Call to the Community about Onyx

So I know a number of people who read this journal are familiar with, and in some cases avid fans of, the sex game Onyx I’ve written. Some of you are even on the beta list, in fact.

I’ve just started work on version 3.1, which is intended as a free upgrade to 3.0. The principle goal of 3.1 is improved compatibility with Windows Vista and Windows XP 64-bit editions (I’ve had a number of complaints that it sometimes crashes or behaves erratically in Vista 64-bit), improved visual appearance under Vista with the Aero interface, improved compatibility with Ubuntu Linux, and minor visual cleanup under Linux generally. 3.1 will also improve memory usage slightly under OS X 10.4, thought that is honestly not a big deal; Onyx doesn’t have a very large resource footprint as it is.

I’m also going to be adding a handful of new features. The two biggest of these are likely to be a way to increase the size of the card display (for those of you who play the game gathered around a laptop), and a way to Opt Out of an action and also tag that action with “Never play this particular action again.” There will be a new menu item “Reset all blocked actions for this deck” as well.

I’m also likely going to double the number of cards in any one deck, from 400 to 800, if I can do it without too much rejiggering. Yes, I’ve had people write me and tell me thay’ve run into the 400-action limit, you creative bastards, you.

So: For those of you who already play the game and have some ideas about features you’d like to see now or in the future, here’s your chance to let me know! Respond here in comments, or in email at onyxbeta (at) symtoys (dot) com, if you have ideas, suggestions, or things you’d like to see. If you are not on the current Onyx beta list and would like to be, say so here or in an email; please include information about your computer platform, memory, operating system, and so on.

If you have never played Onyx but think you might like to try, here’s a special deal for you: Register the game between now and July 31 and get $6 off the normal registration price by using coupon code LJ-31BETA. Comment here if you’ve got ideas or would like to be part of the beta team. (if you want to see the 3.1 beta you’ll need to comment or drop me an email at the onyxbeta address.)

46 thoughts on “Call to the Community about Onyx

  1. Don’t have any useful suggestions šŸ™‚ Just would like to say that me hubs and I really, really, really, really like Onyx. Haven’t had a chance to play with my sweetie yet but hope to soon. Mmmmmmm Onyx.

  2. Don’t have any useful suggestions šŸ™‚ Just would like to say that me hubs and I really, really, really, really like Onyx. Haven’t had a chance to play with my sweetie yet but hope to soon. Mmmmmmm Onyx.

  3. It’s ironic (and really annoying) that I’ve been romantically involved with the creator of this game for nearly 4 years now and I’ve STILL never played it!

  4. It’s ironic (and really annoying) that I’ve been romantically involved with the creator of this game for nearly 4 years now and I’ve STILL never played it!

  5. Comment here if you’ve got ideas or would like to be part of the beta team.
    But of course! I love handing over control of my sex life to someone even more perverse than me!

    Wait… :-/

  6. Comment here if you’ve got ideas or would like to be part of the beta team.
    But of course! I love handing over control of my sex life to someone even more perverse than me!

    Wait… :-/

  7. Like 6 players isn’t enough…

    Can we have 8 please? I have a “team” of 8 ready to play once available (4 couples who flirt outrageously)…

    Also, I’d like a bigger board… To be able to fit the entire screen – cards that are much bigger.

  8. Like 6 players isn’t enough…

    Can we have 8 please? I have a “team” of 8 ready to play once available (4 couples who flirt outrageously)…

    Also, I’d like a bigger board… To be able to fit the entire screen – cards that are much bigger.

  9. Increasing the size of the card display and the card deck are the two things I’d like to see. I’ve noticed that I get quite a few repeat cards in some games. Increasing the number of players would be nice, too.
    And yes, put me on the beta list! Platform is an HP Pavilion dv6000. OS is Windows Vista, 32-bit edition. 1014 MB RAM. Processor is Intel T2080 @ 1.73 GHz.

  10. Increasing the size of the card display and the card deck are the two things I’d like to see. I’ve noticed that I get quite a few repeat cards in some games. Increasing the number of players would be nice, too.
    And yes, put me on the beta list! Platform is an HP Pavilion dv6000. OS is Windows Vista, 32-bit edition. 1014 MB RAM. Processor is Intel T2080 @ 1.73 GHz.

  11. Selecting partners

    I hope this isn’t too late to be read, but it would be really useful if players could select who they wanted encounters with.

    My girlfriend and I really like the game, but it would be fun if we could select who can do things with who. I know you can choose bi/straight/gay but if we find ourselves playing with another couple where we are both OK with messing around with either our signif. or the person from the other couple of the same sex there isn’t much we can do besides rolling a die to figure out who it’s going to be if the game chooses someone other than we’re OK with. It seems like it would be an easy fix and would allow for much greater control over the game.

    Besides that, awesome game. Thanks for making it. Many a fun times to be had in front of a flickering laptop.

  12. Selecting partners

    I hope this isn’t too late to be read, but it would be really useful if players could select who they wanted encounters with.

    My girlfriend and I really like the game, but it would be fun if we could select who can do things with who. I know you can choose bi/straight/gay but if we find ourselves playing with another couple where we are both OK with messing around with either our signif. or the person from the other couple of the same sex there isn’t much we can do besides rolling a die to figure out who it’s going to be if the game chooses someone other than we’re OK with. It seems like it would be an easy fix and would allow for much greater control over the game.

    Besides that, awesome game. Thanks for making it. Many a fun times to be had in front of a flickering laptop.

  13. minor thing

    as a 2.5 user I thought it’d be great if you allowed ladies to keep their bras on so they’re in Bra & Knickers for a while, I think you have everything just jumping straight to the knickers bit. Could be wrong but it’s a great game anyway – this is reminding me to play it again soon.

  14. minor thing

    as a 2.5 user I thought it’d be great if you allowed ladies to keep their bras on so they’re in Bra & Knickers for a while, I think you have everything just jumping straight to the knickers bit. Could be wrong but it’s a great game anyway – this is reminding me to play it again soon.

  15. I realize I’ve arrived on this thread a bit late, but my one suggestion ā€“ which may or may not be possible ā€“ is that the top right Fate space be replaced by a second Center Stage. Center Stage just seems more suited for this sort of group game, and Fate is a bit of a let-down if you land on it too much. Maybe I just like group sex too much.

    I also second the suggestion that users be able to pick with whom they want to have actions, as opposed to simply their sexual orientation. Perhaps there could be a sort of opposite bi-curious orientation if that’s not possible, for people who prefer same-sex actions but would perform opposite sex ones to a certain extent. But being able to choose partners would solve the issue much easier.

  16. I realize I’ve arrived on this thread a bit late, but my one suggestion ā€“ which may or may not be possible ā€“ is that the top right Fate space be replaced by a second Center Stage. Center Stage just seems more suited for this sort of group game, and Fate is a bit of a let-down if you land on it too much. Maybe I just like group sex too much.

    I also second the suggestion that users be able to pick with whom they want to have actions, as opposed to simply their sexual orientation. Perhaps there could be a sort of opposite bi-curious orientation if that’s not possible, for people who prefer same-sex actions but would perform opposite sex ones to a certain extent. But being able to choose partners would solve the issue much easier.

  17. I also realize i’m coming in a bit late, but….

    Perhaps an option to turn off Opt Outs and/or money? Allow each player to purchase one tile per trip around until they’re all done? I mean, if you’ve got an open enough group, Money & Opt Outs are only there to maintain a pretense, because i’m fairly certain we can agree that the game is mostly a delivery system for the cards, right?.

  18. I also realize i’m coming in a bit late, but….

    Perhaps an option to turn off Opt Outs and/or money? Allow each player to purchase one tile per trip around until they’re all done? I mean, if you’ve got an open enough group, Money & Opt Outs are only there to maintain a pretense, because i’m fairly certain we can agree that the game is mostly a delivery system for the cards, right?.

  19. Suggestions

    Love the game though sadly I have to play it on my own.
    Here are a few suggestions.

    1.I agree with the other commentator about leaving the bra on.
    2. The fate cards have far too much verbiage.The suggestion of replacing it with another centre stage is worth considering.
    3. Although it may be technically difficult, I like the idea of the scenarios matching to the rooms landed on.
    4.Sometimes when landing on a room , the owner seems to pay the penalty. This seems wrong.

  20. Suggestions

    Love the game though sadly I have to play it on my own.
    Here are a few suggestions.

    1.I agree with the other commentator about leaving the bra on.
    2. The fate cards have far too much verbiage.The suggestion of replacing it with another centre stage is worth considering.
    3. Although it may be technically difficult, I like the idea of the scenarios matching to the rooms landed on.
    4.Sometimes when landing on a room , the owner seems to pay the penalty. This seems wrong.

  21. CArd Editor

    Please provide a means, either via the game or online, for peeps to exchange custom edited cards or decks!

    Thanks

    Oh…another thought. To have Onyx able to play across the internet and with webcams!

  22. CArd Editor

    Please provide a means, either via the game or online, for peeps to exchange custom edited cards or decks!

    Thanks

    Oh…another thought. To have Onyx able to play across the internet and with webcams!

  23. How to Run Onyx3 on Linux

    I noticed a disheartening lack of instructions or even hints on how to get it running in linux.

    I’m an Ubuntu user. (8.04 Hardy Heron.) I don’t even know what GTK really does, although I supposedly just installed it using googled instructions. Also installed Gnome core in case it runs on Gnome.

    Then Onyx…

    (1) undid the tarball (tar.gz), got various files in a folder
    (2) includes a “onyx3.application” executable file that doesn’t execute when I double-click it.

    I’ve never seen a “.application” file in linux. Google fails at telling me what to do.

    I’m really at a loss. Please assist? And include at least some sort of helpful directions or links in your help file for the next version?

    • Re: How to Run Onyx3 on Linux

      What Linux distro are you using?

      You should just be able to double-click on the .application file and have it go. Some distros (I’m looking mostly at some versions of Ubuntu here) ship without the standard libstdc++ library installed, for reasons I can’t quite fathom; for these versions, double clicking the applicationwill seem to do nothing, but if you look in the system console, there will be a message about a missing library.

      You can fix this problem by running

      sudo apt-get install libstdc++5

      from the terminal. That will install the missing library. As far as I know, Ubuntu is the only Linux distro that ships without this library.

      • Re: How to Run Onyx3 on Linux

        Great! That was the missing library, it runs now upon double-clicking. =D

        (As I did mention in my original message, mine is Ubuntu Hardy Heron 8.04. Looking at the library title, I guess Ubuntu doesn’t like C++…!)

        A note for Ubuntu users might be grand in the next game/help file release. šŸ˜‰

        Regards,
        Odyssey

  24. How to Run Onyx3 on Linux

    I noticed a disheartening lack of instructions or even hints on how to get it running in linux.

    I’m an Ubuntu user. (8.04 Hardy Heron.) I don’t even know what GTK really does, although I supposedly just installed it using googled instructions. Also installed Gnome core in case it runs on Gnome.

    Then Onyx…

    (1) undid the tarball (tar.gz), got various files in a folder
    (2) includes a “onyx3.application” executable file that doesn’t execute when I double-click it.

    I’ve never seen a “.application” file in linux. Google fails at telling me what to do.

    I’m really at a loss. Please assist? And include at least some sort of helpful directions or links in your help file for the next version?

  25. Re: How to Run Onyx3 on Linux

    What Linux distro are you using?

    You should just be able to double-click on the .application file and have it go. Some distros (I’m looking mostly at some versions of Ubuntu here) ship without the standard libstdc++ library installed, for reasons I can’t quite fathom; for these versions, double clicking the applicationwill seem to do nothing, but if you look in the system console, there will be a message about a missing library.

    You can fix this problem by running

    sudo apt-get install libstdc++5

    from the terminal. That will install the missing library. As far as I know, Ubuntu is the only Linux distro that ships without this library.

  26. Re: How to Run Onyx3 on Linux

    Great! That was the missing library, it runs now upon double-clicking. =D

    (As I did mention in my original message, mine is Ubuntu Hardy Heron 8.04. Looking at the library title, I guess Ubuntu doesn’t like C++…!)

    A note for Ubuntu users might be grand in the next game/help file release. šŸ˜‰

    Regards,
    Odyssey

  27. Card sharing and a suggestion

    Another suggestion for the next version of the game is to give a random option for the number of moves before an orgasm is allowed. This can provide some more uncertainty…

    And for the poster above, are you willing to share your deck?

  28. Card sharing and a suggestion

    Another suggestion for the next version of the game is to give a random option for the number of moves before an orgasm is allowed. This can provide some more uncertainty…

    And for the poster above, are you willing to share your deck?

  29. An Idea

    I know Iā€™m way late to this but I love this game and wanted to share my two cents. The one thing I would like to see is the ability to set the sex of the non-target player when using the card editor. I was thinking the token ā€œ%player1%ā€ could still be used for either sex but it would be great if a token like %playerf1% or %playerm1% existed so that roles can be better assigned in group play . I also think it would also be great if there was an Onyx Forum set up where people could share their game experiences as well as trade and share action card ideas. Thanks.

  30. An Idea

    I know Iā€™m way late to this but I love this game and wanted to share my two cents. The one thing I would like to see is the ability to set the sex of the non-target player when using the card editor. I was thinking the token ā€œ%player1%ā€ could still be used for either sex but it would be great if a token like %playerf1% or %playerm1% existed so that roles can be better assigned in group play . I also think it would also be great if there was an Onyx Forum set up where people could share their game experiences as well as trade and share action card ideas. Thanks.

  31. Sorry to come so late to the thread, but I love this game!

    Made a lot of custom cards, and tend to like my various ‘tortures’ and penalties to be based on actions the players make throughout the game or their lives (ie # ass smacks, ice cubes in the bum, minutes performing humiliating activity, most/least amt of money, etc. = # opt outs used, sex toys owned, time taken to make partner cum, etc.). I’d like to see these things tracked for each player (where possible) and able to be coded into the cards.

    Another idea is to give the timer a stopwatch function, allowing us to time how long it takes to perform a certain act, and base the consequences on the result.

    Would be really cool to keep the undressing aspect of the game going past ‘naked’ by including various lingerie options, which players would put on as directed.

    In addition to the other comments regarding size of decks, game cards, forums to exchange ideas/decks, etc., I also request the game board enlarged to take up the full screen and more squares added to make it a square shape more closely resembling ‘Monopoly.’ Also love the idea of having actions correspond to the theme of a property!

    Finally, a more elaborate ‘preferences’ section would be a welcome improvement, or give the option to add our own, similar to the ability to add props (see the Adult Friend Finder checklist for an example).

  32. Sorry to come so late to the thread, but I love this game!

    Made a lot of custom cards, and tend to like my various ‘tortures’ and penalties to be based on actions the players make throughout the game or their lives (ie # ass smacks, ice cubes in the bum, minutes performing humiliating activity, most/least amt of money, etc. = # opt outs used, sex toys owned, time taken to make partner cum, etc.). I’d like to see these things tracked for each player (where possible) and able to be coded into the cards.

    Another idea is to give the timer a stopwatch function, allowing us to time how long it takes to perform a certain act, and base the consequences on the result.

    Would be really cool to keep the undressing aspect of the game going past ‘naked’ by including various lingerie options, which players would put on as directed.

    In addition to the other comments regarding size of decks, game cards, forums to exchange ideas/decks, etc., I also request the game board enlarged to take up the full screen and more squares added to make it a square shape more closely resembling ‘Monopoly.’ Also love the idea of having actions correspond to the theme of a property!

    Finally, a more elaborate ‘preferences’ section would be a welcome improvement, or give the option to add our own, similar to the ability to add props (see the Adult Friend Finder checklist for an example).

  33. Trading cards

    Yes, I know I’m late to this thread, but…
    I was hoping to find an online community of Onyx lovers, and maybe find a group in my hometown (Mpls/St.Paul Mn USA) to hook up with. However, I do have constructive suggestion: Allow people to export/import individual cards or even decks. Then someone (I’ll do it if necessary) can set up a group somewhere to allow people to upload and download their favorite actions. Mix and match and the synergy of different ideas. Other than that, it’s a wonderful game!

  34. Trading cards

    Yes, I know I’m late to this thread, but…
    I was hoping to find an online community of Onyx lovers, and maybe find a group in my hometown (Mpls/St.Paul Mn USA) to hook up with. However, I do have constructive suggestion: Allow people to export/import individual cards or even decks. Then someone (I’ll do it if necessary) can set up a group somewhere to allow people to upload and download their favorite actions. Mix and match and the synergy of different ideas. Other than that, it’s a wonderful game!

  35. Ideas

    Create a community form accessed through the main Symtoys site.
    Include the abilty to exchange custom cards. Perhaps as basic as exchanging emails
    Add the ability to play remotely/online. Possible even leverage many existing apps.
    Add webcam support if online ability was added.

  36. Ideas

    Create a community form accessed through the main Symtoys site.
    Include the abilty to exchange custom cards. Perhaps as basic as exchanging emails
    Add the ability to play remotely/online. Possible even leverage many existing apps.
    Add webcam support if online ability was added.

  37. So are you saying there is only one right way to be sex-positive? =P

    To me, being sex-positive means that I view sex as an inherently positive force. Not just non-negative, as in “there is nothing inherently wrong or dirty or degrading about sex”, but that it is inherently positive, like happiness or freedom or health or being alive are inherently positive.

    We don’t pile on disclaimers or say stuff like “freedom is not inherently *wrong*, as long as free people never commit any crimes” and I see no rational reason for treating sex like that either.

    To the extent that cultural norms proclaim that sex is non-positive, for me sex-positivity is also about dismantling those cultural norms.

  38. So are you saying there is only one right way to be sex-positive? =P

    To me, being sex-positive means that I view sex as an inherently positive force. Not just non-negative, as in “there is nothing inherently wrong or dirty or degrading about sex”, but that it is inherently positive, like happiness or freedom or health or being alive are inherently positive.

    We don’t pile on disclaimers or say stuff like “freedom is not inherently *wrong*, as long as free people never commit any crimes” and I see no rational reason for treating sex like that either.

    To the extent that cultural norms proclaim that sex is non-positive, for me sex-positivity is also about dismantling those cultural norms.

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