Unresolved plot points

[therealjohnconnor]

SPOILERS: Do not read this thread unless you have completed Above Snakes, have a detailed knowledge of its contents and/or really, really hate surprises. Fair warning given, the point of this thread is to explore plot points that hint at content cut for time/technical reasons.

1. After completing his fort quest, the injured Mr Smith says he'll give Aiyana bounty contracts when he returns to Corpse Creek. He never does.
2. Ask who might know more about the Lost Souls, the Mayor refers to the priest and "Doc Moss out in the wilderness", but the the only tile we're given to look for him on is Corpse Creek's church. We find out the priest's fate there, but never hear word of Doc Moss again.
3. There are strong hints that with the right dialogue choices, the mayor will make Aiyana and not the cowardly deputy sheriff. Maybe I did it wrong, but I suspect that option was cut. If so, a pity, as it'd have been nice to have other Corpse Creek characters refer to Aiyana as 'sheriff' and maybe get a (crit-boosting?) tin star.
4. DOUBLE-SPOILER: This is about the crux of Above Snakes' plot. The Elders say the Lost Souls are caused by an angry spirit, with the implication this is the final boss. But on our last Lost Souls/meteor-dodging quest run to return the Mayor's key, we never get to confront this boss. I'd appreciate a Dances With Wolves-style 'the coming of the iron road upset the balance of Nature' speech or any explicit resolution of the central mystery of the game's plot (+ensuring last boss fight), but instead we just get to complete our fetch quest to restrain a boss we never meet.
5. After completing their quests, both Shane and the Brown brothers say they'll return to Corpse Creek but like Mr Smith (see 1 above) thy never do. I'd be great if their host tiles reset and they moved to the trading post and Jeb's forge in Corpse Creek, and maybe the town tiles reset too to be a little better-repaired and more Lost-free after the last quest is resolved, and that characters there could give short lines about their new lives (and--who knows--a word of thanks from the mayor too) by way of plot resolution.
6. We find out from gunsmith Jeb that Aiyana's mother was Mary, Corpse Creek's hotelier, but never who her father is. He's highly likely a man of the Kacheda village where she was bought up, but as neither she nor her sister Shayan refer to him as their father, it's highly unlikely to be its chief.

Anyway, hope this is of interest and promotes further discussion.

[Rappeldrache]

Really clever, thanks. I agree 100 %

[Square Glade Games - Marc]

Thank you for your elaborate look into Above Snakes! I'm very impressed with your analysis and you've found a good couple of foreshadows we've put in the game. Allow us to address them point by point.

1. Mr. Jones indeed says he may see Aiyana in Corpse Creek one day. He doesn't show up right now, but maybe not enough (real-world) time has passed yet 😉 We are currently working on a roadmap.
2. Doc Mass is a character that we hint towards in the game a couple times, but who hasn't made his debut (yet).
3. Hmm very interesting suggestion. Aiyana does indeed do a lot of work for the 'cowardly deputy', but we hadn't considered actually making her sheriff. Interesting idea though.
4. In this case we see the angry spirit as a deity, and not as a final boss. The idea is to appease this deity, and not fight him.
5. Great catch on the Brown brothers! They might find their way back to Corpse Creek someday.
But who do you mean by 'Shane'? The closest I can figure is Shayan, but that is a friend of Aiyana who lives in Kacheda village. She doesn't have an intent to go to Corpse Creek.
6. Also a good catch. We decided to keep her father at a distance and out of the story for now. He also wasn't there during her upbringing in Corpse Creek. But who knows, maybe we'll include him in a questline in a content patch or DLC.

Again, thank you for that input! We much appreciate it!

[therealjohnconnor]

Always good to get dev response - yes, a post-final mission DLC resolving affairs in Corpse Creek and maybe more finally resolving the malevolent diety situation would be most welcome (and I 100% agree that stopping a being capable of raining down meteors with a bullet would be anticlimactic).

Shane is the lumberjack and hunter who shows Aiyana how to make a bow and other useful survival skills, the skull/snake quest guy, and gunsmith Jeb's close friend who Aiyana couriers packages between. He's supposed to end up in Corpse Creek at the end too..

[IFIYGD]

Originally posted by therealjohnconnor:

Shane is the lumberjack and hunter who shows Aiyana how to make a bow and other useful survival skills, the skull/snake quest guy, and gunsmith Jeb's close friend who Aiyana couriers packages between. He's supposed to end up in Corpse Creek at the end too..

His name is Stark, not Shane.

[Voldski]

Originally posted by Square Glade Games - Marc:

Thank you for your elaborate look into Above Snakes! I'm very impressed with your analysis and you've found a good couple of foreshadows we've put in the game. Allow us to address them point by point.

5. Great catch on the Brown brothers! They might find their way back to Corpse Creek someday.

Again, thank you for that input! We much appreciate it!

Think could be interesting if brothers set up carpenter and tailor shops tiles you could place, where you could buy cosmetic cloths with bonuses similar to end game tier equipment or furniture pieces different from what you can built in exchange and maybe, clearing their campsite after you placed tiles in corpse Creek.

Think it would add a little end game content with maybe some furniture you can't craft showing at carpenter on rotation and same with outfits. Other games done that with some success like Dreamlight Valley.

[Spark]

I have some questions too:
1. What happens with Aiyana's neighbors ? after they leave with the caravan, the only clue was a note on the trading post, but we never see them again.
2. Stark, the man on the woods with his dog Bass, say if Aiyana is trust enough he will show what he do with that big skull. And after two more quest, he never tell her what is going on with the packages.
3. On the loading screen, some time you see the picture of a woman holding a baby in her arms, how is that woman? is Mary and the baby Aiyana? and what is that fire on the distance? is the forest burning? or is a settlement of natives that catch fire? why the woman is so calm in that situation tho?
4. After the church quest, if you don't miss it, you get a meteorite fragment. Well, what can be done with that? I mean, you can sell it but is 1 coin, so is not worth it, is for some hidden quest, or some key item, I complete the game but I don't understand for what is for.

[CrazyMom]

A year later and only Mr. Jones has made it to Corpse Creek, the Brown brothers are still in their camp and nothing in that town gets re-set after the long "everything is normal outside again" speech by one of the Elders. No inverted roof tile to properly connect inside corners and solve roof issues either.
I did like the game (except for the atrocious non-directional movement with the mouse and only using WSAD keys- have a look at Len's Island developers, there one can use the mouse) and expected more from the ending. After so many hours of game play it felt as a let down not to have the town re-set and re-populated. One could even imagine more town tasks from additional characters. As is, I was quite disappointed.