Shadowrun Shadowrun: Hong Kong - Extended Edition

[Gruncheon]

It is the composition of characteristics of the persona, without considering the environment. Annah was not a non-white prodigy born in a ghetto to be raised by a certain society. Annah was still in the ghetto and part of it and her tiefling heritage is nothing out of the ordinary in this environment. While IsObel is a brown person from a chinese ghetto, and therefore she is just for a diversity multicultural reason there and not from a sober prospective and love for the chinese culture. If she would have been chinese or even indonesian or filipino, then this would have been less stupid. Gobbet has so much intersection with chinese culture, as cheese with fucking. So yes in my opinion both characters are shity and shity designed and they do not fit the city. There are many fantastic aspects to the chinese culture that could have been inserted into such a setting, but what we got is more a San Francisco / New York shit.

As far as I remember, Is0bel is meant to be Somalian, her family were refugees and when they arrived in Hong Kong they were moved to the Walled City because it was a dense, low-income housing centre designed for people in their situation. That's not 'black character for the sake of black character', it's a character that has a reason to be there and that illuminates something about the Shadowrun world and Hong Kong. That's the difference between writing diverse characters and pushing an SJW agenda. Diversity is good; it leads to a more interesting breadth of character in RPGs and forces writers to move outside of the same old tropes. It only becomes a problem when character writing is subordinated to the need of the writer to show just how progressive they are.

I do agree that the MC should've been a Hong Kong native, but mainly because I feel it undermined the sense of place in Hong Kong by making you a non-native.

 

[Crooked Bee]

My favourite mission of all three games was the mission in Hong Kong that involved other shadow runner teams going for the same objective as you and how you could deal with each of them (work together, kill them, trick them).
I felt like that really captured what Shadow Run is.

I was wondering if you felt the same way, or maybe another mission jumped at you more.
Definitely the open ended way to resolving each mission in general was a huge plus over the previous two games. Many could be completed with little or no fighting if you wanted.. or just blowing shit to hell if you wanted.

Yeah, I agree. There were just a lot of fun/ingenious bits and ideas in general. I played a Shaman with 4 or 5 etiquettes, too, which made a lot of options available to me.

 

[Immortal]

Yeah, I agree. There were just a lot of fun/ingenious bits and ideas in general. I played a Shaman with 4 or 5 etiquettes, too, which made a lot of options available to me.

Same except I went mage. Was really fun solving things with a mix of combat and dialogue. I still think these games have a long way to go to deliver on the Shadow Run experience I expect.. but things have came a long way since Shadow Run: Genesis.. SR has always got fucked over in the video game department.

 

[Lhynn]

If you want to insult me or you want to state that i'm wrong in a specific case, then please address this directly, because i take nothing out this comment.

No, not insulting you. just genuinely believe you are full of crap and its embarrasing to even read you.
Also sorry, there was a typo there. it was "you care about the stupidest crap". nothing else, carry on.

 

[Gord]

I also quite enjoyed the run where you had to acquire the tissue samples and research data from the ship.

 

[Zarniwoop]

Finished the game today. Disappointed in a few things, the main plot is shit for one. Or rather, delivered in a poor manner. Not just compared to DF but on its own. Will probably poast more tomorrow unless the Codex Civil War engulfs GRPGD in flames.

 

[Ninjerk]

Tips on the Wuxing mission? I'm fighting 6 Mages who appear to each have 4AP and if they have line of sight to Is0bel at all they kill in her in one turn regardless of the distance.

 

[Crooked Bee]

Tips on the Wuxing mission? I'm fighting 6 Mages who appear to each have 4AP and if they have line of sight to Is0bel at all they kill in her in one turn regardless of the distance.

Is that the Bad Qi one?

Just rush towards the exit where the mages appear as soon as you've touched the statue. That way you'll fight them at close distance and they will go down in a couple of turns (or so they did for me). That's what I did inadvertently since the game bugged out (?) on me and let me walk almost all the way towards the exit before the mages popped up.

 

[Zetor]

Yeah, that's the way to do it if you have a party that's strong at short range. The reason it works is because SRR 'normalizes' run speed in RT mode based on distance between character position and destination, so if you click 10 tiles away, you walk much faster than if you click 5 tiles away. The script still triggers, but it doesn't stop the character (bad HBS! ever hear of "End Turn: Team Shadowrunner"?) so you'll still be running towards the entrance as the mages spawn in and do their dialogue thing, and as long as you started from far enough away, you'll be in their melee range by the time they get their surprise turn.

The alternative option is to withdraw right away, split the group, summon meatshields, and popamole the mages down one by one (Is0bel's grenade launcher with the mine attachment is a godsend, since it'll have 70+% to-hit on the tile next to an enemy no matter what). If you don't have a shaman, Racter's drone is really good for drawing fire too. If your characters are far enough apart, they'll prefer using single-target spells, which will miss or do negligible damage if you're behind heavy cover... worked pretty well for me on Hard, I think I only needed to use one medkit (rest was manageable through healing spells).

 

[Immortal]

I also quite enjoyed the run where you had to acquire the tissue samples and research data from the ship.

What did you like about this one? I was able to sneak past the guards.. which felt weird (sneaking in this game is really awkward).. Then I fired a fake alarm and got the tissue samples..
The boat section felt really weak to me..

 

[Gord]

What did you like about this one?

I guess because it offered the possibility to sneak (which works ok-ish in TB mode) or to fight your way through and after that one of the more interesting fights when you meet the Mr Johnson.

 

[Immortal]

I guess because it offered the possibility to sneak (which works ok-ish in TB mode) or to fight your way through and after that one of the more interesting fights when you meet the Mr Johnson.

The fight after the boat was interesting.. I think the wire gimmick could have been done a little better but It was neat.. Sneaking is weird though, I don't understand when they can see me or not see me.. Sometimes I can brush up against a NPC and not be detected then other times I run behind them by like 6 tiles and they still catch me.

It could definitely be done better.. in General that was one of my least favourite missions.

 

[Jason Liang]

Finished! With a Melee Adept/ Rigger hybrid.

I really enjoyed the ending (last two missions) and it really redeemed the game for me. Game needs to be patched and encounteres need to be tested, rebalanced and rethought, but maybe 8-12 months from now this game could actually be terrific.

Spoiler

I ended with 215 karma (although you get the last 8 right before the last battle) and roughly 22k or so total nuyen (including selling stuff like the unique guns, but not including the pointless 5k you get from Auntie at the end).

My character ended up:

Alesio "Qinalo" Qin
Elf
Strength 6
Close Combat 6
Quickness 1
Body 4
Cybernetic Affinity 3
Intellect 7
Drone Control 7
Drone Combat 7
Willpower 7
Qi Casting 7
Charisma 3
Spirit Summoning 3

Cyberware:
Datajack (head) .5
Muscle Augmentation .25
Muscle Augmentation .25

Gear was the +ap Adept sword and two Guardian drones

I think I will play through again after the game's been patched more, this time using Giachu more. He was pretty awesome the times I did use him and seemed to have a lot more mission banter than Racter.

Mission Loot Questions:
Is there ANY good reward for doing Is0bel's mission besides around 700 nuyen?

Can you actually get the custom blade from Gobbet's mission if you have Melee 5? Is it any good?

Anyone know if there is any meaningful C&C to sparing or killing Plastic Man? I ended up killing him. Also wondering if there is loot for choosing a different ambush (I chose mistress).

How do you get into the center room on the thaumaturgical floor of Prosperity Tower? What is the passcode and how do you find it?

 

[Gord]

It could definitely be done better..

They should have done something similar to the LOS indicator from the matrix, I guess.
It does seem purely LOS based, though. If an enemy looks in your direction and you are not behind some (full maybe) cover, you are detected. If they have their back turned to you, you are fine. For me it worked well enough, I did have to reload a few times, though.

 

[Zetor]

I think it uses the same 'almost-mechanics' for stealth as the watcher IC: a frontal vision cone. Just as with the watcher IC, the best way to stealth around is to walk right behind them and sidestep when they're about to turn a corner to stay behind them. Problem is, if any of the braindead teammates walk into the detection cone, the jig is up. The same thing was true for the Aztech run in Dragonfall, btw

Finished! With a Melee Adept/ Rigger hybrid.

Spoiler

How do you get into the center room on the thaumaturgical floor of Prosperity Tower? What is the passcode and how do you find it?

Spoiler

You need to talk to that annoying researcher guy and nod your head as he keeps going with his stupid stories. Eventually he'll run out of steam and give you the code to the quarantine room just to fuck with his boss. Then you can release the thing and...

 

[Immortal]

They should have done something similar to the LOS indicator from the matrix, I guess.
It does seem purely LOS based, though. If an enemy looks in your direction and you are not behind some (full maybe) cover, you are detected. If they have their back turned to you, you are fine. For me it worked well enough, I did have to reload a few times, though.

I understand that the stealth mechanic isn't that high of a priority.. That was like the ONLY time I saw it used.. outside of the beginning of the game where those dudes are hanging around on the dock..
I wish harebrained scheme could get some PoE level of KS dollars and really go balls out on a 40 hours shadow run romp.

 

[Stompa]

the wire gimmick

Elaborate, please. I've noticed those wires, but didn't bother with them during combat.

 

[Gord]

A decker can electrocute the puddles of water if you jack into the nearby access point, damaging and stunning some of the enemies if they happen to stand upon them.

 

[Kem0sabe]

A decker can electrocute the puddles of water if you jack into the nearby access point, damaging and stunning some of the enemies if they happen to stand upon them.

I killed both groups with wip, Grenada launcher, sniper drone and stun / execute best dramatic buddy

 

[Crooked Bee]

The problem with the combat is that you never have to do anything other than stun + grenade launcher + let them attack Koschei for the lulz + whatever regular/aimed attack you have. This is the easiest RPG I've played in a while.

If you're a Shaman, spirit summoning is nothing more than a gimmick too. I did just fine with basic conjurer spells + Haste and Dual Blur (or whatever it's called) for buffs.

One of the main issues in my experience, is that I never encountered any enemies that could outright kill you. At most, some of them hurt one or two of my team members, but that's it. Maybe if HBS had buffed up the enemy's attack power on Hard, the combat could've been somewhat better.

 

[Ninjerk]

Yeah, that's the way to do it if you have a party that's strong at short range. The reason it works is because SRR 'normalizes' run speed in RT mode based on distance between character position and destination, so if you click 10 tiles away, you walk much faster than if you click 5 tiles away. The script still triggers, but it doesn't stop the character (bad HBS! ever hear of "End Turn: Team Shadowrunner"?) so you'll still be running towards the entrance as the mages spawn in and do their dialogue thing, and as long as you started from far enough away, you'll be in their melee range by the time they get their surprise turn.

The alternative option is to withdraw right away, split the group, summon meatshields, and popamole the mages down one by one (Is0bel's grenade launcher with the mine attachment is a godsend, since it'll have 70+% to-hit on the tile next to an enemy no matter what). If you don't have a shaman, Racter's drone is really good for drawing fire too. If your characters are far enough apart, they'll prefer using single-target spells, which will miss or do negligible damage if you're behind heavy cover... worked pretty well for me on Hard, I think I only needed to use one medkit (rest was manageable through healing spells).

Is that the Bad Qi one?

Just rush towards the exit where the mages appear as soon as you've touched the statue. That way you'll fight them at close distance and they will go down in a couple of turns (or so they did for me). That's what I did inadvertently since the game bugged out (?) on me and let me walk almost all the way towards the exit before the mages popped up.

a

How clowny

 

[Bleed the Man]

I'm at the sinking ship quest and really enjoying it so far. The matrix revamp wasn't all that great, but it's still better than what we had, and the rest is either as good or better than Dragonfall. One thing I consider HBS has improved quite a bit is in the companions writing. The Dragonfall ones never really grab me, and if you don't play the Director's cut version, it's basically playing therapist whit them. Here everything is more natural (the first two or so conversations are more about things they're doing and how they are rather than delving into their pasts) and there's a lot of more content, they have quite a bit more to say (another thing Dragonfall fell short). I also like how they've made the HUb a lot more alive, with a fair amount of characters with their own story that goes one step above what Dragonfall did.
The missions are very similar in style to the ones in Dragonfall, although I think they are a little bit more open in terms of how to deal with a situation and the combat encounters are, for the most part, more interesting.

The story however, although I'm not finished yet, I'm not entirely sold on it. The hook is good, the mystery you have to uncover is compelling and the characters involved in it are also interesting, but it makes sort of the same mistake as Dragonfall, where after the introduction of the plot, it stops so you can do runs here and there (collecting money in Dragonfall to uncover more info about the story, and here waiting for "auntie" to come up with info too). I don't like this style of narrative, but the "fluff" on the HUB area keeps throwing you stuff slightly related to the main plot (about the dreams and such).

Anyway, really enjoying it so far. Best of the bunch for me until further notice.

 

[Crooked Bee]

a

How clowny

Come on, it can't be that hard no matter how you approach it. None of the fights in this game are hard.

 

[Crooked Bee]

By the way, my unspent Karma points before the final run (I forgot to capture the actual character sheet, but I did capture the number of karma points available):



That's right, 31 unspent Karma points. This is how you know the game is much easier than it should be.

I did spend those points for the final run (here you can see how if you want), but only because I felt like it, not because I had to. I didn't install any Cyberware either.

 

[Durandal]

Come on, it can't be that hard no matter how you approach it. None of the fights in this game are hard.

the only time I died when playing HK on Hard was in the Feng Shui break run where you had to destroy that buddha temple.
Suddenly there were 5 mages outta nowhere who spammed fireballs that dealt 15 DMG each because of the rising Qi or some such shit. I forgot to put one of my characters in cover and the mages all focused on that one, effectively killing her in one turn. I didn't have much medical supplies because I never needed them, so I sent Gobbet to revive Is0bel, only for the mages to knock Gobbet out as Is0bel got away. My PC and Gaichu didn't have much to heal themselves with, and them both being close-ranged melee characters didn't help with staying behind cover from the incoming fireballs.
Is0bel could only shoot missing grenades. Then everyone died by immolation.