Open Sorcery: Sea++
Mac Update
Due to the engine I use interacting strangely with windowed mode, I had to remove that option on the Mac version of the game.
MINOR FIXES
Removed Pisces explicitly stating that she is not Muslim, inviting the possibility that her scarf is a hijab.
Added a detail to Hani's shop.
Added check to prevent saving before you start the game for the first time.
Prevented text from being HUGE during tarot game, as that breaks the formatting.
Prevented text from being HUGE during hell race, as that breaks the formatting.
Fixed error on first becoming able to see.
Made text always revert to custom size after traveling.
Fixed many minor typos.
Bug Fixes for March 4th 2021
Fiddlers now chill out when they should.
Eliminated errors getting Nightmare from the bottom of the wailing pit.
Bug Fixes for March 2nd 2021
You can now completely skip the bottom of the wailing pit, but still get all the benefits. Because that shit is fraught.
Changed the line in the Plan that everyone always trips over to be more explicit.
You can no longer use the teapot with the oven if you don't have the teapot.
Ares and Poseidon now accept the spiral tusk as an offering.
If you enter the throttler area from the south it now forces you back south, similar to all the other directions.
Pisces will now sensibly refuse to trap herself in the Fiddler's Cave by casting Mute near the blue orb that's holding the waterfall open.
Giving dreams to the sleeping fiddler now never results in blanks.
Prevented a softlock in fairyland by making the troll bribable with Water instead of Light. You should be physically incapable of spending all the water you can find in fairyland before getting to him.
Made the Fiddler audio logic more robust--they now scatter based on the noise level detectable by Listening.
Note: The elf won't accept forms at the last minute of business hours for the same reason retail workers won't let you into a store the moment it's closing.
Note: I tried to figure out if I could make it any clearer that Pisces thinks Alan Turing is great, just objects to him being portrayed as the inventor of programming because it's chronologically inaccurate and erases Ada Lovelace. Realized she already expresses that pretty explicitly. Oh well.
Made the first donation to the Navajo Water Project yesterday! First donation is $929.475
Bug Fixes for February 4th 2021
Bugfix lists contain spoilers!
Added text-to-speech options. They are VERY buggy. No need to tell me when they don't work--I know.
Hermes now offers mote-based currency exchange.
I've made it so that you can use the directional buttons to navigate (up is north, right is east, etc).
Added an option to increase the font size of everything.
You can now use Freeze to harvest fire from the Hydrothermal Vents.
The Goblin Market ban on magic now allows for assistive cantrips like Textilekinesis.
Added a line to make it very clear that if you can hear the troll from a direction and you walk in that direction then you will encounter the troll.
The troll nows spends longer doing things, making it a bit easier to maneuver around him.
By popular demand and because fictional programs are more compatible with Linux, Notepad++ is now Motepad++.
More possible riddle answers.
The octopus is now a solution to the travel-angler phish.
Added spoiler warning to achievements area.
The octopus no longer procs the packet rat's "no pets!" policy if it is present outside the shop, but not following you.
Susan no longer appears to help you with general travel. She is in hell.
Lirana will no longer block you from taking her scroll when she is not present.
Fixed angler phish glitch where going to and from the main description speeds up the text.
You can now use matters and motives on the search engine.
Added a touch of chaos to the tiny whirlpool.
Oxirane is appropriately honored.
Fixed a flickering screen new The One Below.
You can no longer empower SalveMundi with light to rescue Mathias if you have no light.
Made the octopus' potential assistance with the search engine clearer.
Made searching for ship parts prettier and more audibly satisfying.
Fixed display error when you die during travel.
The services in the goblin market are now easily accessible.
Added timestamps to saves. The process was harder than it needed to be.
You can now get your river memory with a mote of water.
On the abyssal plain you can now see large landmarks from a distance, hopefully making the area more navigable if you don't want to map it.
The goat no longer charges you twice.
EARLY ACCESS ACTIVE
1. I'd love that.
2. You can do it on the Open Sorcery Discord.
3. Or you can do it in the Sea++ Forums.
On you can wait until January 25th when I plan to exit Early Access--for a more polished experience.
SEA++ EARLY ACCESS
Jan 05, 2021 @ 12:00pm EST
I anticipate the game will be playable, but quite buggy.
Barring disaster, Open Sorcery: Sea++ will release formally on Steam on:
Jan 25, 2021 @ 12:00pm EST
I'd love a lot of testers to make sure the game is solid for the formal release. To express my gratitude: anyone who plays the game and gives me feedback between the 5th and the 25th will get their name in the credits as a tester.
People who go above and beyond will get a special OS-themed title.
Sea++ Live Stream
Compile the remnants of enchanted code or drown in an ocean of dreams.
Have you played Zork or read Terry Pratchett?
If you liked the experience, you'll like this game.
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This event will occur on the Northhouse Twitch Channel.
Northhouse will be playing the game. They are a regular Streamer and came up with the name "Open Sorcery."
Abigail (the developer) will be also be on the Stream to provide commentary and banter.
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Note: This is a rescheduled event. The previous event under this name has been changed to this time.
Open Sorcery Q&A
Sufficiently explained magic is indistinguishable from technology.
Discuss.
Will take place in the new Open Sorcery Discord Server.
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Note: This is a rescheduled event. The previous event under this name has been changed to this time.
Release Date: Winter 2021
I think I've gotten over the middle hump of the project and the end is in sight.
I feel comfortable setting a release date again, so here it is:
Winter 2021
I'm aiming for after the Christmas rush in the quiet months of January and February.
(Not that I really need to worry about market trends. I'm so tiny.)
I'm going to start simultaneously working on promotion.
...
BLEAH
Oh well. Gotta do it. Want people to see my art.
Does anyone know any influencers who like to talk about text-based games?