Just from looking at this, it genuinely looks like it could be a pretty good successor to GrowthRPG by DigitalFurBelow, if you ever decide to go the route of "game mechanics that allow you to change physical attributes/their size outside of character creation" (whether temporarily or permanently) That aside I think I'll wait until it's more feature-complete before buying it, as judging from the patch notes there's a lot of important basic stuff still being added and developed.
Let that stay it's own thing but, yes, me and a few other agree with the sentiment, like adding KK's growth system. 10/10 would enjoy but honestly want this to remain it's own game.
I asked this before on Steam in the discussions before the game got steamrolled (ba dum tch) over there, and forgot all about it. Just crossed my mind again, figured it couldnt hurt to ask it here, since Dev seems cool with questions and ideas.
In the other game, Chastity Catastophy (shameless plug here - go check it out if you read this, players!) we had a few fun elements I could see working here in Gates. I was curious of a few things.
1: I asked about character customization before in the comments, and was thinking about some similarities. The wolf girls from that game ported over (our base femWolf models), but I was curious if we will see a a kobold race option eventually show up? We got dragons and wolves (both from Catastrophy), so I was thinking maaaaybe we'd get a 'bold port-over? I know probably not, but shortstack mini-derg would be fun to have around!
2. That game had a fun mechanic that made the npcs get possessed by their bindings, giving them the purple glowy eyes effect. Was wondering if we might see some mind-controlled NPCs in this sandbox game as a new friend/npc event or type? Saw a question about quest vs sandbox experience in the comments, and I think that the theme of rescue-able corrupted npcs would fit in the context of this world whether or not it stays wholly sandbox or has light story quest elements.
3. Similar vein for enemy types. Not so much possessed enemies (as we would already have possessed npcs we could free...or fight!) but environmental hazards that could impede us/shackle/vulnerability up the player? Being chased by the chastity belt drones and being taken control of as a game over in the other game added the main level of threat. Here, instead of defeating the player, it just makes them vulnerable to attack, or a loss of control (like a stun, freeze, disorient you have to "wiggle" out of, for example?). It wouldnt have to be just chatity belts. Vines, mud, hypnotic plants, toxic gas/spore clouds, suspicious berries/food/drink, enemies casting charm/hypno/sleep/silly or corruption spells, strangely shaped plants with... "convenient uses"; the list goes on! (And maybe mind-control chastity belts again, why not? They were cool!)
This is all just suggestion. I understand development time and resources can be very hard to manage, and even tiny additions can be costly. But as the world expands - to whatever degree it does, such as new environments and regions and climates - I think these could be nice additions, and don't necessarily remove autonomy/consent in any meaningful way (Its been clearly stated several times there is NO defeat sex in this game). The purpose of these suggestions are to add variety, as well as small, kink-colored interactions/poses/scenarios to spice up the world some more. More threats, more word interaction, more danger. And being fully transparent here, Chastity Catastophy really hit an itch with the mind control corrupting the npcs, those glowing purple eyes and personality change were killer! It's been with me ever since, and would love to see more of it here!
Anyway, loving the game so far, keep up the good work!
Oooo, I love your third point. I was also hoping that environmental hazards and traps like the ones you described could be added in the future. Especially plants/parasites (for example something like the "cock latcher" from the game Grove), bondage/chastity like cursed equipment or aphrodisiacs to name a few things I was thinking about. In a post from a while ago someone also suggested something like ghost hands. Some of these things (such as aphrodisiacs) could also be combined with status effects and finding ways to cure you. I really like the concept of something toying with the player or impeding their actions, while they try to continue exploring, fending off enemies and so on.
But I think that it's still a while off, if something like that would ever be implemented, and these comments get a bit flooded with suggestions, while I think that Raliv still has a good amount of things they want to implement first.
It would be great to add something like an indicator with an indicator of the number of fragments that fall from monsters and the loss of these fragments at death, otherwise there is no motivation not to die in the game. It would also be wonderful if you added more variation of biomes and weapons to the game, maybe even some skills (I mean, I understand that all this will be in the future, but I wonder if the game will be like a full-fledged rpg or is it just a yiff where there is just an opportunity to fight monsters, actually it's a shame that there is practically no RPG with furry, and your game has a huge potential, where yiff with NPCs can just become an additional mechanic, but in any case this is my opinion and you can ignore it, since you are the developer of the game) by the way, some islands with glowing mushrooms or mines would fit well into the atmosphere.
In due time, this is a Solo dev project, I'm certain Raliv has ideas to add but they need to balance and prioritize what things get added in a way that works for them.
This is a traditional one time purchase, no microtransactions, game. There is no free version.
It is my opinion that free to play microtransaction supported games are killing self expression in games by replacing customization with purchases. Since I absolutely love customization in games, I will not be building free to play games.
This game is certainly one of the best sandbox furry games out there right now, and definitely has some great features! Overall, the gameplay and character customization is good even without a little fine tuning. I haven't been able to find any other place to post this, and this could be helpful for anyone having the same issues I am, so here it is. After playing for over 12 hours I have noticed some inconveniences and potential issues:
1.NPC Creation Flaw
NPC creation has a big issue regarding the customizability and access to already created characters. In order for the game to process and utilize NPC's you've created, you have to type out their name in the bottom right and proceed. This isn't entirely clear as a requirement, and someone could easily create a character and move on to play without actually seeing them for dozens of islands (As I did). Due to the rarity of finding one of your characters in the wild, it's easy to miss that a character isn't in the potential spawns listed in this file:
Adding a section on the menu that shows available NPC's would be great, as it would allow people to get feedback on which NPC's could be seen in game, alongside deleting or overwriting unwanted ones, maybe even toggling some on or off to customize their experience.
2. Allure Confusion
The slider called "Easy to Allure" representing difficulty for characters to be attracted lacks a little clarity, but is easy to figure out after some experimentation. However, if an NPC is made with the slider all the way to the left, or minimum value, they are impossible to allure in the wild. Due to the inability for NPC's with the same name to be overwritten, any originally named NPC with their "mind" set to minimum attraction will never be capable of interacting. While the NPC customization issue feeds into this, it's also a generally confusing slider that could use a better title, E.G.: "Attraction Speed/Rate," "Allure Difficulty."
3. Equipment Gambling
During character creation and saving you have the option to give NPC's equipment for when you meet them later, unless you prefer them naked. This menu makes sense until you get to the arrows, which randomly generates a piece of clothing with a pattern and colors. This is a little annoying to navigate despite having somewhat of a failsafe, where the same item never repeats twice. Making this a folder or menu where you can select the clothing item, color, and patterns would be much more convenient and easier to navigate.
4. Limited Customization
As part of the character creator we are given access to a beautiful layered system that takes any option we choose and its color and opacity into account. This is great for stacking one layer onto the other to get distinct new shapes or to hide a small part of one layer to match the base color. If you go too far, the last thing you create cannot be deleted without deleting something else to reduce the overall quantity. If there's meant to be a hard limit or maximum, it would be great to see that incorporated. At this moment the last layer just bleeds off the screen, and scrolling doesn't work to access it. This game has a great customization system that most games don't have, and this issue can genuinely limit people from fully fleshing out their creations using it, especially if new options are added. I'd imagine you plan to add new species, and this level of flexibility would probably be necessary for people to mix and combine aspects.
Also, only other thing is being unable to click and grab layers to move them up and down multiple spaces. Don't know if that's easily doable, but the problem is just being incapable of moving the layers around easily. Some of them are also named the same despite being different, so it can get confusing.
5. Mind Forgotten
When saving characters, the mind isn't saved and is not changeable in the character customization menu in the player house. This isn't an issue for NPC's since they are made on the menu. Although, updating old NPC's can get tricky since you need to access the file from the first section on this post to delete the original NPC with that name in that file. Because the Mind section doesn't save whenever you load a character, the NPC can get default preferences to everything and be allured at a default rate. Not a big problem, just a slight inconvenience. Same thing happens with equipment.
6. Menu? Main?
Thankfully this game doesn't take long to load and performs great, but it gets a little repetitive if you're wanting to make an NPC or continue a different save, when you have no choice but to save and exit the entire game.
7. No Current Island/Level Number
What level am I on?
8. Small Bugs
Shale for some reason goes derpy eyed if you chat with him on the islands, not sure why, but he looks drunk and debatably sane.
Sometimes voxels connect between cliffs and other sections, creating a green stretch of grass that's thinner than a pencil but longer than the genital size slider allows.
Small clipping issues during certain intimate scenes.
Changing character scale affects positioning during intimate scenes, leading to severed legs or shins and feet.
NPC's cannot independently choose learned intimate scenes without first being prompted, may not be a bug but seems like a necessity.
Enemies like to bash on themselves and any other character if someone dies. Oftentimes resulting in you getting told, "Get f*cked!" after dying. Every now and then an enemy kills an enemy and says it, or another NPC. Maybe these magical skellies are meant to talk? Not sure, but this bug could probably stay.
9. The End
Don't know if any of these things will be changed, but regardless this game is interesting and certainly gets better with every update. Hope this wasn't too much or too critical, or even unnecessary. Either way, thank you for reading and hope this helps!
This was a really insightful writeup. I appreciate it! I don't know how much I can fix within the scope of finishing the game's early access lifecycle, but these are really solid points and I will be adding them to my todo wishlist (Some of which unfortunately ends up being a "out of scope" graveyard admittedly).
Loving the new update rev! Awesome work! I apologize if this has been asked before and answered, but I had a couple questions. First, will there be a storyline that will be created/continued in future updates, and second, will there be a romance system with more in depth relationships/marriage? or will it remain a mostly sandbox affair. Thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to answer this, glad you are feeling better, and I look forward to future updates/games from you!
I spent a good amount of this month sick unfortunately. There will still be an update, but it will be a slightly smaller one featuring character create options. Tail customization finally though!
please don't overwork yourself. games and creators with passion are a dime a dozen these days. I'd rather wait an extra month due to sickness and recovery than hear that you get burnt out. so take care and get plenty of you time. :)
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Humble bundle has a deal on game music and sound effects for the next 18 days if you are still looking to implement background music into the game
https://www.humblebundle.com/software/audio-alchemy-premium-collection-sound-fx-...
New Biomes would be great or like a new island theme idk it gets old after while
I WANT HARDER ENEMYES, and maybe a boss fight and some more story.
cum cum cum cum
Haven't played much of it yet, but the bones are pretty good. Looking forward to the eventual Steam release
As per the dev a while ago, Archipelagates won't ever come to Steam, unfortunately.
Oh, I guess that's okay. Still looking forward to future updates. I got it working on my Steam Deck, so that's good enough for now.
this game is pretty good, i am very enjoy it
cant tell if i have the most up to date verson
Can you cutomize the tail? If so, then you have the most upto date verson ^w^
ah yeah okok i got it :3
Just from looking at this, it genuinely looks like it could be a pretty good successor to GrowthRPG by DigitalFurBelow, if you ever decide to go the route of "game mechanics that allow you to change physical attributes/their size outside of character creation" (whether temporarily or permanently)
That aside I think I'll wait until it's more feature-complete before buying it, as judging from the patch notes there's a lot of important basic stuff still being added and developed.
Let that stay it's own thing but, yes, me and a few other agree with the sentiment, like adding KK's growth system. 10/10 would enjoy but honestly want this to remain it's own game.
I asked this before on Steam in the discussions before the game got steamrolled (ba dum tch) over there, and forgot all about it. Just crossed my mind again, figured it couldnt hurt to ask it here, since Dev seems cool with questions and ideas.
In the other game, Chastity Catastophy (shameless plug here - go check it out if you read this, players!) we had a few fun elements I could see working here in Gates. I was curious of a few things.
1: I asked about character customization before in the comments, and was thinking about some similarities. The wolf girls from that game ported over (our base femWolf models), but I was curious if we will see a a kobold race option eventually show up? We got dragons and wolves (both from Catastrophy), so I was thinking maaaaybe we'd get a 'bold port-over? I know probably not, but shortstack mini-derg would be fun to have around!
2. That game had a fun mechanic that made the npcs get possessed by their bindings, giving them the purple glowy eyes effect. Was wondering if we might see some mind-controlled NPCs in this sandbox game as a new friend/npc event or type? Saw a question about quest vs sandbox experience in the comments, and I think that the theme of rescue-able corrupted npcs would fit in the context of this world whether or not it stays wholly sandbox or has light story quest elements.
3. Similar vein for enemy types. Not so much possessed enemies (as we would already have possessed npcs we could free...or fight!) but environmental hazards that could impede us/shackle/vulnerability up the player? Being chased by the chastity belt drones and being taken control of as a game over in the other game added the main level of threat. Here, instead of defeating the player, it just makes them vulnerable to attack, or a loss of control (like a stun, freeze, disorient you have to "wiggle" out of, for example?). It wouldnt have to be just chatity belts. Vines, mud, hypnotic plants, toxic gas/spore clouds, suspicious berries/food/drink, enemies casting charm/hypno/sleep/silly or corruption spells, strangely shaped plants with... "convenient uses"; the list goes on! (And maybe mind-control chastity belts again, why not? They were cool!)
This is all just suggestion. I understand development time and resources can be very hard to manage, and even tiny additions can be costly. But as the world expands - to whatever degree it does, such as new environments and regions and climates - I think these could be nice additions, and don't necessarily remove autonomy/consent in any meaningful way (Its been clearly stated several times there is NO defeat sex in this game). The purpose of these suggestions are to add variety, as well as small, kink-colored interactions/poses/scenarios to spice up the world some more. More threats, more word interaction, more danger. And being fully transparent here, Chastity Catastophy really hit an itch with the mind control corrupting the npcs, those glowing purple eyes and personality change were killer! It's been with me ever since, and would love to see more of it here!
Anyway, loving the game so far, keep up the good work!
Oooo, I love your third point. I was also hoping that environmental hazards and traps like the ones you described could be added in the future. Especially plants/parasites (for example something like the "cock latcher" from the game Grove), bondage/chastity like cursed equipment or aphrodisiacs to name a few things I was thinking about. In a post from a while ago someone also suggested something like ghost hands. Some of these things (such as aphrodisiacs) could also be combined with status effects and finding ways to cure you. I really like the concept of something toying with the player or impeding their actions, while they try to continue exploring, fending off enemies and so on.
But I think that it's still a while off, if something like that would ever be implemented, and these comments get a bit flooded with suggestions, while I think that Raliv still has a good amount of things they want to implement first.
It would be great to add something like an indicator with an indicator of the number of fragments that fall from monsters and the loss of these fragments at death, otherwise there is no motivation not to die in the game. It would also be wonderful if you added more variation of biomes and weapons to the game, maybe even some skills (I mean, I understand that all this will be in the future, but I wonder if the game will be like a full-fledged rpg or is it just a yiff where there is just an opportunity to fight monsters, actually it's a shame that there is practically no RPG with furry, and your game has a huge potential, where yiff with NPCs can just become an additional mechanic, but in any case this is my opinion and you can ignore it, since you are the developer of the game) by the way, some islands with glowing mushrooms or mines would fit well into the atmosphere.
In due time, this is a Solo dev project, I'm certain Raliv has ideas to add but they need to balance and prioritize what things get added in a way that works for them.
What is planned to be added in the next update?
just a quick question, is there a defeat system that by losing you get fucked?
Not in this game.
Yet? It's early in dev still. lol
i made a character last night and now the save file is gone?
when/will/if there will be a free version of this game?
This is a traditional one time purchase, no microtransactions, game. There is no free version.
It is my opinion that free to play microtransaction supported games are killing self expression in games by replacing customization with purchases. Since I absolutely love customization in games, I will not be building free to play games.
Bruh, it's $15 usd, it's not even remotely an expensive game, if you were trying to ask about a demo version, not likely.
when/will it release on mobile?
No mobile version is planned
full nelson. and maybe proot species (I know thats hard) i never see proots in games like these lol
Because proots are just a head on leg stumps... there's no point in a model with no body.
can the sex positions be bulldog and 69?
Would graphics settings be anywhere in the near future? I think my laptop would benefit from reduced render distance, shadows, and removing grain
Does anyone have links for discords that I can get npcs from?
Some Recommendations:
This game is certainly one of the best sandbox furry games out there right now, and definitely has some great features! Overall, the gameplay and character customization is good even without a little fine tuning. I haven't been able to find any other place to post this, and this could be helpful for anyone having the same issues I am, so here it is. After playing for over 12 hours I have noticed some inconveniences and potential issues:
1. NPC Creation Flaw
NPC creation has a big issue regarding the customizability and access to already created characters. In order for the game to process and utilize NPC's you've created, you have to type out their name in the bottom right and proceed. This isn't entirely clear as a requirement, and someone could easily create a character and move on to play without actually seeing them for dozens of islands (As I did). Due to the rarity of finding one of your characters in the wild, it's easy to miss that a character isn't in the potential spawns listed in this file:
%AppData%\..\LocalLow\RalivDev\Archipelagates\npcs
(Must use search on the Windows dock to find)
Adding a section on the menu that shows available NPC's would be great, as it would allow people to get feedback on which NPC's could be seen in game, alongside deleting or overwriting unwanted ones, maybe even toggling some on or off to customize their experience.
2. Allure Confusion
The slider called "Easy to Allure" representing difficulty for characters to be attracted lacks a little clarity, but is easy to figure out after some experimentation. However, if an NPC is made with the slider all the way to the left, or minimum value, they are impossible to allure in the wild. Due to the inability for NPC's with the same name to be overwritten, any originally named NPC with their "mind" set to minimum attraction will never be capable of interacting. While the NPC customization issue feeds into this, it's also a generally confusing slider that could use a better title, E.G.: "Attraction Speed/Rate," "Allure Difficulty."
3. Equipment Gambling
During character creation and saving you have the option to give NPC's equipment for when you meet them later, unless you prefer them naked. This menu makes sense until you get to the arrows, which randomly generates a piece of clothing with a pattern and colors. This is a little annoying to navigate despite having somewhat of a failsafe, where the same item never repeats twice. Making this a folder or menu where you can select the clothing item, color, and patterns would be much more convenient and easier to navigate.
4. Limited Customization
As part of the character creator we are given access to a beautiful layered system that takes any option we choose and its color and opacity into account. This is great for stacking one layer onto the other to get distinct new shapes or to hide a small part of one layer to match the base color. If you go too far, the last thing you create cannot be deleted without deleting something else to reduce the overall quantity. If there's meant to be a hard limit or maximum, it would be great to see that incorporated. At this moment the last layer just bleeds off the screen, and scrolling doesn't work to access it. This game has a great customization system that most games don't have, and this issue can genuinely limit people from fully fleshing out their creations using it, especially if new options are added. I'd imagine you plan to add new species, and this level of flexibility would probably be necessary for people to mix and combine aspects.
Also, only other thing is being unable to click and grab layers to move them up and down multiple spaces. Don't know if that's easily doable, but the problem is just being incapable of moving the layers around easily. Some of them are also named the same despite being different, so it can get confusing.
5. Mind Forgotten
When saving characters, the mind isn't saved and is not changeable in the character customization menu in the player house. This isn't an issue for NPC's since they are made on the menu. Although, updating old NPC's can get tricky since you need to access the file from the first section on this post to delete the original NPC with that name in that file. Because the Mind section doesn't save whenever you load a character, the NPC can get default preferences to everything and be allured at a default rate. Not a big problem, just a slight inconvenience. Same thing happens with equipment.
6. Menu? Main?
Thankfully this game doesn't take long to load and performs great, but it gets a little repetitive if you're wanting to make an NPC or continue a different save, when you have no choice but to save and exit the entire game.
7. No Current Island/Level Number
What level am I on?
8. Small Bugs
Shale for some reason goes derpy eyed if you chat with him on the islands, not sure why, but he looks drunk and debatably sane.
Sometimes voxels connect between cliffs and other sections, creating a green stretch of grass that's thinner than a pencil but longer than the genital size slider allows.
Small clipping issues during certain intimate scenes.
Changing character scale affects positioning during intimate scenes, leading to severed legs or shins and feet.
NPC's cannot independently choose learned intimate scenes without first being prompted, may not be a bug but seems like a necessity.
Enemies like to bash on themselves and any other character if someone dies. Oftentimes resulting in you getting told, "Get f*cked!" after dying. Every now and then an enemy kills an enemy and says it, or another NPC. Maybe these magical skellies are meant to talk? Not sure, but this bug could probably stay.
9. The End
Don't know if any of these things will be changed, but regardless this game is interesting and certainly gets better with every update. Hope this wasn't too much or too critical, or even unnecessary. Either way, thank you for reading and hope this helps!
This was a really insightful writeup. I appreciate it! I don't know how much I can fix within the scope of finishing the game's early access lifecycle, but these are really solid points and I will be adding them to my todo wishlist (Some of which unfortunately ends up being a "out of scope" graveyard admittedly).
Loving the new update rev! Awesome work! I apologize if this has been asked before and answered, but I had a couple questions. First, will there be a storyline that will be created/continued in future updates, and second, will there be a romance system with more in depth relationships/marriage? or will it remain a mostly sandbox affair. Thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to answer this, glad you are feeling better, and I look forward to future updates/games from you!
Thanks!! This is very much a sandbox game. No marriage is planned at this time unfortunately.
YEY! Now I can make a character that is even closer to my fursona :D
Question: Will we be getting a storyline and quests with unique item drops or will it remain more of a sandbox?
Definitely very much a sandbox game. I have to be really careful with scope as a solo developer, I already get myself into trouble often lol.
nice so far! I do hope we get more hairstyles in the future custumization updates, though.
Agreed, I find hair very difficult to do a good job on so I might be guilty of putting that off a bit..
Are there plans for visible cum?
I wonder what will be added in the next update
more sex prob
I spent a good amount of this month sick unfortunately. There will still be an update, but it will be a slightly smaller one featuring character create options. Tail customization finally though!
Hope you feel better, Look forward to the update regardless.
I do have a question though, were enchanting tables added to home upgrades?
Hope you are feeling better.
Thank you! Better each day!
please don't overwork yourself. games and creators with passion are a dime a dozen these days. I'd rather wait an extra month due to sickness and recovery than hear that you get burnt out. so take care and get plenty of you time. :)
Get well soon. <3
I've been following this game for a few months now, and I love it. <3
Hopefully enemy npcs that try to get orbs from the player the same way the player gets them from npcs.