The Serpent's Paradox V0.1.1 - First Update!

[Olivine]

With all that you and the others have said about the combat, I do think it will be much more convincing if Olivia's strength is accurately depicted. You're playing as a lamia after all, why shouldn't you steamroll everything? Some fights (such as boss battles and such) won't be total pushovers, but smaller things like hornets and bunny girls shouldn't give Olivia nearly as much trouble in the future. I think the game will be much better with this more cohesive union between writing and gameplay.

I think it's good to have a balanced mix of challenges that narratively reinforce the opportunistic nature of an ambush predator (as presented in the prologue).
It's a good opportunity to express the character's strengths and weaknesses in an interactive way through abilities and their interactions with troops of various composition.
Consider the dynamic of "lamia vs. one opponent", compared to "lamia vs. multiple opponents" in particular (again, prologue).

I've tried to keep everything pretty modular, so that I can just write a new scene / dialogue and stick it into the list as needed. And since you mentioned common events, I assume you have some familiarity with the engine as well. Not sure if you took a little peak into the game, but in case anyone was wondering, I have no qualms with people looking at how I put things together using your own copy of the RPG Maker VXAce program. Draw inspiration from my work!

I'm quite familiar with the RPGM engines at this point. I tend to make my own modifications, fixes, and so on. What you have now will probably work adequately within the existing scope of what is there.
I might suggest picking up some basic object oriented programming tips and tricks at some point, as it will let you write more flexible events that are easier to adjust down the line.

On the topic of maps: expanding the game window in VX to fit more tiles, even through scripts, has its limitations; you may find yourself needing to revise maps to be a little more compact than they are currently.
The main thing is to reassure the player as to where they are on the map (landmarks), where they should be going (roads and the like), or can go (traversable tiles).

Above all else though, don't bite off more than you can chew. Burnout has claimed way too many of these sorts of projects already.

Thank you for taking and answering feedback.

[darknessblades]

maybe also include a couple screenshots, so people know what the game looks like?

[DarthTrajan]

I just wanted to say that this is an amazingly well written game. I enjoyed each and every scene that I went through, possibly more than any other vore-based game that I have played. Please keep up the good work, but make sure not to burn yourself out! I can't wait to see whatever content is added next!

[TheEvilWithin]

Is the game still being worked on or is it abandoned?

[Susuko]

I was wondering when the next update will be as well.

[Protium]

Not dead nor abandoned, very busy these days. Still have many ideas and would love to work on it when I have time. Thanks for bumping the thread though

[ThisUserIsFake]

It's a quality game and I look forward to more, but work at your own pace. No one here is paying you, but I'm rooting for you!

[Protium]

At last! Update number 1!!!
The main thing is optional disposal - I hope this brings the game to a wider audience. Also, I have not yet changed the combat like I said I would. I'll do that in the next update. I figure the people who play without disposal should suffer at least one release like everyone else has so far (Though I did start Olivia at lvl 5 instead of lvl 1, hopefully that helps)

To anyone who plays with disposal off, let me know if any references to disposal or any disposal scenes show up. I intended for there to be no references at all to disposal, so if there is it likely means I wrote a conditional branch wrong, or something like that. Report other bugs as well, if you find any!

To those who played the first release - this new release contains no new content, other than some quality of life stuff (like the Quest Journal added via a script). When V0.1.2 comes out, you will probably have to restart because the Quest Journal script was not in the game when you played. If you'd like to play again so your save files are ready for the next release, you can - BUT! I still can't guarantee that they'll be compatible when that time comes. I don't plan on adding or changing anything else major, but you never know.

[pendingdel3056hb25]

So, so, *so* happy to see that this project is still being worked on. I played the first release, and it blew me away. Honestly one of the best vore games I've ever played. Granted, I'm *very* partial to anything that lets me play as a gluttonous snek, so it's definitely got that going for it--plus, the disposal scenes were very well written (and included some less common details that definitely check a few boxes for me).

Excited to see what happens next!

[TheEvilWithin]

How do I get the girl in prison?

[Zomulgustar]

Would have loved a content filled update, but very glad to see its being worked on at all. Great game

[NonamE1]

Souls6, it's impossible for now

[LordKentus]

Very happy to see that this game has not been abandoned, it has a lot of potential I feel

[antonioender]

◉_◉ Good update, I'm happy that everything is going well with the development and the project is still standing. A very good game in my opinion

[seeker39]

Great Game!!
I really enjoying this one.
Can't wait for next update!!

by the way, I got stuck when the scat scene of bunnygirl at any hole.
but the first time at grassland is ok,
I guess that due to the scene have to moving character,but obstacle would make it can't finish.

Any way , thanks you again for such nice game!

[Protium]

Hello again, everyone! Some comments have built up since I last responded, so here we goooo (I know it's been like six months already for a couple of these forgive me )

I'm apparently stupid because after going in the cave and pushing over the cross, I cannot figure out a way to progress further. Last I remember it said try to find someone who can help, but was pretty sure I've talked to everyone now.

Sorry that part of the story wasn't clear! I hope you've found out where to go since then. If not (or if anyone else needs it): the person you're looking for is the carpenter. He's in the bottom left corner of Kald, in the area with trees.

Hooray, you're alive!!

Yeah, I'm not going anywhere, haha! It just takes time making the game, is all.

So, just finished the first chapter, and I have to say, it was all amazing! The boss fight was a nice challenge (was lvl 7 at the time), and I found all the scenes I believe(The two elves, fairy, bunny, adventurer, and boss), all of which were great, and the sprinkled in dark moments of them makes it amazing. Glad to see you replying to everyone and plan to make combat feel more oomph, since a 500 kg tail being whipped at you shouldn't be really survivable for prey (given the speed snakes can move their bodies irl and the weight of her tail, buildings might have issues resisting that amount of force.) That scene with the traveling merchant sizing up Olivia did remind me, is that she isn't venomous. I really do like venomous lamia, and was hoping it to be something I would be seeing here, but I am more than pleased with everything so far and will simply urge you to continue your good work.

Now, suggestions:
1. After finding the fairy, the first thing I tried to do was stuff myself with 20 of them and have a nice little flight of fairies in my belly, which to my dissapointment I couldn't do. I'm guessing this is due to you only having written having one type of prey at a time, or a limitation of the script. Perhaps implimenting a multiple option when going for the meal can work? (I'm going to eat you!; I'm going to eat you and your friends!; Nah, you can go) and after selecting the multiple option you can hunt and stuff yourself silly with them until your stomach is full or you leave the area, where the script for having multiple fairies is then played instead of the single fairy. Same thing for the bunny girls. Either way, I was disspointed I couldn't make full use of my status as a lamia.

2. In the jail, it was mentioned that her tail was around the corner still, which doesn't reflect well with the sprite as is. While I had the visual in my head just fine, it could be interesting if she had her tail on the map following her. This could probably be done using the follower system as they follow you like a snake lol. Add on like, 4-5 followers as the tail, maybe even see if you can add slithering animation and (I haven't ever made a game in RPG maker so I don't know about this last one) add sprites for her making turns with bends in the tail and you would have a very convincing lamia. Maybe even make the tail sections reflect her stomach state of how full she is, I've seen other games moodify sprites with bellies. I understand from reading your post you are far more a writer than an artist (same boat here) but I will suggest this anyways to possibly try.

3. A very minor ask thats entirely personal, maybe link her size to her level? A more powerful lamia is typically a larger and longer lamia, and it would be nice to have her stomach capacity increase as she got better and better, and as future expansions roll through with more prey to devour, it would be amusing to be an alpha predator and fit them all in Olivia at once.

4. The digestion rate definitly needs to be sped up. I had Olivia consume the adventurer girl twice along with a few faries, and was still gurgling her away the second time when I went to fight the boss. It was only after the boss and finding the alchemy hut that I discovered that passing prey grants you exp. Also, it may just be my memory exaggerating, but for a time her stomach was stuck on bringing the adventurer down to half health and dissolviong the fairy's tunic, so maybe that was a bug (or unfortunate rng if this is a randomized process)? I kept getting the same message for a long time.

And thats all! I loved the game, 10/10 writing, and I look forwards to finding the skeeving Oliver again, that man makes me laugh.

Glad you enjoyed the game so far! Some notes on your first paragraph:

• Actually, based on the scenes you listed, you are still missing one, though it's the smallest in the game so far. Check the scene list in the OP if you're interested~
• Olivia not being venomous was a choice I was debating for some time, given it's a trait that people associate with snakes, and by extension lamias, so much. While she may not have venom, there are certainly other lamias in the game's world that do have it. Assuming I ever get to it ( ), we'll definitely see them. And, depending on how I feel in the future, I might just randomly find an excuse to give Olivia venom one day. Magic or some shit. You never know. Right now though, I'm gonna keep her as she is.

Now, your suggestions!
1. Yeah, this is, as you guessed, a limitation of the game's events. I mentioned it in a reply to a previous comment somewhere that pointed it out too. I actually really like the idea you came up with for the multiple prey option. I'll look into adding that into the game in some shape (I can already picture how I would want to do it). I don't think it would be very difficult, it would just take a lot of time. It for sure won't be in V0.1.2, but maybe in the future~ Thanks for the idea.

2. Yeah, this is a visual limitation of a tile-based RPG for sure. I have an idea in my head of how long Olivia is, but I haven't settled on an exact number yet. Suffice to say, she's pretty big. Bigger than a 1x1 tile in RPG Maker - which is the same space a human would take up - that's for sure, haha. The problem with trying to accurately depict her size though is just too involved for me to want to even try. I like your idea of using followers as sections of tail, but I plan on adding more party characters in the future (Oh shit! Mini spoiler!), at which point that system would be out the window. I guess we'll just have to keep using our imagination

3. I personally want to keep her size as is for story/character/whatever reasons, but just off the top of my head I think this would be a very easy (probably. maybe.) change to make - I'd just have to switch some variable limits and conditional branches around. I agree that it would be pretty funny to try to fit every prey type in the game in her stomach (especially as more get added), but for now I'm going to keep her size as is. Maybe later I'll make it a secret option or something.

4. I'm already working on several ways to speed up digestion in the next update! I think people will like them, so hopefully they meet your expectations. Let me know if they do when the update comes out! And for the digestion texts, there is no RNG, so you didn't have any bad luck. In case you or anyone else was curious as to why digestion is not RNG based, it's because she can eat multiple prey. With RNG, there would inevitably be situations where she eats someone, then later eats someone else, but the second person finishes digesting first. Would be kind of odd. So, everyone and everything she eats takes the same amount of time. The reason you got those same texts over and over was because I thought they were generic and broad enough to be "filler" description for the less exciting parts of the overall digestive process. I guess the fix would be for me to add more variations during those long blocks where I had the same text showing.

Thank you again for playing, leaving feedback, and praising the game as it is so far! And Oliver will return, one day, heheheh. I've actually got an idea for a minigame he'll run, but that's waaaay down the line~

With all that you and the others have said about the combat, I do think it will be much more convincing if Olivia's strength is accurately depicted. You're playing as a lamia after all, why shouldn't you steamroll everything? Some fights (such as boss battles and such) won't be total pushovers, but smaller things like hornets and bunny girls shouldn't give Olivia nearly as much trouble in the future. I think the game will be much better with this more cohesive union between writing and gameplay.

I think it's good to have a balanced mix of challenges that narratively reinforce the opportunistic nature of an ambush predator (as presented in the prologue).
It's a good opportunity to express the character's strengths and weaknesses in an interactive way through abilities and their interactions with troops of various composition.
Consider the dynamic of "lamia vs. one opponent", compared to "lamia vs. multiple opponents" in particular (again, prologue).

I've tried to keep everything pretty modular, so that I can just write a new scene / dialogue and stick it into the list as needed. And since you mentioned common events, I assume you have some familiarity with the engine as well. Not sure if you took a little peak into the game, but in case anyone was wondering, I have no qualms with people looking at how I put things together using your own copy of the RPG Maker VXAce program. Draw inspiration from my work!

I'm quite familiar with the RPGM engines at this point. I tend to make my own modifications, fixes, and so on. What you have now will probably work adequately within the existing scope of what is there.
I might suggest picking up some basic object oriented programming tips and tricks at some point, as it will let you write more flexible events that are easier to adjust down the line.

On the topic of maps: expanding the game window in VX to fit more tiles, even through scripts, has its limitations; you may find yourself needing to revise maps to be a little more compact than they are currently.
The main thing is to reassure the player as to where they are on the map (landmarks), where they should be going (roads and the like), or can go (traversable tiles).

Above all else though, don't bite off more than you can chew. Burnout has claimed way too many of these sorts of projects already.

Thank you for taking and answering feedback.

I've dabbled in C++ and Python, but Ruby is out there to me - I don't know anything that uses it other than RPG Maker honestly. Much as I would love for the game's systems and inner workings to be elegant and efficient, it's most likely going to be the case that I keep monkeying my way through with the built in RPG Maker events system

I've actually tried to expand the screen (as you said, you can expand it in VX Ace, if only up to a certain size without any major scripts), but I always seem to drop frames when I do. RPG Maker's built-in FPS counter always says 60 when I would run it with the larger window, but my eyes saw otherwise. If not technically a frame rate issue, then stuttering issues, or something. I'm on a relatively low end machine, so maybe it's something other people wouldn't experience, but I didn't want anyone else to experience that no matter what.

I'll continue to try to improve my mapping! Really don't want to revise the current maps, but future maps I'll keep your advice in mind!

maybe also include a couple screenshots, so people know what the game looks like?

Yeah, I probably will add some when I release the next update. As I said in replies to others, there's not a whole lot visually that makes the game stand out, but I guess that's still information people should be able to discern themselves from the OP.

Edit (3/05/22): Screenshots added to the OP~

I just wanted to say that this is an amazingly well written game. I enjoyed each and every scene that I went through, possibly more than any other vore-based game that I have played. Please keep up the good work, but make sure not to burn yourself out! I can't wait to see whatever content is added next!

Thank you!! The next update is going to be awesome (in my own, completely biased opinion), I assure you!

It's a quality game and I look forward to more, but work at your own pace. No one here is paying you, but I'm rooting for you!

Thank you! Slowly but surely, the next update approaches!

So, so, *so* happy to see that this project is still being worked on. I played the first release, and it blew me away. Honestly one of the best vore games I've ever played. Granted, I'm *very* partial to anything that lets me play as a gluttonous snek, so it's definitely got that going for it--plus, the disposal scenes were very well written (and included some less common details that definitely check a few boxes for me).

Excited to see what happens next!

Glad you enjoyed the game so much! I too really enjoy snek preds, and as I mentioned in a previous reply, no game with player as lamia pred ever came, so I stopped waiting and did it myself! I'm excited for you and everyone else to see what happens next!

How do I get the girl in prison?

SoonTM ...

Very happy to see that this game has not been abandoned, it has a lot of potential I feel

I am also very happy that the game isn't abandoned, haha! It's a lot of fun making it! I hope to realize the potential you see in it.

◉_◉ Good update, I'm happy that everything is going well with the development and the project is still standing. A very good game in my opinion

Thank you! The next update will be even better!

Great Game!!
I really enjoying this one.
Can't wait for next update!!

by the way, I got stuck when the scat scene of bunnygirl at any hole.
but the first time at grassland is ok,
I guess that due to the scene have to moving character,but obstacle would make it can't finish.

Any way , thanks you again for such nice game!

Thank you for playing and leaving a nice comment! That bug will be fixed in the next version.

[Protium]

Alriiiiight, super duper long comment aside, I figure I should fill you all in on the update's progress:

V0.1.2 Update Progress
The update is NOT out! This is just what I've been working on / already finished.
Overall, things are going well. In particular, I've:

• Finished updating NPC text in Kald to reflect story progress.
• Entirely reworked the disposal system to fix that bug that was happening. I think people that play with disposal on will really appreciate what I did. It's a sort of subtle thing, but it's something I kind of always wanted to see in a game with disposal, so I figure at least a couple other people will appreciate it, as well.
  • Edit: By "entirely reworked" I mean on my end, as in "inside the game's events and junk". For the player it will be very similar, aside from that one "subtle" thing I mentioned.
• Worked on new scenes! No new scenes are done yet, but I know exactly how many scenes I want to add and what happens in each of them. I've kind of danced between them, planning out the text for each whenever the mood struck.
• Added new text variations here and there to parts of the digestion and disposal systems.
• Finished one way of speeding up digestion. Know exactly what I want to do for the other two.
• Started reworking the combat.
• Chapter 1 boss replayability is done.
• Map shortcuts added to a couple of the bigger maps.
• One new sidequest is almost done (a shorter one, not the treasure hunt one).
• Other shit I'm probably forgetting!

ETA? No idea!
And with that, I bid you all farewell until next I emerge from the ether to post a comment or just straight up drop the update!

[Olivine]

I've dabbled in C++ and Python, but Ruby is out there to me - I don't know anything that uses it other than RPG Maker honestly. Much as I would love for the game's systems and inner workings to be elegant and efficient, it's most likely going to be the case that I keep monkeying my way through with the built in RPG Maker Events system

The way "script" Event calls are implemented for general use in RMVXAce is pretty straightforward. Anything that is written in a script call block is parsed when the block is called. This limitation means that you can't write functions in script blocks, but you can do batch processes such as:

• "Add all Events on current map to an array and save it in a variable" (a single game variable can contain a matrix of variables, as an array may be an array of arrays, etc..)
• "Create a move route that takes its destination from a variable"
• "Move an Event a fraction of a cell" (allows precise positioning of Events)
• "Play a random sound from a list and pitch shift it within a certain range"

Once a script Event call is parsed, it purges itself from memory, so any loose variables are lost between script Event calls (use game variables to save them).

On the topic of writing something like a function, you can treat Common Events as the equivalent of a function call, as the contents of Common Events are appended to the active Event where called. E.g. If Event 'A' calls Common Event 'X' which contains script "this Event does 'z' ", "this Event" will refer Event 'A'.
Having lots of Common Events that do simple repetitive things (ideally just one thing) is an Object Oriented way of doing things, as you only need to change one Common Event to affect all events that call it, yet you can deliberately choose to not call it if you want/need an exception.

For Script Event calls, your best friend is the "Community Script Call Collection" (for engine specific things), and the Ruby syntax library. It's up to you whether it's worth the hassle of debugging without a compiler (you only get a message that refers to the error that hung the application).

Beyond that you can also write custom plugins (f.x. window resizing) which can be appended at the engine level. I don't have enough experience with this part of the kit to explain much about it.

I've actually tried to expand the screen (as you said, you can expand it in VX Ace, if only up to a certain size without any major scripts), but I always seem to drop frames when I do. RPG Maker's built-in FPS counter always says 60 when I would run it with the larger window, but my eyes saw otherwise. If not technically a frame rate issue, then stuttering issues, or something. I'm on a relatively low end machine, so maybe it's something other people wouldn't experience, but I didn't want anyone else to experience that no matter what.

The primary thing to be aware of in this engine is frame drops due to scripts being called too frequently (overlaps with having too many parallel processing Events). That might be relevant; might not.

I'll continue to try to improve my mapping! Really don't want to revise the current maps, but future maps I'll keep your advice in mind!

At your leisure, it's your game.

[grz01]

Does anyone know how to access the save menu whilst playing the game please? The usual escape button that would work on games of this engine doesn't seem to work with this one?

[voidrunner]

Sorry that part of the story wasn't clear! I hope you've found out where to go since then. If not (or if anyone else needs it): the person you're looking for is the carpenter. He's in the bottom left corner of Kald, in the area with trees.

Yeah, I feel that may be something that needs to be made a bit clearer I felt like I talked to everyone around Kald, twice, and no one has mentioned a carpenter as far as I can tell. Maybe that information was in the mayor's house, as it did mention that maybe something could be found there, but not that I could find. I even went back to home, thinking maybe I had to find the frog girl or harpy to help.

Besides that, it's a good game so far, only other thing I could suggest, is maybe tweak the giant hornets a bit? Their evasion is enormously high.