I’m using Thimbleweed Park 1.0.958 via GOG Galaxy 1.2.64.
I noticed two problems:
In chapters 2/3, agent Antonio Reyes sometimes says to himself “I need to stay focused and solve this murder so I can do what I need to do”. In the Italian subtitles, he just says “Devo rimanere concentrato per risolvere questo omicidio” (“I need to stay focused and solve this murder”). The “so I can do what I need to do” part is omitted from the translation : it’s a pity, because it remembers us that he too has a secret goal - and by the way, Angela Ray’s similar line is fully translated in Italian. He should add something like “così potrò fare quello che devo” (note that the expression “what I need to do” -> “quello che devo” is also in his notebook).
In chapter 3, the line “get the factory key” appears in Delores’ and Ransome’s TODO lists (I suppose it appeared after Rey/Reyes examined the locked factory gate, but I’m not 100% sure), even if they have NO reason whatsoever to get the key at this point of the story. In fact, they state they want to go to the factory only in chapter 4 - and by the way, there is NO way to get the key in chapter 3 because the bank is still closed, so this line in the TODO lists can be misleading and frustrating. Or am I missing something and there IS indeed a reason to have that line present in chapter 3 ?
I noticed too the translation of Reyes’ words. And I asked Bortolotti, the translator, about that. He said that he wanted to do a translation that fits in the lenght of the original, like it was made for the screen (movies, tv series). I don’t know if it’s the right move, but that’s the reason. You will notice it in some other parts.
But you will notice also the overall high quality of his work, and the dedication. So that’s definitely a totally conscious translation choice and not a a sloppy work.
Factory key lines should be linked with the intention of the characters, that for some of them, in the story exist since the beginning (you’ll see that in a retrospective view on the plot): they make it clear for the player when they have the chance to talk about their intention: you should check if in the chapter three they say some lines about that. From the moment they refer to it, the factory key line should appear on the to do list. If it’s so, there’s no bug. (Ransome for example is one of the first ones that talk about getting there, if I remember well).
The quality of Bortolotti’s work is not high. It’s excellent! I wish he had a chron-o-john to go back in time and fix all those annoying mistakes in Italian translations of old games. Bonus “nostalgia points” to him for keeping the good old “floorboard inspector” → “underwear salesman” transformation, and I like that a “monkey wrench” was karmikally lost in translation… again! (I mean when “we don’t monkey wrench around” becomes “our heads are not up in the clouds”)
I know that a translator must take hard decisions. In Reyes case, probably it’s a matter of opinions, but I’d have preferred a translation “symmetrical” to Ray’s one.
I’ll check if I have a saved game to verify better…
@Gffp: I went back to a previous save point.
I’m now back at the beginning of Chapter 3. I take Reyes and I go to the Mansion Mansion (LOL), I ring the bell to unlock Delores. Here is Delores TODO list:
No lines related to the factory, and it makes sense: at this point of the story, she has no reason (yet) go to to the factory - this is consistent with her backstory.
I switch to Reyes (but it’s the same if I use Ray), go to the factory, look at the gate. His diary “wobbles”, but nothing new appears:
but at this point of the story 1) she does not need the key; 2) you (player) cannot get the key.
Only in Chapter 4 you can get the key, and only at the very beginning of Chapter 4 she states her reason to do that - and so does Ransome. From this point on, they have also the line “Get inside the Pillow Factory” in their TODO list, and now it makes sense that they want to find the key.
If Ray’s or Reyes’ diaries wobble but only the others get this entry it sounds like a bug.
I think all should have this entry shown or no one should have this entry at this point in time.
Since you have listed those lines from beginning of chapter 4 if makes perfectly sense to show this entries only from that time on.
But generally regarding such type of entries I think it would be also OK to show them right away:
You have found a locked gate. For an adventure game player this means a potential puzzle. But it should be at least consistent with multiple characters.
I don’t see that as much of an issue either. You as the player know. Perhaps the character shouldn’t know or at least not necessarily agree that it’s a goal for them, but it’s the same kind of question as how all that junk could ever fit in their pockets. More realism would just make the game more tedious. Exchanging inventory with your car constantly, informing another character about what you already know…
The second might be more of an issue, but primarily in the sense that after the first part of the game (with those FaceTron & BloodTron machines and whatnot) the smaller puzzles you learn about aren’t really tracked at all, only fairly vague overarching goals. That makes the to-do lists fairly useless as a way to pick up where you left off if you continue several weeks later.
I agree, or better I would agree if the suggested puzzle were really solvable now - especially since I suppose that the TODO list is intended for novices (we veterans never needed a TODO list in old games - we really loved to bang our head against the wall to remember small clues and vague hints )
An example I like: when in Chapter 3 the feds must use ArrestTron but a tube is missing-a-reno, something like “find the AT missing tube” appears in Delores’ TODO list. Of course it’s not her goal (quite the opposite, since it’s blatant that the ArrestTron will jail Willie and she thinks he’s innocent), but the hint is good for us as players, AND we can really use the hint to solve the puzzle NOW in Chapter 3, AND in-universe Delores reluctantly agreed to cooperate with the feds, so we can assume they called her offscreen and explained the problem (and maybe they avoided to show her their evidence-a-reno against Willie).
Another example I like even if it may seem wrong-timed: the first time Delores tries to decrypt the will, she fails, and a diary entry immediately appears, “find Chuck’s lucky number”, probably because she assumed in her mind that the encryption key was the lucky number and jotted the entry down - she explains it to us if we try to decrypt the will again, but some players (especially novices) may not try that again if unsuccessful the first time, so the hint is useful.
But in the case of the factory key, the puzzle cannot be solved in Chapter 3, so it’s not a priority - neither for the characters nor for the players. That’s why I suggest to move the diary entry “Get key to factory gate” to Chapter 4, only after at least one character stated that he/she wants to go to the factory AND after at least one character found out that the gate is locked.
It‘s a bit weird, I got the lucky number of Chuck but no matter how often I try. The computer of Dolores does not ask the questions that belong to the number. It is higher than 100 bit computer says no
That number is random so maybe you got his lucky number but it was a different save game.
Just check again what his lucky number actually is and then return to her computer.
Edit: If you cannot figure it out or think it’s a bug you could upload your save game somewhere and give us the link.
: it’s a pity, because it remembers us that he too has a secret goal - and by the way, Angela Ray’s similar line is fully translated in Italian. He should add something like “così potrò fare quello che devo” (note that the expression “what I need to do” -> “quello che devo” is also in his notebook).
(I mean when “we don’t monkey wrench around” becomes “our heads are not up in the clouds”)
)