Ren'Py Sexbot Restoration 2124 [v0.14.2] [squirrel24]

[Pdoan]

I'm not sure if I want to play a game that I always know what's next.

 

[squirrel24]

If I've spent X points to gain X benefit I want to keep that benefit. Having an upkeep of Y to keep the X benefit and then lose it if I don't "pay for it" because it's realistic just makes me not want to do it, because to me at least it's not worth the effort.

I don't really care about realism, it's a videogame, y'know? Since there's no other skill degradation, it feels weirdly punitive "because the dev said" to this one specifically.

About paying the debt triggering the next quest, I get it, although I don't agree with the rationale.

It's like AkiranGaming said: having the quest trigger when the MC got enough skill / reputation / money would represent a presence large enough to draw attention.

Then again, it's your creative decision.

----

What can I say? I'll start again, but now I'll begin by training the bots and getting higher parts some weeks before the deadlines arrive after I let money pool by paying nearly all the debt but a small sliver of it...

...Aka, I'll game the system this time to keep playing, which is something that demands that me as a player to "know" about the next step before it arrives.

You make some good points but let me explain why I'm doing things differently. For me realism is important, I think of this more like a "simulation" than a "game".

Strength and Stamina are different from the other skills because they can be lost by disuse. The other skills are not affected much by disuse. If a new generation of bot came out your computer, electronics, and mechanics skills might suffer but this game is in units of days so this isn't a strong possibility.

Regarding waiting to start Mob Protection until you're ready I believe that's too much hand-holding. It's not the game's responsibility to prevent you from failing. You have to learn how to play all aspects of this "simulation" and I expect people to encounter a "game over" event or two while learning. I think everyone who tinkered around with "flight simulator" crashed a plane or two along the way.

If I was a better programmer I'd make events in the game non-linear to make it harder to "game the system" by "knowing what comes next" but I'm not capable of doing that. Life is full of surprises and I wish I could make this game full of surprises too. A small example: I've thought about adding randomness to the requirements in BBS offers for bots but two things prevent me from doing it: lack of skill, and the potential whining from players about making the game harder. From my point of view, the exact same BBS offers appearing regularly is very unrealistic.

 

[atomicp]

I'm not sure if I want to play a game that I always know what's next.

In my case, I feel like don't want a game that I need to know what's next to avoid a failure state, or that'll be afraid to experiment because it isn't the proper choice.

 

[Pdoan]

In my case, I feel like don't want a game that I need to know what's next to avoid a failure state, or that'll be afraid to experiment because it isn't the proper choice.

Is the game programmed for you to fail? Or you can't take the challenge? What is there to play when it is "fail-proof" by design? That kind of "game" is more like a "choice don't matter" VN than a game. Just my opnion.

 

[squirrel24]

I think the odd hybrid nature of SR24 is the underlying issue behind all of this discussion. It's really 2 games in 1. The bot restoration sandbox game that was DSCS and the VN-like story that is unique to SR24. Some people like the sandbox and some people prefer the VN-like part but few people like both parts. I suspected this would cause problems and the discussion we've been having proves it. Both parts of the game are important to me and I'm not going to sacrifice either one of them so issues like this will never go away.

 

[Pdoan]

I think the odd hybrid nature of SR24 is the underlying issue behind all of this discussion. It's really 2 games in 1. The bot restoration sandbox game that was DSCS and the VN-like story that is unique to SR24. Some people like the sandbox and some people prefer the VN-like part but few people like both parts. I suspected this would cause problems and the discussion we've been having proves it. Both parts of the game are important to me and I'm not going to sacrifice either one of them so issues like this will never go away.

The game has the right mix of game play and story for me.