vrengames

v0.12.0 Release Plan and Progress

With the holidays over my schedule has settled down and I can finally plan out the release of v0.12.0! To get the new year started right v0.12.0 will be released on the night of Dec 31st/morning of Jan 1st, with the public release of v0.12.1 coming one week after.

I've been busy writing the last couple of days. Lily and Jennifer both have storyline events related to them now, which is making a big difference in the home life situation of the game. I've also gone through all of the exist...

Christmas Overtime!

It may be Christmas but I've been able to squeeze in some work over the last couple of days and make some progress on v0.12! Writing for Lily's "sister" role in the game has been going very well, with a couple new events having been fully written and a few more blocked out to write soon. The addition of Lily's storyline should help give the home locations of LR2 a little more life and meaning, as well as give you a reason to interact with someone who doesn't work for your company.

That'...

v0.12 Writing Work

Just a quick update tonight on what I've been working on lately. The start of the game has been rewritten/modified to include your mom and sister, who you now still live at home with. Both of them have their own likes, dislikes, personalities, and wardrobes. The work I did moving the wardrobe system to xml made the wardrobe creation process for both of them refreshingly quick! 

While making their wardrobes I also went looking for new clothing items that would work well with the cha...

Mod Spotlight!

One of my favourite things about creating Lab Rats 1 and 2 has been seeing what other people in the community do with it! If you didn't know, both games are left with their game files unencrypted so that people can tinker with them. You're welcome to add, remove, or change anything you want in the game and share it around as long as you 1) provide credit and 2) release it for free! 

LazyB has created a mod for Lab Rats 2 v0.11.1 that I wanted to highlight. You can find it...

Outfit Export/Import Refactoring Work

A few days ago I sat down to get to work defining the new special characters for v0.12. One of the first things that involves is creating custom wardrobes for the character. The system in v0.11 and previous versions of the game had all of the outfits laid out inside the source code of LR2, which caused two problems:

1) The wardrobes are clunky and fill up space in files that would otherwise be nice and neat functional bits of code.

2) I didn't have a way of exporting an outfit from the o...

v0.12 Feature Plan

I've started work on v0.12 and wanted to share my plans for the major additions and changes for the new version. Back when v0.8 came out I put up a roadmap (here) laying out what my general plans were for the future of the game. v0.11 ended up being a major content addition with minor rendering improvements, but we've otherwise stuck to the plan. That roadmap lists v0.12 as the goal for adding all of ...

Post Release Bugfixing and Code Tidying

v0.11.1 is out, which of course means there are bugs to find and fix. I've started in on that process, and I also have a few more things to do that have been bugging me for a while but that I haven't found the time to do.

One of the things I want to tackle that I've been putting off is changing how default outfits are created and saved for the game. Currently outfits are all defined as code in a big section run at the start of the game. This has two problems. First, when I want to add a new ou...

Lab Rats 2 v0.11.1 Release!

Lab Rats 2 v0.11.1 is live! Get it here!

Windows+Linux: Lab Rats 2 v0.11.1-PC 

Mac: Lab Rats 2 v0.11.1-Mac 

Android: Lab Rats 2 v0.11.1-Android...

v0.11.1 24 Hour Release Delay

Hey everyone, just a quick update tonight to inform you that the release of v0.11.1 will be delayed until tomorrow. Other responsibilities have unfortunately eaten up the time I had blocked away for uploading, reddit posting, and final bug testing. The release will proceed as normal tomorrow, sorry for the delay!

Prototyping Week: Outfit Manager UI Improvements

It's that wonderful week between the patron and public release, filled with bug fixing and experimentation! This week I've set my sights on the outfit manager with the goal of making two major additions and a bunch of refinements.

The first change is to add a numeric readout for each colour value and to allow the user to type in values for the values instead of using an imprecise slider. The second change is to add a section of colour swatches that are user defined. Once a colour is made the u...

Lab Rats 2 v0.11.0 Release!

Lab Rats 2 v0.11.0 is Live! Get it here!

Windows+Linux: Lab Rats 2 v0.11.0-PC 

Mac: Lab Rats 2 v0.11.0-Mac 

Android: Lab Rats 2 v0.11.0-Android...

Makeup Redemption

I try to space out my Patreon posts, but looking at the makeup example I posted yesterday I felt disappointed in the work I had done and I needed to fix that. I made a few tweaks to the makeup image import settings and the results are now looking much, much better. Here's Stephanie again with red lipstick and some pink blush.

LR2 v0.11.0 Release Date!

I've been working hard writing new content for v0.11 and I think it's ready for a bug test release! v0.11.0 will be released to $5 patrons on the night of Nov 25th/Nov26th for a week of bug testing, and v0.11.1 will be released to the public. The main addition in this version of the game is a massively expanded amount of written content for all sex positions. Previous descriptions averaged 5 to 10 lines of description and dialogue, the new expanded version offer multiple branches with a total of...

v0.11 Makeup Example

I'm wrapping up work on v0.11, which includes the first batch of makeup to make it into the game. Here's an example of Stephanie dressed up for some formal office work, sporting red lipstick and some subtle eyeshadow. I'm going to spend some time tweaking the default opacity as well as incorporating the makeup into a number of the existing outfits.

Another feature I've worked on tonight has been character greetings when you enter a room. When you enter a room one of the characters who works fo...

More Rendering Automation!

First, a quick update on v0.11 progress. All but one of the core sex positions has been rewritten (a task that ended up being much larger in terms of word count than I was expecting), and the last one should be done a few hours after I post this. A big chunk of new renders also just finished, adding: eye shadow (two types), blush, lipstick, a vest, and a tube top. A new facial type has been added and all existing facial images have been rerendered to ensure the character is looking towards the c...

Makeup Rendering Begins!

Makeup has been one of the customization options that I've wanted to support, but  because of some minor implementation details I kept bumping it back to focus on other tasks. No more! I dedicated a few hours to working with Daz and set up an automated rendering pipeline for makeup, which means the next update will include the ability to define some basic makeup for characters. Right now the makeup options will be eye shadow, blush, and lipstick. The makeup works with the same dynamic cloth...

Musing on Extra Uses for Arousal

I've been doing even more writing over the last few days. All of the existing sex positions have either completely new sex description sections or they have the framework built for it and will be done soon. The average number of lines in each description block has gone from less than 10 to around 80, so an 8 fold increase in written content when having sex. Most of this is in the form of choices presented to the player and branching content based on opinions, stats, and so on.

While writing th...

Even More LR2 v0.11 Writing Progress

Yep, it's been more writing for the last couple of days. I've been working on expanding all of the existing sex positions with new conditional sections, player choice, and adding new random segments. These additions are turning out to be pretty large; one of the old blowjob branches was about 10 lines, the new version of it is over 100 lines long. The first step to writing all of this was to develop a general framework, to help me be consistent across all of the different positions and provide i...

Rendering Progress and v0.11 Writing Begins!

I spent my prototyping week looking at ways to improve the rendering quality of LR2, in particular how faces are rendered. The results were one dead end experiment trying to improve shadowing on the neck and upper body and one successful experiment getting eyes to look at the camera instead of staring off blankly into space (eye positions couldn't be hard coded because different poses reuse the same emotion). I'm currently re-rendering all of the facial renders, and I am including a new facial d...

Lab Rats 2 v0.10.1 Release

Lab Rats 2 v0.10.1 is live! Get it here:

Windows and Linux: Lab Rats 2 v0.10.1-PC 

Mac: Lab Rats 2 v0.10.1-Mac 

Android: Lab Rats 2 v0.10.1-Android...

v0.10.1 Bugfixing Progress

v0.10.0 has been out in the wild for a few days, which means I've been spending a few nights bugfixing problems as they've been reported. I think I've got all of the major crash bugs, but a few of them are difficult to reproduce so I won't be certain until tomorrow night when I run a test game.

Beyond bugfixing I have been looking at the rendering setup for LR2 and planning some improvements to make. I had intended to implement some of those changes during this week but my schedule ended up bu...

Lab Rats 2 v0.10.0 Release!

v0.10.0 is live! Get it here:

PC(Windows and Linux): Lab Rats 2 v0.10.0-PC 

Mac: Lab Rats 2 v0.10.0-Mac 

Android: Lab Rats 2 v0.10.0-Android&nb...

Game Design - The Value of Known Unknowns

I've had the basic idea for this post rattling around in my head for a couple of weeks now, but the recent release of The Return of the Obra Dinn has me into action. Today I want talk about information, how it's used and presented in games, and how that information directly affects the experience a player has.

First off, I'm going to hand out some praise to The Return of the Obra Dinn. The game is made by the creator of Papers Please, with a different but similarly u...

v0.10 Release Schedule and Roadmap Adjustment

First up, an exciting announcement: The bug testing release of v0.10 will be on the night of Oct 24th! The updating is bringing a few changes to the sex system of LR2, a bunch of highly improved menu screens, improved character reactions, and a completely new "opinions" system that helps make every character a little bit unique. I'm excited to get it into the hands of my awesome bug testing patrons so I can get it into the hands of the public at the end of the month!

Second, I am making an adj...

New Patron Reward Structure

Whew, it's been a busy few days for me outside of LR2 development and I'm just starting to catch up with everything, but I have some exciting news! Starting in November my Patron reward structure will be changing to give each tier more cool stuff and more options to help with the development of LR2. Here is the breakdown I am planning on using (as always feedback is welcome and encouraged!):

$1 - Unchanged; gives access to the occasional patron only post.

$5 - Unchanged; receive a bug t...

Putting on a Show - Public sex in Lab Rats 2

In v0.9 of LR2 when you seduce a character nobody else in the area has any way to interact with you or the girl you're fooling around with. Over the last couple of days I've been working to improve that and make characters in general more dynamic in how they respond to having sex. The first change is that you now have the option to "find someplace quiet" or stay exactly where you are when you seduce someone with other people in the room. "Someplace quiet" right now is a guarantee that nobody wil...

v0.10 Progress - Rerendering Clipping Clothing

Another quick progress report covering the stuff I've been working on the last few days. First, I've got the tshirt and tanktop clothing item rerendering with tweaked settings that should hopefully eliminate clipthrough on it. I'll be keeping an eye out for other clothing items that are causing problems as well. Second, I have been redesigning a bunch of windows in Lab Rats 2. The interview UI was the last to be updated and now features information on opinions, sex skills, and has room for more ...

v0.10 - Sex System Revamped

The focus of v0.10 is a rework of the existing sex system, so I think it's time I laid out the changes I am planning and the stuff I have already added to the game! 

I thought about the current system and found that the core problem I had with it was that there was very little input needed from the player and nowhere near as much variety as I wanted in the scenes. The core gameplay idea of sex producing a temporary sluttiness boost that is turned into core sluttiness was a solid one, but ...

v0.10 Progress Update

This is just a quick update looking at some of the work I've done on v0.10 over the last few days. First, a big thanks to everyone who left a comment or suggestion on the current sex system. I've read through all of them and I'm hoping to have a longer post talking about the additions to the sex system I am planning either tomorrow or the day after.

While I'm planning out some of the larger system changes I've been implementing some smaller stuff throughout the game. One of the most pleasing h...

Quick v0.9.1 Bugfix Update and v0.10 Plans!

EDIT: The new android version has now also been uploaded and is live.

First, I've fixed a number of bugs that were making progress through v0.9.1 difficult. You can grab the updated version of the game on the front page or here, in the original release post. The android version is not yet updated due some android build issues with Ren'py, but I hope to have that resolved either tonight or tomorrow - I will add an ed...