• Hail Guest!
    We're looking for Community Content Contribuitors to Stratics. If you would like to write articles, fan fiction, do guild or shard event recaps, it's simple. Find out how in this thread: Community Contributions
  • Greetings Guest, Having Login Issues? Check this thread!
  • Hail Guest!,
    Please take a moment to read this post reminding you all of the importance of Account Security.
  • Hail Guest!
    Please read the new announcement concerning the upcoming addition to Stratics. You can find the announcement Here!

spectrum friendly?

egcharood51

Visitor
Stratics Veteran
This isn’t a bug, but it’s something I want to draw attention to as a problem anyway. For starters, I am on the autism spectrum. That is important to the rest of this post.

I am still relatively new to the game, but I am definitely long past the point when most people get the psychology skill. I started wondering about that, and what I missed that would have gotten me that skill. The wiki simply says that it is in the tutorial cave. I suppose I should not give extra spoilers here, so instead I will just say that I was not at all able to get it. Eventually a friend of mine gave me the answer, and I realized I never would have gotten it on my own. Not due to lack of exploration, but because I would never have made the connection of what I needed to do. Not ever. My brain simply does not work that way and never will, and it was extremely upsetting to me to see the very first ‘quest’ (in quotation marks because it is not presented as the other quests are, which is part of what made it impossible for me) was so unfriendly to me, for reasons which are not my fault.

I’ve been told that there is an alternative way to get it, which involves buying it in another town. However, that just feels like being punished for being different, and not being able to make the types of connections that non-autistic people can. I don’t know how much anyone actually cares about making the game spectrum friendly, but just in case someone does, I figured I’d mention that this part really is not.

On a side note, in terms of sensory friendly. These forums are not. I felt physically ill within a few seconds of first hitting the link to these forums, due to the unstoppable slideshow. Sometimes I could scroll down past it, but sometimes I could not. Things like that are also very unpleasant for me or anyone with sensory processing difficulties, and can make certain websites impossible for me to visit (at least for more than a few seconds at a time). (The first thing I did when I created an account was change my theme to try to get away from anything animated, but the fact that it's the first thing anyone sees is not very nice to people with sensory processing difficulties)
 

Citan

Project: Gorgon Developer
VIP
Stratics Veteran
Hi, thanks for the feedback! I'm certainly open to improving the game in ways that help you. But first: despite what the wiki might say, it's not a quest :) It's a hidden way to find an ability, and my stats show that most players don't figure it out on their first character. Since this is a game about hidden details, I need there to be hidden things to discover all through the game. I can't really telegraph them too much or they aren't hidden... they just become "directed content". So it's trying for a very delicate balance: "hiding" things but not making it too punitive if people don't spot the hidden stuff.

I'm not really sure how to address your needs because I don't feel I understand what it is you didn't get, or wouldn't get. Since it's so early in the game, there's actually a hint for this hidden task in the GUI, on the "Things To Do" tab, where it gives more details about what you're supposed to do. I don't expect newbies to find that list while they're in the cave, but my hope is that it helps people figure out what they're missing if they, like you, feel they're missing something but don't know what. Did you find that tab? If not, can you look at the text and see if it would have been sufficient? And if not, are there hints that would have helped you, without calling undue attention to the solution?
 
Last edited:

Citan

Project: Gorgon Developer
VIP
Stratics Veteran
Also I'm not in control of the forums in any way, but you might try one of the other themes to see if it's less obnoxious!
 

Luka Melehan

Certifiable
Professional
Alumni
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
Campaign Patron
Specifically, are you speaking of the animated top design of the default forums style and the ads under that? I also use an alternate style thats easier on the eyes, being old and having granky vision issues. The only way I know of to get rid of the ads is become a Stratics member. Might be worth it if you think you'll be using the forums a lot. I can shoot your post to the powers that be, not sure anything else can be done though.
 

egcharood51

Visitor
Stratics Veteran
Sorry I haven't been back, I've been unwell. I don't want it to seem that I just bitched and ditched, but sadly I think I have nothing to add. I appreciate the tips and if I ever get back to the game, I will keep in mind how I am supposed to see it. Sadly, it has long since lost all it's joy for me and I doubt I'll be playing again. I understand that I am not part of the target demographic, and that's ok.
 
Top