Bittersweet Candy Bowl Forums

People seemed to be fairly interested on the old forum, and the interest is apparent in the IRC, so I'll leave this here.

Anyway, some of you may remember the survey I did now the engine code is (mostly) done, and I have sufficient responses to have produced this wall-o-text report:

http://www.concerned-ish.com/?p=35

Go take a read, you might have some recommendations that make the game better ^^

PS: By request, a Team List has been added. http://www.concerned-ish.com/?p=38

Download The Pre-Alpha Build Here The pre-alpha build is now offline. Thanks to everyone who played it and gave us feedback!

CURRENT GAME STATUS

Version: v0.46
Stage: Beta
Current Release Model: Expanded Testing

Current Changelog is as follows, will be moved to a webpage shortly:

--------
v0.48
--------
-In a rare circumstance, rollback could still work. This has been disabled.
-The new graphics engine has been written, and is ready for testing. However, for the moment, the old system is still in place. This will be switched over to the new system in the next update, but the old system will remain in place for legacy support on older systems
-New framework for SitRep in place.
---Variables now tracked properly.
---The game won't discriminate if partial conditions are met, and will choose the best available
---First will be added next update.
-Added support for snowfall variations.
KNOWN BUGS:
-Both Day 1 of Sue's campaign and Day 10 of McCain's campaign end unexpectedly. Sue's campaign is disabled for now.

--------
v0.47
--------
-Custom file extensions were causing havoc with variable tracking for some reason. They've been reverted to
standard formats until this can be resolved.
-Added the first part of Day 10 to McCain's campaign.
-A glitch caused snow to fall in the classroom in the first part of Sue's campaign, this has been resolved.
-Switched some variables in Sue's campaign so snow falls correctly.
-Disabled image positioning until variable glitch can be resolved.
-Enabled developer console for beta testers.

--------
v0.46 - The Nerd Update
--------
-Signifies move into Beta
-Updated sound engine capabilities:
---Available sound channels increased from 4 to 128 to allow complex soundscapes and atmospherics
---Available music channels increased from 1 to 4 to allow complex soundscapes and atmospherics
---Available VOX channels increased from 1 to 32 to allow complex soundscapes and atmospherics
-SnowCone now works correctly and doesn't cause memory leaks
-Increased SnowCone particle effect register - a code variable switch now dictates how heavy it snows, useful for modders
-Updated graphic engine capabilities:
---The game will now correctly register when more than one character is on screen, and not overlap them. There are 5 available positions for characters to appear in, with 6 additional tentative positions awaiting testing
---The game now transitions scenes smoothly, and characters correctly phase out provided a background image is available
---The game can now handle displayables properly - movies will now play on televisions properly when the game calls for it rather than automatically switching to fullscreen movie mode
---Movies will now render correctly
---Animation engine now works allowing for animated characters should they be added
-Switched file formats around, engine now renders special formats correctly for audio, graphic and movie
-Fixed a glitch where the engine would occasionally not switch to the correct script when choosing a character
-Some events in game that required a random number to be generated to appear now work correctly, and the chance of them happening has been increased

--------
v0.45
--------
-Fixed the Jukebox screen not functioning properly.
-Default resolution now ALWAYS defaults to 800x600 until larger background images / character art can be produced.
-Changed song titles.
-Fixed typos in Sue's campaign.
-Added extra music.

--------
v0.44
--------
-Splash screen was throwing an undefined image error. This has been fixed.
-Added sound to the splash screen.
-Adjusted splash screen timings.
-Fixed typos in Sue's campaign.
-Added a "new day" sound effect to experiment with, which may or may not be removed.
-Date slides are now in game. The graphics for them will be re-worked at a later date.
-Started commenting the code for modders.
-Reworked the jukebox screen, the extra music will now work properly and buttons won't be all over the place.
-Changed some song titles in the jukebox.
--------
v0.43
--------
-Renamed Music Room to Jukebox.
-Changed some song titles in the jukebox.
-Added more date slides. They'll start appearing next version.
-Re-organised code structure to aid future development. Campaigns have been moved to their own script files,
"sue" and "mccain" respectively. Code to initialise special functions, as well as definition entries, will
remain in the main script file.
-Added more music to the game and updated Jukebox to reflect this.

--------
v0.42
--------
-Added a Music Room for players to replay their favorite tracks.
-Added Date Slides and started adding in code definitions.

--------
v0.41
--------
-Placeholder art for Abbey and Augustus added pending definitions.
-Added voices for Teacher.
-Added extra sound channels to allow complex soundscapes.


--------
v0.4
--------
-Fixed remainder of any broken code in the engine modifications. The engine itself should now function perfectly.
-Added additional sound channels for extra sound effects, and to facilitate development later on.
-Work has begun on the SDK to allow others to create custom campaigns.
-Added option to play Sue's campaign.
-Started transcribing Sue's campaign.
-Added the first section of voice dialogue for Sue's campaign.

--------
v0.28
--------
-Added dynamic weather engine to facilitate various, realistic weather effects.
-Dynamic Weather Engine now facilitates snowfall animations.
-Dynamic Weather Engine now has preliminary support for rainfall animations.
-A glitch was occuring that caused the entire scene to re-transition itself when a character switched. This has been fixed, characters now transition independently of the environment.
-Added the remainder of transitions.

--------
V0.27
--------
-PUBLIC RELEASE
-Added low quality Sandy voices pending re-record.
-Placeholder art is now in place for the entirety of the build.
-Fixed a glitch where you can avoid being introduced to Sandy.
-Bug with engine miscalculating relationship values has been fixed.

--------
v0.26
--------
-Fixed Park_Night music
-Fixed Park_Night_Special music
-Added additional music to be used in later events
-Added Tranquil music, to be played on special events
-The engine was occasionally (less than 10% of the time) miscalculating relationship levels. A tentative fix has been applied, but requires additional testing.

--------
v0.25
--------
-Added voices for Jasmine
-Added voices for Sandy, but muted pending Ubertoast getting off his arse and adding the final lines
-Fixed an engine glitch that resulted in transitions not being displayed in some paths

--------
v0.24
--------
-Ubertoast is a dummy and can't spell properly resulting in borked images. These have been fixed.

--------
v0.23
--------
-Fixed minor typo on Day 4
-Character art readded up until Day 6 with basic transitions

--------
v0.22
--------
-A writing error resulted in a missing scene, resulting in Sandy not being introduced. This has been
fixed (thanks Commie)
-Some scenes needed extra dialogue or clarification. This has been added (thanks Frustrated_Writer)
-Started adding scene specific music
-A bug was occurring due to missing images. Images after Day 1 have now been removed, pending addition of these
images.
-Added voices for Paulo
-Added voices for Mike
-Added voices for David

--------
v0.21
--------
-Started adding preliminary artwork. Placeholder character art up until Day 3 is now properly in place, minus
transitions.
--------
V0.2 - Unreleased
--------
-Added experimental framework for transitions to be utilised in a future update
-Added experimental framework for cinematics to be utilised in a future update
-Added experimental framework for storyline switches to be utilised in a future update
-First true alpha build - majority of framework now in place.
--------
v0.04
--------
-Fixed another typo, Lucy no longer says "jerkface" in a posh manner.
-Fixed an error with a dodgy variable when you tell Sue you don't want to go shopping.
-Fixed an erroneous jump that casued a section of the game to be missed, resulting in a nonsensical scene.
--------
v0.03
--------
-Fixed typos.(thanks JuniorBoomer)
-Fixed punctuation errors. (thanks JuniorBoomer)
-Fixed a bug that would allow players to rollback to an earlier state through illegitimate means, allowing them to
reverse choices that they deem detrimental later on. This has now been removed, and players can no longer rollback.
-Fixed a non-existent jump error when having lunch with Sandy. The game now handles this and jumps correctly.
-Fixed a non-existent jump error when talking to Tess in the park. The game now handles this and jumps correctly.
-The game attempted to jump to a portion of code that hadn't been written yet, after sitting in the cafeteria on
Day 3. this has been corrected, and the code now exists.
-A huge number of sections were trying to jump to a section of code that wasn't written. This has now been fixed,
and that section of gameplay is now included.
-The game now lets you know when you've reached the end of the current story, rather than the menu going "OHAI".
--------
v0.02
--------
-Fixed character overlap bug. (thanks Shotgun_Wizard)
-Added Tess and Sandy placeholder art.
-Fixed typos.
-Extended McCain's storyline from two days to nine.
--------
v0.01
--------
-Initial build

This post has been edited by Ubertoast: 13 March 2011 - 11:20 AM

Hey! I voted for Mccain to be a playable character!

Need to have somone hit that if sue is playable.

I'm going to date everybody as Abbey, and when I say everybody, I mean EVERYBODY

player abbey?
wtf. That....how can you...
never mind.

I don't even remotely understand what you were attempting to ask so I'll just continue thinking about who to bag first.

How can abbey be a player?
It just does not compute/

Is it that hard to compute? He's the greatest, I mean just look at one of his quotes. "Every woman is a fair maiden that should be treated with the utmost respect"

Bitches love respect and Abbey is giving it to all of them. The logic here is relatively undeniable

It computes so little that it has impaired my periods/

My computing level is that of the highest caliber.

Alright enough of that then, it's looking good Uber, keep up the good work dude.

give bitches abby
bitches love abby

Abbey = Pimp

in before Jerk get's here.

Wait...you guys are making a BCB dating sim?

For a long time now there mr. observant

give jerk pimps
jerk loves pimps

navi, on 28 November 2010 - 10:02 AM, said:

Yeah I guess me being a member for a week doesn't mean anything and what's "mr"?

Your gender was debatable and I needed to use a word from a group that happend to be gender specific.
I don't belive in intenet genetalia outside of porn anyway.

I do not belive I belive what you belive you belive

Uberfro, my bro, hello.

Wow that was lame...anyway, are you putting up a list of the team working on it? There was a very, very short one in the old thread, is all.

A team list? GOOD IDEA

Added a team list: http://www.concerned-ish.com/?p=38

I'll give you links to the voice acters I get for the audio comic.
If I be blessed to be credited.

Grass, on 29 November 2010 - 04:35 AM, said:

You might be. Depends on if any of them accept the offer. Grab me in the IRC.

EDIT: In other news, people no longer have to e-mail me for interest/questions.

Interested in helping? Want to ask a question or have a suggestion? PM me instead, save my inbox!

This post has been edited by Ubertoast: 29 November 2010 - 06:49 PM

Can we have, David x Jasmine in the game?

Jasmine isn't /actually/ planned... however, I guess I could add her in. Sure I guess

Also Commie, you are one of the best auditions I've had in so far. Tess voice = PERFECT.

Yay DavidxJasmine~ And You're welcome now you can finally get some freakin chick voices done. Oh god people are going to try and sex up Tess with my voice neeeeeeeehh.

Leaving_a_Comment, on 29 November 2010 - 10:44 PM, said:

AHAHA if only you knew.

In other news, I have good news for everyone - engine is now 100% complete, and dialogue work for one of the stories will start next week. This means a beta isn't far off!

Awesome! Now we just need everything else!

-snip-

This post has been edited by Cappuccino: 30 November 2010 - 08:04 AM

To anyone who's email has not yet been answered:

My deep apologies for this. Rest assured, I do make the time to get around to reading ALL of them, there's just sometimes I don't (or forget) to reply, purely for the reason that I don't have the time. Please remember that, as well as trying my best to give you all a brilliant game to play, I have to work on other stuff other than just the programming, and I also have college to contend with. If you expected one and I hav'nt replied within a week... just shoot me a friendly e-mail reminder, and I'll get back to you as soon as I can. Don't worry folks, you don't end up in the recycle bin!

Hmm, what's this? A file on the server? Set to go live on the 25th December? WHAT COULD IT BE?

(Secrelty I already know - it's a 2 week gametime demo of one of the campaigns, but ssshhhh)

This is mainly so I can iron out any kinks in the engine that might occur on your specific setup - I'd rather not go "it all works" and then find out anyone with a lower screen resolution than me can't run it, or something silly like that.

EDIT: A quick note after talking to some of the IRCers, this build is for technical testing /only/. It's likely going to use temp art, and only have one or two voices in it. Don't hold your breath for something spectacular...

This post has been edited by Ubertoast: 01 December 2010 - 08:38 PM

Trev the lurker here:

Hey Toast how long til you need Mccains voice? Not to push but im getting really excited

Trev - Soon my friend... soon Check your PMs

Are you still looking for voices, or has that been fully dealt with already?

A wonderful Christmas gift! I can't wait

I know It won't be the full thing, but I'm excited anyways.

This post has been edited by Quaddy: 02 December 2010 - 03:12 AM

Is there any way I can be apart of this? I would want to be a voice actor, but I don't know if my mic is good enough...
Or as an artist, maybe?

Voices will be optional yes? Like...I would be able to turn the voice volume to 0 but leave sound effects and stuff on?

What engine are you using folks? If its something I know I'll gladly help with coding. But only if the sim is worksafe. I don't want to work with Cat Porn.

Also whats the main plotline? Does it go hand to hand with canon or something new like a fanfiction?

This post has been edited by Mister Nikel: 02 December 2010 - 04:06 PM

Voices will indeed be optional Closet, though they'll be turned on by default. There's an option available in the config menu to turn them off.

Lariat - There's still a few days to audition for voice acting, yes.

Neff - Feel free to send one in anyway. We're always after new artists

Nikel - A custom version of an engine available on the internet. Check the dev blog in a few days for more info (By custom I mean heavily altered to add awesome features in)

This post has been edited by Ubertoast: 02 December 2010 - 09:19 PM

This is relevant to the project: http://www.bitterswe...n-for-suitcase/

woah what two votes for melody
what

I had not heard of said survey! why wasn't I included?

Meh, i probably didn't pay attention and missed out, shucks.

Still looking for amazing voice actors?

Captain - I am indeed still looking for voice actors - I'll be reviewing all auditions tomorrow/Sunday, making my final choices Sunday night.

Migrant - I did kinda post it in the IRC 9000 times... sorry bro ^^;

Space - I'm as surprised as you are

Ehh I'm more hoping it just relies on existing characters and no fancharacters, but then again it's a fangame so

Tae - The plan is main characters only. Exceptions being Tess and McCain, since they appear in the comic regularly and the IRC threatened me to include them. Don't worry, chances are they won't make it in if they're a fanchar (pretty sure I told people this on the old forum, but ohwell).

@Uber:
i can do anything that isnt art, so if you need my help with anything... im here... just saying...

even if it is last minute help...

This post has been edited by GoldenArbiter01: 04 December 2010 - 01:38 AM

You mentioned before that you're still accepting auditions, and I know I'm not the only one asking, so...

How does one go about auditioning?

And how does one go about applying as an artist? @_@

I'm glad I read this so I can set up an audition for you to have tomorrow; I was still under the impression that it was a deadline of the tenth!
@Lariat
Well, personally I made myself a script of lines the character(s) said in the comic, and then recorded them. Simple. Just be sure to have a quality mic, a good voice, and your already better than me good to go! If you don't have an audio program, Audacity is always free and works pretty well within that constraint.

OK, so, since there's been a bit of confusion, I'll extend the deadline another couple of days.

TO AUDITION FOR VOICE WORK:

Step 1: Download a recording program,such as Audacity.
Step 2: Install and make sure it's set to record from your microphone.
Step 3: Pick a character you want to audition for, and read 3-4 of their lines from the comic (any lines will do)
Step 4: Upload the file to a site such as www.mediafire.com, and link it in a PM to me. Make sure you leave a note saying who you're auditioning for!

TO APPLY TO HELP WITH THE ARTWORK:

Step 1: Get a mini-portfolio together (a deviantArt account will do just fine)
Step 2: Upload stuff onto there.
Step 3: Send me a link!
Step 4: Wait for me to reply.

There's no deadline on artists, but I'd like to get voice actors picked by tomorrow. That means... 30-ish hours to get VA auditions in.

EDIT: Oh, and we could use one or two writers still as well. Follow the same procedure as for artists - only link wordy stuff instead of scribbly stuff.

This post has been edited by Ubertoast: 04 December 2010 - 10:56 AM

Well I got off my arse and started writing.

This should go swimmingly.