FAQ: What's so special about the Character Creation? // General update!

Sorry for the really long wait.
I've been ridiculously busy in the recent weeks...and I haven't had any time to actually work on the development for this.
I'll also be using this FAQ to let you guys know of some of the development changes I'll be doing to the game.

So, here's a FAQ to keep you guys occupied, and I promise that I'm still working on this!
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Okay.  The Character Creation.  Possibly the most important part of the game, since it defines a lot of the different variables that you will encounter throughout the game...and it's also the time all the main generation occurs.

First off, you choose your name.  Big whoop.
Second off, you input your character's age.  Woo.
Then, you pick a race.  This is where it gets interesting.

So far, I only have 5 races added in, and they're your standard and generic RPG races.  So I'll be adding a lot more.  Also, at the moment, they don't DO anything...apart from change the starting text a bit.  I'll be changing that, as well.
Each race will have different stat bonuses at the start, and it will affect how different people treat you at different times, but it will NOT affect anything else as far as major game mechanics go.
I don't want certain races becoming obsolete because they aren't as good as other ones, so I'll be striving to make each one unique.

Next, you pick your gender.  This will have no effect over your stats.

Finally...you pick the main part of the whole Character Creation.
Whether you want Normal...or Hardcore.
This is a new and major development point I added in after consulting a friend of mine.

Essentially...Normal is just that.  Normal.  Age means nothing, you reload saves freely, etc etc.
However...Hardcore is much different.

At the start of the game, when you choose your Age...you're determined a final death Age.  You aren't told when it is (You are able to find out through various means in the game, however)...and when you hit it, your character dies.  You are warned along the way that you are becoming weaker.
As you age in Hardcore mode, you may find that if you use Stamina less, or Agility, or Strength, or Intelligence, etc etc...that they will start to deteriorate.  You will have to work each one a little harder to keep them the same, or increase them.
You may also find that you are more prone to disease or sickness than you used to be if you don't keep your Stamina up.

Loading saves is also impossible in Hardcore.  If you die, your save is deleted, and all changes you make are final.  In Normal mode, you are able to freely load a save whenever you want to change a decision, or come back if you die.

And finally...Hardcore mode adds in a major feature if you have a family.
I'm adding the ability to have a family in the game (Eg, able to marry and have kids).
In Normal mode, this allows you to take your kids with you on adventures as a Companion if they're old enough.
In Hardcore mode, you are able to (as well), but it is MUCH more vital that you do so.  This is because if you die in Hardcore...you have the option to continue the game in the same world as your kid.  If your kid has any troubles with other childish bullies...you'll have to face those same troubles.
If your kid was born with a bum leg...you must now play with it.
This allows you to essentially continue the game forever, instead of having to restart once your primary character dies, provided you keep the family going.  If you do not marry and have kids, and die...the game is over and the save is deleted.


And that makes up the Character Creation.
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Other major points in the Development (Major decisions, changes, and new features);
-I WILL be selling the game, but for no more than $3.00 CAD (I'm Canadian...and $3 CAD is cheaper than $3 USD at the moment).  This is solely because I'll need a server to have something hosted for the game (Hint, hint), and the sheer amount of time it's taking for me to make this good.  Plus...something else for another point I'm mentioning here.
-There will be Expansion packs.  They will be free.  They're actually patches, but "Expansion Packs" sounds cooler.  If you bought the game, you will be able to download them and continue playing just as you were before.  No patch or expansion pack will affect your gameplay or save files.
-It will remain a text-based game.  If I added graphics...the game would be slow, unreliable, and absolutely massive and un-optimized.
-However, I'll be adding sounds.  This will increase the download size, but it will assist slightly with a little bit of immersion, plus make the game sound a bit cooler.  This will include voice-overs for various things.  I'll be getting a good amount of people that I know (And maybe volunteers!) to read out lines of text in the same voice, so that I can break it up and add it in.
-On second thought...yeah!  If you want to do it, let me know!
-There will be no main quest line right away.  I'll add one in later.
-Companions will be added, and they will all be randomly generated.
-All weapons and armour and other items will no longer be generated at the start of the game.  They will be generated at various points in the game to relieve stress on the save files.  This includes all merchant stock.
-Mounts will be added to assist in faster travel.  Flying mounts will not be added...yet.
-You will be able to own land in places other than houses.  This means owning farms, mines, lumbermills, etc.
-You will be able to hire people to go on these places.


And that's pretty much it for now!
Sorry again that it took so long, and I'll try to do these updates more often!
Next FAQ; Online?

CavGunner, out.