Having Just played through the White Noise, I must say I am delightfully intrigued. Looking forward to when we Beta Testers Get access to Day 2!
Rio Seco, Butte County, California? I think it would be somewhere near Cottonwood road if I’m thinking right.
Could be…
Just finished playing through what there is to play through so far. I’m very impressed, intrigued, and fond of the writing style. I’ve been particularly fond of the fight on the train station and of talking to the governor’s aide. Worse is being eaten alive by gulls, worse is being crushed under the wheel… I’m certainly hoping we’ll see more of him in the future.
I have to ask, being new to this kind of game, how do I do a new playthrough? I’m curious to see what I missed. Sorry if this is addressed somewhere in the official forums or if there’s some obvious solution that slipped by me (making a new account, maybe?).
Howdy Advocate! Thanks for writing! I’m so glad you’re enjoying yourself. (And thanks for specifically mentioning the Governor’s Aide. We’ve had zero feedback about him so far, and he’s one of my favorite little pet projects. Please be assured he’ll reprise himself before things are through.)
Currently, there is no way to restart Zero Summer. We plan to add a way to restart in our upcoming patch. Expect to see it in the first or second week of December. Although we will say that at the very end of the game – which admittedly is awhile off – there will be a New Game+ option. You might consider waiting until things are played out to restart your playthrough.
(You might also consider creating a second account to try out different paths. It would just be a shame to retrace all your playtime so far!)
(Also, Advocate: I know it sounds salesmanish, but “Fifty Miles South of Lexington” – our first Nex-locked content – really does represent some of the best writing and most interesting plot in the game so far. I can’t recommend it highly enough. It really is something special, and if you have the means to access it, it will certainly help round out your experience of Zero Summer, especially as the plot’s muddy waters start to clear.)
I will be sure to look into it when I come into means, then. I wasn’t certain as to how much it has to do with the main plot, so the comment is appreciated.
I have just purchased Fifty Miles South of Lexington, and I seem to be unable to access any storylets. I am currently between days, if that matters. Is this a glitch, or will I be able to play through the content once Day 2 arrives?
WJP: thanks so much for investing in us! You’ve hit a bug. I think I’ve fixed it upstream, but I need more info to get you squared away. Can you see ANY storylets? What is your current value for Static? What Area does your banner say you’re in?
I can see two storylets currently, Absolom the Tinker, and The End of the World, my Static is at 6 and the banner shows that I am located Inside Sunrise House.
Ah ha! The old branch copy bug strikes again. That’s fixed upstream, and I’ve issued a card that should fix you right up. Please let me know if you have any other problems. Thanks for your patience – and thanks for playing!
DAY 2/MORNING DESIGN DIARY #4 – REPUTATION, JOBS
What Exactly Are We Talking About Here?
Jobs and Reputation are the big new mechanics coming in Day 2/Morning. Reputation is Zero Summer’s third and most important currency. With Dollars and Revolver Bullets you can buy gear – but with Reputation, you can buy plot. Want a room at the Richmond-Weisz? Curious about the Amateur Astrologer? How about another tarot reading with the Ashling? You can have them all – for enough Reputation, that is.
How Do I Get Reputation?
Easy! You can get Reputation two different ways:
As of the Day 2/Morning patch, all “grind card” successes will give you 1 Reputation. (Rare successes will give you 2.) This applies during Day 1, as well, but most Reputation rewards won’t be available until Day 2.
And once you hit Day 2, you can complete Jobs!
What Are These ‘Jobs’ You Speak Of?
Jobs are repeatable questicles you can play through once you’ve got your Pony Express rank, which you earn during Day 2/Morning’s main plot. Each Job is worth 50 Reputation (and takes ~30 Actions to play through). Most Jobs also have other rewards for completing them. Higher level Jobs are worth more Reputation and have better rewards. You can unlock higher level Jobs by raising your Pony Express rank.
When we launch Day 2/Morning, there will be four Jobs available: an intro Job and three repeatable rank 1 Jobs. Players can raise their Pony Express rank to 3, unlocking a new Job at each level. Additional Jobs and Pony Express ranks will be added between major patches.
Sounds Pretty Grindy! What’s the Thinking Behind Reputation and Jobs?
Our goal is to make the overwhelming majority of Zero Summer available to every one of our players. You shouldn’t have to buy a single point of Nex to get a fun, satisfying experience from Zero Summer. And you shouldn’t have to grind very hard to get it.
So why Reputation and Jobs?
A lot of players have asked for more stuff to do. Zero Summer is writing-intensive and heavy on unique content. That means we don’t have as much short, repeatable content as some other StoryNexus games. Jobs are designed to fill that gap. Without buying any Nex or playing a single Job, we want you to be able to play 80% of the game (and all the main events of the story!) But for our most dedicated players, we want to offer the remaining 20%. Not every player will want (for example) to sneak into the Richmond-Weisz for a few moments of frontier luxury, or discover where the Amateur Astrologer’s Hanged Man has gone. But some of you will. This is our way of going the extra mile – filling out the world of Zero Summer – and asking you to go the extra mile, too, and spend awhile longer with us.
Beyond that, we want to model the experience of working with the Pony Express. They’re the real heroes of Zero Summer: the men and women who hold the fabric of the United States together with their own bare hands. Rough and brave. Half-wild. Respected from Amarillo to New England. We think the Pony Express is a fantastic backdrop for telling Western stories – and human stories, too. What drives a person to leave behind the comforts of civilization to live in the dangerous inbetween? And what does the job require – what height of violence or depth of endurance? Those are the kinds of questions we think we can ask with Jobs. We might even find some answers.
Okay, That’s Swell, But What’s In It For Me?
We have a small sampling of Reputation rewards going live in next week’s Equippables patch. We have a much larger batch going live in the Day 2/Morning patch, and we’ll continue adding more as the game progresses.
Here are a few examples of what you’ll be able to do with Reputation starting with Day 2/Morning:
[ul][li]You can buy Dollars and Revolver Bullets, and convert Dollars into Revolver Bullets (or vice versa)
[/li][li]You can steal a few moments in a Richmond-Weisz hotel room, complete with in-room jacuzzi and Lovely Gift Baskets
[/li][li]You can advance plots as diverse as The Wounded Welkin (what’s up with the Amateur Astrologer?), A Truce With the Dusters (self-explanatory), and Recognition by the Governor (in which you curry political favor), with (many, many) more to be added on a rolling basis.
[/li][li]You can reduce or erase your Menaces
[/li][li]You can raise your Pony Express rank
[/li][li]You can sit down with the Ashling for another tarot reading
[/li][li]…and so much more![/li][/ul]
We’re very excited about this new system. And we think you will be, too.
The Equippables patch is going up today! We’ll be introducing a number of structural changes that set us up for the Day 2/Morning release, which will double the current size of Zero Summer.
At some point, the “Down For Maintenance” card will go up. Don’t worry – you won’t lose any progress. You simply won’t be able to access the rest of the game until we take it down.
More details to follow!
THE EQUIPPABLES PATCH IS NOW LIVE! It makes several important structural changes that will enable us to release all the good stuff we’re working on for Day 2/Morning.
Please see below for the patch notes. If you run into any bugs, please leave us a note here or post to our Facebook.
PATCH NOTES: EQUIPPABLES
General
- The Date Quality will now display both the actual date and the time of day. This will give us more granular control over when certain cards appear. (The Time of Day Quality will remain unchanged.)[/li][li]The Location Quality has been removed.[/li][li]Reputation is live! Reputation is a currency that can be used to purchase all sorts of things, including Dollars, Revolver Bullets, and plot branches. You can earn it by completing ‘grind’ cards and Jobs (note: Jobs will not be available until Day 2/Morning).[/li][li]All ‘grind’ cards, excluding the Skunk Brothers’ Farm, now award players 1 Reputation. Rare successes award players 2 Reputation and 1 Dollar. [/li][li]Players can now restart their characters. This option is available at The Guest Room at Burrow and Briar. NOTE THAT THIS IS PERMANENT – we can’t restore your character if you change your mind! This is temporarily available at the end of the current content.
Areas
- Two new Areas have been released: Downtown Amarillo, which is a general Area representing the nicer part of urban Amarillo, and the Pony Express, which can’t be accessed until Day 2/Morning.[/li][li]The Guest Room at Burrow and Briar is also available. It can be accessed through the Burrow and Briar Area. You can only equip and unequip items at The Guest Room at Burrow and Briar. This is also where you’ll find the Potter County Almanac, a usable item that will track your plot progress (available as of Day 2/Morning). This is also where you’ll find an option to retire your current character.
Items and Vendors
- Equippable items have been released! Most can be purchased from Shankman’s Outfitters at the Wall Market. A few can be found through questicles coming in Day 2/Morning.[/li][li]Several Reputation vendors have been released. The Amarillo Exchange Commission and the Bazaar, both at the Wall Market, have basic Reputation purchases available. Many, many more will become available during and after the Day 2/Morning patch.[/li][li]Items can only be equipped and unequipped through The Guest Room at Burrow and Briar.
Just wanted to say that the more I play Zero Summer, the more I love it.
Currently trying to lower my White Noise while learning as much as I can from my surroundings… I won’t say more…
I’m so glad you’re enjoying Zero Summer! By design, it unfolds as it goes along – so I’m not surprised you’re liking it more as you go along. :)
Have you tried Fifty Miles South of Lexington yet? It really is some of the best work we’ve done so far, and it illuminates a part of the story that we’re excited to tell.
And of course we have new content coming around the first of the year – so stay tuned! Thanks for playing!
Yes I played through Fifty Miles South of Lexington, and I must say that it was one of the peaks of the experience so far. It’s different from the rest, yet very organic to the Zero Summer universe.
Great job, really!
Well thanks very much! We love having such swell players.
Day 2/Morning is now live for closed beta testers!
Just logged in after the new release, and my Ministry of Black Powder quality was reset to 0, and the whole storyline started from scratch.
Everything else is the same as it was before, including qualities gained in day1/evening.
My time of day is evening, but my date is May 21 morning