At the top of the list is Marcus from Defiled, and Stan from Arcadie: Second Born. To be fair though, they both kill the MC’s family.
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Hahaha Marcus did grow on me, I dont think I’d be stabbing him in the face but I certainly respect MCs who do. (Camilla has my whole heart.)
Also, very cool render - how did you do it?
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A free program called Daz Studio. Designed to render people, so I could probably do the rest of the team easily enough. Has a whole bunch of assets you can get, so I could do the locker room, college dorm, restaurants etc.
I’ve also got a modelling program called Blender, so I’m starting to learn how to customise assets.
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Normally wouldn’t post something this off-topic here, but the man is a legend, and I really liked the article so…
[How Will We Remember Roger Federer? - The Atlantic]
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Ah thanks for the article! A sad, poignant read.
I think why Federer’s retirement hits us all so hard is because he represents a defiant rejection of worldly, physical parameters, but with his retirement, it’s almost as though we’re all collectively forced to confront our mortality. We’re all reminded that limits exist, and we can’t go on forever. Something the article encapsulates so well:
He has a not-of-this-Earth quality about him, a thing that suggests the quotidian limits on the human body and mind can be challenged, tinkered with, chucked away altogether.
And on a personal level, it’s certainly true that for the folk who’ve grown up watching Federer, it feels like the end of an era.
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Can’t even imagine when Nadal and Djokovic will join him in retirement
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I don’t even know where to begin with Federer, but I’ll say this: of all of the tennis I’ve ever watched, men’s and women’s, I have never seen a player on the same level that he was in 2006. He lost five matches that season. Three of those were against Nadal on clay, and two of those were because he seemed bored during the match.
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Aaaaaaaaa why is playing a tricky tiny curvy junkballer so compelling.
Especially considering Rayyan is built like a tank.
The idea of a smol squishy giving Rayyan the match from hell is the beeeeest.
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Just wanted to say that I’m loving this game so far. Never had an interest in tennis in RL, but love it in fiction, and this is probably the best depiction I’ve read, at least in terms of how engaging I found it. The match with Emerson was so well done, but still my favourite was the match with Rayyan at the start (and reuniting with him).
Though all of it is well-written and the characters are almost all charming and pretty interesting, Rayyan is my absolute favourite character. IMO he’s really well written and appealing, and can’t wait for more of the delicious romantic/sexual/competitive tension between MC and him. I’d really like to play against him again soon, or have him as a doubles partner, maybe even train with him as a ‘friend’, and do other activities with him outside of class/our tennis. 
When I reached the end of the demo thus far, I openly groaned cos I was so immersed in it. Definitely keeping an eye on this one for the next update! 
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This has me wondering if players should have preferred surfaces, just as another form of customization
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Which has me wondering what the courts are at college, since there’s no point putting grass in my render if they are concrete, which is far simpler to model.
Also, @burninglights are there college colours? The sky blue I used in my render was just the basic colour that came with the asset, but I can change that in the future.
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Ive never had much interest in Tennis, but damn this was an amazing ride to go through. That challenge match actually had my heart beating with all the pressure of winning that game. I dont think ive ever had a CoG game do that to me before. Great job man, looking forward to reading more.
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In honour of Federer’s retirement, please tell me we’ll be able to choose to have a 1HBH in the game… 
(assuming I’m not demented and forgetting that option already exists)
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I don’t know if this already asked before but I’m too lazy to scroll 
Is MC’s mom an actress? Is she famous?
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Thanks for the comments, folks! They were so much fun to read! 
I’m only getting to them now as I’ve had a busy week at work, and have been focusing on editing/writing, but I finally have a pocket of free time. Here goes!
@Suryaansh_mokta Honestly, Nadal’s retirement would hit me even harder. But yeah, it’s only a matter of time 
@TheGhost HAHAH! Oh absolutely. Federer was unstoppable then, which I think made the 2008 Federer-Nadal game so iconic.
@Edgewen Omg. The picture of a tricky tiny curvy junkballer giving Rayyan a run for their money has now lodged itself in my head forever. Also the picture of a tricky tiny curvy junkballer partnering Rayyan-the-steamroller on court… Delicious.
@Erized Wow! Thank you for reading and thank you for the comment!! I’m so glad you thought it was engaging, and enjoyed the interactions with Rayyan. Honestly, I can’t wait to write the doubles match bits as well, especially after all the Laver cup gold we got to experience recently!
@kckolbe Ah! Yes. That reminds me. Eventually this will go in as a function. @thegreatlorddragon - This next part answers your question too: In the next update, I’ve worked on adding:
- A tracker for (a) offensive/defensive and (b) tricky/straightforward, so that this can be commented on in the future
- Dominant hand (right/left)
- Backhand style (one-handed/double-handed)
The latter two are still not as integrated into gameplay as I want it to be, but definitely will be added in later matches (or retroactively).
@Alley_Cat NCAA games are played on hardcourt! Cargill has 1 practice clay court but it’s mostly just for practice/fun. Yes! Burgundy and white.
@Shogun AWESOME, so glad! Hope you’ll enjoy the match against Jacks/Max coming up soon too. 
I’m modelling the matches against the fights in Mecha ace and Ironheart - I thought those were done really well!
@Knoez Not ever mentioned in canon, but MC’s mom is an actress-turned-director (blurred in case folks don’t want spoilers till it’s revealed in-game). She’s not like, household name famous, but she has directed some indie gems. Cheers!
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Sweet. I’ll adjust accordingly.
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Gosh, I have never watched a tennis match or been to keen about tennis, but that match with Emerson had me pumped up. I don’t know what i did to win the on the first try but you best belive I had a victory (mence) laugh of joy. No hard feelings though. But I was just thinking about Rayyan’s height (male for me so 510) and my MC’s height (about 62-3). I just feel like Rayyan would look at him with dread, while Sam would down right call MC names based on their height like dwarf if your short or Moose if your litterally any taller than him. Rayyan apparently doesn’t understand literature and that just made my day. So I will assume he is better at math and science.
Rayyan: “What are you doing?”
Dean(MC): “Oh you know, just got done with a break down.”
Rayyan: “Why did you break down?”
Dean: “Because, math exists and i’m stuck doing it forever.”
Rayyan: “Really?”
Dean: “You can judge me when you can’t understand why the curtains matter.”
Rayyan: “I told you that with confidence-”
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Unless they’re from Straya, where your MC at 6’2" might get the nickname “Tiny”, or “Bluey” if they’re a redhead.
Because we’re upside down here.
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Can confirm.
We’re just weird like that
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Well that’s cool, I had no idea that was a thing, thank you! They are a redhead, and i feel like you took a peak into my soul to find out.
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