Progress Reports

[jmaeq]

October 25, 2022 Update for ToB:

• Writing and coding are all done!

What's left to do for SoA and ToB?

• Testing... so much testing
• Proofreading and editing (can never get enough of that)
• Did I mention testing already?

[bewildertrix]

I'm so excited for this! Thank you for all of your hard work (and the updates!), I hope you're recovering well from last month's illness

[jmaeq]

On 11/1/2022 at 2:35 PM, bewildertrix said:

I'm so excited for this! Thank you for all of your hard work (and the updates!), I hope you're recovering well from last month's illness

Thank you very much - I appreciate it!

[jmaeq]

November 9, 2022 Update for SoA and ToB:

• Still trudging along with the testing!

[Guest Respite]

Definitely appreciating the frequent updates.  Take your time!

[jmaeq]

On 11/11/2022 at 11:26 AM, Guest Respite said:

Definitely appreciating the frequent updates.  Take your time!

Thank *you* for following along!

[jmaeq]

*This is an update regarding Zakrion for BG1.

November 18, 2022 Update:

Released v1.2 of Zakrion for BG1! Huge thanks to RebeccaQ for proofreading and editing the content. This update also includes an alternative class: Swashbuckler. It also includes some minor housekeeping updates.

[rainlit]

Hi! I also wanted to thank you for the frequent progress reports! It's always good to see how authors are doing and how mods are moving along. I haven't played with Zakrion yet but I love companions that span the games. This mod will definitely be used in my next playthrough soon and thanks again for taking the time to make the mod and keep us all updated.

Also, does he have PIDs, or are they planned?

Edited November 18, 2022 by rainlit

[Guest Respite]

Definitely stoked to hear about the new update! Might have to start another new playthrough to see all the changes.  Also, this:

8 hours ago, rainlit said:

Also, does he have PIDs, or are they planned?

I'll add my voice in saying that I'd love to see PIDs for him, or even for just some more interjections. It would be great to hear his thoughts on what the sailor says in the docks area of Baldur's Gate, for example. Or inside the Temple of Umberlee. Does Zakrion pay homage to the Bitch Queen?

I also was running a playthrough where I was flirting with him and romancing Xan in the same party and thought it was a shame he had nothing to say at my half-elf being viciously dumped.  I was hoping he'd be there to pick up the pieces, or at least give Xan a stern talk for treating his "friend" that way. Lol

By the way, can you tell me what Zakrion's last talk is?

Spoiler

Is it the one where he kisses you?

If so, it feels like it ends a little abruptly. A final resolution-talk would also be nice if you ever decided to write any more for him. Those are just suggestions from someone who's a fan though. Feel free to disregard! 

[jmaeq]

On 11/18/2022 at 10:43 AM, rainlit said:

Hi! I also wanted to thank you for the frequent progress reports! It's always good to see how authors are doing and how mods are moving along. I haven't played with Zakrion yet but I love companions that span the games. This mod will definitely be used in my next playthrough soon and thanks again for taking the time to make the mod and keep us all updated.

Also, does he have PIDs, or are they planned?

As with you and everyone else following along on these reports, thank *you*! In BG1, he doesn't have any PIDs - they're all planned talks.

 

15 hours ago, Guest Respite said:

Definitely stoked to hear about the new update! Might have to start another new playthrough to see all the changes.  Also, this:

I'll add my voice in saying that I'd love to see PIDs for him, or even for just some more interjections. It would be great to hear his thoughts on what the sailor says in the docks area of Baldur's Gate, for example. Or inside the Temple of Umberlee. Does Zakrion pay homage to the Bitch Queen?

I also was running a playthrough where I was flirting with him and romancing Xan in the same party and thought it was a shame he had nothing to say at my half-elf being viciously dumped.  I was hoping he'd be there to pick up the pieces, or at least give Xan a stern talk for treating his "friend" that way. Lol

By the way, can you tell me what Zakrion's last talk is?

  Reveal hidden contents

Is it the one where he kisses you?

If so, it feels like it ends a little abruptly. A final resolution-talk would also be nice if you ever decided to write any more for him. Those are just suggestions from someone who's a fan though. Feel free to disregard! 

The new changes don't necessarily add more content, just fixing what was already there.

That's what I would love to gather/know: thoughts on additional content or features! These are both good points (adding PIDs and more interjections), and to be honest with you, interjections are always the hardest for me. I either forget or completely miss certain interactions, when I believe the NPC would have something to say. So, by all means, please leave your feedback somewhere in his forums (please feel free to start a new topic in his forums). I may not implement them all,  but even if I don't implement them for Zakrion, they will be great ideas for future NPCs.

Regarding your PC's romance with Xan, Zakrion in BG1 does not have any crossmod banters/content. But! It's something on my to-do list... just like how making him EET compatible is on my to-do list as well.

Regarding his last talk...

Spoiler

You have one more talk... but I'm unsure if that's the resolution you're looking for.

 

Edited November 19, 2022 by jmaeq

[Guest Respite]

Ah, I think I missed that final talk on my first playthrough with Zakrion. I have a bad habit of abandoning my BG1 games once I get the last stat-increasing book in Candlekeep, so I probably didn't see it at the start of Chapter 7.  I'm too impatient to get to BG2, haha. I think part of the reason though is that he's so silent once you reach that second-to-last talk of his. All the more reason I think he'd benefit from some more interjections and PIDs to fill that gap. I'll definitely make a separate thread at a later time with suggestions, if that's ok.

I don't know if RebeccaQ caught this during her editing, but I got a "NO VALID REPLIES OR LINKS" during Zakrion's last conversation with MC. It appeared after I chose the "What are you apologizing for? You haven't done anything wrong." dialogue option. 

Also, Immediately after that final talk, Zakrion initiates the "And I thought being a pirate in this society was bad." conversation. It sounds like this was meant to trigger right after reading Gorion's note in Candlekeep? It would make more sense there at least, since right now I think its flagged for the beginning of Chapter 7 instead, and considering his last romance talk JUST happened, it was odd to hear him pipe up about that right after....

Spoiler

he broke up with me.

Lol.

[jmaeq]

On 11/24/2022 at 1:50 PM, Guest Respite said:

Ah, I think I missed that final talk on my first playthrough with Zakrion. I have a bad habit of abandoning my BG1 games once I get the last stat-increasing book in Candlekeep, so I probably didn't see it at the start of Chapter 7.  I'm too impatient to get to BG2, haha. I think part of the reason though is that he's so silent once you reach that second-to-last talk of his. All the more reason I think he'd benefit from some more interjections and PIDs to fill that gap. I'll definitely make a separate thread at a later time with suggestions, if that's ok.

I don't know if RebeccaQ caught this during her editing, but I got a "NO VALID REPLIES OR LINKS" during Zakrion's last conversation with MC. It appeared after I chose the "What are you apologizing for? You haven't done anything wrong." dialogue option. 

Also, Immediately after that final talk, Zakrion initiates the "And I thought being a pirate in this society was bad." conversation. It sounds like this was meant to trigger right after reading Gorion's note in Candlekeep? It would make more sense there at least, since right now I think its flagged for the beginning of Chapter 7 instead, and considering his last romance talk JUST happened, it was odd to hear him pipe up about that right after....

  Reveal hidden contents

he broke up with me.

Lol.

No worries at all, and I completely understand that... because sometimes, I am guilty of that too. By all means, please go ahead and make a new thread whenever you have the time. This goes for anyone reading this post and has a desire to share constructive feedback on Zakrion or any mod of mine. It will be very helpful for me to see and understand how others are playing and what may be lacking.

Quote

I don't know if RebeccaQ caught this during her editing, but I got a "NO VALID REPLIES OR LINKS" during Zakrion's last conversation with MC. It appeared after I chose the "What are you apologizing for? You haven't done anything wrong." dialogue option. 

Oh! The user helped with solely editing/proofreading. So, anything I wrote, the user would read through and edit - no testing or seeing if there was a line for every dialogue option. Thank you for pointing this out!

 

Quote

Also, Immediately after that final talk, Zakrion initiates the "And I thought being a pirate in this society was bad." conversation. It sounds like this was meant to trigger right after reading Gorion's note in Candlekeep? It would make more sense there at least, since right now I think its flagged for the beginning of Chapter 7 instead, and considering his last romance talk JUST happened, it was odd to hear him pipe up about that right after....

  Reveal hidden contents

he broke up with me.

Lol.

That talk should have triggered right after reading Gorion's note in Candlekeep. I will definitely take a look at this.... but oof.

EDIT: I went back over the code and remembered why the talk was triggered at the beginning of Chapter 7 instead of right after receiving the note. If this helps, my reasoning was that I didn't think Zakrion would be peering over the PC's shoulder as the PC was reading the note. I suppose I imagined it being shared later, and the best time to talk about it is after Candlekeep's caves. So, that part is correct... but wow, bad timing, especially since the talk could happen whenever.

Edited November 27, 2022 by jmaeq

[jmaeq]

* Just realized I didn't put up a biweekly update for Zakrion BG2 - let's rectify that!

November 26, 2022 for SoA:

• You guessed it - I'm still testing.

On a side note: I hope you all are having a wonderful week, and if you're celebrating a holiday, I hope you're feasting to your heart's content! I have a couple of free days now, so hopefully, I'll be able to test a bit more and solve some bugs for Zakrion BG1. Thanks to Respite for pointing them out!

 

Edited November 26, 2022 by jmaeq

[jmaeq]

December 13, 2022 for SoA:

• Unfortunately, not too much progress has been made on the testing for the past couple of weeks.

My apologies for the inconsistencies of the updates. The holiday season is nearly upon us and life duties have taken over most of my time. Although, I'm hoping I'll get some more testing on the mod during the holiday break as well! In the meantime, I hope you all are staying safe and having a wonderful week!

[jmaeq]

One more update right before the holidays!

December 23, 2022 for SoA:

• More testing progress - specifically focusing on his encounter(s), friendship, and the start of his romance talks.

Thank you everyone at G3 for a fantastic 2022, and I'll see you all in 2023!