[quote=Robin Alexander]It seemed that no matter WHAT I unearthed, I was given NO choices or any form of impact on the final outcome, and - regardless of my choices/actions - the outcome of the marriage was absolutely set . . . making every action point bought and spent pointless.
For this course of action thrust upon me -? No choice whether to object or not. No choice whether to sabotage or not. All my work for nought, as I watch the outcome play out as a hapless witness with no actual active part in the story . . . seriously, if my character hadn’t been there, NOTHING would have been any different . . . it was all pointless. I’m just . . . [/quote] sight :(
I see no reason why specially that you made your point pretty clear; even if a bit acidic.
Thank you both for the feedback; this settles me to wait more until I’ll get this story! edited by Skinnyman on 12/18/2017
Adding to the above two, I’ve actually really enjoyed the story so far, and I’m currently still in the middle of the ceremony waiting on actions, but…
[spoiler]From the start I wanted to ensure the wedding was a success, and during the planning stage I was careful not to pick anything that might hinder the finale. At the beginning of the ceremony, when Virginia was talking during the Bishop’s sermon, I chose to let her continue just to hear what she had to say. Doing so gave me 1 Reasons They Should Not Be Wed–no problem, that probably just unlocks an option to stop it later, right? Which I won’t choose, and all will be well.
Well… Just browsing through my qualities out of boredom waiting for my next action, I noticed another new quality: A Wedding Undone 4, "It is all over." That’s leading me to believe that just because I listened in on Virginia instead of hushing her, the wedding’s now doomed to fail regardless of all I’ve done so far to make sure it doesn’t. Or that, as the previous posters suggested, the wedding’s failure is the only possible ending. Which I really hope it isn’t, as I was extremely curious to see the results.[/spoiler]
So, update on the failing. It turns out that, telling the couple about the "what (whoever) knows" options each raises the marriage failing quality by one without telling you. So if you go for completeness (as most people tend to), you are locked into the failing ending. You need to not let the couple know about anyone’s opinions on it in order for it to work out, not even the pro-marriage opinions. edited by Omega8520 on 12/18/2017
[li]
Honestly, I’m mostly disappointed at how the completionist ending cheered up the Veteran Privy Councilor. Watching that smug git cry himself raw throughout most of the wedding preparations was the upside of the whole thing for me.
But yes, as other people have put more eloquently and more thoroughly: For an ES centered around London’s most notorious yet popular agent of chaos and also Feducci, the whole thing was surprisingly…unsurprising. I was expecting monsters to burst out of the walls and attack the wedding guests! I was expecting immortal assassins and infernal intrigue you could actually participate in! But no, it’s a by the numbers wedding. Or not one.
Oh, and the action sink for drawing cards in order to unlock the completionist dialogue options is a savage kick in the teeth. I usually buy my Fate in sets of 100, and was down to 20 because I had no idea what the maximum possible knowing-about-the-relevant-parties’-shenanigans value was until the cards stopped showing up.
I had been thinking of buying this one, and I normally like Cash’s stories, but judging from the reviews, is it worth it? Is there any sort of end reward or effect that makes it worth it? What else could/should I spend 43 Fate on?
[color=#ff9900]Depending on the player’s choices, they can enable or sabotage the wedding. We’ve added some guidance to make it a bit clearer when your decisions are affecting the finale.[/color]
Yeah, I was under the impression we could choose to object or something during the ceremony, not that our actions in the final stages of planning would doom it prematurely–and so subtly, at that.
For the first time in my years of playing, I’m seriously considering asking for a refund on the Fate I spent today on the story and action refreshes, in order to start over. Because this reminds me of the backlash regarding the Last Constable and the Cheery Man, except… that was a free story, and this is something we all paid for. I feel the consequences of certain actions should have been made more obvious, and especially not hide the resulting quality so we remain entirely oblivious.
I haven’t played the story yet. I personally don’t mind when there is little choice and am just as interested in the narrative as in the gamey-ness of it. It’s nice when they are both present but, for me, it’s not essential. For those reasons I suspect/hope my response will be more positive than what I’ve read so far.
Having said that, I’ve noticed a recent trend with the stories that I am really not keen on and that I am guessing is in play here too. FBG have seemingly implemented some sort of “emphasis” mechanic so that not all quality changes are made visible. In addition they’ve gone really gung-ho on the use of hidden qualities. It’s a valid design choice but to me it seems like a very bug step away from Alexis’s original vision and one I, personally, am not keen on at all…
I think Failbetter tends to go gung-ho on something whenever they come up with a new idea :P They should settle down with it soon (TM Failbetter games)
I am only doing preparations at the time, and taking my time with it. I am enjoying the insight into the characters so far, and the writing. Nothing so grandiose as the Empress’ Shadow, which was more mature in a good way, but I like the implications of a looming war which definitely tell me which side I should be on when the time comes to serve or sabotage.
Having said that… I strongly dislike being locked in an ending because I was not told what each choice means. This is neither real life, nor a tabletop RPG where you can ask the storyteller for clarification. Lately, I have come to the point where I prefer to have the stories entirely spoilt before I play them, so as not to bang my head on the wall. The Last Constable was bad enough, with its almost certain gloomy ending forcing you to reset if you made the mistake of being emotionally invested in the game.
On another note… I feel the finishing school from the Shadow was an amazing return on buying the story. I also enjoy the source from Docks’ favors I got from the Gift. I am not saying FB owes us anything else than the story itself, (nothing was promised and most people play for the writing and lore I suspect) but when previous years gave so much at the end it is normal to be dissapointed in getting close to nothing this time.
Okay. I already got myself a Home Comfort, and I got The Gift and The Empress’ Shadow, which I was planning on playing along with Marriage of Feducci. I think I’ll get Marriage, but I should play The Gift and The Empress’ Shadow first, right?
I’m quite enjoying the preparations I’m doing so far. (I got a little spooked at one opportunity card that made a…callback to ‘The Gift’ storyline. A nice touch by the writer.) I don’t care much for being spoiled, but I’m partially glad I read this thread before I really got underway.
Even though I didn’t vote for Feducci and the Captivating Princess and I have a…peculiar friendship, now is as good as a time as ever to be happy and wish happiness for others. After all, was it not the Duchess who said, ‘Always look to love. Always.’
I can put aside any differences I have for Feducci. These two will have their beautiful wedding, d–n it all.
I finished the preparations, got moved to the Shuttered Palace, but there is no option to return to the Albion Wing for the finale.
I can only assume that, in lieu of a wedding, the happy couple had a double-or-nothing drinking duel (since those are all the rage these days), died in each other’s arms and got secretly buried together in a mirrorcatch tomb.
edit: it looks like you can’t see the rest of the afterparty echoes for some reason. You should be able to by clicking the link in my description. edited by suinicide on 12/18/2017
edit: it looks like you can’t see the rest of the afterparty echoes for some reason. You should be able to by clicking the link in my description. edited by suinicide on 12/18/2017[/quote]
Noted. Thank you.
EDIT: I’ve read most of your Journal entries that pertain to the marriage. Now I’m terrified. edited by cathyr19355 on 12/18/2017