TSP Plans for the Future #2
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I am planning widespread changes for TSP in all aspects. First of all, I want to tell you why I'm constantly making these changes. Then I'm going to go over what's going to be staying the same, and then what's going to change.
Why I Remake Content:
I want TSP to be a great AVN. Since I've released the first version of TSP, what I consider to be a great AVN to be has changed so much. This comes from player feedback, as well as from my personal experiences playing other AVNs. There are certainly areas that I was lacking in, even in the latest release.
It's these areas that I strive to alter for the better... and some of these areas involve remaking content. My goal is to get a first release that I'm extremely proud off.
Now, I'm going to go over what aspects I'm going to keep the same.
Aspects that won't change
Overall Plot + Antagonist
I have entertained the idea of changing this... but after a lot of brainstorming, the overall plot and antagonist is still the best I've come up with. What I mean by the overall plot, is that the MC will have to destroy the Kraken's spice. That will not change. Hence, the antagonist will always be, the Spice Pirate, aka Captain Henricus, aka the Kraken.
As for the rest of the plot... that's all changed.
Setting
It will still be set in the late 17th century, with pirates.
Dialogue Only
What I mean by this is that you'll never read any narration, thoughts or overall description of any kind. You will only ever read dialogue.
Monogamous Story First AVN
TSP will not turn into a harem fuckfest. It will still contain a decent amount of lewd scenes however.
And that rounds up aspects that I'm not going to change... and now onto aspects that I will change, which is everything else.
Aspects that'll Change
MC
First and foremost, he has a new look. His face won't be as dirty all the time, but apart from that, he now looks way better, and the new outfit is also much better. He won't be using spice-enhanced daggers anymore either - I'm leaning into the use of guns more, as it was around the 17th century where common soldiers were armed with guns.
His backstory will also be changing. I'm not going to reveal much of his new backstory, as you'll find out when you play the new version. What I will tell you is he's now a mercenary doing whatever jobs he can find to help out his parents. And yes - there's a very interesting story behind his scar.
Branching
This is my biggest change to come. Before, I had a specific story to tell, and that's what I was going to tell. Most of the branching came via slight dialogue changing, and choosing whether or not you'd sleep with a LI/SG or not. That is no longer. My new philosophy is great AVNs need a lot of branching... as after all, being able to choose what your character does is a massive selling point for AVNs.
As to the extent of the branching... here are some zoomed out pictures of a portion of my plans:
If you've played
With Eyes Closed then that's what I'm aiming for.
Visual Style
If anyone reading this has played
Strangers on Paper before, then you'll be familiar with the different aspect ratio for their renders. From now on, I'm doing my renders in a 2.35:1 aspect ratio. The reason for this is it gives it more of a cinematic feel. Here is an example I whipped up yesterday:
Characters:
Most of the characters are being completely redone due to plot changes. I will reuse the old models (and maybe some of the names), but the personality and backstory won't be the same.
The exceptions to this is Captain Henricus and his crew, which includes Elva and Brutus. Even then, a few details will change regarding their backstory to keep it inline with the new plot.
For those of you who are concerned, do not fret. You will still be able to romance upper society ladies, tavern maids and pirate gals.
As for the number of LIs... I'll update you on that later. I'm leaning towards 4 or 5 LIs, rather than the 3 I had at the end of the latest release.
SFX and Music
Music was definitely an area which TSP was heavily scrutinised before. I'm going to completely change the sound aspect of TSP.
Inspired by
Shards of the Past, I'm going to heavily lean into SFX. Once again, the purpose of this is to make TSP more cinematic.
I also want the music to better reflect the time period, hence, there will be no more modern tunes in TSP.
1 Click, 1 Render
Before, I had a one click, one render policy. This meant every time the player clicked, they would be shown a completely new render. This is no longer the case. It's a cool feature... but it's not worth it in terms of development time. I imagine the ratio of clicks per render will be somewhere around 1.2:1 however.
Timeline:
My philosophy regarding length of updates has also changed. You won't be playing TSP until there is 3 hours of content. Based of previous development time... that means you can expect a new update in 6 months time. This may change in the future however.
Stay Up to Date with Development:
I will still be releasing daily dev logs and weekly plans for the future. My open book policy is also unchanged, meaning if you want more clarification, then just ask.
Final Words:
TSP will change for the better, but unfortunately, this cannot happen overnight. I'll continue to work hard, and eventually TSP will become a great AVN.
