Today we’re releasing a rework of – and expansion to – the University!
The University has been a bit of an outlier for a long time – very few other parts of the game remove access to certain activities once you’ve progressed past their moment in the spotlight. But once you’d solved the mystery at the heart of the University storyline, that was it – its associated activities were also gone. Coupled with the University activities possessing some genuinely useful benefits, this all resulted in a structure that, for some players, incentivised not playing or finishing the relevant storylines so that they could retain access to desirable resources.
Our changes today aim to bring the University more in line with our current design sensibilities, and make it feel a little less like a container for a late-game player’s laboratory. We have:
- Accelerated progress through the ‘Term Passing…’ activities, so that completing a term no longer takes so many actions;
- Removed the Sudden Insight effects from the ‘Talk to the Porters’ branch in ‘Investigations in the University’;
- Released a new version of the ‘Term Passing…’ activity that is available once you’ve finished the University storyline (and restored your academic reputation).
The new ‘Term Passing…’ activity combines the highlights of the existing activities (wine-tasting at Summerset! ‘Fun’ with the Stoats! An eternal and ill-understood game of something called ‘cricket’!) with a chunk of new writing, exclusive to this later stage in the game. Dispute noise complaints against your laboratory, test your students in the Correspondence, and impress other departments with the notes from your scientific voyages. And, yes, perhaps even chat to the Porters. They may have an insight or two to share.
If your ‘Featuring in the Tales of the University…’ is 30 or more, you can go back to University today and see what’s transpired in your absence. If you find yourself banned from the University, you’ll need to pursue a Voyage of Scientific Discovery at zee, and earn your way back into academia’s good graces.
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Uh oh, on my yet unbanished alt, now I can only grab two London Street Signs with ‘The Feast of the World’. Previously it was four or five.
So a fast carousel cycle. Anything new mechanically.
Hmmm, sus! I take that we’ll get SIs on an alt/rare success.
Wonder if it’s here we’ll get that quality that locks Cricket’s card!
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This all sounds excellent!
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Hooray! Another use for The Rose Giveth Its Verses to Devils and Also to You, by making your students dance for their final exam. Reward was two queer souls
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Anything new I should know about the revamped University?
I hardly go there… unless you consider the Laboratory as part of the University. 
Play and find out for yourself, hey?
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.. I now played most of the new options and I really, really like them. it has been some time but I still remember feeling a bit sad after finishing the university storyline, because it felt like a lot was happening before and then suddenly all the academic activities simply disappeared. now the place is vibrant and alive again - even if I probably will not be repeating most of the carousels. still felt nice to let my character be lazy, drink tea and write complaints for a change ..
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I really, really love the new stories. There’s probably no mechanical reason to play most of them at the point I’m at, but they’re just charming!
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Mechanically this is clearly tuned for the levels you’re expected to complete the University, which is early POSI. That’s not actually the level many folks complete it at, which is one of the problems this is solving.
Definitely going to play through all of the stories at least once, because there’s some fun stuff in here. Gonna accuse every of theft! Mechanically I think the main reason I’ll return is to turn in scientific discovery notes, or if I happen to need a few points of Connected: Benthic for item conversions.
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May I know why ‘The Provost? The Provost…’ is no longer an option available? I know because I grind it from time to time to get a boost in Connected: Summerset, Hedonist and those wines.
Edit to add screenshot.
‘The Provost? The Provost…’ is now only available before getting kicked out of the University?
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I don’t want to spoil the story, but you kinda have to deal with the Provost when it comes to finishing the University. If you revealed that he was the “killer” then I’d imagine he’s gone and his replacement probably doesn’t want anything to do with you. If you didn’t, well I’m sure he knows that you know it was him.
Edit: Wish it was still there or at least had a similar replacement. As far as I know it was the only way to get Hedonist to 15 and not hurt Austere. Its one of the reasons I held off on finishing the University story until I could ensure I had the qualities to be named a scarlet saint.
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I already finished the story, the option was still around prior to the recent University revamp. I got banished, reinstated and never accused the Provost.
Is the removal of the option part of the revamp or a bug?
That is strange. If you finished the storyline, then the entire carousel should not have been accessible. That was the point of the revamp. To bring it back for those that had finished it.
Edit: Just checked the wiki. The World, devoured - Fallen London Wiki requires Featuring in the Tales of the University to be exactly 5. If you finished the story then this would be much higher than that.
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Also, you have to be prepared to hurt either Austere or Hedonist once you get Scandal 8 and exiled to the Tomb Colonies. Previously, I chose to sacrifice Hedonist since I knew it can be bumped up to 15 at the University.
Mine is: Featuring in the Tales of the University 40 - A Ruthless Pragmatist.
If I remembered correctly, I never betrayed the Provost, I got some poor chump to be the scapegoat.
Ugh, it’s been quite a while, memory is fading away, the effects of Irrigo are real.
Same for me. I have it at 40, but once the story was done there wasn’t really anything to do at the University except the Lab. Luke even said this in the OP
May time, the healer come to you soon
