I'm using RPG Maker and Honey Select to make a game, what are the most common pitfalls to avoid?

[g2320hdb]

I'm making a game that's RPG first, adult content second, and I understand both HS and RPG maker are unpopular, but I have little choice.
So besides the title, I got a few other questions.

1. Any recommended tileset overhauls (large enough to use for the entire project)?

2. How important are face sprites during dialogue? Honey Select is uhh... really awful when it comes to male faces. From appearance to emotive ability.

3. How important is the parallax mapping?

4. Vanilla character sprites or sprites made from honey select models? I personally am not a fan of the vanilla chibi sprites, and have begun switching to honey select sprites, but I can't shake the feeling that the HS sprites look out of place with their 3D appearance.

And any other information welcome.

 

[DaClown]

Check under Technical References For Game Asset Production and Graphic Art for some references for RPGM and Honey Select modeling.

 

[K.T.L.]

Can only speak for myself but I find some RMGM games a pain in the neck because most of the devs seem addicted to adding mindless combat to the games and giving you a vast expanse of highly decorated irrelevancy to run through. There are a few that have managed to avoid this. Bones Tales and Coming of Age are two that I am happy playing. Most though get carried away creating humongous maps, leading to them being called running simulators.

 

[g2320hdb]

Can only speak for myself but I find some RMGM games a pain in the neck because most of the devs seem addicted to adding mindless combat to the games and giving you a vast expanse of highly decorated irrelevancy to run through. There are a few that have managed to avoid this. Bones Tales and Coming of Age are two that I am happy playing. Most though get carried away creating humongous maps, leading to them being called running simulators.

Hmm, after reading some posts and in that reference post and your comment, I have some more questions.

By pointlessly walking, I assume they are referring to lacking a goal? Or the walk is excessively and unnecessarily long?
By Mindless combat, I assume it is referring to uninteresting combat mechanics, where you basically just spam attack all day and get by?

For the first one, I will be implementing a fast travel system between major locations/maps, and do not plan on making massive maps.
The second one, I spent 2-3 days modifying the combat mechanics to at this point I am fairly confident in. Combat is hard, and I hope, engaging.

I certainly hope that helps solve a lot of the issues.

 

[DaClown]

Combat is hard, and I hope, engaging.

This is not a selling point to me when it comes to adult RPGs. One of my favorite RPGM games I ever played nerfed the game so that there was no random encounters, you didn't run around in circles looking for fights to level up your party and unlock their abilities or master materia, and all the fights were structured fundamentally as puzzles.

Combat in an RPG only makes sense if the primary appeal of the game is either the combat itself or depends on the combat mechanics such as survival mechanics or the "victory sex" model of battlefucks.

 

[g2320hdb]

Combat in an RPG only makes sense if the primary appeal of the game is either the combat itself or depends on the combat mechanics such as survival mechanics or the "victory sex" model of battlefucks.

Someone else in another forum brought this up, that the idea of having the reward from being defeated is contradictory in goal to one where the goal is to try to beat the combat.

I'll have to really think on that to try to come up with an adult game reason as to why you want to try to beat the combat. To progress the story to unlock additional scenes perhaps? Any suggestions?

 

[DaClown]

Someone else in another forum brought this up, that the idea of having the reward from being defeated is contradictory in goal to one where the goal is to try to beat the combat.

I'll have to really think on that to try to come up with an adult game reason as to why you want to try to beat the combat. To progress the story to unlock additional scenes perhaps? Any suggestions?

Have you ever played a game called

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or

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or

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? They have interesting innovations on combat mechanics in RPGs. The latter two are more directly adult games, but there some aspects of the "combat" encounter mechanics of Renowed Explorers which could be relevant to an adult RPG design.

 

[g2320hdb]

Have you ever played a game called

You must be registered to see the links

or

You must be registered to see the links

or

You must be registered to see the links

? They have interesting innovations on combat mechanics in RPGs. The latter two are more directly adult games, but there some aspects of the "combat" encounter mechanics of Renowed Explorers which could be relevant to an adult RPG design.

I have not. Could you elaborate?

 

[DaClown]

I have not. Could you elaborate?

In Renowned Explorers, the "combat" is an encounter resolution system. Killing or disabling people you encounter is one possible way of resolving the encounters. You build teams of people with one of four different conflict resolution focuses: Science, Fight, Exploration, and Speaking.

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(I recommend watching at 2x speed)

Corruption of Champions and Trials in Tainted Space pioneered different methods of resolving conflicts; I think it is unfortunate that they still ended up making murder/beating people the primary way when you could build tactical RPG style mechanics entirely around seduction, lust, or diplomacy.

 

[g2320hdb]

In Renowned Explorers, the "combat" is an encounter resolution system. Killing or disabling people you encounter is one possible way of resolving the encounters. You build teams of people with one of four different conflict resolution focuses: Science, Fight, Exploration, and Speaking.

Interesting, something I'll keep in mind