String Zero

Jeez I'm still getting a really specific cyberpunk itch scratched with this one. Also the nice linear story keeps being a breath of fresh air. Love route-work as much as the next avid vn reader, but I'm certainly down to just let myself be on the rails of a good story.

Please ensure your music team that they're doing an incredible job. All of the asset work for this project is a cut above, of course, but the music is definitely shining brightest for me personally. I could honestly listen to Civ's House of Liars track for hours.

I think you guys have a very solid start here. The writing is great, I can tell a lot of effort has gone into crafting the lore. All in all, I'm really enjoying it and hope to read more soon. I'll definitely recommend it if anyone asks for recs.

Looks good. Very unfortunate you guys went with a human PC though.

Definitely playing and will look into supporting this project further on Patreon most likely. You can tell by the description alone a lot of love was poured into this project. I hope this project really takes off in the future. :)

while acknowledging the absolute explosion of fvns coming into creation over the last few years, to the point that im not sure if a single person could read or even be aware of all of them anymore, im very surprised by the paucity of public interaction for this project. there is a whole-ass team composing this professional production, and yet only 139 ratings? ive seen much lower-quality developments with thousands of ratings and reviews, where the hell is everyone? in the immortal words of bonnie tyler, 'where have all the good men gone?' i just downloaded this and plan on reading it soon for the first time, but this looks so promising that im baffled by its status as something underground

As I mentioned in my rating of the game, Everybody should go through all 3 chapters at least once, the story, visuals, and art alone are more than enough of a reason to read!

I love this story

Oh noooooo

Spoiler maybe?

I am upsettingly into Darek

I like Kavir but Darek is husband shaped....

What a cool and unique concept I love the story and characters.

2024 is the year for us furies to break into the mainstream.

Amazing game Can't wait to play more

Honestly, I can’t believe how much work is being put into this vn, it’s absolutely astounding, and jaw dropping. 

The worldbuilding is so expansive, and detailed, and yet it seems to remain coherent. The protagonist and his surrounding cast, so far, are all written as complex characters with their own motivations, goals, and personalities. The supporting cast, while to a lesser extent, is also given the same treatment as the main characters. 

The story seems to be going at a very steady, progress oriented pace. And the way it’s written, it constantly sprinkles mystery, intrigue, makes one ask questions - about the characters, about the world, about the greater plots - in short, it keeps the reader engaged. Its prose, while at times rather verbose and a bit confounding (at least to me), is a strong point of this vn, and no wonder, it couldn’t be otherwise in a story about storytelling, storytellers, and their power to literally affect the world through words. 

The visuals are very distinct, and the sprite work is really detailed and expressive for all characters so far. And those sprites are put to work, changing expressions in a way in which all the characters react in dialog. Although if I were to level a piece of criticism, to me, it feels like the characters are at times a bit too static while Ravi thinks to himself, but that is also a medium limitation - a thought train that a person would have in a rapid succession, takes longer to convey on the screen, and there also is individual reading speed. Additionally while reading update 3.A I noticed that Darek’s left arm looked somewhat awkward, especially in the bicep area - however I’ll note that I may have been too scrutinizing, and I’m not an artist so my observations in that field should be somewhat disregarded. The title screen, and the CGs are great to look at. That opening shot that was added in the 3.A update is so fantastic, and brings Mass Effect nostalgia. I’ll also admit that it’s a really inspiring move to have the map of the region created, so that the reader can have greater depth of immersion and understanding of the world.

Aurally this visual novel is on another level. In the first two updates it already had a great soundtrack, but in the update 3.A the music is absolutely enchanting, enthralling even. The absolutely captivating string opening in “Ravy of the Rayan,” which continues to evoke a myriad of emotion throughout the piece. The mysterious and mystical “The Swallow” with light chimes, and what I’m guessing to be, flute. The somber string and piano opening of “Witness” which then builds into a wind instrument part, my guess would be trumpet and saxophone of some kind, accompanied by strings and piano, to then escalate to electronic version of wind instruments, which then crescendos in the piano chord, and goes back to the opening motif. Perfection, giving the noir vibe of a Bond movie, to then progress into confrontation like part, and to finish back on the more somber note. And the playful and jazzy “Since City” with its piano opening with percussion in the background, to then smoothly transition to more wind instruments oriented piece with the accompaniment of aforementioned instruments, slowly building toward the liveliest and most expressive and kind of show-off-y latter half of the piece, which then tempers out to a more piano and string oriented finish. It is a smash hit for the scene in which it’s used. Absolute aural ascension to bliss with all those pieces of music.

I also have to commend the team for programming all those complex parts into coherent storytelling devices, for crafting, what seems to be to an untrained eye, a very in-depth and yet friendly and transparent UI, and for making that Cyber Sea animation.

I don’t know what else to call this vn, other than a very polished work of passion, because I hardly believe it’s a financially viable project. Which is a great shame, because in my very humble and meaningless opinion it’s on par with the established greats of the fvn genre. Which, to show such a mantle in just three updates is undisputedly awe inspiring. I deeply hope that this project will continue, and that in time it’ll gain greater traction.

Thank you.

Highly recommend this VN for anyone who wants to get that itch of high tech and mystery. There is much to the world that is unknown that is slowly unraveled in an organic way without forcing the protagonist to be another insert. They feel alive and unique. This story is not a dating simulator but a story, which deserves praise for many games of the same genre fall to the trope of trying to make so many routes.

Give this VN a read, I know I recommend it!

I've to say this is among my favorite VNs so far. The story, the setting, and the characters are all intriguing so I'm eagerly waiting to see more of it. I specifically like the feel of somewhat bladerunnerish world and "Cyber magic". I wonder if the entire world is actually a simulation what with the "story time" thing. Oh, and the art is terrific, too!

I actually do like the fact that this is a story and not a dating sim. Now my hope is that it's not gonna be 100% black and white with "big corporate evil" vs "edgy criminal rebels good" theme. I very much prefer shades of grey worlds where things are imperfect and good people sometimes do questionable or outright bad things to survive. Introduction of Darek and his view of not wanting to be a pawn gives me some hope about this. 

I specifically like the contrast between Darek and his father and why Darek wants to ally with the MC. I also wonder if MC is going to exploit Darek's weakness of feeling trapped and lonely but he also seems too smart to fall into this - I'm hoping this will be one of those relationships where both really want to be friends but keep getting tangled by a complex web of allegiances that makes it difficult to fully trust each other. *grabs popcorn*

chap 3A kinda make more sense for me because i think the crown like have 2 personality of him. Outside dad and us, he become more fun with jazz music but inside him is bad when he meet us. i guess i will wait until chap3B release to see what happen. is Ravy actually "like"Kavir or not? i just curious about that because them seem like a couple to me from start and the scenes in ch2 when Kavir in other side say some crew guy know about us together, you know.

The ost is so fire. Is it on Spotify?

Sex... NOW!!!!!

Is there sex?

what kinda transformations are in the game, or planned to be?

Right quick I read the cover as “Zero String” instead of “String Zero”. I fully understand you designed the Zero to be less noticable with string having the stark white and in the front. The banner up top reads a bit better but he big purple Zero variant still felt more evident than the word string.

The quality of this Vn is amazing.  Especially the animation for Jazz tech. All the characters have these hints of something more that they hide behind outside personalities and it just pulls you in.  The loom is a great way to read about the lore of the world and not boggle the reader with forced excessive information dumps.

This is becoming one of my favorite VN's as of late. The general vibe, characters and setting are a treat to read and experience.  The music also rocks too👌

I love the complexity of the story. It's like one big puzzle, and once you piece together the info for yourself it really adds a lot to what the characters are saying. It makes the world feel more alive and moving. I also loved the map inclusion in this past update too.

The only small fix I would make it to highlight an important word or phrase the first time it's mentioned. Then once you click on it takes you to the LOOM description immediately. I feel that would help with the flow of the story a little bit.

Otherwise I love everything else, and I can't wait until the next update! This VN is a gem. Keep up the great work 💎

What a great flippin' update! 😁 I had a lot of fun reading it. I love the direction and am excited to see where xou guys take it~ 😌 Also, I like the little intro xou added to the beginning, it really helps to set the pace 😋

There's a craaazy amount of info in the LOOM, like, omg 😐 the world building for String Zero is absolutely insane! 😯 I must applaud xou for this

I'm not sure if it was the sheer quantity of information, or maybe a combination of the font and honeycomb background, but I found it difficult to read the right side panel in the LOOM (I have partial dyslexia, so that could be why). Everything is well written and coherent, but it felt like trying to detangle a mess of cables spun by a self taught IT technician 😅

1ne final thing. When the Visor pops up, the VN becomes laggy (enough that the entire background flashes black and only displays the dialogue box and HUD). I don't usually have this problem with animated VNs, so I'm not sure if it's just my resolution (1366x768) or what, but I thought I'd let xa'll know.

Kavir stole my heart and i'm not even mad about it X)

Great work, can't wait for the next update !

I loved! I can't wait for the next chapter, I would love it if there were other languages like Portuguese and Spanish.

I've noticed that this vn is  18+. does this mean NSFW? or just adult elements that'd require an 18+ rating like language and violence?

Holy. Shit. I read the dev log mentioning that the writing would be toned down and rewritten in future updates, and whilst I understand why, I just want to say, I LOVE IT. My first experience with this game was having it muted whilst I quickly finished an email, coming back to it, unmuting it, and being blasted with the main menu song going unnecessarily hard with the gorgeous art in the background. The cryptic intro was giving me that amazing feeling of the sublime that I absolutely love, and even more than that, the amount of worldbuilding. Granted, this was one feature that I think actually was a bit distracting, as worldbuilding nerd that I am, I stopped reading every time a notification popped up to get the lore, but maybe just making the notification discreet or even nonexistent would fix that, just by making it so you only read them in longer, more spaced-out bursts, instead of getting the urge to read them every time? idk

also, listening to the soundtrack rn as I write this and UGHHHHHHHH shit FUCKS so hard, I've never gotten such cinematic vibes from a VN before, except maybe soulcreek? but even then, soulcreek has like one song that slaps and the rest is just really good sound design, this vn is one chapter in and there are like, a good six I'd happily put on my playlist. Okay, that's a lie. Maybe eight.

I feel obliged to keep talking about the writing. It's so UGH YES, just MMMM yes. I'M ONE CHAPTER IN Y'ALL and it's serving total cunt at every turn from poetry to cryptic verse to witty banter, and just, it's the small things, like 'LOOM' tying into the motif of threads, or the first time you see the LOOM entry it's corrupted with Kavir(?)'s commentary near the end. The attention to detail is just fucking fabulous.

Also, the premise is yes.

And it's just so original? Like, yes, frostbitten worlds are a trope. But has literal storytelling magic ever been done before? A youtuber I watch (Nakari Speardane) has a somewhat similar idea of magic manifesting what people believe to be the truth into it, but still, that's not even close to the way this interlinks with the post-acopalypse of the world, and IBSIHCBEWLHJCBHIBV

just oh my god. Have I ever been so thoroughly hooked, lined, and sinkered so quickly before? I don't think so. This VN is unique in that way

Tl;Dr please don't change the prose too much I love it so much

This is a very strong start and I'm impressed.

The setting is interesting and I'm eager to learn more about the factions, cultures and technologies we hear about. I think the LOOM is a great way to give us information without breaking immersion and I felt it told us enough to get a general idea of the world and characters while still leaving more to be discovered in the main storyline. Ravy's Story Time segment has intriguing implications. I suspect he's directly manipulating the Jazz without using Jazztech. The digital appearance and the way it recreates the ancient Liosian past suggests it has some connection to the cyberspace mentioned in the opening. The 'breathing' hallway and possible connection to Kweythwehnto also left me curious. Overall, the worldbuilding is original and creative so I'm eager to see where you go with it.

The writing had a consistently high quality and the introduction quickly pulled me in. I know some might not like the cryptic opening, but I personally wouldn't change anything. It's an effective way to get us invested in the mystery of what happened to the ancient Liosians, what their technology was like and how the opening narration is connected to the rest of the story. Bonus points for the clue in binary and the initial LOOM screen, I enjoyed these subtle hints. The character interactions and pace of the story were on point and kept me wanting more.

I loved the music and how well each track fit the mood of each scene. I like the sprites for the most part and the CG and background art are gorgeous. The UI was aesthetically pleasing and complements the theme of the game. You've already added image and music galleries which I appreciate.

As for possible improvements, I think there were some missed opportunities for CGs like during the rooftop embrace or the skydiving scene so I'd suggest adding a few more CGs to make the game more immersive. You've made good use of backgrounds for this but for some scenes I think it'd be better to see characters interacting with each other and the environment and for that a CG is better. Speaking of backgrounds, you might want to include them in the gallery alongside the CGs. Another thing, it would be better if the LOOM had an indicator showing which information was updated. I also think the posing of Kavir's hunched sprites looked a bit awkward and uncomfortable but perhaps that's just because they're meant to depict motion instead of being static. Overall, there's not much to improve so you're doing a fantastic job so far.

The game seems interesting thanks to it atmosphere, visual and writing styles, but because the setting is so otherworldly and crypitc the worldbuilding quickly confused me with a lot of information even with the built-in encyclopedia. Over the course of the first hour my mind couldn't be helped but bombarded with all sorts of questions, like: 

What is the current state of the world and how high or low an average standard of living; how exactly these factors are influenced by Jazz corp; What role this corporation plays in grand scheme of things in general; why Nu Lios is ruined and why the corp or the government won’t rebuild it to expand their territory and salvage it into something useful; how exactly the clans function; how come protagonist so closely befriended the very boss of such an esteemed organisation like KE&E; What are his worldview, hopes, and dreams besides of simply going independent; what kind of limitation his power have from preventing him from essentially becoming a god; is this story is going to be as depressing and hopeless as Cyberpunk Edgerunners 

well, you get the idea. I know that some of these questions will be answered later on, but it's kinda weird that instead of introducing at least a vague understanding of the world the story is too busy showing protagonist and his friend parkouring on abondend ruins first hour or so. It would be nice if the setting would answer at least a half of question that I have so I won't be endlessly confused while I'm readini this vn.

Other then that the story is immersive and enjoyable.

The ladder was a great way to get attention, introduce things, and hit the ground running. The vague statements that were before that scene could be moved, cut, or significantly reduced down to the best parts as they mainly provided unclear bloat that lacked context. 
Bonus points for a "magic" system that felt original and dangerous.

It's okay, I guess

Really interesting world! Hope we get to find out what some of the places are

Waiting android ver :I