[DustyShinigami]

Originally Posted by Fien

BTW, thanks Dusty. I got the game working again. Don't know for how long though. I'm no techie. Two Conkers puts it so well... to be knowing is not the me I am in.

No problem. Glad it resolved the issue. And a perfectly appropriate quote...

Originally Posted by SweetDalilah

Oh well you could comment on the Act II. If you join a playthrough, you should be able to share your opinion too.

I shall try, though no promises.

[SweetDalilah]

So Act II was more complicated in both the terms of difficulty level of the puzzles and the complexity of the story.

I must admit that I myself have missed some hotspots at the murder scene, and waiting for that rat to pass looked like forever.

As for the story, I must say that some things were made clearer, while others only got more complicated.

Also we got some new characters like the stereotypical “mafia boss” Jasper Horst who calls his “associates”, people he follows and makes them do things for him.
Horst: Mr. Lewton, I’m so glad you could come and join us. So punctually too. Yes I know you were escorted by Mr. Al Khali here, but the fact that you arrived here on time shows that you didn’t put up any form of resistance, which means you’re intelligent enough to realize we are not your enemies. And since we’re not enemies there is always a possibility that we might be friends.

But the Temple of Gods characters are really something, especially the crazy follower of the goddess Errata, Malaclypse, with all his theories about conspiracies. I quite enjoyed using all the possible topics with him just to see his response. Some of his theories are completely insane, while other might actually have some truth in them. I suggest we pay attention to what he is saying.

Malaclypse (About Malachite): They are planning to have him killed.
Lewton: They?! Who are they?
Malaclypse: Nobody knows who they are. Only they know who they are.

I did find the guards outside the Patrician Palace quite interesting too. Especially because they seemed to know more than common guards should know (and they also seemed to be not so stupid as guards usually are) Besides finding out about the kings of Ankh - Morpork was interesting too

And also there were some character references like Leonard de Quirm a.k.a Leonardo da Vinci and Laredo Cronk a.k.a. Lara Croft

Some more interesting things you might have missed:

I accidentally went to the office 2 times in a row and this is what I found out. So I kept clicking the office until I heard everything. At the beginning I thought Lewton was being paranoid.




At the vault door I wanted to see what would happen if Lewton tried to pass through the security system. I thought he would just get fried but this is what happened:



Some more quotes:

Lewton (to Al Khali): Now why would you want to carry an axe?
Al Khali: To hack at people, Mr. Lewton. An axe is the weapon of choice for a dwarf, you should know that.

Lewton (about the diamond tooth): I wasn’t about to flash the stolen tooth around- someone might tell Lord Selachii and the next thing I knew I’d have a blade in my back and a receipt from the Assassins’ guild on my bedside table.

Lewton: interrupting an assassin while he was working was a risky business, so I decided to ambush Remora with the old “only answer questions with questions” routine.
Lewton: Why did you try to kill that woman?
Assassin: Why does any assassin try to kill someone?
Lewton: Who put a contract on Ilsa?
Assassin: Don’t you know better than to interfere with the official guild business
Lewton: Why would anyone want to kill Ilsa?
Assasin: Do you expect me to discuss a confidential case with you?
Lewton: What do you want from me Remora?
Asssasin: Swift death and a cheap funeral
Lewton: Ha! You lose! That wasn’t a question, that was a statement. You’re getting sloppy.
Assasin: You’re lucky we’re only allowed to kill for money, because I’d take you out for free.

Lewton (about the Golden Sword): I expected it to a t least glow a little, or perhaps sing to itself quietly – or hum with the stolen souls of a thousand men. But it just felt cold and hard in my hand, like any other sword.
Suddenly it came over me that everything would go wrong. I couldn't hear my footsteps. It was the walk of a dead man

Here are my theories about everything:

Originally Posted by Jubilee

I know, I'm kind of sad that we never really get to resolve the

Spoiler:

Therma case.

Don't worry, we'll get to find out who's Therma. And I already have a pretty good idea who could it be.

Spoiler:

I think it's Carlotta

So here is my theory:

Spoiler:

So Lewton's killer had an unbelievable strength, he knocked out that fence with no problems, and jumped from incredible height. An that gargoyle said he saw a beastlike figure kill Malachite. So yes, it’s probably a werewolf that could change back to human form at any time (expect when it’s full moon) which explains the counterweight murders and Mundy’s murder. Also I think It’s obvious on who had bitten Lewton. Yes I think it’s Carlotta. But I still somehow refuse to believe she is a killer. Besides she has an alibi. But what kind of alibi is a confirmation of two lunatics that she was in the Temple?

Also anyone else liked the romantic scene between Lewton and Carlotta?

“When she kissed me fire burned in my veins and I felt alive. Have you ever kissed someone who you don’t know whether to love or to hate?"

You have an excellent point there Lewton. Happens to me every time

[Fien]

How do you know we'll find out who Therma is when you don't know yet who turned Lewton into a werewolf?

EDIT: And I don't agree about Jasper. He's not a typical mafia boss, he and his dwarf are after the golden sword, like the Fat Man in the Maltese Falcon and his pathetic Wilmer are after the legendary falcon statue.

[SweetDalilah]

Originally Posted by Fien

How do you know we'll find out who Therma is when you don't know yet who turned Lewton into a werewolf?

Oh I just know it I have my ways

Originally Posted by Fien

EDIT: And I don't agree about Jasper. He's not a typical mafia boss, he and his dwarf are after the golden sword, like the Fat Man in the Maltese Falcon and his pathetic Wilmer are after the legendary falcon statue.

Well you may be right, but he and Al Khali are dangerous, and everyone who has "associates" who are willing to kill for him, I consider to be mafia It's just my opinion

[inm8#2]

I thought it was obvious who made Lewton a werewolf.

Spoiler:

When he kisses Carlotta we see a stained glass image of a werewolf, if my memory serves me correctly.

[SweetDalilah]

Originally Posted by inm8#2

I thought it was obvious who made Lewton a werewolf.

Spoiler:

When he kisses Carlotta we see a stained glass image of a werewolf, if my memory serves me correctly.

Yes I thought it was obvious too. But sence some people weren't sure who it might be, and had some different theories I thought I should have shared my theory and make some things clearer

Originally Posted by SweetDalilah

So here is my theory:

Spoiler:

So Lewton's killer had an unbelievable strength, he knocked out that fence with no problems, and jumped from incredible height. An that gargoyle said he saw a beastlike figure kill Malachite. So yes, it’s probably a werewolf that could change back to human form at any time (expect when it’s full moon) which explains the counterweight murders and Mundy’s murder. Also I think It’s obvious on who had bitten Lewton. Yes I think it’s Carlotta. But I still somehow refuse to believe she is a killer. Besides she has an alibi. But what kind of alibi is a confirmation of two lunatics that she was in the Temple?

[SweetDalilah]

You wake up as werewolf. With the help of Gaspode the Wonderdog, you need to learn how to use your new senses. You also need to find out who turned you into a werewolf, retrieve the Golden Sword, and find out who killed you.

Starting today Jan 25 you have 7 days to finish Act III.
If you get stuck at any time, and need any clues, please ask in the thread

[AnneS]

I just completed Act II last night, and am pleased to report that I liked the gameplay a lot more in this act. The people who told me there were puzzles ahead were correct! Now I only wish the notebook interface was more organized. And that they'd put puzzles in the first act. This part of the game was acceptably challenging, with plenty of deduction and interesting problems to solve. I even had to resort to UHS at one point.

Spoiler:

I had not realized that you could remove Regin's toupee. Or, indeed, that he was wearing one. *facepalm*

That kept me stuck for a while, because it seems you can't talk to SPOILER about disabling the security system until you've found the SPOILER. I actually wondered if I'd struck a bug, hence the walkthrough.

The plot certainly thickens in this act, and as I'd forgotten most of it I was eager to find out what was going on. (I do remember who's responsible for Lewton's, um, condition at the start of Act III, though. One of the few plot points that has stuck in my brain over the years.) The dialogue and atmosphere continue to be excellent. The Lara Croft parody seems rather out of place, but maybe it was funnier at the time. Malaclypse the conspiracy nut is still good for a laugh, though, even if the X-Files reference is a little outdated.

This act, however, also contains one of the main things I disliked about the game back in 1999. The Watch books are my favourite part of the Discworld, and Sam Vimes is my favourite character. His characterization felt really off to me when I first played the game, and I don't like it any more now. As someone noted earlier in the thread, its like he's been bent out of shape to fit the noir stereotype of what a police chief should be, and that's ... just not Vimes. (I think part of it is that the voice acting sounds all wrong to me. Sam grew up in the rough part of Ankh-Morpork! His accent isn't right!)

In adition, I understand why Act II ends with a long tutorial about the new gameplay element, but it damages the pacing of that section. The act break probably should have come right after Lewton

Spoiler:

sprang out of his grave as a slavering werewolf.

On the whole, though, I liked this act more than the first and am looking forward to Act III.

[Jubilee]

Originally Posted by SweetDalilah

Also anyone else liked the romantic scene between Lewton and Carlotta?

“When she kissed me fire burned in my veins and I felt alive. Have you ever kissed someone who you don’t know whether to love or to hate?"

You have an excellent point there Lewton. Happens to me every time

Call me daft, but I completely missed the chemistry between the two and the kiss came totally off kilter for me.

[SweetDalilah]

Originally Posted by AnneS

In adition, I understand why Act II ends with a long tutorial about the new gameplay element, but it damages the pacing of that section. The act break probably should have come right after Lewton

Spoiler:

sprang out of his grave as a slavering werewolf.

I know, I completely agree with you. I expected Act II to end there too

Originally Posted by Jubilee

Call me daft, but I completely missed the chemistry between the two and the kiss came totally off kilter for me.

In my language we have an expression "Ko se tuče taj se voli", which basically means that 2 people who seem like they don't like each other and argue all the time might actually have some chemistry between them, and actually like each other subconsciously.
So here, while Lewton and Carlotta were giving each other clever, sarcastic remarks (especially Lewton), tension was growing between them, and it had to culminate one way or another

That's my explanation, but you're entitled to your opinion, of course

[Fien]

So she didn't kiss him to

Spoiler:

turn him into a werewolf? Although she did say in the intro that she wouldn't bite him...

Oh.
I'm confused.

[SweetDalilah]

Originally Posted by Fien

So she didn't kiss him to

Spoiler:

turn him into a werewolf? Although she did say in the intro that she wouldn't bite him...

Oh.
I'm confused.

Well, that too Or she did it by accident, I'm not sure I guess what I said applies for Lewton more Nevertheless Carlotta is quite smart and calculated, but I do think she feels some attraction towards Lewton

[TimovieMan]

Originally Posted by Jubilee

Got really stuck at the start of Act II, when it turns out there are some small pixels you have to click on in the murder scene *facepalm* could barely see some of those things in the dark.

I missed the frayed rope too the first time, just like the cabin on the boat in Act I.

Originally Posted by inm8#2

Ready for Act III. The game has taken a very interesting turn. I am not very familiar with the Discworld novels and haven't played the other two games, but Pratchett has a really nice balance of noir and humor here.

This is indeed the noirest (? most noir ?) game I've ever played. It even beats Grim Fandango in that aspect.

Originally Posted by Jubilee

Just reached Act III, there was a major twist towards the end which caught me by surprise. I got stuck and had to refer to a walkthrough a few times during the playthrough, it was a long one and the list of places to visit and people to talk to grows this time through.

That caught me by surprise too. I had figured that

Spoiler:

the intro would come somewhere near the end, just before we got a full explanation of the plot, you know, with a dead narrator like in American Beauty or Sunset Blvd.
I didn't think that Lewton'd be dead halfway through the game and undead for the rest of it.

Great twist.
It would've been even greater if SweetDalilah hadn't spoiled that DURING ACT I! Without spoiler tags!!!

I know, I'm kind of sad that we never really get to resolve the

Spoiler:

Therma case.

I think we still will. But I'll explain my theory a bit lower in this post.

Edit: in the next post, this one became too long...

Originally Posted by Datadog

-The biggest thing that really got in my way were all the pixel-hunting puzzles in the dark. I even turned up the gamma just to see if I could spot these things to no avail. A lot of these backgrounds are perfect black (my matte painting teacher would go medieval on DN's background artist.)

Apart from the cabin on the Milka and the frayed rope, I didn't have an issue with this. Plus the pixels aren't really that small. It's more the darkness that makes it difficult, but then again, the lightning helps and was imo a deliberate game design.

-The interrogation scene is hilarious. LONG, but hilarious. Best game of Good Cop/Good Cop ever.

Fully agree. Had me in stitches. Especially when Nobby goes overboard with the Good Cop routine and starts offering ridiculously expensive gifts/services...
And you simply can't resist any of the trolls in this game...

-CRACK IN THE WALL. AUGH. PIXEL-HUNTING. DARK BACKGROUND.

I thought this one was easy. You did see where your "roommate" went, did you?

-New Favorite Character: Gable. "That's okay! We're none of us perfect!" Such a great upbeat attitude for a gargoyle.

Clerk's Gable (they didn't even try to cover up the reference) was indeed a great character.
My personal new favourite (apart from Lewton himself, that is), is Jasper Horst. That entire dialogue when you're first brought to him was pure brilliance. He reminded me of Hans Landa in the first 20 minutes of Inglourious Basterds. He's speaking so calmly and eloquently (and that for a troll!) and politely yet at the same time every word feels like a threat and the atmosphere turns more menacing by the second. Loved that!

-Got the crowbar again... I have a feeling this is a game bug. When I use it on the vases, he comments on how I shouldn't have it unless I'm a play-tester or hacked the game.

Got it too and got that same response. It probably IS a bug, though. I don't think it was supposed to respawn at the wine barrel cart near Café Ankh.

Originally Posted by Jubilee

Did anyone else miss the Laredo Cronk parody? I knew she looked familiar and I didn't get it until later XD

Wasn't it pretty obvious? I mean, she's even dressed the same...

Originally Posted by Fien

Yeah, I agree. chatterbox Lara feels out of place, all the more so since she is the upward nubile tomb evacuator and the focus of the fantasy of a thousand post-pubescent adolescents. She's got nothing to say or add. Unlike Sapphire. Unlike the great Malachite, who passed away far too soon.

I don't mind funny references. Besides, the Guild would be empty without at least one character to talk to. And she's constantly giving hints regarding the vault...

Speaking of game references, that bright yellow military font used to indicate the number 51 on the vault door, isn't that a reference to Fallout, or am I seeing things?

It sometimes feels like the characters are straight from the Maltese Falcon. I'd forgotten all about troll Jasper, who is of course the spitting image of Kasper Gutman, the fat man. Including his lines about not trusting a man who...

And his associate in the movie (played by Peter Lorre) was Joey Cairo, also named after a city...

With so much references to movies, I full expect the game to end with Lewton watching Ilsa board a plane/boat with "We'll always have Paris/Ankh-Morpork." as a goodbye...

Originally Posted by SweetDalilah

Some more interesting things you might have missed:

I accidentally went to the office 2 times in a row and this is what I found out. So I kept clicking the office until I heard everything. At the beginning I thought Lewton was being paranoid.

I did miss this. Thanks for sharing it!

At the vault door I wanted to see what would happen if Lewton tried to pass through the security system. I thought he would just get fried but this is what happened:

I'd reckon we've all tried this...

Originally Posted by AnneS

Spoiler:

I had not realized that you could remove Regin's toupee. Or, indeed, that he was wearing one. *facepalm*

I didn't at first either, but I had a distinct feeling that I'd left Maudlin Bridge too soon, so I went back and discovered this.

The Lara Croft parody seems rather out of place, but maybe it was funnier at the time. Malaclypse the conspiracy nut is still good for a laugh, though, even if the X-Files reference is a little outdated.

They may feel a little outdated now, but this game was made in 1999, and back then both Lara Croft and X-Files were still hot.

This act, however, also contains one of the main things I disliked about the game back in 1999. The Watch books are my favourite part of the Discworld, and Sam Vimes is my favourite character. His characterization felt really off to me when I first played the game, and I don't like it any more now. As someone noted earlier in the thread, its like he's been bent out of shape to fit the noir stereotype of what a police chief should be, and that's ... just not Vimes. (I think part of it is that the voice acting sounds all wrong to me. Sam grew up in the rough part of Ankh-Morpork! His accent isn't right!)

This makes me glad I've only read The Colour of Magic so far. This would bug me too.

In adition, I understand why Act II ends with a long tutorial about the new gameplay element, but it damages the pacing of that section. The act break probably should have come right after Lewton

Spoiler:

sprang out of his grave as a slavering werewolf.

I full agree.

But seeing how you can't save immediately anyway, it'd be like the end of Act I where you have to sit through the entire dialogue between you and Vimes (while Nobby interrupts with all the moments where Vimes was serious ), before you can save and quit the game. It wouldn't really matter. But yes, seeing the "Act III"-screen before the tutorial makes a lot more sense...

[TimovieMan]

A quote (that hasn't been mentioned here yet) that I liked a lot came after you ask Nobby if they'd noticed that Mundy was hung upside down and he responds quite baffled:
Lewton: "I can't believe that the person doing the most work on this case is also the prime suspect!"

Yes, I may have paraphrased a little. So sue me!

Gaspode the Wonderdog's first lines were hilarious too.
Woof! Woof!
Woof! Woof!
Woof!!
Woof Bloody Woof!!!



And now for my theory regarding the plot:

Spoiler:

I personally think Carlotta is behind everything. I think she's Therma, and thus also responsible for Malachite's murder, I think she's behind the Counterweight Killings, Mundy's murder, Lewton's murder, possibly even Regin's murder. Plus she's a werewolf and the one that gave Lewton his lycanthropy.

What I can't work out yet is why. There's bound to be a greater plan to be revealed in Act III, but I can't grasp the "turning Lewton into a werewolf"-part yet. I mean, why would she do that? Does she see Lewton as a potential ally? Because I don't think he is going to scheme with her (unless of course she seriously overestimates her own femme fatale qualities). Otherwise, turning him into a werewolf will only make him more of a threat to whatever she's planning.

Also: any theories as to the contents of the box that was found in the carriage? Maybe that golden jewel that's been mentioned before?

Also anyone else liked the romantic scene between Lewton and Carlotta?

“When she kissed me fire burned in my veins and I felt alive. Have you ever kissed someone who you don’t know whether to love or to hate?"

Originally Posted by Fien

So she didn't kiss him to

Spoiler:

turn him into a werewolf? Although she did say in the intro that she wouldn't bite him...

My thoughts exactly. Thinking back, I figure that

Spoiler:

"When she kissed me, fire burned in my veins and I felt alive." means she bit him and gave him lycanthropy at that specific moment.

[millenia]

Oh dear, a playthrough of my favourite game and I haven't even noticed. I managed to finish all my courses for the autumn so now I actually have some time to play before I get drowned to school work again. Will try the patch and see if I can catch up this weekend. Not reading more of this thread before I get into the game, probably forgotten plenty of stuff and don't want spoilers. Too bad I had to drop out from the previous playthroughs, I hope I can at least finish this one.

[SweetDalilah]

Originally Posted by TimovieMan

That caught me by surprise too. I had figured that

Spoiler:

the intro would come somewhere near the end, just before we got a full explanation of the plot, you know, with a dead narrator like in American Beauty or Sunset Blvd.
I didn't think that Lewton'd be dead halfway through the game and undead for the rest of it.

Great twist.
It would've been even greater if SweetDalilah hadn't spoiled that DURING ACT I! Without spoiler tags!!!

Oh you mean this

Originally Posted by SweetDalilah

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



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.

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

Sorry about that , but I did write "may contain spoilers", and Act I was already finished. And sence Lewton said after the intro "I've never woken up dead before" it was quite obvious that he was undead (since he was talking retrospectively). I'm playing DN for the first time too so it was a pure guess.

Spoiler:

I had no idea he was going to turn into a werewolf or when for that matter

Originally Posted by TimovieMan

A quote (that hasn't been mentioned here yet) that I liked a lot came after you ask Nobby if they'd noticed that Mundy was hung upside down and he responds quite baffled:
Lewton: "I can't believe that the person doing the most work on this case is also the prime suspect!"

Yes, I may have paraphrased a little. So sue me!

Gaspode the Wonderdog's first lines were hilarious too.
Woof! Woof!
Woof! Woof!
Woof!!
Woof Bloody Woof!!!

I like those quotes too. I also like Gaspode The Wonderdog, a lot too

[TimovieMan]

Originally Posted by SweetDalilah

And sence Lewton said after the intro "I've never woken up dead before" it was quite obvious that he was undead (since he was talking retrospectively).

It wasn't that obvious to me. I guess I'm just too used to dead narrators in movies that I rarely consider undead narrators...

[SweetDalilah]

Originally Posted by millenia

Oh dear, a playthrough of my favourite game and I haven't even noticed. I managed to finish all my courses for the autumn so now I actually have some time to play before I get drowned to school work again. Will try the patch and see if I can catch up this weekend. Not reading more of this thread before I get into the game, probably forgotten plenty of stuff and don't want spoilers. Too bad I had to drop out from the previous playthroughs, I hope I can at least finish this one.

Welcome to the playthrough millenia. I'm glad you could join us. I really hope you'll catch up. Oh and don't read any of the posts above, until you get to Act III

[DustyShinigami]

Originally Posted by TimovieMan

With so much references to movies, I full expect the game to end with Lewton watching Ilsa board a plane/boat with "We'll always have Paris/Ankh-Morpork." as a goodbye...

If I remember right,

Spoiler:

I think something like that actually happens

...

Anyway, I'm actually a bit behind - I'm still halfway through Act II. I'll be playing some more in a bit to catch up...

[diego]

Woof... I mean - Whew, bloody, whew finally finished with the Act 2, and i was really surprised at how long it is, or it's me being slow and "sucky" but i expected it to end after every little "twist"... until we finally reach the "big twist" - and now i remembered - it was actually just around the "transformation" part where i reached the last time, and i think i might have got some crash then, which i resolved this time by completely copying the content of 3 disks to the hard drive.


Anyway, the second chapter is better than the first one in almost every aspect (no s..., Sherlock!) - bigger, longer, harder, wider, story-wise more complicated, more characters... I will comment some of the new characters:

Jasper Horst - basically Jabba the Hutt with the voice of Darth Vader and calmness of Christopher Walken in a crime movie.

Malaclypse - the best. Don't you just love the guy who has a comment on EVERYTHING you present to him?! Btw, not exactly his theme, but close enough - Temple theme is my fav

two guards - pretty interesting segment of the game, although i doubt they'll feature more into the story. Nevertheless, as already said, pretty "unconventional" guards duo.

Al Khali is constantly around but if he's only Jasper's henchman it wouldn't be much interesting. I wasn't actually crazy for the whole interrogation scene as it got on my nerves, especially the bad troll I wish i could talk to Leonard just to see who wins the battle between him and Malaclypse of being the biggest loony. And i see Leroda as another testimony of the great impact Tomb Raider had at the time (yeap, still own the Tomb Raider 3 disk and i'm still stuck somewhere in the caves).

As for the puzzles the things don't really get much more complicated apart from more exploration and dialogue, but it features two great puzzles that gave me that "AHA!" moment - the hiding place of Two Conkers and finding the crate.


Now, let me take a stroll and cool my head (its the first snow!) so i'll be back with comments and my thoughts on the story. As for now, take the quiz : Where these quotes come from?