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A few in game questions


Adrian
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I would say that the results are clear and reliable... If you know your stuff. That does not mean the results are always to your liking, but allow one to deal with bad events by lessening or negating their effects. I can see why the art is considered somewhat feminine. I would probably guess that Astrology is less 'magicy' and more 'facts' heavy so learning the magic side probably isn't too hard but after that it probably takes a lot of knowledge to manipulate in a fashion desirable to the caster.

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Astrology is a special case as its the only pillar thats not from dragon origin but from the new gods... . And its specialness can already be seen in year 1 by comparing its subskill and those of the more ''conventional'' pillars. Thus i won't say Astrology is easy if only because it is not teached like the other ones.

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True, true. I know I'll have no problem finding classes I want to take in Y2, being an Omni disciplinarian and all. The Y2 advanced astrology class is a medium priority as I don't take the Y1 equivalent and that way I can mostly ignore improving it in Y2 in favor of other skills.

 

My problem is going to be competition for class slots. There weren't enough of them for me in Y1 so I know Y2 will be even tougher to decide on.

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what worries me most is that by taking 2 additional advanced class, you fill up all your school day with no free time wich is a big sacrifice in itself but the worst is that i really don't think that One advanced class is worth one full slot.

So much that can be done with one slot.But yeah wait (years :P ) and see.

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Unless classes are made significantly more useful in Y2, it'd be better to not go to advanced classes and just use, eh, Longshade or something. Or Train, if the teacher is one of the really lazy ones.

 

11. If sync is borderline acceptable, why aren't other parts of Mastery that aren't related to controlling others treated similarly? Is there danger in those spells?
No, it's essentially political.

Oh my. That just made the Y2 continuation of An Outing... interesting.

 

EDIT: That was not a typo, no sir. Not at all.

Edited by Metis
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I think there's significant confusion as to what advanced or extra classes entails.

 

Folks, In year 2 we will get six slots for classes.

 

these 6 slots can be filled with a variety of class choices. any student can pick any of these (if their skills are good) but only 6:

 

A ) Classes that are Identical to classes in Y1, (pillar classes, incantation as an example)

B ) Rehashes of Y1 classes (example of this might be a speech class that give a mix of dialectic, grammar and dialectic..... in less effective format)

C ) Classes that teach skills the player may or may not have trained in Y1 but has available to them (brew is most likely, enspell also is possible)

D ) Classes that teach entirely new skills! (I suspect orthography will be given a full skill and the subskill in calligraphy is only a part of that)

E ) New advanced classes that the colleges give (tier 2 pillar classes. I suspect there may be more than 1 per pillar)

 

In addition to that (but seperate to) excelling returning students have the option to have 'extra classes' (A misnomer, read: tutoring from their regent) these 'classes' will take up a timeslot and only teach "specialized" magic in the players' college specialties.

 

I pretty much nail that, Legate?

 

(I personally think its worthless for even 1 special class as I'm Aranaz and don't even especially like orthography or specialization. but we'll see. About the only mandatory timeslot usage I approve of is Schohanwicht and I don't like the idea of being affiliated with them, sadly.)

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F***ing English context issues! :angry:

 

I added the words (but separate to) the previous post but I thought it was pretty clear that I was talking about separate things as I did not include these supposed "extra classes" which are not really extra classes in the category of the actual classes.

 

edit: This is why I said there was confusion on the 'extra classes' in the first place. They're not classes at all, damnit!

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And now I'm completely lost. Sorry, free. I suppose I'll just ask like this: If the PC gets extra classes in Y2 will their default schedule turn from this:

 

Attend Classes

Attend Classes

Rest

Rest

 

to this:

 

Attend Classes

Attend Classes

Attend Classes

Rest

 

Or not? I definitely remember someone saying that Schohanwicht is the latter case, and I definitely remember someone mentioning that Y2 will have 4 turns per day, so yeah.

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@Metis if you have no extra Class and also not the Secret Background then you have something like this:

 

Attend Class

Attend Class

Rest

Do Homework

 

If you have one Extra Class or the Secret Background it looks like this:

 

Attend Class

Attend Class

Attend Class

Do Homework

 

You can even go to this with 2 Extra Class or Secret Background and 1 Extra Class

 

Attend Class

Attend Class

Attend Class

Attend Class

 

But taking the 4. Timeslot will come at a cost!

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So in short the Y2 extra classes need to be significantly better than classes are in Y1 or they're pretty much a waste of time. Especially because the first two Attend Class actions each cover three classes, while I imagine the third and fourth only covers one.

 

That begs the question: Are classes better in Y2? And is an extra class worth the cost of a timeslot that could be used for something that, by current standards, can't compete with Train if it had triple the output?

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Schwarzbart nailed it. It's one extra class for one time-slot and this why you can only take 2 extra classes since you only have 2 free slot to give.

 

 

Now the legate explained that since it's private tutoring, it's more time consuming and ''might'' be more rewarding.

 

But even then the cost for them is pretty high, i would prefer it if it was like free suggested but hey maybe it will still be worth it....

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Actually, I imagined the 4th timeslot was more like 'sleep' and using it would cause some stress.

 

If using the 4th slot affects grades, then that would suck majorly. I always assumed that the reason why we didn't have access to the other slots in y1 was because of strict curfew. (Which says be in your room and no activity)

 

I suppose some would use the time for homework if they really needed to due to grades and the spotty enforcement. (plus homework isn't usually noisy like pillow fights) but I don't see it being routine enough to be like schwarzbart says.

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Given that, from what Y1 has shown us, three classes per action has trouble competing with Train I cannot, for the life of me, imagine how these extra classes will be at all worthwhile for the time they cost. Now those extra classes...

 

-They might give access to study levels? Not bad, but those A: take turns to max out (which you will no longer have readily available access to) and B: aren't always worthwhile.

 

-They might give access to specialist skills that otherwise couldn't be trained? Unlikely since the Legate himself said we won't see any more Y3 material in Y2 than we see Y2 material in Y1, and a Y2 student should be able to learn Y2 material. And even if the PC absolutely needs a tutor, than why wouldn't, say, the Sphinx suffice? Sure, it'd take time to Match Wits so often, but that's kinda the entire point/problem to start with.

 

-They might give access to abilities/actions you'd otherwise not get? Probable, even study levels do that like Rhetoric's Brag On Friend, but what could those abilities possibly to do make it worth that massive investment? I can very easily see that either being completely not worth it ("My special training in Astrology got me Wrath of the Comet's Face! Now if only my character had the Incantation to actually cast it") or outright self-defeating ("I got a better Extrapolation of Evidence that gives out three random skills per action, and I only had to give up 200 turns to get it!"). That's 1 turn per schoolday, so 5 turns for each of the 4 weeks a month consists of, times the ten months school lasts.

 

-They might act as a gateway to unlocking Y3 stuff? Maybe, but that doesn't really add to their value in Y2 and would make Y2 a bore when and if Y3 came out, since in order to get Y3 stuff you'd have to give up your ability to do anything for most of Y2.

 

Here's an interesting question: How much can you get out of an investment of 200 time slots in Y1?

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hum, i'm a bit confused by you're post free but from what i know, you are right that it was because of the curfew that we didn't get the 4th slot in year 1 but the curfew has been expanded in year 2 and this why we get an additional slot per day and with no penalty confirmed if that what you've asked. All i say is that you might do better thing with a freeslot instead of taking a extra classes if only for the liberty you get.

 

Here's my personal theory on the slot hours:

Slot 1: From 9 AM to 12 AM (Morning)

Slot 2: From 13 PM to 16 PM (lunch time is not counted) (Afternoon)

Slot 3: From 16 PM to 19 PM (Late Afternoon)(curfew at 19 pm for year 1 student)

Slot 4: From 19 PM to 22 PM (Night) (curfew at 22 pm for year 2 student)

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Metis: I think the main reason you'll would want the take extra classes is that the skill learned are not accessible elsewhere and i think the legate said something about how it will be different in year 2 to discover new subskill especially "randomly".

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Oh boy, I do not like the sound of that. It's bad enough that at the start of a Y1 game my character does not comprehend the concept of "running", so I have to spend time using the Athletics field until, apparently, the dimwit I control flails around uselessly and randomly stumbles around like a drunk enough until, after four or five hours, she finally grasps the idea of "place one foot in front of the other, and now do that again but faster", thus unlocking the ability to actively train the Running skill.

 

If she doesn't fall into the swimming pool first, and instead discovers the concept of "swimming". That I can sorta-maybe understand given the whole "floating island" deal, but still...

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haha... yeah but really it is more about the very specialised magic and i actually agree that it shouldn't be as easy as in year 1 to discover some very rare magics completly randomly like say your dear sync without even doing the adventure and avoiding all the mean consequences.

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"Like say your dear Sync". I'd object to that if it weren't entirely accurate.

 

I do kinda agree, but I also kinda don't. Sync, Gates and Mastery at least shouldn't be given out by just any random roll. The Sphinx? Possible, but that would say quite a bit about her character. Longshade? It's possible that it existed before the ban and still contains books that would teach a student the craft, although that in turn would say something about how commonplace Sync was, as well as how old Nhordum's family is.

 

But Station: Well-to-Do? "My parents are rather well off and actually once bribed a historian to go into quite some detail about 'historic' uses of Gates Methods. Why, yes, that's my nine-year-old daughter sitting next to me making notes while listening intently, what about it?". From Nothing, Knowledge? "Yeah I cast this spell and I suddenly got this vision of a guy making people dance with Mastery, so that's how I picked up these new dancing moves. And some Mastery but that's totally understandable, right?". Extrapolation of Evidence? "Hmm, these people are dancing and this person is directing them to dance. Now it's probable that he's a dancing instructor, but what if he is, in fact, using Mastery? Let's trace his exact wand movements and...why is Joana suddenly dancing and having a nosebleed?".

 

Yeah. That said, the difference between Mastery/Gates/Sync and, say, an ice-specific from of Incantation is that the last one is entirely legal. I don't think it should be impossible to find unless you get the extra class. Hard to find and learn? Sure, but not impossible.

 

Fun Fact 1: My latest character rolled Serenity the first time I used Longshade, I laughed for like two minutes seeing that.

Fun Fact 2: Mathew from To The Entrance mentions catching a rat from a "badly-kept library". Guess what that was a reference towards.

Fun Fact 3: When I was testing An Outing... I used EoE to random me some Mastery skills because studying them in the Forbidden Archive was just not doable, because of the 1/5 chance to get caught and the 1/4 chance to get that last damn skill.

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Yeah I unlocked 3 mastery skills (and one gates and 2 sync) from using the longshade until I'd maximized concentration. It's a bit immersion-breaking that all random skills can grant supposedly suppressed knowledge like mastery and gates.

 

For year 2 I'm also hoping there will be some sort of actual benefit to having an extra class, because if it's anything like year 1 extra classes will just be a huge hindrance to learning stuff. It's one thing to sacrifice free time for learning, but if it doesn't lead to increased learning it's kinda pointless.

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Now I wonder if it's possible to make a mod that "fixes" random skill gains gaining, well, the wrong random skills. A quick scan of the mod tools suggests that the answer to this question is "no", or at best "not reasonably", though.

 

My best guess is that, rather than getting any random skill, you'd mod it to give a random sub skill from a list of parent skills that doen't include Gates, Mastery or Sync (the reference list couldn't include Sync since it itself is a DLC-added Parent skill, but that luckily works out just fine). Not sure if that's actually possible, though.

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Metis it might be possible if you replace [Expand]Expand Subject/Skill Step/Random Skill (Default) with a Reference Table that contain all main skill except Mastery, Gate and Sync.

 

The problem is that we only can use version 1.0 as Base for our Mods and the Sphinx was changed a lot after 1.0

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I do the bassan adventure to get the book of deep shadows. That unlocks mastery quite nicely.

 

If I could find the Book of Gates Mastery I'd use that too, but I suspect its buried in some shop somewhere. And that's a nightmare to navigate for me.

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Metis it might be possible if you replace [Expand]Expand Subject/Skill Step/Random Skill (Default) with a Reference Table that contain all main skill except Mastery, Gate and Sync.

 

The problem is that we only can use version 1.0 as Base for our Mods and the Sphinx was changed a lot after 1.0

Yeah, I can't even find the Sphinx ability in the 1.0 base. Oh wait, duh, I can just check what Library Knowledge 10 unlocks and go from there...

 

...

 

So Match Wits With the Emperor's Sphinx used to be called Imperial Palace: Emperor Sphinx's Room? Somehow I highly doubt that can be changed with what we have, but we can just call that a part of the Sphinx's personality (the annoying part). It's still possible to do the reference table thing and use it to prevent, say, Longshade or Station-Well-to-Do from handing out illegal magic, right?

 

EDIT: Ah, wait, AI_Aces_Up_The_Sleeve is technically a School Survival skill. Will that cause trouble? I don't think, say, Hang Out With Oan can cause trouble like that, but thought I'd check.

Edited by Metis
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Legate! I just watched Howl's Moving Castle and now I must ask.

 

1) Can I have one Moving Castle? Please?

 

2) What permits or licenses must I obtain first before getting/making one?

 

3) How many laws will I be breaking if I just make myself one?

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