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(I did warn you it was coming, didn't I?)

Well, I played Hero-U for about 2 hours last night (until it was time to go to bed). Here are my initial reactions:

The Good.
1. Oh, my word - the puns! Puns galore in every store! Yes, the Coles definitely chose to go the 'punnage is funnage' route, it seems.

2. The game looks pretty good. It's also quite challenging.

3. Mr Bun E. Slippers is quite amusing (bunny-FU!)

4. No bugs (so far, anyway!) and no error 52!

The Not-so-good.
Help! I've fallen and I can't get up!

But seriously...

I played up to about the end of day 4 last night, and there are several things I'm not sure about. For instance...

1. At the end of the tutorial, should I admit that I've stolen a silver paper-knife? I'd rather not, especially if it's valuable.

2. This castle is huge! I'm having some trouble finding my way around. I know where the class-room and practice-room etc. are, and where my bedroom/bathroom etc. is, and where the mezzanine is and where the dining-room/store are... but where is the library? The rec room?

3. Drat that Mr Teck or Dreck or whatever his name is. He seems to have it in for me. I'm not trying to break curfew, but he's always picking on me for all kinds of reasons. "No back-talking! No walking around the ground-floor after dinner! No walking around without a uniform!" (Hey, the other kids don't have uniforms!) I wonder if this game allows Shawn to walk around in his drawers, just to give Mr Teck a heart-attack.

4. Money, money, money. Yes - where do I get money to pay for all these scholastic supplies? I know I can wash dishes after dinner, but is there somewhere else (apart from Mr Bun E. Slippers's couch, which only yields 5 Lyra)?

5. Time keeps on slippin', slippin', slippin'. Yes - I'm stuck in class until 2pm, and after that I have just 4 hours to train until dinner-time, and after that, it's curfew time and I can't do anything except train some more. What should be my priorities in the first few days? Should it be making money? Or should it be training? Or... what?

6. Finally, is there a time limit on all this? During morning class on Day 4, I'm told that I'm competing for "rogue of the year". What?! I haven't had enough time to do much weight/strength training, or fighting training, or tightrope-walking training or knife-throwing training or... well, anything! (Well, not much of it.) The only thing that I trained a lot in was lockpicking (and got really good at it - at least, I could pick all the locks in the training room - huzzah! - and some of the locks in the mezzanine - even more huzzah!)

So... I'm kind of confused and bewildered. Any ideas, please?

Rath Darkblade wrote: ↑Thu Aug 23, 2018 5:58 pm I played up to about the end of day 4 last night, and there are several things I'm not sure about. For instance...

You've played further than I did on beta (I own the game, just not gotten around to playing it, since its release).
But that said, what I do know of the game...

Rath Darkblade wrote: ↑Thu Aug 23, 2018 5:58 pm 1. At the end of the tutorial, should I admit that I've stolen a silver paper-knife? I'd rather not, especially if it's valuable.

I believe this is entirely up to you, whether you do or don't.

Rath Darkblade wrote: ↑Thu Aug 23, 2018 5:58 pm 2. This castle is huge! I'm having some trouble finding my way around. I know where the class-room and practice-room etc. are, and where my bedroom/bathroom etc. is, and where the mezzanine is and where the dining-room/store are... but where is the library? The rec room?

I thought the same thing, during Beta. Would be nice if there was a map or something (even a digital extras thing) to view and get an idea. But maybe that's the intentions - since Shawn is new to it - he would need to wander around (and potentially) make his own map of all the areas.

Rath Darkblade wrote: ↑Thu Aug 23, 2018 5:58 pm 3. Drat that Mr Teck or Dreck or whatever his name is. He seems to have it in for me. I'm not trying to break curfew, but he's always picking on me for all kinds of reasons. "No back-talking! No walking around the ground-floor after dinner! No walking around without a uniform!" (Hey, the other kids don't have uniforms!) I wonder if this game allows Shawn to walk around in his drawers, just to give Mr Teck a heart-attack.

Most stories have that one person who is nagging the main hero.

Rath Darkblade wrote: ↑Thu Aug 23, 2018 5:58 pm 4. Money, money, money. Yes - where do I get money to pay for all these scholastic supplies? I know I can wash dishes after dinner, but is there somewhere else (apart from Mr Bun E. Slippers's couch, which only yields 5 Lyra)?

I wasn't able to find much in the ways of money, either, during beta. Perhaps their intention, again, since if you had a lot of money, why would you be a rogue - er, a disbarred bard?

Rath Darkblade wrote: ↑Thu Aug 23, 2018 5:58 pm 5. Time keeps on slippin', slippin', slippin'. Yes - I'm stuck in class until 2pm, and after that I have just 4 hours to train until dinner-time, and after that, it's curfew time and I can't do anything except train some more. What should be my priorities in the first few days? Should it be making money? Or should it be training? Or... what?

The passage of time was something people in beta brought up too - I believe the latest version fixes it so time doesn't pass so quickly. As for what to do, I am not sure that far into the game.

Rath Darkblade wrote: ↑Thu Aug 23, 2018 5:58 pm 6. Finally, is there a time limit on all this? During morning class on Day 4, I'm told that I'm competing for "rogue of the year". What?! I haven't had enough time to do much weight/strength training, or fighting training, or tightrope-walking training or knife-throwing training or... well, anything! (Well, not much of it.) The only thing that I trained a lot in was lockpicking (and got really good at it - at least, I could pick all the locks in the training room - huzzah! - and some of the locks in the mezzanine - even more huzzah!)
So... I'm kind of confused and bewildered. Any ideas, please?

I do believe there is a time limit.

Tawmis wrote: ↑Fri Aug 24, 2018 9:54 am

Rath Darkblade wrote: ↑Thu Aug 23, 2018 5:58 pm 5. Time keeps on slippin', slippin', slippin'. Yes - I'm stuck in class until 2pm, and after that I have just 4 hours to train until dinner-time, and after that, it's curfew time and I can't do anything except train some more. What should be my priorities in the first few days? Should it be making money? Or should it be training? Or... what?

The passage of time was something people in beta brought up too - I believe the latest version fixes it so time doesn't pass so quickly. As for what to do, I am not sure that far into the game.

OK... I was going to ask how to get the latest version, but then I thought "I should start Steam and see what the go is". I started Steam, and what do you know - there is! Patch 2 was released 3 days ago. It's downloading now.

Tawmis wrote: ↑Fri Aug 24, 2018 9:54 am

Rath Darkblade wrote: ↑Thu Aug 23, 2018 5:58 pm 6. Finally, is there a time limit on all this? During morning class on Day 4, I'm told that I'm competing for "rogue of the year". What?! I haven't had enough time to do much weight/strength training, or fighting training, or tightrope-walking training or knife-throwing training or... well, anything! (Well, not much of it.) The only thing that I trained a lot in was lockpicking (and got really good at it - at least, I could pick all the locks in the training room - huzzah! - and some of the locks in the mezzanine - even more huzzah!)
So... I'm kind of confused and bewildered. Any ideas, please?

I do believe there is a time limit.

Oh. I sincerely don't believe that there are enough hours in the day for me to practice the skills I'd need to practice! Lockpicking, agility, strength, throwing, studiousness, stealth, charm - there are so many!

Plus, now I need to compete in a competition that I'm not sure I can compete in and win. *plays "Under Pressure" by Queen*

What happens if I don't win the "Rogue of the Year" competition? Is it game over?

Just unlocked stealth movement. Time to grind that stat everywhere I go!

Stealth Increased
Stealth Increased
Stealth Increased
Stealth Increased
Stealth Increased

Yup. This is exactly how I play Quest for Glory.

Don't people comment on you sneaking everywhere? "Look at YOU, up to no good!"

(Maybe Terk would say that...)

Rath Darkblade wrote: ↑Sat Aug 25, 2018 8:38 pm Don't people comment on you sneaking everywhere? "Look at YOU, up to no good!"

(Maybe Terk would say that...)

I really expected him to yell at me for it. Instead, he told me not to run in the halls! XD

Although I did find that my stealth caps at 5 points a day. So once I'm up by 5 points, I can go back to running.

Conner! No walking around without a tie!
Conner! You slacker! No sneaking around!
Conner! Stop slouching!

Being with Terk is like being in an Archie comic! With Betty! And Jughead! And Veronica!

Rath Darkblade wrote: ↑Mon Aug 27, 2018 7:56 amBeing with Terk is like being in an Archie comic! With Betty! And Jughead! And Veronica!

Initially, I thought the game was a little "Quest for Glory meets the Breakfast Club", but now that you put it in my head, it's very much Archie - right down to having a Jughead as my roommate. There's also a distinct Harry Potter flavour to the game, as this school just keeps getting bigger with every secret I discover.

Speaking of size, I feel like this game is much larger than I expected it to be. After poking around in a couple secret passages, I started seeing signs of "dungeons to come". I also started cluing into how each student's backstory would play a role in these dungeons. And overall, the game is becoming more fun as I play it, despite a couple frustrating setbacks.

What should be my priorities in the first few days? Should it be making money? Or should it be training? Or... what?

Just my experience, but I think it helps to keep washing dishes for money in the first couple weeks while setting some hours aside for studying/training. Lockpicking and stealth have been my most used skills, but I neglected combat/fitness early on and could've used it in the Wine Cellar. 20 days in, haven't used climbing yet, so don't bother with it (the stairs upgrade that for you little by little.)

I'd like to hear other people's tips, too. I'm curious how this game's systems work.

Yes, washing dishes for a bit of extra money is definitely useful - I'd say almost every day. (Extra money is always useful!) You need to make quite a few purchases early on - school uniform (to avoid Terk's demerits) and lockpicks (obviously) are right up there - so wash those dishes. In the first few days, it may even be possible to fit in a bit of dungeon crawling, although that's obviously more dangerous (because before day three, you can't sneak).

Hmm. Being a rogue, I'd say that raising Agility would be a good thing. It would help you avoid being hit. So one of the best things you can do is practice the tight-rope walking. (It also raises your climbing).

Don't neglect practicing you combat and fitness - combat is useful for the chance of hitting things, and fitness is useful for hitting things harder.

I just read through the manual and found out my health actually comes from my fitness, agility and moxie stats. So being snarky makes you healthier apparently!

I did run aground of one of the game's bugs while solving the cave quest and had to reload a save game three days earlier to reset it. The site says they've already patched it in the latest version, but when I ran ahead and found the tattooed skull for the treasure hunt without getting the red gem for Katie first, the game locked out the zombie pirates and didn't give us the key - so the quest became unwinnable!

And another thing I discovered that the game may or may not have warned me about: if I fail any exams, I don't get to take my side-class. So it's worth saving before any exam and reloading if Shawn gets a bad feeling about his answers. Don't wing it after mid-terms like I did.

Datadog wrote: ↑Sat Sep 01, 2018 10:28 pm I just read through the manual and found out my health actually comes from my fitness, agility and moxie stats. So being snarky makes you healthier apparently!

I did run aground of one of the game's bugs while solving the cave quest and had to reload a save game three days earlier to reset it. The site says they've already patched it in the latest version, but when I ran ahead and found the tattooed skull for the treasure hunt without getting the red gem for Katie first, the game locked out the zombie pirates and didn't give us the key - so the quest became unwinnable!

And another thing I discovered that the game may or may not have warned me about: if I fail any exams, I don't get to take my side-class. So it's worth saving before any exam and reloading if Shawn gets a bad feeling about his answers. Don't wing it after mid-terms like I did.

Hmm, that's interesting. I didn't know that being sarcastic makes you healthier. It certainly makes other people dislike you!

I haven't found the tattooed skull or the zombie pirates yet. I knew about the (zombie???) pirates, but I haven't heard about any tattooed skull - or about a red gem for Katie. OTOH, I got into the catacombs, but it was full of undead and I died.

I always try really hard to pass exams and never wing it.

I haven't finished it yet, sadly. I'm having some trouble with the combat, with using items, and with finding my way around! So I decided to put it aside for a little while.

Yes, I still cannot for the life of me find the zombie pirates. I found those frog-like creatures (can't remember their name?) and the entrance to the catacombs, but I can never travel through the catacombs without being overwhelmed and killed.

I know that there is supposed to be some protection from undead somewhere, but I am not sure where. Any ideas?

And yes, there are a lot of puns. A LOT. Punnage is funnage!

Rath Darkblade wrote: ↑Wed Sep 05, 2018 6:46 amYes, I still cannot for the life of me find the zombie pirates. I found those frog-like creatures (can't remember their name?) and the entrance to the catacombs, but I can never travel through the catacombs without being overwhelmed and killed. I know that there is supposed to be some protection from undead somewhere, but I am not sure where. Any ideas?

The Zombie Pirates are behind the heavily-guarded gate in the Sea Caves. You'll need to defeat seven Gogs to get to it. This is where the "Stand Far Away, Throw a Knife, Back Away, Throw Again and Use a Trap if they get too close" strategy became really useful. Shawn always recovers knives, traps and runes after battle, so try experimenting with those and never start fights up close.

The Undead Protection becomes available in Joel's store after the midterms. You can also find one in a crypt below the library if you can defeat the skeleton guarding it.

Datadog wrote: ↑Wed Sep 05, 2018 4:17 pm

Rath Darkblade wrote: ↑Wed Sep 05, 2018 6:46 amYes, I still cannot for the life of me find the zombie pirates. I found those frog-like creatures (can't remember their name?) and the entrance to the catacombs, but I can never travel through the catacombs without being overwhelmed and killed. I know that there is supposed to be some protection from undead somewhere, but I am not sure where. Any ideas?

The Zombie Pirates are behind the heavily-guarded gate in the Sea Caves. You'll need to defeat seven Gogs to get to it. This is where the "Stand Far Away, Throw a Knife, Back Away, Throw Again and Use a Trap if they get too close" strategy became really useful. Shawn always recovers knives, traps and runes after battle, so try experimenting with those and never start fights up close.

The Undead Protection becomes available in Joel's store after the midterms. You can also find one in a crypt below the library if you can defeat the skeleton guarding it.

Hmm, that's odd. Are you referring to the gate that's guarded by the Gogs and the King Gog? Oh no - I've actually been there, beaten the Gogs, and never got any further because I couldn't unlock the gate. Darn it!

As for the Undead Protection - oh no! I thought that once I use a knife, trap or rune, they're gone for good so they're not worth the money. But now I've gotten too far in the game, and Joel is dead. Does that mean I have to go back to an earlier save?

Moving this over to the help thread...

Rath Darkblade wrote: ↑Thu Sep 06, 2018 5:14 amHmm, that's odd. Are you referring to the gate that's guarded by the Gogs and the King Gog? Oh no - I've actually been there, beaten the Gogs, and never got any further because I couldn't unlock the gate. Darn it!

Yes, that's it. You'll need a BIG item (or 8) from Gregor's store to get through that gate.

As for the Undead Protection - oh no! I thought that once I use a knife, trap or rune, they're gone for good so they're not worth the money. But now I've gotten too far in the game, and Joel is dead. Does that mean I have to go back to an earlier save?

That's a good question! I don't know how the game ends if Joel is dead, but I don't think his death causes a fail-state if you want to pursue that ending. It might affect the dialogue in several cut-scenes, though. I saved at the beginning of every day, so I usually reloaded if I was wasting time or didn't like my choices. But yes, if you want to save Joel, you'll have to go back a fair ways - at least to just after the mid-term. What day are you on?

And I think you only lose your items if you fall in battle. You normally see an "Items Recovered" notice in the top corner after you win each fight.