Post by DerpyChoCho in DATING START! comments

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Thank you so much for playing and for taking the time to review! And no no, your review is not a mess and your English is just fine! I'm so happy that you enjoyed the VN and that you were able to catch the little details I put in! ^^

SPOILERS !!

I'm really happy to hear that it feels close to the original UT spirit; I was striving for that! And I'm glad you caught the repeated phrases. Especially "cause someone really cares about you" and how it turns into "cause i really care about you" to explicitly refer to himself. In a way, that's him finally admitting and committing to how he feels about you. He's accepting his own feelings. :3

Honestly, I felt so bad writing that whole "cheating" part for the secret Papyrus route. But that's something that a jerk like Flowey would say. x_x

Also, I can answer why you weren't seeing Sans shake the player's hand or Sans not mentioning the past connection of SOULmates during your second run. When you finish True LOVE the first time, Chara completely wipes out all of those connections. And even if you try to do True Love again, you don't actually complete it because Chara/the player kills Sans, thus stopping True Love from completing. So because of that, it's like you were never Sans' SOULmate and you can never become his SOULmate again.

The number for the SKIP function is actually counted. XD I coded a function that will count the number of times the player uses it. And I'm glad you were able to figure out that you had to drag the textbox to find the last FIGHT button! :D It always makes me happy when people are able to figure it out! I’m glad you liked the animations for the Sans fight, too! That was all done via Ren’Py’s ATL (animation and transformation language). In addition, if you were curious about the 4th Sans CG... then I did my job right. =)

And I know the epilogue leaves so much. Trust me, I want to see more of what happens, too! But I felt, for Dating Start, that was the best place to end it. Your story with Sans is just beginning. And, when you leave that world, it's up to you regarding how you continue the story in your head... or in the game if you come back to RESET.

If you do come back, Sans realizes you might be there to RESET. And he accepts it and just goes back to sleep, awaiting whatever happens because he cannot control it.

I would love to make an original project one day! At the same time, I want to make more Undertale VNs, too! (Maybe a bit shorter, but we'll see where my imagination takes me!)

Thank you again for your wonderful words and for playing the VN. I'm glad it warmed your heart with love.

Edit: Oh! I also forgot to mention! The backgrounds are straight out of the game. ^^; But I used the tilesets from the game to make new backgrounds like Papyrus' maze.

whalie3 years ago (3 edits) (+1)

*beep bop* SPOILERS ---

Haha yeah the "cheating" talk really fits Flowey's personality. At least it didn't seem to leave any consequences. I mean it'd be interesting (and hurtful...) to see if Sans can "detect" that the player has the expression of someone who cheated on him with his brother. That'd really take the whole timeline and consequences to another level @_@

That detail about the True LOVE route preventing the player and Sans from becoming SOULmates, it makes so much sense! Which means all the more reason for me not to go the True LOVE route ever again orzz. I've seen Sans die 4 times already (and also got told to go to hell by him countless times...) so that's about enough. Thankfully I backup all save files before doing the True LOVE route ^^"

I want to ask though - and I don't mind spoilers since I'm asking for it: if I were to spare/have mercy on Sans during his fight, would I getttt dunked on LOL? I'm curious but I don't really want to follow my curiosity anymore.

That's pretty cool how you have a function for counting SKIPs xD I didn't realize I'd used it so many times. Considering all the things you have to take note of in this game, I guess that means a lot of functions and variables are needed.

The textbox dragging idea was cool xD I think the hints you put in were well-written as well. Same goes for that maze with Papyrus!

It always saddens me that Sans just kind of accepts the fact that all the things he did and anything that happened to him can easily be RESET. I mean, ye it's true there's nothing he can do about it, he's literally just an NPC lmao, but the fact that he's written as if he's aware of it really messes with the player's mind. That's why I have this special place in my heart for games that break the 4th wall haha.

Btw, I just realized I forgot to ask this yesterday. That bridge scene where Sans saves the player, if "Compliment" was chosen instead of kissing him, he'd have a line telling the player not to "get too close to the edge". I thought it meant to not be involved in dangerous situations, but the player's reaction was "feeling the stomach drop" and a "tight smile" as if they're uncomfortable. Did his line allude to something else? Like "don't go on a killing spree bruh" or something...

I also forgot to mention that I love how the phone's outline color changes depending on which trait was chosen by the player! But it seems sentences where the trait is specifically mentioned (in yellow text) can be skipped even though that trait was not chosen before?

For example: "your SOUL is pulsing strong with [trait]" - sentences like these are skipped even when that trait is newly chosen compared to previous playthroughs. It seems RenPy treats this as the same sentence even though the content (trait variable) is changed?

It feels kinda weird because some sentences - which are completely identical to each other - cannot be skipped, such as (if I recall correctly) some "hmmm..." and "you reached LV something" that Sans said before his boss fight. I've seen this behavior in some other VNs before too so I just find it kind of interesting.

All in all, I'm definitely looking forward to your future projects! ^^

DerpyChoCho3 years ago (1 edit) (+1)

SPOILER SPOILERS!!!

LOL Yes, you would have absolutely been dunked on. XD Both during midpoint Mercy and end fight Mercy.

And when it comes to variables, there was definitely.... a number. Let's just say... I had to take note of 200+ variables. It was quite the collection. x_x I had a page dedicated to setting the defaults of those variables. If I didn't have that, I think I'd be so lost. Even with the list of variables, I got lost a few times! XD

When Sans says "not to get too close to the edge," he means not to get too close to him that you fall (in romantic/platonic love). That's why the player feels uncomfortable because they feel Sans' being reserved. The main dynamic change for Sans was from reserved to open with his emotions/feelings. <3 (Honestly, I'm a huge Sans simp and I wanted to make a VN so I could fall in love with him. Then I wanted to share that experience with everyone else XD)

In regards to the lines with the SOUL traits, yes. Ren'Py will still see that line as seen, even if the variable within has changed. However, for moments where Sans talks about the expression or the LV, I made sure for each instance to have its own line. This way, if the player was skipping, it wouldn't skip past that. For player experience, it made more sense to stop the player at those blocks of dialogue than to stop the player for one single line with a different SOUL trait.

Thank you so much for all of your questions and for taking the time to comment! And thank you for playing! It really means a lot that you've enjoyed the VN! ;n;

whalie3 years ago(+1)

Ah I understand now! I actually love that kind of dynamic/change from cold to hot in relationships xD It's a great feeling to be able to break through someone's defense and reach for their heart.

Thank you for spending your time answering my questions too! It's great insight into how the game was developed, and it's clear that a lot of love was put in! Other Sans simps (like me) really appreciate your work xD

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