I'm very excited to finally show off some of the progress I have made for the upcoming sandbox mode with you all! I haven't quite finished up the props system yet, so I'll be sharing a follow-up post within the next few weeks as well. As anxious as I am to swap everything over to the new shader, I've put that on the back burner for the time being since it is going to take me at least a few days to get everything updated and I don't want my day job to interrupt my momentum once I've started. As a result, the following clips were all taken using the current shader, so you'll have to ignore the flickering shadows and the fact that the environment needs a serious visual overhaul. For any newcomers, you can preview the new shader here: Throwing Some Shaders

I've decided on a top-down setup for sandbox mode since it provides a lot more freedom to play around in the scene. Walking around in first-person mode was getting a bit cumbersome, but I'll still have the option to allow the player to swap to a first-person view during ecchi actions. The setup is very similar to Sims with a bit more control over the camera rig and options in the radial menu are available for both the player and the currently selected waifu. Swapping to this configuration has really helped me out when it comes to testing newly implemented features and everything feels much more accessible as compared to the first-person view planned for story mode.

The following clips feature the groping mechanic which allows the player to guide their hand along the currently selected waifu, including interacting with the jiggle physics. I have plans to apply these physics to the waifu's butt in the future as well, and once that's in place I shouldn't have any trouble implementing a spank mechanic and more. The top-down rig works really well here, giving the player complete freedom in the view as opposed to having to walk around the waifu in first-person mode, crouching when needed, etc.

Jiggle physics are created using special bones that are weighted to each breast/cheek, and these bones are then set up in the editor to work with in-game physics. As the hand moves over one of these areas, a force is applied to the bone based on the contact point's normal, which results in the body part moving in such a way that it appears the player's hand is moving it directly. These bones will also be leveraged in a later update to allow for scaling the size of the waifu's chest. Unfortunately, the current shader doesn't produce the same high-quality results for scaled breasts as the new one does, so this feature will have to wait for a future post. Note that weight painting for the waifu's backside was a bit rushed for the purposes of testing and will be cleaned up before it is implemented in its final version.

I'll also be adding mechanics for applying suntan lotion to the waifus, and the new shader I created recently can be expanded on to allow for tan lines that match their current outfit. This will allow players to apply suntan lotion with a less revealing bikini bottom, swap it for a g-string afterwards, and the tan lines created from the former will be shown underneath the latter. These features have me biting at the bit to take a week off so I can get the new shader in place, but freelancing pays the bills that afford me the chance to work on this project, so my day job has priority for the time being.

Next up is a clip featuring some of the mobile phone interface. Players can use the phone to check on the progress they've made with each waifu, to browse social media, and also for taking and viewing pictures. Players can also access the in-game map here, which can be used for quickly moving to a different area of Waifu Island. I've also included two modeling animation sequences so that waifus will pose for the player, pausing momentarily at each stage to allow for a photo to be taken.

This was done using native UI elements and some custom graphics and icons with a focus on maintaining performance while the phone is displayed over the world. The phone uses a separate camera for taking photos, which will allow me to add some extra features like more control over the zoom and field of view as well as applying some post-processing effects without affecting the main camera in the process. I'll be sharing a lot more videos featuring the phone interface in the future, but for now this will have to suffice since I'm limited to one minute per clip.

Last but not least: the ecchi mechanics. This is still very much in its early stages, but the following clip should give you a pretty good idea of how much control you'll have over lewd acts with waifus. The props system I mentioned before works in conjunction with this; the large window that the waifu is leaning against is a prop that can be interacted with, and each prop will have multiple positions available. Other props include kitchen counters, tables, the pool, and more.

Thrusting is controlled via the UI panel in the bottom right, with some placeholder toggles to advance through the three stages manually. Dragging the cursor on the thrust button has the expected result, and the slider just to the left of that button controls the speed of movement in relation to the speed of the cursor. Lastly, thrusting can be set to automatic by scrolling the mouse wheel over the thrust button as well, allowing for things to maintain pace while moving the camera for a better angle. I intentionally turned off hiding the cursor during these interactions to highlight the relationship between mouse movement and thrusting. You an see that jiggle physics work with the ecchi system as well, and there will be quite a few particle systems added in the future; I'm sure you can guess what purposes those particles will serve. Ecchi actions are not limited to one on one either, as there will be numerous opportunities for the player to have some fun with up to three waifus at once depending on which prop is used.

There is definitely a lot of work ahead of me before all of this is ready for public release, but I have been making steady progress every chance I get and will continue to do so until I can finally share it with everyone. After that I'll likely take a short break from development before turning my attention to story mode, which is my current motivation for finishing up sandbox mode since I have outlined several of the waifu's stories that I am very anxious to tell via interactive dialogue. Everything you see here (and more) will be leveraged to full effect when it comes to story mode, and I hope the inclusion of both modes in the game gives the player both the freedom to do what they want when they want as well as a sense of reward as the progress through the narrative.

All in all, I'm very happy with how this has turned out and glad that I opted for this new camera rig, at least for use in sandbox mode. As stated earlier, story mode will likely use a first-person rig, although that is subject to change in the future as well. I never assume that my initial decision is the correct one and instead prefer to let the game mechanics guide me to discover what works best in the hopes I can provide the best gameplay experience possible. Not only will sandbox mode provide players with the ability to have some free play outside of story mode, but it will likely prove incredibly valuable when it comes time to put story progression in place. I'll very likely build myself a custom editor that makes the process easier to manage given how much text, paths, responses, etc. there will be.

So much work has come together to produce the clips above, and even though there is a lot left to do, I sincerely enjoy working on this project and the unique challenges inherent in its development. To everyone that has purchased a copy of this work-in-progress game and to those who have either followed me or added this project to their collection, you have my sincerest gratitude. You keep me motivated, and even though I am far from reaching a point where I can work on this project full time, I have plenty of weekends ahead of me where I can get lost on Waifu Island and continue adding new clothing items, polishing up existing mechanics, and getting sandbox mode prepped and ready to deliver to anyone that's purchased a copy.