Journey of the Vanguard (WIP) - Updated 6/27/16

Psst hey you Psst

hands leaflet

Join our fanclub for this game its small but growing… and i wanted soooo much to make a penis joke there but i held myself back

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Love it!

Also, most minor of error during the trip to Valiant with the box; the is spelt as th

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I may have misinterpreted based on the apparent scale of the ship as it was more reminiscent of a space ship as opposed to a more mundane plane.

That makes sense. Flying around patroling the frontier is certainly evocative of plenty of space-faring stories, and the Hearthfire is a pretty big ship. It’s basically a really big flying house.

This just made it into my list of favourite wips. Not many writers can instantly immerse me in a story, you are one of them. I suppose it helps that I love scifi and fantasy but that’s beside the point. Anyway, can’t wait for the next update.

I don’t know if anyone expected it so soon (and I certainly don’t want to set a precedent for this speed, but here it is! The new update. Everything coming your way has been included in the patch notes, located in the first post, as always, so now let’s get chatting.

This chapter is a pretty big landmark, since this is where the main storyline kicks in, and where most of the NPCs get introduced. Thanks to this, I can now talk about a lot of topics that previously would have lacked context, like:

  • NPCs, their stat distributions, and their prominence in each path
  • Romance options (tied closely to NPC topics)
  • How Valiant Academy works
  • Differences in paths going forward
  • The plot

And I expect to be doing a lot of talking about that stuff with everyone in this thread, because…

It could be a while before the next major update

There’s a few reasons for this. My initial plan for developing this game was to get one solid playthrough built from start to finish (This’ll be when we hit version 1), then go back and add the rest of the branches until all paths were built and the game was done. This means that at least through to version 1, things might seem a bit on the rails, since while there will be plenty of variance within each chapter, there will only be one major path available.

I’ve since decided to let the audience chime in, so that maybe we don’t get one group of people desperately wait for their branch to be built while people who are on initial build get to reach the end of the game.

In short? I’m putting up another poll so people can vote for what the next chapter released in an update should be. While the poll is running, I’ll still be working on the game, crafting sidequests and ideas, fleshing out backstories, hunting down bugs and typos, adding things that I left unfinished/unrefined in already released chapters (looking at you, drone sidequest), and of course listening to and responding to your feedback. Once I’ve decided the poll has enough votes to be decisive, I’ll move forward with writing that chapter, release it, rinse and repeat.

Prior to the release of each poll, I’ll do my best to explain as generally and spoiler-free as possible what players are really voting for, as I doubt “Survivor-City chapter” has any real meaning to most people. Hopefully, this arrangement will be acceptable to everyone, and make for a good game.


That said, let’s talk about the first update vote you’ll all be participating in! From where we’re at, the current options for an update chapter are: Survivor-Wild, Survivor-City, Student-Vanguard, and Student-Streets. Allow me to elaborate:

Survivor-Wild
Do you remember how after the crash, you were given a choice of where you crashed, but could really only choose one option? That wasn’t because of choices you made, that was because the other two options hadn’t been written yet.

This chapter will be pretty similar to the Survivor-Mountain chapter, in that the player will spend most of it alone, fending for themselves. The difference is that on the mountain, you were clear of monster territory for the most part, and as such only had to deal with the one that got too greedy.

If you crash in the middle of the Wilds, you will be dealing with a much more dangerous environment, and you will be driven from the crash site almost immediately. Expect fights (some of them brutal), haphazard attempts to keep yourself alive, and never feeling safe in a particularly long trek through the wilds while being hounded by monsters and the elements at every turn.

Bear in mind that this chapter update will also come with an option in the Survivor-Mountain chapter to give up on repairing the comms, and risk climbing down the mountian to end up in the Wilds chapter.

Survivor-City
This one will probably feel like the most different of the three survivor chapters, as the player will not actually be the only human around in this one. In this option, you crash just outside a Frontier town that has lost all communications and has no working long range transportation, effectively stranding the people there.

It’s also rampant with bandits and thugs, and most of the people live in fear for their lives that if the bandits don’t kill them, a monster attack will. It’s a harsh city environment that the player can carve an existence out of, and even try to become a local hero.

Bear in mind, the NPCs who live through this chapter are the ones you saw on the shuttle Ford picked you up in, so none of them are Vanguard or even individuals of similar power level. Depending on how attached we all get to them, there may be options to catch back up with them later in the game, but they will not be players in the main storyline. Potentially, key parts of the player’s personal lives, but no part in the main story.

Student-Vanguard
This one might actually be straightforwardly named enough that you can figure out a good chunk of what it’ll be about. Yes, this is the path where you choose to stay in Valiant at the Academy and become a member of the Vanguard. As such, the characters you are guaranteed the most time with are Anthony, Clark, Diana, your chosen mentor, and another female student.

Early on in this path will focus primarily on training at the Academy, and your choice of mentor (as well as other choices) will affect how quickly you join the hunt for the Phoenix artifact.

Later in this path, there will be ways to convince Marty and another female character to enroll in the school, and even though they never will, you will still on occasion run into Perry and Tayana. See the cast list in the first post to determine what that does to your romantic options.

Student-Streets
This is the other side of the coin to staying with the Vanguard. In this path, you join Tayana and her motley crew, and live and train with them in Westerra. In addition to not going through the mentor system of Valiant Academy, and thus get most of your training from your friends and the streets, you will become involved in the hunt for the Phoenix artifact much more quickly.

You take on a more active role from the get go in this path, but you are still inexperienced, and without the Vanguard watching your backs, you may find yourself in over your head. In addition, due to the somewhat harsh nature of how Tayana and hr crew live, there will less opportunities to simply enjoy yourself, and be young and carefree. You grow up a lot quicker and a lot rougher in this path than you do if you stay at the Academy.

The four NPCs you are guaranteed plenty of interaction with in this path are Tayana, Perry, Marty, and another female character. Later in the chapter, there will be options to convince Anthony and another female student from the Academy to drop out and join up with you, but you will still run into Clark and Diana every now and again. See the cast list to determine what this does to your romance options.

That about does it for explanations of the chapters
If you have any questions, feel free to ask them before you make your decision. Here’s the poll:

  • Student-Vanguard
  • Student-Streets
  • Survivor-Wild
  • Survivor-City

0 voters

As a last note before I go, is everyone okay with the public vote? I hope so.

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Could you please make the cheeseburger thing a running gag? Pretty please?

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I just noticed that when help arrives, you can say “Tell me you got the cheeseburger.” even if you didn’t mention it in your call for help.

Also, when confronting Marty about whether or not he watched you change he says “I’ll have you know I happen to have more class than that. I’ll have you know I happen to have more class than that.” (Repeating the same sentence twice.)

Could you maybe post a list of all the different classes and a short description of each, either here, or as a sort of codex in-game?

Upon first meeting Anthony and Clark, I get this:

“You put actually built a bomb? And you put it in someone’s room?”

The first “put” probably shouldn’t be there.

Marty appears to be wearing “finerless gloves” (fingerless).


Also, I second the call for cheeseburgers.

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I didn’t get my cheeseburger… someone will have to pay.

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@justme @ParrotWatcher Thanks for pointing those bugs/typos out! Tracking them down now. For the time being, I’ll add them to the know bugs section, but they should be fixed by the end of the day.

@justme I’d be happy to put one up, as well as establish an in-game codex. Will have the post up soon, and then.

If demand keeps up the way it’s going now, it’s looking like “The Quest for the Great Cheeseburger” will have to become a thing. Funnily enough, I actually have a pretty good real life source to draw inspiration if(when) I have to write that one. Long story, involving years of theme park visits and a very annoyed best friend.

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Trust me, my MC is perfectly willing to go with whichever side will give him the cheeseburger.

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Found an error: “standing there expectantly is the girl fromthe train, Tayana.”

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A while back, when Journey of the Vanguard was still a glint in my eye every time I looked at a keyboard, I posted a thread on this forum asking for help with class names. Please don’t bother looking for it, we’re about to make that thread moot.

Now, many of you playing through the game have noticed that there’s an awful lot of class names. In fact, there’s more class names than there are stats. There are 16 unique class names. In practice, players essentially just have a combat and noncombat class, but it felt so much more fun to give each combination its own unique name and occasional flavor text.

Now, per the request of @justme, I’m going to be posting a list to quickly name and describe each of them. Now, this is a WIP, so bear in mind that if anybody comes up with an idea I really like, I’m happy to change of the class names.

This list should find its way into an in-game codex within the next couple of updates, but this is a good chance to get out the information early, maybe get some feedback on it, and help players understand other characters, and themselves, a bit more.

Without further ado…

THE CLASSES
Saboteur- Focusing on the Spy and Engineer stats, Saboteurs excel at developing and utilizing surveillance technologies. Though their principal objective is investigation, when pressured into combat, Saboteurs leverage all the advanced gadgets and weaponry one would expect to find at the disposal of someone with their Engineer background.

_Scout-_Focusing on the Spy and Fighter stats, Scouts are trained to operate alone or in small groups, usually in advance of other forces, to gather information on looming threats, often with the knowledge that if they are detected, they’ll likely have to hold their own for some time before help can arrive. As such, Scouts consider themselves ready to face any threat in battle on a moment’s notice.

_Enforcer-_Focusing on the Spy and Defender stats, Enforcers are imposing operatives who gather information rather directly and bluntly, unmoved by whatever dangers such bold actions may bring on them while also exceling at preventing harm from coming to others. They are the first ones sent in to deal with dangerous, public investigations, and they make excellent body guards.

_Infiltrator-_Focusing on the Spy and Assassin stats, Infiltrators are masters of undetected intelligence gathering, threat assessment, and target elimination, all without the enemy ever realizing they were present. They are masters of deception and disappearing.


_Futurist-_Focusing on the Hacker and Engineer stats, Futurists are masters of technology. Not only are they capable of creating and leverage incredible inventions, they know computers inside and out. They are just as capable of creating and using devices to attack virtual targets as they are at doing the same for physical ones.

_Specialist-_Focusing on the Hacker and Defender stats, Specialists truly shine when they are fending of cyber-based attacks. That said, they are just as capable of fending off physical ones.

_Oracle-_Focusing on the Hacker and Fighter stats, Oracles are trained to work on a cycle. They fight their way into locations in order to break into computer systems, and from those computer systems they find the next location to fight their way into. A single Oracle can wreak havoc on criminal organization.

_Cypher-_Focusing on the Hacker and Assassin stats, Cyphers are the bane of computer security. Like Oracles, they are often sent into locations to infiltrate the computer systems there. Unlike Oracles though, who fight their way in, a Cypher rarely leaves any trace of their presence, digital or otherwise.


_Mechanic-_Focusing on the Pilot and Engineer stats, Mechanics are the lifeblood of the Vanguard fleet, maintaining vehicles as well as operating them. They keep cars running, planes flying and boats floating. The most talented among them even design brand new experimental vehicles.

_Ace-_Focusing on the Pilot and Fighter stats, Aces are some of the most skilled and agile combatants employed by the Vanguard, both in the air and on the ground. Many Aces have their own personal flightships, usually of small, nimble classes.

_Helmsman_Focusing on the Pilot and Defender stats, Helmsmen are a class of defense and support oriented pilots, running escorts, shuttling refugees, and patrolling airspaces. Despite their chosen assignments often placing them behind the controls of vehicles, they are formidable combats.

_Stalker-_Focusing on the Pilot and Assassin stats, Stalkers do just as their names implies, employing vehicles to stealthily follow targets, often over long distances. They can keep tabs on even the most dangerous of threats without danger to themselves, and if need be, eliminate them with pinpoint precision.


_Doctor-_Focusing on the Medic and Engineer stats, Doctors leverage their extensive technological and medical know how to design and implement technology to save lives.

_Combat Medic-_Focusing on the Medic and Fighter stats, Combat Medics are ferocious fighters trained to keep people alive in the heat of battle. They operate in the most dire of circumstances with the lowest level of resources, and as such are known equally for their tenacity and their creativity.

_Guardian-_Focusing on the Medic and Defender stats, Guardians train with a singular goal in mind: keep people alive. In combat, they shield allies from harm often by simply bearing the brunt of it themselves. When combat ends, Guardians can switch gears to save the lives of injured comrades and civilians.

_Surgeon-_Focusing on the Medic and Assassin stats, Surgeons are perhaps the grimmest members of the Vanguard, employing their extensive medical knowledge to save lives yes, but also in conjunction with stealth and precision to exert pinpoint devastation onto threats, human or monster.


As stated previously, at the end of the day these class names are really just names for possible combinations of highest stats, but it is fun to imagine exactly the kind of purpose someone with those skillsets might serve, and this being a WIP, there’s always the possibility of me expanding on the games current systems to give individual classes more of a chance to shine.

Sooner or later, this post’ll get converted into a Codex entry and placed in game, but for now, it lives here, where people can enjoy it, at least.

Welp, I’m gonna give that poll a few more days before I close it. In the meantime, I’m going to go bug hunting, and then maybe come up with more NPCs and internally debate gender-locked romances some more. (Fair warning, right now I’m leaning towards gender-locking them while also adding a couple non-gender locked ones. …do I smell another post? Eh, probably no point in talking about that until after people have a chance to actually get to know the characters.)

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As with other works, not being able to read your update is frustrating me. I will catch up when I can; looking forward to it.

Wait, is something wrong with the link?

no. It is my internal promise to work on my WiP before I do any more reading of others keeping me.

I tried as a motivator to help me write faster but its not working well.

Oh. Also phew Also, good luck!

Well, as long as my male MC gets to romance bomb-boy – I mean, Anthony – he’ll be happy. (And get his cheeseburger, obviously.)

And my female MC will be happy when she can get Marty…(She wants him to change sides because of the power of love! …or because he has the hots for her at least) :wink:

(…Well it’s no suprise for people are begging that their fave will be accessible :sweat_smile: However I think in the end we also will learn to deal with things should the favorite RO not be accessible…But as long as nothing is decided yet we just as well can try to bargain :smirk:)