R31 Solace Bridge

I get that, try right clicking.

 

Lum, rereading your notes, it sounds like Charlotte's 'third' behavior captured in your sentence above is intended. That point is the crux of the matter of testers' confusion.

Depending on the Avatar's answer, Charlotte's first possible behavior is to die in the fire. Charlotte's second possible behavior is to be saved, again based on an Avatar answer. But Charlotte's third behavior - to follow the agreeable Avatar but then unexpectedly disappear without notice - is different. That behavior counters the Avatar's first choice, and happens without notice or input from the Avatar. How would a new player experiencing the game anticipate this third behavior?

I think the challenge is that the quest sets the new player up with a yes/no binary choice. The new player will anticipate that the yes/no choice at the start has a clear yes/no outcome at the end. The quest does not state that Charlotte may start the journey but then bail at the end and go home. So the player does not anticipate this. Worse, this third behavior doesn't seem story driven. It seems related to an escort game mechanic and range checking that takes the story out of the Avatar's hands.

If this confuses current testers, it will certainly confuse new players to the game. Please consider eliminating this third behavior scenario by forcing Charlotte to stay with the Avatar for the full duration of the trip. If not, then consider reprogramming Edvard to tell the new player that Abigail was lost in the fray of battle and ran back to her house, and the Avatar needs to go back and get her to complete the quest. We undertstand 'consequences'. But as is, the consequence we are getting from the third Charlotte behavior is a gray, fuzzy, lack of understanding where we think we completed the quest but Abigail is clueless about it. I hope that is not an intended 'consequence,' especially for a tutorial quest.

 

One of the many bugs we live with.. and probably don't report I also right-click OFTEN to get a cursor to show on initial scene load.

 

We can't force her to stay with the Avatar because she uses pet AI behavior, and is thus controllable to a degree by a player.

However, given the points you raise, her being parked somewhere and then abandoned for not being close to the final turn-in point is such a minor exploit that we'll most likely just assume the player rescued Charlotte if they agreed to and then completed the scene without Charlotte dying. She still won't talk during the final scene since cross-chatter with NPCs only works if they're close by. Having Edvard not complete the sequence unless Charlotte is nearby is also an option, but may not be doable (that would probably be preferable though).

 

Definitely preferable. If the player agreed to save her, and she is still alive, then Edvard should expect her to be present to continue.

 

I had many of these issues with the scene as well. I found Charlotte, was told I received a whistle to summon her (which I never could find after a crash), made it across the bridge with her very much alive to Edvard where she promptly disappeared. I went back to the house and tried to re engage with the child, and all she would say is "let's find my mommy", but she would not follow me again. I left the scene very confused and frustrated, thinking maybe I needed to speak to the mother, only to return and hear from Edvard that she died. I have no idea where or how I messed up.

 

Here's hoping that you guys eventually get more development tools at your disposal.

 

Changes going in for R32 (among many others):

- Edvard won't let you progress if you leave Charlotte behind. (She can still be killed.)
- Charlotte will not disappear when the quest is complete, but will remain with Edvard and it's made clearer that he will be taking her back to her mother.