Air Vents i avoid them more than i would like

[Zeep]

How do you all feel about the Air vents?

Though Air Vents are really cool to use, in theory, in reality i use them less and less.
This comes from the many times i've tried to make use of Air Vents in flats, to access residential areas etc.

They are a maze. The routes makes no sense to me. Trying to get into an apartment i have crawled and crawled, up and down, left and right. I get lost in the vents, and having them look like they do inside, it turns the whole experience into a psychedelic trip.

I understand it's random but i wish the air vents had more of a preset system with logical routes.

[funewchie]

For vents, in my caseboard, I keep the map open.
At each junction, I open the case board and look, as it fills in as you go (including whatever is ahead, as the map fills in as far as you can see).

That can often give me clues to keep me from getting lost.
Although, the vertical portions are what make it tricky.

[Isabelle]

Originally posted by Zeep:

How do you all feel about the Air vents?

Though Air Vents are really cool to use, in theory, in reality i use them less and less.
This comes from the many times i've tried to make use of Air Vents in flats, to access residential areas etc.

They are a maze. The routes makes no sense to me. Trying to get into an apartment i have crawled and crawled, up and down, left and right. I get lost in the vents, and having them look like they do inside, it turns the whole experience into a psychedelic trip.

I understand it's random but i wish the air vents had more of a preset system with logical routes.

Use your map- the vents show up on your map and using it you can navigate around them without incident.

I think you have to map the vents out first by going in them, but I'm not sure about that

[Maya-Neko]

I don't use them to get into a specific apartment (too maze-like to even use them properly), however i sometimes use them to hide, while the enforcers do their job or to get away after i've done my investigations.

Obviously using the map is an option, but it's usually easier to just wait for the enforcers and slip into the apartment when they're done.

Originally posted by Isabelle:

I think you have to map the vents out first by going in them, but I'm not sure about that

Getting the blueprints for a building should also reveal them on the floor plans, if i remember correctly.

[Myst Leissa]

Originally posted by Maya-Neko:

I don't use them to get into a specific apartment (too maze-like to even use them properly), however i sometimes use them to hide, while the enforcers do their job or to get away after i've done my investigations.

Obviously using the map is an option, but it's usually easier to just wait for the enforcers and slip into the apartment when they're done.

Originally posted by Isabelle:

I think you have to map the vents out first by going in them, but I'm not sure about that

Getting the blueprints for a building should also reveal them on the floor plans, if i remember correctly.

The thing that gets me is they are dual purpose, once you know how to navigate them they can be good for a quick stealthy exit, but generally I use them for entrances very little, since it's much easier to actually wait out the owner of whatever place your raiding, unless it's a murder in which case the "Wait your turn" Mechanic Applies; Although if you can get there first you get to skip all that usually; I usually document everything about a crime scene before the enforcers even touch the area (because I work quickly, and basically pin everything as i find it and then review it once it's stored later on), this cuts down on a lot of the cleanup steps. As soon as you hear the address on the scanner, run to the location and look for a body, always the best way to enter a case.

[Isabelle]

Originally posted by Myst Leissa:

Originally posted by Maya-Neko:

I don't use them to get into a specific apartment (too maze-like to even use them properly), however i sometimes use them to hide, while the enforcers do their job or to get away after i've done my investigations.

Obviously using the map is an option, but it's usually easier to just wait for the enforcers and slip into the apartment when they're done.



Getting the blueprints for a building should also reveal them on the floor plans, if i remember correctly.

The thing that gets me is they are dual purpose, once you know how to navigate them they can be good for a quick stealthy exit, but generally I use them for entrances very little, since it's much easier to actually wait out the owner of whatever place your raiding, unless it's a murder in which case the "Wait your turn" Mechanic Applies; Although if you can get there first you get to skip all that usually; I usually document everything about a crime scene before the enforcers even touch the area (because I work quickly, and basically pin everything as i find it and then review it once it's stored later on), this cuts down on a lot of the cleanup steps. As soon as you hear the address on the scanner, run to the location and look for a body, always the best way to enter a case.

"Wait your turn" mechanic?

[funewchie]

I sometimes use them to sneak into a business after hours, allowing me to bypass a lot of the security.

Recently, I used one for a murder that happened in an Echelon Zone.
That floor had no light switches nearby, so no easy way to sneak past the cops (since the entire T-shaped hallway is off-limits to me).
So I ran down a floor, to an apartment that had been a crime scene earlier, and hopped in a vent inside, and thankfully, it went up and connected to a vent at the new crime scene.
Allowing me to quietly slip in and investigate.

Then just quietly grabbed a chair, hopped back in the ceiling vent, and returned to where I started and quietly walk out the building. No one ever knew I was there.

[StaticR]

The air vents used to be a total pain to navigate but then I discovered I can just hold the map open while moving through them and it became a breeze. Still too slow to become a major strategy but that's fine its not meant to be anyways.

[Zeep]

Interesting to read about how everyone uses the Vents. I've already learned a lot from these posts. Thanks!