VN Others Finding Color in the Ashes [Alpha v1.15] [MooncatcherStudios]

[angelsweep]

Seeing the art is gorgeous from scs.

So what's this? Harem? You single target on the cute witch? And if someone knows around how many nsfw cgs there are as of now, i'd appreciate it ;o

 

[Soulcatch]

Got to the end of the demo and the early game grind is killer. You need reputation/condition to get customers for more gold. But without gold, you can't buy materials needed to keep your inn in good condition. So until you save up enough gold to buy materials to maintain the inn, you're stuck with a crappy inn that doesn't attract customers and the few customers you're able to get don't pay much gold. Add on top of that the wood and food you need to get on the daily in order to keep up your daily activities, and you're juggling multiple dwindling resources as you're trying to raise your stats to be half competent in battle. The worst part is finally saving up enough materials to really start maintaining the inn only for no adventurers to show up and by the time you've been foraging for food after spending all your time repairing, the condition is back down to 0. Once you get to the point where you can do alchemy with Lucy, then you're finally able to get a decent source of income selling potions each weekend. Once you get past that initial hump and have your combat stats at least at 50, then it's smooth sailing but the grind just feels like a time tax before you're able really start enjoying the game. I really want to like this game more because the genre and gameplay loop is right up my alley but currently I just don't think it lives up to the hype.

There is no fail state, so even if you are struggling a bit to get going, the game won't end / lucy won't leave. The balance right now is anything but final, but even so, it's very doable once you get the swing of it. That being said, resource management isn't necessarily for everyone, so I intend to have some difficulty options in there at some point. Still, thanks for the thoughts.

The next update is also going to have an alternate start button that sets you up with some money / resources and a bit of progress and drop you right before fall starts (since the update focuses on the fall). I imagine this will help a lot of people jump in a little faster if they want to skip the early game grind.

Seeing the art is gorgeous from scs.

So what's this? Harem? You single target on the cute witch? And if someone knows around how many nsfw cgs there are as of now, i'd appreciate it ;o

There are 12 scenes in there right now, I have another ready to go for the next update, and there will be more. The game leans more harem with a strong focus on the central girl. There are a few nsfw still shots in the game as well, but not nearly so many (more to come).

 

[Maki_]

In the final version maybe have the beginning of the game introduce mechanics one at a time or something. Like first you spend 2-3 days going around clearing out the local monsters, then it introduces repair and has you do that, then makes you go gather food/wood/reagents, etc.

 

[freezingsama]

yep I think I just finished it, for an alpha it's already very good. have high expectations

also the dryad is really hard I agree, too hard

 

[Soulcatch]

In the final version maybe have the beginning of the game introduce mechanics one at a time or something. Like first you spend 2-3 days going around clearing out the local monsters, then it introduces repair and has you do that, then makes you go gather food/wood/reagents, etc.

I want to have a different intro section entirely, what's in there right now I whipped up in an afternoon. Having something with actual tutorials + gameplay introduction would be ideal.

 

[ChubbyFatBoy]

There is no fail state, so even if you are struggling a bit to get going, the game won't end / lucy won't leave. The balance right now is anything but final, but even so, it's very doable once you get the swing of it. That being said, resource management isn't necessarily for everyone, so I intend to have some difficulty options in there at some point. Still, thanks for the thoughts.

The next update is also going to have an alternate start button that sets you up with some money / resources and a bit of progress and drop you right before fall starts (since the update focuses on the fall). I imagine this will help a lot of people jump in a little faster if they want to skip the early game grind.

Much appreciated with the option, instead of like some blanket adjustments. Maybe things have changed since last I played. But I don't remembering having an issue with the pacing. Didn't take long to start the steamroll and coast the rest of the time. Last thing I would want is for it to go faster..... granted. I am one of them optimized run type folks so I might be a wee bit bias

Also hai Soul! Hope everything has been well.

 

[cunning_linguist]

There is no fail state, so even if you are struggling a bit to get going, the game won't end / lucy won't leave. The balance right now is anything but final, but even so, it's very doable once you get the swing of it. That being said, resource management isn't necessarily for everyone, so I intend to have some difficulty options in there at some point. Still, thanks for the thoughts.

The next update is also going to have an alternate start button that sets you up with some money / resources and a bit of progress and drop you right before fall starts (since the update focuses on the fall). I imagine this will help a lot of people jump in a little faster if they want to skip the early game grind.

My issue isn't necessarily with the difficulty, just the balance with how resources all constantly eat into each other in the early game. I'm no stranger to management sims and a lot of my favorite H games are SLGs, and not that my gamer cred matters here but I play most my games in general on hard mode if possible. Like I said, I made it to the end of the demo and things became smooth sailing once I was able to learn alchemy and get a consistent source of early game income. One suggestion I have is slowing down the inn's rate of condition deterioration, since currently your best early game strat is to just neglect the inn entirely since trying to actually focus on maintaining a proper inn just puts you in a pointless cycle of maintenance using constantly dwindling resources. I guess what I'm trying to say is that the narrative wants you to work on your inn, when doing so is probably the worst activity you can do in the early game and I think that's a major conflict of roleplay. Thanks for being active in the forums and receptive to feedback, I do honestly have high hopes for this game I just felt that it's needlessly time consuming in its current state.

 

[Soulcatch]

My issue isn't necessarily with the difficulty, just the balance with how resources all constantly eat into each other in the early game. I'm no stranger to management sims and a lot of my favorite H games are SLGs, and not that my gamer cred matters here but I play most my games in general on hard mode if possible. Like I said, I made it to the end of the demo and things became smooth sailing once I was able to learn alchemy and get a consistent source of early game income. One suggestion I have is slowing down the inn's rate of condition deterioration, since currently your best early game strat is to just neglect the inn entirely since trying to actually focus on maintaining a proper inn just puts you in a pointless cycle of maintenance using constantly dwindling resources. I guess what I'm trying to say is that the narrative wants you to work on your inn, when doing so is probably the worst activity you can do in the early game and I think that's a major conflict of roleplay. Thanks for being active in the forums and receptive to feedback, I do honestly have high hopes for this game I just felt that it's needlessly time consuming in its current state.

All good. Balance is something that will get adjusted throughout development. What's comfortable for me/some won't be for everyone, but I'll try to tune it more and more as it gets closer to release.

The intention is for the early game to feel rough, because you inherit a run-down inn with very few resources and almost no traffic. It takes a few weeks to get some momentum, but once you do, things start to go very smoothly. Generally by late summer / mid fall you can be utterly loaded in the current build.

Generally, for the first week, I usually focus on clearing the roads with 1 hunt action and 4 patrol actions, and use the afternoons to clean / gather as needed. Spend all my money on the weekend to get materials + alcohol, and then use the second week to hopefully sell starting potions and get ahead on food + reagents. But the RNG means some runs will go easier than others. I feel like better tutorials will help as well.

For those who are curious, condition being at 0 only effects how much guests will pay you to stay at the inn. Don't stress too hard if it takes you a bit to get it under control.

I do genuinely appreciate all the feedback though. I don't want the game to feel miserable to play, and I'm always nudging things a little this way or that.

Much appreciated with the option, instead of like some blanket adjustments. Maybe things have changed since last I played. But I don't remembering having an issue with the pacing. Didn't take long to start the steamroll and coast the rest of the time. Last thing I would want is for it to go faster..... granted. I am one of them optimized run type folks so I might be a wee bit bias

It's all just taste isn't it? My favorite games are ball-crushing resource management games like Pathologic or Frostpunk. I find those tremendously fun and engaging, but they aren't for everyone. I've incorporated some of the resource management into my game but tried to make it a little more palatable by removing fail states or severe punishments. So worst case, in my game as is, it might just take you a bit longer to get to the same place. Not trying to make a pain simulator haha, just trying to have some engaging systems.

 

[littlescum]

Ok, when this one was posted - I went into it for like 2 hours
Which is good, from my perspective, because I rarely play any game here for more than 30 min
Exceptions are rrare like Imperial Gatekeeper, Witch Trainer etc. So, like, 'big ones'.
And Living with Sister is also in this list
So no wonder I ended up here
And what I also ended up with is getting those games on steam (well, which are there of course)

And after seeing regular updates, want to say - Dev, great job!
Communicating with actual player base, activly improving your creation.
And, most importantly, having really cool convept. (tbh, I recently added character, simular to Lucy, to one of my DnD camaigns, ahah, and players absolutly loved it)

So I threw my cash into monitor (not sure how donations on itch works, before used only patreon, but hope everything will be recieved fine)
If this gets to actual release (or, even better,on steam) - instant purchase from me, my friend, keep doing great and this game will stand along with other NSFW masterpieces!

P.S. Sorry for potato english btw

 

[littlescum]

I would comment only 1 thing tho, ahah
This game has great concept and great mixture of different gameplay parts
Like, nor management or battle are particulary hard (ok, for me), or very complex
But enough, to have good mix with story part and combine into actual game
Like, again, in Living with Sister
BUT
What I hope we will see is actual NSFW content as Part of the game.

For now it feels like 99% game and 1% NSFW
And this 1% scenes are pretty short.

So if on the release version we could get something close to what we had in Living with Sister, like interactive scenes with different options, transitions etc., that would make current gameplay-story-porn ratio in the perfect level.

 

[Soulcatch]

I would comment only 1 thing tho, ahah
This game has great concept and great mixture of different gameplay parts
Like, nor management or battle are particulary hard (ok, for me), or very complex
But enough, to have good mix with story part and combine into actual game
Like, again, in Living with Sister
BUT
What I hope we will see is actual NSFW content as Part of the game.

For now it feels like 99% game and 1% NSFW
And this 1% scenes are pretty short.

So if on the release version we could get something close to what we had in Living with Sister, like interactive scenes with different options, transitions etc., that would make current gameplay-story-porn ratio in the perfect level.

Thanks, glad you like the game. I've got lots more content coming, including many more sex scenes. There is another animated and good to go for the next update, with more planned after that. Once I have the core of the Fall, Winter, and Spring gameplay sorted I will be spending a lot of effort filling out content and improving what's already there.

 

[littlescum]

Thanks, glad you like the game. I've got lots more content coming, including many more sex scenes. There is another animated and good to go for the next update, with more planned after that. Once I have the core of the Fall, Winter, and Spring gameplay sorted I will be spending a lot of effort filling out content and improving what's already there.

Oh, btw, I've also noticed this
In Dialogs with Lucy, phrase starts to appear
It appears slower than I can read it. And because there are no VA, there is no reason for me to just wait
So what I do? I click. Phrase appears fully. AND DIALOG AUTO MOVES TO THE NEXT PHRASE xD

What I would expect is First click to phrase fully appear and second to move for next one
Like in any novel, or, basically, game with dialog system
Though, sometimes it works like that, mostly doesnt, so maybe it is a bug
Example is prologue scene (when transition from Lucy's phrases to text screen), first battle won, or evening dialogs (again, works differently from time to time)

 

[Samknowsall]

Can you add a gallery or something to know which sex scenes we havent gotten yet and where to find them. I dont mind rng, just want to make sure im grinding in the right place.

 

[Soulcatch]

Can you add a gallery or something to know which sex scenes we havent gotten yet and where to find them. I dont mind rng, just want to make sure im grinding in the right place.

Yeah a gallery will definitely be added at some point. In the meantime I'm likely going to reduce RNG and just add some menus to make it easier to pick what you want to see.

If it helps figuring out where you are, current scenes are: Lucy (hj,bj,finger,doggy,reverse cowgirl, +3 scenes when you break into her room), 2 scout scenes, and 1 ellie scene. Also the interactive scene with lucy.

 

[cunning_linguist]

Yeah a gallery will definitely be added at some point. In the meantime I'm likely going to reduce RNG and just add some menus to make it easier to pick what you want to see.

If it helps figuring out where you are, current scenes are: Lucy (hj,bj,finger,doggy,reverse cowgirl, +3 scenes when you break into her room), 2 scout scenes, and 1 ellie scene. Also the interactive scene with lucy.

Are more positions with Lucy in the interactive scene in the pipeline?

 

[Soulcatch]

Are more positions with Lucy in the interactive scene in the pipeline?

Yes, but unfortunately it'll be a little while. Those require quite a bit of work to put together, but I really want to add more so it'll happen eventually.

 

[sizzantaclaus]

Yes, but unfortunately it'll be a little while. Those require quite a bit of work to put together, but I really want to add more so it'll happen eventually.

Just wanna pipe in and say again keep up the solid work mate this is a great start and I know lots of us are looking forward to more.

 

[Turandal]

Really enjoyed what the game has to offer so far, just one thing is kind of scratching at my mind.

The whole night spying/barging in honestly seems like it would be the perfect set up for her to actually have fetishes related to exhibitionism and somnophilia. Encouraging him to overcome the obstacles she set up without alerting her once she trusts him and is interested enough. She already has scenes outdoors so exhibitionism at least is not a stretch.

Locking progress behind high enough magical abilities (and perhaps something potion related) makes perfect sense to me considering her personality. She is elated when he does learn anything magical after all.
Right now the creepy stuff he is capable of doing doesn't really fit the vibes of the game imo and even if you do explore it, it's not satisfying to me personally (could just be me, not really into femdom). Throwing consent into the mix would just make everything click.

Her noticing that he disabled some, but not all, of her defenses and teasing him about not being mage enough also seems like a really fun dynamic to me.

Pretty sure at least some of that would be a huge pain to implement and might lock you out of the already available content if not done carefully.

 

[Soulcatch]

Really enjoyed what the game has to offer so far, just one thing is kind of scratching at my mind.

The whole night spying/barging in honestly seems like it would be the perfect set up for her to actually have fetishes related to exhibitionism and somnophilia. Encouraging him to overcome the obstacles she set up without alerting her once she trusts him and is interested enough. She already has scenes outdoors so exhibitionism at least is not a stretch.

Locking progress behind high enough magical abilities (and perhaps something potion related) makes perfect sense to me considering her personality. She is elated when he does learn anything magical after all.
Right now the creepy stuff he is capable of doing doesn't really fit the vibes of the game imo and even if you do explore it, it's not satisfying to me personally (could just be me, not really into femdom). Throwing consent into the mix would just make everything click.

Her noticing that he disabled some, but not all, of her defenses and teasing him about not being mage enough also seems like a really fun dynamic to me.

Pretty sure at least some of that would be a huge pain to implement and might lock you out of the already available content if not done carefully.

The reason it feels half-baked is because.... it's just not finished yet haha. The mechanic will be expanded on a bunch. In earlier builds you could barge and it was an alternate path to romancing lucy, but then it became a little buggy with some sequence breaking stuff during development so I just put it on hold for a bit. But I intend to add a lot to the feature (including some scenes with the other companions) - but it'll just be some time.

Also, some people might notice there is a conspicuously missing skill on the level up tree in the magic abilities, right in the middle on the right. That is a counter-spell that lets the player remove the defensive enchantment on her room. It's just yanked out of the current builds until I can squash the bugs / develop that path.

Thanks for the playing and leaving feedback !

 

[Samknowsall]

should set up a subscribestar/patreon whenever you have the chance. I'd donate.