The Thorns of War - Update #1


Hello all

I am happy to announce the beta release of 'The Thorns of War' demo. 

Since it's a beta,  changes to the text /graphics may occur between now and the full game's release, but I imagine these would all be minor amendments. 

Also, there is currently no music.  In the next couple of months, I am hoping to acquire the budget for some custom tracks I can add to the three I commissioned for 'The Rose of Segunda', so until that happens it will just be sound effects in the demo.

All game routes are now available, with slight variations in each depending on your personality and actions at the end of the last game.  Each route should provide about 15-20 minutes of play time depending on reading speed - the demo word count totals approximately 30,000 words.

As for play order, I wouldn't say that there is one particular route you should begin with, but in routes where you are closer to court you will know more of what has been happening in the political situation (at least, at the beginning) than if your character has been living outside of Segunda for the last two years.

For feedback, I would say I am most curious about what people think of Bastien's route. Of all of them, I think his is the greatest departure from what was possibly expected. I know he has a following, and I would be interested to hear what fans of him feel about it.

Anyway, now the demo is complete, my next task is to finish off 'Heaven's Grave' and 'Best Friends Forever'. Since I'll be using the sales of those two games to fund 'Thorns', I can't easily predict a release date at the moment, but I am hoping it will be sometime in 2019.

Thanks for reading 

Files

TTOW-demo2-1.0-win.zip 117 MB
Jan 20, 2019
TTOW-demo2-1.0-mac.zip 116 MB
Jan 20, 2019
TTOW-demo2-1.0-linux.tar.bz2 119 MB
Jan 20, 2019

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Comments

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One thing before I play the demo: how far can we get into the routes? I don't want to get spoiled too much before the full game, so I might not play the demo, depending on the answer.

Hmm, I suppose in most routes you get an overview of the past two years from the POV of the MC and her love interest (if any) and then usually a meeting which outlines a general plan going forward and that is it. If you are unsure, perhaps you could play the route you are least invested in to get a feel for what I mean. 

Thanks for playing

FULL DEMO!!! (The art above is ADORABLE, btw XD Let's be REAL: MC is LOVABLE enough she SINGLE-HANDEDLY STOPS ALL WARS~) I hope  other sales are fruitful so you can get the funds needed for 'Thorns'! *crosses fingers*

One Question: 'in routes where you are closer to court you will know more of what has been happening in the political situation (at least, at the beginning) than if your character has been living outside of Segunda for the last two years' -- naturally Leo and the Prince's routes will have the most Direct 'canon' ties with the war -- but does that mean for routes like Sofia's/Charlotte's there won't be as much political intrigue? Playing 'Rose', I was happy to see how you handled all routes Fairly - but I admit, I'm a little concerned, now, if your romance is with one of the girl's, you won't get as involved a story? With MC being second only to the throne, I feel like even if she's not connected to a source to the crown, she(like her Mother)can still be a Game-Changer if she so chooses. Or are you planning to go an entirely Different route with those LIs farther away/uninterested in the Crown?

(+1)

Things are still in the planning stages, but you should be able to get just as involved in the political situations in all routes - a shared factor in all of the demo routes was your Mother turning up and demanding you help her/the Parisi in the coming negotiations, so you'll still have a lot of influence, and how you help will be fairly different in each route with different potential outcomes. 

When I wrote  'in routes where you are closer to court you will know more of what has been happening in the political situation (at least, at the beginning) than if your character has been living outside of Segunda for the last two years' I was more referring to how you have a little bit more inside knowledge of how the King has been behaving in, say, Guill's route, that you do in Charlotte's for example.

Thank you for answering. I actually just finished watching Charlotte demo with friend(she SQUEED like crazy, btw)and I could Definitely see the workings of some serious political intrigue with the More hands-on approach of MC's mother speaking on the fate of her own house as well as Charlotte's. With that route it felt more out of the frying pan into the Fire kind of start, as opposed to Sofia's where you get A Lot more background on current events and the idea that peace talks will happen (as well as Sofia's family possibly being implicated due to new union) - but it's a bit more Vague how MC will be directly involved with the volatile political landscape(beyond being at peace talks). So I absolutely saw your quoted piece in Action.

Apologies if it seemed like I was taking your words out of context -- I more so Read that section and it made me think on what I asked. Given this particular game's Circumstances - and how Male romances are the only ones that lead to the throne - it naturally feels they'd have More *Weight*, story-wise. Going at it from the Stance of the F/F relationship is akin to being the Underdog. From what I've learned in Charlotte's demo, it looks like the MC could have the Possibility of playing both warring sides like her mother (i.e. not Getting the throne, but Deciding who *Does*). Which makes me Very Interested from that Female perspective -- because it seems those 2 routes will have a More guileful touch. Which: Awesome in its own way! My biggest Fear was just not feeling like I got cheated, story-wise, because I didn't end up with a quote on quote 'non-Influencer' male character.

"Apologies if it seemed like I was taking your words out of context "

Not at all - if things aren't clear I'd be much happier to know people are speaking up and asking questions about it. ^_^