Dev Diary #11

Hello everyone! I hope you enjoyed v0.19. It was certainly a story focused update, wasn't it?

There are many features I have had planned for a few years now that I haven't found the time to work on because the story has always been my number 1 priority, and by the time that's done, it's been long enough to release the update. Especially lately with these massive story events, it's eaten most of my time.

For v0.20 I'm considering changing things up a bit. My main goal is to release updates faster, which would require me to not guarantee that every main character gets a new story event each update.

The planning phase of v0.20 begins soon, so nothing is set in stone yet. But I think I'll test this method of updating up until v0.21 depending on how well it is received. Something needs to change, because spreading myself so thin with these massive story events can only work for so long.

Below are some of the plans I have outside of main story content.

Calendar:

The Calendar system has already been partly developed. Included are 13 unique months, 28 days each. Every character has their own birthday, and with it would be tied a unique birthday event, likely including some sexy times at the end.

Unique in-world holidays would also be included, with events tied to them. One of these holidays would include "Crusader's Day", a mix between Thanksgiving and Halloween. During this day, people enjoy cosplaying as knights, witches, or anything fantasy-esque. For us this means an event with all of the characters with their own cosplay celebrating the holiday.

Functional Smartphone:

Receive selfies, chat with others, get alerts, and more. This project is also already partly developed. If you've played Persona 5, you kind of know what I'm going for already. The player's character uses his phone a lot in Harem Hotel, but everything is done with the standard dialogue box and buttons instead. A fully functional phone would mostly be for immersion, as it could all be done without dynamic UI. But I think it would be a great feature to add at some point.

The Lounge:

In one of the floors of the hotel I plan to include The Lounge. The whole floor would be replaced with a recreational area for the residents. Arcade machines, a poker table, couches, TVs, maybe even a stripper pole.

This location would replace the utility room as the area characters hang out in during that time slot. Instead of just standing around or masturbating, the characters would be actively doing something, and usually with someone else. Here you could experience mini events that are solely slice of life. Random topics, recent events, anything that would let the characters just be themselves in the hotel.

Dungeon Remake:

I've been meaning to get to this for a while, and I haven't wanted to add anything more to the dungeon until the remake.

With the introduction of the Lust mechanic, there's a golden opportunity to tie it in with the dungeon and turn it more into a game than just more repeatable events. The current events also visually stand out as being older than the rest of the game, so it needs an overhaul anyway.

After the dungeon remake, a better direction for this content will be established and I can put focus on bringing in the side characters, especially Jin and Vanessa.

Trait System Upgrade:

Some traits are currently useless, and all of them could use more content in any case. Updating the trait system would include new repeatables, things to buy, unique lewd scenes, and more lewd mechanics.

While more training options are planning (exhibitionism for example), those traits already have plenty of content, so I would be focusing on areas that are lacking.

This system is very open ended though, so I would love to hear your suggestions!

Music Update:

It takes a lot of time to find the perfect music for an event, but it can add so much when it's done right. I'm not sure how important this is to people though.

Other:

Was there anything I missed? Or do you prefer I put my focus somewhere else? Please let me know!

I'm also curious how you guys feel about the current balance between story content and sexual content in recent updates. v0.19 included a lot of repeatable content for side characters, but not much for main characters. Do you feel that we need more sexual content?