VN Ren'Py Our Red String [Ch. 12 Full] [Eva Kiss]

[BlandChili]

What's your opinion on mini-games, do you think they add to the experience or detract from it? For now, I don't think I'll be adding more, but it would be cool to add the Pictionary one someday...

Not that she reads comments here I don't think, but I feel like commenting anyway. Mini-games don't necessarily detract from the game itself, but when we're talking about a game that has four month development cycles between content updates they just become a waste of time.

Especially so for a game where people just want to get what they see as the best and hottest scenes. No one does the MMA fights looking for organic gameplay that can influence their story progression. Everyone comes to the forums to ask for the correct combination, or they save-scum until they win, or if they're looking to humiliate Ian I would assume they just let him lose on purpose.

This game is about the story progression and unlocking sexual scenes, not challenging combat situations.

 

[Gicoo]

what kind of scenes and interactions would you like to see

1. Stan needs to be louder, angrier and have access to a time machine.
2. Whenever Stan is not on screen, all the other characters shold be asking: 'Where is Stan?'

 

[Blurpee69]

Just to add to this, before Mike was randomly added to the MMA update retroactively I wouldn't have said it was a thing we could have observed with him either. I doubt Eva will add yet another male character to the tournament at this point, but we should probably never say never when it comes to this thing. "Fighting (or beating up) Axel at the tournament" is an often repeated request.

Eh... Kind of? You're right it wasn't exactly clear that he had been doing martial arts, but at the same time Mike was much quicker to want to throw down with Axel than Ian was at the club. Even a Chad Ian waited for Axel to get physical before Ian started threatening back, Mike jumped to a fight as first resort. I suspect the plan was for Mike to have always been in the MMA tournament, but Eva decided to introduce Mike to Ian a bit sooner with the "special guest appearance" in the opening round of the tournament.

This is one of those instances where, EK will likely add a line or two of dialogue to a Mike / Lena conversation earlier about how he's recently started training, or Ivy dropping it in an off handed comment that the DJ at her club has started MMA during a pole dancing class or whatever. EK does this often, going back to much earlier chapters and changing dialogues slightly, or adding more context for foreshadowing purposes. Usually it's overlooked by members of this forum because most of us don't really go back and play through the early chapters of the game everytime there is an update.

 

[BlandChili]

Eh... Kind of? You're right it wasn't exactly clear that he had been doing martial arts, but at the same time Mike was much quicker to want to throw down with Axel than Ian was at the club. Even a Chad Ian waited for Axel to get physical before Ian started threatening back, Mike jumped to a fight as first resort. I suspect the plan was for Mike to have always been in the MMA tournament, but Eva decided to introduce Mike to Ian a bit sooner with the "special guest appearance" in the opening round of the tournament.

This is one of those instances where, EK will likely add a line or two of dialogue to a Mike / Lena conversation earlier about how he's recently started training, or Ivy dropping it in an off handed comment that the DJ at her club has started MMA during a pole dancing class or whatever. EK does this often, going back to much earlier chapters and changing dialogues slightly, or adding more context for foreshadowing purposes. Usually it's overlooked by members of this forum because most of us don't really go back and play through the early chapters of the game everytime there is an update.

It would help his appearance at the tournament flow better if it's brought up earlier.

 

[Xupuzulla]

Another week,another IM FOCUSING ON THE WRITING update from Evakiss.

 

[Gicoo]

Another week,another IM FOCUSING ON THE WRITING update from Evakiss.

Its either a nonprogress update every few weeks or a month without one.
Either way, the thread goes crazy.

 

[bonerland]

2. Whenever Stan is not on screen, all the other characters shold be asking: 'Where is Stan?'

He died returning to his home planet, and he’ll never be seen again!

 

[bonerland]

Its either a nonprogress update every few weeks or a month without one.
Either way, the thread goes crazy.

Or option three, we get a new chapter, it didn’t have one specific scene in it, and the thread goes crazy with banshee screeching.

 

[Zara Scarlet]

No, it is. Your whole argument that Ivy's words are objective truth and position of the author as opposed to opinion of a character in the story is just that, your opinion. I mean, what are you basing it on?


Because that's what Ivy thinks. Or because it's what Ivy wants Lena to think. Characters in the story express their beliefs on subjects, but these views can be mistaken. Or do you believe that Axel is nothing but a nice guy and also a product of Nazi engineering, because that's what Lena's mother and Perry say about him, respectively? After all, we can use your own logic here -- if these aren't also truths then why were their opinions included in the story, too? Right?


This is evidently false. In a scenario where Lena develops her desire for Axel and then confesses to Ivy she's conflicted about her cheating on Ian with him, Ivy encourages her it's perfectly fine to just fuck them both, as opposed to trying to put a stop to it.

You insinuated that Ivy is manipulating Lena and trying to get her and Axel together right from the start. That is YOUR opinion. Because there is no evidence of it whatsoever. What i say about Ivy, is all there in the dialogue. Whereas what you claim about her isn't. It's all supposition, based on your own opinion of her actions.

The reality is, Ivy does not initially encourage Lena to get back together with Axel. She advises her to talk to Axel calmly, about why she no longer has any feelings for him, so he'll leave her alone and she can move on. At that point in the storyline, Lena is not supposed to have any feelings for Axel, but Ivy correctly deduces that Lena still does. And her hatred for Axel, is not as clearcut as Lena portrays it.

The original comment, that I was replying to, was that Lena's starting position was her fixed hatred for Axel. But this dialogue between her and Ivy, clearly shows that Lena's starting position with Axel is much more ambivalent. She's not really sure how she feels about Axel at all ( this is proved by later developments). That's not my opinion, it's a fact. Whereas you interpretation that this dialogue demonstrates that Ivy is trying to manipulate Lena, and get her together with Axel, is purely your opinion, and nothing more. How you can't see that, I don't know? Because everything she initially says to Lena about Axel, is the total opposite of that position.

 

[Xupuzulla]

Also you can tell Evakiss is a woman because he wants to add a bunch of minigames.
Bro,we play your game for the sexy images,the FUCK you mean minigames?
Im joking btw,i know some of you like the minigames,leave me alone

 

[Blurpee69]

Another week,another IM FOCUSING ON THE WRITING update from Evakiss.

Because it's likely the most difficult part? All the characters have pretty stock standard poses Eva worked out a long time ago and doesn't need to work to much on, for the sex scenes the characters are being traced over, sure some "research" has to be done to find a scene most appropriate for what's in Eva's head, but that's not going to consume the majority of their time. Coloring is done by an assistant / employee, so that not really some Eva needs to report.

So yeah, Eva is going to update about the writing in like 80% of the posts. It's either that or EK doesn't put out an update for several weeks at a time, and then you'll be bitching about where are the updates.

Also, we didn't just get an "I'm focusing on writing" update. We got a bit of insight into what EK wants to do as far as mini games and the thought process behind implementing them. We now know there was going to be a pole dancing one, but was taken out for time, we know there was going to be a pictionary game that EK would still like to implement. These are things we might be able to expect in the future, either added into the game in a later update, or as DLC similar to Jasmin in GGGB.

 

[ffive]

Holly is too damn fucking cute but i was kinda disappointed Ian didnt told her yet that he loves her or at least to be his gf

Note that Ian's attitude and willingness to establish relationship with Holly is heavily influenced by whether he's deleted pictures of his ex-girlfriend, and how he's handled the random meeting with her.

 

[ffive]

You insinuated that Ivy is manipulating Lena and trying to get her and Axel together right from the start. That is YOUR opinion. Because there is no evidence of it whatsoever.

I said Ivy is manipulative (in general, as evidenced by her handling of the drinking game where she can potentially trick Louise into consenting to Lena sucking off Jeremy even though he's Louise's boyfriend) and that people have speculated Ivy is actively trying to orchestrate Lena getting back to Axel, which is something that took place in this very thread.

So, no. None of this is merely my opinions. Also, please don't confuse my saying there were such speculations about Ivy with stating these speculations were right. But the fact remains that Ivy's behavior caused such speculations.

 

[Zara Scarlet]

I said Ivy is manipulative (in general, as evidenced by her handling of the drinking game where she can potentially trick Louise into consenting to Lena sucking off Jeremy even though he's Louise's boyfriend) and that people have speculated Ivy is actively trying to orchestrate Lena getting back to Axel, which is something that took place in this very thread.

So, no. None of this is merely my opinions. Also, please don't confuse my saying there were such speculations about Ivy with stating these speculations were right. But the fact remains that Ivy's behavior caused such speculations.

We were initially talking about Chapter 1, and you claimed that Ivy was manipulating Lena into getting together with Axel. But she does nothing of the sort. Is Ivy manipulative, of course she is. But her actions in Chapter 1 do not demonstrate that. Her initial position regarding Axel, is for Lena to calmly explain her position, so that Axel gets the message and moves on. But she very clearly recognises, that Lena herself has not moved on from Axel, regardless of what you think the stats demonstrate. Only the player can ultimately decide whether Lena moves on from Axel. So by definition her starting position cannot be fixed, because otherwise you wouldn't be able to change anything.

There is no factual evidence that Ivy is working to deliberately get Lena and Axel together, to serve some nefarious purpose. That is entirely YOUR opinion. Can Ivy be selfish, yes of course she can. But that isn't evidence of some manipulative plot against her best friend. That is pure supposition on your part and others.

 

[ffive]

We were initially talking about Chapter 1, and you claimed that Ivy was manipulating Lena into getting together with Axel.

I said people have speculated about such thing. They have done this based on Ivy's evident ability to be manipulative and other potential factors. You are right this is merely a speculation, but it is a possibility based on what the game shows us about the character. And because of this, it is perfectly reasonable to take Ivy's statements with a pinch of salt, as opposed to treating them like the author's own position.

Even disregarding all that, Ivy can simply be wrong in her assessment of Lena's feelings. Just like Lena's mother is wrong and not a "word of god" message from EK, when it comes to Axel's nature.

tl;dr: every game character can be confused and say things which aren't true. Not only Lena, who you claim doesn't know her own opinion of Axel, while Ivy is at the same time supposed to perceive it perfectly and without fail.

But she does nothing of the sort. Is Ivy manipulative, of course she is. But her actions in Chapter 1 do not demonstrate that.

It doesn't matter that Ivy doesn't immediately appear manipulative. Learning later she is capable of such thing allows the player to re-evaluate things she's said previously.

 

[Gicoo]

The original comment, that I was replying to, was that Lena's starting position was her fixed hatred for Axel. But this dialogue between her and Ivy, clearly shows that Lena's starting position with Axel is much more ambivalent.

Christ, I offhandly said in a post (thats presently deleted, so fruitful discussion we have here) that Lena doesn't has the option to fuck Axel in chapter 1 because she hates him and you go on a tantrum on that single line for days. Yeah, you can hate someone and love them later. You can hate and love someone at the same time. And if we take a deep dive in Lenas emotional standing, then its a bit more complex than hate. I wasn't going for that, just a simple comparison for why Ian isn't in love with Holly without going through a longer process and a crucial event like the festival first, just how Lena can only reignite her feelings if she responds to Axel advances throughout the game positively.

1. Lena hating Axel isn't a wrong claim. 2. Lena hating Axel, but xxx... would be more correct, but still not invalidate the first claim.

 

[lucadiadis]

Finished now playing this for the first time, gotta say its one of the best games on this site, definitely top 10. For Lena went lesbian stuff, for Ian went with Holly on one route and Cindy/Minerva the other. Holly is too damn fucking cute but i was kinda disappointed Ian didnt told her yet that he loves her or at least to be his gf, after what happened at the beachhouse, it was a perfect opportunity.
edit forgot to say, bummed no trans char, would have been perfect on the lena side.

Top 10 ? Top 1 more like.

 

[Blurpee69]

I said Ivy is manipulative (in general, as evidenced by her handling of the drinking game where she can potentially trick Louise into consenting to Lena sucking off Jeremy even though he's Louise's boyfriend) and that people have speculated Ivy is actively trying to orchestrate Lena getting back to Axel, which is something that took place in this very thread.

I don't hate the direction Ivy has taken, but I do miss the old Ivy to a degree. The Ivy that had a soft spot for Perry, because of his stutter, the Ivy that found Wade attractive, before she learned of his ties to Cindy. Back when she wasn't necessarily manipulative, but was genuinely trying to help Lena and Holly out, even if we as the players knew most of Ivy's suggestions aren't for the best they were at least coming from a place of good intent. To some degree how Ivy treats Lena and Holly could still be viewed through that lens, but the more recent chapters do bring that sentiment under more scrutiny.

 

[ffive]

To some degree how Ivy treats Lena and Holly could still be viewed through that lens, but the more recent chapters do bring that sentiment under more scrutiny.

Yeah, i believe Ivy is still mostly acting with some mix of carefree attitude and Lena's good interest on mind, but i also wonder if there's maybe a bias at work here, where she believes "the best" for Lena is to be with Ivy, and she works to such effect. Like, someone joked a while ago that Ivy is dragging all Lena's partners down so she seems like the best option... and maybe that's not entirely just a joke after all.

 

[Vengeance_11]

someone joked a while ago that Ivy is dragging all Lena's partners down so she seems like the best option

By design, Lena's choice in partners is pretty poor by itself, but Ivy does seem to be protective of Lena by telling her to avoid relationships and encouraging her to just hook up with people instead. She's impressed when Lena keeps Robert and/or Ian at arms length as fuck buddies, but seems somewhat distrustful of her developing feelings for Ian. Whether this is due to genuine concern for Lena's wellbeing or her own selfish desires is yet to be seen.