, as far as how many chapters?

I feel very disconnected when MC knows something I don't. It's already 0.9. when are we gonna know what happened between MC and that emma from his previous job?

As well as his previous connection with the attacker, which could go hand in hand.

 

[Space Ghost]

I will come back in about 5 updates when there is enough content to make it worthwhile instead of this constant tease

 

[Turki 10]

I will come back in about 5 updates when there is enough content to make it worthwhile instead of this constant tease

Lol, if you don't find it worthwhile, that's your problem. The story is great and the drama is great, but the biggest problem for some is that it doesn't have any sex scenes so it may not be worth it for you

 

[jish55]

With the Harem discussion, this is not that type of game for a few major reasons.

1) This update delves deeply into MC and why MC is the way he is, and that's his past experiences. While in the Military, MC was cheated on by two girlfriends while he was overseas, to where he hasn't been with another woman for over 2 years. To MC, he doesn't want to do that to someone he's with, and because of that, he's far less willing to just get his dick wet when his morals already keeps him from sleeping around, and since he isn't the type to betray someone he's with, isn't just gonna try and fuck multiple women.

2) There's only one woman who wouldn't mind sharing MC, and that's Kaylah (which hey, that's cool, though this then leads to the issue of since MC and Kaylah are FWB, means that MC won't be the only one hooking up with other women as Kaylah is also within her right to fuck other dudes). Charlotte has A LOT of issues with men, to the point that it may take another 4-5 updates before she even starts to realize she MAY have feelings for MC, but even then, with all the trauma she's been through and all the history she's had with men, constantly being chased by so many, nearly (or definitely) being raped by multiple individuals, being nearly beaten to death? There would be no way Charlotte would be okay with sharing MC.

Emma is very naïve and would have a very hard time understanding or being okay with sharing MC when she equates sex with love, so she wouldn't want to share him with anyone. Suzi is Suzi and would probably stab MC in his sleep if he tried fucking other women while with her. Lucy probably has the biggest reason, because all her life, she's been looked at the accessory to her sister, never having anything of her own, where even on her birthday, it was about Charlotte, so why would she be okay sharing MC when she's already so jealous to the point that in this update, when MC wouldn't have sex with her, she freaked out thinking he was exactly like every other guy she was with, and damn near broke down.

 

[Chronos169]

Detective Carter I don't think he could do something like that. The messages only come to Emma when she's in college, and she's been away for a while, and when she comes back, the messages come back on her phone again. I don't see any reason to doubt the man why would he nominate Mc if he wanted to hurt the family

Well i'll put it again in a spoiler.

Spoiler

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[Turki 10]

Well i'll put it again in a spoiler.

Spoiler

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I think it's overthinking. Maybe the actor and Zack and Harry are all involved. Yes, they're in the same circle of work and they're all somehow related to the family, but Carter nominates MC. I don't have any doubts about it. He was kind of understanding, do whatever you want, but don't make me have too much paperwork instead of trying to warn him that if he hurt anyone, he'll be brought to legal action. I think he'll help MC get revenge in the end.

 

[Deleted member 3313072]

He's a squirrely one for sure in my mind, but hell, what do I know. I'm ready and have been ready to crucify Kaylah for just existing, so me having irks about Carter I guess isn't surprising. But Chronos169 brings up valid issues, and what better way for things to get swept under the covers than to have a cop on your (bad guy's) side?

Maybe he nominated him so he/bad guys can whack him out as they're attacking/eliminating Charlotte? I don't know. Maybe I'm reaching. I've been awake for 17 hours and I'm very sleepy, so who the fuck knows why my brain is thinking what it is right now.

 

[Deleted member 3313072]

I think Hillside Police has a lot of people who would do anything for money, but Carter's just a detective, he's not the chief of police there, and I'm going to ask my friend the question again, if he's the bad guy, why would he nominate our Professional man?

Agreed. But maybe there's someone who knows him in Hillside that WANTED Carter to nominate him to Lucy, possibly like I said, to eliminate him. To bring him back into Hillside after his last job (HIS Emma)

It's a crooked, cesspool of a place so it wouldn't surprise me at all if there is some mastermind to be revealed later in the game behind all of this.

 

[Pcdump]

Thanx for the update.
Love the game story and the girls.
Keep up the good work.

 

[Thickgravy49]

Hahahahahahaha.......
It is worth the wait.
Mr. Facepalm.

Well, I hope you've got plenty of patience, cos it'll never happen, Mr. Sadfuck. Lmfao.

 

[Skylaroo]

The danger to Emma from the stalker is the reason Charlotte allowed the MC into their lives. Does she need protection from the actor? Yes. Will she at this point, given her history, allow the MC to stick around to protect her from him, if the threat to her daughter is gone? Given that she doesn't want to reveal who he is, probably in no small part due to not fully trusting the MC, I'm sceptical.

Sorry, but v0.9 basically showed how you are simply wrong. I can understand that you wanted to discuss things and replied to some people's posts, but it's probably better that you make sure you're up to date before commenting because otherwise you're simply posting something that is wrong.

She definitely won't keep him around because Emma has a crush on an asshole who doesn't deserve her attention. Nor for Suzi's problem (which, unless it happened in this update, Suzi hasn't even revealed yet.) So while there are other plot points to resolve, the reason for the MC to be there is the stalker.

You're confusing two different things. The stalker is the reason for MC to be hired in the beginning. As the game progresses, the relationship between MC and the Lloyd family evolved/improved that the stalker is no longer the only reason that MC would work for the family. That's my whole point as to why I don't think there's any need to drag the stalker plot.

I don't believe I misunderstood. You were speculating about why Kaylah might get more screen time and directly asked a question about whether Kaylah might be considered more likeable. I took this as a jumping off point to state my preference in context of your question. True, I did not address why Suzi is getting so little screen time, but I wasn't trying to.

You definitely misunderstood lol. I didn't directly asked a question about it. I put the question mark only to emphasize that it's a speculation on my part on whether the dev changed plan or not. The point remains that a main female character is neglected that she was overshadowed by a side character. It's not about who is more likeable between the two and I didn't ask for your justification as to why one is more likeable than the other.

 

[assman1337]

this is what i enjoyed the most XD

 

[Skylaroo]

Of course, you could try and do something in which all this different personalities would learn to love and like such an scenario and all live happily ever after. But that is not consistent behavior.

I agree that harem doesn't really fit the game, but I disagree with this reasoning. When you're talking about harem being not consistent behavior, you're only basing it on the current state of the game. You're making assumption that the characters will behave the same way from start to the end. This is a bad reason because a good character development would see the characters grow (and therefore, change) as the game progresses. If the dev wants the game to have a harem ending, it isn't difficult to develop the characters toward that route.

 

[HansDampf788]

This update delves deeply into MC and why MC is the way he is, and that's his past experiences. While in the Military, MC was cheated on by two girlfriends while he was overseas, to where he hasn't been with another woman for over 2 years

I didn't see anything like that, is that an extra scene on the Lucy route?

DISCLAIMER: this is all my opinion. Please disagree all you want. But given I was asked, I am explaining why I think it is a bad idea.

Ok, let me paraphrase that so that you can see what I meant more clearly.

Your argument is valid if there is not limitation on resources. If, for example, DB could create any possible scenario, then sure, let include one simply for the reason of people that enjoy it taking. In fact I would also enjoy an scenario in which MC deviates from the sacred Timeline and he is captured from the Time Variant Authority. If there is an Alligator Loki, I want a Koala Emma*, given the way she hugs MC in one of the images.

The idea of a harem is very hard to pull consistently, without violating character's internal behavior. Here what you are saying is essentially that Charlotte, a woman that has suffered from the abused of multiple man, would be willing to share the same man with her two children and her sister in a romantic way. That Sucy, that has showed pure hatred towards MC (this could change though) would be willing to have her sister, the one she protects above all, date a guy that has to split himself between 4 other persons. Emma, that for all I love her is essentially a self centered child that goes to the point of justifying sex of her love interest as a manipulation made by a woman to rationalize not being number one in her lover's eyes would be ok to share MC among any other. And Lucy, that has always felt jealousy against her sister would forever feel she is simply being number two.

Of course, you could try and do something in which all this different personalities would learn to love and like such an scenario and all live happily ever after. But that is not consistent behavior.

Truth is, Charlotte will always find it weird that a mid thirties (my guess) guy is doing her extremely innocent daughter, imagine if he is also fucking her. Lucy will most likely never be able to stop feeling like an additional wheel if she was in a relationship with MC and her sister, given her inferiority complex. Suzy's personality would have to go from pure rage to a puppy that accepts everything and Emma would need a lot of maturing to understand that she would not be the center of attention but simply one from a group.

But realistically, it is an almost impossible scenario to pull in a way that would fit the rest of the story. This is not a comedy, not a parody, not a fuck fest in which MC's cock is god given. This novel is (obviously my opinion but I would guess is a fairly educated guess) is trying to go for a more serious dramatic approach.

It is also the kind of thing in which most choices are almost irrelevant, as they are not real choices. For a choice to be real you have to give up when you make a choice. If you can have everything, then why make the choice to have less than everything? Choices like that are not real options but simply a right answer and a wrong answer. If you want, a choice is only as good as what you leave behind. So having a harem, in which you are choosing all girls, also means you are choosing no one. It is really the most pointless decision in the game.

So given that DB still have to advance a lot the plot and that you have, on the very least 4 routes to make, I can only see a harem route as a waste of time and effort for something that would not fit the rest of the story. It is simply pure fan service made to inflate the reader's ego about how phenomenal they are that all love interest are willing to share him. They are fun to have? yes, but they are really a joke route most of the time in any more serious novel.

There is a lot of novels that are made simply to go and try to make a harem. But I personally don't see how a harem setting will work here.

DISCLAIMER 2: I do enjoy harem in games in which it make sense, if you have not played it play Once in a Lifetime. It is complete and it is fucking awesome! And the harem setting makes a lot of sense given the overall mood of the novel.

Edit: highlighted the most important part of this wall of text.

*Bunny, kitten or puppy also works

I see where you are coming from that it would be inconsistent with their characters but let me repeat something I said months ago.
Whatever decision the Player makes for the MC will also cause problems with Charlotte and Lucy.
Charlotte has already shown signs of jealousy when Kaylah gets too close to the MC and don't even think about what happens if he dates one of her daughters she will go completely crazy.
I also see a problem with Lucy, she already has a massive inferiority complex with Charlotte so she also won't take it easy if she loses the MC to her sister, especially because she was interested in the MC from the beginning and Charlotte didn't even want to be in the same house as the MC.

The way I see it is that Emma needs the MC as a father figure and both Charlotte and Lucy need him as a partner so the best solution is the MC dating both Charlotte and Lucy so no one goes crazy.




What was this update? Why pile even more drama on top of what was already there? How about solving some of the problems? I start to think the Dev has no idea how to wrap up any of the storylines.
Honestly, Emma's stalker storyline should have been solved in the update after the Actor came back same with the bully storyline so that we can finally start with the big problems, Suzy's blackmailer, getting rid of the actor, and fix Charlotte's mental health.

 

[Ayhsel]

I agree that harem doesn't really fit the game, but I disagree with this reasoning. When you're talking about harem being not consistent behavior, you're only basing it on the current state of the game. You're making assumption that the characters will behave the same way from start to the end. This is a bad reason because a good character development would see the characters grow (and therefore, change) as the game progresses. If the dev wants the game to have a harem ending, it isn't difficult to develop the characters toward that route.

I literally wrote this:

"Of course, you could try and do something in which all this different personalities would learn to love and like such an scenario and all live happily ever after. But that is not consistent behavior."

So no, I took into account that character grow. What I meant was that it is very hard to do in a realistic way that the characters would accept the setting. Yes, Charlotte could get cured from her problems, Suzy could be molded to be a nice puppy, Lucy's inferiority complex could cured, and Emma could grow up and learn to be less self centered.

But even then it would be a high jump to accept to be part of a harem while keeping the essence of the game

You are talking about writing the game towards that directly, which further points to the other overall main reason in which I argue everything: writing each route takes resources!

In other words, I don't see how DB could write the individual 4 routes, while keeping the essence of this game, while including a harem route that is consistent with character development.

Long story short: Either I misunderstood your comment, or the reason you are claiming my argument is false was already included in my argument, as part of a more involved cost benefit approach to development, while keeping some sufficient high level of "quality". Sorry if I was not clear.

 

[Turki 10]

From Discord, I hope we close this discussion. There will be no harem path in this game

 

[Ayhsel]

Whatever decision the Player makes for the MC will also cause problems with Charlotte and Lucy.

That is fine. MC making decisions and creating conflict between the characters is always good for a story.

As in my signature, "Conflict is the essence of drama".

The way I see it is that Emma needs the MC as a father figure and both Charlotte and Lucy need him as a partner so the best solution is the MC dating both Charlotte and Lucy so no one goes crazy.

Emma needs a father figure and a friend, which could be Kaylah. Also needs a mother that let her grow up. And probably some counselling.

Charlotte and Lucy DON'T need the MC. Believing MC will fix their problems with the power of love is really absurd. They need therapy. Years of therapy! The former way more than the second one.