Devlog Nov. 7 - Body TF rework and new Cosmetics Event animation (Patreon)

Hey, it's Sifa :D

As you might know, I put a cool TF animation on the banner which is not actually in the game... I was trying to show that Shuffle Me is a game about Transformation, but that confused people a lot xD

I made a poll about this, and you all overwhelmingly voted to see more extreme transformations in the game, so we've started working on that.

Obviously, I want to make that an actual gameplay situation (or several situations) with some mechanics to overcome or "cure" it afterwards. The thing is that extreme transformations are thrilling, but after them you lose the point of playing, kind of. Especially considering that I'm a fan of slow transformation and design the game in this direction. It's possible to add extreme transformations without breaking slow progression though. However, that means we need to rework the TF systems in the game more.

In the current build of Shuffle Me, our body TF system works with 2 parts. First, your HP is your TF: when you get hit in combat- you get transformed. The other part is what we call "perks": The upgrades of your body that decide the transformation limits. In the end, to look 100% feminine you have to upgrade all the "perks", then take 100% TF damage to max out everything (which is almost certainly a loss). I don't like it anymore XD

Body TF changes

Our first change makes HP a new stat that's no longer connected to body TF. We have plenty of systems that are better suited for transformation, like events, gender experience, clothes, etc. Also this change alone would make the transformation more stable and visible even when you're fully healed, since that's a huge problem in the current build.

Next, we're adding body cards. All body parts that can be TF'd will get their own cards that can be used in combat, though they may be covered by clothes and cosmetics. For example, lipstick covers lips, t-shirts cover waist and chest, crop tops only cover the chest, and so on. It's basically a better "exposure" system. Some items will be revealing (mini skirts showing the legs, crop-tops showing the waist), while some other items like transparent tights or no-cup bra will be exposing (showing boobs or penises), and of course, undressing clothes by playing them will also expose body parts.

Opponents will experience Body Transformations as they did before, generally when they're damaged. We're still keeping flexibility for opponents with and without TF during combat, so we'll continue to have both.

Events and Combat

All of that adds a lot of opportunities for both roleplay and gameplay. And I have to change/add some events anyway, so the time has come.

I still want to stick to the main idea of the game "A male becomes more feminine". It seems obvious that for an unprepared guy, having exposed boobs should be quite a stressful situation, but gaining experience with that will make that stress easier to overcome. It means that most of the body cards will be quite negative to player, though the more experience you get the less punishing they become. The experience will be gained from those "revealing" and "exposing" cards, including exposed body parts themselves.

To continue with exposure system, let's say a "flash panties" action card can get a unique effect that exposes your panties without removing your bottom item, to get the benefits of your panties straight away :D We're thinking of similar checks for events that are based on how much skin you show off and how feminine you look, so characters can behave differently :D

And obviously - it'll make it possible to make temporary or permanent extreme transformations (like on the banner or on this gif)

With these changes I can simply add body TF directly, rather than upgrading perks and reducing your current HP. If I want to make the player look way more feminine after they lose a combat, I just pick a set of new body parts for them and that's all :D If I want to make a temporary effect, I can save the player's body state before the transformation, then load it back after the curse has ended. Both of these situations already cover the top picks from the poll :D

Anyway, I'm currently waiting for Devoidex to implement most of these changes on the code side. Body cards are already implemented, so the TF system itself is reworked, but event modules aren't ready yet. That and we have other adjustments to make for "separated" HP...

While I'm waiting, I'm preparing more animations. I thought that it's time to make a few unique events and situations related to cosmetics, so this event is going to be a good start :D
(in the game it'll look a little better because we handle the visual layering on the code side rather than in animation app)