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Feb-22-2004 20:32

I have a couple of questions I'd like some feedback on. Please Answer by replying to this post.

1) Is the game fun? Really fun, kind of fun, funner than going to the dentist?

2) Can you think of anything that would make the game more fun?

3) Is the game too hard? Too easy?

Thanks
-Ben

May-10-2004 21:12

I know, I know. Just because they don't say jack, doesn't mean that they don't have a valid alibi. *pout* :)

May-10-2004 21:19

You definitely aren't the only one to think that was happening MegAmy, so don't feel bad about it. Thanks for taking the time to check.

When it comes down to it, the game can be inherently confusing, and I think that's part of what makes it fun. I think it is particularly easy to make a mistake if you are flying through several cases in a row. On a few occasions, I have caught myself getting mixed up as to whether somebody said something in the last case, or my current one.

I'm going to leave the expanded tracking on for a few more days. After that, I'll have to turn it off to conserve disk space. So please, if anybody else runs into a case they think is bugged, let me know.

Thanks again, everybody, for putting in the effort.

May-12-2004 03:57

When interviewing suspects about other suspects, I've heard people complain that the suspects often finger people with valid alibis.

Don't ask about people with valid alibis, they never did it. Instead, focus on everyone who has no verified alibi (I.e. it doesn't say <alibi> True or Real). I usually get at least one person who suspects another person and even with no physical evidence, this person is usually the killer.

May-12-2004 06:51

I love how the guilty will occasionally point their finger at somebody else. I've learned to take any witness evidence from a suspect with a grain of salt.

May-12-2004 09:30

I haven't been keeping detailed records on this, but I've noticed that when you use lock picking, the suspect is likely to clam up earlier than some one who you hadn't used lock picking on. It's as if the game counts the info you garnered using the LP skill when determining whether the suspect will clam up.

Admittedly, I don't know how it's determined when suspects clam up, or if this is a bug or a 'feature', but it seems strange to me.

May-12-2004 09:49

Jennifer Massoli's advice is key.

May-12-2004 14:00

Real alibis can be useful also. Don't scratch out the names of people with real alibis. No, they are never the killers, but they can be of help.
Example:
Suppose you connected suspect A with physical evidence, maybe you even have a witness pointing at him, but you have no way of checking his alibi. Will you risk a false accusation?
Solution:
Try to connect people with real alibis with the rest of the physical evidence! Supposing you have hair and thread analysis, you are pretty much guaranteed to have found the physical pointing to the guilty one. (actually, it *NEVER* happened to me to not have found physical evidence for the guilty suspect)
If you connect all of the rest of your physical with innocent people, you KNOW that suspect A is the one to bust.

Practice the above with caution. It's only useful at the harder levels where the number of real alibis is less than the fake ones. Don't use it as an elimination, but as a verification process.

May-12-2004 14:18

I have one thing to add to Kouraditsa's advice. Some people may be mislead by the fact that there is ALWAYS physical evidence pointing to the guilty suspect. While that is true, it does not necessarily mean that you will ALWAYS find that piece of evindence. If your detective either does not have Basic Thread Analysis, or Basic Hair Analysis, you are not guaranteed to find all the evidence that exists.

That said, it is still a useful strategy, and even has application when dealing with witness evidence, rather than physical evidence.

May-12-2004 16:56

On Max Powers's comment about lock picking: I really do not think suspects whose locks I pick clam up any quicker. I have not noticed anything like this. I do think lock picking equals one extra question with that suspect - otherwise it would be of virtually zero use? This is my experience of the thing.

May-12-2004 17:02

That is correct, Kitten. Using the Lock Picking skill does not effect how many questions a suspect will answer. It is essentially one free question for any suspect who starts out not home. You just don't have the opportunity to choose which question you're getting an answer to.