Others Val Karee [v0.7.20] [ValKaree]

[valkaree99]

Any save to unlock the gallery?

just type in 'allanims' in the title menu

 

[TheZerkster]

Excited to see where the story goes, looking forward to the next stage!

 

[valkaree99]

Hey all, I know I've been quiet but happy to say I've had some good time to work on the game. I plan to have a new release soon that will include the character gallery for the Celeste level. That should fully complete the Celeste level and bring us to the next chapter...

...which is still kinda TBD. I think the storyline is at a good place for a break of sorts. Val has a new 'power' and she's much changed from her first night in the woods. The game also feels pretty full -- it would take a new player 5+ hours to complete (based on players' feedback), and with 50+ anims, 40+ CGIs, and god knows how many background characters, I feel like the game has a very respectable amount of content. And technically, the game is getting heavy. All those animations are weighing it down, making compile times much longer and clogging up the commit workflow.

So given that, I'm thinking to end the game and start 'chapter 2' in a new game. Let's just call the new game 'VK2' for now. It will look and feel just like VK, but with new content. However, I don't see the game having enough content for another 5 levels. Instead, I think 3 new levels is more achievable, for a total of 8 levels. But I don't want to have 5 levels in game 1 and just 3 levels in game 2...

So my thought is to rerelease VK1 with just the first 4 levels. Level 4 (Backdoor) actually ends at a good transition point with meeting the artifact. I'll then release VK2 with the Celeste level already created, and build on that game going forward.

Let me know your thoughts on this. Before I split the game I'll need to polish up the codebase so it's in a good state to use across both games. I'm eager to get started on the new content -- I've actually created a bunch already for the next level -- but need to decide if/how to split the game before I can do much more. So yeah, let me know your thoughts and if you see any issues with this approach.

 

[loshad]

I'm curious - why split the game if the mechanics, look, feel, and even part of the content will be the same?

I can understand setting up VK2 if you're going to introduce new mechanics, or change the narrative flow - but if it's more of the same, why create a separate game?

 

[SurverX]

For me, it sounds great

 

[Switcherous]

I'm curious - why split the game if the mechanics, look, feel, and even part of the content will be the same?

I can understand setting up VK2 if you're going to introduce new mechanics, or change the narrative flow - but if it's more of the same, why create a separate game?

correct me if i am wrong - but didnt he explained why he wants to split the game ?
read his last post again and you will learn that because of the content it takes much longer to compile things.
if you compare it to other games that go into the 10gb area i rather have 2x 5gb game instead.
also for the author better, because if something happens to the code, he already has one part done and dont need to repair things that were already done.

anyway i find it a very good idea to split, especially because of his explanations.
many creators dont communicate that openly.

 

[valkaree99]

I'm curious - why split the game if the mechanics, look, feel, and even part of the content will be the same?

I can understand setting up VK2 if you're going to introduce new mechanics, or change the narrative flow - but if it's more of the same, why create a separate game?

Good question...

The 2 main reasons to split the game are:
1. To make coding easier -- With all the animations in the codebase, compile times increase and I sometimes run out of memory and crash the engine during coding. If we assume the game will have 8 levels total, those new 3 levels will add ~60% more content to the game than what's there now. I'll definitely run into more memory issues as the game grows.
2. To get more eyes on the game -- Feedback for the game is the #1 thing that motivates me. The way F95 is setup, you get the most attention when you release a new game. Granted I'll probably get a lot of negative press given the gore/guro content, but it will hit the widest audience possible. My hope is it will grow the fanbase and increase the conversations here.

That said, a split is a big effort. And if it doesn't lead to benefits with #2, I can probably find some workarounds for #1 without splitting the game.

So what do you guys think? Do you think #2 will lead to significantly more interest in the game? Is there a large amount of F95 users who would play the game, but just don't know about it? How did you find this game, and would this approach have helped you find it much sooner?

 

[sappho]

Sounds like all upsides, no downsides to me

 

[jonas132]

So what do you guys think? Do you think #2 will lead to significantly more interest in the game? Is there a large amount of F95 users who would play the game, but just don't know about it? How did you find this game, and would this approach have helped you find it much sooner?

Personally, I would be attracted to the Completed tag, and it might add the motivation to finally check the game that could have been in the bookmarks already. But I don't think that would be significant enough...

 

[loshad]

Good question...

That said, a split is a big effort. And if it doesn't lead to benefits with #2, I can probably find some workarounds for #1 without splitting the game.

So what do you guys think? Do you think #2 will lead to significantly more interest in the game? Is there a large amount of F95 users who would play the game, but just don't know about it? How did you find this game, and would this approach have helped you find it much sooner?

Thanks for answering the question with some detail.

A few loosely organized thoughts:

1. I, personally, found the game through the "corruption" tag, and gave it a chance despite the violent content.

2. From a narrative/character perspective, it feels like a very odd time to make the jump. A player who has not played the initial levels would have a lot of stuff thrown at them - about the world, about Val's character and its evolution. Would you want to meet a protagonist at the stage that Val is at now, without experiencing the earlier levels?

3. I don't know enough about F95 mechanics to say with any certainty whether a split will give you a bump in the user base.

4. If you're forced to make a split based on the technical capabilities of the codebase/engine - I'd first suggest a pass on coding optimization. The game is 600 Mbs - not tiny, but also not "break my machine" large.

In short - if it's something you think you're forced into to continue development - then I suppose you have your answer - though I'd still encourage you to consider an optimization approach first.

 

[valkaree99]

Personally, I would be attracted to the Completed tag, and it might add the motivation to finally check the game that could have been in the bookmarks already. But I don't think that would be significant enough...

I think you're right. While I think there may be some additional eyes on the game because it's 'new', so many of the games on F95 are in development and that doesn't seem to keep people away.

 

[valkaree99]

Thanks for answering the question with some detail.

A few loosely organized thoughts:

1. I, personally, found the game through the "corruption" tag, and gave it a chance despite the violent content.

2. From a narrative/character perspective, it feels like a very odd time to make the jump. A player who has not played the initial levels would have a lot of stuff thrown at them - about the world, about Val's character and its evolution. Would you want to meet a protagonist at the stage that Val is at now, without experiencing the earlier levels?

3. I don't know enough about F95 mechanics to say with any certainty whether a split will give you a bump in the user base.

4. If you're forced to make a split based on the technical capabilities of the codebase/engine - I'd first suggest a pass on coding optimization. The game is 600 Mbs - not tiny, but also not "break my machine" large.

In short - if it's something you think you're forced into to continue development - then I suppose you have your answer - though I'd still encourage you to consider an optimization approach first.

Thanks, good feedback as always.

2 - Yeah it would be a lot to consume without playing the first 4 levels. My idea was people would see the link to the original game and try to play that first.

3 - The more I think about it, the more I think the split won't increase the user base much. I have to think most people who are looking for this sort of game would have found it by now. And it's unlikely many folks just search for 'completed' games and ignore the rest.

I'm leaning away from the split, which is a relief of sorts because it would definitely take some time to build out. That said, I have been thinking about making a non-guro version of the game once it's been completed. That's been the biggest pushback from the public, and I'm curious if the content was less violent whether it would garner a lot of attention.

 

[valkaree99]

I just uploaded the new release, which basically completes the Celeste level. Release notes below. Hope you guys like it, let me know what you think.

As for what's coming, I've decided to NOT split the game after all. I plan to release 3 more levels before considering the game complete. I'm hoping to release Level 6 in about 2 months and will post updates as things materialize.

Thanks all

Spoiler: release notes

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[DM72]

I'm still kinda new to F95 and still trying to learn the slang.. can someone explain what 'H content" means please? I've seen it on several games, but I have no clue what it means lol

 

[avecaesar99]

The futa mod doesn't seem to be working on the main character. It works on enemies though.

 

[valkaree99]

I'm still kinda new to F95 and still trying to learn the slang.. can someone explain what 'H content" means please? I've seen it on several games, but I have no clue what it means lol

H stands for 'hentai', which is animated porn.

 

[valkaree99]

The futa mod doesn't seem to be working on the main character. It works on enemies though.

I don't think SurverX 's futa mod works on Val, but in the Celeste level Val gets an 'upgrade'...

 

[SCP 001]

has anyone succeeded in running this game with Wine/Wineskin on a Mac?

after opening the game, it tries to download Microsoft Edge Webview 2, but the install fails with "Installer error 0x80000003"

 

[DM72]

H stands for 'hentai', which is animated porn.

Thank you! I'm sorry about my ignorance, I'm still learning haha

 

[oborohotsuma]

I just uploaded the new release, which basically completes the Celeste level.

when i spare celeste and talk with the blue thing this ending have no cgi yet