Messages

1

General / [Expedition] Can't get Aran's ambush to trigger.

« on: January 07, 2020, 11:42:39 am »

I returned from the Black Sea with the Acorn, met Aran at the bar and when he started demanding the Acorn, I denied having it in my possession. This caused him to get mad and make some threats about how this is not the last I'm seeing of him.

Since then I've cleared the main quest up until the DC Elevator quest, and have tried hanging around the places he's supposed to attack you (Home basement, Rail Crossing train platforms, and "Core City slums" although I have no idea which location that specifically means so I just go strolling in the dangerous neighbourhoods) but no luck so far. The Acorn is still in my possession.

Should I try selling it off and then see if he comes for me? Or did I mess up by pretending not to have the Acorn during our first meeting? I don't particularly need his gear but I like collecting uniques.

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General / Re: About Jet Skis

« on: January 06, 2020, 02:03:31 pm »

Theres a few, you'll have to explore.

Alright thanks.

3

General / Re: About Jet Skis

« on: January 06, 2020, 07:02:30 am »

you can park them anywhere; nobody steals them

there are waterways outside of the black sea, but you can sell them

140, I believe

Any particularly interesting locations that are only available via jet skis?

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General / About Jet Skis

« on: January 05, 2020, 07:25:47 pm »

1. Is it safe to park them in the Core City docks? Or do I need some kinda garage?

2. Are they of any use outside of Expedition or can I sell them?

3. It seems you can sell the Reef Glider for up to 40k, but with 114 mercantile I can only sell it for 30k. Anybody know how much mercantile I need to sell it at max value?

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General / Re: A few questions about crafting

« on: January 01, 2020, 09:59:33 am »

Regarding crafting feats, check this thread out:
https://underrail.com/forums/index.php?topic=5078.0

Thanks, that was a pretty informative discussion, both for crafting and psi builds (which I'm currently doing).

6

General / Re: A few questions about crafting

« on: December 31, 2019, 12:55:44 pm »

1. you can consider them as "base" material, like goggle frames, soles, etc. you can just use any, and those base materials are usually stacked in inventory, unlike quality materials which only use up 1 item slot per stack.
the materials that needs quality is the things that make it functional, like Plasma Core which stores energy.

2. based on my experience, the only reason i would want to use inferior quality material is to make something when my skill is not enough. e.g. last playthrough i wanted to make a high quality Emitter that needs 167 electronics but i only got 166 (with all the buffs i can get), so i had to use a lower quality for one of the materials, i keep using the highest Plasma Core i have, but i had to use a lower quality Modulator. well, you get the picture. but keep in mind that every material yields different outcome/effects, only use a lower material for something you wouldn't need. in my case of Emitter, i needed high energy, and both the Modulators' quality doesn't make a big difference, so i just used a lower quality one.

3. honestly, i literally never pick any of the crafting feats in all my 5 playthroughs. so i think the answer for this question will be different depending on the players.

What difficulty do you play on? I'm just surprised by how much investment crafting requires. I was told it was important but I was thinking like around 100 points per craft would suffice, not 150+ like in combat skills.

7

General / Re: Protectorate vs Free Drones from RP perspective? (Spoilers)

« on: December 31, 2019, 12:52:28 pm »

The US is a diplomatic branch of the Protectorate.

Basically a puppet of the Prot. to get Stations etc. into their sphere of influence without wasting ressources for a war. Or just not to spill innocent blood.

While I don't know if they made it to save ressources instead of wasting them in war or not to spill any blood.

The ressource option would show us that the Prot. doesn't really care abput the people but about effiency. If it's because of the blood one, then they care about the people.

Overall the US functions as a propaganda tool, to make it look like that it's great under Prot. overlordship.

But in the end as a station leader, you only have 2 choices...political integration into the United Stations of Underrail (USU) or war, you'll most likely loose it, and maybe your population will suffer a worse faith than the poles under Nazi occupation.

If you choose the integration into the USU, it's good for their propaganda, your people spread it, how it gave it a stable trade network, protection and universal currency to your people. Making it more attractive for other stations to join.

If you choose war, it's also good for their propaganda, they show their millitary might, frightening other stations and their leaders and people, and the faith of your people then would have fueled that fear, because other people don't want the same fate like you and your people suffered. So they are more likely to choose the integration aswell.

Vera Hale from SGS was previously a diplomat in the United Stations iirc, and she said she doesn't like the Protectorate but she does think integration into the United Stations is best for a station. Now we could argue that she's some Protectorate pawn sent to SGS to manipulate the station by feeding them Protectorate propaganda but personally I think Tanner, Gorsky, and Ezra are smarter than that. They wouldn't let someone like that get such an influential position in SGS.

So I don't think the United Stations being a good thing is mere propaganda. It probably does benefit stations, especially those in remote locations with lack of proper supplies. I do, however, agree that it is a "deal with the devil" situation. For some stations catching the attention of the Protectorate could be the last hope for survival, and for some it could be a brutal take-over and a harsh change in lifestyle. For stations like Foundry they're better off alone - they have strong defenses and the Foundry guard can keep the Ironheads at bay. But for stations like Rail Crossing who are unable to manage by their own, integration is the only way of survival.

8

General / A few questions about crafting

« on: December 31, 2019, 08:48:53 am »

1. Some components don't have quality mentioned (like shield emitter base). Does that mean any one will do or are there more expensive versions of these items on sale or found elsewhere that will make for a better final product?

2. Is it worth it to use high quality components for every piece of the product or should I be using a mix of high quality and inferior components? Asking because using all high quality components seems to require crazy high crafting skills (I gathered components for a shield that required like 150+ electronics to craft). Playing on Normal so I'm assuming these ultra high quality items are meant more for having a fighting chance on Dominating.
 
3. Are there any crafting feats that are must-haves?

9

Suggestions / Re: Character portrait in the dialogue UI?

« on: December 30, 2019, 06:04:17 pm »

well, considering that we never "actually" speak or have our own dialogues apart from choices of reply, it makes sense.
even the main character's thoughts are represented in a form of narration (green texts).
if we want to see our own portrait, then we have to have our own dialogues.
i don't think Styg will add new dialogues for the main character, still possible if Styg would change the narrations into monologues.
maybe we would have it in the next game (hopefully), who knows.

Nah bro, it's like in games like Pathfinder Kingmaker, Divinity Original Sin 2, Pillars of Eternity etc. The dialogue is presented in the same way as in Underrail (I think that's just the norm for CRPGs), but you get a portrait for your guy on the UI too.

As I said, it's nothing big. Maybe it just seems odd to me because I play CRPGs all the time and I'm used to this little detail.

10

General / Re: Protectorate vs Free Drones from RP perspective? (Spoilers)

« on: December 30, 2019, 05:59:17 pm »

Actually now that I've played further and gotten a better understanding of the lore - the Protectorate is just the military branch of the United Stations, isn't it?

Abrams describes the FD's ultimate goal as "creating a community of of stations peacefully trading with each other". That sounds pretty close to what the United Stations are to me.

The problem is that the United Stations' council has a special spot for the Protectorate High Commander, and no decisions can be taken without the High Commander's approval, big or small. That is the main issue here - their military wing has too much unchecked power. So I'd say I support the idea of a Protectorate-like organization (law enforcement is pretty much a requirement for any civilization to stand the test of time) but not without heavy reforms to the current system. Which is of course not possible in-game, so supporting the Protectorate is indeed risky for Underrail. But then again, I don't think the zealous FD are the saviours we need in this situation either. I guess I'll be staying out of this conflict after all. I've already angered the FD anyway, by persuading their train robbers to let Rail Crossing have their supplies.

Still I think the distinction between the United Stations and the Protectorate is important, and I'd love to see this conflict expanded upon in future content. A more fleshed out main story about the Protectorate's internal conflicts could be an interesting concept to explore in Underrail 2.

11

Suggestions / Character portrait in the dialogue UI?

« on: December 30, 2019, 10:01:07 am »

This is one of the few CRPGs I played where the official portraits were so cool looking I felt no need to go hunting for customs. The art is sorta wasted though as it's only on a tiny corner of the screen, and usually hard to see due to the lighting effects (great concept by the way).

Most other CRPGs show your portrait on the dialogue UI though where it is prominently displayed either on the opposite end of the NPC portrait in the dialogue box, or below the NPC portrait (next to the player's dialogue options). It could work here too, especially since dialogue box portraits are immune to lighting effects.

Not really an issue or something to require immediate attention of course, but something to consider for a sequel.

12

Suggestions / Re: disguise, as another option of infiltration

« on: December 30, 2019, 09:45:41 am »

Maybe the first time you get caught you can kinda bluff your way out with persuasion? Kinda like the Grey Army Base while wearing their uniform as a male character. Would give a little more day-to-day utility to persuasion rather than just being for important story sequences.

Or would that be too easy to abuse? I'm still learning the game so I have no idea.

13

General / Re: Protectorate vs Free Drones from RP perspective? (Spoilers)

« on: December 30, 2019, 09:24:38 am »

My personal take on this is you need to pick the lesser of two evils.

I don't see how you can consider Free Drones to be "good" as they do not care for the people. As seen in the train heist quest all Free Drones care about is to overthrown the Protectorate, collateral Damage be damn (Rail Crossing desperately needs help but fuck them right?). They attacked and maimed unarmed civilian like Anastasia just because they are "Protectorate". If you join FD you can talk to Darling and see that Protectorate is an oppressive regime - if you are view as against the Protectorate they'll make you disappear, by any means necessary. The ironic fact is that FD employ a similar view and method of operation too. If you ask people about Free Drone in the game they'll tell you FD is also "if you are not with us you are against us" and fuck you up when given the chance.

Of course Protectorate is no angel, but at least the ground troops take care of the people. They provided food for the poor in Junkyard. They at least provide a measure of security against external threat such as Lurker, bandits, etc for their population (prime example - Rail Crossing ending slide). If you join Protectorate you can talk to Holloway and tell he (and soldiers under him) actually care and wanted to protect the people. However it should be noted soldiers like Holloway are not in charge and does not reflect the view of the higher up. Holloway was forced to turn rogue because the higher up view people of South Underrail as second class citizen at best and dogs at worst. All General Melek seems to care about is hold on to power and condone evil method employed by the Chemical Assault Unit. Lower ranks and ground troops - LG, higher ups - LE.

If your character truly care and want to help the general population of South Underrail I think the most RP fitting role would be joining Protectorate, listen to Holloway's story, persuade Colonel Cathcart to investigate Holloway's claims. Don't do the quest for Chemical Assault Unit. Head-cannon try to rise in rank and affect changes from within Protectorate and maybe try to aim for a certain degree of autonomy for South Underrail force from North Underrail, focusing your effort more on helping people (aids to poor + killing lurkers, bandits, etc) and less about helping the North expanding and holding onto power.

Of course if you think your char should just not get involved at all that's another option too.

I do like the "change the system from within" approach. That's what I did on my Tyranny Disfavored playthrough. And yeah, I'm not at all impressed by the Free Drones - it's yet another video game anarchist group that's all "down with the authority" and is totally sure that they wouldn't be making compromises or making tough decisions if they were in charge. Ultimately I do think the region needs one strong governing body for lasting stability. "Allied" independent stations can easily turn on each unpredictably - look at Omega.

So basically the Protectorate does make sense to me, it's just that whole chemical warfare bit that makes me squeamish.You said "don't do the quest for the Chemical Assault Unit". Is it possible to turn it down? I was under the impression that you're railroaded into following orders from the moment you join. Or do you mean accept the quest but just ignore it? Do the ending slides account for that?

14

General / Re: Protectorate vs Free Drones from RP perspective? (Spoilers)

« on: December 29, 2019, 11:34:08 am »

Yeah, I guess I'll just be ignoring this questline. I hope they add options for betraying/leaving factions in Underrail 2. Tyranny had this feature and it was great.

15

General / Protectorate vs Free Drones from RP perspective? (Spoilers)

« on: December 28, 2019, 02:47:39 pm »

Hey guys, I'm new here. This is basically my first topic, so sorry if it's in the wrong board. Couldn't figure out whether this fits in General or Discussions. I'll delete it and repost on the right one if this isn't the place.

So anyway, I really, really love this game. I'm completely hooked onto the world, setting, factions etc. I'm also heavily into RP which is one of the main reasons I play CRPGs like Underrail. This time I'm playing as a down-to-earth psion who values a safe place to call home above all, and generally tries to avoid bloodshed even when it is disadvantageous to her (e.g. Paying the guy's debt in Junkyard out of her own pockets just to avoid having to kill him or that other slum girl).

It's been a fun ride so far but then I went to Rail Crossing and discovered the Train Heist quest, and as I was lost on what to do I ended up looking it up on the wiki which led me down to a rabbit hole reading up on the merits and demerits of the Protectorate and the Free Drones. So from what I understand - it's a twist where the FD seem like psychotic terrorists at first, stealing the supplies of Rail Crossing just to prevent a Protectorate foothold from forming there, but in the end the Protectorate turn out to be the true evil by performing vicious experiments on the FD and turning them into mutants.

This sort of leaves me into a dilemma as a player - I know my character wouldn't just run into the train robbers and go "I didn't see anything", and I also know my character who values security and stability would be drawn to support the Protectorate in the matter. But because of this meta knowledge that I now have, I also know my character would never go through with the final objective of the Protectorate questline. Is it not possible to do the Protectorate quests up to that point and then just go "fuck you, I resign"? Or even a way to join the FD (if they're really better than what you see in the Train Heist quest) without turning a blind eye to the robbery?

I guess what I'm asking in simple terms is - What would a Lawful Good character be doing here - stuck between these two factions that are apparently Chaotic Good (although in character I wouldn't know here that the FD is Good) and Lawful Evil (again, in character I wouldn't know that the Protectorate is Evil).