Getting started
Summertime Saga is a dating game which allows you to explore places, meet interesting characters, and play various minigames. In order for you to fully enjoy your adventure, we invite you to take a look at the gameplay advices given on this page.
Contents
General advice
Talk to people! (And when I say talk, I really mean listen!)
Most of this game is about interacting with the different characters, and the dialogue is the main way to receive information about what you should do next. Pay attention and act on any hints you get, even when the main character is just talking to himself.
Go places and click on stuff
Explore different locations on the map: look all around for interactable objects and additional screens. Things you can click on become highlighted when you move your cursor over them, so move your mouse all over the place.
Come back at night (or the next day… or just later in the game)
Revisit a character or location at a different time of day to see if anything changes. The biggest changes happen between daytime and nighttime, but you should also pay attention to the difference between morning and afternoon. See the next section Time for more details.
Also check in every once in a while to see if anything has changed based on the day of the week or previous events you have completed.
Come back with money
The solution to many game's objectives is to buy an item from the various shops in the mall, and that means you're going to have to take on some summer jobs. Starting out, you are stuck helping on Diane's garden minigame for a wage around $90 per minigame. As your story with the lady progresses, you will get a raise for the milk delivery. Take the opportunity to invest in a delivery bike and you will be able to work for Tony's Pizza. Last but not least, the fishing minigame rewards you with fish to sell at the pier.
Until the very last stages of the game, you'll always need money for something; so if you have some free time during the day, go earn some!
Level up your stats
Another barrier between you and tits is low stats. Many dialogues and objectives rely on your skills. In order to progress, take some time to train yourself! See the next section Stats Tracker for more details.
Time
In Summertime Saga, each week is split into seven days from Monday to Sunday, and each day is split into four periods of time: morning, afternoon, evening, and late night. The current day of the week and time of day can both be found in the menu bar at the top of the screen. The day of the week is written in the text box under the room name, while the three blocks in the upper middle of the screen tells you the current time period.
Time of day
The most obvious changes are between the daytime and nighttime periods, but they all work a bit differently. Some differences:
- Daytime versus nighttime screens.
- All locations open morning and afternoon; some locations still open in the evening; many locations closed at late night.
- Quest items may be available only at nighttime, or only during daytime.
- Sneaking into places are done in the evening but no actions are allowed at late night.
- Characters follow a routine; for examples students are at school in the morning and practice their activitie in the afternoon.
Take a look at the characters' pages to find out where they are located at a specific time of day. Note that these locations may change depending on the route you are playing on.
Day of the week
The exact day of the week rarely matters — basically, just pay attention if a character or message tells you that an event happens on a specific day of the week. But weekends are quite different from the rest of the week. On Saturday and Sunday:
- School is closed. The students are doing something else and any quests that takes place in school has to wait until Monday.
- As a consequence, if a character refuses to help because you have to go to school, he may be more receptive on weekends.
- There's a service at the church each morning.
- Mayor Rump has a stage set up at the mall.
- Lots of little dialogue differences.
- At least one secret event can't happen.
Also, don't trust the telescope in your bedroom as this object is still under development.
Cheat mode
The cheat mode is designed to make it easier and faster to progress in Summertime Saga. That's why it's best suited for returning players. The choice to opt for this mode is proposed in the first screens of a new game, it cannot be modified during the game. The changes implemented are:
- The starting money is increased to $999.999, enough to buy all items and finish all routes.
- The four stats are already maxed, thus allowing the player to ignore all the trainings.
- The majority of minigames can be skipped.
Cheat mode has any effect on the stories except for one scene with Roxxy during the shooting range minigame.
Pregnancy
In the course of the love stories, player is able to make a woman pregnant. From then on, the progress of some routes are paused until this event ends. The pregnancy evolves over 4 weeks until the birth. Another 2–3 weeks have to pass until the baby is sent to daycare and normal activities can be resumed. The phone messages must be read as they are mandatory steps.
Pills for pregnancy planning are available at the clinic:
- Birth control pills prevent pregnancy, reducing the chance of conception to 0%. You have to question Roz about the schedule on the 1st floor; then use the phone on the 2nd floor and get the storage card near the counter. You can now take the drug from the closet inside the storage room on the 2nd floor.
- Fertility pills raise the chance of conception from 20% to 40%. They can be acquire after finishing Diane's route. First you have to talk to the nurse on the 2nd floor, then to Roz on the 1st floor, and finally enter a room on the 3rd floor where you meet Dr. Priya Singh after searching the cases.
The drugs are used by clicking on the items inside the inventory. Their effects are permanent but not definitive, since each type of pill cancels the effect of the other.
Stats Tracker
You need to improve the four stats of the main character to progress in the storylines:
- Dexterity — Follow Master Somrak's instructions in the gym. Part of Jenny's route.
- Strength — Train with Kevin in the gym. Talk to Kevin in the school cafeteria, then convince Erik to trade with him.
- Intelligence — Play the Maze Runner minigame on the computer in the main character's bedroom. You must have it fixed beforehand with the parts sold at Consum-R.
- Charisma — Win rap battles in the park at night.
These statistics are presented in the Stats Tracker, available in the Phone Menu at the top of the screen.
Goal Tracker
The Goal Tracker is a reminder of your current objective for each route. This feature can be accessed from the Phone Menu at the top of the screen. Note that this game feature is still under development and does not include hints for all routes. Don't worry if some hints can persist after you've completed the route.
Achievements
Achievements unlock as you progress in the game and find secrets. This feature can be accessed from the Phone Menu at the top of the screen.
Cookie Jar
The cookie jar allows you to check and replay the animated scenes previously unlocked. It can be accessed from the Main Menu of the game. The content is persistent and won't be erased when you begin a new game.
Change log
Curious to know what's new in the game? The change log displays the version history and the changes made to the game since its very first release. The list can also be retrieved from the game's home screen.
Saves and persistent data file
Saves and persistent data file can be found in these locations:
- Windows:
<SS-game-folder>\game\savesand%AppData%\RenPy\SummertimeSaga - Android:
Android/data/summer.time.saga/files/saves - Mac:
/Users/USERNAME/Library/Renpy/SummertimeSaga(folder may be hidden) - Linux:
<SS-game-folder>/game/savesand$HOME/.renpy/SummertimeSaga - Other:
%USERPROFILE%\.renpy\SummertimeSaga
Save file naming
Save files look like 1-5-LT1.save. The naming format is as follows pageNumber-pageSlotNumber-LT1.save. For example, 1-5-LT1.save is the save file for the 5th slot on the 1st page, and 2-3-LT1.save is the save file for the 3rd slot on the 2nd page, and so on.
1-5-LT1 (1).save is not a valid save file. In this case remove the last part "(1)" from the name of the file to use it.
Android installation
Summertime Saga app for android devices is not available on Google Play Store. It must be downloaded from the official website then installed manually. Here are the steps to follow.
- Removed all previous installs of the game.
- Make sure you have at least 2GB of free space available on your device; 1GB is required for downloading, another 1GB is recommended for the installation and the future saves.
- You may also need to disable Google Play Protect: open Play Store application, tap on Menu button and select Play Protect option. Disable the options Scan device for security threats.
- Download the last version of Summertime Saga on the official website exclusively. Private download servers are provided for Patreon contributors. Choose ANDROID platform and validate.
- Open the download folder of the web browser, and click on the file whose name begins with
SummertimeSagaand ends with.apk. Do not install the game on an SD card. It won't launch from an external storage. - Enable "Unknown sources" setting on your device:
- On Android Nougat or lower: The exact names of the settings entries may vary, but the overall process should be similar. Navigate to your device's Settings menu, then look for an entry titled either Security or Lock screen and security. Simply tick the box or toggle the switch next to Unknown sources, then press OK on the popup.
- On Android Oreo or higher: When you launch Summertime Saga install file, you'll be prompted to allow the permission. Tap Settings on the prompt, then toggle the switch next to Allow from this source on the following screen. Hit your back button, then you can resume installation.
- When the install is completed, open your app folder.
