Valentines otome [GxB][VN][Romance Dating Sim]Walkthrough guide now available

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Corynth
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Re: Valentines otome [GxB][VN][Romance Dating Sim]Walkthrough guide now available

#31 Post by Corynth »

vana wrote: Sun Feb 18, 2018 5:20 am
  • In the Truth Revealed ending,
    I'm not happy with the way the Maddie situation was resolved. Stalking is not cool. Knocking someone out is not cool. Trashing a small business is not cool. Trying to kill someone is definitely not cool. Love does not solve all problems. Blaming it on mental illness is problematic, to put it lightly.
Regarding this point specifically, it's not quite that black and white.
Neither Mira nor Zane are happy about Maddie getting off lightly. Mira allows it because someone who she considers family is practically begging her to. Zane allows it because Mira asks him to. Wanting to get Maddie help and asking that this not be made a big deal of? That's all Ailean.

As for Maddie herself, she's less someone who has been living with mental illness and more someone who snapped under a very specific set of circumstances. We might not have been very clear with this, and for that I apologise, but from her point of view it went something like this:
  • She considered herself the type of plain girl no guy looked at
  • Experienced older guy (Zane) took an interest in and slept with her at a party she snuck into while still in high school
  • She started to see Zane as this ideal guy because of the boost he'd given to her self-esteem
  • She continued to think of that time fondly but soon realised none of the boys her age could compare to that first time
  • She moved on. Or tried to.
  • She got a job under a woman she looked up to (Mira)
  • She found out the woman she looked up to and her ideal man had gotten married
  • She was genuinely happy for them because they were both amazing people in her eyes and that made them well suited to each other
  • Then Jeff enters and her faith in Mira is shaken
  • It's Jeff's words that cause Maddie to think that Mira doesn't love Zane and is just using him
  • She feels irrationally betrayed by finding out that the woman she looked up to might not be as perfect as she thought
  • She tries to give Mira the benefit of the doubt but then she sees Mira talk to Jeff followed by Jeff getting food for two. This is when she gives in to an impulse to "punish" them by adding hot sauce. She convinces herself that it's just a prank and that they deserve it for hurting someone as amazing as Zane.
  • Only the more she sees things going well for Mira the more annoyed she gets. Someone who wilfully hurts a person who loves them doesn't deserve to be happy.
  • Having convinced herself of that, she starts to get bolder. Mira doesn't deserve happiness, but most of all, Mira doesn't deserve Zane.
  • Then she starts to wonder - if Mira doesn't deserve Zane, who does? Who could give him the love he so clearly needs? Who could be trusted with his heart?
  • Then Zane comes to the store and tells her to "keep taking care of his wife" and she convinces herself that he not only knows what she's doing but is giving her permission to go even further
  • Clearly he understands what she's doing. He must also feel what she does. He's just pretending not to know her so Mira doesn't get suspicious. But he must know that she's going to save him from his cruel wife. Then they'll be happy together, just like those fairytales.
If Jeff had never sowed those first seeds of doubt, none of this would have happened.
That's also why there's no hint of any of this in the other love interest routes.
Without this specific chain of events, she remains a sweet girl, albeit one with a slight celebrity crush on Zane.
... That turned into a wall of text, but I hope it at least helps to explain what we were trying to convey.

Bic says that I tend to sound overly formal in replies, but that's not my intention.

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Re: Valentines otome [GxB][VN][Romance Dating Sim]Walkthrough guide now available

#32 Post by 15385bic »

vana wrote: Sun Feb 18, 2018 5:20 am [*]Would it kill you to have more variation in body shape and skin tone?
I draw only a few times a year >_> so I can't say I have the skills to draw much variation. Hence why the art isn't that great.
Skin tones are ranging whites, pinks, yellows. If it'd help - Reno is kinda Spanish ? So he'll be more of a brown.

I'm also going to assume you mean people leaning towards the larger weight range? Coz Reyd is a stick, Rayner has that bish teen type of body that still looks good when he cross dresses. As for the love interests it was more - "What is Mira's type?" The answer to that is tall and handsome. (Suits and glasses are a bonus) They just all happen to be incredibly fit too since Daire - instilled by his father, Kiron and Zane - those STAIRS. Ladies wise - erm...well besides chest size and height....Anabelle has the homely body type? ^^' (I'm sorry - I watch too much girly anime and am totally the type that wants to draw "pretty" OTL. So that thing called skill building? non existent becoz of my laziness and lack of time. I am only the default artist because its only corynth and I that make up synokoria. Okay Cory. Feel free to take over arting, lining and colouring duties 8D <-- but then she'd literally be making the whole game herself *whistles >.> <.< )
If Worth had a sprite -he'd be roly poly~ but no I don't really have time to draw that many side characters if they wont appear in future games (Actually -all those other side sprites? - drawn ages ago for another project ^^'. That’s why most of them are considered cameos)

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Re: Valentines otome [GxB][VN][Romance Dating Sim]Walkthrough guide now available

#33 Post by vana »

Corynth wrote: Sun Feb 18, 2018 7:14 am
vana wrote: Sun Feb 18, 2018 5:20 am
  • In the Truth Revealed ending,
    I'm not happy with the way the Maddie situation was resolved. Stalking is not cool. Knocking someone out is not cool. Trashing a small business is not cool. Trying to kill someone is definitely not cool. Love does not solve all problems. Blaming it on mental illness is problematic, to put it lightly.
Regarding this point specifically, it's not quite that black and white.
Neither Mira nor Zane are happy about Maddie getting off lightly. Mira allows it because someone who she considers family is practically begging her to. Zane allows it because Mira asks him to. Wanting to get Maddie help and asking that this not be made a big deal of? That's all Ailean.[/list]
Do you know how hurtful it is when family and friends you thought you could trust tell you not to make a big deal out of someone assaulting you? From what I can gather about Mira's personality, it doesn't seem like she'd just let Maddie off like that. I know I didn't, and I'm much more mild than Mira.
To clarify, I'm not mad, just mildly annoyed with a large dose of side-eye.

15385bic wrote: Sun Feb 18, 2018 7:48 am
vana wrote: Sun Feb 18, 2018 5:20 am [*]Would it kill you to have more variation in body shape and skin tone?
I draw only a few times a year >_> so I can't say I have the skills to draw much variation. Hence why the art isn't that great.
Skin tones are ranging whites, pinks, yellows. If it'd help - Reno is kinda Spanish ? So he'll be more of a brown.

I'm also going to assume you mean people leaning towards the larger weight range? Coz Reyd is a stick, Rayner has that bish teen type of body that still looks good when he cross dresses. As for the love interests it was more - "What is Mira's type?" The answer to that is tall and handsome. (Suits and glasses are a bonus) They just all happen to be incredibly fit too since Daire - instilled by his father, Kiron and Zane - those STAIRS. Ladies wise - erm...well besides chest size and height....Anabelle has the homely body type? ^^' (I'm sorry - I watch too much girly anime and am totally the type that wants to draw "pretty" OTL. So that thing called skill building? non existent becoz of my laziness and lack of time.
Your art isn't bad! I like it! And the style definitely works for the type of game. The proportions are a touch wonky now and then, but I think it's still good. But I'm going to argue that skin tone is a very, very easy fix. I'd like to also point out that I know people who've seriously done dance all their lives, wear clothes in the plus-sized range, and look fantastic. If you can differ boob sizes, I think you can differ stuff like shoulder width. But I'm not an artist, so take that with a grain of salt.

Wanting to draw "pretty" people is perfectly fine, but when the majority of otome makers try to convince me that "pretty" only comes in white and slim, well, I'm sure you can see where I'm going with this. BTW, what's a "homely" body type? Something other than slim? Because I'm going to challenge you to challenge that notion.


That being said, I think y'all did a awesome job on this game, and I mean that sincerely. The amount of quality story and character development is staggering for a two-person team and you should be proud of releasing an otome that's on par with many commercial ones.

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Re: Valentines otome [GxB][VN][Romance Dating Sim]Walkthrough guide now available

#34 Post by nekobara »

How does Mira make money every week? I want Mira to have enough money to be able to bid on Daire in his route, and I'm not sure working at the boutique or not buying drinks at the bar makes any difference. All I really noticed was stress, stress, and more stress. And no abominable ice-man for all the hard work she did.

According to the guide, Mira has to have saved over $70,000 in order to be able to bid on her husband. But even when she had a little over that, she still didn't have enough. So I'm guessing that she has to have around $80,000? I was lucky enough to get a little over $70k, though...

I've been at this for hours. I need help. I don't want Zane to have him. :(

Is there something I can do so that Mira will have enough money on the day of the auction?

Also, I'm sorry if everything seems a bit...jumbled. I'm bad at formulating questions.
*meow*

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Re: Valentines otome [GxB][VN][Romance Dating Sim]Walkthrough guide now available

#35 Post by Kirlett »

I think it would have been better if
Maddie told us her side of the story. Anyway, that part annoyed me too. She went too far (she stabbed someone!) and the other guy was like: poor girl, she just needs help *says while bleeding*. It reminded me of that meme from a show "Cool motive. Still murder". And the way the other guy (Ailean?) was talking about her... maybe he needs help too. That relationship could be toxic on so many levels and so quickly...
Also, @nekobara you can make money with Design I think, not working in the boutique. Try to do only design until you get more than 70.000 (but watch your stress levels)

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Re: Valentines otome [GxB][VN][Romance Dating Sim]Walkthrough guide now available

#36 Post by Corynth »

nekobara wrote: Sun Feb 18, 2018 4:18 pm How does Mira make money every week? I want Mira to have enough money to be able to bid on Daire in his route, and I'm not sure working at the boutique or not buying drinks at the bar makes any difference. All I really noticed was stress, stress, and more stress. And no abominable ice-man for all the hard work she did.

According to the guide, Mira has to have saved over $70,000 in order to be able to bid on her husband. But even when she had a little over that, she still didn't have enough. So I'm guessing that she has to have around $80,000? I was lucky enough to get a little over $70k, though...

I've been at this for hours. I need help. I don't want Zane to have him. :(

Is there something I can do so that Mira will have enough money on the day of the auction?

Also, I'm sorry if everything seems a bit...jumbled. I'm bad at formulating questions.
Design as much as possible. Inspired trait is a bonus. Always use your designs when going out. It helps. (Plus you spend money when you choose designer dresses)
Keep stress down. If you're struggling I recommend inspired trait with 2-3 days of bar and the rest as design. You can start swapping out the design the closer you get to the needed amount.
Kirlett wrote: Sun Feb 18, 2018 4:35 pm I think it would have been better if
Maddie told us her side of the story. Anyway, that part annoyed me too. She went too far (she stabbed someone!) and the other guy was like: poor girl, she just needs help *says while bleeding*. It reminded me of that meme from a show "Cool motive. Still murder". And the way the other guy (Ailean?) was talking about her... maybe he needs help too. That relationship could be toxic on so many levels and so quickly...
Also, @nekobara you can make money with Design I think, not working in the boutique. Try to do only design until you get more than 70.000 (but watch your stress levels)
vana wrote: Sun Feb 18, 2018 3:58 pm
Corynth wrote: Sun Feb 18, 2018 7:14 am
vana wrote: Sun Feb 18, 2018 5:20 am
  • In the Truth Revealed ending,
    I'm not happy with the way the Maddie situation was resolved. Stalking is not cool. Knocking someone out is not cool. Trashing a small business is not cool. Trying to kill someone is definitely not cool. Love does not solve all problems. Blaming it on mental illness is problematic, to put it lightly.
Regarding this point specifically, it's not quite that black and white.
Neither Mira nor Zane are happy about Maddie getting off lightly. Mira allows it because someone who she considers family is practically begging her to. Zane allows it because Mira asks him to. Wanting to get Maddie help and asking that this not be made a big deal of? That's all Ailean.[/list]
Do you know how hurtful it is when family and friends you thought you could trust tell you not to make a big deal out of someone assaulting you? From what I can gather about Mira's personality, it doesn't seem like she'd just let Maddie off like that. I know I didn't, and I'm much more mild than Mira.
To clarify, I'm not mad, just mildly annoyed with a large dose of side-eye.
Honestly speaking I don't disagree regarding Ailean and Maddie's possible relationship. It's not supposed to be a love conquers all situation.
None of the endings are perfectly happy the deeper you look into them. Spoilers for Daire and Kiron ends:
Kiron : The mastermind behind the kidnapping is never caught. Siyan has dropped out. Ceru is in a coma in hospital.
Daire: Sure one of the kidnappers is dead and the other gets thrown in jail, but it doesn't change the fact that Kaiser did a great deal of bad things in his pursuit of Kaye and intends to continue. The only reasons he helped are because he's not yet ready to take on Keeper Inc and because he was afraid Mira would turn into another version of him and kill him before he can get his revenge.
Mira is the sort of person who would willingly die for those she cares about and puts their problems ahead of hers (Points where this particularly stands out are Kiron's bad ends and Erik's getaway where Emma's problems literally push hers to the side). Healthy? No. Neither is Zane's "I'm the villain" mentality or Daire's "I must work myself to death so that I can fulfil my father's wishes" mentality.
Ailean has already shown willingness to die over Maddie and then to leave to take care of her. Ailean has already shown signs of being at least semi-dependant on Maddie and Mira is hesitant to remove part of Ailean's support system. Mira also agrees partly because she knows Ailean would literally have to die before allowing Maddie to such a thing again. Whereas if she was handed over to the authorities she'd be out again in a few months to a year. It's less a case of romantic partners and more a case of jailer and jailee.

Maddie never tells her side to Mira in-game because she's too far gone during the events of the end and afterwards Mira refuses any contact with her.
Even once she's better, Mira is still firmly of the "You tried to KILL me. I don't want to even see you near me." I did consider doing an extra with Maddie explaining her side but in the end it doesn't change Mira's opinion and it shouldn't.
At any rate, part of the not quite happy nature of the ends is to establish some very important facts regarding the world of this series going forward:
  • This is not a world with black and white morality. Good people do bad things. Bad people do good things. People make decisions based on their emotions, it's part of what makes people human.
  • The "villain" doesn't always get caught and innocent people can get caught in the crossfire.
  • Humans can be driven to extremes that you would never think them capable of.
  • Just because someone is a side-character from your point of view, it doesn't mean they don't have their own lives or motivations. It just means you're less likely to see them.
  • Loyalty can cause one do to things that they would not do otherwise.
After all, this a world that produced Rayner - a teen who is proficient in weapons as well as how to cause the most pain with them without killing. His reason for not killing isn't because it's bad. It's because it puts them out of their suffering. Rayner's opinion that humans are scum is not just him being a teenager - it's his summation of everything he's seen until this point. Unfortunately, his story is quite a while away too.

We don't necessarily agree with everything our characters do, but we prefer to give the the freedom to do it instead of forcing them into neat little boxes. A lot of it is in fact character study.

As much as I hate to say it, because I do want as many people as possible to play the game, if you want perfectly neat and happy ends this series might not be the best choice. While we do try to at least wrap up the protagonist's side of things, there's something bigger brewing and until a certain point the protagonists are simply getting caught in the crossfire.

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Re: Valentines otome [GxB][VN][Romance Dating Sim]Walkthrough guide now available

#37 Post by Kirlett »

No, no. I never said I wanted a happy ending. In fact,
Maddie's
ending was a little too happy for me. Tbh I think
she
deserved worst and everything was swept under the carpet like it never happened.

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Re: Valentines otome [GxB][VN][Romance Dating Sim]Walkthrough guide now available

#38 Post by vana »

Kirlett wrote: Mon Feb 19, 2018 7:34 am No, no. I never said I wanted a happy ending. In fact,
Maddie's
ending was a little too happy for me. Tbh I think
she
deserved worst and everything was swept under the carpet like it never happened.
Yeah, I'm of a similar mind. Perhaps not the worst, just that it felt like things were swept under the carpet.
Realistically, you think the police's gon' accept their explanations? An actual crime happened in an actual mall where there is a high chance of security cameras, property was damaged, etc. I don't think the police are going to say, "Eh, can't find the culprit, I guess that's it" while the mall staff is probably thinking, "WHY DO THEY HAVE NO LEADS ON THIS IS OUR STORE GOING TO BE TARGETED NEXT"
I can only suspend so much belief, y'know

I like complex characters with complex motivations in stories that aren't black and white. But if you're going to run with that sort of human realism, you gotta keep the situational realism on par too.
Also, if I was in Mira's shoes, I'd use the full extent of the law on Maddie, Ailean's feelings be damned. Think about it, my proposed ending wouldn't be so black and white either, ya?

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Re: Valentines otome [GxB][VN][Romance Dating Sim]Walkthrough guide now available

#39 Post by Kirlett »

vana wrote: Mon Feb 19, 2018 10:17 pm
Also, if I was in Mira's shoes, I'd use the full extent of the law on Maddie, Ailean's feelings be damned. Think about it, my proposed ending wouldn't be so black and white either, ya?
Yes. But I would do it FOR
Ailean. I mean, if you care so much about your friend, you don't leave them with a psycho to solve her problems. I would say: wow, no, buddy, I don't care if you think she's the love of your life. She just stabbed you. Does she need help? Yes. Should I leave my good friend with a dangerous person that TRIED TO KILL ME? Eeeeeh, NO.

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Re: Valentines otome [GxB][VN][Romance Dating Sim]Walkthrough guide now available

#40 Post by vana »

Kirlett wrote: Tue Feb 20, 2018 12:17 pm
vana wrote: Mon Feb 19, 2018 10:17 pm
Also, if I was in Mira's shoes, I'd use the full extent of the law on Maddie, Ailean's feelings be damned. Think about it, my proposed ending wouldn't be so black and white either, ya?
Yes. But I would do it FOR
Ailean. I mean, if you care so much about your friend, you don't leave them with a psycho to solve her problems. I would say: wow, no, buddy, I don't care if you think she's the love of your life. She just stabbed you. Does she need help? Yes. Should I leave my good friend with a dangerous person that TRIED TO KILL ME? Eeeeeh, NO.
Fair enough! I still wouldn't.
I mean, yes, I'd make sure Ailean got a full recovery and I wouldn't stop her from visiting Maddie, but as someone who's been in a somewhat similar situation (thankfully much less stabby), I'd still charge Maddie.

Mira's and my differing solutions aside, I still think the police would figure out that someone inside the store did it.

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Re: Valentines otome [GxB][VN][Romance Dating Sim]Walkthrough guide now available

#41 Post by Kirlett »

vana wrote: Wed Feb 21, 2018 12:59 am
Fair enough! I still wouldn't.
I mean, yes, I'd make sure Ailean got a full recovery and I wouldn't stop her from visiting Maddie, but as someone who's been in a somewhat similar situation (thankfully much less stabby), I'd still charge Maddie.

Mira's and my differing solutions aside, I still think the police would figure out that someone inside the store did it.
Oh, no, no, I totally agree with you! I'd want to
charge her
, too. What I meant is that I'd do it to
protect Ailean as well and not let them thrown themselves into a toxic and dangerous relationship because they want to. It was really creepy how she changed her mind so quickly. "Oh, so you love me? Okay then I love you too, I'm sorry for stabbing you and trying to kill your friend." :roll:

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Re: Valentines otome [GxB][VN][Romance Dating Sim]Walkthrough guide now available

#42 Post by vana »

Kirlett wrote: Wed Feb 21, 2018 10:16 amOh, no, no, I totally agree with you! I'd want to
charge her
, too. What I meant is that I'd do it to
protect Ailean as well and not let them thrown themselves into a toxic and dangerous relationship because they want to. It was really creepy how she changed her mind so quickly. "Oh, so you love me? Okay then I love you too, I'm sorry for stabbing you and trying to kill your friend." :roll:
Oh, haha, sorry, I misunderstood! I need to pay attention to whom I'm replying to on these things ^^;;
And yeah, I agree. It's also kind of weird for someone to side with a gal they've had a crush on for a few months WHO ALSO ASSAULTED YOU AND TRASHED YOUR PLACE OF EMPLOYMENT over a good friend and employer WHO NEARLY DIED DUE TO SAID CRUSH I mean if I was Ailean, I'd be rethinking a few things

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Re: Valentines otome [GxB][VN][Romance Dating Sim]Walkthrough guide now available

#43 Post by andromache »

So none of my Zane CGs that I've earned are in the gallery? (Haven't played the other guys yet.) Can someone explain where I can access his CGs? Sorry for being dumb lol.

(OMG NEVER MIND I JUST FIGURED IT OUT THAT I NEED TO CLICK ON THE LITTLE GUYS ABOVE THE MENU. LOL I AM DUMB.)

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#44 Post by andromache »

PS I just want to add that I loved Zane and his hobbies. He's the BEST.

Also, Mira is queen protagonist. Sorry Emma. Give me ALLLLL the sexually-experienced-and-unashamed protagonists PLEASE. They're such a rare find in otome games that it makes Mira so much more special (makes it wayyyyy easier for me to self-insert!) lol

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#45 Post by MasterOfDisguise »

I am simply in love with this game and all of the characters. There isn't a single one I dislike, even Jeff has his hilarious moments. This is the kind of stat building vn I can deal with, one that doesn't take away from the story.
I just have one question...
In the fairy tale date with Daire, is it supposed to end with a sexually frustrated protagonist or did I do something wrong? did I not have high enough trust stats perhaps? I did focus mostly on design to save up for the bidding

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