The Parenting Simulator- Now Available on iOS, Google Play and Amazon!

i would want them all too. I am a greedy fan :two_hearts:

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I appreciate that yā€™all feel that way. My concern is that if all scenes are available, the words per playthrough goes from a fairly optimal 30% or so to like 70% or more. You see a fair amount of the words in each scene because the fragmentation was designed to come in part from the different scenes themselves. First time players might get bogged down by its length (as one playthrough would be easily 75,000 words), and replayers would likely savage me in reviews (and rightfully so) for making them slog through the same stuff with little change.

I am wondering, though. How about a New Game+ mode? Once you finish, and get the achievement for doing so, when you play again a code strong opens up based on the presence of that achievement and you get the option to play again normally or choose to have all randomized scenes available (although not the ones that diverge off based on stat checks or other variables). Is this feasible? Moreover, would that have an appeal, or do you still think that is an option they should have available at the start?

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Oh, why not? We love polls here.

  • Leave random scenes random!
  • Derandomize and make all scenes visible every time!
  • Give readers the choice at the beginning to get random scenes or not.
  • Give readers the choice as a New Game + mode.

0 voters

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I think that if you give them the choice you can make more people happy. Both those who want random scenes and those who donā€™t.

However, the game + mode is also a nice idea. It
Might encourage more people to replay it.

:thinking:

Wrong pronoun

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My verdict: Let them choose. Since some people want things to be randomised, and some not, the only logical course of action is to let these lads choose what they want.

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I think letting people choose to have random scenes or not would be the best

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I am the lone voter for derandomization ā€¦ I understand your structural concerns that you voiced but I would add on that this is the reason why you are betaing the story in the first place.

I feel that the current structure would be hiding to much away from those that are not avid replayers.

I also feel that giving the choice leaves the structural flaw in the original design there without addressing it and slaps a band-aid on it, shifting the burden to the player.

When a player (gen pop player) sits there, they wonā€™t know the intent of the design and even if you tell them one way or another was intended, then they question their choice if they disagreeā€¦

I know I might stand alone in this but I stand by my feedback.

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I have a question, can our kid become more artsy in the game or is just going to be education and sport?

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Funny you should mention artsiness; not only will the two scenes you choose between after the pet in year 9 involve include one for the non-sports activities (it was originally a choice between the sports and a theme park, but that didnā€™t seem equitable so a few days ago I punted the theme park to year 10 and have it as a more logical choice between two more or less opposite scenes), but thereā€™s also a school play scene coming up in year 10 as a random (or not, see below) scene possibility. So hopefully that will provide what youā€™re looking for in that regard.

I have created a separate thread that also discusses this matter with the random scenes and the value (or lack thereof?) to be found in keeping words per playthrough at a certain point. Itā€™s a fascinating discussion, and Iā€™d love to see a lot more data on it. Yā€™all can talk about it here too, of course. Just wanted you to know thereā€™s a new thread and poll as well.

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@hustlertwo
In year 6. In the option:
ā€œTruth be told, itā€™s still not a big deal for me. She isnā€™t exactly shooting up heroin or kicking puppies here.ā€

You decide to stop fighting so much and just let her enjoy his hobby.

{ahis}

The cake comes out, and Elgin sit beside Jennifer as she blows out the candles and everyone cheers.

The cause is this code:

*if (fstrain = 0)
    $![{fname}]

The square bracketed section should be:

$!{fbname}

In year 8. In the Reading the Room scene.

But shecan read

Put a space between the bolded words.

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Personally undecided on the matter, but could choosing scene by scene be an option. As in a title saying what the scene is about is listed and you pick from the list? As I said not decided on the issue myself, in an ideal world Iā€™d want alter ego, but where youā€™re the parent! But that would be a much bigger scope than the current game, so I do quite like the random element.

Edit: also yay! Itā€™s my joinaversary! Never seen a cake by name before! Also nice as I created this account when I outed myself as trans :slight_smile: ā€¦Sorry, just noticed that :stuck_out_tongue: . Umm getting back on topic, umm so yeah if people could pick scene by scene they could pick scenes that are optional, but more important, such as ones that are being considered being made mandatory. It could also help with replayability so you could pick only scenes you havenā€™t seen before on subsequent playthroughs?

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Ooo, the play sounds cool!

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Picking scenes is something Iā€™m doing with the most recent chapters. Year 8 has it with the bike riding/swimming choice, and year 9 will have it with sports/non-sport activities. I canā€™t really do it with all events though, because some are not things anyone would voluntarily choose to experience but are still necessary for the story. If I make the baby events selectable, probably a low number will opt for their kid to have low birth weight struggles.

As for Alter Ego, I looked at it when yā€™all mentioned it, and stopped early on for several reasons:

  1. I didnā€™t like the look of it, the weird diagram where you choose scenes that looks like a Wikihow pictogram for replacing a carburetor.
  2. The beach scene when you were a baby felt ridiculously railroaded
  3. I didnā€™t want to end up subconsciously plagiarizing anything, and the best way to avoid doing so was to never read it in the first place.

So I donā€™t really know what it does or doesnā€™t do. And Iā€™m definitely hoping to keep it that way.

FYI, the animal bit is bogging me down, itā€™s by far the largest single event in the story and itā€™s nowhere near done. I shoot for around 5,000 words per chapter and I think this time the pet alone will hit that number. If it gets too long I may make it the only event for year 9, but weā€™ll see. Iā€™d prefer not to do that.

The (Kinda) Resolution to the Random/Not Random Situation

I anticipate going back in the next few days after finishing this 25,000 word push for November and adding in the choice for all random scenes to be viewed at the beginning of the story. This is NOT a final decision as to what I will do when this thing is finished and published (it is in the running, but so is complete derandomization and the New Game + possibility). But it stands to reason that if most of my lovely beta readers want this option, Iā€™d be a fool not to provide it.

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@hustlertwo
In year 7, in the digital scene.

In the last couple of years, her love for all things digital has exploded, and itā€™s become his primary pastime.

{ahis}
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Thanks as always.

Also, happy belated cake day, @CreepyPastaKittyFay !

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What are the consequences of the first activities?

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If memory serves, it is the first time you can increase Education or Athletics. Some other stats can move too, of course. Also, if you stay with the activity through the whole time, you will still be doing it in year 9 or 10 when the new scenes will happen. You can then choose to keep on with it or start a new activity. So even if you did a sport, you can choose to bail on it and do, say, piano.

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Okay, I absolutely love this. You have an actually refreshing premise, your writing style is cool (meaning i donĀ“t get bored to death in long paragraphs and stop reading and the sentences doesnĀ“t seem inconnect). The situations presented are realistic, wich reflects that you know what you are talking about, and probably have kids in your life.

Good job!

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Thank you! I am glad itā€™s not hitting you over the head with walls of text. I try to keep it from that whenever possible.

As for kids, I do indeed have two wonderful and insane offspring. Although at this point we have far outstripped where I have firsthand experience; I am only up to Year Six for my IRL playthrough. But I figure I can extrapolate based on my own experiences at these ages (yes, I told my kindergarten teacher I was smarter than she was but I would give her a chance. Yes, I was an insufferable, egotistical little snot. No, I havenā€™t really gotten better), and those of numerous others, as well as things I anticipate with our own kids.

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Loved this! Very fun, re-playable and well written! Got me thinking on the status of the other parent tho

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