Thursday, October 25, 2012

Now I'm spamming updates. It won't always be this way.

Again, if it means anything at this point of secret development (since most of the character interactions and story parts are secret), I finished Xaxo's quest - #2 on the list I made earlier. #1 is nearly done, but I got a new idea how to complicate things with Blu, so I'll see if that's going to happen when I'm done with some more of the things I planned earlier. There are at least 5 more quest-like things to finish, some of them big and complicated, and that's only the quests. Still no announcements.


This is Xaxo. The screenshot is probably misleading, so don't assume things. Especially not that he is awesomely evil. If you met an awesomely evil higher demon, you wouldn't get out of there alive.

16 comments:

  1. Is he awesomely well-endowed?

    @.@

    Will we get to find out?

    8)

    8p

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  2. I must say no. :D When you play, you might realize from his talk that he used to do things with another human, but he's not interested right now.

    For well-endowed, wait for Vao the PYTHON.

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  3. No no no, this is going the wrong way. It sounds crazier than I meant it.

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  4. That's okay Lamb. I'm teasing, mostly.

    8)

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  5. If there is a more appropriate spot for general comments I just missed it, so I will dump this glob of text right here. Don't scold me too harshly.

    On we go ...

    First some general and well deserved flattery. I only stumbled over this blog by accident, and I have to say so far I really like what you see, and am looking forward to playing your module. So hurry up! :)

    I am particularly impressed with the enthusiasm and resolve you display in trying to provide as many choices and options as possible. This in my opinion is THE one feature that can give your module soul, that will elevate it above interactive fiction to a real role playing game, where ... well ... you can play your role however you view your character. This was in my opinion the feature that really made ADWR great, and its lack was/is one of the biggest detriments of the Gladiatrix series.

    I can only try to imagine how much work it must be to juggle all the complex dialog trees and variable to keep track of the player's decisions, but for what it is worth keep at it. We will all thank you for it later. :)

    Now some questions that hopefully can be answered spoiler free:

    - Will the naughty bits be limited to the player's companions/henchmen, or will we get a wider range to pick from?

    - Will all these "options" be young, virile, pretty (sort of) studs (or girls), or again will there be a wider range?

    - Hopefully a superfluous one. Are you implementing stat checks diligently in dialog? Let me give an example. I still remember this one moment when playing Gladiatrix 2 where I am in the bath with my male student. Since I am a bad person my intention was to tease that arrogant stud for a bit and then give him the cold shoulder. Things proceed as planned, I try to leave him standing, he grabs me, I try to break free ... and am told he is too strong for me. :( Only to find out soon thereafter that my strength score is noticeably above his :( :( Please tell me you will do better than this!

    - Why no love for the Monk class? Well, I kind of can understand it, that one does not fit every setting. It still is my favorite in most adult

    modules, though. So pretty please?

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  6. Ah, yes, I wasn't even sure I wanted to make the fact that I'm working on these modules public, so there aren't any neat forums or anything.

    I'm glad that someone understands how complicated this work is, even if you only have an idea. I sometimes wonder how Valine managed to make ADWR in one lifetime, let alone in a few years. Last time I checked, ADWR had over 600.000 words of dialog, and I think that was before the last update.

    I jokingly say that if I provided only one player option in every dialog, my module(s) would have been completed 3 years ago - well before I seriously started to work on it/them.

    There is (or was, don't know what's latest) a part in ADWR where you can accept to be with the Dhorn Love guy, and then he invites his creepy old friend to have sex with you, too. You can't tell him that you don't want the other guy, or they just ignore you, I don't remember, and Simon just stands by... It happens. Assuming I'm around, I think I'll be accepting suggestions for new player options after release, as long as their consequences don't cause me too much trouble.

    To answer the questions:

    - The naughty bits exist or have been planned for other NPCs as well.

    - I don't have a definite list of "romantic" encounters for the series, but the existing ones are up to 40, virile and mostly pretty (if you like scars). Or maybe they aren't pretty and my standards are just low.

    - I must warn you that you will by default be weaker than some people in the beginning of the module. Your character has lived in very bad conditions for a few months. You need to give her the stats you want her to have, but pretend they aren't there until she "gets better", which takes a few adventures. I've given the NPCs high Strength to support this, but if your strength score is insane, there will be an inconsistency at one point. Later on, when you recover, your real attribute scores should matter, and if I make a mistake, you should point it out.

    - Monk... Your character has a predefined background of a simple town-girl and monks sound too ninja/fancy. Magic fists don't stand well with a low-magic world. I don't have experience with monks so I don't know if one would make sense.

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  7. Aww, no overweight elderly gentlemen with limited attractiveness trying to get their hands and other body parts on some sweet young flesh? Not even in a featured part? Guess you have to like what you create, and if that does not fulfill this criteria I will have to eventually enjoy your module without this particular feature.

    That ADWR example irked me a bit as well. The scene as a whole was well done, but this was an oversight, and one easily avoidable to bood. Would have been fun to give him a bloody nose, though. :) Generally I do not feel that all of the newer additions to that module really improved the overall quality, I vaguely rmember that there were other instances as well where suck a lack was present, albeit less pronounced.

    Which brings us to the strength bit and the inconsistency. Is there really no way around it? Or does it fall under the "You are still not operating at 100%" clause? And will we reach that peak performance befor the end of the first module? Which will allow us to pay those bad boys back in spades?

    The Monk class. I perfectly can understand your reasoning, even though what Monks do can very validly be classified as something other than magic, more like unlocking your very own inner reserves. After all, all Monk abilities according to D&D rules function properly inside an Anti-Magic field.

    What I often do even if it is not perfect from a character optimization standpoint is to take just one or two levels of Monk with my fighters for Evasion and that bit of extra AC, turning them into a true light armored warrior that still can compete with the leather and metal clad ones. So they would still fight with big swords, just with less armor... :)

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  8. I'm considering some yucky sexual encounters, but I can't promise anything. It's usually difficult to find space for them, because you have your overly-protective companions (at least I think most people will want to take Arana along). I liked that kind of thing in ADWR, but I sometimes think ADWR has quite enough of those things, so who needs new ones?

    There is a way around one of the situations with the strong bad guys if you have high conversation skills, the other one is more physical and doesn't check your Strength. Well, now that you point it out, I can make a small branching there and take your Strength into account, but the bad guy torturing you has it at 19. That's probably impossible to overcome at a low level unless you cheat.

    Let's say you will have your performance back around the middle of the first module, though it won't be officially announced to you. Those bad guys mostly won't be around and they will have their own problems by then. There is still a little revenge option which I am proud of, even though I love that character. While it will be bloody, you might still feel like your revenge is incomplete. I'm not supposed to say any more. :)

    Demonhearts are superhuman anyway. As long as I don't have to invent a Monk culture and explanations for their abilities...

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  9. I wanted to mention this before; there used to be a rape/sex for money scene in the prelude of the module, but I cut it because too much was going on. The man was described as old and disgusting. That's good, right? :D I don't know if that scene is going to go anywhere.

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  10. Doh!

    Features cut, on the floor.

    Thanks for keeping us informed Lamb.

    8)

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  11. Yes, Darnitall..why is it that the good parts almost always get sent to the editing floor! ;)

    I also wouldn't be adverse to having a scene or two like something that @Che Rubian described earlier. Could happen in a strange bar in a strange town she visits. Or an ambush alongside a road. Or a visit to some sort of cult or club that's not as it appears on the surface.

    Or something like which you described earlier which wound up cut from the prequel.

    Again, by all means do the module as you have intended to create from the start. Just providing some feedback and including some ideas from some of my darker role playing fantasies.

    And yes, thanks so much for the updates!

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  12. Side quests can always be added, the plan is only there for the main "story". I will have in mind that the nasty kind of encounters is still in demand. :) There are a few almost-rape scenes, but I guess that won't do.

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  13. OK, I just got an idea for some nasty encounters that would be logical within the current settings. The Cult of Ravage is very sexually liberal, so if you wear their clothes or walk naked in the town of Ravage, you will probably be harassed.

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  14. Thanks Lamb.

    Back into the Naughty!

    8)

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  15. Yes, thanks Lamb! Naughty is good. Or was that Greed is Good? Oh well, I'll take either one here. ;)

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