Interesting that you have that statistic. And also that I'm not exactly alone in feeling this way.
Yeah, I get that it’s difficult to create one size fits all reactions for what is basically two (or more) different personalities. But I think I know a possible solution that would solve both our problems: Having more choice regarding reactions and actions taken by Edwin, where the difference is connected to toughness and affect that same score. That of course mean that you would have to write more dialogue, but on the other hand, you won’t have to spend as much time on trying to come up with reactions/actions that make sense both for maximum toughness Edwin and minimum toughness Edwin.
And now that I think about it, I have a feeling there were many more such choices in the early portions of the game, which might explain why I feel the later chapters feel more good-guy-leaning (because it’s more one size fits all and that, at least in the latter stages of the game list more towards minimum toughness Edwin).
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I can’t say I get the “of course!!!” feeling out of your explanation, but also can't say that it feels wrong. However, as the game is structured with Edwin constantly giving the player his reasoning and feelings regarding both what’s happening around him and what he himself is saying and doing, I think we (as players) should be given the real reason behind why Edwin does what he does, when the explanations he gives other characters in the game are lies. Unless it’s obvious that he's lying and what his real reasons are, in which case it's not neccessary for him to pontificate on them. If we're given such reasons, extra options/choices are not neccessary.
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Maybe I misremembered that he said he would do something about it, but definitely not him having an over the top reaction to something he should have been able to see coming from miles away. And I didn’t read his reaction as “confusion”, but rather as righteous anger at a perceived injustice. A reaction which together with his expressed shock leads Dalia to view him as a good hearted and naïve youngling out of his depth (since she more or less says as much), which in itself is telling about his reaction. A maximum toughness Edwin is definitely not a naïve softie, and it feels a little bit off to me to have him react in a way that make people think that he is, especially in a place where being viewed as a naïve softie might be a liability.
Regardless, I think these kind of situations would be best handled by letting the player choose how Edwin reacts (se above), rather than trying to construct a one size fits all reaction that works both for maximum toughness Edwin and minimum toughness Edwin (because that is inherently difficult and will likely not always work out perfectly).
A sidenote here is that if 4 out of 5 players feel that Edwin is playing up his moralistic side in the last update, but you, who prefer minimum toughness Edwin, feel it’s all good, maybe your take is influenced by you simply not playing as maximum toughness Edwin?
I have been struggling to write an indepth review of the latest update since public release, because it is really hard to point out where and in which way it didnt meet my expectations; it is hard because voicing a nuanced critique in an foreign language on a essentially very good and still way above average update takes me a lot of time and effort. It is hard because even if we know
TD1900 is a good sport in taking substantial critique, i think nobody is above of involuntary feeling a little bit hurt when some rando pokes at their product i believe so much time and passion went into.
It is like your mother prepared for hours a feast and you publicly comment about the lack of salt in her soup at the dinner table in front of the whole family. I did something similar, and although i was technically right, it was less than stellar in that setting.
So should we avoid critique? Of course not, because i believe we, the fanbase, and Team Jeff&Mutt share the same goal: creating a game we both love. So i will try to tread with care.
To reuse above example: with this update
TD1900 served a lovely home-cooked meal, but we were spoiled by their award winning chef cuisine in former updates.
Initially i was planning on a second playthrough of the latest update, in order to discuss my perceived strengthes and weaknesses of each scene. With the next update still months away, i am confident to be able to deliver a more balanced and fairer assessment at a later date. However, i wanted to chip into the present discussion instead of responding to some week-old posts of fellow members. So this is a bit quick and dirty shot from the hip and does not fully represent my view.
Overall i felt the latest update to be
underutilized, and i am pretty much on the same page as
sabadongelov. In nearly every scene i felt there was a decision or choice missing to enhance our agency on Edwins involve- and development.
Just two examples out of many:
At the restaurant -as i understand the situation-, Feli going for a fag outside and Rosie leaving for the toilet was designed in order to have Edwin an one on one with Veronica, but still i would have preferred to have an option to follow Rosie to the toilet or to catch some fresh air with Feli. For instance with following Rosie to the toilet we could have had a quick chat about meeting in the parking lot after the meal (and perhaps even gain or lose an affection point with another choice there) and then looping back to the Veronica situation. With Felicia we could have had a longer chat about the upcoming sugar-mommy date or something like her expectations about the exhibition, without looping back to Veronica, because Rosie would have finished her bathroom visit already.
The second example would be the human toilet scene with Cassandra in the velvet room. This was a Grade A missed chance to earn some Brownie points with Kathleen by making a degrading comment or loosing toughness by expressing disgust. Victoria raised no slow dummy, and some of us players were quite familiar with the watersport content provided so far. Being surprised may have been a good neutral choice for for those who avoided that content.
sabadongelov felt there were more choices in earlier parts of the game and without doing the actual count it is hard to tell for sure, but i definetly second this feeling.
I do understand there have to be restrictions on how much content each scene inside an update gets, because every author doesnt have infinite time and needs to get things actually done, but this update was the first time had the feeling -and this sounds super harsh and i am very well aware this is probably completely unfounded and unfair- that
TD1900 cut some corners to finish the update on schedule.
Despite there being more, i will leave it for now, because without counterbalancing my critique with the really, really good, strong and positive scenes and situations (there are plenty of those too!) this post spirals into unintended negativity.
Please be aware that i fully recognize your effort and all my critique is born out of love and the greedy, self-centered notion of contributing to better an already great game!