thaumx
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Update - Coding Again (yay!)
🕑 Added 2017-09-26 08:14:09 +0000 UTC So ODing on vitamin C seems to be an effective strategy (or placebo), because I'm feeling better today. Still surrounded by tissues, but now they're productive tissues, because I was able to spend the 5 of the last 8 hours coding. (The rest was Discord, game art stuff, and debugging.)I got some neat stuff done, like the functions that determine changes to arousal, satisfaction, and related stats over time. Because it's me, it's not just a simple tick, it integrates a lot of different factors and is semi-randomized. (for example, satisfaction will decrease faster if you're an exhibitionist and are fully clothed in public.) I also finished the code for "waking up" in the morning. It has to check whether it's a work day, or if it isn't a work day, if you set your alarm to wake up. Then check if you sleep in based on about 20 items, with a cumulative and proportional chance of oversleeping. If you do oversleep, it calculates by how much. For days without work, it checks most of those same items to see how long you sleep.
It may seem like overkill, but it's an important part of making an open-world game that actually responds to the player's situation. (Not to mention being more realistic.) By building the game mechanics into the core functions of the game, it also allows us to focus on the interesting things when adding content, rather than doing the same things over and over in regard to game mechanics. Exhibitionism is a great example: we don't need to tack on mechanics later on, or worry about whether scene X should be adding arousal due to being outside, because it's already taken care of as a basic part of the framework.
I'm going to go eat something, take some more vitamin C, and start working a new section of code. :)
Code to increment basic arousal (15 minute tick)
Okay, I know it's code, but it's some of the simplest code today, so bear with me a bit.
Arousal increases naturally, but since this is an ero game, it won't be going down on it's own. The important thing is to make arousal gain into a mechanic that makes sense, and that represents a specific PC's attributes and situation. The first part of this code checks for the PC's level of satisfaction; a frustrated character should have arousal build faster. Likewise, a character that has a high libido will see arousal increase faster as well. (Note that things like being a slut, etc, are already accounted for in the <<arousal>> function.)
The other thing to account for is something like diminishing returns. Going from arousal 0 to 1 should be easy, while becoming even more aroused when at arousal 10 should be hard. Because this is a mechanic that happens the entire time your character is awake, it should increase arousal, but not to the point that it's unmanageable. The second part of this code cubes your current arousal as part of a second random check to see if arousal increases. Going from arousal 1 to 2 is quite easy. Going from arousal 10 to 11 (for a libido 5 character) is only 1 in 100.
Comments
ThaumX
^_^ I was trying to avoid any cold medicine this time around, cause that stuff tends to ruin my ability to do any real work. It's super important that I don't let everyone down!
Studio Errilhl
Ah, cool. I figured it was some sort of framework :) I might look into it.
SilverS
Well, not all of it is a placebo. While it may not be affecting your sickness at all, proper Vitamin C intake can still energize you and make you physically feel better and more focused. So there's that.
ThaumX
I know I can't actually OD, that's why I can joke about it :) but hush, you're killing my placebo effect.
ThaumX
So that's the markup for twine/twee, which is kind of like the "engine" this runs in. Twine (and the format I'm using called SugarCube) are javascript. It works utilizing what are called "passages" which are essentially chunks of html to display. Essentially, this allows you to view several "webpages" in a single page, because the main div just gets repopulated, and this allows a continuity for variables. the <<stuffs>> is the markup to signify a macro to the twine parser. Twine comes with a suite of macros that you'd need for most things, and allows you to call variables along with the story text, which is pretty convenient for writing. <<if>>bulbous<<else>>average<</else></if>> is roughly equivilent to if($fat){document.write("bulbous")}else{document.write("average")}. But twine also gives you access to javascript (and css, as expected). for example, the <<arousal>> macro in the code up there, runs a custom arousal function. You can also just execute js directly inside a pair of <<script>><</script>>. If you're proficient in javascript, twine gives a lot of flexibility for game making. The main advantage though, is that it's easy for people to contribute to and even mod later down the road. Just about anyone can write something in twine.</arousal></stuffs>
SilverS
I have good news for you! You're unlikely to OD on Vitamin C, since it basically has the highest LD50 (Lethal Dose 50%) of any chemical and excess is almost 100% excreted. You'd die from a water overdose before Vitamin C did you in. So, huzzah! ...unfortunately, the bad news is that, yeah, it won't do anything for your cold. Or any other sickness like that. That was a myth started by, annoyingly, a former Nobel Prize winner. He went a bit crazy in his old age and was trying to find a miracle cure. Either way, you'll just have to bully through it. Sorry. :( I hope you feel better soon.
ThaumX
Arousal has several functions in the game, one of which is impacting the behavior of other stats. Having an arousal that is high, for example, increases the speed at which satisfaction decreases. Another factor is that having arousal that is too high can be dangerous for the character.
Studio Errilhl
I was wondering about the code. What is it? It seems like javascript, but I'm not familiar with the syntax - what's with the double << >>?
Nguyễn Viết Thái
that was a deep knowledge, good work Thaumx. Well i still wonder about the function of Arousal System, it was mean too make the game more difficult at the higher Arousal "level", i mean if you plan to develop Resist System(Resisting sex act), Arousal level will make resist harder. Beside higher arousal make the PC more open to sex act or it just a "decorative system" to make the game look more real??
ThaumX
An increase in arousal over time is a natural brain process, though in real life it expresses itself differently because the human body is far more complex. Libido is actually one way of expressing the rate at which arousal builds. This is actually represented as a slow change in firing threshold of a few groups of neurons responsible for arousal, allowing for faster change from a non-aroused to aroused state, though arousal actually operates at levels of gradation beyond the ability of most people to actively recognize change, and thus is remains outside of consciousness. Sort of like how your bladder can detect fluid far before you actually need to pee, but you only notice when the signal is strong enough. Anyway, this game operates based on a layman/enthusiast nerd's understanding of neuroscience as it relates to arousal. There is a slight change, however, because of a result of the PC's circumstances and environment in Appletree, which i don't want to spoil. :)
CeLezte
Hmmm, so if you get aroused as time passes what gets you aroused exactly? What is the character thinking or doing exactly? Will this happen all the time throughout the game? Is arousal given away for free? Forgive me for asking too many questions. I'm merely curious, since I'm also making a similar game.
