Kaigen
Posts: 530
6/30/2015
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Nigel Overstreet wrote:
LordPaido wrote:
Really? Is that actually true? (I'm not calling you out or anything, I just don't remember seeing data on this anywhere. I'm sure I've forgotten some FB post somewhere, I just don't remember where)
I don't know if it's half, but it's pretty darn close. That's not true of more dedicated players, but most casual players choose Heart's Desire.
It was mentioned on the forums some time ago. 2012, maybe? Or earlier.
It mostly boils down to having a more appealing hook(anything you want vs. big jewel) and it's two main qualities(Watchful & Persuasive) being more appealing to players.
That's more or less how I ended up on it. It doesn't help that Nemesis comes off as "You are Stoic McSquareJaw, on a rampage to avenge an emotional connection that will never be mentioned again," and Bag a Legend sounds like a big game hunt.
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Just a simple doctor with a chess habit. Publisher of The Flit Dispatch.
"One must remember that the impossible is, alas, always possible."
-Jacques Derrida
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Alexis Kennedy
Posts: 1374
6/30/2015
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Mr. James Rayner wrote:
(Anything else they claim to be the reason for it is so much bullocky. This is a BUSINESS. Narrative abstractions come second to keeping everyone paid.) .
I think this episode took about two-person weeks of time to plan, design, write, test, rebalance, rewrite, line-edit and pass my final review. Ambitions make us practically no money. They're the fun part we can get to spend time on when we're up to date with the other stuff, and because we want to satisfy our creative commitment to our players.
If you can create content like this much faster, then either you're producing lower quality work, or you're more talented than us.
Mr James Rayner wrote:
But more and more, I wonder where the Failbetter of 4 or 5 years ago went and why I keep waiting for them to come back.
A glance at your posting history shows that this is what you thought of Failbetter back then:
Mr. James Rayner wrote:
No other Ambition has this kind of story wall! An item you cant get, save for Fate spending during one holiday out of the year, until the absolute end game or a stack of dreams you may never ever see! I'd rather give him the 5000 Brass, but that doesnt work! What absolutely terrible story / game design.
James, please be courteous if you want to keep posting here. Forum rules reminder: http://community.failbettergames.com/topic5-forum-rules-please-read.aspx
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Danko
Posts: 142
6/30/2015
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So I'm at the last option where you pick one of three choices. I think I'll wait before the next update to pick one.
And I think the update was nice.
Honestly it did feel a bit rushed. We accomplish some pretty great things, but don't get much feedback from it all. For example, I was a little taken aback when releasing a certain person from certain something and he just went with 'oh okay, thanks, seeya' in one sentence. I think there were some pretty cool opportunities to learn more about the players and their story that got missed.
I could also agree that it was artificially grindy a little. At times it felt like "grind for 40 actions, then get a little text and repeat". I'm probably just used to a slightly different action/text ratio. The high item costs were alright, actually, this is what I expect from high-level ambitions.
Last of all, the choices made sadly does not appear to matter, since they all lead to same conclusions and don't change any character traits, so basically there is no way for game to recognize whether I chose X or Y, it's all the same. A little dissapointing, really!
All in all, I came out somewhat satisfied and intrigued. I think it was great, and I'm really thankful for the update and eagerly waiting for more. The last choice is a tremendous cliffhanger, because it hints at a very large chunk of content for the next update which could potentially be truly world-changing.
edited by Danko on 6/30/2015
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http://fallenlondon.storynexus.com/Profile/Danko
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Emain Ablach
Posts: 348
6/30/2015
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Seeing Danko's post, which I find very honest and fair, and Mr.James Rayner's, which is a little (ahem!) bit more critical and hard and agressive (seriously, you can criticize without being so negative), I feel like I have to add something about how I received the expansion : thank you. I felt it rushed, it could have been way better knowing your skills and your creativity, but it was interesting nonetheless and I'm always happy whenever there is new content from Failbetter Games. ^^
What you say, Danko, made me realise something which was itching me : "I think there were some pretty cool opportunities to learn more about the new players and their story that got missed." <- this. Exactly. There were opportunities to learn new things about the Neath, the P.o.H. (we don't even learn how it looks ! :'(), the 7th player. That's what was bothering me. Thanks for taking it off my mind ! ='D
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Went NORTH. Got salted. Never came back. We won't remember him.
https://www.fallenlondon.com/profile/Emain%20Ablach
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Ian Hart
Posts: 437
7/1/2015
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I'm not even on this Ambition (yet), so perhaps I'm dipping into "off topic" territory, but I don't feel like Ambitions need to make practically no money.
I know they're not profitable now, but if trying the other options on the same character is an option, and it requires the Tea Leaves, then finishing all four Ambitions is 150 Fate per long-term player, not to mention all the action/deck refreshes those players might buy with the massive additional content to do.
It's a long term investment, to be sure, as it will only begin to pay off once Ambitions start being finished, but I really can't imagine players not wanting to play at least a few more, if not all 4.
Nemesis has been a fantastic ride, and I've been incredibly excited to try the other three with this same character, without losing my progress so far. Heart's Desire sounds like an absolute steal to play through for only 50 Fate.
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http://fallenlondon.storynexus.com/Profile/Antifinity
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Deanscig
Posts: 72
7/1/2015
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I'm enjoying this new content but it's not how I thought it would be. I'm not saying it's bad (I think it's good) but it wasn't great. It didn't really pull me in like with the topsy king.
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https://www.fallenlondon.com/profile/Deanscig
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Blaine Davidson
Posts: 388
7/1/2015
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Nigel Overstreet wrote:
It mostly boils down to having a more appealing hook(anything you want vs. big jewel) and it's two main qualities(Watchful & Persuasive) being more appealing to players.
Those are exactly the reasons why my character chose this ambition.
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Blaine Davidson, a reserved and sensible woman with a fondness of collecting rarities.
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A B Nile
Posts: 414
7/1/2015
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MadmanAtW wrote:
I love everything about everything Mr Pages ever says. His dialogue is the best. I am deeply, deeply curious what happens if you tell him No. (Also, I love that he says he is giving you [spoiler]a book of his poetry and it's a Tale of Terror[/spoiler].
If you're still curious about the result of saying no, take a look at my journal.
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My profile: A B Nile
My alt: Zanzibar Buck-Buck McFate
(seeking Acquaintances and accepting all social actions)
Item conversion table - finally complete with all rare successes!
Bloody, bold and resolute
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IHNIWTR
Posts: 346
7/1/2015
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honestly the fact that the choices we made re: getting the sixth and seventh player to participate do not seem to matter or be taken into account in any way is what bothers me most. They offer some very interesting avenues to explore future storylines that may not even have anything to do with the ambition, and I wish that the character's decision could have been registered in an obvious manner.
edited by IHNIWTR on 7/1/2015
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https://www.fallenlondon.com/profile/Daniel%20Vaise
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Malgorath
Posts: 124
7/5/2015
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I feel like this content was a letdown for me. My thoughts are similar to many of the other dissenting opinions. The early and mid content involved learning about these colorful characters and future opponents in the Marvelous. And while the content in this update was good, there just wasn't enough for how much we supposedly achieved. It was upsetting as I was hoping to learn more about
[spoiler] why Virginia cares so much about the Correspondence and more about her past, her standing in Hell, and the history of Hell. But you barely get any real idea above what we already knew, that there was a revolution in the past that resulted in the exile of the infernal aristocracy. You don't really get any new info out of it. And the Mr Pages content was very lackluster. What could a Master desire? What glimpse into their world can we get from this? Apparently the only thing they could possibly desire is to stop you from doing something rash.[/spoiler]
It's just unfortunate that the early content had you doing your best to learn about your opponents and doing various lengthy tasks to get them into the game but this most recent update (minus the Old Downy part which was great) was just spending expensive items, zailing, having short uneventful conversations with the two new players and the sixth player's connection, zailing, pretending to do something interesting but the choice and work not really mattering, and zailing. Did I mention zailing? There was a lot of it and not much else.
I'm sorry about the rant, and the first bit of zailing to finish up the Manager's story was completely justified, but the whole rest of the story was so uneventful and you learned nothing and it just felt relatively empty compared to the previous quality of this ambition's content and it was egregiously padded with an insane amount of zailing.
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Phil - TRAVELLER RETURNING
Malgorath - A new member of the Neath.
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"Many" Chin
Posts: 383
7/8/2015
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ack. alt still grinding secrets for lodging. maybe much... later.
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"My little China girl/You shouldn't mess with me/I'll ruin everything you are/I'll give you television/I'll give you eyes of blue/I'll give you man who wants to rule the world"
- The Goblin King.
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DukeLawliet
Posts: 121
7/10/2015
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I wont lie, I was somewhat dissapointed: I think another kink of Heart's Desire is that proceeding doesn't allow for any character growth for your character. For the most part, it really isn't "your" story.
Sidebar, now that everyone in every ambition is fighting a master, do you think there will be a convergence point towards the end? Will all of the ambitions lead into an endgame against the Bazaar itself when you inevitably disrupt the balance of power?
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Sara Hysaro
Moderator
Posts: 4514
7/10/2015
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I hope that isn't the inevitable conclusion. My main character wants to join the Masters, not go against them. I'm sure there will be choices available to hopefully please most of the players, whether they wish to aid in the Masters' plans or seek to disrupt the hold the Bazaar has over London.
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http://fallenlondon.storynexus.com/Profile/Sara%20Hysaro
Please do not send SMEN, cat boxes, or Affluent Reporter requests. All other social actions are welcome.
Are you a Scarlet Saint? Send a message my way to be added to the list.
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rush99999
Posts: 17
7/10/2015
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Parelle wrote:
Bother, I'm at sea!
Sea? I think you'll find that the correct term is zee.
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Ian Hart
Posts: 437
7/10/2015
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I would guess it's very likely that all the Ambitions will end in roughly the same place, likely sharing content.
Of course, my pet theory is that the final chapter of all the ambitions will be released at the same time, to avoid spoilers of that content. If that isn't true, I doubt the rest follows.
Certainly those final moments aren't automatically pro or anti masters as a whole. Many masters oppose each other, and some even oppose the Bazaar. There's no reason you couldn't play one hand against the other and come out as the Bazaar's new best friend.
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http://fallenlondon.storynexus.com/Profile/Antifinity
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Koenig
Posts: 466
7/11/2015
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EDIT: Wrong thread-I had multiple tabs open. My bad.
*Scandal rising*
edited by Koenig on 7/11/2015
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Koenig: Extraordinary. Invisible. Shattering. Legendary.
   
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MissCrumpet
Posts: 113
7/11/2015
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Danko wrote:
I think there were some pretty cool opportunities to learn more about the players and their story that got missed.
This sums up my thoughts perfectly. I was eager to find out more about Virginia and the politics of Hell, but there wasn't much story or background at all. I think if we'd traveled to a new island, even if it was a tiny boring place with a carousel, it would have seemed more interesting. Instead, it felt frustrating to be at zee AGAIN.
The worst thing was revisiting Polythreme again and remembering how terrible that carousel is with my abysmal luck! I'm taunted by Investigating... 11 every time. 
Overall, not bad, just not as cool as the Exceptional Story for July (also far more expensive - I was tempted to just give up my ambition and cash in on a particular location...).
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Julia C, a creatively named lady. I am always looking to expand my circle of acquaintances and enjoy pleasant social interactions.
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Fhoenix
Posts: 602
7/16/2015
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Finished the content. Old Downy was interesting. And I was fine with the last two players requiring less effort/steps to convince joining the game. I think it was kind of silly how little resources it took to start buying out the THING or blowing up the OTHER THING, and Masters, I think, enjoyed playing Marvelous anyway, so IMHO it would be more natural if the last player just agreed to play, instead of requiring us to do outrageous things to convince him to come to us. And of course more text about the meeting with the Prince would be wonderful. But the update moves Ambition forward towards the game itself and that is the important thing.
I was a little surprised with the negative reactions in the thread, I think it has more to do with how long people have been waiting for this update than with content quality. Yes we all want more content, but that is not a new thing. And honestly I was happy to have something moderately costly to spend resources on, because recent Fate locked stories felt too effortless to me with how little actions they require. I guess as a veteran player I have warped expectations about grinding in London.
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My Character
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