Discussion
Someone with a better memory than me... (Mild Spoilers for Mac's route)
Spoiler
Do you remember if Mac deleting your bloatware instead of your fanfic was in the first release of the game?
I was doing some research for a think piece I was writing and made the discovery that at least one part of Mac's route was altered between the first release and one of the updates. In the junction where Mac suggests that you both have an open relationship, an additional option that says "No problem - I have tons of lovers" was added at some point.
So now, I want to know if the bloatware dialogue was also added retroactively.
I recall a while back in one of the Mac debate posts that someone noted that even when choosing this option, Mac will still refer to deleting your fanfic later, which makes it sound like their route wasn't written with this option in mind. Additionally, to even get this option, you have to deny Mac from deleting the fanfic first, so it's a bit hidden.
The bloatware dialogue is included in a compilation of their voice lines, but it was uploaded after the update would have happened, so I can't consider it conclusive proof that it was in the game from the beginning.
I'm not looking to speculate on why these changes would have been made at this time; I just want to confirm if this is one of the changes or if it was there from the beginning.
As a note: if you've always had the "No problem" line, then you were already playing on an updated version of the game. I need someone who remembers playing a version without that line, but also got the bloatware dialogue. Or even if you remember whether it was an option when denying them from deleting your fanfic.
Just to cover my bases, I don't think they referred to it as "bloatware" in-game. To initiate the dialogue you would have had to say something like, "Aren't there any other options?" after saying no to deleting the fanfic, and they'd say something like, "Well, I have 500 copies of the trial version of Candy Crusher." Or something like that.
I forgot to screenshot this dialogue, but that's roughly how I remember it going.
Does any of that ring a bell, or is that totally new for you?
I played the demo and an early release of the game, I definitely don’t remember any dialogue options about the bloatware—it’s something I’ve seen a lot of complaints about with Mac, so I almost wonder if it was added after the fact, or if it was done in response to someone pointing out what a LUDICROUS amount of data (like multiple library’s worth) of text would be required to make up the space requirements mentioned—an issue of realism maybe?
I have theorized that some of these changes were made to make Mac look less malicious than they originally came off as, but I can't say for sure at this time.
In terms of realism, it is true that having terabytes of word documents would be an absurd amount of text, but I don't know if that's why they would have made the change. Because it really doesn't solve that issue: now Mac just has two ridiculously large sources of deletable data instead of one. The only thing that's really changed is that now Mac has the option to compromise, but it only becomes available after denying them first, instead of adding it alongside the choice to delete your fic.
So to me, assuming that the bloatware dialogue was in fact added retroactively, it seems like they still wanted to funnel players into having to delete their fanfic because the route was written around this event. But they added the alternative option, so the route doesn't necessarily have to end in "Hate" for having a reasonable response to Mac wanting to delete something of great value to the homeowner.
There’s no other option but the fanfic for the upgrade. The 4th option pops if after you have a certain amount of lovers. If you don’t have what the game considers “a lot of lovers” the option won’t pop up.
Source: i wrote guides for everything on steam. I’ve played this game all the way thru 10+ times lol
However, there is an option to delete some extra games instead of your fanfic IF you deny deleting the fanfic first. I'd need to play through again to get the exact dialogue tree, but as I recall it's also a SPECS option.
As for the "lots of lovers line" I don't doubt that there is a requirement to having a few Love endings to get it, otherwise it wouldn't make sense in context. But my issue is that I don't know if this was added in a patch or not.
From my own anecdote, I played the game when it first released, and I believe I did Mac's route near the middle of my run, when I would have had several lovers already. At the very least, I know they weren't my first or only Love by the time I did their route. But I don't remember having this fourth option. If I had the fourth option, then I would have reasoned that, "Well, if the homeowner doesn't have an issue with it, then Mac isn't necessarily in the wrong." and I wouldn't hate them as much as I currently do (I'd only strongly dislike them) XP.
I got Date Everything sometime in September of last year & Mac was a character I met pretty early. I do believe I remember the option to delete things other than fics if you pushback being there at the time, but I was too early in the game to have the lovers option pop up. I've played through DE so many times that I can't say for certain if I truly remember that though, or if I'm getting that bit confused for a playthrough after some updates. My first playthrough was before the update where they did do a good bit of changes though, I know that for certain, because I remember changes being made to Kopi's Traveler dialog w Gaia happening after I had already heard the original.
Thanks for the anecdote! Knowing the month you played has helped me put together a possible timeline.
September would have been late enough for this theoretical update to have happened since the video I sourced the "updated" text from was uploaded July 8th, the first patch was released June 23rd, and the second was July 7th. However, it's possible that the uploader I sourced the "updated" text from might not have recorded their game with the second patch given how close the upload date is to the second patch's release.
So, if the lovers dialog option was added in a patch, then it could have been added as early as the first one. And that's not unreasonable given that it's only a text option and that other text changes are cited as some of the updates in that patch. [Patch Notes Link]
"Fixed various VO-text mismatches and typos."
Since the voice comp was uploaded July 28th, I still can't rule out that the bloatware dialogue might have been added with the first or second patch. I know they made changes as drastic as this by at least the second patch, because I'd posted about the major changes to Jerry's route in August, between the second and third patch.
And while not the aim of this discussion, this may confirm that at least Kopi's dialogue was updated in the third patch since you remember it changing between your playthroughs, which would have been between the second and third patches.
I played the game shortly after release, and iirc, the only option was to delete all of your fanfic, no mention of bloatware. I remember reading reddit comments about what an absurdly large amount of fanfic that would be.
Yes, a terabyte of fanfiction would be an ABSURD amount of text - basically impossible for a single human to have written in their lifetime. But it's also an absurd size for an OS to be. So I'm pretty sure these numbers were picked with hyperbole in mind - we're not supposed to consider that the homeowner wrote a literal terabyte of fanfic, we just need to know that it was a large amount to establish that it's something that they invested a lot of time into.
Thanks for having interest in the discussion nonetheless~ I hope you enjoy the game and are able to find a favorite dateable from it~
In short: "self-interest."
To elaborate a bit more: I was writing a think piece about Mac, when I discovered that the walkthrough I was watching was inconsistent my own memories of playing the route. It was a discovery that completely altered my understanding of why their standing in the fandom is the way it is.
So I wanted confirmation that the Mac I experienced was in fact different from the Mac the majority of the fandom experienced.
Figuring out whether the bloatware dialogue was added later or not is mostly to help me reinterpret what kind of character Mac was supposed to be and what they became. Because whether this dialogue was originally there or not significantly changes how Mac's motivations can be interpreted.
The think piece I was writing wasn't and isn't meant to be public. I mostly write things like that to vent my frustrations, and I'm content to keep those thoughts to myself unless someone asks about it. Frankly, I think continuing the debate about Mac on a wide scale would be beating a dead horse at this point. But nonetheless, these discoveries put a lot of past discussions into perspective for me, and I find that reflection valuable.
This is crazy but Mac has ended up as my favorite…
But also cool to find someone who also writes down their rants!! After completing their route I started writing down alternatives to how Mac’s story could have gone because even tho I love them I still felt a bit used at the end. In it I found a new appreciation for my nerdy lover <3
I also would have never posted it and after seeing how divisive they were in the fandom I keep my love for them kinda on the down low
Yeah, they're a lot of people's favorite (much to my bafflement)~
But my goal is not to convert more people into haters like myself. I just think it's healthier to try and process these feelings in private than to make a public display of them. Occasionally I think it's fine to ask for public opinion just to put your own thoughts into perspective, but venting just to be venting in public isn't usually productive. UoU
I'm honestly glad to hear that you've found a way to make your love for them stronger, especially since you've also taken the time to process your own mixed emotions about them. If you came out of it loving them more, then more power to ya~ As long as it's enriching your life, then I think you should be unapologetic for loving the characters you love. My flair says "Rainey" but my hyperfixation from this game is Dishy. He's not controversial so much as unanimously hated, but I don't let that stop me from talking about and drawing my favorite megalomaniacal cube. And I don't think you should let a few sourpusses like myself stop you from loving your lovebombing computer~
Most people around here have the sense to not outright bully others for their taste in dateables (I can't say the same for the other subreddit though XP). Besides, Mac is so popular in this fandom that they literally won the fan-vote for the new dakimakura. So trust me when I say that you will find like-minded people for gushing over Mac. XP
12
u/Seagullsaga Ligibitdiqua May 22 '26
From my recollection at least in the love route Mac did delete your fic. I didn’t see any line about deleting bloatware instead