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Storylet restructuring proposals
genesis
Posts: 924
7/6/2015
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I'd like to use this topic to collate any proposals to Failbetter for restructuring the existing material. So this is not suggestions/requests for new content, or for new features that would actually require FB to code something new but simply "quality of life" changes to how the already existing content is presented. The changes I am envisaging are things that basically change which storylets are linked or possibly smoothing out of how certain stories unfold but only minimal mechanical changes. Maybe +/- 1 Action or an odd new "gating" quality or branch somewhere but nothing much beyond that. To get the ball rolling, my suggestions (wall of text warning):
[spoiler]
1. I think "your Lodgings" has grown a bit unwieldy and needs heavy reorganisation. Broadly, (not countring lore-related storylets) there should the following main storylets: A) One storylet dealing with interacting with other players socially, B) One storylet dealing with interacting with other players romantically ("Attend to Matters of the Heart"), C) One storylet dealing with NPCs, D) One storylet dealing with menaces, E) Local gossip, F) "Open a way to other parts of the City", and G) Four storylets dealing with the four main attributes.
I think the main culprits here are the "Attend to matters of society and scandal" (which combines A, B, C and F) and "Write Letters" (which combine A and C) and would propose the following reorganisation:
1.1 "An easy confidence", "Meet someone for a Coffee at Caligula's", "Ask someone for help in laying rumours to rest." and "Use someone as your dupe" from "Attend to matters of society and scandal" should be split off into a separate storylet which would be the Persuasive equivalent of the three "Invite a friend to join you in something..." storylets already there. These four storylets would be the F) above.
1.2 "Attend to matters of the heart" from "Attend to matters of society and scandal" seems a bit superfluous as you can just get to the same storylet directly from the Lodgings (with slightly different capitalisation).
1.3 With the above branches removed, the storylet "Attend to matters of society and scandal" should then be reserved for non-romantic player-to-player interaction (A, above). It would then make sense to move "Write a letter to another player" and "A present for a friend" from "Write Letters" to "Attend to matters of society and scandal". Likewise "Name a pet" and "Use your influence to invite Slowcake's Amanuensis for a visit" then don't really fit into A) and should be moved elsewhere
1.4 "Write Letters" then is left mostly with category C branches - interacting with various NPC contacts. So I would suggest renaming it something suitable and moving "Name a pet" and "Use your influence to invite Slowcake's Amanuensis for a visit" here. "Arrange a new profession for your aunt" (as a lore storylet) also seems a bit out of place here and possibly makes more sense move to one of the Local gossip branches (probably the Bohemian Sculptress)
1.5 "Find a way to throw the Constables off the scent", "Attend a Church Service", "Time in bed" and "Invite a friend over to Confess your Fears" would then be combined in a single menace reduction storylet.
2. I find the Fate page slightly immersion breaking and wonder whether it would be possible to link all the Fate-locked stories there from Local Gossip?
3. I find the "The Last Constable?" from "Study the secrets of Fallen London." quite annoying because once you have "Family and Law" it's locked but doesn't disappear. Unless there are plans to continue this story and reset "Family and Law" I would really appreciate hiding this branch once it becomes unusable.
4. I wonder whether the "Below the Neath" opportunity card should only be draw-able at the Carnival?
5. Finally, is it possible to have a few more "Putting the Pieces Together" qualities to smooth out the way you get access to flavour. In particular I am thinking "Putting the Pieces Together: Fingerkings" or "Putting Pieces Together: Parabola" because the nature of Fingerkings is a genuine mystery at first and you have discover things about them but some of the more advanced, seasonal, or Fate-locked content simply assumes that you know what they are even if you in fact never played the appropriate content. Having PtPT:F would then allow such content to be properly conditioned.
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http://fallenlondon.com/Profile/mikey_thinkin
Keeping track of incomplete content and loose ends in Fallen London
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genesis
Posts: 924
7/6/2015
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Kittenpox wrote:
Re: the Fate tab. I much prefer it where it is, and I'd hate to find I'm stuck out at zee (going the long way to Polythreme or returning from a slow-moving river), and in order to buy Exceptional Friendship or unlock new stories I'd have to travel all the way back home just because it wasn't in my lodgings.
Oh no. I wasn't suggesting *removing* the Fate tab. Only providing links in Local gossip as an *addition* option. (Much the same way as some Stories can be started either at Local gossip or from an opportunity card)
Having all the single-player Menace reduction actions lumped together into a single action doesn't sit right with me.
I am not sure if I understood you correctly but I wasn't suggesting combining them into a single *action*. The actual storylets with all of their branches etc would remain unchanged. There would simply be a single "umbrella" storylet that would direct you to the relevant Menace option at 0 Action (much how Local gossip works). As I said I wasn't proposing any substantial mechanic changes, only "tidying up", as it were (the idea being that you can easily see where to click for the things that you want when you visit lodgings).
edited by genesis on 7/6/2015
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http://fallenlondon.com/Profile/mikey_thinkin
Keeping track of incomplete content and loose ends in Fallen London
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MadmanAtW
Posts: 231
7/7/2015
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Kittenpox wrote:
Another thing I would also like to see is romantic options split up into pre-marriage and post-marriage (assuming they ever add social actions for Committed couples), so that the unmarried-only options don't show up at all to players who've progressed along past that point. My character had a wedding with a player who hasn't been online in the past 7 months. Seeing the option to Attend to Matters of the Heart is kinda pointless when I already have Committed, which means being Seen with someone is not able to lead anywhere. (Unless I'm reading this all wrong and I can do that stuff with a current player despite being wed.)
Just as an aside, you can be Seen With another player despite being wed, and you can do the various date options with that player. You cannot propose married if you're already married, but you can still do the indulgent evening, evening or restrained sophistication, etc.
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http://fallenlondon.storynexus.com/Profile/Madman~Across~the~Water
http://fallenlondon.storynexus.com/Profile/Xoricco
Accepting any social actions except the Affluent Photographer. Would appreciate warning of dupings/betrayals/rats.
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