Cult ending facts and theories

[Chris O Semrik]

Facts:
-It is mentioned that the player receives a knife from Robert, which is used in the "cult ending". You can receive this knife on Robert's second date.
-Sleeping with Robert on the first night will make it impossible to go on successful dates with him later (and thus impossible to get the knife from him)
-We never see Josephs' youngest child, Crish.
-When unpacking at the beginning of the game, you can give Joseph his plate back and meet three of his children.
-Mary said that she's "been to the rodeo 5 times", but they only have 4 children.
-During Craig's second date, you meet Joseph while he's studying knots and acting suspiciously. You later find that two of his children have taken River's toy and were dismembering it in the forest.
-One of the original tags for the game was "psychological horror"
-When searching the yacht, you discover a photo of Robert wearing Joseph's sweater and also one of Hugo with his ex-husband.
-If you go on two dates with Robert and then go on dates with Joseph, during Joseph's third date Robert comes to the docks and angrily reveals that Joseph has seduced him in the past as well and that he is not to be trusted
-Robert and Mary are best friends
-Mary is very protective of Damien (mentioned during his 3rd date)
-The "cult symbol" appears in many places in the game. One of the shirts you dadsona can wear has it; the clock in Joseph's house; cross in Joseph's office; Robert's hand tattoo;...
-Joseph's writer on twitter implied that his ending is easy to mess up but "worth it" if you get it right
-You see a "ghost dragging something" in the woods during Robert's second date
-Egoraptor (Arin) on twitter wrote "So glad people are discovering the Joseph ending in #DreamDaddyGame (smug emoji)" then in reply he wrote "Haha, jk, there's no secret ending (smug emojis)" then replied to that with smug emojis but replied to that with "I guess you all will never know huh (smug emojis and thumbs up emoji)"
-Steam user with the nickname Suicidal Hobo has unlocked the achievement Escape from Margarita Zone and has a screenshot of the cult ending. The user hasn't said anything about it yet, only posting at the beginning of the discussion saying that "you're missing a key piece" and that "the dadbook answers matter", but they have been silet ever since. It is currently unclear if they have truly gained the ending or if they interfered with the game files.
-Joseph reacts oddly when seeing Lucien's 666 tattoo, saying that those numbers bear weight. 6+6+6=18, the number of the cult file.
-Dad tip #18: always carry a pocket knife.
-The Margaritaville song is basically Joseph's life
-The points total when you get an S rank caps out at 98765430
-During Robert's route, you can get a "dad/hearts" reaction from Amanda
-The cult ending doesn't seem to have a start function in its code, so techniacally it shouldn't be possible to access it while playing the game. This just raises more questions however (like "what is the Escape from Margarita Zone?")
-when asked "wyd?" by Robert, telling him that you're watching TV with your daughter gives you positive Joseph points.
-In the level18 file, the dadsona is named Brent Lilley and has these parameters: athletic body, bun hair, diamond head, downturned eyes, wizard brows, chevron facial hair, cupids mouth, greek nose, circular glasses and stud piercings. It's unclear if this is important or not.
-Number 18 is supposed to be a symbolic number for bondage
-Joseph currently has 2 endings. A "good" one - where he stays with Mary and tries to rebuild their relationship, and a "bad" one where he stays married to Mary but sees the player's dad on the side.

Theories:
-Getting all the 18 holes during Brian's ending (or just the 18th one) might do something, but no one has managed that yet.
-Saul (the detective from the "cult ending" file) may be a secret dad that is unlocked after completing the Joseph storyline.
-The 7 dads may represent the 7 deadly sins
-The DadBook answears might play a role
-All the "errors" and mismatched continuity might actually be clues, and playing according to them as the "real dadsona" might doo something
-Joseph "feeds" from the black clouds that the player can get by upsetting other dads
-Dad tips could be clues
-Using all the answers that are related to Jimmy Buffet might influence Joseph's route somehow
-Maybe the order in which player dates the dads is important
-Sailors, pirates, and the sea seem to be important themes
-Tip #59 says: “First is the worst, second is the best, third is the one with the hairiest chest”. This could be a hint towards the order in which the player should date the dads.
-One of the dad tips also says: "Don't cut corners". Maybe dating the four dads in the corners of DadBook is required?
-Another Dad Tip says "Liquor before beef, you're in the clear", also a potential clue.
-Is the "cult symbol" be related to the shape of the cul-de-sac?
-The “Do it once, do it right” Dad Tip might mean you shouldn't save during the playthrough
-It's speculated that the player has to recreate the Brent Lilley dadsona exactly, down to the physical appearence
-Maybe you must get all the other achievements first
-The cult symbol could be just a boat wheel
-Setting the date to October 31st (Halloween)

Things that have been tried:
-Taking everyone on 2 dates and then datting Joseph, achieving S on all dates
-Being mean to Amanda by either prying too much or ignoring her changes nothing.
-Finishing dates with all the dads and getting their postcards before playing Joseph's route
-Being mean to all the dads and getting bad grades on their dates
-Asking Robert about his hand tattoo
-Getting all the death related achievements
-The way in which the player completes the radio minigame doesn't matter
-using DadBook answers tailored to specific character (Joseph, Robert, Damien, Brian)
- Graphics setting (Dad, Daddy, or Daddiest) doesn't seem to matter
-Using "Brent Lilley" as a name for the dadsona doesn't do anything
-It doesn't seem to matter if you eat Joseph's brownie yourself or give it to Amanda
-Sleeping with Robert on the first night and then dating Joseph

Bugs:
-If you take any 2 dads on 2 dates, the "Walk Mary Home" sequence plays and you can walk her home in a friendly manner. If you date Joseph after that, the sequence plays again, but you cannot interact in a friendly way with her and walk her home. Dating Joseph first and then dating two other dads doesn't help. This has been confirmed to be a bug by the developers.
-No one has achieved (and has been able to prove it) the "World's Okayest Dad" and "Escape from Margarita Zone" achievemnts. It is speculated that this is a bug, but nothing has been confirmed yet.
-There is no Whittling minigame, even though it's mentioned in the credits. Developers haven't said anything about it yet.
-No one seems to be able to get an S rank on Mat's 3rd date. It's currently unclear if this is a bug.

Links:
How to look into the data + discovery of the Chapter 18 content[notyourdreamdad.tumblr.com]
From level18 game file[handsomejack.me]
Seven deadly sins theory[craig-cahn.tumblr.com]
DadBook answers[docs.google.com]
Textures from the "cult ending" file[shingeki-no-kuushu.tumblr.com]
Bloodied priest Joseph[shingeki-no-kuushu.tumblr.com]
Demon twins[68.media.tumblr.com]
All the "cult" sprites[imgur.com]
Trying to crack the code: Dadvice[avis-arcana.tumblr.com]
List of Dad Tips[gay-in.space]
Level numbers[docs.google.com]
HoodiePanda's hunt for the cult ending on YouTube
Suicidal Hobo's screenshot of the cult ending
Official DDADDS tumblr[dreamdaddygame.tumblr.com]
Official DDADDS twitter
lvl18 manuscript[akira-fucker.tumblr.com]
All achievements theory
Reddit megathread
NotSoDreamyDaddy tumblr - contains sound files from lvl18[notsodreamydaddy.tumblr.com]
Pictures of cult symbols in the game[carciplus.tumblr.com]

[gayguard]

Here's all the links I've found that you haven't mentioned!

https://jaalsucksdick.tumblr.com/post/163242073664

https://68.media.tumblr.com/a9a5816944a94a978b1d7cf4aaea3032/tumblr_otfd3uRT391wrwmwho2_540.png

http://craig-cahn.tumblr.com/post/163266263180/hey-dude-i-have-a-theory-so-i-died-on-brians

http://craig-cahn.tumblr.com/post/163250007300/dude-i-thought-ddadds-being-tagged-with

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1x8Nyw5JO_7IFnjGzBngP2J78H7Xgy945v3HT_ZJWe6U/edit

http://shingeki-no-kuushu.tumblr.com/post/163275075606/better-quality-joseph-textures

http://shingeki-no-kuushu.tumblr.com/post/163274581166/some-more-textures-i-found-in-the-game-files

[Chris O Semrik]

Thanks, I added those in :). I think this is all the information I have at the moment, but I'll update with anything new I come across.

[gayguard]

No problem! Also, in Christianity 666 is "the devil's number," so I think Joseph's comment about Lucien's tattoo was just an allusion to that? Though it might not be a coincidence that the code for the cult end is in Level 18.

[eeby]

About user Suicidal Hobo not getting the achievement fairly: they actually said they were playing offline so the game might've only registered them at the same time when they came online.
They also actually have a screenshot of that ending in their Dream Daddy screenshots, so I don't think they're faking it. Which means that the DadBook answers must matter.

EDIT: Oh and they haven't gotten the Bad Amanda ending either, so that probably isn't related to the cult ending.

[eeby]

(Sorry for double post)
Trying to elaborate on the Dad Tips theories

-If it's about not cutting corners, we know that Robert and Craig, who are the top corners, actually DO have a link with Joseph in their dates. Damian is the bottom left corner, and the only link he has with Joseph is the symbol being found somewhere in his route (can't remember where). The bottom right corner is none other than Joseph himself, so maybe this theory could pan out.

-If it's about the "First is the worst, second is the best, third is the one with the hairiest chest", then I think "First is the worst" would be in reference to Robert, seeing as in the promos he was called the "Bad Dad". "Third is the one with the hairiest chest" is probably Brian, he seems to be the one with the hairiest chest. Don't know who "Second is best" would be in reference to.

[amethystaxas]

Messaggio originale di toon lonk:

About user Suicidal Hobo not getting the achievement fairly: they actually said they were playing offline so the game might've only registered them at the same time when they came online.
They also actually have a screenshot of that ending in their Dream Daddy screenshots, so I don't think they're faking it. Which means that the DadBook answers must matter.

EDIT: Oh and they haven't gotten the Bad Amanda ending either, so that probably isn't related to the cult ending.

Wow! I didn't even think to look in their screenshots, but there it is in all its glory. So I guess we have to figure out the dadbook answers and the "missing key" that they mentioned.

Also wanted to point out that within the lvl18 files, there is dialogue of Joseph saying something about your dadsona "running around with all the dads" which I'm assuming implies that we need to either romance all the dads in prior save files or go on dates with all of the dads in one save file that is finished out with Joseph's third date.

Also has anyone looked into the save files of other dad's dates aside from Robert's to see if there are any other weird things that give Joseph points despite him not being there?

[gayguard]

Honestly I don't think they've gotten it, since if you go to the available achievements page it says no one has gotten the "Escape from Margarita Zone" achievement. Plus, they somehow got the achievement for going on every date with every dad despite the fact they didn't get the achievement for Mat's route?? Also, they've been nothing but super vague. If they did get it, it's assumed to be through some cheat code.

Also, even if you play offline, Steam loads your achievements based on the time you got them, not the time you came back online.

[amethystaxas]

Messaggio originale di gayguard:

Honestly I don't think they've gotten it, since if you go to the available achievements page it says no one has gotten the "Escape from Margarita Zone" achievement. Plus, they somehow got the achievement for going on every date with every dad despite the fact they didn't get the achievement for Mat's route?? Also, they've been nothing but super vague. If they did get it, it's assumed to be through some cheat code.

Also, even if you play offline, Steam loads your achievements based on the time you got them, not the time you came back online.

Yeah it's all still very sketchy to me. The achievements for individual dads don't always load though. Steam took away mine for Mat for some reason, so I had to go back and get it again.

I'm assuming they modded the game files to execute the ending (I'm unsure if in-game screenshots like that can be edited, but it is on the profile and is marked with a spoiler warning).

[eeby]

Hmmm yeah that's pretty sketchy :/
Would have to check if screenshots can be manually uploaded or something. Better to treat their "hints" as theories as well then.

[Toshiki]

Messaggio originale di gayguard:

Honestly I don't think they've gotten it, since if you go to the available achievements page it says no one has gotten the "Escape from Margarita Zone" achievement. Plus, they somehow got the achievement for going on every date with every dad despite the fact they didn't get the achievement for Mat's route?? Also, they've been nothing but super vague. If they did get it, it's assumed to be through some cheat code.

Also, even if you play offline, Steam loads your achievements based on the time you got them, not the time you came back online.

true true. that person who "got the cult ending" is really sketchy. I am determined we will get to the bottom of this Cult stuff. Also discord server's up.

[amethystaxas]

Messaggio originale di toon lonk:

Hmmm yeah that's pretty sketchy :/
Would have to check if screenshots can be manually uploaded or something. Better to treat their "hints" as theories as well then.

Very true, but we can see that the dadbook profile answers do correspond with certain dads and Joseph is known to comment on certain things (i.e. word jumbles on the third date, reported by multiple people). So while still a theory, it's a fact that the profile does play a role in the game aside from just being fun.

[gayguard]

Messaggio originale di amethystaxas:

Messaggio originale di toon lonk:

Hmmm yeah that's pretty sketchy :/
Would have to check if screenshots can be manually uploaded or something. Better to treat their "hints" as theories as well then.

Very true, but we can see that the dadbook profile answers do correspond with certain dads and Joseph is known to comment on certain things (i.e. word jumbles on the third date, reported by multiple people). So while still a theory, it's a fact that the profile does play a role in the game aside from just being fun.

So does anyone know what the best options to choose are?? Also, there's a theory that since Joseph thrives off of dissent, there's a theory that you have to piss off ALL the dads to unlock the true end. Has anyone tried that?

[amethystaxas]

Messaggio originale di gayguard:

Messaggio originale di amethystaxas:

Very true, but we can see that the dadbook profile answers do correspond with certain dads and Joseph is known to comment on certain things (i.e. word jumbles on the third date, reported by multiple people). So while still a theory, it's a fact that the profile does play a role in the game aside from just being fun.

So does anyone know what the best options to choose are?? Also, there's a theory that since Joseph thrives off of dissent, there's a theory that you have to piss off ALL the dads to unlock the true end. Has anyone tried that?

Someone did look at the coding within the lvl15 files but I cannot honestly remember off the top of my head what the best answers are. I'll look into it.

And yes, we've tried failing dates with every dad except Joseph, failing the dates with Joseph, and failing every date in the playthrough.

[Chris O Semrik]

Messaggio originale di gayguard:

Messaggio originale di amethystaxas:

Very true, but we can see that the dadbook profile answers do correspond with certain dads and Joseph is known to comment on certain things (i.e. word jumbles on the third date, reported by multiple people). So while still a theory, it's a fact that the profile does play a role in the game aside from just being fun.

So does anyone know what the best options to choose are?? Also, there's a theory that since Joseph thrives off of dissent, there's a theory that you have to piss off ALL the dads to unlock the true end. Has anyone tried that?

There are many theories as to what the right combination of the DadBook answers might be, but as far as how all the dads react to the information - we know the answers now. It's in the "DadBook answers" link up in the original post, and it lists all of them I think. It's hard to say which dad you should be trying to impress though to get the ending, I think people have tried the best ones for Joseph and Robert, but I'm not sure.

[Toshiki]

Messaggio originale di gayguard:

So does anyone know what the best options to choose are?? Also, there's a theory that since Joseph thrives off of dissent, there's a theory that you have to piss off ALL the dads to unlock the true end. Has anyone tried that?

I think chris posted it above. "DadBook Answers"