VN Ren'Py Completed Shaping Her Future [v1.0] [Ellaraia]

[Ellaraia]

Really nice to see a dev beeing so active here. The "questlog" was just a quick suggestion, could be done within the smartphone. Man of the house did a good job there. I think a screen or message at the end of each path would also do the trick

In BB, I found myself using the CG to find if I was at the end or not. So I understand the frustration. The phone was something I had big plans for months ago, then I saw it being used more and more in other games and I lost the care for it. It went from a cool idea I had, to an over-used gimmick that's shoved into lots of games.
When I re-work the UI, I'll have the path bars on screen and I'll maybe add a lock image over them if you're at the end of the content for that path in that version. I'll definitely add something, even if it's only small. For the next versions, I may just make it clearer what content is in the game. I didn't do a change-log for V0.01 because everything was a change. Even something simple telling how many scenes are in each path would have probably helped and that's what I'll have for V0.02.

I've been working on this game since December and a few other's that never materialised before that since June. It's good to finally be able to talk about it. I want feedback because I want to improve my game. I've spent so long working alone that other perspectives are helpful and stirs my mind.

 

[a1fox3]

I may re-read the scenes and see how many could stay the same - or at least similar - with an incest patch. I could definitely do the opening scene rather quickly - as it's already written. I'll see what I can do.
Because I want to get out 0.02 before the end of the month, I'm on a tight schedule and I'm currently staging the images for the next obedience scene while I plan the next scene and talk on here.

Incest patch can come later right now is testing phase for this game.
Work on it when you have the time but the game comes first in my book.

 

[voyeurkind]

I'm in the midst of playing it right now. I see some others have noticed some of the issues I was going to bring up, so I don't see a need to reiterate them. That being said, there was one thing I did want to bring up: as I was exploring the UI, I just started clicking on things to see what was what, such as the phone. I clicked on 'Config' and was surprised to see there was no 'Cancel' option or button. Same with the facilities--if I clicked on the bathroom, I had to use the bathroom or take a shower. If I clicked the laundry room, I had to do laundry. It would be good to have the option to back out of these choices.

I do like the concept. I have something of a different view on the submissive vs. obedience thing, but as long as I understand what it means, I can work around that.

 

[voyeurkind]

In regards to the back story, I don't mind not knowing from the beginning what's going on (actually, one of my pet peeves is a massive infodump at the beginning of the game) but there should be interactiosn that fill the story in as it goes along. For instance, the MC could fill in some background with his thoughts, like "what is she doing here? I thought she was...".

 

[a1fox3]

@Ellaraia
You can make the upload way smaller if you would use jpeg instead of png's.

 

[Ellaraia]

@Ellaraia
You can make the upload way smaller if you would use jpeg instead of png's.

I did not know this, thank you. I assumed all of the major image file types would be similar in size and quality.

 

[a1fox3]

I did not know this, thank you. I assumed all of the major image file types would be similar in size and quality.

Not size but quality is very close to the same, here look at them side by side.

1st is png at 2.5 megs and 2nd is jpeg at 283 kb's.

 

[Ellaraia]

You've completely missed the point. Without some kind of relationship background it's like you've been dropped right into the middle of the game. Since you can't use sister anymore, you could make her a friend of your sister or a neighbor with an abusive father that hung around and looked up to you, etc.

You may have had some kind of story in your head, so it made sense to you, but you need to fill in the player as well....
unless you had intended this to be another click-and-fuck, then, never mind.

In regards to the back story, I don't mind not knowing from the beginning what's going on (actually, one of my pet peeves is a massive infodump at the beginning of the game) but there should be interactiosn that fill the story in as it goes along. For instance, the MC could fill in some background with his thoughts, like "what is she doing here? I thought she was...".

The major thing for me in terms of game design, is user choice. I want you to be able to choose in as many situations as possible. Right now, lots of things are thin and/or random. Over time this will change.

For example, right now if you compliment Sarah, then you'll get a random compliment. If you don't like her hair then you have no way to not compliment her on it. I want to have it so that choosing to compliment her will bring up an image of her, then you can click on the part of her that you wish to compliment. Each part will have a different reaction which changes depending on your path and relationship stats.

This is the same for dialogue too. I want you to have lots of options that are presented in a way that means they're not overwhelming. There will be lots of conversation options for when you're sat together watching tv. Here there will be plenty of backstory. You will reminisce about things you've done together in the past and this will help flesh out your relationship.

I will also add to the opening scene to make it fuller. I develop characters at a whim and I do it often. As I work more and more on this project, Sarah's character will become more and more real in my mind and I'll translate that into the game.

 

[a1fox3]

As long as you keep the love going I'm hip.:heartcoveredeyes:

 

[Ellaraia]

Not size but quality is very close to the same, here look at them side by side.

1st is png View attachment 68423 at 2.5 megs and 2nd is jpeg View attachment 68424 at 283 kb's.

When I first compiled the game, I was surprised at how large it was. Now I realise why.
Another thing to add to the todo list.

 

[Ellaraia]

Maybe it's the language barrier, but you're still not understanding. Most of your reply had absolutely nothing to do with those you had quoted.

If you wait until they are able to have conversations watching TV, you're already so far into the game that many players will have deleted it because it makes absolutely no sense.

I wish you luck with your game, you'll need it.
Deleted. I'm gone.

Bye.

 

[♩♪♫ ŤЦ尺尺ØЛ ♫♪♩]

a few crashes if you use washing machine, toilet and shower...I juggled it a few times and it happens 2-3 times

 

[Ellaraia]

a few crashes if you use washing machine, toilet and shower...I juggled it a few times and it happens 2-3 times

Either download the latest version free from my patreon page, or avoid the facilities. They're not that useful anyway.

 

[Ellaraia]

I'm in the midst of playing it right now. I see some others have noticed some of the issues I was going to bring up, so I don't see a need to reiterate them. That being said, there was one thing I did want to bring up: as I was exploring the UI, I just started clicking on things to see what was what, such as the phone. I clicked on 'Config' and was surprised to see there was no 'Cancel' option or button. Same with the facilities--if I clicked on the bathroom, I had to use the bathroom or take a shower. If I clicked the laundry room, I had to do laundry. It would be good to have the option to back out of these choices.

I do like the concept. I have something of a different view on the submissive vs. obedience thing, but as long as I understand what it means, I can work around that.

Forgot to reply before, sorry.
In the facilities, you can click on the wall to return to your apartment. The config was a last-minute addition and it slipped my mind to add a back option because of the button on the other screens.

 

[rick87]

game crashes at 8am if i go to the facilities: <couldn't find the file facilitiesOccupied.png>
btw there are a lot of hidden variable for a 0.1 version, 7 paths plus other 7 correlated values. it might become tough to handle in the long run.

 

[T51bwinterized]

Having actually gotten a chance to play it, what I'll say is that I agree that the beginning is jarring. It's a rather strange situation to be in, and the reactions of the characters don't make much sense. It's okay to want to make that material variable. But, there's a better way to do it.

Here's my two cents. The "Someday, I'll make it" bit at the begining isn't really that useful to the rest of the game, because the game is about your relationship with her, not about the protaganist trying to be a hot shot. Kill that bit.

Instead, make her entrance more dramatic. Right now it's "person whose relationship with the protaganist walks in and he's just kind of nonchallant about it without the relationship with this person being explained.

Start in the middle of the night. Lights completely out. There's a sound. "What was that?" He says. He grabs a baseball and runs outside, only to find that it's...*her*. He puts the bat down and says that she scared him half to death. You don't have to tell us the relationship, but imply that they have some kind of connection beyond mere friendship, and that this is the reason why he's okay with her basically sneaking in.

This has the effect of turning her relationship with the protagonist from a detail that is missing into a mystery that the players will have answered to them later. A detail that is missing is bad. A detail that is shrouded in mystery *can* be good. The difference is framing.

 

[Ellaraia]

game crashes at 8am if i go to the facilities: <couldn't find the file facilitiesOccupied.png>
btw there are a lot of hidden variable for a 0.1 version, 7 paths plus other 7 correlated values. it might become tough to handle in the long run.

The crash is fixed in the free version on my patreon page.

As for the paths, there are 6 (hate isn't a path but a game over mechanic to give some realism to the submission path especially). The neutral path is very straight and won't be added for a few updates anyway.
With the other paths, the variables aren't necessarily their own paths, but instead variations. In some cases the changes will be simply dialogue or an image or two, and in others there will be entirely different scenes - though this will likely be rare at the beginning.
I estimate that I can produce a new scene every 3 to 4 days, or around 7-10 per update after 0.02 which will likely have 6. As I get more familiar with the programs involved, my speed of production will only increase. So, I'm hopeful but we'll see. If it does get too much then I'll focus each update around 2 or 3 paths. That's what I'm doing with 0.02.

Thanks for the feedback.

 

[Ellaraia]

Having actually gotten a chance to play it, what I'll say is that I agree that the beginning is jarring. It's a rather strange situation to be in, and the reactions of the characters don't make much sense. It's okay to want to make that material variable. But, there's a better way to do it.

Here's my two sense. The "Someday, I'll make it" bit at the begining isn't really that useful to the rest of the game, because the game is about your relationship with her, not about the protaganist trying to be a hot shot. Kill that bit.

Instead, make her entrance more dramatic. Right now it's "person whose relationship with the protaganist walks in and he's just kind of nonchallant about it without the relationship with this person being explained.

Start in the middle of the night. Lights completely out. There's a sound. "What was that?" He says. He grabs a baseball and runs outside, only to find that it's...*her*. He puts the bat down and says that she scared him half to death. You don't have to tell us the relationship, but imply that they have some kind of connection beyond mere friendship, and that this is the reason why he's okay with her basically sneaking in.

This has the effect of turning her relationship with the protagonist from a detail that is missing into a mystery that the players will have answered to them later. A detail that is missing is bad. A detail that is shrouded in mystery *can* be good. The difference is framing.

Thanks for the feedback.

I agree that the opening scene needs to be reworked and I'll be doing that in the coming days. I adapted it from my original script and I did so poorly, I see that. I feel like the mistake I made was thinking it the least important scene when it is perhaps the most important. I payed less attention to it once it was complete and focused on everything else. I also feel like I wrote it as though it was temporary - a huge mistake.

I'm writing a couple of new scenes at the moment but once they're done I'll focus on the opening.

 

[Jaime Lannister]

There will be. The lust path was created so that I can develop the love and protection paths naturally while still providing sexual content. There will be two new lust scenes, one foreplay and the second actual sex. There may be a foreplay scene in another path also, though that depends on how much time I have and what I decide to prioritise.

I feel the reason so many games lack sexual content is that the devs don't have a long-term plan. They worry that adding sex too soon will see them run out of ideas within a few updates. I have no such worries and plenty of plans.

Glad to hear it. All the best. Thanks for an honest answer.

 

[supermanz95]

So many "paths" but no femdom, seems strange.