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  You enter the town of Hollow wearing a grim expression. You have served many years as an officer of the law, and as such, have spent much of your time knee-deep in a depraved, lower form of society. You were hoping that when you finally got your promotion to detective, things wouldn’t always be so bleak. Gazing around town as you approach your destination you realize that you were very mistaken. The whole place looks like it has been abandoned for some time for reasons unknown to you. The pale moonlight illuminates the dying grass at your feet, emphasizing your gut feeling that things aren’t right around here. The sign of old, ramshackle dwellings in the distance rattles your mind, engrossing your soul in a world of darkness. You suddenly feel vulnerable, your bravest moments forgotten. There is deathly silence, save for the whisper of icy wind that chills you to the bone.  You nearly jump when you hear a voice behind you.   You see, nearly everybody’s gone but me, and between the power outages, the loonies, and the witchcraft, I can’t say I blame them! Why do I stick around? Well... where else am I to go? But enough about Hollow... let’s hear about you. He eyes you up and down What’s your name, detective? What do you want me to call you?Hollow is sort of an adventure RPG; we get to name our protagonist and pick their class, and then develop their skills and arsenal over the course of the game. Naturally, the thread will get to pick who we will be going forwards, but for the purpose of this introductory update I’ll be using someone you might recognize if you read my last, abortive LP.  My name is Nancy Drew.   Our character’s gender can affect the game’s dialog on certain occasions. The class we pick determines which skills we have access to, as well as their starting level. The All-Rounder, as its description suggests, has access to all skills. However, they also start off very low, so it still won’t be possible to show everything off, since there’s a limit to how much experience is available. This means that, whichever you pick, I would like some kind of description of what kind of character you would like it to be, so I can build them up accordingly. Post your character’s name, class, and description (as well as a picture I can use for dialog, if you like) in the thread in bold, and I’ll use the best or most popular one for the rest of the game. If you decide to stay, for whatever ungodly reason, come see me if you need help. Just look around the cemetery long enough and you’ll find me. He grins and treads away, vanishing into the night.This homeless guy generally stays in the graveyard. He is available as a source of hints, though they’re rarely necessary. But he also offers us access to something else, which will be covered in a later update. Suffice to say, even if you know what you’re doing it’s still worth talking to him.    The inside of the agency is very dark. You don’t see any lights on anywhere, and some people have even taken to using candles to get their paperwork done. Surprisingly, a gentleman in a dress shirt and tie sees you in the dark room, and motions for you to go back to the chief’s office. The police HQ is our base of operations, but at the moment everything is closed off. The power is out, and all of the offices and services are locked up. They won’t be accessible until our heroine has finished her first assignment, but before that the chief has a small mission for us.    You’ve seen and done a lot of things that we folks here in Hollow couldn’t hope to. But before I butter you up too much, I’m going to warn you: what you’re here for is bizarre, to say the least. I’m sorry, I’m sure you’d like to be filled in, but I’m not sure where to start. Why don’t you start from the beginning? He signs and nods slowly in agreement. Believe it or not, Nancy Drew, a couple of months ago this town was doing well. I mean, it wasn’t the bustling city you’re used to but it was sure as hell better than it is now. It all started with the strangest visions and happenings... People claimed to see spirits, demons, and other nonsense. Nearly everyone has abandoned ship. All the weird goings-on was bad enough, but then the power around town started cutting out with no explanation. The residents here had had enough at that point, so they took off. Who knows when they’ll be back. Probably never, because this little fairy tale gets better. There’s more? His expression turns cold. A few days ago, some of our prison inmates managed to escape. These were our most dangerous criminals. A couple we were only holding for Nixville until they could get their numbers down. All I know is that someone from the outside had to be behind the escape. Why do you think that? None of the escapees would ever conspire together. They’d be more likely to kill one another than to work as a team. The breakout method just doesn’t seem possible without some kind of outside interference. That’s why I want you to go down there and see what you can come up with. Breaking me in already, huh? Not just yet. First, I want you to take a look around. Notice anything? Probably not because it’s so drat dark in here! The lights went out here shortly before you arrived. Luckily we’re equipped with a backup generator for this building. The generator is in the basement. To get there, take the stairs at the end of the entrance hall. The stairs door will be locked but I’ve got the key. He hands us an old bronze key. After you’ve got the power back on, come see me. Again thank you for helping us, Nancy Drew. Alright, I’ll be back shortly.The game’s ultimate goal is to find, and stop, the person responsible for the town’s mysterious occurrences. But the chief wants his lights back on, so that comes first. The door to the basement is in the front hallway of the station. It is locked, but we have the key.   Sometimes containers, like these lockers, can contain useful items. In this case, they held a gun and two clips of ammunition. Because this game has combat, and our first opponent is a rat hiding in the basement.  Combat is pretty standard for SRPGs: each turn, a character can move and then perform some action. Raising combat skills can unlock new maneuvers, though there’s not very many of those. Ending a turn without making any action lets the character regenerate their energy – this is necessary if you are playing a character with magic, since it’s impossible to change what weapon they’re equipped with mid-battle, and thus a mage with no MP cannot change to his or her gun if they run out.  The rat puts up a good fight, possibly because a handgun is not the most appropriate tool for slaying rats, but eventually it collapses and we can proceed to the generator.  The old generator is covered in dust and grime. It may not work properly because of it. But your handkerchief has seen worse messes than this in its time.    Yes. Tutorial, complete. Good job getting the lights back on. It helps to be able to see who I’m talking to! It was nothing. Nancy Drew, I’d like you to meet your new partner, Detective Daniels. He will accompany you on you first assignment to the prison. Daniels is our best sleuth and should be able to show you the ropes – not that you need to be shown. He throws a forced smile your way. Hold up. You’re still a stranger to me. You want my life history? Alright. I’ve been here at the Hollow agency for as long as I can remember. When I was younger I had dreams of moving on and being a famous dick, but I got to liking the place so I stuck around. I’m a decent shot and I always remember to bring my investigation tools so they keep me around. Nice of them, eh? Well, we should get going to the prison. Alright, let’s go.Daniels is the first of several recruitable party members. Allies cannot be reequipped, so you’re stuck with whatever weaponry they had when they joined – in Daniels’s case, he uses a handgun, which is the starting gun and thus not very useful later on – but they also have character-specific items which must be used to solve puzzles. The party is limited to our protagonist and one (later, two) allies at any given time. You can swap characters at any time, though, so unless you simply haven’t recruited the necessary character you’ll never have to go and get someone from HQ. Next time, the detective of your choice will be teaming up with Daniels here to investigate a prison escape! Remember to post your suggestion in bold if you have any input. Thanks for reading! UPDATES: PART 2 PART 3 PART 4 PART 5 corn in the bible fucked around with this message at 06:14 on Jan 7, 2015 |
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Dec 17, 2014 03:58
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So apparently this was a $60 Kickstarter game, and the screenshots on there are 320x224 and look much more readable. Try 640x448 and see if the font looks better then because goddamn. That said, this looks quite bizarre. I'm not sure what to expect from this game.
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Dec 17, 2014 04:26
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I'm voting for Nancy Drew from the last thread. I don't really care about her class, I just want her to be surprised at what Scotland is like.
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Dec 17, 2014 04:36
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Admiral H. Curtiss posted:So apparently this was a $60 Kickstarter game, and the screenshots on there are 320x224 and look much more readable. Try 640x448 and see if the font looks better then because goddamn. Well, poo poo, I had no idea this was a kickstarter game. But I can confirm that the font looks much worse in the actual release than in the preview screenshots he offers. Somehow he hosed up the font, and it is a problem. So I can do smaller screenshots, but the font will not be any more legible.
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Dec 17, 2014 04:37
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Personally, I reckon Nancy Drew is a total mentalist.
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Dec 17, 2014 14:13
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since someone asked for it, here's a video to show off the wonderful lighting engine. also features one of the few parts of the game with voice acting (!) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HxbohoQfHZU
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Dec 17, 2014 17:10
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I'd like some more info on the game itself? It looks bad, even for a kickstart project. Is it actually any good? Those choose gender and choose skills questions are rough and ugly.
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Dec 17, 2014 21:19
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Nancy Drew the Mage
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Dec 17, 2014 22:39
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Vexrm posted:I'd like some more info on the game itself? It looks bad, even for a kickstart project. Is it actually any good? Those choose gender and choose skills questions are rough and ugly. This is the Kickstarter and you can buy the game for $2.50 here.
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Dec 17, 2014 22:51
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corn in the bible posted:since someone asked for it, here's a video to show off the wonderful lighting engine. also features one of the few parts of the game with voice acting (!) That seems really cool but it looks like it could use some work looking at the end of the video.
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Dec 18, 2014 06:09
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Nancy Drew is a computer specialist, obviously. Mainly because I'm very curious about how that translates to combat.
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Dec 18, 2014 17:34
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Great lighting engine. Accurately simulates how shadows don't need to project onto anything, they just kinda explode out of your body like a comet's tail. 10/10PleasingFungus posted:Nancy Drew is a computer specialist, obviously. Mainly because I'm very curious about how that translates to combat. Super fighting robots, presumably. Another vote for computer specialist dijon du jour fucked around with this message at 20:13 on Dec 18, 2014 |
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Dec 18, 2014 19:52
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I dunno, it's an alright lighting engine if they're going for some kind of horror theme. Creeping, clinging shadows.
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Dec 19, 2014 19:24
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Nancy Drew is a computer specialist, and has helped me by giving me smaller screenshots for this update. Here are her starting stats: Some skills offer unlockable perks based upon their levels. For example, Thanks to her Knowledge skill, we get an indicator of how hurt enemies are during combat. Guns, unsurprisingly, unlocks various firearm skills – so far, all we have is AIM, which increases pistol damage at the cost of energy. Allies have their own skills; for example, Daniels has the AIM skill for use with his pistol. One of the later characters uses a shotgun, and thus has that weapon’s special skill. Also, we’ve got hacking. I’ll talk about hacking later in this update. The Chief wants us to investigate a prison break. Here is the game’s map of Hollow:  We go through the prison’s exit, because it’s faster. Unfortunately, there’s a locked door here, blocking our progress. Opening it requires a skill check, as seen here:   It’s no surprise there was a prison break when all that’s keeping them in are these shoddy locks. You pick the lock easily and swing the door open. Passing a skill check nets us an experience point! Raising a skill level costs its current level in points; thus, to raise Hacking to 4 would cost us 3 exp.    If we had picked the melee class, we’d have enough Strength to handle this situation. Fortunately, we can just make Daniels do it. What good’s that going to do? Ah hell, alright.The two of you manage to pull the door off the wall. It hits the ground with a deafening clang. Thanks. Now let’s get to work.There’s some kind of green substance slathered around the back of the door. It seems to be an adhesive, and the reason the door was stuck so firmly. What the heck is that stuff? You better be careful in examining it or your hand may end up looking like the wall. I brought my magnifier loupe if you want to take a closer look. That would be helpful.This is meant to teach the player about partner inventories. Most ally characters have some unique item in addition to their weapon, which can be used to solve puzzles. Having Daniels with us lets us examine things more closely.  This part of the ooze is wildly gyrating for some reason. You collect the sample and bag it up, feeling just a bit creeped out.  Yes, only someone with a high knowledge skill could tell that it “could be magic.” Finally, all those years of study have paid off! I think that’s all we’re going to find here. Let’s question the warden before we go back to HQ and find out what exactly happened on the night of the breakout. Hopefully he can shed a little light on what’s going on here.RAT FIGHT [img]http://lpix.org/1880540/image020.png/img] And what’s this? A computer!  A place for Nancy Drew to show off her hacking prowess! I hope you’re ready for this.  It always takes a Hacking skill check to even attempt computer access. When you pass it, well…    Nancy Drew takes out her loving deck and jacks into the matrix Hacking is fairly confusing. You assign programs to your deck which attack ICE nodes, heal the user (because firewalls are somewhat literal in Hollow) and try to cut your way to a room in which there’s something you can interact with. If you level Hacking, it unlocks more programs to use while fighting in cyberspace. In this case, Nancy got beaten half to death by defense programs, and then ejected by a trace routine. And damage translates out into the real world, meaning if you get hit by really black ICE you can just straight-up die. I gave up on this computer at this point, because you can’t save until after the prison sequence and I didn’t want to do everything over again for a third time, but worry not! There will be more computers to jack into later on. Then there’s a fight with some weird thing that’s sort of invisible? But it gets shot to death regardless.   At last, we run into the warden.  We’ve never spoken to him before. The warden sighs, but seems to want to help. How could you let them get away? We did the best we could, ok? You don’t have to remind me how terrible this is. Had it been a normal escape attempt, we would’ve caught them before they could reach the outside. Something supernatural planned it and helpd them get away. That’s the only thing I’m sure of right now. Speakng of which, have you seen the conditions of the SCU? What about them? Those prisoners aren’t in there for petty theft. These people have committed mass murder, rape, acts of terrorist, you name it. If they had attacked one of your loved ones you probably wouldn’t be worried about their quality of life.What the hell kind of lovely town is this that it has an entire prison wing dedicated to terrorist rapists? I don’t care what they did. No one deserves such treatment. What exactly happened on the night of the escape? Reports are varied about the beginning. According to most, several cell doors just swung open by themselves. I was up here when I got word that the inmates were heading my way. I initiated lockdown and the guards were able to subdue a few of them, but the hardheaded ones made it ack to the SCU. By then, I was in pursuit myself. I’ finally caufht up with them when there was this obnoxious sound. Sort of a loud, burning noise. The door of Dogfed’s cell opened right up and the runners all fled to that room. I thought they’d surely be easy to catch now that they’re ll in that small room. But instead there was a gaping hole in the wall. Before we could follow them, the cell door flew off the drat hinges and covered the hole so we couldn’t follow! …Dogfed? That’s what everyone calls him. I feel bad for the bastard if that’s the name his mama gave him. He’s one of the offenders Nixville sent us when they ran out of space. I’m sure you can find more information about him than I can give. I’ll just say he’s someone you wouldn’t want to run into a dark alley, or anywhere for that matter.Fun fact: Dogfed’s plotline was a stretch goal on the kickstarter! He won’t show up for a while, but I hope you’re excited to see his backstory and tragic dénouement! That’s an incredible story. I have to admit, when I first saw you I didn’t think much of ya. But you’ve proven that you’re serious about what you do. I apologize for giving you a rough time, and if I can ever be of help, I’ll try my best to assist you. Of course you’ll help. Otherwise I’ll have you locked up. Calm down, Dirty Harry. We’ve badgered the witness enough. Let’s head back to HQ. It may not look like much, but I’ll show you the ins and outs of the joint. The idiot had it coming. Let’s go. This is sadly where some detectives spend most of their time. The bureaucratics of this job will kill you faster than the fieldwork.He chuckles and gives you a nudge.  Here is our state of the art laboratory. This is where you’ll take that sample we got from the jail after done showing you around. Just watch out for the technician, Ben. He can be a little… clingy, but he means well.But the tour is interrupted by the best character ever:  What’s your problem? My problem is YOU, city slicker. I’ve been working my rear end off around here to get a little respect, and I’m not gonna have some know-it-all rear end in a top hat come in and ruin it. Get bent! Screw ya! I’m done talkin’ to you. Just stay outta my business and you won’t get hurt.He brushes against you as he walks past. Who was that? Oh that’s just Ryan NeSmith. As arrogant and weaselly as they come. He’d turn in his own grandmother for cheating at bingo. My advice? Just avoid him wherever possible. He’s only looking to stir up trouble. I’ll do that.Ryan NeSmith, whose name is fascinatingly terrible, will show up again later in more hilarious circumstances. In the meantime, Nancy and Daniels have funally reached her new office. Daniels doesn’t get an office.  The computer is used for reading departmental emails (useful), and also has a database of known criminals (pointless). Nancy Drew does not have a house, apartment, or even a hotel room, and thus must save the game by sleeping on the couch in her office.  What an exciting day. 
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Dec 20, 2014 06:08
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Also, if you had a dog, what would you name it? Just asking.
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Dec 20, 2014 19:21
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Glazius posted:I dunno, it's an alright lighting engine if they're going for some kind of horror theme. Creeping, clinging shadows. I guess. Doesn't help me shake the mental image that everyone's lying on the floor. corn in the bible posted:Also, if you had a dog, what would you name it? Just asking. Constable Woofingshire. dijon du jour fucked around with this message at 20:28 on Dec 20, 2014 |
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Dec 20, 2014 20:25
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corn in the bible posted:Also, if you had a dog, what would you name it? Just asking.
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Dec 20, 2014 21:51
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corn in the bible posted:Also, if you had a dog, what would you name it? Just asking. Kitty.
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Dec 20, 2014 23:35
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ArchWizard posted:McGruff yep
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Dec 20, 2014 23:52
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Laura Bow.
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Dec 21, 2014 00:17
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So every time you use a skill option, you get one XP? Huh. Also what the hell that is exactly Genesis Shadowrun.
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Dec 21, 2014 05:20
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ArchWizard posted:McGruff
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Dec 22, 2014 21:10
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I'm sorry for the lack of updates, but Christmas preparation has gotten in the way. Expect an update on Boxing Day -- I'll be showing off a successful hacking run, as well as some other things.
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Dec 25, 2014 08:07
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Merry Christmas. I got you all another update. If you remember, last time we investigated the prison. We need to check back with the Chief and get our next assignment, but first we should check out our new place of employment. The couch is the game’s sole save point, and also heals the party fully when used. The computer is less useful, but allows us to check our mail:  But it also has dossiers on the escaped convicts from the prison.    Cower in fear at dread murderers Jane, Sergio, and Dogfed! The station also has a gun shop, because police officers are not assigned guns or ammunition and must instead purchase them with money that they stole from the dead rats in the basement.    Pistols, SMGs, shotguns, and maybe some performance enhancers. Don’t worry, I don’t sell to anyone outside the agency. Sounds good. Take a look, and don’t be shy with your wallet. I could use the money. Any particular reason? Alright… when the exodus of Hollow was in its beginning stages, there was a mad rush to Grand Foods to grab anything and everything off the shelves. I just so happened to be in on it. In all the chaos… I sorta kinda lost my billfold. Had I know that was going to happen, I would’ve just bought the stuff instead of looting it. I can try to find it. You’d do that? That’s nice of you even if you’ve got a reward on your mind. I think the last place I had it was in aisle… three? I suggest starting there.There are a few sidequests and extra areas in Hollow, and this is our first one. Kim will reward us for finding her billfold in the otherwise skippable supermarket area of the town; it’s very easy to find, but we’ve still got some business in the office. I did buy a clip of bullets from her, though, as Nancy Drew is too poor to purchase anything else. On more official business, we’ve got to head to the lab to drop off that weird green stuff from the prison.  You place the sample into the compartment and shut the door. You are about to leave when you hear a knock on the viewing window. Out of the corner of your eye you get a glimpse of a giddy man in a white lab coat. He pivots from side to side and waves you over. With hesitation, you walk up to the glass.  Hi! You are Nancy Drew, right? I have heard all about you! My my my my have I heard all about you! It is an honor to meet a legend such as yourself! Wow, just wait until my wife hears! So what is this green stuff you just gave me? A gift? Yes, it’s a treat for you. Go ahead, eat it. Really? Thank you very much, Nancy Drew! Hmm… a unique flavor. Like very bitter baklava. Actually, it’s evidence we found at the prison.His face twists into a look of betrayal and worry. You’re unsure whether to feel guilty or laugh. Quite a character, isn’t he? He’s annoying at first but you’ll get used to him sooner or later. You should report to the boss, I’m sure he’s got more for you to do. As for me, I’ve got work here to do, unless you want me to tag along with you wherever the chief sends you next.What a swell police station. Regardless of what Buddy Cop said, there’s no option to travel without party members, so we’re stuck with him. Daniels chews through clips of ammo quickly, since he’s stuck with the worst gun in the game; we have one too, but it’ll be replaced soon. Anyway, what’s next for Nancy Drew?  You should go to her house and enter by any means necessary. Check the map in the lobby if you need directions. It shouldn’t be too hard to find. If you find any writings that might even hint at where she went and why, bring them directly to me. I’m counting on you, Nancy Drew!The mayor has disappeared, so let’s check her house, the most obvious place for a kidnapped person to be held. Spoilers: she’s in her house. First things first, though; I headed to the “warehouse” on the map, which is this red house right here.   Inside is one of those annoying switch and gate puzzles that RPGs like so much. Suffice to say, I hit all the switches and got to the end.  Our reward?  Fantastic. The revolver is the best handgun in the game, though it holds fewer bullets. That means we’ll waste even more clips using it, but for the moment it’ll make things a lot easier. There is another optional area that contains an Uzi, which is also very good in the early game. However, revolvers stay useful throughout the entire game, especially once we get partners who don't use ammunition. Now, to the Mayor’s house!   This is one of the areas that I will give Hollow credit for. Depending on your character build, there’s several ways to get through this gate. If you built up a speedy melee character, you can do a skill check to jump between the lasers and get through that way. If you want to solve puzzles, there’s a room nearby where you can gain access to a keycard, and turn off the lasers that way. But Nancy Drew is a master hacker, so there’s only one suitable way to deal with this situation:  Let’s talk some more about how hacking works. The horrible pixelated fedora represents our heroine, Nancy Drew. She can take damage from ICE, specifically from the axe-shaped ICE visible here. If it hits 0, then we’re booted out and take some damage; this can kill you. In theory, the ALERT in the upper right can be kept low by being stealthy, but that is actually impossible. TRACE, however, is important – some ICE will not attack, but raises the TRACE level whenever it gets a turn; if it reaches maximum, it’s exactly the same as reaching 0 HP. There is a program that heals damage, but no way to reduce TRACE, so mostly I just run away from those. You can’t heal if there aren’t any enemies around to have turns as well, which makes no sense but is ultimately a good idea for game balancing purposes. The most annoying ICE, however, is the one shaped like prison bars. They block movement in one direction, which is usually where you want to go, but not always. So it’s possible to waste time destroying them, and just end up in a dead end anyway. Fortunately, there’s no penalty to jacking out and trying again.  In this computer, the goal is to reach the I/O port.  Activating switches can be done even if there are attackers, which is handy.   The mayor’s house is a short puzzle dungeon, and the theme is candles. It’s stupid, but not frustrating. Which is a good way to describe this game, actually.    She’s not here! We sent her on a little… trip. If you miss her, don’t worry. I’ll make sure to bury both of you in the same grave when we’re finished. He pulls out a gun! Nancy shoots him to death with her new revolver before he can get close enough to attack. RIP, cultist guy. Other rooms include a maze:  And this room, where you just have to go up to all the candles and extinguish them. I guess it’s sort of like a puzzle?  Doing all that unlocks a door to the final room of the Mayor’s house. What could be inside?     You are quite sure that this is the mayor. These cultists have somehow gained access to her home and claimed it for their own. The back of her head is cracked open and a large pool of blood resides beneath her. Sifting through her pockets, you find identification that positively identifies the woman as Jane Lovelace. She also has $40 tucked away. You take the money. Best cop ever. Wow, that sure was some crazy stuff. Let’s go back to the police station and fall asleep on the sofa.  Unfortunately, evil forces have replaced the police station with a hellish otherworld! This is a turn-up for the books. corn in the bible fucked around with this message at 15:36 on Dec 26, 2014 |
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Dec 26, 2014 15:32
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There better be an otherworld sofa for us to nap in. 
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Dec 26, 2014 20:36
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Deceitful Penguin posted:There better be an otherworld sofa for us to nap in. Nope! Which also means you can't save once you finish the Mayor's House until you also finish the Otherworld Police Station.
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Dec 27, 2014 00:48
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So was there any kind of indication we'd been sucked into the Otherworld? Sirens, mirrors clouding over, et cetera?
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Dec 27, 2014 12:57
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Glazius posted:So was there any kind of indication we'd been sucked into the Otherworld? Sirens, mirrors clouding over, et cetera? No. You just go through the front door of the police station like usual and you wind up there instead.
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Dec 27, 2014 16:45
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corn in the bible posted:No. You just go through the front door of the police station like usual and you wind up there instead. Also I suppose that the abrupt change is a bit more horror, but it certainly ain't good gameplay! Speaking of gameplay though, can you level up at any time? And how much XP have you got thus far?
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Dec 29, 2014 05:05
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So we’re in the Otherworld. Spooky! Now, I know this situation is completely unprecedented in horror games, but to get out of here we need several Spooky Items to use in order to open a door. In this case, they’re just sitting on tables in the police station, which is somewhat underwhelming. There's also no skill checks here, which means I still haven't needed to spend any experience points.   We head towards where the offices are, passing underneath these nooses.  There are no enemies in the Otherworld, which makes it considerably less dangerous than the rat-infested ordinary town. There’s another table, though!  This sequence is underwhelming.  Are you scared yet? We’ve got the key to the basement, let’s see if something interesting is happening there.   Oh no! Our inventory has become a HORROR INVENTORY! It goes away as soon as you close the inventory.   The basement contains an early 90s geocities background, as well as some pixelated images of body parts. This one is the mouth, so we use the appropriate torture device on the painting.  Shocking. Suddenly, something happens! Man am I glad you woke up. You’ve been layin’ out here in the hall hollerin’ creepy stuff. What happened? This investigation too much for you? I knew the chief should’ve put me on it instead of some outsider like you! Get out of my face, Ryan! Whatever. It’s obvious this investigation is getting to you. It won’t be long before you crack, then I’ll step in and save your rear end. You just wait.He goes back into the office, leaving you sitting on the floor. rear end in a top hat.I guess going into a trance and screaming at everyone doesn’t count as cracking, because the chief doesn’t give a poo poo about what happened. I guess when you only have three cops in the entire town your choices are limited, but still. Nancy Drew, are you alright? You look like death warmed over. I had a dream that the agency was a torture chamber. Please don’t tell me that, Nancy. We’ve had enough visions and insane happenings lately, the last thing I want to see is you being affected by it. Did you find out where the mayor went? Cultists invaded her home and killed her. I was afraid Jane might be dead. With all that’s been happening, one would be a fool not to expect the worst. He sighs. You say cultists were in her home? Did they leave something you could identify their group by? Maybe some kind of symbol? The body was on a circle with arrows coming from it. I think I know someone who may know something. I’ll try to bring him in and see if he can identify this cult. Maybe then we can understand their motives behind killing the mayor. I don’t know what we’d do without you at this point. You can probably guess that I’ve got something else for you to do, though I imagine seeing the mayor’s dead body was pretty traumatic. I’ve seen worse. There’s been a sighting of Sergio Rufio, one of our escaped criminals. He was seen entering Town Hall. I need you to look around in there and bring him back in, if possible. I don’t advocate needless violence, but if he gets aggressive, defend yourself.Guess that whole “Mayor killed by cultists” thing can wait. Ben has a report on that green stuff we found in the prison, which I can’t explain because it’s a bunch of made-up bullshit:  So far Nancy has failed to resolve the prison break and the murder of the town’s mayor, but this time everything will definitely go fine. You’re almost to town hall when you hear several loud thumps and crashes, followed by a young woman shouting. The noises seem to be coming from a house to the South.  This is definitely where the noises are coming from. You feel that it is your duty to intervene if something is wrong Open the door, it’s the police!    I’ve heard enough of your smartass comments. I’m going to kill you!Ironically, the opposite happens!  No! Ted! It didn’t have to end like this! She looks up at you. He really was a good person deep down. That loving gang brainwashed him. He got mad sometimes before, but it was never this bad.As far as I know, there’s no way to avoid killing Ted. You’re better off without him. No I’m not. I centered my life around him. Being with Ted made me forget about my problems. That person you just saw, that wasn’t my Teddy. The Flying A’s were sing him like a guinea pig. They were pumping him full of some new drug they got, and it was changing him. What am I going to do now? You should come with me. I’ll keep you safe. You’ll take me with you? I guess I’d be stupid not to accept… There’s been rumors that people have been seeing and hearing monsters, and a bunch of them went nuts. I don’t want to be alone in this place. I’ll go with you.Beth joins the party, and should be switched out for Daniels as soon as possible if you are playing a firearm-centric character like we are. She has no weapon, which is problematic later on, but at the moment her fists are perfectly serviceable, and that means Nancy can go nuts with her revolver and waste all the ammunition on rats. Not that there are that many combat encounters anyway; it’s not really necessary. Beth also has a UV light with her, which makes little sense but is necessary for solving puzzles. Finally, we can go to the Town Hall.  But be warned: there’s Wizardry about.   
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Jan 1, 2015 07:33
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There was hardly any scumming ability rolls for half an hour to make a competent character. That was no true Wizardry.
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Jan 1, 2015 10:59
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This game seems pretty spooky.
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Jan 1, 2015 15:41
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Okay, I actually like the scare where your inventory suddenly turns spooky. Good job, game.
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Jan 1, 2015 18:44
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dijon du jour posted:Okay, I actually like the scare where your inventory suddenly turns spooky. Good job, game. it is good, but nothing like that ever happens again.
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Jan 2, 2015 21:43
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drat, when you have artistic abilities like this guy...you should probably just learn to write text adventures. Seriously, this is going to give me nightmares, and not in the way the game maker intended...
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Jan 4, 2015 23:14
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 Town hall is a first-person dungeon. Sometimes. There are also no other areas in the game portrayed in this fashion. It is not a very good first-person perspective, either. It seems like something that would be hard to screw up, and it is also difficult to explain how he screwed it up. I’ll try to demonstrate. You can turn left or right using the arrow keys, which is fine. Right from the entrance is this boarded up door:  On the left is a room we can’t do anything with until much later in the game.  And behind, naturally, is the exit. So that all works fine. The problem is at the other end of the hallway. You see, there are these big double-doors:  The goal is to get through, but we don’t have the key. So you turn left and  Ok, well, first you run into a cultist, but whatever. These enemies cannot hurt you as far as I know, but they do give experience so I don’t mind them. However, take a look at this location. This is what you see if you turn left from the big doors, and yet the Town Records room is to Nancy’s right in the picture. All of this could have been avoided if the developer had just made this area fully first-person, or not done it at all (since it adds nothing, gameplay-wise, to the experience). By the way, someone asked about our levels, so here is Nancy’s current loadout:  I leveled Hacking to 5, which has the benefit of making every hacking session insultingly easy, and medicine to 4, which has a benefit later on: [spoilers]you need it to recruit the dog[/spoilers].  Here’s another cultist. He guards the Animal Control office.  This safe contains the key we need to progress, and it is opened via the computer. We do not have the password, but as a Lv.5 HACKER Nancy Drew can crack any computer effortlessly. The reason for this is that, as you gain hacking levels, you get new programs. When she reached level five, Nancy learned a program which instantly defeats any ICE without triggering an alarm. This means that, though there might be a computer or two with a higher skill check to access it, the actual act of hacking is now piss-easy. This safe is no exception, and it gives up its contents quickly: the key to the town hall courtroom. Get ready for a boss fight!     He died in about three shots. Good bye, Sergio. But he mentioned some other cult sacrifice – what is that all about? The town records room, which I mentioned before, holds the answer.  Beth has a UV light, so this is easily handled.  The solution for this is simply to open the fourth drawer of the first chest, the first drawer of the second one, etc. Then this happens:   It seems this older gentleman’s life has been brought to an end by the cultists. Several bullet holes are visible on his chest, with a thin powder surrounding them. The victim probably suffered a great deal.Scintillating analysis from Nancy Drew. So the cultists performed a similar ritual in the town hall as they did in the mayor’s house. We’ll be back later to investigate further, but for now we’re supposed to go report to the chief. But there is something else I have been meaning to try, since I haven't played through this game as a full-on hacker character before. Let’s go meet up with the hobo from the opening!    You look like you can handle yourself so I’ll tell you. See, we got us a little underground fighting ring. Compete, win, and walk away with some extra cash. Interested? The code on the right terminal is GRINDER. As for the left terminal… your guess is as good as mine. Thanks for the info.The left terminal has a hacking skill check on it, but no actual hacking minigame. Apparently, it will open as long as you have at least a 5 in hacking. A door appears and Nancy Drew steps inside.     Then the game crashed.
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Jan 7, 2015 06:13
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I'm guessing there's no way to get Sergio or any of the other escaped criminals to come quietly/team up if only to ensure they actually live through this due to not being very bright. It's not like you could be confused for a cultist either because they all wear obvious hoods and robes, but of course trying to apply common sense to people's motivations in this game is a fool's errand. also uh just so you know the spoiler tag has only one s
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Jan 7, 2015 12:25
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Ignatius M. Meen posted:I'm guessing there's no way to get Sergio or any of the other escaped criminals to come quietly/team up if only to ensure they actually live through this due to not being very bright. It's not like you could be confused for a cultist either because they all wear obvious hoods and robes, but of course trying to apply common sense to people's motivations in this game is a fool's errand. We're going to murder our way through pretty much every problem from now until the end of the game.
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Jan 7, 2015 19:33
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Is Sergio just too far gone or does he have different responses to what you say to him before he tries to murder you?
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Jan 8, 2015 19:18
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Wasn't there a computer in the first dungeon you didn't have the skills for? Can't you go back and hack it now?
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Jan 25, 2015 00:44
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