It's finally here! Version 0.4 is live! This is the bulk of what I've been working on for the past four months: the new, redone map renderer and map generator. With better art and encounter placement and all sorts of stuff.
That being said, this update is (as always) part of an ongoing project, so there's plenty of loose strings and stuff yet to be filled in. The map generator is way better than before, but the maps are still pretty haphazard and empty. There are a dozen new encounters, but they're all just a single description with no interactivity; there are a bunch of new locations, but you can't yet actually do anything at any of them. I haven't finished drawing the sprites for some of the map sections, so they look bad. This update adds a lot of new content, but it's all unfinished, so for the moment the effect has been to thin out the finished encounters in a sea of unwritten dummy encounters. The good news is that it'll be a lot easier for me to actually, you know, add stuff in going forward.
You should be able to use your old saves; it'll just prompt to generate a new map when you load the save. If you have any issues with this update -- I'm sure I've missed something -- please tell me so I can fix it.
The todo list for this week ended up looking like this:
no more failed map generationinfinite loop during generation'no such factory region' failure- 'tunneler boxed in' failure
'no path to node x' disjoint map failureactually fix disjoint map generation thoughat the very least: recognize failed map generation; rerun until generation succeeds
clean up map data after generation / before gameplay to make savegame serialization easiermap de/serialization fixedpc location / demo shop being placed0.4.0 savegame patching working / version updated- respawns actually happening, even if jankily
- canvas element correctly sized
map coords/infobar presenting names instead instead of object labels- tunnels / stacks not so clogged with encounters
- draw map sprites for throne / grotto / tunnels
Basically grinding the worst of the rough edges off of the map code. Which you can now see for yourself!
Going forward, there are a few major paths development could go down: one, writing more sex scene content; two, adding more body transformations; three, adding actual gameplay content; and four, adding actual story/quest content. I have a set of poll options prepared for each one of those, I'm just not entirely sure which I'd like to work on first. I'm leaning towards gameplay (turning several of those new locations into dungeons or shops or respawning item resources, making some encounters actual combat encounters, etc) since... the game still doesn't really have a main mechanical loop, but I'm open to suggestions.
This next week... probably will mostly be me taking a break. I've been working on this for four months and it'll be nice to not be working on anything for a few days. Next week's status post will also be when I post the next development poll, so, keep an eye out for that.
Neat! I've been looking forward to this update. The new maps definitely feel more spacious and varied, although they are also harder to navigate. I hadn't noticed not being able to occupy the same space as an NPC in previous versions, but in this version it was very salient. It was also nice to get a look at some of the next encounters, even if they aren't fully implemented yet, and the new NPC sprites.
this is looking super neat! exploring it was pretty cool, though, yeah, there were some places i couldn't access because it was just so stuffed full with encounters that there was basically no walking room. there was also this one cool room that i can only assume was intentional that was filled to the brim with filthy demons and for some reason i found that very interesting! also the sprites for preexisting things helped me visualize some of them that i found difficult, like the son of hamar-tabal and the ganzer worker
the amduscias gave me 'error bad scene' though -- you possibly know this already but hey better safe than sorry
anyway all these new npcs are extremely cool and i'm very excited to see how thisll turn out going forward. and still hoping to be able to bang cerberus some day
yeah, that was actually a big concern in the run-up to releasing the update, like, "make sure it's actually possible to move around the map". which i got mostly working, though, as you can tell there are some rough bits. in the future, the encounters blocking passages between sections will all be encounters that can be fought and dispersed (combat, traveling demons, etc), and the narrower sections like the mines will be less linear and have way fewer encounters spawn, but right now, it can be kind of a problem.
expect that stuff to get fixed or at least mitigated in the next (several) updates
edit: whoops i didn't realize the amduscias thing was bugged; it should be working now
Slightly off topic, but have you heard of the patreon crackdown on adult content happening right now?Do you have a back up source/ link for your supporters????
Hello! I have just tried out a new map, the thing is impressive. However, on Android it's become fussy to move around, since the only way to scroll the map is to move to the edge of the visible space. Maybe you could add, I don't know, four arrows somewhere to scroll the map? If it's not too much trouble?
Also the game doesn't save anymore.
@7B7-Ben
yeah, i have. i don't really have a fallback plan if my patreon gets cancelled -- worst-case scenario, get a stripe account and start handling subscriptions myself -- but i'm hoping that i won't be suspended, obviously. i don't know exactly how their rule about 'no bestiality' is gonna apply to, you know, hellhounds / being a wolf, but at this point i'm waiting to see what patreon's further response is. definitely expect to see a news post here if my patreon gets removed, with some more concrete plans then.
@Nox
whoops, i had turned off autosave while i was testing and forgot to turn it back on. that should be fixed now. about the android issue... is it that the visible map region is too small? or just difficult to navigate generally due to the size of the map versus the screen size? i could add in some manual scrolling regardless, probably.
@xax
I mean, visible map is limited by my screen size, so it kinda both.
A bit more feedback on the maps: some encounters kinda blend in with environment. Driad and cedar trees, pentagrams, dragon skulls, it's hard to tell whether they are a part of background or an encounter. I was fully convinced driad trees are background until I remembered there are supposed to be driads. Clay men and crocodiles are just camouflaged.
stupid question i know but how do i go about getting a body? i have materials and everything but i cant figure out how to use them. sorry to ask but i just found this game and i really would like to enjoy it to its fullest potential
@ren
You start the game near the black DEMO SHOP obelisk. You can buy nodes there and click the "edit body" button in the corner.
@ren
yeah, what Nox said, with the addition that in the edit body interface you click on the colored squares to select an open location on your body, and then click on something in the 'free nodes' section to put it onto your body.
(that's not the most clear interface, i know; improvements are definitely planned)