Yay, new chapter! I just wished that I didn’t clear my cookies.
I also wish I didn’t clear my cookies, ha. Excellent chapter, nontheless.
I love my merry band of misfits. I also like Julia and James, and he being alive was hilarious. Nice twist, by the way, specially about the importance of the person you killed; the murder that started all. Denny appearing was great, too. The whole setting feels so epic. And the bear. THE FREAKIN’ BEAR. I said it once, I’ll say it again, one word: Epic.
I know I’ll end up with broken fingers the day this game is completed. I’ll play it till they fall off. This game is just amazing.
Things I found along the way:
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Ordering a saddle for María Agustina is an option in chapter four, before she shows up.
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“Plenty do know Tumbleweed Jack. Its hard not to remember a man who went from free roaming gunslinger to prisoner.”
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“Its all about your little town, isn’t it. Mister Greedy grab has to have it all his way.”
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“Its my roguish charm.”
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“Its good to see you, Candie. Julia here tells me you have been prospering.”
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“Its just a short ride down to Elko.” Marshal James notes after you fill him in. “And Indians always know other Indians who know other Indians.”
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The batch of nitroglycerin options repeats. I mean, it doesn’t become unavailable after being already selected.
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“My guess is they brought some big guns to this fight.” Miss Caraway considers, “its what I would have done.”
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@AllenGies
Okay, I’ve yet to been able to get that problem again yet, but when I do I’ll post it here.
Though I’ve been replaying from the start but an odd glitch came up. I just finished chap 3 where I fine the guy spreading rumours about Jeff, blew up the dam with the help of Yiska, the war band and Schmidt. Schmidt killed the bear. Though when I got to Chap 4 it was bring up lines that would appear after the golden stagecoach. Also apparently from the general store owner I lost it as well, but I’m pretty sure those cues don’t show up until after Chap 4?
Another one: “That is not what I wanted to hear.” Regina says, he voice suddenly flat and hostile."
This one of the best choice of games ever. Much praise and kudos to you! It’s particularly awesome how much persuasion can be used. The narrative after picking the ride the bear option didn’t seem to fit with the choice, though it did seem effective.
Too bad a lightning storm didn’t pluck a few of the raiders off coincidentally … ya know to add to the legend *wink wink*
The struck by lightning thing might be a little unbalanced already; it’s given more legend points than any other trait.
Chapter two (is it?) when you have just set up home for cat/mouse and Tumble weed Jack turns up and Miss Caraway says,
"Oh, Jack’s back is he? I thought he’d died or gone to Missouri.
There’s no "
Not sure how legend points one way or the other is “unbalanced”, do legend points actually do something in the game or is just a measuring stick for the end? If the latter then struck by lightning would just be the most “legendary” path.
Explosives always seemed to call out to me.
VodooDolly- Thank you. Glad you liked the bear (more on the later). Good catches on your part. I apparently backslid on the ‘its’ part of grammar. No idea why.
The biggest one is trying to save the town from a flood. You mess it up once and you can’t repick anything
AngelOfTheBroken- Ah. I tracked down that little bug. Apparently there was an additional *set meta_time +1 line where there shouldn’t be. I’m going to rip out most of the meta-time entries eventually as those were a holdover from my intention to do the interludes as a single scene. As I’ve discarded that concept, there is no reason to keep using the accompanying architecture.
CassYuri and Wyrmspawn: Struck by lightning is a little high in terms of legend, but it is so difficult to get (the opportunity happens only once in an out of the way place) and so distinctive that I can live with the justification that having it happen to the MC is in itself a rather legendary event.
That is, unless you can think of another time that the MC could realistically be struck by lightning… Hmm, maybe during the flood, or chapter nine… Might be funny to have it happen a second time “Oh no, not again.”
CassYuri- What in particular did you find rough about the Ride That Bear section? I did have to tie in the possibility of it occurring in multiple places, the gorge, the rail-head camp, outside Reginald’s tent, etc.
Meeting with lead guy working on railroad and return of Denny:“Excuse the interruption, Marshal.” He begins in “But I and the others have been wondering how a woman of China has managed to come so far in these Golden lands as to wear the bright star?”(***I was female but was not chinese.)
“I’ve heard that name.” Hayworth notes with a slow nod. “It were in this little dime novel about a stagecoach of gold and a Marshal named Temple who… oh. Well, things are starting to make sense now.”
He clears his throat, looks sheepish for a moment.
“Forces from back east are at work here to halt your expansion.”
“There will be Indian raiders.”
“An outlaw by the name of Richard Hartigan has a sizable band of men, and he will hit you like a storm.”(***This last choice stays even after choosing it.)
Talking to Matthew at general store:“For you I do. Things have been lively as of late, Marshal.” Matthew says, tugs at a handkerchief at his belt. “Awfully glad you calmed Miss Caraway down in the Mother-Lode. Where bottles are concerned, she’s a good customer. ***(I chose option to back out and leave saloon, never spoke to her so not sure how I calmed her down…) And I finally got rid of that old pine coffin that I’d been using as a table in the back. It fit Tumbleweed Jack like a glove. A black glove, but, well, there you are.”
Hungry Snake slips in through the back door in the middle of the night, pours himself a shot. “Richard is confused at how things turned out.”(Why is he confused? I did what I promised, stood aside and let them take stagecoach w/ gold. Was it cuz I knocked out frank instead of killing him?) The Indian remarks. “But he wishes you to know that he has sent sly-talker Eli down to Elko to ask around. Tahoma, when he knows something, so shall you.”
It doesn’t take long to make a grand show of things. A bit of gunfire, blood on the stone, screaming and yelling as the ‘Indians’ are ‘forced’ out of a tunnel exit. Miss Caraway puts her shotgun away with a sigh, clearly disappointed. Schmidt watches the raiders depart, gives a shrug the upends cupfuls of fallen snow.(***Schmidt was not with me cuz i killed him at beginning).
Randall and Anya breathe a sigh of relief when you explain that.
“Furthermore, I am not assessing a fine against Red Ribbon mining, so long as you negotiate fairly with Yiska and his tribe”
“A sizable fine shall be assessed against the Red Ribbon mining company as a prelude to honest negotiations with Yiska and the Indians of his tribe.”
“All local assets of the Red Ribbon mining company shall be held until such time as the damages they inflicted upon Yiska and his tribe can be fully assessed.”(***Never met Yiska or tribe…just went in and started shooting.)
Q: At mining camp, talking to them inside then got Ticked and started shooting, went to get Randall but he shot me. Chose option to try again and next page now Im talking to the Newe tribe.
“A pleasure.” She replies. “I am… rather, you may call me, Maria Agustina Toledo y Santarosa.” She says upfront, then later she says:“Perhaps a little. Contrary to popular thought, lightning can strike twice, though rarely on successive nights.” She tries to explain, “You should call me Maria Agustina Toledo y Santarosa.”(***Why does she give her name twice?)
After confrontation with Steele:“I was just coming to see you.” Harry insists with a bit of a chuckle. “Can’t believe I missed the happening at the *Evening Star (*It was the babylon. I know I mentioned this before but I didn’t realize it came up here as well). Larry and I picked a bad time to come down with the trots, let me tell you. But honestly, is there ever a good time?”
Carraway talking about her Dad:“Upset, but I expect you understand that.” She notes, “I’ll have to see what I can do about that.” (***Why is he upset? I shot Frank so he could get stagecoach of gold!)
“Oh, of course.” She nods, “I remember reading about it when I was a child.”
“From the way you talk, you’d get along with Yiska pretty well.” (***I Had never met him cuz I shot up everything up front and he never came out and we never went to talk to tribe.)
“Are you sure you’re from Mexico? You talk real good.”
Miss Caraway shifts absently in the saddle, clearly eager to be back in a smokey saloon. “I haven’t been out to raid a camp in years… and that bit at the end, what with the graves and all. That’s how you make a name for yourself. But what I don’t understand is, that after all that, why the Indians had to just leave. (***Q: I never talked to the indians, just started shooting right away and killed everyone myself. Never met Yiska either.)Laura, I had a good time out here with you.”
A couple of evenings with your Colt Navy revolver kicking in your hand, makes you confident of drawing and hitting your target without pause. It is just like Miss Caraway said, accuracy first because otherwise why’d you bother to draw your gun at all? (***Q: I didnt talk to her, I backed out and left saloon. Later I can take Carrie along for Red Ribbon Mining scene but I hadn’t met her earlier cuz I backed out and left saloon. So how do I know her then if I backed out of saloon?)
***Q: If I Shoot Billy in the Hotel there is not a clear transition to explain that I am now going to Boot Hill.
All it takes is a single shot to end the conversation. Then the usual yelling and screaming begins, but you leave all that behind when you walk out the door. ***It isn’t a long ways, just out and east away from the river. A little rise amid so many other slopes. Hardly imposing at all except for the numerous grave markers that dot the crest.
“Do I have your attention?” A voice booms out across the open land. A moment later six riders emerge from scrub cover a long ways off. As they grow closer, you can see that it is Hartigan alright, with Hungry Snake by his right side. And by his side you see Miss Caraway. Not unexpected considering her betrayal.(***I never had a relationship with her, there was no betrayal, I sent her to Elko for trial at start of game.)
Getting out of town might just be a good idea. On official business up river, of course. It is therefore time to take a ride.
°Go it alone. The Marshal’s star is your burden to bear.
°Ben Carson might be driving his herd along a similar line as you intend to traverse. The Cowboy, and his rifle, would be good company.(*** But I had killed him. Killed Schmidt first, talked to Carson then shot him.)
There is no telling where Yiska went with the other Newe. Far away is a good bet. He’d probably say no to you anyway, given that you had that bad start. (***Never met him…killed everyone at mine first. He comes up again when talking to Maria…and with the Green Deer Valley Six Horns Indians but I had never met, talked or had knowledge of him.)
°Carson is probably out on the range, but that doesn’t mean he wouldn’t be willing to pitch in. (***But I had killed him. Killed Schmidt first, talked to Carson then shot him***)
°It seems you will have to go it alone.
You’ll be riding up near Albion Falls anyway. No doubt Carson could be found. (***But I had killed him. Killed Schmidt first, talked to Carson then shot him***)
Carson came up again during imposter Steele situation and going after the raiders, (***But I had killed him. Killed Schmidt first, talked to Carson then shot him***)
“Don’t forget. Go see the justice of the peace straight away and get his mark.” He reminds the pair. As they depart, he glances over at you. “Hey, you didn’t threaten either of them, Not yet given. Is this a great day or what?” (***Never met Yiska…killed everyone at mine first. “Not yet given” name continues throughout rest of game when that happens)
Q: Visit to Elko re: Steele situation. If I choose to see a play first before going to the telegraph, the choice to go to the telegraph is gone and I have to go back to Preston Springs empty handed. But if I go to telegraph first I can still go see play, is this intentional?
@AllenGies
I reached the character limit on previous post so I am gonna send the rest of my current questions/items to you directly. 
Sorry, I was past the edit time allowance for my last post.
Here are some things I thought others might be interested in as well that I was curious about:
*What about being a real renegade Marshal and having a fling with Hungry Snake? Thoughts?
*What does J.T. stand for?
*I noticied that the Indian names Yiska gives you are all boy names despite your gender. Are there plans to have female Indian names instead when choosing the female option?
*When going after the raiders that attacked the Smith farm…I turn Hartigan in to the calvary or otherwise start a fight with him and Miss Caraway was with me during that time because we were friends or in a relationship…it talks about her cursing, riding off and calvary going after her. However it is thn as if nothing happened cuz she is back with me when we are at the Painted Caves and comes back with me to my office in Preston Springs afterwards. Now,I know that she will not help me with Hungry Snake if I ask her and we are no longer in a relationship afterwards…but I feel there is something missing there. If I was her I would say screw you and not help at the Painted Caves at all and especially not go back to the Marshals office afterwards and hang out…What do you think?
Piggleywinks- Nice array, and a first for exceeding the character limit. 
The Not-Chinese-but-the-game-acts-as-though-you-are result is odd. There is only one place to enter the scene in question and it requires that the variable Chinese be greater than zero. Now, it is possible that the scene itself the_central_pacific_railroad_14_0 is getting confused with the_central_pacific_railroad_14. But if not, I have no idea how to fix what shouldn’t be broken.
The option to mention Hartigan has shown me that the *disable_reuse command can apply to *if statements without triggering an error. Strange that, but fixed now.
Good point about Matthew and the fact that the MC can just ignore the meeting with Miss Caraway. I’ll change his dialogue to reflect that possibility.
Likewise, Hungry Snake’s dialogue needs a brush up. Confusion isn’t what he should be talking about, though it stems from a low influence the MC might have with Hartigan.
The big problem with never meeting Yiska is going to require me to dive into the variables of chapter three again. It is the first time I tried a complex outcome chapter. It should be possible to meet Yiska in one of three places, In the camp, outside the camp or he’ll walk into the camp after you lay waste to it. At least, he should but the variables don’t seem to be lining up.
I also apparently missed an important variable swap when Miss Caraway rides off following the arrest or death of Hartigan. Always the little things…
As far as the J.T. part of Preston’s name goes, yes, those letters do stand for a pair of names… names that Preston would rather not use. It is an open question whether I should reveal them at all during the story. Maybe at the end of the romance with him…
All Indian names are masculine? Ah, missed that one. But then I always stumble with languages that aren’t English. Even Spanish and Latin are not my friends (Ask anyone on this board). But I think I will hand-wave things by having Yiska explain to a female or non-male character that he is using the masculine form as an honorific to denote energy, presence and drive; much as Catherine the Great achieved in Russia. Does that seem to work for the narrative?
You should be an official Beta Tester for all CoG games. Think about it, you’d do an amazing job.
As long as the “J” doesn’t stand for “Jedidiah”, he has nothing to be ashamed of, ha. It is a good idea for the character to reveal his name at the end of his romance.
About the male Native American names, I’d suggest Yiska thinking that the PC is male until they speak, and at that moment it’d be too uncomfortable to say: “Hey, no, wait, the name I gave you was a male name; see, I thought you were a man”. Him and the PC could joke about it after the reveal.
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@VoodooDolly Only trick to that would be is if you’ve been playing a blatantly female character, and also you have a bit of rep around town, not just as Marshal but also being known as “Miss (name)” (when playing female), so the MC isn’t exactly hiding their gender in that regard. And if you romance him as a woman (I don’t know if he’s romance-able as a male), then that further would complicate Yiska making such a ‘mistake’ as making any sense.