SS2 Christine FM1: Ponterbee Station V5

[6741e813646dcFironkkuify]

The items were really just thrown at the player; something that irked me. Though, I suppose that was because it was supposed to be much shorter than the VB campaign.

 

Would you care to explain a little more thoroughly? 

[6741e81364947M-22 AR]

Would you care to explain a little more thoroughly?

You could tell whether you have already searched a room when you find a corpse that didn't have half a dozen cyber modules on it.

[6741e81364bc5Fironkkuify]

You could tell whether you have already searched a room when you find a corpse that didn't have half a dozen cyber modules on it.

THe player never recieves cyber modules from any third party (like Polito or Wieber) so you find them much more frequently in the field.  I'd say, given the length of the mission, there's just the right amount for balance.

I think where things get easy is just in terms of item acquistion and how early you can get ahold of the Recycler.

[6741e81364fb4M-22 AR]

THe player never recieves cyber modules from any third party (like Polito or Wieber) so you find them much more frequently in the field.  I'd say, given the length of the mission, there's just the right amount for balance.

I think where things get easy is just in terms of item acquistion and how early you can get ahold of the Recycler.

I suppose you're right about that. It just seemed to help the SS2 gameplay by tying the cyber modules to mission objectives, giving the player a bit more but less frequently.

There are still way too many items around, though. It made PB way too easy. I also managed to collect about 4000 nanites because of the sheer redundancy of Value Reps. In my opinion, it would be better if the player had to rely on replicators in some reasonable proportion to found items. The hack skill would have better value too if hacking reps was worth it.

The fact that all the decks were unlocked from the beginning was also a noticable flaw. In SS2, the decks were unlocked one at a time; they were actually really game levels. Think about this sort of thing in other games eg GTA, LoZ. It rewards the player with exploration material for level completion. It gives them something else to work toward. It also makes the entirety of the game more "colourful" (if you know what I mean).

I also found myself picking up keycards for doors I hadn't even tried yet. It was sort of confusing; I still had a lot of the section to explore. In the early parts of A Link to the Past, the player often finds rocks which seem to block passageways, they then continue to the destination but they keep these locked areas in their mind. When the player is finally rewarded with the power glove, a tool which can be used to lift these obstructive rocks, the player is rewarded with being able to explore what was previously blocked and have their curiosity satisfied. This is good gameplay. My suggestion would probably be to make these locked doors less out of the way and with something to tempt the player to try them on their way.

[6741e813651f8Kolya]

There's only a handful of SS2FMs and the ones which weren't done by Christine are all in the upper hardcore league, created by vets for vets. I like the accessibility of Christine's FMs, however you raise valid points about the gameplay.
All I can answer to that is: Make an FM.

[6741e81365472Fironkkuify]

All I can answer to that is: Make an FM.

If I was tech-savvy, I would. 

[6741e81365eaaFironkkuify]

The fact that all the decks were unlocked from the beginning was also a noticable flaw. In SS2, the decks were unlocked one at a time; they were actually really game levels. Think about this sort of thing in other games eg GTA, LoZ. It rewards the player with exploration material for level completion. It gives them something else to work toward. It also makes the entirety of the game more "colourful" (if you know what I mean).

Actually, I find this new freedom to be a plus.  It adds to the feeling of exploration and allows you to tackle the FM in different ways in different orders usually.  The only thing that the player works toward is getting ahold of all the codes and the keycard for self-destruct so the ability to acquire these items in practically anyway you desire is really nice. 

There are two levels in Ponterbee where the player is forced to complete the deck they are on, those decks being Hydro and Command (to reactivate air supply and to activate the warning becon respecitively) which adds a teeny bit of restriction to gameplay. 

If you notice also, as you complete the Christine series, the missions become a little more and more restrictive and complex. 

Nightwalker was far more objective-based and, atlhough you could go between most of the decks once the elevator was on (barring Deck 5), completely exploring a deck was impossible until you met certain requirements (using Toxin A to remove the eggs on Deck 3 and needing to complete tasks on all other decks in order to explore Deck 5 being the biggest ones).

Polaris combined qualities of the first two FMs in terms of how the mission was completed (a scavenger hunt plus objectives) but was probably the most restrictive of the three because the player traveled to key areas in a set order (Outside>Courtyard>Recreation>MedSci>High-security research wing) because key items were required to access the next area.

The difficulty also rises with each of the missions so it would make sense that Ponterbee would feel like the easiest of the three (I like to think of Ponterbee, Nightwalker, and Polaris as parts of an entire fan game).

I also found myself picking up keycards for doors I hadn't even tried yet. It was sort of confusing; I still had a lot of the section to explore. In the early parts of A Link to the Past, the player often finds rocks which seem to block passageways, they then continue to the destination but they keep these locked areas in their mind. When the player is finally rewarded with the power glove, a tool which can be used to lift these obstructive rocks, the player is rewarded with being able to explore what was previously blocked and have their curiosity satisfied. This is good gameplay. My suggestion would probably be to make these locked doors less out of the way and with something to tempt the player to try them on their way.

If I recall, there were only three cases where the player comes across extra rooms that are locked with codes or keycards not intregal to progression of the game.  One case is on Deck 4 (which, I recently found out, is really just a shortcut between different areas and not a secret room) and another is in the Shuttle Bays for a Sub-Armory (the code for it is nearby and can be missed entirely).  The last case is similar to your suggestion because you can find a log that tells a code that you can use later in an entirely optinal area of RecDeck to find some really nice goodies (only if you bothered to remember the details).

I think Nightwalker was the only mission that made exact use of the tactic you just explained (the Armory on Deck 2 whose keycard was found in a later deck). 

I think those extra key cards you picked up were simply extras of key cards you already had (like how I found a Crew Quarters key card in one of the Crew Quarters or an Engine Core access card in one of the locked rooms in the Engine Core.

[6741e81366072kadzur]

I'm having a little problem with getting the Mission to work properly.
After having chosen the first upgrades I walk into the conference room and then nothing happens. I'm standing in the room, seeing a guy and a screen which flashes some text. I know that at this point the mision is supposed to start, but no dice...
Does anybody know how to deal with this problem?

So long

kadzur

[6741e8136632fChristine]

All FMs uses custom scripts from NamelessVoice. Make sure, that the file nvscript.osm is in your SShock2 directory (it is in the zip-file).
If you go to the conference room, the next level will load. But only with this new scripts.

[6741e8136656bbob page]

I'm enjoying the fan mod, but I'm stuck at the same area a few others have been: I cannot get into the barricaded part of the mall. Maybe I'm missing something obvious, but I don't see any "small room with pipes" near either the upstairs or downstairs barricades.

On the upper floor, I see a room with a broken replicator next to the barricade, and two small rooms for maintenance droids. On the lower floor, there is a room with upgrade stations, a locked door with a keycode I don't have, and another maintenance droid room.

I could see the donut shop Christine mentioned through the lower barricaded doorway, and I went to the dining area since it seemed to be in the direction of the donut shop. I checked the upper and lower floors of the dining area but couldn't find any entry way. I went back to the upper floor, looked again in the broken replicator room, looked again in the mini-droid rooms, looked at the ceilings in the droid rooms, and didn't see any way to get through. I went back down the hall to the music instruments room, which is the next closest to the upstairs barricade, and there's no entry way there either.

I went back downstairs, and crouched and grazed against the wall in the upgrade room, hoping maybe I missed a vent in the darkness or something. I re-checked the lower-floor droid rooms, I went back to the recharge room, I can't find it.

What am I missing?

[6741e813666bfFironkkuify]

You have to go to the Theatre sector and find a laptop that has the code written on it.  Some general piecing together should be easy enough to figure out where the laptop is.  You then enter the code into the keypad near a doorway next to the barricade on the bottom floor.

[6741e8136685ebob page]

Thought I posted this already. If it's a double-post, forgive me.

Fironkkuify, thanks so much for the prompt reply. It turns out, my real hangup was that I was carrying around a power cell and didn't realize it went to the maintenance door on the theater level. I had actually passed by that laptop area a few times, thinking it to be innaccessible because I would die each time I fell down the hole.

Also, Christine's advice to the other player made it sound (to me) as if the nearby room was not the keypad-locked room. Hence my looking everywhere except there.

I've just finished the game. It got better and better as it went on. Thanks Christine!

[6741e81366959Fironkkuify]

No problem -w-

[6741e81366aa0clivewil]

i've been playing this for the past couple of days and i just wanted to say how impressed i am with it. it's obvious that a lot of thought and effort went into making it.

many thanks to Christine and everyone who contributed to this, it's a beautiful piece of work.

[6741e81366badX-Tech]

I love it too. Previously i even cant imagine how professional could be mod for ss2 created by fans. You all got my word this is very seriously done. Its like SS2 but level up.

[6741e81366eb7Fironkkuify]

I love it too. Previously i even cant imagine how professional could be mod for ss2 created by fans. You all got my word this is very seriously done. Its like SS2 but level up.

Not in the voice-acting department of course, though it grows on you overtime. -w-

[6741e81367045X-Tech]

Several problems with this. I using translated version of ss2. Problem looks like this i hear messages but see different face and text than is heared in message so message is big mess and hard to find important cause i see messages and faces and titles of messages from ss2 oriiginal but i hear something else. many message contain this problem.

Second thing - there is no map.

[6741e81367220voodoo47]

disabling the translation would be a good start.

[6741e81367530Fironkkuify]

Second thing - there is no map.

That's a minor gripe really.  None of the Christine fan missions have extremely confusing or nonsensical level design; in other words, you can easily memorize where everything is.

The only reason I was told on why maps were never implemented is because they couldn't be worked into the FM.  That's probably because the self-aware map system in SS2 had its own special code, but that's just a total guess on my part since I've never used ShockEd.

[6741e81367643X-Tech]

I try to change translation.

yeah maps are large but i dounding way quickly with all those marks on the floor.

Im stuck on level 6. Can someone tell me where is place to send message to UNN ship ? I cant back in elevator without doing this.

[6741e81367958Fironkkuify]

Im stuck on level 6. Can someone tell me where is place to send message to UNN ship ? I cant back in elevator without doing this.

Go to the Officers' Quarters. On the second floor, look for a room with a ventilation shaft you can crawl into.  It should lead you into a shooting range, which is part of the UNN Garrison.  The transmitter (and the code for it) are in the middle room when you exit the shooting range into the hallway.

[6741e81367a6eX-Tech]

I go there and check. thx

[6741e81367b52Kolya]

Which translation do you use, X-Tech?

[6741e81367c59X-Tech]

I using polish translation. I installed mod on polish translated game. I change language on exnglish after installation of mod and problem still exist. I think i need install mod on english translation for avoid problems.