Ren'Py World's Crossing Academy [v1.4.0.3] [TeamEmberWings]

[VictorSeven]

I actually like the game but the dev should really remove the disclaimer at the beginning because it makes them come off as insufferable. It's one thing to talk condescendingly to people you haven't actually earned any goodwill from yet, it's another to do so in such an insincere way.

''If you can't deal with characters being snarky'' is such an insult to those that might want to know that this game has themes and graphic portrayal of attempted suicide and a stalker that's tried to murder you. You will have to play nice with the psycho or be killed by her yourself.

It seems you were too busy protecting your ego with the disclaimer you forgot to make it serve its purpose to the reader. Get over the urge to control how people feel about your game and just make it!

The reason the disclaimer is there is because I'd get people in this very forum here and there complaining that the MC is not some perfect blank slate self-insert who has chicks falling all over him just for existing. So many people got angry because of characters like Ms. Clements or Chiara being part of the story, but the story is about looking beyond the defenses people present you with and figuring out what made them that way, not knee-jerk reacting and firing back at everyone who says anything even slightly rude. The disclaimer is there to weed out the people who are looking for that type of MC. Aurum is written to be a character that has to overcome his own flaws and bad habits, and a lot of people aren't used to that. I dunno how that comes off as "insincere," but I'm attempting to outline the things that may make people not want to play the game so they can make their decision right then and there instead of playing it, getting mad, and coming in here raging at me for it lol. This work means a lot to me, and people coming in here and trashing what I'm just trying to make for people to enjoy just takes the wind out of me and completely destroys any joy for creation I might have for this project. The disclaimer is my best attempt to mitigate that.

When I started this, I committed to being a very communicative, social, community feedback driven dev. I never wanted to be the silent dev that never interacts with the people who play the game. Discussing WCA, including the great stuff and the not so great stuff, has helped me make changes that make the game smoother to play and a better experience for everyone. Great example is the Trials in Season 2 Episode 4 that just dropped. I'm getting a lot of useful feedback, and most of it is that the Trials are not fun, so I'm sort of brainstorming a Cinematic Mode or maybe even just a Walkthrough switch that highlights the correct options so people don't have to be frustrated.

But I have no mental armor against people coming here and just savagely trashing what I've poured my heart into, so the disclaimer is my attempt to let people decide not to play the game if the story or MC isn't what they're looking for. I could just completely drop off the forums and never pay attention to this place, but I really don't wanna do that, because the constructive feedback is extremely useful and helps make WCA better. The forums have mostly been amazing, both for people expressing their love for the game and expressing what they feel could make it better, like yourself. But every once in a while, someone pops up with a needlessly caustic barrage of what feels like hatred and that completely assassinates my motivation. I admit I'm far too sensitive for my own good when it comes to things I've poured my heart into over a span of years, but that's not something I know how to change, so this was the next best thing.

All that being said, you definitely have a point. I have been feeling for a while that the disclaimer is way too goddamn long, and I've been thinking about going back to shore it up into a few sentences rather than a wall of text. I'll put it on my list for this next update and see how much I can trim it down. Appreciate your input.

 

[LinkBox88]

I dunno how that comes off as "insincere,"

Probably not the right word to use. I'm very sensitive myself so I understand your struggle. Sorry if I got defensive.

For my own peace of mind, I'm very careful with engaging with works that touch on themes of suicide, even in a casual way. I understand that others aren't as triggered or bothered by it. Some devs provide content warnings regarding these themes and others don't. I appreciate the warnings when I get them but I don't expect people to be on guard for my weaknesses.

That being said, I suppose I was a little triggered by your disclaimer since it provided a content warning for something I consider unnecessary (personality-type of the characters/type of character dynamic) as though that was the aspect of the content that was the most troubling or needed the most warning. I guess that's what I meant about it being insincere or insulting. A warning about balmy weather when there are ravenous bears in the surroundings. I guess I resented reading through a long disclaimer only to end up face to face with the thing I would have liked the disclaimer to have been about.

 

[VictorSeven]

Probably not the right word to use. I'm very sensitive myself so I understand your struggle. Sorry if I got defensive.

For my own peace of mind, I'm very careful with engaging with works that touch on themes of suicide, even in a casual way. I understand that others aren't as triggered or bothered by it. Some devs provide content warnings regarding these themes and others don't. I appreciate the warnings when I get them but I don't expect people to be on guard for my weaknesses.

That being said, I suppose I was a little triggered by your disclaimer since it provided a content warning for something I consider unnecessary (personality-type of the characters/type of character dynamic) as though that was the aspect of the content that was the most troubling or needed the most warning. I guess that's what I meant about it being insincere or insulting. A warning about balmy weather when there are ravenous bears in the surroundings. I guess I resented reading through a long disclaimer only to end up face to face with the thing I would have liked the disclaimer to have been about.

I see your point. Every disclaimer I've included, though, was the result of typically many people raging about something. You would not believe the hate I got for having Cecilia, River, and the Harpy as Core characters. They were all three so polarizing that I had to make them Secret characters whose content you have to opt into. Some people discovered these characters and dropped the game simply because these characters existed, it was that bad. So I put disclaimers and warnings about every single thing that was raged about to warn people ahead of time. We all have different triggers, and what one person considers unnecessary could be what another considers mandatory. I've done all I can to try to provide warnings where people have asked for them, especially because some people were so angry that they'd gotten so invested in a game just to be met with a character or theme they absolutely could not put up with.

But I'm sitting here looking at the code, thinking, "Christ, this is a novel. I gotta trim this down."

Spoiler: Slightly Off-Topic: Where Some Sensitive Topics Come From

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I know I can't please everyone, but I try to get as close as I can without compromising the integrity and identity of the game. I'd make the warnings a toggle option, but I'm not very good with coding lol. I'm still trying to puzzle out how I can introduce a walkthrough option for the Trials in S2E4 that will make the system change the text color of the right answers after you've failed once on the first two Trials and at the beginning of the third Trial. I appreciate your patience. Every day is a step in the journey, and I'm constantly learning, so I'm hoping input from people like you will help me continue to make WCA and future games better

 

[Gafurint2]

Its probably a small thing considering, but did anyone else think that the last update had gone very dark? Not in theme, as in 'turn the brightness up to the max or you wont see half of it'. I know its thematically 'a dark place' I guess, but it made it pretty tough to see a lot of the trials part before the courtroom. Might just be me though I suppose

 

[vilewe7570]

Its probably a small thing considering, but did anyone else think that the last update had gone very dark? Not in theme, as in 'turn the brightness up to the max or you wont see half of it'. I know its thematically 'a dark place' I guess, but it made it pretty tough to see a lot of the trials part before the courtroom. Might just be me though I suppose

Yep, forcing people to do evil deeds to appease the evil god will do that to some Really though just balancing the morality choices instead of forcing only the dark ones through a time loop would have made things more palatable especially for the heroic types.

 

[xgodjihyo]

where to get dlcs? and how to use it in android?

 

[Gafurint2]

Yep, forcing people to do evil deeds to appease the evil god will do that to some Really though just balancing the morality choices instead of forcing only the dark ones through a time loop would have made things more palatable especially for the heroic types.

Hehe, while I dont disagree, I was being more literal - I had real issues seeing what was going on on the screen with the brightness levels

 

[VictorSeven]

where to get dlcs? and how to use it in android?

There's only one DLC available to the public right now, and it's the H-gallery add-on.
You can find it on my Itch profile (

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) and the Android instructions are included when you purchase it

 

[tmu500]

There's only one DLC available to the public right now, and it's the H-gallery add-on.
You can find it on my Itch profile (

You must be registered to see the links

) and the Android instructions are included when you purchase it

Thanks for the post! Just out of curiosity, will the DLC(s) be available to the public for free in the far future, just like your game? Very enjoyable game—keep up the great work!

 

[VictorSeven]

Thanks for the post! Just out of curiosity, will the DLC(s) be available to the public for free in the far future, just like your game? Very enjoyable game—keep up the great work!

Not free by default, but I do plan to do plenty of giveaways to give people who can't support financially some shots at getting some of their favorite characters for free. We've already done one for the Fantasies Collection. Having paid products gives us the ability to do sales on Itch, some of which may also be 100% off, to help increase the visibility of WCA. Can't do that with free or Pay What You Want products sadly.

 

[shitass1001]

Yep, forcing people to do evil deeds to appease the evil god will do that to some Really though just balancing the morality choices instead of forcing only the dark ones through a time loop would have made things more palatable especially for the heroic types.

Most of the recent update was all in MCs head, its not an evil deed because said "deeds" never even happened.
I wanted to save kid Ashley too, but I quickly understood the point of the section and just played along. I feel like your criticism here, if implemented, would entirely go against the point of this section.

 

[vilewe7570]

I wanted to save kid Ashley too, but...

It's like Willy Wonka's

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, somewhere along the line it sounded like a good idea but it's rather out of place and takes away from the good vibes this game has going for it. Did this trial empower Aurum to overcome his fears and save the day or emasculate him as he cowers in the corner watching his friend die? If the point wasn't to have fun playing it then it might not have been that good of a point to begin with.

Spoiler: Aurum being a chump even in his own head

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[shitass1001]

Did this trial empower Aurum to overcome his fears and save the day

Are we reading the same VN? Genuinely.

When has empowering Aurum to "save the day" ever been a theme in this? If anything, the opposite has been more prominent, telling Aurum that if he keeps trying to save the day all the time he's gonna get hurt.

takes away from the good vibes this game has going for it.

This game has lots of good vibes, but there are also TONS of scenes that aren't like that: Aurum has a panic attack, Ember talks about a traumatic experience while in the police force, the torture that Ashley was putting Cecilia through, Nook aging drastically after using a type of magic, Aurum almost dying, Aurum actually dying, Gillie almost dying, basically every scene with Galka being therapy, Druthari's backstory, the list goes on.
Why is this update the straw that broke the camels back?

If the point wasn't to have fun playing it then it might not have been that good of a point to begin with.

Imagine not being able to interface with a story because it can be sad

 

[TigerWolfe]

Imagine not being able to interface with a story because it can be sad

Honestly I do kinda sympathize with this, although my definition of sad is probably different than theirs. But with *waves at America* going on... I don't have a lot of spoons for my leisure activities to also put me in a sad/frustrated/angry mental space. I spend way too fucking much time there just living life as it is, atm.

 

[shitass1001]

Honestly I do kinda sympathize with this, although my definition of sad is probably different than theirs. But with *waves at America* going on... I don't have a lot of spoons for my leisure activities to also put me in a sad/frustrated/angry mental space. I spend way too fucking much time there just living life as it is, atm.

Dont get me wrong, I usually prefer happier wholesome stories more, but that mindset "If the point wasn't to have fun playing it then it might not have been that good of a point to begin with." is just silly.

I think I just need to take my own advice and put him on the ignore list I guess

 

[TigerWolfe]

Dont get me wrong, I usually prefer happier wholesome stories more, but that mindset "If the point wasn't to have fun playing it then it might not have been that good of a point to begin with." is just silly.

I think I just need to take my own advice and put him on the ignore list I guess

Oh one hundred percent, like I said I can just sympathize with that one point, although for me, there's not been anything in this that was so dark/sad/oppressive that I felt the need to step away.

 

[VictorSeven]

I understand both perspectives. We play games to feel good, not to feel bad. Especially AVNs. I suppose I slipped back in to Novel Mode with this episode, 'cause my philosophy is that adding shadow makes the light brighter by comparison when you reach it. The existence of the lower parts is what makes the higher parts feel so good. Good without bad to compare it to is just average. Need to remember that AVN players (mostly) tend to enjoy their stories on the lighter side on average as compared to those who read, say, fantasy novels.

Been a rough week for me, but I'm gonna be researching how to change text color on a conditional basis, so I have a ROUGH idea of how to give the player a walkthrough option after the first death in one of the Trials. I'm still not 100% sure I know how to do it, but I know that's a step I can take to smooth over some of the frustration with this latest episode. Gonna take some trial and error, but I'm sure I can get it working and get it out to you all. "When" is another question lol. I could be worrying over nothing and it could be super simple. We shall see.

 

[ninjahotsprings]

I understand both perspectives. We play games to feel good, not to feel bad. Especially AVNs. I suppose I slipped back in to Novel Mode with this episode, 'cause my philosophy is that adding shadow makes the light brighter by comparison when you reach it. The existence of the lower parts is what makes the higher parts feel so good. Good without bad to compare it to is just average. Need to remember that AVN players (mostly) tend to enjoy their stories on the lighter side on average as compared to those who read, say, fantasy novels.

Been a rough week for me, but I'm gonna be researching how to change text color on a conditional basis, so I have a ROUGH idea of how to give the player a walkthrough option after the first death in one of the Trials. I'm still not 100% sure I know how to do it, but I know that's a step I can take to smooth over some of the frustration with this latest episode. Gonna take some trial and error, but I'm sure I can get it working and get it out to you all. "When" is another question lol. I could be worrying over nothing and it could be super simple. We shall see.

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Look into this if you want fancier

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default walkthrough_trigger = False

init python:

    # Complex tags
    def tag_walkthrough(tag, arguments, contents):
        color = "#00FF00" # Green

        if walkthrough_trigger:
            return [
                (renpy.TEXT_TAG, u"color={}".format(color))
            ] + contents + [
                (renpy.TEXT_TAG, u"/color")
            ]
        else:
            return contents
            
    config.custom_text_tags["tag_walkthrough"] = tag_walkthrough

Ren'Py menu

"{tag_walkthrough}Save her!{/tag_walkthrough}":

Spoiler: False/True

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[VictorSeven]

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Look into this if you want fancier

You must be registered to see the links

default walkthrough_trigger = False

init python:

    # Complex tags
    def tag_walkthrough(tag, arguments, contents):
        color = "#00FF00" # Green

        if walkthrough_trigger:
            return [
                (renpy.TEXT_TAG, u"color={}".format(color))
            ] + contents + [
                (renpy.TEXT_TAG, u"/color")
            ]
        else:
            return contents
           
    config.custom_text_tags["tag_walkthrough"] = tag_walkthrough

Ren'Py menu

"{tag_walkthrough}Save her!{/tag_walkthrough}":

Spoiler: False/True

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YES! This is much better than how I was going to do it. Thank you!

 

[Akakarasu]

Gonna take some trial and error...

I see what you did there.