Multiple Promise Ring support

[ThePotatoGuy]

This will serve as the main issue for #5271 and related

problem:

We have a lot of rings but are not using them. This is because of a variety of issues:

• should additional rings be swappable as promise rings?
• should more than one ring be wearable at a time (rings on different fingers or different locations on a finger)?
• how do we consolidate new promise rings with current promise ring users? do we allow a one-time change or more than once

solutions?

• ideally we would want users to be able to customize their promsering with whatever is available
• multiple ring support would be super cool but would be a disaster for artists (making rings for every finger/thumb)

[lunulae]

I'm all for being able to switch and customize at will, being someone who mixes and matches a lot of jewelry myself. But I do see how it might be something that could need some extra dialogue, since the first ring is likely something Monika is very attached to.

[multimokia]

ideally we would want users to be able to customize their promsering with whatever is available

I'm not entirely sure about this myself as I quite heavily disagree with it.

In terms of promise rings, I think a one-time change is probably the best option to do this due to the meaning behind it, so making them always switchable seems somewhat strange. The issue with this though is explaining it. How do you explain changing the ring, which, ideally is something with emotional investment in it.

Realistically speaking, the best approach in my opinion would be to take the submod approach, an rpy which overrides the current promisering sprites to custom ones should people wish to change (it also means we can release the sprites publicly for people to change if they want). This way custom rings aren't lost on updates and it doesn't really require any extra framework, plus it still keeps in mind the whole attachment and meaning idea to the ring.

Rings on different fingers I can see using a selector since there's no meaning associated, it's just normal jewelry so it can be swapped on the fly with selectors. Perhaps a sort of template for artists could be created to simplify their work? Would basically be almost like, stock rings on each finger. Would be a pain to create initially, but I'd think it'd take care of itself.

[ThePotatoGuy]

by users customizing their promiserings, I mean gifting the initial ring they want to use as a promisering. That would mean the current promisering would be changed to describe the type of ring it is (gray/metal band), and promisering would refer to whichever ring they gifted and said (via dialogue choice) that its a promisering.

[howltrek]

The romantic thing about the promise ring is that she will wear it and tie it up as a symbol of the relationship. For this reason, it would not be a good idea for the player to be able to modify or change it at all times, she would not want to get rid of her ring or trivialize it.

There may be a number of options for choosing the ring.

design

material

stone

and once chosen, the ring would be "created"

that way you would have control over the sprites that are created and that do not conflict with the others sprites in the game, it would also be romantic, it could even take a few days to deliver the ring to the game, to make the event of giving it to Monika very planned and create expectation for the player.

For older players, they might give the option to "reforge the Monika´s ring", that way the importance of the item would not be corrupted and it sounds like something acceptable to Monika.

[Justformas]

Realistically speaking, the best approach in my opinion would be to take the submod approach, an rpy which overrides the current promisering sprites to custom ones should people wish to change (it also means we can release the sprites publicly for people to change if they want). This way custom rings aren't lost on updates and it doesn't really require any extra framework, plus it still keeps in mind the whole attachment and meaning idea to the ring.

I understand the special attachment that may come with a Promise Ring, which is the logic behind a "one time only" reforge/regift for players who have already gave her a ring (people also might "upgrade" rings in real life).

However, despite that, I think a submod (if not a spritepack) could be a good idea for people who would rather not be stuck with one ring/reforge/regift.

Edit: Actually maybe a better idea is this:

• should more than one ring be wearable at a time (rings on different fingers or different locations on a finger)?

You could do that, but another idea is to just let Monika take off her promise ring while wearing another ring. Such a ring would simply not be called a "promise ring". Yeah some people may still not like the idea of Monika removing her promise ring even for that, but then in that case just let her wear multiple rings at the same time.

But either way, these "others rings" could look the same as the different versions of the promise ring, and just not referred to as a "promise ring". That way the special attachment associated with the actual ring you gifted her as a promise ring can still be there, while the player can still have Monika wear other rings.