ACT Enty Active [Zell23] Forest of the Blue Skin

[Aesthetic]

I really like this game, but there's so much that could be done to make it better.
Would you guys be averse to me and my friend creating an unofficial FOBSex?
It'll be FOBS with slightly better gameplay.

 

[TheFierceDeity]

I don't see what's wrong with that... Disagreeing with the developer and making your own version instead, rather than just whining. Let's see what ya got.

 

[Abandonedacc]

I really like this game, but there's so much that could be done to make it better.
Would you guys be averse to me and my friend creating an unofficial FOBSex?
It'll be FOBS with slightly better gameplay.

i doubt the dev will do something, as long you dont go full asshole and start tryng to get money from it.

but who know, better ask him before doing something can get you into a legal trouble.

 

[Aesthetic]

i doubt the dev will do something, as long you dont go full asshole and start tryng to get money from it.

but who know, better ask him before doing something can get you into a legal trouble.

I don't know. Zell flipped his shit when people were just making videos for the sex scenes in the game. I doubt he'd OK a fangame. I just personally think that the game's just chalk full of lost potential. I'm asking because I might also need help from you threadgoers in regards to some shit. Obviously not gonna try and make money from it. Still, it's a freely distributed adult game... hmmm... shouldn't be any legal issue.
So much lost potential here...
I'm kinda torn. Programmer buddy and I will probably do it eventually.

 

[UnexpectedTwist]

I really like this game, but there's so much that could be done to make it better.
Would you guys be averse to me and my friend creating an unofficial FOBSex?
It'll be FOBS with slightly better gameplay.

I'm all for fan edits and revamps, but if you don't mind me asking, what do you mean by better gameplay? Like control overhauls or something? Or additions?

 

[ThatWeirdGuyWithaWeirdHat]

I say just do it. Better to do it and apologize later than wait and ask for permission in this case.

 

[neutral]

because we dont know how he'll react, id vote against doing that. i'd hate for him to flip out and block the game for non japanese consumers.

 

[Aesthetic]

@TitanAnteus and I were talking on discord about this. Most of the ideas were his.

I'll go over the conclusions we came to.

First things first, Zell's original goal on version 1 when FOBS was being done in FLASH was to make a glorified CG viewer where you ran around and found monsters to fuck. The premise was simple outside of the fact that you needed to do a small task to have them join you which was added later. Because of this he split up the monsters to be located in certain regions, and really only gave the player a single attack. Then he added powerups for more platforming, secret areas that were only reachable if you had certain powerups and metroidvania'd the game basically.

At the end of the day combat actually became the main way to interact with the game. You still solve puzzles and stuff but most of what you do is fight and if you lose you get raped.

The history of FOBS aside his current formula has a few flaws to it.
1. If you're not actively pursuing a certain monster girl's capture you will probably not lose to said monster girl and see their sex scene.
2. Some monsters are insanely weak so you won't lose to them unless it's on purpose.
3. You only meet monsters in specific regions.

Zell's monsters have basically all been "bosslike" in design recently because of this. You don't really get "normal" monsters anymore even though normal monsters can be interesting if done right.

Our solution is, first we need to add another resource for the player to worry about. Something to make him weaker than he is currently. We also need to add a modifier that changes how hard it is to escape a grab.

What if we added a stamina bar. Running and jumping wouldn't take it of course, but attacking would. If you got caught while your stamina was low, you'd have a harder time escaping. You can also charge your attacks to take more stamina but do a bit more damage. The FOBS protag always attacks from his sheath so it makes sense with his iai jutsu. Imagine fighting the blond alice children which are supposed to be a gangrape fight (but if you play decently atm it won't be like that.) Instead of constantly attacking as you do now, you'll have to attack and worry about evading as you make sure your stamina never gets too low. If they catch you while your stamina is low it'll be practically impossible to escape. If you cum, you can't get back up again until your stamina's recovered so when the next alice is walking towards you, you'll be helpless on the ground as she goes her turn.

Another idea, is to have enemies cover each other's weaknesses. Jumping in FOBS is INSANELY strong. You can avoid most attacks by jumping, and while you're in the air reposition yourself accordingly. The Red Cat enemy in the desert is an anti-air enemy. If you put her in front of the mage cat, the mage might actually get a chance to launch her magic attack. Capturing enemies would be hard when you're dealing with combat in this sense so there'll be some areas that are just a solo monster to make it easier to capture. More things to reward the player with for exploring. Other good monster combinations could be the undine and slime girl(thinking of pushing her further back if she actually gets hit).

We also think there should be variable height jumping. Currently, in order to catch Kappa all you have to do is jump over her and hit her in the back. It's quite easy. What if the height of your jump was controlled by how long you held it? If you hold it for long enough you jump high. If it's a short tap, you just hop. While fighting kappa if you just do a short hop she'll catch you. If you jump too high she'll recover by the time you land. With variable height jumping we would not only make platforming more interesting but could give it combat importance. You can jump over tiny sticky spots so you don't get stuck and more.

Other ideas are level design related.

The mummy for instance is an AWESOME boss. The atmosphere and sex scene are amazing. I still remember how I felt when it first got released. Shit was hot. I think she was a bit underutilized though.

I think her area could make use of a long hallway. It would need a ceiling as she has now so you can't jump.
You find her. She wakes up... you attack her thinking you could beat her. It doesn't seem like you're doing much any damage at all so you run to escape.
You come across a pit of pink liquid with a plank of wood covering it so you can walk across. You have to try not to get caught by the purple swamp monster as you run forward, and the mummy is inching behind you. As you move forward you see other challenges. The pink mist is there ready to paralyze you with lust. Can't get caught by that. Maybe enemies like zombie appear to blind you, all while the mummy inches towards you.

If you get caught in sex by other monsters the mummy is still going to move towards you, and if she touches you, it doesn't matter if you're caught by another monster or not they're getting shoved out of the way as she wails on you.

We'd change some enemies to make them more interesting as well.
Zombie for instance would be a spawning enemy. They'll keep spawning as long as you don't break the glowing gravestone. Considering she's a gangrape enemy, it'll give her the chance to do that while also adding more platforming to the game.


Also the sitting girl is quite underutilized. It'd be awesome if she gave hints at how to capture certain monsters "for a price"
If you have sex with her she'll show you a picture hint of how to capture any monster of your choosing. This can't be changed until you find another one. Once you come on her/in her or wtv your max stamina/hp is halved and you always have at least 50% sperm, so you cum quicker. This cannot be healed until you save at home. We're thinking it might be too much of a punishment in order to get hints to capture monsters but it could be modified.

We're thinking of changing the monkey boss. Since stamina's added now we're thinking the way to beat her is to clash with her attack with your fully charged attack 1 or 2 times. Then jumping over her when she's attacking while tired and hitting her in the back. It'll be a really risky boss. In order to hit her, you need to expend a lot of stamina, so if she catches you... you're fucked.

Adding stamina would really change up the game and add a ton of design opportunities. It makes the character weaker without making the enemy stronger with no added resource like more animations or anything.

So yeah, those are our ideas in general to make FOBs more interesting as a game.

 

[Aesthetic]

because we dont know how he'll react, id vote against doing that. i'd hate for him to flip out and block the game for non japanese consumers.

TitanAnteus made the FOBS CG Viewer that included all those unused girls a while back and he didn't say anything. Maybe because it never reached him?
I don't know. I feel like as long as it's kept to the forum it'll be fine, but maybe I'm just hyped to work on this.

I'll let y'all decide. I'll make a strawpoll.

You must be registered to see the links

 

[Abandonedacc]

So pretty much "FOBS: Prepare to die.... get raped edition"

Yeah i like the idea

 

[Aesthetic]

So pretty much "FOBS: Prepare to die.... get raped edition"

Yeah i like the idea

Well I want to make the sex stuff happen naturally as you play the game, but yeah, we want to make the game harder than it is.
Still Titan's a busy guy, so don't expect much from us. Might take months just for the first showing of it if we decide to do it at all.

 

[Clawfoot]

Especially since Titan already has Mogi Origins to attend too.

 

[Strange]

i doubt the dev will do something, as long you dont go full asshole and start tryng to get money from it.

Yeah, definitely a red flag, that can't be stressed enough.

I don't know. Zell flipped his shit when people were just making videos for the sex scenes in the game. I doubt he'd OK a fangame.

Iirc, that was about people spoiling capture methods, secrets, etc. way too early. That went against the proper enjoyement of Zell's work, the way he saw it.
...And heck, do I agree. It's fun to spend 10-15mn trying everything to add that cute new mon to your harem/recollection room. That's the better gameplay experience.
Anyway, you can always give up after a dozen tries, and read the spoiled/spoiling posts... Nothing wrong here either.

Point is, do add to your friends a Japanese-fluent person, and contact Zell with something showing what you wanna do (like the previous animation-viewer/browser). No to mention anything legal, that's healthy ethics and manners.

@TitanAnteus and I were talking on discord about this. Most of the ideas were his.

Titan is probably back on Mogi after the

You must be registered to see the links

but some brainstorming for the far future is a nice way to have a break imo.

The history of FOBS aside his current formula has a few flaws to it.
1. If you're not actively pursuing a certain monster girl's capture you will probably not lose to said monster girl and see their sex scene.
2. Some monsters are insanely weak so you won't lose to them unless it's on purpose.
3. You only meet monsters in specific regions.

You say flaws, but I see 'design choices'. There's nothing that rubs me the wrong way in those 3 - since FOBS is not a RPG, but a puzzle(as mock battles) action platformer.
That said, an RPG-y FOBS would sound nice - but would be a new game with a new concept altogether.

So, you're not "making FOBS more interesting as a game", you're designing a new one, based on FOBS's assets. All the more reason to contact Zell with a proof of concept, once you have one. He has nothing to lose, and everything to gain, by having another source of advertisement (perhaps more reliable than Ansala's).

I'll let y'all decide. I'll make a strawpoll.

You must be registered to see the links

Why? I don't see the point. Polls and popularity were always irrelevant to legal concerns, and I doubt you'd get any constructive advice/critics from a poll.
Anyway, just go for it if you feel like it, of course we're all gonna like anything FOBS-based (like the occasional fanart in Zell's twitter). I'd be glad if this project fleshes into something rivaling the original, and Zell benefits from it - go wild!

 

[Aesthetic]

Especially since Titan already has Mogi Origins to attend too.

Dude's like the best programmer man...
I came to this site thanks to him and that game. He's the guy who helped me out with this
https://ulmf.org/threads/zankuro-e-c-m-cg-viewer.12487/Did it in like 30 minutes when I asked if he could do it.

He says he'll do it in his free time when he has it. I think he's pretty passionate about reverse rape eroge.

Yeah, definitely a red flag, that can't be stressed enough.

Literally 0% chance of us monetizing art assets made by someone else.

Point is, do add to your friends a Japanese-fluent person, and contact Zell with something showing what you wanna do (like the previous animation-viewer/browser). No to mention anything legal, that's healthy ethics and manners.

Anyone wanna volunteer XD.

You say flaws, but I see 'design choices'. There's nothing that rubs me the wrong way in those 3 - since FOBS is not a RPG, but a puzzle(as mock battles) action platformer.
That said, an RPG-y FOBS would sound nice - but would be a new game with a new concept altogether.

So, you're not "making FOBS more interesting as a game", you're designing a new one, based on FOBS's assets. All the more reason to contact Zell with a proof of concept, once you have one. He has nothing to lose, and everything to gain, by having another source of advertisement (perhaps more reliable than Ansala's).

Only reason I consider them flaws is because zell's retroactively avoiding dealing with them. All of his enemies are basically mini bosses in how they're designed so they can function solo. In his original original flash he did have monsters together. At first you'd see the tiki elf paired with a bunch of other monsters for that reason. The red cat was with the mage cat in the first flash if I remember properly. I do remember the farting girls not being solo though.

I will say I'm not thinking in terms of stat progression cause that's not what FOBS is about. There won't be any more text then there is now. Just using the enemies more optimally and locations better. I don't think the FOBS in my head's all that different then the one that's already out.

Why? I don't see the point. Polls and popularity were always irrelevant to legal concerns, and I doubt you'd get any constructive advice/critics from a poll.
Anyway, just go for it if you feel like it, of course we're all gonna like anything FOBS-based (like the occasional fanart in Zell's twitter). I'd be glad if this project fleshes into something rivaling the original, and Zell benefits from it - go wild!

Yeah I'm just curious if I'd get panned by the community if I wanted to make my own take or something. It would suck to work and do something and for everybody to then hate it on a fundamental level you know?

 

[Strange]

Oh, I forgot to mention:
Zell has released an English version of FOBS, that's not so common among Japanese devs. That's as good an indication as any, he's not opposed to English-based fanwork.
edit: we don't want Zell of all devs, going full westerner-hating, and blocking all IPs outside Japan... Or something like that (not pointing any finger).

Also, yup, Titan is a nice guy. I can see that idea/project, as a nice incentive to get Mogi the final push (against all odds?) so he has his hands free again, at least on this side.

 

[Aesthetic]

edit: we don't want Zell of all devs, going full westerner-hating, and blocking all IPs outside Japan... Or something like that (not pointing any finger).

Alright after I get a basic framework down I'll contact him.

 

[Someone92]

What if we added a stamina bar.

YES!
Generally I love the idea of one resource to affect how fast I can escape a grab. I already dig it if it's something simple like reducing how much you can struggle based on your health (which in effect "just" lets you take more damage the less health you have), and it's so much if it's based on a resource I have to manage.

What if the height of your jump was controlled by how long you held it?

How exactly do you want to implement it? Do you jump the moment you release the Jump key, or can to extend the height of a jump by holding the Jump key while in the air?
While the first method forces you to be think ahead more about jumping if done well, it makes the controls feel sluggish and unresponsive if done just slightly off.

 

[TitanAnteus]

How exactly do you want to implement it? Do you jump the moment you release the Jump key, or can to extend the height of a jump by holding the Jump key while in the air?
While the first method forces you to be think ahead more about jumping if done well, it makes the controls feel sluggish and unresponsive if done just slightly off.

You mean you want the jump to keep that nice parabola right?
Normally that's done by messing with gravity instead of jump height directly.

Normal jumps are done by setting a vertical speed, and modifying that speed by gravity.

For instance once you jump you set the vertical speed to 10 and the gravity to 1
Every tick of the game, the player will move up by the amount of vertical speed
tick 1: player move up 10 pixels.

since gravity is 1. That vertical speed will decrease by 1 every tick. 10,9,8,7...
That's how jumping creates that nice arc in games.

One method of variable height jumping is to just directly modify the vertical speed. This gives you the most control but feels the most clunky to me. You'd be surprised to know that the original super mario did it exactly like this though.

The other method is to mess with gravity. In this version the gravity is increasing from 0.5 to 1. The speed at which it changes to become 1 is changed depending on whether you held the key or not. If you hold the key it'll change at a rate of 0.1. If you let go, it'll change at a rate of 0.25.

This will get you variable length jumping but still give you the arc and feel nice.

Also Aesthetic didn't mention any QOL changes like the fact that you should be able to equip multiple powerups as long as they aren't on the same controls. Powerups in games like castlevania work the way they do because they're on the same universal up+attack command. It's not the same in FOBS so I don't know why they aren't just passively equipped. After getting double jump you should always be able to double jump imo.

Also dude XD. That's twice now you've summoned me.
I'm starting to feel like your familiar. Shiva! Bahamut! TitanAnteus!
I wonder my temple would look like in FFX.

 

[Someone92]

You mean you want the jump to keep that nice parabola right?

Enlightening explanation, but what I meant was the following:

Method 1:
You press the Jump key, "nothing" happens. The longer you press the Jump key the more you charge up. When you release the Jump key you jump; the height depends on how long you have pressed the Jump key.

Method 2:
You press the Jump key, your character jumps. If you release the Jump key immediately it's just a little hop. If you keep pressing the Jump key it's a high jump.

 

[TitanAnteus]

You need to jump reactively so a Spiderman 2 jump system wouldn't work out here.