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Apr-25-2009 01:14

These are utterly confusing and confounding me!

I just subscribed today, and thought I try the scripted mystery benefit. Well, I have no problem with the usual Hard (even Really Hard) normal cases, but I'm having to quit Intermediate scripted cases because I'm getting nowhere! It seems like I may need to give them up altogether (heck, maybe I was better off unsuscribed), since I don't understand the rules and can't find any help on the boards. Can anyone assist me?

ISSUES:

1) Normal cases: asking townies what they know renders helpful information: introduces new suspects, tells me what suspects don't know anything (so I can safely ask them for leads), and what suspect do know something (so I can ask them for WE). Scripted mysteries: townies never answer anything useful to the "Do you know anything about this case" question. Is that true? Or just true in every one of the maybe half dozen cases I've tried so far?

2) I don't have the option of asking suspects for WE against other suspects, so how do I get it?

4) PE comes in the form of, e.g., "tire treads". If no one mentions tire treads to me and I'm given no questions to ask about them, does this mean this is simply a red herring? Or is there some mystical process I'm missing?

5) If I've asked everyone for leads and gotten none (or no new ones), and asking townies appears to be pointless, how do I get to the suspects the Fortune Teller tells me are still out there?

5b) Is asking suspects for leads in scripted mysteries pointless? It hasn't helped me so far.

6) In normal cases, I know I'm looking for two pieces of evidence (PE +/or WE) to make a case. In scripted mysteries, is it just one? I've only found two in one scripted mystery so far.

7) I've come against what seem like errors- in the story, a suspect is a "cue ball", but the Case page says he has curly hair. I find a "long, straight hair" but the Case page says I found a hair, no type given. Which do I believe?

Thanks for any help!!

Apr-25-2009 01:41

Basically, Scripted Mysteries follow a whole different set of rules than regular mysteries do. So while it may be prudent to go ask for a hint from townies (the asking what they know in #1), in SM's, or as ol' timers like me call them, FM's (Featured Mysteries), doing this does bupkus in the way of help for you. Same goes for the W/E question for suspects, Surveillance (most of the time), and some forms of Physical Evidence. As for the Fortune Teller, he's working off the standard numbers for regular mysteries (again), and as I've said above, FM's don't work according to the same rules, so you may have the right number of suspects, and you may not; he/she's just not the right person to be asking bout that.

Normal (regular) mysteries have up to four (for AI mysteries) pieces of evidence (and can include notes, footprints, hairs, and threads). FM's can have as many pieces of evidence as the author has written in, and can include really wacky stuff (ie. - your tire tracks). The only thing holding them back is the time period, the 1920's - 1940's, so anything discovered after that (like DNA) is off limits.

As for your suspect's names, "Cue Ball's" a new one on me. I do hafta wonder if that's a typo or a bug, but since I have no idea which FM you're talking about, I can't tell you anything further. I'd prob'ly submit a Bug Report on the Cue Ball thing though.

So, how d'you deal with these contrary critters?? Simple, treat them as a whole different ball game than Regular Mysteries. FM's involve a great deal more reading of the story, and do NOT necessarily follow a linear (A leads to B, which leads to C, which leads to your killer, etc.) pathway. Many of them require more skills than the level at which they're listed at. Most of the time, you'll prob'ly require more than one time to complete an FM.

Remember, each of these mysteries are a SCRIPT (ie. - Story) that somebody here on Sleuth has authored. They are NOT computer-generated.

Apr-25-2009 01:44

Remember, SM/FM's are individualistic, unique, and do NOT conform to Regular Mystery rules/guidelines. Be patient, be thorough, and you will be able to get through them. ;-)

Apr-25-2009 03:03

Thanks so much for the response. I've quit four of these today. I may try later to do an Easy or Beginner one (are there any?), but I may not. If I understand you correctly, there pretty much *are* no rules for these? As I understand it:

* I'll have no way of knowing whether I've found all the suspects.

* I'll have no way of knowing what evidence is relevent.

* I'll never have clear proof, and so should just guess based on the scripted story. (less sure of this one)

What I've "learned" so far (although it hasn't worked yet, so I probably have it wrong) is that I should simply make a circuit of every location and every suspect to see if one offers me a leading question to ask them (e.g. "Ask Suspect 1, 'Suspect 2 says you're involved in organized crime. What do you say to that?'") If I see one such question, invariably (?) click ask it. Then make the circuit again.

Does that sound about right, or am I still off? I tried that on my last mystery, and a suspect clammed. Since there doesn't seem to be a secondary way of getting and information (or maybe just in this one?), I had to quit. It does seem very linear rather than deductive- like a Choose Your Own Adventure story without the choosing. Ah well, I might try another one sometime and see if it gets any better.