The Mystery and Detective Games Thread: Friends of Laura Bow

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Should they make a Columbo video game?
	Yes.
	No.
	Dependent on how much Dog is in it.

skeleton warrior: Nov 12, 2016

Okay, I'm almost done with The Roottrees Are Dead, but everything about Elias M. Roottree's job, his wife's name, and kid's picture and job, and November Roottree's job I'm completely lost on. Any hints?

It's very solid. A lot of different paths to some of the answers, which is nice, though a bit annoying when you find the one magazine set that had all of the answers you only got to by going out on a limb with logical guesses.

# ? Dec 14, 2023 04:59

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# ? May 6, 2024 05:25

DemoneeHo: Nov 9, 2017; Come on hee-ho, just give us 300 more macca

skeleton warrior posted:

Okay, I'm almost done with The Roottrees Are Dead, but everything about Elias M. Roottree's job, his wife's name, and kid's picture and job, and November Roottree's job I'm completely lost on. Any hints?

It's very solid. A lot of different paths to some of the answers, which is nice, though a bit annoying when you find the one magazine set that had all of the answers you only got to by going out on a limb with logical guesses.

There is a hint towards that person's job in Diary - Sam. But the actual starting point for that person is the Stephanie Jones mailer.
From there the chain goes Stephanie Jones in Butler County Times
Then Brian Jones
And then Jones Graphic and Print on web
From there you have a number of potential paths, but the one you want to search is: Roottree Motors

# ? Dec 14, 2023 05:25

Hogama: Sep 3, 2011

I'll piggyback onto DemoneeHo's post, because it's also relevant towards the last job in the list.

There's a small hint in Diary - Clark, by process of elimination, but for corroborating evidence:

DemoneeHo posted:

And then Jones Graphic and Print on web
From there you have a number of potential paths

You'll basically be searching one of the other number of potential paths from there. To be explicit: check out the theatre and then try any interesting names you see on the resulting page.

# ? Dec 14, 2023 05:31

skeleton warrior: Nov 12, 2016

Thank you both very much! Yeah, we just got it done - apparently, we figured out who Stephanie's husband was and then did no further investigation on him (why should we? we placed him and his picture!) and that was the huge mistake. What I probably needed was a table with people's names and a check mark if I'd bothered to search for them on the web and in each of the periodicals, because 90% of the time we were stuck it was because I hadn't searched enough people in enough periodicals.

# ? Dec 14, 2023 05:36

mycot: Oct 23, 2014; "It's okay. There are other Terminators! Just give us this one!"; Hell Gem

Dear mystery thread, I have a few questions about Outer Wilds. I wasn't sure if it belonged here since this game kinda defies categorization, but there isn't a general Puzzle Game thread as far as I can tell and this seems to be one of the games which everyone on the forums is familiar with, so I might as well.

Several months ago I promised my brother I would beat Outer Wilds. He's coming over for Christmas and you can see, the deadline for this is rapidly approaching. I still really don't want to look up the ending, but the problem is that I'm at a four way impasse. Spoilering everything just to be nice:

1.The Quantum Moon. I know all the quantum entanglement rules and what to do but I can't figure it out.
2.Dark Bramble. The hint is that the anglerfish are blind but they can still catch me!
3.Entering the center of Ash Twin. I actually did this on accident once but haven't been able to repeat it, even when camping on the teleporter for a full cycle.
4.The Sun System. The teleport pad to this is blocked off by a seemingly impassable cacti but apparently this is just a platforming puzzle? I can't get through it regardless.

My general understanding of the plot: Long before the evolution of sapient life in the solar system a mothership of aliens called the Nomai crashed in pursuit of The Eye. Their escape pods are evident from ruins of their settlements on various planets in the solar system. When the Nomai populations reunited they resumed searching for The Eye, but concluded that it could only be found through a probe fired from a satellite canon. It was warned that too much power directed to the cannon could cause it to break but this was disregarded. Meanwhile, the Nomai got to work on something called the Ash Twin Project. The Ash Twin Project had something to do with the statues that preserve your memories. The Sun Station was proposed as a way to fuel the Ash Twin Project, which was controversial but eventually went through. Before any of this could come to fruition a comet carrying massive amounts of compressed death energy entered the solar system and explodes, instantly killing all life and abruptly putting an end to all their plans.

I would appreciate hints and nudges that are thoughtful and aren't too spoilery or direct, but I'll take what I can get at this point.

mycot fucked around with this message at 04:42 on Dec 23, 2023

# ? Dec 23, 2023 04:24

Discendo Vox: Mar 21, 2013; We don't need to have that dialogue because it's obvious, trivial, and has already been had a thousand times.

I think your posting here is fine mycot but if you wanna cast your net wider, the puzzle thread is thisaway.

It's been a long time since I played through that game, but going from memory if you're just trying to beat it, I think you only need to resolve 2 and 3.

# ? Dec 23, 2023 04:43

mycot: Oct 23, 2014; "It's okay. There are other Terminators! Just give us this one!"; Hell Gem

Discendo Vox posted:

I think your posting here is fine mycot but if you wanna cast your net wider, the puzzle thread is thisaway.

It's been a long time since I played through that game, but going from memory if you're just trying to beat it, I think you only need to resolve 2 and 3.

Righto, on my way.

# ? Dec 23, 2023 05:07

Megazver: Jan 13, 2006

https://www.pcgamer.com/valve-updates-its-steam-policy-on-ai-so-it-can-release-the-vast-majority-of-games-that-use-it/

Well, the good news is you'll be able to sell Roottrees as is soon, it seems.

# ? Jan 10, 2024 10:39

Meowywitch: Jan 14, 2010; Fight for all that is beautiful in the world

Not like steam can get any worse tbh

# ? Jan 10, 2024 10:41

SkeletonHero: Sep 7, 2010

Regarding the Roottrees.

I was poking at this all night and I need to go to sleep. I'm pretty sure I know what the final question is going to be and I have the answer. But I can't get there because I have no idea how to figure out what Bonnie Hudson and Gwyndoline Morden do. I've scoured both diaries and dug deep enough to have locked in their immediate families and siblings but have next-to-nothing on them. The most I know is that Bonnie was in an ad with Guy when she was little and Caroline is mad at both of them for settling for boring men.

# ? Jan 11, 2024 07:13

Hogama: Sep 3, 2011

SkeletonHero posted:

Regarding the Roottrees.

I was poking at this all night and I need to go to sleep. I'm pretty sure I know what the final question is going to be and I have the answer. But I can't get there because I have no idea how to figure out what Bonnie Hudson and Gwyndoline Morden do. I've scoured both diaries and dug deep enough to have locked in their immediate families and siblings but have next-to-nothing on them. The most I know is that Bonnie was in an ad with Guy when she was little and Caroline is mad at both of them for settling for boring men.

I think the answer is meant to be inferred from Diary - Complaints. There is the little issue of it being from 1953, so it's something of a leap to apply it to all the women, but I do think you're meant to be lead to treating that as the default for the married women unless there's a specific reason to believe otherwise.

# ? Jan 11, 2024 08:33

IShallRiseAgain: Sep 12, 2008; Well ain't that precious?

SkeletonHero posted:

Regarding the Roottrees.

I was poking at this all night and I need to go to sleep. I'm pretty sure I know what the final question is going to be and I have the answer. But I can't get there because I have no idea how to figure out what Bonnie Hudson and Gwyndoline Morden do. I've scoured both diaries and dug deep enough to have locked in their immediate families and siblings but have next-to-nothing on them. The most I know is that Bonnie was in an ad with Guy when she was little and Caroline is mad at both of them for settling for boring men.

I can't remember exactly where I saw it, but there is a pretty clear hint for Gwyndoline somewhere its mentioned that she is just like her mother and grandmother in a certain aspect.

Personally, I thought the final answer was pretty weak. The final answer is pretty explicitly spelled out and there isn't really a deduction that needs to take place. Lauren basically writes about exactly what is going on. I thought there was going to be a name change or accidental incest going on or something. Something that would require knowing the whole family tree, and that the family actually covered up. Not something that was written about in a book.

# ? Jan 11, 2024 15:09

Chev: Jul 19, 2010; Switchblade Switcharoo

IShallRiseAgain posted:

I can't remember exactly where I saw it, but there is a pretty clear hint for Gwyndoline somewhere its mentioned that she is just like her mother and grandmother in a certain aspect.

Personally, I thought the final answer was pretty weak. The final answer is pretty explicitly spelled out and there isn't really a deduction that needs to take place. Lauren basically writes about exactly what is going on. I thought there was going to be a name change or accidental incest going on or something. Something that would require knowing the whole family tree, and that the family actually covered up. Not something that was written about in a book.

I mean, there is. Although Lauren does accidentally allude to it twice, EC being removed from the family isn't actually mentioned in her books, it's something she doesn't know about even once Sam is out in the open, the 5pieces kept that covered up. The candy name change, only mentioned in the candy history vol.1, is the only concrete proof you ever find and it's far from direct, otherwise EC is presented as a farm hand and possibly bad guy. The other thing that was covered up, although it's easy to miss until it's spelled out in the ending, is that EC and Sam are entitled to the trust, when Lauren writes Sam isn't due to being illegitimate, something you have to deduce from the scriptwriter court case.

# ? Jan 11, 2024 21:21

WhiteHowler: Apr 3, 2001; I'M HUGE!

Chev posted:

I mean, there is. Although Lauren does accidentally allude to it twice, EC being removed from the family isn't actually mentioned in her books, it's something she doesn't know about even once Sam is out in the open, the 5pieces kept that covered up. The candy name change, only mentioned in the candy history vol.1, is the only concrete proof you ever find and it's far from direct, otherwise EC is presented as a farm hand and possibly bad guy. The other thing that was covered up, although it's easy to miss until it's spelled out in the ending, is that EC and Sam are entitled to the trust, when Lauren writes Sam isn't due to being illegitimate, something you have to deduce from the scriptwriter court case.

The actual thing is explicitly written out in one place: In Lauren's revised journals, she mentions getting mail addressed to Edward Clancy Roottree, but she wrote it off as people being confused by her family's similar names.

# ? Jan 12, 2024 03:27

SkeletonHero: Sep 7, 2010

There, Roottrees done and dusted with the grand prize. Thanks all for the assist.

Embarrassingly, Housewife was what I originally went with for both of them. Turns out it was Clancy Edward and Eli Jr. that were mucking it up because I had their pictures mixed up! But now I have solved the mystery and won my millions.

Now on to Case of the Golden Idol!

# ? Jan 12, 2024 03:34

Gaius Marius: Oct 9, 2012

Golden Idol owns very hard.

# ? Jan 12, 2024 03:35

Tired Moritz: Mar 25, 2012; wish Lowtax would get tired of YOUR POSTS

_{_{(n o i c e)}}

I keep e-begging my friends to play it but they keep saying it's too ugly

# ? Jan 12, 2024 03:38

Regy Rusty: Apr 26, 2010

Tired Moritz posted:

I keep e-begging my friends to play it but they keep saying it's too ugly

This is a surprisingly common reaction to that game and I find it a bit baffling. Yeah it's got a distinct and unsettling art style but it's not like it's gonna hurt you to look at it while you solve some mysteries.

# ? Jan 12, 2024 03:56

mycot: Oct 23, 2014; "It's okay. There are other Terminators! Just give us this one!"; Hell Gem

People have really strong reactions to art styles that aren't generic anime or generic comic book, I've wondered about the underlying psychology behind it but tons of people have expressed to me that they felt so viscerally uncomfortable about One Piece or Steven Universe that they use adblock to hide the images. Also, oddly enough, Jojo's Bizarre Adventure.

# ? Jan 12, 2024 04:15

Meowywitch: Jan 14, 2010; Fight for all that is beautiful in the world

Fair enough the way Oda draws women is fuckin weird

# ? Jan 12, 2024 04:17

Upsidads: Jan 11, 2007; Now and then we had a hope that if we lived and were good, God would permit us to be pirates

Meowywitch posted:

Fair enough the way Oda draws women is fuckin weird

he draws most poo poo fuckin weird
Tony Chopper for one
FRANKY for twelve

# ? Jan 12, 2024 04:26

mycot: Oct 23, 2014; "It's okay. There are other Terminators! Just give us this one!"; Hell Gem

Thinking something is too ugly to play or watch is fine but the way people go about it can get weirdly intense? If that makes any sense.

# ? Jan 12, 2024 04:31

kirbysuperstar: Nov 11, 2012; Let the fools who stand before us be destroyed by the power you and I possess.

Meowywitch posted:

Fair enough the way Oda draws women is fuckin weird

drawn like a nexusmods body preset

# ? Jan 12, 2024 06:15

gegi: Aug 3, 2004; Butterfly Girl

mycot posted:

People have really strong reactions to art styles that aren't generic anime or generic comic book, I've wondered about the underlying psychology behind it but tons of people have expressed to me that they felt so viscerally uncomfortable about One Piece or Steven Universe that they use adblock to hide the images. Also, oddly enough, Jojo's Bizarre Adventure.

I used to meet people who were like that about stuff we'd call generic anime too, twenty years ago when it was less common. They found the art style disturbing to the point of horror. Lots of complaints about big eyes and plastic people.

# ? Jan 12, 2024 18:50

mycot: Oct 23, 2014; "It's okay. There are other Terminators! Just give us this one!"; Hell Gem

gegi posted:

I used to meet people who were like that about stuff we'd call generic anime too, twenty years ago when it was less common. They found the art style disturbing to the point of horror. Lots of complaints about big eyes and plastic people.

Oh yeah the art made to cash in on stuff like the Pok�mon craze by artists who were already grown ups is really funny because it's immediately obvious that they didn't really understand the conventions of the art style like giant eyes and pointy chins. It's kind of like a language you have to learn, I suppose.

# ? Jan 12, 2024 19:10

The Saddest Rhino: Apr 29, 2009; Put it all together.
Solve the world.
One conversation at a time.

gegi posted:

They found the art style disturbing to the point of horror. Lots of complaints about big eyes and plastic people.

This is how I feel about the art of clannad

# ? Jan 14, 2024 02:29

Hel: Oct 9, 2012; Jokatgulm is tedium.
Jokatgulm is pain.
Jokatgulm is suffering.

I picked up Golden Idol this last weekend because of the discussion and liked it very much until the final level, when there was too much flipping back and forth between different screens. So far I've only finished the first DLC but both of them seem to partially have the same problem, where there is just too much stuff in some levels. It's not really harder, it's just more steps to getting to the clues that you need.

# ? Jan 15, 2024 20:14

Montague Tigg: Mar 23, 2008; Previously, on "Ronnie Likes Data":

Hel posted:

I picked up Golden Idol this last weekend because of the discussion and liked it very much until the final level, when there was too much flipping back and forth between different screens. So far I've only finished the first DLC but both of them seem to partially have the same problem, where there is just too much stuff in some levels. It's not really harder, it's just more steps to getting to the clues that you need.

I couldn't figure out what I didn't like about finishing that game but this was exactly it. Like the first half to 3/4 of it I was hooked but the end just felt like a chore. Same with the DLCs, they started fine but got tedious quickly since they were shorter. Obra Dinn almost felt the same at the end but did it a lot better, like it didn't feel like a separate chore at the end but tied everything together a little smoother.

# ? Jan 15, 2024 21:16

Snooze Cruise: Feb 16, 2013; hey look,
a post

https://twitter.com/misericordevn/status/1771205202928173516?t=HNPWn77kkVuNhb2KrIW8ug

quote:

It�s been a whole year (well, technically it will be tomorrow�but this was the Friday it released) since Volume One came out. It somehow feels like way longer than that, which is probably why I�ve been so anxious to show off a new trailer to prove that I am indeed working on Volume Two.

It�ll be out this year (fingers crossed. I�m pretty confident in this) and I can share a few other details too. It�s on track to be around the same length, if not a bit longer, than the first one. The soundtrack is already quite large as well; it might not clock in at 6+ hours again since there are tracks that�ll repeat because I like the idea of them being linked with themes or characters or whatever (or they�re just bops) but it will be big. There are some fun new details in the UI that I�m excited to show off, which I�ll probably do soon!

Let�s see, other tidbits� there are some New Nuns with fun sprites. There are new sprites and expressions for returning characters. The whole thing is going to be slightly more weird and paranoid, but humor is still a big part of the story. This was always bubbling in the first volume but this time there�s going to be a lot more explicit exploration of these characters� relationships (or lack thereof) with sexuality and sensuality. In general, there�s going to be more graphic content on display as the story starts heating up; it�ll probably need a streaming filter this time to cover up some CGs. Prepare to move into the thrilling and horrible parts of thriller/horror stories lol

# ? Mar 22, 2024 20:11

Inspector Gesicht: Oct 26, 2012; 500 Zeus a body.

Here's one for the archives, No Case Should Remain Unsolved. Where you unravel a kidnapping case in your mind.

First you have to find all the puzzle pieces. Then fit them together to make up ten different testimonies.There are a hundred keywords that gradually get crossed off as you progress. I thought the game was wrong at one point, not realizing there was an entire mechanic I'd missed. Recommend for that Obra Dinn fix.

https://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steam/apps/256987920/movie480_vp9.webm

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2676840/No_Case_Should_Remain_Unsolved/

Inspector Gesicht fucked around with this message at 22:50 on Mar 23, 2024

# ? Mar 23, 2024 02:34

SexyBlindfold: Apr 24, 2008; i dont care how much probation i get capital letters are for squares hehe im so laid back an nice please read my low effort shitposts about the arab spring

thanxs!!!

Snooze Cruise posted:

https://twitter.com/misericordevn/status/1771205202928173516?t=HNPWn77kkVuNhb2KrIW8ug

looking forward to N� Nuns, Nun Fun, Nuns with Guns, and Nuns come Undun

# ? Mar 23, 2024 18:47

Nick Buntline: Dec 20, 2007; Doesn't know the impossible.

Inspector Gesicht posted:

Here's one for the archives, No Case Should Remain Unsolved. Where you unravel a kidnapping case in your mind.

First you have to find all the puzzle pieces. Then fit them together to make up ten different testimonies.There are a hundred keywords that gradually get crossed off as you progress. I thought the game was wrong at one point, not realizing there was an entire mechanic I'd missed. Recommend for that Obra Dinn fix.

https://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steam/apps/256987920/movie480_vp9.webm

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2676840/No_Case_Should_Remain_Unsolved/

This was quite fun - managed to have that good midway point of realizing with growing dread where things are going and still kept it interesting enough during the final assembling. It also appears to do something I'm not sure I've seen others of these sorts do where the "partial" and "complete" solves appear to be separately canonical to each other? Assuming I'm understanding it right, despite the delusion shown in the true ending the conversation with Choi Seowon and Jeon Gyeong from the partial ending did actually happen, which is what leads to Jeon Gyeong then going to help Song Minyeong, right?

# ? Mar 24, 2024 08:28

Snooze Cruise: Feb 16, 2013; hey look,
a post

Oh I missed it but apparently Between Horizons came out five days ago? Has anyone tried it yet? The demo had potential.

# ? Mar 30, 2024 07:32

cant cook creole bream: Aug 15, 2011; I think Fahrenheit is better for weather

I liked between horizons. The setting is fun and the puzzles were all quite well done. Except for one of them, which felt like I was missing a crucial mechanic and therefore messed up.

Another detective game I stumbled upon is
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1746030/__Murders_on_the_Yangtze_River/
So far (Chapter 3) those are some really well crafted cases which make you think but also make you feel smart about it. You also get to learn some stuff about Chinese history.
High recommendation from me.

# ? Mar 30, 2024 08:03

cant cook creole bream: Aug 15, 2011; I think Fahrenheit is better for weather

I finished that game. That was really really good all the way through. I genuinely feel like I learned a few things.
By the way, gently caress the British Empire.

# ? Mar 30, 2024 18:48

Inspector Gesicht: Oct 26, 2012; 500 Zeus a body.

cant cook creole bream posted:

By the way, gently caress the British Empire.

Am Irish, same.

# ? Mar 30, 2024 18:59

Inspector Gesicht: Oct 26, 2012; 500 Zeus a body.

Beat Chants of Sennaar. It was a game I admired but couldn't love.

The gist is that you ascend the tower of Babel that's broken up into several parts, each home to a different faction. You likely won't complete the puzzle blocking the way unless you learn the language of each faction. This means collecting glyphs that you slot in 3-5 at a time into your notebook. There's 186 of them so that'll take a while. The only missable achievement is not getting the bad ending first, where you reach the top of the tower with your work half-done. What knocks this down from greatness are all the little annoyances:

There's a stealth section in the second level, and then in the endgame. You know how good stealth is in games not primarily about stealth.
The third level is home to a sewer. This sewer is sprawling with multiple paths and no map. The entire game world is massive and spawling, but it never occurs to your guy to sketch their surroundings in the logbook. The entire Adventure Game genre would have a resurgence if it thought to include Resident Evil's color-coded map. Either the game world is condensed and quickly traversed, or its properly mapped. Pick one.
The fourth level has a chemistry puzzle that requires knowledge of cistercian numerals. I couldn't be arsed to figure that out and just hit the Neoseeker guide.
The endgame isn't hard, but it pulls a Painscreek in a way because it feels so goofy and unnecessary.

Pretty much every detective game I've enjoyed has you find the clues and then piece them together. Every time Chants of Sennaar tries branching out of the paradigm it falls flat on its face.

# ? Mar 31, 2024 02:01

WhiteHowler: Apr 3, 2001; I'M HUGE!

Nick Buntline posted:

This was quite fun - managed to have that good midway point of realizing with growing dread where things are going and still kept it interesting enough during the final assembling. It also appears to do something I'm not sure I've seen others of these sorts do where the "partial" and "complete" solves appear to be separately canonical to each other? Assuming I'm understanding it right, despite the delusion shown in the true ending the conversation with Choi Seowon and Jeon Gyeong from the partial ending did actually happen, which is what leads to Jeon Gyeong then going to help Song Minyeong, right?

My wife and I played through No Case Should Remain Unsolved yesterday, and I agree with your speculation about the ending.

Overall we loved the game, but I did think (major spoiler) it was a little too convenient that the random kid the English teacher kidnapped just happened to have the same name as his dead daughter. I know the story twist doesn't work without that -- it took us WAY too long to figure out that there were two Seowons, despite realizing very early on that the details in some of the testimonies were contradictory.

# ? Apr 1, 2024 14:18

Regy Rusty: Apr 26, 2010

WhiteHowler posted:

My wife and I played through No Case Should Remain Unsolved yesterday, and I agree with your speculation about the ending.

Overall we loved the game, but I did think (major spoiler) it was a little too convenient that the random kid the English teacher kidnapped just happened to have the same name as his dead daughter. I know the story twist doesn't work without that -- it took us WAY too long to figure out that there were two Seowons, despite realizing very early on that the details in some of the testimonies were contradictory.

??? Your spoiler is not what actually happened so I'm not clear on what your complaint is.

# ? Apr 1, 2024 15:39

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# ? May 6, 2024 05:25

WhiteHowler: Apr 3, 2001; I'M HUGE!

Regy Rusty posted:

??? Your spoiler is not what actually happened so I'm not clear on what your complaint is.

Okay, true, it's what you're lead to believe happened until the very end. But still, kidnapped Seowon had the same name as deceased baby Seowon, unless I really missed something.

# ? Apr 1, 2024 16:15

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Video Games > The Mystery and Detective Games Thread: Friends of Laura Bow

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