Your character needs to have a visible scar in order to unlock that dialogue option. Not all scars count as it needs to be a place where others can see it, so what your character wears can affect this option. Lydia will comment on it specifically, so her dialogue before the option changes depending on what the scar is.
There's no right or wrong way to romance Aeran! If you like how your playthrough is going, I would keep it the way it is. But if you're looking for a more standard romance, high approval + high romance is the way to go.
It's hard to say at this time how old saves are going to work with Episode 3; it depends on whether any major game-breaking bugs come up for Episode 1 and Episode 2 in the future. I think both episodes are stable at this point, but the game is very large and things can be missed. Ideally I want to keep the transition as smooth as possible so folks don't have to replay from the beginning, but it's not a 100% guarantee. Keep an eye on patch notes--they'll tell you if restarts are required based on the date your save was made.
Hello! Thanks so much for checking out the game! 💖
There are currently no official guides and I will not be making them as I do not have the time or the resources to do so while Wayfarer is in development.
Wayfarer is not a typical RPG in how it handles success and failure--failure is not a punishment, simply another path through the story. There is no game over; your choices will not lead to your pre-mature death. The gameplay is not about good routes vs bad routes, good endings vs bad endings, wrong choices vs right choices, or maximizing the path you are on for the "best" version (what is "best" is going to vary wildly from player to player, and the game is designed to have a high replay value so there will be small variances on every playthrough). The gameplay is about the journey and where your choices take you, even when events spin out of control; it is about seeing what happens next, not deciding the result you want and trying to achieve it. There are hundreds of choices that impact each other in a domino effect, which gets even more complex with stat checks involved. When approaching this game, you may need to reconfigure how you see failure, character relationship, and faction relationship progression.
If you are frustrated, it could be that this style of gameplay is not for you. But if you do want a guide or if you are replaying and trying to replicate your path, the best place to ask is other players (or members of the playtesting team) in Wayfarer's Discord server. There are many people who are more than happy to give guidance about how to replicate certain events, or if you are chasing a particular result.
Wayfarer is a browser-only game while it is in development, which means it can't be downloaded. Could you explain what kind of issues you are experiencing with compatibility between your browser and the game? And also which browser you are using and what kind of device you are playing on?
If your browser is refusing to run the game after you click "Run Interactive Novel", check your adblockers and other extensions. If you run something like UBlock Origin, you will need to whitelist the game page for it to run properly. And there's a post here with some guidance on troubleshooting common game launch errors here!
If you do want to play offline, the game is available on the itch.io app (desktop only). This is not recommended as you may run into save, UI and loading issues as the app doesn't play nice with HTML games.
Episode 1 is ~532,855 words and Episode 2 is ~348,930 words. Episode 3 (not available on the public build yet) is well over 360,000 words. This does not represent the amount you read in a single playthrough, but rather represents the total amount across all variations, continuities, and choices.
There won't be! I don't have the time or the resources to make one myself. If you're looking for gameplay help, the best place to ask is Wayfarer's public discord server.
Wayfarer is not dead, it is absolutely being actively worked on. I am a solo developer, so making something of this size and scope does take a very long time. Delays happen. Estimates are hard to do in normal circumstances, but also because I am the only developer, if something happens to me (illness, injury, family emergencies, etc) then it inevitably sets the project back. 2023 was an extremely rough year and I am trying to get a handle on things and get back to normal development, but I also need to adjust what counts as "normal" for me so I can make this game without burning myself out.
I share progress reports every two weeks on my Patreon that updates patrons on what is happening behind-the-scenes, what is being worked on, and where things are sitting. I try to keep that information contained for patrons only. I don't tend to post updates here on itch unless it's a big announcement, but my development blog is active; I answer questions over there and occasionally do generalized updates.
Additionally, the Patreon build contains way more playable parts of the game than what you can play publicly. Episode 3 is about halfway done. I know it's a long way for public build players, but it is very important to me that I get the patreon build one episode ahead of the public (which means getting Episode 3 and Episode 4 done before this version of the game gets updated). Because Episode 3 is taking a very long time, there isn't going to be an update here for quite some time.
Any roadmaps are estimated timelines and the estimate is not always what ends up happening.
I greatly overestimated how much time I needed to develop Episode 3. Though I do try my best to stay on target, at the end of the day I am a solo developer, not a team, and sometimes things are delayed.
I'm sorry you lost your saves. Unfortunately the name can't be changed as it's part of the engine and isn't editable. It's a core part of how SugarCube functions and all Twine SugarCube games work like this. Browser saves and Save to Disk saves are separate entities; as outlined in the Troubleshooting Game Launch & Save Errors guide, Save to Disk only saves your current session on the passage you are currently on. If you are backing up browser saves, you need to load each save and save them individually, it cannot be done en masse.
You can decode Twine saves with an online save editor, but the information may not make much sense unless you are familiar with how the game was coded. It's not a good way to track what choices you have taken because there are hundreds of small choices outside the major ones that are recorded in a number of different ways.
If you want a summary of your character's most important actions in Episodes 1 and 2, check the Story Log (available in the Journal).
Melchior hasn't been unlocked as a companion yet as he hasn't officially joined you (companion profiles that include the relationship status can't be viewed until the unlock happens). Phaedra and Veyer are not companion characters and don't have profiles.
The #1 option here requires you to have found and read his private letters in Episode 1 (or when you first reach the palace in Episode 2, but the option there is more easily accessed when you have low approval).
When Aeran is introduced in Episode 1, you have to select the option:
#4. You are friends and you are partners. You can’t imagine this life without him at your side. Though nothing romantic has happened between you, you can’t help but wonder…
This is the only chance you have in the game to flag his romance.
If you are playing on an old save (from before Patch 2.6., which required all players to restart their playthroughs), then his romance bar will not show up.
I absolutely understand why a feature like that would be helpful! But unfortunately it's not possible because of how some continuity flags are referenced and coded. I know how daunting it is to try to re-capture your original playthrough, but it's the cost of having variation and replay value. When it comes to replicating playthroughs, I would try to focus on triggering the broad strokes of what you did before and let the smaller details fall where they fall. But if you have specifics that you are struggling with, the community in Wayfarer's Discord server is more than happy to help out with walkthroughs.
Refresh your browser. If you loaded a save while any of the game menus were open, it messes with the controls for the close button and causes it to disappear. Refreshing the page is the current fix.
If the problem persists, then it may be an issue with a browser extension or your browser itself and you may need to experiment with using a different one.
Both. There is one three-way polyamorous option in the game, but it is also possible for the MC to maintain multiple partners. However, it greatly depends on the partners in question and how the MC handles their relationships. Not all romanceable characters will be open to polyamory.
Polyamorous options aren't implemented yet, but when they show up they will have a special marker (which you can see on the tutorial page).
Episode 3 is currently in development. It will not be released on the public build until Episode 4 is finished on the alpha. The next update won't be until we're well into 2023.
Patreon creators have no say over what payment methods can be processed. I hope one of these will work for you. Even if you're unable to support through Patreon, I appreciate your enthusiasm for my game all the same! The game will always be available to play for free; Patrons just get early access to new episodes early. Thank you so much for checking it out!
Walkthroughs are no longer a Patreon benefit as they were far too time consuming to create. I will not be making game walkthroughs at all.
The Wayfarer Discord server is the best place to ask for gameplay help. Other players (including members of the playtester team who know the different variations very well) are happy to help others find specific outcomes.
Romance reconciliation: +60 approval and +60 romance.
Friendship reconciliation: +60 approval and 0 romance.
If you have +60 approval and a few romance points, you will not be able to trigger either reconciliation scene. You also cannot have told Aeran about the letters (if you found and read them) and you cannot have killed Rhodarth in Episode 1.
Choosing Aeran's romance flag sets the continuity for your player character having feelings for him. This is necessary ONLY if you want to pursue any of his romance content. It does not lock you out from romancing or pursuing other characters. (For example, you can flag his romance in Episode 1, but do an intimacy scene with a completely different character in Episode 2. This may have consequences for your relationship with him, but it is something you can do).
If your browser saves have been deleted, it is an issue with your browser or browser extensions (or you manually cleared your cache). This is specifically a problem on iOS as iPhones automatically clear the cache after a certain amount of time.
Clearing your browser history, cache, and cookies will delete your browser saves!
If it is not a browser extension causing the problem, then try the following:
Use a different browser
Save using Save to Disk. This will create a manual save that is stored on your device, which you can upload into the game at a later point. You can make as many Save to Disk saves as you want and you can rename the save file after you download it. (Note: some phones may not be able to download saves, it depends on the individual phone and its features). It is highly recommended that you make Save to Disk saves periodically regardless in case something happens to your browser cache.
If you're playing on desktop, try using the itch.io desktop app instead of a browser
