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In today’s editing news, I was trying to solve the problem of as to why my default MC’s senses are less sharp than one of the NPCs has, given that they both should, based on worldbuilding, have similarly enhanced senses. The result I ended up with: since the MC is a fox-shifter, they need to wear a power limiter because otherwise all the sounds of maintenance robots scuttling about become too distracting, while the NPC, who is a wolf-shifter, doesn’t have the same problem.

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Didn’t twin flames do that from memory? (Sorry been quite a while since I played it so I’m a bit fuzzy, but I seem to remember there being two separate protags you play that are moving about the world at the same time.) Not really played as a tag team though.

From memory 3Games moves from protagonist to protagonist between chapters from the same group.

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I would do that, except that my ADHD superpower, Hyperfocus, will immediately turn that project into my new darling, and then I’ll end up shelving this game, like I’ve done to the two others I tried to make before it, the four novels I’ve tried to write, the seventeen fanfics, etc, etc. XD Thanks for the idea, I’m just unable to take it due to my own neurodivergent limitations.

I got really stuck on what Dragon Runes are. Are these a setting-specific thing?

That right there would be a great Patreon thing to do! You could post it chapter by chapter. XD Or, yknow, for free, whatever you wanna do.

I’ve never been very good with short stories. Tbh, the only short story I’ve ever been proud of was a small short story I wrote for highschool that was about the Red Death.

Man, if I didn’t have to sleep/wasn’t tired all the time, the THINGS I COULD DO.

My sense of fashion wasn’t even FORGED until I was 25. So I completely get it. That said, it might sound more romantic if you call it dusty rose, but otherwise, you don’t have to change just because I said anything. XD

HOLY SHIT WHERE WAS THIS WHEN I WAS WRITING THE THIEVERY SCENE. TAT omg. Thank you so much for this.

You also cut out all sources of seratonin in your life, too. Entertainment and enjoyment are stats you gotta keep raised to be able to produce creative shit. Have you never played sims? XD (just kidding, but seriously. When I find myself hitting a creative block, playing a game/watching anime is super helpful)

This is SUPER amazing. I personally really love that you give them the option to do that.

Might also just be that I’m weird. XD

I can’t get used to them, so I haven’t used them at all.

…Well now I’m reconsidering. That said, I keep my startup file organized using *comment but yeah, cluttered is a good way of putting it.

WINCE Oh boy do I know how THIS feels.

See, that’s my thoughts on writing fight scenes too. My Phoenix Rising is never going to be a big epic war scene, because of the setting. Honeslty the biggest fight that’s probably ever going to break out in my setting is the MC and another concubine pulling each other’s hair and trying to stab each other with hairpins. Like, cmon. So I’m happily avoiding this issue rn.

HECK YAH, wait to GO!

Am I the only one who’s given up on word-counts? Like, I judge how much I’ve gotten done by what sections I’ve completed for that week. Am I crazy?

My only problem with this is that it sounds like you’re basically writing two games and putting them in the same package.

The difference between an Apex Predator and a Scavenger. Yeah, that makes sense, actually.

So, I have had two different mental breakdowns in two weeks. The kind where you break down crying on the kitchen floor. And I’m not sure why. Honestly, I don’t know what I’m doing that is burning me out so bad, other than my job. I’m not sure what I should do, honestly. I want to work on my game… but what if that’s contributing to the burnout? What if I’m not taking enough rest to recover from my job because I’m working on my game?

Anyone got ideas on how to rest/destress? I’ve tried everything. Reading, bathtub time, naps, hot cocoa, gardening, watching tv, praying, everything. I’m losing it. XD

Ah, no worries though. I’ll be okay. I always am.

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Yes. They’re part of the world building for the fantasy WIP I’m writing for Heart’s Choice.

Nature is my go-to. A walk in the forest, sitting by water… whatever you can do. Exercise can be super helpful, as it literally moves energy and can help balance hormones/chemicals in our bodies. Also, letting go of the things that are out of my control and focusing on those that are. Not always easy, but it helps.

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Not just you, I totally read it the same way :laughing:

MICE IN THE WALLS NEED TO CATCH

I take a break and decide I won’t think of the whatever it is I’m taking a break from at all. Also playing games helps me destress if I’m too stressed to focus properly. (Also sleeping. A lot of sleeping.)

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Well, I hope the new version reads better for you as well. :slight_smile:

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In some chapters I have only one or two, but there’s one chapter that has 50+! Some of them could probably go in startup because in other scenes I’ll use the same *temp variable for the same purpose, but I find *temp helpful because reusing it ‘resets’ the variable for me.

Anyway, I haven't shared my coding in awhile (just bemoaned about it, ha ha), so here's some of my fighting code too!

If you attack with your fists but miss:

*if (misschance = 1) and (playermove = "attack")
	*if (equipweapon  = "your fists")
		*set battleinfo1 "Your fist impacts air as you miss! "

If you attack with your fists and hit:

*if (playermove = "attack")
	*if (equipweapon  = "your fists")
		*set battleinfo1 "You throw @{attackflair+1 |a jab|a cross|a hook|an uppercut} at the ${enemy}! "

If you do hit and your weapon power is greater than the enemy’s defense:

	*if (weaponpower > enemydef_1)
		*set enemyhealth2 (weaponpower - enemydef_1)
		*set enemyhealth (enemyhealth - enemyhealth2)
		*set battleinfo1&"$!{enemyhe} receives ${enemyhealth2} damage! "

If you do hit, but your weapon power is less than the enemy’s defense:

	*if (weaponpower < enemydef_1)
		*set enemyhealth2 (weaponpower - finesse)
		*set spirit (spirit - enemyhealth2)
		*set battleinfo1&"...but you hurt [i]yourself[/i] instead. You receive ${enemyhealth2} damage! "

If you do hit, but your weapon power is equal to the enemy’s defense and your finesse is zero:

	*if (weaponpower = enemydef_1)
		*if (finesse = 0)
			*set enemyhealth (enemyhealth - 1)
			*set enemyhealth2 0
			*set battleinfo1&"...but your attack isn't strong enough! $!{enemyhe} receives 0 damage! "

If you do hit, but your weapon power is equal to the enemy’s defense, BUT you have some finesse:

		*if (finesse = 1)
			*set enemyhealth (enemyhealth - 1)
			*set enemyhealth2 1
			*set battleinfo1&"Your strength isn't enough, but your skill shines through! $!{enemyhe} receives 1 damage! "
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I’ve created two sub-routines in Daemonglass that will deal with any damage the player receives, either physically or mentally. I think it will make things easier to track.

However, the big difference between the two codes is that physical damage can be offset by the outfit the MC is wearing at the time.

It doesn’t make sense for the outfit to stop mental damage (unless made for that purpose).

Do you think it is fair for physical damage to have a buffer and mental damage doesn’t, or would it be better to introduce something else to offset the damage (maybe tie it to the aether jewellery the player is given, perhaps.

Just to give an example here is the code for physical damage

*if (outfit_health < 0)
    *set outfit_health -1
    *goto condition
*else
    *set health -1
    *goto condition

*label condition
*if (health = 4)
    *set health_text "is uninjured"
    *goto end_code
*elseif (health = 3)
    *set health_text "is a bit bruised"
    *goto end_code
*elseif (health = 2)
    *set health_text "is hurt"
    *goto end_code
*else
    *set health_text "is badly hurt"
    *goto end_code

*label end_code
*return

Here is the current code for mental damage

*if (outfit_mental < 0)
    *comment this doesn't make sense so I need to sort this out.
    *set outfit_mental -1
    *goto mental_condition
*else
    *set mental -1
    *goto condition

*label mental_condition
*if (mental = 4)
    *set mental_text "is sound of mind"
    *goto end_code
*elseif (mental = 3)
    *set mental_text "is a little drained"
    *goto end_code
*elseif (mental = 2)
    *set mental_text "is struggling"
    *goto end_code
*else
    *set mental_text "is on the verge of a breakdown"
    *goto end_code

*label end_code
*return
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Maybe you could have “mental state” or something that buffers the mental damage?

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Cooking! But if you’re overworked, at least on writing, marking off times when you won’t write might be helpful. It can be anything from ‘Not after 20:00’ to ‘not from now to the start of March’ might be helpful as well.

Trying to ‘optimize’ resting time because you feel pressured to be more productive doesn’t really work if the thing you’re stressed about is running around in the back of your mind the entire time. Blocking out ‘not writing or doing anything writing-related’ time in your schedule might help to let go of that.

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If that’s how it works in the world you’ve created, then I would tie it to the aether jewelry. I personally have outfits block both physical and magical damage (although I never explain why an otherwise normal outfit would stop magic attacks – this is a world where eating cheesecake somehow lowers enemy stats, so the MC wouldn’t even think to wonder otherwise), that way it’s fairer to the player.

Having said that, not all fights have to be fair – in my story, normally enemies attack ‘adventure stats’ that reset for the next adventure. Yet for narrative purposes, there’s one boss fight I have that will directly go after your main stats, and there’s nothing you can do or wear to stop it – so if the mental attacks are meant to be that terrible, then it might be better to not have any offsets for mental damage.

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When stress hits me the worst and I just can’t do anything, the thing that helps most is walking outdoors until some energy returns, or I feel tired out in a good way rather than fatigued by everything else. When times are like that, it’s really hard to do it but if I get myself off my computer and moving in fresh air, it always feels a little bit better. If I can, I also try to take notice of my sleep and try not to sleep at weird times (this doesn’t always work smoothly). Thinking of you - I hope you feel better soon.

Absolutely this. I have a bad habit of trying to Win Self-Care So I Can Be Productive Tomorrow and as a self-employed person, I’m not always the most thoughtful boss to myself. Which is something I’ve been working on a lot! So, self-care is worthwhile in its own right, not solely for what it enables you to do.

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Not really. You’ll be playing both genders in the same world. The man would be a more urgent, shorter more pivotal story while the woman would be a power fantasy. At least that’s the idea.

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I’m not entirely sure if this is the right thread (apologies if not), but how long should a work be before you publish a demo and create a thread of some sort or post on other sites? I’m roughly halfway done with a prologue I’m working on, and can’t decide if I should upload a demo that only includes the prologue and then use the feedback from that to help write chapter 1, or wait until I have both the prologue and chapter 1 finished before doing any sort of announcement.

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Hmm, if your prologue has a different POV to the main story, then I think you should upload the prologue and chapter one together. But if it’s from the same POV, I see no reason why you can’t just upload the prologue by itself

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I posted mine after half of the prologue was done, but it was also 20k words iirc and divided into 9 parts. It’s ultimately up to you, but I’d recommend posting once you feel readers will get a good grasp of the story, and if you feel that happens with the prologue then go ahead

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I did the same, it’s fine as long as the prologue is enough to interest the reader.

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New achievement unlocked! :crossed_swords: I’ve finished revisions for chapters 3 & 4 of my WIP. Huzzah! :tada:

Time for a self-care break, and then I will dive back into chapter 5.

Hope you’re all enjoying your weekend! :herb:

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The good things about jams is they have a time limit on them. They’re great for time management because you have to submit them instead of tinkering away/scope creeping them for ever. So you can hyperfocus on them for a few weeks to a month, but then they need to be in for the deadline. I actually find them really useful for me to get some fun projects finished (these massive 200k+ games the norm here are the exception elsewhere), but maybe they’re not for everyone. (Only issue is be careful if you decide to revisit them later. I’ve done it a few times. If I’m disiplined I do a round of grammar/bug/minor scene additions if there’s anything I didn’t get to before the deadline (like Cage break). If I’m not they get turned from mini little side projects into full blown large games like Phantasmagoria or Raishall which is less good for the projects the jam was meant to be a distraction from.)

Yup me too. If I can, I’ll find a beach and take myself off swimming for hours. Even if I can’t afford the time to do it (which is most of the time so you just have to try and make it), the positive effects usually off set just taking an afternoon off to swim or do other exercise/walks etc if it’s gotten to the too stressed to function properly stage. If you’re an introvert, sometimes you just need to not have anyone around you for a few hours to recharge. If you’re an extrovert, take a friend if that feels better.

If there are variables that only relate to one chapter I’ll often temp them. It doesn’t really make that big a difference, but can help identify where they’re used and make sure they’re set properly where you need them. I also suspect they’re less likely to be messed about with by casual pirates min-maxing stats to release modded versions ASAP without understanding how it may break the game and causing bug reports (that aren’t bugs) to get generated.

There’s actually a knack to writing short stories. I know they generally get looked down upon around here, but it’s not just a lazy person’s way out, they actually do need to be more tightly written and scope creep controlled to pull off which isn’t always easy and can take some practice. It’s worth the practice though IMO as it helps (me at least) with editing to try and decide what needs and does not need to be in a story I’m writing even in long form. (When it comes to scope creep outside of short form games where I’m focused on keeping it to a wordcount or timeframe, I’m still a lot cause :stuck_out_tongue: )

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You would think this would be easier since I walk through a park twice a day every weekday, but when it’s on the way to work or back from work, one just can’t enjoy it.

Huh… this actually feels like a pretty solid plan. I might do that. Thanks!

My sleep is absolutely atrocious. I usually don’t get to sleep before midnight, and I have to be up at 5-6am to get to work on time. TAT And I don’t get off work until 5, so I don’t get home until 6:20. It’s the worst.

holy shit you said the quiet part out loud…

I posted my WIP thread after I’d gotten about 20 likes on the Interest Check thread. Then, when I had a workable start and a little bit of the first chapter, I posted a WIP link. The feedback I’ve been getting from that thread has been IMMENSELY useful for writing the first chapter. But, you gotta be able to seperate criticism from your fundamental story plan, because otherwise you’ll end up writing something that’s entirely something other than what you wanted to write.

HUZZAH!!! Good job!

I mean, you’re definitely not wrong. Editing down to a smaller word count helps with tightening up prose quite a bit. I just… Bleh, I’m not good at it. XD

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