The Golden Rose: Book One by Ana Ventura

Congratulations! I am sure you did a wonderful job.

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Congrats, that’s great news.

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Congratulations!

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Congratulations on your massive work and efffort in all of the years you have been working on this!

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Congratulations! Can’t wait for the public release😍

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Congrats! This is is probably my favourite wip. I cant wait to play the finished version! Ill be buying the instant it’s out, whenever that may be.

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Point of Situation

Hello! It feels like it’s been an eternity, so much has happened since my last progress report. And by so much has happened, I mean, The Rose has progressed so far since then.

I sent the game with the new ending to my sister, and I wish I could share her reaction. She loved it so much more! Her texts made me so, so happy! :grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes:

Playtesting is done ! I don’t really have anything else I want to check out, my list of paths and choices I wanted to read is all crossed out and has been throw in the trash. What playtesting has made me realize, however, besides some lacking paths and choices here and there, is that there are A LOT of things I’m unhappy with - especially in the first 3 chapters.

Things like page_breaks in the wrong places, and dialogues not quite fitting the characters - Alessa, specifically, has this problem. When I first wrote chapter one, so long ago, I didn’t have the grasp of her character that I do now. Things like weak sentences - my English and my writing, in general, were so much worst back then. Things like confusing descriptions.

I wasn’t joking when I said that I can’t look at the demo - I’m half tempted to take it down, that’s how bad it is. I’ll try to figure out a way to upload a new, shinier version but then that version would stop where I want the public demo for when the game is released to stop - at the end of chapter 3.

Playing this game, again and again, made me realize that I need to do an in-depth edit of the entire game. As in, reading the code while I play that section at the same time, to improve not only for the writing but also the flow of the pages and the choices.

So, that’s what I’ve been doing! I’m already in Chapter 3, and OOF , these first 3 chapters are by far, the ones that needed the most work. Chapter one, especially, is running so much smoother now, without those awkward and unnecessary page_breaks everywhere. Chapter 2 also had a big overhaul and I just found an error in chapter 3 that neither I nor any of my beta testers caught!!

I’m going through the whole game with a razor-thin comb, and honestly, it’s been surprisingly fun! I’m reading conversations and scenes that I wrote almost 2 years ago and while yes, the writing isn’t the best, it’s fun to look back at it. But, most importantly, I’m making the game worth it for people to actually pay money to!

So, another checkpoint has been crossed! But, alas, it was not the last because I’m adding another. The final one:

  • Finish the second draft of chapter 8 and the new Epilogue.
  • Write all the suggestions/expansion of choices from my beta testers.
  • Put it all into code.
  • Do one week of extensive playtesting.
  • Do a deep edit of the entire game.

How long will this take? I have no idea. As I said, I’m editing chapter 3 - the first of the chapters to get to 100k words - so that means I’ve gone through 5 out of 23 files. I don’t have a date to give, and I realize I should stop trying to give dates - but it’s also worth noting that the other chapters won’t give me as much work as the first three. I’m pretty sure I won’t be making any substantial changes to chapters 6, 7, and 8, for example.

This might come as bad news to some, but I can assure you it’s really not! This has been something I’ve been putting off because I dreaded the amount of work, but I can’t put it off anymore. I have to do this. And now, I want to do it. :grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes:

I hope your week was great, and may you find rest on the weekend. :rose:

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Don’t worry, you need the time you need, and that’s it!

By the way, I didn’t think about it before, but did you implement a custom save or checkpoint system in the game - as in, something that will stay in the published version?
I’m asking because the game is extremely long and any mistake will be very inconvenient if restarting the game from scratch.

If not, well, I’ll make do somehow :rofl:
Just wanted to ask, really!

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Not gonna lie I am kinda bummed out by this, that said I will always appreciate when an author does everything possible to ensure their readers get the best possible product. Also if it means better scenes with Alessa then I am all for it, so take your time and good luck I guess. No clue what else to say here.

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Don’t worry about how long it’ll take! If it makes the end product even better then time doesn’t matter. Not to me atleast.

I love what we’ve been able to play and see. I love hearing about it when i check this forum and im super excited for it when ever it is done.

Don’t rush this amazing game :heart:

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To me this is actually pretty great news because in my opinion the demo content was already great so seeing now that are making It even better just hypes me up

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Wow, that is a lot of damn work for you. I can’t even imagine how strained your eyes and hair roots are by now. Some massive and ginormous props to you! This book is your baby, and you have all the right to nurture it before drop kicking it out into the world. So take all the time that you need and don’t feel guilty. It’s actually really impressive that you’re so dedicated to the finer details. If you think the demo is hard to look back at, I’m antsy to see what the new opening chapters are like because I always found the demo great!

I’m excited for the results!

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I am here. Rayvn is here. We are ready for whenever you release this magnum opus.

Rayvn nods and smiles from the couch. :smiling_imp:

Yes, she is ready for an adventure as well. Take all the time you need. We are here. We are grateful. :relieved:

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Hi! I apologize if anyone has already asked this or if it’s already been said - but how is it determined which twin we meet first (in the inn)? Do I have to show interest in Hadrian in order to meet Alain? My first playthrough I had showed interest in Hadrian but upon meeting Alain I liked him better so I replayed without showing interest in Hadrian (since it felt kinda cruel to just all of a sudden stop liking him lol) and then the person at the inn was a female. I don’t think I chose any of the “romantic” options for Alessa, so otherwise does it just default to the female twin at the inn? (I honestly have restarted any time I that happened so the system isn’t quite clear to me.)

Also, take your time with this new step of the demo! In my opinion it is already shaping up to be my new favorite game so I am willing to wait any necessary amount longer for you to feel comfortable and confident with where it’s at!!

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Short answer: yes.

The long answer you don't particularly need.

Unless the romance/flirt points are intended to be cumulative total value, and not simply more of a ‘true/false’ thing (that the code indicates it being), you’re not missing anything by having to wait for a later scene.

I’ve brought up this exact quibble before, for the same reasons regarding m!MC and Alain, and f!MC and Ysabella, what with not wanting to lead on the companions just to see the exact Theer the respective MC’s really want sooner in the story… As long as no romantic interactions are gated behind needing a minimum point total–which I strongly believe they won’t be because of how many times the demo’s code showed it could be wiped to zero, and then start again from one, and be considered “set to true”–there’s really nothing being missed.

Truthfully, the only mildly distressing thing you might have to contend with is being borderline flirted with repeatedly by the companion you’re not interested in if you ignore going after the only immediate same-sex option you have from the beginning of the game.

All in all, Anathema has already given a response about this, and it may not satisfy everyone, but it is what it is.

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Thank you so much, everyone! As I said, this is something that has to be done, but it’s always incredible the way this community is so supportive of us small creators. This is the first thing - my first work - that I’ll publish to the wide world, that’ll have my name attached to it, so yes, I’ll be taking my time with it. The last thing I want is to be reading through the app and think “I could have made this better.”

I have no idea how to implement that :sweat_smile: Plus… I don’t think it’s feasible for the Rose. Chapter 4 is made of six chapters, where the reader can jump between scene files. There’s no order, you can even choose to only visit three places or go for a fourth. Plus all the scenes that happen between those events. There are the “fixed” variables, but also all the temp ones in each of the files (or chapters).

I’d have to manually keep track of them all. How?? I’m afraid there won’t be a save system. :pensive:

There are saves in the demo because all the files are uploaded to Dashingdon which has a saving system. The finished games aren’t hosted on Dashingdon, however, so they don’t have access to that feature.

I know there are games with custom checkpoints - zombie exodus being one, which I really appreciate because I kept dying in the first one :grin: - but I don’t know how I’d get around the problem of “Chapter 4”. Plus, I think that a game asking you “Do you wish to replay this chapter?” every time you get to the end of a chapter is… incredibly immersion-breaking. I’m personally not a fan of it.

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Oh wow, I can see how hard that would be - I didn’t know about the inner workings.

Oh well, we’ll have to do without :rofl:
Still, thanks for the answer!

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That would be so helpfull!!

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Something like the save system in the demo wouldn’t work? I know HG likes to keep those out of the final game but with such a massive game a save system would make a lot of sense.

Its totally fine if its something that you can’t do, I’m just genuinely wondering especially since I saw that the The War for the West has the save option in the published game.

Again its totally fine if you can’t/decide not to do it

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Okay! Thanks for explaining! I don’t know code lol so a lot of the terms are just gibberish to me but I feel reassured/glad to know that it is just defaulting to Ysabella and I’m not actually missing out on any interactions or accidentally leading someone on or anything! For a while during the demo (before certain updates that clarified it) I had actually thought that Ysabella (when at the inn) wasn’t a separate person but that somehow I’d chosen Alain to be set to female on accident – which I of course now know isn’t the case, but initially I had thought that I’d messed up and that’s why I was getting Ysabella. So the reality of the situation is much better! (:

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