VN Ren'Py Supermodel: Defenders of Desire [U6 v1.6.0] [Belle]

[Belle]

Small TYPO
"If Ida hadn't intervened"

I may be overlooking the obvious here, but what is the typo? I can't see anything wrong at first glance.

Also I've decided to go back and start over completely as, as I said, the story no longer makes sense.
In starting over, I'm surprised that the game has elements --text-- that I would swear were not there before. One is Anna mentioning that the reporter "desires her" and that is a source of her leverage over her. I don't remember that at all.

Also I don't remember all 3 superheros fighting the assassin...I thought I remember it was just Blink grabbing him and getting him out.

It was always like this. Nothing changed.

Something you may be subconsciously picking up are the small clues littered throughout the game, things that don't stick out on your first go but that look glaringly obvious when you go back with hindsight. Just wait until the big reveal. The whole game will suddenly read completely different.

Let me keep playing and I'll lay out what I think makes sense?

Sure, I wouldn't mind.

Unfortunately the card game requires someone who is smarter than me. I played through the first round of the photo shoot and I could not figure out what the hell I was supposed to be doing aside from placing cards with like stats (skill, confidence, etc) and lost big time. Not having played Magic or any of the other strategy card games in my life, it was hopeless.

Did you read the tutorial available under Michael's chapters? Also, make sure you play at the easiest difficulty in the beginning, especially before you've built up your card collection.

 

[professorx10]

Is this supposed to be "But I've been burying the lead here."? what's 'lede'?


And on my earlier typo, I forgot that one of the girls is NAMED "Ida" and thought it was supposed to say "If I hadn't intervened." It was confusing. sorry.

pressing on.

 

[Belle]

Is this supposed to be "But I've been burying the lead here."? what's 'lede'?

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[YetAnotherGamer]

But there is no intended order for most of these. Take Phoebe's chapter, for example. Chronologically, it happens before everything else (maybe? There are events in the plot that may or may not happen earlier, which is intentionally obscured), but you don't have to play it until you reach update 6. What number do I put alongside that one?

I imagine I could create a curated "events told in order" mode once you complete the full game, but there are reasons why I can't be too clear about what goes where. The order of events is mostly determined by the order within an individual character's menu or, simply, whether or not this particular chapter requires knowledge from another one. If a chapter is unlocked for you, I've given you all the information I feel you require.

You could save the order in which the player first plays the scenes (or wins them, for the card game scenes) and show that on request, maybe as numbers in the current scene menus or as a list of all scenes instead of the current menus.

It wouldn't be as bad if we had multiple game/save slots, letting us start a new game and replay the scenes as they unlock but still come back to our original save with whatever cards unlocked and decks built. It'd still be annoying if you were trying to figure out something in the middle of the story since you'll have to fast-forward through a bunch of scenes, but better than nothing.

Being able to review the story easily will likely be less important once the game is done and players aren't returning to the game every couple months when it gets updated, but it'd still be a nice feature to have.

A while ago I'd started a list of how the scenes are unlocked for the same reason: there's no good way to review the story when you come back to it with all the scenes unlocked without starting over. It's just a pain to properly figure out the combinations. Probably should have just made a list of one possible way to play through them and been done with it.

One other thing: if you're sticking with one autosave only, it'd be nice if we could reset the game from within the game.

 

[Belle]

You could save the order in which the player first plays the scenes (or wins them, for the card game scenes) and show that on request, maybe as numbers in the current scene menus or as a list of all scenes instead of the current menus.

That's a pretty decent idea. I'll make a note of it and give it some thought.

 

[Kaywye]

Interesting sounding game. I would love to try it out...but the OP says that the android version of the game is for Tablets only. I unfortunately don't own a computer or a tablet, all I have is my phone. Can I still use the apk file on my phone or no?

 

[Belle]

Interesting sounding game. I would love to try it out...but the OP says that the android version of the game is for Tablets only. I unfortunately don't own a computer or a tablet, all I have is my phone. Can I still use the apk file on my phone or no?

You can, but the interface isn't designed for small screens and will likely become unwieldy and/or unreadable. Feel free to give it a shot (and tell me how it works out) if you want, but just know that the game was never written to support this particular way of playing.

 

[Kaywye]

You can, but the interface isn't designed for small screens and will likely become unwieldy and/or unreadable. Feel free to give it a shot (and tell me how it works out) if you want, but just know that the game was never written to support this particular way of playing.

Thank you for the prompt (and helpful) response. I will give it a shot, and provide feedback. May be a day or so as my life is somewhat busy.

 

[sisso69]

I really like it.

 

[cxx]

well finally some action but wrong kind of action, otherwise usual update and nothing is making sense.

Spoiler: besties

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[Kaywye]

You can, but the interface isn't designed for small screens and will likely become unwieldy and/or unreadable. Feel free to give it a shot (and tell me how it works out) if you want, but just know that the game was never written to support this particular way of playing.

Okay, so....loving the story. The interface isn't bad...a tad small for my bad eyes, but as you said, it wasn't designed for this size. I'm not a fan of mini games, and was honestly concerned about sizing for my screen, so I kept it to Pure VN mode for now. I think this has been said before, but the music and sound design is top tier. I am only a short way into what content there is, but I wanted to give you my first impressions as soon as possible. All in all, well done. I'm enjoying this. Thank you for sharing this with us.

 

[professorx10]

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OOOOkkkkkaaaaaayyyyy....
This where either I just admit I got egg all over my face.... Or I admit to the horrific truth!!

Which Is.....I took journalism in college and worked on both school news papers and have written many articles for other papers as well as magazines etc and I've NEVER used the term "lede" or even heard of it or the spelling of "lead" that way as being referred to in a story!! How can this be you ask?

Simple explanation. I'm old. My career was late '60s early 70's and we ALWAYS use the term "lead in" so this word came "after my time". Or as Webster put it, " ...we didn't enter lede in our dictionaries until 2008. "

so the horrific truth is that we have a "generational bypass" here, hence my original post.

Congratulations, you got me.

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[professorx10]

Since I'm starting over....from a pure new player's POV I got to Meeting Vangard and it opened up the "Card Tutorial" as well.
Ok 'tho I'm a strict VN player usually, I thought it only fair that I try the tutorial and see what the card game is like ....only fair.

Duh...what?! Ok this is a non-interactive tutorial so I'll give it that but after about 5 minutes my head was spinning with all the new concepts, interrelations, unusual game play and I have a rising sense of inadequacy in being even able to start or play a hand....turn...whatever? This card game's first impression is waaay too complex to understand coming in cold.

Look, I've worked with writing a lot of process instructions for hi-tech operators and this is not going to work.
Suggestion:
How about a video?...and not just following this tutorial's explanation path...there are too many new concepts to start. The video would start with an over view of the board/playing field and show some play action and why/now the cards interact with each other (without so much elements detail) so we can SEE what's going to go on. An off screen narrator discussing/explaining as a hand is played would help. It might take 2-3 hands...cutting to the end play of the 10th turn to show the possible results? Also, possibly several short videos might work better on different aspects of the game?

The fact there seems to be no way to save a partial game or repeat plays is also 'chilling' in approaching playing this. Belle, I know you're fully familiar with what you're trying to do and provide here but as a newbie coming in first time, it is overwhelming.

I'd hate to see this fail so I'd be happy if I could help you put together a better 'teaching manual' on this card game as I know you must have put a lot into it. But it'll take a completely different approach than this 'tech' manual.

Ok, so I'm giving up on the game and going back to the VN mode.

 

[Belle]

Okay, so....loving the story. The interface isn't bad...a tad small for my bad eyes, but as you said, it wasn't designed for this size. I'm not a fan of mini games, and was honestly concerned about sizing for my screen, so I kept it to Pure VN mode for now. I think this has been said before, but the music and sound design is top tier. I am only a short way into what content there is, but I wanted to give you my first impressions as soon as possible. All in all, well done. I'm enjoying this. Thank you for sharing this with us.

It's the card game's interface that is going to be the real challenge on a small screen. It was the reason why I ditched support for smaller screens to begin with.

I'd also like to correct you slightly: the card game in Supermodel is not a minigame; it's a full-fledged collectible card game. I hate minigames, so I made sure to put in the effort to make a card game that could have been its own, separate product if I wanted. It's not meant to be a time waster.

so the horrific truth is that we have a "generational bypass" here, hence my original post.

I'm not a spring chicken myself anymore, but my knowledge of the phrase comes from simply... reading. A lot. I see the phrase relatively often.

Look, I've worked with writing a lot of process instructions for hi-tech operators and this is not going to work.
Suggestion:
How about a video?...and not just following this tutorial's explanation path...there are too many new concepts to start. The video would start with an over view of the board/playing field and show some play action and why/now the cards interact with each other (without so much elements detail) so we can SEE what's going to go on. An off screen narrator discussing/explaining as a hand is played would help. It might take 2-3 hands...cutting to the end play of the 10th turn to show the possible results? Also, possibly several short videos might work better on different aspects of the game?

This is probably a good time to remind you of the very first line of dialogue you get when you enter the tutorial:

"The following is a non-interactive tutorial for the card game portion of Supermodel. It should be considered a placeholder until an interactive tutorial is introduced in a later version."

In other words, an interactive tutorial is coming. I simply haven't been able to prioritize it, and it was voted down in a recent poll for my backers where I asked where to focus my attention in the near future. I originally wanted the interactive tutorial in the first version of the game but just didn't have the time to implement it. There's a lot of complexity involved because I have to add a million event hooks and a massive extension to the game's state machine for it to work, and it comes with an enormous risk of bugs both in the tutorial and in regular gameplay. So it's not a feature that can be added lightly.

 

[Belle]

I've started writing an in-game database tool now. Anyone who has played any of the Science Adventure games (like Steins;Gate) should know what this is. Basically, whenever you encounter names or unique terminology, you'll get a notification that it has been added to the database, which can be accessed from the menu. Going to that database allows you to browse all the entries that have been added there, reading more in-depth information about things that might get glossed over in the story itself because it's not relevant to the scene or the overall story. Also, this database will feature a full overview of the card game's rules and mechanics, which you can use as a reference while playing.

Hopefully, this should make the game world feel more alive since I can explore concepts that aren't necessarily that relevant to the characters we're following but which might be of interest to the player. It will also make it easier to keep track of the various characters since you'll now have a handy reference to every one of them.

 

[cxx]

Belle so when i update to win11 i need to copy supermodel folder to safe from \renpy to keep save safe?

 

[Belle]

Belle so when i update to win11 i need to copy supermodel folder to safe from \renpy to keep save safe?

The one in your user folder, yes.

 

[professorx10]

I'd also like to correct you slightly: the card game in Supermodel is not a minigame; it's a full-fledged collectible card game. I hate minigames, so I made sure to put in the effort to make a card game that could have been its own, separate product if I wanted. It's not meant to be a time waster.

This is probably a good time to remind you of the very first line of dialogue you get when you enter the tutorial:
"The following is a non-interactive tutorial for the card game portion of Supermodel. It should be considered a placeholder until an interactive tutorial is introduced in a later version."

In other words, an interactive tutorial is coming. I simply haven't been able to prioritize it, and it was voted down in a recent poll for my backers where I asked where to focus my attention in the near future. I originally wanted the interactive tutorial in the first version of the game but just didn't have the time to implement it. There's a lot of complexity involved because I have to add a million event hooks and a massive extension to the game's state machine for it to work, and it comes with an enormous risk of bugs both in the tutorial and in regular gameplay. So it's not a feature that can be added lightly.

Belle, I'm not complaining, I'm trying to help. I see the importance of the card game within in the game, it is a major part of your design. By going back to VN mode I see I'm missing significant amounts (chapters) of the overall game. I'd rather not miss them.

What I'm trying to say is I vote FOR your original intention of having a better tutorial available from the start. You were RIGHT. Your backers are WRONG. The existing non-interactive tutorial (yes, I knew it was) is a detractor for a first time player (many?). We're all first time players to begin with. Yes, I suspected the interactive tutorial you have in mind would be a major change/project which is why I suggested a short video to replace or supplement the current one (it is a good reference)...less effort, no code changes or bug issues. Available quickly?

I know you want players to play the card game as part of the experience and get the rewards of having fun playing it. But you got to get them to want to play it and not be put off by its complexity. That was my experience and why I posted. Please don't take offense. Please, please reconsider a better way to introduce a new player to the card game that makes it seem simpler more understandable and fun. It is a major part of a superlative game and deserves that much. After all, it doesn't seem as easy to learn as Poker or Solitaire.
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[ROSIE7012]

The Autosave system is not working in VN-Mode, I played yesterday until he got his new (lewd) job.
Today I started the game, there is no load or continue, I can only start a new game (even in the save folder is no save file to found). What a waste of time.

 

[Belle]

The Autosave system is not working in VN-Mode, I played yesterday until he got his new (lewd) job.
Today I started the game, there is no load or continue, I can only start a new game (even in the save folder is no save file to found). What a waste of time.

This is always a problem with your user folder in one way or another. It's not something caused by Supermodel or anything I can fix directly for you. Somehow, the game isn't allowed to save to your user folder. Maybe you already have a persistent file in a Supermodel folder there that is corrupt or your user isn't allowed to write to (this could potentially happen if you copy your user folder from a previous install or computer).

There was a problem in the first release of this game where it buffered up persistent saves until you quit the game normally, which caused the save to fail if you force-quit the game with Alt-F4 or the task manager (or it crashed). This was fixed in Update 1.

The file you're looking for is in C:\Users\*username*\AppData\Roaming\RenPy\Supermodel-1615290475\. It's called "persistent". Try renaming it if it's there. If it's not there, you have bigger problems.

Also, (and this is just me randomly brainstorming) make sure you didn't extract the game to some part of your computer you have limited access to, such as your Program Files folder. Ren'Py games should never be extracted to any of the folders Windows creates for you.

Finally, there will typically be a copy of your save folder inside the extracted folder. You can check if anything has been saved there, and if it has, try copying it to the game folder I listed above (but make a backup first). I wouldn't exactly call this a solution since it wouldn't fix the underlying issue on your system, but it might possibly be able to recover your lost save.

I'm at the mercy of Ren'Py and your computer here. There's not much else I can do.