Are there any plans to have in-game information tracking tool of any sort in the later releases? I feel a lot of the game relies on memory which significantly reduces the enjoyment for me. Ideally there would be both game information tracking and flavour tracking.
Game information tracking should include the ability to record good prices in the various places you’ve visited, information you’ve observed about monsters (health, abilities that they’ve deployed against you), etc. Most of this information is already included in the game (e.g. combat logs) so it should simply be a matter of storing it and presenting in a user-friendly format.
Flavour information should simply be a well organised log of the story cards that you’ve come across. One of the strengths of the FL and SS universe is the deep and non-linear storytelling and it seems a shame that so much of it can simply escape you because you are not paying attention at the right time. This is already a feature in Fallen London (though, personally, I am not a fan of how it’s not automatic).
Finally, there should be a way for a player to make in-game notes like how much fuel it takes to run a particular route etc.
Obviously, it’s possible to use out-of-the-game resources like wiki’s and good old paper but that just raises the threshold of convenience unnecessarily and exposes the player to spoiler-risk
I don’t know, to me that much information tracking seems to undercut the immersion. And why would you want it to be that clear cut? Part of the fun is having to remember what you know about beasties and enemies as well as a lot of that other stuff. Makes the game more fun in my opinion.
Surely it’s optional. If it distracting to you, you simply wouldn’t look at the log or whatever.
Also, regarding "that much". I simply listed everything I personally would like. But that’s an upper bound. It’s entirely feasible that the developers envisage a much more limited set of features (if at all).
I am afraid I can’t even begin to agree. It’s great that it works for you but for me it’s a pure downside. For me the game is about immersion, exploration and discovery. Passing a memorisation test should not be a requirement for that. If you were an actual captain you would have a journey log and you would have your crew to talk to about the events that happened. Sailors’ stories are even a trope. But they need to be recorded somehow in order to be passed on.
As an example, I’ve just "completed" (I assume) the Hunter’s Keep quest and it’s left me rather confused. When I originally visited the sisters their stories didn’t make all that much sense to me and so didn’t stick. But when the story-line was finally concluded I couldn’t recall the original details and so for me the plot lost all cohesion.
[color=rgb(194, 194, 194)]
[/color]
[color=rgb(194, 194, 194)]I am not sure that it would be "better". But that’s all besides the point. My question is whether the developers in fact have any plans to do anything similar. If they don’t then the point is moot and it will have to do, obviously.[/color]
I do see you point genesis, and also understand Snowskeeper point of view, I personally do this right now: I have a moleskin at the side of the computer and I write down physically all that I find important.
Maybe there could be an option to open an in game "notepad like" function so you can write down all that matters to you with little to no interruptions?
I have no idea if it could be doable or if it would be too heavy on the memory, I know close to nothing about how games work.
Personally, I’ve just been taking notes. I have a pen and a note pad by my computer, and I take notes on prices, situations, where to find things, whatever seems like it might be important. Things like where am I picking up cargo for the Cheery Man or what port does the Admiral want me to collect information from is findable in the journal, but prices on goods and that sort of thing are what I write down.
It’s a habit I formed back in 199X when playing Myst.
I would love some information tracking, too. I already have problems in Fallen London with forgetting who people are and what they want, but the journal helps with that.
I also don’t see how this would break immersion, if done well. As already said, as a captain, I would keep a log about important information, people, harbors and so on. It would certainly be less immersion breaking than having to tab out of the game to use a word document or google.[li] edited by Yurana on 8/3/2014
You have 300 echoes in your FL journal. How would automatically (or even manually, requiring a click) recording storylets in SS differ?[/quote]
[li]
We’re not talking about Fallen London, and even if we were, the journal is nearly useless as an information storage bin because you have to dig through page after page of content every time you find to find something. If you have a word document, you can have entries for each character or event or location and add information to them as you go.
I am all in favour for the possibility of making in-game notes. Not only it is completely realistic game-wise (a captain keeping his log!), but it would be really helpful (much more than a word file that you can read only if you exit the game - speaking about game immersion!).
I keep my notes in a physical notebook with pencil, but I don’t feel particularly smart or heroic in doing that.
I use Wordpress’ private posts function to keep track of Fallen London stories because, as everybody seems to agree, the built-in journal function is kind of useless.
Can’t do that with SS because the text is not copyable. Definitely makes sense that that is the case, but I also agree that a better in-game log is sorely needed. The Journal is also confusing in its layout.
I don’t see how the FL journal not being all that useful (which is very true!) makes "using a separate application that requires an additional computer or constantly alt-tabbing out of the game" an optimal solution.
As it is, I have a few screenshots of noteworthy text, which is significantly less useful than the system in place in FL.
I don’t see how the FL journal not being all that useful (which is very true!) makes "using a separate application that requires an additional computer or constantly alt-tabbing out of the game" an optimal solution.[/quote]
Completely agree. It’s not a viable option for something that’s not a browser game.
I don’t see how the FL journal not being all that useful (which is very true!) makes "using a separate application that requires an additional computer or constantly alt-tabbing out of the game" an optimal solution.
As it is, I have a few screenshots of noteworthy text, which is significantly less useful than the system in place in FL.[/quote]
Note that the post I was responding to was accusing me of hypocrisy due to the fact that I had over 300 echoes in my journal. I don’t think a Fallen London-style Journal would be particularly useful in Sunless Sea, either.
In retrospect, a captain’s log that allows you to make your own notes, or else some sort of character-background-tracking thing that updated whenever you learned something new, like in Far Cry 3 but preferably more functional and less irritating, would be cool.
I agree about the fundamental notion here as well - as long as it’s optional, hidden if you don’t want to see it, etc. I have resorted to taking notes in some games (especially trading games) and I always find it irritating to have to do so. It’s much better when a game can keep track of things for you.
And it is the norm - for example, most role playing games (e.g. Fallout New Vegas, Skyrim) keep a journal of your past and open quests, and most “large” games (e.g. Mass Effect, Total War) have a codex of in-game information that is unlocked as you discover new content.
Personally, I’d prefer if that actual numbers behind various things remain hidden, as that’s when things get immersion-breaking for me. And an in-game journal that you can write yourself would be nice to have, but definitely not essential (at least for me).
Altering the map to show commodity prices would be nice simple and clean.
Along those lines…On the sailing interface, it shows terror, supplies and fuel. It’s easy to read the supplies and fuel bar, but the terror bar needs a mouseover to give me back a score. It would be nice if that terror score was just as easy to read/find as the supplies or fuel quantity. As a matter of fact…I think it would be nice if those three interface elements could just be parallelilzed. One has a number at the right…one has a number at the left…one doesn’t show a number…they are of unequal length and I’m not sure why… edited by dfs on 9/13/2014
I use steam’s screenshot function to record information, which is admittedly not the most useful route and leads to a lot of sifting through stuff but it does at least prevent me from needing to, say, go kill a lorn-fluke because i was was curious about the death message every time i need to look it up.
(Well that or I’ll just dig through the games data files but I prefer not to do that they’re really hard to read)
There is already a log taking up space in the bottom left corner of the screen. Perhaps there should simply be a tab on the side that allows text entry in that same section of screen. This would mean that it’s hidden, and even when in use its not taking up any additional screen space. I know I would use it. Surely, surely that would be quick, easy, and non-controversial to implement? (grabs wood with all remaining limbs)
I haven’t played the game yet but all that seems like stuff I’d want to see in the game as well. I mean at the very least an in-game notebook/journal for keeping track of your own observations without having to Alt+Tab out of the game or jutting it down on page after page of paper should be easily doable, right? edited by Demut on 9/28/2014 edited by Demut on 9/28/2014