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@Redgrave Heh - absolutely nothing wrong with being a pragmatist about these things… But just out of curiosity, income considerations aside, which would be your preference?

@Nocturnal_Stillness Good choice! But let’s see if you change your mind after the new alternative scenes being added to Chapter 2 – the ones in place of Dinner-with-Angel, as I recall you mentioning that you tended not to see Lucinda at her worst on the route you usually played? :smiley:

@Zach & @JLBH & @lexlexx Anyone interested in joining the closed beta when it resumes, feel free to PM me your email address and I’ll gladly add you to the waiting list. If you had already done so before, I do still have your address – but feel free to PM me again to double-check.

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@Vendetta probably Lucinda, definitely not Carina. I like the new scene with Big Jim though- I really wasn’t expecting it!
Also, purely because I’m too lazy to send a PM, I’d like to continue testing with the closed beta :slight_smile:

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I’m very much interested in the story so far, it seems to be quite well thought through and has many angles, I just hope it stays that way through the whole story, with many different routes the story can take based on your decision.

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Yea I’d agree with Redgrave, I Always have Carina work for me only for the income but I think Angel was my preferred romance, I kinda liked that firery unpredictable nature of hers, seemed fun, just never new what could happen, that and I could see her being handy.

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Who are these characters people are talking about?

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My favourite romance option is still Adamo and I plan to stick by him for as long as he’ll have my college kid. But the others are also worthwhile, though I obviously prefer the men. Anyway choosing different romance options is usually one of the main reasons why I actually do multiple playthroughs of CRPG’s I like.
Speaking of extra income, I hope @Vendetta won’t be cross with me for saying/revealing this, but I believe he was working on adding missions/business opportunities specific to each romance option shortly before the updates stopped last year.

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@Redgrave Closed beta - duly noted. :slight_smile: I’m glad you like the new scene, although it does have the advantage of being a surprise for anyone who’s played through it so many times before! It’ll be interesting to see if anyone less familiar with the game / Carina’s later scenes actually has a different take on the whole thing…

@Aidra Thanks for the feedback. It is intended to remain quite varied throughout, mostly because I’m a big believer in replay value. So much effort goes into producing one of these things that, to my way of looking at it, it’s a crying shame if the reader only ever plays it once or twice for lack of sufficient variety to maintain their interest. It is however a very fine line… simpler games have a much better chance of actually being finished within a reasonable time, for instance. :wink:

@DreamWalker It’s a fair comment, as I do believe the 55% choosing Carina over the other options was probably heavily skewed by the poolroom connection. We’ll have a better idea by the end of Chapter 3, i.e. when they each have something similar to take into consideration.

@Natsu_Dragneel Monique, Carina and Lucinda are first encountered at Big Jim’s Bathhouse (the $10 option) during Chapter One. Angel comes into the story (sometimes) early in Chapter Two, so is not present in the Demo currently online.

@idonotlikeusernames I’m happy to confirm that’s still very much the case: I do intend for all the romance options to play an integral part in some way other than just being your current squeeze… Even Carina’s ‘speciality’ has not yet been (fully) revealed, just vaguely (and indirectly) hinted at in Chapter Two – the poolroom thing is just an early bonus.

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@Vendetta

I’m excited to see some of the new updates, which I’m about to check now. When you announced on the facebook feed for the game, it was a happy and exciting sight to see that you’d come back. I even went back and played some of my original games to get back in the swing of things. Again, extremely excited for this.

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Welcome back @Vendetta! Seeing this totally made my day! This is one of the best CoGs out there. Good to see you working on it again!

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@Vendetta I too am interested in continuing the closed beta… I played it while you were away so many times

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Welcome back, V.

Can’t wait to see what you’ve done with Chapter 2, either as my Black Hander or College Boy.

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Happy to see you back @Vendetta :smiley:

Gonna try the new demo now

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Epic, love your work
=D>

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Finally, I may now say hallelujah, welcome back @Vendetta

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Thanks guys, it’s good to be back. :slight_smile:

If anyone has any thoughts on the new bits (or anything in the Demo, for that matter!), feel free to mention it.

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Good to see you back Vendetta, so happy to see you continue this project as it is 100% quality!

Was happy to help with the playtest last time around and is more than happy to help out again. I’m just so happy this game will be completed as it is far too good not to be :slight_smile:

Welcome Back!

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In the part in the diner where the MC and Morello both let their tempers flare, there’s the bit where Morello calls your bullshit about not (attempting to) go(ing) straight. When playing as the college kid in particular I’d like a more specific retort considering that the College guy, at least, had equal, or even better opportunities and connections (despite the fact that you had to go to jail to get them), for going straight and leaving his old life behind him than Nick himself has probably had. Likewise the corrupt cop who blew it for himself might also be in line for a harsher tongue-lashing in that particular scene.

I do realize I’m basically asking for Nick to make background specific retort and that might entail a lot of work to write it all up particularly when the scene is already perfectly adequate as it is, but it might be an additional opportunity where the game can make use of some of the available backgrounds.

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i just kill the big sauna boy she called me monster and run away :(( no poolroom girl for Mara. i got a high persuade adove 50 same with leadership over 60 why i couldnt pact with the sauna owner? like i have friends you know something or pay a fee for take her no i always end half dead and she pissed , now is too difficult for my college boy .

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Like @Redgrave, I’m inclined to rescue Carina to exploit her income-boosting potential at the pool house, (at a reasonable wage of $25). However I’m more romantically interested in Angel, as I believe her sharp wits, coupled with her fierce, resilient nature make her far better suited for the gangster lifestyle. However with this new side of Carina revealed, I might possibly reconsider my options, depending on how far this hidden nature goes.

Also @Vendetta, you once talked about a varying level of difficulty depending on the characters, with the Paroled Convict often having a harder time of things and the Veteran Soldier generally having it easier. In terms of short-term and long-term difficulties, where would you say the Ex-Police Officer falls on the scale? It’s the character I’m well-settled into now.

I would second @idonotlikeusernames idea for a background-specific put down from Morello, while all backgrounds are at least somewhat guilty for their own circumstances, some certainly had better opportunities than others. My Ex-Cop in particular has no one to blame but himself for failing to make an honest living.

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@Marvick Thanks. :slight_smile:

@donotlikeusernames Nicely spotted (and reasoned), thanks. It would indeed be a good place for some background-specific bits relevant to that particular conversation. It’s definitely something I would like to include more of wherever it seems reasonable to do so, and it is - usually - very easy to implement, so please do mention any similar situations you come across.

@MaraJade I admit it, not every character you encounter in Vendetta is a hardened criminal and used to seeing someone shot through the head right in front of their very eyes… One or two of them are apt to call you names and / or flee – or at least strike you off their Christmas card list!

Seriously though, I understand that you’re frustrated by the outcome there, but I’m honestly not quite sure what more I could have done to get across the message that there is simply no reasoning with Big Jim at least 80-90% of the time. However -

***SPOILERS*** If you are exceptionally intimidating (Intimidation + Respect) when you reveal the gun, he may still back down and let the pair of you walk out. If you are exceptionally tough (Coglioni) and also have good danger senses (Awareness), then you have a chance of actually ducking that first swing and defeating him yourself… In any other situation he will definitely gain the upper hand and it will fall to Carina to come to your rescue. The only mistake you made (and you won’t be the only one!) was in assuming that seeing a cold-blooded murder take place right in front of her eyes would have absolutely no effect on Carina… It was over, you had won, but you revealed to her the callous, brutal monster you truly are – and exactly like the guy she was trying to get away from.

@RupertDragoul An interesting take on those two girls. Of the two, there’s no doubt Angel is the colder, more calculating one, as Carina was simply reacting to the dire urgency of the situation in the only way she could think of, and – regardless of the outcome – has trouble dealing with it afterwards… In that situation, Angel would have pulled the trigger before Big Jim could even blink, and afterwards would not have given it so much as two seconds’ thought.

The Ex-Police Officer is definitely intended to be at the tougher end of the scale overall, but not necessarily due to his Attributes (as he is in many ways a pretty good all-rounder in that respect). It was always intended that his actual background would be his real achilles heel, but with one or two exceptions this doesn’t really kick in until the second half of the story. Up until then, most people he encounters are (apparently) quite happy to overlook what he was and just use him for their own ends.

He’s certainly a good candidate for earlier ‘special treatment’ in scenes involving such as Nick Morello. I’ll have to take a closer look at those.