So, I just found the time to play the latest chapter, and thought that I'd give my initial impressions; I've only had time for a single playthrough (Annie-Witch route, for reference) but I'd like to get my thoughts on paper (or electrons, as the case may be) while they're relatively fresh.
First, regarding the new mechanic; I enjoy searching the base with the tools, but I think we could use a few more "mistakes" with it - such as a few more red herrings (assuming that we have any non-herring leads at the moment, of course) that would be pared down as we fixed a few minor issues. For instance - we could find some faulty wiring was responsible for the differences in lighting that was mentioned earlier, and suspect that it was creating a load imbalance that was responsible for the rest of the issues; when it was fixed, it did indeed deal with the lights, but not the deeper issues. Burying the player in false leads probably wouldn't be too fun, but so long as we're fixing actual problems on the base instead of just chasing ghosts, I think the player would probably feel like she's still making progress. Or, well, I would, at least
.
Second, I really enjoyed seeing the cat in various scenes! And other assorted little background details, actually - I don't know if I mentioned this before, but I appreciated that back in Chapter One, all of the warnings on the screens were actual alerts instead of just Vaguely Alarming Displays. You mentioned at the end of the game that details like that are one reason you chose a more labor-intensive option for your renders, and I think it was a good decision on your part. If you later reconsider, though, I think one option might be to reverse the logic on which scenes to apply the filter; rather than drop it on scenes that
do have minor details you want the player to notice, instead choose to employ it on a portion (say, a quarter or so) of scenes that don't have anything going on - such as the scene when the player is walking off-base. Or maybe that would just end up jarring, or make a scene look underdone? Renders aren't something I have any experience with, so maybe it's a stupid idea - I wouldn't have even known it was an option if you hadn't mentioned it in-game.
Third, about the intermissions... I like the little checklist of alternate paths you could have taken, but I'm not sure it's a good idea to leave the older Q&A sessions in there; it kind of makes it feel like you hit the end of the game (since, well, they were back at that point), and most of the questions aren't really that relevant anymore. Maybe they should be moved to an "extras" section instead, and only the latest one kept each release? I think that would be better for pacing.
And now my dubiously valuable feedback is finished, it's time for the part that I
really wanted to get to... Idle speculation, and talking about characters!
Regarding the power problem... Hearing that the plant previously had an infestation issue actually makes me think that it might be related to their current woes. I mean, the power surge frying the controls points the excess power as the source (or at least the initial problem in a chain of problems), but having a bunch of alien fish partying in your pipes has to have consequences, right? It'd only take them gumming up a single important system for them to start a cascade of problems that'd be a nightmare to track down...
...Though, how did they get an alien fish problem to begin with, actually? I mean, their filters have to be good enough to keep out the eggs, right? If that kind of thing is passing into the pipes, that's actually pretty alarming - who knows what else gets into the water, and what problems it could cause...
...I'd also say it's kind of alarming that Dr. Jones is keeping a couple of live specimens, but, well, this isn't
Aliens. It's probably fine. There's, like, a 75% chance they aren't going to come back in some kind of horrific way later. 66%, tops. There's plenty of other plot threads going on to add danger and drama. At worst, they're somehow going to mess up the pipes again.
That said, someone is definitely setting this base up to fail. Only five people on base, far too few to make any progress; critical support staff lured away with transfers to more attractive positions; massive oversupply to drive up costs with unnecessarily extravagant infrastructure, but shorted on the parts to keep it maintained... Walker might be single-handedly keeping this base open to study the natives, but someone of equal influence is obviously trying to sabotage it.
And speaking of Walker, assuming for the sake of argument that she wasn't tipped off ahead of time (which seems like the most likely option to me, honestly; we know she has connections), my money is on Sarah being the one who talked. Chris seems skeptical of base to begin with, and doesn't seem like the type to put on act (though she is a Captain who seems to get away with an awful lot of unprofessional behavior - so I can't rule her out entirely); Annie doesn't seem like she'd get along with someone of Walker's temperament (though maybe she deals better with scientists than officers), and would have had to be actively trying to deceive you at multiple points; Sarah, on the other hand, seems like she might let something slip as either a careless mistake, or in hopes of ingratiating herself to someone with a great deal of influence on this mission.
And speaking more of Walker... That freezer in the warehouse... ...It totally has a cut-up dead Orphion in it, doesn't it. Well, joking aside, probably not - that'd be a horrible way to store valuable specimens. But is it
really Walker's? I mean, Dr Jones said so, but he's the other suspect, and he made sure to say it in a way that discourages you from asking Walker about it. Granted, this doesn't sound like the kind of lie he'd use, but... ...Well, okay, there's no further "but". It'd be stupid to lie about something that trivial when he could just tell you to ignore it for the next five days. Something about this still bugs me, though, just like the loading bay doors.
Hm. I think that's all of the plot points on my mind, but I feel like I'm forgetting something... Ah, well, on to the characters! Leaving out the main characters who I haven't spent time with, for now.
Annie: We didn't see much more of her this chapter, which makes sense between her hangover, her having to fix the ship, and the player having to fix the base. It's kind of disappointing that she declined to have more drinks, though; didn't calling it a night early signal that we could be trusted as drinking buddies? ...Well, encouraging your chief engineer to drink when she has a drinking problem, and is dealing with a ship with a total mystery problem is probably a bad idea to begin with, honestly. ...Can't we invite her to a nice VR game instead?
Mike: Why didn't you just have him kick a puppy while you're at it. Tearing Gloria apart in front of Sarah like that? Insulting her skill at games? What. A.
Dick. And hey,
maybe the fact that she goes around half-naked is
why the gods favor her! Ever think of
that, Mike? And just
maybe the fact that she has the support of
literal deities is why she can tear apart things twice her size,
Mike. Ever think that it's weird that you can cut apart things ten times your size, Mike? No. Because cutting torches are totes stronger than metal. Same with divinely powered weaponry, Mike.
Did you forget to render his facial hair? Because he totally sounds like a neckbeard, but I don't see the neckbeard that he totally has.
Oh, but it's nice that he's sticking with a doomed, dead-end position to help cure asthma. I mean, with as overcrowded and polluted as Earth sounds like in this setting, that would legitimately save thousands of lives, and he's a good guy for making a genuine sacrifice for the greater good.
Still. That guy kicks puppies.
...And why'd he lock the door to the pump room behind him, anyways? That room isn't locked at any
other time... And why couldn't we track him down to have the control panel replaced? He had to have been
somewhere, right?
Dr. Marcus Jones: ...I don't like him. No, don't get me wrong, he seems like a decent guy, and we'd probably get along fine if we weren't working together, but... He comes across as the kind of guy who thinks he knows best, and insists on everyone else following his lead.
For example, his weirdness about the vitamins and contraception; let's look at the options here.
1. He's just a stickler about procedure, and he is the medical officer. In which case, he's an inflexible stickler for the rules that can't make obvious exceptions, and is probably going to write you all up after this. Benign, but kind of a dick.
2. With how badly everything is going, he feels like he has to hew to procedure to protect his career, and doesn't feel like he has the leeway to make obvious exceptions. Benign, but he's kind of a dick for not explaining himself.
3. There's something minor but unusual with these drugs - like, say, he made them with local plants to prove that they're safe. Mostly benign, but he's a dick for browbeating you into this.
4. That isn't Vitamin D. What is it? Something that you definitely wouldn't take. ...I don't need to explain the issue here, right?
No matter how you look at it, his behavior here is high-handed at best, weird and inappropriate in the worst (normal) case. And it'd be one thing if it were
just his own responsibilities he was like this about - but he can't stay in his own silo, either. Despite the work of two (well, probably two) trained and competent professionals, he
still insists that the issue is with the power buses, despite his presumed lack of engineering expertise. Maybe it was meant to be a self-deprecating joke that just landed flat - but if he's like this with everyone, I can see why his marriage seems to have problems. Between this kind of thing, and his general self-centeredness, he'd be insufferable to live with.
I don't wish him ill or anything, because he
does seem like a good guy - just one you'd rather not talk to. But at the same time, I don't exactly regret messing with him by proposing that we take the Ensigns out to hunt MEIWs for Walker.
Dr. Trisha Jones: I actually like her, when she's not fighting with her husband. We don't see much of her, but she comes off pretty well, and is one of the only people thus far to notice that this planet seems really weird. It's just a shame she doesn't have the MRI machine that would help her explain it.
I do question why there would be mining on the planet, though; surely, mining asteroids would be easier once you have space flight? I mean, cutting out the need to launch or land spaceships to transport your materials is a huge savings - I can't imagine
anything short of revolutionary Unobtanium that could justify the expense of running an operation an a foreign planet. Was that
really a mining operation that she was talking about, or was it a cover for something else?
Kelly: ...What happened to her, exactly? That was
not a friendly sparring match with Chris, nor an ordinary rivalry between ships. That seemed like a personal grudge - and a deep one, on par with Chris having gotten one of her friends killed. I can see how Chris would be hard to deal with if you didn't like her, but this went way beyond that, at least to my eyes.
Walker: We didn't see much of her yet, but she comes across as the most trustworthy and competent person on the planet so far. I hope to get along well with her. I also wonder what her research is actually about, because I get the impression that Dr Jone's explanation is incomplete at best.
Hm.... I think that's everything I have to say, so far? I'm enjoying the game, and look forward to the next chapter! ...Or, for that matter, replaying the game on a different path. I still have Sarah to blackmail, drinks to share with Chris, and Annie to goad, after all.
