Ah, right, I didn't make the connection since we haven't seen her much and she doesn't have it in the above picture.
- Mar 7, 2018
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A lot of those responses are caused by people asking questions after downloading leaked Patreon builds (yes, I know this is a pirate site and blah, blah, blah). A lot of people around here would be glad to help others, if they'd just wait a few days to get the game.
- Apr 28, 2020
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Thanks for answer. I asked not because I am horny teenager who can't wait for complete game but because I have serious concerns that game of this quality will never be finished, which, in my opinion, is possible if project is developed by one person and has estimated time to finish above three years (presumably). Three years is very long period of time considering instability of life. During such long period, life priorities and available time for our activities can radically change. Have you considered hiring additional writers (though I think it will be hard to find one to match your skill) at some point of funding?
Regardless, you are doing a great job and keep it up!
No plans to hire additional writers or anything like that. I’m stubborn and horrible to work with so it would just be a problem in the long run. One thing to note, though, is that this is literally my job now- so it’s not like I could realistically just stop out of nowhere like that without putting myself into a horrible situation.
To anyone skeptical, I simply ask to look at what I’ve done in the last 9 months. I haven’t even delayed an update yet and the flow of content coming out has been very consistent. I busted my ass for over 10 years trying to make a living this way and have no plans on giving that up.
- Dec 4, 2019
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I finished the game, and I have some feedback for anyone who may be interested. In short, I liked it very much, also kind of hated it at the same time, probably completely missed the way it's meant to be understood, and I'm definitely confused, but not in a way you'd probably expect.
The game is long, very long. I didn't measure it, but there's no way it took me less than thirty hours to finish. I think it was even more, the amount of text to read is huge. And it would probably be twice as much if I didn't cheat for roughly the second half and didn't look at guide, to know what I need to do to progress.
As I see it, this game suffers from exactly the same problem as other games where player has to trigger events to advance, which can be done only in specific places at specific times and with other prerequisites (affection, lust, dependencies on other events) that are not known in advance. With that many combinations it's extremely easy to get stuck. It's not that apparent at the beginning, because something happens almost everywhere you go, but it quickly gets worse. Hunting for missing events near the end is almost a chore. Even worse is, discovering things this way is not rewarding, only frustrating, because you still see the same amount of story (which I'd think is the important part).
As for the content, that's where I'm confused. For most part (vast majority, something like 98%) it's beautiful game, enjoyable, funny, sexy, etc. Lovable characters you can get attached to, feel something for them, care about them, feel bad if they feel bad. Different emotions that you definitely don't get from every game.
But then there's the supernatural part. Ok, why not, spice it up with some mystery, that could be good. But what's in this game doesn't do it for me. I don't know if for some reason it's meant as big enough contrast to the nice part of game, but those scenes that would be disturbing by themselves, come out as simply unnecessary.
And even without the excessive scenes, the supernatural part kind of sabotages the normal one, because it makes the world not real. And I don't mean not real as me playing the game, I don't count that. I'm normally the self-inserting kind of player, so whatever happens in fictional world is real. But in this case even Sensei is perfectly aware that what's real is questionable. It extends also to all choices, like if something goes wrong, does it really matter?
What I don't get at all is the puzzle. What's the point? To make sure that I watch the weird scenes? Playing with sound (which I don't mind, because music nicely fits scenes in normal part of game) is mandatory because of this? Really?! It's so indescribably unnecessary. And to get it right without cheating, you have to pay a lot of attention. The game specifically tells you to remember one thing. The other one you hear if you don't skip weird scenes. Third one (username) is mentioned few times and you'll probably remember it, at least if you played the game in one go as I did. Probably not otherwise. And no, nobody will write it down, because there's no indication that it's significant in any way, and nowhere else in the game you are required to remember anything. Same goes for last one (password), it was mentioned at one point, but again without even a hint that it should be important.
South Park had one episode where all kids in class were diagnosed with attention deficit disorder. Diagnostic method consisted of reading a long book to them and then asking about some tiny detail from it. And when nobody remembered (as could be expected), the conlusion was that it must be because of ADD. Here it's something like that.
I understand that I can't argue with author's artistic vision, because no matter how I feel about it, I'll always be the one who's wrong. But it would be interesting to know how many people understand the game correctly (which I assume includes seeing the weird parts as significant) and how many just focus on the normal part and basically ignore the rest (just accept that the world is doing that one thing, but don't worry about details). I didn't do it, but it's perfectly viable way how to play and enjoy the game.
The game is long, very long. I didn't measure it, but there's no way it took me less than thirty hours to finish. I think it was even more, the amount of text to read is huge. And it would probably be twice as much if I didn't cheat for roughly the second half and didn't look at guide, to know what I need to do to progress.
As I see it, this game suffers from exactly the same problem as other games where player has to trigger events to advance, which can be done only in specific places at specific times and with other prerequisites (affection, lust, dependencies on other events) that are not known in advance. With that many combinations it's extremely easy to get stuck. It's not that apparent at the beginning, because something happens almost everywhere you go, but it quickly gets worse. Hunting for missing events near the end is almost a chore. Even worse is, discovering things this way is not rewarding, only frustrating, because you still see the same amount of story (which I'd think is the important part).
As for the content, that's where I'm confused. For most part (vast majority, something like 98%) it's beautiful game, enjoyable, funny, sexy, etc. Lovable characters you can get attached to, feel something for them, care about them, feel bad if they feel bad. Different emotions that you definitely don't get from every game.
But then there's the supernatural part. Ok, why not, spice it up with some mystery, that could be good. But what's in this game doesn't do it for me. I don't know if for some reason it's meant as big enough contrast to the nice part of game, but those scenes that would be disturbing by themselves, come out as simply unnecessary.
And even without the excessive scenes, the supernatural part kind of sabotages the normal one, because it makes the world not real. And I don't mean not real as me playing the game, I don't count that. I'm normally the self-inserting kind of player, so whatever happens in fictional world is real. But in this case even Sensei is perfectly aware that what's real is questionable. It extends also to all choices, like if something goes wrong, does it really matter?
What I don't get at all is the puzzle. What's the point? To make sure that I watch the weird scenes? Playing with sound (which I don't mind, because music nicely fits scenes in normal part of game) is mandatory because of this? Really?! It's so indescribably unnecessary. And to get it right without cheating, you have to pay a lot of attention. The game specifically tells you to remember one thing. The other one you hear if you don't skip weird scenes. Third one (username) is mentioned few times and you'll probably remember it, at least if you played the game in one go as I did. Probably not otherwise. And no, nobody will write it down, because there's no indication that it's significant in any way, and nowhere else in the game you are required to remember anything. Same goes for last one (password), it was mentioned at one point, but again without even a hint that it should be important.
South Park had one episode where all kids in class were diagnosed with attention deficit disorder. Diagnostic method consisted of reading a long book to them and then asking about some tiny detail from it. And when nobody remembered (as could be expected), the conlusion was that it must be because of ADD. Here it's something like that.
I understand that I can't argue with author's artistic vision, because no matter how I feel about it, I'll always be the one who's wrong. But it would be interesting to know how many people understand the game correctly (which I assume includes seeing the weird parts as significant) and how many just focus on the normal part and basically ignore the rest (just accept that the world is doing that one thing, but don't worry about details). I didn't do it, but it's perfectly viable way how to play and enjoy the game.
Thanks for the feedback! Not sure why you'd think the secret scenes are unnecessary, though, as I think I've made it pretty apparent that they are the plot. The game is built on top of them and understanding them is the key to making it further into the world- hence the "puzzle." Even in normal scenes, elements of the secrets have been leaking in since the very first release.
- Apr 23, 2019
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I can see his point, since a few months ago, I also thought one of the secret scenes was there to basically tell us that there is no point in trying to understand them (I changed my mind since, please keep reading). And here I was, spending so much time looking for connecting dots because I was invested in the characters and the implications of the world's backstory.
So I felt that I was being told "haha fuck off, none of these scenes will make sense and more of a distraction for later!"
To that you answered "Nah man these are the story" just like now, and I am getting it now: The whole "Nothing is real" and "nothing matters" is just anther piece f the puzzle.
So we shouldn't take these secret events as 100% truthful. We should take it more as a character trying to lie to us in our faces rather than the author telling us to not waste time.
Now with that aside, I just found something interesting:
This is the exact same reaction as Tsuneyo and Molly! Sensei also noted that these 2 seemed out of character for having spent only a few months at most and not being that close yet.
With Sana, I was convinced that it was becuase it was Sana, and she would be emotionally attached to us to a degree, but at this point in time, she has known us for as long as Molly and Tsuneyo have for their reaction.
So, whats up with this reaction at the idea of being away from Sensei? Rin, too, mentioned how she wanted to stick to Sensei even after getting betrayed, and couldn't explain why.
This has to be connected to Sensei' MC magic to a degree.
- Aug 10, 2019
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Im sure this has been answered before but what is the terminal number on the blasted computer!?
Also
Yumi
Yumi
Yumi
Love Satan
Also
Yumi
Yumi
Yumi
Love Satan
- Apr 23, 2019
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What layer of hell are you in? ("Trinity Pt II" I think. You should be able to replay tat event)
- Aug 10, 2019
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- Aug 10, 2019
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I am trying Selebus. I have watched all three trinity pts.
- Mar 7, 2018
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The current Happy Scene you're playing tells you what the port number is; just like Trinity Pt III gives you the User, Terminal and IP.
Having headphones (or speakers turned up a good bit) will help you, also write things down.
- Aug 10, 2019
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That may be, but it's also very easy to forget about them and not feel like anything is missing. I'm not sure if I can explain it right, but I'll try. Right at the beginning, when Sensei gets in the world, it's very clear that it isn't normal, because such thing doesn't normally happen. There are definitely some mystery, supernatural, or whatever elements involved. I don't remember exactly, how quickly it's explained that it matters and it wasn't just one time thing, how to get the game going.
But anyway, then he starts living a dream, and I as a player am happy to get immersed in that. And because of the freedom I'm given (and chances to miss triggers), you as author lose precise control over how I get these "real plot" events. I played at nights, always several hours, and sometimes I didn't get even one of them. And then another day a got a few. But in total, there isn't many of them, it feels like really tiny part of the game. It's not like there's 30% of this and 70% of Sensei's new life. It's not even 10/90, it's much less. I'm not against it as whole, as I wrote, some mystery/supernatural is fine. I want to discover what's happening. For example, when it's revealed what Maya does on the roof, it doesn't explain how and why, but it's ok, it's one piece and it can lead to something.
But the "happy" scenes, I have trouble fitting them in. Your warning about some things being disturbing would be right, there are some WTF?! things in these scenes. But the extreme contrast with the normal part of the game makes them just confusing for me. So much, it seems, that I fail to see any connection to the rest.
It means that I'm failing big time. I guess you don't want to give some examples for "slow" ones like myself?
Let me see if I can grab you the whiteboard link some of the community members have been putting together. It’s a gigantic theory crafting board where people have been trying to connect the dots- and a lot of them have made some pretty substantial discoveries while many other things have yet to be discovered at all.
Been following this game for a few months now and I feel like I should sing my praise for it now.
Like many players i didnt take the horror or comedy tag seriously but after a few happy scenes and getting into the story I realized this ain't your regular h game.
The writing is excellent I was expecting a bunch of cliches and instead got realistic characters with both hilarious dialog and emotional depth.
I was suprised the atmosphere can go from comedy to drama to horror smoothly without feeling whiplash the whole thing has got me hooked like really good show
and at this point I'm sold and can't wait to see how the story plays out .
My 2 cents on the bad home scenario is that if you want it to be a trap I would at least put some hints in the dialog outside there events nothing major, like senesi noticing Rin looking at Chika alot or something similar just to put the idea in the players head once would make a big difference.
Just having players consider the idea and then either forget or just think nah its a game only for them to realize what they done.
Unless your going for the dark soul hidden enemy kicks you off a ledge design which is fine as well.
Like many players i didnt take the horror or comedy tag seriously but after a few happy scenes and getting into the story I realized this ain't your regular h game.
The writing is excellent I was expecting a bunch of cliches and instead got realistic characters with both hilarious dialog and emotional depth.
I was suprised the atmosphere can go from comedy to drama to horror smoothly without feeling whiplash the whole thing has got me hooked like really good show
and at this point I'm sold and can't wait to see how the story plays out .
My 2 cents on the bad home scenario is that if you want it to be a trap I would at least put some hints in the dialog outside there events nothing major, like senesi noticing Rin looking at Chika alot or something similar just to put the idea in the players head once would make a big difference.
Just having players consider the idea and then either forget or just think nah its a game only for them to realize what they done.
Unless your going for the dark soul hidden enemy kicks you off a ledge design which is fine as well.
I have two requirements and one thing I will never do as of when I signed up as a subscriber.
1) The release they are asking help with must be public, I will not help in releases that are still patron only. Just because this is a pirate site doesn't entitle anyone to help for pirated releases or mean others have to abstain from complaints or telling people to wait for the public release. Also, if a bug occurs in a patron only release and you, collective you, ask how to fix it, you brought it on yourself. Often times with this kind of release model, where the only release schedule related benefit is patrons get it before the public, the patron only release tends to be unfinished in the bug hunting department, so any bugs you encounter will likely be fixed by the time of the public release.
2) The person requesting help must have done everything in their power to solve the issue. That means actually playing the game and using the search function in the top right on this site as well as the other resources available here before I agree to help. If it is obvious they did not, they will get no help from me, and make no mistake, I've seen enough people on this site who ask before even trying to sniff out those who did not even attempt a proper play through.
Under absolutely no circumstances will a save come from me unless it is requested by Selebus for bug hunting purposes and I will do everything in my power to keep that save out of public hands. That means no full saves from me, play the game if you want to see the content. If you screwed up, you screwed up and have to face the consequences, which often means rolling back to an earlier point IF you don't have to start from the beginning like I still need to do. The consequences are all part of the experience in this game.
With all that said, I am more than happy to help once these conditions are met.
Well freaking said, you just boosted my, already extremely high, confidence that this will be among the games on this site to get marked as completed when the time comes.
We're up to at least 30 hours already with cheats?! I'd love to get a realistic count without.
The triggering events part in your next section isn't an issue, most people who have a problem with it, notice I said most, are people looking for a quick fap. That's not the kind of game this is. In fact, this isn't the kind to fap to at all. The whole point is to figure out what is needed and get that thing the player figures out like one big puzzle.
On your content section, the game is succeeding if it makes you feel for the characters. Yes, the horror elements are meant as both a contrast and as the actual main story. What is going on there being nonsensical for the time being IS the mystery. That's why you get all these theories and discussions on what happened in the thread, because it is making us try to solve what is going on with what little we have. No, they are not unnecessary BECAUSE they are the main plot. Without these scenes, Lessons in Love would just be another generic, happy, bang who you want dating sim. No offense, Selebus. No, it does not sabotage anything, it enhances the feeing when we actually see something happy occur for once. It doesn't have to make the world feel real, the writing in other elements already did. Yes, if something goes wrong, it really does matter, unlike half the games that promise real consequences only for them to be as severe as a slap on the wrist. If you screw up in this game, it could mean the end of an entire character arc, or worse, their demise or yours at their hand.
No, the point of the puzzle is to make you think, preferably with your big head. Once again, nothing in this game is unnecessary. Yes, in order to get it right without cheating, you have to read the text and take down anything potentially important, that's the point of a VN with interactivity. If you don't remember it, you and only you are to blame for it. If you aren't going to play all at once, write it down like you would any long term puzzle game or an old text adventure.
At this point, no, there really isn't any point, yet. With this kind of plot, the point at which all of it will make sense all at once will come later. It will be like one giant epiphany (definition 3 on the Merriam-Webster dictionary, not the religious meaning).
It actually isn't a 'happy' scene, the 'happy' scene just leads into it. You'll notice this if you play a certain main event. The 'happy' scene doesn't have the puzzle, but that main event does. I know, I thought it was the 'happy' scene as well at first, then I got into the replay function after completing the release.
You won't forget if you write stuff down like you would any long term puzzle game. As for not getting the connection, shit is slowly beginning to move toward the fan, that's the connection. Something is VERY wrong in this town and that thing is starting to rear its ugly head. The normal stuff is, well, normal, but there is something or someone looking to disrupt that norm.
This is more a game with H than an H game, the difference being an H game focuses on the H while a game with H does not.
As for the bad homie situation, two words, Cafe Mocha. In that event, which is distantly required to even get to one of the events that make one a bad homie, you are warned twice in no uncertain terms to stay away from Chika. Player Sensei HAS noticed Rin looking at Chika, he says as much in Cafe Mocha. The trap isn't the betrayal, the trap is that most players do go into a game like this thinking nothing actually matters. Those people are wrong and now they've lost Rin's path because of it with no way to know if she'll ever let us get that close to her after.
- Mar 7, 2018
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Wait... You expect people to use the forum's search function? Are you insane my good man?