Cyberpolice (Minor Update: 9th of May 2023) (WIP)

[Tiavals]

Ah, okay, thanks for the clarification. The only thing I did for now was to chop that one particular block of text into smaller paragraphs. It’s a bit hard to tell how small a paragraph should be for it to be “optimal” for readability, since I have to take some other things to consideration too(like how the text flows within the paragraphs and all that stuff). Hope it’s better now.

In general I don’t like chopping up the dialogue(or in this case monologue) of a single speaker into several paragraphs in a row, as it’s a bit confusing given that I often don’t mention who’s talking(when two or more are involved in a conversation). I guess I could just not put that “” around the text but still make them into paragraphs. Hmmh.

I might put in some more page_breaks too, but I’d rather keep them tied to a “theme” whenever possible(such as “info-dump from Mari Badr” ;)).

Anyway, I’ve corrected some of the small changes and uploaded the files again.

[AChubbyBlackCat]

Small bug.

[Takashi_Shin]

I like to ask a question of you I enjoyed the story but I want to know what got you into it to make this beautiful work called cyberpolice

[Tiavals]

Short update on my progress: Looks like I won’t be able to make my next version available before Cyberpunk 2077 is released, as I had previously planned. Since most people interested in the genre will be busy with it for the next few weeks, I’ll probably delay the next version until somewhere around Christmas, or even next year. The bright side is that I’ll have more time to work on it, which should make it better.

@AChubbyBlackCat

Small bug.

Thanks, fixed for next version.

@Takashi_Shin

I like to ask a question of you I enjoyed the story but I want to know what got you into it to make this beautiful work called cyberpolice

Thank you for reading and enjoying it!

As for your question, well, that’s either a very easy or very hard question to answer.

The short version is that I started making it because I wanted to make something, and it was the easiest and most feasible thing I could make, that would remain interesting enough for me that I’d be motivated to finish it. I like exploring the themes in the work, it’s relatively easy to write, and I happened to be inspired by cyberpunk when I started it originally. The police aspect came in as I thought it’d make it very easy to contain the scope of the story this way. With police work I could also include a partner and some other characters with a good excuse. Also, it’s much easier to determine what scenes to include and what sort of overall story there will be if it revolves around a single case/investigation, which allows me to limit the number of characters and organizations that I need to include, as well as the location and so on.

The long version is that I originally tried to make a similar work called Cybermayor, which is set in the same city with many of the same characters, but with a very different plot and general idea(you were supposed to play the recently elected mayor). In the end it got too complicated and bloated to make, so I started a new project. I worked on the new project a fair time, but it too got too bloated and complicated, so I started working on Cyberpolice with the idea that this’d be simple and short enough to complete. I took many of the ideas in Cybermayor and put them here instead, so it’s been relatively easy to make this as the setting was already in place.

As for why I started working with interactive fiction in the first place, I thought that the Hosted Games label that allows me to publish it and get people to read it is a pretty good deal for me, since I can be sure that I’ll reach a number of people with it. A big problem I have is that I absolutely hate advertising my stuff, and most of the other stuff I’ve made have been ignored for that reason. This way I know for a fact that a fair number of people will read it, and it’ll give me a much better view of the quality of my work, and perhaps even some money as well.

As for why make a cyberpunk-police story, well, I thought it was easy enough for people to approach, and I’ve had plenty of cyberpunk ideas floating around in my head, so I thought why not? The recent popularity of Cyberpunk 2077 no doubt helped me to choose the genre from a zillion other options, since I’d rather have more readers than less.

[sasa_se]

This is pretty good, when it is done, I’ll play through it definitely

[AChubbyBlackCat]

Thanks for sharing! It’s always interesting to see how these stories transform from their first iterations to their present ones!

Hope you’re doing well and have a good one!

[Tiavals]

Thanks for the comments, and a happy new year to everyone!

Progress report:

Didn’t get super much done during the last two weeks, but I’ve started working again at full steam. No ETA on the update, though. Progress is being made, but it’s very hard to estimate when it’s done, as the final “smoothing” of the text can take an annoyingly long time for me. Even when it’s “done” it’ll usually take a lot more time. As they say, the last 5% takes 90% of the work. January, most likely, probably closer to the end of the month than the beginning, I’m afraid. There goes my “monthly” update policy, I guess.

[AChubbyBlackCat]

Thanks for the update! Good luck with writing! Don’t beat yourself too much over your update policy. Life happens.

[LadyUmbreon89]

Progress reports > demo updates. If you aren’t satisfied with what you’ve written, and need time to scrap, or refine whole blocks of text, it means you’re taking your own project seriously.

Remember not to stress yourself out, too; WIP demos like this are meant to be rough drafts for feedback. I think even if you aren’t making ‘monthly updates’ that you’re doing fine working at your own pace, since the feedback itself is what’s meant to help you find the holes, and leverage in your plot that can be worked with (from your own perspective) to complete your project to your satisfaction.

[Tiavals]

I’ve made a fair deal of progress on the next batch, but it’s not quite ready yet. (most of the stuff outlined below is more or less done now, with an exception or two)

It’s shaping up to be pretty extensive.

Aside from the “basic” path of mandatory scenes, included are a few exclusive paths, so it’s more broad than “deep”. Currently there’s one segment where you choose a string of three scenes(two options), that has more immediate impact rather than long-lasting.

Another one is based on what skills you’ve chosen in the beginning(thus based on what evidence you find(though this one isn’t implemented completely yet and might not be included in the next batch, worst case scenario)). The skill based option will ultimately be relevant throughout the game and will have “bonus” scenes here and there(essentially forming a sub-plot per skill, and since the player has 2 skills, it means 2 sub-plots per game).

There’s also some other more minor branching or bonus scenes based on some choices you’ll be making regarding the chosen “police strategy” you wish to employ(mainly your stance on media and information to the public, and official information exchange about the case with the corporation). These options are mostly concerned with adding flavor and variance to other scenes rather than adding their own scenes.

Naturally, there’s also continuation to choices already available in the original version(background choices, previously found evidence, some social choices(such as do you sign the contract with AmriBrad GS or not), etc).

There’s also some “how to spend free time” style scenes(much like the one where you can choose between bathroom/donuts/mascot/wander around options in the police station).

One-night stands will also be included(among other social scenes). Probably won’t have all options available in this version(as there will be quite a broad choice if my plans come true in the end), but this version will include Stillwater, Carrington, Mouse and Bailey as options. The contents are relatively different depending on the person, and all include some sort of drama or social interaction. Some have variations based on a few things like how much the person likes you(having a good relationship isn’t necessarily a pre-requisite for them, someone might be okay with a one-night stand with someone they don’t get along with on the job). There’s also the potential for things to end up awkwardly.

No real romance/friendship/rivalry-subplots for this version though, they will have to wait until quite a bit later. Possibly until everything else is done, since I plan to tie them to the story whenever possible. Meaning they most likely won’t appear for several versions yet.

The bad news is that it’ll still take two weeks or so. But given how inaccurate my time estimates have been so far, take it with a grain of salt.

In any case, if the next portion isn’t “ready” around halfway of February, I might chop it to a smaller version and release it anyway, since I do want feedback. (Which most likely means it’ll have only some of the exclusive path options rather than all. I’m guessing this is preferable to cutting it “length wise”.)

[Manaxaggd]

Great, another zombie rise from their tomb for New Year’s update

[Gabriel_Arcanjo_Aman]

This os one of the best wip i seen in this forum

[Tiavals]

Alright, it’s mid February and it looks like I can’t get my sub-plots finished anytime soon.

Thus, I’ll start putting up the non-sub-plot stuff so you can try them out if you want to.

I’ll make a final polishing pass on each file before I upload it, which will take a day or two per file. I’ll try to make it once per day, though, which might mean I’ll have to chop the bigger files in two.(from your perspective there’s no difference I guess)

For now I’ve updated the mega-corporation visit segment to the end(minus the sub-plots of course).

Current average playthrough length is 44,000 words, as of this particular file. Used to be something like 36-38,000 I think, so not too much new stuff yet. I’ll post the word-count when I make a new upload so you get some sort of idea how much new stuff is per “mini-update”.

The rest of the files will be added as I finish polishing them, hopefully one per day. Plan is to have all of them in by Sunday if possible. You can try the new content as it’s added if you want to, but if you want the “full experience” of the second batch, I’d advice you to wait until it’s all uploaded. (though comments and criticism are greatly appreciated at any time)

Once all the files are in, I’ll change the thread name so it reads “February 2021” to signify that Cyberpolice has received a major content update. (though sadly still lacking the sub-plots, but I really can’t delay it any longer or everyone will forget about my work )

For the current file, everything worked without problems after 100 random tests, and a few personal tests from me. No guarantee that it’s flawless, though.

I’ve added the option to skip right to the new content, in case anyone just wants to see the new stuff.(though given that it’s been 3 months, chances are you won’t remember what’s happened at that point in the story, so it might be disorienting )

No guarantee that it won’t cause problems, though, since you’ll be skipping most of the choices along the way which might cause weirdness(especially as I add new files, since I won’t waste too much time testing if the workaround functions properly since it’s, well, a workaround).

You can make the choice after the train segment, so your basic info is still entered.

Thanks for your patience, folks!

PS I decided to not include any of the sub-plots for now, but instead hid everything related to them. Unfortunately this will cause some strange moments in the story as I’ll have to skip around in time at a few points because of that. Hopefully it won’t ruin the enjoyment of the game or break immersion too much, though I’m sure it’ll make it jarring at times.

[AChubbyBlackCat]

Congrats on the progress!!

Good luck during the polishing process! And don’t worry about the sub-plots; they’ll unfold in time.

[Manaxaggd]

Interesting, very very interesting, the last time I ever seen a mystery this interesting is from “Highlands, Deep Water”. Every vital information from ABGS were deleted from a mysterious hacking, what a coincidence that it happened right before our team’s investigation and even more of a coincidence, all informations linked to the murder are deleted as well. There are too many details to examine in this “little” update and we haven’t had any “Notes” function so it would be quite inconvenient

[Tiavals]

@AChubbyBlackCat

Congrats on the progress!!

Good luck during the polishing process! And don’t worry about the sub-plots; they’ll unfold in time.

Thanks. The biggest fear I have is that I’ll get stuck on the sub-plots for a super long time. I guess realistically I should concentrate on just one until it’s ready from start to finish(then finish the rest), instead of making all of them sort of at the same time in a chronological order. But that kinda feels like abandoning the others so it’s a hard thing to do from a mental perspective.

It ain’t easy making interactive fiction.

@Manaxaggd

Interesting, very very interesting, the last time I ever seen a mystery this interesting is from “Highlands, Deep Water”. Every vital information from ABGS were deleted from a mysterious hacking, what a coincidence that it happened right before our team’s investigation and even more of a coincidence, all informations linked to the murder are deleted as well. There are too many details to examine in this “little” update and we haven’t had any “Notes” function so it would be quite inconvenient

Hehe, thanks.

I probably should add a “What you’ve learned so far” sheet into the inventory screen, so it can be checked whenever the player wants. I’ll make a note of it. No promises as to when it’ll be ready, except definitely before publishing the game.

It’s a really good idea in any case, since I’m guessing the amount of information can be overwhelming at times. I think it’s probably for the best to leave it to the player to check, so they can think of it by themself, instead of reminding them when it’s relevant, unless it should be really obvious.

Hmm, yes, I think I’ll definitely add a notebook sort of thing at some point, and put everything you learn there, but only refer the stuff “in-game” when it’s obvious, and leave the interpretation of implications to the player and their wits.

I feel like I’m rambling, so it’s time to sleep for today.

[Aoyama_Blue_Mountain]

I hope decent amount of people hop in once updated to 2021

[Tiavals]

Updated with the next file.

Includes return to police station, autopsy and vivisection of SymbiFriend .

Current average playthrough: 49,500 words.

[Tiavals]

Updated with next file.

Includes video conversation with Mari Badr about vivisection results.

Current average playthrough: 51,000 words.

[AChubbyBlackCat]

Found this small pronoun bug.

Good stuff so far. I’m tempted to restart from the beginning with a different combination of skill sets to see what changes in the narrative.