Dugnutty

Newbie
Mar 22, 2023
44
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BBC girl is no longer racially locked, she's just harder to convince if the protag isn't Black. Racially locked girls rely on there being IRL content of the actress banging Asian or Latino actors, and these are relatively rare. Like, I can't even think of an (east) Asian porn star off the top of my head.
 

Usex809

Member
Mar 25, 2023
342
315
139
I played this game and got into the discord channel too. i would say that without mods its barebones as modes make a lot of gameplay, get atleast emporium, blacked, dredd intimacy, office girls restore, and bar spike, and dont forget wharf too. I am using 100 mods and its still on low side to be honest, but mods enrich this game. Some mods help in feminizing character more, some helps in masculanization. Some add beefy story lines, and so on. So you need them, total size will be around 30 GB or so, so yeah mods are a big thing in this game.

Now on to discord, while most are actually cool to talk with, some old players in the servers are cranky and downright condescending, and its quite difficult for a newbie to get started. But its minority, rest are super cool and supportive, even if some major people in the server are jaded and not newbie friendly, most are very helpful so I would suggest to go in channel if you have some questions but do expect some of pushback if you ask about updates or criticise game and so on.

Personally, with mods this game is solid 9/10 game. And upcoming mods are really good, one is for proper stripper job. Another similar game I would suggest is Clean Slate, that game at base level alone is 9.8/10, its silent nowadays because dev is moving from QSP to twine but it is really a very good game but having more natural progression and corruption than X Change.

And for updates, expect 3-4 or even 2 updates a year. Aphrodite have other projects too and honestly base X Change game just adds overall features and framework for mods, you should look more for mod updates.
 
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Sep 7, 2025
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The problem with this game is that it's developed in fucking Harlowe, a framework not fit for such a big project, expect development to slow down to a crawl eventually since every feature, every line added just makes the overall database harder to work with. What Aphrodite has achieved with it is nice but i dont see it ever reaching its full potential.
 

stochastic

Newbie
Dec 21, 2019
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The problem with this game is that it's developed in fucking Harlowe, a framework not fit for such a big project, expect development to slow down to a crawl eventually since every feature, every line added just makes the overall database harder to work with. What Aphrodite has achieved with it is nice but i dont see it ever reaching its full potential.
The problem with this comment is that you're unaware that XCL doesn't use regular Harlowe and that multiple people have been improving and enhancing XCL's version over the years, in addition to steadily increasing the amount of javascript used internally. Harlowe is not a limiting factor because Aphrodite is not content to let Harlowe limit what she does.
 
Sep 7, 2025
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The problem with this comment is that you're unaware that XCL doesn't use regular Harlowe and that multiple people have been improving and enhancing XCL's version over the years, in addition to steadily increasing the amount of javascript used internally. Harlowe is not a limiting factor because Aphrodite is not content to let Harlowe limit what she does.
Not only Harlowe is limiting as a framework but also javascript is limiting as an engine for a project like XCL which is big and aims to be even bigger. Aphrodite might have a crazy work ethic but she's not a software engineer and there are fundamental limitations to the engine that she wouldn't be able to plow through with sheer will. The codebase of the game is an spaghetti mess and it's ugly to work with, the proof of my claim is in that with time development has slowed down significantly already with Aphrodite taking much more frequent breaks to 'recharge' and work in other things in where she doesn't have to touch the spaghetti mess that is the codebase of XCL.
 
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stochastic

Newbie
Dec 21, 2019
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Not only Harlowe is limiting as a framework but also javascript is limiting as an engine for a project like XCL which is big and aims to be even bigger. Aphrodite might have a crazy work ethic but she's not a software engineer and there are fundamental limitations to the engine that she wouldn't be able to plow through with sheer will. The codebase of the game is an spaghetti mess and it's ugly to work with, the proof of my claim is in that with time development has slowed down significantly already with Aphrodite taking much more frequent breaks to 'recharge' and work in other things in where she doesn't have to touch the spaghetti mess that is the codebase of XCL.
What "fundamental limitations" are you referring to? The save system has already been stripped out and replaced to use indexeddb instead local storage, data structures are passed by reference instead of deep cloned, there are numerous new functions, and the history feature that bloats storage has been removed, among other things. I've seen more taxing and sophisticated uses of javascript running within modern browsers than anything XCL aspires to be, and even from there web assembly is still an option if js performance becomes an issue, as is moving to a desktop application framework like Electron (or one of the less bloated alternatives) where pieces can be steadily replaced with more performant, precompiled code as necessary.

Taking breaks to work on other projects isn't proof that the "spaghetti mess" is a barrier, it's evidence that writing for the same project for years is draining and it's not weird to want other creative outlets from time to time.
 
Sep 7, 2025
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What "fundamental limitations" are you referring to? The save system has already been stripped out and replaced to use indexeddb instead local storage, data structures are passed by reference instead of deep cloned, there are numerous new functions, and the history feature that bloats storage has been removed, among other things. I've seen more taxing and sophisticated uses of javascript running within modern browsers than anything XCL aspires to be, and even from there web assembly is still an option if js performance becomes an issue, as is moving to a desktop application framework like Electron (or one of the less bloated alternatives) where pieces can be steadily replaced with more performant, precompiled code as necessary.

Taking breaks to work on other projects isn't proof that the "spaghetti mess" is a barrier, it's evidence that writing for the same project for years is draining and it's not weird to want other creative outlets from time to time.
The performance issues are the tip of the iceberg and not my point:
Harlowe itself is a dogshit framework for large projects like XCL, harlowe was designed for visual novels for people with zero programming experience. The performance issues aren't the problem yet (even if they're becoming possible to ignore as time goes on) but the codebase itself turns into sphagetti code the more it grows due to harlowe not being designed for it. the proof is the slow down in development as the game grows EVEN if dev work increases or stays the same.
 

humex

Newbie
Apr 28, 2018
41
9
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The performance issues are the tip of the iceberg and not my point:
Harlowe itself is a dogshit framework for large projects like XCL, harlowe was designed for visual novels for people with zero programming experience. The performance issues aren't the problem yet (even if they're becoming possible to ignore as time goes on) but the codebase itself turns into sphagetti code the more it grows due to harlowe not being designed for it. the proof is the slow down in development as the game grows EVEN if dev work increases or stays the same.
what would you suggest tho?

i want to build a similar game but i am also turned off by harlowe.

i feel like mod support is a must for a game like that
 

promqueen4131

Newbie
Sep 7, 2019
33
26
159
The performance issues are the tip of the iceberg and not my point:
Harlowe itself is a dogshit framework for large projects like XCL, harlowe was designed for visual novels for people with zero programming experience. The performance issues aren't the problem yet (even if they're becoming possible to ignore as time goes on) but the codebase itself turns into sphagetti code the more it grows due to harlowe not being designed for it. the proof is the slow down in development as the game grows EVEN if dev work increases or stays the same.
This is ragebait right?
 

HaardtGames

New Member
Feb 28, 2025
9
4
22
I only play the online version, because of the download limits from the PC I'm playing, so I cannot tell if a mod already took care of this.
But I wonder why in the "story lore" there are blue and pink pills? It would be much simpler to just say that a x-Change pill transforms a biological male into female and vice versa. Only the "plus" pill really rewrites the complete DNA into the other gender. The effects of the other special pills could be adapted to a male version (eg breeder can only cum in Vagina of a woman... or Bimbo is a "Show off" (need expensive watch and need to flirt often etc..)).
With a mechanic like this the game would open way more options for additional storylines. The pills to spike Girls would be already in the game. Bar Girls, Office Girls, Alexia... All of them could easy have an additional story. It could also be a proof wich gender you really are. If you are on x-change and take an additional pill, nothing happens...

The backgroundstory of this game is really great and more complex then most other games. But from the developing point of view it would be better to keep some things simpel. Don't create things for a game, that the player cannot use or are not implemented!

I know, the existing content is already too big to rewrite and maybe Aphrodite has other plans. I just wanted to tell...
 

stochastic

Newbie
Dec 21, 2019
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what would you suggest tho?

i want to build a similar game but i am also turned off by harlowe.

i feel like mod support is a must for a game like that
The general consensus is that Harlowe is kinda bad, and worse than SugarCube for essentially any purpose. Ren'py is definitely more scalable, though you may or may not like the default style. Beyond that, while there are a few other competitors to Twine/Twee storyformats, you get into picking a game engine like Godot or Unreal Engine if you really care about maximum development flexibility and performance.

If you want to make something like XCL, obviously Harlowe works though you will in time need to start making changes to Harlowe itself the way XCL has, but I suggest SugarCube instead.

This is ragebait right?
The guy you're quoting can't seem to offer up any specific problems with Harlowe that cannot be worked around or fixed by making improvements to Harlowe or using javascript where helpful. He's mentioned "spaghetti code" twice, which suggests to me that he took a BASIC class once in 7th grade and has watched some YouTube videos.
 
Sep 7, 2025
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what would you suggest tho?

i want to build a similar game but i am also turned off by harlowe.

i feel like mod support is a must for a game like that
It depends on which platforms you're targeting but if i assume you want the broadest coverage possible and go with a webapp then just use React.

The guy you're quoting can't seem to offer up any specific problems with Harlowe that cannot be worked around or fixed by making improvements to Harlowe or using javascript where helpful. He's mentioned "spaghetti code" twice, which suggests to me that he took a BASIC class once in 7th grade and has watched some YouTube videos.
The problems im speaking off are obvious to anyone with knowledge of the platform, you seem to be stubbornly fixated on performance issues when they're merely the tip of the iceberg. anyone with domain knowledge knows what im talking about when i point out the fundamental design issues harlowe has for big projects like XCL and those who dont know can take the slowdown in release cadence as time goes on as proof. The reason i refuse to engage on specifics is because i dont feel like going on a 50-page shit flinging contest with you, if you dont like people having an opinion then go back to the XCL discord.
 

Axax6969

New Member
Aug 17, 2020
1
0
70
Any chance of getting Lena Paul modded into the game at least as a bar girl if not as playable character, thanks
 

tooldev

Active Member
Feb 9, 2018
896
868
184
stochastic & st0rmcr4sh
This thread is hardly the right place to discuss the ins and outs of a particular system's advantages and disadvantages. The game uses what it does, that's it. We have areas for technical discussions here on F95 and/or direct your inputs directly to the developer via for example the conversation option. The game works and any notion of 'doomsaying' it is going to fail or end due to technical limitations is hardly a concern currently for anyone just playing it. It has been around for quite some time, it is being constantly worked on and there is a lively mod-community. That is all an average user (consumer) of the product is interested in.
 
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