An Absinthian Ballad (Mini-Update 29.07.18)

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The demo has been updated, like I had hoped! However, most of the update is adding in stats, relationships, and some minor editing. The complete prologue should, and I really hope that everything works out, be done and uploaded by the end of this month. From where I am now, I would say I’m about 50% of the way there.

@lokidemon007 Benedikt is fond of Alexandra/MC, so he’s more of a ‘protective-and-almost-overbearing’ big brother to her, but Eleonora is not unkind to her either. Really, the only people who treat her poorly are Regina and Gisela, and even then, the latter only does it because of her mother. But yes, near the end of courtship phase, which could be either a long time or a very short while, you will learn why Burkhard is so uncomfortable and uncertain around her.

@Iello Thank you! I’m very glad you enjoyed it ^^

@Pauly51 Thank you so much, and yes, there are stats in this game. At the moment, and I’m fairly certain they will remain this, they are: arts, intelligence, cunning, etiquette, charisma, courage, self-defence, independence, and reputation.

As for Oskar, he’s not exactly in an advantageous position himself as a second son to a waning family, and in the future, should you choose to romance him, Alexandra will actually end up marrying down the social ladder and possibly end up as an exile.

The other two ROs are better for her social position, since they are both powerful in court (they’re electors), and are a duke and count palatine respectively, while Oskar merely carries ‘lord’ as a courtesy, and is only a captain in the military.

A few more quick notes:

  • I will probably do a few minor tweaks every few days and possibly upload a few more scenes.

  • Almost all the choices influence stats, skills, and relationships. I believe the only one that doesn’t is when you are checking Alexandra’s relationship with her family members. Please let me know if it’s not exactly working out in terms of gameplay/story.

  • Let me know if there is a skill you think might be cool, or some personality traits that might be meaningful. Likewise, let me know if there are personality traits you think are redundant or whatever. I’m happy to hear any kind of feedback!

  • Oskar is an RO, and yes, he is Alexandra’s full-blooded cousin. The other two ROs are not related to her at all.

Thank you so much!

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You and Paul are pretty good at mixing and matching cultures I got to say I love the German sounding names! I’m kind want one of the love interests could be a son of the common Hungarian like the nobility yeah Hungarian had common nobility it’s weird. Hungarians had a literal pissing contest with the Holy Roman Empire over there ancient rights. All nobleman are equal and had votes in the diet. Reality about there was the different social classes of nobility in itself with massive landowner at the top low nobility who and slightly more the land a freeman farmer. But regardless of economic difference they where still legally and technically all equal. Sorry for side tracking I do love this game so far!

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Maybe this was reading something but is in Alexandria Member of the Imperial clan? What is actually her family status and history if you could give a brief history?

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Will one of the male ROs be Oskar?

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@Iocria I really enjoyed my brief reading! I noticed no spelling or grammatical errors and I want to echo previous commentors’ praise for how easily the story read. My only concern was for more familial background to be given to really solidify the reader’s emotions about the family, but you already addressed that in your to-do list. I also want to applaud you for your ambitious list of traits. It might be difficult to manage all of them, but I firmly believe that a plethora of well-implemented character statistics add such spice and variety to a game. Keep at it!
Also, as a kind of post script, I want to offer my reassurances for you on your choice to make the game gender-locked. As you and others have previously stated, gender would fundamentally change the way the story was to be played, unless you go the unconventional, and, in my opinion, shallow and lackluster, route that Choice of Romance went with a complete reversal of standard gender tropes for the era. I think your initial approach to be the more preferable of the two. For me, when writing a sort of historical fiction like this, straying too far from cultural norms of the period is detrimental to the “historical” part. Furthermore, this is YOUR game, and while there is certainly something to be said about pleasing/reacting to your audience, the story is ultimately a reflection of your unique perspective. Besides, I have played plenty of gender-locked stories that amazed me. Just take @Cataphrak’s Sabres of Infinity series! Your passion and skill will make this story, not something as trivial as pronoun reference. I wish you the best as you continue writing and definitely hungry for more!

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Pfft. Germany had serf nobility.

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I still always find that’s terribly funny how that’s a thing like the poor provisional Nobles of the swords in France.:joy:

I’m Hungary just a weird case and never went through that feudalism period. Just adopt the trappings

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Sooooo…uhhh any particular reason the hair options are limited to 3 blonds and barely a brunette?

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I just noticed that in the scene where you choose hair colour, the variable is never set, so I’ve fixed that for now. Just something I realized while doing some work on it today.

@Rogar There is a country loosely based on Magyar and the Huns, but it’s more reminiscent of the Mongolian Empire. I might add an RO from there, but they’ve got a pretty strict hierarchy themselves. Oh, and this country, Alayonte, is very feudalistic, and I might have something in the game about, should I find a suitable place for it.

As for Alexandra, her mother’s family is descended from the royal line, and has close ties with the royal family. Alexandra’s late aunt was the king’s first wife, and mother to his eldest children, including the crown prince, and Eleonora marries said prince. Her father’s side is less political, and more economical. He is only a burgrave, but he’s a smart businessman and has made a large fortune through investments. All in all, her family is quite well-respected.

@Yev Yes, Oskar is one of the ROs.

@Rav3nsblad3 Wow, thank you for your feedback! And yes, the stats are a bit tricky, since a lot of them have slight overlaps, but it’s a labour of love.

@yagamikuuno Those are the only hair colours because of heritage. Father has light brown hair, his parents are brunet and redheaded, while Mother and her parents were all blonds. Aside from that, even including the mention of how uncommon strawberry-blond hair is, darker hair colours and reds are even rarer amongst the nobility. Most of the nobles are either blonds or brunets.

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he may not be an elector but he’s still Imperial Prince. Is father Ruler of petty domain or for the most part his Land of the Lost Generations ago? And also how is he able to marry so high above his station? Was his economic investments that good?

FYI I love it that you’re using actual titles from the Holy Roman Empire​:heart_eyes::heart_eyes::heart_eyes::heart_eyes::heart_eyes:

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Well, to be fair, this story seems to be set in Eastern Europe where nobility was often exclusively fair-haired.

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if they’re basing it mostly on the Holy Roman Empire that is as Central as Central Europe can get.

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This is honestly the first time I’ve ever been excited for a dating sim from a female perspective a straight female perspective at that!

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Huh…I guess I’m so used to COG letting me choose to be whatever ethnicity, I kinda forget that a lot of the time periods covered are heavily white, with light colored hair. Absolutely nothing wrong with making your game this way, support 110% but I suppose I’m used to either being any color under the sun or just vague enough that I could imagine whatever.

In fact, does anyone know if there’s a game that locks you into a Caucasian role in COG explicitly? Because I’m only remembering COvampire and you could still technically be dark skinned.:thinking:

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First of His Blood and Morderd. I enjoy them both quite a bit!

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Updated a bit more because I really don’t feel like studying for my midterms lol.

I changed the scene structures, added in a few more stat changes, and put in a few more scenes. I’d say I’m nearing about 60% on the prologue. Please let me know if something looks weird or doesn’t look right.

@Rogar I’m very happy you’re enjoying this ^^ I love history and I take a great interest in monarchies, but when I created this country, it is only loosely based off of the HRE. Burgrave is among the lowest titles in Alayonte, but the Spellmeyer name is still pretty powerful because they have served as bureaucrats to the royal line for a long time. However, Burkhard’s marriage to Annalena is more of a love match than anything else.

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Have we less options when it comes to character customisation now? :thinking: Maybe eye colour and definitely hair offers less choice now. Miss my dark hair. :blush:

Like it otherwise!

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Noooooo kind of cliff hanger… :frowning:

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Good cliffhanger! Love the story!

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@Taylor_Enean Glad you like it! I haven’t changed any options so far. Maybe it’s the changed formatting? Eye colour is still blue, green, hazel, and brown, while hair colour is still light brown, strawberry-blonde, ash-blonde, and honey-blonde.

@SuperNova @lokidemon007 Completely unintentional cliffhanger lol. Scene got accidentally uploaded, but I’m glad you find it intriguing so far ^^

Noticed a couple minor errors today while working on it, and just some thoughts and questions:

  • The scene with Oskar has some stat checks messed up. For some reason I decided to use all *if statements, so it’s just completely messed up. It’s a pretty simple fix so I’ll have it done by the weekend.
  • In general, because I switched around the scene coding, a lot of the actual formatting is weird right now. Again, another easy fix for this weekend.
  • How are the stat checks so far? There are a few unmarked checks (two in Oskar’s scene: when Alexandra find the ribbon and when you talk to Benedikt), and in the scene right after when Alexandra and Benedikt are going to visit town. Are you guys able to get the different outcomes easily?
  • On that vein, how are the stat and relationship changes anyway? Are they too small, too big?

For anyone mildly curious, the next few scenes aremeeting the Count Palatine, Oskar leaving, and meeting the Duke. Feel free to ask about them because I’m getting really sick of studying for my midterms and working on essays.

Again, thanks for taking the time to read and/or comment ^^

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