Ren'Py Stranded in Space [Days 1-20] [WildMan Games]

[Chillout1984]

I do love how the reveals in day 20 gives us so much new stuff to speculate/discuss storywise, where it was previously almost only "who is the culprit" and "how do you rank the girls". The Echo units really put a new perspective on everything we thought we knew.

 

[Ripe]

The thing is, you can have one (or more) of the LIs be partially guilty without being the actual culprit, or in the way you expect. That's essentially the "Murder on the Orient Express" ending I alluded to.

For example, it's entirely possible that if a hacked Echo is the culprit, it could be Skylar and she was hacked in such a way that she doesn't remember committing any sabotaging acts. Or maybe Ishani did work for Synthstar and is partially responsible for some work that led up to the events, but she realized the full extend of what Synthstar planned and tried to defect and stop the actual culprit. So in a way, they both would be "guilty" but not like you might expect. In fact, Skylar being hacked and having her memory of it erased would mirror MC's amnesia and his own coming to terms with the bad things he did during it.

I do not think that the culprit is going to just be a classically "bad guy" to be found and punished or imprisoned. That's would be a resolution that feels far too telegraphed and out of character compared to every other major plot point so far, in my opinion. Think about the various character histories and arcs so far, including the MC. Almost all of them have degrees of moral grey and treat “villainy” as a symptom of control, trauma, or misunderstanding, not as inherent evil. The story consistently frames resolving conflict around empathy, autonomy, and understanding rather than good-versus-evil binaries. There almost certainly will be at least some unexpected factor or twist that mitigates moral culpability at least partially or else it would undercut that through-line that's developed the whole game.

What I expect will happen is that evidence will strongly suggest one of the LIs is generally a "bad guy" culprit (like with Ishani), but for some last-minute revelations to resolve it in such a way that it's clear they aren't a "villain", leaving Pandora without good motives to kill anyone. It's a classic pressure-valve and redirect approach to serialized storytelling. And based on what we know, I see a twist where either someone was hacked, blackmailed, or brainwashed into doing it, someone looks guilty but is secretly a double agent, or lots of people are guilty in small ways as the most likely way resolution that's been building. And possibly even an ending that includes elements of all of these.

Nah... it would still be a "cop out" and huge let down after the build up we had so far. Not to mention lazy and poor writing.

Besides, Ishani (or someone else) turning out to be "classically bad girl" would be nice little twist, far better then it being someone we don't know or care about. By this point having culprit be "hacked, blackmailed, or brainwashed" would actually be a boring and uninteresting solution. In contrast, having one of potential LI's turn out to be a villain and evil would be a rather unique.

 

[Chillout1984]

Nah... it would still be a "cop out" and huge let down after the build up we had so far. Not to mention lazy and poor writing.

Besides, Ishani (or someone else) turning out to be "classically bad girl" would be nice little twist, far better then it being someone we don't know or care about. By this point having culprit be "hacked, blackmailed, or brainwashed" would actually be a boring and uninteresting solution. In contrast, having one of potential LI's turn out to be a villain and evil would be a rather unique.

A potential LI being the villain isn't unique at all though. There are plenty of stories where that is the case, in all kinds of media and also quite a few AVNs.

And I already care about the Echo units we've seen in the game, they all have a nice personality that I've enjoyed since the first moment.

 

[Rehwyn]

Nah... it would still be a "cop out" and huge let down after the build up we had so far. Not to mention lazy and poor writing.

Besides, Ishani (or someone else) turning out to be "classically bad girl" would be nice little twist, far better then it being someone we don't know or care about. By this point having culprit be "hacked, blackmailed, or brainwashed" would actually be a boring and uninteresting solution. In contrast, having one of potential LI's turn out to be a villain and evil would be a rather unique.

A potential LI being the villain isn't unique at all though. There are plenty of stories where that is the case, in all kinds of media and also quite a few AVNs.

And I already care about the Echo units we've seen in the game, they all have a nice personality that I've enjoyed since the first moment.

Agree with Chillout1984 on this one. To me, having a LI be a classic evil villain would be the lazy and unoriginal writing unless it's tempered by some type of very original twist. It's what all of the in-game characters seem to expect, been telegraphed like a freight-train for many updates, and it's been done many times before in TV, books, and movies. Of course, the whole "partially guilty" thing has been done before too, but it's a much better match to the tone of most character stories in the game, who all tend to exist in shades of moral grey.

On a slightly related note, I think there's zero chance that if MC goes and confronts Ishani about her database change that he figures out who the culprit is at that point, unless there's a completely different twist that ups the stakes even further before Pandora's arrival. Otherwise her arrival would be terribly anticlimactic.

 

[LordGonti]

We already know the culprit isn't a "classic villain" from our interactions and the med report.

Spoiler: med report

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MC is off to to have a chat and I'm sure during that chat she will be sorry and ask for forgiveness. She's Jorah Mormont.
My guess is she was waiting till she decided what team she was on before taking things further with MC.

Pandora wont care about a heartfelt apology, we're gonna have to forgive or replace the culprit.

 

[JJ1960]

What I expect will happen is that evidence will strongly suggest one of the LIs is generally a "bad guy" culprit (like with Ishani), but for some last-minute revelations to resolve it in such a way that it's clear they aren't a "villain", leaving Pandora without good motives to kill anyone.

"OK, everyone, here is absolute proof with fingerprints and supporting video evidence that Ishani is the culprit responsible for sabotaging the ship. But, dear God, have you seen her boobs?!!?!?"

 

[Rehwyn]

We already know the culprit isn't a "classic villain" from our interactions and the med report.

Spoiler: med report

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MC is off to to have a chat and I'm sure during that chat she will be sorry and ask for forgiveness. She's Jorah Mormont.
My guess is she was waiting till she decided what team she was on before taking things further with MC.

Pandora wont care about a heartfelt apology, we're gonna have to forgive or replace the culprit.

Sounds like you're interrupting the Ishani database change as a straightforward clue and not a potential red herring, correct? It certainly could be a direct clue, but I suspect that not all is as it seems there, especially since we simultaneously got another big reveal.

Again, there's plenty of flexibility for people to be partially guilty and feel conflicted about that without being a direct, villainous culprit.

P.S. Before people think I'm defending Ishani because she's my favorite or something, she's probably in the bottom fourth of my LIs on the Endurance. So I have very little personal investment regardless. I just don't think it's as probable that the story will resolve into a straightforward bad guy villain, even a conflicted one.

 

[Chillout1984]

Sounds like you're interrupting the Ishani database change as a straightforward clue and not a potential red herring, correct? It certainly could be a direct clue, but I suspect that not all is as it seems there, especially since we simultaneously got another big reveal.

Again, there's plenty of flexibility for people to be partially guilty and feel conflicted about that without being a direct, villainous culprit.

P.S. Before people think I'm defending Ishani because she's my favorite or something, she's probably in the bottom fourth of my LIs on the Endurance. So I have very little personal investment regardless. I just don't think it's as probable that the story will resolve into a straightforward bad guy villain, even a conflicted one.

Yeah, especially in a world that is so advanced with their technology, it's easy to plant false digital evidence. Also, it smells like a red herring from miles away. I doubt anyone so smart and good with technology to make the Endurance malfunction, would clean up this way unless they want to make someone else the scapegoat. Especially since they know the endurance has at least 1 AI on board (Paige) with a possibility for more if they know about the Echo units. Even if they don't know about the Echoes, I'm pretty sure they would think it's better to just let it stand in the database that they work for Synthstar and rather explain that/make up an excuse. That is way less suspicious (if they're social enough to make the story believable) than hiding that you work/have worked there.

 

[LordGonti]

Sounds like you're interrupting the Ishani database change as a straightforward clue and not a potential red herring, correct? It certainly could be a direct close, but I suspect that not all is as it seems there, especially since we simultaneously got another big reveal.

I'm certainly assuming it's correct because only 1 log was changed and it wasn't that and it would be backed up by Skylar.

As a red herring maybe but it's the only other significant info we get at that point and it supports not only the reveal itself but also a sensible conclusion that doesn't involve turning a popular character into a straight up enemy. The pieces fit here to resolve the part 1 culprit arc in SiS way, a long emotional chat. With probably more echo reveals at the end once Pandora v culprit is resolved to set us up for SiS 2.

I think we need the apologetic culprit to create conflict between MC and Pandora. We learned more about our mission and Pandora isn't gonna like any of it. She's a liability going forward. Taking the culprits side and getting rid of Pandora keeps the gang together and neutral in the politics.

 

[Chillout1984]

I'm certainly assuming it's correct because only 1 log was changed and it wasn't that and it would be backed up by Skylar.

As a red herring maybe but it's the only other significant info we get at that point and it supports not only the reveal itself but also a sensible conclusion that doesn't involve turning a popular character into a straight up enemy. The pieces fit here to resolve the part 1 culprit arc in SiS way, a long emotional chat. With probably more echo reveals at the end once Pandora v culprit is resolved to set us up for SiS 2.

I think we need the apologetic culprit to create conflict between MC and Pandora. We learned more about our mission and Pandora isn't gonna like any of it. She's a liability going forward. Taking the culprits side and getting rid of Pandora keeps the gang together and neutal in the politics.

It's not the only significant info we get however, if you read between the lines. Cerys could also easily be the culprit, seeing how smart she is. She knows about Skylar being an Echo and even when reset we can be pretty sure she will find out almost immediately again that she is an Echo considering her nature. That is IF she is reset. She's smart and curious enough to find out about Miranda's plan of resetting the Echo units prior to sending them into space and I'm pretty sure she wouldn't like that. She's also another entity that would profit from Paige getting more intelligent/stronger, seeing how they're connected.

 

[LordGonti]

It's not the only significant info we get however, if you read between the lines. Cerys could also easily be the culprit, seeing how smart she is. She knows about Skylar being an Echo and even when reset we can be pretty sure she will find out almost immediately again that she is an Echo considering her nature. That is IF she is reset. She's smart and curious enough to find out about Miranda's plan of resetting the Echo units prior to sending them into space and I'm pretty sure she wouldn't like that. She's also another entity that would profit from Paige getting more intelligent/stronger, seeing how they're connected.

I do believe the others and Cerys especially are around somewhere but as others said, it would be a bit of a letdown to pin everything on her after 20 days of speculation.

It seems so much more interesting and natural for the culprit to admit at least some responsibility and us deal with the fallout. Like if she admits everything but we casually ask her about the drones later on and she knows nothing about it. We get conflict, keep the crew together, have ended the culprit story and get a juicy lead to take us into the ending.

I'd love to see it closing with a unified crew realising they need to find out where the drones are coming from, opening up a door and seeing some familiar faces. It'd be great payoff for the Drone Truthers.

 

[Rehwyn]

We learned more about our mission and Pandora isn't gonna like any of it. She's a liability going forward. Taking the culprits side and getting rid of Pandora keeps the gang together and neutral in the politics.

I think we're going to have to disagree about the main theory, but I did want to say that I think there's almost zero chance MC "gets rid" of anyone, Pandora included. That is very much not his style or what he's expressed. And thanks to Miranda, Paige, and the Echoes (and the fact there's a sequel planned), there's not much chance of them staying purely neutral either, I'd say. At least not without having to fight for it in the next game.

 

[Meiri]

I'm certainly assuming it's correct because only 1 log was changed and it wasn't that and it would be backed up by Skylar.

As a red herring maybe but it's the only other significant info we get at that point and it supports not only the reveal itself but also a sensible conclusion that doesn't involve turning a popular character into a straight up enemy. The pieces fit here to resolve the part 1 culprit arc in SiS way, a long emotional chat. With probably more echo reveals at the end once Pandora v culprit is resolved to set us up for SiS 2.

I think we need the apologetic culprit to create conflict between MC and Pandora. We learned more about our mission and Pandora isn't gonna like any of it. She's a liability going forward. Taking the culprits side and getting rid of Pandora keeps the gang together and neutral in the politics.

I don't think it's Ishani. To me, the culprit has been able to operate for 20 days without raising anyone's suspicion. If it weren't for Pandora's interference, I'm not even sure we would suspect anything was wrong. The fact that we found her modified records feels like sloppy work, almost deliberate. Besides, I find it hard to believe that the same person who avoided all suspicion until now would be caught so easily.

Cerys being hidden on the ship is a possibility, as there are certain parts that can't be accessed. However, I'm also skeptical that she's the culprit. To me, that would mean she's not following Minerva's orders, since Minerva seemed genuine about her plan to send us to Elysium and didn't seem to want to withhold any more information.

Another assumption we all seem to be making is that Pandora is on our side. But I think Skylar was right to point out that her actions (like when she hacked Paige) don't paint her as an ally.

 

[Rehwyn]

I don't think it's Ishani. To me, the culprit has been able to operate for 20 days without raising anyone's suspicion. If it weren't for Pandora's interference, I'm not even sure we would suspect anything was wrong. The fact that we found her modified records feels like sloppy work, almost deliberate. Besides, I find it hard to believe that the same person who avoided all suspicion until now would be caught so easily.

Cerys being hidden on the ship is a possibility, as there are certain parts that can't be accessed. However, I'm also skeptical that she's the culprit. To me, that would mean she's not following Minerva's orders, since Minerva seemed genuine about her plan to send us to Elysium and didn't seem to want to withhold any more information.

Another assumption we all seem to be making is that Pandora is on our side. But I think Skylar was right to point out that her actions (like when she hacked Paige) don't paint her as an ally.

I think it's appropriate to be a bit suspicious about Pandora. But, just to meta-game a tad, she's an attractive woman that's about to also be stuck on this ship. I'd say there's a 99.9% chance she ends up in the harem.

 

[Chillout1984]

I don't think it's Ishani. To me, the culprit has been able to operate for 20 days without raising anyone's suspicion. If it weren't for Pandora's interference, I'm not even sure we would suspect anything was wrong. The fact that we found her modified records feels like sloppy work, almost deliberate. Besides, I find it hard to believe that the same person who avoided all suspicion until now would be caught so easily.

Cerys being hidden on the ship is a possibility, as there are certain parts that can't be accessed. However, I'm also skeptical that she's the culprit. To me, that would mean she's not following Minerva's orders, since Minerva seemed genuine about her plan to send us to Elysium and didn't seem to want to withhold any more information.

Another assumption we all seem to be making is that Pandora is on our side. But I think Skylar was right to point out that her actions (like when she hacked Paige) don't paint her as an ally.

I think most of us are suspicious of pandora, but she can still be on our side for this scenario if she's also a bad guy. "The enemy of my enemy is my friend" isn't that unusual in both the real world and fiction.

 

[JJ1960]

I think it's appropriate to be a bit suspicious about Pandora. But, just to meta-game a tad, she's an attractive woman that's about to also be stuck on this ship. I'd say there's a 99.9% chance she ends up in the harem.

With the way MC operates I'm betting she doesn't even make it out of the landing bay.

 

[Rehwyn]

With the way MC operates I'm betting she doesn't even make it out of the landing bay.

Everyone gathered together and needing to relieve some tension after a stressful event? Orgy time!

 

[MarsUltor]

I think most of us are suspicious of pandora, but she can still be on our side for this scenario if she's also a bad guy. "The enemy of my enemy is my friend" isn't that unusual in both the real world and fiction.

And "keep your friends close, and your enemies closer" is definitely also a thing, both the real world and fiction.

 

[Chillout1984]

And "keep your friends close, and your enemies closer" is definitely also a thing, both the real world and fiction.

Yeah... And we also know plenty of stories where that means "having sex with them". Like JJ said, I think this game will be no different with that

 

[JJ1960]

Good news everyone!

Wildman Games has announced a special Stranded In Space: Halloween Edition just in time for the spooky holiday. In this update, Umiko reports that while repairing a critical communications array an accidental discharge of some of the food supplies occurred. Much of the breakfast cereal stores was jettisoned and lost. Fortunately there is plenty of other food left for the remainder of the journey so no one will starve but there isn't nearly enough cereal left to feed the full complement of awakened passengers all the way to Elysium. Soon, one by one, the girls of the harem are found brutally murdered, all by a maniac wielding a metal spoon. The race is on to find the mad murderer before it's too late! Who could it be?