Aalam's Voiced Love Letter Unlocked
about 1 year ago
– Fri, Oct 06, 2023 at 10:00:43 AM
Hello all! You guys are the true Celestials! We have unlocked voiced love letters for ALL the love interests!! This is so exciting. I have been holding back writing them, hoping that we'd get all three, and the dream came true! I can't wait to get started on this project. Since the route gameplay video doesn't require anyone but me, that reward will be released first probably, but these voiced love letters won't be far behind. Again, THANK YOU!
Also, Aalam is absolutely SMASHING the route gameplay video poll! This ratio hasn't changed since the first few votes. Sahi and Lune fans, if you want a chance you'll have to turn up!
Aalam's Pinup
In other Aalam news, his pinup is completed! Here's a teaser.
You can still get these pinups as an add-on! Don't miss out on these spicy snapshots.
Aalam's Route
It is an Aalam kind of day! Today, I'll be working on scene 24 of Aalam's route, where Terra gets to show off their musical chops. Did you know they play the violin? With everything going on, they haven't had much time to practice. But in all the wedding preparations, there might just be time for a little music.
That means there are just 6 more scenes to edit and then the endings! If I keep this pace, I should finish with the route before the end of the Kickstarter, then I'll move on to the endings. These endings are quite long, and that goes the same for all routes. Sahi's best end is 17,000 words, unedited (even if a big chunk of it is just smut 👀). That's nearly 30% of the length of the route, and that's in addition to the 60,000 words of the route itself. While that one will likely stay the longest, I expect Aalam's endings to expand a lot in editing due to scenes I need to flesh out from the first draft. I think they will average about 10,000 words each. I will keep you posted on the final word counts as I finish everything up.
NSFW Toggle
Just a reminder that Celestial Crowns' NSFW is optional! You can toggle it on and off from the menu. With it off, Celestial Crowns will have a PG-13 rating. For me this means that when spicy scenes occur, they fade to black instead of playing through. They will, however, still occur and characters might reference them in later scenes, still in a PG-13 way.
473/700 tumblr followers
7/20 fanworks
513/1000 wishlists
We passed 500 wishlists! Halfway to our goal 🥳
Progress Update | Aalam's Route
about 1 year ago
– Wed, Oct 04, 2023 at 07:55:35 AM
Aalam's Route
I just finished editing scene 22 of Aalam's route! This was an Andrea scene that I made a note to add in the first draft. While it does still focus on the Aalam/Terra romance and the marriage, as is the focus on the route, you can also get some deeper insights into Andrea and have some time with them away from the hustle and bustle of wedding planning.
I'd love to add in more of these calmer scenes, but Aalam's route is already the longest at about 74,000 words and I still have editing to do in the later scenes, so I want to avoid it getting overly padded. As much as I'd love for Celestial Crowns to go on forever it's got to have an end 🥲
The routes are meant to be about the same length as the first three chapters, which you've played (or can play) in the demo, at 60,000 words (the first three chapters are around 57K). So in game time you're about halfway through at the end of the first three chapters.
This wasn't entirely intentional as I didn't expect that portion to be so long, but I think it all worked out as I'm quite happy with the pace of them and the different character interactions I got to show. CC is the first game where I've tried to do three entirely separate routes. Usually in my games there is a shared common route and then the LI's scenes branch off and then come back together multiple times throughout the story. I'm very happy I finally tried this way and I look forward to using this method in future games, as not only does it make the routes feel more coherent (to me), but it was also a bit easier to write not having to plan everything around a single common route (for me). I like visual novels that do it both ways, and I'll probably continue to implement both in the future as well depending on what narrative style best suits the game.
Moving forward from here I'll be editing scene 23, where you get to experience more of Terra as a ruler and can make some decisions that will impact Andromeda's viewpoint of you.
Throughout Aalam's route there are choices that will affect how the people see you. You can still get the good/best end no matter how you decide to rule in Andromeda, but gaining favor with the people and council will change some details in the story.
Route Gameplay Video
Don't forget to vote for which route gameplay video will be released! The poll will close when the Kickstarter's over. I'll be recording a stream where I'll play through the first three routes and allow the chat to choose which choices they want. This method was voted for in a past stream as people thought it would be more interactive and fun. I might also just do a plain recording for people who don't want to hear my voice 🥲
Alignment Chart
I made these a while ago for Instagram and thought they were fun :)
Kickstarter Recommendation
A dark fantasy visual novel just launched on Kickstarter! This is being made by another solo dev like me, check it out.
Eva has a world inside her head: the land of Astraela, where Darkness and Corrupted beasts threaten eternal doom. Vivid dreams have given her four books as an up-and-coming author, but when undead fiends appear on Earth for a killing spree, she is caught in the crossfire between dreams and reality.
Check it out here.
Tumblr followers: 471/700
7/20 fanworks
488/1000 wishlists.
We are nearly at 500 wishlists! This is very exciting 🥳
Vote for a route by 10/12!
about 1 year ago
– Mon, Oct 02, 2023 at 06:45:41 AM
Hello all! As we hit over 50 backers, I'll be releasing a route gameplay video showing the first three scenes of a route. Please vote here to choose which route you'd like shown. I'm using Google Forms so people not on social media or who don't want to join the discord can participate, and so that voting is kept to backers only. You shouldn't need a gmail address to vote. If you have trouble, please leave a comment here.
I'll be releasing the video soon after the Kickstarter as the first in rolling updates for rewards, the next being Lune's voiced love letter! So make sure to vote if you're interested.
Want to learn more about Andrea? We are less than 30 followers away from their microfic! Here's a bit about them. Are they more or less of a workaholic than Lune?
Have questions about the other characters? Feel free to comment here or AMA on Tumblr.
Community Goals
470/700 tumblr followers
7/20 fanworks
471/1000 steam wishlists (I just missed getting the same number as tumblr 😆)
We're creeping closer to our goals! I know exactly which CG I'd add to the prologue... (assassin *cough*) if you haven't wishlisted the game on Steam already, help us get there!
Personality Branches and Stat System | Endings
about 1 year ago
– Sat, Sep 30, 2023 at 09:58:03 AM
Hello all! I logged on today and saw we'd broken $11,000! We are just $2,000 away from our first stretch goal! I know we can make it 💖
In this update I wanted to go in-depth about the Celestial Crowns stat system and how it works. So let's dive in.
There are 9 stats in Celestial Crowns that determine player personality.
3 Strengths, 3 Flaws, and 3 Ruling styles.
Strengths:
Confident, practical, witty
Flaws:
Impulsive, naive, spoiled
Ruling style:
Gentle, aggressive, strategic
In the first three chapters (the demo), your choices will heavily determine your base personality and give bonus points to the LIs based on traits they like. In addition, your ruling style will determine whose route you get put on. Gentle = marrying Aalam = Aalam's route. Aggressive = going to war = Sahi's route. Strategic = ? = Lune's route.
Choice menus, in general, alternate between locked and unlocked. Locked choice menus are when you will need a minimum of a certain stat to pick it in that menu. For example, in the video above, you need to have chosen confidence at least one time for the confidence option to be available.
The unlocked choice menus ensure there are always chances to continue building on stats you haven't focused on much yet, or had been staying away from.
I am still balancing the menus so that the thresholds are fair and natural in-game, so you might notice some choices were easier to unlock in the new demo build.
There are multiple times when your personality will cause a small, one- or- two- line branch, like below.
In this example, your MC would say something different if witty or spoiled traits were high enough. This allows you to see direct results of your choices and helps really finetune the MC's personality how you want.
Each LI has liked and disliked traits. Choosing a trait they like is more likely to raise points, while choosing a trait they dislike is more likely to lower them, but it's not a hard and fast rule as it all depends on context. So mix and match how you like and think about each character's personality while playing to get the best ending!
Is it clear how the stats work? Any questions? Put them down below!
Endings
There are 9 endings in Celestial Crowns, a bad, good, and best end for each LI. The most common ending you are likely to receive is the good end. Choices that accumulate to lead to the bad end will be fairly obvious. I don't want this to be a 'hard' game where it's difficult to get a nice ending. Getting the best end might require some thinking though!
Still slowly heading toward our community goals!
Tumblr followers: 466/700
7/20 fanworks
Steam wishlists: 436/1000 - Make sure to wishlist the game if you haven't already! This really helps us.
Masc version of spicy CG | LI's ideal dates
about 1 year ago
– Wed, Sep 27, 2023 at 09:43:20 AM
Hello all! The Kickstarter is halfway over! We have met our goal and then some! I am so happy with how things have gone so far and so grateful for all the support and well wishes. Thank you!
Masc Version of Spicy CG
Erupan just finished the masc version of this wonderful Aalam CG! I can't wait for you guys to experience it in game.
We have a tentative plan for finishing the rest of the CGs, and I'll be posting WIPs in the sneak peek channel as she goes!
LI's Ideal Dates
As requested by Belxsar during my weekly drawing stream, here are the LI's ideal dates! Which one is your favorite?
Aalam: It would be an all-day affair. It would begin with a lavish breakfast and then a stroll through a snow-covered glade. Some sledding and hot chocolate later, you’d return for a light lunch and then retire to your rooms for a different kind of exercise. Dinner in bed and some stargazing from the balcony.
Sahi: A picnic on the beach with all your favorite foods. Swimming together in the ocean, then drying off with a long walk in the sand.
Lune: Getting some work done together in the library, then having dinner. Afterward, an evening play.
Update
I have finished editing Aalam's bad end and am currently on scene 20/30! I think I will finish his second draft before the Kickstarter ends. This will be great because I can jump straight into testing and move on to Sahi's route a little quicker! I'll be posting snippets in the sneak peeks channel once the Kickstarter is done!
Tumblr followers: 460/700
7/20 fanworks
433/1000 wishlists
