FoTZ was my very first festival - I started right after Jenny was elected mayor. At that level it was absolutely great. I got to explore lots of options, I had fun journaling all the different catches. Even the non-unique items were great, because for an early-game player there were no other sources of them. The menaces weren’t so much trouble because you could just reduce them with the next catch, no matter how meagre. And I got to raise some of the quirks very fast.
Perhaps it’s just not meant for more advanced players. I still like it, for sentimental and RP reasons. It’s relaxing, like real fishing - go out to the zee, hang out in the boat, then say hello to Curate (regards to his sister), dance with the drownies for old times’ sake. I’ve missed the last year, so I got the unique items this time, and paid Fate for the collar - mithridacy bonus and RP shiny.
My alt, on the other hand, is still battling the zee and the RNG for the Mary Lloyd and the wimple. She’s low-mid game - quirks too high to get low values easily, bad luck with high ones. And the text isn’t new to me anymore, ho-hum. That certainly isn’t much fun.
I agree that it would be more fun if the Parlor of Virtue had more content. Making more stories, even if not all of them give high rewards would be nice. Now I’m left to forever wonder what would happen with the ones I didn’t try. edited by Tozh Taurog on 8/25/2021
You know what? I am feeling very well disposed to this game despite the frustration of the Mari Lwyd.
I’ve been playing Hero Wars on facebook, which is a sort of resource management fantasy thingo. Level up your choice of many heroes via several different means, have them do battle. Trouble is, it’s pay to win. Well,OK, I’ve been paying a little to have fun and feeling it was worthwhile. But their naked money grubbing is getting worse and worse.
So here’s a glass of Broken Giant raised to Failbetter for all the reasons.
Making the game great even for cash-strapped people.
THANKING us when we buy or spend fate.This is so nice!
Making fate affordable and spendable in small quantities.
[quote=Bluestocking]
So here’s a glass of Broken Giant raised to Failbetter for all the reasons.
Making the game great even for cash-strapped people.
THANKING us when we buy or spend fate.This is so nice!
Making fate affordable and spendable in small quantities.
Cheers, all![/quote]
Agreed. Actually, I played the game for a long time without buying Fate, and it were these very facts that eventually motivated me into Exceptional Friendship and semi-regular Fate purchases. Basically, since FBG never stooped to asking, I deemed them worthy of supporting financially (somewhat substantially over the years). That, and the fact that the game keeps providing us with delightful, literature-quality writing and worldbuilding on top of everything else…
Cheers!
Same for me, I played for about 6 years before ever purchasing any Fate, and that helped build both the attachment to the game and the sense of appreciation of FBG’s marvelous creation to make me want to put a little money into the game whenever I have some spare. If there had been more pressure on the player to make purchases to fully enjoy the game, I would have stopped playing pretty early on, like I do with most free-to-play games (though honestly, Fallen London’s free elements are so generous that it hardly belongs in the same category as other ftp games). Every year I’m more and more impressed with Failbetter!
I have it! I thought I’d give it one last go,and finally got my Mari Lwyd. I can be SO dreaded! And then I went round the Mutton Island carousel and learned more about Mrs Plenty and attended a feast.
I hope the devs read the last few appreciation posts. We’ve done a lot of whinging about the mechanics and the RNG in here, and sure, sometimes the small picture stuff isn’t ideal. But this is such an amazing game; they deserve all the kudos.
I like to pay a little, because as an ex-programmer I know that work and resources aren’t free. I would gladly pay a lot, but I am disabled and low income.
Oh yes I love the writing, enjoy the festivals, and as a Queer woman being able to play a Queer woman and seeing Queer relationships in the text commonly not just subtext, I am very happy to support the company.
[quote=Bluestocking]
So here’s a glass of Broken Giant raised to Failbetter for all the reasons.
Making the game great even for cash-strapped people.
THANKING us when we buy or spend fate.This is so nice!
Making fate affordable and spendable in small quantities.
Cheers, all![/quote]
Hear, hear, hear!
Delighted to pay when I can for FL. Pointedly don’t on greedier games.
Hats off to the Devs!
BTW, I think they might benevolently meddle with RNG when you get desperate enough. I spent all my Stormy Eyed months ago to get the Urchins Thunderbolt (and other goodies) in the Mind. And I’ve just now reached the point in Nemesis where you ought to go to the Mind (without getting the card to start acquiring it again in all the intervening months, despite having 28 What the Thunder Said). >:( After some frustrated Wiki-raiding to see if I’d missed a lockout condition, I hopped back in game…and IMMEDIATELY drew the card, and got Stormy-Eyed 7!
Long life to the Devs!
Painful death to the Masters! edited by Vorwoda Hawksby on 9/2/2021
Hmmm, I remember during the event you would go back to London to submit the couple pairings you had made on Mutton Island. What is the follow-up of that storylet or quest? Any rewards?
Yes, you get a 62.5-echo item for each completed romance (plus a 12.5-echo bonus if it was maximally good or bad). It’s just a turn-in storylet, not an extended quest.
[quote=Plynkes]So you got a bit of a better return for your troubles from either going with very good or (like Lady Gaga) very bad romances.[/quote]Well. Your overall reward was increased, but in terms of EPA your return was actually subtantially worse. They really could have thought that one through better.
Oh, I didn’t even realise. EPA is something that I never consider, I’m afraid. When I see discussions about it on the forum my eyes glaze over and I find another topic to read. It would kill my immersion and enjoyment of the game to reduce it to what is mathematically most efficient, so I don’t even think about it.
