The comment system was originally coded back in Release 4, and I haven't been paying much attention to it since campaign mode was implemented, because a lot of minor factors (like family member generation) initially weren't seeded, and making the comment system also save Forsaken training would've required a lot of new code. But I suppose if people are interested in using it to share replays, it wouldn't be too hard to make it work properly again.
Thanks for the feedback. The eventual expansion to the guide goal system probably should focus on Forsaken mechanics.
Very nice analysis! The only thing I'd add is that some of those damage multipliers become increasingly easy to get on your Forsaken as you go further into campaign mode. Demon commanders should always have their uses, but making your Forsaken better is the main tool you're given in order to keep up with the difficulty modifiers of later loops.
I'd like to properly integrate them into the base game as well at some point. Nine expressions was probably a bit too few to cover all the different faces characters should make. It's just that it'll require going through the code for the whole game and manually deciding whether each instance of a lewd or joyful face should be replaced by a smug or used one.
I wouldn't say it's a firm plan, but it's something I'm open to. My current thought is that when two Distortions share an unbreakable Vulnerability, having a Core/Minor matchup on that Vulnerability could result in a positive scene between those two Distortions. But under that system, matchups with no common Vulnerabilities (Temptation/Aversion and Rampancy/Negotiation) would still be always-negative, so that might not be a flexible enough solution.
You should be able to safely delete them. (And if not, then it's a bug.) Deleted single play Forsaken aren't saved in the same way as deleted campaign Forsaken are, so the remaining Forsaken won't "remember" them.
That is indeed a bug. They're getting put into the special "surroundable only this turn" state which flying Chosen normally get put into when an ally flees the battle, but that puts them into the flying state after it expires. It definitely doesn't make sense to "punish" the player like that for triggering Aversion. Thanks for bringing it to my attention.
There actually is a special bonus for making all three of them go catatonic, but I suppose the game doesn't really call your attention to it beyond the post-battle text talking about how they basically just stay laying on the street after the battle is done. When all three Chosen pass out like that, their Aversion progress is immediately set to max, meaning that future orgies only have to be 1 turn long in order to trigger it in the future. I thought about having it give you the option to just turn them into Forsaken right then and there, but I was afraid of the bugginess it might cause. Still might be worth going back and adding that, though.
It's been nice to see the ideas for the other Distortions posted here, and I think this one is particularly clever. It fits very well with the way the existing Distortions work, and the framework has recently been put in place for civilian loved ones to appear in-game. The only odd point is that it explicitly requires the Causal Projection upgrade to be bought, but practically speaking, you won't generally be achieving Distortion against the Chosen until you're past the 5 EE upgrade tier anyway.
Alternatively, I might just make the Retreat button available even before you can get EE from it. After all, there are already edge cases where you'd prefer to end the battle early.
For what it's worth, defeated (and even killed) Chosen are still counted for the purpose of EXPO bonuses, so it wouldn't be unprecedented to have their surround turns saved (and it could even save the turns for other defeated-while-surrounded Chosen, i.e. Temptation and Aversion).
Adding more T1 Vulnerability mechanics is something I've considered, but I'm not currently leaning in that direction. The reason that each Distortions forbids a T1 break is so that they force you to play "carefully." There are other ways to present that sort of challenge which don't explicitly involve T1 breaks. For example, I've considered having one of the Distortions require you to achieve some goal while keeping the subject below a certain ANGST sum (although that sounds like it could be really annoying, so it's not currently my plan).
If I'm understanding you correctly, it should be possible by default. The Forsaken management menu should show up as soon as you buy the Focus upgrade.
I didn't reply to this last time because I wasn't sure how to fix this problem, but I've been putting some thought into it, and I do have an idea now. The current roadmap for the campaign structure looks like this.
Loop 1 - First loop
Loop 2 - Nothing special
Loop 3 - First Superior Chosen
Loop 4 - Nothing special
Loop 5 - First Animalistic/Undead
Loop 6 - First (Whatever you didn't face in Loop 5, optionally)
Loop 7 - First battle against Reign (recurring boss which hasn't been implemented yet)
Loop 8 - Nothing special
Loop 9 - Nothing special
Loop 10 - First boss
Loop 11 - First (Species unlocked by beating the boss you picked)
Loop 12 - Introduction of Objective system
Loop 13 - Nothing special
Loop 14 - Second battle against Reign
Loop 15 - Second boss
Loop 16 - Another species unlock
Loop 17 - Nothing special
Loop 18 - Nothing special
Loop 19 - Nothing special
Loop 20 - Third boss
Loop 21 - Third fight against Reign, and maybe a new species depending on boss pick order
Loop 22 - Nothing special
Loop 23 - Nothing special
Loop 24 - Story route branching point
Loop 25 - Fourth boss
Loop 26 - Another potential species unlock
Loop 27 - Nothing special
Loop 28 - Fourth fight against Reign
Loop 29 - Nothing special
Loop 30 - Fifth boss
Loop 31 - Another possible species unlock
Loop 32 - Nothing special
Loop 33 - Nothing special
Loop 34 - Nothing special
Loop 35 - Final Final Battle
So, the leadup to Loop 10 will get a bit more interesting once Reign is implemented, but there are still a lot of loops with nothing special, which will probably be boring for a lot of players who like to start a fresh campaign in each release. Those loops are there in order to give players a chance to shop for Forsaken to fill out their teams, but I can see how players who are happy with their current team would just want to skip them.
I'm currently thinking about adding a series of "warp pipes" (definitely not what they'll be called in the final release) which allow you to skip loops and gain a little bonus in exchange for the Forsaken and achievement progress you're missing by doing so. These warp pipes can be unlocked by doing something special in a loop that's normally followed by nothing special. For example, the Loop 1 warp pipe would be unlocked by purchasing Imago Quickening on Day 30 or before, and it would lead you directly to Loop 3. Then, the Loop 3 warp pipe might have some condition related to the Superior Chosen, and it would lead you directly to Loop 5.
