Spoiler Warning. On character death.

[Bird_Dog]

So, on the topic of character death.
I didn't like how they killed off Claire.
To me, her death is an example of how not to do character death.

First, there doesn't seem to be much pay-off.
The most we get is another glimpse into Isaaks inner world, as he never even bothers to ask Kathy about her. Srsly Isaak? Don't give a toss about your first born child?
That's about it for Claire's death as far as story impact goes. I never got the impression the story might have gone much differently had she not died, Except maybe that she would have been levelheaded enough to not leave the remaining colonists behind to die like Kathy and Sarah did without even blinking. But that's probably best left for another discussion...

The second reason I don't like how they handled her death is that it felt realy contrived.
So, the Zephyre suffers a big breakdown right when they de-orbit.
What happend? Why? The game never explains that. So it's "'cause plot!"
Then the life pods launch on an automated, non-abortable countdown? Who would design such a system? Why? "'cause plot!"
The hatch leading to the escape pods malfunctions and closes - dramaticaly slowly ofc - for some unexplored reason, an there's apparently no manual override. Why? "'cause plot!"
Kathy, who supposedly aced the astronaut training can't figure out how to open her safety harness - for the second time. Why? "'cause plot!"

The whole sequence just feels like the devs went over a checklist and noticed that they hadn't yet ticked the "kill mayor NPC in 1st act" box and Claire got the short straw.
Like it was shoehorned in as some sort of obligation to the plot rather than a natural development of the story.

[egghole]

When Claire told me to go to the pod and said "I'll be fine" and catch up with you later, I just had a gut feeling she wasn't going to make it. It was predictable. But it wasn't as disruptive to me as it seems to have been for you. Like, prior to this, debris had collided with the thrusters. You had to amputate the the third thruster as a result prior to this. It's not outside the imagination that this may have caused dire consequences.

Sure, a jammed door preventing Claire from reaching the escape pod is a bit plot convenient, but in any fictional setting, you really have to suspend SOME disbelief to follow along, elsewise you'll never enjoy any work of fiction. In spite of that, I enjoyed the story.

[Bird_Dog]

Originally posted by Twink:

Like, prior to this, debris had collided with the thrusters. You had to amputate the the third thruster as a result prior to this. It's not outside the imagination that this may have caused dire consequences.

Sure, there was damage, and the mission was run on a shoestring.
But the crew knew that their ship was held together mostly by ductape and prayers and that it has taken a beating.
They had no reason to hurry. So thare was nothing stopping them from going over their ship and its critical systems with a fine comb prior to de-orbiting.
They shoudl have spotted any damage likely to cause a total failure of flight controlls.

Sure, a jammed door preventing Claire from reaching the escape pod is a bit plot convenient, but in any fictional setting, you really have to suspend SOME disbelief to follow along, elsewise you'll never enjoy any work of fiction. In spite of that, I enjoyed the story.

Video games and doors.
I understand that doors having weird mechanics is very convenient whenever you need an obstacle to player progress - or for contrived drama for that matter.
But I'm starting to get a bit allergic to doors closing when they take damage or the power is turned off. That's just not how a door designed by anyone within radio range of sanity works. And yes, willing suspension of disbelieve and old tropes...
I guess it's the constant use - overuse - of this particular trope in games that makes me hate it more and more.

[Truffle]

My main problem with her death is how it was telegraphed literally seconds before it happened. Dude is like "You all know what to do in case of emergency" followed by Claire apologizing for such and such. Then, not 10 seconds later, the emergency breaks out.

[DR GOO]

In all honesty Kat should have been taken by Isaac and we should have played as Claire.
Who eventually ends up at the colony and most important of all you get a choice.
A choice to rescue Kat or leave her and the ark there. The technology on the other surviving ark was enough in itself to same Yooomanidy.
I wanted to stomp on Isaac's hands, he's a pathetic, worst father ever.
I agree with all the points made in the OP with plot holes and inconsistencies.

If the devs were hoping people would feel empathy for Kat and Claire with that "kill off claire" scene, I sat there and double middle fingered through the whole scene.

Uneeded, contrived, and if anyone should have died it should have been either Sarah, the dude or both.

[Truffle]

Originally posted by DR GOO:

Who eventually ends up at the colony and most important of all you get a choice.
A choice to rescue Kat or leave her and the ark there. The technology on the other surviving ark was enough in itself to same Yooomanidy.
.

It was specified by Isaac that Ark Habitas was essential to Ark Vitas and it's settlement continuing to operate. I believe it was their main oxygen generation.

So you kill the surviving colonists regardless of taking one Ark or two

[Cley Faye]

Originally posted by DR GOO:

If the devs were hoping people would feel empathy for Kat and Claire with that "kill off claire" scene, I sat there and double middle fingered through the whole scene.

If the devs wanted us to feel anything positive toward Claire, they should not have depicted her as an annoying, self-centered person with no care for anything beyond herself up to this point.

Her dying did its effect on the MC, but beyond that she could just have not been there anyway. The plot in present time would have been largely the same, and she could have happily lived in flashbacks with something happening to her offscreen before the game happens.

[Fluffypuff]

Originally posted by Bird_Dog:

But I'm starting to get a bit allergic to doors closing when they take damage or the power is turned off. That's just not how a door designed by anyone within radio range of sanity works.

That's actually not quite true, some doors are designed to close automatically on power loss, for example fire doors. Doors in spacecraft might also be designed to close automatically on power loss in order to prevent a loss of atmosphere.

[DR GOO]

I have had a good think about this after my second play through, this time I took it slow, (no middle fingers) and absorbed the scene as intended. Now, the cutscene directing is really on point, nice job there. But Claire dying really didn't do anything. She can seem annoying but the more i replay the game, she began to grown on me a bit and it's a pity she didn't get more character development.

Now then, it should not have been Claire, it should have been Sarah, and here's why.
During DutM you (as the nameless protagonist) get's to know Sarah, and even though you never met her in person, via the holo scenes and found social media drops I found myself actually feeling some agency.

If it had been Sarah that died on the shuttle, it would have made a much bigger impact in the feels because we are connected to Sarah more than anyone else. It should, hands down, have been Claire who is the reluctant daughter, and the end when you reach the final arc and the colony would have made so much better an ending.

Claire makes the decision to forcibly remove Kat, with Ryans help (he is pissed for what happened to Sarah) and Isaac is either killed, or put in chains. Not nonchalantly sitting around feeling blue, the guy is a murderer, a crazed despot.

I really wanted to stomp on his hand and watch him fall, so yeah Sarah would have made for a better sacrificial lamb, and would have gotten a true feeling from me at least.

[Ketana]

Kathy's wrist laser to cut the debris, claire's elbow grease to open the door. She survive. If she really have to die for the plot she could have during a climbing session or something.
Her death did not make any sense at this moment.

[Bird_Dog]

Originally posted by Fluffypuff:

That's actually not quite true, some doors are designed to close automatically on power loss, for example fire doors. Doors in spacecraft might also be designed to close automatically on power loss in order to prevent a loss of atmosphere.

Well yea, sortoff. The fire doors where I work do have a local backup-power supply to allow them to sill operate during powerloss.
Especialy, they are supposed to still open when someone needs to get through. That distinction would have made a huge difference for poor Clarie here...
But they still need power to move.
What I ment was doors that actually do close when they lose ALL power.
So, basically, video game doors would need a spring, pushing them close, and a system requiring power to keept them open against said spring.
And in this case, congratulations, you just invented a needlessly complicated fatal accident generator. ;-)

[Richard M. Nixon]

Originally posted by Bird_Dog:

Well yea, sortoff. The fire doors where I work do have a local backup-power supply to allow them to sill operate during powerloss.
Especialy, they are supposed to still open when someone needs to get through. That distinction would have made a huge difference for poor Clarie here...
But they still need power to move.
What I ment was doors that actually do close when they lose ALL power.
So, basically, video game doors would need a spring, pushing them close, and a system requiring power to keept them open against said spring.
And in this case, congratulations, you just invented a needlessly complicated fatal accident generator. ;-)

Fire doors close on power loss, but they can be opened by hand like you would any other door. They're just on a spring loaded door closer thingy so that they will close unless they're being held open.

Spaceship doors closing automatically is a pretty smart idea tbh, though it's not something seen in real life today, almost all doors are completely manually operated to prevent any errant power surges from opening a door you don't want to open (for example if you've sealed off a module due to a chemical leak creating a toxic atmosphere)

[Bird_Dog]

Originally posted by Richard M. Nixon:

Fire doors close on power loss, but they can be opened by hand like you would any other door. They're just on a spring loaded door closer thingy so that they will close unless they're being held open.

Bit of a necro here, but fine...
You are thinking about what is basically a normal door that is supposed to close to prevent draft. In case of a fire, they prevent fresh air from getting to the fire and smoke from spreading.
I was thinking more about the side-rolling big door doors down in the warehouse. Big enough to let forklifts through. They have a local power source to operate in case of power outage or fire.
You don't spring-load those, becasue that's just asking for trouble.

Spaceship doors closing automatically is a pretty smart idea tbh, though it's not something seen in real life today, almost all doors are completely manually operated to prevent any errant power surges from opening a door you don't want to open (for example if you've sealed off a module due to a chemical leak creating a toxic atmosphere)

I disagree. A automatic pressure door strikes me as problematic.
Because if they close and something's in the way, they will either stop closing and remain open - defeating their purpose - or they will crush whatever's in the way - potentially killing or trapping someone, or damaging the seals and thus again defeating their purpose.

[Cheez3]

I am a scientist, door closes in case of electrical failure.
jk i am not a scientist, but the dead of claire was kinda ok imo, cuz it leaves u with that constant grieving feeling the entire game, making finding ur father a bit more painful, since everytime u see him, u remind ur dead sister.

[Evil_Doc]

I'd hate to be the odd man out here, but I think her death was always meant to be. It's ALWAYS been about "Moonbear", not Claire. She was Isaac's precious little girl, clearly his favorite. Through all the memories, he never once listened to or cared about Claire. In fact, I think she was probably adopted. I mean, a family of burnettes... and she's the ONLY blonde?

Sure, Kathy was kind of sad about it for a bit, but in the end.. the father never even asks about her sister, and she doesn't even bring it up until Sarah does the obligatory "forgotten plot-character"-nod with the whole: "Did you tell him about Claire yet?", and then Kathy's all like: "Oh yeah, I totally forgot about that.... I suppose I'll go tell him now, if I must."

Yes, her death was predictable. I want to believe that she "sacrificed" herself for the crew, by staying the cockpit and keeping the ship together long enough for the escape pods to launch. This was evident in the final scene, as the doors slowly closed, and stopped... to me it looked like she backed away and CLOSED the doors rest of the way, herself, to allow Kathy to eject, and locking herself in completely. This makes more sense than, "Oh ♥♥♥♥... I waited too long, and now I can't get out because of this door that is closing ever-so-slowly in front of me"