February 18 Update
Added 2023-02-18 18:06:17 +0000 UTCEarly update because sometimes I can kick-start my next week if I do my posting during this high activity period. There's so much going on! I had a whole post reflecting on specialization that I'm not going to include because this already feels crowded. Anyway, hopefully something for everyone.
Most mundanely, TLS 0.65.2 is out publicly and it can probably be the stable version for a while. I'm on top of minor changes reported so far.
Second, everyone look at the long image above. What would you think if these were the new title cards for TLS? You can see there's a progression where the early titles start out rusted and dirty, then they get progressively brighter. If anyone has objections or suggestions, this is the time, because typography people don't like to wait around.
Third, look at this fanart from Jake888:
Speaking of fanart, I am remembering the $10 image pack. It will eventually get a massive update that includes all the portraits in high resolution and other accumulated art, I'm just waiting for a few other items to finish or be shown.
Finally, I have a little milestone to celebrate! Sadly, it doesn't come with any badges or announcements or anything I can show, so all I have is this email telling me that my most recent book hit the Kindle All Stars list:
This means that, in the month of January, Bloodcrete was one of the top titles being read in the entire world. People read about 1.1 million pages of the book! This is the first time I have ever gotten on the list, and while it's not that huge of an accomplishment, it's nice. Sadly they don't promote the list, but they do straight up send you bonus money. ^-^
Hopefully I will be able to launch straight into the work of next week!
Comments
Yeah, fair point. Will remove the equipment.
Sierra Lee
2023-02-26 18:50:02 +0000 UTCAt the same location as above, Lostone2 has suggested that the Tower Orc Equipment should be removed en masse from the party inventory at the conclusion of Balia's Quest, assuming that these Tower Orc characters and their special equipment will not get seen again.
DukeLeto7
2023-02-26 15:00:10 +0000 UTCCurse that event, always forgotten! Added Lilith to it, thanks. Her map name is a pun, yes.
Sierra Lee
2023-02-24 23:50:32 +0000 UTCLostone2 has found a pretty nasty bug. In the 2nd level Orc Tower (CHAPTER 5/Orc Tower/Orc Tower), @ coordinates (028, 043) Page 1, there needs to be code to re-add Lilith to the party on the completion of Balia's Quest if she has already been obtained. Supplemental note of my own. Is the map for Trin's Quest actually supposed to be called "Lilith's Abed"? I can see it as a pun but it also seems out of place.
DukeLeto7
2023-02-24 23:29:10 +0000 UTCCongrats on making All Stars. Next stop: Times' Best Seller, eh? I'm also a bit sceptic on the new chapter titlecards, but maybe that's because I have been looking at the old ones for over half a decade. Having every letter be a capital letter seems... a bit in your face? Whereas having them in lower case seemed more classy for lack of a better word. Love the idea of having rust and dirt tha progressively gets removed, and I second the idea of adding a metallic sheen in later chapters.
DankPotatoes
2023-02-23 11:19:13 +0000 UTChttps://www.dropbox.com/s/nw6wja70b5myax4/questlogiscomingforyou.png?dl=0
Lamsey
2023-02-22 18:35:37 +0000 UTCYeah, IIRC she has a mini-quest that doesn't get a quest log entry at all.
Sierra Lee
2023-02-22 15:07:29 +0000 UTCLostone2 has emerged from hiding and posted the following observation to the Bug Reports forum thread: "after completing it, the Ginasta's Request doesn't appear in the Quest Journal" I note that the quest journal is also not updated to mention that Ginasta's Quest has started, and suggested to lostone2 that this may not be unintentional, but his note has now been passed on.
DukeLeto7
2023-02-22 13:05:57 +0000 UTCOh yes I second these thoughts! :D
Argo The Ratfolk
2023-02-21 21:24:38 +0000 UTCI like the suggestion but imo you could go slightly more aggressive with the differences. Might help if the font was slightly bigger to allowing for more scratches, rust, blood etc. on some of the early ones. Still a nice touch either way.
Sundeigh
2023-02-20 15:49:55 +0000 UTCI like the progression! Might be fun to make chapter 5's look like its glowing a bit. The progressive metal theme works on the other 4 chapters as power grows in a mortal scale, and I think the pure white chapter 5 could well represent their ascension to metaphysical/divine levels of power. Maybe have chapter 4 look silvery, high quality metal as they are at the height of their mortal power. Those are just my thoughts looking at these
Jeffrey Lebowski
2023-02-19 07:48:56 +0000 UTCValid question with a mixed answer. Left to myself, I will never update any "production value" elements of my work. While I don't like these, realistically they are probably more important for finding new players than the actual quality of the game. Several people have been bugging me about the quality of the title screen and text. Personally I don't care much, but I do think that some of the pixels look more like sloppy compression artifacts than art. For that reason, and because I know this is a weakness of mine, I'm putting some work into this.
Sierra Lee
2023-02-19 05:25:48 +0000 UTCPerfectly reasonable thought, sure.
Sierra Lee
2023-02-19 05:22:32 +0000 UTCFirst congrat for the KDP bonus. Second, concerning the title card, why change what is currently in place ? The one you posted are good, no problem with them, but the one currently in place are working all the same. And it take work for you to manage the new ones.
Mycroft
2023-02-19 04:50:59 +0000 UTCCongrats on the KDP bonus! That's awesome! I admittedly like the textured feel of the text on the earlier title cards better. Since the progression starts with rusty text, maybe it would make sense to have it end with a bit of a silvery, metallic sheen?
ushiroace
2023-02-19 03:35:08 +0000 UTCI like the title cards and think they are an improvement. I like the "progression" idea-- at its heart TLS is a story about optimists being relentlessly optimistic, despite all the concessions they must make along the way. I think the subtle changes in the title text reflect that nicely. Fan art is nice too-- I like the more youthful-looking Yarra. Soft succubi and lean succubi both have their charms, but I think I like this one better. Congrats on the Bloodcrete numbers! If making the KDP list doesn't feel like a big accomplishment to you, it just means that your goals have grown-- it is certainly a huge goal for many journeyman writers.
Dubsington
2023-02-18 18:21:11 +0000 UTCThe new title cards look good to me. I would perhaps be inclined to increase the kerning gap on the capital Cs slightly, but that's just nitpicking. Congrats on the Kindle bonus!
Lamsey
2023-02-18 18:11:55 +0000 UTC
