Hong Kong Blood Opera Updated 16th January

Most of the bugs are clear in the first 11 chapters now. The last 4 chapters are a mess.

The big thing now is filling in all the romance subplots. The good news is that this doesn’t require much new coding as I already have skeletal code (and some) for this material.

Thank you so much for your advice and your support. I’m going to follow your advice regarding the private beta test prior to publication.

7 Likes

Nice going mate like @poison_mara said patience pays of I know you’re gonna give us something like no other COG yet and I cant wait to see it. I would also agree with @poison_mara about the final private beta testing when your done as it will lead to a better product.

1 Like

Another little update. I’ve just crossed 280,000 words which is only 15,000 more than where I was at three weeks ago but I’ve done a lot of coding and debugging as well. I’m picking up momentum as well. I’m hoping to be at Beta testing stage something next month.

10 Likes

I hope these updates aren’t spammy. I crossed the 286,000 word rubicon today. The third act is halfway done.

I’ve paused on the 3rd act at the moment and I’m fleshing out the romantic arcs before I write the final scenes. The romantic arcs are going to be a much bigger part of the story than I had orignaly envisaged. I think that’s partly down to player interest but also because I very unexpectedly found myself enjoying them very much. I’ve made the romance arcs a much more integral part of the story, so they’re not just side plots but very central and interwined with the main plots.

I’ve also set up a number of love triangles and romantic conundrums and betrayals again intertwined with the main plot.

All of this has been a lot of fun to write but I’m going to blow way past 300,000 words. This WIP probably needs 320-350 thousand words to do it justice at this point.

Writer and Supernatural arc still only half done as well but they’re fairly straightforward and not-so branchy complicated to the central arc.

I’ve also fleshed out a gay man only romance (previously just a one night stand and still very minor but not irrelevant to the plot either).

Main playtest files have been updated a bit but most of this new content isn’t playable yet. The new romance arc material hasn’t been interwoven into the main chapters yet. At this current rate of progress I will have a working beta sometime in October. It won’t be pretty but it will be approximately 300,000 playable narrative that reaches an ending.

10 Likes

Hello everyone just a quick little update of where this project is at. I’ve finished the rough draft of the ending. The game is 300,000 words at the moment and I’m currently revising and editing. Some of this revision involves fixing spelling, grammatical and stylistic errors but some of it is what Neil Gaiman refers to as making it look “like you always knew what you were doing all along.” And early players of the Demo will notice a lot of subtext, romance and plot changes in the final version of the game.

The revisions have been flying so far but there are a few chapters that I haven’t reached yet which are going to be a lot of work.

Many thanks for the feedback and emotional support I’ve received on this forum over the past year and a half. I wouldn’t have made it through this project without you guys. The project has evolved, grown and changed a lot. Originally I envisioned this to be a 200,000 word game with an emphasis on action sequences. Now the project has ballooned to 300,000 words and while there is a lot of action sequences in it the emphasis is more on the POV characters personal journey and their relationships with the NPCs to an extent that I didn’t envisage when I started this project. That’s all thanks to the feedback and support I’ve received here and I’m very grateful for it.

I have not and will not update the demo (it’s still playable but getting woefully out of date) but I will start a Closed Beta soon. If you want to be involved just say boo and I’ll be happy to add you to the list.

17 Likes

Could I be closed bete tester?

Sure I’ll get in touch with you when it starts (hopefully within 2 weeks). Thank you kindly for volunteering, I really appreciate it.

2 Likes

Can I beta test

1 Like

Yes and thank you.

1 Like

Boo! :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

But I will note my available time can fluctuate wildly, so I may turn out to be not all that useful.

1 Like

No pressure, I’m very happy to have you on board. You’re feedback and encouragement has meant a lot to me.

2 Likes

Boo! i also would like to test :+1:

1 Like

Cheers. Thanks for volunteering.

Boo^^

1 Like

Boo! :slightly_smiling_face: I would love to test this game, if the tester slots aren’t full yet :kissing_heart:

1 Like

Boo~

1 Like

No the tester slots aren’t full, I’ve been replying to people via DM instead of replying on the forum thread. Thank you very much for volunteering I’m going to need a lot help testing this! I really appreciate it.

Boo! I’ve been watching this one for a while congrats on being almost done!

2 Likes

BOO! I’d love to be a Beta tester, if you still need one. :smiley:

1 Like

Boo back! Thank you. Yes I still need one. I’ve not been replying to everyone publicly so it might seem like I don’t need any more but I’ve been DMing people.

I’ll be DMing you next week with a link to the Closed Beta.

4 Likes