[TimovieMan]

Originally Posted by DustyShinigami

But thanks for posting it, TimovieMan. I even checked the manual, but I couldn't find it in there. Did you get it from a website?

The Google is my friend.

[Trunkyo]

Check out the updated Discworld Reading Order Guide 2.0, which, like version 1.5, shows the different sub-series within the entire Discworld series, and shows which books are directly related to which (and also indirectly, usually through passing references and cameo appearances).

I mentioned in another thread somewhere that I like the Rincewind and Death novels the best. The Colour of Magic and The Light Fantastic should be read back-to-back. One of these years, I'll finish reading the Watch novels.

[zobraks]

Originally Posted by Trunkyo

The Colour of Magic and The Light Fantastic should be read back-to-back. One of these years, I'll finish reading the Watch novels.

Hey, the only three Discworld books I have are those two and Guards! Guards! .

for the Guide 2.0, although I doubt I'll ever need it. Somehow I just don't find Discworld novels to be right up my street.

[SweetDalilah]

Here are my impressions and comments so far:
(May contain minor spoilers, don't read if you haven't finished Act I)

There seemed to be a lack of puzzles in Act I, but that’s only because Lewton was preoccupied with questioning contacts and suspects. Also, it gave us more insight to the story. And I don’t really like puzzles anyway. But some other players like an equal amount of puzzles and talking to characters, so this might be a minus.

The graphics aren’t the best thing we’ve seen, and the animation of the characters is limited. But for the first time I don’t really care about graphics, because everything else about this game is so great. Most of the scenes are quite dark and moody, but what do you expect from a noir game? But nevertheless, there are some really nice locations, like the Überwald’s mansion Pseudopolis Yard, Café Ankh, Conservatory, or the Rhodan’s workshop (since I like art and sculptures so much ).







DN probably has one of the most extraordinary stories I have ever seen. Let’s start from the introduction. The introduction itself is quite unpredictable and purely amazing. Lewton wakes up dead, and then starts telling us all that has happened to him. So even though we know Lewton is dead (or undead in this case*) we still desperately want to know what happened. So Lewton just started working as a PI, and his first case is to find some rich girl’s missing lover Mundy. On his investigation he is approached by a troll Malachite, who orders him to find Therma (and you don't want to mess with trolls) He also finds out, that there is a series of mysterious murders going on in Ankh-Morpork. And on top of it all he needs to find a dwarf named Regin for Count von Überwald, Carlotta's father-in-law. All this could make any investigator’s head spin, but Lewton is determined to get to the bottom of all this, because, well he needs the money.

Somewhere in the middle of Act I, I got this gut feeling that these cases (no matter how different they seem) were going to cross paths soon enough, and looks like I was right. So as the things get more and more complicated and complex, the story becomes unpredictable, and we are left waiting, in anticipation, for what will happen next. The story, combined with magnificent dialogues and a great sense of humor, makes DN one of the best games I have played so far (and I’ve only finished the first act so far )

* There are 8 species of undead in Discworld: Banshees, Bogeymen, Ghouls, Ghosts, Mummies, Vampires, Werewolves, and Zombies

The various characters are the real charm of the game, of course .

Lewton is our main character. He is a true example of every film noir’s PI. He is the cynical and bitter private detective who has lost everything after his lover Ilsa left him, and was fired from the watch because of taking bribe, so he spent many years drinking in depression. He uses every opportunity he gets to tell “us”, adventurers how bad is really the city he lives in, and he does it in a quite cynical way too.
“Hiring an investigator to look into your business requires trust, and the amount of trust in Ankh-Morpork wouldn’t fill a cup. And it’s a small cup I’m talking about. Sure, people trust that you don’t get on the wrong side of the patrician; people trust that you don’t walk into the shades alone; people trust that the assassin’s guild will fulfill their contracts or double your money back. Yeah, people even trust death. Just don’t ask them to trust their mothers”

Carlotta is the beautiful, mysterious, rich woman, who serves as the true example of femme fatale, and she is sure to bring trouble.
Lewton: On an ordinary night I’d sit around waiting for business. But this night business was coming to me and bringing trouble with it. Business I didn’t mind. But trouble was an unwelcome guest, and like all unwelcome guests it was hard to ask it to leave, and by the third day it was generally wearing your shirts and leaving its stuff in your bathroom.

Lewton: “For 200 I guess I’ll treat you with some respect”
Carlotta: “Oh I wouldn’t ask a guy like you to attempt the impossible”

Samael is the vampire pianist. He is a reference to the pianist Sam from Casablanca
Lewton: Play it again, Sam.*
Samael: You know what? No one's ever going to believe you said that.
*Reference to Bogart’s line “Play it Sam” in Casablanca. It is one of the most misquoted lines from films.

Malachite is the unintelligent troll that could crush every bone in your body. He wants you to find Therma, and that’s basically all that he’s saying.
Lewton: You’re a tough troll to find, Malachite.
You could say something.
So how you’ve been keeping, Malachite? OK, I guess you don’t want to talk about that.
Is this were you’re staying at the moment? I guess you’re not gonna talk about that either.
Heard any good jokes recently?


Ilsa: Lewton’s ex lover. There always has to be the one that got away. The one that broke our hero’s heart and left him in misery for years. Ilsa is named after Ilsa Lund from Casablanca. As you can see the Ilsa- Lewton-Cafe Ankh-Samael plot mirrors the plot in Casablanca.

Lewton: Ilsa, I thought I’d never see her again. I prayed that I never see her again, but either the gods didn’t listen, or they were having a laugh at my expense.

Lewton: I spent years rehearsing what I’d say if I saw you again, what I’d ask you. I tried to imagine what you’d say.
Ilsa: But now I’m here, you can’t think of anything to say?
Lewton: Now you’re here and I just want to slap you. Just once, across the cheek
Ilsa: What will that prove?
Lewton: That I still haven’t forgiven you.
Ilsa: You’re not making this easy Lewton
Lewton: Did you think I would? Did you think I’d just come bouncing at you like a trained puppy? Maybe I’ll wag my tail and wait for you to throw me a stick. Well I’m never gonna be another woman’s dog for as long as I live.

Sapphire: The troll singer. She is a kind of a parody to all those gorgeous woman that sing in bars in many noir films, because she is the pure opposite, she is huge, she is though, ans she sings with a rough voice.
Why Must I Be So Blue song

Count von Überwald: Carlotta's father in law. He is ill and can't leave the conservatory, but he still holds power in his hands (or so he thinks) and wants to know everything that's going on around him.

Lewton: The poor are often prouder than the rich-they know that what they have can’t be taken away.
Count: Why would anyone want to take their poverty away?
Lewton: I didn’t say the poor were smart, I said they were proud.

The Butler: He is so awesome! I mean, who doesn’t like a sarcastic butler with British accent?

Butler: May I help you, sir?
Lewton:You could let me in for a start.
Butler: Very good, sir.
Lewton: And don't call me sir.
Butler: As you wish, sir.

Butler (always speaking with a dead pan voice): May I take your coat and hat sir?
Lewton: Thanks, but no. I feel naked without them.
Butler: That must make it difficult to clean them.
Lewton (slightly confused): Was that a joke?
Butler: I never joke, sir, it's not my job. I may lie, dissemble or deceive but I never joke.
Lewton: Look, I don't want you to take my coat, okay?
Butler (with concealed hostility): But of course, sir. Sir is welcome to drip all over the immaculate hardwood floor that I spent several hours polishing this morning, because sir is a guest and sir is entitled to do whatever sir wishes.

Quote of the day: “Love is a moment of weakness that allows someone to hurt you more than you ever thought possible”- Lewton

Song of the day: When you met her

[Datadog]

Ha ha - I saw that chart detailing the Discworld novels... that's what got me so confused about where to start in the first place. Harry Potter, this is not.

And thanks for the scroll, TimovieMan. Makes a lot more sense now.

[diego]

Well, as i said, i did finish Act 1 earlier but found it amusing to replay it just to see if i would remember all the stuff, and to get the hang of the story from the beginning once again. Seems like i was stuck second time more than the first one. Now, even though i can't really say pixel-hunt is the major problem with DN (the cursor is pretty big, and the game cunningly lights some clues with the strike of lightning) but that was exactly my biggest problem, since i've missed one critical area -

Spoiler:

cabin at Milka.

Also, a couple of "triggers" gave me trouble, like i wasn't sure what triggers

Spoiler:

Carlotta's note to appear in your office (i've found out that it's going to the back alley in Pier 5).

But anyhow - i've actually had more fun with first act this time around. That's probably because i'm finding the story and all the characters more familiar and easier to track. But there's another thing - i'm happy i've read the manual this time so i made good use of keyboard commands like F2 and F3 for calling Inventory and Note-book, and especially Home, End, Page Up and Page Down for navigating it. Now, even though Note-book and "clue system" is in great part what separates DN from the rest of adventures, i've still felt it like it could have been slightly better organized, but at least these shortcuts really make life much easier.

Originally Posted by SweetDalilah

Here are my impressions and comments so far

wow, nice and helpful! Indeed, i was playing the Act 1 so many times now that i know every character like my own pocket The thing is, i've spent the whole last night playing again Act 1 just to find a quote i remembering laughing my a.. off, but forgot to write it down, and i couldn't find it. It just goes saying how many of those are in there. I'll be back later with some more comments and general view on first chapter.

[After a brisk nap]

Oh, I never got around to playing very far in this, but I still have the disc somewhere I think. Maybe I can catch up with the playthrough...

Originally Posted by Datadog

Ha ha - I saw that chart detailing the Discworld novels... that's what got me so confused about where to start in the first place. Harry Potter, this is not.

And thanks for the scroll, TimovieMan. Makes a lot more sense now.

The AV Club did an article on where to start with Discworld a couple of months ago. The four options they recommend are Mort (starts the Death series), Wyrd Sisters (starts the Witches series, if you ignore Equal Rites), Guards! Guards! (starts the City Watch series) and Small Gods (standalone). Those are all good options; Small Gods is probably the best of them.

Personally, I would divide the Discworld series by era, rather than by subject. You have the very early (farcical but not really funny, unserious) ones: 1-2, the early (funny, not-too-serious) ones: 3-12, the middle (funny and serious) ones: 13-24, and the late (serious, only occasionally funny) ones: 25-39. That's a very rough division, and there are some books that don't quite fit, but it gives you a general idea of the tone you can expect.

[zobraks]

Guess who reached .

You may say "It was easy for you, after all it's the second time you play DN, don't you?" and that's true, but this time I had trouble with...

Spoiler:

... getting to talk to Sapphire. I somehow had the notion that she has to go to her wardrobe before Lewton can speak with her, but she never seemed to be willing to leave the stage . So, I kept leaving Octarine Parrot, hoping that Sapphire will eventually retire to her premises and she never did. At the end I stayed a little longer in a bar and - what do you know! - Sapphire stoped singing and was ready for the interrogation.

Beside this, I had no bigger problems to reach the end of Act 1.

What can I say before I catch up with what players here have already written? I love DN and can't be too objective about it, but even if I try to be devil's advocate there aren't (m)any flaws of the game I could mention. Perhaps the puzzles are too easy for some very clever people , but I remember having a hard time when I was playing DN for the first time (that book about nobility, finding the tomb and getting the grappling iron spring to my mind). Anyway, as I expected, the Act 1 was much shorter for me now than it was 10 years ago. I knew I had quite a good memory (specially for my age ), but nevertheless I managed to surprise myself with the quantity of details from DN I still remembered.
There is one more place where I stumbled, but since that puzzle is meant to be solved in act two, I'll comment it later.

As for the DN humo(u)r/sarcasm - my English is too poor to express my delight in it. I'll just say that DN is one of the funniest AGs I ever played and its humo(u)r is one of the main reasons it's on my favo(u)rite games list.

This time I found jokes about Ankh funnier than ever:

[SweetDalilah]

Originally Posted by diego

Well, as i said, i did finish Act 1 earlier but found it amusing to replay it just to see if i would remember all the stuff, and to get the hang of the story from the beginning once again. Seems like i was stuck second time more than the first one. Now, even though i can't really say pixel-hunt is the major problem with DN (the cursor is pretty big, and the game cunningly lights some clues with the strike of lightning) but that was exactly my biggest problem, since i've missed one critical area -

Spoiler:

cabin at Milka.

Yup, I almost missed that too. I'm really not dealing good with dark areas

Originally Posted by diego

Also, a couple of "triggers" gave me trouble, like i wasn't sure what triggers

Spoiler:

Carlotta's note to appear in your office (i've found out that it's going to the back alley in Pier 5).

I had a similar problem

Spoiler:

I couldn't get Nobby to give me the location of Pseudopolis Yard, so I had to go back to saved game a couple of times, and talk to him for about 5 times until the location finally showed up on the map.

Originally Posted by diego

i'm happy i've read the manual this time so i made good use of keyboard commands like F2 and F3 for calling Inventory and Note-book, and especially Home, End, Page Up and Page Down for navigating it. Now, even though Note-book and "clue system" is in great part what separates DN from the rest of adventures, i've still felt it like it could have been slightly better organized, but at least these shortcuts really make life much easier.

I used those a lot, too. It's really easier getting around with them

Originally Posted by zobraks

You may say "It was easy for you, after all it's the second time you play DN, don't you?" and that's true, but this time I had trouble with...

Spoiler:

... getting to talk to Sapphire. I somehow had the notion that she has to go to her wardrobe before Lewton can speak with her, but she never seemed to be willing to leave the stage . So, I kept leaving Octarine Parrot, hoping that Sapphire will eventually retire to her premises and she never did. At the end I stayed a little longer in a bar and - what do you know! - Sapphire stoped singing and was ready for the interrogation.

Beside this, I had no bigger problems to reach the end of Act 1.

You really waited for her to go to the wardrobe?

Originally Posted by zobraks

Perhaps the puzzles are too easy for some very clever people

I'm not complaining

Originally Posted by zobraks

As for the DN humo(u)r/sarcasm - my English is too poor to express my delight in it. I'll just say that DN is one of the funniest AGs I ever played and its humo(u)r is one of the main reasons it's on my favo(u)rite games list.

Completely agree with you here

Originally Posted by zobraks

This time I found jokes about Ankh funnier than ever:

Where on earth did you find this location

[SweetDalilah]

Attention: This post contains spoilers. If you haven't finished Act I don't read this.

Act II
Mundy is dead, and you are the prime suspect for his murder. You find from Nobby that mysterious murders are connected to the occult and strange rituals. Now it’s your job to clear your name and find out who is behind all this.

You have 6 days starting today GMT +1 to finish Act II. Good luck. If you need any help ask away in the thread, because Act II might contain some harder puzzles

[zobraks]

Originally Posted by SweetDalilah

Where on earth did you find this location?

That's what I was talking about:

Originally Posted by zobraks

There is one more place where I stumbled, but since that puzzle is meant to be solved in act two, I'll comment it later.

I believe that's also what Trunkyo had on his mind:

Originally Posted by Trunkyo

There are a few actions that can still be completed in Act II if you (i.e. Lewton) didn't complete them before triggering the cutscene that ends Act I.

[Fien]

Originally Posted by zobraks

I believe that's also what Trunkyo had on his mind:

Fien too. Like I said, nobody reads my posts.

Okay, okay... maybe some people read some of my posts some of the time.

I spent several hours this week trying to get DN to behave on my XP, and when that didn't work on my old Win98 machine. No dice. Wonderful. I was ready to throw in the towel, when I remembered I played it the first time on my older XP computer, with a patch or something. Lo and behold! Everything was still there, complete with saved games. Played a little last night, Act I not finished yet.

I'm very much looking forward to re-experiencing the unique twist DN has in store for us in later acts. I loved it. First-time players will be pleasantly surprised.

[zobraks]

Originally Posted by Fien

Fien too. Like I said, nobody reads my posts.

Don't be sad , nobody reads my posts too:

Originally Posted by zobraks

What can I say before I catch up with what players here have already written?

Let me explain: I've been busy lately (not only by trying to finish the Act 1), so I haven't read thoroughly all that's been said previously in this topic.
I intend to catch up soon.

[SweetDalilah]

Originally Posted by zobraks

That's what I was talking about:

Yes,I know that But I was still interested to know how you found that location. Nevermind, I'll find it myself

Originally Posted by Fien

Fien too. Like I said, nobody reads my posts.

I read them, Fien ( I remember you said that about completing something you shouldn't have completed in Act I, way back in "time for a new community playthrough" ) (I have a good memory )

spent several hours this week trying to get DN to behave on my XP, and when that didn't work on my old Win98 machine. No dice. Wonderful. I was ready to throw in the towel, when I remembered I played it the first time on my older XP computer, with a patch or something. Lo and behold! Everything was still there, complete with saved games. Played a little last night, Act I not finished yet.

Fien! I expect to see comments about Act I in 2 days at most. You see, I do read your posts

I'm very much looking forward to re-experiencing the unique twist DN has in store for us in later acts. I loved it. First-time players will be pleasantly surprised.

Yay, I can't wait.

[diego]

Some more general impressions so far and view on Act 1:

I've somehow always liked to have those "alternative" comments on the same thing, like you get one description with the left and something different with the right click, since in this case "Use" or double-left click is often giving comments on things as is right clicking. I'm finding this a neat feature to get more immersed in game world and ALSO - to understand the main character even better. Speaking of which, let me say one thing first - i wasn't actually quite impressed with Lewton's voice at beginning, because of somewhat "over the top" pronunciation. Before you all raise torches and pitchforks, let me add that once it grew on me, i thought it could hardly be much better. Why? Simply because its full of personality, something similar like with Sadwick's voice in TWW.

That is of course, also thanks to script writing, so both things combine to a greater character development, compared to, for instance somewhat "stiff" Howard Brooks in Secrets of Atlantis.

As for the story so far - i actually didn't like Malachite side quest at first, because it seemed like too much to go with main plot also getting more complicated, but like i said - the second time it was much easier to "catch" things, and i'm almost sure two stories will intersect each other later on? Count Überwald, on the other hand, is even pretty "stereotyped" great addition to "mystery". But i have a minor criticism here - he said i should inform him everything about the "Mundy" case, but later when i wanted to tell him about Mundy being killed he said he "wasn't interested in city's petty crimes".

Some other nags would be with the interface, like cumbersome calling for inventory and note-book when using mouse by clicking on Lewton, but as i said F2 and F3 resolve that. As for graphics, locations are indeed full of an atmosphere but 3D character models could have been slightly better, especially Lewton's, because i have a feeling some other minor characters are pretty good modeled.


I haven't succeeded in finding the quote i was looking for, but here're couple of others from Act 1:

- The warehouse was full of crates. I wasn't surprised.

- I don't take messages from dwarves named after cities.

- For some reason, there was a grappling iron on the floor near Malachite.

I couldn't have been more interested in it even it had "plot device" written across it in large letters.

and from the start of Act 2:

- It wasn't going to be a good day, I decided.

Originally Posted by AnneS

However, I do have one problem with the game so far: it has no significant puzzles.

i agree with the sentiment there're aren't many puzzles to do in Act 1 apart from usual exploration and dialogue, but the first puzzle in Act 2 makes up for that. It's already obvious DN is dialogue-heavy game, which in this case is for the most part not a bad thing, but it's probably also a designer's choice to start slowly with the challenge.

Originally Posted by Fien

I'm very much looking forward to re-experiencing the unique twist DN has in store for us in later acts. I loved it. First-time players will be pleasantly surprised.

woohoo *brings popcorns* and now, when i think of it, i'm really not sure until where i've progressed the last time. I remember finding

Spoiler:

dwarf who crashed in river from the bridge

but i don't think i've progressed further than Act 2

[inm8#2]

Okay, finally caught up. The game was crashing when I opened the notebook during conversations. I tried either Win 98 or 2000 compatibility mode and the problem went away.

One other small nag that occurs regardless of compatibility mode or not is that when Lewton walks, the animation jerks a bit and makes him look like he's strutting or throwing his head to the side every two steps.

[DustyShinigami]

^

I used to have that weird head-twitch thing too. What's more weird though, is that I don't have that problem anymore with the original boxed copy; I think it only plagues the re-release version in the DVD case...

Even though I'm not posting my own thoughts/comments, I'm still very much following the playthrough and enjoying everyone else's. Glad the second part has now begun!

[zobraks]

After reading all the previous comments , here are my comments on (some of) those:

Originally Posted by SweetDalilah

If you like noir movies be sure to check out this movie.

If you like hilarious film noir parodies, don't miss Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid!
It's chock-full of classic film noir scenes incorporated in an original scenario.

I noticed that the scrolling text from the intro (googled by TimovieMan) has a lot of typos, so (for the perfectionists among you) here are the full text snapshots taken from the game (by me):

Originally Posted by diego

i've missed one critical area -

Spoiler:

cabin at Milka.

Welcome to the club!

Originally Posted by diego

i made good use of keyboard commands like F2 and F3 for calling Inventory and Note-book... these shortcuts really make life much easier.

I do the same thing as I did the first time around (call me sentimental ): if I want to go to the Inventory or the Notebook I simply double-click Lewton's ass (no smart remarks, please! ). As for navigating the notebook, I find clicking on notes (double-click on the titles for going to specific pages) much easier than using the keyboard.

Originally Posted by SweetDalilah

I'm really not dealing good with dark areas

Change your gamma, quizmistress!

[SweetDalilah]

Originally Posted by diego

the second time it was much easier to "catch" things, and i'm almost sure two stories will intersect each other later on?

That's what I said in the first place. However there aren't only two cases :

Spoiler:

There's Mundy's case, which seemes to already be connected to the "mysterious murders" case police is investigating, there's find Therma case (which also migt be connected because of the Octarine parrot, and find the missing dwarf for the Count case.

Originally Posted by diego

Count Überwald, on the other hand, is even pretty "stereotyped" great addition to "mystery".

Oh yes, he is the true example of all those rich people who think highly of themself, and think they need to know everything, and can do whatever they want.

Originally Posted by diego

As for graphics, locations are indeed full of an atmosphere but 3D character models could have been slightly better, especially Lewton's, because i have a feeling some other minor characters are pretty good modeled.

Oh yes, that's the thing I didn't like either Ilsa's character could have been better too. As for Lewton, I actually like the way he looks, he has a bit of parody in his looks to all those Noir film PIs

Originally Posted by DustyShinigami

Even though I'm not posting my own thoughts/comments, I'm still very much following the playthrough and enjoying everyone else's. Glad the second part has now begun!

Dusty, I want to hear your comments about the game too. Don't make me say it again.

Originally Posted by zobraks

If you like hilarious film noir parodies, don't miss Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid!
It's chock-full of classic film noir scenes incorporated in an original scenario.

Looks interesting. I will ckeck it out

Originally Posted by diego

Some other nags would be with the interface, like cumbersome calling for inventory and note-book when using mouse by clicking on Lewton, but as i said F2 and F3 resolve that.

Originally Posted by zobraks

I do the same thing as I did the first time around (call me sentimental ): if I want to go to the Inventory or the Notebook I simply double-click Lewton's ass (no smart remarks, please! ). As for navigating the notebook, I find clicking on notes (double-click on the titles for going to specific pages) much easier than using the keyboard.

I like clicking on Lewton too (to bring up notebook and inventory), rather than using F2 and F3. But I do however use HOME and END while navigating the notebook, it makes the things easier

Originally Posted by zobraks

Change your gamma, quizmistress!

I did already increase the gamma a little bit (like in your picture) and the only trouble I've had so far in dark areas is

Spoiler:

finding the cabin on Milka

And I actually like the dark, moody atmosphere, increasing the gamma too much could ruin that.

I'm a gamemistress now too, zobraks

[inm8#2]

Does anyone else find Sapphire oddly sexy?