People hating me immediately after the intro?

[Hex: Onii-Chan]

So, due to the events in the beginning, i started to very quickly lose reputation, every minute or so. Is it meant to happen? Was i taking too long at some point?

[Chance Hale]

Yes it’s intentional, progress to the best of your ability throughout the first day

[MeatShake]

Did nobody approach you and say "Hey people know you killed 3 dudes and rumors gonna spread (right after this dialogue) that you're the killer of your father" ?

Just find a place to sleep, your old friends have a lot of weight to throw in the town and will help you once you contact them.

[Kleerex]

Well, at least you get about half a day to do things before your reputation drops. In original game Haruspex's storyline starts with already low reputation, low health and no weapon.

[Hex: Onii-Chan]

Originally posted by MeatShake:

Did nobody approach you and say "Hey people know you killed 3 dudes and rumors gonna spread (right after this dialogue) that you're the killer of your father" ?

Just find a place to sleep, your old friends have a lot of weight to throw in the town and will help you once you contact them.

So... wait, do i have to sprint to my associates or do i have to go to sleep?

[Chance Hale]

Originally posted by Murf_This!:

So... wait, do i have to sprint to my associates or do i have to go to sleep?

I didn’t go to bed until the very end of the day when I almost died of exhaustion and there’s plenty to do. Just have to be careful with your health and hunger given most shopkeepers will refuse you and guards will attack on sight

[Atermi]

Did you pay attention to the story at all? Everyone hates you for a reason.
You had some time to do some stuff until the rumors spread.
You can sleep and eat a bit in a jail where the commandant will place you for murder.

[Hex: Onii-Chan]

Originally posted by Chance Hale:

Originally posted by Murf_This!:

So... wait, do i have to sprint to my associates or do i have to go to sleep?

I didn’t go to bed until the very end of the day when I almost died of exhaustion and there’s plenty to do. Just have to be careful with your health and hunger given most shopkeepers will refuse you and guards will attack on sight

Originally posted by Atermi:

Did you pay attention to the story at all? Everyone hates you for a reason.
You had some time to do some stuff until the rumors spread.
You can sleep and eat a bit in a jail where the commandant will place you for murder.

So what *AM* i supposed to do, so my reputation doesn't tank? Is there a way to avoid it? Because atm it honestly feels pretty damn railroading for a game that boasts about decisions.

Game: "Hey, so rumors are going to spread about you. You have like 6 ingame hours, which roughly amounts to 3.284 seconds."
Me: "Alright...what am i supposed to do?"
Game: "F*ck if i know. How about you run to the quest marker instead of exploring or interacting? Maaaaaybe this time i will let you off an artificial leash that either takes your stuff away or forces you to do an objective"

[Kleerex]

Originally posted by Atermi:

You can sleep and eat a bit in a jail where the commandant will place you for murder.

At some point I went straight to Saburov who promptly put me in jail and released shortly after, which solved all my reputation issues and provided me with food and sleep.

[Atermi]

Originally posted by Murf_This!:

So what *AM* i supposed to do, so my reputation doesn't tank? Is there a way to avoid it? Because atm it honestly feels pretty damn railroading for a game that boasts about decisions.

Game: "Hey, so rumors are going to spread about you. You have like 6 ingame hours, which roughly amounts to 3.284 seconds."
Me: "Alright...what am i supposed to do?"
Game: "F*ck if i know. How about you run to the quest marker instead of exploring or interacting? Maaaaaybe this time i will let you off an artificial leash that either takes your stuff away or forces you to do an objective"

The game starts with a story sequence which leads to your reputation drop. 30 minutes later you restore your reputation, also story-wise, and continue playing and doing every choice you want.
You'll not be able to succeed in this game if you don't read what you or others say and don't pay attention.
Game gives you everything you need to know: it puts a marker on your father's home, leads you to meet two kids, tells you about your three friends, etc. It's all you need to restore your name.

[Hex: Onii-Chan]

Originally posted by Atermi:

Originally posted by Murf_This!:

So what *AM* i supposed to do, so my reputation doesn't tank? Is there a way to avoid it? Because atm it honestly feels pretty damn railroading for a game that boasts about decisions.

Game: "Hey, so rumors are going to spread about you. You have like 6 ingame hours, which roughly amounts to 3.284 seconds."
Me: "Alright...what am i supposed to do?"
Game: "F*ck if i know. How about you run to the quest marker instead of exploring or interacting? Maaaaaybe this time i will let you off an artificial leash that either takes your stuff away or forces you to do an objective"

The game starts with a story sequence which leads to your reputation drop. 30 minutes later you restore your reputation, also story-wise, and continue playing and doing every choice you want.
You'll not be able to succeed in this game if you don't read what you or others say and don't pay attention.
Game gives you everything you need to know: it puts a marker on your father's home, leads you to meet two kids, tells you about your three friends, etc. It's all you need to restore your name.

Yeah, i'm sorry that *that* particular random piece of information was important, compared to a half naked woman running up to me and telling me that i have to dance her dress off to bang her, or a schroedinger's boy telling me to talk to the guy first and not the woman, which changes nothing.

[Atermi]

Originally posted by Murf_This!:

Originally posted by Atermi:

The game starts with a story sequence which leads to your reputation drop. 30 minutes later you restore your reputation, also story-wise, and continue playing and doing every choice you want.
You'll not be able to succeed in this game if you don't read what you or others say and don't pay attention.
Game gives you everything you need to know: it puts a marker on your father's home, leads you to meet two kids, tells you about your three friends, etc. It's all you need to restore your name.

Yeah, i'm sorry that *that* particular random piece of information was important, compared to a half naked woman running up to me and telling me that i have to dance her dress off to bang her, or a schroedinger's boy telling me to talk to the guy first and not the woman, which changes nothing.

It is difficult to watch a Lynch movie when you have an American Pie attitude.

[AestheticGamer aka Dusk Golem]

Originally posted by Murf_This!:

Originally posted by Atermi:

The game starts with a story sequence which leads to your reputation drop. 30 minutes later you restore your reputation, also story-wise, and continue playing and doing every choice you want.
You'll not be able to succeed in this game if you don't read what you or others say and don't pay attention.
Game gives you everything you need to know: it puts a marker on your father's home, leads you to meet two kids, tells you about your three friends, etc. It's all you need to restore your name.

Yeah, i'm sorry that *that* particular random piece of information was important, compared to a half naked woman running up to me and telling me that i have to dance her dress off to bang her, or a schroedinger's boy telling me to talk to the guy first and not the woman, which changes nothing.

I'm not here to ridicule or anything, but I will say to succeed in the game you actually really do need to pay attention to what the people say. I also will add there are many cases the choices of your actions are not known until much later in the game, like hours later, and sometimes you won't even realize there was a choice or you did something that set something else off, unless you've been paying attention and talking around with the NPCs in the game.

A number of NPCs are also lying to you or scamming you about things, but a big part of Pathologic is deduction and figuring out things by what others are telling you, as the NPCs are what guide you to most of the things in the game or their influence and your interactions with them change parts of the game or how you're perceived by certain groups.

[Hex: Onii-Chan]

Originally posted by Atermi:

Originally posted by Murf_This!:

Yeah, i'm sorry that *that* particular random piece of information was important, compared to a half naked woman running up to me and telling me that i have to dance her dress off to bang her, or a schroedinger's boy telling me to talk to the guy first and not the woman, which changes nothing.

It is difficult to watch a Lynch movie when you have an American Pie attitude.

It's even more difficult to guess the useful parts of information, when every dialogue is scrambled, pretentious mumbo-jumbo, that aims at throwing dust in one's eyes, rather than convey something useful. The entire experience so far feels like talking to a philosophy student in his 50th semester - he is trying his best to sound profound and intelligent, but just ends up just talking himself into a corner and being proud of it.

Originally posted by AestheticGamer:

Originally posted by Murf_This!:

Yeah, i'm sorry that *that* particular random piece of information was important, compared to a half naked woman running up to me and telling me that i have to dance her dress off to bang her, or a schroedinger's boy telling me to talk to the guy first and not the woman, which changes nothing.

I'm not here to ridicule or anything, but I will say to succeed in the game you actually really do need to pay attention to what the people say. I also will add there are many cases the choices of your actions are not known until much later in the game, like hours later, and sometimes you won't even realize there was a choice or you did something that set something else off, unless you've been paying attention and talking around with the NPCs in the game.

I honestly am trying. And i'm not an idiot (at least i'd like to think so). But barely anything makes sense. It was adorable the first 30 minutes or so, in the Dishonored kind of style, but it slowly shifts into grating and confusing.

Dialogues end in literally nothing, you pose one question and receive an answer that doesn't even have remotely anything to do with it, or you have to answer yourself in a way, that only Mad Hatter could comprehend.


Anyway, if you are enjoying the game - hey, have fun, not everything is for everybody. I'll try for a couple hours more and if it doesn't start making even remotely sense, i'll just move on to something that isn't trying to annoy me as a player.

[Atermi]

Originally posted by Murf_This!:

It's even more difficult to guess the useful parts of information, when every dialogue is scrambled, pretentious mumbo-jumbo, that aims at throwing dust in one's eyes, rather than convey something useful. The entire experience so far feels like talking to a philosophy student in his 50th semester - he is trying his best to sound profound and intelligent, but just ends up just talking himself into a corner and being proud of it.

But this is how this game is, and you really have to "feel" Pathologic. After it clicks with you, you will feel more natural. AestheticGamer gives a sound advice.

First off, try to accept that there are no "guys" or "gals who want to bang"; just persuade yourself that they all play some important role either in your immersion or in the story. By the end of the game you will know all characters by name and some of them will be your dear friends or your bitter enemies. If you only allow them and give them a chance by paying attention and removing the annoyed gamer attitude. Try to be Artemy Burah, the Haruspex. To enjoy this game.

[AestheticGamer aka Dusk Golem]

Originally posted by Murf_This!:

Originally posted by Atermi:

It is difficult to watch a Lynch movie when you have an American Pie attitude.

It's even more difficult to guess the useful parts of information, when every dialogue is scrambled, pretentious mumbo-jumbo, that aims at throwing dust in one's eyes, rather than convey something useful. The entire experience so far feels like talking to a philosophy student in his 50th semester - he is trying his best to sound profound and intelligent, but just ends up just talking himself into a corner and being proud of it.

Originally posted by AestheticGamer:

I'm not here to ridicule or anything, but I will say to succeed in the game you actually really do need to pay attention to what the people say. I also will add there are many cases the choices of your actions are not known until much later in the game, like hours later, and sometimes you won't even realize there was a choice or you did something that set something else off, unless you've been paying attention and talking around with the NPCs in the game.

I honestly am trying. And i'm not an idiot (at least i'd like to think so). But barely anything makes sense. It was adorable the first 30 minutes or so, in the Dishonored kind of style, but it slowly shifts into grating and confusing.

Dialogues end in literally nothing, you pose one question and receive an answer that doesn't even have remotely anything to do with it, or you have to answer yourself in a way, that only Mad Hatter could comprehend.

It's a love it/hate it game for a reason, though the character talking like they're in some weird philosophical play is definitely intended part of the experience. One thing that is true about Pathologic, both the original and this sequel, is they're games that aren't actively trying to be fun, and do a lot to break you down, accept failure, and need to process information in-between tedium and struggling to survive with odds stacked against you in almost every way. Like in this case, you need to talk to the NPCs to get information, but they talk in such a bizarre way it can be kinda' hard to tell what's actually important until you begin to kinda' understand the flow of the game.

My suggestion if committing to it is just roll with the punches, figure out what you can, and do what you want to do while doing what you need to do to survive. The game does have a lot of excellence in it, but it purposefully breaks game design aspects most people take for granted and challenges various aspects of the player to wear them down in a very bleak and confusing world.