Ren'Py Abandoned Chimera: Bloodlines - Season 1 [v0.2] [FunDi]

[Deleted member 2282952]

I will write it in this message before responding to all new comments - I've received a couple of messages from people that this game confuses them because it doesn't seem like things are decided yet - well, that's the whole point of this forum, to get people to play stuff, feedback (like maaaany in this thread), and help make decisions that I will take to the full game and marketplaces - sooo, if this confuses you, wait for the full game Or at least an early release I plan for November.

Wall of Text #1 - since a couple of other people gave detailed feedback too.

I clicked to respond to JohnF95zone message, and my browser broke because of the message size! Thanks for the feedback! I will cut down your quotes to keep this message sane size:

v0.1.5 review/feedback:
Overall, much more and better contents, features and unfortunately bugs as compared to the Demo. Personally, I still think the pacing is still fast, which I believe the original intention: fast paced high octane action pack, something like that, and Chimera: Bloodlines has some tricks up its sleeves to address and/or mitigate that.

There are three types of scenes:
1) Action scenes - fast paced
2) Interaction scenes - chill and story / convo focused (not a lot of those YET, but Outlaw Bar and Library KINDA gives a glimpse how this should work + sandbox interactions)
3) Sex scenes - duh

Finding proper balance between all of them will be very important

Bugs........

Overall - you caught the bugs correctly, some of those are me rushing to finish and using variables incorrectly, some are story elements, which I ran out of time to fix (like the story about Silver + not knowing Saya, etc.)

I need to figure out better ways to track down this stuff as things scale -_-

I should've made it more obvious that the purpose of this build was mostly sandbox testing + new scenes, and everything will be aligned later... My bad - that's what happens when you rush, but I really needed to get Sandbox feedback, which most seem to accept.

And for Jasmin stuff - AHHHHHH, why am I always messing up the labels??? I need to organize this stuff better xD

Gameplay, Features, UI.......

ChimeraPad - I like how it turned out, except for all missing content and couple of elements I still didn't code
b. point - this is, like, the least overwhelming I could make it xD I'm still trying to tone it down a little, but at the same time, I like details in my worlds... even if other people might not care much...
Map - Obviously, there will be more and more locations available simultaneously once you progress, go for factions, etc. That one was tough to avoid bugs in.

2. Quick Menu - I figured it's better to have it that not... Maybe will add an option to add/remove in options

3. That part has been a little difficult, still trying to make this work, but the letters stop looking lean at some points.. will be fully proper in the next one.

4. Those buttons are not quick to make... and the most difficult part is that I have written my own choice system to make it work, and it's a bit more difficult to use than your standard stuff. I like it too, I will figure out next build how to balance things out, or just redo everything as horizontal boxes.

Worldbuilding, Storytelling......

1. I was afraid that the exposition was too long, and those choices added some alignment points to those characters which later give an additional dialogue option. I think I will cut down the text at the start - a lot.

2. I don't like single villain approach, Morgana will be one of the factions. What you've written makes sense and relates to the point 1. However, there is also case that is a bit more... specific to being a new dev. Which is - overexpose to see what the new game has in store to get the players excited. I think making the exposition shorter might help it... I get your point, though.

3. That whole language thing I need to iron out - damn time, including accents for different characters. Chim is supposed to be a slur, but as I am writing this message, I realize I both forgot to introduce it, and forgot to use it...

4. Sooo, as of right now, whenever you see choices, on the back end, they always influence either alignment or faction points, which in turn influences certain behaviors toward you.

I see your point about alignments, that was actually a motivator in point 1. to add those choices at the start.

To your point of the value of each alignment (redemption/corruption/anarchy), I think it will become a bit clearer in v2.0. I was thinking about it, and I think the preferred approach is that all factions fit into 1 of those 3 boxes. Therefore, by making alignment choices, you align (drink a shot every time I write align) toward the graces/hate of different factions. This allows me to connect the two systems. Something like this. I think once the STATS screen is done (didn't finish the stuff on the right) - it will be clearer, I've only recently finished brainstorming it.

Requests....

1. Arrest will lead to her being placed in a trunk and driven to MC's as a prisoner, leading to other interactions xD She then can be either released and kept in the apartment, or continued to be kept in prison. I was hoping to get it done, but had too much damn work in August.

2. You make a good point... Overall - I pointed it out above - but I will be doing a big revamp of all post-battlefield scenes. This includes adding a bit of humor, which to be honest, I was just too busy to integrate cause it's very different skill than storytelling xD

Man, that's a lot and takes a lot of time to compose too and I am sure that I forgot a few stuffs too. I wish that the contents weren't that big so that it is easier to give feedback. Okay, perhaps the contents weren't big but because of fast paced with too much information if feels like big...

No kidding, you basically wrote an entire analysis and bug report, which helps a lot!

I want to be very careful with how I split the ACTION / INTERACTION / SEX scenes, so it will take some playing around to see what is a good balance, because I am wary of keeping people bored with lore dumps, so it kinda went in a direction of advancing things too fast.

 

[Deleted member 2282952]

Wall of Text #2 - some of the questions would probably already be answered in my response to John. I will also cut down your quotes to keep this message a normal size.

Apologies for referencing answers above, but I'm kinda responding during my work hours, so I want to get at least some work done afterward xD

EDIT: Played 1.5. There were quite some small problems

I think John tracked down most of the bugs - and I know where to look now for other inconsistencies.

The Sanctum choice. Again.

I kept this choice for now, but you will understand its significance in the enxt version - when the STATS part of the game is done (and it is almost done). I wrote some details above.

But then, the second problem: It's fine if you focus on 1 alignment only - you get the sanctum you want & the lack of choices doesn't even matter. But if you are spreading your choices around, choosing each choice as you feel like, you may end up with a option you don't like.

Ah, I get what you mean now after reading this, this makes sense. It seems like anyone who pointed out locking didn't like it, might as well just remove it.

to get your desired sanctum, not allowing you to play freely.

The whole Sanctum thing is not yet interconnected with Stats, so it will make more sense afterward. As for the numbers, they will be a part of the stats screen (didn't finish for this version) - but all individual character stats/character/info/etc. is available on individual pages.

For your personal stats/choices - the primarily impact how the world perceives you, including factions, rather than having an outcome on the choices. So, the biggest thing that matters is their order from biggest to smallest, as it will influence how characters react to you.

Say you are goody two shoes, walk into a Mafia layer, and being laughed out as Yuna: "Look what a spineless puppy the streets dragged in..." but maybe with Anarchy as the top alignment it would be Yuna: "Everyone, please move aside, crazy dog is coming through!"

For your part with proposed numbers - rather than numbers themselves, it's the order in which one is highest to lowest that matters. For choice restrictions, I'll just remove those, not a fan of those myself in games anyways.

Try to make sure atleast 2 alignment option choices/actions are available in such scenarios to account for ppl not playing a pure single alignment run....

Described above, but to reiterate, alignment influences factions/world opinions of you, and then the choices within factions influence the world/story. I don't really intend to make the game grindy or heavy in that sort of way.

Maybe I can just replace numbers with Redemption/Corruption/Anarchy - High/Medium/Low - hmmm, that's a thought.

The LI bios are cool, but the player stats page is very bad:

Well, I didn't finish it, so of course it's bad xD There is nothing to revamp because I've just written that decision tree as unformatted text and that's it.

I will basically redo and finish it from the ground up in v2.

The starting is kinda dull. You go through 3 scenes with characters you don't know...

John pointed out the same thing and I agree with both of you, it does seem a little dull, and a bit overexposed.

4. Finally a request - could we disable the images beside the dialogue? If not all characters, atleast the MC? I find it distracting & annoying to constantly see a miniature potrait beside the dialogue.

Heh, that's surprising, I will add the feature to enable/disable in settings.

Extra: 5. Narrative...

Responded to those above. Some things I just messed up - some are intended to just be rewritten, but I forgot to leave a dev note in the game....

Netori is like the abandoned step-child of the ntr family who can only hang out with the rival harem family

Netori is great, I'd say as a game dev the biggest issue is that you have to constantly reexplain it if you have it to anyone who raises an NTR red flag. I've seen a couple of those on this forum and it's pretty funny

Only stupid people will think they know anything about Chimera biology, ...

I like that whole biology rant xD

Thanks for the feedback, helps a lot!

____

1) Yay! I hope it can be intense without losing the sexy aspect of it. In the best scenarios the girls come to enjoy the abuse, and eventually crave more.

I kinda dislike that whole thing in games when Stockholm syndrome develops after 2 or 3 bangs, takes years in reality xD I know we are in the suspension of disbelief as gamers, but come on... And to develop it, it requires something intensely damaging to happen.

4) An antihero is great for this - he can rescue the LIs from peril, put them in his emotional debt, and then inflict all sorts of new perils of his own on them.

The only thing better than financial debt is emotional debt.

8) Good banter is tough, especially if English is not your first language. Can't be too vulgar or obvious, that's definitely cringe. But teasing and innuendo and even begging back and forth dialogue is so great when done right.

Even great games here that I enjoy have solid levels of cringe in their writing... It's especially applicable in my game, cause I'm going for what I call a Disco-Elysium-esque writing style xD

Thanks all for the notes!

I think I have a pretty good idea of my next steps, what people enjoyed/disliked/etc. Thanks all, see you in the next version, which will be wayyy larger and hotter, now that most of the code is done and I can just focus on the story.

Cheers!

 

[kareu]

I'm clicking yes but it not continue the game

 

[Deleted member 2282952]

I'm clicking yes but it not continue the game

Short explanation: the save doesn't work because the file is corrupted - start a new game (and if you can't - please let me know, or describe steps in more detail).

Long explanation: So, this is an error that you typically get if you either try loading a save that you created or edited on a different device or a save that was in any way edited on your current device. In other way, it's kinda like a corrupted save, but it's mostly a false protection mechanism built into Ren'Py.

 

[Faceless0ne]

I promissed you to at least take a look at it, I did. As I'm german and was in the military, you'll get only the (imo) bad stuff - "Kein Anschiss ist Lob genug!"

1. The Sandbox: The state it currently is in, you could have also gotten rid of it. Meaning, while one can choose what to do next it doesn't really matter what and in which order you do it. So it's just bloat.
2. You introduce too much stuff and too many characters at once. In writing cyrcles it would be called a "Loredump". A common mistake first time authors do, especially in fantasy. It kills the pacing of the story and turns many ready off, or in case of Ero-Games to "skip that shit".
3. It's never good to tease at options that aren't yet implemented. I know many do it for "replayability" and/or "get next update plx!" but honestly big turn off for me. Also, if ones story/plot is good enough people will replay it anyways, no matter if you have one million choices and/or teasing shit.

So that's that, for now.

 

[Remembrance]

For your personal stats/choices - the primarily impact how the world perceives you, including factions, rather than having an outcome on the choices. So, the biggest thing that matters is their order from biggest to smallest, as it will influence how characters react to you.

Say you are goody two shoes, walk into a Mafia layer, and being laughed out as Yuna: "Look what a spineless puppy the streets dragged in..." but maybe with Anarchy as the top alignment it would be Yuna: "Everyone, please move aside, crazy dog is coming through!"

For your part with proposed numbers - rather than numbers themselves, it's the order in which one is highest to lowest that matters. For choice restrictions, I'll just remove those, not a fan of those myself in games anyways.


Maybe I can just replace numbers with Redemption/Corruption/Anarchy - High/Medium/Low - hmmm, that's a thought.

Show the alignment numbers on the mc bio to keep it consistent with the LI bios, use sliders like this on the outer stats page for a simpler & more visual approach (7-2-6):
------- (redemption)
-- (corruption)
------ (anarchy)

Spoiler: possibly redundant if all choice restrictions removed.

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Only use the highest alignment check if you have dialogue variants for all 7 possible alignments & use it rarely, like in important scenes involving multiple factions.
Otherwise just check if a single variable is high enough for 2 alternative dialogues - much simpler.

John pointed out the same thing and I agree with both of you, it does seem a little dull, and a bit overexposed.

Here's a remade opening example, with explanations:

Spoiler

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The overall content remains the same, but by rearranging & splicing it like this, you make for a much better narrative line ¯\_ (ツ)_/¯

Extra:

but I really needed to get Sandbox feedback, which most seem to accept.

It's just a map currently. Make people have to find & click on Silver & Saya in the bar from amongst a lot of background figures, & you may get some complaints. Currently the map can be replaced with a menu:
"go to bar":
"go to library":
so it's not a artificial increase in playtime like most sandboxes are with mazes of locations & items & requirements to trigger stuff. I won't even call this a sandbox (negative connotation), just a game where you can choose the next scene & play it hassle free - my feedback about current sandbox.
The more clicks I need to make to get to the next scene, the worse a sandbox is. The more options I have on what scene to choose next, the better a sandbox is. This is how I rate sandboxes, with the best ones maximising the latter while minimising the clicks.

b. point - this is, like, the least overwhelming I could make it xD I'm still trying to tone it down a little, but at the same time, I like details in my worlds... even if other people might not care much...

Same here, I like all the numbers & details. If any improvement is possible, I'd say don't make it so text heavy from the beginning & open up more characters, details & info as you get to know them. Character bio's that start with little info but add more text as you learn more about them & make choices regarding them, basically growing alongside your play-through, is the best imo.
Like instead of just changing Alive: to false on the left side, You could also add a color coded red bold line "Was killed by [mcName] infront of the abandoned Albert mansion" or "Was knocked up by [mcName] on the [preg_day]th day they met"

2. Quick Menu - I figured it's better to have it that not... Maybe will add an option to add/remove in options

The quick menu looks nice, & is very useful imo.

4. Those buttons are not quick to make... and the most difficult part is that I have written my own choice system to make it work, and it's a bit more difficult to use than your standard stuff. I like it too, I will figure out next build how to balance things out, or just redo everything as horizontal boxes.

I'd say make an identity for those choices. Remove the ones from Mia battlefield or other choices that just affect alignment, keep it for important choices like choosing faction (lone wolf vs inquisitor) or choices which will heavily shape the story like the sanctum choice. Going forward, maybe for a choice where you have to choose between 2 or more factions.
Don't use it for choices that just change small variables like relation.
Use it for flags like sanctum & faction choice but not for variables like relation, alignment etc.
That way it looks cool & impactful, has a theme & subtly lets players know the more important choices.

1. I was afraid that the exposition was too long, and those choices added some alignment points to those characters which later give an additional dialogue option. I think I will cut down the text at the start - a lot.

You actually don't need to. Sometimes movies will start like this: A bomb is about to go off. A father tells his son "I love you". Then the scene rewinds to 10 hours ago & they are having breakfast.
Why? Why not start with breakfast? Cause it's boring. By showing the finale snippet at the start, you make the viewers invested & then carry that tension into the breakfast scene - which is suddenly not boring cause now it shows the change in their lives about to come, the last breakfast before a bomb explosion.
Exposition is not bad by itself, you just have to avoid characters just standing & saying stuff dryly. Showing the information is a good way to get through exposition - maybe have a fight involving said powers while someone is explaining the powers? Flashbacks to live through the exposition directly is also a good option. In the above remade opening, I used a kidnapped girls rescue operation fights to maintain the pace & tension, used flashbacks to get the players more invested in the choices made & introduce the 6 characters in relation to the MC & then I had enough pace left that I could squeeze in the 3 shortened talking scenes.
It's not what or how much you say, it's how you say it.

The problem here was not the length, but starting with 6 unknown character introductions, back to back long exposition scenes & vague choices for a character not even seen yet.
Once you establish the MC & introduce the 6 characters in relation to a single important character (MC), it becomes more focused/connected & less confusing. Having the MC make the choices makes them less vague & more important. By cutting up the scenes & not showing them one after other you adjust the pacing to make it less boring.

3. That whole language thing I need to iron out - damn time, including accents for different characters. Chim is supposed to be a slur, but as I am writing this message, I realize I both forgot to introduce it, and forgot to use it...

I like inks. Chim, not so much. Seems like a lazy shortening of Chimaera. Also with the majority of the cast being Chimeras themselves, I don't think it'd fit for more 'official' characters like Hestia or the ruling humans to use it. Simple slurs like this aren't really degradatory, more like just referring to them. It'd fit the chimera hunter soldiers the best, but they are a majority of chimera, so it doesn't hold. Just use "mutt" or "beast" for true insult/degradation imo

To your point of the value of each alignment (redemption/corruption/anarchy), I think it will become a bit clearer in v2.0. I was thinking about it, and I think the preferred approach is that all factions fit into 1 of those 3 boxes. Therefore, by making alignment choices, you align (drink a shot every time I write align) toward the graces/hate of different factions. This allows me to connect the two systems. Something like this. I think once the STATS screen is done (didn't finish the stuff on the right) - it will be clearer, I've only recently finished brainstorming it.

There's only 3 alignments & more than 3 factions. Also assigning each faction rigidly into a alignment is not good I feel. I suggest you think about using the 7 alignment variations to make it 7 boxes. So inks can be good (redemption), rhesus greedy (corrupt) & Hematarch evil (anarchy). the rebels can be greedy but kind (redemption+corruption), mafia greedy & evil (corruption+anarchy), the secret society consists of everyone so they are the rare redemption-corruption-anarchy mixed alignment. (just examples of 7 possible alignments, faction alignments can be different)
This also goes with my previous suggestion about getting mixed alignment more easily when your alignments are close enough instead of only if they are exactly the same number.
Can't really say tho without seeing how it works, I hope it's not rigid but more of a general attitude.


Anyway, see you next release.

 

[kareu]

Short explanation: the save doesn't work because the file is corrupted - start a new game (and if you can't - please let me know, or describe steps in more detail).

Long explanation: So, this is an error that you typically get if you either try loading a save that you created or edited on a different device or a save that was in any way edited on your current device. In other way, it's kinda like a corrupted save, but it's mostly a false protection mechanism built into Ren'Py.

I'm editing the save file myself, can ı bypass this somehow?

 

[Nobles]

First off, im a big fan of monstergirls, so having the girls being somewhat chemera with the eyes and such seems cool. Monster eye thing. Tho they not really real chimeras, but more its the term used for them.

Sadly, I feel like theres just too many choices, I sometimes thing did I just kill someone I not suppose too ? like I killed Emmy at first and took the other girl, then thought, should I have not killed her ? so I replayed it back and she dies anyway, kills herself . I dont really like the idea the story takes totally diferent paths, that will miss content with other girls. If your heading to the same goal but just doing things differently then should be ok.

Fast forward I ended up getting the girl in my mind thing stealing shadows, but really hope thats where the game is suppose to go. I seem to be a mix between corruption and anarchy, whatever that means. Is Mia really dead, Or shes just hanging out in our shadow ? Dont really understand the shadow power yet, but im assuming its going to allow us to mind control/brainwash whoever we take into our loyal servants ?

Feels kinda odd we can impregnate them right off the bat, and the idea sounds fun, putting little chimera girls into them. But nothing really should happen as its just early into the game and theres that thing about being against the law, so I guess theres going to be repercussions ? but how badly will it effect the MC?. Would he be strong enough to pretty much do what he wants? So im confused if I should go for it or not. I do wnat to raise the girls corruption stats.

Thats just some thoughts playing the game. I like the story behind it, and the factions, but fell im just going to get lost with how many choices there are, fear of missing out on content for choosing wrong. If its all going to the same destination but doing things different (so you dont really miss out on anything) then it might be ok.

lastly, is there going to be any full blooded chimera mosnter girls ?

 

[TigerWolfe]

Ovu... what? Suspension of disbelief xD

But you do make a good point... I need to give it some thought. It's a little difficult because I want the pregnancy thing to be another Hematarch questline, so in my mind I'm hoping the players would go for it.

If knocking every LI up is an option there are definitely players that'll go for it.

It's me, I'm players.

 

[JohnF95zone]

like I killed Emmy at first and took the other girl, then thought, should I have not killed her ? so I replayed it back and she dies anyway, kills herself.

Spoiler: Emmy

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[Deleted member 6071033]

View attachment 2832815

Overview:
You're a renowned Special Exterminator for the Inquisition. Your mission is to hunt Chimeras, supernatural humans born from forbidden unions between human bloodlines. Ignite a revolution, uphold the Inquisition's power, or fuck everything that moves. Pursue intimate connections, or wild sex.
Every move you make, every choice you embrace, shall carve the path that shapes the future of humans and chimeras. Prepare to embark on a treacherous journey, where inquisitors, rebels, mafia, political parties, and secret organizations clash in a war.
Trailer:

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Thread Updated: 2023-08-29
Release Date: 2023-08-29
Developer: FunDi -

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Version: 0.1.5
OS: Windows, Linux, Mac, Android
Language: English
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Genre:

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Installation:

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Changelog:

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Developer Notes:

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Thank you so much for viewing and hopefully enjoying the v1.5! Feel free to leave feedback - and I will respond.

DOWNLOAD
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- MEGA -

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- PIXELDRAIN
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Yes finally an android version

 

[Deleted member 2282952]

Hey all, my irl job has been keeping me busy, so apologies if some comments were missed - in big part thanks to all comments, the development of the v2.0 has been going super well (the nights have been long...) - the new build has way less sucky parts (like overexposed intro) or things that don't make sense. The interface will fully be done too.

I promissed you to at least take a look at it, I did. As I'm german and was in the military, you'll get only the (imo) bad stuff - "Kein Anschiss ist Lob genug!"

1. The Sandbox: The state it currently is in, you could have also gotten rid of it. Meaning, while one can choose what to do next it doesn't really matter what and in which order you do it. So it's just bloat.
2. You introduce too much stuff and too many characters at once. In writing cyrcles it would be called a "Loredump". A common mistake first time authors do, especially in fantasy. It kills the pacing of the story and turns many ready off, or in case of Ero-Games to "skip that shit".
3. It's never good to tease at options that aren't yet implemented. I know many do it for "replayability" and/or "get next update plx!" but honestly big turn off for me. Also, if ones story/plot is good enough people will replay it anyways, no matter if you have one million choices and/or teasing shit.

So that's that, for now.

I'm fine with any phrasings, as long as the feedback makes sense xD Surprisingly, only few ppl texted me with the feedback, where I was like "how am I supposed to respond"

1. Mostly correct because the content from the Characters page can't be initiated yet (cause it's not done), and the Stats page also wasn't done (it will consist of choices & faction info). On the contrary, if you read over the comments, people didn't hate the system itself - which was essentially the main thing I wanted to check, given that some really hate Sandbox xD
2. Yeah, that was the biggest thing I messed up - not really hiding it - the intro is entirely redone, and more adult stuff is added throughout - I went way too heavy there, trying to introduce a lot to hook ppl. That one is close to being addressed in what I think is in a good way
3. The v1.5 was kinda barebones, so I wanted to show that there will be plenty of extra pathways, it won't really be the case in the next builds since a lot of the placeholder stuff will be removed. Idk about that one, I feel like as a new dev, there can be an argument to also leave in some stuff to say "hey, it's not a kinetic thing, alternatives are coming!" But I get the annoyance too, many games just tend to grey the options out.

I'm editing the save file myself, can ı bypass this somehow?

It is a built-in engine issue, rather than dev-defined, if you edit a save on a device and play on another (or sometimes on the same one) - it triggers internal safety measure. I will see in the next build if there are any ways to kill it off, but it's deep within the engine itself. The game doesn't really have enough content to edit saves yet xD

First off, im a big fan of monstergirls, so having the girls being somewhat chemera with the eyes and such seems cool. Monster eye thing. Tho they not really real chimeras, but more its the term used for them.

I played plenty of those as well xD I was in deliberation at whether I should make them look human-like or not, but I figured any significant deviations might lead to a beastiality tag which isn't the focus. Powers/eyes are the preferred ways to show distinction.

Sadly, I feel like theres just too many choices, I sometimes thing did I just kill someone I not suppose too ? like I killed Emmy at first and took the other girl, then thought, should I have not killed her ? so I replayed it back and she dies anyway, kills herself . I dont really like the idea the story takes totally diferent paths, that will miss content with other girls. If your heading to the same goal but just doing things differently then should be ok.

Not sure what to say about choices since it's the hook - variability, small or large - not interested in making a kinetic story, but at the same time, you will still experience all of the important bits just in different ways.

If you try capturing Emmy, she kills herself, if you let her go, she escapes and will appear later.

Feels kinda odd we can impregnate them right off the bat, and the idea sounds fun, putting little chimera girls into them. But nothing really should happen as its just early into the game and theres that thing about being against the law, so I guess theres going to be repercussions ? but how badly will it effect the MC?. Would he be strong enough to pretty much do what he wants? So im confused if I should go for it or not. I do wnat to raise the girls corruption stats.

It doesn't make sense yet, but it will in the next version once all factions are properly introduced, and you see what it means to impregnate someone in the world. It's not a fairy tale! If anyone bothered reading the lore about Hematarchs, it makes a little sense, but the details are coming xD

lastly, is there going to be any full blooded chimera mosnter girls ?

Ehhh, that one is difficult to answer, cause if I make a single scene that isn't fully humanoid, it might turn off lots of players... I do have some good models though... I'm leaning toward a no, but it's a big question of what users/various publishing platforms allow, I kinda have to build around it (which does cause some frustration to players cause some things wouldn't be added cause of guidelines xD)

If knocking every LI up is an option there are definitely players that'll go for it.

It's me, I'm players.

What's the point of playing adult games if you can't knock everyone up? And here, it also unlocks a faction story, which you will see soon...

Spoiler: Emmy

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If you keep comparing me to Desert Stalker, people will have way too high expectations..... But yes xD

Capturing her results in suicide, letting her go - and she will reappear at some point, as your loyal doggy, or something else...

Yes finally an android version

Never did Android builds before - glad to see it seems to work for everyone. And surprisingly to me, 35% of downloaders seem to play Android versions - never expected I should be putting it as a focus.

Show the alignment numbers ...

I am super exhausted, but thanks for the long message, a lot of the things you point out are the directions I'm going for. Super quickly from your message:

See how anarchy & redemption look almost the same?
Basically for restrictive choices, instead of allowing only the top value, allow values that are close enough to the top value to choose the choices as well.

Once stats is done, it will be super clear, I hope, I've also written out a system that does a similar thing to what you described with alignments but a little differently for each faction/world

My bad was using too many numbers. I didn't mean make the numbers important, I meant don't rely too much...

I'm a number's guy too, so I get your focus on them, but absolute numbers really don't play much of a role, it's primarily which one is the largest for specific activities/factions, etc.

And back-end more or less remains the same, I just have large lists for each characters that I access by quickly changing variables at choices - not that difficult, and couple extra functions to update proportions, etc.

Now for reaction/dialogue checks like you mentioned above with Yuna, it's best to stick to single variable checks like anarchy>x (currently used in Luna stoping MC's car scene) since lumping both redemption & corruption as "spineless puppy" wouldn't be good.

Ya, I will be writing a lot more of those in v2.0 that creates some fun dialogue non-choice deviations based on factions/alignment, like an example with Luna.

It's a time thing - didn't have any to make lots of those, but I want it to be one of the coolest narrative points of the game, and should be pretty unique with what I know about adult games.

Only use the highest alignment check if you have dialogue variants for all 7 possible alignments & use it rarely, like in important scenes involving multiple factions.
Otherwise just check if a single variable is high enough for 2 alternative dialogues - much simpler.

Yep! I call those [status_check] which checks alignment data, and returns corresponding line on which alignment is the highest like Luna example.

Here's a remade opening example, with explanations...
Like while she is introducing the 2 mafia girls, MC talks about the 3 girls she took before & how the mafia aren't happy with her. The scene shifts & you get a 2d memory scene of 3 girls attacking the MC. Then the mc gets the choice of how he handled them.

I like the direction you are going for, but I decided to go les narrative heavy, so all scenes that were described are now quick visual flashbacks, and introduced with the text later. I almost finished it - and it's much better. The rest kinda follows what you are proposing - I am thinking of how to throw in a couple of sex shots as some teasers, I realize the v1.5 doesn't have that much (especially now that I have a new dick model lol)

This gives the choice more impact as the players are seeing the event and deciding it's outcome directly instead of being narrated by unknown characters. ("Show not tell" is a common advice you'll find for visual media storytelling.)

Not my strongest skill, but slowly getting better xD especially seeing what ppl like/don't like here

These 3 scenes (mafia, ink & rebel) contain dialogue about the 'present' (mc going after morgana) & the 'past' (what mc did before in those 3 choices). In these flashbacks just refer to the 'past' events & how they felt/reacted to it...

I have rearranged them, all convo stuff in different locations will now go for later in the game when the first story split occurs after the inquisition. Makes a lot more sense and less lore-heavy.

Guess I kinda went with what I prefer over general consensus

Extra:
It's just a map currently. Make people have to find & click on Silver & Saya in the bar from amongst a lot of background figures, & you may get some complaints. Currently the map can be replaced with a menu:
"go to bar":
"go to library":

I like this but only if I get an ultradetailed custom-drawn map of Versai by a really good 2D artist. I tried hiring someone for it, but what they drew was trash.

Otherwise, I will keep those icons for now - but I know that a lot of games only show the location once you hover a mouse over it, but a lot also have written icons to make it easier.

Same here, I like all the numbers & details. If any improvement is possible, I'd say don't make it so text heavy from the beginning & open up more characters, details & info as you get to know them. Character bio's that start with little info but add more text as you learn more about them & make choices regarding them, basically growing alongside your play-through, is the best IMO.

Rather than text reduction, it's primarily about reducing the over exposition for the next version, and introducing more unique accents/phrases/terms, etc.

Like instead of just changing Alive: to false on the left side, You could also add a color coded red bold line "Was killed by [mcName] infront of the abandoned Albert mansion" or "Was knocked up by [mcName] on the [preg_day]th day they met"

It didn't fit in my previous design size-wise xD Working on improving those things, it's not difficult.

I'd say make an identity for those choices. Remove the ones from Mia battlefield or other choices that just affect alignment, keep it for important choices like choosing faction (lone wolf vs inquisitor) or choices which will heavily shape the story...

Lol, you caught on how I want to do it with important / less important choices, that was the whole idea with those visual square buttons, to signify that this is a big thing.

You actually don't need to. Sometimes movies will start like this: A bomb is about to go off. A father tells his son "I love you". Then the scene rewinds to 10 hours ago & they are having breakfast.

You missed an opportunity to say "a father tells his daughter 'I love you' ..."

And the new intro follows a similar approach, start at battlefield with exciting culmination, go back to Morgana with Kiri who is spying on you and making report on your journey.

Exposition is not bad by itself, you just have to avoid characters just standing & saying stuff dryly. Showing the information is a good way to get through exposition - maybe have a fight involving said powers while someone is explaining the powers? Flashbacks to live through the exposition directly is also a good option. In the above remade opening, I used a kidnapped girls rescue operation fights to maintain the pace & tension, used flashbacks to get the players more invested in the choices made & introduce the 6 characters in relation to the MC & then I had enough pace left that I could squeeze in the 3 shortened talking scenes.

Users pointed well that the reason it didn't work that well cause there were too many characters you don't care about yet - I just use exposition as a term to encapsulate.

The problem here was not the length, but starting with 6 unknown character introductions, back to back long exposition scenes & vague choices for a character not even seen yet...

Outside of what was mentioned above, you need to keep in mind, that for users, as a new dev, I need to also show the scope of what I can do, which was a big reason why I went for this opening. But, I now realize there was a better way to do it, which you will see.

I like inks. Chim, not so much. Seems like a lazy shortening of Chimaera. Also with the majority of the cast being Chimeras themselves, I don't think it'd fit for more 'official' characters like Hestia or the ruling humans to use it. Simple slurs like this aren't really degradatory, more like just referring to them. It'd fit the chimera hunter soldiers the best, but they are a majority of chimera, so it doesn't hold. Just use "mutt" or "beast" for true insult/degradation IMO

That's in progress, I really like ajin (subhuman) as a term, but it doesn't fully work here. I will try looking for something similar.

There's only 3 alignments & more than 3 factions...

You predicted what the Stats screen will be about, and as you pointed out, it wasn't finished. Faction has specific alignment, but it doesn't mean that you can't experience them with whatever different alignment you have, it will just be different.

Phew, thanks everyone for responses, I try responding when I have free time on my hands.

Cheers, the new release is shaping up well, I hope it will be better received! Always room for improvement!

 

[Deleted member 2282952]

HELL YEEEEEEEEEES.

It took me 1 month of arguing with Steam and around 15 messages with their customer service, but the build is approved, meaning there will not be any content issues in the future, and I don't need to make the game less dark in any way!

Wooooooo!

Version 2.0 will be published on Steam as a Demo along with publishing it here - and version 3.0 (or maybe 4.0 if I can keep up my schedule) - will be available as Early Release for purchase.

That was a big hurdle, and I can proceed with development in peace, knowing that the Steam isn't going to nuke my game! It's definitely a significant motivation.

 

[Lordfugi]

A ghost has no reflection just like a shadow!

Ein Geist hat kein Spiegelbild genauso wenig wie ein Schatten!

• Lerry: A tricky one, then. Unlike you, who's an actual ghost.: VNTranslator
  Lerry: Eine knifflige Sache also. Im Gegensatz zu dir, der ein echter Geist ist.: VNTranslator
• 
  
• 
  Mia: I'm a shadow! Anyways...: VNTranslator
  Mia: Ich bin ein Schatten! Wie auch immer...: VNTranslator

 

[Valdazz]

Handjob sex scene in development? damn dude :'(

 

[Deleted member 2282952]

Handjob sex scene in development? damn dude :'(

Time's a limited resource... Well, it's now done, a lot more in development xD I'm particularly happy with how slightly messed up that scene ended up being...

 

[Morho]

Time's a limited resource... Well, it's now done, a lot more in development xD I'm particularly happy with how slightly messed up that scene ended up being...

View attachment 2956711

still thinking about adding that disgusting content as NTR/sharing or any noncense as that?

just asking for friend he told that game looks good but doesnt want waste time to abandon it later...

 

[harem.king]

Is this some sort of sequel?
the game starts with what looks like a recap. and in it I am asked "what did [MCNAME] do to X"? then the same question to Y. It looks like I am inputting variables on what happened in the last game.

 

[Crusher56]

Well not bad I’m intrigued to see how this will develop but so far I’m liking it especially the whole impregnating some girls already
Will definitely keep a watch on this

 

[Deleted member 2282952]

Well not bad I’m intrigued to see how this will develop but so far I’m liking it especially the whole impregnating some girls already
Will definitely keep a watch on this

That's my favorite part xD And it's also one of the questlines I'm most excited about making - which shows glimpses during Day 1 - and starts up on Day 2

___



Holy shit, guys, I've never been so busy with so much stuff in my entire life. But I think I'm almost there to post the v0.2 version with the finished Day 1 and a lot more scenes/content - probably around 2 hours (probably, idk).

And while I do this, here are a couple of new scenes....

View attachment 005_DrinkMia_Camera.webp View attachment 50_EyesMeet_Camera.webp View attachment 01_Camera.webp




Anyways - still alive, still working, and still struggling to find time, but I hope the wait will be kinda worth it xD

I will make a long post to reflect on why it takes so much time to do everything; been taking notes as I'm going through the process.

See ya soon!

Edit: I intended to publish this update into my game dev journal but accidentally posted it here - whatever, let's keep it.