aura-dev

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Game Developer
Mar 1, 2021
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It would be really really nice if you could make the NTR avoidable, not because it's a meme question on F95, but because NTR feels much greater when I manage to make the NTR happen by myself, not being forced to. Furthermore, this way would allow me to witness happy ending too.

I haven't played your game yet so I have no idea what happened to the characters in the end but that's just my wish, it's fine if you reject it.
Like I said, there will be two endings in 1.0. One with the MC's victory which also prevents NTR. And NTR ending which you will get locked into if you progress to the end of the corruption path.

So is it planned to have more than one romantic interest Route besides George and Richard? Lets say John for an Example, dude reminds me of that MC from DxD... XD
Haven't really planned too many of the routes after 1.0. The only one for certain is a proper evil route. I like John. Not sure about his own route since his aim is the perfect harem ending :D, but he will have some really cool moments and lewd events.
 
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05841035411

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Jan 10, 2018
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05841035411 Thanks for your input! Just wanted to let you know I read everything including your short stories! I like how managed to hit the character voices. I'm afraid Star Knightess Aura will stay with its short name as it is. Long LN title style names are just really impractical when you want to share the game. Without URL shorteners which a lot people distrust, it quickly becomes hell. Also I need to reserve the long LN style title variation for one of books in her interests room.
I hope you found the feedback useful instead of irritating; I can end up sounding more forceful than I intend if I put too many things into a post without thinking about it :) .

And just to be clear on the name; something short is great! I just think it's better for publicity if the name hints at the content, since a lot of people don't bother reading tags or descriptions. "Isekai'd Corruption" would be a bit too on the nose, for instance, but people interested in either genre would be likely to take a look.

...But I can hardly complain about the title when I can't come up with a better one myself. It's times like these that I regret being terrible with names...

I'm glad you enjoyed the short story, though :) . I was actually a bit worried when I put it up, since I know a lot of authors can get uncomfortable with that kind of thing...
 

RottenCitizen

Member
Aug 27, 2020
220
861
...this game is gonna explode in popularity as soon as it gets professional made art, which the current one is turning away people who would have given the game a try rigth now otherwise...
I don't know about you, but for me current art seems just fine, even pleasing to look at (I didn't play the game yet due to MZ though).
I would even say that In my mind so called "good art" is strictly associated with boring and unnecessary bog standard RPGM gameplay, boring vanilla fetishes, boring placeholder story.

I think games with "good art" are created by people skilled at drawing, not really game developers, just to earn a bit more money than selling doujins or CG packs. On the other hand, "bad art" (judging by screenshots, in this case it's not really bad at all) is often a sign that the game is a single developer's pet project. Work of a person who truly love what they do. Some examples of great game makers who use "bad" art off the top of my head are:
- Vrelnir (Degrees of Lewdity) - I think for most of you little amount of pixel art can be automatically considered "bad";
- Mike Velesk - realtime herpy-derpy 3D on a custom engine (that deserves respect in my book);
- Pyorgara - let's just say that the illustrations are not the strongest aspect of their games;
- Advent Any (iNSight of you) - screenshots and video clips from Illusion Games, anyone?;
- - just awesome games with somewhat "specific" art;
- Cherry Poi - same as previous developer;
- Eluku (Fairy Fighting and Wolf's Dungeon) - nuff said;
- ...

In other words, usually "good art" means "cheap cash grab".
 

05841035411

Member
Jan 10, 2018
445
622
I don't know about you, but for me current art seems just fine, even pleasing to look at (I didn't play the game yet due to MZ though).
I would even say that In my mind so called "good art" is strictly associated with boring and unnecessary bog standard RPGM gameplay, boring vanilla fetishes, boring placeholder story.

I think games with "good art" are created by people skilled at drawing, not really game developers, just to earn a bit more money than selling doujins or CG packs. On the other hand, "bad art" (judging by screenshots, in this case it's not really bad at all) is often a sign that the game is a single developer's pet project. Work of a person who truly love what they do. Some examples of great game makers who use "bad" art off the top of my head are:
- Vrelnir (Degrees of Lewdity) - I think for most of you little amount of pixel art can be automatically considered "bad";
- Mike Velesk - realtime herpy-derpy 3D on a custom engine (that deserves respect in my book);
- Pyorgara - let's just say that the illustrations are not the strongest aspect of their games;
- Advent Any (iNSight of you) - screenshots and video clips from Illusion Games, anyone?;
- - just awesome games with somewhat "specific" art;
- Cherry Poi - same as previous developer;
- Eluku (Fairy Fighting and Wolf's Dungeon) - nuff said;
- ...

In other words, usually "good art" means "cheap cash grab".
So, let me preface this by saying that I'm fine with the art as-is. Personally, high-quality artwork doesn't add much for me - good writing is what catches my interest, and interesting mechanics deepen a good experience. Having artwork of the characters conversing is plenty for me.

But.

I also know that most potential players place a much higher value than you or I do on artwork. The artwork may not need to be top-tier for them, but they at least need it to be "average" for them to try it. So when SteamedBean says it will explode in popularity with an art upgrade, I'm inclined to agree. The game will probably be a real hit in its niche regardless once it has time to get better known, especially considering how much further the game itself can grow, but for more general popularity? Better artwork will certainly help.

And even then... Well, first impressions are important, you know? I don't care much about art, but between using default assets for the title banner, the amateur artwork for the characters, the rather generic name, and the screenshots not being able to capture much of what makes the game special, my own expectations going in had been pretty low. If it hadn't been for the last image suggesting that this game had more unique corruption mechanics than most, I'd probably have needed a recommendation before I'd have tried it. Improved artwork and a good banner image would go a good ways towards signaling that a lot of work had been put into the game, and allow it to better set its own tone rather than relying on stock assets.

Now, that said, I am glad that the priority is on writing. I've seen plenty of games slow to a crawl while they waited on artwork, because their development style didn't allow for scenes to be written in advance and the art added in later when it was ready - I'm glad that's not a risk here. Not only is it frustrating when it happens, it also limits experimentation where a scene would naturally make sense, but the developer isn't certain there's enough interest to justify the art - when a game is focusing on the text first, it's much lower-cost to just add the event and see if players would like the art added later.

EDIT: And just to be crystal-clear, I'm purely talking about marketing here. The game itself is great so far; I'm just saying that better artwork would help catch the attention of people who hadn't tried it yet.
 
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Seamonkey

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Oct 24, 2017
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@aura-dev
please add art to the sex scenes to the game or I'm not playing it.
Given they have already said that they intend to add art when they have the funding to do so, what are you actually intending to achieve by saying this?
You desiring art isn't going to make it materialise from the aether so if it is a deal breaker you will simply have to wait for them to be able to add it like everyone else.
 

SteamedBean

Member
Apr 18, 2018
196
81
So, let me preface this by saying that I'm fine with the art as-is. Personally, high-quality artwork doesn't add much for me - good writing is what catches my interest, and interesting mechanics deepen a good experience. Having artwork of the characters conversing is plenty for me.

But.

I also know that most potential players place a much higher value than you or I do on artwork. The artwork may not need to be top-tier for them, but they at least need it to be "average" for them to try it. So when SteamedBean says it will explode in popularity with an art upgrade, I'm inclined to agree. The game will probably be a real hit in its niche regardless once it has time to get better known, especially considering how much further the game itself can grow, but for more general popularity? Better artwork will certainly help.

And even then... Well, first impressions are important, you know? I don't care much about art, but between using default assets for the title banner, the amateur artwork for the characters, the rather generic name, and the screenshots not being able to capture much of what makes the game special, my own expectations going in had been pretty low. If it hadn't been for the last image suggesting that this game had more unique corruption mechanics than most, I'd probably have needed a recommendation before I'd have tried it. Improved artwork and a good banner image would go a good ways towards signaling that a lot of work had been put into the game, and allow it to better set its own tone rather than relying on stock assets.

Now, that said, I am glad that the priority is on writing. I've seen plenty of games slow to a crawl while they waited on artwork, because their development style didn't allow for scenes to be written in advance and the art added in later when it was ready - I'm glad that's not a risk here. Not only is it frustrating when it happens, it also limits experimentation where a scene would naturally make sense, but the developer isn't certain there's enough interest to justify the art - when a game is focusing on the text first, it's much lower-cost to just add the event and see if players would like the art added later.

EDIT: And just to be crystal-clear, I'm purely talking about marketing here. The game itself is great so far; I'm just saying that better artwork would help catch the attention of people who hadn't tried it yet.
Literally stole what i was gonna say... This game and Karryn's Prison are the first two H-RPGs i would love to patron even if i could only afford the minimum amount... But my budget is tight as fuck as it is right now... :(
 

aura-dev

Active Member
Game Developer
Mar 1, 2021
851
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0.5.1 is out! You can checkout the changelog . Basically a bunch of bug and typo fixes + I marked unimplemented objects in the mental world with shadows so you have an easier time spotting which which objects are currently implemented.
 

05841035411

Member
Jan 10, 2018
445
622
Ah, I wouldn't have needed to have spent nearly so much time savescumming the venom scorpion if I'd just waited for the bugfix... Getting an extra round by ambushing him should help so much.

...Wait, you could use items in the mindscape? Could you read books as well? Because I was on day 125 by the end, and if I could have used an exploit to take that down to a sub-100 level, that would have been somewhat less embarrassing...

...Okay, okay, I guess I could have just moved on when finding an enemy that I struggled with because I was clearly fighting them too early (the slime in the back of the spider room before going down into the depths, the mushroom in the first forest area before fighting the bandits), but darn it, that would be giving up! Obviously, it was much more reasonable to blow, like, 50 days trying to find the magic combination of upgrades to take them on now.

...Well, hey, it did work in the end, right? And it made everything else significantly easier? And now that I know what I'm doing, I should be able to have it all done by day 30 next time around!

...Except now that I know enemies don't respawn, I'll probably spend a lot more time on the goblins, because I know I'd rather pass a day than "waste" an apple that has literally no other purpose than allowing you to continue fighting instead of ending the day.

Ah, sorry, Aura. Even though I'll never use the collar, you're still doomed to fall sway to corruption because I'm just too greedy to spend my time properly.
 

RottenCitizen

Member
Aug 27, 2020
220
861
Thanks for your detailed answer!

I agree with your arguments. I was somewhat surprised by the general focus on replacing illustrations in the game as soon as possible, and therefore felt the need to voice my point of view. But, as I understood from your answer, I was wrong, and the author continues to pay the most attention to the text and is actively working on the development of the game, which is great! I hope he'll reach success at that.

I would even say that your review of the game intrigued me, and now I want to try it myself even more. But for that I got to develop a new routine to play MZ-based games on Linux. I'm not a fan of launching them in a browser, and substituting Windows binaries for Linux version of NWJS (which worked perfectly for MV) doesn't seem to work anymore. Oh well.

I think in the previous post I should have mentioned that the concept of "good" art is very subjective. Maybe I just like amateurish, a bit derpy art. Иге still I can't help but note the correlation - the more professional and refined the illustrations look, the less the gameplay value. Hope this case will be an exception. In any case, we'll see.
 

aura-dev

Active Member
Game Developer
Mar 1, 2021
851
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I would even say that your review of the game intrigued me, and now I want to try it myself even more. But for that I got to develop a new routine to play MZ-based games on Linux. I'm not a fan of launching them in a browser, and substituting Windows binaries for Linux version of NWJS (which worked perfectly for MV) doesn't seem to work anymore. Oh well.
Huh, I didn't know you could do that for MV games. In case somebody figures such a trick out for MZ, please do share. I would be happy to include a Linux build in my build pipeline.
 

ShadowFireBFG

Member
Sep 10, 2020
126
75
Huh, I didn't know you could do that for MV games. In case somebody figures such a trick out for MZ, please do share. I would be happy to include a Linux build in my build pipeline.
the mz update caused something weird in the nwjs that is giving random people problems but not others. the only certain thing i know is that i personally can no longer run mz1.2 games because of nwjs not wanting to work. 3 of my irl friends have the same problem with much newer pcs so idk who screwed what up. i can run earlier versions of mz games with a nwjs exe just not V1.2.
 

aura-dev

Active Member
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Mar 1, 2021
851
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the mz update caused something weird in the nwjs that is giving random people problems but not others. the only certain thing i know is that i personally can no longer run mz1.2 games because of nwjs not wanting to work. 3 of my irl friends have the same problem with much newer pcs so idk who screwed what up. i can run earlier versions of mz games with a nwjs exe just not V1.2.
I have for now forwarded your crash report to the RPGM devs. Let's see what happens on this front. From my understanding there are also quite some reports from the japanese, so I hope there will be a mz1.2.1 soon.
 

aura-dev

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Mar 1, 2021
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I would even say that your review of the game intrigued me, and now I want to try it myself even more. But for that I got to develop a new routine to play MZ-based games on Linux. I'm not a fan of launching them in a browser, and substituting Windows binaries for Linux version of NWJS (which worked perfectly for MV) doesn't seem to work anymore. Oh well.
I tried using nwjs for linux and gave it a quick spin in a Virtual Box Ubuntu. The game starts but has horrible performance and glitches but I can't tell if it's because of me sucking with VMs or because it doesn't work.

I tried creating a linux version . Installation:
1. Download, extract
2. sudo apt-get install libatomic1
3. ./Game
 

05841035411

Member
Jan 10, 2018
445
622
So, I'm not entirely clear on why I did this when the milestones clearly indicate that Trademond is being remapped in version 0.8.0, but... I had a couple of free hours while making dinner, so I added a bunch of minor events to Trademond to encourage exploration. Which, since it's purely for my own copy... Rather defeats the point, since I already know where everything is. Like I said; I don't really know what I was thinking, except for that it was something I could readily do in ten-minute chunks.

But, to cover what I wrote...

-No more wandering in hedges! Vegetation that looks pretty bush-y is now blocked by event tiles. You can, however, appreciate the hedgework.

-No more trampling the flowers in the graveyard! Aura will back off, and wonder how the residents manage.

-Barrels of water, barrels of beer, barrels of oil, barrels of guard-owned vodka... Every barrel has a content! It's like an Atelier game here!

-The same goes for crates. Let your curiosity be sated!

-Speaking of crates, the reason why Aura will only buy apples!

-Unique dialogue for every flower patch, because we know you care about that.

-Aura reading way too much into the placement of one particular flower, until Luciela snaps at her to get back to saving the world.

-Peeping on old men! Aura...

-An ill-considered Star Wars reference.

-Sun glare blocking information that seems kind of plot-related.

-An in-depth examination of how much better Intermediate adventurers are treated than Novice adventurers, because didn't we really need that spelled out instead of just trusting our eyes?

-Please stay behind the counter, ma'am.

-Hey, why is that map so high!?

-Rummaging about the church like you own the place, plus why can't I read these prayers?

-Minor reflections on inn decoration, plus I really shouldn't wander around the kitchen.

-What are these blacksmithing supplies, and who are these weapons for? Plus, bonus getting-hit-in-the-head-with-wood!

-Judging the guards by their armor, with a side of bad inventory management!

-Spell shop owners have hobbies too, you know.

-Aura loves books in another world.

-Nothing about the Trade Congregation or the Alchemist's home, because reasons.

-Crushing disappointment at how much more interesting these things in a list than in practice.

And now, in a big spoilered list... The content of those events! Okay, so most of them are pretty boring, but since this is all being deleted next update anyway, I'd like for it to be somewhere, you know? I also included the location ID of where I put them on the map, for the sake of thoroughness.

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So, that's all of them, roughly 113 events in total. Which isn't as much as it sounds like, when most of them are only one or two sentences long, but... Well, I still didn't want to just delete them, even if copying them here took longer than actually writing the darned things - like, four times as long.

And of those, only five or so are probably interesting or amusing in their own right, but... Hey, that's why it's all spoilered, yes? So that it's nice and easy to skip.
 

aura-dev

Active Member
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Mar 1, 2021
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I have just finished reviewing all artist applications and interviewing my closer selection. See for the remaining canditates.
 

Ignazzio

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May 8, 2017
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05841035411
Pretty impressive thing you have there. I really admire these kind of details so I wouldn't mind if dev was willing to implement them.

aura-dev
Your artists look really professional. Good luck with picking the right one
 

RottenCitizen

Member
Aug 27, 2020
220
861
I tried using nwjs for linux and gave it a quick spin in a Virtual Box Ubuntu. The game starts but has horrible performance and glitches but I can't tell if it's because of me sucking with VMs or because it doesn't work.
Thank you for your attention and effort! I really didn't expect that!

Launched your version on my Debian 10 desktop PC and it seems to work perfectly. I didn't notice any problems with performance at all!
Probably NWJS uses OpenGL to accelerate 2D graphics output. VirtualBox can only simulate GPU, so performance is going to suck.
But then again, mine is a desktop PC and it is reasonably beefy.
 

SteamedBean

Member
Apr 18, 2018
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I have just finished reviewing all artist applications and interviewing my closer selection. See for the remaining canditates.
The im torn bethwen the 1st two artist.... The 1st one looks the most professional... But the second one reminds me a lot to the Lily Akos game series Art style, hey but its up to you anyway XD

i see tha 05 idk how many numbers is really thirsting for worldbuilding in as many ways as possible still... Dang dude 100+ mini dialogues?

Also i DIDNT KNOW that it was that expensive to commission art damn
 
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