catt-nuevenor

[catt-nuevenor]

A show of hands...

I'm not as confident with drawing human's as I am with landscapes or non-organic objects. With that in mind, I haven't done any character portraits for folks in the OHD story, but I have had a go at a mini scene with a hand.

Could I get your folks' opinion on this, whether you'd be happy with this quality of image in the game, and whether it fits with the background scene styles you've seen in my other pictures?

Much appreciated for any and all feedback!

If you're shy, and don't feel comfortable with commenting, just vote in the poll below, and I'll still get a rough impression of your feedback.

Links to posts with background images:

Progress

In dev news

I make no apologies for the punny title

#OHD #One harfest day #background work

[catt-nuevenor]

Charming Spiders

Sorry it's been a while since I posted anything, the last week has been very tough, and I've just been focusing on getting my head down to work rather than dwell on matters beyond my control.

But, since it has been a while, how about some Anglo-Saxon medical shenanigans to lighten the mood?

This section is from Leechdoms, wortcunning, and starcraft of early England Vol III, pg 42-43, and is all to do with the treatment of warts.

I've included both the given translation and the Old English for you to compare, and I've highlighted the sung incantation in both.

Modern (ish) English:

Old English:

For a little bit of fun, I've highlighted a few keywords in the copy below to help you orientate yourself in the Old English:

In order of highlighting, the words are:

ꞅpiꝺeꞃ / spider - spider

ƿihꞇ / wiht - wight

lanꝺe / lande - land * 2

colıan / colian - cool

ꝺeoꞃeꞅ / deores - beast

ꞅƿeoꞅꞇaꞃ / sweostar - sister

#background work #background research #old english words #old english

[catt-nuevenor]

Preview of the Pre-Alpha Build of the game. Sorry about the video quality. Turns out, my default video trimming software is pretty rubbish. Anyway, let me know what you all think of the format, especially the readability of the font. I'd like to make this as accessible as possible. Not entirely happy with that logo… but it'll do for now.

#OHD #progress report #background work #myrkmire #renpy #renpy dev

[catt-nuevenor]

Will This be on itch.io?

Yep, that's the plan.

#asks #OHD

[catt-nuevenor]

Progress

I swear, the simplest things become distant goals sometimes.

Here's a little look at how things are progressing:

Text from Character Selection, so very early in the game/story. This section isn't scripted yet, so none of that fancy timing you've been seeing in other gifs. There's a preview of how choices work and the narrative advances, etc.

The background here is really early in the refinement process, but I wanted something a bit prettier than the shaded placeholder I have been using.

Anyway, let me know what you all think so far, presentation wise.

#OHD #technical stuff #background work #progress report #myrkmire #renpy #renpy dev

[catt-nuevenor]

In dev news:

I've mostly got this behaving itself now. ¬¬ mostly...

But I wondered if folks would be interested to see what this line looks like code side:

The mode and timings are divided from the text with a _, while text is sectioned off to allow for multiple timings and behaviours using a |.

I've also just patched in a few extra lines which allows me to write like this:

Note the 'a' instead of the previous instance of a mode_timing bit. This is auto behaviour, it takes the mode and the individual character or word timing from the previous section, allowing me to print the text at the same rate, but add pauses for extra effect.

Cross all available appendages that this keeps behaving itself going forward...

#OHD #background work #technical stuff #myrkmire #renpy #renpy dev

[catt-nuevenor]

Still on the submissions grind... I swear, nothing is quite as efficient at knackering me out as trying to juggle all the conflicting considerations of sending out an appealing submission:

Be concise.

Boil down a synopsis of your plot to fit on one or two pages (sometimes double-spaced).

Be professional but personable.

Find at least two comparative titles you'd put your book alongside.

Try and find someone who will accept your genre, and if that's fantasy, sci-fi, or horror, good luck, it's a limited pool.

Include limited information about yourself, the limitations of which change with every agent.

Plus many, many more hurdles.

Then...

Wait.

Wait.

Keep waiting.

Then move on.

I have a great deal of sympathy for the other side of this whole system, it's not a job I'd want, or could effectively do. I imagine it can be just as knackering for them too.

#background work #non story content #ramblings

[catt-nuevenor]

Fade is kinda implemented...

Not sure about the speed of the fade... something to play with and look at in different contexts. Also managed to get word by word printing to work in the same phrase, and the timings + delays still implement nicely. Again, not sure how I feel about the presentation overall just yet, but now the toolbox is there I can really start messing with things to get better results.

There's a small pop when a new line becomes an old line, this is to do with a change in font size, an undesired behaviour I'm trying to negotiate with. Hopefully we'll come to an accord sooner rather than later.

Edit: The pop was also to do with the kerning, the space between characters. Turns out the method I'm using isn't great on non-Mono fonts. No biggie, there are some very nice Mono Fonts out there to use instead.

#OHD #background work #technical stuff #renpy #renpy dev

[catt-nuevenor]

IT WORKS! BY HECK, IT WORKS!!!!!

Is it slightly mad to get this excited about text animation?

Yes. Yes it is. But this took me the better part of 3 DAYS to get working. So I reserve the right to get unreasonably excited.

Text from Pléhtin's route, with Leiz and Leíla talking about aggravating their elder brother. Early stuff, so there are probably spelling and grammar mistakes, apologies.

There is a mouse click in between the two animated lines. The plain black presentation is NOT how it will be in the final game, I'm just using a clean file to run experiments in.

It might not be that clear what's going on here, but effectively what I'm doing is scripting each line to print in a mimicry of the timing experienced if the characters were speaking, small pauses for commas, different pacing for if a section is spoken quickly or slowly, etc. The timings here are not as I want them, and I'd like to overlay a fade to make everything read as less robotic.

There's a ludicrous amount going on under the hood to make this all behave nicely.

#OHD #background work #technical stuff #renpy #renpy dev

[catt-nuevenor]

Thank you Larian!

No redaction after 'Keep reading'

Now, to decide whether to start a new playthrough or scrape up an old save...

#non story content #baldur's gate 3 #shadowheart

[catt-nuevenor]

hii, i can't seem to be able to get the last scene with keldan in the demo (i'm not able to choose the "I have to take the scraps out to the compost bin ☼♡ (Keldan)" and idk why)

Is it currently possible to help the siblings clean the table or take the scraps out in the morning? I've played a few times but each time they're locked. I don't know if I'm missing something or if you just can't

---

In answer to both these asks, no, you cannot access either L or K's scenes at the end of the Myrk Mire ChoiceScript Demo. In order to address further confusion on this topic, I have entirely removed the options from the demo. They should no longer be visible as options on that menu in-game.

#myrkmire #asks

[catt-nuevenor]

Placeholders and Progress

There are placeholders still about where the menus are concerned, so ignore the bottom menu bar, and think of the little blue box in the corner as a suggestion of a future button.

All that out the way, the text featured here comes from the very beginning of Pléhtin's route (previously Peyton), it's very likely to be edited and refined before any sort of release or early access. Still, in quick summary, Pursa (previously Peidyn) her sister Myne (previously Myrna), and Pléhtin (their cousin) jointly run the town's guest house/inn, known in the story as a tóċirhús (don't worry there is a working dictionary/word log for all the non-standard English words). In this scene, Pléhtin, Pursa and Myne are cleaning up after the previous night's festivities, an event you'll all learn more about in the story. Ana is Ana, Abġa is her slightly younger brother (previously Abelyn), and the Fyls are Lars and his two younger siblings, twins Leiz and Léila.

If anyone is willing to share thoughts on layout, font, spacing, etc, I would very much appreciate it.

Background is probably going to go through more work at some point in the future, but you can get a vibe from it in its current state.

#MyrkMire #OneHarvestDay #writing update #background work

[catt-nuevenor]

Backgrounds

So, know I said function over form, but I did do quite a bit of writing yesterday, and I sorted out format placement this morning...

I'm having a chill afternoon trying out a painting method for the story backgrounds, pretty but non distracting things to sit behind the text.

I'm in the really early stages of this one, but I'm pretty happy with the vibe so far. It'll probably be one of the first backgrounds readers will see in the story.

Remember, really rough stage, sorting out lighting from the fire mostly.

What do you think of my non-conventional fireplace?

**Edit**

Few hours later (still early stages):

#myrkmire #Myrk Mire #background work

[catt-nuevenor]

While I do understand where these anons are coming from, as I am disappointed about said changes myself, I am sorry that you have to keep "defending" your work and intellectual property. Like you said, this was a work in progress project that was subject to change at any point throughout its development. This was a bit hard for some of us to swallow, I guess 😂 but you had every right to do so. Personally, my choice is to just not complain but still support you and your incredible work.

We have all experienced your writing skills, so there will definitely be a story that we will fall in love with again. Or a story that we will enjoy, but other fans won't. That is all completely natural and understandable. But people shouldn't keep on annoying you and other fans, who are genuinely excited about the changes, with their "disappointment." In other words, people should move on. Stop yucking their yumms. There is no need to complain to you about something you had every right to do to your own work! I am sure the fans who are excited about the changes will enjoy your incredible writing and the game will be a success!

True fans will stand by you to support future projects they might enjoy, others will keep on complaining, so I guess you should just turn off anon for a while. I am sure that will stop most of these types of asks! You should keep on doing whatever feels right for you and your vision of your work 🥰

I love the meme! Definitely made me chuckle.

And thank you for the support and patience in waiting to see how things play out.

Regarding the previous ask by the anon user, while it is and was frustrating to field comments/questions like this, such things are in the minority. 99% of the time, folks on here are wonderful and/or constructive, and I'm happy to respond to them.

I had contemplated ignoring the anon ask completely, and had half-convinced myself to let it languish unanswered this morning. I answered it as I did because it inadvertently highlighted some of the backlash I received from the announced changes last year, how the general sentiment went and my personal feelings towards them. Most of the messages relating to that period I did not publicly reply to as they either retread already addressed ground, used rude and/or derogatory language, or weren't meant to be publicly answered and expressed that wish in the message text.

The internet, for better or worse, is a public forum of instantaneous reactionary communication with little to no cooldown between incident and response. Little of this is conducive to a reasonable discussion. There are always going to be those who disagree with either my actions, my words, or my decisions when it comes to my work. It would be a little scary if everyone agreed.

I won't be switching anon asks off as it would negatively affect folks who've done nothing warranting it. Collective punishment is not my style. I will be selective with what asks I do and don't answer. Such is exercising my control over the contents of the blog.

Tbh the anon ask wasn't that bad, I've had far worse. A reaction to a frustration without consideration of the contents. Such is the way of the internet.

#asks #myrkmire #Myrk Mire

[catt-nuevenor]

I'm still bummed about the story changes nuking the best parts of the story

Changes that you have not seen and do not directly know the consequences of in an unfinished demo property that was by its nature a work in progress and subject to change.

Part of the reason I'm working on the One Hærḟest Day story ahead of returning directly to Myrk Mire is to give readers the opportunity to explore the changes in a smaller setting and get to know the new faces.

If what you've heard so far really puts you off the story, you're entitled to your own opinion, there are plenty of other forms of interactive story for you to engage with out there, and I wish you the best of luck in finding something that suits you.

If you're on the fence, I advise you wait until you have material with which you actively judge the changes rather than speculate what effects they will or will not have on the story.

#asks #myrkmire #Myrk Mire

[catt-nuevenor]

That's fun! I totes support the change! Plus the overall appearance looks like something that can be seen in a marsh, like an abandoned book but clearly cherished? Idk how to best describe it lol

I've been patient in waiting for an update but wow the dev. log is shocking that it makes me even more willing to wait 🙌🙌

Looking forward to it, thank you!!!

Thank you for your support!

I'm very glad the dev logs have rendered this much excitement!

Like I said, the book's an old asset I've had collecting digital dust for some time now.

An old attempt at putting together a bestiary for tumblr. Might give it a bit more weathering once the core of the story is in place, substance before making things pretty. I've got quite a few bits and pieces like this I've made over the years that could be integrated. Pretty sure I have a spooky lamp somewhere...

And before I forget, your patience is very much appreciated.

#asks #myrkmire #Mirk Mire

[catt-nuevenor]

Appreciate your transparency and totally empathize on setting deadlines for complex projects. I just want to affirm that the world you're building is SO cool and I will happily enjoy any little bit of it exists and wait patiently for more (if creating more is creatively sustainable). Thanks for sharing your world with us!

You are most welcome, and thank you in return for your continued patience.

Another thing the One Háḟest Day mini project allows me to do is give you lovely folks more of an opportunity to get to know the world on a 'normal' day, the ins and outs of town life without so much of the life and death drama the Main Character was going through. Though, be under no false illusions, drama is always there, waiting to be poked.

I hope to include plenty for you all to sink your teeth into theory wise as well. Lots of new snippets of info to find and gather.

#asks #myrkmire #Myrk Mire