There are a lot of variables to consider in this game and it isn't clear which one(s) is needed to trigger something next.
So every stat is gated behind any given scene, you can't raise a stat more than x with any given scene. This is something that has been true throughout the whole game. If you can raise a stat and nothing is happening then you need to continue to raise that stat. To me this is pretty straight forward, but there have been people who don't seem to see how things work within the game, and I'll admit that it is a bit of a problem.
So if the game is just blindly asking the players to brute force trying every single combination, I don't think that is a good design.
This is really only true when you're walking, other than that specific event there isn't a whole lot you can effectively bruteforce.
For example, the final exam needs Helen relationship to be 35. But why 35?
All affection levels goes in 5-25 increments, where 10 is the most common. Helen goes from (sometimes -5-15) 0-15, 15-25 and (sometimes) 25-35.
This is true for all characters.
So going by applying the logic that if you can raise the stats it should be pretty obvious that the stat in question is what is holding you back.
(suddenly locked into a sequence of multiple events where location, time, day no longer matters because you just follow the scene with no control).
I get what you're saying but this is a single event with a lot of story elements, I knew it'd be long and I think that's fine. Other than being very long it (mostly) follows the same pattern as the rest of the game.
That's what I meant with the disconnect because you went from one end to the extreme other end.
Is that bad though? I don't feel like it is.
Having spent a lot of time building toward a climax, so to speak, that climax can't be lack-luster.
Although I can see why it's a little frustrating that it's so linear, but like I've mentioned before so is the rest of the game, sort of.
All I've said is purely just my personal opinion and not necessarily mean it's the correct way or anything like that.
I know and I appreciate it, constructive criticism hard to come by these days.
You rather start raising your intelligence score.
That is true, and while I sort of agree it felt better to make it that way.
If I were to change it so that Helen's affection level wouldn't be a trigger then you'd still need to raise it to 35 in order for the birthday party to trigger. Which poses the same problem, the final exam is at least related to the school and therefor somewhat to Helen, the birthday party is not.
Either way, there is just no way of getting around this specific problem, the story just wouldn't make sense if I ignored either of these.
One way would be to make the encounter with Helen while walking a one time event, but people have been requesting repeatable sex scenes, so that's what I made. It's just going around in circles and I do the best I can with what's in my "toolbox".
I think, it would be better, if she had just suggested to make a break and continue at a later hour, for example when it has become calmer there...
There is a notification after they get interrupted in the library that the school closes at 19:00, I felt like it would be clear enough. I was probably wrong on that but it was difficult to discern whether or not people just forgot between updates or if it was too cryptic (the notification happen in 0.06.03 I think and the scene which this notification is meant for was included in 0.07.03).
I've thought about just adding a (18:00) after "Maybe I should come back later, like Helen said"(I forget the exact words), which would probably eliminate this problem entirely, but it also doesn't fit my usual design.
