Samuel Hidayat

Well-Known Member
May 16, 2019
1,816
2,415
I've revised over 200 pages and only Chapter 9 remains.
Great news, my man.

Say, does this remaster change how some of the triggers/flags work? I distinctly remember that you can't chase both Lena and Holly in the same run without sacrificing one of them. Is it still like that now, or has it change?
 

DatBoit

Member
Dec 2, 2018
265
1,151
Can we take a moment to discuss the fact that Eva spent several months reworking Stan's storyline, only to present something that was virtually unchanged? Thinking about it now, I realize how bad it actually is, which makes you wonder how she decided that she had achieved any meaningful differences at all.

Honestly, all the problems with Stan are still there. Sure, he might be slightly less incompetent, and maybe not as apologetic for his own existence, but at the end of the day, he is still a self-pitying creep. No matter how many encouraging words you choose to give as Lena, he is still exactly the same. He goes on and on and on about how no women would ever find him attractive, how he is just a bother to everyone else, and how no one likes him. And to be fair, he would be right, because a person who thinks like this would become extremely unappealing to spend time with.

As an additional sort of "fuck you", he thanks Lena for all the encouragement by masturbating to her pictures in broad daylight and spying on her when she has sex. I mean, wow! Those definitely aren't some extremely unsympathetic character traits that makes him more repulsive than he already is. I was actually highly surprised when I saw that the scene where he is caught masturbating to Lena is still in the game, because that is one of Stan's most unforgivable and damaging moments This, of course, makes it even harder to justify why you would ever seek a relationship between him and Lena.

It is just regrettable that Stan's character still has so many flaws. I think that Lena's love interests are already much worse compared to Ian's, with many of them having the potential to immediately disqualify themselves through completely natural choices (i.e., not forgiving Axel for cheating, rejecting Robert for being a pushy douche, rejecting Seymour for being a manipulative asshole, and telling Louise about Jeremy). So, making Stan a self-pitying creep doesn't really help. And keep in mind that this is coming from someone who actually looked forward to Stan's storyline, as this would allow for Lena's complete depravity by fucking someone who clearly is not in the same league as her.

Anyways, I am not going to be all negative, because I actually do have a few ideas for how his storyline could have been infinitely better. First of all, make him a proud nerd. He can still be awkward and shy, but allowing him to actually have some interests that he could energetically discuss, would make him instantly more likeable. Even though Lena might not share these interests, I could at least believe that she would see some charm in a person who dares to be themselves, and who shows some true passion for something.

Second, make him be not-a-creep (or at least not visibly creepy). If he secretely jerks off to all of Lena's pictures, that is fine, just don't have her catch him doing it. And if you absolutely must have some element of Lena discovering that he masturbates to her, do it in a more lighthearted way, i.e., finding out he is subscribed to her Stalkfap or has her as his computer background. If you couple this with them having a pretty good and easy-going relationship, she could tease him about it as a friend, because she knows that, at the end of the day, their relationship is good and he treats her with respect.

Third and finally, make Stan more competent in their photoshoots/Lena's content creation. It makes perfect sense that he acts as an amateur the first time, and that Lena has to direct him. However, when he goes to edit the photos, he can surprise Lena by delivering photos that were edited with a quality way above her expectations. Upon asking how he managed this, he explains that he took some courses, watched some tutorials, as to really give her the best result possible. Then, we can see Lena really appreciate the effort he put in.

During the second shoot, it starts off just like the first, with Lena having to direct Stan to a large extent. She asks how the photos are turning out, and Stan answers, hesitantly, that they are okay, but that they are missing the X-factor. He could then propose a pose or an angle, which turns out to be really good and the best photo of the entire shoot, Once again, this is due to the fact that he has been investing a lot of time in course and tutorials, which really impressess Lena. He can also provide input on what her Stalkfap subscribers would enjoy the most.

Either way, what you end up with is a situation where Stan is clearly making a great effort for Lena, which facilitates a relationship between them in two ways. On one hand, it could happen because Lena simply starts to appreciate Stan, because he is treating her very well, and because they might connect over one of the interests Stan is passionate about. On the other hand, it can occur in a more porn-like way, where she decides to reward him for all of his efforts with a blowjob, and at a later stage, sex (which could be more a fun thing for Lena given her lax attitude towards sex). Or, when her Stalkfap subscribers ultimately ask for boy-girl content, it could be natural to ask Stan, because, after all, he is the one that has helped her out the most, so it makes sense that he is rewarded for it.

If their relationship developed in this way, rather than Stan wallowing in self-pity and acting like a complete creep, I think the route would be much more appealing to play, and would improve tremendously. Regrettably, it will probably never happen, but one can't help speculating in the ways in which this part of the game could be easily enhanced.
 

palmtrees89

Well-Known Member
Jul 3, 2021
1,639
10,172
Can we take a moment to discuss the fact that Eva spent several months reworking Stan's storyline, only to present something that was virtually unchanged? Thinking about it now, I realize how bad it actually is, which makes you wonder how she decided that she had achieved any meaningful differences at all.
I'm not going to address your entire post, but I'd mostly agree, especially with this first bit. I've recently done another playthrough (my first on the remastered version), and I've barely noticed a difference. Sure, there are a couple new renders and Stan has grown a ponytail (please tell me that's new because I'm actually unsure), but calling it a remastered version seems a bit far fetched. I'd say patch/hotfix would be a much more accurate description, but maybe I'm just not seeing it as someone who's "only" done 3 entire playthroughs so far.

Anyway, I don't know if the months it took were really worth it. I'd probably say no, seeing that the current development cycle is taking a really long time. When I first heard about the remastered version, I thought it was a way to kind of clean the game up a bit, which in return would allow for Eva to progress faster in future updates and development. But that's clearly not the case so far.

Another thing I wanna say is that, after reading some of the development blogs, there's something making me raise an eyebrow, which is Eva asking her patrons about what they'd like to read in her dev blogs. She's addressed the most important thing herself, which is the current progress and/or estimated release date, but she's also saying how it would be difficult to answer that without spoiling anything. Now, if it was any (or most) other developer(s) saying this, I had made a pretty clear statement on how and why that's bullshit, but I believe Eva is one of the few good and trustworthy developers out there, so I'm not quite sure what to make of it. Fact is, it's totally possible to tell your patrons how much work you've done, and how much more work there is to do, unless you're just going with the flow and there's no real planning in the first place. It really doesn't require any spoilers whatsoever, though.

I just hope she's not overwhelming herself with all the different story arcs, burying herself in a workload unmanageable for a single developer. Because that wouldn't end well in the long run, and the current development time for a single chapter doesn't look too good in regards to the workload on her shoulders. I'm hoping for the best as this is still one of my favourite VN's out there.
 

JohnnyKiss

Active Member
Oct 1, 2017
825
2,620
Can we take a moment to discuss the fact that Eva spent several months reworking Stan's storyline, only to present something that was virtually unchanged? Thinking about it now, I realize how bad it actually is, which makes you wonder how she decided that she had achieved any meaningful differences at all.

Honestly, all the problems with Stan are still there. Sure, he might be slightly less incompetent, and maybe not as apologetic for his own existence, but at the end of the day, he is still a self-pitying creep. No matter how many encouraging words you choose to give as Lena, he is still exactly the same. He goes on and on and on about how no women would ever find him attractive, how he is just a bother to everyone else, and how no one likes him. And to be fair, he would be right, because a person who thinks like this would become extremely unappealing to spend time with.

As an additional sort of "fuck you", he thanks Lena for all the encouragement by masturbating to her pictures in broad daylight and spying on her when she has sex. I mean, wow! Those definitely aren't some extremely unsympathetic character traits that makes him more repulsive than he already is. I was actually highly surprised when I saw that the scene where he is caught masturbating to Lena is still in the game, because that is one of Stan's most unforgivable and damaging moments This, of course, makes it even harder to justify why you would ever seek a relationship between him and Lena.

It is just regrettable that Stan's character still has so many flaws. I think that Lena's love interests are already much worse compared to Ian's, with many of them having the potential to immediately disqualify themselves through completely natural choices (i.e., not forgiving Axel for cheating, rejecting Robert for being a pushy douche, rejecting Seymour for being a manipulative asshole, and telling Louise about Jeremy). So, making Stan a self-pitying creep doesn't really help. And keep in mind that this is coming from someone who actually looked forward to Stan's storyline, as this would allow for Lena's complete depravity by fucking someone who clearly is not in the same league as her.

Anyways, I am not going to be all negative, because I actually do have a few ideas for how his storyline could have been infinitely better. First of all, make him a proud nerd. He can still be awkward and shy, but allowing him to actually have some interests that he could energetically discuss, would make him instantly more likeable. Even though Lena might not share these interests, I could at least believe that she would see some charm in a person who dares to be themselves, and who shows some true passion for something.

Second, make him be not-a-creep (or at least not visibly creepy). If he secretely jerks off to all of Lena's pictures, that is fine, just don't have her catch him doing it. And if you absolutely must have some element of Lena discovering that he masturbates to her, do it in a more lighthearted way, i.e., finding out he is subscribed to her Stalkfap or has her as his computer background. If you couple this with them having a pretty good and easy-going relationship, she could tease him about it as a friend, because she knows that, at the end of the day, their relationship is good and he treats her with respect.

Third and finally, make Stan more competent in their photoshoots/Lena's content creation. It makes perfect sense that he acts as an amateur the first time, and that Lena has to direct him. However, when he goes to edit the photos, he can surprise Lena by delivering photos that were edited with a quality way above her expectations. Upon asking how he managed this, he explains that he took some courses, watched some tutorials, as to really give her the best result possible. Then, we can see Lena really appreciate the effort he put in.

During the second shoot, it starts off just like the first, with Lena having to direct Stan to a large extent. She asks how the photos are turning out, and Stan answers, hesitantly, that they are okay, but that they are missing the X-factor. He could then propose a pose or an angle, which turns out to be really good and the best photo of the entire shoot, Once again, this is due to the fact that he has been investing a lot of time in course and tutorials, which really impressess Lena. He can also provide input on what her Stalkfap subscribers would enjoy the most.

Either way, what you end up with is a situation where Stan is clearly making a great effort for Lena, which facilitates a relationship between them in two ways. On one hand, it could happen because Lena simply starts to appreciate Stan, because he is treating her very well, and because they might connect over one of the interests Stan is passionate about. On the other hand, it can occur in a more porn-like way, where she decides to reward him for all of his efforts with a blowjob, and at a later stage, sex (which could be more a fun thing for Lena given her lax attitude towards sex). Or, when her Stalkfap subscribers ultimately ask for boy-girl content, it could be natural to ask Stan, because, after all, he is the one that has helped her out the most, so it makes sense that he is rewarded for it.

If their relationship developed in this way, rather than Stan wallowing in self-pity and acting like a complete creep, I think the route would be much more appealing to play, and would improve tremendously. Regrettably, it will probably never happen, but one can't help speculating in the ways in which this part of the game could be easily enhanced.
I ain't reading all that but I do agree that the whole Remaster was simply not worth the time and effort put into it. Sure, the added images/scenes are really nice but it would be nicer if we got some new scenes continuing the story.
 
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BloodyMares

Well-Known Member
Dec 4, 2017
1,460
7,021
Great news, my man.

Say, does this remaster change how some of the triggers/flags work? I distinctly remember that you can't chase both Lena and Holly in the same run without sacrificing one of them. Is it still like that now, or has it change?
Still the same. But if you don't date Holly (can even have sex with her at the book fair), then Lena can forgive Ian in Chapter 9, as long as your relationship is high enough and you don't try to argue about her previous decision. It was this way in pre-remastered release at least. Still yet to find out if anything meaningful was changed in Ch 9.
 

lordrango

Newbie
Aug 29, 2018
88
296
Regarding Stan, I don't understand why he has to be likeable? He's a creep (looks like a harmless creep) and that's that.

I can see Lena going full blown dominatrix mode on him, including pegging. Maybe even milking him for money and favours. I'd also like a possibility of Lena changing his views and maybe getting into a more traditional relationship with him, or at least more traditional sex once or twice.

I like variety and ability to play character differently in every playthrough. Sure, cucking Perry seems like fun. Jeremy cucking Ian could also happen.
 

JohnnyKiss

Active Member
Oct 1, 2017
825
2,620
Regarding Stan, I don't understand why he has to be likeable? He's a creep (looks like a harmless creep) and that's that.

I can see Lena going full blown dominatrix mode on him, including pegging. Maybe even milking him for money and favours. I'd also like a possibility of Lena changing his views and maybe getting into a more traditional relationship with him, or at least more traditional sex once or twice.

I like variety and ability to play character differently in every playthrough. Sure, cucking Perry seems like fun. Jeremy cucking Ian could also happen.
Funny thing is, you are 100% right about everything. Stan, Jeremy, Perry, Axel, all of the characters here are made to fulfill certain roles/fetishes. Perry is there to be cucked by Ian, Jeremy is there to cuck Ian (and BBC fetish), Axel is Mr. Steal Your Girl, and so on. But for whatever reason a big part of the player-base are drawn towards Stan, thinking his role will be something it's not destined to be. He is obviously the loser who will watch Lena have sex with other men, he even already did it.
 

Varrilete

Member
Mar 20, 2019
336
708
Regarding Stan, I don't understand why he has to be likeable? He's a creep (looks like a harmless creep) and that's that.

I can see Lena going full blown dominatrix mode on him, including pegging. Maybe even milking him for money and favours. I'd also like a possibility of Lena changing his views and maybe getting into a more traditional relationship with him, or at least more traditional sex once or twice.

I like variety and ability to play character differently in every playthrough. Sure, cucking Perry seems like fun. Jeremy cucking Ian could also happen.
i want Stan to be some kind of pervert that films ppl having sex, and sell videos in the net, the one that rapes drunk girls and films it and sell it online
 

A360

Member
Jun 29, 2018
185
1,922
I just hope she's not overwhelming herself with all the different story arcs, burying herself in a workload unmanageable for a single developer. Because that wouldn't end well in the long run, and the current development time for a single chapter doesn't look too good in regards to the workload on her shoulders. I'm hoping for the best as this is still one of my favourite VN's out there.

Honestly I'd be more surprised if they don't hit a brick wall and get overwhelmed at some point. It's thousands of words, sex scenes, sketches, variables, plot and then making sure it all works. A VN like this is seriously arduous and time consuming to make it's a lot of work for one person. It's going to take a shit ton of work to finish something that has this many choices and characters with the variants, switches and variables to manage because of it. Hope I am completely wrong but I would not be surprised if the scope of it gets scaled back or the dev simply walks away because it's too much.
 
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