Ren'Py The Null Hypothesis [v0.7b] [Ron Chon]

[veil1667]

Sort of in the same vein, given how often I've seen "planned in chapter 2," any idea on how far off that might be? And I mean that in the vaguest way possible. For example, is Chapter 2 envisioned to correspond to version 0.15 or something, or is it more of a TBD sort of thing?

Since you quoted me here, I'll go ahead and answer with all the authority I have*: sometime in The Near Future™!

As for the version nomenclature, I'm not even going to try; my powers of bullshittery only go so far.

*None whatsoever

Edited to add something actually useful- this is the roadmap the dev team shared relatively recently, so this is what we've got for general expectations. Still not going to try to figure out how the numbering scheme relates to chapters and converts to more standard (whatever that is) version nomenclatures.

View attachment roadmap.webp

 

[TeeEight]

Ultimately, it will depend on what the devs are aiming for, but my vote would be for it to be more difficult to achieve a good grade, particularly at the beginning.

I don't know about you but I got C Grades at the start. I think it took about 2 or 3 future dates/"Let's hookup" and possibly even needed more moves to get unlocked for me to start getting those consistent A's. I'm not sure what the rubric is but I'm guessing you need I think a minimum of 4-5 moves and maybe 2 orgasms. But yeah, it doesn't feel easy. Honestly, if it's possible to get an A on the first hookup, I'd say that shouldn't be discouraged, especially since it isn't that easy to get it anyway.

It's that small sliver for me on those initial hook up that gets me... I need a quarter more but it starts to stall. Ah well, a big part of that was "I'm not ready for that".

Yeah, those 20 minutes can fly by when with a real girl, not so much when sitting in front of a keyboard.

To be fair, if you're long-distance with someone and on the keyboard (or phone) those 20 minutes still fly by but yeah I see your point.

 

[buttfan]

To be fair, if you're long-distance with someone and on the keyboard (or phone) those 20 minutes still fly by but yeah I see your point.

Heh, okay, I'll give you that.

 

[Augustus Commodus]

And also true. I think I lean more in this direction, although not the 20 minutes thing.

Not being able to get her off the first time you are making out is perfectly reasonable. Both of you coming away with blue balls (blue ovaries?) is not actually unusual in those circumstances.

And truth be told, I don't like the idea that my character was a playa' (man whore/ slut/ fuckboy) before meeting Rogue, Laura, and Jean. Not necessarily as virginal as them, but not super experienced either. It feels... wrong.

I quite agree on both counts. Having it take 20 minutes in the game would be detrimental to the "fun" aspect, and I feel the same way about the protagonist. Null doesn't come across as a player.

Since you quoted me here, I'll go ahead and answer with all the authority I have*: sometime in The Near Future™!

As for the version nomenclature, I'm not even going to try; my powers of bullshittery only go so far.

*None whatsoever

Edited to add something actually useful- this is the roadmap the dev team shared relatively recently, so this is what we've got for general expectations. Still not going to try to figure out how the numbering scheme relates to chapters and converts to more standard (whatever that is) version nomenclatures.

View attachment 3481717

Sorry to tag you specifically. I was more that your exchange is what made the thought pop into my head in the first place. Thank you for the information.

I don't know about you but I got C Grades at the start. I think it took about 2 or 3 future dates/"Let's hookup" and possibly even needed more moves to get unlocked for me to start getting those consistent A's. I'm not sure what the rubric is but I'm guessing you need I think a minimum of 4-5 moves and maybe 2 orgasms. But yeah, it doesn't feel easy. Honestly, if it's possible to get an A on the first hookup, I'd say that shouldn't be discouraged, especially since it isn't that easy to get it anyway.

It's that small sliver for me on those initial hook up that gets me... I need a quarter more but it starts to stall. Ah well, a big part of that was "I'm not ready for that".

Spoiler: Gameplay Mechanics. Might Impact Enjoyment so Read at Your Own Risk

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[TeeEight]

A+'s

I'm sorry what? There's a A+ rank?

 

[buttfan]

And personally, I find it boring and frustrating; there's no thought involved. I think I see what the dev's are trying to do with their system, and I think it could be a ton of fun, but without some major tweaks, it isn't there. And I'm not even sure what tweaks are necessary.

I do think the girl's desire count increases too quickly. We don't want 20 minutes, but we don't want to be able to make her cum by just following a quick pattern either, especially when she's only got 2 orgasms in her (although, truth be told, most women are happy if they get one orgasm in an encounter, let alone two). The second orgasm is too easy to reach as she starts at 50% - most people are A. tired, and B. super sensitive after a good orgasm, stimulating her clit in any way for a minute or two afterwards is actually more painful than pleasurable. Same is often true for a guy's penis after orgasm, especially the head of the penis.

So you usually need to slow things down for a few minutes before picking it up again. Kissing, cuddling, just light touching elsewhere is good.
In reality, that is. The game has her ready to cum again in 30 seconds.


One thing of note is that in reality what worked on a girl today, won't necessarily work on the same girl tomorrow. It might, but it might not. This is as equally frustrating for women as it is for men. The devs may want to keep that in mind.

The system is better than RLE, and I generally like it, but it still needs tweaking.

I'm sorry what? There's a A+ rank?

There is.

 

[TeeEight]

(although, truth be told, most women are happy if they get one orgasm in an encounter, let alone two). The second orgasm is too easy to reach as she starts at 50% - most people are A. tired, and B. super sensitive after a good orgasm, stimulating her clit in any way for a minute or two afterwards is actually more painful than pleasurable. Same is often true for a guy's penis after orgasm, especially the head of the penis.

I'll have to disagree with you on this bit here. Women and men aren't the same. Men's refractory period is longer but for women, it's shorter. It takes them 20 minutes but it's very easy to domino into multiple orgasms. Hell, I've read that some 'single' orgasms might be 'micro-orgasms'. I agree that clitoral stimulation hurts, that's a bundle of nerves getting flicked by a dumbass. Sure, I've met women who liked getting that stimulated and some claims that's the only way they'll orgasm but that's certainly not the only way to make em cum.

Anyway, the second orgasm starting at 50% makes sense, maybe 25% if you're feeling like you want it harder but its definitely easier and faster on a woman to reach that peak on the second round. But I digress.

The system is fine, not necessarily as is (I want more positions damn it) And for some reason, cunnilingus is not consistent for all girls in the missionary position.

There is.

I'm going to need to figure out how to get there... Hmmm... Fewer unique actions maybe? Or more... Maybe focusing on the erogenous zones instead of clicking makeout and then some heart options to get that bar filled as fast as possible isn't the right go.

 

[Wallsfalldown]

I love going into these threads and reading some of the dumbest arguments around. Y'all are great, never change.

 

[TeeEight]

I love going into these threads and reading some of the dumbest arguments around. Y'all are great, never change.

I like how I was going "Don't overthink why these women are dropping their panties for you" and somehow still ended up overthinking something else... Like christ, the dev team definitely aren't doing that. We're kinda hyping this thing to unsustainable levels with all the overthinking.

Ah well, I'm a sucker for theorizing and I guess, keeping expectations low means there's not much room for disappointment.

 

[buttfan]

Women and men aren't the same.

True, but neither are all women the same (or men for that matter).

What is effective for one woman, will be ineffective for another, and as I said before, it can even be the case that what is effective with a woman today, won' t be effective with her tomorrow.

It is a very complex situation, that is hard to represent in a game. True, you don't want to deal with the full difficulty all the time (as I said, Jean is so wound up for the first two sections that I think she would find it extremely difficult to orgasm at all), but - depending upon who you are - don't want it to be too easy either (some do, some don't).

Hmm, Devs might want to think about a difficulty level. Call them "easy cum, easy go" and "orgasm: the final frontier".

Like christ, the dev team definitely aren't doing that. We're kinda hyping this thing to unsustainable levels with all the overthinking.

Well, we gotta do something until the next version drops!

 

[Augustus Commodus]

I'm sorry what? There's a A+ rank?

There is indeed. Good job, stud!

I do think the girl's desire count increases too quickly. We don't want 20 minutes, but we don't want to be able to make her cum by just following a quick pattern either, especially when she's only got 2 orgasms in her (although, truth be told, most women are happy if they get one orgasm in an encounter, let alone two). The second orgasm is too easy to reach as she starts at 50% - most people are A. tired, and B. super sensitive after a good orgasm, stimulating her clit in any way for a minute or two afterwards is actually more painful than pleasurable. Same is often true for a guy's penis after orgasm, especially the head of the penis.

So you usually need to slow things down for a few minutes before picking it up again. Kissing, cuddling, just light touching elsewhere is good.
In reality, that is. The game has her ready to cum again in 30 seconds.


One thing of note is that in reality what worked on a girl today, won't necessarily work on the same girl tomorrow. It might, but it might not. This is as equally frustrating for women as it is for men. The devs may want to keep that in mind.

The system is better than RLE, and I generally like it, but it still needs tweaking.

Also, the whole preference system should matter. Right now, it is only cosmetic. It is better to pick a non-preferred action (small heart) than not under the current system. Also, if the player chooses to delay their orgasm, it probably shouldn't reset them at 0%. Maybe 75%? I also agree about the girl's desire count and not just being able to do the same thing each time.

I'm going to need to figure out how to get there... Hmmm... Fewer unique actions maybe? Or more... Maybe focusing on the erogenous zones instead of clicking makeout and then some heart options to get that bar filled as fast as possible isn't the right go.

Under the current system, more actions is the key.

 

[Augustus Commodus]

I like how I was going "Don't overthink why these women are dropping their panties for you" and somehow still ended up overthinking something else... Like christ, the dev team definitely aren't doing that. We're kinda hyping this thing to unsustainable levels with all the overthinking.

Ah well, I'm a sucker for theorizing and I guess, keeping expectations low means there's not much room for disappointment.

Same thing happened to me two days ago. I made a comment about how comic book logic isn't real world logic implying we shouldn't overthink things, next thing I know, I'm giving a frickin' dissertation on how Adamantium poisoning would manifest in the real world.

 

[ShinyBoots1993]

I'll state that I'm not gonna be taking part in female anatomy discussions as it's a bit too off topic for me.

In the first section she seems to always be reacting to him as if it is skin to skin contact, but she's wearing gloves, and her suit covers everything but her head.

As shown in other scenes, he has a limited range. Doesn't require skin-to-skin.

This is why the other girls weren't even allowed in the room while Null was draining Laura's vitality during his second coma.

(assuming her comics backstory)

X-23: Innocence Lost and X-23: Target X are 99% canon to our game.

The change is that during the point in the comics that we're focusing on, Captain America is going around as Nomad. This prevented him from aiding in the arrest of X-23. Thus, Wolverine was able to take her to the mansion. All that drama happened 1 month prior to Null arriving at the academy.

Yes, this means the Dazzler appearance is likely canon, do with that information what you will.

Honestly, it's a porn game.

We have several reports of people forgetting this fact.

Much like the fact that Rogue, Laura and Jean are somehow fine with Null sleeping around.

Correction, they're not fine with Null sleeping around. You have to ask them permission to date another girl.

Girl Motivations: Rogue is just happy to be loved and as long as she feels that way she's willing to share. Laura just wants it clear that she's top bitch. She doesn't consider the others as competition for that position. Jean is going in with the mindset of "I'm so awesome in the end he'll pick me."

As why they're open to polyamory to begin with? There is an in-universe explanation that my OCD ass demanded to happen. I won't spoil it, but for comic book fans, it involves James Madrox.

I'd argue that could just be a case of Null being an attentive partner who pays attention (Hearts, Question Mark stuff).

Honestly this. I've gotten a girl off without taking her clothes off. Not hard if you know where to touch and how hard or light.

It's headcanon territory but for all we know, he had a bunch of flings before he ended up in Xavier School/Institute.

Null's dating history and sexual experience is open to player interpretation.

The only enforced character trait is that he's quick to pick up on girls' preferences. Which is the in-universe explanation for what you see on the UI.

Suspension of disbelief, so far the game hasn't been so egregious with it that I'm bothered.

We try to stay as grounded as we can.

My condolences to your SO. It must be really tedious to get you in the mood.

You have no fucking idea my dude.

Does ice count?

Depends on the local temperature.

Sort of in the same vein, given how often I've seen "planned in chapter 2," any idea on how far off that might be? And I mean that in the vaguest way possible. For example, is Chapter 2 envisioned to correspond to version 0.15 or something, or is it more of a TBD sort of thing?

To be 100% transparent, we just want to get the foundations and Chapter 1 finished.

We really don't want to go to work on chapter 2 only to have to come back and fix things later.

but it is also a game

Thank you. This is why the game can "challenge" you.

if it's possible to get an A on the first hookup

It is.

especially since it isn't that easy to get it anyway.

That sounds like a skill issue.

Honestly, this is our equivalent of the "Get in Rogue's pants" speedrun in RLE. "How high a grade can you get with starting options?"

We've had people get the highest grade with kissing and heavy petting.

I do think the girl's desire count increases too quickly.

Congrats on again being the first person to claim something. I have pages of complaints about how slow it is.

 

[comebillybilly]

Anyone else have their outfit sets disappear?



edit: figured it out... filters are mutually exclusive so having them all selected turns up nothing at all. lol

 

[The Al]

Anyone else have their outfit sets disappear?

View attachment 3482075

Click the default button

 

[Augustus Commodus]

Correction, they're not fine with Null sleeping around. You have to ask them permission to date another girl.

Girl Motivations: Rogue is just happy to be loved and as long as she feels that way she's willing to share. Laura just wants it clear that she's top bitch. She doesn't consider the others as competition for that position. Jean is going in with the mindset of "I'm so awesome in the end he'll pick me."

As why they're open to polyamory to begin with? There is an in-universe explanation that my OCD ass demanded to happen. I won't spoil it, but for comic book fans, it involves James Madrox.

Rogue and Laura come across fairly well, but the vibe I got from Jean was more along the lines of: I've spent my whole life overthinking things, and look where it's gotten me, so this time I'm not going to overthink things and just go with the flow. I suppose that just shows how little I pay attention to subtext.

To be 100% transparent, we just want to get the foundations and Chapter 1 finished.

We really don't want to go to work on chapter 2 only to have to come back and fix things later.

Sounds wise.

Thank you. This is why the game can "challenge" you.

Fair enough.

 

[buttfan]

As shown in other scenes, he has a limited range. Doesn't require skin-to-skin.

That is actually unclear. Yes, he has limited range to nullify effects (the tennis balls dropped at about 2 feet), but it was implied (or was it stated?) that to nullify a power completely required contact (which is why he would grab Jean's hand, and she made him hang on, when her powers got away from her).

Specifically it has Laura helping him up, and then yanking her hand away, but she's wearing gloves.

I'm not suggesting a major rewrite or anything. Just a little more explicit clarity, especially with what is going on with Laura.

This is why the other girls weren't even allowed in the room while Null was draining Laura's vitality during his second coma.

Oh I get that, but his draining power has much longer range than his nullification power, something like 6 feet IIRC, although staying away entirely is good during training.

We have several reports of people forgetting this fact.

Why does this not surprise me?

Congrats on again being the first person to claim something.

Being the same as everyone else is boring.

I have pages of complaints about how slow it is.

Slow? Seriously?
...
Have they never been with a real woman? Or is it just they want it over fast in the game (which kinda seems to defeat the purpose of a porn game...)
As we said above, we don't want 20 minutes, but not 30 seconds either.

Heck I was just thinking it was reversed that the MC takes too long to orgasm, and the girls too short a time.

 

[TeeEight]

There is indeed. Good job, stud!

Under the current system, more actions is the key.

Pft, I'll have to try this out when I next play... Or wait for the update. I had a feeling A+ was possible but I never tried...
Also 34 unique actions?! I feel like I top out at 12... Hmmm... Yeah trying to rush things (get em to orgasm quick), much like in the real world is not a good idea.

Correction, they're not fine with Null sleeping around. You have to ask them permission to date another girl.

Girl Motivations: Rogue is just happy to be loved and as long as she feels that way she's willing to share. Laura just wants it clear that she's top bitch. She doesn't consider the others as competition for that position. Jean is going in with the mindset of "I'm so awesome in the end he'll pick me."

As why they're open to polyamory to begin with? There is an in-universe explanation that my OCD ass demanded to happen. I won't spoil it, but for comic book fans, it involves James Madrox.

Right yeah, it's the fact that I don't think they'll say no... Hm... Maybe that's where the "build up their relationship with each other" through pool 'dates'/'hangouts'... I feel like i only started caring and inviting them to the pool after the harem had started...

But yeah those motivations makes sense... And I know Rogue's motivation is a bit unhealthy but man, Laura and Jean thinking they're the top in the trio/choices ain't healthy either... Null needs to have a talk to those girls and explain to them the virtues of socialism sharing.

I think I've heard about Multiple Man... I know he had a poly relationship since his duplicates are 'seperate' minds until they merge...

Not sure how this connects, though. I vaguely remember reading that the Cocoo Triplets dated one guy at the same time...

The only enforced character trait is that he's quick to pick up on girls' preferences. Which is the in-universe explanation for what you see on the UI.

It wasn't a big thing that mattered but god, it's nice to see an in-verse explanation. Attentiveness!

We try to stay as grounded as we can.

Love that

To be 100% transparent, we just want to get the foundations and Chapter 1 finished.

We really don't want to go to work on chapter 2 only to have to come back and fix things later.

Mixed feelings. Love that everything is getting settled before more 'weight' is put on the system. It kinda looked like the updates recently are like changing an existing system, which kinda sucks (though, I'm all for improving a system or idea or anything like that for the better if something better presents itself).

Not going to be seeing Storm or Older Women (Jean is great but... Lemme romance a teacher damn it) sucks but getting the foundation in first is a good goal.

That sounds like a skill issue.

Honestly, this is our equivalent of the "Get in Rogue's pants" speedrun in RLE. "How high a grade can you get with starting options?"

Rude! But that's interesting, I wonder if orgasm has any impact on the grade... Ah wait heavy petting, that's basically every option in the standing pose that's more or less clothed. That'd certainly trigger an orgasm... I've gotten A so I wonder... More unique actions I guess.

Probably need to keep going a bit longer even after they orgasm.

Have they never been with a real woman? Or is it just they want it over fast in the game (which kinda seems to defeat the purpose of a porn game...)

I bet those same people who say it's too slow aren't complaining about Null being slow.

Heck I was just thinking it was reversed that the MC takes too long to orgasm, and the girls too short a time.

I feel like a 10-20% increase in the amount of actions required (for women) and the same percentage but a decrease for Null would be good. It's not too fast or too slow but a little tweak might be good to satisfy that... I wouldn't be bothered if the current rate stays the same though.

 

[Augustus Commodus]

Pft, I'll have to try this out when I next play... Or wait for the update. I had a feeling A+ was possible but I never tried...
Also 34 unique actions?! I feel like I top out at 12... Hmmm... Yeah trying to rush things (get em to orgasm quick), much like in the real world is not a good idea.

I don't know. Sometimes quickies are the better option.

Right yeah, it's the fact that I don't think they'll say no... Hm... Maybe that's where the "build up their relationship with each other" through pool 'dates'/'hangouts'... I feel like i only started caring and inviting them to the pool after the harem had started...

One thing that occurs to me is the order of events also has an impact. In my playthrough, I liked Rogue the best, and progressed much faster than her in the beginning. So when the relationship conversation came up and I picked "I want to date others too," (because I've gotta catch 'em all), it felt natural (porn-game natural) that she'd go along with it. And yes, it isn't healthy. With the others, it was more of a case of "I'm with Rogue, and I'm not leaving her, so if you want to explore this thing, you need to be cool with that." Laura runs on instinct. You're the mate she's chosen, and she doesn't have the upbringing to care about stupid social constructs, so she's fine with it. Jean I felt was more of a "it's not like I'm happy with my life now, so I'll give it shot." I'm not saying I think it is real-world realistic necessarily, but it felt like a better setup for a harem than most games where you basically cheat on a bunch of women and when they find out they're fine with it because "magic cock."

That being said, I imagine if things had progressed in a different order, I might feel different about how "natural" a development it had been.

Also, for the record, while I do like all the characters, Rogue is still my favorite, and if push came to shove, I'd dump the other two to be with her.

Edit: Hell, with Laura, given that she had no concept of relationship or dating before meeting Null, she might consider it natural that the best/strongest males collect the best females. And given that her only experience with relationships is what is in the game, she may just assume that what is happening is the norm and everyone does it.

 

[TeeEight]

I don't know. Sometimes quickies are the better option.

My obsession with perfection and completion demands that I get A+ ALWAYS.

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Also, for the record, while I do like all the characters, Rogue is still my favorite, and if push came to shove, I'd dump the other two to be with her.

Oh hey me too, I was progressing Jean and Laura a bit too fast, unexpectedly and so I made sure to power progress Rogue a bit since First Girl/Best Girl should get Null first. At least dating-wise. Honestly, that's the part where I've got it stuck in my head that the girls might've been expecting exclusivity. That Jean date (before the relationship became official) made her sound so much like "I'm a one-guy type of gal" and so comment courtesy would imply she's expecting the same from me.... That or I misread some shit. Would not be the first time!

But yeah, that was my thought process too... I'm here trying to boost Rogue's confidence, I'm making sure she knows that at the end of the day, Null chose her first... Honestly, I need to figure out how to make Rogue both sexually submissive and socially confident... Maybe I need to avoid encouraging her quirk...

But anyway, yeah... Compared to RLE, the setup for the Harem for TNH is so much better. Sure, the girls say no to the harem in RLE but it felt more mechanically rather than like immersive or scripted.

I'd try Jean -> Rogue -> Laura or even Rogue last but... Nah... It's Rogue... Rogue needs to come first. The funny thing was, I wasn't sure if I liked her personality here... That may have been because I played an older version, months and months ago and the writing for Rogue was different. Now, I just wanna keep the damn touch-starved woman protected and pampered.