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VoidBound Alpha Expansion: Status Effects, Gauges, Cut-Ins and more.
🕑 Added 2020-03-31 20:23:33 +0000 UTCHowdy folks,
This article will be the 3rd in a string of articles that explore the upcoming alpha expansion patch and will mark as the last one before the patch is officially released to the general public. Once again, without further adieu, lets get into it.
Status Effects:
We finished our last article by walking you all through the Combat Log system. The primary function of that system is to give players real time information regarding battlefield developments and status changes. However, it still becomes quite a herculean task for players to keep track of the multiple instances of damage levied, buffs applied, de-buffs inflicted etc. Thus, a secondary function was baked into the system that will now provide visual cues around de-buff effects that Caly might be suffering from. Here is a visual example:
Once Caly gets de-buffed, a small icon will flash near the top left of the bar box showing the exact type of ill-effect Caly is suffering from. Furthermore, the background behind her status picture screen will also change accordingly. This should help players keep active tabs on Caly's current situation. Once the de-buff has been dispelled or has run its course, the icon will vanish and the background restored to the normal version. Here are the different Status Effects and their corresponding BG changes:
Suit Durability Meter and Pleasure Gauge:
The eagle eyed among you might have noticed two new bars in the status picture box displayed in the previous segment.
These meters aren't just for show and serve an important purpose of giving players an exact idea regarding Caly's imminent change in state. Lets divide them up:
Clothing Durability:
In our January release feedback, we found that a lot of folks were not too keen about fighting in the blind not knowing how Caly's suit was holding up. One battle might end with her suit never getting damaged, even after a fierce battle, but in the next her suit gets ripped to tatters in the very first enemy turn. Considering that Caly cannot repair her suit mid battle, this feature became our very first priority to remedy. And so came the Suit Durability Meter:
In short, when suit is at strength, the battle will always start with the meter filled completely. As the enemy blows land, the meter will slowly empty out and once depleted the suit will completely fail resulting in Caly ending up in her full birthday suit.
Pleasure Gauge:
Same as above, the January feedback also had multiple reports regarding the transition of lewd status effects. Specifically, players were having a tough time figuring our how long would it take before Caly ends up getting an orgasm from all the sexual assaults. Lets face it, we all like lewding but no one really enjoys fingering in the dark for who knows how long. Thus, we created the Pleasure Gauge:
Contrary to the Suit Durability Meter, the Pleasure Gauge will start completely empty at the start of the battle and will remain empty as long as Caly remains free of restrains. Once restrained however, her mood will enter a high resistance phase where she isn't horny but is vulnerable to sexual attacks. Once these attacks start mounting up, biology will kick in and she will start losing the reasoning battle with herself, slowly filling the pleasure gauge up. Eventually, everyone reaches their limit and so will Caly the moment the bar hits its brim. And that is when the pink explosions will happen and the players would know that Caly has finally climaxed.
Combat Cut-Ins:
Sexual cut-ins during combat are nothing new since they were already present in our initial release. But, they were basic and limited to a few in number which made the whole experience quite dull after a while. With this expansion however, we have added new, and quite a few, cut-ins which should help elevate the "routine repetition" factor.
What do those cut-ins look like? Well, you'll find out when you play the new patch soon enough.
Sexual Stats:
All that sex and nothing to show for it. In the eyes of the sex gods, that would be termed heresy. Sexual experience, just like real life, won't just evaporate into thin air in VoidBound. Caly's sexcapades will stay with her and MAY have a long lasting effect on her sexual stats in the future. This will now be reflected neatly in the menu option that the players can access by pressing "X"
DISCLAIMER: The system, in place right now, functions in a very limited fashion. The numerical values next to her sexual stats remain static for this patch and the only real changes that'd happen here would be the addition of Caly's memories in text form after every unique sexual encounter. Eventually, IT MIGHT have a more complex function that will be directly tied into Caly's personality based on her trysts and sexual encounters. How or when that will be done is still a question that we aren't fully prepared to answer. The concept is still in its infancy and being extensively worked upon. But rest assured, our team is exploring all avenues to make the system a viable part of the game.
Character Bio, Inventory and HD Upgrades:
For the final coverage of the expansion patch, we will shine a quick light on the small changes that will be implemented to the game starting with:
Character Bio:
Caly will now have an bio page that will incorporate her history, personality and various other credentials. We call it the "Status Diary".
Presently though, since the content is fairly limited, the bio will see limited usage.
Inventory:
We have now started building a system to easily access and manage the ever growing list of inventory items.
Eventually, we'll also add the ability for players to be able to see real time changes the items will have when used. For example, an injured Caly's HP replenishes when players use the Medkit but they can't see how much unless they cycle out of the inventory screen. We intend to remedy that and add the functionality in the coming patches.
HD Upgrades:
Lastly, we will like to showcase on an eye candy and that is the HD upgrades on both artistic and sprite front:
And that folks, wraps up our three series article that covers the patch. The public official release of the patch is scheduled somewhere in the next 24 hours. On that exciting note, we bid you farewell and will see you all at the launch. o/
Kind Regards,
Cursed-Atelier Team
