Hey man, this mod has had a permanent spot in my modlist ever since you first released it, but I just recently had the chance to experience the beginning of the new Telos storyline and felt compelled to come here to let you know I've been blown away.
Thank you!
All the other older little quests have offered good writing and atmosphere (the depths quest "poem" was a bit silly maybe, but the writing is very aware of it), the only downside I could think of is they had little impact in the actual game, but as their primary focus was giving some more flavor to the setting there's very little to complain about. This first Telos chapter, though, wow: writing is very good, how the mission works Spoiler
with the flashback battle
is very ingenious and detailed, plus you even get a reward that matters this time. I'm very eager to see the next chapter(s), thank you so much.
Again, thank you - all feedback I wholly agree with. Poor rewards were always the number one "issue" with Pers Chron imo - the whole mod is a bit of a love letter to EV Nova, and the first two Karengo quests were written for Endless Sky, which is why all you got as a reward was credits (with the exception of the second Karengo quest, where I tried to improve things slightly with that planetary condition).
As you noted, I tried to take things up a few notches with the Telos quests, taking cues from SotF and many other great mods that have added campaign content in the last few years. When I started Pers Chron, vanilla barely had any one-off story quests, but Alex and David have really focused on that in the last couple of patches.
The Telos stuff takes way longer, but I've gotten a lot of help with it (music by Haplo, sprites by Selkie, Sleepfish, and Nia, plus feedback from others) - and I'm bouncing between quite a few different projects at this point.
BTW, right now I'm starting a new campaign, just encountered the Riley quest again and was wondering Spoiler
whether you would consider adding a resolution that actually lets Riley become an officer in our fleet. Perhaps if you give all the answers that already do give disposition increases with her and ask her and her core-ified father to come with in that last dialogue choice. She could have a custom officer skill to represent her father, or he could himself be an ai core officer too I guess. That would be much simpler and quicker than adding completely new quest appearances for them - as some had asked in the past - while still having the advantage of getting a little something that's impactful to carry along the whole playthrough to remember all that happened.
One of the things I feel are still missing in the game are officers that don't feel completely random but are actual npcs with a bit of personality and previously presented backstory. Only the UAF mod (that I can think of) has yet done something similar (a couple officers as a reward for a mission where they are given some backstory), I feel the Riley quest would very much fit this kind of scenario (even though her, as a character, isn't depicted as the "spacer" type: but one can learn).
Spoiler
It has come up before, yeah, and my current thought is that it'd just be strange. Why would you give a musician command of one of your ships and the crew on board? Or her AI-ified father, who is a career AI researcher? I could pull the old "when he was young he had his own ship" but...I dunno, it seems out of place. Unless it's simply nepotism, and they're officers with no skills at all. As you said, they could learn but still - it wouldn't make much sense except for Game Logic.
Adding Riley as a Contact would be a neat bonus, and being able to follow up on things if you visit the planet again (or have Stelnet).
But you, at best, are a kind, expensive taxi driver to Riley; someone to talk to for a few weeks when she needed someone to talk to, someone who provided the emotional support that most decent people would provide, and then gone. She may stay on the planet you left her at, or she may eventually book a ride on a cheaper, slower passenger ship back to her own planet where her life - her house/apartment, friends, job, maybe lover(s) - are. For sure, you were an integral part of the most surprising and emotional part of her life, but home is home, and it's not in space, not without good reason.
Karengo, on the other hand, is probably going to be an officer. He's made for the uncertainties and opportunities of space; a showman, a narcissist, and a bit of a daredevil. Plus, he'll be able to fly those fancy new ships you get...