Not a native Chinese-speaker myself, but I’ve been wanting to point this one out. Here in my country, people of Chinese ethnicity tend to say “祝你生意兴隆” to business owners. But then I wasn’t sure if saying “祝你今天生意好” is unusual.
It is grammatically correct, but it just feels “weird” in the sense that I’ve never heard anyone saying it.
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Can anyone pls tell me how to get a date with Victoria? Its weird as I did I thought at least I did everything I could to romance her and ONLY her but by the point of choosing a date to a party or smthn she isnt available. Is there some choice that disables her route? Because I played a lot to get there and now I have to restart but don’t know where I made a mistake
To romance Victoria, the MC needs to identify with who they were in their past life, i.e. the Spirit of the Mountain.
@Arghya_Raihan
Current achievements may not be an accurate indicator of the game architecture. The editor required one achievement per chapter pre-publication. I put most initial achievements in locations that everyone will encounter so players get at least an achievement per chapter. I can let the thread know as the achievements get updated.
@TheMogician
@Barroth_the_Mage
I’ve made some revisions to the Chinese, but kept some in cases where it would be appropriate for the character to speak unusual Mandarin as others in-game speak unusual English.
@eldensalkeld
Thank you, I’m working on fixing this.
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@nacarat Oh, I didn’t realize the game would still be updated in such a way! Thank you for letting us know. Another reason to replay the game then.
Just if you happen to read this, I was wondering - who is Ana? Mythologically speaking. I think I understand who Victoria, the Origin and the Jade Duke are, in the Taoist cosmology. But I’ve been trying to figure out who Ana would be (not as the Dragon of the Eastern Ocean, but as the secretary of Heaven), and my limited knowledge has been hampering me.
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Thanks for the question! I enjoy being able to share behind-the-scenes thoughts on the game worldbuilding. I’d be curious who you see Victoria as in the Taoist cosmology.
Ana is inspired by a mix of the Queen Mother/王母娘娘 and “Dragon’s Daughters/小龙女” type characters from modern interpretations of Chinese myth. Many modern animations depict the children of the Dragon Kings of the Oceans—Ana’s name comes from Chang’An/长安 as in Peace, as in the Pacific Ocean, like you noted. Where the sons of the Dragon Kings can be narrative actors (often villains), the Dragon’s Daughters are relatively weak or purely decorative. I wanted to instead depict girls who had grown up to surpass their parents’ legacies in drastically different ways.
While her younger sister climbed the ranks of cosmic prominence, Ana has been figuring out her life. Records of sacrifices to the Queen Mother occur as early as the 15th century BCE. Three+ millennia presents plenty of opportunity for mythological transformation: the Queen Mother has been a goddess of death, a source of immortality, a consort to the Jade Duke, and a leader of her own court. The “secretary” title was chosen to preserve some of this ambiguity. Is Ana a “secretary” as in an assistant? As in Secretary General? General Secretary?
As the prodigal child, Ana isn’t particularly attached to titles or even professional respect. She’s committed to working with humans, after all, despite their short lifespans and relative insignificance in the cosmic order. Where the Queen Mother is often depicted swanning through her peach garden court, attended by beautiful goddesses, with Ana, I wanted to portray divinity in the mundane and divine femininity including the unglamorous aspects of running and changing the world.
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Thank you for in-depth response! It’s always a privilege to hear about the thoughts and insights of the author, especially when it involves history, culture and such seen from a different angle than usual.
I figured that Victoria is Hundun, as the End of the Universe at least. The Origin off-handedly calling her ‘Wonton’ actually made me think of that, funnily enough. I am not sure who she would be as the Ever-Victorious General. Probably one of the Four Emperors? I know some people have found Victoria too strange, but I love her portrayal. In particular how she slowly adopts human mannerisms over time, especially if you choose to romance her.
I really like that they don’t all map one-to-one to specific mythological/cosmological entities, especially with how they seem to change and grow over time. The fact that entities like Ana and Victoria are not affected by human beliefs - like in a lot of fiction involving deities - but rather decide for themselves how they relate to humanity is also part of that. A Mother Goddess figure adopting the persona of a harried corporate worker is just the melding of divine and mundane that I think works so well in the setting. It contrasts with the background worldbuilding - the sheer scale and scope of the beings in question - so beautifully.
I could ramble on about more or less everything, but it’s brilliant stuff, basically, and I love what you’ve built with it.
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First playthrough, the romance didn’t go the way I want to and I somehow managed to somehow team up with the false mountain spirit in despair, and told Victoria if she was the end, I wanted a world without end. Then I prematurely finished the game lollol. Second playthrough, I decided to be a blunt and ‘rude’ person but it somehow backfired and I ended up killing the false mountain spirit while also inheriting the teahouse. How in the…? I dunno how to feel about this lmao.
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Haven’t read this, but I actually wouldn’t have an issue with other languages being used for immersion purposes. In saying that, if you don’t understand fluent chinese, you’re not going to be able to sound anything out which is problematic as you don’t hear anything. It’s not like a movie where you hear people talking over your head without understanding much. Would it be worth having an optional toggle to have the pinyin appear beneath the characters? It won’t give someone who doesn’t speak chinese any more clue as to what’s going on, but will allow them to get a sense of the way something is being said. A pronounciation guide won’t help a lot here due to the character nature of traditional chinese writing which is not like an alphabet. Perhaps even an english translation toggle once you’ve played the game at least once? (Could link it to a completion achievement. Could make it a learning experience into the bargain for those who want it 
)
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I don’t know why, but I love when games have scenes where characters are eating and you get to choose what the MC eats. I’m hungry and maybe my MC is hungry too! 
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For me personally I can’t do a play through without stopping and looking up the phrases so I understand what’s is written and what is being said. It just bothers me when I don’t know what is being said or written.
Google translate won’t be 100% accurate but it will give me a rough idea of what a sign says or what someone is saying. Which honestly I’m fine with. It still allows me to enjoy the game.
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