#THE MORE THE GAME UPDATES AND ADDS MORE TO IT

[when-life-gives-you-lemons-if]

Public Update WLGYLemons

This is the update with everything I've worked on this month. There are quite a few unfinished scenes, but I'm happy with the progress I've made. The unfinished scenes are marked, and for some, I've already started the intros to set the tone.

There are so many scenes I still want to add to earlier chapters of Lemon, but I'll tackle that next month.

Please report any bugs, typos, or errors you come across. As of now, the game is around 530,000 words, and I haven't even added all the endings I want yet! 😭

Lastly, keep in mind that the Patreon version does not offer a huge amount of extra content—just a little.

Thank you all for your support. 💕

[romanceclubofficial]

Dear friends, we would like to inform you about our progress with the update. 🔧

We are almost done with it and are just a few days away from releasing it to you. We know that you're looking forward to reading your favorite episodes, and we promise that we're working as hard as we can to reunite you with your favorite characters as soon as possible. 

This update will include many new game features, including the ability to add friends to your profile and send them gifts and messages, new achievements and milestones, and a number of limited-edition items (available immediately in our store or soon, in a future update, also able to be unlocked for free by collecting resources) that will bring extra surprises! 🌟

This was a very ambitious project that we undertook in the hope of making your holiday season more fun and joyful, and we apologize if this delay has caused you any inconvenience. 

Please be assured that the update after this will arrive at the originally expected time, so the wait between episodes will actually be shorter. ⏳

Releasing the episodes without the new features is not technically possible in this case so we ask for a little more of your patience until we have everything ready for you to enjoy. Thank you for playing Romance Club! ❤️

[satoshi-mochida]

Bug Fables: The Everlasting Sapling version 1.2 update now available - Gematsu

Publisher Dangen Entertainment and developer Moonsprout Games have released the version 1.2 update for adventure RPG Bug Fables: The Everlasting Sapling in celebration of the game’s fifth anniversary, the companies announced.

The update adds the following content:

-Fishing in The Fishing Village – Catch worms and reel in some fun!

-New Post-Game Boss Fight – Face off against the heroes of legend in B.O.S.S. mode!

-Team Up with Allies – Watch allies you support join you through a new special medal!

-11 New Medals – Expand your strategies with even more new gameplay-altering medals!

-New Items to Discover – Scattered across the overworld, waiting for explorers to find.

-One New Music Track – A brand-new addition to Bugaria’s already beloved soundtrack.

Vi’s Beemerang now has an option to lock angles to the nearest eight cardinal directions in battle.

A grace period added after falling droplets allows for easier freezing.

Various language fixes, minor balance and bug resolutions, and more!

“This update is a love letter to the incredible Bug Fables community,” DANGEN Enertainment said in a press release. “For those who have already journeyed through the world of Bugaria, this update offers a perfect excuse to return. And for newcomers, there has never been a better time to jump in and experience the award-winning adventure for the first time.”

Bug Fables: The Everlasting Sapling is available now for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC via Steam, GOG, and itch.io.

Watch a new trailer below.

Version 1.2 Update Trailer

[kafus]

hey, thanks for asking! i tend to play on original carts the most so i completely forgot to document this. i’ll add it this info to the webpage as well in a bit, but essentially:

1. yes! save files from cartridges and virtual console are nearly identical. if you upload a VC save file, the machine should work with it

2. the answer to that is a little more complicated: yes, but with some drawbacks. because these event pokemon were never actually distributed to VC, they are technically not legal event pokemon for VC. some pokemon can still be sent through bank anyway though, just with these restrictions:

- pokemon with special moves they can’t usually get, AKA the majority of the egg events, need to have the special move removed from their moveset before they can be transferred. bank flags the illegal move and doesn’t let them through otherwise

- celebi specifically needs to be leveled to 30 or above, like the actual legal way to get celebi from ilex forest, which is a level 30 encounter

- mew cannot go through at all, the only mews allowed out of the VC versions of these games is the official VC “GF” mew

otherwise you should be good to go! i’ve put a bunch of photo examples of transferred pokemon straight from my machine below the cut so you can see for yourself

please keep in mind that even though bank lets these pokemon through, that does not mean they are “real” event pokemon and i am not responsible for anything that may happen in the future if gamefreak decides to update their legality testing for these! the risk is small but still there when doing anything of this nature.

my PCNY distribution station remake is complete!

13 years after the original machine's debut in the now-defunct Pokemon Center New York store, you can distribute the "Gotta catch 'em all! Station" pokemon to your generation 2 games! i've recreated the machine's functionality all in browser!

you can use it here on blue moon falls!

[wolfclan-gen]

WOLFCLAN: MOON 16.5

"What's that weird thing around his neck?" "He smells funny." "Why's he always asleep? Doesn't he want to explore the camp?"

Rapidwind sighed. His kits were at the age where they had endless questions about everything around them, and asked faster than he could answer. "He came from far away. He smells funny and wears that thing around his neck because he didn't live with a clan, he lived with big animals called 'Twolegs'. Try not to bother him, he's hurt and he's been through a lot. He needs rest. And, um, don't tell him he smells funny. That's rude."

Robinkit, crawling up Rapidwind's back, managed to tumble over his father's head and fall into his paws. Rapidwind avoided the impulse to itch his face where the kit's tail tickled it - Indigoleaf would be furious if he accidentally wiped the poultice off his snout. Again. "But, but, why is he here now?" Robinkit mewed, before Finchkit interrupted by pouncing on his brother.

"Because… Twolegs don't like cats." Rapidwind answered. But was that true? His old clanmate, Terracotta, had claimed most Twolegs were kind. But she had been hurt and thrown out by them too, hadn't she? "So stay away from them. Just like you'd stay away from wolves, or coyotes, or eagles."

"And foxes and snakes and owls!" Oriolekit added. "Is that where we come from?"

Rapidwind stared at the kit for a moment, caught off-guard. "What do you mean, where you come from?"

"Badgerstripe said you brought us to camp." Oriolekit continued, and now her brothers were also looking up at Rapidwind. "Did you get us from Twolegs, like Shimmerstar brought Dusty back to camp?"

Rapidwind knew they'd ask about their origin eventually, but he hadn't settled on how much he would share. "No, you didn't come from Twolegs." He eventually answered. "You're clan-born, because I'm your dad."

"Badgerstripe said most cats have two parents." Oriolekit's gaze was more prying than Rapidwind thought was possible for a kit.

Badgerstripe needs to mind his own business. "That's true." He admitted. He couldn't lie to them. "You're my kits. And you also have a mother." Robinkit opened his mouth, about to speak, but Rapidwind laid his tail over the kit's muzzle. "Hush, just listen. She lived far away, with other cats. She didn't think it was safe to raise kits there, but she couldn't leave, because she was loyal to them too. So we decided you would grow up here, because WolfClan will care for any cat that needs help. Little kits like you, and old kittypets like Dusty."

Rapidwind realized his kits were all looking up at him, wide-eyed. "Does that answer your question?"

Finchkit nodded. "So, does everyone else know our mother?"

"No, I don't think so." Rapidwind glanced around the cave, but it was empty besides him, his kits, and the sleeping Dusty. "A long time ago, back when I was as little as you and the clan lived somewhere else, cats weren't supposed to have families outside their clan. Now that we live in the mountains things are different, but... I thought it was best if I didn't tell everyone. All that matters is that you're here, with me."

Rapidwind assumed that he and Shimmerstar were the only ones to actually remember living with the old codes and traditions. Indigoleaf, Badgerstripe, and Polecatspot had been too young at the time. When they fled to the mountains, it had felt like those restrictions were left behind, and all that mattered was that they would take care of each other. Shimmerstar hadn't punished Rapidwind when he brought his half-clan kits to camp, and treated the kits with the same kindness that they had shown Rapidwind when he was little, but it was obvious that the leader was actively avoiding the subject of WolfClan's deputy breaking the old clan's rules.

"Well, I like being here." Robinkit announced, his squeaky mew as serious as he could make it. Rapidwind didn't miss how he was starting to get fidgety.

"I like it more!" Oriolekit mewed back, and swiped a paw at Robinkit. Robinkit swiped back, and the two started wrestling.

Finchkit bonked his head against Rapidwind's flank, purring. "I like that we get to be with you."

Rapidwind curled his tail around Finchkit, both of them watching the others play-fight. "I like that you get to be with me, too."

[akuma-tenshi]

finished closing night!! boy do i have some thoughts. and now that i've gathered them, i'm about to make my autism your problem. spoilers below.

the first part of the event wasn't awful imo, it felt like character building and just helping establish the dynamic. i know some people weren't fond of it but given that i was never really that invested in hullabaloo before this and didn't know every little detail of these characters, it was nice to get some character establishment and figure out how they all are as people. i am also a fan of slowburn character-focused horror, so that may just be a personal taste thing lmao

bryce papenbrook does a good job as mike, even though there are definitely points where he sounds exactly like nagito (namely the scene where he's shouting at margaretha in the foyer). he has a very particular way of speaking / voicing characters that make it immediately clear it's him. however, i do think he fits mike well and he definitely lays off the nagito-ness in the second part.

the rest of the cast was excellent as well. while there was a Choice made with murro's voice (he sounds WAY younger than he's supposed to be, which is off-putting and takes me out every time he speaks), it's very clear everyone knows their characters well and they all do a good job keeping their mannerisms and vocalisations unique and fitting to each role. aside from some awkward lines (which i attribute more to stilted writing than to the va's themselves), the voice acting is absolutely a highlight.

margaretha's trauma with sergi is portrayed very well imo. bear in mind i have not suffered the same abuse as her, so i can't say how accurate or good it is, but it feels like it displays that it was a terrible thing while also being respectful and avoiding being exploitative. the added layer that everyone else (except joker) liked sergi and was unaware of the abuse adds a lot.

in general, i think mike and margaretha are incredibly well-written here. i think ne could've absolutely gone the route of popular fan interpretations and completely demonised margaretha while making mike a perfect angel, and they would've gotten a lot of praise for it. but they stuck to their guns and made them both very flawed yet understandable people, and that just makes everything feel that much more real, at least to me. they're such different people with opposing goals, and their friction really comes through. everyone else is very well done (shoutout to me a couple of hours ago calling joker cute for some godforsaken reason i can't remember) and i love all of their characterisations, but mike and margie really are the standouts here.

i do wish there was a bigger payoff for margaretha using euphoria so frequently. i know it's implied to have been involved in violetta's death, and i appreciate the connection to game 5, but i wish there was a little bit more there. it's not a huge gripe though, so i won't harp on it for long.

the pacing at the start of the second part had me extremely worried; things felt like they were dragging along and being padded out for the sake of being padded out, and i was not having fun with it. fortunately, this issue was remedied about halfway through, and once things got going, i started really enjoying myself. the pacing of the first half of part two is my biggest gripe with this story.

i was noticing a lot of similarities between hullabaloo and fool's gold: hunter forms of popular survivors being announced and used as a major part of marketing for an update to the idv story. with the aforementioned pacing issues, i was really worried that hullabaloo's reveal would shape up to be similar to fg's: a kinda cool cutscene and a lame chase sequence at the very end of a long, boring storyline. however, despite hullabaloo having a much smaller part in this story than fg did in aom, appearing only briefly in the fire at the very end, i still think it's a better incorporation of the character than what they did with norton. better to have it be quick and intimidating than just kinda tedious.

every death in this (aside from joker's) felt very purposeful and well-done. violetta's death was heartbreaking. the change in animation towards the end, followed by the single sound of her machinery giving out after the screen went black, was beautiful, and hey, at least she died happy. margaretha's death pulled at a very specific and very major love i have in storytelling, that being a character choosing to die free rather than live in captivity, and the payoff of all the underwater scenes where she swims towards sergi finally coming through when she chooses to sink away from him had me losing my mind. i genuinely did not expect mike's death to be a straight-up suicide; like i said, i'm not completely caught up on hullabaloo lore, so maybe other people saw this coming, but the fact that he truly could not live with the truth about hullabaloo is such a heartwrenching yet satisfying end to his character. like i said, joker's is the only death that doesn't totally stand out, but i like that they let you put the pieces together yourself.

the chase sequence with joker was unintimidating and a little lame, and honestly it felt somewhat forced, just a way to get his hunter form in there bc they realised "oh shit right this guy's like. a hunter isn't he." i do like that they gave him back his chainsaw though; very nice little callback to the betas.

the animation of the hullabaloo fire was absolutely gorgeous and the ending had me in shambles. for a while afterwards i felt similar to how i felt after finishing end roll: drained and flat but in a good way, like a ton of adrenaline had just released from my body after some intense event.

all in all, i really enjoyed it. i can't say if i like it more than aom, but that may be the frederick bias coming through, so i'm going to choose not to rank them and just say hey. banger event. well worth the hype even with its hiccups and flaws. i always say this, but idv has some genuinely talented people in its writers' room, and i can't wait to see what they come out with next.

[if-whats-new]

What's New in IF? - Weekly Zine

INTRODUCING What's New in IF?

A weekly zine recap'ing what has been happening in the Interactive Fiction community, from Ongoing Events, Game Releases and Updates, newly published Articles about IF, and more!

Releasing every Saturday*, the Zine looks back at the previous 7-day period, and is available in PDF, txt-only, and as an interactive zine. *Unless communicated otherwise.

Put together by former lurkers, the Zine aims to bring the IF community together by centralizing IF news, showcasing hidden gems, and encouraging our readers to interact with events and games!

Want to support our endeavors?

WE ARE LOOKING FOR NEWS!

Being a small team of volunteers, we try to collect all pieces about IF we can find, but the all of us can't really keep track of it all. So, we're turning to you (our lovely readers) to help us to be as accurate as we can in our Issues.

If you've seen a release, an update, an event... anything IF-related somewhere, please send it to us or tag us in the comments!

You can contact us through Tumblr (DM, Submit, Ask), or better yet: add it to our Google Sheet! We now have a mini-database to track updates and events. Help us fill it!

Do you think a game should be highlighted? → Share it with us and tell us why in one short sentence!

Would you like to write an opinion piece? A long form game review? Essentially anything IF-related as an essay? → Send us an email! [- ifwhatsnew [@] gmail [.] com -]

If you want us to publish a message of encouragement, a shout-out to someone, a celebration, and everything in between... Zine Letter's your space to share it! → Just send us a short message entitled "Zine Letter" so we can include it in our next Issue!

NOTICE BOARD:

We're looking for feedback!

~

IMPORTANT LINKS

Linktree - Frequently Asked Questions - Meet the Team - Meet the Original Team

Past Issues:

2024 ~

Downloadable on itch.io

Interviews

On Tumblr: One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten, Eleven, Twelve, Thirteen, Fourteen, Fifteen, Sixteen, Seventeen, Eighteen, Nineteen, Twenty, Twenty-one, Twenty-two, Twenty-three, Twenty-four, Twenty-five, Twenty-six (Halloween Edition), Twenty-seven (Halloween Edition), Twenty-eight, Twenty-nine, Thirty

[pforestsims]

Tutorial: How to adjust joint position (in TS2 object skeleton)

This tut is NOT meant for beginners because I don't explain how to use SimPe or Milkshape. But actual process is very basic: you change joint coordinates and do GMDC model rebuild. The tricky part is to get coordinates right.

If you don't know much about joint assignments, start with this tutorial: "Retaining object animations in your new package" by Bluetexasbonnie @ MTS2, which explains how to add joint assignments to custom stuff cloned from functional objects (to make parts of the mesh move when Sims interact with it).

The pic above: SimPe GMDC skeleton preview. You can click on each joint name to see which part is assigned to it. Gate is here.

This will work for simple object skeletons without IK Bones.

There are no plugins that would allow us to properly import TS2 CRES skeleton data with IK bones - like sims, pets and more - to any 3D program

If object has IK Bones - you'll find out when importing CRES to Milkshape. If it displays a notification "joints with rotation values found...", IK Bones are present and there's a high risk that skeleton: A. will not be imported. B. if it's imported, it will get mangled. C. will be mangled after using model rebuild option.

I've experimented with car skeletons (those have IK Bones), managed to edit car door joints but it required removing wheel bone assignments - because wheel movement becomes wonky after doing model rebuild

/FYI: steps 1 - 5 are optional, you can edit CRES joint coordinates right away if you know the right values - which is usually not the case/.

Export GMDC with your custom mesh

Export CRES (if you wish to preview entire skeleton and/or joint names)

Import GMDC to Milkshape

Import CRES (if you need it. Plugin is called: Sims2 AniMesh CRES Skeleton Import. Click 'yes' to 'replace all bones?'). You should be able to see entire skeleton imported. Note that Milkshape won't let you export a GMDC after you imported CRES skeleton unless you change joint comments (point 7.)

Measure how much you need to move the joint. You can create a box as ruler substitute, then check the distance with extended manual edit plugin. If you're not sure where to place your joint, you can move it and test if object animations look alright (import CRES again to reset joint position).

tip: when working on GMDC in Milkshape you can rename the model parts in model list (door right, door left etc). Only names inside the model comments actually get exported.

6. Go back to SimPe, open CRES resource. Remember TS2 is using flipped coordinates: X = -X, -X = X, Y = Z, Z = Y. Edit joint Translation data, commit, save.

Optional: you can export CRES skeleton again and import to Milkshape to test if joint has moved to the right position.

7. Go to GMDC, Model tab - hit rebuild, commit, save.

if you have the edited object placed on a lot, it's gonna look weird when you load the game. You need to re-buy it from catalogue to see results.

If for some reason you'd like to export entire GMDC with your imported CRES skeleton, Milkshape won't let you do that. You'll get "ERR: No quaternion values stored" error. You need to go to Joints tab and edit each Joint comment to ImpQuatDat: (that's imp, with capital i )

Notes:

if you go to GMDC Joints tab, there's also a rebuild option to update single joint - but I've tried it on car door joints and it didn't work.

If you edit joint coordinates in CRES, for example- move the car door forward, and preview skeleton in GMDC viewer, your model is gonna look fine. But in the game every vertex assigned to that joint will also be moved forward. That's why you need to use model rebuild option. In theory, if you'd like to skip rebuild, you could import GMDC to milkshape and move the door backwards to compensate for joint adjustments? I haven't tried that (yet).

[animalistic0]

Okay…okay! I have so much to say and I need to get everything that I am feeling and thinking out because OMG

Pregnancy reveal/post by Sarah and John B?!? OMG YESSSSS. Also Pope in the comments being like; “this is why he keeps canceling boys night.” I can’t with them. I love them all, love all the little details and all the little dynamics.

POPE FINALLY GETTING ON COOKING WITH CLEO🥳🗣️🥳🗣️ yesssss it’s happening. I was with my mans waiting for this. Also FOUR YEARS?!? Cleo wrong for that lmao and then dedicating it to the reader. I love our wife fr. She’s the best. Another detail I love is how close we are to Cleo and Pope. Love our besties, love our husband and wife💙🩵🫶 Also John B and Cleo in the comments, fucking dead. Him not knowing the difference between a salt and pepper shaker. Brother what? Cleo please never but please do bring him in the kitchen 😂 a beautiful disaster, waiting to happen.

Readers post about seasonal depression…too real 😂 and all her little comments right after I can’t. Had me laughing harder and harder because it was so relatable. Then JJ coming to save the day….STAWP😍

The instagram post. Calling JJ our knight in shining armor 😩 him flirting in the comments with us. Also RAFE liking the post?!? I saw that. I saw that shit. I don’t know who to like more or who I’m rooting for. At this point neither, I can’t choose. I WANT BOTH. “Both. Both is good.”

Readers tweets about the Cooking with Cleo video is FANTASTIC. Let’s be honest though, all three of us know we ALREADY married. Lmao. We all together, legit love the friendship with Pope and Cleo so much I can’t get enough and can’t express it enough. Pope saying fake news when we say he loves us, that man just can’t admit or say I love you. But it’s okay, he’s our bestie and our wife’s husband.

READERS TEXTS WITH RAFE. don’t get me started….Im started. Him so clearly nervous and scared to scare us off😭 and then us just fucking diving right in. The begging on the knees, I know he’s definitely gonna take that and RUN WITH IT. And I can’t wait. I can’t wait to see what he does with that. The whole conversation had be giggling and kicking my feet.

JJ AND THE READERS😮‍💨🤭 now that DELIVERED!!!! He’s so down bad, omg and I love it. I love him. LIKE I SAID. BOTH. You can’t make us chose, you can’t make reader chose. Damn😭 his; “breathing near you is the highlight of my day. I don’t ever really care about what we are doing.” LIKE OMG, this is so beautiful and sweet and this had me blushing and giggling and kicking my feet. Then him outing himself☠️ 13yrs damn poor man, and that’s a good question about his game 😂 that or we just blind asf.

THE SOS POST; the last post. This post. This Post. THIS. WAS. THE. POST. I was cackling so loud, giggling, everything!!!!! I reread it a million times because it was just beautiful. I have said it and I’ll say it again and forever and forever. POPE AND CLEO ARE THE BEST. I LOVE OUR BESTIES, OUR WIFEY AND HUSBAND. In actuality forget JJ and Rafe. GIVE ME CLEO AND POPE🙏 No, but Cleo springing over and leaving Pope in the dust is so funny I can’t. And poor Pope being so confused until Cleo is like, “Piping tea babe.” AND THEN HIS GIF/MEME OF RUNNING??? Absolutely dead, had me cackling even louder. I can’t explain how much I love Pope and Cleo, especially in this and as our besties. I can’t get over this one, legit my favorite (slide? Picture? Story post? Idk) it’s legit my favorite and was absolutely amazing.

Thank you for not only sharing this but creating this. It’s so amazing, and such a great and entertaining story. I love all the small little details you add to every part and all the little side stories and relationships that are involved in this. For example; John B jumping in the fight and helping defend not only his team but the reader. Topper seemingly always there and confused when reader and Rafe interact 😂 Rafe really needs to update this man on what’s happening fr 😂 it’s all just beautiful. Also Rafe and JJ getting along just for reader and everyone literally being like, okay readerrrrr we see you and your power. My point is this is stunning and I’m in love with it so much. Thank you 🫶💙🥰

Kildare University- Sophomore Year: 8

Synopsis: A Social Media AU in which you find yourself at Kildare University along with your friends. Starting over at a new school shouldn't be difficult. Well, except for the fact that your ex-boyfriend is the quarterback, and you are the drum major. Add in a little bit of drama, a lot of friendship, an ex who can't seem to let you go, and a best friend who has been in love with you since you were kids and well? Welcome to KU!

Pairings: Past!Rafe x Reader, JJ x Reader, Rafe x Reader

Masterlist

Taglist:

@akobx @onelonelybitch @the-universe-and-karma @beeskisses @frankoceanluvr11 @ivy-34 @rafecameronsloverrrrr @k-k0129 @asyouwish-fromcabin3 @xoxo-ada @aariahnaa @strawberryforks @urbrunettebombshell @whatisoutside @spenceatiny18

[pavedinashes-if]

Game Mechanics: Romance & more

In the next update you'll meet a handful of new characters. Part of them are the ROs / flings from the known list.

Since I always said you'll have to find out on your own how each RO feels about your MC and the fact their stats are hidden, I still wanted to give you a little hint - let's call it a "spoiler"

If you want to keep it all a mystery, don't read below the cut

Each RO will judge MCs behaviour on 3 different scales. It's the friendly platonic one, the romantic one and the physical one.

Those parameters can also be influenced by "random" choices and behaviour and not just by picking a flirty option. Therefore, some of your behaviour and life choices can have an effect on your ROs that you dont notice openly.

Further, whether your MC seeks a solely physical, platonic or romantic relationship, will be decided once the conversation with the ROs comes up. You will not have the option to pick at the beginning of the story whether you are Ace, Aro etc. You will have to have the conversation or pick a specific (open / obvious) choice once the time has come.

Also! Your decision is not locked for all ROs once you make your choice for one of them. This means, you can seek a physical relationship with one RO, while you build a romantical with another. You can have the desire to sleep with one RO and to be not-intimate with another.

I know this can be the more annoying part of the realism in PiA, but I did not want to exclude anybody at anytime. I will also try to figure if I'll add the choice to "change your mind", but that's not my top priority now. What you will be able to do is to break up. That is a promise I'll keep. Don't forget tho, this also applies for the ROs...

Any questions?

[stormbreaker101]

W101's Advanced Combat 102: School Identity and The Roshambo

Over the past few years, Wizard101 has been trying to add more variety to gameplay by introducing Advanced Combat, which focuses less on raw damage and more on hanging effects, the additional ‘things’ that can be present in battle.

In a previous post, I went over each hanging effect and their symbol, as an intro to reading spells. This post will dive further into the inner workings of Advanced Combat's logic. It's somewhat of a tangent from the topic of learning how to read the spells, but I believe it's a necessary one. Simply reading spells is one thing; understanding why they work the way they do is another, and far more important in my opinion.

School Identity

In Advanced Combat, each school is represented by a hanging effect, except for Balance, because Balance is All Things. As such, when we talk about schools interacting with other schools (via synergy or countering), what's really happening is that the spells are interacting with the hanging effects associated with other schools.

This graphic is provided in-game by the prequest, and it is a higher-res and less comprehensive version of the post I made earlier.

Each school's representative hanging effect is based partly on its previous identities, the ways each school worked before.

Fire's hanging effect is Damage over Times, as it's always been since the game first came out with its iconic DoT spells like Fire Elf, Heck Hound, Fire Dragon, and Rain of Fire.

Ice's hanging effect is Positive Wards, derived from Ice always being characterized as the tank school and getting more defensive utility than any other school (Tower Shield, Legion Shield, Frozen Armor).

Storm's hanging effect is Positive Charms, easily remembered by the most infamous wizard101 player archetype Wolf Stormblade.

Life's hanging effect is Heal over Times, because Life has always been the healer school. Think back to the 1-pip Sprite spell.

Myth's hanging effect is Negative Wards, and it's certainly the most changed from how it used to play, partly because Myth has had So many different gimmicks over the years that aren't hanging effects.

Death's hanging effect is Negative Charms, since its old-school primary mechanic of draining HP isn't a hanging effect. An easy way to remember Death as the Weakness school is to remember its utility spells of Plague, Virulent Plague, Infection, and Bad Juju.

Roshambo

Rather than having pairs of schools that are both super-effective against each other (Fire/Ice, Storm/Myth, Life/Death), each of the two Triads (i.e., Element and Spirit) has a rock-paper-scissors dynamic going on now. This system was first introduced in Beastmoon, and introduces an updated version of the School Wheel:

However, while this graphic is good enough for Beastmoon, I believe it can't be used to explain Advanced Combat's system unless you're already familiar with Roshambo. So I will be making my own graphics to introduce and break down the Advanced Combat Roshambos.

First, we have the Elemental Triad of Fire, Ice, and Storm.

Storm douses Fire, and Storm's immediate and hard-hitting attacks overpower Fire's slower overtime method.

Fire melts Ice, and one turn of a DoT activating can remove the shields Ice puts up and leave the Ice user vulnerable to the remainder of the DoT's damage.

Ice freezes Storm, and a Shield can block most of the damage from an otherwise buffed-up Storm hit.

Then we have the Spirit triad.

Death ends Life, and Death's many Negative Charms can hinder Life's ability to heal or attack.

Life surpasses Myth, and Life is able to heal back the extra damage that Myth would do with its traps.

Myth conquers Death, and Myth's traps can make up the lost damage that Death's weaknesses give.

And when we put the two triads together, we see relationships between Element and Spirit schools form:

Death withers Storm, and Death's Negative Charms overpower Storm's Positive Charms.

Storm washes away Life, and Storm's immediate damage can knock out a target before they can try to heal it back.

Life survives Fire, and Life is able to heal back the gradual damage that Fire gives.

Fire burns Myth (think the Library of Alexandria), and Fire's overtimes can whittle away at Myth's traps the same way they plow through Ice's shields.

Myth shatters Ice, and Myth's infamous double-hits of old and trap spam of new can overpower Ice's defenses. (Think also of the old spell Shatter, which can remove multiple shields from a person)

Ice survives Death (think of prehistoric animals being preserved in glaciers), and Ice's defenses can keep Death from draining enough health to keep themselves alive.

Each school is able to counter two other schools, but can also be countered by two other schools. Except of course for Balance, which sits in the center of the wheel and has no arrows pointing to it. It doesn't directly counter any one school, but can't be fully countered by any one school.

A Note About Astrals

Auras (both positive and negative) aren't as immediately representative of any of the main seven schools. However, they are closer to some schools than others.

Star is situated inside the triad of Storm, Life, and Death. Following this, the developers have begun to add Auras as supplementary parts of Life and Death's identities, with Life getting Positive and Death getting Negative.

We can see this new association with Spellweaving. If you weave into Life or Death, your exclusive weaving buff is an Aura that increases the damage of your main school and Life/Death damage.

[devicecontact]

I feel like there’s something to say about how the very first song you hear in Ultrakill when you start the game is called “The fire is gone”. like right from the getgo even if you don’t get what it means yet or even are aware that’s the title it’s telling the player about it. Idk! It’s just cool to me and I feel like it could be better said but I hope you all get what I’m aiming at here

[bonus-links]

RUINS, pt.11

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[ironrose-stylistlegion]

Paper Games Release More Skin Tones For Free challenge

[bi-badass-geek]

Hades 1 vs Hades 2 Designs

● Hermes besides Hypnos was first character that made me think when i saw him oh some time has passed since Zag's escapes indeed, makes you feel that time skip. In this particular debate between those i'm really digging both but if needed to say which i prefer would go with second. I feel it should be said he sure rolls nicely with longer hair i would say darker outfit too but that's probably because pallet that's used for levels.

Ps. I saw post that mentioned how his ring is the same as ones Charon is wearing in first game and if it's a hint at something i'm here for it!

● Zeus for this god specifically there is discourse about how his pose is less dynamic and oh boy if i don't agree with that so much. In first game you see him and his look makes you think yeah this is the king of gods while in second game man is just there with posture i take often because i'm useless gay that don't know what to do with my hands and feels like they took all this might and put it into chiseling his nipples & abs into his golden chestplate. Not to mention the detail of missing the iconic bolt! Don't think it needs to be said but 100% would pick Hades 1 design out of those options.

● Poseidon the King of the Sea another example in my humble opinion where they went with flattening that dynamic looks exchanging it for man that just standing there chilling which is good for him but where first screams cool uncle second one goes uncle that wants retirement. I really like how we can see the trident now tho and need to point out his outfit sure got more print on it. When it comes down to pointing out which one is the winner in my eyes it would be 2020 one.

● Aphrodite if she wasn't the one that got thrown into drama because people double standards and hypocrisy. Design from first game and the pose straight up makes you think of love, lust, seduction all the things that are associated with said goddess. As for Hades 2 version i have no clue why it feels like this considering it's actually the opposite because we can see armor on her legs now but she feels less covered for me, do i find it negative or in any way problematic? Not one bit let the woman show off all her assets all day long! Really love the adds of her weapon and shield makes you immerse in the store of oh fights are happening around these parts. From seduction to i stand here at the ready kinda vibe and i'm really digging it.

Ps. Another post i read was about fact that her war paint i will call it (not 100% sure if that is it or just line for the giggles) is reference to Ares and considering her myth i really like that touch!

● Hypnos was the first OG i saw and was like man not only catching up on his sleep but also got such glow up i absolutely adore the design. Not to say he looked bad in Hades 1 but there it was like okay nice to Hades 2 like Damnnn and his lil helpers that keeps him up! Love the fact that of all things they made him be tucked into his cape like burrito.

Ps. I really do hope by the end of the game we get to wake him up so he can try out that nectar that we all leave there waiting.

● Chaos so many things to say and at the same time silence says it all. Seen people focusing on fact some out there call them he or how it's a downgrade from previous but don't even elaborate why they think that because everyone has right to have their own preference but at least put it into words instead of going trash next..there was also notion how they resemble Meg and while i see where people get that idea from for sure before reading that my mind didn't went there at all. I think both designs really work with someone who is primordial originator and how time goes so can their form. I find it very fascinating that they put old skeleton with new one and adore galaxy under suit makes me think of Nyx right away and how they're connected. Can totally see how between those two gamers got major stance that left reminds them more of male and right of female beings but at the end of the it chaos is chaos. Gotta take chair routine from Meg while they at it! The face on the shoulder surely throws me in loop tho fits? Sure. Does it disturb me in micro scale? Yes. About frames and poses don't have much to say cause both caption the essence of i mind my business everything unrelevant until i say so.

Ps. I know it's about physical aspect but let me say Chaos roasting Mel about how her brother is amusing one out of two Hades spawns is living rent free in my brain.

[onemillionfurries]

i gotta stop scrolling through the palworld tumblr/twitter search holy shit my brain is rotting.

Palworld did not use AI in it's designs oh my god. the initial trailer for the game dropped in 2021, before AI art generation really kicked off into high-gear, and you can see many designs there that are finalized for the final game. You can look at the original trailer here. No doubt that many other creature designs were also finalized during this time.

Additionally, lets also look at what AI pokemon actually DID look like at the time:

... these look absolutely nothing like palworld designs. palworld designs are very deliberate "pokemon but legally distinct" or "two pokemon mashed together", wheras these are an amalgamation of all the pokemon available at the time. if anyone remembers the melty surreal AI of the time, you know there's no way to ask it to give you a "normal type lycanroc" and have it produce direhowl's design.

I also feel like this whole discourse around accusing the team of using AI for their monster designs does a disservice to the completely original designs in the game? because believe it or not, there are a lot of wholly unique designs in this game! my personal favorites so far being Tombat, Swee, and Caprity.

if it turns out that everything truly was AI generated then that's egg on my face. you're allowed to have your opinions on the plagiarism of palworld's monster designs, but don't go around spreading false information you read online just because it sounds true and makes the game look worse.