A Shot in the Dark: "Walkthrough" features coming soon

This week we wanted to share details about something we've been working on behind the scenes, alongside development for the upcoming A Shot in the Dark - Chapter 3 (V0.25) update.

For months we've been working on a bunch of new features, that have grown into a comprehensive, interactive in-game "Walkthrough" system (official name TBD). We're excited to tell you all about it now that we have actual gameplay footage to show you what it's all about!

Why are we creating this?

The inspiration for this feature came about as we were brainstorming ways to improve quality of life for players, whether they plan to do one playthrough or multiple playthroughs. We always want to enable players to have an enjoyable and stress-free experience playing the game, since that is ultimately in the spirit of what adult games aim to provide!

Chapter 3 seemed like a good time to tackle this goal. All of the native features are now in the base game, we are still relatively early in development (Chapter 3 will complete the first 25% of the story), and after 3 releases we have a decent amount of player feedback on where the major "pain points" are in the player experience.

This is just the beginning, of course! After we release these features we plan to gather more player feedback so we can refine and improve these features as we go.

What are the specific features?

We have five planned Walkthrough features (all subject to change!) that we are already implementing. Keep in mind that the player will always have the option to toggle any of these features ON and OFF at any point.

1) Best Choice Indicators based on Love Interest Priority Ranking

This part of the hint system, when toggled on, will tell you the best choices for a particular love interest based on your individual priority ranking.

Because there are moments in the game where choices can benefit multiple love interests, your ranking will determine which color/icon to use when highlighting the best possible choice.

See the video for an example of this feature! In this scene, the player can choose to ask Elly to stay outside with him (Elly +1, Natalie & Sophie -1) or to let her go inside (Elly -1, Natalie & Sophie +1). Natalie is ranked higher than Sophie in this case, so you will see the choice benefitting Natalie & Sophie is highlighted with Natalie's color/icon.

2) Jump-in Points (Chapter 2 and on)

This feature gives players the option to jump into the beginning of every chapter (starting with Chapter 2) based on curated playthroughs up to that point (essentially, pre-made saves). You will be shown what LIs will be favored for the various curated jump-in points to help you choose the best option for you.

For example: If you are not happy with the outcome of Chapter 1, you can use the jump-in point with the opposite outcome when starting Chapter 2, without having to replay Chapter 1!

If we receive positive feedback about this feature we'll consider continuing to expand and improve upon it with more customization of the jump-in points.

3) Game Hints

Whenever players are faced with a Story Branching choice (choices that can cause major branches in the story), they can hover over the Hint icon (if the feature is toggled on) to receive a specific hint/warning that may help them make a more informed decision.

See the video for an example of this feature! That particular hint is just placeholder text, that may not be the final wording of that hint at release.

4) Memories Hints

Hover over any locked item in the Memories gallery and you will be provided a specific hint describing how to unlock it.

5) Photos Hints

Hover over any locked item in the Photo gallery and you will be provided a specific hint describing how to unlock it.

How will this be priced/sold?

We do plan for most of these features to be part of a paid DLC/add-on Walkthrough package that also includes Hondo's Official Player Guide (a detailed PDF guide, completed but not released yet) that is even more in-depth than the in-game features.

We are still working out which features of the Walkthrough will be part of the base game and which will be paid add-ons packaged with Hondo's Official Player Guide. Our goal, as always, will be to price it in a way that is fair and reasonable to players for the value it provides, but compensates those involved in its creation for their time.

We hope you are as excited about these features as we are! Let us know what you think!

- ViM Studios

P.S. Because we're making major changes to the foundation of the game with these features, there is a chance adding these features may break the game / break your old saves (even if you aren't using them, they will be in the code). 

We will be doing everything in our power to prevent that from happening, but with Ren'Py there are no guarantees! Hopefully, if the game does break, the chapter jump-in points will be a solution for players that do not want to replay from the start. :)