VN Ren'Py The Roommate [v0.11.04] [togs]

[togs-games]

It's starting to feel like I'm spending more time justifying things than working on the game.

Constructive criticism, bug reports, etc, are welcome. But if you just hate everything, there's a picture of a door I posted last night, don't let it hit you in the ass... There's any number of other games you might prefer...

The money thing. He's not the CEO yet, he's a mid-level exec making about $100,000 a year, that's been offered the CEO job. He's got car payments and insurance to cover, and to the best of my knowledge most millionaires don't actually have all that money in a checking account - their millions are in the form of stock and other assets.

Now he's got all these women (that he may or may not choose to pursue) and none of them have two pennies to rub together.

And talking about being "realistic"? Really?

It's supposed to be very hard to get the full sex scene with Ashley the first time round. That was deliberate, mainly because I wasn't happy with the graphics and wanted time to redo them. Perhaps I notched it up too far and made it impossible, I'd have to check.

One more time, things are not always as they seem. It's fun to read people's ideas about the meaning of certain things, but don't be too sure. Some of you have been remarkably perceptive, others are WAY off! But keep those coming because many of the things that are being added are based on feedback from here.

I do take issue with the idea that you've been "forced" to engage in sexual activities (although I did think that was kind of the point of a game like this). When Ashley asks you to take her home it's very clear what that's about. And Marina's approach isn't hugely subtle, so if you don't want to shag her, run away...

It's version 0.3. It's not perfect. Bear with me. Oh, and by the way, it's a game and it didn't cost you anything.

 

[xtr3mx7]

It's starting to feel like I'm spending more time justifying things than working on the game.

Why do you have to justify everything? The game come "as is" and players should just play it or drop it.

I understand the financial point of view that you should accommodate the players so you get the income but I guess there's a fine line to that and players should either accept or reject. Critical and constructive feedbacks are important to any development life cycle but that shouldn't stop you developing your game like you have envisioned it but with improvements. That's where it should stop.

There will always be haters and those who keep ranting, they are the eternal unsatisfied genre of players around, no matter what you give them. IMO, just take it as a pinch of salt and move on with your development because if you have to listen to everyone, there will be no further development at all.

P.S: I like your story so far and keep figuring the "what ifs" future

 

[kartolas]

I do take issue with the idea that you've been "forced" to engage in sexual activities (although I did think that was kind of the point of a game like this).

For me, and I'm sure I'm not alone, being forced to engage in sexual activities, is a no go. Let's say that 99% of the times it will be enough for me to close the game and not touching it again. There are times that I try to ignore it if I think that it will be a major part of the story but even though, I'll be fuming. So far it hasn't been a issue on this one, god bless.

 

[togs-games]

Justify/explain, I don't know. I'm just trying to find a balance between what I envisioned, what I thought people wanted when I first started, and obviously what some people want is not at all what I anticipated!

I find some of the confusion about the characters and story amusing, but at other times I feel like I want to correct people, but I'm also wary of revealing too much for people who haven't gone as far into the game. So I'm happy to answer certain questions via the messaging system, particularly where they involve potential spoilers.

But it's definitely NOT about the money. The itch and patreon donations are a welcome sign that people appreciate the effort but that's not going to do much to offset the cost of the new workstation, or some of the assets. I look at them as tips rather than pay, if that makes sense?

But most of the comments are useful, so do keep them coming!

I will say right now that I will have to backtrack a little to accommodate some of the changes and that would potentially break saved games (depending how far into the timeline you've gone).

Anyway, I have a bunch of candidates for the receptionist job to get done, so I had better get on with it!

 

[kartolas]

Anyway, I have a bunch of candidates for the receptionist job to get done, so I had better get on with it!

Go do your magic. Don't try to please everyone because you will fail miserably and most important, don't let it bother you.
Keep it up!
Oh and thanks for listening.
Thank you.

 

[syh653]

Oh, and by the way, it's a game and it didn't cost you anything.

Pshaw! I paid my (modest) Patreon fee! Pander to me!


Joshing aside, I for one am damned impressed not only with the blush mechanic on both Lois & Kari (chest blooms!) but also with clothes that sit on female characters like proper CLOTH. No painted on suits, no underboob creases, and one slight nod to slinky dress reality.

Considering how "excited" both Lois & Kari are most of the time, I thought for sure both had not-so-hidden piercings--especially when Lois confessed to her foundation work and MC joked with Kari about his wild youth.

 

[gregers]

I know there are some decisions made for you - the first time you cover Kari's allowance for example. Early on, that seemed like less of a liberty. I will give some serious consideration to going back and changing that.

Let me know what else feels like it's forced.

The end of the latest update is obviously a serious escalation, esp. if the player hasn't done anything much to build intimacy with Kari so far. I'm not into voyeurism so didn't pick options to peek on her, and it was only after snooping in the files I noticed that that could have been a significant source of intimacy (if you'd increased her trust enough beforehand).

The conversation where you can either tell her to move out, say you're looking to move out, or say something romantic (that I've forgotten the details of) seemed odd. Especially as the two first options aren't developed (yet) but just give a massive hit to one of her stats. The duder is an executive with a fat paycheck, why would he not be looking for his own pad rather than crashing at a mate's? I know we later learn that the MC owns the whole building, but that's not known to him at the time.
I'd suggest maybe removing that whole block of conversation until you actually start developing those alternate paths.

A few other, minor things (from memory, as I didn't note them down as I went):

The MC is called both Steve and Simon a few places instead of [pname].
There's a call stats( kari ) somewhere that's not conditioned on debug_mode (have you considered making the key stats visible somewhere, by the way?)
There was one stat check somewhere where Kari didn't do as you say if you had too high dominance with her; that seemed weird.

 

[johnnydoe666]

Good game!

 

[dinmor]

Here's my two cents. I like the premise, and I look forwards to future versions, and I enjoy the paths, especially the dom path. The only thing I'd say is, if nothing is supposed to happen during a day, then just basically skip it, don't have us go through the same choices and scenes for a day that has no choices or significance for the story.
For a first game, this is very well done!

 

[togs-games]

So here's an idea for a Lust-O-Meter, to show how horny you are. I think it probably needs to be scaled to about twice the width though.

The concentric circles and the skull represent the thresholds for the side-effects of being too lustful - the tunnel vision/headache effect and the eventual hospitalization...

In 0.3 I added a fatigue value (you gained fatigue if, for example, you went to the coffeeshop to work at night), so I think there should also be an Energy meter.

In version 0.4 (and week 4) you'll have further meetings with Pete about the rest of your inheritance (the properties) and your responsibilities as you'll also be on the board of The Foundation.

Given that the player is also going to be running the company and possibly chasing various women, I think both of these should be a factor.

As a slight aside, there was never meant to be a benefit for spying on Kari when she was changing or in the shower. The idea was that if the player wanted to see her undressed he'd be "punished" with an increase in lust.

I did play with the idea of Kari being aware that he was peeking, but not letting on. That would account for the report of intimacy being increased, which I thought I'd removed. I will double-check.

And finally, money will continue to be a thing. You're going to be leading an expensive lifestyle!

Did I mention the private jet?

Your thoughts are welcome...

 

[El Tanque]

Good game, however, I can hardly wait for the other paths to be accecible, I mean (MC) you've been super nice to Kari, generous, respectful, she "says she likes you" and yet, even when you've warned her about that Randy guy, she goes out with him, kisses him and still has the nerve to lie to you about it, saying she went out with her friend Aria or whatever she's called, she's just a liar, you two are not a couple, so why lie about it?. And remember the slutty clothes she wore the first time she said "she was going out with her friend", and other lunches, so she has been "hanging out" with him on a regular basis. (It doesn't matter to me, if after he tries to grope her, she finally realizes what a jerk Randy is). Perhaps the worst thing is that you hear everything, but the MC is not able to say anything about it (About her lying). Even when my character's personality is confrontational.

So Kary is now totally forgettable to me, it's better to focus on the blonde assistant and send the ungrateful Kary to the...

Really, when I saw Louise, I didn't care about anything else. She's the one, I hope she has a good story, so far so good.
Keep up the good work you have done (with Louise) and good luck.

 

[gregers]

So here's an idea for a Lust-O-Meter, to show how horny you are. I think it probably needs to be scaled to about twice the width though.

The concentric circles and the skull represent the thresholds for the side-effects of being too lustful - the tunnel vision/headache effect and the eventual hospitalization...

In 0.3 I added a fatigue value (you gained fatigue if, for example, you went to the coffeeshop to work at night), so I think there should also be an Energy meter.

Looking good! You're probably right it could be a bit wider, but no need for it to dominate the screen.
Since the stat becomes visible, it might be worth adding a very short two-sentence explanation early on about what lust is and does (and fatigue, if and when you add that bar).

As a slight aside, there was never meant to be a benefit for spying on Kari when she was changing or in the shower. The idea was that if the player wanted to see her undressed he'd be "punished" with an increase in lust.

I did play with the idea of Kari being aware that he was peeking, but not letting on. That would account for the report of intimacy being increased, which I thought I'd removed. I will double-check.

Just pulled a shower scene at random and it's this bit. If you've peeked more than twice there's a random but ever increasing chance of getting caught by Kari. If you've got her trust above 120 that'll net a +10 to her intimacy stat every time (if not, the stat will reset to temp which I think is 30).

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As I said, I didn't notice it while playing because I didn't pick the options to spy on her, so haven't done the maths on how much of a gain it could yield.

 

[togs-games]

Just wanted to respond/clarify on a couple of things.

I did intend to block off the peeking once you've been caught the first time, just forgot to add that. The +10 intimacy if she sees you and doesn't lose her mind is fairly trivial (you're probably well over 200 intimacy at that point anyway).

I'm surprised at how strongly people have responded to the Kari/Randy thing. There's more to that, and I hope you'll all be more forgiving once the full story is revealed.

Several of the errors that have been mentioned were fixed in the updated build I linked to a couple of days back. They include the wrong name for the MC and the stats popping up at one point. Also added a graphic to the title page and fixed a couple of others.

I'm going to go back to the leave/stay conversation at the end of the second week and have a sort of internal dialogue where the MC asks himself how he feels about her prior to any conversation about the future plan.

Gregers - the last line of your post, you mentioned a decision that involved a dominance stat that seems to run counter to what you would expect? I can't find anything, let me know if you do find it again.

I still need a couple of volunteers to talk to privately about the backstories for a couple of characters...

 

[kartolas]

I had no issues with Randy/Kari, whatever they have, in my playthrough because so far the MC still had nothing with Kari. To tell you the truth, my first choice was to leave the apartment and leave her there, not to mention that I wouldn't stay in an apartment with cameras everywhere. NOW, If for some reason, after/if they get together, Kari cheats, that would be bad as there is no Cheating tag. Sweet stories with cheating involved are a no go for me.

 

[gregers]

I did intend to block off the peeking once you've been caught the first time, just forgot to add that. The +10 intimacy if she sees you and doesn't lose her mind is fairly trivial (you're probably well over 200 intimacy at that point anyway).

I certainly wasn't anywhere near 200 (but then I'd taken a -100 for having the MC wanting to find his own place). But you're right that if it's intended as a one time deal its impact becomes trivial.

Just to be clear: I wasn't complaining about the scene, just noting that it might have an unwanted effect on the game balance if the gain could be repeated every time.

I'm surprised at how strongly people have responded to the Kari/Randy thing. There's more to that, and I hope you'll all be more forgiving once the full story is revealed.

I don't mind Kari going out with people other than the MC (they haven't done anything together after all), but her lying about it marks her as not to be trusted.

Gregers - the last line of your post, you mentioned a decision that involved a dominance stat that seems to run counter to what you would expect? I can't find anything, let me know if you do find it again.

Actually, forget about that. I was writing from memory earlier and going back over it, I must have misread a line. Sorry to waste your time.

 

[mofonistik]

I'm mostly with El Tanque on this one. She was great before, but the Randy incident made me far less interested in Kari.

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One might counter that "Hey, MC and Kari aren't an official couple yet, so she's done nothing wrong." If she feels it isn't wrong and doesn't think MC would object, why does she lie to him about it?

As the

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, MC now has millions of rea$ons to not start a relationship with a woman who deceives him. In my opinion, he would be a fool to get serious with Kari after that. Part of her allure is being surprisingly sweet and innocent. Sneaking around

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and lying about it destroys that image.

 

[gregers]

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That scene also reveals that she has a very transactional view of sex: If a man does X for a woman, she'll be expected to do Y for him. Maybe she thinks that because of the MC's various gifts and kindnesses to her she's expected to play the innocent young damsel in return?

Doesn't really change the core fact that she's lying to him, though.

 

[gregers]

I still need a couple of volunteers to talk to privately about the backstories for a couple of characters...

I skimmed through some of the previous pages and they cleared up quite a few of the things I was wondering about (this comment in particular). But your bringing up 'backstories' reminded me of one fairly minor thing I haven't seen mentioned: I experienced a bit of whiplash in the characterization of the MC's late uncle.

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[togs-games]

So looking over the last few posts especially, I have to put my hands up and say that a lot of what people are saying comes from a disconnect between my perception of who Kari is, and what I've showed you in the story to date. Some of that is because it's rapidly expanded beyond my original vision, and that's all you guys' fault!

As to Kari's "transactional view of sex" what I was trying to put over is her naivety and tendency to get herself into situations because she doesn't have the life experience to realize she has options. She goes to dinner with MC on a bit of a whim (partly motivated by the conflict with Marina). Then ends up at a much more upscale place than she anticipated and now feels obligated to fulfill what she has been told is expected in a situation like this. Note, however, that she doesn't go through with it.

So I'll be as clear as I can be, Kari is supposed to be the nicest, sweetest girl you could ever hope to meet. She's just struggling to adapt to a world she's ill-prepared for. If you don't care for that, it's okay, but she was always intended to be the central love interest, it was only after my coming in here (F95) that I started to consider alternative paths.

The thing with the uncle - I meant for the MC to be realizing that Mallory was perfectly nice to him in the brief time he knew her. As a thirteen year old boy, he laid the blame at her door. I certainly didn't mean to suggest he always thought his uncle was a creep, but obviously we are now seeing that the guy wasn't all sunshine and light.

My view of the company (ASi) and The Foundation has also evolved. I see the company now as something that has grown beyond its creator's oversight and MC will want to rein things in and re-establish the original values. No doubt he will come up against opposition from others with a vested interest in simply making as much money as possible.

The Foundation also seems ripe for some juicy backstory and the consequences of that down the line. MC is supposed to take on a leadership role there. That was planned for week 3, but I simply ran out of time, the gap between v0.2 and 0.3 was already out of control.

In the first meeting with Pete, he says MC could stay home and pick up the dividend checks. That's an option I could add, I suppose, although I think the game would be less interesting.

Lois is clearly growing on people, me included. She just seemed to come into being with little to no effort on my part. It occurs to me now that she's kind of a Pepper Potts character - happy to flirt with MC but knowing he's got other girls in his life. I will say that if anything does happen with Lois, it will be over an extended period. She is one of the characters I would like to discuss with someone that's willing to risk a little bit of a spoiler in exchange for the feedback I'm looking for.

As I mentioned last post, there are things that need to be fleshed out more, so keep an open mind until you've seen the full story developed (or revealed) a little more.

 

[kartolas]

Doesn't really change the core fact that she's lying to him, though.

Can you please refresh me when did she lied to him? English isn't my main so I might have missed it.