Tin Star testing

Hosted Games Works In Progress
701

@AllenGles you could:
Buy food for them- reduce wealth
Train them- increase persuasion or resolve (or intimidation… Muhahahaha)
People could use them to blackmail you, to send you off on missions you don’t want to do?
General comments when talking to people, they could mention it a bit
The animals could get in trouble e.g. a cat causing a lot of damage, that you have to pay for
An option for free time: ‘spend time with your mouse/cat’
Buy treats for them to make them like you more e.g. a collar, nice food, toys etc.

And, if you’re looking for feedback on characters:
Preston: I liked Preston, not just because of his ‘understanding’. To me he was a sort of Wild West stereotype, with a few changes. I’d like to see more meaningful interaction with him in later chapters, if possible (including romance).

Carson and Schmidt: I liked both of these characters, but felt that at the start it should be slightly (I mean slightly, too much wouldn’t look good) more obvious that the option ‘ride straight down, they won’t bother me’ (not worded exactly right, but the one where you don’t shoot anyone and reconcile them) should make it more obvious that you can negotiate a truce with them- it seemed to me like it was an option to go straight past them without doing anything. However, I will need to look into this scene more to provide a meaningful review.

Caraway: I thought Caraway was, like Preston, a bit of a Wild West stereotype, with all the drinking and whatnot. I liked her character, and there were a lot of chances to talk to her. My favourite scene was in the shooting challenge, where she shoots first and you try and arrest her because her pistols are empty!

Yiska: My favourite character of all, but it was quite easy to miss him while playing- in my last few playthroughs I don’t think I’ve met him, or if I have I certainly haven’t interacted with him much.

I don’t feel I’ve played through enough scenes with her to provide feedback for the Spanish woman, and I haven’t seen Andy, Frank or (or any other characters, but I don’t feel they need to be) mentioned much. The scene with Steele was good, will we ever know what has really happened to ‘Marshal James’… If that’s his real name (wink wink, nudge nudge)?

702

Steele worked for the Upton company which is owned by the family of the person you were being hanged for

703

My favorite character has to be Yiska. I certainly took a liking to him, when I found out he was a lawyer because now my character had a fellow lawyer with her. I could never romance him though tried to but always fail. My favorite side character was hungry snake. The character I like the least is Preston.

704

To extend on what @Redgrave said about pets maybe you could bring along your pet on one of your missions, if you’ve bonded enough with them.

I actually like every one of the characters though some are easier for me to kill and not worry about them, than others.

705

Decreasing wealth on account of having buyfood for the pets seems kind of redundant to me (especially considering that this is a time before modern pet food was a business of billions and feeding a mouse shouldn’t have to even decrease anyone wealth noticeably) especially since this game also doesn’t bother to charge you for your own, and assuredly much more expensive, basic upkeep when it comes to the ordinary stuff of food, everyday clothes, ammunition and fuel.
That said, maybe we could indeed buy or craft a toy for the pets or (attempt to) feed them some of the bear meat since that particualr item seems useless otherwise. Also you could maybe mention a certain bearskin rug when fixing up the office (I could certainly see a cat claiming the bearskin rug for itself).

@Marajade why do you think Yiska is a freak, I find him to be rather cute and adorable myself (also he’s definitely handsome).
However I can certainly see why some would desire a more extraverted and roguish character than either Yiska or Schmidt to romance and the potential rivalry with Preston certainly has the potential to add some dynamic tension (or slap slap kiss) to any potential romance.

706

@Idonotlikeusernames I dont like the cute boys to flirt and Yiska its not my type , he is cool but a little weird too. And Preston has something and yes a roguish character its what my character wants.

707

I found a spelling error when asking the blacksmith to make a special weapon with Wealth: Barely enough for bed and breakfast the next page says:

Kevin stares at you for a long moment, then just shakes his head as if he could count the ‘coints’ that aren’t in your pockets.

Should be ‘coins’

708

Redgrave- Those are some interesting ideas. I should put in a few more bits with your pet, if only because it is there.

I enjoyed your musings on the characters. That you managed to miss Yiska is interesting, but I can see how it could happen. Andy… well, we only get to see Andy once and he’s dying. If you don’t save him, then that’s all there is. Same with Frank. I don’t want to sink too much time into writing scenes that will be seen rarely if ever.

And yes, there will certainly be a resolution with ‘Marshal James’. Roslyn_samalt06 touched upon a bit of the relevant background she noticed and I am always glad when people see the little details.

709

idonotlikeusernames- You are quite correct about the cost of feeding a pet. Back then it was pretty much fend-for-yourself with regards to mice and cats.

The bearskin rug… a nice touch. I need to find a way to work that in. Writing a note to myself about that.

710

spyfox259- Coints definitely isn’t a word. At least, it doesn’t count as one. Thank you for noting it.

How did the scene with Kevin feel? He was an odd sort of character that cropped up unexpectedly when I was writing the interludes.

711

After reading the suggestions here, I think I have settled on a few things to do with the Romance characters.

Caraway- Help her sift and dry a quarter barrel of black powder that she just bought.

Schmidt- Get him squared away in the hotel for a night, since he doesn’t do that sort of thing often. Probably dinner too.

Maria- Chess or another game seems in order. Perhaps cards? Any suggestions for this would be appreciated.

Yiska has a thread in the main story, so he’s taken care of in regards to that. At least for Chapter 6.

All four will have a ‘See a play in Elko with your romantic partner’ option coming up.

1 Like
712

Just a question, if we can be Chinese, why can’t we be Native American? That would be a nice change to just two nationalities. Just a question.

713

Okay. Got a question: the game suddenly stops (without an ending) right after I finish the gunfight with Steele. Is this supposed to happen, or is there supposed to be an ending recap?

On that note, some data for my latest run-through. Her values probably tell you all you need to know about my playstyle this time.

Miss Helena Handbasket:
Traits: Doctor.
Current Companions:
Health: Healthy enough.
Wealth: Enough to buy your own business.
Values:
Order
36
Freedom
Honor
11
Arbitrary
Law
-9
Individuality
Notoriety
53
Anonymity
Skills:
Gunfighting
59
Sharpshooting
58
Brawling
38
Riding
37
Survival
28
Legal
10
Engineering
10
Explosives
25
Persuasion
43
Intimidate
50
Stamina
30
Resolve
34
Influence_Carson
50
Influence_Schmidt
50
Influence_Caraway
152
Influence_Preston
17
Influence_Hartigan
55
Influence_Albion
65

I get the feeling about now that when your Notoriety goes over your Influence_Preston, that would be the right time for him to decide you’re a problem. (“Headache pending. Shoot them. Shoot them both.” You never fail to amuse!)

714

I think it ends there until the author finishes it(no rush).

715

Wyrmspawn- Actually, I do have plans to allow the main character to be a Native American.

Native Americans would start with an excellent suite of skills particularly suited to the old west (A large initial bonus to Riding, Survival and either Brawling or Stamina) but would also bear a severe stigma because of the bigotry and racism of the time.

In several ways, putting in this possibility is more difficult than incorporating Chinese main characters into the story (Which I have not yet done fully either) because whole branches, especially involving the Red Ribbon mining corporation, have to be modified.

But it will happen. Perhaps after I finish with chapter 6.

716

Ramidel- When you say the game stops right after the gunfight… what exactly do you mean? Is there no meeting with Preston on the street? No wrap up or thank you for beta testing screen? If so, that’s a big bug.

I like your character’s name by the way. Fitting. I mean, a negative Law stat? First time I’ve seen that. Of course, now that I know it can happen… well, that brings many a possibility to mind. :slight_smile:

And that is a good point about notoriety and Preston. (A seventeen influence? Really, wow. Talk about pushing the envelope on that) But it won’t come to a head until later… I mean, Preston is a gambler but there are gambles and then there are risks.

717

Thanks! I’m not really Caucasian, and it gets tiring when I have to play a caucasian main character all the time. I’d just like to play the role of a violent Indian who defends his native territory vigorously. “GET OUT PALEFACE!!!” X(

718

There was a meeting with Preston, but no wrap up screen; it just went right to the “play again” buttons.

And thank you, I was in a really punny mood when I made that character.

For the influence, I got it by shooting Preston’s cook out of hand rather than listening to…whatever dispute she was having. I mean, that’s probably the most pointlessly evil action available yet, Preston should have something very pointed to say about it.

Another thing I forgot to mention: There are several dialogue options that mention Yiska in later episodes, and they appear even if you don’t meet Yiska at all (because Miss Handbasket and Caraway shot up the Red Ribbon Mining Company without even talking to him or the Indians). Might be a continuity snarl there.

1 Like
719

I got a thank you from preston but it also went straight to play again for me.

720

Not sure if this is a known bug, but I chose this option on another character.

“Go back to your office, have some coffee and let Preston work things out for himself.”

Next thing I know,

The coffee brews as the stagecoach loads up until the floorboards creak. When that big beast heads out, the axles readily squeak despite a thick layer of grease.

A steady stream of laborers heft up sacks and lug them out to the stagecoach. One by one, those are placed inside until the wood frame begins to groan from the weight of the unrefined gold.

Amidst them you catch sight of a familiar figure. Frank Spears, unbloodied, ambles to the stagecoach and lays a hand on the driver’s buckboard. “Hey there Marshal. I’m ready to do my part.”

And then I’m right back on the stagecoach job after all.