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A game of survival, trade and exploration in the universe of Fallen London

Can't take this game anymore

Pangalactic Posts: 2 3/30/2015	I'm done with it. Here's the thing: the writing in this game is awesome, the setting is brilliant, the quests - tremendously enjoyable, the world is absolutely thrilling to explore... and I get 10% of my time doing all this. What's the other 90%? Just sitting and waiting till my ship gets somewhere. At a ludicrously low speed. This game is in a desperate need of either: a) fast travel to known locations - let it even subtract fuel and supplies based on the distance or b) +1000% to the movement speed. I just can't force myself to sail all the way from Wither to Port Carnelian to complete a quest. Seriously, sitting for 10 minutes doing absolutely nothing while the boat drags there to have a minute of awesome questing to spend another 10 pointless minutes getting somewhere else is too much.
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Diptych Administrator Posts: 3493 5/6/2015	There's no need to fight about it; people are allowed not to like the game. The Blind Bruiser is unequivocally a twitchy, dangerous, entirely unreasonable murderer, but it might still come as a surprise just how twitchy, dangerous and unreasonable he is, the first time he murders you. Either you enjoy that sort of gameplay or you don't, but we can still be polite and courteous about it when we're chatting here! -- Sir Frederick, the Libertarian Esotericist. Lord Hubris, the Bloody Baron. Juniper Brown, the Ill-Fated Orphan. Esther Ellis-Hall, the Fashionable Fabian.
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Estelle Knoht Posts: 1751 3/30/2015	If you really don't like the sailing bit and really want the story, you can always try editing the game file to up the base ship speed. There is a Steam guide to it. -- Estelle Knoht, a juvenile, unreliable and respectable lady. I currently do not accept any catbox, cider, suppers, calling cards or proteges.
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Levgre Posts: 10 4/1/2015	The pace is good for the size of the map. I think the best way to undo the monotony would be to have more active ways for the player to actively sail. For example you can save a little fuel by toggling lights off in lighted zones when your terror circle is empty, but turning them back on when it fills part way so you recover. Here's a few ideas for brainstorming Shifting currents you can watch for, which either increase speed or decrease fuel usage. Mini-map on main screen, so you don't have to go in the world map to set the most direct sailing trajectory to your destination (or even unobtrusive markers on the edges of the screen indicating the exact direction to tagged islands). Some sort of fishing mechanism, you choose baits and deploy them while you sail, perhaps add an active component where after they bite you have to struggle against it or draw it into shallower waters.
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zanraptora Posts: 2 4/1/2015	Part of that is a differing strategy; I would never go from Wither to Carnelian on a whim; that's too expensive and far too little profit, even if it finishes a storylet. You should consider how you run expeditions and you end up picking up far more resources and tidbits since you're jumping port to port. You're a Zailor, not a taxi.
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Estelle Knoht Posts: 1751 3/31/2015	Rupho Schartenhauer wrote: With the Fulgent Impeller, you cannot seriously say that Zailing is slow... Perhaps. But these who quit out of frustration or impatience probably would have quit long before they get the Impeller - after all the Impeller takes far more work than any other engine. -- Estelle Knoht, a juvenile, unreliable and respectable lady. I currently do not accept any catbox, cider, suppers, calling cards or proteges.
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phryne Posts: 1347 4/7/2015	Hi, just my two cents here: I definitely agree that the current zailing speed is fine. I wouldn't want it to go any faster! more interaction while zailing would certainly be a nice feature - and by that I mostly mean interaction with other ships. Some suggestions for the latter: What if you could, when you have a Dreadnought and the most terrible weapons, just scare pirates into giving you all their cargo (and maybe 1-2 crew members) without having to fire a single shot? (I'm only talking about the "normal" pirates here, not the Unfinished or Faustic Corsairs) If you've built up strong connections with the Dawn Machine or the Khanate, shouldn't their ships stop attacking you? I recently got almost sunk by a Khanate Warship, just after helping them to domination over Port Carnelian! How about implementing Flags as an item, that have to be earned by building up connections? So that you basically "Raise the Khanate Flag" when you see one of their ships - just remember to take it down before you return to London! (Or you could take it to another level and give captains the opportunity to REALLY sever all their connections with London, and make the Grand Geode or the Khanate their new home port.) With the civilian ships, I'd like to be able to swap things with them, e.g. Fuel for Supplies, or 5 zailors for an Officer I don't really need, or Zee-Ztories for Tales of Terror... or maybe they could even help me out with repairs -- and to prevent this from becoming too exploitable, sometimes it could be the other way round, i.e. they would approach you for help with things, and if you always refuse you get a bad reputation among other Captains and nobody's going to help you out when you're in a tight spot. -- Accounts: Bag a Legend • Light Fingers • Heart's Desire • Nemesis • no ambition Exceptional Stories, sorted by Season and by writer ― Favours & Renown Guide
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SouthSea Rutherby Posts: 224 4/7/2015	phryne wrote: If you've built up strong connections with the Dawn Machine or the Khanate, shouldn't their ships stop attacking you? I recently got almost sunk by a Khanate Warship, just after helping them to domination over Port Carnelian! I've had this happen, too, and I agree that there should be some way to make a certain faction's ships "friendly" unless fired on, sort of the same way civilian ships work. I don't know that revamping the whole system is ever going to be necessary, but this little change would help. -- Now the proud captain of Mr. Eaten's Revenge
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Nenjin Posts: 171 4/1/2015	I can't really sympathize with this complaint. In my Frigate with Serpentine, my ship already feels like a speed boat compared to earlier versions of the game. Every time I fire it up, I can't believe how tightly it turns, or how it seems to eat up trips in seconds. Put another way, I can't imagine the game going any faster. Then they really would look like speed boats.* I'm one of those people who has never had a problem with the sedate pace of SS. edited by Nenjin on 4/1/2015*
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lady ciel Posts: 2548 4/1/2015	The pace works for me as well. Also Alexis has said in interviews that making ship speed faster would affect the mood and atmosphere of the game. I agree with him; that feeling of loneliness and the relief at spotting land can be powerful. Also the map is more crowded than when I first started playing in early beta - then there were long journeys between ports and terror clicked up faster. -- ciel Sorry RL means I am not a very active player at the moment. No social actions unless you are prepared to wait and definitely no sparring or other mult-action things. No Calling Cards or boxed cats please. Will take dupes on the affluent photographers. Other social invitations welcome. Parabolan Kittens usually available, send me an in-game social action saying you want one and I will get one to you as soon as possible. storynexus name - reveurciel
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Reshemin Posts: 226 5/6/2015	Huh, I did not feel like being impolite, and do not really think I was (well, paradigms differ). The major point I'm about is that they seem to be complaining about the murderer (I beg to differ on the 'unreasonable' part. In fact, he seems to be more reasonable for his ilk than is the norm ) reacting in just the very way he already has told them, in no unclear words or terms as far as I'm concerned, how he would react. And I will gladly admit I do have a problem of understanding with that type of complaint. Be that in a computer game, in a mall, or on the moon.
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Alessandre Posts: 7 4/9/2015	Nanako wrote: Journeys do not need to be sped up. They just need to be filled with more things to do Journeys could be better if more of these officers talking event appear. I don't think I want journeys to be more complicated, however - letting us spend more time on island would add to the satisfaction of actually reaching land. This is my biggest problem with the game - if what I gather is the main idea is that the sea is lonely and scary, and land is safe(r) and less lonely, then the lack of content on most islands really kicks me off. I spend so much time sailing to get to a place to get to do two things there, and see all these glittering locked content things that aren't gonna be open until I'm not a beginner in the game (which seems like I'm never NOT going to be). So for a beginner, and for the interesting-ness of the game I feel let down sometimes. Not to say that I don't love the game, but I only play every once in a while to keep from getting bored (and I know content is a thing that happens over time and you can't release it all at once etc etc). The other thing that really helped me enjoy the game more was fixing the stuttering bug - because it would take 30 minutes and 5 tanks of fuel to turn into Whither sometimes and that was super frustrating.
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peppep25 Posts: 15 5/5/2015	DeserterKalak wrote: I just lost the first save where I was actually doing okay, because the blind bruiser murdered me after I came back to London without a crate of souls. The thing is, the damn game doesn't make it clear there's a time limit. In a previous game I went back to London carrying a crate of souls, got them confiscated by customs, and the blind bruiser kills me, fair enough. But there's zero indication that the blind bruiser is going to murder you if you stop in London to refuel before you've even COLLECTED THE DAMN DELIVERY or even found out where the hell you need to pick it up from, so to die that way- because the game doesn't provide you with the basic information about what's being expected, like "when do I need to have this done by" isn't the second or third question you ask- that feels like shitty programming rather than the game being "unforgiving" or anything. Actually the game states quite clearly that the blind bruiser may be upset if you come back to London without his delivery. -- http://fallenlondon.storynexus.com/Profile/peppep25
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Ruttiger Posts: 4 4/30/2015	I agree partially with this sentiment. I like the game, a lot, but I find it's such a huge investment of hours that I"m wary of sitting down and playing it, and yes, it's because there's so much dead time in it. I can grind through another 15 ports for a voyage but that's what, two hours if I'm making sure I get all the "somethings waiting" adventures. That said, it definitely sets the mood, being in a vast dark ocean with your lifeline ticking down to zero is what makes the game sunless sea. I think the solution has already been mentioned: add more things to do. More ports, more encounters at sea, more to do in general.
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Gerald Edgerton Posts: 127 7/7/2015	Without quoting any one commenter (there were many great ones), I could disagree more with that the ships are too slow. I definitely felt that way with the engine you start with, but I found that "best deck gun for sale in London" and "fastest engine for sale in London" were easily the highest-return investments on my earliest funds. Enhancing available cargo space or hull strength is a MUCH more expensive and nuanced investment, and upgrading my ship initially created some problems with resource management - quite reasonably, however. Buying an engine designed by a Master (but equipping said engine to your starter ship) resulted in a screamingly fast ride, and the ability to make a quick run to Whither or the Carnelian Coast in a couple minutes. I agree that if OP is trying to get from one to the other and do nothing in between, that he's trying to grind a deliberately slow storylet. Maybe's Daughter is searching the ENTIRE unterzee for her mother, and eventually confronts even greater danger in search of fulfillment. Your little quest is a major chapter in what could be considered her Ambition. Best to go about your business, collect port reports, ply your trades and work her stops into your schedule. Carnelian Coast from a stop at Mangrove Colelge? No big deal. Whither if you're already westbound from Mt Palmerston? Just a couple minutes and maybe a single tank of fuel out of your way. On the topic of message board etiquette, tone is very difficult to discern in this format. OP was expressing frustration, which can be difficult to do respectfully but compellingly. And their approach to the game isn't that weird - it's just not how THIS game happens to work. They would be similarly unhappy if they were trying to "grind" their Ambition, which tends to require vast travel, amassing of wealth for barter, the building of ship capable of killing powerful zee-creatures, and some serious stat checks. Not exactly straightforward, and the pursuit of any one of those aspects can feel like a lengthy quest unto itself. What I'd like to point out about the Blind Bruiser is that he pays VERY well compared to your earliest options, but not that well compared to what else you can do (on either side of the law) once you have routes figured out that cover the whole map and are properly equipped. If you're dealing with the Bruiser, your character is probably not wealthy, and everything about the character is menacing. If you saw a warning that said "this character is secretly insane and 2.5% likely to murder you every time you speak to him, people probably would avoid him unless they were pretty desperate. Instead, he just warns you that he won't accept excuses or delays. I will usually take a few jobs from him with a new bloodline, but refuse his help if I have even a few thousand echoes in seed money. I don't mind breaking the law, but I value my life too highly to deal with him.
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Emain Ablach Posts: 348 3/30/2015	I feel exactly the same, and that's why I stopped playing Sunless Sea some months ago. Too much sailing... if it was interesting to sail, it would be ok, but I find it just really boring and repetitive. :/ Thanks Estelle for the tip about editing the game file ! -- Went NORTH. Got salted. Never came back. We won't remember him. https://www.fallenlondon.com/profile/Emain%20Ablach
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lady ciel Posts: 2548 4/7/2015	South-Sea Rutherby wrote: phryne wrote: If you've built up strong connections with the Dawn Machine or the Khanate, shouldn't their ships stop attacking you? I recently got almost sunk by a Khanate Warship, just after helping them to domination over Port Carnelian! I've had this happen, too, and I agree that there should be some way to make a certain faction's ships "friendly" unless fired on, sort of the same way civilian ships work. I don't know that revamping the whole system is ever going to be necessary, but this little change would help. That is one of the things I didn't like when combat changed - before you could show an item to a Khanate vessel and they would leave you alone. -- ciel Sorry RL means I am not a very active player at the moment. No social actions unless you are prepared to wait and definitely no sparring or other mult-action things. No Calling Cards or boxed cats please. Will take dupes on the affluent photographers. Other social invitations welcome. Parabolan Kittens usually available, send me an in-game social action saying you want one and I will get one to you as soon as possible. storynexus name - reveurciel
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Ginneon Thursday Posts: 265 4/7/2015	Along the lines of "a lot of time spent zailing," even with the fastest engine I do find myself visiting a cluster of ports and then treading water for a long while to trigger "Something Awaits You" before I dock. I understand the delay keeps you from spamming events in one place, but something about jogging back and forth in front of a new port for a while feels silly. Perhaps after visiting London, each time you arrive at a new port for the first time that trip it could auto-trigger SAY. Once you've visited a port once though SAY could function as normal, and the auto-trigger won't happen again until you've returned to Fallen London. edited by Ginneon Thursday on 4/7/2015 -- Ginneon Thursday: Revelrous Professor of Benthic Departments of Mycoenology, Lepidoptery
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WormApotheote Posts: 725 4/7/2015	Ginneon Thursday wrote: Along the lines of "a lot of time spent zailing," even with the fastest engine I do find myself visiting a cluster of ports and then treading water for a long while to trigger "Something Awaits You" before I dock. I understand the delay keeps you from spamming events in one place, but something about jogging back and forth in front of a new port for a while feels silly. Perhaps after visiting London, each time you arrive at a new port for the first time that trip it could auto-trigger SAY. Once you've visited a port once though SAY could function as normal, and the auto-trigger won't happen again until you've returned to Fallen London. edited by Ginneon Thursday on 4/7/2015 I just modded the SAY interval down to 30 seconds because just sitting in the harbour waiting for it to tick gets even more boring then your thirtieth trip from London to venderbight -- No, I don't pull the Eater of Names.
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Rupho Schartenhauer Posts: 787 4/2/2015	Exactly what zanraptora said: You need to plan your journeys better. If I played your way I'd get bored too. For example: you're in London. You get a commission from the Admiralty to visit their contact in Whither. You'll also want to establish another spy for your network in Port Carnelian. And you're looking for Maybe's mother along the way. Let's say on your map there's (among others) Frostfound, the Salt Lions, Gaider's Mourn & the Mangrove College somewhere roughly north-south in between these two ports. So here's what you could do: a) load only minimum fuel to reach the Iron Republic and minimum supplies to reach Carnelian b) load 10-15 candles c) zail south to Iron Republic, refuel big-time, pick up port report, play whatever storylet is there. zail on to Mangrove College d) pick up port report (gives a few supplies), explore the Wisp-Ways with your candles. Pick up a passenger, if you're lucky she's for Gaider's Mourn e) go to Carnelian. Port report, establish your spy, look for Maybe's mother. Maybe you can do something else for your network directly. Resupply big-time f) IF you have an empty mirrorcatch box, also buy coffee in Carnelian. Go to the Surface, pick up sunlight, look for Maybe's mother in Naples, sell your coffee in Vienna. Maybe go back to the Iron Republic to refuel g) if you don't have the mirrorcatch box, just go directly to Gaider's Mourn, maybe drop off the Shady Sort. Sell your sunlight here if you don't have the Blind Bruiser contact in London h) if you didn't refuel at the Iron Republic, you'll need to quick-stop in London now. Sell your sunlight to the Blind Bruiser i) go up to the Salt Lions, even if you've finished that storyline. picking over the encampment is often profitable j) up north for a stop-over at Frostfound. you should ALWAYS stop-over there when you're in the region k) to Whither l) back home to London, maybe with stops at Venderbight and/or Hunter's Keep m) deliver your information to the Admiralty and pick up their new commission. if you haven't found Maybe's mother yet, plan your next journey along the remaining ports of that quest. One of them's the Isle of Cats, if you haven't sold your sunlight yet take it there. This is only a rough example, and already there are multiple ways to play it. I didn't even take into account the Merchant Venturer or any storylines you might be following for your other officers. I usually play 4-5 quests simultaneously, not one after the other. And I never zail past more than 2-3 ports on my way somewhere without stopping. Firstly, because it keeps Terror in check, secondly because of the port reports, and thirdly because you'll never know what profitable rare storylet might be waiting for you just now (for example the chance to catch a Harlot-Fry on Mutton Island)! edited by Rupho Schartenhauer on 4/14/2015 -- Rupho Schartenhauer has killed a Master, well: most of it. Cortez the Killer has killed a Master, definitely. Deepdelver has become the progenitor of London's brightest star. It's... complicated. Dr. Kvirkvelia, gone NORTH on 23/12/1894.
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Master Polarimini Posts: 310 4/3/2015	I have no problems with the speed either. But I never make a long travel in one stretch, I always stop at the ports I meet on the way, so the interval I'm sailing continuously is never too long. But I agree that I would like to see more random events or, in general, interaction, during travels. -- Devices workshop opening soon... Follow my story at http://www.fallenlondon.com/Profile/Master~Polarimini
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EnglishInfidel Posts: 20 4/5/2015	The speed is the speed for a reason. And I personally think it works. Alexis Kennedy wrote: Ship speed is a good example. Sunless Sea is a stately game. You could reasonably call it a slow game. But we’ve resisted speeding up the ship, because it would reduce the tension, the sense of space and distance, and the menace of the dark. I think it’s quite possible that if the ship was 50% faster, the game would be more fun and less grindy - but I also think there’s an invisible line we’d cross, somewhere before that 50%, where the atmosphere was diminished without anyone quite knowing why. If we hadn’t had that iron creative focus from the beginning, I don’t think we’d have held our nerve, and Sunless Sea would have ended up a zippier, slighter experience. Taken from http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/237657/Postmortem_Failbetter_Games_Sunless_Sea.php
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Lashkar Posts: 109 4/5/2015	I partly agree with both sides...I do get bored sailing (even with a complex itinerary planned out) to the point where I read books or do my nails during long empty stretches. But I also agree that having the base ship speed faster would kill the atmosphere. More civilian ships and low-level beasties to kill would be nice. The currents idea is brilliant!!!! -- Wriothesley: Call me "Risley". My first character, around midgame Asesina Ballenas: whale killer. Alt, recently PoSI Happy to accept most social actions; will help with menace reduction if it's reciprocated.
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Coulton Posts: 11 4/5/2015	Nenjin wrote: In my Frigate with Serpentine, my ship already feels like a speed boat compared to earlier versions of the game. I feel the same way. Still, I like some of the suggestions in this thread for giving us more to do while zailing.
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Nenjin Posts: 171 4/6/2015	I do agree that what is missing is some activities while zailing. Originally, I thought your time on the Zee would be broken up by lots of events. (Heard on Deck, Weather, etc..) But random events didn't really pan out the way I think a lot of people expected. There just aren't that many and they don't happen that often. Likewise, weather didn't turn out to be something sudden or surprising that required you maneuver a lot. It's not like a sudden squall pops up and you have to focus on zailing. So I'd be for more things happening when on the water but...what I don't want is like a mini game to play to increase speed and fuel efficiency. I don't really want something added to the game that takes my attention away from the scenery.
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Can't take this game anymore