The Vampire Regent [published]

[Blank]

Thanks for posting this im really excited for the game to come out. The stats had me worried it might not be good

[Ylva]

@Nerull I encountered the same error as @AAO. I evaded and then countered, dealt a series of quick slashes, and then transmuted and went for the rifle.

[Nerull]

@Yaya1213

The game currently has a save system. I check it here, and it is working for me. Is it working for you?

Yep, random events do shape the narrative. Some of them are “triggered” by special conditions, like reaching a specific Influence level with some organization/individual or choosing a determined pathway in some other event. Examples of how random events modify things:

Opening sidequests (some random scenes have branches, for instance)
Stats modification (Skills and Influence)
Setting up variables that describe what you did and what you didn’t - and that will be mentioned in future events
Obtaining Relics and Artifacts
Meeting new characters and unlocking their descriptions

And thanks for the report - I’ll fix it!

@AAO and @Ylva
Thank you, the fix is already on

[Bibleblack22]

I am a few minutes in and while the pace is slow to enjoyable, the only thing that has annoyed me is when picking lineage, “Christianism” describes Christianity. Not trying to be a Nazi, just odd when I was reading through Balkanics.

[Yaya1213]

While the save system does work, we would have to be sure to remember to save before death scenes (which we may not always know is coming up). When we’re engrossed in the story, we may not always remember to save (or at least I don’t). I think making a checkpoint would be better, similar to zombie exodus, as when this is to go to the market, I rarely see save options on the app.

Hopefully, I’m making sense.

[Nerull]

@Bibleblack22
Regarding the pace, is it only the intro or any scene in particular?

And thanks for the “Nazism” - I’ll revise this part (all lineage descriptions will be revised and expanded, most likely).

@Yaya1213
Yep, I understood your point. Thing is that I have no idea how could I do that (or even if it is possible in a WIP). My co-developer does most of the “hard coding” - I can only do the basics. In regard to saving systems, I am clueless.

[Bibleblack22]

Well I actually finished.

The story and role I played were quite enthralling, and I feel that each role as regent has so much thatvcan be expanded upon. From the bar, to the side romances with the nigh endless NPCs, each fleshed our deeply. But then it feels as though it just stops.

Economically, I was a bit confused

Should I cash out everything into Ankhs?

Are there repercussions on money?

Why does it feel like there is a foreboding reason as to why my stocks are steadily decreasing at an exponentially larger rate than I could ever gain from all the poker I play(Which could be heavily played out in the economy as well)

I feel the bulk of the action and most engrossing part came from getting to the main story.

But the moments with the skill checks seem almost unbeatable, and felt like a great challenge. Even the fixed rooftop felt, while greatly written, seems linear, as though unless I had devoted all my time into manipulation, and perception, even with my background being heavily suited in that direction, I didn’t have much of a shot at passing. You might have to expand all of this exponentionally to get to the potential laid out.

All in all, I am excited for the direction you have taken this, and options you have given. I can’t wait for the full version.

[Nerull]

Thank you for the detailed comment, @Bibleblack22

I believe the game “feels as though it just stops” because it actually does… haha. Most of Chapter 2 main events and a handful of new random scenes are already written and need only to be revised and “code-proofed”.

Some interactions with humans (unfortunately in scenes not yet posted) require dollars instead of Ankhs. But I’m not sure I get what you mean by “repercussions on money” - how so?

The stocks system is a bit complex and involves “nightly” randomly generated values. Depending on the risk of your investments and on storyline choices, you can either earn or lose a random quantity of cash per night. The riskier your investments, the wider the range.

Also, imagine you have your investments placed on the Port of Mordhaven. Let’s say something bad happens there. A bomb. This, apart from affecting Influence values (like decreasing the Cloud trust on your leadership and sky-rocketing the Criminality), will make you lose a great deal of cash.

It is possible to beat Oswald with a Manipulation/Perception character, though! People have commented here on this topic about it

Again, thank you! Please keep in touch!

[anon89206566]

Been waiting for another good vampire IF piece.

And man, did I find it.

As an avid follow of Dontnod’s upcoming vampire RPG, Vampyr, it really shocked me how equally interesting this game is.

The different bloodlines, the variety of options on how to lead, the randomized events, and, most importantly, the setting itself - all obviously well thought-out and crafted. I enjoyed attending the Auditorium and deciding on underworld matters, reveling in the opportunity to be a brutal-yet-understanding ruler. I enjoyed every moment you gave us to define who we are as an undead leader; from deciding where we invest in the city, to how we treat crime, I personally found this so much more entertaining than even Highlands, Deep Waters. Maybe its because a good vampire game of any kind hasn’t appeared since VTMB. Or maybe its because you’ve crafted an underworld with so much good lore and greatly-mischievous politics. Perhaps both.Hell, even the fight scenes were enjoyable.

My point here is, I think you have a great piece here with loads of potential, especially for fans of true vampires like me, and I’m honestly excited to see where it goes. Here’s hoping its overall length matches the quality of its current content.

There. I’m done shouting my praises. My only problems, literally, so far are the few typos and couple repeating scenes I’ve found, which I will report when I have the time.

Peace, mortals.

P.S. - Hopefully we’ll get to see Alice Crawford again; having a partner with essentially the same skills as you can go a long way.

[Nerull]

Hey, @anon89206566 (that’s quite the edgy name, by the way)

Thank you so much for your words. It’s always uplifting to see people enjoying a WIP project. When you have time, please report the typos, repeating scenes and any other issues you might find. In regard to the next content updates, we’re finishing the last Chapter 2 passages and revising some random scenes which are already working. Once they’re ready, I’ll post the whole thing here.

Please keep in touch!

PS: Alice Crawford is one of the “main Cloud members” (like Belmont, Otto, Morgan and other NPCs who appear in many random scenes and also further in the main story). You’ll see more of her, for sure.

[Otaku_King]

Not sure it’s been mentioned, but there is a HUGE bug with ankh to dollar conversion. It says at one point $1000 per ankh, but the variations of 1, 5 or 10 don’t increase past 1000. It should be 5 ankh for 5000 and 10 for 10,000, yet it shows they are both giving you 1000 only instead of the correct amount, so you lose 4 and 9 ankh each time for no money. The only work around is to keep spamming the 1 ankh sell option until satisfied.

[Nerull]

Thanks for the report, @Otaku_King

Indeed, we expect a lot of changes and fixes in this currency system. The MC shouldn’t start with so much money, for example. Also, we’re adding scenes in which the MC must pay in dollars instead of Ankhs.

Nevertheless, thanks for pointing it out. It should be solved by the next update.

[Ender1]

I love ur work and can’t wait for more

[BeautifulColt]

This is a really interesting story! I ended up getting killed by Hunters on the roof though.

The grinding is a little redundant (choosing between meetings, fencing, poker, bars and managing finances), but there was enough to keep me engaged. There’s a lot of unique ideas that I haven’t seen in other vampire-based hosted games. I liked this more than I thought I would. I look forward to more updates!

[Pumpkaboo]

This is a really interesting WIP! Who are the long term ROs, if any?

[Nerull]

Hey folks.

I have halted the WIP for a few months. I am working on a few projects (unrelated to interactive fiction) and my co-worker @MahatmaDagon is just finishing his WIP War for the West.

As soon as we get our things done, then we’ll finish this game. In fact, the whole Chapter 2 (plus a bunch of new random scenes) is pretty much written and revised. We’ll need to go through the “boring part” - coding, fixing, screaming, crying… but I’d say the game’s content is around 70-80% done.

And now, to the specifics:

@Ender1
Thank you!

@BeautifulColt
Thanks! We try to diversify the random scenes as best as we can. I think this feeling of “grinding” will get (at least partially) solved with the new scenes.

@Pumpkaboo
Hey!

At the moment (not in this version here, but already written) we have Alice Crawford (if you’re male), Morgan (if you’re female) and Georgia Schaeffer (regardless of gender).

[No_This_Is_Patrick]

Will Theresa ever be a romance option?

[Nerull]

@No_This_Is_Patrick
Answering this would be a hell of a spoiler.

[UKHEIC]

Maybe it’s a little bit trivial, but in the beginning where you choose your investment strategy, there is an option that reads ‘A moderate investor. You allocate money to some low-risk and some high-risk stocks’.

Well in real life financial industry, risk in any investment consists of two parts: systematic risks that affect the entire market, and unsystematic risk, which only affects individual investments. Now if you invest in low-risk stocks and high-risk stocks at the same time, you are reducing the unsystematic risks of both. If their negative correlation (i.e. on goes up, the other goes down) equals -100%, then there will be no unsystematic risk at all. It’s called diversification and should be the safest option of the three.

Sorry I just couldn’t resist.

[Voldy]

@Nerull

we have Alice Crawford (if you’re male),

Well shit. Wasn’t expecting her to be long term. Wasn’t expecting any long term ROs. Alright then. Consider me more hyped for Chapter 2.

A few months delay sucks since I enjoyed Chapter 1 so heavily, but good things come to those who wait! So glad to hear this isn’t abondoned!