I feel like this is a particularly interesting game for comparing playthroughs, since the possibility space is unknown and people may discover very different things! So here are the transcripts of my five playthroughs, with notes on my approach to each one.
Playthrough 1: Figuring out what was possible, trying things without a lot of strategy. imperial throne_script1.txt (40.2 KB)
Playthrough 2: Trying to do better than my first; using knowledge from my first (got a different ending). imperial throne_script2.txt (29.9 KB)
Playthrough 3: I genuinely don’t remember what my strategy/goal was here… I think mostly just experimenting. Got the same ending as the first. imperial throne_script3.txt (22.2 KB)
Playthrough 5: Purely experimenting, no strategy or goal (some of the things I tried were based on Mike’s transcript). Note to the author—in this one I encountered a runtime error. imperial throne_script5.txt (22.8 KB)
Edit: I initially uploaded the wrong transcripts for some of the descriptions, but they should be correct now!
I’m looking at the walkthrough now, and seeing things there that I never thought of… I find the decision not to provide a list of useful commands in the game itself interesting. On one hand, it was kind of fun to play around and discover for myself what would and wouldn’t work, but on the other, it was frustrating to try to do something, have it rejected, and later realize I just hadn’t been using the right phrasing.
Edit: Having played through the whole walkthrough, I definitely feel like some of these commands fall under “read the author’s mind.” An in-game list of the verbs that work would be the best solution, but in lieu of that, at least having helpful failure messages that point you toward the right commands instead of just “you can’t do that” would be nice.
Oh, cool idea - looks like you found some fun stuff I never did! What was the other ending you mentioned getting? Looks like it’s the same rebellion one I wound up at too.
I’m mixed on whether a VERBS command or things like that would be a good addition; it would obviate some frustration, but without the fun of discovering the possibility-space, the simplicity of the simulation - and the fiddliness of stuff like raising and deploying armies with a parser interface and hard-to-remember names - would become an issue much sooner.
With that said, I never found the ask about deployments command, which looks super helpful. And there are definitely some rough implementation patches where near-synonyms or syntaxes aren’t accepted. So ideally I think a lot more testing, and maybe some better diegetic cueing of some of the commands like the deployment thing, would be my preferred upgrades, but of course those things are a lot more work to conjure into being
Ah, looks like my effort to correct the mixed-up transcripts didn’t work! But they should be right now. Here’s that ending text:
>z
The civil war continues. An army under General Callius is once more intent upon the capital. Your force meets them in the field and the fighting is thick and heavy. There is a bitter contest, the two sides exchanging insults as they jostle. At length, your soldiers give proof to their boasts, demonstrating their bravery and putting the enemy to rout.
>z
As you approach the twilight of your years, it is time to reflect on your performance as emperor.
*** You will be remembered for having presided over the shrinking of the empire’s borders. ***
And one more thought that I had… After five playthroughs, I’d concluded that some level of failure was inevitable—whether the empire being completely overtaken, or the borders shrinking. And I liked that; the game seemed to be saying “no matter what you do, empires are doomed to fall”—I approve that message! So seeing in the walkthrough that there is in fact a successful ending, that involves not just you holding onto your territory but expanding and conquering others, was rather disappointing.
An in-game list of the verbs that work would be the best solution, but in lieu of that, at least having helpful failure messages that point you toward the right commands instead of just “you can’t do that” would be nice.