Amber development

[jack1974]

Also, qs.: the various love interests--do their alignments change w/ Amber interacting w/ them? Or vice versa? And do their alignments alone affect the endings or does Amber's also play a role in such?

Yes that's probably the most "tricky" thing (even if in reality is simple): both Amber and the characters have their own individual alignment which changes based on Amber's choice.

But since Amber can talk with other people, it could happen like this:
- when Amber talks with Ruby ALWAYS pick Dark choices = Ruby Dark+
- when Amber talks with Lynn ALWAYS pick Light choices = Lynn Light+

I need to explain this thing in a clear way in the game

Are you going to capitalize the tiers? Tier 1, Tier 2, etc.?

Since in the GUI buttons are, probably better to do it in the text too

You said you had to trim some words to fit on the screen. If this is too long, trim the "the"s I added in the second sentence.

Thanks. No what I meant is that the current texts fit. But if you do any changes it shouldn't expand the existing text too much!

I don't follow what you mean by "required item(s) amount)" here. Is this the recipe item? Or is it talking about a quality requirement? Depending on which, you may not even need this sentence.

Yes you pick a recipe, and set a quantity, with autocrafting the game will try to pick the ingredients combining them in a way so that each item has the maximum quality possible.

I don't get what you mean by "and will be like Amber light or dark" so I was unable to edit it. Are you talking about your specific interaction with that character? It's phrased like it's a copy of Amber's current alignment.

I mean that even the other characters have a Light/Dark alignment system, not just Amber. So "like Amber" means a system identical to Amber's one

[Troyen]

Ok, how about these?

(Recipes Screen 4/5) "This system will always try to craft the required item(s) amount with the available ingredients" - I don't follow what you mean by "required item(s) amount)" here. Is this the recipe item? Or is it talking about a quality requirement? Depending on which, you may not even need this sentence.

Change to: "This system will try to craft the highest quality items with the available ingredients."

"Status Screen (3/3)\n\nLastly you can see the relationship and alignment of each love interest.\nThe relationship will increase as you talk with them and later in the game go out on dates.\nAlignment will change based on the game's choices, and will be like Amber light or dark.\n\nThat's all you need to know!"

"Status Screen (3/3)\n\nLastly you can see the relationship and alignment of each love interest.\nA character's relationship meter will increase as you talk with them and go out on dates.\nEach character's alignment will change based on your choices for that character.\n\nThat's all you need to know!"

I'm not entirely sure this last screen's tutorial is necessary, but you know your audience better.

I'll still need a UI screenshot or something to understand Recipes Screen (3/5).

[jack1974]

Well I prefer to overdo tutorials so that even newbie of dating sims know everything
Related to the recipes 3/5 this screenshot should be useful:

[Troyen]

Ok, how about using the actual button names:

Automatic Low Quality will craft the recipe using the lowest quality ingredients, while Automatic High Quality will do the opposite.

[jack1974]

OK thanks will change the texts based on your suggestions so far

[jack1974]

And the tutorial part is done. Now comes the hardest part, code the full simulation gameplay. I'll need to add places to visit, various activities, tasks, random events, etc. Not the biggest part (that was designing all the items/recipes and took me almost 2 months last year!!!) but for sure the most tricky to get "right".

[Troyen]

Slightly less spoilery version:

"You're on your own now! You're free to explore the town and discover new things to do. Before you get your alchemist's license, your options will be limited. Later on, you'll have access to additional places, recipes, and activities, and you'll even be able to build your own shop!"

[jack1974]

Haha OK, it's also shorter, so better I think by the time that screen appears players will have already enough of reading tutorial texts!

[BobTheMob]

Now comes the hardest part, code the full simulation gameplay. I'll need to add places to visit, various activities, tasks, random events, etc. Not the biggest part (that was designing all the items/recipes and took me almost 2 months last year!!!) but for sure the most tricky to get "right".

Sooooooo... About how long will that take, Jack?

I know I sound impatient and sincerely apologize for such; it's just that this being apparently so close to ready has me so. Damn. HYPED!!!!

[jack1974]

I'll have a better idea next week, I am honestly not sure. This is one of those tasks that you cannot really say "will take XYZ days/hours". I have no idea at all. That's why I decided to stop announcing games in public, in many cases it's impossible to know how long a task will take, if it's something new like this