Crashlanding: Sex and Survival [Alpha 0.1]

[Nythias]

[Update] So... I decided I wanted to make a text-based adventure game, inspired by Corruption of Champions, which I much preferred to TiTs, always.


So I'm making a Science-Fantasy!


At last I have managed to make progress with the game to a state I am willing to talk about, though the game is by no means in a playable state, which is unfortunate, though I have got some work done, to the point where I'm happy to release it as a sort of demo to the public.


I'm always willing to take suggestions, though I will not be changing to a different coding language - so don't bother asking me to do so.


Anyway...


This text-based adventure game is set on an alien planet in deep space, where you are the only surviving member of a crashed spaceship. This crash becomes your camp, which you will be able to upgrade throughout the game.


The story is little more than that right now, though the locals will be furries, and the explanation for their presence, and ability to speak Galactic Standard will be explained to the hero when you come across the settlement of Axiom Village.


Download it below, though be aware combat doesn't yet exist. And the inventory doesn't work yet.

View attachment TextGame.exe

 

[MotoKuchoma]

What do you need help with? This is the most barebones of UI possible and you haven't really been precise with what you're making either.

 

[stuntcock]

I could really use some help. I'm not the best at Visual Basic.

Visual Basic isn't the ideal choice for the development of a text-based adventure game.  If you aren't heavily invested in it, then I'd advise you to consider other platforms.  Fall of Eden uses non-proprietary technology, so it's easy for random people to make creative contributions or help out with coding and debugging.  Anyone can play the game on pretty much any hardware (desktop, laptop, tablet, smartphone, etc) and operating system.  You can also look into Ren'py, Twine, Godot, Flash, Unity, etc... You could also try to build your game on top of someone else's engine (with their permission, of course).  For example: Tainted Elysium has a very thorough system for nutrition, metabolism, and body transformation -- but its narrative and gameplay are incomplete.


It really depends on what you want your game to look like, how it ought to play, and what kind of story you want to tell.  Will your game encourage players to carefully consider their choices (turn-based style) or apply time pressure and force realtime decisions?  Is the player always in control, or do party members sometimes resist/rebel?  Does the player follow orders perfectly, or can the player's control be subverted if the character becomes tired, hungry, frightened, hypnotized, etc?  Will your game focus entirely on its text, or is there an emphasis on map-based navigation and exploration?  Do you plan to incorporate background images, character sprites, animated transitions, etc?  Will the game need to include separate GUI elements for inventory management, party management, journal/quest-log, character traits, etc?  How do you expect combat to play out?  Will the experience be entirely keyboard-driven, or do you expect the player to use their mouse (e.g. for combat targeting, or drag-and-drop inventory management)?


Do you expect to develop the game solo (with technical support and suggestions from forum members) or are you hoping to attract major contributors?  If the latter, then what sort of contributions are you looking for? (e.g. coding, storyline, fetishes and sex scenes, UI design, characters, artwork, audio, etc)

 

[Nythias]

Well, I'm making it in Visual Basic because it's what I understand the most (though not as much as I'd really like), and that it doesn't run using real-time, and is instead prompt-based.


I'm going to be using a button-system for actions, and will not be using a drag-and-drop system. There isn't a plan for transformation stuff either, with a character creator at the start of the game. (So as that players don't spend ages trying to make their character just right - they can do it at the start).


I wasn't really planning to use a map-based navigation, but with you mentioning it... I like the idea.


As for making the program, I was hoping to be able to code it solo, with help and suggestions from those who might be interested in the game.

 

[Nythias]

[New posts - OP updated]

 

[MysteryMouse]

May I ask what the fetishes will be? Or sexual pairings? Like M/F, M/M, F/F, M/H, etc.

 

[Nythias]

All pairings will be available, though I'm going to only have an M/F scene or two by the Alpha release in which sex gets introduced to the game. Writing characters comes first. Being able to fuck them comes after.


Fetishes are something I'm not entirely sure about. Though I can state for sure that no gore, watersports and scat will appear. Vore is unlikely to appear, though if I do decide to add it, it will need toggling on. I'm also not planning to add anything for feet fetishes.


Sorry if you like any of them. Aside from vore, they're not something I want to write. And I know vore is unpopular. 

 

[Nythias]

Oh, another thing! I do need some help on this. As much as I would love to make this solo, I'm really struggling with the character customisation in this. Anyone who can help, please message me, and we can talk.

 

[Jash]

You... probably don't want to call it "Planetside" unless you're setting it in the Planetside universe (and I can't imagine why you'd want to do that). It's a pretty well-known game, so you might want something without the associations.

 

[Nephilim_Anunnaki]

You... probably don't want to call it "Planetside" unless you're setting it in the Planetside universe (and I can't imagine why you'd want to do that). It's a pretty well-known game, so you might want something without the associations.

Yeah, when I read the title I through was something related to the MMO...

 

[Nythias]

Alright. I'll think of a new name that still gives the vibe I'm going for with this. Thanks for the input.

 

[RuBoo]

I have some experience with Visual Basic, I essentially took a class on the subject, but it's been a long time since I've used it, so I'm out of practice. Case in point, I recently tried to make my own text-based game in it, but I couldn't figure out how to get anything right...


...Anyway, hope to see something I can play in the future. Good luck.

 

[Nythias]

Good news! I've gotten the inventory working. To an extent. Though I still need to connect the inventory buttons to their respective inventory flags, the system is coming into place. Work is slower than I'd like, but I might have a very basic demo soon. That being said, the demo would be little more than five regions, with minimal functionality. And I still haven't gotten the town in place, sadly, and no characters or combat exists. But there may be something to show. Nothing fancy but something.


And I'm having issues creating save data...

 

[Nythias]

[Update] Great news, everyone! I nearly have finish the current systems for exploring the five current zones in the game! I will be finishing up the Forest as of today (if Visual Basic agrees to be nice) and will have The Merchant as the avalible character encounter in this zone. Thankfully, he will be quite a common find! 1/6 chance. Unfortunately, you're not going to have the money you need to buy anything.


On the plus side, however, once I add the Pawnbroker in, it shouldn't be too hard to buy what The Merchant has to offer you! Don't expect much, though - Maybe the odd potion and some gadgets that could come in handy. But you're more likely to get a decent shop in town (Whenever I get around to implementing it). But don't overlook out friend here. He's going to carry some rare stuff occasionally! (Once I have a town, that is.)

 

[Nythias]

(Updated Post below)

 

[Nythias]

I know that two other people are following this thread. So while I finish up some things tomorrow and get to work on fixing bugs, may I humbly ask for opinions on this?


Opinions on all of it. And please, be harsh. But do let me know how I can fix issues and improve things.


"It's sucks" is not helpful. "It sucks because [Reason]" is.

 

[stuntcock]

"It's sucks" is not helpful. "It sucks because [Reason]" is.

Visual Basic sucks.  It forces you to distribute your game as an EXE file.  Since it's a very early build, your EXE is unsigned and lacks an installer (or author/source information, or even an icon).  By default, Windows 10 wouldn't even allow me to run it (due to security precautions).  You won't be able to easily host your game on a web platform.  Most mobile users will be completely unable to use it.  Please consider switching to a more appropriate platform before you've sunk hundreds of hours into this thing.


There are a few minor spelling mistakes.


The whole thing seems like an attempt to rebuild or imitate CoC.  This would make sense in a "desert island" scenario in which CoC had been lost and we needed to remake it from scratch.  In a world with CoC and many similar games - most of them built on superior code - there's just no reason to start a new project on obsolete technology.  If you're doing this is a learning exercise then it makes more sense, but I'd still urge you to learn something more modern than VB.


The UI suffered a state bug during my brief playtest, resulting in two sets of buttons appearing simultaneously (and overlapping each other).  The "Explore" buttons appeared beneath the "Potions" and "Equipment" buttons.  Clicking on the latter buttons did nothing; their handler code is apparently missing or disconnected.


Hardcoding your strings (or intermingling them with your code) is poor practice.  Move them to external Resources if possible (this may depend on which VB version you're using).


The UI button mishap suggests that you're rushing to implement features (e.g. a complete UI and an inventory system) before nailing down the basics -- such as the gamestate logic and the text parser.  This is probably a mistake.  State inversions or loops can fuck things up badly, and they'll be much harder to troubleshoot later on.  I'd encourage you to ensure that these elements are solid before you begin writing actual content.


Mouse control is awkward (due to the small size of the buttons) and tab-switching in VB is a pain in the ass.  Consider implementing keyboard hotkeys for commonly-used actions (such as Explore and Inventory).  Or steal Fenoxo's grid-hotkey approach if your framework will allow it.


There may be a memory leak.  Clicking "Explore" > "Explore" > "Continue" repeatedly caused the memory usage of the application to increase with each repetition.  If buttons are being constructed and added to the canvas at runtime, then you should double-check to ensure that you're removing the listeners from the old ones before discarding them (so that they'll be eligible for garbage collection).


Dumping all of your code into the codebehind for Form1 is the obvious initial approach, but it will soon leave you with an unmanageable mess.  Try to define separate class files (for locations, characters, items, etc) and implement logic in those files instead of the Form1 methods.  Be especially careful about putting a lot of code into button handler events -- they should be blindly invoking stuff (e.g. playerCharacter.goToLocation(Locations.Forest)  ) instead of actually performing significant changes in the game state.

 

[Nythias]

Alright. Thanks for the information. That all actually helps me quite a lot. Though it will take time to remake everything to follow such a system. I'm really still a novice to Visual Basic, and it's really the only thing I even known where to start with. I've looked at plenty of other languages, but I can't really wrap my head around them. Especially C++


Thanks, though. That really helps.

 

[Nythias]

New version!


There's still no release info sadly, since my concerns are getting things coded over release info. And I'm still a newbie. I might have missed a few lines of code on buttons and not everything might work, but Axiom is now avalible, the Mountain Camp has been expanded upon slightly. No sex scenes are yet in the game, but the Axiom Blacksmith should have one by the next update. And you can now find Credits in the forest! You can check how many Credits you own in Appearence.


The Save and Load buttons don't do anything yet, though. Sorry. They're more to remind me to work on it.

View attachment TextGame.exe

 

[ThatOneJester]

I would love for there to be a second option for a camp, like a place on a hill/mountain overlooking your crash site.


Since later on creatures, or people will come to investigate the crash site out of curiosity or some such thing.


It could make for some variety, as well as making more room for content to be added?


Also, what will the combat system be like?


Please be as descriptive as to what you want it to be like as possible. <3