Devlog #15: Balancing the Game (Phase 1)
Added 2025-08-29 08:00:07 +0000 UTCThis Week's Summary: Bugs and Balancing
Last week + start of this week: Bug fixing.
The rest of the week: General balancing.
Good morning and welcome to another devlog!
This one is a bit more of a petit comité post, since it's just for patrons. I wanted to get back to creating exclusive content for you, beyond just an "extra" devlog.
Anyway... let's see what I have prepared for you today!
Roadmap Reminder (v1)
First of all, a quick reminder of the current roadmap so we're all on the same page:
Phase 1 (We are here): Finish fixing all reported bugs and apply a general balance pass (stats, materials, crafting, etc.).
Phase 2: Finalize the redesign of all interfaces.
Phase 3: Implement all the content that is currently incomplete.
Phase 4: In parallel with Phase 3, work on exclusive content for the paid versions (Patreon).
Phase 5: Correct all story inconsistencies (quests, tasks, etc.).
Phase 6: Re-translate all text that has not been revised by Robin, our Proofreader.
Phase 7: Begin the usual release cycle: BETA -> Early Access -> Public Version.
This Week's Summary: Bugs and Balancing
Last week + start of this week: Bug fixing.
The rest of the week: General balancing.
That's the summary of the last few days. Although there is one small detail: I also started on some redesigns. So let's start from the beginning. Earlier in the week, I talked about all the fixed bugs, so today is all about the other part: balancing.
Adjusting the Game's Balance
Math. Yep, that's today's main topic. A real headache (I'm not a fan of math), but to keep this from getting too technical or boring, I'll try to explain it in a more dynamic way. Let's get started!
1. Experience Curve (Love & Sexiness)
While everything needs to be perfectly aligned, the first thing I had to address was the extreme experience curve for the girls' Love and Sexiness stats. The formula was exponential, which would have become crazy in the long run.
After thinking about it, I realized the answer was right in front of me: the Trust stat. It was as simple as modifying the formula to work just like the Trust, but with a small addition: using a +2 modifier instead of +1. This ensures the other stats always stay ahead of Trust, but not by an overwhelming amount.
To give you an idea:
This was before:
And this is now:
It may not be a huge difference at first glance, but it will become very noticeable in the long run.
NOTE: Don't worry, this balance change will be automatically applied on any save.
2. Job Rewards
To make working with Mona or Glenda more rewarding, I've decided to slightly increase the range of rewards you receive. Before, the RNG formula gave you 2-5; now it gives you 3-6. It's a subtle change, but you'll feel it in the medium to long term.
3. New System: "Daily Work Bonus"
To complement the second balance change, I've implemented a bonus system for the first job of the day. Here’s how it works:
The first time you work, you'll receive a 100% bonus.
The second time, the bonus is reduced, and so on, until it resets the next day.
This system works independently for each girl. If you work once with Glenda and get the 100% bonus, you will also get a 100% bonus the first time you work with Mona on the same day. This balances the increased rewards and offers a new strategic way to approach jobs.
4. The Marketplace
The market will no longer sell toys (any) or materials of a higher rarity than basic (white). Why? Simply put, it was too OP. It made other features, especially crafting, feel secondary or even useless. My effort to make everything easier created an unnecessary imbalance, and this change fixes that.
NOTE: The buy and sell prices remain the same.
5. Perks
This is the last thing I'm working on, and it involves some redesign work. I know that's part of Phase 2, but it's necessary to tackle it now.
Unfortunately, I can't show you the final result, and you'll have to wait until Tuesday to see it. The reason? Well, I'll let you in on a little secret:
Since the devlogs are posted early in the morning (10:00 AM), to post them myself, I would have to wake up around 5:00 AM to have enough time to write, correct, translate, correct again, and so on. To avoid that, I usually write the devlog on the evening of the day before. In other words, I'm writing this post on Thursday evening.
Knowing that, and considering I've been discarding ideas and designs for a couple of days... I just need a bit more time (Friday) to finalize everything.
However, I've prepared a look into the process for you!
The Evolution of the Perks Design
First Sketch: The List
The concept seemed interesting as a list, trying to match other panels, but I wasn't convinced...
Second Sketch: The "Weirdo"
This one is... strange. I realized that writing the full perk name took up too much space, so I thought showing just the benefit would be a good idea, but... nah. Next.
Final Concept to be Implemented
Now this is more like it. I always liked the original design. The main problem? I decided to make almost everything automatic to avoid having too many perks... but now the idea is much simpler: focusing only on the main stats.
Even though this is a sketch, the final design shouldn't be too different. I still need to decide if I'll split it into two branches or keep a single one with two levels for each passive. Personally, I prefer a single branch, as it looks more interesting, and adding levels makes it similar to familiar systems, which isn't a bad thing.
A practical example of how it would work:
First Passive (Level 1): Requires 5 Strength + 123 Gold. Unlocks: "+2 extra branches when gathering."
First Passive (Level 2): Requires 10 Strength + 321 Gold. Unlocks: "+1 Strength on jobs with Glenda."
There are no more levels. We move on to the next tier. And so on.
A new concept that still feels familiar.
So, What's Next?
I still have some details to polish, but most of the pending tasks are now part of Phase 2. The next few days, I am going to focus on:
Finishing the new Perks design so I can show you all the new passives in detail and the direction the system will take.
Doing a slight redesign of the Stats panel to add more information (a summary of times worked, total earnings, percentages, active passives, etc.).
Making a change to Maria's "Commissions," which are a bit... meh right now. I want to make them more interesting and focus them on earning Proofs of Trust, which will be needed for future content (v2 or v3).
This last point about the Commissions will also serve as the final touch on the game's balancing, and at the same time, I'll apply changes to the Proof of Trust requirements for accessing new ranks.
And that's all
That's all for this week! It's been a very "technical" week, with a lot of math, code, and calculations... a real headache. That's why I've wanted to switch gears over the last few days and work on the Perks redesign.
I still have a system in mind that I would love to implement from the early game, and I've actually included it in my balance calculations to know how to approach it. But... my brain has had enough math this week. This system could lead to extra content in the long run, which is why I want to think about it carefully. There's still time for that, as it would be part of Phase 3.
See you next week!
