Let's Discuss v0.12 Feedback: Combat

As you can see in the chart, we have a pretty nice bell shaped curve around a 3.5 or so in terms of the reaction, with the average reaction score being a 3.68. That is about what I expected; maybe a little worse than I hoped for, but certainly not as bad as I feared the reaction could potentially be. In other words, I think the feeling overall is that the combat system is worth trying to improve. I want to address some specific comments and feedback here. This doesn't represent all of the feedback. In general, we're not gonna really talk about much positive feedback just because those largely don't need addressed, but I do want to say that ALL feedback I received was useful and greatly appreciated! So let's look at some specific comments.

Part 1: Addressing the Grind

Most comments referencing the grind of combat came out before the v0.12.3 patch which addressed the cost of making certain potions. I believe that, for the most part, the adjustments to potion ingredients in that patch lowered the overall grind and cost of combat to a reasonable level. Judging by the prevalence of complaints about the grind before the patch compared to afterward, I think this has been addressed.

That doesn't mean I'm done adjusting things though. I plan to add more mechanics, like a heal-over-time status, to help reduce overall potion requirements and to make players who plan ahead able to do more than chuck potions in certain encounters. Additional potions and the ability to purchase certain potions will also come in v0.13 to help alleviate the grind and expand your "tactical" options further.

So overall, partially addressed, but with more improvements coming.

Enemy Lust/Status Indicators

Many players requested the ability to see enemy lust, which is indeed a good idea. Instead of a bar, I'm experimenting with making the increase obvious but not with 100% accuracy. Basically by adding a glow/blush effect. I'm not sure exactly how I will address this, but it is a good idea and a needed feature, so rest assured it's coming.

I also plan to buff the effects of lust, but only for enemies. This way, it should be more obvious the status is in play just through playing, but without making Priscilla totally unmanageable.

Enemy Sprites, Visuals, and Interface

I'm lumping these three together even though they're all a bit different. For 1, the enemy sprites will eventually change. They are more or less placeholders, and at some point I will commission art for them. I don't think they're that awful, but YMMV. Also adding more intricate animations and effects is something that interests me, which will help.

As far as menus and organizations of options, there's a lot there, and I need to think about how best to organize things. I have no plans right now to change the menus, only because I don't have any real ideas for improvement. That's not to say it can't or shouldn't be improved, just that I need to time to consider how to make that happen.

What's the Point?

I'm lumping these together as a sort of "what's the point in even having the combat anyway?"

I think maybe combat is too easy if you've been playing for a while, like you have a very "wealthy" save file, or if you've got access to cheats and the inclination to use them, whereas for players without those benefits, it's extremely grindy. So for the too easy argument, I think there's just some balance issues there that I can smooth over by making combat not harder but instead more reliant on good decision-making as opposed to just having enough stuff. That's a long-term design goal.

As far as why have combat at all, this is more complicated, and something I could probably spin out into it's own post, but an extremely brief way of putting it would be that the stakes of the content, in my opinion, grew out of the framework I had developed to present those stakes. In other words, we have been moving toward a conclusion that will by necessity feature violence. I initially intended to resolve all violence the same way I dealt with it so far in the story, like with the assassin who comes for Carol or the men who attacked Roland's tavern or the lich fightin the "Ass Pull" request; that is, with narrative choice rather than mechanics. And to be sure, I still intend to feature some "combat" scenes like that that are narrative and choice-driven. But I felt like that was no longer enough. Writing complex action scenes with branching paths like the lich fight was taking so much time, I realized a combat system would be a more efficient use of my time and be able to communicate the high stakes of certain scenes in a way that was essentially repeatable, without cheapening all the drama.

As to how I arrived at this particular system with the player supporting Priscilla, I just felt that this system most fit the game and meshed with the potion and alchemy mechanics already present. I also think the idea of healing in a group context has already been fetishized in a certain way by the internet at large, and that feels really on-brand to me too.

In short, I think it was the best solution to the problem I was facing, but it isn't a decision that has no drawbacks, and I do recognize that.

What about player spells and abilities?

I think this will be addressed with the addition of improved healing and healing-over-time. I am going to try to make combat more engaging and less of a zero-sum "chuck potion at Priscilla or die" sort of affair.

As far as the player gaining additional powers, that is not off the table, and that's all I really want to say about that right now.

Odds and Ends

Here I'm just gonna respond to some longer and more general comments.

I appreciate the honesty here. You also don't have to butter me up! I asked for the criticism!

I do pointedly want to avoid any sort of "battle-fuck" content, it's just not my thing. I do agree that the combat system does suck all the sexiness right out of what's going on, so maybe some more sexual content with Priscilla like you are suggesting would improve it.

One potential improvement could be to simply allow patrons to skip combat completely via a cheat. Note that I would love more detail about your feelings, but because this feedback form is anonymous, I don't have any means to reach out to you. Please feel free to message me here or on discord (OutsiderArtisan#7181), though. If you don't mind talking publicly, you can also comment here or just go to the discord server and sound off.

This is the sort of zero-sum gameplay I've mentioned before. I hope healing-over-time and improved healing abilities will help this. Tweaks to the feedback of statuses and lust is also a great idea, as mentioned previously! Thank you for the detailed feedback! I think you're absolutely right about your suggestions for improvement.

I just included this to prove that not all the comments were negative or even criticism, a few people did just say they liked the system with no qualifications! There's not much to respond to there, other than to say that your feedback is just as appreciated and useful, so thank you! Nothing wrong with some encouragement!

Conclusion

Some changes over the next few updates will hopefully help improve combat. My number one goal is to improve the diversity of viable options at any given moment, and to allow players to come up with more interesting strategies in fights rather than being purely reactive. Improved visual design and status/lust communication to the player is also something I want to do, along with balance focused more on the action in combat itself rather than purely being based on how prepared you are.

It's a tall order, but I think enough people liked the combat system enough that it's worth diving into and trying to improve. Of course, if you disagree, please feel free to respond to this post or reach out to me. I really do appreciate and consider the feedback of players carefully. Feedback, positive or negative, really does help me find the good game buried in Succubus Stories. 

Anyway, we'll talk more soon. I will continue to break down feedback I've received.

Note: If I used a screenshot of one of your comments in this post and you'd prefer I didn't, please feel free to message me and I'll remove the screenshot and replace it with a paraphrase instead!