Developer Diary (Maple Hills) #2 (Patreon)

Welcome back for another MHC dev log!

This week we're going to expand on the new combat system that is being implemented in the game right now. The game originally had no plans for including combat at all, preferring to handle fighting through events and dialogue choices instead, but this decision has been reversed in this new iteration. Most Maple Hills quests will still be dialogue-focused, but there's now also a combat side to the game that's going to be integral to the story.

Your character will arrive at Maple Hills at a pivotal moment in the college's history. The last Headmaster, recently dead from a heart attack due to his old age, is buried out back in the college park, and a new Headmistress has taken his place. The last decade has seen lackluster management and the College City has been allowed to decay to degenerate levels. The forested outskirts of the city has been infested with all sorts of criminal gangs that funnel illegal substances into the college for great profit, anarchist groups have occupied abandoned college facilities and declared themselves independent, and there are even reports of illegal dog fighting rings scattered throughout the hills hidden away in caves and underground arenas. Hera, the new Headmistress, will have none of that.

Early in your new college life, denied of your student fund and desperate for cash, you will get employed by Hera herself along other ambitious students to wage open war on the gangs that infest the surrounding forests of the College City. As a College Bounty Hunter, you will be equipped with a highly expensive crossbow and underarmor, and sent off to complete bounties to bring the criminals to justice in the name of your new Headmistress, that is looking forward to rule her new dominion with an iron fist. However, you are still expected to attend all your classes and pass with acceptable grades if you want to remain a student in Maple Hills, so a balancing act is in order.

Overall, the game will feature a large open world landmass that surrounds the college, expanded with every new district that gets added in future updates, that will include 'dungeons' infested with enemies for you to fight and loot. Losing a fight will force a sex scene on the player, where the punk rock girls you've been fighting use and abuse you to their delight, before stealing some of your cash and throwing your mangled body outside to run away with your tail between your legs. The game will feature no magic at all, but you will be able to use a variety of weapons and crossbows that you find, loot or receive as quest rewards. You will also be able to learn a variety of combat skills from your psychology classes such as intimidation and seduction, that could come in useful during a fight.