Post by 1412 in Update 5.4 Released! comments

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Does raising relationship do anything? I'm kinda confused- And what's the point of the pool meter? Is that the earliest point at which you can win, when it's full? Or when it's full does that mean that time is up and you've lost?

Also it felt very strange to have people talking about how they've changed but their changes have reverted partially, or i've picked such a combination of energy drinks that they've just, not changed at all.

It would be nice to have dialog tags to show who's talking instead of colors, and maybe show each person's image at the start of the day?

I clicked on the road on day 9 and my character just said "yay we can leave!" and then the game ended with no warning and I lost my data.

I would love non-ai assets also, or a map/list of who is where on each day.

Have you considered drawing people yourself? even if it's simple placeholder art. Or outsource some of the art in the community, I know you've got 50+ pictures for each character which would be a lot for a single person and expensive to commission. I don't really draw NSFW but I think like, each character having a different art style could be kinda cute and charming?

Backgrounds are heck but you could do stock images or something with a filter over them to get that hazy dreamlike quality to it?

EDIT: Also how does having someone have multiple types of drink work? If I give someone 3 purple does a green one set their change to t1 green or t2 purple, o just t0 regular guy?

Gani52 days ago(+1)

Raising relationships dont do anything yet :\
There will be an update in October to address that.

When the pool meter is filled you can win. This version of the pool meter is a concept i am expanding in 5.5. Right now it is super easy to fill, and the following day you can leave, meaning you win. That system will change as more updates come out.

Yeah... more dialogue and state checks need to be made to address that. It's something that will be address in time but i have no esitmate on when.

I like the dialogue tag idea. i will add to my feedback list. Colors and a character portait should confirm to the player who is talking in the moment.

Sorry about the game ending with no warning. I can add that is as a "Are you sure you wanna leave? (this will end the game)". This ending is not final and is just a placeholder.

I have some ideas of how i can scale up the amount of unique assets for each character without breaking time or the bank lol.
The game is still in the prototype phase, so there will be the AI art in there for a while, as i build in more systems and features. Once i get into Alpha that is when assets and gameplay polish can happen. A map is something i need to add to the feedback list.

My 2d art isnt the greatest and i am indredebly slow at making them. The drinks art is stuff i drew for reference lol.

The backgrounds look terrible >_>. Once im in Alpha I have plans of making 3d background in blender and "anime-ifying" them to make them look 2d. That i know i can do lol.

For reference I am defining Alpha as the state where all the core mechanics are in the game, they are fun (based on feedback), and the player can beat the game with all the major win conditions in place.

For the Edit question:

Its a subtraction based system. If you give somone 3 purple drinks they are at T3 purple. If you give them a green drink, it sets them to T2 purple.
That system could use some love, so any feedback there would be appreciated.

I hope that answers all of your questions! Thank you for playing the game and your feedback!

141251 days ago (1 edit)

Confirmation before ending the game might be good!

The cans are fine :)

3d BGs turned 2d with filters n stuff would be a good idea yea!

For dialog I'm mostly talking about when you wake up in the morning and there's conversations between everyone? It only shows the captain's sprite, everyone else is just text colors without tags or images.

So leaving once the meter is full is how you 'win' right now? Is there a certain order o combination of chemicals that also makes a win? The game seems to hint at some kind of mastermind logic puzzle with 'the water responds in x way' but I haven't found any differences.

I'll admit I don't know if 'not enough TFs' is the biggest problem the game has right now? If you wanted to add more I would personally like to see more gameplay impacts/mechanics. Maybe there could be something about some characters being able to help you with story events or something, based on their skills/forms? I had singer offer to make me something if I brought them something the next day but that didn't have any impact.

'm imagining it as there being some sort of resource management mechanic? Turn your friends into things to avoid vaguely-defined hazards, maybe help keep them focused/more lucid? Like maybe a moth would feel more comfortable with certain types of resources than others and wouldn't be impacted mentally as much, IDK, it's your game, i'm just spitballing concepts.

A VN Roguelike is interesting because roguelikes are built to have replayability, so you need either some very compelling gameplay to keep things interesting or a lot of writing that people can see over multiple playthroughs, potentially both. Something to keep people coming back for more runs. In the game's current state I worry the game doesn't have that for more than one or two replays? The different tfs are kinda there but. It's definitely not enough on its own IMO.

I have concerns about the ethics and sustainability of AI art as well- not to mention it seems like aside from color palettes most of the characters wind up looking pretty similar IMO in later stages. It is cute how Singer's hair tends to cover her eyes once she's done though.

Interesting concept tho! Making games is hard and tricky.

Gani51 days ago(+1)

Oh yeah for the morning conversations, those need to be updated before going into Alpha. They were made quick and dirty >_>

There is no longer a combination of chemicals to win. That was the old way of winning but it left too much to chance for the player and generally had negative player feedback. I will be reworking the purpose of hints as they still allude to the old system of winning.

I do like the ideas you have presented in your post... I've been thinking about it all day lol.
Im going to the drawing board to see how that would all piece together.

As for the AI art, I dont think i will continue to expand the game using it. I liked using it as a place holder for now and to convey a visual theme to the player.

Making games is tricky but i'll figure it out lol.

Thank you again for all the feedback!

141251 days ago

lemme know if you want to talk about this more! I like discussing potential game mechanics and stuff c:

itch.io

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