VN Ren'Py Summer's Gone [S1 Steam + DLC] [Oceanlab]

[yossa999]

Ah yes - Such a sad old song: "That Bad Old Rework"

Yeah - the one that let him put SG on Steam, get resourcing and start to build a reputation beyond F95/Itch.

The one that, serendipitously, helped protect his ability to keep creating after Patreon's Crusade canceled WIAB from a major source of funding.

The one that removed music that was no longer going to be licensed and protected his ability to continue creating SG and WIAB without DMCA notices and all the 'help' those would have provided to speeding up the creation of content...

Boy - how some of us miss "That Bad Old Rework" Song.

This, soon to be followed up by that new hit: "Why isn't this AVN abandoned yet"

The hits keep on coming folks - best update your 'music' playlist to keep up.

Cheers!!

 

[Torunis]

cabin, which leads to the parents picking her up. We also know that he saw her one more time after this and before her final disappearance. The flashback to him in the hospital with the punctured lung(?) and lacerations may hint someone attacked him or possibly both of them. Nika also mentions waking from his dream when an Officer knocks on the door.
With all of this, I don't see his depression and becoming a pariah being caused by her just leaving. Especially since he makes no effort to find her online and refuses to discuss what happened with Summer's cousin, Elsa.

That damage could be result of some beating that came from her family (her dad?). It was meant to warn both MC and especially Summer to dont pursue their relationship any more and dont try to contant each other. If one of them would break that it could harm both of them - especially him. So next time it would not be some beating but more serious attack vs MC. They were kids so they were both shaken by this event. And then they took her away. That would explain why Summer didnt (or couldnt) try to contact him online and why he didnt find her online - not to mention that its probably not established as a fact. We dont know what he tried to do next few years after her disapperance.
Or the damage is from a fall... they went to cliffs or ran somewhere and he just fell. Maybe its not directly connected to her disapperance.

If it would be about some "random dude attack" then it doesnt make sense that she would left and make no contact anymore. If some criminal would attack them and later kidnapped or killed Summer or something then there would be serious police investigation. And there would be some hints about it. And I think that if Summer would be dead Nami would not compare herself to her as she did in chapter 2 or 3. She wouldnt try to bring the memory of dead love up. But it seems like she is still "fighting" the memory of perfect Summer that MC has and cant get out of his head. It seems to me that the depression is not about the dead one but about the lost one.

 

[byaaahh]

That damage could be result of some beating that came from her family (her dad?). It was meant to warn both MC and especially Summer to dont pursue their relationship any more and dont try to contant each other. If one of them would break that it could harm both of them - especially him. So next time it would not be some beating but more serious attack vs MC. They were kids so they were both shaken by this event. And then they took her away. That would explain why Summer didnt (or couldnt) try to contact him online and why he didnt find her online - not to mention that its probably not established as a fact. We dont know what he tried to do next few years after her disapperance.
Or the damage is from a fall... they went to cliffs or ran somewhere and he just fell. Maybe its not directly connected to her disapperance.

If it would be about some "random dude attack" then it doesnt make sense that she would left and make no contact anymore. If some criminal would attack them and later kidnapped or killed Summer or something then there would be serious police investigation. And there would be some hints about it. And I think that if Summer would be dead Nami would not compare herself to her as she did in chapter 2 or 3. She wouldnt try to bring the memory of dead love up. But it seems like she is still "fighting" the memory of perfect Summer that MC has and cant get out of his head. It seems to me that the depression is not about the dead one but about the lost one.

It has only been stated that Summer's mother had an issue with Nika, no mention of her father. If he was beaten by him, that would probably be THE thing he remembers during therapy, not that her mother disliked him. I'm guessing Summer's mother is someone who had an issue with Nika's parents, more than the social status. They don't have a problem with Summer being friends with Nami. As for the possible random attacker, I'm thinking it's likely something to do with the gang mentioned in WiaB, especially if Nika is William's son. That brings us back to Summers' mother, someone screwed over by the town's resident pogo stick. As I said, Nika's dreams end when the police officer shows up so the police likely were investigating something criminal.

Now onto Nami, who has clearly harboured feelings for Nika for a long time. Why wouldn't she question Nika as to why he overlooked her and dated her new best friend? He saw Summer as perfect, despite her aggressive attitude toward him, Nami was always there for him but happened to be left by the wayside by both of them. Seems like a legitimate question, especially if they start pursuing a relationship, like "why am I good enough now but wasn't back then?".

 

[BobTheDuck]

That damage could be result of some beating that came from her family (her dad?). It was meant to warn both MC and especially Summer to dont pursue their relationship any more and dont try to contant each other. If one of them would break that it could harm both of them - especially him. So next time it would not be some beating but more serious attack vs MC. They were kids so they were both shaken by this event. And then they took her away. That would explain why Summer didnt (or couldnt) try to contact him online and why he didnt find her online - not to mention that its probably not established as a fact. We dont know what he tried to do next few years after her disapperance.
Or the damage is from a fall... they went to cliffs or ran somewhere and he just fell. Maybe its not directly connected to her disapperance.

If it would be about some "random dude attack" then it doesnt make sense that she would left and make no contact anymore. If some criminal would attack them and later kidnapped or killed Summer or something then there would be serious police investigation. And there would be some hints about it. And I think that if Summer would be dead Nami would not compare herself to her as she did in chapter 2 or 3. She wouldnt try to bring the memory of dead love up. But it seems like she is still "fighting" the memory of perfect Summer that MC has and cant get out of his head. It seems to me that the depression is not about the dead one but about the lost one.

It has only been stated that Summer's mother had an issue with Nika, no mention of her father. If he was beaten by him, that would probably be THE thing he remembers during therapy, not that her mother disliked him. I'm guessing Summer's mother is someone who had an issue with Nika's parents, more than the social status. They don't have a problem with Summer being friends with Nami. As for the possible random attacker, I'm thinking it's likely something to do with the gang mentioned in WiaB, especially if Nika is William's son. That brings us back to Summers' mother, someone screwed over by the town's resident pogo stick. As I said, Nika's dreams end when the police officer shows up so the police likely were investigating something criminal.

Now onto Nami, who has clearly harboured feelings for Nika for a long time. Why wouldn't she question Nika as to why he overlooked her and dated her new best friend? He saw Summer as perfect, despite her aggressive attitude toward him, Nami was always there for him but happened to be left by the wayside by both of them. Seems like a legitimate question, especially if they start pursuing a relationship, like "why am I good enough now but wasn't back then?".

Good thoughts! Still waiting for more material to get a better picture, as there's holes in every rationalisation so far. The holes are not erros, just, holes that we're filling in with assumptions, because we have nothing else to go by yet.

Some points to consider when discussing Summer's current status are:
- Elsa is her cousin. Elsa knows what happened to Summer. Elsa posts a moody photo on Aurora. She's a LI (or was intended as one). Nika will get in contact with her to find out about Summer, but something else (dare I say something Elsa? No?) will happen.
- Elsa's knowledge is important, because her mom was Summer's aunt. I can guess (assumption) that Summer's mom and Elsa's mom were sisters. 50% chance of being right. So if Summer disappeared, what happened to her parents? Elsa knows the full deal.
- Just to clarify, it's not only SUmmer who is gone, otherwise I'm sure Nami or Noji would go and ask Summer's parent's what happened. Whatever happened to Summer also caused Summer's parent's to leave Wollust.
- Elsa thinks moody thoughts about the past, in response to Nika's presence (the AUrora photo). So there is something serious there, and the way the caption reads, I'm guessing Elsa thinks it's something that will remain a closed chapter - there's a sence of regret for the way things turned out.
- Also consider Nia. Nika returns to school, yet Nia doesn't know what happened to Summer, and Nia recognises that something terrible had happened by the change in Nika's face. It's not just Nika pining for his absent gf. Summer's disappearance (and her parents) was basically immediate - Nia noticed Summer and Nika were away, then only Nika returned to school. There would probably be gossip at the school about SUmmer.
- Nika's accident is most likely unrelated. After Summer disappeared Nika got violent, he didn't waste away. He was getting into fights all the time, and was a solid athlete before. Then he gets taken out of school, presumably after the violent incident. That's when he wastes away and loses his muscles.
- it's also important to note that his depression was violent right after Summer left, and then he got into fights, and Nami was also acting up at school. So there is a post SUmmer period where Nika and Nami went to school, and then there is the period where Nika was taken from school. My guess is the violent episode relates to one of the fights, and it was over Nami. The school suspended him, and th charges we heard about were from the fighting, but they were dropped for some reason. He was probably told not to come back to school after that point, and he became apathetic while having nothing to do.
- also important to remember all the landmarks mentioned on the bus trip, such as the shops. That was from the times before he was a shut in.

These details don't help us discover what happened, but they do give us some pointers to pay attention to when we interact with Elsa, Emilio (when Nika goes to visit him to see what information costs), Amber (as Nika reveals more in therapy) and Nia. I think that in particular Nia and Elsa's paths will have revelations about Summer, and I kinda suspect that Marla's path will too (Marla stating that NIka is part of her problem feels realy weird, when she wants shared therapy with him, but not with Vic, her victim. Nika was just a bystander, why have therapy with him?).

Anyway, I'm looking forward to getting a few more puzzle pieces, but I'm not expecting we'll know too much more in the next update - I think we'll discover more about the Zanes, Petrovas and Reveras than we will about SUmmer. Just my gut feeling. Summer's too useful as a mystery this early on - IF OCean brings her in, it'll b a midway disruption point. Which is too predictable ina college game by far.

 

[Mamaragan]

Good thoughts! Still waiting for more material to get a better picture, as there's holes in every rationalisation so far. The holes are not erros, just, holes that we're filling in with assumptions, because we have nothing else to go by yet.

Some points to consider when discussing Summer's current status are:
- Elsa is her cousin. Elsa knows what happened to Summer. Elsa posts a moody photo on Aurora. She's a LI (or was intended as one). Nika will get in contact with her to find out about Summer, but something else (dare I say something Elsa? No?) will happen.
- Elsa's knowledge is important, because her mom was Summer's aunt. I can guess (assumption) that Summer's mom and Elsa's mom were sisters. 50% chance of being right. So if Summer disappeared, what happened to her parents? Elsa knows the full deal.
- Just to clarify, it's not only SUmmer who is gone, otherwise I'm sure Nami or Noji would go and ask Summer's parent's what happened. Whatever happened to Summer also caused Summer's parent's to leave Wollust.
- Elsa thinks moody thoughts about the past, in response to Nika's presence (the AUrora photo). So there is something serious there, and the way the caption reads, I'm guessing Elsa thinks it's something that will remain a closed chapter - there's a sence of regret for the way things turned out.
- Also consider Nia. Nika returns to school, yet Nia doesn't know what happened to Summer, and Nia recognises that something terrible had happened by the change in Nika's face. It's not just Nika pining for his absent gf. Summer's disappearance (and her parents) was basically immediate - Nia noticed Summer and Nika were away, then only Nika returned to school. There would probably be gossip at the school about SUmmer.
- Nika's accident is most likely unrelated. After Summer disappeared Nika got violent, he didn't waste away. He was getting into fights all the time, and was a solid athlete before. Then he gets taken out of school, presumably after the violent incident. That's when he wastes away and loses his muscles.
- it's also important to note that his depression was violent right after Summer left, and then he got into fights, and Nami was also acting up at school. So there is a post SUmmer period where Nika and Nami went to school, and then there is the period where Nika was taken from school. My guess is the violent episode relates to one of the fights, and it was over Nami. The school suspended him, and th charges we heard about were from the fighting, but they were dropped for some reason. He was probably told not to come back to school after that point, and he became apathetic while having nothing to do.
- also important to remember all the landmarks mentioned on the bus trip, such as the shops. That was from the times before he was a shut in.

These details don't help us discover what happened, but they do give us some pointers to pay attention to when we interact with Elsa, Emilio (when Nika goes to visit him to see what information costs), Amber (as Nika reveals more in therapy) and Nia. I think that in particular Nia and Elsa's paths will have revelations about Summer, and I kinda suspect that Marla's path will too (Marla stating that NIka is part of her problem feels realy weird, when she wants shared therapy with him, but not with Vic, her victim. Nika was just a bystander, why have therapy with him?).

Anyway, I'm looking forward to getting a few more puzzle pieces, but I'm not expecting we'll know too much more in the next update - I think we'll discover more about the Zanes, Petrovas and Reveras than we will about SUmmer. Just my gut feeling. Summer's too useful as a mystery this early on - IF OCean brings her in, it'll b a midway disruption point. Which is too predictable ina college game by far.

Sometimes, I really think that Summer is merely a motivator for the MC to grow. A lingering trauma or mystery from his past that influences his actions, motivations, or development throughout the story.
Since the theme of the game is "healing", accepting the fact that Summer is truly gone and moving on is the only thing the character "Summer" is useful for.

If not, it might be linked to Wollust. There's a gang, weird people spying on the zanes, and Leia being a super shady character.

 

[BobTheDuck]

Sometimes, I really think that Summer is merely a motivator for the MC to grow. Since the theme of the game is "healing", accepting the fact that Summer is truly gone and moving on is the only thing the character "Summer" is useful for.

If not, it might be linked to Wollust. There's a gang, weird people spying on the zanes, and Leia being a super shady character.

I would prefer this, there's already plenty of games that have the returning ex trope. But if the story was written specifically with that in mind, we'll I'll deal with it.

But I think Summer will have more impact on the story if she isn't there. Nika might not like the person she's grown into, and it might just be too much of a soap opera if she returns. If she doesn't return, I think it'll be interesting for Ocean to tell her story through the eyes of the people who knew her, like Nia - and we only get to piece what happened together for ourselves, without ever completely knowing. I think that'd be a great way to keep the tension between Nika healing from his ghosts and demons, and Nika learning to let others in.

Summer reappearing would simply throw the switch, but that's not the same as healing. That would be more a get out of jail free card.

 

[Mamaragan]

I would prefer this, there's already plenty of games that have the returning ex trope. But if the story was written specifically with that in mind, we'll I'll deal with it.

But I think Summer will have more impact on the story if she isn't there. Nika might not like the person she's grown into, and it might just be too much of a soap opera if she returns. If she doesn't return, I think it'll be interesting for Ocean to tell her story through the eyes of the people who knew her, like Nia - and we only get to piece what happened together for ourselves, without ever completely knowing. I think that'd be a great way to keep the tension between Nika healing from his ghosts and demons, and Nika learning to let others in.

Summer reappearing would simply throw the switch, but that's not the same as healing. That would be more a get out of jail free card.

Yeah I agree.

Like in the game BAdik. Zoey, aka the path breaker and Mc's ex, make a comeback late in the game.
I feel like if she's returning, it's only for closure that the MC might need and that's it. There are a lot of interesting characters already with their own story, and I feel like bringing back Summer in the middle of everything is going to derail it all.

 

[rudy007]

I would prefer this, there's already plenty of games that have the returning ex trope. But if the story was written specifically with that in mind, we'll I'll deal with it.

But I think Summer will have more impact on the story if she isn't there. Nika might not like the person she's grown into, and it might just be too much of a soap opera if she returns. If she doesn't return, I think it'll be interesting for Ocean to tell her story through the eyes of the people who knew her, like Nia - and we only get to piece what happened together for ourselves, without ever completely knowing. I think that'd be a great way to keep the tension between Nika healing from his ghosts and demons, and Nika learning to let others in.

Summer reappearing would simply throw the switch, but that's not the same as healing. That would be more a get out of jail free card.

I think Ocean will let us make some progress with other girls first, so Summer com on an established relation and drama can go from there... I think Amber will fix the problem in MC's pants before Summer is back. And Summer is a perfect cliffhanger, as end if a episode, or even better, end of a season...
But first we have to wait for WIAB to come out...

 

[BobTheDuck]

I think Ocean will let us make some progress with other girls first, so Summer com on an established relation and drama can go from there... I think Amber will fix the problem in MC's pants before Summer is back.
But first we have to wait for WIAB to come out...

There's always the possibility that was always Ocean's intent, so I won't be surprised if it happens that way, after all, it's his own fault for letting so many other devs do he returning ex while dealing with slow development.

I still think the drama of not having Summer return would have more impact as a story, if done well, because we all have relationships from the past we can't mend. I like the idea that Nika learns to overcome his sadness about Summer more than I like the idea of returning ex cat fights.

But Ocean has the story he wants, one or other of us will be right, or maybe no one at all has guessed.

 

[Maccabbee]

There's always the possibility that was always Ocean's intent, so I won't be surprised if it happens that way, after all, it's his own fault for letting so many other devs do he returning ex while dealing with slow development.

I still think the drama of not having Summer return would have more impact as a story, if done well, because we all have relationships from the past we can't mend. I like the idea that Nika learns to overcome his sadness about Summer more than I like the idea of returning ex cat fights.

But Ocean has the story he wants, one or other of us will be right, or maybe no one at all has guessed.

I think the name of the game is a surefuckingfire clue about Ocean's intent. It's not "Summer's Missing" or anything. Gone is gone. That's just my take, obviously, and I am more than willing to take this game as it comes. So fucking intrigued that this game pulls me in so much, even without sex. WIAB is such a different game, with great raunchiness, but just as absorbing.

 

[KrusherKev]

Every once in a while I read a comment about how police officer(s) came to pick up Nika and Summer from the cabin. Is that from an "old" version of the game that has since been reworked, or is that event canon to the game? In my limited gameplay so far I have not yet come across that being referenced to in game or occuring yet. Wondering if that event is no longer factual to the current storyline

 

[BobTheDuck]

Every once in a while I read a comment about how police officer(s) came to pick up Nika and Summer from the cabin. Is that from an "old" version of the game that has since been reworked, or is that event canon to the game? In my limited gameplay so far I have not yet come acroos that being referenced to in game or occuring yet. Wondering if that event is no longer factual to the current storyline

It's no longer shown in the intro, but Nami talks about telling 'Jane' that NIka and Summer were at the cabin, Nika can tell Bella that Jane drove them home, and Nika mentions officer Larverne to Amber in therapy.

d "No, the only chance to go further got lost when you sent Jane after us.."
n "The cabin incident?"

"You tell her everything about the day at the cabin, but you keep it superficial."
d "Then Jane drove us home.."

d "But that doesn't matter. *sigh* The dream ends in a cabin. Summer and I are kissing and I then either realize that it's a dream or Officer Larverne appears and the dream ends shortly after."

So we don't see the incident, but we do know about it. Ch 2 had an officer interrupt their more adult makeout session, before the intro was reworked to make it further in the past.

 

[xortor]

Summer is welcome to come back late in the story.
But she is going to find out (just like Zoey in BDIK) that it is too late.
People will be invested af in their chosen paths.
Ain't no one swaying me off my Bella path (or Nami path, shoot)

 

[xortor]

But I also agree that the game is called "Summer's Gone", not "Summer's Currently Not Here".

 

[KrusherKev]

Found a YouTube video from around 4 years ago that shows the MC + Summer + police officer scene, wow really glad the dev changed up that approach, indicated that the characters were already 18 at that point...I like the current build better where they are still early teens when they fall in love and Summer goes missing

 

[BobTheDuck]

Found a YouTube video from around 4 years ago that shows the MC + Summer + police officer scene, wow really glad the dev changed up that approach, indicated that the characters were already 18 at that point...I like the current build better where they are still early teens when they fall in love and Summer goes missing

I'm also very glad we don't have killer clown Summer anymore. I would swear in that old version Nika was mental unstable because of Summer and with her gone, he finally had the chance to be normal.

 

[Dee6902]

There's always the possibility that was always Ocean's intent, so I won't be surprised if it happens that way, after all, it's his own fault for letting so many other devs do he returning ex while dealing with slow development.

I still think the drama of not having Summer return would have more impact as a story, if done well, because we all have relationships from the past we can't mend. I like the idea that Nika learns to overcome his sadness about Summer more than I like the idea of returning ex cat fights.

But Ocean has the story he wants, one or other of us will be right, or maybe no one at all has guessed.

I don't really mind where it goes but it would be interesting if towards the end Summer shows up and gets to see the "finished product" or healed Nika and whichever girl or girls he ends up with and they can get closure. And move on as friends. But this could piss a lot of people off because she would just be there to finish the story. I do agree that the story could be more impactful if she doesnt show up or just to see how far Nika has come.

 

[LuciusJac]

When I found out that DPC would branch characters, I stopped donating to him, because after that the game's development would decrease several times. This will continue until the branches end, which will take many years. It will be exactly the same situation as with the amazing game Defending Lydia Collier, only there are much fewer branches than in SG and BAD. Updates are released in it, and you download them and cannot understand what's new, because it affected the branch that does not interest you. Now imagine what will happen in SG, where there are 3 times more branches and a very slow speed of game development. Imagine Chapter 5 of Season 1 and divide it by the number of branches, that's how much new content we will receive.

If you don't mind me asking, what episode of BaDIK did you stop at? Me personally, I love the branching off, choices and outcomes going haywire just like the Mass Effect trilogy.

 

[BobTheDuck]

I don't really mind where it goes but it would be interesting if towards the end Summer shows up and gets to see the "finished product" or healed Nika and whichever girl or girls he ends up with and they can get closure. And move on as friends. But this could piss a lot of people off because she would just be there to finish the story. I do agree that the story could be more impactful if she doesnt show up or just to see how far Nika has come.

I think that closure is more powerful when it's not externally validated, a personal choice move to the future, irrespective of what happened yesterday. If Summer's dead, how does Nika get closure except through self determination? If SUmmer never comes back and is happy in Tibet or on Mars, would NIka never find closure? Life has so many mysteries and open ends that are never tied off, people we can never say a proper goodbye to; this is why I think it would be powerful as a statement for his mental health to be based on his acceptance that things can't be changed, the clock can't be turned back, but he can move forward.

But it's Ocean's tale to tell, so we'll see what he does with it. Even if Summer returns, there's no guarantee it'll be as a LI or to disrupt the LI path.

 

[Hobocop Harrier du bois]

I don't really mind where it goes but it would be interesting if towards the end Summer shows up and gets to see the "finished product" or healed Nika and whichever girl or girls he ends up with and they can get closure. And move on as friends. But this could piss a lot of people off because she would just be there to finish the story. I do agree that the story could be more impactful if she doesnt show up or just to see how far Nika has come.

Her showing up is a certainty. And all that healing is gonna crack like glass once he sees her. Now he'll have to deal with their tension and his new LI's feelings. Things will get messy af.