September 12 Update
Added 2021-09-12 19:56:29 +0000 UTCFirst, my newest book has released:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09FYFC3TT
I could talk about it at length. There was a mess with Amazon, which drained time and got things off to a slow start. The sales are weird, decent but propelling the first book higher than it went at launch. But honestly... eh. It's another book launch: please consider reading and reviewing if you can, otherwise everything will continue.
Among other TLS work this week, I finished writing all the sex scenes. They're a bit unusual this time, given the circumstances. One is simply something I've never written in the game before, perhaps a bit unorthodox but overall something that I think you guys will like. Partially a fetish (?) not yet in the game and partially something that I think you probably haven't seen before.
One, however, is an entirely different story. This scene is one of those that has been in the story plan for ages, practically the beginning, yet now that I'm getting here I find myself with more thoughts about it than I expected. It's not meant to be sexy, like the unsuccubus scene, but unlike that one, I can imagine some players reacting negatively to this one.
I could have written it out, but I still think the reason it's in the game is a sound one. Without saying too much about it, it's a major step in the balance of reality and unreality that TLS is trying to strike. But I'm honestly not sure what kinds of reactions I'll get.
On the other hand, I have a good idea how people are going to feel about some of the big plot stuff I finally got to write this week. This next update isn't going to be as explosive, but I saved some big moments. Work continues!
Comments
So... these seem good to fix, and I'm glad you brought them to my attention, but the timing isn't great for me investing energy in older content. I don't know about the next release, but maybe the .1 version. Regarding Sho and party order, that's an easy fix if somebody tells me exactly which event has the relevant actor additions. The party swapping thing sounds like an exploit in the core script, and I definitely don't have time to do testing or replaying, so that's dicier. If people present me with a tested fix, I'll implement it, but again, maybe after the next update.
Sierra Lee
2021-09-15 23:03:54 +0000 UTCHey, SL, we've got a couple of bug reports from thisgamerthing, and one of them seems pretty damned bad. Easy one first. I'm going to just cut and paste thisgamerthing's report: "Oh, and on an unrelated note, during Terri's scene (The Ivalan Succubus) during the Third Arclent War, its possible to get an odd situation; when transferring from Ferholm to Stineford, Simon and Sho are are simply added to the party. Simon gets slotted into the second spot, meaning he wont be the party leader on the map by default; that will be Robin. I thought it would be a little funny to put Sho as the first slot, so it would be her sprite running around. Well, when Terri's scene is over, Terri will be in the room with whoever is the party leader's sprite. Which in my case, was Sho. Nothing mechanically broken there, just a funny situation that yall might want to fix, because while Simon's sprite would make the most sense there, and I could conceivably see Robin nearby, I cannot image any reason for Sho to be in the room for a succubus blowjob. See attached save from just before the Terri scene." That's trivial. The big problem is that in the multi-party maze for the Ordeal of the Claw, it's possible to press W to execute the party switch in a variety places where other event code is running, and at least two, the going through the ornate doors that Uyae opens and the purple orb used to reunite the parties, are catastrophically game breaking. Specifically spawning Simon's party into the location where Yarra's party was supposed to go with the door or eliminating Simon from the party entirely for the boss fight. I did some experimentation to replicate the bugs and try to mitigate them, and had the presence of mind to check the IK Castle map because the same bug was probably going to exist there. It turns out that there was a similar piece of code to my provisional fix in the W button press processing event for the Castle, specifically blocking the execution of the party change if the player was not movable or the game map had event code processing. (This is the Incubus King's Castle, event location (011,002).) It looks like this came up in the playtesting of the 3AW content. I placed that code in the matching event in the Ordeal of the Claw map (001,001), and while it prevented the problems with the door most of the time, I can still trigger Simon warping into the ordeal area some of the time by entering from the lower right part of the door. I've made a pirate version of TLS with just that code adjustment for thisgamerthing to play with and see how many of the bugs he found it fixes. (He's obviously better at this sort of thing than me.) I'll let you know how much we can still replicate, but I would strongly suggest making the edit to the event in the Ordeal map replicating the IK Castle script conditional immediately for the next release.
DukeLeto7
2021-09-15 00:59:55 +0000 UTCApparently our schedules are on opposite wavelengths, haha. Anyway, I hope that you enjoy Archcrafter when you read it!
Sierra Lee
2021-09-14 19:58:45 +0000 UTCI was very excited to see the Archcrafter release last week. An amusing coincidence is this is your third book release in a row that's occured while I'm on vacation. I definitely always appreciate hearing how development of TLS is going, and I'm looking forward to the next release as always.
Shablam Robohawk
2021-09-14 18:27:58 +0000 UTCWhen you mention a scene some players might react negatively to, my mind jumps to the scene after Simon finds Wynn's little secret. I don't remember anyone getting upset about it.
Decanter
2021-09-14 05:02:43 +0000 UTCI appreciate your support, but changing my vision for the story wasn't ever really in the cards. The question I was trying to articulate above was entirely about whether the scene was the right one for that vision.
Sierra Lee
2021-09-14 00:35:40 +0000 UTCYou wrote so much, I feel bad replying this way, but... mostly not along those lines at all. Virtually the only cases are those where I felt the sex scene didn't fit into the plot well enough. It has more to do with pacing than fetishes.
Sierra Lee
2021-09-14 00:34:53 +0000 UTCHmmm I can understand wanting to avoid backlash yet I doubt anyone here wants you to change your vision for your story. I say put up a poll with as much explanation as your comfortable sharing.
Nathan Phoenix
2021-09-13 22:40:50 +0000 UTCIn regards to your comment on briefly considering writing the second scene out of the story, it does make me curious; have there been other instances separate to this of planning to put a scene in game, but ultimately cutting it? I can imagine reasons for doing so could either be, "Too dark" or "Avoid backlash." For the "Too Dark" category, the only two I can think of that made it in the game would be Varia's rape and Whoring Cumdump. Obviously neither were cut, but both were optional to give players an out. So I could imagine there might be other scenarios of a similar tone, but couldn't be as easily made avoidable by the player, and thus had to be cut all together! As for "Avoid Backlash" I have to imagine that being any scenario where a woman from the Harem so much as acknowledges the presence of another male. :( :( Which is a shame I say! I'll cry knowing there was never any canon Aka X Mestan (with or without Simon to make it a threesome!) And if last update Tanurak tries to send Simon (and the player) off his game by hitting him with a Trin x Tanurak scene would have certainly increased the intensity! (It would still be part of Trin's ruse of course, but it would have sown the seeds of even more doubt!) I doubt you actually considered something like that of course! Because if you had implemented a scene like that I imagine it'd dominate complaints from players for a long time. Getting off my own fanfiction and back to the point, I just meant to ask if there were any other scenarios planned for the game that didn't make the cut for various reasons. I'd be curious if you have a specific process for weighing the Pros/Cons of most scenes, or if you just write whatever you have in mind! And if any/all of these questions are to invasive, or you'd rather not discuss the hypothetical "What If's" of TLS I fully understand, and take no offense if you'd rather not answer!
WaxerRed
2021-09-13 20:24:39 +0000 UTCI'm sorry to hear that you had to experience that. These are grim times for many and it can exact a heavy toll. >On the other hand I am a bit curious. What is left to do? Quite a lot. All the sex scenes are written and some sections are mostly done, but others are lacking events, dialogue, or even maps.
Sierra Lee
2021-09-13 16:51:06 +0000 UTCCongrats on your new book, Sorry for the troubles, hope this week is better for you. For me I saw someone comitting suicide, she jumped from 6º hospital floor.Very bad. For the sex scene I bet Sex with the goddess of the church in the altar.,with thousands of followers watching,and the high priestess watching. Andra would approve. On the other hand I am a bit curious. What is left to do?
BleBle
2021-09-13 15:45:16 +0000 UTCAll the scenes I talked about this post are... sort of in the "neither" category in regard to this. Anyway, I'd agree that TLS doesn't really explore this side of sexuality, and unfortunately that's somewhat baked into the premise.
Sierra Lee
2021-09-13 14:12:00 +0000 UTCI'm not sure at all that's what you've hinted at, but I'm definitely starved for sex scenes where the characters are not perfect sex machines. For example, I tend to forgive all mistakes of Proteus Effect, an otherwise mostly bland HRPGM game, simply because it includes a scene where one of the main characters has a premature ejaculation issue... And it is treated like it's not a big deal, just something that happens. Not as a setup for a humiliation scene, or a quest for maximum potency in bed, or whatever, just a bit of normal humanity. The scene is not even that special, immediately continuing in a more traditional way after a rejuvenating potion is used... But it's simply so damn rare to have such moments in that kind of production I still give it a double thumb-ups.
Rachnera
2021-09-13 08:09:37 +0000 UTCThis one is intended to be one of the last truly pivotal updates, since we're approaching endgame. I'm pretty sure people will enjoy it. ^-^ The first three books of TWC form the first arc, so this would be a good time to start. The individual books aren't that long, either.
Sierra Lee
2021-09-12 22:07:05 +0000 UTCI am looking very forward to the next update. Sexy or not, it's shaping up to be one of the game's most important story sequences. You know, I've been putting off the Weirkey Chronicles, but I ought to set aside a weekend or two and really dig into reading. The premise is fascinating. And I've been delighted by every work of yours I've read.
Quiet Stranger
2021-09-12 21:58:28 +0000 UTCI'll take most of those questions as speculative, but one thing to be clear on: what I said about Tyna was that after next update, you won't need to ask about the succession crisis.
Sierra Lee
2021-09-12 21:42:37 +0000 UTCThanks, really appreciated it!
Sierra Lee
2021-09-12 21:41:35 +0000 UTCLike Yarra said "you can't make an omelet without fucking a few eggs."
JJS
2021-09-12 21:08:30 +0000 UTCYay new book stuff! I'll give it a good read and review as soon as I can! "Partially a fetish (?) not yet in the game and partially something that I think you probably haven't seen before." A fetish I haven't seen before? Are you doubting the lengths of my depravity? "This scene is one of those that has been in the story plan for ages, practically the beginning, yet now that I'm getting here I find myself with more thoughts about it than I expected. It's not meant to be sexy, like the unsuccubus scene, but unlike that one, I can imagine some players reacting negatively to this one." I knew it. I always knew it. All that time alone atop her tower turned Ivala into a total freak. And she's gonna ask Simon if she can take a shit on his chest, whist stepping on his dick. I knew this day would come! ...and I'm okay with it. Let it happen!
WaxerRed
2021-09-12 20:59:27 +0000 UTCAnd if that new sex scene is based on the goddess I think it is. Its well deserved being held captive for so long letting her church fall so low.
JJS
2021-09-12 20:54:52 +0000 UTCThis puts into mind something I've wondered as a plot point and this is not a complaint in any way. You've said before that after this update the next update with finally be part two of Tyna's succession crisis. It will be interesting to see what happens. But I'm certain from how the last update left off. We're going to invade ardoheim to destroy the crystal of ivala. And we can all guess how the church and the rest of the country will act. So if the update after this one has us going to ardoheim. Can we really have Simon walk in unless we expose the person keeping Ivala captive? The one who's been fooling all the fanatics and idiots in the church? Regardless I am so looking forward to seeing the update later this month.
JJS
2021-09-12 20:52:52 +0000 UTCSorry to hear amazon was a mess, but other then that, SWEET! I look forward to reading it, and seeing what you have in store for TLS as well. Thanks!
Darthjake
2021-09-12 20:15:29 +0000 UTC
