Shadowrun: Hong Kong Kickstarter is UP!

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

Haven't picked this up yet, but how has hacking changed?

[evilcat]

Haven't picked this up yet, but how has hacking changed?

The matrix has like 2 states: silent brake in and spoted intrussion.

If you go silent you move in "stealth minigame" where you try to avoid "watcher" IC. And hide or run from their sight. There is also some memory minigames to break into data nodes.

If you got spotted to often there is a alarm and battle IC shows up (like in Berlin). And you can also blow up gates to data nodes instead of play minigames.

 

In is generally improvment over previous, since matrix play is different from meat world. And hiding from IC or solving puzzles feels more like hacking.

 

Also some parts of matrix are more stylish.

[ShadySands]

Finished it and loved it and it's definitely my top game of the year so far

 

No idea how long it took me because the game has been running nonstop since I installed it

 

Thinking of doing a decker or street sam run next, prolly an orc

[Leferd]

I got my first hacking mini-game. Ummm...what the hell am I supposed to do? Just type the numbers as they flash?

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

What's the hacking minigame?

[Orogun01]

I got my first hacking mini-game. Ummm...what the hell am I supposed to do? Just type the numbers as they flash?

The numbers give you more time, then click next when you feel like you reached the best extent of your skills at Simon and watch symbols appear on the decoder and pick the correct sequence.

 

[Keyrock]

I got my first hacking mini-game. Ummm...what the hell am I supposed to do? Just type the numbers as they flash?

The first part is essentially Simon.  The second part I guess you need to match the alien letters code that flashes up with one of the strings below.  It sure would have been nice if they had explained it in the game.

 

Edit: What Orogun wrote. 

Edited August 23, 2015 by Keyrock

[ShadySands]

[Keyrock]

Pro-tip: While the 2D backgrounds in the game look freakin' amazing, the 3D character models are pretty aliased, especially when you zoom in.  The game may or may not have bulit in anti-aliasing of some kind as part of "post processing" (who the hell knows what that actually means?), but I went ahead and forced AA (4XSS and 2XMS) and AF (8X) on to the game via nvidia-settings and magically jaggies be gone.  If your system can handle forcing AA and AF on to the game without killing the framerate, I definitely recommend it.

Edited August 23, 2015 by Keyrock

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

How do Adepts fare?

[majestic]

I just finished the game. GOG Galaxy tells me I've played for 30 hours, but that includes loads of running around talking to people and double checking everything twice over - oh, and trying out all the ways to end the campaign.

 

The endgame and some conversations are a buggy affair, sometimes the pictures of the characters talking don't show up, or they still show the previous character that talked, sometimes the spoken text is designated as descriptor text and vice versa and there are a bunch of skill and stat checks that don't work even if you are way above the threshold listed in the convo (they're greyed out).

 

Yeah, and in the aftermath of the final battle you can get into an endless conversation loop with the tech vendor. Annoying. Also, loading the autosave of the aftermath messes up variable tracking in the game and leads to annoying inconsistencies like people wondering what happened to characters that are standing right next to them. I found that out after having to break off the endless talk the hard way.

 

The hacking mini-game started out fun but old really fast. Much like hacking in Mass Effect or Mass Effect 2. Not sure what the point was. The new matrix system is pretty good though, I like not being locked in turn based mode all the time while traversing a system. The trace system is okayish and was only troublesome once in the entire game.

 

Some thoughts about character generation and karma spending:

 

 

 

 

• The highest stat check I came across was against having 7 charisma and body, and that was only one of each very late in the game.
• The highest decking check outside the final moments of the game is 6. The one at the end is labelled as "7" but having 7 decking does nothing to allow you to pass it and the entire conversation is bugged anyway, and even if you could pass it it would just be to show off.
• Which means playing a Troll decker is all fine and dandy.
• Unlike in Shadowrun: Returns and Shadowrun: Dragonfall there is a lot of karma to be had. While sidequests still only give you 1 or 2 a piece the main runs will net you 6, 8 or 10 (most of them . Yet there is still barely a point in playing anything but Humans and Trolls. Unless you don't care at all for meeting intelligence and charisma checks you still won't have enough karma to do something meaningful with the increased racial stat maximums.
• There are less decking checks that require decking on your player character, but there are a lot of intelligence checks, so you might as well pick it up.
• There also are a lot of strength checks...
• ... and a load of charisma checks. Those mostly show up paired with etiquette checks, so not having the "right" etiquettes won't cripple you. I had no problems meeting checks and I picked security which I remember using a grand total of one time.
• Money is tighter than in Dragonfall, so plan ahead, especially if you want to grab cyberware. It's pretty expensive. The early jobs are all easy and feature almost no unavoidable combat, so grab some karma and cash before investing heavily in gear. That way you can also avoid having to buy intermediate implants.
• If you want to use the monofilament whip cyberweapon implant keep in mind it uses ranged combat to calculate hit chance. Every other cyberweapon uses close combat for that.

Stats in order of usefulness for meeting checks in conversations and environment interactions:

 

Charisma = Intelligence > Strength > Body > Willpower > Quickness

 

I don't remember a single check for quickness and only one willpower check that is of no consequence. Body shows up once or twice in the same way strength checks work (i.e. for intimidation purposes).

 

Skills in order of usefulness for meeting checks in conversations and environment interactions:

 

Decking > Biotech = Conjuring/Spellcasting > Rigging > Rest

 

There are, as usual, a lot of decking checks, so it's still worthwhile in bringing in shortcuts. Biotech shows up every so often and conjuring or spellcasting generally shows up as a combined effort usually while assensing something. Every now and then there is a close combat check, a ranged combat check, or an unarmed combat check but none of that really matters.

 

These often, but not always, can be delegated to team members when on a run. Obviously not while you're in Heoi talking to people.

 

Etiquettes in terms of usefulness:

 

Shadowrunner > Academic > Socialite > Rest

 

So after two games of being barely useful shadowrunner etiquette takes the cake this time, followed by academic and socialite. Those generally help you on runs the most, the others also show up from time to time but can usually be circumvented by having some charisma.

 

 

 

 

Spoilery thoughts about the game and the storyline:

 

 

 

 

I liked Dragonfall better for some reason that I'm not even sure of myself. Hong Kong is technically better in almost every way, the matrix system got a major upgrade, combat is a lot less plentiful which is a godsend considering that it barely ever yields anything worthwhile and the characters are all crafted with loving detail, but...

 

Yeah. But. The entire Cthuluesque storyline set in Eastern Asia somehow doesn't do much for me and the ending seems a bit rushed and the conversation bugs that I kept having were a bummer for my immersion. Kindly Cheng accepting you like that also didn't sit right with me. At least in Dragonfall you started out as experience shadowrunner, but in Hong Kong you're essentially a rookie with a few skills being put in charge of a Triad shadowrunner team. Yeah, uhm, riiiiiiiiight.

 

Depending on the ending you pick to do you might not even get to finally understand why you ended up in that mess in the first place (Josephine Tsang messing up the machine, not Edward/Raymond failing and trying to keep her good luck).

 

Still, it was well worth the money.

 

 

 

[Orogun01]

 

I got my first hacking mini-game. Ummm...what the hell am I supposed to do? Just type the numbers as they flash?

The first part is essentially Simon.  The second part I guess you need to match the alien letters code that flashes up with one of the strings below.  It sure would have been nice if they had explained it in the game.

 

Edit: What Orogun wrote. 

 

Not to brag but I really didn't need an explanation, it was bit of an ego boost to figure it out myself.

[Gorgon]

Does the 'manage' popup you get when your item slots are full actually work. If so how ? I can't escape from the screen and I can't do anything. 

[Keyrock]

 

 

I got my first hacking mini-game. Ummm...what the hell am I supposed to do? Just type the numbers as they flash?

The first part is essentially Simon.  The second part I guess you need to match the alien letters code that flashes up with one of the strings below.  It sure would have been nice if they had explained it in the game.

 

Edit: What Orogun wrote. 

 

Not to brag but I really didn't need an explanation, it was bit of an ego boost to figure it out myself.

 

Congratulations, you are a champion of cleverness, truly a god among mortals, we are all blessed to be able to bask in your splendor.   That doesn't change the fact that this should have been explained in-game the first time it came up.  The first time you spend karma a pop up box comes up explaining how points are spent.  The first time you enter combat a pop up box comes up explaining turn-based combat.  The fact that no pop up box comes up the first time you enter a hacking mini-game is doubly as perplexing given that not only have there been pop up boxes for everything else up to that point, but also that this is the first time in the series that this mini-game has been used.  It's not a huge deal, a minuscule blemish on what has so far been an otherwise excellent game, but it seems like such a weird oversight.

[Humanoid]

Don't have time to play it as yet, but glad to hear the matrix sections being less pointlessly crappier versions of normal combat. I get that that stuff is iconic to the Shadowrun setting, but a persistent gripe of mine is that it for a newcomer, it always felt like pointless filler, just an uglier version of the "real world" firefights with fewer options and abilities.

[sorophx]

I guess it's better to wait for the Director's Cut of this thing then

[Hurlshort]

I guess it's better to wait for the Director's Cut of this thing then

 

Are you reading a different thread?  Everyone is gushing about it.

[ShadySands]

I guess it's better to wait for the Director's Cut of this thing then

Nah, just a patch or two maybe

[Orogun01]

 

 

 

I got my first hacking mini-game. Ummm...what the hell am I supposed to do? Just type the numbers as they flash?

The first part is essentially Simon.  The second part I guess you need to match the alien letters code that flashes up with one of the strings below.  It sure would have been nice if they had explained it in the game.

 

Edit: What Orogun wrote. 

 

Not to brag but I really didn't need an explanation, it was bit of an ego boost to figure it out myself.

 

Congratulations, you are a champion of cleverness, truly a god among mortals, we are all blessed to be able to bask in your splendor.   That doesn't change the fact that this should have been explained in-game the first time it came up.  The first time you spend karma a pop up box comes up explaining how points are spent.  The first time you enter combat a pop up box comes up explaining turn-based combat.  The fact that no pop up box comes up the first time you enter a hacking mini-game is doubly as perplexing given that not only have there been pop up boxes for everything else up to that point, but also that this is the first time in the series that this mini-game has been used.  It's not a huge deal, a minuscule blemish on what has so far been an otherwise excellent game, but it seems like such a weird oversight.

 

You're right, particularly about me being a champion of cleverness but also about the lack of tutorials.

[Lexx]

When I read about the uneven use of the etiquette checks, I am always wondering why they didn't do a location-checklist like e.g. in the old Van Buren design documents. Somehow feels to me as if they made the checks up while going, and didn't really tried to make them all feel useful.

[Vaeliorin]

 

 

 

I got my first hacking mini-game. Ummm...what the hell am I supposed to do? Just type the numbers as they flash?

The first part is essentially Simon.  The second part I guess you need to match the alien letters code that flashes up with one of the strings below.  It sure would have been nice if they had explained it in the game.

 

Edit: What Orogun wrote. 

 

Not to brag but I really didn't need an explanation, it was bit of an ego boost to figure it out myself.

 

Congratulations, you are a champion of cleverness, truly a god among mortals, we are all blessed to be able to bask in your splendor.   That doesn't change the fact that this should have been explained in-game the first time it came up.  The first time you spend karma a pop up box comes up explaining how points are spent.  The first time you enter combat a pop up box comes up explaining turn-based combat.  The fact that no pop up box comes up the first time you enter a hacking mini-game is doubly as perplexing given that not only have there been pop up boxes for everything else up to that point, but also that this is the first time in the series that this mini-game has been used.  It's not a huge deal, a minuscule blemish on what has so far been an otherwise excellent game, but it seems like such a weird oversight.

 

While I also figured it out the first time I saw it (though I'd seen someone mention remembering numbers somewhere, so that was a pretty big hint) it does definitely need a tutorial.  To be honest, however, it seemed to me like just fighting the stuff was way less of a hassle than trying to do it the "right" way.  Granted, I've not hacked many systems yet, but the minigame just doesn't strike me as very fun (and trying to get through without being noticed seems nigh impossible, though it's possible, even likely, that I'm just bad at stealth.)

[Rosveen]

Stats in order of usefulness for meeting checks in conversations and environment interactions:

 

Charisma = Intelligence > Strength > Body > Willpower > Quickness

 

 

As a shotgun mage, this is highly disappointing.

 

I don't think I like the new matrix. I just started, so it might grow on me, but the dissonance between turn-based+character skill and real time+player skill is very real. I almost feel like I'm meant to get caught, then it plays like I'm used to. I think it's a flaw that high decking skill doesn't help with staying undetected. Btw, is there a way to use Suppression out of combat?

Edited August 24, 2015 by Rosveen

[Darkpriest]

I've completed it and had fun, but there is uneven focus on Etiquettes.

 

Still the end game when my main had minigun and was buffed by Gobbet and Is0bel marked his targets was super fun. End game boss fight was piece of cake

 

I am planning on the next run as a decker or mage so I can use Duncan and one "optional" companion.

 

Companions had really fleshed out personalities. Part of me wishes that I could play this in 3D TPP mode like ME, but I guess I will have Cyberpunk 2077 for that.

 

The game at first seems a bit linear but there are minor choices that impact things further down the way and I like them being subtle.

 

A bit spoilerish - if you fancy less combat oriented play, invest in charisma and Shadowrunner/Corporate/Socialite Etiquettes (on top of my head)

[213374U]

Still the end game when my main had minigun and was buffed by Gobbet and Is0bel marked his targets was super fun.

 

Yeah, I take it you didn't upgrade her Mark ability. For the time being, it's bugged, and choosing the lower option on her Lv3 upgrade makes the ability disappear altogether. Bah.

 

(other than that, I haven't encountered any serious issues)

[majestic]

Does the 'manage' popup you get when your item slots are full actually work. If so how ? I can't escape from the screen and I can't do anything. 

 

Yes, it does - it even works when you, for some reason, have more than four characters in your group, it is just a pain in the behind to use. When you click manage you actually need to drag & drop the item from the top to the inventory slot you want it placed at. Once that is done the equipped item will switch places with the item on top (the one you're trying to take) and then you have to drag & drop the item on top to the stash icon on the bottom.

 

If you're trying to do that and you have more characters to work with you need to scroll through the characters by left-clicking, holding the mouse button down and dragging the mouse up or down depending on the way you want to scroll, kind of like you would on a  touch screen device.

 

I mean, sure, it's nice that after two games they tried to improve the user interface a bit, but the end result is just plain bad. Especially the item and equipment UI is terrible and sometimes buggy, for me half of the screen would simply disappear at times. The main menu was also often messed up - overlapping elements, sometimes the sub-menues "spilled" over to the main menu, and stuff like that.