How not to play a loser

[Asmodeus]

This post is not meant as trolling and I would sincerely appreciate advice.

I like PS:T, Age of Decadence and DOS2, so I figured I should like this game. However I don't.

Is there any way to play to build your character that you don't feel like playing a complete loser?
First play I 'died' two hours in after my physical character failed to descend a 2m wall - which I would be able to climb in real life... . The whole story played like I'm some dumb poor bully down on his luck but at least I could get some things done.

My second try now is as some intelligent guy and the story feels even worse. I feel like a bum with aspberger. I get a lot of backstory but can't get anything done because I fail dialogs constantly and am not strong enough to open doors and such.

So my questions are :
- Can somebody recommend a build that is fun and not painful to play?
- Can I play without savescumming? I did so far and results were pretty bad.
- Can I do something as early as possible so I don't feel like a bum?

[Samsquamch]

Failure is a big part of the game, both with regards to the story and the mechanics. Failing checks is reasonable. You can play however you like, and your character may rise above the hole he's been busy crawling into the last couple of years (decades?). That said, If you don't find the game interesting at all it might be a good idea to do something else.

[Du-Vu]

It is meant to be a whole meditation on failure, loss, and pain, yeah. And overcoming them, eventually, but you are very much meant to feel and hopefully empathize and relate to this man's misery. It's very human, in that sense. That's something I really, really enjoyed, both helping him and seeing him wallow in different playthroughs, but it's escapism of a different sort. Not a game where you're playing a person you'd want to be yourself, really, but maybe one that makes you feel like your own problems aren't so bad, and gives you the tools to solve much worse problems.

So I don't know, I can't necessarily answer your first question without knowing you. *shrug* You might never like it. It happens.

You can definitely play without savescumming, and sometimes failures now result in positive or at least interesting results later. If you don't want to savescum and still want to avoid negative results -- you don't have to try every check. A lot of them are optional and you can come back later and try them once your skills increase, and you can just leave some untried. You're not expected to succeed at everything in one playthrough in this game.


If you don't want to feel like a bum -- take the ultraliberal/capitalist and superstar dialogue options (and maybe the Art Cop choices as well), invest in Rhetoric, Encyclopedia, Interfacing, and Savoir Faire. Not everyone will believe you at first, but you can sort of power through it that way.

[Lλmbdλ]

Sometimes, in this game, the best moments are fail : "FxCK THE HAT ?!"
But yeah, play a looser that get break by commentary of his emotions is the point of the game - especialy in the early

[Asmodeus]

@Du-Vu You are the man. Thank you very much you saved the game for me. I restarted with the skills you suggested and so far I like it.
I'm at the night of the first day and interested on how it all will play out.

[Menlow]

Ultra liberal / Intellect focused char is definetely the closest to feeling (atleast most of the time) like an actual cop. Dry, focused, to the point. I really like that you can give your character a certain mindest through your choices and especially learned skills. Although it still is sometimes annoying when harry all of a sudden gets a complete meltdown because of one single failed skillcheck and acts completely out of character ^^

[Revan]

Im pretty sure you mean loser and not looser...

[Asmodeus]

Originally posted by Revan:

Im pretty sure you mean loser and not looser...

Fixed that for you.

[Asmodeus]

Originally posted by Menlow:

Ultra liberal / Intellect focused char is definetely the closest to feeling (atleast most of the time) like an actual cop. Dry, focused, to the point. I really like that you can give your character a certain mindest through your choices and especially learned skills. ...

I now noticed the issue I had with the game. It was advertised at what kind of cop do you want to be etc... It is not that kind of game.

For what it is worth I think it is a pretty dark satire of politics and people.
If I play it as such and do not try to relate to the protagonist but for example try to alienate people as strongly as possible even the "bum" routes as I called them in the initial post are fun.

I still have some issues with the skill checks as you do as well. For me they are also immersion breakers and just too random. They should habe gone the route of just setting fixed difficulties that are compared against your stats.

[The Konrad]

Originally posted by Samsquamch:

Failure is a big part of the game, both with regards to the story and the mechanics. Failing checks is reasonable. You can play however you like, and your character may rise above the hole he's been busy crawling into the last couple of years (decades?). That said, If you don't find the game interesting at all it might be a good idea to do something else.

Originally posted by Asmodeus:

I now noticed the issue I had with the game. It was advertised at what kind of cop do you want to be etc... It is not that kind of game.

Sadly that's exactly why I couldn't enjoy this game. All characters I play aren't loser and if they are, they are so detached from reality that they might be failures without even realising, creating comic relief in the process.

This game let's you play a miserable person. It revels in failure.
I'm not up for that and I find it sad that it pretends that you can play the cop how ever you like.

No I can't. I want him to be pretentious little idiot who believes that he is supercop and he denies his failures and overcompensates his little victories, but no, another failure another breakdown, another bite of the well deserved misery cake.
Let's all point our fingers at him and laugh or feel sympathy or both.

I can't. Maybe I'm dead inside, but why I do I feel disgust when playing?
Because if you are too dumb to get help, climb a ladder, keep track where you gun is, maybe you shouldn't be on the street, maybe the option to not wake up at the start was the best option all along.

It's saddens me to see how much potential this game had and what direction they took instead.
Their accolades may be well deserved and the kind of game they made should be totally up my alley. It's totally not for me. Failure is not an option. If I want misery I watch the news.

So as far as I understand,
the answer to OPs question is: YOU CAN'T

[kyleh]

This game is amazing and unlike any other that's come before. You not liking it has nothing to do with it's quality.

[The Konrad]

Originally posted by kyleh:

This game is amazing and unlike any other that's come before. You not liking it has nothing to do with it's quality.

Are you sure?
The "Amazing" bit you started off with pretty much shows that this isn't about quality but more on personal preference. You seem to like/love/adore the game, good for you. I envy you actually. I didn't find it that unique, I'm probably jaded, I had much better experiences. But this is another topic altogether.

More importantly I felt cheated by the game's promise to "Become a hero or an absolute disaster of a human being."
You just continue to be an absolute disaster. Okay, maybe, you could become slightly less of a monster. All I found out was that I was playing the most un-likeable character I have ever played in a video game (save maybe the protagonist of Far Cry 3) and nothing, not one choice except letting him die has made my perception of him improve by just one iota - I tried everything, it just made me feel more miserable about him and the whole setting.

I really tried to look for it but I never noticed a character arc, and without me seeing a character arc I don't feel the quality is what it could have been.
I'm sorry I can't share most of the internet's enthusiasm regarding this game. I'm happy this game gets so much positive attention, hell I'm envious people are finding this "amazing" and "groundbreaking".
It's not good, I rather go to work than play this game.
There are so many better settings and more rewarding story arcs and they choose misery, drug abuse, self-loathing and failure.
It pains me to see what they could have done with their immense potential and what they actually done with it, it's soul crushing for me. Even more so than playing their miserable sad excuse of a main protagonist.

[Asmodeus]

@Saint Konrad
I don't know how far you played, but for me it got better on the second day going with the suggested ultra-liberal / intelligence / art cop route.

The game was done in the spirit of Planescape Torment I think. So they wanted you to start with a history but without memory.

What they should have done is to have you beaten up in an alley upon arriving in the city. You wake up and have lost your memory due to some head trauma. -> Start of game without memory.

Your stuff can still be gone and you could add a few encounters with your past according how you behave.


The implemented way of showing you what a miserable existance you have been did add nothing to the game for me so far. Maybe there is a twist in the end that will justify everything (I'm still no through the game) but I doubt it.

[Shirsh]

Originally posted by Saint Konrad:

I want him to be pretentious little idiot

Sounds like you succeed. You could've try to make him be a person who going to put his ♥♥♥♥ together instead. I tried it, got "goodest of good cops" at second day, at third day it feels like dude returns to be the much better person as he was many years ago, it do feels like character arc of atonement and reaquired self-confidence and self-discipline.
ie you can be a "hero", but you need to become one, climb your way back from the state at start of the game.

Started with 3 3 3 and conceptualization, invested quite a bit in "blue velvet" and "conceptualization" (these two makes very enjoyable reading) it goes like a story of "sorry apocalyptic superstar lawbringer with overly vivid imagination and love to art finally getting sober, overcoming burnout and mental traumas to detect things like a pro".\

[Shirsh]

dat moment when you realize that it was not a "Blue Velvet" but "Inland Empire" all along