The first thing I think every morning : "is Sofia's route out yet ?" - then comes the realization : end of january is not there yet ! (but seriously take all your time you beautiful angel, don't dare sacrificing quality on a darn schedule~)
Also I just remembered, no mention of a Charlotte route ? Wasn't my prefered one (by far), but I guess it was my second choice~
EDIT : just read there was 8 route planned, my bad.
Just finished all but 2 endings and found all of the CG's for Bastien's route!
Wow, you did an amazing job on this one! Bastien is actually my second least favorite RO (he's too quiet for me) but the story was really interesting and depending on your choices vastly differn't! I ended up with 5 playthroughs!
I actually like that you're releasing one route at a time, it would be a way too overwhelming if you weren't. This way I can spend a weekend, going back to get all the choice options in the route and see the reaction changes (Which for Bastien differed vastly!) And that's with the same MC traits!
Can't wait for the next couple routes!!! :) Seriously I'm hooked.
I absolutely loved the Rose of Segunda and wasn't sure how
the sequel would compare, but somehow it is even better than the original
(if that is possible!). Leopold and Guillaume were my favorite routes in the
first game, and I suspect I’ll love them just as much once their routes come
out, but so far, Bastien's route was wonderful!
(Minor spoilers) Bastien's route wasn't an easy "happily every after"- a noble woman married a servant and realistically, that makes a "happy ending" much more difficult. This route is sometimes sad and often painful, but
it hurts in a good way because it makes the joy at the end even
sweeter.
I wasn't initially
pumped for the civil war plotline, but it was actually really enjoyable. The
intrigue! The drama! The choices felt very high stakes and I was constantly
second-guessing what was right. It was great! I loved seeing characters from
the first game, but I have to say, MC's mother really stole the show for
me- she’s callous, ambitious, and more than a little power hungry, but her dry
sense of humor and exasperation at her "three children who won't listen to
(her)" cracked me up (Frederick, MC and Bastien can be a handful!). This is a wonderful game, created by people who
truly loved/respected the first installment. I cannot wait for the next
routes! Now, please excuse me while I go replay “The Rose of Segunda” for the
hundredth time.
Hello and thank you for your kind feedback - I am glad you enjoyed the game as much as TROS and the civil war plotline did not put you off.
Among my proofreaders there were two camps: those who hated Mother, and those who loved her, and I am very glad to see another join the latter group. ^_^
OKAY I'M BACK! I have unlocked 3 endings, and I need to scream here before I go back for more. The first ending I got was the WORST one. It was so sad, but I aaaalways get the bad endings first because I'm just that unlucky haha. But the other 2 endings were great, so I'm super happy.
NOW, SPOILERS! BEWARE! GO BACK!
Really. I'm spoiling a lot of the route.
Like, a lot. Like, turn back.
Okay?
Okay.
PIETO TRISTE, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN. Look, I know this will sound terribly cruel, but... Bastien who? It's his own route but Pieto STOLE THE SHOW. The moment MC and Pieto met at the Ball... man, I felt something change. It was so subtle, and every little interaction showed just a little more, but you could feel something was happening. Pieto stole my heart, completely. He is perfect for MC, he can be and give her everything she ever wanted or needed. And she can do the same for him. He's also hot, have you seen that scene while confronting the two "lovers" at the inn? He's so freaking commanding. "SIT DOWN!" Hell yeah, that's a future King you're talking to! After having Bastien allowing every insult thrown at him and MC, it was so refreshing to see Pieto threating to cut someone's tongue off for being slightly disrespectful to MC.
I was super scared about him, tbh. Because every time I saw him I liked him more and more and I had suspicions he'd end up being manipulative and with his own agenda. Charlotte and Bastien didn't seem to like him, and I was on edge. But thank god! He's honest, and good, and honorable, and--! I just love this man so much! You gave us two routes in one, and I'm so grateful for that. What a delicious surprise. AND MC GETS TO BE QUEEN WITH A KING THAT ACTUALLY DESERVES HER (yeah, I'm salty with Guillaume after his demo).
Moving on from King Pieto Triste, long may he reign, Bastien's route was so sad. I felt bad for Bastien and MC, they were so unhappy together, even when you're trying to make it work. It was so difficult and painful. And I could understand why, it wasn't unnecessary drama, but... it was hard. MC had to endure so much pain and embarassment, I felt terribly for her. Bastien also broke my heart, especially in his bad ending and in Pieto's ending. Poor boy, I hope he manages to find real happiness without MC in Pieto's ending. He deserves to be happy, and THERAPY. GIVE THAT POOR MAN THERAPY! LOTS OF IT! Also, and excuse my French, but... fuck his father. The character I hate the most. I don't even hate other characters, just him. Fuck him. When MC was like "Good thing he's dead, or I'd strangle him" I was like YEAH GIRL, GO FERAL ON HIM. Have I mentioned MC is amazing? She is.
NEXT! Albertine! Baby girl, you changed for the best! I love her! I liked her more than Charlotte this time, and I found Lottie adorable in TROS, so...
And I must talk about my favorite boys. Leopold and Frederique. My all-time favorites. THEY'RE PERFECT STILL. I talked like... twice with Leo, and man, was I pining for him. I can't wait to go all Queen and King stabbity stab goodbye Auguste see ya later Guillaume. And Frederique is my man to the last, to quote the man himself. He's the one who has the most dangerous relationship with MC and I bet he would NEVER allow anyone to talk shit about them. Someone WHISPERS something about Minette? You're done. Aaaaand, I've seen he appears as a third option if your marriage with Bastien is crumbling, so I'm gonna go back to the game and explore that. I doubt it's a romance route like Pieto, because Frederique has his own route, but... even if it's just a sibling route, he's my man to the last <3
I'll leave with the quote that made me think "I'll marry that man":
A young lady of Yvette's wit will make a King of any man.
I love Bastien's route and the story as a whole so far! He was never my favorite in TROS but there's some real gems in his scenes here. Makes me even more excited to see the characters I loved (and the politicking in two PARTICULAR routes). But PLEASE give me some hints as to the second and third ending on the list. I can't seem to get them or even really figure out what they might be at this point and it's driving me batty!
Glad to hear you are enjoy the route so far and many thanks for your support.
As for the two remaining endings, I would say they are the 'not good, but not terrible' endings. To get them I would probably fail one of the missions and complete the other, but if you want more details on how to get them, please email support@blackcross-taylor.com and I can give you more advice without worrying about spoilers ^_^
Hello and thank you for your interest. The sale page is here and should show you how much time you have left (since whatever day/time I tell you might be inaccurate for your time zone)
LEOPALD! im coming for you! I loveee the game I just received an email that this game was out AND at a discount price! leopalds route is my favourite can't wait to play it! take all my money T-T
I am very happy to hear you're excited, and thank you for your support.
Leo's route is a little ways off yet, but you will be able to get some more Leopold content when the TROS Love Interest Point of View scenes are released in April (ish). Until then, I hope you can enjoy Bastien's (and then Sofia's) routes.
Promised myself to not spend any more money this year, but I just had to when I saw the announcement! So excited to play (and so excited to be reunited with Sofia soon). Great job!
Bastien...I will say he isn't my favorite- I love Leopold the most and I'm very excited for his route, but this was very good. ...and so sad. Pieto was so lovely, and I quite liked his route with Iolanthe, but now I'm wondering whether this narrative will continue in all the routes.
I presume not, given everyone has their own drama, but I can't help but worry it's all going to be a bit of relationship drama in this sort of sense. I hope this isn't the case, I want mayhem and hijinx and plotting as the most epic lovey-dovey murder couple ever with Iolanthe and Leopold, and this was so sad aaaaa
Many
thanks for the feedback and I am glad you thought the route was good.
As
for the relationship drama, there will be a little in every route
(it’s a high stress situation, after all) but it will vary and I
would say Bastien’s route is definitely at the higher end.
Well, it is uploading now, but the files are large, so it's going to be another few hours yet (I would estimate three) before both Windows and Mac versions are ready (and Linux will be another few hours after that, but I will post once the first two are complete).
Hi! The Early Access is approaching and I was wondering if we'd get the love interest PoV scenes with Bastien's route (only Bastien's PoV scenes I mean)
Hello there! No, I will be releasing the POV scenes (TROS and TTOW) as two separate updates, since the TROS ones are having new backgrounds to fit in with the slightly different style of our current background artists.
I imagine these backgrounds will be ready around April 2021, though that might be subject to change.
Hello! When I'm in the itch.io app, it shows a pop up option at the bottom of the game page to buy this game for 24.99. When I try to buy it I get an error saying the page cannot be found. I came here but I can't find the option to buy the full game. Am I missing something? I would love to be able to buy the game if it is at all possible! Was that just an error or something? Either way, I adored the first game and I WISH I had seen the kickstarter for this one. Thank you so much for giving us more of this world!!!
Hi there, sorry, but the game is not yet available for purchase. It will be released (early access) for sale on 18th December. I am not sure why the itch app is allowing you to try and buy it, but again, sorry for the confusion.
I'm so excited for this game, I don't know how many times I've replayed TROS, such an amazing mix of romance and politics- I srly love it! I have a question if I may for creators; in the description it says you either "begin the game with your current lover or remain single to pursue one of the two new love interests: Sir Mathys Aurele or Ambassador Vesela Brovik"- I was wondering, in the case of being in a marriage of convenience with the Prince, does the game offer you the option to recover your "true love" from the previous characters? (I'm looking at you, Bastien). Thanks!!
Many thanks for the kind feedback – I’m very happy to hear you
enjoyed TROS and are looking forward to the sequel.
As for the Guillaume ‘loveless/marriage of convenience’ route.
There are going to be a couple of romance options, (I haven’t
written that route yet, so I don’t know who for certain) and some
of them will be characters from the first game, but not all of the
characters will be available.
The thought process behind
it is that when the MC married Guillaume in this manner, firstly, she
rejected her ‘true love’ (some of them aren’t going to have
taken well).
Also, she became the Princess, so there is going to be a huge risk
associated with ‘romancing’ her (and essentially enabling her to
commit adultery on the Prince) and that isn’t a risk everyone is
going to be willing to take. Not to mention, the MC has been living at
the palace for the last two years – certain characters aren’t
going to be seeing her regularly anymore, if at all.
I hope that gives you some insight into which love interests might be
available in the ‘loveless/marriage of convenience’ route.
Hello there and many thanks for the kind feedback, I'm very glad to hear you enjoyed the first game. As for the ages, I believe Sofia and Charlotte are both 18, Frederique is 20, Bastien is 24, and Leopold is 25.
I never defined them anywhere, but there are hints in most of the routes. ^_^
Hey, sorry if you've already answered this, but I was just wondering...Before the DEMO starts, you get to pick how tRoS ended, and I was a little confused when it showed Frederique had a route in the previous one. I've gotten an ending for all the love interests, and I was just wondering about Frederique's route, which I missed, and also wondering how you initiate it in tRoS in the first place.
In TROS, in order to get on Frederique's route you need to complete all the other LI routes and then start a new game. When it comes to the first scene in the game with an options menu (in the carriage as you travel through Florentia) a new option should have opened up beneath the others. Selecting this will get you on his route.
I hid his route pretty well as I didn't want anyone stumbling on to it who did not want to romance him.
Thank you for your interest - the game is coming along.
The current word count is 206,889 and I am working on Sofia's route. I will be posting an update here once I feel I am about 1/3 way through the route, which I hope won't be far away.
That will also give me an idea of whether this route (as well as Bastien's) will overrun the 50,000 word estimate I had in place, and I can then consider how that will affect the time-frames.
I hope that gives you an idea of how things are progressing until the next update.
Oh my god, I can't wait for this ! Thanks you so much for your work, the Rose of Segunda is one of my favourite visual-novels of all times and for it to have a sequel is one of the best surprises I ever had !
I am so excited that you are making a sequel to the original. I am a huge fan of the game and loved your writing as well as your artwork. Thank you so much for making the main character not only smart- but brave. I was so happy that she was willing to put her foot down and not be some idiotic girl chasing around a guy that treats her like garbage. I will be looking forward to the release of your full game. You all are awesome.
Hello and thank you for the positive feedback - I'm happy to hear you liked the writing in the first game (and the art - I'll let the artist know), and found the MC appealing.
I loved the first game, and it seems this game will be even better than the previous one ! (the new UI is gorgeous, and there is sprite for side characters that's very cool, I don't really like shadows)! It's so promising !
I was just wandering, can we start back with the "secret love interest" of the first game in this one too ** ?
Anyway, good luck to you guys, it's a long run, but definitely worth the wait <3
Aaaah wonderful ! I love him too (but I love them all so...), I really look forward to game! Do you have some pre-order possibility ? I unfortunately miss the KS but I would like to support you especially since dev will take longer than expected !
Progress is being made, but I have realised that my estimate (for Bastien's route, at least) is way, way off.
I thought it would be done in 50,000 words, but it is currently (at my last check) 116,000 - that is longer than 'Rose' by 14,000 words, and this is just one route.
I plan to post here and let people know once Bastien's route is finished - which I hope will be soon.
In the meantime, I hope you (and anyone reading this) is keeping safe and healthy.
Hi! I found TROS on Steam and instantly had to buy it. I absolutely adored it and loved seeing the different personality variations for the MC. SO excited for the sequel! Thanks for the all hard work you're putting into this!
i played TROS and it was pretty interesting!, i enjoyed discovering all the endings and honestly i am in love. I am looking forward to The Thorns of war; but i have a question: will it be available on Steam?.
Thank you for your kind feedback - I am happy to heard you enjoyed TROS.
And, yes, TTOW will be on Steam . It will be released first on itch and then be realised on Steam probably a couple of months later, though anyone who bought the game on itch will be given a free Steam key, as well.
For the finished game? Well, on the Kickstarter I put October 2020. I'd like to get it finished sooner, but 400,000 words is going to take me a while to write. ^_^
Anyone with Beta access will be able to access the routes as they completed though, as I recall from the demo, a lot of people don't like to play until all the routes are finished.
Your stories are so interesting that sometimes I wish they were text-based so even more choices could be carried over and explored. For example, I think there is a terribly tragic and interesting dimension to having a dutiful Iolanthe who turned down Leopold's proposal and married the prince, even though she was in love with Leopold. I would love to be able to explore this dynamic in the loveless marriage path.
Many thanks for your kind feedback - I am happy to know you'd like more of the story. As for the particular scenario you mentioned, scenes such as that will be explored during the loveless marriage route, so I hope you will at least get to see a little something of that aspect. ^_^
I loved The Rose of Segunda! One of my favourite things about it was that the main character is an actual character (player-determined) and not an empty shell. (Thank you so much for the role-playing options! ♥) Other characters were lovely and likable, too. Especially Leopold :) TROS had only one drawback: it was too short! So I'm very happy there'll be more.
I wish you inspiration and good luck and I'm looking forward to TTOW. (And I hope it'll be eventually available on Steam because I have the first game there).
Fun fact: i didn't realise that the MC's official name is Iolanthe and named her Rosalind :)
Thank you for the feedback. I'm glad you enjoyed TROS and are looking forward to the sequel.
Ah, yes, Leo seems to be a firm favourite - possibly only Frederique gets more love (on itch, at least. ) And I think Rosalind is more than in keeping with the setting - it's always interesting for me to hear what people decided to call their MCs.
So hey! I loved the first game to the bits and can't wait for the sequel! :D That's all the more reason for me to wonder: will it come out this year? I just want to know what level of hype I should settle for hahah Because I seriously cannot wait! I'm sure it will be just as amazing as the first game :)
Thank you for the feedback - I'm glad to hear you enjoyed the first game. With the way things look at the moment, work will start again on Thorns (art-wise) in August, but writing won't recommence until Best Friends Forever is finished (which is projected for Oct/Nov), so I think we will be looking at next year for Thorns, around the late spring / early summer, since I predict it will be a long game.
Sorry, I missed this. Thank you for the kind feedback (and the luck ^_^) - I'm glad to hear you enjoyed the first game and I hope the second one lives up to expectations.
Wow, I loved the first game and I'm so excited to see that it's getting a sequel! I'll be eagerly following its progress and I can't wait to purchase it once it's released. :)
I'm really excited about this game.....is there a way to be able to keep track of the progress of it's development? I don't want to rush developers or make them feel obligated to update their progress all the time, but being in the loop helps with the anxiety that comes with the anticipation of a good game. I understand though, if you would rather not do a progress bar or something similar.
Thank you for your interest - I'm glad to hear you're looking forward to the full game.
At the moment, The Thorns of War (TTOW) is on hiatus while I finish the other two games I'm working on: Heaven's Grave and Best Friends Forever. The sales of these games will be used to commission the remaining assets required for TTOW.
I am hoping to begin collaborating with artists again on TTOW around late summer, so once I have news to report, I will begin to post regular progress updates which I hope will keep players in the loop.
Ah, thank you. I'm glad to hear you're looking forward to it.
No, I've no Kickstarter, as yet. I always try to fund my games myself, through sales of any previous games. I'm already quite worried about meeting the expectations of fans of the first game - I think I'd be a nervous wreck if people had already paid, as well. ^_^
I'm really looking forward to it ! I really enjoyed the rose of Segunda, except for a tiny detail... Françoise is actually a woman's name, the man's name whould be François. It's probably too late to change it now, but I can't stop laughing whenever they mention him xD kinda hard to see him as the serious older brother after that :p Looking forward to best friend forever too !
Hello celi-nege, I'm glad to hear you enjoyed the first game for the most part and are looking forward to the sequel.
As for the name, yes, this has been mentioned before. I would say that this is a fantasy game and I never really meant for any of the names to be directly held up to real-life counterparts. I drew from a mix of French, Spanish and Italian and plain just made some of them up. As someone has already pointed out, Frederique is the feminine spelling, as well - I just prefer it that way.
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The first thing I think every morning : "is Sofia's route out yet ?" - then comes the realization : end of january is not there yet ! (but seriously take all your time you beautiful angel, don't dare sacrificing quality on a darn schedule~)
Also I just remembered, no mention of a Charlotte route ? Wasn't my prefered one (by far), but I guess it was my second choice~
EDIT : just read there was 8 route planned, my bad.
Hello and apologies for the delay in replying. I wanted to wait until I had more news.
Sofia now has a release date of mid-February and you can read more here: https://blackcrosstaylor.itch.io/ttow/devlog/210838/the-thorns-of-war-update-17
I am not sure when Charlotte's route will be release, but it is definitely coming ^_^
Many thanks for your support and happy new year
I think I’ll wait to the game is released on steam, but I am super excited to get the chance to play it!
Many thanks for your support - I'm glad to hear you're looking forward to it ^_^
Just finished all but 2 endings and found all of the CG's for Bastien's route!
Wow, you did an amazing job on this one! Bastien is actually my second least favorite RO (he's too quiet for me) but the story was really interesting and depending on your choices vastly differn't! I ended up with 5 playthroughs!
I actually like that you're releasing one route at a time, it would be a way too overwhelming if you weren't. This way I can spend a weekend, going back to get all the choice options in the route and see the reaction changes (Which for Bastien differed vastly!) And that's with the same MC traits!
Can't wait for the next couple routes!!! :) Seriously I'm hooked.
Hello and many thanks for your kind feedback - I'm very happy to hear you enjoyed the route and you managed to get so many playthroughs from it.
It should not be too long to wait for Sofia's route, so I hope you can get just as much entertainment from hers, as well.
Many thanks for your support. ^_^
I absolutely loved the Rose of Segunda and wasn't sure how the sequel would compare, but somehow it is even better than the original (if that is possible!). Leopold and Guillaume were my favorite routes in the first game, and I suspect I’ll love them just as much once their routes come out, but so far, Bastien's route was wonderful!
(Minor spoilers) Bastien's route wasn't an easy "happily every after"- a noble woman married a servant and realistically, that makes a "happy ending" much more difficult. This route is sometimes sad and often painful, but it hurts in a good way because it makes the joy at the end even sweeter.
I wasn't initially pumped for the civil war plotline, but it was actually really enjoyable. The intrigue! The drama! The choices felt very high stakes and I was constantly second-guessing what was right. It was great! I loved seeing characters from the first game, but I have to say, MC's mother really stole the show for me- she’s callous, ambitious, and more than a little power hungry, but her dry sense of humor and exasperation at her "three children who won't listen to (her)" cracked me up (Frederick, MC and Bastien can be a handful!). This is a wonderful game, created by people who truly loved/respected the first installment. I cannot wait for the next routes! Now, please excuse me while I go replay “The Rose of Segunda” for the hundredth time.
Hello and thank you for your kind feedback - I am glad you enjoyed the game as much as TROS and the civil war plotline did not put you off.
Among my proofreaders there were two camps: those who hated Mother, and those who loved her, and I am very glad to see another join the latter group. ^_^
Many thanks for playing
OKAY I'M BACK! I have unlocked 3 endings, and I need to scream here before I go back for more. The first ending I got was the WORST one. It was so sad, but I aaaalways get the bad endings first because I'm just that unlucky haha. But the other 2 endings were great, so I'm super happy.
NOW, SPOILERS! BEWARE! GO BACK!
Really. I'm spoiling a lot of the route.
Like, a lot. Like, turn back.
Okay?
Okay.
PIETO TRISTE, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN. Look, I know this will sound terribly cruel, but... Bastien who? It's his own route but Pieto STOLE THE SHOW. The moment MC and Pieto met at the Ball... man, I felt something change. It was so subtle, and every little interaction showed just a little more, but you could feel something was happening. Pieto stole my heart, completely. He is perfect for MC, he can be and give her everything she ever wanted or needed. And she can do the same for him. He's also hot, have you seen that scene while confronting the two "lovers" at the inn? He's so freaking commanding. "SIT DOWN!" Hell yeah, that's a future King you're talking to! After having Bastien allowing every insult thrown at him and MC, it was so refreshing to see Pieto threating to cut someone's tongue off for being slightly disrespectful to MC.
I was super scared about him, tbh. Because every time I saw him I liked him more and more and I had suspicions he'd end up being manipulative and with his own agenda. Charlotte and Bastien didn't seem to like him, and I was on edge. But thank god! He's honest, and good, and honorable, and--! I just love this man so much! You gave us two routes in one, and I'm so grateful for that. What a delicious surprise. AND MC GETS TO BE QUEEN WITH A KING THAT ACTUALLY DESERVES HER
(yeah, I'm salty with Guillaume after his demo).Moving on from King Pieto Triste, long may he reign, Bastien's route was so sad. I felt bad for Bastien and MC, they were so unhappy together, even when you're trying to make it work. It was so difficult and painful. And I could understand why, it wasn't unnecessary drama, but... it was hard. MC had to endure so much pain and embarassment, I felt terribly for her. Bastien also broke my heart, especially in his bad ending and in Pieto's ending. Poor boy, I hope he manages to find real happiness without MC in Pieto's ending. He deserves to be happy, and THERAPY. GIVE THAT POOR MAN THERAPY! LOTS OF IT! Also, and excuse my French, but... fuck his father. The character I hate the most. I don't even hate other characters, just him. Fuck him. When MC was like "Good thing he's dead, or I'd strangle him" I was like YEAH GIRL, GO FERAL ON HIM. Have I mentioned MC is amazing? She is.
NEXT! Albertine! Baby girl, you changed for the best! I love her! I liked her more than Charlotte this time, and I found Lottie adorable in TROS, so...
And I must talk about my favorite boys. Leopold and Frederique. My all-time favorites. THEY'RE PERFECT STILL. I talked like... twice with Leo, and man, was I pining for him. I can't wait to go all Queen and King stabbity stab goodbye Auguste see ya later Guillaume. And Frederique is my man to the last, to quote the man himself. He's the one who has the most dangerous relationship with MC and I bet he would NEVER allow anyone to talk shit about them. Someone WHISPERS something about Minette? You're done. Aaaaand, I've seen he appears as a third option if your marriage with Bastien is crumbling, so I'm gonna go back to the game and explore that. I doubt it's a romance route like Pieto, because Frederique has his own route, but... even if it's just a sibling route, he's my man to the last <3
I'll leave with the quote that made me think "I'll marry that man":
A young lady of Yvette's wit will make a King of any man.
Hello and many thanks for your feedback and support - I am very happy to hear you enjoyed the route - including the new romance option. ^_^
I hope you like the coming routes just as much.
Thank you for playing
I love Bastien's route and the story as a whole so far! He was never my favorite in TROS but there's some real gems in his scenes here. Makes me even more excited to see the characters I loved (and the politicking in two PARTICULAR routes). But PLEASE give me some hints as to the second and third ending on the list. I can't seem to get them or even really figure out what they might be at this point and it's driving me batty!
Glad to hear you are enjoy the route so far and many thanks for your support.
As for the two remaining endings, I would say they are the 'not good, but not terrible' endings. To get them I would probably fail one of the missions and complete the other, but if you want more details on how to get them, please email support@blackcross-taylor.com and I can give you more advice without worrying about spoilers ^_^
Many thanks for playing
Hello, I was wandering how much time will the game stays in sales ? (To know if I have time to wait for my salary or not >.>)
Hello and thank you for your interest. The sale page is here and should show you how much time you have left (since whatever day/time I tell you might be inaccurate for your time zone)
https://itch.io/s/42798/the-thorns-of-war-launch-sale
Ah nice, this will do ! I look forward to test, even if Bastien was the my least favorite LI XD
LEOPALD! im coming for you! I loveee the game I just received an email that this game was out AND at a discount price! leopalds route is my favourite can't wait to play it! take all my money T-T
I am very happy to hear you're excited, and thank you for your support.
Leo's route is a little ways off yet, but you will be able to get some more Leopold content when the TROS Love Interest Point of View scenes are released in April (ish). Until then, I hope you can enjoy Bastien's (and then Sofia's) routes.
Many thanks for playing ^_^
I’d be more than happy too 🥺
Promised myself to not spend any more money this year, but I just had to when I saw the announcement! So excited to play (and so excited to be reunited with Sofia soon). Great job!
Ah, thank you so much for the support - I really hope you enjoy the route.
Many thanks for your purchase ^_^
I finished two run throughs.
OH THE DRAMA.
Bastien...I will say he isn't my favorite- I love Leopold the most and I'm very excited for his route, but this was very good. ...and so sad. Pieto was so lovely, and I quite liked his route with Iolanthe, but now I'm wondering whether this narrative will continue in all the routes.
I presume not, given everyone has their own drama, but I can't help but worry it's all going to be a bit of relationship drama in this sort of sense. I hope this isn't the case, I want mayhem and hijinx and plotting as the most epic lovey-dovey murder couple ever with Iolanthe and Leopold, and this was so sad aaaaa
But so so good.
THANK YOU!
Many thanks for the feedback and I am glad you thought the route was good.
As for the relationship drama, there will be a little in every route (it’s a high stress situation, after all) but it will vary and I would say Bastien’s route is definitely at the higher end.
Many thanks for playing
LET'S GO THORNS OF WAR FANDOM VERY SOON VERY SOON (ﾉ≧ڡ≦)
Eyyyyyyyy!!!
Many thanks for your support!
Ah, I hope you both like it, after all this ^_^'
Aaaaa I've been refreshing every ten minutes or so. XD
Well, it is uploading now, but the files are large, so it's going to be another few hours yet (I would estimate three) before both Windows and Mac versions are ready (and Linux will be another few hours after that, but I will post once the first two are complete).
Sorry for the wait. ^_^
Aaaa still exciting yay yay! :D
*laughs* You took the news well ^_^
one day!! *bounces excitedly*
Yep. I've been testing since 8am - lots of variables to double check. ^_^
Hi! The Early Access is approaching and I was wondering if we'd get the love interest PoV scenes with Bastien's route (only Bastien's PoV scenes I mean)
Hello there! No, I will be releasing the POV scenes (TROS and TTOW) as two separate updates, since the TROS ones are having new backgrounds to fit in with the slightly different style of our current background artists.
I imagine these backgrounds will be ready around April 2021, though that might be subject to change.
Hello! When I'm in the itch.io app, it shows a pop up option at the bottom of the game page to buy this game for 24.99. When I try to buy it I get an error saying the page cannot be found. I came here but I can't find the option to buy the full game. Am I missing something? I would love to be able to buy the game if it is at all possible! Was that just an error or something? Either way, I adored the first game and I WISH I had seen the kickstarter for this one. Thank you so much for giving us more of this world!!!
Hi there, sorry, but the game is not yet available for purchase. It will be released (early access) for sale on 18th December. I am not sure why the itch app is allowing you to try and buy it, but again, sorry for the confusion.
Many thanks for your interest ^_^
I am so excited!! Thanks so much for the update, TROS is one of my favorite VNs ever and I expect to love TTOW even more!
Ah, thank you! I'm very glad to hear you liked TROS and I hope you find just as much to enjoy in TTOW as well.
Many thanks for your support. ^_^
I'm so excited for this game, I don't know how many times I've replayed TROS, such an amazing mix of romance and politics- I srly love it!
I have a question if I may for creators; in the description it says you either "begin the game with your current lover or remain single to pursue one of the two new love interests: Sir Mathys Aurele or Ambassador Vesela Brovik"- I was wondering, in the case of being in a marriage of convenience with the Prince, does the game offer you the option to recover your "true love" from the previous characters? (I'm looking at you, Bastien). Thanks!!
Many thanks for the kind feedback – I’m very happy to hear you enjoyed TROS and are looking forward to the sequel.
As for the Guillaume ‘loveless/marriage of convenience’ route. There are going to be a couple of romance options, (I haven’t written that route yet, so I don’t know who for certain) and some of them will be characters from the first game, but not all of the characters will be available.
The thought process behind it is that when the MC married Guillaume in this manner, firstly, she rejected her ‘true love’ (some of them aren’t going to have taken well).
Also, she became the Princess, so there is going to be a huge risk associated with ‘romancing’ her (and essentially enabling her to commit adultery on the Prince) and that isn’t a risk everyone is going to be willing to take. Not to mention, the MC has been living at the palace for the last two years – certain characters aren’t going to be seeing her regularly anymore, if at all.
I hope that gives you some insight into which love interests might be available in the ‘loveless/marriage of convenience’ route.
Many thanks for playing
absolutely! that answer gives the insight and answers my question, thank you so much for replying <3
This got me thinking - will it be possible for Iolanthe and Guillame to actually fall in love in this ‘loveless/marriage of convenience’ route?
Btw, loved the first game. It's one of my favourites and it merits a replay, like, every half a year for me<3
Oh, yes, that will definitely be an option. ^_^
Ah, thank you, I'm glad to hear you enjoyed the first game - with any luck, you will have fun with the sequel, as well.
Hi,
I played tRoS and loved it! I know that Iolanthe is 18 and Guillaume is turning 20 in the first game. How old is everyone else?
Thank you, I'm really looking forward to this game :)
Hello there and many thanks for the kind feedback, I'm very glad to hear you enjoyed the first game. As for the ages, I believe Sofia and Charlotte are both 18, Frederique is 20, Bastien is 24, and Leopold is 25.
I never defined them anywhere, but there are hints in most of the routes. ^_^
I hope this answers your question.
Many thanks for playing.
Hey, sorry if you've already answered this, but I was just wondering...Before the DEMO starts, you get to pick how tRoS ended, and I was a little confused when it showed Frederique had a route in the previous one. I've gotten an ending for all the love interests, and I was just wondering about Frederique's route, which I missed, and also wondering how you initiate it in tRoS in the first place.
By the way, I love the game so far!
Hello, Moonyasnow
In TROS, in order to get on Frederique's route you need to complete all the other LI routes and then start a new game. When it comes to the first scene in the game with an options menu (in the carriage as you travel through Florentia) a new option should have opened up beneath the others. Selecting this will get you on his route.
I hid his route pretty well as I didn't want anyone stumbling on to it who did not want to romance him.
You can find more information on the route in our guide here: http://blackcross-taylor.com/index.php/guides/2-uncategorised/14-the-rose-of-segunda-walkthrough
Or if you are having any trouble, please do drop me an email here: support@blackcross-taylor.com
Many thanks for playing
hello, how goes progress?
Hello, Sandpixie
Thank you for your interest - the game is coming along.
The current word count is 206,889 and I am working on Sofia's route. I will be posting an update here once I feel I am about 1/3 way through the route, which I hope won't be far away.
That will also give me an idea of whether this route (as well as Bastien's) will overrun the 50,000 word estimate I had in place, and I can then consider how that will affect the time-frames.
I hope that gives you an idea of how things are progressing until the next update.
Oh my god, I can't wait for this ! Thanks you so much for your work, the Rose of Segunda is one of my favourite visual-novels of all times and for it to have a sequel is one of the best surprises I ever had !
Hello and thank you for the kind feedback.
I'm glad to hear you enjoyed TROS and I hope you enjoy the sequel just as much.
Many thanks for playing
I am so excited that you are making a sequel to the original. I am a huge fan of the game and loved your writing as well as your artwork. Thank you so much for making the main character not only smart- but brave. I was so happy that she was willing to put her foot down and not be some idiotic girl chasing around a guy that treats her like garbage. I will be looking forward to the release of your full game. You all are awesome.
Hello and thank you for the positive feedback - I'm happy to hear you liked the writing in the first game (and the art - I'll let the artist know), and found the MC appealing.
I hope you enjoy the sequel similarly.
Many thanks for playing
I loved the first game, and it seems this game will be even better than the previous one ! (the new UI is gorgeous, and there is sprite for side characters that's very cool, I don't really like shadows)! It's so promising !
I was just wandering, can we start back with the "secret love interest" of the first game in this one too ** ?
Anyway, good luck to you guys, it's a long run, but definitely worth the wait <3
Hello, Ayael, thank you for your interest - I am glad to hear you enjoyed the first game and thing this sequel looks promising.
And to answer your question, yes, there is a route for the 'secret romance'. He is a very popular character, so I would feel bad leaving him out.
Many thanks for playing.
Aaaah wonderful ! I love him too (but I love them all so...), I really look forward to game! Do you have some pre-order possibility ? I unfortunately miss the KS but I would like to support you especially since dev will take longer than expected !
No, there is no pre-order as yet, but we are very far away from release right now. Perhaps when we are a bit closer.
Thank you for your support though. ^_^
Yay! I am so happy he's getting a route, he's been my favourite since I started playing the game!
Hi there, sorry, but I am unsure which page you are seeing as the game is not yet available for purchase.
It is still in development and only the demo is currently available for download.
Many thanks for your interest
How odd. I'll see if I can look into that.
Thank you for bringing it to my attention. ^_^
hello there! I hope you are doing well. how is progress? haven't heard anything in ages
Hello Sandpixie, thanks for checking in.
Progress is being made, but I have realised that my estimate (for Bastien's route, at least) is way, way off.
I thought it would be done in 50,000 words, but it is currently (at my last check) 116,000 - that is longer than 'Rose' by 14,000 words, and this is just one route.
I plan to post here and let people know once Bastien's route is finished - which I hope will be soon.
In the meantime, I hope you (and anyone reading this) is keeping safe and healthy.
All the best ^_^
Oh WOW
Dang, I understand the underestimation of word counts when writing. I'm sure it will be amazing.
Keep up the good work and take care at this trying times!
"I'm sure it will be amazing. "
Well, considering the amount of time I have spent on it, let us hope so! ^_^
Thank you, stay safe.
Hi! I found TROS on Steam and instantly had to buy it. I absolutely adored it and loved seeing the different personality variations for the MC. SO excited for the sequel! Thanks for the all hard work you're putting into this!
Many thanks for your kind feedback - I'm very glad to hear you enjoyed the first game and are looking forward to the sequel.
Thank you for your support ^_^
i played TROS and it was pretty interesting!, i enjoyed discovering all the endings and honestly i am in love.
I am looking forward to The Thorns of war; but i have a question: will it be available on Steam?.
Thank you for your kind feedback - I am happy to heard you enjoyed TROS.
And, yes, TTOW will be on Steam . It will be released first on itch and then be realised on Steam probably a couple of months later, though anyone who bought the game on itch will be given a free Steam key, as well.
Many thanks for playing
Do we have an ETA for Thorns of War? :D Thank you so much for making this amazing game!
For the finished game? Well, on the Kickstarter I put October 2020. I'd like to get it finished sooner, but 400,000 words is going to take me a while to write. ^_^
Anyone with Beta access will be able to access the routes as they completed though, as I recall from the demo, a lot of people don't like to play until all the routes are finished.
Many thanks for your support.
Are there any plans for a Frederique romance during the loveless marriage path?
Not at the moment, but I'll see what happens when I write the route - he is certainly one of a few people who I can see risking it. ^_^
Your stories are so interesting that sometimes I wish they were text-based so even more choices could be carried over and explored. For example, I think there is a terribly tragic and interesting dimension to having a dutiful Iolanthe who turned down Leopold's proposal and married the prince, even though she was in love with Leopold. I would love to be able to explore this dynamic in the loveless marriage path.
Many thanks for your kind feedback - I am happy to know you'd like more of the story. As for the particular scenario you mentioned, scenes such as that will be explored during the loveless marriage route, so I hope you will at least get to see a little something of that aspect. ^_^
Many thanks for playing
I loved The Rose of Segunda! One of my favourite things about it was that the main character is an actual character (player-determined) and not an empty shell. (Thank you so much for the role-playing options! ♥) Other characters were lovely and likable, too. Especially Leopold :) TROS had only one drawback: it was too short! So I'm very happy there'll be more.
I wish you inspiration and good luck and I'm looking forward to TTOW. (And I hope it'll be eventually available on Steam because I have the first game there).
Fun fact: i didn't realise that the MC's official name is Iolanthe and named her Rosalind :)
Thank you for the feedback. I'm glad you enjoyed TROS and are looking forward to the sequel.
Ah, yes, Leo seems to be a firm favourite - possibly only Frederique gets more love (on itch, at least. ) And I think Rosalind is more than in keeping with the setting - it's always interesting for me to hear what people decided to call their MCs.
Many thanks for your support
Hell yeah! the sequel looks awesome and way more improved than the first one! Looking forward to the finished and full game :D
Thank you - I'm glad to hear you are looking forward to it
aaaaah omg i know I'm late but I LOVED the first game,I'm so surprised to see a sequel!
So hey! I loved the first game to the bits and can't wait for the sequel! :D
That's all the more reason for me to wonder: will it come out this year? I just want to know what level of hype I should settle for hahah Because I seriously cannot wait! I'm sure it will be just as amazing as the first game :)
Hello, Phoenix2M
Thank you for the feedback - I'm glad to hear you enjoyed the first game. With the way things look at the moment, work will start again on Thorns (art-wise) in August, but writing won't recommence until Best Friends Forever is finished (which is projected for Oct/Nov), so I think we will be looking at next year for Thorns, around the late spring / early summer, since I predict it will be a long game.
Thanks for playing
Thanks a lot for letting me know! Appreciate it a lot! Also because I've enjoyed BFF too! :)
OMG! There's a sequel! I played the The Rose of Segunda on steam and loved it. I look forward to the sequel. XD
Ah, thank you for letting me know you enjoyed the first game - I hope you have as much fun with the sequel as well. ^_^
Thanks for playing
I've played the first one on Steam and LOVED IT. I'm so excited for sequel. Good luck! <3
Sorry, I missed this. Thank you for the kind feedback (and the luck ^_^) - I'm glad to hear you enjoyed the first game and I hope the second one lives up to expectations.
Thanks for playing
THERE IT IS! OMG i love so much first part and i am really happy you decided to make a second ;D Looking forward to play it
Ah, thank you - I'm glad to hear you enjoyed the first game and are looking forward to this one ^_^
Thanks for playing
Wow, I loved the first game and I'm so excited to see that it's getting a sequel! I'll be eagerly following its progress and I can't wait to purchase it once it's released. :)
Ah, thank you - I'm glad to hear you enjoyed the first game and I hope to start progress updates on Thorns again soon ^_^
Thanks for playing
I'm really excited about this game.....is there a way to be able to keep track of the progress of it's development? I don't want to rush developers or make them feel obligated to update their progress all the time, but being in the loop helps with the anxiety that comes with the anticipation of a good game. I understand though, if you would rather not do a progress bar or something similar.
Good luck! :)
Hello, 1sab3llameow
Thank you for your interest - I'm glad to hear you're looking forward to the full game.
At the moment, The Thorns of War (TTOW) is on hiatus while I finish the other two games I'm working on: Heaven's Grave and Best Friends Forever. The sales of these games will be used to commission the remaining assets required for TTOW.
I am hoping to begin collaborating with artists again on TTOW around late summer, so once I have news to report, I will begin to post regular progress updates which I hope will keep players in the loop.
Thanks for playing
Im so so so excited for this game! I loved the first game! Do you have a kickstarter or anything for this game? Id be glad to donate
Ah, thank you. I'm glad to hear you're looking forward to it.
No, I've no Kickstarter, as yet. I always try to fund my games myself, through sales of any previous games. I'm already quite worried about meeting the expectations of fans of the first game - I think I'd be a nervous wreck if people had already paid, as well. ^_^
Thanks for playing
I'm really looking forward to it ! I really enjoyed the rose of Segunda, except for a tiny detail... Françoise is actually a woman's name, the man's name whould be François. It's probably too late to change it now, but I can't stop laughing whenever they mention him xD kinda hard to see him as the serious older brother after that :p Looking forward to best friend forever too !
Hello celi-nege, I'm glad to hear you enjoyed the first game for the most part and are looking forward to the sequel.
As for the name, yes, this has been mentioned before. I would say that this is a fantasy game and I never really meant for any of the names to be directly held up to real-life counterparts. I drew from a mix of French, Spanish and Italian and plain just made some of them up. As someone has already pointed out, Frederique is the feminine spelling, as well - I just prefer it that way.
Thanks for playing