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Post by dmikester on Jan 9, 2018 17:07:08 GMT -5
So I've been hemming and hawing over posting this, and I think I'm going to make an honest effort one more time, but I've had this for weeks, and I just can't get into it. I don't know what it is, but there's something about the writing in the journal that I can't get through. I don't know what it is, as the writing itself is fine, but I haven't even been able to get past the first fifteen or so pages without losing interest, and I think I'm likely not going to continue. I hope I can make it through the journal in my next effort.
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Post by squirrel on Jan 9, 2018 17:30:59 GMT -5
Sorry to hear that. I've read a few novels or bits of novels that were written as diary entries or letters, so the format was something I'm familiar with... and I spent several hours going through it and taking notes. The second cipher was a really good challenge too. It looks like they're going to support people pausing and re-joining. So, we'll keep you posted on what else they're sending out and you can re-join later if it seems worth it. I wouldn't expect to get another massive chunk of text like the diary again, but I guess it's a good way to kick off the story (as dispatch did the same, but with a shorter diary)
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Post by craigrj on Jan 10, 2018 4:49:49 GMT -5
The second cipher is a real stinker but solveable and worth the time on its own. The story is admittedly most disposable except - it strikes me that although it's a big old info dump, it's a vital part of beginning to build your suspects board. There are inter-relationships here that I feel will be key later on, hidden secrets the narrator only touches upon as she doesn't realise the meaning of words or actions.
What you could do, it flick through and hit up the two ciphers - do the obvious one first, and then really work at the telegram one. Solving that reveals a facet of the content of the journal that you should be looking for in a read through and that might spark your interest enough to want to stick with the reading.
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Post by dmikester on Jan 14, 2018 15:44:49 GMT -5
All right, made it through the journal. Haven't cracked the ciphers yet, but I'm having a tough time justifying paying $400 for this for the rest of the year (it's a roughly sixty dollar premium over what the UK people are paying). That would make this the most expensive of any of these subscription boxes that I do, and unless there's going to be some really spectacular stuff later on, I think I'm likely not going to continue. Still, I have a message out to Della about it, so we'll see what she says. I may just try out Box 2 and see what it's like, but I don't have much time to decide.
EDIT: All right, decided to go monthly for now. Hopefully Box 2 is great.
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Post by craigrj on Jan 15, 2018 2:48:39 GMT -5
Seems like a sensible idea - in some ways, I sympathise, because being in the UK I have to make that cost-benefit-analysis decision with the extra postage I pay for MPC, Dispatch Breakout On The Run, and it's why I don't do Hunt A Killer ... having said that, I only went in for three months on CosyKiller's Kickstarter as I got an early bird with a ton of extra stuff, and I will evaluate it after three to see if it's worth carrying on with. And then if so I'll still probably just do month-to-month, and see how it goes.
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Post by squirrel on Jan 15, 2018 6:11:06 GMT -5
Same here - the shipping add-on makes me second guess a few things. 300 or so is what I'd end up paying for an MPC experience, so this was like an experience spread out over a full year . Plus, a murder mystery set in the 1930s is my kryptonite.
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Post by dmikester on Jan 17, 2018 15:46:02 GMT -5
Well, I finally cracked the two ciphers in the journal, and I'm for sure continuing. Both were enormously satisfying to solve and thicken the plot in completely different ways. Also, I've gotten confirmation from Jo, the head writer, that the proofing errors that happen periodically were either intentionally left in for authenticity or are actually NOT errors and are there for a reason!
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Post by craigrj on Jan 22, 2018 8:08:09 GMT -5
Well mailing #2 arrived today and I think I can safely say this will put the cat firmly amongst the pigeons. Compared to Dispatch Breakout as a monthly step in a longer running mystery this one is very light on content and things to do, and it doesn't hold a candle to mailing #1... ...BUT. I really like the little clay bowl. And what are we supposed to do with the cipher!!!! Except on that latter point maybe we need to compare what we have? Mine starts and ends GHLYM
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Post by squirrel on Jan 22, 2018 8:30:57 GMT -5
Mine arrived today as well. I've a different start to my cipher tho - Starts with , ends with GHLYM
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Post by squirrel on Jan 22, 2018 8:37:51 GMT -5
Starting with 3 Ws is odd - looks like either a shifting key or maybe a playfair cipher but that's as far as I've gotten (only had a few minutes to play with it so far though) .
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Post by squirrel on Jan 22, 2018 9:06:17 GMT -5
Mine arrived today as well. I've a different start to my cipher tho - Starts with , ends with GHLYM forum interface is conspiring against me. Starts with W W W L J
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Post by dmikester on Jan 22, 2018 23:08:14 GMT -5
Boy, this second mailing was not what I was hoping for. I mean, it's fine, but forty dollars for a couple of pieces of paper, a small clay bowl (that looks like it may end up being either some kind of compass or decoder wheel), and a stick of cinnamon? I really had a great time with the journal codes from the first mailing, but I'm struggling with the value here. Going to give them one more month and then see.
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Post by craigrj on Feb 19, 2018 16:06:46 GMT -5
And so Cosykiller #3 arrives today and I think this is the one to put dmikester off - there's a lot more content than last time, but just one cipher (and it's a braille piece that is so unclear on my sheets as to be undecipherable). 70-80% of the content though is no surprise to anyone who read the journal and feels a little unnecessary. Make that, a lot unnecessary. Couple this with no extra stuff to do and...
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Post by squirrel on Feb 21, 2018 5:38:28 GMT -5
yup, this one seems to be more story-driven than puzzle driven.
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Post by dmikester on Feb 21, 2018 22:39:15 GMT -5
Well, just got the third mailing and yeah, I don't think it's a good value for the price I'm paying for overseas shipping, but I do appreciate the sheer amount of content. However, the aging seems much faker than it did in the first mailing, and the braille is not well done; I saw they posted a cleaner version on Facebook, but still. I'm almost certainly regretfully going to cancel.
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