perma load on Elizabeth rout
is this the end of the demo?
Trying to work through the bug right now. I will keep this thread updated with anything I figure out.
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It should be working. I pray and hope that it is, because I’m not sure how much more of this I can take lmao
EIT: PLEASE let me know if it woks or not. Anyone who is willing/able, comment here and just run through the game really quick. Your saves should even be fine to use still. I just really wanna know if it’s working for other people now.
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Everything worked fine on my end!
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Seems to work 
(hopefully the part where others perma loaded earlier on get though)
Goes from the “Have a good night” > Coming Soon> Play again page 
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Did a first playthrough/skim of sarahs.
No issues and made it to the play again screen
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Yep, it’s working just fine now, congrats.
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I was also able to get all the way through to the end of the demo. It’s all good now. 
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THIS…This is an insane piece of creativity and thrill! I love it so much that I can’t even get to express it properly.
Thank you for creating such an amazing work <3
I waited for Arthur’s route to get updated for quite sometime and when I realized it’s here, I read it the next min.
I truly love the way you describe emotions. That’s one hell of a skill to have.
Have a good day/night ahead 
And… I can’t wait for more of Arthur 
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I just finished playing the demo and it was so much fun!!! I love all the characters and it’s always lovely to see single parent ROs!
Although I gotta agree with something someone mention before,and it’s the lack of possibility of having a more “stoic/cold/apathetic” type character. I’m not saying to give the option to be rude or antagonistic to the team who are clearly grieving, but it feels like for a game centered around grief, there’s very little choice about how the mc deals with grief themselves. In general it feels like there’s very little autonomy about how the mc feels about things like being given a job they did not apply for or semi-coerced into going to a funeral for someone they don’t know.
I also sorta find having Empathy as a stat sorta pointless since no matter what you choose the character will always be empathetic and compassionate towards everyone (also I think I remember there being a point in the game where no matter what options you chose it gave you empathy points). And the scene at the funeral where it’s said the mc was chosen because they’re someone who clearly cares about people felt kinda weird since in my playthrough the mc had like a 2% empathy.
Other than that the scenes at the hotel where very nice and I loved the scenes with Dr.Cullen (did I get his name right?) Any plans for the mc to have a session with him someday? Like a “you’re new here so we gotta check how stable you are”?
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Thanks for the critiques and I’m glad you’re enjoying the game so far! I’ve actually debated in my mind beofre on whether or not to have Empathy in there as a stat. The idea for it is, in the finished product, it will let you see people’s reactions on more than just a baseline level (for example, if it’s high enough when S. Ryder storms out of the office when you meet everyone, you notice they’re not just upset, but also holding back a panic attack). So for right now I’m keeping it, but I’ll keep monitoring how much use it’ll get.
As for choices, I am planning to add more variety to the scenes once the game is “finished”. That way I don’t have to get stuck on each and every scene for more months than I already am, pretty much. I do think with some of the autonomy you mention, it’s a bit of a slippery slope for a lot of people in terms of “If my MC is feeling this way and I can express that in game, then why can’t I do anything about it like pursue a unit change or transfer?” So admittedly, while it is a bit of a plot device, I thought it would just be more simple if I just had the MC grow slowly and slowly more used to the idea of being on the team as the book went on. But the idea that that’s a bit against what an interactive fiction is supposed to be does keep me up some nights.
However, I do plan on adding more choices to give a bit more variety to what the MC feels about situations that come up, so that part will be addressed at least to some extent. And I can confirm, the MC will have a meeting with the Bureau therapist by the end of book one!
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The unimplemented post investigation scene might add a small piece of that much needed “padding” to increase attachment to the team, though only a little bit if the reader isn’t getting invested in the weirdness of what we know about the case.
Hearing about how things went for the other half in-game would be interesting for those of us that stick to an archetype, and maybe don’t necessarily pick the team with the member we’re most interested in for romance because of a self decided “specialty” such as being people oriented if you follow Agents Lance, and Alvarez to meet with the wife of the victim, or more investigative so you follow Agents Hawkes and Ryder. Could just be me, but sticking to one path also gives a little more fresh content to enjoy later on when I actually get to support the author by buying these games after publishing… Still probably a me thing.
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To be honest, this application of the empathy stat can be easily replaced with the “insightful” stat and it would kinda make more sense because if this empathy could be (and really should be) used in an investigation and other work-related situation, it makes sense that you would go for the professional stats.
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Apologies, you’re right, and I haven’t actually coded stats into the game for a LONG time (because these current scenes I didn’t want to tie stats to so as to not put pressure on the players to choose a specific choice over another one, and I wanted them to just pick what their character would do in the situation) so I completely forgot - that seen I mentioned is based on Insightfulness. Oops.
I… may just take Empathetic and Forthright out of the game as stats entirely, since those are usually things that are on a very case by case basis anyway. I have a feeling I’ll sort out all the stats and everything after the bulk of the story is done as well. I still have a lot to learn on that regard. In all honesty, I feel like this is a game that would do fine without stats, and I would just change the narrative and make different choices available depending on other previous choices made.
I’m a bit worried that it’s just a standard to have stats in these games though, and people might dislike if I went that route. I’m bouncing around the idea of implementing a page that let’s you see all the different important choices the player makes too, which might be able to take the spot of the stats screen if I ever did do away with stats. Sometimes I feel like I have no idea what I’m doing with this game lmao
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The thing is, there is no right answer. It depends on what you want to do and what is fun for you and what experience do you want to create. Sometimes it makes sense to listen to players critique. Sometimes trying to please everyone ends up pleasing no one.
Personally I believe that less is more, and, let’s say, having only meaningful professional stats (which can find application in personal scenes too, why not) is better than having a lot of stats with little application. I think this middle ground will find more acceptance that purely no stats. But there are games without them which are quite beloved, so if it’s really what you want to go for, it shouldn’t stop you.
And it’s totally okay to be a bit lost while your project is only taking its form. This is why COG’s community exists - to fiddle with stuff and offer authors second, third and one hundredth opinion.
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Hey all, I feel really bad about not updating or posting more often. I just started a new job which demands more of my time, and it’s nearing the end of the semester so things have picked up with school as well. I will however be working on it more in December for sure! I just wanted to keep everyone updated that it’s not forgotten at all, and I truly do hope that you all will stick with me for however long it takes. I truly do appreciate everyone’s constant support.
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Best of luck at your new job, and with the oh-god-oh-god-how-is-it-the-end-of-the-semester-already-it-was-October-just-yesterday pandemonium.
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@moderators Can someone please explain what happened to my WIP and why it was edited by someone else? Not being snarky, legitimately want to know
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Neither the mods nor the staff have anything to do with hosting WIPs.