Good to know. I won’t spend the fate on those, then. Flute St. I’m thinking of it as opening more content vs making things move faster. So the lab extension is only a maybe.
I got married! Much making waves and favours;does not break my courting of the Barbed Wit, which I only just realised might have happened.
And I got kicked out of the university, which breaks the 50 item trade carousel until I can get re-associated with Summerset.
And I started my voyage of scientific discovery, even though I don’t have a Zub yet. This turned out to be a good choice because you have to do research first, so lots to do while I save up for all the lenses.
I paid out for both Flute Street and the lab expansion, so opinions ahoy!
Flute street is one of the best Fate purchases; lots of lovely glistening Rubbery lore. It also gives access to the only Fate-locked 40-renown item, although I wouldn’t recommend it for that alone. Nice bonus, though.
The lab upgrades are the only Fate purchases I’ve ever made that I actively resent. Because of the way the lab works, the more assistants you have, the more cards (on average) you need to turn over to get the one (and there’s only ever one) that you actually want. My RSI hates it, and so do I. So the extra space is (at best) useless. The Fate equipment option does increase the amount of research you get from some cards, but NOT from the ones that are invariably the best option, so that does nothing for you either. The Silk-Clad Expert does have some minor advantages (notably the ability to generate small amounts of Parabolan research without going to Parabola), but nothing like enough to justify her cost.
>The Silk-Clad Expert does have some minor advantages (notably the ability to generate small amounts of Parabolan research without going to Parabola), but nothing like enough to justify her cost
She is very good for Moulin expeditions. Also fate lab equipment upgrade is actually very good, because for many projects you don’t have MAGCATS options.
Fair point on the SCE; I’d forgotten the lab unlocked her for Moulin as well.
I’m less convinced about the lab equipment; I’ll grant it’s better than the utterly worthless extra minion space, but all the lengthy or valuable experiments offer an advanced option. I haven’t run the numbers, but I suspect that changing your occupation to Correspondant provides a bigger boost to research speed than buying the Fate equipment does.
It really doesn’t help that using the lab is such a miserable painful grind, though.
Cartographer’s Hoard is lengthy and the best option is the Profound Student, which benefits from the extra equipment
[quote=Bluestocking]I got married! Much making waves and favours;does not break my courting of the Barbed Wit, which I only just realised might have happened.[/quote]Marital fidelity is something that never really seems to come up in this game.
I’ll leave the lab until it seems worth it, then. Hoping for Flute St soon.
The Bone market is a lot less useful to me than I had hoped. I need a LOT of shadowy, which is my weak point. And a source for materials, and so on. I’m going to get enough bessemer steel for that card if it ever shows up again and then postpone indefinitely.
How on earth does one get to Parabola, though? This seems to be a big blocker for me.
[quote=Bluestocking]I’ll leave the lab until it seems worth it, then. Hoping for Flute St soon.
The Bone market is a lot less useful to me than I had hoped. I need a LOT of shadowy, which is my weak point. And a source for materials, and so on. I’m going to get enough bessemer steel for that card if it ever shows up again and then postpone indefinitely.
How on earth does one get to Parabola, though? This seems to be a big blocker for me.[/quote]
You get to Parabola via Lab or Ambition, depending. Ambition may or may not also use Lab.
Caroline is helping with the Shadowy best she can ^_*
The good news is a lot of the Bone Market stuff is oriented toward Parabola and the Railway, so endgame stuff for when you have really high Shadowy.
And yeah, you can keep having affairs when married. Caroline, like me, is Poly, so I have her doing so when the mood takes her, and assume her wife Liane is doing the same. You can even still have significant relationships with other PCs, just only marry once.
I’m assuming Alethea is monogamous but will flirt, and enjoy watching Miranda’s antics. Which makes it slightly amusing that Dr A is pursuing the Barbed Wit while Miranda is afte the unattainable fashion flies. (FASHION!)
BTW I haven’t been able to accept your training recently. Out of town, I assume.
In other news I bought Flute St but have not got there yet. Collecting candles and love stories.
And I am most amused at the chat in the clearing out thread. So much mysterious lore. I like the Viscountess on principle, as she is a cat. I know nothing of what she might have done. Psychotic cat? Fleabag? Not to mention the stone pigs and the truffle, whatever they are.
Yeah I am sorry Caroline was out of town she will send a message when back.
In the continuing adventures of Dr Blueleg, she has now visited Flute St and bred up a rubbery hound into a toadbeast. Just ONE more lens before a Zub can be built. Ostentatious diamonds are the blocker now. Some students trained, some lab reputation made. First skeleton built (brass lollipop), wondering whether to save my flourishing ribcage for later.
I discovered one annoying thing about the lab: in some cases you get an artisan of the red science card which gives you parabolan research. BUT you can’t get it unless your experiment has a red science focus - which most don’t, and the ones that do don’t seem to need it anyway. No parabolan research for me.
I am still kind of confused about the direction. Kicked out of court, Newspaper, Parabola, railways, Zee voyages, the Khanate… I can get to parabola for less resources if I pursue my ambition a LOT further so perhaps just concentrating on that is the way to go.
Hanging around here may be a slight distraction, as I hear so much of the far future.
Edit: typo fixes,
plus apology that this was mysteriously posted 4 times, I have now deleted the extras
plus note that I was mistaken about the consequence of the university; it does NOT break the 50p item carousel. I was just looking at the wrong option
edited by Bluestocking on 8/18/2021
An update:
Dr Blueleg is now PROFESSOR Blueleg. Readmitted to the university after several successful scientific voyages.(Protip for other newbs: return home between each island to reset troubled waters.) She is grinding for the chorister’s bomb, with occasional diversions to practice sleight of hand at Mahogany Hall, or train up a few students in the lab. She is also still at court, working on another novel.
Miss Podoserpula (yes MISS, who cares if she’s married. Mrs sounds so fusty.) is the very latest new POSI, and is (as always) in a great rush and getting ahead of herself. Torn between heading off to the Carnelian coast by any means, or grinding for a swift clipper. But really she needs to go stage a rescue at the orphanage. Her soft-heartedness has overcome her lust for diamonds, or at least, learning that there IS no diamond the size of a heifer has redirected her.
I’ve heard there is a diamond, though not as big as advertised. My character Nora did not get it though, she took another path despite herself.
I heard that too :)
Hope the post wasn’t too spoilerish.
Prof Blueleg has heard that Night Whispers may be obtained at the Carnelian coast, so that has increased her impetus to get kicked out of court. The fidgeting writer and the crimson petals have not worked out well. (Edit: rumour was false, but you can get antique mysteries there, so that’s nice.)
That, and also she wants a tomb lion.
edited by Bluestocking on 9/8/2021
If one has a lab, and Queenly Attar, a Night Whisper may be had by examining it in detail. Entirely reliable and not such a faff. There is also a certain shrine in the Forgotten Quarter to be excavated at much lower cost which occasionally turns up a couple, of course.
I have the lab & the attar but I can’t make Parabolan research (unless I buy the spider lady). I need the night whispers to GET to parabola by advancing in my ambition. I’m so close it seems a waste to grind for the lab requirements for Parabola.
I’ve done the shrine expedition twice now and got the brass skulls. (Edit: oh well, at least selling them will help get me my pocket-smock)
edited by Bluestocking on 9/7/2021
Can you get the research in the reflection of the Lab?
That’s in parabola, the opening of which is apparently what he needs the Night Whispers for. (I don’t know what ambition this is)
[quote=Bluestocking]I have the lab & the attar but I can’t make Parabolan research (unless I buy the spider lady). I need the night whispers to GET to parabola by advancing in my ambition. I’m so close it seems a waste to grind for the lab requirements for Parabola.
[/quote]
As it happens, you need the Night Whisper for the Ambition even if the lab is fully up and running with all the bells and whistles, just in case you were wondering. Hope it works out!