Stalkers Season 3 Post-Game Discussion and Feedback

[The Nonexistent Tazz]

... Well. That's a really long sin purge ritual, but I think having tribulations to actually get at the ingredients we need (as opposed to just finding them like in 1 and 3) ought to be part-and-parcel. While we're onto the what-ifs of Season 2, who were the Stalkers?

I also have a few bits of feedback, but mostly, it comes down to two things.

First: Searching is overpowered AND overrated right now. The whole of this game was 'search everywhere and we'll find out everything eventually,' in other words, the 'treasure hunt' of season 1. I think Yandil's gimmick of not having a hideout was actually genius in its entirety even if it was so obvious that it was him anyways it warped into a red herring. I enjoyed Bloodwish'es takedown because it was based entirely on witness testimony and an investigation as opposed to the usual rock-solid evidence of a stalker hideout. In short; less things that revolve around just searching, please. More puzzles and more Stalkers that do not directly implicate themselves in their own hideouts, basically. It'd also put interviews as being important to do as no matter how much we look, there would not be enough evidence to take down a Stalker from just searching. (also, more booby-trapping of Sin Purge Ritual items by Stalkers, perhaps even separate from their own hideouts, please. Just stumbling upon the bowls and candles to be blessed felt silly and far too easy.)

Second: The high number of sanity traps *and* the lack of power in the First Aid kit just because of the fact it doesn't treat sanity basically makes Resting superior in all cases. I think +2 San and +2 HP for First Aid is perfectly valid, as there's other uses for the other traits.

[Neo Emolga]

... Well. That's a really long sin purge ritual, but I think having tribulations to actually get at the ingredients we need (as opposed to just finding them like in 1 and 3) ought to be part-and-parcel. While we're onto the what-ifs of Season 2, who were the Stalkers?

Yeah, it was insane and I really wouldn't want to work on something that enormous again, but I do like how it was a MUCH different kind of style.

As for Season 2's Stalkers, I'll show that too!

I also have a few bits of feedback, but mostly, it comes down to two things.

First: Searching is overpowered AND overrated right now. The whole of this game was 'search everywhere and we'll find out everything eventually,' in other words, the 'treasure hunt' of season 1. I think Yandil's gimmick of not having a hideout was actually genius in its entirety even if it was so obvious that it was him anyways it warped into a red herring. I enjoyed Bloodwish'es takedown because it was based entirely on witness testimony and an investigation as opposed to the usual rock-solid evidence of a stalker hideout. In short; less things that revolve around just searching, please. More puzzles and more Stalkers that do not directly implicate themselves in their own hideouts, basically. It'd also put interviews as being important to do as no matter how much we look, there would not be enough evidence to take down a Stalker from just searching. (also, more booby-trapping of Sin Purge Ritual items by Stalkers, perhaps even separate from their own hideouts, please. Just stumbling upon the bowls and candles to be blessed felt silly and far too easy.)

I tried a few new things with this one, as you can tell. I wanted to test the waters first before going too deep, but I'd have to say the experiments I tried worked pretty well and I definitely want to delve more into them. I also agree that it's time to have other styles toward eliminating Stalkers and not just have the Route setup. Like you said, I think less Searching and more other means would be great.

When it comes to Overkill/Yandil the Smeargle, I'll admit this guy was a kind of social experiment with a lot of reverse psychology mixed in. He didn't have a hideout and didn't have a Stalker Route that would lead to an obvious answer at the end. The whole question with him was "would the players trust the word of the townspeople and go with their gut instinct?"

You answered HECK NO. And it's funny because they were all right. You guys were even debating the color beige!

When I designed this Stalker, I thought this could go one of two ways. First way, they follow the advice of the town and blow him up early. To me, it would have been an easy "ah well, good on them, but I still have six other Stalkers out there." And the other way was they keep questioning everything about him over and over again and never get to a sound choice about what to do. And this is EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED! It makes me wonder what would have happened if there was no Sin Purge Ritual!

It was crazy to host this and see the town warn you THIS MANY TIMES ABOUT YANDIL!

Spoiler:

=The Wall Warning=. Showed up in Post #9! Well, it was a start of more things to come!

Some Overkill details in Post #19. Sure, not a direct link to Yandil, but it gave you some clues!

Laura has a chat with the dude in Post #36! Gives you important clues he's always in a rush and doesn't ever STOP! This was pretty important!

Post #61! Madder interviews Murana the Clefable and she mentions being very uneasy about Yandil.

Edder wasn't crazy about him either in Post #63! Sure, he may seem crazy, but he KNEW!

Nillian mentions being suspicious about Yandil in Post #81! "It's like that guy is possessed or something." Guess what? He totally is!

SAM'S INVESTIGATION ON YANDIL
I honestly thought he was going to get toasted after this and that putting "Something really bothers you about Yandil, and you feel it's PLAUSIBLE he may even be a Stalker" was a death sentence on the guy at this point. Not so, and this happened early on in the game!

Sarah's Search on Yandil's apartment in Post #120 doesn't reveal too much, but it does reinforce his whole excessively Type A persona.



It's the NEVER NEVER STOP =Paper Rambling= note by Overkill in Post #123! I wonder... who does that remind you of?

Drana the Maractus again, has suspicious about Yandil in Post #136's Interview. More clues dumped in there. At this point, I'm wondering how much more it might take!

Guess what? Rolia the Lurantis feels the same way about Yandil in Post #146's Interview! Seems like that wasn't enough, though.

Sure, some weird kid left the =Deranged Chalk Drawing= at the Sunnytown Strip Mall (Search Post #157:



But they were right all along!

Oh, here's another big one. Post #165, an interview with Jessy the Lycanroc. THIS, RIGHT HERE WAS SO, SO IMPORTANT:

Spoiler:

"I think Yandil is the only guy that shops at the mart at this hour," Jessy explains. "The guy's a freak.He's always mumbling to himself, talks to himself, probably has some freaky split personality disorder, and buys the weirdest combinations of stuff. Five nights ago, he bought an air freshener, permanent markers, four cases of that nasty Sidewinder energy drink, and some black touch-up paint meant for cars. What the hell, he doesn't even own a car. And why shop here, he could get all that and more at the ApexMart. Makes me wonder if he was kicked out of that place by the manager."

AND

"Anyway, I need to find where the hell that sledgehammer went to," Jessy sighs. "I've already looked around and couldn't find it. With my luck, some jerkoff probably stole it. If you happen to see it, let me know."

Oh, all those notes around town? Oh, and yeah, that sledgehammer. These were really critical clues. Again, I thought he was going to be toast after dropping these details. But he lived on!

More stuff in Post #166! Loads more about Yandil and his nasty attitude with Jeddi as well as the ridiculous amount of work he does.

And while Jeddi may be kind of an idiot, there's more in Post #186's Interview!

There's a little bit of mentioning in Deen's Interview in Post #226. Nothing too new, but it's more to add to the pile!

Boom, Jeb the Mawile's interview in Post #250. This guy was a big friend to the Emissaries and gave you THE WHOLE LIST OF STALKERS AND HOW MANY THERE WERE. And "I agree with the others when they highly suspect Yandil the Smeargle is the one known as Overkill." I really thought he would be very close to toast considering how much this guy spilled his guts for details on not just him, but ALL the Stalkers. Guess that still wasn't enough, though!

Some suspicions at the diner in Post #251. Not a big one either, but you keep hearing it!

Briteria, another big friend of the Emissaries, FURTHER TELLS YOU how she's convinced Yandil is a Stalker in Post #280! These were your big allies (besides Tashy) in this season and you didn't believe them either! :O

This... this one was the best.
Post #283, THE RESTRAIN POST ON YANDIL.
YANDIL HIMSELF CONFESSES TO BEING A STALKER AND EVEN MENTIONS HE'S OVERKILL. YOU DO NOT GET MORE OBVIOUS THAN THIS!!! I truly thought he would be deader than dead after this. But nope, nope, nope, the carousel keeps going!

Then there's the =Wall Rambling= RIGHT AT THE GAS STATION in Post #302!



Oh, guess who was there writing that with those black permanent markers?

Then you find more in Post #314!



Hey, guess what? Dad's right.

Misa's interview gives you ANOTHER claim against Yandil in Post #357! But that goes out the window too.

More warnings about Yandil in Post #380! Vessi gives you more details about him! At this point, I'm really wondering how much more needs to be laid out!

More claims against Yandil when he kills Cashi the Jumpluff with "A HEAVY BLUNT WEAPON." Hey, where DID that sledgehammer go?

Hey look! There's Yandil with a sledgehammer in Post #456 when you interview Vasha!

Nothing.

on a side note, I'm not entirely convinced Yandil is actually a stalker. Definitely possible, Neo could easily be tricking us with a red herring, (I mean, all the other times the public thought someone was a stalker they were wrong) But what really makes me suspicious is that the confirmed stalker sample black fur could easily belong to Jeddi the bewear, whom Yandil has a very bad relationship with. It would seem very convenient for Jeddi, as a stalker who knows Yandil personally, to us Yandil's personality against him mto make him seem liek a culprit.

I've heard Yandil tossed around so much I have a feeling he's a definite red herring, so uh, anyone else?

Yandil I'm still not sure about just cos he seems so obvious and we haven't found anything at his work or home yet, but rather a lot of notes ABOUT him which kinda makes it seem there's a Stalker out there who hates him. He is mortal enemies with Jeddi the Bewear and I feel like that's somehow relevant and one or the other is a stalker. The confirmed Stalker sample Black Fur could belong to Jeddi, while the non-confirmed Beige Fur could belong to Yandil.

Also still not convinced on Yandil. Still too convenient that all the public is pointing to the same person. I'm more suspicious of Jeddi, who keeps messing with Yandil's head.

Yeah, after talking to Jeddi I really don't think Yandil is a stalker. I'm still watching Jeddi but I think she might be in the clear as well. Maybe.

It's weird. I kinda feel like Yandil isn't a stalker cos it's just so obvious and he doesn't seem to be doing anything that weird... But it's hard to know. Neo could just be tricking us really good either way. XD

This is extraordinarily infuriating. He's basically admitted to nothing, as I'm reasonably sure Stalkers can't admit they're actually Stalkers, though Neo may actually be waving this one right in our face. Then again, we never actually asked about what the heck he's doing. Whatever it is, it seems improbable for it to be Yandil. (Or at least, Yandil can't be overkill.)

All I can suggest is hope that the Eevee statue leads somewhere. Let's quit the restraints for now. Maybe Diplomacy on Yandil to make up if we sincerely believe we'll be talking to him more than once.

Imma be straight up on the Yandil situation... I'm pretty sure that he's not a stalker and is merely getting the short stick as people find someone to blame for the murders. People didn't like him before, so they're simply shoving him aside more, hoping to get rid of him. I feel sorry for the hard working Smeagol...

I don't know. I really really don't think Yandil is a stalker. Something just feels really off about him. I mean, what stalker would admit they were a stalker during an interrogation? That just doesn't seem right.

That's my thought exactly and one of the big reasons why I think Yandil is a massive red herring. This is why I'm asking for us to knock out Nhils and Enis first, as we can at least identify them tonight. If one of them is Beige, then Yandil is almost certainly not a Stalker and we can rule him out, so that's progress. If neither are, then Yandil being a Stalker is technically irrelevant-that means the Beige furred stalker would be the last, thus Tashy can just Sin Purge Overkill and we won't need to know who's who.

Hey, hey guys, just so you know...

Yandil is a Stalker.

Okay, I'll admit, this was me in full-fledged naughty mischievous flying squirrel mode.

Second: The high number of sanity traps *and* the lack of power in the First Aid kit just because of the fact it doesn't treat sanity basically makes Resting superior in all cases. I think +2 San and +2 HP for First Aid is perfectly valid, as there's other uses for the other traits.

Yeah, I think this would be fair as well. I do have to say that a lot of the major Health-damaging traps were disarmed or dodged. Enis's mirror never set off and that was a heavy psychic attack that would have left a lot of other people pretty beat up. Rusty also dodged a bunch of really nasty ones, also, so it looks more like Sanity was really the only threat, but it could have been more on the Health side of things too if it played out differently.

But yeah, I think First Aid doing a +2 Health and +2 Sanity when used on another player would be fair and I would change that for next time.