#TLH: progress update

[trailshome]

Small Progress Update

Chapter One (1) is almost done!! I just need to do a final pass to tweak wording and flow, then finish one small route variation, and then it’s done (give or take balancing tweaks)! I hope to push the update out before the end of this month, but we’ll see, and then move on to finishing plotting Chapter Two (2) (which is already 1/3ish of the way plotted). 

As of right now, Chapter One’s word count is 23.5k -- though ChoiceScript seems unhappy about that fact and keeps screaming about tabs and spaces. I don’t count on the final word count being 23.5 but it’ll still probably be more than 22k!

I’m so excited!! And nervous!! Ahh!!

[rhiannons-bird]

I started putting together some TSC playlists. Everything is still in progress , but I’ll just keep updating the post and the playlists as I go along. What I have so far:

The Last Hours

General TLH playlist

Hell Ruelle (just random songs in the spirit of Londons coolest & most scandalous club)

Matthew

Alastair

James

Cordelia

Anna

Grace

Claude Kellington (yes, I am deranged)

Herondaisy

Fairstairs

Heronchild

Heronfairstairs

Grace x Lucie

Gracetopher

Ghostwriter

Arianna

Grace & Jesse

Alastair & Matthew (they got an extra playlist because of the insane overlap in angsty songs)

The Infernal Devices

General TID playlist

Herongraystairs

Will

The Dark Artifices

General TDA playlist

Blackstairs

Kierark

Julian

Annabel

Emma

Malcolm x Annabel

The Circle

Waywood

The Mortal Instruments

General TMI playlist

The Bone Chandelier

Sebastian

Sebastian & Jace

Sebastian & Clary

Team Evil

Bonus Content

Janus

Men written by Cassandra Clare

[trailshome]

progress update: 6/11/2021

Hello, everyone!! I’ve come bearing a small progress update and a sneak-peek at the Twine ver. of Trails (sorry for the quality)!!

It's been a little while since I did a progress update, but I promise they're sporadic for a reason!! I've been working hard, plugging away at the Twine version of Trails and I can finally show you the final results!! It's nothing gorgeous but I hope you all like it!! My next goal is to make a codex for characters, places, and objects -- I'm not sure whether or not I'd like them to be popups or whole passages yet though... hmm...

Anyways, I've written over 1000 words in the last week or so and, while it's not as much as I'd like, I'm rather happy with what I have! Most of it is dedicated to the child version of Route B and I've been watching wilderness survival and bushcraft videos in preparation! I really hope you enjoy it once it's finally out~!! I'd like to write at least 1k next week (I have a few extra day off) and get a good headstart on the rest of Twine-Trails!

Sorry this update is so short and I hope you all have a wonderful day/night/afternoon!! Please stay safe, wear your mask even if you’re vaccinated, and wash your hands!! Sending love to everyone!! <3

[trailshome]

Progress Report: 3/20/2021

I think we're almost at the home-stretch for chapter one part one! I just need to tweak the stats a bit and add a few more choices to the prologue and then it should be ready to play! I'm pretty excited and I hope you enjoy meeting some of the characters!

The current word count for chapter one is about 13k words w/ code and 12k w/out! This will bring the total word count to around 19k give or take a few hundred as I iron out some things! I look forward to feedback to help me improve chapter one because I have no doubt that I'll be going back a few times to make sure you're all getting the best experiance possible!

Some not-quite-Trails related stuff I'm working on is fixing up how I tag things. That might take me a bit, but I hope to have the tags be easier to find -- I'm also writing up Finlay's character profile alongside reworking the other ones to make them look nicer (but those will come waaaaay later)!

Anyways! That's all for now! Stay safe, wear your mask, and please wash your hands! Sending love to everyone!!

[trailshome]

Hello everyone!! I’m bored and my ask box is open if you want to ask anything or send in prompts!! Smooches and stay safe everyone!!

[trailshome]

TLH Discord

Sorry yall! I messed around with the Trails discord a bit but I think I’ve gotten it running about as well as I can. So, uh, if anyone wants to join here’s the link: xx

I’m willing to answer questions over there too if anyone would prefer that, I’ll also might be sharing some extra tidbits over there. You’ll need to ask for the spoilers role but I promise they won’t be too heavy! lol!! I’ll also give more progress reports on there to avoid cluttering the blog with smaller, less important updates!

Smooches!! <3

[trailshome]

demo || ask box || discord || skin palette

Trails Lead Home is an (overly ambitious) fantasy game set in the realm of Okaana, a place now rife with odd paranormal turmoil. The aim of the game is to make the player’s choices matter in some way and to explore the complex relationships between those that you choose as family and those who are born as family. The end goal is to attempt to create a story that tells the tale of new beginnings and starting over.

-- Choose between platonic and romantic relationships between characters; be adopted by a couple seeking to start their own family, romance a knight who’s become a legend, become best friends with a cunning thief or share a tender moment with a rich, business savvy merchant.

-- Play as a child seeking to return to their family, a young adult exploring the intricate wonders of adulthood, or an adult who’s world-wise and wary. Set your pronouns, choose between three ages, select a height, and customize your personality!

-- Grasp the beginnings of wielding magic, develop skills to help you survive this odd world, and form lasting bonds with five main companion characters and several side characters! Choose to romance three ‘monogamous’ ros or join an already established couple!

-- The current demo includes both the child and adult(s) prologues and the first part of chapter one (1) which brings the word count to 25,935 words without code!

-- The next update will include a revised chapter one (1), an edited child prologue, and all (or most) of chapter two (2).

-- The current word count for the unplayable beta is 32k words and counting! I still have quite a bit to finish so stay tuned for updates!

Greta [f] -- Born in the dark, coiling roots of the vast tree city, Greta has never aspired to do anything other than keep her family and friends alive. For years she honed her skills in the Undercity, stalking and stealing from the wealthy who make the mistake of entering her 'hunting' grounds. With the encouragement of her grandfather, she has since decided to branch out, maybe ply her trade for coin... or join her family in their crime deals.

Lesilfae [m] -- Self-proclaimed master of persuasion and a merchant with an iron grasp on various markets in the realm, Lesilfae is a man not to be trifled with. He is, perhaps, one of the more dangerous people to encounter in the city, what with his various connections, and uncanny ability to get information from even the most unknown people. He is the proud owner of his family’s shop (it’s pretty much an heirloom at this point) and a close friend of Galeon Hughes.

Finlay [nb/f] -- A living legend and myth, Finlay is a loyal knight of the Church of Atamentis who is prone to picking up odd pieces of petrified wood and shiny rocks. They were abandoned at birth in the church, one could say that it was only fitting that they became so devoted to the Goddess and her most pious. They are known by many names and titles, but only one has the ability to shake even the most hardened of criminals... “The Right Hand of the Goddess, Her Fury and Justice”.

Galeon [m] & Hollond [nb] -- A couple just trying to live their life. Galeon is a kind-hearted healer who works in illegal healing. His group deals out free magical healing to those who cannot afford the more ‘official’ healers of the church while Hollond works as an apprentice-aid to their step-father, Ortayn Tulair, often using their connections to keep the church away from their partner. The two aren’t sure how long they’ve been together but their guess is over two decades and counting!

? ? ? [f] -- Who is she? Why is she...?

Hey! It’s been a while, when will the next update be available?

Sadly, I cannot say. TLH is a hobby that I do in my spare time, as of 2022, I’ve had more time and motivation to work on it and have been making good progress, though I’m still unsure of a release date. I’m hoping to have the next one out soon but how soon is unknown.

Where can I find more information on the characters?

There currently isn’t a finished character database, but if you search the tag: chara: [insert character name] something should pop up for you! I’m attempting to make a character profile, but right now it’s low priority. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask!

What kind of asks are allowed? Is there anything that’d make you uncomfortable?

I will answer NSFW if it’s asked for and it will be tagged as TLHNSFW, headcanons, “what if”s, clarifications, lore questions, etc. 

I will NOT, however, answer pregnancy asks, murder asks, asks about changing characters, or asks asking about what’s in the NB companion’s pants because... trust me, you’d be horrified imo (partially joking).

Will this be a Twine or COG game?

For now, it’s a COG game but it will not be fully published and, because I don’t vibe with the practices of COG, it will be ported to Twine after the next update. The full game (if I manage to complete it) will be free.

[trailshome]

PROGRESS UPDATE: 12/01/2023

Well, here we are, nearing the end of the road for Chapter One. I've just finished tweaking Lesilfae's section and am now in the home stretch for the lead up to Chapter Two (give or take two spots that need coding tweaks). Finally, after forever and a half of fighting with TLH for progress, I've done it.

Like I said before, you won't be getting the entirety of Chapter Two but rather a small snippet to read. It has a few branches that take place so it's taking much longer to get through unfortunately. However, with my Patreon now set up and in place, of anyone would like more frequent updates to TLH you can sub to a low tier and get a monthly update to the alpha demo alongside other misc goods.

But!! The word count has to strayed much from the original once I started to cut things down and reorganize different sections. That's a bit of a bummer, but there is an expanded Greta path and you get to spend a little more time with Gale and Hollond, hehe! So even though the word count hasn't grown much, it's still got quite a bit of new content and tweaked scenes. One of which you'll notice at the beginning of Chapter One!

Also, reconsidering my port options for TLH -- really liking the way coding in Renpy feels. Obv, it won't be a visual novel but... Maybe we can have a few graphics. As a treat. If I choose Renpy. Twine has been frustrating me to no end, something about it doesn't jive with me but we shall see!!

Also, I know, I know... "Clam, you keep talking about moving TLH but you never do", and in my defense, Learning Hard. Not super hard but like, my attention span is crap, so it takes me way too long... But I digress. I'm not completely all talk haha!!

And, here! Have some character sketch art (it's of Les), as an apology for taking so long.