Course of Temptation Dev Diary #57

Hello friends, hope you're all doing well.

We are now on v0.5.4f after a couple of bugfix patches, which takes care of the reported issues up till now.

Adding anonymity into the game didn't come without issues, which is why we've started out with a pretty limited scope under which masks can be used. There are a couple of logic/narrative issues left, mostly things like NPCs appearing to react as if they know you even when you're anonymized.

In part this is intentional — you might have noticed that while anyone in a mask is anonymized, you can look closer (through the View Person dialog) and see who they are if you have a relationship with them, and similarly, NPCs should be able to discern who you are if they know you well. But it does need some polish, which I'll work on now that the more obvious stuff is fixed.

Also on my shortlist for monthly update fodder is making anonymous streaming possible, which I think I've mentioned already. It shouldn't be too much of an issue to implement, but it does affect some storyline stuff, like the Parasocial Fan. And with masking comes dramatic unmasking, and there should also be something written for that specifically.

Anyway, it's likely I'll end up doing a poll to help establish priorities for upcoming monthly updates, so look for that later this month.

In the meantime, besides fixing bugs, my focus for this week is once again on the River Rat. It's time to implement bartending!

As with any new system, I start with the unglamorous task of writing supporting code and widgets, which doesn't provide much material for teaser images. But the basic job menu is working!

It leans on (and often parallels) the server job already established, so there wasn't as much prep work to do this time. I'm already at the point of writing the events for it, and I have a bunch of them outlined and staged.

As I've written before, where the server job comes with a certain expectation of pleasing the customer, progressing to the bartender job puts you in more of a managing role. More events will have you dealing with rowdy people and problem customers, and leaning into this will be the way to go if you want to build your character's assertiveness.

My goal is to make you feel in charge of the bar, putting out fires (metaphorically, probably) while slinging drinks to the customers around you. Instead of being focused on interactions with individual tables, the bar as a whole becomes more of your concern. At least, that's what I have in mind as I outline bartender events.

This should make it a natural fit with the actual, proper manager role. While it'll give you direct control over the bar's direction, it shouldn't need too many unique events (at least initially). Which means that once the bartender events are written, and some other connective tissue has been established, the whole expansion will pretty much be ready to go.

It's also occurred to me that even after unlocking the bartender role, players might still prefer the server job, so I'm thinking of letting you choose which one you do as you clock in for your shift. Even if you don't use the bartender role, you should still be able to progress toward manager powers — it'll just have a bit of a different vibe.

That's it for this week! Sorry if it was a bit short. I'll be back next week with another progress report, and I should have some events written and a teaser or two to show. I'll see you then! And as always, a huge thanks for your support!