Hi everyone!
In the past month I've continued working on the PvE overhaul, and more specifically, ability checks during challenges, and the new gameplay loop is finally coming together both mechanically and visually!
Ability Checks
I have implemented the new vertical dialog box, which is used during PvE challenges. This new dialog box supports classic text styling, and text is appended and becomes scrollable, so you can revisit past text and read the scene as a whole after a challenge has played out.
The vertical dialog box has been designed to show choice menus with more detailed options, such as ability checks. Below is an example displaying a choice between three ability checks. Hovering over an option will display an overview of bonuses and penalties, and additional information like whether you know a spell that can help you in the challenge.
Finally, the vertical dialog box stays open after entering a challenge, without clearing its content. I will also add a local cache, so you won't lose your text history if you reload the game for any reason.
Once you select your preferred challenge, you will enter an ability check. During an ability check, you will roll 8d8, which will determine the outcome of the challenge. Your goal is to roll enough Successes to succeed in the challenge.
After your initial roll, you may reroll any number of dice up to two times, except for Critical Fails, which cannot be rerolled. Below is an example of my dice after the initial roll.
I have rolled three Ability Symbols: A Heart, Diamond, and Circle, which charge activated abilities that can be used during a challenge to gain an advantage. Activating an ability spends the charges, and unused charges carry over to your next challenge.
When you are satisfied with your dice or run out of rerolls, you can score your dice to progress to the next phase. During this phase, you can spend Body/Mind to gain additional Successes.
I can pay 100 Body/Mind to gain two Successes, which is enough for me to succeed the challenge, and I get to keep two Ability Symbols for later. Alternatively, I can cast a spell to help me in the challenge. Casting a spell adds a special die to your roll, which has a high chance of rolling a Success or Double Success, and can even roll a Critical Success, which will count as any number of Successes needed to succeed in the challenge.
Spell dice have a fixed chance of rolling each symbol, with a higher chance of rolling a Success or Double Success. The probability of standard dice rolling a particular symbol isn't fixed and can be affected by your stats.
My test character doesn't have any enchanted equipment, so the chance of rolling each symbol is the same. While Body and Mind allow you to sustain more Critical Fails and a lack of Successes, Spell Actions allow you to cast more spells, and Actions allow you to proceed faster; Hit, Evasion, Penetration, and Resistance improve the average outcome of your dice.
Some challenges, like any sexual challenge, have special conditions. During a sexual challenge, you have unlimited rerolls, but you cannot spend Body/Mind to gain Successes, so you must use your rerolls to roll any number of Successes required by the challenge, or use spells and activate abilities to help you in the challenge.
Furthermore, during sexual challenges, you are defeated if you reach Max Lust; whenever you roll a Critical Fail, your Lust will immediately increase by 10%; and if you roll 3 Critical Fails, you immediately gain Max Lust. This makes sexual challenges inherently more risky than other challenges, but as you run out of Body/Mind to spend, they may become your best option if you wish to progress.
Other challenges with special conditions include classroom challenges, which will require the player to cast a spell during the challenge to succeed. Historically, showing up to class without spell actions will result in an alternative outcome, and this will continue to be the case if you are unable, or choose not to, cast a spell during the classroom challenge.
The Map
This month, one of the artists who usually help out with the game had some time to help out with a mockup for the map, and I'm very happy with how it's turning out!
Most of the locations are still inside the castle, with the dormitories being located at its center. The map also features locations players will be able to discover while exploring in the future. These include the greenhouse, ranch, and observatory. The campus grounds sit at the threshold of the Fairy Wilds to the north, which is an abundant and expansive fairy paradise, and to the south-west is a local city that players will eventually get to visit.
That's it for this month's dev log!
In the coming month, I will continue to work on ability checks, which are still missing cards for spells you can cast during a challenge and visuals for when you have to select an effect after completing a challenge. Afterwards, I'll start writing new content for the game and reworking old PvE content into the new PvE game loop.
There are still a few loose ends to tie up, but things are starting to come together, and soon all the dominoes will start to fall! I also expect I will be able to chump up some of the content and new rewards into smaller updates for later, so I can release the overhaul with the bare minimum and expand on it from there. In the words of one of my former project leaders: "An update doesn't need to be perfect, it just needs to be better than what's already in the game", and I believe just having the base of the new PvE overhaul in the game will be a huge improvement!
Thank you so much for your support and I hope you're looking forward to more progress news in the next dev log! ❤️
XOXO,
Tinon