i'm really enjoying vn so far, i haven't finished but the little i played i have the impression that ben has post traumatic stress disorder this may explain the nightmares and hallucinations.
What the heck was up in the dream? I couldn't tell if it was really Chris or not. 🤔🤔🤔 I'm guessing we'll get some sort of idea next update, regardless I enjoyed the update.😃😃😃
Personal theory here: I thinks it's an overlap of Ben's nightmares + memories and Russel's memories.
Basically I think Ben's nightmares let him see other people's memories but he replaces some characters within those dreams with people he knows or himself.
if you're playing on mobile you can prevent this by finding the game files and copying the saves file, deleting the app, downloading the update and then pasting the saves into the games files
likely would work the same if you somehow got this issue on pc
just found this game and skimmed through the comments to check if previous players left great reviews on it but damn it's like yall are on a completely different universe, i just came over thinking russell looks kinda cute
Small thing I noticed: in Carlos' route right after the camping on Sept. 9 he tells us that we woke up and headed straight to the overlook to confront Russell, but later on, during Sept. 16 when we ask Zach: "Remember when you told me he(Russell) was out on the overlook at Cambrion Valley?". Am I reading into the lines to much or was it unintentional?
I'll assume you're playing on Android since only Android users seem to have issue with this.
In order for Android to properly register the installation of the new build, you first have to completely uninstall the previous build. This is a quirk of the Ren'py engine that I have no control over, unfortunately.
There's also a good chance you'll lose your save data doing this. I recommend backing them up beforehand. They can be found on most Android devices in the "Data" folder of its storage section.
I am trying to decode the message the Red Hooded person says at the very beginning. So far I've been able to crack one, which says: "Death comes for all". Anyone else cracked the rest??
Hey don't know if you're still doing this, but this is what I've got so far, I'm not entirely sure they're correct of course, but figured might as well post them:
"Eth nohewo lliw veren niw trenursot ghift ganai." - First Dream The one who will never win returns to fight again.
Obviously: "Thaed semco rof lla." - First Dream Death comes for all.
"Nekle erefob emand pyar rof latisavno." - First Dream Kneel before me and pray for salvation
OK so, spoilers(?) ahead or at least theory time for me
as Ive replayed the game for Carlos, among the other routes, and so an so (although i noticed the oddity my first time around and as I'm playing it right now, I'm at the lunch scene with shay) the way the flow of info Ive been been getting, its hinting (at least for me) that Chris is the rapist, i have some points to this,first his attitude, it seems forced to me, then there's the moment Russel first appears in the lab, and Chris's persona changes, which weirded me out, then we get to the whole Russel dilemma, Russel doesn't seem to be trying to win us over, its more like hes just being kind, we even see this when he takes off his beanie to put Zach at ease, even though he makes multiple lewd suggestions, he does it in a joking way, hes never really serious about it times, and then we get to the part were shay is talking to Ben about how "Chris talks about him a lot." which gave me some red flags. and in general, i've never really liked Chris due to his personality (i.e it feeling forced) and i trust Russel more due to him being the first person we meet outside of Santa Lucia
I think that you're onto something. Spoilers and theory:
Something about Chris just seems off. Especially with how Russel refers to him as a kind of "back stabber/traitor" and how he wants to "protect Ben from Chris". Something felt off about the whole forrest scene too. I think that either you are right about Chris or that he is the murderer because so far he has been at the places where the murders (that we have been there for/know more about) have taken place (the restaurant and the place with the forrest for the trip (I even think that it was mentioned that Chris left the group at some point during the dinner while Ben was sleeping, which makes me even more suspicious of him and Ben's "hallucinations").
but then we have the scene in the mess hall with Blake, Sam, an Chris. Chris in general seems to know (or at least is implying) that Russel wasn't the rapist, but before hand he says "Hes trying to take one of my men-tees away", Because Russel never tries to imply it what-so-ever the first time he appears in the lab, which gives the idea that Chris isn't as air-headed as we think he is.
(off topic)
then we have Zach, whose somehow in-twined in all of this, due to his odd connection with Russel, he seems to know Russel more then we think he does, then there's his connection to the "red hood" as well, and his appearance in the most recent of Ben's dreams, Zach is connected to Russel somehow, maybe he knew Russel when he was younger or maybe its some weird dream stuff that Zach might have, since he did appear in ben's dream near the end of the update. all in all, something is up with Zach and his connection to Russel, and its probably why he thinks Russel isn't guilty.
I definately think that you're right again. Chris is definately not as air-headed as we think he is. I forgot about the fact (and didn't fully realize at the time) that he picked up on what Russel was doing without it ever being hinted at/mentioned. I also feel like Zach might have known Russel when they were younger (like you said). The car scene when they "first" meet with Zach already knowing/recognizing Russel's name and hugging Russel and acting comfortable with him, which is completely out of character for Zach, helps point to/support the theory that they have some kind of history that we don't know about. This would explain why Zach thinks Russel is innocent (like you said). Zach's connection to the "red hood" is interesing. I think that Zach might have some knid of personal connection to them in some way based off of how invested he is in them and how much he knows about them and their murders. Maybe he could have possibly known or been related to one or more of the "red hood's" victims. Or he might even know/be related to the "red hood", but that one is a bit of a stretch.
All in all, theorizing about all of this just makes me even more excited for the next public update. Hopefully it will help answer/give more evidence that can point us to more clear answers for our questions/theories and not just leave us with more questions (even though that wouldn't be too bad if it did, just more to theorize about).
there's also one more very odd thing that relates to the red hood and his "mark"? well. not exactly, there's almost no follow-up of explanation for the mark in general (i.e the scene where the first murder, that we really get details on the red hood,or well as much as we could since it was just a couple lines of text) i couldn't figure out what it was, i tried replacing the numbers with letters and i even put it through a decoder, but nothing came of it. but there is something that we can semi confirm about them, the way they murder seems oddly....religious, mainly with how they spoke, and the first time we meet the red hood (or maybe it was a different dream), its in a dream where they first talk in English but then switch over to a different one in a quick fashion, whoever he is, it wasn't Latin, for one thing,........now that i look at this, for some reason Carlos semi fits the bill, but he doesn't have that heavy religious vibe, plus his build is different then the red hood
That's a really good point. They do all seem kind of religous in a way. I don't really have any ideas for the mark, but I don't think that the red hood is Carlos, but I could be wrong, escpecially after that one "hallucination" when Carlos found Ben after he first got the medicine (I know it was said that it was a hallucination, but I feel like we can't be too sure if it was a hallucination or the real thing). This could certainly support Carlos being the red hood if it wasn't just a hallucination. I also feel like the whole blood in jars thing will somehow come into play. Like we might end up seeing someone with a suspicious amount of jars hidden somewhere or see them buying/carrying jars.
Semi off topic
Another thing that doesn't sit right with me is Dr. Hernandez's murder. I don't know what it is but I feel like she isn't really dead and could also be the red hood. I feel like she could be alive because of ben seeing her figure at the top of W.H. after her death. That and the fact that I think in the first nightmare that we see on the plane, the red hood seems to possibly have a beak ike Dr. Hernandez, not sure if that is a clue or just a random detail.
Then there's the whole thing after the Russel situation. I have no idea of what to make of it unless it was supposed to be a metaphor for something. Possibly Ben or Chris pushing Russel off of a metaphorical cliff representing the sudden ending of their frienship.
You guys have some really awesome theories, with some good evidence too. I'd probably believe it if there wasn't one thing throwing me off - Chris' route goal. I'm questioning whether the devs would even consider allowing us to enter a romantic route with a potential rapist. It could be some shock plot twist like other vns having surprise psychotic boyfriends, but I'm very hesitant to say they will.
my friend at one point was talking about this infinite life theory ( something like that) where when you die you get warped to a different you from a another universe that was parallel to your original one.
after the park ben has a scar on his back that wasn't there before that would be a fatly wound, so what if when he died in one universe he hoped to a new one and his dreams are true life but from the universe he left
dayummm best update ever, that shower interction was hella cutee, also im curious is it just me? cuz whenever something intense comes up i always take like a 5 min break from reading no? XD
Soooo.. I'm guessing a Zach route isn't gonna be a thing? if it is I'm curious if u wanna finish the other routes b4 adding his but if nah then it'll be sad but I respect that, their relationship as friends seems wholesome enough anyways :>
Zach route is happening because it reached the goal a while back and even though it went below the threshold the developers said it's still happening, it along with Chris and Russell are only happening after the first three get theirs
yeah... he got changed... I also didnt take the change that well at first-sight, thought that the previous sprite looked better... but after playing for a while with the new sprite it made me like him more as a character, his expressions, just made me feel more at ease with him... I mean... its a matter of opinion but I like him more now...
Chris is such a jerk! We catch him in the woods and then when Zach tries to continue searching he threatens not to give Zach credit even though we can make him lose his job! And I'm pretty sure he really did steal Russel's idea and had the galls to deni it. He even marked Ben absence even though Ben had a very good reason not to come. Seriously though? F him, I wish we get a choice in the future to mess his life up or something.
Well I am just on the third part but i will get far soon but for the moment I just enjoying the game so I really hope to see more same if update 18 take 2 months to come out but love the story if that completed one day I hope to see a squel of it.
First impressions are important and I realize this project is a wip right now so I will keep this brief until the time comes when I can talk about this work in greater length.
As of now the build is 21, July 14 2021 at 6:50am (for personal records haha) No spoilers ahead.
Visual novels aren't something I obsess over - im choosy and I am likely to enjoy a fine dinner or eat fast food without complaint but if given the choice it all comes down to how good it's cooked. Santa Lucia feels like both. The characters are satisfying enough to make me care for each of them and have something to both love and dislike about them. Sometimes more than the other. Bryan for example, rubs on me like a cheese grater on my nuts but despite his bad humor and pathetic attempts to get into my pants something about that panda and the sincerity behind his finest and more sincere qualities make me laugh him off more than dislike him. He has grown on me and I am loving it. It takes some real careful skill and carefully orchestrated charm to make a character who can have this effect on someone and this is just touching a most basic example for how complex some of this story is and how the characters affect the reader in an immersive way. For this to be a first and true original works done by a team who has had ambitions to make a visual novel this has been quite impressive. It is clear from the writing that real discussion and care has gone into crafting what has been done so far. It is absolutely not without blemishes but then again neither are wrinkles on a shirt. Just takes a little ironing out and it will be so much better and I do truly believe the team can achieve this, continue it, and make this project work magic.
Visually this visual novel has taken me to nostalgic places because I am constantly reminded through the setting and images used within of my own time in college. It scores high here for me because I am the biggest sucker for nostalgia. The character designs are memorable, the painted projectile pants-shitting jumpscares during some nightmares make me feel like my computer is trying to kill me, and the mystery surrounding the events almost has me tempted to do a crazy wall of my own trying to figure out what could be happening in the near future or the inevitable end.
No bugs, a couple typos tho. Never crashed a single time.
Some moments I wish were longer or happened at all like the bonfire. Yes the story has a bonfire-its not a spoiler-deal with it XP.
Read it, support it, and dig in. I cannot describe in a single post why I feel this project needs spread and should be read by anybody who can prize themselves from video games, work, maybe even sex if you are particularly bad at it. It has so far been well worth my time and worth several more reads.
My verdict is simple, its unfinished much like the story so I wonder how this will change later on when it grows. Unfinished but confident I am going to read this again and spread it around.
This new Carlos seems a little bit off. I mean the old Carlos in normal situation is just expressionless,but the new Carlos looks unhappy all the time,and I think his arms are thinner than before.
Maybe I just need some time to adapt the new sprite... but I must say it looks SO WEIRD.
Carlos' character is designed to be the silent type, the stoic guy, the emotional brick wall, etc. If you're saying he looks unhappy, that's literally why he looks like that, he's just meant to look like a big grumpy dude...most of Ben's inner dialogue when describing him is talking about his seemingly permanent, unchanging scowl he always has, but in the past, he looked like he was showing too much emotion when that isn't his character. Also, Ben is often found struggling with trying to figure out how Carlos feels, and it's usually only through his grunts or body language that Ben is even able to get a clue of that. And yeah I'm also sad that his overall physique changed, but some time is all it takes to get comfortable with it :)
Heya! I realize I've been missing out on a bit of conversation by not checking into itch.io for a while, haha.
I expected Carlos's sprite rework to be a bit controversial since he's pretty different from his original, and I understand why some of you are disappointed with the rework.
I tried to emphasize his grumpy, almost undecipherable expressions Ben complains a lot about, but in doing so, I realize expressions a lot of people liked ended up being "watered down", and there are other issues I've seen pointed out in the comments across itch.io.
I'll definitely look into them all, as I'd like to make new Carlos liked by everyone as much as I like him, hehe.
I mean I don’t like it either, but look more…..anatomically correct? His scowl is a lot more pronounced rather than just having a flat expression….though I do prefer his old sprite, it’s nice to see the creators putting in effort to make changes that they think will benefit the game…so much so that they feel comfortable moving forward and all that jazz
100% agreed….after I played the update, it was actually a lot less acceptable than I thought….his “mad” expression looks nearly identical to his “neutral” one
I agree with the idea of his new sprites being anatomically correct. The biggest differences are on his face. And admittedly, I wasn't sure about them at first either. I did a new playthrough but put it on skip mode and just watched his sprites as they went by. I'll admit his looking from behind sprite is not great, and the style for it is a bit jarring (almost like it doesn't really fit the game it's in, they're akin to something I think would be feasible to see in Echo), but one thing I do like is how subtle his facial expressions are. Scroll back and forth between dialogue where he goes from neutral to angry, for instance. The eyebrows barely move, but it makes sense with Carlos' character for him to not have extreme facial expressions. I personally like the new sprites, a good addition to my favorite character in the game.
Yeah I did skip a lot to see his face and I scrolled back and forth, and it was interesting to see the difference. Before, his expressions were very direct, but since Ben would always describe his face as "that same (insert term for face) he always wears" or something along those lines, I feel like that piece of Carlos' character is shown a lot clearer, which is good :)
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Does the way you explain your relationship with Eric to Karina affect anything in your relationship with the others?
Happy Holidays everyone!! 😃😃😃😃😃
Am I the only one sad that you can't date Sam he so cute...
i'm really enjoying vn so far, i haven't finished but the little i played i have the impression that ben has post traumatic stress disorder this may explain the nightmares and hallucinations.
Spoilers:
What the heck was up in the dream? I couldn't tell if it was really Chris or not. 🤔🤔🤔 I'm guessing we'll get some sort of idea next update, regardless I enjoyed the update.😃😃😃
Personal theory here: I thinks it's an overlap of Ben's nightmares + memories and Russel's memories.
Basically I think Ben's nightmares let him see other people's memories but he replaces some characters within those dreams with people he knows or himself.
omg its bryan we won
I think Ren'Py is having issues, I had to uninstall the game and then reinstall it. It installed but I lost ALL my saves. 😭😭😭😭
if you're playing on mobile you can prevent this by finding the game files and copying the saves file, deleting the app, downloading the update and then pasting the saves into the games files
likely would work the same if you somehow got this issue on pc
It's okay, I'll just skip to the parts I left off. 🙂🙂🙂
I hope everyone at Stormsinger Studios is having a good NaNoWriMo. 😃😃😃
just found this game and skimmed through the comments to check if previous players left great reviews on it but damn it's like yall are on a completely different universe, i just came over thinking russell looks kinda cute
Yeah the game is in an interesting spot right now
Small thing I noticed: in Carlos' route right after the camping on Sept. 9 he tells us that we woke up and headed straight to the overlook to confront Russell, but later on, during Sept. 16 when we ask Zach: "Remember when you told me he(Russell) was out on the overlook at Cambrion Valley?". Am I reading into the lines to much or was it unintentional?
The inconsistency is intentional.
am i The Only One Having Issues With Dowloading The New Build?
I'll assume you're playing on Android since only Android users seem to have issue with this.
In order for Android to properly register the installation of the new build, you first have to completely uninstall the previous build. This is a quirk of the Ren'py engine that I have no control over, unfortunately.
There's also a good chance you'll lose your save data doing this. I recommend backing them up beforehand. They can be found on most Android devices in the "Data" folder of its storage section.
Ty for replying. I did however found a way to download it . So no bigies
I am trying to decode the message the Red Hooded person says at the very beginning. So far I've been able to crack one, which says: "Death comes for all". Anyone else cracked the rest??
I dont think anyone has yet, but its good to know at least one was solved, its only a matter of time till we crack the next couple
Hey don't know if you're still doing this, but this is what I've got so far, I'm not entirely sure they're correct of course, but figured might as well post them:
"Eth nohewo lliw veren niw trenursot ghift ganai." - First Dream
The one who will never win returns to fight again.
Obviously:
"Thaed semco rof lla." - First Dream
Death comes for all.
"Nekle erefob emand pyar rof latisavno." - First Dream
Kneel before me and pray for salvation
"Meco otem." - Dream in class.
Come to me.
Edit: I think I solved the first one.
Dang I feel stupid now. 😅😅😅😅
i swear it doesnt even feel like 2 years went by it feels like 1..
OK so, spoilers(?) ahead or at least theory time for me
as Ive replayed the game for Carlos, among the other routes, and so an so (although i noticed the oddity my first time around and as I'm playing it right now, I'm at the lunch scene with shay) the way the flow of info Ive been been getting, its hinting (at least for me) that Chris is the rapist, i have some points to this,first his attitude, it seems forced to me, then there's the moment Russel first appears in the lab, and Chris's persona changes, which weirded me out, then we get to the whole Russel dilemma, Russel doesn't seem to be trying to win us over, its more like hes just being kind, we even see this when he takes off his beanie to put Zach at ease, even though he makes multiple lewd suggestions, he does it in a joking way, hes never really serious about it times, and then we get to the part were shay is talking to Ben about how "Chris talks about him a lot." which gave me some red flags. and in general, i've never really liked Chris due to his personality (i.e it feeling forced) and i trust Russel more due to him being the first person we meet outside of Santa Lucia
sorry for how long this is
I think that you're onto something. Spoilers and theory:
Something about Chris just seems off. Especially with how Russel refers to him as a kind of "back stabber/traitor" and how he wants to "protect Ben from Chris". Something felt off about the whole forrest scene too. I think that either you are right about Chris or that he is the murderer because so far he has been at the places where the murders (that we have been there for/know more about) have taken place (the restaurant and the place with the forrest for the trip (I even think that it was mentioned that Chris left the group at some point during the dinner while Ben was sleeping, which makes me even more suspicious of him and Ben's "hallucinations").
More theory/spoilers
but then we have the scene in the mess hall with Blake, Sam, an Chris. Chris in general seems to know (or at least is implying) that Russel wasn't the rapist, but before hand he says "Hes trying to take one of my men-tees away", Because Russel never tries to imply it what-so-ever the first time he appears in the lab, which gives the idea that Chris isn't as air-headed as we think he is.
(off topic)
then we have Zach, whose somehow in-twined in all of this, due to his odd connection with Russel, he seems to know Russel more then we think he does, then there's his connection to the "red hood" as well, and his appearance in the most recent of Ben's dreams, Zach is connected to Russel somehow, maybe he knew Russel when he was younger or maybe its some weird dream stuff that Zach might have, since he did appear in ben's dream near the end of the update. all in all, something is up with Zach and his connection to Russel, and its probably why he thinks Russel isn't guilty.
(but that just my take on it)
Even more theory/spoilers
I definately think that you're right again. Chris is definately not as air-headed as we think he is. I forgot about the fact (and didn't fully realize at the time) that he picked up on what Russel was doing without it ever being hinted at/mentioned. I also feel like Zach might have known Russel when they were younger (like you said). The car scene when they "first" meet with Zach already knowing/recognizing Russel's name and hugging Russel and acting comfortable with him, which is completely out of character for Zach, helps point to/support the theory that they have some kind of history that we don't know about. This would explain why Zach thinks Russel is innocent (like you said). Zach's connection to the "red hood" is interesing. I think that Zach might have some knid of personal connection to them in some way based off of how invested he is in them and how much he knows about them and their murders. Maybe he could have possibly known or been related to one or more of the "red hood's" victims. Or he might even know/be related to the "red hood", but that one is a bit of a stretch.
All in all, theorizing about all of this just makes me even more excited for the next public update. Hopefully it will help answer/give more evidence that can point us to more clear answers for our questions/theories and not just leave us with more questions (even though that wouldn't be too bad if it did, just more to theorize about).
there's also one more very odd thing that relates to the red hood and his "mark"? well. not exactly, there's almost no follow-up of explanation for the mark in general (i.e the scene where the first murder, that we really get details on the red hood,or well as much as we could since it was just a couple lines of text) i couldn't figure out what it was, i tried replacing the numbers with letters and i even put it through a decoder, but nothing came of it. but there is something that we can semi confirm about them, the way they murder seems oddly....religious, mainly with how they spoke, and the first time we meet the red hood (or maybe it was a different dream), its in a dream where they first talk in English but then switch over to a different one in a quick fashion, whoever he is, it wasn't Latin, for one thing,........now that i look at this, for some reason Carlos semi fits the bill, but he doesn't have that heavy religious vibe, plus his build is different then the red hood
Spoilers:
That's a really good point. They do all seem kind of religous in a way. I don't really have any ideas for the mark, but I don't think that the red hood is Carlos, but I could be wrong, escpecially after that one "hallucination" when Carlos found Ben after he first got the medicine (I know it was said that it was a hallucination, but I feel like we can't be too sure if it was a hallucination or the real thing). This could certainly support Carlos being the red hood if it wasn't just a hallucination. I also feel like the whole blood in jars thing will somehow come into play. Like we might end up seeing someone with a suspicious amount of jars hidden somewhere or see them buying/carrying jars.
Semi off topic
Another thing that doesn't sit right with me is Dr. Hernandez's murder. I don't know what it is but I feel like she isn't really dead and could also be the red hood. I feel like she could be alive because of ben seeing her figure at the top of W.H. after her death. That and the fact that I think in the first nightmare that we see on the plane, the red hood seems to possibly have a beak ike Dr. Hernandez, not sure if that is a clue or just a random detail.
Then there's the whole thing after the Russel situation. I have no idea of what to make of it unless it was supposed to be a metaphor for something. Possibly Ben or Chris pushing Russel off of a metaphorical cliff representing the sudden ending of their frienship.
You guys have some really awesome theories, with some good evidence too. I'd probably believe it if there wasn't one thing throwing me off - Chris' route goal. I'm questioning whether the devs would even consider allowing us to enter a romantic route with a potential rapist. It could be some shock plot twist like other vns having surprise psychotic boyfriends, but I'm very hesitant to say they will.
Wait. he has a route? i never even knew that.
Spoiler? Theory?
my friend at one point was talking about this infinite life theory ( something like that) where when you die you get warped to a different you from a another universe that was parallel to your original one.
after the park ben has a scar on his back that wasn't there before that would be a fatly wound, so what if when he died in one universe he hoped to a new one and his dreams are true life but from the universe he left
I hope I explained myself ok
Wow, the first publish was at my birthday , 4th of October. It's i dunno, kinda feel nice.
dayummm best update ever, that shower interction was hella cutee, also im curious is it just me? cuz whenever something intense comes up i always take like a 5 min break from reading no? XD
time out a double bryan update??? bless you.
Spoilers:
So, are we gonna ignore how we just hallucinated how Dr.Hernadez died? Kinda sus
It is messed up 🤣
Soooo.. I'm guessing a Zach route isn't gonna be a thing? if it is I'm curious if u wanna finish the other routes b4 adding his but if nah then it'll be sad but I respect that, their relationship as friends seems wholesome enough anyways :>
Zach route is happening because it reached the goal a while back and even though it went below the threshold the developers said it's still happening, it along with Chris and Russell are only happening after the first three get theirs
I'm sorry, are you saying that Russell IS getting a route?!
He's been on the route list for a long time now lol where have you been
IDK but right now on my bed crying tears of joy ;u;
omg is this bryan content i sense
Bryan lovers wake up.
Was Carlos' face changed? I dunno, I feel like hes not as attractive as before. But maybe its just a placebo.
Edit. Yup he really was changed
yeah... he got changed... I also didnt take the change that well at first-sight, thought that the previous sprite looked better... but after playing for a while with the new sprite it made me like him more as a character, his expressions, just made me feel more at ease with him... I mean... its a matter of opinion but I like him more now...
Chris is such a jerk! We catch him in the woods and then when Zach tries to continue searching he threatens not to give Zach credit even though we can make him lose his job! And I'm pretty sure he really did steal Russel's idea and had the galls to deni it. He even marked Ben absence even though Ben had a very good reason not to come. Seriously though? F him, I wish we get a choice in the future to mess his life up or something.
well damn
Awww man, I really like Chris, I got to catchup. I hope this is all a big misunderstanding :(.
You only need 10 more dollars a month for the Zach route 😭 I cannot wait
acckkk bb boi needs lovee tbh, we stan the qt quiet bois
I really love Nate's uodate :D
Who's update is next?
Done with this month's build, and damn, I love Nate's route, can't wait for the update!!! in a while tho...
Well I am just on the third part but i will get far soon but for the moment I just enjoying the game so I really hope to see more same if update 18 take 2 months to come out but love the story if that completed one day I hope to see a squel of it.
First impressions are important and I realize this project is a wip right now so I will keep this brief until the time comes when I can talk about this work in greater length.
As of now the build is 21, July 14 2021 at 6:50am (for personal records haha) No spoilers ahead.
Visual novels aren't something I obsess over - im choosy and I am likely to enjoy a fine dinner or eat fast food without complaint but if given the choice it all comes down to how good it's cooked. Santa Lucia feels like both. The characters are satisfying enough to make me care for each of them and have something to both love and dislike about them. Sometimes more than the other. Bryan for example, rubs on me like a cheese grater on my nuts but despite his bad humor and pathetic attempts to get into my pants something about that panda and the sincerity behind his finest and more sincere qualities make me laugh him off more than dislike him. He has grown on me and I am loving it. It takes some real careful skill and carefully orchestrated charm to make a character who can have this effect on someone and this is just touching a most basic example for how complex some of this story is and how the characters affect the reader in an immersive way. For this to be a first and true original works done by a team who has had ambitions to make a visual novel this has been quite impressive. It is clear from the writing that real discussion and care has gone into crafting what has been done so far. It is absolutely not without blemishes but then again neither are wrinkles on a shirt. Just takes a little ironing out and it will be so much better and I do truly believe the team can achieve this, continue it, and make this project work magic.
Visually this visual novel has taken me to nostalgic places because I am constantly reminded through the setting and images used within of my own time in college. It scores high here for me because I am the biggest sucker for nostalgia. The character designs are memorable, the painted projectile pants-shitting jumpscares during some nightmares make me feel like my computer is trying to kill me, and the mystery surrounding the events almost has me tempted to do a crazy wall of my own trying to figure out what could be happening in the near future or the inevitable end.
No bugs, a couple typos tho. Never crashed a single time.
Some moments I wish were longer or happened at all like the bonfire. Yes the story has a bonfire-its not a spoiler-deal with it XP.
Read it, support it, and dig in. I cannot describe in a single post why I feel this project needs spread and should be read by anybody who can prize themselves from video games, work, maybe even sex if you are particularly bad at it. It has so far been well worth my time and worth several more reads.
My verdict is simple, its unfinished much like the story so I wonder how this will change later on when it grows. Unfinished but confident I am going to read this again and spread it around.
Lmfao I am living for this Carlos revamp drama
Lol
Carlos will forever be my favourite even if his face looks.....off
Same….he’s literally the only one of the three that I actually enjoy seeing
dont get me wrong I love Nate and Bryan
But Carlos is top favourite
Really Must say that carlos new muzlle looks weird
I would really be happy if you would rethink that change you rethink this change
Is there a guide for Bryan's route?
If it involves him, do it...that's kinda it
Bryan must be sent to horny jail!
Yes! Perfect!
This new Carlos seems a little bit off. I mean the old Carlos in normal situation is just expressionless,but the new Carlos looks unhappy all the time,and I think his arms are thinner than before.
Maybe I just need some time to adapt the new sprite... but I must say it looks SO WEIRD.
Anyone have a photo of Carlos before they changed him?
I had one, but it seems my cloud erased it. You can see his old him in the image of this page that reads "THE LOVE INTERESTS".
Ok thanks!
My pleasure ;-)
Carlos' character is designed to be the silent type, the stoic guy, the emotional brick wall, etc. If you're saying he looks unhappy, that's literally why he looks like that, he's just meant to look like a big grumpy dude...most of Ben's inner dialogue when describing him is talking about his seemingly permanent, unchanging scowl he always has, but in the past, he looked like he was showing too much emotion when that isn't his character. Also, Ben is often found struggling with trying to figure out how Carlos feels, and it's usually only through his grunts or body language that Ben is even able to get a clue of that. And yeah I'm also sad that his overall physique changed, but some time is all it takes to get comfortable with it :)
Heya! I realize I've been missing out on a bit of conversation by not checking into itch.io for a while, haha.
I expected Carlos's sprite rework to be a bit controversial since he's pretty different from his original, and I understand why some of you are disappointed with the rework.
I tried to emphasize his grumpy, almost undecipherable expressions Ben complains a lot about, but in doing so, I realize expressions a lot of people liked ended up being "watered down", and there are other issues I've seen pointed out in the comments across itch.io.
I'll definitely look into them all, as I'd like to make new Carlos liked by everyone as much as I like him, hehe.
- Dev
I love how Carlos looks now
Well, I don't. It's sad because it was the only route I wanted to play.
I mean I don’t like it either, but look more…..anatomically correct? His scowl is a lot more pronounced rather than just having a flat expression….though I do prefer his old sprite, it’s nice to see the creators putting in effort to make changes that they think will benefit the game…so much so that they feel comfortable moving forward and all that jazz
Well, he didn't need it. Sometimes less is more. But well, it's nice to see they care to improve and try hard.
100% agreed….after I played the update, it was actually a lot less acceptable than I thought….his “mad” expression looks nearly identical to his “neutral” one
I think he lost a lot of his charm. Art doesn't have to be perfect, what matters most is ithe beauty and the feeling it conveys.
BTW, I'm 100% with Russell's revamp though. He definitely needed it.
I agree with the idea of his new sprites being anatomically correct. The biggest differences are on his face. And admittedly, I wasn't sure about them at first either. I did a new playthrough but put it on skip mode and just watched his sprites as they went by. I'll admit his looking from behind sprite is not great, and the style for it is a bit jarring (almost like it doesn't really fit the game it's in, they're akin to something I think would be feasible to see in Echo), but one thing I do like is how subtle his facial expressions are. Scroll back and forth between dialogue where he goes from neutral to angry, for instance. The eyebrows barely move, but it makes sense with Carlos' character for him to not have extreme facial expressions. I personally like the new sprites, a good addition to my favorite character in the game.
Yeah I did skip a lot to see his face and I scrolled back and forth, and it was interesting to see the difference. Before, his expressions were very direct, but since Ben would always describe his face as "that same (insert term for face) he always wears" or something along those lines, I feel like that piece of Carlos' character is shown a lot clearer, which is good :)
I thought it would be fun to try to fuse my art style with SL's style.
I don't think I did great (especially snout), but thoughts?
Shit, I need to know what's next. I NEED TO KNOOOOOOOOOW
Pd - I FUCKING LOVE THIS GAMEEEEE ABSJWJDJW 💖💗💖💞💖💞💖💗💖💗💖💗💖
Sees username*
Clutches purse*
LOL
will diego get a route?
No.