Crimson Gray 1.5 Release!
Added 2018-10-05 22:45:23 +0000 UTCI put out the public TLS 0.38.2 earlier today, but it's just polishing. Download from the blog if you want that:
https://the-last-sovereign.blogspot.com/2018/10/tls-0382-crimson-gray-15.html
Now it's time to hope that the Crimson Gray launch goes well! All $10+ patrons should have received their link to the final game - hope you enjoy! If you want a Steam key, just ask and be a little patient while I deal with things. Likewise if you didn't receive your message. Meanwhile, link to the page:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/894460/Crimson_Gray_Dusk_and_Dawn/
I've done what I could in terms of promotion. DX Now there's not much that can be done except crossing my fingers and hoping for luck with the Steam algorithm. If anybody intends to buy it, please do! The itch.io version is coming soon if that's your preference.
Reviews are also nice. I have a couple people who will be able to post early reviews, but I completely understand why people might not want to use their public profile to review a game like this. If you don't mind, though, they help the game gain traction!
I'm probably going to be wiped for a while, but I should be back on track with the weekly update on Sunday. See you then!
EDIT: Here are the links I've posted roughly in order of importance, if you want to click things:
https://www.reddit.com/r/yandere/comments/9lqz4v/crimson_gray_dusk_and_dawn_an_inverse_yandere_vn/
https://www.reddit.com/r/lewdgames/comments/9lpayq/tls_0382_crimson_gray_15/
https://www.reddit.com/r/NSFWGames/comments/9lpb9b/tls_0382_crimson_gray_15/
https://reddspice.tumblr.com/post/178765387657/crimson-gray-dusk-and-dawn
Comments
Always glad to hear from people who enjoy what I was going for with this story. ^-^ I worry a bit that Crimson Gray is too close to the sensationalize side, actually. I tried to establish it has one foot in reality and one in unreality from the first game, because I don't know how well the trope works if played 100% straight. But I tried to use that basis to go for something that rings true, even if it's not completely realistic. Happy that it came through for you!
Sierra Lee
2018-10-28 01:44:57 +0000 UTCLizzie is terrifying and awful and I love her. I had a lot of questions of how well Lizzie would cope being in a long-term relationship after the True End of the first game, and this game did a lot to answer them—one day at a time, one anxiety attack at time. The yandere trope is typically used in a way that often demonizes or sensationalizes mental illness. I appreciate how you've reclaimed that trope here to talk sincerely about mental health issues and how those intersect with relationships.
Dream Fractal
2018-10-28 00:17:36 +0000 UTCThank you very much, I'm glad you enjoyed this one! Aside from the erotic aspects feeling unsettling, it sounds like you got the experience I'd hoped for with the narrative and the game mechanic gimmicks. With an experimental project like this, that's all I hope for. ^-^
Sierra Lee
2018-10-11 14:31:14 +0000 UTCI just want to say, bravo! I was amazed at how you incorporated game mechanics to emphasize/simulate Lizzie's mental illness. Rarely has "fighting the interface" taken on such a meaning in a game. Also, Lizzie's inner monologue is harrowing! In fact, the simulation of Lizzie's mental illness was so compelling that actually the "erotic" aspects of the game actually felt even more unsettling, as her vulnerable mental state made those scenes feel off. Despite that, I played through the game 3 times just to see where the variation was, that was how interesting the narrative is. Great job!
Vitreous Humour
2018-10-11 04:33:50 +0000 UTCI'm sorry to hear you had that negative of a reaction. The unfortunate truth is that Crimson Gray is a niche VN, so it's not going to sell enough to justify a large budget. I tried to strike a balance so that I could give fans of the first one more story with Lizzie and John, but I apologize if it seemed half-hearted to you.
Sierra Lee
2018-10-09 10:54:34 +0000 UTCAw man the amount of actual art in the game was so low, in fact it was almost like a big fuck you. Well I guess its at least consistent with the first one. Honestly though you should have just made it text based if you didn't want to add more art then that.
Paddy554
2018-10-09 09:24:57 +0000 UTCThanks very much for the review! It usually takes Steam a little while to update globally, but it will be nice to have the blue thumb everywhere. Really appreciate you taking the time to review. ^-^ On difficulty, that's a reasonable criticism. While I try to give everything some logic, I'm aware that it relies on interpreting events in their relationship in a specific framework. As for John, glad you liked him! If I ever get to write him as an adult, you'll see him form broader aspirations. On Ouroboros, that's concerning. There is actually code you stick on events to make them unjumpable, and I carefully tried to tag all relevant events with it. A few people during testing were able to exploit lag to evade this, so I expanded many of the relevant fields. But I could never replicate it, and even now when I fire up the game in Steam, I can't jump over any of the events you list. I'm not sure what to do about this. =/ (Other than jumping over normal monsters chasing you, which was intentional.)
Sierra Lee
2018-10-08 21:11:30 +0000 UTCI just finished the game and posted a review, so you should be at the 10 review threshold now. Sadly, I can't really offer any meaningful critique beyond what I wrote in the review, which was simply that I found it difficult to actually figure out the paths to the right endings. However, I think the difficulty is thematically appropriate and beyond that, is also something that sets the two games apart from most others I have played. In my experience figuring out the choices to reach a desired outcome is often trivial in visual novels. I really liked how John's sprite turned out by the way! It's good to be able to put a face to him, though in a way I still feel he is lacking a bit of characterization, beyond just being caring and worrying about things that directly concern Lizzie. But there hasn't been much time for those things to develop anyway. PS: Since I had some time on my hands last week, I finally got to try Ouroboros and... I completely broke it within 15 minutes and then decided that I would postpone playing it. Turns out you can jump over literally any trigger in the game, including the trigger for the first boss, monster sprites and, mostly interestingly, the triggers for the next map. Going out of bounds is rarely so easy. This is of course not really fixable and I am guessing you know of this already, but it still seemed funny to me. I'll try playing it again somewhen else.
DuckTogo
2018-10-08 20:31:48 +0000 UTCI had fun doing something a little different, so I'm glad it's appreciated!
Sierra Lee
2018-10-07 14:34:50 +0000 UTCGlad you can grow your other projects and not jus TLS also, first time we see his face.
Leveler All
2018-10-07 14:08:18 +0000 UTCThanks!
Sierra Lee
2018-10-06 13:07:26 +0000 UTCThat's unfortunate. =/ Everything about the connection between dev page and games seems wonky to me, despite Steam claiming there's a connection. Well, I suppose I can create a new post to announce the sale as well.
Sierra Lee
2018-10-06 13:07:20 +0000 UTCGetting it tonight. So excited!
Runcible Technician
2018-10-06 12:21:25 +0000 UTCBtw. jfyi.: I haven't received an e-mail from Steam to announce the release of the Crimson Gray sequel for following you as a developer on Steam, yet.
Markus S.
2018-10-06 10:22:06 +0000 UTCthank
Sierra Lee
2018-10-06 00:10:39 +0000 UTCThank you! I hope everyone enjoys it!
Sierra Lee
2018-10-06 00:10:35 +0000 UTCupdoot doot thank mrs. skeltal
Decanter
2018-10-05 23:22:06 +0000 UTCThanks, I was looking forward to this. Congratulations on the release.
Censuur
2018-10-05 23:01:20 +0000 UTC
