Development Update #9 (public)

Following the previous dev update, we continue talking about the upcoming 0.4 release. Today’s post is a bit special because we’re diving into the open world. A lot has been developed over the past few months, and I felt like it deserved a dedicated post. 😀

Open world is a large chunk of the Deluded’s development, despite it being mostly on the backend. As of right now, we’ve managed to get 2 people to solely work on the open word, while the rest of the team is working on the prologue content.

As you may recall from our roadmap, the full-fledged open world is planned for 0.9, as we want to ensure it’s well-polished. Currently, it’s in the very early prototype stage, so don’t mind the screenshots not looking pretty. 😁

We’ll talk more in-depth about the open-world gameplay, its role and function in the game in the future roadmap posts (follow to not miss!). Right now, we gonna focus on what’s already being developed.

So, the team is working on the Lindcliff location Park-slums and here’s what has been done so far.

NPCs

Since Deluded is not just survival, but mainly a social survival game, we’ve prototyped a lot of NPC-related activities, like:

Rumors. You can ask non-unique NPCs for rumors, and they will hint at some interesting activities you may’ve missed
Asking for directions to certain places

But, of course, not every NPC will be be eager to help out of the goodness of their heart.

As I’ve already mentioned somewhere, NPCs will be divided into fractions. And one of them will be the so-called ‘security’ guys. These enforcers police the Park-Slums from their base in the old brick building ruins. On the 1st floor, you can find a chef and trade cooking or crafting materials to get food. On the 2nd floor, you exchange your stolen goods for money and get loyalty from the security faction. On the 3rd floor, you can rent a room to sleep in.

Jobs

Prototyped 3 jobs so far:

Nurse in the infirmary, for which you get a clear water bottle as a salary
Prostitute
Gravedigger

Crime system

Surviving in the open world might require resorting to crime, especially early on. But don’t expect to go unnoticed!

Stealing from unique NPCs can get you keys to their homes or workplaces. Non-unique NPCs typically carry food or rags.

Doing unlawful activities increases your crime level to a maximum of 10. When the crime level reaches 10 points, security will pursue you and attempt to throw you in jail. You have several options to avoid jail like: paying off, begging for mercy or… well, I think you already know.

Locations

The starting open world location Park-Slums includes several key areas:

The Greenhouse
The long-abandoned greenhouse covered in thick vegetation, which you can clear and thus unlock shortcuts. You can also find some berries for food or crafting. However, not clearing the bushes on your way may result in mood reduction or clothes damage.

The Silver Mine
A grim place where prisoners are forced to work. Not an ideal environment, with slippery surfaces and stale air making it even more dangerous. The deeper you go, the dirtier Alisa’s body will get due to poor ventilation.

But sometimes, with bad things, comes the good. Because in the silver mine, there lives a woman who can brew a special mixture for enlarging certain body parts.

The Farm
The farm also provides job opportunities. If you work there, you can repair an old shed and use it as a living space. However, it’s only available to farm workers.

The Sawmill
No activities there, only the building model thus far.

Your House
If paying for rent or fixing up an old shack does not fit you, you can build your own shelter from scratch — a treehouse with all the amenities!

Minigames

For those who enjoy gambling and risk, we’ve prototyped several minigames:

Thimble
A classic test of perception and reflexes. To start the game — buy a set of caps and approach the dealer. Features several difficulty levels.

Arm-wrestling
You’ve built up some STR points and are ready to test it out? Then arm-wrestling is the right choice! But it’s not all about raw power — you can cheat using Ldness** or Submission attributes.

Blackjack 21
A card game where you compete against the dealer to achieve a hand value as close to 21 as possible without exceeding it.

Puzzles & Secrets

We plan to add a lot of puzzles and hidden secrets into the game, so we’ve prototyped the fountain puzzle. Find 4 pieces to insert into fountain slots for a reward.

FOOL-INT checks

We’ve started refining the FOOL-INT dialogue checks, which we’ll also integrate into the prologue content over time. Unlike other attribute indicators ([STR], [DOM], etc.), FOOL and INT choices will now appear as "???", adding an element of mystery.

Privacy system

The Privacy system aka the Exhibitionism system’s rough prototype was made, with the full version coming in 0.7. It determines Alisa’s Shame level and how NPCs’ react to her based on:

Clothing attributes - how revealing they are (transparent or opaque, has/doesn’t have holes, (not) wearing underwear, etc)
Each map zone’s privacy category:
- Private: hidden places not available for other NPC (private houses, WCs, caves, dark forests, abandoned houses)
- Semi-private: available for other NPC (alleys, forest paths, private backyards)
- Public: crowded places (stores, roads, streets)
L**dness level
Effects (drunk, attribute perks, etc)

All of this affects the Shame level which affects Stress and Mood in the end.

Actions menu

The radial actions menu functionality is set to arrive in the 0.6 patch, but we’ve already made a prototype in the form of a dialogue selection. The radial actions menu will consist of these activities/options:

Prostitution
Pleasuring herself
Begging (available only for SUB)
Sleep
Urination

Other activities

Some more random stuff prototypes:

A water stream for showering. Located in a non-private place. Since the water is cold, it involves a high risk of getting ill
Begging — a Submission attribute perk. A high begging skill level lets you beg for specific items and/or of higher quality. However, be careful, since begging can attract thieves
Potion crafting. Brew healing potions from herbs and berries, energy drinks from grapes, etc. Potion crafting involves using a Herbalism skill, which is a Pureness attribute perk (I’ll talk more about other attributes’ perks in the next update post)
Warming up by the fire. Increases your body temperature and mood. But some unfriendly NPC might not allow you to
Rooftops exploration. Some useful loot can be found there, but watch out for slippery spots!