#tbota update

[thebarontheabyss]

Hi dear patrons ❤️

So this last month was really rouge. Fell sick and and was just exceedingly and unnecessarily busy at work.

But I spent every moment I could on the game, and still, unfortunately, I won't be able to finish the update any time soon.

It’s frustrating, to say the least, because I’m constantly anxious about losing momentum with the game and people moving on from it—and I've kind of reached a point where I'm just torturing myself over it.

So as the non-functioning perfectionist that I am, I'm forcing myself to be honest instead of pretending everything is going well!

Things are hard right now, but I'm not giving up and will finish as soon as I can.

Sorry for keeping you waiting, thanks for sticking with me, and see you soon on the abyss (but like, soon-ish)

[thebarontheabyss]

A taste of what's to come; An echo in eternity's hum, For your bar, at the edge of space and time. Will you weave a haven, a spectral sum, Or in the Abyss's embrace, become undone?

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I spent the last week documenting all my plans for the game: character arcs, choices, plot points, and all lore and history. It had to be done at this point lol.

During this process, I realized that the number of chapters I initially planned needed to be expanded.

So, I'm happy to announce that the final game will now include a total of 12 chapters, including both a Prologue and an Epilogue. :D

And just for fun, I also updated the planned chapters' art.

That's it for now. See you soon at the Abyss!

[thebarontheabyss]

Hey patrons of TBOTA!

Just a quick update to let you all know that I’m still hard at work on the TBOTA 2.5 update, and I’m planning to release it mid-February (yes, it’s happening!).

As previously mentioned, this update will bring some changes to TBOTA, including:

Romance Overhaul – More depth and variation in romantic interactions.

Loneliness Mechanic Overhaul – A major rework for what is essentially the main plot of the game.

Death Scars in the Appearance Menu – Customizable scars reflecting how your character died.

I’m also planning to crank up posting from now on, so expect more content, general updates, and lore dumps!

Thanks for sticking around—I can’t wait to share more soon!

[thebarontheabyss]

Patrons of TBOTA, the update is OUT NOW!

READ HERE

Journey to the realm of Hell, the eternal damnation!

Choose how Hell manifests before you: Neon-drenched metropolis, Victorian industrial, the classic brimstone and fire, or even the suburbs.

Learn more about Yaga—her regrets and her rage.

Do some shopping in the Bazaar of Dis—buy a Roomba for He Without Name or an upgrade for the bar!

Go to dinner with Lilith\ Damian in their home. But be careful; the dessert might ruin the meal.

Please remember: Your feedback on the update will help me so much! So feel free to send your thoughts via ask or leave a comment on the COG forums. Everything is valid, from your love to your critique. I can handle both! :)

And with a personal final note: OMG, Chapter 4 is done. This was truly a hellish update to write, but I'm so happy with how it turned out in the end (it took only two rewrites!)

I hope you enjoy it, and I'll keep you posted for the next update, which will be a BIG ONE.

[thebarontheabyss]

The Abyss Beckons Once More.

The Bar on the Abyss 2.0 Update is Here!

Start your afterlife anew with new mechanics, expanded content, and deeper choices that will shape your MC's journey in the Abyss and beyond.

READ HERE

What’s New in 2.0?

50K+ Words of New Content!

Choose Your Grief Path: Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, or Acceptance—select the emotional journey that fits your MC and explore how it shapes their afterlife.

36 Career Backgrounds: Deepen your backstory with various career paths that unlock additional choices and provide unique perspectives on events unfolding around you.

A New And Improved Skill System!

Your Spirit Gift: Choose from six mythical artifacts that enhance your abilities and open new ways to approach challenges.

Detailed Death Choices: Define the circumstances of your character’s death—was it a tragic accident, a deliberate act, or something darker?

Bug Fixes and Improvements: Enjoy a smoother reading experience with numerous bug fixes, text-flow improvements, and better formatting.

How You Can Help

Thank you for reading The Bar on the Abyss, I’d love your thoughts on the new update!

Your feedback is more important than ever— suggestions for more choices, ideas for how your character should react, and thoughts on the latest content; I’m all ears and eyes, like some biblically accurate angel!

Based on your feedback, this update will continue to evolve, with a few “patches” while I work on the next chapter.

So don’t be shy—I want to hear both the good and the bad!

I’m so proud to have brought this update to life. This year has been so hard, but writing this game and connecting with all of you has been truly the best experience.

Thank you for reading The Bar on the Abyss and sharing this eternal journey with me. I wouldn’t change a thing.

See you in the Abyss!

[thebarontheabyss]

As I mentioned before, I am completely spiraling with the 2.5 update—adding more content, rewriting everything, and questioning my life choices.

But! I finally have a clear vision for Spirit Gifts and have already begun overhauling the story using their mechanics.

So, instead of being glorified “skill check” free passes, Spirit Gifts now function much like the grief paths, offering unique ways to experience the game.

So what does that mean? Let’s reintroduce them:

Navia’s Earring

Replaces Pythia’s Bracelet from the previous iteration, whispering thoughts and secrets directly into your mind. Let’s be honest—this was the best gift by far, so I’m keeping it mostly unchanged, except now it’s available for non-insight MCs too!

Everyone deserves intrusive whispers.

Voidcutter

This blue-flamed sword replaces the Sword of Damocles and is perfect if you want your MC to be a spirit-killing machine.

Now available for non-physical MCs as well!

Lens of Daezur

A pair of leather goggles containing the fractured knowledge of history, realms, and cosmic law.

Your very own personal, slightly haunted encyclopedia!

Mask of Shapeless Visage

An ever-shifting mask that allows the wearer to alter their appearance at will. Even for spirits, this is quite the feat.

Who is your MC today? More importantly—who do they want to be?

Ring of Chronos

A ring infused with the sands of time, granting you the ability to slow time in controlled bursts.

Just enough to react, just enough to change fate—if only for a moment.

The Murmuring Necklace

An eerie chain that allows you to speak to objects—and, more disturbingly, allows them to talk back to you.

Every object holds a story, whether you want to hear it is another question.

[thebarontheabyss]

Hiii! I wanted to give you a heads up about Dashingdon servers shutting down within the end of the month 😢

https://www.tumblr.com/hpowellsmith/772827898642071552/please-share-im-going-through-a-ton-of-wip?source=share

Hello patrons, and HUGE THANKS to all who reached out to me to update me on this situation. ♥

Dashingdon will shut down at the end of January, and I have already moved the game to cogdemos.ink.

You can now play the game here.

If you start a playthrough, please let me know if the game has been moved correctly and if there's any issues! Thank you 🙏

I'm updating all links but will keep the old Dashingdon available for anyone who's mid-playthrough at the moment.

If you're a game creator, make sure to do the same! You can download your current live version of your game directly from Dashingdon (each file manually though lol)

The next update will, of course, be uploaded on the new server.

Sad to see the end of good old Dash, but as you all know by now, death is only the beginning ♥

[thebarontheabyss]

Hello, patrons! So, following the death of 'Ol DashingDon (may it rest in peace), I've officially uploaded the current version of The Bar on the Abyss to itch.io! 

Play TBOTA on Itch.io

The game is also available on CoGDemos and I'll update them both when the new update is done.

You're welcome to follow the game there or on the CoG forum. :D 

[thebarontheabyss]

Womp womp :( Dashingdon is officially dead.

Hope everyone managed to finish their playthrough on time, and reminding you that the game now lives (well, you know) on Itch.io and CoGDemos!

Esh out! 👻

[thebarontheabyss]

Hey patrons! 💗

So, what did you all think of the short stories collection?

Did any of them stand out to you? What worked or didn’t? Is there else anything you’d love to see more of in the future :D

Also, exciting news: I've begun working on Chapter 5—we’re moving forward!

After the new chapter's update, I'll dedicate the following to overhauling some of the game's romance aspects, sort of a 3.0 update.

Thanks for reading. As always, your feedback means the world to me—please let me know what you think!

Catch you all soon in the Abyss!

[thebarontheabyss]

On Today’s Agenda: Overhauling Spirit Gifts!

So, funny thing about these rewriting updates—I keep finding things to rewrite. 😅

While working on the update, I realized that some gifts just felt way stronger and more distinctive than others (also something I got as feedback here and there) Now, that just wouldn’t do! So, I decided to revisit and refine the entire mechanic:

Each gift will have a new name and some unique lore behind it 👀

Every gift will have its own TRULY special abilities that set it apart.

Spirit Gifts will no longer be tied strictly to your highest stat! You’ll be able to select the one that resonates with you the most.

That’s all for now!? Will I finish this damn update? Will I keep adding more stuff until I lose my mind? Stay tuned to find out!

[thebarontheabyss]

The Prologue is about to get tripled in size 👀

In addition to the 11 options for your cause of death, I'm adding 5 unique variants for each - corresponding to all new paths of grief, so you can *REALLY* customize your death, lol.

(For example, this is the Disease + Anger path)

I can't wait for you to read everything, but I want to fully implement the paths before I release it.

So prepare for a big-ass update, hopefully by the end of July.

BTW, if you want me to add any causes of death to the game, feel free to send your thoughts—I'm already editing everything, so now's the time!

Well, going back to the kitchen.

[thebarontheabyss]

Tomorrow, your afterlife starts anew.

Hello Patrons!

After two all-nighters, I can finally and officially announce that The Bar on the Abyss 2.0 update will be released tomorrow, Friday 16th :D

I will post the full list of features and changes with the update, but here's a small preview: I added 3 more solutions to the confrontation with Pyriphlegethon!

Your new Spirit Gift will now enable you to avoid a fight altogether: charm them, use your insight to uncover the true reason for their attack, or apply logical thinking to break their resolve.

See you tomorrow :D

[thebarontheabyss]

Ahhhhhhh just made it out of the trenches 😮‍💨

I’m finally done completely revamping an entire segment from the ground up (the initial conversation with Death and The Raven)

I also had to move things from other parts of the game. Now you choose your name when signing the new contract, along with a new option for surnames.

OH and don’t get me starting on writing an actual contract for your MC to sign!!!

Anyway now I can finally write the new romance scenes, it’s like a small reward 😭

[thebarontheabyss]

Patrons of TBOTA, the update is now officially live!!!

A new night shift has begun at your bar—one that will change everything.

Meet Cassy - A young demigod has taken refuge in your bar, bringing big revelations. Drink milkshakes with her and uncover secrets!

Peisinoe is in a bind, and the stage calls for an unexpected hero—will it be you? Perform live on stage (or simply ask the Raven to read poetry) and save the day!

Helped a certain celestial couple solve their marital quarrel? Meet them at the bar and discover more about them!

Navigate through a night of challenges: impress a nightlife journalist, diffuse a potential brawl, and maybe play Cupid for Shelly.

Start your romance paths with Hastur and Peisinoe.

And FINALLY: Face the Raven, get your answers - but beware, you might not like what he has to say.

UGH, I'm beyond thrilled to release this update and can't wait to hear what you think!

Remember: Your feedback on the update is invaluable to me. Send it via ask or leave a comment on the COG forums. Everything is valid, from your love to your critique. I can handle both! :)

(LINK TO WIP)

HAVE FUN IN THE ABYSS!

[thebarontheabyss]

heyy! so whats like. the biggest thing coming in this update? like, an you give us a crashcourse on what were getting??

Of course I can! :D

So, while the 2.0 update introduced new mechanics, this update focuses on narrative expansions and complete rewrites of some aspects.

This also means it is harder to summarise as neat bullet points, but I'll try my best hehe.

Oh, and beware of spoilers if you haven't read all the available chapters of TBOTA! >

The Bar on the Abyss 2.5 UPDATE:

Overhauling the Loneliness, the Curse, and Your MC’s Motives

I’m completely rewriting all aspects of how the curse, the entity, and your MC’s motives tie into the narrative.

Here are the big changes: your MC is no longer “trapped” in the bar by the entity but by an employment contract. Why would you sign up for that? For the pension plan—a wish granted by the gods. It’s a much better hook IMO, gives your MC more agency, and meshes amazingly with the grief paths for roleplaying.

Of course, the Curse and the Loneliness are still a big part of the story, but they’ll be introduced differently. For example, I’m removing scenes where the entity forces your MC to agree to things (like during staff interviews). Instead, your MC will have actual motives and agency behind their decisions.

Romance Overhaul

I’m reworking the romances to feel more natural and engaging.

You’ll have earlier opportunities to flirt with Peisinoe and Hastur.

The romance paths for Death, Lilith/Damian, and Morgan/a will be better paced across the demo.

Now, a lot of this is WIP, and I'm still wondering how much I want to change, so Please let me know if you have requests or ideas for changes you’d like to see!

Other Additions

In Chapter 4, you could glimpse into some of the cast’s dreams. I'm adding the option to ask them about it, but don’t expect everyone to open up about it.

I’m adding “death scars” cosmetic options to the character creation by popular demand. For example, if your MC drowned, their skin might have a bluish hue.

The new options will integrate with existing mechanics. For example, a lawyer-background MC can now grill Death and the Raven about the contract’s clauses (aka Karen simulator)

As you can see, it’s a lot of work, which is why this update is taking longer than I anticipated.

Progress is going well, but I can’t give a finish date just yet. I thought it’d be ready this week, but, well, I tend to underestimate how much I want to tweak and add—especially when I go back to earlier chapters lmao.

So, for now… it’s TBD. :D