Shallow "Conflicts" Mechanics [minor spoilers]

[roughnecks]

Hi. I just ended day 3.

What I think so far is that conflicts resolution is only based on player's impressions (guessing on a probable outcome), definatly not on logic. Apart from the Mall (there's an ongoing discussion already) where you have to choose between a known person with several suspicions and a new person that just came into the scene and you know nothing about them... Apart form that, in day 3 we have to resolve a conflict with Nina's Military Missions. So why the hell do Military reports should state conflicting data about Missions? Don't they even know their s**t and I have to guess where Nina was actually assigned?

I'm liking the game so far but the whole clue-finding system is shallow in my opinion.

[WeaponsGradeHumanity]

The military report doesn't include a contradiction. The information appears as a conflict to Orwell because Orwell cannot automatically determine which portion of the unit Nina was assigned to. Your task is to resolve the conflict by finding clues elsewhere which indicate the correct answer. It does seem to indicate, though, that Orwell doesn't have access to the military's own files - only what is available on the surface web.

[Majora]

I haven't finished the game yet but I'm past the point you mention. Basically the conflicting chunks about Nina's military assignment made more sense to me than those in chapter 2 about where the next bombing would occur, but I could have missed something pointing 100% to the correct one. Basically, Nina is known to have been part of battalion X, and the map of all military operations clearly shows which battalions have been assigned to which conflict zones, so you're right in saying that in all boils down to how you interpret the evidence (or lack thereof), and in this case battalion X had been assigned to two different zones, but based on some other info I decided she had been to the Parges area.

1. Her medical records about injuries to her left leg + PTSD, which is coherent with the mine clearance task in the Parges area; plus the other choice is infrastructure maintenance after the flood in Gentria which happened in 2016, long after she had been discharged anyway;
   
2. The army picture with what looked like mine detectors, again pointing to Parges.

To be honest, maybe it was the wrong decision, but it felt way easier than deciding who had been the person organizing the protests in chapter 2, where I ended up thinking Harrison had organized one and Juliet the other. Spoiler chapter 4: you learn Juliet had organized both, but it doesn't seem my mistake had an impact on anything.

So yeah, I get what you mean, I also feel conflicted (ha) about some of those data conflicts, some of them feel like they are here only to show that, like IRL, you can't be 100% sure of something, and that at some point you have to make a choice and take sides.

[roughnecks]

Wait, I get now why it said "partially" in those Military Papers. However my feelings towards conflict mechanics still remain, like Majora said... Often you're fed with pieces of informations or just people statements and you have to make judgements based on those just to continue.

[roughnecks]

And, for the records: I chose wrong in day 2 (Harrison), right in day 3 (Nina).

[WeaponsGradeHumanity]

The game will generally always give you enough information to proceed confidently. The thing is, you don't get it for free. You have to investigate thoroughly and have a good memory for details. Sometimes things that don't seem important turn out to be big pieces of the puzzle.

I'm starting to think I should make a guide explaining how to handle conflicts but I feel like that'd be ruining the game.

[eFishNsea]

Sounds like a neat game

[lehub]

Well, I think you'll all enjoy the end of the game

[olinsarah]

With the military conflicts, you need to look at the dates. If I remember correctly, Nina could only have worked on one of the projects.

[Lawman]

The conflict for Nina's military background makes sense if you look at the dates. One of the ops took place in 2015 or 2016 while she was discharged in 2009 (or was it 2010?). Basically the only one she could have been a part of is the one involving the explosives.