Topic: One More Fathom

[Snarky]

This game is strangely addictive, but I've reached a point where it doesn't feel like I'm making any real progress, and I'm wondering whether there is actually an ending or ultimate goal in the game, or it just continues indefinitely and I have already seen everything.

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I've met various deepwater fishes, like the shork, octopuss and dancing seaweed. I've befriended the mermaiden and tried out all the options she offers for trade in shells when lured with a piece of bait: oxygen tank, guide to treasure, and fast dive. I've upgraded my scope to max and the other equipment to between level 3 and 5. I've found a key on a skeleton and used it on a chest. I'm regularly gathering so much treasure on a dive that I hit the weight-carrying capacity limit, even when I skip the less valuable stuff. I've made a dive that was frankly deeper than there's any reasonable need to go (fast dive, two O2 tanks, and two or three air pockets), but there didn't seem to be anything more of interest down there.

However, I see that some people are talking about a mermaid's kiss and her giving you extra air (presumably directly, not in a tank), and I don't think I've encountered that.

I could just keep going and upgrading my equipment until it maxes out, but is there any more point? It feels like I might be missing something, some trigger to progress the story.

[WHAM]

Sorry for the late reply, Snarky! I haven't thought to look at this part of the forums for a while.

There is a final ending for the game, at least programmed and it worked during testing, though I had at least one person report an issue that caused it to not appear properly, so I released an updated version that removed one of the requirements that might fail. Check the readme to make sure you have the version 1.1.0.0.

As for how to find the ending:

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Dive deep and dive much. Make sure you have found all the artefact pieces, (they will appear only quite deep down) and you should eventually encounter a cutscene that combines them into a whole. After that, dive as deep as you can, and you may find something final.

There is a bottom to the chasm to be found, but if you lack the required things, you will find nothing but disappointment down there.

Oh, and the Mermaiden's kiss:

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If you've got some seashells from her and she likes you, and are about to die and lose the game due to drowning, she may just find you and save you in exchange for your shells.
If you're just short of air and close to the surface, she may appear as well (I think you can also lure her out by tossing out some bait to get her attention, but I can't recall the conditions for this) and give you some air to make sure you can reach the surface.

[Snarky]

Thanks, that does give me direction and a goal to aim for!

[cat]

How deep do you have to dive

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to find an artefact? I haven't found one, yet.

And about the mermaids:

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I often meet one when diving up just below the surface, trading gems for shells. But I met one only once when diving down, where she gave me a quick ride. When do they appear when diving down?

And generally about treasure

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I tend to carry too much useless junk when diving deep that is heavy but doesn't give me much money. Is it better to collect gems? Or loose coins? Or money bags? I understood that at the bottom the treasures are more valuable, so I tried to dive down first and collect them on my way up. Is there a better strategy? What is good to take, what to get rid of?

[WHAM]

How deep do you have to dive

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Artefacts spawn at a random percentage change, and there can be only one artefact per dive. I think the first ones can appear roughly 25% of maximum depth down from the surface, but the last ones will only appear after 50% or even 75 % of max depth from surface. I can't remember exactly. Heck, I can't remember if I went with 100 spaces from surface to bottom or 200 in the end, I toyed around with various values here.

And about the mermaids:

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Like most things, there are random chances involved. While you are starting a new dive, go down a few spaces, then try tossing out a few spare pieces of bait sometimes, and she might appear nearby.

And generally about treasure

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Treasure value increases the deeper you go. I never made exact calculations on what is the most profitable method of play, though, so I can't really give a solid answer. A certain minimum number of treasures always spawn, but random die rolls are in effect again. The deeper you go the higher the maximum value of each treasure generated is, but you can still find junk deep down if luck is not on your side.

The theme of the MAGS was Greed, and so the whole game was built on nudging the player to take risks and push their luck.
In case you didn't notice it yet, I took a lot of inspirations for this game from gambling and slot machines.

Just One More Fathom deeper, and MAYBE that next treasure will make this trip! 

[Snarky]

Is there any way to get better at squeezing through those tight passages (other than just shedding weight)? That's usually the limiting factor on my dives.

[WHAM]

Is there any way to get better at squeezing through those tight passages (other than just shedding weight)? That's usually the limiting factor on my dives.

No. The roll is purely determined by your current weight, which makes you clumsier. This was designed to work with the theme of greed as well: gather too much treasure, you might get stuck while struggling to make your way to the surface and drown due to your own greed.
Thematic, but not optimally fun as a mechanic.

In case you're too disheartened:

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The game is built so that any obstacle can always be passed with enough attempts. To make sure the player does not get stuck in an infinite loop of bad luck dice rolls with obstacles, the odds of success are slightly improved with each consecutive attempt. You will always pass the obstacle eventually.