RPGM Star Knightess Aura [v0.44.0] [aura-dev]

[aura-dev]

aura-dev can I suggest you to add the release number to the game zip file? In this way it would be more easy remember what release we actually have.

You can grab the latest version from the CHANGELOG.md. My distribution process is optimized for itch.io which prefers to have the same file+version meta info so it can do patches and stuff.

After 10 hours in, I have to give some input. That's simply mindblowing.

I didn't expect a RPG to hook me back up like this, seeing as I don't even enjoy RPGs anymore. This is so immersive, carefully planned and with so much attention to detail (Aura, Private Investigator extraordinaire will comment on almost every single thing you examine "just for fun", and all those funny checks are a really time-consuming process for a game developer) that I honestly just don't know how to keep this short.

I'm not attracted at all to female-male relationships and can't comment on this, but even the mention of dick stuff (or random male pervs) isn't a problem here. Here we have a game made with pure love and passion. The New Game+ is not only planned, but implemented in advance. Thinking ahead and roadmaps were done in such a professional manner this either isn't aura-dev's first project or it's a career call. The support "wink" is placed right where it belongs, and in a polite manner. There are tons of funny tropes and references, as well as fourth wall breakers.

RMMZ's character generator was used in a perfect way. The right plugins are used. The game isn't overly confusing and isn't drowning you with massive information either. Color coding was done in a particularly interesting way - calling for the player to think "this must be important at some point, either for the plot, the character, or for the gameplay" - and while the dialogues can get a bit annoying on the comical aspects after a while, they're still pretty funny as it is not overdone.

The real originality here? Multiple personas. You don't only play a protagonist, you play against it at the same time, with another one, inside of yourself, and you do it in such a deep manner there is a lot to explore.

If I had to criticize things to sound less pompous and praising, then perhaps the battles not giving experience or "real" rewards, but I'm sure this is intended to prevent annoying grinds and it's difficult to think of a middle ground. Those battles are mostly avoidable so just don't run into enemies too often. The day concept is deep but can also be a limiter, if people overthink it. The day advances the plot but with drawbacks so you really aren't too sure on what to do - though you can still "adjust" to prevent things going south.

Honestly, this is refreshing. Your passion shows here. I don't really want to get addicted to the game but this is something I definitely recommend, especially for developers to learn how to do games right.

And the lack of lewd stuff, yes, since F95 is all about porn. Don't expect dicks everywhere (or pure yuri action for that matter if I have to be subjective), there's just romance between a girl and a guy in the "real world" and when she goes to sleep at night, she gets to become a heroine... with a twist. If you're here for the porn, you made a wrong turn. If you're here for a deep game, then you're going to enjoy this for sure. I'm sure I've been enjoying it so far and I'm not enjoying it for that relationship - I'm enjoying it for the sheer depth.

It already seems endless but it's also replayable (you get to notice it pretty early should you happen to soulbreak too early, and no, it's not a bad thing, as it tells you exactly what to expect). It has variety and originality. A lot of subtle details. And a lot of things to do.

Kudos. That post felt like a review, but you're definitely getting my support. I came here with the cover thinking I'd see surprise yuri, went oh well, and stayed for the depth. And I'm not going anywhere.

I'll be watching this thread for sure. This is different. That makes a total of 5 developers doing it right for 800+ games I've played on the zone since I created my account, most of which I didn't even bother posting about.

I wish I had more constructive criticism but I just can't come up with more for now.

(Just wanted to add while I initially went "why the fuck did I listen to you lol", I also want to sincerely thank Pretentious Goblin for the suggestion from the female corrupting others thread or I would never have found this, and was more than just pleasantly surprised in the end. I hope this continues, but even though I'm a really negative individual, I'm not too worried here.)

Great to hear that you are liking the game.

 

[Idontplay]

You can grab the latest version from the CHANGELOG.md. My distribution process is optimized for itch.io which prefers to have the same file+version meta info so it can do patches and stuff.

I see. I have asked that because I didn't remember if I have played the 0.8 or the 0.8.1 release, but I have solved that, looking for the creation file date.

 

[262177]

aura-dev I'd like to add that, albeit unlikely, there is a potential softlock on day 1 if you somehow get your hands on corruption-reducing items and your corruption becomes less than 2, as Alicia won't be able to anything but still can't get Guide Aura to end the night as this is her first visit and she has to spend 2 corruption on the gem even if the player somehow has less than that (which is checked for the option availability, but doesn't have a fallback just in case).

This is unlikely, and I'm trying to reproduce it to see if it's possible in normal gameplay, but just as a sanity check, perhaps. At this point you should have at least 4 corruption (the initial amount) but I had 1 (consumed 3x Blessed Water without removing the collar or using the Star Knightess form, and I'm not sure the average player is supposed to be able to collect these on day zero).

You could have the guide_aura event simply prompt to end the day as well, sitting there until the player has enough corruption so Alicia will have to remain in the Outer World without breaking things, but now I haven't checked if remaining in this state doesn't mess with the rest of the route progression.

This is very minor as this only happens once and can still be fixed as long as the player doesn't forget to save beforehand so they can get some corruption before this happens (or just saves, then edits the value to 2 to unfuck themselves).

I apologize but I tend to try and break a lot of things just for fun. Playtesting habits.

 

[aura-dev]

aura-dev I'd like to add that, albeit unlikely, there is a potential softlock on day 1 if you somehow get your hands on corruption-reducing items and your corruption becomes less than 2, as Alicia won't be able to anything but still can't get Guide Aura to end the night as this is her first visit and she has to spend 2 corruption on the gem even if the player somehow has less than that (which is checked for the option availability, but doesn't have a fallback just in case).

This is unlikely, and I'm trying to reproduce it to see if it's possible in normal gameplay, but just as a sanity check, perhaps. At this point you should have at least 4 corruption (the initial amount) but I had 1 (consumed 3x Blessed Water without removing the collar or using the Star Knightess form, and I'm not sure the average player is supposed to be able to collect these on day zero).

You could have the guide_aura event simply prompt to end the day as well, sitting there until the player has enough corruption so Alicia will have to remain in the Outer World without breaking things, but now I haven't checked if remaining in this state doesn't mess with the rest of the route progression.

This is very minor as this only happens once and can still be fixed as long as the player doesn't forget to save beforehand so they can get some corruption before this happens (or just saves, then edits the value to 2 to unfuck themselves).

I apologize but I tend to try and break a lot of things just for fun. Playtesting habits.

Ahahaha oh you are right you can pick up Blessed Water day 1 from the dungeons. Totally forgot about that.

 

[Pretentious Goblin]

Are there any plans yet for what the next set of rooms in Aura's mindscape is going to be?

 

[aura-dev]

Are there any plans yet for what the next set of rooms in Aura's mindscape is going to be?

• Key Memories (Remove memories like first date with George and replace them with other's. Some those will require some Cheating stat.)
• Values (Like reducing Aura's moral qualms. Will add a stat like lewdness for moral degeneration and enable actions like stealing people's stuff in the isekai.)
• Knowledge (E.g. remove math knowledge. Replace it with subconsciously picked up knowledge about make make-up.)
• Instincts (E.g. installing some behavior routines or having Aura instincitvely use pussy instead of various paraphases.)

Examples of what can be done in the rooms are tentative. I have a bunch of potential changes planned, but which one will make it into the game will become clearer when I get to it. For the last set of rooms I have only decided for a room where Alicia will be able to turn combat stats into sex stats, which will kind of initiate the countdown towards getting locked into the corruption ending (which however will only fully happen upon the final mental change).

 

[DaWaeDawae]

Will this game have any scenes or everything will be text based ?

 

[Pretentious Goblin]

Will this game have any scenes or everything will be text based ?

First CG is coming this month, it's the jailer scene. $10+ patrons vote on which scenes get prioritized for CGs by the same artist that did the character art.

 

[262177]

Another report for aura-dev and this one is far more likely to happen in casual play, though this is not exactly critical as more quests will likely get added: Charlotte currently will still be level 2 (at 30 XP) by the time all 5 novice quests are done if her progress isn't high enough when going for the Pig Thief one, preventing the player from learning Heat Up as she would not join them and fail to get the experience required for level 3.

How to reproduce: Do the quest on day 2 (the same day you join the guild) or with Charlotte still in jail. Charlotte won't be able to join you.

(A caveat for current version players is to simply make sure they hold off on that quest until they are on day 3+ with Charlotte out of jail, either from bail, lewds or waiting it out - if they didn't keep her company - and not attempt it on day 2 if they want the spell.)

Edit: Day fixes, as you need one day to complete the paperwork to first join the guild.

 

[abiroyon]

Can the glasses be removed from the beginning?

 

[aura-dev]

Another report for aura-dev and this one is far more likely to happen in casual play, though this is not exactly critical as more quests will likely get added: Charlotte currently will still be level 2 (at 30 XP) by the time all 5 novice quests are done if her progress isn't high enough when going for the Pig Thief one, preventing the player from learning Heat Up as she would not join them and fail to get the experience required for level 3.

How to reproduce: Do the quest on day 2 (the same day you join the guild) or with Charlotte still in jail. Charlotte won't be able to join you.

(A caveat for current version players is to simply make sure they hold off on that quest until they are on day 3+ with Charlotte out of jail, either from bail, lewds or waiting it out - if they didn't keep her company - and not attempt it on day 2 if they want the spell.)

Edit: Day fixes, as you need one day to complete the paperwork to first join the guild.

This intended so different experience some different runs. Charlotte will be able to gain level 3... but after the upcoming boss fight.

Can the glasses be removed from the beginning?

They can be removed very early on.

Will this game have any scenes or everything will be text based ?

I literally just got the first H-CG set and integrated into the game. Butt it's patreon only until 31.07 I'm afraid.

 

[aura-dev]

aura-dev I'd like to add that, albeit unlikely, there is a potential softlock on day 1 if you somehow get your hands on corruption-reducing items and your corruption becomes less than 2, as Alicia won't be able to anything but still can't get Guide Aura to end the night as this is her first visit and she has to spend 2 corruption on the gem even if the player somehow has less than that (which is checked for the option availability, but doesn't have a fallback just in case).

This is unlikely, and I'm trying to reproduce it to see if it's possible in normal gameplay, but just as a sanity check, perhaps. At this point you should have at least 4 corruption (the initial amount) but I had 1 (consumed 3x Blessed Water without removing the collar or using the Star Knightess form, and I'm not sure the average player is supposed to be able to collect these on day zero).

You could have the guide_aura event simply prompt to end the day as well, sitting there until the player has enough corruption so Alicia will have to remain in the Outer World without breaking things, but now I haven't checked if remaining in this state doesn't mess with the rest of the route progression.

This is very minor as this only happens once and can still be fixed as long as the player doesn't forget to save beforehand so they can get some corruption before this happens (or just saves, then edits the value to 2 to unfuck themselves).

I apologize but I tend to try and break a lot of things just for fun. Playtesting habits.

As of 0.8.2 this now gives you a special mini scene of Guide Aura laughing at Alicia.

 

[262177]

This intended so different experience some different runs. Charlotte will be able to gain level 3... but after the upcoming boss fight.

Ah, alright, working as intended. Sorry about this then!

Please keep it up, just finished my 100% Pure Aura run and now going to playtest the Alicia run on the same save as well as a new one (to go full corruption from day 1 as well). Testing balancing mechanics and whatnot.

As of 0.8.2 this now gives you a special mini scene of Guide Aura laughing at Alicia.

Damn, that was fast. Thank you for the extra scene

 

[RagueltheUFO]

"Alchemist has it at 40% off instead of 50% off"

Me: Ah, so you have chosen death sir

 

[Hamakabula]

Stats (v0.8.0)

• Estimated play time: 6-11h
• Word Count: 185k
• Lewd Scenes: 10
• CGs: 0

That moment when you realize that the OP image is the most adult content this game has.

 

[anon1010]

That moment when you realize that the OP image is the most adult content this game has.

I get where you're coming from but honestly its nice to see the developer put so much time into creating an actual game. I personally am gonna wait for some CG's to get put into the game before I get too far into it but I love where the game is currently headed.

 

[fucdeedee]

where is the spider queen?

 

[262177]

A text-based game works best with immersive dialogue and gameplay that makes sense. It isn't meant for tons of HCG - they just improve the experience. You can also insert sprite sex, and actually, Aura started doing this, more or less, on top of lewd dialogue that's already there. There are more examples around if you want fully naked sprites.

Crazy94 might be interested in this one (the project itself) for scene recollections in MZ and some dialogue tricks.

Also, for "pure route" players - you're going to spend a lot of time building up corruption once you decide to go the Alicia route, and corruption won't affect your score, so just make sure you don't make any mental changes and don't get any lewdness.

where is the spider queen?

It's actually a young spider sprite in the west corner of the map, if memory serves right.

About that, something super minor for aura-dev, but if players really want to nitpick, the torch-lighting is missable once you are done with the quest (as you can no longer get Charlotte to light up the torches and you cannot do it yourself even if she taught you the spell). I lit two out of four then went "oh whoops", heh. It's just cosmetic, though.

edit: Memory kind of served right - southwestern corner, exact initial position is X:14 Y:29.

 

[262177]

Forgot to report another minor bug: The player can learn Tenacity from Julian over and over again, so if they forgot they already have it, well, yeah. At least it's free, so it's just another way to kill time.

 

[Hamakabula]

I get where you're coming from but honestly its nice to see the developer put so much time into creating an actual game. I personally am gonna wait for some CG's to get put into the game before I get too far into it but I love where the game is currently headed.

I disagree. I find it weird when porn games try so hard to be proper games they end up forgetting the porn.

It's possible to have both (Third Crisis from your sig is a good example actually) but if you can't do both, porn should have priority. There's a multi billion dollar industry for good SFW games, I don't need H-game devs to try and top that. They won't.

Besides, it gives me little hope for good NSFW content down the road if the Dev apparently treats it as an afterthought