[Kurufinwe]

Originally Posted by Snarky

I'm really trying to follow your argument here, but I don't understand what you're saying. As I pointed out above, there's plenty of backstory. In addition to everything you learned in Day 1, you also find out in Day 2 about a hidden tomb and a secret staircase. How can you simultaneously complain that the game distracts you with irrelevant information and that there isn't enough backstory?

I think there's good reason to expect a book on the history of the DeFoe family to be relevant. Let's step through Trilby's reasoning:

1. He discovers that he's trapped in the house, and that both windows and doors mysteriously refuse to let him out.
2. He find out that others have also been captured, in ways that defy natural explanation.
3. He learns that the house has a history of disappearances going back centuries.
4. He hears about the mysterious, out-of-character murder/suicide of the last DeFoe heir.
5. He notices that the house is full of artefacts from the original owner, whose personality has clearly set a deep mark on the building.
6. A painting of the original owner changes overnight.

I have no difficulty understanding why Trilby believes the house is haunted, and that it has something to do with the history of the house and the family that built it and lived there. A history of the DeFoes is much more likely to be relevant than, say, the complete works of PG Wodehouse.

When you put it like that, it almost makes sense. I'm not sure I can exactly put my finger on what bothered me, but I'll try. I think there are two things. (1) You never know that Trilby is making that kind on reasoning. I mean, it doesn't look like he's reading the book to find information on the first owner, but rather that he just opened it at a random page, and just stumbled upon that one paragraph that related to his situation. I think a single line from him, showing that he knew what he was looking for would have made the scene completely different for me. (2) Another thing that bothered me is that he seems to have no interest for the book on the floor. I mean, AJ (?) broke into the library looking for information; wouldn't it be interesting to know what books he had a look at?

(and if you think about it, it shouldn't be that difficult to work out where he must have been)

Actually, no, I still have no idea where he could have been on Day 1. Unless there's a secret passage in the bathroom, which is the only place he could have got to after we first meet him.

his body was hidden at the bottom of the pool.

Seriously, can you repeat that last sentence with a straight face? Hiding a corpse in two meters of clear water? This bugs me; it makes no sense. If (as a murderer) you want the body to be discovered, you'll put in a more visible place; if you don't want it to be found, you won't 'hide' it under a bit of clear water. Or maybe the pool has some sort of significance? But then I'd have appreciated a way to know that, and have the idea to look there.

Again, I don't get it. It's been made very clear that AJ's disappearance is of a different kind than the other characters' random dematerializations. It's also obvious that this is a horror game, so there's a good chance he's dead. So why shouldn't he be in the pool?

Why should he? See what I wrote above. Of course, he could be in the pool. He could also be in the safe upstairs, hacked into pieces. He could be under some piece of furniture. He could be in some place we haven't explored yet. He could be anywhere, really. Does that mean that I'm supposed to have a look (and not just look with my own eyes, but by telling the character to look) at each and every item in the house? I agree that it's probably what I would do if I were in such a situation in real life. But as a form of gameplay, it's just awful. Really. I hate doing that. A lot.

It would have been better if there was some visual indication that something was up with the pool, definitely. However, it's possible to attempt and solve the puzzle without actually planning to drain it, which is a bit awkward, but at least means that it shouldn't be a player obstacle.

Well no. I'm not interested in that. I'm actually quite good at solving puzzles like that, doing what seems to be what one should do to solve a typical puzzle, but with no idea of what it's actually going to accomplish. But I have no pleasure whatsoever doing that; it just makes me feel dumb, and makes the game feel even dumber. I solved about 80% of DOTT like that, and hated every moment of it. So, if that's how 5DAS is going to work, well, thanks but no thanks.

Well, there's nothing to keep you from attempting to access the hidden passage. You just won't get very far right now. I think the question is whether the path that is open is signposted at all. And yes, I think it is:

• Your first task of the day should be to talk to the others. (For one reason, just to make sure they're all still alive.)
• When you talk to Philip, there'll be a dialogue option about borrowing his metal detector. If you can prove the tomb is not in the back yard, you can have it.
• Once you get the map, you'll see two things: a hidden staircase, and the location of the tomb.
• Clearly, you can then use the map to convince Philip to give you the metal detector.
• Once you have the detector, a careful player will be methodical and scan every likely surface, starting with the current screen.
• Scanning the garden will inform you that you "need a point to start"
• Move left one screen, and the pipe will provide that point.

If you missed one of the steps in this chain, well... that's what adventure games are about, right? You're not supposed to always be able to do it straight away. You're only supposed to have a fair chance.

See what stepurhan said. I agree wholeheartedly with that. I must say it (really) didn't occur to me for one second to use the metal detector at the exact same place that Philip had been searching for days. Once I had (by chance, and after having lost a lot of time) looked in the pool, it all came extremely easily; but, once again, why should I have looked into the pool?