✶Starlight Dreamers(2017)✶[DatingSim,StatRaising,Otome,GXB]

[AsHLeX]

Announcement
Starlight Dreamers is now available on Google Play here:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/dev? ... 9197431597

To everyone who has already downloaded the game, I have uploaded a new version "Starlight-Dreamers-v1.1-all.zip" in the download link that has been bug-proofed (at least there shouldn't be any major bugs that will hinder you from getting any endings) and corrected of some typos and image location errors. As an apology, I have also included a new Guide that should be able to help you achieve 100% for Nori, Masao, Masao & Ren [and Unknown's ending] in one playthrough.

*Some random ranting, feel free to skip this part*
After so many years, the long-awaited (nah, the only person who was awaiting it was me lol) remake of 2014's Starlight Dreamers has arrived in the form of a dating sim, with a whooping word count of 89,142 words (my most yet)!! Not only that, it spans an entire year (well, 9 months to be exact, but that's close enough) and you have 4 different stats to raise, more than 10 different characters (but only 2 have proper endings - although there are different variants, with one secret character), 9 different jobs to choose from, character birthdays - including your own, a track team to join - with competitions on every first Saturday of the month(!), a student council to join, examinations to pass, classes to skip and you can go on dates with your favorite characters! And you also have to make sure that your secret doesn't get out. Sounds like you're in for a hectic year, doesn't it? With so many characters (well, not really, I guess?) to romance, a different bunch of things that you can buy with your money (that increases your stats... or does it?) and a bunch of character-specific events to unlock, Starlight Dreamers (Himeji Gakuen) is the brainchild of many many years of experience (that I gained over the years since my first time making the 2014 version - which was my first game) and many, many, many hours of hard work put in. I honestly think that it's a good way to wrap up my visual novel career - starting with Starlight Dreamers in 2014 and ending with Starlight Dreamers in 2017, and on New Year's Day too (well, I finished it on New Years), no less! Enough ranting, let's get on with the juicy parts!!

Summary
Starlight Dreamers is about a girl named Matsui Hiro. She has a really terrible relationship with her mother ever since she was young. Her father left her and her mother when she was really small – too small for her to even remember what he was like. He ended up remarrying, and his new wife didn’t like Hiro. After their divorce, Hiro’s custody went to her mother, although her mother was unwilling to take her. Their relationship grew strained and eventually, Hiro, tired of it all, decided to plan her escape, once she had finished junior high school. The only catch was that the only senior high school that fulfilled all her requirements as a runaway child was Himeji Gakuen, an all-boys boarding school. Desperate to escape, she dressed up as a boy, and her days at Himeji Gakuen began.

Characters!!~✶





















✶~SCREENSHOTS~✶

GIVEAWAY~✶! [CLOSED]

Thank you everyone for participating!
Because I'd love to hear your feedback, the first 5 people who leaves a comment here on your thoughts about the game and which character you liked the most (or which is your favourite based on first impressions), will get a personalized email from a character of your choice (excluding Hiro, because... well, that would be kind of weird.) If you'd like to join this giveaway, just state that you would like to do so in the comments and PM me with
(1) a name that you would like to be addressed by
(2) who you would like to receive it from
(3) your email address
(4) optional: your gender/some information about yourself
I'm looking forward to any sort of responses!!

Trigger Warnings:

There are mentions about divorce in the family various times throughout the game.
Nori's route is filled with elements such as depression, suicide, insanity and mental illnesses.

(There's some mild profanity in there, and a little bit of descriptive violence, but no nudity or anything of that sort.)

✶~DOWNLOAD LINKS~✶

The Game (all.zip)
MEGA: https://mega.nz/#!ggFRyIQI!35PLamffVPYp ... tDqK8XpQjk
Dropbox: https://www.dropbox.com/s/hk0alko7e0mqb ... l.zip?dl=0
Google Drive: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B17Fg ... VlVUElXdW8
Updated Walkthrough & Detailed Guide (I would recommend downloading them, google drive messes up my fonts)
Updated Walkthrough: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B17Fg ... nB3UWx6ems
Detailed Guide: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B17Fg ... Hh6U2JSODQ
Bonus Stuff
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/ ... sp=sharing

Random Cameo's + Extra Information

1. The reference to the Dewey Decimal Classification System was made because I used to be a librarian in the past and I was pretty hyped up to be able to find something to use it for.
2. Nine Rigin is actually a reference to “9rigin”, the programmer for the Starlight Dreamers 2014 version and also one of my close friends who actually got me started in the visual novel making world. “Taken’s Killer” is also a reference to the same person, Taken being another one of his nicknames.
3. The names that Kouta lists are actually references to different types of learning styles, I think. I actually had to google that.
4. “If I don’t have a reason for living, it’s worse than not being born at all.” When you use Akio’s command 30 times. That quote is actually heavily inspired by Haku from Naruto. He’s my favourite character in Naruto.
5. Hiro’s birthday – 6th December is actually a reference to my real birthdate.
6. “Inaba’s Rise to Fame: The True Story” is actually a reference to “InabaYap”, one of my close friends who has been following me since the very beginning of my visual novel making journey and has given me a lot of support so far, helping me to beta-test all of my games.
7. The aquarium in Shinagawa that Masao and Ren takes Hiro to during her birthday is actually an aquarium that exists in real life.
8. Akio actually gets a quick cameo in “Never Ending Plains”, a song in the karaoke.

Please do let me know if you're unhappy with how I credited you or if I made an error in the credits or if you'd like to change how your name appears in the credits. I tried my best to follow whatever was specified in the Terms of Use, but if there's an error, I'll gladly correct it.

Please do leave a comment here on what you think of it! Due to budgeting costs and the like, I ended up using sprites from Tokudaya (because I wanted the artwork to have a similar style), and there are no CG's, but I do hope that you give this game a try because it would really, really mean a lot to me.

[Zara]

Downloading right away and playing as soon as I get chance!

Loving the art and design of the game first off. The characters look great. Really excited to play a game that looks so well-crafted!

At first glance, I'd say that I prefer the appearance of Masao, but at the same time, I'm intrigued to learn of this "dark and deadly secret" that Nori is hiding. So I'll have to play both and see which I prefer Might be close.

Shame Yuito isn't dateable, I love me a tsundere hahah.
But first impressions of the game and characters are so far so good! Great really. Love how there's so much variation in choice of things to take part in and do, as well as the realistic aspect of having to balance exams, extra-curricular activities, jobs, competitions, dating... building skills and basically emulating the hectic-ness that is growing up, overall seems to be really well made.

Congratulations on the release!

[Bianchii]

Congratulations on the release! Downloading the game~ as for the email from the characters, I recommend you ask for the person's email through PM because I've heard sometimes bots get emails from forum posts and comments and stuff like that so they can send spam/viruses, dunno if it's the case with lemmasoft but I've heard it happens in other places, so just in case xD I haven't started the game yet though its a bummer that everyone is so good looking but only 2 are really dateable XD I'd like to receive an email but since I don't know them yet, I'll decide later XD I'll leave a review once I've actually played the game.

Congrats again!

(also that's really cute, you created a game just so it could have a character that's based on someone you know irl, did you like him romantically? *-* i love love stories i have to know!!!!)

[Zara]

Played some of the game! Great so far, however, later on in the game (like around 2015), just before going to class, a screen appears saying 'An exception has occurred'. If I ignore it, then the game will carry on as normal, but the screen will appear each morning before going to classes.

Also, do you have any tips on getting a job/ having special events with characters at all? It'd be really helpful if possible

Can confirm, Masao is my fave! He's sweet without over doing it. Love that he's smart but so laid back.

[AsHLeX]

At first glance, I'd say that I prefer the appearance of Masao, but at the same time, I'm intrigued to learn of this "dark and deadly secret" that Nori is hiding. So I'll have to play both and see which I prefer Might be close.

Hint:

His route involves various aspects of insanity and to some extent, psychiatric illnesses. He is the only character that has a bad end specific for his route (with 2 major variants and a couple of minor variants on how you can achieve it).

My thoughts about his character (riddled with spoilers, so I highly recommend reading this after you finish his route):

Nori's character was heavily inspired by my melancholy thoughts about the world when I was in dark times, so his route is filled with dark philosophical elements like how the world is filled with hypocrites, how everyone always puts on a mask to blend in and if life is so painful, then is it really worth living? Why not end it? His route is slightly based on my journey as I fell into a low point in my life (if you're interested in how I was feeling then, please check out a short personal kinetic novel that I wrote when I was in my darkest point; To Fly, written to raise awareness on mental illnesses, link: viewtopic.php?f=11&t=40488). His ending is quite open-ended, with a hopeful note, to try and make it as realistic as possible because his situation isn't one that he can just magically recover overnight because of some special words from a friend. No, when you fall into as deep a darkness as him, it's an ongoing process, a continuous battle that is made bearable by the support of those around you. It's a slow process of living in constant fear of yourself, of slowly learning to love yourself and accept yourself. When Nori desperately tried to call out to Hiro in the park, that was when he was at his lowest. Hiro put the seed of doubt in him when she talked to him at the beach, (Nori-senpai is Nori-senpai), reaching out to the little part of him that had still hope, the part of him that was crying out for help. If you picked the other option, then Nori had his mind fixed on his choice by the time he talked to you at the park and has already fully given up on living.

Shame Yuito isn't dateable, I love me a tsundere hahah.

He does have a couple of Yuito-specific events, which are remnants of what was supposed to be his complete route. (They're not many though, sadly.) If you're really interested in how he was originally supposed to be during development and a couple of scenarios, feel free to check out this link https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/ ... sp=sharing

But first impressions of the game and characters are so far so good! Great really. Love how there's so much variation in choice of things to take part in and do, as well as the realistic aspect of having to balance exams, extra-curricular activities, jobs, competitions, dating... building skills and basically emulating the hectic-ness that is growing up, overall seems to be really well made.

Thank you I'm really glad that you think so. I just hope I don't disappoint

Great so far, however, later on in the game (like around 2015), just before going to class, a screen appears saying 'An exception has occurred'. If I ignore it, then the game will carry on as normal, but the screen will appear each morning before going to classes.

If it's possible, do you mind providing a screenshot of it? Also, did it first start occurring on the 3rd day (in-game) or the first time that you went to class? Does it only occur when you choose to go to class in the morning or does it happen before you pick anything in the morning?
Sorry for the large number of questions ^_^" I'll try to replicate the error so that I can fix it.

Also, do you have any tips on getting a job/ having special events with characters at all? It'd be really helpful if possible

Jobs run on a monthly basis. If you want to get a job, then go to town on the first Saturday of the month. This coincides with the track team's monthly competition, so you can only pick one. (You can quit the track team once you join - just go to any of their practices and say that you want to quit.)
Jobs are divided into 3 ranks; high-ranking, middle-ranking and no-ranking, based on the stats required to activate them. Higher ranking jobs have higher pay and less stress.
The only job available by default is as a Game Tester Every other job is specific to a certain stat e.g. if your Social is high enough, you can become a model.

As for specific events with characters, I'll try to write up a quick walkthrough if you'd like If you don't want to wait, I didn't archive the script files so feel free to open them ^_^

Can confirm, Masao is my fave! He's sweet without over doing it. Love that he's smart but so laid back.

Haha, Masao's a pretty cool dude.

If you join the student council, you can see how exactly he's been 'pulling the strings'.

By the way, do you mind PM'ing me with your email and your name that you'd like to be addressed by? Also, was it Masao or Nori? ^_^" Or would you like to confirm later?

as for the email from the characters, I recommend you ask for the person's email through PM because I've heard sometimes bots get emails from forum posts and comments and stuff like that so they can send spam/viruses, dunno if it's the case with lemmasoft but I've heard it happens in other places, so just in case xD

Okay! Thanks for the heads up

I'd like to receive an email but since I don't know them yet, I'll decide later XD I'll leave a review once I've actually played the game.

Sure, no worries Just send me a PM when you're up for it And thanks ^_^ I'm really happy that you're taking interest in the game.

(also that's really cute, you created a game just so it could have a character that's based on someone you know irl, did you like him romantically? *-* i love love stories i have to know!!!!)

Haha. Nah, he was just a friend that I haven't seen since my last day of college. When I met him, I was really into dating sims at that time, so I just felt like 'he was like a character in a dating sim', and instinctively felt like I had to make one with him in it. ^_^

[Snakeysnake]

Congratulations on release! I would like to say that the art looks AMAZING. I'll play the game as soon as I have the chance.

I would like to join the giveaway! My favorite character is the bookstore manager and I would LOVE to get an email from him.
My name is Andrea btw

[AsHLeX]

Thanks ^_^ I'm really happy to hear you say that (although I feel like I shouldn't be taking any credit for the art, they're all taking from CC/public domain sources). I hope that you like the game
Haha. I never would have thought that anyone would pick the bookstore manager out of all the characters.
You should receive an email from him shortly

[AsHLeX]

Walkthrough can be found here
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B17Fg ... Xd3LUtacFU
Zara, I apologize for the trouble...
I have changed some things e.g. made some endings easier to get, lowered the stat requirements and fixed a few bugs, although, try as I might, I couldn't get the error that you found. :/
If it pops up again or if anyone else gets the an error, please let me know
For anyone who has already downloaded the game, I would recommend replacing all rpy and rpyc files in the game folder e.g. scripy.rpy
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/ ... sp=sharing The files can be found here. If possible, it would be best if you could start a new game too to eliminate any remaining bugs (although that's probably not necessary if you don't want to. I didn't add any new variables, so old saves should still work fine).
I have also changed the link to a new one already with the updated files ^_^

[Zara]

Omg no need to apologise!

And funnily enough the error just disappeared. It would only happen before going to classes and appeared on the 3rd day not initially. But it's just stopped, which is good!

Ah thank you so much for the guidance and such a detailed and insightful response to my earlier posts And the other things you've done, it's really helped

I will pm you my email after playing through both routes Want to experience the whole game you've worked so hard on!

[AsHLeX]

That's good ^_^ I hope the error is nothing serious.
Thank you so much for your support!! It really means a lot to me.
If you need any help in achieving a specific characters ending, feel free to ask. I tried to decrease the stats needed to unlock some character endings to make it feasible to achieve

[Ladythief1997]

First impressions. I'd say Ren is still supremely awesome. When did he get so smart to be in an all boys elite highschool. And I like masao too but I really wish Yuito was a dateable character or himeko-sensei especially from the first game T-T. I want to say your skill has seriously improved in renpy since the first game and wow has masao's appearance changed. He had blonde hair and was short before and really on school right? All in all I think my fave character shall remain to be my unattainable sensei v.v but oh well. I love it you've done really good on this. Do you mind letting me know of your other games so I can play? If they're anything like this I'm sure to enjoy them.

Edit: changed my mind yuito is my bae.also how do I encounter Nori I've upped all my stats and still have yet to encounter him I'm in no th November as of currently and would really like to get to know him or even see him for that matter

[AsHLeX]

Would you like an email from Yuito, then? ^_^
Haha, Ren's kind of average in terms of classes, though.

That's why if you ever ask him for help with any subjects he'll redirect you to Masao. He's also a really bad influence on Masao in terms of skipping classes - you learn a little bit about it in Masao's route.

By the way, if you want to learn more about Masao, when on Masao's route, it's best if you join the student council and activate the scene where the previous student council president makes a speech.
Haha. Sorry about the both of them not being dateable characters - Yuito was supposed to be a dateable character from the start, but somehow I ended up deciding that it would take too much time. He does appear in random events when you skip school and go to town, celebrates your birthday, has his own library command and a bunch of other stuff, though. Sadly, that's not the case for Himeko-sensei though! Q~Q
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B17Fgo ... tacFU/view
Walkthrough's here, if it helps
Thank you very much for your compliments! I am extremely happy that you have seen my first game
By the way, Masao's hair was green ^^", but yeah he was pretty short before haha. I guess his personality might have changed a little bit, although he's definitely not like your tsundere Yuito

By the way, if you fall sick and get your gender discovered, and haven't raised any affection with Masao, he's pretty cold to you.

Link of the original game in case anyone was curious:
viewtopic.php?f=11&t=26715&p=324786#p324786
If you want to meet Nori, you'll need to join the student council. It occurs on 1st June and your status has to be as follows; Intelligence 31, Art 26, Fitness 26, Social 21, Skip school less than 5 times, Examination results A+/A. To pass the internal student council exam, your Intelligence has to be higher than 40.
(I listed a few stuff in the walkthrough, so maybe that could help? ^_^)
:O Sorry that you played until November and couldn't get a character route - if you want, you could play it until the end just to see how the default ending looks like ^_^" Game ends on December 26th - Boxing Day.

Thank you so much for taking interest in my games. ^_^ Getting interested in my other games is one of the highest praise that I can ever hope to get, so it really means a lot to me. This is the first dating sim that I've ever made though, and my other games are a little different I guess, since I like to dabble in different genres. But if you're interested, I'll list them here ^_^, so feel free to check them out. I'd be very happy if you do so ^_^

On a side note, maximum values for the stats are as follows:
Intelligence/Social: 500
Fitness/Art: 400
Stress: 100
Character Affection Points: 100

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Mysterious Melody
Meet Ryla, a girl who is in love with the world of music and wishes to go to the Alexander Academy For Gifted Musicians but ends up stuck in a local school against her wishes, due to her father refusing to let his beloved daughter study away from home.
Meet Scarlett, the president of the music club who is a little eccentric and creepy at times. Plus she has a brother complex that can cause her to become a borderline lunatic.
Meet Melody, a mysterious boy whom Ryla found one day in the piano room. His past is unknown and so is his age. Just who is Melody? Is he just a hardcore delinquent? Or is there more to the story.
You play as Ryla in your quest for romance and to find out the truth in the greatest adventure of all. Will your achieve your dreams? Or will your be carried away by the current that is fate.
Your life is in your hands - shape it into a future that will become yours.
viewtopic.php?f=11&t=36411

Town of Memories

I can bring back the dead,
Yet at the same time a price must be paid,
Sorrow will fill your hearts together with joy,
I may last for only a moment,
But yet am treasured forever.
What am I?

What happens when you wake up alone in an unknown place where everyone around you seems like shadows - they're there, but not really there?
(Think the spirits in spirited away movie) You don't know what you're doing here, you don't have any memories either - heck, you don't even know your own name. Trying to escape, you run into a girl who is the self-proclaimed "keeper" of the town - what does that even mean, anyway? She claims that you need to undergo a series of tests to regain your memory and leave that place, but doesn't tell you anything more. Left with no choice, you have to go through a series of riddles and puzzles to regain your memory. Whether you leave that place or not depends on how well you do. Be careful! You don't want to irritate the keeper too much - like running away from her. Who knows what she might do to you, no?
viewtopic.php?f=11&t=33385

~Short Stories that have little or no branching~
Marked

In a world down deep below,
A world made of nothing but stone alone,
Lie prisoners hidden from the land above,
Whose suffering fall on deaf ears.

The story takes place sometime during world war II in an underground prison set in stone. You follow the story of Lexi, a prisoner born in confinement due to her mother being a prisoner during her time of birth.
viewtopic.php?f=11&t=28213

To Fly
A semi-fantasy, semi-true story about one girl's experience with depression, cutting and suicide. It's a mixture of fictional elements with some true occurrences mixed in. It's a really short story, and I wrote it to serve as a sort of recognition to people everywhere who are suffering from mental illnesses. It basically tries to let you see the world from one girl's point of view, through the monochrome glasses of depression.
viewtopic.php?f=11&t=40488

The Change A really optimistic story, different from my usual dark works.
Zack is the classic example of a person who dislikes communication. His life changes when a new girl from the countryside transfers to his school. Suddenly, his normal routine of a peaceful walk home from school is invaded with prying questions and unwanted attention of his life. Will his outlook on life change when he meets the bubbly, idealistic Bell?
A short story about life and humanity.
viewtopic.php?f=11&t=31370

Him From The Past
This is a story about a little girl from a conservative society in which girls and guys are separated once they grow up. It's a simple story about growing up and friendship. It's about how things change when you get older and a young girl's perspective on it. A story about two friends who were forced apart for many years despite being neighbors and how despite one's best efforts, the norm and the culture is too hard to go against. A simple story about being together with someone who you care about - without caring about labels like "love" or "just friends". And a story about letting go. It's a story of a girl and a boy from two different cultural backgrounds.
viewtopic.php?f=11&t=33088

A Forgotten Memory
A short story about growing up, told from the perspective of a young girl's "imaginary friend". It's a story that I finished in one night. I got inspired to write it in the library of my college when I was studying for my A Levels exams.
viewtopic.php?f=11&t=28819

[Ran08]

I have a feeling I already played (or at the very least, saw) the original Starlight Dreamers... but I'm not sure. Anyway, this seems like a lot of fun! I miss playing stat-raisers. Thank you for this!

Why is the file so huge, though? Waaah, the internet isn't too good in my area... oh well...

[AsHLeX]

Thank you Ran08! It means a lot to me!
:'( I'm so sorry to hear that! I'm really terrible at condensing files!
Is there anything that I can do so that it makes it easier for you?

[AsHLeX]

Update!! I apologize for the long wait, the new files are up and running! As an apology, I have included a 100% completion guide for Masao, Masao & Ren, Nori and (Unknown, although not really 100%) in the Download links.
I will now start sending out emails to the people who PM'ed me Thank you for your patience!