sierralee
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Once Ever After Beta Testing
🕑 Added 2019-03-01 22:39:47 +0000 UTCOkay, it's time! There are several parts to this post. First, I'll be providing a download link for Once Ever After:
PC: https://mega.nz/#!r88VCYpQ!vbKFcmrfPwPUxrq0rLSWCR61Th5rAkmemJUuIds-ffw
Mac: https://mega.nz/#!6s8F0CqY!y2tQ37MNLIySJTO-wNnjYc27Cy7JBEjQV9pLqurJJfU
NOTE: This is still version 0.1.0 and I'm undecided about creating a version 0.1.1. It would have many minor fixes, but more importantly would prevent a few sequence breaking chances. The disadvantage is that some of the combat tweaks I've made aren't fully tested. If you are considering playing the game for the first time, maybe let me know if you have a preference?
Issues to be aware of:
- At one point you will be told to go southeast. If you go north through a portal instead, you will skip a key part of the plot.
- In one city, you will find a sewer location. Pursuing this quest before the plot tells you to will skip part of the plot.
What You're Getting
This isn't the full game, but it is a significant chunk of gameplay comprising the majority of the core storyline. I hope that it will not be a buggy experience, but it will definitely be an incomplete one. There are be "insert graphic here" notes, "this sidequest isn't finished" notifications, and some pretty ugly UI at times. Also, most of the maps are horribly basic.
Having said that, the above is many more hours of RPG than a normal update! I feel confident in saying that you will need a bare minimum of five hours to finish all the content currently in the game. For most of that, you'll be getting 95% of the full experience, just with some placeholders.
In addition to the questions asked at the ending screen, I'm interested in people's feedback however they want to give it. I wouldn't mind comments as you go, otherwise it may be a long silence on my end. Definitely let me know ASAP if you run across any fatal bugs. And let me know how long your main game time is once you finish.
Project History
I've been working on this in the background for quite some time, slowly commissioning more scene art. Early in 2018 I focused on it and made a ton of progress, but chose to set it aside in order to focus on the next TLS update at the time.
Unfortunately, I have never succeeded in regaining that momentum. Some bad things happened to drain my enthusiasm, other work took priority, and so on. That's not to say that I've done nothing - I chipped away at the remaining events in order to get the plot to a significant point where several loose ends come together. It's not a complete story, but it's a satisfying chunk that ends at a logical point instead of randomly.
I'm releasing what I have done now in the hope that giving everyone a chance to play the game will lead to a virtuous cycle that will hook me into the game again. Also, I'm interested in seeing what types of sex scenes people would want added to those already in the game. I have most planned, but there are some open slots.
Moving Forward
First, everybody have fun with the game! I'll try to fix typos and bugs while moving forward with the next sections, with my goal being to finish the creative heavy lifting. At this stage, I am open to redesigning anything, so give any feedback you like. The last step will be polish and waiting for finished art, but those won't use up my creative time/energy.
FYI, my goal with game balance is for the unmissable content to be pretty relaxed, but for there to be optional goals that provide more of a strategic challenge. Then in the endgame, the difficulty will increase to the level I'd normally balance things.
Mild spoilers: if I stick to my original plans, this is the work left to be done:
1) Tale of Darkness
2) Final Dungeon
3) Post-game Content (sidequests and challenges in all past locations)
4) True Ending
That is the plan. I hope everyone enjoys Once Ever After!
