Maybe when you first get introduced to skills screen there's a reminder that you gain expertise by studying certain subjects and as you reach each threshold the codex updates to tell you how many points you needed to get there?
So on your first time its not spoilery but on subsequent attempts if you remember you failed and check because you weren't practiced you can check the codex and know how many points you need?
Ab, lbh pna npdhver gur Yhzra pelfgny vg whfg jbexf qvssreragyl gb YYGD. Lbh hfr vg va bar fprar naq nsgrejneqf ner noyr gb pnyy hcba gur cbjre ng jvyy.
Va YYGD Yhzra pelfgnyf tbg nofbeorq vagb gur ubyqre'f obql naq gurl jbhyq unir gb qvr gb or frcnengrq sebz vg juvyfg urer gur ovt pelfgny erznvaf va cynva fvtug naq Mbenan pbafvqref nqqvat vg gb n fcnprfuvc fb vg jnf cbegnoyr.
Vf gurer na nygreangvir fgng arrqrq gb trg gur fprar jurer lbh svther bhg gung gur Enqvnapr vf n jrncba vs lbhe Tnynpgvp eryngvbaf vf 30?
Orpnhfr ba zl nggrzcgf jvgu gur arj cngpu V cnffrq gur Qrprcgvba purpx ohg jnfa'g noyr gb yher gurz gb gur pelfgny hagvy V jrag onpx naq erpbasvtherq n srj gheaf gb fghqlvat Tnynpgvp eryngvbaf fb V pbhyq trg gur fprar
Lrf lbh arrq gb xrrc fpvrapr ybj sbe n juvyr fb lbh qba'g vzzrqvngryl pbapyhqr lbhe sngure pbzzvggrq fhvpvqr fvapr lbh xabj ubj qnatrebhf gung rkcrevzrag jnf irel dhvpxyl jvgu uvtu fpvrapr.
Ba cerivbhf cngpurf V jbhyq zbna nobhg jnagvat n orggre jnl gb ernpu arhgeny fcnpr va gvzr ohg abj gung zl znva fpvrapr thl vf orvat n ohggurnq naq ershfvat gb wbva zl pbhapvy hayrff V tb gurer irel rneyl zl cyna vf gb rssrpgviryl vtaber Qehnt naq Ureh VV juvpu xrrcf zr pybfre gb arhgeny fcnpr naq V whfg jnfgr gheaf yrneavat fpvrapr vafgrnq.
V frevbhfyl unira'g sbhaq nalbar gb gnxr Xerkavn'f cynpr lrg- Ybir ure ohg V'z srryvat tehzcl orpnhfr V xrrc sbetrggvat ure Tnyngvp Eryngvbaf vf cvgvshy hagvy V ernyvfr yvxr 5 gheaf gbb yngr gung V'z zvffvat n pehpvny fprar.
Yes I feel like I'm bad at actually communicating my issues clearly and just tend to waffle. LLTQ made cause and effect very obvious in a lot of situations. Which also meant on playthroughs were you are doing something else entirely you are learning stuff thats useful for when you come back. Give land a way Banion makes a comment, Marry off Brin deal with Banion trying to imply a relationship between you embarrass him with already being engaged or outwit him.
In this game because so little of the cause and effect is made clear it ends up incentivising me to optimise what's the point of figuring out which of like 10 checks/decisions has caused their opinion of me to drop? Who cares about the wider networks of who's friendly with who and who's an enemy when it's difficult to keep track of and ultimately not necessary for the goals of 17 votes and not dying.
I kind of wish there was some kind of presenter characters like a news channel that could give some kind of insight into the reactions to our actions like they were covering the run up to an election. Like it cost a social point every round to listen in on but it would keep you up to date on things happening in the wider galaxy.
Its more seeing them frequently builds up familiarity which brings about curiosity. It's not like Kevin for example is a particularly deep character I personally have a connection with Kevin for getting me killed at the festival too many times -often when I forgot to account for him and got surprised with a situation I didnt have the stats for. So when I finally put in the effort to get down to the bottom of why he was like this I then made a commitment that wherever possible I'd spare the stats to keep Briony alive and marry him.
I think LLTQ definitely did a better job of having the world feel like it reacted to your decisions in a way that the player can track. Marry Adair and face issues with Sedna. Hire your aunt and stop dealing with assassins. Etc.
Here's it's like let the scientist go to Heru yes or no a disease starts. Clone children brought to your attention the different options produce different results I'm sure but tangibly you are working with percentages until someone dislikes you enough to send assassins more than you made a decision that leads to a natural consequence.
But seriously having scripted events involve the main cast more would go a long way into building that kind of dynamic where you feel invested in certain characters by familiarity and you felt like your decisions actually impact the wider cast in ways that seem like a natural consequence.
There has to be a certain incentive to not playing economically and the right motivation is different for different players. I haven't really found my footing in playing like a military focused route if its even a thing (theres no obvious war/conquering event to be like yeah win a war and a bunch of people will swing their opinion and vote for you) but I suppose that would be on my lists of ways to try the game and see if new hooks come out with that style.
Yes I could spend extra actions learning about characters but investigation feeds into the blackmail/alliance option- when the main way to play so far is getting votes theres a pressure to figure out whats necessary to secure the vote which means theres a pressure to not waste time investigating unless thats needed for the specific character. So I'm likely to land in a new region save game and figure out who are the easiest to get votes from how many social actions that takes and do that before leaving. Actually researching the character leads to situations where Im likely to think thats interesting but I quickly realise it takes much longer than I want to be here to actually get it done/ more stats than I have to pass so I reset and take the easier characters. And then the interesting quest/character gets lost in the sauce.
As I optimised/experimented in LLTQ I took more opportunities to figure out what was up with the characters that showed up in several events or had been anecdotes in the flavourtext from the lessons.
In this game when you are getting familiar and starting to optimise the clearest path for experimentation is figuring out what's going on with your lumen powers. You can glow or make things glow in different checks, you can figure out that you aren't what you thought you are via marriage which you'll be attempting to get votes.
So the subplots and wider intrigue other than that is stuff you have to invest in without knowing what you'll be getting out of it. And when I've been playing I'm still so focused on optimising that I dont have say 3 actions to figure out a character is interesting. This is why I think the game needs to drip in character interactions or hints in spaces which aren't using what feels like a precious resource so that on subsequent playthroughs there's more of a desire to explore.
Like how in LLTQ you could run into character interactions with the social turn like going to the dungeon to talk to Julianna or maybe just make more interactions in deep space where you have an abundance of free time
I literally said the same thing in another post. I think that the way the game structures the scripted events doesn't really help me get to know the main cast better so I'm not super interested in most characters outside of their votes and typically stay for max 2 turns to get the vote locked down and leave.
I realise in my way to long reply I didnt properly comment on your comment- sorry I feel like I need to explain that it's less of the game not having the options and more like stuff like 100 intrigue runs sounds nice but that's 4 turns and you don't see a benefit until you surpass your threshers intrigue.
You are telling me there's value in investing in the stat but I'm not sure I would naturally figure that one out when you need to do so much investing without seeing a benefit.
I agree that interactions with advisors in deep space would go a long way to making their characters stand out and might incentivise me to try and make them like me without putting them on my council and getting a scene if they are in the right role for them would be great.
I'm also wondering if expanding your starting stats might help. So we start with a few starts based on our chosen pet but it might be useful to also hold knowledge stats based on starting pet that gives you a hint on somethings like starting with the blob gives you 10 in intrigue, which hints that you might want your own source of info rather than relying on her and idk 10 in science. Hawk gives you military and idk Imperial history. Viper gives media and idk Galatic relations.
I realise as you commented that I said Heru IV but I meant Heru II the one on the furthest right lower side because yes I go for Jade and Grojdanna all the time.
Ultimately I'm talking about how I feel about progression in this game. It's not that learning how to do new runs is impossible it's just I'm not given enough natural incentive (run ins with the characters/events that involve them to build familiarity) and time to have a few turns to waste to let me want to take time to explore more deeply.
When I arrived in Heru II and found they were all hostile I didnt have any idea of what would be needed to figure them out and also figured that they didnt have enough votes to make it worth my effort to even worry about visiting them. Ignoring them completely basically doesn't impact my run noticeably. Yes there's some kind of disease/bioweapon going on but that seems like so many steps and I'm already barely having the time to reach the other things I need.
And this is where I think LLTQ did a better job of getting the player curious about different things they could be doing whilst they were on a particular playthrough. It made it so in a game it was much easier to think of doing differently for other runs since the flavourtext told you what your skills did or fill you in with the lore which got mybrain churning possibilities.
Also there was stuff like random letters from Briony filling you in with Kevin's antics, running into Selene and Julianna having a quiet moment together which clarifies some of the coldness if you chose to be cruel to Julianna etc. It felt like the characters had interlocking stories in a more tangible way than we have at the moment because most of the scripted events involved them.
I tend to marry Kevin when possible purely because he killed me on so many occasions and when I finally figured out his background and got the thorny but sweet romance epilogue I felt trauma bonded. I don't think there's enough interactions to reach the same level here.
Also the flavourtext from your lessons really helped with worldbuilding which helps you know in subsequent runs what might be needed to unlock different options or just what might be possible. For me reading the flavourtext in LLTQ did spark a curiosity that made me want to try different things.
My progression so far has been:
Going into the game blind fumbling around until I landed on a strategy that worked then optimising to win the game via elections. During the process securing a vote by marriage I stumbled into the genetic information. When I accepted Krovos as a spiritual advisor because I was annoyed with the actual official leader being a bitch every time I tried to make nice with her I stumbled into passing the check on turn 10 and combined with Krovos's personal quest and failing to entertain Mirelle's child with a magic trick I got curious enough about lumens and tried more runs to figure out that side of the story. With a lot of trial and error to get the required pieces all in one run and Vasily giving the hint that the Emperor was at the opera to let me know my time limit I finally got a run that worked killed him then got more curious about the former empress and thats kinda what I'm working on now.
Sadly not much of the story points me towards the rest of the characters. And even though I have some familiarity with the game I think thats actually leaving me to feel more like I dont have time to get the right stats at the same time I'm in the area for certain characters
I've been curious about maybe 3 people Eve, Krovos and weirdly the guy on the same planet as Lorkas.
Eve because what is up with her and our mother???
Krovos because I'm down for a new religion but it seems there's no plans to create a heretic cult in the game.
And the other guy (I forgot his name) because I was trying to secure a vote and I heard about his son and wanted to see where that went but then I realised I would need an extra turn and I instead went for Lorkas who's willing to let you marry her daughter in 2 social points.
The time crunch really kills my desire to waste time on uncertain rewards and because learning information also takes an action and typically I'm spending max 2 turns on an area and I'm not returning unless I have to stop there on the way to another place.
I don't mean to be harsh since I do like this game but it struck me that on subsequent playthroughs I'm not super motivated to get involved with the backgrounds/personal quests of a lot of the cast mostly due to the way the game is structured.
In LLTQ most of your scripted events involved members of nobility for example Brin, Kevin, Briony, etc which would naturally pique your interests in what the deal was with the characters and cause you to try on subsequent playthroughs to get the right stats to solve it.
Also flavourtext from your lessons helped because it worked as a hint system: internal affairs was the most obvious one but I remember knowing I could survive certain checks based on what the flavourtext told me about the new skills I picked up. The Basic-Student-Graduate-Expert-Grandmaster System doesn't tell the player at what levels they can expect to pass checks as intuitively as you need to run into the check and see what level was needed. In long live the queen I failed the first time I ran into the Brin causing border issues problem and it was later in the run when I started learning foreign affairs that I realised that she had caused the conflict in the first place, after the event had happened which obviously shaped my approach the second time.
Here, most characters you interact with once and you can frequently bypass actually learning about them by simply offering a council seat. Whilst there are moments that do make you want to dig into the background of certain characters (I'm looking Eve- wtf is up with her?) - by the games structure if something looks like it'll take longer than 2 turns to get to the bottom of its far easier to focus on the people that can have their vote secured in those 2 turns and quickly move on to the next sector.
Having information about characters locked behind social actions on the turns better spent grabbing council members or negotiating for votes actually disincentivises me in trying to dig into the background- with high empathy you can see how likely they will vote for you without actually interacting with them and then you can spend your social actions locking down the vote over wasting time exploring their background. Meanwhile in deep space you have far too many social actions and nothing to spend them on.
The first time I visited Heru IV I noted that people were hostile and it seemed it would take several skills I didn't have to figure out what their issue was. So on subsequent playthroughs I started avoiding Heru IV. By the time you've visited everyone, and locked down enough votes it's usually turn 31-33 which further reinforces that taking extra time for more intricate characters wouldn't have been worth the effort because there wasn't enough time to spare anyway.
My point is as you figure out how to win the game at its most basic (as in complete the main goal and win the necessary votes) you don't have enough time with the characters that don't confer to an easy vote to build up time to be more curious about them. You dont get like the 3 events where you run into Kevin so in future you start actually wanting to figure out what his issue is. You don't have a path where you've decided to go full Lumen and run into an option where you can hire your aunt then subsequently face a lack of assassins so that you start suspecting her on subsequent playthroughs etc. (Yes hiring certain councillors lowers the assassins but since there are multiple people trying to kill you it doesn't actually create a noticeable enough drop in attempts to help you conclude what's happened).
TL;DR : I find the scripted events don't involve the wider cast and the time pressure makes it harder for me to want to take interest in the wider cast. Instead my follow up playthroughs focus more on optimal council building/vote gathering and moving through the map because the large cast turns into voters that I dont have time to get to know.
I mean I was aware because my preference for high Emotion/Allure has so far let me run into the right checks to stop Vkvy.
I am meaning to branch out more but with the game mostly focusing on winning a lot of the time needed to actually get to know people feels like you are actively harming your chances of getting stuff done by getting the right skills to get a lot of their checks done. Like yes I could spend 3 turns getting the right stats or I could just offer a council seat.
I think that in LLTQ since stuff was coming to you regardless if you were playing as military leader or gifted musician or were rushing Lumen skills as fast as possible or decided to learn all the intrigue etc you had more time to see the other characters you could interact with do stuff and naturally get curious and try and get the skills to learn more about them/try to marry them.
In this game you tend to meet characters once maybe twice if your routing to do other things pulls you through the same area which kills a lot of space to develop a natural curiosity. I find that I sort people into how easy they are to lock a vote down early and people who would take extra time to work on end up being swiftly dropped from plans because I dont have more than 2 turns at most locations to figure out their problems.
On the occasion where you can see the start of an interesting quest you are also very aware that making connections starts a ripple effect for other unsecured votes. This has generally put me off working with Heru because it's something that would take multiple turns to get to the bottom of and it would create enemies where I don't want.
I think it's a pressure caused by knowing the goal from the beginning of the game in LLTQ you had 2 main problems: the war and the final Lumen showdown. If you decided to side quest by going with Briony to the forest and surviving (which is the biggest waste of stats to be able to do that) as long as you maxed out music and persuasion you could survive the final challenge.
In this game it feels like if you side quest (so get the right stats to actually get to know people) you put yourself far behind the main goal/start new problems/loose the game. Like the stats needed to complete a lot of personal quests are often a commitment that doesn't seem to benefit much outside of that specific quest.
I think maybe there needs to be additional downtime unlocks for those more out of the way stats like reach a certain level of intrusion and you can get intrigue lessons on the social turn. Reach certain levels of weapons and gunnery get military lessons on the social turn etc. (Maybe this costs 3 social actions to learn and forces a mood change for balance?)
Yeah it's probably out of the game's scope but a calendar that you could put like different coloured stars on certain days and input like a 15 character word next to the star so you could make up your own key for the colours and have simple text reminders would be so useful.
I would immediately put on turn 9 at the start of each playthrough Interview!!! since I always forget to plan in time.
Bu V ernyyl qba'g guvax vg'f qvssvphyg gb cyna sbe jura lbh xabj jung lbh ner qbvat. Hfvat Ivcre gb rafher lbh ner hfhnyyl yrneavat vagrenpgvba naq rzbgvba ng +15 cre yrffba urycf.
Vs lbh abgr qbja jura riragf chg va va pregnva zbbqf vg nyfb urycf xabjvat jura gb hfr gurz gb chg cbvagf va gur fgngf gung ner zber bhg bs lbhe jnl fb gung lbh trarenyyl fcraq 2-3 gheaf trggvat gur evtug fgngf engure guna 3-5. Nyfb hgvyvfr lbhe qerffrf.
Zl znva naablnapr vf gung trggvat nyy gur arprffnel fgrcf gb svaq uvz naq orng uvz vaibyirf erfgevpgvir ebhgvat va grezf bs jurer lbh arrq gb or gb znxr vg gb lbhe oebgure ol ghea 22. Orpnhfr arhgeny fcnpr vf na naablvat cynpr gb trg gb vzub.
V ungr jura V'z cynlvat naq ernyvfr gung V pna rnfvyl teno nyy gur fgngf arrqrq gb trg gur frpergf gura svther bhg ba ghea 19 gung V'z va n ernyyl njxjneq fcbg gb znxr vg gb arhgeny fcnpr.
V fjrne n cngu gung'f yvxr Qehnt gb Ureh V gb arhgeny fcnpr jbhyq or fb tbbq. Fnqyl vg qbrfa'g rkvfg.
I agree a calendar would be a super useful feature especially because in this game unlike LLTQ we aren't pre warned about a ton of upcoming events the week before.
I'd like a feature that auto adds events you are told about but on subsequent playthroughs you could use to put reminders about upcoming events so that you can mentally plan to have the right stats for or remember to speak to an elector before they switch sides etc.
Maybe that's too in depth for what is effectively a really good notebook...
V unir n ernyyl fbyvq srryf yvxr lbh ner qbvat fghss rirel ghea ryrpgvba fgengrtl:
Gnxr Ivcre.
Svefg yrffba = qbhoyr rgvdhrggr
Frpbaq yrffba = qbhoyr rgvdhrggr
Zbir gb Zlexxn VV naq trg Zveryyr'f crefbany dhrfg. Pubfr frys qrsrafr genvavat sbe serr jva ng gur pbfg bs ybbfvat gb n fznyy puvyq.
Guveq yrffba = Nyyher
Zbir gb Zlexxn V, fgnl chg sbe 2 gheaf naq fanc hc Xerkavn (Tnynpgvp eryngvbaf), Zvyna (Zrqvn), Xebibf (Fcvevghny) naq Inugre (Punapryybe).
Yrffba gheaf va Qrprcgvba/Eurgbevp
Abj urnq gb qrrc fcnpr ba gur jnl gb Gunexnf.
(Lbh arrq gb unir haybpxrq gur riravat qerff naq or jrnevat vg)
Gunexnf 1 (Gnyx gb rirelbar) (Yvr nobhg orvat genvarq ol lbhe sngure) (Fnl lbh cyna gb wbva gur zvyvgnel) (Lbh qbag xabj nalguvat nobhg zhfvp)
Fgnl chg.
Erwg (Ynj), gur ynql = Pbzzrepr, naq punez naq synggre Boreba gura artbgvngr sbe uvf ibgr.
(Yrffbaf OGJ ner ba gur rzbgvba cngujnl)
Urnq gb Gunexnf VV, neenatr zneevntr jvgu Ybexnf naq artbgvngr sbe gur thl'f ibgr
Bss gur Gunexnf VVV V guvax lbh pna trg Fbyn vzzrqvngryl vs lbh whfg artbgvngr. Ohg lbh zvtug arrq gb punez naq synggre svefg (abg n cresrpg thvqr V'z fbeel)
Abj jr ner bss gb Ureh ba gur jnl gb Qehnt (fnqyl rira gubhtu lbh fubhyq or noyr gb jbex va gur onpxtebhaq gb trg gur novyvgl gb svaq lbhe sngure ba ghea 27 guvf ebhgvat znxrf vg vzcbffvoyr gb erghea sebz Qehnt va gvzr gb zrrg lbhe oebgure be vs lbh vqyr va Ureh gb znxr vg gb lbhe oebgure va gvzr lbh nera'g noyr gb trg uvtu rabhtu fpvrapr va gvzr)
Naljnl fcrrq bss gb Qehnt teno fpvrapr thl naq Fvaavcneg'f ibgr ivn uvf crefbany dhrfg. Onpx gb Ureh sbe gur crbcyr lbh pna orsevraq. Gura svanyyl eha nyy gur jnl gb Znh jvgu znkrq bhg Vagrenpgvba naq Rzbgvba fgngf.
Hfr Ivcre gb znxr lbh vaqhytrag naq chg lbh vagb fbpvny ivn cnegvrf gb qbqtr zbfg nffnffvaf (be hfr gur snpg lbh ernyyl bayl arrq) znkrq Rzbgvba, Vagrenpgvba naq qrprag Cvybgvat (fbeel lrf cvybgvat vf irel tbbq gb teno) gb hfr lbhe gheaf ba tenoovat fghss yvxr oynqr be ersyrkrf gb fheivir vafgrnq (fvapr fnqyl gur gheaf V fcrag ohvyqvat vagehfvba ner rssrpgviryl jnfgrq jvgu guvf ebhgvat).
Ol gur raq bs guvf irel inthr thvqr lbh fubhyq unir n shyy pbhapvy naq nhgb jva gur ryrpgvba.
(Frevbhfyl n jnl gb znxr vg sebz Qenht gb Arhgeny Fcnpr 1 ghea snfgre olcnffvat Ureh/Zlexxn jbhyq or fb urycshy).
Not a dialogue request but I think there should be a way to make it from Draug to neutral space in 2 turns, not 3. I just find it annoying that I have to spend more time than I want idling around Heru/Tharkas than I want to be there on time rather than do more important stuff and make it back.
Edit: Yes I know it's a routing issue but I had such a good run getting all the votes and council members I needed very quickly which left me on Heru I on turn 17. I saved just in case I couldn't make it back and sped up to Draug for turn 19 to snatch up the 2 votes there. With a science score above 50 I had the extra distance but I'm forced to travel to Myrkka I or Heru I then another deep space which leaves no time to make it for turn 22.
So I reset back to turn 17 and then wasn't able to secure any votes as I could only make a first impression then had to snail crawl back towards neutral space without doing anything productive for 5 turns.
Having a path that would bypass Heru I/Myrkka I from Draug would be so helpful.
I'm sorry to hear that you are stressed but much like LLTQ a lot of this game is trying stuff and failing but seeing what skills would pass the checks and figuring out how to get them the next time.
I think one thing LLTQ did a little better is telling you the week before when something was going to happen a little so you could prepare a bit more.
You will have to brute force some of the early game but as a hint you can avoid most dangerous encounters via having high social stats much like you could in LLTQ. Which should help you to feel a little less stressed about what to learn. High Rhetoric, Etiquette, Empathy and Allure will get you most of what you need without too much effort.
Have a notebook handy as you play jot down the Turn number of certain encounters and what checks you need to pass then on subsequent playthroughs see if you can get there in time.
Strange, I literally don't touch reflexes,tumbling, contortion or endurance (or any other defensive or combative stat) because with a viper you can dodge a ton of assassinations simply by spending a social action with your pet then throwing a party to avoid most encounters which would need them.
I swear the viper is the strongest pet for it's use early game and how safe it can make you
V qrsvavgryl qba'g guvax gung vg'f nethnoyl frys qrsrafr. Mbenan vf fubja gb qrfver ybir/npxabjyrqtrzrag sebz ure snzvyl gung artyrpgf (sngure), nonaqbarq (oebgure) naq erwrpgf (zbgure svther) ure.
Ure sngure gryyf ure gur jubyr beqrny jnf n grfg juvpu fur'f cnffrq naq abj fur'yy or npxabjyrqtrq nf uvf urve cebcreyl (rira gubhtu ur'f cerggl zhpu tbvat gb erireg guvatf gb oneryl orggre guna gur byq fgnghf dhb).
Sebz ure cbfvgvba juvyfg fur unf rivqrapr bs uvf fpurzvat (yvxr ure orvat n pybar puvyq naq fbzrguvat hc jvgu gur Yhzra pelfgny/ure Abina urevgntr ur jnagf ure sbe) ur vf cebzvfvat n cynpr ol uvf fvqr juvpu vf cneg bs jung fur jnagf.
Qrpvqvat gb gel naq nggnpx uvz vf abg arprffnevyl n pehry npgvba ohg vg vf qrsvavgryl pbzvat sebz n cynpr bs natre/erfragzrag/n qrfver gb ehyr vaqrcraqragyl. Fur ab ybatre jnagf uvf cvgvshy bssre bs snzvyl - ohg guvf vf abg frys qrsrafr.
Vg cebonoyl jba'g unccra ohg vg jbhyq or vagrerfgvat vs gurer jnf fbzr xvaq bs 3eq bcgvba qrsrpgvba zbzrag. Vaibyivat uvtu Qrprcgvba naq uvtu Fgrnygu fxvyyf, ersyrkrf, rgp lbh cergraq gb tvir va gura fgrny gur pelfgny naq uvtugnvy vg bhg bs gurer.
Naljnl 100% nterr oynpxznvy fubhyq envfr gur pehrygl fgng naq gurer fubhyq gbgnyyl or fbzr synibhegrkg bcgvbaf gung nyfb chfu gur pehrygl fgng.
Getting engaged early:
V guvax gung vs lbh znantrq gb trg ratntrq n srj gheaf orsber Ghea 10 gura lbh fubhyq or noyr gb trg gur fpvragvfg erivrj lbhe trargvpf va gvzr sbe lbh gb yrnea gung lbh npghnyyl zvtug abg or lbhe zbgure'f qnhtugre naq pbzzrag ba vg jura fur pnyyf lbh n perngher ba gung erpbeqvat.
Bayl orpnhfr jura V jnf cynlvat V tbg ratntrq V guvax ba ghea 10 gura pbhagrq 2 gheaf hagvy gur fpvragvfg erivrjrq gur trargvpf fb V jnf fb rkpvgrq ba nabgure cynlguebhtu gb obbfg nyyher dhvpxyl naq trg ratntrq snfg bayl gb qvfpbire gung abguvat punatrq.
Yeah it's kind of sad that it only acknowledges the highest stat. It probably makes sense for balancing purposes but it super disincentivises actually learning any of your knowledge stats and sort of pushes you into picking the same candidates each run for their stats.
I wish there was a system of the lowest stat applies 1/2 rounded down to nearest multiple of 5 for example to the highest stat. Because it feels pointless to aim for like graduate or grandmaster on most of your knowledge stats because it takes too much effort and you waste many turns before a reward.
I will say that I think a hidden cruelty stat might be nice.
Znlor V'z zvfernqvat gur fgbel ohg vg qbrf srry yvxr gurer'f n fhogyr ner lbh zber lbhe sngure'f qnhtugre be qrfcvgr gur gehgu ner lbh lbhe "zbgure'f puvyq" qlanzvp tbvat ba. (Lrf vg'f zber biregyl ner lbh zber yblny gb lbhe Zlexxna hcoevatvat be Abina urevgntr).
V guvax gung univat n pehrygl fgng fb gung lbh pna shyyl nyvta jvgu lbhe sngure ng rvgure ovt erirny (Fb vs lbh qrgnva uvz nsgre gur bcren naq ner pbzcyrgryl pehry lbh shyyl rzoenpr orpbzvat uvf rzcerff. Be vs lbh jva naq orpbzr Rzcerff juvyfg orvat pbzcyrgryl pehry (jura lbhe sngure erirnyf uvzfrys nf gur znfgrezvaq gurer'f n fcrpvny rcvybthr vaibyivat ubj lbh rzoenpr uvf cynaf). Be gur bccbfvgr shyyl rzoenpr lbhe Abina urevgntr naq qrsrpg jbhyq oevat na nqqvgvbany sha ynlre.
Jung V'z gelvat gb fnl vf: lrf gurer'f n jubyr Yhzra cngujnl gung vaibyirf svthevat bhg gur gehgu gung lbh ner na vyyrtny pybar bs lbhe zbgure, zrrgvat lbhe oebgure gb yrnea nobhg gur pelfgny, naq svthevat bhg lbhe sngure vf nyvir naq trggvat uvz qrgnvarq nsgre gur bcren fb lbh pna gbhpu gur pelfgny naq orpbzr n Yhzra.
Ubjrire V guvax vg jbhyq or xvaq bs pbby gb unir na nygreangvir "vapbafrdhragvny" ebhgr va juvpu lbh pna znfgre gur novyvgl gb tybj be perngr yvtug jvgubhg gbhpuvat gur pelfgny va gur fnzr jnl gung Rybqvr sebz YYGD pbhyq znavsrfg gur novyvgl gb tybj jvgu uvtu zrqvgngvba be yvxr ubj Puneybggr pbhyq urny jvgubhg orvat n Yhzra.
Naq gur jnl gb qb gung jbhyq or snvyvat gb vzcerff Zveryyr'f fba jvgu n zntvp gevpx ohg abg npghnyyl univat fyrvtug bs unaq/vairagvba naq perngvat n tybj va gur pelfgny gb lbhe bja fubpx. Pbzcyrgvat Xebibf'f crefbany dhrfg naq tybjvat naq gura univat gur rdhvinyrag bs uvtu zrqvgngvba sebz YYGD fb uvtu fcvevghnyvgl/raqhenapr fb gung ba ghea 13 (?) (V'z fbeel V qbag erzrzore bss gur gbc bs zl urnq) jurer lbh gevrq gb fuhg lbhe rlrf naq znxr lbhefrys tybj lbh npghnyyl qb.
V qba'g guvax vg arrqf gb or fhcre vzcnpgshy (lbh nera'g n Yhzra hagvy lbh npghnyyl crefhr n ebhgr gung yrgf lbh gbhpu gur pelfgny) ohg V guvax univat n frperg fgng gb tybj ng jvyy jbhyq or vagrerfgvat vs bayl sbe synibhegrkg.
V'z abg fher guvf pbhagf ohg V guvax gurer fubhyq or yvxr na nygreangvir Yhzra cngujnl.
Fb sbe rknzcyr vs lbh gel gb ragregnva Zveryyr'f puvyq jvgu n zntvp gevpx naq snvy lbh pna znxr gur pelfgny tybj. Naq vs lbh qb Xebibf'f crefbany dhrfg lbh pna fgneg tybjvat. Znlor gurer fubhyq or na nqqvgvbany purpx vs lbh unir vqx uvtu rabhtu fcvevghnyvgl/raqhenapr gung ba gur ghea jura lbh gel gb znxr lbhefrys tybj qhr gb gur Yhzra ehzbhef lbh npghnyyl qb.
I completely agree!
V jbhyq ybir gb frr na nygreangvir cngujnl gb erirnyvat lbhe pbaarpgvba gb Yhzra/Abina urevgntr yvxr vs lbh qb frireny gnfxf gung fubj bss lbhe novyvgl gb tybj/perngr yvtug naq vqx lbh unir rabhtu fcvevghnyvgl, tnynpgvp eryngvbaf jungrire gur rdhvinyrag bs zrqvgngvba sebz YYGD vf lbh tnva gur novyvgl gb tybj/perngr yvtug ng jvyy.
Zbfgyl sbe synibhe grkg ohg vg jbhyq or sha vs vg jnf gur nygreangvir pbaqvgvba gb pynvzvat lbhe zbgure'f cbjre.
Yeah I want to echo everyone else here. The brain stats have felt a little pointless like they are useful for some making friends but generally you can find other ways to do the same thing and then they are useful in certain missions you can also avoid and then dodging assassinations which you can also avoid.
It makes sense that having good social stats is key to winning this game but at the same time it does feel like you have to be overly reliant on them to function. Maybe I haven't specialised enough in the stats to double check if at a high enough check you can use stuff like endurance to survive social situations like you could do in LLTQ with composure but it certainly feels like not having social stats early is too big of a problem to avoid taking them.
I got my first Electorate win but I think I got a bad ending overall?
I basically focused on my social stats (+arts) and gave out cabinet positions to lock down some friendly votes. As well as doing a few personal missions- I did 3 stone's murder mystery which was probably a waste of several days of stat building but it was fun.
I feel like I need to keep working through this game to have a better idea of who to put in which position.
I feel like deep space needs more neutral mood changing actions or something in your down time.
Edit: after playing around some more I think that managing your moods is fine with enough practice but I do have far too many turns where I have like 2 social actions and nothing to do. It would be nice if you could utilise each friendly council member to boost a skill like OP suggested.
