College Tennis: Origin Story (WIP) - Updated 21 Dec '23 [468k words]

I totally agree with you. Because i won’t lie I be a hopeless romantic sometimes and other I be a cool Batman or the Batman who laughs type of character in games. I was kinda into tennis a little before this game I was more of playing hand ball and badminton IRL so when I seen this I was like let me check it out.

This game was so good that I wanted to be an ace in it. I started watching Baby Steps in sub after it to help me with the game. I tried to get into prince of tennis but it was not like the game so I was not getting into that.

The more I played the game more I was like let me try to be a All A Player and that was not for me all round I was messing up too much I was like I will stick to the one I would be more like the junk baller hahahaha

My roommate was mad I flirt too much but was still cool with me thank god. I was hoping to get a mixed doubles knowing how uncommon it is but that my type of style the uncommon surpriser style. But I mainly wanted it to play up the romance and improve skills with reputation and fame. I be looking in my stats to see if I get a description that says “ the uncommon freshman” or something hahahaha

But yes I really love the game and will definitely be looking out for the next update demo or full release.

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I love sports games, great work!!

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need the update like i need air to breathe.

i haven’t even played the sneak peaks because i want to play the whole thing when it comes out.

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Me too!

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Look. I know.
It’s Tennis. TENNIS.

But can we as the audience get a sweet snippety moment to offer a gift of choice to show that we understand our LI?

Specifically, home-baked Kouign-Amann that we spent our spare hours perfecting in someone else’s kitchen, and then ourselves delivering it to said someone…who loves them.

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Update and apologies (Finally)

Hi everyone!!

Very sorry for how long this chapter has taken, but good news is: I’m finally done with the draft of the entire full chapter! It’s now undergoing testing and editing, and should be out / ready for ko-fi supporters on Oct 5.

It has been a real journey (I’m not sure why but this chapter was really challenging to write - in terms of the routes/branching and catering an experience that even non-Sam romancers would be able to enjoy.)

Some main deviaions made from the original plan:

Sam will come to Cargill to visit in this chapter now. It just makes the branching less unmanageable, and writing something satisfying for a weekend without Sam just was… too daunting a narrative task in the end, and I made an executive decision not to do that despite already being 40k words in.

Anyway, without further ado, here’s the full list of features you can look out for in the full chapter update!

Update No. 9 Features

  • Sam attending team dinner (when the flamenco music comes on, you can choose to… get cozy with Sam/Rayyan/Tobin)
  • Team party on Friday night (participate in a drinking game known as the Devil’s Dozen (party edition). Partner Sam, Tobin, or Rayyan and get… drunk (or not—non-alcoholic drinks are available :wink: )!)
  • Share a bed with Sam… pt. 1.
  • Go out to a fancy Italian restaurant on Saturday with Sam (you can choose to wear something nice or not), and then head to a bar afterward.
  • Share a bed with Sam… pt. 2. [exclusive to Sam romancers]
  • Have a (tough?) conversation before Sam leaves on Sunday (or you might’ve had the tough conversation earlier on Saturday).

Sorry again for how long this update has been ‘in the works’ — I’m so grateful you’re still here, and I can’t wait to share it with you all!

P.S. If you sent in bugs/errors/suggested improvements earlier, I’m so sorry but could I possibly get you to send it to my gmail (allieebobo@gmail.com) for easier referencing if I haven’t gotten to it yet? The forum thread’s really hard for me to keep track of, so I think I might’ve missed quite a few things!

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WE ARE SO BACK!

I’m so excited :smiley:

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How many of these events can we choose to opt out of completely? The team dinner and the team party (the latter especially) are things I would rather not bother with at all (if given the choice).

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The more important question is will Sam wear something nice? Fancy dressed Sam? While my mc here is not the effortless fashionisto my mc in your other game is he’s no slouch either and he can sure do fancy too. Have to check but I actually think his main style is already kinda sophisticated. Fake it till you make it, right? :sweat_smile:

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Oh! :exploding_head: That was fast. Even if it is just sleeping, how will poor Sam survive. :smile:

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Woohoo! Can’t wait to catch up with my favorite boys Tobin and Rayyan!

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@David_Thrall Can’t wait to release it to! :slight_smile: Last stretch!

@ChairmanMeow Team party is completely optional, so is sharing a bed with Sam.

@idonotlikeusernames Haha I see Sam’s style as more leaning the way of ‘eclectic’ and slightly nerdy, but for fancier occasions, they certainly could clean up nicely… though they didn’t really plan on having to wear anything too formal this weekend.

@M_K1 How indeed :stuck_out_tongue:

@MadAdam Yay!! Thanks for sticking around!

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Early Release Chapter 5 (Update #9) is out for ko-fi supporters!!

Play now!

Added Wordcount: 99k words

Features:

  1. Sam attends team dinner at Valentina’s (a love song comes on. Of course.)
  2. Team party on Friday night (participate in a drinking game known as the Devil’s Dozen (party edition). Partner Sam, Tobin, or Rayyan.
  3. Share a bed with Sam… pt. 1
  4. Go out to a fancy Italian restaurant with Sam, then head to a bar afterward. Dance to old jukebox music.
  5. Share a bed with Sam… pt. 2
  6. Have a tough (?) or happy (?) conversation with Sam before they leave on Sunday. <You might’ve had the tough conversation earlier, on Friday or Saturday.>

Author’s note:

Thank you so much for supporting this game, I really really appreciate all the comments, the support, the beta-testing (honestly you guys are soo clutch! <3)

Really hope you guys enjoy this latest chapter :slight_smile: It’s been a long time in the works, but honestly, between my job and hanging out with friends/family, this game is 90% of my remaining brain space!

I work on CT:OS (or Merry Crisis) almost every day even when I’m radio-silent on social media (yes, actually!) and I’m so excited to finally be able to share this with you guys!) As always, feedback, errors, suggestions are super welcome!!

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Oii, early alert: looks like file 5-3_samsunday.txt is missing in this release, so it’ll lock up on late saturday night for people who get there~

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Aiyee! Thanks for the catch! I hope it’s there now!

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Found a wrong gender for sam choosing you missed them as double partner then the heart option
Sam knew you inside out. She could tell what you were about to do even before you did it. And his love for the game and pure zany enthusiasm never failed to make your heart sing from the exhilaration of playing side-by-side.

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Woo! Can’t wait to read tomorrow & have my mc and Sam be awkward together :smiling_face_with_three_hearts: hopefully by then this sickness bug will have gone so I can fully appreciate the update :laughing:

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@burninglights thank you Allie, I really love the update it’s so lovely. The date and ahem intimate scene with Sam is really top notch! Hopefully there’s more of this soon wink wink

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Oh man, I looooved the update. Was so nice to get some meaningful Sam time and that big commitment moment for all the routes (except G for now). It feels perfectly timed. Their connection with the MC is so painfully relatable for anyone that’s ever fallen for a best friend. It’s beautifully brought to life. Really appreciate your dedication to this story and your vision and I’ve never once doubted that :slight_smile:

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Gah, i’m replaying from the start so the save is up to date and to see tweaks in the earlier part of the game, and i had to revise my character setup with the training changes during the first week. That took me waaaay too much thinking. xD

While at it, spotted some bug in this release. From the prologue op to the first challenge match, for the time being:

Spoilered for length

image file characters.png is missing

in 1-1_meetcoaches.txt

      #Styled messily. 
        *set hair_style "messily"

hair_style should be set to "styled messily"

      #Yep, I'm a junk baller. @{tutorial_mode [[i]+Agility[/i], [i]+Agility[/i], [i]+Endurance[/i], [i]-Serve[/i], [i]-Strength[/i]]|}
//...
        *set tactics + 3
        *set endurance + 3
        *set agility + 3
        *set finesse + 2
        *set serve - 3
        *set strength - 2

option hint doesn’t match attribute changes: not all changes are listed and Agility is listed twice.

*if weights_position < 4
  *set coach_relationship %+5
  *set Rayyan_friendship %+3
  *set strength + 2
//...
*elseif weights_position < 6
  *set coach_relationship %+4
  *set Rayyan_friendship %+3
  *set strength + 1
//...
*label reaction_from_team
*if weights_position < 4
  *set strength + 2
//...
*elseif (weights_position < 6)
  *set strength + 1

strength bonuses are applied twice from the same test, which is probably not intended

    Tobin, standing a couple of feet away, gives you a wink. "Tiny and mighty. You, on the other hand..." 
    *if nicknames
//...
        #Just Hulk is fine. Set "[i]Hulk[/i]" as my teammates' nickname for me. 
          *set team_nickname "Hulk"
          Tobin, standing a couple of feet away, gives you a wink. "Tiny and mighty. You, on the other hand..." 

extra copy of last line in this branch

in 1-2_secondtraining.txt

  *selectable_if ((tired_drill > 3) or (endurance > 25)) #I'm tired, but this is where my superior endurance gives me an edge. Suck it up and [i]run[/i]. @{tutorial_mode [[i]Endurance[/i]]|}

not sure but should probably be and instead of or in the check, because otherwise high endurance is required only if MC is relatively fresh but plays no role if MC has failed drills hard and is exhausted

  #Go all out. 
    *set strength + 1
    *set condition - 4
//...
  #Focus on improving my technique to generate more power. There's no reason to go all 'King Kong'. 
    *set strength + 1

these options provide the exact same gain, but one costs 4 condition and the other one doesn’t.

  #Focus on improving the strength of my service-returns. 
    *set finesse + 1

should be increasing value of strength not finesse

          *selectable_if (not (asexual)) #Step in, enjoying the brush of skin. (♥)
            *set tobin_friendship %+3
            *set tobin_flirt true
            *set tobin_romantic %+5
            *set tobin_dance_flamenco "Flirt"
//...
          *selectable_if (not (asexual)) #Feel my heart quicken at the proximity. (♥)
            *set tobin_friendship %+3
            *set tobin_romantic %+5
            *set tobin_flirt true
            *set tobin_dance_flamenco "Flirt"
//...

both these options have identical effect on variables and their text is identical as well. not sure if this is intentional or the latter one was supposed to be less touchy variant?

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