I did the Spirifer one (I had base Persuasive and Shadowy in the 110s), though rather leisurely because I was helping update the wiki at the same time (another new experience for me), so my actions remained above 30 most of the time. With easy success in all actions I didn’t see the need to increase "Up your Sleeve" until the Constable and Door obstacles found me a couple of times; I then got rid of the Constable. In this sense, my run through the Flash Lay was rather straightforward, and I didn’t even know about the "corrupted" obstacles until I read about them here (though I understand what this refers to).
One of the first three cards I was dealt was the one needed to finish and I kept it all the way to the end, so I knew from the beginning how much progress I needed. Obviously, I didn’t have to wait for the card to re-appear, and I ended the scam with 101 progress. I did later find "Make your Move: the Time Draws Near", which similarly puzzled me.
Normally yes, but Clarence is no more a character than George of Doubt Street. These are just snippets, dialogue taken from life as opposed to the Roman à clef style the rest of the game uses (no doubt to keep things simple and generic for the players rather than to actually hide identities).
[quote=The Duke of Waltham]
Normally yes, but Clarence is no more a character than George of Doubt Street. These are just snippets, dialogue taken from life as opposed to the Roman à clef style the rest of the game uses (no doubt to keep things simple and generic for the players rather than to actually hide identities).[/quote]
[color=#e53e00]Someone hasn’t been playing every single Exceptional Friend story with slavish devotion. I’m disappointed in you. ;) [/color] edited by babelfishwars on 12/17/2015
Suggest unlocking a storylet - rather than a card when progress reaches 100+ as a means to avoid needing to draw a specific card, I’m currently waiting for a result - at 140 progress on my second run through, first time I got a card and hoarded it until I got enough progress.
oh incidentally my stats are just around 110 and I’m only just reaching straightforward on the content that says ‘needs 50 in the stats’
[quote=babelfishwars][quote=The Duke of Waltham]
Normally yes, but Clarence is no more a character than George of Doubt Street. These are just snippets, dialogue taken from life as opposed to the Roman à clef style the rest of the game uses (no doubt to keep things simple and generic for the players rather than to actually hide identities).[/quote]
[color=#e53e00]Someone hasn’t been playing every single Exceptional Friend story with slavish devotion. I’m disappointed in you. ;) [/color][/quote]
Heh, mine were just a few levels higher and I found only a couple of low-risk challenges in the entire Lay (and that probably depended on the outfit I was wearing at the time); were it not for them, I’d have assumed that straightforward challenges had begun at much lower stats.
Now I am disappointed in myself. And sad. You may be winking, but I’m sad.
So sad. edited by The Duke of Waltham on 12/17/2015
I liked the Flash Lay. Whether it’s “optimal” in terms of the rewards or not, I enjoyed the content and was pleased with the assortment of goods paid out at the end. I need to try the more difficult one when I have the actions.
I will say that the constant outfit-switching is a real drag and detracts from what is otherwise a fun diversion.
Heh, mine were just a few levels higher and I found only a couple of low-risk challenges in the entire Lay (and that probably depended on the outfit I was wearing at the time); were it not for them, I’d have assumed that straightforward challenges had begun at much lower stats.
[/quote]
Sorry it was only roughly - mostly to say that ‘needs stats of about 50’ seemed ambitious if at over double that some tasks were still not straightforward.
ps. still stuck waiting for the right card to let me leave, not sure what my progress is now,but I got my suspicion and scandal to zero - think scandal is back up to 1 now (as I’d run out of up the sleeve) and can’t use my coffee to get my actions up to churn through the cards faster. Ah well :)
I’ve just completed my first Flash Lay - the one with the Spirifer. The rewards were lovely and I enjoyed the writing very much in this one (as always!), but at the same time, it felt long for me. Basically, it was lots of twos and threes and occasional sevens until the very end, where I lucked out and drew one card that had the substantial opening and bumped me up just enough to complete the Flash Lay. I think altogether it around 40 - 50 on my part? Just for the lower-requirement one too!
However, I got the card that let me leave in the first few draws, so I kept it in my hand until I’d built up the progress, and as a result could leave when I had obtained the progress I needed. I think I’ll try the Auditor one next, after I’ve refilled my actions and had a good night’s sleep, but definitely agreeing that the amount of progress needs to be reduced. edited by Siana on 12/20/2015
I approve whole-heartedly of the idea; I always liked taking the more Persuasive options in dealing with… less than legal operations, so this inherently held my interest.
It took a surprising amount of actions, I will agree. I suspect that this initial value was set so that testers would be able to see (and comment) upon most of the cards and features in the flash lay, and that it will be re-adjusted in the future.
Turning obstacles into opportunities is a neat idea, but given the amount of “up your sleeve” that you’d need to accumulate beforehand to do so, its highly likely that you’re already so far into the con that you may never draw the opening card before you’re done, which happened to me (even though I ended up accruing 70 more progress before actually finishing.)
Oh, I think this location shouldn’t remember what cards you left with. At least I think that’s what happened - I entered for another round and saw a Make your Move card already in my hand.
I have done the spirifer and find myself waiting for tomorrow morning for the auditor run. That may indicate the trouble with being locked out from other activities around London, for so many actions. It does deter from spontaneously embarking on another Flash run, making us wait for full candles.
Wonder how hard would it be to implement a function to temporary exit the Flash Lay and return at own leisure (like the FQ expeditions which don’t lock us out permanently from actions at London while running that). Would be a great improvement, in my opinion, and allow me to enter that content more often (you invested time [=money] in that, shame to let it gather dust in the corner after 2 runs).
In my opinion, if that mechanism WILL be implemented, the length of the Flash Lay (100 progress) would not be a problem.
I am really glad to find out the Queer soul as a prize. It was a bit of disappointment to find out that prize was out of my reach at the EF’s monthly story just because I chose the "wrong" fate path on the soul trade, long time ago. Thank you for making Queer Soul available to all. edited by Gonen on 12/17/2015
I do like the new content, a fun story and an interesting mechanic. Absolutely replayable!
Some thoughts:
My first impression was that a goal of 100 progress makes it too long, but on second thought, I believe that the duration gives you more opportunity to make use of the various qualities available. Perhaps it’s possible to make a choice between a loner and a shorter route (50/100 progress maybe?), with the reward value adjusted proportionally. Another option would be to offer a choice mid-route (50 progress) to end the story or to continue for an extended time, with higher risks and rewards (double or nothing).
The auto-fire obstacles are confusing. Since all cards are non-disposable, the player is forced to play an obstacle card after the third draw the latest. I don’t see a reason for the different mechanic here.
Since I’ve only tried this new content once, can someone please clarify what path can provide the Queer Soul? Is the final reward random, or is this available for specific paths or for high enough level of Progress?
It seems a bit strange to me that some of the options giving “more” progress still only give the same seven as options on other cards. Having two different cards that lead to the same completion option also seems strange. I’ve only done the spirifer so far so I’ll have to do the solicitor tomorrow.
Just completed both Flash Lays. Personally I have no issue whatsoever with their length, but something bothers me about the rewards. Although I think that the prize for the low-level Lay is okay, the rewards for the advanced lay should be a bit more copious, so to speak. It’s significantly harder, but I daresay that the low-level one has a tiny bit better risk-to-prize ratio.
I’m working through the higher level one, and while it seems interesting, it’s a bit distressing that the only way out of it is to complete it, especially since it takes so many actions.
I just finished both of the available Flash Lays, and enjoyed them immensely. Here are my thoughts:
The Good: :)
I particularly liked that there was a more challenging path for late-game players; I had several highly amusing failures on the Auditor route.[/li][li]The unique reward gained from the Spirifer route was also a pleasant surprise. [/li][li]My favorite part of this is all the new opportunity cards in a brand-new deck. What fun![/li][li]The auto-firing Obstacle and Menace cards introduce a new element of suspense and danger, and how you could remove or convert cards under if the correct requirements were met.
The Less Good: ;)
Being restricted to a three-card hand while in a Flash Lay; as with the new zee-travel three-card hand, it makes getting the four- and five-card lodgings less useful. The Flash Lay deck in particular auto-draws Obstacles, so having a larger hand wouldn’t provide an overwhelming advantage anyway.[/li][li]Also, as Sara Hysaro noted above, it would make more sense to have the hand clear between Flash Lays (and between zee voyages, for that matter).[/li][li]There are two ‘Make Your Move’ cards (‘The Time Draws Near’ and ‘A Confessional Evening’). As far as I can tell, they are identical except that ‘The Time Draws Near’ has an additional zero-action choice that has no other effects.
Thanks very much to FBG for all the exciting new content.
I’ve reported this already, as it happens to me consistently when I come back from Zee (I went on a run to get a Plated Seal, got back to London about 4 minutes later, and had 10 new cards in my deck), and it happens sometimes when I emerge from parties. When I reported it about Zee, I was told it was intended behavior, surprising as that is.
I encourage you to also make a report if you have not already, though, if nothing else to add weight to be it being unexpected behavior.
As for the Lays, my main went into the harder one with about 30 actions, and has run out at 55 or so Progress, so… going to echo the feeling that it’s too long for something you must complete before you can return to London.
I’ve reported this already, as it happens to me consistently when I come back from Zee (I went on a run to get a Plated Seal, got back to London about 4 minutes later, and had 10 new cards in my deck), and it happens sometimes when I emerge from parties. When I reported it about Zee, I was told it was intended behavior, surprising as that is.
I encourage you to also make a report if you have not already, though, if nothing else to add weight to be it being unexpected behavior.
As for the Lays, my main went into the harder one with about 30 actions, and has run out at 55 or so Progress, so… going to echo the feeling that it’s too long for something you must complete before you can return to London.[/quote]
I happen to especially appreciate this particular quark & wouldn’t mind it being added to some of the other mainly card based areas. The reverse, having your hand refilled when you enter, would be far more useful though. It can be frustrating to not be able to embark on a heist even though you have sixteen actions because your hand is empty
Here are my thoughts: