The Fernweh Saga (Scheduled Release: 5 January!) [Book One is 600k]

Thanks, but I was actually asking if we can only romance R and J as poly, or as individual routes as well :relaxed:

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Looks interesting and wow already so much content! I will read it as soon as I can, meanwhile congrats with this first milestone.

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First and foremost, congratulations on the story! I can only imagine the mixture of feelings that come along with posting something so special to them to the IF public. But guess what? This is awesome, dude!

I’ve had so much fun playing around with different character builds, and I’ve really enjoyed the diversity you’ve given us. I’m a sucker for shy and genuine characters, so seeing my MC just pulling at everybody’s heartstrings even between choices was really nice. Nothing ever felt like it was pre-written to fit a canon route. And I love that!

You’re an incredibly gifted writer and I really enjoyed the creepy crawly feeling I get with the town. My MC is sticking with B all the way! I trust nobody but them. And S and their Mother are real cuties.

This plot is exciting! I can’t wait to find out more. Thank you for giving us so much to work with here. I can’t find one thing I don’t like about this story. It’s so fun! You’re fun! Enjoy your writing and know that I’m looking forward to reading it.

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You had me hooked as soon as I read the ROs descriptions. The plot is pretty interesting too, definitely bookmarking :slight_smile:

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Ok going full on conspiracy mode here but bear with me. On my second playthrough when you ask S about the book they’re reading they say it’s about spirits that “drag” trespassers to "keep it pristine and free of ‘mortal taint’"is that maybe what’s happening? I mean the body was found in a dense part of a forrest.

Foreshadowing/hints maybe? :eyes::eyes::eyes:

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Wow, thank you. I am happy that the sense of dread came through in the demo, which is partially why I gave such a chunk. I tend to write narratively slower with scenes, so I fretted that there may not be enough for readers to get drawn into, so it’s really reassuring to hear that you’re interested in the mystery. :smiling_face_with_three_hearts:

That is a really good point. I will try and go back through and look for those longer sections. I was aware it may be a bit of an issue with some of the extended RO moments with the candle lighting, but I didn’t want to break the tension/feelings/moment with a page break. I am used to writing fics and imagines; however, I will try to be more aware of how powerful and useful page breaks can be in the future. :slightly_smiling_face:

Oh, I was hoping someone would point that out; you just made my day. I will say that there may be other changes in the stats screen during certain segments as we move forward. Not sure if anyone noticed the inventory yet…?

Thank you again for taking the time to play the demo and for your thoughtful words! I hope you have a lovely day/night with no ruffled feathers. :bird: (I had so many puns, but let myself have one (1))

Adding more replies to this one. ‘Hi’ to all the people about to @ mention.

@Dpwjeremy Glad you enjoyed the story and the writing so far. The Nancy Drew and Scooby Doo vibes (with a few darker twists) will definitely persist, so I’m happy to know you’re excited for the mystery. :slightly_smiling_face:

@Ricemaker @Ghoslestat @AAChmielewski :smiley: Thank you all! I’m really excited for you all to read some of the things that happen in Chapter 4, since the mystery is furthered in it and I’m lowkey proud of some of the coding variations/character interactions. We get to see more of the ROs personalities too.

@Konoi We are of similar minds then. :slightly_smiling_face: I also like when stats change in a creepy way. I’m happy you like J. Next chapter has a few more romance instances for each RO that will be in the form of if statements in addition to another extended RO choice like with the candle.

Acquaintances Screen and Inventory

I initially had it like that way, but then wondered if people may get a little confused about the ROs since we don’t meet J and R until Chapter 2. I like your logic about the MC technically having prior knowledge of them before hand; I’ll think it over and appreciate your thoughtfulness!

I will be sure to add some line breaks or something to increase readability of that screen, since it will come into play more later.

J's Office and 2nd nightmare

I took that bit of flavor text as more so as delegating or instructing the other members of the force, which is why I used aloof paired with a more team oriented MC. It’s not an error, but I see your line of thinking too. :smiley: There is a high friendly if where you can offer to help organize the office with J.

No worries, it is a quick change since I wanted that feeling of sudden wrongness to come through, though there is a line:

Light from a nearby window catches your attention. It's far off, but the fact it is moving is what gets you to abandon what you were going to do to go inspect it instead.

So, in your case there would be no removal of the paper from the sink because your attention was redirected to the window, before you then move back to the living room to the bay window to get a better view. No worries. If it’s still not clear, I’m happy to try and smooth over the writing or take a second look at it.

Thank you for your thoughts! :heart:

@Lea_Boucher :heart_eyes: ← How your reply made me feel. So thanks for being so kind. I’ve been keeping this close to chest for a while (maybe too long???). There were some nerves alongside the excitement of posting it. I’m so happy that you enjoyed seeing those ifs trigger to further flavor the story alongside the choices you make. I try my best to make each choice feel extensive and pull up its own screen of text as opposed to being a few lines alongside common writing, which takes a bit more time, but can lead to more diverse playthroughs. I think you are making a very smart horror movie tactic with being sparing with your trust (trust no one, not even yourself fits)! We will have to see if it pays off. Best wishes!

@Erio_Boi :face_with_monocle: I see your theory and I am delighted by it, but I will allow you and possibly others to theorize in peace with the occasional hint, misdirection, or acknowledgement. There have been some hints and foreshadowing! :eyes: Even in unexpected places…

@furyleika I’d be honored if this story can provide a bit of an escape from irl matters, though I’m not sure if Fernweh is where you would want to escape to, lol. Thank you for playing the demo and I’m so happy you’re loving it so far. :heart_eyes_cat:

@Paradox1 I’m the author, but feel the same way same about the mystery intensifying . :wink: I am excited for you all to read more and you are correct that there are multiple things at play. The only ‘stat check’ per say in this chapter is when dealing with Ms. Verner since you can shut down her faulting R, if you select a stat that your MC has 60 or more in. If not, you try to, but she is not swayed and R gets reprimanded. Even then I would not call it a hard pass/fail, since the outcome does not impact future things really? R acknowledges you talking on their behalf regardless, it may just be more satisfying to the player.

You ask an excellent question and it’s something I’ve added to my journal. Your MC can maintain their personality and bond with the ROs. If not, should be able to maintain their personality and bond with ROs. You may bond more quickly with certain options, but I will also count time spent, choices made, consideration shown (not personality, but some level of care/interest). I plan to balance that aspect a little better with optional interactions and more general choices, but I am aware of what you mean and plan to look into it during edits or future choices. There will also be more choices that help set friendship.

Thank you for the edits and your thoughts. I appreciate you taking the time to play the demo. :slightly_smiling_face:

@ClaimedMinotaur The draugr mention made me think of Skyrim. Fernweh Saga is not specifically based on North-Germanic mythology. I view the symbol as the Ouroboros which originates from Egyptian iconography, but has variations in various cultures across the world; there is a plot reason for why I selected it. I won’t yet speak to what the MC will be facing down. :slightly_smiling_face:

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Oh no, I’m going to think exclusively about this instead of real life things. I’ll come back when I’m not on my lunch break and leave better feedback, but I’m so impressed and I love it.

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Interesting. Can’t wait for the mysteries to get more mysterious
Are there any stat requirements in place that the MC needs to have sucess in a particular situation?
Also, will conversing with the RO’s in par with their “nature” will be more favourable towards developing our relationships or can we just maintain our own personality for the MC and we can bond nonetheless?


at night


Becca is the RO, so there’s a gender related error.

Plot feels engaging and the immersion was quite good as well. I have a few minor negligible qualms regarding the pacing but it’s nothing extremely worthwhile I feel.
Keep up the good work :beers:

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(I haven’t posted on the Forum in a while, so I forgot how amazing the interface is to group reply and @ mention. I may be editing this post and the prior post after lunch to keep things relatively uncluttered. Thanks for your patience and understanding with me! Also, the support has been very heartwarming too.)

First, ‘hi’ to all of you before I go line by line…It’s ingrained in me to do an address first.

@Summora_knots Awesome! I felt like I read through the demo so many times to try and catch most of the glaring mistakes and tried to stat balance to what seemed fair/logical; however, I’m confident and hopeful the COG community can help me refine things further. The characters actually feeling alive means the world to me. Thank you for saying so. :slightly_smiling_face:

@HuiHui :grinning: Ohhh, the fact that it’s difficult to select just one RO is quite the compliment, so thank you.

@Lihn_Gargoyle Noted and thank you. I’ll correct that soon. :heart:

@N4MI Yay, I’m glad you liked the aesthetics section. Making them and sharing some of the facts about the ROs was really fun for me.

@Isabella_Taylor Aw, thanks for your interest and kind words. I am right there with you. The 2nd nightmare was way more intense, so as an author I’m pleased it made you feel anxious.

@King2 I want to allow a bit of leeway for roleplaying purposes. The MC left Fernweh before their 15th birthday and has been away for /years/. At minimum you should be over 18 years of age for the content of the story, especially once we get into later books, etc. I personally imagine the MC being in their early twenties (maybe 23?) and close in age to the ROs, since in most cases you went to school with them or grew up together. I can’t say too much more since I am treading into a twist area, so apologies for the half answer. I promise to elaborate a bit more at a later point and thank you for your interest!

@Logan_T Wow, you all are fast. :smiley: I was wondering when someone would notice the significance of the town’s name, haha. So glad you did!

@No_This_Is_Patrick @Kirlett @Isabella_Taylor @Beth_mystic You’re correct that there are 4 ROs and 5 routes. The routes are: B, S, J, and R with JR being the fifth and a poly route. You can still romance J and R separately. The JR route is gaining a lot of focus and attention, which I am pleased with. I have a drafted post on my Tumblr that will go into a bit more depth about it.

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@lacunafiction I’m confused. I got excited when I saw the symbol of Jörmungandr, but I read the synopsis and I’m not really sure whether or not this game is based on North-Germanic mythology. I mean the name of the town is basically ‘Wanderlust’ and I saw that the name has significance, but are we facing down draugr or something?

Well that was pretty great! I’m engaged. Also great work on MC’s behavior.

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Sorry if it wasn’t clear, but I was referring more to paragraph breaks and visual space on the page than the length of each page itself. Like this:

I think your actual page breaks are just fine. And again, this is just me being a little nitpicky, the demo is lovely as is!

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If it’s at all possible, could you add a few more save slots? It would help a lot with playtesting and trying out different choices. If not, no worries :slight_smile:

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@ofna Oh, I get what you mean and no worries. :slightly_smiling_face: I appreciate you taking the time to mention it and playing the demo.

I’ll try to be more aware of that, especially now when I’m working on Chapter 4 edits.

@alliebee Hello! I am like you; I prefer more save slots, but I am not quite sure how to provide them… I used the copy past string of text provided on DashingDon that is: sm_init FernwehSaga | 3 . I tried making it 4 or 5 and then got errors, but not when it was 3, so that is why I went with 3. :confused: I am happy to eventually change it once I know how to do so. :slightly_smiling_face:

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Interesting. That exact image shows up in a search for both Ouroboros and Jörmungandr. Given the origin of the town name is German I just assumed that the serpent was as well.

The synopsis piqued my interest, and then the ROs hooked me in so I tried it and well, I definitely have no regrets. I love the demo so much and how engaging it was!

Gonna go for R and J individually, and then the poly route forever uwu.

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Are routes have sufficient differences from each other besides the, well, romantic parts? Would it be like in many visual novels where different routes can have absolutely different view on the story and give different information? Or like in Wayheaven the story is pretty much the same? I’m sorta confused.

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You had me at “romance-focused.”

Will be back to read this soon, tracking for now!

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why it sounds so german to me :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

@salvation Glad to hear it! :smiley: I think that’s a great game plan because there is a hinted at history between J and R when doing the poly options, so you can compare the single routes and the poly. There are some intentional differences in hints. Thanks for playing!

@AAChmielewski The overall story and twists of Fernweh Saga: Book 1 will be revealed through a playthrough and vary based on certain player choices. The story does not completely change based on who you romance, though different things are learned depending on who you go for. With visual novels, I tend to think of there being different archetypes that the MC pairs up with that allows a new perspective to the story like an outlaw versus the sheriff and how that will influence how the plot is viewed, subplots, etc.

Fernweh Saga has more than a few mysteries including major twists that sets up the next books, so following a bit of tract to those mysteries is necessary. While the RO selection does create a marked difference, I am also confident in my choices, if-statements, setting of variables, encounters, random convos, etc. also adding differences across playthroughs.

@bric We think alike! :heart: Hope you enjoy it.

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