Dev log 2025/04

I'm working on some extensive stat changes for the next update. I would like to let the community challenge them before it's too ingrained. Once the Dream Hub is out, I likely won't be making drastic changes to the stat economy, so it would be good to get this right.

Let me know what you think of this.

Body(Red)
-More aggressive consumption. Mostly from monsters.
-When at zero or negative, vision gets blurry to remind you. Obviously this never happens during a dream, due to how the Void works.
-Void penalties restructured. Rather than having to go through a maze, the Gatekeeper will release you for a memory.
-Basically, you get to choose which dream flags the game erases. After you've gone through all of them, the list resets.
-You do get a reward for doing this.

Stamina(White)
-Has a reduction limit in dreams capped at 100. What this means is that you won't be able to abuse using 50 medkits from the real world or other such exploits.
-A reminder that the puzzles are designed the way they are for a reason, so if something needs x3 the stamina, it's probably not the actual solution.

Mind(Blue)
-Unchanged

Will(Green)
-Unchanged

Thirst and Hunger
-Only drain Body when you go to bed, just like Mind. This is to avoid annoying stat loss over the day, but still enforces eating once a day. Of course eating more than once gets you more stats, but at least the penalty for not doing it is lessened.
-When either one is in the red, prevents stat gain too (excluding Stamina to prevent soft-locks).

Dissonance/Insight
-"Cohesion" doesn't make sense anymore since Dissonance isn't used in the Mind drain formula, so it's been removed.
-These are meant to be semi permanent flags that add up as you progress the game.
-Mostly accumulated through certain dialogue choices or by completing story events and freeform conversation sequences.
-Some are attained in the dream world, through puzzles or interactions.
-Not farmable. (i.e you will get one Dissonance by completing Kari's Drama club conversation with Blue Choices. Subsequent attempts won't produce more Dissonance.)

Colored Orbs
-Talking to the girls and selecting colored choices produces Colored Orbs (blue, green or red). Limited to 2 per girl per day.
-All colors (red, green, blue, yellow, orange, purple, white, black) can be found hidden (or in plain sight) across various locations in dreams.
-When acquired in the dream world, you have to keep them in the inventory for them to go into storage.
-Storage capacity is at 30(still theoretical) in total. If held Orbs exceed the limit, they're discarded. Left most in inventory are acquired first.
-Used in various interactions in the dream hub as material. (make dream food, change appearance, swap palette etc).
-Colored Orbs respawn. Black/White do not.

Insight
-Represented by White Orbs. Doesn't take up space like Colored Orbs.
-Think of it as a progression stat that can be used to force outcomes and bend rules.

Dissonance
-Represented by Black Orbs. Doesn't take up space like Colored Orbs.
-Like Insight, can be consumed to influence changes, but in a certain direction.
-Eats up Will every night at quantity x 5, so you generally want to get rid of it. Capped at 60 per night.

Corruption
-Represented by Purple Orbs.
-Gained from monsters, nightmares and several lewd activities in dreams and a few outside dreams.
-A nuisance that takes up space, preventing accumulation of other Colored Orbs.
-Degrades Mind every night at quantity x 5. Capped at 60 per night.
-Can be "shed" by performing certain activities in the dream hub.

How body changes will happen
-As before, after a dream ends, appearance resets to real appearance with one body stat moving towards the body stat with the highest delta of the dream appearance.
-As before, after falling asleep, dream appearance resets completely to match real appearance. Then modifiers happen (i.e squidrabbit forces minimum hip size)
-Dream appearance doesn't have a maximum or minimum threshold. Real appearance does.
-Current dream appearance can be changed using Colored Orbs, which will persist upon leaving the dream, but not upon waking up (highest delta formula threshold still applies)
-Maximum size threshold supersedes Minimum size threshold.
-Minimum size threshold is achieved through flags, like before, though some of the flags have been changed.
-Maximum size threshold is acquired by spending Dissonance in the Dream Hub.
-Increasing Maximum size threshold increases the current size by 1 as well.
-The logic here is that the player would be forced to make some concession in order to get rid of a stat that prevents or slows down story progression by draining Will. In return, the player gets to choose what exactly changes or happens. There are more uses to Dissonance other than just changing breast or hip size.

Dream Hub will be accessed by going to bed in the evening, rather than night time. Leaving the hub will proceed to the Dream World as normal.