The Future of TLS (Patreon)

The time has come... we need to talk about the end of TLS. No, it's not imminent. But with this post I'm going to speak directly about some topics that I've avoided in the past, like the total number of chapters.

TECHNICAL SPOILERS: I won't really be revealing plot details in this post, but I will be talking about the structure of the entire game. If you really don't want to know anything like that, you can skip this one.

Total Chapters

Those of you who have been with the game for a long time will remember that I didn't reveal the first chapter title until the whole thing was finished. This was because, in a sea of unfinished games, I didn't want to seem like I was overreaching. But I've had the title cards for all the chapters finished ever since the fourth update of the game, just sitting on my hard drive.

I also didn't want to state the number of chapters because that would make some elements of the plot too obvious. For example, players who knew there were more than three chapters wouldn't have been surprised when the scope of the game expanded beyond the original Incubus King. But I've known that I couldn't remain coy about this detail forever, and I don't want anyone to think the story is being strung along forever, so at this point I'll just reveal the total number of chapters.

Five. With the previous update, I revealed the fourth chapter title. It will not be any huge spoiler to reveal the title of the fifth: Sovereign. 

There is also a "The End" card done in the same style. Because when we reach the end of my plans, TLS will end. It will be a definitive ending that I hope everyone will find satisfying.

So, you may be wondering, what percentage of the game is done so far? That's difficult to say with precision, because the chapters are not all the same size. My plan was for the third chapter to be the longest in terms of linear plot, so we are past 60% finished. Certain things will slow down in the fourth and fifth chapters, though, due to the way the game is structured. Some details:

Chapter Four: Arbiter
After a time skip in which the characters rebuild and their research progresses, chapter four will start with the global political scene becoming more active again. You'll be working on a larger number of countries from a higher vantage point than before.

You'll be able to have an impact on many nations, the new ones you just founded as well as those you already know. Expect to be able to travel more freely than in past updates. Though you'll still have a chance to improve Yhilin, including funding some things you might have skipped before, you won't be managing it in such fine detail.

During the fourth chapter, the scale will expand beyond just politics. You'll start to get answers to some of the game's central mysteries and take a major role on the world stage. This should be a substantial chapter that will set the stage for...

Chapter Five: Sovereign
The final chapter will be divided into two segments. First will be a section of the plot similar to the rest of the game, and I won't say much about that. Second, the world will finally open up completely, an official endgame stage in which you'll get a final chance to prepare for the end of the game. I'm most uncertain about the length of this stage, since it will involve a lot of optional loose ends.


Final Content
The end of chapter five isn't the end of the game, though, there are three other pieces:

 - Expect a large optional dungeon at the end that is even more difficult than the official final dungeon. I intend to design this one to be a challenge for those who have been minmaxing through the entire game.

 - After chapter five, there will be a short epilogue sequence paralleling the prologue at the beginning. This will be the true ending.

 - Finally, there will be an open-ended postgame section in which you'll get to wander the world and see the results of your actions and choices. After you've been in this world for so long, I think you deserve some time to enjoy seeing what you've created with all your choices.


Planning Thoughts
Another question people may have: how close are we to my original schedule and plan for TLS? The answer... really fairly close. 

Some things took longer than expected. I didn't anticipate that Stineford and Ardoheim would take two updates to do completely, but I feel they were better for taking the extra time. In my original schedule I thought that I could do the later Ari-Yhilina updates as simple add-ons to another update, which strikes me as naive in retrospect.

However, my schedule also included empty slots because I know how plots tend to expand. I planned three updates for the war, which I ended up doing in two (though the content was more like four). So all in all, we are pretty close to the version number I expected to reach by the end of chapter three.

The game is pretty close to my original vision in terms of the story. There are some things in the outline that I've changed and there are a number of sideplots and characters that blossomed into more than I expected. Big stories like this always grow in the telling.

This isn't my first time writing an epic, so I planned for this. My chapter four notes include flexibility and some open spaces to accommodate this process. And looking over everything I have planned for the rest, I feel satisfied that it's an appropriate amount of content. I'm really looking forward to working on the rest!

Break

Having said that, I need to take some time to feel like I've planned the rest of the game to the absolute best of my ability. That's one of the reasons I'll be taking another break, as I did after the end of the second chapter.

To be clear, this isn't a vacation for me. Just a chance to stretch myself creatively and refresh myself with less focused work after the pace of release after release. Last break, I created Ouroboros along with a number of stories and smaller concept games. This time, I have a lot of stuff in the works, so I guarantee you'll be getting a substantial amount of content from me. More than you'd normally expect in a month!

But I'll be making a post about that in more detail a little later. For now, I hope everyone enjoyed getting the outline for the rest of the game. Thanks to all of you for helping me come this far, and I hope to have you with me all the way to the conclusion and beyond. ^-^