#choices atv

[playchoicesconfessions]

Sent by anonymous

‘I know PB’s already stated they won’t do any ATV, It Lives and The Elementalists sequels, but deep down my broken heart I still dream of the day they’ll change their minds and make them happen. 🥲’

POST/CONFESSIONS DO NOT REFLECT THE MOD’S PERSONAL OPINIONS!

[distraughtlesbian]

this might singlehandedly obliterate all my cred as a person with good opinions in this fanbase but across the void is. kind of not that bad.

[where-the-wind-travels]

vee, girl, i appreciate the spirit but... you're looking the wrong way 😭

OH?

[abelflints]

Nik Ryder in a futuristic or Across the Void AU

I don't think he'd actually wear this, I just wanted to play around with funky concepts 😁

[choices-binglebonkus]

Do you think the theory that TRR and TFS series got so many books and why Pixelberry has been milking the romance/smut books while eschewing other genres is because ATV was supposed to be their next TC&TF, and it bombed? Do you think it has something to do with Nexon? Or do you think Pixelberry would've gone in this direction regardless? Realistically, how much longer do you think Pixelberry/Choices will last as a company w/all the upset fans and backlash they've gotten over the past few years?

Excellent questions, anon. This is going to be a long post, so buckle up.

I do absolutely believe Nexon was at least partly to blame. Before Nexon entered the fray, collectibles were pretty much nonexistent in Choices. Endless Summer was the first collectible-heavy series, and as much as I loved it, it was VERY costly. To collect all the clues, dossiers, idols, and embers, it costs a grand total of 895 diamonds. BUT, since one of the clues in ES book 3 can only be obtained by marrying one of the love interests, the actual cost may be much higher.

But while Nexon was partly to blame, I truly do believe AtV's failure screwed Pixelberry over BIG TIME. Like, more than any of us actually realize.

Using Endless Summer as an example again, Pixelberry took a huge risk with the series. Ultimately, it a was a risk that paid off, because Endless Summer was very well-received and is still lauded as one of the greatest series in the app.

Across the Void, in my opinion, was a bigger risk than Endless Summer. It was (until WtD) the only series in the app that actually took place in the future, and it was also the only space-fantasy story. But more on the risk-factor in a minute, we'll come back to that.

Across the Void was also a very, very long book. It's actually the third-longest in the game tied with TRR book 3 at 22 chapters, only beaten out by Witness: A Bodyguard Romance at 28 chapters, and My Two First Loves at 100 chapters.

In addition to being a long book, it was originally titled Across the Void book one, until it was later changed to just Across the Void. This means Pixelberry had plans for at least one more book in the series but they had to change plans at the last minute due to the book's poor performance.

But when, you may ask, did they make this huge change?

Across the Void's release ran from August 20, 2018 to November 5, 2018, when they announced the book would be on hiatus. The book returned in MARCH. It resumed releasing from March 18, 2019 to May 13, 2019.

In those four months of hiatus (the longest hiatus a book has EVER been on, by the way), they had to hasten to conclude what was once a multi-book series rich with lore and background. And that couldn't have been easy on the writers or the budget.

Back to the risk-factor of the book. We've already established that it was unique, long, and had at least one other book planned, possibly two. But the biggest financial losses in the book came from quite literally everything imaginable.

Every background, every character sprite, every music, every miscellaneous item, all of it was brand spanking new. And believe me. There were a LOT of backgrounds, characters, music pieces, and miscellaneous items. Additionally, the love interests had different sprites and outfits, too, so those were also probably pretty costly in the art department. And there were TEN love interests. Ten!

We also got a brand-new set of MC faces and hairstyles, and you know what else? There were male and female MCs. Eight new faces, eight new hairstyles, and twenty-two new outfits. And the worst part? None of the faces or hairstyles were reused. Ever.

In fact, a LOT of the assets in this book were unusable due to how niche and out there they were. Occasionally one or two of the characters with tamer designs or miscellaneous items or even some of the music gets reused in other books. But a lot of AtV's stuff doesn't, and won't, be reused. The financial losses from the book won't be recouped.

Another costly aspect of the book was definitely the writing, though it definitely wasn't as expensive as the art. You could tell the writers busted ass creating lore. There were over a dozen alien races with their own histories, worlds, traditions, you name it. And there was the Vanguard and the Jura, who were at war with each other, which divided the galaxy far and wide. And, of course, there was the Void, which had its own lore.

Like Endless Summer, the book was very lore and detail-heavy. Unlike Endless Summer, about 90% of it was locked behind paywalls, including the majorly important bits of information. And as we all know, that just doesn't work.

Across the Void had a lot put into it. A lot of money and resources, a lot of writer's investment, a lot of time. And in kind, it had a lot of potential. Like, I don't want to say Across the Void could've been an S-tier book, but it could've definitely been up there. A-tier at lowest.

Unfortunately, it got a rough start, and when things didn't get better, that's when Pixelberry put it on hiatus and scrambled to wrap things up. It's why a shit ton of characters died if you didn't pay diamonds to save them. It's why the four endings we got were rushed, sloppy, abrupt, and unsatisfying. And it's why we were left confused as hell and saddled with more questions about the lore and story than answers.

To put it simply, Across the Void is the perfect example of Great Taste, Awful Execution.

2017-2018 is pretty commonly regarded as the Golden Era of Choices, and 2019 was the year Choices started to steadily decline. It still had some good releases, but we got a lot of really mediocre ones that year, and unfortunately, the dip from the Golden Era to a decline directly coincides with AtV's release and its poor performance. The timeline fits. And the 2020-2022 era was seriously rough. Granted, part of that was a result of the pandemic, but I don't think AtV financially flopping helped. Things are sort of starting to look up again, but I'm not holding my breath.

So yeah, AtV took a lot of financial risks. It was probably the riskiest book they've ever written due to how ungodly expensive it likely was and the sheer amount of effort and resources that went into making it, and because it performed poorly, it was a huge blow to Pixelberry.

And that really sucks, because like I said, AtV had a lot of potential. It truly could have been one of the greats if they had executed it properly, but they didn't, so the story suffered as a result.

Funny thing is, if AtV released now, in 2023, I think it would be received much better than it was in 2018-2019. What was mediocre and disappointing back then would probably be considered half-decent or even good now.

As for The Freshman and The Royal Romance, The Freshman ended at the tail end of 2018, so I don't think PB milked it because AtV screwed them financially. The timeline doesn't fit.

But The Royal Romance? Absolutely. The Royal Romance performed so well Pixelberry has implemented several rewrites and remasters, including the brand-new photo gallery in book one and even new outfits in the rewrites. What blew me away most of all were the two art scenes of the MC. Six different MC faces, eight different hairstyles, three different dresses for both scenes. AND the Liam art scenes had three different Liam faces to account for.

It also performed well enough that Pixelberry felt comfortable enough to budget for extra art for the outfits and cutscenes. One that comes to mind is the cutscene of the MC's spouse holding the baby after she gives birth. Three Liams plus Drake, Hana, Maxwell, plus six variations of the heir. I know that couldn't have been cheap.

So they milked The Royal Romance series and even invested more into it because they knew it performed well and wasn't a financial risk like AtV was. They weren't afraid it was going to fall through and flop on them. AtV was a risk while The Royal Romance was a secure, safe choice. Hence eight books in the TRR series.

I'd say, realistically, PB will last for a long while. I truly can't pinpoint a time where they'll go under. I mean, look at Episode. It's been around since 2014 and it's still going strong.

Pixelberry found that soulless smut attracts them the biggest paying audiences with the least amount of effort. VIP has also evidently worked well enough for them that they're now catering to VIP-only crowds. So while I (and many, many others) hate that Choices has gone in this direction, it's obviously working out for PB, so they're not going to make any changes anytime soon.

The only thing that I could see potentially screwing things up for PB is if Blades of Light and Shadow 2 either doesn't release or flops. This, however, is unlikely, and even if it did happen, it would probably just be a minor bump in the road for PB.

TL;DR: Across the Void's financial risks and poor performance directly led to the decline of the quality of Choices books. Particularly well-received books/series like The Royal Romance were milked to death as cash cows until PB discovered that low-quality smut would keep the app afloat.

[icariancowboy]

girl nobody gaf

[sciralta]

Being a hot sexy bitch with a huge brain and correct opinions is so painful because I know if PB had hired me for Across the Void, I in my infinite wisdom would have been able to save the series and make it slay.

[cadybear420]

Cadybear's Reviews Brief Thoughts- Across The Void

Welcome to the twelfth official Cadybear's Reviews Brief Thoughts post! Today I'll be talking about Across The Void, which I have ranked on the "Gold Tier" at 8 stars out of a possible 10. My last playthrough of this series was back in November 2021.

I honestly really enjoyed this one. 

I adored the music. I loved the visuals and designs.  I ADORED the music. The story engaged me. The characters are fun. I absolutely adored the music. 

Maybe it’s just because I’m a bit of a sucker for futuristic spacey sci-fi stuff, but I personally found it very unique for a Choices story in many factors. Playing as a non-human (albeit humanoid) MC, not to mention a MC that gets to be in a leadership position for a change. Plus the general alien/sci-fi genre, the different alien species, and more. 

Also, did I mention the music already? Because it fucks. So good. 

It had plenty of flaws no doubt. The lore was pretty incomplete, as interesting as it was. And we all know about those rushed endings with no aftermath. But I found way more redeeming qualities to it, and personally I consider it painfully underrated and sort of a guilty pleasure story for me. 

But it’s also tragic, with how PB ended up treating this book. PB was originally gonna make a Book 2 for this one, but canceled that about halfway through the book. And honestly, that fact shows in the flaws I mentioned. For those reasons, this book does get understandably ranked low by a lot of people. But like with Hero, those flaws clearly weren't part of the original plan when you really think about it, and it’s sad that that seems to be forgotten about often. 

Overall, I think it has enough redeeming qualities and enjoyability that I just can’t give it a low ranking.

[jamesashtonisbae]

Across the Void Replay

This is just my opinions on random things that I thought I should have an opinion on in this book. And they all follow the same or similar format.

Book: Across the Void

Recording: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsAPMi0hehuGfHjbpuKmpXYKktpvOPn1H&si=nZLqrpzyyvMOAItO

Overall Rating:

7/10

The potential. THE POTENTIAL. This could have been an amazing book. Probably better as a series. I like this book, I don’t replay often because the choices are so high stakes and torture stresses me out. But I like it. It was at least interesting and there were phenomenal characters. Oberon, Holmes, and Zekei are all amazing and I wish we could have backstory like theirs in every book for our LIs.

Favorite Outfit and Outfit Rating:

The ending suit. “Starship Trooper”

LI Ranking and Rating:

McAllister: 1) Zekei, 2) Sol, 3) Kepler, 4) Meridian, and 5) Titania

Thank god for options! But these characters weren’t as deep and interesting as the sibling’s LI’s. They all were established in their careers and their alliances, and knew who they were. Except Zekei, who was growing and learning during the book which made him most interesting. They also had the most depth to their relationship, which is why it was easiest to choose him.

Titania and Kepler do have some backstory which is great. I loved those little pieces of the story and appreciated them for having some of that in there. Titania’s sprite just wasn’t the most attractive in my opinion, but I do like her as a character anyway.

Side Character Ranking and Rating:

I think there are a lot of fun characters, but there may be too many of them. It is hard to keep them all straight, but since I’ve played it 3 times now, I can remember them. I like the diversity of people and creatures from the different planets. This book would be so incredibly cool as a series because of the lore of these planets and characters.

Other Relationship Ranking and Rating:

Eos: 1) Oberon, 2) Lyra, 3) Deimos, 4) Zekei

Why is Zekei a love interest for both? I had to tap through so fast because it was so awkward that McAllister was most interested in Zekei.

But Eos’s other 3 LI’s are incredible. I love all 3 of them, I think there is so much depth for how little time we spend with them. Oberon is the best, he broke my heart when he asked who could want him now that he was broken. The best set of LI’s in this game.

Pax: 1) Holmes (barely) and 2) Zaniah

I chose Holmes because all he wanted was someone to love him. But so did Zaniah. It was so hard. They were both very interesting and lovable interests. I love them for Pax and would say I rank this group second in the game.

Category:

Science Fiction

Story Rating:

5/10. I needed more depth. To the characters. To the lore. To the planets. Far be it from me to ask for lore tablets to spend gems on, but this needed lore tablets. In particular for the war, but the planets too. Maybe they could have been found on each planet? And we should have gone to every planet.

The ending was anti-climactic. We shouldn’t have been able to send the charges up with both Jura and Vanguard. It should really have only been the MC that was an option. It should have been like Endless Summer.

Art Ranking:

10/10. This book is beautiful. Stunning. Amazing.

Romance Rating:

6/10 for MC

10/10 for Eos

9/10 for Pax

Main Character Rating:

8/10

She is very capable, competent, and confident. You can make her not be a bumbling fool.

Extra points for being gender customizable. My character was female and she/her pronouns, so I refer to the main character by those pronouns.

Starting Gems/Ending Gems:

4008 starting. I did spend them, but I gained them other ways so ended 4147.

[masked-alien-lesbian]

Alien Raelyn and Scientist Hana

"Little green men, huh?" The extraterrestrial laughs good naturedly. "What a funny concept." Then they winked at Hana causing her heart rate to pick up. Did they have some type of pheromones that was effecting her? Hana knew more studies would need to be done, now how to convince this being from the stars to go back with her to her lab?

[niaerinisms]

MCs who die at some point>>>>>>

[playchoicesconfessions]

Sent by @cadybear420

‘No because ATV is literally so underrated. I mean don't get me wrong, a lot of the criticisms are 100% correct such as the endings feeling rushed and the story feeling complete. But honestly I found way more redeeming qualities than bad ones. The story, although incomplete, is actually compelling. The characters are all interesting in their own ways, yes even MC's siblings. The sprites and backgrounds are gorgeous. And the MUSIC OH MY GOD I LOVE THE MUSIC. Fun fact, pretty sure this one originally had a sequel planned for it but it got cancelled. It's kinda sad that I don't see people advocating for this one's sequel as much because god damn it needs it!’

POST/CONFESSIONS DO NOT REFLECT THE MOD’S PERSONAL OPINIONS!

[talesfromcordonia]

Across The Void - Diamond Choices - Chapter 11

[where-the-wind-travels]

my mind has been screaming at me to play across the void ever since i got into ME so here i am 😭 meet my mc, pandora shep- i mean elara <3

disclaimer: this is literally my first ever time playing atv meaning i know absolutely nothing about it, outside of the 3 main siblings i can only name zekei and sol which is not useful given pandora will be romancing a woman (yes this playthrough is partly to soothe my angst over not being able to officially romance tali as femshep in ME) + i have pretty much no data on her yet, will come up with info about her as i play

[miss-nymphetamine]

Info that matters to no one: my Choices' favourite books.

-Across the Void: I loved it, the concept was original and OMG Meridian!

-Blades of Light and Shadow: I mean... of course I love BOLAS. Tyril is my man.

-The Bloodbound series: While I'd like to see a story perhaps more related to the Underworld concept, I like the series and don't get me started on Jax.

-Crimes of Passion: With the releasing of the second book I just realized how much I loved the first one. I'm not that sure about this second one.

-Getaway Girls: I enjoyed it a lot, it felt very different to other books in some ways (probably because there were actual black people involved in its creation and development). It was very refreshing and I have to say, I'm a Dee stan.

-Hot Couture: I still can't understand the hate for this book, because I truly loved it.

-Laws of Attraction: It was modern, it was different and I really felt my MC was really intelligent and had real power to change things, to make a difference.

-Mother of the Year: first time a kid isn't annoying in these stories. Also, it touches very contemporary issues, and Thomas is to die for.

-Shipwrecked: that, kids, was actually sensual, sexy and steamy, and not the shit we had to endure in crap like Wolf Bride or Surrender.

-Slow Burn: I love cooking, so a book about food is something I will automatically like.

-Veil of Secrets: It didn't feel sugarcoated at all and I liked both the MC and her attitude towards the whole problem.

Honorable mention to Kindred's asian Kaine. It stirrs something inside me.

[choices-binglebonkus]

I’m really hoping Blades 3 will let us determine the MC’s fate at the end because the last time we had a determinant MC (not counting one of the MCs in Villainous Valentine) was in Across the Void in 2019.