Skill issue lol
But on a more serious note, no your right it is hard figuring a lot of this out. I googled most of it but there should be a better way of explaining what's going on in game. Triangulating isn't hard, you just have to make sure the line between nodes is not touching the edges of the blips. Probably making your triangles too small. As for floppy/zip stuff, its easy if you know what your doing.
-Look at your email for the three satellites your supposed to visit
-Cross reference the names with the map for the order you should visit them in
-Go next door to your server room, look at the console
-sv.target (name of the satellite your wanting to visit) Example: sv.target tango
This sets your compass to point towards the satellite, meaning no more BS guessing, alternatively buy a map
-Grab a floppy disk with at least six uses on it (which you can see when plugging it into your computer)
-Drive to the salellite,
-Put the floppy into the server
-Look at the console
-sd.request aka get data and put it on the floppy
-sd.eject aka eject the floppy from the server
-sv.target (next satellite)
repeat all this twice
-sv.target reset to reset your target back to normal
-head back to base
-throw the floppy into your computer
-move data with the viewer tab
-eject floppy
-put the zip drive in
-move data with the viewer tab
-eject zip drive
PROFIT!
Also turn down the day speed to 0.7 and you will have a much easier time managing stuff.
Also try ambiance mode if you don't want to be interrupted by spooky stuff every five seconds.
Viewing post in Voices of the Void 0.9.0 feedback
The key issue with all of that info is that I had to rely on you, a third party source, to teach it to me. And you even said yourself that you had to Google these things when you were still learning. If you have to step outside of the game to learn how to do something, that's bad game design. I'm not saying the tutorials need to hold your hand the entire time, but they sure as shit don't explain any of that sufficiently. It either means that the tutorial needs a major rework, or the mechanics themselves are unnecessarily complicated and need to be dialed back to whatever was working previously.
The tutorial needs a small rework guaranteed. That much we can agree upon. However, I think the use of a tutorial should be discouraged by the developers. So here is my solution.
The tutorial should be available at any point but never forced by the game devs. In fact, I think it should be put under the help section instead of the main game mode selection. It should be available if people REALLY get stuck and need to actually see the process step by step for certain tasks. It should be more like an open room with several sections dedicated to individual problems and their solutions. That way if there is something specific a person struggles with, they only need to visit that one section.
I honestly think figuring out the stuff is half the fun. It forces the player to rely on contextual information to put the pieces together.
So instead of a tutorial, I would purpose a couple major changes.
-A user manual located in the base some place obvious (maybe also add it in the shop if lost but retain only the pages out find)
-An extension to the zero daily requirements in the beginning of the game (maybe start daily tasks on day three or something)
-Random daily requirements and generally more various kinds of requirements and maintenance things (but ease up on the intensity)
-The first daily requirement would be super simple, only requiring one signal (zero level), the tapes, one datapoint from a satellite dish (that's preset to be near by and maybe one or two additional easy requirements)
-You would get an email pointing to the location of the manual (to be found in a very obvious spot)
The user manual would initially be filled with a detailed explanation on all process, commands and how to do all the mini-games. Then throughout cleaning up the base, you get additional pages that point to secrets, bonuses, advanced processes, ect ect. You would get these pages, either by finding them or after several days you get a random page (if you haven't picked any up). Then you could also do some TUNIC kinda puzzles, where you have to reference multiple pages in the manual to get a code to open a door to progress a bit further. ect ect.
The main issue is wasting too much time, effort and energy in a game that demands consistent stream of attention to monitor stuff. I think if days were a tiny bit shorter, but with an extended grace period during the first two to three days (zero daily requirements), it would smooth over some learning curve bumps. Maybe have an introduction to requirements day on day three. Asking for the bare minimum stuff. The tapes, one signal at zero level and one near by satellite dish data that's easy to get too. Then append at the bottom of the email, *read user manual in the security office for more information* or some other BS. Giving players information without cramming it down their throats.
When my brain actually functions and I connect the dots, my jaw dropped and I felt so DAM smart. When I realized that the names of the satellite dishs were just the NATO phonetic alphabet. It was an amazing feeling. Being thrown at a problem with no obvious solution or necessarily all the pieces? Liberating and peak game design. Hellish to begin with, but DAM is it so much more refreshing then ANYTHING I have recently played.
We are trained by most video games, that the solution to any problem in the immediate area can be found in the immediate area. Example? Zelda, use ____ item to solve this dungeons gimmick. I could list countless other games but you get the idea.
Go back to October 5, 1987, maniac mansion hit store shelves. A point and click adventure game with such incredible ass backwards logic and boundless possibilities, it pushed the limits on critical thinking. There are so so so SO many ways to get soft locked in that game. Not to mention that the game won't tell you your fucked. So unless you had nintendo power or some walk through, you could fuck yourself over and not even know it! However, the game is fucking awesome for that very reason. Its balls to the walls hard. It pushes your critical thinking and attention to detail to the limit. You have to play it, replay it and replay it like 10 times more before you learn where everything is, the requirements to get X items, the individual character skills necessary to get said items ect ect.
What makes it awesome is that critical thinking. Instead of most puzzle solving games that block you from making a dumb choice, maniac mansion says "sure, go ahead!". You start thinking things through instead of mashing everything with everything else. Oh, my end goal is this, therefore, I need to get this and this and this which means I need these skills, this that and the other and I need to insure that I setup this properly!
I guess my over arching point is, being left in the dark forces creative problem solving and forces logical contextual problems. The solution isn't a better tutorial or even a tutorial at all. Its conveying just enough info and forcing the player to learn to fill in the gaps. The only thing I looked up requesting the info from the satellite dishs.
Regardless, go listen to the maniac mansion theme on the NES. Holy fuck the sound track is so good.