I think Whirring contraptions have been confused with collections of curiosities, which are what you can trade with the tomb colonists. The main benefit of having a whirring contraption is that they are a pain to get otherwise.
I know Collections of Curiosities can be traded to the Tomb Colonists on their card but I donāt remember seeing an option that uses Contraptions.
As far as I know Whirring Contraptions are used to start the presses if you have a Newspaper; crafting a Zubmarine or to play a certain fate-locked option on the Decommissioned Steamer card.
[quote=lady ciel ]I know Collections of Curiosities can be traded to the Tomb Colonists on their card but I donāt remember seeing an option that uses Contraptions.
As far as I know Whirring Contraptions are used to start the presses if you have a Newspaper; crafting a Zubmarine or to play a certain fate-locked option on the Decommissioned Steamer card.[/quote]
Dāoh! Sorry guys - brain not work good.
Yeah, contraptions have a higher action cost than CoCs, but are less generally useful. Apologies.
I enjoyed this story, but it seems to peter out abruptly at the end. I got a Whirring Contraption for my choice, was honest rather than lying to the Severe Bluejacket, and then the story just ā¦ stopped, without anything that felt like an ending. I feel like some kind of āokay, thatās the end for now!ā text would have been useful, because I was honestly left wondering if there was somewhere else I was supposed to go for the next storylet.
(Also ā¦ one Whirring Contraption, seriously? For a story that took two days to play? I donāt expect Exceptional Stories to be super lucrative, but thatās just painful.)
I donāt remember anything implying that a story, even ES, a festival or anything else will have a great reward (hundreds and hundreds of E) at the end. I find a contraption enough rewarding as FL isnāt pay to win.
Pity to see that the reward is more important than a story! There are enough (repeatable) Fate options which have a big EPA. So thereās always an option!
Letās enjoy the stories and worry less about Echoes!
edited by Skinnyman on 8/26/2016
I donāt think anyoneās said that. I donāt play Exceptional Stories for the Echoes ā I play them for the writing, and I enjoyed this one. But itās still a little painful to feel penalized for choosing to pay for the Exceptional Stories by spending many, many actions for essentially no concrete reward. It means that in addition to the cost in real money, thereās a big opportunity cost in Echoes lost by choosing to play these stories when they donāt pay out anywhere near the EPA I could expect from normal play. Iām willing to do it for new content, and I like the content of this story, but spending that many actions on something with such a tiny EPA return is still frustrating.
Yeah, thatās the other thing I found frustrating. Itās one thing to spend actions experiencing new content with a tiny EPA return. Itās another thing to have to slog through grinds with nothing new to read and still not be earning any meaningful EPA. Iād feel a lot better if it had been possible to just burn through the new content without spending so many actions on repetitive grinds, or ā if the grind on the lifeberg was necessary for pacing and atmosphere ā if the story paid out commensurate to the actions spent.
I wonder, though, if one of the problems here is balancing the story for both new and late-game players? I couldnāt fail any of the stat checks on the lifeberg, so there wasnāt any element of balancing risk against how long to stay, just a frustrating grind to see each new section of the story. At the same time, playing the regular storylets in the game has a regular return of >1 EPA for me, and I donāt have much to do in the regular game right now but grind Echoes for an Ubergoat, so getting hit with "okay, you spent a huge number of actions on this, hereās your 6 Echo item" was painful. A starting player whoās used to a tiny EPA, whoās struggling to pass the stat checks and racking up Terror in the process, and whose game isnāt mostly focused on grinding for expensive items might have a very different experience.
On the other hand, I donāt get why thereās a big difference in rewards for the different choices in this story. That wasnāt signaled anywhere, and Iām not sure it particularly makes sense that the option I chose would be less lucrative than the other two. Oh, well.
Yeah, thatās the other thing I found frustrating. Itās one thing to spend actions experiencing new content with a tiny EPA return. Itās another thing to have to slog through grinds with nothing new to read and still not be earning any meaningful EPA. Iād feel a lot better if it had been possible to just burn through the new content without spending so many actions on repetitive grinds, or ā if the grind on the lifeberg was necessary for pacing and atmosphere ā if the story paid out commensurate to the actions spent.
I wonder, though, if one of the problems here is balancing the story for both new and late-game players? I couldnāt fail any of the stat checks on the lifeberg, so there wasnāt any element of balancing risk against how long to stay, just a frustrating grind to see each new section of the story. At the same time, playing the regular storylets in the game has a regular return of >1 EPA for me, and I donāt have much to do in the regular game right now but grind Echoes for an Ubergoat, so getting hit with "okay, you spent a huge number of actions on this, hereās your 6 Echo item" was painful. A starting player whoās used to a tiny EPA, whoās struggling to pass the stat checks and racking up Terror in the process, and whose game isnāt mostly focused on grinding for expensive items might have a very different experience.
On the other hand, I donāt get why thereās a big difference in rewards for the different choices in this story. That wasnāt signaled anywhere, and Iām not sure it particularly makes sense that the option I chose would be less lucrative than the other two. Oh, well.[/quote]
In addition, most Fate stories end up rewarding you with a 62.5 item, like a Night-Whisper or a Searing Enigma, so this particular ES having a 10 times smaller reward is extremely strange.
Am I the only one who didnāt mind the slog through the Lifeberg? Thematically it made sense and it added to the atmosphere. Youāre supposed to hate being on this near-corpse of a beast, itās supposed to be a pain to move around on it. It drains the life of your crew and I think it was an apt way to ādrainā the player metaphorically and literally.
I also didnāt mind the lack of a proper reward (Whirring Contraption earned here). Thatās what makes your decisions have weight. I chose my option because it fit my character, not because I wanted more Echoes towards my Heptagoat. Thatās what the Fidgeting Writer is for.
This has been my favourite Exceptional Story since Flint. A lot of them have been fairly forgettable for me, like the one where you bombed the embassy. I couldnāt even remember the name of it or the unique item from said story.
The Severe Bluejacket is a great character, and I felt that my actions are gonna have true emotional resonance over this season.
Edit: totally agree with you Blaine!
edited by Dean Lee on 8/26/2016
Also, hate to turn to mechanical questions, but anyone know what telling him his son is alive and showing a fake corpse gives in seeing to his affairs? Iām rather worried about this old man.
I love the idea of the bonus for the season (3 EF stories) that comes BEFORE the stories and unlocks bit by bit.
Excellent!
Other than that, I have no comments on the story yet, since did not start it. But the intro sounds very exciting. Looking forward to this story, and to this season at that.
Another question, for the players. Quirks is important for me. Can someone tell me, please (PM or here with spoiler) which quirks is LOWERED when choosing the second option, at the introduction storylet: āStudy the gory detailsā (blood stain picture)? Thank you!
Any unique items or cards to be gained?
Nothing unique yet, apart from some leftover qualities and the quality you get upon finishing - Putting the Bluejacketās Affairs in order - which I suspect will have something to do with the end-of-season cash-in.
[quote=Blaine Davidson]Am I the only one who didnāt mind the slog through the Lifeberg? Thematically it made sense and it added to the atmosphere. Youāre supposed to hate being on this near-corpse of a beast, itās supposed to be a pain to move around on it. It drains the life of your crew and I think it was an apt way to "drain" the player metaphorically and literally.
I also didnāt mind the lack of a proper reward (Whirring Contraption earned here). Thatās what makes your decisions have weight. I chose my option because it fit my character, not because I wanted more Echoes towards my Heptagoat. Thatās what the Fidgeting Writer is for.
This has been my favourite Exceptional Story since Flint. A lot of them have been fairly forgettable for me, like the one where you bombed the embassy. I couldnāt even remember the name of it or the unique item from said story.[/quote]
There was a unique item from that? As in an actual bit of equipment?
There was a unique item from that? As in an actual bit of equipment?[/quote]
I suspect this person was talking about the Account of Hellās Triremes (probably not exactly the name of item, but close enough) that is the unique reward from the Embassy ES which will - hopefully soon - along with 2 other items grant access to last seasonās cash-in story.
Right then. Then all I need to do is figure out what do with the body that best suits my characterā¦
The reward is shockingly small, but considering the way to get that is the "cop out" option, where nobody dies, I guess it makes sense. Itās certainly a disappointing reward and I canāt help but wonder if an opportunity card will appear. Being that my luck with post-ES cards appearing is abysmal thoughā¦
That aside I enjoyed it. A lot of mechanical filler that couldāve been cut down though. I like the journey up the lifeberg, just not making it several times. I liked cases being used again, but getting the progress up like 4 times or so was tedious.
Iām interested in how this links to the Admiralty in Sunless Sea and their goals. The stuff at the Horizon was not at all what I expected but certainly welcome. Loved the mechanics of keeping promises to the crew. Found the last choices were hard, but mostly because I felt like we were lacking info. Couldnāt even say what Iād want to know more on, as it certainly hints well enough at plenty. Just it felt weird, like their should be more for that choice.
EDIT: I canāt help but wonder, if at the end I chose differently, if I had a body for the coffin, would there be another smen option?
edited by Cthonius on 8/26/2016
also, I ran into an option when the airs of the lifeberg are at least 90 that is a luck based option for the survivor climbing their way down. It looks like something that would be worth going after, but I just want to make sure.
That and ask what Iām giving up for those promises? Iāve got about 12 to 14 of them.
Itās nothing exciting. Progress and Terror on success, more terror on a failure. Promises can be kept or broken later on. Unsurprisingly, keeping them costs you somewhat, while breaking them is very mean indeed.