I just wanted to pop in and say that I really enjoyed this game! I’ve been following this release for a while, so I made sure to buy this on day one.
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So I have played most games from Choice of Games and Hosted Games and I feel semi-qualified to give some player feedback having started playing New Witch in Town. Ambiguity about player statistics, skills, traits and their personality development is a pet peeve of mine.
You however have done an excellent job of explaining exactly what each of the stat bars represent and I praise you for that Onto some suggestions for skill check threshholds, and changes made to the bars depending on choices made in the game.
Simply put implementations of features like Storyteller mode, options to show what choices will adjust what stat in what way on the selection bar and even a toggle that allows the player the option to automatically pass skill checks they feel their character should pass based on how they are roleplaying their character are best way to ensure the bulk of the players spend more time enjoying the story that is being presented, and less time frustrated over not understanding why their character can’t do something that they feel their roleplay should allow them to do.
Disclaimer: All of this is my opinion. I am not an author, coder, programmer, editor. Just a player who likes a good game.
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To all the guys itt that are uncomfortable with the word witch, remember that originally in history that witchcraft didn’t have anything to do with gender. Even today there are plenty of male modern pagans that identify as witches.
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So since I was talking about stats earlier, I think it’s worth mentioning here that I just found a pretty major bug with one of the stat tests which makes it impossible to pass. I’ve sent an email to Support with the details, but it relates to the mystery surrounding who the other witch in town is.
Specific technical details here (fairly major spoilers are blurred, but present):
Essentially, in the scene in chapter 6 where you can realise that Nic might be the other witch, there’s a test of two stats: one is a regular stat, either Precision or Influence depending on the path taken through the scene, and the other is a stat which specifically tracks how many discoveries you’ve made about the other witch. There are a few chances to increase that stat in the earlier chapters, and originally I coded those increases as whole numbers, e.g.:
*set stat +10
But later, I changed them to percentages, e.g.:
*set stat %+10
When I made this change, however, I forgot to account for the fact that the highest possible value for this stat would now be lower than previously. Before, I was expecting the maximum possible value for the stat to be something like 50 more than the stat’s starting value, and so I set the testing barrier at 30 more than the starting value. But because I was now adding percentages rather than whole numbers, the amount the stat increased by would almost always be lower than 10, and the maximum value would be a fair bit lower than before. Because I didn’t add things up properly after making this change, it ended up that the highest possible value you can increase the stat to now is actually 1 under the testing barrier, making it impossible to pass the test and find out whether Nic is the other witch.
This is a pretty major bug, and I really do apologise for only just having caught it. Hopefully though it should be straightforward to fix; I just wanted to mention it here in the interest of transparency, since people might have had issues with this scene and not been sure why they couldn’t pass it. I hope this helps
Edit: I’ve been told it’s been patched, so hopefully it should now work!
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It could be a cultural/language thing. Some languages have a gender-neutral equivalent for the term “witch”, whereas it is gendered in others. For example, Japanese has 魔女 (majo), which contains the kanji for woman. But I do agree that it can be used as a gender-neutral word in English.
Yeah I don’t necessarily think there’s an elegant way of making it explicitly clear which stats are required for which choices, and that’s a CoG problem in general not your game in particular. The most common solution seems to be working the name of the stat into the choice (this is gonna be a bad example but): “I take a moment to concoct the precise expression and inflection needed to sell the lie of my grandmother’s absence.” The downside of this is weird, formulaic, repetitive sentences. The idea of a toggle to have the player explicitly see which stats are required are only half a solution because I’m sure writers will still feel pressured to write AS IF players aren’t using the toggle.
I have mixed feelings about the use of stats in CoG’s games in general. Right now it often feels like I need to predicate personality off of stats instead of stats being reflective of personality. I realize a skillset separate from personality wouldn’t be appropriate for every kind of game but like if I want to play someone who is good at lying it would be nice if I didn’t have to play someone who lies constantly (often about stuff that don’t really matter). Again, more of a general observation than this game in particular.
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I’m playing the demo cause I am a poor college
student and it made me so nostalgic about my own time visiting my grandmother. I love the writing and the story. I’ll definitely get it once I can afford it.
I did find a pronoun issue for the childhood friend, but I’ll send it in the mail.
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I added this to the end of another comment but I figured it would probably be better as its own comment:
I’ve seen a few people mention a guide for getting through the game/achieving certain paths. Is this something that’s generally done for most games? Is it expected that the game’s author makes them, or are they sometimes made by people who have played the game? Is there a standard format for them? I’m totally happy to make one if people are interested, it’s just not something I’ve come across before so I’m not sure how it works!
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It’s not really a standard thing! I’ve made some posts in an ad hoc way in response to people’s questions, but they can end up being quite labour intensive. I think players sometimes do it but mostly it’s authors.
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i think there’s a lot going on in this game, and i think it’s almost too much. i really liked all the ROs and found a lot of the dialogue very sweet. i did enjoy the way that environmentalism and sustainably were an integral part of trying to save magic in this game but i, like others, found the stats needed to achieve these goals arbitrary and frustrating at times. i also did some code diving after a couple of playthroughs because (spoilers ahoy):
* having romanced Robin meant i inevitably wanted to save the archives along with the big picture accomplishments, especially save the forest + uncover clarence’s conspiracy. i’m not sure how others felt but i found it impossible to do all of these without some big sacrifices (I lost my familiar in the process each time and just cannot seem to avoid that fate).
i almost always felt like i had to prioritize influence, precision, and witchcraft to achieve these goals, especially after i went code-diving and saw there were like, around 10 possible endings to achieve and, as others mentioned, how unclear some of these stats tests seemed to be. for example, one of the tests (forgot which, didn’t take a screenshot) had three options, two of which increased two stats and decreased one and the other which increased all 3 stats? i would recommend not adding so many possible negatives to different options that will later make it impossible to pass stat checks. having each potential choice lead to one stat increase or one stat increase and a state decrease would make a lot of the choices more intuitive.
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I’m only at the demo so far, but after restarting it several times I’ve managed to get 40% in influence and am still having issues with public speaking. Is there ever a point where we try to call out the CEO at the towns meeting and don’t crumble under pressure? Or is it canon? And if we can trick him to reveal something, how?
What do you mean by “call him out”? Last time I played Ch1, I asked him a fairly hard-hitting question and a follow-up without letting my nerves get the best of me, in a way that flustered him and made a good impression on the townsfolk. Is that what you’re aiming for?
Yes. My nerves keep getting the best of my character whenever I try to ask him a “hard hitting question”, so I assume it isn’t connected to the Influence stat which is at 40% as every option I’ve clicked on has led me to: You realize as soon as you hear the slight shake in your voice that you don’t have the confidence to really speak your mind in front of so many people just yet—not when you’re going up against someone like Mr. Clarence. With a sinking feeling, you can already tell that you won’t be able to keep pressing your point if he gives you a too-easy answer.
So, how did you fluster him?
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Each of the three questions you can ask tests a different stat, which is hinted at in the text. Relying on “eloquence” tests Influence, relying on “strength” tests Strength, and relying on your bond with the town tests Townie. Influence or Strength has to be at least 50 to achieve success; Townie has to be at least 55. I managed on the Townie route. I don’t actually know if it’s possible to raise Influence and/or Strength to 50 at this point. I’m not saying that it isn’t possible, just that I don’t know if it is.
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I really enjoyed this one. Is it everyone’s cup of tea? No, of course not. Some people might think it is too fluffy. However, I found that I thoroughly enjoyed the characters and my interactions with them. Everyone felt real to me, especially if you have ever lived in a small town.
Not every story needs to be convoluted with tons of technical aspects. Instead, this one is very much character driven.
I understand some people are taking issues with the term “witch,” but really, if that’s the only major complaint by many, then it’s a small one.
I went with Robin as the RO, and he honestly reminded me a lot of myself. Very anxious and nervous while trying to get to know someone new, but also very kindhearted and intellectual.
One thing for me, I made a mistake and accidentally chose the wrong date night at some point. So I restarted the game, and then I think I failed a crucial check that I had passed in my first run-through. Not sure how or why because my stats were practically the same both times. But I’ll figure it out. Robin and I have a date tonight!
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I’ve read the book so far it’s not that bad, that’s just okay. I was expecting more from the plot but sadly it highlights more about the environment than the witch. It’s not that I don’t care about the environment, it’s just that I find it unsuitable and boring for me. The only thing I liked about this book was the interaction between our MC and Lis. And the stats can be very frustrating at times. So this book is not my cup of tea. And I’m very sorry if my comment seems rude, just stating my experience.
But wishing you all the best in future projects! 
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As a witch, your magic stems from the forest — the story plot is focused on the environment because until the end of the story, the only way to continue to do magic is by keeping the forest strong.
If you ignore the destruction of the forest, you ignore the source of your witchly powers.
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Thank you for your help!
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I just encountered an error where two different people are announced as the winner of the full college scholarship– in the same paragraph.
Anyone know how to get Nic to reveal that they’re the other witch or have a detailed walkthrough for that?