- Mac Update - 12 June 2024
A (hopefully) minor change for the mac version of the game, updating the back end in a way that will make it run smoothly on modern machines. Due to the engine I use interacting strangely with windowed mode, I had to remove that option on the Mac version of the game.
- MINOR FIXES - 20 March 2022
Added a Consult Notes quick-link to Geisthome that takes you right to only the Troll Notes. Removed Pisces explicitly stating that she is not Muslim, inviting the possibility that her scarf is a hijab. Added a detail to Hani's shop. Added check to prevent saving before you start the game for the first time. Prevented text from being HUGE during tarot game, as that breaks the formatting. Prevented text from being HUGE during hell race, as that breaks the formatting. Fixed error on first becoming able to see. Made text always revert to custom size after traveling. Fixed many minor typos.
- Bug Fixes for March 4th 2021 - 4 March 2021
Fixed bugs introduced by last fix. Fiddlers now chill out when they should. Eliminated errors getting Nightmare from the bottom of the wailing pit.
- Bug Fixes for March 2nd 2021 - 2 March 2021
Lots of typo fixes. You can now completely skip the bottom of the wailing pit, but still get all the benefits. Because that shit is fraught. Changed the line in the Plan that everyone always trips over to be more explicit. You can no longer use the teapot with the oven if you don't have the teapot. Ares and Poseidon now accept the spiral tusk as an offering. If you enter the throttler area from the south it now forces you back south, similar to all the other directions. Pisces will now sensibly refuse to trap herself in the Fiddler's Cave by casting Mute near the blue orb that's holding the waterfall open. Giving dreams to the sleeping fiddler now never results in blanks. Prevented a softlock in fairyland by making the troll bribable with Water instead of Light. You should be physically incapable of spending all the water you can find in fairyland before getting to him. Made the Fiddler…
- Bug Fixes for February 4th 2021 - 4 February 2021
**REMINDER** Bugfix lists contain spoilers! Added text-to-speech options. They are VERY buggy. No need to tell me when they don't work--I know. Hermes now offers mote-based currency exchange. I've made it so that you can use the directional buttons to navigate (up is north, right is east, etc). Added an option to increase the font size of everything. You can now use Freeze to harvest fire from the Hydrothermal Vents. The Goblin Market ban on magic now allows for assistive cantrips like Textilekinesis. Added a line to make it very clear that if you can hear the troll from a direction and you walk in that direction then you will encounter the troll. The troll nows spends longer doing things, making it a bit easier to maneuver around him. By popular demand and because fictional programs are more compatible with Linux, Notepad++ is now Motepad++. More possible riddle answers. The octopus is…
- EARLY ACCESS ACTIVE - 6 January 2021
If you'd like to play and give me feedback and bug reports: 1. I'd love that. 2. You can do it on the Open Sorcery Discord. 3. Or you can do it in the Sea++ Forums. On you can wait until January 25th when I plan to exit Early Access--for a more polished experience.
- SEA++ EARLY ACCESS - 14 December 2020
Open Sorcery: Sea++ is going to enter Early Access on Steam on: Jan 05, 2021 @ 12:00pm EST I anticipate the game will be playable, but quite buggy. Barring disaster, Open Sorcery: Sea++ will release formally on Steam on: Jan 25, 2021 @ 12:00pm EST I'd love a lot of testers to make sure the game is solid for the formal release. To express my gratitude: anyone who plays the game and gives me feedback between the 5th and the 25th will get their name in the credits as a tester. People who go above and beyond will get a special OS-themed title.
- Sea++ Live Stream - 8 June 2020
A text-based adventure game about reclaiming magic. Compile the remnants of enchanted code or drown in an ocean of dreams. Have you played Zork or read Terry Pratchett? If you liked the experience, you'll like this game. ---- This event will occur on the Northhouse Twitch Channel. Northhouse will be playing the game. They are a regular Streamer and came up with the name "Open Sorcery." Abigail (the developer) will be also be on the Stream to provide commentary and banter. ---- Note: This is a rescheduled event. The previous event under this name has been changed to this time.
- Open Sorcery Q&A - 8 June 2020
Sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. Sufficiently explained magic is indistinguishable from technology. Discuss. Will take place in the new Open Sorcery Discord Server. ---- Note: This is a rescheduled event. The previous event under this name has been changed to this time.
- Release Date: Winter 2021 - 6 March 2020
I finished another area in Sea++. I think I've gotten over the middle hump of the project and the end is in sight. I feel comfortable setting a release date again, so here it is: Winter 2021 I'm aiming for after the Christmas rush in the quiet months of January and February. (Not that I really need to worry about market trends. I'm so tiny.) I'm going to start simultaneously working on promotion. ... BLEAH Oh well. Gotta do it. Want people to see my art. Does anyone know any influencers who like to talk about text-based games?
- Finished Fairyland - 12 September 2019
I finished Fairyland. I estimate that that area in itself is about as large as the original Open Sorcery. This puts me considerably past the halfway point of finishing the game, which is neat.
- Detroit: Become Nothing - 19 July 2019
Still working on Sea++. I'm implementing Fairyland! In the meantime, I made a much smaller fan game for Detroit: Become Human, one of my favorite fish-saving and housework simulators of 2018. As a fan game obviously it's free, and it's also one of the most complicated bits of programming I've ever made. If you've played Detroit, you may enjoy it. Content warning: Nihilism, Potential Major Character Death, Forgetting Hank Here's a link: Detroit: Become Nothing
- Original OS DLC - 16 May 2018
Just finished putting the final polish on Sea++ before putting it to sleep for a little while. Now working on some original Open Sorcery DLC. It's gonna be called: Jingle BEL/S BEL/S has been aware for a year, and is about to experience her first holiday season. It's a game about magic, technology, and presents.
- Geisthome Done - 9 May 2018
Geisthome is done. I thought it would take one month, and it took two. It's super complex, and I'm sure it needs a lot of user testing to make sure it's workable, but I'm very pleased with it. It has three areas all with different mechanics for interacting with them, and they interact with each other in a a sort of scavenger hunt for alchemy information and supplies. The troll is a pretty complex and responsive AI. There's a puzzle that teaches you how to properly pay respect at Shinto shrines. You can choose to murder everything, or cleverly manipulate everything to your advantage. (That's my version of Renegade-Paragon. Ruthless-Persuasive. And they're not muturally exclusive.) I'm pretty pleased. ---- Now that the Deep Web is done, I'm probably going to take a break from Sea++ development to make that Open Sorcery DLC I mentioned in my last post. It's a much smaller project, and I th…
- Contract Work - 30 April 2018
So I have very good but slightly inconvenient news! I have been hired to do contract work as a narrative designer! It's for an exciting project that I can say absolutely nothing about. This is good for me because it means I'm getting consistently paid for doing remote, creative work. Which is the best. This is long-term good for Open Sorcery, because it makes it increasingly unlikely that I will have to go back to a distracting 9-5. This is short-term HIGHLY INCONVENIENT for Open Sorcery, as it means I now have three major projects competing for my attention. (Open Sorcery: Sea++, EMERGENT, and Mystery Contract Work, for those keeping score) ---- I'm probably going to have to push back the release of Sea++ again because of the added workload. But I feel bad about doing that, so what I'll probably do is create some DLC for the original Open Sorcery and release it when I WOULD HAVE releas…
- More Geisthome - 26 March 2018
Still working on Geisthome! It's pretty elaborate, since it's one of the main areas you have to go through, and the last area before you rise from the Deep Web to the Web, and emotionally important to the main character. I've implemented an AI for a troll whose house you have to go through to reclaim one of your memories. You can deal with him by avoiding him, poisoning him, or convincing him to be a pescatarian. I've just about finished that and am moving on to sea-monster fishing and a Dark Reef of coral and monsters you can collect to do alchemy.
- More Geisthome - 26 March 2018
Still working on Geisthome! It's pretty elaborate, since it's one of the main areas you have to go through, and the last area before you rise from the Deep Web to the Web, and emotionally important to the main character. I've implemented an AI for a troll whose house you have to go through to reclaim one of your memories. You can deal with him by avoiding him, poisoning him, or convincing him to be a pescatarian. I've just about finished that and am moving on to sea-monster fishing and a Dark Reef of coral and monsters you can collect to do alchemy.
- Geisthome - 1 March 2018
It is time. It is time, my dear friends. To visit the birthplace of the Hungry Ghost. This month I'm working on Geisthome.
- Geisthome - 1 March 2018
It is time. It is time, my dear friends. To visit the birthplace of the Hungry Ghost. This month I'm working on Geisthome.
- Upkeep - 23 January 2018
This month was mostly catch up and clean up work in the Deep Web. I did a number of interesting things: - Implemented a puzzle for fixing a neon sign. - Implemented a puzzle for luring a shy fairy child out from under a table. - Bug-checked an area called Awash in Gibbering Madness. - Implemented assembling a Prophesy of Light. - Fixed various problems with helping the Lost Colony of Roanoke settle on the ocean floor. - Implemented how to murder people. - Implemented adopting an octopus. Almost done with the Deep Web--only one location left.
