I’m trying to spoil myself only moderately, cause yes, I STILL didn’t play the demo because of other things to check out first, even though I’m following what’s happening - but I think it’s not bad to give an opinion without knowing the context, to be quite external, so I’ll do it anyway.
So, about the shortcut…
On a personal level, I do think it’s okay for a shortcut to cut out some content, because as people already said, that’s the point of a shortcut, period. Now, the thing is, while the community here is lovely and understanding, because we all know these types of games and we’re in contact with the authors etc, in other places lambda players can be ruthless (and honestly very rude sometimes). So I can easily see @Eiwynn’s point, and part of me agrees with the need to add something more.
Though personaly, I would probably make that added content some interesting conversations with whoever is there at that moment in the game, though I perfectly understand how an action scene would have a broader appeal.
I am SO PISSED at negative reviews on games sometimes when I consider they’re totally unfair because various reasons, especially considering this hinders the sales cause other people see these negative things and take them at face value.
So I guess it IS safer to try and not leave “easy targets” when they are not strict story requirements…
Thanks everyone, I think I will go down the added scene route for this. So the shortcut route still won’t be as long as the other route, but if I try to make the new scene epic and fun, hopefully nobody will mind too much! (And they can replay and go the other way later if they want).
Ahhh i saved before conversation with stevo i didnt asked stevo to fly me over but still when maria strides MC tells her that smuggler has been arranged to fly them over i dont want to take shortcut cause i have to play another perspective but game doesn’t allow it?? Is it with me only??
Also i wanted to say during the adult scene with maria options are like just kiss me, just hold me etc my MC is asking maria to kiss him but i usually like to initiate romance like i was expecting my MC would lean in and and go directly for a kiss. For me just kiss me words feels a little odd can i kiss also will do for me or rather i would lean in for a kiss cause IRL its just mutual understanding unsaid words are understood and intentions are understood without asking especially cause maria is my ex lover so i expect that chemistry between MC and her
Hm. When I playtested it, it worked. I just checked the code, and it should work. Not sure what happened there. If this happens for anybody else, please let me know.
OK, updated with some minor tweaks and typos. The big update (the new scene when flying into Germany) will take maybe a day or two. I’ll let you know when it’s done!
I second that, kind wished there were more options that actually suit the ex-lover path, relying more on gestures and playing to the paragon aspect of our character.
I think there’s already quite a lot of ex-lover-specific dialogue in that scene, but I’ll take another look.
On the kissing, I’d prob have to have the MC asking first. In the original game, in a couple of the romance scenes, I did have the MC leaning in for a kiss, but when the game went for review, the content editor said that I shouldn’t do that, so I had to rewrite those options (which I agree with, actually: consent should be established first).
It might be written more elegantly formulated instead of “Just kiss me” because I would’ve thought that would be something a female MC or Maria herself would say.
(example options:
Look deeply into her eyes before drifitng to her lips and back up.
Tilt her head slightly and ask “may I?” )
edit: the issue I had with some choice options and dialogues options were that they were to blunt, stating what they (the mc) would like to say rather than have more… natural and elegant dialgoue. And this is just my personal opinion and perception of it. I still adore this game, because of it’s natural charm and characters but some of the choice options and dialogue was a bit unelegant in my opinion.
Much smoother and better then just the “Just Kiss me” text in my opinion.
I think “Just kiss me” was kinda supposed to be blunt? That’s the sort of peak yearning moment, where you’re just like “OK, stop talking now!!!”, like you can’t wait any longer. But I’ll look again at that scene once I’ve finished adding the new airstrip scene and see if I can add a range of other dialogue options at that point.
OK, on reflection, I’m not going to add a new scene to the flying route in Chapter 5. I’m just sick of writing action scenes, after putting so many in this chapter, and I’ve spent a lot of time today trying to think of how to make the airstrip raid idea work, and tbh I just think it isn’t going to work. Players who take the shortcut still get a 50k+ long chapter even with the stuff they miss, and a big boost to their chances of winning, so I don’t really think they have grounds to complain. So I’m just gonna leave it. If I change my mind, I might go back and do it, but for now it’s staying as is.
Hey, don’t burn yourself out! If you think it doesn’t fit, then there’s no point in doing a scene reluctantly for it to not be as good as the other ones.
BTW, is that shortcut optional? As in, if players meet the conditions, they can select if they go that route or no? Cause if it isn’t something that’s forced onto players if conditions are met, then people are still able to opt out of it if they want the “scenic route”, so eh… no issues?
But you also get a free Beretta and a cheap silenced pistol if you go that route, so you still get something out of going to London!
You get periodic updates on your speed, telling you whether you’re going fast, slow or medium. The last one you had was at the start of Venice. You’ll get another update at the start of Chapter 6. I’m considering adding something to the stats screen that can give you a real-time assessment of how you’re doing, if I can figure out how to implement it!
EDIT: As for saves, I’m afraid I don’t know how to add a delete/rename saves option. That’s not my code: I use CJW’s save system for dashingdon, and I’m not a competent enough coder to know how to mess with it!
Yeah its integrated in the story text but its hard to keep track of for me atleast i would appreciate a stat bar for progress in race whether you want it or not could be left to options in settings for those who want more immersion isnt it??
Dont get me wrong i dont want to mess with the idea of how you want to tell story and the line between fiction and non fiction but stat bar makes things a more clearer for me cause there are exerpts in the story where you make good time on roads so i want to see how much that impacts my time saving or being ahead of others so if its in numbers or percentage things get more accurate