HTML A Life Lived [v0.84 Public] [ZennyDarkstar]

[Robozoid]

I am trying to get the controller from Austin but there is no button to agree to his request for me. Are there hidden stat requirements to get the picture taken?

 

[12inch]

waaay too much grind.

 

[CinnamonCuddle]

cant use f12 to edit the grind away, hard pass for me, im not going to grind for porn im here to fap not think.

 

[ZennyDarkstar]

cant use f12 to edit the grind away, hard pass for me, im not going to grind for porn im here to fap not think.

Thats cool.. totally get u.. like Ive always said, the game is not for everyone..
Thanks for keeping it polite

 

[ZennyDarkstar]

I am trying to get the controller from Austin but there is no button to agree to his request for me. Are there hidden stat requirements to get the picture taken?

Are you visiting him at the right time / place.. its in his bedroom mid morning (11am ish)..
I cant remember of the top of my head, but this might be a location trigger or a person one .. if its person you have to interact with them to see the quest icon..

 

[Robozoid]

Are you visiting him at the right time / place.. its in his bedroom mid morning (11am ish)..
I cant remember of the top of my head, but this might be a location trigger or a person one .. if its person you have to interact with them to see the quest icon..

I went to him at 11am and clicked the quest icon the only option given was "Let me think on it". I looked through the code and found that whatever line 4337 checks for is the cause.

 

[reidanota]

Here's a suggestion that might improve the pace of the game, and reduce the grind: change how classes work. It makes no sense that you can move freely around the scool, entering each and every classroom, chatting with anybody including the teacher, and only engage in the last 15 minutes of any class to gain a full bonus. Why not:

1) Make classes mandatory. If you miss them, you not only don't gain a stat, but are penalised in your grades.

2) Have a fixed schedule, like most schools have. You have to attend certain classes and not others, at certain hours.

3) You're free to use the first 15 minutes of every hour to go anywhere and chat to anyone. But you must click on a class at 15 past the hour, or miss it entirely (you're still free to roam, but not to interact with anyone attending classes, and penalties apply).

4) Attending class will give you the normal stat boost, a grades boost and a random relationship boost with any student in the same class. A good schedule will ensure that you have a chance to be in class with all students. A simple algorythm should determine which student gets a boost, based on your current relationship (most likely to sit beside). Better relationship means more likelihood, but you still have a chance to get a boost with those that you haven't interacted much with. Cool down still applies to any student you already had a boost with in the previous 3 hours.

This could make raising relationship with any one student take longer, but the pace of the game would be much faster.

 

[ZennyDarkstar]

I went to him at 11am and clicked the quest icon the only option given was "Let me think on it". I looked through the code and found that whatever line 4337 checks for is the cause.

Ok I have just checked the code... I think the trigger is not the correct check to be honest.. but what you need is 10quid or more.. If I remember correctly, I think the trigger should be corruption / strength / or bi.. (which one I can't remember at this moment.. probably corruption as 10 might be a bit high for the other two at the point of making this..

give me a shout if 10pound is not working?

 

[ZennyDarkstar]

Here's a suggestion that might improve the pace of the game, and reduce the grind: change how classes work. It makes no sense that you can move freely around the scool, entering each and every classroom, chatting with anybody including the teacher, and only engage in the last 15 minutes of any class to gain a full bonus. Why not:

1) Make classes mandatory. If you miss them, you not only don't gain a stat, but are penalised in your grades.

2) Have a fixed schedule, like most schools have. You have to attend certain classes and not others, at certain hours.

3) You're free to use the first 15 minutes of every hour to go anywhere and chat to anyone. But you must click on a class at 15 past the hour, or miss it entirely (you're still free to roam, but not to interact with anyone attending classes, and penalties apply).

4) Attending class will give you the normal stat boost, a grades boost and a random relationship boost with any student in the same class. A good schedule will ensure that you have a chance to be in class with all students. A simple algorythm should determine which student gets a boost, based on your current relationship (most likely to sit beside). Better relationship means more likelihood, but you still have a chance to get a boost with those that you haven't interacted much with. Cool down still applies to any student you already had a boost with in the previous 3 hours.

This could make raising relationship with any one student take longer, but the pace of the game would be much faster.

Hello and thank you for your well thought out idea..
I have something in mind already that is kinda similar.. so im looking at bring in more of the skill / stats in to new quests going forward.. and like you mention the idea of the skill / stat going down when its not being used /improved in a period of time..
So if we use music skill as an example.. I want to create a quest in the future that involves the mc becoming part of a band, which leads to paid gigs and groupies (including whichever npc was the main one to feature in this quest)..
However I want to make it that if you dont practice the music skill once every few days, the stat goes down, and that means u cant play the gig.. Something similar could work with the fathers garage job and your strength skill..

An inclusion of tests at school, which will require a certain maintained level of intelligence to pass.. and failure will have consequence (story lines) while passing will also result in something..

I want to make the game more like real life, where you cant do everything and be everything at the same time.. so you have to pick and choose.. and so one play through you might become one sort of mc, while another you will focus in a different way..

All that said.. there is still alot of work to go in before I think I can start taking it to these levels..

I am already working on v0.6.. and there is a poll on the patreons page for what npc content people want to see..

Regarding what you mentioned about NPCs in class gaining likes.. there is going to be more group activities that come (like the dinner with fam) where it will give a +1 to like of all npcs in the event..

At the moment I have tried to avoid forcing the player down the route of which classes (if any) they attend.. While I do get this is not matching real life.. I do feel like it adds to the sandbox feel rather than a visual novel.. I want the mc to have as much freedom to interact with or not any elements of the game..

Thanks again though as hearing back from anyone is always nice and interesting

 

[reidanota]

At the moment I have tried to avoid forcing the player down the route of which classes (if any) they attend.. While I do get this is not matching real life.. I do feel like it adds to the sandbox feel rather than a visual novel.. I want the mc to have as much freedom to interact with or not any elements of the game..

Have you played Girl Life? It's the most sandbox game I know of this sort, where classes work pretty well. Note that I'm not trying to sell you on QSP, which you seem to have mentioned recently, just stressing that other things come to play when considering grind and sandbox freedom. In GL, you're absolutely free to skip anything, but you're penalized. No grades, or too much absenteeism, no university - but then, there are other options for you, just like in real life. I think people who state that the grind is insane with your game haven't played GL, where it literally takes you over a game year to get anywhere on any skill (if you don't savescum, that is). The fact is that GL rewards you along the way, having enough story arcs that you can start from the beginning with no pre-requisites, while others are opened to you as you progress, rewarding the effort you put in achieving goals.

I've always said that your game will feel much better as you simply add more content to it, but I do want to make a point that it's worth having some content that doesn't require The Grind to keep players interested, as they grind away to further goals. Spending multiple hours just grinding away, and then just get rewarded by a one-time event with a character can feel a bit dry.

This makes me think, why not add repeatable random events throughout the game, that are available from the start and that may even offer you a choice that will help either one path, or another? In a "forced greeting" style - again, like in GL and other QSP games, among many others, including twine/sugarcube games - where you can randomly get an event, specific to the location you're in, just by going there, within a given time interval. Could be an opportunity to make NPCs feel more dynamic, or just to add a break and an opportunity to pass 15min to 1 hour, while perhaps looking at "free eye-candy". If you could code in the framework, it would make for an easy way to increase content and content diversity from one update to the next, even as you work on more technical stuff. You could have random encounters in the park, in each of the school areas, in your home, etc. You probably intend to do this already, but it feels like it would help to add them sooner rather than later.

Sorry about pestering! This is just some of what I'd like to see and you do what YOU like, that's the most important.

 

[ZennyDarkstar]

Have you played Girl Life? It's the most sandbox game I know of this sort, where classes work pretty well. Note that I'm not trying to sell you on QSP, which you seem to have mentioned recently, just stressing that other things come to play when considering grind and sandbox freedom. In GL, you're absolutely free to skip anything, but you're penalized. No grades, or too much absenteeism, no university - but then, there are other options for you, just like in real life. I think people who state that the grind is insane with your game haven't played GL, where it literally takes you over a game year to get anywhere on any skill (if you don't savescum, that is). The fact is that GL rewards you along the way, having enough story arcs that you can start from the beginning with no pre-requisites, while others are opened to you as you progress, rewarding the effort you put in achieving goals.

I've always said that your game will feel much better as you simply add more content to it, but I do want to make a point that it's worth having some content that doesn't require The Grind to keep players interested, as they grind away to further goals. Spending multiple hours just grinding away, and then just get rewarded by a one-time event with a character can feel a bit dry.

This makes me think, why not add repeatable random events throughout the game, that are available from the start and that may even offer you a choice that will help either one path, or another? In a "forced greeting" style - again, like in GL and other QSP games, among many others, including twine/sugarcube games - where you can randomly get an event, specific to the location you're in, just by going there, within a given time interval. Could be an opportunity to make NPCs feel more dynamic, or just to add a break and an opportunity to pass 15min to 1 hour, while perhaps looking at "free eye-candy". If you could code in the framework, it would make for an easy way to increase content and content diversity from one update to the next, even as you work on more technical stuff. You could have random encounters in the park, in each of the school areas, in your home, etc. You probably intend to do this already, but it feels like it would help to add them sooner rather than later.

Sorry about pestering! This is just some of what I'd like to see and you do what YOU like, that's the most important.

Firstly let me say.. not pestering.. contributing!! Love it
Yes I have played GL.. and each time I do, I get frustrated by the lack of content... but like you said.. there is content, I just dont stumble across it(at least I believe there must be)..
I do love QSP games in general, as they do tend to be sandbox games.
And yes, you really do have to grind GL to gain stats, which can easily be destroyed with the wrong choices.

So here is where my game will differ from GL.. one, GL is a community project with open add on.. is just me lol
2nd GL uses different images / vids of different actors / actresses for every scene.. This is something I totally understand, but for me that puts me off.. and 3rd GL like I said, does not have any real guiding hand.. So its 100% find the content yourself.. and as someone who does game alot and played alot of games on here, I find it hard to find some of the content on there.. Or to know if the content I have found is all there is in an area or if there is more or not..

So where you mention repeatable content.. go to the gym, and work out on the latest version.. what you should find is a random vid of a young lady/fella (depending on stats) will be shown... This is an example of whats to come from me.. I want to make more of the grind events have instant appeal more..

I would also like to bring in some more completely random events that dont involve current npcs.. Lets say you are in the school corridor, maybe a group of girls will pass you, or a girl will go running and trip.. This will trigger when you enter the location randomly (some times)

So yes, I think that is something I would like to see more off.. And like I said before.. there will be consequence to stats not be higher enough in school and stats that lower when you dont practice them...

The other last big difference between my game and GL is that GL is now how many years old? its coming up 8 years old on here..

Hopefully my game will still be going in a few years time and then I will feel its able to be compared to what GL does

 

[Oliz82]

Hello.

It's been a while since I participated in this game thread but I don't have enough time to try each version completely before the new one becomes available (yeah, I prefer trying everything before sharing my thoughts). There are some comments that I wanted to answer though.

The MC is not going to transform (or at least I have no plan for that, Cant see how it would work while also being avoidable).
There is a quest Eliah2Ella.. and as the name might suggest is a transformation quest.. In this case its helping another npc through the process.
There is likely to be in the future a forced transform / forced sissifaction of an npc quest.. if I can get the right content to make it work, as that would be fun to do, and I think there would be interest in that.. But that is likely to have to involved a new npc that is currently not in the game.. I am open to suggestions if there is any real life person who has some male content(or at least that could pass as) that has later gone sissy or transformed that you might know of..

The current quest mentioned is not complete by a long way.. but the most recent update has some steps on the path..

While talking about transformation, have you thought about a female to male one (masculinization)? Not asking for one, just wondering how far you want to go in terms of diversity of kinks.

About middle ground ones like changing hair, piercing, tattoos, surgery, basically aesthetics and the reception by others about the changes.

Well in the current version there is the start of engaging in a releationship with the mother.. I have not thought far enough ahead to what the affect would be.. Quickly thinking about it.. I think the engine that I have built would have the scope to cope with say the father being moved out to say a flat and then disabling any quests / content that would be contridictory of the new situation..

I don't like destroying already established relationships unless it's going badly (and even so, I'd prefer helping them solving the issue). Will there be a more moderate option like mother/father separately without change for them (without them knowing if it's easier), a throuple, sharing (we go for only one which can still go for the wife/husband). I just want that staying a family without too much change to be a possibility.

The results of some of the quests are different depending choices taken or in sum cases based on stats you have already.. like sub/dom..
In regards to the aunty one.. the consequence of the quest is to be seen in future interactions with that npc and will in the future lead in to some new quests that will only be part of one route or the other..
I did start looking at the interactions with the aunty post quest.. depending on the outcome.. that is something I had hoped to put in the last update but I ran out of time.. but I want to do it soon, as it nicely draws a line under that quest..

Is it possible to be sub with someone and dom with another (it should be since there's a gap in the stats of all the charaters)?
For example, you start being bullied but in the meantime, your dom stat increases. Do you keep being bullied (because you like it, you want to protect someone, he doesn't want to stop), do you just stop it or do you bully him in return (once to give him a lesson or you can continue) while also knowing it isn't enough for another bully? The same for a dom you overtake and a sub you subdue while building the relationship (to be more clear, you become more dom than the dom or more sub than the sub)?
To go further, are changes in a relationship possible?

I want to make the game more like real life, where you cant do everything and be everything at the same time.. so you have to pick and choose.. and so one play through you might become one sort of mc, while another you will focus in a different way..

Does that mean it won't be possible to be a jack of all trade? I like being able to do everything, though I don't mind missing some variations of a scene or quest because my stats aren't high enough (in short, losing a part for not meeting the requirements, not everything).
If you add a decrease in the stats, I hope you'll include a counter somewhere.

Maybe there are more I should ask but that's all found while going through the thread quickly. I should really note them somewhere or answer immediately from now on...

Good continuation.

 

[reidanota]

Does that mean it won't be possible to be a jack of all trade? I like being able to do everything, though I don't mind missing some variations of a scene or quest because my stats aren't high enough (in short, losing a part for not meeting the requirements, not everything).

Second this. I prefer purely sandbox/open-world games where you have absolute freedom, albeit some goals may be easier to achieve than others, considering your stats. I understand that some kinks require putting the player in extreme situations. Players who are seeking for humiliation roleplay will not be satisfied if you're always able to opt-out of every bad scenario - but this is an important balance that's not easy to achieve. In my view, it should be possible for the player to be a bi and a switch without being locked out of any but the most extreme dom or sub content. 90% of the game should be accessible to a player that's not extremely dominant or extremely submissive. The radical split between separate routes is what drives me away from visual novels.

Sexual preference doesn't need to lock you in or out of specific quests - it's a choice you can make at every step. But having a preference scale does allow for the author to code in certain flavour variants, such as stress or positive/negative reactions to scenes according to sexual preference - but the trigger can always be the player's acceptance, except if they're bullied, blackmailed, assaulted, etc... As for power dynamics, why can't a mostly alpha, jock player have a secret kink about sucking cock in the gloryhole? Or a mostly submissive player enjoy as much pussy as he can get, provided he's able to? Only extremely submissive or extremely dominant characters should be barred from the opposite content, thereby offering a no-escape route for players who are looking for it.

 

[ZennyDarkstar]

Hello.

It's been a while since I participated in this game thread but I don't have enough time to try each version completely before the new one becomes available (yeah, I prefer trying everything before sharing my thoughts). There are some comments that I wanted to answer though.


While talking about transformation, have you thought about a female to male one (masculinization)? Not asking for one, just wondering how far you want to go in terms of diversity of kinks.

About middle ground ones like changing hair, piercing, tattoos, surgery, basically aesthetics and the reception by others about the changes.


I don't like destroying already established relationships unless it's going badly (and even so, I'd prefer helping them solving the issue). Will there be a more moderate option like mother/father separately without change for them (without them knowing if it's easier), a throuple, sharing (we go for only one which can still go for the wife/husband). I just want that staying a family without too much change to be a possibility.


Is it possible to be sub with someone and dom with another (it should be since there's a gap in the stats of all the charaters)?
For example, you start being bullied but in the meantime, your dom stat increases. Do you keep being bullied (because you like it, you want to protect someone, he doesn't want to stop), do you just stop it or do you bully him in return (once to give him a lesson or you can continue) while also knowing it isn't enough for another bully? The same for a dom you overtake and a sub you subdue while building the relationship (to be more clear, you become more dom than the dom or more sub than the sub)?
To go further, are changes in a relationship possible?


Does that mean it won't be possible to be a jack of all trade? I like being able to do everything, though I don't mind missing some variations of a scene or quest because my stats aren't high enough (in short, losing a part for not meeting the requirements, not everything).
If you add a decrease in the stats, I hope you'll include a counter somewhere.

Maybe there are more I should ask but that's all found while going through the thread quickly. I should really note them somewhere or answer immediately from now on...

Good continuation.

Hello there!
Always nice to hear from a regular, and someone who appreciates the project.

I have not really thought about a female to male transformation.. I am defo not against it, the issue is that I would need content to build a story around.. An option could be to have a different model playing the starting female and latter male.. but the main issue I having at the moment around developing the male npcs is that the content is not there.. And I dont want to fall into the trap of using different actors to play the same npc in different scenes.. I dont mind using a "body" double if its convincing and doesnt show the face.. but once it becomes clearly a different person, then the illusion breaks for me..


I have not thought too much about the mother / father dynamic other than I want the player to be able to experience some interaction with the mother that will end up in possibly a split between the mother and father, and others that will not.. This will be at the players decision about what path they choose to take, as its not like to be stat driven...

Regarding being sub to one npc while dom to another.. I have not 100% pinned down the sub dom idea in my head.. but 1 model was that as long as your dom with say 10 higher than the npc's you can dom them.. while in theory that could still be sub to another... In my mind, I think the sub dom mc will be that your either going to be a more sub or more dom.. or middling mc.... The idea i want in general is that this is a life.. and while you can experience alot of things in 1 lifetime, certain life choices will mean that other life experiences are off limits to you... This is where I feel the player might want to run multiple goes through the game (eventually when more content comes)..

So regarding being a jack of all trades.. I think it might be possible but like the saying goes.. a master of none..
I think like in real life, you can spend time mastering one skill, or time being ok at lots of skills...
Thats not to say that you could master one, and once you have completed it all, you could put that to one side and master another while the first losses points.. (ofcourse you can reraise the first stat back later also)

if you take games that are rpgs in non porn, normally the mc is a certain class, and also has a trade.. like a metal worker / wizard.. or baker / warrior...

Its still very very early stages, but I do like that model...

Alot of things are not in stone yet, and I might change my mind as I see problems or as suggestions are made to me.. so for now, alot of this is spitballing of concepts.. which is fun

 

[ZennyDarkstar]

Second this. I prefer purely sandbox/open-world games where you have absolute freedom, albeit some goals may be easier to achieve than others, considering your stats. I understand that some kinks require putting the player in extreme situations. Players who are seeking for humiliation roleplay will not be satisfied if you're always able to opt-out of every bad scenario - but this is an important balance that's not easy to achieve. In my view, it should be possible for the player to be a bi and a switch without being locked out of any but the most extreme dom or sub content. 90% of the game should be accessible to a player that's not extremely dominant or extremely submissive. The radical split between separate routes is what drives me away from visual novels.

Sexual preference doesn't need to lock you in or out of specific quests - it's a choice you can make at every step. But having a preference scale does allow for the author to code in certain flavour variants, such as stress or positive/negative reactions to scenes according to sexual preference - but the trigger can always be the player's acceptance, except if they're bullied, blackmailed, assaulted, etc... As for power dynamics, why can't a mostly alpha, jock player have a secret kink about sucking cock in the gloryhole? Or a mostly submissive player enjoy as much pussy as he can get, provided he's able to? Only extremely submissive or extremely dominant characters should be barred from the opposite content, thereby offering a no-escape route for players who are looking for it.

I think in the main part I agree with you.. and what I have done so far where a quest splits into 3 different outcomes/routes.. the player can choose which they want to go with.. now sometimes these routes require the mc to be bi or sub or dom.. but the mc can always back out of the choice, and come back once their char stats fit the route they want to pick.. However I would expect that in most cases, if your a sub player, and have made a sub char, then when you are faced with a choice and want to pick the sub route, your stats will already be that.. (and same for other kinks)...

And I do agree that you could be a jock but still suck cock on the quiet.. and I think the game will not stop that from happening..

An example of something I implemented in the latest version was that when you go to the gym and train, a video will come up of a attractive woman training near you.. if your mc stat for bi has been raised (and only by a couple of points), then the game adds in the mens vids into the mix...
Now I imagine there are alot of people playing the game that are 100% straight and do not want to be faced with any bi content.. so I want the game to do its best to cater for them, but in an automatic way, not in a would you like to see a guy or girl while you train question..

However like I have said in the last post.. im still spitballing alot of ideas and how the mc will be able to adapt and access content or be blocked from content..

Feel free to keep the ideas / suggestions / comments coming, as its interest to hear what people think

 

[reidanota]

Thats not to say that you could master one, and once you have completed it all, you could put that to one side and master another while the first losses points.. (ofcourse you can reraise the first stat back later also)

Having no time limit or "ending" goes a long way to a good sandbox experience. You could make a "character resume" chart that players could access at any time, showing a nice layout of their stats and a few descriptive lines mentioning achievements. Achievements wins every time versus ending, inho. That way, if you played long enough, you could in theory go through most of the content, except alternate routes in quests.

if you take games that are rpgs in non porn, normally the mc is a certain class, and also has a trade.. like a metal worker / wizard.. or baker / warrior...

I've had the "misfortune" to start modding Skyrim after playing other RPGs before that, which were like what you mentioned. Staying for so long with one game, Bethesda lured me away from those "classic" rpg games and into their soft "sandbox" type. I still try to roleplay as much as possible and include mods that help me to do so, but I can't be bothered anymore with classes and all manner of restrictions. It's more lifelike, imho, that you can do what you said, focusing on some skills while others decay, and given enough time, become sufficiently proficient in most of them, at some point. "Classes" are artificial boundaries, unless they're simply a starting setup. Ultima Online worked really well for me, as although there were no predefined classes, the limited points available to put into skills meant that any player could only master some 15% to 20% of the skills available, and the community defined which were the most effective templates, meaning something "like classes", but that emerged from the gameplay itself. Nothing to do with your game, though... Just me, rambling

 

[Oliz82]

Hello.

Thanks for the explainations.

I have not thought too much about the mother / father dynamic other than I want the player to be able to experience some interaction with the mother that will end up in possibly a split between the mother and father, and others that will not.. This will be at the players decision about what path they choose to take, as its not like to be stat driven...

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.

Regarding being sub to one npc while dom to another.. I have not 100% pinned down the sub dom idea in my head.. but 1 model was that as long as your dom with say 10 higher than the npc's you can dom them.. while in theory that could still be sub to another... In my mind, I think the sub dom mc will be that your either going to be a more sub or more dom.. or middling mc.... The idea i want in general is that this is a life.. and while you can experience alot of things in 1 lifetime, certain life choices will mean that other life experiences are off limits to you... This is where I feel the player might want to run multiple goes through the game (eventually when more content comes)..

So regarding being a jack of all trades.. I think it might be possible but like the saying goes.. a master of none..
I think like in real life, you can spend time mastering one skill, or time being ok at lots of skills...
Thats not to say that you could master one, and once you have completed it all, you could put that to one side and master another while the first losses points.. (ofcourse you can reraise the first stat back later also)

if you take games that are rpgs in non porn, normally the mc is a certain class, and also has a trade.. like a metal worker / wizard.. or baker / warrior...

Its still very very early stages, but I do like that model...

Alot of things are not in stone yet, and I might change my mind as I see problems or as suggestions are made to me.. so for now, alot of this is spitballing of concepts.. which is fun

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.

 

[domacleod]

The interface is quite similar to QSP games.. I personally dont like html games that have a page of text in which 1 word is a hyperlink to the next page... I have tried to make the interface to be split into panels where each panel will display very much the same sort of thing in each instance..
for instance to navigate around the locations, its all on the bottom left, above that would be which npcs are at the location, above that any items that can be picked up or interacted with.. and above that the action panel when you click on one of the npcs/ items / locations.... the center is the image. where you are, or who you are talking to... the right side has the text output of where you are or who you are talking to.. your inventory menu is on the lower right.. and there are a few other panels on the right that are multi purpose...

What might feel complex or cluttered to some might feel familiar to others.. its probably got a bit more of a retro feel to it..

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.

 

[ZennyDarkstar]

Having no time limit or "ending" goes a long way to a good sandbox experience. You could make a "character resume" chart that players could access at any time, showing a nice layout of their stats and a few descriptive lines mentioning achievements. Achievements wins every time versus ending, inho. That way, if you played long enough, you could in theory go through most of the content, except alternate routes in quests.

I've had the "misfortune" to start modding Skyrim after playing other RPGs before that, which were like what you mentioned. Staying for so long with one game, Bethesda lured me away from those "classic" rpg games and into their soft "sandbox" type. I still try to roleplay as much as possible and include mods that help me to do so, but I can't be bothered anymore with classes and all manner of restrictions. It's more lifelike, imho, that you can do what you said, focusing on some skills while others decay, and given enough time, become sufficiently proficient in most of them, at some point. "Classes" are artificial boundaries, unless they're simply a starting setup. Ultima Online worked really well for me, as although there were no predefined classes, the limited points available to put into skills meant that any player could only master some 15% to 20% of the skills available, and the community defined which were the most effective templates, meaning something "like classes", but that emerged from the gameplay itself. Nothing to do with your game, though... Just me, rambling

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..

Having gone so far without stat points that can be assigned to skills it would be something I could not really add into the game now. and probably would be more of a put off.. The more I think about it the more I like the idea of raising stats but ignored stats could still fall.. but with the game not having an end, a player could in theory do alot of things, only really missing out on certain branches of quests..

The interesting question is do I put a day limit on the game play.. so lets say for instance after 3 years of playing the game will say you are now leaving home and going to college.. hope this part of your life was well lived.. At this point not something I am thinking about i should say.

 

[ZennyDarkstar]

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..