A Long Journey

A Long Journey

Marvellous Lunatic

Version: v0.8.1

4.1/5 - (22 votes)

Game Info

Description

A Long Journey: Desolation, Desire, and a Fight for Survival

A Long Journey by Marvellous Lunatic isn’t your typical sci-fi survival story. Sure, it throws you into the unforgiving expanse of space aboard a malfunctioning colony ship. But beyond the fight for survival, it explores the intense emotional and erotic bond that can blossom amidst isolation and despair.

The year is 2048. Earth is on the brink of collapse, and you, a brilliant young software engineer, have chosen to escape its suffocating reality. You’ve boarded the colossal ark of the Hawkink Tech colony ship, a vessel carrying the hopes of humanity towards a new home. However, your journey takes an unexpected turn. A malfunction jolts you awake from cryosleep, far too early. Panic sets in as you realize you’re alone – or so you think.

Enter Riley. This fiery redhead, with a fierce glint in her eyes, is another colonist who has been awake for a grueling stretch of time. Months of solitary confinement have taken their toll, leaving her emotionally volatile and desperate for human connection. Herein lies the core strength of A Long Journey: the complex relationship that unfolds between you and Riley.

The liberal tone of the game allows your relationship with Riley to develop in a way that transcends traditional narratives. The vast emptiness of space and the uncertainty of your situation create a unique intimacy. Shared meals become sensual encounters, consolation turns to shared passion, and the fight for survival gets intertwined with a burning desire for connection. The lines between dependence and intimacy blur, and the boundaries between love and survival become a constant challenge.

A Long Journey isn’t afraid to explore diverse expressions of sexuality. Given the circumstances, traditional gender roles become somewhat irrelevant. The focus shifts to the raw need for human connection and the primal desire for intimacy in the face of potential oblivion. The game allows you to explore your evolving emotions towards Riley, be it a passionate heterosexual romance, a deep emotional bond that transcends traditional labels, or even a desperate grasp at companionship – the choice is yours.

The erotic elements of the game are woven organically into the narrative, highlighting the psychological impact of isolation and the desperate need for human touch. In the vast emptiness of space, your relationship with Riley is your only solace, your only hope. But A Long Journey doesn’t shy away from the challenges. Will your bond hold strong in the face of dwindling resources and the constant uncertainty of your fate? Or will the desperation of survival tear you apart?

A Long Journey is a captivating blend of survival drama, erotic exploration, and an emotionally charged love story. Can you overcome the challenges of a malfunctioning ship, the despair of isolation, and forge a connection that could blossom into something more? Step aboard the vessel and embark on A Long Journey where survival hinges not just on technical expertise, but on the raw power of human connection and the liberating embrace of desire. This game is not for the faint of heart, but for those who crave a story that pushes boundaries, explores the complexities of human connection, and delves into the depths of intimacy in the face of an uncertain future.

Trailer

Changelog

v0.8.1
Content
~ 1500 rendered and edited images
– 12 animations
– 9 high res vertical scroll images
– 4 high res secrets
– 28 SFX
– 1 Scene replay

QoL
– Option to filter onomatopoeia (written sounds)

Bug-Fix
– Fixed female voice handling (You might need to set it on more time after starting the game)

Important for Android
If you get the “App not installed” error you need to uninstall the old version. BEFORE you probably need to backup your user data. It should be located here:
storage:/Android/data/com.MarvellousLunatic.ALongJourney/files/userData
After installing you need to paste it there again. I haven’t had the time to investigate it further at the moment but I’ll pick it up again and check why it can’t be replaced like the last times.

v0.7.4
– fixed trainstation event for moving to trainstation dance club
– fixed save file loading for open choice dialogues

v0.7.3
Story
This episode is mainly focused on story progression. The plot is slowly moving to a key moment in the arc but there are still some challenges to tackle before the end of the first act is reached.
There is also some new fetishes included in this build. I made one of them optional in case someone doesn’t like it.

Content
~ 830 rendered and edited images
– 13 animations
– 2 high res vertical scroll images
– 3 high res secrets
– 3 new unique locations
– 20+ SFX
– 1 Scene replays
– 2 more joke segments for the hacking game.

v0.6.4
Bug-Fixes:
– fixed missing locations in fresh runs.

v0.6.3
Bug-Fixes:
– Fixed Tool-Tips

v0.6.2
Story
While driving the story forward to the ‘long’ term goal and turn the ship back around the episode is focused on the relation between Selene and Elios. A back and forth that needs to be addressed.
Content
~ 1000 images
– 14 animations
– 3 high res vertical scroll images
– 3 high res secrets
– 5 new unique locations
– 40+ SFX
– 3 Scene replays
– 7 more code segments for the hacking game (all jokes and ASCII art)
QOS
– more audio channels for more control over sounds (sex sounds, kissing and voice channel is split in female voice and male voice – no male voice yet)
– improved in-game message handling
– improved performance in free-roam mode (thumbnails for quick-navigation)
– improved performance in secret gallery (thumbnails)
– improved performance in replay gallery (thumbnails)
– reduced file-size by replacing old png / jpg images with webm images
– added more short-keys for in-game menus
– Vertical scroll images can be fitted to window-size
– More audio and visual feedback for the free roam DJ game
Bug-Fixes
– fixed hover issue on expanded quick navigation header
– fixed some audio-handling issues
– fixed Tool-tip not updating correctly

v0.5.5
– fixed spelling errors
– fixed vsi rollback issue
– fixed type speed
– ‘fixed’ trigger for episode 5 not appearing

v0.5.4
Story:
The new update will bring some more light on the other persons who are awake on this ship too. There will be more information on the background stories of each character and what might have happened before the departure of the colony-ship.
Content:
~ 600 rendered and edited images
– 11 animations
– 3 music tracks
– 3 secrets
– more SFX and Voice files
QOS Changes:
– enhanced audio handling which allows more channels
– added UI button sounds
– memorize playback speed of animations within a scene
– changed playback-speed range from [0.5 to 2] to [1 to 2.5]
– upgraded unity => better performance
– updated the messaging system a bit (new message indicator and notification sound)
– Improved UI for saving / loading
– preview images in thumbnail size are encoded in the save file (no more separate uncompressed full hd images)
– added some more audio functions
– changed audio on a few sections in older episodes
– added hint to settings, when changing character config / language selection to check the other setting as well
– added message to the free roam dj game
– changed some hints for secrets
– added builds for Linux (tested), MAC (untested) and Andoird (32 Bit, tested, quite slow, mouse hover tips don’t work // Couldn’t get 64 bit working, still looking into it)
Bug-fixes:
– fixed some grammar / spelling issues

v0.4.4
– Fixed unresponsive choice menus

v0.4.3
Bug-Fixes
– Updated webp library which hopefully will fix the c++ error
– Fixed issue when using input-key ‘g’ which started the DJ game
– Fixed migration error when users played episode one but not two (enablement for location ‘Dance Club’ was missing)
– Fixed Mini-game not hiding when starting scene replay while mini-game is running
– Fixed right mouse click opened sd menu while DJ game was active
QOS
– Added short delay between rounds in DJ game to help to distinguish between rounds
– Changed color of buttons when flashing in DJ game to help to distinguish between flashing and hovering
– Added tips after failed attempt at mini-games

v0.4.2
Content:
602 Images (8 vertical scroll images)
6 Animations (5 lewd)
3 Secrets
Mini-game: “DJ Controller” (2 Versions)
2 new location
~ 2500 lines of dialogue script
12 Soundtracks
file-size 1,28 gb (packed)

v0.3.2
– fixed language / translation handling

v0.3.1
– fixed memory leak
– fixed discord invitation link
– upgraded Unity version

v0.3.0
Content:
617 Images (8 vertical scroll images)
7 Animations (2 lewd)
3 Secrets
Mini-game: “Hacking”
4 new location (1 visible in free roam with a repeatable event)
~ 2300 lines of dialogue script
file-size 1,02 gb (packed)
QOS-Features:
Auto-play feature
New customizable UI Elements (Auto-play, Quick-Save, Load-Menu, Rollback)
Full support for custom translations (JSON file-format, translators are dynamically added to credits)
Reworked contact and message menu of the SD device into one menu
Fixed bugs and issues:
Contact menu handling
Skips/jumps when changing playback-speed of animations
Time progressed calculation
Same image loading
Various rollback issues
Various spelling errors
Missing UI elements after load
Starting new game while in a game session
Visit cryo capsule events of the first chapter are now non-repeatable
Added more expressions / methods to control the flow of the dialogue

v0.2.1
– fixed exception when loading save file while in choice screen
– fixed secret leftovers from test version

v0.2.0
~ 400 Renders
– 9 animations
– 3 scene replays in the gallery
– 3 secrets

v0.1.0 (Tech Demo)
Initial Release

Installation Guide

1. Extract and run.

If you’ve played the tech demo, I suggest clearing the save folder’s contents: %userprofile%appdatalocallowMarvellous Lunatic

Developer Notes

ABOUT THE GAME-PLAY
This game is a visual novel / sandbox. The first act will be quite linear and more in a visual novel style with only minor choices and with the second act, there will be more sandbox-elements and more dating sim elements.
The MC didn’t go alone on his journey but has a few companions (relation is configurable).
There will be some Mini-Games, but no grinding. I know there are people who don’t like mini-games in such games so they will be skippable with ‘cheats’.
ABOUT THE ENGINE AND FEATURES
The game is written in Unity but will feel very much like renpy. You may ask why not renpy then. Simple reason, I already knew Unity and C# and thought it would be easier for me.
Engine-Features (Implemented):

  • Non-Visual character-customization (name, relations, and other things)
  • Rollback
  • Gallery / Scene-replays
  • Achievements
  • Tasks / Hints
  • Mod-able translations / Add custom translations
  • Animations
  • Mini-Games
  • Quick-Navigation
  • Interactive map
  • kind of day and night cycle
  • many more

Planned Features:

  • more mod support for custom events, conditions, images, and more
  • auto translations (google phrase or neural model) (paid solution as Patreon goal)
  • more mini-games
  • updates as patches

PROOFREADING AND EDITING
osanaiko ( Thanks for your help and advises! )
REGARDING SUPPORTED OS:

  • Win64 – Target OS and tested. If there is a demand for a 32Bit version let me know.
  • MacOS – As i don’t have a MAC to test a build on it’s currently not supported.
  • Android – Tested on Android 11

FAQ

(Answers by the developer)

Will there be NTR?
No.

How to advance time?
Open the in-game menu by clicking on the “SD” button in the bottom left or right click or pressing “d”. Next to the time in the top of the menu is a clock symbol with an error. Click on this icon advances time by an hour. (Mentioned in the help menu)

Where are save-games stored?
Win: %userprofile%appdatalocallowMarvellous Lunatic

Is there incest?
Not at the moment and will be optional in two ways. First, the story is written in two scenarios that can be selected in the language menu. Taboo and non-taboo. Those are not simple replacements of names and relations but own dialogue lines to make both scenarios consistent. Second, romance scenes with these characters will be optional.

Why Unity?
Because I worked with Unity before and wasn’t into python development when I started developing the game. I also wanted to code my own framework for my own experience. However, the framework should operate very similar to renpy in terms of input and features.

Why sandbox?
Because I like sandbox elements. That simple. I want to make more use of it later in the development but I already implemented it. At the moment the story is kind of a linear introduction chapter while later episodes will give a bit more freedom. Also I wanted to be able to add some secrets and didn’t want to hide them somewhere in the dialogue. I also want to add some spare-time activities later in the game.

But it’s currently barely used. Just turn it off.
No. Because I like it. For me it also serves the immersion that the story takes place on a large spaceship.

Isn’t that a kinetic novel?
By the definition of f95 a game is only to be tagged as kinetic novel if there is no other input needed other than for advancing through dialogue. In this game however features minor decisions and will feature bigger decisions at a later point. There are also mandatory mini-games and free roam sections which need input too. Therefore by definition of f95 this is not a kinetic novel.
This has been discussed with f95 stuff.

Why Mini-Games? Can I skip them?
Because I like them. They can be skipped in the High-Tier Patreon build which is most likely not shared here.

Will there be grind?
No. There will be basic quests later on.

When is the next update released?
I’m not going to provide estimated release dates as the risk of not being able to make them is too high.

How many Love-Interests are there?
At the moment one. In the future there will be more (teased within the story). However, even now there are several lewd scenes with other characters in forms of flashbacks or in-game movies.

Preview

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