VN Ren'Py The Interim Domain [v0.26.0] [ILSProductions]

3.80 star(s) 38 Votes

Alex5280

Active Member
Sep 3, 2020
533
829
I dont feel this one (game), like the last one. Story is not interessting. The only girl i took a bit interesst in, is Tina.
And well there is this thing, called sandbox. (n)
While I do find the story interesting, I'm not really feeling this one either, at least yet. For me, by the very nature of the MC's mission, it makes all the LI's feel temporary. Knowing that the girls could disappear at any time is making it hard for me to get very attached to them. The sandbox doesn't help much either.
 

JB08

Well-Known Member
Aug 6, 2016
1,293
1,668
I dont feel this one (game), like the last one. Story is not interessting. The only girl i took a bit interesst in, is Tina.
And well there is this thing, called sandbox. (n)
While I do find the story interesting, I'm not really feeling this one either, at least yet. For me, by the very nature of the MC's mission, it makes all the LI's feel temporary. Knowing that the girls could disappear at any time is making it hard for me to get very attached to them. The sandbox doesn't help much either.
Its hardly a sandbox lmfao. You havent played a real horror game sandbox game if you think this is sandbox and consider it some kind of detriment lmfao
 

retek89

Newbie
Aug 5, 2017
55
164
I'm not a fan (at all) of sandboxes game, but while it IS a sandbox game, its far from the worst of it and by far not the biggest "problem" I have with it. As said many times already here over 10 pages, its the story, or at least the end goal of it that is causing the most issues, being to help girls "move on" to the afterlife, then go and do that to the next, without creating any long term relationships with any of them (Because why bother, they'll be gone shortly). Maybe that gets fixed at the end of the game that you can just join them but even then, that'd be kinda "meh" . Dealing with girls one by one like a checklist up to the ending then end it with "And They Lived Happily Ever After" out of nowhere. Now And Then was a favorite of mine but I didn't play the last 2 updates because I just can't get hooked to it at all as much as I try. I hope to change opinion on that at some point...time will tell.
 

Tiur

Well-Known Member
Nov 13, 2021
1,100
2,983
Yeah, there's an unrelenting depressiveness to it that makes the whole thing unpleasant despite Kinderfeld's otherwise good writing. In my note to Kinderfeld when dropping my patronage I described it as a game where the focus and theme so far was "unhappy people being unhappy". The fact that they're all dead already doesn't make it any better. The only character the MC can interact with who knows what's going on is written intentionally to be obtuse and difficult to communicate/connect with.

Someone accused me of being hasty/sloppy when comparing this game to Now & Then because "0.5 had the first sex scene, just like Now & Then", except that N&T had several updates prior to that where the horror and pathos of the post-apocalyptic world were offset by the positive experiences of the "Then" stories, which this game doesn't have, and by the growing positive connection between the MC and Carol, which this game doesn't have.

On top of that, the pseudo-sandbox is very much a mistake. Not because it's a sandbox element, I don't care about that, because it's the least intrusive sandbox ever, though I dislike that some information/dialogue can only be seen by doing girls' stories in a particular order, and the seemingly intentional decision to force you to choose between girls' stories doesn't bode well for them in the future. No, the reason it's a mistake is that in a game where the biggest problem is a disconnection between the MC and the girls, it forcibly and by design introduces even more disconnection. It separates them out into these discrete stories that are themselves self-contained and depressing, while leaving the 'main story' just as depressing due to the MC not being able to share it with anyone.

Fundamentally, the issue here is: Now & Then was fun to play for its entire duration. This game is not.
 

Thuryspochen

Newbie
May 11, 2020
77
146
New update is finally out.
Only a handful replies.
All negative :ROFLMAO:

I really don't get why the dev is doing this instead of realizing "OK, maybe that wasn't such a good idea..." and going back to the format everyone liked.
Part of why Now & Then was such a hit was the faux-incest, and the protag not only struggling with it realistically, but also getting past it in a way that made a lot of sense.

The Interim Domain is a thinking man's porn game. Until now, I would've thought that phrase was an oxymoron. But I do like it. I like it quite a bit. Granted, not quite as much fun as Now & Then, yet, but I like the story, I like (most of) the characters, hell, I even like the setting, though I'm a bit biased on that last one.

I don't find it depressing for several reasons. Chief among them being, if (when) the protag wins against the other Archons, he'll have a major hand in shaping the next world. Plus, based on his track record, I doubt ILS is going to stick us with endings that fundamentally suck balls. The dev enjoys his slow grinds more than I do, but I like what he's provided so far, especially in this update. I'm curious to see where he's going with this, and eager to see how the protag's powers will manifest.
 
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Moonis

Active Member
Mar 18, 2019
604
855
Good content with some of the girls. But I didn't like that game ended before I managed to see some of the scenes. Wasn't idea to save as many as he could? Forcing us to choose between the girls is contradictory against that.

I don't know if creator follows this site, but I noticed this typo still wasn't fixed.
You don't have permission to view the spoiler content. Log in or register now.
 
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Tiur

Well-Known Member
Nov 13, 2021
1,100
2,983
Also, I'm not native english speaker, but 'missed out so much' would feel better than 'missed out on so much'? Not sure about that.
I am a native English speaker, and 'missed out on so much' is definitely the more appropriate there. "I missed out so much" is treating 'so much' as an adverb phrase emphasizing how much the speaker missed out, but not defining what they missed out on. It's not something that would be commonly said in English at all, despite being technically accurate, because it's ultra vague and doesn't define anything about the sentiment being expressed. "I missed out on so much" is treating 'so much' as a placeholder for the many things the speaker missed out on, and is vastly more likely to be spoken in English; we love our pronouns and placeholders in this extended bad habit we pretend is a language.
 

Vakkyr

Newbie
Jun 18, 2017
71
84
I'm really having a hard Time with this one. Started playing 2-3 updates ago and I really liked the basic premise of the Game, it felt rather fresh for me. Also I found most of the Characters and their Plot Interesting in their own way.
BUT
I think the Game suffers heavily because of it's Structure and the ammount of Characters/Plots. The overall pacing feels horrible. While each Update, in theory, has a good amount of content, it still feels like there is almost no noteworthy Progress. There are so many Characters that compete with each other and the Mainstory for Screentime that disappointment is almost guaranteed. Also I'm not a big fan of missable content, so I use the Walkthrough Mod to fix this, what probably hurts the pacing and dramaturgy even more.
 

Vakkyr

Newbie
Jun 18, 2017
71
84
New update is finally out.
Only a handful replies.
All negative :ROFLMAO:

I really don't get why the dev is doing this instead of realizing "OK, maybe that wasn't such a good idea..." and going back to the format everyone liked.
I wouldn't go as far as to say that hte Format is the problem, for me It fits quite good with the idea of the Interim. I hate to admit it, but I think the main problem is that the Cast is bloated because it was extended too quickly. The whole episodic/Sandboxie approach wouldn't be a big Problem if the Storytelling was more focused, only branching out in the later Updates.
Part of why Now & Then was such a hit was the faux-incest, and the protag not only struggling with it realistically, but also getting past it in a way that made a lot of sense.

The Interim Domain is a thinking man's porn game. Until now, I would've thought that phrase was an oxymoron. But I do like it. I like it quite a bit. Granted, not quite as much fun as Now & Then, yet, but I like the story, I like (most of) the characters, hell, I even like the setting, though I'm a bit biased on that last one.

I don't find it depressing for several reasons. Chief among them being, if (when) the protag wins against the other Archons, he'll have a major hand in shaping the next world. Plus, based on his track record, I doubt ILS is going to stick us with endings that fundamentally suck balls. The dev enjoys his slow grinds more than I do, but I like what he's provided so far, especially in this update. I'm curious to see where he's going with this, and eager to see how the protag's powers will manifest.
Yeah I was one of these guys that came for the faux Incest and stayed for the Characters in the end^^ Although i have to admit it lost me in it's (roughly) last third. To many Updates that felt like filler Episodes, and the way the "Final Fight" was initiated was so cheap and ugly...

I like the whole concept of the Interim a lot more than the Zombie Apocalypse theme, It's not so overused. And It gives room for much more different Storys to tell while uncovering the Mystery around the early collaps and stuff. Only real downside is that you probably should wait up to 2 or 3 Updates until you Play again to avoid disapointment.
I'm usually someone that likes the Slowburn more then the rushed quickie, but with so many Characters you have to adjust the Pacing, or cut down on the Characters, imho.
My personal Top 3 would probably be Mina, Kaitlin and Roe so far. I still like the other Characters personality wise, but their Storys are (as of right now) just too shallow and cliche-ridden for my liking. So if I look at this Update, i got a "good" amount of Scenes with Kaitlin, a sorry excuse of Something for Mina, and a filler-like Scene for Roe. The other scenes where nice, but not much more.
 
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Raziel_8

Engaged Member
Dec 4, 2017
3,431
8,741
My main problem with this game is, instead of a continuing story like in N&T, it feels like we are working on a task list, the MC feels very disconected with the LI's.
Also all the storys of the large cast are self-contained...that will likely chance in the future, but at the moment i find it just not an enjoyable read.
 

Anus Mundi

Member
Nov 27, 2018
333
321
After being done with this update i'm still not sure what to make of this game. Though i like the setup the game doesn't get me hooked like "Now & Then" did. I guess i have to see how the story continues.

But apart from this, unlike "Now & Then" or even the earlier parts of "TID" this update was so full of grammar mistakes, missing words and misspellings, reading got really annoying at times.
 

mordred93

Well-Known Member
Jul 21, 2017
1,521
2,330
It was worth the wait. Mira having a points system almost makes me think she'll be a potential love interest.
I doubt it but am not in the know (not like Kinder lets me in on his plans - and I like it like that). At the moment there are a couple chances to get likes for Mira, but honestly I think it is just used for how conversations go in the future. There are two more girls on the girls stats page which haven't been introduced yet, but in the code, you can see their names and base stats (ie. in code speak, declaring the framework variables). Neither of them are Mira. So I think there are two more girls to be introduced to have full story lines.

Mira I think will just have some role to play - but doubt she is a romance-able love interest. However I might see a game over if you treat her like crap and don't get enough like points where she doesn't fight for you with her overloads (un-tendre or what ever their name is - too lazy to look it up) and they just blank everything and saw "sorry - you didn't do enough".

Again - possibility - not in the know.
 
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Alex5280

Active Member
Sep 3, 2020
533
829
I was looking at my last save file for this update and it is looking like having sex with Mina in the previous update was a bad idea. From the looks of the variables the Mina storyline ends if you have sex with her. Can anyone confirm if this is true?
 

mordred93

Well-Known Member
Jul 21, 2017
1,521
2,330
I was looking at my last save file for this update and it is looking like having sex with Mina in the previous update was a bad idea. From the looks of the variables the Mina storyline ends if you have sex with her. Can anyone confirm if this is true?
I can neither confirm not deny it (because I can't) The resolution to that choice has not been released in the game yet. We don't know if it is a bad idea, or how it will be treated. There are variables that state you make one of two choices ... make her mad at you and she doesn't talk to you for a bit or have sex with her. The next story hasn't been release so we don't know what exactly the resolution is.
 
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Alex5280

Active Member
Sep 3, 2020
533
829
I can neither confirm not deny it (because I can't) The resolution to that choice has not been released in the game yet. We don't know if it is a bad idea, or how it will be treated. There are variables that state you make one of two choices ... make her mad at you and she doesn't talk to you for a bit or have sex with her. The next story hasn't been release so we don't know what exactly the resolution is.
I guess we will find out for sure in the next update. My save file lists the current day as 41 and gives the variable mina_end_day as 37 and mina_end_disappearday as 42. I guess she could just be crossing over, but my gut is telling me it's a bad end for Mina.
 
3.80 star(s) 38 Votes