Proof of Life #139: Done with all the new maps, the story is coming along

Thanks! Yes, making a game can get really frustrating at the beginning, and I was on the verge of giving up a few times when I started myself, but it gets a lot easier with time : ) Cheers!

N_taii

I really hope theres a lot of NTR free roam stuff happening. This really motivates me to create my own ntr game T_T, but Im still learning programming T_T. Keep up the good work man and ALWAYS prioritize your health, both mentally and physically 🥂.

Daidekure

Exactly how i feel about it, glad to see how you view these things, looking forward to HC3 even more now, keep up the good work

Crimescenekoala

Damn, I wrote my reply on a Word document to avoid typing in the annoying Patreon comment section, but I misclicked and forgot to copy-paste everything. But now, I will keep the mystery! Haha! ...but I wrote something along the lines "the antagonists are doing their own things without being too preoccupied about the MC, so it's fine".

N_taii

I just roughly wanted to know with what I have to work, so that I am not disappointed because I kept my hopes up. ;-) But please dont worry and take all the time you need. Even though my anticipation is on an all-time high I find it much more important that the first release is as complete as you want it to be. And that also includes the tutorial. Same as you, I think a first release is very important and I want you to succeed so please - dont hurry and dont pressure yourself too much! and thanks again for everything.

Pete

Well that sounds alright for me :-) same way as you N_Taii, I would not want the antagonists to always humiliate or comment on the MC. But as betrayal and humiliation are essential parts of NTR - as they teint the precious love - and it doesnt always have to be an inferiority complex of the antagonist when they like such things, I would still love to see such things occur. It's more - as you say yourself - about the right balance of NTR elements and corruption elements. So I am happy to hear that this is important for you as well and you will balance things out. Also it seems there is something missing at the end of your message. It ends on 'because', so I assume you wanted to elaborate a bit further? :D

Pete

As I said in another PoL’s comment section, it is extremely hard to give a proper answer at this point of the development, because of the variety of things I have to do. If I only had to add sex scenes and story, I could say it would be released this month with confidence, but that’s far from all I have to do. I have a ton of other small things to do: -Make custom NPCs for the General Tier Patrons map -add drinks on the tavern’s tables depending on the number of customers sitting, which changes every day -implement the magic ball system for the freeroam events, and make two systems for those who wish to have the balls glow automatically, and those who want to interact with them first -find where I could add freeroam events, and then decide what kind I’d like to have (the complexity can vary a lot) -add more dialogues for recurring NPCs on different days -fix a few mistakes I made regarding some names earlier in the game -add a working game manual -add more falling leaves, etc… on the maps (copy pasting the maps doesn’t copy the doodads, so I have to do it all over again for every single timeframe besides Lundath morning and evening) -rework the tutorial (although I mad epush it back at a later date depending on how much time it took to do all the above) -etc… As you can see, albeit small, all those tasks are relatively different. If a few of them don’t immediately work the way I want them, it could take a lot more time than expected to get it right, and create a snowball effect for all the others. That’s why I can’t give a date, even a rough one, for this update. Once I have all the tasks above done, all I’ll have to do is tweak some of them from time to time, so it’s going to be a whole smoother to develop. About the map in the PoL, I made, I added a few more items here and there, like weapon racks, etc…. Not a whole lot though, because the map is already pretty cramped as it is, and I don’t want to make it frustrating to navigate^^ Thanks for the comment and the feedback : )

N_taii

Thanks ! I’m actually trying my best to walk a fine line between NTR and corruption. Well, actually, I’m drowning in both of them, but I’m trying to drown at an acceptable pace to provide what I believe to be a good balance to the game. Anyway, terrible metaphor aside, I try to avoid making the MC the “center” of the NTR. I’ve always disliked NTR works where the MC is always mentioned during sex scene, like “Am I better?”, “give him a call while we’re having fun together”, “wear this in front of him”, etc… While this adds to the NTR aspect, it kind off takes away from the corruption, because the antagonists seem to be more obsessed with the MC, always mentioning him at every possible occasion, rather than preoccupied with making the girl “theirs” and tainting them. The antagonist always trying to “outplay” the MC makes them appear like they have some kind of inferiority complex, which contrasts with the “always in control antagonist” image I wish to give. That doesn’t mean I won’t add a few references to the MC here and there, but I try to keep the humiliation relatively low. That way, I feel like both the corruption and the NTR crowd can find enjoyment in the game, which is what I aim at with the HC series. Suggestions made by Pete are fine though, like cum leaking or sex with the antagonist before going up to the altar, because

N_taii

For endings i'd agree yes, you can take the extremes, i was more raising the notion that N_taii makes sure that the antagonists do actually care or lust after the MC's friends and family and aren't just evil and want to humiliate or hurt the MC and i hope he keeps that up and is something a lot of ntr do a lot that takes me out of it.

Crimescenekoala

Everything sounds great so far! Thanks for the hard work!! But will the update be finished this month or should we expect a release date even further away? Concerning the parallax map in the teaser of this weeks POL: I really love the setting, the details in the landscape, the rain at sunset mood. Only thing I would add is a few things from the soldiers to actually show that its a lively camp. Like some barrels here and there and bags lying around. Some weapon racks maybe and some torches stuck in the ground. Maybe a cart with some cargo on it. Its just looks a bit too clean to be a military camp. Other then that everything looks great!!

Pete

He is, isn't he? Next to HangoverCat best NTR dev we have ever seen :D Regarding the NTR not beeing too humiliating I actually hope for something else. It does not have to be as dark as in Dark/Thug Hero Party, but I would love to see the NTR getting a bit darker then in HC2. There are the good and the revenge ending after all, for your soul to rest upon. But I would love to see the NTR ending(s) get a bit spicier. E.g. some wedding blues, where Leto marries Rose at one point and Rose has lewd times with the antagonist before and after they give themselves the yes-word. E.g. cum drips out of her while saying yes. And before that everybody waits for her to come to the altar and everybody at the wedding is wondering where is Rose? But she has good times with the antagonist in the preparation room. When she finally gets out totally late - while people knocked at the door, asking her why she not coming - shes totally sweaty, her wedding cloths are all messy and shes been filled up to the brim. Lets get that marriage going! ;-) Another good 'darker example' would be the MC actually providing money and food for Rose and the antagonists child or caring for her and the family and with that also for the antagonist in a way without Leto's knowledge, while they go on having fun behind his back. But just throwing some examples here, so you can imagine what I am trying to say. Though I would love to see the moment at one point where Leto is confronted with the truth as in HC2. All in all I hope for a long after story, as in HC2. Endings very done quite well in HC2 regarding the content and length.

Pete

Thank you for your invaluable advice; N_Taii, and yeah. I looked at the editor and it did look far too similar to every other RPG maker game. I also might try dipping my toes in pixel art, maybe. Anyways, if I make something interesting, you'll be the first to know. 😁

Hi there, just wanted to say that in the ntr genre you're my absolute favorite atm, so just wanted to say keep up the good work! i do hope you continue the trend of HC2 where the ntr was not too humiliating on the MC

Crimescenekoala

Thanks! I appreciate it : ) For Software, do you mean what version of RPGMaker I’d recommend? The one you’re using, MZ, seems like the best one for new users, being the most recent ones and having the most useful functionalities if you’re planning on making a lot of people play your game. The main reason I keep using MV myself is because I’m used to it, and also because it has more custom plugins than MZ (for now), which leads me to the following tip: 1) Look for every plugin and script available for your engine, or at least as many as possible, as they make up for a lot of the RPGMaker’s engine shortcomings, and allow you to customize your game a lot. It’s essential to stand out from the crowd. Adding them to your game early on can help you better shape its functionalities and features in your head, and is less of a hassle to do than later in the development phase. Example: the quest journal is a plugin. Get it early, because suddenly having to add every command for every quest in the middle of your game is going to take ages and might end up very buggy. 2)Try to learn parallax mapping early on (designing the map not in editor but in an image editing software). Parallax maps are more work, but they look a lot better than a few assets thrown around in the RPGMaker map editor. Map editor maps just scream lazy to anyone trying your game out. 3)Start small. You’re bound to improve as you develop, and with a huge scale game, you might be tempted to go back and fix/improve everything every time, or get discouraged to see the early quality is far below what you’d expect of your game now. Good luck with your game!

N_taii

Can't wait to play! You have inspired me to make an adult pixel porn game, so i'm currently learning and experimenting with RPG MakerMZ. I'm not the one for typical grindy generic RPGM games. I like to make things interesting, lol any tips or software recommendations?