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[Disco Elysium] Hobocop just can't stop

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Posts

  • Ivan HungerIvan Hunger Registered User regular
    I haven't gotten very far into the game yet, but I think you could argue that your pre-amnesiac self is the true villain of the story. Seems like most of your time is spent trying to fix problems that he created.

    As for the money problems that @Tumin mentioned, I do think it's pretty terrible that the game gets stuck in an unwinnable state if you allow nightfall to come without securing a place to sleep. This isn't a 1990's Sierra point-and-click! A modern game should at least have the decency of killing you if you're created a situation where you can't progress. It wouldn't take much to just have the screen fade to black and a newspaper appear saying, "Frozen corpse of local cop found on street corner."

    Or better yet, have your character wake up the next morning with all but one health bar depleted. Still a harsh punishment, but at least you have the option of continuing the game in your weakened condition if you wish to do so.

  • MegaMan001MegaMan001 CRNA Rochester, MNRegistered User regular
    I took the second archetype and was a little drunk while actually playing the game and ended up spending an initial skill point ON Inland Empire on top of my ability already being 5 and it being my signature skill so it's now like... an eight?

    Anyway had a two minutes conversation with a mailbox.

    I've got like zero money though which I think is gonna be an issue.

    I am in the business of saving lives.
  • Ivan HungerIvan Hunger Registered User regular
    MegaMan001 wrote: »
    I've got like zero money though which I think is gonna be an issue.

    Spoiler alert: It will be.

    Hope you're not too proud to panhandle.

  • MegaMan001MegaMan001 CRNA Rochester, MNRegistered User regular
    MegaMan001 wrote: »
    I've got like zero money though which I think is gonna be an issue.

    Spoiler alert: It will be.

    Hope you're not too proud to panhandle.

    Yeah I looked at a brief "What I wish I knew about DE" list and discovered it's gonna be an issue.

    I'm pleasantly still confused whether or not I am actually a cop like six hours into the game which is an endless delight.

    I am in the business of saving lives.
  • GlaziusGlazius Registered User regular
    MegaMan001 wrote: »
    I took the second archetype and was a little drunk while actually playing the game and ended up spending an initial skill point ON Inland Empire on top of my ability already being 5 and it being my signature skill so it's now like... an eight?
    Anyway had a two minutes conversation with a mailbox.
    I've got like zero money though which I think is gonna be an issue.
    Fortunately, that archetype has good odds of being able to pull off begging for money... as long as you can find the right person to ask.

  • PMAversPMAvers Registered User regular
    Hoo boy.
    Found Ruby. That didn't go well.
    And then the "Tribunal" happened, and... a bunch of people died. Thankfully I had the armor on.

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  • Casually HardcoreCasually Hardcore Once an Asshole. Trying to be better. Registered User regular
    edited December 2019
    Ending Of The Game Spoilers
    What I like most about this game is how, after all of the events that took place, the murderer was just a racist asshole with a gun. There was no big conspiracy and I can see how that can piss off a lot of people. But that's what I love about this game. It doesn't need to be a big Game of Throne scheme to push the pieces to take over the harbor. Nah, instead a racist got jealous with what he saw and he took the shot and went to bed.

    Then it gets bat shit crazy when that weird stick insect showed up.

    Casually Hardcore on
  • GlaziusGlazius Registered User regular
    PMAvers wrote: »
    Hoo boy.
    Found Ruby. That didn't go well.
    And then the "Tribunal" happened, and... a bunch of people died. Thankfully I had the armor on.
    If you're interested, the best you can take out of that scenario is
    Kim not badly injured, four Hardies (and Elizabeth) standing. Though there's one Hardie who won't show based on prior circumstances and always dies if he shows, so the best you can play for out of the Tribunal is Kim + Elizabeth + three Hardies.
    You're going to take a bullet no matter what.

  • ZekZek Registered User regular
    One thing I wish these games would do is have a "give me the reader's digest version" setting that just cuts out the more tertiary world-building text. I don't want to miss side quests, but I also don't want to read a novel's worth of backstory that isn't relevant to the core plot, and boy is there a lot of that in this game. There isn't really a good way to separate out what matters to me and what doesn't.

  • PMAversPMAvers Registered User regular
    Glazius wrote: »
    PMAvers wrote: »
    Hoo boy.
    Found Ruby. That didn't go well.
    And then the "Tribunal" happened, and... a bunch of people died. Thankfully I had the armor on.
    If you're interested, the best you can take out of that scenario is
    Kim not badly injured, four Hardies (and Elizabeth) standing. Though there's one Hardie who won't show based on prior circumstances and always dies if he shows, so the best you can play for out of the Tribunal is Kim + Elizabeth + three Hardies.
    You're going to take a bullet no matter what.
    Yeah, I’m glad that Kim got out relatively unharmed. Kim is good.

    Elizabeth dying is the one I wish I could have stopped.

    I assume I needed more evidence... but I just ran out of time and arguments.

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  • BursarBursar Hee Noooo! PDX areaRegistered User regular
    PMAvers wrote: »
    Glazius wrote: »
    PMAvers wrote: »
    Hoo boy.
    Found Ruby. That didn't go well.
    And then the "Tribunal" happened, and... a bunch of people died. Thankfully I had the armor on.
    If you're interested, the best you can take out of that scenario is
    Kim not badly injured, four Hardies (and Elizabeth) standing. Though there's one Hardie who won't show based on prior circumstances and always dies if he shows, so the best you can play for out of the Tribunal is Kim + Elizabeth + three Hardies.
    You're going to take a bullet no matter what.
    Yeah, I’m glad that Kim got out relatively unharmed. Kim is good.

    Elizabeth dying is the one I wish I could have stopped.

    I assume I needed more evidence... but I just ran out of time and arguments.

    I just finished that scene... (actually, I haven't played in a few days, but that's where I ended.)
    I ended up with four of the Hardies dead, Kim almost completely unscathed, but I still took a bullet. At first I was confused, because after dodging the sniper's shot it said that I was being shot at "point-blank in the chest" by the leader, and because I was wearing the armor cuirass I figured I could take the hit as I'd studied the armor and found it to be nigh-invulnerable. Instead, the "point-blank" shot hit me in the leg.

    I mean, I probably should have had my own gun when I wandered into that situation, but Rafael Ambrosius Costeau is a peace officer, dammit.

    GNU Terry Pratchett
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  • GlaziusGlazius Registered User regular
    Bursar wrote: »
    PMAvers wrote: »
    Glazius wrote: »
    PMAvers wrote: »
    Hoo boy.
    Found Ruby. That didn't go well.
    And then the "Tribunal" happened, and... a bunch of people died. Thankfully I had the armor on.
    If you're interested, the best you can take out of that scenario is
    Kim not badly injured, four Hardies (and Elizabeth) standing. Though there's one Hardie who won't show based on prior circumstances and always dies if he shows, so the best you can play for out of the Tribunal is Kim + Elizabeth + three Hardies.
    You're going to take a bullet no matter what.
    Yeah, I’m glad that Kim got out relatively unharmed. Kim is good.

    Elizabeth dying is the one I wish I could have stopped.

    I assume I needed more evidence... but I just ran out of time and arguments.

    I just finished that scene... (actually, I haven't played in a few days, but that's where I ended.)
    I ended up with four of the Hardies dead, Kim almost completely unscathed, but I still took a bullet. At first I was confused, because after dodging the sniper's shot it said that I was being shot at "point-blank in the chest" by the leader, and because I was wearing the armor cuirass I figured I could take the hit as I'd studied the armor and found it to be nigh-invulnerable. Instead, the "point-blank" shot hit me in the leg.

    I mean, I probably should have had my own gun when I wandered into that situation, but Rafael Ambrosius Costeau is a peace officer, dammit.
    I can't be 100% sure of this, but it might just be that you have to
    fire the first shot/make the first aggressive move. Exceptional mental skills will help you keep anyone from getting shot while you realize talking is a dead end, since the mercs showed up liquored and their moral compass has been a public spectacle for the past week.
    The best you can do is, perversely, talk them into lowering their guard to get a bonus to the first strike.

  • ThirithThirith Registered User regular
    Zek wrote: »
    One thing I wish these games would do is have a "give me the reader's digest version" setting that just cuts out the more tertiary world-building text. I don't want to miss side quests, but I also don't want to read a novel's worth of backstory that isn't relevant to the core plot, and boy is there a lot of that in this game. There isn't really a good way to separate out what matters to me and what doesn't.
    I think that this is pretty much at cross purposes with what the game is. It’s very much *not* about its core plot, or at least no lore than it is about the world, the characters and the protagonist finding or making a place for himself in all of this. The murder plot is a scaffold on which to hang the meat of the game. If those things don’t matter to you, then the game doesn’t matter to you. Which is fair enough, but you’re wishing Disco Elysium to be something it fundamentally *isn’t*.

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    "Nothing is gonna save us forever but a lot of things can save us today." - Night in the Woods
  • GlaziusGlazius Registered User regular
    edited December 2019
    Zek wrote: »
    One thing I wish these games would do is have a "give me the reader's digest version" setting that just cuts out the more tertiary world-building text. I don't want to miss side quests, but I also don't want to read a novel's worth of backstory that isn't relevant to the core plot, and boy is there a lot of that in this game. There isn't really a good way to separate out what matters to me and what doesn't.
    In a game with a different philosophy I'd agree with you, but a big point of this game is that you have to decide for yourself what's relevant. Especially when following the case line - if you want somebody's help you can present various bits of evidence, but if the evidence doesn't line up with what you're asking of them, it can make it harder to get their help.
    You have (arguably deliberately) put yourself in a situation where you don't know what matters anymore, and the game is encouraging you to take in the whole of it by peppering 5 xp deduction bonuses and the thought cabinet bennies for art/wompty/politics all through the dialogue tree.

    Glazius on
  • MegaMan001MegaMan001 CRNA Rochester, MNRegistered User regular
    Glazius wrote: »
    Zek wrote: »
    One thing I wish these games would do is have a "give me the reader's digest version" setting that just cuts out the more tertiary world-building text. I don't want to miss side quests, but I also don't want to read a novel's worth of backstory that isn't relevant to the core plot, and boy is there a lot of that in this game. There isn't really a good way to separate out what matters to me and what doesn't.
    In a game with a different philosophy I'd agree with you, but a big point of this game is that you have to decide for yourself what's relevant. Especially when following the case line - if you want somebody's help you can present various bits of evidence, but if the evidence doesn't line up with what you're asking of them, it can make it harder to get their help.
    You have (arguably deliberately) put yourself in a situation where you don't know what matters anymore, and the game is encouraging you to take in the whole of it by peppering 5 xp deduction bonuses and the thought cabinet bennies for art/wompty/politics all through the dialogue tree.

    At first I wish there was a shorter version of some of the areas, but I began to realize that it was up to me to decide what I care about. I got really bored with the socialist v. fascist stuff and the historical revolution so I just started answering the 'I don't know' or 'I don't care' because that's not who my cop was. My cop was a freak of nature who clearly believes in ghosts and has weird pseudoscientific conversations with everyday objects. He's all in the paranormal and the murder, but everything else, eh?

    In a similar note I've started over after 6 hours because having a 5 psyche character with 8 in Inland Empire was just getting way too out there for a first time playthrough - kind of when I tried to do Vampire: The Masquerade: Bloodlines as a Malkavian the first time based on what I had read. That was dumb because you get wrapped up in the metaphysical part of the game without actually finishing what it was about.

    I am in the business of saving lives.
  • GlaziusGlazius Registered User regular
    MegaMan001 wrote: »
    In a similar note I've started over after 6 hours because having a 5 psyche character with 8 in Inland Empire was just getting way too out there for a first time playthrough - kind of when I tried to do Vampire: The Masquerade: Bloodlines as a Malkavian the first time based on what I had read. That was dumb because you get wrapped up in the metaphysical part of the game without actually finishing what it was about.
    With that experience, you might have a good time if you play the three standard builds in order. INT/MOT to see the stuff that actually exists in the world, PSY/FYS to work off hunches and instinct, FYS/MOT as the "your brain cannot help you here, Hobocop" run.
    (I went 3/4/2/3 INT signature for a little bit of everything.)

  • JungleskyeJungleskye Registered User regular
    Great game!

  • MegaMan001MegaMan001 CRNA Rochester, MNRegistered User regular
    Fucking hell that conversation with Sylvie if you have enough Empathy to push through what happened. God that hits a close to home with a few nights I drank too much and made a total asshole out of myself.

    I am in the business of saving lives.
  • EvmaAlsarEvmaAlsar Birmingham, EnglandRegistered User regular
    MegaMan001 wrote: »
    Fucking hell that conversation with Sylvie if you have enough Empathy to push through what happened. God that hits a close to home with a few nights I drank too much and made a total asshole out of myself.

    That conversation turned me into Sorry Cop

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  • PMAversPMAvers Registered User regular
    Huh, so in my second play through I’m trying to figure out the mystery of
    where my gun went. And I think I may have inadvertently figured it out. My two main suspects were Cindy and Cunoesse. The former I don’t think *has* the money to actually have had bought it from the pawn shop. Same for the latter.

    So my third suspect was Elizabeth.... and I just got my head blown off when I tried to arrest Tidus. I didn’t see where the shot came from... so it must have come from behind me when I was talking to him.

    AKA “where she’s standing.” Now I just need to figure out how to price it.

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  • KanaKana Registered User regular
    edited December 2019
    I'm digging this game a lot, the way skills work are super cool. I'm just a mostly regular, apolitical cop and enjoying it, there's a good murder mystery in here and cutting through all the factions to just figure out who got killed and why is fun.

    I'm on day 3 now and there's been some genuinely thrilling/memorable moments, which isn't what I usually associate with text-heavy RPGs.
    Getting through to Cuno and realizing that actually it's the girl who's the real fucking psycho, and Cuno's terrified of her.
    More lightheartedly, Getting the body down and then spontaneously launching into a high 5 / low 5 routine with Kim. Between that and bonding with Kim over his car, we actually get along pretty great.
    Investigating the body, the dawning sense that something is wrong, and then finally discovering the bullet, and realizing all of your assumptions up to now about this seemingly straightforward murder just got thrown ass over head.
    The union enforcer squad just bein' like, "Yeup, we're the ones who killed him" and realizing this doesn't actually help your case one bit.
    Interviewing Klaasje and finally realizing that you can't trust your skills around her, they've been compromised, and then you as the player desperately trying to remember what stuff they just told you that you accepted as fact.
    Finding the dead drunk guy on the pier and having to go tell his now-widow.

    Kana on
    A trap is for fish: when you've got the fish, you can forget the trap. A snare is for rabbits: when you've got the rabbit, you can forget the snare. Words are for meaning: when you've got the meaning, you can forget the words.
  • Jam WarriorJam Warrior Registered User regular
    edited December 2019
    Starting up and there’s a stat for how David Lynch you want your game to be? Amazing.

    #MaximumInlandEmpire

    I’m good few hours in and have yet to die having managed the infamous tie retrieval check, but will I get a chance to raise my physical HP beyond it’s current highly fragile single point as I level up or am I stuck with wet paper tissue cop for the whole game?

    Jam Warrior on
    MhCw7nZ.gif
  • KanaKana Registered User regular
    Starting up and there’s a stat for how David Lynch you want your game to be? Amazing.

    #MaximumInlandEmpire

    I’m good few hours in and have yet to die having managed the infamous tie retrieval check, but will I get a chance to raise my physical HP beyond it’s current highly fragile single point as I level up or am I stuck with wet paper tissue cop for the whole game?

    Level up endurance and you'll get another health point. Or volition will do the same for morale.

    A trap is for fish: when you've got the fish, you can forget the trap. A snare is for rabbits: when you've got the rabbit, you can forget the snare. Words are for meaning: when you've got the meaning, you can forget the words.
  • Romantic UndeadRomantic Undead Registered User regular
    Started this game on the weekend based on a review I read after hearing about the games from the Game Awards.

    First, nitpicks:
    - I know some people like the music, but I found it a little grating and too oppressive. Especially the trumpet bars that play every time you leave the hotel, which is a lot. (bwa ba baaaa, ba baaaa!... every... time...)
    - The art style is deliberately meant to be off-putting, I know, but I am a visual person, and the art is the main reason I overlooked this game in the first place. I get that the whole point of the game is to learn how to negotiate a depressing, grimy, world, but our real world is grimy and depressing enough, thank you very much... but I digress...
    - minor bugs: I've gotten a few bugs where the font/resolution would go all out of whack for unknown reasons, causing me to have to shut down and restart the game. Also, for some reason, my resolution options won't stick from one playthrough to the next, so I have to re-set them ever time I load up.
    - I also get a few minor bugs where I can't interact with an item for some reason. However, this is usually fixed by just moving my character away and coming back, so it's not game-breaking.
    - The narration grated on me early on, until I became more acclimated to it. It came off as overly poetic (read: pretentious) and obtuse which, as an English major, I both found fascinating, but also wearying. Once I got into the flow of the game though, that stopped bothering me as much, it was just a hurdle to get over, at first.

    That said, I do really enjoy this game!

    I decided I would play a rough approximation of how I consider myself (yeah yeah, call me a narcissist if you must):
    - signature skill: empathy
    - Intellect: 4, Psyche: 5, Physique and Motorics: 2

    I was going in super-blind. Only thing I knew what that this was a crpg-style game where your character develops as you play and I guess you're some kind of cop. That's all I knew. I'll go into more details of my experience so far in spoilers, but I'll try not to get too spoilery, this is mostly to post my reactions to how my character developed. (I'm currently saved at the later afternoon of day 4, I believe, and I have unlocked the second area, looking for an up until now unknown suspect).
    I got hooked in right away when I interacted with the mirror which revealed my character portrait and "the expression". That put a ridiculous grin on my real-life face. Of course, I knew I needed to add the "chic-chic" sound as well, which I imagined must have come with an attached finger-gun.

    I then went through the game at first trying to pretend like I had my shit together, even though my brain was constantly telling me that no, I most certainly did not have my shit together. Eventually, lieutenant Kim called me out when I accidentally chose a dialogue option that let the facade slip, and he directly told me to get my shit together. This unlocked a thought in my thought cabinet about how to get my shit together, which I immediately began to internalize. Now my shit is so together that I am at risk of creating a black hole of shit inside of me due to how together it is.

    It wasn't long before I started figuring out what I had done prior to waking up at the start of the game, so I began my apology tour. It wasn't long, of course, before I earned the title of Sorry Cop, which was absolutely appropriate. It also reaffirmed my real-life identity as a Canadian, which was gratifying as well.

    Now, on day four, I am starting to see real progress, not just in the case, but in how my character is developing. My milestones include:

    - Cuno begrudgingly admitting I'm kinda cool, and showing signs of coming to grips with his shitty family situation (his friend is still a psycho though, but she's starting to feel threatened by me, mainly due to the fact that Cuno is starting to trust me more than her
    - Getting Hardie to not only spill the beans about what really happened the night of the murder but to offer to shake my hand (which I did) and apologizing (!) to me for misjudging me
    - Lt. Kim has become noticeably more jovial around me (he now regularly smirks and smiles at my comments, and is much more patient when I go on weird tangents), and then later, when I asked why he's still sticking around me despite all my fuck-ups, explaining that we all fuck up sometimes (implying something about his own past), and that, despite my (many) shortcomings, he actually thinks I'm a good person and good cop (!!)
    - I'm thinking of asking the nice sword lady out for a date once Lt. Kim goes to bed

    Brain wise:
    - As it's my signature skill, I've been mostly trusting Empathy when it chimes up, and that hasn't led me astray so far
    - I've relied a lot on Logic and Rhetoric as well, which has worked well
    - The only other non Intellect/Psyche skills that I've found even remotely necessary at times were perception and composure, so I gave a point to each of those
    - I've been staying sober, only ever needing to use a healing item here and there, and not other drugs. Because my volition is so high, I've never worried about my morale, so no magnesium like, at all.
    - What's been neat about that is that my electrochemistry has actually gone from "gimme drugs NAO!" to "meh, I mean, it might be cool to do some, but I'm good either way", which I felt was a super nice touch
    Takeaways:

    I actually really love the "different parts of the brains as individual characters" narrative technique, and I actually find it really relatable. I don't know if this is true of everyone, but I absolutely anthropomorphize some of the voices in my head on occasion and have absolutely had internal conversations not unlike the ones our protag has, so I took a lot of enjoyment out of that.

    This is absolutely a narrative game more than a role-playing game. (I would say the role-playing aspects are really more of an entertaining means which serve to navigate what I would call more of a highly-detailed "choose-your-own adventure" story). If you go into this game thinking of trying to min-max for "best" results, I would say that you're missing the point of this game, and that you should look into investing into Pillars of Eternity II (which is also excellent) instead, if you haven't already.

    Also, gameplay advice that can translate to real life:
    - DON'T ALWAYS LISTEN TO YOUR BRAIN. Just cause your brain says something does not make it true. That said, it can be right sometimes, so it's not either/or. In a way, you, the player playing the game, can see yourself not as playing the protagonist himself, but perhaps you could call the player "Judgement" or maybe "Reason", which, I would like to note, is not represented by one of the 24 skills you can actively develop.

    Anyways, I'm not done my playthrough yet, but I'm very much looking forward to it. I'm not even sure if I'll want to play again after I'm done. Not because I'm not having a good time, but because I feel like this would be a circumstance where "my" hobocop represents my own, unique approach to this story, based on my own personal beliefs and approach to how I would handle hobocop's situation, and I don't know that I would enjoy the game any more by playing a character that doesn't actually reflect my own personality.

    Anyways, that got a little longer than I expected, but I guess that what games of this nature can do to a nerd like me. Thanks for reading if you got this far!

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  • WotanAnubisWotanAnubis Registered User regular
    I sometimes wonder if Motorics and Physique don't seem particularly necessary because the game is poorly balanced or because my hobocop doesn't have much in the way of either, so those skills don't constantly chime in and offer their opinions.

  • Romantic UndeadRomantic Undead Registered User regular
    I sometimes wonder if Motorics and Physique don't seem particularly necessary because the game is poorly balanced or because my hobocop doesn't have much in the way of either, so those skills don't constantly chime in and offer their opinions.

    I'm kind of thinking it's the latter, but I would have to go through a separate playthrough to be certain.

    3DS FC: 1547-5210-6531
  • jothkijothki Registered User regular
    I know that having higher perception will passively make more things in the environment clickable.

  • BursarBursar Hee Noooo! PDX areaRegistered User regular
    I sometimes wonder if Motorics and Physique don't seem particularly necessary because the game is poorly balanced or because my hobocop doesn't have much in the way of either, so those skills don't constantly chime in and offer their opinions.

    I have been noticing that Reaction Time tends to pop up in the middle of conversations for me a lot, which strikes me as more of a... talky skill than a physical skill? Still, it does catch a lot of "Hey, wait, didn't they just say...?" that leads back to getting information out of people.

    A bit of writing that I really enjoyed is
    the history of the Innocence in the abandoned church after reconstructing the broken window. The alternative savior/martyr myth is really interesting, as well as the reasoning behind the Innocence's death: not that anyone hated her, her work, or was actively plotting against her, but it was carried out by a man who felt betrayed that an angel/alien would come to earth to "advance" mankind before they could figure out how to do it themselves.

    Something about skills in general:
    The descriptions seem to hint that having too many points in a skill will be detrimental; Reactions makes you jumpy, high Empathy makes you too trusting, high Dramatics makes you think everyone around you is lying all the time. I haven't seen any of that so far; what's the threshold for when too much of a skill starts negatively affecting your character's judgement?

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  • Evil MultifariousEvil Multifarious Registered User regular
    Bursar wrote: »
    I sometimes wonder if Motorics and Physique don't seem particularly necessary because the game is poorly balanced or because my hobocop doesn't have much in the way of either, so those skills don't constantly chime in and offer their opinions.

    I have been noticing that Reaction Time tends to pop up in the middle of conversations for me a lot, which strikes me as more of a... talky skill than a physical skill? Still, it does catch a lot of "Hey, wait, didn't they just say...?" that leads back to getting information out of people.

    A bit of writing that I really enjoyed is
    the history of the Innocence in the abandoned church after reconstructing the broken window. The alternative savior/martyr myth is really interesting, as well as the reasoning behind the Innocence's death: not that anyone hated her, her work, or was actively plotting against her, but it was carried out by a man who felt betrayed that an angel/alien would come to earth to "advance" mankind before they could figure out how to do it themselves.

    Something about skills in general:
    The descriptions seem to hint that having too many points in a skill will be detrimental; Reactions makes you jumpy, high Empathy makes you too trusting, high Dramatics makes you think everyone around you is lying all the time. I haven't seen any of that so far; what's the threshold for when too much of a skill starts negatively affecting your character's judgement?

    On the second spoiler, that's definitely true
    it's more that your highest skills are also your dominant aspects, for better or for worse. I had very high Rhetoric, so I was very convincing and could see through lies and rationalization, but I was also an insufferable prick who insisted on trying to defeat other people at talking and get them to accept I was right.

    It was great. I'd highly recommend investing in a high skill or two, especially the ones that are explicitly about dialogue or intuition, which covers a lot.

  • KanaKana Registered User regular
    I sometimes wonder if Motorics and Physique don't seem particularly necessary because the game is poorly balanced or because my hobocop doesn't have much in the way of either, so those skills don't constantly chime in and offer their opinions.

    I'm kind of thinking it's the latter, but I would have to go through a separate playthrough to be certain.

    I have just OK Interfacing and hand/eye coordination in my playthrough and they definitely have a fair amount of things to say.

    A trap is for fish: when you've got the fish, you can forget the trap. A snare is for rabbits: when you've got the rabbit, you can forget the snare. Words are for meaning: when you've got the meaning, you can forget the words.
  • Ivan HungerIvan Hunger Registered User regular
    I don't know what you guys are talking about. I created a character with a physique stat of 5, and now Half Light is my boon companion who guides me through life with his sage advice. Isn't that right, Half Light?

    Half Light: Someone on this forum is tracking you through your IP address. They're going to kill your family. Delete your account, burn your computer, change your name, and move to another state. It's the only way to be sure.

    Haha, classic Half Light. I love this guy.

  • KanaKana Registered User regular
    I kinda want to do a run where I'm just all like inland empire and shivers, and I'm shit at everything except wild-ass guesses

    A trap is for fish: when you've got the fish, you can forget the trap. A snare is for rabbits: when you've got the rabbit, you can forget the snare. Words are for meaning: when you've got the meaning, you can forget the words.
  • KanaKana Registered User regular
    I've definitely seen some negative effects of high skills. Some are definitely more negative than others.
    Electrochemistry gives you a LOT more thoughts about how much you'd like to feed your addictions, and gives unique interactions with like, spilled booze bottles, half smoked cigarettes, other similarly disgusting things
    Encyclopedia will start giving paragraphs of info on shit that doesn't fucking matter to my investigation one bit and just makes it harder to pick out the relevant info.
    Authority gets you all riled up if someone isn't respecting you, even in cases where it doesn't matter if they respect you at all
    Inland Empires makes you blab stupid weird lines all the time and its very offputting to people you're trying to get to trust you

    A trap is for fish: when you've got the fish, you can forget the trap. A snare is for rabbits: when you've got the rabbit, you can forget the snare. Words are for meaning: when you've got the meaning, you can forget the words.
  • mrpakumrpaku Registered User regular
    Dale Cooper run followed *immediately* by a Rust Cohle run followed immediately by an Ellery Queen run

  • Ivan HungerIvan Hunger Registered User regular
    - Lt. Kim has become noticeably more jovial around me (he now regularly smirks and smiles at my comments, and is much more patient when I go on weird tangents), and then later, when I asked why he's still sticking around me despite all my fuck-ups, explaining that we all fuck up sometimes (implying something about his own past), and that, despite my (many) shortcomings, he actually thinks I'm a good person and good cop (!!)

    Something important about Kim that's established early on:
    He knows that both of you are being set up to fail by your respective stations. Neither wants this case to actually be solved, so they both assigned what they consider to be their worst detectives, respectively. Him, a skinny weakling who can barely see his hand in front of his face. You, a drug addicted loser with zero sense of responsibility. Best case scenario, one of you will just get fed up with the other. Then they can claim this case is the other station's problem and go back to ignoring it.

    So Kim is motivated to make this partnership work, not just to see justice done, but also to spite the other cops back home. He'll put up with you no matter how much of a garbage person you are, because if he doesn't, they win.

  • jothkijothki Registered User regular
    Kana wrote: »
    I've definitely seen some negative effects of high skills. Some are definitely more negative than others.
    Electrochemistry gives you a LOT more thoughts about how much you'd like to feed your addictions, and gives unique interactions with like, spilled booze bottles, half smoked cigarettes, other similarly disgusting things
    Encyclopedia will start giving paragraphs of info on shit that doesn't fucking matter to my investigation one bit and just makes it harder to pick out the relevant info.
    Authority gets you all riled up if someone isn't respecting you, even in cases where it doesn't matter if they respect you at all
    Inland Empires makes you blab stupid weird lines all the time and its very offputting to people you're trying to get to trust you

    From what I've seen, most of those dialogue choices can be ignored if you want.

  • Ninja Snarl PNinja Snarl P My helmet is my burden. Ninja Snarl: Gone, but not forgotten.Registered User regular
    I went high on Encyclopedia to start with and I think it's a good option for a first run. It gives a ton of info about the world that you wouldn't need in later playthroughs, and it does provide genuinely useful information on a consistent basis.

    And personally, I get a kick out of out having all this knowledge of random shit and the detective's thoughts ask "how the fuck does the help us here?" and Detective answers back "I guess it really doesn't, but wasn't it interesting?"

  • milskimilski Poyo! Registered User regular
    - Lt. Kim has become noticeably more jovial around me (he now regularly smirks and smiles at my comments, and is much more patient when I go on weird tangents), and then later, when I asked why he's still sticking around me despite all my fuck-ups, explaining that we all fuck up sometimes (implying something about his own past), and that, despite my (many) shortcomings, he actually thinks I'm a good person and good cop (!!)

    Something important about Kim that's established early on:
    He knows that both of you are being set up to fail by your respective stations. Neither wants this case to actually be solved, so they both assigned what they consider to be their worst detectives, respectively. Him, a skinny weakling who can barely see his hand in front of his face. You, a drug addicted loser with zero sense of responsibility. Best case scenario, one of you will just get fed up with the other. Then they can claim this case is the other station's problem and go back to ignoring it.

    So Kim is motivated to make this partnership work, not just to see justice done, but also to spite the other cops back home. He'll put up with you no matter how much of a garbage person you are, because if he doesn't, they win.

    This is not the explanation that was given in my game upon successful rolls.

    I ate an engineer
  • KanaKana Registered User regular
    why you're sent to the case:
    Kim has over 100 cases solved, and you have over 200. You're both good detectives. You were sent because you're a pain in the ass, Kim volunteered because he knew it was going to be a department dick-measuring contest if anyone else went. But if the different stations didn't want the case to be solved they just wouldn't have sent anyone.

    A trap is for fish: when you've got the fish, you can forget the trap. A snare is for rabbits: when you've got the rabbit, you can forget the snare. Words are for meaning: when you've got the meaning, you can forget the words.
  • Ivan HungerIvan Hunger Registered User regular
    Kana wrote: »
    why you're sent to the case:
    Kim has over 100 cases solved, and you have over 200. You're both good detectives. You were sent because you're a pain in the ass, Kim volunteered because he knew it was going to be a department dick-measuring contest if anyone else went. But if the different stations didn't want the case to be solved they just wouldn't have sent anyone.
    When I said they don't want the case to solved, what I meant was that they each want the guy from the other station to solve the case.

    Neither side wants this territory to become part of their jurisdiction. They consider it too much trouble. They are presenting this partnership as a competition to "win" the territory, but it's actually a reverse-competition where both sides are trying to lose on purpose.

    Kim recognized their true intentions immediately and wants to sabotage their plan by solving the case cooperatively, so that neither side can take credit (or blame). Your character may or may not have seen through the deception, but your amnesia makes it impossible to know.

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