Cheers to both. I don't recall writing that you couldn't actually just drop the item in question at any time, or that you didn't keep the original, then again I don't recall any standard Fighting Fantasy rules in general about dropping things, carrying spares or inventory management as a whole. Of course no one not familiar with the original myth and its many derivatives in classic sf would see it as any way undesirable....

Mage
Wed Jan 6 11:31:29 2016

I meant that in the original version, you're not

SPOILER

END SPOILER

Gavin
Wed Jan 6 12:22:47 2016

Fair enough then. Are the challenges difficult to do? If not how about killing the Spiral Architect, killing the good wizard, Vampire Killer, getting the green venom, getting the zombie assistant, or making friends with everyone :)

No, they're not that hard, particularly as by the time you've completed the gamebook once you've probably learnt most of what you need to know.

Killing the Spiral Architect, Vampire Killer, getting the green venom are effectively covered by existing challenges, the zombie assistant is probably too easy and you generally didn't give Aria the option to make friends with people. I do like the wizard suggestion though, maybe I'll add that in.

Mage
Wed Jan 6 12:55:26 2016

Well, I just saw the newest challenge added, and THAT's certainly gonna take me some time to complete:

SPOILER

END SPOILER

Gavin
Wed Jan 6 14:11:56 2016

Groovy. You know my book better than I do -- admittedly its 15 years since I wrote it.

Mage Thu Jan 7 12:27:36 2016	Is the "good wizard" copper's son? I was thinking last night of maybe having a challenge along the lines of "Slaughtered Copper's entire family". :P
	That's what I was considering as well, although as things stand it's not possible to kill Copper's wife.

Gavin
Thu Jan 7 12:46:30 2016

Yeah that's him. I thought of a funny comment but it was unsuitable for a family gamebook site.

Jon S. Stock
Tue Jan 12 20:56:52 2016

I played the HTML version of this back when it first appeared on the internets. Yep, this was exceptionally cool.

I was about 16 at the time and only "got" many of the shout outs after the fact, i.e. Defender is from the Manowar song of the same name; the protagonists' names are from the Lensman series; the many Cainites involved in the plot from VTM; the Brothel in Rosenstrasse (owned by the Lasombra) also being the name of a Michael Moorcock book; Stormbringer; etc.

Some thoughts - firstly, the Theatre of Pain death was a bit cheap I thought. You wander in a room in the sewers and get tortured to death and there's absolutely nothing you can do about it or signal for it. "They are all carrying a selection of very sharp knives. Do you want your possessions identified?" There were several other cheap and unavoidable deaths as well though that one sticks out to my mind.

Secondly, I actually think the going off into the sunset to find themselves is a better ending than being the Count and Countess.

Thirdly, I absolutely love the idea of the world moving on as one of the drivers of the plot. Have you read Joe Abercrombie's "The First Law" series as that, especially the later novels, feature social and governmental progress in a high fantasy world as a plot theme, and with Bayaz, First of the Magi, realising that as magic becomes more scarce, the way forward is in commerce and industry.

Are you the creator of the Amylase website? Or do you just have a similar name?

When I made the online adaptation, I hadn't heard of any of the references at all. Now I am reminded of a line from an appendix to Gulliver's Travels (possibly written by Michael Foot), which read something like, 'a mere list of references would call Swift's originality into question without showing what he has made of the source material'. I still think Outsider! is much greater than the sum of its parts.

Theatre of Pain, by the way, is a song by the band Blind Guardian.

For a psychic, Aria does sometimes seem strangely unable to foresee immediate mortal danger, particularly in Fiorentino's lair. I did think of throwing in a 'Test your psychic ability' before some of the unexpected sudden deaths, but I haven't got round to it so far and may never do.

Gavin
Thu Jan 14 14:58:00 2016

Aria's basic skill as an assassin as well is pretty much just walking up to people and picking a fight on them. As for cheap deaths I had little plan beyond homaging the FFs of my youth like Masks of Mayhem and Nightmare Castle, and it was a decade before Let's Plays of gamebooks and such things became popular. However Black Chamber is also by the bards from Munich, I think off the same LP and right next to Theatre of Pain. Otherwise I thank you both for your kind words :)

Gavin Mon Jan 18 21:20:59 2016	The recent crop of positive comments on Outsider have led to me resuming work on New Day Rising. So thanks to everyone.
	Great news.

Gavin Mon Jan 18 22:24:01 2016	Incidentally I always thought of the sewer ending as the Eminem ending, not sure if this is worth being a challenge :)
	The Workaholic challenge results in this ending, so it is covered already.

Jon S. Stock
Fri Jan 22 19:16:26 2016

That's me, yes. I have not thought about that site in over a decade. I know it's not there any more due to the demise of Geocities, and frankly, it's no great loss. I have re-read it from mirrors and find it, well, cringing. The writing quality anyhow. Ditto the two (unfinished) gamebooks I was hoping to host. Double cringe on those.

I did think of writing one again though. It would be some sort of dystopian one where you're thoroughly annoyed about being in a 1984-style future and set out to overthrow the régime, and there is no winning ending, just one where you can survive.

I think I'm going to have another listen to "Somewhere Far Beyond" now as it happens. That, and play some more Elite: Dangerous, which is disturbingly addictive.

Gavin
Sat Jan 23 00:09:06 2016

I don't think you should feel that bad about Amylase, as I have reason to be grateful to you. The positive review of Outsider helped me in some difficult times.

Albert
Sat Feb 13 08:04:26 2016
Skull - non-optimum ending reached

Man, it was great

Gavin Sat Feb 20 10:29:21 2016	Anyone fancy a first look at New Day Rising?
	Yes, I would.

meschlum Wed Mar 16 21:24:56 2016	A few oddities: When completing additional challenges, my attributes were not the same as for my first run through (lower Stamina, higher Luck). When completing additional challenges and deciding whether to give up or try to escape, choosing to escape immediately skipped to the healer's death, with no choice or challenge beforehand.
	Congratulations on completing the challenges. Both oddities are in fact deliberate. The attributes are set to fixed values at each restart as it is simpler than keeping track of the original values (typically your SKILL will increase quite a lot throughout the game). The section at the end is shortened because I felt that most people would tire of doing the same thing over and over again.

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