ALPHA 0.6.4: "Test of Character"

My plans for FC have a way of going sideways, but this should be the last in a series of framework-extending updates; the next few updates at least have a lot of content to fill out.

This update adds to the mental system. An unfortunate choice of terminology early in development is going to introduce a lot of confusion here. 0.6.4 renames everything previously called a quirk to a flaw, and adds a companion system based on characteristics called quirks. Confused yet? There are now quirks and flaws; the quirks are new; and the flaws are what used to be called quirks. The basic idea is that a quirk is a positive quality that a slave gets from careful training that preserves her uniqueness while removing a flaw.

The system is in a fairly early state: quirks do not interact with many other mechanics yet. I also plan to add more ways to add beneficial quirks to slaves. However, I do intend to resist the inevitable demands that it be made possible to easily give any slave any quirk the player desires. That would devalue the character the system lends to individual slaves. Since well-broken slaves tend to resolve their flaws naturally, a sort of urgency appears to quirk training. I like the implications of this: the player has to race the grinding effects of slavery to rescue something of a slave's uniqueness before devotion destroys it forever. I'm concerned that softening is a little easy at the moment, so there's little reason not to do it, but we'll see.

This update adds Revivalist future society models for Edo Japan, medieval Arabia, and imperial China, because they've been requested for a while, and because I like them. I'm sure I'm going to get questions on a couple of thematic choices I made. First, Revivalism is not at all about historical accuracy in the FC world: it's about grandeur, decadence, and the player character showing off. The Rome of Roman Revivalism probably looks a lot more like the film Gladiator than the real Rome. For this 0.6.4, means that Arabian Revivalism does not include direct references to Islam. It borrows a look, a focus on slave trading, harems, and little else. Second, I decided not to include a eunuch feature for either Arabian or Chinese Revivalism, despite the obvious opportunity. The trouble here is that in both these cultures eunuch roles were entirely or almost entirely nonsexual, and the surgery involved removal of both twig and berries. Since that isn't possible in the FC code, it isn't included.

Also, Twine is a favorite platform among some tribe of moralizing scolds, apparently? Lovely. When a comment and a bit of confirming Google research informed me of this, I felt my shriveled black heart expand a bit. Then I went back to using Twine to recode how FC calculates the profits the player receives from forcing sex work on slaves that appeal to popular racial fetishes.

Download: Dropbox, Mega. Previous saves will not work.

0.6.4 Changelog

Expanded quirks and flaws:

• Existing quirk variable renamed to flaw.
• All flaws can now be softened into a beneficial quirk that can only be given to slaves that have the corresponding flaw.
• Quirks added to random slave generation, though they are very rare.
• Head Girls can be ordered to soften flaws instead of removing them; softening a flaw is much harder than removing it and requires that the slave be Accepting or better.
• The PC can soften flaws using personal attention; softening a flaw is harder than removing it and requires that the slave be Ambivalent or better. The PC has an advantage over the HG at softening flaws.
• All quirks provide extra Devotion or Trust in at least one situation that appeals to them.
• A spa staffed with an intelligent Attendant can soften quirks. Other facility, accessory, and job based mechanisms for resolving quirks remain active. If the player wishes to soften a quirk, this should be done with delicate training rather than on the job.
• Muting will remove quirks along with the associated flaws.
• Appropriate fetishes can soften flaws based on a slave's combined Devotion and Trust; if a quirk is already present the flaw will be removed as previously.
• Slaves with quirks are not prevented from acquiring more flaws, though quirks can remove the corresponding flaw. Softening a new flaw by training will replace the existing quirk.

Future societies:

• Edo Revivalism: advanced by providing a large number of public servants or a well staffed club and held back by failing to do so. Improves efficiency of public service and service in the club. Increases beauty of Japanese slaves. Law greatly enhances efficiency of societal spending.
• Arabian Revivalism: advanced by keeping a large harem of personal slaves and held back by failing to do so. Once well accepted, grants a significant bonus to bids recieved when selling slaves. Law enhances efficiency of societal spending and provides a modest rent increase.
• Chinese Revivalism: advanced by maintaining a Head Girl, Recruiter, and Bodyguard, and held back by failing to do so. Maintaining all three rapidly improves prosperity. Increases beauty of Chinese slaves. Law enables your Head Girl to train another slave each week.
• Additional choice for the arcology acquisition rumor PC customization: societal engineering, which unlocks the first of three future society choices at game start.
• Revisions to Gender Radicalism per feedback from enthusiasts. The society now mildly approves of girls with balls provided they're reasonably contented with their lives, and does not disapprove of them, ever. Adoption of Gender Radicalism will reduce and eventually reverse the beauty penalty for both dicks and balls.
• Gender Fundamentalism now causes additional beauty penalties for dicks, but this penalty can now be reduced by gelding, to keep at least one future society with direct castration beauty bonuses.
• Updated future society clothing restriction list.

Minor changes:

• Additional choice for the career PC customization: arcology engineering, which reduces the cost of upgrading the arcology.
• Boosted base slavebreaking speed of the Cellblock and Servants' Quarters.
• Personal attention will now correctly prevent slaves from hitting weekly devotion and trust gain caps.
• After long, uninterrupted service, a Head Girl can achieve basic prestige on her own merits. The length of time necessary depends on her devotion, trust, and intelligence, but even a perfect Head Girl requires at least 20 weeks to become prestigious.
• Significant additions to the encyclopedia to better explain areas where players expressed confusion.
• Descriptive phrasing and text color changes to make information clearer at a glance.
• More player-inspired slave buyers.
• Bugfixes.