It’s about time we talked about the birds and the bees, the hanky panky, the horizontal tango, the special wrestle. Yes, we talking about butt slapping, jaw stressing, ball milking, stomach filling, hole stretching sex. Specifically the amazing new overhaul of our Doll system.
We have gone through a lot of iterations on the Doll system, but it can be boiled down to a system that the game can automatically push NPC’s into realistic-looking sex animations, have them bang however they want, and fulfill their needs, all while being able to animate and move limbs, etc however they like. Then throw in the player being in this, allowing them to move NPCs how they like and ultimately craft and be a part of something really engaging.
Yeah, it is a lot to ask from a system.
It is also the reason we have been releasing something, then remaking it, releasing another, remaking it, etc, etc. The biggest issue comes down to expectations players have with what they need to do, along with making it look amazing.
So here we are. On the 4th iteration of the Doll system, I believe we have a winner!
Here is the first version of iteration 4 that we will be adding to Sapphire Safari. The animations you see here are all chosen by the system, they are mixed together organically and it allows for up to five total participants within one sex animation.
Allow me to explain just what is happening here. Each character in a scene is split horizontally in two, with the top and bottom halves capable of animating independently of the other. Also, characters can control their animation selection based on whatever we tell them. In Sapphire Safari, characters have a selection of “needs” which are based on how horny they are, how close to coming, how bored, how excited, etc. This will lead them to choose a base animation.
When a second character joins an existing character already in a sex animation, they choose an open slot (the example given in the video shows only one, but expect all orifices to be made available), they then choose an animation based on their needs, they enter the animation position and begin to animate as intended. The amazing part here is when they enter an existing animation they now take over control of whatever half of the body the slot they took is a part of. In the video above it is the lower portion of the pink character. But imagine in the future it could be the mouth, the anus, or the vagina of any character in a scene. A third character could use the anus or mouth of the blue character or the mouth of the pink. The only rule here is that new characters choose the animation the slot on the base character is going to play.
Oh and before you ask, yes, these will include face animations and such as well.
Anyways, we are working hard to make this a reality, there are still a few bugs and stuff we need to work on to get it all smoothed out. However, it is also worth pointing out that this tech, is our unique system. We have also made it backward-compatible. Meaning all our previous and future Unreal Engine games will be getting this system. Yes, that means Elewder. Hope you all enjoyed this sneak peek! More to come!
James' DLC will be releasing along side Gray's full release on April 20! His longer epilogue and side story will be available.
You can already purchase his DLC through the store, but the DLC will not work until the 20th. Please keep this in mind when you want to purchase James' DLC before April 20th.
To repeat: the DLC will not work until April 20th when the update has come through.
We just pushed out a minor update addressing a few QOL fixes. The biggest changes depend on what you care most about, so feel free to read below and decide for yourself!
♥Bean
changelog v1.0.2 Game
Fixed bullet size bug affected by recently-removed large bullets
Tweaked Silvergun (expert) pachinko chaos
Changed text objects to always display the most recently-created objects on top of older ones (This fixes several background text issues in Bean Bounty)
Changed Hungry Eyes achievement to only work in Vengeful Eyes (expert) and updated achievement description too
Fixed enemies showing certain particle fx when hidden / not currently visible
Level Select
Added sfx when viewing album art
Fixed blurry album art previews in Main / User levels
Fixed missing thumb art being blurry
Title
Removed feedback button (please use the #bug-reports channel in our Discord)
I really want to address some of the most frequently mentioned things about the demo, which might be interesting for many who missed my answers, as they are scattered across several chats : )
Let's start with something cool right away – The Grapple or The Chained Dagger to be precise.
Get Down There!
Is it possible to use the grapple while wielding a weapon?
No, it can be only used for parkour on grapple points when armed BUT The chained dagger will be a separate key in the full game
I tried to fit it into my tight control scheme, because I'm a big fan of contextual abilities, where there's never a button that can only do one thing. Kick, slide, jump and other buttons are all used for both combat and parkour, and I tried very hard to fit the chained dagger into the throwing mechanic based on RMB.
But now I have even more awesome things to do with the grapple, and having it on a separate button not only helps with the consistency of your grapple point experience, but also opens the door to a new dimension of epic combos.
So yeah, +1 more OP mechanic to balance but this one worth it!
Parkour
I can't remember a big enough question for this part, but I'm hearing all the feedback about inconsistencies in ramp jumping, weird rope physics and other little things.
Things will get better. After all, the flow is why we're all here, right? <3
Kick, Kick, Repeat
The demo is easy, I need some challenge!
Yes, the demo is only the basics. It was really important for me to show the core of the game first and to let you have fun with the mechanics, because more challenging enemies might feel frustrating before you know how many options you have even without a weapon in your hands.
That said my goal is not to make a hardcore game to be honest, but each new enemy and especially their blessed versions will do their best to push you out of the box. I know how many OP mechanics you have, but even your trustful kick and grapple won't do much in some situations while some combinations of blessed enemies won't let you rest for too long.
Sooo it might get hardcore if you dare to SSS all the levels : )
Options
Add a crosshair for better aiming!
You can turn on the crosshair during the game: Pause Game > Options > Game > Crosshair (None, Dot, Segments). You can make it always visible or keep contextual (only visible when charging an attack).
Also you can change your FOV or hide UI elements/tutorial prompts. There's a difference between in-game and title screen option menus that's not at all obvious. I'll unify the options for the full game to avoid this confusion, my bad!
Timeless Style
Why there's no bonus for beating level quickly? Shady Knight's ranking system is all about playing with style which goes strictly against time, as you have to think more about your position, the variety of moves you use, and even do some extra moves to create interesting combos.
Instead of encouraging only the fastest and the most powerful moves my goal for the ranking is to encourage this creative moment-to-moment thinking of all the abilities you can use without being repetitive or relaying on one wining strategy.
Yet time isn't completely out of the game as I'm planning on having leaderboards for both:
The Best SSS Score,
The Fastest Flawless Run * "Flawless Run" is a new achievement that combines No Damage + No Falls + All Enemies are Dead i.e. this is your proof that you can beat a level without a scratch.
The Endless Question
An endless arena and a simple in-game editor are planned, but I want to be honest that I still have a lot to do with the core experience and this is my main priority.
I wish I could do it all at once, but I feel that a half-baked game with a half-baked endless mode is still a minus, so I have to focus on the main game and think of these things as goals for the post-launch updates. Anyway the game is designed around high replayability and I hope you'll be busy with the exciting things I'm working on right now.
UPDATED 30.09.2023: There will be an endless arena in the game, codenamed "Hundred Dead Knights". Reaching one hundred won't stop the enemies, but I'll count your mastery as proven : )
I guess this is all for now. Thank you all for your support and feedback. I'm so glad to have such a community as it makes the hardest times during development brighter.
Taborea, get ready for new offers! From 16th April (midnight) to 22nd April (11:59 PM CEST), the shop takes you to the Baroque! Pick up the noble Baroque costume set and much more.
The following are just some of the items that are waiting for you: