Ok, I've been stuck for a while, and don't know where to go. I've posted the images of which files I've found below, and any hints would be greatly appreciated. I feel like it may be very obvious, but any hints would be appreciated
Really enjoyed this. Kept me intrigued and, while I don't really consider myself the best at puzzle-solving, I did manage to find the answers to everything I needed to get to the end.
My only real questions/critiques are (spoilers): .
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Basically my queries are about two things where I didn't see any clarity and I thought that was intentional but maybe I missed something?
I wasn't sure if I understood the hangman. Was the point that it couldn't be done, that the only option was to die by your own hand, unknown, in an attempt to prevent further spread? That was my assumption...
If there was an ultimate 'explanation' for what happened then I missed it. I got that remembering a person that had been killed and erased caused you yourself to die but I didn't get what the thunderclap represented or how it was supposed to have started. I'm fine if the mystery is the point, but if I was meant to glean an answer then it wasn't clear.
And before I knew it, I had spent 2 days playing this game. A 10/10, thank you for making it! It's amazing how you use the limited mechanic to enrich the narrative. I think I got attached to ||| too much in the end. (suffice to say that scene got me)
A few thoughts that still linger in my mind (rot13):
- Vs Ryrnabe'f qrngu jnf gehyl gur bar gung fgnegrq nyy guvf, gura jul qvq crbcyr fgvyy erzrzore ure? Ubj jnf fur gvrq vagb nyy guvf?
- Jnf Ryrnabe naq Trbetr hfrq gb or pybfr gb rnpu bgure? V'z fher gur fgevat gur thrfgf xrcg chyyvat sbe sha jnf pbaarpgrq gb n oryy qbja va gur xvgpura. V jbaqre jub vafgnyyrq vg gurer, naq jul bayl gurer (be fb vg frrzrq). V vzntvar fur rawblrq guvf srngher n ybg orpnhfr jura Uneel fnvq gung ur gubhtug "fur" jnf fgvyy va gur ubhfr, vg frrzrq gung ur nffbpvngrq gur oryy evatvat jvgu Ryrnabe... lrg ur pbafvqrerq gur fbhaq n onq bzra. Znlor gur ynfg gvzr gung oryy enat jnf ubj Trbetr sbhaq ure obql svefg? Jnpx gurbel onfrq ba zl thg srryvatf bayl, Ryrnabe fhssrerq n zragny vyyarff naq gur cneragf jrer jryy njner ohg gbb nfunzrq gb nqzvg vg, urapr gurl arire gnyxrq nobhg vg ntnva. Fb fur pnzr onpx n iratrshy tubfg jvgu gur zrzbel zrzr-heqre phefr. (stealing this from ResidualToast, thank you for the term)
- Jul jnf Wbua bhgfvqr bs gur punva? Ur fubjrq fvzvyne fvtaf gb gur bguref naq jnf ba n svefg-anzr onfvf jvgu Ehcreg. Ur naq Naavr jrer nobhg gur fnzr yriry gb gur Tnyyrlf, V guvax.
Look at the pattern of the filenames. Scene 1 is out by QUail Rd and has persons 1 and 11 in it; scene 2 is in the ENtranceway and has persons 1, 6, 7, and 10 . . .
This game was incredible! The pacing is excellent and the mechanics are well done. I had some trouble with the ending puzzle but I still loved it. Thank you for making it!
I learned of this game from the Type Help fanclub in the Roottrees are Dead discord server, and it was fantastic! The discovery mechanic was brilliant for building on my understanding of the story and characters to give me continued hits of satisfying deduction, and the mystery was exceptionally executed - the super eerie mystery of what's going on and all the individual question marks that get resolved later on. Compared to all the other games I've played in the deduction genre, this had the best pacing and I found the end truly thrilling.
Sorry to go on but I really enjoyed the game, thanks for making and sharing it! It really makes me want to make my own game in the genre, though I can't begin to imagine how you constructed this so impeccably!
With the minor updates + UI navigation added, this game is a 10 out of 10 for me. I disagree with the other comment about improving this game with audio and images. This was perfect as is, a text-based game (especially with the search feature allowing you track certain objects and sounds across different scenes).
I cannot imagine how clever you have to be to design this story and the pace it unfolds at. Took me several days to complete. I loved going back to the earliest scenes and realizing how many details were hidden in plain sight. Really incredible game.
Heeding the warning about the comments being full of spoilers, I did not look at anything else about this game and got to the end in about 3 evenings! (97, but the comments clued me in and I went back for 98.) I thought the final puzzle was the perfect level of trickiness, then I read all the comments complaining about it, and THEN I realized an update to make the final puzzle easier had been uploaded as I was still playing the cached older version. Bit of a bummer, but I now have bragging rights that I solved the tougher version. 🤭 Absolutely amazing game!
Yeah, everything that I was slightly hung up on is all tied up nicely, now, and very well done. The "find" trick to look at all of the files has been fixed, but adding the arrow to just flip between acts instead of having to type a new command each time is a simple solution. The message that appears after "finishing" the hangman game makes it clearer that losing is the intended outcome without sacrificing the impact of it or making the implication too obvious. The final message from Alan and note are wonderful- beyond just having a proper ending now, I love the overall tone. Plus, the music linked in Alan's message fit perfectly as a sort of credits theme, without having the game itself contain any audio- I also ended up sorta doing this with the main game, after the Humoresques were mentioned early on and I played the whole thing just listening to Dvorak in the background lol, worked very nicely for me.
would anyone be able to lend me a hand? I have 96 files and have one (1) left, next to 10-MA, even though i've found everyone in every time stamp including (rot13) gur gjb frperg qrnguf so I have absolutely no idea what that could possibly be pointing to
I had that and for my playthrough it was because I'd forgotten to find where one of the people in that room went next for 11 and hadn't realised it. Hope you work it out
alas, that isn't it but thank you. Im going to go triple check that i havent missed anyone, but i used the title feature to keep track of who i was missing in each time stamp and replaced it with a star when there was no one left to find so im pretty sure ive got it all
between it reappearing for you and the fact that i just finished making a chart of who was in what room at what time and came up with no blanks, it's possible it might be a bug
Can you triple check for me scene 12? I've seen someone else also get stuck in this position, and that was the one they were missing. (You should have two scenes for 12.)
Honestly, kind of a flaw in the game that it's so easy to miss that and get stuck. It's hard to reference anywhere else though...
(Obviously if this still turns out to be a bug, let me know!)
The game just got updated. These are the textual additions I've noticed, for anyone who's already finished the previous version: (SPOILER WARNING)
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00-audio-recovery: [@] I have a theory I want to test. (Although, it's a shame this one won't fit into my body numbering system...)
16-DI-5-7: [@] Edit: I think I've found the final clue I was looking for! If I'm right, I might be able to test my theory. Let's just hope they kept the body...
24-DI-1: [@] Edit: I think I've spotted the pattern. I can't believe I didn't notice this originally... I need to test a theory.
25-AT-1: [1 John Hobbes] I don't even remember pulling the trigger...
25-AT-1: [@] Edit: rolling thunder? It's not quite a 'thunderclap' sound, but I think that's just because it's further away than the others... Is there something else I'm missing?
There's also an ending screen after reading the final note and a message after 'finishing' the hangman game, which make the meaning of the hangman game clearer.
oh, i found THE END! spoilers far below this useful navigation tip/dev suggestion
One comment/suggestion thing that took me way too long to do since I didn't see a reason to actually do immediately, is that if you follow @'s lead use a new command you learn partway through the game involving the words "IGNORANCE" "CONFUSION" etc... (or whatever you like, just use the command given in that page), you get arrows on the list pages to go between them rather than typing so much.
It might be nice if it automatically set the names as those on getting the relevant page? Or more strongly wording "Please do this to make navigation easier" in-game
A few THE END and a few spoily questions, probably unanswerable
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To see THE END i think the trigger was
get all 58 scenes
properly name @
and then (rot13)
erivfvg unatzna
speculation below about further secrets involving that or just it in general
Nyfb V'z phevbhf vs V unqa'g svyyrq vg bhg naq svyyrq vg va jvgu gur ntrag'f anzr fvapr uvf svefg naq ynfg anzr zngpu gur ahzore bs oynaxf, naq gur ahzore bs thrffrf zngpu gur nzbhag bs yrggref va obgu pbzovarq vs fbzrguvat qvssrerag zvtug unir unccrarq. Gevrq cevingr jvaqbjvat n serfu fnir ohg whfg chggvat va gur yrggref gura qbrfa'g qb nalguvat qvssrerag sebz enaqbz yrggref jvgubhg gur bgure fprarf tbggra naq V qba'g srry yvxr glcvat rirelguvat onpx va.
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general postgame speculation
The start text says that one person was identified, wonder who that is? I guess martha's family, Tony Dauer sr, and John's wife/kid might be able to somehow identify them? Though that seems like it would memetically erase them too, so that's interesting, though none of them seem to match up to the names in the final note file.
I'm also curious if John is supposed to have known Amelia as well, since he's a piano salesman in town, and/or how recently amelia was meme-urdered to the start of the story, if it was actually a long time ago or just confusion.
The only person who got identified was John because he was not part of the chain, so he wasn't forgotten. Everyone else was erased from memory so they remained unidentified.
(Although, how this would work in reality is quite unclear since physical evidence like photos or dental records does not get erased, so the police should be able to find a match after some research... They just won't find anyone remembering them, but they should have been able to put a name to the bodies.)
I wish the 'introduction' could be seen again later. It helps show a bit why the lack of records may be more likely... the time period the game takes place in may be of relevance!
fantastic stuff, very strong deduce-em-up. going in, I was worried I'd have trouble following things without a visual element, but the game's designed in such a way that, with the help of a handy notepad document on my end, I only had trouble keeping up where the game wanted me to be baffled!
there are a few flaws, of course. it has the same issue as Roottrees where, at the very end, you'll probably be picking through stuff you've already reviewed with a fine-toothed comb, looking for stuff that you know is there while trying to figure out how to find it, which I personally find quite tedious. the character voices could use a little more differentiation, as well - though, this is something that I only really noticed while in that same endgame rereading home stretch
nevertheless, I'm blown away with what you managed to accomplish with the tools at hand, and a bit boggled that you put it up for absolutely free. excellent work! inspiring stuff
Really loved this, well done deduction-based mystery games like Obra Dinn, Golden Idol, etc. are some of my favorites, and this is absolutely going up there as one I'll rec to other fans of this kind of game. Just got fully into it and tore through it 100% (as far as I can tell) over a whole evening & night. You got me to get out a pencil and paper and write up & fill out a handmade chart, which always makes me love a game even more.
SPOILERS, hoping I've put enough periods here
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Naming the agent's @ symbol as the correct real name could have been a perfect opportunity for an absolutely evil scare- I fully respect the decision to not do that lmao, even if a part of me knows I would have loved it. Like, figuring out his name was basically the very last thing I did when 100%'ing the game which meant I had some time to chew over the whole story & how the curse worked etc by that point, and after several hours of silent purely text gameplay, a well done scare may well have killed me there. I recognize it's best the way it is, though :P
Also, I'm seeing some frustration over the 13th death, the Wintercote one. IMO I think a small change that could make that a bit clearer is changing the words 'rolling thunder' to 'distant thunderclap'- iirc 'thunderclap' is the word used fairly often to refer to the thunder signifying a character's death, or at least it's the one I remember most, so just keeping up with the pattern might make that clue easier to spot. Still loved that puzzle, & the implication (as I read it) that John figured out how the curse worked, and intentionally made Katherine remember her daughter then waited for confirmation of her death in order to leave himself as the last person standing, remembering nobody, and attempted to have the curse die with him. Clearly didn't work, which makes his death mirror Annie's in a wonderfully tragic way.
This was such a joy to play through! Or I guess really sad. Same vibes with Obra Dinn where it's very tragic to know what's going to happen to someone. But really fun! Managed to suss my way right to the end and used some guiding words from the comments to find a body and an agent note, ifykyk. Everything else I worked out myself over the course of 2 evenings, which really gave me the chance to go through each person's route individually and feel bad for them. If someone ever manages to get 15 odd people to do a fully voiced read through of this I'd dig it.
More spoilery rambles under the dots
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I never used the notes feature and also never really got the Act renaming aspect, though I appreciated the list pages on account of not having to scroll so much.
Hangman really got me desperate enough to google seven lettered animals, to which the AI suggested me a bunch that weren't 7 letters lol. I interpreted the head being the same @ that the Agent uses for their lines being a metaphor for his position, and perhaps ours too, though logically strange he'd code a game you can't even win.
I will say though, I'm still not sure how one would find the agent's dream note in a normal fashion, and how it connects with his name, though the song's nice.
I think it is good that there's no list of rooms to help keep us as puzzled as the agent likely was when putting the audio narratives together, but I wouldn't have minded some kind of 00 note in the 2nd half of the game to allow me to run through them all when trying to remember which rooms to try to fill in gaps.
Anyway, that's my thoughts. Thanks for making this gem!
OH my god I could just kiss you! I love these kinds of games, and you're definitely living up to your inspirations you've listed!
Now the spoilery part .
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1. I don't know if I'm done. I found all the deaths, including K, and got the second email titled "Final", but I have 97 documents, instead of 98 like some other people do.
I think K puzzle was just right, no reason to make it any simpler btw.
2. I didn't get why I had to name acts, but that's ok, didn't use it anyway, instead searched for "" match, which listed all the docs very nicely grouped by scene.
3. Why does Oswald say you'd be punished for forgetting, while in reality you got punished for the opposite: for remembering them? Was there a pattern to who remembered whom?
The 98th document is hard to find and might be more of an easter egg and is not really required to "solve" the case. There are instructions on how to locate it in other comments.
Found what is possibly a bug? I found the Act II opener from Scene 07, but it's not appearing on my list. I can still access it by typing it in manually, and it lets me title the scene, but there's just black space after Scene 06. Is this a glitch, or a missed flag that I somehow got around? Or did I not complete something to unlock it?
Edit: Looks like I missed a scene explaining the Act feature, my bad!
I am soooo close to the end (I think) but I just can't figure out what exactly I'm supposed to do. I've found 95 files so far, and I have a filled-in timeline for characters 1 through 12, from time codes 01 through 26. I figure there's something I need to do with Wintercote (WI) because it's a bold location name... but I can't figure out what characters it is meant to involve or what time code I need to put. If it helps, the only scenes that have any reference points are 00-audio-recovery and 26-EN-1. Not sure what other information would be relevant for me to provide but yeah. Don't tell me outright what to do, just a nudge.. like a scene to stare at until I get that eureka moment lol
This is where I (and many others too, it seems) got stuck as well. This was my one complaint about this game; that the clues to solve this were too vague. Even if you think you have the location code, you still need the name(s) and the timeslot to find that last scene. (I discussed this problem and some suggestions to fix it in my review earlier in these comments. Feel free to read that once you have solved it.)
Since you only want a small nudge to the solution, I'll tell you the scene that imho fails at giving the hint to the final scene is:
Thank you very much, I was able to figure it out. I was so sure I tried that combination of codes before, but clearly the sleep deprivation was getting to me haha. Sebz ernqvat bgure pbzzragf, V frr gung gurer vf na rira zber frperg 00-qernz svyr. Ubj ner lbh zrnag gb svaq gung va tnzrcynl?
"Wbua" qvrf ol unatvat uvzfrys sebz gur oryy chyy va gur nggvp. V guvax gur unatzna tnzr vf n ersrerapr gb guvf, naq cbffvoyl gb @'f vagragvba gb nyfb pbzzvg fhvpvqr gb oernx gur punva.
Wbua whzcrq bhg gur nggvp jvaqbj bagb gur sebag fgrcf (nf ersreraprq jnl onpx va gur vageb), ohg V guvax lbh anvyrq vg jvgu gur frpbaq unys, be ng yrnfg gung vg'f n ersrerapr gb @ orvat "ba gur tnyybjf" rira vs whfg njnvgvat qrngu cnffviryl.
If there is one suggestion I would really make... Having completed everything as far as I know... introduced the game to my daughter. Sat with her as she started, and read the Intro again. Was wild to see some of the details in the intro now knowing everything.
I feel like being able to access the Intro again at any point may be helpful for people to get a sense of how well thought of everything was in the end.
fantastic game. found 98 files. are there more to find? my only complaint echoes others: it would be useful to have a more definitive way of knowing when you've located everything. been telling everyone i know to play this since many of my friends are hungry for true mind-bending puzzle games. thank you for making this.
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Ok, I've been stuck for a while, and don't know where to go. I've posted the images of which files I've found below, and any hints would be greatly appreciated. I feel like it may be very obvious, but any hints would be appreciated
[SPOILERS BELOW]
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I'd advise you take the last line from the penultimate entry you've listed literally.
Yeah, that worked. I think I may have kept putting in the wrong act entry-
Really enjoyed this. Kept me intrigued and, while I don't really consider myself the best at puzzle-solving, I did manage to find the answers to everything I needed to get to the end.
My only real questions/critiques are (spoilers):
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Basically my queries are about two things where I didn't see any clarity and I thought that was intentional but maybe I missed something?
And before I knew it, I had spent 2 days playing this game. A 10/10, thank you for making it! It's amazing how you use the limited mechanic to enrich the narrative. I think I got attached to ||| too much in the end. (suffice to say that scene got me)
A few thoughts that still linger in my mind (rot13):
- Vs Ryrnabe'f qrngu jnf gehyl gur bar gung fgnegrq nyy guvf, gura jul qvq crbcyr fgvyy erzrzore ure? Ubj jnf fur gvrq vagb nyy guvf?
- Jnf Ryrnabe naq Trbetr hfrq gb or pybfr gb rnpu bgure? V'z fher gur fgevat gur thrfgf xrcg chyyvat sbe sha jnf pbaarpgrq gb n oryy qbja va gur xvgpura. V jbaqre jub vafgnyyrq vg gurer, naq jul bayl gurer (be fb vg frrzrq). V vzntvar fur rawblrq guvf srngher n ybg orpnhfr jura Uneel fnvq gung ur gubhtug "fur" jnf fgvyy va gur ubhfr, vg frrzrq gung ur nffbpvngrq gur oryy evatvat jvgu Ryrnabe... lrg ur pbafvqrerq gur fbhaq n onq bzra. Znlor gur ynfg gvzr gung oryy enat jnf ubj Trbetr sbhaq ure obql svefg? Jnpx gurbel onfrq ba zl thg srryvatf bayl, Ryrnabe fhssrerq n zragny vyyarff naq gur cneragf jrer jryy njner ohg gbb nfunzrq gb nqzvg vg, urapr gurl arire gnyxrq nobhg vg ntnva. Fb fur pnzr onpx n iratrshy tubfg jvgu gur zrzbel zrzr-heqre phefr. (stealing this from ResidualToast, thank you for the term)
- Jul jnf Wbua bhgfvqr bs gur punva? Ur fubjrq fvzvyne fvtaf gb gur bguref naq jnf ba n svefg-anzr onfvf jvgu Ehcreg. Ur naq Naavr jrer nobhg gur fnzr yriry gb gur Tnyyrlf, V guvax.
- Nzryvn pbhyqa'g unir tbar "zvffvat" sbe ybatre guna n srj zbaguf orpnhfr Ehcreg beqrerq n yvsr-fvmrq zhfvp obk cvnab onfrq ba ure jbexf. Vg pbhyq'ir orra zbzragf orsber fprar 01 fgnegrq.
V qba'g guvax vg znggref zhpu ohg vg jnf vzcerffvir gung Uneel znantrq gb ynfg guebhtu gjb jubyr fprarf orsber gur guhaqrepync.
Nyfb: Unysjnl guebhtu Npg VV V fgvyy gubhtug gur zlfgrel jnf gung Ehcreg nppvqragnyyl obhtug n guhaqrepync-b-angbe naq vg jnf fybjyl tevyyvat gur oenvaf bs rirelbar va guvf nern
omg that was so long sorry
1. V qba'g guvax gung Ryrnabe jnf vaibyirq jvgu gur phefr ng nyy. Fur'f abg va gur yvfg gung gur ntrag tvirf ng gur raq.
2. Wbua whfg unccrarq gb arire or gur svefg crefba gb erzrzore gur ynfg qrnq crefba, naq gura ur xvyyrq uvzfrys orsber ur pbhyq erzrzore Naavr,
3. V qba'g guvax gung Ehcreg obhtug gur cynlre cvnab orpnhfr bs Nzryvn.
Uncovered 71 files, including the final note. What's missing?
Everyone alive appears in one scene per timeslot. You're clearly missing many of them.
March 7, 1936 was a Saturday rather than a Sunday. Is that a clue or just a typo? :)
Spoiler alert: The rest of the walkthrough. https://www.twitch.tv/videos/2394774170
Thank you for the wonderful game! We played through the updated version and reached the end without any issues. A real pleasure to play.
Also, not sure if it was an intentional red herring, but...
Sbe n juvyr ng gur raq jr jrer pbaivaprq jr'q svtherq bhg @'f erny anzr-- N.G., bs pbhefr, bhe urycshy rznvy pbagnpg!-- naq gung @'f yvar nobhg "Tbq V ubcr guvf jbexf" jnf n pyhr gung ur'q svtherq bhg n jnl gb oernx gur phefr ol jvcvat uvf bja zrzbel (naq jvgu vg, uvf zrzbel bs gur crefba jub qvrq orsber uvz). Gur unatzna @ va gur urnq zngpurq guvf gurbel cresrpgyl!
Nnnnaq gura jr yrnearq uvf erny anzr. Vg jnf n sha gurbel, gubhtu! Vg nqqrq n ovg bs "lbh pna'g nibvq lbhe sngr", guvaxvat N.G. jnf fbzrubj orvat fhopbafpvbhfyl qenja onpx gb gur pnfr qrfcvgr univat rfpncrq vg bapr.
Fgvyy jbaqrevat nobhg @'f fcrpvsvpnyyl pnyyvat bhg gung X sbe Xngurevar zngpurq "Xngr". V xrcg rkcrpgvat gb svaq n Xngr ersrerapr fbzrjurer ryfr...
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"Katherine matching Kate" probably refers to him listening to the recordings where some people say Kate instead of Katherine.
I'm dumb. I can't figure out how to access the first 04-ST-????? file.
Spoiler alert: 04-ST-1-5-8
Ty ty
Look at the pattern of the filenames. Scene 1 is out by QUail Rd and has persons 1 and 11 in it; scene 2 is in the ENtranceway and has persons 1, 6, 7, and 10 . . .
Much appreciated
This game was incredible! The pacing is excellent and the mechanics are well done. I had some trouble with the ending puzzle but I still loved it. Thank you for making it!
I learned of this game from the Type Help fanclub in the Roottrees are Dead discord server, and it was fantastic! The discovery mechanic was brilliant for building on my understanding of the story and characters to give me continued hits of satisfying deduction, and the mystery was exceptionally executed - the super eerie mystery of what's going on and all the individual question marks that get resolved later on. Compared to all the other games I've played in the deduction genre, this had the best pacing and I found the end truly thrilling.
Sorry to go on but I really enjoyed the game, thanks for making and sharing it! It really makes me want to make my own game in the genre, though I can't begin to imagine how you constructed this so impeccably!
Hi Celia! : )
With the minor updates + UI navigation added, this game is a 10 out of 10 for me. I disagree with the other comment about improving this game with audio and images. This was perfect as is, a text-based game (especially with the search feature allowing you track certain objects and sounds across different scenes).
I cannot imagine how clever you have to be to design this story and the pace it unfolds at. Took me several days to complete. I loved going back to the earliest scenes and realizing how many details were hidden in plain sight. Really incredible game.
Heeding the warning about the comments being full of spoilers, I did not look at anything else about this game and got to the end in about 3 evenings! (97, but the comments clued me in and I went back for 98.) I thought the final puzzle was the perfect level of trickiness, then I read all the comments complaining about it, and THEN I realized an update to make the final puzzle easier had been uploaded as I was still playing the cached older version. Bit of a bummer, but I now have bragging rights that I solved the tougher version. 🤭 Absolutely amazing game!
rot13:
HELP: Bfjnyq fnvq ur jnf va gur orqebbz gung 'hfrq gb or gur yvoenel' whfg orsber qvaare, ohg v pnaabg sbe gur yvsr bs zr svther bhg juvpu ebbz gung'f fhccbfrq gb or. V srry yvxr V'ir gevrq rirel ebbz nf jryy nf whfg hfvat 'YV' naq v'ir fgvyy tbg abguvat :(( pna nalbar uryc? guvf vf bar bs gur ynfg barf V'z zvffvat naq vg'f qevivat zr ahgf
ol hszv zhpk aol msvvy dhz zapjrf. aohaz ptwvyahua
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He doesn't say it's a bedroom, just a room. He's talking about the study - where the first body was found.
SPOILERS for the update
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Yeah, everything that I was slightly hung up on is all tied up nicely, now, and very well done. The "find" trick to look at all of the files has been fixed, but adding the arrow to just flip between acts instead of having to type a new command each time is a simple solution. The message that appears after "finishing" the hangman game makes it clearer that losing is the intended outcome without sacrificing the impact of it or making the implication too obvious. The final message from Alan and note are wonderful- beyond just having a proper ending now, I love the overall tone. Plus, the music linked in Alan's message fit perfectly as a sort of credits theme, without having the game itself contain any audio- I also ended up sorta doing this with the main game, after the Humoresques were mentioned early on and I played the whole thing just listening to Dvorak in the background lol, worked very nicely for me.
would anyone be able to lend me a hand? I have 96 files and have one (1) left, next to 10-MA, even though i've found everyone in every time stamp including (rot13) gur gjb frperg qrnguf so I have absolutely no idea what that could possibly be pointing to
I had that and for my playthrough it was because I'd forgotten to find where one of the people in that room went next for 11 and hadn't realised it. Hope you work it out
Edit: it was in 12 instead
alas, that isn't it but thank you. Im going to go triple check that i havent missed anyone, but i used the title feature to keep track of who i was missing in each time stamp and replaced it with a star when there was no one left to find so im pretty sure ive got it all
Ironically, I've now had it reappear for me after the update have to also work that out for myself
between it reappearing for you and the fact that i just finished making a chart of who was in what room at what time and came up with no blanks, it's possible it might be a bug
Hi!
Can you triple check for me scene 12? I've seen someone else also get stuck in this position, and that was the one they were missing. (You should have two scenes for 12.)
Honestly, kind of a flaw in the game that it's so easy to miss that and get stuck. It's hard to reference anywhere else though...
(Obviously if this still turns out to be a bug, let me know!)
SPOILERS (solution to OP's question below)
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Timestamp 10 has the following entries:
10-DI-2-3
10-ED-8
10-LI-7-9
10-MA-5-6
10-TO-1-4
I already have all of those though
The game just got updated. These are the textual additions I've noticed, for anyone who's already finished the previous version: (SPOILER WARNING)
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There's also an ending screen after reading the final note and a message after 'finishing' the hangman game, which make the meaning of the hangman game clearer.
oh wow these edits makes everything come together much better
oh, i found THE END! spoilers far below this useful navigation tip/dev suggestion
One comment/suggestion thing that took me way too long to do since I didn't see a reason to actually do immediately, is that if you follow @'s lead use a new command you learn partway through the game involving the words "IGNORANCE" "CONFUSION" etc... (or whatever you like, just use the command given in that page), you get arrows on the list pages to go between them rather than typing so much.
It might be nice if it automatically set the names as those on getting the relevant page? Or more strongly wording "Please do this to make navigation easier" in-game
A few THE END and a few spoily questions, probably unanswerable
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To see THE END i think the trigger was
get all 58 scenes
properly name @
and then (rot13)
erivfvg unatzna
speculation below about further secrets involving that or just it in general
V'z unq vg nyernql svyyrq bhg "jebatyl" orsber fb v'z abg fher rknpgyl jung gevttrerq vg.
Nyfb V'z phevbhf vs V unqa'g svyyrq vg bhg naq svyyrq vg va jvgu gur ntrag'f anzr fvapr uvf svefg naq ynfg anzr zngpu gur ahzore bs oynaxf, naq gur ahzore bs thrffrf zngpu gur nzbhag bs yrggref va obgu pbzovarq vs fbzrguvat qvssrerag zvtug unir unccrarq. Gevrq cevingr jvaqbjvat n serfu fnir ohg whfg chggvat va gur yrggref gura qbrfa'g qb nalguvat qvssrerag sebz enaqbz yrggref jvgubhg gur bgure fprarf tbggra naq V qba'g srry yvxr glcvat rirelguvat onpx va.
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general postgame speculation
The start text says that one person was identified, wonder who that is? I guess martha's family, Tony Dauer sr, and John's wife/kid might be able to somehow identify them? Though that seems like it would memetically erase them too, so that's interesting, though none of them seem to match up to the names in the final note file.
I'm also curious if John is supposed to have known Amelia as well, since he's a piano salesman in town, and/or how recently amelia was meme-urdered to the start of the story, if it was actually a long time ago or just confusion.
oh i think the ending and the arrow suggestion i made possibly got pushed while i was typing this comment
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The only person who got identified was John because he was not part of the chain, so he wasn't forgotten. Everyone else was erased from memory so they remained unidentified.
(Although, how this would work in reality is quite unclear since physical evidence like photos or dental records does not get erased, so the police should be able to find a match after some research... They just won't find anyone remembering them, but they should have been able to put a name to the bodies.)
I wish the 'introduction' could be seen again later. It helps show a bit why the lack of records may be more likely... the time period the game takes place in may be of relevance!
fantastic stuff, very strong deduce-em-up. going in, I was worried I'd have trouble following things without a visual element, but the game's designed in such a way that, with the help of a handy notepad document on my end, I only had trouble keeping up where the game wanted me to be baffled!
there are a few flaws, of course. it has the same issue as Roottrees where, at the very end, you'll probably be picking through stuff you've already reviewed with a fine-toothed comb, looking for stuff that you know is there while trying to figure out how to find it, which I personally find quite tedious. the character voices could use a little more differentiation, as well - though, this is something that I only really noticed while in that same endgame rereading home stretch
nevertheless, I'm blown away with what you managed to accomplish with the tools at hand, and a bit boggled that you put it up for absolutely free. excellent work! inspiring stuff
Really loved this, well done deduction-based mystery games like Obra Dinn, Golden Idol, etc. are some of my favorites, and this is absolutely going up there as one I'll rec to other fans of this kind of game. Just got fully into it and tore through it 100% (as far as I can tell) over a whole evening & night. You got me to get out a pencil and paper and write up & fill out a handmade chart, which always makes me love a game even more.
SPOILERS, hoping I've put enough periods here
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Naming the agent's @ symbol as the correct real name could have been a perfect opportunity for an absolutely evil scare- I fully respect the decision to not do that lmao, even if a part of me knows I would have loved it. Like, figuring out his name was basically the very last thing I did when 100%'ing the game which meant I had some time to chew over the whole story & how the curse worked etc by that point, and after several hours of silent purely text gameplay, a well done scare may well have killed me there. I recognize it's best the way it is, though :P
Also, I'm seeing some frustration over the 13th death, the Wintercote one. IMO I think a small change that could make that a bit clearer is changing the words 'rolling thunder' to 'distant thunderclap'- iirc 'thunderclap' is the word used fairly often to refer to the thunder signifying a character's death, or at least it's the one I remember most, so just keeping up with the pattern might make that clue easier to spot. Still loved that puzzle, & the implication (as I read it) that John figured out how the curse worked, and intentionally made Katherine remember her daughter then waited for confirmation of her death in order to leave himself as the last person standing, remembering nobody, and attempted to have the curse die with him. Clearly didn't work, which makes his death mirror Annie's in a wonderfully tragic way.
I finished this yesterday and I absolutely can't stop thinking about it. Fantastic game
This was such a joy to play through! Or I guess really sad. Same vibes with Obra Dinn where it's very tragic to know what's going to happen to someone. But really fun! Managed to suss my way right to the end and used some guiding words from the comments to find a body and an agent note, ifykyk. Everything else I worked out myself over the course of 2 evenings, which really gave me the chance to go through each person's route individually and feel bad for them. If someone ever manages to get 15 odd people to do a fully voiced read through of this I'd dig it.
More spoilery rambles under the dots
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Anyway, that's my thoughts. Thanks for making this gem!
Unlocked 38 files thanks to that V-Tuber, though V-Tube isn't my thing. I'm not too big on Japanese anime.
Thank you so much for this amazing game. I absolutely loved it.
OH my god I could just kiss you! I love these kinds of games, and you're definitely living up to your inspirations you've listed!
Now the spoilery part
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1. I don't know if I'm done. I found all the deaths, including K, and got the second email titled "Final", but I have 97 documents, instead of 98 like some other people do.
I think K puzzle was just right, no reason to make it any simpler btw.
2. I didn't get why I had to name acts, but that's ok, didn't use it anyway, instead searched for "" match, which listed all the docs very nicely grouped by scene.
3. Why does Oswald say you'd be punished for forgetting, while in reality you got punished for the opposite: for remembering them? Was there a pattern to who remembered whom?
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The 98th document is hard to find and might be more of an easter egg and is not really required to "solve" the case. There are instructions on how to locate it in other comments.
this was so good, loved puzzling it out
Found what is possibly a bug? I found the Act II opener from Scene 07, but it's not appearing on my list. I can still access it by typing it in manually, and it lets me title the scene, but there's just black space after Scene 06. Is this a glitch, or a missed flag that I somehow got around? Or did I not complete something to unlock it?
Edit: Looks like I missed a scene explaining the Act feature, my bad!
Spoilers [end game(?) help]
I am soooo close to the end (I think) but I just can't figure out what exactly I'm supposed to do. I've found 95 files so far, and I have a filled-in timeline for characters 1 through 12, from time codes 01 through 26. I figure there's something I need to do with Wintercote (WI) because it's a bold location name... but I can't figure out what characters it is meant to involve or what time code I need to put. If it helps, the only scenes that have any reference points are 00-audio-recovery and 26-EN-1. Not sure what other information would be relevant for me to provide but yeah. Don't tell me outright what to do, just a nudge.. like a scene to stare at until I get that eureka moment lol
A few scenes with increasingly heavy clues (after spoiler dots):
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13-VI-7-8
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20-DI-1
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24-DI-1
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25-AT-1
Thank you for the help!!
This is where I (and many others too, it seems) got stuck as well. This was my one complaint about this game; that the clues to solve this were too vague. Even if you think you have the location code, you still need the name(s) and the timeslot to find that last scene. (I discussed this problem and some suggestions to fix it in my review earlier in these comments. Feel free to read that once you have solved it.)
Since you only want a small nudge to the solution, I'll tell you the scene that imho fails at giving the hint to the final scene is:
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25-AT-1
(Edit March, 2025: The update fixes this issue.)
Thank you very much, I was able to figure it out. I was so sure I tried that combination of codes before, but clearly the sleep deprivation was getting to me haha. Sebz ernqvat bgure pbzzragf, V frr gung gurer vf na rira zber frperg 00-qernz svyr. Ubj ner lbh zrnag gb svaq gung va tnzrcynl?
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The only clue is in 21-CH-3 where the narrator says "like in that terrifying dream I mentioned"
Regarding the hangman game:
"Wbua" qvrf ol unatvat uvzfrys sebz gur oryy chyy va gur nggvp. V guvax gur unatzna tnzr vf n ersrerapr gb guvf, naq cbffvoyl gb @'f vagragvba gb nyfb pbzzvg fhvpvqr gb oernx gur punva.
Wbua whzcrq bhg gur nggvp jvaqbj bagb gur sebag fgrcf (nf ersreraprq jnl onpx va gur vageb), ohg V guvax lbh anvyrq vg jvgu gur frpbaq unys, be ng yrnfg gung vg'f n ersrerapr gb @ orvat "ba gur tnyybjf" rira vs whfg njnvgvat qrngu cnffviryl.
I do no understand smart please dumb it down
wait I figured it out y'all is smart
I wonder when the walkthroughs are going on YouTube.
If there is one suggestion I would really make... Having completed everything as far as I know... introduced the game to my daughter. Sat with her as she started, and read the Intro again. Was wild to see some of the details in the intro now knowing everything.
I feel like being able to access the Intro again at any point may be helpful for people to get a sense of how well thought of everything was in the end.
this as well! i started the game over just to see it again
fantastic game. found 98 files. are there more to find? my only complaint echoes others: it would be useful to have a more definitive way of knowing when you've located everything. been telling everyone i know to play this since many of my friends are hungry for true mind-bending puzzle games. thank you for making this.