First of all, thanks for taking a look at my guide.

The main aim of this guide is to help players understand how the game works and to help them earn the in-game badges.

This is very much a WIP, there's still a lot that needs to be added and I could arrange things a little better, it seems a little all over the place atm.
I think for now my focus is going to be on getting all the information and then worrying about putting it all together.

Also I apologise for some screenshots looking a little washed out. I forgot the F.lux program was running. I'll try and retake those screenshots and rewrite the appropriate sections (given the culprit, clues, suspects etc will be different).

Still I hope even in it's current form that someone finds this useful.

Noir Syndrome is a procedurally generated murder mystery game.
The player controls a Detective on the hunt of the Anubis killer.
It's up to the player to explore the city, find clues, learn about suspects and use their powers of deduction to determine the killer and apprehend them within 14 days.

When you first load up Noir Syndrome you are presented with the menu screen.
This is fairly self explanatory but we'll go through it anyway.



Dinner Party: Choosing this starts the Dinner Party mode, as explained below.
Mode: Clicking this changes the difficulty and this applies to both the regular game and the Dinner Party mode. There are three difficulties in the game, Normal, Hard and Impossible.
New: Begins a new game
Quit: Quits the game
Costumes: You can use the wardrobe to select a different costume. Costume Scraps are needed to unlock new outfits and these can either be bought in the normal mode or found in Dinner Party mode.
Tutorial: This gives a brief overview of the story as well as the controls and some gameplay basics.
Stats: This lists your overall stats including total number of cases closed, total amount of food eaten, number of games played and numerous other things.
Badges: This page shows you which badges you've unlocked and lists the requirements to do so. It also shows you your current Detective level. Earning more badges unlocks bonuses for future playthroughs.
Continue: Continues a game in progress. The game can only be saved from the Map screen.
Options: This allows you to rebind the controls, choose whether the game is Fullscreen or not and alter the volume level.

The controls are fairly straight forward.
By default the arrow keys move the player left and right.
Z is used as a general action button. You use Z to talk to people, purchase items from vendors, lock picking, using doors and to search areas for clues and other items.
X is used to shoot. The character will fire one bullet in the direction they are facing. One bullet is enough to kill anyone, including you.
C is used to open the Notebook.

The Map is how the player moves from location to location.
Visiting a location advances time by one day and the player loses if they have not found the culprit after 14 days have passed.



There are six types of Event that can take place and if there is an event in an area it will be highlighted with a dot and coloured according to the event.

The events are Crime Scene, Police Zone, Mob Takeover, Public Gathering, Something Fishy and Culprit Spotted.

Crime Scenes are marked as light brown areas and mean the area will empty on that day which can be handy if you want to try and steal something. Rather oddly it has no effect on the likelihood of finding clues.

Police Zones, marked in blue, mean all NPCs will belong to the Police faction. This is more important on Hard and Impossible or if you commit a crime as this faction will be out to kill you.

Mob Takeovers, marked in red, are the Mob equivalent of the Police Zone, again this can be important if the faction is after you.

Public Gatherings, marked in green, mean all NPCs will be Civilians.

Something Fishy is when a NPC tips you off to unusual activity in an area. These are marked in pink.
I've yet to work out what effect this has but I believe it may increase the chance of finding clues or learning about suspects.

Culprit Spotted lets you know that the person you've marked as the killer is in this area.
This area will be marked with a black box over the location, though the colour of the location does not change.
Culprits will only show up on the map once you've selected them via the Culprit screen.

In order to catch the killer we need two things. The first are clues as to their identity.
We do this by searching the environment.



You search by walking up to an object in the environment and pressing Z or clicking on the Magnifying Glass icon in the bottom right.
In the middle of the screen is information about what we found, in this case $23.
Along the bottom is information on the object we searched.

Searching costs Hunger and the amount varies depending on the difficulty, 2 on Normal, 4 on Hard and 6 on Impossible.
It is possible to search the same area twice, as well as search in areas where nothing can be found (for example, a blank area of the screen).
Regardless of whether you find anything or not searching will cost Hunger.

By searching we can find money, as we did above, as well as lockpicks, bullets (?) costume scraps (in Dinner Party mode) and clues.



Aha, speaking of which here's one now.
Any clues you find will be added to the Notebook.



Clues give you information on the killer and are used to rule out suspects.
The Gun Holster tells us the killer must belong to either the Police or the Mob so we know any Civilian suspects we've learnt about are innocent.

Once we've found enough clues and learnt about enough suspects to narrow it down we can find the killer and arrest them.
More information on this process can be found in the Notebook section.

It's all well and good having all the clues but the second thing we need are the names of the suspects.
We learn about new suspects by talking to people.

Much like searching, talking costs Hunger.
It costs 4 Hunger on Normal, 6 Hunger on Hard and 8 Hunger on Impossible to talk to people.



This character told us they fear for their life while Albert Taylor walks free.



So now Albert Taylor shows up in our Notebook.



By learning about the suspect we now know their name, gender and their hobby.
In this case Albert Taylor is a male tailor.



By looking at the Culprit screen we can also see which faction they belong to, in this case Albert Taylor is a member of the Police.

Once we've found enough clues and learnt about enough suspects to narrow it down we can find the killer and arrest them.
More information on this process can be found in the Notebook section.

The Notebook is a Detective's most valuable tool.
To open the Notebook either press C or click on the Notebook icon.

The Notebook provides an overview of the player's status including cash, hunger, current challenge and more as well as any clues and suspects they have found.

Initially your Notebook will be pretty blank, like this



As we can see, we haven't found any clues or learnt about any suspects yet.
Along the bottom we can see our current cash, bullets and lockpicks.
We can also see how long we have left and how hungry we are.

The Notebook icon in the top right will close the Notebook.
The Arrows or the arrow keys are used to flip between the pages.
The Crosshair icon in the bottom left is used to reach the Culprit screen.
The Door icon in the bottom right is used to save and exit the game, though this can only be done when on the Map screen.

The next two pages will look like this


The last page shows us our current challenge, in this case to eat 15 items of food or drink during this game, as well as our progress towards that.
Next is our current number of challenge points and the bonuses we receive for that.
Here I have previously completed one challenge and so earn a permanent bonus to any costume scraps I find.
This also lists our current bounty if we have one (see the Hunt Club section for more details).



We also have the Culprit page, which is reached by clicking on the Crosshair icon in the lower left. Again, not much to see at this stage.




Here's what your Notebook will look like when you've found all the clues and learnt about all the suspects.



We've found all of the clues and we've learnt about all of the suspects but this information isn't very helpful on it's own. To solve this crime we need to use the next two pages and the Culprit screen.



Here are all the clues we've found and who they could potentially belong to.
This is a lot more useful because now we can start to narrow things down.

We can ignore the Hunt Club Card as it's not strictly a clue, it's used to open the Hunt Club side missions, more info in that section.

The Leather Wallet, Business Card, Thick Rope, Casual Attire, Paperwork and Silver Ring tell us which faction these items might belong to. You'll notice that some say Civilian or Police and some say Civilian or Mobster so we can deduce from this that the killer can't be a member of the Police because the Business Card, Thick Rope, Casual Attire and Silver Ring can only belong to either a Civilian or a Mobster.
We can also say the killer can't be a Mobster because again, the Leather Wallet and Paperwork can only belong to a Civilian or a member of the Police.

So we now know our killer has to be a Civilian.

The Male Fingerprints tell us the killer has to be a male, obviously.

Using the two remaining clues we can now work out what the killer's hobby is.
The Thin Brush must belong to either an Artist or a Chef and the Colored Inks can only belong to an Artist or a Tailor, which means our killer must be an Artist.

Now we use the Suspect page to narrow it down even further.



This page shows us all the suspects we've learnt about. Here we can see their name, gender and their hobby.
We know our killer is a male and an Artist and that leaves us with just one name, Charles Smith.

At this point we need to look at the Culprit screen.



Here again we see all the suspects we've learnt about but also the faction they belong to.
Civilians show up in green, Mobsters in red and Police in blue.
The crossed out names in white are suspects we've learnt about who have been killed by either the player or Anubis. It is possible for you to kill the killer and make the game unwinable.
At this point we already know who our killer is but sometimes you'll end up with more than one name and knowing which faction you are looking for can be another way to narrow it down to the correct culprit.

As it is though we know already know who the killer is, Charles Smith.


So we click on his name to mark him as the culprit and now we can find his location the map.
All we need to do now is go to the location he is at and arrest him.

[NOTE TO SELF: ADD SCREENSHOT AND EXPLINATION OF ARREST]
Until I get a proper screenshot of it basically you mark them in the Notebook, their location shows up on the map. You head to that area and they will have an exclimation mark over their head.
Simply walk up to them and press Z to arrest them.


Case Closed

It's important to keep an eye on your Hunger as you play.
Depending on the difficulty you start with different levels of hunger and actions cost different amounts of hunger.

On Normal you being a game with 500 Hunger.
On Hard you begin with 350 Hunger.
On Impossible you begin with 200 Hunger.

When you drop below 400 Hunger you being to feel hungry
Below 200 you feel starved
Below 50 you feel deathly and a beeping sound will warn you of your imminent death.
Reaching 0 hunger means game over.

Searching, using a lockpick and moving up and down stairs all cost 2 Hunger on Normal, 3 Hunger on Hard and 4 Hunger on Impossible.
Talking to NPCs and Moving between locations costs 4 Hunger on Normal, 6 Hunger on Hard and 8 Hunger on Impossible.
Purchasing an item from a NPC costs 8 Hunger (4 to talk to them and 4 to purchase) on Normal, 12 Hunger on Hard and 16 Hunger on Impossible.

It's possible to restore your Hunger with medicine, food or drink.
The following is a list of areas that Hunger restoration items can be bought, their price and how much Hunger they restore on Normal.
Costs and values for Hard and Impossible to be added.

The NIght Club: Bottle of Spirits ($9,X Hunger), Fine Wine ($20, X Hunger)
The Drug Store: Cure-All ($5, 25 Hunger)
The City Hotel: Mixed Drink ($10, X Hunger), Cheese Platter ($23, X Hunger), White Wine ($12, X Hunger), Seared Steak ($40, X Hunger),
The Subway:
The Hunt Club:
The Market:
The Diner:

TBA, sorry.

Dinner Party is like a condensed version of the main game.
Like the main game your objective is to find clues and catch the killer, the main difference here is you already know all the suspects.



As in the main game you need to search for clues and use your Notebook to work out who the killer is, select them via the Culprit screen and then arrest them.

Differences from Regular Mode

Dinner Party takes place in one location.
You can leave via the door on the 1st floor but this ends the game.

All suspects are already in your Notebook.

You can find costume scraps in the environment.

NPCs will, over time, go mad.

On the left we can see three red dots on the characters on the floors above and below.
These appear when someone is about to go mad.
On the right we can see they have gone mad and pulled out their guns.

They will eventually calm down but until they do it's best to avoid them or this happens.

Noir Syndrome contains 30 Badges to collect, sort of like in-game achievements.
Unlocking Badges increases your Detective Level which gives permanent bonuses to your character.



The levels are as follows
Detective Level 1: Unlocked at 3 Badges, 1 Lockpick
Detective Level 2: Unlocked at 6 Badges, 1 Lockpick, 1 Bullet
Detective Level 3: Unlocked at 9 Badges, 1 Lockpick, 1 Bullet and $5
Detective Level 4: Unlocked at 12 Badges, 1 Lockpick, 1 Bullet, $5 and 25 Hunger
Detective Level 5: Unlocked at 15 Badges,
Detective Level 6: Unlocked at 18 Badges,
Detective Level 7: Unlocked at 21 Badges,
Detective Level 8: Unlocked at 24 Badges,
Detective Level 9: Unlocked at 27 Badges,
Detective Level 10: Unlocked at 28 Badges,

How To Earn Each Badge

Green Arrow: Close 5 Cases.
You close a case when you correctly identify the killer and arrest them, in either normal or Dinner Party mode.

Red Arrow: Close 50 Cases.
Same as before, only this time you need to close 50 cases.

Anubis Journal: Read All of the Anubis Journal Logs.
The Anubis Journal can be found in the Old Hideout on the East side of the map.
Head to the Old Hideout and go upstairs, the Journal is in the room to the left, though you'll need a lockpick to open the door.
There are 7 Journals in total and the Journal is randomised each playthrough.

Traveller: Visit 500 Locations
Simply visit 500 locations on the map.

Padlock: Visit 100 Crime Scenes
Simply visit 100 Crime Scenes. Crime Scenes are highlighted on the map when that event is taking place.

Big Money: Collect $25000
This one will take a while. Cash can be found by searching and in vaults or can be won by playing Dice in the Speakeasy . Cash found in Dinner Party mode also counts towards this.

Jasper: Have a Long Conversation with Jasper
Jasper is your cat and can be found in your Home. Simply talk to him until he runs away.

Suspect: Collect 250 Suspects
You can find out about Suspects by talking to people. There are only 10 Suspects per game.

Green Clock: Close a Case in 4 Days or Less
As with the other close case badges you need to identify the killer and arrest them, only this time within 4 days.

Red Clock: Close a Case in 4 Days or Less on Hard Mode
Like the previous badge but must be done on Hard mode.

Coin: Collect $250 in One Game
The Old Vault is a good location for this one as it often contains around $150, although it will require 20 Lockpicks to open.

Killer: Kill 250 People
This requires you to shoot 250 people in total. The Hunt Club can be a good way to get extra kills as the money you earn from your bounties can be used to buy more bullets.

Rookie: Play One Game
Simply play the game once, win or lose.

Dice: Win 5 Rounds of Dice in a Row
Head to the Speakeasy and go up the stairs, there are two Dice tables here. A play will cost $5 at the first table or $20 at the second. Best to stick with the cheaper one and hope luck is on your side.

Chutney: Talk to Both Chutney and Buttons in One Playthrough
Chutney is the dog in the Mechanic Shop, Buttons is the dog in the Speakeasy.

Lollipop: Eat or Drink 100 Food Items
The Drugstore sells a Cure All for $5 which counts towards this Badge.

Gun: Fire 15 Bullets in One Game
Again the Hunt Club can help here, use the bounty money to purchase bullets.
You do not need to kill anyone, just fire 15 bullets.

Key: Loot the Vault in the Old Fort
The Vault requires 20 Lockpicks to open. There is a vendor in the Subway who sells lockpicks for $8 each. They are also avaliabe from the Mob Hideout for $12.

Padlock: Use 100 Lockpicks
This you will earn over time.

Magnifying Glass: Arrest One Suspect
Correctly identify and then arrest one suspect.

Ticket: Visit 7 Events in One Game
The Events are Crime Scences, Public Gatherings, Police Zones, Mob Takeovers, Something Fishy and Culprit Spotted. Look for these areas on the map and visit 7 during one game.

Wanted: Close a Case While Wanted by Either the Police or the Mob
Stealing or killing people will get you wanted by the Police. Stealing from the Mob or killing a member of the Mob will get you wanted by them.

Dossier: Buy Information on the Killer from the Mob
In the Mob Hideout head down the elevator and to the right. At the end of the hallway you can spend $50 to buy some information on the killer.

Peace: Beat Hard Mode Without Firing a Bullet
This is fairly easy to do in Dinner Party mode. Just avoid the guests who've gone crazy and keep an eye on your hunger.

Favor: Buy Favor for Either the Police or the Mob
If you're wanted by either the Police or the Mob there will be a vendor who can make the faction neutral again for $20.

Question Mark: Close a Case on Hard Mode
Like the Peace badge this one is fairly easy to do in Dinner Party mode.

Rats: Avoid Locations With Rats for One Game
The City Hotel, The Old Hideout, The Subway, The Sewers and the Slums all contain rats.

Spender: Spend $10000
Another one you will accumulate in time. Looting vaults or collecting bounties for the Hunt Club is a good way to earn money then find a vendor to spend it all on.

Wizard: Find the Wizard in the Darkness
In the Tutorial if you walk to the left you'll eventually find the Wizard. Talk to him to unlock this Badge.

Madman: Kill 20 People in One Game
I'm not sure if this is 20 people in total between you and the Anubis killer or if you need to kill 20 people yourself. The Hunt Club probably helps with this, bounties would count towards it and give you money to purchase more bullets.

Challenges are randomised goals given to you each game.
The current challenge can be found on the Challenges and Bounties page of your Notebook.



The Challenges

15 NPC Deaths
NPCs you or Anubis kill count towards this.

Eat or Drink 15 Items
The Drugstore sells a Cure All for $5 that counts as a Food item.

Loot 3 Vaults
The Bank, the Old Fort, the Drug Store and the Speakeasy all have vaults to loot

Shoot 10 Bullets
Simply fire 10 bullets during the course of one game. You don't need to kill anyone with the bullet.

Spend $100
Looting Vaults or the Hunt Club can help earn you cash, then simply spend it.

Use 6 Lockpicks
A Vendor in the Subway sells them for $8 each.

Win $50 in Dice
Head to the Speakeasy and play Dice on either table until you've won $50 in total.
Losing at Dice doesn't effect your total.


Challenge Points

Completing a Challenge earns you 1 Challenge Point and these give you permanent bonuses to the amount of cash and costume scraps you find.

1 Point: 0 Cash Find Bonus, 1 Scrap Find Bonus
2 Points:
3 Points:
4 Points:
5 Points:
6 Points:
7 Points:
8 Points:
9 Points: 4 Cash Find Bonus, 9 Scrap Find Bonus