Release 19: Manipulation

This update adds the second tier of Forsaken training actions, which generally have lower Stamina costs, higher Motivation gains, and much greater Expertise rewards.  These actions will be the bread-and-butter of most training sessions, even after the later tiers get added.  The two main drawbacks to these actions are that they might be too intense for low-corruption Forsaken, and that using them during a playthrough requires purchasing upgrades (the same upgrades which also unlock Suppressor Commander types).  The latter requirement isn't very meaningful yet since there's no penalty for doing your training from the main menu, but it will be important for making the first tier of training actions more relevant during campaign mode.

Thanks to everyone for the feedback regarding where development should go next.  I'm going to dip into flavor text for one update in order to implement the vignette system (and ideally also a scene viewer) and put some more proper erotica into the game.  After that, I'm tentatively looking into alternative corruption paths.  I think this order works well since once the framework for vignettes is in, it should be easy to add a vignette or two to updates which otherwise don't have much erotic content, and slowly build up the number of viewable scenes that way.  The content of further-off updates still isn't set in stone, so feel free to continue to provide feedback regarding which features are needed most!

I've also opened up a tip jar which can be found on the site sidebar.  I won't be putting any of my releases behind paywalls, which means that I don't have anything concrete to give to people who donate.  This should be viewed purely as an option for people who are getting enough enjoyment out of the game that they feel it'd be worth paying for.

Click here to download.  Mirror.

• Content: Added the second tier of training actions for the Forsaken.
• Interface: After the Psychic Reading upgrade has been purchased, picking which of the Chosen to target first in battle will display the target's vulnerabilities on the confirmation screen.
• Bugfix: The Forsaken's total expertise values will no longer sometimes decrease during training.
• Bugfix: The game will now correctly remember which text size the player was using in the most recent save.

Coming Features

Now that the core gameplay loops have their basic functionality implemented, I think this is a good time to discuss the next stage of the game's development.  The coming update will be built around the next tier of training actions for captive Forsaken, but after that, there are many directions we could go.  The following features will all be implemented at some point.  I'm interested in hearing which ones people consider to be a higher priority for earlier development.  Feedback is very welcome both here on the blog and wherever else I post.

• More Training Actions: There are 18 more single-target training actions planned, which will eventually allow the player to train the Forsaken all the way up to 100% Hostility/Deviancy/Obedience/Disgrace.  I also plan on implementing some training types which involve using one Forsaken to help train another, but I'm not completely certain how that will work yet.
• Add/Improve Flavor Text: Some of the dialogue and descriptive text written early in development doesn't fit well with the stuff written after I had a better idea of how each personality type should come across.  There's also a lot more room for personality, clothes, equipment, etc. to be reflected in combat and sex scenes.
• Alternative Corruption Paths: This would reward players for avoiding the current semi-linear "all vulnerabilities get broken eventually" gameplay strategy.  For example, by defeating one of the Chosen without rape or violence, you might be able to get her on the "betrayal" path where she no longer wants the Demons to be defeated in the first place.
• Portrait System: There are no plans to commission art for the game, but I would like to allow the player to use a folder of portrait images which are displayed in the game window.  Each portrait pack would have a set of expressions, and the game will switch between the expressions as appropriate for the situation.  Whether this would actually be useful depends on whether players would be interested in sharing portrait packs together.
• Expanded Customization: Currently, the way the game refers to custom clothing and weapons is extremely basic, since it has no way of knowing what properties any given custom item should have.  Improving this would involve adding more flavor text and allowing the player to pick from menus in order to assign that flavor text to items.  It could also involve fully customizable flavor text packages that could be passed between players.  Similarly, there could be an even greater degree of customization for Forsaken (changing their bodies, giving them customized sexual fetishes they display during battle, etc.).
• Special Chosen: This includes androids, angels, devils, kemomimi, and probably more Chosen types, each with their own unique and powerful abilities in combat.
• Prior Relationships: These will involve some unique mechanics and lots of extra dialogue.  The "former partners" relationship will come naturally with the campaign when you come up against one of the Chosen who managed to escape from a previous final battle.  There should also be mentors, students, lovers, family members, and probably a lot more.
• Expanded Forsaken Abilities: The Forsaken should eventually be able to use equivalents of defiler actions, and they should also have unique "super moves" to mix up the combat formula.
• Special Battle Conditions: The combat formula can also be mixed up by having special conditions which apply to different battles.  For example, a battle might provide some bonus EE if you meet a certain requirement by the end, or it might take place in a special location which applies a modifier to certain damage types.
• Daily Vignettes: Similar to the talk show, the vacation, and the preparation before the final battle, these will be scenes from the daily lives of the Chosen (and the Forsaken) which highlight how they're being corrupted.  Not all of them will be sexual, but the proper sex scenes should be more in-depth and detailed than any of the sex scenes currently in the game.
• Campaign Mode: This would probably need a whole separate post to talk about, and some of the above features would need to be implemented before it would make sense to start on this one.  I'm including it here because it will also involve some sub-features that people might find interesting ("boss" Chosen, long-term goals, achievement bonuses).