VN Ren'Py STWA: Unbroken [Pt. 7] [STWAdev]

[RedDevil910]

How frequent are the updates?

 

[Elduriel]

How frequent are the updates?

lot of downtime between updates, but they are quite large, last one was 4k+ renders

 

[cxx]

How frequent are the updates?

every couple months.

 

[ThorinKing]

How frequent are the updates?

One quick way to figure this out yourself:

Go to page 1 to see the first date of the thread, upper left corner. In this case, June 9, 2021.

While on page one, check the change log to see the number of major updates since the first entry (posted the same day, or at least within a day or so, as the first post of the thread).

Since Part 1, there have been five major updates. "Thread Update/Release Update" (first big block of info after the banner and description) shows you when the last major release dropped, in this case September 8, 2023. From June 9, 2021 to September 8, 2023 is 27 months, which means an average of a little over 5 months between major updates.

With dynamic VNs, updates tend to be more complex the further you go, so that 5+ month average will probably be closer to 6 or 7 months for subsequent releases, but it at least gets you in the ballpark.

Not every Dev is consistent and sometimes shit happens and you get delays, but this will give you a decent ballpark and only takes about a minute or two to figure out (unless you're completely worthless with math ).

 

[alpha5]

Is there any sort of plot in this one? Did I not notice it while skipping copious amounts of minor personal exposition? The only thing that stood out was some twins(?) digging into MC's past and him getting a phone call about.

 

[ThorinKing]

Is there any sort of plot in this one? Did I not notice it while skipping copious amounts of minor personal exposition? The only thing that stood out was some twins(?) digging into MC's past and him getting a phone call about.

If you hadn't skipped everything, you might have figured something out.

Given the age of your account and the dearth of commentary, is this your alternate account that you use to simply troll and snark?

 

[alpha5]

If you hadn't skipped everything, you might have figured something out.

Given the age of your account and the dearth of commentary, is this your alternate account that you use to simply troll and snark?

I did not skip everything. I skipped a good amount of unending relationship-establishing dialogue, after a short gleaning that this is what is happening, which is what I do when I get bored if the plot is not moving. From what I can tell it is all just character exposition, relationship development and a few flashbacks but no overarching plot, no antagonist, no problem to be solved. When skipping I wait for changes in scenary and characters but that just does not happen. The overview in the OP asks a couple of questions at the end. So far I see none of them being relevant. I suppose that phone call at the end and the relating conversation with Els just made them relevant but even that is kind of whatever because MC was not shown to have any issues whatsover, it is only told so I do not care. Instead he humps everything that moves without any repercussions thus far. I can't even lose the fight in part 6 when I try to while having neglected training whenever I could. If this game was supposed to be slice of life I would not say anything but apparently it strives to be more or maybe I am just not vibing with the story or maybe it is merely incredibly slow and picks up in part 7.

So I will ask again: Is this all there is so far? Establishment of a little harem and maybe two hints of actual problems?

 

[Walter Victor]

I did not skip everything. I skipped a good amount of unending relationship-establishing dialogue, after a short gleaning that this is what is happening, which is what I do when I get bored if the plot is not moving. From what I can tell it is all just character exposition, relationship development and a few flashbacks but no overarching plot, no antagonist, no problem to be solved. When skipping I wait for changes in scenary and characters but that just does not happen. The overview in the OP asks a couple of questions at the end. So far I see none of them being relevant. I suppose that phone call at the end and the relating conversation with Els just made them relevant but even that is kind of whatever because MC was not shown to have any issues whatsover, it is only told so I do not care. Instead he humps everything that moves without any repercussions thus far. I can't even lose the fight in part 6 when I try to while having neglected training whenever I could. If this game was supposed to be slice of life I would not say anything but apparently it strives to be more or maybe I am just not vibing with the story or maybe it is merely incredibly slow and picks up in part 7.

So I will ask again: Is this all there is so far? Establishment of a little harem and maybe two hints of actual problems?

Yup, that's all there is. No sense of you playing (or posting) any further.

 

[alpha5]

Yup, that's all there is. No sense of you playing (or posting) any further.

Cute. Would have been more effective with half that effort.

 

[RoryTate]

Is there any sort of plot in this one? Did I not notice it while skipping copious amounts of minor personal exposition? The only thing that stood out was some twins(?) digging into MC's past and him getting a phone call about.

I have to disagree with this idea. This VN has a wealth of well-established character motivations and a very strong narrative thrust. The MC is trying to rebuild his entire life and regain his basic purpose for living after losing the love of his life (Zaina), which was a tragic and vivid event that shattered all his hopes and dreams of spending the rest of his existence with her. Plus he is having to overcome mental health issues from being a war veteran. The player has the choice of focusing on pursuing a single love interest to fill the void left in his heart, or they can lean into the playboy nature of the character to some extent (these choices align somewhat with the fame or infamy routes the game offers).

The love interests themselves are dynamic and fascinating characters as well. Els is similarly dealing with mental health issues as a war veteran, and she has unrealized dreams and unmet potential due to her family situation. Kana has physical health problems combined with a haunting memory of personal betrayal, and she is trying to come to terms with her past. Amrit is pursuing a lofty goal of becoming a champion under the tutelage of the MC and McNab, while learning to grow into a sexually active and confident woman. Vi is lost and directionless in many ways, since she is relatively young and tragically lacks a family to support her, and she is just beginning the daunting process of choosing a life for herself. Ines is hiding deep insecurities about herself behind a constant public illusion of sexual bravado, and she has to decide the person she wants to become.

Even McNab is compelling in his struggle to overcome a serious injury and regain his past glory in the MMA world. The most important part of all this though is that the MC is involved in each of the conflicts of those close to him, in very real and interesting ways (he is training Amrit and Kana, giving Vi and Ines a place to live, working closely with Els at the veteran's shelter, etc).

Yes, there is no clear and decisive external struggle that has been fully realized yet in the story, but there are hints of important ones to come in the ex-convict MMA fighter who is targeting the MC, and the unresolved matters of Davis' supposed death and Zaina's passing and the secrets that are being kept there. A lot of things have been set up – like the hidden injuries that can be accumulated by the MC during his fights, or injuries given to Kana when training/competing with her, depending on player choices over the course of the game – that will likely impact the events that will unfold in future chapters.

So yeah. I strongly disagree with this idea that the story lacks a plot or a compelling narrative. STWA: Unbroken is filled to the brim with motivated and interesting characters, and this wall of text I just wrote is only the bullet point version of the incredible depth of story that's actually offered in the VN.

 

[HornyyPussy]

So I will ask again: Is this all there is so far? Establishment of a little harem and maybe two hints of actual problems?

If that's all you think there is so far you have really not paid attention when playing it.....

 

[Dark Silence]

If that's all you think there is so far you have really not paid attention when playing it.....

Playing? He doesn't play. He holds down the skip key to get to the lewds.

 

[alpha5]

I have to disagree with this idea. This VN has a wealth of well-established character motivations and a very strong narrative thrust. The MC is trying to rebuild his entire life and regain his basic purpose for living after losing the love of his life (Zaina), which was a tragic and vivid event that shattered all his hopes and dreams of spending the rest of his existence with her. Plus he is having to overcome mental health issues from being a war veteran. The player has the choice of focusing on pursuing a single love interest to fill the void left in his heart, or they can lean into the playboy nature of the character to some extent (these choices align somewhat with the fame or infamy routes the game offers).

The love interests themselves are dynamic and fascinating characters as well. Els is similarly dealing with mental health issues as a war veteran, and she has unrealized dreams and unmet potential due to her family situation. Kana has physical health problems combined with a haunting memory of personal betrayal, and she is trying to come to terms with her past. Amrit is pursuing a lofty goal of becoming a champion under the tutelage of the MC and McNab, while learning to grow into a sexually active and confident woman. Vi is lost and directionless in many ways, since she is relatively young and tragically lacks a family to support her, and she is just beginning the daunting process of choosing a life for herself. Ines is hiding deep insecurities about herself behind a constant public illusion of sexual bravado, and she has to decide the person she wants to become.

Even McNab is compelling in his struggle to overcome a serious injury and regain his past glory in the MMA world. The most important part of all this though is that the MC is involved in each of the conflicts of those close to him, in very real and interesting ways (he is training Amrit and Kana, giving Vi and Ines a place to live, working closely with Els at the veteran's shelter, etc).

Yes, there is no clear and decisive external struggle that has been fully realized yet in the story, but there are hints of important ones to come in the ex-convict MMA fighter who is targeting the MC, and the unresolved matters of Davis' supposed death and Zaina's passing and the secrets that are being kept there. A lot of things have been set up – like the hidden injuries that can be accumulated by the MC during his fights, or injuries given to Kana when training/competing with her, depending on player choices over the course of the game – that will likely impact the events that will unfold in future chapters.

So yeah. I strongly disagree with this idea that the story lacks a plot or a compelling narrative. STWA: Unbroken is filled to the brim with motivated and interesting characters, and this wall of text I just wrote is only the bullet point version of the incredible depth of story that's actually offered in the VN.

Thank you for this comprehensive answer to my rather dismissive question. I can tell you I did pick up on most of this except the ex-convict and the hidden injuries. The latter would explain a few choices that seemed pointless or unfunny.

Reading your post I notice this game is a lot more group-centric than I was expecting, which does explain the need for amount of exposition and development, which, along with the dialogue quality, makes the characters feel alive. Yet some also feel redundant to me so far. I mean beside the MC there are three of them training for competition, two of them recovering from injury, two of them love interests, one of which a virgin iirc along with two girls who just moved in, also love interests, and who barely do anything at this point. Then there two memory characters who are also hallucinations, both of them best friend types.

Maybe I am in that sweetspot where I came too late to see the story unfold slowly but too early to see any payoffs so that it annoys me. Anyway, evidently I need to adjust my expectations by quite a lot, might come back in a couple updates when choices start paying off. I actually did enjoy the humorous scenes when the characters were allowed to be.

 

[Defenestrator.for.traitor]

The love interests themselves are dynamic and fascinating characters as well. Els is similarly dealing with mental health issues as a war veteran, and she has unrealized dreams and unmet potential due to her family situation. Kana has physical health problems combined with a haunting memory of personal betrayal, and she is trying to come to terms with her past. Amrit is pursuing a lofty goal of becoming a champion under the tutelage of the MC and McNab, while learning to grow into a sexually active and confident woman. Vi is lost and directionless in many ways, since she is relatively young and tragically lacks a family to support her, and she is just beginning the daunting process of choosing a life for herself. Ines is hiding deep insecurities about herself behind a constant public illusion of sexual bravado, and she has to decide the person she wants to become.

After I read this I just noticed, my interest in LIs is coming from who they are and not how they look. Similar irl experiences make me lean into or avoid characters. It was eye opening tbh. Need to check other games for similar situation. Thanks.

 

[MF_DOOM]

Check In 12/02/2023

You must be registered to see the links

Yo! Apologies I'm a bit late here, quick one today though. Kana is our title lady this week, with some new accessories.
Minor script work update. Things mostly solid, but I'm looking at one specific scene and trying to decide if it needs to get cut, it really just depends on how many renders/animations it's going to take up. But considering the star of the scene my proofreader might actually hit me round the head and neck if I remove it. Truly a struggle.
Animation prelim took more time than expected so I kept plugging away at renders while I did that. We're sitting at a cool 1250 renders knocked out. Finished up the final bit of prelim work today though so I'll be switching my focus.
Hoping the first group of animations go well. They'll probably be the hardest batch to tackle which is why I want to hit them first. Wish me luck.
Anywho, back to chipping away. I appreciate the support and I hope you have a lovely December!
Sláinte!

 

[MF_DOOM]

I did not skip everything. I skipped a good amount of unending relationship-establishing dialogue, after a short gleaning that this is what is happening, which is what I do when I get bored if the plot is not moving. From what I can tell it is all just character exposition, relationship development and a few flashbacks but no overarching plot, no antagonist, no problem to be solved. When skipping I wait for changes in scenary and characters but that just does not happen. The overview in the OP asks a couple of questions at the end. So far I see none of them being relevant. I suppose that phone call at the end and the relating conversation with Els just made them relevant but even that is kind of whatever because MC was not shown to have any issues whatsover, it is only told so I do not care. Instead he humps everything that moves without any repercussions thus far. I can't even lose the fight in part 6 when I try to while having neglected training whenever I could. If this game was supposed to be slice of life I would not say anything but apparently it strives to be more or maybe I am just not vibing with the story or maybe it is merely incredibly slow and picks up in part 7.

So I will ask again: Is this all there is so far? Establishment of a little harem and maybe two hints of actual problems?

This game deals a lot with grief and PTSD and the cause and effect of it on the MC and other people around him. Relationship-establishing dialogues are a big part of it. I guess it's not everyone's cup of tea, it is certainly mine due to being an active reserve soldier in the IDF now, I got plenty of grief and PTSD of my own and I can relate to lots of the games topics.

 

[cxx]

unless kana goes to show wrestling then she can't use mask.

 

[MF_DOOM]

Sneak Peek 12/02/2023

You must be registered to see the links

Two small moments for your viewing pleasure this week. One is one of the lewdest, filthiest things I've ever seen. And one is just a regular amount of lewd. You can decide which is which.

Thanks as always for the support and I hope you have a lovely upcoming week.

 

[cxx]

some1 is in need of hugs.

 

[RoryTate]

Hugging? Hugging??? I must admit, sometimes the depravity on this site shocks even me. Seriously, what are the depths of debauchery we will descend to next? Are wholesome handholding and head pats going to be shown in this story? Such unspeakable acts surely cannot be allowed.