O(r)ctober? Nice Orc Pun. Really, let me know what do you want to add
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@anon12679161
Iâm not sure about the demo and just speculating. Perhaps they wonât expect me to do it?
You have a very good point. I think I could end a demo at the end or start of one of the hubs, with some crossover paths taken out. My first upload here had the baborc, child and young adult path, with the freedom to travel, but without any of the paths which crossed into being a mature orc.
Hmm⌠I will have to think about it!
Hi Patrick,
I am not sure what the reviewing process is. Perhaps a little tidy and sorting out any bugs that remained. No additions will be made at this stage as the whole game must have been posted the forums, which I did.
However, my orc friend, you can spread the Word of Krog! People must learn!
Good to hear from my long-time forum mates. Hope you are both doing well.
Cheers!
Edit: I must credit @Nevantyr with Orctober. I am pinching it and trying to get it to stick.
October is no longer. It is only ORCTOBER!
EDIT: @Basketball_Fanatic Thank you, my friend! Hope I find a fair few folks willing to give the green life a chance.
Best of luck to you too with your lore building. Iâm excited to see what you conjure up!
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LONG LIVE THE WORD OF KROG! Or toner is going to be hype. Congrats on the release date mate, good luck with sales.
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Hi mighty Orcs,
I have just received the content review and copyedited files!
As expected, the Cog and HG staff have done a fine job finding inconsistencies and bugs. It must have taken a long time considering it is not the smallest game. The style guide provided is great. It takes into account my preferences as well as correcting things; also, I have confirmed my incompetence at using the cursed semi-colon!
I have a large job ahead to smooth a few things over, shorten the wording of loads of choices, remove, or soften, some references to âtortureâ and enslaving poor orc pups. But nasty, mean orcs can still be nasty, mean orcs, just with more selective wording!
Undaunted, for the first time in an age I will again open up the files of An Unexpectedly Green Journey and rage with the horde into the heat of the night. For many nights to come⌠Hopefully, I will emerge atop Krogâs Rock, hardened and bloody, to ascend into the celestial realms of production in time for Orctober.
Me and this here keyboard are going to WAAAGHHH!
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Donât forget to playtest the copyedited version a few times once youâre done with changes.
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Hi Chance,
I know youâve been through this process before. I am nervous about running tests! Some parts of the game are patched together with string-and-tape code and I hope indents and things havenât been accidently moved. It will be a big pain to sort it out again.
The greatest amount of work will be in implementing the copyediting- I will try to stick to most of it to ensure QoL and smoothness- though certain things, like forcing in another choice when there are only 2, I will let slide. The reasoning here is that I have plenty of instances with more than 2 or 3 choices and many choices are hidden. Many of my choices will take your orc on dramatically different paths. I donât want to write entirely new events at this late stage. In a future DLC, maybe.
But, most of the copyedit changes will improve the âquality-feelâ of the game. This involves shortening choice text and page break text. Then there are a few dozen or so (maybe more over the 1.5 million words) instances of clarity within my writing. Next, a few bugs- not too many. A few of the bugs might not be bugs. Weâll see.
Lastly, I will fiddle with the wording for things flagged as inappropriate content, including some bits about torture and slavery. Here, certain events will need to be changed. For instance, I canât have your MC sticking orc pups in a sack to sell to Elf Slavers- I might, instead, have you stick a bony, old orc in a sack. Also, need to rename the Dark Elves. I am thinking âScorned Elves.â
To be completely honest, it does look like a mountain of work right now. It is something that will make my game better and far more polished. Already, I am arranging the hours of the coming week or so to find the times so I can get really stuck in.
I am hoping that one of those moments of supreme focus will take me. Like, put me in âthe zone.â Times like that, I can get quite a bit done.
Anyway, enough of me waffling my friend! Glad to see you back in these here parts!
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Mighty skull-splitting, axe-wielding warriors of the horde and mumbling, insane shamans of Krog, Orctober is fast approaching and nothing can stop it!
I have reviewed the copy edits and content notes and returned the files. Code for demo and trial version has been put in place. I think there are still a few meetings to be held on the CoG and HG side of things. A contract is incoming.
All the big hurdles have been passed. The green light at the end of the tunnel is blazing ever more brightly.
Not to tempt fate but I think we are all on track for the release. I will keep you all updated as it draws nearer.
EDIT: Just saw over here that the release date is set for 3rd Orctober.
Yes Orctober.
Not October.
Orctober,
Orc toe buh
Iâm trying to make it a thing.
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PRAISE THE GREAT GREEN TIDE! ORCTOBER IS COMING! Congrats mate, youâre almost there, hang in there
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Thanks, wise, fanatical shaman Basketball,
I do find financial and contractual things a massive source of anxiety. My brain shuts down. As a UK person, I had to delve into the âHis Majestyâs Revenue and Customsâ website to check and apply for certain things. This is an obscure, vague part of bureaucratic hell, full of jargon demons, that I wouldnât wish on the worst gits in the world. I imagine it is the same for all international equivalents.
Why canât we just press the buttons on our keyboards without worrying about all the other stuff? What a lovely world that would be! 
Big thanks, for the constant support, mate. Right back atcha too, for the world you are building!
Cheers!
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Lyrical shamans, this might be a bit off topic- but can you help the orcs remember the words to the Twelve Days of Orctoberâ?
The beginning goes something like this:
On the fifth day of Orctober, the Chief Git gave to me,
5 jugs oâ grog,
4 pointed ears,
3 longdrop bogs,
2 hacked off beards,
and a Runtling hanging on a tree!
The Twelve Days of ORC-TOE-BUH- SHAMELESS PROMO AGAIN! (Almost time!) : r/hostedgames (reddit.com)
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I posted this here already Hear ye, Hear ye⌠How do folks promote their games for free? - General - Choice of Games Forum - but I thought it might interest some of you who follow this thread too.
Update for those who want to know. I have posted in numerous reddit groups about Green, orc and goblin-focused groups (mostly warhammer stuff), a huge (almost a million strong) lotr group, interactive fiction and indiedev groups.
The most receptive group, apart from the great HG group, has been the r/gamebooks- a mid-sized group which loves choice in fiction. I do feel like a bit of an imposter posting in LotR and Wahammer-focused groups and feel like I am viewed as a self-promoting spammer. Which, I guess, is partly true. But I havenât had any negative encounters yet.
I have browsed through Discord and am clueless as to where to post. Bit behind the times here.
Not long now!
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Congrats on this long road to publishing!!! 
May the stars be ever shining on your path! 
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Thanks for the lovely sentiments! Though the nights are getting darker this makes those stars shine all the brighter. As long as the stars donât start falling on top of us 
Theyâd still be bright though, even then.
Know Iâve said it before, but big thanks to all of you who have lent me your support over the last 18 months.
For all of you!
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This yearâs prize pool, for the 2024 IFComp, will include 2 Steam copies of An Unexpectedly Green Journey! This is a rewarding way to use the keys HG sent me- but it also gets a few more people to see my game!
IFComp - Prizes
I also have a small competition on my Patreon, available to all members paid or free. An âAn Unexpectedly Green Journeyâ-themed, non-AI, art competition. I will decide which picture tickles my fancy the most and they will get a Steam Key- The deadline is September 25th, last submission 24th. NOTE- My judgement is based only on personal preference and does not mean any picture is âgoodâ or âbad.â I am not an artist.
I did this because I love all the fan art some games get (a Tumblr thing). I realise lots of this is due to more RO-focused games- but I felt sad and jealous and furious⌠and wanted to get my axe andâŚ
But instead, I thought âLetâs see if I can tempt at least one lovely picture from those artists among the horde!â
Orctober 3rd approaches my green friendsâŚ
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âŚyeah, I canât draw. 
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Haha! It is brilliant, something I imagine you can find scrawled in moss-sap and blood on many tribal tents!
Permission to exploit image, with or without attribution⌠? (Your choice) 
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Hereby dedicated to the public domain under CC0.
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Magnificent! Possible title spread for future DLC!
EDIT: @ChanceOfFire Considering I have a very low traction Tumblr- your masterpiece has become a star!!! Your picture is a little bit of magic, my friend. Infinitely charming.
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I have a question⌠Out of all of the Gods of this gameâs Pantheon⌠who is the strongest? That also includes the Crone of Fate (?)
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This is a good question. I will have to go back into the game files to make a list of all the gods so I can properly assess everything. This would be a good topic for an expanded Patreon post.
The powers of the gods wax and wane with the number and diligence of their worshippers. No single god is forever all-powerful. The Imperial Pantheon, at the height of the human Empire and not during the time of Green, was formidable as it joined many gods into a single focus of worship.
The Crone of Fates is an agent of chaos. There is no plan binding her actions, which may be inconsequential or world-changing. She defies worship and chooses to operate beyond the schemes of patron deities of other races.
Also, power to each god means a different thing. Warrior gods may be strengthened by mighty armies and displays of valour in the arena. Shadow gods may be strengthened by acts of thievery or illicit knowledge. Nature gods may weaken before the expansion of cities.
In theory, a world could be cut off from the gods if worship entirely ceases. Or new gods could be conjured in the depths of the ether if enough sought to revere a set of new attributes to personify in a deity. Likewise, old gods may be stripped of attributes, or have more added to their domain if worshippers are fervent enough.
In Green, you can of course make Krog the most powerful deity in the world. Or you can empower the Dark Pantheon. Before you do this, the Imperial pantheon is the most formidable.
The most enduring deity is the Mother, a sad goddess of healing. Since most species of the world have mothers, she will outlast most other gods. Everyone, at one time or another, will need solace from the horrors of the dark, when they feel at their weakest- though orcs will not be able to appreciate the Mother.
I will have to give this greater thought but would say there is no definitive answers. Though mortals are the toys of the gods, if all the toys refuse to play it leaves the gods redundant⌠until a brand new toy comes along pleading for a new game to be played.
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