RPGM Below the Fold [Ep.5 R3 SASH] [iLTinoBambino]

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TinoBambino

Member
Game Developer
Aug 6, 2016
128
232
Weirdly, the Mega link seems to lead to nowhere, but the Gofile works fine
Replaced link ty.

I hope you have a special experience this update, honestly. I really tried to do as much as I could to make Below the Fold e4 feel like something totally new in the genre.
 

SuperMaxo

Active Member
Nov 3, 2017
804
596
Replaced link ty.

I hope you have a special experience this update, honestly. I really tried to do as much as I could to make Below the Fold e4 feel like something totally new in the genre.
Looking forward to it, but sadly won’t have the time to replay it for a couple of days

I‘m one of those 3-40 people who are happy to see you’re still improving and toying with your game, which makes me all the more sad that I can’t immerse myself into it right non…

like we say in French, ce n’est que partie remise!
 

TinoBambino

Member
Game Developer
Aug 6, 2016
128
232
Looking forward to it, but sadly won’t have the time to replay it for a couple of days

I‘m one of those 3-40 people who are happy to see you’re still improving and toying with your game, which makes me all the more sad that I can’t immerse myself into it right non…

like we say in French, ce n’est que partie remise!
no context: france1.png
 

Joe Steel

Engaged Member
Jan 10, 2018
2,325
3,082
Some very preliminary feedback:

I had an error at start “missing image img/character/cassie1d.” Copied the cassie image and renamed the copy and that works.

Has the (paperdoll?) image of Amber rather weirdly placed covering story images.

Paperdoll.png


The task “Report to Roma” is given, but following it fails unless you read the task description, which isn’t to return to Roma, but to perform two lap dances and then report to Roma. Could b clearer.

When Amber goes to the balcony at the club, the main floor looks distorted:

Club balcony.png

I couldn't proceed on that quest path because I cannot figure out how to have Amber perform lap dances at the club. Could use some help here.

More to follow.
 

TinoBambino

Member
Game Developer
Aug 6, 2016
128
232
Some very preliminary feedback:

I had an error at start “missing image img/character/cassie1d.” Copied the cassie image and renamed the copy and that works.

Has the (paperdoll?) image of Amber rather weirdly placed covering story images.

View attachment 2479771


The task “Report to Roma” is given, but following it fails unless you read the task description, which isn’t to return to Roma, but to perform two lap dances and then report to Roma. Could b clearer.

When Amber goes to the balcony at the club, the main floor looks distorted:

View attachment 2479774

I couldn't proceed on that quest path because I cannot figure out how to have Amber perform lap dances at the club. Could use some help here.

More to follow.
oh wow that last one is a good point, the NPCs in the farthest booths each have a scene.

the first lapdances will serve as the tier 2 scene for each VIP relationship basically

the idea is like, theres guys you date in the world and theres guys you just date in the club, basically, but i have to add way more club dates.

but like, yeah I should add more text explaining that for now. I also put them furthest from the door because i was trying to quietly convey that Amber was cutting her teeth on private, isolated people first, but now that you point it out that was a super bad game design choice without a visual guide.

the Roma quest is worded terribly you're right thats on the list too

some day i have nothing better to do im gonna do a pass where i move the standing portrait around and change its emotions and stuff, i tried 3 diff spots and they were all bad they all covered at least one important thing but i didn't want to throw any more time into that for now.
 

nuqqur

Newbie
May 8, 2018
95
97
Started a new game from prologue, so this is not related to any new content, but when I'm supposed to finish the stuff at Roma, it won't let me reach the club, as expected. However that check is when trying to enter the parking lot from the main map, not the club door itself. I can enter the club through the beach, and then it freezes here (after the camera sliding up and down to show the whole place and Amber commenting about the club's colors being "interesting"):

1679251671573.png
 

TinoBambino

Member
Game Developer
Aug 6, 2016
128
232
Started a new game from prologue, so this is not related to any new content, but when I'm supposed to finish the stuff at Roma, it won't let me reach the club, as expected. However that check is when trying to enter the parking lot from the main map, not the club door itself. I can enter the club through the beach, and then it freezes here (after the camera sliding up and down to show the whole place and Amber commenting about the club's colors being "interesting"):

View attachment 2480298
im playing through to there now to look. i didnt add anything new between where you are and the next checkpoint from the new game part so if you remember everything from when you just played like 2 weeks ago lol. oh or you could try toggling noclip on from your backpack before that cinematic.

I dont know whats blocking you there. You did both dancing sessions with Roma?
 

nuqqur

Newbie
May 8, 2018
95
97
im playing through to there now to look. i didnt add anything new between where you are and the next checkpoint from the new game part so if you remember everything from when you just played like 2 weeks ago lol. oh or you could try toggling noclip on from your backpack before that cinematic.

I dont know whats blocking you there. You did both dancing sessions with Roma?
Oh no, the bug isn't that I'm blocked from getting in. I hadn't done the dancing sessions. The bug is that you're supposed to be blocked, but you can still get in if you go east from the beach through the arcade area, then the intro sequence in the club gets stuck in the middle (probably because I wasn't supposed to get in).

I started from the beginning because I had done a lot of the game a long time ago, just did the part after the Amazon thing recently so figured it would be nice to play the whole thing in a row.
 
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TinoBambino

Member
Game Developer
Aug 6, 2016
128
232
Oh no, the bug isn't that I'm blocked from getting in. I hadn't done the dancing sessions. The bug is that you're supposed to be blocked, but you can still get in if you go east from the beach through the arcade area, then the intro sequence in the club gets stuck in the middle (probably because I wasn't supposed to get in).

I started from the beginning because I had done a lot of the game a long time ago, just did the part after the Amazon thing recently so figured it would be nice to play the whole thing in a row.
Ohhh OK yeah. I didnt do a good job testing your boundaries in the Ep1 and Ep2 states.

Let me know what you think when you get to the end!
 

Joe Steel

Engaged Member
Jan 10, 2018
2,325
3,082
Some more feedback, after finishing the game:

Sometimes the dialogue box blocks all of the action on the screen.

test box.png


Asking the balcony dude if he wants a lapdance leads to a blackscreen if he’s the same guy you gave the earlier lapdance to. It’s hard to tell if he’s the same guy because the paperdoll covers him when you get to that part of the balcony. Maybe its because Amber already did two lapdances? If so, that character should be disabled.

The conversations between Amber and her former editor (Malcolm?) at the college/school/home are quite well-done, I thought. All the teenage confusion about which one wants what and why are very well-handled.

At this point in the game, I was very unclear what I should be doing. I figured it out, but the blinking star in the mountain was hard to see.

wtf.png


The hair color on Maple looks off on the model. Maybe not an actual problem.

Maple hair.png

Is the picture of Amber supposed to be in this scene? And the curtain and desk by the door haven’t been installed yet at this point in the game.

Strange home.png

Who is this? Is this supposed to be surreal? Also, the time elapsed in the story here is much longer than is obvious, since Amber is pretty much a full-time whore here and had just started with the sex the last time we saw her. Maybe the player should get some explicit notice of this.

Ghost maybe.png

The surreal sequence right after this is terrific. But, again, it shows an Amber who is much more self-confident than the one we last saw, so maybe a summary of her character growth would help players understand what’s happened while she’s been offscreen.

Not that it matters, but this is a very confusing image:

car wreck.png

Loved the “carrying thing” paperdoll here. Dunno why, but I did.

carry doll.png

The Amber sprite is often shown naked when she’s not, as below. I assume that this is because the clothing sprites are not done yet (or so seldom used as to be not worth creating).

naked sprite.png

The report to Roma task is added back at the very end

Tasks at end.png

Note also that I still haven’t found anything regarding the gates. Is this solvable yet?

Amber also didn’t meet D at the art class until long after she’d been able to interact with him (running, shake shack, etc) by clicking on his sprite in the phone call room. I’d not done many art class cleanups since they seemed repetitive. Maybe make the art class cleanups a task at least until Amber has finished with D in that scenario.

In the “end scenes” task, Amber goes to the club and… she’s back to not having access to the VIP area:

back to wondering.png

I think I’ve played what’s playable, but still have unfinished tasks (maybe WAD):

final task list.png

  • The Report to Roma task was completed long ago.
  • The End Episode task can’t be completed because Amber no longer has access to the VIP club.
  • The Golden Gates task has gone nowhere since v2 of the game
  • The Help Megan task was, I think, completed (at least no one can be called anymore)
Overall, I loved it. The style is certainly quirky and maybe not to everyone's tastes, but I liked the old-school sprites and paper dolls. The maps may be a bit too large and confusing, but, on the other hand, the world is a big place and sometimes it is okay to have a little confusion on the players' part.

The best part of the game for me was the dialogues, without doubt. All the young-adult angst, fear of rejection, curiosity, and clannishness comes through very well. Though some readers may find the constant beating-aound-the-bush, does-she-like-me-or-does-she-not conversations tedious, I think that they reflect reality. That's the way people this age talk to one another.

I still haven't quite grasped the whole
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thing, but I guess that's still to be explained fully. It was certainly a major surprise.

Can't wait for the next installment. Let me know if you need playtesting help.
 

TinoBambino

Member
Game Developer
Aug 6, 2016
128
232
Some more feedback, after finishing the game:

Sometimes the dialogue box blocks all of the action on the screen.

View attachment 2481117


Asking the balcony dude if he wants a lapdance leads to a blackscreen if he’s the same guy you gave the earlier lapdance to. It’s hard to tell if he’s the same guy because the paperdoll covers him when you get to that part of the balcony. Maybe its because Amber already did two lapdances? If so, that character should be disabled.

The conversations between Amber and her former editor (Malcolm?) at the college/school/home are quite well-done, I thought. All the teenage confusion about which one wants what and why are very well-handled.

At this point in the game, I was very unclear what I should be doing. I figured it out, but the blinking star in the mountain was hard to see.

View attachment 2481118


The hair color on Maple looks off on the model. Maybe not an actual problem.

View attachment 2481120

Is the picture of Amber supposed to be in this scene? And the curtain and desk by the door haven’t been installed yet at this point in the game.

View attachment 2481121

Who is this? Is this supposed to be surreal? Also, the time elapsed in the story here is much longer than is obvious, since Amber is pretty much a full-time whore here and had just started with the sex the last time we saw her. Maybe the player should get some explicit notice of this.

View attachment 2481122

The surreal sequence right after this is terrific. But, again, it shows an Amber who is much more self-confident than the one we last saw, so maybe a summary of her character growth would help players understand what’s happened while she’s been offscreen.

Not that it matters, but this is a very confusing image:

View attachment 2481123

Loved the “carrying thing” paperdoll here. Dunno why, but I did.

View attachment 2481124

The Amber sprite is often shown naked when she’s not, as below. I assume that this is because the clothing sprites are not done yet (or so seldom used as to be not worth creating).

View attachment 2481125

The report to Roma task is added back at the very end

View attachment 2481127

Note also that I still haven’t found anything regarding the gates. Is this solvable yet?

Amber also didn’t meet D at the art class until long after she’d been able to interact with him (running, shake shack, etc) by clicking on his sprite in the phone call room. I’d not done many art class cleanups since they seemed repetitive. Maybe make the art class cleanups a task at least until Amber has finished with D in that scenario.

In the “end scenes” task, Amber goes to the club and… she’s back to not having access to the VIP area:

View attachment 2481129

I think I’ve played what’s playable, but still have unfinished tasks (maybe WAD):

View attachment 2481128

  • The Report to Roma task was completed long ago.
  • The End Episode task can’t be completed because Amber no longer has access to the VIP club.
  • The Golden Gates task has gone nowhere since v2 of the game
  • The Help Megan task was, I think, completed (at least no one can be called anymore)
Overall, I loved it. The style is certainly quirky and maybe not to everyone's tastes, but I liked the old-school sprites and paper dolls. The maps may be a bit too large and confusing, but, on the other hand, the world is a big place and sometimes it is okay to have a little confusion on the players' part.

The best part of the game for me was the dialogues, without doubt. All the young-adult angst, fear of rejection, curiosity, and clannishness comes through very well. Though some readers may find the constant beating-aound-the-bush, does-she-like-me-or-does-she-not conversations tedious, I think that they reflect reality. That's the way people this age talk to one another.

I still haven't quite grasped the whole
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thing, but I guess that's still to be explained fully. It was certainly a major surprise.

Can't wait for the next installment. Let me know if you need playtesting help.
uh there's also scenes in the city to storm drain connector area, where the rainbow is that are important. and then theres a sex scene after you take the ring back above the house that explains the blue people the rest of the way, or at least tries to.

tbh the D stuff is a game design philosophy thing like im trying to let people do the erotic scenes. same reason why the lab partner stuff can be played out of order. like people are always just going to noclip or dl save files to skip stuff anyway. like im anti anticheat i guess
 
Last edited:

nuqqur

Newbie
May 8, 2018
95
97
I think I'm stuck again without reaching new content, I did the ring stuff again and like last time, the events were a bit out of order. The machine at home showed ring on 7th, went there, asked at shop, then asked for tapes, then went to the club and first time I came, the boss gave me the ring, but the second time I went there, Amber *asked* about the ring, then went upstairs and same black screen in the middle of convo as with last version? I feel like asking about the ring should have happened before receiving the ring? Is the "end of game black screen" still supposed to be there or is that a bug from the order being mixed up? Because it doesn't seem like I can enter the club again to continue with club questline because of that black screen.
 

TinoBambino

Member
Game Developer
Aug 6, 2016
128
232
I think I'm stuck again without reaching new content, I did the ring stuff again and like last time, the events were a bit out of order. The machine at home showed ring on 7th, went there, asked at shop, then asked for tapes, then went to the club and first time I came, the boss gave me the ring, but the second time I went there, Amber *asked* about the ring, then went upstairs and same black screen in the middle of convo as with last version? I feel like asking about the ring should have happened before receiving the ring? Is the "end of game black screen" still supposed to be there or is that a bug from the order being mixed up? Because it doesn't seem like I can enter the club again to continue with club questline because of that black screen.
I tested that a bunch after your post before and I couldn't make the black screen happen for me. There should be a number of scenes now after that point. Did you continue from an old save file?

I guess there's a specific order of events that breaks that chain but I don't know what it is, I'll have to really play around with what's happening there. Save file 17 is a nearly completed save file with the ring that should let you at least see the post ring sex scene. Just end episode 3 without the ring for now and next update I'll fix whatever breaks that quest.

Ohhhh wait I see what you're saying the event fired twice, I'll figure that out.
 

Joe Steel

Engaged Member
Jan 10, 2018
2,325
3,082
I went into the mine accessible from the double doors in the underground, but when I went off the north edge of the map just got this, with no way to exit from it:

mine.png
 

Joe Steel

Engaged Member
Jan 10, 2018
2,325
3,082
Going into the school from the underground (late game) Amber automoves to this position and the game locks up:

school locked up.png
 

TinoBambino

Member
Game Developer
Aug 6, 2016
128
232
I went into the mine accessible from the double doors in the underground, but when I went off the north edge of the map just got this, with no way to exit from it:

View attachment 2482173
can you enter your backpack and use the "standing picture wipe" to get past that? thats only supposed to loop like 3 times and then turn off. ive never had that get stuck, and its a really simple chain so im not sure what could break that. im literally in that event right now, I added an extra check to double check that it gets turned off but literally that event is like a slide show of images that turn off forever after they show once... makes zero sense why that would happen.

EDIT: oh thank you for the school one that one i can instantly see why that happened

tip for rpgmaker devs, when you have commands that autorun its usually best to kill that event like 3 different ways, be redundant af because RPGmaker will literally just randomly miss executing an instruction, and less things break over time.
 
Last edited:

Joe Steel

Engaged Member
Jan 10, 2018
2,325
3,082
uh there's also scenes in the city to storm drain connector area, where the rainbow is that are important. and then theres a sex scene after you take the ring back above the house that explains the blue people the rest of the way, or at least tries to.
I've seen the rainbow area, but that only led to Amber meeting Parker, as far as the story goes. Am I missing something?

I also have no idea what "the ring" is.
 

Joe Steel

Engaged Member
Jan 10, 2018
2,325
3,082
can you enter your backpack and use the "standing picture wipe" to get past that?
I don't have a "standing picture wipe" in the backpack. Nothing in the backpack is highlight-able except the Ambrosia bulbs, WD-40, Student ID, and strip.
 
2.80 star(s) 5 Votes