I guess I’m grateful that I ran out of actions just before the content fix. I’ll refrain from spoiling myself as much as possible but from what I can tell, people are not happy.
Probably some unpopular thoughts. I finished the story yesterday and unfortunately I failed the final check. Yeah I admit that when the result popped up to be the worst outcome I felt a great loss, as if that happened in real world. BUT I do feel this ending makes perfect sense, and is a suitable yet sad ending for this twisted relationship. It’s a story between a father and a daughter after all, player by all measures doesn’t seem quite fit into the scene. The player may have become Cheery man’s right hand man, or the Constable’s sympathizer, but all they did throughout the story were just asking you to help, but kept things at their own discretion. The player did what s/he can, chose a side, helped with preparation, and witnessed the whole process until the very last moment. They trust all to randomness, and accept their fate. Also I like the mechanism that the companion is replaced by a legacy item. The only difference is that this time the one who made a choice is not the player, but the parent/child.
I know that not everyone thinks this way and since the reworking has already started it is unlikely nothing got changed. I just hope the current branches are still preserved and would yield the same outcome. I love this story from the bottom of my heart.
[quote=Delta67]Probably some unpopular thoughts. I finished the story yesterday and unfortunately I failed the final check. Yeah I admit that when the result popped up to be the worst outcome I felt a great loss, as if that happened in real world. BUT I do feel this ending makes perfect sense, and is a suitable yet sad ending for this twisted relationship. It’s a story between a father and a daughter after all, player by all measures doesn’t seem quite fit into the scene. The player may have become Cheery man’s right hand man, or the Constable’s sympathizer, but all they did throughout the story were just asking you to help, but kept things at their own discretion. The player did what s/he can, chose a side, helped with preparation, and witnessed the whole process until the very last moment. They trust all to randomness, and accept their fate. Also I like the mechanism that the companion is replaced by a legacy item. The only difference is that this time the one who made a choice is not the player, but the parent/child.
I know that not everyone thinks this way and since the reworking has already started it is unlikely nothing got changed. I just hope the current branches are still preserved and would yield the same outcome. I love this story from the bottom of my heart.[/quote]
I agree, Delta, that the ending as I experienced it is dramatically appropriate, though sad. Personally, my only reservation is that I didn’t have a greater opportunity to try to intervene in the outcome.
EDIT: I’m not even terribly bent out of shape that I lost the Stiff-Backed Young Lady (even though I think I spent Fate to get her). The story would have become absurd if the Constable had died AND I hadn’t lost the Young Lady.
edited by cathyr19355 on 10/19/2017
[quote=Catherine Raymond]
I agree, Delta, that the ending as I experienced it is dramatically appropriate, though sad. Personally, my only reservation is that I didn’t have a greater opportunity to try to intervene in the outcome.[/quote]
Yeah I think it would be acceptable if some more options are added, like allowing players to exert greater influence to your partner, while still ensure they are the ones to make final decisions. Because if an unrealistic happy ending was added the whole story would become something like an old man and his daughter fussing around, ended up with nothing of consequence. That’s way worse than now, because it will ruin the whole story, making its sentimental atmosphere a joke, like a bad written high school love story. And I don’t feel like such a relationship has the chance to achieve an easy happy ending simply by player’s lip service.
There was one story with similar settings, yet very different from the beginning - THE WALTZ THAT MOVED THE WORLD. That is also one of my favorite (which I would not dig into in this post). But this pair’s conflict is based on mere misunderstanding and lack of communication, and the ending is also reasonable for them. That’s totally a different case.
edited by Delta67 on 10/19/2017
The Velocipede Squad and the Constables renown tasks fill in a little of the details of the relationship between the Constables and the Special Constables. They’re rivals, and the Specials may think of themselves as an elite, but the other Constables disagree. I think the real difference is that the Special Constables aren’t in law enforcement per se; they serve the Masters. They’re the ones who confiscate Proscribed Materials for Mr. Pages, threaten those who interfere in the Masters’ business, and remove dangerous graffiti, as we see in in the "Orthographic Infection" City Vices card.
This apparent discrepancy is addressed in the Exceptional Story "Cut with Moonlight".
This apparent discrepancy is addressed in the Exceptional Story "Cut with Moonlight".[/quote]
This gives me chill, as if it reveals BB was actually working for someone else than the Cheery Man. I’d be rather glad to address it as a discrepancy, as I don’t really think BB is a turncoat type. (And I do personally like this guy).
edited by Delta67 on 10/19/2017
It’s an excellent story, so I recommend you play it to have the chance to find out!
I’ve been flipping cards all day and I’ve been unable to draw the card. Here’s to praying that FB makes it a story let.
[quote=Sir Frederick Tanah-Chook]
This apparent discrepancy is addressed in the Exceptional Story "Cut with Moonlight".[/quote]
Well then! I guess I know where my next 45 Fate is going…
Without spoiling anything, @Delta67, I think you might be satisfied with the explanation in Cut with Moonlight.
Wait … There’s a time difference. SS is set several years before FL.
As always how the story effects you depends a lot on how you view the characters involved and that’s going to be different for everyone so I don’t think there’s anything to add there.
But the mechanics is another story…
I was really surprised when I saw that the odds were against the Last Constable when it came to the final contest. Personally I can’t see her going into this with anything but even odds; I think the majority of players will have been very surprised at the odds.
All this could have been fixed with some kind of acknowledgement of why the odds are why they are. A muttered aside by the character you support, some kind of description of a trick by either party (though then players would rightfully want a way to warn their friend before the contest starts) or even just some bolded metatext. Anything to explain why the odds weren’t even; this one really had me scratching my head and made me quite hesitant to click the button.
Finally; the Fate bought companions being taken away and replaced with weapons. Like others have said; I think Failbetter really gaffed here. Taking something paid for with real money and replacing it with something else without warning is bound to make a lot of people angry.
In this particular case I would have preferred keeping my companion over receiving a new weapon; I was quite disappointed when I read what happened. Of course, in another case I might prefer the new over the old; the problem is that the player wasn’t warned and given a choice to keep whatever they had.
Sure, you might need to jump through some hoops to have it make sense story-wise but it’s certainly possible to still have a Stiff-Backed Young Lady even with the Last Constable dying (one solution was already suggested in this thread).
sniffles I don’t want a fake Cheeryman…
(I realize I’m probably in the minority here though :P )
Indeed I’d give Cut with Moonlight a try. Probably after the current grinding.
Question…
What happens if you choose to intervene?
I loved Cut With Moonlight, but I do not remember the explanation for the Cheery Man discrepancy. Can someone PM me please?
…by the way, 24 hours after and what bugs me the most, is the unexplainable behavior of the Last Constable. Asking for a russian roulette which made no sense? Not realizing why a friend would protect her life by stopping a cheat? Getting you involved in a poison contest? She simply made no sense. And the Cheery Man made no sense either.
[quote=Ixc]Question…
What happens if you choose to intervene?[/quote]
Immediate result here.
Final result here.
…
…HAAAAAAAAAAAANG on a second.
So we were going on about the odds being stacked against you regardless of who you’re allied with. That being because the challenge is "The odds are against you here" or what have you each time. However there’s also an outcome where the two drink, look at each other for a moment, see and feel a lack of immediate death, and take another tankard. Does that count as a success or failure? Because if it’s a failure, it might be an even 3-way split of win, lose, try again. (Of course if it’s counted as a success, then f*** these odds.
If I have to speculate I assume there are four possible outcome each time you roll the die:
Success: Nobody dies, it goes on
Rare Success: The person you are not affiliated with dies
Failure: The person you are affiliated with dies
Rare Failure: Both people die