But you're right that the lack of explanation isn't great. The early goal progression currently goes "Reach 200 trauma"->"Buy upgrades"->"Save up for commander"->"Reach Lv 2 EXPO"->"Initiate Defiler action". I've thought a lot about adding another goal or two somewhere in there to make the path to T2 Breaks more clear, but I haven't been able to come up with a natural one. Maybe I should just add some extra text where it currently just says "goal complete"? Something about how 200 trauma is enough to ensure a sinful action to get EE, then something about how upgrades let you do more per battle, then something about how saving up EE can be a good idea, and then a bit of battle strategy explanation? It'd basically just be the same points from the guide, but having it show up in-game at relevant points might be an improvement.
I think adding additional text to the Completion would be a good way to clarify what exactly is going on and why.
I think that the actual process of achieving both LVL 1 and LVL 2 breaks needs more direct instruction, somehow. Something like the original tutorial needs to come in at that point, because that process of which numbers to raise first is daunting. "Would you like a step-by-step for how to make Faith give in to her desire to fight back?", on the day players send out a 5 EE commander. That'd basically require writing an AI, though it wouldn't have to be very complex.
This would also be very helpful, it is more heavy handed sure but keep in mind this is for Loop 1 and could be an option to enable when playing from Loop 1. Because of the complexities and information within the game, I don't think you can avoid a heavy handed tutorial that holds the players hand for those first 15 days. The later game doesn't need to hold a players hand so much since by that point you've snowballed and can achieve without struggle. Even so far as once the first 15 days are complete it becomes "Now keep breaking them down bit by bit" which is the core gameplay loop. A tutorial won't need to explain much more since the player can at that point determine their own direction.
When you're dependent on the goodwill of the playerbase for your income, there's a very delicate balance to strike between letting them know where to donate and annoying them so much that they don't want to donate in the first place. I don't want to clutter the already-crappy UI with a button that serves no purpose other than self-promotion, especially since the people who actually donated would still have to look at it. I guess I could make it a little more obvious that there's a link to the SubscribeStar in the main menu, though.
I'd at least get a beat on your player base's opinion regarding this with a poll or something. Personally I wouldn't find it annoying in any regard to see a static button on the interface so long as it is separated somehow from the regular buttons to prevent accidental clicks. But the info is currently hidden which is a disservice to you the creator. Soon as I am able I plan to donate to the cause because this game has a lot of creativity in it and you talk to your playerbase like human beings and that gets my respect. To add; the moment I understood the gameplay loop and finished day 50 I immediately looked for "OK so now how do I support this dev asap" and had to dig for it.
To points 2, 3, & 4 - I agree adding complexity to Loop 1 would be too much and any additions should be saved for additional loops.
I definitely have a lot of lore I want to express, but I think that both the lore and the players deserve better than to have it all crammed into some sort of thick codex on the main menu. Half the reason I want to add a collectible/artifact/relic system is so that their descriptions can do some worldbuilding. There'll also be some important characters getting intermission scenes alonside Crown and Basis very soon.
Very happy to hear you're looking into ways to incorporate lore and world building. A good point to not want to clutter or cram it into one place but I'd also retort to remember that information is entirely optional and flavor to the player so a thick codex would also be entirely optional to them to flip through if they want (which I want,lol).
This has the potential to change the feel of the game a lot. I think it's important that, in general, the player is the active force and the Chosen are the reactive force. But I want the boss fights to shake things up a bit, and one option for that is to make one of them (or maybe all of them) put the player on the defensive.
If boss fights put the player on the defensive, something like the base/hive could provide small incremental bonuses (1-2%) to be less intrusive or change the feel of the game in any drastic direction if it was something to be implemented. I do agree to keep the player as the Active force primarily and like the idea of boss fights shaking the gameplay loop up to put the player on defense.
Those goals are very misleading. Before reading this thread I never realised they are supposed to be a tutorial teaching you what to do
At first I thought they are bonus objectives giving you EE, but that was not the case. Then I thought they were things triggering those post battle scenes, but one day they just disappeared and scenes kept going on. So I was like "Huh, what was that green stuff all about?" And I actually went out of my way to complete them even though I didn't need it and wasted couple of days (the goal wanted me to break T2 of a girl I wasn't working on IIRC, so I already did an orgy before goin for her T2 and moving goals forward).
Here is where I would say some initial information is needed as haksaw experienced it is the same as what I experienced on my first playthrough. The green text told me to do it, I did it, it told me next thing. But I had no idea why or what it achieved short of "Now do this" and lacked context.
Anyhow thanks for taking the time to reply CSdev to not only myself but to everyone else. I've zero expectations to any suggestions or dialogue I've provided. This is your game and its direction is by your hand. Don't be afraid to try implementing something small or great as a teaser, or to test systems that are part of a more complex system you have in mind. I'd even suggest creating separate trial versions (separate .exe) of systems with scenarios for the player base to try out and provide separate feedback (ex: boss fights, kidnappings, etc) on what works, what doesn't, what's straightforward, what's confusing. If you wanted to limit that to your donors, that'd be legit (or maybe not, I don't know). Anyhow, hope the feedback from others and myself helps the creative juices flow easier.
