May 2021's Writer's Support Thread

May I ask what they are?

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Combat, Intelligence, and the one I can’t think of a good use of is Stealth. What good is stealth for, if all you’re doing is marching around the desert for days hoping not to get lost, forced to do hard labour in public places, and trying to shoot at stuff while you’re wearing a super conspicuous blue uniform and standing inside an un-hideable giant fort? The enemy knows you’re there and there’s not really a use for stealth anymore when you’re already actively throwing punches, either.

They’ll be used for skill checks for sure, one choice per stat that checks if you have a high enough % for that certain stat (this is going to be quite linear). Some of them will be pass/fail checks and some of them will be greyed out. I just can’t think of a good use for the last one and probably need to change it into something else.

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For your WIP stealth can be important. Not being detected by the enemy or sneak up on the enemy. But if you are not sure, yes you can replace it with something else.

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Check out this thread. It might offer some good insights for you. :slight_smile:

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I agree with @CC_Hill stealth can be important in that manner. Maybe you could even split up combat? My last WIP I released was my first game I even attempted stat checks with.

I didn’t click on the thread, but I would assume I used something similar to what @AChubbyBlackCat shared here

You can do more than one stat check for an interaction to take place. Like:
*if ((stealth <65) and (combat >=65))
You attempt to sneak up on the guards but you are caught. You managed to knock them out before they can raise an alarm.
*goto next

I’m on my phone so I don’t know if the proper indentions will show up. But with combining stat checks you can have different results, like if stealth is >=65 you are successful at sneaking up to them and if combat is <65 but you struggle to knock them out. Etc.

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Bit hard to do when you’re just one out of 30. Stealth would be useful for say, ambushing a village at dawn if you’re doing it solo, but one person’s stealth stat won’t be the deciding success factor if you’re in a group, even if you’re not going in guns blazing. And going in guns blazing is your commander’s regular strategy.

Yeah. Now when I think about it, it feels like all the stealthy stuff I can think of now will also overlap with the Maverick stat because you’re using your ability to get around rules. Like getting out of work or sneaking into some den of vice that you’re not supposed to go without getting caught.

There’s also a stat there that might end up cosmetic, only changing flavour text. Not sure if I should keep it there now…

Maybe… Since it’s too late to sneak away once fists are flying, maybe one stat could be a matter of having the chops to beat your opponent quickly, and the other could be how long you can tank damage for and keep your opponent busy? Does that make sense?

Just my opinion, but I don’t like checks more than one stat at a time. Maybe it’s the implementation in the games I’ve played, but it’s sometimes feels unfair and drives me to strongly pay attention to raising my stats instead of enjoying the story as it is.

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With mine witht he stat checks, I have several different stats that could actually be checked at different parts. Just because the reader thinks it may be one stat, it may actually be a different one being checked. The double checks come in handy for different results and narrative.

Edit: I am a big whiner who complained way too soon, immediately after I posted this I got an immaculate email with tons of feedback and screenshots, sorry I’m so impatient! Lol. Previous post here for posterity (and roasting me):

i’m a little bummed, i sent out my most recent project for beta feedback from 7-8 people who specifically expressed interest in it, and so far i’ve received a grand total of two comments, both about the first chapter. obviously i don’t expect anyone to drop everything and provide feedback but it’s been almost a week at this point.

if you’re one of those readers, no hard feelings! you’re great and i love every one of you. life is crazy for everyone right now and i’m not holding anything against you. i just think i could have done better and picked a greater number of people or made a new topic or something. just kind of blowing off steam here in the support thread lol

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Can you not make a demo for it? I get quite a bit of feedback for my WIPs, I understand it may not be at a point you are ready, but this community is great. It doesn’t have to be anything complete. My first WIP wasn’t even my first completed chapter.

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I had a WIP topic while i was writing it but then I took it down so i could focus on getting more specific feedback, but I’m realizing that I might have just put too much pressure on the readers. I think I will go ahead and open a beta topic. thanks for the idea!

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You’re welcome. Most of my readers even point out typos or errors they come across, what they like, don’t like, issues etc. They’re all usually pretty good about constructive (and positive) feedback. If you are looking for something in particular, state it in your post or even in game before it starts.

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well, i did it! thanks for the encouragement :slight_smile:

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You’re welcome. I’ll check it out when I get a break from my own projects. Never get discouraged.

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Hmm, I don’t know about that. Misleading choices feels confusing and dishonest to me. Maybe it works in games with some subterfuge involved, but mine is very straightforward.

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It’s for my Extreme Ball game I have stats like speed, carry, evasion, catch, strength, etc. So if you have the ball and running with it could be any of those (except catch) being checked. If they are catching the ball, catch is checked but one of the others can also be checked. So there will be different outcomes.

Sometimes when throwing the ball throw power and throw accuracy is being checked or just one of them is, depending on the scenario. It gives the game more depth and takes away from repetitive choices all the time.

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I hope you get the feedback you seek soon, @SpokesWriter! I unfortunately cannot help in that regard :persevere: my to-read list is ever growing…

Today, I transferred and edited the interlude to dashingdon and wrote a little of chapter one. A total of just under a thousand words for the past few weeks; a really measly number. Hoping that work will ease up soon so I can spend more time to write.

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I see, that makes sense. I hope there’s a way for the player to have at least some control what’s being tested, instead of it being completely random. It depends on the game and the player, of course, but a game of pure chance can go the other way and become frustrating instead of replayable.

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They have plenty of opportunities to work on their skills. This is just the freshman year so far. So you can’t always expect to win every game.

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Ah, got it. Hopefully failing those won’t make a huge impact later in the game, or it’ll be replay scumming hoping to get the right RNG.

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Mostly it just determines narrative in a couple of games. But some of the choices you make also matter on the outcome. If you have better running skills it’s best to keep the ball rather than throw it. The sophomore year will have a little bit different set up, because I want to keep repetitiveness to a minimum, of course that can be difficult with it being a sports theme.

I also didn’t want to make it to where the player could boost their stats too high, since I’m planning on the game (if I decide not to split it into 3 games) spanning through 4 years in high school, 3/4 years in college, and up to 15 years in pro. Of course there are factors that can decrease stats but those are at a bare minimum for the freshman year and each year the skill progression will be different.

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