VN Ren'Py My Dorm [v0.28.4 S4 Ch.1] [Tropecita Games]

[blkcrow20]

No, you're excusing me!
Where was your "no" when you went to bed?
Where was your "no" when you didn't force him to wear a condom?
Where was your "no" when you found out you were pregnant? Why didn't you get an abortion, anyway? Why do you need a child from someone you doubt? Maybe you've decided to sue him for child support?
No way, girl! If you're carrying his child and you don't want to get rid of him, you are HIS woman and you are DUTY, damn it, to at least NOT PRESENT him with a fait accompli and not decide anything behind his back. Where was that talk about doubting anything?
And when that happens, I'm sorry, if it's not meanness, then it's betrayal.
I pity your men, frankly.

 

[ramvivat]

Some posts above these, you said that someone moving countries won't change their way of thinking regardless of how many years they live in their new country because the way they were raised will be there forever.
And now you want three ladies (+Eileen, who I don't know what has to do with your ramble) to change their mindset in three weeks (the first of the relationships was open with Samantha after the MC was home for almost a week). It's not coherent, right?
Let me explain it:
The characters aren't perfect, and they have flaws.
Simone and Samantha (and Jamaal to a lesser extent) have a survival mindset, in which they have to do everything on their own. It worked for them for years. They could have asked their friends for loans (Martha and Norah would be there for them) and save on bank interest, but they didn't. They didn't want charity, regardless of where it came from. They won't change that mindset in three weeks or three months.
Family is NOT an investment. Family is a matter of care and love. NO ONE (not Amanda and not the MC) is thinking about the economic benefits of paying for Simone's scholarship. They are willing to pay for it so Simone can fulfill her dream. With a billion-dollar company, they don't need whatever income Simone can get as a coach.
Kiara's attitude is logical. She's used to not having self-esteem, and she doesn't want to be a bother for Norah (and she knows she should leave the house when the new students arrive). She thinks (Solomon has engraved it in her brain for years) that she has no worth by herself, so she wants to live independently now that she will own a house for herself. Moving to the family house was temporary since the start because of a problem. The problem is now solved, and she can return to her house (leaving what has become her home in the interim). Kiara discusses it with Norah BECAUSE she's living at Norah's house.
I don't know what Eileen does in your ramble. She's the one pressuring Kiara to stay at Norah's home.

I don't know where you are from (or what culture you were raised in), but the game is set in a Western culture setting, where women are independent and their lives don't revolve around a man's dick. Men with "strong hand" for their girls are considered part of the problem in that setting, not of the solution. Have you heard about toxic masculinity? Solomon is the example, and I don't want the MC to become like him. The MC is dating the girls, not dictating what they should do with their lives, where they should live, or what they should wear. He proposes, not imposes. It's California, not Taliban-Afghanistan.

heh. what? 3 weeks? fuck! then you right obviously. sorry i forgot about this...
but in general, sorry, comrade, i not move from my word.
Children are a mutual responsibility,
two must solving problems together, not individually, as if everyone were on their own.

If I was a bit harsh, well, I won't deny it. The events that happened "knocked the ground out from under me."
And yes, "a country girl thinks like a country girl even in the city" - I won't back down on that, because it's all true.

But still, Simone's desire to be with MC wasn't a one-off. I remember she explained everything in the park the day MC and Simone decided to become a couple - it had been her long-held dream, since school, and she'd probably already come to some kind of idea about being together, right?

Okay, with Kiara, yes - you're right about that. Kiara has undergone drastic changes in her life. But then, damn it, with the bed - is it all just like that? And she's a woman of "mother" stature, meaning she already knows how to think ahead and "how things will play out." That's why I don't think things are so simple with Kiara either. She should have talked to the MC—that would have been the responsible thing to do. (Although I haven't gotten to the bottom of the story yet, maybe they'll do it and discuss it.)

 

[Jaga Telesin]

Samantha and Simone are acting strangely....

But these two stubborn people...

If I'd known about their behavior today, I wouldn't have anything to do with them from the start...

These two dumb hens...

I'm going to mentally regurgitate a little about Simone and Samantha here, mostly for Trope's benefit...

When I first saw the scene with Simone catching Samantha and the MC, and then Samantha furiously tried to throw the MC out of their place (forgetting for a moment he's their honorary "son")... I was waiting for the "Leave now" choice to appear. It's the ONLY time My Dorm has disappointed me - it forced the MC to endure verbal abuse without any option except to submit to the women railing at him. I personally would have told them to sort it out if they could, and left. That kind of vehemence and borderline hate, without any option, left a bad taste in my mouth.

Yes - I have enjoyed their paths ever since. But I've *always* held a grudge against Samantha for what she did, and wished I could have gone a different short-term route with her (as in, cutting her off for a bit, as her attitude was way over the top).

Just my .02, it's the only time the game rubbed me the wrong way without giving any option.

 

[gino.pilotino]

I was waiting for the "Leave now" choice to appear.

In my opinion, if Mark had simply walked away during that confrontation, he would have been dramatically out of character.

EDIT:

 

[gino.pilotino]

Yes - I have enjoyed their paths ever since. But I've *always* held a grudge against Samantha for what she did, and wished I could have gone a different short-term route with her (as in, cutting her off for a bit, as her attitude was way over the top).

Come to think of it, Martha also tried to kick him out of her room in a rather rude manner. Didn't that bother you at the time?

mom "{b}Fucking party and fucking costumes!!!{/b}"
mom "{b}What the fuck are you doing here, don't you know how to knock?{/b}"
$renpy.sound.play("music/portazo.wav", loop=False)
mc "Would you have opened for me?"
scene c07s005_010
mom "{b}No! {/b} Go away, please! I want to be alone!"
mc "I'm not leaving. We need to talk."
scene c07s005_015
mom "Talk, talk, and talk! {b}You don't know how to do anything else!{/b} I don't want to listen to you anymore."

 

[Jaga Telesin]

In my opinion, if Mark had simply walked away during that confrontation, he would have been dramatically out of character.

EDIT:
View attachment 5354872

Not my Mark. Talking it out is one thing which I wholeheartedly believe in for most situations. But being yelled at to leave immediately (multiple times I think) by his "second mom" was what I call over the top. If I was the MC, I would have respected that, suggested that they talk it over themselves, and left without any retort of my own. I'd be glad to stay and do the Mark Method, but not in the face of insults and yelling.

That's probably just me - I avoid overly heated emotions and yelling, and approach things in a more rational manner. And yeah, while I still hold it against Samantha, I still think she owes the MC a BIG apology for how she reacted. I don't think she's ever done that, or I would have remembered it.

For a while after that scene, I actually wanted to drop her out of the harem, and would have given the choice. She's either too hot blooded, or can't come to terms with sharing (even if she admits she can outwardly).

But Trope wrote her the way he did, and I respect it. You'd think someone who was a mature adult, and a mother, would have simply waited for him to try and explain... she did not. Perhaps someday she'll realize what she did, how horrible it was trying to kick him out like that, and try to make it up to him. Trope-willing, that's a scene I'd dearly like to see. It'd be wholesome and a bit of a tear-jerker if nothing else; she is after all, his second mom, and in my game the mother of the MC's child. There needs to be a reconciliation in my .02

 

[Jaga Telesin]

Come to think of it, Martha also tried to kick him out of her room in a rather rude manner. Didn't that bother you at the time?

mom "{b}Fucking party and fucking costumes!!!{/b}"
mom "{b}What the fuck are you doing here, don't you know how to knock?{/b}"
$renpy.sound.play("music/portazo.wav", loop=False)
mc "Would you have opened for me?"
scene c07s005_010
mom "{b}No! {/b} Go away, please! I want to be alone!"
mc "I'm not leaving. We need to talk."
scene c07s005_015
mom "Talk, talk, and talk! {b}You don't know how to do anything else!{/b} I don't want to listen to you anymore."

Not in that case, nope. She clearly needed space, alone-time, and to think to herself. She didn't rail at the MC to "leave the house now!" like Samantha did. Samantha's was akin to kicking a family member out of the home, literally.

Martha's was abrupt, and didn't give him time to talk. But sometimes people need that space. Samantha wasn't asking for space, she was trying to end things immediately, believing the MC had violated her entirely, and probably wouldn't have invited him back. Apples and Oranges to me - Martha's was justified and necessary. Samatha's was vicious, unforgiving, and thoughtless.

 

[gino.pilotino]

Not in that case, nope. She clearly needed space, alone-time, and to think to herself. She didn't rail at the MC to "leave the house now!" like Samantha did. Samantha's was akin to kicking a family member out of the home, literally.

Martha's was abrupt, and didn't give him time to talk. But sometimes people need that space. Samantha wasn't asking for space, she was trying to end things immediately, believing the MC had violated her entirely, and probably wouldn't have invited him back. Apples and Oranges to me - Martha's was justified and necessary. Samatha's was vicious, unforgiving, and thoughtless.

OK. I didn't read that scene feeling the same things you did. But everyone reads the story with their own personal sensibility, so there is no right or wrong interpretation in situations like this.

 

[Trope95]

Bad news about the update.
My wife and stepson strongly disliked one big scene, and I've rewritten the whole thing. They still haven't tested the new version.
That means the past week has been two steps forward and one step back, and my plans for a release before the end of the month are impossible now.
Full progress report on Patreon/SS.

 

[Reniere]

Bad news about the update.
My wife and stepson strongly disliked one big scene, and I've rewritten the whole thing. They still haven't tested the new version.
That means the past week has been two steps forward and one step back, and my plans for a release before the end of the month are impossible now.
Full progress report on Patreon/SS.

I read this.... and i saw stepson....
and like a genius i thought wouldn't that make her your step-wife.....

 

[gino.pilotino]

Bad news about the update.
My wife and stepson strongly disliked one big scene, and I've rewritten the whole thing. They still haven't tested the new version.
That means the past week has been two steps forward and one step back, and my plans for a release before the end of the month are impossible now.
Full progress report on Patreon/SS.

I read the post on Patreon. Honestly, I was very surprised that you were criticised for writing soulless text. I would never have expected that.

 

[Trope95]

I read the post on Patreon. Honestly, I was very surprised that you were criticised for writing soulless text. I would never have expected that.

They criticized the chemistry between the girls and the MC, as if it wasn't believable. While I was writing it, I felt something was off, but that happened a lot in other scenes, and then they (and you) liked them, so I usually wait until their review before continuing to the next scene (they usually only make small suggestions to improve the scenes).
This time, it was "I don't like it" for most of the scene. The "what" I told is good. The "how" is what they didn't like.
I'm finishing the extra renders and I hope tomorrow evening they will be able to play it again (extended version and, as I said on Patreon/SS, with 5,500 scrapped words and 7,500 new words). Let's see what they think.

 

[gino.pilotino]

They criticized the chemistry between the girls and the MC, as if it wasn't believable. While I was writing it, I felt something was off, but that happened a lot in other scenes, and then they (and you) liked them, so I usually wait until their review before continuing to the next scene (they usually only make small suggestions to improve the scenes).
This time, it was "I don't like it" for most of the scene. The "what" I told is good. The "how" is what they didn't like.
I'm finishing the extra renders and I hope tomorrow evening they will be able to play it again (extended version and, as I said on Patreon/SS, with 5,500 scrapped words and 7,500 new words). Let's see what they think.

So, is my dorm a project that the whole family is involved in? I hadn't realised that yet, but it's wonderful.

 

[Trope95]

So, is my dorm a project that the whole family is involved in? I hadn't realised that yet, but it's wonderful.

Yes, to a certain extent.
I do the writing, rendering, translation, coding, promotion, etc. (dev work).
They test the scenes and offer advice once they have played them. They don't know what will happen in a scene until they play it, so I can see their reactions. We talk a lot about the game (not what will happen in the future, though) and I got some ideas from them. Martha uses some of my wife's sentences.
There's another "family member" involved, Erica, my goddaughter (Erika's background and looks are loosely based on hers). She proofreads the Spanish version and offers advice on how young girls talk. Her running joke is "This looks like it was written by a 50y.o. bald guy writing in a basement". I DON'T write in a basement (I don't have one), and next week she should update the joke to "a 53y.o. bald guy".

 

[txe320]

SOMEONE SAID ERIKA & MARTHA?!

 

[gino.pilotino]

Yes, to a certain extent.
I do the writing, rendering, translation, coding, promotion, etc. (dev work).
They test the scenes and offer advice once they have played them. They don't know what will happen in a scene until they play it, so I can see their reactions. We talk a lot about the game (not what will happen in the future, though) and I got some ideas from them. Martha uses some of my wife's sentences.
There's another "family member" involved, Erica, my goddaughter (Erika's background and looks are loosely based on hers). She proofreads the Spanish version and offers advice on how young girls talk. Her running joke is "This looks like it was written by a 50y.o. bald guy writing in a basement". I DON'T write in a basement (I don't have one), and next week she should update the joke to "a 53y.o. bald guy".

Mmm. Now I know how to answer Akinator if he asks me if my character is bald.

 

[TonyMurray]

Bad news about the update.
My wife and stepson strongly disliked one big scene, and I've rewritten the whole thing. They still haven't tested the new version.
That means the past week has been two steps forward and one step back, and my plans for a release before the end of the month are impossible now.
Full progress report on Patreon/SS.

That's okay, in Trope we trust. It's great that you have that early feedback rather than releasing it and then the wider player base being the ones to call issue with it.

 

[Nadira]

Bad news about the update.
My wife and stepson strongly disliked one big scene, and I've rewritten the whole thing. They still haven't tested the new version.
That means the past week has been two steps forward and one step back, and my plans for a release before the end of the month are impossible now.
Full progress report on Patreon/SS.

I would have just handed them a stack of paper and a pen.

"Do it better. Here. Manually on paper."

 

[FatGiant]

I would have just handed them a stack of paper and a pen.

"Do it better. Here. Manually on paper."

Funny... but... even Trope felt that something was wrong...

Only someone that has had to delete thousands upon thousands of words knows the pain, but, it is also those that know the joy of finally getting it right. I've tried to persist on a chapter, insisting that I would see it trough, that it would fix itself. Only to have to cut it all out. It hurts, you feel the temptation to keep that version, just to know you have a fall back. The truth is, you'll delete it later.

Some critiques are hard to swallow. It's part of the process.

Peace

 

[Trope95]

I would have just handed them a stack of paper and a pen.

"Do it better. Here. Manually on paper."

We tried that a long time ago. It didn't work. Neither of them likes to write.
And I don't want to piss them off. My wife cooks for me, and she knows where I store the poison.
Never piss off a short woman!

Funny... but... even Trope felt that something was wrong...

Only someone that has had to delete thousands upon thousands of words knows the pain, but, it is also those that know the joy of finally getting it right. I've tried to persist on a chapter, insisting that I would see it trough, that it would fix itself. Only to have to cut it all out. It hurts, you feel the temptation to keep that version, just to know you have a fall back. The truth is, you'll delete it later.

Some critiques are hard to swallow. It's part of the process.

Peace

The temptation when something is off is to fix it. It rarely works. If they say the "what" is interesting but not the "how", it's better to rewrite everything with a fresh mind. If they say the "what" is crap, I have a problem because that scene would be uninteresting no matter what I do (that happens in some story scenes), so I minimize the damage by reducing the scene, so the "boring but necessary" scene is there but doesn't weigh too much on the whole update. My wife is especially critical about scenes dealing with NTR's business part.