Shadowrun Shadowrun Returns - Dead Man's Switch Original Campaign

[Infinitron]

Knowing that you should build a character who actually has combat skills (ie not a pure decker) rather than "pulling an Avellone": pretty important.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

Using katanas is pretty much enough to get people through.

 

[Roguey]

Knowing that you should build a character who actually has combat skills (ie not a pure decker) rather than "pulling an Avellone": pretty important.

They could have alleviated this problem a bit by avoiding solo combat sections entirely and making Jake/Paco/Coyote/Harlequin etc not painfully mediocre when it came to combat capabilities. Part of the reason why the cemetery is so difficult is because you're saddled with two characters who are dead weight compared to a combat monster PC.

 

[Infinitron]

Knowing that you should build a character who actually has combat skills (ie not a pure decker) rather than "pulling an Avellone": pretty important.

They could have alleviated this problem a bit by avoiding solo combat sections entirely and making Jake/Paco/Coyote/Harlequin etc not painfully mediocre when it came to combat capabilities. Part of the reason why the cemetery is so difficult is because you're saddled with two characters who are dead weight compared to a combat monster PC.

I didn't actually find the cemetery so hard. It was pretty easy to fuck up the attackers with area effects and such. The last level was the hardest in the game for me by far. The Telestrian decking run (not the actual physical combat) was also kinda "hard" but that was just because it was a slog and Dodger sucked balls

 

[Roguey]

I didn't actually find the cemetery so hard. It was pretty easy to fuck up the attackers with area effects and such. The last level was the hardest in the game for me by far. The Telestrian decking run (not the actual physical combat) was also kinda "hard" but that was just because it was a slog and Dodger sucked balls

It was the only section where I died. Multiple times even.

The last part was fine for me because I had three squirters, two healers, and played very cautiously. Harl + increased movement = a great scouter to lure enemies into ambushes where my other guys are already safely behind cover.

The key to winning that Matrix run is to keep making that exploder program explode whenever it looks like you're going to lose and log out aftewards so you don't lose any health. This just makes it tedious.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

Does winning the fight in the matrix matter? Dodger died in my attempt and I went and wiped out the entire security team anyway... Or is that some kind of failsafe in case the player screws up the matrix end of things?

 

[Infinitron]

It was the only section where I died. Multiple times even.

Dunno, that might have happened to me too but I figured out early on that it was best to tactically retreat to a more defensible area of the map.

Ultimately, the bugs in the last level were the only creatures in the game (well, other than the midgame boss thing but that was just one enemy) that really hit you hard, consistently. All the other enemies ultimately just don't do enough damage, so if you're not in a tactically vulnerable position, you'll never die unless you get really bad rolls.

 

[Rake]

The only area that i had problem was the Telestrian decking run. I died enough times before i passed it. Cemetery run i killed the first group quickly, and then just waited from cover and killed anything that came my way with no problem. The last mission you had enough people that you could kill a bug in a single turn if you didn't missed your shots.

 

[Roguey]

The only area that i had problem was the Telestrian decking run. I died enough times before i passed it. Cemetery run i killed the first group quickly, and then just waited from cover and killed anything that came my way with no problem. The last mission you had enough people that you could kill a bug in a single turn if you didn't missed your shots.

Sounds like you were using tactics chummer.

SR is too easy with a combat monster character, especially on "very hard" = true statement. Game requires zero tactics = hyperbole.

Does winning the fight in the matrix matter? Dodger died in my attempt and I went and wiped out the entire security team anyway... Or is that some kind of failsafe in case the player screws up the matrix end of things?

Did you die after you acquired all the info? Because I can understand how locking the elevators can be optional. I got the all-clear message before I had the chance to make it that far (but did it anyway for the karma).

 

[Rake]

The only area that i had problem was the Telestrian decking run. I died enough times before i passed it. Cemetery run i killed the first group quickly, and then just waited from cover and killed anything that came my way with no problem. The last mission you had enough people that you could kill a bug in a single turn if you didn't missed your shots.

Sounds like you were using tactics chummer.

SR is too easy with a combat monster character, especially on "very hard" = true statement. Game requires zero tactics = hyperbole.

Sure. But Cemetery and Telestrian run were the only two missions that required that. The rest, no.

 

[Roguey]

Sure. But Cemetery and Telestrian run were the only two missions that required that. The rest, no.

Also the bug hunt. Bugs coming out the walls requires being in good positions. Half the combat areas in the game right there.

 

[imweasel]

Any word on sales figures yet?

 

[Roguey]

No. It's probably best to keep those hidden so as to not cause panic or inflate expectations for Berlin.

After giving the soundtrack a few spins I've decided that Marshall Parker (the SNES composer) is better than Scott Powell (the Genesis composer). I enjoy the 80s electronic dance music vibe of Powell's That's the Stuff/Don't Sleep in the Shadows/Followed but almost everything else he did was blander and not as interesting to me as Parker's 90s industrial sound. I like almost all the combat music tracks.

Of course they're both better than that lame band who made that boring song about personal responsibility.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

No. It's probably best to keep those hidden so as to not cause panic or inflate expectations for Berlin.

After giving the soundtrack a few spins I've decided that Marshall Parker (the SNES composer) is better than Scott Powell (the Genesis composer). I enjoy the 80s electronic dance music vibe of Powell's That's the Stuff/Don't Sleep in the Shadows/Followed but almost everything else he did was blander and not as interesting to me as Parker's 90s industrial sound. I like almost all the combat music tracks.

Of course they're both better than that lame band who made that boring song about personal responsibility.

Was the last one even cyberpunk-ish?

 

[Roguey]

I don't think so, but I'm sure it makes perfect sense to the Poles who approved its use.

 

[imweasel]

The main theme of the Shadowrun Returns soundtrack (and the rest for that matter) is pretty fucking awesome. Here the theme song (Parker & Powell):


Largely influenced by a song from the SNES version (Parker; my personal fav): Start @ 14:36



Parker and Powell are really talented, I'd love for them to make a tune for Wasteland 2. Or Wasteland 3. Or the upcoming Deus Ex.

 

[clemens]

Project Update #64: Patch 1.1 and Linux now in Beta!
Posted by Harebrained Schemes LLC ♥ Like
Greetings!

We thought we’d pop our heads up for just a bit and let you guys know about the latest developments for Shadowrun Returns. The big news today is about Patch 1.1, which has two major parts: early access to the code improvements that we are putting in Berlin and the initial release of the Linux version of both the game and editor!

Beta Process
We’re doing things a bit differently than the previous patches we’ve released. We’ve pushed a version up to Steam in a special opt-in “public beta” channel before releasing it to the general public. We will be monitoring this build and the forums closely for any bugs or issues that people may encounter, and if things go smoothly, we expect to promote it to the main release after a week or two.

So if you’re interested in helping the community by reporting bugs, or just need to play with the new toys right away, you’ll want to head over to the Steam forums to learn how to join the Beta and help out. If you’d rather wait for the main release, that’s fine, too!

Just a quick note here: we do not plan on providing DRM free versions of Beta builds during this process. We will of course be putting up final builds in the Backer site when the patch is ready for prime time, but while we work through any last minute issues, Steam will be the only place to get the bleeding-edge (possibly slightly buggy) version of Shadowrun Returns.

Linux
Patch 1.1 will see the Linux port of Shadowrun Returns sit alongside its Mac and PC brethren as a first class citizen at last. We now have a couple of Linux machines in house, and have been busy ironing out the major kinks internally as fast as we could. We know a lot of you have been waiting patiently for this bad boy, and after we give it a bit of time to cool off in the Beta period (again, the Beta is only available through Steam), we’ll be pushing it live with the rest of the 1.1 goodness. From that point forward, it will receive updates on the same schedule as the Windows and OSX versions.

New UGC Goodies

Spoiler

There are also quite a few new features that come along with the 1.1 patch. We highlight a few in this update, but the full change log can be found here.

Physical Adepts: Chi abilities have been changed to provide passive benefits. They can be “activated” as before to get the full benefit. Physical Adepts now should be able to use Roundhouse Kick and Disarm while Killing Hands is active.

Text & Numpad Input in Conversation: Want to setup a keycode-accessible safe? Or password protect a data terminal? Now you can with these versatile new conversation input options. We’re already having fun with this feature in the Berlin campaign and we’re sure you’ll come up with many great uses for it too. http://shadowrun-returns.wikispaces.com/Conversation Keypad and Keyboard Input

Light Scripts: We’ve seen a lot of clever tricks people are doing with triggers for lights. In order to make that a lot less painful (and even more powerful), we’ve introduced a small scripting language to control the fading and animation of light colors. That discotheque can now come alive like never before! Check out the wiki page for more info: http://shadowrun-returns.wikispaces.com/Lighting Scripts

Objectives UI Labels: These are on screen elements that allow you to give players feedback toward intra-scene goals. For example: “Bombs to defuse: 2 of 5”. We figured these might come in handy. Again, check out the wiki for more info: http://shadowrun-returns.wikispaces.com/Adding Screen Labels

Triggers for Items: We’ve added trigger events for when players use items. This actually winds up being super useful for making a lot of creative and reactive levels. We’ve got our own nefarious plots for this particular feature, but we’re curious what you guys can do with it. http://shadowrun-returns.wikispaces.com/Trigger based on Item Used

Visible Trigger Regions: You can make trigger regions visible in game now (with a color of your choice!). Sometimes it’s easier to “Get to tha’ choppa’!” if you know where the heck to go. Now you can! http://shadowrun-returns.wikispaces.com/Regions

 

[Surf Solar]

New stuff for the editor is always good.

Loving those first few looks of the Berlin Campaign (U-Bahn), the new substation etc

 

[kazgar]

Looks like you missed a interesting bit

Save Game Improvements: We're happy to report that progress is still being made on the improvements to our saved game system. The code architecture is now in place and we are working through all the extra logic required to save the myriad game states that already exist within the code base. As soon as the feature is complete and fully tested, we'll release it for Dead Man's Switch but we don't want to rush something this complex. We definitely plan to have it fully implemented in time for the Berlin release.

 

[Roguey]

I'm surprised and impressed that proper save functionality is something they're saying will definitely exist in Berlin.

Ideally this means Berlin was created or at least will be balanced with this functionality with mind.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

Now if Berlin would be actually challenging....

 

[Roguey]

Way before the release of Seattle they mentioned they weren't sure if they wanted Berlin to have the same difficulty curve as Seattle or not, so as to allow new players to start with either one. Hopefully feedback encouraged them to nix that plan. Regardless, you will be starting with more karma than DMS (confirmed with patch notes) so it'll ramp up quicker no matter where it starts as a base.

 

[Scruffy]

i'm going to have to buy this i guess...

 

[JohnTheRevelator]

i'm going to have to buy this i guess...

Yup. I just hope they won't make it so easy this time...

 

[Roguey]

Oh here's something in the patch release notes that went over my head the first time I read it.

Actor spawners can scale difficulty via naming convention using a story variable: e.g. Guard_Lv1 Lv2 Lv3 and a story variable CharacterScaleAmount = 1,2,3...

Yeah, that's right. The freedom to choose the order of the runs you go on in Berlin has a price.

Level scaling.