darkhound1
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An introduction to the new character roles and an outlook on game development
🕑 Added 2021-10-17 09:51:42 +0000 UTCHello everyone!
As some of you might still remember, Holiday Island has been around since 2017. The game has matured and many things have been improved since its early stages.
The game has reached its next state of development. To move forward, some changes that will benefit the gameplay and also do more justice to the different characters present on the island will be introduced.
This includes more focus on the new locations (like the lab) and also the introduction of additional new areas and girls.
To support these new developments, a new character role will be introduced that will better fit and benefit some of the current girls.
Those are the three future character roles that you will find in the game:
- Resort guests --> This is the new name for the girls invited to the island.
The behavior is still the same as before and there are no changes to their content.
They can be invited to the island and can be sent home by the player.
They can appear in almost any location and can have all types of content.
Jessica is an example of a resort guest. - Specials --> These are the girls on the Island and involved in its story.
Their behavior is largely unchanged and there are no changes to their existing content.
They cannot be invited or sent home. They will appear and change as game and game progress demands it.
Each special has one or more roles in the game and a number of main locations where they interact. They can appear in old or future locations as well, but don't have to.
Miriam is an example of a special. - Staff --> Is a new role and is used for the hired staff on the Island.
Some existing Girls will be converted to staff over time, and for this reason it will be an ongoing process until all planned staff characters are converted.
When a girl is converted to staff, she will keep most of her old guest (or special) content. All her new content will be mainly related to her staff role.
Delizia is an example of future staff.
Why is the new staff role introduced and how does it benefit the game and the characters?
One of the main problems are the huge render costs to make a girl work as a resort guest (formerly known as regular).
This is not so much a problem for the popular girls with a huge or even the ones with a medium amount of content. But it is one for the girls with low content.
Far too much time is spent on things that do not really benefit the character development and are simply a repetition of what’s already there for other characters.
To improve this situation, some of the resort guests (and specials) will be converted to the new role staff.
The first character to be converted will be Delizia. She will become the head nurse.
What are future possible staff roles?:
- Main massage therapist → candidate: Renée
- Head of reception → candidate: Lacey
- responsible for the bar(s) → candidate: Yumiko
- cleaning crew leader → no candidate yet, might happen or not
What does it mean for the game and for the (converted) character?
- Staff will work mainly in their designated location. E.g. the Nurse works at the doctor's office.
- Staff will "always" be present on the island. You cannot send staff home or invite them to the island. They can take a vacation and it's also possible that they won't be on the island from day 1, but will arrive later.
- Their presence in other locations is limited to their free time and they will spend time in their own rooms as well.
- Two staff members will roughly take one slot of allowed girls on the island at a given time. So e.g. with two staff members, there can be 8 resort guests on the island. This maximum number will be increased over time with more "areas/locations" available on the island.
- Staff members will lose the option to be asked to change clothes. They will change clothes on their own (by chance or as game progress requires it).
- This one isn't final, but staff members will probably only have a maximum of two sets of clothes for any given location, meaning one set of clothes will be removed from the game (for some locations and girls), since it involves creating too many repetitions in renders.
- Staff members will win/get additional and unique/special content in their main location or content that is linked to their staff job role.
- Staff members will get quests related to their job
- Staff members will free resort guests from their current job roles (except when the staff member is off duty) and allow the resort guests more time in other areas.
- Staff members will keep all their important renders and scenes, but might lose some of the "duplicate" images that only differ in clothes.
In summary, staff members will be cheaper in render costs and maintenance, will have less repetitions but will gain more visibility and content that fits their personality. They will act more like a special than a resort guest.
I hope you look forward to experiencing the announced changes in the game.
Take care, Darkhound
Comments
natis
Thank you.
Darkhound
Probably the same thing that happens on windows too. Delete the file named persistent in your HI save game folder. There is probbaly something like user data on a Mac too, where the file is stored as well. It's supposed to be here (if that tells you anything): $HOME/Library/RenPy/"config.save_directory" Delete the file named persistent in both folders.
natis
Darkhound: I was curious if anyone has been reporting issues with the game on M1 Macs. It'll play fine but then when trying to start it up another day, it just repeatedly crashes.
hisstoryman
Fair enough. Thank you for considering my idea.
Darkhound
Well, making it easier to see certain intimate scenes again, that's a yes. Creating new scenes only for a booty call option, that's a no. For the girls with overnight scenes (if love is still high), I could add the possibility for the MC to knock on their door late in the evening and aks for an overnight stay. Would probably need a text rerwrite and result in more or less a new scene, but using existing images. This could work in the player room as well for certain scenes that can be made to fit.
Darkhound
She will be better off as a staff member. Same as Delizia.
Darkhound
Don't worry about the code lines. Most is already done and it's a necessary step to move the game forward.
Darkhound
I more or less answered your question in this point: Staff members will free resort guests from their current job roles (except when the staff member is off duty) and allow the resort guests more time in other areas. What it means is that all the scenes will still be available, because the resort guests will have reception and doctor duty as well. Just less frequent.
RedWolf
How will you handle renders already done for resort guests that currently have staff role scenes? Such as sperm congestion for Faye (which I assume will remain a guest) or reception scene with Yvette (which I am certain will remain a guest).
hisstoryman
Can never get bored of this game, that's for sure, always changing and evolving. Quick question, and I feel like a selfish git for asking, any plans for a booty call option. i.e. inviting girls to your room that you have already been intimate with? Thanks and keep up the awesome work.
Jauqe Le Roi
Please not Yumiko for staff... she have to be special <3
Ted Cogley
that sound great i love all the girl, just feel the added staff girls its a little more it like 1000 + extra code you my not need but for a good reason .
Darkhound
See it like this. The girls will get a content boost during the conversion. They will win a job role and related content only they will have. This will be more than what they would have gotten had they stayed in their corrent role and in the shadow of the more popular girls.
nissebrygger
Better for the girls Better for the game Staff is looking good :)
nissebrygger
All the candidates for staff already participate in the competitions. And Darkhound write, - Staff members will keep all their important renders and scenes, but might lose some of the "duplicate images" that only differ in clothes. - So girls who already competes will continue to do so. Whether they are guests, specials or staff does not change that.
EscapeEvade
Well, I guess this makes sense, though it's disappointing to know this is likely to lead to even less content for my favorite regular girls. I guess I need to find new girls to constantly have win the Wet T-Shirt and Bikini contests since it's always Delizia and Lacey for me. I hope that maybe, somehow, there actually ends up being more content for both just in their limited capacities.
nissebrygger
Reading Darkhounds post, Becoming a staff is a huge advantage to her, because she no longer has to spend hundred of her limited render allocation on repeating other girls content over and over. Something she cannot afford, as seen for 4 years. So being a resort guest does not make her important, it actually makes her irrelevant. So what does she lose from not being a guest? Nothing by the looks of it. What does she gains by becoming staff? That she is always on the Island and that she can use whatever content allocated to her on something that is unique and personal to her Seems to me that If Delizia herself could choose, she would have chosen staff from day one.
JerseyBoy3100
I love this game, and your work is superb, but please don't make Deliza a staff member. She is my favorite and I've been waiting to see her role and interactions increase.
Darkhound
Thanks a lot for the kind words!
Darkhound
Thank you for the support :)
ledferrelin
Support 100%. Great idea.
Excelsus
Sounds like an excellent idea to me. Everything that makes the girls more diverse in character is a good thing. The lab episode was by far the most interesting part in the game, because it had a completey different feel to it and no repitition at all. Looking forward to the changes.
Darkhound
Jennifer will with a very high probability not become a staff member. The advantage of being family with the boss lady. As I wrote, for all staff members, new content will be mostly related to their profession, which is the idea behind the whole change.
Darkhound
You should not think about it in that way. It will help the lower tier girls too and they will have a better home and a better chance for new content compared to right now.
Darkhound
To thanks buddy :)
Darkhound
Everything I know right now you can read in my post.
JMKarlsson
So how many resort guests will there be in the future?
Numberwang
It would be sad to see Renée get "demoted" since she's one of my favourites. Like general idea tho.
Scott Guy
Intriguing, but I have to ask if these new designations will restrict any possible new interactions with the staff girls, specifically Yumiko and Jennifer? We've only had the one "special" scene with Jennifer so far and none with Yumiko as far as sleeping with her.
Monsieur X
Sounds good.
