Basic FAQ - Multiplayer, Berlin, 'robo-doc', etc

[Procrastinating Gamer]

Firstly - If something's either not covered here or you want more detail, I'd suggest heading over to the official forums at www.shadowrun.com - large knowledge base, a friendly community and if you start playing the pen-and-paper game, you can find help, advice and discussion for that there as well.

Fiction Anthology & Soundtrack: The digital extras from the Deluxe Edition are downloaded by Steam, you can find where by doing this:
- go to Steam Library
- right click on Shadowrun Returns
- select Properties
- click Local Files
- click Browse Local Files
NOTE: if you are Kickstarter Backer or a pre-order from the Harebrained Schemes web site before the game went on sale on Steam, youl'l get all your digital rewards from the HBS account web site (which you should have received an invite to from HBS).

Other places to find UGC: In addition to Steam Workshop, you can find UGC uploaded to the following web sites (so far):
http://shadowrunreturns.nexusmods.com/?tb=mod&pUp=1
http://www.moddb.com/games/shadowrun-returns/addons

Multiplayer: Possibly somewhere down the road but not planned at this stage.

Languages: Game currently supports English, French, Italian and Spanish languages with Russian and German expected late January 2014.

Stealth: You can sneak around (you can even see a bit of it in the Launch trailer - player-character moving forward through a building and a speech bubble appearing over a nearby guard asking "Did you hear something?") but there is no actual stealth skill to spend Karma (basically XP) on. There are silenced weapons and shamans can learn spells to create distracting noises or to create zones of silence.

Achievements and Trading Cards: No plans for achievements but Cards have recently been added.

Modding: The editor does not support the creation of whole new skills, archetypes or gameplay mechanics - although you could fake some of the latter with triggers and dialogue (such as adding a workbench for modifying weapons - use dialogue to interact with it and triggers to remove the old weapon from the player's inventory and add a newer version). You can add new weapons and spells, but not new graphics or graphical effects. You can add your own 2D art assets for the backgrounds and, according to some of the Kickstarter backers who got the editor early, there is now a button in the editor for doing so.

Loot: Random loot can be added with the editor for content creators who desire it in their campaigns but it is not part of the base Seattle campaign that HBS has made. While it varied from group-to-group, loot was generally not a notable part of the original pen-and-paper game.

Saving: At launch, the game only had a save-on-load-screen system. It now has a more conventional save-anywhere system that was patched into the game at the same time as Dragonfall's launch. Note that this is not part of the Dragonfall expansion, but added to the game itself. You do not need to own Dragonfall in order to use the save-anywhere system.

Edition of the PnP game used: The system is brand-new and tailored for the video game, but draws its inspiration primarily from 2nd and 3rd edition. The Seattle campaign is set in 2054, so this is firmly set in Shadowrun's classic era from its days as a FASA product.

Linux version & non-English versions: These will be released a few months after the Windows version's release.

Camera Settings: The game only has a single isometric view point - no camera rotation due to the backgrounds being entirely 2D (and adding additional view points for camera rotation would quadruple the file size of a scene).

Keyboard Controls:
http://shadowrun-returns.wikispaces.com/Keyboard+Controls

Graphics Options: The best way to see these before getting the game yourself would be to watch TotalBiscuit's WTF Is video on the game, which you can find here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-b-ggUSvo4

Fix for Audio Hitching/Dropped Frames: Discovered by trey2s:
http://www.reddit.com/r/shadowrunreturns/comments/1j2q6i/audio_hitchingdropped_frames_fix/ It doesn't work for everyone, but it's worth a try. I'll add a more reliable solution once it's discovered.

"Add the following to the launch options (right-click 'Shadowrun Returns' in your Steam Library and select 'Properties'): -force-gfx-st

The dropped frames are caused by some sort of multi-threaded processing bug with the Unity framework renderer. This command line parameter forces single-threaded processing and should fix the hitching without noticeably reducing performance."

Fix for audio playing after closing game/
Problem: "I was having an issue where the audio would crash and stutter when i exited the game. I had to restart my PC to get some silence. "
Explanation: This was tracked down to the Asus Xonar DGX drivers enabling "GX Mode" which is their broken EAX compatibility module.
Solution: When i disabled "GX Mode" the audio did not crash when i exit the game. I actually updated my drivers to Uni Xonar 1.70 and selected the "Low DPC" version which disables GX Mode by default.

Importing characters to User Generated Content: Content creators have three options for the player - letting them import an existing character, letting them make a brand new one or using one made by the content creator. I believe the creator can select any combination of those as well, but I haven't checked out the editor for myself yet. Either way; it should say on the Workshop page of whatever UGC you're downloading.

Telestrian Elevator: Being vague about the title since there's a risk of spoilers, but you'll know the bit when you get to it. You do not interact with the elevator doors themselves, but via a Matrix JackPoint in one of the side-offices. Get your decker in there and he can get the lift running.

Cyberware: Seen this come up a few times on the forums here and, while I don't know if this is what everyone's been talking about, it's one restriction on 'ware that I found in the game's help menu.
The main limit to cyberware is your Essence. For every full point of Essence you lose, any spells you can cast will get an extra turn to their cooldown. In addition; you can never go below Essence 1 - if a new piece of 'ware would take you below that, the game won't let you install it. It's a little more restrictive than in the PnP game (where you can get right down to 0.1 Essence) but SR:R also has much less 'ware available overall so it evens out.

Save File Location: Save files appear to be stored in program files/steam/userdata/######/234650/remote/saves. There are two folders in userdata on my computer, both with just a string of numbers for their names, but only one has a folder inside them with the name "234650".

Adding Custom Portraits to Seattle Campaign: Someone found out how to do this and you can find the guide to it here: http://steamcommunity.com/app/234650/discussions/0/864974467227721515/

Robo-doc: It's been coming up a lot lately; questions about a drone with a grenade launcher, the description for which mentions 'healing grenades'. The weapon description is joking; it's your bog-standard grenade launcher that militaries have been using since the 1950's or so. How this drone heals people is via a medkit it has in its inventory, same as how a mundane metahuman character would heal someone. The drone automatically restocks these between 'runs for free so don't worry about not knowing how to replace it. The drone also comes with a pair of concussion grenades in its inventory that also restock for free.
This also applies to any drone that is mentioned to have an alternate function, such as the Smoker. It is armed with a conventional mortar and deploys smoke via smoke grenades in its inventory.
Full loadouts for the Smoker and Robo-Doc were posted in this thread by Talon and the post can be found here for those wanting the specifics: http://steamcommunity.com/app/234650/discussions/0/864974276833864828/?tscn=1375649176#c864975249594337967
For reference; even as late as the mid-2070s (twenty years after Shadowrun Returns), the technology does not exist to make healing grenades. Nanites do exist by that point and are used in the medical industry, but have to be injected.

Berlin Campaign: Now called Dragonfall, this has been anounced to release on 27th February 2014. I don't know what people have heard about it, but this will not be a major overhaul of the game mechanics - it will be a second campaign, more open than Dead Man's Switch was, more comparable to the Sega Genesis game, though it will not be open-world or sandbox. It will also include a tileset for the editor to better reflect older cities like Berlin.
Kickstarter backers who pledged above a certain amount are getting it as part of their pledge (so they don't have to pay anything and will be sent a Steam Key for it via email the same way they got a key for the base game).
There was no time it was included in a Steam pre-order of the base game. More details about what pre-order options included it can be found here, courtesy of RC: http://steamcommunity.com/app/234650/discussions/0/558746995184715225/#c558747218059363614

My Username Since a lot of people have made this mistake, I'll just point out that the "B'oh" in my username is a tag for the gaming group I'm in, the Bohage, my actual username is just "ShadowFighter 88".

I hope this thread helps and I will be happy to add to it and correct it as-needed.

EDIT: Also, let's try and avoid using this thread for debates, arguments or the like. I'm just trying to make this informative, not a venue for personal gripeing.

[Sol]

İlk olarak B'oh | ShadowFighter88 tarafından gönderildi:

No plans for achievements

That's a shame.

[katarack21]

Very informative. Thank you for the information. You should add to check the Store page to find the clock that tells you when it will unlock in your time-zone.

[Procrastinating Gamer]

İlk olarak katarack21 tarafından gönderildi:

Very informative. Thank you for the information. You should add to check the Store page to find the clock that tells you when it will unlock in your time-zone.

Thanks. Knew I was forgetting something.

[Sevrun]

The loot thing wouldn't make sense in any major sprawl anyway. even in the 2050s most Corps tagged the gear their security forces used, so if you snatched a pretty rifle... expect then to send someone to crash your victory party.

Achievements... meh, never saw the big deal. Just gimme the game and turn me loose, I'll achieve on my own! VERY excited for this game as a longtime (and current) player of the PnP Shadowrun.

[katarack21]

Also, this just occured to me, but it might be helpfull if you add some of the (limited) knowledge that's been obtained regarding the soundtrack and anthology for the deluxe edition and kickstarter backers. There's been some confusion about when you can access it, how you will access it, etc. There's a few threads in here about it.

[Procrastinating Gamer]

İlk olarak katarack21 tarafından gönderildi:

Also, this just occured to me, but it might be helpfull if you add some of the (limited) knowledge that's been obtained regarding the soundtrack and anthology for the deluxe edition and kickstarter backers. There's been some confusion about when you can access it, how you will access it, etc. There's a few threads in here about it.

Ah, thanks. Adding that in now.

[LewsTherin]

So for Europe (GMT+1 timezone) release is tomorrow at 8pm.

can't wait !!

[Darthsolo]

I always kept my runners lean. Cant pay the rent, cant afford a cab or ammo, you better hope those gangers had credsticks or something you could sell. This harshness on my part as GM had players selling "used cyberware" every chance they got. It also left them in states of mind that any tempting loose bit of loot would have them sacrificing professionality/blowing a silent run to grab it. Good fun. Also great to keep the story going. Deckers were the only characters that managed to make money off me (outside of legitimate run payoff).
"There is no greater thing in life, than the screams of your PC's as they are driven before you and forced to reroll!" #me

[Zeretrelle]

Only checkpoints - fail for a PC game. Epic fail for a turn-based RPG. We don't need that console ♥♥♥♥♥ that keep flooding our beloved PCs. Give us standard saving\quick saving system and leave checkpoint-only scheme to consoles

Modding- it looks like it is quite limited compared to TES games which is really sad considering how much the editor was praised and that it is the developer's team main focus( all things considered)

Loot- don't care much, unless the story sucks

Achievements- don't care

Stealth - will be missed

Multiplayer - would have been nice.

[Procrastinating Gamer]

İlk olarak Darthsolo tarafından gönderildi:

I always kept my runners lean. Cant pay the rent, cant afford a cab or ammo, you better hope those gangers had credsticks or something you could sell. This harshness on my part as GM had players selling "used cyberware" every chance they got. It also left them in states of mind that any tempting loose bit of loot would have them sacrificing professionality/blowing a silent run to grab it. Good fun. Also great to keep the story going. Deckers were the only characters that managed to make money off me (outside of legitimate run payoff).
"There is no greater thing in life, than the screams of your PC's as they are driven before you and forced to reroll!" #me

Sounds interesting. Not sure I'd enjoy it, but it'd be interesting.

[Procrastinating Gamer]

İlk olarak vesdaris tarafından gönderildi:

Only checkpoints - fail for a PC game. Epic fail for a turn-based RPG. We don't need that console ♥♥♥♥♥ that keep flooding our beloved PCs. Give us standard saving\quick saving system and leave checkpoint-only scheme to consoles

It's a pain, true - but we can't expect perfection from a budget title from a company that's only made smartphone games before this. Not disparaging HBS, just pointing out their history.

[Philopoemen]

I love how a FAQ post devolves into wanting to change the answers of those Qs...

[Procrastinating Gamer]

İlk olarak Philopoemen tarafından gönderildi:

I loe how a FAQ post devolves into wanting to change the answers of those Qs...

Guess I should've made that bit at the end of my OP where I said not to let this devolve into debates or arguments a bit more noticable. And tried to do a better job of following it myself. :P

EDIT: There we go - header tags did the job.

[SpenReyn]

Art assets have a add button in the newest version of the editor, so they have full support.

[Pob]

İlk olarak SpenReyn tarafından gönderildi:

Art assets have a add button in the newest version of the editor, so they have full support.

That is good to know.
From the videos I've seen the editor does look more like it should be refered to as a map/level editor, looks like the game is very heavily scripted so things like loot and stealth are very much down to the designers ability and work.
This is not a jrpg type game, more of an advemture game with rpg structure, whioch I personally like.