Hey there! Fae back again with another Void Dreaming crosspost from before the Itch page went live!

Last time we had a look into what makes Skills tick, as well as the day by day structure of the VN itself. Today we’re going to be taking a step deeper into the mechanics behind the choices of the story, the sorts of things that they effect, and how those help you build the two relational stats hidden in the background of all the crewmembers of the Void Dreamer: Approval, and Lust. Saucy!

Friends, Not Food

And we’re going to do it backwards, too! We’ll start with the Approval and Lust stats, since they’re also key to how many choices in the story work. Just like in real life, people separate their like of someone from their lust for them. You can enjoy a person’s company just fine without feeling the overwhelming urge to bed them, after all. That’s just as true here as anywhere else. And yes, that means that you can absolutely choose to try to befriend the whole crew without expressing any sexual interest in them whatsoever. Every Origin for Rael allows you to play him as ace, if that’s the way you want to go. That doesn’t mean that all sexual content is removed from the story, of course; you’re not deciding how other characters behave, and Mizz isn’t going to dress more to Astrogation Guild uniform standards just to please you. It does change how Rael reacts to it though, and may take some individual choices out of your hands. It’ll put some different ones there instead as the story progresses though, and sexual relationships with any of the crew are not necessary to reach the resolutions of the story. They will, however, change said resolutions! More on that at a later time.

So let’s get into those two different relationship variables. Starting with Approval, it represents the amount that a character appreciates Rael’s presence on the ship and in their life. It’s your basic friendship bar, rising when you do things they approve of and lowering when you irritate them. Origin dialogue options are often a good vehicle for raising the Approval of a receptive character, once you get an idea of what sort of options they’ll respond to. They’re not the only way, of course; just because one character might see the appeal in the loose and free lifestyle of a Punk doesn’t mean that you’ll be unable to earn their friendship if your Rael wasn’t one. Think of Origin dialogue choices in this case as a shortcut for earning Approval with certain crewmembers; a nice bonus, but not necessary if the dialogue doesn’t fit your idea of who Rael is. Additionally, Origin dialogue choices that appeal to a character tend to give both Approval and Lust, but in different volumes of each depending on the character in question. If there’s an optimal path to get into Sam’s coveralls, you’ll have to work to find it!

Or code dive. Please don’t code dive. There’s spoilers in there!

Originally, all crewmembers started with different Approval ratings to depict their base opinion of Rael. This made things a bit messier than I liked, so I removed it and wound up neutralising the scores. Everyone starts with Rael at the same point, and this can be lifted or lowered as a result of the choices that you make. How much and how fast they can grow depends on individual character nature, and the choices you make with them. Zuberi and Bromm’ka are pretty friendly. Caleia and Sam? Less so. Your Approval with characters can dip below the starting point too, and they will react accordingly to your presence if you do.

High Approval is also how you unlock special social interaction scenes with the crew of the Dreamer. If you want to learn more about Mizz or Tulemeni or whomever, taking the time to earn their Approval by learning what they respond well to is integral. And the story does give you some hints; during Day One, Rael will be able to go over his history with the whole crew all at once. If you’re paying attention, you might notice that some crew are more interested at certain points than others; a fine and not-so-subtle hint that you’ve got a bit of a leg-up with earning their Approval. Which is good, because in addition to unlocking private social interaction with them, good Approval is in many cases necessary for the spicier content.

Bow Chikka Wow-Wow

The Lust statistic is the other component there. Flirtatious comments here and there, or the right suggestion at the right time, can signal to the various crewmembers that Rael’s into them. Whether or not they respond depends on their own nature and if you’ve read them right. The brash and bombastic Mizz might appreciate a forward approach, but the reclusive and antisocial Sam might bite your head off for the attempt. Does Caleia’s control kick extend beyond the ship’s bridge and into the bedroom? Is Zuberi just a dad, or is he also a daddy? Exploration and experimentation will help you find out.

Unlike Approval, all crewmembers start with a Lust value of zero, so there’s no getting a leg up on getting your leg over any of them. If you want to build their Lust, you’re going to have to actually put the effort in, Rael!

And as I mentioned above, the saucy situations in this visual novel are all entirely optional. No path through the story locks you into participating in any adult content if you don’t want to. Which isn’t to say that the crew won’t get up to their own shenanigans on their own, and there are definitely circumstances where you might catch an eyeful of some action somewhere on the ship. Even in those cases however, Rael will have the option to avert his eyes and avoid the circumstance (and an asexual Rael will do so without waiting to see if the omnipotent being on their shoulder has anything to say about it). If you’re here for the plot and the character interplay but you want to leave the sex at the door, we have options for you! The crew are their own people however, and whenever Rael’s not intruding on their lives they will absolutely be following their own imperatives… sometimes with sticky results.

And if you’re wondering, the absolute earliest you can get some spice in your life is actually on day one, if you follow a very specific set of choices. Which I suppose is a great lead in to the choice system in the VN!

But first, a quick note on something I’ve mentioned a few times just above. As suggested, you can set Rael as asexual relatively early in the piece. The default sexuality in the furry space future is to be pan, and a Rael who isn’t ace will fall neatly into this very broad view of sexuality. That said however, you’ll be prompted at the earliest chance to build the Lust of a character (or once you start progressing down the path of befriending them) if you want to be able to pursue eventual ugly-bumping with them. In this way, a Rael who isn’t explicitly asexual can go through the story and define on a case-by-case basis who he finds attractive. Not into masc characters? Lock their options when they come up; you won’t be bothered again. Dig a bit of everything, but can’t stand jerks? Well, lock out Mizz, Caleia and Sam and leave yourself open to friendlier crew!

Choice is sacred, and how you choose to define your Rael, his Origins, his Skills, and even his sexual interests, are up to you, dear reader.

Consequences

As I mentioned in the very first post introducing Void Dreaming and the concepts behind it (and again in the last entry about Skills), I think that VNs are at their best when you’re able to make meaningful choices. Simply picking your route isn’t what does it for me; I’m in it for the story. Limiting the writing to a handful of key routes makes the job so much easier for the writer, but it also prevents the reader from feeling like they can make a meaningful impact on their playthrough. After all, do the routes all happen simultaneously? Are they all equally valid? Is there a single canon one? I’m hoping that Void Dreaming, through a titanic wordcount, is going to be able to overcome that.

The solution that I mentioned was, in large part, constraining the major variables to early choices that then set the course for the whole story to follow on from. This sounds like routes with extra steps, but it’s actually not! You might remember from the first post that Void Dreaming has just one, single route. One story, starting with Rael aboard Yakeshi Station and heading to his rendezvous with Zuberi. No matter what Origin choices you make, the story always starts there. And it always proceeds, hitting the same story beats, on its way toward what I hope is a thrilling and satisfying conclusion.

Along the way though, the choices you make are going to have an impact on the characters around you. When it’s all dialogue options, your Origins will inform how Rael approaches building relationships with the different crewmembers. When it’s Skill checks, you’ll be deciding how Rael will attempt to solve problems that come up. You can fail at both of these, and yes, you can end the story prematurely by inducing a fail state. Failure, for anyone who knows my stories (or life), is always an option!

And those choices are going to have an impact beyond just the specific scene. Spent time building a friendship with Zuberi? The captain’s going to be more receptive to your suggestions later on. Been railing Mizz on the regular? Other crew will notice and comment on it. Pissed off Caleia? Well, she’s not going to make your life easy now, is she? Some of these examples, like the Mizz one, are there for flavour. They make the time you spend on the ship feel more organic; more real. But others, like how receptive Zuberi and Caleia are based on their Approval of you? That can have real, serious consequences for how you choose to proceed in the story.

And that leads to the last thing to touch on in this entry: the concept of routes.

A Wrong Turn At Albuquerque

It’s been said a few times in these entries that I’ve only prepared a single route for this story. This is true! I’ve also said that I want your choices to be meaningful. This is also true! So what’s the real truth? What’s the story behind these seemingly contradictory statements in what I want to do with Void Dreaming?

Well, the answer’s that they’re both true. In many VNs, you pick your route based on how you want to approach the story. You often select from a buffet of characters that you’d like to get hot and sticky with (in that kind of story) or that you find the most interesting (also in those kind of stories, but also also the others). Void Dreaming has a varied cast of befriendable and romanceable characters, but the story isn’t dependent on who you hang out with.

Not… completely, anyway. In Rael’s journey through fringe space, he’ll have to rely on the crew of the Void Dreamer not just to get through his duties, but his life will be in their paws more often than not. The inverse is also true! Consequently, the relationships that you build with the crew of the Dreamer will, during the ordinary operation of the vessel, perhaps seem like mere flavour for the story you’re experiencing. But those friendships you build and the trust you gain with the different members of the crew? That’s what’s going to matter in the end.

After all, when it all comes apart and all you have left are the people beside you, having that bond can mean the difference between failure and survival. The choices you make and the bonds you build are going to be what gives Rael what he needs to make it through what’s to come, and those choices run throughout the whole story from the smallest choice of who to spend time with, to the choice of who on the crew you’d trust with your life.

You also get to choose what kind of underwear Rael wears. You’re welcome.

All told, that’s all I’ve really got for this post! Next time we’re going to go into the Void Dreamer herself, and the crew that calls her home, and what some of these choices you make can lead to in the form of special Event scenes!

Until then, stars guide you.

 - Faora