Hello, fellow netrunners.

Foremost, thank you old and new readers, and all of our supporters. Your positive reviews keep us going, and we appreciate all of the good-faith critiques we’ve received.

To that point, I wanted to quickly address some Chapter 3A and earlier feedback all at once: Specifically regarding the density of worldbuilding and inclusion of difficult-to-pronounce words.

Density of Worldbuilding

There’s been some feedback that a) the worldbuilding is hard to remember and b) it’s not well-explained. I don’t want to rehash what I’ve already talked about in the Lore essay, so refer back to that for my philosophy of “how much information is enough information.”

Regarding a), it’s a lot, I do realize. There’s a tightrope to walk between “information that is strictly necessary” and “information that builds context.” Strict efficiency can lead to a mysterious but poorly-understood world, whereas too much context is slow and burdensome. We’re aiming for a middle-ground, and we’re absolutely going to awkwardly wiggle around in that space for awhile until we find a comfortable equilibrium. Keep the feedback coming so we know what’s working and what isn’t!

That said, while there’s purpose to every worldbuilding detail, I think (or hope) the narrative stands on its own strength regardless, so remembering every single detail isn’t strictly necessary. (There’s reward for it, sure, but it shouldn’t obstruct momentum.) The LOOM database is there to help keep track of most of it.

Speaking of the LOOM, I don’t want it to be a narrative crutch. The general philosophy there is “extra context” not “all the information for this concept exists only in the LOOM.” There are a few entries that aren’t explicit in the prose, but those exist to build that extra context: They are not required reading for the narrative to make sense. Again, the operating word is extra, not only. Do let us know if you feel something specific is amiss in that regard.

Regarding b) when I’m not being overindulgent, I try to adhere to the “things will be explained when they’re relevant to the plot” philosophy of exposition. The aim is to avoid even more worldbuilding creeping into the prose/bloating the LOOM than is necessary. So, generally speaking, if some explanation is missing, it’s just missing for now. We’ll get to it eventually. A good example is how the “Jazz” works: It’s not information the narrative requires just yet, but more about its function will be revealed in time.

Weird Word Salad

Foremost, fair. Words are hard. (Writing is hard. Aaaaaa.)

Words that don’t adhere to familiar language rules are especially challenging. Much of String Zero’s naming conventions are intentionally developed to sound alien, strange, or reference cultures and contexts underutilized in western gaming/literature (at least in my experience). If you’re curious about the mechanics of how that’s done, there’s an essay on our patreon about it.

There’s been a request for some pronunciation assistance, and I think a pronunciation guide is warranted (especially for you lets play/live readers, I am so sorry). So I’m looking into the best way to include that in the game. The easiest option will be to include that information in the LOOM database articles where appropriate, but I want some other indicator (maybe a hyperlink pop-up) for those who want a quick reference outside of the LOOM. Anyways, we’re working on it.

Thanks everyone!