itch.io

Hi, can you please add some acccessibility for screen readers into this? I am able to, I think, play as I'm using spacebar to tap out rhythms, but I don't really know how I'm doing in terms of scoring and things.

Hi, I'm a blind person, and am absolutely loving this! just to let you know I've found some accessibility bugs.

The button that opens the initial inventory screen isn't labeled, i.e: a screen reader just says "button".

The button/clickable to close the inventory screen is also not correctly labeled.

For contrast, every other button, including "explore", is correctly labeled. This includes explore, sell, and the menu button found within the inventory/equipment screen, all of these read properly. However the button to open and close that screen is not labeled.

Equipment slot buttons are also not labeled, but inventory is.

Quality of life:

I don't know how shrines of blessing work and what happens if you increase their level.

Is there a way to completely delete a save?

Other ideas, like resting and comparison of equipment, also seem interesting. I've noticed the initial stats screen does not have a vamp stat you can increase, nor the c.rate or c.damage. Also if comparison is added, wondering how this could work for people like me with screen readers without things getting too cluttered.

What is an equipment tier, how is that increased?

Thanks in advance, and I'm once again loving this little game.

Hi, what engine is this programmed in? I'm wondering if you know if there are any accessibility features for the blind. For instance, it's RenPy, pressing V can enable a self-voicing feature which will read incoming text on the screen. This has allowed me to play through a visual novel called Arcade Spirits, and now I'm looking for more novels to play.

Hi, this does not render properly with screen readers. All I'm seeing are a bunch of numbers with the pickaxes correctly labeled, and the stairs, but nothing else has accessibility labels, and it's also showing things multiple times, such as the pickaxe names. Here is an example of how my screen is rendered in plane text, this is exactly what I am hearing line by line:

Level:

12/100

119

0

0

0

Iron Pickaxe

Mines a card every 1s.

Iron Pickaxe

Mines a card every 1s.

Iron Pickaxe

Mines a card every 1s.

15

1

1

1

1

1

1

Free

3

3

3

3

3

3

5

5

5

5

5

5

5

20

1

1

1

1

1

1

50

3

3

3

3

3

3

5

5

5

5

5

5

5

20

1

1

1

1

1

1

50

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

Stairs

Descend one level deeper.

Stairs

Descend one level deeper.

Stairs

Descend one level deeper.

5

Upgrade

Upgrade a resource card.

Upgrade

Upgrade a resource card.

Upgrade

Upgrade a resource card.

30

REMOVE CARD

14

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

Stairs

Descend one level deeper.

Old Pickaxe

Mines a card every 1.5s.

1

1

1

1

Stone Pickaxe

Mines a card every 1.25s.

3

3

Hay, could you please consider making this work with screen readers? This is, after all, a sound-based game, and yet the totally blind can not currently play it.

Hi, could you please consider adding accessibility for screen readers? In theory, this is text-based, so should read. HOwever, when running the game, the screen reader can not read anything. There is a free screen reader on windows, called NVDA, that could be used for testing. I'd also be happy to test myself as well.

The only thing would be how to show the live commentary, as if it goes by in 50 seconds it could happen fast and the screen reader might possibly struggle to keep up, but maybe there's a way. Unforunatel, I am not a programmer, but I'd be happy to provide feedback. This would be a completely new experience for me as Fifa does not ahve accessibility built into the console games nor does football manager.

Thanks very much in advance.

I'm totally blind, what are the controls, is fast forward accessible with the keyboard? Also, on the iOS version at the end, I don't know how you either start again or exit. It just ends, do I just restart the app? What's the situation with the PC version?

Hi, Unfortunately I don't have access to linux or mac at this time, so I don't really know when I'll get to play this. Is there a chance you might be able to possibl work on a windows version that's accessible? Also, how does the general gameplay of this game work? I'd love to learn more.

Hi, I'm using the free screen reader NVDA on windows, and NVDA thinks that every single letter is in it's own column, so instead of saying "alure of the stars", it says "column 1 a column 2 l" etc etc. This literally makes the game unplayable. A good example is the first screen, where "press any key" is spelt out, not said. I'm wondering if anything could be done about this. This is in the browser version, but I'm wondering if also a binary could be set up perhaps so that the browser version isn't compromised, or if this can just be looked into for all versions in trying to fix.

That's true. I've really been enjoying my time with this game! I'll have a think about what we could do with the tooltips as another option.

hmmm, this might take a little more coding, but would also, I think, fit the game's world very well without breaking immersion. Whilst you can go to the data tab which shows the amount of data you're collecting and the types of things you're exploring, I have seriously noticed something oddly missing: the teretories aren't being charted/logged for future generations to examine or even for the ship's crew to examine. There's no summary of your adventure for you to look at as you go! So...

what about an extra tab, log? It'd briefly summarise what happened saying "<planet name>: discovered <type of anomoly>, gaining <amount of data> <data type(s)>, and summarising any crew traits? If the log gets too big, there could be a clear button if anyone thinks it's getting too large. This might also help at the end of the game withthe table before someone clicks new game they could go to the log to see a brief summary of their journey. The only thing is, I don't know what the log could say when the ship returns to bass, unless it just says <ship name> returns to Kyron bass with <amount of data> data types and <amount of crew>.

The log tab could be put just before the settings tab.

The settings lets you modify what's included in the log, clear it outright, etc, or even disable it. The log tab could have a clear button (with confirmation) as to prevent accidental clearing. The log type could be set to story or gaming. The story type would just say that they're embarking without listing levels, but will list traits. The gaming or whatever the other type is called, could list everything including exp gained. A lot more work but would provide options for everyone. Here is what the story type could look like.

<ship.name>: travelling through the Chiron gate for the <number> time, embarking for <system> with <number.of.crew crew on board.>: <job.of.person1> <name.of.person1., <job.of.person2> <name.of.person2>, <job.of.person3> <ame.of.person3>. The other type would include level, but the story type wouldn't.

When an event happens,

<name.of.explored.location>: discovered a <type.of.thing>, <tpe.of.other.thing> if another event such as a ring. <crew.member> became <trait>, or maybe <crew.member> is <trait> which might work more universally as less wordy than crew.member> became injured. <data.type> + <number>.

I also have another suggestion, but again a little more lore writing so this may take even more work, so maybe not: for the data tab, inline links for each data type with a little description for each, perhaps, although yes it's fun to imagine, I am struggling to imagine some of these things. What is a dwarf star? Alternatively, this could be put into a glossery tab so that the data tab doesn't become all weird, as the data tab looks quite good at the moment, although lots of graphics which I thought were clickable for more info. So instead of saying the name, it's saying "graphic <type.of.thing> x2" rather than just <type.of.thing> x2 or times 2or whatever it's saying. I think it's saying x2 which is also understandable. Keep in mind I'm going off memory. If you wish, I could write down some ideas as I go through my next playthrough as to what an actual log might practically look like. Part of me wonders if it might be worth putting this as a separate topic so that the sighted community can weigh in as well and we can come up with a compromise for everyone.

hm, I'm not entirely sure, although I think I can see that stuff in the crew section anyway. Is there a way to learn about the different traits? I managed to get a couple of characters to be inspired, and a couple to be depressed, if a character is depressed can that depression wear off?

Aah. I don't even know that they're a tooltip, but they do say vote up and vote down when my screen reader reads them. Can you give an example of a tooltip experience in Beyond the Chiron Gate?

Just so we're on the same page, could you give me an example of a tooltip? It might be accessible but I might not have known that I found one.

Hi, I'm wondering if there's a way to make the tool tips accessible. Hovering won't really be possible for a blind person. There are bits where it says graphic land and such, but I can't seem to do anything with the graphic. So, I don't know where the tool tips are located. Apart from that, I've completed a first run, I didn't reach the builders, but I'm absolutely loving this. Worth every penny spent, and I'll continue playing for sure. It's kind of hard to know what to explore at first, finding xenlog is fairly tricky.

Thank you. I noticed when it installed, it then autoran, so I spent some time in the how to play section. I'll get onto that in a bit, but I do have some questions first. Do you then just run the same exe again, or do you run it from the folder? Also, which exe, as I noticed an exe in the main route, and an exe in the app 1.0.1 folder as well. Also, getting back to the how to play section, the interface looks so promising, and I'll explain why in a second. But first, I'm so, so, so looking forward to this, I loved Seadship and the cyborg one, as you've seen from the comments on the cyborg arena that I posted. Although that reminds me I still need to comment on Seadship! I'll have to give it another play, it's been a while.

So, here's the thing. I'm a totally blind person, and can I just say, the how to play section impressed me so much, everything has a label, crew etc, and if that's an actual example of what the interface might render like in game, I can't wait, I'll probably start just after this post but I will have to go to bed soon, but I'll sink my teeth in proper tomorrow! If this is as promising as I hope it is, you can bet that a: the audiogames forum is going to find out about it from me, and b: there will probably even be a database entry! If I struggle with anything in the game from an accessibility/interface standpoint, I'll also let you know because this is looking really close to being accessible for blind people, possibly already though but I'm not too sure yet as I haven't started proper.

I do have one more suggestion. Can you please add a volume slider for the music, apart from the mute button, or, perhaps turn it down slightly? Because the main menu music swells at a certain point where I can't hear my screen reader, and if I mute it, I might lose hearing some other music, and I'm sure the blind community would really like to enjoy any soundscape this game has to offer. Thanks so much in advance.

I loved the experience. I'm a blind person, so being able to do battle with these characters and creatures was really interesting, thank you so, so much. Yes please, I hope you can fix the bug, as I'd like to find out what happens. I mean, if you have an idea what happens at the end or remember, you could write it here but wouldn't that spoil the ending for those who haven't played it all the way through? Also, I'm wondering, could you please sort of explain the concept of the game to me? I've enjoyed the battles, but I don't really know exactly what is happening. How is it based on the work, and what does the work describe? Thanks in advance.

Hi all, does anyone know where the game actually installs to? My screen reader just said installing, but hasn't told me where it's been put. Thanks in advance.

Wow. I really have enjoyed this. Interestingly, I've defeated the fourth opponent, however it then puts me in a loop where the opponent appears again, with the same fight. Is this intentional?

Hi, I've found some accessibility bugs. It says "which were you born benieth", but the links are not labeleld with any text. My screen reader says they're graphics. Could you please add any alt text to these, as right now I don't even know what sort of character I'm creating. I guess I could keep going for now and just leave things to fate. What re you searching for though, that's annoying that it's not labeled.

I enjoyed this. I've got one ending so far. I've noticed at the moment, it's just one opponent. However, will there be anymore? It feels liky my ending was more of a cliffhanger, as I carried my opponent into the bay and the announcer was still talking.

Is there a downloadable version of the game?

Do you know if this game works with the Ren'Py self voicing feature? I'm a blind person, and this feature will make the game speak using the windows text to speech or the mac say command. Which version of Ren'Py is this vn developed in?

Is the self voicing feature enabled for the blind players? It uses windows text to speech or the mac say command. If yes, I will absolutely support this game by paying for the download.

You did a really awesome job with the turnaround on those accessibility fixes. I know I'm still gushing a bit but, honestly, this game, probably one of my favourite text games ever now.

edit: I'll still be messaging here as well. Original reply: I don't know how to figure out my Discord tag but if you see a Jukesy, that's me. I'll be emailing you as well, probably email first. before Discord. In regards to staying in touch on Discord, I'm based in the UK, so at the time of writing this message, it's 19:25 pm. I can do both text and voice chat.

It's the blind person again, here with an update:

This... is perfectly playable so far, unless there's some future mechanics I haven't unlocked that might be tricky. But I'm all the way up to minor memories and machine parts and I am enjoying this very very much. You know you hoped that people would enjoy this game? Did you expect a blind person to be on that list? Because if not, then now you've got one. Totally blind person at that. You might get more, because I'm going to be spreading the word to the blind community. We (the blind community) have never had a chance to experience a Fallout-type game. Ever, except for YouTube. In fact, I'd go so far to say this:

If Tin Star (another text-based game, very highly recommended actually but I don't think it's on Itch) is the closest a blind person can get to Red Dead, then this... this is our Fallout. Thank you. I'm not at the end yet but I want to thank you now. I hope this comment goes through, I look forward to your next reply if you do reply, but if not, then know this: I'm loving it. I'll be spreadding the word unless something comes up that suddenly makes the game unplayable. I did encounter one error when I tried to subdue one of the first bosses. I think it was the one with wings, said something about hunter boss. Interestingly when I killed it, my character asked it to get out of here as it didn't want to take it's life, so I was actually quite happy with that. This then unlocked the second area.

By the way, is there any way to find out what parts we have already, perhaps in the stats screen or something? It's showing my attack and stuff, but I'd love to share with people my current upgrades.

What's interesting is the buttons still work. One leads to a menu with stats, one leads to saves, one leads to what seems to be an about section. Top button was menu, middle button was saves, bottom button was about. Text is underneath that, and next button underneath the text. It seems promising even with the unlabeled buttons. I'll keep you posted.

A sort of follow up to my comment on the main page. Great change log! I'll be playing the game in the coming days and let you know my thoughts as a blind person, as I actually haven't started yet. When you say about granula stats I hope it will list it as text and not just a visual layout for the sighted.

I've already found an accessibility bug. For clarification, I'm a blind person. I use a screen reader. The game starts (on Itch I've literally just clicked "run game"), but I'm presented with three unlabeled buttons, and a button labeled next. For clarification, that button reads correctly with the screen reader, literally saying "1. Next". Please label your buttons for screen reader users, otherwise it will be guess work finding out what these three unlabeled buttons do.

If you wish to test this with a screen reader, there is one called NVDA for windows. You use the arrow keys to move up and down a page, and tab to move between buttons. Also, if you'd like an accessibilityy beta tester who has experience with NVDA, please give me a shout and I'd be happy to test any future versions of this game.

Wo. That was quite dark! Fairly enjoyable though.

I'm also really excited about this, I loved the opening scene. I can't wait to see where this goes.

This is an interesting idea. However, in creating a visual dungeon crawler with ascii or art, what about those blind players who can't see but who will still want to crawl the dungeon via text?

This game no longer seems to work. Just shows a frame with a URL in it.

Hi, that's understandable regarding life changes. Honestly, what you've done here is incredible, and I'm not trying to knock your game, because in all honesty, I'm absolutely loving it. I'll definitely be playing as much as I can, and thanks for letting me know about the bulleting board, once I unlock that I will also inform the users of the audiogames forum. I've purchased both the PC and iOS versions as a gesture of thanks for creating a game like this which is honestly, mostly, accessible and on iOS, even more so. My next step will absolutely be purchasing the soundtrack.

Hi, I think that's the issue. There doesn't seem to be an actual level boundary, so I'm wondering if I missed the door. I was walking in gravel for over two minutes, and I don't know if that should be the case, that's a very long time to walk with nothing happening.

Hi, I've grabbed the iOS version, but there seems to be no music. As Darkempathy said, couldn't there be a separate way to check the stats for blind players? Also, on the iOS version, the menu button correctly says menu, but on the PC version it just says "button". A lot of blind people don't really use the mouse, so highlighting might not necessarily be an option. There is a company called Choice of Games who use a show stats button and within that window it's then possible to return to the game. Whilst the story mode would be good for, well, the story, I am also interested in the strategy side of things. There aren't too many strategy games in the blind community.

Hi, I do not know if this game is still being worked on or not, but can I say from a totally blind perspective, I use a screen reader. So far, the game actually works really well, surprisingly well actually. I'm using NVDA on windows. However, I have ound a few things that might be able to be improved.

The button that opens up options such as help, restart, etc, is not labeled, so the screen reader says button.

A more pressing issue, however, is I literally have no idea how to check my stats. The tutorials are saying about gaining renoun and such, but I can't seem to find a way of checking the running total. I've tried the help screen, but I'm wondering if I a: haven't unlocked it yet or b: the option might not currently be findable by screen readers.

Lastly, andd this one is a bigger ask. There are Twine games such as The Tree That Touched the Moon, and in those games, all the choices are actual links, which makes it a lot easier to tell what it is a choice. At the moment in Nocked, whilst it is fairly easy to tell there are choices there as it says "..." before the choices start branching, I do wish these were shown as actual links. As an aside, the options in the menu are seen as actual links, so it is a little strange. The most pressing issue, however, is how to check stats, and I'm wondering what to do in the meantime.

Thanks in advance.

I'm a totally blind person. I have just got past the dog chase scene, however once I'm past there, it's just gravel, even when moving to the left. I actually thought the game glitched on me, as I was moving to the right, for over a minute, with absolutely nothing happening. If there are any visual clues, this does not help the totally blind such as myself. Just ambience and gravel, for what seems like an infintie amount of time without any kind of audio progress, is not fun. There needs to be more clues about what to do in this section, if it's even ready yet.

I'd be fine with that. Also, I've now actually completed my first playthrough even in this state, which bodes very well indeed. I really enjoyed this game, it's got a lot of heart. It was a really cool way to spend a few hours, and I hope to come back to it for another playthrough to see what the other paths bring.

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I managed to escape the fire with my character's lives in tact, with help from one of the allies of Madamme.