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Build 0.6 Discussion

A topic by Minoh Workshop created Dec 24, 2021 Views: 3,508 Replies: 33
Viewing posts 1 to 20
Developer (2 edits)

That's right, we're back! You can find more info about our plans here, but the basic gist of it is that Build 0.6 will be about expanding the story's side content. We will post more concrete news soon but we plan on releasing it by February at the latest.

Feel free to discuss theories and ideas here. And you can also post memes/shitposts/whatever too, it's all good. Have fun!

I'm excited to see who's routes will be fleshed out first because I really adore every character and seeing more from them makes it even better. I love Kota's design and the little touch on the robes design really hits you with that idea of water. I can understand people would want to jump in more Asterian story, but i like the slowed pace for us to explore everyone else too. As MC I like to think of the whole crew as very close friends. The entire Devlog was good news one after the other.

nice, i've read the devlog and the one thing that i'm still wondering about is how the side routes are going to be implemented. we didn't have enough days to explore all the side ccontent in one go in 0.5, now with 0.6 i'm assuming we would have to go back to chapter 13 to get access to the new content. and wether there should be more days of just R&D or if we are going to make use of just the days that were available already.

Developer

To access the new side content you'll have to load a previous save file, yeah.

We know things seem tight time-wise in the game. Some of that is purposeful on our part — there is not going to be enough time to do everything, so players should reflect on what they want to prioritize and what they'd like to see. This means everyone will have their own very unique journey through the game.

At the same time, I'm also aware this issue is exacerbated by the relatively small number of in-game management days. What I can say is that as we add more main story chapters this will start feeling better.

(+1)

Yes, i was aware of the multiplaythrough idea and have prepared save files accordingly. Still, you should consider possible work arounds for this. A save skip to when the new content becomes available would be very user friendly, but i imagine that would be awful to program in. However, considering we have a global save system with the achievements, then may be completing a character route should give a reward for it, perhaps just a flavor thing about the specific character, or a permanent buff for that character stats on a new game plus kinda deal, like Asterion's purple color. I suppose you might have already discussed some of these on the development side of things, but hopefully it doesn't hurt to have some repeated suggestions as feedback.

(+1)

I like the idea that "as the hotel becomes more complete, and as the staff grows, you find yourself with more time to get the things done you want to do." That's a good touch of ludonarrative convergence.

looking forward to the new build when it's ready to drop, love the new design for Kota, I'm sorta curious how you'd develop the wolf side story though since you can't really understand eachother. I do have a question though, since the game will have more side content without progressing the main story will that mean we have some more days added to previous chapters? Or will it be the same amount of time? I understand the design of not being able to do everything in one playthrough, but if more side content is added without more time to do them it could leave a sour taste in players mouths

Developer

We won't be adding more days this time. We are aware the time management doesn't feel perfect now but we think it will feel a lot better as the game progresses and more days are added along with the new chapters.

For now the way to access the new side content will be loading a previous save. Not perfect, I know, but this is relatively temporary in the grand scheme of things.

no worries, thanks for the speedy response ^^ have a wonderful holiday

I wonder if there will be new music tracks.

(+1)

I'm so happy to see more content coming soon and that this vn is getting the attention it deserves! It seems not long ago it was hard to even find it when I was searching by title but now its on the first page of lots of the lgbtq and romance tags, only within the vn category but still! Exciting! If I can make a suggestion, or really just share a hope, I'd really like to see some branching paths for Pedro and Oscars relationship. Not in this update obviously, but while the crush sideplot is cute, I found that I really enjoyed the more paternal tone the relationship took in the non-crush route and I really hope that there will be an option to expand upon that in future chapters. Pedro is trying so hard to break the cycle of abuse and be a better person than his father and I want to see that have its chance to really bloom now that he's finally found the validation and financial stability he needed and see Oscar gather his own hand picked family unit around himself and get that familial love he's needed for so long. I just want more found family in my Hotel damn it! Yes there's plenty in there already but come on, there's room for more!

Developer(+1)

We are definitely going to explore that!

There's some stuff to Pedro and Oscar's relation that I'm not sure it all came across as well as I wished. Namely, even if Oscar doesn't have a crush on Pedro the two of them still cherish each other. Regardless of your choices, Pedro and Oscar mean a lot to each other and I want to make that more clear going forward.

A lot of stuff is going to happen, and player choices affect how it goes (for example, while Oscar will always join the hotel's staff not everyone will be able to recruit Pedro) but a constant across all iterations is that the two of them retain their bond no matter what and  the thread of found family will become more prominent, including with how they relate to other characters.

We are still throwing ideas around, but one of them is that even if Pedro is not recruited as staff and even if they have a familiar relationship he'd keep visiting the hotel to spend time with Oscar, and they might go as far as going out during the weekends. Most likely we will also explore a bit more of their relation, whatever it may be, during the next main story chapters. You'll probably like what we have in store, as we will touch on it even more than we did so far.

(1 edit) (+5)

Got a mid flu-illness idea, what if the MC got something very minor like a cold but Asterion gets overly protective acting like it's a serious illness and forces the MC to stay in bed while he tries to do your job  of organising everyone jobs for a few days causing some light-hearted comedy to take place in the MCs sudden confinement

Nothing short of hyped for this sort of thing. Admittedly an idea has been in my mind that I am sure has crossed your guys' as well. Along with the selection of origins to pick from, like art student and all, I think a neat one that could be added (if at all, since its right at the beginning and would alter a lot of writing in the game) could be something like Chef. Main character has travelled around enough it seems to maybe have a wide and ranged taste of cuisines. Lets him be a cook to some of his friends and offers up some really cute, neat potential scenes.


Regardless.  So ready to see this story continue further down the line. MC led me to Killigan's Treasure too, both are such gems to have right now.

Developer(+1)

Preemptively posting pic related because the big in-game text won't be enough for some people.

Chapter 19 will be added in 0.7, the 0.6.x builds will add side content.

0.6.0 adds all of Kota's hangouts. To access the new content, load a save from chapter 14 (or onwards) and select the Hang out with staff option, then Kota.

There are five hangout scenes, and a special episode that plays at the end of chapter 17 if you completed all of them to cap Kota's story.

The resolution difference really funny. LOL

(+1)

Yeah, thankfully Nanoff talks about his plan here to do a restoration job on the other character's sprites to help with the resolution scaling disparity, which won't require him to do them all over again. It's just the artist's curse, as you evolve your stuff in something where you can make iterative changes like a VN, you end up with little quality changes here and there that you have to let lie.

(1 edit) (+6)

As someone who liked Kota but did not call him one of my favorite characters, I have to say this build to explore his sidequest was very well done and definitely makes me like and respect his character more. While it was never very subtle why he 'meddles' with you and Asterion's burgeoning feelings for each other, doing his route very much fleshes out the experience you get when chatting soulmates with him during the main story when he's drunk, and it works very well. All of the peeling back of Kota's layers and guard really does pay off with the extra scene at the end of chapter 17, and you really feel the character growth from him and feel great with how you and the rest of the staff come together for him once he's ready to open up and accept help.
I've only done one playthrough of it so far, but I'm definitely interested in changing up the other guests and pressing Kota for his take to see what he has to say. I'm too nice to push boundaries even though the MC can tell Kota's already caught on and flipped the script on us before we even began, so I can't wait to see more of his unimpressed face as we push our luck too far.

I really appreciate the effort you all put in to make the 'hangout routes' feel like full main story content this way, as opposed to the much more static current hangout with Luke. I especially love the execution of the chapter 17 scene between the panning between Kota and the rest of the staff - certainly the only way to really have all of the characters be on screen and have it not feel too busy, and then Luke breaking Kota's melancholic thoughts and dimmed background by actually moving up to him was a great touch. Likewise with the playing of Kota's theme(s) at proper times and whatnot.

Also, the Hinterlands 'shortcut' is extremely well executed! Not just the fact that it's there, but the framing device as a conversation with P and the MC is top notch. I feel like all I do is fawn over y'all in these posts, but again I'll say it, the way you play with the medium and keep things more in character with how you handle the player is just such a wonderful experience that blows everything else out of the water. Kudos again.

(+1)

THIS! All of this!

I agree totally!

Developer(+2)

Ah, yes... We wrote Kota's interaction in Chpater 17 with his hangouts in mind. We had good reasons to have him  as the "matchmaker" rather than Luke.

I will also say that it really hit me when I saw in action the whole scene where everyone gathers around Kota. It and the string of haikus really hit me.

Fun fact about the Hinterlands skip: For the longest time I had this idea in my mind of P and the player character talking. Sometimes (not always) I even toyed with the idea that the Hinterlands are narrated by P to the MC in a future part of the story. I don't know if we will ever go for that, but it came to mind when nanoff proposed the idea of the skip.

I like to think that there was at least half a dozen lines there that really expressed Pedro's and Oscar's relation. Writing them was a joy.

(+3)

I just finished the update and it was very lovely! Its always great to play through the game, but all the little touchers are wonderful. The skip is nice for those who already fully unearthed hinderlands but the fourth wall break is touch and brings more immersion.  The hang outs was great, and getting to know more about kota happen to be a nice treat.  Overall the touch ups was awesome!

(1 edit) (+1)

To be honest the part of the new update I liked the most was when Kota asked MC about his relationship with his parents. Don't get me wrong, I do like the development in Kota's story arc but it seems that our character doesn't have a lot of opportunities to talk about himself. And since he is the person in charge of the hotel, it feels kinda weird to me. Especially it stands out if we compare MC with Asterion, with how well-drawn that character is. Yes, we have an option to choose our background, but I wish it had more impact on dialogues with characters. It just feels more natural, you know?

(1 edit) (+5)

Hey guys, just played the game for the first time and got to the end of the build, wanted to share my thoughts (forgive me if I touch on stuff already discussed to death by the community since I'm new here). I went along the main route so a lot of what I talk about is exclusively regarding that route.

First of all, this is actually my first VN (excluding Doki Doki Literature Club which is more of a parody VN). I first noticed it when browsing Nanoff's twitter (I really got into the Boomer/Zoomer/Miles shorts), and was a little skeptical of it since VNs aren't normally my thing. I tried it out anyway, expecting something frivolous and comical, and needless to say I was not prepared for the journey ahead. I came for sexy cows, but I became completely enraptured by the multi-generational storytelling, rich characters and the hypnotic musical scores. 

My main takeaway from Minotaur Hotel is that it's a story about breaking shackles, both contract-related and mental. It's a compelling experience, watching Asterions upward climb out of his own pit of despair and slowly but surely turn from a skeletal wretch to a man. I'll admit that after signing the lead-ring contract and making Asterion say my name rather than master sent me into a flood of tears (and again after helping him mourn over the fallout of Clements actions). Being able to break through to him after watching him struggle through an entire chapters worth of depression feels incredibly liberating. It probably goes without saying, but he's my favourite character.

The hinterlands 3 segment I found both engrossing and jarring at the same time. As I progressed, I wanted to get back to the main plot thread, then after more progression still I found I wanted P and Storms storyline to take precedent. I loved both of these characters, the way Storm, despite being mistreated his entire life, manages to show humanity towards P. And how P in turn, despite seemingly failing at his life's goal and dragging around Storm on his wild goose chase, is able to show humanity toward Storm. I also liked the surreal, noir-ish quality this story thread had. It made me think of Twin Peaks (detective work in a small remote area with strange things happening, sound familiar?). Contrary to a lot of fan-art I've seen, I can't see them as a couple. They're more like a mentor and a student.

If I had to list a few cons, I think the stories portrayal of physical and psychological abuse seems rather optimistic (in regards to the main route). Even though the story was so compelling I found I could ignore it, it's a bit of a stretch to assume that someone who's undergone centuries of torture (including beheading whilst forced to stay conscious, ground into a bloody pulp, left in a cold room emaciated and half-faced, etc) would be able to mentally build themselves back again to the point of holding coherent conversations with others or forming relationships (although in Asterions case, since he's far older than any human, it might not be appropriate to directly align his experiences with that of a short-live being). I don't expect all of Asterions trauma to be gone by chapter 18, but it's a little surprising how happy he becomes given all that he's been through. This is something I can accept though, given how much I want him to be happy. 

I was also a little confused about the nature of the lead-ring contract. If I recall correctly the contract was drafted to ensure Asterions protection from any abuse the MC might inflict when Kota and Luke are not present. The only clause the contract has is that Asterion cannot enter the valley. However the labyrinths master doesn't need the valley to inflict harm upon Asterion. Clement was able to ruin Asterion completely seemingly without need of the valley, and if Asterion wanted to prevent the MC becoming another Clement then shouldn't there have been more clauses drafted to account for non-valley related methods of abuse? 

Despite the aforementioned comments, I had a great time all in all. This was an incredible piece of storytelling, and I'm happy to wait as long as it takes for the devs to polish the remainder of the content to the best standard it can be. (Oh, one more very minor nitpick, I think Asterion should face forward for his close-up sprite when kissing you, rather than being at a 3/4 angle, I think it'd be hotter that way).

(1 edit) (+3)

edit because it was 2 am and I didn't realize the thread was spoiler-free lol

Alright, it took me way longer than it should have for me to start reading this update and wow I so regret sleeping on it for so long.  Every new scene was a delightful read and it had my heart genuinely racing at times.

To cut it short: I didn't think you would go there with Kota, and you went there. Took me by surprise, props to that. In my first couple playthroughs he didn't particularly stand out to me among the other characters but right now he's really gone up on my list. I really like the way the narrative style adapts to the background and personality of each character and Kota was no exception! incorporating the haikus into the narration was lovely, specially as the poetry segments build up towards the end. Also, the way you take full advantage of the mythological setting to tell each character's story really shines here. Both the way their relationship is explored and the sheer, unrestrained romanticism in Kota's words and actions really feel like they could only come out of an ancient legend (very similar to Asterion in a way!).  

For the other stuff, I loved the way the sprites were handled in the last scene of Kota's route with him standing alone against everyone in the room. A masterpiece of ren'py cinematography, truly. And the Hinterlands skip dialogue was super fun too. The fourth wall break did not feel too out of place for P's character, and the way he talked about Storm just had me sobbing...

And all things considered, looks like Kota is out for the table for other relationships? maybe I was more right than I thought with my Luke/Khenbish theory... only time will tell...

Developer

I edited the thread just now to allow spoilers, so it's good.

You know, we got very worried about how people would respond to Kota's story. We mapped it out very early in development, before the first build came out. We fully expected Minotaur Hotel to be a small game in terms of reception, so we thought we could take the chance to comment on the very recurring motif of, shall we say, gods marrying inside their pantheon, and it was a chance to highlight just how gods aredifferent from mortals. It also connected to the hotel bringing in people who are lost, and it's a reprise of the MC's and Asterion's relationship — both are transgressive — while telling a story that, in its origins, has zero relation with the Greek gods. It rolled up many things into one dense storyline. Needless to say things changed a lot since, the game's audience got bigger than we ever imagined it'd become, so we were nervous about it, but  we didn't think changing the plans would work. Thankfully it all came together well in the end! I'm particularly proud of the longer haiku and the introspection of the nighttime scene, Nemo and Kangarube really did it and nanoff made it work perfectly well in-game.

And about the Hinterlands skip... When nanoff brought up the idea of making a skip I only needed a few minutes to think of what the writing could be like. Mind you, it's not a fourth wall break — he's talking to the MC there! It's all in-character.

(+1)

Has the choice "Throw Asterion's clothes into the valley" ever actually appeared in the game? I saw this tweet https://twitter.com/MinoHotel/status/1199119918563778561 and played the Ruthless Master ending several times to try to find that option. I'm still a little rattled from the events that occurred. Then I searched through the project scripts for the keywords "wardrobe" and "clothes" and didn't find the option.  Dang. I guess I'll have to add that option in a fan game.

(+5)

I just finished my first playthrough and OH MY GOD it was good! I love this game so much, the characters, the story, the art, the music, literally everything about it is good. I can't wait for more to be released, I'll be playing it as soon as I can! I literally had to pace myself through it every day so I didn't complete it too fast. Amazing job to everyone who's worked on this, my deepest thanks go out to you all. Keep up the amazing work and I'll keep loving it! 


Now... time to replay it and try to find out new stuff  :)

So Themba briefly mentioned that "Grootslags do not get along with the gods." Does anybody know why that is?

I tried exhausting all the dialogue of Kota's interrogation, but he didn't mention anything about why Themba might dislike him except for maybe the apartheid that occurred when Kota visited South Africa. 

Is it because Themba holds a grudge against the gods because they imprisoned Asterion? or is it because the gods split grootslags into elephants and snakes? 

(+2)

it's likely related to their mythos. gods made them too strong and smart, so they hunted them down and splitted in 2. right now all the Grootslang live together in a small pack because one managed to escape and reproduce. You can imagine from this that they would be wary of gods who might terminate their species if found.

Hello!
I just started going through this VN yesterday and I'm wondering if Argos ever gets a more intimate scene? ;)

Developer(+3)

There's not an Argos NSFW scene in the game but, if you do like him, I suggest you keep playing and keep trying to get the best of him at every opportunity. He respects wit and trickery, and the more you outsmart him the more he'll open up. There's a lot of fun stuff regarding him!

Deleted 2 years ago
(+1)

Pedro is definitely one of my favorites. Just the way he ties into the actual mythology so well and how deep his character goes. Makes me want to learn so much more about him!

(+3)

Just finished my first playthrough within three days and oh boy, what a road I still have before me - this VN is damn huge. But I can safely say that Dominikos and Pedro are my favourite characters of all.