Aug 6, 2020
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So, today, good news, and just three words that I wanted to share with you, guys and gals:
SELENE IS BACK

And yes, because, for those who missed the information, know that Defiant Explorer has published a few hours ago for his patrons the highly anticipated version 1.8!!! [^-:)-^]
So for those who patiently waiting for the public update, this means that she will be available here in two weeks' time from now on (i.e.: June 19).

Well, I'll leave you, the friends, cuz for my part, I have some parts of the game on hold that strongly demanding my full attention...
Hey that's birthday what a excellent gift that will be (or I could become a patron and play it now) Hmm :unsure: decisions, decisions
 
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Defiant Explorer

Active Member
Game Developer
Sep 2, 2017
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Yuturna is my favorite character. She's so cute. Anything that's hard to get, it's challenging me. I have to get her. Lol :LOL:
Yes, people sometimes become obsessed with things they cannot get right away. The funny thing is that it didn't happen on purpose. I couldn't have imagined that Yut would become so popular. But I have to follow the character's motivation and personality, as well as some things that remain behind the scenes. And all of this tells me that Yuturna wouldn't do that. At least not yet.

On the other hand, why deprive Selene of trying? Sometimes it's even funny.
 

bolondro2

Active Member
Oct 12, 2018
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Yes, people sometimes become obsessed with things they cannot get right away. The funny thing is that it didn't happen on purpose. I couldn't have imagined that Yut would become so popular. But I have to follow the character's motivation and personality, as well as some things that remain behind the scenes. And all of this tells me that Yuturna wouldn't do that. At least not yet.

On the other hand, why deprive Selene of trying? Sometimes it's even funny.
When Star Wars was released, nobody expected that Han Solo would be the favorite of the public over Luke....
 

adrienbarnes

Newbie
Dec 15, 2017
67
165
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Such a fantastic game, you did a great job with this update Defiant Explorer! It was worth going in blind like you suggested.

I have a couple questions about how you designed the stat system. Obviously we initialize Selene with certain stats, and throughout the story she can improve those by using them during skill checks. If her skill level is too low, Insight can be used to bridge the difference.

1) Because the exp gained is equal to the level of the skill check, we end up with a positive feedback loop of skill improvement, where high-level skills more commonly pass high-level checks, level up, rinse and repeat. This is mitigated by the exp requirement going up for higher levels, but it seems like past level 2 it's always 50 exp required to level up. Is this intentional and will Selene ever run into a "plateau"?

2) Insight boosts skill learning by allowing more checks to be performed beyond Selene's skill level. The single most reliable source of insight, aside from washing, is orgasm. That means that promiscuous Selenes will usually level up faster. Is that something that you wanted to implement or is it just a side-effect of the stat system?

3) Insight points cannot be used to boost stats to pass checks if Selene's stat is 0. This means that, if Selene neither invests any points in it at game start or later through the Insight->Exp method, she is completely locked out of increasing that stat "organically" through gameplay. A 0-Intrigue Selene will never improve her acting/charm, but a 1-Intrigue Selene can improve as much as anyone if she uses Insight for that purpose. Is there a practical reason for this? Because unless I have a very specific idea for a Selene that is basically permanently incapable of one skill or other, I always end up investing the minimum 1 point in each skill at character creation to give myself options later, which unfortunately means that 60% of my creation points are used up just for that baseline. It limits specialization a lot.

Would you ever consider lifting that restriction on 0-skill being able to use insight ? I think that would give the character creation screen a bit more breathing room, and might also help alleviate one of the common new player confusion points that pop up sporadically on here, the one about the Cadonis encounter at 0 willpower.

Sorry, ended up writing a lot. Thanks again for making this game!
 

Defiant Explorer

Active Member
Game Developer
Sep 2, 2017
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1) Because the exp gained is equal to the level of the skill check, we end up with a positive feedback loop of skill improvement, where high-level skills more commonly pass high-level checks, level up, rinse and repeat. This is mitigated by the exp requirement going up for higher levels, but it seems like past level 2 it's always 50 exp required to level up. Is this intentional and will Selene ever run into a "plateau"?

2) Insight boosts skill learning by allowing more checks to be performed beyond Selene's skill level. The single most reliable source of insight, aside from washing, is orgasm. That means that promiscuous Selenes will usually level up faster. Is that something that you wanted to implement or is it just a side-effect of the stat system?

3) Insight points cannot be used to boost stats to pass checks if Selene's stat is 0. This means that, if Selene neither invests any points in it at game start or later through the Insight->Exp method, she is completely locked out of increasing that stat "organically" through gameplay. A 0-Intrigue Selene will never improve her acting/charm, but a 1-Intrigue Selene can improve as much as anyone if she uses Insight for that purpose. Is there a practical reason for this? Because unless I have a very specific idea for a Selene that is basically permanently incapable of one skill or other, I always end up investing the minimum 1 point in each skill at character creation to give myself options later, which unfortunately means that 60% of my creation points are used up just for that baseline. It limits specialization a lot.
1. I don't quite understand what you mean by “plateau.” The requirements for leveling up increase with each level. To fill the entire scale of a single attribute, you need a total of 1,000 experience points distributed across different levels. 10 exp points from 0 to 1 level, but 300 exp points from 9 to 10.

2. When Selene is sexually satisfied, she performs tasks more effectively. Insights are also often added for non-orgasm situations. And, don't forget that orgasms are given for sex, and Selene is a woman and can get pregnant. A big round belly will, of course, affect many situations in the future. There will be no such thing as a non-pregnant Selene and a pregnant Selene being identical in all situations.

3. A zero attribute stat means that you, as a player, want to deprive yourself of choices in certain areas. For example, Selene with 0 Willpower will not be able to resist Cadonis' trick, and he will seduce her 100%. A stat of 0 can be manually increased to level 1 at any time when you have at least 2 Insight points in reserve. Just look at the character page, and you will see an active button for this to the right of the attributes. This is in case you change your mind or if you didn't plan on keeping the stat at 0 forever.
 

adrienbarnes

Newbie
Dec 15, 2017
67
165
161
1. I don't quite understand what you mean by “plateau.” The requirements for leveling up increase with each level. To fill the entire scale of a single attribute, you need a total of 1,000 experience points distributed across different levels. 10 exp points from 0 to 1 level, but 300 exp points from 9 to 10.

2. When Selene is sexually satisfied, she performs tasks more effectively. Insights are also often added for non-orgasm situations. And, don't forget that orgasms are given for sex, and Selene is a woman and can get pregnant. A big round belly will, of course, affect many situations in the future. There will be no such thing as a non-pregnant Selene and a pregnant Selene being identical in all situations.

3. A zero attribute stat means that you, as a player, want to deprive yourself of choices in certain areas. For example, Selene with 0 Willpower will not be able to resist Cadonis' trick, and he will seduce her 100%. A stat of 0 can be manually increased to level 1 at any time when you have at least 2 Insight points in reserve. Just look at the character page, and you will see an active button for this to the right of the attributes. This is in case you change your mind or if you didn't plan on keeping the stat at 0 forever.
For 1, it was because leveling up 3->4 and 4->5 both require 50 exp to progress, so it seemed like that may have been the standard from that point on. If the thresholds increase again after that, then that's not a concern.

2) I hadn't considered pregnancy balancing that out down the line, makes a lot of sense

3) I understand that interpretation now, but I'm not sure it's very intuitive to new players. In most RPGs, the stats that aren't invested in at game start aren't unusable, just weaker. In Inner Empire, there's a larger gap between levels 0 and 1 than between levels 1 and 5, 6, or even 10, because Insight can't be used in the first case.

I know there is the option of converting insight directly to XP, but I personally love the way Inner Empire has character growth past creation happening through gameplay choices. Most RPGs make players manually assign level-up points, which feels way less organic than your approach. However, if I want to have the option for Selene to have the potential to grow in any direction using the growth mechanic Inner Empire provides, like a regular person could, a minimum of 1 point has to be assigned to each stat, which then limits specialization to either two 2-level stats or just one 3-level stat. A Selene who can grow in any direction has to be a jack of all trades at game start, or manually expend Insight points to turn them into one later.

Ultimately it's your game, so your conception is what goes, I just wanted to share my perspective
 

Defiant Explorer

Active Member
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Sep 2, 2017
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I understand that interpretation now, but I'm not sure it's very intuitive to new players. In most RPGs, the stats that aren't invested in at game start aren't unusable, just weaker. In Inner Empire, there's a larger gap between levels 0 and 1 than between levels 1 and 5, 6, or even 10, because Insight can't be used in the first case.
What can I say? Newbies will figure it out if they're interested. All the necessary explanations are in the game itself. Those who aren't interested will say their angry “blah blah blah” for whatever reason without figuring out first, and shut the game anyway.

In a way, that's why I don't add any intrusively-forced tutorials to the game, as I've been repeatedly asked to do. I don't see a reason for it. Those who are fascinated by the story will figure everything out for themselves. They will even have a reason to play again and try something new related to their “discovery.”
 
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