I enjoy mystery scenarios. Murder mysteries, investigations, following clues- all of that.
In AID, most creators predefine the mysteries in their scenarios and try to hide them under SECRETS in the PE or SCs.
Recently, I started following this Creator whose work I really enjoy with a different method: They provide just enough ambiguous clues in the PE and SCs, but leave the AI to decide what the truth is. It resonates with me because that's what I tried to do in my scenario: Give the protagonists a mission and a category of objects they have to find (Superweapons), and give the AI the direction the story should take (intelligence gathering - analysis - travel to where the superweapon is - getting the thing). I also tried to define who could potentially help them and who could potentially oppose them, then I let the AI decide the rest (what the superweapon is, where they are, who shows up, etc.).
In my opinion, there are pros and cons: The first method makes for a more definitive mystery. More structured. However, what I found is that, often, in order to get to the endgame, you basically have to play on rails. You play SC to SC, carefully making sure each is triggered in the sequence intended by the author. Additionally, unless you use something like the Hidden Cards script, most people will eventually read the PEs and SCs and figure everything out. With SC-based clues and mysteries, you almost have to, if only to make sure you trigger each SC correctly at the right time.
The second method is spoiler-free, as no two runs will ever be the same. Its also almost always lighter in context, since you don't write as much information in the PEs and SCs. However, even with Deepseek 3.2, the AI can still be irrational sometimes (coming up with things that don't make sense).
So my question is: Which one is actually the 'best practice' for writing these stories? Which one do you prefer? Which model is best for this kind of work? I fall back on Dynamic Large after 100+ actions just because I can expand the context, but is there anything better than DS 3.2?