Trilby
Posts: 290
8/26/2016
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Barselaar wrote:
Nothing unique yet, apart from some leftover qualities and the quality you get upon finishing - Putting the Bluejacket's Affairs in order - which I suspect will have something to do with the end-of-season cash-in.
Right then. Then all I need to do is figure out what do with the body that best suits my character...
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Cthonius
Posts: 362
8/26/2016
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The reward is shockingly small, but considering the way to get that is the "cop out" option, where nobody dies, I guess it makes sense. It's certainly a disappointing reward and I can't help but wonder if an opportunity card will appear. Being that my luck with post-ES cards appearing is abysmal though...
That aside I enjoyed it. A lot of mechanical filler that could've been cut down though. I like the journey up the lifeberg, just not making it several times. I liked cases being used again, but getting the progress up like 4 times or so was tedious.
I'm interested in how this links to the Admiralty in Sunless Sea and their goals. The stuff at the Horizon was not at all what I expected but certainly welcome. Loved the mechanics of keeping promises to the crew. Found the last choices were hard, but mostly because I felt like we were lacking info. Couldn't even say what I'd want to know more on, as it certainly hints well enough at plenty. Just it felt weird, like their should be more for that choice.
EDIT: [spoiler] I can't help but wonder, if at the end I chose differently, if I had a body for the coffin, would there be another smen option? [/spoiler]
edited by Cthonius on 8/26/2016
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Cthonius, gone North. Gone.
Oneiropompus, a Scarlet Saint, eager to help make your dreams realities. Accepting all social requests for now.
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Trilby
Posts: 290
8/26/2016
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also, I ran into an option when the airs of the lifeberg are at least 90 that is a luck based option for the survivor climbing their way down. It looks like something that would be worth going after, but I just want to make sure.
That and ask what I'm giving up for those promises? I've got about 12 to 14 of them.
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Barse
Posts: 706
8/26/2016
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It's nothing exciting. Progress and Terror on success, more terror on a failure. Promises can be kept or broken later on. Unsurprisingly, keeping them costs you somewhat, while breaking them is very mean indeed.
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 The Scorched Sailor, up for most social actions and RP. Not as scary as he looks.
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Mimay
Posts: 4
8/26/2016
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penknife wrote:
I enjoyed this story, but it seems to peter out abruptly at the end. I got a Whirring Contraption for my choice, was honest rather than lying to the Severe Bluejacket, and then the story just ... stopped, without anything that felt like an ending. I feel like some kind of "okay, that's the end for now!" text would have been useful, because I was honestly left wondering if there was somewhere else I was supposed to go for the next storylet.
This is my only real complaint. I didn't particularly mind the grind, or the fairly strong negative payoff in the end for my choices (the above, and keeping all of my promises). A message that the story was over for now would have been greatly appreciated.
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Art Shrival
Posts: 51
8/26/2016
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Blaine Davidson wrote:
Am I the only one who didn't mind the slog through the Lifeberg? Thematically it made sense and it added to the atmosphere. You're supposed to hate being on this near-corpse of a beast, it's supposed to be a pain to move around on it. It drains the life of your crew and I think it was an apt way to "drain" the player metaphorically and literally.
I also didn't mind the lack of a proper reward (Whirring Contraption earned here). That's what makes your decisions have weight. I chose my option because it fit my character, not because I wanted more Echoes towards my Heptagoat. That's what the Fidgeting Writer is for.
This has been my favourite Exceptional Story since Flint. A lot of them have been fairly forgettable for me, like the one where you bombed the embassy. I couldn't even remember the name of it or the unique item from said story.
I wouldn't have minded the repeat of carving through the Lifeberg if there was content written for it. Even a repeat journey has a new story to tell, and there was ample room to describe the daily frustration and horror of carving through the back of living ice only to have it stubbornly reseal its wounds the next morning, but the identical actions only drew attention to the fact that you were grinding a mechanic rather than contesting against a living creature. In a story and choice oriented game, and especially in the case of Exceptional Stories, there's no need to make grinds a feature.
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plasmid
Posts: 21
8/26/2016
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[spoiler] just to be sure- is there any story after telling the bluejaket that the coffin is empty? i got the wirring contraption, which is fine with me, but i feels like there is an epilogue somewhere that i'm missing[/spoiler]
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Key P miskatonic- an persuasive, watchful and dangerous individual of mysterious gender, with a divine amount of serpents following him:
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bells_book- letal and sinister gentleman with a love of music
http://fallenlondon.storynexus.com/Profile/Bells_book
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Skinnyman
Posts: 2133
8/26/2016
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Blaine Davidson wrote:
Am I the only one who didn't mind the slog through the Lifeberg? Thematically it made sense and it added to the atmosphere. You're supposed to hate being on this near-corpse of a beast, it's supposed to be a pain to move around on it. It drains the life of your crew and I think it was an apt way to "drain" the player metaphorically and literally.
I also didn't mind the lack of a proper reward (Whirring Contraption earned here). That's what makes your decisions have weight. I chose my option because it fit my character, not because I wanted more Echoes towards my Heptagoat. That's what the Fidgeting Writer is for.
This has been my favourite Exceptional Story since Flint. A lot of them have been fairly forgettable for me, like the one where you bombed the embassy. I couldn't even remember the name of it or the unique item from said story.
I applaud your emotion regarding this ES! Lifebergs do move and, if I remember correctly, they aren't that aggressive. Even if a Contraption has few uses (Ambition, item crafting and Newspapers) it takes 44 AP to get one; so I think it's a nice reward for people that need one.
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ESs items and quality requirements sheet. Please check if there are errors or if something is missing
Achievement list if you're feeling bored!
I am accepting Plant battles, Neath's Mysteries card, Starveling Cats and boxed cats.
No suppers, no second chances gain and no need to cure my menaces!
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Lara Jones
Posts: 6
8/26/2016
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Cthonius wrote:
An Individual wrote:
Barselaar wrote:
Sir Joseph Marlen wrote:
So, the secret's been found. Anyone know where we can ask about it?
If you don't ask, you'll save yourself a lot of strife.
Secrets? Self inflicted strife? This is a thing which must be found!
If anyone would be willing to PM me vague hints about this it would be appreciated. I don't want to know the exact what and how, but given that I only get one pass at this I'd like to make sure that I don't lock myself out of it by going too far.
[spoiler]If I'm reading the hint a over correctly, you need to gain 14 of the days on the lifeberg or whatever quality. Then...do something bad? It does say you've only enough supplies for a fortnight[/spoiler]
Please spoiler clues or guesses at clues to this. Lordy.
edited by Chris Gardiner on 8/25/2016
(Sorry, I can't get my spoiler to work...)
edited by Lara Jones on 8/26/2016
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Art Shrival
Posts: 51
8/26/2016
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I really enjoyed the optional followup with your crew in this ES. It made my time with them more tangible and helped me learn that much more about the varied lives of zailors. I hope I can interact with these people again, even if it isn't in the capacity of captain and crew.
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Trilby
Posts: 290
8/26/2016
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Due to problems I'm having while trying to go back through my echoes, can anyone remind me what disaster resulted in the underzee being off limits.
Either that or provide me with the worst case senario that could occur from such exploration.
edited by Trilby on 8/26/2016
edited by Trilby on 8/26/2016
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Dean Lee
Posts: 133
8/26/2016
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Trilby wrote:
Due to problems I'm having while trying to go back through my echoes, can anyone remind me what disaster resulted in the underzee being off limits.
Either that or provide me with the worst case senario that could occur from such exploration.
edited by Trilby on 8/26/2016
edited by Trilby on 8/26/2016
A battle between the Admiralty and the khaganians pissed off some lorn flukes. And then the lorn flukes did their thing.
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A list of credentials
A Business Card
Research progress:
77 volumes of cryptopaleontoligy
77 volumes of Prelapsarian archeology
77 volumes of theosophistry.
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Trilby
Posts: 290
8/26/2016
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Dean Lee wrote:
Trilby wrote:
Due to problems I'm having while trying to go back through my echoes, can anyone remind me what disaster resulted in the underzee being off limits.
Either that or provide me with the worst case senario that could occur from such exploration.
edited by Trilby on 8/26/2016
edited by Trilby on 8/26/2016
A battle between the Admiralty and the khaganians pissed off some lorn flukes. And then the lorn flukes did their thing.
Then get something tho map out the lorn fluke territory and fight somewhere else. Or alternatively stop fighting over... What were they even fighting over anyways? It's not like they have much of a say in who owns what.
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Optimatum
Posts: 3666
8/26/2016
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Trilby wrote:
Dean Lee wrote:
Trilby wrote:
Due to problems I'm having while trying to go back through my echoes, can anyone remind me what disaster resulted in the underzee being off limits.
Either that or provide me with the worst case senario that could occur from such exploration.
A battle between the Admiralty and the khaganians pissed off some lorn flukes. And then the lorn flukes did their thing.
Then get something tho map out the lorn fluke territory and fight somewhere else. Or alternatively stop fighting over... What were they even fighting over anyways? It's not like they have much of a say in who owns what.
That's not quite what happened. The Lorn-Flukes are the masters of the deeps; both the Admiralty and Khanate had sent subs as emissaries. They were attempting to win the Lorn-Flukes' favor through means RFH considered immoral, seemingly involving giving people to the Flukes for their unknown, but sinister, purposes. RFH was horrified by this and ordered his zub to fire on the Khanate zubs; the ensuing conflict angered the Lorn-Flukes and they destroyed most (possibly all) of the zubs present.
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Optimatum, a ruthless and merciful gentleman. No plant battles, Affluent Photographer requests, or healing offers; all other social actions welcome.
 Want a sip of Cider? Just say hi!
PM me for information enigmatic or Fated. Though the forum please, not FL itself.
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Art Shrival
Posts: 51
8/26/2016
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Robin Alexander wrote:
On another note: how do I get rid of the pinned storylet?
It's driving me mad, as it's just sitting there, in every single area of London I go to, right at the top of every single list of storylets . . . is it just going to sit there like an eye-sore for three months? :-/
Hm, I think I would also find myself a little tired of it after a while. Perhaps they'll consign the storylet to just your Lodgings or whichever district the Breakwater House resides in so we can still access it at our leisure without having it be in the way.
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Ian Hart
Posts: 437
8/26/2016
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Blaine Davidson wrote:
Am I the only one who didn't mind the slog through the Lifeberg? Thematically it made sense and it added to the atmosphere. You're supposed to hate being on this near-corpse of a beast, it's supposed to be a pain to move around on it. It drains the life of your crew and I think it was an apt way to "drain" the player metaphorically and literally.
I also didn't mind the lack of a proper reward (Whirring Contraption earned here). That's what makes your decisions have weight. I chose my option because it fit my character, not because I wanted more Echoes towards my Heptagoat. That's what the Fidgeting Writer is for.
This has been my favourite Exceptional Story since Flint. A lot of them have been fairly forgettable for me, like the one where you bombed the embassy. I couldn't even remember the name of it or the unique item from said story.
I also definitely enjoyed the climb each day, for the 7 days required to get all the different content at the top. Should someone decide to stay longer for whatever reason, I imagine it would get increasingly frustrating and repetitive, but I can't imagine why anyone would do that.
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http://fallenlondon.storynexus.com/Profile/Antifinity
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FireOfUnknownOrigin
Posts: 12
8/26/2016
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The lifeberg was quite an interesting development, disturbing as it was. Though I think upping the risk a bit might have helped; not anything that couldn't be recovered from, but just some curveballs to make it a little more difficult rather than repetitive.
But the plot came to an excellent head, with quite the quandary presented at the end. Overall an exceptional Exceptional Story.
[spoiler]After all the wonderful maddening revelations that are uncovered in Fallen London, I took Harris's word that whatever they did to appease the dwellers below was a grade-A "Very Bad Thing". While I may have my own zumbarine that I desperately hope he didn't know about, unlike certain parties I have little interest in messing with such destructive forces (my own Destiny notwithstanding).
It was hard to let someone be killed in such a brutal fashion, much less let the Admiralty's button man go. But the alternative was allowing the engineer to complete her work, regardless of the potential horrors she could unleash. Such is life in the Neath.
Perhaps, though, Bluejacket can at least have the opportunity to make peace with his son and himself.[/spoiler]
edited by FireOfUnknownOrigin on 8/26/2016
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A spy in the house of the night.
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Optimatum
Posts: 3666
8/26/2016
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FireOfUnknownOrigin wrote:
The lifeberg was quite an interesting development, disturbing as it was. Though I think upping the risk a bit might have helped; not anything that couldn't be recovered from, but just some curveballs to make it a little more difficult rather than repetitive.
It's a good idea, but difficult to implement. By its nature, Exceptional Stories have to be accessible to newer players with low stats, so making stat challenges harder to appeal to more experienced players would detract from the experience for others. One Exceptional Story, I believe The Frequently Deceased, had the challenge levels scale with stats so each challenge would have the same difficulty regardless of stat level. It felt rather odd though to fail at persuading random NPC servants and such with Persuasive 200, so that has its drawbacks too.
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Optimatum, a ruthless and merciful gentleman. No plant battles, Affluent Photographer requests, or healing offers; all other social actions welcome.
Want a sip of Cider? Just say hi!
PM me for information enigmatic or Fated. Though the forum please, not FL itself.
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aegisaglow
Posts: 202
8/26/2016
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I would've been perfectly happy to get a Whirring Contraption even if it's worth less on paper than the other rewards, because then I could run my newspaper again without having to go through Wilmot's End. (But I just ran my paper for the first time the other day, so I can understand if the novelty has worn off for others.)
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Mx. Aglow. Glazier, hedonist, devil-teaser, Paramount Presence. Pursuing their Heart's Desire.
Ms. Lilian Leith. A lady of proper standing, which seems like an increasingly ludicrous thing to give a rat's ___ about. Known (to some) for her Light Fingers.
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Optimatum
Posts: 3666
8/26/2016
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Outside of lost EPA, I think I may have actually lost money playing this story. I got a Whirring Contraption and various small items, but spent 15 echoes on keeping promises. I've played all but one Exceptional Story (and know the ending to the other) and aside from Flint there are only two I know which did not give a 62.5 echo item or multiple items with that total value. The first is Court of Cats, which iirc gave two 62.5 echo items. The second is Discernment, which was atypical mechanically in ways I do not recall well, but its option to sell a Coruscating Soul was such a loss that the rewards were significantly increased after release. So for all but one of the Exceptional Stories prior to this one, the lowest rewards given were all 62.5 echoes in value.
For a story with three different artificial action sinks, such a poor reward seems a bit silly. I'd be perfectly fine with just climbing back up the lifeberg each day - it may be repetitive, but at least it's new content. Having to zail all the way there and do a full case as well is incredibly tedious - this is content I and many other players have seen plenty of times, and without anything new it's just boring. When I play an Exceptional Story, I of course expect it to be an exceptional experience. And the story itself was exceptional - but the parts added to lengthen it were neither exceptional nor story.
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Optimatum, a ruthless and merciful gentleman. No plant battles, Affluent Photographer requests, or healing offers; all other social actions welcome.
Want a sip of Cider? Just say hi!
PM me for information enigmatic or Fated. Though the forum please, not FL itself.
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