itch.io

Yes! Let me give you a tip:

Try to make a good impression on Mafalda at the bar. Then, keep playing through to the end of the beer pong match! You should be able to figure the rest out :P

Wha - what happened !? \o.o/

Ah, okay... Some old saves might indeed stop working... :( In the version I'm developing right now, I'm trying to be more careful about that.

About deleting saves, we’ve taken notice of that as well. Unfortunately, only version 0.7 and above will allow you to delete them. Since we implemented a completely custom GUI in 0.6, that specific feature hadn't been added yet.

We’re sorry for the inconvenience in the meantime :\

After reading what you wrote, I went to check, and you're right. You should definitely be able to go home with him anyway. I lost my dev project files for version 0.6, but I'm going to try to recover the dev version to fix this so you can experience it. In both routes, you were supposed to have enough friendship to end the night with Harry.

Hey, sorry to hear about that. If you could give me more info, I’d appreciate it: what platform are you playing on, are all your old saves not working?  Are you able to start a new game and save, and what specific errors are you getting?

Hey Sandpixie3!

Glad you liked Lucas! You can tell Lucas you have to think before giving him an answer and  suggest that he follows you around if you'd like. (even without him being on the team)

Regarding Harry, there is a way to gain friendship with him without getting involved in a "steamy" night. I believe there are two ways; the one I remember best (probably because it's the most hidden) is to talk to Diego, then go talk to Matt and then leave Matt's side to go find Harry. Matt won't let you go alone, and things happen in a significantly different way.

There is also something very important I wanted to highlight: I worked for several years as a clinical psychologist where I saw everything. The good, the bad, and the very bad. There is no way I am going to glorify sexual assault, rape, or anything that genuinely harms people in a lighthearted way. With Harry, yes, he is drunk and desperate for more drink—he is effectively lost. (Ironically, I recently saw a Critical Role series where one of the characters had very similar behavior, even drinking off the floor). However, it was something Harry himself wanted, and he threw himself at you. Now, you may not want that specific story. Well, I wouldn't do that in real life but some people may enjoy that kind of fun with each other and as long as both are fine with it, all good. I'm actually planing on talking about this in more detail in the next devlog.
But in trueclash nightclub, there are ways to work around it without having to make out with Harry. I want TrueClash to be full of secrets like this. Things that happen one way, but change entirely based on someone's presence or a specific decision you make.

I plan to revise parts of the older content to improve the presentation and the writing (I feel I'm better at both right now). Once I get to that part, I can check it and perhaps make it clearer that this is something he wants and even add yet another way of solving that situation without needing to make out with him or paying drinks. (try taking Matt with you and tell me if that aligns better with what you had in mind).

And thank you so much for your comments. These are very important to me as not only it allows me to share my opinion with you on some topics but may also alert me to parts of the game I may or can make better. 

Hey Corona, there are many topics you touched on that are indeed important to clarify.

Regarding the use of AI and whether we are going to stop using it: the short answer is no. The long answer is more complicated than that, but let me try to keep it brief and easy to understand without getting into all the associated nuances. There are several things I’m working on for the next patch that simply wouldn't be possible without AI—specifically, different storytelling methods than those used until now.

Furthermore, I am trying to recruit. This is for two reasons: first, I want to give back to the community. I’ve felt good in the conversations I’ve had so far with different studios and freelance artists just thinking about the possibility of being a source of income for someone else. All the funds we’ve earned to date are being held in reserve for exactly that: to recruit artists. I’m not paying Viv, Alex, or myself. This weighs on me a bit because they’ve been with the project since the beginning and deserve it, even though they say they prefer it this way. But let that sink in for a second.

The second reason is that I want to keep improving the game, and for that, I need people. Artists, programmers, GUI designers, etc. I want TrueClash to be a story that sticks with you, a game that leaves a mark, something good, even if it's only for 100 people. Without AI, I wouldn't be able to recruit external help right now; I’ve tried to start this project without AI before and, for numerous reasons, it wasn't possible.

Last but not least on this topic: I’m tired of talking about it. Especially considering that in our recruitment process, 95% of the messages we received were practically identical, to the point where the phrasing and topics were the same, including strange and clearly robotic sentences (likely ChatGPT). If it’s unfair to artists who spent their lives drawing, it should also be unfair to writers, teachers, proofreaders, linguists and translators, yet there doesn’t seem to be the same level of importance given there since everyone uses it to review and enhance their texts instead of paying a teacher or taking a course to improve their writing skills. (including those affected by it)

AI or not, our game is full of soul, hard work, and manual refinement of images by myself and Alex; we spend days and weeks at a time working on these characters. I can share with you that Harry's current design took us well over three weeks to finish. Why? Because AI usually generates 'standard' characters that all look the same; I have limited skills and, above all, I wanted to represent real people, not identical-looking dolls.

From conversations I had with different studios, they usually say they can make one to two character sprites per week.

And if you'll allow me to vent, this struggle is becoming quite frustrating for us. It’s hard enough on its own to find artists who want to join a project and feel in sync with it. But in our case, because we use AI, it becomes even harder. Many artists don’t want to be part of a project that uses AI (even if their involvement is specifically meant to reduce the reliance on AI itself). Others who are willing to do it don't want to be publicly associated with it—they’ll take the money, but they want to stay in the shadows. For us, that just doesn't work. Even so, we still have some artists and studios who are interested and will be sending us mockups, but the reality is that it makes our selection pool even smaller.

On top of that, not only is there misinformation on the topic from both sides, but there are also unfounded negative associations caused by the creative laziness of a few, which ends up generalizing everyone else.

Despite all this, I understand your difficulty. Will we be able to move away from AI entirely?  I think not as it depends on many things—from the artists who apply and their work ethic, to (especially) whether the people who support us actually like those changes. The more support we receive, the more people I can recruit to help us (and not just artists).

Do I know that our project has a harder time reaching more people because it uses AI? Of course I do. I’m fully aware of that. But it wouldn't even exist without it. The only thing I can say is that if you want an experience full of human soul, effort, and love: stick around.

If that isn't enough, I more than understand you. It’s not up to me to define what is right or wrong, especially since that often changes from person to person—we just have to respect each other.

Hey Crockmonster, Zak here!

We’re really happy to hear you’re enjoying the game!

Regarding the slow burn, I think I get what you mean. I struggle a bit with the specific terms to describe what we’re trying to achieve because I’ve never been much of a "tags" person (dammit, now I actually need them xD). But in short: I like making players "fight" for things—whether it’s the story, secret scenes, romance, or even the sexual content. When I describe it as a slow burn, I mean it in that sense: it can take a while because that’s the kind of story I personally love to read and tell. 

But it's also because I want a game and a story where the emotional connection to the story and characters is at its core. That being said, I do have NSFW content planned and there will be some characters that are "easier" to reach sexual content with than others. However, I try to be honest and say that this isn't the main focus of Trueclash. Which I realize might be a bummer for those looking for an experience more focused on that side of things. :\

I also understand your point about things moving fast with some characters. There are a few factors at play here. I often hear people telling me stories like "I met this person two days ago, but it feels like I’ve known them for years." Why does that happen? I can’t say for certain because there are so many different reasons why that happens.
For example, for that specific scene you mentioned to happen (with Diego), you already had to do something to impress him. There are several ways, but the clearest is having broken through his initial barrier, helped Harry and even the training itself. To him, these carry emotional weight and aren't easy to pull off. One could argue that he’s known people for years who wouldn’t do that for him. And that can make a hell of a difference and change things up.

About the sex stopping right before it happens... damn, I can see why that can be frustrating. In fact, I think one of the dialogue options reflects exactly that. Letting you show your annoyance because it’s not exactly fair to deal with that! I always try to think about what different people would want to say, though I have my limitations since everything has to be programmed. :P But yeah, I totally feel you on that.

Regarding the mini-game... I’ll admit, some people love it and some think it should be different. About having visual aids to help you choose a stance, I agree I could improve the clarity there. However, I’d need some help with that right now. I have so much on my plate and I’m not sure if I have the budget yet, as I’m currently looking for people to help with art, new character development, and upscaling/remaking what we have without losing the essence of the art you're used to. I’d also love to find a developer/programmer to help me polish the mini-game itself. My dream is for it to feel like a "game within the game," but I have to be realistic and admit I can't develop two games at once on my own.

To help you with the mini-game for now: imagine you’re playing against a real person. The AI remembers which stances you’ve used and tries to adapt to your patterns. You can actually bait the AI! (which will be more important on the next combat update)

Both the AI and the mini-game have been improved in version 0.7 for the season’s final fight (releasing on Patreon in about 2 weeks). I’d love to get your thoughts again once you’ve played the stadium combat.

As for the audio/visual cues, I got you. The training sessions so far do lack clear visual effects. In v0.7, during the stadium fight, there’s a much stronger visual presence for both your chosen stance and the opponent’s. I’ll wait for you to play that to see if it helps.

And about the characters—it’s definitely our intention to make them feel unique and represent different body types. Twinks and bulls exist, but there is a lot of "in-between" ;)

Thanks for being here!

Hey! Zak here.

To be honest, I don’t even know how to respond to this, other than saying it was truly wonderful to read. Thank you so much for your kind words.

I honestly delight in reading this kind of message because I can truly feel and see your experience with the game. I love seeing what you enjoyed, what moved you and sometimes even things we could improve on. It’s super interesting to see how different people share similar experiences but in their own unique way, whether it's their opinions, their tastes, or the characters that catch their eye the most.

I won't be able to reply to every single point, but I know you’re on our Patreon and I really encourage you to write about the characters there, especially after a new release. The community loves talking about that.

As for your experience playing... Dammit... once again, thank you for sharing that and for your kind words... They mean the world to me.

I truly hope our game continues to be a positive influence and a source of energy and motivation for you and for many others. On our end, we’re going to keep doing our best to make sure it stays that way.

Once again, Thank you.

Hey Aquel!

I’m sorry to hear that; it’s definitely frustrating...

It might be a Google Drive issue. Do me a favor: try again (it seems to be working now). If it still doesn't work, send me a DM on Patreon and I'll try to create a special link just for you.

This was translated; I hope the meaning is what I actually intended.

目前还没有中文版。我们确实考虑过增加翻译，但由于团队规模较小，目前还没能开展这项工作

Hey Theclassyhobo!

I’m glad the characters can move you like that. That’s one of our main goals. To make you feel and connect with the characters and the story itself.

And I get the whole throwing a pillow at his face thing… And of course, I understand it would definitely be done with affection, not out of anger at him… well… you know.

(and thank you so much for your words)

Hey BICCAC!
Don’t worry about that. I understand the attachment you have to Diego’s current design, or any other character’s, really.
If the art style adapts to the style of artists who join us, or if Diego ever gets an update, we’ll have to keep his style, personality, and overall look intact. His essence, so to say. And it would have to be approved by our patreons as well, so I think you should be safe :P

About the CGs… well… >.<
Let’s just say I’ve been updating some of the older ones already… Maybe in the next patch, the first image you see of him won’t be the same… But hey! You can see it as extra images for Diego! :D
(But  it might be a good idea to save those available now if you want to keep them :P)

Hey, Zak here!

I’m really happy to hear you’re enjoying Trueclash that much heheh.

Regarding Adrian, I think it really comes down to personal taste, and we’re in a safe space here to explore that kind of thing (gaming). As long as you don’t end up dating someone like him in real life, I think you’ll be fine xDD

I think games can be healthy both as a way to tell a story and as a space to explore riskier dynamics that wouldn’t necessarily be good to live out in real life. So I totally get why you might feel attracted to Adrian. He’s challenging, among many other traits he has.

As for whether he’ll become a main romance, you probably already have some insight if you’ve explored everything with him and paid attention to what he says and does when you side with him. To avoid spoilers, I won’t go much further than that, especially since some of the things I have planned could still change.

I’ve also been talking with Patreons about branching and choices, and they’ve helped put me at ease and even gave me some ideas. For now, my mindset is this:
If something feels cool and meaningful to explore, I’ll try to implement it. If I can’t because it would require too many changes, I’ll keep the idea and maybe come back to it later, allowing that option to exist and develop further.

A quick example related to Adrian: you can help him early on, and that leads to an ending if you do exactly what he wants. But if one day I have more manpower or feel like expanding what’s already there, I could come back and turn that ending into a different continuation instead. You get the idea?

And about the dynamics of the new team, for now yes, the maximum would be four team members. But since the game is still in development, that can always change ;)

Ok, this is a minor bug.

Usually, when you encounter errors that say “ignore,” you can safely click it.

Basically, because the game supports playing as either a male or female character, there are some functions that transform words or expressions, and they are case-sensitive. In this case, I wrote the expression as He_she instead of he_she xDDD

I’ve already fixed it in the newer versions, so in the next silent update this should be fine 😛

(and thank you)

No need to apologize, you’ve already been a huge help heheh.

In that stadium section, you can actually talk to both Diego and Harry one on one. There is a way to do that.

And yes, there are some timed events in the game. Things that “disappear” if you go do something else in the meantime. The wander around option is only available there as soon as you arrive at the stadium at that point Lucas is still within reach to be saved and if you do anything else then... well... he dies... Not really but you get what I mean xD

Ahh the mini game! It’s actually not total randomness. They do adapt to what you do. For example, if you keep spamming one stance, they are supposed to adapt to it and counter it. That system is more refined for the actual fight, with actives and passives, but it’s not available yet.

Ahhh! And it’s in the stadium section! For some reason I thought it was at the start of the game. Most of what you described is actually supposed to happen — except for you going to talk to Matt and getting the same conversations on a loop xDDDD.

Okay, I think I found what was going on and I released a silent update (you can download the game again). I tested it and it’s working properly now, but you’ll need to replay Matt’s part.

That initial stadium section (version 0.5) is what I call the exploration part, meaning there are a lot of variables that change scenes in different ways depending on the choices you make. When you explore and then get sent automatically to Matt, you kind of end up skipping some keys (basically the game doesn’t remember you already went to Matt). That was a coding mistake on my end. It should be fixed now (I just hope I didn’t accidentally break anything else).

And thank you so, so much.

Hey BDM!

Of course I remember you, heheh. You’ve really been around almost since day one and I'm glad to see you are still with us ^^.

About Discord, for now we’re not planning to create one. I’ve got a lot on my plate, and I’m even thinking of making a post to look for someone else to join us and help me with a few things.

So yeah, long story short — no Discord for now.

Hey Ni_Fi,

That error you’re describing is definitely strange, because when you choose “wander around”, you’re not supposed to be sent to Matt automatically — it should take you to the choice menu where you decide where to go next.

I’ve never used the itch.io app myself, so it could indeed be related to that.

Hey Kendys!

Honestly? I have no idea xD
I’m really trying to go into detail with the game and avoid ending up with a rushed product. So if we’re talking about the full game, I’d say it’ll probably still take a few years.

That said, if we’re talking about sagas (sets of episodes), I believe the Matt vs Diego saga is getting close to its end. I think it should be finished within about 3 months (I say think because it always takes longer than I expect).

After that, a new phase begins — the Beach Saga, which was voted for by the Patreons 😉

Hey Lehyan!

In version 0.5 there was a slight change to his sprite, but it was mostly just a sharpening of the artwork so I could zoom in and play with the camera without it becoming completely blurry. But even slight modifications like that can change how the sprite looks.

The reason we shapened his sprite if he, Diego, and drunk Harry were some of the very first sprites I ever made. Back then, I simply didn’t know better, and they’re starting to feel a bit out of sync with the newer sprites I’ve been making over time. You can tell they’re a bit lower in quality compared to the newer ones, specially ones that I haven't shown you guys yet.

That said, I totally understand what you mean. Even small changes are noticeable, and when we like a character, we really notice them.

To be 100% honest, I might suggest a full sprite update for him on Patreon at some point but that would only come to be:

1. The vast majority of people like it

2. It keeps his essence, or even improves it

3. It fits well with the current art style of the game

So yeah, we’ll see. It’s definitely not a high priority right now. At the moment I need to focus on creating enough content for the 0.7 patch itself, then work on the logs (the in-game system that helps you track what content you’ve unlocked), and only then think about visual updates.

A lot of things to do in a little under a month xDD

Still, I’m really glad you’re enjoying the game, and I hope you like the UI changes coming in 0.6 as well — I personally love them, but I might be biased hehehe.

Hey BlackFenrir!

About Lucas. I get you. And people are really liking him as well heheh.

As for the team dynamic itself, I can tell you that I have things planned for that in Season 2. I’m dividing the game into seasons and chapters, with each season containing multiple chapters.

Season 1 is Diego vs Matt (the one currently happening), and Season 2 will be the beach season (voted by the Patreons).

Coming back to your question — yes, I do have plans in that direction for Season 2, but I’m still thinking through some details. Since I’m basically a solo developer, everything takes time, and sometimes allowing extra decisions means taking time away from developing other things.

Just to give you a quick example: I love how Lucas’ scene works in the stadium, but for every scene I have to be careful about adding or removing him depending on whether he’s accompanying you or not. And later on, if he’s introduced again, I’d need multiple versions — one if he’s already on the team, one if he’s not on the team but you helped him, or one if he doesn’t even know you yet :P

I genuinely love doing this kind of branching, but it takes time. Because of that, when it comes to the team, I basically have two options:

Either I give you conditional freedom — meaning you can decide certain things but within limits — or, for now, while I’m still developing and writing everything on my own, I make some decisions that don’t fully depend on the player.

Anyway, I’m rambling now. In short, and without giving spoilers: yes, there is a possibility for that to happen in Season 2 — both Diego and Harry joining the team or you leaving it to join them. Whether it actually happens, whether you get to choose, or whether fate decides for you… you’ll have to wait and see :P

(But I can tell you it’s already planned — it just needs a bit more polishing.)

We get what you mean! A full walkthrough would indeed be a lot of work 😅

That said, we’re actually working on adding something similar to the game itself — a memory log system.

The idea is to help players keep track of important information: details about the characters, knowledge you’ve unlocked, hints about what you might be missing, gallery progress, etc. Kind of like an in-game record of your journey, so you don’t feel lost but still get to explore and discover things naturally.

It’s something that’s quite challenging to implement because of its complexity, but what we’ve been working on so far feels like a really good start, we'll see where that goes hehe.

Ahhh, no! The post says it comes out on the 24th, holliday day. Consider it a gift from us hehehe.

On that day we'll update the links and make a new post :)

Hey Kelvin! Zak here

Ahh, so Diego makes you nervous. I see Matt isn't the only one who gets nervous around him <.< (joking)

About the NSFW, let me try to be as honest and clear as possible to manage expectations well.

My biggest passion is writing belivable characters that feel alive at the same time that make you feel something. In real life there's sex and NSFW scenes, so those are also planned for TrueClash. But when? Honestly, I don't expect that to appear before Season 2 at the beach (after the Diego vs Matt conflict) because only then will more daring characters be introduced in that sense and things may have matured enough with the current cast by then. But I should highlight that explicit NSFW won't be the focus of TrueClash. They will exist and I want to do them fun and exciting but it won't be the focus of the game.

Now about your specific question, I'm planning to make sexual or making out scenes more interactive. So I believe the vast majority of characters will be versatile so everyone can be satisfied.

About branching, a topic that also gives me a lot to think about heheh. I have ideas to control the branching — ideas that allow me to give you freedom to do things like decide who's on your team. In that aspect it won't be a problem. But of course even small changes add work. I don't think you're a patron, but basically in the version they have access to and that's coming out this week for the public, I had to make scene variations depending on whether you managed or did something earlier or not. So all the scenes change with the 'presence' of that previous decision of yours (I'm trying to speak in code words to avoid spoilers xD). It's more work yes, but it's also something I enjoy doing and I think it adds shine to the game. But yeah, I have to be careful with branching so I don't get myself into a mess that'll be hard to get out of xDD

And yes, I've been trying to take time for myself, to rest and do other things. I confess it's hard and sometimes I fail, but I'm doing much better in that aspect xDDD

I really love doing this but I understand what you're saying. I have to be careful not to burn out and end up not enjoying it or not wanting to do it anymore. It has to be something enjoyable in the long run ^^

Thank you for the kind words and I hope you like what's coming!

Hey CaptainMal888 ! Zak here.

With that "game rocks" comment I was tempted to reply with an image of a character but it's still in the making and hasn't even been revealed to patrons yet, so I'll hold back xD.

I'm glad you like the game, I hope it keeps on rocking ^^

Hey exusiai777! Zak here.

I'm really happy you're enjoying it. 

And yes, I try to take my time and care of myself, but sometimes it's hard because I just want to be around this!
But I'm managing to take some days for myself, part of the reason I'm only replying now :P

I hope you like what's coming, it's an impactful patch xDD

Hey DuskyMane, Zak here!

I'm glad you're loving the game hehehe.
I know why this is happening, and the fact that you sent me the error itself helps immensely. Because there are so many variables and little things that something always slips past me.

It's an idle animation (them breathing and such) that no longer exists (I gave them an upgrade and this one slipped past me). I already fixed them, but apparently it was a fix in version 0.5 and not in this one... I really thought I had also fixed it in version 0.4 at the time but no... Sorry... The fact that I have multiple versions sometimes means it gets fixed in one and not in another.

But it's a minor bug. You can press ignore and the game should run perfectly, Matt just won't have his idle animation.

Thank you for spotting this one out, I already checked and it's fixed in 0.5. 
Hope you keep enjoying our game. Anything you want to share with us, feel free to do so ^^

Hey XVGuil!

I can give you a tip on that one :P
Let's just say he is a fighter for Mafalda's team. That girl you can meet up in the bar ;)

(also make sure you are playing version 0.4, released last tuesday for non patreons)

Hey guys ! We just updated the link again. 
These will be the last keys, hope you get to join us ^^

PS. I didn't noticed we were already in the patreon keys post :P. 

If you downloaded the game from patreon, then yes. You've played the last version so far - more coming tomorrow for tier 3 patreons.

Hey KayJay, Jack here!

We are really glad you are enjoying Trueclash heheh!

The free version ends where you said, at the end of the night with Matt, Diego, or Harry.
The version coming out tomorrow for free players doesn’t go much further than that, since it’s basically an expansion of that same night. You’ll be able to meet Joel (the redhead), spend more time with Diego (up until now he was the only one you couldn’t really get too involved with), and start the next day — where you’ll get to do a bit more customization of your character, especially regarding their backstory.

That said, at the same time as version 0.4 releases for everyone tomorrow, version 0.5 will release for Tier 3 patrons. That one expands the game to the stadium, where you can meet a new character (Lucas) and talk to Matt, Diego, and Harry again. Let’s just say it’s more of an exploration update, where your past choices and the ones you make in the stadium really matter and change some outcomes. There’s also quite an impactful moment waiting there, though I won’t spoil what’s coming. Neither if it is a good or bad impactful one ;)

If you’re eager to play and don’t want to wait for tomorrow’s free version, last week we gave out Patreon keys. There should still be some left (check the post). If you grab one, you can already play tomorrow’s free version right now ;)

The first batch of keys ran out faster than I expected 😅
I’ve just added a second one - anyone who couldn't get one feel free to try again.

I hope you all enjoy it! 🎉
Anyone who grabs a sub can already play version 0.4 through our Patreon instead of waiting for Tuesday 😉

You will like what's about to come then :P

Hey BMD99! Zak here!

So glad you're enjoying it so much! I'm really excited to see your reaction to the public version coming out next week, but I'm especially looking forward to seeing the reaction to the Patreon version because that one's gonna hit different xDDD

And about the slow burn, I completely agree! It makes the relationship feel way more rewarding in my opinion ;)

Thanks for the continued support! 🙏

I'd actually love to see fanart of the game hehehe. That would be a real source of pride! :P

But I totally get what you're saying. But I'm not gonna rush it. When we get to that stage, I'll actually take a step back and think very carefully about how to structure it properly ;)

Hey! Zak here!

Being 100% honest about the NSFW side of things — I’m planning to start introducing that kind of content in Saga 2 (the beach arc), which was actually the most voted setting by our Patreons.
So yeah, it won’t appear before the whole Matt vs Diego storyline wraps up.

I should also emphasize that NSFW content won’t be the main focus of Trueclash. The real core will always be the story, the romance, the characters and the player’s choices.

That said, it’s still something I want to explore. Especially because I’ve already had some ideas that could serve both the narrative and the emotional tone of those moments.
Ideally, I’d love to make them feel a bit more interactive. Almost like a mini-game, where the player can choose what to say or do instead of it just being a static erotic CG with a few lines of text.

I’m also currently waiting for a response from an NSFW artist who told me they’d need about a month before being able to start working with us — so let’s see how that goes!