Progress update- sensitivity and state machines (Patreon)

Steady and tough progress~

I have a coding stream starting in an hour! 

To new patrons: We’re in the middle of an absurdly-long update cycle. Here’s the summary and how to access content.

What's being worked on?

I'm just filling out the capabilities of the finite state machines and the body sensitivity code. It's not glorious or flashy, just difficult and necessary. No new features, just progress >.<'

Sensitivity depth. I've been adapting the old spaghetti-like sensitivity code into the new format, which has been a little more challenging than I thought. I had a lot of code meant to cover wayy too many cases, so I split it into separate pieces that can be applied to only the body parts that need it. 

Arousal vs erection. When doing that, I ran into the need for individual body parts to have more fine-tuned control over things like erections. Clits, nipples, etc may have a bit different logic from penises. And penises may not always get erect when aroused, depending on the character and situation, and what the player has done to them >:3

Weird little cases like that require a bit of forethought. The entire body experiences arousal all at once, which greatly effects sensitivity in erogenous zones, so there should be a central value for arousal probably. Erections occur differently for different body parts, so it's an internal state machine for each part. 

Both affect sensitivity, so both types of information need to end up in the sensitivity logic without spaghetti. It's going all right so far!

Finite state machines. Ugh. So, the current finite state machines change is splitting normal brain states, like "embarrassment", from multi stage states, like orgasm or consciousness. The behavior of multi-stage states is too different from normal brain states. They have to be a separate thing. 

Also, I've been rewriting the logic of changing states to be more scriptable. In the game data, you can tell the game exactly what situation is required to, say, take a character from a normal state to an edging state to an orgasm state. The nice thing about this being data-based instead of code-based is it opens the door for more customization.

It's challenging. I've ended up rewriting a good portion of the finite state machine code.

Personal note

This was a hard week.

It's going fine, but it's pretty hard for my brain to really crunch through this stuff. Whenever I hit a patch like this, I find that my brain tries to do anything to push me away from the problem and do something else. I end up spending more time trying to work than actually working. Which is counterproductive, obviously. 

If this sort of thing goes on long enough, it results in burnout feelings, because I'm trying to work sometimes all day... just to get less than a normal day's amount of time actually worked. It's exhausting and also stressful to see the lack of productivity happening. Those with adhd will probably recognize this experience. 

I don't love sharing these struggles but I also feel it bears the potential of helping others.

The solution isn't to just take a long break, or to "just focus", but to approach the issue from a mental/physical health perspective. I've fallen out of balance with other aspects of my life like food and sleep, and have been pretending like that somehow won't affect my work.

Focus is a complex subject (especially with adhd) but one of the most helpful things to know about it is that it's affected by everything. Sleep, body image, interpersonal problems, anxiety, avoidance coping strategies... everything. 

I'm working on it now that I've realized what's been going wrong! Starting with food and getting a proper amount of sleep. Just from yesterday to today, there's already a huge improvement.

Oof. I feel silly for stressing so much.

Q&A

X-ray? Not planned yet. It's a very common request but also has some big technical challenges. I might be able to share more about this possibility when I dive into penetration code!

(regarding the planned "training" mechanics)

Can we save character progress? Yes. It's not implemented right now, but saving and loading progress is planned and high priority.

... and that's all for now!

I can't thank my supporters enough. I feel especially guilty when struggling to focus, knowing that my work is being supported by others' generosity. A lot of my studying about self improvement has been motivated by the desire to live up to that generosity. I'm doing my best! Thank you all ;-;

<3!