So, I hit this point where I was planning to release tomorrow, but instead of getting the final content together I ended up just adding more and more features. Not a bad thing, just, y'know, you can't fight Karen yet. And that's what I wanted for 0.61. So that's been put off. Instead you get to see what I have done.
FEATURE LIST KGO:
-Classes are working right now, but I haven't yet added which class is next to the interface. The first day keeps the old line up, but each day has a different set of classes now. The game also has an actual date system now, so no more vague times being given in dialogue, people will use actual dates and stuff.
-Combat interface has been updated. I think I need some more number tweaking that I only just remembered I forgot, but since I've published and everything I'm just going to leave it for the moment.
-Combat AI has been improved. It no longer picks actions at random, but instead has preferences for attacks. This is obviously far from the final form, as I need to give it cues to strip, or ways for the character to toy with you.
-Events are working. There's only one event in at the moment, it's the first encounter with Karen, but it's mostly just to show the interface, and how that all works. I'd recommend submitting to her.
-SUPER DUPER NEWS! There's now pictures for every character. Jessica is always visible, and during dialogue you can see the character you're talking to. So far I've made the pictures for 9 characters, of which 5 are in the game. Pictures are also available in combat, and yes, they do get stripped down. Some of them will probably be changed as time goes on, as getting good expressions for them is hard, so right now it's a little disconcerting to see someone naked and smiling.
So, that's this week. Next week I'll be fixing up the combat numbers a little, since right now they appear to be not functioning correctly, add on the Karen fights, and I might get around to further improving the combat set up. Also bug fixing if you all report anything.
DOWNLOAD LINK: http://www.mediafire.com/download/014phn78cdhv1v3/Shield_High_JS_0.601.zip
Enjoy
Pudding Earl
P.S. If you're having trouble running the game, try picking up the XNA framework, which you can get here: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=20914
P.P.S I'm sorry as102, I'll try and release a variable-size version next week at the latest, I'm just trying to work out which part of the interface I can cut down on. As soon as I've found something I can shrink without completely re-writing large portions of the code I'll release it. Or if I do decide to re-write the code. Either or.
Looking good so far but you still need alot of bugs to work out such as the convo buttons, but its looking good so far. cant wait till its finished.
ReplyDelete~Ancient~
The combat system really needs a tutorial, badly. There are so many options and I have no idea what they do or what they're good for.
ReplyDeleteI like that there's more complexity in the combat compared to before, but maybe there are too many moves?
If you can, having the portraits expression change depending on combat state would be pretty cool. (ie: controlled=panicky, controlling=evil grin, high humiliation=blush, etc.)
The portraits seem to have a bit of a stretching problem. Jillian looked really chubby.
On the compass, up and down are kind of in weird places, since down is on the bottom of the compass. It would probably be better if up was above down.
The interface is kind of... colorful? I liked the RAGS simple white gray and black, honestly.
Overall, it looks really promising, but it needs some work.
Sadly Kisekae 2 doesn't do expressions, so that's not a problem. I have a plan to fix the Jillian problem, as well as a few other problems with the pictures.
DeleteI've been working with someone to get some pretty interface buttons done up, when that's done I'll fix up the compass directions.
The interface is colourful in combat because the actions have different categories, so they're coloured by that. I'll be sure in 0.61 to have a proper tutorial worked out, where the effects of all your choices are explained. I'll probably also tone back the colours in the dialogue, I had an idea for that but it doesn't look as good as I'd hoped, so I'll stick to the usual green-grey option.
Thanks for the feedback!
Um, did you mistype, because you can manipulate expressions quite a bit with it...
DeleteThe combat buttons is actually fine with me, since they do something. It's the background color that I think is unnecessary, plus it kind of clashes with the bright green buttons during dialogue.
Well, when I say "Doesn't do expressions" what I really mean is "HOW THE FUCK DO I MANIPULATE THIS PROPERLY?"
DeleteAs for the colour, I'm rather fond of it, but I'll experiment a bit and see what I get.
DISREGARD THAT, I JUST WORKED IT OUT. EXPRESSIONS WILL BE INCLUDED.
DeleteExample for win pose and lose pose: http://oi43.tinypic.com/142a4hc.jpg
DeletePlus you can copy/paste expressions/positioning from one character to another so there shouldn't be too much work. (don't need to make a "lose pose for every char, just a template to use for all).
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ReplyDeleteFeature request: separate timelines for calendar days and event days. Why do I ask? Because early own is when it will be easiest and most effective. Doesn't need to happen right now but it would be a good idea before you start cranking storyline out.
ReplyDeleteIn other words, event 2 is not guaranteed to happen on day 2. Day 2 can come and go and - without the trigger being hit - event 2 waits.
One might ask why. There's a big reason for this; it opens up opportunities for later. Shouldn't require anything special; calendar timeline advances when you sleep and event timeline advances as triggers are hit.
Having events sit and wait is a way of managing things to keep them from hitting glitchy problems like accidentally missing an important fight then being thrown out of the storyline.
Having functionality for managing events like this also allows things to come and go in a more sophisticated way. Instead of event 1-2-3-4-etc, side encounters can come and go at any time. This could allow for things like adding more fightable characters for later, or incidents that happen outside of school hours.
It might sound like a lot but it's really just creating two separate variables. All of the stuff it *can* do would be for later as desired.
Another thing I thought I'd mention, different reactions for different characters.
I'll just drop this here for now:
http://postimg.org/image/870vae0rt/
Yes, one character all but ignores the dress code. This is just for demonstration purposes* to show different expressions for the same occasion. This would be a neutral first time meeting with the player with no feelings for against. Will make more images for the same to show them about to schedule a fight with the player, becoming the player's slave, becoming the player's master, in combat at an advantage, at a disadvantage, and whatever else I can keep up the motivation for. The intention will be to create a spectrum of reactions so the timid character doesn't use the same face as the aggressive character.
*Will share editor data later, don't mind who uses what or how.
Good idea in regards to the calendar, but what I'll probably do is assign times to events based on the current time. Like, it'll look for the next wednesday, say, and assign the event to that, as opposed to days being given events to run. If not that system I'll work something else out, but yeah, I've always been planning side plots, which should be accessible at any time, and so I did have this consideration in mind.
DeleteAs for reactions on characters, now that I've worked out how to use a couple more things in Kisekae I'll definitly being doing that. I'll also be crying over how big the game will end up.
Also, those characters are really nice, could I steal them for the game? Or do you have specific characters in mind for them?
>Also, those characters are really nice, could I steal them for the game?
DeleteAs I said, I don't mind how any of it is used and it's all just for a demonstration for right here. My goal is to have some .zip file containing 6~12 images of those same characters each in a different situation. This image is first time meeting with a neutral standpoint; another image would be defeating Jessica and taking her as a slave - all of them showing what expression they'd have on the same occasion.
Also one thing that came to mind is that there are 9 slots and only 7 young ladies there. I think next time I get to work on this I will add one teacher and one casually-dressed character looking like Jessica but older.
Regarding the double-calendar: events would get written to specific days, but the time they created and the date selected could be variable. The time of creation would be whenever you bump into the right person, and the assigned date would be X school days ahead of that time. Or it could be the next Saturday, etc.
These things sound complicated but in code it's more straightforward. 5 school days in the future: start counting one day at a time and don't count another number forward if it's not a school day.
Just bringing this up because starting with versatile management early spares the pain of working with inflexible and obstacle-laden management once things start moving.
>As I said, I don't mind how any of it is used and it's all just for a demonstration for right here. My goal is to have some .zip file containing 6~12 images of those same characters each in a different situation.
DeleteOh, and with text dumps of the stuff it gives you when you click on a character and hit 'export.' This can be brought back into any slot with 'import' and then individual pieces can be snipped back out. This could be like taking the same costume, or the same facial features, or any combination of traits so that a different character could be quickly posed into a similar expression.
Don't worry, all in due time. I was expecting to be able to freely stretch window like with rags but it might be even more complicated. As long as we can see whole game window on smaller monitors it'll be fine.
ReplyDeleteThe thing you really should fix soon is misplaced buttons/text, i.e. to talk to Kalyee I must click on Sasha and to talk to her I must click on white field even lower and so on. Though I noticed it sometimes return to normal by itself, it's still irritating.
Girls' pictures are very nice addition and while I don't like the K-On! anime style, it's better to see who you're interacting with. Personally, I'd check out 3D Custom Girl but I guess you don't want to change it by now.
I know it's bit too early for that but I've been wondering how and when you'll implement save/load functions?
PS. It's really nice feeling to be mentioned in the post :D
Theoretically I could re-program it to function like that, which I probably should. My big worry is text display, but I reckon with some fiddling I could change the font size with the screen size, thus resulting in few, if any, dialogue changes. I will look into it, since I should really do it now rather than later.
DeleteI'll look into that problem, I have a small suspicion as to what could be causing it, but I'm not entirely sure. Will get back to you on that.
As for the pictures, I never intended for this, I didn't really like the art style either, but I liked it more than 3D Custom Girl (which unfortunately I find rather horrific to look at), and after some playing with it it's grown on me. I'm still not 100% sold on the nudity in it, but for the clothed pictures it works a charm. If you have anything 2-D with good options and a decent nude appearance you know of, please let me know.
And finally, in regards to saves...I HAVE NO FUCKING CLUE AAAHHH MY STUDIES NEVER GOT ME THIS FAR. I'll probably resume studying in the next month or so, once the game starts having progress and stuff, and work it all out. I know I want to let you run multiple saves, and I know I'd like to just put them on a menu bar, probably near where attend class is right now. I'd also like to make a journal function at some point, that records all the events you encounter, and lets you re-read them later. We'll see how that turns out.
The ability to read back on what had already happened is something I liked in RAGS, so I would very much support adding a journal feature, like most VN have.
DeleteIt shouldn't be to hard, I think, just write anything that gets displayed into a separate place as well, and allow it to be accessed.
Apparently i already have the filed installed in another location?
ReplyDeletehttp://gyazo.com/ad81b27d1cfaf8fe302a74e9c0238690 Though i checked through my computer and i dont have another one (except for the RAGS version) anywhere.
Try going into the control panel, under add/remove a program and see if Shield High shows up there. If so just uninstall it like you would any other program and carry on.
DeleteThat worked thanks :D
DeleteHow do I get the training fight to work? I can only do one move and then none of the buttons work after that.
ReplyDeleteAfter performing a move the continue button below the others should be active, click that to continue the fight. I'm trying to work out a way to remove this to make fights smoother, but I haven't yet got it sorted out.
DeleteOh, that button must be behind my start menu. Is there a way to resize the screen so I can see it?
DeleteNot yet, but since lower resolutions appear to be common amongst my fans I'll put resizing of the screen to the top of my priority list.
DeleteThere actually is, when working in Windows 7. You just have to make your task bar (don't know if you call it that way, I do. It's the bar with your start button) disappear. This, you do by right-clicking on the bar and choosing properties. Then choose the second option, which will automatically hide your task bar. Then you just have to get with your cursor to the side of the screen where you positioned your task bar and it will reappear.
DeleteThen start the program and get away with your cursor from the task bar and if everything is like with me, your screen will be big enough for the continue button. If not, then sorry for wasting your time.
Well, I got it to work by clicking on my start menu a ton. xD
ReplyDeleteI think I'm going to like this new set-up. I played a lot of your earlier versions, in RAGS. Still, I like the pictures and being able to see the state of undress.
Will you be able to see (rough) representations of what's going on, like if you're on your knees, then your pic will, too.
And if it's not too much, pics of what's going on when they do things to you or vice versa (like kissing, undressing and such).
Right now I've got some big decisions to make in regards to pictures. Primarily concerned with how big the game will get. This current version contains 12 pictures and is 2MB, with 43 characters in the RAGS game, and 45 referenced, this size is going to inflate massively by the end. I mean, each character will need, at minimum, 6 pictures to be in fights. This isn't including the possibility of different stripping orders, which I'm considering including, various facial expressions, etc.
DeleteSo yeah, as much as I'd like to include pictures for everything, it might not really be reasonable. Or I might just say fuck it and make the game huge.
As for pics of what's going on for actions....never gonna happen. I wanted it to when I first started. I'd love to be able to do that, but for that I would need a dedicated artist who wouldn't mind working for free, or barely anything, and has a damn good turn over time. It's just not a realistic goal. (Though if you happen to find such an artist let me know immediately, because it would be amazing.)
Yeah, I figured it might be unreasonable, but it never hurts to ask, right?
DeleteAnd if you have the pics for when you or they are on their knees, on the ground, in the air, etc, it might take the need out of having it written out and add another dimension to it -- having to pay attention to pictures more. It'd be cool, but I know it might be too much. It was just an idea, after all. xD
Earl, I could help out with making Kisakae 2 models, but drawing isn't possible till I fix my drawy-thingy. Putting the shout out there. Might reduce your amount of work.
DeleteThanks for the offer, but for the time being I should really try and work out how to make pretty things in Kisakae 2 myself, otherwise I'm going to end up depending on other people for it too much and that would be a damn shame.
DeleteRe: save files
ReplyDeleteDon't want to code all of this yourself? Try using a database for it; databases are basically just massive save files made efficient and ready to go for you so you don't have to re-invent it all. One row per character, one column per trait. Databases are also easy to edit; if you decide later on that you want everyone to have birthdays then you can simply insert a new column. Then the game code just checks that column and if the current date matches then that day is recognized as a birthday.
Could go on and on and on about hardcoding save files but to be perfectly honest I'd say it's probably not what you want to be doing. You will probably want 20~100 entries for characters with 5~20 traits each; a database not only makes this concept manageable but it also gives you plenty of freedom to change things as you go.
Dude I gotta tell ya,this moe moe art style really sucks. I'm an awful artist but I could draw you better ones. I understand if you like it this way but I think the old jessica looked way better. More cool looking and more fitting this deathgame environment. Something like http://img23.imageshack.us/img23/1147/so0l.png
ReplyDeleteThanks for your feedback, but, no offence, you probably just don't get the meaning behind my art choices. It's pretty deep, and I can see how it's lost on some, so, just in case anyone reading hasn't picked up on it I'll explain here.
DeleteThe moe art style has been selected to juxtapose with the intense subject material and graphic nature of the narrative. It exists as a deconstruction of the high school anime genre, and the abnormal circumstances that they encounter, as well as a social commentary on the sexualisation of the characters in these works, primarily by the fans.
By which I mean it's completely free, fairly simple, and allows me to create an abundance of images in a very short amount of time, and really, it's not that bad. If you can offer an equally refined alternative, that is also free, and can have all of the pictures I need for any given update ready pretty much on the day, let me know. Until then, it stays.
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ReplyDelete