Elven Academy

Tonight I’ve uploaded a new update for Elven Academy. This includes completed, translated, and playtested versions of module B1: Down The Rabbit Hole, and D2: The Geomancer’s Deathtrap.

These two modules took me most of 2021 to create. They contain my best writing yet, especially Down The Rabbit Hole. In this first module of Book 2, you return for more deliveries as a rabbit in the Peacock Queen’s domain.

This time you actually get to play through several deliveries, meeting various guests of the Queen. My favorite is probably the pair of elves who call themselves “sages of the fifth grade” from Avalon, who actually test your wits using standard questions at the level of “Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader.”

I’m also making better use of save flags now, so your choices in B1 may come back to haunt you a bit in chapter B2: The Queen’s Gambit, which I am currently working on. This is a holiday/Yule-themed module.

I’m starting to make better use of my character templates in B2 to provide a good array of choices for the character. I’m also working hard on this module to present more ethical/moral decisions. I hope to go back to earlier modules to add more ethical/moral decisions. This really isn’t as easy as it looks.

As a reminder, my roleplay templates are Charming Good Mage/Bard, Neutral Ranger/Druid, and Cunning/Jaded Sorc/Necromancer. I know, I should have been doing this a long time ago. Each of these templates has a set of favored attributes that are used for saving rolls for respective choices as well.

On a personal note, I’m also still working diligently on oil painting, and also very depressed during the holidays. I feel I’m therefore doing acceptably well to not neglect my elf-ness in real life. I just received in the mail the book Middle English Romances, a Norton Critical Edition. I’m hoping to do some literature reading/research over the holiday days as well. This is the sort of thing Connor (in the game) is supposed to love and be a student of, so I need to research this genre so I can write him better.

I’ve abandoned playing video games lately due to finger pain, as well as my attempts to learn the violin.

Here are the full patch notes for this game update. I playtested the update just a bit on the live server and filled in some missing graphics files. There seems to be some server caching issues now on the JS files that I had to tweak, but hoping they will be cleared up tomorrow.

Patch Notes General:

Uploaded finished/updated versions of B1: Down The Rabbit Hole, and D2: The Geomancer’s Deathtrap. They still probably need more playtesting, especially in Spanish. But they should be playable to the end. D2 is a more difficult dungeon involving a number of combats, and might be quite a challenge for a weak new witch or wizard.

It appears the Spanish text still has a lot of typos and incorrect grammar throughout the game modules due to the fact that I test in English for speed and expediency. I spent some time reading through the Spanish translations and making corrections.

Restored health cost to casting spells, and enabled checks to disallow a spellcast that will zero your health pool.

Added a skip button to the intermezzo/aside/scene timeskip splash page. Skipping past skips … who has time to sit through time passage in 2021.

A1: Spanish playthrough, fixed so many embarrassing grammar errors and typos. Improved attribute telegraphing, improved dark side dialogue.

A2: Spanish playthrough, more cuts to bloated paragraphs, improved dark side dialogue.
The Divination spells are now based on Fortune attribute for Divination school, not Enchantment.
Added some poetry for Connor.
Added some roleplay coded options.
Added sound to Baralto’s Garden
Fix bug enabling becoming Connor’s girlfriend/boyfriend.

A3: Glumskayah is back to being a she-devil instead of prior change to a succubus. She will take a lower profile in Book 2 and be replaced by a succubus. Needs to attend trial for her executions of army incubi, which is seen as possibly overreaching her power by the patriarchal Hell’s Court. Her mission on the island was to set everything up, deal with all legal issues, and eliminate any opposition. With that mission accomplished, she will allow someone else to be the face of Hell’s Court.
Added some poetry for Connor.
Added references to a buried treasure on the island.

A5: Fixed various Glumskayah graphics to show an antique backpiece that silhouettes her head.

A7: Added ambient sounds to Glumskayah’s dungeon, added some module save flags. The fact that I can’t find much in this module to save as a flag for later reveals some weakness.
Added some options to flirt, to be kind, and to be rebellious.
Added some choices and fixed bugs to companion affection gains (and losses.)
Generally more work to make the module more fun and less passive.
Explained why Glumskayah trips when chasing you out of her dungeon.
Bug fixes.

B1: Additional options, Spanish edits, new music, new quest.
Fixed filepath bug preventing module completion and exit.
Fixed a few dialog inconsistencies.

D1: fixed several issues with death checking while taking damage, updated death screen.
D2: Completed the module. This is the largest and best module yet. Translated (2.5 days of work in itself.) Added new scenarios, completed the story satisfactorily. Playtested.