#and that certainly is a component of his character fr

[ansburg]

bg3 fans showing their da leanings in how allergic they are to nuance 😔

[marionmorse]

Ohh my absolute goodness..

side note, one look at Heavy and Medic on the character lineup at the teamfortress.com homepage tells you EVERYTHING about their marriage

Anyway, the god... damn... I can't get over... just, Engineer TF2 and the duality of his character. Like, he's one-hundred percent someone to pull on gator skin boots, a ten gallon, get all yee-hawed up for a night out at the dance hall. But then go home and infodump about hotchkiss drives, stress-strain curves, and reflow soldering.

There are some specific competitive lines that comes to mind that are JARRING to hear in his honeyed-up Texas voice along with shit like "hooo-whee, makin' bacon!" and "START PRAYIN', BOY." Maybe that's just a huge part of the appeal to his character, but think about his BUDDIES, too.

Medic is probably quite familiar with American stereotypes pre-Gravel Wars, doesn't expect much from a bumbling rural southerner with a generic set of tools upon first glance. but.., he's a bit BLOWN AWAY when Engie gets all inquisitive about the ins and outs of the medi-gun. Wants to look into how the serum works as a mechanical component, the powering and logic behind it all, even overwhelms med's (limited) level of delicate mechanical knowledge. his arc is all, "okay, so, this little guy might be a bigger-brained fella than I expected!" The punting of med's early-day ego and subsequent forging of their friendship is just so... ourgh... I love characters and arcs and stories and growth and...

Also, Soldier! The all-American Ultra Yank who doesn't see eye-to-eye with Engie at first. They've both got contrasting leadership qualities when it comes down to it, fr, a- a- and, AND, soldier HATES nerds. Engie's a nerd. Big time. It takes a while for that mutual love respect to build up, you know? do you catch my drift? I'm just rambling now.

ALSO also, Engineer himself going from the more introverted, lone-wolf type we see in Meet the Engineer to a sort of leader, the level-headed de-escalator we see in Expiration Date. The guy who feels for and loves his team, but no doubt brings out the 'Texas' in 'em all. It's kinda cute. I imagine he taught everyone square dancing at some point, 'cause how else would they know?

In the end, I just love to think of Engie as being one of the cornerstones of the team's overall culture. i mean, he's a solid family guy - cooks the breakfasts, fixes the (practical) problems, heck, plays music, tells stories, keeps 'em together when times are tough. We ALL know that some of him has to rub off on the team he bunks with for years. Not in a father-figure way, nahh, but certainly in a Dad Friend way. Big difference.

(Can you tell who my favorite character is yet? (demo, actually. And Heavy. come to think of it, the defense trio is the love of my life. My boys. (I could write and MLA-formatted essay about the balance of culture and personality within the Tuefort Nine, citations intact.)))

[malphiguswrites]

ANALYSIS of The School of Athens

Denada Permatasari. 6 November 2017.

Fig 1.0 Fresco of Raphael's Scuola di Atene (The School of Athens), 1509-11 (courtesy of the Musei Vaticani).

The School of Athens by Raphael Sanzio, or more accurately, Raphael and his studio. This elaborate wall mural is a fresco in the Stanza della Segnatura, Vatican. Measuring 584 cm in length, this artwork was made in 1509 and finished in 1511.

I think that this artwork is a phenomenal masterpiece. From a technical standpoint, it is no debate that the scale and the mastery of human figures are impressive. Every single aspect is carefully planned, apparent from the detail of the backdrop to the individually distinctive figures present in the artwork. The symbolism in this work represent the core of Philosophy through subtle means of the wall division, the composition, down to the character’s body language, where they are situated, and even from the clothes they wear. In this essay, I discuss what all of the previously-stated elements mean and how they come together to give this artwork its meaning, and its significance.

Before delving into analysis of the artwork’s components, it is important to discuss why this artwork was made. This wall mural is part of Pope Julius II’s commission to decorate his private library (Zucker and Harris). The room has four sides, with each side representing the four branches of human knowledge at the time of High Renaissance: Philosophy, Divinity, Poetry, and Justice. The School of Athens, located on the east wall, represents Philosophy and is directly facing Disputa, representing Divinity (Zucker and Harris).

This placement, and the fact that this artwork is no less impressive than Disputa, can be seen as one of the defining attitudes of the High Renaissance: secularization. Here, the religiosity and philosophy are seen as equals, alongside poetry and justice. This is a big step from pre-Renaissance times when religion tended to dominate and rule above all aspects of life (qtd. in Toman iii).

Fig 1.1 Imagined horizontal and vertical lines of The School of Athens.

Moving on to the aspects of form of the artwork itself, I will first talk about its composition. In Fig 1.1, it is shown from the horizontal blue line that “… below the vaulted architecture and celestial backdrop, [Raphael] set the assembly of philosophers in the lower half field, on earth” (Rosand). This means that Raphael deliberately separated man, who is concrete and earthly, from the abstract.

Fig 1.2 Areas of interest in The School of Athens, as labeled with numbers.

Next, the vertical red line between the two figures in the center of the artwork (Area 1 in Fig 1.2). This imagined line serves as a divider for the opposing school of thoughts in Philosophy: Plato, the older man on the left, represents the ethereal and the abstract. He represents the belief that “… there is a realm that is based on mathematics, on pure idea that is truer than the everyday world that we see” (Zucker and Harris). Whereas Aristotle, the younger man on his right, represents the belief “… on the observable, the actual, [and] the physical” (Zucker and Harris).

This divide can be seen from the other characters’ placement in the artwork. In Area 2 (Fig 1.2), which is Plato’s side, are a cluster of people who are also concerned who explains the world from an abstract, cosmic lens (Rosand). This is contrasted by the group of people (Area 3) in Aristotle’s side, who explains the world through factual and concrete means (Rosand). I shall explain how I know the aforementioned observations through analyzing the elements, aspects of form, and the identity of each figure that makes up The School of Athens.

Fig 1.3 Zoom in of Plato and Aristotle.

First, the two main figures (Fig 1.3) in the center of the fresco (Area 1). They are separated from the others by the arc frame of the background. I have said before that the older man on the left is Plato, and the younger man is Aristotle, Plato’s pupil. They are also holding their own books, Plato with his Timaeus, and Aristotle with his Ethics. This section of the essay will highlight how the subject matter and design elements reflect the meaning of the divide in schools of Philosophy.

Plato, representing the ideal and the abstract, wears purple and red. “… The purple, referring to the ether, what we would call the air, [and] the red to fire, neither of which have weight” (Zucker and Harris). Whereas “Aristotle wears blue and brown, that is colors of earth and water, which have gravity [and] weight” (Zucker and Harris). This contrast between the abstract versus the concrete is further compounded by their body language: Plato, pointing up to the heavens, to the realm of high thinking, his bare feet just merely planted on the ground. Aristotle, his hand splayed downwards to the ground, wearing gilded sandals, feet firm on the tiles (Rosand).

Second, the homage to ancient antiquity, apparent in the pagan sculptures of Apollo on the top left and Athena on the right (Rosand). The design of the architecture, with coffered barrel vaults, pilasters, et cetera, is ancient Roman design as well. The god and goddess of the ancient times only reinforce the conceptual divide of the artwork, with Apollo, the god of music and poetry, things that are appropriately platonic (Rosand). Then there is Athena, the goddess of war and wisdom, who is more involved in the practical affairs of man (Zucker and Harris).

The architecture design, which is equal throughout the artwork, represents the unifier in this artwork full of divides. They serve as a reminder that even though there is a fundamental divide in perspective, all of them are still under the same branch, Philosophy (Rosand).

Fig 1.4 The labeling of figures in Plato’s side using capital alphabets from A to F.

Third, the groups of people on Plato’s lower side in Area 2 (Fig 1.2). These figures are labeled with letters (Fig 1.4). Though the identities of many of the figures here is much debated, since Raphael did not leave any notes or annotations, let’s agree for the sake of discussion that:

A: Pythagoras, a Greek philosopher and mathematician who is arguably in the center of this group gathering. He sought to discover the mathematical principles of reality through musical harmony and geometry (Rosand).

B: Boethius, a Greek philosopher who wrote The Consolation of Philosophy (Lahanas).

C: Anaxagoras, a Greek philosopher that correctly explains solar eclipses and the presence of small particles (atoms) in all objects (Agutie).

D: Parmenides, a Greek philosopher who founded the method of reasoned proof for assertions (Agutie).

E: Hypatia, an Alexandrian philosopher, mathematician, and astronomer. She is considered to be the most famous student in the School of Athens (Lahanas).

F: Ibn Rushd (Latin: Averroes), a Spanish-Arab philosopher who wrote commentaries on almost all of Aristotle’s writings and major works of Plato (Agutie).

All of the figures in this cluster are concerned with the cosmic, bigger-picture truths, echoing Plato’s ideals. Moreover, two figures in this cluster deserve special attention: Hypatia and Ibn Rushd. Hypatia’s placement in Plato’s side is reminiscent of Plato’s principle of women’s equality (Fakhry), in fact she is the only woman in the whole artwork. On the other hand, Ibn Rushd’s placement in Plato’s side is curious, since he is more associated with Aristotle’s works more so than that of Plato’s (Fakhry). Even so, Raphael must be commended for including a woman as an equal with men and a Muslim figure, which was seen as radical and out of line in his era.

Fig 1.5 The labeling of figures in Aristotle’s side using capital alphabets from G to J.

Fourth, the group that represents Aristotle’s way of thought in Area 3 (Fig 1.2), concerned with the physical and the concrete. They are labeled with letters (Fig 1.5), with identities as follows:

G: Euclid, a Greek mathematician. He is the father of geometry and is seen bent down, applying geometry with a compass to a tablet, flat on the ground (Rosand).

H: Zoroaster, a Greek astronomer, founder of Zoroastrianism, holding a celestial orb (Agutie).

I: Ptolemy, the royal astronomer, who was the first to believe that all heavenly bodies revolve around the earth (Agutie).

J: Raphael, the artist himself in black, and his mentor in art, Sodoma, in white (Lahanas).

The figures in Aristotle’s side are arguably more interesting than Plato’s, as there is more diversity in terms of the principles that the figures represent. Of course, they are all still united in their more earthly and human-centric concerns, but the inclusion of the artist’s self-portrait is the main highlight of this area of interest. For Raphael to include himself is a historical statement, as stated by Dr. Beth Harris, “… here, the artist is considered an intellectual, on par with some [of] the greatest thinkers in history” (Zucker and Harris).

Fig 1.6 Zoom in detail of Heraclitus.

Last, but certainly not least, is the lone figure of Heraclitus (Fig 1.6), an ancient philosopher that sits and thinks alone, separated from the others (Area 4 in Fig 1.2). What makes this figure stand out is the fact that he is a deviation from the orthogonal perspective of the whole artwork. Apart from Diogenes, who is sprawled on the steps, also by himself, Heraclitus feels out of place in the artwork. This is because Heraclitus was actually added after the fresco was finished (Rosand).

At this point, I will discuss the personal aspect that Raphael weaved throughout this commission; Heraclitus’ figure is one of them. The model for this ancient philosopher is actually based off of Michelangelo, and this insertion, this acknowledgment of the older artist is very curious in of itself. The personal antipathy between them is well known; Raphael, the sociable and cultured artist was intensely disliked by Michelangelo, the brooding and melancholic artist, who accused him of stealing his ideas from the Sistine ceiling (Hale 274). For Raphael to include him in his impressive fresco can be said as an homage or a tribute to Michelangelo (Rosand). This speaks of Raphael’s respect and regard for the other artist despite their differences.

Heraclitus is not the only figure who is modeled after someone else –in fact, most of the major figures in this artwork are modeled after someone else- take, for instance, Plato who is actually modeled after Leonardo da Vinci (Toman 336), an artist that highly inspired Raphael. For him to model Plato, the central figure of his fresco and one of the greatest thinkers of all time after Leonardo is a significant honor to his person. Another instance is Euclid. The geometer is actually modeled after Bramante the architect, Raphael’s friend and professional companion (Toman 336). His tribute for Bramante doesn’t end there; the architectural design of the background is actually inspired by Bramante’s architectural design and vision (Martindale 83).

All of the analysis of the components, and how even the smallest things contribute to a greater meaning, is the main reason why I think this artwork is phenomenal. If anything is to be obvious from my essay, is the amount of planning, effort, and thoughtfulness that Raphael did for this fresco. For me, personally, there is nothing more impressive than a successful execution with an underlying concept that is well thought of in every step of the way. In this, I am very pleased with Raphael’s technical skill to make something so legible on an intimidating scale, yet still retaining a degree of thoughtfulness that is apparent in every single dot of his fresco.

To further compound this, I am not the only one who thinks that this artwork is extraordinary. The School of Athens has received high regard from the moment of its completion, even until the present day. The Stanza della Segnatura has been a famous tourist attraction because of the wall frescoes that Raphael made, and The School of Athens is arguably the main attraction in the Vatican Palace.

Most importantly, however, is Raphael’s own influence on the High Renaissance, and what follows after. As Johan Huizinga, a Dutch art historian has stated:

The Renaissance marks the rise of the individual, the awakening of a desire for beauty, a triumphal procession of joyful life, the intellectual conquest of physical realities, … a dawning of consciousness of the relationship of the individual to the natural world around him (qtd. in Toman i).

To attribute all of those values of the Renaissance to just The School of Athens is optimistic at best and naïve at worst, but it is worth acknowledging that The School of Athens is one of the main highlights of the High Renaissance, and certainly sums up the entirety of the High Renaissance. In this light, Raphael deserves much acclaim, as written by Luitpold Dussler in his book Raphael:

Raphael has left an indelible mark on art. He revolutionized portrait painting … and epitomized the style which has come to be known as High Renaissance. … Perhaps Raphael’s greatest achievement is that he appeals on all levels and makes something profoundly deep and complex appear simple and comprehensible (qtd. in Hale 275).

In conclusion, the value of Raphael’s The School of Athens is that it is invaluable. It was significant by the time it was completed, and is still significant even today, more than five hundred years later. More than just a room decoration, it speaks of the general perspective of Philosophy during the early 16th century. Raphael’s ability to condense such a difficult, multi-faceted discipline into a thoughtful work of art that can be appreciated by anyone, at any level, is a testament to his remarkable technical skill and conceptual knowledge.

I will end my essay with one conviction: that The School of Athens is one of the definitive artworks of the High Renaissance, and I hope that the significance of attributing an entire period to one single artwork is realized and acknowledged.

Works Cited

Zucker, Steven and Beth Harris. “Raphael, School of Athens.” Smarthistory. 27 Jul. 2014. 3 Nov 2017.

Toman, Rolf. Introduction. The Art of the Italian Renaissance. Germany: Könemann, 1995. Print. i, iii, 336.

Rosand, David. “Raphael’s Fresco of The School of Athens in the Stanza della Segnatura of the Vatican Palace.” Columbia University. New York. N.d. 3 Nov 2017.

Lahanas, Michael. “The School of Athens, ‘Who is Who?’ Puzzle.” Hellenica World. N. d. 3 Nov 2017 <http://www.hellenicaworld.com/Greece/Science/en/ SchoolAthens.html>.

Agutie. “Raphael (1483-1520): The School of Athens, 1509. Interactive Map.” Geometry from the Land of the Incas. 13 Jul 2014. 3 Nov 2017 <http://agutie.homestead.com/files/school_athens_map.html>.

Fakhry, Majid. Averroes (Ibn Rushd) His Life, Works and Influence. London: Oneworld Publications, 2001. N. p.

“Raphael.” Encyclopaedia of the Italian Renaissance. Ed. J. R. Hale. Lindon: Thames and Hudson,1981. Print. 274-275.

Martindale, Andrew. Man and the Renaissance. London: Paul Hamlyn Limited. 1966. Print. 83.

[chaoticrushu]

#this post would be too long if i explained myself so <3

#i just think he has some

#interesting takes re the reactions of oppressed peoples to their own oppression

#looking @ how kaladin was treated from a narrative standpoint ............

#and i'm not the first person to comment on this certainly lol and other people have put it more eloquently than im about to but just like

#the way kaladin's storyline was really! compelling in the first two books re his status as a darkeyes who had been enslaved and drafted etc

#HATED lighteyes. and rightfully! but the way moash is being set up as this character who like.

#is basically what kaladin could have been or would have been had he not 'gotten over his hatred of lighteyes' just idk

#doesn't sit right w me sometimes

#kaladin's storyline was about Him Getting Over His Hatred Of Lighteyes

#not soooo much him Changing The System

#bc he got lighteyes! and then its like. barely mentioned at ALL in row

#it was mentioned in OB sure but its just like. forgotten about after and its like ??? huh??????

#how many times is sanderson gonna make a character become an all powerful being and/or essentially a tyrant

#because they Must Act With Ultimate Power .

#how many times is sanderson gonna narratively assert that autocracy is better for challenging the systems of oppression IT CREATES?

#than democracy. sure make kaladins storyline him reckoning w his hatred of lighteyes AAABsolutely yes yes yes

#but dont? end it there? have him still have that fiery activist rage lol that KNOWS - like moash knows! - that lighteyes

#need to go! as an institutionalised ruling class. moash just ya know. is going about it in a morally questionable way sure sure.

#im in the fuck moash camp fr but i also enjoy his character v v much lol & think a redemption arc would be SOO compelling

#but not if its just a kaladin-getting-over-his-hatred-of-lighteyes 2.0

#not if its lets-judge-the-oppressed-for-reacting-poorly-to-their-oppression-and-tell-them-they-just-need-to-Know-their-oppressors

#and-then-it-would-be-better-and-THEY'RE-in-the-wrong-for-being-shitty-about-their-own-oppression 2.0 lol

#hmm.

#oh also im not calling kal a tyrant lol i just mean generally in sandersons writing obv kal is not a tyrant

#kaladin's reckoning w his hatred of lighteyes was dependent on him also compromising his own agency and experiences. THATS the problem.

#last thing. im not saying fantasy writing has to be unproblematic lol thatd be boring as hell fantasy is among other things a social#commentary. but why introduce these themes into ur writing if ur not gonna...be nuanced about them/treat them w care & dignity? hm. and not

#just introduce them but make them CENTRAL components of ur story! and then do. stuff like this. i love SA dont get me wrong but i am also.

#capable of critiquing it sometimes harshly LOL

Why would you leave these in the tags

listen my stormlight archive hot take is that i do think moash should get a redemption arc and that if it was anyone else writing it it’d be great but as it stands i can’t imagine sanderson doing it in a nuanced enough way that would be satisfying so i’m also. not really looking forward to it 

[jesawyer]

Balance in Single-Player CRPGs

Someone on twitter asked me this question and I think it’s worth answering in a longer form than twitter allows.  I’ve already answered this question in brief and in video form at various points, but I think it’s important to address here:

Something that bothered me from PoE was the constant updating to classes and races to balance them. Did you guys worry about this>

In Baldur's Gate I or II or even the Icewind Dale series? I mean really who cares if one class is OP or Race or Hybrid class? >>

You guys are making a single-player RPG not an MMO or game with a online multiplayer component.

Variants of this question are common in single-player CRPG circles.  The implication is that balance is important in an MMO/multiplayer environment but it is not important (or so much less important that it doesn’t merit addressing in patches) in a single-player CRPG.

I would like to repudiate this in two general ways: 1) I will argue that overall balance is important and valuable for players in single-player CRPGs 2) I will argue that individual CRPG players and CRPG communities overall do not present consistent objections to tuning and this undermines the general complaint.  It is not the responsibility of individuals or communities to be consistent in their feedback, but it is the job of the designer to design, which means considering the needs of the audience by listening to and interpreting feedback on a broader scale.

Yes, Balance is Important in Single-Player CRPGs

I think it’s easy enough to make the first point through reductio ad absurdum: why not give AD&D fighters 1d4 hit points per level, a worse THAC0 than wizards, and worse saving throws than any other class?  Obviously it’s because playing them would feel terrible.  Why don’t we give all of the enemies attacks that do 1-3 damage, a quarter of the hit points of the PCs, and rock-bottom defenses?  Because playing through that would feel boring for anyone who had the slightest interest in combat content and systems.

Some may say, “Hey, no one is arguing that balance isn’t important at all,” but in fact that is what many people directly say or suggest.  Maybe they don’t really mean it (which I will get to later), but that is often what comes up.  If we can agree that some degree of balance is important, then there’s no point in suggesting anything to the contrary and we’re really just debating to what degree is balance important and worth a) design consideration pre-launch and b) patching.

In my view, balance in a single-player CRPG is important to the extent that it allows players making different character and gear choices to be viable through the content of the game.  It is always important to remember that system design (including class, race, ability/spell, and item design) is one part of the equation.  Content makes up the other big part (setting aside UI/UX for purposes of this discussion).

When our area and system designers build encounters, they have to be built around an understanding of party capabilities: their overall statistics, their available gear, their consumable items, and their various abilities.  In a traditional D&D-style CRPG, this spectrum of possibility gets wider and wider the higher the levels get and the more gear becomes available to the player.  The less balanced individual choices are from level to level and item to item, the more difficult it is for area designers to design content that works for a spectrum of choices.

It Was Actually a Problem in the Infinity Engine Games

One of the questions was, “Did you guys worry about this in... even the Icewind Dale series?”  Well, no.  I certainly didn’t worry about it in the original Icewind Dale.  I assumed everyone who picked up the game was as conversant as me in AD&D 2nd Ed/Forgotten Realms rules and lore, had played hundreds of hours of it in tabletop with similarly aggressive psychogamers, and had weathered fair but diabolically brutal DMs whose scenarios demanded quick thinking and ruthless min-maxing tactics.

You might not believe the number of Black Isle QA testers (and developers) who yelled or cried in anger, virtually or in person, about how difficult some of the IWD scenarios were.  One in particular was the Idol/priest fight in Lower Dorn’s Deep.  I had a tester hootin’ and hollerin’ about how it was “impossible”, how he had tried to beat it for two hours and couldn’t make any progress.  It was a scenario that I and my office mate (Kihan Pak) both beat on the first try.

On Heart of Winter, Burial Isle practically split QA in half.  One half thought it was a cakewalk.  The others acted like they were being forced to dive into a swimming pool full of razor blades.

The dividing factor was system mastery.  AD&D 2nd Edition (and 3E) are systems with a boatload of trap choices, inherently bad builds, garbage spells/feats, and generally inferior options.  They’re not presented as inferior options to the player.  They’re presented as options... that turn out to be implicitly awful even in the best circumstances.  To the next part of the question, “I mean really who cares if one class is OP or Race or Hybrid class?”  The answer is, “The person being brutalized by content designed for the OP classes/races because they picked the ‘bad’ option.”

The broader that spectrum of choices is for players, the more difficult it is to design content that will be at a similar level of challenge for those players given any given combination of choices within that spectrum.  And to restate what I wrote before, the balance is mostly important to the extent that viability, i.e., the ability to get through the content, is supported.  BG, BG2, IWD, and IWD2 often failed that test.  Once viability is addressed, I’m not particularly concerned about balance.

Tuning Down High-Powered Outliers

The exceptions are abilities and items that are so incredibly powerful across the board that it’s almost impossible to make any content challenging with them in play.  If we design content to be challenging with those abilities/items in mind, any players who lack those abilities and items will effectively be crit path blocked.  Their game has either ended or become so incredibly difficult that it’s no longer enjoyable.  And if we don’t design content with the overpowered abilities and items in mind, any player who coincidentally or intentionally uses those items effectively no longer has any challenge going through the game.  It becomes an unlabeled Easy difficulty slider rendering all other options/choices irrelevant.

In those cases, I advocate reducing the power of the abilities/items so players don’t trip over “Hey I guess I win” options and our testers can still use them in playthroughs and give meaningful feedback.  There is one salient example I can think of: sniper rifles in Fallout: New Vegas.  In Fallout 3, Bethesda had given sniper rifles a x5 crit rate modifier.  Keep in mind that any attack from stealth (e.g. shooting an unaware target with a sniper rifle from long range) is automatically a crit.  The x5 multiplier made even standard/close range combat shots have an incredibly high chance of critting.  I didn’t notice that sniper rifles had that multiplier and it didn’t come up in testing prior to release.  In release, players noticed it quickly and sniper rifles became the de facto way to handle most encounters.  Why use a 12.7mm SMG or hunting pistol when any shot from a sniper rifle was likely to crit and do 90+ damage?

In one of the first patches, I reduced the crit rate multiplier to x2.  There was initially a lot of complaining about it, as there always is when anything is tuned down, no matter how overpowered, but the sniper rifle retained its role and continues to be used in that role. It’s a sniper rifle. It’s good at sniping. It doesn’t need to be great at close range.

Inconsistent Player Feedback

There is one trend about player feedback regarding tuning that’s hard to argue against: communities generally complain about tuning anything down but applaud (or at least do not complain about) tuning things up.  I can tune up 10 things in a patch and detune one thing and will hear far more feedback about the one thing that was detuned, no matter how marginal or necessary that detuning was.  If there’s negative feedback about tuning something up, it’s usually because players feel it needs to be tuned up more.

In Patch 3.03 for Pillars of Eternity, Matt Sheets and I tuned up seven rogue abilities, five barbarian abilities, and a variety of other spells and abilities. Players generally seemed to like this, though some wished the rogue abilities had been tuned up more.

In Patch 3.04, the soulbound dagger The Unlabored Blade had a bug fixed where its 10% Firebug proc was never firing.  Two weeks later, Patch 3.05 reduced the 10% proc to 3%. This was a change I had requested for 3.04 but it had been overlooked.  I requested the change because daggers have a fast attack rate and that dagger has a +20% attack rate enchantment.

Which set of changes do you think I heard more feedback about?  If you guessed the marginal drop in proc rate on the soulbound item that had only worked properly for two weeks, you’d be right.  The rogue and barbarian changes affect far more players and more significantly, but “loss” (even if imagined for most players) weighs more heavily.

Despite having a reputation for only detuning, I tuned many more abilities and items up in PoE patches (and in F:NV patches, as well as the JSawyer mod) than down.  Players remember the losses more than the gains, but both are a necessary part of the tuning process.

I could abstain from tuning, but I don’t think most players would benefit from that.  Players remember early Diablo 3 tuning as particularly bad, but the game at launch (especially the economy and itemization) was poorly balanced, as Travis Day elaborated on in his 2017 GDC talk.  In the long term, Diablo 3′s economy and itemization today are much better than they were at launch and I believe most players benefit from and appreciate that.  Even if you effectively never played D3 as a multiplayer game, you still benefit from that.

I don’t expect players or communities to be consistent in their feedback, but as the director and, in many cases, the lone system designer, I have to make decisions on more than just the volume of feedback on any particular topic.  Changes that make bad options better are almost universally good.  Changes that make overpowered options worse are often still a good idea if I believe more players will benefit from the change.  I didn’t hesitate to reduce the Petrified damage bonus from x4 to x2 in Pillars of Eternity because that affliction was far and away the best way to deal with difficult encounters, either through the Gaze of the Adragan spell or trap.

I Will Tune Again

Just to make this clear, while there will always be a point where I stop tuning a particular game, I’m never going to stop using patches as an opportunity to balance items, abilities, classes, encounters, enemies, etc.  I’ve been house-ruling and tuning games since I noticed trap options and OP garbage in 2nd Edition AD&D in middle school.  I re-wrote 5th Edition Ars Magica’s certamen system because it’s a cool idea that’s really uninteresting in play.  I re-wrote Pathfinder/3.X’s armor system because, as many players have noted, it doesn’t actually provide many interesting options.

If I think players will benefit from adjusting the rules or the content and there’s an opportunity to make those changes, I’m going to do it.  I certainly don’t expect players to like all of the changes I make, but if you object to the idea of post-launch balancing, you should probably never play any of the games I direct.  I’m always going to tune them, if possible.

Thanks for reading.

Portrait by Jason Seow.

[rgmreginald971-blog]

Coconut Oil Skin Layer Benefits By Laura Ng.

Crank lure going swimming lures are for deep-seated and shallow water it relies on the dimension from the lip. Gaining the night Jasminesport-2016.Fr is actually nothing brand new for Sunday Evening Regulation Football," this did so 18 consecutive weeks in 2013. Lately, our company asked our readers to send us a photo that extra accurately embodies just what the evening after the wedding resembled for all of them. This sneaky ninja (early Japanese Fighting style) qualified superhero seems to be to perform nearly in addition to the various other super heros without their super human capacities. Travelers are going to see such elegance as wildflower industries, browse and also vineyards, waterway web sites, Broome, Ningaloo Reef, The Pilbara, Monkey Mia, the Bungle Bungles and also other outstanding beautiful journeys. This therapy for night discharge advertises greater testosterone level excretion makings a male more romantic and enthusiastic. On that particular night stuck on that particular pair of tiered waste called after our first President I enabled New york city to maintain its own nickname from the Huge Apple, I enabled the area to embody every United States metropolitan area as well as every American which had been actually assaulted by a foe which we did certainly not even know our team possessed. You are going to locate yourself falling for these characters as the account participates in out; wanting that Griff would certainly do well in his purpose to become the tremendously hero everyone knows he desires to be actually. Thus obtain some popcorn, pull up a chair and enjoy the most lovable film that you are visiting this year. You still put in the time to shower whether in the evening or even time, time makes no variation in the morning or during the night. The appropriate foods can make your Super Bowl Sunday a results, whether you are viewing this on a 60 in display or even if you are actually preparing to check out the Superbowl reside online. Incredibly charming oh exactly how I ADORE the tune Outstanding Grace, it really touches my soul when I observe just how precious is the compassion of The lord to me. Twas grace that bought me risk-free thus far and also compassion will lead me on. The Denver self defense, which captured 7 sacks, was actually led by a rampaging Von Miller who pushed Newton in to pair of fumbles that were both converted into goals making the linebacker Super Bowl very most useful gamer honors. However a straightforward appeal up right into the night sky (or the time sky involved that) uses a basic evidence that the variety of celebrities must be actually finite. Weekly I possess an NNO, a Neil's Night Out, as well as each week she's received an LNO, a Leslie's Night Out. Visit my internet site today to learn more about just what is the most ideal firming over-the-counter night cream you should understand, and find even more amazing all-natural components located in the most ideal evening cream item for your skin. Feel me, I went coming from being an evening to a morning and also the only main reason I found this web site is actually since I was looking for anybody else that found they can't do without an early morning shower. This features 18 Super Bright LED light bulbs that delivers approximately 37 hrs from illumination, an installed fan with pair of rate environments (reduced and higher), a built in take care of along with dangling hook, as well as a weather condition resistant structure.

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Dark Family In The White Residence 'Changes Bench' For Youngsters

Abnormality might be actually generated by hormone, nutritional, drug, or even various other disruptions in the mom's body chemistry while pregnant. Since their dark skin is protecting them as well as this would certainly secure the white man all the same. Off dark to red, white colored to burgundy allow's check out the selection of brief Gothic wedding apparel our team've found online. A number of the migrants were actually white colored planters, and free of charge people from shade with African ancestral roots and also several slaves. The white flower is actually additionally called the wedding flower as well as is traditionally used as component of the bridal arrangements or as ornaments around the altar. When Obama's mama resided in her late teens as well as his dad resided in his the middle of twenties, She brought to life Obama on August 4, 1961 at the http://perfect-shape18.fr/sans-petit-dejeuner-beaucoup-moins-de-stress-oxydatif/ Kapiolani Maternity and Gynecological Hospital in Honolulu, Hawaii. This is vital to consume a vata-balancing diet during the postpartum period, for the well-being of mom and child. Ms White wishes her daughter's account will definitely serve as a caution, and also assist in saving a lot more. Noah stated in Knowledgeable 25, Canaan will be a slave from slaves to his bros" and also in Knowledgeables 26-27, to his Uncles Shem and also Japheth certainly not to white colored supremacists or even some other group. The delicate as well as continual sound of white noise, as well as a white noise sleeping device, normally ensures a levelheaded mood that can help you relax, concentrate, and/or sleep. Blue Diablo: A Corine Solomon Unfamiliar by Ann Aquirre A criminal activity suspense novel about a Caucasian girl in Mexico and also a Chinese guy looking for his kidnapped mommy. Even when your mama is not an outdoorsy individual, this apron is actually very practical for receiving great deals of factors around your home and possessing everything to palm. A grandma in Streetsboro, Ohio must wash her precariously hoarded property prior to her son contacts Adult Protective Companies on her. Residential activities are actually simply way too much, the amount of time when you dislike your duty as a mom. Our experts have actually recognized since Victorian opportunities regarding the relevance from well-maintained water and good care in birth. White colored folks are actually kids off the stars, while the Red people are seniors coming from the stars. Along with these flowers, you can allow your mom know that you regularly prefer her to become satisfied no matter what. Some will blatantly decided not to project into the grimy waters and for that reason, this is actually to your benefit if you simply forget this. An obligation listing was actually published in order that each people learned to supply as well as sprinkle the bunnies, and to clean the cage correctly. Can easily not discover any type of White Stag gloomy denim skorts or shorts in low rise with front zipper in 98% cotton & 2% spandex so you have some give up Walmart. Healthcare facility reports reviewed through Wire service signify that the medical center looks to have made little initiative to inspect mom or little one. The fact was actually that the kid assumed along with opinion- capable quality and also the mom carried out not. Hundreds have taken to the roads before number of times paying homage to the little bit of girl in a White March. Amazing as well as I can simply coincide your summary of each term that makes up words mommy. As well as in an act along with the character Sally 'Malley, that proclaims because she is HALF A CENTURY' aged and still kicking, White depicted a 90-year-old which was still resting.

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Devoted, Lively, And also Eager To Please.

Household pet pass by motorbike allows you to take rests and walk your family pet on mountain range or nature trails, or even along the soft sand beach fronts. An adult canine can possess wires that ultimately arrive at the ground, offering him the wipe like appeal. Bernese Mountain Pet - can do properly in all temperatures, especially in chilly temperature levels. Frequently individuals that are actually unfamiliar of their pet allergy symptoms are going to possess exactly what seem in season allergies at all portion of the year. I had actually certainly never heard of Megaesophagus however do know the frustration and anxiety from having an ill pet. Pets multiplied in chilly temperatures, Alaskan Malamutes for instance, and other shaggy dogs are among those suited for winter. Pet owners have actually been obtaining sweatshirts and the like for their pets forever, therefore this really isn't brand new but because this material is thus terrific, your pet is going to adore you for that (over that scratchy sweatshirt version)!

Karen Luther is actually the honored mother from Cooper, a valued Morkie as well as Load Leader from, a site that provides services for canine footwears, pet shoes as well as dog booties. Louisana selected the Louisiana Catahoula Panthera pardus Dog and also Massachusetts the Boston ma Terrier. If corn is actually the amount # 1 component, which means the mass from the food items is actually made off that ingredient, or even the other allergens I only specified are in the initial 10 substances, your canine meals could be making your canine unwell. You may have the capacity to discover a dog residence along with a dog home heater actually installed in the home, or even at the very least pre-configured for the future setup of a heating system. The pet is actually sweet and caring as well as makes an ideal mattress warmer on a cool night, caring nothing at all greater than to huddle under the covers along with its own master. If he ever has actually to be put in a kennel at any sort of point in his life-time, this is an outstanding method to assist ready your dog to steer clear of disease from kennel coughing. Therefore, this is crucial that you follow your activities and also create every communication with your pet dog extra enjoyable as well as thrilling. A large amount of discussion about where this pet dog built has lastly be actually settled. I possess yearned for another canine for a long time and then I got her to change her thoughts as well as today she is actually focusing on my papa. While their response could differ from canine to pet dog relying on their character, generally a canine which does not such as hugs are going to alter its own body movement. Depending on where you remain in the nation, summertime at the seashore could cause two extremes: heat from the sun and a chilly, chilly ocean. Rarely will you view a bicycle rider with a canine blog-annahealth2017.fr using a tutu, however you will perhaps view the dog putting on an attractive natural leather jacket.