VN Ren'Py University of Problems [v1.4.5 Extended] [DreamNow]

[mintymuz]

I'll go ahead and get it downloaded and catch up. Just hope that the dev follows through with the talk of the MC and Roxy moving in together.

I do wonder if it came up in dialogue as a natural progression, but when it came to implementing it, the dev thought it wouldn't work in terms of the story or the overall game (too much work to create in tandem with potential other paths, etc.) - you'd probably have to cut romantic ties with all other LIs, although that may not be a problem for some players.

One of those many games where it's possible that too much complexity is working to the detriment of plot development.

 

[Dark Silence]

I do wonder if it came up in dialogue as a natural progression, but when it came to implementing it, the dev thought it wouldn't work in terms of the story or the overall game (too much work to create in tandem with potential other paths, etc.) - you'd probably have to cut romantic ties with all other LIs, although that may not be a problem for some players.

One of those many games where it's possible that too much complexity is working to the detriment of plot development.

I'm only on Roxy's path. I rejected everyone else.

 

[Milton749]

I do wonder if it came up in dialogue as a natural progression, but when it came to implementing it, the dev thought it wouldn't work in terms of the story or the overall game (too much work to create in tandem with potential other paths, etc.) - you'd probably have to cut romantic ties with all other LIs, although that may not be a problem for some players.

One of those many games where it's possible that too much complexity is working to the detriment of plot development.

I'm only on Roxy's path. I rejected everyone else.

I imagine it would create a lot of work for MC to be living in 2 different places depending on who he is dating.
If he's with Roxy only, he's at her place.
If he's with someone else, not Roxy, then he would still have to be in dorms.
If he's with Roxy and others, where would he be staying?

I suspect it just got too difficult and didn't happen (possibly not until the endings start kicking in).
But I'm only guessing.

 

[Dessolos]

I imagine it would create a lot of work for MC to be living in 2 different places depending on who he is dating.
If he's with Roxy only, he's at her place.
If he's with someone else, not Roxy, then he would still have to be in dorms.
If he's with Roxy and others, where would he be staying?

I suspect it just got too difficult and didn't happen (possibly not until the endings start kicking in).
But I'm only guessing.

but how difficult can it be for the MC to lay in a bed for 60% of a day every day unless he is dating everyone

 

[Milton749]

but how difficult can it be for the MC to lay in a bed for 60% of a day every day unless he is dating everyone

True, but which bed does he lie in?
I spilt into separate paths a few updates ago. And I think I broke the CTRL button on my computer, skipping between scenes when there is only 1 girl on that path save.

 

[mintymuz]

I imagine it would create a lot of work for MC to be living in 2 different places depending on who he is dating.
If he's with Roxy only, he's at her place.
If he's with someone else, not Roxy, then he would still have to be in dorms.
If he's with Roxy and others, where would he be staying?

I suspect it just got too difficult and didn't happen (possibly not until the endings start kicking in).
But I'm only guessing.

Exactly my thoughts. It's like you're basically making two separate games at that point. It's often the reason for me thinking X or Y won't happen in a game, because it's too much work to have so many very different paths and settings.

 

[ラMr Shadow悪]

You must be registered to see the links

Hey there!

It's been a while since the last news post, but I'm back now!

First things first, don't forget to check out all the content from May and June using the hashtag #special

________________________________________________________________________

Now, about the next update:

I finally wrapped up all the medical stuff. It went well, even though those weeks were pretty stressful. But that's all water under the bridge now, and I'm back on track. I've been working on the 1.5.0 update for four days and have made some good progress. I'm gonna spend the next two months working on this update, so expect it to drop by the end of August.

After the 1.5.0 release, I'll jump into the remake I've been talking about and get UoP ready for Steam. I've thought about this a lot over the past month and decided it should be my main focus for 2024. The remake is about 20-25% done so far.

By my rough estimates, it'll take me about 1.5-2 months to rework everything up to v0.2.5. So, I'm hoping to finish it by the end of October. I can't say for sure if UoP will hit Steam by then, since the publishing process is a bit tricky for me, but I'm hopeful I can get through it without too many hiccups.

I'm not entirely sure what will happen next, but as we get closer to the end of 2024, you can probably expect another regular update (1.5.5) right before Christmas.

________________________________________________________________________

For those interested, here's some extra stuff I'd like to share, though it's not super important.

1) Blender

I had a good go with Blender, as planned. Unfortunately, it's still not enough to even partially switch my workflow over. But now I see how much this software can simplify animation work. A lot of things I have to manually create in Daz 3D, frame by frame with tons of adjustments, Blender lets me just hit the magic 'Simulate' button. I had heard about this before, but trying it out myself convinced me that Blender has a lot of cool features that can save me a ton of time and make the animations look way better and more realistic.

But I've hit a snag with Blender—import/export operations. I have no clue how to import all the simulations created in Blender back into Daz correctly. So, if any of you have some tips or know where to look for answers, I'd really appreciate it. I'll figure it out eventually and hopefully, be able to partially change up my workflow.

2) More about the remake

During my break, I managed to do about 70 renders and rewrite around 500 lines.

Check out the images below to see the difference between the current version and the remade one:





Besides the graphics overhaul, I'm completely rewriting all the existing dialogue and adding some new ones. Sometimes it's to expand the story, sometimes to flesh out the characters better, and sometimes just to make a scene more interesting and intense (like the bottle game scene with Ashley, Carol, and Yuki. In the current version, the MC can only ask two questions during the game. I want to expand this scene to at least 5-6 questions from the MC and about 10-15 from the girls).

On top of that, I'm planning to make some big changes to certain events, like the morning after the first night with Carol. Looking back, I realize I made some mistakes writing that event, and that's why some players didn't get Carol's character quite right. I wanna change that.

3) While I was on break, I got a ton of inspiration for my next project. I've already had two scripts in the works for a while now and made good progress on them in June. But there's also a third one coming up, so I'll have plenty of options to choose from.

________________________________________________________________________

That's all for now. I'll be posting another Dev's blog with more details about the 1.5.0 update for patrons in a few days.

Best wishes, and I hope you all are having an awesome summer!
Dream Now

 

[mintymuz]

I have to say, I'm not sure how I feel about that update. Sure, some stuff is a bit pointless really, like the spin the bottle game, so having more to it would be good. But that's something that should have been in the release, and work now should be on the next update, not on going back and changing stuff we've already played through.

Talk of an update, along with new scripts and project ideas, and the growing discontent among some fans regarding the plot direction (or lack of), does not fill me with confidence for the future of this game, sadly – and this is coming from someone who is an optimist at heart and always willing to give the devs the benefit of the doubt.

 

[rullez3]

I have to say, I'm not sure how I feel about that update. Sure, some stuff is a bit pointless really, like the spin the bottle game, so having more to it would be good. But that's something that should have been in the release, and work now should be on the next update, not on going back and changing stuff we've already played through.

Talk of an update, along with new scripts and project ideas, and the growing discontent among some fans regarding the plot direction (or lack of), does not fill me with confidence for the future of this game, sadly – and this is coming from someone who is an optimist at heart and always willing to give the devs the benefit of the doubt.

I started playing it a few days ago, and I don't know why I was convinced that the game was finished, and it turns out that it's not finished, and still the author "improves" old scenes.... When will I see the ending with this adorable creature?

 

[mintymuz]

I started playing it a few days ago, and I don't know why I was convinced that the game was finished, and it turns out that it's not finished, and still the author "improves" old scenes.... When will I see the ending with this adorable creature?
View attachment 3788801

I really hope we do see such an ending. She is indeed adorable.

 

[SilentRunning]

You must be registered to see the links

View attachment 3788709

Hey there!

It's been a while since the last news post, but I'm back now!

First things first, don't forget to check out all the content from May and June using the hashtag #special

________________________________________________________________________

Now, about the next update:

I finally wrapped up all the medical stuff. It went well, even though those weeks were pretty stressful. But that's all water under the bridge now, and I'm back on track. I've been working on the 1.5.0 update for four days and have made some good progress. I'm gonna spend the next two months working on this update, so expect it to drop by the end of August.

After the 1.5.0 release, I'll jump into the remake I've been talking about and get UoP ready for Steam. I've thought about this a lot over the past month and decided it should be my main focus for 2024. The remake is about 20-25% done so far.

By my rough estimates, it'll take me about 1.5-2 months to rework everything up to v0.2.5. So, I'm hoping to finish it by the end of October. I can't say for sure if UoP will hit Steam by then, since the publishing process is a bit tricky for me, but I'm hopeful I can get through it without too many hiccups.

I'm not entirely sure what will happen next, but as we get closer to the end of 2024, you can probably expect another regular update (1.5.5) right before Christmas.

________________________________________________________________________

For those interested, here's some extra stuff I'd like to share, though it's not super important.

1) Blender

I had a good go with Blender, as planned. Unfortunately, it's still not enough to even partially switch my workflow over. But now I see how much this software can simplify animation work. A lot of things I have to manually create in Daz 3D, frame by frame with tons of adjustments, Blender lets me just hit the magic 'Simulate' button. I had heard about this before, but trying it out myself convinced me that Blender has a lot of cool features that can save me a ton of time and make the animations look way better and more realistic.

But I've hit a snag with Blender—import/export operations. I have no clue how to import all the simulations created in Blender back into Daz correctly. So, if any of you have some tips or know where to look for answers, I'd really appreciate it. I'll figure it out eventually and hopefully, be able to partially change up my workflow.

2) More about the remake

During my break, I managed to do about 70 renders and rewrite around 500 lines.

Check out the images below to see the difference between the current version and the remade one:

View attachment 3788730
View attachment 3788731 View attachment 3788733 View attachment 3788734 View attachment 3788735


Besides the graphics overhaul, I'm completely rewriting all the existing dialogue and adding some new ones. Sometimes it's to expand the story, sometimes to flesh out the characters better, and sometimes just to make a scene more interesting and intense (like the bottle game scene with Ashley, Carol, and Yuki. In the current version, the MC can only ask two questions during the game. I want to expand this scene to at least 5-6 questions from the MC and about 10-15 from the girls).

On top of that, I'm planning to make some big changes to certain events, like the morning after the first night with Carol. Looking back, I realize I made some mistakes writing that event, and that's why some players didn't get Carol's character quite right. I wanna change that.

3) While I was on break, I got a ton of inspiration for my next project. I've already had two scripts in the works for a while now and made good progress on them in June. But there's also a third one coming up, so I'll have plenty of options to choose from.

________________________________________________________________________

That's all for now. I'll be posting another Dev's blog with more details about the 1.5.0 update for patrons in a few days.

Best wishes, and I hope you all are having an awesome summer!
Dream Now

I think a remake is a fantastic idea, if it involves a proof reader with a good grasp of the English language.

The main problem with University of Problems is the writing is really bad and awkward.

 

[TGafy]

I don't see the point of remaking the game. The before-and-afters look better sure, but only slightly with improved lighting. This game is nearing four years, the time spent on old content should be used on rolling out future updates. He's already talking about the next project so the end's in sight. Working on old scenes will just drag uop out.

 

[JayZeee]

just fix the dialogues, the old scenes look good enough

 

[Dessolos]

Yeah I agree I think the rework for the renders is unnecessary.

 

[-CookieMonster666-]

At this point, you can pretty much date all of them. With the latest update, the only exception is Natalie, who will bust your balls if she finds out you're also seeing Roxy, and will dump you. Outside of that, none of the girls know about your relationship with any of the others yet (IIRC), except for Ashley knowing about you and Sara. There is an explicit suggestion of a threesome or potential throuple path with Ashley and Sara, and another couple that are suggested at too (Carol and Yuki, Roxy and Nikki).

A bit late to respond I realize, but I just now finally caught up with v1.4.5ex. Natalie dumping the MC might be temporary, given this statement a year ago by the dev: https://f95zone.to/threads/university-of-problems-v1-4-5-extended-dreamnow.65957/post-11135556. I normally play each girl's path separately, but: there are a crap-ton of girls in this game; and the dev previously said they'd try to make harem doable, as realistic as possible — so probably not completely realistic, but hopefully at least somewhat. Anyway, Natalie might eventually come around, especially since she's among the bottom four (beyond the original set) that now show up in the relationships in the MC's phone. I guess we'll see.

 

[-CookieMonster666-]

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In the future it would be great if you could put massive sets of images like that in SPOILER tags. But thanks very much for sharing them with us all.

You must be registered to see the links

View attachment 3788709

Hey there!

It's been a while since the last news post, but I'm back now!

First things first, don't forget to check out all the content from May and June using the hashtag #special

________________________________________________________________________

Now, about the next update:

I finally wrapped up all the medical stuff. It went well, even though those weeks were pretty stressful. But that's all water under the bridge now, and I'm back on track. I've been working on the 1.5.0 update for four days and have made some good progress. I'm gonna spend the next two months working on this update, so expect it to drop by the end of August.

After the 1.5.0 release, I'll jump into the remake I've been talking about and get UoP ready for Steam. I've thought about this a lot over the past month and decided it should be my main focus for 2024. The remake is about 20-25% done so far.

By my rough estimates, it'll take me about 1.5-2 months to rework everything up to v0.2.5. So, I'm hoping to finish it by the end of October. I can't say for sure if UoP will hit Steam by then, since the publishing process is a bit tricky for me, but I'm hopeful I can get through it without too many hiccups.

I'm not entirely sure what will happen next, but as we get closer to the end of 2024, you can probably expect another regular update (1.5.5) right before Christmas.

________________________________________________________________________

For those interested, here's some extra stuff I'd like to share, though it's not super important.

1) Blender

I had a good go with Blender, as planned. Unfortunately, it's still not enough to even partially switch my workflow over. But now I see how much this software can simplify animation work. A lot of things I have to manually create in Daz 3D, frame by frame with tons of adjustments, Blender lets me just hit the magic 'Simulate' button. I had heard about this before, but trying it out myself convinced me that Blender has a lot of cool features that can save me a ton of time and make the animations look way better and more realistic.

But I've hit a snag with Blender—import/export operations. I have no clue how to import all the simulations created in Blender back into Daz correctly. So, if any of you have some tips or know where to look for answers, I'd really appreciate it. I'll figure it out eventually and hopefully, be able to partially change up my workflow.

2) More about the remake

During my break, I managed to do about 70 renders and rewrite around 500 lines.

Check out the images below to see the difference between the current version and the remade one:

View attachment 3788730
View attachment 3788731 View attachment 3788733 View attachment 3788734 View attachment 3788735


Besides the graphics overhaul, I'm completely rewriting all the existing dialogue and adding some new ones. Sometimes it's to expand the story, sometimes to flesh out the characters better, and sometimes just to make a scene more interesting and intense (like the bottle game scene with Ashley, Carol, and Yuki. In the current version, the MC can only ask two questions during the game. I want to expand this scene to at least 5-6 questions from the MC and about 10-15 from the girls).

On top of that, I'm planning to make some big changes to certain events, like the morning after the first night with Carol. Looking back, I realize I made some mistakes writing that event, and that's why some players didn't get Carol's character quite right. I wanna change that.

3) While I was on break, I got a ton of inspiration for my next project. I've already had two scripts in the works for a while now and made good progress on them in June. But there's also a third one coming up, so I'll have plenty of options to choose from.

________________________________________________________________________

That's all for now. I'll be posting another Dev's blog with more details about the 1.5.0 update for patrons in a few days.

Best wishes, and I hope you all are having an awesome summer!
Dream Now

Yeah, we really don't need to have anything remade. Watch, all saves will be broken for v1.5.0 and we'll have to start over.
(Yay....)

 

[mintymuz]

Yeah, we really don't need to have anything remade. Watch, all saves will be broken for v1.5.0 and we'll have to start over.
(Yay....)

I do hope not, but there's always that risk. Even if saves are not broken, there's the possibility of confusion as new info is added that existing players are not aware of. There should not be a requirement to start from scratch, but retconning is not a decision that should be taken lightly by the dev either, as it might not always go as planned!

 

[CarlosZaxos]

This game is so dumb omd lmao

 

[Krepax]

Maybe I'm becoming blind, but I don't think the new renders are that different from the old ones. Quality is more or less the same. Why every developer that hits Steam suddenly goes the remake route? What about people who've patiently waited (and funded) a project for so many years? Why should they be forced to wait while the developer waste more time on content that is already done and delivered?

If a developer suddenly realizes that can do better, or if he wants to try new shit, FIRST he should finish his current project(s), and THEN start a new one, FFS!

 

[laszlo12]

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