- Jan 23, 2018
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- Thread starter Maleficent
- Start date
- Jul 10, 2017
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Then you are so fine .. girls really like spending time with you in this game.
The babes are not shy to pursue their man through fire and high water.
The babes are not shy to pursue their man through fire and high water.
- Nov 14, 2017
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- May 27, 2017
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Loved the 2nd Goddess Anna scene. Basically the dev talking to the player and was exactly the questions that'd been bothering me since the Queen asked which daughter the MC was interested in. Even assured us she'd send no maenads after us.
Yeah...she scares me a tad, definite 'Misery' vibes. Though Aelinia does as well with her 'none before me' insistence, particularly after mentioning Lydia to her.
- Nov 14, 2017
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well val wants mc to herself and ael is willing to share him as long as she is number uno.
- Jul 18, 2020
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the game checks for flag eliana_lover to check if MC is interested in her but in the game code it adds the flag Eliana_lover.
- Apr 10, 2021
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- Nov 14, 2017
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i have played since versions ago. even if she's willing to share she still wants mc mostly for herself.
- Feb 17, 2020
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Now that I'm laying the groundwork for Chapter 7, let's talk about some key events for the chapter. No spoilers here, I promise, unless you REALLY don't even want a broad strokes outline of what we will see in Chapter 7. If that is you, go ahead and close this window. However, if you have yet to play Chapter 6, go ahead and skip this post until you've had a chance to finish that. I do recap a couple of things that happened in Chapter 6, and I'd hate to have you pissed at me for revealing those before you played.
But before we get into that, let me say that Chapter 7 needs a bit more work on the story than I thought. I'm finding that some scenes are needing to be reworked, some just trashed altogether, and several new scenes need to be written. This isn't horrible, as I am still able to salvage most of what I wrote for Chapter 7. But it does mean I'm not just jumping right into renders on it, as I make sure the story is well developed, balanced, and paced well. I will ultimately have added some scenes, and massively restructured the outline for Chapter 7. With many key decisions coming up for you, it's time to make sure those are well-paced and not all dropped in a single chapter or two.
With the festival out of the way, we are starting to near my second part of the game. I've divided the game into 3 major parts in terms of story. I can't say more than that without giving things away, but part 1 will be our longest. There is so much of the world and characters to setup and introduce so that you, the player, can make informed choices you won't regret in later chapters. A lot still needs to happen for this story to play out, and please remember that you are only getting small parts each release. I appreciate everyone's speculation and theories. Nothing wrong with that at all. But don't judge a story based on a few small scenes in a chapter. You have the opportunity to make things work out well, though not without obstacles. There is no game over scenario here, though likely some endings that are more desirable than others.
In Chapter 7, you'll be making some choices in regards to love interests, as we still have a few left to add or reject. All love interests have now been introduced in the story, however. Some of these you'll be waiting for a bit longer because we just aren't at that point yet with the character. You have the matter of Queen Helena's lustful advances in the last chapter to contend with here, especially since the King is still very much around. Speaking of romance, your choice of whether to marry Kaylan, if you were on her path, in Chapter 5 starts to have a significant impact in other areas. This is a choice that quickly snowballs to bring about a range of other choices for your character in quick succession. And if you aren't on Kaylan's path? Well, princesses start to demand a bit more of you, leading to some other choices.
You'll discover some other problems in the kingdom that may prove very problematic in future chapters. These problems have been hinted at, but they begin to really take shape over the next two chapters. The question will be whether you realize their importance or not. Just when it seemed that things might be settling down. Among these problems is what to do about Prince Marius, which I doubt is a surprise to anyone. You'll discover some things about the Prince that complicate matters. Oh, and there is a very unexpected change in your circumstances inside the palace that is either going to improve things or exacerbate existing tensions.
To round things out, you spend a lot more time with the King, leading you to some very interesting revelations. Princess Estrid begins to take center stage since a decision on that front needs to happen very soon. Before the royal ball, Princess Valentina shows another side of herself that will open up some very interesting plot developments over the next few chapters. And what about things at the tavern? Hmmm, maybe some things happen there too.
There is still a lot of story left here, and I've expanded a few plans in order to make things a bit more interesting for us in much later chapters. But don't worry! I've also reigned in a few things I had planned that were just going to make this story a bit too complicated to tackle. One thing is for sure - we aren't far from events potentially overtaking our beloved general. I'm reminded of a phrase I heard years ago: "Great changes are soon to take place in our world. The final movements will be rapid ones."
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- Oct 31, 2018
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Reading this, I expect a headache when it comes to decision making. Even though I know it‘s a harem, but all this talk about obstacles makes my imagination run wild. Worst case scenario could be, that it‘s beneficial to turn down some love interests initially to get a better outcome in the long run. This outline also sounds like that the Mc will stay in the palace and will not go to the east. Or maybe I misinterpreted that? I‘m also worried about Kaylan, since the decision to marry her might soon have a major impact. Glad to hear that Estrid gets more attention. If it comes to it, I‘d have a really hard time deciding between her, Kaylan and the princesses. Atleast the queen will not make a fuzz about things, given her position… right?
- Aug 23, 2021
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That seems like kind of a given. It doesn't strike me a particularly practical or interesting to play out a months long Roman-era military campaign in a VN primarily concerned with building a harem, espcecially when you can't bring most of them with you. I guess you could time skip it, but that ultimately ends up as the same result, aside from a few lines from NPCs about you being gone for X number of months.
- Feb 17, 2020
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If the MC goes there it's not up to the player to decide but since royal couple need the MC's help in the castle so I don't think the MC will go east either.
- Oct 31, 2018
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I had the same concerns about it being boring, but in my mind I could justify it with just enough possible content to make it happen. Then again, it wouldn‘t have all too much to do with being a king if you aren‘t even in a palace for the better half of the game.
- Aug 23, 2021
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I think it could work if the game had leaned into that direction from the start. There might have even been provision for combat/strategy related miinigames (although personally I typically abhor VN minigames). But I can't really see it working with the existing narrative. And it seems like the pieces are in place with the Danes for it to be a non-issue anyway, since an alliance with them removes the need for sending a force north and frees up Nicabar to be sent east in the MC's stead. That probably requires Nicabar as an alternative suitor for Estrid if the MC declines.
plus i don't think that the queen will let the mc go to the east since she has other plans with him
- Nov 14, 2017
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yea marrying val or ael. besides beheading marius.plus i don't think that the queen will let the mc go to the east since she has other plans with him
harem is guaranteed but who will be on it isn't known yet.*Sigh
It will be better if MC is the king from the start just like Ryen from renruu.No one objecting because you are a king.
- Feb 17, 2020
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So much for skipping a dev update or two. This week I did a lot of work on the story for Chapter 7 and beyond (more on that below). I also got some new Daz purchases added into my library, and finalized the updates I needed for my presets in Daz. All-in-all, it was a very productive week. I also finished work on something else, but I'm not ready to announce that just yet.
Chapter 7 & Beyond
A few updates were needed for Chapter 7. First, there is the simple matter that some things just didn't work as well when I read back through them. There will be numerous scene adjustments, along with some new scenes I added in. I also needed to add the bonus scenes that patrons voted on for Chapter 7. That work is all coming along nicely, but will add just a few extra days to get everything down and polished.
I'm also indebted to loyal patron and all around good guy, Kytronix, for his recommendation of Articy:draft. This software is really going to make things so much easier for me to keep track of an ever-more-complex plot. I think it will also help me lay out scenes and make sure things are where they need to be. I've already got a good amount of my game info into the software, with more being added daily. I'll still be using my old standby, Trello, to help out with development. But having so much here in one place, even if there is no direct integration with Renpy, is going to be wonderful. Ultimately, it should deliver a better story for you all in future chapters.
In addition to all this, I made notes about Chapter 8 changes I'll need to make (significant ones there also), and started on my outline for Chapter 9. It has really helped to think two to three chapters ahead for the story, and I'm going to keep doing that as much as I can. A lot of story work is being completed in these first few weeks after release, since I'm still very much learning more about story development and pacing as I go. If even professional writers on TV shows and movies deliver duds, you can imagine my risks as a total amateur doing this. It's always good to just sit down, review your overall story plans and character development, and make sure things are tracking well.
Branching Paths
As my beta team can tell you, we are getting WELL into a game that is complex in its branching and choices. Just because you don't see the effects right away, doesn't mean these things are not having an impact on how your story will play out. In Chapter 6, I did a few new things with the branching, and I plan to continue those. I don’t want a game that is overly complex, but I do want to add freshness, especially if you are the type that likes to do multiple playthroughs.
I've got to balance all this with my limited time. It may sound easy to say, "just add more choices." But a lot of those choices will require more renders, different dialogue, and additional testing time. If not now, then in the future. I like to think of it as the "Butterfly Effect." Not the horrible movie with Ashton Kutcher, but the theory that one small change somewhere can have profound effects somewhere else later. That's what happens when you add small choices. It's why so many VNs give the "allusion of choice." You get to choose things, but it has ZERO impact on the overall story.
One big area I don't want to do is surprise the player in an unpleasant way. This isn't one of those VNs where you make a choice, go forward a few screens to see what happens. Then scroll back and change your choice, if you see you made the wrong one. As I learn more about the characters, the story evolves. Not in the sense of what the ultimate ending will be, of course, but what detours we will take along the way to get there.
This post has been way too long as it is. I'll see you all next week with another dev update. Way too early to project anything, but a smooth development cycle will mean a release of Chapter 7 well before the end of the year. Thank you for your support and interest in To Be A King. We have many interesting and sexy times ahead in the story. I appreciate all the new folks who pledged up to get the release! Your support is not only appreciated but very validating.
For those in the US, have a great holiday weekend! I'm going to try and mix my relaxation with some story work so renders can begin as soon as possible.
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