My Issues for the romance storylines (Some spoilers)

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As others have stated in other threads the storylines end very abruptly and completing them doesn't do anything, there aren't really any extra bits of dialogue and even those would go a long way.
Other threads:

Characters being body-type and voice/personality type locked breaks immersion. Most characters preferences aren't stated, with the exception of Judy. While playing as FemV I tried romancing Panam on my first playthrough, after doing the storyline I was convinced that I chose the wrong option but when I looked it up it turned out the wrong option was choosing the wrong body type. I had to break my immersion and look up the reason why I couldn't romance a character exposing myself to spoilers because it wasn't clearly stated in game. As a result it forced my to "settle" for another character which in turn lessened the impact of the whole romance.
Maybe Characters could have a cannon preference but be open to all players e.g. FemV and Panam. Just like is done with endings of many games having multiple options but for the purposes of sequels and dlc one ending is specifically chosen as canon.
I didn't want to have to create a whole new character to romance my preferred character. I thought we might have learned this from games like mass effect and dragon age.

There are also problems with specific characters, most notable Kerry and River.
River just doesn't feel like a romance character, his storyline kind of conflicts because it just feels wrong to be hunting a weird killer and trying to find his nephew in a really emotional story just to be flirting with him at the same time. Additionally, the aftermath of the storyline is way too short for any sort of romance that doesn't feel wrong or rushed.
Kerry only being available to guys is weird considering some of the comments he makes about FemV. It seems like Kerry would be better off as a bi option at the very least, however, im still against the whole locking of characters to certain preferences as far as player choice is concerned.

Maybe an overhaul update adding in new content for the romance quests and getting rid of the body and voice requirements for romances would be better. I know this would be a lot of work but I really feel like the whole romance lines need a rework to make the game feel more emotional an memorable.
Additionally, adding in new romances in dlcs following this format would be a good idea as there are too few romance options right now.

Finally, I don't want to leave this post without saying that I hope you all don't feel like im trying to sh*t all over this game because im not. I genuinely enjoyed my entire playthrough despite the bugs and the issues outlined above. I know the whole dev team worked so hard on this game and will continue to push through bug fixes. I hope after the rocky launch that this game can find its feet through overhauls and expansions just like the similarly received No Man's Sky.
So thank you Devs for bringing this world to life and I hope at least some of these ideas and suggestions are taken on board.
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I'm just so disappointed that once their storyline is done they become ghosts doomed to repeat the same 3 lines. These characters are so well built out and you really genuinely like them, but then their quests are done and that's it. I can't interact. Panam doesn't even move from her chair. I really want to interact more, the dead end is so disappointing from characters who feel so incredibly alive until that very moment. Give me phone calls or texts at least. I'd like activities more, but I'd settle for some more back and forth communication. I really don't want to ask her about Rogue or the Kang Tao again.
Here is a quote specifically on the abrupt endings that I find nicely sums up why its so heartbreaking.

Another thought is that the Mass effect series worked so well with building these characters and romances/relationships because it was a trilogy, they had three games to perfect the emotions they wanted the players to feel. Which is why I feel like the storylines are a little on the short side despite being of unquestionably high quality.
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Aside from the texts that Judy sends you through the game (which is a pretty surprising amount. Also her nickname for V is Cucumber which was sweet.) It felt weird walking into her apartment and only having a few things to say that you can saw over the phone.
That's what I thought until I got the Stars ending. Any other ending kinda breaks my heart.
I love this game, but... I have to agree with everyone here, we need more options with our relationships in game. There needs to be activities like going out to dinner and actually sitting at a counter or table and eating the food, more dialog between partners, house calls from both V and partner for hook ups, even just chilling on the couch cuddled up watching T.V with chat options, going to a favourite spot to name just a few. I get that things had to be cut for the sake of release date but please add more things to do with them. I do not just want to rush through the story or side missions, I want to get lost in this city and soak in everything.
Great job CDPR really love this game, keep up the hard work.
The game needs to give you ways to continue interacting with them throughout. This game is pretty dark. Not gonna lie, if I were V I would probably have just eaten a gun at some point after losing my best friend, getting left for dead in a junkyard, and waking up with a ghost in my head trying to kill me. The characters are the bright spots that give V a reason to keep fighting, so it would be nice if they didn't just hear about how you are literally dying, hit you with a 'damn bro' and then vanish after one more mission. Just my thoughts on it.
I got a response from one of the writers of DAO about a DLC that would include these options, of just hanging out with your love interest.

I feel like the length was long enough, but they missed out by not having your romance come along with you for most missions. For example the disconnect happens when V tells Panam about the relic, all you get is 3 options like you said, but I think the standard we expect from RPGs are after every mission there should be some more dialogue with your romance.

Judy I felt was pretty deep, I was very sad your couldn't have her as an option for a straight V, I legit felt sad lol I think she needs to have a conversation with you and let you down easy. Hopefully in future dlc, your friendship can turn into something more?

But Panam was legit, gave me Sandra Bullock vibes who I have a huge crush on lol
90% of sidequests here are way too short ,all quests should chain and interconnect with each other more. And branch out to many different paths.
It's so sad because all they had to do was keep going. They have the framework there, her character is perfectly done. But just as we become a couple, just as we get to know her and get her to open up to us the game cuts us off permanently lmao It's so tragic D;

I try not to be negative because like you said there's so many people on here and everywhere hating on this game already. And tbh I don't even really care about the wonky Police system that much or any of the other big complaints people have that I hear repeated everywhere. The biggest downside to the game for me is that so many of the stories and characters were cut short, whether through cut-content or for the purpose of making everything happen fast. it doesn't give us enough time to do what the game really SHINES at, the story, and the character relationships we build.
I actually believe romances in Baldur's Gate 2 were longer and more complex and that was 20y ago. I still remember how the girls were at each other throats especially Viconia and Aerie. Still it ended the same. It is actually always the same - you get the girl/guy and its over. It never evolves.

Just adding in more quotes from other posts with thing I want to highlight.
The last quote (from Johny_Mnemonic69) here is pretty big too as it mentions that romances in games all tend to end the same way and that they never evolve. Adding in some quests after becoming a couple where that relationship is acknowledges and used in the quest would have undoubtedly set this game apart as a cut above the rest when I came to character building and emotional connection.
 
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As opposing to some previous opinions.

They can't make anyone happy, man, what can i say... When River rejected me because he was not gay, pushing aside Panam because i don't like girls, it felt natural. I would love more options, more DLC naturally. i would love to have more joytoys, around the map and not a single option obviously. If i chose male, fem voice V i would be fucked as nobody would have accepted me haha.

Not obtaining a character, because of your build, for me its a good call. But a true thing is that having a relationship doesn't add much... It's not like i'm with X,Z,Y does anything.

Being gay, just having the option to kiss another guy in a game it's huge. But stille there's a lot of road to go trough.
 
Well.. I have zero faith in further romances as CDPR doesn't know what a romance or relationship means. They only handle the seduction part - the meet and sleep with select person. Look at the total voidness of dialogue and content going forward after you hook up.
 
Well.. I have zero faith in further romances as CDPR doesn't know what a romance or relationship means. They only handle the seduction part - the meet and sleep with select person. Look at the total voidness of dialogue and content going forward after you hook up.

Frankly, this feels like you don't know romances in other games where they're exactly the same but worse.
 
I prefer characters having some preferences, whether gender, point of view, ect.

The problem with the approach where every potential LI is into the protagonist regardless of their gender, actions, or point of view is that they then seem to feel a bit less like real people. Real people have preferences aren't going to be open to dating everyone.

That isn't to say that romances couldn't have been better handled in this game. Maybe there is an argument for having at least one other choice for every background.
 
I'll be absolutely brutally honest, your missing nothing apart from a sex scene but in the case of Judy romancing her does make you miss one of the biggest fuck ups the game does offer story/dialogue wise outside of bugs

That said what is there are well writing and voiced characters which you should experience even from a friends perspective, then just visit a joytoy of your choosing which has got more variation in scene and more interaction than any of them ;) :p
 
I prefer characters having some preferences, whether gender, point of view, ect.

The problem with the approach where every potential LI is into the protagonist regardless of their gender, actions, or point of view is that they then seem to feel a bit less like real people. Real people have preferences aren't going to be open to dating everyone.
I understand this argument and to an extent do agree. However, it isn't like the characters are openly advertising their preference, especially with Panam and Kerry and with the exception of Judy. At that point I just feel like unnecessarily locking the romances behind an arbitrary check just feels off to me. It forces a player to create a new character just for that one choice, a new character that doesn't have the same feeling, at least for me.
My first playthrough of the game, im not gonna lie I was simping over Panam, but not even once was the rejection stated to be because of sexual preference, it was just sort of a "not now" response. Having to start a second playthrough just sort of lessens the impact of the entire relationship.
 
As opposing to some previous opinions.

They can't make anyone happy, man, what can i say... When River rejected me because he was not gay, pushing aside Panam because i don't like girls, it felt natural. I would love more options, more DLC naturally. i would love to have more joytoys, around the map and not a single option obviously. If i chose male, fem voice V i would be fucked as nobody would have accepted me haha.

Not obtaining a character, because of your build, for me its a good call. But a true thing is that having a relationship doesn't add much... It's not like i'm with X,Z,Y does anything.

Being gay, just having the option to kiss another guy in a game it's huge. But stille there's a lot of road to go trough.

wow, that's the complete opposite experience as i had. i remember trying very hard to not choose options that would lead to an unwanted love interest with River. the way he spoke, made it clear it was written for a love interest. i still remember going out of my way to hit on his sister and to beat those kids at the game and then telling him i wanted to drink lemonade instead of alcohol as we had an unavoidable, awkward outing alone on top of that water tower. then him asking if i were sure, cuz he could be very charming when he was drunk. as if that held any appeal to me. i was 100% sure he was meant as the gay love interest in this game. not to mention the proclivity of his nephew and the fact everywhere we went had gay magazines strategically placed. game was clearly trying to lead you on

similarly i thought i was gonna bang judy. i knew she was gay but i was trying to get her drunk or something and make a move. that was shut down pretty abruptly when i made a comment about how good she looked in the wetsuit, only to have her respond to not make it weird dude. it was nice tho, cuz after that i decided to avoid wasting my time finding all her stupid memorabilia on the lake floor
 
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Characters being body-type and voice/personality type locked breaks immersion. Most characters preferences aren't stated, with the exception of Judy. While playing as FemV I tried romancing Panam on my first playthrough, after doing the storyline I was convinced that I chose the wrong option but when I looked it up it turned out the wrong option was choosing the wrong body type. I had to break my immersion and look up the reason why I couldn't romance a character exposing myself to spoilers because it wasn't clearly stated in game. As a result it forced my to "settle" for another character which in turn lessened the impact of the whole romance.
Maybe Characters could have a cannon preference but be open to all players e.g. FemV and Panam. Just like is done with endings of many games having multiple options but for the purposes of sequels and dlc one ending is specifically chosen as canon.
I didn't want to have to create a whole new character to romance my preferred character. I thought we might have learned this from games like mass effect and dragon age.

Kerry only being available to guys is weird considering some of the comments he makes about FemV. It seems like Kerry would be better off as a bi option at the very least, however, im still against the whole locking of characters to certain preferences as far as player choice is concerned.

Maybe an overhaul update adding in new content for the romance quests and getting rid of the body and voice requirements for romances would be better. I know this would be a lot of work but I really feel like the whole romance lines need a rework to make the game feel more emotional an memorable.
This was addressed over a bunch of threads already. Sexualities won't change, and you will have to deal with that. If you want cardboard cutouts instead of realistic characters with depth and good writing, go play something else. :facepalm:
 
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I really hope CDPR expands on our interactions with Panam and the rest in the DLC/Expansions. The characters are the best part about that game for me because they all feel so real it's truly amazing. However they stop feeling real after we finish their questline and they become robots repeating the same 3 lines over and over again with no new input and no further interactions with you or the world around them.

However I personally think making the romance options have preferences makes them feel more real. if CDPR was going to address the fact that there aren't a lot of options, then they should just add in new characters that are bi (maybe just one bi male and one bi female) That gives every player at least 2 options, sometimes 3. Regardless of it they do that though, they would still need to fix the core problem that all the relationships have after the last quest, or else they will just turn into lifeless robots as well </3
 
Tbh the Panam one just goes nowhere with a female, all the come ons and initial rejections the exact same as male V then after saving saul everythings just dropped and discontinued without a further thought or why, female V got the hint i feel

Judy's on the other hand although stating a preference for females, as a male is lead along the exact same path as a female with the same dialogue and choices with the exception of the male is shot down an put into friend zone in the cringiest possible fashion, a case of pandering at worst or allowing access to content that should've been blocked from everyone not romancing

The more i delve into Judy's the more bad it is, the more i delve into Panams the more better and realistic it is, for me anyhow
 
I have over one hundred hours invested in this game and I have many issues with the ending that occurred. After I finished, I investigated all the endings and what I have been able to determine is, the only way you can have anything even closely resembling a 'happy' ending is riding off into the sunset after romancing Panam. Why?

My point and and on topic is why do we need to romance anyone? If that is a players choice? It seems that unless you do romance someone, it effects the course of the game some how. Even if you do romance any of the principle characters, it is a shallow experience from everything I have read.

That said, I have to admit that I somehow romanced Panam and I still have no idea how that happened. I went back, tried different dialogue choices, and it things still happened, I went back to an earlier save and started that particular quest over, it happened again. I felt railroaded (and I did say something like 'not now') into romancing Panam whether I wanted to or not. Even so, it did not effect my ending and I certainly didn't ride off into the sunset with her and I was playing as a Nomad, was never given that choice.

I've read many of the responses here on this post / topic and most have valid points. I'm one of those few who don't see the need or want to romance anyone in the game. From what I have read here and other posts on this subject, No one really seems happy about how the subject is handled. I simply wanted to ask, why can't we not have a romance if we don't want to and not have it effect the progress in the game?

Apparently I am one of a very few that may feel this way.

Still a good post, and interesting reading.
 
similarly i thought i was gonna bang judy. i knew she was gay but i was trying to get her drunk or something and make a move.



I can't even begin to describe how wrong this sounds.


Can't y'all just make a new V or ask for more LIs in future expansions than asking to change sexualities? Holy hell it's getting pretty tiring at this point and childish as hell. Some ppl have preferences, deal with it.
 
I have over one hundred hours invested in this game and I have many issues with the ending that occurred. After I finished, I investigated all the endings and what I have been able to determine is, the only way you can have anything even closely resembling a 'happy' ending is riding off into the sunset after romancing Panam. Why?

My point and and on topic is why do we need to romance anyone? If that is a players choice? It seems that unless you do romance someone, it effects the course of the game some how. Even if you do romance any of the principle characters, it is a shallow experience from everything I have read.

That said, I have to admit that I somehow romanced Panam and I still have no idea how that happened. I went back, tried different dialogue choices, and it things still happened, I went back to an earlier save and started that particular quest over, it happened again. I felt railroaded (and I did say something like 'not now') into romancing Panam whether I wanted to or not. Even so, it did not effect my ending and I certainly didn't ride off into the sunset with her and I was playing as a Nomad, was never given that choice.

I've read many of the responses here on this post / topic and most have valid points. I'm one of those few who don't see the need or want to romance anyone in the game. From what I have read here and other posts on this subject, No one really seems happy about how the subject is handled. I simply wanted to ask, why can't we not have a romance if we don't want to and not have it effect the progress in the game?

Apparently I am one of a very few that may feel this way.

Still a good post, and interesting reading.

Your not railroaded into any romance, some cringe ass scenes yes but not romance, the nomad ending will always have you and Panam in the tank at the end regardless if you romanced her or someone else, ultimately if you go that route whether your male or female, friend or lover the game does classify the two of you as at the very least very close friends
 


I can't even begin to describe how wrong this sounds.


Can't y'all just make a new V or ask for more LIs in future expansions than asking to change sexualities? Holy hell it's getting pretty tiring at this point and childish as hell. Some ppl have preferences, deal with it.

pshhh sit on your high horse all you want. i'm assuming you're gay, and if you're pretending you never tried to hit on a straight person then you'd be the first in history.
 
pshhh sit on your high horse all you want. i'm assuming you're gay, and if you're pretending you never tried to hit on a straight person then you'd be the first in history.

No because i don't hit on people who have different sexualities. Pretty simple as that. You knew she was gay and yet you still tried to make a move and even thought to make her drunk for.. what? To lose her senses so you can romance her easily? Do you know how that sounds?
Also the fact that you stopped caring about her as a person because she refuses to suck your peepee. Says a lot about your my dude. :facepalm:

If you can't see how wrong this comment was... shit, you lack a lot of basic human knowledge.
 
pshhh sit on your high horse all you want. i'm assuming you're gay, and if you're pretending you never tried to hit on a straight person then you'd be the first in history.


Dude they werent wrong about your comment, it came of as pretty rapey

I have problems with Judys arc from the male V/ friendship perspective but the lassies gay and i dont want to drug or get her drunk to molest her, cmon now ffs atleast own up to writing pish
 
Your not railroaded into any romance, some cringe ass scenes yes but not romance, the nomad ending will always have you and Panam in the tank at the end regardless if you romanced her or someone else, ultimately if you go that route whether your male or female, friend or lover the game does classify the two of you as at the very least very close friends

This is interesting, that didn't happen for me, nor do I have any idea what happened or why. Where Panam is concerend I did feel railroaded because I could not get around it and I did try. But the ending (Nomad) you are describing did not occur for me. Guess I made a bad choice somewhere. Thanks for info and the response, I'll try to get this one figured out.
 
Dude they werent wrong about your comment, it came of as pretty rapey

I have problems with Judys arc from the male V/ friendship perspective but the lassies gay and i dont want to drug or get her drunk to molest her, cmon now ffs atleast own up to writing pish

lold? i never said anything like that. i said get her drunk and make a move. if your idea of making a move is molesting someone then you're the one with issues here, not me
 
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