I see it like this. Items can be recovered in more ways than one. All the scavenging can eventually make up for it, or you can become a thief yourself. Life on the other hand, cannot be recovered. There is no restart button in real life. Therefore, when it comes to choosing the lesser evil, I will choose the thief over the murderer. Then again, in real life I might just give them all the boot. Luckily this is just a game, with a restart button as well as many alternate options.
1 Like
True, and in this game, everyone is a resource of sorts. Having more people means more things get done around the junkyard, provided your the leader atleast. And sure, there are more mouths to feed but at the same time that can easily be remedied by fishing with the right people, along with the gardening and hunting.
1 Like
Now i am kinda curious how each male ros (except tommy of course) would react to getting the female mc pregnant at this point in the story abortion isn’t exactly an option and without the right equipments and procedures would probably be more dangerous than having the baby anyway. Surprisingly i think reilly might have the best reaction somehow lol not without reservation of course but he is very family-oriented. Meanwhile brody would understandably freak the fuck out before anything else and maddie might just actually murder him lmao
7 Likes
I can Understand you 
A small thing that would massively improve gameplay is the ability to select more than one of something when scavenging, assuming it is intended for you to be able to pick up multiple versions of it.
Something like the code in Thelma’s shop to pick up 1/2/5/10 items would be great, as actually taking the loot one by one takes a lot of time and can be exremely repetitive
2 Likes
I’d like to see more of Parker in the future, doesn’t feel like he gets to do very much around the base which doesn’t bode well for him in terms of picking candidates for scripted deaths (i.e. Church, chosen because he wasn’t very popular). He serves as a good quartermaster and occasionally has a few funny quips but I’d definitely like to see more of him. It’s a shame he’s not a romance option, he’s pretty nice.
6 Likes
Yup, I agree with this 100%
1 Like
I think Reilly would be overprotective of her and the baby, like he is with his mom. xD Jaime might worry himself to death, but still try his best. And I totally agree Brody would probably be in shock at first when she tells him she’s pregnant, then freak out, but commit himself to taking responsibility. I’m not sure how Lopez or Woody would handle it yet. All of this has me curious as to whether or not there will be any new male ROs in parts 4 and 5.
6 Likes
Yeah brody is a real sweetheart he would never bail out of his responsibility he could definitely be a great parent despite his age… providing he survived madison’s wrath first lol. I think lopez might have a pretty good reaction actually despite being a flirt and a bit of a playboy he alway talk about not having a real connection with anyone and never felt like he belong so having a family with someone he truly love doesn’t sound so bad at least that’s what i think. As for new male ros i’m pretty sure kevin’s going to be one and i really hope john is a potential ro that guy left a real impression lol
4 Likes
Am I being stupid/ missing another element that increases the stat or are the intimidation checks when interacting with the River Dogs literally impossoble to meet.
Like, lets say you have 100 intimidation, bring Reiliy (+4 to intimidation) and Rachel (+5), the most intimidating options available
Team intimidation = (my intimidation - 30) / 6 + Reilly + Rachel
Which will he around 19, maybe if we go all out and wear studded outfit it’d be 13 + 4 + 5 = 22
So, 22 is the max possible intimidation. The lowest intimidation check, to enforce a border in a less aggressive way, requires team intimidation to he 45 or more.
For reference, the highest team persuasion check is 15, which is at least achievable if you (2 of the next 3) focus on persuasion or bring Jillian or Rachel
Consider reducing the intimation checks across the board to something achievable
Although I could easily be missing something else that increases team_intimidation elsewhere, but I didnt see anything. Most likely just too high checks that work better for checking individual levels over the team system
1 Like
If i remembered right, if either Edgar or Rosie die during the trip to the school, and Jillian is coming with the MC, she would threaten to kill the other surviving person. If the MC doesn’t intervene, she would actually go through her threat and kill the remaining person. If both of them are still alive by the end of the trip, Jillian would only express that she hated them, but otherwise she won’t kill both of them.
2 Likes
I think it’s also relevant to note that it doesn’t matter if Lyle survived or not. Jillian still tries to kill them even if he survived, and the checks to get her to stop are the same no matter what.
7 Likes
Another issue: if you are leader and send people to speak to River Dogs but don’t go yourself, nothing happens.
Like, I could be missing something but it doesnt look like there’s any text nor behind the scenes change lol, as the debriefing only procs if Rachel or Jamie are in charge and go to see the group
As I mentioned earlier, the intimidation checks in that scene are literally impossible to meet and should be revised-- make broadly in line with group presuasion checks
In addition, if Jamie is leader the code is bugged, and whilst it says the peoppe he takes with him are not at the Junkyard, they’re not actually assigned to the mission so nothing happens (Jamie debriefing stills procs fine though) and the coded *if never triggers, Jamie doesn trade/ally with them etc.
The same issue doesnt occur with Rachel, where you have set the people as joining the mission
Also as I mentioned earlier the Lancelot mission is bugged and if Woody is alive you can only talk to him, even if you pick Jamie.
Given that there’s quite a bit of content talking to Jamie on the walkie talkie, would be good to have this fixed. Also double check that the speaker remains constant (e.g. speaker 1 is always Jamie or Woody) as I think there’s an inconsistency in one place (but can’t talk to Jamie at all to verify this plus it’s towards the end of the chapter so have to double check the code
Also when attacking Silverthornes:
*label EscapeCamp
You rush with the crowd, watching for soldiers and dodging those running next to you in the mayhem. The helicopter passes overhead, and you can see the heavy machine gun pointing at the ground along the Thruway. Single shots from soldiers hit the ground near you,
*if rallied_civilians
tearing the asphalt apart in twin lines.
*else
and a young woman a few paces ahead falls to the ground with a shot through her hip.} You
Delete the } here ^
I could be making a mistake but seems off/bugged in a few places across Part 3
3 Likes
Feedback, bugs, tips after multiple playthroughs:
Personal opinions:
General:
General:
-
I like the writing, a lot. I thought as we transition to the more group-management stage more of the writing would be dry, but I like the descriptions and general style. The Lancelot mission specifically stands out to me for this, although I’ll get back to that later
-
There seems to be less variability in terms of challenges in this section, although dependent child is still solid
-
It’d be nice to see more interactions between other characters, conflict or not. One example for me is when romancing both Rosie and Jillian at the same time, neither has literally anything to say about the other in general / romance wise.
-
I am fine with the scripted deaths, although I do hope this sets up a character arc where on one side Rosie is increasingly unstable until they are completely dependent upon the MC or attack/leave the group, or is supported and deals with Driver’s death. Same with Reilly, but to a lesser extent (and less so the "dependent upon MC part)
-
I like all the missions and replaying them, although the one where you go to the Research Center feels a bit like a slog-- can’t escape getting captured, nothing special to get, doesn’t have an impact on anything else. Everything else is great
-
General bugs lock out content, make less fun, some are minor and others lock out options unintentionally
Picking items when scavenging.:
The ability to pick more than one of the same item when scavenging would both increase fun and replayability. Trying to get 15 shampoos or something is so boring, repetitive and time-consuming that it genuinely makes me slightly apprehensive to start a new game.
You could just use the Thelma shop system. For any *Enable_reuse item, can take 1, 2, 5, 10 (if remaining space >)
This is what I would want to see the most out of everything, even ahead of bug fixes. For a single playthrough it’s not that big a deal, but on replaying it’s just very boring and repetitive.
I hope I never again have to scavenge 10 solar panels or shampoos manually
The scavenging system is good aside from this
Balance
(Mainly morale with gains / loss of items seems odd (although this could also be due to fairmath swinginess,) but also things like scavenging food being less of a real option given “1 food” only gives 3 units and takes up an inventory slot, whereas your group is burning through so much food. Maybe change this to 5, but it’s not a big balance issue, just that I’ve noticed in my playthroughs it never seems worth it to pick up food)
Aside from the scavenging food being imo too low, the balance is overall surprisingly good! I’m only mentioning the negatives but truth be told everything else is great and was perfected in Part 2, this is just a continuation of that which keeps up the good quality
Lancelot mission:
Really like this mission, it ties a lot of things/strands together in fun ways, interesting opportunities set up for the future (try to secure base for yourself later or help New Army or Vanguard get it, intercept delivery, recruit Sam (okay maybe not the last one))
It has a grand feeling and scale. When entering the base it definitely it engaging, and especially in the storage room getting phone calls every other action there is a sense of urgency and importance.
The exit is also amazing, my preferring one being activating the defenses and calling Faulkner for an assist, the automated drones taking out troops whilst a helicopter flies in whilst we drive away in a souped-up military SUV is amazing and put a smile on my face. The death scene is also very well written.
The robot is cool too. The game is general a very realistic down-to-earth zombie survival simulator. But in a world where the government can potentially engineer a virus like this and keep it covered up, advanced tech like an AI androids with weapons didn’t even feel really “out there” or undermining the premise of the game-- after all, this is an advanced military safe haven, and they’re still rules limited
The debriefing was fun, too. I like the recap of all the hijinks we get up to, and the occasional response from the others. And reading everyone else’s debriefing is fun too, seeing everyone else’s adventure both sets up the sense of scale and future opportunities whilst also gives us a better sense of each character’s journey and own style / personality (did they just scout? try to go inside? go inside and lie about it? etc)
Faction/group system:
I like the interactions with groups, and how they follow on from each other and link together
E.g.
- Shop at thelmas, be nice, don’t steal
- Ally with (or don’t) when drake offers
- Fight against them with museum or not
- Get them to help you when fighting Silverthornes, even if you fought against em if they like you enough based on previous interactions it works! Makes every single interaction with another group feel meaningful and engaging
I just hope we get to interact with other factions more than once next chapter, and meeting multiple factions at once, meeting them unexpectedly (E.g. we both scavenge same location, both hunting in the same area, working with them to kill a mass of zombies, stumbling upon loot they were forced to leave behind with the option to hand it to them, catching them in a fight with against another group with the option to help either side, flee, stop hostilities, etc.) as well as talking to them casually at their base, intimidating them to give us stuff/supplies, persuading them to help us with something (whether it be services, them having rare supplies like insulin or items they aren’t willing to just trade away, etc.) and normal trading/interactions too.
As you can probably tell, i like the faction mechanics a lot. Also, I would very much appreciate the option to fight the Forest Rats. Right now you can only fight them if your defenses are EXTREMELY weak (so weak that Gina must die to get to that point)
It’s weird because this railroading occurs even if you pick the option to not just scare but explicitly kill them… it just doesn’t let you. And theirs already a fight scene coded, and in other options in game you can completely murder innocent people in cold blood, so it seems really odd this isn’t an option, especially when you already have a fight scene with them and will have to keep track of whether they’re dead or alive anyway. It server only to reduce player choice with no real reason? Anyway, would like the option to actually fight them, especially given they, for the first time ever, actually attacked us first. And yet unlike all the other scenes where we can fight or outright slaughter groups, even ones that didn’t try to raid/kill us first, we can’t do so here. Again, just seems really… odd and genuinely can’t think of why this has been done, but it’s not a big issue either
Aside from that, it feels really good and I have the opportunity to interact with different factions as I’d like. Keep it up!
Training:
-
Make training other people come into play more often-- even if fo minor things (e.g. if someone is skilled in scavenging increase the amount they scavenge, if someone is skilled in persuasion reduce / bypass mc skill check, etc)
Right now in all parts combined there are only a handful of times training is used, and it’s a complete crapshoot. Like, 20 odd characters or something, tons of skills leads to a fuckton of combinations and makes me less interested in training people at all-- so ideally add a lot more copy-pasted checks in Part 4 (for example, for everyone that you’ve trained in intimidation and 1 to group intimidation. You could also do something like “if people are trained in a skill give new options that lead to the “good” result” whilst bypassing skill checks for us, etc*)
*the issue with this, though, is that we’re training survivors in skills we’re already good at, so bypassing checks is extremely less useful, so maybe it’d add to our check or maybe avoid an otherwise negative outcome -
Training can be boring in Part 3. You wrote a lot of good stuff in Part 2, no-- Why not just… reuse that. Even if we picked everyone training option available there’s so much that we’ll never see, and it has lines specific to character, too. You’ve wrote a lot of good content, don’t be afraid to shove it in our faces
Of course it’s absurd time-wise to expect you to write a personalized message for every single training option for everyone… but you’ve already done this! So, just use that.
Compare which is more fun to read:
You work with [trainee name] in the kitchen and show off your culinary skills, first with handling a knife and then a basic recipe from your childhood—a perfectly cooked spaghetti
Vs
Madison grimaces as she nearly ruins the practice meal, but she finally seems to get it. Then she offers a wan smile. “My parents weren’t exactly big on cooking. They had a private chef on staff. I miss Chef Augustin’s coq au vin.”
The latter is more interesting to read vs, let’s be honest, complete filler text, is more personalized to the character and also tells us a bit more about them. Not to mention, you’ve already written everything I’m saying! Just use that, or elements of it
Also, I think it might be good to make “Conversing with other group members” either not take time / one of four tasks or stand out more, because at first I missed it completely, and on my second play through remember thinking it’d likely be filler text increasing relationship with one survivor and had to spend time socializing to build morale instead, whereas in reality there is a lot of good content here, can talk to every character about a wide array of things that help flesh out the characters, learn about groups/world and make everything feel more real and grounded.
Bugs:
#“Everything you have, including weapons and gear.”
*set honor %-15
*set ruthless %-15
Should be increase in ruthlessness? Or am I misunderstanding-- it’s certainly the most aggressive and ruthless option available
*set assigned_to_bailey “fishing”
*set assigned_to_brody “fishing”
*set assigned_to_church “scavenging”
*set assigned_to_dante “scavenging”
*set assigned_to_driver “hunting”
*set assigned_to_gina “hunting”
*set assigned_to_jaime “watch duty”
*set assigned_to_jillian “scavenging”
*set assigned_to_jude “scavenging”
*set assigned_to_kelly “chores”
*set assigned_to_kevin “watch duty”
*set assigned_to_lopez “scavenging”
*set assigned_to_madison “hunting”
*set assigned_to_nora “watch duty”
*set assigned_to_parker “”
*set assigned_to_rachel “scavenging”
*set assigned_to_reilly “watch duty”
*set assigned_to_rosie “hunting”
*set assigned_to_tommy “watch duty”
*set assigned_to_woody “watch duty”
This should be free time or unassigned for Parker, right? Maybe intentional but either way seems odd esp when you get the report later
Also, for some reason Jude doesn’t get assigned to tasks at all by Rachel, he isn’t mentioned in her code, although works fine for everyone else
Finally, for some reason the last reinforcements (South tower, north tower and one of the other ones) they don’t disappear when clicked.
Namely,
*if not(watchtower_north)
*disable_reuse *selectable_if ((m_crafting >= 50) or ((m_survival >= 45) or ((woody_join or gina_join) and ((w_rope > 2) and ((wood_parts >= 20) and (metal_parts >= 8)))))) #Raise a watchtower on the north side of the junkyard. (Requires Crafting 50+ or Survival 45+ or Woody or Gina in the group, and 1 rope, 20 wood parts, and 8 metal parts)
*set watchtower_north_started true
Should be (on first line) *if not(watchtower_north_started
Same for south watchtower
Lancelot
Mentioned before, too tired to get again
To fix, just add
*set speaker 2
Under this line:
#“Woody, can you put on Jaime when he’s free?” I would rather talk to Jaime over Woody.
So it actually sets Jamie as the speaker
Also:
@{speaker "I thought you weren’t supposed to go into the depot? I guess that match has been burnt. Not like you can un-burn it now. So you’re inside? Sounds like a simple layout. Maybe too simple. Then again, this is the gov’ment we’re talking about. I ever tell you about the gov’ment grant I got? It was to study waste disposal on Native American reservations. Maybe when you get back, I can tell you all about it. That proposal was a real page-turner. Of course, we shouldn’t discuss it over a meal, because some of the details would make a maggot gag. Anyway, Jaime’s shootin’ me an evil eye, so I’ll get on with the other|"Glad you haven’t run into any trouble. I thought we decided no one was to go inside of the depots? Hopefully the place is empty of infected but full of useful supplies. I know, I’m an eternal optimist. Anyway, there’s another} reason for this contact. Compared to the others searching for similar depots, sounds like you’re
…
Though you already told @{speaker Jaime about the lab, you haven’t filled in Rachel.|Woody about the lab, you haven’t filled in Rachel and Jaime.} You talk about the layout of the lab
…
#Contact @{speaker Woody|Jaime} through the walkie-talkie to let him know about this decontamination chamber.
…
You pick up the walkie-talkie and radio in to the junkyard. @{speaker "Jaime,|“Woody,} pick up. Are you there?”
…
@{speaker “Jaime here. Is everything all right?”|“Go for Woody.”}
…
@{speaker “Roger. You know why we say ‘Roger that?’ Originally over walkie-talkies, people would say ‘received’ to confirm they heard the person on the other end. ‘Received’ is a bit hard to make out, and at the time, R was Roger. Now R is Romeo, but that’s a whole different story. So, ‘received’ became ‘roger,’ and the military grabbed onto it. Damn, Jaime’s givin’ me those evil eyes again. Gotta go. Be safe.”|“Take care and good luck. Most of all, I want you to be safe. If you need to abandon that depot, don’t worry about it. Just get back here in one piece. Okay, Jaime out.”}
…
And probs a few more
Speaker 1 should be Jamie, Speaker 2 should be Jamie
Or swap everything else around up to you, just keep it consistent
I cba to neatly order so
“What’s he doing?” {dep_name} asks.
Change to
“What’s he doing?” ${dep_name} asks.
Also, double check the Museum Club fight specifically to check that you have *if cruz_alive checks where they should be, fairly certain whe
1)Alerting Thelma, having released prisoners
2)Killing Cruz (hard shot)
The narration describes Cruz as continuing to shoot down.
Also when fighting Silverthornes there is no cap on grenades/molotovs, not sure if intentional. Probably nbd tbh
Also as mentioned before when you’re leader and send others to talk to the River Dogs, it is’t tracked/triggered/ even coded (is there actually any content for this??) Either way is fucked, nothing happens at all if you’re leader and send others there
Compare these two:
*else*
Jaime
*label JaimeMeetsStrangers
*set jaime_group_strangers true
*set jaime_junkyard false
*set brody_junkyard false
*set church_junkyard false
*set gina_junkyard false
*set parker_junkyard false
*if not(church_join or (gina_junkyard or parker_junkyard))
*set reilly_junkyard false
prepares a group to go out and meet the strangers, while you…
*goto MakeChoice
*elseif rd_spotted = 3
*if leader
*goto FirstSelectGroup
*else*
Rachel
*label RachelMeetsStrangers
*set rachel_group_strangers true
*set rachel_junkyard false
*if bailey_available
*set mission_bailey true
*set bailey_junkyard false
*if gina_available
*set mission_gina true
*set gina_junkyard false
*if woody_available
*set mission_woody true
*set woody_junkyard false
*if reilly_available
*set mission_reilly true
*set reilly_junkyard false
Jamie’s doesn’t actually assign anyone to the mission, leading to a lot of content missing and checks not passed
6 Likes
The problem is the game is mechanics heavy and neither of them bring any actual mechanical benefit other than having another body to throw at tasks. Jillian isn’t really good at anything and Kelly is only marginally useful for Scavenging. Combined with abrasive personalities (Kelly is the first to attack other candidates during the leadership vote and Jillian is Jillian).
Which is sad because he’s actually pretty damn useful, contributes quite a bit to food gain depending on how you use him (decent hunter, one of the best fishers, makes the farm plot/greenhouse faster).
7 Likes
Adding along some bugs/inconsistencies I’ve noticed:
- Thelma mentions that they lost the Battle at the Museum even though they won it with our help(they kill most of the survivors there, rescue one of their members, and get their fuel back with no casualties).
- Even though everyone comments that a lot of people will shoot the MC if they wear a Police or Military uniform on sight, I’ve never seen it happen throughout my playthroughs.
- Some items that should, theoretically, last a long time (blankets, binoculars, tarps and etc.) seem to get lost very easily within 3 days leading to massive drops in Morale. Even sending 5 people on Scavenging duty doesn’t alleviate this.
7 Likes
Apparently, binoculars are consumables and disappear in each cycle. I think that they should be considered “gear” instead of “consumables”–unless our group is using the binoculars as the targets rather than the aids in their ranged weapon practice.
11 Likes
The same thing is said with army uniform. It would be nice it be a thing sometimes and not sure an empty threat. There are no real authorities left so people can do what they want. Besides what if the mc encountered a person before working as a cop and arrested them surely they would want revenge
2 Likes
You do, actually. When you first meet Reilly and your profession is a Cop, there’ll be a flashback of you arresting him in the past after a bank robbery. You can ask him about it but, for me at least, he always denies it. But yeah, that does sound like a pretty good idea to flesh out the character and make the background more distinct.
1 Like
U can save lyle? How can u do it? He seems like a nice guy and a team player after he gave up and revealed his intentions. Heck he made his friend a better person from this whole encounter. It was shame to hear he died
1 Like