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Dec 3, 2019 16:52
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 Let’s begin.  These are the three base archetypes we can pick to start. As someone who tends to gravitate more towards the INT/PSY skills, I like none of these, as I don’t think putting 1 in any category is a good idea.  Instead, we’ll be creating our own archetype.  We’ll be going with this archetype. We have 12 points to work with, and we can put anywhere from 1 to 6 points in any category. I generally don’t recommend going higher than 4 or lower than 2 if you don’t know what you’re doing, though.  The reason for this is that your stats don’t just impact your starting skills, but also your growth; you can only put points into a skill up to a certain degree. This degree is determined by your initial archetype. So since we have two points in Physique, we can only put two more points into Endurance. This is going to heavily limit what skills we see, especially closer to the end of the game, but for now this is fine. As for this screen, it’s asking us to pick a “Signature Skill.” This isn’t too complicated. It just means that we get a free point to put into whatever we like. It also raises the cap for all skills in that category by one (I didn’t actually realize that latter bit until just now, and if I had I probably would have chosen, say, Physical Instrument instead of wasting it like I do here). Now, let’s go through each skill and see what they do.  Logic is our basic reasoning skills, though it also affects our ego. Also, don’t worry too much about the supposed negative consequences of having too high a stat. We’ll see some of that, but we won’t be nearing max with anything and the effects will be a lot subtler than this makes it out to be.  Encyclopedia fills our brain with trivia.  Rhetoric is what got you that solid B minus in high school debate class.  Drama helps us lie and sniff out lies.  Now we get into the granular. Conceptualization lets us… see art? Okay?  Visual Calculus is a bit specific, but really cool. It lets us reconstruct crime scenes.  Volition is basically our sanity, our voice of reason. It controls how many Morale points we get, which is good because if we run out of those the game ends.  Inland Empire is one of my favorites. It’s your hunches, the whispers in your head—but also your imagination. It will give life to the inanimate.  Empathy allows us to feel the emotions of others, useful when you think someone’s being false or performative.  Authority is our inner fascist. It craves respect and deference. Well, that's a bit reductive. More broadly, it's our sense of power dynamics.  Esprit de Corps… look, it lets us “understand cop culture,” all right? I really don’t want to spoil what this one does. It’s too good.  Suggestion lets us try to charm and manipulate.  Endurance controls the other health resource, aptly named “Health.” We’re only going to have two points in it to start. It’s how much we can take, basically.  Pain Threshold increases our pain tolerance, which will eventually turn us into someone with masochistic tendencies—like LPing Disco Elysium!  Physical Instrument is our strength, used when diplomacy has failed. Or when a door needs busting. Either/or.  Electrochemistry makes us want the good poo poo. It increases our knowledge of various vices.  Shivers turns us into Batman! We will hear the city streets cry out to us!  Half Light is our fight-or-flight response, and lets us sense the ominous direction the wind is turning.  Hand/Eye Coordination is exactly what it sounds like, and is important for shooting.  Perception is how attuned to our senses we are.  Reaction Speed lets us think quickly and come up with daring moves or witty lines.  Savoir Faire is basically our style.  Interfacing is how in touch with machines we are, but also how nimble we are with our fingers, allowing us to pick pockets and locks.  Finally, Composure is how well we can keep a straight face and not let the world break us down. Its main purpose, though, is reading body language. We’re going to make our Signature Skill Inland Empire (because I didn’t quite understand all of what the Signature Skill does) and move on. It’s not terribly important anyway.    ANCIENT REPTILIAN BRAIN: Ever.         LIMBIC SYSTEM: You wouldn’t like it if I told you what’s back there. Why do you think you had to bludgeon yourself into oblivion? Or did you not sense yourself—marinating? Poured so much over yourself… Got a bit *carried away* did we chef?  This is our first passive skill check, or “black check.” Black checks are pop-ins from our various thoughts. It's not actually random, despite its name tying it into the other kinds of checks, which do have an element of randomness: here, the game just adds 6 to your current score in a skill and then gives you a success message if it was high enough to pass. Less frequently you’ll get failure messages, too. This one is for Inland Empire, as you can see. Passing a black check will occasionally give us new dialogue options, as well.         Chapter 1: 8:07-8:21: Wake Up, Get Up, Get Out There  Your eyes open, and the only thing burned into your brain in that moment is a desperate cry for escape from the pounding of its own shell.    It’s too much—the light, the cold, the pain, all wrapped up in a cacophonous sensory overload that exacerbates the hangover. These green orbs are places where we can make observations about the environment.     Examining the tape player will let us pick up the empty cassette case. Not worth much on its own.  You should probably put on some pants.  Clothing can offer skill benefits. While these trousers reduce our Savoire Faire by 1, they increase our Electrochemistry.  We can also get “thought” orbs that will appear around our head.    The cold air streams in through the broken window. You feel an overpowering urge to figure out what happened here, even sans shirt.   This is an active check--a White Check, to be more precise. The number next to the check is the number we need to roll, which adds our current stat onto it (in this case, Visual Calculus, which is 3.)  Hovering over the check will show its likelihood of passing. Even if we fail, however, we can retry any White Check by simply putting a level into the relevant skill. I’ll go over levels when we gain some experience. Also, as you can see, snake eyes or double sixes are critical failures/passes, respectively. The chances of either of them are about 3%, apparently, though I have no idea how they arrived at that math (edit from the future: 1 in 36! Duh!  ). Getting one is just an automatic fail or pass, it's not special or anything. We passed!        We gained 5 experience for solving the mystery of the shoe through the window. We will gain a level every 100 experience, which will allow us to do one of three things. The only one that is immediately relevant is putting points into a skill. Also, we gained a task. Completing these objectives will reward us with experience and generally help us make progress. Finally, you may notice that time has passed. Time will only pass during dialogue, never during movement. This allows us plenty of time to explore, though we should be wary of long conversations.  You see a filthy blazer on the… bed? It’s disgusting, but you’re freezing, so it’ll have to do. The Disco-rear end Blazer gives +1 Esprit de Corps.  Wait, what’s that hanging from the fan?    Somehow, you feel that there is a 58 percent chance of this going horribly awry, and reconsider this course of action. You choose to pull on the fan’s switch first. CEILING FAN: The blades come squeaking to a halt. It should be easier to reach the tie now. YOU: Grab the tie.  Changing various factors will change the odds of passing certain checks. Here, we gain a +3 because the fan is stopped. SAVOIR FAIRE: [Medium: Success] You swoop up and catch the tie… snap! It’s released from the blade. WARNING! WARNING! The necktie is no longer contained. The Horrific Necktie gives no apparent benefit. Immediately apparent, anyway.     Your head is still pounding. Maybe the bathroom has something to help you.  We pick up the White Satin Shirt, which increases Conceptualization by 1 and reduces Suggestion by 1.  MIRROR: Hot water sprays from the base and steam covers the mirror. You cannot see yourself, just the outline of a man.   MIRROR: As you slowly reach your hand toward the surface of the mirror...         BEHOLD        Check fails.   Check fails.  Again, any White Checks we fail will remain in the world until we get another skill point and re-attempt them.   Having attempted to defeat “The Expression” to no avail, you decide it’s probably past time you pick up that other shoe and figure some stuff out. Like everything.  What adventures lie in store for you in this beautiful world brimming with possibility?! Arist fucked around with this message at 21:01 on Oct 22, 2020 |
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Dec 3, 2019 16:52
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I love this loving game. It's so disco.
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Dec 3, 2019 17:43
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Ground floor baby! Will this LP have any thread input/voting or will you be showing off your own calls throughout? Also, quote:(because I didn’t quite understand all of what the Signature Skill does) It's what you said earlier, a +1 to the skill and a +1 to the cap of every other skill in that category. I don't really think you "wasted" it by tagging IE since you wanted to do an INT/PSY run anyway. There's something to be said about tagging a skill in a category you don't plan to focus on that much, like your idea to tag Physical Instrument, but it honestly comes down to a little bit of minmaxing better discussed later on that doesn't really matter too much and the game certainly doesn't require you to do.
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Dec 3, 2019 17:52
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Looking forward to seeing more people exposed to the disco glory that is this game. So good.
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Dec 3, 2019 18:23
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KazigluBey posted:Will this LP have any thread input/voting or will you be showing off your own calls throughout? So, I mentioned in the OP that I wanted to try to show off some of the different possibilities to some extent. My original idea was something I dubbed "Botchcop" who was just going to be a total failure at life, but if the thread is open to it I could try to accept thread votes for a second run that would be parallel to the main one.
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Dec 3, 2019 18:28
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Post the descriptions of clothes you pick up, they're usually funny.
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Dec 3, 2019 18:37
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Maximum cocaine.
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Dec 3, 2019 18:39
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Oh man, I'm so loving torn. On one hand, I wanna follow this LP because this game is absolutely phenomenal. On the other hand, I've only played through it once so far, and I kinda don't want to get spoiled on too much of the stuff I missed. Also how do I get a Hobocops gang tag
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Dec 3, 2019 18:49
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Nordick posted:Also how do I get a Hobocops gang tag Too late 
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Dec 3, 2019 19:08
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This is going to be great.  I'd be up for the adventures of Botchcop, going 6 physical/1 everything else for that tasty tasty Electrochemistry. Some of the skill failures are hilarious (the Suggestion and Savoir Faire checks next update, for example), and I really want to see what happens when you totally gently caress up the main plot.And definitely post the clothes descriptions.
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Dec 3, 2019 19:58
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Awwww yeah. Screenshot LP of this baby. Happy to be here. I'd play it way too much myself, but my computer is apparently too much of a potato for its minimum requirements. I've seen some good things, though.
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Dec 3, 2019 20:05
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Awww yeah, time for some evil apes dukin' it out on a giant ball.
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Dec 3, 2019 20:13
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Oooooh, getting in on the ground floor of this. Godspeed REDACTED and I hope you remember what you did last night.
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Dec 3, 2019 20:31
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do you talk to yourself as the mirror with all starting builds or just the inland empire one
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Dec 3, 2019 21:20
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fluffyDeathbringer posted:do you talk to yourself as the mirror with all starting builds or just the inland empire one Everyone faces the horror of The Expression.
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Dec 3, 2019 21:38
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I've only gone through most of one day but holy crap am I impressed by this game. I need to give it a proper go soon. Definitely looking forward to this LP.
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Dec 3, 2019 22:19
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This is such a fantastic game and I´m happy to see an LP of it.
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Dec 3, 2019 22:30
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Night10194 posted:Everyone faces the horror of The Expression. 
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Dec 4, 2019 01:00
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Oh, hell, and I dare say, yeah The best written game of the past two decades.
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Dec 4, 2019 01:55
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I started playing Disco Elysium just a few days ago. I went to grab the tie, rolled snake eyes, and had a heart attack right on the spot. This is a magical game. 
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Dec 4, 2019 07:30
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Ground floor? HARD CORE
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Dec 4, 2019 09:08
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Xarbala posted:Ground floor?
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Dec 4, 2019 11:47
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BisbyWorl posted:I started playing Disco Elysium just a few days ago. The funniest part is that this isn't even the only way the ceiling fan lamp can kill you.
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Dec 4, 2019 13:51
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If memory serves, something tells me turning off the fan may be a bad idea. Something about the air getting disgusting without circulation. Not sure what that means though.
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Dec 4, 2019 14:58
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Before I record too much more I want to get a better feel for what the thread wants in terms of alternate options. I did some recording with Botchcop, the 6 FYS/2 everything else gelatinous slab of libertarian biomeat earlier (which, by the way, went amazingly well and I'm very excited to see where it goes if we continue down that road), but if anyone wants thread votes, now's the time to speak up. Even if we go with Botchcop for a parallel run though, I can try to accommodate people who want to see other possibilities, as i'm going to be rotating saves rather judiciously. If you guys overwhelmingly want to see another option, I will hopefully at least be able to show it off. Basically, the two runs it seems like we'll be doing for this will be the one I've already started, "Trycop," a guy just generally trying to do his best, and Botchcop, who sucks. I realize that I have effectively doubled my workload, but gently caress me, I'm a crazy person for doing this in the first place. Any objections or just alternate pitches for how to approach this, I'm totally open to. I have a pretty solid idea of what the Trycop playthrough will look like, but everything else is pretty unfamiliar territory for me because I have only played this game the once, and also the idea to show more than one run in the first place I had barely considered the logistics of. e: oh, also, I finished capturing screenshots for the second update and gently caress me there's a lot, why am I doing this
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Dec 4, 2019 22:15
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I'm fine with you doing your own thing, as I imagine burnout is a very real possibility with a game this dense. Then again I'm fine with whatever everyone else wants.
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Dec 4, 2019 22:23
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Would it maybe be easier to record a video and get screenshots from that?
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Dec 4, 2019 22:24
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Hwurmp posted:Would it maybe be easier to record a video and get screenshots from that? Oh, don't worry, I am. What you mentioned is absolutely the preferred method of screenshot capture for an SSLP. I can't even imagine going about it another way.
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Dec 4, 2019 22:27
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I had to ask that because I failed a Trivial Interfacing check
Hwurmp fucked around with this message at 23:40 on Dec 4, 2019 |
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Dec 4, 2019 22:36
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If we get to name our character can he be Larry? Larry Laffer? That somehow seems sorta fitting.
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Dec 5, 2019 06:46
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Jadecore posted:Awwww yeah. Screenshot LP of this baby. Happy to be here. Same. Hopefully I can fix that when I also fix the hardware problems that are plaguing my LP.
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Dec 5, 2019 07:57
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Chapter 2: 8:21-10:18: Buddy Cop All right, the immediate vicinity of your room looks marginally less disastrous than the inside. This is progress. You consider talking to the woman, but you decide to go find your shoe on the balcony first.  You feel an inexplicable attraction to the strange table coins. You know not what they do, but you pick them up anyway.     Mission complete! Your poor toes can finally unclench from the biting cold.   Completing certain tasks or selecting certain dialogue options will restore Health or Morale. However, note that by the same token we can also lose Health or Morale for picking certain options. There are other ways to restore Health and Morale, though, so don’t worry too much.  Back inside, the woman greets you rather familiarly. What does she know?!    KLAASJE (MISS ORANJE DISCO DANCER): “Uh… no.” She seems perplexed by your question.       Do NOT use The Expression on her! You promised yourself! Besides, you don’t know what you’re unleashing!  Also, there’s only a 28 percent chance it’ll work!  KLAASJE (MISS ORANJE DISCO DANCER): “Don’t be so harsh on yourself. They let almost anyone be a police officer.”          KLAASJE (MISS ORANJE DISCO DANCER): “We are in Revachol.”          KLAASJE (MISS ORANJE DISCO DANCER): “Oh yes, various artists. Ostentatious Orchestrations prime among them.” She raises an eyebrow, waiting for the name to connect with you.         KLAASJE (MISS ORANJE DISCO DANCER): “There was. I think you screamed that you… didn’t want to be ‘this type of animal’ any more. I may have misheard, but it was sort of memorable.”     There is nothing left for you here. You descend the stairs.  From across the cafeteria as you make your way down the staircase, you notice a man in an orange bomber jacket waiting by the doors. He does not move. You sense he is waiting for something, but for what you have little idea. You ignore him for now and tend to more pressing matters...    …like karaoke!   INLAND EMPIRE: Utterly. And it needs to be heard. Through a PA system. By other people.    INLAND EMPIRE: Serves them right! Wipe that smirk off their face with your sad, tragic small church song. Who’s laughing now? No one.   GARTE, THE CAFETERIA MANAGER: “Oh no,” he says without looking up. “You’re a hero. A real hero cop.”     GARTE, THE CAFETERIA MANAGER: A competent work of taxidermy, the white and brown seabird lies among piles of coasters and drying mugs, one of its wings broken. The man is trying to mend it. Looks like the bird was ripped off the shield that was used to mount it—most likely on a wall.  GARTE, THE CAFETERIA MANAGER: “Look, your *buddy* is over there.” He looks at the doors, where a man in a bomber jacket is tapping his foot on the floor. Wait, that dude’s waiting for you? Ah poo poo.   GARTE, THE CAFETERIA MANAGER: “No, I’m not the *bartender*. I’m the cafeteria manager.”   GARTE, THE CAFETERIA MANAGER: “She just, you know…” He shrugs.  Okay, you have the important information that the man by the doors is waiting for you. poo poo, what did you do? Shut up, idiot, that was rhetorical, look at your room, what *didn’t* you do? Better procrastinate dealing with him until you think of an excuse.       This is a healing item. We can use this Nosaphed to recover Health whenever we want, even mid-conversation, by clicking on the orange plus icon by our Health bar.     ELECTROCHEMISTRY: What happened, man? You used to be *cool*. Go get your boring normal person drink then…     Magnesium is another healing item, but it restores Morale instead of Health.   Despite the dismal odds of success, you decide to try waking the man up. You fail miserably.     Yeah, you probably can’t get away with putting this off any further. Trying to chat up the old lady five feet away from the guy you’re avoiding is pretty ballsy though, not gonna lie.  Quick—lie!  “I was drunk.”Perfect! KIM KITSURAGI: As you approach, he narrows his eyes and extends his hand in greeting.   What!? Oh, that was *poetry*. KIM KITSURAGI: “Helllo, I’m Kim Kitsuragi.” His grip is firm. “Lieutenant, Precinct 57. You must be from the 41st…” You realize he is waiting for your name.   This is a Red Check, which is like a White Check, but you can’t ever retry it if you fail. Choose them wisely, basically. gently caress yeah, let’s do it! The check fails. poo poo  HORRIFIC NECKTIE: You instinctively run your hand over your multi-patterned orange tie. The sensation of wrinkled silk somehow makes the name sound even cooler.  KIM KITSURAGI: “Yes, well…” He doesn’t even process what you just said, just moves on.  KIM KITSURAGI: “If you don’t mind, we should talk to him again. Ask him for a run-down of the area—now that I’m here as well. I understand the scene is out back, right?”    KIM KITSURAGI: “Okay. We’ll have time for that after we take a look at the coroner’s case.”  The lieutenant’s voice takes an ominous tone as he says this.  KIM KITSURAGI: “So, the body is still in the tree…” EMPATHY: [Easy: Success] This is the first time you detect a weariness in the lieutenant’s voice. It is obvious he would have preferred for the body to no longer be in the tree.  KIM KITSURAGI: He looks at you for a moment, in silence. “I can see you drank last night, and the night before. And that you are still drunk now. But I have seen officers go through much worse. Much worse.” This guy doesn’t like you, does he?  KIM KITSURAGI: “I was sent here to meet a detective from Precinct 41. You have the insignia of the Citizens Militia on your sleeve and on your back.” He points to your jacket.    KIM KITSURAGI: They’re not *just* white rectangles. They bear a halogen watermark with the letters RCM and a pattern resembling the street grid of Revachol West.”        And now we have a party member, in true RPG fashion! Can’t wait until we recruit the dog.  KIM KITSURAGI: “Mr… Garte, right?” Kim glances into his little notebook. “You run this place?” GARTE, THE CAFETERIA MANAGER: “Yes,” he responds tersely.  KIM KITSURAGI: “Right… Now, I know it took us a while to arrive at the scene. It also took you a while to call us and report the dead body—it *was* you who placed the call, yes?” GARTE, THE CAFETERIA MANAGER: “No, I only just got here. It was probably Sylvie who called you. She usually works the bar here. I’m only temporarily taking over her duties.” KIM KITSURAGI: “Do you have her number?”  KIM KITSURAGI: “You said you just got here—from where? Are you a local?” GARTE, THE CAFETERIA MANAGER: “What? Of Martinaise—no. I live in Jamrock. I only *sometimes* come here to keep an eye on the place. This is just one of the many, many cafeterias I manage.” KIM KITSURAGI: “But you still know your way around, yes? In case we need directions.” GARTE, THE CAFETERIA MANAGER: “Yes, I know where *some* things are. But, as I said, I don’t live here. I just used to work here. And I’m not going to start working here again, if that’s what you think.”     GARTE, THE CAFETERIA MANAGER: “That’s easy! See that door there?” He points to the west. “First you exit through that. Then to your right you should see a big hole in the fence—a really big one. You can get to the courtyard through there. No need for the keys. The hole is big enough for the Franconigerian cavalry to fit through.”      GARTE, THE CAFETERIA MANAGER: “Oh my god! What is your *obsession* with this Sylvie person? Get over it!”  GARTE, THE CAFETERIA MANAGER: “Not so fast.” He points to you. “You owe me 130 réal.” INLAND EMPIRE: [Easy: Success] No one is saying the multi-patterned necktie you found tied to the ceiling fan can *talk*. No one. It must be merely *imagination*, but…   Twenty-eight percent?! Better take your chances with whatever this réal thing is. GARTE, THE CAFETERIA MANAGER: “Oh, excuse me. You owe me 130 *reál*.” He pronounces the “r” with a mock aristocratic accent. Wait, is it “réal” or “reál”? This is getting confusing.  GARTE, THE CAFETERIA MANAGER: “Wow, you’re a genius! Yes, that’s right—money. You owe this establishment 130 reál.” He points to the red ledger on the counter.   KIM KITSURAGI: The lieutenant watches you fiddle with your horrific tie, sweat stains forming under your armpits. He puts his hand on your shoulder. “If you don’t have the money, it’s okay. None of us are in this for the wages.” Kim’s all right.  GARTE, THE CAFETERIA MANAGER: “Let’s see.” He dramatically turns a page in the ledger. Three nights at a tarif of 20 reál comes to 60 reál. Then there’s the window you *annihilated*--the hole in the window was the first thing I saw when I came to work, so don’t try to tell me you didn’t! That will be 40 reál in damages.”       GARTE, THE CAFETERIA MANAGER: “It is.” He stands silently looking at the coppers on the counter.  GARTE, THE CAFETERIA MANAGER: “It does, doesn’t it.”  GARTE, THE CAFETERIA MANAGER: He turns to the lieutenant. “I’m sorry, but he has to pay, I can’t let him stay here any longer if he doesn’t. If he doesn’t have the money by tonight, then...” He shrugs.  KIM KITSURAGI: “Officer…” A pattern of creases appears on his forehead. “You really need to take this up with your station, I have a shortwave radio in my car. Call them, ask for assistance. We have to get this investigation started now.”         We gained a thought!  Gaining our first thought lets us interact with the Thought Cabinet. Thoughts are things we can focus on internalizing, which confer a bonus during the thought process, as well as a different bonus once it is complete. It should be noted that either bonus can be positive or negative, and there’s no way to know what the final bonus will be other than looking it up on the internet. Internalizing a thought takes time. It doesn’t spend time on its own, but as time progresses when you talk to people, your active thought will gain experience until it finishes.  Lonesome Long Way Home’s immediate benefit is +1 to Encyclopedia. We won’t internalize it just yet, though. I kind of want to save slots in the earlygame, but we’ll get a taste of thoughts in a short bit. It should also be pointed out that internalized thoughts can also affect dialogue options, which is neat. Anyway, now that you’re in financial peril, you decide to talk to Kim.     KIM KITSURAGI: “Three days ago the RCM Emergencies Desk received a report about a security guard who was found hanged in Martinaise. An anonymous caller said there was a dead body behind the Whirling-In-Rags hostel-cafeteria. The cadaver had been there for four days—no one had come to investigate...”      We completed a secret, unmarked task. Neat.    KIM KITSURAGI: “Yes, it just so happens there’s a beautiful, blonde nineteen year old woman at the heart of this case. A rich one, in fact. Part of a murder-sex-cult.”  KIM KITSURAGI: “Extremely.” CONCEPTUALIZATION: [Medium: Success] It can still be an otherworldly sex-mystery *in your head*. With a dark twist, even.  KIM KITSURAGI: “I’m afraid you and I are pawns in a…” He considers the phrasing. “A *pissing* competition.”        KIM KITSURAGI: “Have you tried concentrating on something other than your personal affairs?”  KIM KITSURAGI: “Not a fan. It’s just the nature of lieutenancy.”          For the love of god, do NOT ask him where he’s “from”! KIM KITSURAGI: “That’s correct.”  KIM KITSURAGI: “Are they? They’re mostly just cumbersome.”     oh god what are you doing KIM KITSURAGI: “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” CONCEPTUALIZATION: [Medium: Success] The lieutenant’s Conceptualization skills must be rather *rudimentary*. ESPRIT DE CORPS: [Medium: Success] The lieutenant is a police officer of the *old school*. His concerns are material and extrinsic.  KIM KITSURAGI: “So, what? That makes *you* the *new school*? Gods spare us… For real detective work, nothing beats a good notebook by your side.” The lieutenant produces his small blue notebook and idly thumbs through a few pages. EMPATHY: [Medium: Success] That’s where his conversations with himself take place.    The check passes.  INLAND EMPIRE: Yes, you killed him. And then, as part of the plan, you drowned out the memory… EMPATHY: [Easy: Success] Maybe this is why your chest feels so hollow—you did an awful thing, and you can’t even bring yourself to acknowledge it…        KIM KITSURAGI: “I don’t know. Containers… contain, I guess. I’m making assumptions. We should move on.”  All right, enough chatting with Kim. Talk to the others and then move on from the Whirling-In-Rags.      Try this one again now that you’ve made some progress in the area. The check passes.     SLEEPING DOCKWORKER: The worker stares at you, his eyes dry from sleep. A web of wrinkles covers his tanned forehead. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, kind sir, but when I’m out, then I’m really *out*. No corpses. No mausoleums. Just *quality-time*.”  SLEEPING DOCKWORKER: “That’s the name of my employer. I work in logistics.”  SLEEPING DOCKWORKER: “How’s it going?” The dockworker lets out a big yawn, then stares at the cafeteria’s terrace doors. Some fingerprints glisten on the glass.  SLEEPING DOCKWORKER: “Good.” He doesn’t dwell on the particulars of your existence. “We’re in the middle of a strike down at the harbour. Trying to force some sense into the executive board of Wild Pines.”      SLEEPING DOCKWORKER: “You know, people die here every day. Someone’s found in a ditch, another one falls in a manhole, a third one gets eaten by stray dogs.” He respites.   SLEEPING DOCKWORKER: “You heard what I said. Draw your own conclusions. That’s all I know, and I prefer to keep it this way.” KIM KITSURAGI: The lieutenant gives you a little nod—then makes a note in his blue notebook.     Finally, let’s talk to this nice lady. KIM KITSURAGI: The lieutenant nods politely.     LENA, THE CRYPTOZOOLOGIST’S WIFE: “I see you are still grieving. Well, I won’t pry.” She smiles gently—paying no heed to the inexplicable winking. She slaps herself on the forehead. “You must forgive me! I’m getting so scatterbrained! I completely forgot to introduce myself. I’m Lena. My husband Morell and I are staying with our friend Gary just down the street, but I come here for tea when they’re away.” Her eyes glitter over the rims of her glasses as she looks up, smiling.  Please don’t bring up this nice old lady’s wheelchair or ask her for money, you oaf.     LENA, THE CRYPTOZOOLOGIST’S WIFE: Her grey eyes widen. “How would I even begin to tell you? Revachol is the most beautiful city in the world. We’re fortunate to be here, you and I. I haven’t seen very many other cities personally, but everyone says so. Revachol is a rare jewel. This city used to rule the world… Though it has seen better days.”   COMPOSURE: [Easy: Success] Her relief is palpable. She was getting pretty worried about you there, but now she relaxes her shoulders…  LENA, THE CRYPTOZOOLOGIST’S WIFE: “Oh sweetie…” she smiles a sad smile. “It’s really not. There used to be people who thought that way—other people, who wanted those things—but… they all went extinct. Revachol is a Special Administrative Region, led by an alliance of foreign powers called the Coalition. We have almost no government of our own. And *certainly* no dictatorship of the proletariat.”  LENA, THE CRYPTOZOOLOGIST’S WIFE: “Oh dear…” She shakes her head, suddenly very worried. “And you were doing so well. There aren’t any cops in Revachol, not in the traditional sense. The status of law enforcement has been a complicated matter since the Revolution… But we should stop for today, sweetie. You look like you need a break. Besides, I’m not the best person to explain the *big* things to anyone…”  LENA, THE CRYPTOZOOLOGIST’S WIFE: “You were doing quite well up until the end there. It *does* look like you’re having trouble remembering things. History and places. Remembering *Reality*, in a word. It’s very odd…” KIM KITSURAGI: A sigh. The lieutenant buries his nose in his notebook. LENA, THE CRYPTOZOOLOGIST’S WIFE: “But—maybe a *fresh set of eyes* is what this world needs? And—while I’m no doctor—such bouts of amnesia are often temporary. So I wouldn’t worry *too* much.”   LENA, THE CRYPTOZOOLOGIST’S WIFE: “It has something to do with everything. I really don’t know how to explain it better…”  LENA, THE CRYPTOZOOLOGIST’S WIFE: “Someone more educated in *sweeping* matters? Maybe you should ask...” She turns to the lieutenant. KIM KITSURAGI: “No.” He looks away. “I’m not an encyclopedia. I won’t be a guide either. I’m a detective.”  LENA, THE CRYPTOZOOLOGIST’S WIFE: “Of course, dear. Good luck with your case!” She gives you a small wave. And so you just spent two hours scaring people by asking them about basic facets of reality. Good work, detective. Maybe next time we’ll actually make it outside of the building and see the goddamn body. Arist fucked around with this message at 16:06 on Dec 13, 2019 |
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Dec 5, 2019 18:19
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Oh, I forgot to mention I'm testing a style for this game where I don't use portraits. There might be a better way to break up the lines, I'll work on that. If you feel really strongly about there being portraits I can re-add them and just use the bolded name style for the thoughts.
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Dec 5, 2019 18:32
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a thing that is useful to know about this game: success is not always success, and failure is not always failure. it's always a success from the perspective of the skill in question, but... what your skills call success and what you call success may not align. as an example that you can probably figure out from that last update, passing an electrochemistry check is maybe not always a good thing also, Authority is a little more nuanced than just your inner fascist. sure, it's your skill for issuing orders in a way that gets people to obey them, but there's also reason it's right up against Empathy. Authority reads power dynamics. it always wants you to be on top in those power dynamics, because duh, but it is also the skill that can sniff out where the REAL power lies. empathy wants to see where the guy loudly barking orders is coming from; authority wants to see if you can knock him over. Yeowch!!! My Balls!!! fucked around with this message at 19:28 on Dec 5, 2019 |
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Dec 5, 2019 19:20
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Not sure if this may be spoilering, but one of your INT stats should've chimed in with Garte where Empathy did. Not sure if it's because PSY is greater than INT, but the latter should've opened a conversation.
AnAnonymousIdiot fucked around with this message at 19:58 on Dec 5, 2019 |
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Dec 5, 2019 19:40
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"Darkness rides." "It does, doesn't it." I don't even know why that pair of lines tickles me so much, but I loving love it. I love this game. AnAnonymousIdiot posted:Not sure if this may be spoilering, but one of your INT stats should've chimed in with Garte where Empathy did. Not sure if it's because PSY is greater than INT, but the latter should've opened a conversation. I mean, yeah, that's how this game operates. You get different conversation options and different paths through things depending on your stats.
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Dec 5, 2019 20:16
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There's also the chance that it may have been an oversight in some fashion. As this LP is going to show off, there's a lot of loving words and choices that alter so many things that I'm surprised the game is as functional as it is. Considering this is a few weeks from initial release, the whole thing should be fairly smooth.
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Dec 5, 2019 20:49
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Hot drat what a great game. My first playthrough ended when I shot myself in the head after failing an authority check and throwing a tantrum.
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Dec 5, 2019 22:39
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