After focusing on mostly linear branches lately I decided to do something new. https://chyoa.com/story/Dark-Lord-Rising-[GAME].11154 I started a game mode story, it contains conditinal chapters and gathers scores and variables as you go. The story isn't open to participation because of the complexity of keeping the variables coherent. But if you have suggestions you can message me. You are a Scion of Malak, long descendant of an ancien God of chaos and were just kicked out of a magician Academy. Take the road and show them all just you are capable of. I'll try to update frequently but because of the game mode it will be probably by waves rather than one chapter at a time. I had to finish this part to publish it before starting the rest because every draft is published when the story is reviewed. I'm really interested to read what people think of both the story and the way the game mode works out, extra points for those that replay it to see the changes. In case your bug report has spoilers in it please message me rather than posting it here.
OK, I've got some important things to bring up. Spoiler: Notes and suggestions for the author. 1: There are several points where you veer from first person into second, you should ammend that. 2: Some of the things you probably wanted to have behind conditions didn't end up that way, like the "Thief" in the ghibbit, when you've already rescued her on the road...
Damn I thought I fixed the cage thing, maybe I changed a variable afterward, I mostly write in second person, I might have left a few you slipping by me. I'll go check this again. This was very long to write and test and I couldn't continue until it went live. Thanks for the review. Edit: the scene is fixed (I put a lower case letter in a variable that was capitalized). Damn questions and chapter titles. I mapped empty chapters before filling them and by that time I didn't notice they where in second person. If someone else finds a bug or wants to give his or her opinion I thank you in advance.
BTW, just a few more quibbles: Spoiler: Notes and suggestions for the author. First: the clothes buying scene and the rescue from the ghibbit both feel like there's a first part missing, I would look them over again. Second, I think you messed up the coinage transactions in a couple of places, mostly when gaining money, but I'm not sure... Please Double Check? Third: when you rescue the islander from the ghibbit she isn't shown as a companion, why? Fourth: I would like an optional extra thread on the clothes buying to get another garment if you're planing to rescue the "Thief"... Now, all that out of the way: This story FUCKING ROCKS! I'm a fan of the genre generally, but you take it somewhere WELL past eleven and up into the tripple digits! I know I haven't liked all that many chapters, but it's on my "to do" list, and in some cases I am waiting on these small issues being ironed out...
PLease be careful with spoilers, some have not played the game yet. 1 For the first it was a bug, the second shows up correctly. 2 I'll have to check, the money variable is called Gold but all transactions so far are in silver due to the amount of work need to change all references. I also wanted to replace it with a currency name, but I still haven't found one I like. 3 spoilers and I forgot to add the variable, 4 I thought of it but there was no practical way to do it in less than 3 or 4 extra chapters. I decided to skip it and remedy it later in the adventures. Thanks for the help and support. I don't think it will go very fast to update but I'll try to add bits each week at least.
We could use the spoiler-tags to prevent unintended spoilers. ;-) Example: Spoiler: Notes and suggestions for the author. Lots of spoilers. Code: [spoiler=Notes and suggestions for the author.] Lots of spoilers. [/spoiler]
I have edited both my posts to use Dingdong's suggestions, and I feel that settles the matter, though of course I'm going to KEEP using the spoiler tag for future comments! (They are comming, expect them...)
I'm perfectly fine with comments that way. I had to changes things at the end that screwed up things that worked before and I'm only beginning to play with these variables.I Took for granted that things tested previously will continue working, lesson learned. Check, check, check and check again. Bug reports are very useful to me. Already working on continuing it.
A request if I may: Before working on continuing the existing threads, do as much as you have thus far with the rest of the NEWS...
Too complex, I have a spot in this path where I planned to start a new direction (probably west) updating the 4 paths in parallel would be too difficult and delay new chapters too much. I work full time and don't have enough time to do that. What I might do (and was planned, but delayed) is to write the first chapter of each path and unlock them, but it would mean a lot of people would get to a dead end on the second chapter (I saw all the people snooping in to check chapters that where locked in game mode ^^)
As an alternate suggestion: could you perhaps find someone you trust to do those other paths for you? I would be happy to volunteer for that task on the southern branch...
Depending on if TheDespaxas is willing to let other authors to contribute to the story, it might be a viable way for the contributers to write the chapters, and for TheDespaxas to create / adjust the variables before the chapters are published.
THere are a lot of stories where I would trust people to participate, on this one it is more tricky. Just because I haven't written them yet doesn't mean I don't have the main event of these branches already mapped in my head. I'll have some time next week and consider adding an author but I have to think about it. DIngdongs : it's not a very good option except for the first chapter of the branch. The variables are so integral to the way the chapters are written that putting them back afterwards in the work of someone else is a true nightmare.
For me, working on a bigger project often means to delegate work. You would get some input you have to work on and give some output others have to work on. For a story, I could imagine sth similar: You plan the story map and where all paths should lead to and what should happen long term. You determinate the start and the end of a chapter (part) and what should happen in that chapter (part). You could delegate writing parts (without If Statements) or full chapters (with If Statements) to other writers. You could put together the parts and add the Score Changes and Conditions. (You could also delegate putting the parts together.) You could delegate testing the chapters. Another way could be to split it into some bigger pieces. Determinate the options of a chunk (e.g. from leaving the academy to leaving the town) and the possible (allowed) Score Changes from the beginning to the end of that chunk (to control balancing). Just my thoughts on this
I'm still working on getting a grasp of the way to write in game mode, the if statements and what is exactly written in them can change how many chapters are following and how they are linked. WHat you propose could work if I had a lot of time and a team of people I implicitly trust to work on it. I put 4 branches here for a reason, the story would have worked with one but I had an idea for each, we can't at this time reorder chapters so I needed placeholders. THe initial planning was for the story to be very far in this branch before opening one other and do it again. IN all eventuality, I'm working on a few other Tomes of knowledge to present the universe and I'd like to have most of them done before having people writing on this.
