Post by hynreck on Sept 28, 2015 15:25:16 GMT
CHANGELOG
After book 2, it was clear that some logical or flowchart errors could only be fixed by squeezing in new content. One could do that by repurposing linear sections: that is, sections where the book has you go to 78, then 78 doesn't give you any choices and just sends you to 246, then 246 does the same and just sends you to 351. Combining those sections frees up space for new content.
So there's a whole bunch of those revisions today. It should be good practice for book 6. Again, we welcome your input if you know something that needed correcting back in the 1980's version of book 3 but is missing here.
General gameplay
As with other books, tidied various combat mechanics, clarified shuriken use, glossed over needless record-keeping about gold, and so on. There wasn't much need to nudge Endurance restoration as this book tended only to give it in big batches.
In the section on Special Rules for This Book, we worked with the authors to change the Modifier bonus you get from completing the previous book. There is no more randomness: you now have your choice of two +1 bonuses from Punch, Kick, and/or Throw (you have to choose two different ones).
Style
As with other books, standardized the capitalization, spelling, and phrasing.
Flowchart errors and crashes
63. Corrected by swapping success and failure between 103 and 113.
76, 117, 145, 289. Eliminated the option to go to 10, keeping the fight in the second naginata stage. (You can no longer loop through time by repeatedly failing to break the naginata.)
304. Corrected to send you to 21 instead of 121.
373, 384, 397. Moved all discussion of the fear effect into 373. (You no longer can avoid facing the effect by your order of actions.)
Text problems from taking an unexpected route
42, 151. The Golem is not described as "apparently indestructible" right now, as you could have come here after learning how to defeat it.
47. Doré le Jeune no longer lowers his visor, as you could have gotten here without ever seeing his face.
237. His voice is no longer described, as this information is presented later in a successful conversation. (He still introduces himself a second time, but the overall flow is better now. And, arguably, that behavior is appropriate for Doré le Jeune anyway.)
291. Creatures are no longer described as being summoned "from the lower planes," as you could follow a route where the only foes are from this world.
388. You no longer go to the doors, as you'd just perform the same again in the next section.
401. Blurred the distance traveled to reach the Hostel from the Edge. (You can start from the Temple to Dama, which is almost next door, or the barracks, which is across most of the city.)
416. The voice is no longer called "familiar," as you might never have heard it before. Also the reference to failing a mission is reworked here, because you haven't failed one.
Conflicts and logic errors
38, 56, 117, 145. Swapped Aiguchi the Weaponmaster's Defence between the punch and kick sections. (The original made it easier to use a kick, the harder maneuver, without explanation.)
86, 93, 156, 178, 197. Added the options to go to all possible attacks or repeat the same attack. (The original had some unexplained absences.)
130, 159, 168, 176, 403. Overhauled the Golspiel interaction with more logical "agreement," "neutral," and "betrayal" routes. In 130, eliminated the option to go to 403. In 176, eliminated the option to go to 138. (The conclusion of the book can still read a little oddly if you completely skip talking to Golspiel, but the logic problems are avoided. This is to be tied into edits in book 4 correcting conflicting statements there too.)
134, 140. Swapped the Cave Troll's Defence, and Avenger's Defence, between the punch and kick sections. (The original made it easier to use a kick, the harder maneuver, without explanation.)
245, 321, 406. Changed the Potion of Healing to give 10 Endurance, like all other Potions of Healing, instead of 8 Endurance, like the Bag of Herbs from book 1.
252. Reframed to be an arm injury and a -1 to your Punch Modifier, instead of the loss of Arrow Cutting and a -1 when using shuriken. (The story conflicts with subsequent events in book 4 where similar injury gives no penalty. Also, the loss of an entire skill is downright brutal.)
270. Created an actual Feigning Death skill check out of this text which sounded a lot like one.
363. Added more to the description of reaching for a shuriken, as the actual options presented to the player do not include using a plain shuriken.
Section repurposing
4. Replaced section. Reminder of the insight about the Rift received through prayer, now linking to 352. (The original let you learn about the Rift but then forget it if you went to the Mountains of Horn, meaning a good chance of death even as you stood in front of the Rift itself. With this repurposed section, those who pray get a reminder if they reach the Rift.)
13. Edited to include all the text that used to be in 27, freeing up space for the "Aiguchi" correction, and now linking to 40.
27. Replaced section. Text similar to 309 but including getting a Potion of Healing from Aiguchi, and now linking to 416. (The original required very specific circumstances for you to get the potion, but those didn't properly interact with the circumstances where Aiguchi drank it first. With this repurposed section, you get the potion when you deserve.)
65, 303. Edited to send you to 27 instead of 309 for the "Aiguchi" correction.
97. Added the option to go to 4 for the "insight" correction.
114. Edited to include all the text that used to be in 4, freeing up space for the "insight" correction, and now linking to 414.
379. Replaced section. A description of a multi-day journey to deal with the Golem, now linking to 352. (The original had a discrepancy in describing how long it takes, where praying beforehand would shave days off the journey, but then later you still would get your "first sleep for days." With this repurposed section, those who pray spend days in transit too.)
391, 409. Edited to send you to 379 instead of 352 for the "Golem" correction.
404. Edited to include all the text that used to be in 379, freeing up space for the "Golem" correction, and now linking to 366, 353, 342 and 333.
Other
12, 20, 37, 242, 341, 363. Added the option to use the Enchanted Shuriken from book 1 in the off chance you have it.
15. Edited compass directions and geographic details on the Island of Plenty. (Now, for the first time, we have an authorized map of the island to reference.)
30, 198. Clarified that special attack rules no longer apply in this second fight against Astaroth.
172, 181. Clarified the tax-exempt status of certain temples. (The original said Nemesis was the only temple to avoid taxes, but then 172 elaborated that the Temple to Time enjoys the same.)
172, 199. Eliminated Endurance restoration in Irsmuncast, instead granting it all during the last leg of travel. (You cannot possibly lose Endurance in the interim.)
183, 402. Half-clarified, half-revised so that you may continue regardless of your remaining Endurance. (The scene is about the nature of life and death, so this is appropriate.)
185. Eliminated Endurance loss. (This route leads to death no matter what, so annoying the player with record-keeping isn't worthwhile.)
200. Added the option to go to 57 if you used both the Enchanted Shuriken and the Silver Shuriken.
229, 251. Added the option to use the Bag of Herbs from book 1 in the off chance you have it.
291. Edited the spiritual flight to be, well, less of a direct copy from the flight with Togawa in book 1.
381. Lamentably, removed reference to the famous "scribing error." (We have one map of the Manmarch for all these books and so Ulrik's Haven does not shift apparent position.)
After book 2, it was clear that some logical or flowchart errors could only be fixed by squeezing in new content. One could do that by repurposing linear sections: that is, sections where the book has you go to 78, then 78 doesn't give you any choices and just sends you to 246, then 246 does the same and just sends you to 351. Combining those sections frees up space for new content.
So there's a whole bunch of those revisions today. It should be good practice for book 6. Again, we welcome your input if you know something that needed correcting back in the 1980's version of book 3 but is missing here.
General gameplay
As with other books, tidied various combat mechanics, clarified shuriken use, glossed over needless record-keeping about gold, and so on. There wasn't much need to nudge Endurance restoration as this book tended only to give it in big batches.
In the section on Special Rules for This Book, we worked with the authors to change the Modifier bonus you get from completing the previous book. There is no more randomness: you now have your choice of two +1 bonuses from Punch, Kick, and/or Throw (you have to choose two different ones).
Style
As with other books, standardized the capitalization, spelling, and phrasing.
Flowchart errors and crashes
63. Corrected by swapping success and failure between 103 and 113.
76, 117, 145, 289. Eliminated the option to go to 10, keeping the fight in the second naginata stage. (You can no longer loop through time by repeatedly failing to break the naginata.)
304. Corrected to send you to 21 instead of 121.
373, 384, 397. Moved all discussion of the fear effect into 373. (You no longer can avoid facing the effect by your order of actions.)
Text problems from taking an unexpected route
42, 151. The Golem is not described as "apparently indestructible" right now, as you could have come here after learning how to defeat it.
47. Doré le Jeune no longer lowers his visor, as you could have gotten here without ever seeing his face.
237. His voice is no longer described, as this information is presented later in a successful conversation. (He still introduces himself a second time, but the overall flow is better now. And, arguably, that behavior is appropriate for Doré le Jeune anyway.)
291. Creatures are no longer described as being summoned "from the lower planes," as you could follow a route where the only foes are from this world.
388. You no longer go to the doors, as you'd just perform the same again in the next section.
401. Blurred the distance traveled to reach the Hostel from the Edge. (You can start from the Temple to Dama, which is almost next door, or the barracks, which is across most of the city.)
416. The voice is no longer called "familiar," as you might never have heard it before. Also the reference to failing a mission is reworked here, because you haven't failed one.
Conflicts and logic errors
38, 56, 117, 145. Swapped Aiguchi the Weaponmaster's Defence between the punch and kick sections. (The original made it easier to use a kick, the harder maneuver, without explanation.)
86, 93, 156, 178, 197. Added the options to go to all possible attacks or repeat the same attack. (The original had some unexplained absences.)
130, 159, 168, 176, 403. Overhauled the Golspiel interaction with more logical "agreement," "neutral," and "betrayal" routes. In 130, eliminated the option to go to 403. In 176, eliminated the option to go to 138. (The conclusion of the book can still read a little oddly if you completely skip talking to Golspiel, but the logic problems are avoided. This is to be tied into edits in book 4 correcting conflicting statements there too.)
134, 140. Swapped the Cave Troll's Defence, and Avenger's Defence, between the punch and kick sections. (The original made it easier to use a kick, the harder maneuver, without explanation.)
245, 321, 406. Changed the Potion of Healing to give 10 Endurance, like all other Potions of Healing, instead of 8 Endurance, like the Bag of Herbs from book 1.
252. Reframed to be an arm injury and a -1 to your Punch Modifier, instead of the loss of Arrow Cutting and a -1 when using shuriken. (The story conflicts with subsequent events in book 4 where similar injury gives no penalty. Also, the loss of an entire skill is downright brutal.)
270. Created an actual Feigning Death skill check out of this text which sounded a lot like one.
363. Added more to the description of reaching for a shuriken, as the actual options presented to the player do not include using a plain shuriken.
Section repurposing
4. Replaced section. Reminder of the insight about the Rift received through prayer, now linking to 352. (The original let you learn about the Rift but then forget it if you went to the Mountains of Horn, meaning a good chance of death even as you stood in front of the Rift itself. With this repurposed section, those who pray get a reminder if they reach the Rift.)
13. Edited to include all the text that used to be in 27, freeing up space for the "Aiguchi" correction, and now linking to 40.
27. Replaced section. Text similar to 309 but including getting a Potion of Healing from Aiguchi, and now linking to 416. (The original required very specific circumstances for you to get the potion, but those didn't properly interact with the circumstances where Aiguchi drank it first. With this repurposed section, you get the potion when you deserve.)
65, 303. Edited to send you to 27 instead of 309 for the "Aiguchi" correction.
97. Added the option to go to 4 for the "insight" correction.
114. Edited to include all the text that used to be in 4, freeing up space for the "insight" correction, and now linking to 414.
379. Replaced section. A description of a multi-day journey to deal with the Golem, now linking to 352. (The original had a discrepancy in describing how long it takes, where praying beforehand would shave days off the journey, but then later you still would get your "first sleep for days." With this repurposed section, those who pray spend days in transit too.)
391, 409. Edited to send you to 379 instead of 352 for the "Golem" correction.
404. Edited to include all the text that used to be in 379, freeing up space for the "Golem" correction, and now linking to 366, 353, 342 and 333.
Other
12, 20, 37, 242, 341, 363. Added the option to use the Enchanted Shuriken from book 1 in the off chance you have it.
15. Edited compass directions and geographic details on the Island of Plenty. (Now, for the first time, we have an authorized map of the island to reference.)
30, 198. Clarified that special attack rules no longer apply in this second fight against Astaroth.
172, 181. Clarified the tax-exempt status of certain temples. (The original said Nemesis was the only temple to avoid taxes, but then 172 elaborated that the Temple to Time enjoys the same.)
172, 199. Eliminated Endurance restoration in Irsmuncast, instead granting it all during the last leg of travel. (You cannot possibly lose Endurance in the interim.)
183, 402. Half-clarified, half-revised so that you may continue regardless of your remaining Endurance. (The scene is about the nature of life and death, so this is appropriate.)
185. Eliminated Endurance loss. (This route leads to death no matter what, so annoying the player with record-keeping isn't worthwhile.)
200. Added the option to go to 57 if you used both the Enchanted Shuriken and the Silver Shuriken.
229, 251. Added the option to use the Bag of Herbs from book 1 in the off chance you have it.
291. Edited the spiritual flight to be, well, less of a direct copy from the flight with Togawa in book 1.
381. Lamentably, removed reference to the famous "scribing error." (We have one map of the Manmarch for all these books and so Ulrik's Haven does not shift apparent position.)