HTML Unholy Arts [v0.4.5b] [Deep Interactivity]

[WellIGuess]

I'm going to agree with above posters re: the social system. While it looks very polished and complex, it feels... needlessly so and (especially since there's no tutorial or other resource to explain it) far too hard to parse. Also, the AI is predictably rather dumb about the whole thing (such as constantly initiating gestures you auto-decline, raising negativity in both characters with no input from you), which I have to assume would be easier to work around with less stats. Barring radical changes (and potential dumbing down) of the game's system, however, I'd like to have a comprehensive guide on what each stat does and how to raise/lower it. Make it optional if you feel it's 'spoiling' too much.

That negative aside... I really do like the characters and the story as presented so far. It has good potential to be a game actually worth reading through, which is a higher bar than most realise.

 

[Croaa]

Thanks for the bug report, it sounds troublesome. A save file would be most helpful.

You must be registered to see the links

's the 3 mo save file after the bug occured

 

[Ahegao9012]

I really like the idea of a text-based power dynamics relationship focused game. It's really the perfect medium to pull something like that off. And so far it's been executed well and looks very promising, the setting makes sense for the MC to be how dominant or submissive as you want to and the other candidates are interesting enough for me to actually not make reading through story sections a bore, which is IMO a big feat for a game of such nature.

The only big problem I have with it gameplay-wise (or at least the only one I haven't seen adressed yet) is that servitude relationships seem like something that should be one of the core mechanics of the game, but right now they sit in an uncomfortable position where they're both hugely overpowered because it's almost impossible to lose a battle when you have the numbers advantage so you can just enslave the entire Temple and/or rack up merit like crazy after you get one sub, but also rather underwhelming since all they really translate to is free sex scenes and some merit. Meanwhile sex isn't hard to get at all and you can get more merit by just humiliating your opponents. There really should be some minor mechanics exclusive to this kind of relationship to make them more interesting and profitable in other ways than just obtaining merit, especially since infamy is supposed to be a big thing in the future and the easiest way to get it is through forcing people into servitude.

 

[MrCrazy123]

I downloaded this to check it out and it seems like all the images are broken? Did my install fuck up or is there something I'm missing? The OP has working images but I just see those little 'bad file' icons

NVM: relaunching seemed to have mysteriously fixed it so it's just something on my end.

 

[DeepInteractivity]

Croaa : Thanks, I'll get to work on a hotfix soon

You enter the Stars Tower from the Ambition Corridor but can only leave from there to the Fulfilment Corridor. Bug?

Yes, it is. Good catch!

The conversation mechanics is needlessly complex and leads to some pretty contrarian actions done by whatever 2nd actor. If I had a choice, I'd start slashing away the myriad social points system down into just 4 categories: submissive, dominance, love, and rivalry. Yes it would be dumbing it down into the paragon vs renegade similes of Mass Effect but I'd think all that superficial reduction would allow more room for better relation webs (ie. the other girls like/dislike each other based on certain characteristics and utilizing that to your advantages rather than the brute force approach to the bdsm I see here).

I'm going to agree with above posters re: the social system. While it looks very polished and complex, it feels... needlessly so and (especially since there's no tutorial or other resource to explain it) far too hard to parse. Also, the AI is predictably rather dumb about the whole thing (such as constantly initiating gestures you auto-decline, raising negativity in both characters with no input from you), which I have to assume would be easier to work around with less stats. Barring radical changes (and potential dumbing down) of the game's system, however, I'd like to have a comprehensive guide on what each stat does and how to raise/lower it. Make it optional if you feel it's 'spoiling' too much.

That negative aside... I really do like the characters and the story as presented so far. It has good potential to be a game actually worth reading through, which is a higher bar than most realise.

The lack of explanations is a very fair criticism, not just to the relations system but to a lot of mechanics. I will eventually introduce texts to the library that help to explain the more obscure details of some mechanics, but I'm not diving into it until I get a few other things in place, so that I don't have to rewrite too much.

I understand that it doesn't look like there's a need for so many parameters in relationships right now, but I expect them to allow for a richer variety of situations in the future. If romance and sexual tension are turned into one parameter: how do you differentiate between one character that feels connected to you at an emotional level (who'd like to be allied with you and avoid confrontation) and another one who just wants you between her legs (and would only like one-time stands, battle you for sex, or any kind of relationship that doesn't require love)? If rivalry and enmity are mixed together: how do you differentiate between a character who feels like competing with you but doesn't want to take it beyond there (for example, Valtan getting annoyed at you if you block her from wooing Padmiri), and another character who hates your guts for substantial reasons (Padmiri and Claw considering that the other has dangerous or childish views on the world)? These are different attitudes that should be reflected differently in the AI's behavior. The friendship parameter is important in case someone wants to get along with a given character for whatever reason, but doesn't really fancy them. A more critical case: in a future scenario where adventures are introduced, you may find new characters on the maps: if some of them are male but the player wants to disable male sexual interactions, you may still need a way to improve your relationship with them - if friendship, sexual tension and romance are all turned into love, that gives me a serious design issue.

 

[xianhun3757]

Can I see the pregnant tags in future？

 

[Feetguy224]

Would it be possible to make a keybind to advance a turn? It gets a little cumbersome having to click each time. Also like another person asked about as well, hopefully you can add character specific dialogue during battle. I think the dynamic of Dom/Sub and being in servitude etc. would add alot of depth if it can be fit in at some point.

I really enjoy the game so far and look forward to your work.

 

[DeepInteractivity]

Can I see the pregnant tags in future？

If there's ever pregnancy, it will be as very late content to go into the Epilogue. Adding a pregnancy, especially if it happens through the game's mechanics, complicates the narrative far too much.

Would it be possible to make a keybind to advance a turn? It gets a little cumbersome having to click each time. Also like another person asked about as well, hopefully you can add character specific dialogue during battle. I think the dynamic of Dom/Sub and being in servitude etc. would add alot of depth if it can be fit in at some point.

I really enjoy the game so far and look forward to your work.

I should really have looked into keybinds earlier. It would surprise me if there wasn't a predefined way to implement them in Sugarcube.

Edit: I knew I was forgetting something. From senketsu4444 's review:

I'd probably give some examples of simple ways to play at the start, you can spend a lot of time socialising and getting into the game but then when the challenge system is introduced you find out you built your character in a way that you don't like.

This is a fair point. I didn't want battles to be available right from the start of the game because the risk of information overload in a game where there are so many mechanics in place from day 1 is high enough already, but introducing a considerably important new mechanic after you've already built your character is a design flaw. A potential option would be to allow a stats respec a few days after battling becomes enabled. It could be abused in some ways, but I think the problem it would solve would outweight the abuse potential.

I'd also unlock saving a bit more, the autosave wasn't enabled for me and it is really frustrating when you forget to save but then see a choice where you want to understand the different outcomes better. There's an argument to be made that it's anti-save scumming but I'm not going to play through this game twice just to see exactly what happens if I reject Nash that one time.

I disabled autosaving because saving to memory is too taxing on some devices (especially when you keep several saves), but it may be possible to configure an option to enable/disable auto-saving, and set it as disabled by default.

Edit 2: Croaa I've been comparing your save file with a clean one as well as another one from someone who reported the same issue. There's a variable that I use to store a few info dumps, in order to keep track of some things happening behind the scenes that players may not be able to properly notify. I don't know why, but the bugged saves have got filled with nonsensical amounts of empty info. I don't know when I'll discover what's exactly causing that, but in the meantime I'll publish a fix that allows the player to clean that part of the game's memory, which gets rid of the lag. Check itch.io in a couple of hours and you should have the new version there.

 

[BeholdTheWizzard]

Any way to reduce rivalry with Claw?
If you are defiant the first time you meet her, she doesn't want to talk to you at all.

 

[WellIGuess]

If there's ever pregnancy, it will be as very late content to go into the Epilogue. Adding a pregnancy, especially if it happens through the game's mechanics, complicates the narrative far too much.



I should really have looked into keybinds earlier. It would surprise me if there wasn't a predefined way to implement them in Sugarcube.

Edit: I knew I was forgetting something. From senketsu4444 's review:



This is a fair point. I didn't want battles to be available right from the start of the game because the risk of information overload in a game where there are so many mechanics in place from day 1 is high enough already, but introducing a considerably important new mechanic after you've already built your character is a design flaw. A potential option would be to allow a stats respec a few days after battling becomes enabled. It could be abused in some ways, but I think the problem it would solve would outweight the abuse potential.



I disabled autosaving because saving to memory is too taxing on some devices (especially when you keep several saves), but it may be possible to configure an option to enable/disable auto-saving, and set it as disabled by default.

Edit 2: Croaa I've been comparing your save file with a clean one as well as another one from someone who reported the same issue. There's a variable that I use to store a few info dumps, in order to keep track of some things happening behind the scenes that players may not be able to properly notify. I don't know why, but the bugged saves have got filled with nonsensical amounts of empty info. I don't know when I'll discover what's exactly causing that, but in the meantime I'll publish a fix that allows the player to clean that part of the game's memory, which gets rid of the lag. Check itch.io in a couple of hours and you should have the new version there.

Ah, that explains why it was taking more and more time to both delete old saves and create new ones. Ι also like the foresight you're showing in future-proofing your mechanics, but I have to say it: beware of scope creep. A less ambitious, but complete game is worth ten overengineered projects left half-finished. This site is full of the thread-graves of such works.

 

[DeepInteractivity]

Any way to reduce rivalry with Claw?
If you are defiant the first time you meet her, she doesn't want to talk to you at all.

Beat her ass and make her your servant, she'll talk to you then. I will probably make it easier to talk to people you started on the wrong foot with though.

(...) but I have to say it: beware of scope creep. (...)

Thanks for the warning, it's well deserved and I should be cautious about it.

 

[BeholdTheWizzard]

Beat her ass and make her your servant, she'll talk to you then. I will probably make it easier to talk to people you started on the wrong foot with though.

I don't see that happening, she has WAAAAY better stats. I'm not even sure how I can catch up, when all she does is train.

 

[DeepInteractivity]

I don't see that happening, she has WAAAAY better stats. I'm not even sure how I can catch up, when all she does is train.

At the moment, characters following you always help you in assaults, so you can ask a different character to follow you, then assault Claw. It will be very hard for her to win a 2vs1 fight.

 

[mbRjpZLD]

Is there a newbie guide for this? Feel so lost playing this haha. No idea what I should be doing and focussing on? I can train my stats and talk to people but I don't know if that is 'progress'?

 

[DeepInteractivity]

Is there a newbie guide for this? Feel so lost playing this haha. No idea what I should be doing and focussing on? I can train my stats and talk to people but I don't know if that is 'progress'?

At the moment there aren't long term goals in the gameplay, so feel free to treat it like a sandbox where you can roleplay to your heart's content. Of course, if you don't train hard enough, you may fall behind the other candidates, which would put you at a weak spot if they decide to attack you.

 

[TheLlamaGuy]

if you don't train hard enough, you may fall behind the other candidates, which would put you at a weak spot if they decide to attack you.

I see no issue here

 

[ThisIsGay]

Shit like this is cool. The idea of having NPCS that actually behave and interact with others, regardless of the players direct input? Hot.

 

[Radegast]

I don't really "do" reviews and comments and whatnot, but this? [Insert expletive here] yes. Especially with the new(?) subservience mechanic, which is something I've wanted in a game for a good bit now. Excited to watch this as the days go on, and continue struggling with choosing between Nash or Val for my repeated subservient periods lol. (I know it'll probably lead to a less favourable outcome in the long run but hey, I'm here for a good time, and a long time~)

 

[AlexnChaos]

You start the game as a female protagonist. If you don't disable it in the settings before you start the game, all 6 protagonists will become futanaris at the end of the Prologue.

I will admit I'd probably be more interested in this game if you could set who did and didn't go Futa, rather then having it all or nothing with you needing to go into the cheat menu to fiddle with things otherwise, just my view mind you

 

[aledeth]

I don't know if this is some issue on my end only, but I can't save the game in the latest Free version download.
I get a LocalStorage quota exceeded Error when I try.