Instinct Program 0.30c (24/03/2013)

[Kuragari]

Alright, so far that I've played, which isn't much sense I decided I wanted two saves, one for where I was good and one where I tried to be corrupt. Anywhosit, for starters, I would like to make a gameplay related suggestion-Have dialogue options be able to lead to consequences, good or bad. One example could be in the beginning when Adeline is in the chiefs office, if picking the flirty choices there's the option of having sex with him (which could gain you a point of mental corruption) There would of course be the option to say "maybe later" or "just teasing".

Now, as for the writing, I spotted a few minor mistakes here and there. If you want another check to make sure such things don't slip through, you could always try this website I believe should act as another check to ensure even tiny mistakes don't break through.

[alako]

@Kuragari
I did that dialog choices as a proof of concept for some early alpha test. I probably will tweak it later on. There are a few consequences for your action actually, but most of them happen take place later on in the game. Also, some consequences are quite hidden as well.

I found a new editor to go through my text, but he has to read though nearly 30K of script, so instead, we go through a few basic stuff only and release the demo early. There will be a bug fix and grammar fix version once I finish writing the walkthrough.

[Kuragari]

Interesting thus far, I find that this game holds some potential. If you want, I can try and hunt down the grammar errors out there. I would like to state that I hope the next update includes some possibilities for more H-scenes.

[alako]

There are 12 optional sex scenes already and I am not counting scene variation nor main quest (avoidable/unavoidalbe) scenes. =] I actually think I need more quests and non-sexual scenes to flesh out the world and story more.

Most grammar errors should be fixed in a week or two. So no need to worry about that, but thanks for offering to help.

[Kuragari]

There are 12 optional sex scenes already and I am not counting scene variation nor main quest (avoidable/unavoidalbe) scenes. =] I actually think I need more quests and non-sexual scenes to flesh out the world and story more.

Most grammar errors should be fixed in a week or two. So no need to worry about that, but thanks for offering to help.

By curiosity, what are all the scenes? I'm not sure if I've got them all or not.

Also, by any chance, where can I find a good RAGS Tutorial?

[alako]

A few of them are quite hidden. For example, there are two very difference drunk scenes that will only trigger depending on your choices for previous events. I will be releasing a walkthrough later on.

You mean tutorial for making a RAGS game or how to play it?
For making the game: http://www.ragsgame.com/OnlineHelp.aspx
For playing the game....right click everything and don't forget about right click the room photo (see general tips). Stats is at the bottom. You can move in any direct indicated by the compass (including up and down, in and out).

[cookie jar]

I got to try your demo and I have to say this looks very promising. At least to someone like me who likes text based games. Nice work.

I'm actually a fan of the idea that some answers are purely for roleplaying issues to increase the immersion and not every single answer has some sort of game impact. In addition to increase said immersion I believe this actually adds to the suspense as well. It somewhat masks the sometimes pretty obvious "OK, if i do this it will trigger that and then...".
Of course this means a lot more work for you in the writing department. So thanks for going to those lengths.

I also like the way you sometimes hint what might happen to you if you do this or that in the conversations you overhear.


However, I have to admit that it took a bit of getting used to the various drawing styles of the pictures. I'm aware you go picture hunting and don't draw yourself. And finding a picture that fits the scene in your head perfectly can be difficult even with the vast ressources the web supplies. (Yes, I read about your difficulties in finding pictures in the first post.)
It's not a big issue, but it might reduce immersion if the drawing styles differ too much. So far however you've made a good compromise since you don't seem to mix drawing styles in any given scene.
I apologize if I sound patronizing and only talk about something you've already thought through. That is not my intention.


As far as game bugs and similar issues go, the spelling/grammar mistakes have already been adressed. Nothing major and there are only a few of them. And you already put in the disclaimer at the beginning that English isn't your first language anyway.
However, if you wish, i can go hunting for them. Though someone whose first language is English might be better suited for this since like you I'm not a native speaker when it comes to English.

The only bug I could find is a pretty unimportant one. If you buy more than one pill of the same colour from the shady merchant it will deduct the credits from your total, but you won't get another pill if you already have that colour in your inventory.
So either the inventory needs to be able to accomodate multiple pills of the same colour or the merchant needs a text option along the line "why not use your current stock before purchasing additional pills".


I'm looking forward to more of your work. Thank you for sharing with us.


Now to find that second drunk scene, unless...

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

...waking up next to the hobo counts as one.

And while we are at spoilers:

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

Are there more than 2 molester scenes? The second indicates a follow up (if you let them have their way with you anyway), but I couldn't find it even if I "passed time" by getting repeatedly drunk untill I passed out trying to advance a possible timeline to the date they mention. Or is the followup simply not in the game yet?

[alako]

@cookie Jar

Thanks for the encouragement. ^^

I would love to add more roleplaying dialogues to the game, but building dialogue tress in RAGS is really cumbersome and annoying. Any editing to the text would cause a major bug if I am not careful. That said, I would try to add a few one liners in the game to make it more fun for you guys. As far as the picture goes, I could probably use porn star pictures like most other RAGS game. However, the setting of my game make it a pretty harder to find the pictures I like. I might use Skyrim in the future if I made a new game, but we will have to wait and see.

I recently found a new editor to fix my text, however, he didn't get involved till the last few days of development, so most of the text are not edited at this point. Nevertheless, he told me that he could finish editing everything by the end of this week. So I guess, I will release a bug/grammar fix version sometime after that with the walkthrough.

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

There are 3 normal random drunk scenes: home, home (drunk sex), alley. There are 2 special drunk scenes: get drunk after you are threaten the hobo. getting drunk after you are forced into strip after gambling (random)

The third stage of the train scene is not in the game yet. A lot more stuff will open up after a major event later in the game.

[Sam]

Hi every body!

I have two Questions.

1. I talk to the stripers in 'Tits and Dough'. Now I should talk to silver in the Club, but I can't find her.
2. Can I collect coins in the demo.^^



By the way sorry for my bad english.

[alako]

@sam

1)Right click the small room picture of the Dance Floor on top of compass. You should see the search action.
2)Are you talking about earning more credits? If so, you can either earn money from gambling or search a unconscious armed man to get 100 credits.

[cookie jar]

I thought of one thing that I would like to suggest to (maybe) implement.

If you examine an enemy you are currently fighting it would be nice to see how well you are doing. Just some pointer along the line "looks perfectly healthy", "looks slightly injured" etc..

I've seen something like this in other RAGS games, but since i've never worked with RAGS, I don't know how complicated it might be. You said you had to design your combat system from scratch. And from what I read by other authors working with RAGS, combat systems seem to be rather tricky in RAGS. So even if you might consider the idea, if it's difficult, forget that I ever suggested it.


I am aware that giving players this kind of information might not go well with building suspense. In addition I know it is not helpful if you intend to include more figths like the one in the prelude,

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

which you will lose no matter what you do. Wouldn't want to ruin that for someone who hasn't tried the game yet, hence the spoilertag.

As far as suspense goes, if obtaining this information is optional and requires an extra action from the player, someone who doesn't like it can simply opt not to do it. Along the lines when you ask during the start up menu wether someone wants the mind corruption stat displayed or not.
Hoever that doesnt help with the second problem of course. That would have to be resolved by some creative writing, I guess.

Spoiler (click to show/hide):

Or simply put: lying to the player about what's going on.

So far for the suggestion on my part and the potential "problems" I can see with it myself.

[cereburn]

Howdy Y'all,
Alako, to her current and future misadventure, has allowed me to help with the editing of this story/game.
This is just a quick update on editing status for the folks eagerly awaiting the next version.
The primary edits are now submitted to the author, some of the edits have been implemented into the game already and we are working together to reach consensus on the others. I expect that you should all have a much smoother ride going through the story next time. A lot of thought and conversation has gone into improving the continuity of scenes and enhancing the depth of emotional context.
I've noticed several folks commenting on the dialogue choices with the chief and their possible portent, but sadly, my exegesis explaining why it was appropriate and my request to add a trip to the Castle Anthrax were both denied. I'm still hopeful for a resolution, but she has, in fact, denied me fiv..er three times and it would be rude for me to continue pestering her about it. Perhaps later in the game, something will come of this.
About myself, some folks have accused me of using too much alliteration, I say that's nothing but niggling nonsense, naysayers! (I'll stop here, before the Knights get involved).

--CB

[Sam]

Thank you for help.
Now I'm also finish the demo.
I look forward for the next demos.

[alako]

Good News:

My editor work hard to go over nearly 30K amount of text and polished most of the scenes. So here is a bug/text fix version of the game. Also, many people have problems finding some of the scenes, so I added a basic walkthrough of the game.

Link: http://www.mediafire.com/?8my7ehjg5yg5o44
Walkthrough: http://alakogames.blogspot.ca/p/beta-walkthrough.html

Bad News:

For the past 2-3 months, I have been spending nearly all my free time working on the game. After hundreds hours, I am getting pretty tired. More importantly, there are lots real life stuff I have to deal with. Therefore, I won't be working on the game much for the next two months. I will still update the blog occasionally to let you guys know what's going on, but there won't be any significant progress till summer (unless I win the lotto or something ).

[cookie jar]

Already let out a heavy sigh when I read that on your blog. Oh well, patience is a virtue after all. And the animations you put in the text in your blog made me smile again anyway.

So, good luck getting your RL sorted out.

[Zultharify]

Having a bit of trouble actually playing the game. It downloaded correctly and yet... It says "not reccognized as a rag game". Mind helping anyone?

[alako]

Although it's a rare problem, you are not the only one.

A lot of things could cause this problem, try everything listed here http://cursedgame.wikia.com/wiki/Operating_RAGs_Help . Someone fixed the problem by delete 2.4 rags and install 2.3 then upgrade to 2.4 rags. It could also cause by window media player not installed correctly.

[Six]

Better to pace yourself than to burn out and end up dropping the whole thing, like pretty much everyone else seem to do.
Allot of other projects that will(supposedly!) get some content out around now to keep us busy as well.

Oh yeah one thing that would be nice is if you could skip the intro in later versions.
Looking forward to new updates even if there won't be much for awhile.

[alako]

@Six

I am thinking about changing the intro a bit so it actually have some small effect to the story. Maybe in the later later version, I will let you skip it

[Six]

Well if what you do there can have some sort of meaning the intro wouldn't feel as long after a few repeats.
Can of course just use a save file in the mean time so no big deal.

Oh and hope there will be some lesbian encounters in the future too!