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Yeah I don’t think one would like to cater to the audience that wants to do all of that stuff.
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Since I only picked the arrogant response to people calling me out for threatening the soldiers to see Lyra’s reaction, and my own mc is more of a meek shrinking violet type (but with bloodlust!), I’m just imagining my mc saying that then muttering “did that sound cool? Did I do that right?”
Also noticed that there’s an option to decide you can’t do ANYTHING to get more soldiers to go with you which usually is included for if you don’t have the right stats, but what you do works the same no matter what. Is that gonna change later on?
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I dont know yet to be honest. I wasn’t sure whether to leave it purely for roleplay purposes or to actually tie the other two options to the stats.
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I do also think it’s really funny that Lyra gets disappointed if you’re openly well intentioned about threatening them.
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I guess it also depends on whether you want playing into your stats to give you more bonuses or not. Like higher stats in one attribute (couldn’t find the post with them listed) could make one method more successful.
Or perhaps in this case it may make more sense to be able to recruit more soldiers with higher morale with the right stats but you can still get them all at morale cost with intimidation. Basically you always have the option to do the less savory thing and get what you want but if you have the right skills, doing the more upstanding thing is more optimal.
Of course then you’d have to decide if you want everything to be possible in one playthrough (as I usually prefer) or have mandatory tradeoffs which runs the risk of limiting roleplayability instead of enhancing it.
I personally think a way to have your cake and eat it too can work great so long as it feels like it’s earned. Would fit the theme of a serious examination of an overpowered mc. But you’re the author so you know more about how feasible it is to implement than I do.
Another idea I had that I figured I’d mention is that your dialogue to Zatus after threatening the troops could vary based on your mc’s rationale. Current dialogue fits the arrogant response and the… first response idk how to describe, but not as much the one that feels it’s a necessary evil.
Perhaps destroying the fort could affect it.
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Do you think you could make Arrogant/Selfless and Cold/Wratful opposing stats? Like have one bar for arrogant and selfless, and cold/wrathful, but have arrogant have its own colored bar and % separate from selfless, and the same with the other stats pair. I can’t send pictures unfortunately, but if you need example of what I mean, you can check out The Midnight Bay (a COGdemos wip) stats page. I feel like that might make it easier for people to recognize when you have high arrogant, for example.
Also, I was curious to know if you ever planned to make your code public? I love code diving, and it’s very useful when I want to know what stat increases with which choice so I can build the MC I want to have in my playthrough
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Yeah, I think I’ll go with that—have the outcome depend on the character’s stats, and if the main character’s Arrogance is too high, it would block the option to give an inspiring speech.
Oh thats true, I hadn’t noticed it at first. I’ll try rewriting some of those choices to give more nuance.
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Oh, that would be so much better! I checked out the game you mentioned, and having it display that way would definitely be an improvement. I didn’t realize ChoiceScript could do that! I’ll look into it and try implementing it. Thank you so much for the suggestion!
As for the code, I do plan to make it public eventually. But for now, I still don’t know much about ChoiceScript and I knew even less when I started,so the code is kind of a mess, using only the most basic commands and makeshift solutions that I discovered by trial and error. Once I clean it up a bit more, I’ll probably make it public.
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I’m also curious if you are going to make the code public. I enjoy a lot code diving and checking the intrinsics of the games as i play. It also helps me to make my MCs exactly as i want.
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No worries, I understand! I’m no ChoiceScript expert, but I know there’s a lot of resources out there in the wild if you want to do something but aren’t sure how. This here is a list that’s pretty comprehensive, I think.
In any case, take your time to continue learning! The forum is a great place to receive feedback, so you can constantly get better if you continue writing, too.
Unrelated to the topic, but I was curious to know if there was no way to get Arael to come with you on a friendship path? And what if I want to romance Zatus but want to spend time with Arael instead, do we have to spend time with him that time to romance him, or will we have an opportunity later on to start the romance?
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Yes, I do plan to make the code public eventually, but like I mentioned, it’s a bit of a mess right now haha. Once I’ve cleaned it up a bit more, I’ll make it available.
Yeah the one time I didn’t romance her she just dropped off the face of the earth.
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Oh, that’s going to be super helpful—thank you! I’ve already saved the link and I’ll take a closer look when I have some time.
As for Arael, originally she would leave if you didn’t at least become her friend. I’ve adjusted that a bit now: when the MC prepares to leave to Laphis, her stance toward you can range from romantic interest, to friend, neutral, or resentful/heartbroken. Regardless of where things stand, she’ll still end up joining you thanks to Lyra convincing her.
If you’re romancing Zatus, the best relationship status you can currently have with Arael is neutral. But I do plan to add more scenes in the future to build up the friendship with her or Zatus if you romance her instead. When it comes to romancing them though, I think I’ll keep it limited to starting at that point in the story—otherwise the branching paths could get out of hand, especially since I want each RO to develop at their own pace.
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How would that last one happen? Is that if you leave her for Emberford?
I’m actually curious how the various relationships are planned to develop. Which ones are slower burns and which happen quicker. Not sure how much you want to share atm but curious nonetheless.
Also, if you don’t kill the soldiers in Emberford, do they leave on the ships? I wasn’t sure of the text.
One thing that was mentioned is that the seafolk worship the ocean goddess. Makes me wonder if they were originally part of the empire, if the faith spread, or if the Aurelian iteration of the faith isn’t the first. That happens a fair bit.
Was also mentioned that orcs mate in Orichalcum and have the kids raised by the elderly. Is that a purely cultural thing or do they just naturally have different mating habits than other species?
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Yep, if you’re romancing her and choose to leave for Emberford without saying anything, she’ll see it as abandonment. Given her past and deep-seated fears of being left behind, that’s something she considers unforgivable.
I won’t go too deep into it to avoid spoilers, but Zatus and Arael are the ones that will develop more quickly, mainly because their paths start earlier. Arael’s route progresses a bit faster, since Zatus holds back early on due to his position of authority over the MC.
The twins’ route is more complex—it’ll have several variations depending on how things begin, the MC’s approach, and whether or not they’re able to have children together. So that one really depends on a bunch of things.
Ruby and Walls will have slower-building romances, and with Lyra and Cassiel, their relationships may become physically intimate sooner, but take more time to deepen emotionally—if the MC chooses that direction.
As for the poly routes, they weren’t originally planned, so I’m still working out exactly how they’ll unfold.
Yes, at the end of the battle, the flying ships descend to evacuate the remaining soldiers from the city.
That’s something I plan to explore more deeply later on, so I’ll hold off on saying too much for now to avoid spoilers!
It’s entirely cultural. There’s nothing physically stopping orcs from settling down as a couple and raising their kids themselves—say, on a farm—but their culture is so deeply rooted in battle and raiding that choosing a peaceful life often gets them labeled as outcasts or cowards.
The system of having elders raise the children was the most practical way to maintain their war-focused lifestyle. Over time, it became the accepted norm, and now most orcs don’t question it.
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Kinda surprises me since we’ve known them the longest.
Yeah, that could be a problem.
How do we determine that with NB characters?
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I imagine it takes them a bit longer to shift their perception of each other into something romantic, since they’ve known each other for so long. But their route won’t lag that far behind the others.
Yeah… that’s actually been one of the things I’ve been struggling with the most lately. I even brought it up in the writer support thread asking for suggestions, but I’m still unsure of the best approach. Right now, I’m leaning toward directly asking the reader if their MC would be capable of having children with the RO—but I’m not entirely convinced that’s the right way to handle it.
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Could make sense to do that no matter what tbh. Leave the reasons for each answer up to reader interpretation. Allows for trans men and women too.
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Shit i almost ended it on accident if i didn’t remember that she gave the silent treatment after not seeing her for 2 months. Thought it was gone be another silent treatment nd trigger her trauma break her heart. Thats a good conflict for her and oth RO
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