Zero Escape: VLDR - Zero Guide Dilemma

Virtue's Last Dangan Ronpa

Zero Escape: VLDR - Zero Guide Dilemma

Postby Arcthurus » Tue Nov 12, 2019 8:17 pm

How do people....

...play VLDR?

If you don't know how to...

...then perhaps you should LEARN.

Image

VLDR - Zero Guide Dilemma

The Handy Handbook


I - Introduction

Hello and welcome to the Virtue's Last Dilemma Redux subforum! VLDR (as the shortened acronym) is a roleplaying, action and deception game that puts you in the exciting role of surviving and escaping.

To start, let's dive into the basics of this game. VLDR is based around the Zero Escape series, combining several elements to form a unique mixture. Each game can usually be divided into three stages: a puzzle phase, a roaming phase, and an Ambidex Game (optional but very common). This guide intends to walk you through each section in a typical game, clearly explaining what each stage is and what you can expect.

Let's talk about the beginning of the game: signing up, character building, and roles.

The Beginning of a VLDR Game
First, you should check out the VLDR Hub. Hosts announce their games there with signup instructions (and perhaps a bit of game lore!). You should also visit the VLDR Discord if you are interested in communicating with the community directly.

A VLDR game begins with the original post. It is beneficial to read the OP thoroughly as rules and mechanics vary from host to host.

Should you snag a slot in a game, you'll receive a rolecard. Your rolecard will contain three parts: stats, role abilities, and win condition(s). Most hosts request a confirmation including roleplay character information before the game starts. Let's go over every player slot mechanic.

CHARACTER
Most games have an emphasis on character roleplay, so it is wise to consider your character carefully and plan accordingly. A good backstory and personality can help flesh out your character and make them more appealing to interact and work with. If heavy roleplay is not for you, you may use the minimum requirements of a name and physical description. A picture or a textual description including clothing is sufficient; be as wild as you desire (within reason)!

Not every game has you create a custom character. Sometimes roles will have a name, character description, and/or a backstory included with the role. In such a case, you won't need to do that much at all. Just sign up and prepare for the ride.

STATS


Stats influence your action rolls, so they're a pretty vital part of the non-roleplaying aspect of the game. For the most part, actions can succeed, fail, or critically fail based on what the host rolls for your action. Stats can positively or negatively modify your rolls; check your rolecard for what modifiers you will have applied.

On top of stats values, you may find you are adept or inept at certain actions. You are more likely to succeed at actions you are adept at, and more likely to fail at actions you are inept at.

The stats used in a game will vary from host to host. This may include how they are used as well. If you would like clarification on how a host manages stats, feel free to PM them.

ABILITIES

Abilities are special actions you can perform, and are one of three categories.

Passive abilities do not require you to submit an action. They will trigger automatically when their conditions are met.

Active abilities do require you to submit an action. These abilities may have limited use, have a cooldown, or be unlimited. Be sure to carefully read your rolecard to see if your active ability has any restrictions.

Item abilities have you begin the game with an item in your inventory, as opposed to starting empty handed. This type of ability is commonly referred to as a "basekit."

Creative use of your abilities is not only appreciated, but a great way to complete your wincon. Use your abilities for good or evil, or just cause plain chaos.

WIN CONDITIONS

Win conditions are, as their name implies, conditions that must be met in order for you to win the game. Sometimes your wincon may simply be to survive and escape — a fairly standard win condition. Other players may need to betray a certain amount of other players, keep a particular person alive, heal a few players, or kill others. Fulfilling your wincon can be considered your character's overarching goal and a good thing to incorporate into your character.

Most players prefer to play according to their character rather than their wincon. If a development causes your character and wincon to separate (such as having to kill their only trusted friend), for a better roleplay, it's better to play for your character. With that said, it may be best to communicate with the host when it comes to going against your wincon.

II - Riddles, Puzzles, and Damn Puzzles
Most VLDR games will have you begin with an introductory puzzle, which can be on your own or with another player. Starting puzzles aren't too hard, but exist to gauge activity levels and give you a feel on the how the game will operate. There's no rush during this first part of the game, unless you wish to roleplay with the other players before the game starts up.

Going into the game, it is recommended (though not necessarily required) to have a basic understanding on several types of puzzles, such as logic grids. If you are stuck or confused on part of a puzzle, ask the host for help. They may not give you the answer, but you may be able to get a hint or two to help you out.

Required solo puzzles are uncommon in a game. In most cases, forced puzzle phases will have all players to divide into groups. The method varies from game-to-game, though they always use one of these methods:

A) The Color System
The color combination system is the same utilized in Virtue's Last Reward, the second Zero Escape game. Each player is assigned a color and a polarity (a + or - sign). For example, you might find your bracelet to display "4+". You are faced with three doors of different colors that lead to separate parts of the facility, and to go through them, you must group up with players whose colors, when combined with yours, produce the color of the chosen door (using the RBG wheel or the CMYK wheel).

If the players' bracelets are Red, Green and Blue, their choice of doors will be Cyan, Magenta, and Yellow. Likewise, if their bracelets are Cyan, Magenta, and Yellow, the available doors will be Red, Green, and Blue. It's also possible the doors are White, which would mean there is only one available combination (much like the White Doors in VLR).

Here's an example. Assuming your bracelet is "4+", you could be faced with the following choices:
    Go through the Magenta Door, alongside Tenmyouji with his "4-" bracelet. (Blue+Red=Magenta)
    OR Go through the Cyan Door, alongside Phi with her "4-" bracelet. (Blue+Green=Cyan)
    OR Go through the Yellow Door, alongside Luna with her "4-" bracelet. (Blue+Blue=Yellow. Huh? This is because they're complimentary colors on the light color wheel, that is, Yellow is the opposite of blue.)
Note you would be unable to go through the doors with, say, Dio, Quark and Alice, because their bracelets have a + sign.

B) The Digital Root System
The digital root system is from the first Zero Escape game Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors and is used in Nonary Games. Nonary Games have every player assigned a number; this number is a player's value that is added when creating digital roots. Three to five values must create the number on the specified door using digital roots in order for the door to unlock.

What is a digital root? A digital root is a single digit number you get by adding up all the digits in a number. For example, the digital root of 14 is five (1 + 4 = 5). Now, let's say every player is alive, and one of the puzzle doors has a seven on it. Here is how you may create a group:
Code: Select all
Step 1 - Add together the numbers of the players trying to enter the room.
1 + 3 + 4 + 8 = 16.

Step 2 - Separate the tens and ones column, then add them together.
1 + 6 = 7.

Step 3 - The door should open.

7 = 7 would not work because in this situation you need two players.
7 + 9 + 8 + 1 = 25 = 2 + 5 = 7 would work.
9 + 7 + 1 = 17 = 1 + 7 = 8 would not work.


C) Freedom of Choice
This system is straightforward. Players create groups of 3-4 players each and proceed to tackle a puzzle together.

Puzzling Properly
Past the introductory puzzle, you gain some choice friends to help you puzzle! The bad news is it gets harder. Puzzle phases may last a couple of hours to several days, depending on the group. Puzzles are handled through PM. In the past, several hosts have opted to use Discord Group DMs instead, however this is NOT standard, and some hosts may not allow them in their game.

The best advice I can give you is to investigate everything, no matter how minor, and keep in mind that your host isn't a professional puzzle maker.

III - Roaming Around, Around, Around

You survived the puzzle round, congratulations! Ahead of you lies the meat of the game: the roaming phase.

The host will provide the map for your adventure which generally expands every roaming phase. To start off, send a location you wish to visit first. 

When you arrive, you'll receive a description and a list of people who are in the room in your PMs. If more players are in a room than the PM limit, that room either gets moved to the game thread or is unaccessible until there's room.

Roaming tends to be the phase where fights break out, murder happens, and people try to complete their wincon. 

Keeping that in mind, remember that the best offence is a good defense. Don't make yourself a target! Come armed and prepared if you think a fight is going to break out. No shame in running if you're unprepared. Those suckers who stick around trying to help people? Nerds and losers. A mistake you won't make! You can't very well help people or complete your wincon when you're dead.

Weapons can be found in various rooms, and are a pretty important part to keeping yourself safe. A knife is better than fists, but a revolver is better than both.

Roaming is the best time to make friends, work people around to your side, and roleplay. Talk to people! When it comes down to it, who do you think people are going to believe when it comes to murder? Someone they've shared a few conversations with, or someone who's been silent, ghosting from room to room?

 All this to say: the roaming stage is a dangerous place. But as long as you're careful and keep your wits about you, you'll be fine. Travel in groups if you're really afraid your first roaming, but never be afraid to talk and explore. The people who don't do that tend to be the first to go.

Once roaming is over, it's time to put the relationships you've formed to the test.

IV - Votes, Numbers, Nightmares

This section will be all about votes. Specifically, the Ambidex Game game. The AB game is a modified prisoner's dilemma, where everyone enters their voting booth and presses a button to ally or betray their opponent(s).

The results are fairly simple. In a nine player game, here is how vote totals are calculated:
Code: Select all
            ALLY | BETRAY
     
  ALLY|    +2    |  -3

BETRAY|    +3    |   0



Note: while most games have betray/betray equal no gain or loss, some hosts run their games as having betray/betray award -1/-1 points.
The optimal result is everyone allying, but a VLDR game is a dangerous one, and everyone has eyes on escaping. When the door opens, it will likely only open that one time. Betraying is a serious problem for anyone willing to go down that route, as it opens you up to distrust against the community... but, you will get to leave the game sooner, and the maniacs with knives and guns? They can't kill you if you've escaped. 


Allying each other is tempting, but when you throw in wincons, selfish actors, and perhaps being paired against someone you've never talked to, there's no telling what is going through your opponents' minds. The AB game breaks trust and alliances, and can result in a lot of bloodshed. There's no safe way to navigate through it. Just one stab in the back and you may never get out of the facility. 

With that said, if you can work the game to your advantage, you can leave early and laugh at the people who thought they can work with murderers and liars. The choice, and all of these choices from puzzle partners to roaming, is up to you.

Best of luck.

===
Credit where it's due:
-- Cyantic, for writing
-- Nellyfox, for editing
-- Arcthurus, for being awesome


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Re: Zero Escape: VLDR - Zero Guide Dilemma

Postby LordofFail » Tue Nov 12, 2019 8:57 pm

you wrote a lot of words there

embrace reading
"The Hardest Game to Win is a Won Game"

~~ Emanuel Lasker ~~


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