Great story. While having to find the correct path was annoying, as mentioned by others, the elaborate understory was genius. The fear level was slightly low for exploring and killed me several times, but proved to be fine for the right path. The battles were tough, but searching and mapping were pleasant. Good job, if tough and somewhat unlikeable for some people. Grade: 98
RogueOne Mon Oct 23 21:36:05 2017
Done!
Wilf Sat Jun 2 17:31:07 2018
Section 167 contains incorrect spellings of "Lambda". Also, you reach it by administering a dose of Neuroxin to a woman, but no deduction of Neuroxin doses is made on your Possessions list.
Thanks, this is now dealt with. I have assumed that "Lamda" is the correct version as there are more instances of this spelling throughout.
yuu Thu Sep 27 10:36:17 2018
good game because you can speck out yours skill point were you want and its a good story
paul Tue Mar 19 17:43:34 2019
bums, dehydration in the brig :( i like ths one, nice and mysterous.
YARD Tue Sep 19 06:46:25 2023
Well, I had pretty high expectations for this after Soul Tracker, which I enjoyed quite a lot, and knowing that this was written some time after. Promisingly, it also has no names like Drago Darkheart, though naming your ship a Norwegian word for Devil is almost equally on the nose. Unfortunately, I found this to be a real disappointment altogether. I would go as far as to say that I hated it by the point I won for the first time, but then checking out the other, dead-end options helped to redeem it somewhat.
One of the issues is actually to do with the way it was adapted. I downloaded the text version to check, and saw that you had TEN FEAR points. Having finished the whole thing, I agree with the earlier comments that's too much, but reducing it to just 4 FEAR points goes way too far in the other direction. In practice, it means that on one of the two paths, your Astro-Geologist keels over and dies after seeing just a couple of dead bodies (yes, I know you are supposed to minimize your exposure to them to win), unless you chug basically all of that Neuroxin almost immediately, and it just feels wrong - not scary, but merely annoying and implausible. I think it would be way better to have it at 6 points, but make a few more events give FEAR points. I.e.
SPOILER
Somehow, seeing the woman who had just pretended to be a medic turn to an alien at 230 does NOT give any FEAR points, even though a very similar transformation at 219 gives two?
And as was already pointed out many years earlier, 161 says it adds a point, but it doesn't. Once it does, 6 point capacity would be a lot more reasonable.
END SPOILER
However, the more fundamental issue is that you are an Astro-Geologist, you were sent out to investigate a ship where, as you are told in the very first ref, potentially every system could be broken...and you go ahead and do that WITHOUT EVEN A FLASHLIGHT, without rubber-insulated gloves (according to ref 105), and, more importantly, WITH NO OXYGEN MASK OF ANY KIND, even though by far the most plausible reason for what happened to the ship is that it suffered a breach and/or air purification broke? A whole instakill skill check only exists because of this stupidity, as well as one of the ways to get captured for a midway encounter, one which REALLY doesn't justify all the railroading leading up to it.
SPOILER
In that encounter, at ref 237, they tie us up and even bother to remove our backpack, yet they somehow do NOT remove our pistol? This is just peak stupidity, even worse than untying you for literally no reason. Plus, having that backpack supposedly removed still doesn't stop you from reaching either the capsule or the solvent. Then, at 271, the alien "staggers back against the wall"…and we just leave, and don’t get to follow up and keep shooting at it on the ground until we are convinced it's dead? Same goes for 216 or 250. For that matter, why do we have to stand and watch and not shoot immediately at 219? Or indeed, why is an alien obviously talking to the other aliens in English at 276?
That's not even to mention just how random that option 271 is. One does have to wonder why, if bottle of solvent worked so well at 271, we can’t use it against the Elders (and presumably the Leader, though I haven't tried checking since it's essentially worthless.) Or the desperate railroading in the Deep Sleep: again, if they could vent a sedative at 179, why even bother with risking one of their own in the first place? Seeing whoever you freed get shot in the exact same way every time is annoying (in a "Hondo, get TF down on the floor!" way), and not remotely scary.
END SPOILER
As I said, it's unfortunate that not only is there only one path to victory, but it's the path that's a lot less interesting and altogether worse-written. It involves more crew interaction (particularly on the dead-end paths) and it feels so constrained. I.e.
SPOILER
At 156, we can open fire at whoever shot at us or chase after them or ignore them, but we cannot try to call out and talk? And then, at 160, we cannot go back to the ship and report that at least one person is already dead? (Even though we do get the option to report at 22.) Further, If we don’t administer Neuroxin to the Communications crewwoman, why do we just leave her in the docking bay? Can’t we restrain her and get her to our own ship? Perhaps leave her there until we return, or even actually leave the ship already with just her, in a sub-optimal, yet ultimately completely plausible ending?
There is also no skill check at 153? And it's interesting you get a skill check to save yourself at 130, even though that's ultimately a dead end, yet all the perception and dexterity in the world won’t save you at 203?
END SPOILER
It also has what might be the worst-detailed ref - ref 134. Mounted on what? Drops down through what? Was it loud or quiet? Is that normal for ships like that to have that kind of thing, or is it jury-rigged? You don't really get many answers.
YARD Tue Sep 19 06:49:09 2023
One thing I do like is that you cannot render yourself completely safe to any skill checks. I had a run where the virtual dice have really hated me, and so even with 10 Perception and Cybernetics, I still failed three of those checks in a row. For a horror game, that feels appropriate, and the ultimately optimal build to maximize your odds of victory
SPOILER
No points into Targeting whatsoever, but get Perception to 10 and the other two to 9.
END SPOILER
is just the right kind of counter-intuitive.
Proofreading:
SPOILER
7 a harsh, bright white glare (comma?) + A middle aged woman + strong looking man
9 completely off guard.
13 half heartedly
14 something odd- the monitor
21 very well fitting
24 the higher pitched voice
26 It's well stocked
27 animal like
43 extending several inches forward, all the (way?) through your boot + a fast acting tranquilizer
56 of well trained lasers
58 They're 'scientists, all right.
62 comfortable looking beds
77 to actually shoot heror fight hand-to-hand.
78 extra uniform (apparently belonging to someone in the science department (no closing parenthesis.)
80 a very fast acting
90 a middle aged, bearded man
103 as fast as safety will allow before jumping leaping clear the last few feet.
106 The robot breaks shatters into several pieces
109 That's the only for me + That's the only (way?) for me
131 middle aged man
138 Adminster a dose of Neuroxin?
146 to half walk, half slide + a powerful looking
150 in a bone crushing grasp
152 to you?" you inquire
156 approach the still unmoving gate attendant. (hyphen?)
170 the worst case scenario' Well
185 Shaking your head rubbing your arms + that it knocks you backward and while slightly burning your arms and torso
186 before pointing to the woman "Ensign Parker" and the other man (comma?) + still operational?" asks Neilund.