Module B4: Sea of Desire
Module B4: Sea of Desire is now uploaded to the live server. This is a continuation of the second (and probably final) book of the main story, the fourth chapter out of seven. I also added party banter to the game with this update.
For full patch notes, read the post under this one on the main blog page. If you are a current player of the game, I would recommend carefully fixing your save code (see patch notes), and also using a hard reload (control F5 in your browser) to update your cached files.
This module took over a year to create. My original inspiration for Sea of Desire was the Tunnels and Trolls adventure “Sea of Mystery.” I always loved the idea of that adventure for T&T, but I was disappointed in the small size and execution of that hand-typed effort from cerca 1981.
Did I succeed in creating an epic, sprawling sea adventure? Well, I think B4 is great, and it’s much better than the Sea of Mystery, for many reasons. The adventures are kind of fun. The graphics are maybe not my best. The characters are good, I think.
I was surprised to see that B4: Sea of Desire is not quite my largest module, but that’s only because B3: The Seelie Court has a huge amount of diplomacy dialogue. Otherwise B4 would be largest. It’s more than 50% larger than B1, for example.
I’m also excited by the system improvements this update brings, mainly party banter, but also a code update to track sexual encounters and addictions. Seems appropriate for this module.
The difference between my effort and Sea of Mystery is mainly that Mystery is a real sandbox, i.e. you can loop around, and even use an loop exploit to generate infinite gold. My game has to tell a story in context with the overarching plot.
So would I like to try again and make a less linear, more open-ended and wild sea adventure? Yes. I would. But I finally had to stop working on this one because I want to move on. We’ve arrived at the Unseelie Court, after all. It’s a fertile ground for my hand drawn graphics and storytelling.
It should be noted that this module is brutal, the most difficult module I’ve created. A new level one character will have a hard time. So if you’re just a tourist, and don’t want to complete 10 previous modules and some dungeons to skill up, here is the save code that I used to complete Sea of Desire.
Just keep in mind that there are a lot of spoilers here. Also, this code is for a mature game mode (dark game mode). And you can always use Hero Mode in settings if your own character is struggling. Good luck and happy gaming!
Female Darkgame Save Code:
OAN100-TPLQSM-NGJFGM-CBACAD-279-24-15070EJIJ2815-AEAAAA-AAXQBAAAAK-RAACADAAMA-IQEYAAAAAA-PGGOJB-DNEUJB-IROHSN-8665442222522313-0AUL4AAYYCA0000AAK0000AA00000-000100000000000000000011000
What’s Next?
I’m currently plotting B5, a venture into the Unseelie Court. I should be working on dungeon and outdoor adventures, however, because I’m far behind on that type of game content. There are also other side plot lines that need to be addressed, like Gregory’s Grimoire and the Serpents.
I am concerned that if I cross the finish line on the main game story, I’ll lose motivation permanently to write dungeons. My fine art is really pushing ahead right now as well. That’s a big focus. I feel more urgency to do the real art paintings while I’m still relatively young.
AI tools could be a big boon for this game’s development. Gemini assisted with debugging a few things for this update. Gemini can make elven songs, but only with American voices, which I don’t want for my elves, even though I’ve diverged a lot from Tolkein elves in the Seelie Court.
I am looking to use AI created sound effects and music though. The remaining modules in the game will definitely use AI created sound assets, and possibly some code snippets.
This patch adds a lot more sound files to the dungeons, by the way. And I’m sure there will be bugs in this patch, so I’ll be patching the patch at some point. As always, if you find bugs in the game, please reach out to me.
I’m considering starting a Discord to communicate with players, but I honestly am not sure anyone cares. I’m also considering releasing the web game engine for free use, with a tutorial on how to use it.
I am also interested in someone who would like to write a dungeon or adventure that I could use. I am honestly curious about the experience of simply converting someone else’s adventure into my game engine. Combat might be a problem. I am still struggling to ‘solve’ combat in a satisfactory way.
