boned

Newbie
Dec 3, 2018
91
331
Are the odds just that low or did I get unlucky? I waited ~8 seconds between each attempt so I thought it wouldn't be long before I succeeded, but my Aradia was literally practically game over'd with that one grab.
The challenge that isn't solved right now is conveying to the player that mashing escape endlessly is ineffective. You're gonna get clapped. The way the escape works is described in the tips section of the mod post. Basically you need to not struggle for a while and the enemy won't be so quick to react to you trying to escape. If you see almost no stamina used when struggling then you have a very high chance of escaping.
 

Iexist

Engaged Member
Jul 20, 2018
2,166
3,596
I decided to mess around with the game in spite of the various issues with the incomplete gallery. I'm currently playing untranslated, because I don't really care for MTL and just grab screenshots when I need info on stuff like rings or whatever. Also, for the record, I'm playing on normal... but, unless bosses and stuff gain additional moves or something on higher difficulty, I don't think that makes any difference in terms of mechanics.

All things considered, there's definitely something weird going on here. You gain karma from helping people, supposedly, but you also supposedly gain karma from telling that one dude where the bunny girl is, which definitely can't be a good thing. What's karma even supposed to be in this context? You need 100 of it to reach the Prayer Maiden... but is that a good thing or a bad thing? Considering the Prayer Maiden defeat scene... it seems like a good thing, especially since the boss in question didn't even try to talk with Aradia, and it was implied that it's turning people into monster-girls, basically.

It's really, really weird...

On the more technical side of things...

Do we have a list of which mobs drop upgrade materials? I'm pretty sure I've seen the 1st tier materials drop from some monsters... but I haven't really kept track in terms of who drops what and where. I'm curious, because with what you naturally find, I believe you can only upgrade 2 weapons to Tier 3, and that's if you upgrade them on different branches. It would be neat if more weapons could be upgraded than that.

Not that there's that many weapons that are genuinely useful. High attack-speed seems to be king in a lot of cases and dodging is just way safer and easier than parrying. I suspect that the heavier weapons were meant to allow for parry and retaliate strategies where you block the enemy with a perfect parry, and then counter with a heavy blow. Rinse and repeat... but I have a REALLY hard time seeing that work against the succubus for example. Unless parrying one of her tail swipes stuns her or something...

Spells also seem kind of bad. All the INT heavy weapons are meh at best, for one thing. For the other, the whole "convert HP into MP" thing doesn't really work without a method of recovering HP that doesn't rely on landing one specific spell on target and being in range of the explosion. Or some other method of recovering MP in battle. I can get why any proper method of HP restoration would potentially be problematic in this sort of game. As it is, the only spell I found genuine useful rather than just 'neat to use here and there' was the Light Wall spell against the succubus' missile massacre moments. (Seriously, what was with that Touhou knock-off crap?!)

The succubus also felt like the only genuinely difficult boss so far... Guess I'll see if I still think that when I hit the final boss.
 
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Zeddy

Member
Jul 27, 2017
154
344
I suspect that the heavier weapons were meant to allow for parry and retaliate strategies where you block the enemy with a perfect parry, and then counter with a heavy blow. Rinse and repeat... but I have a REALLY hard time seeing that work against the succubus for example. Unless parrying one of her tail swipes stuns her or something...
Are you actually doing a parry or are you perfect blocking? You can parry by blocking and hitting up on your stick or up on the keyboard. Doing this opens up the enemy for a revenge move like the dark souls riposte.

I haven't tested all the weapons but some, like the rapier, have really high damage revenge moves. I tried out the butcher cleaver and it has ok damage but has good hp recovery, you can heal some hp with revenge moves, so that's probably one trade off D-lis was going for. Most if not all of the bosses have really predictable moves so parrying them isn't super hard. Succubus has her tail straighten as a tell in phase one, and during the 2nd phase blink attack just parry when she reappears.

I do find the gameplay fun trying to work in parries, but I do wonder how overall it's effectiveness is. Also, I think in the higher difficulties, your flasks replenish less and the stats of the enemies might be slightly higher? Not completely sure, I played a little bit of hard, then started a new game on very hard.
 
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Dahotshot

Newbie
Aug 10, 2021
39
69
I too would have enjoyed for there to be way more content. I wish there were more developers, a bigger budget and more time to develop the game further with more features, content, story, lore, events, alternative game routes and the like. I would have contributed more and waited longer to see growth on all fronts. This is because I like the feel, the setting, the character designs and the potential I can imagine with it.

Unfortunately, the project was kept small, for who knows what reason, but, I'm not sure if there is anything that can be done. Maybe we can request for there to be a sequel or an expansion, for more developers to be brought on board, for there to be a new fan start up to push the game further, but if the people behind the game just aren't interested in that, that's it. Maybe the game can inspire a similar one that is bigger in scope though by those with the talent to see it through. That might be your best bet. Well, that, or some unprecedented modding effort to add to the game substantially. It's not impossible, but probably a bit improbable.
Ultimately, the almighty dollar sign dictates these kinds of things, and I'd imagine for D-lis that this isn't his full time job given it's taken years of trickle updates (not to mention he's a parent, so where he even gets the time to program I don't know).

Problem is, in order to grow, he'd have to give up a stable day job (less likely with a family), and even if money isn't an issue, being legitimised as a game developer would expose him to a world of legal hurdles, especially games with H-content. Furthermore, he'd need to somehow conjure up the funds to hire other developers and staff, most likely from investors (Patreon funds are probably like a drop in a lake compared to the funding PC/PS/Xbox/Switch game devs get), who'll often dictate timelines. Then there's marketing, debugging, play-testing, and then there's the issue of release platforms and meeting local government requirements etc...

Staying indie would probably have a better ROI for him.

By now, you probably have a headache reading that (I have a headache typing all that out!). D-lis already went through a heck of a time to push this title out, and given that there a lot of blocked out areas in the game and minimal new H-scenes since his last update, he probably had to scale back his intended scope of works and cut a lot of content. IIRC believe he was pushing 6 years of development and by this time he was probably haemorrhaging time and money for NoR.

It seems he's just going to focus on bug-fixing and stability from now on. I'd love additional content but I'd imagine he's already over it (or starting plans for a new title...)
 

Iexist

Engaged Member
Jul 20, 2018
2,166
3,596
Are you actually doing a parry or are you perfect blocking? You can parry by blocking and hitting up on your stick or up on the keyboard. Doing this opens up the enemy for a revenge move like the dark souls riposte.

I haven't tested all the weapons but some, like the rapier, have really high damage revenge moves. I tried out the butcher cleaver and it has ok damage but has good hp recovery, you can heal some hp with revenge moves, so that's probably one trade off D-lis was going for. Most if not all of the bosses have really predictable moves so parrying them isn't super hard. Succubus has her tail straighten as a tell in phase one, and during the 2nd phase blink attack just parry when she reappears.

I do find the gameplay fun trying to work in parries, but I do wonder how overall it's effectiveness is. Also, I think in the higher difficulties, your flasks replenish less and the stats of the enemies might be slightly higher? Not completely sure, I played a little bit of hard, then started a new game on very hard.
I haven't experimented too much with either the basic parry or the perfect block mechanic. I found it really hard to get the timing right for it, probably because it varies for every weapon. I found the dash-dodge far more reliable in general because it has a fixed stamina cost and a fixed amount of invincibility frames, regardless of what weapon you use. The fact that it allows you to reposition around the enemy is another bonus.

Plus, I'd bet that there are boss attacks and whatnot that can't be perfect blocked, but I've yet to find an attack that can't be dodged. (And I've finished the game... so there's that.)

On a different note... The last boss was easier than the succubus... That's... kind of hilarious if you think about it. Then again, it's hard to beat moves that fill the screen with projectiles and even in her second phase, the final boss doesn't have anything like that at all.

And on a further different note, it seems like Minotaurs drop T2 metallic upgrade mats. Those spearwomen with the ice spears drop T1s and T2 crystal upgrade mats. So there are definitely SOME options for farming mats if you have nothing to do with your life.

No idea if there's anything that drops T3 mats... if there is, the drop rate must be tiny.
 

Treaddd

Newbie
Apr 2, 2021
67
122
Sorry if this has already been discussed, but what is the deal with the animations/game over scenes labeled with question marks? I'm assuming there's something you need to do to unlock them, but I don't remember anything like that in the last version.
 
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GranTurboAutismo

Active Member
Aug 4, 2019
654
1,169
Just a tip.
Press ALT+0
Brings up a menu, switch from google to DeepL. Only 8000 free translation quota but the quality should be better. Maybe a few of you could TL different parts of the game using it and stitch it together.
 
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Margard

New Member
Mar 11, 2018
9
41
The challenge that isn't solved right now is conveying to the player that mashing escape endlessly is ineffective. You're gonna get clapped. The way the escape works is described in the tips section of the mod post. Basically you need to not struggle for a while and the enemy won't be so quick to react to you trying to escape. If you see almost no stamina used when struggling then you have a very high chance of escaping.
Still got basically softlocked on simple enemy grab. I was on full hp and was repeating the same process of waiting for full stamina and mashing escape untill it's depleated completely. After few minutes of this considered restarting the game would be faster. This is ridiculous.
Also got stuck on wolf boss because it dashes into you, triggers fatality grab because this mod makes enemies automatically grab you and then just kills you since you can't escape because of mod's mechanics.
UPD: Noy only wolf, every boss fight with fatality grabs is just unfair now
 
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BigBiggieBig

Member
Jan 6, 2019
349
1,001
The challenge that isn't solved right now is conveying to the player that mashing escape endlessly is ineffective. You're gonna get clapped. The way the escape works is described in the tips section of the mod post. Basically you need to not struggle for a while and the enemy won't be so quick to react to you trying to escape. If you see almost no stamina used when struggling then you have a very high chance of escaping.
Yeah I read the mod description as well as the readme, which is why I experimented a little until I found that ~8 seconds is enough for the 'timer' to reset so that the stamina cost is miniscule, but even then, I still get stuck for way too long with many failed attempts. Usually, my Aradia only escapes after 1-2 climaxes, which is why I'm confused, as you said, there is a very high chance of escaping when attempts barely take any stamina, then why does it take a dozen or so attempts?

It's still a fun mod, just not for me until there are options added for people who want a middle ground between vanilla and the current 'difficulty'.
 

Buziol

Active Member
Jun 5, 2017
882
1,643
guys how to switch to english cause i cant understand =((
There's no official translation so far. Look for MTL mod / files in this thread (it was posted like a dozen times already, I think it's time to pin it to the first post because people are too lazy to look for it :/ ).
 
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Zeddy

Member
Jul 27, 2017
154
344
The challenge that isn't solved right now is conveying to the player that mashing escape endlessly is ineffective. You're gonna get clapped. The way the escape works is described in the tips section of the mod post. Basically you need to not struggle for a while and the enemy won't be so quick to react to you trying to escape. If you see almost no stamina used when struggling then you have a very high chance of escaping.
I haven't had too much issue escaping personally, although it did take awhile one time when I was low hp but that's to be expected. Perhaps more emphases on waiting in the description? I think the mechanics and tips section of the readme are pretty clear though so I'm not sure there's much else you can do.

I have a couple requests and questions for the mod. Could you make the arousal gas status apply faster or in a much larger amount? It's currently completely harmless unless you actively try and get the status effect. Also I think you were musing the idea of not being able to dodge through enemies? That wouldn't be the worst idea since you can still jump around most stuff if you need too but would force you to engage in a few spots. I know it's not for everyone but I wouldn't mind even more of an increase in the difficulty such as more buffs to speed or other stats, especially for the weaker enemies, like the crossbow convict, slimes, scarecrows, red crawlers and undead so they have a chance at grabbing you.

I was also wondering if the enemies healing from clapping cheeks was working correctly. I was watching one of the bosses' hp bar and it didn't increase. I also checked a couple normal enemies and I don't think it increased their health either.
 

f9account

Engaged Member
Mar 20, 2020
2,326
2,133
I haven't had too much issue escaping personally, although it did take awhile one time when I was low hp but that's to be expected. Perhaps more emphases on waiting in the description? I think the mechanics and tips section of the readme are pretty clear though so I'm not sure there's much else you can do.

I have a couple requests and questions for the mod. Could you make the arousal gas status apply faster or in a much larger amount? It's currently completely harmless unless you actively try and get the status effect. Also I think you were musing the idea of not being able to dodge through enemies? That wouldn't be the worst idea since you can still jump around most stuff if you need too but would force you to engage in a few spots. I know it's not for everyone but I wouldn't mind even more of an increase in the difficulty such as more buffs to speed or other stats, especially for the weaker enemies, like the crossbow convict, slimes, scarecrows, red crawlers and undead so they have a chance at grabbing you.

I was also wondering if the enemies healing from clapping cheeks was working correctly. I was watching one of the bosses' hp bar and it didn't increase. I also checked a couple normal enemies and I don't think it increased their health either.
Since you're familiar with the game, may I ask:

Are there any scenes NOT in the Gallery?

What happens when you rescue different witches or civilians? Any scenes there?
 

Zeddy

Member
Jul 27, 2017
154
344
Since you're familiar with the game, may I ask:

Are there any scenes NOT in the Gallery?

What happens when you rescue different witches or civilians? Any scenes there?
None of the npcs or events are in the gallery. Only exceptions I think are the npcs that appear in the ranch trainer and giant maiden scenes, those still aren't independent npcs or events though so... I think D-lis did say something about possibly adding them to the gallery in a future patch though.
 
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AblazeCoal

Newbie
Apr 9, 2018
38
105
Are there any scenes NOT in the Gallery?
Yes, there's a lot of them. Currently, in the gallery you can't see:
- Any of the rescued witches. They also don't appear on the same savefile you have rescued them before. Once gone, they are gone for good. BonedMod, talked about above, partially solves that by respawning rescued women, but comes with it's own caveat of gameplay changes. A scene with two rescued witches from underground church does appears in the background of the gallery, but it's a rare exclusion, because they initially were part of gallery background and were added in the world later;
- Overwhelming majority of background scenes. You can still find them in the world, since, unlike rescues, they don't despawn, but not in the gallery. Gallery does have a unique girl inside tentacle maiden on the background alongside two rescueable witches, but I'm not sure if they should count;
- Any of the events. Most of them are similar to background as in they don't deactivate and you can replay them over and over, exclusion being teleport to the Ranch, because it basically acts as Suzune's rescue;
- The high karma game over options, that is listed as ??? when you don't have enough karma. It's a single still image tho, so not much lost there;
- Diaries and logs. They have a few still pictures for each one, but can't be viewed from gallery. You can still view them in the game on shelter's second floor and in the Ranch;
- Any of the girls, who end up at the Ranch. But you can, obviously, find them at the Ranch whenever, they aren't, fortunately or not, actually being sold off anywhere. Honestly, Ranch acts as a bootleg gallery, wish there was a way to make it's unique enemies non-hostile somehow;
- Few miscellaneous scenes, including: part of Prayer Maiden game over; unrescueable witch in pleasure trainer on White Cathedral Rooftops; high inquisitors stoprape on the same level; perhaps some other I can't remember.

And that's the extent of it. For now. D-Lis mentioned in last update, that he's working on adding them to the gallery. Looks like long-forgotten "Player" option in Punishment Room might be used to view background scenes, as well as some other.
 
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