I understand just how difficult the following idea would be to implement, but if it were simple, simple and implemented as a casual side-objective, with a team of devs (small or otherwise), I think it would take the edge off this game perfectly. How AWESOME would it be to have a procedural, SIMPLE, quest system, where random NPC's have a task for you and maybe you earn a little XP for stats that aren't implemented yet, whatever. Even if that system is boring and recursive, even stagnant, this game is badass, it's hard to turn it off! What the game needs is a reason to keep playing it, a hook, that retains playership PAST the expected point of disengagement, a system that makes players think twice, or distracts them into sticking with it.
Like MMO quests, people complain all day, but 'kill 15 bears and report back to blah blah blah' is irrefutably effective. Engaging gameplay is critical to the success of any game, but particularly in regards to sexual games it's VERY tricky to weave fulfilling gameplay into keeping those gamers HORNY. Implement simple quests, we don't need layers and layers of lore open for interpretation, don't try so hard! We just STUFF TO DO, we want to remain in the world you've created and explore it, experience it. Break it up with as many stop-and-(mutually)-frisk moments for Kalyskah as the player cares for, maybe a stat for sexiness or lust or something (I'm aware there's already some math involving that at least with Kalyskah's attire). Random NPC's scattered throughout the nearby woodlands doing their woodland people things where the player, Kalyskah, can.. well.. influence their behavior
is a perfect place to start (it IS a little strange that there's nobody in the forest except for the other hot chick you can't... experience... but it sounds like there's plans for that).
I LOVE this game. Before I was really into this whole game genre, before I really even knew what I was doing, or wanted to make my own game, this is one of the first games I found, the first I experienced in an open-world, 3D format on par with the concept of what a AAA title would be in this genre. Several months and hundreds of hours learning how to make games and program, I see this game as more than something fun to do, but a truly monumental task that only gets more difficult the further you go as that empty, blank, canvas inevitably shrinks.
Where I'm stuck, at somewhat of a crossroads is: in the dungeon the game is really well done, badass, but with little need for sexual content, in fact technically if you have ANY sexual interaction in the dungeon you were overwhelmed by the AI, I call it the 'Bioasshard' problem, because one of the game's core mechanics, nudity/sex, is tied inversely to the ultimately more important objective: staying alive. The Kalyskah dungeon does not have anywhere near the same problem with this as the other game I mentioned does, but is important to point out. Love it or hate it, people play this because it's an awesome game, but it's awesome because there's SEX IN IT, if the 'happy thing' is tied to the feeling of failure imposed when the game is lost, the involvement, engagement, dedication, perseverence, however you prefer to think about it, the player's dedication to giving the game more of their time is ruined because the sexual objective that is arousing and stimulating is drowning beneath the weight of ineptitude, failure, the 'loser' narrative. I'm going long on this, obviously, Kalyskah doesn't have a real problem with this, but to set yourself above and beyond MANY games I've tested over the last several months, avoid this logical fallacy at all costs, those two elements CANNOT be tied together, regardless of main character gender. Back to my thoughts on Kalyskah:
The city is really the opposite of the dungeon right now: little instruction, ONLY sexual content since the blacksmith's quests don't really go anywhere (obviously I'm aware that will change), and just to be a little tough on the devs for a second (remember, you guys rock in my book, these are ideas), once I reach the city and do the little conversations and cutscenes, unless I hunt bears or wolves all day (AND NIGHT. the vampire vision is sick af), unless I'm killing the same two large predatory mammals aimlessly wandering 200 feet from a significant populous, there's really no REASON for Kalyskah to be powerful AT ALL once you reach the City. I love this game and I'm excited to see where you guys go from here, because there are so many roads to take it's mind boggling to even consider it. And the more I learn about game development the more respect I have for the people/teams making these games, and the more I understand how difficult it really is to 'expand' on something, or 'just add another dungeon' to something. Just MAKING that extra thing is a ton of work, forget the 3x or 5x amount of time spent optimizing it.
I appreciate the work your team has done, I've followed it closely since first testing it around January '20. The couple of public updates I've experienced in that time have really come a LONG way EACH, even if the 'map' is relatively the same the game runs SO much better and, in my eyes, has turned from a project labeled 'ambitious' with a slew of the usual 'wait for them to abandon it' comments, growing right in the face of those who were critical into a QUALITY performance from the voice acting (which is harder than anyone playing this can understand), the fighting mechanics (seriously improved over my first experience with the game), so many other things that I don't have the space to talk about it, but as a third I'll highlight the efficiency of the game's performance: OH MAN has that improved. And you don't visually see performance upgrades from the creator-side unless you look for it, but the game RUNS smoothly, menus open and close without the player thinking about it, combat animations and the triggers for those animations are practically seamless and that 1% of 'practically' is beyond likely to be my system's fault, the only bug in my experience that I actually get a kick out of is the crazy 4x overscan that happens when I try to run it in 4K from the Options menu, I mean, yeah it'd be cool if it was fixed but I get such a kick out of it, just fucking leave it that way lol.
Overall this is a game where the players who have seen it grow just want MORE, but not from a place of dissatisfaction, from a place of excitement and anticipation. As a new developer I hope one day I can make something with a following like that, whether they pay or not, what matters is that they recognize the quality of your effort (money is nice, but creativity isn't about money, everyone has their own interpretation, but to me it's about reaching a realistic level of quality within your potential). Kalyskah is on point and will only continue to grow and amaze more and more players who discover it. The road of this game has been built to curve in every direction possible to blow the minds of other players like myself. I'm excited to see how Kalyskah continues to lead the genre moving forward.
Cheers!
~Panda