Shadows of Doubt Tips and Tricks, General Recommendations, Bug Reference

The game includes a tutorial that is concise, so there’s no need to repeat the basics here. Instead, here are tips for a smoother experience and advice on handling tricky situations.

1. First-time Players: Start with a small city. A 3×3 building grid is ideal.
2. For Experienced Players: If you want more challenges, opt for larger cities (e.g., a massive city with a 5×4 grid). The size primarily increases the population and workplaces, but it also complicates locating specific characters based on vague criteria.

Initial Steps:

• Upon starting, visit local establishments to gather information (more details in the “Investigation Assistance” section).
• If you’re on a tutorial mission, finish the first introductory case while the clues are fresh, then explore the surroundings.
• Get an Apartment: Find advertisements in various eateries. The cheapest options cost around 1,000 credits. Apartments are handy for storing equipment and stolen goods. Equip your apartment with:
  • A bed (to sleep).
  • A shower (to remove the “bad smell” debuff).
  • A towel (to dry off after a shower or rain).
  • A bookshelf (to store loot, though items can also just be dropped on the floor).
  • A vending machine for gear (to avoid frequent trips to City Hall).

Making Money

If you run low on money, consider looting offices and apartments:

• Offices: Found in tall buildings with a clean white “P”-shaped entrance and multiple mailboxes. Offices contain sync discs, upgrade vials, valuable loot, and employee records. Always look for employee data during break-ins—it’s helpful for future investigations.
• Apartments: Wealthier residents (directors and the like) often live on upper floors. Their homes might contain diamonds, sync discs, and upgrade vials.

Equipment

Although the game has many items, only a few are crucial for gameplay. Recommended gear includes:

1. Melee Weapon: A baton is cheap (available at vending machines in City Hall) and can knock out opponents in 2–3 hits, making it useful in group fights (especially with upgraded strength).
2. Ballistic Armor: Can be purchased or stolen. Simply carrying it reduces damage taken.
3. Door Stopper: Useful for barricading people while you search an area. However, it’s often simpler to knock out anyone who interferes.
4. Tracker: Handy for monitoring a person’s movements if you can’t catch them at home. Place the tracker and wait for their return.
5. Splint: Fractures drastically reduce movement speed, making trips to the clinic or medical vending machines tedious.
6. Handcuffs: Necessary for arrests but otherwise pointless to carry.
7. Decryptor: Usually unnecessary as passwords are easy to find, but it can be handy in a pinch. Avoid keeping it with you at all times.

Sync Discs

Sync discs grant various abilities. Customize them based on your playstyle, but always prioritize upgrading your inventory size since the default is very limited. Keep extra slots for quest items and stolen goods.

Recommended upgrades:

• “V-Love” Implant: Opt for the mod that identifies a person’s job and salary from a photo. It’s far more useful than precise height or shoe size.
• “Charm” Implant: Take the mod that makes people more willing to share information, as price reductions are negligible.
• “Physique” Implant: Increase your height. It helps you reach vents without a stool, though navigating doors may require crouching. Lowering your height offers little benefit.
• “Thief” Implant: Skip “Invisibility” (it doesn’t work, at least for cameras). Instead, take the lockpicking speed upgrade since lockpicks are abundant and cheap.

Finding Information

Mass Methods:

1. Government Database:
   Accessible on computers in clinics and law enforcement offices at City Hall. Filters are minimal, allowing only name-based searches.
   Data available:

1. • Name
   • Photo
   • Blood type
   • Address
   • Fingerprints

2. Tenant Lists:
   Security rooms in residential buildings often provide access to cameras and tenant lists. Tenant contracts reveal:

1. • Name
   • Photo
   • Address
   • Date of birth
   • Handwriting

3. Employee Data:
   Every business (even bars and the black market) keeps employee records. These often include:

1. • Name
   • Personal details
   • Photo
   • Job title
   • Salary
   • Fingerprints
   • Work schedule
   • Handwriting

4. Staff Photos:
   Some businesses display boards with staff photos. Always check these during your first visit. They provide:

1. • Name
   • Job title
   • Photo (and salary if using “V-Love”).

5. Surveillance Cameras:
   City-wide cameras capture appearances but no additional details. Useful for identifying suspects.

Personal Methods:

• Target’s Apartment:
  Breaking into a suspect’s home often reveals everything you need:
  • Workplace
  • Blood type
  • Relationships
  • Tax records
  • Schedules (often in the kitchen)
  • Passwords (usually in the bedroom or study)
  • ID cards

Investigation Tips

1. Start by creating your own citizen database. The in-game system is limited, storing only 40 recent records.

1. • Organize by salary or job title.
   • Focus on saving citizen profiles rather than documents for easier analysis later.

2. Office workers and bar employees are particularly important to track since corporate theft cases are both lucrative and frequent.

Miscellaneous Investigative Scenarios

1. Sniper Case:
   A sniper killed two victims from a neighboring building. Clues were sparse, but revisiting the crime scene and checking potential sniper vantage points led to the culprit.
2. Mystery Employer:
   When tasked with finding someone based on vague employer instructions (e.g., “a lover of an HR admin”), thoroughly investigate their workplace and residential connections.

This guidance should help you navigate and master the game’s complex investigative mechanics!

Here’s a translated summary of the detailed guide you provided, covering professions, salaries, tips, and insights for the game. Let me know if you’d like more detailed sections or specific topics explained further.

Professions and Their Salaries

By Location/Role:

• Apartment/Dispatch Office: Building Cleaner, Security Guard
• Asian Restaurant/Bar: Bartender, Head Chef, Cleaner, Kitchen Staff, Retail Owner, Sous Chef
• Black Market Clinic: Black Market Doctor
• Pawn Shop: Black Market Trader
• City Hall: Chief Doctor, Law Enforcement Officer, Captain, Regular Doctor, Medical Staff, Supervisor
• Industrial Facility/Cafeteria: Cleaner, Engineer, Floor Manager, Master, Head Chef, Building Cleaner, Kitchen Staff, Technician, R&D Manager, Security Staff (x2), Safety Officer, Area Manager, Logistics Manager, Unemployed
• Fast Food Restaurant/Diner: Cleaner, Shop Owner, Waitstaff
• Casino: Casino Owner
• Laundromat: Cleaner, Laundry Worker, Retail Owner
• Loan Shark: Accountant, Debt Collector
• Office: Accountant, Company Director, HR Manager, HR Administrator, Marketing Manager, Office Manager, QA Specialist, Secretary
• Pawn Shop/Hardware Store: Retail Owner, Sales Consultant, Seller
• Pharmacy/Supermarket: Retail Owner, Sales Consultant, Seller
• Streets/Apartment: Landlord, Street Vendor, Unemployed
• SyncroClinic: El Gen Manager, El Gen Representative
• Gun Store: Gun Dealer

Infiltration Tips

• Gaining Access: Politely ask the owners for permission; high Persuasion skill (via SyncroDisk) improves your chances.
• Keys: Check under doormats or furniture; some keys are hidden there.
• Camera Tricks: Disable cameras via electrical panels or director’s terminal. Turning off lights reduces camera visibility.
• Laser Grids: Only deactivated via electrical panels.
• Disabling Security: Cutting power to the apartment disables cameras and lasers.
• Hiding Spots: Beds, tables, and large kitchen cabinets are viable hiding places.
• Code-locked Doors: Can be forced open like regular doors.
• Equipment: Carry a doorstop to delay pursuers or intruders. Keep a baton for emergencies.
• Observation: Peek under doors before entering to scout the area.

SyncroDisk Locations

SyncroDisks are invaluable for gameplay and can be found in:

1. Vending Machines and Clinics: Some can be purchased.
2. Worker Apartments (Black Market): Safes may hold 0-4 disks of varying types (e.g., Burglar, Agent).
3. Wealthy Citizen Homes: Apartments of those with salaries over 200,000 Credits often have disks in safes (e.g., landlords, clinic managers).
4. Office Desks: Search desks in companies for potential disks.
5. Reward for Jobs: Disks may be offered as rewards; check job descriptions for specifics.

Black Market Enterprises

There are five types of black market establishments, each represented once per city:

1. Weapons Dealer
2. Stolen Goods Dealer
3. Casino
4. Pawn Broker
5. Underground Clinic

Finding Them:

• Usually located in building basements or ground-floor annexes.
• Graffiti clues:
  • Weapons Dealer: Gun graffiti
  • Stolen Goods Dealer: Mask graffiti

Making Money

• Alternative to Jobs: Burglary is lucrative; target safes for diamonds (worth 500–3000 credits) and SyncroDisk upgrades.
• Selling Stolen Goods:
  • Use Pawn Shops during open hours.
  • Sell from your apartment inventory anytime.

Tip: Avoid carrying large sums of money; treatment costs 20% of your current funds upon injury. Use the “Spartan Insurance” SyncroDisk for free treatment.

Known Bugs and Workarounds

• Quest Turn-in Issues: Always open the correct quest board or reload if completion isn’t acknowledged.
• Falling Through Floors: Let areas fully load before entering.
• Missing NPCs: Ask their spouses for current locations.
• Alarm Glitches: Sometimes, killing or knocking out NPCs who keep triggering alarms fixes this.

Overall Gameplay

The game stands out for its unique mechanics and immersive investigations, despite its bugs and oddities. It balances detective work with opportunities for exploration, looting, and strategy. While imperfect, it’s a one-of-a-kind experience for those willing to overlook minor flaws.