Case 2 Puzzle Mode has some very strange answers (and at least one bug)

[Stelas]

Okay, so I'm talking to Wagner. One of the interrupt points is to present evidence that suggests that the confession was coerced.

So far, I have pointed out:
- The bruise on her witness photo,
- The different handwriting of the signature on the confession, both handwriting styles,
- The letter from the Watch Leader talking about them being 'bullies when it comes to confessions'
- Official testimony from Klaus Nowak about Wagner treating suspects cruelly

I'm genuinely not sure what tack the question wants me to take and the fact you can't try again on the spot is making this pretty frustrating. I like the conclusion element where you have to loop together several different bits of evidence, but the interruption system feels unfairly harsh.

[Stelas]

Okay, I got it. For some reason the game _only_ accepts the first photo of the witness photo - the only photo where the big lump under her eye isn't visible. I think I'd consider that a bug.

[Stelas]

Immediately afterwards you have to suggest that Wagner didn't go straight to the car and leave, and somehow the lengthy journal entry from the neighbour about the nice soldier talking to her and showing her the suitcase doesn't count?

[tatarcus]

Ah, glad I'm not the only one who found this mechanic so frustrating. Are you on the puzzle path as well? It seems to me that they thought it would up the difficulty if they limited your options when it comes to presenting evidence.

Which doesn't raise difficulty from an intelligence point of view, it just becomes more arbitrary in a way that you spend your time figuring out what the devs want you to do rather than to solve the case yourself.

And they dug that hole by themselves by including so much evidence that - with enough argumentation - could be used to logically explain any point of view. I think the first case had better playtesting. The second case just gets to this point where it's constant trial-and-error.

[tatarcus]

"Immediately afterwards you have to suggest that Wagner didn't go straight to the car and leave, and somehow the lengthy journal entry from the neighbour about the nice soldier talking to her and showing her the suitcase doesn't count?"

I think the game wants you to use that piece of evidence - but in connection with something else that I couldn't figure out.

There are way better explanations in the evidence, though, like the document that states that the suitcase was brought in by the "Master Watchman" which was Nowak.

If you figure that one out, you can post it here, then I'm able to go ahead as well. :'-)

[Stelas]

In a vacuum I like the idea of the puzzle path! It feels good when it works and when it's more clear, but yeah, like you say, in case 2 it feels like they've earmarked one single solution when there should realistically be two or three different potential answers that are all valid.

You could make the argument that the neighbour's diary does not constitute written testimonial, but one of the other puzzles in that section has you challenging Wagner's testimony with Grunewald's testimony, so... that doesn't really hold any water either.

The photo thing is definitely frustrating though. I got so confused when pointing out the big obvious bruise didn't work and the game only accepted the first photo of the three.

[Stelas]

I went to check a video and... yeah some of the answers from that segment are very strange:
- Esther's question on clicking on Nowak is 'would people have described you two as violent?' and the answer is not the multiple sources stating that they were violent, it's the record that indicates Wagner required medical attention after the arrest.
- The answer for Wagner's part is the exact same paragraph.

[tatarcus]

Seems at least like there were options for different choices there, because I didn't use any of the photos.

[YGathWyn]

Originally posted by Stelas:

I went to check a video and... yeah some of the answers from that segment are very strange:
- Esther's question on clicking on Nowak is 'would people have described you two as violent?' and the answer is not the multiple sources stating that they were violent, it's the record that indicates Wagner required medical attention after the arrest.
- The answer for Wagner's part is the exact same paragraph.

I'm up to the last conclusion now and I feel like I'm chasing my tail. I've tried so many different possible combinations and none of them seem to work. Did you find a solution in the end?

[cenkmelzer]

Hey everyone,

you are right to point out that this is a bug. Currently, the game does not recognize every solution possible. This will be fixed in a patch next week - I will respond in this thread again once this issue is solved. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Have a nice weekend!
Cenk

[Stelas]

Thanks for the response, looking forward to it!

[Krosa]

that's my biggest gripe with the game, you don't provide evidence by logic, you have to provide evidence with the same logic as the developer decided. Not every logical option is correct so at some points of the game it's simply a guessing game...

[Stelas]

Another awkward point is part 3 of the trial where you have to prove who left the apartment.

The hints are:
- Somebody must have seen the person who left with the suitcase.
- There should be a description of said person.
- Only one officer matches the description.

This implies that I should be presenting the neighbour's diary which talks about 'the man with the case' being a smoker and the other officer a staunch non-smoker, and the photo of Nowak smoking. As a third option, I also pointed out the evidence docket that says 'the watch master retrieved the following items'. This, to me, is a pretty clear-cut line of logic, but whatever I try the game is not convinced and I have no idea what else it should be referring to.

e: Ah, I had to add in the named photo as well. Ehhh that feels weird when Wagner's right there in the trial but whatever.

[Stelas]

The extra trial section in case 2 feels like it's broken in puzzle mode. Out of curiosity I went and checked a walkthrough video, and while it wasn't in puzzle mode the deposition makes specific reference to the 'stunt', the line about 'being rid of her', and the line in Wolfgang's confession letter, but this combination isn't accepted by the game.

I've tried looping in some of Emilia's anonymous character statement - I was thinking something along the lines of 'Emilia told Wolfgang that Anna would abort their child if they had one' - but I can't find a combination that seems to work and the hints just aren't sufficient.

I really like the tone and the vibe of the game, and the way the subject matter is handled is very good, but I think when I recommend it to people I'm going to recommend Puzzle Mode is turned off, because this is detracting from the drama of the game.

[cenkmelzer]

Hi!

We had an update on both Saturday and yesterday that fixed many solutions that weren't recognized correctly. I hope this helps - if issues still occur, please get back to me in this thread! :)