- Oct 19, 2022
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No just made avoidable, in the first iteration you get harpy'd no matter what, now you gotta go poking your nose into stuff.
Ren'Py World's Crossing Academy [v1.3.5.1] [TeamEmberWings]
Morning everyone. I have Question. I stopped "playing" shortly before the end of the Season 1. Now I finished an unmodded fresh run with 1.2.2.2 but I am unable to give Esthel the Bracelet from Chiara. What is going on? Has this been removed? Is it broken? Will it come later in Season 2? Some Post said that Esthel has been downgraded (for IMHO stupid reasons) and therefore is not a Main LI anymore but I neither had the option to give it to her during the Sandbox / Free Roam part nor had I any option during the Scene in the Nursery like when the MC was giving the Bracelet to her before the first rewrite of Season 1.
Does anyone know what the truth is? There are too many misleading information in this Topic - even from the Dev itself with the constant "I will rewrite it again and again and again". This AVN has become a real Mess IMO. Thanks!
P.S.: As I am not into Lactation Content - not even with Kanako: Will this be optional or forced?
Does anyone know what the truth is? There are too many misleading information in this Topic - even from the Dev itself with the constant "I will rewrite it again and again and again". This AVN has become a real Mess IMO. Thanks!
P.S.: As I am not into Lactation Content - not even with Kanako: Will this be optional or forced?
- Oct 14, 2019
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Alright, lemme answer this point by point.
- The decision of who to say the bracelet is from is being moved to Eshtel's Side Story, which will be accessible in Season 2 Free Time segments when we get around to writing it.
- Eshtel will be a fully romanceable LI and has not been downgraded in any way. I fixed a writing mistake I'd made with her in the first iteration of Season 1, which initially forced the player to wingman for Chiara and, as the complaints put it, "give her away." I realized this was one of the mistakes with writing WCA as a novel instead of a Visual Novel, and worked to correct it to give people access to Eshtel the way they wanted.
- Nearly all sexual content is being relegated to each girl's side story. Some brief things may be shown that have story importance (Kanako's lactation is the vehicle by which we show
So all sexual interactions from Season 2 forward should be opt-in, and if you never select that girl, you should never experience her content. Some scenes are important to the main story and have a purpose, and in those, I intend to keep the sexual content light at most.You don't have permission to view the spoiler content. Log in or register now.
I thought I scrubbed all of the renders that showed the bracelet. I guess I missed some. I'll have to go back and look for them.
Thanks for answering my Questions! Well, when it comes to Eshtel and Chiara, to me it was always clear, based on what Eshtel said in the Original Version, that Chiara comes first and the MC later. The whole moving Characters into Freeroam always feels to me they are being downgraded or whatever Term People prefer to use. This is true for AVNs in general - not just yours. Maybe I just had too many negative Experiences with other AVNs. It also obviously has been quite a while since the Original Version was published. Anyway, keep up the otherwise good work!
Perhaps better to see them as 'optional' in this one?
Personally I am looking at it as a more fine-grained alternative to screens with "which kink would you like to see or avoid?" settings in other VN.
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So my explanation for this is simply lack of experience. I've been writing for 24 years at this point. So safe to say, I'm fairly confident about my skill and style. What I didn't realize when I began this project a few years ago is that novels and visual novels are written in very different ways. The original way I wrote Eshtel's story was, simply, a writing mistake. Would have been fine in a novel. Not so in a vn/dating sim style story. And since all of the character side stories become available in Season 2, it made more sense to have the critical decision made there because that way, I could keep all the code in Eshtel's quest file instead of burying it in the main story and making it hard for myself to find.Thanks for answering my Questions! Well, when it comes to Eshtel and Chiara, to me it was always clear, based on what Eshtel said in the Original Version, that Chiara comes first and the MC later. The whole moving Characters into Freeroam always feels to me they are being downgraded or whatever Term People prefer to use. This is true for AVNs in general - not just yours. Maybe I just had too many negative Experiences with other AVNs. It also obviously has been quite a while since the Original Version was published. Anyway, keep up the otherwise good work!
A similar situation is River. I was unable to do the same for her, simply because of the weight of the scene demanding resolution right then and there. I suppose one could argue the same about when Chiara gives you the bracelet, but in my opinion, that scene wasn't nearly as intense as River's book scene, and I didn't feel like it demanded resolution in the same way and felt comfortable relegating it to the Side Story file.
This right here is the intention behind the Free Time system. I was originally writing all the romance and sex scenes into the main story and weaving story bits into them the way I would in a novel. I figured it's a harem story, I can just put the scenes in and everyone will enjoy it.
This was not true.
People came in here screaming about how they don't like being forced to interact with (insert character), how if the lesbian content is forced on them they'll drop the game because ew, etc, etc.
So I thought, "Hmm... Okay, we'll make all the sex scenes skippable." That was not enough. Skippable was not the same as the scenes not happening in the story, and some people COULD NOT STAND knowing that a couple of the girls been nyammin' pum pum. Safe to say a learned a lot about the AVN community and what I'm now calling best practices and I ended up with the idea for the Season 1 Rework, which would alleviate a lot of the common complaints and things that turned new players off, such as too much Cecilia in the beginning and the heavy man hating atmosphere the story started with.
And I'm happy to say I have not heard a single peep about the negativity turning anyone off since the rework hit. It seems, by and large, that this is a superior version of the story in every way.
Anyways, done rambling lol. I don't mean it as a downgrade; it's more relocating it to a spot in the story where it makes more sense.
- Oct 19, 2022
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I'd play it as a kinetic novel if you ever get tired of having to code in all the "options"
- Nov 21, 2017
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I've only semi-recently had the pleasure of finding WCA and reading it in its current iteration.
Since I don't have a comparison to the previous version, I can't comment on that directly. What I can tell you is that this version is fantastic. Your writing is superb, the characters are great, and the visuals are a delight.
Both words and images evoke emotion, and I eagerly anticipate the next chapters.
Thank you
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That was the original plan, but lots of people wanted more "Game" in their story, so I came up with the Free Time system. Most of the choices will involve whether you want access to a character's romance route or not.
I may take the Kinetic Novel approach if I ever convert The Riftkey Chronicles into a visual novel.
Very kind words, thank you. When you get the chance, you should stop into the Discord and listen to the voicemails from Nook and Galka
Also, in regards to Willy... what if I told you you'll be able to do it yourself?
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Oh, don't worry, I'm already on your Discord. I've heard the messages and seen the previewsVery kind words, thank you. When you get the chance, you should stop into the Discord and listen to the voicemails from Nook and Galka
Also, in regards to Willy... what if I told you you'll be able to do it yourself?
As someone who does part-time work in voiceover, have to say the voicemails are very well done.
Just another reason I'm looking forward to what's coming next
HEAVY SPOILERS AHEAD THIS IS A RESPONSE FOR THE DEV WITH CRITIQUES (Don't read if you care for story)
Kinda meta when you have a line in the game talking about a vocal minority ruining it for everyone. Who cares if you have interaction with a specific character or content. It is your story and world; not every story is for everyone Your season 1 was by far greater than season 2. The Freetime system feels like a gutted story, where before characters felt like they had a connection that provided puzzle pieces to the overall story with some romance here and there. There are tags for a reason if people do not like lesbian content they can go find a different story or skim over it.
Though the worlds man hating is quite heavy handed, each character has a reason because of some sort of trauma or interaction that the mc is overcoming making it a good plot point. It's not like the characters are not doing for no reason, there are some places where you seem to have retconned the headmistress spreading unnecessary bigotry's though such as the MC hearing people say "But Mrs. Clements said not to talk to men." or Gillies purpose for introducing you to the other girls to reduce the stigma. Ember and her team have doubts but could have been confirmed by one of the Girls.
Now onto some actual Critiques:
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The Character poll shows at the start should have had a save state before them at the end of that patch and removed after the next patch they break immersion and until later was confusing why they were there until I realised they were non cannon community stuff. The Episode 1... and Season.... splash pages makes the story feel small and honestly do not need to be in the game. Seasons are usually for commercial purposes for selling the game in parts on places like steam. This is more jarring and immersive breaking critiques that just pull you out of the story or make it feel short/rushed.
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Regarding Season 2...
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These are all valid critiques for a seasoned dev, but do remember that when I was writing Season 1, I was brand new to VNs and Ren'py in general. I didn't know how to do more than just change the scene, display dialogue, put music in, and make a simple menu. I think a lot of people forget that, even though we're three years in, this is still my first visual novel. The next project Team EmberWings does will make use of all the things I've learned along the journey of this particular project.
When doing the Season 1 Rework, I realized there were a lot of things that would require new renders if edited too much, and that was what I was trying to avoid since the lighting has improved so much since then, and blending new renders with old in the same scene would be jarring. And I currently do not have time to go back and reshoot everything from Season 1, so that option was out. Instead, I focused on edits that wouldn't require too much work on the renders.
The comment about the goblin kiss has me concerned though... do you remember which chapter I mentioned that in, after the choice? I could have sword I eliminated all references to it or put a variable in, but apparently I did not. I'd like to fix that if you can tell me where it is.
All in all, thank you for the VERY in-depth feedback. Unfortunately, it wasn't so much a vocal minority, it was the seeding of negativity I was worried about. Without listening to the community, this forum would have become a cesspit of people dogpiling and hating on the game, because one person being negative sparked others to come in and be negative, and it had this snowball effect that quickly took over the entire forum. I've had to mitigate that several times to get this forum back to how it should be: a place to enjoy and discuss WCA, and to share opinions and feedback. Allowing people to just come in and shit all over the game was very damaging to me emotionally and would have eventually caused me to drop the game. I love my work. I am attached to it. So making the edits was a necessary thing for me. Since then, I have not heard any of the common complaints I used to hear.
Regarding the man hating atmosphere you mentioned, that was exactly the problem. There weren't enough people like me who were willing to look past being slighted and really dig into characters like Chiara and Ms. Clements to find out what was making them that way. They just got treated poorly one time and decided they hated these characters without bothering to want to figure out where these behaviors come from. And there were a LOT of these people. So I felt that I could remedy this by taking out the long martial arts scene in the prologue and replacing it with a text from Gillie (since I know how to do that now) that gives the player some direction and a sort of goal to work towards. That one change, I feel, has impacted the experience more than any other.
Anyways, thanks for stopping in, and hope you enjoy Season 2 Episode 3 when it comes out
- Oct 19, 2022
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These forums are rife with textbook fragility, it's so frustrating.
I get you yeah communities can be rough, and I can see where you were talking about lighting noticed early on it had the ugly fractaling on the face and chest polygons making it look like dirt creases or deep veins but to be fair Eternum had the same issue in its start.These are all valid critiques for a seasoned dev, but do remember that when I was writing Season 1, I was brand new to VNs and Ren'py in general. I didn't know how to do more than just change the scene, display dialogue, put music in, and make a simple menu. I think a lot of people forget that, even though we're three years in, this is still my first visual novel. The next project Team EmberWings does will make use of all the things I've learned along the journey of this particular project.
When doing the Season 1 Rework, I realized there were a lot of things that would require new renders if edited too much, and that was what I was trying to avoid since the lighting has improved so much since then, and blending new renders with old in the same scene would be jarring. And I currently do not have time to go back and reshoot everything from Season 1, so that option was out. Instead, I focused on edits that wouldn't require too much work on the renders.
The comment about the goblin kiss has me concerned though... do you remember which chapter I mentioned that in, after the choice? I could have sword I eliminated all references to it or put a variable in, but apparently I did not. I'd like to fix that if you can tell me where it is.
All in all, thank you for the VERY in-depth feedback. Unfortunately, it wasn't so much a vocal minority, it was the seeding of negativity I was worried about. Without listening to the community, this forum would have become a cesspit of people dogpiling and hating on the game, because one person being negative sparked others to come in and be negative, and it had this snowball effect that quickly took over the entire forum. I've had to mitigate that several times to get this forum back to how it should be: a place to enjoy and discuss WCA, and to share opinions and feedback. Allowing people to just come in and shit all over the game was very damaging to me emotionally and would have eventually caused me to drop the game. I love my work. I am attached to it. So making the edits was a necessary thing for me. Since then, I have not heard any of the common complaints I used to hear.
Regarding the man hating atmosphere you mentioned, that was exactly the problem. There weren't enough people like me who were willing to look past being slighted and really dig into characters like Chiara and Ms. Clements to find out what was making them that way. They just got treated poorly one time and decided they hated these characters without bothering to want to figure out where these behaviors come from. And there were a LOT of these people. So I felt that I could remedy this by taking out the long martial arts scene in the prologue and replacing it with a text from Gillie (since I know how to do that now) that gives the player some direction and a sort of goal to work towards. That one change, I feel, has impacted the experience more than any other.
Anyways, thanks for stopping in, and hope you enjoy Season 2 Episode 3 when it comes out
Not sure if Chiara needs a new intro she's one of my favorites after learning Jack was the problem, but its possible revealing that to the mc in the first interaction can be beneficial such as telling the mc I get enough harassments from jack I don't need another hitting on me when Gielle starts heading to the book stacks, its possible that because there is such a delay between the next interaction with her that the Audience has solidified their opinion of her as closed/cold/not worth it; it's also possible that some of the audience tuned her out once they found she was not necessarily an LI being lesbian.
Having Jack in Ms Clements office with the MC at first to show she is harsher on jack than the mc, may show his time in the school was having an impact even before Guilles just not as dramatic; this would provide as a comparative character before the MC discovers the records could also soften the view on her. I can see where some may come as off-putting when in one breath She gives the MC cold stares or remarks and the MC at the same time is ogling her, it may be a better option having the mc find her more attractive after she softens later.
if your talking about the Cecillia martial arts scene, then possibly yeah. Her reveal was kinda soon so it broke the mystery and would leave more of a twist later on coming forward about her to Ember. There's also a lot of reveal all at once that you would not expect from someone with trauma and perhaps revealing a little at a time to Ember as they grow in trust for Season 1 so Audience learns with Ember. Where hiding the attacker and the split personality discussion from the audience at first where we only see Guile on the ground or knife go into her from a hidden angle could put more mystery is it Willy, Cecillia, or the third party after Mrs Clements
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Just some rework Ideas that may or may not help but overall I do enjoy your story and will let you know in the future when I see your new stuff.
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Understandable on occasion. Like some of these devs really invest themselves in this stuff, so I can see how it can feel like a personal attack. F95 is also full of people who are ever so slightly lacking in the manner department, so that prolly doesn't help.
You're not wrong though.
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These are some pretty good suggestions. I may jot these down if ever I do a rework that involves reshooting the renders.
And no, not the Cecilia martial arts scene. In the prologue, there used to be a scene where Aurum went to the basement room and practiced 2nd Dan Form Keumgang while having an internal monologue. A lot of people thought that scene was intensely boring, so I cut that out and replaced it with a text conversation with Gillie.
There also used to be a really creepy scene with Cecilia in the very beginning where
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I'm definitely gonna keep your ideas in mind, though, as there are bits in here that make a lot of sense. And I dunno, I disagree about your point on Gillie's secret as I believe it ties more things together and makes the story more interesting with this interwoven web of intrigue. But that's just me.
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I'm not calling the devs fragile, but the users, who rather than seeing something they dislike and moving on with their lives, feel the need to try and tear it and its dev down.
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Between Death Strike and Victor there has been quite a lot in the last few posts.
Rather than a long response, since the two covered each other's points well with your back and forth, I just have a couple things.
Vic, I didn't know that early kata scene had been removed. Sorry to hear you had to deal with people whining about it. Personally I really liked that scene; reminded me of practicing forms when I was younger.
Initially, when learning the moves in any kata, I would imagine it being used to fend off attackers. Then after having that scene in my head, it became a time for introspection because of the calming effect that came with practicing. For those who are unfamiliar, it's a bit like combining meditation with dancing or shadow boxing. Can be good exercise, a chance to clear your mind, and for focus.
Storywise it gave us an idea of how Aurum spends his downtime, along with exposition for backstory and the MC's situation. I actually thought it fit well, and didn't find it boring in the slightest.
In any case, especially considering that this is your first project, it's easy to see that the writing was already your strength, and that the graphic side has made a noticeable improvement in a relatively short time.
Very much looking forward to the next episode, and seeing what unfolds in the story ahead.
Rather than a long response, since the two covered each other's points well with your back and forth, I just have a couple things.
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Vic, I didn't know that early kata scene had been removed. Sorry to hear you had to deal with people whining about it. Personally I really liked that scene; reminded me of practicing forms when I was younger.
Initially, when learning the moves in any kata, I would imagine it being used to fend off attackers. Then after having that scene in my head, it became a time for introspection because of the calming effect that came with practicing. For those who are unfamiliar, it's a bit like combining meditation with dancing or shadow boxing. Can be good exercise, a chance to clear your mind, and for focus.
Storywise it gave us an idea of how Aurum spends his downtime, along with exposition for backstory and the MC's situation. I actually thought it fit well, and didn't find it boring in the slightest.
In any case, especially considering that this is your first project, it's easy to see that the writing was already your strength, and that the graphic side has made a noticeable improvement in a relatively short time.
Very much looking forward to the next episode, and seeing what unfolds in the story ahead.