Sooo, about the Tainted Rusher

[Nextgener]

While I do like the concept of adding a character who slowly mutates throughout your adventure as a parallel to some character's you've probably played or are playing as, I have to ask the obvious.

Why was there never an option added to help her?

I'm sure this was answered, and I can guess the answer was Creative Choice. But I enjoy playing different character's of varying personality's throughout diffrent save's. And while playing a character who's inherently Good, I'm a little lost on how I don't have the option to help someone when they clearly need it.

 

[Nyx_Arach]

I think it's more you can't help them.
They're Tainted - it's a beyond all hope affliction.


It's Taint that ultimately kills Vic, the only in game reason why Steele is able to heal from Taint - is because of the microsurgeons they get at the start of the game.

On anyone else, once Taint sets in; it's in. There's no healing from it.

The Treatment, Throbb, etc - these things have permanent effects on the body, and in most cases the mind - it alters who you are on a genetic level.


The most you could do, would be to take her to a hospital - where since she's a danger to herself and others - they would likely sedate her.

 

[Nextgener]

According to the in game Codex, "Low levels of genetic taint can be repaired via expensive DNA treatment.". So I think it's fair to say when you First encounter her, it's not out of the option. And we've Met Amber, who's also hyped upped on dubious gene mod's that Must have come with Taint as well. But we can help her out in the end.

And Vic was a special case with the Codex stating he "survived near record levels of taint", and that was in the early day's when the symptom's weren't well known.

So yeah, maybe you could say we'd have to spend Alot of Credit's to help, but I don't see it as out of the question.

 

[PanzerGuitar00]

According to the in game Codex, "Low levels of genetic taint can be repaired via expensive DNA treatment.". So I think it's fair to say when you First encounter her, it's not out of the option. And we've Met Amber, who's also hyped upped on dubious gene mod's that Must have come with Taint as well. But we can help her out in the end.

And Vic was a special case with the Codex stating he "survived near record levels of taint", and that was in the early day's when the symptom's weren't well known.

So yeah, maybe you could say we'd have to spend Alot of Credit's to help, but I don't see it as out of the question.

Treatment (not the cow kind) would probably be possible if you managed to get her when she was in stage 1, but anything after that and she's likely too far gone. Plus, it would be a long, arduous, and very expensive recovery, likely with lingering effects for the rest of her life even if successful.

 

[Nino]

The easy lazy answer is that they probably don't want your help (don't quote me, I haven't read their content beyond a surface level understanding

 

[Nonesuch]

While I do like the concept of adding a character who slowly mutates throughout your adventure as a parallel to some character's you've probably played or are playing as, I have to ask the obvious.

Why was there never an option added to help her?

There's a fairly simple principle involved here, which is this: will the content involved in helping her be arousing enough to write? If no, then it's probably not going to get written.

Something like the Tainted Rusher is a relatively big project for TiTS, being a combat encounter (hands down the most challenging thing to produce) that changes four times and a suite of sex scenes that have to account for that. As someone who's done something similar in the form of Jasvalla, by the time you're more than halfway done you will be heartily sick and tired of the whole thing and will be looking for any unnecessary content you can cut. I imagine allowing the PC to interact with her in a more productive way was probably on Frosty's mind when he sketched the encounter out, but he ditched that later in favor of actually getting her done this decade.

Does that mean a Detainting XPac couldn't be thrown together? No, of course not. There's no in-universe reason why she couldn't be helped in some way. But here swinges the central issue again, which I'm going to call the Mitzi Principle. Helping this woman out of her spiralling transformation and sex addiction problem probably isn't going to be that hot. You're asking for a) someone willing to write a not-hot thing and b) someone willing to pay for a not-hot thing. It's probably not going to happen. Sorry, whatever the fuck your name is.

 

[Nino]

There's a fairly simple principle involved here, which is this: will the content involved in helping her be arousing enough to write? If no, then it's probably not going to get written.

Something like the Tainted Rusher is a relatively big project for TiTS, being a combat encounter (hands down the most challenging thing to produce) that changes four times and a suite of sex scenes that have to account for that. As someone who's done something similar in the form of Jasvalla, by the time you're more than halfway done you will be heartily sick and tired of the whole thing and will be looking for any unnecessary content you can cut. I imagine allowing the PC to interact with her in a more productive way was probably on Frosty's mind when he sketched the encounter out, but he ditched that later in favor of actually getting her done this decade.

Does that mean a Detainting XPac couldn't be thrown together? No, of course not. There's no in-universe reason why she couldn't be helped in some way. But here swinges the central issue again, which I'm going to call the Mitzi Principle. Helping this woman out of her spiralling transformation and sex addiction problem probably isn't going to be that hot. You're asking for a) someone willing to write a not-hot thing and b) someone willing to pay for a not-hot thing. It's probably not going to happen. Sorry, whatever the fuck your name is.

Is it called the Mitzi principle because a similar request was made for the gobbo?

 

[Nonesuch]

Is it called the Mitzi principle because a similar request was made for the gobbo?

Repeatedly.

 

[Nino]

Repeatedly.

That's definitely a tough sell
Conditioning a sex addict back into mental and libidinous stability
It could be a very positive reward cycle through positive reinforcement
Perhaps she just becomes emotionally dependent on you and the new "hotness" factor is her obsessive (or god forbid) yandere development.
I'm sure you and the other writers have heard all these brainstorming ideas and suggestions a bazillion times and had it talked to death

 

[Somechuvak]

. But here swinges the central issue again, which I'm going to call the Mitzi Principle. Helping this woman out of her spiralling transformation and sex addiction problem probably isn't going to be that hot.

Why wouldn't it be? I'm not trying to be facetious here. A savior kink route could still involve loads of sex and the tainted rusher could still be a nympho dick girl or whatever (albeit a less hostile one) once she's cured. I understand that would involve a lot of work for a payoff that not all players will enjoy and I don't fault anyone for not working on it. But the potentiality is there and in general the game would benefit from more roleplaying/NPC appearance options.

 

[Skunkupine]

Why wouldn't it be? I'm not trying to be facetious here. A savior kink route could still involve loads of sex and the tainted rusher could still be a nympho dick girl or whatever (albeit a less hostile one) once she's cured. I understand that would involve a lot of work for a payoff that not all players will enjoy and I don't fault anyone for not working on it. But the potentiality is there and in general the game would benefit from more roleplaying/NPC appearance options.

I'll save the FenCo staff from saying it - you want it, why don't you commission it? Pass the hat here; see if you can get enough people to kick in enough money to get one of the writers to write it and one of the coders to code it?

 

[Somechuvak]

I'll save the FenCo staff from saying it - you want it, why don't you commission it?

Because I don't? Her content isn't for me personally. I'm just making the argument that a cure route wouldn't inherently be unsexy

 

[Nino]

I understand that would involve a lot of work for a payoff that not all players will enjoy

That out of context phrase could apply to so much content in the game lmao

 

[Koroko]

But here swinges the central issue again, which I'm going to call the Mitzi Principle. Helping this woman out of her spiralling transformation and sex addiction problem probably isn't going to be that hot. You're asking for a) someone willing to write a not-hot thing and b) someone willing to pay for a not-hot thing. It's probably not going to happen. Sorry, whatever the fuck your name is.

The demand is there. Non-sexual stuff has a place in the game (but then again, you could easily make it sexual). And the idea that "drug addict" is automatically hotter than "helping"... I'm just saying, personal preference, but debatable.

For a simple principle, it certainly stands on three weak legs.

 

[Nino]

The demand is there. Non-sexual stuff has a place in the game (but then again, you could easily make it sexual). And the idea that "drug addict" is automatically hotter than "helping"... I'm just saying, personal preference, but debatable.

For a simple principle, it certainly stands on three weak legs.

This entire counterargument can barely stand on one leg that boils down to "I disagree, convince me otherwise"

 

[Koroko]

This entire counterargument can barely stand on one leg that boils down to "I disagree, convince me otherwise"

I mean, yeah, that's the point: people have different tastes, the idea that that specific character path isn't "hot," or that not being hot is a problem in and of itself, isn't an absolute principle.

It's a reasonable possibility that willing writers won't be found, but I wouldn't say that healing those characters is inherently less appealing.

 

[Nonesuch]

For a simple principle, it certainly stands on three weak legs.

My thesis stands on proof. Someone bothered to write the Tainted Rusher and Mitzi precisely as they are. Yours stands on conjecture. It could very well be the idea of rehabilitating them is so appealing that someone will write about that off their own bat! However:

I'd love to be proven wrong, but I've been in this racket long enough to know I won't be. Sorry.

 

[Jarylan]

For whatever it matters, I'm in favor of such writings and additions. Sex is hot, but truth be told, I like TiTS as a sci-fi game first and porn second. (I'm just weird like that.)

TBH, on my last few play throughs I just don't enter the square with Mitzi in the facility. If I don't rescue her, I can pretend she wasn't dosed with dumbfuck and maybe just kept her tech job.

The tainted rusher is different, I don't tend to feel sorry for her, given she's so dang hostile. It's also a little annoying to run into her repeatedly when you're trying for some other encounter.

The cheat menu once again saves all though. If you're done on Mhen'ga, just reset her content. She'll move back to the first planet, and until you encounter her once there, it is where she stays.

 

[Wafflesnake]

I mean, yeah, that's the point: people have different tastes, the idea that that specific character path isn't "hot," or that not being hot is a problem in and of itself, isn't an absolute principle.

It's a reasonable possibility that willing writers won't be found, but I wouldn't say that healing those characters is inherently less appealing.

you make valid points, but you're not considering the opposite perspective.

many of these characters are written around the fact that they are a bimbo (Mitzi), that they are becoming more and more corrupted (Tainted Rusher), etc. that's part of the sexy of those characters. so undoing that will in fact make them unsexy to their original target audience. the same would apply to the writer of the character, they wrote the character because all of those aspects were sexy to them, asking them to undo it wouldn't be particularly enjoyable. obviously, someone else could do the writing but if there were people available to do that, this conversation wouldn't be happening.

not to mention, all the work put into that aspect of the character is effectively discarded. kind of hard to reuse bimbo sex with Mitzi if she isn't a bimbo.

 

[Emerald]

you make valid points, but you're not considering the opposite perspective.

many of these characters are written around the fact that they are a bimbo (Mitzi), that they are becoming more and more corrupted (Tainted Rusher), etc. that's part of the sexy of those characters. so undoing that will in fact make them unsexy to their original target audience. the same would apply to the writer of the character, they wrote the character because all of those aspects were sexy to them, asking them to undo it wouldn't be particularly enjoyable. obviously, someone else could do the writing but if there were people available to do that, this conversation wouldn't be happening.

not to mention, all the work put into that aspect of the character is effectively discarded. kind of hard to reuse bimbo sex with Mitzi if she isn't a bimbo.

So basically it's not "it's not sexy" but instead "it doesn't fit the vision for the character" which

Honestly, it makes a whole lot more sense at least in terms of intentioned writing for that to be said than the other frankly. I never sat with the "it's not sexy so it being written is likely not happening" thing ngl. Granted I don't doubt that is the case, but yeah.

 

[Wafflesnake]

So basically it's not "it's not sexy" but instead "it doesn't fit the vision for the character" which

Honestly, it makes a whole lot more sense at least in terms of intentioned writing for that to be said than the other frankly. I never sat with the "it's not sexy so it being written is likely not happening" thing ngl. Granted I don't doubt that is the case, but yeah.

pretty much. its analogous to any decision when it comes to character design.

could we make Anno have blue hair? sure. why haven't we? because Anno has white hair. does that make blue hair unsexy? no, Anno just has white hair.

and on the other hand, where change is the theme:

why is Bizzy's progression into [muscular or big titty]? because that's the design direction(s) of her character. does that mean slim small titty kaithrit is unsexy? no, that's just not the intent for her.

 

[Koroko]

you make valid points, but you're not considering the opposite perspective.

many of these characters are written around the fact that they are a bimbo (Mitzi), that they are becoming more and more corrupted (Tainted Rusher), etc. that's part of the sexy of those characters. so undoing that will in fact make them unsexy to their original target audience. the same would apply to the writer of the character, they wrote the character because all of those aspects were sexy to them, asking them to undo it wouldn't be particularly enjoyable. obviously, someone else could do the writing but if there were people available to do that, this conversation wouldn't be happening.

not to mention, all the work put into that aspect of the character is effectively discarded. kind of hard to reuse bimbo sex with Mitzi if she isn't a bimbo.

Sure, but a character's core can be maintained even across different character arcs.

For example, several go from abrasive to romantic, but that doesn't stop them from fucking you in a puddle. It's a different nuance of the same fetish. Nothing would stop from reimagining the cured Mitzi as a "slut-affection" type, giving her relapse periods, curing her through sex... there are so many possibilities.

My point is that anything is possible; there just aren't writers available for that. Which is fair enough, so there's no need to invent other motivations or supposedly "obvious" principles.

 

[Wafflesnake]

t's a different nuance of the same fetish. Nothing would stop from reimagining the cured Mitzi as a "slut-affection" type, giving her relapse periods, curing her through sex... there are so many possibilities.

again, opposite perspective. the very specific nuance that the character currently is might specifically be why they are liked. we're talking about fetishes here, i don't think there's anything else more subjective and particular to the individual.

My point is that anything is possible; there just aren't writers available for that.

uh yes, that is what nonesuch established at the beginning.

all i'm getting from your messages is that you don't have a point. so far all you've been saying is "doing X thing is possible, and at least some people would like it".

we know. that was established that at the very beginning. and your response as to why X thing isn't happening (NOT that it isn't possible), is "but X thing is possible".

so if you've just been trying to reiterate in agreement on the points everybody else made already, my bad i misunderstood.

 

[Dad™]

While I do like the concept of adding a character who slowly mutates throughout your adventure as a parallel to some character's you've probably played or are playing as, I have to ask the obvious.

Why was there never an option added to help her?

I'm sure this was answered, and I can guess the answer was Creative Choice. But I enjoy playing different character's of varying personality's throughout diffrent save's. And while playing a character who's inherently Good, I'm a little lost on how I don't have the option to help someone when they clearly need it.

Generally speaking, she's not really someone we have any reason to help most of the time.
First encounter: just kind horny, but she's in the forest with various lust-inflicting enemies. We're also kind of in the same state so it's fair to assume this is just the "New Rusher Experience".
Second Encounter: She's changed a little, but still has her faculties. Dick mad with dick power, which we can also experience because this is the planet we can suddenly gain a horsecock on. Again, her experience is mirroring ours.
Third Encounter: At this point it's become a regular occurrence, she's still her in the same way a Steel who's been messing with transformatives are still them, and while it's hinted that she's spreading taint it'll be rare that fucking her will set off our codex's taint alarm so we can put two-and-two together.
Fourth Encounter: this is were she's gone past the point of no return, but it's also the point where we spent a whole planet without seeing her. Likely because she couldn't get into the pirate planet like we could. Wherever she went, she fell a bit too far down the rabbit hole. By the time we catch up to her now, she's totally hot, and so very VERY sexy, and also corrupted.

Realistically speaking: this game is "Trials in TAINTED Space". A pornographic RPG centered around the transformation and corruption kinks. We can't help her because that's no fun. It's like calling the cops on Dr Badger: sure you COULD, but...why? Kind of goes against the spirit of the game. If anything, she's one of the few characters that actually embodies the game, transforming along with us, actually out there exploring, implied to be fucking everything that moves, and eating random junk off the ground. If you told me that she'd eventually be revealed to be a Steel bastard child, I wouldn't be surprised since she's basically US, but without plot armor.

Personally I like trying to match her freak and my favorite character so far, a ten-foot cockvine-morph with more dicks and tentacles than common sense, came as the result of trying to have a similarly dramatic change. My only regret is that she doesn't talk because I 1000% want to hear what depraved shit comes out her mouth on Daahl. I hope she has an encounter on the next planet because she's clearly becoming some sort of demon with how her arm console is just an eye now.

 

[Somechuvak]

Realistically speaking: this game is "Trials in TAINTED Space". A pornographic RPG centered around the transformation and corruption kinks. We can't help her because that's no fun. It's like calling the cops on Dr Badger: sure you COULD, but...why? Kind of goes against the spirit of the game. If anything, she's one of the few characters that actually embodies the game, transforming along with us, actually out there exploring, implied to be fucking everything that moves, and eating random junk off the ground. If you told me that she'd eventually be revealed to be a Steel bastard child, I wouldn't be surprised since she's basically US, but without plot armor.

Adding optional counterplay doesn't undermine any of these themes. Players are already allowed to "spoil their fun" in a purely mechanical sense (nuking planets, permanently despawning characters) and these things aren't treated like pornographic failures. For some players, resisting or rehabilitating corruption is the fantasy they want to act out. Letting someone attempt (and possibly fail) to help the Tainted Rusher is just another way to engage with corruption/taint.