ZennyDarkstar

Active Member
Game Developer
Jul 29, 2023
593
446
Hello.

Thanks for the explainations.


I took the parents couple as an example but it was more general than that (whether they are just together, engaged, it's a gay or lesbian couple). I'm glad you're taking it into consideration though.


This is probably a me problem and I don't want to make you change your vision of the game. So I'll talk about my case.
I'm a switch, both sexually (straight and gay) and the role (dom and sub). So what I want to say is I want to be able to fuck a guy that is fucking a girl or be fucked by a guy while fucking a girl or even fuck a guy while being fucked by a girl. On the same idea, I want to be able to be a dom on monday but be a sub on tuesday. I want what happens sexually to depend on my mood most of the time (I know most people are more strict on their sexual activities but still).

Apparently, your view on a jack of all trade is negative. And my view on a specialist is also very negative (a specialist is so specialized that he often doesn't see the problem as a whole).
There are people that are able to have a vast amount of knowledge on every subject while others have difficulties even learning the basics.
I'm not against the lost of point with time, nor an overall limit to the points we can get for all the stats. In Enchanted, the body shape can regress with time but it can be maintained or recovered.
Even if we master none, we can gain a more vast panel of possibilities. For example, we can have 70/80 in cooking but not 100 the max. It's enough to have a wonderful diner but not working in a restaurant. In terms of game, I may loose the opportunity for the job but not with the character I want to seduce. There are high levels in which we can accomplish more but those level shouldn't hinder relationships. Another example, with a sporty character, while we have not enough strength to do a trail (leading to a specific and complex sex scene), we can still do a jogging, have fun and make some brownie points (for the same specific sex scene but simplified). The easier way would be corruption : the more corrupt we become, the more possibilities are opened but that doesn't mean that a low corrupted character has nothing available (like the gloryhole : you see a dick and flee, you see a dick and touch it, you see a dick and masturbate it, you see a dick and suck it, you see a dick and put it in your ass; already 5 variations based on the stat and skills; you can even play in between with how you deal with the sperm : avoid touching it, clean it, creampie, eat it).

I'm not really a fan of RPG (I played Dofus years ago but was more into crafting and the characters were more or less balanced), too limiting if we're not into role playing, though games like Y's, the vanished omen, Solstice or Shadowgate were fun.

Good continuation.

I do get where you are coming from with the switching it up lifestyle.. And I think that is a wonderful way to live.. And in many ways its an easier way to write the game.. as technically what your saying is the bi/straight/gay sub/dom stats dont exisit.. as they are not a barrier to allowing or stopping you from experience an event..
Its defo food for thought... I think at this point the way I have already written the game is that they will play a part.. As from a gaming point of view I do want the player to create a more defined character, even if that definition can be changed over time.
I am trying to build something that means the choices you make have consequences and so some paths of a quest will missed and playing a 2nd or 3rd time might be needed to experience everything..

I just feel that a true sandbox / life sim has as much freedom to roam and engage as much or little as the user wants to, but also consequences and missed events like in real life..
 
  • Like
Reactions: Oliz82

TheFamilyDog

Member
Jan 25, 2022
484
341
I am liking what you say about some sort of achievement screen.. I had considered making something that is a bit like trophies or like achievements in diablo. Some being completing certain missions, some being raising skills to a certain point, some being having talked to every person at least once.. etc..
You got me to thinking one cool way to do achievements is to make them look like trophies/ribbons placed on a shelf in the MC bedroom like many teens have in their actual bedrooms. Then you would only need to drag a mouse over them to find-out what they're for and even have a little fun in their design.
 

ZennyDarkstar

Active Member
Game Developer
Jul 29, 2023
593
446
It's understandable if it's an established way to do it. I have tried to get QSP working but can't figure out how, so I can't say if it's similar or not.

I can expand exactly what is cluttered and needlessly complicated from my point of view:

-It is possible to fail the tutorial and softlock the game, because the tutorial expects a specific button to be pressed, but the same tutorial shows multiple buttons, and multiple buttons are present in that same place, including the ones shown by the tutorial.
-Both actions and "Confirm that you're done with this screen" are in the same place.
-Actions are not obvious. For instance the button to talk does not mention what's going to be talked about.
-The interact menu is separate from the "people who are here" menu, despite the "people who are here" menu only being relevant to.. well, interactions - at least as far as I can tell without having gone past about 10 minutes of trying to figure out the UI
-Movement icons are pictures of places rather than actual movement icons, and the pictures are not very clear due to their size. Name buttons would be clearer. "Go downstairs" "Kitchen" etc rather than images of the inside of a house with fairly unidentifiable things in them at a glance.
-Text shows up both in the middle and on the menu in the right, when interactions are done. It's not clear which text is to be read first or which text is more relevant. It seems to be a combination of both, but again, unclear.

As some people put it, a UI that needs to be explained is not a good UI. Of course a good UI can be explained, but if it /needs/ to be, it's self-defeating.

Not sure about retro. I've played old RPGs.

I should say its my take on the qsp style.. I'd like to think i have improved on it where qsp often had a lot of scroll bars in the panels and often things did not fit to the screen...

Regarding the points you made.
Tutorial and other places.. I do need to work on softlocks / escaping out of quest dialogue by other buttons being seen..
I think the tutorial is never totally softlocked to be fair tho.. I think if you went forward to the correct time the next day, you will find it sat there again waiting..

At this stage the talk option only has 1 topic.. so talk is talk.. but as the game builds and every npc has talks and other interactions, I would like to be able to give more talk options..

the interactions menu is relevant to people or items.. so thats why its seperate..
The movement pictures do have mouseovers.. so a small pause will show the location name.. I do agree the limited size of the image is hard to sometimes work out where you are going.. I might consider adding a layer of text onto the button with the place name... but not sure how that will play out, will look at that for the next engine build version (release after next).
Most of the text should appear on the right side... any text appearing on the left would be in the interaction section where you can choose an outcome... I cant think of a time where text appears in the middle.. but I could be wrong..

Being the builder of the game its hard to say how intuitive the layout is, because its very familiar to me.. I have taken on board some recommendations from others and adapted a few things.. (the colour scheme, which no one even mentions, the map now has mouse over locations that show who is at that location)..

I think the ui will continue to adapt as I and others spot improvements.. but I would be very surprised if it ever took a complete re haul..

thanks again for your comments :)
 
  • Like
Reactions: Eoin and domacleod

ZennyDarkstar

Active Member
Game Developer
Jul 29, 2023
593
446
You got me to thinking one cool way to do achievements is to make them look like trophies/ribbons placed on a shelf in the MC bedroom like many teens have in their actual bedrooms. Then you would only need to drag a mouse over them to find-out what they're for and even have a little fun in their design.
I think a trophy cabinet in the mc's room.. that on click could open up a trophies section would defo be an idea I would like to add..
This is probably going to be added on one of the engine update releases.. probably not the next but mayb the one after. so it would be like v0.75...
Nice to hear that people like the sound of it though :)
 
  • Like
Reactions: TheFamilyDog

LizJ

Member
Aug 13, 2020
261
165
thanks for the reply and I forgot to ask but can I extract the saves I have but safely so I don't lose any progress where the game is updated?
Thinking out loud:
1. (Correct me if/(when) I am wrong: The Local Storage saves carry-over between versions (if Local Storage is not cleared).
2. A user can Open the game, Load a Local Storage save and Export that save. Then Close and re-Open the game, Load another Local Storage save and Export that save (Rename it to be different that the first Export!) A user could end up with an exported copy of Save1, Save2 and Save3 (etc.).
 

bradster555

Member
Jul 21, 2023
101
52
Thinking out loud:
1. (Correct me if/(when) I am wrong: The Local Storage saves carry-over between versions (if Local Storage is not cleared).
2. A user can Open the game, Load a Local Storage save and Export that save. Then Close and re-Open the game, Load another Local Storage save and Export that save (Rename it to be different that the first Export!) A user could end up with an exported copy of Save1, Save2 and Save3 (etc.).
I only ask because it is a text file type of save rather than a save file like other games
 

LizJ

Member
Aug 13, 2020
261
165
I only ask because it is a text file type of save rather than a save file like other games
(Unless ZennyDarkstar says otherwise...) The text file save should be fine between game versions*. It is the "same" as the Local Storage save, just has other benefits (backup in case the browser loses the storage, transport to/from another machine or browser, data to submit with a bug report, etc.)

*IIRC, the development of this game has never broken saves between updates.
 

bradster555

Member
Jul 21, 2023
101
52
(Unless ZennyDarkstar says otherwise...) The text file save should be fine between game versions*. It is the "same" as the Local Storage save, just has other benefits (backup in case the browser loses the storage, transport to/from another machine or browser, data to submit with a bug report, etc.)

*IIRC, the development of this game has never broken saves between updates.
oh cool so that helps thanks

recently new to the game tbh so I just wanted to be sure first
 
  • Like
Reactions: LizJ

ZennyDarkstar

Active Member
Game Developer
Jul 29, 2023
593
446
Thinking out loud:
1. (Correct me if/(when) I am wrong: The Local Storage saves carry-over between versions (if Local Storage is not cleared).
2. A user can Open the game, Load a Local Storage save and Export that save. Then Close and re-Open the game, Load another Local Storage save and Export that save (Rename it to be different that the first Export!) A user could end up with an exported copy of Save1, Save2 and Save3 (etc.).
Yes this is true... you could infact export the save as many times as you want at different points in the game. Before making path changing events..
Regarding the saves working between updates.. I think (touches wood) that I have got the saves future proof..
 

ZennyDarkstar

Active Member
Game Developer
Jul 29, 2023
593
446
oh cool so that helps thanks

recently new to the game tbh so I just wanted to be sure first
The only thing i am 99% sure it will work.. but I cant remember as its been more than a day since I wrote it now... is if you save and export a version.. do u need to reimport it with the same version(before moving on to the new) ... im 99% sure you dont.. I built it to import the save and then if its a diff version to current, run it through the merge to a new save process that happens when a new version finds an old save..

I will have to double check that is what happens.. but it really shud be and I cant think why it wouldnt be able to.. but like I say, i have slept and my memory is gone these days :(
 

ZennyDarkstar

Active Member
Game Developer
Jul 29, 2023
593
446
While I'm here and writing... mini update on where I am at..
I am currently working on 1 particular NPC.. The quest attached them will have 3 outcomes where the player will get to choose which they pick (the might be a stat requirement, but you will be able to back out and come back if you dont meet it, but it wont be chosen for you like in some other quests)...
Depending on which of the 3 choices the quest will continue with differently.. but the big thing which I have been working all week is that the future interactions with this NPC (after chat) will be one of 3 based on the path you have taken.. and there will be degrees of how far you can take those interactions also depending on stats..

I have also written 2 other brand new quests which I have put in the code frame work for.. And a continuation of a current quest.
Most of the NPCs selected have come from the results of the most recent Patreon poll.
There is still a LOT of work left to go.. But I'm really happy with the way this next update is going so far.
 

bradster555

Member
Jul 21, 2023
101
52
while choosing the game save that I have it come up with Error with input file. when I try to load my save that is used
 

ZennyDarkstar

Active Member
Game Developer
Jul 29, 2023
593
446
Looking at the file, I would say
The second line shown as
[null,"1111011","10011011","11011101","100101000001101111011100001001010111111110010001001000",
The null should not be there.. and god knows why that last number is like a billion..
I would say, check the stats page in game of that save..
Do all the stats look normal there?. if so then its the export process.
if not then the problem is before the exporting..

Im not aware of either the game(in browser save) or the export having had this issue for anyone else.


*Edit.... Actually looking at the file.. I can see that its not the export process thats the problem...
That massive number must be really large in game also??

I'm not going to be on for the rest of the day, but will check back in tomorrow morning..
 
  • Like
Reactions: bradster555

bradster555

Member
Jul 21, 2023
101
52
can't check the stats in game because it couldn't load but I guess it was similar to what ever the last part of the sister/stepsister cam quest
 

ZennyDarkstar

Active Member
Game Developer
Jul 29, 2023
593
446
Working on it like everyday at the moment..
I dont want to predict in stone when its going to be ready but it wont be this coming week, but I do expect it to be either of the two weeks after that..
I am making a big content update (well it feels big to me!).. which is taking forever to build.
I'm just finishing off the last bits of a quest that be built from start to finish with multiple different outcomes.
I have just about finished another few steps to one of the other quests.
And I've scripted started to put in the place holders for 2 other new quests..
These are what is I am going to be working on for the next couple of weeks.

I am torn between more often smaller releases which will keep the game more in people's minds and like generate more patreons but also, I know it annoys me when games put out tiny releases and I am done on them within an hour.... So I am trying not to do that..
 
2.40 star(s) 18 Votes