Progress Report #2 - 0.6

Glad to hear it! I hope you enjoy the rest of it too. Thank you for pledging. :)

hey, Im a new $5.00 donator, just want to say I've only played a little bit of the game, and I already think its great.

Doctor Fate

Reading my last post above again, I realize that it might have been unclear. The feature I'm talking about is the naming of save files. Warning about branch points isn't going to happen to any large degree, partly because they are going to happen somewhat dynamically. There is one exception in the upcoming update (given that I get it all done in time) where the in-game text should make it perfectly clear that you're about to make a major decision. Most of the time it won't work like that.

Well Dubsington, you could also wait for someone to create a walkthrough, because warning for every branch and so on would make the game quite boring. It should flow into the branches instead of warn you into each and everyone of them :P

Palanto

This is a feature that I'm going to have to implement at some point, but right now I'm more focused on pushing out content. I'll get around to it when I feel I have a little extra time.

There are several reasons why I do it like this. One is that limitations with my tools and assets could prevent my writing from actually working, while the opposite is rarely true. Another is that the renders tend to inspire me. New ideas often pop up based on things that look different or better than what I expected. Doing it this way also means that I get to see immediate results in the game while writing, which also lets me adjust what I'm doing to work better.

Could you give us the ability to add a comment to saved gamefiles (I'm thinking of DMD's save mechanic)? That plus a(n optional?) warning when you hit branch points would greatly please my inner completionist. (I'm not proud to admit it, but after finishing a game I've been know to dig through the .rpy files making sure I hit everything, but that's a crap way to do it because the scene is ruined by the act of discovering it.)

Dubsington

You do the CGs before you write the scenes? That surprises me, probably because I'd probably do it in the opposite order. I'm curious about how/why you work that way... Do the visuals come to you before the plot?

Dubsington

Oh I see. This will be.... Interesting :D I won't ask for an ETA but I WILL say I haven't looked forward to an in-dev game like this in a long time! Keep on being awesome ❤️

ThatPatronDude

Choices will affect the main story in major ways too, but not in a way where you can point to a specific moment and say "this is where I went wrong." The scale should be larger than that. You'll see as we get around to it. :)

Oh I didn't mean an automatic save system more like a different save "screen" or "category". But if the choices will only affect character paths and not the game or story in general then it probably won't be as frustrating. But having a New Game+ makes it much more rewarding!

ThatPatronDude

Paths will definitely have unique scenes and will often have major effects on the overall story, but the nonlinear nature of the game poses problems with your automatic save suggestion. It's not the main story that branches (at least not in most cases) but the stories for individual characters, and the "choice points" might not be immediately obvious in all cases. I'll likely warn the player that important choices are coming, and then they'll have to figure out the rest on their own. The intention is for players to find different solutions to problems and discover different paths in New Game+, not to replay parts of their first game over and over.

Oh right! Is this what was hinted at at the start of the game with hidden stats being tracked like molesting the girls at night and stuff? Or will it be actual choices? You know what... Don't tell me. Let's see how it turns out! Besides I don't think paths will be a problem unless there are some stuff that are absolutely unique to each path. Perhaps creating a custom save mechanism with save titles to describe a significant choice event? I dunno am just saying. Something like that might prove to be quite popular since players won't have to redo the game the entire game every time they want to experience a new path and the saves won't get lost in the sea of "regular saves".

ThatPatronDude

It's not really a big secret, so I might as well be a little less secretive than usual about it. While I won't go into detail just yet, 0.6 should feature our very first branching paths, which means players will start to see actual consequences for their actions, both good and bad. Not every path is going to be equally popular, I suspect...

YES! Cant wait to see how you do it all! Asstastic and bubble butts all around! 🤣 I can't say I am sure what you are hinting towards with Evelyn and I have been following the posts as soon as they are made. I'll make double sure to share my experience once I play through 0.6! The more unconventional the better in my opinion. This genre is in desperate need of something fresh, something this game definitely is so far!

ThatPatronDude

Oh, there will definitely be buttloads of buttloads before this game is done. Evelyn's scenes are going to be somewhat unconventional this time around, and I'm expecting some surprised reactions once it's out. 0.6 marks the introduction of one of the core aspects of the game that I haven't been able to show off before this, and I'm really curious to see how people react to it. It's nothing I haven't talked about before, but those not following along with the conversations surrounding the game might not have picked up on them.

Not necessarily this update but thought the game in general. I have high hopes for buttloads! And Evelyn's scenes sound interesting just based on what you said.

ThatPatronDude

There may or may not be buttloads in this update. My lips are sealed (unlike Evelyn's).

Awesome news. Can't wait for 0.6. 0.5 was quite fun! Speaking of buttloads... Can we expect a buttload of buttloads? =D

ThatPatronDude