Closer the Distance: Quests and Endings [WIP]

Choices required for the funeral

Axel will start digging the grave on his own. Galya will notice, and can either help herself, or recruit others to help as well: Melville, Leigh, and Bodhi. Note that Leigh is creeped out by the cemetery, and though she’ll be willing to help, she won’t be happy.

Galya starts out in charge of this task. Initially, she has two ideas: lilies from the greenhouse (which will make Pia happy), and picking wildflowers with Leigh (which will improve their relationship and make Leigh happy). After talking about it, Leigh also suggests a compromise, which is sunflowers and roses from the greenhouse. Unfortunately, Pia doesn’t like this idea either, though it will make Leigh happy. Using either of Leigh’s ideas will also result in her making the wreath itself.

Melville starts out in charge of this, though Zek can quickly take over. If he does, he can either choose the image himself (a bald woman reading a book) or talk to Pia, and use her suggestion of an angel. Pia will be happy with her suggestion and upset by anything else. Zek’s choice will also build one of his value needs: accomplishment or belonging.

Talking to Zek after Angela’s death is announced will encourage him to try and talk to Angela at night, which makes him a playable character.

Most characters Conny offers support to on the first day will either express worry that she’s trying to help others instead of grieving, or look at her funny for saying that Angela is still there. River seems to have a particularly hard time with the fact that Conny doesn’t seem sad, and has an interesting conversation with Blanche about this.

If Conny decides to wear Angela’s jacket, other characters will comment on it. Her parents will mistake her for Angela, Zek will be critical of her, and others will say it looks good on her.

Conny can choose to burn the incense for Pia, Leigh, or Bodhi. This will bring a bit of peace to whoever she burns it for.

Conny needs to talk to Melville, who will direct her to a broken wheel near Henrietta’s house. She’ll use this to fix the broken wheel. Depending on how quickly this gets done, you may spot Pia walking into the barn to look at the broken wheel and sigh wistfully as she remembers Angela. After it’s fixed, Pia will get upset at first, thinking Axel fixed it, and explaining to him that the broken wheel reminded her of Angela. You can choose to have Conny tell Pia that she’s the one who did it, and this helps Pia forgive herself for the fight they had.

Ask Leigh about the show, and she’ll let Conny watch it on the TV in her house. Talk to Leigh about it afterwards, and in a few days, she’ll give Conny the tape for the unaired pilot episode. Conny can then watch it with Axel, which lets them bond.

Conny needs to talk to Eli to find out where the time capsule is, and she can then dig it up. While she can choose to just bury it right after, she can also bring it to Bodhi to add something to it first. Though she asks him not to peek when he does, he will admit to peeking, which will make Eli upset when he asks about it later. Eli will check on the time capsule and notice if it’s been dug up, which is what leads him to confront Conny about it in the first place. He’ll be a little upset by Bodhi peeking.

Conny can follow the clues, and talk to Axel about it afterwards. A few days later, Axel will put an Envelope on Angela’s desk, and Conny can follow this set of clues to the end too. For each clue, there are 3 places you can look, and if Conny gets too many wrong, she can get frustrated, though I’m not sure if she’ll give up entirely or just need a break.

Each time Conny hides a note, one of two things can happen: either Axel finds and intercepts it, or Pia will read it and smile. If Axel intercepts the notes three times, he’ll talk to Conny, then write a letter to Pia himself. If Pia finds the notes, she’ll write a letter to Axel, and he’ll find it.

For this, you have to take a sunbath until Leigh spots you, two separate times. You can’t do this when it’s raining, for obvious reasons, and it can take a while for Leigh to spot you. She seems to think Conny is being silly the first time, but she’ll notice Conny seems tanned the second time, and in a few days, she’ll try it herself.

Wait for Melville several times, near where he is. He’ll come talk to you a few times, but you have to keep doing this until he’s charmed enough by you that he says you can come hang out anytime.

Galya can choose to hang out with Leigh at the beach, at the lookout, or while watching TV at home. They can also chat each day, and going to pick wildflowers for the wreath with her will also provide good bonding time. If you don’t spend time together, Leigh will comment that it feels like Galya is becoming a ghost or drifting away. However, if you prioritize Leigh, she’ll admit that while she’s grateful, she can see that others need Galya too.

Galya can either talk to Bodhi about Angela’s death, or tell Leigh to do it herself. If she talks to Bodhi directly, it improves their relationship.

In my playthroughs, Leigh said a friend in the city asked her to leave to take care of her place while on vacation. I’ve heard some people get an ending where Galya and Leigh go on vacation together, but I’m not sure how to achieve this outcome.

Talk to Leigh, Henrietta, and Axel. You can also tell Melville to talk to them. Leigh will initiate a movie night, and Axel will approach Melville to chat, as long as he isn’t too depressed to do so. After talking to Henrietta, you’ll notice a leak in her boiler, and you can either fix it yourself, or tell Melville to fix it. Henrietta will then talk to Melville, either to thank him for fixing it, or to tell him that Zek fixed it.

First, you have to talk to Bodhi, who will say you need money for a deposit. You can ask Melville, Galya, and Blanche for money. Galya will only lend it if Melville has made friends, and Blanche will only lend it if Zek has a job lined up. You can also get money working at the boat lodge and selling your guitar

For this, Zek needs to pass a math test, which requires him to talk to Blanche about what topics to study. He can study on his own at the school, and while there, he can text Blanche and ask her to come tutor him. In my playthrough, he didn’t pass the test, but I believe if you study enough, you can get this position.

This first requires Zek to do first aid training with Galya over multiple sessions. I’m not sure if it’s possible to get the initial job, as this took me a while to finish. By the time he was done, the listing had been filled. However, Zek had gotten excited about pursuing medicine. He can then ask Galya for help finding another medical job, and Galya can reach out to friends and find him a position.

If Zek isn’t able to get either job in time, he can ask Melville for help. Melville will later tell Zek that a friend in the city has a carpentry job for him.

This starts when Laul talks to Zek about music and offers guitar lessons. After Zek takes a lesson with him, Laul will recommend Zek practice in public. When he does this, many people from the town will show up to watch. Zek and Laul can then chat about this. If Laul chooses to give Zek the camera, this will further encourage Zek to pursue music when he moves to the city.

This is a quest you can either initiate by Zek offering help to River, or by River recruiting Zek.

I’ve heard this is doable by building the relationship with Melville, but I haven’t achieved it yet. I imagine this requires you to do things like build the statue for Angela, help at or take over the boat lodge, and possibly to give any money earned to Axel for the farm. Getting Melville connected with his friends might also help, as it seems to help Melville move on from Cemre’s passing.

You can ask Conny for Angela’s password, but I don’t think she’ll give it to you. You can convince Bodhi to hack her laptop, but you may have to force River to show up, so she doesn’t try and run away and make Bodhi sad. If Conny sees River on Angela’s laptop, she’ll get upset. This may contribute to Conny getting withdrawn.

She can choose oceanic, shabby chic, or rustic. If River listens to the recordings she made with Angela, she’ll find out that Angela liked the shabby chic aesthetic best.

Ask him to go home, or give him fake tasks like gathering seashells and hanging decorations

River can keep pushing Melville along, encourage Melville to take a break, or take him off the project altogether.

I think this will happen by default, but helping with it as River or Zek probably makes a big difference. If it doesn’t get finished in time, the town will gather for Jasper and River to announce that it wasn’t finished in time. On my playthrough, this meant the project was cancelled, but they still voted on this, so there may be the possibility of the project just getting postponed if the people in the town like it.

Various decisions seem to impact how townspeople will vote on the boat lodge. Pia and Henrietta will likely always be against it, but some characters seem to be swayed by River’s or Laul’s influence. I’m not sure if it’s possible to get people to vote yes on the project.

While this is Laul’s first quest, he will stop being playable once it’s completed. He needs to complete River’s and Zek’s quests below in order to give the camera to either of them; otherwise the only option will be to give it to Conny, and she may not accept.

Laul can ask the citizens of Yesterby to contribute decorations for the boat lodge. Depending on how they’re doing, some may volunteer contributions. For example, Leigh might donate movie posters, Blanche offers art made by the kids at school, and Bodhi contributes upcycled pinwheels. This happened in one playthrough but not the other, so I’m not sure what contributed here.

This is less of a specific quest than things Laul can do to fulfill his “help” need. For example, if Pia is depressed due to a lack of support, she may pray at the chapel and ask for support. If Laul comes and offers to help while she’s in the chapel, she might not give him a quest, but she will see him more positively, and is more likely to be okay with him talking to Conny.

Wants everything about Angela’s funeral, the cemetery, and chapel to be perfect. Needs to feel supported by others, and wants Yesterby to stay the way it is, without newcomers.

Needs self care, and wants time with Galya, but worries she’s asking too much when she feels neglected.

Wants to spend more time with River (clearly has a crush on her, but not sure if she reciprocates).

Wants to finish the boat lodge to remember Cemre. May later develop a want to clear out Cemre’s office. Will get upset if Jasper bugs him about his progress on the lodge. Resistant to open up, but willing eventually.

Wants the boat lodge to be completed quickly, without sacrificing marketing. In some circumstances he can be convinced to cut the commercial.

Wants to help with the boat lodge, but also thinks River is messing it up. He’s largely confused about what’s going on after Angela’s death, and doesn’t seem to fully understand.

Wants to be left alone and not get involved in others’ mess.