Jimjim3dx
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v0.10 Dev Blog #1 - On The Road Again...
🕑 Added 2021-04-20 08:52:49 +0000 UTC^Oh hey, look, another Xmas image!
Before you get too excited/concerned, this is something I rendered before the break and only just got around to editing now. I figured it'd be better to at least clean it up and get it out to you all now than have it sit on my hard-drive collecting dust for the next several months at least, until I continue this set. So I wouldn't expect any more for a while...
Anyway, hello all! It's been too long. I am dubbing this the 1st official dev blog of v0.10, even though I've done a couple before. But after all the breaks, I feel like this one is a more accurate starting point (plus I never numbered the previous ones). I did mean to get this out last Thursday/Friday but I guess some things never change... I really need to stress that everyone should connect their accounts and join the Discord server if you want some more frequent minor updates as I make progress. I've been sharing more there recently whenever I make some progress worth sharing. A lot of the screenshots I share in today's post are ones I've taken from those mini status reports I've done over there. And sometimes I forget that a lot of supporters aren't on the Discord, and are probably wondering what the heck I've been doing!? So I'll try and recap as best I can today, but I also apologize in advance, as like I said in my previous post, there's nothing too exciting visual wise going on this month. A lot of it is all under the hood. That being said...
v0.10 Progress:
First off, a bunch of Quality of Life improvements. I've replaced the "Item was found!" notifications with less intrusive ones that do not pause gameplay, eliminating the need for an extra button press on the part of the player. Also, with the way I've been doing it, I needed to manually write out the text in those notifications. Where as the plugin I'm using now will automatically generate the notifications from the items that are added to Tiffany's inventory. So it will save a tiny amount of dev time too when placing loot around the maps. A change I should have made a log time ago...
BEFORE:
AFTER:
^If you recognize this location, you might notice I've reshaped the area a little too. I plan on updating a lot of areas and adding new buildings+sewer sections to the existing parts of town in v0.10.
I also plan on changing up the Item Icons as well to feel a bit less like default RPG Maker's GUI in that regard. But that might be something I do later.
Another, similar change is the improvement to the "Journal Updated" message when progressing through quests. It now too happens in the background and doesn't pause gameplay, eliminating another unnecessary button press from the player to get back into the game. Plus, it just looks a little cleaner.
BEFORE:
AFTER:
Expect similar changes to a number of other parts of the game's notification system, where the game doesn't need to be paused just to display a message. Things like the hunger/thirst(which I'll be improving to give better warning if close to death), stealth, flashlight, "cannot use this item", companions joining Tiffany's party notifications, etc. It's all small, but it adds up over time.
Another small but important visual change (for me at least) has been a general design update to the GUI for the dialogue boxes, menus, etc. This is still a WIP, like everything in this game, and will likely continue to keep changing in the future, but I am pretty happy with how it looks right now.
BEFORE:
AFTER:
^You'll also notice that I'm going back through all the events in Day1-2 to make proper use of that top line of the dialogue box that I never made use of previously because I am an idiot. :')
BEFORE:
AFTER:
^Some of the color choices are still WIP. In terms of the HP and END bars in particular. I want a Red & Blue bar to stick with the police theme, though I still need to tweak some colors before launch. But you get the idea.
"Guns & Skills" have just been renamed "Moves" as well, since there will actually be a "Skills" sub-menu added soon when I add proper RPG proficiency skills with their own individual levels to the game. "Moves" now also breaks up Tiffany's combat options into 4 categories. Melee, Firearms, Explosives & Sex Moves. More on that below. (Ignore the "Debug" menu option, that's just for me! >:D )
Something else you might have noticed is that Tiffany's menu image now has an appropriate "cum-covered" variant for when she is in Stealth Mode. This is now also reflected in her dialogue box face portrait:
^ It's a small touch but it adds a lot. :P I might do a 2D face swap during the bonus 2D sex scene dialogue too. Man, can you imagine how much more progress I'd make if I wasn't such a damn perfectionist about everything! :')
Now, back to what I was saying about the separation of combat options ("Moves") into some subcategories. The default combat options now look like this:
"Items" is the same as it's always been. "Firearms" contains all of the gun related moves including reloading. The "Guard" & default "Melee" option have been merged into the new "Melee" subcategory. And "Submit" has now taken the place of where "Guard" once was. "Firearms", "Explosives" & "Sex Moves" categories will only appear as options if Tiffany has an available move to use that turn. "Submit" will only appear if Tiffany is a slut for her current opponent's type as it always has. It's just on it's own out here now, since unlike the other combat moves, it's the only one that will straight up end the combat and trigger a scene, making it unique. And something you might not want to accidentally select if it's in amongst the other damage based skills.
And yes "Melee" is now a subcategory of it's own. Selecting this won't automatically use the default "Melee" attack like it used to. Instead, you'll be able to choose from what Tiffany has available:
These subcategories will become more important as I continue to add new combat skills. And since "Guard" is now an official combat move, I decided it was about time it got it's own image and set of dialogue lines:
^What do you think? Could you break through that impenetrable defense? ;)
Of-course, it's all implemented with Tiffany's new body types as well. Here is the "Base Stage: 1" body for comparison, the biggest proportions available to Tiffany as of right now:
And since I'm handling dialogue lines differently now, these ones aren't tied to her current state of undress. There are 7 different lines for Tiffany to say when guarding, and of course more can be easily added. It's the same thing I'm doing with all of Tiffany's combat lines, I just need to implement them, including the voice lines themselves (Over 55 recorded so far just for combat).
Reading (and also hearing) a different dialogue line every time makes these combat move scenes much more fun to see on repeat. Though I will still be adding the "Faster Combat" option that I talked about in the roadmap, that will let people skip these scenes if they just want to quickly grind killing zombies as quickly as possible without having to wait for Tiffany and the animation graphics to do their thing all of the time.
Speaking of the "Guard" move, if Tiffany gets a scene, that means the other girls get one too! I still need to do Debra's but here is Lara's:
^ Next time you see your partner IRL, try asking them to show you their "Guard Stance". Turns out, everybody has a unique one! And they'll say different lines too! Who knew? :P
So, you've probably read me mention "Sex Moves" as one of the new subcategories of combat moves a couple of times now and probably want some more info on those. Well, right now it's just a planned category. This is where future "Grope" & "Tease" type moves will go. Where Tiffany can perform a sexual move in exchange for a temporary boost or inflicting a status ailment on her enemies. (Or perhaps just for fun! ;P) I don't think the ones I have planned for later will be added here in v0.10. But I am considering adding a more simple "Strike Pose" Sex Move for now, that might function similar to a taunt. But I am still undecided exactly. If I do decide to add it, you'll likely see it featured in next Dev Blog or two.
Some other notes on minor things I've changed or fixed:
- Added the ability to skip the game's opening sequence.
- Fixed a bug where Tiffany & Lara could both attempt to throw the last remaining Frag Grenade for their turn. Only one would succeed, but now the second character doesn't receive the option to and accidentally waste their turn.
- Fixed a bug where Zombies would not trigger combat when bumping into Tiffany's Companions on the map.
- Adjusted the exp rates and curves to make leveling up faster. Also, when in combat with a companion, the total exp for a kill will now be shared evenly between both characters.
- Adjusted the default stat increases earned per level to account for the new system of "Stat Point" spending on level up, and also for general gameplay balance.
Wait, what's all this about adjusting character growth and stat points? Well, I've also implemented the ability to spend "Stat Points" to boost Tiffany's core statistics every time Tiffany levels up. The system is still WIP and will require heavy testing/balancing, but how it basically functions now is that every level, Tiffany will get 3 Stat Points to spend. You can spend them now, or save them to spend later. But you only get access to this screen after leveling up.
Each stat needs to be balanced differently thanks to the fact that some are much more useful than others. 1 Stat Point into Max HP will get Tiffany 20 extra HP (Might make it 25). Where as it takes 3 Stat Points to give her 1 extra END (Some stats have caps on how much you can boost them by). So you'll actually get some more choices and customization this time around with how you want to play Tiffany. Of course, when I add Perks/Traits and Skills this level of play-style customization will be greatly expanded.
The current plan is for Tiffany to gain 1 Perk/Trait per level. With a maximum level cap of 35. And for each skill to be based on some kind of proficiency (see the roadmap for more details) with 3 tiers each to level up by doing things associated with that skill (eg, crafting an item will give crafting exp). Each time you increase the tier of a skill, you'll gain some additional or upgraded recipes, and/or bonus perks/traits. Some perks will also allow you to get more Stat Points or Skill exp, so the systems feed into each other nicely I think.
One of the big issues with stats in a game like TD, is that some are just not that useful. HP & DEF become practically useless when fighting the infected, since they are not trying to damage Tiffany or the other girls. Meaning it's only good when fighting limited human enemies(may become more frequent later), or avoiding damage from turrets, etc. So I will be doing my best to add more uses for these stats outside of combat to make them more appealing (especially to players who plan on fucking their way through every combat to begin with :P). For example, I am going to make HP & DEF factor into fertilized ovum health & damage done to a fertilized ovum. Boosting HP is also likely to effect Tiffany's hunger & thirst rates or caps in some way.
And Luck will play a big roll outside of combat too, as you'd expect. All it did previously was effect the rate of inflicting/resisting status ailments. Which means it was useless outside of Lara's bat. However, this will be better once I add more additional moves that deal in status ailments (including Sex Moves). Critical hit chance will also be available to affect, though I am still deciding whether to make that it's own stat or a part of Luck. Since I have quite a lot of plans to make Luck very good already, and I don't want to make it too good on it's own :P
For those wondering, "Aim" is Tiffany's hit rate. "Reflexes" are her evasion rate (Agility is explained in the screenshot). You can boost Tiffany's Aim to 100%, however, just because Tiffany will no longer miss, does not mean the Enemies still won't be able to evade if their own Reflexes are high enough. The two stats work in tandem like that. The game first checks to see if the attacker will miss. If not, then it will check to see if the target evades. So there are actually 2 different factors for a move failing to connect. You can tell what the failure reason is by the text mentioning "missed" vs "evaded". Hope that clears some things up for people about the miss/evaded system.
Anyway, I am always open to suggestions if you have ideas on various things stats could affect. Especially HP & DEF since those ones are extra hard to make useful in this game in particular. :P
Okay, before we wrap things up for now, let's also wrap up some poll results.
Polls:
First up, the recent carry weight poll. Overwhelmingly it was voted that there should be no item/weight limit imposed on Tiffany's inventory. So things will stay the same there. (Which is good, less work for me there). But I will consider adding a "Hardcore Mode" or something much later down the line, towards the end of the game's development for those who would like some additional "survival" type restrictions placed on Tiffany and friends. :)
Then we have some older polls that I should have closed some time ago. I'll keep some more generic ones open for a bit longer, or at least until I need to make a final decision on the matters myself, but have closed the following polls for now:
- Hitomi's "Training" Scene for v0.10. The Milking + Handjob scene won. This will be a repeatable scene (once per day from Day 2) between Dr. Milburn & Hitomi that Tiffany will assist with.
- Reyna's First Scene for v0.12. It will be with the new "Sleeper Zombie" that will be introduced in that same version. This will be the scene where Tiffany can choose to save her or watch her get infected. Probably an additional poll will be created to decide more details on this scene closer to v0.12.
- TD Universe Religion Poll. This is an older one, but it was always pretty clear from the start that people would much rather me create some silly, fantasy, sex-based religions for the TD world rather than get into IRL stuff. Probably the right move. :') I've been working on some stuff behind the scenes but nothing concrete yet as I have bigger things to focus on atm (obviously). But as I will be unveiling Ashton Lake's church and two characters from it in v0.11, I will need to sit down sometime in the next few months are properly flesh out all of their church's rules and history. So expect to hear more about that later in the year.
Thanks to those of you who gave your suggestions & feedback in those topics. Of course, people are always welcome to continue giving their feedback on theses earlier discussions as I'll read all the comments and respond to them all where required.
I'm sorry again for not really posting bonus content and polls and such this month, like I warned, but I still feel guilty about it. I really just want to focus on the game as much as I can right now, but I will try to come up with at least another poll or something before the end of the month if I can. I'm just trying to make the best use of my time to make this wait for v0.10 as short as I can, while still striving for the high bar of polish I've set for myself with this one. Thank you for your understanding. I will definitely have some more to vote on and discuss in May.
Closing Words:
One final thing. Before the break I passed 1500 followers on Twitter. I promised to make another of these celebratory images. I made this one and posted it on twitter recently. Feel free to use it as a wallpaper. I've since passed 1600. I'll make something else for 2000+ :)
^Hitomi thanks you all for your patience. She hopes you'll continue to fill her and the rest of the girls with all your love and support! ;)
Thank you all so much for your patience and support. I couldn't do this without you. Still a long ways off from anything resembling a playable alpha build (the game is currently broken, on purpose of course, but totally broken on several fronts until I finish a lot of the boring and tedious refactoring to make things more efficient) and also still a while away before getting to some of the good stuff like new sex scenes and all that. But hopefully you can see what I am trying to accomplish here and understand that it will all result in a better more polished experience in the end for me to build off of more easily & efficiently for v0.11 and beyond. Like I said, please follow on Discord if you want more frequent mini-updates. Otherwise, I will try to get another blog out before the end of the month if I can.
~ Jim
Comments
Jimjim
Thanks. It means a lot. :)
Omnibreed001
Take your time, this game is a work of art, the wait is well worth it.
Screwthename
A lot of promising upgrades ! And don't worry for the time it takes, Having a great result is the most important (even you often feel guilty of not having something new to share yeah).
