Hmm it is true I have the patch , but didn't consider it was the patches fault for the loop , I thought it was responsible for crashes only , I will give it a try without it , thanks for the info.
To make your fresh start replay of Stellar Dream
(or any other Ren'Py title) as quick and effective as possible, you can use the skip/fast forward function by selecting "skip all text" in the settings menu. You should have a keyboard shortcut for it on Mac too... command key or whatever y'all call it... It's the control key/ctrl on PC. Whatever the key is on Mac, press it in short bursts and don't forget to pause to remake your save points although I generally have fewer save points on a ffwd replay, I still make a lot of saves
I use the burst fire technique to avoid frame drag, fps loss, screen buffering, video lag and any other latency issues or ping that may occur...
Alternately... You
can use the "SKIP" onscreen in the little menu but that control is either on or off. You click it and it just keeps skipping until it hits a choice or runs out of content... Not the best way, IMHO. Skipping is best done in short bursts to avoid missing content, save points and other content you actually prefer to watch again...
As I said, it also helps prevent lag... With the skip function from the hud, it's on or off. If you REALLY want to do it that way, I highly recommend making a save every time the ffwd stops at a choice. The setting I advised skips all text whether read or unread but does not make choices, it stops there. Make a save. With skip you can see an overview of an option you bypassed in your first play and possibly make a different choice.
If you get stuck at a question and don't remember the context, simply roll back a few frames to view the question or proposition again. You do want to avoid rolling forward again after backing up as doing so causes errors in Ren'Py. There are only so many frames you can back up but it's generally sufficient to get the context for the choice.
I don't know all the technical side to the coding of the patch or the game but I have done a shit ton of play testing for game dev and mod author friends so I do know results when I see them. With the patch, the game was error city. I did some play testing for the patch way back about midway through the alien planet missions and no sooner did the mod authors fix the one patch, there was another game update and they had to start all over again. I stopped using the patch after that experience.
Ran my patch free restart and have not had a single error in the entirety of my gameplay. Hope this helps, friend.
Adventure ever on, Phat
Love you Lara!