It's not really a here problem. The fade to black is just poorly executed in the story and going back later to back fill a little isn't going to prevent it frustrating players. I'd say it makes it worse because if you included that info in the earlier conversations then you could cut out unnecessary dialogue and improve the substance of the remaining dialogue. I wrote a big chunk explaining in detail but have snipped it out for now. Long story short, I would say if you hide info from the player but not the players MC then you will have these complaints because its immersion breaking and inevitably leads to frustration. If the player doesn't understand the MCs motivation then they cant stay invested.
Maybe so. Either way I can't do much about it, except for what I did already and what I'm doing going forward. No time machines here sadly.
OH, I thought the elf was the main squeeze...do to her being with the MC the longest out of all the girls. And the fact that she chose the MC to be her one and only forever life partner. Which is huge for the 190 year old elf, who had never ever chose a partner before she met MC...so she made him the one.
Yet now MC comes across as complete cold douche-bag towards her, treating her special elven relationship choice, or the 5+ years of being by MC's side....and spending everyday with him just didn't matter very much to him after his time away. He seemed to just discard her for the other girl's attention, like the elf became the shitty side girl who just serves his requests. And because of that, she seemed to change for the worse.
And so far we know nothing of what happened to her those past months of her not knowing MC was still alive. Is she doing the Italian death thing...mourning her loss by going dark in look, and personality? It felt like blah...with how limited the reader was informed so far, and how she was treated like crap by the writing.
Also, I found it odd that MC didn't ask or the female elf even mention anything about the blonde noble mage, who is also in love with the MC.
Anyways love this type of story...it's like a Lord of the Rings, Dragon Age fantasy type story. Just not a fan of the vague and moody MC has changed towards the elf. Relationships are about communication, without it there is no relationship.
Regards.
One thing to understand here, is Lyria's character purpose from the first get-go. And it wasn't meant to be present this far into the story... but I pushed it by force due to her reception. And this is reflected in all of it.
Second thing to understand regarding the MC himself, Eliot isn't some goody-goody man who is just love struck about women. He is a man haunted by his past life, he is very bitter and angry about injustice done to him and on global level. His priorities aren't women and fucking them.
Eliot in comparison, to make this easy, no more or less, is a Templar. And having a whole lifetime as a Templar, suddenly changing that? That ain't easy exactly.
Now here comes the second maybe obvious and maybe not obvious problem, Lyria is stuck in the past. She keeps pushing for the man she is used to, but this cannot be. Her mentality set is meant to be optimistic, hopeful, which in the end she is. But she is stuck on this ideal figure of what she believes he is, and should be. But this isn't the truth, this is the world in her head. And that is the problem, the clashes here happen.
She is simply living in WHAT WAS rather than WHAT IS. And Eliot... at the current moment, has by far different thoughts and motivations and things to do. He isn't going to go pick fucking flowers for her to drop the mood. He considers his tasks more important than anything else, and he simply wouldn't let ANY of the characters get in his way. In one way or another.
As for Lyria's dark look, that's just reflection of her mental change due to his death basically. Which kinda hit her in the face. But not to worry, this is mentioned in a convo so I don't need to and won't blabber about it here and now.
Oh and... he did communicate. Very simply for that matter, it is his way or the highway. And this applies to everyone around him. While he will find time to involve himself with the cast, his main and primary purpose is to shove a stick up the gods ass so far they can't walk anymore.
And that is the priority. Not being a therapist for moody elves, witches or demons.
I really love the game and the writing so far but I'm not a fan of the options for instructions I'm giving my subordinates. For a character that understands ambiguity and flexibility, it seems needlessly obtuse to limit our instructions to absolute timidity or absolute ruthlessness. It seems dumb to decide how they should approach a situation without knowing the risks and benefits that might be involved. How about giving them the choice to assess the situation for themselves, to weigh the pros and cons for themselves, and to trust their judgement in whatever situation?
I understand that the dev probably doesn't want to give us obvious choices but I'm not sure blind ones are any better. Maybe they want us to sympathize with the uncertainty that plagues the MC in making decisions. I'm fine having to navigate moral quandaries, but this is more like making a decision without knowing the variables. I'd rather give my subordinates freedom of movement to decide for themselves rather than saddle them with orders that will constrain or restrict them from doing what will benefit us.
Fair enough, a very simple reasoning here however. The problem is the actual bad guys are in one way monsters. And in Eliot's turn... he has no choice but to be a bigger one. And this has to be reflected somehow.
He cannot exactly afford to be soft on things, even if by default a lot of it clashes with how he is and what he stands for. But if they're bad, he has to be worse. There is no positive outcome otherwise.
But I wouldn't either way worry too much about war table, it is just a start. There's going to be different things for something else. Not all will be done in same manner.
For example... you can't deal with political aspects in a "Kill" - "Don't kill." That won't cut it.
I stopped at version 0.4 and really liked the game.
Now I'm on version 0.6 and I'm wondering if it's still the same MC.
What's wrong with this guy? When did he become such an unpleasant idiot?
He felt so much for Lyria back then that he even gave his life to save her.
And I understand a little bit that he didn't want to see her again to protect her from what he was planning,
but now that she's back he's acting like a cold, emotionless asshole towards her?
Even worse, he even suggests that they are enemies or that he would fight her if she doesn't agree with him?
She just didn't really know him from the start?
It almost seems as if Lyria was just a pastime and a disposable item from the start.
Yesterday I was so annoyed by the MC sitting on his chair and giving orders like he was playing chess,
without wanting to explain anything at all to his companions and supposed loved ones.
I had to turn the game off and calm down first.
These are exactly the kind of people we want to fight and are against.
And now the MC himself is one of those who just plays with his people without any compassion?
I really hope that the MC changes his unacceptable behavior very quickly and drastically.
On the one hand, you certainly do NOT want to follow people like that into a fight for life and death
and on the other hand, I have no desire to play an MC like that.
Does power really change people for the worse? The MC, definitely.
He isn't that much affected by power really. And aye, as I've already wrote to others above... it is his way or the highway. And that applies to all, not just Lyria.
As for him giving orders are not explaining, that depends on whom we speak on. Aria would know everything, but that is also due to nature of their pact and rules surrounding it.
For the most part, he isn't supposed or allowed to reference or use Eris's name much if at all. So he can't for example tell much to Yana or Lyria. These are simply the terms of subscription ( to put it that way) he agreed and signed. Its like a NDA.
And oh no, the people he wants to fight and is against are by far worse. Eliot is a saint in comparison. He is pretty much plagued in his head between having to do it, and not wanting to do it.
To put it into simple perspective... Eliot would burn down a village full of children in blink of an eye, if this meant that in the bigger picture it would lead to peace and prosperity and end of conflict.
Now the other guys, they'd genocide an entire planet and ensure there are no kids to begin with ever born or present again. That is a huge difference. Because for them it is the principle of "fuck it", "we do what we want" and he does what he at least believes will
