@Bloodwyche: Yeah, I’m thinking a former brothel worker with Venus 70% probably hasn’t been celibate.
Fixed so that it only asks that if you actually have committed to being all about Vesta all the time.
Just tested that and the fix works. Noticed a Him/Her issue with the slavedealer path, initially the bookeeper was a ‘Him’ then it changed to a ‘Her’ (When playing a female MC, when playing a male MC there was no problem.)
@Bloodwyche: Do you recall if the old bookkeeper was only a “him” when Scaurus first says he might offer you a job? If so, found and fixed it.
Originally the bookkeeper was only going to be male, but at that point in the writing, almost all the ancillary characters were male, so I decided to mix it up. It’s so easy to lose track of pronouns!
I think that was it. Looking forward to the next major update.
@Carolyne
I got caught in a loop during the tutor path.
Quintus asked for my help with his father and the Emperor situation. I Went to see Antonia Vitalis and chose to Confide in her completely. Next page starts out right but then midstream goes backwards to discussion with Quintus again.
~ Once unstoppered, you pour forth everything. Metellus’s extended absences. Aquillius’s visit. Even the implication that you and Quintus have been more than magister and student. And the rash idea Quintus has that once the Emperor’s cousin is on the throne, the Metellus family will be safe. She absorbs all of it, eyes widening, but otherwise still.
“I see,” she finally says. Quintus pulls you down to sit on his father’s bed with him. “With the Emperor gone, and his cousin’s family in his place, my father’s friends will be in charge of Rome. You see, the Emperor thinks everyone is plotting against him–”
“Apparently, everyone is,” you mutter.
“My father wouldn’t have told me so much if he didn’t trust me to use it when he needed my help.”
“He thought you could help?”
“Why wouldn’t he?” Quintus counters.
“Your father…” you begin. You might want to think before you finish that sentence.
“…doesn’t think you’re very levelheaded.”
“…wouldn’t want you involved in something this dangerous.”
Stop right there and say nothing.
@piggleywinks: That’s a pain! I’ll go look at it right now and report back.
ETA: I can’t see at a quick look why it would loop back to that Quintus scene, unless the file itself was corrupt…? I’ve re-uploaded it and put in a page break right after Antonia Vitalis says “I see.”
I’d like to figure that out, so I’ll keep testing it, but it’s a bizarre place for the code to go randomly.
Strange!
Hi, all–a little update: Most changes this week have been tweaks in the background to how your choices change how the world reacts to you and what options you get in the tutor and brothel path. But, yay, it’s the weekend, so there will be some sort of bigger update tomorrow evening.
@piggleywinks: I never did figure out why the game looped back to that particular place. It shouldn’t do that anymore, but…weird!
@Bloodwyche: The variations on that first option are:
I have an obligation to help my student. I can at least hear more.
or
I have to help the man I love. I can at least hear more.
Wording like “I have to help. I can at least hear more” might cover more possibilities of how the MC gets to this point, without sounding so impersonal.
I have something to get done for work (boo, day job, boo), then I’ll be back in Rome today.
@Carolyne
Tx. I didnt get the loop today when I tested that path again. 
Here are 2 errors I found today:
Started as brothel worker but then went to work for Scaurus. Chose to be Friends with Publius. “So, some time has passed and you are invited to”…Scaurus room: ‘Line 1581 non existent variable blackmailacheived’
Tutor path, love with Quintus. He asked for my help to release his father. I went to see the poet Valerianus who I’d talked to at the initial party at Mettelus’ house. At tavern I Paid for round. We start to talk but before we can go further I get this error: Line 1660 it is illegal to fall in to an *else statement; you must *goto or *finish before the end of the indented block.
Question on brothel path when Ive convinced Harpax of my worthiness. Told him I had met Mettelus and next page says: “Harpax?” Harpax replies. “That man hates gladiators,” he grumbles. Should that say Mettelus instead?
@piggleywinks: Hi–those issues have been found/fixed. Thank you! I’ll be testing those and a couple of other things overnight and in the morning.
I was testing the tutor path, had the MC state she wanted to marry Quintus, chose to ‘Weather the storm’ rather than take the position with Scaurus and then to continue the affair in secret (Liked the ‘supportive’ version of the lines in the taverna scene.). After Mettelus’ arrest, I was presented with the following options:
*. I have an obligation to help my student. I can at least hear more.
*. I have an obligation to my patron. Let’s see where this is leading.
*. I have an obligation to my coin bag. I’m probably going to do this.
*. I want no part of murder.
The first option sounds too ‘impersonal’ given what has preceded it and might need to be changed.
I was able to reach the Valerianus scene and proceed through it with no problems.
Looking forward to trying out the other updated paths once they are ready.
Aha, I feel this is likely a dumb question to ask in regards to a game set in Rome, but do you have any intentions of exploring a polyamorous relationship down the poet path? Of course by that, I mean with Hedylus, Valerianus and the MC.
@Caligae: Hi. That would be an interesting option, and not an illogical way for how everything might work out given the dynamics. Assuming the MC has maintained a good relationship with both of them, without alienating one or the other, I won’t rule it out as one of the things that could be built into the story. (That wasn’t a dumb question at all–it’s a good one!)
If implemented, would the factor of not alienating one or the other make parts of the rooftop scene something to avoid? Whereas now they seem crucial to forming a relationship with the person of choice.
Thanks for explaining the variations. I was surprised though to get the “I have an obligation to help my student.” after the fairly torrid affair rather than “I have to help the man I love.”
Another set of stats, this time from a straight Slavedealer run (Didn’t skim on this run).
Laelia Justina
gender: female
Age: 24
Wealth: 3025
Status: 2
Goal: wealth
Piety: 63%
Dignity: 59%
Courage: 38%
Patronage: 47%
Rhetoric: 55%
Acuity: 65%
Arts: 19%
Athleticism: 77%
Vesta: 71% Venus: 29%
Bread: 60% Circuses: 40%
Looking forward to seeing just how this path turns out. Cannot shake the OOC feeling that Scaurus is going to ‘drop the MC in it’ at some point.
Also noticed that unlike every other stat ‘gender’ is not capitalized.
@Caligae: It’s possible to upset (that is, completely disgust) the poet on the rooftop, but if the relationship has been solid up until then, that’s not enough to alienate him completely. Although, that same thing could be what tips the balance with Hedylus into thinking the MC is a person after his own heart, if he hasn’t been convinced previously. And, after all, Valerianus must see something he likes in the actor that keeps them together, so the MC being a bloodthirsty, hard-drinking, hard-gambling ruffian won’t completely drive him away. Being timid, ungenerous, and uninterested in his poetry might, though.
Amaryllis’s role is less developed, but she might have to wait until a big update later on to get more of a presence.
@Bloodwyche: Thanks for the stats info! And Scaurus? Not completely trustworthy? I’ll stick with “no comment” for now. I changed that other option to “I have to help,” which I think should read differently depending on the tone of the story that’s led up to that point. But it’s something that can be finessed depending on the level of the relationship: “After all we’ve been through…”
Found line 2060: Non-existent variable ‘o_he’ in the slave dealer path
and line 209: Expected option started with # in the brothel worker path, right after Harpax rejected me and Scaurus reappears
I am growing kind of scared of Scaurus and the power he holds over the MC, especially now that I’ve found myself attached to Patulcius.
One thing I have noticed, though, is that the player character seems to be working more in the romances than the RO is, if that makes sense? Maybe I haven’t been paying proper attention when playing 
But it would be interesting to see a character perform some sort of romatic gesture towards the MC… I know that Quintus initiates the romance in the tutor path and I loved that scene 
Also I know that they game isn’t supposed to be focused on romance; feel free to ignore me!
I am really interested in seeing how the scholar path plays into the ‘assassination of the Emporer’ theme that’s going on, and how those characters will be involved in it
Keep up the good work!!!
@heyyoungblood: I fixed this one: “Expected option started with #” but I can’t recreate the “o_he” error. Had you restarted with the slave dealer after already playing through the game once, by any chance? That might explain it (and I can put in a fix for that).
There’s a lot more of the MC being courted in the still-not-done scholar path. In the other paths I may have gone too far on the “giving the player agency” scale I’ll bear that in mind…even if the game isn’t, strictly speaking, focused on romance
Thanks!
Romance is nice and all, but what I really want agency in is the conspiracy. Give me a nice big helping of intrigue and treachery any day
I really enjoyed this game!! Especially the romance, actually. I’m not too big of a fan of the whole prostitute and orgy thing, but that is what happened in Rome in those times… anyways, I just wanted to tell you to keep on at it, because you’re doing a great job and making fast progress!