Starways Saga (WIP) ~240k words (Updated 2/7/2025)

[Optimal_Crisis]

Hello everyone,
This is my first post here about my first game Starways Saga. I’ve been a fan of COG and Hosted games for a while, but I’m new to this forum. I think I started this project in late February, early March and it’s’ come a long way but has so much more to go.
It’s a sci-fi story set in future where interstellar travel has boomed and human civilization has spread across the galaxy. The Alliance Navy keeps the peace, patrolling the more populated systems. But in the Far Reaches, outlaws have free reign. For decades independent star pilots have journeyed to these distant systems in search of adventure. Fighting pirates and slavers, these adventure seeking star pilots become the stuff of legends.

You have dreamed about becoming a star pilot yourself since you were young. But you need the skills, experience and most of all money to make your dream happen.

Choose one of four, totally unique paths to find all you need to chase you dream. (Only the merchant path is playable at this time)
Enlist in the Alliance Navy. (Demo in progress)
Sign on as crew on a massive Colony Ship.
Join up with a Merchant Guild frigate. (Demo completely playable)
Work at the premier Ship Building companies in the galaxy.

The merchant path is fully playable and the Navy path is currently being developed with a number of updates completed already.

The closing chapter, where you start you career as a space adventuring, star pilot will completed after the remaining chapters. The closing chapter should offer a satisfying conclusion, but will leave plenty of room for a future sequel.

Romance Options

Merchant Path
Vincenzo: Straight. Home/Origin: Grew up on a merchant ship. The XO and son of the Captain on board the Venetian Prince. Earned his position by skill not blood. He’s not looking to damage his reputation by sleeping with a crew member. It will take some seduction.

Sally: Straight. Home/Origin: Giles Prime. Her and her brother are the engineers of the Venetian Prince. A source of positivity for the whole ship.
.
Alby: Gay. Home/Origin: Giles Prime. Engineer, he and his sister fled from a repressive religious planet. Looking for somebody to break through his shell.

Cora: Gay. Home/Origin: Minnesota. Works down in the cargo hold. There’s a big heart inside her muscled frame.

Burn: Anyone. Home/Origin: Einstein Station. Works in maintenance. Can fix anything, but can you fix their broken heart?

Kurt: Anyone. Home/Origin: Proxima B. A meathead, who works down in the cargo hold. What you see is what you get. But maybe, just maybe you can change him.

Navy
Devin: Anyone. Home/Origin: Where ever his dad was stationed. The son of an Admiral. He tries to do everything by the book. Maybe he’s read Kama Sutra.
Goose: Straight. Home/Origin: Shelton Bright and Katoris Bright. A country boy from a back water planet in the middle of nowhere. Always looking to have a good time as long as his mouth doesn’t get him into trouble.

Julia: Straight. Home/Origin: Einstein Station. Bright and kind, but also tough as nails. She’s got big dreams and the determination to see them through.

Kell: Anyone: Home/Origin: Etosha Bright. A fierce friend and ally she resembles the lionesses on the nature reserve planet she was raised on. She’s looking to put her claws away and show her soft side with someone special.

Captain Ruma Nasrin: Gay. Home/Origin: New Bronx City. She’s your direct supervisor at the academy. You’ll have to be extra discreet or this could spell disaster. She’s lonely and none of the officers take her seriously. Is a steamy affair the answer?

Ares: Anyone. Home/Origin: Muskeget. This semiaquatic alien, is big, strong and up for anything. He pretends to not be interested but he’s very curious about human ways.

Athena: Anyone: Home/Origin: Muskeget. She’s looking for anyone to talk to besides her brother. She’s excited to explore the galaxy and experience life among humans. Open each other’s world to new possibilities.

Content warnings for:
Violence
Crude Language
Drug and Alcohol Use
Sexual Content

To play the demo, go here: CoGDemos
Or to Itch: Starways Saga by optimal_crisis
Thanks! Hope you enjoy what I have so far.

[Entracte]

Page 1 of prose and I’m into it. 150k for a first demo post is insane, and although I’m only a little ways in, I want to say you’ve created a believable world. Sometimes, you know, people create a fantasy or sci-fi world that feels a bit like established tropes stacked like a Jenga tower. This, however, feels like it has personal elements to it, and both those and the tropes have been thought through.

Suggestion: please use line-breaks in the dialogue! Here’s where I first felt the need for them:

[ChaosBringerXV]

You had me at spaceships, and then you kidnapped me when I saw 150k

[midnytegoddess]

150k in first post–? awesome! my only request is save slots. I am excited to dive into this world you’ve created.

[Aeternitas]

Wow! This is looking great so far.

[Kingston1]

One of the first thing’s I noticed was that you make long winded bodies of text. You should try to break theses up more so they’re more digestible.

That goes for choices as well, you don’t want them to be too long, just short and concise. It might look smaller on computer, but on mobile its alot to take in.

And I don’t know if it was just because of the choices I made, but the demo ended pretty abruptly for it to be 150k words.

But I do like what you have so far, keep up the good work👍

[midnytegoddess]

@Kingston1 only the merchant route is available so that might be why yours was shorter? which route did you take?

[Kingston1]

I choose the navel path, that explains the adburt ending.

That’s my mistake, I just read the premise and immediately clicked on the link without thoroughly reading through the entire post.

Thank you for clarifying👍

[anon12679161]

This is more of a reflection on me than the story because before I have even read anything, seeing a first page that has 7 paragraphs and almost 600 words of text before any choice or even a page break always has me feeling slightly anxious that I am about to be subjected to something that should have been a novel instead.

Once again, not saying that’s actually what this story is, but first impressions and all that.

[Ikorel]

150k words is amazing for a first post. You should definitely put the word count in the page title like sooo many other projects have. Would attract more readers

[Ramidel]

So you’re doing four completely independent paths that’ll all lead into a single ending and maybe a sequel?

[anon12679161]

Garin Lark captained the first starship to leave the Milky Way and journey to the Andromeda Galaxy. What he found there was a bloody civil war between two factions of a alien empire. They put aside their differences in fear of us encroaching humans and the galaxies went to war. Billions died on both sides.

One of the pitfalls of both scifi and fantasy is the danger of setting a backstory so cool that people want to read that story instead.

I’ve noticed a few typos here and there. Are you open to typo reports and feedback for rewrites right now or are you more in the first draft get everything done first phase?

[Cryzhentia]

I almost read it wrong starwars saga😂

[anon12679161]

I would say the one thing I am noticing so far are the large blocks of text that could easily be broken up by a choice or two. For instance when being introduced to the crew you could easily insert how you (the MC) reacts to the introductions. Are you confident and brash? Are you shy and reserved? Do you stick your hand out for a hand shake, eager to make friends? Do you give people a stoic nod and remain silent?

Even if none of these things affect any stats (though if you want to make an amazing project they could and then use those stats to influence how the MC reacts to things in the future) they allow the reader to inhabit the character and have a sense of ownership of the story. IF is a collaborative art form between the author and the reader and at the moment I am feeling like I am having a story told TO me, rather than being a part of the story.

Also there is a bug in the merchant route that stops forward progress.

[Valixon]

@Optimal_Crisis still playing the demo but noticed aomething that is weird wheb it gwts to the point asking about the book. I choose the first option to take it with me on the merchant ship. Yet the very next page has me putting it back and saying mom will look after it.

[Optimal_Crisis]

Hey everyone,
I’ve appreciated everyone’s feedback and positivity so far. I’ve been working out some of the bugs and errors you’ve pointed out. I’m also working to add saves to the game and spacing out some big chunks of text.

I also want to clarify that the merchant path is the only path available to play through right now and is complete (at least as a draft). When your sister asks what you have planned for the future, select the merchant option or the game will be very short for you.

Thanks!

[Optimal_Crisis]

This is kind of like an origin story. On each of the paths you gain skills, experience and money needed to go become a star pilot. In the last chapter you will buy your ship and take on a few contracts. It culminates with you taking on the antagonist of the game who appears in each of paths. So it’s the close of one adventure and story line but there should be room for much more adventures for your character. But let’s not look too far ahead, this initial project is far from complete.

[Optimal_Crisis]

It was really heartening to see such enthusiasm. Sharing work for the first time can be very nerve-wracking. I hope you enjoy what I have so far!

[Optimal_Crisis]

Save slots should be available on dashingdon now.

[Cryzhentia]

I encounter problem with save “something about quota limited” after one save