Saturday, November 21, 2015
How? Also, colors.
How exactly do people still not understand that I only make money per animation, and not per month, and also then go on to say that I'm begging for money, despite not having a Patreon link anywhere on my site?
I don't under the stand.
Question about customization in Noaika
Anyhow, more importantly I have a question about Noaika, particularly when it comes to skin and hair color, as well as breast size.
Originally, the plan was to make it so you could change attributes of your character through various means. For example, having sex with certain monsters changes some of your stats, but it would also change the way you look. These effects could then be re-applied with less debuffs once researched.
The second method has to do with the familiars. Basically, there are various familiars in the game, and they all look different. They have two modes; one where the familiar floats beside you (like in the demo) and a second mode where it fuses with the player and gives passive bonuses based on it's stats instead of attacking. As a part of this, I figured it would be really fitting if you took on the colors (and maybe breast size) of the familiar.
(Also, colors are changed through code, not re-drawing)
However, there's a problem with both of these; the player may want to take on a certain appearance, but NOT want the stat-change, or game mechanic associated with it. For example, you might want red hair all the time, but you don't want to use the red-haired girl familiar, or you may not want to use the fuse mode. Not only that, but you probably wouldn't get the exact appearance you want until far into the game.
I can't really figure out how to deal with it, because this is yet another example of a situation where as a developer I want to do one thing, and yet as a player I'd probably want the opposite. As a player, I know I'd just want the ability to customize the character from the beginning, yet as a developer it just seems like a missed opportunity to not tie it into gameplay.
As it stands, I'll probably resort to the same thing as usual, which always seems to end up being "well, add an option for it".
As a player, how would your prefer customization to be handled?
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Maybe she could revert to original form for H-scenes, just like she loses her jumpsuit?
ReplyDeleteIf not that, I'd just prefer if I were able to keep skin color. Hair and boob size are a OK, would be funny see her react to an expansion, maybe depending on how horny she is. :D
I'd say go in deep.
DeleteLet enemies, fusions, potions and even climate change everything about your character.
Gameplay, gender, appearance, anything as long as it fits the cause of the change.
Preferably even combine them.
I'll definately find my combination that fits my gameplay and appearance preferences.
@Anon 9:43: Unless you have a kink for transformation, that is not something people will necessarily agree on. Not everyone is into COC style shenanigans, I always play that game by keeping the starting human form for example.
DeleteYour gameplay preferences and the characters looks you prefer for the character might not match. That can work in a game like Binding of Isaac where you don't care what kind of monstrosity you create just to collect the best powerups, but not here.
Admittedly, I'm not really picky.
DeleteBut the reason I have that opinion is because I think it's fun in and of itself to choose and create a combination I like.
I could see any "unlocked" changes also have a purely cosmetic variation to pick and choose without affecting game play. And possibly allowing the player an option to have cosmetic variations 'cover-up' the game play specific ones, so that you could have you're buffs, but look however you want.
ReplyDeleteThis. Unlock the change, and let the player keep the visual while discarding the stat effect.
DeleteThat way, after unlocking everything through gameplay, you first polish your stats, then set your appearance to your preference.
Best of all worlds.
+1
DeleteThe aesthetic changes don't have to be linked to the stat bonuses once you've unlocked the familiar. If the connection is important to you, a requirement can be equipping the default combination of stat + appearance change for a certain period before you're allowed to cherry pick what you want.
Agreed with above. Have her base form and just as you go you unlock new customization options or colors. Say once you fuse with your minion those new bust sizes, outfit, colors all become unlocked, giving more incentive to the player to also hunt down all the minions as well, even if you don't like red-head minions but say shes the biggest bust, be worth completing it in order to use the bigger size with a different hair color.
DeleteTotally agree with UnknownFox, seems like the most player friendly choice while not just giving everything to him from the beginning.
DeleteThis!
DeleteOne example that comes to mind is Starbound and I think Terraria as well? In those games the player has two layers of armors so to speak. The first is the one that offers the player the bonus stats and essentially functions as armor, while the second layer is merely for the characters look.
ReplyDeleteSo that way you can be wearing heavy armor, but you could just look like you're in a suit or costume or w/e. I'm not sure how easy it is to implement such a feature, you'd basically want the player to be able to equip two upgrades at the same time.
A question I have is, will this actually be a feature in the final game? Id imagine having different character apperances results in reskinninning every animation for that particular apperance. Sounds like a chore, and considering I recall some mentions of corruptions early in development, that'd just add onto the pile of potential extra recolored animations.
Color changes are done through code, so they don't require redrawing.
DeleteBreasts will be a second layer over the animation.
Thanks for the insight into your work Kyrieru, really interesting. ^__^
ReplyDeleteHmmm. I'd like changes like hair color, eye color, ear shape (elf, catgirl...), horns, maybe some colorful tattoos, but not something too drastic.
I like the tatoo idea. You'd keep your desired skin color and yet add some of the familiar's color scheme to the character.
Delete+ I like magical tribal style tattoos :D
DeleteAre all the alterations going to be "willing"?
ReplyDeleteIf not, I'd like some alterations like nipple rings (since you're already animating boobs separately), collar, etc.
If they are, still, food for thought >_>
I'd like if there were some enemies in the game that could force piercings on her to increase her sensitivity. Like put golden rings on her ears, nose, nipples navel and clit. Such a modification directly from enemies would be cool because instead of just rape, they'd also make you more susceptible to other enemy's. advances.
DeleteNo thanks.
DeleteWell, I'd say I'd prefer the familiars to change her clothes, like let's say if you had a familiar with fire powers, she'd suddenly wear a loose top and a loincloth, if it were little demon familiars she'd wear bondage gear yada yada yada, but you're probably not gonna do that.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite thing to do in a game is to go about unlocking every customization option. Its an H-game, so im sure people will be replaying stages for the animations, having new looks while replaying adds more variety.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to be able to set skin and hair color (hairstyle?) at the beginning and the modification to be more subtle in nature, like just some hair streaks changing color.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I would prefer if I can customize the character's skin color, eye color, hair color, and hair style without the familiars altering it. I'm okay with the armor and weapon changing with familiar transformation. In fact I feel like that better happen. As for the enemies, I'm okay with them changing any and everything. Anything else such as breast size, accessories, tattoos, etc. I'm neutral to.
ReplyDeleteSeparating cosmetics from effects is good for suiting peoples' preferences, but at the same time too much dissonance between them can diminish the player's sense of visual feedback. For example, if you change the character's appearance when fusing with a familiar, that feels like it has some actual weight and meaning to it because you can literally "see" the results; whereas having absolutely no cosmetic change might spare somebody from looking like what they think is dumb or ugly, but then it's like all the fusion did was increment some variables that they can look at in a menu somewhere.
ReplyDeletePeople here are probably going to lean heavily towards a more customizable experience given the kind of game this is, but I think you should at least add some minor visual effects to coincide with gameplay so it doesn't just feel like the kind of stale RPG where you find a new item that has a bigger number so you swap out your smaller number and forget about it.
Amen to this. Although, I'd like to say that I would prefer if I didn't have any unnatural skin color/unnatural look forced on my character in the game's H content.
Delete(It being possible to play without enhancements if I really wanted to wouldn't really be an answer now, would it?). The things @GaleStoneheart mentions are fair game for modifiers for me as well.
Btw, this is off topic. but I'd happily accept even a complete lack of customization, if it meant double the animations for a single character design. :)
Maybe have the home station, or whatever you're using as a research station, act as a place you can revert any changes to your character.
ReplyDeleteThen have any changes that you've had happen, or researched through other means, unlock. Maybe add temporary changes from enemies for things you're not sure people would want all the time. (possible permanency at the research station?) Are there temporary changes?
I feel that having a place you can go back to and "change back" would do a lot to mitigate any anger about new changes. It might even add another layer of challenge "get this far and don't let them turn me blue" or something. Maybe make an option there for "preferred form" if you think it takes a long time to change back.
With temporary changes you could even make a gameplay mechanic "this monster won't let you pass unless you smell like something he likes, but you have to get the smell and then traverse through a bunch of water areas or fight some monsters or something that might be able to remove the smell. Or fight the powerful monster while smelling normal." Or even "you need to be oil slick to wiggle through this opening, but you need to be fast to get there before the oil dries off of you."
And I still want to know what Noa decided to do after those woobly creatures got the jump on her. Secret stick figure drawing? Could I even request that if I decided to be a patron?
Just thought of something else, You could add an item to protect your current form for a set amount of time, or to change back to your preferred form for those people that just can't handle change.
DeleteYou could always do the fashion slot thing. Like once you unlock something you could set to keep it in the fashion slot. And have your other slots for stuff that affect stats separate. Then you could put in a tick box for "show fashion items" so you can easily see what a new mutation or whatever you'll call them looks like right after you unlock it. Another guy above mentioned being able to change at a home base, and that's where you can set what items show up in your fashion and whatnot. Since it's scifi you could hand wave the fashion tab as being a holo projection or a chameleon like mutation or something. You could even save that as an unlock for a little later so it feels more like a reward. Like after a few mutations or something you get it from a boss.
ReplyDeleteAs a player I really wouldn't want every option from the beginning, because then I'd just pick my favorite stuff and probably never change anything. I like the feeling of progression you get in RPGs when you see your characters armor changing. Still, I wouldn't want to have to get through the whole game (if I could even make it that far) just to unlock something I really want like dark skin or red eyes, so that is a tough question. Maybe unlock a few common customizations near the beginning, like different hair and skin colors, then save the more heavy or unique stuff for later.
Or you could possibly make a monster type that spawns in a certain location or level after you unlock the research thing that randomly has a different skin tone or hair color every time it spawns. You could even make them a low threat filler enemy like a zombie or failed clone experiment or something, so a player could progress through the level like normal and if they spot a color they like they could fuck that monster or do do something else to it to unlock that color option, and if they respawn when you leave rooms players could even farm them for colors if they want.
I like your games because I like your quality of gameplay. H-content is like an added bonus to a competent game. I think using both your first two options is a good move. It leaves room for some extended gameplay by having some simple additional customisations that are more difficult to get or hidden. Secrets are fun yo!
ReplyDeleteI suspect when playing noaika, I will not be doing it so much to feel like I've created my own character but to play as THE character and see what I can get for her. I never had the expectation of total character customisation before, I'm not going to be upset if I don't have total control over my characters appearance. I'm probably going to be happier if there is an element of discovery for customisation. It's more rewarding. If someone really just wants the game for the customisation they'll probably just download a 100% save for it somewhere anyways, it's not quite as big a deal as you may have lead yourself to believe!
Yeah I think it's kind of stealing the focus/too much trouble to worry too much about catering to everyone's aesthetic tastes with this game. It's sort of like hoping people won't be upset that Kirby gets a new hat when he swallows things. It's not exactly a Skyrim RPG experience, just a platformer with some character progression.
DeleteJust add two different methods of fusion. :P
ReplyDeleteYou could do a system where you "unlock" a change, such as green hair, when you get h-scened, and with that comes a buff/debuff, which wears off after a while and leaves you with the color change, and at every save station you can customize your character without the debuffs based on what you've unlocked through fusing or h-scenes, etc. I think that's pretty good.
ReplyDeleteAs long as all the upgrades and fusions are fun in their own unique way, then I'd feel that the game is compelling me to try out ALL the forms. If I have nothing but very good, fun forms to pick from, then I would be happy to switch between them just to keep things fresh.
ReplyDeleteThe only issue that I can see with locking abilities and appearances together is the event where whatever you get from that appearance is USELESS. That would be too rough to deal with.
In addition to my post above, I LIKE it when games try to compel me to try out more of it's content. I feel that the visual flare is added lure to try out more stuff. Use this fusion, or try this upgrade, just to see what I look like, and then throw some abilities around at some fools to see how my new look measures up.
DeleteTo me, it's a complete image. Not only will I 'feel' different, but I'll look different too, giving a unique style and appearance to my powers.
While this may sound strange, you shouldn't go as far as to drop what you wish to define your game - its mechanics that I'm sure you carefully planned - just to please players in every possible way. Let the changeable looks be the incentive for the to try out the new forms and their abilities, not just a random bunch of customizations - the latter "full freedom" approach can be added in gallery or in New Game+, for example.
ReplyDeleteMake me earn it. Maybe open up customizations after beating the game once. I am all for a "New Game+" mode. Fuck those nay-sayers. The only reason I don't shower people such as yourself (those whom I support on Patreon) with praise is because I don't want to add to the tidal wave of stupid messages/comments. Screw it, you're great. I want to support your game development more than random art works. Make a Patreon for your games.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I would prefer the character starting with a standard appearance, perhaps with a (very small) selection of customizations to start, just to introduce players to the concept and mechanics, but unlock the majority of transformations through gameplay. From what I've seen in your demo of the game, Noa starts off in a test tube or some sort of device where she's in extended hibernation. I'm not sure what you're planning the story of the game to be, but if you don't give the players much or any exposition about the world or its inhabitants, then the customization can grow along with the player's understanding of the world and mechanics. This way, players might form connections to certain transformations that they wouldn't otherwise have. The player would feel less compelled to make Noa look exactly the way they want her to, and still feel like she evolved as a character that they had a hand in creating. Of course, this is completely moot after the conclusion of the game's story, and players should be for the most part free to customize how they want, if only because their final power level is so high they can do whatever they want. A good example of a game that does this is Dark Souls, to an extent. The game starts you with nothing, and you start by just using the best stuff you can get in order to survive. But, as your knowledge of the game's mechanics and lore grows, you can more deliberately customize your character's appearance. Maybe you decide to do a dex build partly because you like how the light armors look. Maybe you found a suit of armor that has some significance to you, either in lore or appearance, and you deliberately level stats other than stamina so that you aren't compelled to replace it with slightly better armor. Over time, these kinds of decisions help define your character in terms of playstyle, appearance, and maybe even the personality the player has when playing them. Or at least that's what happened with me, and I loved it. Point is, starting players out with a standardized character with little customization can actually engage the players in the game and character more than if they have free reign from the start, if done right.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I might shy away from making generalized transformations tied to familiars, at least the way I understand them. Often times, players will find one or two playstyles that they like, and only switch it up when absolutely necessary. If the appearance is heavily tied into the familiar system, it could mean that a player either never sees a lot of customization options, or potentially can't use the ones he likes most because he doesn't like the playstyle. And if there are strict upgrades between familiars, it could invalidate an appearance a player was fond of. Tying the appearance to a 'fuse' mechanic isn't necessarily bad, though. I'd prefer less 'Noa but with dark skin and bigger boobs' and instead a more complete change. It would probably have the best effect if the fuse mode had a very limited time but was very powerful, like a super mode with very restricted use. This would also save you having to animate each form's H-scenes, since it could be generally ruled that the fuse modes were immune to any sort of H.
This is a tough question to answer, seeing as how there are many ways you could handle it. (Pretty much all the good methods have already been mentioned here)
ReplyDeleteI can say that, as player, I like the idea of different mechanical buffs/debuffs carrying their own cosmetic change to the character. I immediately think of Megaman and all the different colors you can become throughout the series with different weapons equipped. I personally don't see the need for a customization system for Noa's appearance, but most people seem to want this sort of thing in H-games and I can see the appeal for sure.
A good compromise that might make the most people happy is to allow the player to customize hair/eye/skin colors, as well as boob size, at the start of the game. These things could then be changed once you get to the lab thing that you'll use for monster studying/training. Then make things with mechanical impact affect Noa's suit and weapons. These changes could affect Noa's equipment both in color and in some design details. (i.e., A passive familiar that increases the damage of Noa's melee attacks could cause spikes to protrude from her armor, giving her a more 'metal' look)
The whole 'vanity slot' thing is also not a bad idea, but I probably don't need to reiterate that since at least a couple people have brought it up by now. The idea of unlocking customization options through the gameplay that can then be toggled as you desire is also good. These unlocked customization options could then carry over to after you beat the game, so you could choose from any options you unlocked right at the start of a new game.
Ultimately, I like Noa's appearance, and I don't really care if I can change it or not. I won't complain if there is customization, but I also won't even notice if it isn't there at all. Whatever you decide to do, it won't make or break the game for me.
I look forward to throwing money at you at Noaika's release.
I liked the idea of "unlocking" a certain appearance attribute via a gameplay mechanic, and then being able to keep it as a purely cosmetic change even if you no longer have that buff/debuff/familiar equipped. Two sets of gear/abilities - one for mechanics, one for appearance.
ReplyDeleteIt might be nice to have a new game + option where you start the game with all the cosmetic modes you got in the previous playthrough already unlocked
Geez. Wall of text no jutsu, people. ^^ Although, I skimmed through it all and it seems there are some good ideas circulating up there.
ReplyDeleteI think I'd just like some basic customization at the start. Then, I think that for the sake of simplicity, the familiar forms being distinguished by just simple changes in color pallete might work. Maybe by changing the the PC's hair color and eye color altogether or maybe giving them some hair streaks, tattoos, changing the clothing color and so on.
As for the other alterations, I think that if they don't do anything crazy to the character(I know you don't do guro so you probably won't, thank god), they could be tied to the stat changes like your game designer self wants it to be ^^. Also maybe later unlockable for use without applying the stat change or vice versa when you collect some experience using that alteration.
In the end, just make sure all the forms are appealing to you and I'm sure it will be fine ^^
Well, you could always give the player two slots to assign the familiars to. One slot for function, and the other slot is purely cosmetic
ReplyDeleteMaybe make the fusion forms wear skimpier recolored versions of Noa's armor overalls? One could show the midriff, another the cleavage, another the legs...
ReplyDelete+1 Then you could have an ultimate one combining their power, but she'd be nekkid. Much chagrin XD
DeleteI love this idea, since the legless outfit would be basically a leotard
DeleteHave you ever thought of making a game where the heroine directly snarks at the player for making her do things against her will? I think it would go very well with these alteration mechanics.
ReplyDeleteCan't think of many situations where I would. I'm the type of player who plays "as" characters, so I will mostly make games with the same mentality. It might be nice in an a Wonder Project J2 type game, but that's about the only time I'd do it.
DeleteI played one rpgmaker game, Marionette... something, don't remember the name anymore. It had this exact idea behind it. The the girl was stuck in a game world but couldn't move on her own unless you controlled her.
DeleteThe game was quite shitty unfortunately, didn't do anything with the idea beyond "oh noes, why are ya making me walk out of the bathhouse without my clothes, Insert Name, you pervert" which I think was a pity. If you're into getting the PC raeped by monsters, she might as well know in-game that it's that what's happening and not that she stopped fighting enemies for no reason, even though she was kicking their asses seconds ago.
Having player control over aesthetics separately would be best.
ReplyDeleteI'm the kind of player that will take aesthetics over stat optimization anyway, and will often care more how cool/sexy the character is. If I'm going to spend hours grinding for exp and items I'll chose something that is eye pleasing.
Anyway I'm good with what you plan to do.
Also I had to "LOL" at your first comment on people bugging you about Patreon. Just ignore these people. They are likely fans that get impatient to the point of childishly trolling to kill time and get attention. They are likely blissfully ignorant on how much work goes into even a small game/drawing/animation....
My personal opinion is that customization should be possible, but not unlocked immediately. There needs to be some effort involved to unlock it, after all. Your games are great for their gameplay, as well as the sexual attribute, so I'm sure most people who like the game will play it for both. If everything was unlocked immediately, there would be no replay-ability involved. As for determining when it's unlocked, that's a tough decision. Testing would probably be best.
ReplyDeletejust a random question can you see the horizon of the release of the game i understand that is a huge project and im dying to know when will you unleash this beast of a game
ReplyDeletei mean the more time it takes the better the final product will be thats a give in
but wondering when will it be seeing its the end of the year
and speculations will do just fine no need for a concrete date
Won't be by the end of the year, that's for sure.
DeleteWhat about the new screenshots you mentioned before? Will we see those by/around the end of the year?
DeleteDepends if I get around to finishing the background for the area of the game I want to show. So maybe.
DeleteYay. You seem to be a little more talkative which seems like a good sign. The first part of the update says you're even handling hate mail relatively well.
DeleteDo you have any new concepts for a Patreon game we could maybe read about in a new update? :)
I think I'm about as talkative as normal. The only difference is that there's less" you're dumb and where's the game" so I have more to respond to -___-.
DeleteAs for the Patreon game, there won't be any talk of that until the animations are up to date. If animations become bi-weekly then I'll probably work on the premise in the off weeks, and pitch something when I think it's something I could keep up with. Before I do a Patreon for it and switch from doing animations, I have to have some upfront content, too. Same goes even if I do alternate doing both each week.
What I meant is that you only occasionally respond to the "when" type of questions, so it's nice to hear something like "This thing has to be done and then I can show you" ;)
DeleteCan't wait for the animations then :) When? (JK, but you see what I mean)
I think the way terraria deals with armors/accessories is pretty smart, you have slots for your current armor/buffs and different slots for cosmetics. If you don't have cosmetics you take the appearance of your functional items, and if you put a functional item on cosmetics they are useless and simply change the appearance of the player. I'd suggest trying a variation of that system
ReplyDeletePersonally, I'd suggest you keep cosmetic differences and stats seperate as far as her body is concerned. If my character hits harder or has more health, I don't really need to see that in bigger boobs or anything.
ReplyDeleteEquipment changes are fine, but you can save yourself a lot of (designer) headaches if you just kept the character's base body the same at all times. You'll have to modify a lot of things (including animations) to cater to her (for example) 'modified bust'.
The only thing that will have different sprites is the breast size. However, that's because there's a stage in the animation where the character is flat chested anyway, so I feel I may as well include it, and another size up.
DeleteAs for colors, that's done through code so it doesn't require alternate sprites.
So, are the alterations more in vein of "Blue skin and hair when she gains ice powers" instead of "cat ears to dash faster and have stronger melee" ?
DeleteIf so, I'd prefer for her color palette to revert when enemies knock her down. Also, that way her eyes could be glowing with power when fused but revert back to expressive normal ones during the H scenes.
That or just not touch the color of the skin at all. Others, I wouldn't mind at all.
Yeah. However the color would change during H-animations as well, considering that half the reason some people would use a skin or hair color is because they find it more attractive.
DeleteYes, me included. Which is why I think I'd prefer, if before the H animations, when she loses her armor, the familiar fusion would deactivate too, so I could get scenes with a dark skinned redhead or whatever I chose for her.
DeleteAh, you meant if both options were used. Gotcha.
DeleteThanks for replying to my comment (I'm the first anon). You seem to have it well in hand. If breast size is indeed the only difference in her sprite, then it should be quite doable.
DeleteI love how you socialize with your 'fans'. Whatever you decide to do, I'm sure it's going to be great!
Now if only I could post a 'shut up and take my money' fry. Well, you get the idea.
I don't mind what you do. I personally don't mind having to play a certain way to have a certain appearance. I'd say don't get too caught up on minor issues.
ReplyDeleteI like the "can be re-applied once researched" thing.
ReplyDeletePersonally, when playing video games, I often find myself "banning" some equipment or even entire classes if they force me to take on an appearance that I dislike. I'd strongly prefer if equipment and whatnot didn't force you to take on specific looks.
Equipment, weapons and events could simply "grant" cosmetic options while letting the player choose which ones are active. That alone would make them part of the gameplay; you might try for an item you don't plan to use just because it also unlocks a visual change that you want.
More importantly, these cosmetic options could become "unlocked" for future playthroughs. Now I don't know if you'd prefer to simply unlock these options forever as soon as you've obtained them once, or if you'd like to implement some sort of challenges (finish game on Hard, finish game on Medium under a certain amount of time, beat X boss without getting hit, etc) or currency (collect special items and buy the cosmetic option unlocks with them) or secrets to permanently unlock them... personally I love unlocking things via challenges.
Unlocking cosmetic options gives the player something to do besides just finishing the game, and creates a sort of "progression" that stands outside of individual playthroughs.
Honestly, I'd prefer to have the cosmetic changes linked to my stats or abilities. One, it sounds like it'd encourage me to try all the stat boost variations (Or, if it gives only debuffs, it'd make the game harder, which I'm all for), and two, it'd make the changes feel more linked to the character, if that makes any sense. If necessary, include an option, but please set the one you want as the default.
ReplyDeleteI second this. Feeling too lazy to rewrite what has been said a bunch in other comments. Your proposed idea in the post sounds great, let the cosmetics be linked to stats!
DeleteI trust to you. Do that you want! One or another... or both options.
ReplyDeleteThe idea of taking on the appearance of the familiar with which Noiaka's fusing is really cool. I like that. Is there any reason why you couldn't do both? i.e. allow the player to customize their standard appearance AND take on the familiar's characteristics when fused? I guess that would be pretty time-consuming for H...
ReplyDeleteIf it isn't possible to do both, I say stay true to your creative vision. Do what you, as a creator, want to do with it.
Changing colors would be done through code, so it doesn't take very long.
DeleteAs others have said, have the changes be unlockable, and once they are earned via transformation, fusions or whatever, you can go back and customize them to your liking.
ReplyDeleteIf the changes are only palette based, it makes no sense to lock them for the default form.
DeleteSure it does, gives the player incentive to actually hunt down the items, colors and other various things to give them the look they want most.
DeleteI hate it when games lock stuff behind time investment that should be available for the beginning. There are more exciting things to hunt for than blonde hair color.
Delete+ I want a natural blonde ^__^
DeletePlease, make white one of the possible default skin colors.
ReplyDeleteNot white as in light skin color, white as in Curly Brace white :)
I would make the customization as a rewarding system.
ReplyDeleteyou get a base selection of colors or outfits for you avatar. everytime you unlock something you get more options to customize. either you unlock a color or things are bound be linked. eg. unlock a familiar of the elfenfaries (who is green) will give you the option to wear green hair. the lost firesaber would unlock you to wear red cloth and so on. :D
the customization would be neat to be at your house and possible during the game procression and not only when you start a new game.
equipment slot for costumes. When you select it, you can change your appearance to any costume you currently own (including fused with mini-bots, etc). If it's blank, whatever you have currently equipped is the default.
ReplyDeleteEasiest way I can think of doing it is having a "Visual Slot" for equipment or something similar. Once you've obtained it somehow, you're able to select it in this slot. It wouldn't affect stats in this slot, only appearances.
ReplyDeleteGod I hope they also have a familiar that decreases breast size. I don't hate large breasts but it's always has to be larger breast size with transformations, I'm sick of see it for the 23rd time...
ReplyDeletemaybe she starts with itty bitty titties and can expand multiple times
DeleteAs a player, options are good. However, if it causes too much of a hassle to add to the game and in turn causes a longer delay, better to leave it the way you wanted it as a developer. All in all, whatever works best for you.
ReplyDeleteSo, colors of what all could be customized? Hair, skin, eyes?
ReplyDeleteYep, yep, yep.
DeleteAlso armor.
Right, armor. Checked the sprite and the armor has two colors. Maybe you could design armor colors that go well together and look legitimately cool, instead of just letting us choose both colors independently.
DeleteIs the armor change just a palette swap or is it more than that?
DeleteJust Pal Swap, unless I add another suit or two.
DeleteIt would doable, because H-animations are always nude.
Hi its "your 3d stuff looks like crap guy"
ReplyDeleteAre you trying to make this game lifetime project were you live of the donations or something?
If your question is serious, just make a charackter creation in the game not some archievement like charackter skin unlock thing cause its annoying, the game had been awesome anyway.
And if you make a char creation dont forget the big hip/thigh + flatchest Elin-lovers out there^^
and yes if you put in charackter creation with all main girl-body types you will have a record sale on dlsite.
You mean the "donations" I have to work for 12 hours on each animation to get? Ok. Sounds more like getting paid for work to me, but whatever.
DeleteHips aren't gonna change. Breast size will, and has a flat-chested version since I'm animating them that way. (it's easier to add than take away.)
Other than that, the only thing that will change is colors.
No, they're definitely donations. Your work on the animations started pretty great, and got progressively worse with each one, until it got so bad that you ended up reworking the Fio one. Despite the obvious drop in quality, your "pay" has remained the same. People are giving you money to support you, with the ero animations being a bonus, not the other way around. Don't spit on them. =P
DeleteGood lord. He probably had not-so-good prototypes of all the animations. He's also trying a new animation style since Fio if you haven't noticed.
DeleteAnd progressive drop in quality? I like the Splatoon one the most, even with futa which is not my thing. So yeah.
Good job coming up with a bunch of BS despite not addressing my point.
DeleteAlso, Splatoon was better than Asuka, and Fio was better than Hilda. While the time I spend on them has stayed the same the quality has been all over the place, and each visual and animation style has been different each time.
- The first animation was a simple style, but a pose I knew I could be efficient about.
- Midna animation was way higher res and visually more complex, but the animation style was simpler.
- Asuka animation had an entirely separate low res intro.
- Splatoon animation has two characters which added a lot of work.
- Hilda animation was TERRIBLE. I was struggling using Aesprite for the first time, tried using layers a lot, and wasted time on flash. Nothing redeeming
- Fio animation was a simple style, but the animation method was way more difficult than simple shifting. The result was way less static than other animations.
So no, there hasn't been a "obvious drop" in quality. Animations still take 12+ hours, and I frequently try different methods and styles. The only thing that's slowed down is the rate at which I release them, but I don't get paid in that time.
I make enough that working on an animation is like a high paying job, but the time I'll have to spend on extra animations and draws will bring it back down to being a reasonable amount, because I don't get paid for those despite them taking almost the same amount of time.
I know I will sound like a smartass... but as a player I'd really like to, you know, PLAY the game.
ReplyDeleteThis has gone long enough, sorry. I had the time to pre-order the key and actually FORGOT where the fuck I put it.
It is time to wrap up things.
cancel your preorder
DeleteHe's not even close to wrapping it up, unfortunately. Decided to scrap the old one and go for all-new ginormous sprites. Showed us one (non-animated) example of the character sprite, and that was it. Probably about all he has done on the new version, lol. That's what being a kyrieru fan is all about, though. Waiting five years and then getting a pretty good game for your patience. =)
DeleteI think this might be going a little far but have you considered making certain enemies react differently to the cosmetics of your character? Like the enemy that gave you a larger bust for example might being more drawn to you than they usually are the next time you meet another one, but in turn, it might be easier to kill them if you wanted because they have lowered defence despite possibly raised attack due to their lust. It could always be in a separate mode if other players find this feature annoying but it kinda adds to switching gameplay up a bit depending on the player's own preferences. Otherwise that idea was just a thought.
ReplyDeleteAs for your question, I'm not too picky about the looks too much, even if I do have preferences, but maybe the option to save a cosmetic after you've received it could be an idea, e.g. an enemy gives you darker skin, and you can use a machine/item to record that look and use it if you get a different cosmetic from another enemy that gives you the stats you want but not the skin colour you want. That way you can kind of "collect" cosmetics to use if you want to focus on your looks.
- One more thing. An idea to maybe make these items disposable to encourage having sex with certain monsters. Again, certain players might find this annoying so that one's just another thought.
There are states enemies can put you in that aren't the same as normal gameplay, and are specific to those enemies. That's about it, though. The only other thing is that some enemies will react to you if you have a certain debuff, but that isn't always going to change appearance.
DeleteI'd prefer to see it connected to game play.
ReplyDeleteBut having an option to customize isn't bad either. Maybe as a perk for new game plus?
I'm not sure if it's been mentioned above (that's a lot of text to look through) but why not base the customization out of the attack equip menu? You will be able to have familiars stored on you, which you could deploy or swap out at will along with any buffs, debuffs, or cosmetic changes. So long as you have found the familiar, you're able to use their bonuses.
ReplyDeleteI really think you should focus on your interpretation of what a hot theme, protagonist etc is and not worry about content way too far off in the bush. It is easier to make an expansion pack with that content in it later in addition to getting the fan feedback made on objective insight instead of speculation. I do believe that people would buy an expansion to a game if it had good basic foundation to grow on.
ReplyDelete-boned
(cont'd) That is basically what I do when I mod h-games. I'm like why the fuck can't I give her big tits (@homemate), why can I just run past all these monsters (bulletrequiem), why am I dying from having sex (everything), why is there no consequence for firing a loud pistol in a zombie setting (parasite), why isn't there any mechanics based off of having sex or not (everything), why am I getting unlimited ultimate ability charge from playing poorly (final fuck), why do I have to be terrible at the game to see h-scenes(samurai sacrament)? Those things aren't always apparent from speculation and could be added in at a later time after seeing how people play the game. TLDR; make an xpack later with some player feedback on things that are more of a stretch goal, make them happier and get paid more for doing what you enjoy. Plus you might save me the time of having to reverse engineer game maker's virtual machine again *pukes*. To be brutally honest your previous games are good mechanically for hgames but just don't have much of an allure to warrant a fap or a mod mostly because they just haven't really focused on an eros/desire hook or scenario as much as a couple others but yet they have also been hella low resolution. Losing sight of your theme may impede 'immersion' but I am just speculating ofc.
Delete-boned
The easiest way to reconcile the different things you want to achieve would be with a point-buy system, not dissimilar to how perks work in the more recent Bethesda RPGs. Earn points for achieving things in-game which could be spent on any of the changes you want to implement, which could then be mixed and matched in the menu. The system could be as extensible as you want it to be.
ReplyDeleteFor Noaika, I feel like the perfect implementation would be starting customization (skin/hair/eyes/suit), Super Metroid-style character progression (fight or explore for new weapons/items with the ability to turn them on/off at will), and abilities, passive buffs and appearance changes implemented with a sort-of point buy socketing system - imagine energy tanks just being sockets that hold purchasable/discoverable tokens. Each socket holds either one large token (more health, double jump, etc.) or two smaller tokens (ammo up+fire rate up, red hair+incendiary ammo, poison immunity+ero appearance, the list goes on). The small tokens would have different shapes to allow for more limited combination options, gun mod goes with gun mod, ero appearance goes with status immunity or something that raises attack at the cost of defense.
I for one wouldnt mind having the second option, it kind of forces you to at least take a gander at all the different looks! I might decide on one I like early on and never change it and I kind of miss out on the other once because I just took a glance at them with a quick change and made up my mind. Making a player at least hop around a few for puzzles or situations stuff is preferable. I dont think bigger breasts will be a deal breaker in an H game. Tough through it, The gameplay is good so the H will come
ReplyDeleteYou could always have two "fusion" slots or whatever. One slot for stats, one for looks. That's what few online games have been doing lately so you can have the stat you want by equipping the costume on the main slot and then get the look you want by equipping another at the look slot. If you don't have a looks slot equipped, it simply shows the main costume.
ReplyDeleteSorry but this is a random question:Will you update Noaika soon?
ReplyDeleteay ky, I noticed that kurovadis and eroico are on kimochi for more than whats listed on the site, which platform should I buy your games from to support you the most?
ReplyDeleteThrough my site.
DeleteThe only reason I sell on DLsite, Kimochi, or any other site is because it potentially reaches an audience that doesn't know about me. With any of those services they get a cut, and so it will always be cheaper on my site. The list price on other sites is basically 5.00 + their cut/fees.
In other words, if you want to support me, then buy it here (and I get the money instantly). However if you want to support me AND a new platform such as Kimochi, then buy it on those platforms (and I get the money in a month or so, but I still get the same amount either way.)
In my honest opinion I really like the sounds of the using familiars and such to change appearance, but it's obvious some people will want the option to look a certain way all the time as well. All I can think to get the best of both worlds would be have an option when you start to keep one appearance throughout and then customize, or use the trnasformations when X or Y happens, though I have no idea how difficult that would be to implement.
ReplyDeleteSounds like this game is going to be great! I put my vote to once you've obtained a different look you can then customize your appearance without any sort of change to stats.
ReplyDeletehave transformations be auto applied but removable once researched at a workbench (or something) then from the workbench you could customize both the attributes and appearance. TL:DR as follows:
ReplyDelete- Monster grants green hair + debuff A
- character stuck with both until next workbench.
- at workbench player can apply either or both at their discretion.
On a separate note, have you put considerations into endgame content? From what I remember at least of Kurovadis, after you beat the final boss you couldn't do anything besides reload a save from before you beat it.
ReplyDeletePerhaps a challenge stage or something? A final, non-required test of gameplay skills, or some kind of gallery stage with all enemies in it, just something for the player to do once they've hit the peak of their character progression. Or some kind of score-based endless mode even.
Take a page out of WoW's book and do some sort of transmog thing. Once you have the look you want, you can permanently apply it over what gear you actually have. That way, there's still gameplay tie-ins, but it can be overridden if the player doesn't like it that way.
ReplyDeleteIf it plays like your previous games then it'll be perfectly finishable with any stats at all. So I don't think it's necessary to accommodate that sort of stuff, if someone wants to just forgo stats and play fashion souls then as long as they can complete the game it doesn't matter if their stats are ideal or not.
ReplyDeleteCosmetic equipment slots?
ReplyDeleteBtw is boobsize going to be linked to stats?
One of them will be. However you can get the same thing via other means that aren't.
DeleteSo first off obligatory good job, keep up the good work, look forward to when its done. On the other note I believe I recall at one point you mentioned (either in a comment or a post but a bit much to sift through) that you were or had been talking with someone else to possibly take some load off, how has that hunt been going or are you waiting till after this one before moving on to another person?
ReplyDeleteCan't remember what I was talking about >_>
DeleteI'm not really looking for help with Noaika. It's more or less gonna stay a solo thing.
So long as no aesthetically altering items are required for long stretches of gameplay, it's only a good thing to have items alter character appearance. Customization from the game's start tends to cheapen the feel of changing the character at all-- perhaps a middle-ground would be to have physical changes as purchases (to give the in-game currency and shop a use even before other things are unlocked/after other things have all been bought)?
ReplyDeleteThat said, there's nothing wrong with items having both mechanical and aesthetic effects-- after all, nothing's more fun in an RPG than seeing characters' appearance change to reflect their new gear, and the fact that your favorite 'look' might not be the most optimal for your playstyle doesn't lessen the fun of that. Though, following that line of thinking, you mimic the modern convention of 'vanity slots' or whatnot, to have some armor/weapon/mod/etc. overwrite the aesthetic of whatever's equipped.
Since the topic is customization and you were half considering making the Patreon game a roguelike, have you considered that after game over, even though you'd keep the base and progression, after defeat you'd always continue with a new heroine? That would enable some emergent story like finding your previous heroine pregnant and bound to a wall in the lair of the orcs that defeated her and so forth. ^__^
ReplyDeleteI was imagining that if he were to make a roguelite (most "roguelikes" today lack all the elements of a roguelike, hence a roguelite), It would be with just one character with no true "death". But dunno, finding your previous PCs broken or even spawning enemies in the enemies lair could be fun. Maybe with a chance to rescue them, nurse them back to health and play as them again?
ReplyDeleteThis was meant as a reply. to the previous post
DeleteSo any news about the new game with the male or female mc which is not noika?
ReplyDeleteThe rogue-lite idea?
DeleteI havn't developed any ideas further or done any programming yet. I won't be thinking about that game again until I'm caught up with the animations.
I don't have an answer as well, I would do it lust like you said:"well, add an option for it".
ReplyDeleteAsk the player if he wants to costumise the character with everything unlocked, only some basics or let the character evolve with the game.
Reminds me of Fenoxo's Corruption of Champions.
ReplyDeleteCool concept, not sure if it fits in with the Metroidvania style just on the assumption that I haven't seen it done before.
IMO The idea of giving buffs and maybe causing slight appearance changes(cat-ears/tail etc) would appeal to people and seems pretty cool. But, to me really the question boils down to what purpose this would serve: To enhance game play or enhance the -H-
Wait, how did you make a link in these comments? Can you insert HTML tags or something?
Deleteattempt
Oh, seems you can.
Go the terraria route and have your base appearance changed by your status/equipment with a social slot overlay that you can fully customize which covers up the base.
ReplyDeleteBrilliant! I play Terraria and can second that.
DeleteHoly crap, I'd love the option for long hair or big boobs to be a permanent thing as those are my fetishes.
ReplyDeleteIf you're really on the fence though, why not just change only the colors? I remember playing a Kirby H-game clone a while back that changed the MC's color based on which enemy she ate. That wouldn't be too bad an option for some people.
And you say you have familiars, right? With varying boob sizes? Any plans for different animations for each of them? That would be a great touch.
Got a link or name for that? Cus that sounds quite interesting.
DeleteDon't bother, it's not very good...
DeleteYou've probably seen it. It's the one where it's a girl with green hair. (I think)
Ah that bad? Don't think I've ever seen it honestly, I don't exactly scour for em, just whats on the ULMF forums, which honestly havn't seen much worth interest lately either. xD
DeleteYou're either making the best game yet, or you're adding way too much effort into a single product.
ReplyDeleteI'd personally love a simple character creation in the beginning, so you get attatched to your creation more. Then have just status ailments from monsters with debuff icons. Very classic, nothing too innovative, but it would give personal charm to your character from stage 1.
Looking at these various types of new abilities resulting in a change of appearance, I would suggest having two different variants of body features. For example, an ability gives you higher fire resistance with red hair. Once the player has acquired this look at least one time during their play-through, they can change their look through a menu option. Such as have standard hair but still have the fire resistance. Also the player on the pause menu or at a save station can have a choice of retaining or losing abilities that the player has decided to discard like in Super Metroid where once you acquired an ability, you could switch it on and off at will and for instance have different beam type combinations or suit looks. But the step I would like to see added is that one could have their custom look but with all the abilities acquired from the end game an possibly from ng+. I might sound a bit confusing, however, creating a derivative of looks for just cosmetic reasons could solve your problem however I feel that this could take quite a bit of coding.
ReplyDeleteI really, really like the idea of your character changing as shit happens, but I also understand those who want her to look one way and never change. I noticed this though: "These effects could then be re-applied with less debuffs once researched."
ReplyDeleteMaybe just make a basic customization system from the get-go. Normal human skin colors, a few breast sizes, and all that, then give them an option in the menus somewhere to retain that appearance (per part), so people who want to stay that way forever can do so.
Then, going off of the above quote, allow them to change appearance to any of the more outstanding features as they research the effects. That way, they still have to earn some of the more unique aspects of character customization, but retain full control of it.
eople who are fine with transformation stuff could still pick out some of their favorite things, let's say green skin for instance - and lock that part so it can't change but leave the rest open.
Hey Kyrieru, would it go against your principles or ideals to put some completion percentage of your current game (in this case Noaika) somewhere on the site? that way we can see some progress going since the game would likely take several months more to finish. Dunno about others but I am happy to see like 0.5% done in a week's time or so
ReplyDeleteI'd prefer subtle mentions like "just composed a new song for the soundtrack that will play during some really intense moments, guys" and so on. What could look like the smallest features could get much more time to actually get right, so the percentage doesn't say much for how long you'll have to wait compared to how long you waited. It's hard to quantify how much of the game is done, until it's done anyway.
DeleteI admit I would like it myself and perhaps....maybe....hopefully shut the people up who want to nag that it takes so long to make a game or that nothing is even moving forward. Then again those people may just complain to complain and find something else to move on to complaining about something else.
DeleteCan I ask when Noiaka will possibly being sold?
ReplyDeleteI am ready to pay anytime.
I think the best solution is to add these as post-game options; a reward for beating it all, you get to enjoy these customization features free of any gameplay influencing factors.
ReplyDeleteIn games where such changes are forced on you, I think a sizable number of players choose based on their favorite appearance rather than gameplay style.
ReplyDeleteUgh, this is like Monster Hunter all over again. WIll you be a Fashion Hunter or a Monster Hunter? I personally love more when the customization are tied to gameplay, since it gives more memorable moments for the game. Like having certain armors where a pretty much an aspect of how much you knew about the game (Rajang Lv140 respect), or Fashion Hunters going for the look but still kicking ass showing skillful play.
ReplyDeleteLike, on Vita Great Escape, you don't mess around when she is in her white form.
Dante's devil Triggers come to mind. Dat Sparta form. Alastor ftw.
Or Red Tonic (Capitalism) Link from Twilight Princess or Fierce Deity (Oni) Link from Majora's Mask.
Actually getting the Omega armor in Megaman X 5 felt incredibly awesome (vs having to cheat on X4 and X6...) or in Megaman 8 (or 7?) when you get the fusion mode with Rush and literally tell Bass to bring it.
Or in Undertale when you are DETERMINED and --- holy shit Undertale I ain't spoiling this one. \
Guess my vote goes to tying it to gameplay. I am more of a story guy and while I love creating my own characters, I love it even more when the progression also affects it. Make it so once the form is researched you can customize it? I tend to be able to live with the consequences as well... Irony would stab me if there was a white hair, white clothing customization called Purity with the debuff "Can't be raped". Yes, that would be a debuff. At least for me. >.>
Would still play 24/7.
i just want to say one thing. you're awesome, dude.
ReplyDeleteI don't know many developers, and the ones that i know don't really open up with their players like you do. you're more like a teacher to us. you're to me, at least.