Hierophant
Posts: 782
9/8/2012
|
This is the official Zero Summer discussion thread.
If you have any questions, please feel free to ask! And on behalf of the entire Zero Summer team: thanks for playing, and ENJOY!
(We've also got this Facebook page we think you'd enjoy.}
edited by levineg85 on 8/14/2013
--
Head Writer
Zero Summer
zerosummer@outlook.com
|
|
|
0
link
|
T(Jinx)N
Posts: 12
9/11/2012
|
Little The wrote:
-I also completed Harvestmen, though it was hard to figure out where to go because the card was a Must, and therefore "hidden", kind of. I guess the requirement was 14 in one of the qualities? I felt the ending was kind of...unsatisfying. It didn't really conclude or wrap up anything (though it was suitably creepy). I assume it is merely the beginning of a longer plot?
So this is where I'll respond, as the writer for The Harvestmen. I can say, without giving anything away, that The Harvestmen subplot is set up to last for multiple days. The first morning is just to give you a taste of what the people of Amarillo know (or at least THINK they know) about the group, and to give you a first-hand glimpse of what they are capable of.
I am SO GLAD that you are enjoying it!
--
Writing Goon #2 on Zero Summer, Resident Optimist
zerosummer.storynexus.com
|
|
|
+1
link
|
Hierophant
Posts: 782
9/24/2012
|
A little preview from our upcoming Day 1/Evening release:
--
Head Writer
Zero Summer
zerosummer@outlook.com
|
|
|
+1
link
|
Hierophant
Posts: 782
10/11/2012
|
Something extremely cool we're doing with our first Nex-locked content: modeling an extended combat scene with a specially designed deck.
What's so special about the deck? It's stacked with three kinds of cards: 'attack' cards (which let you increase your win-condition), 'defend' cards (which let you reduce your lose-condition or reload your weapon), and 'damage' cards.
And what's so cool about THAT, you might ask? The attack cards can't be played unless you have bullets in your gun, and the damage cards can't be discarded. The scene will require you to balance your win and lose conditions, carefully cultivate reloads and rests, and keep your hand clear of 'damage' cards -- while making sure not to hurt yourself too much in the process!
We are VERY excited to release this content. Stay tuned! It won't be long now...
--
Head Writer
Zero Summer
zerosummer@outlook.com
|
|
|
+1
link
|
Hierophant
Posts: 782
10/13/2012
|
You really dig the supernatural stuff, don't you. 
--
Head Writer
Zero Summer
zerosummer@outlook.com
|
|
|
+1
link
|
Hierophant
Posts: 782
10/26/2012
|
A preview from our Day 2/Morning release. (We suggest you ignore the TIME OF DAY and LOCATION Qualities. We haven't futzed them into proper order yet.)
edited by levineg85 on 10/26/2012
--
Head Writer
Zero Summer
zerosummer@outlook.com
|
|
|
+1
link
|
Becca Noe
Posts: 48
11/6/2012
|
Distance, like many things, is a matter of perception and priorities.
--
Writing Goon #1 on Zero Summer, Resident Pessimist
zerosummer.storynexus.com
|
|
|
+1
link
|
Hierophant
Posts: 782
11/15/2012
|
@Alar: howdy! Sorry you're having trouble. So let's diagnose! What are your current values for your subplots and "The Dark Hungry Eyes..."?
--
Head Writer
Zero Summer
zerosummer@outlook.com
|
|
|
+1
link
|
Hierophant
Posts: 782
11/19/2012
|
@Ian: let me know how it goes. There SHOULD be a card available to you at HG 8 in the Scrublands. That should be the route to Time to Move On that you're missing. If there isn't, please let me know and I'll continue to diagnose.
@Little The: glad you enjoyed! Thanks for the typo catch. Certainly this is the most "unnatural" Menace area, although I think the others are just as good. They're all designed to both "punish" you -- that is, send you to a place that is Formally Bad -- while in fact rewarding you with snippets of plot.
--
Head Writer
Zero Summer
zerosummer@outlook.com
|
|
|
+1
link
|
salirsalisco
Posts: 38
12/11/2012
|
Just wanted to say that the more I play Zero Summer, the more I love it.
Currently trying to lower my White Noise while learning as much as I can from my surroundings... I won't say more...
--
My profile.
|
|
|
+1
link
|
Sarah Brown
Posts: 17
1/13/2013
|
Heh, that would explain why I couldn't figure out what I was doing, then.
On the plus side, I was hospitalized so many times in such quick succession that I've picked up the plot involving the chess game, which seems really interesting.
|
|
|
+1
link
|
Hierophant
Posts: 782
1/18/2013
|
YUCK.
What an inexcusable mistake, Sarah. I've left Key of Dreams on a card that blocked the rest of the plot. My sincerest apologies. You should be able to play through the story now.
--
Head Writer
Zero Summer
zerosummer@outlook.com
|
|
|
+1
link
|
Vega
Posts: 150
5/2/2013
|
Gordon Levine wrote:
I'm very interested to hear where you think we're nodding to Fallen London -- because neither Becks nor Jinx are FL players, and I haven't played seriously in years. What in particular in the Old Gunfighter did you think was a Fallen London nod?
(POTENTIAL SPOILERS)
Hello sir - it could be I'm seeing parallels everywhere! The rare success for the Old Gunfighter's death (Gunslinger grind card) is "The Burial of the Dead", the names of a FL dream state. Rare success in "Where there's a will" (Doc grind card) has to do with mirrors, which nods to another FL dream state. I can't help but compare the Undertaker with the Manager of the Royal Bethlehem Hotel, both have a cheerful air to the point of being sinister. And the bats.
Again, could be seeing parallels everywhere... especially since those themes (eg. death, mirrors) are always good sources of mystery.
--
The Jaunty Mystic, Taranlei, roams the streets of London, interviewing fellow citizens. Member of the Sanguine Ribbon Society and the Temple Club (happy to send invites). Accepting all Acquaintances, lethal duels, social interactions, and opportunities for casual roleplay.
The Shifty Spectre has departed on the final voyage. "I have gone down, down, my love..."
|
|
|
+1
link
|
Becca Noe
Posts: 48
8/4/2013
|
Bang a gong and blow the trumpets - Day 2 Afternoon is now live and ready to play. There's fresh, shiny content available as well as some big system tweaks (check the patch notes below to look under the hood). We know its been a while since our last updates, so a very great Thank You goes out to our players and beta-testing bunnies. You all are very much the motivating force for Zero Summer. We hope you enjoy!
PATCH NOTES
System Changes
- Styles and difficulties have been rescaled! The goal here was to reduce the amount of time Zero Summer takes to play by about 50%. That means much less grind and more time spent on plot. As a result, all difficulties and character styles have been reduced. That said, you haven't lost any effective power. Everything should be about as challenging as it was before. It'll just take less time.
- Jobs are generally a little more difficult. They also scale with your Date (as will certain other challenges going forward).
- Sacred and Profane - The Salley Gardens is now Pay What You Want! Play it now and get ready for the next chapter, Black is the Colour, which is coming really very soon.
Content Updates
- Day 2/Afternoon is now available!
- That means new grind cards, new subplots, and a new main plot. Confront a troubling new threat in Hallowed Ground. Stalk your target in Cutting Your Spurs. Tickle the Roughriders' seedy underbelly in the Harvestmen. And prepare Amarillo to hunker down against a terrifying threat in the main plot.
- As above, Sacred and Profane
- The Salley Gardens is now Pay What You Want!
- New players can use this access code (http://zerosummer.storynexus.com/a/latesummergunslinger) to start the game with a big boost to their Styles. But they better be quick: we only have 100 available!
--
Writing Goon #1 on Zero Summer, Resident Pessimist
zerosummer.storynexus.com
|
|
|
+1
link
|
Roicen
Posts: 4
8/5/2013
|
Hi, I have a - maybe stupid - question, but:
How am I supposed to start a game?
I'm playing Fallen London, in which I got an item ("trait" is a better word) to choose different starting options in Zero Summer.
Therefore I decided to give it a try, registered and hoped to get started.
"Version 1.1 -- The Well-Tipped Hat Howdy! We've always attempted in Zero Summer to balance plot progress with pacing -- not too fast, not too slow. As part of this process, we're rescaling branch difficulties, branch Style requirements, and character Style levels. Our goal is to make progressing through Zero Summer about twice as fast for characters of all levels. Click through the branches below to rescale your Styles. Please note: you are not losing any effective advantage. Difficulties are also being reduced. The only impact you'll see is notably faster progress through Zero Summer's plot.
Find the rest of the story at: http://zerosummer.storynexus.com/s?RouteValueDictionary=System.Web.Routing.RouteValueDictionary"
This is what I see - there are no branches "below" to rescale anything.
In fact: The only thing I can click is the "Like"-button.
So: How am I supposed to start a game?
Is it even possible, 'cause I read something about beta-testing?
Sorry for this - maybe stupid - question, if the answer should be too oblivious.
|
|
|
+1
link
|
Vega
Posts: 150
8/16/2013
|
Gordon Levine wrote:
@Vega: howdy! Glad you liked "Fifty Miles" -- I think it's one of our strongest pieces of content. I'd be very interested to know what it illuminated about the main plot for you -- mysteries and menaces shared, what disappointed you. (For obvious reasons, please tag with spoilers!)
Rambling follows:
[spoiler]Really, I didn't expect the dragon, or such explicit revelation of the monster and the cause of the Longest Day. So far the mood of the story has been quite supernatural and mythic. Prior to 50 Miles, I knew there are monsters, but they are veiled; I don't see them outright; even the bats are glimpsed but not seen. Of The Longest Day, I knew it's a catastrophe, but not its nature. I've learnt snippets about the Great Jackal, blood-sucking creatures, and other monsters, but they are still beyond my reach and my focus, and the feeling is haunting.
So far, the monsters and mysteries of ZS tickle on the edges of consciousness, so I as the Protagonist never really know what is real and what is dream/hallucination. This subconscious knowledge heightens that sense of myth and menace. So to have a dragon's identity revealed so explicitly and undeniably shatters some of that haunting, mysterious atmosphere. Dragonslaying in Dixie was fraught and tense (thus enjoyable to play), but ... THAT is a monster in the flesh. To me the reader, to put an image and a name to the feeling makes it not so frightening anymore.
I'm the type of gamer/reader who automatically slips into (to use a literary term) secondary belief when reading fiction -- I like to experience the story at face value and not speculate until the story is over. So far I've not speculated on the identity of monsters (or any of the other mysteries), so I suppose my disappointment comes from this new knowledge that can't be forgotten now. The mood of the story was more powerful when I hadn't known the existence of dragons, just knew that there are monsters lurking out there beyond my ken.
Hence my disappointment, though it's not your fault! Just comes with knowing more of the story, I suppose. It was a powerful revelation though, really a bolt from the blue.
I've played through a bit of Day 2/Afternoon now - it seems to reveal a bit more of the identity of the monsters. If I'd played Monsters and the Tall Grass before 50 Miles, I think I would've been more deflated!
[/spoiler]
That said... so far the most powerful and evocative parts of ZS are Behind the White Noise and the Undertaker's Trade. I don't know what to make of Behind the White Noise save that it's either hallucinatory, or a spiritual/supernatural experience. And I dearly hope it will stay that way for a while!
In fact, that's the major appeal of ZS -- there's so much mood in the writing. Evocative, sensual (as in stimulates the senses) fragments everywhere. The tiny Menace section in 50 Miles was amazing -- also, thanks for including all these little non-critical qualities to pick up, they add an additional layer of depth and mood to the game experience.
edited by Vega on 8/16/2013
--
The Jaunty Mystic, Taranlei, roams the streets of London, interviewing fellow citizens. Member of the Sanguine Ribbon Society and the Temple Club (happy to send invites). Accepting all Acquaintances, lethal duels, social interactions, and opportunities for casual roleplay.
The Shifty Spectre has departed on the final voyage. "I have gone down, down, my love..."
|
|
|
+1
link
|
Vega
Posts: 150
8/17/2013
|
Cheers, ZS team - glad that my feedback was helpful.  I'm definitely hanging in until the very end, the story has drawn me in completely! I expect that there will be more revelations and surprises, but I'm glad that there are still many secrets not revealed yet, and the "haunted" mood of ZS is quite strong. Am savouring this that before more gets revealed with time.
--
The Jaunty Mystic, Taranlei, roams the streets of London, interviewing fellow citizens. Member of the Sanguine Ribbon Society and the Temple Club (happy to send invites). Accepting all Acquaintances, lethal duels, social interactions, and opportunities for casual roleplay.
The Shifty Spectre has departed on the final voyage. "I have gone down, down, my love..."
|
|
|
+1
link
|