#SUMO Subscriptions

[saffiretechs-blog]

Essential WooCommerce Subscription Plugins for 2024

The correct subscription plugin can significantly enhance customer experience, automate renewals, and speed up the administration of recurring payments for proprietors of WooCommerce businesses.

Selecting a suitable plugin can improve your company's revenue model whether you're establishing a fresh subscription service or enhancing an already-existing one. We'll analyse the top subscription plugins in this post, looking at their key characteristics, costs, and unique benefits. The purpose of this guidance is to enable you to make an educated decision that fits your unique business needs. Now let's get started!

1. Woo Subscriptions

Woo Subscriptions is perfect for creating reliable streams of income through model subscriptions because it enables businesses to set up automatic payments. Many membership methods for both apparent and virtual goods are made possible by this plugin.

Woo Subscriptions additionally allows companies to send renew alerts to consumers, ensuring that they are informed of their membership status, and links easily with over 25 payment processors.

2. Subscriptions for WooCommerce

You can build and manage subscription plans for your products and services with ease using the Subscriptions for WooCommerce plugin. It even works well for numerous various kinds of businesses. From online classes and online stores to OTT platforms and fitness centres. For your subscription-based things, you can also set up recurring payments for a specific amount of time. In addition, a free trial of this plugin's membership is available. As a result, your customers are aware of what their membership covers. It ensures smooth transaction processes through integrating with payment gateways like PayPal Standard with ease.

3. Prepaid for WooCommerce Subscriptions

The Prepaid for WooCommerce Subscriptions plugin enhances WooCommerce Subscriptions by allowing merchants to offer prepaid plans. This extension is perfect for businesses seeking to provide customers with the option to pay upfront for a subscription period, offering potential cost savings for both parties.

With this plugin, merchants can create multiple prepaid plans for each subscription product. For instance, alongside a standard monthly subscription, they can offer options like a 6-month or annual prepaid plan. This flexibility encourages higher customer commitment and upfront revenue generation.

5. SUMO Subscriptions

Users can create order subscriptions for non-subscription products as well as basic, variable, and group product subscriptions with the SUMO Subscription plugin. It offers customisation with regard to of subscription lengths and choices for renewal.

The flexible payment gateway support provided by this plugin is one of its best features. For manual subscription renewals, it interfaces with any payment gateway that is compliant with WooCommerce. SUMO Subscriptions has incorporated support for renowned gateways like Stripe and PayPal for automatic renewals, ensuring seamless transaction processing.

Wrapping Up!

A few of the best WooCommerce store-specific Custom Order Status plugins were looked at. The features of these plugins differ; certain ones provide bulk editing options and a limitless ability for developing customised status updates. Email notifications and reporting tools are typical features. It's essential that you select the plugin that maximises order management and best suits the particular needs of your WooCommerce website.

[moonsidesong]

A question before I do the Hacking. Can I still safely transfer my old pokemon from bank to home on a hacked device? Not sure if it requires internet connection, if that changes anything, and the games they're from are physical copies. Actually, can I still connect on hacked 3/2ds? (Sorry if you don't know, I don't know/follow anyone else I could reliably ask)

pokemon data seems to be a thing a lot of people are concerned with (totally understandable, i was too!!!) but unless you're doing some dodgy online game cheating you are absolutely fine to go online. here's a pic of me on pokebank on my hacked 2ds if it makes you feel better! (connected to my ultra moon cartridge)

[hostpyters]

AppSumo is a popular platform that offers lifetime deals on software, tools, and services for entrepreneurs, startups, and small businesses. It aims to provide users with significant savings on products that can enhance productivity, marketing, management, and various other business operations. Below is a detailed review of AppSumo's features and functionalities:

Key Features Lifetime Deals:

Discounted Software: AppSumo provides exclusive lifetime deals on a wide range of software products, often at a fraction of the regular price. This allows businesses to access premium tools without recurring costs. Variety of Categories: Deals span multiple categories, including marketing, sales, productivity, web development, design, and more. Curated Selection:

Expert Vetting: AppSumo’s team carefully curates and vets each deal to ensure quality and relevance for its user base. This helps users trust that the products offered are valuable and reliable. User Reviews and Ratings: Each product listing includes user reviews and ratings, providing insights from other entrepreneurs who have used the tools. Sumo-lings Community:

Active Community: Users, known as Sumo-lings, can engage with each other through comments, forums, and social media, sharing tips and experiences about the deals and tools they use. Feedback Mechanism: The community feedback helps AppSumo and product creators improve their offerings and address any issues promptly. Educational Resources:

Webinars and Tutorials: AppSumo often hosts webinars, tutorials, and live demos with product creators, helping users understand how to get the most out of the tools they purchase. Blog and Guides: The platform’s blog offers valuable content on entrepreneurship, growth strategies, and best practices for using various software tools. Refund Policy:

Generous Refunds: AppSumo offers a 60-day refund policy on most deals, allowing users to try out products with minimal risk. If the tool doesn’t meet their needs, they can get a full refund within this period.

AppSumo Plus Membership:

Exclusive Benefits: For a yearly fee, AppSumo Plus members get additional discounts, early access to deals, and other exclusive benefits, enhancing the overall value of the platform. Partner Program:

Affiliate Opportunities: Users can earn commissions by promoting AppSumo deals through its partner program, providing an additional income stream for entrepreneurs and influencers.

Pros Significant Savings: The primary advantage of AppSumo is the potential for significant savings on high-quality software, making premium tools accessible to small businesses and startups. Wide Range of Tools: The platform offers deals across various categories, catering to diverse business needs and helping users find tools for multiple aspects of their operations. Risk-Free Trials: The 60-day refund policy ensures that users can test products without the fear of losing money if the tools don’t work out for them. Community and Support: An active community and comprehensive educational resources help users make informed decisions and maximize the value of their purchases. Curated Quality: The expert vetting process ensures that only valuable and reliable products are featured, reducing the risk associated with purchasing lesser-known software.

Cons Limited Availability: Deals are often available for a limited time, which means users need to act quickly to take advantage of them. This can sometimes lead to impulsive buying decisions. Variable Product Quality: While AppSumo vets its deals, the quality and usefulness of products can still vary, and some tools may not meet every user’s expectations. Subscription Costs: Although the deals are discounted, some users might find the cost of the AppSumo Plus membership and the deals themselves to be a significant upfront investment.

AppSumo is a valuable platform for entrepreneurs, startups, and small businesses looking to access premium software tools at discounted prices. Its curated selection, significant savings, and supportive community make it a go-to resource for finding and utilizing business software. While there are considerations regarding the limited availability of deals and variable product quality, the overall benefits, including the risk-free trial period and wide range of tools, make AppSumo a highly beneficial platform for business growth and efficiency.

[ekshenru]

SUMO Subscriptions — полноценная система подписок для WooCommerce | Плагины WordPress https://ekshen.ru/resources/sumo-subscriptions-polnocennaja-sistema-podpisok-dlja-woocommerce.5841/ В современном мире, где конкуренция среди онлайн-магазинов растет, владельцам бизнеса необходимо искать новые способы привлечения и удержания клиентов. Одним из эффективных решений является использование гибких подписок и регулярных платежей, которые предлагает мощный плагин для WooCommerce — SUMO Subscriptions. Что такое SUMO Subscriptions? SUMO Subscriptions — это специализированный плагин, который позволяет владельцам интернет-магазинов добавлять подписки на любые товары и услуги. Этот инструмент создан для тех, кто стремится расширить свой бизнес и предложить клиентам удобные подписные продукты. Будь то ежемесячные товары или долгосрочные услуги, SUMO Subscriptions делает процесс управления подписками простым и интуитивно понятным. Преимущества использования SUMO Subscriptions Стабильный поток дохода. Плагин обеспечивает регулярные платежи, превращая разовых клиентов в постоянных. Это позволяет владельцам бизнеса стабильно прогнозировать доходы и планировать свою деятельность. Гибкость настроек. SUMO Subscriptions позволяет легко адаптировать частоту платежей, варианты подписок и их продолжительность под нужды конкретного бизнеса. Простота интеграции. Плагин полностью интегрируется с WooCommerce, что позволяет настраивать подписки в привычном интерфейсе без сложных технических решений. Основные возможности SUMO Subscriptions Создание подписных продуктов. Возможность добавлять подписку на любой товар или услугу, будь то физический продукт или цифровая услуга. Настройка регулярных платежей. Поддерж��а различных схем оплаты — от еженедельных до годовых, что удобно для различных бизнес-моделей. Управление подписками. Легкость управления подписками, включая изменение условий, продление сроков и приостановку. Уведомления и напоминания. Автоматические оповещения о предстоящих платежах и завершении подписки помогают поддерживать связь с клиентами и избегать пропущенных платежей. Интеграция с платежными системами. Поддержка популярных платежных шлюзов для удобства клиентов. Гибкие опции отмены и продления. Возможность временного приостановления или продления подписки, что дает клиентам свободу управления. Почему стоит выбрать SUMO Subscriptions SUMO Subscriptions не просто инструмент для создания подписок. Это возможность предложить клиентам удобные и выгодные условия, которые укрепят их лояльность и обеспечат стабильный доход. Плагин делает процесс оформления подписки интуитивно понятным и удобным, создавая положительный опыт взаимодействия и поддерживая связь с аудиторией. Кому может быть полезен SUMO Subscriptions Онлайн-магазинам с регулярными поставками. Для магазинов, продающих товары повседневного спроса, подписки помогают удерживать клиентов и автоматизировать регулярные заказы. Сервисам, предоставляющим подписные услуги. Подходит для курсов, консультаций, программного обеспечения и других услуг с регулярной оплатой. Проектам по подписке на эксклюзивный контент. Для блогов и онлайн-изданий, которые монетизируют доступ к премиум-контенту. Креативным агентствам и студиям. Для постоянного предоставления услуг клиентам, что укрепляет долгосрочные отношения и организует регулярные платежи. Как начать использовать SUMO Subscriptions Скачайте SUMO Subscriptions с Ekshen и установите плагин через панель управления WordPress. Настройте параметры подписки: определите частоту, стоимость и условия для каждого подписного продукта. Добавьте подписные продукты в магазин: выберите товары или услуги и настройте все параметры для их отображения в WooCommerce. Активируйте автоматические уведомления: настройте напоминания и уведомления для клиентов, чтобы они не пропускали даты оплаты. Подключите платежные системы: убедитесь, что все популярные платежные шлюзы настроены и готовы к приему регулярных платежей. SUMO

Subscriptions — это универсальное решение для бизнеса, стремящегося к постоянному росту и стабильности. Этот плагин не только упрощает настройку подписок, но и делает их доступными для любых товаров и услуг, позволяя легко адаптироваться к изменениям на рынке и поддерживать высокий ур��вень клиентского сервиса.

[themesfores]

Sumo Affiliates Pro WordPress Affiliate Plugin v10.3.0

https://themesfores.com/product/sumo-affiliates-pro-wordpress-affiliate-plugin/ Sumo Affiliates Pro WordPress Affiliate Plugin v10.3.0 SUMO Affiliates Pro is a Comprehensive WordPress Affiliates Plugin using which you can run an affiliate system on your existing WordPress Site. You can award affiliate commissions for actions such as Affiliate signup, Form Submission, Product Purchases, etc. Features Comprehensive WordPress Affiliate Plugin Advanced integration with WooCommerce Affiliate commission for form submission through Contact Form7 Formidable Forms WP Forms Affiliate commission for email subscription through MailChimp ActiveCampaign Affiliate commission for accessing individual pages/posts which has landing commission shortcodes Affiliate registration form for users Users can attach documents while submitting the affiliate registration form Option for the user to directly become an affiliate while creating an account through WooCommerce Users with an existing account on the site can also become as an affiliate When a logged in user tries to become an affiliate, site admin has the option to Manage the affiliate account within the existing account Create a separate account for affiliate promotion Let the user decide Option for the site admin to notify and get notified about the affiliate activities via SMS and Email Separate table for the site admin to manage the affiliates Option for the site admin to automatically approve all the affiliate applications/approve after review Separate dashboard for the affiliate to manage the affiliate promotion Option for the site admin to create unlimited additional tabs in the affiliate dashboard Affiliates can generate unlimited affiliate links QR code can be generated for affiliate links and can be downloaded as an image Affiliate link validity can be restricted to the product for which the link was generated Refer a friend form for affiliates Option for the site admin to create unique landing pages for affiliates The validity of affiliate links can be customized by the site admin Option for the site admin to identify the affiliate based on Affiliate ID Affiliate Name Option for the site admin to allow their affiliates to customize their affiliate slug Option for the site admin to allow affiliates to generate readable affiliate links(Pretty affiliate links) Your Affiliates can promote the products on your site without using an affiliate link MLM system for Affiliates The number of direct referrals, number of levels to award MLM commission and commission rate for each level can be customized Account Signup Affiliate Commission Affiliate Signup Commission WooCommerce Product Purchase Commission Option for the site admin to set commission rate for individual products at the affiliate level Affiliates can receive referral commission when their referrals use the WooCommerce coupons which are linked to them Option for the site admin to award lifetime commission to the affiliates for the purchases made by their referrals Separate table to capture the URLs that were accessed using an affiliate link The Conversion status of the affiliate links will be captured Separate table to capture the referral actions which got converted Option for the site admin to approve the referrals automatically/approve the referrals after review Referral commissions can be restricted for specific products/categories Option for the site admin to stop awarding the commission to the affiliate if The referred user has exceeded the number of orders specified The referred user has exceeded the amount to be spent on the site The referred user has exceeded the amount to be spent on one order Option for the site admin to allow their users to select an affiliate during checkout, so that the affiliate commission for that purchase will be awarded to that affiliate Option for the site admin to allow their affiliates to view the order details of their referrals Option for the site admin to earn commissions for the purchases made using their own affiliate links When a user uses multiple affiliate links to complete a referral action, site admin has the option to Award commission for the first affiliate Award commission for the most recent affiliate Option for the site admin to set a maximum commission amount which can be allowed for any referral action Site admin can process referral payment for their affiliates using any one of the payment methods listed below PayPal Payouts Bank Transfer Affiliate Wallet Reward Points(Requires SUMO Reward Points) Option for the site admin to attach files in the emails sent to the affiliates Option for the site admin to automatically generate and send payout statements as a PDF file in the payout emails Option for the site admin and affiliate to be notified via pushover notification for referral actions Option for the site admin to display a leaderboard of the affiliates Option for the site admin and the affiliate to view detailed reports about affiliate promotion on the site Option for the site admin to send periodic reports via email to their affiliates Option for the site admin to export the following data as CSV Affiliates Visits Referrals Payouts Option for the site admin to create promotional banners which can be used by affiliates for promoting the site Compatible with SUMO Reward Points Affiliate commissions can be awarded as Reward Points(Requires SUMO Reward Points Plugin) Compatible with SUMO Subscriptions Option for the site admin to award affiliate commission for Only initial payments Both initial and renewal payments Compatible with SUMO Payment Plans Payment plan product s affiliate commission will be awarded once the final payment for the product has been received Compatible with SUMO Pre-Orders Option for the site admin to award commission for Pay Upfront products Pay on Release products Highly customizable Extensive list of shortcodes Translation ready and more SUMO Affiliates Pro – WordPress Affiliate Plugin Please note that any digital products presented on this website do not contain malicious code, viruses or advertising. https://themesfores.com/product/sumo-affiliates-pro-wordpress-affiliate-plugin/ #AffiliatePlugin #WordpressPlugins

[passiveincomemoney]

30 Essential Image Editing Tools to Elevate Your Visual Content

In the digital age, images are a crucial part of communication, whether it's for personal expression, branding, or storytelling. With the plethora of tools available online, anyone can become a visual artist. Here's a comprehensive list of 30 tools that can help you create and edit images to perfection.

Adobe Photoshop: The industry-standard software for photo editing and manipulation.

GIMP: A free and open-source alternative to Photoshop with many similar features.

Canva: An online design tool perfect for creating social media graphics, presentations, posters, and other visual content.

Pixlr: Offers a suite of cloud-based image tools and utilities, including a photo editor and a design tool.

Figma: A vector graphics editor and prototyping tool which is web-based.

Sketch: A digital design toolkit for app, web, and interface design.

Affinity Photo: A professional photo editing software with a one-time purchase.

CorelDRAW: A graphic design software used for vector illustration and page layout.

Paint.NET: A freeware graphics editor program for Microsoft Windows, developed on the .NET Framework.

Inkscape: An open-source vector graphics editor similar to Adobe Illustrator, CorelDRAW, and Xara X.

Adobe Illustrator: A vector graphics editor and design program, widely used by graphic designers.

Gravit Designer: A full-featured vector graphic design app that works on all platforms.

PicMonkey: An online photo editing and design service that can be accessed from a web browser, or through a mobile app.

Snappa: Allows you to create online graphics in a snap with its drag-and-drop interface.

Crello: A visual editor designed for creating social media images, ad banners, posters, email headers, and other popular formats.

Vectr: A free graphics software used to create vector graphics easily and intuitively.

Lunapic: An online photo editor with several unique animated effects.

BeFunky: A user-friendly photo editor that offers an array of tools for photo editing and graphic design.

Visme: A tool for creating presentations, infographics, social media graphics, and more.

DesignBold: An online design tool for making designs in just a few clicks.

Krita: A professional, free and open-source painting program designed for digital artists.

Sumo Paint: A browser-based image editor, with all the standard features you would expect from desktop software.

Blender: An open-source 3D creation suite that supports the entirety of the 3D pipeline.

Daz 3D: A 3D scene creation and rendering application used to produce images as well as video.

Clip Studio Paint: For drawing and painting, used by artists for creating comics, illustrations, and animations.

Photopea: An advanced image editor, which can work with both raster and vector graphics.

Pablo by Buffer: A simple online design tool to create social media images quickly.

RelayThat: Helps in creating branded designs for multiple platforms at once.

Tinkercad: An easy-to-use app for 3D design, electronics, and coding.

Autodesk SketchBook: A drawing and painting solution for creative professionals, including architects and designers.

With these tools at your disposal, you can unleash your creativity and bring your ideas to life. Whether you're a professional designer or a hobbyist, there's something for everyone in this list. Dive in and explore the possibilities!

Remember, while some of these tools are free, others may require a subscription or purchase. Always choose the tool that best fits your needs and budget. Happy designing!

[myelementoblogs]

How to Add Pop-Up Forms to Your Website: A Beginner's Guide

Introduction

Pop-up forms have become a staple in the world of web design and online marketing. They are powerful tools to capture leads, engage visitors, and grow your email list. If you're a beginner wondering how to add pop-up forms to your website, you're in the right place. In this comprehensive guide, we'll walk you through the process step by step.

Understanding Pop-Up Forms

What Are Pop-Up Forms?

Pop-up forms are overlays or windows that appear on a website, typically designed to capture visitor information, such as email addresses or contact details. They can serve various purposes, including email list building, promoting special offers, highlighting newsletter subscriptions, and more.

Why Are Pop-Up Forms Important?

Pop-up forms are valuable tools for website owners and marketers for several reasons:

Lead Generation: They help collect valuable leads for email marketing campaigns.

Engagement: They capture the visitor's attention, increasing engagement.

Conversions: When used effectively, they can boost conversion rates for specific goals.

User Experience: Modern pop-up forms can be less intrusive and offer a better user experience compared to traditional pop-ups.

Choosing the Right Pop-Up Form Type

Before diving into adding pop-up forms to your website, it's essential to understand the various types available and when to use them.

Entry Pop-Ups

These pop-ups appear immediately when a user lands on a page. They can be effective for promoting time-sensitive offers or capturing attention right away.

Exit-Intent Pop-Ups

Exit-intent pop-ups detect when a visitor is about to leave your site and display a message or offer in a last-ditch effort to retain them.

Timed Pop-Ups

Timed pop-ups are triggered after a specific duration of time spent on a page. They can be useful for showcasing newsletter sign-ups or highlighting a featured product.

Scroll-Triggered Pop-Ups

These pop-ups appear when a visitor scrolls down a certain percentage of a page. They are often used for presenting relevant content or offers as the user explores your site.

Selecting a Pop-Up Form Plugin

Choosing the right pop-up form plugin is crucial for a seamless integration process. Here are some popular options:

Popular WordPress Pop-Up Plugins

OptinMonster: Known for its versatility and ease of use, OptinMonster offers a range of pop-up types, targeting options, and integration with email marketing services.

Sumo: Sumo provides a suite of marketing tools, including pop-up forms. It's user-friendly and integrates with various email marketing platforms.

Bloom (by Elegant Themes): Bloom is a WordPress plugin that focuses on email opt-ins and offers customizable pop-up designs.

Non-WordPress Options

If you're not using WordPress, consider standalone pop-up tools like:

Hello Bar: A simple yet effective tool for creating pop ups in elementor and bars.

Mailchimp: Mailchimp offers pop-up forms that integrate seamlessly with their email marketing platform.

Poptin: A versatile pop-up builder suitable for different websites, even if they're not WordPress-based.

Step-by-Step Guide to Adding Pop-Up Forms

1. Installing and Activating Your Chosen Plugin

If you're using WordPress, go to your WordPress dashboard, navigate to "Plugins," and click "Add New." Search for your chosen pop-up plugin, install it, and activate it.

2. Configuring General Settings

Access the settings panel for your chosen plugin and configure basic settings such as the display frequency and animation styles.

3. Creating Your First Pop-Up Form

Most plugins offer pre-designed templates. Select a template that aligns with your goal, and start customizing it.

4. Customizing the Design

Modify the pop-up's appearance, including colors, fonts, images, and form fields. Ensure that the design matches your website's branding.

5. Setting Display Rules

Define when and where the pop-up should appear. You can set rules based on page type, user behavior, or referral sources.

6. Integrating with Email Marketing Services

Connect your pop-up form to your email marketing platform. This step is crucial for automatically adding captured leads to your email list.

7. Testing Your Pop-Up Form

Before going live, thoroughly test your pop-up form to ensure it functions correctly on various devices and browsers.

8. Going Live

Once you're satisfied with your pop-up form's design and functionality, activate it on your website.

Best Practices for Effective Pop-Up Forms

To maximize the impact of your pop-up forms, consider the following best practices:

Timing and Frequency

Be mindful of when and how often pop-ups appear to avoid overwhelming users.

Crafting Compelling Content

Create persuasive and relevant copy and offers that encourage users to take action.

Designing for Mobile Responsiveness

Ensure that your pop-up forms look and function well on mobile devices.

A/B Testing

Continually test different elements of your pop-ups to optimize conversion rates.

Compliance with GDPR and CAN-SPAM

If you collect user data, comply with data protection regulations to maintain user trust.

Conclusion

Adding pop-up forms to your website is an excellent way to engage visitors, capture leads, and drive conversions. By following this beginner's guide and implementing best practices, you can make the most of this valuable tool in your online marketing strategy. Remember to test, analyze, and refine your pop-up forms continually to achieve optimal results and enhance the user experience on your website. Happy pop-up form building!

[efrost]

Coloring Apps Market to Observe Strong Growth to Generate Massive Revenue in Coming Years

Latest study released by AMA Research on Global Coloring Apps Market research focuses on latest market trend, opportunities and various future aspects so you can get a variety of ways to maximize your profits. Coloring Apps Market predicted until 2027*. When the rest of the world is going digital, there's no reason for Coloring to be left behind. Hence, welcome to the realm of digital coloring with these new appealing designs. Apps for Coloring The Recolor Coloring app 2022 takes coloring to the next level with its 3 Dimensional Coloring Objects, which deliver a high-quality painting experience. It includes a variety of 3-D templates in addition to the original 2-D patterns, giving  a three-dimensional coloring experience. Coloring apps have been around for quite some time. Adults performing them to reduce stress, on the other hand, is a relatively recent concept. In the current situation, it's more or less acceptable for adults and children to use a coloring app. On platforms like IOS and Android, there are a variety of coloring book apps. Many coloring applications claim to be services as well as charge on a weekly, monthly, or yearly membership basis.

Some of Key Players included in Coloring Apps Market are

Recolor (Finland)

Pixite Inc. (United States)

Shapefactory (United kingdom)

Veraxen (Cyprus)

Colorfly (United States)

Sumoing (Finland)

Fabros (Belarus)

Beresnev Games (Czech Republic)

Market Trends: Increasing Awareness Among Consumer Regarding The Benefit Of Coloring Application

Drivers: High Accuracy In Designs With Rate Of Human Error Is Minimal

Increasing Penetration Of Internet

Challenges: Device Compatibility With Coloring Application

Opportunities: Growing Demand From Emerging Economics Market Such As China, India, Brazil, Among Others

The titled segments and Market Data are Break Down by Type (Paint Mandalas, Patterns, Animals, Florals, Thematic Images), Application (Adults, Kids), Platform (PC, Tablet, Smartphone), Subscription Options (Weekly, Monthly, Yearly)Presented By

AMA Research & Media LLP

[gensokyogarden]

Oh wow! A selfie! Reimu had heard about these before! Aya must have considered her a better friend than she'd thought.

"My best leaves are my only leaves. Unfortunately, I can't afford nice tea. I can't afford much of anything. That's why I can't pay for your subscription, remember?"

When Reimu caught up to Aya she threw her own arm around the woman's shoulder, an attempt to imitate what she thought was a friendly gesture. Seeing the last of her sake in the hands of someone else was disheartening but it seemed fair in return for all the hot gossip she was about to earn. Yet it was the next thing that really caught Reimu's attention.

"Of course I want to hear about kappa wrestling! I love kappa sumo. Learning how to do it is part of learning how to fight youkai you know." Although it's much less useful now that they lack the divots in their heads. "I even heard one of the big bosses of you tengu was something of a sumo champ a few centuries ago. I wonder if the great tengu will come down from the mountain to participate!"

Her eyes were beaming with excitement. How could she have let news like this slip by her? At this point Reimu had already taken a seat at her Kotasu and was gesturing for Aya to sit on the opposite side. After all, she needed to get more kappa wrestling lore immediately.

"Oh? Ohhhhhhh? The dignified and respectable Hakurei Shrine Maiden inviting a lowly Youkai for tea~? How scandalous! I accept, of course." However Reimu may find Aya throwing her arm around her shoulder and snapping a selfie of the two of them just a mite surprising. "Consider this my contingency. Bring out your best leaves~!" With an irritatingly endearing wink, Aya strolls on into the shrine like she owned the place. Shock of shocks, right?

Continuing her trend of hospitality abuse, Aya took it upon herself to nab some snacks and a bottle of cheap sake as well. "To business, then? I doubt you're much interested in the regional Sumo Tournament the Kappa are hosting... You don't strike me as a fan of the sport. What manner of intel would strike your fancy~? Any suspicious ne'er do wells out and about? I could discuss this issue, but if you need any special tips...?"

[bltngames]

Review: Hotshot Racing

(For this review, Hotshot Racing was played on the Nintendo Switch and the Personal Computer)

If you were to ask me what the most important features of a racing game are, somewhere near the top of the list would be artificial intelligence. Racing games are one of those genres, like fighting games or shooters, where simulating how real human people play the game is vital to the experience. They are inherently multiplayer concepts, even if you’re playing by yourself.

Focus on multiplayer artificial intelligence has waned over the last 15 years. With the rise of the premium multiplayer subscription, it’s more important than ever before to drive players to play matches with flesh-and-blood human beings online. Thus, advancements in “bot” (simulated human player) development hasn’t just slowed down, but in some cases actively regressed. Epic Games, once home to some of the smartest, most robust first person shooter bots in Unreal Tournament, now features bots in their popular Fortnite Battle Royale that fumble around the map with low attention spans and aim like they're blindfolded.

Humans are hard to simulate. The basic functions of a player are easy to emulate -- navigation, aiming, and so on, but it’s the organic logic underneath that proves to be the primary challenge. Humans have lapses in judgement. Humans make mistakes. Mistakes compound on other mistakes. A person wins or loses a given game because of a constantly cascading sequence of decisions, all feeding in to and out of themselves. Whether they realize it or not, every individual person is their own infinite web of chaos. For a computer, which operates in a binary of either perfect success or total failure, no amount of processing power can make for an accurate duplication.

As such, artificial intelligence has to “cheat.” Flaws are introduced into the simulation in order to throw the player a bone. Intelligence almost doesn’t even enter the equation; instead, it’s more about developing a bot that the player simply believes is human, like some kind of a magic trick. It’s a tight balancing act -- if the bot is too good, it looks like an unfeeling terminator. On the opposite, well… compare my Fortnite example up above. There’s a sweet spot that must be hit: smart, but not too smart. Dumb, but not too dumb. It’s easier said than done.

Racing games are a special category here. On top of simulating a human, they must also simulate an automobile, with all of its physical interactions. Tire friction, suspension bounce, weight distribution, and horsepower efficiency just to start. I’d argue that this lends to a much greater tendency for natural mistakes to occur, as the two different simulations (vehicle and player) interact and bounce off of each other. This has led to racing games relying on a handicap known as “rubberbanding.” Essentially, if the player is doing a little too well, the game will start giving tiny advantages to the computer-controlled racer. A boost to top speed, a reduction in weight to improve handling, whatever it takes to ensure the player does not remain unchallenged for very long.

Which finally, at long last, brings us to Hotshot Racing. Developed by Lucky Mountain Games, with assistance by Sumo Digital, it attempts to capitalize on the growing faux-retro-3D trend. It promises visuals to remind you of Sega’s Virtua Racing or Namco’s Ridge Racer, but with decidedly modern vehicle physics and a bit more content than any of those old games could muster.

It honestly makes for a weird first impression. This is a retro-looking game that does not feel like any retro racing game I’ve ever played. Some would undoubtedly argue that’s for the better; like with most sports games, there’s this sense that more simulation is always better. Even modern “arcade” racers like Need for Speed or Wreckfest run pretty robust physics simulations under their hoods, even if they do not necessarily adhere to the rules of reality. But I’ve honestly never seen a problem with this -- I will readily go back to something like Daytona USA or even Stunt Race FX on the Super Nintendo, and never feel especially bothered by their primitive simulations. To me, racing is often more about the sense of speed, how well the controls respond, and the track design than any notion of feeling “realistic.”

That’s not to say it’s really a negative that cars in Hotshot Racing have some vague facsimile of modern weight and “realism” applied to their driving physics, I guess. It’s just something that takes a little bit of getting used to, because seeing these cars drift and sway like the racing games of today is a little anachronistic to the era being called back to. If you still burn a candle for the eventual release of the long-lost Kickstarter darling “90’s Arcade Racer,” know that this isn’t that game. I think it’s fair to say it’s trying to scratch a similar itch, but it’s doing so in a very different way.

One of the more important things Hotshot Racing brings to the table is a roster of personalities to race as and against. When you think of characters in a racing game, your mind probably more naturally gravitates towards something like Mario Kart or some other similarly kid-friendly cartoon racing franchise. For most "serious" racing games, your opponents are unknowable, faceless competitors, but Hotshot gives them voices and identities. Every character in the game has a garage of four cars unique to them, in addition to having their own story to tell. It’s nothing especially deep; most plot manifests in a single cutscene played at the end of a given grand prix, sort of like what you'd get for finishing arcade mode in a game like Street Fighter 2. It’s just a snippet, a taste of what motivated these people and what they’re going to do after winning, but it’s enough.

It goes back to what I said earlier, and how it’s important for the player to believe the artificial intelligence is more than just a computer. Making the racers into characters, with identifiable personalities, faces, and dialog goes a long way to fleshing things out and makes you connect with what’s going on just a little bit better. Or at least, that’s how things would work in theory.

The problem is… well, none of that matters. Put simply, the actual artificial intelligence you race against kind of sucks. In fact, it’s hard to even call them competitors, because your opponents seem to be running a different race where you straight up don’t exist. During any given event, your rival computer drivers seem to be totally blind to your presence, as they will spend the entire race trying to drive straight through you. I don’t know how else to explain it. This isn’t a simple case where the computer drivers are a little aggressive, because they usually aren’t racing to be destructive. They never seem to specifically go out of their way to attack, they just don’t seem to be able to see where you are, and make no effort to react to your presence. You happen to be in their way, so they plow through from behind, ram from the side, and generally just knock you around as if you were invisible.

A side effect to this is something I’ve started noticing in games that bear the Sumo Digital name: computer drivers can hit you way harder than you can hit them back. Whether rubbing against a rival car or engaging in a full-on collision, computer drivers always seem to be able to overpower player vehicles no matter what. In Hotshot Racing, I’ve encountered multiple scenarios where a computer driver shoves me around with little effort, but any attempts to return the favor and my car may as well be made out of styrofoam for how little impact there is. I know Sumo Digital only assisted Lucky Mountain Games on the back half of developing Hotshot Racing, but this has been a consistent element I’ve noticed in Sumo’s Sonic Racing games, too. The computer can be as aggressive (or as blind) as they want, but human players are never allowed to retaliate in a way that feels meaningful.

The worst, by far, is what I mentioned earlier: rubberbanding. “First place” in Hotshot Racing is an often endless war of attrition, where no matter how fast you drive, there are always cars nipping at your heels. Hotshot Racing has a boost system, wherein by drifting or drafting you charge up a segmented meter. Once a segment is full, you can burn it for a burst of speed. I’ve spent 2, 3, even 4 consecutive boosts in a row and the same three opponents were still right behind me, aiming to blindly smash my car out of the way. Hard, medium, or easy mode, it doesn’t matter. They are always there, just a few feet from your rear bumper, magically closing the distance to constantly steal your lead.

From a game design perspective, I understand why rubberbanding exists. It’s to keep the player feeling challenged and engaged. Spending too long in first place going unopposed can start to feel boring. Some game designers view that as a turn off. Races are meant to be battles. At the same time, being able to totally shut out my opponents and gain huge leads makes me feel good. Hotshot Racing robs you of that sense of total domination because of some artificial rule of competitiveness. It’s not that the computer-controlled racers are better than you; they don’t seem to race with any sort of great care or skill. Instead, they catch up and pass you strictly because the Hand of God bends the rules to accommodate them. That doesn’t feel very challenging and it certainly doesn’t feel fair.

That being said, the pseudo-realistic physics mentioned earlier do have their own downside: I found it a little too easy to lose control of my vehicle and spin out. If you brush against a wall wrong or get bumped by a rival during a drift, you often find yourself in a tailspin and unable to recover. Combined with the blind artificial intelligence and the rubberbanding, you have a recipe for getting frustrated. I want to feel confident in my losses, not because I couldn’t predict what Mr. Magoo was going to do next. To add insult to injury, the rubberbanding only gets more prominent as you move up in difficulty, so expect to get spun out more and more as you progress through the game.

There also isn’t a lot to do with your vehicles, either. For many, tuning is an important aspect of racing games, going all the way back to 1989’s “Super Off Road” in the arcades. No upgrade path is available for any of the vehicles in Hotshot Racing, with a basic unlock system geared towards limited cosmetic tweaks. There's tons of tracks to race on, and you constantly earn currency for winning races, but I never cared about spending any of it, because there wasn't much worth buying. Arguably the specific mid-90′s era that Hotshot Racing is aiming at wasn’t really heavy on upgrading or modifying around vehicle stats, but neither were they focused on visual customization either, so it does feel a little arbitrary what they chose to modernize about this experience and what is intended to be a retro tribute.

Beyond standard racing, Hotshot does offer a few alternative modes, but none of them are spotlight features. “Barrel Barrage” has you earning an explosive barrel to drop behind you at every checkpoint until the track becomes a minefield. “Drive or Explode” takes the concept of 1994’s “Speed” and straps a bomb to your car that will explode if you slow down for too long. Finally, “Cops & Robbers” is a confusing push-and-pull where you must steal money as a robber and alternatively wreck other racers as a police officer. Of the three modes, “Drive or Explode” is the clear winner, as it most easily fits into the standard three-lap structure the game centers around. “Barrel Barrage” is merely okay, and benefits more from an increased number of laps, as things slowly get more and more dangerous as you progress. These modes would also benefit if I didn’t get thrown back to the menu after every race; they really needed some kind of Grand-Prix-style playlist.

“Cops & Robbers” deserves its own entire paragraph for what a weird idea it is. It’s less about stealing and arresting and has more in common with the “zombie” modes seen in other games, where everyone gets converted to a specific team until there are no more players left. The idea is that you start with a pot of money that slowly depletes, and you have to race to the next checkpoint to cash out. The faster you get there and the higher amounts you cash out with, the more the cops specifically will target you. Once they wreck your car, you become one of the cops, and it’s your job to wreck the remaining robbers until they all become part of the cop team. Once all the robbers become cops, winners are tallied based on who stole the most money. On paper, this works, because it plays into the game’s slap-happy nature, but in practice I would find myself miles ahead of my fellow robbers and once I finally switched over to a cop, I had to slam on my brakes and wait for everyone else to catch up. By then, the computer-controlled cops had usually done most of my work for me and I lost for... being a better robber than a cop, somehow? It left a lot to be desired.

All of these modes can be played online, where presumably human players would make them more balanced and fun, but finding random pick-up games proved difficult in the time I spent with Hotshot Racing. Now, to be fair, I didn’t try especially hard -- racing games have always been a single player experience for me, as should be obvious by my spiel on artificial intelligence. But I did spend a couple nights trying to match into an online “Quick Race” on the Switch, where I universally came up empty handed. On the PC version of Hotshot Racing (which I received as part of a Humble Bundle), the application completely froze upon trying to start a “Quick Race” lobby, forcing me to ALT+F4 to close the game. For what it’s worth, the Switch version does also include a “local multiplayer” option for playing wirelessly with friends in the same room, and all versions support traditional split-screen.

Despite all of these shortcomings, I just can’t bring myself to hate Hotshot Racing, and it’s hard to pinpoint why. I’m definitely in love with this aesthetic -- the retro visuals, the upbeat music, the blue, blue skies (that I see), it all appeals to a certain part of my brain that likes razor-sharp, ultra-clean polygons. The introduction of named racers with backstories and character-specific “endings” is a really smart, fun idea. I just wish it was more fun to actually, like… run a race in this game. I understand the necessity behind concepts like rubberbanding, but it feels like the artificial intelligence cheats just a little too much, and as a player I don’t feel like I can do a lot to fight back. Running a good race isn’t always good enough.

Some games deliberately incite a feeling of disempowerment in their players, and that can be a totally valid design decision. But should that really be the goal of this kind of racing game? I guess I don’t have an answer for that, but I do know that I probably won’t be going back to Hotshot Racing very often.

[fremmedsprak]

Norwegian here! I saw you talking about calendars and I just couldn’t stop myself haha

I recommend «The julekalender»! It’s about nisser who speak a mix of English and Norwegian, and it might be useful bc they translate a lot directly which can be helpful to sentence structure and sayings etc. Although it is trøndersk dialect, which might be a little hard.

My aunt is Chinese and she absolutely loves it bc she identifies with the mixing of the two languages! It’s old, classic and cozy. The same three actors play two characters each.

It airs on TV2 Zebra, so you might need a TV2 Sumo subscription though.

Others on NRK: Exit, Kampen om tungtvannet, familien Ingebrigtsen, Helene sjekker inn

Xx

ahhhhh more julekalender!!! 

also people??? i’ve been learning norwegian for 4 (??) years how come it’s the first year every one is telling me about this??? 

[fly-pow-bye]

See It Firsts for 9/4/2020

Apologies for forgetting about this until now, but Cartoon Network does indeed have some See It Firsts today. Only one show, Ben 10 2016, but there’s either 7 or 8 episodes depending on how one looks at the first two parter. Here they are:

Tokyo Fun Part 1: Big Bugg Bash - While in Tokyo, Team Tennyson comes face to face with a horrible secret, Japan's hottest new restaurant is being run by the Bugg Brothers as a nefarious scheme to make loads of money off an unsuspecting public.

Tokyo Fun Part 2: Slamming It Up - While on a visit to the Sumo Slammers Amusement Park in Tokyo, Team Tennyson gets to watch a genuine sumo wrestling match as part of the Global Games, but when the mischievous Twain Twins crash the event to avenge their mother's medal snub years earlier, Ben must think things through if he is to stop the polarizing family!

Growing Up is Hard to Do - Ben and Gwen are stoked to enter a skating competition, but when Nanny Nightmare shows up to teach the skater kids some manners by turning them into babies, it's up to Team Tennyson to up their game if they are to have any chance at saving the day.

The Hex Factor - When Hex mistakes an exclusive magic club for a top-secret Wizard society that snubbed him, Ben has to figure out how to work around the club's strict code of conduct to stop him without getting booted by security.

Sweet Tooth - While on a trip to the dentist's office, a paranoid Ben grows uneasy over the dentist's odd behavior and goes into hiding, but when his suspicions prove right, and the dentist transforms into the monstrous Toothache, Ben must pull himself together if he is to save the day!

Medieval Upheaval - When Steam Smythe 'time travels' his way into a Renaissance Faire and kidnaps Max, Ben and Gwen must defeat him without breaking character.

Speed of Sound - Team Tennyson participates in the inaugural ride of the Sonitrain, the fastest train in the world, but when the conductor turns out to be Lord Decibel, Ben must derail his master plan if he is to save his family and the passengers on board the runaway train.

Xingo's World - Ben, Gwen, and Grandpa Max are on the road again and are supposed to be taking in the beautiful sights, but Ben refuses to put his video games away. Only the unexpected return of Xingo can spur him into action and teach him that the real world is just as important as any virtual one!

If one has a cable or satellite subscription, they can check them out. Stay tuned.

[parakeet]

How do you shiny hunt in swsh? I might be getting shield for christmas and if i do i wanna get on shiny hunting earlier than i did with moon

shiny hunting in swsh is way less fun than in sumo in my opinion. in swsh the more of the same species you defeat the higher ur shiny odds. once you hit 500 of a pokemon defeated ur odds are maxed and you can just run away from that pokemon

 heres a table 

masuda method is better bc if you have two parents from two different languages every egg is already max odds (1/683 or 1/512 with the shiny charm) but bare in mind you can’t use wonder trade or online stuff without a nintendo online subscription this time round

[elitexfourxlucian-archive]

((So I have tried Pokemon Home and made a 1 month subscription.

Here are my onions:

1) Only five of the pokemon I brought over from two of my many 3ds games are allowed in SwSh. All the Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova, and Kalos starters are a no go. I did not try any of them from SuMo yet.

2) All Mythicals except for Celebi, Mew, Jirachi, Keldo are unable to be transferred to SwSh.

3) So far only Inkay can be brought over, from the mons I transferred.

4) If you brought in Pokemon Home to port old mons from gens 7 and before, and are making people pay money to do this, only to find out that most are STILL BANNED/UNABLE TO BE BROUGHT INTO THE GAME, then what the hell is even the point?

5) Do we have to wait for the expansion pack to go through in order to bring them over, or are they still gonna be banned?

tl;dr: Not too happy that I wasted money, but at least the subscription is for one month and I can cancel.

Did I also mention that once you bring them to Home, you can’t bring them back? :) ))

[askmerriauthor]

Pokemon SwSh Thoughts - Post Game

So I’ve finished Pokemon Sword’s primary content.  All that’s left is to finish up the PokeDex and drive myself insane trying to whip up all the variations of Alcremie.  That, and delaying buying an online subscription for as long as possible before I bother with trading to get the other game’s exclusives.  Here’s some thoughts on the game after the fact:

Pokemon SwSh really needed to come out in late 2020, period.  I’ve enjoyed the game so far, but I’ve played it for about a week without putting in too much time/effort grinding and I’ve already done pretty much everything there is to do.  I had my Starter leveled up to 100 before I even left the Wild Area for the very first time.  The pacing and content depth of this game are pretty much non-existent, whereas the majority of the effort has clearly been put toward refining the competitive combat development.  That’s great for those players who really like the battle system, but not so much for those of us who like story and broader gameplay elements.

Pro - Streamlined Gameplay One thing I’ve wanted in Pokemon for ages has been the ability to skip tutorials.  I understand the necessity of having them, as every game that comes out is going to be some player’s first and their presence is for that player.  But at least having the option to skip them for us old hats would be nice.  SwSh does that!  I was delighted to discover that the game allows you to bypass tutorials with a simple yes/no prompt when a new element is introduced.  How to catch Pokemon, type match-ups, how to heal at Pokemon Centers, and so forth - all the stuff previous games led us through by the nose has been made optional this time around.

I’ve seen some people saying that this game holds the player’s hand too much as it leads us from one gameplay element to the next and doesn’t let us progress at our own leisure.  To some degree this is true, but it’s far less egregious than in previous games, such as SuMo.  There’s yet to be a good balance between giving the player free reign and giving them enough guidance to ensure we never feel lost, but this has been an inoffensive example as far as I’m concerned.  The game does end up feeling rather railroaded, but I don’t necessarily consider that a fault of hand-holding. I’ll get to this matter later on.

Pro - The Style Galar is a very pretty region and the game makes good use of the Switch’s higher capacity to produce excellent backdrops for the player to explore.  Many of the Pokemon have charming animations (Falinks is my favorite on this respect).  The towns are all really well-designed in terms of visuals, especially compared to the bare-bones looks of older generations.  I feel like there could have been more, but what we got is still great.

Pro - Implications in Lore Those of you who know me know how much I love lore and world building.  Pokemon, as a franchise, is ripe with opportunity to examine its lore to the most tiny and obscure detail, so any new addition to the franchise is welcome on that front.  Galar has some pretty fascinating nuggets to contribute.

I love that the League in Galar, as well as competitive Pokemon Training in general, is treated like a career sport.  In specific, I love that this view and practice is exclusive to Galar - I wouldn’t like it at all if the entire franchise shifted to this angle, but it works great for a one-off region.  I like that Kabu specifically relocated himself from Hoenn to join the sports league as it doesn’t exist in his home region.  The Champion being a sort of major celebrity/superhero, the way Gym Leaders can recruit proteges or even inheritors of their rank from among contenders, the sort of clique all the Gym Leaders have with one another - it’s a really neat dynamic.  I also like the notion that actually completing the Gym Challenge isn’t something common and most Trainers who try rarely make it even halfway through.  That’s an interesting contrast to other regions where collecting Gym Badges seems almost as a given and the League itself is considered the real challenge, or where the whole endeavor is designed to be finished as a matter of course, like in Alola.

There’s also some really neat additions to the overall lore brought in from the Pokemon Masters mobile game.  While its place in canon is questionable, it does specifically mention Galar in a few places.  The idea that Pokemon who do not appear in the current Dex are banned from Galar by customs (perhaps identified as potentially dangerous/invasive species) is an interesting one.  So is the claim that Iris - the Champion of Unova in BW2 - is a cousin of Leon and Hop.  I love it when there are connections amid titles like that as it really helps build a more unified setting.

-Edit-: Darn, apparently those screenshots were fakes.  Strike that positive from the list, I suppose.

Mixed Pro/Con - The Availability of Pokemon and the Wild Area I’m not talking about Dexit - I have my own thoughts on that explained elsewhere and frankly don’t think it’s going to end up as bad as everyone is fretting over in the long run.  No, in this particular case I’m focused on the availability of Pokemon that are in the game itself.

To put it simply... it’s too easy.  I know that filling out the PokeDex isn’t supposed to be a huge challenge, but I’ve gotten the majority of it done - evolved forms, item-reliant forms, gender/size/color variations included - with pretty much no effort whatsoever.  I like the idea of the Wild Area in principle but what it ends up being in practice is lacking.  It’s too easy to just hoover up Pokemon at a breakneck pace, which leads to other zones and the Wild Area itself becoming pretty much immediately obsolete.  I have no need to return to them once I’ve gotten everything I need and there’s not enough general content to urge me to visit again.

The Wild Area itself is a big open sandbox that you can roam around in, which is nice compared to more linear zones in past games.  Galar has its railroad routes, but they’re brief (aside from the obligatory overlong water route, which even then is still quite a lot smaller than other regions’ have been).  However, it’s just that - a big open sandbox.  You can wander through it very easily and even traipse into the “high level” zones without fear because you can see all the Pokemon coming and give them a wide berth to avoid them.  There aren’t any obstacles or challenges within the Wild Area itself, and the game makes it supremely easy to find Pokemon even under specific weather/time conditions, which I feel is a missed opportunity.  I would have rather the Wild Area been MUCH bigger and more involved, full of places to explore and puzzles to solve.  Similarly, I would rather that Pokemon were more difficult to come by as well - that a greater deal of effort would have been put toward tracking and discovering certain harder-to-find Pokemon, with more in-game detective work to find your prize.

Mixed Pro/Con - The Characters The ensemble cast of new Gym Leaders are great - I enjoy the majority of them and frankly want more interactions, more encounters, just more in general.  That’s sort of the problem though - I want more.  The game itself criminally under-utilizes these characters, especially compared to how much more involved and explored Gym Leaders have been in recent games.  There is precious little content using the Gym Leaders here in Galar as it stands and I constantly found myself wanting them to hang out longer and have the chance to learn more about them.  Their League Cards are a neat little addition full of interesting tidbits about their histories, natures, and relationships with each other, but I would MUCH rather have gotten to see all that play out in the game itself rather than read it as a flavor blurb.

On the con side of this, however, is the fact that all of the characters are extremely one-dimensional.  We’ve been seeing a steady increase in the depth and development of supporting characters in the games since BW onward, with SuMo arguably having the most to date.  The overall characterization in SwSh is incredibly lacking by comparison as we don’t get nearly enough time to be with the cast, nor is the cast given the chance to present more than one note per.  Nobody has any sort of emotional growth or development.  The closest thing to a character arc in the game is Hop’s acceptance of the idea that he’s not going to be the Champion, but it doesn’t have anywhere near as much punch as it could and is over in the blink of an eye compared to how he spends THE ENTIRE GAME repeating the same “I’m gonna be the Champion/Hokage/Pirate King!” spiel every time he’s on screen.

Con - Dynamaxing and Max Raid Battles I’m not really on board with the whole “Mega-Evolution is best! No more gimmicks!” train because that’s just silly to me.  Every game has its gimmick and the way Pokemon gradually picks up tricks and traits from its past versions to consolidate into newer titles is one of its strengths.  That said, Dynamaxing is worthless and a pointless addition to the game, both in presentation and practice.

The visual of a Pokemon going kaiju is a neat concept and one I was initially intrigued by, but in practice it falls flat because it’s as thin as cardboard.  It’s just Mega-Evolution and Z-Moves smooshed together with an additional 3 round time limit tacked on.  All it functionally does is buff your Pokemon’s HP pool and add additional weather/status effects to certain attacks, but in some cases the Dynamax versions of attacks are actually weaker/less useful than their base form.  In Gym Battles all the way through the final League fight with Leon, I didn’t bother with Dynamaxing because my Pokemon were strong enough to not need it.  I could one-shot Dynamaxed Pokemon with ease using a non-Dynamaxed Pokemon and that really shows a flaw in the design if ever there was one.  Dynamaxing doesn’t add or improve anything vital to gameplay - it’s just fluff.

Max Raid Battles as found in the Wild Area are even worse.  For those of you who don’t know, these are instanced battles against a Dynamaxed/Gigantamaxed wild Pokemon where you team up with three other players/NPCs.  If you win, you get a bunch of useful items and have the chance to catch the wild Pokemon as well, which is the only way you can get certain Gigantamax-capable Pokemon reliably.

The issue with these Max Raid Battles is that they’re an absolute slog.  In the early stages of the game they’re all super easy to the point that I could solo them and thus gathered mountains of EXP-boosting candies, which let me overlevel my Pokemon beyond reason.  Since the whole “your Pokemon is too high level and won’t listen to you” thing apparently doesn’t apply to Starters and special Event Pokemon, I was able to max-level and run rampant across all opposition with my Starter and my special “thanks for buying early” Meowth.  HOWEVER.  The difficulty scale of the Max Raid Battles increases with your game progress, so by the time I finished the game and went back into the Wild Area, the Max Raid Battles’ difficulty had ramped up.  That’s an okay compromise on its face, but the manner in which the difficulty has increased is poor game design.  The battles aren’t any harder, they just take longer - the wild Pokemon has more HP,  tosses up a few rounds of shields to soak damage at the start and again halfway through the fight, and purges stat boosts from the player and party throughout the battle.  It just makes the fights a pain in the ass to get through rather than making them more challenging or fun, and it’s gotten to the point that I don’t even bother with them anymore.  They’re just not worth the trouble, not even for the sake of trying to farm EXP candies because, at this point in the game, all Pokemon in the Wild Area scale up to level 60+ and thus are perfectly serviceable as EXP farming fodder themselves.

On a lore side of things, Dynamaxing is really confusing.  There’s the whole visual aspect of the Pokemon growing to giant sizes and sometimes changing their appearances, and there’s these massive arenas built to facilitate the whole thing.  But the game itself goes out of its way to impress the fact that the Pokemon aren’t actually getting bigger.  They just appear to grow in size and haven’t actually physically changed themselves so Dynamaxing is more like a giant hard light holographic projection than anything else?  It’s just a really weird design choice to have made and I don’t understand why it was included.

Con - The Writing So, writing is very important to me.  It’s literally been my job for the past decade with various game studios.  I don’t consider myself any sort of literary snob as I feel there’s a place for schlock right alongside masterpieces - they all serve a specific purpose and fulfill a particular hunger the reader would like satisfied.

That said, SwSh’s writing is abysmal.

Right on the face, there’s not enough of it.  The game is criminally short and light on content, which directly impacts its pacing.  Remember earlier when I mentioned that things felt railroaded?  That’s because there’s not enough story to rest on - it all flies by as fast as can be, forcing the player along a very narrow and brief chain of events that don’t feel consequential at all.  Further, the player has no agency in events whatsoever.  It’s not the player’s story - it’s Hop’s story.  We’re the supporting role to his journey, shallow as that arc may be.  Hop is the one who initiates the events of the game without our input as a character and then we spend the entire game following him around, or being pushed into the next event by other characters who are facilitating Hop.  At no point is the player ever given the chance to express their own characterization, motivation, or even opinions.  Nearly every two-choice dialogue option that appears boils down to “Yes” or “Slightly More/Less Enthusiastic Yes”, which is a huge downgrade from the genuine negative responses and NPC reactions that were present in SuMo.

In terms of overall plot, SwSh has pretty much the same level of depth and complexity as the original Red/Blue titles, and that is as scathing a criticism in this modern age as I can possibly imagine.  The whole story is “run in a circle, collect badges, fight vaguely present villainous threat, fight league.”  We are actively forced from one gym fight to the next with no time to breathe, no story-focused events in between, and not even any chance to appreciate the gym, its leader, or even the towns they take place in.  It’s one and done - once you’ve got the badge there’s no reason to hang around and the story shuffles us along quickly as can be.  I mean that literally in some cases - there are hints of a greater plot at hand with Sonia investigating the history of Galar’s legends and the potential machinations of mega-corporate mogul Chairman Rose.  But each time those are broached in game play, the game pushes the player off-screen and says “Well, that’s not something you need to worry about.  Go get another badge!”  I mean, LITERALLY!  There’s a point where The Plot begins to kick in where Pokemon begin to spontaneously Dynamax and cause havoc, which is the narrative queue for the player to become involved and for the story to reveal a new facet.  But when that happens, Leon LITERALLY says “leave this to the adults, you just focus on your Gym Challenge” and runs off-screen to handle it himself.  It would be a good narrative subversion if it led up to things eventually getting out of hand and the player getting roped into things, or the player having the ability to defy such warnings and interject themselves into danger.  But that doesn’t happen - the game just forces us to focus on the Gym Challenge alone and keeps all the actual plot of the game off-screen away from us.  This is very poor narrative design and game design alike, and it all comes to nothing because we’re forced to clean up everything in the end anyway by battling the villain and legendaries as per usual.

Though I should also point out that there’s no villain in this game.

But what about Team Yell and Chairman Rose, I hear you ask?  They’re not villains, both literally and figuratively respectively.  Team Yell never really does anything other than act as brief gate locking elements throughout the game until you finish the Gym you’re at, then they bounce off to the next part of the route they’re set to block.  They don’t do anything bad and, as it’s later revealed, they’re actually just a bunch of Spikemuth Gym staffers who are posing as hooligans to support Marnie.  They’re literally not villains and, once you beat the Spikemuth Gym, they actually become supporting characters who cheer for the player character and help out against the actual supposed villain of the game.

The actual “villain” of the game is Chairman Rose and his assistant Oleana.  However, they’re only villains because the script says they are.  They don’t actually do anything bad throughout the entire game nor is there any indication that they have some sort of grand master plan.  The most we get is some unusual happenings like small quakes and explosions in the distance, but the game never allows us any chance to investigate - we’re just shoved off toward the next Gym each time.  So when Chairman Rose is finally revealed to be the Big Bad, it comes completely out of left field and seems to happen for no reason whatsoever.  Further, IT IS FOR NO REASON WHATSOEVER.  Chairman Rose’s plan and goal is never explained in depth - all we get is the vague indication that he believes that Galar isn’t sustainable and there will be an inevitable energy crisis in about 1,000 years, and somehow his EVIL SCHEME will fix it.  But, like, even Leon flat-out says “I understand your concern but you’re being hasty, this doesn’t need to be rushed, chill out for five seconds and let’s figure this out reasonably”.  Instead Rose interrupts the Champion match and announces his EVIL SCHEME on global broadcast for literally no good reason.  There was no dire immediacy that required him to do it right then and there, or in that manner, but the plot needed to move us along so that’s how it goes.

It really doesn’t help that, prior to all this, there’s absolutely no indication at all that Rose nor Oleana are bad guys.  They’re just business folk who appear to have nothing but good intentions and support for Leon, with the other adults of the cast all happily trusting them.  There is nothing to make them seem suspicious in practice and they offer no reason to doubt them at all, so them suddenly being the bad guys is just confusing.  Further, how the player is first introduced to the concept of them being antagonists is easily the most ridiculous logic jump and overreaction I’ve seen since the old Adam West Batman television show.  So get this: after a battle, Leon says he’ll meet Player and Hop for dinner to celebrate.  Player and Hop wait for Leon, but he never shows up.  Another NPC explains that Leon was called in for a last-minute meeting by Chairman Rose (who is his boss and has made such requests of Leon’s time throughout the game, as I feel is important to point out) and apologizes for having to miss the dinner plans.  Simple enough sort of situation, right?  The sort of thing that any reasonable person would shrug and say “Well, that sucks but okay, let’s go eat on our own then” to, right?  So what happens here instead?

The Player, Hop, Marnie, and her Gym Leader brother GATHER A SMALL MOB AND STORM CHAIRMAN ROSE’S BUSINESS HQ, FIGHTING THEIR WAY THROUGH SECURITY.

I mean, escalation much?  We all have smartphones - just send Leon a text, for goodness’ sake.  I’m playing through these events constantly going “why the hell are we doing this and why is everyone acting like it’s some sort of dire emergency?”.  And do you know what happens when we finally kick down the doors to Chairman Rose’s office?  We find Chairman Rose and Leon quietly having a peaceful chat, after which Leon apologizes for having to cancel the dinner plans and we all walk out together like nothing happened.  It was just this huge, needless overreaction that has no consequence and that neither Rose nor Leon even bat an eye at.  We, as the players, learn absolutely nothing of importance and are back on the Gym Challenge immediately with no functional changes to the narrative.

Like... what was the point of that?!  How was that the best option to try and put Chairman Rose and his underlings into the role of antagonists for us to oppose?

So what is Chairman Rose’s EVIL SCHEME anyway?  Basically he wants to provide Galar with renewable clean energy which... uh... is bad?  Somehow?  Apparently he plans to use a Legendary Pokemon called Eternatus - apparently the source of Dynamaxing - which is literally never mentioned at any point in the game except precisely when it’s time to fight/capture it, nor does fighting/capturing it have any impact on the story or setting.  You would think that the player being in control of a massive Eldritch horror that has UNLIMITED POWER at its disposal would be something of a sticking point somewhere in the story, but no.  Eternatus and Rose’s plan are never mentioned until precisely the time you need to deal with them, and once that’s done they’re both never mentioned again.  Done and done all in one.  No gradual seeding of information, no hints and clues throughout the game, no development of lore - just wham, bam, thank you ma’am and off we go.

Y’know, call me silly but in a game that has undertones referencing climate change, extinction of animal species, and criticisms against capitalism run amok, is it really a good idea to depict the guy advocating for clean energy to be bad?  That feels like a missed mark to me.

The post-game plot, should one bother to call it that, is just inane.  It basically boils down to a pair of one-shot baddies who show up and say ���Ha ha! We’re rich and that means we’re better than everyone! Watch as we cause trouble for vague reasons, get hoist by our own petard, and then fuck off forever! Byeeeee~!”  The post-game is completely pointless and doesn’t add anything of value at all.  Which, again, compare to older games like ORAS’ post-game expansion content and it’s nothing but a damn shame.

SwSh’s writing is shallow and limited at best, with one-dimensional characters, no genuine conflict or resolution, terrible pacing, and repetitive elements that boomerang around over and over and over again to the point of annoyance.  Compared to what we’ve seen Pokemon achieve in earlier titles like BW, ORAS, and SuMo, it makes it all the more obvious that SwSh was not given ANYWHERE near the time and love it needed in development and is a massive downgrade in that respect.

Con - Lots of Style, No Substance To wrap all this up - I enjoyed playing SwSh as much as I did any other early Pokemon game.  I think that, as a first installment on a new system, it’s fine.  That’s all - it’s just fine.  It’s serviceable as a means of establishing the franchise onto the Switch and completing its move off purely-mobile mediums like the Gameboy and 3DS.  It’s pretty to look at and has a superficial level of engagement, but its prettiness and level of content very quickly reveal themselves to be only skin deep.  Once you get past the initial gloss there’s really nothing to this game compared to the content, involvement, and writing quality displayed in past titles on lesser-powered systems.  The towns are all pretty but there’s nothing to do in any of them aside from a Gym battle - there’s no additional fun to be had in each location, making them little more than set pieces.  The characters have initial appeal and potential for more, but the game never explores them at all.  There’s room for a bigger narrative and interesting story with the elements presented, but no opportunity to actually see them fleshed out.  The Wild Area seems big and involved at first, but as soon as you’ve gone around its loop once or twice you suddenly realize how small and compartmentalized it really is, and it lacks any reason to revisit in the end game.  The major game play function - Dynamaxing/Gigantamaxing - is little more than a novelty that is basically irrelevant to gameplay itself and, in an absolutely baffling decision by the folk behind the official competitive scene, is actually somehow banned from being used in competitions?  Like, not even “we’ve disabled the Dynamax button in online” but rather “if the competitive Pokemon you’ve spent so much time perfectly constructing has a Gigantamax form, it will not even be allowed access at all, so you better have an identical non-Gigantamax version on hand if you want to play”.  So, what exactly is the point of even having Gigantamax Pokemon then?

Everything about SwSh seems half-baked.  The ideas are there but they aren’t finished.  It should have been given much more development time and, having been in the position of the creative/dev team under demands from the shareholders, I completely sympathize with Game Freak’s devs in all this.  SwSh is ultimately a weak product but one with a lot of good ideas that weren’t given the chance to really shine.  As such, I’ve got rather high hopes for the next installment to improve on the unfortunately thin foundation SwSh has set.  Game Freak’s team has given us some amazing Pokemon games in the past and, assuming they’re given sufficient time and resources to make a title to their satisfaction, I have every confidence they’ll do so again.