What are your gripes/criticism of TiTs?

[Reptillicus]

There should be a way to remove a cock sheath but keep the cock! I quite like the "tanuki" shaft but I'm not the biggest fan of the sheaths, it's way more fun to have all you junk dangling free and wagging around with the balls.

This is probably the most tiny complaint ever but there you go...

 

[Mercuriussnake]

There should be a way to remove a cock sheath but keep the cock! I quite like the "tanuki" shaft but I'm not the biggest fan of the sheaths, it's way more fun to have all you junk dangling free and wagging around with the balls.

This is probably the most tiny complaint ever but there you go...

Use Circumscriber cream fron gene on myrellion.

 

[Thebiologist]

That makes for dreadfully dull scenes. Hard to write chemistry when one of the characters is a mute and doesn't feel strongly about anything one way or the other.

In general I'm glad TiTS got away from all that mute protagonist nonsense with a personality system that throws out a few generalised archetypes for writers to stack some dialogue on. It may not conform perfectly to your image of what the character is but it sure is a lot more fun to read and write.

In that we disagree, I don't like it when my character says stupid things. There are some pieces of dialog that are ok when dialog is necessary, but I don't really like to read how much my character loves taking it up the ass when being anally violated after losing a fight. One of the rules in the writing style guide is "do not speak for the player", I prefer to follow that rule.

 

[Slab Bulkhead]

Hard to write chemistry when one of the characters is a mute and doesn't feel strongly about anything one way or the other.

There's advice in one of the writing docs for TiTS that basically says not to assume anyone likes something when they're first introduced to it, but if they choose to interact with it, it's safe to assume they like it and go from there. I write my basic character stuff as pretty neutral, but if your Steele chooses to fuck one of my characters, I'm gonna write that your Steele likes what they see. *shrug*

And I'm with Thebiologist on writing dialogue for Steele. I'll usually go with "You tell [person] [thing]" or "You ask [person] about [stuff]", but I don't put words in Steele's mouth. It always feels weird when someone else writes my Steele's dialogue.

 

[null_blank]

Silly mode idea: NPC goes into long multi-page diatribe telling Steele off. Steele response: 'Okay'

 

[Stemwinder]

Speaking for the player isn't the same as speaking for Steele. There's a separation and it's far better to acknowledge it. The game's designed around Steele being a character rather than a blank slate so there is going to be dialogue.

 

[Stemwinder]

Now that said the ideal way to do it without spitting out snoozer scenes full of compelling conversations such as "and then you said something that no one acknowledged or cared about" is to start neutrally, make it fairly clear what the scene is going to be about and -then- give Steele some personality.

No one would like the popular Syri scenes if Steele was some wet blanket whose hobbies include explaining things offscreen, it's displaying competitiveness and a mutual love of butt-stuffing and oneuppsmanship that makes those scenes sizzle. You can't write chemistry into an interaction with a personality void and a scene without chemistry is a slog.

There was this one game I played years ago, can't remember the name now, but it had a long intro (one that had nothing to do with the game proper - easy to see the genius talent behind this one) that read like someone's WoW fanfiction. Once the game itself got going, though, all the scenes were written with that style you like, one where the main character never talks or expresses much of anything - and of all the problems with it that's what killed it. The PC was so ill-defined that every scene was utterly sterile.

 

[Thebiologist]

Now that said the ideal way to do it without spitting out snoozer scenes full of compelling conversations such as "and then you said something that no one acknowledged or cared about" is to start neutrally, make it fairly clear what the scene is going to be about and -then- give Steele some personality.

No one would like the popular Syri scenes if Steele was some wet blanket whose hobbies include explaining things offscreen, it's displaying competitiveness and a mutual love of butt-stuffing and oneuppsmanship that makes those scenes sizzle. You can't write chemistry into an interaction with a personality void and a scene without chemistry is a slog.

There was this one game I played years ago, can't remember the name now, but it had a long intro (one that had nothing to do with the game proper - easy to see the genius talent behind this one) that read like someone's WoW fanfiction. Once the game itself got going, though, all the scenes were written with that style you like, one where the main character never talks or expresses much of anything - and of all the problems with it that's what killed it. The PC was so ill-defined that every scene was utterly sterile.

It's ok to speak for the player under certain circumstances, it would be pretty stupid to write "You tell her you like fucking her pussy" during a sex scene, but speaking for Steele should be used sparsely. Not everyone plays Steele the same way and you can't just write a lengthy dialog, giving Steele a personality, likes and opinions, because that might clash completely with another talk/sex scene from another NPC, making Steele look batshit crazy.

Dialog for teasing, banter, roleplaying scenes, neutral stances, questions, that's ok. Opinions, preferences and emotional statements, less ok, but it depends on the situation (ex: you've taken an aphrodisiac or you're being edged and denied or you're losing control of your emotions, so long as you clarify it's the situation that's making you say those things). Deciding Steele's personality, definitely not ok.

On Syri's sex scenes you don't talk at all and on her dialog scenes, well this:

Talking with Syri for a few minutes, the topic eventually drifts towards her past. You can’t help but ask, then, where’d the dick come from?

You chuckle at that, mentioning that you’re all practically living Science Fiction. Or at least, the sci-fi of yesteryear.

You answer that most of what you’ve been reading is good old Science Fiction. Spaceships and time travel and wormholes galore. Syri nods attentively as you list off a few good books and authors, comparing their styles and subjects. She laughs as you relate the tropes and idiosyncrasies of the stories you’ve read lately, and how far-fetched or dead wrong some of the older books are.

With dozens of good books exchanged, you feel practically enlightened and ready to expand your mind when you get the chance to crack open a good book.

There is almost no direct dialog with Syri and when there is, it's just simple questions like "what are you reading?"

 

[gena138]

@Thebiologist I feel like those examples you quoted are the perfect middle ground. They give the general gist of what Steele is saying without putting it in quotes and forcing specific words in your mouth. It's specific enough to give a focus on what Steele is talking about, but vague enough that the player can project whatever personality they feel that Steele has.

 

[Axilgreen]

in other words its like asking a question in an rpg?

 

[Stemwinder]

You're making an unnecessary distinction between dialogue and characterization. Those scenes are making lots of statements about Steele - preferences, personality - without literally saying "my name is Steele and I am very competitive and I like anal sex". And without characterizing Steele that way those scenes would be boring, Syri would have nothing to play off of.

It's not about the amount of words used, it's that it's okay to define Steele's personality. There's a mechanic in the game for doing so, even, so all this blank slate ideology is quite clunky, antiquated, and of not much use for sex scenes (or character scenes or any sort, really).

 

[Tehemai]

14 possible peoples you can impregnate but 2 are not repeatable (Quin and Ellie). Only 2 are from random encounters (Raskvel and Zil).

Given how many npcs there are (wiki has over 350 entries for characters), this is really a minuscule ratio that made the cast seem rather barren. Having only about a dozen such characters scattered throughout a vast universe was a little disappointing. Especially with how the game presents itself with Steele's father's introduction and that giant nursery.

Personally I find the main draw of text games to be to create what other games can't feasibly do like body transformation systems and pregnancy systems which would normally require a ton of graphical work. So not having much of the latter always felt like this game's biggest shortcoming to me. Also the lack of pregnancy for so many of the characters you really get to know seemed to be a rather severely limiting factor in the relationship development. Not to mention immersion breaking as you would think many of the insane scenes would result in such a thing. I thought the first CoC handled it better and was pretty disappointed that despite all the advancements made in other gameplay mechanics, this game took a large step back in that respect.

 

[ScarletteKnight]

I don't wanna kinkshame, but why do people want everything to be pregnant all the time? I can't see it as anything more than inconvenient, especially if you have to actually raise the children.

 

[Tehemai]

I don't wanna kinkshame, but why do people want everything to be pregnant all the time? I can't see it as anything more than inconvenient, especially if you have to actually raise the children.

Tons of reasons. Just a few:

- Procreation is one of the strongest biological impulses. It is literally the reason why we're built to be interested in sex.
- It adds depth to the characters and is the inevitable point of most relationship. The next step so to speak. Not being able to take that step feels like it stonewalls the relationship prematurely and makes the content feel unfinished.
- As they joked in family guy, sex starts to seem meaningless without potency. You take the venom out of the cobra all you're left with is a glorified belt. If there isn't the potential for the pregnancy, all the sex scenes start to feel repetitive and pointless as it bears no chance for significant effect/consequences on the characters and world. You might as well be pumping water.

And though raising children could be an interesting dynamic to explore with one of the characters, I'm not sure why you think pregnancy in the game would necessarily entail that. Especially when there's already a story element in place specifically to take care of it.

 

[Kesil]

I see it as a problem that stems from players and real life detachment. It's ingrained in one's mind that if pregnacy, then babies. If babies, then mummy and daddy (or mummy and mummy, or daddy and daddy) have to raise them. It may take some mental hoops for the player to see that you can just park them with a robot, get the oven refilled and go for higher numbers as something good or even acceptable. In TiTSverse, robots are cool, Steele is loaded and whatnot. But there can be this thought of not wishing to let this be.

I for one like some sides of pregnacy just like I like Briget, but I don't want Steele's children to be a mere number farm raised by a machine because Mummy is trigger happy in more ways than one.

 

[ScarletteKnight]

Tons of reasons. Just a few:

- Procreation is one of the strongest biological impulses. It is literally the reason why we're built to be interested in sex.
- It adds depth to the characters and is the inevitable point of most relationship. The next step so to speak. Not being able to take that step feels like it stonewalls the relationship prematurely and makes the content feel unfinished.
- As they joked in family guy, sex starts to seem meaningless without potency. You take the venom out of the cobra all you're left with is a glorified belt. If there isn't the potential for the pregnancy, all the sex scenes start to feel repetitive and pointless as it bears no chance for significant effect/consequences on the characters and world. You might as well be pumping water.

And though raising children could be an interesting dynamic to explore with one of the characters, I'm not sure why you think pregnancy in the game would necessarily entail that. Especially when there's already a story element in place specifically to take care of it.

I can only kinda see the first point there, the rest seems more like a personal thing. And I don't expect to raise children in the game, I was just pointing out the reality for everyone in the universe that isn't Steele Jr.

I see it as a problem that stems from players and real life detachment. It's ingrained in one's minds that if pregnacy, then babies. If babies, then mummy and daddy (or mummy and mummy, or daddy and daddy) having to raise them. It may take some mental hoops for the player to see that you can just park them with a robot, get the oven refilled and go for higher numbers as something good or even acceptable. In TiTSverse, robots are cool, Steele is loaded and whatnot. But there can be this thought of not wishing to let this be.

I for one like some sides of pregnacy just like I like Briget, but I don't want Steele's children to be a mere number farm raised by a machine because Mummy is trigger happy in more ways than one.

I do like our nanny-bot, and I did do the Queen of the Deep's eggnancy because I'm a sucker, but I just don't understand what's so great about someone being pregnant all the time.

 

[null_blank]

I'm sorry but the pattern I see concerning impregnating NPCs is hilarious.

"waaaah I want to impregnate more NPCs"

"waaaah why does it take so long for NPC pregnancies to come to term? There should be a cheat code to make it faster!"



88mph was a mistake.

 

[Thebiologist]

I'm sorry but the pattern I see concerning impregnating NPCs is hilarious.

"waaaah I want to impregnate more NPCs"

"waaaah why does it take so long for NPC pregnancies to come to term? There should be a cheat code to make it faster!"



88mph was a mistake.

Those guys are just having kids for the sake of collecting.

 

[Tehemai]

I can only kinda see the first point there, the rest seems more like a personal thing.

Well everything is personal to some degree, but I wouldn't say point 2 or 3 are based predominantly on my subjectivity. Pregnancy is quite obviously the next step in almost all heterosexual relationships and arguably the goal of them in the first place. It is also certainly a narrative element used to add another dimension to characters and worlds of many stories of all mediums. Think Hughes from FMA. Could the character be good without the pregnancy in his relationship? Sure. Did it make the character richer and events more touching? Most definitely.

Also as far as its use in a game, it certainly gives sex scenes more purpose as it delivers possible gameplay consequences. It's kinda like playing an rpg and killing a bunch of enemies. If the player knows ahead of time that the mob is generic like any other and won't affect him longterm, he'll just stop caring really quick. But if the player knows there is say a chance to drop an item you can use or a chance to advance or change the direction of the story based on his stats and choices, the player is far more engaged in the sequence as the outcome has an element of uncertainty and importance to his playthrough.

 

[Kesil]

I just don't understand what's so great about someone being pregnant all the time.

I can only type for myself here (and I'm someone whose only deliberate Steele pregnacy was that of the Queen of the Deep as well), but I can see the appeal of an eternally pregnant-looking body if going by aesthetics. Kink wise, I could point to various reasons on how one would be fond of pregnant sex.

 

[null_blank]

I don't wanna kinkshame, but why do people want everything to be pregnant all the time?

First, I want to point out that there is a marked difference in knocking up NPCs and you yourself getting knocked up.

Despite what's being said in this thread, there is literally no investment in Steele knocking up another NPC. Steele doesn't take on Reflex penalties or gets barred from content restricted to the pregnant. Hell, in most cases Steele doesn't even have to come back. Steele doesn't have to do anything except wait.

A Steele with wombs can at max be pregnant with 4 concurrent pregnancies. But if you're the one giving the kids, Steele can have up to 14 NPC pregnant at once.

Basically, knocking up NPCs is EZ-modo for pregnancy content in TiTs.

 

[Tehemai]

I for one like some sides of pregnacy just like I like Briget, but I don't want Steele's children to be a mere number farm raised by a machine because Mummy is trigger happy in more ways than one.

Well that's the good thing, it's another level of player choice. You wouldn't have to get them all pregnant, you can play it by your Steele's morality.

 

[Kesil]

I don't want to play a missing parent, so I don't have Steele impregnate anyone. And then there's how my main Steele is a female herm, which means that she is the one getting pregnant most of the time. And I tend to forget about Sterilex :/

 

[Linarahn]

And I'm with Thebiologist on writing dialogue for Steele. I'll usually go with "You tell [person] [thing]" or "You ask [person] about [stuff]", but I don't put words in Steele's mouth. It always feels weird when someone else writes my Steele's dialogue.

Works just fine for individual lines though, if the situation allows it. Heck, you can even direct it by personality by putting something like [if Steele personality (Kind range)] to carry the flavor. While indirect speech like you provided works well, some scenes require a bit of a more personal touch, in my opinion. At least as long as it doesn't break with the general style of the game.

 

[Nymphonomicon]

I wouldn't really call it a gripe as what I'm talking about is something that I see as both a plus and minus.
What I want to talk about is how content will sometimes mix and intermingle with one another. On the one side, it is a good thing as you get a great deal of fun and erotic encounters, but you also have problems that arise from content being played before a follow-up appears or the content being dependent on a specific choice being made.

[For example, I played the Stellar Tether on my main save before Mitzi was implemented, so I couldn't acquire her properly. I also chose poorly in Rehea's addiction cure so I am locked out of any content that requires her to be cured.]

 

[ScarletteKnight]

Well everything is personal to some degree, but I wouldn't say point 2 or 3 are based predominantly on my subjectivity. Pregnancy is quite obviously the next step in almost all heterosexual relationships and arguably the goal of them in the first place. It is also certainly a narrative element used to add another dimension to characters and worlds of many stories of all mediums. Think Hughes from FMA. Could the character be good without the pregnancy in his relationship? Sure. Did it make the character richer and events more touching? Most definitely.

Also as far as its use in a game, it certainly gives sex scenes more purpose as it delivers possible gameplay consequences. It's kinda like playing an rpg and killing a bunch of enemies. If the player knows ahead of time that the mob is generic like any other and won't affect him longterm, he'll just stop caring really quick. But if the player knows there is say a chance to drop an item you can use or a chance to advance or change the direction of the story based on his stats and choices, the player is far more engaged in the sequence as the outcome has an element of uncertainty and importance to his playthrough.

I just don't agree with the assessment that relationships inevitably lead towards pregnancy. Hughes was a father, it was a core part of his character as a part of the reality of children that Steele Jr doesn't face, and he was an amazingly good man, which is why we could love him as a father in the first place. He was also a loving husband, and his wife was as important to his life as his daughter. Steele has very little interaction with their children, so the focus is generally on being pregnant, not the actual children, to the point that a lot of people play a numbers game with it.

I can only type for myself here (and I'm someone whose only deliberate Steele pregnacy was that of the Queen of the Deep as well), but I can see the appeal of an eternally pregnant-looking body if going by aesthetics. Kink wise, I could point to various reasons on how one would be fond of pregnant sex.

Pregnant sex is one thing. If, for instance, Beatrice was pregnant with her husband's child and we still got to sleep with her, that would be hot. I think there's a couple on Uveto that are always pregnant, but I'm not sure if you can sleep with them.

 

[Tehemai]

I just don't agree with the assessment that relationships inevitably lead towards pregnancy. Hughes was a father, it was a core part of his character as a part of the reality of children that Steele Jr doesn't face, and he was an amazingly good man, which is why we could love him as a father in the first place. He was also a loving husband, and his wife was as important to his life as his daughter. Steele has very little interaction with their children, so the focus is generally on being pregnant, not the actual children, to the point that a lot of people play a numbers game with it.

I'm confused as to what there is not to agree with. It's genuinely how we all came to be. While there are exceptions certainly (never said inevitably), to say that starting a family is the expected next/last step in most relationships does not seem like a particularly subjective statement. It is the biological point of romances. Of course not all npcs would not opt into such a thing with Steele as they may have reasons why they don't want kids, but it is where you'd generally expect relationships to eventually go with fleshed out characters unless there is a stated reason otherwise. And in a game like this where everyone is breeding like bunnies, where you literally have stats tied to it and where ridiculous amounts of money was invested before you even start in preparation of such an outcome, it is more than a little odd to set off and find almost no procreation results without explanation, even by accident.

As for Hughes, you say that because you only know the final product of the character with all his depth. That is why you cannot separate him from fatherhood. But objectively speaking, they could have cut her out and told the story without making almost any changes. She enriched it but she was not actually integral to the story or character at all. He already had plenty of depth and motivations to do everything he did with his wife, the elrics, winry, roy, etc. The pregnancy and fatherhood just added more layers to his character and his relationships.

Also I find it odd that there is concern with kids being used as a gameplay element. They're not real. This is a game where you can literally kill, take sexual advantage and enslave various npcs. Being concerned that the virtual kids are not given individual attention is an odd place to draw the line. Especially given they get everything they could ever need in that state of the art nursery system. Rich businessmen use such (much less advanced) services in our society too. It's not exactly evil. Not to mention, the offspring are only at best half human. That means often time their normal life is far different than the standards you're holding them up to. For example, if we're talking about breeding with a zil, which are basically like giant bees, they would not expect individual care of their children by their parents. This type of life away from parents is pretty standard for many species that are bred in large numbers. Those that aren't could be a bit more personalized touch like Sophie from CoC.

 

[ScarletteKnight]

I'm confused as to what there is not to agree with. It's genuinely how we all came to be. While there are exceptions certainly (never said inevitably), to say that starting a family is the expected next/last step in most relationships does not seem like a particularly subjective statement. It is the biological point of romances. Of course not all npcs would not opt into such a thing with Steele as they may have reasons why they don't want kids, but it is where you'd generally expect relationships to eventually go with fleshed out characters unless there is a stated reason otherwise. And in a game like this where everyone is breeding like bunnies, where you literally have stats tied to it and where ridiculous amounts of money was invested before you even start in preparation of such an outcome, it is more than a little odd to set off and find almost no procreation results without explanation, even by accident.

As for Hughes, you say that because you only know the final product of the character with all his depth. That is why you cannot separate him from fatherhood. But objectively speaking, they could have cut her out and told the story without making almost any changes. She enriched it but she was not actually integral to the story or character at all. He already had plenty of depth and motivations to do everything he did with his wife, the elrics, winry, roy, etc. The pregnancy and fatherhood just added more layers to his character and his relationships.

Also I find it odd that there is concern with kids being used as a gameplay element. They're not real. This is a game where you can literally kill, take sexual advantage and enslave various npcs. Being concerned that Steele is not taking individual care of the kids himself directly is an odd place to draw the moral line. Especially given they get everything they could ever need in that state of the art nursery system. Rich businessmen use such (much less advanced) services in our society too. It's not exactly evil. Not to mention, the offspring are only at best half human. That means often time their normal life is far different than the standards you're holding them up to. For example, if we're talking about breeding with a zil, which are basically like giant bees, they would not expect individual care of their children by their parents. This type of life away from parents is pretty standard for many species that are bred in large numbers. Those that aren't could be a bit more personalized touch like Sophie from CoC.

There are plenty of reasons to not want children, or be incapable of having children, and as far as I'm aware, people get into relationships because they love the person they're with, not because they think it would be a great idea to have kids. Most people in-game don't have or want kids, leading to the complaining of lack of NPC pregnancy; most people aren't '"breeding like bunnies", they're having sex for fun or for love. I got the Sterile perk at the beginning, so the Nursery literally makes no sense, but I did do the Queen of the Deep eggnancy, so I guess it helps.

Hughes' character was defined by his being a father, just like in real life. Taking his daughter out of it would have made him a different person and altered the story, even if only by a little.

I don't think there's anyone you can kill, unless I'm missing something. I'm pretty sure it's stated outright that murder isn't allowed in the game. And personally, I avoid slavery and rape content. I know the Nursery gives them food, shelter, and clothing, but I don't see the situation as good for the children. I know rich people already do stuff like this, but that doesn't make it okay. The differences between species raising their young is purely cultural, not racial, and usually take inspiration from other human cultures or wild animals, which are far less advanced than Coreward cultures in TiTS, and thus don't make a great example.

At any rate, this discussion isn't what I had in mind when I was asking what people thought was great about either being or making someone pregnant as much as possible.

 

[Raskputin]

At any rate, this discussion isn't what I had in mind when I was asking what people thought was great about either being or making someone pregnant as much as possible.

I kinda feel like you're overthinking it to be honest, fetishes aren't really a rational thing most of the time, and while im sure you could somehow explain the origins of fetishes through some psychological theory or analysis or whatever, most of the time, it probably boils down to the fact that pregnancy is something strongly tied to sex, and so people find the act of being impregnated/impregnating hot, or they want to make a relationship with another character more intimate(having kids is usually seen as the last 'milestone' in a traditional relationship after all)

As for the people who try to get dozens or hundreds of kids(looking at you, null!), I think at that point its more of a challenge where they try to play a numbers game more than anything sexual, although I cant say for certain.

 

[null_blank]

dozens or hundreds of kids(looking at you, null!)

The last time I had a kid count in the hundreds was in 2017. IT WASN'T EVEN MY FINAL FORM.

I think at that point its more of a challenge where they try to play a numbers game more than anything sexual, although I cant say for certain.

Did you know of the 100+ eggs I had with the Frostwyrm, my Steele laid 75 of them without skipping any time or cheating at all? It's not just a numbers game, it about how I got those numbers.

Sure, it probably reduced my sanity a bit (read: alot) by doing it but it's done. Took a little over 2 months of playing on and off.

I am never doing that again.