As for the 'bulge in pants' mod, if at all possible, it would use its own game state and variables, and not be related to the arousal variable. Like previously mentioned, it could be an additional layer over the pants that has it's own scaling attributes, another slider in the menu.
I'd be reluctant to pursue this approach. Each new slider in the UI requires several new functions, and it won't play nicely with any other mod which adds UI elements (e.g. a "Glove selector" below his Shirt, Pants, and Shoes selectors) because the UI coordinates are hard-coded.
Or perhaps it could be a penis replacer, a well-pitched tent so to speak, tied to the penis size slider already in place.
The simplest approach would be to set it up as a new pair of pants (which appear identical to the slacks, except for the additional bulge sprite). When loaded, the "bulgySlacks" pants would run a script to
hide the penis sprite (but NOT actually remove it from the scene, because that's a compatibility nightmare). When unloaded, the bulgySlacks would restore the penis to visibility.
The bulge itself would borrow design and code from the breast slider. I think that a separate size slider would be inappropriate. I'd rely on the existing penis size slider, and a new variable (named "excitement" or "erectionFullness" or something along those lines).
// Assume that the dialogActions mod is present; ask the Loader to find it in memory
var dialogActions = l.dialogActions;
// Attempt to retrieve the erection status info from dialogActions
var erectionFullness = 0.5; // Default to half-erect
if (dialogActions && (dialogActions.erectionFullness as Number)) {
erectionFullness = dialogActions.erectionFullness;
}
// Show the appropriate amount of bulginess by jumping to the appropriate animation frame
var penisVolume:Number = g.him.currentPenisWidthScale * g.him.currentPenisLengthScale / hardcodedPenisScalingParameter;
var frameRounded:int = Math.round(penisVolume * erectionFullness);
bulgeSection.gotoAndStop(frameRounded);
A modest-size flaccid penis might generate no perceptible bulge (e.g. frame = 1) until the guy reaches 20% excitement, while the SDT default-size penis might generate a small bulge even when completely flaccid. The excitement value (and visual size of bulge) would increase based on the internal logic of dialogActions -- e.g. girl says enticing things; player disrobes girl; dialogActions runs a timer which gradually increases excitement; etc. As with the girl's breasts, the guy's bulge would have a
maximum visual size. If the player is running a penis-size mod (e.g. metre-long horse dick) then they might conceivably obtain a max bulge at very low excitement levels.
It would be at the discretion of dialogActions (and/or the individual dialog writer) to periodically check the excitement level. We would presumably switch back to normal pants (by loading a partial charcode, or by direct function invocation) when the character has reached full erection and the scene narrative can advance to genital contact. But this decision might also be left in the player's hands -- they might just see a button labeled "Click here to proceed" but they'd be able to remain at the talking/teasing stage if they so desired.
Caveat: the penis would be
hidden during the previous stage, but it would still
exist. If the player activates handjob mode then the girl would stroke empty air (and the arousal value would increase, potentially leading to orgasm). Therefore,
the dialog writer would need to carefully limit the interactions which occur between the characters - she could put her hands on his legs, but she mustn't attempt to put her mouth or hands on his penis. The interaction should be mostly verbal or visual.
Some form of dry-humping (and/or allowing the girl to stroke the bulge in his pants) would be a neat bonus feature, but the large technical workload would outweigh the (miniscule) extension of gameplay -- it's not gonna happen.
For the fully nude mod, negative arousal values might work, following the idea of extending the arousal scale beyond 100 units. Like a full secondary arousal level on the scale, from -100 to 0, that works normally and shows the growing erection. As you've shown, there are even assets to work from to start with.
Meh. If we implement this, then I'd prefer to use a common framework for both versions. Hence, we'd use the excitement (or erectionFullness) variable as described above. We'd setup
another pair of pants ("nudeWithFlaccidPenis") and use breastSlider-derived logic to show a partially-curved penis with the appropriate size and shape. As above, dialogActions would need to switch the pants (nudeWithFlaccidPenis → None) when he's ready. As above,
the dialog writer would need to prevent the girl from touching the flaccid penis - it would clip through her hands (or jaw) if she attempts to do so.
The only additional feature here would be the
potential to add bouncy/rubbery physics to the flaccid penis. However, it's unlikely that anyone would bother - the ratio of [effort required]:[gameplay improvement] would be lousy.
Stuff that people can do if they want to see this mod happen
- pitch the idea to Pim_gd; get his feedback (and maybe abandon the whole project after he identifies a crucial oversight)
- find side-view pants-bulge images to serve as reference artwork.
- describe a basic scenario or script for a scene involving this mod.
- What sort of actions would be taken by the characters in order to "progress" towards erection and normal gameplay?
- How long is the flaccid/clothed state expected to persist?
- How would you prevent the player from inadvertently doing something (e.g. activate Auto mode) which will reveal visual flaws?
- Would the scenario involve a timer? If so, would it increment excitement (so that the player can proceed to normal gameplay just by waiting long enough) or decrement it (to add an element of "difficulty" to the scene)?
- The goal here is to identify dialog-writers' expectations. If they exceed what the AS3 modder can deliver (or "is willing to code") then we should work out a compromise ASAP.
- Example: she can't actually run her hands across his bulge (too much scripting needed). But perhaps she could place her hands on his thighs and then the dialog could narrate the stroking (and boost the excitement value as it does so).
- identify male clothing mods (and/or male body replacements) which are very popular among dialog writers.
- Is the "bulgySlacks" idea insufficient?
- Do we need to setup a completely-separate bulge graphic which could be used in conjunction with many different types of male clothing?
- run a poll.
- Assuming that the flaccid-penis graphic can support only a single shape and a single skin-tone, which one should we use (i.e. which penis settings are the most popular)?
- Don't just post your own personal preferences. Put in some effort. For example, you could review twenty pages of the screenshots thread and then tally the results.
- Assuming that a modder volunteers to tackle one of the options (pants with bulge OR partially-flaccid penis), which one would be more useful to dialog writers?
- Don't just post your own personal preference. Talk to a few dialog writers and ask them about it.
