June 12 Update
Added 2016-06-12 20:38:35 +0000 UTCThis was a rough week. I'm feeling better now and I think I've turned the corner on things, but there was a lot of time and energy spent that I wish could have been devoted to the creative work I truly love.
Aside from all the time dedicated to less fun aspects of my work, I did get some significant stuff done for the next TLS update, specifically the detailed roadmap for the next section.
It's looking bigger than I anticipated. I knew it would be a sprawling update of sidequests to balance the battle, but there are more pieces than expected. In addition to remaking Ari-Yhilina, I need to have enough quests that all games will have interesting things to do, but I also want to have some quests that make the aftermath of the battle have direct gameplay effects. Combine that with a large amount of character stuff and some of the other things that need to happen before the plot can move on, and it's a huge update.
Oh, and for this update I need to make some foundational decisions about orc breeding and other systems that will have an impact on the rest of the game. Forgot about those little details. XD
On top of that, I'd really like to get out a TLS 0.18.3 so that the current public version is a fairly polished one, and I still hope to release another version of Ouroboros as a hopefully final public release. Want to get these out of the way soon so I can focus on the big projects for future updates.
Anyway, this isn't a prelude to announcing delays or anything. I'll be launching into all this happily and hope that everything will be out in a reasonable amount of time. Just updating you on what I'm doing, and right now what I'm doing is ALL THE THINGS.
Comments
Ha! fair enough. I actually did try resting in that bed to reset Trin. Initially suspecting it to be tied to some kind of hidden character mana pool. But I guess that's one potential bug squashed hehe :) I REALLY like this game. Love the older male protagonist it makes SUCH a change from all the brats than infest the genre. It's a real pleasure to play as him. And it's rare to see such a smooth blend of clever writing and eroticism. I must admit I played your game in a very early state and kind of gave up halfway through the first tower. Because I was literally shouting at the MC to stop being such a dick. Now I feel like an idiot.
CrazyChameleon
2016-06-22 22:59:36 +0000 UTCSorry, Trin's mechanic here is a little opaque: she stops working until she gets "refreshed" somehow. The easiest way to do this is to complete another quest, Realizing that someone might have completed everything else and then do what you did, I set up an additional thing: Trin will also be refreshed if you go back to the tunnels (near Robin) and sleep! You may be the first person to test this, though. Anyway, thanks for your pledge! Happy to have you with us. ^-^
Sierra Lee
2016-06-18 10:59:29 +0000 UTCPoison right off the bat, that's really key there, long as you have the poison weakening the demon and use Aka's debilitating strike to nerf it twice, you should last long enough to heal/recover and wear the beastie down.
Argenten
2016-06-18 05:46:04 +0000 UTCI think I found a bug. Order of thaumaturgy when doing the written tests I used trin for the wrong test and then she wouldn't do the top right one and no one else could. And as I had told robin I would pass all four tests I can no longer proceed.
CrazyChameleon
2016-06-18 03:49:37 +0000 UTCI've never done that quest in favor of the peasants, tried so many times to kill the concrete demon which is imo worse then the boss demon in the suspicious tunnels for the "cult" quest. And that fight was worse then the fight in the teleporter dungeon. Maybe I'm just having bad luck, or the rng just does not favor me on that fight even with guide help.
Darthjake
2016-06-17 03:45:09 +0000 UTCI did that, and I'm still getting it. The only things I have left in my log are the noble figurines quest (which I never did) resolve House Adamants problems and assist the poorest section of the city.
Zyrus
2016-06-17 03:24:34 +0000 UTCIf you want that guy's solution, you have to leave the mine quest for last. Do everything else in the section and he'll finish.
Sierra Lee
2016-06-17 02:56:47 +0000 UTC^-^
Sierra Lee
2016-06-17 02:56:08 +0000 UTCSo. Bug I seem to have found, or I'm just being an idiot. I'm replaying parts of the game to keep plottage fresh on occasion, and during Aka's path, the elf that's supposed to give you the mine soluton is frozen at 'I work magic slow' Is there a trigger I'm missing?
Zyrus
2016-06-17 02:26:08 +0000 UTCI'm just glad I have another playthrough of Noxian Nights to keep me warm and fuzzy until TLS updates. "Everyone should appreciate the work Sierra does." That is Cumdumps Simon's voice about the creator.
Darthjake
2016-06-16 02:12:59 +0000 UTCI wasn't sure about the Impaler but yeah you have a point about Orcent being the only main orc, which adds itself to an interesting idea: Have a similar setup to Alchemy in The Witcher. Orcent is the 'base' material with the added trait of self-reflection, and the other orcs like the Impaler, Stark and Ralke can be ingredients. Different combos yield different results.
Argenten
2016-06-14 23:59:26 +0000 UTCI'm not sure what orcs you're considering to be "main orcs", if not Stark, Ralke, and Impaler. Doesn't that just leave Orcent?
Decanter
2016-06-14 23:06:26 +0000 UTCYeah, with the major Unique orcs as the "main paths" with the optional orcs like Stark, and the Hero Orc as the flavoring. Not sure if I'd count the Impaler as a main orc but he does come in handy if you spare him overall, so I lean towards yes.
Argenten
2016-06-14 02:09:38 +0000 UTCI actually agree thinking it would be best to have it like the research you assign Robin. You make the choice but, ultimately it happens behind the scenes .
Edward Culham
2016-06-14 01:11:29 +0000 UTC*Phew* glad to hear it, I get why RNG exist and they can be useful...they just hate me with a deep and enduring passion, glad to know they'll be relatively simple/direct.
Argenten
2016-06-13 23:05:06 +0000 UTCYaay for Floofiness :P I imagine the better Simon does at breeding the orcs the more it'll get her hot and bothered or at least that's my first guess. So it's an added incentive to do as well as possible, but won't hurt players that had to make hard choices, I like it.
Argenten
2016-06-13 23:03:03 +0000 UTCThis will be a good update for fans of Orc Floof. ^-^ And yeah, my hope is to have solid blocks of content that everyone will get, even though large parts of the city (and quests therein) can be destroyed in the battle.
Sierra Lee
2016-06-13 20:24:23 +0000 UTCRest assured, the result won't be RNG-heavy, if it uses it at all. It's likely to be another component instead of a new minigame, I think the game would be better served by something straightforward.
Sierra Lee
2016-06-13 20:23:25 +0000 UTCAbsolutely, as miss Floof has made her lack of interest in such things very clear and Simon is never one to press :P
Argenten
2016-06-13 03:50:13 +0000 UTCOrc breeding? Time to get closer to Orc Floof. Purely for business reasons, of course. I appreciate knowing there'll be quests and character stuff even if I did very well or badly in the battle.
Decanter
2016-06-13 01:43:47 +0000 UTCI can see what you mean, there are a lot of factors in play here that I didn't think of due to my determination to get as positive a result as possible, so fair point about trying to get it all done in one shot. So slow and steady seems like the best of both worlds from what I can see. Aaah, gotcha, yeah I was wondering how the orc breeding was going to go, considering the information we get from the Archives, what we see of Balia's process, as well as the general mix and match inherent in improving the breed. I'd avoid the Breeding Season method at the very least, too random and repetitive at best, maybe something similar to Monster Rancher 1 and 2? Also depends on what traits are being drawn out of what unique orcs and how easily it'll be to spread it to others. All the unique orcs have the capacity for self-reflection/examination so that probably can be considered a common trait in terms of what comes out of the process, although too much of that can be tricky for the canon fodder that most orcs are meant to be. The Impaler probably could offset that along with Stark in terms of personality, with the latter providing a hard to pin down but worth it to do so bonus of incredibly durable orcs from his line. As for the mini-game aspect in a literal sense, the most I will outright ask is that the RNG part be limited or at least the "mess with the player" setting removed (All RNGs have this setting and don't let anyone tell you different.
Argenten
2016-06-13 00:19:04 +0000 UTCI thought about splitting this section, but I'd rather not if at all possible. So much of the stuff will be optional that I fear the update might not feel satisfying for some players if it was split into two (if your Ari-Yhilina got razed, you'll have a lot less to do, for example). I'll try to get it done, of course, but if anything a slower update is more likely than two separate updates. As for the decision, it's not any kind of retroactive change at all - it's a new addition. This will be the first period in the game where the players have access to orc breeding and no immediate goal for it. I've been setting up plans with Orcent and the other unique orcs, but this is the period where I need to decide exactly what decisions players will be able to make, how much of a mini-game this will be, and what flexibility/bonuses it will produce over the course of the entire game.
Sierra Lee
2016-06-12 22:52:59 +0000 UTCGlad to hear you are feeling better, but I sympathize with having to push through the grinding aspect of one's job/passion, and am sorry that you were in a slump for awhile. Hurrah for new stuff for TLS though, and that good progress has been made. Can't say I'm surprised that the 'clean up' update, as it were, blew up to a larger size than expected. I can imagine that trying to keep track of all the points of contact between general side-quests and those relating to the aftermath can't be easy. Not to mention how many characters are close to if not already at the 100 RP range, thus necessitating appropriate conversations and scenes. But I've no doubt it'll come out well as the others have. If I might make a suggestion, maybe staggering the sidequests like you did with Ardoheim might help and ease off the burden, with the main plot and character related content being taken care of first. The other stuff like the stand-alone sidequests and so on could have similar place holders like you had before and let you see if they'd work in the update or need adjustment? Yes, that is a itsy-bitsy, but ever so crucial, little tiny detail :P Although I'm curious as to what you mean about what you need to decide on a fundamental level. Do you mean game mechanics, story, or a combination of the two/other? I'd say the current version of TLS is pretty polished, but I won't say no to more fanciness. Thanks for the update and hope things continue to improve for you.
Argenten
2016-06-12 21:40:38 +0000 UTC
