November 24 Update
Added 2024-11-24 18:00:09 +0000 UTCOn Friday I released the epilogue update, and thankfully people have been enjoying it without any major bugs showing up. I'm basically on top of things, but I'm going to wait a little longer to release the .1 polishing version. As usual, $5 patrons will get a notification when that happens.
That said, I want to do something fun for the tenth anniversary of TLS's prologue! I have a number of things planned for these different anniversaries, ranging from interesting to in-depth to silly.
This one is a bit curious... this link will download a build that is close to what players would have experienced if they downloaded the very first version of the game:
https://mega.nz/file/Kl8gHKBL#NNv5ekxqVzQGwtKcIvQTFPGZhVlgx4plG8qeRn8wZcw
(It isn't actually the original. The very first version has been lost to time, plus I might as well include the bugfixes I did for version 0.2.0... back then, too few people were playing for me to make a version 0.1.1. Otherwise, I resisted the urge to add or change anything, even though it might have been fun to include Blue Yarra as an easter egg.)
It's just the prologue of the game, so in a sense there's no point in downloading, but I think it's an interesting artifact of the past. The game was called The Last Fucklord back then, if you didn't know - I still think this is wonderfully ridiculous, even if changing the title was the right decision.
The other major difference you'd notice if you played is that back then TLS was literally a zero budget game. I didn't have many of the assets I have today, so I couldn't introduce certain characters and you'll see some familiar faces who were eventually replaced with proper assets.
So yes, this is where it all started. I posted this version... and basically nobody cared. But soon, just a few months later... well, still very few people cared. It's surreal that TLS has gradually become something that so many people care about.
Thank you all for joining me on this journey. ^-^ I hope you'll stick with me as I try to complete TLS as the best game it can be!
Comments
TLS was the first project of yours I came across and truth be told I have no idea how since it was so long ago. If I had to guess I would say Itch if it was on their back whenever I started. Since then I have finished all of your titles besides the Crimson Gray series (maybe one day). I wonder if there are more fans like me or "OG" fans (probably the former?)
Sundeigh
2024-11-29 02:39:41 +0000 UTCThe horizontal save (only) files. What a blast from the past. Anecdotally, I dont remember the original sequence very well, but I swear current-Sabitha and current Anak weren't there/like that. But man, just the old-school audio, the non-resizable tiny window, lowering windows' resolution on startup to make that tiny window playable, the stock(?) book main menu bg, the ever present bgm blaring, the bright blue UI, man. I feel old now....
Cod Wick
2024-11-26 20:21:35 +0000 UTCSorry, but I hadn't decided yet!
Sierra Lee
2024-11-26 19:26:40 +0000 UTCGlad you liked it. ^-^ I never got a massive boost in popularity, actually. Very few people cared 2014-2015, even after the rename, there was just a slow and steady increase 2016-2018. I think this is less any specific plot element than good word of mouth as the long term consequences developed.
Sierra Lee
2024-11-26 19:26:16 +0000 UTCOffering the options was something I always appreciated, for the freedom it offered, but I personally never took them, and I agree that it doesn't fit with the spirit of TLS. Other games can pull it off, and it can be fun to play the evil side, but I never commit to it. Being evil only gets you so far, and I'm too much of a bleeding heart to not get the happy ending ^^
guillaume nguyen
2024-11-26 17:52:53 +0000 UTCWhat dubious name was planned for Estaven ? We need to know !!!
guillaume nguyen
2024-11-26 16:43:39 +0000 UTCWow, saying this is bleakingly bareboned is such a criminal understatement XDXDXD So glad I found the game much later.... was it after the Third Arclentian War ? I can't remember, this game is part of my life for too long ^^ A lot of assets are different, and the music is completely off beat with the atmosphere, but having read your books and played your games, hints of greatness are still visible in that first draft. It's funny to contrast this version to the polished prologue you released not long ago, especially when you consider that most of the original assets stayed for the near entirety of this decade ^^ So Xestris was originally a random orc... If she had knowledge of this, she would be PISSED ^^ So many of the little additions I take for granted are missing, the backlog, the quest, the controls.... Along with the busts, balance, new skills, and base customisation, I can barely comprehend the amount of coding work you and your team have done all those years. Respect. To be honest, what I'm really looking forward to playing is that (in)famous april joke build ^^ I wanna see the REEEE Simon, possibly expended over important plot slices XDXDXD "Simon, we need to stop them !!! Or it'll be the end of the world !!!" "REEEEEE !!!!" Hahahahahaha XDXDXD By the way, at what point in the developement did the game really started to become popular ? I know renaming it 'The Last Sovereign' was an important factor, but what element of the plot really cemented that trend ? Anyways, it was fun to play this short piece of history. See you soon !!!
guillaume nguyen
2024-11-26 16:41:08 +0000 UTC>Does that planning apply even to characters that wouldn't be mentioned or be plot-relevant for a long time? Uyae, Lilith, Elleani? Was Tanurak always planned? Uyae and Elleani had files picked out! A lot of busts were in the game early, some of them even with spoilers (like Ivala's name) because I didn't realize people would be regularly decrypting the game and looking at everything. Lilith existed as a general idea, but I didn't have resources I liked for her (actually commissioned the blue edit in the end). Tanurak existed but I went back and forth on what his appearance should be a lot - I had his bust in my files from the beginning, but wasn't sure if I should use it for him until later. >Did you know that who the main 2 antagonists would be, back then? 100%. The core plot is older than creating the RPG Maker project for the first time. That's why so many of the key figures appear in the interlude scenes (but not Hester, because she was the surprise to the Anak's expected). > Did you have an idea of the massive role The Tower would play from Chapter 4 and onward, and how the magic system would function, even back when you started the game? Mostly - you'll notice that the first reference to the Tower is fairly early in the story. Things were always going to conclude with a big Tower fight, but the player ended up doing more Tower delving than I had originally thought. At a certain point the stakes had escalated enough that it just didn't make sense not to have it involved regularly. >Also noticed a clear absence of Xestris in the 0.1. Was she also a later addition, or was it just a case of missing assets? Maybe "early addition" is the best descriptor. I didn't have her role thought through at the beginning, but when she was added in 0.8.0 I had her figured out. For the record, I intend to get into a lot of detail on my development process when I do my replay, which will be a sort of developer's commentary. But that will come after I have the postgame and all QoL features done.
Sierra Lee
2024-11-25 15:49:00 +0000 UTCGlad you enjoyed the little blast from the past! Yes, version 0.8.x was the big rework, but what you're seeing is before that. The rework included new maps, new character art, and yes, things like the options menu. Some of those were basically placeholder: Estaven was a basic hero face who didn't even have good expressions. I was operating on the hope that I would eventually be able to upgrade those components. Custom battlers were also later inclusions, reliant on helpful fans or commissioning artists. The original music was all RTP (what comes with the engine). I eventually changed it to remove nearly all RTP. Yarra originally had an entirely different design. Maybe Blue Yarra can show up later. ^-^
Sierra Lee
2024-11-25 15:44:48 +0000 UTCHaving all of that planned out that early is insanely impressive to me. Forgive the torrent of questions, but my curiosity is getting the best of me: Does that planning apply even to characters that wouldn't be mentioned or be plot-relevant for a long time? Uyae, Lilith, Elleani? Was Tanurak always planned? Did you know that who the main 2 antagonists would be, back then? Did you have an idea of the massive role The Tower would play from Chapter 4 and onward, and how the magic system would function, even back when you started the game? Also noticed a clear absence of Xestris in the 0.1. Was she also a later addition, or was it just a case of missing assets?
DankPotatoes
2024-11-25 14:17:04 +0000 UTCWow, I get why a lot of people wouldn't be interested in playing an old version of the game, but I think it's fascinating. I wasn't around super early on and didn't get to see initial versions of the game. Just quickly looking at the version history on the wiki, it seems like a lot of 'modern' changes came through in the 0.8 version, especially in regards to graphics and such. I've always wondered what these early versions were like and how much got changed over time with new updates. Did you archive any of the old version of the game (even if the very early versions are gone)? The first thing that really stuck out to me in 0.1 is the lack of an options menu. I think this moreso than anything else makes the version feel amateurish. Obviously the title changed, but everything else with the story/characters/dialogue is more or less in tact. The gameplay is also still very recognizable with (mostly) the same character abilities seen in the current version. The game balance even in this early version is refreshingly competent. I've played other RPG Maker games that are either too difficult, or much more common, too easy. Even in this early 0.1 version, the game encourages the player to experiment with different abilities, element types, and status effects, without jumping down your throat and giving a game over if you aren't perfectly sequencing abilities. The new sprites/facesets/art/maps came later (in some cases much later), but it's cool to see how functional the game part of the game was even at this point. I think the older version of the Ivala face would have been fine, even if the current version is an improvement. But the old Estavan face would not have worked for that character, the current version is much better. And poor Xestris didn't even exist yet. The battle sprites got overhauled at some point too, and getting to see Riala look like Riala is definitely better. Some of the music choices in 0.1 are also random (and I'm guessing were limited by availability) that are a lot better now. Anyway, thank you Sierra for providing this older version. You definitely deserve the audience you cultivated this past decade and have created a strong catalogue of creative output. Lastly, you can't just dangle 'Blue Yarra' out there and then not follow up. We need to know :)
Innocuous
2024-11-25 01:33:33 +0000 UTCThank you for the answer!
WaxerRed
2024-11-24 23:25:28 +0000 UTC^-^
Sierra Lee
2024-11-24 23:12:20 +0000 UTCHaha, in the original all Incubus Kings were dubbed "Fucklords" and Estaven would have needed an even more ridiculous title. I'm glad to hear that you've enjoyed your time with TLS!
Sierra Lee
2024-11-24 23:12:13 +0000 UTCSo glad I ran across this game in the long long ago. Thanks for making it and all the other stuff over the years. It's been awesome!
Runcible Technician
2024-11-24 22:03:50 +0000 UTC"The Last Fucklord" ... That is freaking hilarious! I definitely can envision a version where we'd play as Estaven. Probably would be pretty hardcore tho. I played TLS for the first time so long ago I'm curious to see that early version. To this day it is the game I've played most of all video games I've played period. The hard consequences of seemingly trivial game choices really took TLS to another level than what was available on the market when it hit the ground. I remember first time I played, I was dumb enough to invest in flower speculation. Also, I remember the aftermath of the first time I attempted to defend Yhilin. The city was in such a bad state I got depressed and stopped playing for awhile. I didn't understand the complexity involved in making the game progress in a positive way. Huge replay value there; so happy you persevered through the years to make this one a gem. Thanks for the many years and here's to many more!
Charles Alexandre Bilodeau
2024-11-24 21:58:34 +0000 UTCGlad you enjoyed it! I thought this would be a fun little coda. ^-^ The postgame will require some much heavier lifting, but I hope everyone will agree it's worth the wait.
Sierra Lee
2024-11-24 21:34:41 +0000 UTCThe epilogue was great, I was laughing out loud at several parts, I'd easily put it in my top 5 parts of the whole game. I'll definitely check out this old version, that sounds fun- I'm incredibly excited to see the post game though, I have no doubt it will maintain the same quality of the rest of the game
An_Insane_Rogue_AI
2024-11-24 20:22:27 +0000 UTCTough question! If I was really faced with some sort of time travel message scenario, I'd be paralyzed by indecision. Trying to approach the spirit of the question... there are multiple categories: minor issues, missteps, and things I might change if I were to reimagine TLS. There are pieces that I might handle differently, but that I'm not sure I would, since it would change the character of the game. The two options for Altina are much more in line with a generic good/bad paths game, and given the information I've since learned about the demographics of these choices, I didn't continue this throughout the game. There's value in more consistency, but there's also value in what Altina brings to the game, I think.
Sierra Lee
2024-11-24 19:26:52 +0000 UTCMost things were in the original plan. Did I have all seven high priestesses decided? No, I didn't have assets for everyone. But the core plot twists and principle characters were always the goal.
Sierra Lee
2024-11-24 19:25:41 +0000 UTCI'm very grateful for the support of everyone who has quietly supported over the years as well!
Sierra Lee
2024-11-24 19:24:50 +0000 UTCCongrats on the many years of success game making! If you could go back and give 10 years young er SL any advice for making the game, what do you think it would be? You’ve been able to make some gameplay and artistic updates to the early stages of the game, but are there any early narrative choices you regret or wish you could change?
WaxerRed
2024-11-24 19:06:04 +0000 UTCHoly crap, what a fun blast from the past. Thank you for that! It really is unreal how far this game has come. Really makes me wonder how much of the later shenanigans, plot twists and characters you had planned out back then, and how much of it was something you came up with, over the years
DankPotatoes
2024-11-24 18:56:00 +0000 UTCIt has been a great journey indeed. I am glad to have been part of it, even if I was more of a silent observer. Thank you for everything.
Drakenclaw
2024-11-24 18:11:45 +0000 UTC
