itch.io

This is a perfect place for feedback, thank you! I'm so glad you liked it--I feel like from how you've written that you are familiar with the classic books. I really want to honor them. I'm particularly happy that Holmes' changing moods makes sense.

That's great feedback on the visual design! I'll note that down. I think you're particularly right about the relationships and skills buttons being too big.

I really love this game. I've adapted it slightly and am using it to run modules/tutorials for a democratic org I'm a part of. Thank you so much for making it!

(laughs) I'm glad you liked it enough to think this much. I'm afraid my art/programming skills/budget isn't quite up to using this free consultation you're giving me, almost all of my visuals are unity assets I've polished and cobbled together, but I'll keep it in mind.

I really appreciate the thought you put into this constructive feedback. I hear you about the clutter -- I'm generally a minimalist, but gotten different feedback in regards to whether people want constant access to the bars. They're actually all there because I had a few peoplerequest the ability to constantly monitor them. But that was only a few people, so in my next playtest I think I'll poll people specifically about what they think of that and see if I can discern a general preference. It's possible I could add in an option to display fewer of them? A light UI, so to speak.

I really REALLY hear you on the fact the cases are the weakest part. I know. I've been trying to make them more and more interactive. You actually prompted me to think that maybe I could rewrite them, lose the case UI, and make them scene sequences.

Then I talked to my production consultant about the fact I was considering redesigning the CaseUI and rewriting all five existing cases. He yelled "NO" five times, threw things at me, and then ranted about scope creep.

So....that may be an idea for Hearth & Holmes 2.

Thank you, I'm very glad to hear it!

Hey! Thank you for telling me this. I'm a little swamped at the moment so I'm not sure when I'll be able to address the update, but it's on my radar now.

Hi! Yes, absolutely--send me a message at beautiful.lightness at gmail.com and I'll set you up.

Good! He needs to be loved. <3

You're cool too! Laurent has also made me weepy. <3

Heck yes.

Even monsters have some standards.

GLEE! I'm so happy you think so well of it! And what a glorious thing to be used to introduce people to IF.

"With Those We Love Alive" is mind changingly amazing. Wonderful taste.

Oh, I adored 'With Those We Love Alive'. Porpentine's just amazing.

Thank you so much!

Thank you!

You are completely right. I made this before I knew what those were and I should add them in.

Your compliments are precious to me because they are so well thought out and clearly born of experience with this medium. Thank you.

Logistically that makes sense--you're right.

Yeees. I also agree with prevailing sentiment.

I am IMMENSELY flattered by your implication that OS could aspire to be an IF classic. That is very kind of you.

Thank you for playing it!

Okay! It looks like the problem was that I left the hookups for triggering achievements in Steam in this version, and it was crashing when it reached those.

I just stripped them from the Mac version--it should work now.

Thank you for letting me know! I'll take a look at this.

Thank you!

https://opensorcerygames.itch.io/open-sorcery

Hehehe! They don't call me Abigail "Your Choices Matter" Corfman for nothing! (rot13)Gurl qba'g npghnyyl pnyy zr gung. OHG GURL FUBHYQ.(/rot13)

You have clocked Laurent perfectly.

Interesting. I'm using a utility to make a VN in Unity, so changing the fundamental way it works is probably going to be more difficult than it's worth for a small game like this. But if I make a bigger dating game, like I kind of want to, I'll keep that in mind.

Oooh! Thank you. I can fix that. (notes down)

Ah! You bring me joy. Those are some my my favorite moments as well. (cackles)

I do like this world and characters and your observation is correct--I wrote them with the potential for continuing their stories if Paradox Interactive had taken an interest in them. But I don't think that's going to happen and working under the limitations of the Unbound license without support would be doing myself a disservice.

That being said, I am fond enough of Laurent that he's very likely to appear again in my work in another form. I've got a mailing list that only goes out when I make new games if that would be of interest to you.

Done now!

Hi! This is delightful. Thank you so much for contacting me.

I just submitted Open Sorcery. I fondly remember how one of my reviewers called it "accidentally homonormative" because I forgot to include any straight couples.

Good times.

Oh goodness. Your words bring me such joy.

Thank you for liking Martin's section and I'm really glad it came across like that--I did SO much research on dancing. I love dancing but don't do it formally.

My characters are delighted with their condominium in your brain and appreciate the reasonable rates.

Okay! So I found a few things. I'm sorry these aren't more precise--I can't recreate the problem so I can't test it myself.

My research implies that this issue MIGHT be related to Mac permissions--operating systems often don't running unidentified files. So you may be able to avoid it by downloading the https://itch.io/app and running it through that.

Another possible fix:

"I found that you can also left click on the game, select show package contents, go to contents folder>MacOS and left click open the terminal"

If that doesn't work, email me at beautiful.lightness@gmail.com and I will give you a secret way of solving this problem.

Thank you for letting me know! Let me see if I can fix that. This is my first time deploying executables from unity.

I've recompiled with some of the build settings changed and put up a new mac executable. Download and see if that helps?

Do you get stuck with the game loading (before the title screen) or when you start a new game? If it's the latter, be sure to give it at least thirty seconds. Start up is curiously slow on macs. (I suspect you're already doing this, but just in case)

Can you tell me the Operating System version you have on your mac? That might help.

This sounds like a game where you play Shredder?

EEEEEE! This is delightful! I particularly love it when artists who've made things I like like things I've made.

Laurent IS a good boy. Great job making him less sad! I will pass on the forehead kiss. Good luck murdering Angela!

Yes. Yes, this is good drama. Well done, hunter.

Thank you! I love them too. And I do feel a strong urge to write more of their stories.

Ah! How curious. It's destined to become a downloadable executable in its final form, so I won't fret to much about this, but I appreciate you telling me.

YES. Thank you for that data. That is about how many times I want it to take to get to the kiss.

I have good news. I have already written Epilogue DLC for Laurent and Martin, and planned out Angela. I'm just waiting to hear the results so I know what form the final game will take.

Thank you! I really wanted it to be replayable.

Thank you! I'm glad. :)

Yes--it's supposed to be an in-browser game right now.

How were you playing it when you go the error?

I agree with your impulse--I really like the escape ending because of the sense of dawn and freedom. I considered there being an option to run away with Laurent! But then I decided that was too happy for a Vampire the Masquerade game.

Yes. They ARE.

Thank you! I love him too.