Riding the Sunset Bird

Just an Our Life fan looking to take a little peeky-peek into the code and have some fun by keeping the game alive even as Our Life 2 is in development. My Unofficial Our Life: Beginnings & Always Patch My Our Life Script Edits

[riding-the-sunset-bird]

Obligatory Pinned Masterpost

Hi! Figured it'd be best to have an Our Life masterpost detailing my posts, including stuff about how the code works, how to get particular scenes, my script modifications for new scenes/dialog (requested or otherwise), and so on~

(note: I actually had so many links here that I needed to make a Google Docs page instead for all of the links)

[https://docs.google.com/document/d/1FtVH8ADJwbuEk4V1dben21i6hg8pZNIDD5T5ALL5Ei4]

Riding-the-Sunset-Bird (Masterpost)

Detailing Code/Mechanics Cove-Specific How Cove Changes His Appearance ○ [from Step 1 to Step 2] ○ [from Step 2 to Step 3] ○ [from Step 3 to

[riding-the-sunset-bird]

Do you have any idea on how to get access to the code/script stuff for our life n&f? I wanna see all the CGS in the current demo (Patreon player if that makes a diff) but I'm not that smart when it comes to code ;-;

You can do it in the same way as the first game: follow the "Unpacking Our Life’s Files" step here to extract the .rpa files in the "game" folder (it's just that you're doing it for the second game rather than the first), and the CGs for N&F are kept in images->CGs.

[riding-the-sunset-bird]

How do you find/keep all the niche interactions? Do you keep a document listing it all or are you searching for it in the code?

I was just curious because I remember their was going to be a guidebook as a backer reward but I don't know if it was ever realized.

Partly searching through code, some of it I found naturally and looked up why it happened. I have people I know as well who play the game and they've asked me why x/y/z thing happened, so that helped.

My masterpost is my "document" in a way. :D

[riding-the-sunset-bird]

re: https://riding-the-sunset-bird.tumblr.com/post/821115346572476416/

Oh wow, can't believe I didn't think of that haha! Of course you'd need to have the homemade gift ready beforehand...

Anyway, thanks again!

No problem~! Happy to help. >u<

[riding-the-sunset-bird]

Hi, do you know what triggers the option to give Cove a homemade graduation gift in step 3? I thought I was supposed to pick at least one artistic/musical interest for my MC as well as pick that their interests hadn't changed, because that's what worked for my last playthrough, but it didn't work for my current one. Thank you for your time and any help you can give!

Hi!

You only have to choose the option You had a gift of your own ready to give to Cove when the chance came. when you're at the mall. The other option for a gift blocks you out from homemade ones.

For reference, the options for homemade gifts go like so:

a scrapbook

a song you recorded (requires music hobby)

a drawing/painting/sculpture you created (requires art hobby)

an accessory you made (requires fashion hobby)

writing you wrote (requires writing hobby)

[riding-the-sunset-bird]

Hi there! I was reading through your recommended moment order and saw you talking about Cove calling the MC 'pretty' in Grown Up but I've never been able to get that dialogue option! Can you explain how to get it?? Thank you!

It's Long Day where Cove can call the MC "pretty." The MC has to choose "hibiscus" as their favorite flower and be at Fond/Crush with Cove.

[riding-the-sunset-bird]

Hello, I don't know if this already asked. How do you unlock that scene/choice when you tell Lee of having a crush on the mystery boy on Step 2? I tried to find ways to unlock it but end up the same outcome, especially I put Cove's relationship to Nervous Fond.

Oh, do you mean this?

Riding the Sunset Bird

Got an anonymous request for Lee's reaction in a hypothetical where the MC could tell Lee that they were crushing on the "mystery boy" (Baxt

This is a script edit I did to the game. I try and make that clear by having a little note at the bottom for any screenshots that contain an edit I did but it might not be "intrusive" enough?

[riding-the-sunset-bird]

Hi there!! I was just wondering of you knew/could explain how the initiative levels affect Baxter specifically?? I picked high initiative for a nervous crush in Step 3 in the hopes that I wouldn't have to pick all the snuggle/you kiss him options and that he would start those but if I pick the passive option where in a similar situation Cove would start the action in the next section, it just passes by with Baxter. Please help!! Thank you so much for your time!

Hi!

Can you define "passes by"? I also need to know if you're running my patch and, if you are, if you set your initiative/interest of Baxter on that patch or are loading a save that's pre-patch (I had to adjust some stuff since Baxter's initiative was overwriting Cove's).

I additionally covered all of Baxter's initiative checks here.

Your MC being Nervous should have virtually no impact on how initiative-based checks run.

[riding-the-sunset-bird]

Hello, hope you're still doing well!

I wanted to ask about how the physical and romantic attraction work in the game. For example, I did a run in Baxter's DLC in which the MC mentions their boundaries after agreeing to spend the night in Baxter's bed when dating at that point, which I didn't get when I had set physical attraction to being physically attracted in general for a different run. I wondered if this was affected by how you select your attraction in-game?

Hope this made sense! Thank you!

It made sense, yes!

And you're right, the MC's physical attraction can affect scenes like that. For example, continuing with Baxter, there's the scene when they catch him in his underwear. Coveromantic/Covesexual MCs (doesn't matter if they fell for Baxter later, like in Step 4) will completely miss out on the potential scene of them being attracted to the sight, whereas demiromantic/asexual/demisexual/unsure-about-orientation MCs will have the option to find it attractive or not.

There aren't many places physical attraction comes into play, but it's there.

[riding-the-sunset-bird]

Howdy! So I'm doing some work on the wiki, trying to record information about each Moment in OLBA, and I was wondering about the code, is there any easy way to see in each Moment what background CG/images are used? I'm looking to record this for every Moment (base game and all DLC), as well as the Intros and Conclusions to each Step, as well as the Wedding?

Nnnnnoooo problem~!

This seemed like something really fun to do, so I decided to turn this ask into a spreadsheet! I've tracked all backgrounds that appear during every moment, meaning you can compare moments with each other to see which have the most variety.

For extra fun factor, I've also included unused backgrounds that were "left over" after I was done!

Our Life: Beginnings & Always - Tracking Backgrounds

(note that I asked this person for further clarification, so not included - beyond one exception in the "unused" section - are images such as the ones in the in-betweens and such or the mini CGs that behave like pop-ups, since they aren't technically backgrounds)

(also, real quick only because the asker asked: by either extracting the .rpa files or using something like RPA Explorer to look inside them, backgrounds are often listed in the script files under "scene" commands, not that they'll need to do that now though--)

[riding-the-sunset-bird]

hi!! thanks for your amazing job as always. im sorry if this question was already asked, but i was wondering how can you get the option to invite jeremy to the mc's and cove's wedding, and if he is invited, what makes him accept the invitation or not. and if he accepts, what happens in the wedding? does he gives a speech if you have the option to the microphones be open for everyone? does he interact with cove and the mc? there can be differents events about interactions with jeremy depending on if you forgave him or not? basically, what i want to know is all the possibilities surrounding jeremy and the wedding. sorry for all the questions 😭😭

Thank you!! >///<

And it's no problem at all, I'm happy to answer!

All possibilities/options for Jeremy, yeah?

Inviting Jeremy

The requirements to meet this are simply that you played Serendipity (meaning you must have Cove's Step 3 DLC), where you have to have asked for Jeremy's number. Then, during the Step 3 ending, be sure to try calling him on the phone.

This will make the prompt to invite him appear during the start of Cove's Wedding DLC. Jeremy will always accept the invite, so you don't need to do anything else at that point.

Shiloh's Personality & Jeremy's Dating Status

I know you only asked about Jeremy, but Shiloh and what you decide to do about him plays a decent role in how things go, so I'm gonna try to explain real quick how to invite Shiloh and how to change his personality. If you outright don't want to have anything to do with him (regardless of how he affects Jeremy), then skip this section entirely.

Inviting Shiloh

Be "alright" with Shiloh by the end of Serendipity. This is done by either accepting his apology or feeling relieved about it. If your MC is unsure instead by asking if he was just pretending/being unable to give a straight answer, then they should stick around and say that they still like Shiloh, were not surprised by any of this, or are interested in what happens next.

Call Shiloh during the Step 3 ending. The above condition ensures this is an option for you.

With this done, inviting him should be in the same menu as inviting Jeremy during the Cove Wedding DLC.

Manually Setting Shiloh's Personality

I explained how to make sure you get the Shiloh you want here, but for a quicker rundown:

Shiloh has five different states that he can be in: four different personalities, and then a fifth state that can be any of the four personalities with the addition that he has a girlfriend. The fifth state is only relevant to Jeremy if you care about Jeremy not having a girlfriend and want the Shiloh with the "Shiloh" personality at the same time.

To directly and easily change which Shiloh you have, do 1 and 2 under the Inviting Shiloh section above, then bring him up during Cove's Step 4 via the option, "Actually, you wanna know who else being here would make this extra perfect?" where Liz will make five different comments.

Liz's starting comment linked to Shiloh's personality goes as follows:

"I'm really not so sure about that." -> "Shiloh" personality

"You know, it might actually be fun to have him join in with the full group." -> "Mr. Fields" personality

"Honestly, I'm not so sure about that, [MC]." -> "Shy" personality

"Ah, [MC]?" -> "Leon" personality

"This is a big crowd, [MC]." -> any personality, but has a girlfriend

Jeremy's Girlfriend

If your MC did not call Shiloh during the Step 3 ending, Jeremy will have a girlfriend by default. Whether they bring Shiloh up during Cove's Step 4 is irrelevant.

If your MC did call Shiloh during the Step 3 ending by being okay with him by the end of Serendipity, but did not bring him up during Cove's Step 4, Shiloh will be randomized at the very start of Cove's Wedding DLC (literally before you've even seen the text "Welcome to the Cove Wedding DLC!"). Depending on the randomization, Jeremy may have a girlfriend, Shiloh may have a girlfriend, or neither will have a girlfriend. Note that it will never be both having a girlfriend at the same time.

If your MC did call Shiloh during the Step 3 ending and did bring him up during Cove's Step 4, then so long as Liz's first comment is not the "Shiloh" personality one, Jeremy will not have a girlfriend.

Getting the "Shiloh" personality but preventing Jeremy from having a girlfriend is simple:

Get the "any personality" Shiloh and invite Shiloh to the wedding when you get to Cove's Wedding DLC.

Get to the scene where Cove and the MC are making rounds, then stop at the textbox "Cove skipped ahead, buoyed by the brief, but fun interaction, and you went right along with him."

Save the game, then proceed until Shiloh's sprite pops into view. If he has brown hair with a ponytail (the text will simply call him "Shiloh Fields" without any title), you got it. If not, go back on your save and try again.

Talking to Jeremy

When the MC and Cove are making their rounds, they'll eventually come across Jeremy if he was invited. Here are all the variations during the conversation.

Whether the MC likes Jeremy or not mildly changes narration about "the little rain cloud bringing a warmth to the heart." It'll only be Cove's heart if the MC doesn't like Jeremy, but both Cove's and the MC's heart if the MC does like Jeremy.

If the MC punched Jeremy during Birthday and tries to punch his arm during the wedding reception, he'll instinctively wince in preparation of the contact.

Cove's initial interaction with Jeremy (after the first two menus of the MC greeting him) is based on if he's Warm or not:

Cove: "Thanks so much for coming. It wouldn't have been the same without you."

Jeremy: "True. It would've been better."

Warm Cove

Cove: "Well, it's nice of you to want to come to share the suffering."

Jeremy: "Misery loves company."

He was sarcastic, but it was far more playful than dismissive.

Cove being not Warm at all

Cove: "No, it wouldn't have been."

Jeremy stalled when confronted with Cove's blunt earnestness. He ultimately grumbled toothlessly.

Jeremy: "I don't know how, but whatever, it's your day."

If Cove has a tattoo and the MC asks Jeremy about how Pran is doing, Jeremy will comment that he told Pran about Cove's tattoo and Pran likes it.

If Jeremy has a girlfriend, the MC can ask him about her here. If you skipped the Shiloh section, I imagine you didn't have your MC call Shiloh during the Step 3 ending, so this option should be available to you.

If the MC did not invite Shiloh, Jeremy will leave after the conversation is over by heading off to get drinks. If certain alcohol (liquors, beers, or mixed cocktails) is being served at the event, it will be specified that Jeremy is going to the bar.

If the MC did invite Shiloh, Shiloh will show up at the end of the conversation. How Jeremy interacts with Shiloh depends on Shiloh's personality, but Shiloh will always convince Jeremy to go get drinks together afterwards. The only other variation amongst those is as follows:

If the MC has ever sworn before in Step 3, the "Shiloh"/"Mr. Fields" conversation will refer to Jeremy as "pissed" instead of "ticked" at Shiloh's appearance. The "Shy" conversation, however, will have Jeremy change his accusation that Shiloh is "acting like Mr. Ego" to "acting like a fuckboy," though in both cases the comparison is to someone named Everett.

The "Leon" personality inviting Jeremy out to drinks goes differently depending on if alcohol (wine, liquor, beer, and/or cocktails) is being served at the wedding or not.

Cove's reaction at the end of the Jeremy conversation varies slightly if Shiloh was invited. Shiloh's personality doesn't change his response.

Bonus Fun Fact: the only way to make Jeremy blush has nothing to do with his potential girlfriend; it's hugging him as a greeting or complimenting him after he "compliments" the wedding.

Remaining Jeremy Mentions/Interactions

If Shiloh Was Invited

A Shiloh with the "Shiloh" or "Mr. Fields" personality will invite Jeremy to the bouquet toss if the MC decided to have that as an event. The other personalities won't participate and there's no dialog/narration difference for Jeremy, who will simply watch from afar.

Getting Jeremy to win is as follows:

Save the game when the menu pops up to either encourage Cove to toss (if only Cove is tossing) or for the MC to decide how to toss (if only the MC is tossing or both are tossing).

If Cove is the only one throwing the bouquet, have the MC tell him, "You can do it, Cove!" but if the MC/both are throwing, have the MC do a "tricky side shot."

The game will then "flip a coin" to decide if Cliff or Jeremy catch the bouquet, so you'll have to go back on your save if it's Cliff and only Cove/the MC is throwing.

If both Cove and the MC are throwing and you purposefully did something different than the instructions or let Cliff catch the bouquet, then it will be random between all remaining participants as to who catches the other bouquet, so Jeremy still has a chance. For that, I recommend saving at "From there, you continued your scan of the crowd for the whereabouts of the second bouquet. And..."

If Jeremy caught one, he'll be grumpy about it while Shiloh giggles at him, though any actual dialog following that is only if he has a girlfriend.

Regardless of Shiloh Being Invited or Not

During the cake eating, Jeremy will always eat it with modest bites without complaint. Cove will later offer Jeremy some left-over cake after "how eagerly" Jeremy ate, and Jeremy will always accept because "they truly were close" for Cove to do that.

Baxter will always say that Jeremy is "something of a character," but that he and the staff can "handle a bit of snark just fine." A Shiloh with the "Shy" or "Leon" personalities will be mentioned alongside Jeremy, but it's so same-y that it's not worth checking.

There's nothing beyond all of that.

[riding-the-sunset-bird]

im a different anon from the last script ask and im here to say PLEASE add them your writing is great and from what you've shared it all completes the puzzle in my mind of what i would want to say/do/feel in certain moments.

>////< sTAAAAHP

But thanks so much!! ;///; I don't claim to be a perfect replacement for GB-Patch or anything, I just figured out about modding Ren'Py games in the first place because of the first Our Life, and I wanted more of it.

The interest people have given me has also made me think more about moments I initially give much thoughts, or just little extra bits I figured would be neat (was talking to someone the other day about Talks and Ghost, both of which I totally/mostly ignored for various reasons). I added an option to one of the menus in the prologue earlier and you guys made me want to add a little extra dialog to it, haha.

[riding-the-sunset-bird]

This is long, I'm sorry ;_;

After your post about reasons why people follow you, and you mentioned that Cho is only a small part of that, I have to agree, but also she does have those that appreciate her! (like me lol)

This is a tangent, but bare with me: I'm a big Cove appreciator, and I tend to romance him to get a juicy game experience since he has a ton of content as the main LI, BUT BAXTER. I romanced this man once and he took up residence in my mind ever since. I want to study him under a microscope; he has a PhD in self sabotage I swear.

Baxter's route helped me realise that I appreciate Cove best when he's at a fond level and/or at Step 4 because he's less nervous and more direct. And Baxter "you have nice legs and I'll tell you this in front of your man" Ward is Mr. Direct for sure.

Seeing Cho's post about having Cove as a friend but Baxter as a partner blew my mind, because I realised that this option would deliver what I consider the best aspects of Cove and Baxter. And the tidbit about having a baby crush on Cove but losing it along the way because of circumstances, yet still having a strong friendship? Omg big brain. Galaxy brain even.

Your appreciation for Baxter as a character helps me appreciate him more, and Cho is such a cute MC! If you wanna share more about her I'd be in the front row to listen.

(Last thing. Both Cove and Baxter live in my mind, but at least Cove pays rent, my gosh. My MC took the first chance she got in Step 3 to kiss Baxter's neck mole, and when she did it again Step 4 and Baxter was like "aw you remembered" I had to put down my device and take a walk I LOVE HIM GOODBYE)

No need to apologize for being long! I mean, I imagine you've seen my Baxter yaps by now, those are long too.

But yeah, YOU GET IT, YOU GET IT SO WELL, ANON. Especially with Baxter having an PhD in self sabotage, that's 100% accurate.

I think I mentioned it somewhere before, but best friend Cove and romanced Baxter is SO PERFECT for me too because I don't care that much for Cove's Step 4, but I do like having my MC spend time with him. Everyone also bullies Cove regardless (see: Errands with Cove being "clingy" on Fond, not just Crush/Love) so you still get him being easily embarrassed and everything if you like that.

I'll add really quick that there's one exception, but it's alternative canon/an AU. Meow's OC, August, is Cho's best friend in what we call the "Pocket Dimension AU" where they can travel between both universes. We're not talking about that now though dfkjgfdgf.

I have a few of Derek's moments as technically canon (Lemonade is definitely my favorite), but Derek's mandatory inclusion in Our Life canon in general is actually quite funny to me because he was M.I.A. during the chance he could've/would've had to try and aim for Cho's heart. I mentioned it in the original post, but Cho's only plan/goal when moving out was to be with someone.

She'd intended for/expected it to be Cove, but she would've been cool with Terry/Miranda as well. Derek had the chance to swoop in and get his game on right there, but alas.

Baxter is also the only person in Cho's life who ever "got to her first." Cliff didn't ask if he could be her father, she "adopted him" back in Step 1, likewise with dictating Cove as her best friend. She pounces first based on what she adores about people (there's a running joke about her adopting grown men into her found family), but Baxter is the one who saw her interest in him and offered a closer relationship whereas it would've been Cho's "job" to initiate with people up until then.

That was super attractive and important to her as an MC who's Direct across the board for all LIs, AND LIKE ANON SAID, THIS MAN IS SO SENTIMENTAL AND ROMANTIC AND REMEMBERS/NOTICES THE SMALLEST THINGS AND URGH.

He gave Cho what she's always wanted regardless of his statement that it was "just for the summer." Even though their time together was for the season, she felt that she got to know how it felt to have someone who wanted to stay with her as badly as she wanted to stay with them. She held onto that and cherished it even after the events of the Step 3 ending.

She and Baxter are opposite sides of the same coin. Neither want a life of loneliness and both strive to please others (I don't wanna use the term "people pleaser" because I don't think they necessarily sacrifice for it; they want to do it genuinely), but whereas Baxter settles for something fleeting yet passionate, Cho takes the gamble and leaves it up to the other party despite ultimately coming out disappointed.

Taking a quote from Baxter, his mindset is, "I want to be liked, but I don't want to be important," but Cho's is more like, "I want to be important, but I'm only liked."

[riding-the-sunset-bird]

Hi! I saw your post where you mentioned that your patch edits were testing the waters for if you could add more of your personal written scripts, but you haven't heard much feedback on that. Let me then say YES YOU MAY. I loved your edits, like the way in which you allow the checks to be done by Lee instead! It was witty, funny and in character, and I'd love to have a playthrough with more of your touch. I also love Lee, and it gave me even more of an appreciation for her, and it would make my day(s) if future patch edits would allow me to do the same with the other OL characters 🤗

Aww, you're sweet. ;////;

It's still true that I haven't had much feedback. I feel like I have a lot of followers but I'm not quite sure what everyone wants as a whole?

Obviously, I can answer most questions about the first Our Life, but that's situational since that requires being sent asks. I feel like I've dug into a lot of the bigger things people care about with the code as well, such as the mechanics behind Cove changing, so anything further would have to be something wild like "here is literally every single variation/possibility in [insert moment here]."

I have my MC, but probably 0% of my audience actually followed me to hear about Cho (/not derogatory, just an observation), and I'm entirely neutral on whether I make stuff about her privately or publicly. I just like to post content that makes people happy, so it's dependent on that~ c:

Then last but not least is obviously my personal modifications extending beyond my patched version; not quality of life stuff, not fixes, just actual additions to the game that I've either always wanted or thought made sense. Definitely if I were to drop anything first, it'd probably be Shopping since I more than doubled the length of that script and think it'd be a hypothetically "worthy" choice. I'm still a little shy at the idea, but I get closer to wanting to release my stuff the more I hear people wanting it.

Anyway, since you mentioned other characters, here are screenshots from my version of Shopping!

(These are all from separate endings, so you can only choose one~)

[riding-the-sunset-bird]

Another Happy Birthday to Baxter! His gift is

GETTING ABSOLUTELY LOVED.

HE WILL BE TREASURED. THAT IS A THREAT AND A PROMISE.

[riding-the-sunset-bird]

Finished the most recent patch for the "Sunofficial" patch of Our Life: Beginnings & Always! Also updated the general tutorial since there was an extra bit that didn't need to be there.

Patch Notes below the break!

STEP 2

Birthday

added a swear point if the MC yells at Jeremy, "You're a dick!"

STEP 3

Late Shift

fixed a check when the MC can potentially talk to Cove about seeing the inside of the house originally owned by the "mean not-grandparents"; it originally checked if the MC had experienced Planning or Drinks beforehand, but neglected Mountain

Reflection

added a missing variable to confirm that the MC has heard Cove's scar story; the lack of this prevented a line of narration playing in Baxter's version of Hang if the MC heard the scar story in Reflection specifically

Serendipity

added to the check that allows the MC to bring up Cove's Jeremy impression, which initially only checked for Errands (thus ignoring the moment in Wave if the MC joined Cove in going to the park)

Sightseeing

adjusted a section that gives narration and dialog concerning what Baxter does when the MC and company are not available; Miranda could be mentioned as company for him even if she's yet to meet him

fixed a check during the conversation the MC may have with Baxter about volunteer work; it looks for Cove's or Baxter's version of Hang separately, but those two checks first require a check for Cove's version (thus making the dialog coming from Baxter's version impossible)

↳ fixed a typo in said dialog

Hang

fixed a check that was meant to see if the MC has had significant interactions with Baxter (i.e: any Baxter DLC moment), but it doesn't look for Mountain

added a missing variable confirming that the MC has been in Baxter's car

Planning

as with Hang, added a missing variable confirming that the MC has been in Baxter's car

note: There's an oddity I've detailed here where Baxter will not recognize the MC if they met him during Soiree but didn't dance with him. This seems intentional at first, but there is unused narration and dialog in Sightseeing (more than listed in the post) for Baxter and the MC talking about the fact that they didn't dance together. I'm still debating on how I want to go about fixing this, which may involve adding a menu or more narration and dialog in the Step 3 intro. Just wanted to make it clear that I'm aware of and haven't forgotten about it.

[riding-the-sunset-bird]

The last post's asker had a neat take that has me thinking about the concept of if there were long-term consequences for being rude to Cove. The hypothetical of how that'd work could be whatever, like if the interest level only went for the MC's feelings towards Cove but they have to do certain actions/give certain treatment to make him like the MC. Basically, it'd be like typical approval/disapproval or like/dislike reactions in other games with relationship systems, so Cove wouldn't be MCromantic or anything in this scenario.

What would be his type (presumably different based on if he's warm/moderate/cold)? What would be his limit where he wouldn't want to interact with the MC anymore? What would get him to like or dislike the MC?

Examples:

Lizzie appreciating the MC lying on her behalf in Grown Up, but Cove doesn't. He might be neutral to the MC participating in the quiz in Library, but he likes it if they do choose him instead.

Cove feeling dejected if the MC doesn't take his issues with Cliff/his family seriously during Step 2.

High approval if the MC goes out of their way to plan their own outing for him in Happiness.

Line drawn by insulting his true love that is the ocean.

This doesn't have to become a discussion, I'm just yapping into the void.