Dev Report Week #7: 2024-03-17

I have been working almost exclusively on the main character mesh. I think it's coming together, have a look below. I have one generic head done but I think I'll work on a second one, the one that I have was based off of a manga teenager, so I'll work on a second one that is more adult. Once I get this mesh done, I can then modify it for all the female characters. An example of this is that Meghan has C-cup breasts. But her transformed form (Ava) has D-cup breasts. It's not that big of a change but it will be noticeable. And since this is all work that I've done in blender I can use it without worry of copyrights.

But the body proportions are nice, and I'll be able to use it with the custom heads I make for the main characters. Though mostly, the customizations will be fairly minor (except Tierney, who'll have horns and pointed ears).

I have researched Steam bans and other similar things, and I've come to the conclusion that having a Spicy DLC with all the sex and nudity is probably the best way to go. That way, the core game won't have these elements and probably won't get hit by a ban. I'm thinking of three different levels of play.

The plan, as always, is to have the spicy DLC freely available. I'm just erring on the side of caution when it comes to Steam since that's the biggest marketplace. It's also why I'm making sure that there will be no minors on the planet, and everyone looks adult.

I have been thinking about some things I can do for the start just to play around a bit with the opening scene and the spicy DLC. And to introduce some trap mechanics early.

SPOILER: Opening SceneMeghan has been traveling for a while, planet-hopping inside the system alliance that she is a citizen of. Since it counts as internal she hasn't used her passport, just her normal ID. Her friend in the Department of State got her a passport but didn't tell her that it was a high-ranking passport. Effectively she's listed as: Ambassador: Cultural Exchange. Her friend knows she's Ava, and knows what she's done for the world she's from and thought that was a good way to keep her out of trouble. He could only make a passport like that because there is no Ambassador from the alliance to the planet she is going to. Maybe if he had more time to think about it, he would have listed her only as a diplomat. But he really liked and respected her.

Meghan is trying to run from her life as Ava, and doesn't want anything to do with it. Being in a brutal war with the wrath demons, committing various atrocities herself, and only realizing afterward that she had been manipulated, she really wants to get away. So when she finds out what type of passport she has she panics. Remember she's only 19 years old, and fought a decade of war from age 8, where it was the brutalist at the end. She decides to run from the spaceport leaving her past behind, as well as the passport and luggage. It's a stupid decision but again she's 19 years old.

She has two choices, and this is where I'd like to hear opinions on if these are good. The game will have a stealth mechanic, where sneaking past cameras comes in. The first section is sneaking past only a few cameras and then there's a choice. Continue sneaking past the cameras to get to the metro. Or sneak through the air ducts.

Since sneaking past the camera mechanic has been introduced and completed, it's not needed for the tutorial. But this will be the only option in the core game; the spicy DLC will have the air ducts.

Traveling through the air ducts will show that they haven't been maintained that well, and the metal fasteners between different air duct segments have worn down, in some cases, have broken free, and are poking up into the air duct. If the player isn't careful, they might find their clothing ripped, and they get to the metro station naked. I call this the hard start. There might also be some side passages to some cargo-holding areas, and who knows what she might find there.

What do you think about these two starting options?

Object-based inventory is another thing I thought about implementing, but it could be too tedious. What I mean is that the objects being worn can be used to carry stuff, but depending on the object will depend on what can be carried. For example, a set of denim shorts would only be able to carry a wallet and maybe a cell phone. While a shoulder bag could carry more. I'm thinking about adding it this way to add it with clothing/object destruction. If Meghan is fighting something and her shorts are destroyed, everything she was carrying in them would probably fall to the ground. Leaving her vulnerable to losing them. Any opinions on this?

A few dev reports ago, I talked about the male-female ratio. The funny thing about that is I found an article recently about the Y chromosome has been shrinking and withering because it doesn't undergo genetic recombination as the X chromosome does. Which might lead to a lack of viability in the future. This makes me go hmmm and I might just add this in as one of the reasons for the male-female ratio, besides being a dev who wants to stare more at certain anatomy than others.

This week's goals: