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Romance in cRPGs - is it ever good?

A horse of course

Guest
Let's see, in addition to HP, stamina, mana, and wahtever, we'll add a piss bar, a shit bar, a jizz bar for male characters, a period bar for prime-age female characters, PMS, ovulation, pregnancy, childbirth, oh, a breast milk bar...

I think that there are some Japangese porn-RPGs that have these, not sure if there's one with all of them at once though.

Oblivion has mods for all of those. Not sure about Skyrim, I know LL covers about 80% though.
 

A horse of course

Guest
The main problem with SexLab is the dizzying number of different components you need to install and configure just for basic functionality like Stormcloaks gang-raping Thalmor Inquisitors. Consider this simple premise: The ability to ejaculate on any surface in the game. Sound simple? Not so fast!

Hey all,

I'm seeking some assistance with a more ambitious mod (for me, at least) that will allow you to paint target characters with cum using the "Cumshot" shout from EIPsyCongroo's MagicNipple mod (MagicNippleSpells). I've combined that mod with the textures from SCOCLB (Skyrim Cum on Clothes) and referenced the spell that toxsickcity created in that mod for testing as a template for this new spell.

Essentially, your character (male or futa) will play the Sexlab jerk off animation, a projectile animation will occur (cum spray from the penis as long as the alternate shout animation is enabled from MagicNipple mod) and one of SCOCLB's textures will appear on the character target behind your crosshairs.

Here's an example of the spell & animation in action: https://gfycat.com/B...alPlumpLadybird

So...

I'd like to take this to the next level. SCOCLB's mod actually comes with 8 different texture layers that range from a small amount of cum to "cum covered" (which is the texture I used in the sample video). I'm trying to design the spell so that each cast of the shout applies a new layer of cum to the target, so that it appears to build up over multiple casts. Since there are 8 levels of texture, it would then require 8 casts of the shout on the same target to achieve the maximum amount (texture 8). I've been testing this spell for days, using the ScocLBSpelllong spell (that toxsickcity made for his mod) but none of my tests have worked.
 

Neanderthal

Arcane
Joined
Jul 7, 2015
Messages
3,626
Location
Granbretan
Maybe it hasn't been done right in a CRPG yet, but we have a clear example of romance working in an epic fantasy story:
Conan The Barbarian06.jpg


Up there with the most romantic love stories in cinema.

I think tragic romances are best for storytelling. The problem is most companion romances aren't tragic- the game writers are too chicken to slot off companions midway through the game. I suppose BG2 did give it the best try except you got to bring them back. Which is kind of epic and romantic...

There's plenty of good adventure games built around romantic relationships, if that counts. I'm sure there's probably a few jrpgs that have made romance work too.

Queen of the Black Coast is arguably one o best Howard short stories there is, Milius were a wise man to homage it so strongly in film.
 

kris

Arcane
Joined
Oct 27, 2004
Messages
8,844
Location
Lulea, Sweden
It beats the usual approach in romance which is "Oh you are teh hero, now oblitarate my pussy because you are the almighty PLAYER.

Really? what crpg romance was ever like that? Most romances in games are "agree/talk with person until they fall in love", sometimes adding giving them a present or doing a mission for them.

While player being a hero and some woman throwing herself at your "spear" is one of the most logical things. I dont think I need to publish some sort of study supporting that women are attracted to a powerful hero.
 
Joined
Sep 7, 2013
Messages
6,174
PC RPG Website of the Year, 2015 Codex 2016 - The Age of Grimoire Serpent in the Staglands Bubbles In Memoria A Beautifully Desolate Campaign Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire
I romanced Leliana but at the end we both decided to remain friends as some of my gifts revealed that I really knew nothing about her.

Morgan is an edgy bitch who obviously would be a SJW dike in real life. I refused to have coitus with her obviously.

Morrigan is a Social Darwinist, right-wing anarcho-primitivst who is happy if the Warden sexually exploits an ambiguously aged Dalish elf girl. She also has zero egalitarianism, even up through DA:I, which sort of divorces her from leftism.

In fact, she's probably the only genuinely right-wing personality in the party (Sten would be, but Qunari seem more like communism than fascism).
 

canakin

Cipher
Joined
May 15, 2011
Messages
421
kris Most Bioware romances felt forced to me. I always had the feeling that they were there to please me, the player instead of being an integral part of story. Oh and I'm aware that womyn like to bang powerful males but still some subtlety wouldn't hurt no one.
 

Lostpleb

Learned
Joined
Jun 15, 2016
Messages
380
Depends on the credibility of the characters that can be romanced. If they are fleshed out as well as they were in, say PS:T, then yes romances become an integral part of the power fantasy. Enrich yourself, save the plebs from some badass that handed your ass to you at the start of the game, and fuck bitches along the way!

Morrigan is a Social Darwinist, right-wing anarcho-primitivst who is happy if the Warden sexually exploits an ambiguously aged Dalish elf girl. She also has zero egalitarianism, even up through DA:I, which sort of divorces her from leftism.

In fact, she's probably the only genuinely right-wing personality in the party (Sten would be, but Qunari seem more like communism than fascism).
In DA:O, Morrigan believed in power at any cost, which is a pretty authoritarian point of view. All she really cared about was being strong enough to overpower her mother and leave the nest permanently.

She is definitely no leftist, but doesn't really seem to care about anyone other than herself, so I'm not sure what makes her a right-winger? (Haven't played DA:I yet)
 

Lhynn

Arcane
Joined
Aug 28, 2013
Messages
9,854
Realistic portrayal of different relationships wouldn't hurt anyone.
fuck realism, you can get that shit in real life, go crazy in your fantasy game about slaying dragons and beating one dimensional villains.
 

Endemic

Arcane
Joined
Jul 16, 2012
Messages
4,327
Jagged Alliance 2? My first time, I had Hitman (cheap starter merc) then I got Raven and her hubby Raider who turned out to be a real pussy. Hitman was cucking him all the time. Ultimately I got tired of reloading every time Raven got killed. Hitman wouldn't stop crying. I fired him 'cause he never could learn how to shoot anyway, and Raider for being a super cuck. Can't say I cared about any of them though... only Buns.

:? Raider and Hitman argue then lose morale if they're in the same squad. As per her AIM description, Raven's simply being professional and focusing on the mission. On the other hand, her eulogy for Raider:

"Ron, darling, we always knew this day would come. I'm glad it was you first, because... because I didn't want to leave you alone, the way I am now. Peace be with you, my love."

That and a couple of comments from Fox/Wolf are about as far as JA2 goes in depicting any kind of romance.
 
Joined
Sep 7, 2013
Messages
6,174
PC RPG Website of the Year, 2015 Codex 2016 - The Age of Grimoire Serpent in the Staglands Bubbles In Memoria A Beautifully Desolate Campaign Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire
Depends on the credibility of the characters that can be romanced. If they are fleshed out as well as they were in, say PS:T, then yes romances become an integral part of the power fantasy. Enrich yourself, save the plebs from some badass that handed your ass to you at the start of the game, and fuck bitches along the way!

Morrigan is a Social Darwinist, right-wing anarcho-primitivst who is happy if the Warden sexually exploits an ambiguously aged Dalish elf girl. She also has zero egalitarianism, even up through DA:I, which sort of divorces her from leftism.

In fact, she's probably the only genuinely right-wing personality in the party (Sten would be, but Qunari seem more like communism than fascism).
In DA:O, Morrigan believed in power at any cost, which is a pretty authoritarian point of view. All she really cared about was being strong enough to overpower her mother and leave the nest permanently.

She is definitely no leftist, but doesn't really seem to care about anyone other than herself, so I'm not sure what makes her a right-winger? (Haven't played DA:I yet)

The basic idea of right-wing philosophy is that you occupy a position in a hierarchy of relationships where you become a winner by conforming to the cultural norms associated with that position. So, in Old American South logic, the blacks actually benefit from slavery because they can't read or take care of themselves. And Jews and gypsies are always going to lose in Nazi society because their culturally prescribed role is the furnace.

Ergo, caring about yourself is the normal and right thing to do, and the correct way to achieve it is by conforming to the role your culture prescribes to you.

The "hierarchy" in Morrigan's philosophy is a Social Darwinist model where strong and intelligent people force or manipulate weaker people to do what they want. Civil structures that allow weak people to gain influence over strong individuals (such as the Chantry, the Circle of Mages, feudalism, laws, and civilization in general) are evil and need to be destroyed.

In contrast, leftists are all egalitarians. They explicitly reject and repudiate hierarchies, which is one of the things that separates them from right wingers. Whatever relationships of superiority and inferiority exist between human beings, they can't be thought of in terms of hierarchies.

Even in clearly hierarchical left-wing systems like Stalinism, everyone still refers to each other as, "comrade" in deference to the Enlightenment ideal that hierarchies are evil. Ostensibly everyone in communism is equal to everyone else.
 
Last edited:

Starwars

Arcane
Joined
Jan 31, 2007
Messages
2,829
Location
Sweden
I can't remember a romance that I genuinely liked. I liked the fact that the MotB romances sorta reinforced the main theme of the game (at least with Safiya) but they weren't what I'd call good.

I couldn't stand Morrigan but something I did like was that you couldn't turn her around completely and make things be happy ever after. She didn't budge from her mission and that was something that I liked and was a bit surprised about.
 

Falksi

Arcane
Joined
Feb 14, 2017
Messages
10,588
Location
Nottingham
IIRC the "A Dance With Rogues" mod for NWN had some fucked up interesting romances. For instance,
you can date the guy who rapes you in the beginning of the game. Or the drow who takes you as a slave.

I've still never git around to playing NWN. will have to give it a gander, thanks for the heads up.
 

Falksi

Arcane
Joined
Feb 14, 2017
Messages
10,588
Location
Nottingham
I can't remember a romance that I genuinely liked. I liked the fact that the MotB romances sorta reinforced the main theme of the game (at least with Safiya) but they weren't what I'd call good.

I couldn't stand Morrigan but something I did like was that you couldn't turn her around completely and make things be happy ever after. She didn't budge from her mission and that was something that I liked and was a bit surprised about.

Yeah, personally thought that Morrigans story was a brilliant way to deal with romance and the possible consequences. It showed both a nice contrast & compliment to her everyday nature, and actually added to the game overall.
 

MRY

Wormwood Studios
Developer
Joined
Aug 15, 2012
Messages
5,716
Location
California
kris Most Bioware romances felt forced to me. I always had the feeling that they were there to please me, the player instead of being an integral part of story.
Doesn't this describe everything in most RPGs, from NPCs to shopkeepers to monsters to geopolitics?
 

MRY

Wormwood Studios
Developer
Joined
Aug 15, 2012
Messages
5,716
Location
California
Well.... I dunno. As Chesterton would say, don't suggest tearing down a fence until you know why it's there. As Niebuhr would say, whatever is, is good. And as Darwin would say, the persistence of a trait shows that it improves the likelihood of success/survival. Players seem to like player-centric games in which all the world exists to provide them with opportunities to show how cool they are and to help them become cooler. I don't think that's the only kind of good game, and to be honest it's not even particularly my preference (I don't think?), but it's hard to criticize the concept when it's been around so long.
 

Neanderthal

Arcane
Joined
Jul 7, 2015
Messages
3,626
Location
Granbretan
Its been a bit overdone, an too clumsily for my taste (by Bioware especially,) i'm finding games where I can fail, meet me match or be outsmarted more attractive than ever nowadays. Plus when your antagonists are bumblin, ineffectual idiots then you don't really feel like you've achieved owt in bestin em. For a game wi horrible flaws I found Witcher 2 brilliant in this regard, Letho won an Geralt failed in the prologue, Philippa led you around by nose in Vergen if you went there, Loredo, Roche an Iorveth all got drop on you an Radovid an Emhyr played a game way above your head. You were out o your league, outmatched an outsmarted but still made satisfyin personal victories an could make important stands.

The clumsy power fantasy were worst for me in DA2, where you controlled a bumblin idiot who nonsensical plot forced everyone to respect despite fact that he were just a dogsbody runnin errands wi out self motivation, challenge or impediment. Then again I don't think Bioware could write a relatable, human character to save their lives, just usual squeein, cheesy pile o cliches that they remix for every game. Thinks its because they've got no idea what normal, relatable (even if fantastic) folk act or talk like.
 

Lostpleb

Learned
Joined
Jun 15, 2016
Messages
380
Morality Games Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this.


IMO Morrigan is more interesting to discuss than most of the other Bioware romances because of how she ties into the plot. By the end of the game, if you did not successfully keep her around, you can only sacrifice yourself to kill the last boss or send that idiot Alistair/Loghain to die in your stead. Neither can really be considered good endings.
 

Fargus

Arcane
Joined
Apr 2, 2012
Messages
2,548
Location
Moscow
The main problem with SexLab is the dizzying number of different components you need to install and configure just for basic functionality like Stormcloaks gang-raping Thalmor Inquisitors. Consider this simple premise: The ability to ejaculate on any surface in the game. Sound simple? Not so fast!

Hey all,

I'm seeking some assistance with a more ambitious mod (for me, at least) that will allow you to paint target characters with cum using the "Cumshot" shout from EIPsyCongroo's MagicNipple mod (MagicNippleSpells). I've combined that mod with the textures from SCOCLB (Skyrim Cum on Clothes) and referenced the spell that toxsickcity created in that mod for testing as a template for this new spell.

Essentially, your character (male or futa) will play the Sexlab jerk off animation, a projectile animation will occur (cum spray from the penis as long as the alternate shout animation is enabled from MagicNipple mod) and one of SCOCLB's textures will appear on the character target behind your crosshairs.

Here's an example of the spell & animation in action: https://gfycat.com/B...alPlumpLadybird

So...

I'd like to take this to the next level. SCOCLB's mod actually comes with 8 different texture layers that range from a small amount of cum to "cum covered" (which is the texture I used in the sample video). I'm trying to design the spell so that each cast of the shout applies a new layer of cum to the target, so that it appears to build up over multiple casts. Since there are 8 levels of texture, it would then require 8 casts of the shout on the same target to achieve the maximum amount (texture 8). I've been testing this spell for days, using the ScocLBSpelllong spell (that toxsickcity made for his mod) but none of my tests have worked.

Classy Skyrim modmaking. Nothing more romantic than being gang banged and bukake'd by a bunch of stormcloak soldiers.
 

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