Sounds interesting
1 Like
CHANGELOG 15/SEP/2024
Be wary of potential spoilers lurking on the changelog.
15/SEP/2024
Coding & Mechanics
Changed the load order of subroutines on the stat screen that could sometimes cause a crash or infinite loop.
Added a Mechanics section to the stats screen that explains each stat and the design philosophy behind the stat checks/skill checks. It should hopefully make things less ambiguous.
Fixed a few checks that were testing the wrong stats.
Fixed the description of Old Bryn’s cabin which could be repeated if playing an alchemist.
Writing
Tense consistency is being worked on. Large sections were rephrased to maintain present tense, though not everything has been covered yet.
Changed the way Faith’s name is presented. It should be clearer now that Faith Tanner is her maiden name, changed when marrying the Player Character’s father.
Fixed several typos, including Faith’s name referred to as Fate.
Rephrased a few stat checks to make them less ambiguous or otherwise unclear.
Minor editting to phrases or words that I was unhappy with how it flowed.
Added small extra sections for the unique Woodcutter and Potions beginnings as their work was too rushed through without much meat to it.
Thank you all for the feedback and keep it coming! I’ll keep updating the thread as new updates come, both with reworked content and new content. I’m still working on the tense consistency as well as showing a little more of the village life. Chapter 3 will be here once it’s finished.
18 Likes
CHANGELOG 22/SEP/2024
Be wary of potential spoilers lurking on the changelog.
22/SEP/2024
Coding/Mechanics
Content warning for scenes of explicit violence added at the beginning.
Writing
Tense consistency has received more work. Almost all sections were reviewed.
Removed the initial dream sequence. I was going somewhere with this, but it was too early and made it feel disconnected.
Mentions of the dream were removed. MCs from different families now have different reasons for heading to the Nameless Bay.
The different reasons for the MC to head to the Nameless Bay were used to further emphasize that the families help each other for Woodcutter’s Village to prosper.
A few small lines were added throughout the game to make the village feel more alive, with things happening around the MC.
The stat toggle and the content warning were both moved to startup and are no longer counting towards the word count, as they shouldn’t to begin with. With this removal and the update’s new lines added, the new word count without code is 76,769.
With that, I believe most of the large concerns were addressed as far as polish goes! Might be future updates polish it further, particularly if new bugs are found, but most of the effort now will be concentrated on finishing Chapter 3. As always, feedback is appreciated!
12 Likes
Interesting changes
1 Like
This wip looks interesting, but i will have to wait for the save options
3 Likes
Quick Update: No proper changelog for this one as I haven’t pushed any new content, but the requested save system is now live. I’ve disabled the checkpoints to avoid any potentially weird interactions.
15 Likes
Oh my goodness I’m in love with this story!!! So excited for more <3
1 Like
Will there be a path for blacksmiths to make engineering grade weaponry (ballista, etc) or magic items inscribed with runes, maybe even golems? (likely to be alchemist’s job but mechanical items like a magic/robotic golem would be cool).
2 Likes
Magic items and golems are two of the many secrets that were lost with the fall of the Andrathian Empire. Some of the actual items are still out there at large—whether owned or forgotten in some dusty ruin—but the actual creation was lost. Restoring these, or others, probably won’t happen in Origins as it’s too early in the journey, but the fall of Andrath and its secrets do play a role in the overall story, and restoring one or more of the imperial lost arts is something I have in mind.
As for engineering weapons, there will be a point of the story (defending your village against the attack that will eventually come) that the Smith MC will have the opportunity to build them.
As a quick update for where the game currently stands: Chapter 3 is in the works, and the images required for the game (cover and such) are almost done. I’m not very artsy, so making images takes me some time to get somewhere within my limited Photoshop skillset.
13 Likes
Looking pretty good so far with the prologue. Definitely looking forward to the future updates for more content! Keep up the good work,
3 Likes
CHANGELOG 14/OCT/2024
Be wary of potential spoilers lurking on the changelog.
14/OCT/2024
Coding/Mechanics
Rebalanced hidden magic tracker when killing the bear.
Fixed an issue with temporary variables in Chapter 1 that could sometimes cause a crash.
Added a few hidden variables/subroutines that will be necessary for the magic system.
Writing
Tense consistency has been further improved as some parts escaped my notice.
Fixed several typos across Chapter 1 and 2.
Update on Chapter 3: It currently has 8,300 words without code. It’s difficult for me to give an estimate on when it’ll be ready because, although I work a bit on the game everyday, some weeks I have more time for it than others. I’ll try to keep this updated on regards to progress, though.
Updates on artwork: I’ve managed to put together two variants for one of the required images. You can see both of them below, scaled down in size:
(Yes, I know axes don’t work that way, but visual impact trumps practicality!)
Though I’m satisfied enough with them, I have no strong feelings about which one looks better, so I might as well leave it here to see what people like best.
- White background
- Black background
0
voters
I wasn’t sure about whether I should make a changelog for minor changes that are primarily on the programming side, without new content uploaded, but given how many WIPs never get finished, I figured I might reassure people that I’m still actively working on the title and give some progress update.
If you have some suggestions on the cover art, other than white/black background, do let me know! I may try to make it happen, at least as much as my limited Photoshop skillset allows me to.
18 Likes
I just finished playing! AWESOME story! I felt seriously bad for the bear though, yikes. :’D I chose Smith and bashing its head in with a hammer was quite traumatic for what I thought was gonna be a friendly chat LMAO
I love that you have a map and lore in the stats screen! I had a fun dance with Elanor. My friend also played along with me and we were invested. Keep on writing! 
1 Like
Thank you, I’m glad you’re enjoying the story! I feel bad for Henry the Bear myself ahahah the fight is quite brutal, particularly for Smiths and Woodcutters.
I’ve been thinking of adding a codex with a summary of names and terms (e.g. the gods and their field, patrons and their titles), not sure if that’s something people would like to see.
5 Likes
I dunno I am not the type that hunting animal for sport though just hunting for food is okay, talking with the bear seems interesting enough.
Hunting a menace however I like it, like hunting direwolf terrorizing the neighborhood.
2 Likes
I’ll do anything for magic, then apologize once I have it.
2 Likes
That’s valid! In this last patch I’ve rebalanced the magic tracker a little bit so that killing the bear doesn’t weigh as much towards it. Still does some, but not as much. The bear decision will also have further ripples down the line that aren’t related to the immediate effects.
In regards to magic, killing the bear will not be a hard requirement for it.
3 Likes
I absolutely love MCs parents. The commentary when they realize who MC wants to ask out it everything lol i laughed so hard at Alyssa and Agrien’s because jake is a menace. And if MC wants to romance someone of the same gender i love how Faith is just…does it matter? 
2 Likes
I really loved writing the parents. Tried my best to give them enough space and personality to build an emotional connection throughout the chapters to avoid them feeling like strangers. I’ve always felt like building that connection to parents, or siblings, or home is important for a Hero’s Journey type of story. I’m glad you like them!
4 Likes
Really loved the demo can’t wait for more.
Also when will the next chance to learn magic (if you chose not to kill the bear) appear?
2 Likes
Thank you, I’m glad you’ve enjoyed it! Chapter 3 will have two more opportunities for a magic bump, one fairly at the beginning and one near the end. There’s one more after that in Chapter 4, and a final one in Chapter 5.
The one at the beginning of Chapter 3 isn’t dependent on choices, it happens regardless. The others are either dependent on choices and/or skill checks.
3 Likes