Ren'Py World's Crossing Academy [v1.3.5.1] [TeamEmberWings]

[VictorSeven]

Nice game, definitely going to bookmark this game

Thank you!

 

[KnuckleDragger79]

Need more orc girl's abs.

 

[qljrnt6jc4eh2]

So, how are things going with a due update? Last progress report on patron (paywall'd...) was from the end of 2022.

 

[Heavenlet]

I fucking love goblins and Wither.

 

[VictorSeven]

Small Rough Patch/ Getting Back on Track

Hoo boy. How do I start this one out?

First, let me allay any fears, since I haven't posted one of these in far too long. I intended to be a dev who communicated with their community at least once a week, and I'm still fairly active on the official WCA Discord, but that doesn't help those of you who get your updates here. Also, I may have gone on a Goblin-creating spree, and... well...



Development for WCA Season 2 was put on hold for a little bit. I had a bit of a creative slump brought on by a lot of personal stuff, both things I have control over and things I don't. But Season 2 is resuming, and I know what I'll be doing for the first portion of the main story in S2. I just have to organize it now.

Also, the game has attracted the interest of several people who wish to help contribute ideas and scenes to the game, and some of these are making it into the character side stories system I have planned. The BULK of the content in the game will be in the side stories, and I'll be paying a LOT of attention to the quality of these scenes. All of them will be edited by me to retain the flavor and quality of WCA, and more than a few will be completely rewritten by me.

The core framework for how I intend to organize the game files is done. I've decided NOT to include the H-scenes from Season 1 so I have more room for the main story and Core girls' stories. I'll make those H-scenes separate download for PC/MAC users who want all the H-scenes from both games together.

And I know what you're thinking. "Well if you have all this, why no update?"

I'm not fond of using conditions as excuses, but... Unmedicated depression can be a bit of a whore. Because 'Murica and no health insurance. That, and every time I try to rely on someone to help me out, they tend to just... kinda forget that they volunteered? So when I check in with someone I delegated a task to a month ago, I find they haven't done anything. What I wouldn't give for just ONE. ONE reliable, quality writer who knows my writing style and who could consistently help me out. That alone would turn production on this game up to 11. But alas. Y'all are stuck with my slow ass.

As for why I've been silent for so long... well, to put it bluntly, my sister and I just got back from a 10 day trip to California in which we collected our father's ashes (they put him in a fucking CARDBOARD URN, y'all), and in digging through what was left of his stuff that our step siblings had decided we got to keep, we broke open a whole can of worms we were not prepared for.

So, long story short. We're getting screwed out of any inheritance we might have had, including our father's house, which was put up for auction today. Step siblings have his computer, which likely has his real will on it and credentials for his accounts, and they blocked us when we asked about it. On top of this, we discover several things about our family that I will not air here (hint: we're Italian and that could potentially be dangerous), except that my father may have gotten away with arranging the deaths of not one but TWO of his wives, our mother being one of them, and may have been plotting to do the same with the woman to whom he was married when he passed. Or he may have been in the process, since she passed shortly after he did.

On top of all of this, my sis, her spouse, my current roommate, and I all have to find a new place to live before June. We've known since probably December or late November, so stress has definitely been a big part of the lack of writing going on.

Ever wish your own fictitious world was real? 'cause if so, this is what I'd be doing:



Alas, life goes on. Just have a lot to process. Once I have my mind straightened out (and potentially some reliable help), WCA Season 2 will be gaining some steam. I have a vision for the game. Just gonna take a bit to make it happen, and I appreciate everyone's patience. It ain't the end of the world, just some bad luck, and much like everything else, it's temporary. If anything, I'm determined to make my own mark in this world, and if WCA is how I do it, then great lol. I honestly can't wait to get to work again, but I'm probably gonna take another week or so to process and get myself re-centered. Y'all are an amazing group of people to be so passionate about this project and these characters, and I'm lucky to have y'all. It ain't all bad, just some speedbumps, and I personally hate being slowed down. Y'all are wonderfully patient but I am fuggin straining against this leash that's holding me back, keeping me from delivering content. I can't wait till I can actually write again.

Anyways, I'mma do some writer's block exercises I came up with last year, and see if anything of substance comes out. Thank you all again for being here and loving this game.

-Vic
​

 

[Trynn]

Damn. In several different ways. First, because goblins. Superb. All other ways less positive. I'm glad you're hanging in there.

I said I'd like to consider writing for you at the end of last year, but I kinda fell off the planet a little. I'd still like to but I'm still clawing my way back to being able to concentrate on things. I'll finish reading your novels and get in touch, I did join your Discord a short time ago but still fully lurking, I'm afraid. I'll try and poke myself to be present some more.

 

[Heavenlet]

EVEN MORE GOBLINS? OH, SO GRAND AND INTOXICATING! Can't wait to possibly see the currently unreleased characters in the future - saw some really cute stuff..!

 

[ssj782]

While I do like more goblin girls, I have to wonder at shoving more and more new characters into such an already content-lite game.
Each individual has very little to them so far. Few scenes, little story, etc. At the rate this is going, we're only going to have one or two scenes per girl for the forseeable future.
And that's only if the game ever gets finished. The updates are already getting longer and longer in between.

 

[VictorSeven]

While I do like more goblin girls, I have to wonder at shoving more and more new characters into such an already content-lite game.
Each individual has very little to them so far. Few scenes, little story, etc. At the rate this is going, we're only going to have one or two scenes per girl for the forseeable future.
And that's only if the game ever gets finished. The updates are already getting longer and longer in between.

Well if life would quit shitting on me, you'd have consistent updates lol. I've had no less than 4 family members die during the development of this game, one of which being a suicide. And since the last post, my roommate just broke his tenancy agreement and dipped, meaning I have to work more and spend less time on the game. I promise y'all I'm not ignoring the game on purpose. I would love nothing more than to be able to work on it full time and churn out monthly updates like some of the other devs are able to do. But it seems like every time I open the damn program I just... stare at the code. I go to write and nothing comes out.

I finally got sick of it and went, ya know what, therapist. I obviously have some shit to work through that is blocking my creativity, and I hate that y'all have to suffer because of my creative impotence. Little by little, stuff is getting done. I have to create the new title screen video for Season 2, but the framework is there and the intro is playable.

I'm trying, y'all. You've been wonderfully patient thus far and I know how it is to see a game slow down like this. But I love this game, this world, and these characters, and I refuse to let it die. I'd love to grow the Patreon and SubscribeStar to the point where my job is unnecessary and I can spend as much time as I want putting out new content for you folks. I'm working on a whole separate executable for the second game, and that takes more work than just adding some images and updating a script file. At this point, the only thing I'll probably add to WCA Season 1 is the SFW mode. There's no more room for any more scenes. So the next thing you see posted will be a brand new game release entitled World's Crossing Academy Season 2: Security Arc.

I know it's slow right now, but I promise you one thing: This game will never have the Abandoned tag.

Regarding all these characters (over 40 total):

I've separated these characters into categories, the main two being Core and DLC. Core characters will come with the game and DLC will be packages you can add to the game to play extra stories.

If you think of it as a tree, the way I'm doing Season 2 is the main story is the trunk and will continue on throughout the game. Each girl will have a branch of her own, her own personal side story. Adjusting to this kind of writing and not writing a completely linear story like I'm used to (you know, the thing y'all keep complaining about, not having enough "game" in the game) is... taking a bit of adjusting, but I'm getting it. It's slower than I'd like. But I already have several Quest files for several girls that have several scenes written in them, so it's not going too badly.

I hope to put out a demo before June, which is WCA's second birthday. That's the current plan.

Thanks for listening to all my whining lol. Lot of obstacles in my way, but I'm determined to keep this game going.

 

[Danv]

i had really high hopes for this game, since so far it was quite good, but all those talks about some sandbox bullshit, separated side stories, dlcs and unrelated branches... yeah no, good luck and all that, but fuck this, you literally can't get any worse than that

 

[KeepOnLiving]

[...] you literally can't get any worse than that

i agree, he's literally Hitler.

Jokes aside.
Keep going, Victor, at whatever pace you can manage. I'll be here waiting for it, because so far it's been great.

 

[Harkonnan]

i had really high hopes for this game, since so far it was quite good, but all those talks about some sandbox bullshit, separated side stories, dlcs and unrelated branches... yeah no, good luck and all that, but fuck this, you literally can't get any worse than that

I disagree there. I have played games where sandboxing has actually added to the game. I will say most games with sandboxing are garbage because they over use the sandbox mechanic. I am confident that wont happen in this case.

As far as sperate character branches I think that's more or less a normal thing in some of the more successful VNs out there. I mean why be forced into a character story if that character doesn't appeal to you. By putting them in their own path or branch they can be avoided.

The DLC thing I have mixed feelings about, since it wont be part of the story. My concern is that the DLCs may become a focus for development rather than the main game, but I also understand the need to make money for all the effort.

I am looking forward to the future of this amazing game.

 

[Mommysbuttslut]

I mean why be forced into a character story if that character doesn't appeal to you.

Because the dev dedicated time to it. Just saying, the more LIs are unavoidable the better the harem game is to me, worst thing a dev can do imo is dedicate too much time to allowing players to avoid characters. Cuts them off at the knees. Makes it harder to do multi girl events and stories. Instead of a harem of say 8 girls you end up with 8 individual romances that don't intersect as much as a harem should. Can't do a full harem family bonding event when you're letting people pick and choose who's in the harem. All of a sudden the dev needs to either drop the event, render 50 different versions of it, or include girls that the player is trying to avoid to account for the player's LI choices.

Obviously this is already going ahead so no point in really debating it but I don't think making girls avoidable makes the game better in any way. The most terminally online of the harem fans just need to quit being so picky all the time coming up with 101 reasons why they're too good for every other girl. Heck, I'd bet most of these chronic avoiders wouldn't even dislike their avoided LIs if they went on their path and actually gave them a chance for development.

 

[Harkonnan]

Because the dev dedicated time to it. Just saying, the more LIs are unavoidable the better the harem game is to me, worst thing a dev can do imo is dedicate too much time to allowing players to avoid characters. Cuts them off at the knees. Makes it harder to do multi girl events and stories. Instead of a harem of say 8 girls you end up with 8 individual romances that don't intersect as much as a harem should. Can't do a full harem family bonding event when you're letting people pick and choose who's in the harem. All of a sudden the dev needs to either drop the event, render 50 different versions of it, or include girls that the player is trying to avoid to account for the player's LI choices.

Obviously this is already going ahead so no point in really debating it but I don't think making girls avoidable makes the game better in any way. The most terminally online of the harem fans just need to quit being so picky all the time coming up with 101 reasons why they're too good for every other girl. Heck, I'd bet most of these chronic avoiders wouldn't even dislike their avoided LIs if they went on their path and actually gave them a chance for development.

Well, I guess if you want to always have every girl then I guess maybe branching paths isn't for you. I like to have a choice. As an example I'm not into older women so if they are possible LI's in a VN I like to have the option to avoid them or in another case say your playing a VN with at trap character and you are not into that wouldn't you want to avoid it? There is also the reverse. Maybe that trap character is your kink so you want that as an option, but not the "normal" characters. Setting up branching character stories gives the player the ability to customize the game to their liking. Also at any time the creator can put in events that tie multiple characters together in an event. Ultimately all this does is make more work for the creator while allowing his VN to appeal to a larger audience. If you want every girl then go get every girl.

But if you really don't want choices then you should be looking into kinetic novels since they are linear with no choices. There are many of them out there.

 

[VictorSeven]

i had really high hopes for this game, since so far it was quite good, but all those talks about some sandbox bullshit, separated side stories, dlcs and unrelated branches... yeah no, good luck and all that, but fuck this, you literally can't get any worse than that

I've already explained it's not sandbox. You literally have two buttons: Main Story and Open the Book. No day and night cycles, no energy meter, no stats, no repeatable grind events, no inventory, no map screens with locations... no sandbox. 2 buttons.

And these DLC characters? A lot of them are extras I thought up cool designs for who really have no place in the main game. Some are writing exercises that turned into cool stories. If you don't want extra content past what was originally gonna be in the game...

THEN DON'T BUY IT.

Problem solved.

Because the dev dedicated time to it. Just saying, the more LIs are unavoidable the better the harem game is to me, worst thing a dev can do imo is dedicate too much time to allowing players to avoid characters. Cuts them off at the knees. Makes it harder to do multi girl events and stories. Instead of a harem of say 8 girls you end up with 8 individual romances that don't intersect as much as a harem should. Can't do a full harem family bonding event when you're letting people pick and choose who's in the harem. All of a sudden the dev needs to either drop the event, render 50 different versions of it, or include girls that the player is trying to avoid to account for the player's LI choices.

Obviously this is already going ahead so no point in really debating it but I don't think making girls avoidable makes the game better in any way. The most terminally online of the harem fans just need to quit being so picky all the time coming up with 101 reasons why they're too good for every other girl. Heck, I'd bet most of these chronic avoiders wouldn't even dislike their avoided LIs if they went on their path and actually gave them a chance for development.

I absolutely understand your sentiment, and I much prefer to write in a linear fashion. But I shit you not, the majority of the feedback that I get is quite literally about the ability to have choices and "if I have to interact with this girl, I'm not playing the game." I echo your sentiment that people should at least TRY the storyline and see if they really detest it that much. But we live in an age with fairly narrow comfort zones. Cecilia and the Harpy Girl are the two most polarizing examples, and Ms. Clements is by far the least popular and least attractive character by miles, according to my data. And I have a LOT of data. I wanted to lean toward letting people craft the experience they want, as I've gotten a lot of negative feedback regarding being forced to interact with characters they don't like. And unfortunately, a full group harem situation ends up being the sacrifice. I don't know if I could do that type of story justice, though, so perhaps it's for the better. I'd prefer not to write something over writing it badly.

In any case, I'm gonna keep going with this version of Season 2, and at the end, I plan on asking everyone which format they liked better, the linear style of Season 1 or the more freeform style of Season 2. I plan to do Season 3 based on that answer. Again, really thankful for everyone's patience, and if people decide not to play Season 2 because I'm trying to find a better format for the game, so be it. I'm still learning and it's all still very experimental. Lot of shit could change.

 

[VictorSeven]

It just occurred to me that a happy medium might be the answer for this situation. Been stewing on it and stewing on it and... what I may just end up doing is putting out a demo like I did with Season 1 with the new mechanic. And if the new mechanic is not received well, it would be easy to go back to the more linear style of Season 1 with all of the girls who are involved in the main story, and reserve that mechanic just for the DLC/Secret characters that don't really fit into the main story. That way the option is there for those who want it, and the game doesn't change TOO drastically.

 

[VictorSeven]

[PROGRESS REPORT] The Developer's New Groove

Lemme just say it. I have 5 more scenes to shoot before Season 2 Episode 1 is done, content-wise.

"Whoa, where the hell did that come from? I thought this series was dead! There hasn't been an update since November! I want Nook back!"

Relax, relax. I admit, I got stuck. And I didn't realize what was happening. SEVERE burnout from piling way too many projects on myself. I ended up taking 2 weeks off of one of my work sites, which meant I only had to work my job on Fridays and Saturdays. And it was WONDERFUL. I realized that I was just going and going and going and... I dunno how many of you engage in self-pleasure, but you know how you gotta let yourself recharge in between sessions? Yeah, I wasn't letting my brain do that. I was not resting. So my creativity balls were just completely drained. And I was just a-beatin' and a-beatin' hoping something more would come out.

That's a really fucked up analogy and I hope you're laughing as hard as I am that I actually typed that shit.

But anyways, I had to teach myself how to rest. And it made a huge difference. Another big thing was dealing with my cousin's suicide over this past year, the one who I was spending all that time with and trying to help get back on his feet. My idol. My role model. Shook me to the core to find out how much he had been hiding, how this man I wanted to be like all my life had been deceiving me. He was there when my mom died, when I was 6, choosing to help my dad care for my sister and me instead of going to school. So him going out the same way as his dad did, my uncle, rocked me, and it rocked me HARD. It's taken this long just to come to terms with it. But I'm definitely on the upswing. Seeing a therapist, learning self care, etc. And with all of that, I find my passion for WCA coming back. I appreciate everyone's patience. I must seem like the world's unluckiest dev by now, huh? lol. But I'm not here for the sympathy or the pity. I want to make a game, dammit.

One of the biggest hurdles I had to face as far as the game itself was how to ORGANIZE everything for this new format. And I finally decided each girl would get her own separate folder. In the release notes, I'll detail which girls get new scenes every time I update the game like this:
​

Season 2 Episode 1

• New Main Story Episode PLUS​
• New Galka scene​
• New Wither scene​
• New Harpy scene​
• New Rukah scene​
• New Mouse scene​
• 5 New Characters introduced​
• 1 Unlockable Secret Character​
• New text conversations​

THE PLAN is to have Season 2 Episodes 1 and 2 done by June, and WCA Season 2's Demo to be released on or before WCA's second birthday. That's right, this series is almost 2 years old! And it seems I now have a little bit of help with the brainstorming and writing, so I'm hoping burnout and writer's block don't hit me so hard this time around. I may have to take some rest breaks for a couple of weeks here and there, but I'm thinking that's gonna make for more consistent content over all. I think pushing myself too hard was actually LESS productive, so I'mma try this new, more relaxed approach to the game.

Oh, right. Previews. You probably want those.










Oh, and of course, what you've all been asking for...


Okay, alright, that's it. That's all you get for now. See you in the next update post!

-Vic
​

 

[Moonis]

Nice to hear from you. Keep yourself happy with the project and avoid burnout. Laziness is sometimes virtue. But only sometimes. Every time when I look at the mirror I see this guy who has made laziness his life mission. I don't think that's the best way if you want to achieve something in your life .

When I saw there was message from you I was afraid that you had already published next update and thought "Nooo, too many good games already recently (Playing Now & Then from the start, gotta play Ripples from the start again, updates to Pale Carnations, The Fiery Scion, Lust Academy, Proud Father and Moment of Bliss)". So yeah, I'm glad to wait bit more .


Goblin girls after getting to play with MC's cock for the first time.
Goblin girl 1: I'm still speechless, it was so beautiful.
Goblin girl 2: How can it fit in me? Is it even possible? It's going to stretch my tiny goblin pussy so much.
Goblin girl 3: I'm mad to myself for not going after human dicks before.

 

[locomotor79]

from what i can see on the screenshot whit the 3 goblin lady's is that 2 off them are twins iff i am not mistaken and 1 is extreemly shy and the other is compleetly oppesite its the lady's whit the same tops
and the girl behind the piano is also kinda hot
and its now 6out off the 9 goblin picture all the goblinladys on the right side are now in the story gonna wait for him to add the red head goblin lady in medium armor and the 2 dervish looking goblins
and i hope the harpy whill be a bit more friendly this time
and i am glad Nook[ie] is finnaly back appearently she is more or less every 1's favorite lol

and what i mean whit dervish looking it has to do whit there skin those 2 are for goblins looks more exotic and i also mean whit dervish from the desert region

 

[Heavenlet]

[PROGRESS REPORT] The Developer's New Groove

Lemme just say it. I have 5 more scenes to shoot before Season 2 Episode 1 is done, content-wise.

"Whoa, where the hell did that come from? I thought this series was dead! There hasn't been an update since November! I want Nook back!"

Relax, relax. I admit, I got stuck. And I didn't realize what was happening. SEVERE burnout from piling way too many projects on myself. I ended up taking 2 weeks off of one of my work sites, which meant I only had to work my job on Fridays and Saturdays. And it was WONDERFUL. I realized that I was just going and going and going and... I dunno how many of you engage in self-pleasure, but you know how you gotta let yourself recharge in between sessions? Yeah, I wasn't letting my brain do that. I was not resting. So my creativity balls were just completely drained. And I was just a-beatin' and a-beatin' hoping something more would come out.

That's a really fucked up analogy and I hope you're laughing as hard as I am that I actually typed that shit.

But anyways, I had to teach myself how to rest. And it made a huge difference. Another big thing was dealing with my cousin's suicide over this past year, the one who I was spending all that time with and trying to help get back on his feet. My idol. My role model. Shook me to the core to find out how much he had been hiding, how this man I wanted to be like all my life had been deceiving me. He was there when my mom died, when I was 6, choosing to help my dad care for my sister and me instead of going to school. So him going out the same way as his dad did, my uncle, rocked me, and it rocked me HARD. It's taken this long just to come to terms with it. But I'm definitely on the upswing. Seeing a therapist, learning self care, etc. And with all of that, I find my passion for WCA coming back. I appreciate everyone's patience. I must seem like the world's unluckiest dev by now, huh? lol. But I'm not here for the sympathy or the pity. I want to make a game, dammit.

One of the biggest hurdles I had to face as far as the game itself was how to ORGANIZE everything for this new format. And I finally decided each girl would get her own separate folder. In the release notes, I'll detail which girls get new scenes every time I update the game like this:
​

Season 2 Episode 1

• New Main Story Episode PLUS​
• New Galka scene​
• New Wither scene​
• New Harpy scene​
• New Rukah scene​
• New Mouse scene​
• 5 New Characters introduced​
• 1 Unlockable Secret Character​
• New text conversations​

THE PLAN is to have Season 2 Episodes 1 and 2 done by June, and WCA Season 2's Demo to be released on or before WCA's second birthday. That's right, this series is almost 2 years old! And it seems I now have a little bit of help with the brainstorming and writing, so I'm hoping burnout and writer's block don't hit me so hard this time around. I may have to take some rest breaks for a couple of weeks here and there, but I'm thinking that's gonna make for more consistent content over all. I think pushing myself too hard was actually LESS productive, so I'mma try this new, more relaxed approach to the game.

Oh, right. Previews. You probably want those.
View attachment 2526665

View attachment 2526661

View attachment 2526666

View attachment 2526667
View attachment 2526668
View attachment 2526669

Oh, and of course, what you've all been asking for...
View attachment 2526670

Okay, alright, that's it. That's all you get for now. See you in the next update post!

-Vic
​

New Wither scene? LET'S GOOOOOO