Disco Elysium spoilery thread

[Dodo1610]

Can someone tell me how you get Joyce to explain the Pale to me?

 

[Prime Junta]

Can someone tell me how you get Joyce to explain the Pale to me?

There's that one super high Conceptualization check in the conversation with her. You need to beat that. If you internalise Jamais Vu it drastically lowers the difficulty (you get that Thought in that convo as well).

 

[Andnjord]

Also, aerodrome made me chuckle. Only a Slav would use that word.

Actually, aerodrome is a fairly common word in French too, which is consistent with the fact that French is the lingua-franca of the in-game world.

 

[Dodo1610]

Can someone tell me how you get Joyce to explain the Pale to me?

There's that one super high Conceptualization check in the conversation with her. You need to beat that. If you internalise Jamais Vu it drastically lowers the difficulty (you get that Thought in that convo as well).

Thanks, I got it, I had to tell Lena first that I remember nothing in order to trigger the check.
The Pale alone proves just how good the writing is in a bad game the Pale would be the only thing people talk about, here people tr to ignore the inevitable doom just like in the real world would do.

 

[Twiglard]

just don't include the Island as a possible places for sniper nest in visual calculus check on window. Just find a good reason not to do this

I was convinced, imagining the shot from the island being some 300-500 meters, in a world where breechloaders are banned. Alas, once genre conventions replace gameworld logic, suddenly a 5%-likelihood shot becomes a 85%-likelihood shot.

 

[Prime Junta]

I was convinced, imagining the shot from the island being some 300-500 meters, in a world where breechloaders are banned. Alas, once genre conventions replace gameworld logic, suddenly a 5%-likelihood shot becomes a 85%-likelihood shot.

You could already have determined that the shot came from a breechloader.

 

[Haba]

Yup... as it is, the shot from the island is virtually impossible to pull off. Even with modern sniperus it'd be pretty dank shot.

 

[axedice]

The shot is near-impossible for a regular human being, not so much for a phasmid pheromone induced super awake lone-wolf.

 

[Daidre]

Strange that a second+ floors and roof of doomed commercial area are not even considered for a sniper hiding point. Dice Maker's window looks in the Whirling backyard, I even suspected her at first.

 

[Verylittlefishes]

The shot is near-impossible for a regular human being, not so much for a phasmid pheromone induced super awake lone-wolf.

Actually yes, Phasmid serves as deus ex machina here, maybe he induces Grandpa's central nervous system like ultra+++ psychedelic sniper speed vitamine.

 

[ScrotumBroth]

I suspected abandoned buildings near boardwalk, like the one with firing squad check.

One thing that kinda left me wondering is Ruby... Why is she convinced Harry's a corrupt cop? I just feel like she went away too quickly. Is there any other option apart from letting her go and suicide?

 

[Daidre]

One thing that kinda left me wondering is Ruby... Why is she convinced Harry's a corrupt cop?

I do not remember seeing her blaming Harry for being "corrupt". But she is a crucial player in drug business, "honest" Harry is even more of the threat to her.
Afaik there are no other options, only difference is getting some info from her before she is gone.

 

[Verylittlefishes]

I suspected abandoned buildings near boardwalk, like the one with firing squad check.

One thing that kinda left me wondering is Ruby... Why is she convinced Harry's a corrupt cop? I just feel like she went away too quickly. Is there any other option apart from letting her go and suicide?

Also this thing about Puta Madre's puppet was turned down too quickly. Suspicious.

 

[HoboForEternity]

Yup... as it is, the shot from the island is virtually impossible to pull off. Even with modern sniperus it'd be pretty dank shot.

correct me if i am wrong, but even some WW2 rifle have max effective range of around 1 km? a skilled sniper really could pull it off.

plus the window scenario are out of the question when you realize

Spoiler

nobody hear any gunshot

 

[Prime Junta]

correct me if i am wrong, but even some WW2 rifle have max effective range of around 1 km? a skilled sniper really could pull it off.

You're not completely wrong, you could certainly die from a bullet from a late 19th century rifle shot at 1 km distance. The trouble is that it's really bloody hard to hit anything at that range.

I used to be a decent shot and could hit a human-sized target at a firing range at 300 m with a nice old well-calibrated well-maintained bolt-action rifle with iron sights a quite a lot of the time. I tried shooting at 600 metres with the same rifle (still iron sights) and I got a shot or two in the target even at that range, most missed however. With a scope the effective range goes up a quite a bit but some way past 300 meters even a light wind starts to make a difference. A window pane doesn't help either, that will change the bullet's trajectory slightly and unpredictably, more so as it will have lost a lot of its energy flying that far. Also the target would not be staying perfectly still and it'll take a couple of seconds for the bullet to reach it.

So the shot is not physically impossible; an expert sniper shooting on a perfectly calm night (or a steady, light wind he can compensate for) could make it. But it would be really hard, and a significant amount of luck would be involved due to things outside his control -- target motion and the window pane, specifically. Maybe he rolled [:::] [:::].

Harry however has a dialogue option "I could make this shot" when he finds the sniper's nest; that is supremely arrogant of him.

(Detective stories are usually "allowed" one fluke like this -- especially as a kind of anthropic principle applies: if he hadn't gotten lucky, there would be no corpse and no case. And as an aside, I think they got the ballistics right -- at that range, and having gone through the window pane, the bullet probably wouldn't have the energy to exit the skull. At a more normal range it would've gone right through.)

 

[Verylittlefishes]

The Whitworth rifle (1854) was arguably the first long-range sniper rifle in the world.[29] A muzzleloader designed by Sir Joseph Whitworth, a prominent British engineer, it used polygonal rifling instead, which meant that the projectile did not have to bite into grooves as was done with conventional rifling. The Whitworth rifle was far more accurate than the Pattern 1853 Enfield, which had shown some weaknesses during the recent Crimean War. At trials in 1857 which tested the accuracy and range of both weapons, Whitworth's design outperformed the Enfield at a rate of about three to one. The Whitworth rifle was capable of hitting the target at a range of 2,000 yards (1,8 km), whereas the Enfield could only manage it at 1,400 yards.

everything is possible

I used to be a decent shot and could hit a human-sized target at a firing range at 300 m with a nice old well-calibrated well-maintained bolt-action rifle with iron sights a quite a lot of the time.

Rene, tell us more!

 

[ScrotumBroth]

After finishing a high Int Psy run, I've started a high Phy Mot character, and can't stop laughing at dual flipping off Garte disaster. This is going to be special.

 

[Haba]

1 km? a skilled sniper really could pull it off.

Through the mouth of a man who is having sex?

Remember, this is a super shitty old rifle with an old sight.

 

[Adidas-Clichèd Cringe]

After finishing a high Int Psy run, I've started a high Phy Mot character, and can't stop laughing at dual flipping off Garte disaster. This is going to be special.

I was so damn relieved Lena was OK after that. That frozen moment looked really bad.

 

[Prime Junta]

Rene, tell us more!

Nothing much to tell, just bog standard boring Binnish conscript military training. Most of us go through it. I did enjoy shooting and got the nice gold badge for marksmanship. After reserve officers' school I could check out a nice M/39 rifle and go to the firing range pretty much whenever I wanted (on my free time).

I also know how to set up a tank trap or an ambush with claymores. So bring it on Maxie

 

[Verylittlefishes]

Rene, tell us more!

Nothing much to tell, just bog standard boring Binnish conscript military training. Most of us go through it. I did enjoy shooting and got the nice gold badge for marksmanship. After reserve officers' school I could check out a nice M/39 rifle and go to the firing range pretty much whenever I wanted (on my free time).

I also know how to set up a tank trap or an ambush with claymores. So bring it on Maxie

Nice, I probably shouldn't abandon reserve officers' school either.
All we do before I departed were running and crawling around with some AKMs we've never fired.

 

[Prime Junta]

Remember, this is a super shitty old rifle with an old sight.

I don't think the rifle + sight are a problem. A well maintained old rifle with an old sight can be more than accurate enough, more so if the shooter is really married to it like the case is here. Shitty rifles aren't shitty for being inaccurate as much as for being unreliable.

But yeah it is really fucking hard and somewhat unlikely even in the best of circumstances. But not impossible.

--> He says that hitting him in the mouth was a fluke, he aimed for the head and wanted his brains splattered on the wall. A trained sniper wouldn't have aimed for the head at that range, he would know that he's much more likely to miss than to kill; he would have aimed for the centre of mass which would have given a much higher chance of hitting. He was deep in his fantasies however. His story is psychologically credible: he's in a mix of lust, jealousy, and ideological fervour, fantasising about killing the fascist killer fucking the girl he's in love with, looking through the sights, putting his head in the crosshairs... and he pulls the trigger. Maybe he didn't even expect to hit. But he did. It's not impossible, and as I said above, this kind of thing is "allowed" in detective stories -- if he had missed, there would just be a fright, a broken window pane, and no RCM involvement.

 

[HoboForEternity]

Rene, tell us more!

Nothing much to tell, just bog standard boring Binnish conscript military training. Most of us go through it. I did enjoy shooting and got the nice gold badge for marksmanship. After reserve officers' school I could check out a nice M/39 rifle and go to the firing range pretty much whenever I wanted (on my free time).

I also know how to set up a tank trap or an ambush with claymores. So bring it on Maxie

cool. i never even touched a gun. i have practiced with bows tho. i can use beginner's recurve and compound decently. never tried firing athtletes bows but i have pulled the string of one that have 25kg drawbacks.
it made me appreciate longbowmen of the olden times. my first time practicing 18Kg recurve bow for 90 minutes made me forearm sore all weekend.

 

[CappenVarra]

And as an aside, I think they got the ballistics right -- at that range, and having gone through the window pane, the bullet probably wouldn't have the energy to exit the skull. At a more normal range it would've gone right through.)

now let's not get carried away - the explanation that the bullet flies at the speed of plot makes sense, but any mention of ballistics stretches it about 200 meters too far

when the game does attempt something resembling "ballistics" or firearm mechanics, the caliber mentioned is "4.46" (cute). now i don't know what kind of unicorn superglue they used to make it mechanically sound in the p&p ruleset, but that caliber strongly implies a low-weight high-velocity round that penetrates flesh like the needle it is but isn't famous for stopping power, and loses ~80% of its kinetic energy (and drops more than 1m from sight zero) at 500 meters

imagining that kind of very thin but long paraboloid of lead striking a window pane after most of its energy had been depleted and not tumbling immediately - but piercing the glass and throat-shotting the merc is... beyond my (arguably limited) boundaries of verisimilitude

if it had it been an (imaginary) "8.62×53mmR" caliber round it would work though

 

[Prime Junta]

caliber mentioned is "4.46" (cute)

Yeah it's a weird caliber. It would have to be either a flechette or made of something like depleted uranium to really work I think, and the bullet as we see it is clearly not a flechette, nor is DU mentioned anywhere. I think they were just being unnecessarily cute there, giant-ass musket-style balls would've fit the mostly muzzle-loading aesthetic better anyway...