VN Ren'Py Completed Melody [v1.00 Extras] [MrDots Games]

[Hyperserver]

The manager (husband or not) controls the artist's work - everything about it, from when, how, and where they work. Performing artists are puppets to the puppeteer-manager. The manager arranges everything and only tells the artist what the manager wants them know.

my comment wasn't meant to be serious - cxx knows ( )

 

[Machete]

I'm not referring to the ending, but to the kind of relationship the game puts MC in with Melody, even if you are in a different route. In itally we call it something like 'the chauffer'. It's when a guy goes after some chick who will never lay him but in the mean time she enjoyes his 'servitude' mostly using him as her personal taxi service.

Playing this game felt a lot like being the chauffer expecially the first time, when i tried Becca's (i think it's the name of the bookworm) and she's barely in the game while i was stuck with this annoying barbie that i got to drive around.

The second time, since i liked the other two 'teens' i was like "ok, let's see what you get from this game if you date the little princess" (spoiler allert, you are still the chauffer plus some pussy) and i went for the foursome route... and when it was going to happen the blondie was like "naa... MC and Melody love each other too much, we can't do this...". W. T. F. Really??? And i also got the half baked ending where Melody is just your avareage instrumentist. After all that wasted hours...

I really felt all the way the chauffer

 

[MrSancini]

Just finished the game. Well, the novel got me invested in the plot, even with a lot of stretches and plot conveniences, mostly because of the main characters, and I also like when sometimes things deviate from the shitty real world.

 

[binyhun]

You're getting some incomplete advice here.

You can fool around with other women to a point. But there's a point during all those paths that will ruin your perfect ending. Some of them are obvious — don't extend your relationship with Melody's aunt to the point that you're going to be having dinner with the two of them — and some of them are a little more subtle.

Basically: if you want to guarantee a perfect ending, then be a good boy. But you can be a bad boy for a while, with some people, until you can't. The walkthrough doesn't indicate the trigger points, and I don't know all of them, so I'd suggest saving every time you do something with a woman who isn't Melody.

Thank you!

 

[faradhii]

Glad I replayed this, I forgot how sweet it is. I still have the same complaint about the "perfect ending" while I can understand the no pregnancy thing (DO NOT cum inside Melody unless the game gives you no choice (it's safe then)) I never understood why you can't have a perfect superstar ending and still have the 3 or 4 somes..... I mean how does the sexual relationship status affect Koko's choice of opening acts?

 

[-CookieMonster666-]

Glad I replayed this, I forgot how sweet it is. I still have the same complaint about the "perfect ending" while I can understand the no pregnancy thing (DO NOT cum inside Melody unless the game gives you no choice (it's safe then)) I never understood why you can't have a perfect superstar ending and still have the 3 or 4 somes..... I mean how does the sexual relationship status affect Koko's choice of opening acts?

I agree that the name they gave, "perfect ending", is a poor choice of wording. Not everyone will agree with what is "perfect" for the eventual relationship between the MC and Melody. However, in practice it's just yet another ending to the game. Maybe instead, think of it as the "You and me against the world, kid" ending or something.

 

[faradhii]

I agree that the name they gave, "perfect ending", is a poor choice of wording. Not everyone will agree with what is "perfect" for the eventual relationship between the MC and Melody. However, in practice it's just yet another ending to the game. Maybe instead, think of it as the "You and me against the world, kid" ending or something.

My issue is that it's my favorite ending, but I also want to have the haremish relationship with Sophie and Xianne. You can't do both in one playthrough and that kind of bugs me from a logical standpoint. Yes, I have multiple saves, but logically if I'm banging all 3 of the 19 year olds why would that in any way affect Koko's choice for an opening act which, in turn, affects the "perfect" or as you say "you and me kid" ending.... it just bugs me and always has.

 

[ArmoredCascade]

in a similar way Amy is like Arnold (work-wise) I mean she could kinda care less to look after Melody I mean later on in the game after signing the contract, Melody had lunch with Amy only because Amy said she moving to another country because she got promoted and was very pleased about it again shes like Arnold in that state not wanted to see her own Niece and why months back she asked MC to look after Melody because a few times when Melody asked her about visiting Amy is like um sorry I cant work-related and that whole vacation thing Amy went on was no "Girls night" she was at the beach by herself the entire time so that was a lie

 

[ArmoredCascade]

doesn't MC take Melody to the Pizza joint and hands her a set of keys to move in? right now I'm at the part they are eating lunch before going in for the photoshoot my score is Relationship Level: 5(Is She The One?) 250 points next MAIN GOAL: Ultimate Boyfriend (Reach 275 points) honestly the game is not over yet and I'm almost maxed out this "early"

 

[Uthuriel]

doesn't MC take Melody to the Pizza joint and hands her a set of keys to move in? right now I'm at the part they are eating lunch before going in for the photoshoot my score is Relationship Level: 5(Is She The One?) 250 points next MAIN GOAL: Ultimate Boyfriend (Reach 275 points) honestly the game is not over yet and I'm almost maxed out this "early"

The max points you can get in total are 405.

 

[faradhii]

Yes, to get 405 pts you need to pretty much ignore all other girls. It's worth it IMO cause Melody is so sweet and hot and into anal.

 

[cxx]

well xi wants anal too and beth too prolly and stewardess same.

 

[ArmoredCascade]

so on this run MC has pulled out of Melody (2nd time in the recording studio) but i want to get Melody pregnant

 

[Segnbora]

well xi wants anal too and beth too prolly and stewardess same.

I think everyone but Sophia's into anal (and I may be misremembering even that), though most of those scenes come after the MC has to break it off with that character if they want the "perfect" ending.

 

[-CookieMonster666-]

so on this run MC has pulled out of Melody (2nd time in the recording studio) but i want to get Melody pregnant

IIRC, eventually you'll be able to get her pregnant, although that will eliminate the "perfect ending". So if you don't care about that, I believe you'll get it by the end of the game.

 

[cxx]

perfect ending: be blueballed for a week
good ending: fuck like a rabbits

 

[Segnbora]

The way this worked out makes me wonder how DmD's going to end. I mean, it probably doesn't matter, since any player can "cheat" the relationships right there in the menu, but I suspect people will be livid if the game takes a "she knows if you've been bad or good, so be good for goodness sake" approach to the ending(s) and ignores the player-controlled relationship settings. "Ha, see? You should've been faithful to D all along. Sucker!" I mean, I'd laugh hysterically if they actually did something like that, but I also wouldn't bother to replay the game to get the different endings.

Like many here, the division between Melody's good and perfect endings never really made much sense to me. It's only there for out-of-the-blue forced replayability, which is my least favorite kind. If there has to be branching, I prefer it to come with klaxons and strobe lights, like in Deliverance, or be subtle and intertwined but still obvious, like in Depraved Awakening. Melody's version is somewhat unfair, in that if you're actually playing the game (rather than following a walkthrough or using a mod), there's no in-game dialogue cautioning you that you absolutely cannot have sex with Isabella, Amy, or Rebecca if you want things to work out with Melody. (Especially as you can have sex with all three of them...just not past a certain point.) Moreover, Melody enjoys sex with Sophia and Xianne, which is hardly something that should interfere with her ability to tour.

I can easily understand the logic behind unexpected pregnancy arresting her career, and the game does signpost that possibility by introducing a discussion regarding fertility and then giving players the choice of where to come, but the game never once suggests why a willingness to engage in threesomes and/or foursomes with two of her best friends should lead to the same ending. Worse, why in heaven's name would Koko object to sexual adventurousness? Hell, she'd be more likely to ask to join in. It's a made-up, out-of-thin-air content gate, and an illogical one.

 

[jaw1986baby]

The way this worked out makes me wonder how DmD's going to end. I mean, it probably doesn't matter, since any player can "cheat" the relationships right there in the menu, but I suspect people will be livid if the game takes a "she knows if you've been bad or good, so be good for goodness sake" approach to the ending(s) and ignores the player-controlled relationship settings. "Ha, see? You should've been faithful to D all along. Sucker!" I mean, I'd laugh hysterically if they actually did something like that, but I also wouldn't bother to replay the game to get the different ending.

Like many here, the division between Melody's good and perfect endings never really made much sense to me. It's only there for out-of-the-blue forced replayability, which is my least favorite kind. If there has to be branching, I prefer it to come with klaxons and strobe lights, like in Deliverance, or be subtle and intertwined but still obvious, like in Depraved Awakening. Melody's version is somewhat unfair, in that if you're actually playing the game (rather than following a walkthrough or using a mod), there's no in-game dialogue cautioning you that you can't have sex with Isabella, Amy, or Rebecca. (Especially as you can have sex with all three of them...just not past a certain point.) Moreover, Melody enjoys sex with Sophia and Xianne, which is hardly something that interferes with her ability to tour.

I can easily understand the logic behind unexpected pregnancy arresting her career, and the game does signpost that possibility by introducing a discussion regarding fertility and then giving players the choice of where to come, but the game never once suggests why a willingness to engage in threesomes and/or foursomes with two of her best friends should lead to the same ending. Worse, why in heaven's name would Koko object to sexual adventurousness? Hell, she'd be more likely to ask to join in. It's a made-up, out-of-thin-air content gate, and an illogical one.

Keep in mind

At the time the were still not in process of wrapping up DMD so this was their first game ending

They gave paths to live happily ever after with characters other than Melody who the game was named for and is the focus of/reason for the story. That was kind of rare for these types of games. Really rare. But they wanted the best career payoff "Superstar" to have some gates. That isn't too strange if you are fair and look at other games. It just didn't match what some others might have felt was best. Having kids, a loving family, and still paying bills with music is the BEST ending to some players. Having a regular 4some and making it well enough to live off music may be BEST for others. That is why they called that one Superstar and not best. So you cannot have it all 1. Baby plus superstar or 2. 4some plus superstar. They learned from that and the new game has the main goal of the Hotel separated and the women are far, far more flexible in being a main LI who can stick around to the end.

Plus they knew they were going to Have Xianne and Sophia be a canon thing, so they go off on their own in any ending and the 4some doesn't last.

So could they have made it easier to get it all?
Certainly
Did they need to?
Not really

Just complete a game, establish the dynamic to pay for DMD to continue and finally finish, and learn for the next project what options to consider or to force.

I mean:
If I had my way, Sophia would have become a redhead and married the MC and we both would have been sleeping with Rock Star Melody as part of her team...... but you know, not my game.







PEACE

 

[Segnbora]

That was kind of rare for these types of games. Really rare. But they wanted the best career payoff "Superstar" to have some gates.

Sure, but here's the difference in how Melody versus, say, Depraved Awakening accomplished the same thing.

In the former, there's a content gate that you can't possibly know about until it's too late. Yes, you can assume (and you'd be correct), but while the game nudges you away from Amy (your doubt over whether or not it's a good idea to bang Melody's aunt), Rebecca (Melody asks about the cat that wanders around as if it knows the place), and Isabella (a reminder that she'll continue to live an itinerant lifestyle), it does nothing of the sort with Sophia and/or Xianne, much less their possible interactions with Melody/Melody and the MC. With the other NPCs, the game tells you what you need to know. It doesn't hit you over the head with it, but it's in the text. Whereas with Sophia and/or Xianne, the text gives you every indication that Melody's really into them. In other words, it's telling you the opposite of what you need to know. That, to me, is bad writing. And it's not like they couldn't have slipped a line or two in there; the game's intolerably wordy already. Surely yet another internal narrative expressing uncertainty about Xianne's unabashed sexual aggression, or a conversation between the MC and Melody wherein they wonder if having Sophia as a bandmate and a lover is wise — this could very easily work just before the point the MC is considering having sex with his former/current bandmate and former lover — would take care of this oversight.

In Depraved Awakening, there are also multiple outcomes and endings...but they're paths, not gates, and they're not necessarily exclusionary. There's more than one way to get to whatever content/LI you're after; I think only the assassin requires needle-threading, and all the choices are presented as just that: choices. None of those choices are hidden from the player, like Sophia/Xianne is in Melody.

Obviously, the game's long over and none of this matters; nothing's going to change at this point. But even more sophisticated games like Deliverance occasionally make this mistake: being explicit (even if it's subtle) about the consequences of your choices, but then gating content due to a choice you couldn't possibly predict would wall off that content. I don't mind if someone wants to make all the gates impenetrable to the player (though it's certainly not my preference), but making all but one of them explicit is clumsy, and specifically telling the player that a choice is welcomed by the primary love interest, only to cut the player off at the knees as a result, is worse than clumsy.

 

[Skeltom]

DPC and his games are highly overrated to begin with...

I guess if you like your bitches to be crispy? I wish there was a mod so you could leave them both in that house...
Or maybe if you never went to a college...

Making life harder for modders is a major dick move though.
Not sure why devs would waste time on shit like that...

It's true. I think it comes down to the devs treating the projects like babies they need to protect instead of of what it actually is, a source of income. At the end of the day what should it matter to them how someone chooses to play a game in the privacy of their own home? Who benefits from the dev acting like that? To me it just seems like the they're saying "Your not playing my game the right way".