I see. I was surprised because until now it was well writen so it would have sucked that the plot suddenly took the easy "Revenge NTR" option.
I really like that you're not locked in any route, but looks like a pain to manage
Great idea to keep it for a polishing phase.
Anyway, just grabbed a sub on SubscribeStar, let's see this update
Thank you very much for the sub !
Vertical vs Horizontal is pretty neat debate.
Vertical:
+ ease of creation
+ you are not locked with 2321234322 different branches
+ easier to add alternative scenes
+ more manageable as project grows
+ still gives you ability to add ton of scenes
+ gives you ability to insert branches later on
- harder to wrap your head around the choices and consequences since you don't create separate branches for outcomes. So you have to keep track of it separately via tool ( i use 'twine') and manage dialogue/text branching inside of scenes.
- due to reuse of some scenes there might be issues on replay where users might assume it is the same scene and skip important dialogue.
Horizontal:
+ super easy to manage at start
+ very easy to understand choice and consequences as you branch out
- branching quickly bogs down progress
- hard to add new branches without affecting other branches
- the closer the project to completion the longer each update takes time
I won't follow the vertical design completely as i have 2-3 story bits that will require branching (and endings are all branching) but overall i follow the vertical design closely.