It's been a very busy time since Wayfarer's first installment launched last month. Thank you so much to everyone who has checked out the game, left a comment, a rating, or a message! It's really wonderful to hear from players about their experiences and how much they are enjoying the content. 💕

As I've had a few questions about the game and its future development, I thought I'd do a quick FAQ post to get you all caught up to speed on the development plan and questions about the game mechanics. A lot of these are covered in-depth on my development blog (see here), but for the sake of clarity, I am going over some of the top questions here. 

#1. How long is the game?

Wayfarer is divided into 3 acts and 15 episodes. 

• Act 1: Prologue and 8 episodes.
• Act 2: 4 episodes.
• Act 3: 3 episodes.

The September 9th public launch included the Prologue and Episode 1. Episode 2 is currently in development. 

#2. When will Episode 2 be released?

As Episode 2 is developed, its content will be available to play on the alpha build, which is exclusively available on my Patreon. To ensure the alpha build always stays one episode ahead of the publicly available content, Episode 2 won't be released publicly until Episode 3 is complete. 

I am planning to launch Episode 2 publicly sometime in Spring 2022. 

#3. Why am I failing skill checks?

During the main game (Episode 1 onwards), all skill checks take your current skill level and add it to a dice roll. Your skill level alone is not enough to pass a check. The higher your skill level, the more likely you are to pass a check. However, passes are never guaranteed. On some playthroughs, you may be lucky; on others, you may not. While you may end up failing skill checks you thought you could never fail, you may also end up succeeding skill checks you never thought you would pass. There is an element of risk with every action. 

Because Episode 1 is the very first episode of the game, the player's skill checks are more difficult here because you haven't had a chance to grow your skill level yet. 

These are the % chances of success in Act 1:

• Level 5 – 40% chance to pass
• Level 6 - 45% chance to pass
• Level 7 - 50% chance to pass
• Level 8 – 55% chance to pass
• Level 9 - 60% chance to pass
• Level 10 – 65% chance to pass
• Level 11 – 70% chance to pass

There are some rare red herring skill checks that result in an automatic fail; this is to encourage players to really consider the situation at hand and choose the skill they think best serves the scenario they are in. Sometimes, the right choice will be to try a skill you don't have a lot of points in because the other options may backfire. In this case, you will get a Skill Ineffective notification and it will count as a failure in your character's records. 

I highly encourage players to take their player character's failures in stride and continue the story. Failing skill checks provide alternative content to successes. Succeeding a skill check is not the same thing as "winning" and failing a skill check is not the same thing as "losing." This is not a game that you can win or lose. Success and failure changes the story content you see and how your character's journey progresses. Failing skill checks may lead to desirable outcomes and story events you did not anticipate. 

#4. Why am I not levelling up?

The Prologue serves as an interactive way for the player to set their stats. Certain specific choices you make during the Prologue increase your skill level (you will receive a notification about which one after you take your action). 

This is only true during the Prologue. You cannot level up your skills when an episode is in progress. 

After the Prologue, skill points will be assigned when the player completes an episode. How many skill points you acquire is based on your health status at the end of the episode. If you are at full health, you will receive 3 skill points. If you are injured, healing, or recovering, you will receive 2 skill points. 

#5. How does XYZ mechanic work?

If you're uncertain of how a particular mechanic works, check the game's tutorials. Tutorials do not need to be unlocked and are available immediately from the game's menu bar. 

I would check the tutorials first before messaging me about a mechanic; your answer will likely be there!

#6. The game won't launch on my device.

Error: no storage adaptors found is a common launch error. The Twine engine requires access to your browser's local storage and cookies in order to run. Make sure your browser is up-to-date and check your extensions. You may need to whitelist the game's page into order for it to play.

Launching the game in incognito mode may also interfere with the engine's ability to run. 

Additionally, the game may take a few seconds to load after launch, depending on your internet connection. The game preloads image assets at launch, which adds to its load time. This is typically no longer than 5-7 seconds, but it could take a little longer for others. 

#7. I lost my saves. 

Twine’s engine stores save data in your browser. If you clear your browser history/cache, your progress will be lost. You can use Save to Disk to download your saves directly to your device and Load to Disk to upload them. Making manual save backup on your device is highly recommended. 

Some browsers and extensions clear your cache automatically or when you close your browser. iOS also occasionally checks your apps’ cache and purges it, so this could be the issue if you are using an iPhone or an iPad. If you are losing your browser saves when you close your browser, this may be the reason.

Check your settings to see if you can disable that feature; if not, you may need to switch devices or rely on the Save to Disk/Load from Disk function. 

#8. I can't use the save function with the itch.io app. 

This is a known issue on the itch.io app. If you are playing on the app, you will only have access to the autosave and you will not be able to use the browser save slots. You can still make manual saves to your device.

If you’d like to use the browser save slots, please play on a browser!

EDIT: As of Episode 1 Patch 1.5, itch.io app users can use the browser saves as long as the autoname save function remains enabled. 

#9. Is there an offline version? Can I download the game?

Not at this time. I will not be offering an offline version while the game is in development.  

#10. Will Wayfarer be released as an app?

Not at this time as the game is fully mobile compatible with a browser. I may consider releasing an app version when the game is finished. 

#11. Will Wayfarer be released on Steam?

Not at this time. I will only consider that once the game is fully complete and as polished as I can make it.