Completed Let's Play Tyranicon's "Memoirs Of a Battle Brothel"

[Dhaze]

So I actually went ahead and finished the game. And now I have a little over a thousand screenshots through which to wade for this LP. Yikes. But for a couple of reasons I want to write the following bits.

---

Concerning the ending(s), it is... something. It is too much, but also not nearly enough. It goes everywhere, but also nowhere. I'm central to it, but also wholly inconsequential. It explains everything, but also explains nothing. It is very satisfying, but also immensely frustrating. Perhaps inevitably, it mirrors the game as a whole.

Throughout the game, and remaining purely on the story side of things, there was magic, technology, techno-zombies, drugs manufacturing, politics on a grand scale, politics on a small scale, sex traficking, tentacled monsters of unknown origin, ancient ineluctable prophecies, mystical assassins, petty personal squabbles, world-ending considerations, sentient magical contraptions, beings from this world, beings from out of this world, beings from a supra-reality whose convoluted machinations span the incomputable lifetimes of universes, etc, etc, etc... I honestly don't know whether to say the game suffers from some manner of identity crisis, or from an overly ambitious developer. Both, arguably.

And this deluge of everything is ceaseless to the end. Verily, new stuff—new capitalised names and terms, new concepts, new possibilities—are introduced until the penultimate second. In a similar vein, some mysteries are 'answered' with a snap of the fingers then they're done and five others such mysteries immediately pop up; that's it it's done it's over with think about it but don't dwell just keep it in a corner of your mind let's move on now turn the page let's mention in passing the Last Day as a notion but let's not elaborate on it oh hey! did I tell you about The Shepherd and The Wound and The Final Age and The Rule Of Three and The Herald Of Love and Your Mom In Tight Booty Shorts?

Stop, game. Stop. Breathe. And for fuck's sake let me breathe.

---

Now, consectary to this I'd like to touch on a particular problem permeates the game to great detriment. Imagine that right now—right this very instant—I popped up next to you, in person. In my right hand I hold a book; in my left a sock. Proffering these to you without a hint as to their significance, while peering straight into your eyes and with on my face a weird smile as that might stretch the lineaments of some devil of mischief, I ask you, "Which do you choose? Book? Sock? Think carefully." It would be ridiculous, right? Well, while exaggerated for effect, it is in essence what this game sometimes does.

An almost literal second before the end, I am given this choice:

Is this meaningless to you, who has not seen the end yet? Be assured it is equally meaningless to me, who has seen it. And—unfortunately, since it is the culmination of a great many things carefully set up—I'd wager it left most players utterly unmoved.

This for the following reasons:

– Firstly, the hand in question belongs to a man who, marionettist manifestly responsible for pretty much every momentous event in MoonFall's history, has only been more or less properly introduced to me a few minutes ago, so I don't exactly have the deepest feelings—favorable or unfavorable—towards him. And while in that short amount of time he somehow managed to circummure me with a veritable wall of exposition, as he did so I kinda felt like a bee to which the beekeeper explains what he does for a living. I can't feel much towards him; the disconnect is simply too big.
– Secondly, this choice pertains to future events will take place after the game. Not in a playable post-game, but in a vague cosmic endeavor whose exact context is removed from almost all the characters I've met, removed from the brothel, partially removed even from MoonFall.
– Lastly, even if I cared to make this choice, I don't have nearly enough information as to what it entails. It is plainly impossible for me to envision the ramifications of this choice, so it's not a choice proper but rather the chanced flip of a coin.

And that last part is the crux of it all, the missing keystone if you will.

I don't mind cryptic and ambiguous; indeed the opposite. But when the cryptic and ambiguous are misted about the air in volutes so dense and copious they eventually coalesce into an impenetrable fog, I think it conflicts directly with the idea of agency and choices in a video game (especially in an RPG, of course).

As far as I'm concerned, a choice only is such if sufficient information is provided beforehand; and also if the speculated eventuations of said choice are different enough to be called A and B, or at the very least A and A'.

If you don't have sufficient information, it's not a choice, it's a gamble. And if you can see that your options all lead to A via different paths, then they constitute an illusory choice.

---

Thus it follows reason the most satisfying ending is brought about by the resolution of the Guild' civil war. This, indeed, is doubtlessly the most concrete story told by the game, the most palpable if you will, anchored in understandable and malleable reality. It is the only story branch on whose eventuation I felt I had actual, meaningful and mindful agency. Of course the most granular intricacies escaped me, but I had a general sense of what was happening, why it was happening, and how I could try to influence it all.

I understood there were some valid, fundamental reasons for the conflict opposing Progressives and Traditionalists. But I also felt too clearly these reasons were not nearly enough to explain the blackness into which the conflict had festered; felt too clearly someone extraneous to the Guild was, for their own unknown purposes, manufacturing additional strife between the Progressives and the Traditionalists.

So while I was running around MoonFall, doing this and that, alternatively working with or for the Mandate, the Stormbreakers, the Iron Cartel, or the Old Watch, I always had one singular goal in mind: ingratiating myself to the powers of MoonFall, thinking they might eventually owe me, enough so to help me bend Black Saffron and Lady Bathsheva to my will anent the Guild's future. I would ultimately pursue unification, but would favor the Traditionalists in case said unification proved impossible. And this actually bore fruit; and how juiceful and succulent a fruit.

---

Here I'll try to intimate a couple of things, and possibly make a fool of myself (it's no problem; I like the little bells go with the hat). Tyranicon, you saw the Guild's civil war as a foundation of sorts, over which to erect everything else; this would explain why the Guild's problems quickly takes a backseat to the other stories, serving as an excuse to interact with the factions and histories of MoonFall. Also I would guess that players, by and large, mostly care about exactly that which you think less important or less interesting.

It's like a chef lovingly mistaking the hors d'œuvre for the main course. He's very excited about the baked brie en croûte with pears—the problem being that people come for the turkey.

Now, I'm certainly not saying you're wrong to think what you wrote is interesting. Because it is interesting. And so too is it entertaining to read; but less entertaining to actually play.

It circles back to the idea of agency and choice. I appreciate the whole prophecy and determinism angle, but as it is it doesn't work to the game's benefit. Deep down, no matter what the game hammers again and again, my character isn't important; she's a mere pawn to certain powers, and what little information I'm given only serves to make me realise how little I matter, despite the aforementionned powers insisting I'm central to all this.

Because if I'm central to all this despite myself, despite not understanding what I'm doing, despite not understanding what is happening, despite not understanding what I'm told, despite not even understanding what is inside me... then I am not central to all this. I'm The One so to speak, but only because the 'visitor' made me The One upon my birth. In the end, I'm... just a dumb vehicle.

---

As a side note, for some reason I keep thinking about Breath Of Fire. Save in Dragon Quarter and the very beginning of BoF2, Ryu was always a silent protagonist, and in a weird way I suspect a silent protagonist could have been made to work extremely well for Memoirs Of a Battle Brothel. I also feel there's a parallel could be drawn between Memoirs on one side, and Ryu, Fou-Lu, and agency over oneself on the other; but it's morning and having not slept I'm too dead-tired to consider this angle properly.

 

[Dhaze]

Hey, barwoman, can you manipulate time for me?

Your days are filled with idleness, but also anticipation. Change is on the horizon. A red sun rises, blood has been spilled this night bears down on MoonFall.

So the invasion is inevitable; too bad, but understandable. On the other hand I'm not too sure what to think of the line "MoonFallers never did like being told what to do." Of course I almost exclusively interacted with the powers of MoonFall, not so much with the citizenry at large, but still I never got a distinct 'fiercely independant' vibe from MoonFall. Moreover, the Stormbreakers—thus to some logical extent the Imperium—are described in-game as benefitting from somewhat of a savior image in the eyes of MoonFallers, for their vital involvement during the Crasher Crisis.

So when I watch the news, and hear and see this:

It's a bit surprising. I understand the crowd is being "whipped into a frenzy by syndicate sympathisers," but honestly I would have expected to see citizens remaining mostly uninvolved in the whole process, almost passively waiting for it to be over. Still, again, my interactions with normal citizens were pretty much non-existent; so if the game is telling me MoonFallers want to kick the Imperium in the teeth, that'll have to be enough for me.

In the brothel, most of the team is huddled in talk. Today's subject is the imperial troops being ambushed by tentacled monstrosities swarming as if from the ether. But Hatsuo's mind dwells on other concerns:

Zafra has webbed a half-mile perimeter around the brothel with cameras, to warn us in short advance of any coming attack; and with Bathsheva's authority, our sinful abode has—so far—been spared.

As for the rest:

– Progressives and Traditionalists have ramped their mutual attacks up since the Imperials' arrival;
– Though their eventual victory seems ineluctable, the Imperials are presently facing mightily pugnacious resistance on the part of the Iron Cartel and the Three Moons;
– Iron Gregarion is now the Iron Cartel's Senhor, having plotted a successful a coup;
– Dejah Mars got us a 'special dispensation', meaning we are freer than most in MoonFall;
– The Old Watch is positively giddy to see the Imperials wiping syndicates left and right;
– The Mandate is... well, doing shifty Mandate stuff in the Abyss;
– The Board and the Constabulary have half-heartedly agreed to the annexation, but for them it really is business as usual.

Suddenly:

Quick! to the Whoremobile. Oh wait... no, Thassia and Kaywin took it. Damn. So we hoof it, and:

Ambushed. But my girls managed to escape the vehicule then deal with most of their pursuants. Now only two of the latters remain alive.

We interrogate them. They claim Thassia has killed the only one of their lot who had contact with their employer; I look around but don't see a bull, so what's that I smell? I nod to Zafra and Hatsuo, who give them the knuckleworks. Blood is spilled, but no so information. Maybe they are telling the truth. Maybe they are just killers for hire, with nary a thought in their heads. I don't know; can't find out; don't much care. One squeeze of the trigger, then a second; the question is moot.

Then:

Shit. Zafra whirls towards the crack of the rifle—then crumples to the ground as a second shot finds it mark. I spot movement through a window, way up there in a building looming large over us. Instinctively I dive behind the car wreck. The rifle barks. Metal screams through metal. I take Zafra's twin autos and blindly return fire, hoping the weight I feel on my shoulders is not Death's grasp, but Fortune perched where she's needed. I see Diana rushing for the pet store mere feet away; Hatsuo and Kaywin drag Zafra inside. Heartbeats later we're all in the store. Not safe, not sound, but safe and sound enough.

Still the rifle barks, mad dog-like—and it's not a fucking chihuahua either. Bullets bore through everything. Windows; tiles; bricks; cans of cat food. Everything. Shards of glass and ceramic fly everywhither. We hurl shelves against what little's left of the windows, if only to block the shooter's view; meanwhile the dust rises thick, and so too does the smell of blood.

Luck, Jasen, luck: I have Dejah on speed dial. For reasons. She doesn't pick up, so I leave a message, telling her to come, but not in the usual way.

Somewhere in the back of the store, a door is rammed open. We can hear it flying off its shattered hinges, then slamming into shelves. We ready ourselves best we can.

---

Unfortunately, the game isn't faithful to the setting it established. "All of your companions were injured, some more badly than others," it had alerted me a moment ago. Yet when combat starts, everyone is at full strength. This would have been a great occasion to put us in a tight spot: decreased accuracy for Diana who's wounded at the shoulder, critically low health for Zafra, that kind of thing.

And it's a great opportunity to show just how damn easy the combat is.



Opponents dies so fast they're left standing. A real Hokuto No Ken moment.

---

But who were those guys? Fighters from the Progressives, and... a Masked Archon? Nothing to do with the Guild, that's a unit fronted by the Loveless. Smells fishy, and I'm not talking about the pet shop's tanks. Lovely Rainbow Sharks by the way. Might buy some; an aquarium would class up the brothel, look good behind the bar, or under the pole.

While I'm considering that, I get a call. Black Saffron.

Something about her looks off. Can't put my finger on it, but it's there.

Thinking about Dejah, I stall for time; tell Saffron I like her shade of lipstick, ask her where she buys it. She doesn't answer. Silence falls, and stretches.

Then, from outside, a familiar voice:

Sweet Dejah. I'll have to thank her later. Me, naked but for a ribbon tied about my waist; might be a nice gift to leave on her desk.

 

[Tyranicon]

Oops, Whirlwind has a larger range than it's supposed to. I'll add it to my fix list.

But otherwise it seems to be working as intended.

Overpowered combat was something I leaned into while trying to figure out how to combine constant exp gain with no level scaling (which is a mechanic I abhor).

I figured it out for the next game though.

 

[Dhaze]

Oops, Whirlwind has a larger range than it's supposed to. I'll add it to my fix list.

But otherwise it seems to be working as intended.

First time I saw its range, I thought, "Wow, two full squares diagonally is a whole lot."

Is it going to look like this:

Or just one square in each direction?

Overpowered combat was something I leaned into while trying to figure out how to combine constant exp gain with no level scaling (which is a mechanic I abhor).

I figured it out for the next game though.

Memoirs Of a Battle Brothel:

Vampire Syndicate Gangs Of MoonFall:

 

[Tyranicon]

Changed it to an immediate square, which is what it was supposed to be.

But yeah hopefully the sequel will be significantly harder.

Combat has been redesigned to more resemble PnP games (which I'm more familiar with) rather than JRPGs (I'm not up to date).

 

[Dhaze]

For what it's worth I do enjoy the combat, such as it is.

Last year, I played Symphony Of War: The Nephilim Saga. Wonderful game. Others in its genre often go the hard and/or grindy way of combat, but its developers consciously pursued the opposite. It's possible to suffer the occasionnal squad wipe; otherwise it's an easy game in which no grind is required, nor even encouraged, nor in truth even that beneficial should the player nevertheless decide to grind.

Inevitably a lot of players bemoaned all that. The usual crowd I want to say, who might consider a career in the metalworks, so much they enjoy grinding. But the developers stuck to their guns. And for a variety of reasons—some of these existing solely because of the lack of difficulty—I found it an absolute joy to play.

Memoirs Of a Battle Brothel is of course a different beast. It might actually be one of the easiest games I've ever played, and of course not all is good in that. Still, I think easy combat pairs very well with a game so intently focused on its narrative. Aside from a couple of snags the overall pacing of the game is excellent, and I think more difficult, or frequent, or even vaguely grindy combat would get in the way of said pacing.

 

[Dhaze]

Having survived yesterday's ambush in big part owing to Dejah's timely arrival, some thanks are in order. Coincidentally, a handful of people left messages for me while I slept, amongst whom Dejah herself:

Before leaving, I swing by Diana's room, to ask her what she thinks of the aforementionned ambush. Unfortunately she has nothing to say on the matter; yet one option is interesting:

Ah, too bad. Looks like we have some more work ahead of us, then.

Outside the brothel, MoonFall looks different with imperial troops all over the streets:

Meanwhile, this guy has been stuck in time since my first day on the job, still blabbing on about cops being in Saint Gorfu to arrest some Narsum trafficker:

But before I go meet Dejah in the Commercial district, I bethink myself of Linus. Remember him, the guy who was instrumental in the manufacturing-cum-harvesting or S-Narsum. At the time, he confessed to also dealing in the selling of rare items, as a side job to make ends meet; and the game alerted me Linus would become available as a merchant in Saint Gorfu, just before the game's end.

So guess who we find:

He sells a few excellent armors, a whole lot of armor mods, and weapons categorised as 'relics', two of which are identical:

Might be a bug? Or the two blades of a dual-wielder? In any case, I don't have the money, so I won't be fattening Linus' wallet.

As I make to board the underrail bound for the Commercial district, I get a warning:

Then:

Oh, so I can still wander the overworld map, despite the invasion? That gives me an idea. I'm fairly certain it wasn't actually Black Saffron herself who ambushed us yesterday, but someone disguised as her. So let's take a detour by the Twilight Abode, headquarters to the Progressive half of the Guild.

Argh! Please, game, let me do things! Let me ask questions when sense dictates I should be able to ask questions.

But not all is lost. I explored the overworld map to see what—if anything—had changed, and look upon what I stumbled:

The library! Remember Voss, the rich philosopher assassinated under mysterious circumstances, supposedly by Xai Revel? At one point, the sentient hologram he left of himself told me this:

I'm standing right in front of a library! Surely it has to be the one. Has it always been there, but I somehow missed it every time I was in the environs? I guess it's possible, or... has it just appeared? Either way, I rush inside.

Oh, yes, yes yes yes; that guy is conspiracy incarnate, just look at him. A trio of questions is available:

– What do you offer? "Oddities, antiques and relicas. Some come from far off lands, others much closer to home. I am quite sure that the Travelers' Mandate would love dearly to acquire the items I offer, for they are all... quite useful in the right hands."
– What is this library? "The books here offer knowledge, and maybe secrets as well. But... we're undergoing some renovation, so I'm afraid you'll have to wait."
– Who are you? "Just a humble librarian. Don't I look the part?"

If you're a humble librarian, then mine are the sleep-sands of cycles past, because I'm a necromant from Yethlyreom.

This said, he hands me a few lorebooks, free of charge. Their subjects range from the origin of Natural Magicks [sic] to the fall of the second moon, as well briefly glossing over a tale of two undescript gods named or titled Shepherd and Weaver, whose forbidden love was at times facilitated by a mischief of magpies. Also, as he told me, Harland Pike does sell certain items; exactly those proffered to my attention by Linus.

And with that... that's it. Nothing more. That's the extent of my allowed interaction with this character.

---

Thus now, though usually quite the longanimous person, I'm going to be brusque: fuck you, Tyranicon (amicably, of course).

You've created a great game. Were I forced to rate it, I would say gem/10. It's semi-precious, encased in a weird rock, rough, cleft in places, and brimming with unseemly inclusions. A gem, true and true, of a kind I often like more than expertly faceted jewels.

But that thing here, with the library? Fuck that—and fuck it hard with a jackhammer. Please never do that again. You've presented me with a number of crypticisms and mysteries; you've made a character tell me in no uncertain terms I would find answers in the Library; you've allowed me entrance into said library; but then I'm not provided any answers, and in fact I can't even ask meaningful questions.

Now, having finished the game, I know what happens in the library mere minutes before the end. I know I'm supposed to eventually be brought there. But allowing me enter the place some good time before the end, only to give me nothing? No. That crosses beyond the frontiers of Teaseland; that marches boldly in Fuck The Player territory.

I'm gonna go ahead and guess it's almost impossible for Pike to spill the beans at that early a time into Chapter 3, at least without it turning into yet more non-answers. Or at least I don't see how it could be re-written. So I would earnestly suggest getting rid of the library as a visitable place on the overworld. As it is, it's really a giant, stories-high middle finger to the player.

---

Moving on. To Dejah:

Girl, the room is entirely empty, that's the exact opposite of a mess.

As to the work she had in store for me, it pertains to one Marshal-General Numitor and his... mostly peaceful annexation of MoonFall, for whom and what civil leaders and the imperial brass will be holding a celebration. Given the renowned vaguely scandalous tastes of Imperials, Dejah would appreciate if my brothel could provide the entertainment in a luxurious abode situated in the cloud-capt Spire district.

Of course, security will be equally high as the penthouse, but when I ask, Dejah answers no trouble is expected. Although...

Oh sweet Dejah, my purry neko girl, that can not be good. The Loveless are going to strike, guaranteed.

Then:

Always. Finally changed your mind? Not hetero anymore?

Oh. Ok. Did not see that one coming.

She hasn't seen him in years, she says. Took off and never looked back, she says; expectations of her, couldn't deal with it. Still probably can't, but she wants to try, for some reason. So we all agree that, of course, we'll bring her to the celebration to see her father, her papa.

I give a false name. When the man tonitruantly announces me as Oralee Cummings, nobody laughs. I don't get it; it killed in the brothel last wednesday. Diana gives me a sorry look, then whispers: "Though crowd."

A minute later we are there:

The man is very agreeable, I admit, very polite. And he knows Diana and I hired Kaywin, then looked after her. As a Marshal of the Imperium he has, after all, access to one of the largest intelligence networks in the world. Of course he knows; of course he was the one who asked Dejah to bring us here; of course he's delighted by the idea of seeing Kaywin again.

Your... blood? Wait, let me grab a dictionnary. Omelette... omicron... ominous! Yes, that's it, ominous, mentionning blood like that.

Another one of my companions whose veins are a-flow with some glorious haveage? I mean, I know Isutyr is a princess, but is there yet someone else? Would be funny if it was Hatsuo the glutton.

Still, while this question burrows itself in my mind, we let father and daughter reunite, alone in the room. Outside, we talk a bit with Dejah anent the Marshal's ancestry supposedly going all the ancient way back to the Phœnix King. When suddenly, Zafra feels a tingle:

We barge into the room:

Of course it's the Loveless! We fight; we kill them. (earlier in the game, Shrike fought with us in the Black Rooms, and I'm surprised Dejah wasn't part of the combat here)

But in true video game fashion, people who are killed don't die until they're done talking.

Gray, Gregarion's rival, mentionned having been told "not to touch a hair on our head." What the hell is going on?

With preternatural alacrity she snatches Kaywin—gasps!—and presses an undulated blade against the soft of her throat.

But no, says papa Numitor: "It doesn't matter whose blood you shed, as long as it flows. Let it be mine instead."

"The blood of the Phœnix, freely given." Then he collapses.

The god damn library again!

We console Kaywin as best we can. Then:

...

-8/10; would befriend the developer over the internet, then travel overseas to meet him, and there buy him pizza just so I can shit on it as he's about to take a slice.

 

[Tyranicon]

Come now, dear reader. I think by now, you can put together what my writing preferences are.

Spoiler

After all, we both know this is laboriously true.

Not really a spoiler

Also the Library shows up in the overworld after reaching a certain Esteem level.

 

[Dhaze]

Look, I get it, you like to dangle things out of one's reach. And I appreciate someone who sticks to their guns. But...

Come now, dear reader.

You didn't write a book. You wrote a story for a video game. There's a capital difference. I'm not a reader, I'm a player; I'm not a spectator, I'm an actor.

And this library? I truly think its inclusion as it is on the overworld map is plain bad. Not cute, not interesting, not slightly irritating in a kind of endearing way; just plain bad. It's no mere trolling you did there, and in fact it does feel markedly different from the abundant dangling and trolling previously seen in the game, enough so it is jarring.

Even a blind and deaf man would understand, upon entering the library, that this Pike guy holds many answers; the very air about him is weird, even in his holographic state. Yet of answers he provides none, I can't ask questions, and nobody in my party voices any spontaneous comment on the glaringly obvious strangeness of it all. Then, moments later during the Stormbreakers' questline, the library is mentionned, after which Isutyr and Thassia respectively comment "What library?" and "Haven't the faintest."

As it is there and then, the whole library thing is insulting. You're actively disrespecting the player's time; and if that doesn't fly with someone like me, you can bet your ass players at large don't like it one bit either. More: you're making Isutyr and Thassia sound like decerebrated morons—which is arguably a bigger sin even than the aforementionned one.

If you're staunchly intent on keeping the library accessible via the overworld map, then at least consider the following.

– Empty the library of any human life. No Dras the archivist who would like to one day write a book (he's a backer character? fuck backers, their existence should be excised of all but the credits; move him elsewhere, or re-insert him at the end). Certainly no holographic projection of Harland Pike should be there. You can and actually should keep the cat, alone, as it would serve to ground the place somewhat in reality while simultaneously adding to its eerie, dreamlike quality.

– Next to or on the counter, place a sign on which is written something to the effect of, "Absent at the moment. Will be back in due time. Feel free to peruse our selection." Cliché, doubtlessly, but clichés aren't necessarily bad. It's classic for a reason: it's effective, it does what needs done.

– The books Harland hands to the player? Make them pickable from a table, a bookshelf, or the counter.

– Upon my character exiting the building, make her pause, then spontaneously say, "What is this place?" This would at least give me the vague but valuable impression that my character is in fact mine. If I—the player—am denied the agency to ask questions, then I—the character—should at the damnedest least voice some wonder mixed equal parts with frustration.

– After my character says this, make a companion rebound on her words with something in the vein of "Yeah, this place isn't right at all." Said companion could be the one with whom the player has accrued the most Trust, to add weight to words.

– If you want to feel cunning in an edgy, moustache-twirling kind of way, make the commenting character be Kore. "Strange, isn't it..." she could say.

Do that, and the library becomes in keeping with the trolling you've done so far in the game. Don't, and it's just plain bad.

 

[Tyranicon]

The answer is that since the library can be accessed at any time and is completely optional, I kinda forgot to mark if the player actually talked to Pike there, and have that affect future conversations. I fixed that, and was then too lazy to track down all the conversations where it would've mattered.

That's the , a lot of the game is just me being too lazy to do certain things, and then shrugging because it makes sense anyways. And if it doesn't, then it'll make for hilarious moments. Win-win.

I suppose in a gamedev sense you could say I was making the best use of my limited time, etc....

You can apply that to everything in the game.

I'm flying by the seat of my pants and 100% winging it. It's of course not the most effective way to produce fiction, but it's pretty fun.

 

[Dhaze]

[...] and then shrugging because it makes sense anyways.

From your point of view, maybe. But from mine as a player, it sure as hell doesn't make sense.

And if it doesn't, then it'll make for hilarious moments. Win-win.

Again, from your point of view, maybe. But as a player it's not hilarious, it's grating.

This is what I meant much earlier when I talked about shooting yourself in the foot, to the point of sometimes unloading a full mag in each toe. You're greatly depreciating the story, world, and player experience with details like these. They're what matters.

Forget music and artworks and combat and spending credits to upgrade the strip club. In a game so intensely driven by its narrative, companions reacting when its makes sense they should react, and my own character simply being able to ask the right questions, those are the two things that make the difference between feeling like I'm part of a story, versus feeling like I'm being dragged around while exposition is shouted at me.

 

[BrotherFrank]

And here i thought there was something to do in the library that i had missed. Can second that its inclusion does feel like a middle finger otherwise, i kept returning to that place after every reference to it expecting it would finally unlock something but turns out i was just wasting time.

And now Dhaze you can understand why i grew to loathe Black Saffron, i had prior to this ambush spent hours doing overworld missions for her and sided with her hard over the traditionalists, only for her to stab me in the back.
Maybe you’ll find it wasn’t actually her but i made no such discovery in my run so she earned a place in my book of grudges.
As i said before Dejah is best faction leader and solid candidate for best girl , unlike either of the traitorous harlots, dodgy scum dude or the mandate folks, (fake) neko merc girl will always have your back once you got her trust.

As for easy combat... Yeah that was my feedback too, although had you done it like me and started with the mandate questline as your first, you would have sweated dealing with the abyss creatures with a newb party, easily the biggest difficulty spike in the game. But since you were already decently levelled by that point you just breezed through it.

 

[Tyranicon]

Hmmm, maybe I'll be less lazy for the sequel.

There's a lot of instances where I should have added more meat (such as the companion conversations in the guild hall) that I didn't end up having time for.

Unfortunately that's the nature of the biz, and I cut a lot of corners.

Like I said, Memoirs is a learning experience. It's helping me find where I need to shore up and where I don't have to spend as much time.

 

[Dhaze]

And here i thought there was something to do in the library that i had missed. Can second that its inclusion does feel like a middle finger otherwise, i kept returning to that place after every reference to it expecting it would finally unlock something but turns out i was just wasting time.

Yay, help me pile onto poor Tyranicon!

And now Dhaze you can understand why i grew to loathe Black Saffron, i had prior to this ambush spent hours doing overworld missions for her and sided with her hard over the traditionalists, only for her to stab me in the back. Maybe you’ll find it wasn’t actually her but i made no such discovery in my run so she earned a place in my book of grudges.

Yes, it's actually not Saffron but someone disguised as her.

And upon learning who really was behind the attack, I thought they had elected to disguise themselves as Saffron because I had earlier cast my vote for Bathsheva and the Traditionalists. But unlike me you sided with Saffron, yet like me you were ambushed by pseudo-Saffron. That's really curious.

As i said before Dejah is best faction leader and solid candidate for best girl , unlike either of the traitorous harlots, dodgy scum dude or the mandate folks, (fake) neko merc girl will always have your back once you got her trust.

Oh she's the best by far, 100% pure waifu material.

As for easy combat... Yeah that was my feedback too, although had you done it like me and started with the mandate questline as your first, you would have sweated dealing with the abyss creatures with a newb party, easily the biggest difficulty spike in the game. But since you were already decently levelled by that point you just breezed through it.

I can easily imagine that. Combats in the Abyss were very 'all or nothing'. Multiple times I suffered crits going north of 150 damage, resulting in the instant death of the targeted character.

---

Highlighting this:

Hmmm, maybe I'll be less lazy for the sequel.

because of this:

It's helping me find where I need to shore up and where I don't have to spend as much time.

That part right there is, I think, the real issue. Of course you know yourself better than I do, but I would strongly hesitate to call you lazy. At least on my end, the player's end, it distinctly feels you spread yourself real thin; so it may not be lazyness as much as it might be not knowing exactly where to focus your efforts, where to best invest your available time.

 

[Tyranicon]

A little bit surprised at how evenly the interest for the waifus is distributed.

Well, except for Gregarion 'cause he's a dick.

From what I've seen Thassia and Kore are the most popular, which is not too unexpected.

 

[BrotherFrank]

Fair enough, can take a good guess who Fake Saffron is.

But seeing that I also got this dialogue when i sought her out for clarification , it did little to challenge my erroneous assumption and cemented my dislike of her either way:

Fuck you Saffron, i work my ass off killing what must have been half the traditionalist guild and this is how you treat me? I might have misinterpreted her first line as a veiled threat but the rest of her dialogue doesn't really scream friend to me.

 

[Tyranicon]

Fair enough, can take a good guess who Fake Saffron is.

But seeing that I also got this dialogue when i sought her out for clarification , it did little to challenge my erroneous assumption and cemented my dislike of her either way:


Fuck you Saffron, i work my ass off killing what must have been half the traditionalist guild and this is how you treat me? I might have misinterpreted her first line as a veiled threat but the rest of her dialogue doesn't really scream friend to me.

Did you get that line of dialogue after siding with her?

You were only supposed to get it if you sided with the Trads or pissed her off somehow. Might be bugged, I'll have to check.

 

[BrotherFrank]

Yup can confirm got it despite being 100% on her side.

You say it's a bug, I say it's undeniable proof Black Saffron is a mega bitch. A bitch of such bitchiness that her bitchery transcends the lines of code that makes her up, somewhat in keeping with the finale of the game.

 

[Tyranicon]

Thanks for letting me know, I'll have to track down where the bug is since it's not in the obvious places.

For the record this is her alt dialogue.

Neutral:

Facilitator. I see you're still hiding behind the pretense of neutrality.
I'm disappointed but not surprised.
But remember, when this war is over, we will hold judgment... and no one is exempt.

Sided with:

Facilitator. I'm very glad you've decided to join our cause.
There's plenty of work to be done, and the sooner the better.
We have a number of tasks available to you. Some are relatively minor, but others could be vital to winning this civil war.
We are opening our Assault contracts to you.

 

[BrotherFrank]

Well i definitely got the sided with dialogue after the voting part, the assault contracts were what i grinded.

But then right after the ambush sequence here i went to the overworld because i was confused wtf Saffron was playing at and was greeted with the response in the screenshots.

 

[Dhaze]

With the Stormbreakers' questline now finished, let's see what we can do about the worst dude in MoonFall: Iron Gregarion.

Ugh. The warehouse, the red carpet, the entourage of back-alley trash... it would be sad if he wasn't so damn annoying.

Dispensing with Greg's usual attempts at pleasantness and a semblance of amicability, this promptly happens:

"Shoot her," he then says, as someone is brought besides him:

"This is of course," he says, "the new Knight Commander of the Stormbreakers. The woman who paved the way for the Imperials to conquer our fair island."

Nope. Instantly called his bluff. No way did he and his ragtag team of nothings manage to kidnap Dejah Mars. That is some poor gal or guy on which Gregarion slapped one of his face-scramblers.

"The reason for all our woes," he continues. "You've been working for them, don't deny it. The other Iron Captains wanted you dead from the beignning, but I'd like to think I have a special ability. To spot diamonds in the rough. And you, my friend, are an especially shiny one. So, prove where your real loyalties lie, and shoot her."

Why would I deny working with the Stormbreakers? I never tried to hide it. But no matter; these are the options available to me:

I most certainly am not about to shoot some gal or guy whom I don't even know. And there's probably little to no chance of being able to reason with Gregarion. Thus, I do nothing.

"Don't think she's the only one in danger here," he consequently warns me. "I'll give you one more chance and then I'll be quite cross with you." Still, I refuse to shoot 'Dejah'.

After this, he sorts of... immediately moves on to something else? The change in tone is abrupt.

Then, after briefly mentionning his successful coup to become the Iron Cartel's new Senhor, he admits the Imperium will ultimately manage to grind the syndicates under its steely heels. Thus, coming to terms with the invading forces seems the only solution would see the Iron Cartel survive. And once made king—thanks be the Seafoam Throne—Gregarion will be in a position to negotiate a peace of sorts.

This said, he crashes the soft of his fist into the Throne and, after he monotonously recites certain phrases as if from a book of ancient accords, the Throne puts on a little lightshow.

Step 1 – Threathen me;
Step 2 – Call me 'friend', ask how I'm doing;
Step 3 – Wish for my death, and call me an asshole;

Your social skills could undergo a little bit of refinement, Greg.

So what's this opportunity he mentionned? Gray, it appears, has been collaborating with the Stormbreakers for some time now; and the Imperium intends to put Gray—more seemly to their endeavors—in Gregarion's place. As for the Throne still being incomplete, how affectionate must shine the eyes of lady Fortune when she casts them upon Gregarion, for:

What a lucky guy he is.

So apparently the plan is to risk our lives to bring the last piece of the Throne back from Gray's hands, into Gregarion's, making the latter king somehow. Gregarion conjectures syndicates and real powers alike—deeply steeped in tradition—will bow to the Throne; and by honor the Board is bound to recognise any crowned head.

Okay... I've an inkling as to what that is about, but an inkling only.

Finally, he hands us a number of face-scramblers set to the uncouth likenesses of some of Gray's men.

As to the exact reason I the player am doing all this, it is of course not owing my love for Gregarion. But I've come to truly despise him, and at this point I really hope the game will provide me an opportunity to fuck him—in a way he wouldn't enjoy.

And so we're off, to a place we've visited before:

Seconds have not elapsed when a woman comes talk to us:

Meeting this Shake guy, and a couple of lies later, the girls and I reach the floor on which dwells Gray.

Unfortunately, the deception of our 'fullbody kloaker masks' is not long for these elite troopers' scanner. Fortunately, they go down as easily as prostitutes, though differently so.

In the room they guarded:

And owing that suspicion of his, Gray himself is not present in the room, speaking I guess via some speaker system. Moreover, he says the Throne relic isn't there either.

Facing me: galaxy-sized-brained guys who think twenty-five steps ahead.
Me: stuck with shitty options and no planning.

So then, with so elite a contingent of soldiers present...

What? That runs contrary to what Gregarion had said, that anyone native to MoonFall is basically a descendant of the Pirate Kings who had fornicated their way into multitudinous progeny. I believed him at the time, since it made perfect sense that almost everyone on MoonFall would have in their own veins a drop of the Pirate Kings' blood. Now I guess Gregarion is unique? Fine...

But:

Yup. Everyone is unique now. Did I mention my cat, Pearl, who this very instant should be sleeping next to the fireplace in the brothel's meeting room, is related to Alvina and Sweet Shalquoir? She has a unique soul; probably her own throne somewhere, but doesn't want to talk about it.

Ah! So Gregarion's claim is tenuous. He's not that unique after all. Could we enthrone Hatsuo the glutton, then? Call him King Of Donairs?

The fake relic "certainly won't be good for Gregarion's health," says Gray, without providing further information.

If I refuse to do as Gray proposes, he claims only Thassia will leave this room alive. If I accept, he tells me I must leave Thassia here, as a token of goodwill; then when Gregarion is finally erased from the picture, Gray will espouse Thassia in a marriage of convenience.

There is amongst us a general feeling of revulsion upon hearing Gray's proposal. But Thassia seems not entirely unkeen on the notion. Eventually I get a choice:

---

And... it's yet another meaningless pseudo-choice. For some reason three conversation screenshots I had taken ended up being corrupted, so later I quickly replayed this section to re-take them, but clicked too fast to skip some dialogue and was surprised to see that nothing really changed.

All three options lead to the exact same point a mere moment later.

– Agree to the terms, but Thassia comes with us: Gray says Thassia remaining with him is non-negotiable, at which point Hatsuo and Jasen firmly say it is. Thassia then comes with us, Gray vaguely threatens us by saying "I know where to find you," and Gregarion's plan unfolds without a hitch.
– Agree to the terms, and Thassia stays: Kore interjects, then Gray says Thassia remaining with him is non-negotiable, at which point Hatsuo and Jasen firmly say it is, overriding my decision. Thassia then comes with us, Gray vaguely threatens us by saying "I know where to find you," and Gregarion's plan unfolds without a hitch.
– Attack: we kill his men, then Gray vaguely threatens us by saying "I know where to find you," and Gregarion's plan unfolds without a hitch.

And yes, you read that right: Hatsuo and Jasen override my decision. Thassia is willing to stay behind, but even if I agree to it, Hatsuo and Jasen—of all people, men and non-courtesans—get the last word.

If that's a bug, it's a nasty one.

---

So then, the first time I played through that part I attacked Gray's men. After which Gray spoke to us via his speaker system:

Yes, I know, the ever-present prophecy. I could decide to shit in a sock then use it as fishing bait, and it would still somehow further the damn thing.

Back in Gregarion's 'throne room' I get a wannabe-discreet call:

Tommasi, who apparently managed to worm his way close to Gray, belatedly warns me the latter knows we are coming and has set a trap for us. After which Tommasi advises me to give Gregarion the fake Throne piece, and to not lie about what happened.

Then:

'Fake' relic. I think you guys can suspect where this is going.

That happens unprompted. I don't want to give him the relic, but the game makes me. Why can't I keep the relic? Or give it to Thassia? Kill Gregarion, who is of absolutely no use to me, and offer the Throne to Thassia if she wants it. Why can't I? Because I don't have any agency. Because my character isn't mine. Nor is she really even a character at all; it's a vehicle to drag me where events unfold, that I might spectate as they do.

But it's not over yet.

Indeed. As mentionned earlier, no matter what I do, the eventuation of Gregarion's plan is the same.

That last line is, I guess, a bug, given I told him the truth about what happened with Gray.

---

Unfortunately, this entire Iron Cartel questline is an exemplar of what I dislike in this game.

Aside from the rather strange case of the Guild's civil war, the game doesn't provide me with any possibility to meaningfully influence events. Things happen because they have to happen; and I'm just sort of... there, while they happen.

Which would be perfectly fine in a straight up linear JRPG with a preset character, or even a Visual Novel. Would be fine, were it not for a variety of factors made it seem Memoirs Of a Battle Brothel was a game wherein your choices matter. Between the player-created character, the non-linearity, the factions conflicting with one another, the talks of a game 'inspired by traditional PnP RPGs', the promise of 'high-stakes diplomacy', and the various choices—in truth pseudo-choices—given here and there, my actions should be massively more important and varied than what they ultimately are.

With the Iron Cartel, at almost every turn I hoped to see offered me some opportunity or another, that sadly never materialised. And not outlandish opportunities, but logical, sensible ones.

I wished to be able to gather information on Gregarion, to then offer said information to Dejah, thereby weakening the Iron Cartel. I wished to sabotage Gregarion on my own, perhaps by damaging the Throne somehow. I wished to begrudgingly strike a last-minute alliance with Gray, to bring Gregarion down. I wished to, quite simply, say "Fuck you" to Gregarion and splatter the walls with his brain, then ask Thassia if she would want to take the Throne for the Guild's sake.

But no, I could not do any of those things. They're just not there. The overall story must go on, unhindered in the least by my insignificance. So too must Gregarion's story go on in like fashion: he has his master plan perfected in every imaginable way, and if I interact with him in any way it will further this plan no matter what, no matter my thinkings and wishings. Akin to my earlier half-joke anent the prophecy, I could shit in a sock and it would help Gregarion's plan.

If, at the very least, the game wasn't so insistent on telling me—again, a player-created character—that I'm so unique, that I'm so important, that my actions and choices matter so much, then I could shrug it off to some effect. But as it, the whole of it eventually grows into something I can't ignore, something that really annoys me and sours the game.

 

[Tyranicon]

Ah, this is the one I've been waiting for!

Yes, I think the lack of meaningful choice and consequence is the main flaw of the game. It is, perhaps unsurprisingly, a consequence of the non-linearity.

Originally I had planed for the player to be able to betray/kill faction leaders and other stuff, but the non-linearity of the game made it a headache. I actually was fairly deep into developing it (especially with playing the Stormbreakers and Iron Cartel against each other), but eventually I made the call that it required too much work. The remnant of that early (better) design is you can tell both factions to fuck off and stop working with them.

The game is too wide and too large in many ways, and not necessarily ways that make sense or benefit it. If it feels like it was a large experiment, it's because it was.

 

[BrotherFrank]

It gets worst I’m afraid.

Even if you don’t do a single Iron Cartel mission (i was loyal to my waifu), Gregarion will show up at the end being all like “haha i got a throne and also Thassia is my whore queen now, you should have helped me, sucker! “

 

[Dhaze]

If it feels like it was a large experiment, it's because it was.

Don't worry man, I understand perfectly well. And please don't keep repeating that; when you do, and still I levy any criticism against your game, it makes me feel like a maniacal Disney villain kicking a puppy into the gutter.

For what it's worth, I think the game would have been fantastic had it focused on the Guild's civil war, with the Stormbreakers and the Iron Cartel as main allies or enemies, plus the Board, the Constabulary, and the Old Watch as side factions, or background factions if you will.

Meaning doing away with the entire Abyss, Mandate, Three Moons, Xai, Pike, etc, part of the story. Or at least excising ninety-nine percent of it (finding a way to keep Anomalie under one form or another). It's a striking case of needing to kill your darlings.

It gets worst I’m afraid.

Even if you don’t do a single Iron Cartel mission (i was loyal to my waifu), Gregarion will show up at the end being all like “haha i got a throne and also Thassia is my whore queen now, you should have helped me, sucker! “

Oh no, that is terrible. Here I was, thinking my character doesn't matter, when in fact she really doesn't matter, at all.

 

[Tyranicon]

Don't worry man, I understand perfectly well. And please don't keep repeating that; when you do, and still I levy any criticism against your game, it makes me feel like a maniacal Disney villain kicking a puppy into the gutter.

Sometimes I forget what I type . There's nothing more counter-productive than trying to shield against criticism, which is the most valuable part of your playthrough to me as a dev.

But I also try to give some perspective on why things are a certain way, from a dev perspective. Never attribute to intent that which is adequately explained by laziness. Is there a name for that?

Perhaps I'll call it Tyranicon's Razor. Which sounds badass.

For what it's worth, I think the game would have been fantastic had it focused on the Guild's civil war, with the Stormbreakers and the Iron Cartel as main allies or enemies, plus the Board, the Constabulary, and the Old Watch as side factions, or background factions if you will.

Meaning doing away with the entire Abyss, Mandate, Three Moons, Xai, Pike, etc, part of the story. Or at least excising ninety-nine percent of it (finding a way to keep Anomalie under one form or another). It's a striking case of needing to kill your darlings.

You're probably right and I'm in dire need of an editor of some kind. But I wanted to kill four birds with one stone, as Memoirs is supposed to be more or less a dedicated prequel to Singularity: Tactics Arena (which is focused entirely on the Mandate).

But instead of killing the birds I might have just mashed them a bit.