Hey-hey! This is yet another post in our roadmap series!
Some of you get confused by what exactly these posts entail. Is it already in the game? Is the new update out?
No. Deluded Diaries: Roadmap posts cover what is to be added to the game, not what is already implemented! It goes over each milestone of our roadmap to show you what we aim to achieve with each future major update.
For example, in the previous post we talked about the Prologue polishing stage (v0.8), and this time we are diving into the open world of Deluded along with the Steam launch (v0.9).
If you’ve wandered around the Deluded world enough, you’ve probably come across some work-in-progress stuff (if not, here’s a tip—head out of Alisa’s house and try going into Lindcliff). That’s open-world prototypes. Yes, we plan to add a full-blown open world packed with activities, NPCs and locations.
Without spoiling everything at once—here’s the gist. After 7 days of the prologue Alisa wakes up in a grave. Stripped of her past, she has to find her own way to survive and get to the truth: what happened to her family?
This is how the open world starts—your journey in a society where trust is a currency and every choice has a cost.
You can probably imagine how much an open world means for a game like ours, which positions itself as an adult survival RPG. To get ahead of some questions (though I’m sure you can come up with more and hop in the comments), we’re breaking down what the open world of Deluded is all about, Q&A style. Let’s go!
So what does “open world” imply in Deluded?
First of all, freedom! No more day-based limits like in the prologue, so you can explore the world at your own pace. The map will be about 3×3 km with 70% of it taken up by mountains and a canyon filled with mysterious fog—natural barriers that shape the landscape and create clear exploration paths.
The world is supposed to be divided into five zones: three of them accessible in the main story with the remaining two planned as possible DLC areas.
How long would it take to actually complete the playthrough?
The prologue and the main quest is planned to take around 16 hours, while the side content must add about 50+ hours. But you’ll need more than one playthrough to experience everything!
Does the main quest “expire” if I focus on side quests? Is there any punishment, a bad ending?
Nope! Have you played the Witcher 3? Remember how you can literally spend all your time collecting Gwent cards instead of saving Ciri? Yeah, same idea. Explore the world all you want, the main quest doesn’t go anywhere.
There are two endings planned for Deluded, but they don't depend on how long you take to complete the main quest.
But will there be time-limited quests?
A few side ones, but they're designed to be intuitive. You'll naturally be aware of the time pressure when you accept them, so you won't be caught off guard.
What about difficulty settings?
Ideally, you’ll be able to choose from Easy, Normal or Hardcore — we’ve got you covered, whether you’re a casual player or someone who loves a challenge 😏
Can you go back to some sections you’d already been to?
Since our game is not a linear “free roam”—yes! If you’ve read the post about Skills in Deluded, you also know you get to fast travel (a Driving skill). The only exception is the prologue: you can return to the Alisa’s House location, but you can’t replay the prologue itself.
What should I expect performance-wise?
Deluded doesn’t aim for hyper-realistic graphics, so you should be fine. Here are the approximate system specs we’re targeting for the Steam release:
Will the survival part risk overshadowing the rest? Tend to Alisa’s needs, get money, repeat?
If you’re resourceful, you’ll have no trouble balancing RPG, (social) survival, story and adult content. Otherwise we’d suggest to step down a difficulty level 😉
What if I get softlocked—everyone hates me, I have nothing to eat and I can’t do anything?
No worries, there will be plenty of activities to help you with survival—like foraging or fishing—that don’t rely on NPCs at all.
Will it be possible to complete the game in the most innocent/safe way, avoiding gloor, prostitution and similar content?
It’s possible if you follow the [PURE] route, but still—you’ll have to sweat for it! Some extreme 18+ events or scenes can be avoided by using Alisa’s skills and attributes. Besides, keep an eye on the gloor tags (item tooltip) in your inventory. Then you know for sure if you are going to like something or not 😉
I’ve played the demo enough. Would it be possible to skip the prologue in v0.9?
Yes! During the ride home in the beginning of the game there's already a "Skip the prologue" dialogue option that'll become available in v0.9.
If I do, how does the game determine my character's personality (LEWD, PURE, INT, etc.)?
In v0.9, while Alisa is getting a ride home after the cemetery, you’ll be able to choose all her starting attributes.
Will save files from the demo version be compatible with the Steam release?
We plan to work on the technicalities of it. So, in theory, all builds released after the polishing stage (v0.8) should be compatible with each other.
Will the game be fully playable at the v0.9 Steam release?
Yes! All core features, all basic mechanics will be in and ready for you to enjoy. Content-wise? Supposedly, you'll have about 65+ hours of surviving, life-simming and sinning.
So, this is set in stone—Deluded will be on Steam. We can’t yet provide the exact release date, but it’s happening no matter what.
That’s all dandy and delightful, of course, but! We'd like to also address some news circulating about Steam no longer allowing Early Access for adult games. Some devs with their new games have been affected, having to suddenly change all their plans, while others, especially those with a longer Steam publishing history, classify this as rumors.
Does this mean no EA for Deluded? We… don’t know, actually. Only submitting the v0.9 build itself will clear things up. What we do know is that Steam hasn’t changed its official rules (yet?) and the decision on the EA for adult games is made on a case-by-case basis.
Regardless of Steam’s future decision, just know that if we have to skip EA, prolong our dev timeline or even split the game into parts—this is not our choice and was never our intention under normal circumstances. We’ll take any actions necessary to sustain the development and adapt to the new conditions that, frankly, seem to get worse for adult media every day.
And in order to not end this post on a sad note—remember that Deluded will thrive and outlive any potential censorship only if you continue to give us your love and support, which you’ve clearly given us a lot already!
Deluded does not have any investors or publishers—just the community of enthusiasts who believe in us and support us in every way they can. We rely on you as much as you rely on us. And we’re eternally grateful!
Anyway, I hope this sheds some light on Deluded’s open world and what you can expect from it! Anything else you are itching to ask about in the comments?
Yours faithfully,
Lantsova