#info: gameplay

[thegrayascendancy-if]

I cannot seem to find any of the personal secrets?

Like, I have found the ‘Magic’ one

And I know where the ‘Persons of interest’ one is (though I chose the other option because more Y was too tempting)

But the personal secrets just don’t appear no matter what and how often I try.

On a side note… how important is finding those secrets? Is it more like a ‘opens up opportunity for some fun/scheming but doesn’t do anything groundbreaking in the long run’ or a ‘major advantages might be hidden behind those that might tip the scale in your favour in the long run, so you don’t want to skip out on them” type thing. (Or, obviously, it depending on the secret since I can see them coming in useful in varying degrees.)

Also out of curiosity do we only get one chance to discover each secret? I mean obviously currently we do, but when the game/story progresses further will we get another chance to pick up a secret from a different source if we previously missed it?

The Personal secrets collectible so far are very dependent on your stats, so there isn't a strict path to unlocking them. That will not always be the case, and some, like the current PoI secret, will be unlocked with a single choice.

Here is a very relevant post that explains the function of secrets in the game, as well as some associated mechanics (for example, yes, you will have more than one chance to unlock certain secrets).

[thegrayascendancy-if]

I was wondering if you could tell us the maximum number of affection points you can get with each RO in game so far?

Love your work! Hope you're having a great day!

I wish I could, it would make coding so much easier, but I don't know of any way to get my hands on these numbers. It should go something like Y (~55) > Jax (~30) > Gale (<20) = Darla (<20) > Arthur (<10). That's the ballpark across my tests, though a very rough one. The numbers fluctuate as I tweak scenes, so I wouldn't worry over them at this point.

[thegrayascendancy-if]

hi there.

first of all, its quite some time since i last played this IF, so apologize, if i dont remember every detail. anyways, i was thinking about this game and thats how i came up with this question:

if i remember correctly, MC´s mission is to find some informations(?). to do that, they have to become friends/become trustworthy in the eyes of gale, arthur & darla (or atleast to one of them). now i wondered, gameplaywise, how would one achieve this? do i need to reach a certain threshold of relationship points to suceed (e.g. you have to reach 50 relationship with all to suceed or you fail the task/reach a bad ending) OR will the outcome of the mission be the result of which choices you picked (for example: during important story scenes will there be choices which would boil down to "support Y or not". and depending on how many times you chose the "support Y" option, the mission is successfull or not.

i hope its somewhat clear what i mean. thank you for your answer.

It's a fun question, thank you for asking!

Relationship stat is decoupled from the (hidden) trust stat. Trust measures how genuine the character is being toward the mc, and there is a separate stat that measures how genuine the mc is being toward each character. In a game heavy on subterfuge mechanics, it just had to become this complicated, I guess!

Both stats and certain choices will influence the unfolding events. Depending on what you are trying to do, you might not even care if certain characters listen to you. In the long run, they impact the character's future and what the ending will be like: who will be where, what they will say, and interesting things like whether they make it out alive.

As to steering things in Y's favor, it is in your hands how obvious you make it and how often you do it. There is some leeway because Y understands the mc might be forced to compromise.

Hope this clears some things up!

[thegrayascendancy-if]

having a hidden trust meter with people separate from their affinity/friendship is soooo sexy to me🤭i assume it's generally at least a little bit of both, but do you see it as representing a primarily conscious or unconscious process for each character?

Thank you! I'm having so much fun playing with this Double Reverse Quadruple Agent thing, and having layers to each relationship is a big part of it. The game actually tracks trust, affection both ways (general relationship "temperature"), and the MC's genuineness toward each character. It allows for complex relationships, up to the characters willing to gaslight themselves because they care for the MC that much.

And yes, it is both. Sometimes, their trust is raised not by what they explicitly perceive as trustworthy behavior given the MC's circumstances but also by simple, genuine acts that have nothing to do with the plot (or the character in question).

[thegrayascendancy-if]

aggressively trying to find the 2nd secret and pulling my hair 💀⚰️⚰️⚰️

If it's not the one in the tavern in your time off in Riante, there will be opportunities for it later. Due to its nature, the condition for it is defined very loosely.

[thegrayascendancy-if]

hi there.

i scrolled waaay down to the first post on your blog and was reading my way back up, when i found this poll "Are you playing as a mage or a non-mage?". i know its quite old, but i hope i can still share my thoughts/answer. i would have chosen the non-mage option. my thoughts during the choice ingame was: well, the mage hunters may be resistant/immune against magic, but a good pair of daggers still hurt them the same...

i wouldnt call my MC a non-mage. i think a more fitting class name for her would be spellblade or more fitting a arcane trickster (from D&D). in my head she would still mainly use her twin daggers, but would at the same time use their force/telekinesis magic to cause inconveniences for her enemies: an enemy is standing on a rug? use her magic to pull the rug away, then attack them while they are on the ground see an enemy close to a tree? slap them with a branch via magic and use the distraction to attack. need to distract a guard during an infiltration or steal somehting (a coin purse perhaps)? use telekinesis to solve your problem [why does this sound like an ad for telekinesis??]

i guess i also have a question: in all IF´s ive played, which also had the option to choose between weapons or magic, during fight scene you were only able to choose between using your weapons (and 0 magic) OR using your magic (and 0 weapons). do you maybe plan to add an option during a fight, where MC will mainly fight with their weapon/magic, but still uses a bit of magic/a weapon?

thank you for your answer.

I think I mentioned it before (but it will be difficult to find among all the posts) that it will be possible to come up with a blend of telekinesis and a weapon for a fighting style. You should be able to arrive at it from either end and eventually use both in varying proportions.

That said, accounting for different styles does not come to me easily yet, so to compensate for it while I'm working out that creative muscle, I have streamlined what is available as starting options. Eventually, either once a big chunk of the game is complete, or maybe even earlier, I will start going back and expanding the options during fights to sneak in magic/weapons. It's something that I myself really want to do!

[thegrayascendancy-if]

Any updates on the Old Crone minigame? Will I eventually be able to win?

The current plan is to release the next part of Chapter 1 (coming soon) and then expand a few scenes in the prologue, which includes the Old Crone game. However, you should be able to win it even in the current build, the likelihood is simply dependent on the strategy you pick before starting the game. It is randomized as of now, just not 50-50, and it will still be somewhat randomized when it is reworked into a proper mini-game.

If you want to stick with the win, you can reload until the desired outcome in the game's current state.

[thegrayascendancy-if]

Is the game with the cards randomized? Because one time Y won and the other I did haha

It is! In the only currently available path you can try to steer it a bit in your favor by choosing a strategy (or not), but it will still be up to chance. I think it will be interesting to see both outcomes play their role later in the game, so unless you are very particular about your MC's path, it's okay to rely on fate 😅