I liked this story. There was no lore, but the mechanics enhanced the flavor of the tale, and I felt that my choice did some good in the Neath.
I liked this story a lot. With this and the previous one, I’ve been enjoying the mixing up of mechanics that’s been going on. This story was pretty straightforward and self-contained and I see nothing wrong with that. I’m not very knowledgeable on lore, so I don’t need everything to connect and deepen the FL Canon :)
Is it just me, though, or did FBG kinda give up on the overarching story about the Numismatrix’s coins? I know we’re technically getting them, but in the second story, it was just a by-the-way thing and in this there wasn’t a word about it, I had to find out if I even got anything afterwards. I wonder if in the epilogue the Numismatrix will be like "…who are you?"
I chose to keep the factory going. I didn’t wanna put so many people out of work and possibly place to stay. After seeing the echo for the other choice, I still maintain my decision was the right one.
I enjoyed the story itself, feeling it held interesting insight and offered a fine choice to mull over at the end of things. One small question, however, as this is the first set of exceptional stories I have completed all three of: when will the “something extra” option appear for having gone through all three in the season? I imagine it would be when the next season begins, though I cannot for the life of me recall.
Exactly when the conclusion appears varies a lot. One time it appeared within a week or two of the third story releasing, but other times it’s taken months.
Finished the story; the reward for restarting the factory was a Cipher Ring and 2 Favours in High Places.
I still have absolutely no clue who does and doesn’t owe me favours right now. Whose statue was this again?
All considered, I enjoyed how incomprehensible the trading system was.
Strangely enough, I noticed more typos and grammatical errors than normal here. Perhaps it’s just a byproduct of starting off so soon.
I’d also really appreciate if it was marked that stealing a statue would annoy Boris. I figured if the Shadowy check was passed, that’d mean you managed to avoid his eyes.
All in all: I’ll gladly pay you Tuesday for a can of zzoup today.
What can you use a tin of zzoup for anyways? All the potential uses seem to be fate-locked, so I have no idea what it’s for.
edited by The Curious Watcher on 1/26/2018
Do the sculptures get taken when you finish the story?
And has anyone sufficiently pissed off Boris?
You lose the sculptures, yes.
I also appreciated being told in advance about the result on Boris or the Clay Men.
[quote=The Curious Watcher]What can you use a tin of zzoup for anyways? All the potential uses seem to be fate-locked, so I have no idea what it’s for.
edited by The Curious Watcher on 1/26/2018[/quote]
I don’t believe it has a use.
Of the three stories this season, this was the weakest IMO, and by far margin. Sure, I appreciate the satire on many aspects of modern economy not adding anything, but just trading debts - but that was all about it. The characters were less relatable than madmen’s at Lamentation lock (the supervisor - seriously?), Boris was only irritating, and the mechanics kind of plain (the fact that I had 100% chance at any challenges wasn’t helping, if saving me some actions).
It all lacked some emotional twist - ended up being "go there, accumulate this, cash in there, finished". A little disappointed, cause the concept (and concept art) promise turned out much better than actual thing.
I adored the previous two stories, though, mind you!
edited by CatLady on 1/27/2018
I’ve got to agree with the people finding it a bit of a let down. The concept was good but each section was just too small and disjointed, I was expecting to see more of the bigger picture of the factory or more of some sort of scheme going on in the background. It would have been fine as a little free story to show a part of London we don’t normally see but something doable in 30 actions, around 10 of which were action sinks is disappointing.
Its odd as the other exceptional stories this season lived up to their exceptional branding and made great use of the “three areas of concern you need to investigate and solve” structure and then this one just feels rushed. Not every story needs to be some massive lore dump (as much as some people would love that) but I at least expect a nice little story.
I hae to say, I really like the subtle references to financial chicanery in this story:
I liked how it was Mr. Morgan (of Morgan Stanley?) who hired us to fix the factory. I liked how some of the trades between factory groups alluded to real-life derivatives and futures trading, with all the madness that it can entail. I liked the irrational exuberance held by the rats: they were absolutely certain that hoarding as many liabilities as possible would somehow result in vaguely-defined profits in the future…somehow…And I loved how we could get out of our own obligations through the invention of new and even more elaborate kinds of favors-swapping, accompanied with some generous handwaving and dubious looks from the counterpart. Overall, it was a delightful and fun jab at market excesses.[li]
edited by Six Handed Merchant on 1/28/2018
A subtle thing that I particularly like is that the factory specializes in producing bolts. Bolts are essential to the production much more exciting things, like ships. However, most people won’t do anything that requires bolts in their entire lives, making them feel banal and boring, or even useless.
And the thing holding up their production? Debt-trading, and rudimentary art. Both of these are exciting—even if I did get the impression that the art was pretty terrible.
So, something that feels useless, but is actually incredibly important, is being prevented by something else which feels exciting, but serves no use whatsoever.
I really like the symmetry there.
I really enjoyed this story, not least because a factory where everyone is constantly busy but no one is producing the required work product at all has an interestng resonance with my workplace at the moment. I’ll be going in on Monday and mentally classifying everything as statues, favours or debts. Should be fun.
I chose to keep the factory running as I believe Clay Men are happiest when given a framework to work within - but the implication that something creative and fresh had been lost through my decision gave me a twinge of guilt. Lovely writing.
My only regret is that there was no reward or Bonus Ending for Stockpiling Favors or Statues…I had hoped that if I accrued enough of either…I’d at the very least receive a package on my lodgings wrapped in Bent Metal and delivered by Rattus Faber as "A payment for Debts owed"…but I digress…
I still enjoyed the Story as a whole and I found it worthwhile ^ ^
edited by Vulcan on 1/28/2018
I kinda wish we’d had another option with the rats other than telling them to get lost. I wish I could have persuaded them that actually working in the factory would be a more lucrative venture.
It was not my favorite, but it was a good story I enjoyed doing. A different tone than the previous two, but it kept the sort of strange currencies the predecessors had. So it is all good. I felt good about it.
A story had great atmosphere, reminding somewhat of Kafka novels, and an epilogue of destruction was stern and disturbing. It would be great if all the story gone this way with conflict, menaces and discontent of factions boiling, or at least more alive characters with interesting hooks, which Boris and Supervisor lack at all. Loved previous two of a season a bit more.
This story had a really promising narrative and an engaging premise in the convoluted system of exchanges and favors, but ultimately I felt the mechanics fell flat. Burn actions for an item, accomplish task, burn off menace, rinse, repeat. There weren’t any interesting options for trading favors, placing the varied factions in my debt, or letting myself slip into their debt. I really just needed to fix three things to get the factory running again and it was pretty linear. Didn’t even need to grind really if you had decent shadowy skills, anyway, and it was hard to feel at all bad about stealing from characters who acted as little besides background scenery (more on that below).
My choices for dealing with the various reprobates and nutters running the factory felt very limited, and my choices didn’t have a lot of influence. For reasons unclear it also appeared impossible to in any way drive a wedge between Boris and the other clay men he’s lording it over - apparently Boris’s selfish butthurt is all their mutual disfavor because reasons. Doesn’t do much to differentiate the clay men as any sort of sentient life worthy of rights when they’re all content as cattle building scrap trinkets for a cakewalking jackass who’s selling out his own people, and none of the others seems to have so much as a personality to call his own. Which is a shame given what food for thought the polythreme immigrants present in some other tales like the Clay Man’s Arm and the Jack of Smiles case.
The rattus faber, despite being potentially very lively and interesting, weren’t much more than a speedbump to placate with trinkets and send on their way.
The dithering idiot recluse of a factory manager wasn’t any better. The sole impact any choice I made about here seemed to produce a was a bottle of moderately valuable hooch.
Overall this one was a let-down. I saw so much potential in the premise, but the execution was pretty dull.
Evening friends,
I finished this story of favors and statues and did not receive a coin. I assiduously checked my inventory.
Was there a way to not get one through actions (or inactions). Is this a rare glitch?
Thanks much.
M. Maker