Well, that didn't go as expected
So last month's poll was going to decide whether we would prioritize the swimsuit and pool scene for Emily or Jitsuko. I tried, not-so-subtly, to sway the vote in Jitsuko's favour. In the end, Emily still got about twice as many votes as Jitsuko. I honestly thought I'd be able to influence the poll more, but I'm looking on the bright side: people are just passionate about their preferences.
Without further ado, here is the promised swimsuit art for Emily!
About a week into November, we had Tomie and Emily balanced to a point we were happy with. We then sent test builds to a couple of people and asked them to provide feedback on balance, mechanical clarity and enjoyment. We got a lot of really positive feedback and some very useful points to improve on.
The point of each encounter is to outlast the Domme, but players seemed to focus purely on offense; even at the cost of losing a fight they could've won. After we gave some advice on strategy and abilities, they started doing much better. The tutorial already contains a lot of mechanical information, so we don't wanna make that overwhelming by adding strategy advice. Instead, we've now included a list of tips available in-game that players can reference whenever they feel like they need to improve their approach to the combat system. This way, players can also look at hints that specifically target points they're struggling with.
The test build didn't include the newer upgrades that gradually weaken the Dommes as the Pool and Park scenes haven't been completed yet. Even so, one tester managed to beat all 9 fights. This is what we were hoping for, as the weakening upgrades are meant to help players who are struggling rather than being necessary upgrades. We're rebalancing Tomie Stage 3 ever so slightly, as she's clearly the toughest to beat currently. It's possible without weakening her, but just barely, so her Stage 3 difficulty was found to be jarring compared to the other two. It also doesn't leave much room for Hana to be even tougher as final boss. Conversely, Jitsuko Stage 2 and Emily Stage 3 needed to be made a little bit more difficult.
Btw, there will be no poll this month. Why? Because it's December, so we're doing a recap of 2024. The poll would otherwise have been between Jitsuko swimsuit art or a secret thing we haven't mentioned yet. Guess what? You're getting both along with the year-in-review. No votes, just everything. Think of it as our Christmas present to you.
Finished:
Current:
Without further ado, here is the promised swimsuit art for Emily!
About a week into November, we had Tomie and Emily balanced to a point we were happy with. We then sent test builds to a couple of people and asked them to provide feedback on balance, mechanical clarity and enjoyment. We got a lot of really positive feedback and some very useful points to improve on.
The point of each encounter is to outlast the Domme, but players seemed to focus purely on offense; even at the cost of losing a fight they could've won. After we gave some advice on strategy and abilities, they started doing much better. The tutorial already contains a lot of mechanical information, so we don't wanna make that overwhelming by adding strategy advice. Instead, we've now included a list of tips available in-game that players can reference whenever they feel like they need to improve their approach to the combat system. This way, players can also look at hints that specifically target points they're struggling with.
The test build didn't include the newer upgrades that gradually weaken the Dommes as the Pool and Park scenes haven't been completed yet. Even so, one tester managed to beat all 9 fights. This is what we were hoping for, as the weakening upgrades are meant to help players who are struggling rather than being necessary upgrades. We're rebalancing Tomie Stage 3 ever so slightly, as she's clearly the toughest to beat currently. It's possible without weakening her, but just barely, so her Stage 3 difficulty was found to be jarring compared to the other two. It also doesn't leave much room for Hana to be even tougher as final boss. Conversely, Jitsuko Stage 2 and Emily Stage 3 needed to be made a little bit more difficult.
Btw, there will be no poll this month. Why? Because it's December, so we're doing a recap of 2024. The poll would otherwise have been between Jitsuko swimsuit art or a secret thing we haven't mentioned yet. Guess what? You're getting both along with the year-in-review. No votes, just everything. Think of it as our Christmas present to you.
Finished:
- Emily swimsuit art and pool scene
- Emily Stage 3 combat tweaking
- Tomie Stage 3 combat tweaking
- Test build including all 3 Stages for all 3 Dommes
- Collecting and analysing tester feedback
- Jitsuko Stage 2, Emily Stage 3 and Tomie Stage 3 minor balance tweaks based on tester feedback
- In-game Tips menu
Current:
- Jitsuko swimsuit art and pool scene
- Editing/improving all 3 Park texts
- Hana final boss combat design
- Hana final boss texts