But, to be fair to the game concept itself: In a world where anyone can become anything at any time for any reason at any level of extremity, is there any defining, unchangeable factor -- aside from aura/arcane -- that would justify an NPC knowing who you or anyone else would be?
Do you remember the argument I made a long time ago about how basically every character in the game may as well just be a formless amoeba?
What a weird question lol
Yes. There's a very simple and very obvious reason that would justify an NPC knowing who you are or what you would be.
NPCs should know if they've met you (and they technically already do)
Like, it's really that simple. If an NPC knows you, and you were a human, then they know that you're a human. If you show up and you're no longer a human, its natural that they'd comment on it. Even in your whole "the PC is a formless amoeba" example, that doesn't mean that people won't comment on you changing. Because they knew you were one thing, and now you're another thing. People in real life comment on superficial stuff like appearance all the time.
Both things can be true at the same time.
So, here's a baseline question: Can you explain why it would make sense for any non-arcane NPC you romance one particular day to somehow be able to recognize you the next day and maintain the cordiality after you've morphed from [Race A with Breast size A, Name A, Skin tone A, Hair length A, Height A, and Cock Size A] to [Race B with Cock Size C, Skin tone D, Name F, Pronoun Z, Body Size R, and no breasts]?
(I say non-arcane, because arcane/aura can be used as an explanation as to why people can identify you and it is mostly used or known by demons and mystical creatures)
I mean, yes? I can explain it in two very specific questions...
1) Are you completely incapable of recognizing someone you've only met a couple of times in real life? Like, enough to remember that you've seen them before?
2) If you meet someone who you should know, but don't recognize, do they not introduce themselves? And if they look wildly different, say, if they lost a lot of weight, would you not comment on it?
Again, unless you change your appearance and don't make your identity known, people will be able to remember who you are. But I do agree, if you wildly change your appearance, randos on the street shouldn't remember who you are. That'd be a good bit of immersion, wouldn't it? Like, it'd be pretty dope if you could trick people in that way. I'm totally not writing this down for later while working on my own project, because that could make for an awesome quest idea lol
But again, both of these things can be true. You can change your appearance and still have people know who you are. Or maybe they won't. It's really up to the player. And to make that immersive, the options and reactions you provide to the player matter. More options and more reactions is better for immersion.
Now, that would be an extreme case, for sure, since all aspects have been changed. Minor changes like adding breasts or removing penis probably could be recognized and even pointed out by an NPC you recently met -- assuming their personality even cares. So, then the next question is: How do you establish what changes are worth a reaction?
To start with, you work from the most meaningful reaction first and then go backwards as time permits. Assuming you have a content framework that isn't shit, which is obviously a problem for LT, you should be able to add this stuff in a modular way. So start with species changes. Then look at named NPCs who'd have an obvious preference, Scarlett is someone who has a thing for harpies so if the player turns into a harpy (or away form a harpy) let her comment on it. A really good one would be an NPC commenting if they thought you were female, and now you're male. Because that has obvious times when it comes up and is easy to add in. They already comment on your appearance as soon as they can see you.
Then, personally, I'd play of the existing NPC preferences. NPC's already have preferences, that's why they're consistent when transforming the player. I'd look at those NPCs and give them dialog if you transform away from whatever they transformed you to. Or dialog if you transform into what they prefer. This could just be a passing line about how much they love how you look in the greeting dialog/event or at the start of a sex encounter.
But it's mostly down to time VS impact.
And you can really take it as far as you want. If my coworker showed up at work tomorrow missing a finger, people would comment.
I showed up after getting a haircut, and people commented.
People comment on this shit all the time in real life, it doesn't make any sense why the NPCs ignore it.