🔧 Dev Log 10 – Punches, Patterns, and Perceptions

Hey everyone, Zak here!

It’s been a while since I wrote a devlog. Honestly, I kinda missed doing these 😄
From now on, I’ll be handling devlogs a bit differently. Instead of showing everything at once, I’ll focus on specific parts of the work I've been doing. That means there will always be a few spoilers, so read at your own risk.

Let’s dive into this week’s updates:

✍️ A Quick Run Down on Current Content Written

I’ve been writing a lot, some things I’ll use, others… maybe not.

One scene I’ve decided to keep (after some reflection) is a more intimate moment with Diego. Out of the top 3 most voted characters, he had the least content available and that felt unfair. So in v0.3, I gave him a small moment… but then, thanks to a bit of inspiration, I ended up doing the same for Harry and Matt too 😅

For v0.4, I’ve already written the raw version of Diego’s special training scene and I ended up developing his story more than expected. But it felt natural and inspiring to do so at this precise moment.

What 's next?

• I want to start fleshing out a Joel scene so players can get to know him as well.

• I also plan to give you a chance to go talk to Mafalda and bring Matt along.

• And at the very least, I’d like to include a new mini-moment with Harry at the start of the next day.

Let’s see how far I get… but I really want to move toward the Matt vs Diego fight so the main story can progress.

🥊 Combat System Rework

Combat Presentation:

I added several new animations and sound effects to boost immersion.
Characters now have proper idle stances, they punch, kick, fall, etc.
I also reduced the amount of text shown during fights and focused more on the visual polish and fluidity of the combat animations.

Here’s a first look at the friendly spar against Diego (light spoiler warning):

Click Here!

Combat AI:

I’ve been experimenting with simple game theory and behavioral psychology to implement an adaptive AI for enemies.

In short:

• The enemy now tracks your recent choices and results.

• It adjusts its strategy based on a reinforcement/recency-based model.

• It mimics real human decision-making.

After I put together the first version, I went and read a few papers on RPS-style game theory and... to my surprise, what I’d built lined up really closely. That felt great!

It still has some limitations. I don’t know how to code true probability trees in Ren’Py, so I used weighted randomness instead. But the effect is pretty close.

Now your opponent adapts. You can’t just spam the same optimal move and expect to win because they will understand you are doing so and play accordingly.

And since I designed it modularly, I can tweak each enemy’s adaptability level in future fights.

 Feedback from Beta Testers:

Viv and Alex both tested the system and felt like the fights now feel more “real” and reactive. I hope you all feel the same when you try it!

🌀 Decision Echo System — Now Evolved

I need to talk a bit about the Decision Echo System, as well as its evolution since 0.1.

The Decision Echo System is built from several smaller systems. Each one tracks how your choices influence relationships, unlock content, and shape Ren’s journey.

Here’s a breakdown of how it currently stands:

Past Decisions:

Your past choices are remembered not just by the system, but by the characters and Ren himself.
Most of these are hidden, but they shape dialogue and allow you to access new scenes and options.

Knowledge (Now Signaled):

Ren now gains "Knowledge" about other characters such as key facts about them or observations that can be used to unlock special interactions and choices.
Most of these are now marked with a popup notification.

Later on, we’ll have a proper “Knowledge Log”, like a sticker album of everything you’ve uncovered 😄

(Not all knowledge is signaled, only the more objective or notable ones.)

A quick example of this is having Lissandra tell you who started the drama (Adrian) and that allows you to go to speak with him next.

Character Perception (aka Scores):

This system tracks how characters see you.
If you joke around with Diego a lot, he’ll start to see you as a laid-back dude/chica, unlocking new interactions based on that score but not only.
At the end of each chapter or day, these scores “soft reset” and update your Romance or Friendship level with each character.

These are never signaled to you directly, but you can take a hint on how the character reacts to what you are saying. This means that choices that don’t show a knowledge or echo popup still matter and can be as important!

Resonating Moments:

These are the crucial turning points for each character, the kind of moments that leave a mark. Just like in real life, it’s not always the number of interactions that matters most, but the impact of certain moments.

They’re limited: you’ll only be able to trigger a small number of these per day or chapter, making them rare and powerful.
Think about things like:

• Choosing to go home with someone at the end of the night

• Helping a character during an emotionally loaded or vulnerable moment

• Being there when they truly need someone or turning your back when they don’t expect it
  

These choices leave a lasting emotional impression on the character, changing how they see Ren… and how their path may evolve from there.

While other systems in the game, such as Knowledge or Perception Scores, measure the accumulation of actions and choices, Resonating Moments represent emotional spikes. They're those “I remember when you did that for me” kind of moments.

These are also a key factor to improving friendships and unlocking romance.

Small Echo - New in v0.3 (kinda):

A new type of echo that appears as a small pop-up in the corner.
Used for subtler consequences. Not every small echo is signaled.

These will also be added to the future Echo Log.

Major Echo (Classic):

You know them, now with added sound effects!

To sum it up:

All of this comes together to form the Echo System in our game.

Built on principles of psychology and human interaction, the Echo System is what shapes how the characters perceive you and how their feelings toward Ren evolve over time.

It’s not just about isolated choices. It’s about how those choices accumulate, resonate, and reveal something deeper.

Some parts are visible to the player, others happen quietly in the background. But together, they create a dynamic system where your decisions truly matter not just in the moment, but in how the world of Trueclash remembers you.

Only through time and experience will you fully see how useful and adaptive this system can become.

What does this continuos upgrade imply for the future?:

It means we’ll eventually need to allocate time and resources to revisit how these systems behave and are presented in older patches like 0.2 and 0.1.

Once that’s done, however, we believe it will make the impact of your choices more transparent, easier to track, and ultimately more satisfying to experience across the entire game.

🐛 Bug Fixes

• Fixed a bug where you could accidentally train with Matt twice in the same day.
  (Definitely not intended 😅)

Thanks:

Huge shout-out to DunkelmooN for catching and reporting the Matt bug! Thank you!