Chapter 2 will have its own separate page here, but I'll announce when it comes out on the devlogs here, so just keep an eye on them around the end of June.
Gameplay not so much, story yes. A bit in 2, and much more if we ever get to the final chapter. It'll keep track of a few things, but yes the main one will be which ending you get.
so is there a way to make the masher boars easier to deal with? because i'm tired of them just obliterating my health bar with attacks doing over 100 points of damage
The general idea is that you've got to try to get in quick and end the battle before they all have a chance to spawn. The balance is a little finicky, but it should be possible at least some of the time. Alternatively, you can just take the other route. Admittedly they're probably the least polished enemy in the game. I've thankfully learned a lot since then.
Well not JUST luck, but yes, some save scumming is probably a good idea if you want to go up that path. Pretty sure I tested that it was indeed possible though. If not, potentially something to finetune eventually.
honestly those enemies ruined my interest for this game because it's a massively unfair difficulty spike in gameplay. i might come back if those enemies get nerfed or if an easier way of beating them is put into the game
I'm definitely feeling this, and it goes for the boar guard leading to the boss too. I saw that there were some balance tweaks done to make the normal playthrough mode more challenging, but as it stands this feels like too far in the other direction. It feels impossible to deal with the sheer number of enemies, especially when they soak damage and keep pace with healing items, and ESPECIALLY when the special attack misses. Likewise for breaking out of the mind control being able to whiff.
Huh, weird that I didn't see this until now, Itch has issues sometimes. But yeah, I mean he's the main character, so yes, there will be a lot of art of him in the game. If you mean in addition to that, probably not for a while, as I'm going to be pretty busy adding game content.
Hey, Bitshiftgames. Since you're planning on releasing this by the end of june, how far are do you think you are from finishing the game? Also, if you WERE able to finish it early somehow, when do you think you would finish it early?
Can't really give an answer to either of those. Finishing early won't happen: if I end up with extra time, I'll just use it to work on extra parts of the game, but that's unlikely. In terms of more fine detail, it's subjective depending on how you measure it, and I'm not going to go into it deeper than that. I plan to have the core game ready by the end of June and gradually add on from there.
People use it to "adapt" various games, especially RPGMaker stuff to mobile. But in fact you cannot use it to play CS: there will be graphical glitches.
Hey, I just needed to express some concerns after re-playing the game. I love the themes and story, but I hope that making a much bigger world doesn't mean we're gonna experience much more loop gameplays? Because if we take this first opus, there were two enemies/scenes that were replayed for every mob that were encountered... So the grind in a state like the slut mode if there will still be one could become annoying if it'd be for hours the same scenes (dunno if my concern is clearly explained)
If I understand right, you're talking about the actual combat sex scenes. And the answer is yes and no. The system itself is a bit different, to mix things up, and there are several more art assets for it than in #1. In addition, slut mode works a bit different than in #1, and is planned to both be more streamlined and have some additional assets of its own. The downside is that because of this (and some other stuff for slut mode) slut mode probably won't ship with the initial release (it wasn't in the initial release of #1 either.) But all updates will of course be available for free to anyone who purchases the game.
Must have missed this due to a glitch. Dates were mentioned in the last dev log: end of June is when I hope to have the initial release ready. Probably no updates until then.
Depends on how you define it. I currently have technical max level for Mezz at 99, since that's the default (I think) in RPGMaker. That mostly just means all his attribute scaling is oriented around that. In practical terms though I'm not sure it will ever go that high, and there certainly isn't enough XP in Chapter 1 to get anywhere near that.
I do plan to "carry over" levels in that I've done a middle of the road playthrough of 1, looked at what level he is, and then start players at that level in 2, just for some story consistency. So if the series goes on long enough, he may get up there.
Thats fair, But what im asking is "What is the highest level Mezz can get to from beating up the boars?" Thanks for explaining how you are gonna do a level transfer.
Ah ok. Couldn't say for sure. A typical play through for me puts him at about 11, but that's without killing every single mob. So possibly 12? But why the interest in this in particular?
I had level 14 before the boss on a normal route, but to do this, you need to defeat a gang of wild boars at the entrance. If without a victory over them there will be 13.
Last update (on news) was only 19 days ago. And it was big one, so if you missed it, definitely take a look at the dev logs. Long story short, maps are done, final push on the big art and writing bits has started, hope to have it out by June.
Just a question, but do you plan on opening up a discord server or something for the little community here to talk about the game and other stuff, or do you prefer to just have the Itch.io comments section?
Just the comment section. Discord sucks, and it's also a second job to moderate, which I'm not interested in. Itch has an option for the comments section that's more like a mini-forum and I may switch that on for Chapter 2 when it comes out.
I am playing this game on android with joiplay (and needs the RPG plugin, both on play store.) and im having a bug that the Mezz stay with a black cube over him in the middle of the battle, someone else have this bug or is just me? (If i write something wrong im sorry i am BR and i don't know english so well.)
No problem, your english is fine! Unfortunately Cruel Serenade isn't supported for android use. The black square issue might be resolved by tinkering with your mobile web browser and running index.html directly, rather than trying to run the game through joiplay, but even then I use a number of plugins that probably won't play well with mobile, and this will only get worse, as the secondary save system I'll be introducing for 2 will require some basic local file saving and shuffling. For now at least, Cruel Serenade is only a Windows Desktop game.
So, this is a cool game, But i have a small problem with the Nightclub/Boar hideout place. If you are trying not to get the horny ending where you keep the ear clip things, The fight against the boars blocking the stairs is really tough. The boar you fight first hits hard, Around 150 damage per hit, give or take some. After 1 or 2 turns, 2 more boars join in. All boars deal around 150 damage per hit, Not TOO bad, You have a few items by now. After another 2-3 turns, 3 MORE boars show up. All of them deal around 150 per hit. So, Turn1 : 150 damage, Give or take a few. Turn 2, Around 150 if the two boars dont show up. If boars do show up, Around 450 damage. (For context, Burgers heal around 700, Give or take some.(You cannot heal with anything OTHER then burgers and supremes, and supremes heal around 350..(Blocking does reduce damage, But that prolongs losing the fight.))) Turn 3, definitly 450 damage(boars show up by now). Turn 4, 450 damage give or take some. Turn 5, 3 more boars show up. If you dont block, Arent at full health, or dont have the dodge ability. You are DEAD with around 900 DAMAGE PER TURN. Unless you have 1900 from the horny path, you aint surviving one turn. So yeah... Please nerf.
It's been a while since I've playtested the fight, and I don't think I ever bothered to beat it, as multiple players reported they were able to. I may revisit it eventually, however it should be doable, although punishing. Remember to take the clips off, if you aren't. That buys a lot in terms of damage and time. Beyond that, it's really a matter of crowd control: if you get to the point where there's a ton of enemies on screen, you've probably already lost. I'd imagine some save scumming to try to get ideal luck with where "Hard Knocks" lands would probably do it though.
Yeah, If people reported they were able to, its because they got super lucky with damage output and not getting hit.. Im on the unlucky side of the sectrum.
Right now I'm pretty focused on Chapter 2, but once that's out I plan on revisiting 1 to tweak some stuff, and I'll definitely be looking at that fight to make sure it's at a reasonable level.
Thanks! I look forward to chapter two! And, when you're done, Do you think you can take suggestions for small things? (Changes to moves, Changes to lighting, changes to items, ect) No need to say you can, its completly fine to just wait till the games finished to do changes. If you can, Thanks!
Hi! I've tried your game several times and it's just great! I will really look forward to the continuation! I'm sorry if I wrote something wrong, I don't know English well, I'm from Russia. I also have three questions. 1) Which ending can still be considered canon? I played both whore mode and gradual defeat mode, and was also able to defeat Diesel by playing not in whore mode! So what is the canon anyway? 2) Since I am from Russia, it will be quite difficult for me to buy part 2, is there a possibility that the game will be released in steam? there is an opportunity to buy there! I would really like to support this project. 3) How are the stages of work progressing? Will part 2 be ready by summer?
No problem, your English is great! And glad you're enjoying the game so far.
1. In a sense, whichever ending you like is "canon." In practical terms though, endings that dead-end the story obviously won't be carried on to the next game. That said, if by "canon" you mean "endings that carry through to the next chapter," both of the other two do! That's the point of the extra "Data Crystal" save system I'll be putting in: play through 1 with whatever outcome you prefer, transfer the file over to 2, and there will be consequences based on it (small at first, but growing.)
2. I have a SubscribeStar, which I think is still Russia friendly? Sorry if I've got that wrong. If you can use it, you can send me a tip through that once the game is out. Otherwise, you certainly have my blessing to pirate it if no payment method is available, though unfortunately that will mean missing updates. No plans for Steam for now though. Maybe eventually, but that would have to come a while after this is out, bugtested, expanded, and successful.
3. I'm nearing the end of the 2/3's mark. I expect to have some actual news out on it by the end of next month. Initial release should be early summer if all goes well.
← Return to game
Comments
Log in with itch.io to leave a comment.
Amazing game really like the bad ending :p
(If you need any help for assetes or else, I would be glad to help if you are accepting volunteer !) Im an artist. ^^
Glad you're enjoying it!
Probably good on help for now, but thanks for the offer.
just wondering if we already have it downloaded do we get the update or do we have to reinstall it?
Chapter 2 will have its own separate page here, but I'll announce when it comes out on the devlogs here, so just keep an eye on them around the end of June.
alright to bad it wont be easy to obtain I don't have a job currently or extra money
Just out of interest- what left in development?
Mostly scenes and playtesting. A few odds and ends.
very good:)
Happy one year anniversary!!! Wish you best luck in development
Thanks! I keep on keepin on.
Whats the progress, can't wait for part 2
Working my way through the CG now. Expect late June for release of core game.
it is pretty fun tho i wish there were more enamies besides boars
Thanks! Will definitely be more variety as things continue.
thank you perhaps dogs,cats stuff like that and the ear clips work the same as they did with the boars
No ear clips in the next one, some new hypno stuff. And hyenas! Take a look at the dev logs if you haven't, some sneak peaks there.
i see dogs and hyenas sad about the ear clips but hopefully its still gonna be easy to mess up on purpose XD
Question - will the ending I get in pt.1 affect any of the gameplay or story for pt.2? What all will transfer between the two?
Gameplay not so much, story yes. A bit in 2, and much more if we ever get to the final chapter. It'll keep track of a few things, but yes the main one will be which ending you get.
Hows development of the 2nd chapter going? Im real excited to pay to play it heh
Pretty good! Always hard to say for sure with these things, but things seem on pace to hit the June release for the core game.
Voce tem patreon?
Não, mas tenho o SubscribeStar: https://subscribestar.adult/bitshift.
so is there a way to make the masher boars easier to deal with? because i'm tired of them just obliterating my health bar with attacks doing over 100 points of damage
The general idea is that you've got to try to get in quick and end the battle before they all have a chance to spawn. The balance is a little finicky, but it should be possible at least some of the time. Alternatively, you can just take the other route. Admittedly they're probably the least polished enemy in the game. I've thankfully learned a lot since then.
so it's essentially just get lucky or lose when fighting them
Well not JUST luck, but yes, some save scumming is probably a good idea if you want to go up that path. Pretty sure I tested that it was indeed possible though. If not, potentially something to finetune eventually.
honestly those enemies ruined my interest for this game because it's a massively unfair difficulty spike in gameplay. i might come back if those enemies get nerfed or if an easier way of beating them is put into the game
I'm definitely feeling this, and it goes for the boar guard leading to the boss too. I saw that there were some balance tweaks done to make the normal playthrough mode more challenging, but as it stands this feels like too far in the other direction. It feels impossible to deal with the sheer number of enemies, especially when they soak damage and keep pace with healing items, and ESPECIALLY when the special attack misses. Likewise for breaking out of the mind control being able to whiff.
I can not wait for more, thank you for all the work you've put into this.
Thanks! It's been a long road, but things are going well and it's nice to see the pieces finally coming together.
Hello again! Such a question. Will there be any arts with Mezz, because this rabbit is very beautiful)))
I do believe that there is some art on Bitshift's fur affinity account not a lot the last I checked.
Mezz is cute, yes
Huh, weird that I didn't see this until now, Itch has issues sometimes. But yeah, I mean he's the main character, so yes, there will be a lot of art of him in the game. If you mean in addition to that, probably not for a while, as I'm going to be pretty busy adding game content.
So, i did the math to see when the next devlog might be, and the answer IS:
108 DAYS UNTIL THE NEXT DEVLOG!!
Ha! Deadline's a bit more than that. But we'll see. Might be done a little early, might be done a little late.
....So what you're saying is that ITS GONNA TAKE MORE THAN 108 DAYS FOR THE NEXT DEVLOG?????
Next Devlog = game release = end of June, same as always.
okay so
the end of june is gonna be in 123 days as im posting this
i was 15 days off
Hi. Perhaps this question has already been asked, but will there be animated sex scenes, and not PNG pictures? Good luck in development <3
No, just the pictures for now. And thanks!
OK, thanks for the answer! I will be waiting for updates. Hello from Russia
Hey, Bitshiftgames. Since you're planning on releasing this by the end of june, how far are do you think you are from finishing the game? Also, if you WERE able to finish it early somehow, when do you think you would finish it early?
Can't really give an answer to either of those. Finishing early won't happen: if I end up with extra time, I'll just use it to work on extra parts of the game, but that's unlikely. In terms of more fine detail, it's subjective depending on how you measure it, and I'm not going to go into it deeper than that. I plan to have the core game ready by the end of June and gradually add on from there.
Don't rush it, take your time and keep up your good work,
Would chapter 2 may be by chance be for Android??
I'm a huge fan but my pc is broken.
You can play it on joiplay
The hell is that?
People use it to "adapt" various games, especially RPGMaker stuff to mobile. But in fact you cannot use it to play CS: there will be graphical glitches.
No, no plans for mobile. The plugins I use don't play nice with mobile.
Hey, I just needed to express some concerns after re-playing the game. I love the themes and story, but I hope that making a much bigger world doesn't mean we're gonna experience much more loop gameplays? Because if we take this first opus, there were two enemies/scenes that were replayed for every mob that were encountered... So the grind in a state like the slut mode if there will still be one could become annoying if it'd be for hours the same scenes (dunno if my concern is clearly explained)
If I understand right, you're talking about the actual combat sex scenes. And the answer is yes and no. The system itself is a bit different, to mix things up, and there are several more art assets for it than in #1. In addition, slut mode works a bit different than in #1, and is planned to both be more streamlined and have some additional assets of its own. The downside is that because of this (and some other stuff for slut mode) slut mode probably won't ship with the initial release (it wasn't in the initial release of #1 either.) But all updates will of course be available for free to anyone who purchases the game.
aw the game it's too short :(
Making games is a lot of work, even the small ones. This first was a kind of proof of concept though. #2 should have a lot more to it, so stay tuned!
Oh my bad, well it's still amazing!
hope development is going well, been playing this some times and i can't wait for the next part uwu
Thanks! Yep, continues on pace.
It's been 38 days since the last devlog, so how close do you think you are from finishing the update? Do you have a date in mind?
tbf the previous dev log was back in September 2022, so I wouldn't expect a lot of updates prior to release.
Must have missed this due to a glitch. Dates were mentioned in the last dev log: end of June is when I hope to have the initial release ready. Probably no updates until then.
Can we have sneak peeks?
Probably no more before release, no.
Any other place we can get updates/info other than the dev log?
Nope, pretty much just here.
Out of curiosity what Version of RPG maker do you use?
Just MV.
Thanks, is there a particular reason why this one instead of the others?
It's the most modern one that isn't crap. MZ has a bunch of stuff I don't need, and I wasn't a fan of a lot of the changes.
I can only assume that my attempts at time travel have failed and it isn't June? :D :D
I would fire up my own H.G. Wells machine, but that wouldn't really work since I'm the one making the game. Ah well.
hahahahahahahahahahaha me too but i do not have it any way
cant wait for june
Thanks!
Wanted to know, What is the max level you can get?
Depends on how you define it. I currently have technical max level for Mezz at 99, since that's the default (I think) in RPGMaker. That mostly just means all his attribute scaling is oriented around that. In practical terms though I'm not sure it will ever go that high, and there certainly isn't enough XP in Chapter 1 to get anywhere near that.
I do plan to "carry over" levels in that I've done a middle of the road playthrough of 1, looked at what level he is, and then start players at that level in 2, just for some story consistency. So if the series goes on long enough, he may get up there.
Ah ok. Couldn't say for sure. A typical play through for me puts him at about 11, but that's without killing every single mob. So possibly 12? But why the interest in this in particular?
Just wanted to know. I was wondering what the max level i could get to to fight the boss on the normal route.
I had level 14 before the boss on a normal route, but to do this, you need to defeat a gang of wild boars at the entrance. If without a victory over them there will be 13.
Ah, ok.
Nope, just the dev logs here.
No question, just here to say your game and art is amazing!
Thanks!
Just wondering, How's the game going? Been a while since the last update, and i'm curious to see if you know when the game might be out.
Last update (on news) was only 19 days ago. And it was big one, so if you missed it, definitely take a look at the dev logs. Long story short, maps are done, final push on the big art and writing bits has started, hope to have it out by June.
I see.
Just a question, but do you plan on opening up a discord server or something for the little community here to talk about the game and other stuff, or do you prefer to just have the Itch.io comments section?
Just the comment section. Discord sucks, and it's also a second job to moderate, which I'm not interested in. Itch has an option for the comments section that's more like a mini-forum and I may switch that on for Chapter 2 when it comes out.
yaaaaaay it jast 12 days to wait and finally this game will be update :D i am so excited and can not wait haha
i will delete it and download it for start from first and delete all my save date :D
Bit more than 12 days. Release will (hopefully) be in June.
i mean so soon :D
This is very good, finished the normal ending and the lust ending. Excited to see more!
Thanks!
Ayo I just lost to the Stair Guard and uh.
I hope Mezz has access to a good therapist after that.
shudders
There are many hazards to being a vigilante.
i can not wait to see chapter 2 :D and good luck .
I am playing this game on android with joiplay (and needs the RPG plugin, both on play store.) and im having a bug that the Mezz stay with a black cube over him in the middle of the battle, someone else have this bug or is just me? (If i write something wrong im sorry i am BR and i don't know english so well.)
No problem, your english is fine! Unfortunately Cruel Serenade isn't supported for android use. The black square issue might be resolved by tinkering with your mobile web browser and running index.html directly, rather than trying to run the game through joiplay, but even then I use a number of plugins that probably won't play well with mobile, and this will only get worse, as the secondary save system I'll be introducing for 2 will require some basic local file saving and shuffling. For now at least, Cruel Serenade is only a Windows Desktop game.
Okay, thank you.
So, this is a cool game, But i have a small problem with the Nightclub/Boar hideout place. If you are trying not to get the horny ending where you keep the ear clip things, The fight against the boars blocking the stairs is really tough. The boar you fight first hits hard, Around 150 damage per hit, give or take some. After 1 or 2 turns, 2 more boars join in. All boars deal around 150 damage per hit, Not TOO bad, You have a few items by now. After another 2-3 turns, 3 MORE boars show up. All of them deal around 150 per hit. So, Turn1 : 150 damage, Give or take a few. Turn 2, Around 150 if the two boars dont show up. If boars do show up, Around 450 damage. (For context, Burgers heal around 700, Give or take some.(You cannot heal with anything OTHER then burgers and supremes, and supremes heal around 350..(Blocking does reduce damage, But that prolongs losing the fight.))) Turn 3, definitly 450 damage(boars show up by now). Turn 4, 450 damage give or take some. Turn 5, 3 more boars show up. If you dont block, Arent at full health, or dont have the dodge ability. You are DEAD with around 900 DAMAGE PER TURN. Unless you have 1900 from the horny path, you aint surviving one turn. So yeah... Please nerf.
It's been a while since I've playtested the fight, and I don't think I ever bothered to beat it, as multiple players reported they were able to. I may revisit it eventually, however it should be doable, although punishing. Remember to take the clips off, if you aren't. That buys a lot in terms of damage and time. Beyond that, it's really a matter of crowd control: if you get to the point where there's a ton of enemies on screen, you've probably already lost. I'd imagine some save scumming to try to get ideal luck with where "Hard Knocks" lands would probably do it though.
Yeah, If people reported they were able to, its because they got super lucky with damage output and not getting hit.. Im on the unlucky side of the sectrum.
Right now I'm pretty focused on Chapter 2, but once that's out I plan on revisiting 1 to tweak some stuff, and I'll definitely be looking at that fight to make sure it's at a reasonable level.
Thanks! I look forward to chapter two! And, when you're done, Do you think you can take suggestions for small things? (Changes to moves, Changes to lighting, changes to items, ect) No need to say you can, its completly fine to just wait till the games finished to do changes. If you can, Thanks!
Oh sure! But remind me once I'm at that stage, things tend to get lost in comments otherwise.
Will items like "Stimulant" or "Horny Juice" be added to Chapter 2? Or are they just concepts?
Those were just debug items if I remember right. No plans for those particular items.
Hi! I've tried your game several times and it's just great! I will really look forward to the continuation! I'm sorry if I wrote something wrong, I don't know English well, I'm from Russia. I also have three questions. 1) Which ending can still be considered canon? I played both whore mode and gradual defeat mode, and was also able to defeat Diesel by playing not in whore mode! So what is the canon anyway? 2) Since I am from Russia, it will be quite difficult for me to buy part 2, is there a possibility that the game will be released in steam? there is an opportunity to buy there! I would really like to support this project. 3) How are the stages of work progressing? Will part 2 be ready by summer?
No problem, your English is great! And glad you're enjoying the game so far.
1. In a sense, whichever ending you like is "canon." In practical terms though, endings that dead-end the story obviously won't be carried on to the next game. That said, if by "canon" you mean "endings that carry through to the next chapter," both of the other two do! That's the point of the extra "Data Crystal" save system I'll be putting in: play through 1 with whatever outcome you prefer, transfer the file over to 2, and there will be consequences based on it (small at first, but growing.)
2. I have a SubscribeStar, which I think is still Russia friendly? Sorry if I've got that wrong. If you can use it, you can send me a tip through that once the game is out. Otherwise, you certainly have my blessing to pirate it if no payment method is available, though unfortunately that will mean missing updates. No plans for Steam for now though. Maybe eventually, but that would have to come a while after this is out, bugtested, expanded, and successful.
3. I'm nearing the end of the 2/3's mark. I expect to have some actual news out on it by the end of next month. Initial release should be early summer if all goes well.
Thanks for the answer! Understood)) well, I will wait for the second part and I hope everything will be fine with us)
are there any update soon ? or any news for this game ?
Check out the post right below yours.
haha sory i did not see it .
and i can not wait :D