HTML Abandoned Female Agent [v1.20.1p] [Crushstation]

[Crushstation]

I just want to say this is an amazing game! I loved all the prologue and lifepath stuff, that was so good! I wanted more of that. Like 2-3 times more! More detail, more scenes of her as a young girl growing up. Yes, it's a lewd game, but that stuff was so well-written and implemented. It was great seeing my character grow up. But it was too quick. Losing your virginity should be a whole scene if not an entire section! And just more scenes and choices everywhere, before we get to the lewds. Strictly non-sexual, character-building scenes (except the virginity losing and maybe some earlier kissing and over-the-shirt stuff).

I love roleplaying myself in these types of games, it gives me an outlet to do things I would never dare to in real life. And when it's this well-written and the premise is so realistic, it's really surprising and wonderful. I know everyone and their cat wants Bangkok, so do I. But I am loving everything else this game is offering so so much, thank you!

I'm especially loving the avatar system. I hope there will be even more variety in the kind of girl we want to be, looks-wise, with different skin tones, hair styles, etc. I love that we can have glasses! More accessories, please! We play these games for the naughty stuff, of course, but I'm always on the lookout for games that have an extensive wardrobe system that lets me indulge and play dressup, from the most vanilla to the sluttiest of all time! So I'm hoping that once we do get to Bangkok, our wardrobe will increase hugely. It's already pretty amazing and the avatar is beyond cute, I just can't wait to see what else I could wear and what looks to pull off.

I do hope, as someone mentioned earlier, that once in Bangkok, in addition to the mission, we could befriend and romance other people (hopefully other girls, since the main game is so dude-heavy). I would love for there to be a very romantic part to the game, aside from all the whoring and spying. Maybe it can even tie into the main plot and maybe even clash with it. That would be awesome!

Thanks so much for the encouraging feedback Princess Groundhog! All of the game so far is just a skeleton; I'm hoping to add lots more scenarios and options to the game (both ones I get to write and ones submitted by others) in the future.

The avatar is a core feature and I definitely want moar clothing and accessory options. We've recently hired a new freelancer, Jeff, who is going to help us with that.

You and I are on the same page about balanced content in Bangkok! I think that the heroine needs interesting things to do outside of the sex scenes, to make the sex scenes sexier.

 

[ufpiviligpiyuv]

I feel like that at this point in the development, 80% of your writing time and effort should be dedicated to things 80% of your players will see.

A custom paragraph or even line that only triggers for a specific life path only adds value for the player who chose that custom path and nothing for others.

You're not at the point where freckles or specific New Zealand event polishing touch are relevant. Or Dark Mode really.

Another thing,

I'm reading three variations for road to Khao San, is that something that needs to be done for 1.7, most players are only going to play through one path.

I'm reading other things like nipple pokies, it's barely noticeable unless you zoom in but it needs a decent amount of assent rework.

Or things like natural aptitude, status effect. It's a nice refinement on skill checks, but in such games, it's quite frankly "grind it until you pass the skill check" for many players. A pointless mechanic unless you can write and test it in two hours.

 

[Master of Puppets]

Very interesting feedback, thanks! One of the big challenges in the new scene was working out how often to offer dialogue/decision choices. Too many sucked the energy out of the scene, too few made it feel like the game was taking over my character for the sex scene.

I'm not sure the balance is right yet, so could you dig into this a little bit for me? Do you remember where you'd have liked to have more control options presented, and what effects you'd have liked to see?

It might just be the way it turned out for me, there seems to be a lot of randomness involved and I only played it a handful of times. When the slutty agent makes him cum quickly then fakes an orgasm and the ice-queen agent has a long drawn-out fuck with multiple orgasms though, it seems a bit odd. It might help if it was made a bit clearer exactly what all the skill rolls are actually for.

 

[memoefe]

Thanks memoefe! When you say you liked the last parts, do you mean Miss Wet T-Shirt and Dubai, or just one of those?

We have big plans for hypno improvements.

Both actually, only thing i was kinda not liking(but not hating either), was the repetitive club days before Miss Wet T-Shirt. However they would be more cool with more unique diologues or situations. Even if I had more clothing option it would be much better.

 

[Stalhmaus]

This game is honestly amazing, I was heartbroken when I reached the end of the current content. Really hoping the content in Bangkok has a little more time for freeform play- I was a little disappointed the middle of the game and Max are a bit on rails and are gone when they're gone.

 

[asdfasdf12341234ACSACA]

Actually, setting the agent's preferred diet is on the task list. The reason is that food (especially street food) is a huge part of Thai culture. That gives us four choices:

1. Ignore food in the game. (Has implications for dates, and means we can't include evocative details like the smell of sizzling grilled fish in a river market, or exotic experiences like eating a scorpion on a stick on the Khao San Road)
2. Describe food scenes in the game in vague, generic terms so it's not clear what she's actually eating. (Same as 1, just with a higher word count)
3. Just assume she eats any animal that comes her way. (Fine, but removes an opportunity for characterisation)
4. Let the player set a flag

I decided to do (4), since that gives writers more hooks to hang story moments on. This will be a choice the player makes in university. For most agents this will be a simple matter of choosing a preference, but we have an optional (user-contributed) scene and some artwork that will open up for agents who are vegan...

(Keep in mind when I say you I mean the team as a whole, not you personally)
Don't take this the wrong way, but for so much of your "I'm listening to feedback please give feedback" attitude, you're only taking the feedback that fits "your vision".
I'll say that option 4 is arguably the best, so I'm not quite saying you're full of shit yet. But you really are consistently ignoring the thing people have been asking for actual years.

And this is yet another example. I make a ridiculous joke and it turns out, it wasn't that ridiculous. Yes, I'm sure it would be great if we could know exactly what food the agent eats, what flavour of toothpaste she uses, what colour of teethbrush she prefers, and exactly what her hair routine is, not to mention, what skincare products she uses. And, of course, most important of all, we need to know exactly what her preferred hair removal techniques are. This is essential, we need to know the pain of waxing, or a scene mentioning that one time she got ingrown hairs because she used an old razor. And if the agent is smart enough, she can have an event where she realises male razors are cheaper and more effective than female razors. This will of course be reflected on the lifepath.

...I hope this second, even more ridiculous example comes as such.


Seriously, we've been saying it for ages. I know 1.7 is supposed to be "Arrival at Bangkok" but really, what you need to do right now is stop touching old code. And because I know you'll say "but we need to implement this so that we can then do this detail later on, so we'll do that first and can't do content yet." I don't buy it. You've reworked the current content endless times. You've even kept "Crush notes: We'll add this!" in previous versions. There's no reason you're not able to "rework" content later down the line to add a few details.

 

[vince638]

Sorry ladies, this only makes me even more of a meat lover than I already was.

 

[hallsigns]

(Keep in mind when I say you I mean the team as a whole, not you personally)
Don't take this the wrong way, but for so much of your "I'm listening to feedback please give feedback" attitude, you're only taking the feedback that fits "your vision".
I'll say that option 4 is arguably the best, so I'm not quite saying you're full of shit yet. But you really are consistently ignoring the thing people have been asking for actual years.

And this is yet another example. I make a ridiculous joke and it turns out, it wasn't that ridiculous. Yes, I'm sure it would be great if we could know exactly what food the agent eats, what flavour of toothpaste she uses, what colour of teethbrush she prefers, and exactly what her hair routine is, not to mention, what skincare products she uses. And, of course, most important of all, we need to know exactly what her preferred hair removal techniques are. This is essential, we need to know the pain of waxing, or a scene mentioning that one time she got ingrown hairs because she used an old razor. And if the agent is smart enough, she can have an event where she realises male razors are cheaper and more effective than female razors. This will of course be reflected on the lifepath.

...I hope this second, even more ridiculous example comes as such.


Seriously, we've been saying it for ages. I know 1.7 is supposed to be "Arrival at Bangkok" but really, what you need to do right now is stop touching old code. And because I know you'll say "but we need to implement this so that we can then do this detail later on, so we'll do that first and can't do content yet." I don't buy it. You've reworked the current content endless times. You've even kept "Crush notes: We'll add this!" in previous versions. There's no reason you're not able to "rework" content later down the line to add a few details.

He listens to people that are actively giving to the game MORE than the people that are impatient and criticize the slow nature of his development process that has left this game with pretty much the same content (story) for 2 years. This isn't super surprising... It's fan service to those that give. My argument would be that I'm willing to give if I see progress. I gave for several months when the game released. I truly enjoyed it and found it a great unique concept. At this point, though, I won't give again till Bangkok is fleshed out in the story.

Also - I very much agree that he should stop touching old code. It's reductive at this point. There will always be something to improve upon. Something all creators need to learn is to be happy with less than perfection. Getting past the prologue needs to happen by the next update... At this rate the game won't have an ending until 2025 - if that...

 

[Freezer]

Just found out about the game and quickly played through it...Is it really almost three years in development? Patreon page says $6000+ a month. Wow.
If I were the developer I'd never want to finish the game, ever.

 

[Crushstation]

Just found out about the game and quickly played through it...Is it really almost three years in development? Patreon page says $6000+ a month. Wow.
If I were the developer I'd never want to finish the game, ever.

If you were the developer you wouldn't have such contempt for the people who voluntarily send you enough of their hard earned money for you to be able to quit your career and make a video game.

 

[Crushstation]

He listens to people that are actively giving to the game MORE than the people that are impatient and criticize the slow nature of his development process that has left this game with pretty much the same content (story) for 2 years. This isn't super surprising... It's fan service to those that give. My argument would be that I'm willing to give if I see progress. I gave for several months when the game released. I truly enjoyed it and found it a great unique concept. At this point, though, I won't give again till Bangkok is fleshed out in the story.

Also - I very much agree that he should stop touching old code. It's reductive at this point. There will always be something to improve upon. Something all creators need to learn is to be happy with less than perfection. Getting past the prologue needs to happen by the next update... At this rate the game won't have an ending until 2025 - if that...

Hey hallsigns thanks very much for your financial support. Can't wait to show you Bangkok.

 

[Crushstation]

(Keep in mind when I say you I mean the team as a whole, not you personally)
Don't take this the wrong way, but for so much of your "I'm listening to feedback please give feedback" attitude, you're only taking the feedback that fits "your vision".
I'll say that option 4 is arguably the best, so I'm not quite saying you're full of shit yet. But you really are consistently ignoring the thing people have been asking for actual years.

And this is yet another example. I make a ridiculous joke and it turns out, it wasn't that ridiculous. Yes, I'm sure it would be great if we could know exactly what food the agent eats, what flavour of toothpaste she uses, what colour of teethbrush she prefers, and exactly what her hair routine is, not to mention, what skincare products she uses. And, of course, most important of all, we need to know exactly what her preferred hair removal techniques are. This is essential, we need to know the pain of waxing, or a scene mentioning that one time she got ingrown hairs because she used an old razor. And if the agent is smart enough, she can have an event where she realises male razors are cheaper and more effective than female razors. This will of course be reflected on the lifepath.

...I hope this second, even more ridiculous example comes as such.

Seriously, we've been saying it for ages. I know 1.7 is supposed to be "Arrival at Bangkok" but really, what you need to do right now is stop touching old code. And because I know you'll say "but we need to implement this so that we can then do this detail later on, so we'll do that first and can't do content yet." I don't buy it. You've reworked the current content endless times. You've even kept "Crush notes: We'll add this!" in previous versions. There's no reason you're not able to "rework" content later down the line to add a few details.

I genuinely value the feedback and take it all into account. (Honestly, I take the negative feedback too much into account if anything, I find it totally demoralising, I need to learn how to cut away from it better.)

The problem is that when you're the one making the game you have to balance (conflicting) feedback with your own vision. Neil Gaiman said it better than I can:

Remember: when people tell you something’s wrong or doesn’t work for them, they are almost always right. When they tell you exactly what they think is wrong and how to fix it, they are almost always wrong.

So listen, I do genuinely appreciate the feedback and I do consider it all. But I have to use my own judgement about how to employ it.

 

[Tallyhoe]

You need to stop with all these feature creeps unless you want to be remembered as newlife 2.0.

Look at Eva and her GGGB or her new game ORS. Ofc they are so much she could've improved upon but there are set goals and finish line and actual 'visible' development progress. Even if she takes years to complete it we at least see the result. And that game has multiple routes and full graphic.

I'm not saying you aren't working but they are mostly code that we don't see at all.
I hope I don't die before you finish the game but at this point I had more hope back in 2010 to see Thanos infinity saga on screen than seeing this finished.
Just get to the point.

 

[ScarletCrow]

GGGB and ORS are much simpler than Female Agent though, even at the finished state. It works for EvaKiss, and I do enjoy the game. But I mean, people don't have to recreate the same kind of game everytime. I'm also pretty anxious about the speed of the development. But I don't think I want this game to just go copy EvaKiss game. I'd even say the quality of writing in this game is better than EvaKiss. Mostly because it's more descriptive, while in EvaKiss' game, it's just basically dialogues. And honestly in some scene it's quite wacky and it's hard to suspend my disbelief sometimes.

Honestly, at this point, I don't really care anymore, just let the man create whatever he wants. It could be NewLife 2.0, or it could be the best Twine game, who knows.

 

[slkasdjf]

GGGB and ORS are much simpler than Female Agent though, even at the finished state.

If Crush is able to implement everything he has planned, that will be true. However, Female Agent has been in development for roughly as long as GGGB was when it finished, but GGGB has miles more complexity. At the moment, Female Agent has a fairly linear Lifepath, followed by a very linear Operation Lioness, followed by an optional date/sex scene in Dubai. GGGB has dozens of different paths, with gates complicated enough that on every playthrough I end up in different places without necessarily trying. Female Agent has a more complicated backend for sure - in part because Female Agent is more ambitious and in part because it seems Twine is less flexible than RenPy - but that doesn't matter if it doesn't translate to gameplay.

I know this is typical internet speculation, but I think I know where Crush is coming from. When you peek at the source code for most VNs and see the essence of your character boiled down to 1 or 2 numbers, a lot of the magic is lost. For a developer as meticulous as Crush I imagine there's an urge to make the system feel more "realistic", but this has led to endless feature creep for things the vast majority of players will not notice. Even AAA games with hundreds of developers leave hundreds of ideas on the cutting room floor to focus on core gameplay. For a development team of ~3(?), there has to be aggressive pruning of non-critical functionality if the game is ever going to be finished.

 

[triggererofretards3]

Female Agent has been in development for roughly as long as GGGB was when it finished, but GGGB has miles more complexity

i haven't played it but isn't that a ren'py game?

 

[SuperMaxo]

i haven't played it but isn't that a ren'py game?

Yep, it is

 

[demidemon]

....

GGGB isn't that complex in terms of character development. It was more of a plot driven game with branching paths, and since I'm not going to play the same game 100 times, i didn't bother with trying to discover all the paths. Have to keep in mind not everyone enjoys a puzzle game either, that's why we all look for walkthroughs/mods that edit in what each choice leads to.

I think what people trying to say is that both game debut in 2017 and GGGB managed to conclude with a huge amount of content.

For us players, of course we would like more customizations for our own agent. There's no doubt the game would be better when every single scene changes dynamically according to her traits. However, for the developers, such game scope requires huge effort, time and a nice documented development plan. The game scope really depends on how much resources the dev team planned to invest in the development and whether they think the game is worth such investment. It is the team's choice whether to spend 5 or 7 years for a more complicated game or 2.5 years to make a game like GGGB.

It would only be fair if there's an actual expected release year for the patrons but even professional game devs could delay their releases and there's actually no point to give an promised release date you can't keep.

 

[XJ347]

I think what people trying to say is that both game debut in 2017 and GGGB managed to conclude with a huge amount of content.

It's hard to compare the two.

It's clear why that is. GGGB has static characters with no initial customization telling a well made proper but limited choose your own adventure story. The bigger GGGB got the bloat slowed development down. At the end people were starting to get annoyed with the pace of her game because she would only have time to do one small branches story.

This is the Skyrim vs Witcher preference. Witcher 3 has no customization, but a rich story that is engaging. Skyrim story is SUPER generic, but it allows for customization which people, including I love. Thing is you can't do both unless you dump a shit ton of time and development into it, which porn devs cant afford to do.

Female Agent has customization which means it is much harder to write a story for and code. It's a mix of a sandbox that leads into a narrative story. I love the immersion this story has in the beginning but once the story gets going it gets disappointing. Specifically the sex scene descriptions given out generically, and are not unique for each sexual encounter. The problem is that it's hard to write a good sex scene when my character can be a skinny petite with a B cup and someone else has a 7 foot tall with a G cup. Sadly the differences make sex different and to deal with that you need skill and more time devoted to the sex scenes.

So I agree with you that this complexity is slowing down development and making a worse product. Don't get me wrong I like this game but each sex scene needs to feel different, and erotic. Sounds like the developer is now trying to redesign the game to have better sex scenes (whatever that means.) Sadly we don't know what that means. Is each sex scene going to be unique or continue with a modular system following a TITS style sytem? This has to be solved before the game can really continue, which means we are in for a long wait.

For me, the best case scenario is rewriting ALL the sex scenes to be unique. Note, you have to re-code the game to get rid of the old school modular system which people seem to be think makes boring erotica. That is a HUGE undertaking, going to take months. From then on writing new sex scenes that account for different sizes and such which is a slow process. I think it's going to take a long time to get there.

I hope this game makes it but it's in a bad place, and this stems from complex customization.

 

[HeelsMaiden]

I just want a game where we play as a female spy with options to seduce enemies/targets ala James Bond and this is the closest game that I can find. It sucks that the development is very long but when someone is the only one (to my knowledge) trying to create a game fulfilling my fantasy then it's hard to get angry at them.