Ren'Py The Null Hypothesis [v0.8a] [Ron Chon]

[drunkenrioter]

Dont you think youre being extremely damn selfish?
You dont see the players that want monogamous content bitching that they should get the events and hijinks of having a mutant harem into their monogamous routes.

I first got invested back when the game had the Harem tag; I play Harem games almost exclusively on this site, because I don't like having to replay a game just for walled-off content; no matter the narrative or the developer's intentions, it leaves me with a nasty case of FOMO. If I replay a game (be it a VN like this or a big AAA title), it's because the story and characters and gameplay I experienced hooked me and I want to experience it all again, kinda like watching a really good movie or reading a really good book. I may make some different choices or do things in a different order, but I want the same overall experience, and in a romance/sex game with multiple LIs, that means I wanna get the best possible experience with all of them at once.

Even though the Harem tag is gone, so far TNH still feels more-or-less like it fits, by my standards; I don't have to worry about missing significant content in a single run because I can fully romance all the girls. I get to experience the game (almost) fully with all the characters every time I start a new save. That's what's fun for me, just as making various mono saves seems fun for you.

Now, suddenly, we're told that we WON'T get all the content with all the girls, and that concerns me. I mean, I don't literally mean I expected ALL the content; dialogue and such would obviously change, maybe some minor scenes added here and there (like I said, terminally friendzoned Jean seems like exactly the sorta thing that, by necessity, HAS to be exclusive to a non-Jean run), but I'd hoped each girl's overarching character story and romance would be intact regardless of how many other girls were in the group.

And it still could be. That's what I'm hoping for, that this announcement simply means that mono route players get extra cool side stuff or dialogue at most; my concern is that the overall depth and quality of any individual LI's story or romance might be weaker for a poly route, a matter of poly/mono = quantity/quality. We don't have enough information to really know the answer- so just as some people, like yourself, decided to show their support for the news, I felt like I should express my worries for the sake of my own preferences. Maybe my expectation was unreasonable, but it WAS my expectation given what I knew about the game, and seeing it teeter like this is disheartening. Call that selfish if you like, but a big part of my enjoyment for a game that I otherwise really, REALLY like hinges on this. At the end of the day the only person who I can speak for, and who cares enough to speak for me and my hopes, is myself.

I may be interpreting his post wrong but what I got from it was that he just wanted a full rich story experience the same as the monogamous route. From comments like this.

This is exactly what I'm trying to say; whether that's how it came across or not is another matter.

 

[Giltia]

I don't like having to replay a game just for walled-off content; no matter the narrative or the developer's intentions, it leaves me with a nasty case of FOMO. If I replay a game (be it a VN like this or a big AAA title), it's because the story and characters and gameplay I experienced hooked me and I want to experience it all again, kinda like watching a really good movie or reading a really good book. I may make some different choices or do things in a different order, but I want the same overall experience, and in a romance/sex game with multiple LIs, that means I wanna get the best possible experience with all of them at once.

You can't have your cake and eat it I'm afraid, having the same outcome for both types of relationships is just poor writing, and I can't speak for the writing team but the love they've shown to what's already written show's me that they are above taking the easy way out to try making everyone happy.

This isn't me saying your opinion isn't valid, you like what you like at the end of the day, but diminishing your own enjoyment because Mono runs get something different seems a bit silly when clearly that part of the content woudn't be written for someone who's going full poly.

 

[salscou]

I first got invested back when the game had the Harem tag; I play Harem games almost exclusively on this site, because I don't like having to replay a game just for walled-off content; no matter the narrative or the developer's intentions, it leaves me with a nasty case of FOMO. If I replay a game (be it a VN like this or a big AAA title), it's because the story and characters and gameplay I experienced hooked me and I want to experience it all again, kinda like watching a really good movie or reading a really good book. I may make some different choices or do things in a different order, but I want the same overall experience, and in a romance/sex game with multiple LIs, that means I wanna get the best possible experience with all of them at once.

Even though the Harem tag is gone, so far TNH still feels more-or-less like it fits, by my standards; I don't have to worry about missing significant content in a single run because I can fully romance all the girls. I get to experience the game (almost) fully with all the characters every time I start a new save. That's what's fun for me, just as making various mono saves seems fun for you.

Now, suddenly, we're told that we WON'T get all the content with all the girls, and that concerns me. I mean, I don't literally mean I expected ALL the content; dialogue and such would obviously change, maybe some minor scenes added here and there (like I said, terminally friendzoned Jean seems like exactly the sorta thing that, by necessity, HAS to be exclusive to a non-Jean run), but I'd hoped each girl's overarching character story and romance would be intact regardless of how many other girls were in the group.

And it still could be. That's what I'm hoping for, that this announcement simply means that mono route players get extra cool side stuff or dialogue at most; my concern is that the overall depth and quality of any individual LI's story or romance might be weaker for a poly route, a matter of poly/mono = quantity/quality. We don't have enough information to really know the answer- so just as some people, like yourself, decided to show their support for the news, I felt like I should express my worries for the sake of my own preferences. Maybe my expectation was unreasonable, but it WAS my expectation given what I knew about the game, and seeing it teeter like this is disheartening. Call that selfish if you like, but a big part of my enjoyment for a game that I otherwise really, REALLY like hinges on this. At the end of the day the only person who I can speak for, and who cares enough to speak for me and my hopes, is myself.



This is exactly what I'm trying to say; whether that's how it came across or not is another matter.

So we just get shafted because you dont wanna miss out on content and that means mono runs get squat, got it.

So i suppose the different interactions with how your Null archetype is should also be scrapped, no? or the scholarship focus? and while we are at that, just make it linear, since you cant miss out on a thing, itll make the game suck if you dont get it all in one run.

 

[NexivSelecaf]

Spoiler: Another reason why Rogue is best girl

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[SerHawkes]

Best combo to try for the lolz Jean and Emma lol and the best part they can't mind fuck Null when they get angry

Add Psylocke for the trifecta and you got your own personal hell.

 

[abgazil]

Could someone please tell me what the hidden achievement under Xavier's List is?

 

[SerHawkes]

So no longer are we getting the option to be poly, or to the extent that content for all girls if we choose all?

So... you had a feature, more or less in places, with the polymance. That could very well have been handled accordingly. But instead, 'Nah, fuck the poly. YOU MUST NOW PICK ONE FOR ALL THE CONTENTS.' What the honest fuck was this new decision to pull this now? Like literally... Right now you can run through all the girls content with ease as soon as they meet requirements and what not. The only measure of affectedness would be various dialogues here and there, which was already well handled. So why now the whole punishing of those who want all the gals without that hassle and can get all the content in ONE SINGLE SAVE and enforce this pointless monogomy option when you already had a REALLY good thing already?

This is why we can't have nice things.

 

[salscou]

So no longer are we getting the option to be poly, or to the extent that content for all girls if we choose all?

So... you had a feature, more or less in places, with the polymance. That could very well have been handled accordingly. But instead, 'Nah, fuck the poly. YOU MUST NOW PICK ONE FOR ALL THE CONTENTS.' What the honest fuck was this new decision to pull this now? Like literally... Right now you can run through all the girls content with ease as soon as they meet requirements and what not. The only measure of affectedness would be various dialogues here and there, which was already well handled. So why now the whole punishing of those who want all the gals without that hassle and can get all the content in ONE SINGLE SAVE and enforce this pointless monogomy option when you already had a REALLY good thing already?

This is why we can't have nice things.

...You just read whatever the fuck you want all the time dont you?
I dont even get why youre bitching if you were just saying this game sucked and was AI garbage.

 

[The_Man_With_No_Name]

So no longer are we getting the option to be poly, or to the extent that content for all girls if we choose all?

So... you had a feature, more or less in places, with the polymance. That could very well have been handled accordingly. But instead, 'Nah, fuck the poly. YOU MUST NOW PICK ONE FOR ALL THE CONTENTS.' What the honest fuck was this new decision to pull this now? Like literally... Right now you can run through all the girls content with ease as soon as they meet requirements and what not. The only measure of affectedness would be various dialogues here and there, which was already well handled. So why now the whole punishing of those who want all the gals without that hassle and can get all the content in ONE SINGLE SAVE and enforce this pointless monogomy option when you already had a REALLY good thing already?

This is why we can't have nice things.

Because then you have a "true route" with all content and several "fail" routes for if you don't. Then there is no reason to ever not pick all.
Picking everyone will more than likely have the most content just due to sheer volume. But there will be interactions that are mutually exclusive based off of pairings, solo, or all.

 

[SerHawkes]

...You just read whatever the fuck you want all the time dont you?
I dont even get why youre bitching if you were just saying this game sucked and was AI garbage.

Beg pardon while I have ShinyCunt on block, nor do I pay attention to every bit of news feed.
Also, never said this game sucked to begin with. Do still fully believe that AI is very much involved in this making, as I have yet to see any true validation pieces other than scribles that anyone could do.

Also looks like I need to add another to the list it seems.

 

[Giltia]

So no longer are we getting the option to be poly, or to the extent that content for all girls if we choose all?

So... you had a feature, more or less in places, with the polymance. That could very well have been handled accordingly. But instead, 'Nah, fuck the poly. YOU MUST NOW PICK ONE FOR ALL THE CONTENTS.' What the honest fuck was this new decision to pull this now? Like literally... Right now you can run through all the girls content with ease as soon as they meet requirements and what not. The only measure of affectedness would be various dialogues here and there, which was already well handled. So why now the whole punishing of those who want all the gals without that hassle and can get all the content in ONE SINGLE SAVE and enforce this pointless monogomy option when you already had a REALLY good thing already?

This is why we can't have nice things.

Okay I think one side of this debate is reading into this wrong or both are. I belive what ShinyBoots1993 was trying to say is that there will be variations in the relationships depending on what you pick, so mono and poly routes will get some slight variations in the dialogue and maybe scenes etc. I don't believe either one will suffer from this it's just branching routes how you'd expect from any narrative driven game. Someone feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[salscou]

Beg pardon while I have ShinyCunt on block, nor do I pay attention to every bit of news feed.

Then of course you dont understand what is being talked about you nagger.
What is being discussed, is there bein different events for different routes, pairings, or going with the full baseball team, and some people arguing that there being different events is punitive because you cant get it all with one run.

 

[SerHawkes]

Because then you have a "true route" with all content and several "fail" routes for if you don't. Then there is no reason to ever not pick all.
Picking everyone will more than likely have the most content just due to sheer volume. But there will be interactions that are mutually exclusive based of of pairings, solo, or all.

Not neccessarily. How the 'content' is most worked right now is simply variations to the dialogue with characters, which is entirely fine and works well. The only thing that would increase however would be pairing characters with other characters for various events, and naturally variations in said events which would expand on the volume size.

But, if things stayed the same as such as they are already, and simply keep with dialogue mentions and not tag team events that require much, it still could be pulled off.

 

[Karmadive]

I'm guessing that the sex scenes will be shared among all the routes, with only dialogue and story beats being exclusive. So you won't be missing out on any of the sex scenes but will be missing out on different dialogue which is to be expected.

 

[The_Man_With_No_Name]

So the gals with the most to least points in the poll of so far reveled are:
1. Rogue
2. Kitty
3. Emma
4. Laura
5. Jean
6. Dazzler
7. Storm

The only surprise for me was Emma being so high. Wonder if that's a hype bias for new stuff or a boost from Rivals.
Or maybe people really really want the White Tank Top Queen.

Can't blame them.

 

[SerHawkes]

So the gals with the most to least points in the poll of so far reveled are:
1. Rogue
2. Kitty
3. Emma
4. Laura
5. Jean
6. Dazzler
7. Storm

The only surprise for me was Emma being so high. Wonder if that's a hype bias for new stuff or a boost from Rivals.
Or maybe people really really want the White Tank Top Queen.

Can't blame them.

Hype bias for an update that is 1-2 years removed? Unlikely. Rivals? Probably.
Think more so ones want to make her a true white queen, wink wink nudge nudge.

 

[Karmadive]

I'll be honest, I'm surprised Kitty is so high

 

[FP00]

Will the future chapters progress through relationship goals as well? I get it makes sense for Null to absorb power bits from Rogue, Laura and Jean for the sake of gaining a quick, strong basis in combat and become relevant in high caliber threats.

Just want to bring up that Null doesn't appear to absorb the power; he just gets the power when he thinks he really needs it. That suggests, at the very least, a power very similar to David Haller's, who also has the ability to generate powers out of nowhere, albeit more chaotically due to mental instability. Now I could be reading the dialogue wrong, but that is what it seems to be, unlike what they think in-universe.

Also, Null is already pretty effective in combat at this point. While Null doesn't have the skill Laura and Logan have (or the adamantine knives), the drain and the regen put him at least at Kurt's level and makes him pretty effective at fighting hordes of goons. Give Null some electrified batons or tonfas (gadgeted up for sentinels), and he'd be a solid X-Man for a good chunk of their mundane threats.

My best bet for chapter 3 are Emma, Magik, Wolfsbane

Going by strictly comics, Emma doesn't join for a while. Continuity-wise, if I remember correctly, it's Magik, followed by the new mutants (Mirage, Karma, and Wolfsbane). Then Rachel Summers joins (boy, does she have a lot in common with Laura), and Magma join (also distressing backstory). Now with the above in mind, I would say:

Chapter 3 girls:
Magik, Mirage, and Wolfsbane
Karma has been possessed by the shadow king and presumed dead by the new mutants for a good chunk of time, so that could justify her not showing up here and keeping it to the standard 3. I am more or less certain of this roster because of the time period covered and their relative popularity; they are all also heavily involved in the arcs that chapter 3 will cover, Magik the most, due to being best friends with Kitty.

Chapter 4 girls:
Karma, Rachel and Magma
This is just based on the Uncanny X-Men up to issue 240, but chapter 4 could cover years worth of comics, which expands the potential candidate roster. Karma is the most likely to be swapped around, as Rachel and Magma appear to be both highly popular.

Now, this is strictly based on the comics I've read and not on anything the devs have planned. Other characters could show up earlier, such as Polaris, or be swapped out, but I am not privy to that planning in the slightest. I also have no idea who is a contender for Chapter 5 other than Jubilee, who I am certain everyone wants.

In other news, since I've read up to 240, I finally have a good idea why Havok sucks so much. While not despicable like in later comics, wow, he is whiny and kinda pathetic.

Edit: fixed my mistake

Goddamnit I feel stupid.

Beg pardon while I have ShinyCunt on block, nor do I pay attention to every bit of news feed.
Also, never said this game sucked to begin with. Do still fully believe that AI is very much involved in this making, as I have yet to see any true validation pieces other than scribles that anyone could do.

Also looks like I need to add another to the list it seems.

We have the in-progress art on Patreon.

It's not AI.

 

[Badkarmakid]

I'll be honest, I'm surprised Kitty is so high

I'm not, have you seen how cute she is? 10/10 cutie patootie <3

 

[drunkenrioter]

You can't have your cake and eat it I'm afraid, having the same outcome for both types of relationships is just poor writing, and I can't speak for the writing team but the love they've shown to what's already written show's me that they are above taking the easy way out to try making everyone happy.

I don't believe this for a second. The writers have proven they have the skill to do EXACTLY that without feeling cheap. They can definitely maintain depth of characterization and romance across both poly and mono routes, without making it feel like mono players have an anemic experience during the bulk of the game. If they choose not to, it'll be just that- a choice. A choice entirely up to them, made for what I'm sure are perfectly valid reasons, but one I also hope they play out in a way that I still personally find satisfying. There's absolutely a balance to be found, and without knowing what they have in store, I can't know what that balance might be or if they care to strike it. Therein lies my worry and my need to voice it, whether it helps my case or not, whether players or devs agree or not.

So we just get shafted because you dont wanna miss out on content and that means mono runs get squat, got it.

Well, I don't mean to be dismissive, but if someone's gonna be disappointed, I'd rather it not be me, yeah? It's the same concern you have for your own preferences.

Regardless, it seems fate swings in your favor. And you have just as much a right to express your opinions and concerns as I do, obviously- I just ask that you not be argumentative about it.

So no longer are we getting the option to be poly, or to the extent that content for all girls if we choose all?

So... you had a feature, more or less in places, with the polymance. That could very well have been handled accordingly. But instead, 'Nah, fuck the poly. YOU MUST NOW PICK ONE FOR ALL THE CONTENTS.' What the honest fuck was this new decision to pull this now? Like literally... Right now you can run through all the girls content with ease as soon as they meet requirements and what not. The only measure of affectedness would be various dialogues here and there, which was already well handled. So why now the whole punishing of those who want all the gals without that hassle and can get all the content in ONE SINGLE SAVE and enforce this pointless monogomy option when you already had a REALLY good thing already?

This is why we can't have nice things.

I partially agree, but the way you're putting it really doesn't help.

I'm guessing that the sex scenes will be shared among all the routes, with only dialogue and story beats being exclusive. So you won't be missing out on any of the sex scenes but will be missing out on different dialogue which is to be expected.

This is more-or-less the best I can hope for- alternative scenarios in mono/combo routes, rather than too much extra stuff that makes the poly route feel less meaningful. Though I'm sure plenty of people here don't think that's good enough.