Ren'Py Under Your Spell [v0.3.0] [Shady Characters]

[GIlgamesh753]

Promising concept and I salute you for wanting to make an actual game and not just a five minute coom platform.

Speaking of the game part I have some questions as to how all the stats are going to work.

1. So the first question is what does each stat actually do, some are self-explanatory whereas some are a bit vague?
2. Do stats interact for example spell power X prowess or spell power + prowess or is each stat a flat check on its own?
3. How long do stats have before they "decay" and do they decay at different rates or do they all decay at the same rate?
4. Should stats gained in lessons count against decay, because several times I've gained a stat during a lesson just for it to decay at the end of the day on rest?
5. Realistically how many stats are supposed to be a "build" because at the current rate of decay and with seemingly lessons not counting someone can only realistically maintain 2 or 3 stats?
6. Does stamina play a role outside of being a measure of how much you can do, because during the exam the PC has mentioned being tired as being bad for their performance?
7. Depending on the answer to question 4 what is the mechanical difference between Lessons and Free time and how should each be used since Lessons don't guarantee a stat increase?
8. Depending on the answer to question 2 should characters prioritise certain groups of skills that interact or should you simply build what you want, and later pick options which pertain to their highest stats?
9. Between Rest and the Prefect Bath as the only way to regain stamina outside of ending the day what should the player be doing to balance between doing things to keep their stats from decaying and keeping their stamina topped up to ensure they can actually do things?

Those are the main questions for now, but if I could make two quick suggestions,

1. Put information in the game showing which lesson and which activity pertain to each stat (Since this is only an alpha you might already be planning this with a help button or something.
2. Show the player if one their stats will decay on rest by changing the colour of it to red or something, because trying to keep track manually gets a bit overwhelming.

Looking forward to seeing where this goes.

 

[Shady Character 1]

Update:
New build is up. This one add first job that you can earn money with. Four more jobs will be available in the future, as well as stores and event where you can spend your hard earned.

Changes in v. 0.1.3p:

New content:
-You can now get a job at the "Raven's Wing" pub, by visiting the town starting late September.
-Added backgrounds for Stadium and Dueling Classroom/Gym

Also thanks to vilewe7570 who made a new icon for the game, and even made some edits to the main menu, adding the dark theme. The way menu looks now is temporary, but do tell if you prefer dark or light theme?

 

[Shady Character 1]

Promising concept and I salute you for wanting to make an actual game and not just a five minute coom platform.

Speaking of the game part I have some questions as to how all the stats are going to work.

1. So the first question is what does each stat actually do, some are self-explanatory whereas some are a bit vague?
2. Do stats interact for example spell power X prowess or spell power + prowess or is each stat a flat check on its own?
3. How long do stats have before they "decay" and do they decay at different rates or do they all decay at the same rate?
4. Should stats gained in lessons count against decay, because several times I've gained a stat during a lesson just for it to decay at the end of the day on rest?
5. Realistically how many stats are supposed to be a "build" because at the current rate of decay and with seemingly lessons not counting someone can only realistically maintain 2 or 3 stats?
6. Does stamina play a role outside of being a measure of how much you can do, because during the exam the PC has mentioned being tired as being bad for their performance?
7. Depending on the answer to question 4 what is the mechanical difference between Lessons and Free time and how should each be used since Lessons don't guarantee a stat increase?
8. Depending on the answer to question 2 should characters prioritise certain groups of skills that interact or should you simply build what you want, and later pick options which pertain to their highest stats?
9. Between Rest and the Prefect Bath as the only way to regain stamina outside of ending the day what should the player be doing to balance between doing things to keep their stats from decaying and keeping their stamina topped up to ensure they can actually do things?

Those are the main questions for now, but if I could make two quick suggestions,

1. Put information in the game showing which lesson and which activity pertain to each stat (Since this is only an alpha you might already be planning this with a help button or something.
2. Show the player if one their stats will decay on rest by changing the colour of it to red or something, because trying to keep track manually gets a bit overwhelming.

Looking forward to seeing where this goes.

Thank you for the encouragement, Gilgamesh!
To answer your questions:
1. As for the stats:
Knowledge is related to everything your MC knows this includes mostly academic, but also misc knowledge.
Imagination covers ability to come up with unexpected solutions, unconventional thinking and thirst for something new.
Prowess covers MC's raw physical abilities, as well as his ability to use it. It covers strength, speed, agility and courage.
Appeal covers charm, charisma and empathy. Basically everything that helps MC connect with other sentient beings.
Spellpower covers raw magical power and ability to cast spells in difficult situations.
2. No checks are multiplicative. So if a check is for two stats (which is rare but possible) it check flat values.
3. Stats decay more or less at the same rate, but your stating type (athletic, smart, creative) affect the decay rates a bit.
4. That was actually a bug. Thank you for reporting it. It is fixed in today's alpha-build.
5. You should focus on 2-3 stats at first, yeah. The game tells you as much in one of the events.
6. Yes, some checks do take your stamina into account. You are usually notified about that.
7. All learning activities guarantee stat increase, just not at the same rate, and not always by a full point.
8. You can build whatever character you want. But some builds are more suited to certain activities than other. But there is no "correct build".
9. That's up to you to find what suits you best.

Also, thank you for suggestions. I will consider them =)

 

[Azaliander]

Wow, I stumbled on this one on twitter and had to revive my account here just to post. I have no idea how far you would go with this, but is this goes the way it goes, it just might be the game I dreamt about for years!

 

[THELEAK95]

Good game !

 

[Doctor Doom]

will there be ntr in the future?

 

[Deviton123]

The plot of the game:



In all seriousness, this looks fun. Imma play it soon.

 

[ewery52]

The art (mainly background) tends to not load. What could be the reason for that.

 

[Shady Character 1]

The art (mainly background) tends to not load. What could be the reason for that.

A lot of backgrounds are still not in the game. They are being added as we go. As you might've seen in the changelogs:
v 0.1.3p
-You can now get a job at the "Raven's Wing" pub, by triggering an event in the town starting late September.
-You can now earn money with "Work" activity, by working in the pub
-Added backgrounds for Stadium and Dueling Classroom/Gym

v 0.1.2p
New content:
-Added sprites for Professor Hayes (brewing)
-Added backgrounds for Dining Hall and View of the School
-Added a new artwork of Aisling in her third event

For now most of the backgrounds are placeholders, and where there is no placeholder - there's just empty screen

 

[ewery52]

A lot of backgrounds are still not in the game. They are being added as we go. For now most of the backgrounds are placeholders, and where there is no placeholder - there's just empty screen

The thing is game says in red text that art was not found. Some characters don't appear.

 

[Shady Character 1]

The thing is game says in red text that art was not found.

Yes, that's what it does when the background in listed in the code, but there is no picture for it. For all intents and purposes, it is the same as a grey screen where there is no background listed in the code at all
Edit: It is a bit messy, I know, but it makes life much easier down the line and we will be done with most (if not all placeholder backgrounds) very-very soon.

 

[Rosen King]

So is there/will there be anyone actually "under your spell" in this game, or is it the kind of magic that just arranges for characters to meet and potentially start dating? Even something consensual, e.g. a "study buddy" who wants you to experiment with charm and suggestion spells on her, or a love interest who catches you with another girl and demands that you use a love spell to make her bisexual so she won't be jealous and will want to share and/or have a threesome. I've been hoping for ages to find a magic school setting that *isn't* a literal Harry Potter fanfic that lets you explore love spells and similar magic (i.e. the mind control tag), and while the title for this one suggests it could be the one, the (extremely limited) tags don't.

 

[Shady Character 1]

So is there/will there be anyone actually "under your spell" in this game, or is it the kind of magic that just arranges for characters to meet and potentially start dating? Even something consensual, e.g. a "study buddy" who wants you to experiment with charm and suggestion spells on her, or a love interest who catches you with another girl and demands that you use a love spell to make her bisexual so she won't be jealous and will want to share and/or have a threesome. I've been hoping for ages to find a magic school setting that *isn't* a literal Harry Potter fanfic that lets you explore love spells and similar magic (i.e. the mind control tag).

Hmmm, I would say that there is no such specific plans at the moment (there is one close to what you are saying, but not exactly), but the scenarios you are describing sound plausible enough, that they just might appear in the future.

 

[Rosen King]

Hmmm, I would say that there is no such specific plans at the moment (there is one close to what you are saying, but not exactly), but the scenarios you are describing sound plausible enough, that they just might appear in the future.

I see. I don't suppose you (or someone) could let me know if it does end up happening? I won't be following the game if it's not certain to happen, but that also means I'll end up missing if it does. Though I understand if it's too much bother to remember.

 

[astranabeat]

The game have good concept but plz let player toggle stats decay on/off. no one like to see stats go up and then go down.

I really hate this system and stats maintain in general. need to babysit hungry meter, clean meter, mood meter etc. if I played a game and half of the time I have to do these repeat stuffs. well i'm out. sure as a DEV. you need something for players to do but plz don't put chores in the game. many games in this site don't have chores in it and it's still manage to be fun.

 

[Shady Character 1]

The game have good concept but plz let player toggle stats decay on/off. no one like to see stats go up and then go down.

I really hate this system and stats maintain in general. need to babysit hungry meter, clean meter, mood meter etc. if I played a game and half of the time I have to do these repeat stuffs. well i'm out. sure as a DEV. you need something for players to do but plz don't put chores in the game. many games in this site don't have chores in it and it's still manage to be fun.

Skill degrade only when you are not training them. The game is more or less balanced around the player being able to max out all the stats by the end of the year if they play it smart. There will be more events that give you slight boosts to your stats in the future, and some items that make training stats a bit more effective. And I will also keep tweaking the growth and degradation a bit, as we progress into the game. The degradation is mostly there so that the players would not just blindly click on different lessons, you have to have a plan.
But the degradation is not there so that a player "has something to do" you understand that wrong. The skill degradation is there so that you can actually get higher stats earlier, the trade-off being that you have to maintain the from time to time.
I could otherwise just remove the stat deterioration and just cut the stat growth in half, so that the player would still max out by the end of the game, but it will take you twice the time to get the the same stats. The end will be the same, but the start will be much slower.
The system is still in the process of being balanced. There were a few bugs that made deterioration seem more intense than it should've been. Also, in the latest alpha-patch, a floor have been added to the stats, so that they would not drop beyond a certain point.

 

[Sigvil]

Will this game have battles?

 

[Shady Character 1]

Will this game have battles?

Not as a main mechanic, but there will be several events and encounters with combat in them.

 

[ArtLink]

The art looks unique and amazing good job. i'm not fan fo this type of games but this one looks so good that i'm will give a try.

 

[Lebeaubrun]

so still no sex scenes?