Why don’t I get the option to get Zvad’s friend to train the rebels of I bring the helots?
@olo17jr I’m not certain, but I’m pretty sure that it’s impossible to get her to join you initially. I haven’t on any of my playthroughs, and haven’t seen anyone be able to get her to join. However I suspect that she’ll reappear when the rebellion is further along
@Havenstone
I think that instead of having in app purchases for your sequels, you should have them published completely separate like Choice of the Vampire. That way, they can be judged separately and it’s more noticeable.
-If- Breden is the spy, then the MC isn’t her target. She’s hunting for bigger game than the MC, the MC is just being set up to launch a little rebellion which can then be used to justify even more draconian government policies while pruning the most disloyal helots and nobles. As @Havenstone stated previously, Karagon thrives on slave revolts, as long as they don’t get too frequent or large-scale. Harrowing simply transfers slaves from labor to capital.
In addition, Breden’s being chosen for the harrowing could have been a mistake where the empire’s left hand didn’t know what the right hand was doing, or maybe someone wanted to get rid of a rival or overly ambitious underling. Nevertheless, while I can construct a plausible scenario in which she’s the spy, I consider it unlikely.
@Havenstone, the ability to demonstrate your bravery and precocity as a kid – when not about to be eaten by Plektoi, sounds good to me. I’m willing to concede the mortal terror in the presence of the Pletoi
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@Havenstone
I just realized that you’d never see my comment through this sea of feedback without me tagging you directly:P basically I love your writing style, the plot is amazing, the characters have distinct personalities, the whole thing is really in depth and well thought out, my choices actually have a big impact, and it’s a long book. The only problems I have are that I think the stats should be more dynamic and I believe that we should have 3+ choices each time, as opposed to the usual 2. If either one of those problems were fixed, I’d give it a 5, and if both of them were fixed then I would happily proclaim this the best interactive novel I’ve ever read, and I would pay whatever amount you choose to sell it for. This is so good it inspired me xD
@Havenstone ok, i accept my character strange moment of non sense, for that ugly homeless Breden , was caused by some poison mushroom, she ate with hid cousins .
Also thanks for add other factors than the love & peace for helots. Your game would be great, in Spain we valour over ten, so i could give you a minimum of 8.
And i expect babies and poison assassination in further games. How much i would love the political battles and betrayals.!
there could be in future, any possibility of help empire against other rebels from other provinces?
@Everyone: don’t worry, I do actually read all the feedback, whether or not I’m tagged. I’m just splitting my time between responding on the forums and actually editing/writing the game. 
So even if I haven’t answered your specific point, fear not, it’s been read. You only need to re-post something if you don’t see the change you want when I roll out the next major update…
@DJ_CUTY, I did see your earlier post and appreciated both the praise and the advice. Can you point me to any spelling/grammar errors you found, or have those been fixed? I don’t know that I’ll always go for a 3-choice rule, but I agree that the stats should be a bit more dynamic. (I was originally conceiving Game 1 as a 6-chapter arc, and as the first three chapters have expanded, I probably haven’t added enough opportunities to change the visible stats as opposed to invisible ones like credibility and morale).
Picking up a few specifics from random points in the thread, as evidence that I’m reading them:
* The MC is 19 when the rebellion begins. You don’t know how old Breden is, but it’s in the same ballpark.
* I considered a sincerity check in Ch 1 (you tell Breden that you care about x… but really you care about y!) but my first reaction was that it would add clutter to the game and be a real headache to code. Considering it now, though, maybe it would work if the only sincerity check came if you picked “I care about helots and Harrowing.” On the other stuff, there’s no particular reason for you to be insincere.
* Regarding the speculations on Breden’s/your/somebody’s pregnancy, the herb mullow (which effectively sedates the homunculi in both male and female seed) makes pregnancy a choice in this gameworld. (You may or may not have noticed that getting knocked up is conspicuously missing from the reasons for chastity in Ch 2). I don’t intend to write the choice to have a kid in Game 1, as I think reasonable MCs will concur that it’s not an ideal time…
* I understand people not liking CoGs that tell them how they feel. In general, I’d like to let the reader determine their emotional reactions – but I will break that rule from time to time. (More so in the flashbacks than I will going forward). One example is that initial moment of attraction to Breden, and the relief of finally being able to speak the truth with him/her. Another is the MC’s deep anger (and its roots in various family resentments), which is for me a major part of what makes them a plausible idealistic rebel. All of this is a key part of the answer to, “What kind of lunatic character would launch a rebellion against an unbeatable Empire?” Feel free to call me on it where you think it’s derailing your enjoyment, though.
* Way back when, FG commented that it was hard to follow the time-jumping in Ch 1. As an experimental quick fix, I’ve tried adding headers at the beginning of each section, SPRING, SUMMER, and AUTUMN – is this helpful? Too obvious?
* There is no way to keep Sybla the weapons trainer in the band in Game 1. She sees too clearly which way the wind is blowing. @FortunesFaded is right that in Game 2, if you make it that far, it’ll be a different story.
* Archon Phrygia is in her late middle years, but she has some very close family members who may appeal to you in Game 2. Very strong Shayardene nationalism will be a turn-off, however, as the Leilatou are nothing if not cosmopolitan/ assimilated, and have no interest in e.g. a monarchical restoration. Unlike another faction whose young rep has appeared in Ch 1.
* Smuggling with Alaine used to only be an option you got in the post-raid menu, and I haven’t adapted the text enough yet to differentiate what happens if you smuggle in the depths of winter from smuggling in early spring. I’ll make some more differentiations based on the feedback so far.
* I’ll include the option to give the pre-emptive order, “if they’re noble or Imperial, kill them at once,” in Ch 3. It’s just a shortcut to the harshest reaction you can have in the Kalt path, anyway – you get barely more info if you insist on “finishing what Kalt started.” You can leave their bodies as an example at the nearest crossroads, or something.
* Finally, yes, the purpose of many of the edits I’m envisioning will be making it easier to be a “noble” who cares passionately about religion or nation but not at all about the helots, and is purely using them to get the rebellion off the ground. I agree that that’s a critical choice to have available, and the current draft is too skewed against it.
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I can’t wait for an update into the next chapter!!!
@Havenstone
I think they were all corrected from what I’ve read of the feedback. I understand that sometimes only having 2 choices is necessary, and that sometimes having more than 2 would over complicate things, but I just think that having 3 choices makes there more variety and it makes the reader feel in charge, as opposed to feeling forced into some choices. For example, when you decide how trustworthy you think Breden is, you can only say that either she is the only one you trust, or you don’t trust her at all…I would prefer a middle ground. Even if you don’t choose to add more choices, though, I’ll still give it a 5 as long as the stats become more dynamic, and I have to say that I’ve never given one of CoGs books a 5:P I’m a really strict but fair rater but this is one of the best things I’ve ever read. I love how the mc is the captain of the rebellion, because most of the interactive novels I’ve read put us in subservient positions. Might I add that I think it spices things up to add illustrations…if you don’t add any, it won’t hurt the quality at all, but if you do, it boosts it in my opinion.
I saw you comment on a forum about games people were working on and decided to have a play. It was incredible, what a great story keep up the great work!
@P_Tigras My two problems with the idea that B is a spy who led you into revolution as part of a larger plot:
A. It’s entirely possible you’re playing a noble with zero charisma who chickened out and seemed to want nothing to do with a rebellion from the moment she introduced you to her friends on. Even if you’ve been an active part of her little dissident circle, it seems a one in a thousand shot you’d be able to successfully start a rebellion on that day. I can’t believe that what happened was actually something she planned for.
- If she can get word to the aristos you’re raiding to warn them to up the guard, she should be able to get word to the authorities to come flush you out or, barring that, to prepare an ambush when you try to raid the garrison.
2a. Possibly she’s waiting for your rebellion to get even larger, but it seems like by the time you’re actively sacking estates and raiding garrisons, she’s let things get as far out of hand as she safely can.
2b. If she does want to let your rebellion become flypaper for even more dissidents before shutting it down, why warn the aristos at all? Why not just lay low and not risk being found out until she’s ready to spring her trap.
Point 2 would apply to any actual secret police in your band, and this is part of why I think the father is a more likely suspect. He narced out your friends specifically so they’d stop trying to drag you into trouble and, now that things are have gotten out of hand, he’s trying to find a way to shut the rebellion down and minimize te damage without actually getting you killed. My thoughts anyway.
As for how he knew about the secret meetings; well he saw you hanging out with that troublesome new helot and he and his friends had been watching her and her friends.
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It seems like most people chose an artistocrat as their first choice of character? Would that be about right? What is it that makes that option more appealing than being a helot? Is it the way it’s chosen or just the story itself seems more interesting for a noble than a helot?
I like Breden, traitor or not, I find them a very compelling character. There are little moments, about how overjoyed they were to see Radmar, it rang a little false, and I’m not sure why it should. The fact I never got to ask who they were looking for in the crowd of the harrowing. I know nothing about their own past at all, only that this charismatic young helot showed up. The jealousies. Oh Breden’s far from perfect, a very flawed character, but I like them. I do hope they aren’t the traitor, I strongly suspect that they are and if they are I want some redemption.
I’d rather no babies. It’s not safe to have children. One of the things I disliked about Choice of Romance was the way it handled your children. They were just there, without personality, a goal which very little was actually done with. It seemed we were far more focused on having children than actually looking after them. I suppose it depends on the time frame of the game though. We’re at the front of a war, even if we were to find a baby it would make far more sense to get someone else to look after it. What sort of life would the child have?
I do like the idea of politics and scheming though.
I don’t like the idea of pictures, because no picture is going to portray the characters like I have in my mind. I find that disconnect can be somewhat jarring. It seems needless.
@FairyGodFeather
I actually chose to be a helot, because in interactive novels I choose not what I think is necessarily the most glamorous choices, but what I can relate to most.
@FairyGodfeather My first several playthroughs were Helot theurges, trying to see how successful I could be with various steategies. I’ve done noble playthroughs too, but I feel less viscerally involved as a noble. As mara and Drazen have noted, the noble seems motivated primarily by a sort of bland liberal piety. And while I’m full of bland liberal piety in real life, I find the violent revenge fantasy path more entertaining.
I hate commoner in games, so no i never would be a helot.
@Wonderboy lol
I congradulate you for making the site’s administrator type “lol” on a discussion.
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I chose to play a noble on my first go, because I wanted to see what would motivate someone who is, theoretically, from the privileged class, to rebel. I thought it would be a more interesting story than the usual underdog story. It also adds a layer of complexity to the game, as the base of the rebellion is naturally the oppressed class, to whom you are an outsider, if not an actual oppressor. It also makes for a potentially more naive character, who have not experienced the hardship the helots had, and thus can be more idealistic and compassionate.
@Wonderboy this moment shall go down in CoG history, and you shall be known as a hero - nay! - the Savior of the Human Race.
@Fortunes Faded I meant the the option to get her training was not present on my playthroughs where I brought the army of helots with me instead of just the MC’a father and Breden.