I’ve beaten Jacks with all four playstyles.
All court player felt like a chess match., if you think beating him as a counterpuncher was fraught, now that really made me feel like I had to earn it.
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Honestly. They’re so sweet.
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Indeed but no matter what I really enjoy the matches and wish more to come
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I don’t understand anything about Tennis but it was pretty fun so far, good job.
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Okay, finally played through the new stuff!
I noticed my class progress went to 91%, despite not finishing all the reading. I might skimp on that more in future playthroughs. I was hoping that passing would be harder.
However, having also beat Jacks (though not easily), I feel like the tennis part is going well as well. I did like seeing finesse and S/V showing up more.
Only “error” I saw is that Jacks is listed as aggressive baseliner on the roster, but all-court everywhere else
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You were high intelligence I presume?
I believe that sort of thing is harder on a charisma playthrough.
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28 at the start of class. I did everything over the summer, and did one session of reading at college.
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It is only the very start of freshman year lol. I imagine it’ll get harder as it goes.
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I have a few questions:
- Does dominant hand affect anything in the game?
- If you have a relationship with an RO, is that guaranteed to last the whole game, or could you break up for whatever reason?
- Is there any point in trying to improve weak areas? The stat checks are pretty high, so there doesn’t seem to be much point in improving a stat that’s pretty far behind, for example.
Also, this isn’t really a question about gameplay, but I was just wondering why you chose to put serves and volleys together as a single stat instead of two separate ones.
This isn’t criticism btw - I really love this game! I’ve been following it on and off for the past few months (came for the tennis, stayed for the story), and I can’t wait to see how it unfolds.
I really liked the part with Coach Sy (I’m not going to butcher her name here) where she talks about having to choose what to hit and what to let let go as a metaphor for life. Going through the code, I can see how hard it is to keep up with all the aspects of college life, and it reminded me of that scene.
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@ChairmanMeow ah, excellent advice for folks who’re wondering how to get the bst bang-for-your-buck in tennis skills!
Yup, you’re right. I forgot about the other pro/con set for a brief exciting moment. Basically, Same-gendered Sam means potential match against Sam in a singles championship. Opp-gendered Sam means potential doubles match. I’ll probably write both over the course of what’s already turning out to be a mammoth game.
@JBento hahahah. Not a moron, just a kind-hearted… soul… Yeah, I think I do want to give MC a chance to play Sam competitively at least once in the game, and the other option will be a friendlier setting - though that could mean writing 4 different branches.
@Veez Haha, well. Not the kiss I was thinking about, but hey, we’ll see if I can squeeze two kisses into the next update. Otherwise, a jacks x emerson kiss will definitely be in the works.
@JBento Well, maybe Emerson does. Jacks is a little more hesitant.
@ChairmanMeow ooh, goshdarnit, I’ll give that a check asap!
@bored92 Hehehe congrats!! No mean feat! and @stsword wow - impressive, and also it makes me so pleased to know that playing as a brainy all-court player against Jacks felt like playing a chess match. That’s absolutely the goal. Out of curiosity, how did playing serve-and-volley feel?
@Knoez Aww, glad to hear it.
@Dragomer HAHA! Well, you now know a tiny amount of tennis from the game, I reckon! 
@kckolbe Glad that finesse and S/V have been a bit more useful in this update/match! Class performance at this point is pegged to your score on the first surprise test (which checks for both how much of your readings you did, plus your intelligence), but will also be calibrated based on class participation, assignments etc. Noted on Jacks’s description being wrong on the roster, thanks!
@stsword Ah yes, 28 is considered high-ish in my books. Readings affect somewhat, but yep, I also check for intelligence. Also @Xoromin - 
absolutely.
@Cloudy - aww, glad that the bit with coach Sy was memorable! I do want the whole “choose your hills to die on” thing to be a key theme of the game.
- Yes, dominant hand should eventually affect the options available to you (e.g. shots hit to your backhand would generally be more challenging etc.) and it will also affect doubles play. I hope to give an example of how doubles would work in the friendly game(s)
- There will generally be a possibility that you might break up (different moments/reasons for each RO route). But there will also be at least 1 ending possible where you stay together with whatever RO you choose.
- Haha, yeah - at this point it might be better to invest more heavily in 2-3 skills. But for later matches/tournaments (e.g. nationals), it would make sense for opponents to have done their research and attack MC’s weaknesses, in which case stat checks might also include tests on ‘weakest skill’. But the story will pre-empt players if they’ll have to start investing more in their weaker stats
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Po-tay-to, po-tah-to. 
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Yay!..But also:
Opponents like Sam? Although Sam’s knowledge of the mc is extraordinary and not even other nationals players could hope to learn half of what Sam knows, no matter how much research they or their teams and coaches do on mc.
So I’m guessing the match against Sam would serve as the first test of this? 
Sammy’s going to be a real tricky opponent for our poor mc’s who crush on same gendered Sammy, eh?
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Thanks for the answers!
So there’s a possibility of drama. Like if you break up with Rayyan or Tobin and have to see them all the time in training. Or (this is the scenario that popped into my head which prompted the question), if you start a relationship with Sam, but then it slowly breaks down over time and then you lose the friendship as well. Less interpersonal drama, but probably more heartbreaking.
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I like that our dominant hand is something that actually makes a difference (I noticed that when playing as a lefty against Jacks).
Does our backhand style affect gameplay as well? Just curious, because I can’t help but think of a couple of scenarios where the backhand we use could either be a benefit or a hindrance (depending on the situation). I imagine coming into the net would be easier with a one-hander and that a two-hander would be better for staying in longer rallies, for example.
Also, seeing as how we can pick our dominant hand and backhand style now (thanks for implementing this btw, as it was actually something I was thinking of asking to include!), would that be something that could be reflected in the team roster (in the stat screen)? Just think it would be handy to know.
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Backhand affects stats, at least.
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Pair us with Tobin.
That way no matter how you spin it, its still a pseudo rematch that Rayyan will be hyper serious over.
And depending on which side of the net the sparks are flying, Max gets the best view to play peanut gallery with.
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I would LOVE an exhibition match of Rayyan and Jacks v MC and Tobin. That would seem fair, just be a good even strength match to hone the skills on. @burninglights
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Also I sincerely hope we get the opportunity to flirt our proverbial butts off telepathically for the already out there Sam-mancers.
Though I do hope theres an option for those of us who’d like a bit more of a build up for that match against Sam to lead to some…realizations.
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My mom plays tennis this game is like a little glimpse into her world
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Depending on how much the author wants to write wouldn’t it also depend on playing styles? My mc is nominally an all-courter too, so would coach really want to pair two of those?
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