courseoftemptation
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Course of Temptation Dev Diary #63
🕑 Added 2024-11-22 20:09:17 +0000 UTC
Hello friends! It is once again dev diary time. Work on the River Rat continues, with another round of bartender events getting finished up.
I've also spent some time filling in some gaps, like ways to fulfill your needs while on the clock. The River Rat job differs from QuickieBurger in that, rather than working for one hour and getting one random event per action, you're on the clock continuously, picking your tasks until you decide to stop work. This means that you need ways to take care of your needs while at work, but since River Rat has a kitchen and a bathroom, this isn't difficult to conceptualize — it just needed a little work done.
In the process of this, I decided to introduce employee discounts. They don't apply to drinks, naturally, but your snacks will be a little cheaper. The QuickieBurger job also gets an employee discount.
I did some playtesting over the weekend. It's been a while since I started a regular character from day one and just played through normally, and as always, it's an illuminating perspective.
For example, one thing I found is that, when prompted to react to a new random NPC, I didn't really have much to go on. Would my character like them? I did select a bunch of turnons and turnoffs, so my character doesn't necessarily have a neutral opinion! I addressed this with a simple indicator:
Less simple is retroactively putting this everywhere it's needed, but it's just a widget and I'll be able to place it as I spot places where it's lacking. Already it appears in quite a few places, making it easier to decide things like who to sit with at lunch when you don't really know anybody still.
I've been fixing other small annoyances too, such as when I used the new random outfit roller to help sort out my new wardrobe, then found I'd just made a bunch of outfits that didn't include any storage.
All of these little tweaks will be included in 0.6 which, as it turns out, will indeed be our next update.
Moving into next week, I'll be writing some additional events that come with specific upgrades and maybe seeing if I can fit in some River Rat owner storyline type stuff I want to do (if not, it'll come in a followup). I'll also be continuing my playtesting, mostly to balance the River Rat jobs and test all the new events, but also to address whatever other miscellaneous issues I come across.
Sometime next week, probably Friday or Saturday, I should be ready to deliver the 0.6 update into early access. As with 0.5, we'll probably aim for a two week early access period — I want plenty of time to address any issues that are found, as well as wrap up any lingering tasks. But we'll see how it goes.
I also want to deliver a bit of seasonal content for December, which I'll work on either immediately after early access for 0.6, or even during, if I've wrapped up everything else. As always, there's a lot to do!
And I'm going to get back to it, so that's all for this week. As always, I want to give a huge thanks for your support, I really appreciate it! Until next time!
Comments
yankee0284
ive pondered this as well, but i think it could make sense in an overall concept. Perhaps at a certain point, any secret relationship could become a unique secret relationship, presenting some other pathways. The professors of course are likely more limited in options, but any cheating or secret encounters could perhaps slowly build some discreet relationship bar.
Dewbie
With the advent of being able to get professors numbers, will there be a way to get in a relationship with them?
Anarchothaumaturgist
Thank you!
Mixilainen
Splendid. And may I say, thanks for an amazing game!
Anarchothaumaturgist
Thanks! Yep, aware of that one... it has a fix that will come with the next release
Mixilainen
I don't know if you're aware, but the cum on body (facials, chest etc) is not working.
Groodle
Yeah I think there’s real scope to use the hatefuck dom relationship turning into a more toxic dom/sub relationship than the caring dom pathway that exists right now. Care needs to be taken so that it’s flagged appropriately and with avenues for the PC to escape but it would be hot to see. For better or worse the toxic bad boy/girl trope is super prevalent in fiction for a reason 😅
Dunan Rayne
Oh, and how about having the customers at River Rat give the PC nicknames instead of just calling PC by PC's name, "bartender," "waiter," or "waitress"? Looking at your content blueprint, it seems that the atmosphere of River Rat can change significantly depending on the player’s choices, and that the type of regular patrons shifts accordingly. So, if the River Rat turns into a more vulgar and sleazy bar, the patrons would likely be equally rude and inappropriate. Right? So.. It would be fitting if they gave the PC nicknames that matched the tone of the establishment. For example, if the PC has a very large chest, how about a nickname like Milk Jugs? After the PC earns the nickname Milk Jugs, it would be amusing if River Rat regulars spotted the PC while PC were walking down the street or on a date and called out from across the road, "Hey, Milk Jugs!"
Dunan Rayne
How about introducing a "bad boyfriend/girlfriend"? I mean truly bad romantic partners. Someone who gets angry easily, uses the PC as an emotional punching bag, treats PC as nothing more than a sex toy, prioritizes their own desires over the PC’s feelings or opinions, openly objectifies the PC as a trophy, and shamelessly disrespects or humiliates PC in front of others with rude actions or embarrassing remarks. Of course, I’m aware that CoT already features D/S relationships, but this is entirely different. D/S is a consensual relationship where both parties derive pleasure and mutual benefit. And then there's the concept of a Hate-Fuck relationship, but that’s not really a romantic relationship to begin with, so let’s skip that. What I’m suggesting here is a toxic, bad romantic relationship—one where one partner unilaterally exploits and takes advantage of the other. Surprisingly, these kinds of relationships are not uncommon in real life. The worst thing about these relationships is that the victim is abused by a bad partner, yet they don't break up with them easily. Bad partners are usually masters of gaslighting, so they keep breaking their victim's will: with sweet words, with threats, with exploiting their victim's weaknesses (like sex photos or videos?), or even with pleasurable, addictive sex. Even when other friends urge victim to break up with the bad partner, victim can’t bring themselves to do it because they’ve become overly dependent on bad partner. I initially thought the 'Bully' and 'Breaker' traits might create such relationships, but so far, all the couples in CoT are far too good, too perfect. Every relationship is filled with love and care—every couple seems like a pair of lovebirds. Even NPCs with both the 'Bully' and 'Breaker' traits end up acting like perfect 'gentlemen' or 'ladies' once they enter a relationship with the PC. At some point, I would love to see these bad partners forcing the PC into something extreme—like dragging PC to a piercing or tattoo parlor and coercing PC into getting a piercing or tattoo. Imagine them branding the PC with their name or permanently inscribing something obscene on an intimate part of the PC’s body, like a farmer branding their cattle. Additionally, being with such a bad partner would significantly change the PC. Someone who was once confident and intelligent might become passive and dull. A graceful, dignified individual might devolve into a promiscuous and vulgar shadow of their former self. + How could the PC escape from such a toxic partner? The best solution, of course, would be to avoid becoming their partner in the first place. However, if the PC does end up in a relationship with them, breaking free should require a very difficult Willpower check. Alternatively, it could follow a classic romance trope, where a savior swoops in to kick the toxic partner’s ass and rescue the PC from their misery.
Dunan Rayne
Wow, each update makes me even more eager to enjoy the River-rat content as soon as possible! It seems that the current CoT only includes loving and healthy romantic/friendship relationships. all the couples in CoT are far too good, too perfect. Every relationship is filled with love and care—every couple seems like a pair of lovebirds. Do you have any plans to add a wider variety of relationship types? For example, friendships can take many forms: Pleasant friend, Affectionate friends, Needy friends, Calming friend, Naive friends, Exploitative friends, Impulsive friends, Party-loving friends, Misanthropic friend and so on... Romantic relationships also come in various types: Pleasant partners, Romantic partners, Feeble partners, Calming partners, Exploitative partners, Pedantic partners, Short-tempered partners, Abusive partners, and more... (There are D/S and hate-fuck relationships, but D/S is a consensual relationship for mutual benefit, and hate-fuck is not a romantic relationship.)
Tokyo
And itch.io?
Vayes
Hyped for the river rat job. hope everything goes smoothly
Vayes
against Patreon ToS sadly :(
Tokyo
Hopefully you can get to some somno stuff! I've been wanting to mess with my sleeping roommate for a while ever since he humiliated me in class lmao.
Chris Sommercorn
I really appreciate how you send out consistent Dev Diaries to us. It's so nice not to be left in the dark when it comes to development. Thank you.
Touiten
Oh yeah! Nice work as always, can't wait to try it out =D
elmagio
Awesome work! Can't wait to try out the River Rat job
