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

[Rannell]

Nice update, but the tabletop stuff felt like a waste of 700-800 renders ngl. It did not add anything to the story nor have lewds, I wish Ocean would have scrapped that and made the Frohn date instead.

I think it gives us more information to Nadia's character so it would only be a waste if she is not a LI

 

[dempun]

Really enjoyed the update, the dnd bit was the least interesting bit for me. I think mainly cause it didn't progress anything really and was just fun. But the renders were stellar. Maybe ill enjoy it more when it has Nadias other cards

I enjoyed all the interaction with Zara a lot. I totally agree with the comments PUT HER HAIR DOWN MORE Even Vanessa grew on me towards the end. Interesting it seeming them both more. Theres so many characters I want to see more.

Now the long wait but i still look forward to the next chapter

I think the D&D game DID progress the story in some subtle ways. I played through it a second time after reading some of the comments here about it, and saw some things that I think are indeed story related. Nothing that jumps right out at you, but some subtle things such as the interactions between Nadia and MC and how she likes fantasy. It makes her in my opinion a possible love interest. Nami's insecurity about the size of her boobs, and how it drew Sonya out a bit.

And the character selections of the players I don't think were just at random. Maybe I'm wrong, but that D&D game is going to come into play in a story related way.

 

[Matt2012021]

now i have those Grace Mesa and Humble Hey songs stuck in my head i would put Ocean up there with DPC when it comes to music choices

 

[Pepe_the_frog]

What if the real Summer was the friends we made along the way

 

[LostGhost]

Actually, he already did. The back story of the earring changed with this update. It is possible still, but with this change it is not even close to obvious anymore.

Hope for the best

 

[WhiteyG]

Renders are great but the story didn't really go anywhere with this update. If Ocean was going to go back and redo certain things. The basketball could certainly use a lot of work. Not sure what country this takes place in but I've never seen a league where hip checks are part of basketball, it isn't hockey. Also a women of average height is out there dunking a basketball? Plus a dwarf who is faster than the rest of the people playing. I know this isn't reality but perhaps watch a basketball game if you are going to put it in the story.

The actually story is good but it seems like it will take forever before we really get to the mystery with summer, the revenge against the Holgersons, or sex in this game. Wasn't really a fan of the leaf transitions either. Hope things pick up with this game because the art is great as well as most of the characters, but it looks like it will take 15 years to complete.

 

[phacer]

What if the real Summer was the friends we made along the way

i just spit my tea

 

[townie]

In terms of soundtrack, framing and (especially) lighting, this thing is really top notch. Ocean has a cinematic standard he adheres to seemingly religiously and it really shows. Unfortunately, he might be too big of a fan of the old "show, don't tell" adage. That, to me, is the project's biggest problem.

One solution would be to have a more comprehensive 1st person narrator, in the form of the MC's internal dialogue. It's there (somewhat? Sometimes it seems to change between 1st and 3rd but I can't be sure without replaying the game and really paying attention), but it could stand to have a bigger presence. Should, really, considering how taciturn and prone to self-reflection the MC is. The main benefit to this would be curtailing scenes/moments that the MC doesn't consider all that relevant or interesting but still give the audience bullet points to what's happened. A good example would be the whole DnD session, but the applications would be manifold when it comes to reducing the amount of renders needed to complete any given scene by describing what's happened instead of showing. And it'd pair well with a character that doesn't seem to initially care for much but is attempting to open up as he goes along. Yes, it's telling instead of showing but hell, even Star Wars needed a title crawl.

Replaying the whole thing also made me aware of a number of odd turns of phrase (as if the words themselves were directly translated rather than the meaning of the expression), typos and just some really unnatural dialogue.

TL;DR- Get a writer, Ocean. It doesn't mean giving up creative control and it would help bring the text up to par with the visuals and save you time best spent on moving the plot forward so you can manage to finish this before the heat death of the universe.

 

[Dill Pickle]

New SG episode lets fucking go! I replayed the game just a few weeks ago, I'm so ready

 

[longdong4005]

is this the beta worth downloading or should i wait for the full version?

 

[Bip]

The patch SG seems buggy because of a typo.

In PatchSG.rpy, you have to change:

label Tennis04:
with
label Tennis04p:

 

[leo_grouch]

Nice chapter, I do think the board game, although not bad, was unnecessary. Maybe a little contest between DPC and OL to see who can portray the best fantasy board game scene, who knows.
Wondering if Summer's mother was Leia in WIAB, earrings and snake necklace and all that. Also strange that MC in WIAB has the same eye colours as Vanessa in SG.
( yeah i know i will get yelled at for saying this), It may have been better if OL did a lot more of WIAB before he continued or even started SG. The rework really, although i am sure necessary since the stories are obviously interconnected in ways, makes everyone wait even further to see the beginning of Summer's story.
As well i hope, when there is actual sexual interaction. It is done on the same level of quality as the cinematics.

Great work Ocean.

 

[Romenjack]

Okay, so I guess I'm a little confused here. Back when this game first came out there was a little warning that said there was no sex scenes yet and to come back later. Alright fair enough I'll wait. So I came back a year later and the warning is still there, but a different image so it's not just a hold over.
Alright? Guess I'll wait a little longer.
Just downloaded the game and got a new image but same message saying there are still no sex scenes in the game. How does a game that has been in development for over 3 years not have any sex scenes. I mean A Wife and Mother is lambasted for giving blue balls but it actually has a lot of sex in it already. So how is it that this game can go three years and not have a single sex scene?

 

[KhamulTG81]

Okay, so I guess I'm a little confused here. Back when this game first came out there was a little warning that said there was no sex scenes yet and to come back later. Alright fair enough I'll wait. So I came back a year later and the warning is still there, but a different image so it's not just a hold over.
Alright? Guess I'll wait a little longer.
Just downloaded the game and got a new image but same message saying there are still no sex scenes in the game. How does a game that has been in development for over 3 years not have any sex scenes. I mean A Wife and Mother is lambasted for giving blue balls but it actually has a lot of sex in it already. So how is it that this game can go three years and not have a single sex scene?

This isn't a porn game! This is a story-focused game with adult elements.
If you just want to fap, this is certainly the wrong game for you.

Story build-up does need some time.

 

[deoclitian]

this game gets better with every update and Ocean should receive a lot more praises than he does
on the side notes:
Bella is most compatible girl with MC and she`s in real emotional state right now, I just hope in the next update when she will race she will come back in one piece
Nami has the best personality
Sasha and Robin are planning something
Summer might be dead, this is why MC might`ve suppresed his memories and the white roses at begining of the game might be a metaphore for her death

 

[Ragnar]

Okay, so I guess I'm a little confused here. Back when this game first came out there was a little warning that said there was no sex scenes yet and to come back later. Alright fair enough I'll wait. So I came back a year later and the warning is still there, but a different image so it's not just a hold over.
Alright? Guess I'll wait a little longer.
Just downloaded the game and got a new image but same message saying there are still no sex scenes in the game. How does a game that has been in development for over 3 years not have any sex scenes. I mean A Wife and Mother is lambasted for giving blue balls but it actually has a lot of sex in it already. So how is it that this game can go three years and not have a single sex scene?

You can't have story build up and sex scenes at the same time it seems

 

[botc76]

Maybe I'm alone in this opinion but I thoroughly didn't enjoy the whole DnD-2077 part of the update.

I feel like a huge chunk of rendering time went out to a completely mundane and forgettable part of the chapter whereas just more of the story time could've been expanded. I know other developers put in similar segments to their chapters but just feeling like this didn't bring anything meaningful or enriching.

Either way, the rest of it was some quality content, looking forward to what's next.

It's always a question of comparing the length of it, compared to the complete update, how entertaining it was and if it managed to accomplish something.
Entertainment wise, that's pretty much up to each person themselves. Personally, I found it mildly entertaining, but not as much as it could have been considering how much of the update it took over. As for accomplishing something, it did character work, but that could have been achieved using other methods as well and ultimately where it failed for me, as it did, it seems for you, was in comparing how much of the update was spent on it, which could have arguably been used better.
I say arguably, because obviously in the end it's Oceanlab's game, so if he considers it important enough to warrant such a large chunk of the update that took 8 months to make, that's up to him.
However, in my personal opinion (which one is always allowed to have, contrary to the belief of some in this thread), I would have probably enjoyed less of it more.

 

[Skye]

I believe that was the end of the last update

Yeah, one of the mods was messing my game up as I installed the patch before the main mod. I just redownloaded the game and it's working fine now, thanks.

 

[BiberonSZeta]

this game gets better with every update and Ocean should receive a lot more praises than he does
on the side notes:
Bella is most compatible girl with MC and she`s in real emotional state right now, I just hope in the next update when she will race she will come back in one piece
Nami has the best personality
Sasha and Robin are planning something
Summer might be dead, this is why MC might`ve suppresed his memories and the white roses at begining of the game might be a metaphore for her death

This!

It's the first game I became a supporter and all because the last update was more than amazing to me. The amount of details in each frame/picture and the character interaction is amazing. I've seen good games, but the pacing for me is amazing. I love that is not pure fuck fest.

 

[KhamulTG81]

You can't have story build up and sex scenes at the same time it seems

As it stands, considering the mental state the MC is in and relationship status to potential love interests, this is indeed the case. It's not surprising at all...