Suggestion: Clarify Requirements vs Costs

Sunless Sea
1

I apologize in advance if this is already well known or being fixed, but I’m posting anyway because it’s the weekend and I’ve got important things to put off until the last minute.

Numerous choices have icons below them that inform you about what conditions must be met before that choice is available. However, the interface does not make it clear about what consequences will result from that choice, regarding those prerequisites. For example, at the London Drydocks, there are numerous options for ship repair, &quotUnlocked with X echoes (you have Y)&quot. If you have that much and select that choice, that amount is deducted from your funds. That is fairly easy to understand.

The problem, in this case, is with the Admiralty Yards option. Looking at the requirements, &quotUnlocked with 5 Admiralty’s Favour (you have #)&quot the player would understand that choosing this option will take away 5 of their Favour and the required echoes. Yet, this does not happen, as seen in these screenshots:

Before: http://cloud-4.steampowered.com/ugc/37468945553999488/521166EF50D856714042D5B3BEB4413BE3624867/

Selection: http://cloud-2.steampowered.com/ugc/37468945554003328/8710A6BF474E0ED3AC30EC6F666A43B0F08C8588/

After: http://cloud-4.steampowered.com/ugc/37468945554249007/AF52D4694B883C4943695ED51B77494779BCB0C3/

Other instances of requirement-to-cost disconnect exist: The option to &quotSpeak to a Higher Authority&quot in the Admiralty has a prerequisite that does not cost anything.

Screenie: http://cloud-2.steampowered.com/ugc/37468945554321105/3785ED2D9EF79B417EB4FE35D5D30EAEAE61825C/

2

Think of it as a depositum, kind of thing. You need the quality to access the action, but the action doesn’t necessarily use up the quality.

You need to be a friend to the Admirality to use the option, but why should you no longer be his friend after having used it?

3

The problem is that the game does not tell players when a choice is going to cost them the required amount, a lesser amount, or nothing at all. They’re indistinguishable.
edited by Roumba on 7/7/2014

4

[quote=Aximillio]You need to be a friend to the Admirality to use the option, but why should you no longer be his friend after having used it?[/quote]Because in Fallen London we usually lose Connected to: Faction when it’s a required quality? It’s a bit inconsistent, which is why I have come to rely on the wiki rather than bravely clicking on new storylets. I find that games are more fun when I know what’s at stake, so I can make informed decisions.

But if Admiralty’s Favour or any other kind of friendship is never reduced without a special metagame warning, I guess that could be consistent enough for me. I have, after all, gotten a pretty good feel for which qualities are likely to be consumed in Fallen London.