Black Closet - Alpha Testing

[wendymarlowe]

Okay, stupid question - where do I find my license key? The "product registration key" doesn't fit in the box and when I tried to update to the new patch without anything there, it told me

I'm sorry, but an uncaught exception occurred.


WindowsError: [Error 267] The directory name is invalid: u'C:\\Program Files (x86)\\Black Closet\\veeesta.rpy:6'

-- Full Traceback ------------------------------------------------------------

Full traceback:
File "C:\Program Files (x86)\Black Closet\renpy\bootstrap.py", line 285, in bootstrap
os.makedirs(renpy.config.logdir, 0777)
File "c:\Python27\lib\os.py", line 157, in makedirs
WindowsError: [Error 267] The directory name is invalid: u'C:\\Program Files (x86)\\Black Closet\\veeesta.rpy:6'

Windows-7-6.1.7601-SP1
Ren'Py 6.17.7.521


Would this have been in an email somewhere?

[hanako]

The current build will not update correctly if installed to Program Files on recent versions of windows. We're working on the problem - for the moment you can get it to work if you install the game somewhere else, like in C:\Games instead.

I think I may have mixed up what went in what file so it's possible you didn't receive a license key email. I'm going to re-send emails now so hopefully that'll be clearer.

[hanako]

I've spent several hours on this game now, but have yet to get past November. In part, I think I'm still floundering with what's an appropriate punishment when a girl is caught having done something - when do I expel her, when do I suspend her, and when is detention (or just intimidation) enough? I keep suspending someone, hoping they'll apologize, but then they come back and steal (or whatever) again and I keep taking reputation hits for it.

I don't want to go into detail on this but I can say that it should be obvious right away if something had an effect. If you suspend someone and she returns and you don't get an update with an apology and case closed, then suspending her didn't fix her. Similarly, detention will usually be clear right away if it worked or if you need to do something else.

Also - does the traitor just flub die rolls, or is there more to it? I had one playthrough where it was really obvious, because one minion kept rolling low all the time, but my last playthrough they were all rolling 15+ the majority of the time and I wasn't doubling them up on missions, either.

When failure is possible, the traitor tends to fail. But that doesn't mean she'll always be super obvious about it. If it's possible to roll high and still fail, or get an ambiguous result and secretly fail, isn't that a much better way to sabotage you?

[Franka]

I've spent several hours on this game now, but have yet to get past November. In part, I think I'm still floundering with what's an appropriate punishment when a girl is caught having done something - when do I expel her, when do I suspend her, and when is detention (or just intimidation) enough? I keep suspending someone, hoping they'll apologize, but then they come back and steal (or whatever) again and I keep taking reputation hits for it.

November is the first serious hurdle, in my experience.

Here's what I generally do after having identified a troublemaker, assuming successes on each check: Harass the culprit -> Detention -> Suspension / Expel the beast. Sometimes it's better just to expel them and be done with it, in certain cases they can do a lot more damage than what you take for expelling them, if the case is left unchecked. There's a tell for when suspension will work, or at least that's my observation, and I don't think it has ever done any good without that tell. It's also a stalling tactic though.

[wendymarlowe]

Another potentially stupid question: is "*" supposed to be a valid "grade" when finishing some cases?

[hanako]

*sheepish look* It was meant to be like a star, like when you get S-ranks in games, above A-ranks.

[wendymarlowe]

Okay, cool It seemed to always be when I did well, but I wasn't sure whether it was an "insert any number of characters here" placeholder or not!

[Oki]

There is an option to lower the difficulty if you're having a really hard time.

The traitor is randomly selected at the start of each game - you need to pay attention to their actions to figure out who's against you.

Sobs deeply, I refuse!!!! I am so terrible at this game Hanako. I can't do anything right!!!

I'm on my fifth try, though I've never officially died, I knew usually when to call it quits (17 reputation and three cases I was about to fail)

BTW if you figure out the traitor and they confess, if you keep them will they still flub it?

[hanako]

BTW if you figure out the traitor and they confess, if you keep them will they still flub it?

It depends.

(What, you expect a simple answer?)

[wendymarlowe]

"A Delicate Blossom" - what's the intended outcome? Twice now I've had someone get to "I think I can" and persuading them says it does almost nothing, questioning doesn't help, and interrogating them makes them break down in tears. Then they flub their big event and the school takes a hit. I'm not sure what else I can do?

[hanako]

persuading them says it does almost nothing, questioning doesn't help, and interrogating them makes them break down in tears. Then they flub their big event and the school takes a hit. I'm not sure what else I can do?

It depends on which exact case variant, since sometimes persuasion will work. (Every case type has multiple variations.)

However, there should be one other action available in delicate blossom cases. It may not be obvious why that action would do any good, but if you succeed in it, you may pick up some key information and a new target.

[Oki]

BTW if you figure out the traitor and they confess, if you keep them will they still flub it?

It depends.

(What, you expect a simple answer?)

No, at this point dear I pretty much expect you to hand wave me and tell me I'm pretty. (That last part is wishful thinking, notice me senpai)

[hanako]

*rappels down from the ceiling and hands Oki an orchid, then disappears in a shower of sparkles*

True answer, though, it depends on who the traitor was, why they betrayed you, whether or not you choose to make them your Queen, whether or not you try to pin their actions on someone else, whether you insult them... I am addicted to alternate outcomes and variations so there isn't a simple answer.

[Franka]

Yay, I completed a game with a romance AND no bugs/errors!

[wendymarlowe]

Well I made it to February this time, at least

Is there a way to gain reputation on purpose? I only seem to lose it, and the only ways I've found to gain it are 25 points from winter finals and on rare occasions when someone don't screw up their performance.