Direction of the game

[Lusiukas]

Hey right off the bat im not a writer and currently im not a paying supporter of the game i just wanted to give my 2 cents as a long time fan of the game im talking back like when cait was still super op and when lt. jen was a fresh npc. Anwyays not gonna make a whole essay on this i got work in like under an hour, i remember reading somewhere that drastic changes between coc and coc2 was so that coc2 could have a focus on creating a better story but i feel like the last couple updates have been anything but a focus on the story not even just the main quest but just the over all game the updates feel like....idk just the writers doing thrusting their kinks into random scenes and dropping them into the game you get limited options on how to interact with them its literally just do the scene or ignore it which is fine ig considering its a porn game and at the very least you arent forced to do it but i feel like their should be more variety and options in the way you're allowed to approach things just because that should be the very nature of the game i dont feel like you should drop an update and only half the player base is interested cus all the update rlly was is you being forcefully bent over by a random npc and fucked and thats all or if you like being on the bottom you arent gonna be interested in a scene where all your options are just bending whoever over and shoving your dick up their ass and thats all there is to it idk ik im rambling but it just feels like half these updates or just the writers randomly fantasized about a hot scene and now its in the game and theres no real interaction or relevance its just the writer inserting their kinks into the game. uh long story short id like if there was a focus on actual story lines and id also like more options and control over how you as the mc get to interact with the story i dont think i should be playing the mc but feel like a side piece in the majority of the interactions i just want it to be known im not hating i love this great piece of writing that you've all put together as a fan i just feel like im allowed to ask for some changes that would reignite my spark for the game. attaching a screenshot of a comment that said what i said in less confusing terms again please dont just brush this off as hate or me being ungrateful ik the devs dont want to just bend over backwards for the community but for a game that relies so heavily on its community i believe that when we ask for something every now and again the devs can listen and come through (ik the persons kinda strong on the submissive stuff but i kinda agree on both sides a lot of ppl play this game i dont think there should be any leaning to one type of content with that in mind)

 

[valk42]

jesus christ, man, ever heard of a paragraph break?

 

[Kalnath]

I went ahead and inserted some punctuation and line breaks into this hastily-written post to make it easier for other readers to parse.

You're welcome.

Here is what I think was meant to be said:

Hey! Right off the bat: I’m not a writer, and currently I’m not a paying supporter of the game. I just wanted to give my two cents as a longtime fan of the game. I’m talking back like “when Cait was still super OP” and “when Lt. Jen was a fresh NPC.”

Anyway, not gonna make a whole essay on this. I got work in, like, under an hour.

I remember reading somewhere that the drastic changes between CoC and CoC2 was so that CoC2 could have a focus on creating a better story, but I feel like the last couple updates have been anything but a focus on the story; not even just the main quest but just the overall game. The updates feel like.... I don't know, just the writers thrusting their kinks into random scenes and dropping them into the game.

You get limited options on how to interact with them. It’s literally just “do the scene or ignore it,” which is fine, I guess, considering it’s a porn game and (at the very least) you aren’t forced to do it. But I feel like there should be more variety and options in the way you're allowed to approach things, just because that should be the very nature of the game.

I don’t feel like you should drop an update [where] only half the player base is interested because all the update really was is you being forcefully bent over by a random NPC and fucked and thats all. Or if you like being on the bottom you aren’t gonna be interested in a scene where all your options are just bending whoever over and shoving your dick up their ass and that’s all there is to it.

IDK, I know I’m rambling but it just feels like half these updates are just “the writers randomly fantasized about a hot scene and now it’s in the game,” and there’s no real interaction or relevance, it’s just the writer inserting their kinks into the game.

Uh, long story short: I’d like if there was a focus on actual story lines, and I’d also like more options and control over how you as the MC get to interact with the story. I don’t think I should be playing the MC but feel like a side piece in the majority of the interactions.

I just want it to be known: I’m not hating! I love this great piece of writing that you've all put together! As a fan, I just feel like I’m allowed to ask for some changes that would reignite my spark for the game.

Attaching a screenshot of a comment that said what I said in less confusing terms. Again, please don’t just brush this off as hate, or me being ungrateful. I know the devs don’t want to just bend over backwards for the community, but for a game that relies so heavily on its community, I believe that when we ask for something every now and again, the devs can listen and come through.

(I know the person’s kinda strong on the submissive stuff but I kinda agree on both sides. A lot of people play this game. I don’t think there should be any leaning to one type of content with that in mind.)

 

[Lusiukas]

I went ahead and inserted some punctuation and line breaks into this hastily-written post to make it easier for other readers to parse.

You're welcome.

Here is what I think was meant to be said:

thx lol

 

[TheIrishOtaku]

I think a big issue is the community written aspect of the game, I actually think it was kind of a terrible decision for these projects. As cool as it is that randos like me can write for them the trade off is that so much of them feel disjointed as a result and just end up riddled with abandoned content. Plus, it just makes things more unfocused half the time. I honestly wish there was less but more developed characters in both games, I'd take five or six really fleshed out and well written characters over fifty half baked ones.

 

[Lusiukas]

I think a big issue is the community written aspect of the game, I actually think it was kind of a terrible decision for these projects. As cool as it is that randos like me can write for them the trade off is that so much of them feel disjointed as a result and just end up riddled with abandoned content. Plus, it just makes things more unfocused half the time. I honestly wish there was less but more developed characters in both games, I'd take five or six really fleshed out and well written characters over fifty half baked ones.

agreed

 

[valk42]

i think a good compromise would be to ask for any character submitted to come with an overview of their whole 'arc' and other intentions, and too ambitious ideas are rejected to avoid impossible scope creep

 

[TheIrishOtaku]

i think a good compromise would be to ask for any character submitted to come with an overview of their whole 'arc' and other intentions, and too ambitious ideas are rejected to avoid impossible scope creep

Yeah that would definitely help minimise the issue

 

[PalletTown]

When the updates are only really a few quick new sex scenes or the like, that means that there is a big patch with a new important quest/dungeon. Look at November's patch for example. Its starts with a few minor sex scenes and then boom, a new quest/dungeon.

In fact, this is pretty much explicitly stated by Savin as the CoC team is currently working on the knot cave (a major jstar dungeon) and the penultimate quest for finishing act 2.

I find these lull periods where nothing is really happening to be the precursor for major additions.

 

[LonelyHydra]

OP has a lot to agree with. Just remember the edit button is your friend, next time.

I think a big issue is the community written aspect of the game, I actually think it was kind of a terrible decision for these projects. As cool as it is that randos like me can write for them the trade off is that so much of them feel disjointed as a result and just end up riddled with abandoned content. Plus, it just makes things more unfocused half the time. I honestly wish there was less but more developed characters in both games, I'd take five or six really fleshed out and well written characters over fifty half baked ones.

I often wonder if mod support, however limited, would've helped them get it out of their system.

Somebody should get around to fixing up the parser tester, at least.

 

[probehuntress]

i agree that the direction of the game outside the main quest line is a question mark, i do think that the games structure allows for the potential of a much more intricately woven plot than its predecessor, but it doesent do enough to explore the possibilities of that narrative sandbox, self contained storylines are safe and characters with no story are even safer, but theres too many independent disjointed one shots that add nothing to the overarching narrative and will end up being either redundant or forgotten

 

[Karakara]

I am not sure why people are in such a hurry for main questline to finish. Like, why is that important? You play these games for characters that interest you personally. Well, unless you are really into Kas, then I can understand the desire to hurry since she is intrinsically tied to the story. She can get content even without the plot progressing.

I do agree with character bloat, but mostly in the vain of how many just get introduced, have maybe few scenes to their name, and are seemingly forgotten after. I wish we had fever NPCs overall, but with more depth to their name. Maybe with more splitting paths, but, frankly, with how protective people can be of their favorite NPCs, I can see why most of them fill one niche and stick to it. Unless the NPC is built from ground up to support different paths, it is better to stick to one.

I wish we had more community writers, personally. Looking through CoC2 release, most of the content is written by main staff or just few avid fans. There aren't a lot folk that take their time in submitting stuff that they want to see. It is especially jarring when you take into account OG CoC or TiTS, which have oodles of fan written content.

 

[IraMorti]

Honestly, part of me would like once the game reaches a certain point that they take a look at current content and anything that is obviously unfinished if there is no plans for a dedicated writer to take over and complete that abandoned project to some level of satisfaction - just remove that character(s)/storyline from the game. I'd rather it not be left unfinished, a lot of content in the original CoC game is like that and it's just jarring.

 

[orropo]

I'd argue, it would be better if the main story line was actually finished last, since it allows for more characters to be interwoven into the champs story and finale

 

[Medge]

The nature of these projects means community writers are both the biggest asset and the biggest weakness of the games. And they are frankly unavoidable under the circumstances. You're a tiny one or two person team - you don't have the money to shell out for a full time staff writer and coder when you're starting. A lot of the projects here that are fantastic are fantastic because the writers themselves were into that content or that idea or that character. I'm pretty sure Jerynn was a passion project, and she's the best thing ever to be in a smut game, and no I will not accept notes on that opinion. I know we're talking about CoCII, but they are family with the same genes and the same problems. Jerynn is additionally a great example here because her writers time is most often spent on necessary coding work.

So if you want any kind of variety in what you're writing you'd ideally have to shell out for several writers. If you can't do that and keep dedicated people on staff, you are at the whim of whatever in their lives might take them away from their project - since most are doing it for free. Under the best employment circumstances, this can happen anyway - here its just horny freelance writers. So you wind up with a lot of hanging threads.

Then when you actually have writers and material, you've got to have someone to go through it all to make sure its up to standard, or fits the themes of the world. Then you have to have coders to actually sit and put in all in the game properly, if you don't you wind up with a hellish backlog, but if you don't encourage the content, there might be months where there's nothing to put in the game because the leads were busy doing other very important work, and that won't do because your supporters are on a monthly subscription plan and have an expectation of regular updates. Even having something to consistently put in is a crap shoot because 30% of your supporters like pregnancy related content, the other 10% will only sign up for next month if they see a DILF in the game, 40% came here because of the futanari and they feel abandoned by the dev team now, .000014% won't shut up about wanting more bad ends and yes, I apologize for that but I'm also correct because I came here for the Corruption of the Champion - and what the hell is up with the focus on the kitsune because 12.54% of the forum is really irritated about their updates and it shows on the forums....

That's before we even get to the fact that writing is hard. Even if someone writes something, there's no guarantee that they'll even like it enough to feel confident to submit and get through the entire revision process, so you have to find people who are willing to consistently go through that and - but you might not have the money to actually keep them on staff generating dedicated content and it goes on and on and on.

Point being, there is a ball-pit's worth of moving parts to juggle here and keep track of. Consistency is almost impossible. It would be different if big studio money was there, but its not. That's not the place these games were birthed. The whole thing is working as well as it could given the circumstances. Frankly, its a mild modern miracle that Fenco projects exist at all. I don't think you get the good of these projects without the bad that comes with the territory. That extends to the main story as well. All of the aforementioned logistics have to be in place for an update to it. That involes someone like Savin or Fen having time to do the writing and not work on some other part of the project - which requires everything else in this logistical train to be in a place that allows them to do so.

 

[Badger]

Honestly, part of me would like once the game reaches a certain point that they take a look at current content and anything that is obviously unfinished if there is no plans for a dedicated writer to take over and complete that abandoned project to some level of satisfaction - just remove that character(s)/storyline from the game. I'd rather it not be left unfinished, a lot of content in the original CoC game is like that and it's just jarring.

Better yet, just make all the unfinished storylines its own toggle (kinda like how there is Silly Mode toggle)

 

[Indream]

Better yet, just make all the unfinished storylines its own toggle (kinda like how there is Silly Mode toggle)

That's actually great idea. If character is "abandoned" it's better to have option to remove them. You want more content and characters to fuck - toggle on. You only want completed or, at least, being worked on content - toggle off.

 

[qwd]

I am not sure why people are in such a hurry for main questline to finish. Like, why is that important? You play these games for characters that interest you personally. Well, unless you are really into Kas, then I can understand the desire to hurry since she is intrinsically tied to the story. She can get content even without the plot progressing.

I mean, it has been 7 years since this game started and the main storyline hasn't progress at a reasonable rate at all, Winter City has been out for like 4 years and we haven't even finished Siege of Khorminos, now there's Windy Peaks which I'm still not sure what its purpose is while Tychris hasn't got any development at all. Not to mention 2 companions have been abandoned while we still got more side characters coming
And people don't play these games just for characters, they want to see the characters' story progressing, not just Kas's story but also characters whose stories are practically impossible to progress without big quests like Cait, Kinu, Daliza,....