Maids & Masters (& Maps for v0.13)

I'm now (mostly) caught up with outside work, so I was able to dedicate the weekend to creating a new set of maps complete with a new set of puzzles that lead to a challenging new enemy that awards a new trophy. It's nothing too special, nor a mechanic I had originally intended to include, but now that it's done, we'll see how far I go with it. For now, the only use is digging out the ore you can reach in the caves leading from the west forest into the south mountains, but there is another secret to find there. 

I've also gotten a good start on the maps for the new Estate. I'm hoping ya'll don't hate locked doors, because otherwise the new village (which is closer to a small city) would have something like 30-35 additional maps beyond what's needed for the story. There's a good reason for all those doors to be locked (there's a murder mystery afoot, after all) and I wouldn't mind making those maps, but I know some of you get frustrated when you have a map to explore and there's not really anything to find, and I don't have 30 maps worth of stuff to hide. Skipping making those "unnecessary" maps also saves me a bunch of dev time, too.

 

The cult scene is also complete. Well, the first one is, anyway. The big thing that's done now is the "investigation" portion of the mini-segment. It was tricky getting Willow to correctly track all the information you uncover, but after spending a couple more days on it building it out and testing it, I think I've got everything working as intended. You're able to approach anyone to begin your investigation, and they'll shoo you away if they don't have anything new to share. So now it's just writing out the scenes themselves and pushing that story forward. Plus any other bonuses I decide to hide in there.

That's about everything there is to share this week, though. I do have the scene set for how the murder mystery will be introduced when you enter the Estate, but the event itself isn't built yet. I also have a rough outline for how the mystery will unfold, but I'm not sure how heavy-handed to be with player direction. Same goes with how Melissa and Phoebe will play their roles. There are a few ways I could set it up, but I want it to be clear that calling on Phoebe to help you turns on "easy mode" and will not only lock you out of the trophy, but will also take the interactivity out of the mystery. Even if I limit Phoebe's help to a scene-by-scene basis (so she only helps if you're stuck and you tell her to) it'll be tricky to make a mystery compelling while also giving everything away.

I like what I have so far, though. Here's hoping it holds up to what I have in my head when it's finished.

Maids & Masters (& Getting Started on v0.13)

I'm a little surprised with myself. I actually managed to treat my vacation like a vacation. Of course, I did still continue checking my socials and responding to comments on itch and Patreon, and I spent one day working on a scene for a special project that may or may not ever see the light of day, but still. I got some good sleep, I eliminated a couple distractions, and I spent some time away from my computer. I don't feel quite as refreshed as I was hoping to, but I don't feel like I'm dragging myself forward anymore, either. I'd say that accomplishes the main goal of stepping away from work for a while. I'm going to need the energy.

While I didn't exactly specify this anywhere, the Bancroft Estate segment is a big one. Attached to the Estate itself is Magach, one of the two "cities" on Commorance. It was built during the war against the slain Queen as a sort of refugee camp for the Folk that were fleeing battlegrounds, but Masters being Masters, it ended up being actual homes instead of something more temporary. It's Magach that gave Farquhar the idea for Roich, as the previous Master Bancroft used the city as his "recruiting grounds" prior to his death. The difference being is that Magach is significantly larger, and has a standing population of Folk, rather than being filled exclusively with Folk that are technically Servants on paper. It's this that led to the current Master Bancroft, as well as all of his half-siblings, and having so many potential heirs led to the recently resolved succession crisis.

And it's not just the physical size of Magach I have to worry about. While I've tried my hand at writing a murder mystery before, I've never presented one to the public for critique. On top of that, since MnM is the ongoing experiment that it is, I want to try layering the "whodunnit" underneath other mystery tropes, like the locked room murder, red herrings, twist reveals, and of course, the big reveal at the end that lays everything out, all balanced in a way that gives you, the player, the option of solving the whole thing yourself. The trophy for the segment will be solving the mystery correctly just between you and Melissa, but I know that not all of my players can wrap their brains around all of my puzzles, and I don't want to leave anyone behind because they don't know what they're looking for. That's what the mind maze was, and I don't intend to do that twice. At least not within MnM.

 

Phoebe will play the "easy mode" role, from pointing out evidence and connections to just doing all the work for you - if you choose to call on her. I'm less worried about that part so much as I am Melissa's part, who will play a role closer to your Watson, simply reminding you of what you've already done and giving you the opportunity to run your theories by her to make sure you're not missing something that should be right in front of you. The combination of player agency, the limitation of only having a set amount of actions that can be taken, and the complexity of what I want to do here will be quite the challenge.

Which makes me wonder if a v0.12.1 might be a good idea. Before I get to all of this, I need to make sure the cult segment works as intended and finish building that. While that would make the new update fairly small, it would allow me to get something out during September, which won't otherwise have a release (unless you count v0.12, since that released on the 1st). I fully expect the Bancroft segment to take 6+ weeks to create, so having a smaller update that takes a smaller step forward might be a good idea. I've also got some work for another project to catch up on before I get too lost in working on MnM. We'll see where the next two weeks take us.

Maids & Masters (& the v0.13 Development Poll)

Let's get this taken care of right up front - the Patreon poll for v0.13 is running right now! If you're interested in voting and want to support development, or are already a Patron and haven't left a vote yet, you can find the poll on my Patreon page.

If you want to do some reading on each segment, you can find that (as well as forum signatures, if you care about that sort of thing) on this post right here or keep reading, as I've got a little more info to share. I'd mentioned previously that each segment will focus on interacting with one Maid in particular, with another Maid playing a secondary role, so that the Maids can get some individual character development. For example, in v0.12, Ella was the focus, and we got to learn more about her past and see how she's grown, with Alice playing a smaller supporting role.

 

At the Bancroft Estate, which has recently gone through a succession crisis thanks to a mysterious murder, should have things calming down now that the new Master Bancroft has taken up the title of Master - but the murders haven't stopped. This segment will focus on Melissa, not just in her role as your right hand, but also as your best friend, and someone who has survived this sort of violence within an Estate before. Phoebe will also be around to help Master, just in case you're having trouble keeping the evidence straight.

Master Stebbing, who is probably a little too proud of his ability to turn nearly any Servant into a force to be reckoned with, will be trying to get his measure of you through engagements, the "friendly sparring matches" Masters use their Servants as proxies to hold. While Kala does have some history here, she'd much prefer playing a background role rather than reliving the parts of her past she'd prefer stayed in the past. Katrina, on the other hand, has something to prove and has no intention of backing down.

Lastly, Master Beckett is a bit too secretive to have much of a reputation outside of his talent as a vintner, and while Master hasn't actually been drunk before, it seemed like the girls had fun when you were all in Bianca's room celebrating your ability to irritate Griselda. Maybe it could be fun? And with Phoebe's help, maybe you'll even learn some of those secrets Master Beckett has collected. And who knows? Maybe you'll even meet someone new.

If you don't see a Maid here you were hoping to see - don't worry, they'll get their time to shine, too. These are just the segments for what's left of the first half of Act 2. There's still at least 4 more segments left before Act 2 is finished, and there are some big reveals coming for a couple of the characters as we get closer to Act 3 and the end of the story.

Shilling For My Fellow Devs - Romance Games Bundle

Not all adult games only focus on sex, and Maids & Masters is definitely one of those. I, along with more than 20 other devs, have put together the Adult Romance Games bundle, full of games focused on building relationships with characters you care about and telling stories with a healthy level of romance. So draw your bath, light your candles, and get ready to enjoy some romance games. Warning: handholding may occur.

The bundle has been running for a little over a week, with nearly three weeks before the bundle closes, and we already reached our first goal! A huge thank you to those who have made contributions to the bundle! We never expected the bundle to be this successful, but clearly players are in it for the love. 

With that in mind, we decided to add a new goal of $2500. If this goal is reached, fans can expect a series of custom renders and images from the some of the devs participating in the bundle. These will be brand new renders and drawings from the devs that will be created as a reward for reaching the new goal. 

What can you expect from these renders? What else but gorgeous girls, gratuitous nudity, and more sappy romance than you can handle in one sitting. So if you're in the mood for even more loving, then help us reach our new goal of $2500 to encourage devs to keep the romance coming!

You can get the bundle entirely for free - which now includes v0.11 of Maids & Masters - on itch.io by clicking here. That's more than 20 games that are yours forever with a single click!

Maids & Masters v0.12 Release

The cult segment is gonna have to wait for the start of v0.13, because it ended up just a smidge too complex for me to make without delays, so I ended up making the Hold maps a little less empty instead. The speed with which my remaining energy left me once I finished making that decision tells me that doing some sleeping in and taking some me time is definitely not something to put off. Just as well, because I didn't want to delay this release any more than I already have.

Keep an eye on my Patreon for the poll for the next Estate. There's still three options left, so that poll will go up next Friday (the 8th) for all Patrons to vote in, and I'll announce the results publicly the following Friday (the 15th).

Until then, v0.12 is available to Patrons right now, and will become available on itch and more later today. Here's your changelog:

v0.12
Added the next main story segment - Ella’s first Master. Including:
- Two new areas to explore - the Read Estate and the village of Roich.
- A new scene for Ella, a new potential mother, and new random Estate events for Vicky.
- Two new trophies and a new Hold with the biggest payout of any Hold so far.
Added a bugfix feature to correct the East & North Swamps Locations image (for real this time).
Added the gift system, allowing the affection scores of Maids that stay at the Estate to be raised.
Added “invisible walls” to prevent potential crashes from encounters triggering simultaneously.
Added more Trophy 23 encounters to existing maps.
Added a “spring festival” to Cumhaill, which is only active during the Grow.
Fixed a bug where Green With Rage may complete instead of The Color Green in the Task List.
Fixed a bug where the Scrap Wood in the Village Ruins fireplaces would ignite then extinguish.
Fixed a bug that caused the mountain path fast travel options to appear before being unlocked.
Fixed a bug that duplicated Teely’s Escort options in the final phase of the Estate.
Fixed a handful of bugs that allowed the player to stand on wall and ceiling tiles.
Fixed a handful of bugs that affected progression near the end of Viridius’ Aggression path.
Updated Summer’s face sheet and character bust to better match her character.
Updated Viridius to actually be gone after meeting him in Act 2.
Updated Trophy 23 encounters to not make the player jump, potentially trapping you in a wall.
Updated the incorrect description for the Heavy Duty Bottle Contract to be correct.
Updated region map border events to not cause Folk camps to disappear on interaction.
Updated Vicky’s room in the Servants’ Quarters to have unique interaction dialogue.
Updated Quinn to acknowledge when construction efforts have concluded.
Various other minor dialogue and event updates.