Hello @UnknownCharacter! Thank you for playing the demo and I’m happy you enjoyed it! Also, I appreciate that you told me about the typo too; it is now fixed.
Those choices you mention add flavor to the story. For instance, the cabin exploration scenes where you can pick what scene unfolds in the kitchen or the living room are intended to create a different playing experience and do not impact stats. So, if you selected for J and R to be by the fridge in the kitchen, it does not increase friendship or romance with them, but it will give you that scene.
I did that to increase replay value for when you may want to try a different romance route and need to go through Chapter 4 again.
However, scenes where there is agreement expressed (e.g. agreeing with B or S about what is most scary about the woods in Chapter 4) or where a character may assist you/do something ‘friendly’ (e.g. if J helps you unearth photos in the office) tend to increase friendship a little.
The first type tends to blend more into the narrative, while the second is where the MC makes a choice.
weird quick question, when lighting the fire, will the fire always not spread? ive tried all three (except the last one) and they all end up with the fire not spreading. just wanted to know cause i am experiencing second hand embarrassment from the fire not lighting up (ive stopped at that point cause i think i need a breather, man does that feel so embarrassing) and if i wanted to kno if i can prevent that from happening.
also, late congrats on the revamp demo! for now, R’s romance is going very smoothly and im thoroughly enjoying it. im planning to romance both R and J. on a side note, choosing any romance options on J is so subtle. like a big contrast from the first romance option you get from R. i kinda like it. its hard to sometimes pin point which is a friendly or romance option from time to time and i have to think about it for a bit but i think it speaks to how J’s personality? i think im just a big dumb dumb and is overthinking everything (a trait that i love and hate) also, i cant wait for when R, J and the Mc ends up together. iconic trio? also somehow the thought of R and J liking each other romantically baffles and makes me somehow laugh, in a good way.
cant wait to see you handle the big reveal of the whole the three confessing their love for each other. i can already see a dense Mc ending up realizing last and R and J comes swooping in make them realize it in their own way.
Hello! First, thank you so much for the well wishes about the revamp and for playing the new demo.
As @Cat-Toes said, it isn’t possible for the MC to light the Flame of Remembrance/the lantern in Chapter 3. There isn’t a reckless/cautious stat check or anything like that, though the method of lighting choice does impact reckless/cautious and set one other thing. It’s interesting to hear that you both felt second hand embarrassment for the MC! I think it’s cool you feel so deeply whilst reading to relate to your character.
Please rest assured that there is no way to light it; the MC tries their best in that scene, it just doesn’t work out…
I also tend to overthink! I’m glad that you are enjoying romancing J and R; they do differ quite a bit in how they handle romantic interactions due to their personalities.I am glad that is coming through in the writing/choices. Subtle is a great word for it! J is a more tentative and gentle person, plus the MC leaving did impact them in a few ways that I’m excited to share with you all, so it may take them some time to, hmm, warm up or make peace with a few things.
I like the sound of that. The poly route is about mutual discovery and probably has one of the slowest burns because of that aspect. I want it to feel very real and well-paced; it’s been so much fun to write! I agree with you. R would especially enjoy helping a more oblivious MC realize that they are adored by both J and R.
My MC went for the “can’t we be like the three musketeers??” option, which made me laugh. I don’t think the three musketeers wanted to do what my MC wants to do with J and R. Or, hell, maybe they did!
I’d die of embarrassment with that option. Just dead, right there on the floor. And THEN I’d realise I’d just up and died in front of the entire town during my granddad’s memorial, AND I’D DIE AGAIN!
Weekly Update: 7 January 2022
(Except I’m a day late and these tend to be every two weeks, unless I have more to share. )
I hope you’re doing well and staying safe! Hello to new and old readers.
> Here is a more specific update regarding what I have been doing:
- I released the revamped demo of Fernweh Saga on the 1st of January.
- I am grateful for the reception and the support you all are giving to the improved demo, so thank you! Hopefully the new scenes/choices have been fun for you to explore, while also enjoying the more polished writing. You will need to restart/reload and possibly clear your cache to play the new version.
- Speaking of polishing, I’ve primarily been editing this week! Currently, I am on J ’s section of Chapter 5.
- I added more pictures to the Long Form Descriptions of Characters page, possibly too many, lol. Friendly reminder to please use the Google Doc as opposed to the Tumblr post that is floating around on the blog somewhere because I tend to update the doc more quickly and it’s an easier read. The link to the Google Doc is: linked in the topmost/first post of this thread.
> Here is what I plan to work on:
- I will continue to work on editing Chapter 5.
- That chapter is long; it’s going to take me a while . Focusing on making edits will be my primary goal for now, since there is a lot to work through . I am continuing to write occasionally, but I am focusing on edits more atm;I have written through Chapter 13.
@JBento Lol, I relate to you. Plus, from what I have seen of your MC and how the waitress addresses him (‘lambkin’ is a little harder to get), I would suppose that John’s indecisiveness may stem from not wanting to hurt either J or R’s feelings. Just a supposition on my part. There will be a more oblivious route/choices with JR as @yb_minhee mentioned. The MC may just feel ‘drawn’ to both and will learn why over time.
@EvilChani I’m glad you liked that option and found it funny.
I’ve mostly been hearing about the rock, paper, scissors choice on Tumblr because it has the different outcomes for the game and players want to know how to get them all. So, R can win, J can win, or JR can tie (the more common outcome) whilst playing it, depending on a choice you make earlier in the demo.
@JBento (Maybe she is just good at anticipating her customer’s needs in a lowkey creep way? )
Yeah! I’m glad you find it cool. She tailors how she speaks to you based on how your personality is shaping up at that point in the story. I think there are like 7 variations? I am sure some of the other readers on the thread had a different (worse or better?) encounter with her compared to yours, which was relatively nice.
The reason why ‘lambkin’ is harder to get is: because that is the merciful variation. Based purely on opportunities and points thus far in the game, it’s easier to be more defined in one of the other stats than in merciful/cruel. I set the threshold lower to adjust for it, but I still kept in mind that a more merciful MC would need to make a decent amount of mercy/softer choices.
There will be more opportunities to define merciful/cruel as we progress…This particular stat can have a specific impact on something in Chapter 11 that I would bet John will be able to unlock, but who knows. It’s rather narrow because I want replays to be something y’all enjoy doing and not a slog.
I hope you’re doing well and staying safe! Hello to new and old followers.
> Here is a more specific update regarding what I have been doing:
- I have been editing!
- ^That phrase will be replacing my usual first bullet point for a while because that is mainly how I am spending my time. I mentioned a few weeks ago how editing is so different than writing in general, but especially for me with how I unwind and enjoy taking the time to construct scenes for hours at a time. It has been a change of pace shifting to making edits; however, I’ve built up to spending the same, if not more, amount of time refining the story.
- One thing that I have really enjoyed about re-reading back through the chapters is that I am sometimes surprised or happy to remember a particular piece of dialogue or a choice that I wrote a while ago. Older readers know that I took some time to simply write! In that flurry of writing, I sometimes don’t recall all of the fine details of the story (or the inklings and hints).
- I am currently working on editing Chapter 7 ! It should be done in a day or two, if I keep the same pace of reading a certain amount of lines per day.
- It’s a little tough to share at this stage, but I do want to give you all an idea and hints to look forward to.
- I’m quite proud of this particular chapter because its variation will make it one you will want to replay to try the different branches/choices. There is a major branch in the middle of it that will allow you to see more interactions between the Fernweh gang because you all split up (no, not to go into the creepy woods). The dynamics were fun to write! You can also see A again in this chapter, if you pay attention to something mentioned in Chapter 2. (I mean, statistically there is a chance you will run into them…But some of you may be like: ‘oh, I’m going to do this to see A ’ vs. ‘oh, hey, A is here??’)
- I appreciate your patience and support!
- - -
> Here is what I plan to work on:
- I will continue to work on editing Chapter 7. Editing is my main goal with writing coming into play as a secondary one when I have additional time. - I have written through Chapter 13. (I am leaving that in so new readers will see the overall writing progress, though I am aware some of you know this.)
I’ve been doing that too, lol. I may also be re-reading too many of J’s sections because I was like: ‘that’s a kind sentiment ’ when I saw this late last night.
I mean besties against the world amirite. They were my first route but then J came along and welp shrugs. And then knowing I can add yet another one was like ‘‘why not’’.
@Sakura_Higanbana28 I had not noticed the difference in clicks between the RO aesthetics until now, but you’re right that B’s is higher than the rest. That may also be because Tumblr has a similar post feature, so readers could have clicked on B’s and then saw the others too, but it’s a large discrepancy between theirs and the others so hmm.
@Wintertrooper and @Gloomcat make good points! Canonically, B offers a sense of familiarity to the MC and is the only RO who is more aware and representative of the MC’s life outside of Fernweh. From a reader’s perspective, they are also the first RO you meet and are pretty supportive, caring, and takes an active interest in the MC’s well-being, so you may try their route first.
I know from talking to some of you recently that there is quite a bit of interest in the JR route. On Tumblr, I would say R and J are still popular; however, the release of Chapter 4 sparked more interest in B because they are rather soft in that chapter. At the same time, I get asks for all the characters so it just depends on the reader’s preference, which is the neat thing about IF games. I am sure certain scenes/chapters (or even books) may make your favorite route shift around some.
I like R’s silent support at the cabin compared to the other types of reassurances, but picking B to go into the woods and seeing their relief is one of my favorite scenes for pairing off to search in Chap 5.
I hope you’re doing well and staying safe! Hello to new and old readers.
> Here is a more specific update regarding what I have been doing:
- I have been editing up a storm…And edited while during a storm, but I sent the files to myself when we lost power/had an electrical surge, so it’s fine.
- I am currently working on editing Chapter 11; this is the longest chapter written so far both in terms of sheer word count and the level of variation of scenes based on stats, RO route, and how you handled certain things in Book 1. Yes, there can be some consequences (and rewards) in this section, though at this point your MC will be developed enough that you can play to your strengths (or screw up on purpose to see what happens, lmao.)
- I’m going to keep this update a little short since the crux of it is that I’m editing many hours a day to set a steady pace to get through what I’ve written thus far. It’s been so much fun going back through the scenes!
- I am posting a longer teaser too as soon as this posts.
- Social media interaction/asks will still be a bit sparse since I’m fixated on edits atm; however, I plan to get back into it once I’ve met a few goals for myself.
- - -
> Here is what I plan to work on:
- I will continue to work on Chapter 11; I’m more than halfway right now.
- I have written through Chapter 13. (I am leaving that in so new readers will see the overall writing progress, though I am aware some of you know this.)
For instance, the cabin exploration scenes where you can pick what scene unfolds in the kitchen or the living room are intended to create a different playing experience and do not impact stats. So, if you selected for J and R to be by the fridge in the kitchen, it does not increase friendship or romance with them, but it will give you that scene.
I’m glad that you are enjoying romancing J and R; they do differ quite a bit in how they handle romantic interactions due to their personalities.I am glad that is coming through in the writing/choices. Subtle is a great word for it! J is a more tentative and gentle person, plus the MC leaving did impact them in a few ways that I’m excited to share with you all, so it may take them some time to, hmm, warm up or make peace with a few things.
)
Hopefully the new scenes/choices have been fun for you to explore, while also enjoying the more polished writing. You will need to restart/reload and possibly clear your cache to play the new version.
)
IT IS RUINED!
’ when I saw this late last night.