I have to say, this is one of the most impressive and engaging works in progress I’ve ever read. I’ve gone back and done about four different routes now, and I’m continually impressed by how much branching and variation there is!
One thing I can’t quite seem to figure out: is it possible to be named Lord-Protector and also ‘succeed’ in the investigation on the Royalist path? It seems like Raith survives every time if I figure out the truth, and dies if I fail.
I also really like this game, and while I haven’t decided which path will be my canonical and primary one, I’d like to ask if it’s possible to become a lich through the Yonder or Ghoul paths?
Also, what romantic options exist for the Brakka-Cold Pact?
Ok, caveat not a graphic guy, kinda dislike doing it. Also extremely late to this but:
I agree that the old title looks a bit bland, and I do like the idea of the faces. However, I think having a bunch of tiny floating faces looks a bit off-putting. I think it looks better if you make the faces bigger, different sizes and push it into the background behind the vehicle. Think the vehicle driving forward from the cascade of faces. If you need visual example think Marvel Avengers Endgame posters type:
That would look really awkward on the small horizontal banners, I’d think.
They’ll always be ready for the traitors if the king doesn’t ignore your correct input, assuming I’m reading the code correctly.
Massive appreciation for giving my game a go and indulging in several playthroughs. For me, the value of this game is in its replayability and exploration… although I think I’ve fizzled my mental fuses lately, making it this way. Your comments have really put a smile on my face and caused one of those fuses to sputter alight again! As for your question…
@BismDweller (thanks for looking) has it correct, I think. One of the issues with creating a large game is that my leaky brain cannot recall everything, and I have to read through older sections when starting new ones just to get a sense of the lay of the land.
I have skimmed through the code. It is complex here, and the sections are very long. I’ll have a deeper dive, and if I find another way, I’ll let you know.
Big thanks for playing and supporting my game. Also, congrats on your first post.
Yes, the Cold Pact path mostly lacks romantic encounters. This is deliberate; I wanted it to be ‘colder’. But we have a few isolated ‘romantic’ encounters.
As a Yonder, we can have a romantic interaction with Frans in the Ashlands. As a dwarf, with Stalag. When you are a ghoul, you get a weird ‘mental tussling’ as a reward with either Signy or Malachar.
Slaves may have been ‘pickled’ by Pickles.
But… I will give you a spoiler.
This is not yet available, though it is planned.
Some of you will have already met Pickles, the whimsical ghost. Well, everyone on the Cold Pact path will meet her. As a reward, or as a way to appease, Malachar will gift Pickles a body, male or female, crafted from the fresher corpses on the crawler. The lich knows you are young and assumes you are susceptible to carnal pleasure, even if enshrined. Pickles will join you in their new body and will be able to ‘ghost walk’ out of it. You can be ‘friends’, and you can also go further. The ghost is always up for some mischief, to make up for all the times they missed when alive.
Your idea is similar to mine. I saw an old poster for The Empire Strikes Back, where the faces are arrayed around a vehicle (possibly, but not necessarily, a Star Destroyer). I am limited to the images I’ve already drawn, as it would take me a very long time to make new ones for every character.
I could have larger images, overlapped by the crawler. The faces certainly couldn’t be any smaller than what I have now, since the images would degrade (I use Aseprite). But they make a neat ‘ring’ around the crawler, at the current size.
Yes, I’m not sure what to go with yet. As @LiliArch says, I need to be conscious of smaller banners, which may only be of the crawler. Or, just a few larger faces in a different arrangement. Some of the smaller banners may just use one of my in-game character images.
It might be coincidental, but I have noticed a slight pick-up in interest since I added the faces…
For now, I am keeping them so I can concentrate on finishing the writing. Part of me hopes everyone will grow familiar with them on the cover and then… magically like it. My cunning plan.
To be sure, the title cover is not decided yet.
Cheers to you all!
EDIT: @Altex_Zin Oh, I forgot the second part of your question about the lich. Yes, as a ghoul or Yonder… Though you’ll be an anomaly, a young lich! It may be too much to handle at first.
I don’t know if it’s a bug or a feature, but when I am captured by the Cold Pact after the Abhidhar path and become a ghoul, the Snake mage’s special skill does not disappear.
It is deliberate, though I agree, a bit more clarity could help. You still possess magic, though you cannot use it because of the runes. I’ve made a small change that will only be available after next month’s update, adding a line after the Snake Mage description stating you cannot use it.
Cheers.
Finished my second playthrough (first was a road pirate and this one was a royalist) and I think I messed up. What do I need to do to be able to side with Revira and is it even possible?
Hi @Casscass
Thanks for playing my game and giving it a couple of tries. Yes, you can side with Revira. You will need to be a Dispatch- it helps if you are handsome/beautiful, an elf or a halfing charmer-chameleon is good for this.
Something else that helps. When in Fort Ard, go to the plush club on the upper levels (as a Dispatch, they will let you in), avoiding the street celebrations and the pub with all the ‘common sorts’. Head to the back rooms and have dinner with her.
At the Fleet Meet, it’s best to let her handle things, even if she mucks it up.
Above all else, Revira likes to observe that her betterment is at the forefront of the MC’s mind, regardless of how badly it reflects on the player. It is not really loyalty she craves, but blind devotion. She feels it is her right due to her station, but more so due to her heritage, not the human part.
Always submit to her whims. Do not tell her father that she is guilty of the plot. When events unfold, she will become the Queen, and you her Lady or Gentleman-at-Arms.
Hope this helps!
EDIT: Revira may not always be so self-centred, though we will not see this until the sequel.
Stat screen suggestion: I think a reputation section could be useful.
Another bug dump.
The farmer’s deck, with the help of your seeds and a touch of etherneer magic, is blooming. 750 crates of supplies have been harvested.
The farmer’s deck, with the help of your seeds, is blooming. 500 crates of supplies have been harvested.
#Agree to give Cath 100 crates to clean the domes.
Those who died are remembered in the nightly prayer readings when Cath holds a service in honour of the Mother. Her followers accept their plight and are grateful for the extra supplies. You have also earned the gratitude of the farmers.
*set stores -100
*set discontent %+ 15
Was a little surprised that Kwikie didn’t help against the silver angels like she can do on the Royalist branch if we make the mistake of recruiting her.
Small typo in the latest update: #Yell for Squad 3 to push into the slaves and use them as living shields for whatever is combine for you. Any chance for a fling with Ironwill BTW?
We can keep talking with the Ash Troops as many times as we like. Success, therefore, allows us to keep raising Charm until the game starts rounding down.
Noticed a we places were attempted sabotage has the opposite effect. One example: "Instead of unleashing a plague of bad luck, your demon-possessed boggarts do far, far worse.
Around card tables, the nobles smoke, drink and boast. Until, when one displays his winning hand with a flourish, things turn bloody. The winner’s tongue is pulled from his mouth, yanked with enough force to split it from the root.
Screams of horror turn the gambling den into a panic. One boggart, crawling down the throat of another noble, who chokes and splutters, slides into his gut and eats his way out. To all watching, the poor man’s guts burst open to spill their contents over a table.
It is a massacre, though immediately hushed up. Nobles are not supposed to indulge in such… loutish behaviour among the commoner decks.
*set donegamb true
*set ddpop -21
*set royalrep %+ 20"
Something went wrong when I attempted to betray Avalina as someone held in high regard, think it might be this: “*set basktrusted true
*if (avabetraybaskquiet) and (avabetraybask)”
Agreed on the Reputation/Renown section. Didn’t really know those were tracked until I did codediving.
I’ve done several more routes now, but still not all of them! Possible bug on the Royalist path: It doesn’t seem possible to lock-in the Colonel Thrayton romance if you’re friends with Sera. Her discussion around the king’s coronation takes priority over his for some reason, so you don’t even get the chance to talk to him and lock in the romance or leave to go talk to Sera.
Massive thanks for these to both of you! I want to reply right now just to show my appreciation. Things like this really help! 
Here are some loot and crowns!
It is late on my end, so I will try to fix these tomorrow and let you know here as soon as I’m done.
The reputation suggestion is a very good idea. It is something I don’t think I can implement – my fault! 
Sometimes, during the game, I fiddle with values to make sure certain events promote one score above all others. This is often when matters get more decisive, based on previous values.
For example, if we reach a decisive point and I find the player has a higher rebel value, this will be enhanced to prevent the player from easily flipping the values the other way due to minor interactions, leading to dissonance in the narrative. A player can still flip, but it will take more effort before another decisive check. It is a concession I needed to make due to the complexity of keeping track of branches. I will confess, at times, I use sticky tape and string to hold things together, but this is supposed to be a secret.
This makes sense in story terms, but shown by the stats, I fear it will prove confusing to the player. The rep system here is a tool I use, rather than something for the player to track progress. Another reason I did this is due to the vagaries of the fairmath system, with which I can never be sure of the exact values. If I did it again, I would just use standard numbers.
What I have works in terms of the story, but I admit that having it configured in a way I could show on the stats screen would be an improvement. At times, I felt like I was on a tiny island and drowning in variables, needing to make a few life rafts. (This is me playing for sympathy!!!)
I might be able to add a limited reputation tracker, just stating which group holds you in the highest regard. How does that sound? (Note, this is something I will need to assess. I can’t promise this, but I can give it a look and try.)
I originally planned for Ironwill to be a fling. It would just be a fling; she’s married to the legion. But yes, I will add this to my notes, and you can consider it highly probable to see in the future. Not sure when I will do it; it might be after I have completed the Cold Pact path. I think I know a good place for it, too. Maybe, if I finish what I need to early before the end of next month, I might sneak it in there.
Again, many Ethereal blessings to you both. I’ll keep you updated when I smooth all the other issues out, probably tomorrow.
Excellent bug ranching!
A reputation tracker sounds fine by me. Many games, like Choice of Rebels and Lords of Infinity, show faction statuses through text instead of numbers. Rep seizes to matter anyway after we’ve chosen a side.
I eventually figured out that the simplest way for my etherneer to join the rebellion was to let the roaches stay independent (roachprime), sitting with them in the pub and joining the debate.
For the farmer bug, I went into double negatives:
*if (farmseeded) and not ((etherindy) and not (ethersupport)) -
Here, I had AND NOT ‘ethersupport’ (in the double brackets) = AND NOT, meaning ‘ethersupport’ became a positive.
I now have:
*if (farmseeded) and not ((etherindy) and (ethersupport))
Here, the AND before ‘ethrsupport’ connects it to the AND NOT. For those who are more savvy, feel free to correct me.
With Cath and the crates, I change the variable to *set discontent %- 15
Regarding Kwikie, when she comes aboard as a Royalist, she is more of an infiltrator instead of being part of a fighting force. As a Rebel, fighting is a condition of her joining you; as a Royalist, if she gets through the interview, she has done what she needed without throwing her goblins into the mix. She is out for herself. We can imagine that if the Royalists failed, she would switch sides.
Fixed the typo.
Added a variable to stop us from talking to the Ash Troops more than once.
Decreased royalrep, instead of increasing it, after the sabotage attempts.
With Avalina, I changed *if (avabetraybaskquiet) and (avabetraybask) to OR.
During the coronation, I have removed the check for wearing Bastion Armour. Now, we only need to have the (thrayro) variable working. To be sure, in order to become closer to Thrayton, we must have been an Ash Marine and joined the Bastion Knights – and then ‘tripped the light fantastic’ with him. Now, Thrayton will take priority over Sera, although Revira and Raith are above Thray.
Thrayton speaking to you during the coronation will not negatively affect anything with Sera. You will still get an option to speak to her afterwards, if you want.
Phew. Massive help here. Please note that the changes will be in effect after the next update, as I will have to reupload everything, which will mangle saves and introduce new errors that are not actually there.
I had reputation trackers in Green, available on the stats screen, with % bars and text. Yes, in hindsight, I should have used pure numbers with textual descriptions. I also have an issue in that the Basilisk’s reputation becomes an ‘all in’ or ‘all out’ due to its nature and will override other loyalties. It is definitely more of a tool for me, although, as stated, it would have been better to have approached it another way.
When looking through things, I might have to leave it as is due to sheer practicality. It is functional, and redoing it might well prove more trouble than it’s worth. My main goal is to squish the bugs, hopefully making a game that players can enjoy playing and replaying, and to finish the project. It has been a long journey, but the end of Book 1 is clearly in sight. My engine is running on fumes, but they are still plentiful, though I need to ensure I use them wisely for the finishing stretch.
I’ll keep everyone informed if I can change it in the future.
EDIT: Yes, the etherneers are a bit out of the loop of general politics. When you meet the Roachpedes in the pubs, either on the crawler or in Fort Ard, this is often used for ‘decisive’ points if what you say matches your general actions so far. It also allows us, in some cases, to flip.
As always, thanks to everyone for the support and help.
Played the Game after I discovered it last week.
I quite enjoy it. I do think that some paths are better than others. A quick ranking.
Ranking
Appreciate you giving my game a good few goes! I love how you ranked the paths and your experience with them—good feedback. For me, this is very interesting. Quite a few players have favored the Road Fleet/Snake Mage path above all others, perhaps those like me who imagine Mad Max-type scenarios. Great to get opinions on the Cold Pact route, too, since it is the newest.
The Basilisk Cultist path is quite different after Fort Ard. Cold Pact slaves also have a lot of events dissimilar to the Yonder and Dwarf legions’ paths.
I try to give each path its own flavor, though I know that players will have their own favored journey through the game. Still, I hope they, like you, can find entertainment exploring several paths.
I will make a note to check through the stats for the Marine route. Certain paths may need a little boost here and there when I go over it all one final time. Since I have ‘skills’ as well as stats, we should be able to get through if we play to our strengths.
EDIT: Good idea with the Investigation Progress screen being shown above the choice menu. I have made this change, and it will be in the next update, although I have also kept it as a stats screen to view anytime a player wants.
Will have to give the Bask Cultist and Slave Route a go, for example of the problem in the marine path, all of the Marine shift duties grant +5 toughness(Besides apologizing to Orc Friend which grants 2 +5 Toughness) compared to dispatcher ten plus to charm, I would prefer one to grant dex or at least ten toughness
I understand. A little buffing could be the order of the day. When I have a final read-through, I’ll also take a look at the other jobs on the Despair’s Demise.
With the Road Fleet and Cold Pact, I occasionally give big buffs, favouring a class’s prime state, at certain points in the story. I might also do this for the DD jobs. Good call.
Also, I added an edit to my last post. I like your idea for the Investigation Progress screen being available above the appropriate choice menu. This will be in the next update, later this month.
EDIT: The easiest way to become a cultist is to be a dwarf gadgetician, become an engine mate and then put on the Basilisk Helm. Role-play the choices to side with the cultist until Fort Ard. The best way to become a slave is to survive, to not be a dwarf and fail in the early Roaf Fleet path, or to get thrown in prison in Brakka. Do not work with Stalag in Brakka. Also, when you are a slave, if you try to fight back against Krayvas, you will… become a zombie and leave the path, joining another more similar to the Yonder and Dwarf Legion path (though still with its own events).
More of a general question: how do I get Shin to join the Cold Pact?
