Chop Shop is 18+ for language, themes, and explicit content.
🔗 - Game Intro | Bug Report | Ko-Fi
Episode Five is now available! (+ 71,000) - PLAY ON ITCH OR NEOCITIES
Time to decompress.
Inez has a question.
Vote on a problem.
And more!
This update comes with a patch (Version 1.3.4) but you will not need to start a new save file. I've updated the neocities page so it's now actually has a game page and is not just the game file itself. Patch notes + author notes are under the cut. If preferred, you can access them in game at the start menu!
STORY
EPISODE 001:
Edited/rewrote the post-bar scenes. Felt like it needed some refreshing.
Edited/rewrote the 'end game' branch. Also needed a refresh.
Edited the look/ make of Jonno's car. This should now be consistent.
Other general edits and fixes.
EPISODE 002:
Edited the Dilani conversation at the end of the episode.
OTHER EPISODES:
General edits and fixes.
UI + TECHNICAL
DASHBOARD:
Updated background colours and padding for the Glossary list.
General edits and fixes.
CREATE A SAVE
Updated to include choices for Episode .005 selection.
AN: hi friends! been a while!!
i feel like i don't have much to say about episode 05 other than i am extremely proud and exhausted. i did not plan on writing this much and to take this long but hey-ho, we are finally here!
i think this is the heaviest chapter so far when it comes to crew interaction which i am excited about. there are many chances to gain friendship points as well as them actually counting towards variations and scenes towards the end. but, of course there's always the option to not get along with the crew too...
very excited for how that's going to play out in the future. we're getting there, slowly but surely, let the mc downfall begin.
a massive thank you to my wonderful betas that have put in an incredible effort to help me with this episode! it was a dense one to start with and i can't thank them enough for the help.
please direct any problems, bugs and/or errors the freshly updated bug report form.
finally -- happy update day!! thank you so much for the support and patience. i have had nothing but love during that long writing period and it really helped me keep going. i hope you enjoy reading - much love, becky :-) <3
This is an update that's been a long time in the making. All of the big Chasing Starlight edits are complete! All of the chapters you know and love are now on AO3! Some of them have been merged, with new material added to better round them out. I'm staying true to my word and leaving the original chapters on the blog, but I have decided to move them to their own masterlist because the new chapter numbers no longer align with the old ones. It just makes it easier for me to post the updates moving forward.
Ok, I got chp 8 Closer Still back on track (Miguel/Peter focused but eventual poly in CaLC).
Excerpt:
“Peter is coming back at the end of this week.”
Miguel’s hand twitched. He didn’t have to ask Jess which Peter. He kept his eyes down below on the street of this new Earth-20093, waiting for the anomaly to surface. Lyla’s tracking suggested that they’d get ahead of the anomaly at this junction so they watched. Well, Miguel was watching. Jess kept an eye on him.
“How do you feel about that?”
The eyes of Miguel’s mask squinted. “You taking up Ezekiel’s job now?”
“Nope. I don’t know how he does it with that many spider folk. I’m just looking at you.” Jess crossed her arms. “I don’t know what happened between you two but is it going to be an issue working with him again?”
“No.”
Jess quirked her brow. Miguel sighed and hung his head a little. He should know that it was pointless trying to lie to her. He’d think he’d learnt that lesson by now.
“I don’t know,” he quietly admitted. He squared his shoulders. “But I won’t let it get in the way of the job.”
“I’m not worried about the job.” Jess’ face softened. “You know that, right?”
Chop Shop is strictly 18+ for language, themes, and potential explicit content.
🔗 - Game Intro | Bug Report | Ko-Fi
Episode Four is now available! (+ 59,000) - PLAY HERE
Debrief after your meeting with Inez.
Steal... or don't!
Yvonne has a secret.
2 more achievements.
And more!
This update comes with a patch (Version 1.2.3) For this update you will need to start a NEW SAVE. An updated inventory macro has been implemented and is not compatible with old saves. I really wish you didn't have to but it's what's best for the game and its longevity!
Patch notes + author notes are under the cut. If preferred, you can access them in game in the start menu.
STORY
PROLOGUE:
General edits and fixes.
More vague, as to not elicit any emotional connection to the crew for continuity.
EPISODE 01:
Added a new set of personality building choices when meeting KJ, Jonno, Natasha and Aiden at the bar.
EPISODE 02:
Tweaked the conversation with Dilani in the closing scene to reflect more on the situation. Added some more fearful dialogue and flavour text.
Other general edits and fixes.
EPISODE 03:
Fixed gaps and spacing issues.
Minor phrasing and sentence structure changes.
Grammar and typo fixes.
UI + TECHNICAL
SETTINGS:
Changing the font size now only applies to the game text in the passages.
Added descriptions to the toggleable settings.
UI:
The background now changes colour dependent on what theme you are using, instead of the default black.
INVENTORY:
The inventory macro has been updated! Previously V2, now V3 of the ChapelR Simple Inventory Macro.
CREATE A SAVE
Modified the randomise PC choice, setting pronouns in 'sets' instead of randomising each pronoun separately.
GAMEPLAY MODE
Players can now choose a gameplay mode when starting a new save: Regular or Challenge.
Challenge mode disables the back button, disallowing players to return to the previous passage. Players cannot redo dice rolls or try out different choices for desired outcomes.
Challenge mode is not available in Create A Save. All CAS made saves default to regular mode.
AN: hello hello! it has been a while -- episode 04 is finally here!
this ep was a long one to get through but we finally made it out of the fog. i found that i wrote a bunch of stuff that just... didn't fit? but is hopefully going to be used later down the line, so it's cool i've got shells of scenes for later.
i can't find any game breaking bugs myself and my amazing beta testers have scanned through as many possible variants as they can! of course, if there is anything funky, broken, or maybe not triggering correctly, please submit a bug report!
again i will say that you will need to start a NEW SAVE for this update. unfortunately the updated inventory macro is not compatible with previous saves. i really didn't want this to be a thing when updating chop shop but it is unfortunately just the way for this update - apologies!! i know it's super annoying when games do this but chop shop is still a wip so there will always be some teething problems along the way.
as i look through my notes, we have now completed act 1 of my outline (AAAAHH) so soooo exciting. finally pc can stop wringing their hands about being bad and actually //start// being bad.
if you've made it this far -- hello and thank you! i'm so happy we're at the point where PC is making some real decisions, taking another step into their life of crime.
happy update day and happy reading!! thank you so much for the continued support and patience!!! i hope you enjoy the new episode! - becky :-) <3
Chop Shop is strictly 18+ for language, themes, and potential explicit content.
🔗 - Game Intro | Bug Report | Ko-Fi
Episode Three is now available! (+ 86,000) - PLAY HERE
Get your first taste of the underground car scene.
Meet some other players in the game.
Be made an offer.
5 achievements up for grabs!
And more!
AN: thank you so much for the patience - i've been dying to put this update out. lots of new characters and lots of variation!! there are 3 major paths to choose between in this ep, i recommend trying them all out! and thank you to my betas for keeping me sane lmao
This update comes with a patch and UI refresh (Version 1.1.2) Notes are under the cut. If preferred, you can access them in game in the start menu.
STORY
EPISODE 01:
MC should now be able to smoke! Buying cigarettes at the shop was not triggering correctly. If playing with an old save, you DO NOT have to restart as code at the beginning of EP 03 has resolved the error. Player will need to restart if they wish to read smoking related scenes in previous episodes.
Updated MC Name selection. Player can now choose from a list of names instead of having to input one to proceed.
Player can now give Taha their chocolate bar if it's in their inventory.
When asking Maz about their scars, the second choice 'You want to ask about it but you're going to keep your mouth shut.' should now take you to the correct response.
Extended and updated 'End Game' scenes.
EPISODE 02:
If MC is faint after exiting the car, but also drunk, they should now get the fainting scene, followed by Dilani helping the MC in the bathroom.
UI + TECHNICAL
SETTINGS:
Autoname Save is now defaulted to ON. This is to add ease and flow to gameplay, especially for mobile, tablet, and app users, instead of calling for an inputted saved name. If player wants to input save names, toggle Autoname Saves to OFF.
Autoname Save previously only used the forename of the MC but now includes the surname as well.
Removed the Fullscreen toggle as it is only intended for desktop use. Player can still toggle fullscreen function via the UI bar on the desktop interface.
Added a choice indicator toggle. (This probably won't come into effect until EP 04 or 05)
Changed serif font from Vollkron to EB Garamond.
OTHER:
Changing the MC's pronouns via the Dashboard has been updated. Additionally, after confirmation will take player back to the Dashboard and not close the dialog boxes entirely.
Hovering over 'Personality', 'Motives', and 'Skills' titles in the Dashboard will now display an information box with a definition. Mobile and tablet users will need to tap on the title.
'Resume Game' now only appears on the main menu when there is an autosave in the saves log.
Choices styling changes.
General UI and button style changes.
Fixed errors with the text message styling.
Added styling for reading text off of a page in game.
Darkened blue in light theme 'Skyline' to reduce eye strain.
CREATE A SAVE
Introducing Create a Save! This feature allows players to quickly manufacture a save file and start at a later point in the game.
Set your identity, appearance, history, and statistics; including personality, motives, and skills. Continue to set key decisions made in previous episodes.
Randomise options available for creating a PC and key decisions.
OTHER
Fixed gaps and spacing issues.
Minor phrasing and sentence structure changes.
Grammar and typo fixes.
whew -- that's a lot of patch notes! apologies for so much that needed to be fixed.
this update shouldn't break/ mess with saves but as a disclaimer i will say, if you spot anything funky, broken, or you don't think things are triggering correctly, try starting a new save. the new create a save feature is incredibly code heavy, and it's been tested relentlessly, but i wouldn't be surprised if something crops up.
if starting a new save doesn't resolve your issue - please submit to bug report or just send me an ask/message.
some things have been meaning to get fixed for Some Time - thank you to everyone that is using the bug report form!
apologies if there are typos and/or bugs - this was a long one to edit and my lovely betas did an OUTSTANDING job reading so much for ep 3 - thank you so much again!!! this time i am going to give it a bit more time before i put together a patch so i can grab more error responses haha.
create a save has also added a wee chunk to the word count, somewhere around 6k, but i'm not including it in the episode 03 word count as it's purely code. so, if you think the total wc is off, that's why!
if you've read this far, happy reading and thank you so much for the continued support!! :) - becky <3
Chop Shop is strictly 18+ for language, themes, and potential explicit content.
🔗 - Game Intro | Bug Report | ko-fi
WE ARE LIVE!!! Chop Shop has officially relaunched on Itch.io! Available to play on desktop, tablet and mobile.
Prologue - EP .02 are ready to play - the same as the previous demo - with a new word count of 120k. The choicescript demo will be taken down at the end of the month.
Thank you so much to those who have helped me during this transition period of development! It has been crazy frustrating but I am so much more in love with the game than ever. And thank you to everyone who has been patiently waiting - hope you enjoy all the new bits and bobs!!
PLAY THE NEW DEMO NOW!
AN: CS has had some significant rejigging and rewriting. You can read the authors notes under the cut.
chop shop now has it's own UI! woohoo! (totally did not kill me) this, of course, will come with teething problems and accessibility issues. i am welcome to constructive feedback!
there are a lot of new dialog boxes to explore, especially the dashboard, which includes the PC's profile, inventory, contacts and a glossary page. (the stat definitions page from the old choicescript demo has been scrapped, too much text that wasn't needed.)
chapters are now called episodes! not a huge change but i prefer the vibe yknow.
there have been some extensive rewrites - especially in ep .01, the bar scene got a lot more fleshing out - so i expect typos and grammar errors have slipped through. this doesn't bother me too much but i appreciate any one who spots them to send them in!
there is now an 'end game' scenario in ep. 01. i won't be providing a walkthrough as i think it's relatively obvious given the scenario but it does give you an achievement!
i've kept achievements like the old choicescript demo but it no longer rewards points. maybe i will think of something to reward the player with later down the line?? who knows
i don't want to explain ALL the new details as i really encourage people to go find all the new flavour text and other things etc!!
next -- if you have not noticed, i have added a bug report to the links list. all issues, bugs, and errors found in the public demo can now be reported via the new bug report form.
in terms of writing, i am now porting episode 3. i have had rewrite plans for this chapter for a while, so i imagine this port will take some time. i was in the middle of writing episode 4 when i decided to make the twine jump lmao, so it hasn't been touched for a LONG time, probably since march. i plan to jump straight back into writing when episode 3 is all done!
like before, ep 3 won't be released until ep 4 has a first draft and i'm happy with the shape and direction. so it will be some time before i am able to release new content. but - we ball!
thank you for reading this far and i hope you enjoy the new and improved demo! happy reading! - becky :^)
chop shop is a crime-focused action in development. this story is strictly +18 for language, themes and potential sexual content.
PROLOGUE + CH .01 | 37,725 – PLAY HERE!
starting off with a bang, a taste of the future to come.
determine the PCs background, and start establishing personality, skills and motives.
meet a strict shopkeeper and her dreamer son, your headache of a boss, your childhood best friend and his new rich-clique of friends.
oh, and it's your birthday! though it seems only that stranger you're talking to cares.
and more!
AN – holy shit it's here!!! thank you SO much to my friends/ beta team for your support and feedback during development! i really could not have brought this all to life without all of you. thank you thank you thank you again 💗🏁
chop shop is a crime-focused action in development. this story is strictly +18 for language, themes and potential explicit content.
CH .02 | +35,350 - PLAY HERE
Chop Shop: Chapter .02 is now available! What to expect:
meet the rest of the crew; four, dilani and sunny.
take a bribe -- or don't!
a conversation with natasha and her plans to come.
finally get your hands on some birthday cake.
someone makes you an offer.
and more!
AN - ch2 is here!! i have done some tiny tweaking to ch1, adding hidden achievements for natasha, maggie, jax and taha. most notably, there are headlines at significant transitions in the story, just for the reader to keep track of where the mc is in scenes. hopefully this eases the playing experience!
fingers crossed this won't break saves as i haven't added/changed variables for ch1. if you do experience errors or bugs, i recommend playing from the beginning again. if you encounter game breaking bugs, inconsistencies, or find things aren't triggering properly, please feel free to contact me :^)!
