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Okay, this post is going to double as a weekly update and the version 0.8.0 progress post! There's a lot to cover - skip to the end if you just want to be involved with the key issues. UPDATED: APRIL 27 I know this isn't the best-looking game out there. I don't have the technical skills to compete with some of the amazing stuff other people are putting out, but I do think about this. Whenever I can improve something without taking time away from creating more content, I try to go for other improvements. To that end, this version I've completed a number of improvements I've been preparing/planning. Some of the most dramatic are the character revamps we've been discussing in the $10 threads: - Yarra now has custom art more befitting a succubus: http://i1383.photobucket.com/albums/ah284/sierraleeauthor/Yarra1_zpsqvwuokvg.png - Carina has a profile appropriate for a priestess: http://i1383.photobucket.com/albums/ah284/sierraleeauthor/Carina_zps1tmsy8jf.png - Hilstara has better emotional range: http://i1383.photobucket.com/albums/ah284/sierraleeauthor/2md5stw.jpg_zpsgmvwvfv7.png CRITICAL TO DO LIST (what has to get done) - The newest chapter is mostly finished, but the enemies need testing/balancing. - All the sex scenes are written (ten of them!) but they haven't been edited or implemented. - I need to make more NPCs for the new phase of Ari-Yhilina. Right now only the quest-important NPCs have been given new dialogue. (DONE) - Complete playthrough for final testing. I'm holding off on this until all updates that might potentially break the game are done. IDEAL TO DO LIST (what I'd like to get done) - Prologue remake. As soon as the first Chosen dies, I want to hit players with the game's full scope and quality. To that end, I'll be remaking most of those maps using a wide variety of different tilesets. Some of the characters shown will get art upgrades. I'd also like to introduce a new character who I'd planned to leave for later, hopefully provide another hook. (50%) - Increase the icon set. I have a huge one that can handle all the sex items/skills, but when I change over it will screw up every icon in the game so far and so I'll need to edit a bunch of things. (DONE) - Make the mushroom sidequest guy take them all at once. Shouldn't be hard, it's just never been at the top of my priority list. WAITING LIST (what I'm just waiting on) - Waiting on custom title screen and some other organizational screens. - I've commissioned more emotion facesets for Yarra's new look. - The Hilstara art above is preliminary, the final version will be a little better. (DONE) - Potentially waiting on sex scene CGs (see below). WISHLIST (what I'd like but don't have a way to do yet) - You know how it tells you a character's title and affection when you talk to them in a camp? I wanted this to be a popup that appears alongside their dialogue, but after trying a bunch of systems never found one that did it well. (DONE) - Givini NPCs still use generator faces, which I don't like. I wish I could find more good quality resources for black characters, but I've had limited success so far. - It would be cool to replace the map screens with custom images. - I haven't found a script or other method to permanently change the music for an area. I'd like to change the background music for the razed farm after the attack. COMPLETED LIST (already done) - The next chapter of the plot is done and a major economic system is implemented. - The game now uses custom menus. Nothing fancy, but I think it matches the feel of the game better. - I dropped some money on new tiles, NPCs, and other resources. I want each country to have a different look and feel (as you've probably noticed, I used Mack tiles for Yhilin) and now I should be able to distinguish all of them. - Formerly generic NPCs like Ina, Lucy, Kara, and Orcent now have unique sprites and facesets. - The shade of Varia's sprite now matches her bust/faceset. - A few new facesets now match characters better (for example, succubus leaders no longer use lamia faces). - I also gave the Zirantian prostitute a proper non-generated faceset. - When traveling the map screen in Stineford, you now have a movement cursor instead of a normal sprite (this will also be used for future region maps). - Finally got a fog system figured out: maps can now have clouds, fogs, sunlight, and probably many other things. The ones I have may require some tweaking, but I think they make several areas look nicer. - Similarly, I'm making better use of VX Ace's weather effects. They don't feel appropriate for too many areas so far, but feel free to leave feedback on this. - Yarra now presides over a harem management system. Right now it doesn't have a lot of functionality, but it lets you see everyone's profile shots again and keep track of people. - Did a little remapping to areas that were bland or to make better use of my new tilesets. - We have music that is, if not custom, at least non-default. I'm not going to add what I have recklessly, since it will balloon the file size, but I'll be including new songs as they're needed for added variety. - Battle music now varies. Bosses have a different theme, there's sadder music when you're forced to fight a certain ally, etc. - One of those is a new theme song that isn't so heavily used. Hopefully everyone likes it or lets it grow on them, because I really like the feel of it. - Sex skills rebalanced so combat is slightly less grindy (basically by taking away any reason to grind for healing at the end of fights). - Shops now display more information about equipment so purchasing decisions are easier. - The text box toggles on and off when you press the Control key. This is useless right now, but maybe someday... - Robin and Hilstara's EXP in Stineford changed slightly. You can still optimize experience, but they won't be as far behind if you get them very late. - Lots of little notes. Robin/Hilstara comment more in Stineford, story dialogue changes slightly based on optional stuff, etc. - Bunch of minor cosmetic things fixed... though I've probably introduced as many new problems... There is one piece of bad news: old save files are going to be invalid. I wasted a few hours trying to get them to convert without being buggy as hell before giving up. Sorry about that, but I plan for this to be the last time I make substantial changes to the game that could result in such bugs. Some of this was inevitable, so better now than later. Now is the time to make any general requests! Once this version is out, I want to focus on creating more plot and sex content for a while. I know that's what brought people to the game in the first place, so once I reach this tier of quality I hope to devote myself to the heart of the project. That's way more fund than this stuff. -_- Now, all this leaves us with several key issues I'd like input on: RELEASE DATE: I'll probably be done on time (ready to release May 2nd), but I don't know if the art will be. This could really delay things. WISHLIST STUFF: If you know of a way to do any of the things on my list, or you have something you'd like to add, now is the time. POTENTIAL SEX CGs: This has been a major request from the beginning. Now, getting custom CGs for every scene would bring the project grinding to a halt, but I have in mind an interim concept. If each character had a single CG, it would give the majority of scenes a visual component and provide a solid base from which to work in an ideal future. Even this would slow down the release, however.* PROMOTION: I'm not done with any of it yet, but I'll be asking you all for input on really putting the game's best foot forward as this version is released. *We could do something like a backer release with finalized gameplay, then you could all see the finalized art once the public version is released.

Files

http://i1383.photobucket.com/albums/ah284/sierraleeauthor/Yarra1_zpsqvwuokvg.png

Comments

Anonymous

"- The next chapter of the plot is done and a major economic system is implemented." Looking forward to this part. I don't know if it's part of the final vision, but I've always liked empire-building games and while I'm not expecting the next Civilization game or anything, I like the idea of clawing your way to the top in a way that's pretty unique for an RPG. "- Yarra now presides over a harem management system. Right now it doesn't have a lot of functionality, but it lets you see everyone's profile shots again and keep track of people." I was hoping something like this would be implemented. Lots of potential. Can you drop any hints about possible future functions? "- Lots of little notes. Robin/Hilstara comment more in Stineford, story dialogue changes slightly based on optional stuff, etc." This is the bread and butter of a good RPG. It's the little things that really come together to make a better experience. RELEASE DATE: If the art is going to be delayed, I'd be fine with holding it back for ver 9.0, if that's possible. The next chapter sounds awesome and I can't wait. lol. POTENTIAL SEX CGs: Not sure what you meant exactly. Are you talking like a nude pinup of the girl as the background during a scene she stars in?

Argenten

Love the update and the constant communication with the Patrons/fans. Really shows a level of commitment and open-mindedness you don't see much of nowadays. As I've said on the $10 threads, the changes over all for the 3 characters shown here are well done and will add to the story. Would be happy to test/edit as you need. Email me if you have any work for me :P Smart about getting through the potential game breakers first, don't want to create more work/frustration for yourself. Damn, 10 sex scenes huh? Going to be fun finding and reading them all. Way to put out the sweet candy for the eager players. Oooh, love the reworking of the Prologue, from the greater detail to the new and mysterious character you'll be adding. Your attention to detail is a strong draw in enjoying this game I will add as well, not to mention increasing it's replay-ability. Oh yeah, the mushroom dude. I can see why that was low on the priorities there...was I the one who pointed that out to you? Good luck on the icon editing, I can imagine that is a lot of tedious and repetitive work. Sounds like the title screen and such will be nice little touches. Personally I liked the open book title screen, nice allegory for the story as it were. Interested to see what you have commissioned. Excellent to hear Yara's new look will be getting more emotions. Hopefully the eyes will be more varied in their expressions too. They all seemed to share that "staring dead ahead" look to me. The Hilstara work was already a great improvement, so seeing even more quality will be a major plus for sure. As for the CG scenes, I've talked with you about this before and my opinion remains the same: Simply having the character portraits combined with your saucy sex scenes has been enough for me and I don't need the CG images. If you intend to have the characters have a single image in the background like you mentioned now and waaaay back when, might work, but I consider it a vastly low priority to the game itself. The story and the character interactions, the world and the details of how Simon intends to conquer it are what give it life, not sexy pictures. Sexy story text yes, but not pictures. Far as the character affection and such pop-ups, I have no idea. However, I have found a guy on RPG maker forums who seems to do scripts and maybe you can commission something from him. Link is below: <a href="http://forums.rpgmakerweb.com/index.php?/topic/5214-sleek-item-popup/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">http://forums.rpgmakerweb.com/index.php?/topic/5214-sleek-item-popup/</a> Can't help you with the maps or the black characters, as I don't know the first place to look. But the maker of Bonehead that I mentioned before seems to have pretty specific music to areas and scenes. Maybe if you gave him a ring at his blog or hitbox he might be able to help. Worst come to worst I'll ask for you next time he's streaming which should be tomorrow or Sunday. his blog link is below. <a href="http://regless.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">http://regless.blogspot.com/</a> Love the economic part of the game getting implemented at last. Been salivating at the chance to make some real money and use it mercilessly to pwn the fools who stand in my way. Look forward to seeing the work you did on the custom menus. Again, a nice touch that really shows the effort and care for the game that many don't bother with. Great work giving each area it's own feel, the diversity and variety will really help sell the vastness of the world and keep monotony to a minimum. Ina is a sweetheart and I am excited to see the new face you gave her as well. Orcent should be interesting too. The various fixing of facesets and giving original ones to the various minor characters you've listed here should be fun to see and compare from the older version of the game. Noticing the differences and improvements should be enjoyable. Huh, not many indie RPGs use weather mechanics...this will be new and interesting, and I'll be sure to provide plenty of feedback for you. I was wondering if Yarra's harem leader role would be expanded on. Glad to see it happen for sure, even in just a minor way. Every little bit helps. Oooh, new music, veddy nice. Music can really sink or sell a scene so I really anticipate them being good with a small dash of luck. I do like the cautious approach to it however, while adding enhancements is good, breaking the game for them is not. Glad to see the grindy aspect of the sex powers gone, before Robin gets in the party it would create sticky situations if the player makes several mistakes. In the later chapters it can be killer if Robin is down and Qum can't stock up quickly enough. Awesome work on Histara and Robin's conversations and exp. I agree with Christian here as those are indeed the "bread and butter" of the RPG world. Really gives life and vibrancy to the characters. I can understand the reasons behind the saves being invalid and don't mind with the exception of the side dungeon in Devil's pass, which makes me go NOOOOOO! as that was a beast and a half to fight in. Still, with the other adjustments you are making, shouldn't be too much trouble. Going to be fun going through again and finding my favorite scenes and lines again :D I can't really think of any significant requests as you've already blown games like Harem Collector out of the water. Or rather, the stuff I'd like is story related so it's nothing you wouldn't be focusing on anyways. I am patient, take as long as you need as far as I am concerned for getting as much done at once. Figure the more is done now the less you have to worry about later. Far as the wishlist is concerned, I've provided the 2 links I thought could help and will be following up on the music angle myself. Any help I can be in the Promotion I will do, just let me know. Good luck and can't wait to see what you come up with next.

Anonymous

This is a nice detailed progress report, and I'm glad to see some things got addressed in the fullness of time. All the art progress looks and sounds promising. I guess in keeping with your plans for the other art you gathered, later we'll see a character who uses Yarra's current art? Any word on Riala? Ten sex scenes! Truly, no girl is left behind. o7 Can't help you with permanently changing an area's music, but in some cases like the orc farm you could cheat a bit and just make the post-attack farm be a different map. You'd just have to address the issue of that one chest that can be accessed during the attack, which can be as easy as blocking it off with a dead body like the other chest in that same room. Why not go ahead and do the "ideal to do list" even if it delays the release a bit? And the stuff you're waiting on, especially the custom title screen? If people will have to replay anyway, whether they want to or not, you may as well give them as much new content and upgrades as possible for the replay. Plus "best foot forward" and all that. Black characters... heh, first it was middle-aged ladies in practical armor, then properly pure-looking priestesses, and now this. You really hit the weaknesses of the RPG Maker resource pools. I was actually considering asking to have bust view functionality in camp or through the harem management. :o I'm down for more music, even if it means a bit more filesize. My current 0.7.1 folder is only 52 MB - that's pretty small for a game these days. I expect we'll appreciate the details you changed, especially new character remarks. Consistency will be nice too. Such little things really add up to a noticeable quality difference, especially in RPGs. It'll be interesting to see what you do with the weather effects. Shop transparency! Thank you, that'll definitely help people plan their loadouts and the battle strategies based thereon. Mind going into detail on the sex skill rebalancing? I'm not visualizing what you're proposing doing with the character CGs in sex scenes. Could you elaborate? Can't think of any really important feature requests. Perhaps a Credits option on the main menu, but you could more easily stick a text file in the game directory I'm sure.

sierralee

Harem System: To be honest, just making this took me to the limits of my scripting knowledge. So while suggestions or thoughts are welcome, I'm not planning too ambitiously. CGs: Something like that, yes. Less a pinup and more of an all-purpose sex scene, but yes.

sierralee

Mushroom Dude: You were one of the people who mentioned it, yeah. No one was rioting over it, but multiple people seemed to find it an annoyance. Pop-up Script: Thanks for the link! One link led to another and I might be on my way to finding something workable for this.

sierralee

Current Yarra: All plans to re-use old art are contingent on having an idea and opportunity I think is perfect, so nothing for sure about this art. Riala: As of now, she'll be unchanged. If I get extra money sometime I'd like to get completely custom art for her (closer to her current face than the proposed high-collared one). Ideal List: I hope to get all the stuff on this list done in good time. Not sure how long the art will take. Sex Skill Rebalancing: Ooh, I hope I didn't oversell this. Basically, I just made it impossible to blind/silence the last enemy and cast sex healing over and over again. That's not how I wanted the game to be played, but I understand the urge to do whatever is most effective. CGs: Basically, each character would get an all-purpose shot of sex with Simon that would go behind all their scenes. It'd be part way to having custom CGs for everything like some people want, without requiring a massive budget or slowing down each new release while I waited on art.