Martin Dreams: One Small Step

Weren't you like level 7 in Savage Empire?

My adventure on Mars began the same way most of my travels through the Ultima series begin: wrapping my brain around the control scheme and figuring out what the heck I have to work with. That was a relatively simple affair as far as Martian Dreams was concerned. It didn't take very long at all to slip back into the groove of the Ultima VI engine (though it did take me a while to remember that it's B and not C that switches in and out of combat mode). There wasn't that much in my inventory to take stock of either, mainly clothing that was already equipped, a pocketwatch, and Nellie Bly's pistol. I also took a moment to take a peek at my little band's stats, and already found myself with one improvement over Savage Empire: Aric was my most highly experienced character, and even he had some room for growth. One of my complaints about Savage Empire was how little development it felt my characters were experiencing over the course of the game - here in Martian Dreams, there's lots of space for improvement. I'm still a little wary over carrying capacity and inventory concerns perhaps making the actual stat growth choices... less of one (does intelligence even have a use in this game, since there's no magic?) but that's a bridge I'll cross when I get to it. In any case, I suspect the possibility of more frequent levels, even if it just ends up being extra HP and a point of strength, will help alleviate the problems I had in the previous game of that nature.

Now that I had an idea of the characters I'd be bringing along with me on this excursion, it was time to... well, get an idea of the characters I'd be bringing along with me. (Ah, language. Gotta love the multiple ways certain turns of phrase can be interpreted.) I had a sense of what I might be able to expect from them gameplay-wise, so I next took a moment to get a sense of who they were. Spector assured me of his desire and ability to assist - and asserted it was his job to keep the Avatar out of trouble - before remarking once more upon the differences between what modern science said of Mars compared to their current experience of the Red Planet. Nellie Bly told me a little bit about herself, speaking of her experience as a journalist, her chosen pen name, and the notes she would take about the expedition. It seems she'll fulfill a similar role to Jimmy in Savage Empire, in effect functioning as a walking, talking quest log. This is something I do appreciate about the Worlds of Ultima games, in essence keeping track of at least the highlights of important plot points right there in game. Makes it easy for a quick reminder of what the player maybe should be doing right about now without drowning them in detail. I feel like with the sheer amount of content and sidequests and detail in modern games, it can be a bit difficult to parse a quest log for the immediately important bits, and the simple approach used here feels like a good way to go about it - keep track of the Big Relevant Plot Things, and leave whatever else the player chooses to pursue to their own recollections.

What's steampunk without Jules Verne?

I also took some time to talk with the rest of the crew, such as it was. Freud discusses his research into dreams and his theories on the construction of personality, and also expressed his interest in how everyone was going to react to the situation on Mars - such would prove valuable data for his research, he suspected. Dr. Blood talked about his research into oxygenated air and his concerns about the lower oxygen content in the atmosphere on Mars. It was Tesla who perhaps has the most helpful direction. He gave us the coordinates for the 1893 landing site and pointed us in the right direction. He also noted the door had apparently jammed closed, and that Garrett was the man to see about that. Garrett did indeed have a prybar on hand, though he suggested we go through the cargo hold to gear up before heading out. Both Tesla and Garrett also stressed the importance of having a sextant on hand in order to navigate the surface of the planet. Seeing the wisdom in this course of action, we moved on to raid the capsule's stores of supplies. Apart from a few things like dinnerware and reading material (I love the fact someone brought a copy of Journey to the Center of the Earth along), Aric and his team found plenty of useful things. Tools, weapons, warm clothing, a tent, lanterns and oil - we took them all. After arming Spector with a rifle and Nellie with a pistol, Aric took a saber and machete for himself, then prepared to take one small step for an Avatar and a giant leap for Victorian science--

--only to be stopped by Tesla and the copy protection question.

The structure of this entire opening put me very much in mind of Ultima VI, in a good way - an enclosed space to take stock of the situation, prepare for the trip ahead, and get a sense of what direction to head first. It's all even locked off the rest of the game world until you obtain a certain item within the designated area and pass the copy protection. The main difference is that the space capsule here is a lot smaller than Lord British's castle!

One other detail I enjoyed about this first little area: the crew will readily give their opinions on everyone else, and they're varied. For instance, Tesla is eager to speak with Freud about his dreams, interested in what the psychologist has to say, whereas Garrett is skeptical of Freud and things he asks too many questions. Characterization is as much defined by relationships as it is to an individual's character traits, so it's nice to see the "crew" of the expedition taking the time to say what they think about each other. Really helps get a sense of what sort of team this is.

Gotta include the drama shot!

Anyway, after another admonition from Blood to find some way to deal with the oxygen situation, we set forth to find the landing site from the mishap in 1893 that necessitated this whole rescue in the first place. It was a rather uneventful journey, being a fairly easy walk to the east. We only encountered a couple creepers along the way, which were swiftly dispatched without difficulty. Upon reaching the site, we met with one Lieutenant Dibbs, who had been working security for the capsule when it fired. He had been waiting for the rescue party, and had much to tell us of what had happened in the intervening time. It seemed that the previous group had been working on building a capsule to make the return trip, but needed to find more iron for the steel necessary to build it. They split into four groups, each seeming to take their own tack on the situation. Rasputin took a group to Argyre to research the Martian technology there, and they became secretive and reclusive. It was clear Dibbs did not trust them much. Lowell took a group north to Elysium, experimenting with the Dream Machine they found there. According to Dibbs, there were several around Mars, though only Elysium's seemed to work - and Lowell's group went mad as a result, now believing themselves Maritans. This led the group led by Jack Segal to become skeptical of those potentially "contaminated" by the machines. They remained at Olympus to work on the shuttle, and effectively closed themselves off from anyone who may have come into contact with the active Dream Machine. 

Dibbs suggested we visit the fourth group, the traders Buffalo Bill and Calamity Jane, at Arsia Mons for further equipment and supplies, including, he mentioned, a potential source of an oxygen-rich rock that they had discovered on the planet. This sounded like a capital idea, so after rummaging through the supplies left in the capsule (including a copy of Le Morte D'Arthur, as if I needed another reminder of where the series could have gone!) we headed east once more, heading for the coordinates Dibbs had given us. Once again it was a fairly uneventful trip, only stumbling across a small band of bushrats (what would the proper collective term be for plantimals?) that were quickly dealt with. We were, however, beginning to see traces of civilization - the remnants of a road that we were indeed following toward Arsia Mons, at least in part. Buffalo Bill and Calamity Jane were willing to trade a wide variety of things for oxium. Though we didn't have much on us at the moment (Dibbs only had a little), it was good to know if we were ever short on supplies or ammunition, they'd set us up for the right price. They also mentioned various varieties of berries they'd trade for, with mysterious effects. Calamity Jane would even give us oxium, for enough of the right kind of berry.

Dagnabit, do you have to rub it in my face like that?

Or would, at least, once her supply lines were back in order. It seemed her supplier, a man named Cooter McGee, had gone missing. Dibbs had mentioned this as well, it seemed he had fallen afoul of some raiders from Argyre. Yet another reason to be suspicious of the group that had holed up there. We promised we'd look into what happened to him, and at Jane's instruction, Bill gave us directions to Cooter's place and a stock of oxium to help us deal with the atmospheric conditions during the journey.

Rather, he did once I reloaded a save. I'd somehow managed to skirt past a pair of sextellegers just outside the outpost, and one had snuck through the open door and smacked Bill dead in one shot. Whoops! I made sure to get the drop on the sextellegers first the next time around, and for added safety I shut the door behind me once I was inside. C'mon Bill, you can't die yet, this is how universe-shattering paradoxes are made!

~~~

I called it a session there, as I'd spent a good deal of time in the game at this point. It may not reflect a whole lot of things actually happening, but I think this opening bit of Martian Dreams works really well, a nice and tight means of getting the player into the game. There's a good sense of what's happened in the game world and what I might be able to expect moving forward, several plot threads to follow up on - there are, after all, four groups from the previous expedition to chase after - and one prominent one that gives me a clear direction for at least my immediate steps. The game does a good job of streamlining the open world so it doesn't feel overwhelming in these initial stages, which I feel is necessary when you're still getting the hang of things. I feel like I have options, and even though it's clear to me where the game wants me to go, it manages to do so in a way where it feels like I, the player, am still the one calling the shots as to where to go and what to do next.

I do, however, find myself with a bit of trepidation over the oxium mechanics. On paper, I find the concept an interesting one. It's necessary to keep the party in tip-top fighting condition, but it also doubles as currency, which means as the game goes on and I accumulate a larger stash, I may have to make decisions about how much I can afford to use on buying supplies and how much I need to keep on hand. The fact my currency stash will dwindle as I travel as well means I can't just hoard and use it whenever. There's the possibility of needing to be a bit more judicious about when I take my shopping trips.

I'm sure this is just flavor and won't be of any importance.

In practice, though... I feel like this could be a tough thing to balance properly, economically. Considering a lack of oxium lowers my stats - and by proxy, carrying capacity, ouch! - it'll be important to keep it on hand, but since a lot of the weapons require ammunition, I'll constantly be in need of replenishing bullets, which means spending "money." I don't know how much oxium I'll be able to find (or berries to exchange for it in if I can't find enough), nor do I yet have a good sense of how quickly one goes through a stash of it in travels, and depending on both those factors, it could mean I'm constantly in want of more of it not just to buy things, but to maintain enough of a supply of it to make it to where I want to buy them. And that's assuming I don't care about keeping any on hand to keep my stats up. I suspect I'm just overthinking things and it'll turn out just fine, but I'm seeing some potential for the mechanic to end up a bit frustrating if it's not fine-tuned well. I suppose we'll see as the game goes on.

Finding out what happened to Cooter is my plan for the next session, maybe wandering over to Olympus once that's taken care of. An entire planet's worth of adventure awaits - time to get back to it!