WIP Romance Dialogue Project (Sebastian Dialogue Up -- PLAYTESTERS NEEDED!)

Discussion in 'Mods' started by glowy, Jul 6, 2017.

  1. glowy

    glowy Title Not Found

    UPDATE 7/20/17:

    My first draft of Sebastian's dialogue is now available for playtesting!

    Go >>here<< to download his (and Robin's) xnb file, and >>here<< to fill out his survey. Otherwise, follow the same instructions as below~

    Some notes on his dialogue in general:
    • Seb was a little difficult to write for because he has depression. As someone who also has depression, I tried to be sensitive about the topic and make it clear that his illness has not been ~magically cured~ by the player romancing him – however, I still wanted to instill a hopeful, optimistic vibe.
    • Unfortunately, it looks like Demetrius doesn’t have any flags to sense if the player is married to Sebastian, so I have not included in-law dialogue for him. (If someone has evidence to the contrary, please let me know.)

    ~*~*~

    UPDATE 7/9/17:


    After playtesting stuff a bit myself, I discovered that I'd been mistaken in how I thought some dialogue was being handled by the game, and because of that, many of the lines were not showing up as often as I intended them to. So I've gone in and fixed it! But that means that anyone who has already downloaded the files needs to update.

    TL;DR: If you downloaded Sam or Elliott's files before 3:55 PM Pacific time on July 9th, you need to go and re-download them! Most of my lines will not show up in any season other than Spring if you don't update. Sorry for the inconvenience, but I hope the fix makes things even better! The links down below still work to take you to the files. (Jodi and Kent's files are untouched and should still work just fine, no need to re-download theirs.)

    ~*~*~

    Original Post:

    Hi everyone! My last thread seems to have pretty much died, so I've decided to make a new one for this big update I just finished. I've completed Elliott's dialogue and am now seeking playtesters for him as well!

    For those who might not know: I'm making a mod that enriches the romances of the game by adding lots of new romance-centric lines for all the bachelors/bachelorettes, since I found Stardew Valley a bit lackluster in the romance department. As I'm an aspiring narrative designer for video games, I thought it would be something not only fun for me to do, but also to perhaps get my work some publicity.

    For each marriage candidate, I'm adding 15 new lines of dialogue for heart levels between 4 and 10 (7 general lines and 8 season-specific ones). The style of these lines are based on Harvest Moon romances. If the character has parents, I'm also adding 3 lines of in-law dialogue per parent. None of these new lines replace any original dialogue.

    As of right now, I have dialogue for Sam and Elliott that's ready for playtesting! Please read on if you're interested in helping me out.

    Instructions
    • If you'd like to playtest for Sam (and/or Jodi/Kent's in-law dialogue), you can download the files you need >>here<<.
    • If you'd like to playtest for Elliott, you can download the files you need >>here<<.
    To install, remove the "_dialogue" from the file names and drop them into your Stardew Valley\Content\Characters\Dialogue folder, replacing the old ones. Of course, always remember to back up your original files, but if something happens the files are super easy to return to original if you know how to use XNB Node -- all my added dialogue is at the bottom of each yaml file clearly separated from the original lines, and it's just a matter of deleting all my stuff and repacking it.
    • Here is access to a >>spreadsheet<< with all the dialogue. I'd really rather have people actually play the game with the dialogue installed, but if for whatever reason you can't/won't/don't want to, it'd still be helpful if you just read through the spreadsheet and give your feedback based on that.

    Details for Sam:
    • I've had Sam's dialogue written for a while now, and so it has already had a few playtesters -- however, I feel it hasn't been enough! There have been more testers for Jodi and Kent than Sam himself, so if I could get more people to do Sam's and give me feedback then I'd be really grateful.
    • However, my biggest concern is a bug with Kent's Sunday question line that @Feathered Sparks reported, where he doesn't ask the question and acts like you've already answered the first time it comes up. I have tested the line for myself in my game, and this bug does not happen for me. I'd really like to see if it happens for anyone else, because I have no clue why it would happen.
    Once you've tested for Sam (even if you just read the spreadsheet), please go to >>this survey<< and enter your feedback! This helps me keep everything nice and organized. I don't mind if you also comment on this thread with feedback, but please also fill out the form even if it's repetitive.

    Details for Elliott:
    • I just finished Elliott's dialogue the other day, so his is totally brand new and untested! His stuff is more likely to have typos, bugs, etc.
    • Obviously, Elliott doesn't have any parents in-game, so there is no in-law dialogue for him.
    Like Sam, I have a >>survey<< for Elliott that I'd like you to submit your feedback to (even if you just read the spreadsheet). Same as above: I don't mind if you also comment on this thread with feedback, but please also fill out the form even if it's repetitive.

    The data I'd like to collect from playtesting is as follows:
    • Typos
    • Anything difficult to read/understand
    • Lines that clash with canon facts and/or are out of character
    • Any bugs
    • General opinions and feedback
    If you have any questions at all, feel free to ask. Sebastian is next on my list to write for, and then... probably either Harvey or Shane, I'm still deciding. Thanks so much!

    P.S. -- Find the blog for this mod >>here<<!
     
      Last edited: Jul 20, 2017
    • SpringsSong

      SpringsSong Cosmic Narwhal

      -raises hand, then winces as she pinched a nerve or pulled a muscle earlier today- I'll definitely playtest Elliott's dialogue! Might take me a while since I'm starting from scratch, but.
       
      • glowy

        glowy Title Not Found

        Thank you so much for letting me know! I really appreciate it. I realize it'll take a while, no worries! I look forward to hearing your feedback!
         
        • glowy

          glowy Title Not Found

          For anyone interested, I've made a blog to host this mod so I have a dedicated place to organize content and answer questions about the project: svromanceproject.tumblr.com
           
          • perhappiness

            perhappiness Scruffy Nerf-Herder

            I gave a quick glance to not spoil myself too much, and I have to say-- I love the way you wrote the dialogue! It feels so natural and in-character I actually got tempted to romance Sam (which I probably should since he's somehow the first one who I always get 8 hearts in my playthroughs).

            I'm even going to restart my game to get the full experience of the Elliot romance, I'll give feedback as soon as I get to the lines!! Can't wait!!!
             
            • glowy

              glowy Title Not Found

              omg thank you!!! You totally just made my day by telling me that, ahhh ;v; I can't wait to hear your feedback!
               
              • Calarand77

                Calarand77 Big Damn Hero

                Will any of the lines trigger for me if I have already married Elliott and went through all the heart events? Because I'd love to test this amazing mod, but I'd rather not have to start a brand new game...

                EDIT: Ah, forget it, I'm starting a new farm just to test this mod properly. Will be back in a couple of days to complete the survey.
                 
                  Last edited: Jul 15, 2017
                • glowy

                  glowy Title Not Found

                  Ahh, yeah, unfortunately all the marriage candidates have a completely different file of dialogue they reference once you're married to them.

                  But wow, thank you for being willing to start a whole new game for this! I can't wait to hear your feedback!
                   
                  • Calarand77

                    Calarand77 Big Damn Hero

                    Back with a short report that everything works pretty much flawlessly so far, even in my heavily modded game. (Also yay for cheats, they make everything easier).

                    I'll have the survey done in a day or two when I get some more time off to play the game and finally marry that piece of cake that is Elliott. :D
                     
                    • glowy

                      glowy Title Not Found

                      Thanks so much! :D
                       
                      • Calarand77

                        Calarand77 Big Damn Hero

                        And done! I gotta say, this is how this romance should have been originally written. It actually feels like a real, developing romance now rather than a sudden and a bit unexpected explosion of feels in the boat event. Kudos!
                         
                        • glowy

                          glowy Title Not Found

                          Thank you so much! That is exactly what I wanted to hear ahh! :')
                           
                          • QueenKirriana

                            QueenKirriana Void-Bound Voyager

                            I've completed the feedback form for ya. I was waiting on a few mods that I consider essential to be updated but I think they're good to go now so I'll start up a new file so I can test all the new content with a character who's not now married to Sam. As I'm going I'll try and take screenshots of the dialogue for you as well, since I saw your post about it on the blog and I'm not above spawning Cactus Fruits/Pizzas/Maple Bars/Tigerseyes until he loves me enough to say each line :catwink:.
                             
                            • glowy

                              glowy Title Not Found

                              Thank you!!! I've read your feedback and it's been super helpful. I'm fairly certain that the bug with Kent's line persists into v2 of the dialogue because I haven't messed with it yet... I'm really not sure what could be causing it, but thank you for confirming that it wasn't an isolated incident. I'll look into it!

                              Also if you could get screenshots that would be AMAZING ahhh, bless
                               
                              • kittykore

                                kittykore Master Chief

                                This looks awesome! I'm tempted to start over just to read all of Sebastian's dialogue. Are there any plans for the married dialogue?
                                 
                                • glowy

                                  glowy Title Not Found

                                  Good to hear, thank you! :D At the moment, marriage dialogue is a stretch goal -- that is to say, I've thought about it and would like to, but I want to finish up the base dialogue for all the marriage candidates first and then see if I have the time and motivation to do post-marriage stuff.
                                   
                                  • kittykore

                                    kittykore Master Chief

                                    Thanks for answering! I'll be lurking lol
                                     
                                      glowy likes this.
                                    • Flyteofheart

                                      Flyteofheart Void-Bound Voyager

                                      im v v v excited for this mod. Im a sucker for romance overhaul mods. Curious, how "romance-y" is your overhaul? I think its sad even after you get married, the characters act kinda standoffish. and how many lines do you think it adds?

                                      I can play through Elliot for you probably. Not sure how long it will take me. I wanted to try a run where I marry him and use all of Eemie's victorian textures and pretend hes my Mr. Darcy or some BS :catxD:

                                      I havnt ever married him in vanilla so idk how much help that would be?
                                       
                                        Last edited: Jul 26, 2017
                                      • glowy

                                        glowy Title Not Found

                                        I'm super glad that you're excited for this, thank you! This mod adds exactly 15 lines of dialogue for every marriage candidate, pre-marriage (as I mentioned above, post-marriage dialogue is a stretch goal for me). They range from 6 hearts to 10 hearts, and are essentially personalized ways of them talking about their feelings for you and discussing your relationship, since the base game seriously lacks in that aspect. If that didn't quite answer your question, you're more than welcome to check out what I've written so far at this spreadsheet and determine for yourself how "romance-y" it is (and how well it'd fit for your Victorian playthrough)! :)
                                         

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