Completed the game, but don't understand the pod number

[bluemonkmn]

I pride myself on only having had to look for help once early on while playing through Obduction (because other Cyan games I have had to resort to hints multiple times), and that was for the combination to Farley's house. Apparently I missed the clue for that somehow but figured out everything else in the game on my own this time. I think the problem was I didn't even know what I was looking for -- a way into the house? A way into the tower? A way to the tree? And what was going to unlock that next step. Too many uncertainties to know where to look, so I resorted to a guide.

However, the one thing I don't understand is shortly before the end of the game, how I was supposed to know the pod number to look up to somehow magically open the door from the dying alien leading to the final tree. I completely understand the numbering system of grids and dots and even understand the diagram on the last page of the book near the pod chambers. But I had no clue which pod number or name to look up even though I knew exactly how to select a pod. I randomly looked at every pod on the 14th level because it had crates and books on it so I thought maybe there was something else unique on that level, but that was just a lucky coincidence. I looked at other people's walkthroughs after completing the game to try to understand how I was supposed to work my way through this part, and most don't explain where 222 came from, but one video showed a video screen with the mystery number on it. I could have sworn I walked through that area a dozen times trying to find a clue and there were no screens, at least none with any content on them. I went back to all the video screens I could find and they were all blank now so I couldn't even get a clue or reminder of who had talked to me earlier. Unfortunately now when I load the game it's at the end because I completed the game so I can't really get back to the area I was in to check it.

Is there any other way other than playing the whole game again to re-check this area? Has anybody else seen nothing but blankness on all video screens after getting to the pods?

[Halloween Jack]

This thread (see my explanation about the pod code on the first page of the thread) goes into some detail about this.
It's an issue that many, many players have concerns about, but it is not on the roadmap to be fixed.
https://steamcommunity.com/app/306760/discussions/0/135509124607386640/

[Clove Or Somethin']

I never saw the screen with the number on it either, but it was never an issue because there's another way to solve this puzzle which, to me, makes way more in-universe sense than an alien magically beaming you the answer.

Ever since arriving in Maray, you've been getting transmissions from somebody who looks like the Mayor - the guy you saw in all those welcome holograms when you first arrived in Hunrath. However this guy doesn't talk like the Mayor does, so clearly something is Fishy. Remember the book in the Farley house that told us about people that have the ability to mimic someone else at the expense of badly-broken grammar?

How do we know this guy's name? Well, it's written on a plaque on his office wall, and on about three hundred election campaign signs tucked around his office - he's Josef.

Lookup Mayor Josef in the pod manifest, and you'll find exactly where he should be located.

Granted this makes it fairly confusing why the door magically opens when you meander back into the room with the Villein while casting about for what to do next, but, that's one way you're supposed to figure out which pod to look at.

[bluemonkmn]

Originally posted by Kiruvi:

Ever since arriving in Maray, you've been getting transmissions from somebody who looks like the Mayor - the guy you saw in all those welcome holograms when you first arrived in Hunrath.

The problem was that by the time I knew I needed to remember this, none of the transmissions were playable any more. I couldn't remember anything about him except that he was fishy. I'm used to these games allowing me to go back and review the information I need to solve a puzzle, and this time I couldn't.

[Clove Or Somethin']

All of the welcome transmissions can be replayed again at any time, unless you went out of your way to destroy them.

[Chazz the Elder]

Yes. But the videos of Josef in Maray only play the first time you pass in front of a screen and cannot be replayed.

[admiral1018]

Recently completed the game for the first time, so I had no idea the older versions had something displayed on the screen. So my perspective is entirely based on that.

This was one of the puzzles that took me about 3-4 hours to finish, but I did it without external help. I did the usual thing most people do at first -- look up Farley, get the achievement, look for the panel to open the door near the injured Villein, etc. After lots of back and forth to ensure that nothing was missed, I figured the pods must be part of the solution. I checked them for every character I remember hearing mentioned, including Chevar and all the humans. I checked the ones that had crates and books, thinking that might be a clue. And I eventually randomly checked Josef also, since he was a character I knew. However, I had no idea that his pod was related to the door at all since the way the puzzle is designed now makes no sense.

In fact, even after "solving" the puzzle, I wandered around for another half hour not knowing I had solved it. When I finally returned to the room with the Villein, I had no idea why the door was opened and was kind of frustrated, wondering what I did that triggered it. While I think it's fair to expect players to find the 222 on their own, I think this puzzle needed to be reworked to make story sense.

Here are the issues:

1. There is no indication at all now the Villein is trying to communicate with me. I have no idea who he is, no idea what side he is even on, and no idea what his purpose is/was. I spent forever seeing if I could move the rocks off him to help since we were not interacting in any other way. To me it looked like his screen was broken and he needed help. There is absolutely no way the player could surmise that he wanted them to check the pods.

2. Without knowing what he's asking me to do, I don't understand what checking the pods even does for him. He's pinned and can't see the chamber area, so how does he even know I checked Josef's pod? The game does not establish any connection between the door and the pods.

3. I assume the original 222 request was both a way for the player to verify that mayor was fake AND a way for the Villein to verify that you were not a mofang impostor, since they wouldn't be able to read the blue number. Now, this exchange and act of trust are gone.

Overall, this was a really lazy fix from Cyan. I get it that the original issue was not reproducible, and I'm even fine with expecting players to figure out the 222 themselves, but the rest of the interaction needed to be altered to make logical sense.

[Docowskey]

i completely missed the part about the replicas. either i read it and dismissed it, or i didn't read that part. either way, that clears a lot up for me. i did notice a few things that some people here missed. first, the mayor replica on the monitor talking to the player. the way i saw it, if he's on the monitor talking to me, he's not in his pod, so, i ask the question, what is in the pod if not the mayor. anyway, second thing i picked up on was the documentation about the panels. it clearly states that the Villein control the panels telepathically, and the manual ones were adapted for human use. this explains why he was able to open the door without moving. i really wish he had dialogue though. that would have been useful, and it took me a while to accept that i didn't just miss the dialogue.