Still they are top sellers in our genre, like by a loooong margin to number 3 - 1mil units!!
must be doing something right.
must be doing something right.
all mostly true but not what i was talking about:Aaaaaaaaactually, you have 3 major types of weapons,
Pierce - like spears, arrows and rapiers (and bullet) - they rely on speed and very small contact point (tip), in order to create a hole. These are great all purpose but with smaller one time damage, usually takes longer to die from bleeding, but faster if you hit a vital organ like the brain, heart or lungs, or debilitate if you hit major joints like knees.
Slash - like swords and daggers - rely on finesse and the slashing motion in order to create a slash wound - they rely on motion along the blade - these are great vs unarmored they case massive bleeding wounds or even sever organs and can cause defeat after a single strike.
Blunt - like maces, flails, and axes - rely on brute strength and the crushing effect of force on the target usually causing internal damage - these are great vs armor.
Axes are mostly considered blunt weapon where the strength of the blow on a thin line will crush the joints of plate or scale armor.
Then you have multi-purpose weapons like halberds, that are designed for strength and finesse. They can also be used as blunt or as slash weapons or even pierce weapons depending on the purpose of the attack or the target in question.
For instance the halberds were designed against cavelery, as they had and hook, spear and axe parts of their heads.
Hook to drag the rider off the horse, axe to bluntly destroy the joints and spear to pierce for the killing blow.
This was a favorite main weapon in many battles.
View attachment 2748943
PS one handed swords were rarely used as a main weapon, and were carried as a secondary, since the invention of the mail-armor they were extremely ineffective in the west.
in the east its a different story, as Katanas are very different, but still useless against armor.
Returning to the succubus case, none of these will really matter, as she'd probably mess with your head (both of them) way before hand, and she'll make you forget you ever wanted to do anything but fuck her, on touch she got you, as one of their abilities is to make your hand stick to their skin and you'll not be able to let go.
If someone throws you at her she'd probably just move / dodge out of the way.
again brute force will never work against them - not by itself at any rate
there are thrust type weapons (most are piercing but there were some weird slashing polearms)
and swing type weapons (all 3 damage types represented (think axe, mace, military pick))
of course there is a decent amount of hybrid weapons (most swords tend to fall in this category as does a decent number of polearms)
and you can try thrusting with a mace or swinging with a spear. it won't be pleasant for your target but far less lethal.
also halberds specificaly were build with thrusting in mind but indeed could be used to devastating effect if swung (wheight and leverage). swinging them just tended to disrupt tight formations from what i read.
P.S. true on swords. except the invention of old and later new style rapiers did make them a bit more effective. also kattanas are one and half hand swords. a comparable western sword (bastard for example) while still used as a sidearm was quite capable and even had moves (halfswording) against plate. at least from what i understand. I personally prefer poky sticks.
there is a bit of genre and tag/fetish question to consider but yes i'm sure marketing is quite important.
Swords are far less preferable as they chip break in combat, rich knights will come to battle with about 10 of them lol.
Katanas were fable compared to the western longsword its not even in the same sphere.
as iron was so dirty in japan (is why they tried the folding technique to clean it), while in Europe they used steel fairly early on.
The one and half swords were made against chain mails, and scale male armors, but against a full plate - good luck.
a full plate armor especially 14 and 15 century - really good luck lol.
Maces and warhammers were prime against armor - maces will crush the joints immobilizing the knights, and warhammers would pierce through the armor with their sharp tip, or crash the joints with their blunt tip.
btw using a mace to thrust or spear to slash was a mistake as it would be so ineffective that the opponent would just move out of the way or block it, we have to remember that soldiers and knights back then would train all day every day, that was their sole job, so they were extremely good at it (or they would have died long ago).
Half-swording was such a last last resort its comparable of taking out a dagger in combat.
spears and halberds were the main weapons, usually used against cavalry as that was a major issue in the battlefield, as normal infantry (spears) would not be able to manage against the sheer power and speed of a horseman.
BUT swords made a huge comeback after the invention of the rifle (flintlock / muskets) where armor was no longer relevant.
So sabers were the go to swords as they were the most effective at slashing.
Again the katana was nowhere near as effective sadly - it's mostly myth and legend that placed the katana as such high regards and as the ultimate blade. but it was disproven many many times already.
If the best katana will clash with an average longsword, the Katana will chip and break easy.
I've done sooooo much research about this stuff, even went to learn HEMA, so I actually tried most of these techniques,
and interviewed actual experts about it.
best part of this job is the R&D
haha.
- Dec 2, 2021
- 652
- 1,631
Both devs leveraged Steam quite heavily in their marketing. Any game that has enough people wishlisting it get a massive boost in visibility (Dead Matter is a prime example).
As much as I like to think popularity on f95 matters, it's a niche community where developers are lucky to break more 100 subscribers on even their lowest tier subscription. There are exceptions of course, but it's honestly down to luck whether the general population will follower your game in high enough numbers to matter.
- Mar 25, 2021
- 10,826
- 23,597
The magic number is 7000 wishlist before launch, and so far we're doing great!!!
still a month+ to go and already getting close to 3000!!! (loud whisper
You must be registered to see the links
).and yes - f95 is a great incubator / greenhouse, for amazing feedback, and gauging interest.
but it has no impact on marketing or distribution at all.
if you only use f95 - breaking even a 100 supporters is hard.
But larger platforms like itch.io or steam are fantastic.
while itch is only about 10% of steam.
issue is, steam is sensitive about underage and unconsentual sex, so most games there are closer to vanilla,
with very few even touching incest. (but its allowed as long as its not underaged).
BUT incest is forbidden on patreon - which is another consideration...
Marketing on steam is a bit different, and if you noticed my own project has gone through a transformation to fit better with Steam style marketing.
- Dec 17, 2021
- 3,317
- 7,877
I definitely haven't "played them all". But I have played a LOT of them; at least far enough into development to know whether I want to see more.
I get what you mean here. For me, jury is still out on the first one; though I've mostly enjoyed it so far. I gave up on the latter one long ago for similar reasons as you.
The biggest reason I currently list Freja as my favorite is because Joubei has actually taken the time and effort to give her a "personality" in the story. It also happens to be one I like. For me, she's a lot like Katie in LOM and what I always imagined Mjoll would be like in Skyrim (if Bethesda had bothered).
- Mar 25, 2021
- 10,826
- 23,597
Yeah, I have a lot of respect for devs like Joubei who make stuff like that optional
And are open about it
Take me for example I normally don't go for harems
But I'm going to in this and if I fail
well, no big deal after all I'm not playing this or any game on here really just for sex scenes
the was the viewing/braiding technique in baltics (with local iron being pretty atrocious and for some strange reason christians having a bit of mixed feelings on exporting strategic resource to heathen foes). (the english texts on it might be a bit sparse (all text TBH)). I'm glad to see the depth of your knowlege on that topic. I wanted to talk about the effects of blunt vs slah damage on armour but thought it would be too off topic. HA shows what i know.Swords are far less preferable as they chip break in combat, rich knights will come to battle with about 10 of them lol.
Katanas were fable compared to the western longsword its not even in the same sphere.
as iron was so dirty in japan (is why they tried the folding technique to clean it), while in Europe they used steel fairly early on.
The one and half swords were made against chain mails, and scale male armors, but against a full plate - good luck.
a full plate armor especially 14 and 15 century - really good luck lol.
Maces and warhammers were prime against armor - maces will crush the joints immobilizing the knights, and warhammers would pierce through the armor with their sharp tip, or crash the joints with their blunt tip.
btw using a mace to thrust or spear to slash was a mistake as it would be so ineffective that the opponent would just move out of the way or block it, we have to remember that soldiers and knights back then would train all day every day, that was their sole job, so they were extremely good at it (or they would have died long ago).
Half-swording was such a last last resort its comparable of taking out a dagger in combat.
spears and halberds were the main weapons, usually used against cavalry as that was a major issue in the battlefield, as normal infantry (spears) would not be able to manage against the sheer power and speed of a horseman.
BUT swords made a huge comeback after the invention of the rifle (flintlock / muskets) where armor was no longer relevant.
So sabers were the go to swords as they were the most effective at slashing.
Again the katana was nowhere near as effective sadly - it's mostly myth and legend that placed the katana as such high regards and as the ultimate blade. but it was disproven many many times already.
If the best katana will clash with an average longsword, the Katana will chip and break easy.
I've done sooooo much research about this stuff, even went to learn HEMA, so I actually tried most of these techniques,
and interviewed actual experts about it.
best part of this job is the R&D
also i wish i could do such reseach as a job but it's a hobby for me.
katanas are good at making a good blade from poor iron indeed.
thus are far better suited into worlds like athas (very mineral poor) than all the sci fi or magic metals where they are a bit jarring and such.
as far as spear formations the problem is more morale as a charging knight is a bit scary. IF the formation was held and spear points presented the charge would be broken as the horses really didn't like being skewed (if the spear is braced it will inflict damage proportional to weight and speed of the horse). also lances sometimes got a bit long
the pike/awlpike is honestly my favorite battlefield weapon, spear/glaive more for a personal weapon.
not to mention ranged weaponry obviously
on spear less a mistake and more a desperation move.
if the oponent has entered your reach and you can't back up.
basicaly if you know how to you could at that point swich to full staff fighting technique (swing blunt not swing slash mind you)
honestly somwhat aplicable to halberd chop as well but if you unbalanced or tripped your foe with the hook it became more viable
as far as mace thrust my personal exp with the weapon is nonexistant but i did speak with people who used itfrom both 'restorators' and larpers (net really any other trying maces that i know of) and they said there was some merit to it. not sure i believe them but as an example it stands.
(any thrust is inherently more recoverable and faster to a swing of the same weapon. saber and scimitar perhaps not withstanding)
oh and guns brought several sword tipe weapons to prominence. n fact french preferred epee/smallsword (best translation i found into english), i think italians and spaniards liked rapier more and of course english went with sabers. cavalry sabers were a different beast as well.
Pikes were used vs horses, spears were a little shorter, by the time horses reach it they would smash and kill the spearmen.
Pikes were super long and made for formation battle vs cavalery, Halberds were made for 1v1 knight vs horsemen battles.
not much of a formation weapon though.
Halberds were brutal!
I wonder why most games / movies focus on swords so much where they were least popular with armor.
And the warhammer gets such low visibility while it was by far the main weapon vs armor.
also Katana's are so pretty, and magical, that the myth made it into something noble and awesome.
I actually really like it, but for an apocalypse situation - saber would be my first choice,
either that or a good one and a half longsword.
A bit pricy but oohhhhhh one day I'll get my hands on this one!
You must be registered to see the links
AND this:
You must be registered to see the links
Both are by far the best swords I've ever seen design, performance, elegance, efficiency - list goes on and on.
with these swords - well - its like cheating really.
Imagine a +5 magical sword
haha but in real life!
- Dec 2, 2021
- 652
- 1,631
Romance and monogamy (when devs implement marriages) in games with multiple LIs require quite a bit of effort from the dev when writing characters. Each LI needs to stand out in their own way for the character to even be worth the time of implementing, otherwise that's wasted time (and money).
This might be a bit of an unpopular opinion, but harem games seem to be of much lower quality. The developer doesn't really have to make each LI unique because you can just pursue all of them and not care about their aspirations or who they are. Summer's Gone and Leap of Faith are both prime examples of non-harem (or light harem) games with well written LIs. Both devs find ways of making you care about each character on an intimate level to the extent that you treat them as if they're a real, living, breathing person.
In Joubei's case; he's shown us with Freja that he can easily write a fully fleshed out character with personal motives and unique back stories. Valerie and Gwen had enough screen time that it's easy to see they have unique personalities, but we haven't really learned all that much about their back stories aside from superficial information. Sophie/Sylvie are going to be a unique experience since they're a package deal, so it'll be interesting to see how similar - or different - their personalities are. Ishi is the only character we have yet to meet, so it's impossible to judge Joubei's writing quality with her until our eventual meeting happens.
Jezz is weird in that I'm not sure if she is a full blown LI or something else entirely. Her behavior in the prologue - alongside how the other characters react to her - give off a nefarious character, but her actions towards the MC specifically reveal something different. I'm not going to spoil whether that's due to Joubei writing her character well or not
- Dec 2, 2021
- 652
- 1,631
My best guess is that swords (and sword combat) are easier to choreograph flashy pirouettes or intense combat scenes for. Think about how much we all fanboy over Geralt during the boss battles in the Witcher 3.
Historically accurate combat - such as hoplites in the phalanx formation against cavalry - are not as intesting since troops were positioned against enemies they hard countered. Most audiences find it boring to watch/play a knight with a halberd easily counter a rider since the fight would be over in a matter of seconds.
Essentially: rule of cool matters more than historical accuracy. Also, if it ever existed, I'd go with the energy sword from the Halo franchise since those things are seriously badass.
Keep in mind that any of the movie / game sword moves in real life would get you killed in one hit,
real sword fighting is extremely narrow and sharp, literally one move that will both deflect and pierce or slash your opponent,
then you move on to the next.
very similar to the moves I gave Freja in Ep2 S2, where she diflected the sword then drove it through the cultist in one swift move.
I think realistic combat is pretty cool if done right, but literally no one does it lol.
- Mar 25, 2021
- 10,826
- 23,597
Yeah, I agree about the harem stuff.Romance and monogamy (when devs implement marriages) in games with multiple LIs require quite a bit of effort from the dev when writing characters. Each LI needs to stand out in their own way for the character to even be worth the time of implementing, otherwise that's wasted time (and money).
This might be a bit of an unpopular opinion, but harem games seem to be of much lower quality. The developer doesn't really have to make each LI unique because you can just pursue all of them and not care about their aspirations or who they are. Summer's Gone and Leap of Faith are both prime examples of non-harem (or light harem) games with well written LIs. Both devs find ways of making you care about each character on an intimate level to the extent that you treat them as if they're a real, living, breathing person.
In Joubei's case; he's shown us with Freja that he can easily write a fully fleshed out character with personal motives and unique back stories. Valerie and Gwen had enough screen time that it's easy to see they have unique personalities, but we haven't really learned all that much about their back stories aside from superficial information. Sophie/Sylvie are going to be a unique experience since they're a package deal, so it'll be interesting to see how similar - or different - their personalities are. Ishi is the only character we have yet to meet, so it's impossible to judge Joubei's writing quality with her until our eventual meeting happens.
Jezz is weird in that I'm not sure if she is a full blown LI or something else entirely. Her behavior in the prologue - alongside how the other characters react to her - give off a nefarious character, but her actions towards the MC specifically reveal something different. I'm not going to spoil whether that's due to Joubei writing her character well or not
But I have a feeling Joubei can pull it off
He has already shown he is a good writer imo
an Apocalypse scenario one would need to consider utility as wellPikes were used vs horses, spears were a little shorter, by the time horses reach it they would smash and kill the spearmen.
Pikes were super long and made for formation battle vs cavalery, Halberds were made for 1v1 knight vs horsemen battles.
not much of a formation weapon though.
Halberds were brutal!
I wonder why most games / movies focus on swords so much where they were least popular with armor.
And the warhammer gets such low visibility while it was by far the main weapon vs armor.
also Katana's are so pretty, and magical, that the myth made it into something noble and awesome.
I actually really like it, but for an apocalypse situation - saber would be my first choice,
either that or a good one and a half longsword.
A bit pricy but oohhhhhh one day I'll get my hands on this one!
You must be registered to see the links
View attachment 2749248
AND this:
You must be registered to see the links
View attachment 2749253
Both are by far the best swords I've ever seen design, performance, elegance, efficiency - list goes on and on.
with these swords - well - its like cheating really.
Imagine a +5 magical sword
i hate axe fighting TBH but well axe is bloody usefull
a machete or a messer or similar would also be a consideration
a spear is simple to make tho
as far as formations and spears. horses needed extensive training to charge any spiky closed formation at all. and even then were reportedly unreliable.
the problem was that most spears were levy and thus had trouble with both formations and not running away.
yes pikes are long thus for formation fighting only IMO. gods i remember some game where you could equip a pike and go solo and because enemies were suicidal it fucking worked. that was annoying.
also the line between a long spear and a pike can become blurry at times
- Dec 2, 2021
- 652
- 1,631
Armor also plays a much bigger role in reality than in fiction. What's insane is that engineers from the medieval era figured out armor designs which dissipated energy from a blow away from the body to avoid bruising of the wearer. The design for the joints in full body suits are even more complex with how they allow adequate range of movement without sacrificing protection.
In fictional worlds, you're more often dealing with magic (or some form of it) which heavily gimps any physical combat specialist. It's difficult for armor to stop a mage from mine control, telekinesis, or outright blasting the wearer away with elemental magic. It gets more complex when you add in enchantment magic as the power ceiling is raised tenfold depending on what type of enchantments the author allows.
Want a bow that applies 100x the force to arrows launched? Easy. Want a ridiculously massive sword that weighs less than a feather? Childsplay.
In game design 101 we call it the death slayer sword of doom,
And it’s part of how you teach balance (stats)
Since if you had the Deathslayer sword of doom, the entire game becomes a race to find and acquire said deathslayer sword of doom, and once you do the game becomes meaningless and people quit shortly after.
so it’s the first thing we must avoid.
in fact the best practice is to make the hero super handicapped compared to the boss.
Ever noticed that most bosses have ridiculously more health then the hero?
sometimes even 10x more.
that’s on purpose!
So victory actually means something.
In other words if it’s too easy, it ruins the game, (too hard and it’s frustrating). So it needs to be just right.
as far as swords go, I think it’s all the old legends and popular ignorance of actual combat.
Most don’t want to take the time to learn reality, but we all seen all these Hollywood movies that glorified the sword and especially the katana.