A game of survival, trade and exploration in the universe of Fallen London
Map Shuffling : The Good and the Bad
Atom Stratomsk
Posts: 44
8/1/2014
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In the emerald update the biggest change was the implementation of map shuffling. The good thing this update does is add to the replay-ability of the game. Knowing where everything is allows for the best route possible so this is really the beginning of Sunless Sea taking a step in the direction of a rogue-like game where it is somewhat difficult, but fair. However, what I also see from this that this update could affect every game by punishing you for exploring. You could potentially rack up a bunch of terror trying to find new islands, making exploration generally more expensive as you look for proper routes using light buoys. Whether or not you survive is largely based on where the islands you can make money are at (Ex: Godfall and Salt Lions).
If a game punishes you for exploring than in the early game it would be more beneficial to find the most efficient route as soon as possible that you can find close to Fallen London. With a limited amount of echoes at the start and no idea which direction to go in I'll admit this can add to the eerie hopeless atmosphere that Sunless Sea has. With this system, an experienced player could easily lose and have to start all over because they had no idea where to go first. And that coupled with the few resources you have at the start only makes it even more risky to head out into the unknown. With enough echoes, you wouldn't have much to worried about. However, this would require quite a bit of grinding (Venderbight runs, etc) to explore more of the map(Or other areas which you have no idea where they are at). Ultimately the risk for exploring new areas is always high, with potentially terrible rewards to make up the difference in costs.
I personally think that the positives outweigh the negatives because it would add to the story through its immersive atmosphere, which I think should be this games biggest strength anyway.
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