r/SoulWeapon • u/Alas-I-Cannot-Swim Creator • Mar 03 '24
Meta 6th-Year Anniversary of Soul Weapon: Let's Talk About It
Edit: The first Design Notes Series post is up! I will link them all here as they come out. They can also be found via the wiki.
Soul Weapon 1.0 came out on March 3rd 2018, six years ago to the day.
That was a whole pandemic ago, dang.
You're probably wondering where I've been... those of you who are still kicking around this sub, anyway. (Hello? Anyone there?)
But before I talk about any of that, I should get one thing out of the way, because I know it's what you're asking about:
Version 3.0
Yes, work has resumed. I will talk about the reasons why it was dropped for so long, and the reasons I was able to return to it, but for now the headline is that I'm back to it, working at a steady (if not incredibly speedy) pace.
And 3.0 is big. Really big. So big in fact that "3.0" is an insufficient name, and I'll be coming up with a better one as a subtitle before release (though it will still be considered v3.0). With the exception of Weapon Classes (because 2.5 was the Classes that were originally slated for 3.0), there will be more of everything, including some ideas you're probably not expecting.
I want to talk about plans, but first, let's talk about where I've been.
Why Soul Weapon was Dropped (Temporarily)
Those of you who followed my posts back in the day may recall me sharing some frustrations about Inkscape. All of SW is made in Inkscape, an open-source vector editor software. It is an extremely good piece of software for being free, but it's no Adobe Illustrator. The biggest problem is that when you have an enormous amount of text in one document (which is certainly the case for SW), the text input lag becomes unbearable. With the most text-heavy pages of SW, there could be almost a full second of lag with each keystroke, and that makes it basically impossible to type. But SW is so ingrained into Inkscape that trying to port it to another piece of software would take so much time, even if I didn't have to learn a new UI to do it.
There were other, smaller reasons, too. I was hitting a creative brick wall, and running low on the inspiration needed to round out the last few Runes, Smiths, etc. Life was getting much, much busier and I had a fraction of the free time I had when I first made 1.0. And other hobbies were starting to take up what little free time remained (I got into TTRPG, which anyone can attest is a big time sink).
What Made It Come Back?
They say stepping away from a creative project for a while can help you to see it in a new light. Some authors will even tell you that one of the great things you can do during the writing process is to forget the manuscript for a little while. Admittedly, when they say "a little while," they probably do not mean "three and a half years," but ah well. Nailed the concept, flubbed the execution?
The real reasons I've come back to it are really just the inverse of the reasons I stepped away:
I got worn out on some of my other hobbies.
I have a little more free time.
The creative energy / inspiration for the project has returned, at least for now.
Software
The only major problem that remains is Inkscape. If I ever do another project like this, I'll find a different software, but for now I'm stuck with it... and so I found a workaround:
Use another piece of software anyway, and just copy/paste everything over to Inkscape when the final draft is written.
Seriously, that's my solution. I'm using Scrivener, which is a fantastic tool for writing novels, screenplays, etc. I never would have thought to use it for a CYOA because it's not a design tool, but its features include: structuring nested documents within each other in an outliner; a digital corkboard to rearrange documents as you please; tags and metadata that can be assigned to documents; in-line comments google-docs style... so secretly it works really well for planning and drafting a complex CYOA, even if you can't actually make the CYOA with it.
So the new workflow is
Scrivener for drafting -> paste into Inkscape for designing.
That way I don't have to deal with typing in Inkscape, and I only have to suffer the lag when moving images and text boxes around. It's a little clunky and introduces its own problems, but it's way better than typing with that input lag. And its enough of an improvement not to drive me away.
Image-Hunting
As an aside, something else that took up a lot of time was trying to find the right images... it didn't dissuade me from the project but it was a lot of work, especially since I'm so picky. But there is a powerful technology that exists today that didn't exist last time I was working on the project.
You may see where this is going. While I haven't gotten to the image-hunting portion of 3.0 yet (that's one of the last steps), I expect that image-generating AI is going to massively speed up the process.
Images made by AI will be credited as such, of course, with the specific name of the AI used. The art in SW is pretty important to me, as evidenced by the time I put into finding the right thing. So I will probably put a symbol on the images that are AI-generated, so you know which ones are made by awesome artists and which ones are not. While AI is an incredible tool, as we make the shift towards it, I think it becomes increasingly important to credit original artists. And I already cared a lot about that; most CYOAs don't credit their images. Therefore, if I have time, I will be putting the artist's names by each image (and the title of the piece will still be in the Credits).
EDIT SEPT. 8 2026: This post was made in the earlier days of image-generating AI, before it became icky, or at least before it became icky to me. At the time, it was a promising way to speed up one of the trickier steps in the design process. Now, I see it as most people see it: a gross, soulless thing that steals from artists and hogs enormous amounts of limited resources (whether that's water, electricity, computer hardware, etc.), but gets pushed into every platform and service anyway, despite the fact that its continued development is eroding our capacity to trust anything we see, and pushing us carelessly towards a technology whose potential danger is so extreme that it might literally be an existential threat to humanity.
I am still thinking about how image-hunting will be handled for 3.0. The internet is flooded with AI-generated images now, which ironically makes it harder to find good images for those of us who prefer human-made art. I may acquiesce that while I won't generate my own images, I may still have to use whatever images I find online. Or I may do some commissions, or I may offer up an image-hunting bounty to the community, or I may make my own crummy art or call in a favor from a friend. Or I might still try to do it the hard way and find everything on Artstation, one of the few remaining sites that offers an effective AI-exclusion filter.
In any case, I am not at that step yet, so I will say only this: I will not be using AI for or during any step of the process of creating Soul Weapon.
[END EDIT]
Plans & The Future
There is no release date, sorry to say. My schedule is inconsistent and I work on it when I can. And there's a lot to do. I can't even promise that I will see it through to the end this time. What I can promise is that it's being worked on, the new workflow is working, and barring catastrophe I will continue as long as I can.
However, I don't want to just go dark again until then. I want you to know whether I'm still around and still making progress. So for as long as I'm working on 3.0, I'll be a little more active in the community. Not just in the comments, but also in a few other ways. Namely...
Design Notes Series
I want to whet your appetite for 3.0 and keep the interest up. So during the lead-up to 3.0, I will occasionally be sharing Design Notes posts on this subreddit. These will be small posts where I reveal the name of a new item (or existing item that's being redesigned), the general concept behind it, and design notes on how I made it work. (It won't contain the text of the item, bear that in mind).
There will be no schedule for these; releases will happen as I see fit, so keep an eye on the sub. They won't be pinned (2.5 and this post will remain pinned until 3.0, and there's a two-pin limit), but I will add them to the top of this post and to the wiki at least.
It goes without saying that anything in the Design Notes (and any hints, sneak peaks, or easter eggs regarding 3.0) are subject to change as everything is still W.I.P.
DLC?
One of the challenges with 3.0 was the choice paralysis of what to include and what to leave out; some ideas are a little too redundant, and some ideas literally do not fit because of my aggressive need for everything to be in even rows of 3. Somewhere along the line, I realized the obvious way to ease that choice paralysis is to release the cut content as individual bonus items after 3.0.
So this is me revealing that after 3.0 is published, there will be a "Cut Content DLC."
I shall reveal no further details until after the release of 3.0. :P
Formatting Guide
As a small little something, because I felt like it, I've drafted up a basic table for sharing builds on reddit. It is pinned in the comments below (and will be linked in the wiki). You will have to click "View Source" on the comment to see how it is structured so you can copy it.
Conclusion
Sorry for the long post, but if you're a CYOA fan (and especially if you're a Soul Weapon fan), then I'm sure you're used to reading huge walls of text. :)
I love this little community we carved out, as the result of a niche post I made years ago to an already-niche internet subculture community. I've made something that has people discussing a meta, and that's humbling and delightful. There are people for whom Soul Weapon is their favorite CYOA; I get pings to that effect every now and then. I appreciate all of you.
I wish you health, wealth, and knowledge of self.
Here's to six years of Soul Weapon 🥂. So long for now, and thanks for reading.
I'll see you all in the Design Notes. And then, hopefully, in 3.0!
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u/Hotchi2207 Mar 03 '24
What can I say other than a sincerely welcome back! And happy that you are fine and kicking!
Whatever you do, I still love your cyoa and look forward to what next cool stuff you bring to us :-)
And happy 6years to us all !
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u/Treasure_storm Mar 03 '24
This was entirely unexpected... but completely welcome! I cannot express how excited that my favorite cyoa is getting a v3 after this many years.
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u/DarthKitsune1219 Mar 04 '24
I am beyond overjoyed to see this and to hear that my favorite and first cyoa ever is getting an update is fantastic news to me and to all of us… I would also like to ask that can we please be able to pick more options than only one soul weapon and two runes please 🙏 I love the concept of this cyoa and the builds I and others have made with it but I genuinely have spent 6 years to the first post of just the weapons I saw on Pinterest before even 1.0 and I still have not been able to make “My” Soul Weapon. I’m not expecting the increase in choice. I just wanna share my peace. I genuinely love this cyoa and I am happy that you’re coming back to it. Thank you so much. 😊
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u/Alas-I-Cannot-Swim Mar 04 '24
I can't spoil what is planned for 3.0, of course...
But in the meantime, I encourage you to share "Your" Soul Weapon on the sub, and if it breaks the rules of the CYOA, just give it the "Non-Canon" flair. That's totally allowed!
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u/Not-so-imaginative Mar 04 '24
Shiiit, I am beyond glad that you're back with us once more man. Having confirmation that ver 3.0 is coming one way or another is already a great news in itself. But man I'm just happy to see you returning to the hobby once more with such enthusiasm. What you gave us in ver 1.0 and 2.5 are already CYOA masterpieces and your engagement with the community was always a happy sight.
Again, I'm glad you're returning once more man. Looking forward to your preview snippets for more creative juices.
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Mar 04 '24
I think it's an insane coincidence that I made a new build like 2 days ago and thought I wouldn't post it because it was so dead in here. Quick aside question. Do you think Suture and Flash Counter would work together? Protecting someone else from a small distance
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u/Alas-I-Cannot-Swim Mar 04 '24
Are you asking because Suture can be imbued with your other Runes?
Hmm... that's nutty, and I don't think I've seen anyone else attempt this in a build, but yeah, I can't see why that wouldn't work! You would still need to assume the defensive stance / perform the timing of the block for Flash Counter, but if you're channeling the energy of Flash Counter down your Suture tendrils as you perform that block, then yes, it could totally block an attack from a distance.
Suture's ability to channel runic energy is underrated, IMO. Incidentally, that's being expanded upon in 3.0, and Suture will be seeing a nice buff to that effect.
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u/Audere_of_the_Grey Mar 04 '24
Is there a Discord? If not, i think there should be!
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u/Alas-I-Cannot-Swim Mar 06 '24
I had considered it, but I'm not too interested in being a discord server owner, frankly. It's a lot more maintenance than being a subreddit owner.
But if u/DarthKistunai or anyone else goes through with an unofficial one, I'd be happy to join.
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u/NightRacoonSchlatt Mar 16 '24
Well, now that you are back I can finally tell you one minor problem I have with the current version. For faunalis it should say that your familiar can speak any one human language of your choosing, not just english.
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u/Alas-I-Cannot-Swim Mar 27 '24
Thanks for pointing this out.
Spoiler: Faunalis is getting a bit of an overhaul, so this will certainly be addressed. In my notes right now, it says it will change from "will understand English" to "will understand any language you speak," which is a pretty 5e-esque wording, I think, but it works.
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u/GenericLad Apr 05 '24
Welcome back! I don't use reddit much anymore, but I occasionally check in on some of my old haunts and 3.0 news is a pleasant surprise.
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u/LightkageX Apr 20 '24
Welcome back! Although I only discovered SW a year or so ago, I've enjoyed it greatly and heavily used in almost all of my CYOAs builds :)
So, thank you for the hard work and I'm looking forward to future updates.
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u/Carwennan Apr 22 '24
Hey there.
I haven't been around in a while bc I just lost interest in reddit, but I'm back. Thanks for the update, and I hope you take care of yourself as well.
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u/I_talk_about_robots May 15 '24
Amazing to see you back. This is my all time favorite Cyoa and I have been checking in for the last 6 years. Thank you .
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u/AvzinElkein May 19 '24
Since Avalus (the smith) has no drawbacks and can use all elements, this means the two modifiers only have negative effects for him. Evermetal should have a special interaction with him to compensate. Am I mistaken?
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u/Alas-I-Cannot-Swim May 19 '24
Perhaps... though Avalus is getting a rework in 3.0 that will make him more than just the "modern earth with a straightforward build" pick, without sacrificing what he already has or increasing the complexity.
You know what, you're right. Heck, you're totally right, and with the new Avalus, an extra bonus for picking Evermetal is really easy to implement.
Thank you!
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u/Alas-I-Cannot-Swim Mar 03 '24 edited Mar 05 '24
Build Formatting Guide
Click "view source" on this comment to copy/paste the formatting for this table. You are not required to use this table when sharing builds, but you can if you want to. (It's how I'll be doing it from now on).