VN Ren'Py Abandoned Nothing Is Forever [v0.7.3] [MrSilverLust]

[walker188]

This game is a ton of fun with great mechanics, cute girls and solid writing and renders. Just one small complain however, there are a lot of scenes that don't have Emma in them, and that seems like an oversight, no? Maybe a small rewrite so that she is every single scene-holy-shitiloveemmaemmaemmaemmaemmaemma....

I may be slightly partial to one character over the others in this game.

 

[EndlessNights]

I found the issue. In chapter 5, while visiting Emma, you have the option to show her porn or not. If you show, you have the option to have a lewd scene with Emma or to stop anything you have with her by telling her you have someone else (Lea). If you don't stop, you cheat.

I was assuming that, at the start of chapter 5, all players either cheated or broke up with Emma, and forgot that you can just not show Emma any porn to start with! In that case the game would, incorrectly, assume you're still interested in her (and have already cheated if you're Lea's girlfriend!) and present you with the dinner scene. I think that's what it's happening and it's not meant to happen.

Oddly enough, my faithful to Lea save doesn't seem to be affected by this bug even though I did go with the don't show Emma any porn choice. Perhaps it also matters if you just accept the flowers?

 

[MrSilverLust]

Oddly enough, my faithful to Lea save doesn't seem to be affected by this bug even though I did go with the don't show Emma any porn choice. Perhaps it also matters if you just accept the flowers?

There are 5 states you can end up with Emma: maledom path, femdom path, neutral path (small path for those that like her but don't like the dominant/submissive shenanigans), broke up path, and platonic/friend path.

I need to send the players to the right paths, while giving some leeway: just not picking a lewd scene doesn't mean they don't want Emma, they might just don't like that particular scene. In most circumstances you can (and should!) say no to the scenes/kinks you don't like and usually that doesn't block you off from future scenes with her.

In your case, I'm assuming, you didn't do her scene in chapter 4, in chapter 5 and didn't kiss her - you were correctly sent to the just friends path.

That wasn't the case with the situation before. They did the 4th chapter scene and then things got buggy.

In the future patch, if anyone doesn't do the scene in chapter 5 AND doesn't kiss Emma (regardless of what they did before, like the scene in chapter 4), they'll be send to the just friends path just like you did. If, however, they do either of those, they'll end up in one of her 3 paths (maledom, femdom, neutral) depending on their previous choices.

 

[osanaiko]

MrSilverLust right now:

 

[MrSilverLust]

MrSilverLust right now:

Sometimes it does feel like that xD

 

[Porthas]

Sometimes it does feel like that xD

 

[Jack Townsend]

So far, I have successfully managed to pursue both a full maledom path with Emma and a full femdom path with Deb. It's quite the balancing act. I know a lot of people hate Deb's femdom path, but it is interesting from a character perspective. For those who wonder why this submissive path seems to be the only way to romance Deb. The developer may have dropped a hint at the beginning of the game. During the tutorial explanation on the character traits, a Lao Tzu quote is used to describe what the Sensitive trait can accomplish. "In the world there is nothing more submissive and weak than water. Yet for attacking that which is hard and strong nothing can surpass it." I would say that Deb is "that which is hard and strong."

 

[Dragon59]

It really isnt worth arguing about, just sharing my opinion.

The Dev did make realistic girls with their kinks but having a blank slate MC that is down for everything kind of goes against the realistic version of the girls. Imo if the girls were going to be very rigid in their kinks than it doesn't really make sense for the MC to be just a one size fits all character, to have a MC that aligns more with the rigidness of the girls kinks.

By making the girls have their own personalities/kinks and a "blank slate" MC, it gives the player the freedom to make choices that favor one girl/kink or another. You're free to choose which activities are acceptable for your character.

If you want to play the dom great, but then why are you also the sub for a different girl. You want to be committed to one girl but then be fine with sharing with another route.

I know quite a few people in the kink community who identify as a switch--someone who can play both the Dom or the sub, depending upon the situation. It's actually quite common. My ex-wife described me as a "service Dom," one who uses their position to give pleasure/sensation to the sub.

There's another game where the MC is dominated by one "Amazon," but ended up taking dominating another "Amazon." The two women know each other and the MC's Domme approves of his Dom status with her friend.

Like I said, its not a big deal and not every game has to cater to how I like to play. Its just moved in a direction I didn't care for thats all. Its great that other people enjoy it, I can just find something else that more suits what I'm looking for in a game.

Good luck!

 

[Pr0GamerJohnny]

By making the girls have their own personalities/kinks and a "blank slate" MC, it gives the player the freedom to make choices that favor one girl/kink or another. You're free to choose which activities are acceptable for your character.

I know quite a few people in the kink community who identify as a switch--someone who can play both the Dom or the sub, depending upon the situation. It's actually quite common. My ex-wife described me as a "service Dom," one who uses their position to give pleasure/sensation to the sub.

There's another game where the MC is dominated by one "Amazon," but ended up taking dominating another "Amazon." The two women know each other and the MC's Domme approves of his Dom status with her friend.

Good luck!

I do tend to agree with micojive and earlier ename overall despite enjoying the game. There's this unnatural rigidity to all the characters preferences which makes their "kinks" far more pervasive than they'd be in the real world. Maybe it's more of a bdsm thing I'm unaware of, but it seems silly they can't have their cake and eat it to - meaning in practice each relationship has certain kinks they enjoy practicing, but they also just enjoy regular intimacy with their S.O.

I do understand this from a game mechanics perspective which is why I'm not too worried about it and will continue playing, but it does leave some moments longing as others have said - like why cant Emma and I have our bitchy catfights and the associated sex sometimes, and other times just come together for Fucks and Fun? Why can't Jen and I have our vanilla intimacy scenes, then also have sharing scenes to spice things up?

I'd wager the existence of vanilla scenes like that would heighten and sensualize the contrast between those times and the "special" times.

 

[Jack Townsend]

I do tend to agree with micojive and earlier ename overall despite enjoying the game. There's this unnatural rigidity to all the characters preferences which makes their "kinks" far more pervasive than they'd be in the real world. Maybe it's more of a bdsm thing I'm unaware of, but it seems silly they can't have their cake and eat it to - meaning in practice each relationship has certain kinks they enjoy practicing, but they also just enjoy regular intimacy with their S.O.

I do understand this from a game mechanics perspective which is why I'm not too worried about it and will continue playing, but it does leave some moments longing as others have said - like why cant Emma and I have our bitchy catfights and the associated sex sometimes, and other times just come together for Fucks and Fun? Why can't Jen and I have our vanilla intimacy scenes, then also have sharing scenes to spice things up?

I'd wager the existence of vanilla scenes like that would heighten and sensualize the contrast between those times and the "special" times.

I think that the developer was making a little bit of a social statement. In this world, people's sexual kinks reflect who they are both inside and outside of the bedroom. In this world, personal character and sexual kinks are inseparable from each other. I think that's also why the developer ties sexual skills to character traits as well. Who you are as a person determines what you want and do in the bedroom. I think that's what this game emphasizes. That's my take on it anyway.

 

[Pr0GamerJohnny]

Who you are as a person determines what you want and do in the bedroom.

For sure, but it's not black and white, all or nothing.

I've never known a girl or guy, lets say was into rough sex who would turn down having sex with someone they were super into because they other person didn't jam their head into the mattress every single night. If they refused to partake at all, that'd be another thing, but most people are far more reasonable and flexible when it comes to interactions with people they care about.

edit-i slightly misread your post - I get what you're saying about that being a crucial element of this fantasy world; my prior message was expressing I think this fantasy world could be made better

 

[buser333]

Probably my new favorite game. A strong element of intellectualism, solid characters, the hint/kink mini games, the ability to individualize paths with the personality trait selections, meaty-sized updates with good cliff hangers, and probably the closest game to reality that I've ever played. Love it!

 

[Jack Townsend]

For sure, but it's not black and white, all or nothing.

I've never known a girl or guy, lets say was into rough sex who would turn down having sex with someone they were super into because they other person didn't jam their head into the mattress every single night. If they refused to partake at all, that'd be another thing, but most people are far more reasonable and flexible when it comes to interactions with people they care about.

edit-i slightly misread your post - I get what you're saying about that being a crucial element of this fantasy world; my prior message was expressing I think this fantasy world could be made better

I agree. I think the developer based this world and its characters on the ideas and beliefs of Sigmund Freud. For Freud, everything was about sex and death. When you build an idealized world, some human complexity gets lost in the process. I also think that's why the MC is so into sexology. He believes (as Freud did) that it is the key to understanding humans and the human condition. As you said, it's not all black and white. And like you, I wish the developer had explored that grey area a little more in this game world.

 

[Porthas]

I do tend to agree with micojive and earlier ename overall despite enjoying the game. There's this unnatural rigidity to all the characters preferences which makes their "kinks" far more pervasive than they'd be in the real world. Maybe it's more of a bdsm thing I'm unaware of, but it seems silly they can't have their cake and eat it to - meaning in practice each relationship has certain kinks they enjoy practicing, but they also just enjoy regular intimacy with their S.O.

I do understand this from a game mechanics perspective which is why I'm not too worried about it and will continue playing, but it does leave some moments longing as others have said - like why cant Emma and I have our bitchy catfights and the associated sex sometimes, and other times just come together for Fucks and Fun? Why can't Jen and I have our vanilla intimacy scenes, then also have sharing scenes to spice things up?

I'd wager the existence of vanilla scenes like that would heighten and sensualize the contrast between those times and the "special" times.

For my tastes, the girls come across more as avatars of different BDSM kinks, than anything else.

 

[micojive]

I think that the developer was making a little bit of a social statement. In this world, people's sexual kinks reflect who they are both inside and outside of the bedroom. In this world, personal character and sexual kinks are inseparable from each other. I think that's also why the developer ties sexual skills to character traits as well. Who you are as a person determines what you want and do in the bedroom. I think that's what this game emphasizes. That's my take on it anyway.

I would agree with that if not for the blank slate MC. All the characters in the game, both LIs and just guy friends are very rigid in their kinks but the MC is just ok with everything. If the game universe is going so hard on the LIs staying firm in their kink, I dont see why you wouldnt have the MC also be rigid. The game is already designed to force the player to have multiple playthroughs to see everything anyways.

 

[osanaiko]

I'm wondering how one would go about writing a game that gives the option of choosing a vanilla OR sub OR dom relationship with multiple LI characters (or some subset of those options) while still making the dialogue and personality of the MC fixed in a certain direction, and not "ok with everything". It seems to me the author would need to basically split the game apart, and write almost entirely separate versions with a MC who is a dom, or is a sub, or is neither. And I would respectfully suggest "ain't nobody got time for that".

 

[Jack Townsend]

I would agree with that if not for the blank slate MC. All the characters in the game, both LIs and just guy friends are very rigid in their kinks but the MC is just ok with everything. If the game universe is going so hard on the LIs staying firm in their kink, I dont see why you wouldnt have the MC also be rigid. The game is already designed to force the player to have multiple playthroughs to see everything anyways.

Maybe the MC being ok with everything sexually, is a reflection of his open minded and adventurous character.

 

[dolfe67]

The MC is ok with everything only if you make him so. It's your choice to make him a manwhore.

However you could argue it's bad that refusing a kink throw you out of a girl's path, but it's not always the case and it's an adult/porn game first and foremost.

 

[holdenmarchsvu]

some good points here.

i think to some extent MC has to start "ok with anything" for these games to work, but in good games there is a system where the choices made eventually color and shape MC's responses; past experiences/decisions condition possible future responses.

And to be a "realistic" dating sim with multiple LI's, routes, tons of interactions this inevitably leads to the need for completely separate branching paths, and more the paths branch the more cumbersome the entire thing becomes to execute and maintain, at which point the whole thing can spiral out of control due to scope and scale

 

[Pr0GamerJohnny]

And to be a "realistic" dating sim with multiple LI's, routes, tons of interactions this inevitably leads to the need for completely separate branching paths, and more the paths branch the more cumbersome the entire thing becomes to execute and maintain, at which point the whole thing can spiral out of control due to scope and scale

True, or until devs start coming up with some slicker methods for the coding.

I'm no python wiz I'm just brainstorming; stuff like a relationship class which upon instantiation checks and invalidates other incompatible relationship paths so the dev doesn't have to write out these checks by hand....