First off, thank you so much for your kind words and praise. It really means a lot. Especially about Emily, I was so worried when we were writing that scene that everyone would want to use poor Emily as a punching bag. So it was nice to hear that at least one person didn't take it all out on her.
About the shaking in the carriage during the opening. It is actually supposed to be the jostling of the carriage as it moves down the road. I can see how it would be confusing, though, since we don't have the sound effects yet (which hopefully will make that more clear.) And, the reason it triggers after clicks is that when I programmed the scene, I was brand new to coding, so I didn't know how to do a timed loop yet. (I can go back and fix it to be a timed loop if that would help make it clearer.)
However, Nat and I actually have a question for everyone about this topic. Is the shaking too distracting? Or will it be immersive once we add in the SFX? If most of you find it distracting, we can remove the carriage jostle entirely, and it will just be a static image. (I'll ask this in a devblog too, so everyone can answer over there.)
And finally, HeartForge, could you give me the specific scene with Worthington at the ball that you were having problems with? It would help a lot if you could narrow it down a bit more. That way, I can try and recreate the problem and figure out if there is an issue with the code.
Thanks!
CrowOfWhimsy
H'm, I personally find it a little distracting but I think it's because I see the jostle typically used for like, BIG interruptions? So while I was reading about Gaston and seeing the jostling I was wondering if she was so scandalized she was physically twitching, but maybe others didn't read it in the same way 😅😅 I liked it in the carriage ride to the ball, when it was used to indicate the stopping of the carriage and a few times for a jostle.
As I'm replaying, I'm thinking the text issues are more a result of Ren'py's engine rather than anything code-side. As I mentioned, I crank the text speed just because I tend to read faster than game engines typically present the text when left to their default devices, and I think it's just a combination of the sprites changing and the engine loading the next set of text. Watching carefully (and I meant the small interlude after Fernside speaks to the two young ladies and then Foster (I think that was the name, the busybody woman) steps in to run her mouth: Worthington steps in to escort Fernside away and there's a few instances where he changes expressions a few times), I don't think there's much that can be done about it since the sprites need their time to transition expressions and Ren'py will take the time it likes to present the text. I also tested without the text speed cranked and it worked just fine, so I think this is a quirk rather than a bug.
Speaking of expressions, though, I really appreciated on my second go around that everyone had multiple, dynamic expressions? And that some were kind of...well when you get games that have sprites with multiple expressions, they tend to run the mill of "happy" and then "sad" and then "happy" maybe with a single "flirty" thrown in for spice. I like how these expressions seem a little more nuanced and to flow a little more naturally than "this is the face they're making right now". It feels like more of a genuine reaction than a stock image!
Also I really appreciate the new font! And not just in the narration but also in the letters to James!