Reshemin
Posts: 226
3/10/2017
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It's basically what I personally love most about this game - that it's not designed to be read like a book. And I right now had to clean out about two dozen of them (books, opened, layed down) from my bathroom because the plumber needed some space to work  The drip-feeding of content is just an integral part of this whole game's design - if you could just read it all up in one go, it would simply end up as number 27 on my loo. And yours, probably.
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Màiread
Posts: 385
3/10/2017
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Well like I said, the point wasn't to read it all in one go. It was to offer a modicum of flexibility in how the morass of highly fragmentary content could be enjoyed by those with different needs, whether medical or social.
FL isn't a novel, or even many novels. It IS a collection of short stories. Taking a fortnight to read a single 20-page short story, particularly when external factors make it difficult to remember what the heck happened a page ago, does not necessarily enhance the player's experience. Now, being fed 100 short stories over the course of a year (as opposed to being presented with a dissassembled KJ Bible and told to have fun) - that's truly a wonderful thing. But I really do struggle to see how allowing someone to pay cash money in order to experience a single one of these short stories in one sitting would lead to the total collapse of the game's design. There is a middle ground between 'unfettered and immediate access to more than a million words' and 'taking so long to finish a story that its narrative impact is completely lost'.
I have zero interest in turning FL into a 'regular' pay to play game or a piece of linear text. I completely respect and appreciate Failbetter's analysis of what works for them financially and creatively, and I have no doubt that they have far greater insight into the economics of action points than any of us. What I do think is that being able to bank enough actions that I could play through, say, an EF story without having to repeatedly interrupt myself and therefore having to spend half an hour fighting brain fog each day for a week just to work out what I've done, what comes next and which sacred badger I'm supposed to steal before I can even begin playing again (when I may have only an hour of concentration available to me for an entire day) would enhance my narrative experience significantly more than being drip-fed. But the needs of the many, etc etc.
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Màiread - Correspondent, composer, lover of cats. Can probably bake you a d__n fine cake.
Useful Links: Traveller's Friend (Progress Tracker & Notability Calculator) | phryne's Guide to Favours & Renown |
Peggy the Nowoman lived to see the Feast. Thank you for the memories, Snow Lady.
I'm happy to accept most social actions except for lethal sparring and loitering suspiciously. Please challenge my plant! Currently not accepting calling cards.
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morrowind
Posts: 1
3/11/2017
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Màiread wrote:
As someone who suffers from brain fog including memory and concentration problems due to disability, I would definitely appreciate the option to bank more actions and play a day (or even 12 hours) in one go. I can't say that my experience of long, complicated narratives has been enhanced by having to split them over several days. In fact I haven't played any story content in over a year because the prospect of starting a long story and being unable to keep track of what's going on exhausts me before I even start. It's particularly difficult with FL because so much of the big narrative stuff is concealed in seemingly throw-away lines and cross-references that you have to be immersed to catch. Personally I feel that the drip-feeding of actions works wonderfully when it comes to creating the player's overall narrative experience of FL, but when we're talking about something self-contained and complete it's a damned nuisance.
I have had a very similar experience myself! I began playing Fallen London around a year ago, and instantly fell in love with the aesthetic. As somewhat of a fantasy geek, I was deeply invested in learning the lore, but as a person with pretty severe ADD, sitting still and reading long paragraphs is extremely difficult (which is unfortunate because I find so much of the charm of this game comes in its long, drawn-out descriptions of various characters and activities).
I'm not certain whether the übercandle would be much use to me personally, as I can already see myself engaging in my bad habit of clicking 'continue' before getting the chance to read the complete description, but I certainly wish there was an easier way for me to engage with the story content when I find myself fixated on a particular thread. You're right though, in that it seems unlikely many more changes will come about to this system. Although I do wish that there was an easier way to revisit the threads of a story than the journal system, which I find difficult to navigate (and remember to use  ).
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Pumpkinhead
Posts: 516
3/11/2017
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Ha, yeah, one of my accounts has been around for a year or so and has absolutely nothing in the journal because I haven't ever remembered to use it. Also, it's kind of hard to remember what's going on because you can't keep the info that was on the story branch you chose within a storylet.
edited by Pumpkinhead on 3/11/2017
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McGunn/Bsymstad is on the slow boat, waiting to see if he can find out what death is. (I'm done with London for now. Thanks for everything!)
Amanda Albright is a *spoiler* now, like she always wanted.
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Reshemin
Posts: 226
3/11/2017
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Màiread wrote:
But I really do struggle to see how allowing someone to pay cash money in order to experience a single one of these short stories in one sitting would lead to the total collapse of the game's design. Yeah, I made that sound too harsh. (D__n wine.) But I have difficulties to see where exactly one could draw the line there to balance it out - it would still be the same content for both groups of players, and it needs to work for both of them. That's what my drunken rant was about, basically.
Pumpkinhead wrote:
Also, it's kind of hard to remember what's going on because you can't keep the info that was on the story branch you chose within a storylet. This, and ...
morrowind wrote:
Although I do wish that there was an easier way to revisit the threads of a story than the journal system, which I find difficult to navigate (and remember to use ). ... this too. The journal system could really do with a serious overhaul - I keep echoing stuff in there that I know I won't be able to dig up again in a couple months from now without spending the better part of an hour to do so. It would greatly profit from at least a search function. For a start.
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Aberrant Eremite
Posts: 362
3/11/2017
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Kukapetal wrote:
Heck yes! I'd be willing to pay quite a bit for some hot Cheery Man action! Just name your price and...
*actually reads the post*
Oh. Well, uh....that's a good idea too. Good luck with it. Carry on, everyone.
*walks off muttering "he can't reject my advances forever, one of these days the airs of London are going to be blowing my way..."*
Yeah, that's not gonna happen... Well, who knows, if things had been just a little different, the Blind Bruiser would still have his eyes. Maybe... [Involuntarily starts mentally composing Cheery Man/Bruiser slashfic] ... Okay, that title is wrong. OP has a lot to answer for.
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Hieronymus Drake: Gentleman scholar, big-game hunter, scar-faced aristocrat. Remarkably sane, all things considered.
Tanith Wyrmwood: Longshanks cat-burglar; Bohemian author; now, perhaps, something more. Bubbly, expressive, and affectionate. It’s not only still waters that run deep.
Telemachia Lee: Gentle lady by birth, brawling Docker by choice. Good company in the drunk tank.
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Rysiek
Posts: 693
3/11/2017
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Kukapetal wrote:
Heck yes! I'd be willing to pay quite a bit for some hot Cheery Man action! Just name your price and...
*actually reads the post*
Oh. Well, uh....that's a good idea too. Good luck with it. Carry on, everyone.
*walks off muttering "he can't reject my advances forever, one of these days the airs of London are going to be blowing my way..."*
Hey, look positively! The Constable rejects all of MY chars as well! You aren't alone! And I also had similar thoughts when I saw "Adult Mode"... thoughts that MIGHT need brain bleach, given rubbery men and tomb colonists...
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The silesian Detective
http://fallenlondon.storynexus.com/Profile/Rysiek
The incredible Warsovian. She certainly didn't steal your diamond necklace. That idea is RIDICULOUS...
http://fallenlondon.storynexus.com/Profile/Maria~Konstantynopolska
The silesian vengeance seeker
http://fallenlondon.storynexus.com/Profile/Agata~Grym
I apologize for any and all anachronisms. I am too lazy to check some facts if I am sure they are from the 1890s or sometimes think they are.
Oh, and by the way, I am not polish, I am GERMAN to clarify for heavens sake... tylko po polsku mowie. Um Himmelswillen...
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Kaijyuu
Posts: 1047
3/11/2017
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Hey now, just so long as all participants are sentient and consenting...
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Be of good cheer. Our contacts have assured us that your sins are forgiven.
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Estelle Knoht
Posts: 1751
3/13/2017
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I would love some sort of overflow actions, even if at a reduced rate (say, only gain half of what actions you accumulated over the candle cap) but that is very unlikely to happen.
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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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Emain Ablach
Posts: 348
3/13/2017
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And here I was hoping for a suggestion about an ES about what happen between the sheets. Disappointed.
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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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ochrasy
Posts: 169
3/13/2017
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Màiread wrote:
Regardless I'm pretty sure I remember reading that FL had determined that the 20/40 action cap was a sweet spot in terms of revenue and player satisfaction, so I'd imagine we're out of luck.
not only that, FB has also said that the stories are built to be read over time, not all at once.
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Ochrasy. Monster-Hunter. Dangerous and Watchful, favors the Constables.
Robitaille. Persuasive and Shadowy, fond of the Devils.
Herr Horst. Seeker of Revenge.
Open to all social actions on all accounts. Preferably, send any MW-providing actions to Ochrasy.
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Kylestien
Posts: 749
3/13/2017
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Omega8520 wrote:
Not going to lie, I saw Adult Mode and went into this thread expecting something quite different.
Dammit that's exactly what I thought. And now I want that despite knowing Failbetter will never make it happen.
Besides, would we REALLY want that? You know what they say about the Bazzar and falling in love. Like it never ends well for anybody. Can't see that ending well either.
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I will accept all actions, though I hold the right to refuse for my own reasons. However, if you explain WHY you send me a harmful action like Loitering or Dantes,And I feel the reason good, I will consider it more. http://fallenlondon.storynexus.com/Profile/Kylestien
Persuasive patron. You want a lesson, send me a message asking for one.
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Siankan
Posts: 1048
3/13/2017
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Kylestien wrote:
Omega8520 wrote:
Not going to lie, I saw Adult Mode and went into this thread expecting something quite different.
Dammit that's exactly what I thought. And now I want that despite knowing Failbetter will never make it happen.
Besides, would we REALLY want that? You know what they say about the Bazzar and falling in love. Like it never ends well for anybody. Can't see that ending well either.
Oh, come on. Love and the Bazaar worked out fine for the Traitor Empress. And the Duchess. And the Gracious Widow. And let's not forget the King with a Hundred Hearts. I mean, really, how much more romantic can you get than a hundred hearts? What (else) could possibly go wrong?
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Prof. Sian Kan, at your service.
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