Zodi Plays: Dishonored (Stealth Dad Simulator)

[LaZodiac]

Realistic was a bad word. Versimilitudistic? Whatever means 'this feels like an actual world, not just a construct for gameplay'. In the same vein as guards who have random conversations about their daily lives. A conspiracy that undermines itself with rash actions because the conspirators are operating at cross purposes and overcomplicating their schemes is plausible in concept. The writers just botched the execution, and make Havelock+co. mustache twirlers.

That's a fair point. I don't feel giving them 5 different reasons and some of the stuff we'll see with Havelock later makes the game feel more lived in/as a real world, but then that's part of the "execution not great" part of your post.

ALSO, for those who were interested: I'm not working on it quite indepthly yet since the subject matter isn't actually finished, but I am working on a video essay idea regarding narrative and writing.

[factotum]

The writers just botched the execution, and make Havelock+co. mustache twirlers.

Well, it's more specifically Havelock himself, and he is pretty much certifiably insane, as his behaviour at the end of the game makes obvious.

[HalfTangible]

I wonder how Sokolov painted that one.

Probably through interpretation of what facts (and/or religious interpretation) he knew from his research into the being.

[The Glyphstone]

Well, it's more specifically Havelock himself, and he is pretty much certifiably insane, as his behaviour at the end of the game makes obvious.

That fits with...um...servant girl's description of their behavior during the executions. Havelock is a megalomaniacal nut, Pendleton is a coward, Martin is regretful but too deep in to back away.

Probably through interpretation of what facts (and/or religious interpretation) he knew from his research into the being.

Could be subconscious imagery. The Outsider thinks he's too boring to warrant direct attention, but he might see things in his dreams anyways.

[Amechra]

Hey Zodi - did you ever get around to using the heart on the "hired help"? Or, at least, Cecelia? I don't know if they have special messages, but I was kinda surprised that you didn't try using the heart on Lydia.

[LaZodiac]

Hey Zodi - did you ever get around to using the heart on the "hired help"? Or, at least, Cecelia? I don't know if they have special messages, but I was kinda surprised that you didn't try using the heart on Lydia.

I did in my off time, but none of them have unique dialogue unfortunately.

[DataNinja]

Looking forwards to seeing what's so interesting.

Huh. Interesting kind of boss fight. Not really so much in that you're told what you need to do, and you just need to run and do it, but still a neat concept. I wonder if she was the civilian counted as killed at the end.

I do feel it's a bit of a shame that Slackjaw doesn't comment on the vault thing. Though... I wonder if you'd get more from him here if you'd not done that.

Spoiler: Takedowns

Show

Episode	Non-Lethal	Lethal	Total
1	0	4	4
2	4	8	12
3	0	0	0
4	0	0	0
5	6	2	8
6	9	7	16
7	2	3	5
8	3	0	3
9	7	0	7
10	16	1	17
11	2	0	2
12	3	0	3
13	13	0	13
14	11	0	11
15	9	0	9
16	2	0	2
17	7	1	8
18	13	0	13
19	7	0	7
20	2	0	2
21	2	0	2
22	2	1	3
23	5	0	5
24	4	1	5
25	2	0	2
26	6	0	6
27	11	2	13
28	6	2	8
29	0	1	1
Total	154	33	187

[The Glyphstone]

So, Steam's weekly sale has the Dishonored franchise at 40-65% off until the 28th. If anyone's been thinking of picking it up because of this, good time to do it.

[LaZodiac]

So, Steam's weekly sale has the Dishonored franchise at 40-65% off until the 28th. If anyone's been thinking of picking it up because of this, good time to do it.

I don't own any of the DLC or sequel so I'll probably buy this, thanks for the heads up

[The Glyphstone]

I don't own any of the DLC or sequel so I'll probably buy this, thanks for the heads up

Excellent.

[factotum]

All of it's worth having--the DLC for the first game is more of the same but with the difficulty turned up a notch, Dishonored 2 has much larger and more varied levels than the first game, and Death of the Outsider fills in a lot of backstory.

[The Glyphstone]

Dunwall City Trials can be skipped though. It's just challenge/time trial style levels without relevance to the plot.

[factotum]

Dunwall City Trials can be skipped though. It's just challenge/time trial style levels without relevance to the plot.

Is that a separate DLC? I thought it was bundled with something else, but if it's separate, you're right, it can be ignored.

[The Glyphstone]

Is that a separate DLC? I thought it was bundled with something else, but if it's separate, you're right, it can be ignored.

It's included in the Complete Collection, but Steam lets you buy stuff a la carte as well. And price-wise it looks like the bundle doesn't save any additional money, so that's all of $1.79 Zodi can keep in pocket.

Get the Void Walker's Arsenal only if you plan on doing another playthrough of Dishonored at some point - it's basically just a set of exclusive bone charms you start the game with, instead of having to find them. It adds nothing to Daudhonored or Dishonored 2.

[LaZodiac]

It's included in the Complete Collection, but Steam lets you buy stuff a la carte as well. And price-wise it looks like the bundle doesn't save any additional money, so that's all of $1.79 Zodi can keep in pocket.

Get the Void Walker's Arsenal only if you plan on doing another playthrough of Dishonored at some point - it's basically just a set of exclusive bone charms you start the game with, instead of having to find them. It adds nothing to Daudhonored or Dishonored 2.

*Watches that two bucks and change fly away because I'm Canadian and bought it last night*

Ah well. So it goes. Steam used to give you discounts if you owned things in a package but I guess they implemented this bull**** back when they made it impossible to gift people things if you don't share money with them. Even if your version would be more expensive and thus more profitable for you to buy it for them.

[LaZodiac]

Today, let's begin trying to unravel Havelock and companies stupid stupid plans.

Zodi Plays: Dishonored [30] Dirty Rotten Hounds

Video Length: 29:52

In this episode, we begin our quest to beat the crap out of Havelock and is goons, and recover our daughter. Unfortunately, neither of those particular people are here, so instead we'll have to settle wit strangling a large amount of Havelock's dumb guards. Now, all things being equal; this rules. Using the hub, which we've returned to enough times to feel familiar and to have an idea of where everything is and how to navigate it pretty easily, as the penultimate sneaking challenge because now it's full of guards and tall boys is honestly kind of fantastic. There's a lot to unpack here, and a lot for us to deal with.

And me being me, I kinda... futz around a bit. Blind playthroughs yo! That being said I do accomplish everything the game sets out for me, finding information on Emily, finding the cool wall painting Emily did for us, beating up a fair amount of people, and eventually helping the now friendly with each other Sokolov and Piero createa resonance cascade that knocks out every guard in the area so we can all escape. Or, well, not quite escape for everyone. We have a date with Havelock that we need to go to, and Sam's our ride.

That's it for this one, honestly. It's got some good moments. And uh... next time, we'll be finishing he game! I hope you're all excited! I'll see you all next time!

[DataNinja]

To stupidity, and beyond!

To be fair, I think that they give up quick because they don't really want to fight the person that's apparently done such heinous things which might result in their death is they don't have to.

I was wondering why you were headed for the cell holding area.

I wonder if it is actually possible to 'incapacitate' the tallboys yourself, or if that's just a fancy inclusive euphemism for kill in this case.

...I'm not counting the arc pylon stuff as being done by you.
Piero and Sokalov: like, 10

Spoiler: Takedowns

Show

Episode	Non-Lethal	Lethal	Total
1	0	4	4
2	4	8	12
3	0	0	0
4	0	0	0
5	6	2	8
6	9	7	16
7	2	3	5
8	3	0	3
9	7	0	7
10	16	1	17
11	2	0	2
12	3	0	3
13	13	0	13
14	11	0	11
15	9	0	9
16	2	0	2
17	7	1	8
18	13	0	13
19	7	0	7
20	2	0	2
21	2	0	2
22	2	1	3
23	5	0	5
24	4	1	5
25	2	0	2
26	6	0	6
27	11	2	13
28	6	2	8
29	0	1	1
30	9	0	9
Total	163	33	196

[LaZodiac]

To stupidity, and beyond!

To be fair, I think that they give up quick because they don't really want to fight the person that's apparently done such heinous things which might result in their death is they don't have to.

I was wondering why you were headed for the cell holding area.

I wonder if it is actually possible to 'incapacitate' the tallboys yourself, or if that's just a fancy inclusive euphemism for kill in this case.

...I'm not counting the arc pylon stuff as being done by you.
Piero and Sokalov: like, 10

Spoiler: Takedowns

Show

Episode	Non-Lethal	Lethal	Total
1	0	4	4
2	4	8	12
3	0	0	0
4	0	0	0
5	6	2	8
6	9	7	16
7	2	3	5
8	3	0	3
9	7	0	7
10	16	1	17
11	2	0	2
12	3	0	3
13	13	0	13
14	11	0	11
15	9	0	9
16	2	0	2
17	7	1	8
18	13	0	13
19	7	0	7
20	2	0	2
21	2	0	2
22	2	1	3
23	5	0	5
24	4	1	5
25	2	0	2
26	6	0	6
27	11	2	13
28	6	2	8
29	0	1	1
30	9	0	9
Total	163	33	196

Yeah I'm pretty sure you can only lethally take out Tall Boys, except for this one instance here.

And completely fair, I didn't expect you to count all the dregs

[The Glyphstone]

IIRC, there is no way to non-lethally eliminate a Tallboy. They are immune to sleep darts and strangling, though you can lethally assassinate them if you get high and drop down onto their platform.

[DataNinja]

Yeah I'm pretty sure you can only lethally take out Tall Boys, except for this one instance here.

And completely fair, I didn't expect you to count all the dregs

I mean, I could probably theoretically go and look up how many guards there are on a low-chaos run or whatever and then just... put that many. But there's no skill involved in just pressing a lever.

IIRC, there is no way to non-lethally eliminate a Tallboy. They are immune to sleep darts and strangling, though you can lethally assassinate them if you get high and drop down onto their platform.

Yeah, I remember this stuff being mentioned when they first appeared, but wasn't sure if it might be possible here in some way due to the "incapacitate" enemies being an objective rather than "kill".

[The Glyphstone]

I mean, I could probably theoretically go and look up how many guards there are on a low-chaos run or whatever and then just... put that many. But there's no skill involved in just pressing a lever.



Yeah, I remember this stuff being mentioned when they first appeared, but wasn't sure if it might be possible here in some way due to the "incapacitate" enemies being an objective rather than "kill".

Nah, they die/disappear, but it doesn't count as lethal kills for Clean Hands achievements. Though if you do choose the kill option, it breaks Clean Hands despite it not being you who did the deed in either case.

[Amechra]

Alright, am I the only person who hears the voice clip that plays when you turn on Dark Sight as "It hunts dice"? It's been bothering me for a while.

Also, on their list of dumb ideas, locking two mad scientists in a lab was about as dumb as not double-checking to see that the horrifying eldritch warlock-ninja was dead before dumping him into the river. Havelock isn't a very good planner. That said, I think it would have flowed much better if playing on low enough Chaos actually ended the game right before your betrayal, with the whole "poisoning Corvo" thing only happening if you went around killing people. Because as it stands, the Loyalists come off as kinda idiotic, whereas on a High Chaos run they'd have much more of a reason to kill you and get you away from poor Emily.

[DataNinja]

Alright, am I the only person who hears the voice clip that plays when you turn on Dark Sight as "It hunts dice"? It's been bothering me for a while.

I can never catch the first part, but the second part sounds like 'dies' to me. But, yes, it's bothersome... though, not enough to actually bother to look it up.

Also, on their list of dumb ideas, locking two mad scientists in a lab was about as dumb as not double-checking to see that the horrifying eldritch warlock-ninja was dead before dumping him into the river.

I think the scientists locked themselves in there once things started happening. Especially given that the tallboys were very adamant about trying to break down the door. But, I could be mistaken.

[Ninja_Prawn]

Alright, am I the only person who hears the voice clip that plays when you turn on Dark Sight as "It hunts dice"? It's been bothering me for a while.

My headcanon was that the line was "a thousand eyes" but honestly those whispery voices are impossible to hear clearly.

[Destro_Yersul]

I've always heard it as 'the rats dies.' It's actually nonsense, not actual words at all. I checked.

[Amechra]

I've always heard it as 'the rats dies.' It's actually nonsense, not actual words at all. I checked.

I figured as much. I just literally can't hear it as anything else - it sounds super-clear to me, too. Granted, my hearing is all kinds of screwy, but it really takes away from the spookiness.

[LaZodiac]

And so it goes.

Zodi Plays: Dishonored [31] [FINALE] A Great Age Ending

Video Length: 42:28

We make our way to Kingsparrow Island, to clambour our way up to the top of the lighthouse to beat up a jerk and save our daughter. It couldn't be any simpler than that, and yet... there's a lot going on in this one. It's a bright sunny day, the guards are up to their job as always, and we need to sneak our way in. We have every tool we need, all we need provide is the skill to execute it. And so we do. Havelock and his droogs feared that if we did turn on them we'd be unstoppable. It's time to show them they were right.

From a mechanical and story standpoint I love this final area. It's kind of a culmination of everything, and at least on the path I took involves basically using a little bit of everything we have to get through it. I am, in a sense, thrilled with how GOOD I seem to be in this one. Doing risky and dangerous plays with confidence and acumen. It's quite cool. The level is set up so there's clearly a ton of paths to the top, and it feels a such. Story wise it's the final bastion, the final holdout. It's a really impressive place, a fortified light house which doesn't seem like it'd be all that defensible, but then you realize it's a very tall building with exactly one way up it. Not a lot of ways to climb an entire lighthouse, after all. But we've cracked every defense so far.

And at the top... well, we see something that I find very silly. It makes some degree of sense, and writing wise it's actually good, but as I mentioned previously this is just too much explanation. Havelock being a fool who wanted to manipulate Emily makes sense. Corvo will always protect her, can't puppet the government when someone who can cut strings is there. But not only does Havelock have that, he also has "if the world sees the bad we did, they will turn on us" which is... not how this works and doesn't super gel with everything else. There's also the idea that nobles are supposed to be seen as noble, a thing from the real world where the nobility seek to appear as pure and pristine as the title suggests. I can understand that, not wanting to be seen having dirtied their hands... but again, that's not how that works. And I feel one could safely argue that doing all this skulduggery to save the country from someone who murdered the queen and infested the city with plague rats is um... a good thing? And then they also add on what we see here; the melancholy of Admiral Havelock. Doubting himself, doubting his sure-foot actions. It feels excessive. As does uh, killing the other co-conspirators. Welp. But yeah, this is my main issue with the writing in the game. Havelock having a multitude of reasons is too much, for one specific reason. If we kept it with the "he got power hungry and Corvo will stop him from manipulating Emily" then that's all well and good. Still clearly a mistake, but reasonable. But adding all the other reasons makes the first motive weaker, because it all continues to brush up on "Corvo literally took over the entire country for you in less than a week". Every additional reason added to the pile makes Corvo's stance more complex as well... and in a straight fight of logic, all of Havelock's paranoia and overthinking adds up to "don't do a traitor Corvo will ****ing murder you". So if they had kept it simple, there wouldn't be as much thinking directed towards his reasoning, thus not piling on how traitoring us is the worst idea imaginable.

To put it bluntly; Havelock deserves what he gets. The co-conspirators do too of course, but Havelock most of all bought his ticket videos ago. And with Havelock gone... we can finally save Emily. Happy end.

And like I said above... so it goes. We have completed Dishonored, and I can say definitively that this game RULES. I loved doing this, loved my experience as a blind player, and very much enjoyed basically every part of this game. It kinda drags a bit around the Daud part, the ending taking a bit too long to ramp up to Kingsparrow Island, but it works. As has been discussed I find Havelock's many reasons for doing a traitor to be excessive, sometimes less is more in a situation like this. I found it... rather cool that this is how they chose to end the game, though I do second the opinion that being as non-lethal as me should have prooobably ended at the bar scene. This is of course another reason why less is more at times as said above. Ah well, it's fine. Like, this is my only writing complaint in the game and it's honestly kind of a small one. Gameplay wise it did feel like sometimes the game just... didn't work properly, but given what the game was trying to do overall that's kind of one of those reasonable "yeah I get that" situations. Sometimes your massive overlapping systems brush up poorly against each other. It happens. Mechanically though the game plays pretty much perfect, it just needs some more non-lethal options.

So yeah. That was Dishonored. Thank you all very much for watching. I loved playing it, and I hope you all enjoyed. Thanks to my supporters on Patreon, and thanks to those who watch at all. We've been through a lot here, and I'm glad to see you stick with me to the end. I'm going to take a week long break to relax. And this time an ACTUAL week. So join me next time, on November 11th... for The Legend of Zelda Spirit Tracks. Oh booooy.

[Amechra]

Congrats on making it through Lord Corvo's Happy Fun Playtime!

It makes me wonder whether or not Havelock would do the same thing in High Chaos - you know, where you're actually a poorly-controlled rabid dog. You know, given that they broke kayfabe.

[LaZodiac]

Congrats on making it through Lord Corvo's Happy Fun Playtime!

It makes me wonder whether or not Havelock would do the same thing in High Chaos - you know, where you're actually a poorly-controlled rabid dog. You know, given that they broke kayfabe.

The answer to this is actually kind of interesting in that regardless of your playthrough, you don't ever actually fight Havelock unless you confront him directly in a peaceful playthrough.

Spoiler: Chaos End

Show

He hangs out where I made my offering, holding Emily, and it's up to us to stop him by any means necessary and save Emily. It's a fun bit of serendipity as I did not know that when I did my goofy little thing.

As for Pendleton and Martin, they basically own half of the island in a war against each other. You can visit both of them, but avoid killing both since they shoot at each other in a duel. Pendleton dies of blood loss and if you confront Martin he suicides.

[The Glyphstone]

You mean you're not going to roll straight into Daudhonored, since you just got it at a generous discount and would be compelled to continue the story? Curses, my sinister master plan for more LPs has failed...