On Darkest Dungeon 2, Modding & Lustiest Lair II

Hey there! Halftilt here with a quick update on Darkest Dungeon 2, what I've found in terms of modding potential and some random thoughts on Lustiest Lair II.

First, I'll share a bit about what I've been up to, and that's been recovering from COVID. I somehow managed to get it twice in a year (lucky me). It wasn't as bad the second time around, but I've been a bit inactive because of it.

While recovering, I have been busy with my day job and watching a few DD2 streams; which led to me caving in and buying it yesterday.

I figured I'd give some of my thoughts on it; first, I'm having a lot of fun with it. It feels a bit like Darkest Dungeon 1 mixed with FTL (another one of my favorite games).

The relationships aspect and focus on a smaller roster of heroes feels like a better fit when paired with the stress mechanic and it feels like there's more of an attachment to each character in your roster. Overall, I'm having a blast -- both watching and playing.

Now onto the modding potential...

Given how different this game is from its predecessor, my approach to making a NSFW overhaul would be very different from the original Lustiest Lair (this is good, because I don't want more of the same and it'll force me to be more creative).

Relationships

First, the relationship aspect had me digging into the files to see how in-depth it actually may be. I noticed none of my male characters became "Amorous" with another male character (yet) -- so I tried to find if there were markers for male & female heroes.

And alas!

In the original Lustiest Lair I couldn't include male heroes due to there being no way to limit what a hero says based on their class or some tag -- and modded heroes added in another level of complexity to any workaround I may have tried. 

Seeing this gender tag in Darkest Dungeon 2 hero gives me hope that they'll release modding tools that would make this possible! I'm hoping we could add more custom genders than just those that fall under the male/female binary. (this way we can have some intersex fun)

I plan on doing some more digging and seeing how integrated this gender tag actually is -- at the very least this will allow us to focus on a relationship aspect between heroes in Lustiest Lair II.

Text and Dialogue

Second, changing the text and dialogue. It's a bit messy and there are a TON of files that reference TONS of different things -- it's definitely a lot less organized than the original game, but it's also possible that if they release modding tools these files will become more organized. 

One upside is that they're all text files, which makes it much more accessible for us to edit and we don't need to run a localization. Instead, you just edit the text file, save it, and the change is reflected in-game.

Here's an example of me changing "Amorous" to "Infatuated".

I did some editing already myself for my Grave Robber (now Witch Hunter), nothing NSFW, but just for my own play-through.

And you can do the same for the dialogue, here's an example of the combat barks file, getting a screenshot of this in-game is a pain since there's so much dialogue, but just know that it's possible!

Art and Models

Third, one major issue that I foresee for our modding community is getting art and 3D models for a proper NSFW overhaul. On the one hand, I'll never underestimate the dedication of lewd modders, so I'm hopeful, but I'm also a concerned that a lot of our well-known NSFW modders won't be transitioning to Darkest Dungeon II -- given that they're primarily very talented 2D artists.

There still are 2D assets that can be changed, but I know the main thing we'll want as a NSFW community is lewd models for heroes and monsters.

If I'm able to find a talented 3D artist that's willing to make lewd monsters and heroes (or even edit the existing ones), I'd be more than happy to pour all of my resources into supporting and funding those efforts -- so that's something I'll be keeping an eye out for; and if you know any interested 3D artists (or are one yourself), feel free to reach out to me!

And that's about it for now.

I'm going to keep playing Darkest Dungeon II and I'll share any more thoughts I have once I finally beat the danged thing or uncover anything else interesting.

Stay tuned for more updates and thanks for all of your support! Lustiest Lair wouldn't be possible without you, and an upcoming Lustiest Lair II, similarly.

TL;DR 

There's a strong possibility that Lustiest lair II will include male heroes since there are gender tags associated with each class. Lustiest Lair II will have a stronger focus on the relationships between heroes. Lustiest Lair II is going to need a 3D artist and I'm keeping an eye out/taking references for one to commission in the future.

Note:

If you want to play with these files yourself, you can find the files that are currently editable in the "Streaming Assets" folder, here's a screenshot:

If you find anything interesting or want to chat about modding DD2, feel free to reach out to me here or on our Discord.

https://discord.gg/jfaH3DnF46