DeepInteractivity Thanks for fixing the bugs, v29c did the trick for me. Next, time for some feedback if you cared to have it :
1/ the more I play with the current dialogue system, the more I think that something is missing.
For example, it seems strange to me that when an NPC B joins a discussion I was having with NPC A, during which I got NPC A to be friendly, aroused or whatever, NPC B benefits from it. In that regard, it's rather funny (and mildly frustrating) to watch NPC B leave with NPC A shortly after to have sex, while I just
spent wasted a good amount of time working up NPC A in the chat.
It doesn't fit the narrative either that Claw and Nash for example, being hostile to each other because of some early rivalry, suddenly decide to be friendly to each other in a discussion they're having with my character, just because she is friendly to both.
Maybe instead of stats tied to the player character could the game have each of the 5 stats *per character pair* ?
2/ Group discussions are (seriously) bugged at the moment. It's not rare for me to join a discussion where some radio-buttons are missing. I can see the NPCs on the right hand-side bar, but can't interact with them. More troublesome is that if I join a discussion with NPCs A, B & C, and B and C then leave, I can keep talking to either B or C if I had selected them prior, because the radio-button of A doesn't update and remains unselected.
As a result, with the issue expanded on in 1/, I tend to avoid group discussions at the moment.
3/ Some *stronger* kind of persistency of how characters like each other would be welcome in the future. I'm thinking of stuff like jealousy, (long-standing) resentment, (deep) affection or outright (passionate but short-lived) lust. Basically, some more "real" human psychology to the game.
Currently, it's not rare for Val to ask on her own for a talk, and the first option she picks is "ignores whatever you're saying" or something offensive like that. It's alright to have a "bad day" from time to time (especially if the game accounted for them just having lost a challenge, for example), but it looks to me that it's always up to the player to make the effort to ignore the initial random "snappishness", then to raise the "friendliness", to reach at least a "neutral" mood.
If there is some romance going on, the first interactions should be at least friendly... unless there was some jealousy... unless there were some short-term events... but everything is forgotten if lust takes over... etc. Maybe it already works like that, but it doesn't really feel that way when the first greeting you receive from your "companion" is an insult.
4/ I read your announcement on Patreon, and I'm really, really looking forward to the story being expanded in the future. This is what's going to make or break the game to me.
I fully understand what you've tried to do with coding and tuning the gameplay during the last few months, to get to a stable core that the story can expand on. The addition of NPC vocalizations during sex were highly appreciated, and they seem much less prone to masturbating than before. I still can't say I'm a big fan of the current iteration of the mini-game, because it remains as dry and repetitive as computer-generated chain of events come.
Sex being the spice of life, it should be eventful, diverse, rich and why not surprising. From a pure min-maxing point of view, the optimal option seems to currently rub genitals and stick to that selection till the end, for every NPC. Why should players bother ? Sex always happens in the same location, with no interaction with the environment, other events of the day, other relationships, disregarding any potential preferences or kinks that each partner could have.
Maybe could the scrolls and kinks somehow be limited to some NPCs (or better yet as a "canon"/"randomized" setting in the game options), as a good start ?
5/ Speaking of which, could you further elaborate on what the "
NPC Candidates bonuses " game setting does ? Does it add "hypnotizing gaze" to each NPC if I selected "Hypnosis" ? Are there any NPCs who would have (and keep) that ability if i don't select any option ?
You did a great job characterizing your NPCs, so I'd prefer them to remain unique, even in the bedroom, but I'm not sure that's what I'm getting.
6/ Finally, I'm coming back to my idea that there needs to be some over-arching progression system that controls and enforces long-term consequences to the interactions of the player and even the NPCs. As it currently works, one day an NPC can be in what seems to be a strong companionship or servitude-relationship with someone, and three days later the couple just randomly interchanges partners as if nothing ever happened.
I do not know if the progression system should be pregnancy as we've mentioned here before, "marking" partners or some kind of stronger "affection meter", but the fact is that something should be looked into to make "giving/receiving attention", at any time of the day (sex, tutorship, etc.), a more precious "gift" than it currently is, a gift that would be wasted just randomly rotating between partners. To give you an example of what I could suggest, the tutor could very well "lose" some experience to benefit their "pupil". It would be an investment, but will it be worth it in the end ? That would be a question that keeps the story interesting.
I think that should be long enough for now. Thanks for reading.
EDIT: Player "values" (ambition, domination, etc.) increase, but never level up for me. Maybe because I don't play for long enough ?
There's a minor spelling error during the event introducing magic at the start of the third day at the Temple
