(P)lanets - the life of normalcy has ended!

[ofdawnandtwilight]

If you don't mind sending it to me, I appreciate it
Weird though that there are bugs for Haruhi's path since I didn't get any

[Arithra]

First of all:
Yay I'm done!
I loved your game. It was cute and sweet and the characters were unique with different conflicts.
each story was very touching and I found none of the three main guys to be lacking storywise.

The music was great. Sometimes I have the problem that it anoys me after some time. but this was not the case.
The reworking of the sprites again and again really was an improvment.
I went through the wip thread and I have to say that you improved a lot while working on (P)lantes!
Kaius was my favourit!
But that was mainly because of his personality, his realationship with Marin and not because of the storyline. When it comes to the story I can't really say which of them is my favouri. Each of them reavealled different secrents that you did not understand if you didn't play the appropriat path!

thank you for making such a beautiful game. I loved playing it!

[teacup]

Thank you so much, Arithra! Glad you saw all the work I put into it!!

An updated version will be put up tomorrow. This SHOULD fix any bugs in Haruhi's route. If not, I have no idea what I'm doing wrong -strangles Haru for making things complicated-

[renpao]

Ahhhh! You finally finished it! Congrats on completing your first game, teacup~! I'm happy for you. xD

I promise to leave another comment and give you my final thought once I finish all the characters' paths. :3

[Rewritten Ennui]

>:3 I got all the pretty little bishie boys (excluding Haru)~! It was relatively short, but fun nonetheless. I tried to skim through all the previous posts to see if anyone else caught the same errors I did, but then I got tired -_- Prepare yourself for some concrit.

- To be honest with you, I had trouble getting through the first portion of the game. There weren't any choices at all, and I felt like I was playing a KN. At least one menu would have assured me that I was playing a VN, and programming a single menu isn't that hard.
- I like a bit of freedom when I play my games, especially when I play VNs. I played through the game 3 times now, and I only saw the imagemap twice during each playthrough. It was such a cute little imagemap too ;-; You could have extended gameplay time by making normal days where you pick a spot to eat and spend some time with whoever you meet up with. Spending time would increase how much each guy liked you, but it wouldn't activate an event.
- Also in regard to the above issues, I felt like the game forced me into pursuing only one character's path once I spent my second lunch day with him. I got Ryuu my first time, Lucan next, and then Kaius with a bit of difficulty. Even while I was going for Kaius, I had to return to a previous save because I ended up spending the field trip with Ryuu despite not spending time with him whatsoever.
- I noticed times when the dialogue would go outside of the textbox sometimes. It's not exactly a bother, but a tweak to the coding would fix that easily.

And that's all I can remember complaining reporting about. As for the boys themselves, I have this magical ability to make things sound worse than they seem when I summarize them. Therefore, prepare to have your bishies be humiliated when I impersonate them.

Kaius: Argh, I am so badass and you shouldn't associate with me- I'M GOING TO KILL YOU, RYUU!!!!!! Okay, so this is your classroom. Don't get lost. Argh, you're so stupid. Wha-What!? I-I'm not hiding a bunch of kitties... Stay away from me or else I'll kill you. What? You're doing your homework wrong. Let me help you. Hey, you want to go to the arcade with me? No, I am not wearing those cat ears. Urgh, fine. Hey, why are you talking to those thugs- F BOMBS EVERYWHERE IMMA KILL THESE THUGS!!!!!!!!! Time for a nap. Oh look, another fight with Ryuu- why the hell did you push me off the roof?! I must run away, I must run away, I must run away! *sniff sniff* Don't come near me. I killed my mom. *sniff* Oh, a hug. Let's go home. Hey, let's abscond to town and adopt a kitty. Come into my room? You mean we're going to- oh, a kiss. Fine... I decided to drop out of Planets because I love you. Happy ending.

Ryuu: Oh hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii there~! Let's be delinquents together! Happy happy fun fun, mountains are pretty from far away. KIDNAP! Mountains are pretty from far away. Want to get sick in the rain with me? Whee~! Being a delinquent who has to repeat a year of high school is so much fun~! Aaahh... I am very sick. ... I am better now! Let's go swing! Ha, I beat you. Be my girl or else I'll be sad. *sniff* I am sad... I don't care that you almost got raped. Aha! Another duel with my sworn nemesis, Kaius! Oh noez, I'll save you- ARGH! I'm hurt. I-I don't have much time left. Kiss me. A-Are you leaving? O-Okay... I am back for you, my love. Nap time! Happy end.

Lucan: I am so pretty and sparkly, and I don't know what to do with my fangirls. Have some cake. Huh? Oh, let us escape from the fangirls- ARGH WHY ARE YOU ON TOP OF ME?! I-I'm sorry... Want some cake? Let's go for a walk in town, whee~! A-A date?! U-Um... Oh, you have ice cream on your hand. Let me get that for you *proceeds to lick hand like a creeper* O-Oh, I'm sorry! I must run away, I must run away, I must run away! I don't care that you almost got raped. Um... let's bake cake together! I.. have a dark secret that I've been hiding from you. I... have been brainwashing people into loving me because I am so unloved and sad. I-I'm so pathetic... Y-You love me? A-Ah... OH NOEZ THE COOKIES (I was confused when the cookies burned, because I was under the impression that they were making cake)!!! Um... please break up with me. I can't go to school- oh yay a kiss! Okay, laterz. ... Huh?! Why are you here? Oh well, let's make out. Happy end.

I probably missed a couple plot points, but you get the point. I found Lucan to be a bit disappointing, and he could have had more potential. I liked Ryuu the best, and even then I don't feel that emotionally attached to him. I feel like the game overall had much more potential, and I'd like to see an updated version of the game with more fanservice story. I am waiting for a sequel so make one already really want to see more from you, so keep at it!

[teacup]

Sigh. I'm having troubles (again) uploading the game... I don't even know why this time... seriously, I'm about to go into a violent rage. Those who aren't able to get Haruhi's ending, please be patient as I try to figure out what I'm doing wrong. =A= (Can I do anything right? Damn.)

@Renpao
Have fun

- To be honest with you, I had trouble getting through the first portion of the game. There weren't any choices at all, and I felt like I was playing a KN. At least one menu would have assured me that I was playing a VN, and programming a single menu isn't that hard.

The first part is just the introduction to the story and characters. No decisions you made during that part would effect the endings. I personally don't see the point of having choices just for the sake of choices, and I don't like to force a player into making decisions early on when they don't know anything about the characters/story.

- I like a bit of freedom when I play my games, especially when I play VNs. I played through the game 3 times now, and I only saw the imagemap twice during each playthrough. It was such a cute little imagemap too ;-; You could have extended gameplay time by making normal days where you pick a spot to eat and spend some time with whoever you meet up with. Spending time would increase how much each guy liked you, but it wouldn't activate an event.

Hm, I felt like it's a good length for a game that's basically slice of life. I don't think adding more events that are 'normal' and nothing happens would be an improvement. It would probably just seem like I was dragging the game on to make it longer at that point... I didn't want it to be epicly long or anything. (The final script was originally over 100k and I cut it down because I felt like it had too much padding)

I probably missed a couple plot points, but you get the point. I found Lucan to be a bit disappointing, and he could have had more potential. I liked Ryuu the best, and even then I don't feel that emotionally attached to him. I feel like the game overall had much more potential, and I'd like to see an updated version of the game with more fanservice story. I am waiting for a sequel so make one already really want to see more from you, so keep at it!

I don't get the point actually... this is critique or are you just making fun of it? >w>;

Well I'm 99.9% sure there won't be a sequel or update of this game. It's just a first game, after all... I want to learn from the mistakes so I can make a new game, not keep trying to fix this one. But I have another game in progress so you will be seeing more! Thanks for leaving your comments.

[Celestie]

...ahaha, no matter what others say, I find the game effin' cute; even if I STILLL haven't finished a path. Am currently on the Ryuu one AND GODDAMNIT IS HE CUTE~

Also, I like you so much for making Marin a character I can like

because she actually tries to fight actively in the attempted rape scene and not go all WAAAH HELP ME, PLEASE DON'T *crycry* yadda yadda immediately...

Yay for tomboyish female leads~ I so hate how Japanese otome games like those weak and helpeless female archetypes.

There are two Haruhi CGs that look kinda odd. One would be teh one where he jumps Marin and is about to glomp her, Haruhi's posture looks unnatural. BUT, I wouldn't know how to do it better, so I am just pointing it out xDDD And teh otehr, where he proves he is male...the arms look odd, when he holds up his shirt. Really, eralyl odd, even for a chibified cg-ish image. Again, just pointing out~

Hm, hm, later I hopefully will finish my first playthrough. (I don't know what takes me that long. o_O)

[Rewritten Ennui]

- To be honest with you, I had trouble getting through the first portion of the game. There weren't any choices at all, and I felt like I was playing a KN. At least one menu would have assured me that I was playing a VN, and programming a single menu isn't that hard.

The first part is just the introduction to the story and characters. No decisions you made during that part would effect the endings. I personally don't see the point of having choices just for the sake of choices, and I don't like to force a player into making decisions early on when they don't know anything about the characters/story.

You could have put in a flag that could either activate or deactivate Haru's path. Something like "Thanks for being so good to me" could make Haru's path available, while something like "We'll always be friends" would automatically make Haru unavailable. Dunno, just throwing out ideas

- I like a bit of freedom when I play my games, especially when I play VNs. I played through the game 3 times now, and I only saw the imagemap twice during each playthrough. It was such a cute little imagemap too ;-; You could have extended gameplay time by making normal days where you pick a spot to eat and spend some time with whoever you meet up with. Spending time would increase how much each guy liked you, but it wouldn't activate an event.

Hm, I felt like it's a good length for a game that's basically slice of life. I don't think adding more events that are 'normal' and nothing happens would be an improvement. It would probably just seem like I was dragging the game on to make it longer at that point... I didn't want it to be epicly long or anything. (The final script was originally over 100k and I cut it down because I felt like it had too much padding)

Now see, slice of life means exactly that: a slice of life. Life isn't always a party, and most of the time life is kinda boring. I'm not saying that all slice of life games should have useless filler, but I didn't feel like Marin was actual student at Planets. She was just there to be with pretty boys. Kaius' tour sucked so I hardly knew the layout of Planets, and the player was locked into one path after the second day of lunch. You could have used the imagemap at least five times to give the player a sense of each guys' personality and let them choose before they were locked to a path. This irked me a little on my first playthrough because I wanted to be with Kaius, but I accidentally stumbled into Ryuu at the roof on the second day. After that, things snowballed and I couldn't get back with Kaius. I-I really wanted to be with Kaius first, okay? ;A; Ryuu-kun isn't a bad guy, but I wanted to know Kaius-kun too! I felt like I was forced to be with someone else...

I probably missed a couple plot points, but you get the point. I found Lucan to be a bit disappointing, and he could have had more potential. I liked Ryuu the best, and even then I don't feel that emotionally attached to him. I feel like the game overall had much more potential, and I'd like to see an updated version of the game with more fanservice story. I am waiting for a sequel so make one already really want to see more from you, so keep at it!

I don't get the point actually... this is critique or are you just making fun of it? >w>;

D: I didn't mean it as an offense to you, but more of a little "Haha, that's kinda true about them" sort of thing. They're all okay guys, but the whole time I was playing I never got the feeling of being really attached to one of them. Usually it happens with at least one character in a story/game/show, but not here. It's a strange feeling :c Maybe I'm just too apathetic these days...

[teacup]

Finally... the new version is up on the first page. If you have an error getting Haruhi's route, please redownload!

...ahaha, no matter what others say, I find the game effin' cute; even if I STILLL haven't finished a path. Am currently on the Ryuu one AND GODDAMNIT IS HE CUTE~

Also, I like you so much for making Marin a character I can like

because she actually tries to fight actively in the attempted rape scene and not go all WAAAH HELP ME, PLEASE DON'T *crycry* yadda yadda immediately...

Yay for tomboyish female leads~ I so hate how Japanese otome games like those weak and helpeless female archetypes.

@Celestie
Thank you! XD
Haha, I know what you mean. Although Marin does need help a few times I didn't want her to be like most heroines who are like a total damsel in distress.

You could have put in a flag that could either activate or deactivate Haru's path. Something like "Thanks for being so good to me" could make Haru's path available, while something like "We'll always be friends" would automatically make Haru unavailable. Dunno, just throwing out ideas

Well, this is just my preference, but I hate when one of the very first choices I make in a game automatically knocks out an ending, since I typically don't know which ending I'm going for especially when I just start the game. So if I were a player trying to get Haruhi and couldn't get his ending, only to find out it was the very first decision I made that ruined my chances, I'd be annoyed.

Now see, slice of life means exactly that: a slice of life. Life isn't always a party, and most of the time life is kinda boring. I'm not saying that all slice of life games should have useless filler, but I didn't feel like Marin was actual student at Planets. She was just there to be with pretty boys. Kaius' tour sucked so I hardly knew the layout of Planets, and the player was locked into one path after the second day of lunch. You could have used the imagemap at least five times to give the player a sense of each guys' personality and let them choose before they were locked to a path. This irked me a little on my first playthrough because I wanted to be with Kaius, but I accidentally stumbled into Ryuu at the roof on the second day. After that, things snowballed and I couldn't get back with Kaius. I-I really wanted to be with Kaius first, okay? ;A; Ryuu-kun isn't a bad guy, but I wanted to know Kaius-kun too! I felt like I was forced to be with someone else...

Hmm, I guess this is just a difference of opinions... I see what you're saying, but I honestly feel like if I had made the game that much longer, people would complain about it being too draggy. So it's kind of like no matter what I do, people will complain. I just personally feel that having the imagemap seven or more times would get repetitive and boring.I understand that 'life' is sometimes repetitive and boring, but this is a game. A slice of life game, yes, but still... to me, the purpose of a slice of life game isn't to replicate life so much that it becomes mundane.
And I just want to add, I know most otome games are like 20 hours long but those are usually commercial and made by multiple people, lol. It's kinda like you're expecting me to make a commercial-size game for free which is just asking too much. As one person I don't have it in me to come up with so many events, stories, ect. I honestly would have died a long time ago or never even finished if I tried to make this the length of a commercial game. Especially since this is just my hobby. Although I do get what you're saying about being locked onto a guy's path too soon.

I probably missed a couple plot points, but you get the point. I found Lucan to be a bit disappointing, and he could have had more potential. I liked Ryuu the best, and even then I don't feel that emotionally attached to him. I feel like the game overall had much more potential, and I'd like to see an updated version of the game with more fanservice story. I am waiting for a sequel so make one already really want to see more from you, so keep at it!

I don't get the point actually... this is critique or are you just making fun of it? >w>;

D: I didn't mean it as an offense to you, but more of a little "Haha, that's kinda true about them" sort of thing. They're all okay guys, but the whole time I was playing I never got the feeling of being really attached to one of them. Usually it happens with at least one character in a story/game/show, but not here. It's a strange feeling :c Maybe I'm just too apathetic these days...

Ah, I wasn't offended! I was just a little bit confused cause I really couldn't tell if you liked it or not so I wasn't sure how I should react. Sorry if I seemed defensive. I really do appreciate your feedback, it's helpful

[icebluehost]

Hi I'm playing the game too XD I already finished Lucan's path and am now trying to go for Ryuu's path. So far it's a really good game, with a nice and easy storyline to follow. Though I can't help but see many similarities of your characters to the characters in Starry Sky Spring. It's not that I don't like those types of characters, but even their appearances have similarities. I hope I'm not offending you or anything, but I would take note of that when making new characters or a new story/game.

Also, I don't know if this bug has been mentioned or not, but since I mentioned that I took Lucan's path first, I witnessed events from his story first. Now, while taking Ryuu's path...

I was at the part where Marin came to a classroom and saw Ryuu in detention. After that scene I would be at my room and it would be the end of the day. The problem is, she speaks of events that happened with Lucan (the fangirls chasing them part) and not with Ryuu.

That's all really. Overall the game's really good and fun to play! XD

[RemnantDream]

So, after playing through and getting all the endings, I decided to go through it again and ended up on Kaius's paths. When It came time to name the kitty, I was too lazy to come up with something, so I hit random buttons and it came out as "ASJdnfjknskfv"

Flash forward to the bedroom.. 8D

This suddenly pops up.

And I was like "MARIN, YOU SPAZ- ohwait, cat.."

Aaand, to give my opinion, because I honestly can't remember if I did or not.

I loved it. It was extremely fluffy and sweet. Kaius is my favorite, just like I thought he'd be. I though he stayed the most true to his character. You are a great writer and artist and I look forward to what you come up with next.

Like everyone else said, there were bugs and typos and such. Most that I noticed have been mentioned so I won't list them here.

Overall, this was a really good game and I love playing it ^_^

[Riviera]

Sorry, but there are still two bugs in the new version.

Ryuu's second CG never shows up in the gallery (at least it never has for me), and Marin still changes from school uniform to casual clothes for certain expressions late in Ryuu's route.

Specifically:

(standing outside the dorms with Ryuu, right before Rio-sensei catches them)

Ryuu: Do you prefer somewhere private?
Marin: N-no! That isn't what I meant! (school outfit)
Marin: Honestly... (switches to casual outfit)
Ryuu: Well if you're not coming with me, I guess this is where I say goodnight, huh?
Ryuu: Do I get a goodnight kiss?
Marin: Okay, come here. (casual clothes again)

I also noticed that when CGs have multiple expressions, like

when Ryuu is lying in the hospital bed, or when Marin hugged Kaius in the woods

you can only see one version of it in the gallery. Was this intentional?

I actually never had any problem with Haruhi's route, and he's.. very cute near the end there, I must say.

My kitten will always be named Kyo, there is simply no other path available for me.

[teacup]

@icebluehost
Yeah, the similarities weren't intentional as I mentioned earlier in this thread. Considering many parts of this game were done before Starry Sky was even translated. Although I acknowledge there are similarities, sigh.

Also, I don't know if this bug has been mentioned or not, but since I mentioned that I took Lucan's path first, I witnessed events from his story first. Now, while taking Ryuu's path...

I was at the part where Marin came to a classroom and saw Ryuu in detention. After that scene I would be at my room and it would be the end of the day. The problem is, she speaks of events that happened with Lucan (the fangirls chasing them part) and not with Ryuu.

Hm... I'm not really sure what you mean. That's the first time I've heard anything like that...

Thank you for playing and i'm glad you liked it!

@RemnantDream

XDD I saw the image before I read your post, and thought that I accidentally typed that in the script... Well that's probably the most random name I've seen so far for the cat. XD
Thank you very much!!! I'm glad you liked it!

@Riviera
You have to have lunch with Ryuu the 2nd time on the roof and teasingly wake him up. Since that's the 'right' decision to make, that's how you get the CG added to your gallery. If you choose to watch him sleep, you won't get it.

I also noticed that when CGs have multiple expressions, like

when Ryuu is lying in the hospital bed, or when Marin hugged Kaius in the woods

you can only see one version of it in the gallery. Was this intentional?

It wasn't intentional exactly, that's more because of my programming incompetence... I don't know how to show the multiple expressions or if that is even possible to do since I'm using the old gallery code instead of the new one. I couldn't figure out the new code for the life of me.

I actually never had any problem with Haruhi's route, and he's.. very cute near the end there, I must say.

It was still possible to get Haru's end in the first version I uploaded. In the second version I accidentally deleted a part in the code so it was impossible to get his ending at all, you'd get Lucan's instead ^^;

My kitten will always be named Kyo, there is simply no other path available for me.

Lol XD

[Riviera]

You have to have lunch with Ryuu the 2nd time on the roof and teasingly wake him up. Since that's the 'right' decision to make, that's how you get the CG added to your gallery. If you choose to watch him sleep, you won't get it.

.... Wow do I feel retarded right now. *duncecap*

It wasn't intentional exactly, that's more because of my programming incompetence... I don't know how to show the multiple expressions or if that is even possible to do since I'm using the old gallery code instead of the new one. I couldn't figure out the new code for the life of me.

Sure wish I knew the solution to that, but any help from me would be like asking a blind person how to paint. Umm.. maybe someone skilled in code-fu will be able to figure this out. ^_^;;

Ummm. Jack from winter wolves has done some insane things with renpy, he would probably know what to do. If he ever pokes his head in here.

[icebluehost]

@Teacup: Let me try to explain the bug...>.< Because I was done with the game, I already deleted it so I can't use screenshots or images to show you how.

At some point in the game, after some interaction with the guy you like (whether it was Lucan, Ryuu or Kaius) no matter which route or person you're pursuing, Marin would recall some scene with the fangirls and your roommate at the cafeteria. When this happened while I was pursuing Lucan it was okay since I assumed that was what should've happened. But when I was at Ryuu's or Kaius' path the same thing was said. (even though they weren't at the cafeteria in the scene before)