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The information below is for testers, but anyone with bug reports, suggestions, feature requests, etc is of course welcome to post here.
Thanks for offering to help test the game. I hope you enjoy playing it despite it's imperfect state! I'm eager to hear feedback and criticism on pretty much every aspect of the game, but especially the following:
1. Gameplay
I think this is the most important thing, because if the core gameplay isn't fun who will care that the characters can be customized? Testers, please play the game and tell me honestly what you think. What aspects are fun and what aspects could be more fun? How is the difficulty? What things would you do to improve it? Of course please report any bugs you encounter.
2. Customization
Please mess around with the customization features; there's bound to be plenty of bugs and issues I haven't considered. You don't need to create content you would ever share with others. Just play around and see if you can do the things you're supposed to be able to do. Try creating a character or two and writing a little bit of story for her. Again, what you write doesn't have to be anything serious, but see if things really work.
3. Story & writing
Please give me constructive criticism on the story and the writing for the built-in characters. What do you think of the characters? If there are bits that you think should be rewritten for any reason, please don't hesitate to tell me. I realize some of the story (including the premise) may be corny, so maybe you have suggestions on how it could be better? Of course also report any bad spelling or typos or anything else that's off.
4. Documentation
Is the help file which explains how to do all the customization stuff easy to read and easy to understand? Please tell me if any parts aren't clear. I want the customization process to be easy and fun as much as possible.
5. Any other suggestions you have!
Don't hold back. If you have something to say which could help me improve the game I want to hear it.
07-01-2011
Well it seems that nobody yet has gotten a good ending (a non-generic ending). This tells me that it might be too difficult or maybe unfair?
A good ending requires:
1. The character is in a state of Love or Lovesick
2. You have completed her story route
Everyone seems to be doing well with the first requirement.
The second requirement is tricky because you have to make some correct choices along the way AND some of those choices require that you pass an attribute check. Attribute checks are in multiples of 10; either 20, 30, 40, or 50. (So if you get an attribute up to 50, you'll pass any checks involving it in story events)
I suppose the problem is that it's not clear what attribute checks are coming up for a given character. Also, with the longer stories, you might simply be running out of time to complete them.
For the next release I'm going to make it a little easier to pass attribute checks by making it easier to raise attributes. I might also add a means of getting in-game hints for characters.
07-05-2011
I didn't intend to put out a new release so soon, but there really have been a sleugh of bug reports and changes in the last two days. Testers, please grab the new release (v0.4).
I should have mentioned this earlier but if you encounter a serious bug I'd be greatly appreciative if you can send me a save file prior to the bug's occurrence. The game autosaves each day during the status screen where you can spend orbs so you can use that file. There are a few bugs that have been reported now which I've not able to reproduce and seeing the save file could help me out a ton.
08-01-2011
I can see myself tweaking this game and adding new features for awhile to come, or for as long as people are interested in it, but I'll stop calling it a beta when we get to the point where any new releases will not render saves and records incompatible. There are still a few changes I'm considering that could possibly do that.
Here's some of the ideas for new features in consideration:
- "mental notes" about a character can be reviewed
- generic event for walking to school together
- support for BxB (only if there is interest)
- support for dual character endings
- Mouse support
- additional mini-games
The top two of those will likely make it into the game in the near future.
08-21-2011
The new version, among other things, finally fixes the "script is hanging" error which people with slow computer sometimes encounter after the ending before or during the credits roll. Well, I think I fixed it. If anyone still gets that error at the end of the game, please let me know! I don't have any older computers around the house with which to test it on.
Thanks for offering to help test the game. I hope you enjoy playing it despite it's imperfect state! I'm eager to hear feedback and criticism on pretty much every aspect of the game, but especially the following:
1. Gameplay
I think this is the most important thing, because if the core gameplay isn't fun who will care that the characters can be customized? Testers, please play the game and tell me honestly what you think. What aspects are fun and what aspects could be more fun? How is the difficulty? What things would you do to improve it? Of course please report any bugs you encounter.
2. Customization
Please mess around with the customization features; there's bound to be plenty of bugs and issues I haven't considered. You don't need to create content you would ever share with others. Just play around and see if you can do the things you're supposed to be able to do. Try creating a character or two and writing a little bit of story for her. Again, what you write doesn't have to be anything serious, but see if things really work.
3. Story & writing
Please give me constructive criticism on the story and the writing for the built-in characters. What do you think of the characters? If there are bits that you think should be rewritten for any reason, please don't hesitate to tell me. I realize some of the story (including the premise) may be corny, so maybe you have suggestions on how it could be better? Of course also report any bad spelling or typos or anything else that's off.
4. Documentation
Is the help file which explains how to do all the customization stuff easy to read and easy to understand? Please tell me if any parts aren't clear. I want the customization process to be easy and fun as much as possible.
5. Any other suggestions you have!
Don't hold back. If you have something to say which could help me improve the game I want to hear it.
07-01-2011
Well it seems that nobody yet has gotten a good ending (a non-generic ending). This tells me that it might be too difficult or maybe unfair?
A good ending requires:
1. The character is in a state of Love or Lovesick
2. You have completed her story route
Everyone seems to be doing well with the first requirement.
The second requirement is tricky because you have to make some correct choices along the way AND some of those choices require that you pass an attribute check. Attribute checks are in multiples of 10; either 20, 30, 40, or 50. (So if you get an attribute up to 50, you'll pass any checks involving it in story events)
I suppose the problem is that it's not clear what attribute checks are coming up for a given character. Also, with the longer stories, you might simply be running out of time to complete them.
For the next release I'm going to make it a little easier to pass attribute checks by making it easier to raise attributes. I might also add a means of getting in-game hints for characters.
07-05-2011
I didn't intend to put out a new release so soon, but there really have been a sleugh of bug reports and changes in the last two days. Testers, please grab the new release (v0.4).
I should have mentioned this earlier but if you encounter a serious bug I'd be greatly appreciative if you can send me a save file prior to the bug's occurrence. The game autosaves each day during the status screen where you can spend orbs so you can use that file. There are a few bugs that have been reported now which I've not able to reproduce and seeing the save file could help me out a ton.
08-01-2011
I can see myself tweaking this game and adding new features for awhile to come, or for as long as people are interested in it, but I'll stop calling it a beta when we get to the point where any new releases will not render saves and records incompatible. There are still a few changes I'm considering that could possibly do that.
Here's some of the ideas for new features in consideration:
- "mental notes" about a character can be reviewed
- generic event for walking to school together
- support for BxB (only if there is interest)
- support for dual character endings
- Mouse support
- additional mini-games
The top two of those will likely make it into the game in the near future.
08-21-2011
The new version, among other things, finally fixes the "script is hanging" error which people with slow computer sometimes encounter after the ending before or during the credits roll. Well, I think I fixed it. If anyone still gets that error at the end of the game, please let me know! I don't have any older computers around the house with which to test it on.
Posts 
dude797
127
dude797
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CloseAlrite sounds easy enough. I know about the profile thing. For the release there would had been a nice warning saying you needed to download Masako and 21 before this one.
Another possible work-around is to rename, and replace the references of, "bacon story.txt", to "bacon_story.txt". A temporary measure until the parsing error gets fixed, of course.
dude797
127
about the help screen idea, the beauty of having a static image is that we (or I) can add more boxes or more modify it as needed without going through the hassle of scripting it in. Also, you can circumvent any rpg maker limitations (better, fancier fonts, for instance).
At the very least, I think the heartache meter and obtaining phone numbers should be included, because it took me a few play test to understand how those systems worked.
At the very least, I think the heartache meter and obtaining phone numbers should be included, because it took me a few play test to understand how those systems worked.
In that case it might be best to have at least two different help screens. One that explains the school phase, and one that explains phone calls and the heartache counter. Possibly one that explains city locations too.
Here's the icons for the school map: icons.zip
If you like you can take a first crack at it and I'll tell you what I think should be revised. I have this sort of layout in mind:
------------------------------------------------
The school day ends when you reach the end of the board. For the most part you will advance a random number of spaces at a time, but items can be used to go backwards or forwards a set number of spaces.
Ending your movement on an icon will trigger an effect. Some of the more common ones include the following:
Girl (girl) - A story event will occur.
Decision (two-way arrow) - Go either forwards or backwards a set number of spaces.
Chance (question mark) - Something unpredictable will affect you in a small way.
Item (item) - Obtain a movement item.
Bug (bug) - Get sick for the rest of the day. Avoid these if you can!
Blast (blast) - Get pushed backwards or forwards 10 spaces.
Certain icons may walk around the board randomly or even approach you if you "Wait". You might be able to find strategic uses for this.
If you like you can take a first crack at it and I'll tell you what I think should be revised. I have this sort of layout in mind:
------------------------------------------------
The school day ends when you reach the end of the board. For the most part you will advance a random number of spaces at a time, but items can be used to go backwards or forwards a set number of spaces.
Ending your movement on an icon will trigger an effect. Some of the more common ones include the following:
Girl (girl) - A story event will occur.
Decision (two-way arrow) - Go either forwards or backwards a set number of spaces.
Chance (question mark) - Something unpredictable will affect you in a small way.
Item (item) - Obtain a movement item.
Bug (bug) - Get sick for the rest of the day. Avoid these if you can!
Blast (blast) - Get pushed backwards or forwards 10 spaces.
Certain icons may walk around the board randomly or even approach you if you "Wait". You might be able to find strategic uses for this.
It's not "Blast", it's totally mR. sATurN!
On a more serious note, there might be something like:
"Move" will move your character a random number of spaces forward.
For the phone screen, we could have:
The "phone screen" is basically a status screen for the characters you have meet during the course of the game. While it's possible to make calls during "phone phase", you must discover phone numbers to call. This is done either by asking a character for a horoscope (which, if successful, can be later followed up to ask for a phone number), or it can be given to you via an event.
I know the above is a tad wordy, but that's just the information about phone calls. There's still how Mental Notes work, what the Heartache counter does, Affection level, or even what affinity bar (or whatever that bar is called) represents. There's a lot of pertinent information on the phone screen! Note, also, that I'm doing my best to be gender-neutral, as custom character content allows for guys to be dated!
On a more serious note, there might be something like:
"Move" will move your character a random number of spaces forward.
For the phone screen, we could have:
The "phone screen" is basically a status screen for the characters you have meet during the course of the game. While it's possible to make calls during "phone phase", you must discover phone numbers to call. This is done either by asking a character for a horoscope (which, if successful, can be later followed up to ask for a phone number), or it can be given to you via an event.
I know the above is a tad wordy, but that's just the information about phone calls. There's still how Mental Notes work, what the Heartache counter does, Affection level, or even what affinity bar (or whatever that bar is called) represents. There's a lot of pertinent information on the phone screen! Note, also, that I'm doing my best to be gender-neutral, as custom character content allows for guys to be dated!
dude797
127
The real trick here is balancing out information without overwhelming the user. I know if I see a whole paragraph in a help screen, I probably won't read it.
That said, flowerthief, do you want me to use the exact descriptions you laid out, or can I play around with it? To me it sounded a bit too formal.
for example, for Bug we can use : "You get sick. Avoid!" or Chance can be: "Random effect awaits you!"
That said, flowerthief, do you want me to use the exact descriptions you laid out, or can I play around with it? To me it sounded a bit too formal.
for example, for Bug we can use : "You get sick. Avoid!" or Chance can be: "Random effect awaits you!"
I agree. Balancing information is key. Perhaps some things are best left up to player exploration? Like affection value (though that might be a tad self-explanatory to begin with), and the affinity bar?
I'm currently figuring that, for the phone screen's help screen (that sounded a bit convoluted), the Heartache counter could probably use some explanation. As could mental notes and the process by which a telephone number is obtained (as one wouldn't immediately think that knowing a horoscope would have any effect on getting a number).
I'm currently figuring that, for the phone screen's help screen (that sounded a bit convoluted), the Heartache counter could probably use some explanation. As could mental notes and the process by which a telephone number is obtained (as one wouldn't immediately think that knowing a horoscope would have any effect on getting a number).
Dude, you can play around with it, subject of course to my veto power =)
Do mental notes really need an explanation? I realize those other things do. Although I had hoped that short scripted events after school of the player character talking to himself would help explain things somewhat.
Do mental notes really need an explanation? I realize those other things do. Although I had hoped that short scripted events after school of the player character talking to himself would help explain things somewhat.
Mental notes keep track of specific details so maybe a short explanation of what information it keeps track of might be nice? I dunno.
dude797
127
Ok, I took my first (or second technically) crack at a help screen. It took every fiber of my being not to insult the player or add sarcasm. Anyway see if this works.
Hehe, good job resisting the urge.
Okay, some things:
- Decision should be the yellow arrow (the one that swivels back and forth).
- The bug icon has been enlarged, but the other icons haven't. I think it's probably okay if none of them are enlarged.
- I think the yellow splotch is a little too crazy and exciting for an explanation screen. We should make sure the explanation screen is there to explain things. Is there anything less exciting that can be used instead? Maybe something more pink?
- I'm fine with "Roll your fate!" being there somewhere. But maybe we can remove "Spacebar or Enter moves you forward".
- Capitalization of so many words looks funny to me.
- Let's make the font size for "Event", "Decision", "Item" etc a little smaller.
- I like the sub-text you came up with underneath each of those. One that I would change is for Blast. Let's change it to "Get pushed 10 spaces". I'd prefer "Get pushed backward or forward 10 spaces" but it doesn't look like it will fit.
- Can we change the order to "Event", "Decision", "Chance", "Item", "Bug", "Blast", since this is the actual order the player will encounter them.
- Do you think it's important to explain the Wait command?
- Decision should be the yellow arrow (the one that swivels back and forth).
- The bug icon has been enlarged, but the other icons haven't. I think it's probably okay if none of them are enlarged.
- I think the yellow splotch is a little too crazy and exciting for an explanation screen. We should make sure the explanation screen is there to explain things. Is there anything less exciting that can be used instead? Maybe something more pink?
- I'm fine with "Roll your fate!" being there somewhere. But maybe we can remove "Spacebar or Enter moves you forward".
- Capitalization of so many words looks funny to me.
- Let's make the font size for "Event", "Decision", "Item" etc a little smaller.
- I like the sub-text you came up with underneath each of those. One that I would change is for Blast. Let's change it to "Get pushed 10 spaces". I'd prefer "Get pushed backward or forward 10 spaces" but it doesn't look like it will fit.
- Can we change the order to "Event", "Decision", "Chance", "Item", "Bug", "Blast", since this is the actual order the player will encounter them.
- Do you think it's important to explain the Wait command?
First, I ran into a minor bug. The "board game commands" from school appeared during work. It only happened once, causing a thug to catch me off guard. Restarting from that autosave proved it was persistent to the save. It was mostly harmless, save for the fact that I didn't pick anything up while walking the roll, but no harm was done. Mostly harmless, and likely very rare.
I'm liking the concept of a Help screen. An explanation of what Wait does would have definitely been helpful on my first few runs of the game. It didn't appear to do anything (bad luck, I guess) until, purely accidentally, I hit it and something moved. Saved me SO much trouble later on.
Lastly, could support be considered for a small amount of story commands?
Also could something be done about the Reverse Date system? Girls only seem to ask me out when I have a date scheduled- likely Working As Designed, but it ended up being predictable after it happened four times in a row on four different days. Could that function be scaled back a bit, and add a chance- however small- of the player being asked out, near the weekend. Just to spice things up a bit.
I'm liking the concept of a Help screen. An explanation of what Wait does would have definitely been helpful on my first few runs of the game. It didn't appear to do anything (bad luck, I guess) until, purely accidentally, I hit it and something moved. Saved me SO much trouble later on.
Lastly, could support be considered for a small amount of story commands?
Custom locations: Not for actual locations to visit during the Afternoon cycle, just backdrops. Not sure what scripts you use, or even if there's a means of doing this.
Night events: For after the Phone cycle. Good for a vampire or something. Could also include a NightEvent check, to temporarily drain one's effective stats as a result of staying out late
Custom random events: Similar to the built-in random events, able to buy, sell, give and take items or money. Might be too easy to abuse for less-than-reputable players, so... *shrug* ...probably not. Also would need to be repeatable with a list of valid locations, rather than the standard "just one location"
Custom Game Length Mode: Not really story-event related, but I'll leave this here for now. Perhaps as an upgrade to 151 mode. Just coded something of a test for this to see if it was possible to avoid ending on a Sunday.
Night events: For after the Phone cycle. Good for a vampire or something. Could also include a NightEvent check, to temporarily drain one's effective stats as a result of staying out late
Custom random events: Similar to the built-in random events, able to buy, sell, give and take items or money. Might be too easy to abuse for less-than-reputable players, so... *shrug* ...probably not. Also would need to be repeatable with a list of valid locations, rather than the standard "just one location"
Custom Game Length Mode: Not really story-event related, but I'll leave this here for now. Perhaps as an upgrade to 151 mode. Just coded something of a test for this to see if it was possible to avoid ending on a Sunday.
Also could something be done about the Reverse Date system? Girls only seem to ask me out when I have a date scheduled- likely Working As Designed, but it ended up being predictable after it happened four times in a row on four different days. Could that function be scaled back a bit, and add a chance- however small- of the player being asked out, near the weekend. Just to spice things up a bit.
Girls only seem to ask me out when I have a date scheduled
I've never gotten a girl in this game to ask me out. I know it must be possible, as there's custom responses that suggests that she could, but I've never gotten them. I'm figuring it's just how I play the game, but I might try to see for myself under what conditions a girl asks the player character for a date on my next playtest of Uchioniko.
dude797
127
In order for a girl to ask you out, you probably need love status. Its funny because they send you a few texts to remind of the date. It also usually means blowing off another girl. I take it you date one girl at a time, marrend?
Speaking of things never gotten, has anyone gotten
*edit* help screen related
Speaking of things never gotten, has anyone gotten
the Shihoko vs Riho story arc? Even with both lovesick and endings unlocked they never seem to fight over <player>.
*edit* help screen related
if I get rid of my action packed explosion thingy, we have more space to put information. Underneath it are the three hearts which would be unobstructed, so maybe I can just layout info on top and below them. All your request are doable
I take it you date one girl at a time, marrend?
This is true. I tend to focus on getting affection from one character at the expense of not getting affection from other characters. I ramp up whatever stat(s) I think I need (or know I need in the case of Masako or any member of Uchioniko), get the the sleep ring, ensure I got the custom ending unlocked, then fast-forward to Day 101.
Though the fact that I've not been on more than one date with any character might also be a factor of why I've never seen a random event generate a character asking the PC avatar for a date.
To be totally, bluntly, completely honest, my playtesting of Uchioniko thus far haven't been "true tests" because I use the built-in codes to buff my stats up. I should really try to get the custom endings for Shoko and Mayu without the codes to see how plausible they really are!
For the help screen, how about a not-at-all-flashy rectangle (read: text box) for "Roll for your fate!"? I'm not sure what else that screen could also have. In my view, the "Wait" command is self-explanatory. However, understanding how it's used in relation to map icons that move ("girl" and "bug" might be the only ones) is the concept that might need explaining.
Okay, thanks for that. A lot to reply to.
The bug...I'll look into the problem right away. Did you by any chance keep the autosave in which the problem was persistent?
edit: I think I know what may have caused the bug but my reasoning is only correct if you had a robot janitor at the time. Did you have a robot janitor?
Custom backdrops...There's definitely a means of doing it, but I wonder many people would find it useful to be able to use their own backdrops? If it's not something you need to do often, you can try the workaround which is to use the OTHER tachie slots to assign miscellaneous graphics. In other words, create a graphic of a backdrop with a character in front of it and associate that with a character's mood for, say, OTHER1. (I haven't really tested it myself, but I think dude and marrend have been playing around with that)
Repeatable events...In fact, the functionality for repeatable events is already built into the system. I didn't mention it in the documentation because I doubted anyone would need it unless they can customize buying, selling, etc. And yeah, I don't really want to allow customization of that at least not at this time.
The reverse date system...Good idea, I'll adjust the function as you suggested.
Shihoko/Riho events...There are quite a few of these that have a low priority, and since they build off of each other, that might explain why it's hard to see them all. It's possible I overdid it on low priority. Have you seen...
Wait command...Maybe rather than a direct reference to the Wait command itself, a tip that some icons can move on their own?
The bug...I'll look into the problem right away. Did you by any chance keep the autosave in which the problem was persistent?
edit: I think I know what may have caused the bug but my reasoning is only correct if you had a robot janitor at the time. Did you have a robot janitor?
Custom backdrops...There's definitely a means of doing it, but I wonder many people would find it useful to be able to use their own backdrops? If it's not something you need to do often, you can try the workaround which is to use the OTHER tachie slots to assign miscellaneous graphics. In other words, create a graphic of a backdrop with a character in front of it and associate that with a character's mood for, say, OTHER1. (I haven't really tested it myself, but I think dude and marrend have been playing around with that)
Repeatable events...In fact, the functionality for repeatable events is already built into the system. I didn't mention it in the documentation because I doubted anyone would need it unless they can customize buying, selling, etc. And yeah, I don't really want to allow customization of that at least not at this time.
The reverse date system...Good idea, I'll adjust the function as you suggested.
Shihoko/Riho events...There are quite a few of these that have a low priority, and since they build off of each other, that might explain why it's hard to see them all. It's possible I overdid it on low priority. Have you seen...
The one where Riho throws her lunch at Shihoko? The one where the player character hides under the bed in the sick room?
Wait command...Maybe rather than a direct reference to the Wait command itself, a tip that some icons can move on their own?
author=flowerthief
The bug...I'll look into the problem right away. Did you by any chance keep the autosave in which the problem was persistent?
edit: I think I know what may have caused the bug but my reasoning is only correct if you had a robot janitor at the time. Did you have a robot janitor?
I do not have it, no. Didn't think to back it up at the time, but this was only a few weeks into a game. No, didn't have the robot. Still, it was just one dice roll, and the normal janitorial movement system resumed immediately after rolling. Never happened again, except when I restarted the autosave. Likely little more than a hanging Common Event.
author=MarrendGirls only seem to ask me out when I have a date scheduledI've never gotten a girl in this game to ask me out. I know it must be possible, as there's custom responses that suggests that she could, but I've never gotten them. I'm figuring it's just how I play the game, but I might try to see for myself under what conditions a girl asks the player character for a date on my next playtest of Uchioniko.
Yeah, it happens. You just need to be cheating, or trying to invoke a harem or something. I was trying to get as many endings in one go as possible- eight Non-Generic ones, successfully- and eventually my dates kept getting interrupted, or other girls were setting them up. Definitely seems to require Love or Lovesick to get a situation like that.
Placing a backdrop (that may or may not contain a character graphic) into an OTHER slot is the closest thing to a "custom place". I've no examples on-hand to show, but I seem to recall seeing a post by dude797 making a backdrop for 21 Ways in the early days of her development.
However, as the program stands, putting in an unrecognized value for PLACE will probably return an error. That leaves putting in "None" for the PLACE value, or inputting the closest value that your custom backdrop relays.
However, as the program stands, putting in an unrecognized value for PLACE will probably return an error. That leaves putting in "None" for the PLACE value, or inputting the closest value that your custom backdrop relays.
dude797
127
Yes custom backgrounds are possible. The Image size has to be 640 x 480 and you should leave 1/2 ~ 1 inch free on all sides since the system seems to bleed that much out of the image. Ultimately I decided not to use my backdrop idea, but I'll show what I tried to do:
@ flowethief
I was working on the help screen and once I removed my action explosion and added a wait explanation, the thing ended up being a cluttered mess:
so instead I went back to the drawing board and re-imagined it this way:
I removed as many caps as I could, but the font I use for "event, item, etc." only comes in uppercase.
*edit*
I'll tidy up the fonts in the bottom of the image later, too tired to do it now
@ flowethief
I was working on the help screen and once I removed my action explosion and added a wait explanation, the thing ended up being a cluttered mess:
so instead I went back to the drawing board and re-imagined it this way:
I removed as many caps as I could, but the font I use for "event, item, etc." only comes in uppercase.
*edit*
I'll tidy up the fonts in the bottom of the image later, too tired to do it now
