Defiant Explorer

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Sep 2, 2017
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And yeah, I finally recovered (I don't know if it was the flu or covid, but I was pretty banged up). So I've been working on chapter 2 for a few days now. So far, making art. The first dozen are already done, yahoo! And there are ~20 more to go... *Sigh*

There's a lot of lighting work in the 2nd chapter arts, which is a pain in the ass, so it's not moving as fast as I'd prefer. Every map has to be given a lot of time. But I think it's worth it.
 

enmy

New Member
Apr 9, 2018
1
1
Okay, wow~ a promising first release of a text-based game, be still me beating heart!!!

I am very very excited to see where this goes in future updates, but I must ask... what is planned as far as relationships are concerned? I mean, the sexual scenes that you've included thus far are great (dialogue flowed naturally and descriptions were frankly sexy) but... will there be opportunities for more dynamic relationships to be had? Dare I say, even romanceable options???

Either way, I'm happy to report that you've got yourself a new follower!
╰(✿´⌣`✿)╯
 
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Skaggg

New Member
Mar 28, 2019
10
16
I created alternative assets for this game. I tried to stay close to the original kinda fucked up the aspect ratio tho
 
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Defiant Explorer

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Game Developer
Sep 2, 2017
314
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Okay, wow~ a promising first release of a text-based game, be still me beating heart!!!

I am very very excited to see where this goes in future updates, but I must ask... what is planned as far as relationships are concerned? I mean, the sexual scenes that you've included thus far are great (dialogue flowed naturally and descriptions were frankly sexy) but... will there be opportunities for more dynamic relationships to be had? Dare I say, even romanceable options???

Either way, I'm happy to report that you've got yourself a new follower!
╰(✿´⌣`✿)╯
Thank you for your kind words and support.

About your question. Well... the short answer is yes.

Many - most, actually, variables - are hidden from the player. Intentionally. This also includes the variables responsible for relationships with companions. Some of them change already in the first chapter, depending on your choices. I don't know how deep I'll dive into these waters, but I've already included these variables in the initialization of any new game.

However, I should mention - Inner Empire is an RPG in a pretty realistic setting, not a dating sim. And the challenges you'll face are a bit more complex than the troubles of choosing with whom to sleep or date. I want to put you in the skin of a person from another world instead of boring you with collecting abstract relationships or corruption points or whatever.

But yes, neither romantic nor sexual relationships will get in the way of the story. Rather the opposite, if the dosage turns out to be the right one. Just please don't ask me for the option to romance Pitchy.
 

Defiant Explorer

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Sep 2, 2017
314
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I created alternative assets for this game. I tried to stay close to the original kinda fucked up the aspect ratio tho
Mega
Damn, they're good.

Except that the program didn't seem to handle the silhouettes.

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Overall, your portraits are a wonderful alternative, no kidding. Yes, there are inaccuracies there from a lore perspective that you couldn't have known about. And the game only has the first chapter, which is too insufficient to accommodate all-around exposition. Anyway, thanks. Making an alternative for almost 100 portraits is quite a challenge, I'm honored.
 
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Defiant Explorer

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Skaggg, I added your portraits under the download links. I hope you don't mind.

They probably won't be compatible with chapter 2. Or rather, not completely compatible. For example, the protagonist will have other outfits, there will already be 2 new outfits in chapter 2 and most likely one... well, let's say a temporary element of decor. Also, other characters are likely to get an expansion of their closet as well.

And by the way, I've been babbling a lot about lore there above. Here, I found portraits of the protagonist with the Northerner and Southerner ethnos from an old stuff folder. They're not in the game.

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However, there were also 2 more Origins, which also didn't make it into the release version. It's not easy to manage even with 4 Origins... let alone 6 xD
 

Skaggg

New Member
Mar 28, 2019
10
16
Hey, thanks for the kind words i am flattered and dont mind beeing pinned down at all.
Except that the program didn't seem to handle the silhouettes.
I didn't think about replacing those :O

Yes, there are inaccuracies there from a lore perspective...
Haha i feared so

and most likely one... well, let's say a temporary element of decor.
uhhh intriguing :3

I changed the main character appearance in a new Version

Valatean and Yardanarian are a darker Version now Ranalian got green eyes and slightly more reddish skin (pale + reddish = pink?) and Inuatarian got a more vibrant golden Version.
The bulk of the NPCs are Valatean with darker skin, shame :S:D ill have to revisit that...later

It's not easy to manage even with 4 Origins... let alone 6 xD
lol i bet

btw i was already impressed with the the Choises in dialogs that can change the flow of the conversation but to know that there are hidden variables makes it more fascinating. I was content with the Idea that all those not-dialogues-changing-options were just for RP flavor
 
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Defiant Explorer

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Game Developer
Sep 2, 2017
314
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I changed the main character appearance in a new Version
Mega
Valatean and Yardanarian are a darker Version now Ranalian got green eyes and slightly more reddish skin (pale + reddish = pink?) and Inuatarian got a more vibrant golden tone.
I replaced the link to this post.

The bulk of the NPCs are Valatean with darker skin, shame :S:D ill have to revisit that...later
I don't insist. Your modification is your vision. In the new version, the PC portraits are really closer to my vision and textual references. But if you're interested, I can offer a few more observations:

1. The cheating wife is a young woman, she can't be called beautiful, but she certainly looks pretty enough to get Cadonis' attention.

2. Crispus is middle-aged and a bit shabby. In your version, he's more of a young handsome man.

3. Murella also has emerald eyes (Ranalian heritage) and is of mixed blood, Valatean-Ranalian to be exact.

4. The Red Mistress also has red eyes. This is an atypical and creepy trait. Here's a quote from the game: "Her eyes are red, too, but bright, with a pulse of unstoppable will behind them." Generally speaking, very few players will discover content with her, it's tied to one of the Origins and is hidden behind a fairly high ability check. But still.

For the rest, minor deviations from my vision are not significant or, more important, don't contradictory to the text descriptions.

btw i was already impressed with the the Choises in dialogs that can change the flow of the conversation but to know that there are hidden variables makes it more fascinating. I was content with the Idea that all those not-dialogues-changing-options were just for RP flavor
Some choices are really more of an RP element. Others just look that way, but what they change is sometimes quite important. Sometimes they are mixed.

For example, if interested, you can try not to feed the protagonist until the evening. A whole new scene opens up. And someone really doesn't like that the protagonist isn't capable of "solving problems". This will affect that character's attitude toward the protagonist.
 
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RexUniverse

Newbie
Nov 9, 2018
79
39
I've written about pregnancy here somewhere before. Pregnancy... is a pregnancy. Well, it certainly won't be as a "bad end". I mean, pregnancy in the game functions on random variables. It would be extremely unfair of me to put the success of a player's game on random variables.

So don't worry about it. If your character gets pregnant, it will change a lot of things, but it definitely won't lead to a game over.
Now THIS I like the sound of it.
 

jewtube

New Member
Nov 5, 2017
12
134
Enjoyed my time with your game, but I see two problems already:

The FIRST, which I believe is going to sort itself out eventually, is the bloated stat system. Six is simply too much, and as you keep writing, and devising, and balancing SIX (most of which are going to not be available to players) different ways of getting dialogue options becomes impossible, I think you're inevitably going to scale down the system to fewer options. Considering, also, the skills' "learning by doing" nature, this just stinks of a future balancing nightmare.

The races and the origins might present a similar issue which, similarly, might solve itself naturally through the homogenization of the writing as you focus more and more on telling a specific story instead of setting up race/origin specific hooks.

The SECOND is the more important one -- the overly aggressive world building.
Starting with the character creation, and then the very first conversation you have , or, rather, listen on is the one by children, and it's already filled with politics, terms, fictional names etc. The first real conversation you actually have -- even more so. If you immediately think it's a sign of things to come then you're right.
This problem also manifests itself in certain NPC responses coming out as massive walls of text filled with fictional names, contexts and some such.

This criticism is in no way a judgment of your skills as a world builder. In fact, I'll intentionally refrain from any specific evaluations.
The problem, as I see it, isn't that the player needs to be TOLD what all the fictional terms and names mean through hyperlinks, but that there are already too many of them, and most people will be IMMEDIATELY intimidated and WON'T CARE a bit, whether your writing's decent or not.

Most people don't even care about the world in acclaimed series like Witcher or Game of Thrones. They won't be able to tell Kaedwen from Redania or Dorne from The Free Cities. Not bashing on people or trying to be a snob here, just simple facts: most people want stories with tangible action and understandable, simple, relatable drama.
Thus, the World-building needs to be SNUCK in subtly and gently, through real events as they happen and can be followed along, through something universal that anyone can understand, through real world analogies.
In that sense, those famous stories still work even without most of the background info through its plots, characters and dialogue. This, in addition to, of course, sexual content, is what you need to focus on.

The bottom line is, sometimes you just want to have simple conversations about how bucolic the surroundings are. Or to flirt. Tell jokes, or be spooked, without immediately being thrust into a political conversation about a world you know nothing about. Human stuff, you know.

Not saying you don't have those. In fact, I'd argue this is one of the most actually HUMAN games out there, that feels like it's written by a real person, and not automatically generated by a neural network taught to spit out lazy, emotionless porn dispensers wrapped into an html file.
I can't praise you enough for how most of the events are constructed. Whether it's a sex scene or a simple conversation they're almost exactly the way they need to be in a text-game. Multi-staged, granting the player real agency, RP-heavy. There's small-talk, there's innuendos, real depth. EXACTLY what most games on the site are missing.

This is why I'm bothering with all this word-diarrhea. The game's cool and I want it to succeed.
 
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Defiant Explorer

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Sep 2, 2017
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The game's cool and I want it to succeed.
Thank you for finding time for such an informative comment.

Abilities. Originally there were even more, I cut off everything I could do without. I don't think 6 abilities will cause much of a balance problem. It would have been, had it not been for Insight's balancing system.

Some chapters will focus on social interactions. Others on action. There will be some mixed. So there won't be any unused abilities. This is the goal, not the perfect symmetry of checks.

Ethnoses and Origins. There were also more of them and I also cut them down. But the greatest difficulty with Origins, yes. In a way they can be called classes. Or a mixture of class and biography. They have the most impact on the dialogues, alternate possibilities, and each one has its own personal quest.

Would it have been easier for me to write a story with a preset hero and 2-3 characteristics? Oh yeah. A lot easier. And faster. But would it have been more interesting for the players?

Worldbuilding. I modeled it, not "painted" it. That is, I thought about how society would develop and what it would be like under such geographical, climatic, and technical conditions, if this society were real. For example, why are there so many forests and vegetation on maps? Is it because I like trees? Nope. Because in a world with two suns, more ultraviolet means more plants means more herbivores means more predators as well. A hypothetical world with two suns and similar climatic conditions to Earth would, in general, have richer flora and fauna.

And so on with the rest of the stuff. Hence the problem of exposition. Which, let me assure you, there is very little of in chapter 1. The notes on the world, events, and characters alone take up a ~300 page Word document.

I tried my best to avoid the walls of text, and I think I succeeded in most cases. But sometimes the necessary meanings just "don't fit" into fewer words.
 
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Peccable

Newbie
Dec 18, 2018
78
58
Now that is something else. Loved this game from the very start. There is roleplay, but it doesn't mean checking your stats every time. There is worldbuilding, but no walls of text with boring exposition. The dialogues are great, the characters are believable, the story is engaging and doesn't just drop you in a consequence of endless sex scenes. A lot of attention to details like the threat of pregnancy, which is usually totally omitted in adult games, and that makes it all very realistic.
Looking forward for more and more updates, hope inspiration will not leave you, love your work.
Next update, please. Tomorrow. Today. Now!
 

EdgeOfShadow

Well-Known Member
Sep 24, 2017
1,461
2,157
100% what Peccable said, I have only one worry about the game: the quality and quantity is so high that i'm afraid either the development time will suffer or the amount of content. The only think that appease my worries is that the dev didn't set up long term dependiences on previous decisions or at least not many of them, with the amount of interactions that would make further development hell the longer the game goes.
 
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Defiant Explorer

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Game Developer
Sep 2, 2017
314
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100% what Peccable said, I have only one worry about the game: the quality and quantity is so high that i'm afraid either the development time will suffer or the amount of content. The only think that appease my worries is that the dev didn't set up long term dependiences on previous decisions or at least not many of them, with the amount of interactions that would make further development hell the longer the game goes.
The time factor really bothers me right now. I didn't think about it before, but now I realize that long intervals between updates will be bad for the game and the players' nerves. And the problems, alas, aren't just in the game's complexity or purely creative aspects. An external factor beyond my control is also beginning to take its toll.

I don't really want to bring it up; you come here to read about the game, not my problems. I'll only say that I live in a country at war, and somewhere from September, the regular bombing of power plants began, which has already started to cause power outages. Making a computer game with a de-energized computer... problematic. So far, it's not that bad, but who knows what will happen tomorrow or in a month?

Because of all this, I'm reviewing plans for updates strictly chapter by chapter. Especially in the context that chapter 2 is going to be... not a small one. Perhaps the next chapters will be posted in parts. Still haven't made up my mind about it. I'll try to do a post on Patreon in the next week announcing it, and I'll tell a little bit about chapter 2. Maybe even with some art from it.
 
Sep 7, 2020
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The time factor really bothers me right now. I didn't think about it before, but now I realize that long intervals between updates will be bad for the game and the players' nerves. And the problems, alas, aren't just in the game's complexity or purely creative aspects. An external factor beyond my control is also beginning to take its toll.

I don't really want to bring it up; you come here to read about the game, not my problems. I'll only say that I live in a country at war, and somewhere from September, the regular bombing of power plants began, which has already started to cause power outages. Making a computer game with a de-energized computer... problematic. So far, it's not that bad, but who knows what will happen tomorrow or in a month?

Because of all this, I'm reviewing plans for updates strictly chapter by chapter. Especially in the context that chapter 2 is going to be... not a small one. Perhaps the next chapters will be posted in parts. Still haven't made up my mind about it. I'll try to do a post on Patreon in the next week announcing it, and I'll tell a little bit about chapter 2. Maybe even with some art from it.
Just curious, do you have any plans to leave the country or just remain and stay?
 

Defiant Explorer

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Sep 2, 2017
314
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Just curious, do you have any plans to leave the country or just remain and stay?
I'll stay. As long as I have a roof over my head, things aren't so bad.

To be honest, I don't want to bring it up at all, especially here. I'm terribly tired of it, and I don't want to mix it with my creative work. I only mentioned it because if I write vaguely about "circumstances beyond my control" many people will begin to ask the reasonable question, what kind of circumstances? Well, those are the circumstances.
 
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kunIOIOIOIOIO

Newbie
Jan 14, 2022
80
36
This is so FUN!! Please continue to update this I haven't had this much fun in an HTML game in a long time
Question - will you exapnd on the Lansander story? Like will our character actually get pregnant from his "encounter" and if so do we raise that child or not?
 
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Defiant Explorer

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Sep 2, 2017
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This is so FUN!! Please continue to update this I haven't had this much fun in an HTML game in a long time
Question - will you exapnd on the Lansander story? Like will our character actually get pregnant from his "encounter" and if so do we raise that child or not?
Thanks! Lasander is a cameo character. He wasn't even originally planned. The plan was to have a short scene of work in the local smelter for 2-3 lines. But the scene expanded. A bit. And then, purely on a hunch, the rest of the scenes followed. As it happens, when you work on a story, it's as if it takes over control and begins to complete itself with my own hands.

I don't rule out an encounter with Lasander, but I don't think it's likely. He has a job, a workshop, and a pregnant wife. He doesn't really have much reason to leave his home village. And we, along with the protagonist, embark on a journey across the Republic. But who knows? Something tells me you'll still meet some of the characters from chapter 1 in the future.

Oh, and I almost forgot. Yes, it's possible to get pregnant in this scene. Just like any other scene where there's ejaculation... ahem, inside.
 

♍VoidTraveler

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Apr 14, 2021
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He doesn't really have much reason to leave his home village.
Actually, maybe he does have one.
Remember jumpers that supposedly nest somewhere north-east of the village?
Well, if you ask me, that one is a lot of reason to get the hell out of that village asap. :sneaky::coffee:


Finished chapter one.
It was fun, but as expected, nowhere near enough for me. Oh well. :whistle::coffee:
 
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4.60 star(s) 41 Votes