VN Ren'Py Completed Now & Then [v1.00.0] [ILSProductions]

[erkper]

ohhh heaven forbid the writer not create more drama in this game eh.

Pretty sure this game is based on a zombie (Infected) apocalypse. The whole game is writer created drama, not reality. But the irony of you stating that a Charger could never just break when that is exactly what just happened in the game was too great for me to pass on.

And in truth, while the Charger is a fine vehicle and your points about the electronics in modern cars are valid, yes. Chargers and other cars of that era did and do just break occasionally. I can promise you this from more than one first-hand experience.

 

[erkper]

I mean i really do not know anything about cars at all...ohh well maybe a little after 30 years being a lead mechanic and service manager in the automotive industry... But yeah I dont know shit about those cars or their engines.

Yeah, if you're saying you've been a lead mechanic and automotive service manager for 30 years and you really think a 50 year old Charger cannot possibly break down under the game's circumstances*... you're losing more credibility with every word you type.

* - let's recap Jack's Charger's circumstances, shall we? I'll start with 3 easy points off the top of my head -
1: he hasn't changed the oil since who knows how long before the infected pandemic started
2: he left the car in the garage or outdoor lot for weeks at a time without so much as turning the engine over to avoid attracting infected or bandits.
3: he's siphoning gas (by mouth) from fuel tanks of crashed and/or abandoned cars (that could never be contaminated, could it?)

 

[SeveredRealms]

Yeah, if you're saying you've been a lead mechanic and automotive service manager for 30 years and you really think a 50 year old Charger cannot possibly break down under the game's circumstances*... you're losing more credibility with every word you type.

* - let's recap Jack's Charger's circumstances, shall we? I'll start with 3 easy points off the top of my head -
1: he hasn't changed the oil since who knows how long before the infected pandemic started
2: he left the car in the garage or outdoor lot for weeks at a time without so much as turning the engine over to avoid attracting infected or bandits.
3: he's siphoning gas (by mouth) from fuel tanks of crashed and/or abandoned cars (that could never be contaminated, could it?)

You just described my Jeep with the exception of siphoning fuel. (has however gotten water in engine and in the tank on occasion from fording water too deep "sucks having to pull plugs to clear the cylinders") though mine sits for months on end on trickle charger last oil change maybe 7k ago though it is running with synthetic, is over 20 years old with almost 300k miles. I would trust it to start right now and drive cross country. Will eventually need a motor since it has started to knock on startup but its been doing that for months now so it is warning me it will fail eventually.

I also understand the circumstances in the game as well but a catastrophic failure would have been heard or known about long before it just died. The options for it to die would be more form bad fuel. Oil last longer then you think it does in a engine as long as its checked to make sure it has oil. Same with antifreeze as long as its checked but that can also be replaced with water. Given the age of the vehicle he would have gauges for both oil pressure ie letting him know he at least has oil as well as engine temp gauge. Failure of those gauges was rare since they are mechanical so most likely he would have a fuel issue. Possible coil failure for the ignition. IF he paid attention to very basic fill levels and his gauges.

The writer of the story has obviously made him into a idiot so who the hell knows. He doesnt think he just acts. YES I understand the situation but even normal people still have time to think. I also think differently due to being raised in the mountains and taught how to survive. Situational awareness and all that shit which the Mc has nothing at all of. This is where the story kinda falls short because by now the moron would know to think before acting. He is not alone so his tiny brain should have by now figured that out.....

 

[erkper]

You just described my Jeep with the exception of siphoning fuel. (has however gotten water in engine and in the tank on occasion from fording water too deep "sucks having to pull plugs to clear the cylinders") though mine sits for months on end on trickle charger last oil change maybe 7k ago though it is running with synthetic, is over 20 years old with almost 300k miles. I would trust it to start right now and drive cross country. Will eventually need a motor since it has started to knock on startup but its been doing that for months now so it is warning me it will fail eventually.

I also understand the circumstances in the game as well but a catastrophic failure would have been heard or known about long before it just died. The options for it to die would be more form bad fuel. Oil last longer then you think it does in a engine as long as its checked to make sure it has oil. Same with antifreeze as long as its checked but that can also be replaced with water. Given the age of the vehicle he would have gauges for both oil pressure ie letting him know he at least has oil as well as engine temp gauge. Failure of those gauges was rare since they are mechanical so most likely he would have a fuel issue. Possible coil failure for the ignition. IF he paid attention to very basic fill levels and his gauges.

So it describes your jeep except your jeep is less than half the age and maintained by someone who, you know, knows how to maintain a vehicle while MC doesn't really seem to? Does that pretty much sum it up? And you don't see any reason why that might make it even possible that the Charger could break down? OK, whatever.

As for the gauges, I must have missed the screen where Jack is keeping an eye on working gauges. Maybe because it wasn't there. Same with checking the oil and antifreeze. You assume a whole lot that isn't actually in the story, based on what you would do, while simultaneously bagging on Jack for being an idiot. Well, if he's as much an idiot as you are saying, what are the odds he's taking care of the Charger like you would? Kinda seems like you want to play both sides of the coin there.

 

[RC-1138 Boss]

Jack is too attached to his car. He already knew it was trouble because of fuel consumption and the loud engine which ended up attracting the infected nearby to his building's garage and eventually his apartment's door forcing him, Carol and Naomi to run away.

We all knew this would be a possible plot point in the future. Running around with a several decades old car and leaving it around out in the open without any kind of maintenance. I think developer even hinted at this possibility some time ago.

In a way it is the same mistake Ted made when he tried to live his survivalist power fantasy of shooting the "zombies" with his machine gun close to a fuel tank, instead of grabing Alice and Naomi and getting away from that place.
Only difference i see is that Jack got lucky so far.

 

[TheSidewinder]

I have a 96 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo now, 198k miles on it, with the 5.x liter engine (I can never remember that goddamn number, it's the old Dodge 318 engine, that thing is bulletproof) and I'd personally stick with that vehicle in a zombie apocalypse over just about anything else. I also once owned a 71 GTO with the 400cid engine and "4 on the floor" transmission in it. I could (and did) do everything on that car myself. Pulled the heads to get the valves ground and lapped, changed the oil, flushed the cooling system, adjusted points and timing, changed the alternator, regulator, belts, fuel pump, water pump, and the clutch (4 times, I was a leadfoot and hard on the clutch), and all of that with just home shop tools. You name it, I did it. That car only went to a shop for wheel alignments and new shocks (because I didn't have the tools).

That said, Jack stuck with what he knew, even though he knew it was old and not maintained as best it could have been. Neither he nor I would have have swapped his Charger (or my GTO) for a VW bus because I, and I think he, know nothing about VW's. It's a matter of choosing the devil you know versus the devil you don't.

And if I remember correctly, all Chargers equipped like his had analog gauges for oil pressure, engine temp, tachometer, and (I think) oil temp.

But all of us are speculating, since we aren't writing this story.

 

[mordred93]

But then again don't know where the dev is from so those could be made of metal, be very expensive if there were.

Have you seen the T-Shirts the MC is wearing .. Of course it is METAL !!!!!!!

Sorry - being an ass

 

[Templar Knight]

how many girls are in total ? ( in real time ), i saw some pictures from a orange hair girl with naomi, but reading the comments i only see you guys talking about 3 ( carol, naomi and alice ).

 

[a1fox3]

how many girls are in total ? ( in real time ), i saw some pictures from a orange hair girl with naomi, but reading the comments i only see you guys talking about 3 ( carol, naomi and alice ).

For sex there is 4 so far and 2 of them left so now there is only 2 but there is a 3rd women with them that may become a love interest.

 

[Hisakatana]

how many girls are in total ? ( in real time ), i saw some pictures from a orange hair girl with naomi, but reading the comments i only see you guys talking about 3 ( carol, naomi and alice ).

There's girls in this game? I thought this game was all about what you should be driving in a zombie apocalypse.

(In all seriousness, there are four girls with significant screentime plus a few one offs. They just aren't always in the story.)

 

[erkper]

how many girls are in total ? ( in real time ), i saw some pictures from a orange hair girl with naomi, but reading the comments i only see you guys talking about 3 ( carol, naomi and alice ).

Sydney (of the orange hair) is not with the group at the moment, she opted to stay behind when they left town. The dev has left the possibility open that she might rejoin at some point, but that is far from certain. Right now there are 3 girls: Carol (adopted daughter,) Naomi (Carol's best friend,) and Alice (Naomi's mom.) MC is currently banging Carol and Naomi, and there are indicators Alice may be getting some in an update or two. Or not. We will see...

 

[SeveredRealms]

I have a 96 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo now, 198k miles on it, with the 5.x liter engine (I can never remember that goddamn number, it's the old Dodge 318 engine, that thing is bulletproof) and I'd personally stick with that vehicle in a zombie apocalypse over just about anything else. I also once owned a 71 GTO with the 400cid engine and "4 on the floor" transmission in it. I could (and did) do everything on that car myself. Pulled the heads to get the valves ground and lapped, changed the oil, flushed the cooling system, adjusted points and timing, changed the alternator, regulator, belts, fuel pump, water pump, and the clutch (4 times, I was a leadfoot and hard on the clutch), and all of that with just home shop tools. You name it, I did it. That car only went to a shop for wheel alignments and new shocks (because I didn't have the tools).

That said, Jack stuck with what he knew, even though he knew it was old and not maintained as best it could have been. Neither he nor I would have have swapped his Charger (or my GTO) for a VW bus because I, and I think he, know nothing about VW's. It's a matter of choosing the devil you know versus the devil you don't.

And if I remember correctly, all Chargers equipped like his had analog gauges for oil pressure, engine temp, tachometer, and (I think) oil temp.

But all of us are speculating, since we aren't writing this story.

All Laredo's came with a 4.0l inline as a base with optional 5.2l only the 98 limited has the 5.9l option. As for Jack he stated it had also been restored a few years ago soooooooo the car may be old but it had been gone through and repaired and replaced anything to bring it to like new condition. Places that restore old cars normally sy=tart with either a full rebuild or complete replacement of engine and drive train. With that said YES its a 50 year old car with a shit ton of NEW parts.

 

[Ragnar]

If you play the vn paying attention the MC talks about how the car is falling apart. One example is when you have to flee from the school and the engine doesn't work. There are several red flags like that since the beginning.

 

[PaxHadrian17]

We hold onto some things for the sake of nostalgia. I think that the Charger is one of those things. It represents a saner life for Jack and Carol and also has ties to Lori, who he still missed and did not seem to finally let go of until recently.

I also know that even a well-maintained car can have an encounter with Murphy's Law and get damaged by unexpected debris - all we know now is that something bad happened to the car, but not what caused it.

I was sitting outside a restaurant picking up food on a windy day, pre-COVID, and when I got home less than ten minutes later, I smelled something burning. I checked the car and somehow some sheet plastic had blown under my car while I was waiting for my food pickup and it melted to the underside of the car.

I was able to get the car into a mechanic nearby and they cleaned all the burnt plastic off but I was lucky. If I had been driving a longer distance in traffic with road smells covering up the burned smell, I could have ended up pulling over and ditching the car before it burst into flame (noticing something was wrong too late to save the car). I had a female friend who actually lost her car to a car fire when something like this happened.

For those who keep saying that they would have done better than Jack, how many weeks of food and water did you have on hand and secure when COVID hit? Some of the unsung heroes out there are the truck drivers who acted like a lifeline keeping enough food and supplies reaching stores to prevent a real panic. Shut down the trucks tor a month and there are parts of almost any country (think heavily urbanized areas) where anarchy would have reigned and some of the neighbors that did not plan ahead would have been raiding the neighbors who did plan about the food and water but not on how to protect it.

The characters in this VN are neither omniscient nor perfect. They are fatigued humans trying to find a way to survive in a broken world and unable to truly count on almost any stranger they encounter. The best 'thing' they have is each other and each of them gives the others reasons to live.

I'm looking forward to more of the story of Jack and his ladies. Cheers!

 

[erkper]

If you play the vn paying attention the MC talks about how the car is falling apart. One example is when you have to flee from the school and the engine doesn't work. There are several red flags like that since the beginning.

Just more writer-created drama. We all know in 50 years no Charger has ever broke down unexpectedly (or even not-so-unexpectedly with warning signs if you paid attention.) An expert mechanic on a porn pirate site said so.

 

[Ottoeight]

Honestly, I don't know why people love to argue over such things.

The Charger broke down because it HAD to break down. Why did it have to break down? IT BROKE DOWN BECAUSE THE STORY NEEDED IT. Period.

They had to leave their flat because the story needed to move forward. The school burnt down because the story needed to move forward. They left the city leaving Syd behind and Mom joined them because the story needed it. Now the Charger broke because it needed to break.

Deal with it.

It isn't realistic. So what. Deal with it: you know what, there are no zombies. You know what, you don't fuck your adopted daughter. You know what, you don't fuck your adopted daughter's best friend while having an affair with your adopted daughter. You know what, you don't fuck mom & daughter at the same time.

So, when the story tells you that your Charger breaks down, well... deal with it.

 

[dolfe67]

Honestly, I don't know why people love to argue over such things.

The Charger broke down because it HAD to break down. Why did it have to break down? IT BROKE DOWN BECAUSE THE STORY NEEDED IT. Period.

They had to leave their flat because the story needed to move forward. The school burnt down because the story needed to move forward. They left the city leaving Syd behind and Mom joined them because the story needed it. Now the Charger broke because it needed to break.

Deal with it.

It isn't realistic. So what. Deal with it: you know what, there are no zombies. You know what, you don't fuck your adopted daughter. You know what, you don't fuck your adopted daughter's best friend while having an affair with your adopted daughter. You know what, you don't fuck mom & daughter at the same time.

So, when the story tells you that your Charger breaks down, well... deal with it.

No harm in discussing it.

But yes even if they had changed car, it would have broken down for whatever reason because the story needed it.

 

[RC-1138 Boss]

If you play the vn paying attention the MC talks about how the car is falling apart. One example is when you have to flee from the school and the engine doesn't work. There are several red flags like that since the beginning.

Nice catch, i missed that one.

 

[CoffeeDrinker]

I feel like there's something I needed to... oh, yeah! That! It's getting to the end of the month and I needed to announce that Chapter 18 is officially in development. There was some wrestling with scene placement and pacing during the earlier plotting stages, but once the final order got sorted it, we were able to get back into the swing of things.

There's no denying that the prior chapter (17) was a travel episode, much different than anything we'd done before, with multiple short stops at locations that'll never be revisited. Which is a shame, because I liked some of outdoors locations. 18 will start out that way, especially after the cliffhanger, but, by the end, you'll have Jack and the group (I almost said "Jack and the girls" there) into somewhere a little more stationary. Not a permanent residence, but one in which to set up the remainder of the story's events. Kind of a "base of operations" for the time being. Also, one where the sets can be reused for multiple scenes, which should allow for more in-depth character moments.
Because, in truth, keeping them on the move makes it challenging to delve into their more nuanced relationships. Those conversations are there, but you always get the feeling that more could be said if they just had somewhere to relax. The cast is more focused on the immediacy of their situation and the danger inherent in the unfamiliar. Once the illusion of safety returns, they might stop for more than a few minutes to catch up. This means that there'll soon be a better balance between character arcs and pushing the main story towards it's inevitable completion. Right now, to me, there feels like a lot of plot points still needed to tackle, but I think with the room left in the plot document, we'll manage it just fine.
I mean, we're really the ones who decide how long this is, right?
Thanks for your support and your interest,
- Kinderfeld

 

[RC-1138 Boss]

As i imagined they will end up finding some temporary place in those woods to take shelter while they either fix the car or find another one working.