Jolly Good: Cakes and Ale Free-for-All Discussion Thread Where Spoilers May Appear

I am pleased to let you know that there will be a DLC for Cakes and Ale.

(Edit: it’s actually going to be two DLCs.)

It will contain the following thrilling features:

  • a menu for adjusting attributes, ready monies, relationships, and club status on the fly, for those who wish to experiment or set their own difficulty level
  • the ability to play the game with slower skill progression
  • a lengthy Author’s Note discussing the writing of the game
  • the ability to see variables not typically visible for those who want to see what’s going on behind the scenes
  • a detailed “Have You Tried?” list of features suggesting avenues of exploration
  • an achievement guide
  • a list of recommended reading for those who care to immerse themselves further in the period/genre

No story will be within the DLC. Just the above.

Wholly aside from the DLC, there will be the ability to restore the game to checkpoints made at the start of chapters. I am in the progress of implementing this now and figuring out precisely how I want that to look. Again, the game saving will not be DLC–that’ll just be part of the regular game.

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@Gower Oh my God thank you!! This is awesome.

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I found this moment from the Jeeves TV show that could probably give you an idea of how much a high Intellect MC knows:

You got me thinking about how the pining between Mopsie and Figs would probably be a lot more bearable if both of them just chatted via Twitter. But I think setting the story in the modern day would lose a bit of its charm. :wink:

Oh, that’s so cool! And those are thrilling features. I really appreciate the fact that you go out of your way to add that and a checkpoint system on top of your million word game (Ulysses, times four) for us, Gower. It’s probably really hard to do, and you’re really going on an extra leg there.

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Thank you for your hard work on the check point system! Really appreciate it as it is going to be a longggg party (still in awe of the word countXD).

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At this point I have landed on the following saving structure:

There will be a savepoint automatically made at the start of each of the eight chapters. (Not for the prologue, as that is very short.) Then, at the very end of each chapter, there will be the option to restore to the start of that chapter, or proceed to the next chapter.

So this helps with the problem of misclicking–at worst you only lose one chapter’s worth of play. It also allows for some experimenting and trying alternate paths without having to replay the whole game, but it only allows that within a particular chapter. You can’t restore to the start of chapter four once you have advanced past that chapter.

Anyhow, that’s what I’ve got at this point. Are there any compelling cases for additional save game features that I am overlooking?

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These features do indeed sound very exciting. Suggestions and an achievement guide are great for replayability, and I am always interested in the background research and writing process.

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I have updated my August 16 post above with a higher quality image of the cover art and a good look at fifteen assorted important and ancillary characters in the game.

Paola Tuazon is wonderful, and I can’t believe I was lucky enough to have had her illustrate my game.

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@Gower Wow. It is gorgeous.

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I love that reference to tally ho in the news paper :grin:

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I (and I literally cannot stress this enough,) absolutely love the cover art! I can’t wait for the release!

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Finding myself in an endless Wodehousian loop, where I’m excited about Jolly Good so I read more PG Wodehouse (or this time it was Jeeves and the King of Clubs by Ben Schott, with the blessings of the Wodehouse estate), which reminds me of Tally Ho!, so I play that for the 100th time, which makes me eager for Jolly Good again. I hope copyediting is going well and I’m happily waiting for the November release!

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I think an endless Wodehousian loop sounds like heaven.

Copyediting is long done, and Cakes and Ale is awaiting its turn in the limelight, in just 27 days, when it shall appear on your doorstep wrapped in pale mauve wrapping paper and adorned with a frilly silver bow. I can’t wait for you to play! I assume you’ve decided upon the canonical Tally Ho ending that you’ll be starting Cakes and Ale with?

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Thank you!!! And I don’t know which Tally Ho ending I’ll go with…but it does seem a likely Rory/PC. :smile:

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My canonical ending is the MC/Haze Monte Carlo ending. Given the variety of legal issues faced by the two, I highly doubt that it would be the most sustainable relationship for the next game, but being exceptional people, I’m sure they can make it work.

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I have a feeling the MC/Rory and the MC/Haze endings will be the most popular! The Tally Ho endings will only lightly color the Jolly Good series, (and in this first one, faintly indeed) but there will be some significant scene differences in this first game, particularly differing depending on whether Rory and Frankincense are together and whether Figs and Mopsie are together. (Then again, depending on the paths you take, you might not even get those differing scenes in Cakes and Ale.)

Many other echoes and ramifications from Tally Ho will show up in the later games if all goes as planned.

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Haze and Fitzie are 2 of my favorite ROs of all time :heart: I cannot WAIT to talk to my boys again!!! IT’S.SO SOON!!!

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Have been lurking in the shadows waiting for this new game and I am super excited! I can’t wait to brew up some tea and just spend a few rainy days playing through it.

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@Gower Have you thought about making a jolly good in the 21st century?
If so, what would it be like?

I am not aware of any time period that takes place after about 1937. I think it’s a myth.

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