Sleuth Home - Message Boards - Newbie Questions

Apr-9-2006 22:34
(sticky post)

WARNING GAME SPOILER!!

If you wish to enjoy the adventure of figuring out this game on your own, DO NOT read the rest of this post.

If you are too lazy to read through a page or two of threads to see if your question has already been asked a zillion times, then PLEASE read this first!

Welcome to Sleuth, and your new addiction.  There is no cure, so just accept it and enjoy it! Here are a few tips and hints that you should find helpful, and are among the FAQ of the newbie boards.

First, a great place to FIND ANSWERS and cool history threads about Sleuth is in the Moderator Picks Board. The Mods have picked out their favorite bits and made them easy to find. In addition to personal favorites, try looking over the Newbie FAQ. This can be found on the bottom of most pages as a tiny little grey link. Also the Help file at the upper right of most screens is packed with little useful tidbits.

HOW DO I SOLVE a case? First off…we recommend that you try the tutorial found on the front of the case page. It won’t count against your daily caseload, and it will give you an idea of how the game works. It’s not set up to walk you through the most efficient course through the game, but to show you how the game works, leaving you to find your own strategy. The following formulas will help you find your murderer.

PE+Fake/"none of your business" Alibi=guilty
WE+Fake/"none of your business" Alibi=guilty
2 WE = guilty

PE=Physical Evidence WE=Witness Evidence

Having a clammed suspect that will not give you an alibi is not the same as a fake/none alibi.

PE+WE DOES NOT = Guilty

Jul-27-2007 02:11

One more post to strongly recommend keeping a case journal. You will start to see patterns in how many suspects and fake(or no) alibis to expect at each level, as well as when you can expect to start wishing you had asked someone about other suspects before they are just a corpse.

Develope a system for noting things. I use green and red pens and have, for example:
male - gr ringed; female - red ringed
heavy (h) - gr; slim (sl) - red
straight (st) - gr; curly (c) - red
left (lf) - gr; right (R) - red
My symbols are eccentric due to the nature of my script. :P
Grab highlighters to note things like:
one more questions left, as oppossed to I leaned on/charmed them.
Why? So that you can judge about how many more questions you have for each suspect.
Highlight those who cannot be guilty and those who definitely could be (2 colors). This will yield a list of "final suspects." Always note their alibi next to them and use the highlighter after you've proofed their alibi.

Sometimes, you'll get lucky and have a female thread, a curly hair, and a heavy footprint. If you've then got males with straight hair who are slim, they cannot be guilty. Don't waste time getting their alibi! Save those questions for witness confirmation.

1. Gather suspects (note possible matches to material evidence as you go)

2. Question your contact for a name

3. Research as you gather suspects (you can do this unlimited times per case and do not need smart gear on!)

4. Question your police/court person for more suspects - not for an alibi!

*Do not leave a suspect without asking for more, unless you are fairly sure you have them all! Question those who cannot be guilty first (see 1).

Note: You can work without alibis for all of your suspects. You cannot always work without a full suspect list. Your killer must be on your list in order for you to find them.

5. Check alibis and material evidence with your contacts as you go.

Jul-27-2007 03:57

"You'll get two contacts in each city (if you are subscribed)...eventually. "

On the contacts statement - it reads as if you only get contacts when subscribed. What that actually reads is:

If you subscribe, you will eventually get two contacts in each city.

This doesn't say that you can get up to 2 in New York without a subscription. There is, of course, no guarantee that you will get 2 contacts in each city, especially if you do not travel to them. You can do 100+ favors in a city and still not be guaranteed that you will get 2 contacts. The eventually is supposed to modify the gaining of contacts, not the subscribing.

How about:
"You can get up to two contacts in New York with a free account by performing favors for the townspeople (townies). Since you must be subscribed to travel outside of New York, you cannot gain contacts in any other city without a subscription. In order to have the chance to gain contacts in any other city, you must be subscribed, travel to that city, and perform favors. You may then gain up to two contacts in each subsequent city."

We forget that not everyone speaks American-English and most non-Americans will understand only exactly what you write. Therefore, we should be clear about the difference between there being a chance of gaining contacts and just "getting" them, as well as stating why a subscription is necessary in order to get that chance and what else must be done.

I just lost myself in my own string of dependent clauses. Help!! :P

Jul-31-2007 03:15


When you ask the Townspeople if they know anything about this case, what does that mean?

* Haven't seen or heard anything suspicious

They are NOT a person that will give you WE, even if you could ask them about ALL the suspects, they will just say, they haven't seen or heard anything suspicious.

*_______ thinks they know who the murderer is

They ARE a person who will give you WE if you ask them about ALL suspects.
HOWEVER, just like there are more than one PE in a case there are more than two WE.

So... even if you ask them who they think they know the murderer and they give you WE it doesn't mean it belongs to the guilty person, just us the curly hair, the straight footprint and the left note you also found doesn't belong to the the guilty party.

_______________________________________________________

Just as every case is programmed to give you a set number of PE, every case is programmed to give you a set number of WE.
Just as you might not find all the PE in a case, you might not find all the WE in a case.

And remember just because they saw so and so wearing the dead guy's wig and pee jays, it doesn't mean that person is guilty.
Just as whathisname who belongs to a footprint found at the crime scene is innocent.

You always need:
PE + Fake/None
WE + Fake/None
2WE

Aug-14-2007 23:55

Hi. I just want other newbies to know that ALL YOUR SUSPECTS MUST HAVE MOTIVES.

There are instances that you get new suspects from townie hints and not from other suspects. Unfortunately, these new people will not have motives unless you ask other suspects about them. Always have all motives at hand.

Motives I think are what most newbies tend to take for granted. They shouldn't. You CANNOT accuse a suspect without their motive.

Like right now, I have all physical and witness evidences against this guy. Alas, no motive. And what's worse, everybody has CLAMMED up on me. I'm counting my blessings right now.

I'm forced to quit this case this very minute after I post this message. I keep seeing the exp and skill points I may have gained, floating past me like evanescent bubbles. I reached for them and poof* they're gone.

Read this newbies. Everyone starts a newbie. But not everyone should be an idiot like me. ;D

Aug-21-2007 03:52

hmmm..i dont know what to say

Aug-21-2007 03:54

that is are good skills thanks!

Aug-29-2007 06:40

Wow, as a newbie this thread has been very useful. I figured out a rough approximation of the formula for guilt on my own, through trial and error. I'm considering subscription - will likely buy in for at least a few months after the coming weekend.

A few observations / questions:
It appears that as I get a little "better", the type of cases I can take on improves in terms of difficulty. The problem lies in skill points. Whereas the base level for difficulty for me is currently "hard", I need to take on either a "really hard" or "really really hard" case in order to get any skill points at the end (hard, intermediate, and easy yield small experience and no skill points).

This is obviously disastrous, as it seems the experience I earn pushes me to take on harder cases. I -CAN'T- do the harder cases, however, since most witnesses or townies clam up before I can get any conclusive evidence. The only hope I have is that evidence falls in the hands of my tailor contact, so he can tell me who each thread belongs to.

Am I mistaken? Are skill points related to your current Experience and level of case difficulty, or are they doled out (as I suspect) only when you take on really challenging cases?

I wish I had read this guide when I started - I would never have wasted the points on that silly "judge character" business.

Aug-29-2007 06:48

As you go up in experience level, the amount of xp you need in order to earn a skill point goes up as well. So if you can't do the harder levels to earn a skill point, stay at the lower levels, and earn some more cash until you are confident enough you can move on. It might take longer, but eventually you'll get there.

Aug-29-2007 08:49

The skill points are earned per experience points. It may take you 1000 (totally random number) experience points to earn one skill point. So by doing easy cases, you just have to do more of them to get that skill point. No need moving up in case difficulty until you are ready.

Aug-29-2007 11:01

Hi Johanne! Regarding your last statement --
Many times people who feel they have chosen skills unwisely when first creating their detective will start over. Since you have not yet subscribed and are only a week old, you do have the option of starting a new detective with your subscription (just can’t use the exact same name). Judge of Character benefits detectives who are tough and charming and have both sets of interview skills, so it really isn’t useful to your current detective.