Ren'Py Heavenly Peaks Cultivation [v2.98] [My Big Little Brother]

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allenandarth

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May 30, 2017
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the biggest problem with this game is ironically enough the cultivation, it's just not fun, it's cool in novels, having to actually do it like in the novels is obnoxiously boring, as a game developer you NEED to understand that not everything has to be like in the novels, you need to adjust and change things to make them fun for the people playing the game
 
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The Real Hentai Agent
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the biggest problem with this game is ironically enough the cultivation, it's just not fun, it's cool in novels, having to actually do it like in the novels is obnoxiously boring, as a game developer you NEED to understand that not everything has to be like in the novels, you need to adjust and change things to make them fun for the people playing the game
Cultivation isn't really the main point of the game, but it seems to be the one people get stuck on the most.
You only have a handful of talent points which, once spent --are gone. The reason for this is so that you can then go and do other things with your time and energy. That being said, apart from preparing to spend your talent points, or improving yourself for battle -- training has very little value. (At least as of yet, this is slowly and surely changing). This is a misconception that many people hold, I think. In all reality you can probably spend your first few training points in an hour.

Once you obtain certain enlightenments the process becomes even easier.

Regardless, I have no plans of removing training / cultivation aspects from the game. Fun is subjective, and there are many people who actually enjoy those aspects of gameplay. It is, in fact, the reason many people actually play. While I do understand your concerns, that would also defeat the purpose of a cultivation style project.
 
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Deleted member 107261

The Real Hentai Agent
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It seems to me, or is there less and less content here with each update?
No, I can say that with certainty.
I sort of analyzed why my pace seems slower compared to other devs and there are a few different answers I settled on.

The first is that I use a virtual PC, then I have to upload and download all renders to my own PC to build the game. That causes 2x as long as it would normally take me and that's assuming my connection isn't lagging. I really need a new PC that can handle it so, that will happen as soon as humanly practical. That alone will make the amount of content I can produce shoot up by about 2-3x.

The second major factor is due to game development. I am creating all of the systems and features as I go, while many comparable devs don't have to lay a foundation for their projects. This naturally requires time debugging and playtesting since I don't have anyone to rely on for that sort of thing as well.

For comparison, on the last 2-3 updates of the game I spent about 300-400 man hours (maybe more) in order to write as much of the foundation code as possible. The reason for this is that , at a certain point, I'll be 100% free to make new content -- thus freeing up time for myself.

I'm pretty close to that point now, but not there just yet.

For perspective on the very last update, it took me 3-4 days to finish up 4-5 of the main story scenes. Then I spent an additional 2-3 days adding more scene related content. I checked out a few other games and they actually seem to add less scenes per update and simply space them out more with goal setting (reach this level, do this thing, etc).

That being said, I'm not really a big fan of creating filler tasks for players, my main focus is on telling an engaging story and helping the player have fun. I think that also contributes to the feeling that content is less when in reality I tend to add more renders per scene than any game I've come across.

(Right now I think the project has about 2,000 maybe more and close to 40-50 videos and has only been in development since mid February of this year -- at least production wise.)
 

allenandarth

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May 30, 2017
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Cultivation isn't really the main point of the game, but it seems to be the one people get stuck on the most.
You only have a handful of talent points which, once spent --are gone. The reason for this is so that you can then go and do other things with your time and energy. That being said, apart from preparing to spend your talent points, or improving yourself for battle -- training has very little value. (At least as of yet, this is slowly and surely changing). This is a misconception that many people hold, I think. In all reality you can probably spend your first few training points in an hour.

Once you obtain certain enlightenments the process becomes even easier.

Regardless, I have no plans of removing training / cultivation aspects from the game. Fun is subjective, and there are many people who actually enjoy those aspects of gameplay. It is, in fact, the reason many people actually play. While I do understand your concerns, that would also defeat the purpose of a cultivation style project.
i never said it was the point of the game, but it's a necessary part of the game that you can do without, the moment you decided on a xianxia game you made cultivation/training an important factor for the game, one that's by far the worst part.
Also i never said to remove cultivation, what i said was to adjust it so it would be a fun thing to do, or at least bearable, as for what changes those would be, i don't know, i'm not the dev.
 

lagaard

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Jan 25, 2018
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the biggest problem with this game is ironically enough the cultivation, it's just not fun, it's cool in novels, having to actually do it like in the novels is obnoxiously boring, as a game developer you NEED to understand that not everything has to be like in the novels, you need to adjust and change things to make them fun for the people playing the game
My 1123 hours in Amazing Cultivation Simulator would disagree that cultivation is the most boring part.
Gotta learn those manuals. Get that Qi up. Get those NUMBERS UP.
 

Deleted member 107261

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My 1123 hours in Amazing Cultivation Simulator would disagree that cultivation is the most boring part.
Gotta learn those manuals. Get that Qi up. Get those NUMBERS UP.
Have you played Path of Wuxia? That's probably one of my favorites (and best done imo) cultivation games.
It's on steam, highly recommended.
 
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i never said it was the point of the game, but it's a necessary part of the game that you can do without, the moment you decided on a xianxia game you made cultivation/training an important factor for the game, one that's by far the worst part.
Also i never said to remove cultivation, what i said was to adjust it so it would be a fun thing to do, or at least bearable, as for what changes those would be, i don't know, i'm not the dev.
That's why I said fun is subjective. Many people do enjoy the getting stronger aspect of training games. Building your character, your player - strategically with the next step in mind. This is the direction I'm going with my work. Naturally training and putting in the effort is a part of that. If that's not your thing, I completely understand.


My work is niche and I'm okay with that.
 

lagaard

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Jan 25, 2018
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Have you played Path of Wuxia? That's probably one of my favorites (and best done imo) cultivation games.
It's on steam, highly recommended.
I gave it a look, while it looks neat, I can't exactly read it. Certainly seems different then ACS, but it could be neat whenever it gets an English translation. My only real gripe I get with ACS is I want my Inner Disciples to form relationships and be social, but they're always such anti-social snobs. You just started being able to mold some Qi, and decide you're too good to talk to anyone!
 

allenandarth

Active Member
May 30, 2017
607
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That's why I said fun is subjective. Many people do enjoy the getting stronger aspect of training games. Building your character, your player - strategically with the next step in mind. This is the direction I'm going with my work. Naturally training and putting in the effort is a part of that. If that's not your thing, I completely understand.


My work is niche and I'm okay with that.
alright, i would like to state that i tried to help, i tried giving you a tip, i see that you are on your path and i commend you for that, you do you i guess, good luck, i won't be accompanying this game's development anymore, i hope you find success with your strategy
 

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I gave it a look, while it looks neat, I can't exactly read it. Certainly seems different then ACS, but it could be neat whenever it gets an English translation. My only real gripe I get with ACS is I want my Inner Disciples to form relationships and be social, but they're always such anti-social snobs. You just started being able to mold some Qi, and decide you're too good to talk to anyone!
It does have an english translation. It's kinda bad but meh, it allows you to read the game. I played all the way through year 2 start.
 

girdeyordo

Member
Oct 6, 2020
356
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Game is a lot more fun if you know how to console things. A lot more content too since the early day limit paywall is kinda annoying.

Having a scroll bar for the crafting ingredients would be great as once you get past 35 even if you have 333 slots it doesn't mean much if you can't organize what you have.

Scroll bar for items in general as even sorting by types has it's limits if checking the inventory.

Being able to sort and trash old herbs. Seeing as recipes have quality control knowing which is the best would be rather helpful.

Differentiating the color of Purple and Blue Grass as the crafting ingredients don't have names until clicked on or put their names under the icons. Tool Tips could work too.

There was a battle that automatically assumes the instructor wins. Though a lot of choices seem to default without thinking of any real payoff. I said No to a few just to see the other path and it's like "You really should pick yes, that's okay we'll go with you said yes"

A schedule for the girls since it's hard to pass time. You can train but if you only wanted to pass an hour or two it's more trigger happy. Having some regular night scenes would help tell what time of day it is. An outline on the Time would help it be more visible.

A Gallery option or request system for the girls would be great. Yenay does one thing then nothing for the rest of the game. Could have sworn Guobei said she would need multiple treatments to be cured...

Does the game have to ask if I'm 18 on every startup? It's one of those things ask once and be done with it.
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Deleted member 107261

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I'll tackle these 1 by 1.

1) It's not really a paywall, I was just trying to help the public players. Version 0.6 (the last public release) of the game stopped at that point. I just updated the download links for the game using version 0.8 to fix a known issue within 0.6. The main reason for this is that, up to a couple of days ago I simply didn't have room to store past versions of the game. Now that I invested in file storage space, I do. Because I no longer had version 0.6 anywhere and had already moved onto programming 0.8, the only option was to patch using 0.8.

So essentially, I was trying to be nice and not force the public into waiting for 0.8 (releasing near the end of this month) and patch some fixes. This has been mentioned in the last 2 days alone quite a lot by several people, so much so that I'm starting to understand the "no good deed goes unpunished" saying.

Also not sure what you mean by "console" things. Could you explain?

2) I'll get around to it when I have some extra time. There are quite a few things that are on the to do list to be tended. I tend to prioritize things based on how long they will take, especially if I have new features or additions that need play testing which is generally the case. Simply put, I put them off for last and forgot with latest update.

3) Yea those are things I noted as well. Item paging and adding a scrollable menu have been "to do" for a while. As far as sorting, perhaps it really just depends on how difficult it is to set up. It's not off the table though.

4) That was just a last minute mistake on my part, they actually already have 2 different images. As for the TOD image, that's a good idea.

There are quite a few places you can notice the current time of day though. For example anytime you're in a room or speaking to a vixen, meditation, training ,etc. The main reason I don't stress what the time of day is , is that I have no intention of using the morning-afternoon-evening system that other games use (ever). The time of day really isn't relevant for much in the game, because the passage of time happens really quickly. You can even spend days just training or meditating. I can see why it would be an issue with version 0.6 though but there is also another important reason 0.6 is "time locked". Its to prevent public players from no-life grinding too far and sort of messing themselves over later. This has presented itself as a problem a few times. So some limits felt in order.

5) Many of the features of the game are unlocked as you play. Fun time with each girl is one of those things.

The Black Fox battle is winnable, but extremely difficult. The result, however is the same -- because Black Fox is just going easy on you anyway. In terms of cultivation world, taking on someone who is 1-2 realms higher than you would always result in defeat, and in most cases certain death. This is an example of that.

For the options, I do agree some of them have no perceivable result. Once again, due to lack of time with the last update. The intention was to reward different things, based on the action chosen -- not necessarily give a different outcome in those instances.

6) Gallery was bugged at one point. So I removed it, as per #5, I have decided on a more interesting way to view past content as of tonight.

7) Yea that's a good idea. I'll probably implement that (schedule) or at the very least, an idea of where each girl can be found and when. Once again, this will most likely be unveiled as a story related feature addition. One linked to Guobei.

As a side note, why would you want to pass time if your main issue is that the game ends at a certain point? I'm mostly just curious about that. Everything else seems pretty reasonable.
 

girdeyordo

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Oct 6, 2020
356
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I'll tackle these 1 by 1.

1) It's not really a paywall, I was just trying to help the public players. Version 0.6 (the last public release) of the game stopped at that point. I just updated the download links for the game using version 0.8 to fix a known issue within 0.6. The main reason for this is that, up to a couple of days ago I simply didn't have room to store past versions of the game. Now that I invested in file storage space, I do. Because I no longer had version 0.6 anywhere and had already moved onto programming 0.8, the only option was to patch using 0.8.

So essentially, I was trying to be nice and not force the public into waiting for 0.8 (releasing near the end of this month) and patch some fixes. This has been mentioned in the last 2 days alone quite a lot by several people, so much so that I'm starting to understand the "no good deed goes unpunished" saying.

Also not sure what you mean by "console" things. Could you explain?

2) I'll get around to it when I have some extra time. There are quite a few things that are on the to do list to be tended. I tend to prioritize things based on how long they will take, especially if I have new features or additions that need play testing which is generally the case. Simply put, I put them off for last and forgot with latest update.

3) Yea those are things I noted as well. Item paging and adding a scrollable menu have been "to do" for a while. As far as sorting, perhaps it really just depends on how difficult it is to set up. It's not off the table though.

4) That was just a last minute mistake on my part, they actually already have 2 different images. As for the TOD image, that's a good idea.

There are quite a few places you can notice the current time of day though. For example anytime you're in a room or speaking to a vixen, meditation, training ,etc. The main reason I don't stress what the time of day is , is that I have no intention of using the morning-afternoon-evening system that other games use (ever). The time of day really isn't relevant for much in the game, because the passage of time happens really quickly. You can even spend days just training or meditating. I can see why it would be an issue with version 0.6 though but there is also another important reason 0.6 is "time locked". Its to prevent public players from no-life grinding too far and sort of messing themselves over later. This has presented itself as a problem a few times. So some limits felt in order.

5) Many of the features of the game are unlocked as you play. Fun time with each girl is one of those things.

The Black Fox battle is winnable, but extremely difficult. The result, however is the same -- because Black Fox is just going easy on you anyway. In terms of cultivation world, taking on someone who is 1-2 realms higher than you would always result in defeat, and in most cases certain death. This is an example of that.

For the options, I do agree some of them have no perceivable result. Once again, due to lack of time with the last update. The intention was to reward different things, based on the action chosen -- not necessarily give a different outcome in those instances.

6) Gallery was bugged at one point. So I removed it, as per #5, I have decided on a more interesting way to view past content as of tonight.

7) Yea that's a good idea. I'll probably implement that (schedule) or at the very least, an idea of where each girl can be found and when. Once again, this will most likely be unveiled as a story related feature addition. One linked to Guobei.

As a side note, why would you want to pass time if your main issue is that the game ends at a certain point? I'm mostly just curious about that. Everything else seems pretty reasonable.
1) Ah logic error... While you were trying to be nice by bugfixing 0.6 when 0.8 was released people here expected 0.8.
The day limit is really for public so it is a paywall as there is potentially more content when the limit ends and you say go on patreon to turn that limiter off lol
I get your explanation that this was just suppose to be 0.6 patched but people on here aren't going to see it that way since it's a pirate site and some members are more tech savvy then others.

As for the console well while some players play the game as it was intended others will either turn on Ren'Pys debug features, mods, or try a Save Editor.
The console lets people manipulate values in the code such as the $ myPlayer.HP = myPlayer.MHP for a full restore during battle.
https://f95zone.to/threads/enabling-developer-command-consoles-in-renpy.113/


Some also try the Universal renpy mod
https://f95zone.to/threads/universal-renpy-mod-1-4-1-mod-any-renpy-game-yourself.48025/

2) Hmmm... How about I just toss some code your way, it's not much trouble and I might be a smart ass but I try not to be a total dick.

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4) Yey :D

5) Same results doesn't make it sound winnable. Though you get more respect from me instead of just making the enemy immortal. It's much better then being op and finding out that the enemy doesn't have the power to kill you and you can't kill them so it softlocks the game :sneaky:

6) Bugged? If you tossed the code my way I could look at it though that's up to you.

Side Note:
1) When training Sustenance is the only limiting factor so you can end training at odd times of day, like midnight for instance.
2) The training ground is always bright and sunny so visually the player might expect the girls to be awake only to find the hut is empty.
3) Having the girls visibly sleeping in the hut would clue the player into the fact it's night. Didn't really pay attention to see if the window views change with time.

So there were a few times I was just looking for the girls but ended up looking at the clock only to realize I'm a night owl lol.
 
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estrada777

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Dropping this android port, as nobody seems to download mine. The last version garnered a grand total of 9.
 
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Deleted member 107261

The Real Hentai Agent
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New Android port. Nothing too fancy but let me know if you have any issues.

Version: 0.8.1b

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This unofficial port/version is not released by the developer, download at your own risk.

(if it gives you a .zip, just rename it as .apk)

Help me pay for some storage if you want. Or don't ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Hope it does work, I tried the android version I built and it failed miserably. :rolleyes:
I'll give it a go myself as well. Thx
 

Deleted member 107261

The Real Hentai Agent
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1) The day limit is really for public so it is a paywall as there is potentially more content when the limit ends and you say go on patreon to turn that limiter off lol
The point that I meant with the "not a paywall" comment (it seemed to be missed) is that the content for 0.6 stopped at that point originally. It's nearly 2.5 versions of the game later so of course if you look into the project you're going to see way more content -- because I used version 0.8 to patch a few bugs as I explained initially.

The current public version of the game ends exactly when 0.6 ended. The "paywall" you think you see is when I invited the public to check out 0.7 which had more content at the time. That is how these things normally work from what I see with many other games, so I'm really confused that you'd even consider it a "paywall". The game forcibly ending is a formality to prevent people from advancing things too far (potentially bugging their saves in the process when new features arrive) or pressing me about content that obviously hasn't been added *yet*.

Also and most importantly, unlike other games, I don't publicly update Heavenly Peaks every version, it's every other version or sometimes every 3rd version like now. There are multiple reasons for this.

But really that's neither here nor there, the root of the problem is this simply --

Due to the nature of the game you can play infinitely if you chose and many people were doing just that. Some players were making complaints about this when they ran out of content. Now some players are complaining that there *is* more content but I used a later version of the game to patch their potential issues. It kind of just seems like a damned if I do sort of situation and if that's the case I'd rather not even give it any of my time or attention. (Because , frankly, I'd rather use it productively).

I considered putting a hard stop to the game to prevent players from straying too far in the future, but the level of push back on something that isn't even an issue is pretty insane at this point. It's also serving to do little else but drive up my blood pressure, which isn't a good thing. You want me to die!? TO DIE!? All jokes aside --

My only other option is to ignore people who just play beyond the content, it's their problem after all -- I was just trying to accommodate them like the good little noodle I strive to be. Lesson learned, it probably won't happen again -- especially if it's going to be a headache where I have to spend hours of my time explaining myself to people which, imo, is a large waste of my limited time as a solo dev. Especially when I explain myself only to be told I'm wrong--

Also thanks for the offer but as I mentioned, I tend to leave the simple stuff for last. I don't need assistance programming my project as all my development needs err towards art. And those things, by comparison to the things that I worked on recently, really are simple to implement. Once again, it's just my preference to work from largest, most time consuming task > the smallest , simpler ones. In fact, it's probably closer to a personality defect or quirk at this point.
 
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girdeyordo

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Fair enough, though since the code was already done you mid as well have a look at it.

Another fun mod would be to change the player's name.

2021-11-13_20-59-34.png
2021-11-13_21-01-55.png

While I didn't make this look super pretty a gallery template which pairs well with the change name.
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