RadicalGuy

Newbie
May 14, 2022
88
129
156
So let's do this: ask your questions, and I'll answer them in this thread, regarding the game and in general. About bugs and problems with the code. Honestly? I have no idea why it crashed. It works fine for me in Ren'Py, along with the saves. I've temporarily uploaded the old version, which seems to work, but yeah.
I guess main question is: What are your plans for the future? You have started a new project (which I admit, I don't know if this is larger game or only one-shot story) and Astreon have two paths now, which seems to be going in different directions.

Regarding Astreon itself: Is there "correct" way to play this game? This mostly comes down to choices and their consequences, or rather lack of thereof. I've listed a few problems with continuity in playthroughs, where player ignores certain interactions or characters in my previous post right above yours.

As commentary about characters and this may be invalid, as I've continued to play latest release from the end of chapter 2, but whole MC persona is, for the lack of better terms, weird (or at least, now explained properly to players). What players know is: his presumably dead wife seems to be alive, his son is killed, he got multiple mechanical implants in him (cybernetics or something) and he awakes on different side of the universe. I think that regardless of how badass you are, your reaction shouldn't be "oh well" as it seems to be the case with MC. Then there is the fact that Lora seems to be somewhere on this planet, which MC doesn't know unless is nice to Astoria. If player, like me, is an asshole towards her, we don't know that, so our (MC) motivation is to survive, which is as basic as it gets.
 
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shamtiiomi

Engaged Member
May 1, 2021
2,150
2,062
377
shit what a cliffhanger...well after paying this update i can totallu see the multiple endings ....and why....lora ..well and those elfs at least those who are in the loop of everything going on need to die....
 

NoGloryx

Member
Game Developer
Apr 29, 2022
108
278
139
I guess main question is: What are your plans for the future? You have started a new project (which I admit, I don't know if this is larger game or only one-shot story) and Astreon have two paths now, which seems to be going in different directions.

Regarding Astreon itself: Is there "correct" way to play this game? This mostly comes down to choices and their consequences, or rather lack of thereof. I've listed a few problems with continuity in playthroughs, where player ignores certain interactions or characters in my previous post right above yours.

As commentary about characters and this may be invalid, as I've continued to play latest release from the end of chapter 2, but whole MC persona is, for the lack of better terms, weird (or at least, now explained properly to players). What players know is: his presumably dead wife seems to be alive, his son is killed, he got multiple mechanical implants in him (cybernetics or something) and he awakes on different side of the universe. I think that regardless of how badass you are, your reaction shouldn't be "oh well" as it seems to be the case with MC. Then there is the fact that Lora seems to be somewhere on this planet, which MC doesn't know unless is nice to Astoria. If player, like me, is an asshole towards her, we don't know that, so our (MC) motivation is to survive, which is as basic as it gets.
The second project is just a story about a clown — naïve, silly, and funny. Astreon is the main one, and theoretically, future updates shouldn’t affect it much.


As for the choices… at first, I thought “the more choices — the better.” But the longer I worked on the game, the more painful that idea became. In the end, it all got casualized. There are only a couple of key choices that actually affect the story; the rest are more like flavor — a few extra lines of dialogue here and there.


Now, about the MC.


The original goal was simple: he was supposed to find a wife. By Act 3 at the latest. Then take her and return to a normal, peaceful life.
But there’s a twist — instead of the kind, loving woman he remembered, he meets her: a cruel, selfish, arrogant person.
And since everything happens so fast and intensely, he doesn’t really process it all — he just acts on instinct, bottling everything up as it goes.


So, what am I getting at?


We’ve got two options:
In the first one, the MC survives and goes to the tower. His reasoning — there’s a portal, which means he can finally go home. He just follows Yong’s original advice — simple, straightforward.


Or, he can throw it all away and play the hero. Why? Just to do something with his own hands.
And of course, it’s a stupid move — whether it’s with the Nameless One or, even more absurdly, with Ember.


Stupid? Definitely.
Naïve? Of course.
How could anyone follow a man like that?
Perfect.


In the end, he falls — hard. Very hard.
But now it’s time for growth.


That was my original idea, and I still stand by it.
The main reason it didn’t land the way I wanted is simply the lack of text — or rather, the lack of information.
 

RadicalGuy

Newbie
May 14, 2022
88
129
156
The second project is just a story about a clown — naïve, silly, and funny. Astreon is the main one, and theoretically, future updates shouldn’t affect it much.
Key word is "shouldn't". This site saw many great titles that either become abandonded or rushed, becuase developer greatly overestimated amount of work that needs to be done to maintain multiple titles or routes. I'm not saying that will be the case with you. But it's definatelly something to keep in mind. Heck, second title can be huge hit and give you huge boost to your earnings, but what then?
From our (players) perspective launching new title, adding separate routes and previous reworks warrants some sort of causion regarding future of this project

As for the choices… at first, I thought “the more choices — the better.” But the longer I worked on the game, the more painful that idea became. In the end, it all got casualized. There are only a couple of key choices that actually affect the story; the rest are more like flavor — a few extra lines of dialogue here and there.
And that's completely fine. Personally I prefer good "kinetic novel" than underdeveloped classic AVN with mutliple branches and outcomes. Main concern is to respect player's choices. For example: when there is a time to either choose Lora and Olivia or Miriel, Miriel choice should be locked behind visiting elfs (and maybe even helping Ivy). I would say this make sense, right? MC spent some time with people native to this planet so he can choose to "be a hero" and help Miriel.


Regarding MC - I get what you are trying to say and yes, chapter 3 was way better in the way MC interacts with other people. Before, it seems like he didn't care about anything with how emotionless he was. Even with previously mentioned continuity error, I perfer Miriel path, because MC finally showing some emotions.
The problem before Chapter 3 was that we (and MC) had no idea if Lora is actually there or not, so, at least for me, he was running around trying to help people for no reason, other than being a hero. Which was a problem, becuase we had no reason to believe that MC is one.

Overall, I will say this - this title has potential and, in my opinion, can be salvaged. You definatelly need to spend more time on polishing each release and planning were is story is going to keep it coherent. I agree with many reviews here - renders are amazing, music/sfx are good, but writing is something that brings the whole experience down
 
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Eternamite

Member
Nov 8, 2024
285
2,682
297


Clown Squad - announcements​

GOOOOOOOOOOOOD MORNING, EVERYONE!

(Or good night — depends on when you’re reading this)

It’s time for some wonderful news!
Clown Squad is officially finished! YAY!
(Okay, I had to trim the update a little, but it turned out great in the end!)

About the Game

I’m really proud of how it turned out. All the issues that existed back in Astreon have been fixed, and the overall quality has reached a whole new level.
The pacing, the music, the characters, the writing — everything came together beautifully.
Each character has their own motives, their own unique voice, and their own story to tell.

And according to early feedback:
8 out of 10 players left the game in an amazing mood!
(The remaining last 2 just haven’t played it yet.)

If there’s one downside — it’s that the game’s too short! (Oh, we have 4k version btw.)

Upcoming Releases

November 14 — Deathwatch Captain
November 21 — Interrogator
November 29 — Guardsman
December 5 — Acolyte
December 12 — Public Announcement!


Progress & Stats

CategoryProgress
Words 22,000 / 22,000
Renders 1,000 / 1,000
Coding 5,000 / 5,000
Music 100 / 100

About Astreon

Updates for Astreon will now be released more frequently, though each update will be shorter.
This time, the focus will shift heavily toward writing and storytelling — and everything I learned while working on Clown Squad will be poured into it.

The next Astreon update is planned for late December or mid-January — though only one path will continue for now (the second one will stay on hold a bit longer).

That’s all for now — love you all, hugs, and see you soon!

Yours truly,
NoGlory
 

Meehaha

Newbie
Aug 18, 2020
60
156
174
Really enjoying this apart from the pacing. Reads like I was given a pile of unnumbered really good serialised story comic books with some out of order so have to guess that. Maybe a few are missing as well. Could be just me.
 
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DarkFire VNs

[Desires & Power : A Dark World] Dev
Game Developer
Apr 23, 2022
87
127
77
Okay so game is good overall and everything. Interesting mc. But what the heck is going on with whole continuity?
Like I didn't really thought there were any 'real choices' that would diverge the paths or anything like that. But above comments seem to suggest otherwise.
Also first, game ended with MC taking over the command and giving Flora the lead and deciding to head over to tower, credit rolled and all, then it went back and different scenes from earlier started playing with totally different story where whatever we had done so far in the story doesn't seem to have happened and mc ends up dying right at the end by some elf's hand through his chest? And credit roll again? What even is this? Some bug? Or that's how story goes?
 
3.80 star(s) 35 Votes