Today, we're introducing a new gamemode. This isn't meant for first-time detectives who aren't already familiar with Martinaise. If you're new on the beat, come back after you've already enjoyed your time in Revachol. This one's for officers ready to burn out on a wild ride.
Welcome to Hardcore True Detective mode. The city at the end of the world just got more existential.
So, what's different about Hardcore Mode?
YOU'RE GONNA FAIL MORE You'll fail more. That's a fact of life in Hardcore Mode. The difficulty of every Check goes up, bringing your chances of success down. Solving this case without being a Total Disaster Cop is even harder than normal. On the bright side, you'll have more to be proud of if you do solve the case, even if your dignity got left behind with the Union of Moribund Alcoholics. And the Cuno. And Klaasje. And -- well, just take your victories where you can.
YOU'RE GONNA BE POORER The pornographically poor people Martinaise have even less money to drop, meaning there's less for you to pick up. Lining your pockets with that delicious lucre is going to be nigh on impossible. Better get used to picking up every scrap of tare you can find. At least Roy still gives okay deals in his pawnshop, as you sell off your material wealth for a pittance. You've always had to hustle to survive. Now you've got to hustle more.
YOU'RE GONNA GET SCREWED BY BIG-PHARMA What's more, pharmacutical prices have gone up. That's right! Failing costs you even more. Not only are your favorite over-the-counter drugs are more expensive -- they don't even heal you as much. Even if you find a forgotten stash in the streets, it won't be as good. That's how they get you though, isn't it? They charge you more for less, and make a killing as you die.
YOU'RE GONNA LEARN TO LOVE DRUGS If you weren't a fan of booze and cigarettes before, let alone the hard stuff -- well, good luck to you. Life's a lot more bearable with those pick-me-ups. When all other help abandons you, and your sweet drugs are all that's left, it'll be harder to resist the call. Sweet ciggys to clear your head, an extra drink to build up your courage. Hardcore Mode makes it clearer how Martinaise fell into disrepute. No wonder there's a drug problem when folks have nothing else to turn to.
YOU'RE GONNA TREASURE YOUR CLOTHES The few posessions you do have become more important. That FRITTTE Plastic Rain Coat never protected you so good. Your Amphibian Sports Visor always helped you find stuff, but that stuff never mattered so much. Those Flare-Cut, though, and those Green Snakeskin Shoes -- you might want to lose them before you try to make any jumps.
YOU'RE GONNA THINK MORE CAREFULLY You've got to be cafeful with what goes in your head, too. You've got to plan carefully what you start thinking and when. The Thought Cabinet debuffs are more painful when you're already more liable to fail. Can you really afford to indulge your Superstar fantasies for a few hours when it's already harder to think straight? On the flip side, the bonuses thoughts offer might push you down paths you wouldn't take otherwise. Maybe it's not sexy to be a Boring Cop, but that extra stability might really help you out.
YOU'RE GONNA WISE UP FASTER There is one saving grace you have in Hardcore Mode. The self-help books, at last, are right: Failure builds character. In this worse world, you'll gain token amounts of extra XP every time you finish a Task. You'll lever faster and higher, if only marginally. You'll be able to become a more well-rounded cop, better than you ever were before. So that's something, at least!
LOOKING BACK Again, Hardcore Mode isn't for everyone. But if you've loved this strange story in this forgotten city, it's a way to experience it from a new perspective -- a Martinaise perspective. For those of us here at ZA/UM, who've already spent hundreds of hours playing, this new mode been a wonderful chance to revisit the game in a fresh way.
Good luck, detective.
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And please be sure to check out U L T R A W I D E mode! Our Soundtrack and Artbooklet DLC was also updated with FLAC files, new wallpapers, and an updated artbooklet pdf.
We regularly get questions from people asking about the inspirations and influences of Disco Elysium so we decided it would be a good idea show you some of them! This is by no means an exhaustive list but we hope it gives you a glimpse into some of the media we like to consume. If you haven't played the game yet or you're trying to convince a friend to check it out, why not see if this list piques their interest!
The long-awaited Disco Elysium original soundtrack is here! And it’s accompanied by an art booklet. Three albums worth of music by the magnificent British Sea Power @BSPOfficial and five years of art by ZA/UM - now available. Happy holidays!
Original 28 songs composed by British Sea power for Disco Elysium - totalling 3 albums worth of original music. Available in MP3 320 kbps format.
Accompanied by a 30 page digital artbooklet curated by Aleksander Rostov. Original pieces of in game art and concept art by Aleksander Rostov, Kaspar Tamsalu, Rauno Somelar, Markus Härma, Siim Raidma, Mikk Metsniit, Anton Vill, Jüri Saks, Pavlo Guba, Mehdi Annassi.
+ 3 extra wallpapers in 4K resolution (Thought Cabinet, Conquest of Revachol, Martinaise Skyline)
Tracklist: 1 Instrument of Surrender 2 Whirling-In-Rags, 8 AM 3 Detective Arriving on the Scene 4 Tiger King 5 Your Body Betrays Your Degeneracy 6 Precinct 41 Major Crime Unit 7 The Insulindian Miracle 8 Polyhedrons 9 Live With Me 10 The Field Autopsy 11 Miss Oranje Disco Dancer 12 Rue de Saint-Ghislaine 32B 13 The Doomed Commercial Area 14 The Cryptozoologists 15 Whirling-In-Rags, 8 PM 16 Disco Elysium, pt 1 17 Disco Elysium, pt. 2 18 Ecstatic Vibrations, Totally Transcendent 19 Saint-Brune 1147 (Small Pinewood Church) 20 Martinaise, Terminal B 21 We Are Not Checkmated 22 Hope in Work and Joy in Leisure 23 Burn, Baby, Burn 24 Whirling-In-Rags 12 PM 25 La Revacholiere 26 Krenel, Downwell, Somatosensor 27 Off We Go Into The Wild Pale Yonder 28 ZA/UM
Disco Elysium has been nominated for 6 awards in IGN's 2019 Game of the Year Awards!!
We're so delighted that so many of you are enjoying the game and we're so grateful for all of the support we've been given and all the nominations we have received during the 2019 awards season!
If you thought Disco Elysium was an instant classic, we would love for you to vote for it in the Game of The Year Category!
And now for Fan Art!
If you read our last blog entry we mentioned that we've been delighted to have been inundated with incredible fan art from the game. Here are just a few of our favourites so far, and we'll be sharing more in the future! Thank you to all the wonderful artists!
Wow. It’s been over a month since we launched Disco Elysium and we can’t begin to thank you enough. From mountains of fan art to awards nominations, we’re in awe of the support you have given us. Reading your stories about the game and how you connected to it has been incredible. You’ve helped us reach overwhelmingly positive on Steam with over 3000 positive reviews. We’re currently rated at 90 on Metacritic which puts us in the top 5 PC games of the year. We would not have been able to do this without you and your continued support will spur us on! Many of you are already asking about our future plans and we can’t wait to share them with you. From all of the team here at ZA/UM, THANK YOU!
(If you'd like to learn more about how Chapo Trap House came to do voice over work for Disco Elysium, we spoke to USgamer about it!)
Did you know Disco Elysium also has an alignment system? Mmmhm. Ours is a modernist setting, so our alignments are ideologies. More precisely, political ideologies: communism, fascism, moralism and ultraliberalism. Today we take a look at how the Big Four are used in the game. Expect tips, clarifications and encyclopedic tidbits. I will also list the Thought Cabinet projects associated with each, and even expose the characters who best represent these ideologies in the game. So you know who to get chummy with.
1. Ideologies are developed over the course of the game, not picked at character creation. Disco Elysium is, in many ways, a personality test. There are always little integers in the background, counting everything you say. Hit a certain threshold and one of your skills pops up, suggesting you make it official. Mark yourself. This marking is done by gaining a thought for your Thought Cabinet. We call these pop-ups “initiation dialogues”. For political initiations, it is always possible to course-correct by saying: no. You have misunderstood. I do not wish to build communism. Go away.
2. Four is the threshold you need to reach, if you want to get initiated. Say four communist things and your Encyclopedia skill will fire up the Big Communism Builder. Same goes for “the strong stuff”, “the weak stuff” and “the grind-hustler” (more on those later). In dialogues, the opportunity to espouse your agenda usually comes in the form of “political forks”, that is: dialogue choices usually consisting of four political options. Try to remain impartial and you will drift toward moralism (Elysium's centrism).
3. You are not limited by your choice of ideology. There are sub-ideologies, conflicting beliefs and countless personality quirks to develop in Disco Elysium. The Big Four are only four of the game's 52 thoughts. They have some pretty nice content, but they are by no means all there is. They are, however, nearly unavoidable. The air is criss-crossed by radio stations spewing divisive, feverish political rhetoric. For the poor people of Revachol, ideology is a blood sport. Everyone must suffer.
4. You can mix and match ideologies. You can be a purebred “traditionalist” and never once taint the “strongness” of your “stuff” with hysterics; or you can mix in some communism too, for that Unholy Union vibe. Or maybe you’re a moralist? Why not just admit it – you don't only believe in nothing, you also believe in money. You're a hustler. All these incendiary mixes are yours to dabble in. I've even seen one player who had all four. The game knows you're doing this too. You might even get called out for it.
5. Your political beliefs have mechanical implications. They're not just for role playing. As said, each is a thought, which you can develop in your Thought Cabinet, revealing some rather dramatic effects. Ultraliberals earn money by saying that stuff. “Traditionalists” get double the bonus from the most traditional drug of all: alcohol. Thus, ideologies strongly affect the way you play the game.
Let’s take a look.
COMMUNISM
Thought Cabinet project: Mazovian Socio-Economics Supporting projects: The Suicide of Kras Mazov Representatives: Cindy the Skull, Evrart Claire, The Gardener, The D******* (spoiler redacted) Organizations: The Commune of Revachol, The Insulindian Citizen's Militia Colour: white Symbol: inverted star wreathed by antlers.
No one wants to be associated with communism by the time you get there. The party is over. They'd rather call themselves socialists and social democrats. No wonder – commies got their asses handed to them 50 years ago. Their little commune got wiped off the face of the Earth. Even worse, the civil war gave foreign powers a casus belli to invade Revachol and now look at the shit we're in. Also, Kras Mazov, the father of scientific communism killed himself.
Don't pick this ideology. It's a swamp of melancholy and would-have-beens. Also, they, like, killed a lot of people. There's a smart centrist man who once calculated that communism has killed 100 billion people in total.
FASCISM
Thought Cabinet project: Revacholian Nationhood Supporting projects: Advanced Race Theory Representatives: Rene Arnaux, Racist Lorry Driver, Measurehead, Gary the Cryptofascist Organizations: Revachol the Suzerain Colour: brown? I'm gonna go with brown. Symbol: sticks of wood tied together with an axe. Something dumb like that.
This is the baddest of all the ideologies, so no one admits they're a fascist. Rather, they're “traditionalists”. Or “nationalists”, a term they get really angry if you associate with fascism. (No one wants leprosy on their brand.)
The emotional draw here is, of course, that pretty girl who didn't want to sleep with you. The other ideologies don't explain why that happened. Fascism does. Because the commies pushed the king under a street car and now nothing in the world is holy or beautiful. During your stay in Revachol plenty of women will tell you no, so, naturally, most people will pick this one. I mean, who doesn't want “absolutely giant fascist” in their Steam achievements? Also, it goes really well with alcoholism.
MORALISM
Thought Cabinet project: Kingdom of Conscience Supporting projects: Opioid Receptor Antagonist Representatives: Kim Kitsuragi, The Sunday Friend, Trant Heidelstam Organizations: The Moralintern, Revacholian Citizen's Militia, EPIS, ICP Colour: signal blue Symbol: a forget-me-not
Finally! Something normal. Enough of those ramblings – in this world there is also a sensible ideology for people who simply want to do good by everyone. How? By looking at the options on the table and saying: no. I don't want any of those associated with me. I just want to play a regular, inconsequential, doesn't-really-believe-in-anything type of detective.
Well, you're in luck! After the commies and the fascas tag teamed Revachol, sensible foreign nations with moderately deadly artillery came and levelled the city, put all the commies against a neutral wall and turned Revachol into a debt colony / financial buffer zone / whatever the hell they want it to be. They rule the world. And also the RCM, the law enforcement agency you're part of, so really – it's a no brainer.
Take this one, it would be weird to take any of the others.
ULTRALIBERAL
Thought Cabinet project: Indirect Modes of Taxation Supporting projects: The 15th Indotribe; Bankruptcy Sequence Representatives: Joyce Messier, Siileng, Mega Rich Light Bending Guy Organizations: The Wild Pines Group, Frittte, Coupris, FALN Colour: yellow / gold Symbol: the Franconigerian sun crown
Do you “grind” and “hustle?” Sure you do. You're a money engineer. A money scientist. You move money on a level inconceivable to the ordinary citizen. What is money, anyway? Money is trust.
There is no ideology being an ultra doesn't compliment. Fascist moneyman? Sehr logisch. Money-commie? Vie sexy! Money and moralism? Peanut butter und jelly! Money's not jealous. Money's like light, love and friendship. It plays well with everything. During the Revolution the ultras banded up with the commies to dispose of the king. Then they made a deal with the moralists to profit from the ensuing occupation.
Also, this literally gives you money in the game. With money you can buy books, which have content! Board games too! Clothes, which cost real money to model. Without money you might end up as some kind of impoverished hobocop.
DISCO ELYSIUM Patch notes for version 4801e0fb (viewable in the F1 menu, bottom right)
Fixed autopsy dialogue when asking Kim about wounds you caused causing the player to get stuck in dialogue.
Fixed issue where Kim leaves the party when entering the tent under certain conditions.
Kim VO in Joyce intro volume boosted.
Abigail VO volume turned down.
Idiot doom spiral VO volume turned down slightly.
WCW VO at plaza volume boosted.
Fixed visual issue when dying from morale loss with Evrart.
Game will now return to the main menu if there is an issue with loading.
Fixed issue with save file giving out error on loading null item.
Fixed inventory issue where clothes would go missing but were actually stacked on top of each other.
Fixed issue when equipping two of the same type of bottle, only one is visible.
Fixed Tare bag "contents" line formatting.
Added backup art for save games which don't have screenshot image included.
Fixed issue where tooltip on the health boost seemed to be missing.
Implemented new rich guy, money effect.
Improved tutorialization of Hardie first confession hub.
Fixed issue where if the player tries to remove the boots while Kim isn't there before conducting the autopsy, they'll lock themselves out of getting the boots.
Player can no longer lose chain cutters during the autopsy.
Fixed issue where the necktie orb pops up and a dialogue is initiated mentioning Rosemary even though he is not present.
Fixed incorrect END dialogue in tent.
Fixed empty dialogue option when reporting back to Morell.
Fixed Titus camera transition.
Fixed issue where dialogue ends early in day 1 debrief with Kim on balcony.
Fixed Vicquemare feet clipping through the floor.
Vastly improved Mailbox petting.
Improved cat clock material.
Fixed Infinite loading screen encountered when quick loading after failing the "Savoir Faire" red check in the dialogue with Garte.
Fixed issue with Reset Settings still changing settings after canceling it.
Fixing further errors with resolution switcher at the start of the game.
Remember to report any bugs you may find! - Bug Report -