VN Ren'Py Isabella - Chasing Shadows [Ch. 4.3] [badtimetales]

[LSC82]

As i already mentioned, i'm not a big fan, i don't like that style haircut and the overall look comes up a bit plain (which isn't helped by the fact that her "rival" is a gorgeous super model).
Sometimes i can deal with the type of "spunky" personality she has, but right now she comes on as a "rental who thinks she owns the place" which personally is big no-no.

I did like that she wanted to fuck while a few meters away from Isa, that's pretty hot.
So there are redeeming qualities and she still has a (small) chance to survive in my OG playthrough.

 

[stayclassy858]

I voted no, although I don't hate Alex. She's got a super cute body its just that her personality doesn't really draw me in or make me want to be focused solely on her.

 

[Jarulf]

Voted yes. I do like her. She's very pretty imo, I'm more attracted to her than to Isabella actually.
I don't mind her personality, and I suspect she's feeling a bit insecure and uncertain about her (non-) relationship with the MC right now. I assume she's in love with him, after all.

 

[ManifestDream]

Loved the game so far. I liked MC which is something rare in these types of games for me, also voted yes in the poll she's pretty cute and sweet.

 

[lukrame]

Think isabella is just hotter then Alex and also very likable. I usually like to have as much content as possible with the characters I like the best so it feels like Alex just is a barrier for Isabella content.

 

[Thickgravy49]

I think Alex is a likeable enough character and something slighlty different, which is nice, imo.
Not every character needs to be a massively over-sized tits bimbo, you dig?

 

[SpyderArachnid]

I like Alex. They are fun, spunky, and adventurous. I plan to stick with her throughout if that ends up being possible. Isabella is alright as well, just think the MC needs to get to know her more to make her more appealing to me personally. Then if Alex wants some sort of throuple with her, I'll give it a whirl lol. But I'm mostly about Alex right now.

 

[badtimetales]

Alex just comes across like she doesn't care and looks like how I would imagine she rolls out of bed and goes on about the rest of her day.

I thought about that. More makeup, more this and that.
In the very first version of the game she was gothic style all over, black lipstick, makeup and so on.

Yeah. And now imagine her looking like that. The poll is still ongoing so i will not comment on that, but with such an appearance she could be a side girl, but not a main LI.

Besides the RL Alex is more like the Alex in the game.

--

You will get some background information in Ch 3, not sure if it will be in Ch 3.1 as I have to put a few different scenes/story plots into this release.
But hopefully that will explain better why she is ... like she is.

And both LI will change, starting with Isabella in the next Chapter.

 

[BarbarrossaNA]

As the 'MC' in this game I don't know if I'm happy that Isabella is lip locking me in the final pict.. or getting my hackles up because the fucker approaching from behind her might be the reason for it..

Either or both.. glad to be of service..

 

[Azsouth]

if a threeway relationship was always planned, how about a harem w/ Williams niece, Valerie, and/or the lady cop that delivered the bad news?

 

[joryh]

Saves ain't working for me. Just throws errors, dun save at all. No autosaves at all either.

 

[badtimetales]

Saves ain't working for me. Just throws errors, dun save at all. No autosaves at all either.

No problems reported until now.
Which OS? Can you send me a screenshot from the error?

Are the chapter end saves in slot 8?

 

[joryh]

No problems reported until now.
Which OS? Can you send me a screenshot from the error?

Are the chapter end saves in slot 8?

Ok. I dunno what is going on. Fired it up to make a save and it all worked this time, unlike last night. Maybe it had something to do with I double started the game (thought I hadn't started it when it took a while to fire up) and had two iterations going, then shut down one when I started the game.

So nvm, I guess. If it does happen again I'll take a shot.

o/

 

[Darkdevil66]

I just started a poll, because I really want to know what people think about Alex.

I dig big mouths, snarky attitude and original haircut. So, she's fine in my book.

Disclaimer: The result of this poll will not change anything for the story.

Good. I would advise you to not change the way your character acts either. I've witnessed too many authors changing the way they used to write their character because they've got bad feedback. Characters generally end up inconsistent and schizophrenic. Having a polarizing character isn't a flaw. On the contrary, it fuels the debate.

 

[badtimetales]

Good. I would advise you to not change the way your character acts either.

I can assure you that they will not change except what was planned anyways, Isabella needs a little push forward.

 

[badtimetales]

if a threeway relationship was always planned, how about a harem w/ Williams niece, Valerie, and/or the lady cop that delivered the bad news?

You could add a few upcoming characters to that list, where I really think for myself "It's a shame that she isn't a LI".

A few simple reasons against that

- I'm tired with unrealistic harem stories and try to deliver a believable story.
That's my personal opinion, many people will want something different.

Yes, I know that I just shut down some supporters.

More important:

I'm new to this.

- I'm working with an ancient 2070 GPU, so I have to limit the amount of renders or the quality. And that decision is quite easy , I'm going for improved renders and animations.
- I really don't want to offer x paths. Do your math, 6 LI with every path from one girl only to a 6 girls harem.
Sorry, but as a new dev I'll not try to do that. Because it WILL be a disaster.

Some girls will be available for some fun, if the player decides so. And if it fits into the story.

But the LI, as in "that are the ones you will finish the game with and you will live a long happy life with until you play the next game" will be Alex and/or Isabella.

Sorry, that's all I can offer.

 

[I am Gone]

But the LI, as in "that's the ones you will finish the game with and you will live a long happy life with until you play the next game" will be Alex and/or Isabella.

Nothing wrong with a throuple they are quite enjoyable and means spending more quality time with the 2 lovely ladies.

 

[badtimetales]

Who do we have here?

A new character?
Yep, one of two, perhaps three that will be introduced in Chapter 3.1.



Good news, bad news.

My electricity supplier just sent me a nice letter, price per kW/h will go up 10%.
Great. The PC draws about 300W while rendering.

So I looked up the 300-600W home solar panels which you can install yourself. Doing the renders at daytime, setting the scenes up in the night.
Yeah. I'm not the only one who thought about energy prices.
The systems are mostly sold out and if they are available the prices are 50-100% up in the last months.

So that's not an option.

Plan B it is.

I was working with an old Nvidia 2070 (non super).
A pain in the ass to work with.
Checking the lightning in Iray preview took 30-120 seconds, rendering complex scenes up to 2 hours.

So I bit the bullet and bought a 3070TI. 3090TI would have been nicer (because it has 3x more VRam), but Isa is far away from making that money to justify such a spending.

Renders times are down to 1/3 and most astonishing: The card is drawing only 240W.
So a render running one hour with the old card = 300W/h, now it's 100W/h.
And it's much more easier to set up the scenes.



Dev Status

Good. Really good.

I will finish the first scene today or tomorrow, so I only have to throw in some additional renders.
The single scenes are getting bigger from update to update.

I will change the workflow again. Rendering one scene, write the dialogues, play it, polish it, rework the dialogue.




And that's all for now.
Thanks for your support and

Happy Easter to everybody!




Edit:
Sorry, no Easter renders because I wasn't able to come up with a scene.
And a bunny costume is not what I wanted

 

[badtimetales]

@Sesinho





This is a direct response to your rating https://f95zone.to/threads/isabella-dark-paths-ch-2-3-badtimetales.99680/br-reviews

Thanks for your rating, cant call it an opinion, because I doubt that you have played the game.

"The Mc has 1 girlfriend in the beggingin, then she dies, and after no time he is given another one right from the start."
(your wording and writing!)


It's been mentioned in the story a few times that between the tragic death of your Ex and the "no strings attached" relationship with Alex nearly a year has passed.
It has been explained what has happend and which role Alex has.

That's where I lost all interest in reading your opinion.
Because it clearly shows that you haven't played the game.

I'm really grateful for all constructive critics, but yours is just a joke.
Therefore there is no need to address the other things you have mentioned.

 

[BarbarrossaNA]

@Sesinho

This is a direct response to your rating https://f95zone.to/threads/isabella-dark-paths-ch-2-3-badtimetales.99680/br-reviews

Thanks for your rating, cant call it an opinion, because I doubt that you have played the game.

"The Mc has 1 girlfriend in the beggingin, then she dies, and after no time he is given another one right from the start."
(your wording and writing!)

While I usually don't argue with ratings.. (everyone is entitled to their opinion) I do take offense if what the rating person writes isn't even close to what the game/story actually is.

There is a difference between something happening right now.. and a Dev setting the background about something that happened well in the past.(A year in the past) Not going to get into a line by line with Sesinho but just wanted this out there for consumption.

At the moment I'm seeing 14 sterling reviews and one broken english well off target one. I realize many here are not english first and I understand that.. but it was hard to refrain from a shot after that review. ALL the Devs here deserve the reviews written to be objective and clearly explained.. This one fell far short of that.

I can't imagine how a Dev feels after sinking money he can ill afford into a start up game only to be hit with something like that review.

Full disclosure I do support this game on Patreon.. as well as a few others.. In closing.. keep up the great work badtimetales.. good things will follow.