VN Ren'Py The Theater of Sinners [v0.3 ALPHA 1] [JustXThings]

[JustXThings]

Yeah! I put my money where my mouth was at last . Too bad this won't motivate you to drop your every day job and dedicate your time completely to your fine game . But very honourable of you to still offer it for free.
Thanks for making me/us happy!

By the way: Why can I not find the game through entering "justxthings" in the itch.io search bar?

Thanks a lot. Drop my job ? I like my job but that would be nice =D Anyway it is impossible this game will bring me some money. It's just a expensive hobby. It will cost me thousands of dollars w/o even counting effort. Maybe when I release the first season to steam I might get something back, but I doubt even it will be accepted. It's the way it is, I already came to terms with it after releasing Clara Bittersweet.

Just some bug reporting, will be edited with each finding:
- Beca speaks as Agnes when she comes from work after the first Olivia-scene (Beca telling Olivia not to visit her). "Well... work wasn't that bad..."

Thanks. I'll check into that.

I'm sorry, but an uncaught exception occurred.

Care to provide me some save. That would help me tracking the thing down.
Just saw the edit. Yeah, old saves are dead due to the story now being grouped in acts so that it is easier to follow.
Hmmm... the edit wasn't yours. Try deleting the persistence data under %Appdata%/renpy/<theater folder> or simply starting a new game. Old saves don't work. If it is from a fresh start, care providing me with the save to track the error down.

 

[JustXThings]

FYI


```
I'm sorry, but an uncaught exception occurred.

While running game code:
File "game/story/index.rpy", line 211, in script call
call prologue from _call_prologue
File "game/story/index.rpy", line 665, in script call
call event_selection_main from _call_event_selection_main
File "game/story/misc/event_selection/script.rpy", line 234, in script
while is_new_act(): # a group can end after an act
File "game/story/misc/event_selection/script.rpy", line 234, in <module>
while is_new_act(): # a group can end after an act
File "game/story/index.rpy", line 468, in is_new_act
return is_req_evt_seen() or deadlock()
File "game/story/index.rpy", line 490, in is_req_evt_seen
act_label = next_act_label()
File "game/story/index.rpy", line 515, in next_act_label
return var_get('act_label_' + str(current_act()), 'act_labels')
File "game/story/index.rpy", line 465, in current_act
return int(var_get('current_act'))
TypeError: int() argument must be a string or a number, not 'NoneType'

-- Full Traceback ------------------------------------------------------------

Full traceback:
File "game/story/index.rpy", line 211, in script call
call prologue from _call_prologue
File "game/story/index.rpy", line 665, in script call
call event_selection_main from _call_event_selection_main
File "game/story/misc/event_selection/script.rpy", line 234, in script
while is_new_act(): # a group can end after an act
File "renpy/ast.py", line 1841, in execute
if renpy.python.py_eval(self.condition):
File "renpy/python.py", line 2276, in py_eval
return py_eval_bytecode(code, globals, locals)
File "renpy/python.py", line 2269, in py_eval_bytecode
return eval(bytecode, globals, locals)
File "game/story/misc/event_selection/script.rpy", line 234, in <module>
while is_new_act(): # a group can end after an act
File "game/story/index.rpy", line 468, in is_new_act
return is_req_evt_seen() or deadlock()
File "game/story/index.rpy", line 490, in is_req_evt_seen
act_label = next_act_label()
File "game/story/index.rpy", line 515, in next_act_label
return var_get('act_label_' + str(current_act()), 'act_labels')
File "game/story/index.rpy", line 465, in current_act
return int(var_get('current_act'))
TypeError: int() argument must be a string or a number, not 'NoneType'

Ren'Py 7.4.10.2178
The Theater of Sinners 0.3.alpha.1
Sun Sep 3 10:35:37 2023
```


Edit: Well, okay, I've seen that the old saves don't work.

You wanted gallery, right ?

If you haven't gotten the "saves won't work" disclaimer. Get the last version from here (

You must be registered to see the links

). I move the intro from before the menu to after start since Ren'Py wasn't running the fresh new code if the label had already been shown. Otherwise you missed the small intro with Olivia.

 

[Birdnman993]

This update was very good to have more information of the story, although it generates me many more questions than answers, mainly how to see paula. Is it Rebecca who used paula or was it paula who used her to make all her perverse fantasies come true? Maybe it was mutual, but certainly at the end scholarship didn't know she was messing with shady people, so it makes me think that paula used her more to get back at her mother.

Another detail was good to show was how intelligent paula is, but it makes me wonder if that had to do with the experiments she was subjected to as a child and how much of that influenced her sexual tendencies, on the other hand it was very nice how she met agnes and the friendship they formed and it makes me wonder to what extent paula will let her base instincts get in the way of their friendship.

In short paula hero or villain? it remains to be seen, in my humble opinion she needs someone to control her so she doesn't go around cheating on her friends with their husbands.

As for agnes I like her better every day, she is too adorable for this world, it's always nice and sexy to see her misadventures with beca and how their relationship deepens and all because paula can't keep her legs open and her husband is a total asshole xDDDD I don't pretend to be nostradamus but I'm sure sooner or later rebecca will destroy him like an insect after completely dominating agnes (something I will enjoy a lot).

As for rebecca there is not much to say other than she is badass and hot at any moment, the scene of her in the bathroom, I can easily imagine her destroying all those thugs oldboy style, I guess at some point we will know more about his past, possibly telling Agnes about it to build more trust and once again deepen their relationship.

 

[Orichan]

Hello Dev, you should consider opening a Patreon/SubscribeStar.
You create (good) content, it's fair to ask for money in exchange, and people are often willing to if given simple ways to do that and means they are familiar with(Patreon/ST)

A lot of people are not familiar with giving through Itch.io so they just download the game and move.

I think it wouldn't cost you anything, and it would even make things more enjoyable for you. Even if you're obviously not going to make a fortune out of it, it's still something and fair.

On a separate note may I ask if you're male or female ? When I see a story with tags like this I always wonder if it was the product of a male/female mind (I do have my little idea about it though )

 

[Maviarab]

JustXThings

Thanks for all the responses, much appreciated.

 

[TimoF965]

I think it is definitely 'fappable', way more than other games that play animations but maybe that's just me.

Oh my, I think you created a new tag here - "fappable"! . And yes, your scene-build-up makes it very "fappable". Being able to relate to the protagonists, not being "disturbed" by unrealistic behavior and still having a decent amount of "visual support" (your scenes are not the shortest in this business) is quite unique. Additionally, you don't waste your characters jewels on early scenes. You offer no penetrations yet, but this does not feel uneccesdarily delaying the scenes in order to fill the releases anyhow and still, your scenes are hot as hell. Also, every scene feels fresh - not because you intent new positions in every scene, but because the characters motivations, relations and circumstances have developed.
In contrast, many other games rely on the stupid old mechanism in VNs: "You meet a new girl, do you want (a) Blowjob, (b) vaginal, (c) anal? Oh, you have not enough points for vaginal, try blowjob 5 more times (*evelly laughing*)!" Couldn't be much more boring even if the 3D-models were hot as hell. Your graphics are very good, but they are not the reason for why your game is incredible hot. I often wonder why someone who wants long animations and perfect graphics does not watch real porn instead. Best animations quality and in 4k one of the best rendering quality available .

And for your scenes: I think you kinda do have animations:

At some places, a sentence might get 4 or 5 renders. So, even with animations I find it more alive than many others, but again, it could be just me.

This "moving just one finger a little between renders" and making some renders for one sentence or action is even better than a "classia animation" in my opinion, because it does not brake the visual style. In other novels, having very seperated single renderer in a sex scene, maybe for each position only one, and then surprisingly having a fluid animation breaks the flow, I think.

The main issue here is that I forgot to include the condition that in order to show the webcam scene, the player should have chosen Paula to demean herself in the toilet.

Oh, you are telling me I saw a scene I should not have seen? Feels a little like having red a books ending before the rest of it .

I understand it's not the common thing, but it's the way she is.

I really admire two aspects this sentence makes clear:
- You do have a strong vision for your game and are not that much navigating on sight. For all I can say from your content yet, this makes a very believable story with twists or revelations that are also believably ment to be and not out of "oh, the current route is not that good, I should twist it all around and find a bad excuse for this".
- You are not afraid of going against public opinion - You seem like an adult designer with an adult approach to life and a knowledge-/experience-rich background. Fortuitously, your style fits my taste well.

Thanks a lot. Drop my job ? I like my job but that would be nice =D Anyway it is impossible this game will bring me some money. It's just a expensive hobby. It will cost me thousands of dollars w/o even counting effort.

I know, I was just dreaming. We should never think how much money we are loosing by doing our hobbies or just "fapping away" instead of working overtime and getting paid for it. But you are really making some people happy with your hobby-work.

 

[Maviarab]

Lack of animations has never bothered me at all because let's be brutally honest, most animations in VN's are pretty shit, don't look very good, bad quality and usually are odd in their movements. Rather have none at all, than bad ones.

 

[Orichan]

Lack of animations has never bothered me at all because let's be brutally honest, most animations in VN's are pretty shit, don't look very good, bad quality and usually are odd in their movements. Rather have none at all, than bad ones.

This, they feel very awkward, I'm actually better not seeing them

 

[JustXThings]

This, they feel very awkward, I'm actually better not seeing them

That's because good full-body animations require a fuck-ton of work. Specially if too much stuff is shown. It's better just to focus on small parts of it.

Well, that and that rendering takes a lot of resources and it can't be done properly w/o proper HW. It's difficult to compete with high end VN(s) when they render with one to many high end GPU(s).

For instance, the small animation of my signature took several hours even when I reduced the quality A LOT and every frame was solved in around 1 min. But 200+ frames are still 200+ minutes plus mini-loading pauses. The other animation in Clara Bittersweet, basically the camera getting far while we see the mother of Paula walk and a bunch of bodies and blood appearing took 12+ hours with average quality (270 frames).

 

[gilpinheiro12]

God game

 

[Birdnman993]

Lack of animations has never bothered me at all because let's be brutally honest, most animations in VN's are pretty shit, don't look very good, bad quality and usually are odd in their movements. Rather have none at all, than bad ones.

I think that in this type of story in particular it is not so important to make animations since the narrative and the dialogues are its best aspect, apart from the transition between the images of the scenes they fit well and making animation would be an additional workload that would cost time to the narrative aspect.

That being said, if there is something that I think could improve the experience a lot, it would be adding sound effects or ambient music, this could add more realism and emotion to the scenes, although I don't know the workload that the sound aspect of a game entails.

 

[Speedfeed]

Oh, it does make sense in some ways:
- It shows the development of the character spiraling down, losing their will
- It might reflect on your prior decisions: If you said yes to "everybody" before, it could(!) be strange to suddenly say no a guy asking the same
- The creator might use it to emphazise on the "world" getting rougher, darker, more brutal
- It might show that your current "enemy" is stronger than the ones before. All of them you could say no to - this one does not accept a no for an answer
- It might be vital to the story - if you want to make a game focussing on someone facing a hardship, what good would it do to make it avoidable. For example you want to make a non-sexual game about a mother loosing a child and dealing with it. If you demand that the loss of her child should be optional, you are forcing the developer to add scenes where she does not go to the funeral of her child but to disneyland with her child. But more important, it would alter the story the creator wants to tell significantly.
- It saves some ressources of the developer if not everything is optional.
- ...

But nevertheless, a game should not be anything other than the creator wants it to be, especially if it is a pure hobby of him and no "paid deal". One can suggest something, but not demand it (as guys other than you sounded).

there's no demanding. I'm expressing my issues with the game and voicing my opinions. There's no lesbian route tag so when I see the lesbian and female protagonist tags I assume I'll be able to avoid men. With one character down the road you'll be able to but with that character idk if they'll be involved with guys up until that point. If that's the case I'd prefer if with that character I could avoid men. And with there being multiple female characters the player will be in control of I don't understand why the one who will at some point be a lesbian can just already be one and be able to pursue relations with other females only. And if you're in control of a character and have the option to turn down one guy to me it makes no sense to not be able to with other guys or a different guy. Playing as a female mc who can't reject guys or can only reject certain guys and not all guys is something I don't get. Doesn't make sense to me and is something I personally don't like. The dev can do what they want and I understand that maybe they don't have the time and resources to make everything optional. I'm just speaking on how I feel and what I think and would hope at some point the dev could maybe take that into consideration and make changes. If avoiding all men was optional I think more people would take interest in the game and personally I'd appreciate if they did and I think other people would too. Had to do it over. Messed up the first time. But yeah. Also with a lesbian route tag being implemented that would really be a time saver and good for people who are looking for that and want that in a game.

 

[SuicideByTaco]

Awesome been waiting for an update on this one! keep up the great work!

 

[wildride69]

there's no demanding. I'm expressing my issues with the game and voicing my opinions. There's no lesbian route tag so when I see the lesbian and female protagonist tags I assume I'll be able to avoid men. With one character down the road you'll be able to but with that character idk if they'll be involved with guys up until that point. If that's the case I'd prefer if with that character I could avoid men. And with there being multiple female characters the player will be in control of I don't understand why the one who will at some point be a lesbian can just already be one and be able to pursue relations with other females only. And if you're in control of a character and have the option to turn down one guy to me it makes no sense to not be able to with other guys or a different guy. Playing as a female mc who can't reject guys or can only reject certain guys and not all guys is something I don't get. Doesn't make sense to me and is something I personally don't like. The dev can do what they want and I understand that maybe they don't have the time and resources to make everything optional. I'm just speaking on how I feel and what I think and would hope at some point the dev could maybe take that into consideration and make changes. If avoiding all men was optional I think more people would take interest in the game and personally I'd appreciate if they did and I think other people would too. Had to do it over. Messed up the first time. But yeah. Also with a lesbian route tag being implemented that would really be a time saver and good for people who are looking for that and want that in a game.

I'm sure if you ask about Lesbian only games you will find a bunch of them here on this board. The developer does not have a Patreon and takes this game and his characters in the direction he wants them to go simply for the love of creating a game and the characters he wants to share. if it doesn't suit you then find a game that does. I highly doubt a majority of people in this thread is hoping for a pure lesbian route.

 

[L7Bear]

Tried reloading my previous save. Failed.
Tried reloading my antepenultimate save. Failed.
Do I have to replay from Start?

 

[doob420]

Tried reloading my previous save. Failed.
Tried reloading my antepenultimate save. Failed.
Do I have to replay from Start?

It's been mentioned before but it does bear repeating. Old saves do not work.

 

[Sartain]

Damn this game does illusion of agency well, it's basically linear with no relevant input from player, which I normally hate, but the gamification of that linear narrative is really on point somehow. The good writing and renders help, of course, but it's really impressive

 

[Pyra]

I like this game I really do. But the whole "choose your own play order" thing really doesn't work imo.

If the game is supposed to feel like a play, why not structure the game into linear scenes & acts like an actual play? I feel like as the game progresses it's gonna turn into a convoluted mess. The story itself is linear but its like someone tore the scenes out of the script and shuffled them like a deck of cards.

From a narrative point its a bit disjointed. If you wanna hit all the story beats you need to play the scenes in a very specific order with no way of knowing which order is the correct order unless you use a walkthrough or a bunch of trial and error. If you don't play each scene in the exact right order, you will miss things that you cant go back to later so there is really only a thin illusion of choice. It's unneeded complexity.

 

[dolfe67]

If avoiding all men was optional I think more people would take interest in the game

No, the lesbian only audience is a niche. Not saying it shouldn't exist, just that it won't attract many more people

 

[dolfe67]

I like this game I really do. But the whole "choose your own play order" thing really doesn't work imo.

If the game is supposed to feel like a play, why not structure the game into linear scenes & acts like an actual play? I feel like as the game progresses it's gonna turn into a convoluted mess. The story itself is linear but its like someone tore the scenes out of the script and shuffled them like a deck of cards.

From a narrative point its a bit disjointed. If you wanna hit all the story beats you need to play the scenes in a very specific order with no way of knowing which order is the correct order unless you use a walkthrough or a bunch of trial and error. If you don't play each scene in the exact right order, you will miss things that you cant go back to later so there is really only a thin illusion of choice. It's unneeded complexity.

There is not really a specific order, but yeah I'd prefer to play it in the order the dev decided. I don't see much value in choosing, because you still have to do some events before the others.