Diaspora - Updated 12 February 2024 [First Draft Complete!]

I do love world building :heart_eyes:. Also played the demo a couple days ago I love all character that have been introduced so far in the story they all feel real believable so great work on them and epic the good work.

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No idea how I missed this WIP for so long, because it’s crazy good.

The dialogue is where it excels the most imo, the discussions/debates feel natural, the MC doesn’t have a magical power allowing them to change someone’s views they held their whole life in five minutes, but the “opponents” don’t react like bricks to the arguments either. I especially enjoyed the discussions with MC’s mother near the fire and with Aisling near the tree.

The choices regarding your clan are well done too. Black/white are not the only options, but there are also middle-ground choices often missing in games. Overall it’s like in a good Obsidian RPG, where every kind of character the player wants to play has at least one choice viable for them. Well done on that front.

From errors, I noticed a paragraph is cloned in the scene where Izzy leaves barracks. That was the only mistake I catched.

Eagerly waiting for the next update. Cheers.

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I’m not sure why this isn’t more popular! It’s lovely. I love how natural conversation feels, which often feels stunted in most COGS. Cormac and Izzy are my favourites, but Aisling is adorable. I like all of the characters! It’s obvious tht they have distinct motivations tht exist and function apart frm the MC, which is particularly difficult to do in a medium where your MC is the driving force! I’m a fan :~) Anyway, I had a quick question! Smth tht confused me was when you choose to make your romantic interest in Cormac known as a male, tht Izzy comments on tht and asks whether you think he’s interested in men but the same isn’t true for a female MC and Aisling, or even Izzy. Is there a reason?

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Heya, glad to hear you’re enjoying everything!

The short answer to your question is: that’s just Izzy’s perception of Cormac, that he doesn’t strike her as being interested in men.

She’s quite capable of being wrong, though. In her interactions with Aisling, she’s noted the way your bharda looks up to you, and likes to interpret that as potential romantic interest on Aisling’s part, and wants to know if it’s mutual. She herself is bisexual, which is something not at all unusual for Castulia.

It is a bit more complicated among the Cine, where blood ancestry and lineage is emphasized, but there it’s more on a family to family basis rather than being culture-wide. Cormac seems very invested in the Cine ideal of a warrior on a surface level, which is another reason Izzy might assume he wouldn’t be interested in men. For Aisling it would be less of a jump, given both the way she understands how magic is passed down, and the Cine opinion of magic in general.

Hopefully that answers your question, and thanks for playing (multiple times, it sounds like).

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Yeah it’s really weird how this WIP doesn’t get as much attention as others. It definitely deserves it.
Also I have to say that I love the relationship stats. Having both the standard friendship stat and then also the agreement stat is a cool idea.

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Would you mind explaining this?

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@Jaybirdy or/and @AugustArria

These are what I found (and some suggestion) sorry if I being too nitpicky :sweat_smile:

Summary

I think this should be along.


Maybe this should be buoyed?


This one is suggestion:

Why not add choice for mc to feel dutiful? :thinking:


rolls


Is this the governor the one who speak? If so I think it’s better to make it more clear.


I think it’s better to replace a with his here, but this just suggestion.


I think its should be their here.


“take some time getting used”


I think this should be “leaves word to someone”, I could be wrong though :thinking:


Should be him


Probably just me, but I found this weird :point_down:

Perhaps make it “sounding like she found the idea quite foul in nature.”?


Now that aside, I must say, I really like this game, the flow with some details here and there also great although I sometimes feel that it’s a bit too detailed, though it’s seems really suiting this. The character around mc also handled good in my opinion, I like how they all have their own unique backstory. Not to mention that this also have many possibilities even though this still 3-4 chapter, I also hardly found typos that break the immersion. In short, great job guys! :smile:

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Sure. So, while the Cine don’t worship their ancestors, necessarily, they do feel a very strong connection with them (some more than others, something that’s touched on in a conversation with Roise), and they venerate them. Thus some Cine families place a high importance on continuing bloodlines, having children, establishing legacy and that sort of thing. Cormac himself has mentioned the importance of it to him, personally.

“I don’t have any ancestors in the clan. No old blood feuds to fight. But I want to make sure when I start a line of my own here, that they have a bloodline they can be proud of.”

Homosexuality complicates this slightly, though of course there are ways around it, and Clan Maghnus as a whole has been accepting of all sexualities for a very long time. Some families within the clan might be different, and some of the clans they left behind have different beliefs as well.

In this particular instance that you originally asked about, however, it’s almost entirely just Izzy’s perception of Cormac. Our characters are hardly perfect, and will often be wrong or not entirely right in their judgements of people.

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Would you mind me asking how Cormac feels abt it? Or Daghan?

Sadly, I’m going to have to keep that answer to myself for now, as this topic will undoubtedly come up for male PCs romancing Cormac, and I don’t want to spoil anything for you guys. I really appreciate the interest though, and will try my best to make sure that scene is satisfying when it (eventually) comes around.

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This game is great, done a couple of play throughs so far and can wait for more of it to be released. Any updates on current progress? :grin:

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Hey, we’re working on the interlude section at the moment and steadily making progress. October is a pretty busy month for us, especially for @Jaybirdy, so it might be a bit slow. But we’re planning for a big progress push in November. We’ll keep you guys posted.

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Hey there! Long time lurker, here, but this wip is the one to finally make me post. This is really, really good. Probably tied with fallen hero as my all time favorite. Truly a hidden gem! Sorry in advance for the super long post, and if it doesn’t make sense haha English isn’t my first language :blush:

The writing is amazing and super well polished and I love the feel of it. The dialogue feels very natural. At least among the cine, I think you can really tell that there is already history in their relationships, whithout it ever feeling forced. As in, no matter what kind of relationship we choose to have, there is a basis for it, you know? I don’t know if this makes any sense :smiley: I guess everything just feels very organic

Just some of the highlights of the game, in no particular order:

  1. I love love LOVE the two relationship bars! Love it! I wish bioware would steal it!
    Also love the humor/solemnity and aggression/peaceability checks. They make sure that the “neutral” dialogue is always in character.
  2. Roise. Best mom ever. I love how she seems so fond and amused with a humorous mc. Really hoping nothing bad happens to her. ever. :joy:
  3. The option to sail right through an enemy ship. So awesome. All of the aggressive/strength-oriented battle choices are awesome, actually.
  4. The nb option. Very well implemented. Feels very much like part of the Cine culture.
  5. The interludes. Character interactions are my favorite part of any game, so it’s great that we have the chance to check on all our friends.
Now, I think I found a bug:


I asked my boy Cormac to fight the elite iskendi here, and afterwards I still had the option to ask him to hold off the boarders, or to lead the crew while I handled the catapult. Not sure if it was a bug, but since there was no text saying he came back, and all the other characters could only be picked once, I thought I should mention.

And there seems to be an extra line break here

Here are my stats, if it's helpful:

Been playing my main pc as a very “ciny” cine, but who sees the diplomacy route as what is best for the clan, despite his personal preferences. I have a hard time resisting flirting with everyone, but Cormac is my one and only :smiley:



Aaand, that’s long enough! Congrats on the great game, guys! Take your time and keep up the good work :slight_smile:

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Thank you so much for the in-depth reply, glad you’re loving the game. By the way, your English is quite good, I wouldn’t have guessed it wasn’t your first language if you hadn’t said so.

That Cormac thing does look like a bug, you aren’t supposed to be able to use him later on if you assign him to fight those guys off. We’ll take a look at that, thanks for pointing it out.

And thanks for the stats! We haven’t seen many players leaning towards the aggression side of the bar. I’m glad you’re enjoying it!

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I love the story, really good job. This deserves WAY more attention than it’s getting!
I can’t help but think this is basically Disney’s “Moana” but with bloodthirsty Vikings instead XD

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I don’t involve myself much in the forums, I usually just buy whatever is made and play it.

This is absolutely fantastic. I loved every second of it and will continue following it.

Honestly, I really haven’t had this much enjoyment out of reading since I read Lords of Aswick and the Infinity series. I mean there are plenty of great works but those are two that stick in my mind. This will be great when released and I am most excited to continue following it’s development.

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Wow, thanks! Those works are definitely some of the best I know of, too, so the comparison is extremely flattering, heh. Glad you took the time to let us know you’re following; we really do appreciate it. We’re looking forward to releasing the next part as soon as we can, though this month is kind of slow for the both of us. Hopefully, it won’t disappoint when we do.

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Heya people.

Another long delay between updates, but we aren’t dead, despite the best efforts of the holiday season thus far. We’ve updated the game with the interlude after Chapter 3. You’ll be able to delve quite a bit deeper into Izzy’s story here, get to know our Castulians Panegyris and Sangarinus better, and hang out with Cormac, Aisling, and the rest of your crew in a more relaxed setting. We hope those wanting more flirt options will be satisfied, haha.

Enjoy, and as usual feedback is hugely appreciated. Chapter 4 takes us back to Divio to start with, and will lead into more encounters with the rather lively sworn enemies of the Castulians.

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I was pleasantly surprised how well laidout and detailed this story was. The demo is very intriguing and well put together. I look forward to seeing more.

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Love, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the update…

Uh-ohs...

Diaspora1
I chose “It’s beautiful…”

Diaspora2
New speech line: probably put on a new line or remove quotation marks.

Diaspora4
Same as above.

Diaspora3
Pan talked then the MC, needs a new line.

Diaspora5
General speaks then the MC, needs a new line.

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