Hey there! Fae back again with another Void Dreaming blog post! Holy shit, it’s been a while, hasn’t it? We’ve had our initial releases, numerous updates, and a big one is around the corner for both Itch and Patreon. That seemed like as good a time as any to give you a little something extra, since you’re about to be introduced to the concept: Event Scenes!

And yes, yes, I know; there was a whole section dedicated to Event scenes in the post about the crew. I know! But as the concept is about to become more relevant to both builds of the game (the Patreon build moreso, but there’s still some Event stuff you can uncover in Day 2), I thought this would be a good time to cover them again and give people a better idea of what to expect, and what they’re all about.

Ready? Let’s get to it!

The Main Event

I’ve mentioned them before, but I’ve never really gone into the nitty-gritty of what an Event scene actually is. Part of the reason behind this is because I thought that it might be fun to have people discover them in the course of the story, but now I think that it might be nice to have the concept here where people can give it a little look at what they should expect with them.

From Day 2 onward, Rael finds himself with some free time every day that he can spend with the crew of the Dreamer. Or, if he’s feeling antisocial, by himself. No one’s going to judge! Oh… alright, maybe a few of the crew will judge. And Obaa. However, outside of simply spending time with the crew and getting to know them better (and earning their Approval, and perhaps their Lust as well), you might also be able to do something a little more than just hang out with them.

They, as it so happens, may have started to like Rael more than just a friendly crewmate. They might have started to think more highly of him. He may not need to seek them out; they might actively want to hang out with you. Sounds good, right? If your Rael is into really getting to know a specific member of the crew, it absolutely is!

But like everything in Void Dreaming, there’s tradeoffs to be had.

On The One Paw…

Event scenes come in two distinct flavours: Narrative, and… well, the ones that give the story its 18+ rating. Don’t pretend you’re not into it. I know what you are.

Narrative scenes are all about the personal struggles of individual members of the Dreamer crew. Void Dreaming’s tagline is apt, and the whole crew has a story to tell. Some stories are separate, some intertwine in different ways, and all of them give Rael an opportunity to forge a deeper bond with the people he shares this starship with. Curious about Caleia’s time in the Authority Star Fleet? Her Event scenes can tell you that story. Want to know how Bromm’ka became a doctor? His Event scenes are the key. So it goes with all of the crew, and maybe through the right things to say during these Event scenes, you might ultimately be able to help better their perception not just of you, but of themselves.

They’re also a great way to boost the Approval (and Lust) ratings of these characters. Getting the narrative Event scenes are all about having sufficient Approval to meet their requirements, and the other ones… well, they’ve got a few more requirements.

The saucier Event scenes are exactly what they seem to be. If you’ve been working up certain crewmembers enough, then when they’re ready they might be open to fooling around with Rael. Different crew have different preferences, but Rael’s a pretty versatile fella. Whether or not they’re into what you’re into? That’s up to you. Oh! And don’t worry if you’re not playing an asexual Rael; if you’d prefer a tasteful fade-to-black for anything he’s directly involved in for these scenes, I have you (and Rael and his partner(s)) covered!

So far, so good! Event scenes are awesome! So… what could possibly go wrong? Well…

And On The Other…

Void Dreaming is a story about choices, and none of them are as significant as how you choose to spend Rael’s time each day. Time, after all, is a finite resource and not something we can ever get back once spent. And shut up; don’t think I don’t see you there with your dozens of save files at different junction points! I’ll be breaking that habit out of you by the end of this story, I’ve no doubt. After all, how many saves can Ren’py games have? Not enough for all of my choices! Ha!

Event scenes, by their nature, take up some of that time. Each day aboard the Void Dreamer is broken up into six time units, two for each of Zuberi’s three shifts. This means that the recreational time for everyone, Third Shift, gives you two time units each day… with some notable exceptions, like Day 2. So how’s this a potential problem?

Well, Event scenes don’t usually trigger out of the blue. They’re a reaction that a crewmember will have to Rael at the end of some time spent with them, and they can only be triggered if there’s enough time left in the day to fit the Event scene. And since Event scenes and normal social scenes both take up a time unit, you’ll very quickly find yourself on normal Days with less time than you might like to spend on everything you want to do.

Looking for Skill training? With a few exceptions, you can kiss that goodbye. Hoping to build a rapport with other characters too? Looks like that’ll have to wait for tomorrow, bucko! Focusing in hard on one character will reward you with more unique parts to their story, but it’ll come at the expense of everything else. For some, that’s an easy sacrifice. For others, it’s a bit harder.

And finally, some Event scenes require a little more than just getting the crew to like you. Some Event scenes have very narrow windows to let them be accessed. Some change entirely depending on what day you trigger them. And some, let’s just say, need to be triggered in unique ways that may permanently lock you out of them… at least on that read through. And some are even combinations of the above! 

Not Today

Missing the Event scenes on a given read of Void Dreaming isn’t the end of the world. It is, after all, functionally impossible to catch every single Event scene on a single run through of Void Dreaming. To see everything will absolutely take multiple trips through the narrative, which is part of what Void Dreaming is designed around in the first place. The core story may not change, but how you navigate it (and with whom) may reveal new pieces of information about your crew, the narrative, and even Rael himself. The choice, after all, is yours.

 There really is no wrong way for Rael to make his way through the narrative, only ways that don’t feel like they end well for you. No end point is invalid, and yes, that includes the failure states that are scattered along the way and may begin to be discovered as early as Day 2. They, just like Skill checks and your relationship with certain characters, can’t lock you out of making it to the very end of the story. They can change the way you get there, and they can definitely change the way things play out, but you’ll just have to try and see when we get there.

And except for the Patreon supporters, you’ve got a little bit of time. Event scenes don’t really start showing up until Third Shift on Day 3, which Patrons are going to get at the same time as the Day 2 build goes live for Itch readers in just a couple of weeks. They’ll have the opportunity to engage in quite a few, even as early as that!

But say a character wants to spend time with you, but you’ve got somewhere else to be. Feel free to brush them off and turn them down. They’ll understand! Or not. After all, it’s a bit tough to open up to someone and then be told, “Yeah, no, sorry; I wanna go sit in my room and play mind puzzles, not hear your tragic backstory.” I know that sucks every time it happens to me. It’s a weekly occurrence at this point. Ugh.

Regardless of whether an Event scene is Spicy or Mild flavoured, you’ll be able to skip out if you decide you want to. The next time you’re eligible for it to trigger, you’ll be given the same opportunity… but they might be a little less happy if you wriggle out of it again. And if you keep doing it, well… would you be happy about that? I didn’t think so.

As I said, our Patreon supporters aren’t too far from getting to see their first Event scenes with certain crewmembers come available! As mentioned previously, the Day 2 and Day 3 Part 2 builds for Itch and Patreon respectively will be coming on June 7th at the usual time of 10am AEST, so pencil it in! You’ll have your respective update notes right here, all but the most recent build of the previous release group will be wiped from Itch, and a whole new chapter of Rael’s story will unfold… only for you to have to wait a little bit for the next one. We’ll talk more about that release cadence next time with the updates!

And just in case you don’t want to wait, don’t forget that the Patreon is always months ahead of what’s available on the Itch page! From here on out, the Patreon build will always be at least three months further ahead, offering you a whole extra Day of Void Dreaming goodness in exchange for just a little financial support. Don’t feel obligated, but every dollar you put into the Void Dreaming Patreon (that isn’t sucked up by Patreon and fees and currency conversion and tax) is going straight back into the development of the VN.

We’re still on track so far, largely thanks to the support of our Patrons, but things are only going to get pricier soon as we need new CGs, new sprites, and new splash screens for a lot more content. The writing isn’t the problem; I have that well in hand. I just need to pay Vall and Rico!

So to those who can, thank you so much for your support! And to those that can’t, I hope you enjoy Void Dreaming as it comes! Please spread the word; every little bit helps!

Until then, stars guide you.

 - Faora