Clearwater Crossing [Otome] (Open Dev)

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Kingv
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Re: Clearwater Crossing[Otome] (Open Dev)

#106 Post by Kingv »

ElectraPop wrote:I really like the character designs, specially abby's, she looks really really cute, loving her hair.
This game looks very good to me in overall, can't wait to see more updates.
Thank you! I'm glad you like her design. I'll keep you all updated as progress is made.
iuliamaria wrote:I really like the new spirte! He looks like a real mayor that want's to do a mall on an historic part of the town :). I think the tracker looks very good and I also like that you need to talk at least five times with a guy in one location before you unlock the location on the tracker ^•^
Thanks! I agree, it fits his personality much better now. I'm glad you like how the tracker turned out. I think it makes things more realistic if you have to gradually learn their schedules rather than it being filled in automatically after only one meeting.
Elmiwisa wrote:Sorry I did not read through all the page on this thread. I just look at the feature and see
Kingv wrote: • Dynamic Environments: World evolves based on your actions
• Romantic, Jealousy and Friendship endings available
• Stat and Event based game play
I find this very intriguing. But can you elaborate a bit more on these please? :D
Like how the world evolve based on the action? What is this Jealousy ending you have here (is it like TM:GS1)? And what do you means by Stats and Event based game play: something like LLTQ, or TM:GS1, or something else completely? :?
Sorry if this have been answered before, I didn't read the whole thread. :oops:
I'm also kinda skeptical about the seasonal clothes though, since that means you would need a whole lot more CGs too, not just the sprites. Though if it can be pulled off, it would be very interesting. :wink:
Sure, I don't mind. I'll try my best to explain.Dynamic environments means that parts of the background/scenery will change based on your stats. For example at the start of the game Abby is given an office to run her business in. Unfortunately, it's a mess. But as she increases her Handiness the building will change structurally-holes get patched in, leaks are fixed, flooring is removed and replaced. Creativity will change how it looks from a design standpoint allowing her to make it look beautiful by painting the walls, adding plants and pictures...those sorts of things. So far the areas that use dynamics environments will be Abbys' room, her business, and the shopping center. But you'll only see changes to the shopping center if she chooses to help the town. If not it'll look the same the entire game. Basically graphics in game would change based on those scores. Some characters will even make comments about all the hard work you're doing and compliment you, of if they are against what you're doing criticize you for getting involved, and even rush you to do things faster if you haven't increased certain stats if the one year game deadline is approaching. So having dynamic environments changes quite a few factors while playing.
I only played a little bit of TM:GS1 and none of LLTQ so I'm unfamiliar with their game play mechanics. But in the case of jealousy endings certain bachelors are either friends, neutral or enemies with each other. Let's use Kristian, Remy and Orion for an example. Kristian and Orion are really good friends. On the other hand Kristian hates Remy but Remy is neutral to Kristian and Remy and Orion are friends. Hypothetically let's say while playing you went after Kristian and Orion but picked Orion at the end. Kristian would then show up and basically give his blessing for you to be together. Same thing would happen if you picked Kristian. But if Remy is picked over Kristian, Kristian would go ballistic and cause a jealousy event to occur.
Explaining the event and stat based game play is a little more hard to explain only because it depends on a lot of factors but feel free to ask any more questions and I'll try to elaborate. Let's start with events. There are many major events in the game including monthly festivals and birthdays. Every item you can also buy in the shops will either unlock an event scene, increase stats or give you another way to spend time with a bachelor. Some events are even location or weather based so it would be a good idea to explore the town whenever you get a chance. You could play the game without getting any extra events (which would be pretty hard to do) but you wouldn't really get a full sense of the other characters or their stories. Stat based game play means that with certain stat increases more options are unlocked. For example, your mom won't invite you to play BINGO unless your Logic is above 50. By unlocking that option you gain the ability to spend more time with her and increase experience points that would lead to her friendship ending.
I totally understand your concerns in regards to having seasonal outfits for all characters. I think most people would assume I'm going to have to draw four different seasonal variations for each CG but my plan is for the CGs to be season locked. Each character will have about 8-10 CGs each meaning that you can unlock about two per season. So if you fail to get a certain CG during Autumn it won't be available if you continue on to Winter in game. I know it's a little unfair but it would be less work for me. I originally wanted to have seasonal variations for each CG as well as have multiple poses for each character but then i thought to my self, 'wow, that's a lot of work! If I do all that I'll never get done'. This is a free game. It wouldn't be good for me to overwork myself and stress out about something I'm doing for fun. I'm definitely trying to follow the KISS method in regards to production but I do occasionally splurge. ^^

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Re: Clearwater Crossing[Otome] (Open Dev)

#107 Post by iuliamaria »

So how's it going with the game? Any new updates? I hope everything is going well.

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Re: Clearwater Crossing[Otome] (Open Dev)

#108 Post by Kingv »

iuliamaria wrote:So how's it going with the game? Any new updates? I hope everything is going well.
Progress is going pretty good I'd say. I found a wonderful co-writer who's agreed to help out with the story. So right now I'm working on fleshing out the day by day progress of the game and writing down what happens each day in One Note so that an outline is in place before tackling the character routes. Fall and Winter are done and all that's left is Spring and Summer.
No big changes have been done yet art wise except for a few random NPC sketches and the reworking of Giovanni's sprite. I've already scrapped his design so much already but I like this one much better than the last one I did. He's by far the thinnest and tallest character of the bunch which fits his bio.

But I did have a question to pose for everyone. What kind of events would you be interested in seeing for Spring and Summer? Could be large or small, but I'm mainly looking for major event ideas. So far for Spring I have the Flower Festival, Abby, Dorian and Joriah's birthdays and a hurricane weather event. And in Summer there will be a Beach Party and Orion and Millie's birthdays.
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Re: Clearwater Crossing[Otome] (Open Dev)

#109 Post by shiho14 »

Yay another update! ^^

I was gonna suggest Flower Viewing Festival but you already have the Flower festival xD How about for Spring - Festival of Colors (or something like that?). I read that in India they call it "Holi Festival" it's a celebration of welcoming the spring season. They celebrate it by throwing color water and color powder at each other. And for Summer - Fishing Festival and Summer Fireworks Festival ^^

I can also suggest the Hot Air Balloon Festival but I don't know which season I could put that into and wow I'm liking Gio's sprite design!

Good luck in your progress..hope my suggestions helped a little ^_^

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Re: Clearwater Crossing[Otome] (Open Dev)

#110 Post by Kingv »

shiho14 wrote:Yay another update! ^^

I was gonna suggest Flower Viewing Festival but you already have the Flower festival xD How about for Spring - Festival of Colors (or something like that?). I read that in India they call it "Holi Festival" it's a celebration of welcoming the spring season. They celebrate it by throwing color water and color powder at each other. And for Summer - Fishing Festival and Summer Fireworks Festival ^^

I can also suggest the Hot Air Balloon Festival but I don't know which season I could put that into and wow I'm liking Gio's sprite design!

Good luck in your progress..hope my suggestions helped a little ^_^

I'm always happy to share anything new! Thank you for all the even ideas. For the Flower Festival patrons would give love interest different colored roses to represent their feelings for them. So a red rose would mean love and a yellow one would be friendship. Don't have a name for the Summer Festival just yet but basically it'll be a beach party followed by fireworks at night so that takes the place for one of your ideas. But fishing does sound like a fun activity. Maybe I can fit it in as a bachelor even scene rather than a standard one.
I'm glad you like Gio's new design also and thank you for your suggestions, they were very thought provoking.

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Re: Clearwater Crossing[Otome] (Open Dev)

#111 Post by shiho14 »

I love the events in Spring and Summer because it looks so much fun and it looks like a lot will happen during those events ^^

I'm curious though..Will Abby be the one giving the roses to the guys or the guys who will be giving the flowers? And will there be conversations when these events happen? ^_^

Thank you for posting your updates (I always get excited when you have new posts) and for considering my ideas :D

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Re: Clearwater Crossing[Otome] (Open Dev)

#112 Post by Kingv »

shiho14 wrote:I love the events in Spring and Summer because it looks so much fun and it looks like a lot will happen during those events ^^

I'm curious though..Will Abby be the one giving the roses to the guys or the guys who will be giving the flowers? And will there be conversations when these events happen? ^_^

Thank you for posting your updates (I always get excited when you have new posts) and for considering my ideas :D
Glad you like them! Festivals are a good way to spend a little extra time with the characters. Since they happen every month it's important for me to make each festival fresh and interesting in it's own way.

For the Flower Festival she 'll be the one giving out flowers since it's traditional for the women to give them away. There are six different rose colors to be given out and each bachelor will have dialog for each color that will reflect his feeling towards you. For example if you give a guy a red rose and he barely knows who you are he'll feel very uncomfortable with your gift. Same way if you give another guy a friendship rose and he's in love with you he'll get upset and you'll probably end up loosing points with him. There will be lots of conversation going on during the festival between love interest as well as other NPCs.

And thank you for taking the time to make suggestions! I'm always grateful when you guys post comments and it really helps me to make the game the best it can be. Ever suggestion made won't be added to the game but it definitely helps me to figure out what features everyone would like to see.

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Re: Clearwater Crossing[Otome] (Open Dev)

#113 Post by shiho14 »

So festivals are like a date? since it happens every month..is this also a way to raise their affection? Sorry If I keep asking questions..I'm just really curious :D

Now that you said Abby will be giving the flowers..I have a huge urge to give the wrong color to the guys especially to the character I'm pursuing just to see their reactions :lol:

I'll be on 'stalking' mode again and thanks again for explaining things on what we can expect to see when we get to play the game :D

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Re: Clearwater Crossing[Otome] (Open Dev)

#114 Post by Kingv »

shiho14 wrote:So festivals are like a date? since it happens every month..is this also a way to raise their affection? Sorry If I keep asking questions..I'm just really curious :D

Now that you said Abby will be giving the flowers..I have a huge urge to give the wrong color to the guys especially to the character I'm pursuing just to see their reactions :lol:

I'll be on 'stalking' mode again and thanks again for explaining things on what we can expect to see when we get to play the game :D
Please feel free to ask anything you want! I'm sure there are others who are curious as well and I don't want anyone afraid to ask questions. I'll always answer to the best of my ability.

I'd say festivals are more extensive than regular dates. They are a chance to mingle with other townsfolk and do activities but they also serve as a way to raise or decrease character affections. As opposed to dates festivals will also earn you CG scenes for your gallery.

I totally get where you're coming from. I've been know to save the game and then go back and try out every gift giving combination just to see the character's reaction. Sometimes making them angry is just as fun as giving them something they like.

And you're very welcome. Don't be shy about coming out of stalker mode and commenting anytime. ^^
I also made a Tumblr account for the game's development. There's not much on there yet but you can check it out here http://ephemeralbalance.tumblr.com/.

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Re: Clearwater Crossing[Otome] (Open Dev)

#115 Post by Kingv »

More Giovanni since I spent a little time cleaning up his sprite this past week. Since he really isn't a persuable character until Winter in the game he doesn't need as many clothing choices as the other characters. Just about all his outfits are suits of some sort, which makes sense since he is only there on business. So I decided to make him have some causal clothes for whenever he has some down time. Here are some sketches for his Fall/Winter and Spring causal attires. Let me know if there's anything you guys would like adjusted or any suggestions you might have for what he can wear. His fashion sense is very sophisticated and he usually wears trendy/expensive clothing.
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Re: Clearwater Crossing[Otome] (Open Dev)

#116 Post by Kingv »

I wish I had more written stuff to show, but alas, I do not. So here's some new art to share instead. I also updated the first post with updated profiles for Giovanni and three other NPCs.

After going back and looking at some of my sprites I noticed that Kristian was looking a little awkward. Chest was broader than I liked and legs had too much of a curve to them. So I trimmed him up some in those areas. There's a before and after pic to compare the changes made.

As far as backgrounds go I finally finished up the bookstore. The register will be treated like a sprite so that the characters can stand behind or in front of it as necessary.

And finally some random NPC. Little girl will be used in some event scenes. Lady in pink in Percival's mother, Mrs. Pealene. She's a friend of Abby's mother and is quite the gossip. Guy at the end is Bayan, Willow's younger brother. Apparently his mother enjoys naming her children after trees...
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Re: Clearwater Crossing[Otome] (Open Dev)

#117 Post by Hazel-Bun »

Just wanted to pop in and say everything looks beautiful (as usual) and more wood- themed sibs (preferably male) is always welcomed ^^
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Re: Clearwater Crossing[Otome] (Open Dev)

#118 Post by Katta »

I like Bayan, he looks fun) Will he be dateable?
And I really admire you for all your work, it's great!

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Re: Clearwater Crossing[Otome] (Open Dev)

#119 Post by shiho14 »

If I can't pursue Giovanni until Winter..does this mean there's a requirement for him to be unlocked on this season? He looks really cool ^^

I really love the character sprites even the random npcs. Travis caught my eye even though he doesn't play a big part in the game and too bad Dorian is Abby's older brother..he's really my type xD

Thank you for another update on your progress! ^_^

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Re: Clearwater Crossing[Otome] (Open Dev)

#120 Post by Kingv »

Hazel-Bun wrote:Just wanted to pop in and say everything looks beautiful (as usual) and more wood- themed sibs (preferably male) is always welcomed ^^
Thanks! Willow, Bayan and Cypress are all the wood-themed sibling I have in the game unfortunately. But there will play large parts in the story so I'm sure you'll get to see plenty of them.
Katta wrote:I like Bayan, he looks fun) Will he be dateable?
And I really admire you for all your work, it's great!
I'm glad you like him. Unfortunately Bayan won't be a datable character, but you'll cross paths with him a lot in the game. And thank you for such a nice comment! It's hard work doing the majority of work myself but reading such encouraging comments make it worthwhile.
shiho14 wrote:If I can't pursue Giovanni until Winter..does this mean there's a requirement for him to be unlocked on this season? He looks really cool ^^

I really love the character sprites even the random npcs. Travis caught my eye even though he doesn't play a big part in the game and too bad Dorian is Abby's older brother..he's really my type xD

Thank you for another update on your progress! ^_^
No, there isn't a requirement for him to be datable he just isn't available until Winter because
when you first meet him in the game during Fall he's finishing up contract negotiations for the mall construction with Dorian. Soon after that he leaves but later comes back to town on the first day of Winter to oversee the project. The company he's working for is projecting a large return of money from the mall and want to make sure the development goes off without a hitch. Giovanni will be living at the inn for the rest of the game.
But after that you'll have full access to him. I'm happy you like his design though, I think he'll be a fun edition to the cast.

And all the NPCs are really fun to make. It's pretty cool to make a minor character yet still have a story behind them that helps to guide their actions through the game. A lot of people seem to like Travis. Must be something about his cold blank stare that drawn them in. ^_^
Dorian has a more interactive role than the other NPCs so you could definitely get a none romantic ending with him if you want. But he has a little bit of a sister complex so he won't like Abby hanging around guys he doesn't approve of or wasting time helping the town when she needs to focus on her own career.

And I try to update whenever I have new stuff to share!

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