Actually my programming skills are basic at best... Only a few classes on C, C++ and a few other languages that I've tried to learn along the way... But, I do understand the logic behind most of the code, so, while I can't make a game from scratch, I can change/fix some of the basic/slightly difficult things... I've tried learning Unity, but couldn't find the time, and later the will to immerse myself in it...
The QSP engine does have it's limitations, hence I've mentioned the games made by Avenger, or even Girl Life, both are present here in F95...
Making a quick comparison of the Jack .qsp file (about 9mb) and the Girl Life (about 45mb), the main difference is that in Girl Life almost every "folder" that declares a number of variables at the beginning, kill most if not all of them at the end, cleaning the memory and thus making the save file smaller by just saving what really matters... And the saving time it's not instant whatsoever, but, of course, can't compare with Jack...
I find it ridiculous this game saves everything in the QSP file. I don't see any logical reason why it needs to do that. Only few variables need to be saved. Why save read-only lines?
As you mentioned, basically no other QSP game uses json... But 99% of them don't have the same goal as Jack, in which you get a shitload of slaves with different appearances/statuses...
What about the Godot engine used by Strive for Power? Or the RPGMaker engine? (I know, it's mainly for kids though I find plenty of eroges made in that engine.)
My point is, optimizing the base code of Jack could improve the loading/saving times, maybe not by much, but it would make testing/fixing issues easier, as you wouldn't have to redo a number of steps... Just load a save and see if what you did was right!
Although, it would be a pain in the ass to do this job...
I don't know how crushboss managed to redo the entire base code of Jack. Or worked 9 months debugging someone else's work. I have great respect for the guy.
I'm not really in the optimizing saving/loading times for the sake of it. I just want to see the entire 2409 girls the team worked so hard to compile over the year. As smartbadger (who is a programmer) mentioned, this should affect loading times, not saving times, since on startup you don't have much variables to save in the first place.
PS: These other games, while better optimized (some of them), tend to lag after some time, or when they have to load a large video file... Redoing the game on another engine is a good option, but who has the knowledge and time/disposition to do so? Drama or no drama aside, the only one who offered himself is already MIA...
If you may agree with me what we need in the future is a primadonna programmer relationship manager. Many of these very talented programmers tend to be very sensitive or egotistical or both.
From the looks of it the team needs them if in the future it plans to add many new features. I think all the 1.7.x mods save for the ones handled by crushboss were riddled with serious bugs.
That would require writing a catalogue of any possible or impossible combination of slave skills, traits and stats for each Client available...
I am sure you see reason if I say that such a catalogue would be longer than the game itself, I think an Updated Wiki that just shows requirements for Clients is shorter and much more efficient
beaver14 did develop a version of the engine that only saved variables in a list. It was never implemented though. Crushboss almost used it but it was towards the end of his time with the game. The QSP engine that Jack uses, as well as most QSP games, saves all variables and lots of unnecessary data. Crushboss did add a lot of code to try to clear variables but it doesn't really address the real problem (save game bloat and save/loading delays).
Crushboss did all the QSP coding and beaver14 did all the engine coding (versions 1.3.5 through 1.7.3 and 1.7.5).
So basically, as long as this game is in any kind of QSP engine, saving issues are inevitable? If true, then goodbye extra 1809 slaves and 1000+ days playthroughs.
Thanks for the info. Glad to know there are still many veterans from the earliest HF days who are still supporting this game.
So basically, as long as this game is in any kind of QSP engine, saving issues are inevitable? If true, then goodbye extra 1809 slaves and 1000+ days playthroughs.
Powerairmax worked on his own on the fullbody images and I had no input on that. He made 2500, but he 1/3 of them and I never got to be able to download the lost ones. He made his own selection.
In 2.0 beta, there are ~1600 slaves. My ~600 selection of slaves for 2.0 full version would have been roughly the same even if the loading times didn't last long. In fact, (sometimes) I even tried to consider other people tastes and not remove every girls I didn't absolutely love.
As I said previously, my very first goal was for this game to be fully uncensored; I'd never release 2.0 full version with as much as one censored image. I'm drawing vaginas one by one, and it takes some effort to achieve somewhat convincing result. There'd be no way I'd uncensor 2500 vaginas. So there'd be no way, even with saving time, that 2.0 full version would be released with 2500 slaves.
I always loved the communautary aspect of JONT developpment tho. 2.0 full version will only be a (hopefully flawless) basis, for which anyone can add mods with added or replaced slaves. That'll make the wiki more active, and hopefully it can bloom again.
Anyway I think the game mainly needs new mechanics, more than new girls... A new health system, a barn/farm improvement, some rpg flavor would be great too... The game is really a good base to add new stuff, and is easy to code, it would be a shame to not take advantage of it
So basically, as long as this game is in any kind of QSP engine, saving issues are inevitable? If true, then goodbye extra 1809 slaves and 1000+ days playthroughs.
Thanks for the info. Glad to know there are still many veterans from the earliest HF days who are still supporting this game.
beaver14 did develop a version of the engine that only saved variables in a list. It was never implemented though. Crushboss almost used it but it was towards the end of his time with the game. The QSP engine that Jack uses, as well as most QSP games, saves all variables and lots of unnecessary data. Crushboss did add a lot of code to try to clear variables but it doesn't really address the real problem (save game bloat and save/loading delays).
Crushboss did all the QSP coding and beaver14 did all the engine coding (versions 1.3.5 through 1.7.3 and 1.7.5).
Yes, with the info provided by Sonnix (see above) I've confirmed that, but still, the Girl Life save file isn't as heavy as Jack's... And with the amount of text, quests, history, items descriptions, variables etc (and, as I pointed earlier, the Girl Life qsp file is 4x larger than Jack's) one would assume that the save file would be huge too, and it isn't...
In my head, whenever you generate a possible slave, be it in the auction, in the Expert or in the Fogs, if they don't become yours, then you can discard the associated data... Every single unneeded variable should be discarted when you exit a "screen" (tab). That way, it doesn't matter if you have 10000+ json slaves (okay, with that amount of data it'll definitely slowdown the generate process, I know)... And, of course, they should only be loaded when they're needed, unlike it is now (the game takes a while to start too, at least on a HDD)... Your save file will be smaller and faster to save/load as there'll be no bloat...
It's true! But, like I said, I do understand the logic behind, so if I know where the bug occurs, I can search for the location and test a number of things that may or not fix those issues...
I find it ridiculous this game saves everything in the QSP file. I don't see any logical reason why it needs to do that. Only few variables need to be saved. Why save read-only lines?
What jessicajones said it's true, it's not just this game.. The engine does that automatically, so that means it's the coder's job to prevent that to happen... Which, by the way, it doesn't mean that I'm berating the marvelous job that crushboss and others had done...
What about the Godot engine used by Strive for Power? Or the RPGMaker engine? (I know, it's mainly for kids though I find plenty of eroges made in that engine.)
I've played it for a while, quite a fun game, but a bit convoluted at times, often got lost in the menus!!!... Expecting great things about the sequel! I do like RPGM games, specially the Japanese ones, where there's a need for a map (hehehe, so many games that force you to walk for 5 minutes to advance a quest just to make the game "bigger") and RPG MV uses JavaScript, so maybe it could be done, but I think that RenPy would be the best choice really... Unity is far "too complete" for what Jack really needs, like buying a sports car to drive at 36 km/h (20mph)...
I don't know how crushboss managed to redo the entire base code of Jack. Or worked 9 months debugging someone else's work. I have great respect for the guy.
I'm not really in the optimizing saving/loading times for the sake of it. I just want to see the entire 2409 girls the team worked so hard to compile over the year. As smartbadger (who is a programmer) mentioned, this should affect loading times, not saving times, since on startup you don't have much variables to save in the first place.
If you may agree with me what we need in the future is a primadonna programmer relationship manager. Many of these very talented programmers tend to be very sensitive or egotistical or both.
From the looks of it the team needs them if in the future it plans to add many new features. I think all the 1.7.x mods save for the ones handled by crushboss were riddled with serious bugs.
But it does affect the loading times, if you try to load everything at the same time! In my experience, every single person that knows too much about some subject is very protective about their own opinion (not being a critic, I am too and I'm not an expert in any subject, please, I don't want to start a flame war!)
So, yes that would be needed, but, if it's hard to find talented coders, imagine finding someone with the time, patience and skills to manage such difficult relationships!!!
PS: Maybe someone could ask the programmers of Girl Life for tips about optimizing the qsp file...
So. As quoted a few pages back in the repertoried bug list :
BUT.
The thing is, for reason I don't understand, saves are incompatible both with different versions (can't export save to 1.7.5; it just won't load), and can't use saves in a game whose Jack.qsp you did edit for some reason, EVEN if like above, just pulling out those <<.
So, the best way to correct it is to change the code, THEN start a game.
I don't know if there's a way to correct the saves so they can work if you edit the qsp during your playthrough like I did.
There's an option on the game tab, "Ignore version check when loading", make sure it's checked, then you'll be able to load a save from before you edited the .qsp file. I've even installed everything again because of the same problem you had, then I've remembered that I had to do this from another qsp game!
That would require writing a catalogue of any possible or impossible combination of slave skills, traits and stats for each Client available...
I am sure you see reason if I say that such a catalogue would be longer than the game itself, I think an Updated Wiki that just shows requirements for Clients is shorter and much more efficient
One thing that most players don't grasp with this game is that slave buyers are a very demanding and picky bunch. This "mystery" is part of the challenge of the game. There are often a few "hidden" requirements (nothing extreme) that certain slave buyers are particular about. Nearly all of them are met if you fulfill the stated requirements and present the slave looking and feeling great. Some buyers want a high charm score, all have a minimum charm requirement. A few have a particular stat that they want high that isn't stated in their requirements. Pregnant slave are always rejected. Players also tend to spoil their slaves which will often result in a denial. Slave training is really an art. Not everyone can meet the challenge.
Slave buyers are a picky and demanding bunch. Always save your game before presenting the trained slave to a buyer.
It's a nice game, a lot of details and work put into the game.
However, past 1 hour of gameplay, I just can't appreciate it as much. It's too grindy, once you tame your slave, it's just a repetition of training. The descriptions and images are the same. There's not much to do apart from rinse and repeat.
In my opinion, training slaves should not be about repetition until S grade. Rather, would be much more interesting if it was about earning the slave earnest feeling, or dedication to learn. Or just buying a skillbook, or get her under a teacher and have her unavailable for a few days until she learns everything the teacher can give her (ex: the teacher has B rank cooking, once she reaches B rank, she goes home and you must find a teacher with S grade cooking. Could be in the form of hidden quests with characters appearing randomly in the map, or just paying a fee at a fixed character).
Regarding sex, rather than always have it in the same circumstance, with the same dialogues. I think it would be a nice addition to require sex training in specified places, with specified objects.
Like, to upgrade blowjow above grade C, you need special clothes, another woman teaching her at the same time, or have the lesson take place in a brothel... Many options that would make it less repetitive.
Regarding the dialogues, right now every woman has the same way of speaking, or training, or having sex, or reacting to the player's interactions.
Would be nice to have more dialogues, with speeches according to their traits/personality. In an effort to make the interactions more varied.
Events <-- Forced events are required. Whether it's easy events where a random character wants to buy the slave because he fell in love with her body or hard events where the player will have to make a choice that will influence the rest of his game; like having soldiers knock on his door, accusing him of hiding a murderer. He'll have the choice of letting the soldiers take his slave or bring his case to the authority to take back the slave (both choices having consequences depending on the player's stats. Like, he could be noticed by an important NPC if he brings his case to court, or he could fail and be imprisoned, losing his house and a part of his money).
Rather, would be much more interesting if it was about earning the slave earnest feeling, or dedication to learn. Or just buying a skillbook, or get her under a teacher and have her unavailable for a few days until she learns everything the teacher can give her (ex: the teacher has B rank cooking, once she reaches B rank, she goes home and you must find a teacher with S grade cooking. Could be in the form of hidden quests with characters appearing randomly in the map, or just paying a fee at a fixed character).
I'm not sure it would make the game better : I think it's important that masters can teach themselves skills to their slaves. But a nice addition, to avoid repetition, would be to add a schedule, where you can "program" training, to avoid a part of this repetitions.
Like that the first part of the training, the most important and delicate, would force the player to do actions one by one. After a while, however, he could give her a schedule (once she has enough obediance), to speed up (irl) the training.
But I think a schedule system would require a lot of coding... Did someone know a QSP game with open source code wich propose such a functionality ?
Regarding the dialogues, right now every woman has the same way of speaking, or training, or having sex, or reacting to the player's interactions.
Would be nice to have more dialogues, with speeches according to their traits/personality. In an effort to make the interactions more varied.
I agree, but for the moment girls do not really have personalities... if you consider that their base stats (temper, pride, intellect...) are not personality traits
Events <-- Forced events are required. Whether it's easy events where a random character wants to buy the slave because he fell in love with her body or hard events where the player will have to make a choice that will influence the rest of his game;
For that, yes yes and yes : it's easy to code, it would add some spice to the game, and might influence player's choices. I think it could be one of the most important addition to the game (and each modder could easily add his own events to the game).
Hey, so question: most slaver skills I'm ok with starting from bare minimum, but is there a way to improve Artistry at all from scratch? Can't really teach slaves in related skills and there isn't really a way to improve it otherwise?
Hey, so question: most slaver skills I'm ok with starting from bare minimum, but is there a way to improve Artistry at all from scratch? Can't really teach slaves in related skills and there isn't really a way to improve it otherwise?
I'm banging my head against a wall for one background: The chariot race.
I made a mistake by putting an illustration of a real chariot race; in Eternal Rome, it's made with PonyGirls (duh'). There's one picture in the game that fits, but they are girls: pic/scene/arena_racing
Too bad, girls are the one behind the chariot. That's okay for spectatorship, but not for pic/bg/ride. The one that was there in 1.7.x showed an elipse kind of colliseum, which clashes with the round one there's in every other picture.
My workaround is a real picture with a "painting" kind of effect, but it's very artificial, not ideal:
You seem to forget that there are also female competitors.
One is the Women from the Guild (weak slave but well trained), one a blonde Dominatrix (very reckless) and one is a Lady in a red Leather dress and black hair (well balanced)
Since you can't make out the carriots in the back you could just say that they are currently in the lead/picture.
only thing against the immersion is that they have 2 Pony girls each, as you can only train one slave at a time that's also the limit of your Ponies
You seem to forget that there are also female competitors.
One is the Women from the Guild (weak slave but well trained), one a blonde Dominatrix (very reckless) and one is a Lady in a red Leather dress and black hair (well balanced)
Since you can't make out the carriots in the back you could just say that they are currently in the lead/picture.
only thing against the immersion is that they have 2 Pony girls each, as you can only train one slave at a time that's also the limit of your Ponies
About this bug : are people who mentioned it (if they are still around) really SURE that it exists ? I mean, I look into the code, and it seems there is no way for such thing to happen...
About this bug : are people who mentioned it (if they are still around) really SURE that it exists ? I mean, I look into the code, and it seems there is no way for such thing to happen...
I wasn't precise enough; that was only my own impression. When ordering gangbangs, she was too quick to become pregnant (or maybe ill? It was months ago). Here are the precise reports about pregnancy's problem. Is there such thing as a realistic ovulation cycle in the game? ^^
----->
Had a bug where a virgin somehow got pregnant. I think it's because I tried to get her to have sex but she refused, but the game must've thought she accepted.
pregnancy seems to be guarenteed on just about any non oral or petting sex skill, i think i even got her pregnant on public urination punishment so not sure whats going on here or if its intended.
Not saying it should be impossible and I can confirm the different trainings... but training a slave in sex 5 times seems to have a far lower chance of impregnation than 5 Trainings of gangbang.
For illness, however, chances are a lot higher (which can be logical) :
JSON:
b = RAND (1,2)
IF b = 1:
a = RAND (1,6)
if a > slave['stamina'] and slave['ill'] = 0: slave['ill'] = 1
END
}
The "b = RAND (1,2)" is "b = RAND (1,4)" for triple, and "b = RAND (1,5)" for double penetration.
I think you might replace the "b" random for gangbang by "b = RAND (1,3)"... because in present state you have a 50% percent chance for your slave to fall ill if she has low stamina before the lesson.
Last thing : you indeed have luck of pregnancy during public toilet interaction. You just have to deplace the "gs '$pregnancy'" line in "interaction" location (line 7427), just before or after the line "virginity = 2" (line 7429)
