Development: Patron Progress Update (Patreon)

Hi All,

We're currently working toward the release of the Kravenrook update, though that hides a lot of the precursor work going on behind the scenes.

Roadmap

We've had a lot of requests for an updated roadmap. Whilst we do have an internal one, we're now working on the visuals for a new patron-facing roadmap - giving you an idea of what to expect and in what order.

Unreal Engine 5.3

Because we just love updating the engine so very much, we made the move to 5.3.

All joking aside, it brought through some major improvements we couldn't miss out on (mainly visual/performance improvements).

Gameplay Overhaul

We felt that some of the gameplay was feeling a little flat so there are a whole host of new improvments that will ship with the Kravenrook update.

Minor elements such as immersive UI and damage numbers (toggle in menu) complement the new softlock system. We've also improved parrying and added dynamic camera effects to execution moves.

Animation/Mesh Upgrades

In preparation for DSS 2.0 we've upgraded our rig, enabling some better deformation out of the box. This new rig takes advantage of the new breast, butt, and tummy jiggle-bones. All of these bones are also enabled for dynamic jiggle effects in-game.

Additionally we're midway through the process of rebuilding the body morphs from the ground up. This cascades through to clothing and allows "underwear pulled to the side" during scenes, as well as many other essential improvements to our clothing system.

These improvements resolve the long-running issues with cocks not showing when clothing is equipped, and now full "packages" will be visible - bulging beneath any revealing clothing.

You can expect to see some more "dynamic" poses for scenes in future, including the one pictured below, and particular improvements to the scenes involving exotic NPCs (Naga/Centaur/etc).

Solo Play

Along with the Kravenrook update we're adding the first set of "solo play" options. These enable players to 'keep the curse at bay', even if they don't feel like getting down to business with a partner. For now other NPCs won't react, though this won't the the case for long (I'm sure Damaris will be thrilled if you make a mess on the Taberna floor...).

These can be triggered anywhere in the world from a new radial menu, for all body types and for male and female genital options. PSA: The world carries on around you, jerk it at your own risk.

Toys will arrive in a subsequent update, allowing additional solo play options.

Ambient 'Quickie' Scenes

To help flesh out the world - forgive the pun - we're in the process of implementing some flavour content that sits outside of DSS. This adult content can act as an introduction with some NPCs, but mainly it enables players to indulge in brief trysts. These "quickie" scenes will become available based on the players CI level, meaning that the greater your carnal knowledge, the more opportunities you find to use it.

Feedback

Around 1/3 of Mehden Island and 1/4 of Heifers Reach has been redesigned based on player feedback. There's now an introductory NPC that helps guide the player through part of the initial area, as well as all the new POI (point-of-interest) content to make the zone much richer.

Lovense

Exactly what the title suggests; we're in the process of integrating Lovense at the moment. It will drop along with DSS 2.0.

Patron Only 'Behind the Scenes'

The next patron-only post will delve into some of the new features questlines that are in-development, including The Gilded Fold (Slavers Questline), as well as a look at how the  upcoming mechanics for capturing/selling NPCs for sale to the cabal (or in fact for your own purposes) will work. 

Because of the "a bit of everything" nature of the groundwork at the moment, this post only covers a portion of what we've been cooking. We've used the increased time between updates to do an awful lot of housekeeping and cleaning up, fixing shedloads of minor development issues that could have become big problems over time.

Thank you for your support, and yes, we do intend "danger wank" to be an achievement eventually.

Team Carnal Instinct