Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
** After [[spoiler: the former Geegler boss, Larry]] settles in Sandrock, he'll occasionally mention missing the glory days of [[Film/ConanTheBarbarian1982 "crushing [his] enemies, seeing them driven before [him], and and hearing the lamentations of their women."]]
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
** The way that the Magic Mirror describes herself seems... familiar.
-->'''Magic Mirror:''' [[Film/{{Taken}} I AM A MIRROR WITH A VERY PARTICULAR SET OF SKILLS. SKILLS THAT I HAVE ACQUIRED OVER A LONG CAREER OF BEING A MIRROR. SKILLS THAT MAKE ME A necessity FOR PEOPLE LIKE YOU.]]
** Late in the game, the player can purchase recipes needed to make the [[Franchise/KamenRider "Kamel Rider"]] armor, based on a superhero from an old world cartoon.
-->'''Magic Mirror:''' [[Film/{{Taken}} I AM A MIRROR WITH A VERY PARTICULAR SET OF SKILLS. SKILLS THAT I HAVE ACQUIRED OVER A LONG CAREER OF BEING A MIRROR. SKILLS THAT MAKE ME A necessity FOR PEOPLE LIKE YOU.]]
** Late in the game, the player can purchase recipes needed to make the [[Franchise/KamenRider "Kamel Rider"]] armor, based on a superhero from an old world cartoon.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
* AbilityRequiredToProceed: The tools that you have and the machines that you own determine what you're able to produce. The starting pickhammer can't be used to break up Hard Rocks, which are needed for Bloodstone, which is needed for better furnaces, which is needed for better ingots, which is needed for a better pickhammer, for example. However, there are two upgrades that are explicitly required by the story in order to proceed: the Workbench and the Assembly Station.
** The Workbench has to be upgraded to at least Intermediate by the end of act one, as the materials needed for the Algae Producer cannot be made with the starting workbench. You eventually have to upgrade to the Advanced Workbench by the end of act two, for the same reason.
** The Assembly Station must be upgraded to Intermediate to make larger specialty items, which is needed specifically for the Train Station upgrades. Fortunately, [[spoiler: Musa won't arrive until you manage to complete them, so you can take your time.]] Then, at the end of act two, after it becomes clear that [[spoiler: Duvos is going to invade]], you must upgrade the Assembly Station to Advanced in order to make the [[spoiler: Hyper-Compressed Air Cannon]].
** The Workbench has to be upgraded to at least Intermediate by the end of act one, as the materials needed for the Algae Producer cannot be made with the starting workbench. You eventually have to upgrade to the Advanced Workbench by the end of act two, for the same reason.
** The Assembly Station must be upgraded to Intermediate to make larger specialty items, which is needed specifically for the Train Station upgrades. Fortunately, [[spoiler: Musa won't arrive until you manage to complete them, so you can take your time.]] Then, at the end of act two, after it becomes clear that [[spoiler: Duvos is going to invade]], you must upgrade the Assembly Station to Advanced in order to make the [[spoiler: Hyper-Compressed Air Cannon]].
Changed line(s) 49 (click to see context) from:
* ChangingGameplayPriorities: You have limited Stamina to work with, so it won't be uncommon for you to have to decide to focus on getting one type of material that's more critical to your commission or something you want to build quickly.
to:
* ChangingGameplayPriorities: ChangingGameplayPriorities:
** At the beginning of the game, you have limited gear, and most of it is pretty terrible: your starting Pickhammer and Ax take a lot of effect to collect scrap, wearing down your limited Stamina, and you'll be scrabbling for basic materials like wood, stone and copper. Once you have some decent tools for collecting, your next priority will be getting machines to make more specialized gear, like a Grinder and a Machining Bench. With these basics, your next priority will be to make money, so that you can increase your workspace to fit in more machines. By the mid-to-late game, you won't have much you need to buy, but plenty of rare materials that you'll need to collect, so your priority will shift back to getting decent tools and machines to collect them.
** You have limited Stamina to work with, so it won't be uncommon for you to have to decide to focus on getting one type of material that's more critical to your commission or something you want to build quickly.
** At the beginning of the game, you have limited gear, and most of it is pretty terrible: your starting Pickhammer and Ax take a lot of effect to collect scrap, wearing down your limited Stamina, and you'll be scrabbling for basic materials like wood, stone and copper. Once you have some decent tools for collecting, your next priority will be getting machines to make more specialized gear, like a Grinder and a Machining Bench. With these basics, your next priority will be to make money, so that you can increase your workspace to fit in more machines. By the mid-to-late game, you won't have much you need to buy, but plenty of rare materials that you'll need to collect, so your priority will shift back to getting decent tools and machines to collect them.
** You have limited Stamina to work with, so it won't be uncommon for you to have to decide to focus on getting one type of material that's more critical to your commission or something you want to build quickly.
Added DiffLines:
* TakeYourTime: Two particularly notable examples.
** When Sandrock gets word that [[spoiler: Musa]] is going to visit the town, you'll get a commission to upgrade the Train Station to make it look better. Regardless of how long this takes, [[spoiler: Musa]] won't arrive until you do.
** When [[spoiler: Duvos is getting ready to invade the town]], you get a commission to make the [[spoiler: Hyper-Compressed Air Cannon]]. The [[spoiler: invasion]] won't happen until you actually make and install it.
** When Sandrock gets word that [[spoiler: Musa]] is going to visit the town, you'll get a commission to upgrade the Train Station to make it look better. Regardless of how long this takes, [[spoiler: Musa]] won't arrive until you do.
** When [[spoiler: Duvos is getting ready to invade the town]], you get a commission to make the [[spoiler: Hyper-Compressed Air Cannon]]. The [[spoiler: invasion]] won't happen until you actually make and install it.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
** Much like in ''My Time at Portia'', relationship values are easy to increase to at least the Acquaintance level because of two factors. The first is that story events where the entire town benefits from your exploits (such as rebuilding the Shonash Bridge, and successfully creating the Little Forest) will earn you relationship points with ''everyone'' in town. The second is that becoming friends with someone gives you a not-insignificant amount of relationship points with all of that person's friends. It's not uncommon to see a massive cascade of relationship status changes when reach a new level with one person, giving you enough points to reach a new relationship status with one of their friends, which then prompts more relationship status updates with all ''their'' friends...In other words, you have to try ''really hard'' to avoid being friends with everyone in town.
* DeadlyDustStorm: Every so often, a sandstorm will hit Sandrock, lasting an entire day. During a sandstorm, dew collectors will not work (and any dew waiting for collection will be lost), completed materials waiting for collection on your various machines can blow away, people will refuse to go outside, and ''nasty'' monsters will patrol the dunes, equal to your level and aggressively hostile, even for normally docile creatures. You can eventually get a Sandwall upgrade from Heidi to prevent your materials from blowing away, but it costs money and some reasonably difficult-to-acquire relics to make it. After a sandstorm, machines exposed to it might be covered in sand, requiring some dusting to restore them to maximum efficiency. As a bonus, if you're willing to brave the sandstorm, you can find rare materials in the dunes, but your visibility will be poor, and those monsters are out there too. Most of the people of Sandrock will strongly recommend that you just stay home when these blow up.
* EvilIsPetty: When [[spoiler: Duvos]] takes over the town, you can run into soldiers preparing to bathe their ''disgustingly unhygenic'' feet in the oasis, knowing exactly how important it is to the town's lifeblood. If you choose to beat them up, they'll be scolded by their commander, who will then say that the water isn't for their feet, but for the ''commander's jacuzzi'', laughing evilly before walking off.
* HoistByTheirOwnPetard: When [[spoiler: Duvos takes over the town]] and you're given a commission to build a water-wasting jacuzzi for the commander, [[spoiler: Logan helps you create a distraction by putting a bomb in the jacuzzi, which almost kills the commander when it goes off and results in the town being liberated.]]
* InfinityMinusOneSword: The Hands of the Light, which you get after [[spoiler: defeating Pan in the Northern Plateau Ruins]]. Extremely powerful, to the point that you can easily defeat an equal level enemy in just a couple of hits, and they also come with a ranged attack that does more damage than any other ranged attack in the game, and is infinite to boot. But because it's a unique weapon with a unique combo mechanic, it won't benefit from any of your combat skill upgrades such as increased power, longer combos, or better critical chance. In addition, the first three hits of the combo are fast but very short-ranged compared to swords, daggers and spears, and the fourth hit has a lengthy charge up that ends with a huge pushback on the target, meaning if it's not dead, you'll have to go chasing after it. Even the ranged attack has problems, requiring a short charge time and being ''just'' a little off center from the targeting cursor, as well as being much more short-ranged than a pistol or an assault rifle. In short, it's a good weapon to use, but there ''are'' better weapons.
Changed line(s) 98 (click to see context) from:
* {{Interquel}}: The game takes place around the same time as ''Portia'', with helping build the road leading to it being one of the major plot points to the game.
to:
* {{Interquel}}: The game takes place around the same time as ''Portia'', with helping build the road leading to it being one of the major plot points to the game. It becomes clear as you go on that the game starts one month after ''Portia'': the first game starts in Spring, and ''Sandrock'' starts in Summer.
** [[spoiler: Duvos' plans involve looking for lost technology on the North Plateau, specifically the interstellar-capable engines of the Olympia-6, that they can repurpose to give them floating fortresses. The engines end up destroyed at the end of the second act.]]
Changed line(s) 117 (click to see context) from:
* NotRareOverThere: Inverted. Copper and Tin are abundant in Eufala Abandoned Ruins, but are very rare in Gecko Station Ruins.
to:
* NotRareOverThere: Inverted. Copper and Tin are abundant in Eufala Eufaula Abandoned Ruins, but are very rare in Gecko Station Ruins.
Changed line(s) 121 (click to see context) from:
* NothingExcitingEverHappensHere: Mostly due to Sandrock's DyingTown status and dwindling population. And then Logan starts causing trouble... Then come the Geeglers too... [[spoiler:then toxic, mutating, gas starts leaking... and ''then'' the '''Empire of Duvos''' gets involved...]] Let's just say Sandrock ends up getting its share of excitement.
to:
* NothingExcitingEverHappensHere: Mostly due to Sandrock's DyingTown status and dwindling population. And then Logan starts causing trouble... trouble. Then come the Geeglers too... [[spoiler:then too. [[spoiler: Then toxic, mutating, gas starts leaking... and leaking. And ''then'' the '''Empire of Duvos''' gets involved...involved.]] Let's just say Sandrock ends up getting its share of excitement. By the end of it, everyone is just hoping that ''one thing'' will go according to plan. [[spoiler: Once the tunnel to the Southern Eufaula Desert is completed and the Monster Whistles are installed, they finally get it: the creation of the bus route to Portia is otherwise danger-free!]]
* NoodleIncident: When Rocky comes after Yan as the latter is [[spoiler: trying to escape town]], he yells at him about "the turtles". Later conversations make it clear that [[spoiler: Rocky had no idea that Yan was a conman]] and was going after him for an unrelated reason, but he never tells you what that reason is.
Changed line(s) 128 (click to see context) from:
* ScavengerWorld: Even more than ''Portia''. Raw materials are easy enough to find, but LostTechnology needs to be rediscovered, some of which is too advanced to be replicated in the conditions they currently have and can only be salvaged in dungeons or mines. There is a dedicated machine in the player's workshop to recycle scrap into useful raw materials.
to:
* ScavengerWorld: Even more than ''Portia''. Raw Basic materials are relatively easy enough to find, but LostTechnology needs to be rediscovered, some of which is too advanced to be replicated in the conditions they currently have and can only be salvaged in dungeons or mines. There is a dedicated machine in as scrap, because the player's workshop constantly blowing winds across the desert keep unearthing new bits and pieces of broken stuff for people to recycle scrap into useful raw materials.scavenge. In addition, Sandrock as it exists now is because it was found that the town sits on top of a massive shopping mall full of relics from the Age of Corruption.
** In addition, everyone in town has some kind of relationship to everyone else, and reaching a new friendship level with one person will reward you with relationship points with ''their'' friends. In addition to the relationship rewards for commissions and story events, it's damn near ''impossible'' to avoid being best friends with ''the entire town''.
Changed line(s) 134 (click to see context) from:
* RenovatingThePlayerHeadquarters: Like the previous game, you can extend your home terrain and your house as well. However, you're able to customize your house much further than before.
to:
* RenovatingThePlayerHeadquarters: Like the previous game, you can extend your home terrain and your house as well. However, you're able to customize your house much further than before.before: rather than just getting increasingly large floor plans, you can add on to your home tile-by-tile, build detached buildings for whatever purpose you need (such as a workshed), and even build ''up'', up to four floors with the appropriate skill points.
Added DiffLines:
* WhenItRainsItPours: It will not happen often, but there is a chance[[note]]which is guaranteed in the first Spring you can play through[[/note]] that it can rain for an entire day. This will cause ''everyone'' in town to freak out with happiness, and your dew collectors will need to be emptied every two hours, giving you a ''lot'' of free water if you keep up with it.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* ComplacentGamingSyndrome: If you keep giving someone the same gift day after day (usually something they love), they'll notice. After the fourth time, you'll get a warning in their dialogue, of the "didn't you give me something like this recently?" After that, you'll get increasingly less of a friendship bonus with each subsequent gift of the same item.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
** One of the big projects of the game is reversing desertification by planting trees, crops and other hardy plants to eventually turn the desert green, but it's noted that the process is slow, laborious and prone to failure [[spoiler: until you get the Algae Producer and access to lots and lots of water]]. If you decide to plant your own garden, it will take at least ''three seasons'' and probably more like a ''year'' for a particular square to go from sandy soil to arid soil to fertile soil to biocrust[[note]]which is strong enough to not need a straw square to protect the plant[[/note]], and it will take a prohibitively huge amount of water to reach that point as well. The only good news is that, at least for you, it ''can't'' fail, as soil will never "level down".
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 148,149 (click to see context) from:
** Similarly, after the train bridge gets destroyed, the price of water from Water World skyrockets because the routes from Portia and Atara have been cut off, preventing Sandrock from importing water from those locations.
** Related to the above, train bridges are built carefully and with sturdy materials because they have to withstand the massive weight of trains. [[spoiler:When a train that was converted into a weapon--cobbled up together by the Geeglers using metal parts from said bridge and clumsily replaced by ''wood''--tries to cross it to attack Sandrock, the bridge collapses underneath it from the sheer weight of the thing.]]
** Related to the above, train bridges are built carefully and with sturdy materials because they have to withstand the massive weight of trains. [[spoiler:When a train that was converted into a weapon--cobbled up together by the Geeglers using metal parts from said bridge and clumsily replaced by ''wood''--tries to cross it to attack Sandrock, the bridge collapses underneath it from the sheer weight of the thing.]]
to:
** Similarly, after the train bridge gets destroyed, the price of water from Water World skyrockets because the routes route from Portia and Atara have has been cut off, preventing Sandrock from importing water from those locations.
** Related to the above, train bridges are built carefully and with sturdy materials because they have to withstand the massive weight of trains.[[spoiler:When [[spoiler: When a train that was converted into a weapon--cobbled up together by the Geeglers using metal parts from said bridge and clumsily replaced by ''wood''--tries to cross it to attack Sandrock, the bridge collapses underneath it from the sheer weight of the thing.]]
** Related to the above, train bridges are built carefully and with sturdy materials because they have to withstand the massive weight of trains.
Added DiffLines:
** When Qi tries to use his MiniMecha to cut the ribbon on the new Shonash Bridge, he misses. And falls out of the mech, and injures himself. His attempts to be showy ''always'' backfire, this is just the most obvious outcome of it.
** When Nia comes to visit, it's a heartwarming reunion between childhood friends (and your correspondence with her makes it so that she's not an entirely ''new'' character for you to interact with). But no matter how much you ask her to stay in Sandrock, she won't. She has her own studies and goals, and Sandrock isn't conducive to them at the moment.
** The oasis itself is considered Sandrock's lifeblood, both figuratively and literally: if the oasis dries up, Sandrock dies, plain and simple. But the oasis isn't ''that'' big, and when you get the numbers, it turns out Sandrock imports ''80%'' of their water from other Free Cities. In fact, one of the major, life-altering projects that Sandrock has been trying to complete for years is a road through the Eufaula Desert to Portia, where water is much more plentiful, just so that they can get more of it.
** The project to turn the Eufaula Desert green is, at the beginning of the game, doomed to failure: sand is an incredibly poor growth medium, and even the process of using straw grids to protect plants takes forever to pay off[[note]]which is also reflected in gameplay[[/note]]. On top of that, the need for water and fertilizer is ''steep'', and Sandrock doesn't have nearly enough water to support their basic needs. It's not until you manage to recover an Algae Producer machine that you're able to create the Little Forest, which is essentially about 40 trees planted on sandy soil that survive, and that's the ''absolute limit'' of what Sandrock is able to do with the water they have available.
** Musa is the richest man in the Free Cities, and he didn't get there by being a dummy: when he's presented with the achievements of Sandrock, he is...less than impressed, and the subsequent chaos at the Blue Moon Saloon immediately convinces him that Sandrock isn't going to make it and he's best served by looking elsewhere for investment opportunities. It's not until he's convinced to stick around and sees the resilience of the townsfolk [[spoiler: through the greeno disaster]] that he changes his mind, and even then, it's only because [[spoiler: Sandrock is perfectly positioned to be a central logistics hub for the Free Cities in the event of an invasion by Duvos. He's not looking for a new investment opportunity, he's looking for a group of people strong enough to endure the harsh landscape and build it into something that can help out the rest of the Free Cities.]]
** When Nia comes to visit, it's a heartwarming reunion between childhood friends (and your correspondence with her makes it so that she's not an entirely ''new'' character for you to interact with). But no matter how much you ask her to stay in Sandrock, she won't. She has her own studies and goals, and Sandrock isn't conducive to them at the moment.
** The oasis itself is considered Sandrock's lifeblood, both figuratively and literally: if the oasis dries up, Sandrock dies, plain and simple. But the oasis isn't ''that'' big, and when you get the numbers, it turns out Sandrock imports ''80%'' of their water from other Free Cities. In fact, one of the major, life-altering projects that Sandrock has been trying to complete for years is a road through the Eufaula Desert to Portia, where water is much more plentiful, just so that they can get more of it.
** The project to turn the Eufaula Desert green is, at the beginning of the game, doomed to failure: sand is an incredibly poor growth medium, and even the process of using straw grids to protect plants takes forever to pay off[[note]]which is also reflected in gameplay[[/note]]. On top of that, the need for water and fertilizer is ''steep'', and Sandrock doesn't have nearly enough water to support their basic needs. It's not until you manage to recover an Algae Producer machine that you're able to create the Little Forest, which is essentially about 40 trees planted on sandy soil that survive, and that's the ''absolute limit'' of what Sandrock is able to do with the water they have available.
** Musa is the richest man in the Free Cities, and he didn't get there by being a dummy: when he's presented with the achievements of Sandrock, he is...less than impressed, and the subsequent chaos at the Blue Moon Saloon immediately convinces him that Sandrock isn't going to make it and he's best served by looking elsewhere for investment opportunities. It's not until he's convinced to stick around and sees the resilience of the townsfolk [[spoiler: through the greeno disaster]] that he changes his mind, and even then, it's only because [[spoiler: Sandrock is perfectly positioned to be a central logistics hub for the Free Cities in the event of an invasion by Duvos. He's not looking for a new investment opportunity, he's looking for a group of people strong enough to endure the harsh landscape and build it into something that can help out the rest of the Free Cities.]]
