I think a good way to keep Greg relevant even after he leaves in the next update would be if he knocked up Pamela during his visit. The town needs a good pregnancy. Just imagine the pregnancy cravings that could result in the Apostles enabling her.
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I’m surprised I got the three B’s thing right, honestly. I legit double guessed myself with the logic “well, Sophia’s kinda big all over, so maybe limiting her to boobs isn’t right”, lol. Although with that clear, I’m certainly more excited for all of the sister’s storylines, especially Sam. I’m also glad to hear about Dana, it feels like I’m the only one who talks about her on here sometimes. Hopefully other people are enjoying her too and it’s not just me ranting here. On a side note, also looking forward to the new project, I really liked your gain jam project last year, so I’m exited to see what else you’ve been cooking up!
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Dude thank you again! You did good job 
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I have to hand it to you, this was another stellar update! As I see it, and whether or not it was what you intended to do, there were three big things that I feel this update accomplished:
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It showed how the faith of the Niss works in practice. They are not there to only fix problems or give people confidence, but to help them grow (metaphorically and literally). Auburnwoods is actively improving itself by setting realistic goals for public works projects. The citizens are offering to implement the specific tasks themselves. Most importantly, they are coming up with these ideas themselves. While the ultimate goals of
Sebastionthe Apostles may well be cynical, desperate attempts to maintain power in a dark, cruel world where omnicide is a depressingly real possibility, they are actively making the world a better place where they can. It’s nice to show that things aren’t all bad (only mostly). -
Gretel’s improving mental health was a joy to see after how much she struggled. For the longest time it seemed like a toss up whether Gretel was actually nice or if she was horrible deep down, but now I can say with confidence that she is a good person at heart that had been cruelly abused and manipulated into performing unspeakable acts. Yet somehow, she is able to move on past that and feel good about the things she’s done since then. Her gains perfectly contrast how awful Sebastion is right now. He arguably needs help more than Gretel does, and the emotional whiplash that resulted from going back and forth between the two highlighted exactly how badly off Sebastion is. After all this time of seeming to be in control of things, it was refreshing to see him so spectacularly out of control. Especially when it came to…
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The main plot being not only observed, but actually interacted with. L straight up left Auburnwoods. I understand why she would want to have a change of scenery, but just abandoning her post, as it were, for an extended period of time to do who knows what? She has been shown to be a true believer in what the Niss preach, so this behavior is odd and raises questions about exactly how loyal L is to the overall mission as she understands it. What is certain to get Sebastion’s panties in a twist is that L met the Saviors. That is bad enough on it’s own, but L made Claire her bitch and plans on bringing the Saviors back with her spells disaster. Having a direction for the plot after so many lore dumps and hints about the wider world is exciting to see.
There were plenty of other things that I liked about the update, but as they have already been discussed I won’t go too in depth with them. Gretel was an all around delight this update without exception. Everyone of her interactions and moments of introspection were phenomenal. 10/10 without question. Seeing the individual people of the town flourishing (sans Thomas) is always great. Maya and Jacob are adorable as always. Cynthia continues to be fun while showing that she perfectly understands the moral implications of what she is doing, she just doesn’t give a shit about what you think.
Greg is a good co-star for this update as a window into the towns past. Everyone (well, almost) loved to see him! His epic fist bump with Thomas and unintentional gaslighting were nice reminders of how much people care for the suspicious loner and how isolated he truly is. However, the best part of his involvement was the confession. Seeing such a beloved and happy person talk about his sins was a sobering experience, and it helps tie the war more tightly into the overall narrative. I appreciated how the decision over whether or not to shoot the rebel spy from earlier on came back too.
There are probably more good things to say, but I’ll leave my praise with a final thought: the sauce was boss!
There were a couple of problems that I did have with this update though. I didn’t care for how Ed and Al were handled. They really do feel like an after thought, and the day/night cycle where they are only fat part of the time seems cheap to me. I’m not too torn up about it as they are more comic relief characters than anything else, but it didn’t sit right with me. What is more pressing is the absence of Violet. I was especially looking forward to her return since a Gretel update would be the perfect place to have it. You have already stated that you aren’t happy about how any of those characters were handled so I won’t go on too long about it, but I do think that this needs to be addressed. Still, those complaints are small potatoes next to the deluge of quality content that we got, so hats off.
I do have one last question though. After update 9 came out you said that the story was 40-50% done, but now you’re saying that the story may well take 20 years. That is a quite substantive change in time frames, and I was wondering why that might be?
I would apologize for the long ass message, but you have stated multiple times that you like it when you receive them so I will just say have a nice day and thank cj for some excellent sprite work!
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@theworsteverdev I do indeed love long ass messages! Especially those as well thought out and written as yours!
On the 1st point of the big three, so happy to hear that “town council meeting” section of mass was such a highlight! I’ve danced around the exact nature of what the Niss does as a religion for too long, and was eager to finally show what a typical mass session for them was like.
A three part mix of, practical real world improvements everyone in town can contribute to, some lofty ideas to strive for from the religious parables, and of course…lots and lots of food!
It was also a good way to show that even if the missionaries only stay in a town for a year, they do their best to make lasting changes. Gretel could of course just magic up hundreds of pre-made clothes and bandages, but by having the towns folk make them themselves, they’ll be self sufficient by the time Gretel and the rest leave.
Onto point 2! So happy to hear you enjoyed Gretel’s day of happiness! Not only is she growing physically, but after so long she’s finally getting out of the past to grow as a person. (Not that her physical growth isn’t also good, fat Gretel is the best Gretel!)
Also happy to hear that the Sebastian sections paired well with the Gretel sections. You’re right on the money for what they were meant to show, Gretel improving while Sebastian…
I was worried that Cynthia’s sections would be regarded as annoying interruptions to the Gretel update, but those fears were unfounded!
For point 3, please forgive me if I don’t say much here! More will be coming in the next update on the subject and I don’t want to give anything away as a spoiler early! Just know that not all is as it seems!
Into the minor points! Good to know all the interactions between the duo of Greg and Gretel were fun to play through! They make a good wholesome pair. Though I’m unsure what you mean on the “shooting the rebel spy” choice? There was a section in an earlier update where you can choose to let a rebel live or die, but the it was actually Jim (Steph’s boyfriend) who made that choice.
And of course Lady Cynthia and Sebastian make a very…wholesomely challenged pair. But at least she makes up for it with some funky tunes! They act mostly as a train wreck you can’t look away from.
Onto the cons, and I can’t say I disagree with any of them. I spent far too long of a time putting off working on Ed and Al, due to a failure to find good ideas for them, and it shows. I won’t abandon them though, and will try to find a good path for them to make as interesting characters in both the Gomorrah and in Auburnwoods.
As for Violet, she’s in somewhat of an awkward spot. Originally I didn’t intend for Gretel to do such a 180 in her personality, at least not so soon. But while I am quite pleased with how it turned out, it did somewhat break up the flow of Violets story. I can’t really have Gretel be in such a better place mentally, and still have her torturing the poor girl! So I’ll need to find a good new path for Violet to do down soon.
As for the 20 year estimate, while we are surely 45-50% through the Auburnwoods story, the Apostles story won’t end there! I actually once planned to have 5 games in the series…until I learned just how time consuming the realities of this kind of project were. So I streamlined my ideas into three games, and then two. The story won’t end with Auburnwoods, it’s only the 7th point in Sebastian’s crown!
Thank you again for taking the time to write out your thoughts in detail, and I will pass along your praise of CJ’s almighty sauce!
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Thank you for the compliment! It had been a while since I played the rebel section and since the situations were similar I must have conflated them. As for point three, I just realized my mistake by forgetting that L’s bandage is a calling card of her transformations. I knew that something wonky was going on other than the dialog but I just couldn’t put my finger on it until now. The prospect of multiple games excites me because of how much excellent content that would mean. If you are still up for suggestions of what you could put in the game, I have a few requests that I would like to share, some of which can’t really be asked for in other games.
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Good spot on the bandage XD.
And sure, always happy to hear suggestion, feel free to send them here, or to dm me!
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That’s good to hear! I’ll DM the more questionable ones because I think that at least one of them should be a total surprise for the greatest impact.
- I think that it would be cool to have Thomas go around the town and talk to everyone without the Apostles since he has a unique opinion about them in Auburnwoods.
- Assuming that it fits in with the lore, I would love to have a flashback scene of Cynthia feeding Gretel.
- Futa L, preferably cumflating someone.
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The Thomas update has been in the plans for a long time! It’ll come sooner or later. Either late spring or early summer. His arc will… certainly surprise many!
Sorry, no Cynthia feeding Gretel occurred in the past, at least none that I have planned.
Futa Lily on the other hand? Already have a scene written!
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Loved this one, Gretel’s my favourite character 
Very good work, looking forward to the next one!
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That’s what I’m saying!!
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My mistake of course Cynthia wouldn’t have fed Gretel, she’d have fed Willow! Jokes aside, I’m perfectly happy getting 2 out of 3 of my wishes granted.
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Ok, how do I progress down this area? Tried interacting with everybody and nothing progresses further
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Sorry for the issue. Near the bottom left of the map, Ed and Al are putting on some carnival games. Play through all of them for a special reward with Gretel!
After all the games are done, check the bottom right of the map where Bel is sitting alone at a table. Talking to her will lead to the next section.
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thank you mate! If you were kind enough maybe those places that signalize the story to go further maybe you give them a marker or something like that? A simple glimmering light effect to interact would do. Besides that I am pretty mixed up with this game, in a good way I mean! I’ll probably write here my thoughs once I get to the end point for this update, since this is my first time experiencing this game.
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Adored this update! It was nice checking in once again on everyone in town and seeing what they’ve been up to, and how big they’ve gotten. Though personally, mixed on the berry stuff has been handled (Though I have read and seen how it isn’t much of your forte so I understand that.) Can’t wait to see what’cha got cookin next!
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Thanks! Glad you enjoyed the update! Though when you say you are mixed on the berry stuff, is it you’d rather there was more berry or less of it?
More! Though, I am very well aware on my time on this site that it is a bit of a minority. And though I am unaware of your plans for the story and characters, one thing I always enjoy is the spectacle of blueberry. It’s still wonderful work so far though!
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Gotcha! I’ll keep it in mind and try to work some more on! Thanks!
Excellent work as always. It almost feels like a waste that only us degerates get to enjoy this story. This update did feel a little less horny and more story, and Cynthia always makes me deeply uncomfortable, but it’s great stuff. Love Gretel’s growth, although I’m now terrified of some dark twist. Gretel deserves the best. She’s finally finding her happiness and helping so many people, I want it to stay that way.
Oh, yeah, it’s a little reduntant at this point but your world building really is terrific.
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