System studies: Breaking down the art of ruling a school

[Orange Guise]

Hi guys. I am forming an open thread to talk about winning at Black Closet.

Here I will post useful and informative data in the hopes that it helps others in ways I should have liked to been helped. Feel free to add things of a general nature.

Tip Number 1. Managing your workload
If your girls get over-stressed (Stress = Loyalty) they will take a day off to recover. They will regain 5 stress and you can use them the next day.

However, if you simply don't assign a task to a girl, and let her take the day off, she will recover 10 stress.

So it is 33% better to give your girls breaks, rather than break them over your knee. (The ratio of actions taken per 6 segments of time, at max stress vs taking breaks, is 3 to 4.)

[Orange Guise]

Tip Number 2. The five girls

Are not created equal. Each girl has 100 points set in specific categories, and each girl has a 40 in at least 1 stat. Rowan has two 40s, and they are in the complementary stats of Stealth and Observation, so she is very important for searching for things - and even people.

You have two 40s in social. Althea is intimidating while Mallory can go unnoticed if she needs to.

Vonne has excellent observation skills but tends to be easily noticed. She can assist others, or publicly search things in situations where stealth is extremely unlikely to succeed.

Theis is your muscle girl. She is a 40 in Intimidation, so she will be doing most of your detainment work.


Depending on who your traitor is, the problems change too.

Rowan is extremely problematic to have as a traitor. She has 80 points set between stealth and observation, and she has the only 40 in Stealth. If Rowan turns out to be the traitor, most of your searches and stakeouts will need to be 2-person jobs, and you will probably want to develop Mallory's stealth to 40, which will be quite expensive in the long run.


Theis is also a very difficult traitor to manage. Detainment doesn't tend to be that difficult, but when you're just unable to do it, life will get tough. Althea will need to get up to speed right away.


If Mallory or Althea turn out to be the traitor, things could be worse. You do have a backup.

Vonne is probably the least problematic traitor. Her allrounder nature helps clean up simple tasks, and she is good at observation - but since so many observation tasks require stealth, Rowan is pretty much better at that. When life gives you lemons, Vonne was probably the traitor.

[Orange Guise]

Case 21.

A Trace of Scarlet.


I sat there staring at this screen for the longest time.
I thought I knew this game.
I certainly don't want to do that. What should I do? What would anyone do?

...

what would Elsa do?
The same Elsa that chose to venture alone not once... but twice...
The same Elsa that tore a traitor from her ranks mercilessly.

:/

I cast this role, and I shall play it. It seems I have an assignment.

[Orange Guise]

"Improved Resources are now available in the supply closet."

"You will wield power much greater than a handful of minions."

...

=/

Maybe, you underestimate me.
Or maybe I am exactly what you think I am.


I already know who you are.
The envelopes, the upgraded supply closet.
There's only one person who COULD do what you are doing. >:/


=====

TIP #3.

Shortly after ousting the traitor, you will receive a solicitation in the form of a black card. The solicitation is optional, and choosing to refuse it will simply cause you to "fail a test".

If you accept, you will be given a moderately difficult additional assignment.
This assignment comes from the leader of a secret society.

She is someone you already know. And if you follow along with my reasoning, you already know who I am talking about, too.

Succeeding will apparently allow you to find multiple items when visiting the closet.

[Orange Guise]

Time passes.

Now a choice.
... should I lay a trap for you?

dear teacher?


Let us say I catch you. What have I caught? I would be grabbing a tiger by the tail.

This guide will need some revision! XD I am more or less blogging as I work through the puzzle.
I think.... we will play along.

Actually. Let me save the game, just this once.
I never save. I consider it cheating.
But just, this one time, let's save.

[Orange Guise]

I've gathered information, but probably not enough.

And now miss Talmage comes to me with an assignment.
Steam tunnels.

... I have to complete these assignments or I will fail. I think I may be in a great deal of trouble.

Whew! I need a break.

This play session has been intense, and now, at last, life is catching up. Althea needs to spend time on college preparations.

[Orange Guise]

I'm sorry, I don't have time to play anymore right now...

The epic visual novel, Muv-Luv, was pulled from the Steam Sales platform. Presumably for a handful of naked CGs that are locked behind a patch that isn't even linked to on the subforum directly any more.


While the Witcher 3 and Mass Effect snicker about it in the corner.

>:(

I have a pitchfork to sharpen, so I'll see you all when Muv-Luv is back.

[Hanako Games]

What I was told elsewhere was that the Muv-Luv games are temporarily down because they're being passed from one publisher account to another, not for content reasons. (transferring from degica to ixtl) I don't have any more information than that though, just what I heard in the VN community.

[Orange Guise]

oooooo. Well that's better than nothing. I'm still keeping my pitchfork sharp.

I have a super-low tolerance for Steam at the current, because in my opinion there's no excuse for the double standard we have to endure. Long Live The Queen - unless someone slips a naughty CG in it. Then no matter how many times the players clumsily kill her, The Queen is going to endure a much worse hell for its artistic vision, and that hell will come from the sales platform.