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August 31 Update (Patreon)

Published:
2025-08-31 17:00:10
Edited:
2025-08-31 18:37:58
Imported:
2026-06
Tags:

Content

Okay, I'm going to abbreviate the part about what I've been getting done in order to focus on stuff I'll be working on next. Brief reports:

Tons of things are done, like tweaking the first visit to Stineford and making the player visit Withered Mountain. Won't cover them all; see the next update notes for full accounting.

After consulting with optimizers on Discord, I've made a number of changes that make the investment system more forgiving. The math won't change the optimal route, but for those struggling, it will be easier to catch up.

DLC plans are taking steps forward, now I just need to figure out how to make Steam put new files in your folder. You would think this would be easy, but apparently not. =/ I'm going to start by adding an image to the Yarra's Thanks DLC as a test.

Future Tweaks

That said, I mostly want to talk about the stuff that is still under consideration. Just various things that could potentially add a little more polish before new players start experiencing TLS for the first time. Some are likely, some unlikely, and some could use player input.

1) I went to a lot of work to replace the game's music, for all the good it did, but two musical stings never got changed: the victory fanfare and the inn theme. Anyone think they're worth replacing? In theory it could show more attention to detail, but in practice I suspect no one will notice.

2) Another generic aspect is the battle backgrounds, which are mostly straight from the engine. I'm again inclined to think the change wouldn't have much effect, but I'm willing to put time into these if it makes the game more cohesive in a way that players enjoy (for example any of the maps where the options available to me just weren't a very good match). Some players have already offered little edits to make things more consistent, like removing electric lights.

3) Another element I've long considered changing is the balloon icons, since they're default assets seen in every game. Just replacing the icons wouldn't do much, but I've wondered if it would be possible to break open the current system to play animations that are larger than the base type? I'd need coding help on this, though.

4) I don't want to repeat the fetish talk from two weeks ago, but another thing I'd considered to make the game more comfortable for more people is to give Robin terminology options. Now, the core events wouldn't change, but I could potentially use a variable so that Robin doesn't use the word "father" after their decision. I'm willing to go through and change a bunch of lines... but someone would need to find all the instances. There are many normal/previous uses of "father" so it isn't as simple as just searching all the instances. Right now my feeling is that if someone else doesn't take that step upon themselves, it won't happen.

5) Wait, is that it? There are other things I'm doing, but none of those involve questions. So I guess this is an invitation for if people have been holding back on requests or suggestions. No guarantees, but I have time to listen.

I have some longer posts to do eventually (the time investment one, and another about TLS content after TLS), but I have been focused on work for multiple updates now. Work continues!

Comments

Drifted

My take on your earlier questions -- especially 1 and 2 -- is that the generic assets are generically fine for most people, and replacing them is only truly worthwhile if something about them bothers you the creator (say, the inn theme just doesn't fit well with your concept of the game world) or if you are confident that replacements you make or commission would be noticeably better than the existing assets. I don't know enough about RPGMaker to help with 3, and the issue raise in 4 doesn't bother me personally, so I also can't contribute with that question either I think. I do have one question of my own though: reading this post leaves me with the sense that the game is (barring future DLC) essentially content complete... is that indeed the case? I've been holding off playing and avoiding spoilers and the like since I first played through to the end of chapter 3, so I don't read every post here, and I am wondering if now is finally the moment to do a full play-through :) I'm not so worried about bugs and such; rather I just don't want to start playing through to the end of chapter 2, say, and then find out that something important was altered at the end of chapter 1, so that if I want the full experience I need to reload and replay from a much earlier save.

Revy77710

So far, I have only one suggestion that I absolutely wish would be in the game... buuut it would require work from Annikath, so I can clearly see how it might be too much to ask. Anyway: I would love a bunch of pictures sprinkled throughout the game which aint sex scenes. I'm at the beginning of Chapter 4, and so far, there was only one single picture: Vhala readying her bow. Well, the reason might be that there aren't any sex scenes with her (maybe), so she got a picture that way. But it would be so great so have a few key moments captured in a picture. Like Aka taking down the airship, or Yarra resisting the magic of the Incubus Emperor. Or when Varia throws the dynamite up a cliff into your party at the start, a picture from the front how she throws that thing into the camera. Basically, a picture for each char of the main cast, highlighting what this char is all about in one frame. I'm really into this stuff, like a sudden cutscene in 'Final Fantasy 9', where we see the chars in action in all their glory. Still, I can see how it's unfeasable, especially since the pictures for the sex scenes aren't done yet.

guillaume nguyen

Well I like the victory fanfare and the sleep music, so I don't see why they need to change. They accompanied us for ten years, might as well continue forever. Modifying the backgrounds would be an unexpected but welcome bonus. Slot perfectly is the 'not critical but always nice to have for the final version' ^^ Haven't seen any ballons in the game, so I assume it's a specific coding thing. Heh, if people don't want Robin to call Simon father despite the fact that they specifically discussed and agreed that their relation would be hollow without this facet, might as well let Robin call him Little Simon XDXDXD

AchtungNight

Are you also planning to change the way Nalili refers to Simon? You’d think people would have issues with that just like with Robin. Or does succubus culture fix the issue?

Revy77710

Huh... right, there was that. As someone who needed to adjust a bit when it comes to Robin, I never felt that way with Nalili. It mostly came off as some sort of 'Sugar-daddy' or so... like the playful "Who is your daddy?". Robin is like a daughter to Simon, and even if she is just an adopted daughter, the implication was family intern sex. And calling Simon 'Father' is like a playful reminder how wrong the whole situation is. But Nalili being like "Be my daddy!" never came off as an established family roll. Still, I can see now how it might rub some people the wrong way, but as you've said, the whole succubus culture might downplay the situation even more.

Revy77710

As far as I understand, the whole story is complete. The things that get added are missing art for the sex scenes. At the end of Chapter 3, there is a small information from Sierra that some sex scenes from Chapter 4 onward only have text without pictures, but that pictures will be added. In terms of story content, the game is done. The only things that get added/changed are small adjustments when it comes to invesments, like it's written here. And that a previous missable char won't be missable anymore. Everything else are adjustments to make the game more pretty or presentable, but when it comes to the overall story and how it flows, it stays as it is.

sierralee

The answer depends entirely on your definition of "something important" - nothing major is being changed in the early plot, and I probably won't do any more map remodels. The upcoming update is relatively minor stuff, from a tutorial book to making it harder to miss Altina. There might be a little incidental dialogue added, but I think most other things wouldn't even be noticed by many players.

sierralee

I'm glad people are enthusiastic about the game and its story, but yeah, this would just be adding a lot more content. Annikath already has over a year of work ahead of her!

sierralee

Balloons as in "word balloons" - this refers to the little bubbles over a character's head when they express silence or a heart or something.

sierralee

Not one person who has complained to me about Robin has had any issue with Nalili.

guillaume nguyen

Ah that. If you change them, it might be good to let them last a little longer too, I remember being forced to replay the votes of the council of Ardford a few times to see everyone reactions.

WaxerRed

Woah, really sounds like you are busy! Hope you are able to manage all the work well! If you are doing edits to the first trip to Stineford, made a suggestion on discord a bit back, perhaps a change to the generic Redlight mercenaries you meet in Devil's pass? Not Ivastan and his main two guys, but the background npcs with them that are in the cave. They mainly use the same two thug/bandit sprites and faces. Now that you have them, it would probably make better sense continuity wise to change them to use the same faces/sprites as the redlights we recruit in Hilstaria's in Chapter 5. Since she is supposed to recognize their armor on sight. ---- As for the 4 additional goals you had at the end, just to give my two cents I think unique balloon icons would probably be the ones I'd notice the most and say add the most polish, followed by the different victory and inn music stings. I typically tune out the combat backgrounds, and have no problems with Robin calling Simon father, so have no real input on those issues. --- As for last suggestions, maybe a way to buy the 4 unique crafting materials, liquid sex, Arcane Formation ect. A hefty 100,000 pron price for each making them hurt to have to buy, but prevent people from getting locked out. (Maybe even a stacking cost? First crafting item costs 50,000 pron, the next 100,000, then 150,000 ect. ---- Obscure ask, but would it be possible to swap the Pure Flower and Crystal of Stability in Vhala's request? You get the Pure Flower at 30 points in Vhala's request and you get the Crystal of Stabilty at the end orgy of the quest. I ask because currently there is a "wrong order" to using the Crystal of Stabilty, that a player would have no way of knowing. If you use your Crystal of Stabilty to make Ginasta's headband before Vhala's armor, then you won't be able to make Vhala's armor until AFTER Vhala's quest, but you can only upgrade Vhala's armor DURING her quest. And even if you do it the right order, Vhala's quest is best finished as one of the last things you do, meaning you likely won't get Ginasta's headband and 'neutral strike' until the very end. The pureflower on the other hand is used for the Final Potion, which is perfectly fine to get near the end of the freeroam. So having the rewards swap, would let you get that last Crystal of Stabilty a lot sooner, and save players from getting locked out of Vhala's upgraded unique armor, or having to wait until the last minute to get Ginasta's headband. ---- Last suggestion, and this one is more of a doozy, but maybe adding some more letters from Neranda during Chapter 4? When we meet her at the end of Chapter 3 she is pretty suspicious and reserved, we see nothing of her chapter 4, and in Chapter 5 she's asking for a baby. The game implies Simon and Neranda have been exchanging letters off screen, but it could help to show this. 2-3 during chapter 4 as Neranda gives her opinion and advice on various issues like the Ardford succession, Gawnfall, and the FL war.

sierralee

Sure, good continuity call about the Redlights. I think they only exist on the camp map, so I've replaced all except one worker guy. I don't know about letting players buy the items that were supposed to be unique, especially because I think lots of people would be happy to burn/cheat ProN at the end. Feels less special to be able to just buy them at the end. And on that note, it's been a while, but I'm fairly sure that the original intent with Vhala's upgrade was to make it locked behind upgrading it earlier. The extra crystal was a result of complaints, which kind of screwed that up. =/ I like the idea of more Neranda letters, but I'm so far removed from that portion of the game, it would take me a while both to find appropriate sections and get in the right mental continuity.

WaxerRed

Thanks for taking in my feedback! For Vhala's upgrade, I push for it because it falls in the category of what I feel like is optimization for optimzation's sake. Their isn't really any ingame clue that you'll miss out by making Ginasta's equipment before Vhala's. Plus opens up more freedom for player choice to be allowed to choose which one you get first, without having to worry about missing out on rewards. No worries on the Neranda letters, I can give you a reminder later on if you ever make a post about making those kinds of story tweaks.

Revy77710

Sorry again for the doublepost, but I have to ask about the whole "...make the investment system more forgiving.". I'm at the start of Chapter 4 and yeah, a bulk of investments are here. But what are the struggles? At first, I was kinda paranoid that I might screw anything up. Needless to say, I screwed up a bunch of stuff at the start of the game and later down the line. But what is the actual fear? What is the worst that can happen? I don't think you let the players play themselves into a wall and it doesn't feel that way... so far. There are consequences, yeah yeah... but the game still goes on. Is the problem that people might get stuck at one point or that they can't please any NPC with their problems? Even if you would lose a specific person (I thankfully didn't), the game goes on. The player might miss out on a bunch of bonus items and what not, but isn't the biggest loss of spending ProN unwise only story related stuff? Like yes, of course there are gameplay elements affected, but even here: the game goes on. I've had the idea about a playthrough with the worst decisions, only to see how beatable the game still is. Or how about this: What is the worst that could happen if you won't spend any ProN and don't use your percentage funds at all? Of course, it's not recommended, but just hypothetical, since this would lead to the worst possible outcome for everything.

sierralee

I didn't mean for it to be Vhala's equipment vs Ginasta's, I'm actually referring to the earlier choice of Balia's Orcsphere. The most likely change your nudging will cause is me taking away the option to make Vhala's upgrade late as you describe.

sierralee

You're discussing several things at once here. There are actually players who try "disaster runs" and make things as bad as possible, just to see all the consequences. Indeed, the game doesn't have any true dead ends based on such decisions. What I'm trying to improve is the player experience. Not everyone is as sanguine about the game as you are, and there are plenty of people posting, "Unless you follow a guide you end up with no money and everything is miserable and the game is awful." I don't really agree with this on a fundamental level, but I do think they're correct that some players can put themselves in a bad situation economically. With the changes made, people who made terrible investment choices can now dig themselves out of the hole.

Revy77710

Sanguine? Me? Quite the opposite. I have to ground myself with the thought and trust that you knew what you were doing when creating these choices. But in general, I'm still paranoid about messing things up big time, which is also one of the reasons why I asked. Yeah, people tend to throw this stuff around, which makes me questioning how true it is. And aren't missable things one of the game's strong points? Beating the game, gaining knowledge about what went wrong and playing it again with this knowledge. "...but I do think they're correct that some players can put themselves in a bad situation economically." Which still leaves the question: And what's so bad about it? What makes this bad spot so bad? Is it because some people wanna do mostly good things, but can't, since they lack the money? The fact that english isn't my native language puts in quite the barrier. ^^ I still hope that I could convey my point better.

sierralee

Well, one thing I think is valid is that the investments are a self-reinforcing cycle: you get profits to invest to get more profits. If someone doesn't turn a profit early on, their ability to correct is limited and they'll end up with a world filled with investments, barely able to afford one or two. I wanted players to have to make some difficult choices, but I understand how being locked out of so much could feel bad. The changes don't make the game easy, or get close to an optimized run, but they'll let the player engage with more choices.

Revy77710

"...but I understand how being locked out of so much could feel bad." Yeah, I think this might be the biggest factor. People want to experience everything and talk to every NPC and get out as much content of the game as possible. Well, it will get hard when content locks itself after some bad decisions and some quests or chars simply aren't there anymore. Still, it's one of the game's stongest points and it makes it so that everyone has a slightly different experience (as long as a guide isn't used), and keeping things vague ensures that nobody knows what might be the optimal investment or answer. At the cost of missing out on stuff, but here is another 'SaGa' comparison again: Playing through the whole game in an optimized run with every quest done might be possible, but it's highly unlikely and this isn't what this game is about anyway. The goal/aim of the game isn't to experience everything but to have a personalized run/experience So to conclude this, the fear is missing out on content, getting locked out of quests and even whole areas, if you lack the money. Thanks for making it more clear. :)

Rachnera

The way balloons work seem customizable (cf Sprite_Character#start_balloon and Sprite_Character#update_balloon)... but the fact most people, me included, had a hard time remembering these balloons even existing in the first place suggests it to be a non-optimal investment even at a meager Pron cost. Likewise, I'm not convinced new battle backgrounds would have much of an impact. https://himeworks.com/rmvxa-scripts/ has a few potential cool scripts (like https://himeworks.com/2013/11/battle-sprite-zooming/) but I'm not expecting anything revolutionary there either. In general, law of diminishing returns seems to be in full effect by this point of the dev process. Not sure there are any "easy" changes left that would significantly improve the experience of new or veteran players.

sierralee

Thanks for looking into things! You may be right... I have a number of QoL or minor polishing things ready for the upcoming build, but after that I may be out of things to meaningfully change.