Ren'Py Gabe's Ghost Hunt [v0.15] [Trash Master Thoth]

[Rugerrell6]

Here's what I've gathered through my handful of runs. It's gonna be a ramble-y mess and pretty long. Hell, it may be entirely wrong for all I know, but I typically get it narrowed down to 2-3 ghosts by turn 7 on the easiest difficulty. These tips may help on higher difficulties, but they're not as reliable.

Start with checking for the ghost location. Use fetters on everyone at least the first turn. The fetters also will give a hint if a ghost is in the adjacent room, so space everyone out so that there is someone adjacent/inside every room (or as close as you can get). This can be more difficult on the second hunt. You should also use your AP on the first turn on the seismograph as you might get lucky and get a reading.

Once you have the ghost location pinned down start by changing everyone's equipment to whatever you want to check (I recommend EMF/Blacklight/Fetters first, only equip fetters if you didn't get the ghost info for fetters on the first turn) and getting the girls to set up any mixture of Seismo/Camera/Ouija (Ouija only if you plan to end your turn there) in the ghost room, the you should use your AP on salting either an adjacent room or the room it's in. Adjacent rooms allow for you to attempt to burn an incense to check for good intentions by burning the corresponding incense in the salted room. Salting the ghost room itself will only block exit for Phasmal Condesate ghosts. However you can check for them by just equpping one of the girls you have setting up cameras and shit in the ghost room with the blacklight as they always leave behind ectoplasm when they change rooms.

Getting the info for EMF/Thermo/Spiritbox are all dependent on how the ghost behaves. You have to get the corresponding color event for them to check for info. EMF is a yellow event, Thermo is blue, Spiritbox is purple. Sometimes you won't get a blue event until turn 9 and that's rough, but if you've been keeping track of the ghosts behaviors you might be able to piece it all together. Left lights on just to have them get turned out? Might be Light Sensitive, keep leaving lights on until you piss it off enough to break a light (I've never had this happen but the evidence tip says it can). Also check for EMF if you thing they're Light Sensitive, if they're low EMF they can't be Light Sensitive. Is the ghost occasionally stopping for a turn in a room? Might be Intelligent, so check for Intentionality by burning either the Red or Green incense in an adjacent room and seeing if they come to it. Intelligent ghosts must have Intentionality, so if they don't you can rule out Intelligent altogether.

This next part might be a bit confusing, but the game is made so that finding any piece of info can help narrow down other pieces. You can see this in the ghost evidence screen. And example is how: Hand links to Temperature which links to Ectoplasm. And this is because positive Temperature must have Hand or Ectoplasm evidence. Not every link guarantees things, they just mean that the evidences are have some effect on one another. Using this system to the fullest is something I haven't figured out fully, but a good starting point is to try to spread out your evidence early. Using the tools I mentioned and the equiment I suggested earlier if you get really fucking lucky on turn 2 you could in theory get: Fetters Positive, Hand Positive, Salt Negative, and Low EMF all at once. This would immediately leave only 3 ghosts to choose from. And since you know certain things are related to one another you know not to check for: Seismic, Light Sensitivity, Physicality or Ectoplasm. (Ectoplasm and Hand are a little weird, they aren't directly linked but they can't both be evidence). This would leave you 8 turns to check the remaining 5 evidences.

This is all the basic stuff I've gathered from trial and error. Lots of error. It's still not a perfect strategy, it won't guarantee a win. I also won't go into when to use the White and Purple incense, I wouldn't even know where to start. Try the strat out for yourself if you want, I'd love to hear how it can be improved or what is wrong with it.

TLDR; Just find the ghost. Check for evidence. EZ.

G'luck and have some fun with it, would ya?

White incense is for when you piss the ghost off like if its light sensitive and you turn on the light it will irritate the ghost and the white incense calms it back down to some degree. And the purple incense is explained in the tutorial it reduces the stress of whoever is in the room it is used in and it also has an aphrodisiac effect and raise the girls sexual tension bar.

 

[StillFuckingLost]

White incense is for when you piss the ghost off like if its light sensitive and you turn on the light it will irritate the ghost and the white incense calms it back down to some degree. And the purple incense is explained in the tutorial it reduces the stress of whoever is in the room it is used in and it also has an aphrodisiac effect and raise the girls sexual tension bar.

Thanks for this. I realized I didn't mention it until the end and didn't want to keep adding to the massive post anymore.

 

[doomulol]

i dont know but it feels like this game is too complicated in the future if it gets more content? it would need accurate walkthrough to get scenes

 

[Trash Master Thoth]

i dont know but it feels like this game is too complicated in the future if it gets more content? it would need accurate walkthrough to get scenes

I'm putting together the code right now for a mission board and then a recollection area. The mission board will give information about the requirements for the next between-mission scene with a girl so the player can know what to aim for, plus the recollection room will have information about how to specifically get everything else.

 

[Trash Master Thoth]

Same thing here, i even tried to take out a note irl to write down the clues

Ugh, the event log should help with that. I also just put together code so that you can copy the event log's findings into the evidence screen with the click of a button, so it should be a little more helpful too

 

[maxi456]

It looks good

 

[Phantom Renegade]

Hi, nice game you can tell the Dev put a lot of love in this, but in my opinion if you want to jerk off... This game is not for you haha, i think the game was something like:

You must be registered to see the links

but it seems is not the case.
I wish you the best Dev, good luck with the project.

 

[Survion]

I'm not really a fan of AI CG but this game caught my attention for the mechanics and it's proposal, it's a really fun gameplay. Since I'm only interested in NTR content and it's still lacking scenes in that aspect, I'll check it again in a few patches.
Good luck dev.

 

[Rugerrell6]

How do you get Noms scenes

go back a page the dev explained how to get all the current available scenes.

 

[ryg88]

Not sure if it's already too late, but comparing the tutorial of this game with the early stages of games like Plants vs Zombies, Papers Please could be illustrative:

In Plants vs Zombies, the Level 1-1 basically just one plant, one row and one zombie.



As the game progresses, there's usually just one (or rarely two) thing added only: an extra row (until the full 5 rows are completed), a single new plant, a single new zombie.

In Papers, Please, the 1st level only has the player check the passport and entry permit and the player can only approve or reject:



As the game progresses, there's usually one additional info to look out for, one additional action that the player can do, and one new character with a gimmick.

In both games, the player is NOT given all the tools, all the enemies, all the locations and all the interactions at the start. Instead, it is built up slowly, stage by stage.

As it stands with v0.15 of GGH, it is good that the tutorial stage limited the rooms. It might have been better if it also limited the available devices, available character interactions, ghost characteristics and ghosts too.

Sort of like:

Stage 1 - one device available (camera), one room, one ghostly characteristic, one ghost, one turn.
Stage 2 - one new device seismograph, one room, one ghostly characteristic, one new ghost (2 kinds of ghosts total), 2 turns.
Stage 3 - one new device blue incense, 2 rooms, one new ghostly characteristic, one new ghost (3 kinds of ghosts total), 3 turns.

and so on until the entire complete device roster is built up for 10 rooms with all the ghost characteristics.

One complicating factor is that, unlike PvZ and PP, this game has the player go to multiple locations and has all the visual novel stuff to handle. PvZ and PP just has the same interface that's just getting additional stuff.

Maybe if GGH was not a porn game but a full-on indie non-porn ghost-finding game, the gradual method at the early stages would've been doable.

 

[Survion]

Not sure if it's already too late, but comparing the tutorial of this game with the early stages of games like Plants vs Zombies, Papers Please could be illustrative:



In both games, the player is NOT given all the tools, all the enemies, all the locations and all the interactions at the start. Instead, it is built up slowly, stage by stage.

As it stands with v0.15 of GGH, it is good that the tutorial stage limited the rooms. It might have been better if it also limited the available devices, available character interactions, ghost characteristics and ghosts too.

Sort of like:

Stage 1 - one device available (camera), one room, one ghostly characteristic, one ghost, one turn.
Stage 2 - one new device seismograph, one room, one ghostly characteristic, one new ghost (2 kinds of ghosts total), 2 turns.
Stage 3 - one new device blue incense, 2 rooms, one new ghostly characteristic, one new ghost (3 kinds of ghosts total), 3 turns.

and so on until the entire complete device roster is built up for 10 rooms with all the ghost characteristics.

One complicating factor is that, unlike PvZ and PP, this game has the player go to multiple locations and has all the visual novel stuff to handle. PvZ and PP just has the same interface that's just getting additional stuff.

Maybe if GGH was not a porn game but a full-on indie non-porn ghost-finding game, the gradual method at the early stages would've been doable.

I think the purpose of the game is being challenging for the player, having to balance the ghost investigation with his romance objectives and protecting the girls is what creates this sense of challenge which also increases the feeling of reward when the player achieve those objectives.
It may look overwhelming now to achieve the scenes because it's only 2 stages whith 10 turns, but when the game has advanced in production with more stages it will be a lot more doable imo.
I like the current scope, I even played a few times because it's genuinely fun to find the ghosts indentity.

 

[Trash Master Thoth]

Not sure if it's already too late, but comparing the tutorial of this game with the early stages of games like Plants vs Zombies, Papers Please could be illustrative:

Yyeeaahh the tutorial is going to be a work in progress for awhile, so I'm always thankful for more perspectives lol. It's helpful since, as the guy who made these systems + as someone who enjoys skipping the tutorials of games like Victoria 3, its sometimes hard to figure out where people are having difficulties understanding the game.

The hard part about getting the tutorial right is going to be successfully conveying the 'diagnosis' aspect of the gameplay. Concepts like tower defense or comparing facts/details are pretty easy to understand / have been around for awhile - a lot of what I'm trying to do this game is (I think) niche, so I'll have to be laying more groundwork / foundation than those other games need to.

I'll probably try to extract some lessons from the examples you provided, though. Like momentarily taking the tutorial off-rails and giving the player more freedom to use specific actions / equipment to figure out one or two traits instead of just telling them where to place something.

Plus, the next time I touch the tutorial I'll be adding easy little animations that match the text (ex. one ghost passing through a salt barrier in both directions, a red/angry ghost exiting but then bumping into the salt barrier when trying to enter a room, then a green/slimy ghost bumping into it when trying to enter or exit a room).

Then, like you said, there's the issue of it being a porn game. People like me will lose interest if porn happens too quickly, others will lost interest if porn doesn't happen fast enough. Tutorial length is going to be a big part of that balance.

I think the purpose of the game is being challenging for the player, having to balance the ghost investigation with his romance objectives and protecting the girls is what creates this sense of challenge which also increases the feeling of reward when the player achieve those objectives.
It may look overwhelming now to achieve the scenes because it's only 2 stages whith 10 turns, but when the game has advanced in production with more stages it will be a lot more doable imo.
I like the current scope, I even played a few times because it's genuinely fun to find the ghosts indentity.

I want it to be challenging, but in fair/fun/engaging ways though. So while I won't be doing anything to reduce the complexity of the game, I do want to find ways to make it easier for new players to understand what's going on. So - players thinking about how to accomplish goals without getting NTRd, instead of players staring at the screen trying to figure out wtf a phasmal ghost is or what wall adjacent rooms means.

 

[sangezhu]

This game is amazing. Please do keep updating it. Thank you very much for making it.

 

[ichi3000001]

I really liked the artwork of the game, but due to the language barrier, I have no idea about the gameplay or how to get the scenes. Can anyone help me with the gameplay? Because it looks very complicated.

 

[TomiokaGiyuu5]

How do I get the bj scene with queeny in a red bikini?

 

[diddlydadoo]

Okay, I was going in without particularly high expectations, but the game's actually pretty fun with way more in the way of detail than I expected when I saw the basic Ren'py menu (which I'd come to associate with a basic visual/kinetic novel format); interconnected ghost traits plus the limited time make the whole thing feel like a proper investigation where we need to use some brainpower to figure out what's going on rather than just a checklist of test results to gather.

My only complaint in terms of actual gameplay is that it's got a fairly steep learning curve, the mechanics are pretty complex (managing everybody's stress/horny meters, trying to figure out where the ghost is, checking for all the evidence, etc. all at the same time) and the tutorial is really simple and doesn't really help with most of that. A few runs in and I'm getting the hang of things on Easy, but I can't begin to imagine turning the difficulty up any higher as the houses get larger and larger. In game tutorials (in the form of Noms reminding you of the stuff your tools can do) or a lower difficulty setting in the form of getting some extra information while starting the haunt in the form of something like getting a "homeowners reported temperature changes" or "homeowners said they often felt something watching in the garage" could help ease beginners into the game.

The characters are pretty likeable, Noms is adorable and Queenie is fun, and the dudes are enjoyable with the few lines they have. And we have the beginnings of a profit vs. the right thing sort of plot if Noms' concerns about Gabe's ethics in the restaurant scene are anything to go by. In which case, Gabe comes off as a believably charismatic antagonist, in a "yeah, I can see why our heroes were inclined to believe him" sort of way.

A downside for a porn game is that scenes are pretty sparse, and a lot of the time it feels like you need to choose between chasing scenes and playing the game properly. A way to check the cameras without ending our turn in the van, even if it's just seeing a recording of what the camera got last turn, would probably help eliminate that conflict of interest for those of us who like the found footage sort of porn. As it is, I pretty much have to decide on turn 1 whether to chase scenes or to win.

How do I get the bj scene with queeny in a red bikini?

You need to end turn with Queenie at least twice in haunt 1, invite her over to your house, and then get the right answer in haunt 2.

 

[TomiokaGiyuu5]

Okay, I was going in without particularly high expectations, but the game's actually pretty fun with way more in the way of detail than I expected when I saw the basic Ren'py menu (which I'd come to associate with a basic visual/kinetic novel format); interconnected ghost traits plus the limited time make the whole thing feel like a proper investigation where we need to use some brainpower to figure out what's going on rather than just a checklist of test results to gather.

My only complaint in terms of actual gameplay is that it's got a fairly steep learning curve, the mechanics are pretty complex (managing everybody's stress/horny meters, trying to figure out where the ghost is, checking for all the evidence, etc. all at the same time) and the tutorial is really simple and doesn't really help with most of that. A few runs in and I'm getting the hang of things on Easy, but I can't begin to imagine turning the difficulty up any higher as the houses get larger and larger. In game tutorials (in the form of Noms reminding you of the stuff your tools can do) or a lower difficulty setting in the form of getting some extra information while starting the haunt in the form of something like getting a "homeowners reported temperature changes" or "homeowners said they often felt something watching in the garage" could help ease beginners into the game.

The characters are pretty likeable, Noms is adorable and Queenie is fun, and the dudes are enjoyable with the few lines they have. And we have the beginnings of a profit vs. the right thing sort of plot if Noms' concerns about Gabe's ethics in the restaurant scene are anything to go by. In which case, Gabe comes off as a believably charismatic antagonist, in a "yeah, I can see why our heroes were inclined to believe him" sort of way.

A downside for a porn game is that scenes are pretty sparse, and a lot of the time it feels like you need to choose between chasing scenes and playing the game properly. A way to check the cameras without ending our turn in the van, even if it's just seeing a recording of what the camera got last turn, would probably help eliminate that conflict of interest for those of us who like the found footage sort of porn. As it is, I pretty much have to decide on turn 1 whether to chase scenes or to win.

You need to end turn with Queenie at least twice in haunt 1, invite her over to your house, and then get the right answer in haunt 2.

Thanks. the only time I ever managed to actually correctly identify the ghost was on the first night, and it was by accident. I was spending so much time trying to see all the scenes I basically didn't even try to win.

 

[Trash Master Thoth]

Early December Post – Plans for the Next Update

I think the biggest flaw of the project right now is the lack of pornographic content. So, I’ve decided to make version 0.2 essentially be the ‘added porn’ update.

Two Additional Haunting Locations
Now that those ‘under-the-hood’ changes I’d been talking about last update are done, it’s wwaayy easier to add new haunting locations. As such, I’ve been able to add two new haunting locations to this update.

Scene Rearrangements
With four investigations worth of gameplay to work with, I now have enough runway for the relationships / corruption stories. While it’s been necessary to bookend prior versions with pornographic content (since it’s a porn game and all), the emphasis was more on creating what I thought was an interesting bookend than a scene which would make sense to be there (jumping from zero corruption to tits out on camera with the version 0.1 ending, etc.).
So, I’ll be going back through and reworking the images (now that I have a better computer and can generate better looking images for them) as well as rearranging/rewriting them in ways which make for better corruption storylines.

Addition of an intermission area.
Version 0.2 will introduce a common area shared by all members of the ghost hunting team. From a mission selection screen you will be able to choose the next investigation or to progress to the next scene with one of the girls. In future updates, this area will also provide access to a shop with items, upgrades, and other oddities on sale.
The team’s characters sharing this space also allows for more opportunities than just preparing for the next mission. You’ll see what I mean when you get your hands on version 0.2.




Fear Update
A patron pointed out that the womans’ fear mechanic was prime real-estate for corruption progression, which I thought was a really good idea. The only current risk associated with one of the woman becoming afraid and spending a turn with one of the guys is the guarantee of the pink bar increasing – in the next update, I’m going add a bit of intrigue and corruption to those moments.
Since it’s going to guarantee an increase in corruption, I also decided to add a bit more depth to the mechanic. Instead of the current system of their fear response ticking away at the end of every turn, I’ve changed it so that in the next update that probability only ticks when the woman see something scary / paranormal occurring. So, turning it from a constant low-risk that you tank without thinking about, into something you have a bit more control over but which also carries a greater risk.

Camera Update
Updating my computer has given me access to generative AI possibilities I couldn’t utilize on my old rig. After some playing around with Wan 2.2, I’ve decided that I want the scenes found while watching the cameras to be animated. I’ll show more of that off in the future.

Then some Quality of Life Features
- Evidence page overhaul. Reworking the layout so that everything has its own section, as opposed to the current design of cramming everything on top of eachother.
- Replacement of the gem buttons with images which have something to do with the evidence it represents (a small image of an EMF, handprints, ectoplasm, etc.)
- A button which copies evidence from the event log
- A button which resets current evidence back to ‘Unknown’, for those moments when a player might need to do that
- I’m playing around with an addition to the map screen that indicates which adjacent rooms are connected via doorway or only by wall. I felt the second house in v0.15 was clunky when it came to calculating where the ghost could have traveled to between floors, and if I as the guy who created it felt that way, it probably added even more friction for everyone else. I believe having this displayed when hovering over a room in the map screen will make that kind of information easy to access / easier to understand.
- Addition of a recollection area which will provide a list of all available scenes and the steps to unlock them.



No estimated release date for version 0.2
To avoid repeating the mistake of perpetually having to push the release date backwards, I’m not going to give a release date until its a certainty.
More later.

 

[Rugerrell6]

Early December Post – Plans for the Next Update

I think the biggest flaw of the project right now is the lack of pornographic content. So, I’ve decided to make version 0.2 essentially be the ‘added porn’ update.

Two Additional Haunting Locations
Now that those ‘under-the-hood’ changes I’d been talking about last update are done, it’s wwaayy easier to add new haunting locations. As such, I’ve been able to add two new haunting locations to this update.

Scene Rearrangements
With four investigations worth of gameplay to work with, I now have enough runway for the relationships / corruption stories. While it’s been necessary to bookend prior versions with pornographic content (since it’s a porn game and all), the emphasis was more on creating what I thought was an interesting bookend than a scene which would make sense to be there (jumping from zero corruption to tits out on camera with the version 0.1 ending, etc.).
So, I’ll be going back through and reworking the images (now that I have a better computer and can generate better looking images for them) as well as rearranging/rewriting them in ways which make for better corruption storylines.

Addition of an intermission area.
Version 0.2 will introduce a common area shared by all members of the ghost hunting team. From a mission selection screen you will be able to choose the next investigation or to progress to the next scene with one of the girls. In future updates, this area will also provide access to a shop with items, upgrades, and other oddities on sale.
The team’s characters sharing this space also allows for more opportunities than just preparing for the next mission. You’ll see what I mean when you get your hands on version 0.2.

View attachment 5489597
View attachment 5489601

Fear Update
A patron pointed out that the womans’ fear mechanic was prime real-estate for corruption progression, which I thought was a really good idea. The only current risk associated with one of the woman becoming afraid and spending a turn with one of the guys is the guarantee of the pink bar increasing – in the next update, I’m going add a bit of intrigue and corruption to those moments.
Since it’s going to guarantee an increase in corruption, I also decided to add a bit more depth to the mechanic. Instead of the current system of their fear response ticking away at the end of every turn, I’ve changed it so that in the next update that probability only ticks when the woman see something scary / paranormal occurring. So, turning it from a constant low-risk that you tank without thinking about, into something you have a bit more control over but which also carries a greater risk.

Camera Update
Updating my computer has given me access to generative AI possibilities I couldn’t utilize on my old rig. After some playing around with Wan 2.2, I’ve decided that I want the scenes found while watching the cameras to be animated. I’ll show more of that off in the future.

Then some Quality of Life Features
- Evidence page overhaul. Reworking the layout so that everything has its own section, as opposed to the current design of cramming everything on top of eachother.
- Replacement of the gem buttons with images which have something to do with the evidence it represents (a small image of an EMF, handprints, ectoplasm, etc.)
- A button which copies evidence from the event log
- A button which resets current evidence back to ‘Unknown’, for those moments when a player might need to do that
- I’m playing around with an addition to the map screen that indicates which adjacent rooms are connected via doorway or only by wall. I felt the second house in v0.15 was clunky when it came to calculating where the ghost could have traveled to between floors, and if I as the guy who created it felt that way, it probably added even more friction for everyone else. I believe having this displayed when hovering over a room in the map screen will make that kind of information easy to access / easier to understand.
- Addition of a recollection area which will provide a list of all available scenes and the steps to unlock them.

View attachment 5489593

No estimated release date for version 0.2
To avoid repeating the mistake of perpetually having to push the release date backwards, I’m not going to give a release date until its a certainty.
More later.

View attachment 5489589
View attachment 5489590

Awesome! I knew I was right about this game and you it looks like things are only getting better! I think you made the right decision by making this update more about the sexy content because parts like the sneaky links aspect didnt have much. Utilizing the fear to add to corruption is a great idea. And I kind of got that sense after seeing the little cutscenes where the girls ask to stay with you for a couple turns. Seeing different pictures and scenarios on the social media app is going to be fun and the fact that the camera's scenes are gonna be animated is friggin awesome thats super exciting. Im definitely looking forward to it. I hope everyone else is as excited about it as I am. Oh and that picture with the shadow over Noms' face is friggin hilarious. You've got some really creative ideas.

 

[ryg88]

For maps, it might be better if adjacent rooms have the doors actually drawn on them, since it is already a well-known visual cue:



Another choice is that the walls can be made more prominent: thick line represents a shared wall while a thin line represents a shared door.

One issue with highlighting the rooms only when Sev is there is that the player might not be able to memorize which rooms are door- or wall-adjacent to each other. Having a visual cue hard-drawn into the map might be an easier thing to grasp and might require less processing time for the game.