Game dev update blog

Coming to this point took a long time... A very LONG TIME.

I think the last update was a year ago or something? (maybe longer?) Back then I ran into a problem that I couldn't fix. No matter how I tried, I kept running into the same issue and there was no way around it. (or so I thought...). Is this game ever going to get finished? No idea... but the demo of the game is getting real close. A lot more info below regarding the stuff I went through.

For over 6/7/8 months I puzzled and fiddled around with my character and the clothing she was supposed to wear. For some reason, the clothing always clipped through the skin and it was simply immersion breaking. I followed multiple tutorials but in many cases it proved little to no help. It seemed like there was no other option but to weight paint every piece of clothing manually. Anyone who works with 3d stuff, you know that's a case of "don't do it". Especially if you're creating a game all by yourself with multiple pieces of clothing that should be able to combine etc (to give the player more freedom in customization).

At first I tried to think outside of the box. I turned to shaders, followed multiple tutorial and created my own to dump all the excessive weight of the unity shader system. I learned a fuck ton but in the end, it still didn't give me an answer about the problem regarding clothing.

More time passed by and without a solution, I wasn't sure how I was able to progress. A lot of the programming for the game is already in place. A day/night cycle, an auto save system (and load), a random loot generator, inventory management and ergonomic buttons (like shift and ctrl) to shift loot fast from containers to your backpack. Mod support ready because the game already reads/gets game objects from actual folders as the game starts. Item pickup/collission, navigation mesh for people who want to use the mouse and click to set a destination (instead of arrow keys/WASDA). A mission log/system that can be saved at any point because its all serializable. Animation switching based on the clothing a character wears and the limitation it gives them (hands cuffed = limited hand usage. hands cuffed & taped = no hand usage). Camera controls (zooming in during conversations/opening shops/inventories). Adding bones on runtime allowing players to add new hairstyles, wings, tails and even floppy dicks.

Yes a lot is already in place. Yet here I was, stuck on this part of the game, frustrating myself with something I had far less knowledge of: 3d modeling and animation. FUCK!

I realized I had to do something. I had to keep moving in order to learn. I decided to start over and create a new character with modular pieces. It would take some time to program but the end result would be almost the same. Since I was in a tight spot, I decided to go with that. Other than that, I also realized the lack of options on my current character/rig. Therefore, I searched for clean 3d models from the net and modified these heavily. I bought a pack containing a fully rigged 3d character with shapekeys etc just so I could figure out how other people did it. In the end I ended up with the model below. Not gonna lie, it still needs work.

Still... Even though I was working on a new model with modular components, I still feared the problem regarding clothing and skin clipping into each other.

So... about 2 weeks ago, when I was sick on the sofa, watching tutorials on youtube etc, I stumbled across a v-tuber adding new clothing to his character. I had seen the technique earlier but it didn't work back then. (because I was too stupid and inexperienced in 3d artwork to realize what I did wrong). After seeing that tutorial I was a bit stumped. It was that easy? What did I do wrong back then?

To test it out I pulled up my older model again and... Succes?!

Suddenly, everything fell into place. I was able to continue my work on the game and with all the knowledge I had gained from shaders/3d artwork I decided to sort of bee line it to the demo.

First I implemented a new shader, allowing players to customize not only the clothing color but also the rim colors of the piece. (just to give the player more control about what they want to see).

Despite having the problem finally solved, I decided to continue with the new 3d model. A modular piece allows for far more options in the long term even though it takes a bit longer to set everything up.

Like I said, I decided to beeline it to the demo. I fleshed out the story of the game and wrote a more detailed intro which would also act as the demo/alpha version. Using that I started working on new models necessary for the intro part.

Chests, able to lock a character in place with no way out.

A table, capable of stretching a character (but I still want to add a spread eagle version)

Despite not being in the demo, I couldn't resist modeling some sort of pony walker unit... *COUGH COUGH* (yes this piece requires power... power that the player can create/use to power devices like these. The rest is up to your imagination...)

Now I usually don't draw plants or monsters (because of my lack of skill) but lets be honest: they are perfect when it comes to bondage play. They offer so many possibilities and I figured some of them would be perfect for this game and especially for the demo where people get a taste of what to expect. Below is a plant that can randomly spawn in certain parts of the island. The player can craft tools to stun the plant (giving them save passage for a few seconds) or destroy the plant completely using fire for example. Should the player get caught by the plant however... You're stuck. No I mean, actually stuck. I built a day/night cycle, knowing some people wouldn't mind locking up a character (or be locked up themselves) the entire night. Fear not, this time can be skipped if you're bored of it. Time will skip a random amount before a character you recruited on your farm will come to save you. Be aware however that some plants/enemies will leave behind status effects on your body and some can be permanent. Some effects get worse as the character is longer stuck inside the plant or monster. (the permanent mod/status can be undone if you have certain tech... otherwise, you or the character who was caught is stuck with whatever is given or taken away from them :D )

So... that kinda breaks down where I am right now. Working on the demo/alpha. While doing so I started using objects I made for the game in order to make my drawing sessions shorter/easier. (example below)

Expect more of these pieces since I really want to create something that's playable soon but not too soon... :P

If you came this far, thank you for reading it all and I hope you are as excited as I am. This has kept me busy for the past week and I really need to contain my enthusiasm since I also need to keep creating images for fanbox (you people!). Thank you for your support and have a lovely day! :)