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dardamex

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Current Version:



Here's v0.10 of a game I've been working on for a while. Right now it only contains the prologue and the first chapter, which is meant mainly to introduce the characters and world as well as set-up the story, though it does contain four hentai scenes near the end of the first chapter. This part of the game might give you the impression that the game is like Dragon Quest or Final Fantasy in that you go from town to town but it isn't. The city introduced in the next chapter is where most of the game will take place and where the bulk of the content will be located. Right now the game lasts roughly an hour.

I started this project because I like RPGs, I like hentai, I like hentai-RPGs, and I enjoy tinkering with RPG Maker, but mainly I began it because I've been fairly disappointed with nearly every H-RPG since Virgin Island. They've usually felt like fairly cheap cash-grabs, that the hentai content was added in at the last moment, and/or were extremely linear and limited, with very little choice ever given to the player.

As a one-man team I can't say this game will have a ton of unique branches but I do plan on giving the player a fair bit of choice. The main story will likely remain linear, otherwise the chance of me ever completing this would probably drop down to zero, but the way I'm currently planning it, you will have a lot of freedom of how Nori spends her free time in between story events and, depending on how ambitious I'm feeling at the time of creating the particular scene, you may have the ability to choose whether Nori has sex or not during the story and if not, finding a quick alternative route.

Also, I am extremely crappy when it comes to math and all things involving numbers. As such, expect fairly shitty balance overall when it comes to battles, with them likely either being extremely easy or very difficult.

For the images I'm using Yuusha Digital Poser from Illusion. I've went with it for a few reasons:
1) I absolutely love the Sefi model.
2) The controls are really simple and intuitive, which allows me to pose the characters almost any way I want with little frustration.
3) It's the only poser that I know of that combines easy to use controls and fantasy-esque character models.
4) It isn't 3D Custom Girl... which I really hate.

However, Yuusha comes with some rather annoying limitations, specifically:
1) No breast(s) 'joint(s)', which is to say that the breasts just sorta flap around by themselves and you have no control over them. This might not sound bad but, personally, I really, really, *really* love paizuris. While they're still doable with some camera angle trickery, they won't look particularly great.
2) There's a fairly slim selection of female models to choose from. I was able to match up models to the three main women of the game, so this isn't too much of a problem for me, but I did want to include some scenes with the twins' mom but sadly no model matched, so I had to scrap the idea.
3) Speaking of the girls, there's no outfit selection. While there is a few mods that add in additional clothes, they aren't plentiful and very few are for the main character model I'm using, Sefi.
4) There's only one normal male model, which can't be duplicated. So, expect nearly every male to suddenly become a young, slim, redheaded guy in the sex scenes (though I'll try to hide his head as best I can). The game does come with an item called a 'mosaic stick' which can double as a penis, which is what I've been using for scenes with multiple guys; so again, this is a problem with a workaround.

I just want to give fair warning: I'm a fairly lazy person. It took me roughly three months just to get this much done. While I'll definitely squash bugs as they crop up, I'm not entirely sure when the next content update will be done. For starters, I want to finish up the main Arcanum map and some of the smaller ones involved with it and I want it to look as good and unique as possible, so I'm thinking of trying my hand at parallax mapping, which I've never done before, so I don't know how long that'll take.

After I finish up those maps, though, I should hopefully be able to get out decent content update once per month.

Feedback/criticism I'm looking for:
- How good you thought the writing was, if the quality dropped in any place, any consistent issues, typos, and all that.
- What you thought of the dungeon maps, if they were too long, too boring, encounter rate too high, etc.
- What you thought of normal maps, if they looked too generic and small, too artificial, or what have you.
- What you thought of the hentai scenes, if they were too short, awkward, out place, or anything like that.
- What you thought of the hentai pictures, if the angles were weird, if they weren't clear enough, and stuff like that.
- What you thought of the cutscenes, if they were too static, had weird movement, were boring, and the like.
- Bugs and glitches.

To finish up this long, rambling post, here's some stuff that still needs polishing:
- Maybe re-make the castle. Right now I'm using a modified pre-made map that came preloaded with RPG Maker VX Ace for it. It's functional but I don't think it really fits with the style of the other house maps. It's also pretty bland and somewhat small for the ruling family of the continent.
- Add in a few sections where the player controls only Hiro, first as he looks for Nori and then again later as he's sneaking around the castle for supplies.
- Mess around with the music. Right now, the game is extremely inconsistent with what scenes use music and which don't. RPG Maker's selection of music is fairly limited and repetitive, which is one of the reasons why I didn't much bother. I've been thinking of using music from JRPGs (particularly Chrono Cross and Xenogears) but that'd definitely bloat the file size of the game.
- Balance the encounter rate, the amount of EXP given, and enemy stats. I'm fairly horrible at this sort of thing so if anyone would like to lend a hand, I'd be grateful.
- Upscale the graphic backgrounds, like the ones during battle. I'm using a RPG Maker script that increases the game's resolution, so now the standard backgrounds don't fill the entire screen.

Final Note: Make sure to save before agreeing to go with Reiko at the end. That scene is what will ultimately transition into the next part of the game.
 
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ZhouTai

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Re: Duality [In Progress]

Will certainly report to you after a good session
 

Zodiark69

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Re: Duality [In Progress]

Already found a bug. When you save Jun, and bug Big Green, the game glitches you onto the bookcase. x.x
 

RobertPaulsen

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Re: Duality [In Progress]

Well for a start the frequency of the random encounters is frustrating, being able to walk only 5 steps before having to fight another rat is annoying.
And then there's the bookcase glitch that Zodiark mentioned.
 
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dardamex

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Re: Duality [In Progress]

Already found a bug. When you save Jun, and bug Big Green, the game glitches you onto the bookcase. x.x
Fixed. Thanks for reporting it. Problem was how I had the previous scene set-up; Nori, Hiro, and Reiko would walk towards the house and the scene would fate out and transfer the player into the next scene. What happened was that Nori wasn't completing her move route before the transfer, so she'd continue it into the next scene.

The fixed scene looks a bit crappy now but I'll fix it later, it's not of vital importance right now.

Well for a start the frequency of the random encounters is frustrating, being able to walk only 5 steps before having to fight another rat is annoying.
And then there's the bookcase glitch that Zodiark mentioned.
Okay, I've messed around with the encounter rate and lowered it. I also upped the EXP gains to balance it out, so that you aren't under-leveled when you reach the goblin boss battle. Ideally you should be at around level 8 - 10 for that battle, so for any one playing it, please report if you're too over-leveled or under-leveled for it, I'll try to tweak the EXP gains further to balance it.

v0.12:
 

fox

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Re: Duality [In Progress]

report -> At the very begining, when you take controle, i went back the mage's room but could not get out of this room

(should add a skip option for the introduction and dialog, it will help other tester)
 
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dardamex

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Re: Duality [In Progress]

report -> At the very begining, when you take controle, i went back the mage's room but could not get out of this room

(should add a skip option for the introduction and dialog, it will help other tester)
Thanks. I actually had something in place to stop you from going back into Nori's arcane lab but forgot to set its event conditions. I'll upload a new version either after a few more bug fixes or near the end of the day.

As for skipping the intro, I'll look into it. My fear is that everyone will skip it and miss a ton of lore that becomes important later, once the main plot starts.
 

fox

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Re: Duality [In Progress]

-> Good for the arcane.
-> also, same thing about the frequency of ennemies
-> some dialog are to be corrected (problem, i don't remember where)
-> In the village some people say nothing
-> The maid sleeps with the elder (it seems strange to me to have a servant in such a small village)


well, for the skip, i was just thinking about the testers that will have to see al of it for each new version. But if you put it on a final version people will skip it for shur and not because it's bad (which it's not).

More because of the set up, in a game, you are not in a book so forcing people into one path like in a book will make them loose attention and ability to interact.

To maintain the attention, the key information should be found on the playground (reward player that look for it ^ ^) wheras the cinematics should be restricted to history.

If the gameplay is good then the player might look those cinematics.



Keep positiv mindset and you are good to finish it ^^
 

Sangoku25

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Re: Duality [In Progress]

Is this the end where you can get XD in the village by the village's oldest money?
the off there does not go out into the forest ec. ^ ^
 
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dardamex

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Re: Duality [In Progress]

-> some dialog are to be corrected (problem, i don't remember where)
Do you mean typos or something else?

-> In the village some people say nothing
Do you mean the ones that are moving around? If so, I don't know how to make them both move in a specific way and talk to you at the same time, so I decided to just make them move in order to make the map look a bit more lively and less static.

-> The maid sleeps with the elder (it seems strange to me to have a servant in such a small village)
That's intentional. It was meant to hint that he's not quite as pure as he comes off as. I plan on allowing you to return there later as there'll be more optional scenes with Toru, the exiled villager, but I also wanted to leave open the possibility of a scene or two with the elder.

The village isn't quite as small as it looks. As explained in the game, it's actually part of a series of settlements throughout the forest, with this one being the 'main' one where the elder lives, who helps to govern and keep order throughout them. I could have definitely been more clear about that, though.

well, for the skip, i was just thinking about the testers that will have to see al of it for each new version. But if you put it on a final version people will skip it for shur and not because it's bad (which it's not).
Ah, yeah, that makes more sense. A simple skip for testers would be fairly easy to do, so I'll look into implementing it.
 
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dardamex

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Re: Duality [In Progress]

Is this the end where you can get XD in the village by the village's oldest money?
the off there does not go out into the forest ec. ^ ^
I'm not entirely sure what you mean. Could you clarify?

If you're asking where the game currently ends, it ends when you decide to leave with Reiko, the blue haired woman, and get on the horse and carriage with her.
 

krisslanza

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Re: Duality [In Progress]

Just what is this game about, anyway? I read the OP and I can't actually see much to say what the game is really about... other then being an H-RPG made in RPG Maker, of course.
 

Lux

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Re: Duality [In Progress]

I'm really liking your game so far. The story is great and kept me interested all the way through. The h-scenes are in the right places and are of the right length for me. HCG is excellent.

The combat system however does feel a bit antiquated. If you're planning to include lots of combat, spicing it up a bit would very much benefit the game. Clothing destruction and hcg during combat are some of the things I like in these types of games, but more interesting enemies and spells would also go a long way. For example, fighting lots of enemies with no aoe capabilities many times over felt tedious.

I ended up running away from most encounters and was level 6 or 7 when meeting the ogre. I managed to kill him on the second try with heavy use of potions and sleep. He is of the right difficulty I feel.

Looking forward to the continuation.
 
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dardamex

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Re: Duality [In Progress]

Just what is this game about, anyway? I read the OP and I can't actually see much to say what the game is really about... other then being an H-RPG made in RPG Maker, of course.
Essentially you're a mage who messes up a spell and transforms into a girl. You thus then embark on an adventure to change back. Gameplay-wise it plays a lot like Virgin Island and ScaleGarden's games than anything else I can think of.
 
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dardamex

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Re: Duality [In Progress]

I'm really liking your game so far. The story is great and kept me interested all the way through. The h-scenes are in the right places and are of the right length for me. HCG is excellent.
Thanks. Writing is about the only thing I'm particularly good at.

The combat system however does feel a bit antiquated. If you're planning to include lots of combat, spicing it up a bit would very much benefit the game. Clothing destruction and hcg during combat are some of the things I like in these types of games, but more interesting enemies and spells would also go a long way. For example, fighting lots of enemies with no aoe capabilities many times over felt tedious.
I don't plan on having a lot of combat because I agree, combat is fairly dull. A lot of this comes down to RPG Maker itself -- the pre-built battle system that comes with it is very simple and antiquated. Unless you can script a new system to replace it, you're pretty much stuck with it. I'm not even a half-way decent program scripter, so the best I can do is look around the Internet and see if anyone has a decent new battle system script that's free to use.

As for clothing destruction and scenes during combat, they're doable and I've thought about it, but I'm not sure how well I could pull it off. The character model I'm using only has three states of dress -- full/normal, top pulled up & bottom pulled to side, and fully nude.

I ended up running away from most encounters and was level 6 or 7 when meeting the ogre. I managed to kill him on the second try with heavy use of potions and sleep. He is of the right difficulty I feel.
Nori gets her first AOE spell at, I think, level 10 (a flame attack that hits all) but I can definitely move it up to level 5 or 6. Right now, outside of changing some skill names to fit the lore better, I haven't really messed with the pre-built skill progression or how they work. As I've said, I'm fairly crappy with math and pretty much anything related to numbers.
 

krisslanza

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Re: Duality [In Progress]

Essentially you're a mage who messes up a spell and transforms into a girl. You thus then embark on an adventure to change back. Gameplay-wise it plays a lot like Virgin Island and ScaleGarden's games than anything else I can think of.
I got that impression based on the name, but I wasn't 100% sure.

Your 'adventure' through this process reminds me of my own. I was going to try making a game with a friend, but we're both writers not coders or artists... this naturally presents massive problems when working with the fact that, well, RPGMaker kind of requires a mixture of all 3 to really get it going.
 
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dardamex

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Re: Duality [In Progress]

I got that impression based on the name, but I wasn't 100% sure.

Your 'adventure' through this process reminds me of my own. I was going to try making a game with a friend, but we're both writers not coders or artists... this naturally presents massive problems when working with the fact that, well, RPGMaker kind of requires a mixture of all 3 to really get it going.
Yeah, I know what you mean. I've started quite a few projects before this one but they've all sizzled out due to either not being able to create quite the game I wanted because of me sucking at scripting or due to the fact that I couldn't create any pictures to go along with the scenes (or trying to create scenes with 3D Custom Girl and failing).

For creating pictures, though, there's now a couple of decent posers you can use. If you're looking to create something modern, Illusion's Premium Play Darkness has a character generator and a poser with a lot of built-in poses. Its clothing selection isn't great and you can only use a few pre-made males.
 

krisslanza

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Re: Duality [In Progress]

Yeah, I know what you mean. I've started quite a few projects before this one but they've all sizzled out due to either not being able to create quite the game I wanted because of me sucking at scripting or due to the fact that I couldn't create any pictures to go along with the scenes (or trying to create scenes with 3D Custom Girl and failing).

For creating pictures, though, there's now a couple of decent posers you can use. If you're looking to create something modern, Illusion's Premium Play Darkness has a character generator and a poser with a lot of built-in poses. Its clothing selection isn't great and you can only use a few pre-made males.
I originally tried to learn 3DCG, but got annoyed at the fact I couldn't figure anything out, and the default selection of outfits annoyed me. And I couldn't for the life of me, figure out how to navigate Hongfire's 3DCG catalog of stuff.

I've tried commissioning artwork, but that's not only expensive, but artists have a tendency to kinda disappear...
 
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dardamex

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Re: Duality [In Progress]

I originally tried to learn 3DCG, but got annoyed at the fact I couldn't figure anything out, and the default selection of outfits annoyed me. And I couldn't for the life of me, figure out how to navigate Hongfire's 3DCG catalog of stuff.
Same. Yuusha Digital has its controls set-up so that if you hold down A while moving something, it only rotates left to right, hold down S and it only rotates up and down (or something like that). 3D Custom Girl doesn't seem to have anything like that, instead you have to move with very slow precision to get stuff in the position you want. Plus, 3DCG has way too many joints.

I could also never find the mods I wanted, and half the time when I did find something I liked, it'd rely on another mod that I couldn't find or that conflicted with something else.

I've tried commissioning artwork, but that's not only expensive, but artists have a tendency to kinda disappear...
I've never tried going down that route. I'd imagine getting art done for a large scale game/one with a lot of events would cost an arm and a leg.
 

krisslanza

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Re: Duality [In Progress]

Same. Yuusha Digital has its controls set-up so that if you hold down A while moving something, it only rotates left to right, hold down S and it only rotates up and down (or something like that). 3D Custom Girl doesn't seem to have anything like that, instead you have to move with very slow precision to get stuff in the position you want. Plus, 3DCG has way too many joints.

I could also never find the mods I wanted, and half the time when I did find something I liked, it'd rely on another mod that I couldn't find or that conflicted with something else.
I guess it didn't help that I was first thinking of a medieval-era game using practical armor, and then a dark age one too... it's hard to find proper chainmail and such for girls.


I've never tried going down that route. I'd imagine getting art done for a large scale game/one with a lot of events would cost an arm and a leg.
It certainly can. Artists will typically cut you a deal if you order in bulk though. It's still expensive though, yes. Particularly if you plan for a lot of scenes. And there's always the issue if the artist can produce art as much as you need, and being able to retain them.

Real life has a bad habit of getting in the way, and then if you have a bunch of art from them already and need more... I guess it's why Monmosu was a collab effort. It meant Torotoro didn't have to worry about different artists.
 
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