Haven’t tried it yet but did you forget to mark it as updated because if you go to dashingdon it’s not their
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Hope my game adds some fun and adventure to your weekend! Unless you usually spend your time-fighting aliens or something- then it might seem like a more relaxing stroll.
Yet again, thanks for the reminder. I ALWAYS forget to do this. Done now.
Cheers to both of you!
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holy shit dude, how the hell do you write so fast
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Is this game going to focus on a linear story or an open-world RPG? Because my ideas flourish when it comes to open-world RPG CoG Games
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I try to maintain established habits, regular writing times and, sometimes, enter a deep focus where I sit back and find all these words have come out. I have a terrible caffeine habit too. Other times it is a struggle.
Weirdly, this last month has been a nightmare of real world issues and I thought I wouldn’t get much done. However, I found writing to be like sticking my head in the sand, a place to escape it all. This isn’t always the way.
But more important than amount of words is if people are enjoying the project- I hope you have torn up Zthullu in time for the revolution!
I find it hard to nail down what this is. This game is not ‘open world’ and it has a tighter (though still relatively loose) narrative than my previous game- but it is far from linear.
Although different paths will converge at times, so far we have 5 different job paths in the crawler, some very different from others, and these mix in with the rebel, royal and Basilisk paths. We also have an escape path to New Yiershee- where you will probably be an Ash Land pirate- although, you can also become the Abhidhar of Zthullu who I plan different events for.
The Patreon update, with the escape path to Brakka, has three outcomes- joining the Cold Pact, enslavement by the Cold Pact or merging with the New Yiershee path.
The story does pull you towards a possible conclusion but it is a twisting cobweb of paths and events which get you there.
Always happy for ideas, but don’t feel pressured to think of any. Just hope you enjoy this game, even if it is not as much to your taste as Green.
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I think there’s a bug with Sera’s demonrep stats as an etherneer.
Base demonrep is at 30, but allowing ruven to deal with it only halves it down to 15. The first work day demonrep check is >5 which is probably supposed to be >15
uberpossessed also seems to have been set to true by default
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Good catch, @yanphi - I have set uberpossessed to false and allowed Ruven to push back the taint to 15 rather than %- 50 and adjusted the later check to look for demonrep >20 in case you’ve picked up demon taint elsewhere. I raised it from your correct assumption of >15 just for a little leeway.
Going through my messy code is a big help. Things like this may well have slipped my notice without your eagle eyes.
Cheers!
EDIT: I’ll upload the corrections later.
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Will we be able to cleanse ourselves of the demon taint?
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For those who consort with demons, there will be a point of no return. I haven’t decided when this will be yet. I need to have a situation where the MC makes a very difficult choice if they want to go full-on demonic. The final act must ask you to give up something meaningful, to sacrifice something intrinsically precious, to confirm that you have fallen into the Darkness.
I find it difficult to play ‘evil’ in RPGs. I feel it resonates inside, a sort of numbness, when a certain line is crossed. When you know you have thrown away any chance at redemption, you start to play differently. We have yet to reach this point in A Shriek of Ash and Fire- though we are getting closer to it.
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UPDATE 4 (103K, 481k total- 13th October 2024)
This update is mostly events and stories, rather than game systems, concentrating on one of the crawler escape paths. Brakka is much denser than New Yeirshee. It has more issues. And more ways of handling these issues.
-Make a life in Brakka.
-Work in the mines, on the pit level, or in the gun towers on the crust.
-Visit the Gristle in the Bristles pub to join the Cold Pact and the bearded dwarves.
-Or join the actions of beardless dwarves and escaped human conscripts, deserters and wanderers to plan their escape.
-There are 4 missions for supporters of the beardless folk, to wreak havoc in Brakka. Or 3 missions to put the damn beardless in their place- making the scene very replayable.
-If you mess up you might die. More than likely though, you’ll be locked up to await a terrible fate as a slave in one of the Cold Pact’s crawlers, which will be a future playable path.
-Oh, and if you are a dwarf, you can grow a beard!
Any help with typos and bugs is much appreciated. I will resolve to fix any issues ASAP.
EDIT: Big thanks to @MrSpec84 for helping with typos and bugs.
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“There was a man… Watching me. Smiling at me. He… had no eyes… and snakes crawled all over his body.”
Well this charming lad seems like a polite young gentleman. I’m sure nothing bad will come from working with him and encouraging Sera to do likewise.
I do appreciate the comedy behind some of the messages when you fail the check. Like the one where you somehow fail to spread the Basilisk among the machines. Even funnier that code diving shows you get rep anyways, meaning it still gives you props for effort even when you’ve done fuckall.
The Basilisk watching my halfling Dim W. Itt screeching into a pipe as several passing guards watch in concern: well at least he’s trying?
Speaking of, I do like the concept of the basilisk, from its “infecting” of the mechanisms (very Broken God esque) to the spirals(Uzumaki?). Properly executed eldritch horror is very rare; I’m curious to see how old basi will proceed.
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Thanks for playing my WIP. Love your comments and insights.
I looked this up- it is very appropriate. Can see the connection. My thoughts behind the Basilisk were for a man-made god in an age of new technology, when the old gods might be seen to have failed and made a mess of things. My main inspiration was Roko’s Basilisk- the idea that an inevitable superintelligence records everything before it has taken power. The only crime is to know about it and not further its inevitable coming into being, with no allowance for hindsight. Therefore, those who know about it may seek to act on its behalf with great fervency.
This is also why you get a bit of rep for trying, but failing. Your ‘intent’ is somewhat important even if you lack competency. At least for a while.
I love Uzmaki! I wanted a symbol for the twisting mechanism of destiny and thought a cog was too on the nose. Spirals have a certain resonance and this resonance leads back to Junjoi Ito. However here, spirals are more symbolic rather than used in all the creative ways we see in the manga.
The main focus of the wider story is the journey to the far west of the continent and the rising threat of revolution. With a name like Zthullu, I can’t deny an eldritch presence, though some playthroughs will skip the more eldritch touches. I am trying to create a setting which encourages several playthroughs.
Thanks a bunch for the thought-provoking comment. May Dim W. Itt (genius!) stand firm in the chaos of the waste!
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Man… this game is making it harder to come up with ideas unlike the previous one.
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No worries, mate. I know your ideas thrive in an open-world environment. With the way this game is shaping up, it will probably end up being 2 books. In the second, we will return to Arbit/Behatland, rather than the toxic wastes of Zthullu, where your ideas might find more purchase. Here, your MC will bring the legacy of the revolution back home, to Grandardgard, coming into contact with many of the nations on the continent.
Always happy to hear of any ideas you come up with.
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Does the etherner path end after Silent Hall meeting?
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Hi Yen Lag,
It shouldn’t end there. Depending on your choices, you will get options to hunt down Coireal and Vin. You will get the options to take some classes for extra skills. You can still engage in your duties although, since your MC now knows what they are doing, they just go about their duties to kill time before the arrival at Fort Arc.
Choosing to work your duties, if under the influence of the Basilisk, will result in you just doing what you must, lacking other option. Already, your MC’s mind is not entirely their own. However, the time counter goes up. Once it reaches a certain level, you will arrive in Fort Ard. It is here that the demo ends.
During this part of the journey, the crawler is tense as it approaches Fort Ard and folks are looking forward to a bit of downtime.
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I see the issue!
It is because of variables from the Patreon build- I didn’t realise they were here. The current DashingDon version is using the old scene file.
I will modify the new one to work on DashingdonDon and upload up in a few minutes. Thanks for letting me know!
I will update this post once I have uploaded it.- Just to check, this is the DashingDon version you are playing?
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Patreon Early Access Build, update 4.5
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Gotcha! Okay. The error is an old one- rebelrprime does not exist in the new version just rebelprime. It is very odd!
I will reupload it to the patreon version just to make sure.
Hi mate. Have sent you a message. The Patreon version lets you enter Fort Ard.
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