Prelude and Chapter 1 version 2.00

OK, I'm going to be irresponsible and not fully test them, because I've been doing it for the past few days and I can't do it anymore... I will upload the modules on the old vault soon, if it's working correctly.

I guess we will know if things are OK when the bug reports arrive.

Hope this works now...

Removing some content

It has come to that again. During the past few months, I have been concerned with seeing the main plot through to the end and had to remind myself to stop making masochistic plot branches.

There was an unfinished sub-plot in Chapter 2, reachable only if PC goes around with random sailors, where PC would be kidnapped and put on a ship - unless she fights back. With the main plot being as it is, I absolutely couldn't allow the girl to use sea travel to reach any meaningful place where she could stay (or I'd have to make a completely new part of the game to cover that). That means the ship had to crash right after leaving Ravage, so the girl would have to return on foot. This walking in circles didn't seem like a good plot, though the nasty-content lovers would have appreciated the ship's crew. Also, same as many other unfinished things, this one was/is giving me a headache. Maybe it will be used later, maybe it will go to garbage. Not everything I ever write fits in nicely in the end.

Right now, my main concern is to finally finish the second chapter so that it can be played from the beginning to the character export part. I can't wait to finally make it there, but the amount of work required is still scary.

I know everyone wishes for whole new worlds of content... but sometimes I think there's no need, if the new content is something we have already seen before.

I'm kind of against the idea of releasing a skeleton game first and then updating with major changes, but who knows...

Publishing this gives me more resolve to say farewell to the ship. :( Yes, the modules are going to be short, but it takes me a lot of time to finish them even so.

What am I doing?

Last night, as I was working on one of my favorite scenes from Chapter 2 and chatting with a friend, it occurred to me that some players are going to be unhappy about a certain lack of choice... again. Similarly to how Brash was "overprotected" in Chapter 1, now we have someone else. So the friend asked what the players complained about in Chapter 1 and I told her about Brash, and then after a discussion, I suddenly got inspired to make another change in the old module. True, it leads to nothing new in the long run, but she convinced me that the illusion of choice is important. So I have been working on the old module instead of the new one. Don't throw stones at me. :D

To sum up the new content, here is a draft of what Brash will be saying in the end:

"Tell me, you little fuck. Do you wanna walk on your own, or should I carry you like a pig all the way? If I stuff an apple in your mouth, we could hide you in the witch's food storage, for a surprise kill after dinner."

But if you do manage to escape, you will be rewarded with a game over. (OK, Lamb is having an evil moment. xD)

This doesn't really help the situation with the other character, in Chapter 2. If he is completely indestructible - regenerates very quickly and nothing can do permanent damage - would you still want to attack him? I've been thinking of, and half-implemented, an option to tell him to stop bothering you. He would probably obey but still talk to you if there is something important. But if he really makes you mad at some point, what is there to do?

I am talking about Raze, of course. You are supposed to be very special allies and he should practically be the main character (after you), but what if the player doesn't think like me at all? :/

As I may have said somewhere, there will be an option to get rid of him, but not yet. For now, he is too important, because, well, this is the story I am telling. I don't have one about random pirates and completely new characters. And yes, it's not supposed to be a linear "story", but if you knew how difficult it is to handle the consequences of each branching, and so early on... In the end, I think I only tend to branch the plot if both branches seem interesting and doable to me. By "doable", I mean that I wouldn't have to make 5 completely new modules the size of Chap.1 to cover for the newly introduced choice.

If I remove the main characters, there will be nothing left. Someone suggested an alternative to Brash, who isn't even as important as Raze - another, more agreeable NPC who would practically do the same in the end, minus the rude stuff. Well, after Brash fulfills his initial role, he stops being important, but I can't invent an alternative character in a few days. It took me 8 years or so to invent Brash. LOL