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

[Indexless]

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

Basically everything said here sounds awesome. Can't wait.

 

[Survion]

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

I take back my early remark about waiting a few patches. Every idea here looks so awesome that I'm excited to try it out right away when it releases.

 

[diddlydadoo]

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

Alright, all of this sounds great. I'm looking forward to trying it all.

I'm not all the way sure about the fear update, though. On one hand, it sounds like a good gameplay choice; but on the other hand, the slow, creeping dread of being (possibly) alone with a ghost felt really thematic considering the horror-inspired setting. Of course, I might be in the minority there since I'm the sort of guy who prefers the creeping tension in the early parts of horror films to the monster-is-actively-chasing-people part.

Now that you mentioned corruption, any plans on adding a corruption/relationship numbers in a menu we can check? As it is, the limited time frame encourages picking a girl to pursue and keep separate saves for them. So a way to quickly check what we've been doing in a given save without playing a few minutes would be a pretty good QoL feature. (I'd also love a sexual stat screen for non-QoL reasons, but I understand that may be way harder to implement.)

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:

View attachment 5489651

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.

I also want to second this. More map readability is always good to have.

 

[TomiokaGiyuu5]

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

This looks really promising! By the way, do you plan on implementing sound during sexual interactions in the game?

 

[Ggvv78]

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

I hope it doesn't go to fast to corruption

 

[beastsumoda]

what NTR scene does this game have currently?

 

[Survion]

what NTR scene does this game have currently?

Aside from the 1 Queeny bj scene the rest are mostly exposure, not much yet.

 

[beastsumoda]

Aside from the 1 Queeny bj scene the rest are mostly exposure, not much yet.

thank you

 

[Trash Master Thoth]

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:

View attachment 5489651

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.

Future maps are going to be more like the intro / second investigation's map than the first investigation's - so, with something like those door examples you have. I just haven't gotten around to redoing the first investigation's map yet.

And it isn't displaying adjacent room's relative to where Sev is, it's for whichever room the player mouses over on the map. Doors and walls on a map are helpful when everything is taking place on the same floor - I was adding this for multi-story buildings in mind. I think it's smoother than squinting at a map and comparing where walls are between the two floors or having to bounce around reading room information tooltips. We'll have to see what people think when they have a chance to play around with it.

 

[Trash Master Thoth]

Alright, all of this sounds great. I'm looking forward to trying it all.

I'm not all the way sure about the fear update, though. On one hand, it sounds like a good gameplay choice; but on the other hand, the slow, creeping dread of being (possibly) alone with a ghost felt really thematic considering the horror-inspired setting. Of course, I might be in the minority there since I'm the sort of guy who prefers the creeping tension in the early parts of horror films to the monster-is-actively-chasing-people part.

Now that you mentioned corruption, any plans on adding a corruption/relationship numbers in a menu we can check? As it is, the limited time frame encourages picking a girl to pursue and keep separate saves for them. So a way to quickly check what we've been doing in a given save without playing a few minutes would be a pretty good QoL feature. (I'd also love a sexual stat screen for non-QoL reasons, but I understand that may be way harder to implement.)


I also want to second this. More map readability is always good to have.

Mmm, I don't think the change will diminish any sense of creeping dread. Fear will still be ticking upwards as it had been for the characters, its just that the woman won't freak out and start seeking safety with others unless they see something overtly spooky happen.

And I hadn't considered how displayable relationship numbers could be a QoL thing. It's something others had asked for too, it's somewhere on the to-do list.

 

[Trash Master Thoth]

This looks really promising! By the way, do you plan on implementing sound during sexual interactions in the game?

Yep. Probably not in the next update, and maybe not everywhere, but at the very least having sound for the NTR stuff will eventually make it in.