Hahaha yay! Laser tag!! Also it seems like Valentina/lady at the chinese restaurant needs to make a reappearance. 
But i also see all the sam stans who want a reunion (not until the next next update Iâm afraid!)
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I will accept Lasertag in lieu of a Sam reunion just this once 
Though I will apologize in advance for overanalyzing a brief Lasertag interlude in a Tennis Interactive fiction game. 
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HAHAH alright, excited to hear your analysis when Iâm done with the update
(Iâm of the opinion that any and all games could do with interludes! Reminds me of the rainbow bonus boss level in old school arcade games. Except with more plot)
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Huh, this thing is apparently 8 months old and I never tried it out. Possibly because Iâm allergic to sports. Letâs check it out anyway.
contains spoilers
Wow, Iâm like three pages in and dad is already coming off as an immense douche.
âno one from your high school team had never even come within sniffing distanceâ.
Iâve hit the first stat choice, so I went to check the stat description. My initial impression is that Strength and Agility are superior choices to Finesse and S/V, as the former affect non-match stuff whereas the latter are match-only. Also, Tactics doesnât show up in the skill glossary.
Rayyanâs pronoun is uncapitalised at the start of the sentence in the last paragraph.
âraucousâ, not âracuousâ
I did a few reloads, so maybe itâs dashingdonâs save sytems wonking up the works, but I picked the laugh option, not the ânext year Iâm winning thisâ after the match, so I have no word to be true to. Also, Iâm curious at what our ranking is at this point. Congratulations, you got me to care about (eugh) sports rankings.
I THINK âcoyotesâ should be capitalised here?
Iâm noticing throughout that pronouns following quotation marks are capitalised, even when itâs the same sentence.
HAH, I like Thalia. checks RO list Bummer. 
âpropositioningâ
Iâm rooming with Diego, so âHeâll be arrivingâ, not she.
âyour mother hadâ
I like chinese diner lady. Also, thank you for the âspiciness levelâ choice. I now have great hopes you wonât force me to drink coffee.
Iâm not sure how it works in the code, but itâs odd that in the form you can pick the same option more than once. Like, the same stat can be my greatest strength, something Iâm decent at, and something that needs improvement, all at once.
âPhysical assessmentâ
Uncapitalised pronoun at the start.
Unless they mean a different run, it was 5 miles long a couple of screens ago.
I take it the first two options here would require⌠high Charisma (Iâve 19) and dominant Flippant?
I THINK that first option is supposed to be âdoesnât go to wasteâ?
Also, Iâm taking that one. Sigh. When something inevitably goes missing, everyoneâs gonna think I did it, arenât they?
Hmm, my opinion of Rayyan during the flashback match was, âhe seems serious but nice.â That opinion is now under review.
Gotta confess that I thought the â24â answer here was just us making up a number, especially considering how the first option is worded. Maybe consider rewording the â24â one to get it across that itâs the real count?
I find the wording a bit ambivalent here. Is the advice to pace myself if I donât have BOTH Strength and Endurance high? Can I safely go all out if I have just one of them high?
Iâm not sure what that âHimâ is doing there at the start of the second sentence.
âhe immediately busies himselfâ or âimmediately busying himselfâ
The lunch banter a Valentinaâs is on point.
ânot as assured as your usual volleysâ
Dinner break.
5 Likes
Actually I think finesse lets you do the trick shots in beer pong.
Having your teammate proclaim âThatâs just a glitch in the matrix!â after I do a trick shot amuses me.
So if the scholarship doesnât work out for some reason a high finesse player could probably hustle pool to pay for college.
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And Iâve fed!
continuing, still full of spoilers
ârigid expectationsâ
Emerson and Jacksâs ranks are switched between the roster page:
and the match pairings:
I think that first option is supposed to be Strength+S/V, not just S/V (thatâs the third)
âHe pulls out the shoelacesâ
Not that I have an abundance of free time, but the reading list option doesnât consume an activity slot. If you pick it first or second, you get to do three things here. On the other hand, it also doesnât increase Intellect, and it feels like it should?
I donât know if you meant to interrupt Mikeâs calling out like that. Also, uncapitalised pronoun in the second paragraph.
Two câs in scroll.
You got âracuousâ here again.
Whoâs the she thatâs making that backflip here?
Absolute lol:
âLots of grungy, gritty male singers who sound like theyâve gotten their voice - and potentially other things, like their will to live - passed through industrial machinery and ripped to shreds.â
Uncapitalised pronoun at the start:
Aaaaand itâs the end. Iâm actually really liking despite, yâknow, sports. >_> Looking forward to that orientation.
I donât have an inner jock.
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@JBento hello!! I must admit that Iâve seen you around the forum and your replies have always been so thoughtful and funny that Iâve been secretly crossing my fingers that youâd play this game one day.
The day has come and I gotta say, youâre an absolute gem around here - thank youu so much for that list of comments/things to fix, I really appreciate the amount of attention to detail and commitment to seeing how different choices affect the play, and to reporting grammar/capitalisation issues etc. Iâll be working through that list!
So glad you enjoyed the game despite your sports allergy, and absoluutely seconding @Kungoruâs suggestion on channelling oneâs inner jock for this game 
(maybe I should add a track one day for one to play as a very unlikely-seeming tennis player, who looks like theyâd be more comfortable in a classroom than a tennis court).
@stsword HAHAHA great catch! Finesse absolutely does help you with trick shots at beer pong, and hereâs to a washed-out MC playing pool as a side hustle upon losing their scholarship. Stay tuned for more such interludes that let you tap on random tennis stats like strength and agility throughout the game 
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@burninglights Hello!! 
Now you can uncross them. Youâll be amazed at how much easier youâll be able to grip things and stuff now.
Which gem? Diamonds are super-boring (âlook at me, I look like a harder piece of quartzâ, bleh), but tanzanite is amazing.
Donât have one of those.
You sort of already have; Genevieve remarks I look like I came straight from a textbook.
Youâre very welcome.
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Absolutely. Iâm hoping the writing process will go a lot faster now that I can type properly.
Oh interesting, apparently itâs super undervalued compared to its scarcity - time for the bitcoin bros to consider something else. But youâre right - itâs a darn cool color.
Lol! You sure it wasnât G saying you were a textbook example of a jock? But yeah, it would be fun to have more people comment on really wimpy, non-physical MCs.
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Not unless I misunderstood what she said. IIRC, it was something on the lines of âX said you were a jock, but here you are looking straight out of a textbookâ? That âbutâ would suggest that one does not, in fact, look like a jock. But maybe I misread or am misremembering.
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Man my heart was playing beats at high tempo while reading MC vs Emerson match.
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Monthly(ish) progress update
[Cross posted to tumblr]
Hi everyone! Hope youâre all doing great! Just a quick check-in with you guys before I leave for a long holiday Iâm going hiking! Things have been hectic at my day job + with trip planning, but Iâve managed to get in some editing/writing/coding too! Rough gauge: I edited about 50k words, and wrote + coded another 25k.
P.S. My editing process is super important - âcause itâs where I do really major rearrangements/re-writes + add ideas + polish + brainstorm the next few scenes - basically, CT:OS would be so very, very different if I stopped at my vomit draft (yes, this is what I call my first draft). So itâs not just me wasting time, I promise!
Writing/Coding/Editing
Day 1 of freshman orientation (Sat)
- Meet D (and G) in the morning (Edited) - choose your fave beverage
- Meet your hallmates/orientation group (Edited, rearranged some scenes) - play a short icebreaker game, choose your major
- Amazing race (Edited) - achievement up for grabs
- Go âwaterfallingâ (Edited) - added a short alternative scene
Day 2 of freshman orientation (Sun)
- Morning of the activities fair (Started editing) - options to hang out with hallmates at the fair, or alternatively, with Rayyan or Tobin
- Laser tag (Written - raw draft) - tested + brainstormed some edits/improvements to the gameplay; achievement up for grabs
First day of classes (Mon)
- First class (Written - raw draft) - tested + brainstormed some edits/improvements
- Training session- short scene (Written - raw draft)
Rest of the week (Tue-Thur)
- Short class scenes (Planned - skeleton)
- Friendly doubles match on Thu (Planned - all choices and scenes charted out, to code and write text) - long tennis gameplay scene, plus some Tobin interaction (finally!)
Poll/Beta-testing/Asks
Poll
- Conclusion: Yâall are frikkin hilarious. AND so very, very kind. Thank you for the awesome responses, I read every single one in detail (sometimes multiple times), and they all made me grin.
- Also, itâs hilarious how many people are into Valentina/woman at the chinese restaurant (she doesnât even have a name yet! oops.)
- Finally, yes, I have created dedicated blogs for CT:OS and Merry Crisis (for the purists in the poll!)
Beta-testing
- BIG BIG thank you to everyone who did the poll and left their contact information, details about your background and interests, or even suggestions for some of the routes! They were an absolute delight to read, and I am so excited for the next chapter of CT:OS. Canât wait to bring you guys on board!
- Unfortunately, because I hope to get out the next chapter of CT:OS, so I can send it over to you guys to test, Iâve been prioritising writing before contacting everyone whoâs reached out.
- I will be reading everyoneâs applications again, organising/sorting them by routes/interest, and reaching out to those I have contact info for. If you indicated interest, but didnât type in your email address, do note that the poll did not display/collect your email address (as I wanted it to be fully anonymous), so youâll either need to drop me a DM here or on tumblr with your email or tumblr handle. But you can also wait for my official post in end Jul or so.
Thank you to everyone whoâs played CT:OS Sending you all much love, and hope you have an awesome summer!!
26 Likes
@The_Butcher HAHA! Honestly yes, whenever I play-tested it to balance stats, I got pretty clammy-palm-ed myself. Like, I know exactly whatâs gonna happen and I needa test the fail-states but also, lizard-brain says: I WANNA WIN.
@JBento Iâve double-checked it haha! (also shocked that you can vaguely remember individual lines, you have an astounding memory). It was originally:
âMike was just explaining what âjockâ meant, and here you are, waltzing in from the pages of a textbook.â $!{G_name}'s lips quirk upwards as ${G_he} cocks a chin at your outfit
But yes - unclear! Will edit it so itâs more clear that you do, in fact, look exactly like a textbook jock (this is because you chose to wear an âanything goesâ / âcasual jockâ outfit. Something like:
âMike was just explaining what âjockâ meant, and here you are, waltzing in looking exactly like a textbook example of one.â $!{G_name}'s lips quirk upwards as ${G_he} cocks a chin at your outfit
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Iâm good at remembering narrative points; Iâm ABSOLUTELY TERRIBLE at ad hoc stuff, like dates and names.
1 Like
I I tried to tick every option in the âmost looking forward toâ question and got called out hard. Your game is just too good man.
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Aaaaalright. Iâve been meaning to play this for a while and finally got around to finishing it just now after starting it a few days ago.
The cons, Iâd say, are that thereâs way too many pronouns mistake throughout the demo, which have often broken my immersion while playing. The other one is that the sets are either wrong or written very confusingly which isâŚwell, confusing at times, lol. And a couple of minor mistakes here and there.
Now for the ups: literally everything else in this game! As a huge sports fan, Iâm typically hesitant on sports based CYOAs because they often just donât work. But this game is amazing! The action in the actual matches is described really well, and, above all, I think focusing on the character dynamics more than the sport itself was a great decision, and makes it a lot more intriguing. I often found myself laughing or grinning like an idiot at some of the interactions, and am really looking forward to more.
Overall a pretty solid game and I canât wait to see what future updates have in store
1 Like
@JBento Well, Iâm terrible at everything, so youâve definitely got a leg up on me! Iâm certainly more consistent, though.
@Stuffies12 HAHAHA. âI know youâre excited, butâŚâ So glad youâre enjoying it :3
@silver7r Ooh! It would be helpful if you could help screenshot some of them, Iâd thought Iâd worked on⌠at least a few between the first few updates and now, but apparently not! Is it mostly an issue with Sam? Or MC? Or Rayyan/Tobin?
WElll as for the sets - sometimes I say âsetâ instead of âgameâ so it really could be that (would be super helpful if you also remember where youâd spotted the errors! :)) but I do think the winning a game vs. winning a set thing in general throws people off sometimes.
Finally, glad you enjoyed the game, and Iâm glad that even as a sports fan, the characters/dialogue/interactions appealed to you too! I wanted to write a sports game that was character-driven, so thatâs definitely a priority. Thanks for playing!
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Well, youâre good at writing CoGs, apparently, so thatâs something.
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Oh, thank you!
But yes haha, I realise that was an overly dramatic statement that wasnât meant to be one - Iâm terrible at remembering anything - names, dates, details, song lyrics, lines of dialogue (actually hmm I think I do pretty OK on ideas/themes/concepts).
But I do think Iâm pretty good at some things
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