Ren'Py Lessons in Love [v0.41.0] [Selebus]

[butterfly boy]

My problem with HOPE's warning isn't about if it's going to be absolutely terrifying or just all bluff. Instead it's about how dragged on it is without serious shit happening from an update-to-update player perspective.

I have no doubt that HOPE can and will not hesitate to pull some spicy and disguising tricks if he deems necessary, no matter what he's actual motive is and if punishing Sensei at all is going to help achieve his goal. But it's been such a while since his last warning, and we just......keep gliding from dorm to dorm without a care in the world waiting for the consequence to come, but it still hasn't come because the weather isn't right yet! (I feel like that sentence comes from someone who believed in feng shui too much).

Whatever punishment awaits us ahead, it had better be fun! Strap everyone in that sex machine! Autopilot everyone! Reset everyone except Sensei! Wizard content! (pls don't) At this point I hope it's something that will yield a great pattern break since Sensei being able to return to his sandbox slice of life mode for me is one of the major desensitizers to his deadline.

Hopefully Pareidolia's foreshadowing is something related all of this, that the next reset is Sensei's last one because he's gonna open his eyes like a fucking dunce. Afterwards comes a new chapter and a new phase where everything is fucked beyond belief.
View attachment 2915440

In a nutshell, I basically already give this deadline the finger and ask for some heavy beatings right here right now because I want to be surprised, I want my jaw dropped to the center of the Earth, but it's like HOPE was actually being very patient with me.

That's because Hope is probably supposed to be this big bad in the story, yet Sel puts absolutely no effort in hyping him up as one. That's my biggest problem with the story rn. I cannot take any of the gods seriously when none of them even shows any level of threat, and none of the other characters are aware of them. I feel like I would just be disappointed in the story if Hope's threat turned out to be as great as you guys think it will be.
My second problem with the "dark" phase is I'm not sure how well can Sel execute it when most of the stuff he writes is cute girls doing cute stuff.

 

[alex2011]

That's because Hope is probably supposed to be this big bad in the story, yet Sel puts absolutely no effort in hyping him up as one. That's my biggest problem with the story rn. I cannot take any of the gods seriously when none of them even shows any level of threat, and none of the other characters are aware of them. I feel like I would just be disappointed in the story if Hope's threat turned out to be as great as you guys think it will be.
My second problem with the "dark" phase is I'm not sure how well can Sel execute it when most of the stuff he writes is cute girls doing cute stuff.

That's because nobody earned the wrath of the gods...yet. We could be seeing snow next reset, even if it is going into spring as that can actually happen in Japan plus the way things are in the game's universe could mess with the weather, so at that point HOPE's wrath will have been earned if Sensei does not do what was ordered. Also, this game has a tendency to NOT lead up to big messed up things, instead going for the fast and hard approach to leave no chance for further warning that something is going to happen besides a few background references like the egg. This, for there to be no setup pointing a bright neon sign at what's coming before it actually hits, is common. He isn't the type of developer to telegraph is every move.

As far as the cutesy stuff we're used to, just because he hasn't done the big stuff yet doesn't mean he's incapable. He's following the lead of some of the most disturbing games and anime of all time, he knows what they do. At best, his showing all this cutesy stuff is to throw us off so we go into the real messed up things off guard for the greatest effect.

 

[DeSkel15]

That's because Hope is probably supposed to be this big bad in the story, yet Sel puts absolutely no effort in hyping him up as one. That's my biggest problem with the story rn. I cannot take any of the gods seriously when none of them even shows any level of threat, and none of the other characters are aware of them. I feel like I would just be disappointed in the story if Hope's threat turned out to be as great as you guys think it will be.
My second problem with the "dark" phase is I'm not sure how well can Sel execute it when most of the stuff he writes is cute girls doing cute stuff.

Personally, I think the gods are just intended to be popular puppets following the script.

Even HOPE can get stuck on repeat like the girls:

Spoiler

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Like in the 'How I Feel' Happy Event. Seems like it's more of a "they have power because something lets them have power" thing. Not to mention, there's literally been a script that's shown up with them:

Spoiler

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I'm more worried about whatever it was that seemed to murder Yumi:

Random Theory Time: I think Yumi may have got got.

So, the last time we see Yumi:

Spoiler

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She is Tshaped in her pajamas.

Well, fast forward, and Sensei wakes up on a couch with blood behind him:

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And what seems to be the edge of the shoulder of Yumi in her pajamas behind that couch:

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Now, keep in mind, characters go invisible during the reset, so chances are, Maya and Ayane couldn't see Yumi's corpse. It's also been implied that Sensei needs to defile the girl first before he can see them:

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So, I don't think Sensei could have seen her either, considering he hasn't really defiled Yumi yet. Also note how unlike whatever makes Sensei nude, Maya still had clothes on during the reset. Her PJs specifically, so, Yumi probably would have had hers as well.

We also had Sensei note something feels dangerous in Yumi's last event:

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Then we saw this twisted Ami thing:

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At the end, seemingly staring at Yumi.

Overall: It seems like Yumi didn't make it to the roof, due to being murdered during the reset.

There's also how the likes of whatever Memory and Bonus Ami are, can seemingly tell they have no free will:

Spoiler

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So, whatever is intended to be the scriptwriter writing this script according to the script that Sel is following seems like the real threat. I'm cautious of Nao:

Spoiler

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And Sekai, more than I am the gods.

Also fuck this thing:

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Unless it turns out to be good, then I'm probably going to feel bad.

 

[DeSkel15]

This game kind of reminds me of Madoka Magica in a way. There's cute girls doing cute girl stuff with cute girl magic:

Spoiler

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Then all of a sudden Existential Horror:

Spoiler

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And sometimes things gets a little graphic:

Spoiler

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[alex2011]

Personally, I think the gods are just intended to be popular puppets following the script.

Even HOPE can get stuck on repeat like the girls:

Spoiler

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Like in the 'How I Feel' Happy Event. Seems like it's more of a "they have power because something lets them have power" thing. Not to mention, there's literally been a script that's shown up with them:

Spoiler

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I'm more worried about whatever it was that seemed to murder Yumi:

There's also how the likes of whatever Memory and Bonus Ami are, can seemingly tell they have no free will:

Spoiler

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So, whatever is intended to be the scriptwriter writing this script according to the script that Sel is following seems like the real threat. I'm cautious of Nao:

Spoiler

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And Sekai, more than I am the gods.

Also fuck this thing:

Spoiler

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Unless it turns out to be good, then I'm probably going to feel bad.

Indeed, it is entirely possible we haven't even seen the big bad yet, that the ones we may have thought to be in that role might just be pawns themselves. Considering we aren't in the dark route yet, I'm going to have to assume that the dark route might just begin with the arrival of this mastermind, something so much worse that the entire situation gets exponentially worse. Something so powerful that nothing, and I do mean nothing, is outside the realm of possibility, that what we've thought of as being a really bad thing some of us may not want to see is only a fraction of how bad this is really going to get. Assuming this theory comes to pass in its entirety, we may actually be seeing the birth of something even more gruesome and disturbing than the rest of the Denpa genre combined plus Berserk, quite possibly the most disturbing piece of fiction to be written by a small developer.

 

[DeSkel15]

Indeed, it is entirely possible we haven't even seen the big bad yet, that the ones we may have thought to be in that role might just be pawns themselves. Considering we aren't in the dark route yet, I'm going to have to assume that the dark route might just begin with the arrival of this mastermind, something so much worse that the entire situation gets exponentially worse. Something so powerful that nothing, and I do mean nothing, is outside the realm of possibility, that what we've thought of as being a really bad thing some of us may not want to see is only a fraction of how bad this is really going to get. Assuming this theory comes to pass in its entirety, we may actually be seeing the birth of something even more gruesome and disturbing than the rest of the Denpa genre combined plus Berserk, quite possibly the most disturbing piece of fiction to be written by a small developer.

Yeah, I feel like Nao set up a few things, including the "pain yet to come" as it puts it:

Spoiler

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Not to mention, the level of gods:

Spoiler

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And to be honest, HOPE, in particular, seems to be comparable to a child in the grand scheme of things:

Spoiler

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With Sensei just being it's favorite character:

Spoiler

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Whether or not Sel can stick the landing, I can't say, but I'm definitely interested in watching the realization of what's really going on, "come to light", as Nao would put it:

Spoiler

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Also, personally, I'm hoping this game never comes close to shit like the "Crossed" comics. Now, I like to think I'm rather tolerant. But eating babies or crucifying your pregnant children, for more or less just shock value, is kind of a... "I'm out" situation, lmao. Existential Horror is fine though.

 

[saerav]

My problem with HOPE's warning isn't about if it's going to be absolutely terrifying or just all bluff. Instead it's about how dragged on it is without serious shit happening from an update-to-update player perspective.

Well, that's the main problem, isn't it? The pacing is much more bearable when you're playing the whole thing at once, but even then, the width of this game's character cast, alongside (at least in my opinion) an effort on Selebus' part to not rush things (which is generally good, don't get me wrong) means that when you're playing update to update the pace is glacial, even with what I would say a decent amount of content pumped out every month, at least when compared to most other games.

 

[Marie IV]

I get that what Selly wants is this thread deleted, but he's being megalomaniacal and irrational, because all that would do is ensure his growth completely and permanently stagnated. Every time this thread pops up on the latest updates page, thousands of people who have never heard of it before get the opportunity to discover it for the first time.

I was so excited to have found a game with writing on par with, or potentially comparable to Black Souls. Nothing else on this site (or in modern fiction entirely) compares to it in my view, and so I fell hard for the slowburn that is LiL almost immediately, sinking hours into reading the walls of text that came with it.

Then came the Patreon-rant fourth wall break. Then another. And another.

In my opinion, no work of art can ever truly be separated from artist. An artist and who and what they are is just as essential for contextualizing the art itself, at least in my eyes. Which makes it such a damn shame since the "art" went from so good to so bad that I had to stop playing the game and just ask myself "what the hell is the artist rambling about" instead of what the character is rambling about.

Now instead of actually playing the game and experiencing said "art", I'm instead reading through a thousand pages of F95 thread text because the rambling here, on porn-pirating site, is somehow more unnerving and thought-provoking then the rambling in-game. At least it seems necessary to do so now in order to fully understand the game; that is if I ever bother to pick it up again.

A bit of a gravedig so apologies if you get a ping or whatever for this. This statement just resonated with me the most, wherein I am almost wishing I never was recommended this game at all after reading what you had to say.

 

[dramires11]

compress pls?

 

[DeSkel15]

I was so excited to have found a game with writing on par with, or potentially comparable to Black Souls. Nothing else on this site (or in modern fiction entirely) compares to it in my view, and so I fell hard for the slowburn that is LiL almost immediately, sinking hours into reading the walls of text that came with it.

Then came the Patreon-rant fourth wall break. Then another. And another.

In my opinion, no work of art can ever truly be separated from artist. An artist and who and what they are is just as essential for contextualizing the art itself, at least in my eyes. Which makes it such a damn shame since the "art" went from so good to so bad that I had to stop playing the game and just ask myself "what the hell is the artist rambling about" instead of what the character is rambling about.

Now instead of actually playing the game and experiencing said "art", I'm instead reading through a thousand pages of F95 thread text because the rambling here, on porn-pirating site, is somehow more unnerving and thought-provoking then the rambling in-game. At least it seems necessary to do so now in order to fully understand the game; that is if I ever bother to pick it up again.

A bit of a gravedig so apologies if you get a ping or whatever for this. This statement just resonated with me the most, wherein I am almost wishing I never was recommended this game at all after reading what you had to say.

As someone else who came here from Black Souls, I can definitely see what you mean.

Personally though, I just press the skip button when stuff like "Raid" shadow whatever shows up. I subject myself to it the first time, but like the recent Bojack Horseman stuff, I'm thinking it's just there to "set a tone", and more or less intended to be filler, so that things don't feel too monotone. What's being said isn't important as far as I can tell. Some of the 4th wall stuff can be interesting, but it does seem more interesting for the writer than the player at times.

The story itself is still good though, and sometimes I even wonder what is more interesting: the story or what exactly the writer was thinking when they wrote it.

 

[DeSkel15]

compress pls?

My suggestion if you want compressed (go to the previous post):

There's the previous version:

You can then add the current .33
update, such as this:

Spoiler

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to the compressed .32 version.

If you're planning on using Joiplay, then you might have to make a folder within the Events folder also called Events and place the new Events images there, then switch the folders to give the game the ability to load them as they occur. It's manageable, but annoying. So, I guess take that into account depending on what you're using.

You can then add the current .34 update to it:

Spoiler

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[Bingoogus]

Hasn't his Subscribstar support completely stagnated since this thread got quarantined? I know Vehemental commented on it a while back but i've never bothered to keep tabs on it myself.

 

[butterfly boy]

That's because nobody earned the wrath of the gods...yet. We could be seeing snow next reset, even if it is going into spring as that can actually happen in Japan plus the way things are in the game's universe could mess with the weather, so at that point HOPE's wrath will have been earned if Sensei does not do what was ordered. Also, this game has a tendency to NOT lead up to big messed up things, instead going for the fast and hard approach to leave no chance for further warning that something is going to happen besides a few background references like the egg. This, for there to be no setup pointing a bright neon sign at what's coming before it actually hits, is common. He isn't the type of developer to telegraph is every move.

As far as the cutesy stuff we're used to, just because he hasn't done the big stuff yet doesn't mean he's incapable. He's following the lead of some of the most disturbing games and anime of all time, he knows what they do. At best, his showing all this cutesy stuff is to throw us off so we go into the real messed up things off guard for the greatest effect.

This game kind of reminds me of Madoka Magica in a way. There's cute girls doing cute girl stuff with cute girl magic:

Spoiler

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Then all of a sudden Existential Horror:

Spoiler

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And sometimes things gets a little graphic:

Spoiler

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I do agree with both of you that the dark stuff can happen. Ultimately, I don't really care about how dark this game can go, but what matters is if that dark stuff is meaningful towards the story and character progression, rather than just being there for cheap shock value.
I'm just somewhat disappointed because I think the whole mystery/gods side of the story could have been expressed in a more engaging way instead of being cryptic all the time, it's hard to take it seriously when the vast majority of the game is slice of life/drama and the protagonist of this "mystery" story isn't even interested in the mystery...
Regardless, I still trust in Sel's writing ability. He's had some really good events in Chapter 2 and 3 and the improvement in his writing is noticeable. I'm interested in seeing how will he approach this "dark" phase.

 

[butterfly boy]

Hasn't his Subscribstar support completely stagnated since this thread got quarantined? I know Vehemental commented on it a while back but i've never bothered to keep tabs on it myself.

I first started reading this five months ago and it was about $10600? And now it's $11000. The growth rate definitely dropped.
Though stagnation for him is probably a good thing, he can't really keep the puzzle answers secret if the community is bigger. A cult is supposed to be small after all.

 

[Marie IV]

The story itself is still good though, and sometimes I even wonder what is more interesting: the story or what exactly the writer was thinking when they wrote it.

It's especially tragic to me, because when I look up the artist behind Black Souls, I get a thread about how the creator used funds from his game to support an ailing family member. And when I look up Selebus, I get... well, [deleted user] arguing with randoms on piracy website over God Hope knows what, and an apparent obsession with making the most money possible.

Even disregarding rights or wrongs between F95 and Selebus, it's impossible to ignore this aspect now and just enjoy the fiction since I can expect to hear one-sided rants all about it in his game anyways. Which is fine I guess, it is his game; and thus his medium to produce a narrative, especially that of anti-religion (or "heavy religious critique" as he puts it), or just his own narrative of his experience elsewhere. At that point I would be more invested and willing to donate to his autobiography instead.

Im sure the game continues fine, I'm just terribly dissapointed that all I have to expect from LiL now is just another porn game with a narrative focus, and not the exceptionally written masterpiece I initially believed it was.

I'm hoping that as his personal hatred of me fades, the truth of my words will stick around and percolate, and something positive will result in the long term from my participation here.

yea literally

 

[Mori Enjoyer]

hoping for a pta meeting event with all the milfs when spring comes

dont know how the spring reset will work if it will progress through summer and end in the fall season or go straight to winter with summer/winter resets being 6 months each, that or a god is gonna die soon.

 

[jimmyjoo]

Check the Wiki for the requirements, there is a whole list of event needed to be seen and be beyond 220 days

You must be registered to see the links

(Bookmark the Wiki, great reference for help getting through the game)

Then use the Puzzle Guide on the 1st page of this thread for the answers to get through the Event "There is Nothing"

I had been using that and had completed all required previous events.

 

[DeSkel15]

It's especially tragic to me, because when I look up the artist behind Black Souls, I get a thread about how the creator used funds from his game to support an ailing family member. And when I look up Selebus, I get... well, [deleted user] arguing with randoms on piracy website over God Hope knows what, and an apparent obsession with making the most money possible.

Even disregarding rights or wrongs between F95 and Selebus, it's impossible to ignore this aspect now and just enjoy the fiction since I can expect to hear one-sided rants all about it in his game anyways. Which is fine I guess, it is his game; and thus his medium to produce a narrative, especially that of anti-religion (or "heavy religious critique" as he puts it), or just his own narrative of his experience elsewhere. At that point I would be more invested and willing to donate to his autobiography instead.

Im sure the game continues fine, I'm just terribly dissapointed that all I have to expect from LiL now is just another porn game with a narrative focus, and not the exceptionally written masterpiece I initially believed it was.

I just ignore all of the drama, tbh. As long I'm being entertained and the Creator isn't going around choking strangers or trying to ruin the lives of innocents, it's no big deal to me. Most people suck anyway.

Also, I find this game rather religious all things considered. There's god stuff around every corner. Maya definitely seems "anti-religious" though, which is funny considering she's a shrine maiden that prays to a god every once in awhile at least. Yasu's whole thing is also being apart of a minor religion, and Tsuneyo has her own religious beliefs. I suppose even Ayane sees Sensei as a god:

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[DeSkel15]

hoping for a pta meeting event with all the milfs when spring comes

dont know how the spring reset will work if it will progress through summer and end in the fall season or go straight to winter with summer/winter resets being 6 months each, that or a god is gonna die soon.

Yeah, I was actually wondering about that. Imagine if HOPE just kills Pareidolia to skip Spring or something. That'd be interesting.

 

[ccxvidonaferens]

I suppose even Ayane sees Sensei as a god

She certainly seems to worship him like one. And she's not the only one either.