#but again for this style of combat i literally don't think you need it and that's okay!
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some game design thinky thoughts.
#it speaks#da gameplay complaints so weird to me. which i say as someone whose favorite combat was origins.#i mean 1 like i just enjoy a lot of different types of games. including crpg style tactical and including action#and inclulding me style arpg#but fr like people just keep saying over and over 'only three abilities???????????' like bro did u know in dai#that one of the warrior abilities was COMBAT ROLL.#a lot of things like that were previously abiliities and can in real time combat become different kinds of mechanics#and lemme say as someone who never invests in combat roll i spend a lot of time in dai fighting dragons by fruitlessly jumping in the hope#that THIS time i might be able to dodge the incoming attack i can clearly see coming (i can't)#idk like the point is obv if you don't like action-oriented combat whatever but complaining about design changes which actually serve#to make GOOD action-oriented combat is wild to me.#love that it's still rtwp my beloved. love giving commands to followers. love that it's built around synergies and that the wheel actually#tells you things like detonation combos and enemy resistances because i love taking advantage of stuff like that but find often in games#that information is overly obscured or a hassle to discover#and if i in real time action combat had 20 different abilities to choose from while still needing to dodge out of the way and pop off#an attack- that would be at worst overwhelming and distracting and at best feel like more than i need.#and at the same time! the skill tree looks great. best i've seen from da (and iterated from other franchises well imo) and still looks#plenty deep and customizable. way more than me's five little blocks or whatever#and wrt to party control yeah i'll miss it i like it a lot!#but again for this style of combat i literally don't think you need it and that's okay!#the game feeling better for what it is is okay!#even in dai like i have a lot of moments in that game where it's actually more a nuisance than anything else to fully switch control#to use an ability. e.g. i usually spec solas out with spirit magic and i almost always will fully enter the tactical cam just to#tell him to cast a barrier. or a revive. or dispel some demons before they spawn in#like i'm literally already just telling him to use abilities and then i switch back to me. and in that game there are def times where i hav#thought yeah this would actually be smoother if i could just tell him to use it +position it!#i spend the most time party switching in origins esp on higher difficulties but obv the game is most fine tuned for that#and you can play through the entire series as if it were an arpg if you want. that's what i did when i was a kid lmfao#well anyways. that's my two cents! i think it'll be really engaging! from what i've seen the game director isn't talking out of her ass!#vir dirthera
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I saw a few people saying don't trust mech repair shops that are clean, and that you gotta go to the ones that are dirty and have crap everywhere 'cause they'll do a proper job and fix your rig cheaper and better.
While I agree in general, it's an even better sign if that shop has that *one* bay and workbench area that is conspicuously clean. Every good workshop has *that bay*.
That's the bay for when they need to go cleanroom on something. Pulling and refurbishing laser arrays, injection pumps, etc. Manually recalibrating gyros. Re-valving joint dampers. Fabbing up "custom" bracketry to fit that aftermarket heat exchanger that's *supposed* to be a direct bolt on OE style replacement and you just *know* it's not going to be that simple cause it never is, but the efficiency is so much better than the factory crap and who the hell wants to pay for a new genuine exchanger anyway, if you can even get one?
The number of absolute cowboy techs I've seen that think that just because they've done a bunch of work on their pa's agricultural mechs for years, they know everything there is to know about mech internals, strip down and reassemble a combat-rated set of hand actuators literally just on the god damned shop floor, only to wonder why all the hydraulics piss fluid out as soon as they run it through a test cycle. They might *look* the same as pappy's mech actuators, but they have way tighter tolerances and they run *way* thinner fluids in them. You get so much as a nick in the sealing surface of one of those rods and it's not gonna seal again. And before any goobers come for me saying "JuSt RuN tHiCkEr OiL" if you put anything thicker than 2W-5 in those things they'll just lock up. Won't leak but you'll not be using that hand for anything but karate chopping your opposition.
Anyway rant over, TLDR next time your stompy death machine needs actual proper work done, and not just entire unit assemblies throwm at the problem, take it somewhere that actually cares to understand the concept of machined tolerances.
#mechposting#lancer rpg#this is supposed to be like#in character.#did I do it right#did I do good job#I've not done this before#battletech#heavy gear
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Can you explain more about what CAR and CQC are? I'm assuming they're types of fighting styles, but what exactly makes them different, and why would one be used over the other?
CQC and CQB are blanket terms. These are abbreviations for Close Quarters Combat, and Close Quarters Battle. Describing either as a combat style is an awkward application of the term. You'll sometimes see either term used to categorize the intended use case for a weapon. Especially more compact weapons.
For example: Clearing a house, or dealing with tight alleyways, are likely to result in CQC if combat does occur.
Also, the terms evaluate the distance between enemy combatants, so technically CQC can occur in open spaces, it's just more unlikely.
You might encounter someone using CQC as a shorthand for any melee combat. That's technically not quite right, but it's not wrong.
CAR is a handgun stance. Short for Center-Axis Relock, CAR was developed by the late Paul Castle. It is designed for using handguns in CQC. The stance is built around keeping the handgun very close to the body. This has two direct features. First, it's very hard to disarm someone using CAR in hand-to-hand. Simply put, there's not a lot of good access to the pistol. Second, and a related feature, you can use the handgun in far tighter spaces than you could in a more conventional stance like Weaver. Again, this is because the pistol is close to the body. The trade-off is that it's less stable and accurate than Weaver. Ideally, you don't need to worry about those, because of the ranges you should be using CAR at, but, you may find people who try to use CAR longer distances.
John Wick is probably where CAR got the most attention, though it's not the originator of the stance, and the films include a lot of material that's completely unrelated to CAR. Even in the film, Keanu regularly switches between CAR and Weaver stances (though, he's not always switching to Weaver when it would make sense to do so.)
I think it would be fairly obvious, but in case it's not, if you don't have a handgun, there's no way to practice CAR. It's not some martial art where you can use a handgun, it's literally just, “here are a few ways to hold a gun so you can use it effectively in tight spaces.”
CQC is just, “a fight is happening and everyone's really packed in there.” It could be guns, could be knives, could be fists, could be tire irons, but there's not a lot of room between the fighters.
-Starke
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Inspired by @radioactiverats' latest Cadet chapter (it's not wholly connected but it's definitely what lit the spark)
Man sometimes thinking about jealousy as a concept- it's greed, it's genuine want, and GODS can you just imagine how territorial Seekers are? I love the idea of Seekers being a bit like territorial birds (or dragons, if I allow myself to be particularly indulgent). Birds and even certain reptiles like to show off for their mates- and if you've ever watched parrots for long enough, you KNOW they have best friends and gossip and beef between each other. They form lasting social bonds out of genuine friendship and necessity.
And it's made me think about Cybertronian cultures and different cultural nuances between frames. Emotions aren't negative inherently- jealousy comes from being territorial, which has a biological precedent (or cybernetic, as it were). The issue with jealousy comes with finding healthy outlets for that emotion. I imagine the reason Seekers would value this emotion would be due to how Trining or Flocking works.
I've seen a lot about how the fandom regards Trines and honestly wow love that, but it's already hard to get one partner let alone two, so I imagine there's a lot of showing off involved. Peacocking. 'I'm very much better than what you're looking at, so look at me. And if you DON'T look at me, then why am I wasting my time?' Pretty insufferable guys at the bar ngl, depending on personality. Like on the light end you get Thundercracker doing a 'check in' because wow maybe you could be having a better time with him- and on the extreme end you literally get Skywarp going 'I will kill this guy for your attention if I have to'. Some iterations of TC I see wholly being as that guy that's actually off-putting because he's genuinely trying every time to get attention from somebody that's Not Feeling It. Maybe being in a Trine with two hardcore Decepticons dulls his emotional maturity, idk war.
But that also comes with the potential of fending off others that may want that flier to themselves, or finding a coupled pair that needs to be convinced of your worth in different ways, speed and flight maneuverability obviously being the major factors in traditional Trine 'courtship'- there's probably more to it than JUST those things, since it's not just animal courtship (or even mating displays, depending on the desired relationship OF the Trine). Jealousy could even arise in the Trine itself until a pecking order from speed contests (or combat) sorts things out- or, again, it could be down to personality. And there's something in the thrill of that, of proving yourself and others finding you worthy- if you're Trined or even just paired, you have found some way to 'prove' yourselves to one another, and there's no extra baggage after the fact outside of whatever each personality brings to the table.
The feeling that perhaps, your partner or Trinemate is feeling jealousy over you- how that could be regarded as reaffirmation of emotional connection, an opportunity to strengthen that bond. 'Even if I did have them it would be to share'/'their wings could never match your style and grace'/'I don't need them when I have you'.
And sometimes, there is another mech trying to steal your partner or Trinemate. Sometimes, that's what you do to get a new Trinemate- rejection can occur but loyalties depend on the actual bond, and if the bond isn't strong, one Seeker might just allow themselves to be swayed more easily- 'nothing personal, but they do fly better with me than we ever have' kind of energy. And hey if somebody steals your partner or Trinemate, they probably weren't a good Trinemate for you anyways, so frag them time to move on and find somebody that can either catch you or is fun to pin.
But especially, imagine being a Seeker cut off from that culture of finding this all acceptable. That these emotions are ugly, mean, negative, even, instead of the natural territoriality that comes with being connected to your core self. It's not a crime to want, or want something that others have- perhaps even, this is why so many Seekers joined the Decepticons, because at least Decepticons understand that kind of want and need, healthily sourced or not.
Especially when you're alone. Facing trying times. There's a reason why Trines work- three fliers stabilizing each other not only in flight but emotionally, either fluffing each other up or grounding themselves in reality (or at the very least, reasonable expectations). Even unhealthy or impractical Trinemates seem better off- because at least there's still that connection, that socialising aspect. You may be in the Pits with assholes, but at least they're your assholes, and every attempt at them being taken from you (or you being taken from them) gets met with defense and reaffirmation of desire/affection/want/need. A recurring thing in the fandom I've seen is the idea that the Elite Trine of Starscream/Thundercracker/Skywarp is a Trine made out of necessity- how much bad blood flows between restructured Trines in the Decepticon fliers? War makes brutes of any of us. How many Seekers still go out of their way to Trine properly? Are there issues with generational gaps- pre-war bots trying to get war-born bots to understand the difference between warring and peaceful times, socialising activities gone long neglected- it feels like an echo of Seeker culture, to take and take and own and to have, but do they taste how bastardised it has become?
You see other groups and connections, perhaps vehicons dealing with this emotional distance much better than a Seeker, social bonds and needs far different than your own.
It is a gift to fly. It is a curse to fly alone.
#maccadams#maccadam#transformers#seeker culture#seekers#black pad#this got sooo much longer than it was supposed to be aaaaa
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okay i admit i may have been projecting onto my best friend Apollo, but logically, if Artemis fights a lot with Hera, then I assume Apollo also has a certain level of annoyance/hatred with Hera.
anyways. for Artemis, i say that she is mean, or rather, disrespectful, to Hera based on the following:
in the Iliad, Apollo (on the side of the Trojans) and Poseidon (on the side of the Greeks), come head-to-head. but Apollo, out of respect for Poseidon, chooses not to engage in battle with him. Artemis comes face-to-face with Hera, queen of the gods, and decides that she will fight Hera and even berates Apollo for being a "coward" and not fighting Apollo:
"Let me [Artemis] not hear you [Apollo] in the halls of my father boasting ever again, as you did before among the immortals, that you could match your strength in combat against Poseidon." (Homer's Iliad, Book 21, Line 475)
and then after Hera beats her (somewhat easily lol), she goes and complains about it to Zeus, as if Hera did something wrong:
"Her father [Zeus] caught her against him, and laughed softly, and questioned her : ‘Who now of the [gods], dear child, has done such things to you, rashly, as if you were caught doing something wicked?’ Artemis, sweet-garlanded lady of clamours, answered him: ‘It was your wife, Hera of the white arms, who hit me...’" (Homer's Iliad, Book 21, Line 505)
and i know that this style of writing makes everything a lot more dramatic then it needs to be, but still! Hermes, faced against Leto, decided that he wouldn't fight her because she was a wife of Zeus and it was wrong for him to do so:
"Leto, I [Hermes] will not fight with you; it is a foolish thing to fight with the wives of Zeus, the cloud-gatherer..." (Homer's Iliad, Book 21, Line 498)
evidently, both Apollo and Hermes understood that it wasn't proper for them to fight against their elders, and Hermes explicitly states that it's not right to fight a wife of Zeus, but Artemis alone decides that she can do whatever she wants and tries to contend with Hera... ?? seems like she has a grouse against Hera (and i get why given Leto and Python, etc.).
2. in Nonnus' Dionysiaca, Artemis again does battle with Hera (and loses).
"Against Hera came highland Artemis as champion for hillranging Dionysus [when the gods took sides in the battle of Dionysus' forces against the Indians]... [and Hera] struck Artemis flat on the skin of the breast, and Artemis, smitten ..., emptied her quiver upon the ground." (Nonnus' Dionysiaca, Book 36, Line 28)
now unlike in the Iliad, i do think Artemis was justified here because she was trying to protect Dionysus, but it's just funny to me that Artemis always seems to be fighting with Hera. they never really seem to be on the same page. it's interesting because in the Dionysiaca, Hera seems to explicitly describes Artemis as a foil of Hera:
"... you virgin marriage-hater..." (Nonnus' Dionysiaca, Book 36, Line ~70)
anyways. the most stand-out point to me, is that when Artemis and Hera go head-to-head, there's always this long passage of insults that proceed any fighting, especially on Hera's end. i wont write it out all here, but you can see it in the Dionysiaca, Book 36. that says to me that Hera really doesn't like Artemis, and Artemis surely couldn't like Hera either. they strike me as the kind of people who take every opportunity to be snide and cruel to each other. even Athena, whom Hera didn't like very much in the beginning when Zeus appeared to "give birth to her on his own", Hera eventually became friends with and in the Iliad they seem to have a very close relationship. but Hera never really gets something like that with Artemis,, which is what makes me say that they didn't get along.
i admit, my language might've been extreme in saying that Apollo and Artemis were "bitches" to Hera HAHAH i am a shitposter after all, don't take my word literally. but still, my sentiments stemmed from this idea of Hera and Artemis appearing to fight a lot when they share scenes.
#lol i wasn't expecting anyone to read my tag. i just talk shit a lot of the time HAHA#and i'm biased because i don't like Artemis so i tend to be very anti-her lmfao sorry artemis-enjoyers#replies#deathlessathanasia
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Finally got around to watching some post-embargo vids and I have some now updated Veilguard thoughts.
Stuff I liked:
Character creator is a standout as always. This has consistently been the strong point of Bioware's games in the last 10 years so no surprises there. The pronoun and other gender-related options are a welcome addition.
Companions all seem great. I'm sad we haven't got more Davrin or Bellara content yet, since those are the two I'm most interested in learning about. Their initial introduction in that terrible cinematic trailer didn't do these guys any favours, but seeing them in gameplay footage gives a much better impression of them. It's also exciting to see more companion-on-companion interactions and relationships.
I was put off by the voice acting in the 10 minute gameplay reveal months ago, but what I've heard so far has been much better.
Main menu looks pretty.
As an ME fan, I'm pro dialogue wheel; it's unfortunate that Inquisition turned that whole mechanic into a massive drip. This is less a thing I notice but something I hope, that this game's dialogue wheel will have a more DA2 or ME1 vibe.
Hngnggn vfjddjgfnbhn oooowowo o cloaks.
Stuff I didn't like:
The art style is not redeeming itself. Wolfheart made a very insightful point that it might be a holdover from when Veilguard was going to be a live service multiplayer game, and it definitely does give that impression. Everything is still incredibly smooth and it's clear there was a lot of effort put into making things "nice" looking. It's giving very "everyone's beautiful but no one is horny" to me. I'm on the haters' side with the Qunari; where are their textures?
On that note, oh my god. The UI and the VFX. This must have also been a result of live service elements. As someone who hates playing late-game mages in Origins because all of the VFX gives me a headache this game looks actively hostile. Does literally every single ability require flashing neon lights? Why does the UI look like a World of Warcraft meme? Why does every single interactive object glow? Wolfheart noted that even after turning everything off, a bunch of VFX elements were still present, which is tremendously disappointing. Bioware can miss me with this cocomelon for adults visual style; I just do not need all of these annoying tricks to try and keep my attention.
Also on the UI - idk man. Remember when fantasy games weren't embarrassed about looking fantasy? Remember when all of Origins menus opened up in a little book with parchment pages? Character selection took place in a little castle? I just don't get this Thing Bioware has had since 2 to make DA's game UI look cool and slick by taking all the fun out of its visual elements. I've heard it before but I've got to agree, Veilguard's UI looks like a mobile game. And again, it's so busy it's 100% gonna give me headaches.
The combat is.... I won't call it "bad". I just hate it. See above for one of the reasons why. I think I could write a whole essay on how discomfiting it is. The very very clear push (likely from EA) to have the game resemble big name titles like Breath of the Wild and God of War has taken the game in the direction of just kind of a generic hack and slash; at least DA2 married its action elements with its party mechanics and has its own unique voice. There's something in particular that sets my teeth on edge tbh. I'm watching gameplay of warriors and rogues in combat and they're pretty much indistinguishable from mages. Teleporting, fire and lightning flying about in basic attacks, just a ton of stuff that makes me cringe to look at. There's a complete lack of class fantasy there for me - why would I want to play a warrior that isn't just a big guy with a big sword? Is this a result of story elements? Why is my low level rogue demolishing entire groups of enemies ala Dynasty Warriors? In a world where the distinction between a magic person and a non-magic person is incredibly important, could cost you your life, watching a rogue shoot lightning out of their knives makes me groan. Are Bioware's efforts to make the player feel like the coolest specialist person that ever lived going to be addressed in-game? We'll have to see.
Lack of control over your own companions ala Mass Effect. I don't wanna talk about it it's too depressing.
I've noted this in the past but obviously the tonal departure from low/dark fantasy to classic high fantasy. The character backgrounds for the Rooks pretty much lock you into playing a good guy, which is a huge shame. Even if you want to pick a faction that is canonically shady or morally neutral AT BEST like the Crows, they make sure to tell you that the other Crows don't like you because you're just that good-hearted. In a faction like the Grey Wardens, notorious for taking in criminals of all stripes, you spend your background saving helpless villagers. What are the options going to be like for people who want to play morally grey or potentially evil Rooks? It's starting to look like Bioware isn't going to give you a much wiggle room to define your character out of what they need you to be.
Lip flap looks like a very mixed bag. Maybe it's just the footage but voices and mouths look out of sync.
Can't make a post without reminding everyone that Bioware isn't our friend; they've fired half the people who worked on this game and greedy producers like EA don't deserve our money.
Update: Only just came across this but phasing out inventory management? Yeah welcome back Mass Effect trilogy :/
Neutral opinions:
Other shit like the Darkspawn and overall mob designs have been a problem since DA2 so I don't see the point in rehashing it here, other than to say that I can't wait for the "DLC with the good Darkspawn designs in it" this time around.
Opening scene gives me huge Mass Effect vibes; the bar fight and the music in that scene felt very "Lair of the Shadow Broker", which I guess is a compliment.
Varric still not dead yet. Kill that old man!
Ultimately, I'm putting in prediction now that Veilguard is going to go the DA2 route of having a decent and well-loved story, but with massive issues regarding its gameplay and aesthetic that players will just have to get over in order to enjoy the game.
I'm not gonna be buying on release - first time that's been the case for a Dragon Age game since Origins; the current plan is to wait until the Christmas sales, which gives plenty of time for the fandom to either assuage my fears or implode cos the game is shit. Either that or the Solavellan content is so crisp and juicy I'll have to learn to pirate.
#dragon age#dragon age: the veilguard#da:tv#dragon age spoilers#veilguard spoilers#dragon age: the veilguard spoilers#bioware#pillowfort crosspost
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Deep Dive Character sheet ;
Stolen from just about everyone
Name: Caelus "The Galatic Baseballer" Nameless
BODY
Height: 172.72cm / 5'8”
Strength: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ( Blessed be the Aeons for granted him typical protag op powers- also Synthetic body go BRRR )
Dexterity: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ ( Sometimes he is clumbsy, but otherwise you will see him in the weirdest poses for no sort of reason. Or if he does give a reason, it's always a "it works. trust." )
Health: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ( Synthetic body has it's advantages.. )
Energy: ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ( Each new path makes him more and more exhausted- makes his narcolepsy get worse. )
Beauty: ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ( Caelus doesn't think he's the prettiest person in the comsos, but he knows he ain't that ugly. [ BABY BOY YOU ARE SO BEAUTIFUL PLEASE. ] )
Style: ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ ( He just grabs whatever he has and chucks it on. He has no fashion sense whatsoever. He has to rely on March to make him actually look nice should the need arise. )
Hygiene: ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ ( Do I even need to explain this one? Mister TrashCan Dumpster Diver? He does bath or shower daily though- cue the 12 in 1 bottle soap. )
SKILLS
Perception: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ( He may be lacking in educational skills, but he's not blind. He is very sensitive to other's and their feelings. And while he might not UNDERSTAND what he's picking up on, he does know there is something. )
Communication: ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ( Boy is just trying his best, and some things he doesn't even consider need to be expressed verbally, or at all. )
Persuasion: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ ( Have you seen the amount of debates this dude gets into? And that he win's pretty much all of them )
Mediation: ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ( This man cannot sit still, nor has he even heard the word. )
Literacy: ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ( If I could give this a half star I would. Bro was just born a few years ago. Though he has had help from one Dr Vertias Ratio, so he is at least improving. He can read much better than he can type- and his hand writing is simple atrocious. )
Creativity: ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ ( He isn't the most creative person, though can obviously enjoy art and other's creative endeavors. He just doesn't have that type of drive himself. )
Cooking: ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ( He can make buffs and potions, but forget actual normal food. )
Tech Savvy: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ ( He can typically figure most things out pretty quickly. Trial and Error, but a fast learner. May or may not be the help of [outside influences, oh the voices of trailblazers everywhere {or aeons}] being intellitron-adjacent. )
Combat: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ( Quite literally built to take hits and smack a fool up. )
Survival: ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ( Again, tanky a.f. However, like.. knowledge of how to survive in a life-or-death situation is probably lacking. Especially not how to get himself out of the situation, but just how to live long enough to get rescued. )
Stealth: ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ ( Stealth section in a videogame? Yes. Stealth mission irl? Absolutely not. May be able to keep it up for a short while, but definitely nothing in depth or lengthy. )
Street Smarts: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ ( Similar to survival, built to last long enough to get by, and figure out a way to at least stay standing. )
Seduction: ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ( He doesn't even know what this is. Though he has been called a Master Rizzer before by others, so who knows- )
Luck: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ ( RNGezus please bless he. )
Handling Animals: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ( This dude has Puffball, Tuskpir, Trash Cake, and a Chimera. And Mem, though I don't know if they technically count. He takes care of what is "his" and often spoils them. )
Pacifying Children: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ( He treasures children. He plays with the Moles every time he visits the Underground, and has quite literally calmed Julian in an event quest and I think during a main quest as well. Plus, Hook's entire story quset where he helps her get money for her father and such. Very Big Brother vibes. Or maybe because he is child-like himself that he gets along great with them. )
MIND
Intelligence: ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ ( He is not overtly strategic or knowledgeable amount much when he is first found on Herta's. Both grow bit by bit the longer he stays with the Express and the more missions and planets they visit. But definitely do not put him as the first to make a suggestion for a plan unless you already have a backup to your backup plan. )
Happiness: ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ( This one is very timeline dependent. Because at the very beginning of the story, it would be a 4 or 5. After Penacony? A 3 or a 2. Amphoreous? 2 or 1 [as the story goes on]. )
Spirituality: ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ( He can have out of body experiences, but definitely nothing in a positive light, or that he willingly participates in. )
Confidence: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ ( Varies on the situation. Overall, Caelus thinks he's rather dependable and helpful, and thinks he can do a lot as long as he at least tries. )
Humour: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ ( Caelus is always cracking jokes, though sometimes not always at an appropriate time. )
Anxiety: ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ( He is not the biggest fan of meeting new people, especially the longer the trailblaze journey goes. Caelus wants to help absolutely and likes exploring and traveling. He's been blind-sided or backstabbed and fallen for tricks due to his naivety too many times. )
Patience: ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ( For the most part the guy is pretty gentle or relaxed. But if you come after any of his loved ones, the patience is extremely thin. Or, you know, if you're an ass it won't last long. )
Passion: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ ( He feels things so deeply. His burning [Stellaron] heart makes him put his all into anything he's doing. If you're going to do something, do it right. )
Nice ☆ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ Mean ( Pretty easy going, very rarely will you see him actually angry. )
Brave ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ Cowardly ( This man steps onto monorail tracks to take a picture for his friend and thinks nothing of it, even after he gets mowed down. )
Pacifist ☆ ☆ ☆ ★ ☆ Violent ( Aeons/Paths/Stellaron Influenced at times. )
Thoughtful ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ★ Impulsive ( Very much a "do now, ask questions later" kind of guy. )
Agreeable ☆ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ Contrary ( Who is he, a little lad with little knowledge, going to be one to argue. )
Idealistic ☆ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ Pragmatic ( The world is beautiful with peace and rainbows-- but no, it is not. )
Frugal ☆ ☆ ★ ☆ ☆ Big Spender ( He is not in charge of his own finances. Caelus has little understanding of the actual value of money and commerce. )
Extrovert ☆ ☆ ★ ☆ ☆ Introvert ( Semi-Situational/Company-Dependent )
Collected ☆ ☆ ☆ ★ ☆ Wild ( x )
ambitious⠀/⠀possessive⠀/⠀stubborn⠀/⠀jealous⠀/⠀decisive⠀/⠀perfectionist
SOCIAL
Charisma: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ ( x )
Empathy: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ( x )
Generosity: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ ( x )
Wealth: ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ( He is not in control of most of his finances, but I'm sure with all the commissions he does and the work he does for Herta and Screwlum, he probably has a decent amount of funds. )
Honest: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ( He is not a good liar, no typically sees any reason to do so. )
Both these groups are kinda self-explanatory.
Leader ☆ ☆ ☆ ★ ☆ Follower ( x )
Polite ☆ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ Rude ( x )
Political ☆ ☆ ★ ☆ ☆ Indifferent ( x )
BELIEFS
Higher Power: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ ( Caelus has literally been blessed by several Aeons already, and more to come. Of course he believes in them. Not to the point of worshiping, but a sort of co-existence. )
Magic: ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ( Had to imagine it doesn't exist when they got all these gods and spells and wacky shenanigans going on. Or, if we can do all of THAT, what would magic even be? )
Fate/Destiny: ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ( "Reach the of the STORY in your own way." )
Soulmates: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ ( Caelus is a bit of a romantic underneath his goofy exterior. )
Good and Evil: ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ ( Caelus definitely sees things in a middle/grey area. He doesn't )
Luck: ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ ( How can you imagine a guy who gets killed/nearly dies on every planet he visits is lucky? RNGezus and gacha are a 50/50, as all things must be in balance. )
PRIORITIES
Family: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ( The Express Family is EVERYTHING to him. )
Friends: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ ( His friends are also extremely important to him- just a step or two down from the fam. )
Love: ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ ( He would enjoy finding love, or learning more about it. But who has time for that when you're trailblazing and dying every few months. )
Home: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ( His Family IS his home. )
Health: ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ( He does not take very good care of himself. At first, just not something he thought about. After finding out he was "just a body created to specifically host a Stellaron", he doesn't see the point in being super on top of it. He's not gross, don't get me wrong. Bathes and such normally. But if he gets injured or has some issues [ie his narcolepsy or seperation anxiety], he's not going to discuss it or manage it well in the slightest. )
Praise: ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ( He appreciates praise. Makes him feel like he is doing something right or being helpful. )
Truth: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ( He just wants to know man. He doesn't care if it's good or bad, just be honest with him. )
Fame: ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ( He likes to brag about his brand of being the "Galactic Baseballer", but he doesn't really care if it spreads or sticks. More of a "personal running gag". )
Power: ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ( Power as in simple strength and capability to fight and defend himself/others? Very. Power in terms of status and social hierarchy? Not in the slightest. )
Wealth: ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ( He barely understands finances as it is, but understands money is pretty important to have. )
Others' Opinions: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ ( He's sort of building himself [*drum riff*] from no memories of what he was, if he was someone before. He wants to be "a good person", or at least a LIKEABLE person. So he does care very much about how people perceive him, or what they themselves like or think about things. )
#⚜ ┆ 【 headcanon. 】#LAYS DOWN#DROP KICKS THIS OUT OF MY DRAFTTS#BEGONE DEMON INFLATING MY DRAFT COUNT#i would make one for gui too but bruh i do not have the mental energy to do this all over again OTL LMAO
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I didn't post last week's on dreamwidth or tumblr so I'm gonna combine this week's with last week's for crossposting! still in FL hell but things are moving along. look at neocities if you want it more granular by week.
2/25 - who would win: one 103-year-old or one palette of 60 water bottles ... had to jet down to old people land again to act as support and it is mega sucking. I didn't get the chance to make this post yesterday so I am actually typing this from the ER while we wait for her scans to come back hahahaha..... (scans came back while I was working on this: she has a fuuuuuucking spinal fracture. i am going to kill the ortho she saw last week.)
listening
a lot of just king things
never the muse (madilyn mei)
splendor & misery (clipping.) - duuuuuuude this album rules. rec from a discord server I'm in after a convo about how weird and racist tumblr is about rap music. jaw literally dropped at the second track.
relistened to montero lil nas x. still a good album.
reading
started haunting of hill house. first paragraph was so good that I had to put the book down for a second after reading it.
mirror life by kamran javadizadeh
born to (gen) and stress position (M) by friend B, see watching section. yayyyy fic
DeepSeek and the AI Murder Cult: rats strike again
in defense of pretension (Ayan Artan): read most of this, agreed with some of it in the vein of how intellectualism is very much out of 'style' right now, hit the line "you will never come across a well-read zionist", closed the tab in exasperation. while being well-read is good for a lot of things it does not inherently make you more moral, or vice versa. there are plenty of well-read zionists, right-wingers, liberatarians, [insert political ideology you disagree with here]. being exposed to a lot of viewpoints and art etc can influence your politics and ideology, sure, but like. I don't think equating intellectualism with morality is the move. bizarre take imo.
shamefully: I am reading homestuck, the beyond canon stuff. a friend recommended it and so I was like. sure. why not. I'm in rot zone.
watching
severance!!! it happened I finally watched s1. I have gone in knowing many of the major spoilers but it's a good enough show that it doesn't matter. halfway thru the s1 finale, was watching it with B but had to stop for Grandma Assistance and then it got too late to finish lol
creating a digital garden to end my doomscrolling (Anna Howard): where I got the first entry of 'reading'! this led me to:
Obsidian: The King of Learning Tools (Odysseas): okay this is what finally got me to download obsidian. I have been in notion land for many moons now but it just isn't cutting it for me for some of the things I want. I still think my dnd stuff and some other things will live in notion but I needed a brainstorming space and I think this will be it for me. we'll see! I've always liked the idea of commonplace books etc but I know myself and I know they won't be organized or legible and I will literally never look at them again which defeats the whole purpose imo so this is a digital and eaiser to reference version of that.
understimulating my overstimulated brain for a week (Michelle Gia): the counting rice killed me but also, tru as hell. third eye opened. etc. also really funny that she managed to choose the UHC assassination week to do this
Algorithms are breaking how we think (Technology Connections): you may be noticing a trend lol. this one made me go through and clear out my youtube subscription list of the channels that don't update/I'm not interested in any more and I plan on using that as my youtube home page instead going forward.
Drawing And Talking About Fairies (Stanilka): in a different vein, deeply charmed by these little guys.
playing
dnd....the one-shot turned 4? 5?-shot I made Vesper for is allllmost done, I think next game is the final battle so I will finally have to figure out how monk combat works after an insane amount of espionage-style play. there have been many moments where I had the thought "this would have been better in a non-dnd system" but this is the terminally dnd-brained group so...
fallow though I think I will start playing/reading miseriechord this afternoon or tomorrow.
making
back to pottery! made some new bowls:

the majolica on my fish plate and fern sake cups came out great thank god! I was a little heavy-handed on the underglaze for the fish so I tapped some clear on top and sent it back to the kiln but I think it should turn out great.

did not get pictures of this but: I have been trying to paint a dino fossil on the inside of a large decorative bowl for a while and realized that it might be easier to get the level of detail I want if I carve it in relief first and then flood that with white undergalze...I'm about halfway through scraping it into the bone-dry clay so lol we'll see how long that takes
fallow as all hell. some brainstorming for short stories I suppose
eating
fallow
oh EXTREMELY fallow. a lot of chinese takeout. publix rotisserie chicken.
moving
I think I'm removing this section actually. I might just keep a spreadsheet for myself because that means I can track numbers more easily :3
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deep dive character sheet
stolen from: ree tagging: everyone!
NAME: RUAN MEI
BODY
height: 175 / 5′ 9
strength ★☆☆☆☆ (she is a scientist not a fighter)
dexterity ★★★★★ (does a lot of experiments which probably needs good dex)
health ★★★★☆ (takes care of herself relatively well)
energy ★★★☆☆ (able to take on a task for an extended period of time)
beauty ★★★★★ (canonically GORGEOUS)
style ★★★★★ (have you SEEN her dress)
hygiene ★★★☆☆ (occasionally forgets to take care of herself due to locking in)
SKILLS
perception ★★★★★ (she gotta notice stuff to be a scientist)
communication ★☆☆☆☆ (does NOT usually go out of her way to talk but is to the point)
persuasion ★★★☆☆ (does manipulation/drugging count as pursuasion)
mediation ☆☆☆☆☆ (does NOT gaf)
literacy ★★★★★ (scholar moment)
creativity ★★★★★ (she is making breakthroughs)
cooking ★★★★★ (canonically loves making sweets in her spare time)
tech savvy ★★★☆☆ (pretty good with tech)
combat ☆☆☆☆☆ (the opposite of a fighter)
survival ★★☆☆☆ (could cook for herself but is not a fighter again)
stealth ☆☆☆☆☆ (not her area of research lmao)
street smarts ★★★☆☆ (could tell when she's being scammed but does not like to interact with people)
seduction ☆☆☆☆☆ (not interested in it at all)
luck ★★☆☆☆ (less luck and more hard work from her end)
handling animals ★★★☆☆ (can handle them well to observe them)
pacifying children ☆☆☆☆☆ (not a single motherly bone in her BODY)
MIND
intelligence ★★★★★ (can i give her six stars shes a genius)
happiness ★★★☆☆ (how to gage happiness when your muse doesn't feel much at all)
spirituality ★☆☆☆☆ (doesn't think about it much it's not biology)
confidence ★★★★★ (knows what she's good at)
humor ★☆☆☆☆ (has almost no sense of humour at all)
anxiety ☆☆☆☆☆ (one of the most calm mfs)
patience ★★★★★ (when dr ratio said 'patience breeds success' she was already waiting)
passion ★★★★★ (she gonna become an aeon bro she SWEARS IT)
nice ☆☆☆☆★ mean
brave ☆☆★☆☆ cowardly (she won't go out of her way to put herself in dangerous situations but she isn't a coward)
pacifist ☆☆★☆☆ violent (doesn't mind violence just doesn't participate in it)
thoughtful ★☆☆☆☆ impulsive (never acts on impulse)
agreeable ☆☆☆★☆ contrary (it will go how she wants it to most of the time)
idealistic ☆☆☆☆★ pragmatic (very grounded in reality)
frugal ★☆☆☆☆ big spender (can't see her being a big spender)
extrovert ☆☆☆☆★ introvert (hates most people)
collected ★☆☆☆☆ wild (almost scarily collected.)
ambitious / possessive / stubborn / jealous / decisive / perfectionist
SOCIAL
charisma ☆☆☆☆☆ (none. none at all)
empathy ☆☆☆☆☆ (literally zero)
generosity ★☆☆☆☆ (only if it benefits her)
wealth ★★★★★ (i mean geniuses probably get a lot of funding right?)
honest ☆☆★☆☆ deceptive (depends on the situation)
leader ★☆☆☆☆ follower
polite ★☆☆☆☆ rude (a very polite lady!)
political ☆☆☆☆★ indifferent (she do not gaf)
BELIEFS
higher power ★★★★★ (wants to become one)
fate/destiny ★☆☆☆☆ (she is a believer of creating her own destiny)
magic ★☆☆☆☆ (science rules)
soulmates ☆☆☆☆☆ ("a pathetic human belief that was created to self-soothe.")
good and evil ☆☆☆☆☆ (there is only what is necessary)
luck ★★★☆☆ (sure, why not)
PRIORITIES
family ★★★★★ (she would tear apart existing laws for them)
friends ☆☆☆☆☆ (unecessary)
love ☆☆☆☆☆ (aroace)
home ★★★★☆ (home is important)
health ☆☆☆☆☆ (does it matter if she can research more?)
praise ☆☆☆☆☆ (only her goals matter)
justice ☆☆☆☆☆
truth ★★★☆☆ (for the sake of research)
power ☆☆☆☆☆ (just does what she wants)
fame ☆☆☆☆☆
wealth ☆☆☆☆☆
others' opinions ☆☆☆☆☆ (she don't gaf)
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A few more snippets of interest and insight from Mark Darrah, from an older Mark Darrah on Games YouTube video where he was livestreaming playing Dragon Age: Origins some months ago -
Chat said "I am fine with any and all cameos, but I am not holding my breath for Sera and Vivienne to have anything more than a passing mention." Mark said, "I don't think they'll worry, if they want to put Vivienne and Sera in DA:D they'll do it. I don't think either of them have any quantum endings do they? Oh that's true, Vivienne can be Divine."
"The Darkspawn Chronicles DLC is canon-ish but definitely yeah, the team reserves the right to ignore it and has."
"I don't know why they've steered away from the tree ents [sylvans]. They could come back. They're nobody's favorite, so they just kinda fall down the priority list. If there was a good reason for them they could easily come back. You could have made a sylvan off the Behemoth rig from DA:I, but that would be weird and not really match the sylvans from DA:O. I think the way you would do it actually would probably be to build something off the giant rig, but again it would be different, so you'd really wanna make a custom rig."
[source]
He also talked more generally about DA:O and the franchise and things in general. These bits are collected under a cut due to length -
"Is it just me or are the conversation trees in Awakening much longer than they are in DA:O?"
"Yeah, Oghren is pretty problematic"
"The junk mechanic in DAII in inventory was a nice quality of life feature. Well, it's not 'junk', it's more mark-to-sell"
"Games take a lot longer to make now because the number of assets and the fidelity of them is so much higher. In the late 90s you literally couldn't do that much, it had to fit on a CD or a few CDs. Now you've got blu-rays which have fifty times as much space"
"I think classes are a good thing in general just from a usability perspective, and also if you're gonna have a party-based game you need class roles otherwise you just end up with a big mushy miss. But obviously it can take things off the table that you might want to do." Chat commented "Do you think having a set type of role limits how they can evolve?" Mark replied, "It does limit them to some degree, that's sort've somewhat the problem. You could always violate those limitations if you want. You can make the hand-to-hand mage specialization"
"You can definitely see that DAII and Awakening are like, very close to each other on different sides of the line"
"It is weird that you suddenly have stamina potions in Awakening"
Chat said "I personally disliked that only rogues can open chests. It's alright from the RP perspective, but was limiting the gameplay imho." Mark replied, "It's annoying, I mean, that I don't, the out of combat stuff was even moreso in DA:I. But I think tying the out of combat stuff to the in-combat stuff puts you in a position of weird choices based upon how you want to play and I don't know that that's great. 'You basically have to bring one of everything' was the point, was the idea in DA:I, but I don't know that it was a good one"
"Awakening is a really plot-heavy expansion, with an insane amount of side quest material"
"The problem in DAII isn't that, it's not asset reuse, it's actually level reuse. That's I think what pushes it over the edge. And calling them different levels. Also that cave is too identifiable, it's got very specific bits of architecture"
"The problem with the DA:O darkspawn is that they don't really fit together, especially the ogre, they kinda look like a totally different evolutionary path. DAII is definitely trying to get them into a consistent art style"
Chat said "Should DA have beast peoples like cat people, dog people, lizard people? Qunari is bull people right?" Mark replied, "Qunari are more like dragon people. No, I don't think DA has cat people and dog people. There's snake people referenced in lore. Yeah, it is implied that qunari are descended from dragons. Yeah, they have horns, that's their main thing for why they look like dragons, is they have horns like DA dragons"
"I'll probably watch Dragon Age: Absolution"
"The problem with the Fade in DA:O I thin is you can end up easily in this weird inception level of quests because you're doing Redcliffe, which leads you to the Mage Tower, which leads you to the Fade, so you're like so detached from your goal that it really undercuts it. It's not supposed to be filler but it definitely feels like it. You finish it and then you had to finish it again. It's weird pacing"
Chat asked "Is there a reason why we never went to Gwaren in DA:O?" Mark replied "We had enough areas to visit in DA:O already. And you don't really have a reason to go there. Loghain isn't there, and there's nothing that can help you there"
"I'm pretty sure that, one of the reasons this exists [recruiting Velanna in the Wending Wood segmet] is because sylvans weren't used very much, it's a good thing to use the creature model for in your expansion pack"
"Varric is carrying a lot more weight in DA:I than in DAII"
"Stun-locking the player character is not good game design typically. Crowd control used by the player character is fine, but when it's used on the PC, you know, standing around is not very fun"
[source]
(pls note that in places there is a bit of paraphrasing of the info, the best source is always the primary source with full quotes in their original context)
#dragon age: dreadwolf#dragon age 4#the dread wolf rises#da4#dragon age#bioware#video games#long post#longpost#dragon age: absolution
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A bit late to the party, but I started Ash Echoes last night. In general, a fairly solid game in a genre I normally dislike.
I really don't like RTS or sRPGs, mostly because I find them way too slow paced and sometimes too punishing for a single mistake. Ash being RTS helps a lot with the slow pace; being gacha generally means that, for the most part, the difficulty level is lower. I've been enjoying myself, especially since the combat does make me think of Kings Raid or Grand Chase DC.
The story is pretty dense from the start, but I didn't find it particularly difficult to follow along if you pay even a little bit of attention. I appreciated that the world is already embroiled in many problems and the MC--not an amnesiac for once lol--is thrust into a new position trying to deal with it. There are questions about the responsibility the MC has as a leader both to the people and the organization they work for and the groups they're allied with, all which often have conflicting goals and interests. I feel like so much of this story is what I expected and wanted Wuthering Waves to be. The characters also have a lot of opportunities to shine and interact with each other.
Speaking of which, the character spread is solid: pretty good on the men-women parity split, which is becoming so rare these days from CN games, with some interesting and attractive designs all around. From what I understand, this is a spin off game of an established CN franchise, so the characters feel less "gacha oriented" in terms that they don't have the usual tropes designed to make people pull, and the in-game lore that this world is literally a multiverse nexus allows for a variety of designs. It's pretty refreshing. I've enjoyed most of the cast so far.
There is a lot to do, which can be pretty overwhelming for people used to barebones launches. It seems best to follow the new player checklist, which lists goals and thus introduces the new systems and game progression as you go. The main mode seems to be the roguelite called Nexus, which serves as a faux equipment building mode. There's a lot of side story and lore buried in here as well.
In fact, the game is really story heavy; there's an event out right now, and it reminded me of FGO or R/1999 in terms of how long and involved the event story is. If reading isn't your thing, this game will be a skip.
As for the rest of it, a lot of the game can be auto or sweep/skip, if you're not particularly good or you're busy. Bosses seem to have the most difficulty spike.
There are a few casual modes, including dorm building and character affection building.
The graphics are... The 2D art is pretty good and I like the approach to the VN style in the main story, as I found it visually engaging. The battle graphics are fine. The 3D models can be oddly hit or miss; I'm reminded of early Xenoblade models? I don't know, the 3D models can be off-putting for some characters due to the style, especially in the eyes.
Nearly all text is voice acted. CN or JP only. Music is fine. Monetization seems standard. There's two banners: characters and traces, which are like CE in FGO or artifacts in Epic Seven. Traces are only worn by the leader and they are buffed in the aforementioned Nexus mode. More 50/50 again, but this is the new standard and I'll always hate mhy for it.
I'm sticking around at the moment. I dropped some gacha--Wuthering Waves and Love and Deepspace--so I have some free space to see if this game is a keeper for the long haul. Currently it's more appealing to me than a lot of other stuff on the market--having a good gender ratio with strong character interactions is super high on my needs--but I'm still early game and sometimes RTS can hit a hard difficulty wall if you're not good at them.
#ash echoes#roo gaming#yes i used my selector on the dapper dog boy in a pinstriped suit#then the event story made me like the archeologist so much that i went all in and pulled for her lol
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hiiiiii 💕 <- for ask game not just random love
ohhhoho favorite character time to spread the good word about the worst x-man, Angel
I think Angel/Warren is one of the X-Men characters who is chronically squandered. My belief is that when people adapt the Archangel plot they often do it as a last resort because they don't know what else to do with him, and once it's resolved (or even before then) they go back to not knowing what to do with him so the whole thing just fizzles out. But I have thoughts and ideas and I see his potential. This is code for "most of what you are about to read is headcanons, because I have been putting off reading the comics and rely heavily on the X-men cartoons right now." More under the cut :3
The whole thing about Warren is that his character conflicts are almost completely internal. He's got a ton of internalized anti-mutant hangups because his dad in most iterations is the billionaire CEO of a pharmaceutical company that's trying to develop a mutant cure. He's anxious, angry, even severely depressed, but he doesn't let that show to any of his teammates. He feels the need to rely only on himself (something something, child neglect) and by putting on a flirty rich "bad boy" front he is able to get away with it for a long time. That is until he loses his wings.
This is how the Archangel arc starts, usually. Warren gets severely injured in some kind of freak accident and ends up in the hospital, where his wings are amputated without his knowledge or consent. FTR this is not even close to the most extreme case of medical abuse in this soap opera ass series. A villain, usually Apocalypse, promises to be able to get his wings back and coerces him into a contraption that brainwashes him and turns him blue and gives him wings made out of metal blades and it's all very late-80s edgy. The X-Men come to stop him and they knock him out of the brainwashing and he leaves forever because now that he's not evil I guess he's no fun anymore. What I'm doing is standing on the rooftops and screaming ARCHANGEL IS NOT A CHARACTER!!! HE IS A NARRATIVE DEVICE!!!!! Yes his knife-wings are very cool and more fun to write and draw combat scenes with but Archangel is a corrupted version of a character we know who has been overtaken by rage. Archangel is REVENGE, Archangel is GRIEF!! He had an integral part of his identity, a literal piece of his body taken away from him and he turned to a very dark place to try and get that back and it changed him permanently. THAT'S INTERESTING! If you work backwards from that it can also make normal-style Angel really interesting too. Does he snap at people? Is he directing his self-loathing outwards? Does he grow at peace with his mutant identity and reject fully the prejudice of his family, content with the family he has found in other mutants, and THAT'S when you strike and take his wings away? MUCH TO THINK ABOUT!!
Wolverine And The X-Men is not a good cartoon, being especially notable for its sidelining and disempowerment of the women X-Men, but it gets the closest to understanding Warren. He's not super present in the show prior, but in "Guardian Angel" he gets the spotlight and this single episode tackles the becoming Archangel part of the arc so well that it's the reason I'm obsessed with this B-list white man. Weirdly it's Mr. Sinister who turns him and not Apocalypse, which doesn't *not* make sense in context unless you remember that if they got a season 2 they were gonna do Apocalypse. But that's a tangent in itself. Anyway the episode is really really great as a somewhat-standalone. The stuff about a mutant cure is an interesting take on fantasy eugenics and Warren is so queercoded it's insane. He's so queercoded that Storm is his girlfriend for no reason and it never comes up again in any other episode. The show also drops the ball on following through with anything Archangel does; see the aforementioned Apocalypse thing, they were probably going to resolve it in season 2. Honestly it's a tossup whether that would have been satisfying had it gotten to exist. WATX is weird, don't watch it.
That's a lot of my thoughts on Warren. It's not all angst, I also think the moments where he's a prankster bastard are really fun. It's just clear to me that so many writers see him as the guy whose boring power is "having wings" and nothing more and that's really disappointing to me, the world's number one enjoyer of arrogant pricks who secretly hate themselves.
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https://www.tumblr.com/rawliverandgoronspice/718014251940315136?source=share
Ill be honest and say i think the removal of sheikah related lore was not for internal weird racist reasons and instead simply for game design reasons, why the zonai tech is so similar in concept and execution. totk is a sequel and also a redux, they needed technology for mechanics and a reason for the world to change and introducing an entirely new race of characters would be the perfect scapegoat. it feels like it ignores botw almost entirely because 1) new players 2) to be a finished version of botw more mechanics and more content. the narrative was barely a thing in this game because what mattered the most was design and gameplay above all else. i don't think caring about gameplay first particularly bad, it's a fun game they will probably revolutionize the industry once again, and that nintendo doesn't care about lore at all but it really wasn't the priory here at least that's how I felt when i play the game. i adore the overworld and the npcs but the main quest (tears) story itself is very stale. best praise i can give to it is character design and zeldas sacrifice/how they handled her and link that's literally it (vague because i don't know if you've gotten there yet, it's after the completion of the tears quest and getting the master sword). zelda lore at this point is a sandbox and us fans will do what we want with it. sorry for the ramble!
Hey, thanks for the ask!
So I sort of agree, especially on the first part. I absolutely believe that yes, sheikah were not sidelined for malicious reasons, and the ease of just having one super-powerful ultratech culture you rely on was cleaner than having the old relics hanging around. I actually think it's the cleanest choice to make (one that would have been *even cleaner* would have been to write a story and think of a world that reinvent its landmarks based on that new ideas of archeology and the past bursting back into the present, which is theme that coats the game but doesn't ever permeates it). I still think any acknowledgement that it used to exist would have enriched a world that has, ultimately, very little new things to teach us about itself (I have scoured the Depths a bunch, and it's a combat/exploration hotspot, and that's cool but also what a missed opportunity to try some proper FromSoftware-style worldbuilding down there!). I don't think this would have confused new players; if anything it could have hinted at more and gave the new players any reason to pick up Breath of the Wild? But: the world is a playground! That's cool. I think it could be a much more meaningful playground, that's all. There's a category of players who kind of need some light modicum of internal consistency to be invested in exploration, and will just get bored otherwise (I have seen a bunch of people making this exact remark, and honestly... yeah, there are areas in the game I'm not interested in exploring just because I know it's a consequenceless challenge in the end --I'm just not the kind of player that is hooked by a game loop on its own merit, I need to understand what I'm building towards or I lose interest. It's the kind of thing that wouldn't have changed anything to a regular TotK's enjoyer experience, but would have greatly enriched the experience of players like me)
Still think that making Sheikahs a subset of hylians was a very weird choice. Not an outright malicious one, but one that does build up with all of the other weird choices and make this Hyrule feel like a revisionist Hyrule; and one they simply... didn't have to make.
(I'll maybe do another post about this, but there are so many things in this game that would be very confusing to a new player either way also --but that's kind of going into another territory)
I disagree about one general point, however, and I may get offtrack here a little but I guess you gave me an excuse to rant a little about how narrative design is perceived by the general public and what has been frustrating to witness in regards to the conversation surrounding this game from my perspective.
Mainly, this notion that "they had no other choice" because they chose to prioritize gameplay. I'm going to overshare a little (again sorry) but I work in gamedev in real life; I am actually a narrative designer that did quest design and game writing on a couple of games, some of them that also qualify as AAA open worlds. I think it's completely fair to see this game from a player perspective as a series of compromises struck to privilege the aspect of the game they were the most confident with --however, it is literally my real life job to walk through situations that can be extremely similar to this one and find solutions that weave narration with fun experiences game and level designers managed to put together. It doesn't mean that story has to swallow gameplay: if anything, narrative designers always try to privilege mechanics first and treat them as narrative devices in their own right before whipping out the actual cutscenes and the constant writing (and this game was somehow under AND overwritten in my opinion, especially in English --so I don't think it even solved this aspect?). This is not at all aimed at you in particular but at the internet at large; it ends up being quite grating to see assumptions being made about what can and can't be done in non-linear narrative as like, a fact of the universe instead of it being a specific field that deserve research and investment just like any other graphical advancement or intricate interactive feature, and explain away poor design decisions by the strange notion that they had no other choice, as if Nintendo studios aren't comprised of a bunch of humans who made active and passive choices. Like, I worked on very similar issues. There are solutions to how you feed information to the player in a non-linear way. There are ways to maximize impact and depth, even when you let the player guide the story. Again: it's fine if it doesn't bug you or a lot of people --but there are flaws. It happens. It's gamedev. It's a miracle any game is made at all --and this one is its own sort of miracle. What strikes me as strange is that I never see that level of excuses made for companies that do not cultivate that same image of being an unapproachable, united workforce, that get instead torn to shreds at the slightest sideway brush --but that's another subject maybe (maybe).
Narrative design is this thing that, when it's not there, people don't realize it could be; and when it is there, people take it for granted unless it's very visibly front and center like in Edith Finch or Disco Elysium or any other number of indie games (generally it's the indies who do all the research and development and take all of the risks on that front --like seriously I worked in narrative-driven studios, known for their narrative games, where 2/3 of the game designers couldn't care less about emotional impact beyond satisfaction/frustration/boredom, and it's infinitely frustrating (heh) to have your specialization considered optional fluff when you know how far thematic cohesion can push a game when handled well ANYWAY anyway). So: I was always going to care about the way they handled narrative, because it's how I'm wired, what I research, and I also played this game in part because I was very curious on how they'd push their explorations of BotW's possibilities, which were very interesting if a little limited. Needless to say, this was a let down. And I think it's not unreasonable to have higher narrative standards than this.
I do want to autocorrect myself on a statement I put out before, however, that being the notion that not enough research was put into narrative. I think I want to push forward a new theory that sounds much more plausible to me (again based on nothing but speculation and weird déjà-vu vibes, which is perhaps why I care that much :) :) ), and that being: a lot of research was done, and then cut. It seems very plausible the narrative used to be much more ambitious than this --and then, for one reason or another, somebody panicked, or the thing got out of hand, or they couldn't get it to work exactly right, and everything was downscoped pretty late into production. Six years of development is a long time, and I don't think anyone with the standards of a Nintendo employee would have been happy with handling the storyline the way it was. It kinda feels like a rushed cobble-up of loose threads after a massive downsizing, leaving plot holes and suboptimal emotional experience. Again: just a theory, no proof at all. But I absolutely wouldn't be surprised, and it would explain a lot of things.
#asks#thoughts#totk#totk spoilers#totk critical#gamedev#narrative design#sheikah#botw#as for the lore as a sandbox: yes! I agree#tloz#but here they tried to shut doors instead of opening them almost?#I mean not really#but it is obviously a soft reboot#I don't know there is this sort of vague contempt for zelda lore/story enjoyers that permeate a lot of the discourse#which I find weird and unfair#like it's one of the last forms of gamer nerdiness worthy of mockery that a lot of other fanbases seem to have outgrown#nobody can agree on what feels like Zelda or what part of Zelda is important!! that's the zelda fandom: arguing about what is Zelda!!#and story fans were always an important subpart of the fanbase#not you anon but general internet dwellers have this sneering “you enjoy the game wrong so it's not for you” attitude#when it's clearly and demonstrably untrue (or it has been in the past)#and if it ends up becoming true... then isn't it a sad thing?#why are we scoffing at the people who don't feel at home with zelda anymore?#especially when they very well still could if some *truly* minor effort was being made in their favor?#anyway thanks for the ask! I hope I make some sort of sense!
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Sometimes I just can't shake the feeling that "the curse of Mico simps mysteriously vanishing" I half-jokingly mentioned earlier is simply a reflection of the issue of Bloodborne fandom both being small(ish) and having many very talented artists.
Out of all fandoms I've been at, Bloodborne is the one where literally nothing is easier than to see extremely skilled artists banging out masterpieces every week and feel kinda.. talentless? Mediocre and not wanted, even, especially if you have a simple or cute/silly art style. The only ways to combat this dread is to get on the good side of "cool popular kids" that distribute majority of likes/reblogs, or to find your own supportive group of friends. With Mico fans it just is harder because for some reason the fanbase of this character has always been kinda disorganized, and he himself tends to attract people with very sensitive, intricate souls hahah. Thinking back on Mico fans that mysteriously vanished from the fandom like goddamn magic that I used to know, they all had severe self-confidence issues...? AND no network of "the same two supportive mutuals". Maybe that's why so many of them just deactivated or never posted again? Maybe feeling "small" as artists was too much?
Again, not only this character, but the example I am most familiar with because unlike other characters, this one fails to create a "core" if you know what I mean? But THE funniest thing? Situation with art in the fandom reflects how Fromsofts games feel themselves...? The sense of being overwhelmed by something much bigger and stronger than you, feeling your self-confidence crashed and wondering how THE fuck are you supposed to overcome this? This is the other side of being in the community full of a little TOO talented people, really. It just can be easy to feel like you are worse than others and not wanted.
Basically, I don't know who needs to hear this, but if you feel like your skill and talent are lower than everyone else's - treat it like being kinda not very good at soulsborne games as a player, and if you feel like you just can't join a group or create your own to get enough engagement and validation - treat it like not being able to online coop for help! How would you continue playing in this situation? Right, you would study the game, keep trying new tools and practice on your own terms and at your own pace! If you feel this kind of dread, do the same: experiment with the style, designs, characters, ideas and so on until you feel so engaged and satisfied that you just can't quit. Until it becomes almost like addiction and finishing your art ideas becomes what keeps you here. Before I've found the same five people that always like my art I've also been feeling like I just don't belong and my art is worse than that of "actually" talented artists here. So I've kept looking for something within my art itself and discovered a passion: both for drawing characters in the way that captures every single detail (no matter how much it torments me lol) and for depicting absurd amount of references for characters in every single state of their life! This is what helped me to not feel so bad about what art skills I lack, this keeps me engaged even if I stop getting notes and compliments at all, this is what makes how good other people's art is irrelevant because it is about my goalposts now, and I am sure other people who don't feel confident can find their own ""playing style"" but in creativity that'll make it fun!
Just don't quit, okay? Like... no matter how much you may feel that "everyone else is more talented or more supported or both", I promise you can find the way. Just like how you didn't understand how to beat these games at first but adapted in the end. EVERYTHING Soulsborne goes back to a theme of having to overcome a really hard challenge, right? Creativity too, and our self-confidence is under constant testing which I honestly do not recall being the case in my previous fandoms??
#fandomry rambles#creativity#sorry Ive just been reflecting on all the small artists that just disappeared#yeah I get it. it gotta be the pressure of some insanely talented artists in this fandom
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I beat An Elder Scrolls Legend: Battlespire for the first time today! I installed it for the first time just two days ago. I quickly became addicted and just kept wanting to play more, no matter how janky or absurdly hard it got. I love it so much and have already planned out how I'll do things differently in a second playthrough.
It's a short game (only 7 somewhat linear levels) but it's like old shooter games, where every damn obstacle you encounter is an unnecessarily confusing puzzle, so each level takes way longer than you could imagine from the start. Weirdly enough, it's kind of like Dark Souls or similar in that you need to run past certain enemies in order to survive, because it's impossible to kill everything in one go. The game outright tells you this in written text by the way, the devs made sure you knew certain enemies are practically or literally impossible, and in one level they give you hidden items that let you 1-hit-kill certain enemies with a special dialogue option.
So it was a bit much, between the tough hordes of enemies, and the weird one-off scamps with (literally) 10,000 HP, just as a little prank from the devs. There are even water pits (which you can't escape from; you must reload if you fall in) with notes behind them that say "Intelligence Training" and it's the most troll bs ever... It's funny coming from the same series as Skyrim, which aims to be as player-friendly as possible.
It's so hard, I think the only more difficult games I've played are Wildfrost and maybe Star Wars Dark Forces or TIE Fighter. I had to save and reload so many damn times, and if you clip into any geometry, you are most likely stuck until you die or reload. And the game fucking stops when you die... It has to boot up from DOS again every damn time. Every single misstep is a huge punishment, especially considering the Level 5 save bloat bug which means if you need to reload 30-50 or more times during that one level, your character will become unplayable unless you take specific steps to prevent said save bloat. Thankfully I found out about it beforehand, or I'd have been screwed.
Anyway, fun game, hard as fuck. I've played all the numbered TES games except Arena, so I know what I'm doing, and still had a rough time. In the help section of the game, the devs even recommend that "Experienced Players" try multiple builds in the beginning of the game, meaning that even if you know exactly what you're doing and how the Daggerfall-style stat and combat systems work, it still doesn't mean you'll be able to complete the game. I had to start a second, better character build after I couldn't defeat certain enemies in Level 2. So wack. I don't ever think I've had to create a new character in any game I've EVER played because I literally couldn't kill certain enemies. I highly recommend it if you have the patience.
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Ok time to go through some more small things quickly because I'm getting behind.
Will You Snail?
More fun and interesting than I expected. I wasn't really sure what I was getting into beyond it being cheap and having tons of positive reviews, but it turned out to be a precision platformer where you play as a snail (and can wear another smaller snail as a hat), and it's about the fear of AI literally taking over the world and whether reality is really real. Also the AI is an asshole and spontaneously spawns bullshit spikes and lasers and stuff exactly where it thinks you're about to go so you have to contend with that in addition to just making it through each room.
I had a good enough time to finish the story and get somewhere north of 50% completion, but I don't really see myself doing the optional stuff like beating everything on the highest difficulty. The auto-difficulty kept me somewhere in the 2-3 range out of 4 95% of the time with very rare spikes to 4, and with me getting worse at stuff like this over time as my reactions get slightly slower, my vision gets worse, and my brain just gets generally weird, I don't really see a point in pushing myself harder just to frustrate myself.
Lara Croft GO
It only took me forever to get around to this one, which I probably would've forgotten about if someone didn't gift me a copy a few days ago. Basically you, uh, raid tombs. Big surprise, I know, but this time it's a turn-based puzzle game. I liked the puzzles enough and different mechanics they introduced enough to finish it because some of them were reasonably clever/satisfying, but I'm not sure if I'll bother with the extra ones after the credits roll. Toward the end after I got the hang of it I tended to finish levels without having to retry more than a couple times, but just knowing I'd have to start over entirely for every mistake or misclick makes it less enjoyable.
I'm pretty sure it's my second favorite Tomb Raider game now, and one of only two I've ever finished. The other was the 2013 reboot, which I thought was great. I tried the sequel to that and didn't really like all the changes they made to the formula because they all made it less fun for me, and I always thought the pre-reboot ones were just bad. To be fair I heard the later ones did get better and I never tried any of those, but the PS1 era games were anti-fun for me.
I'LL KILL HER
More of a digital comic book than anything, like a visual novel with an extreme emphasis on the visual part and no decision making. The art style was enough to get my interest to try it, and that's probably the main thing it has going for it. The story is...fine? Not super deep or original and feels like it maybe has some translation or non-native English issues sometimes, but it all fits together well enough in the end I guess. All of the content warnings for this one for stuff like abuse and domestic violence and suicide.
Cris Tales
Somehow this is the only one of these that I gave up on before finishing it. A lot of stuff in it is absolutely gorgeous (go watch the animated intro, seriously), and I was getting into the setting and some of the themes it was hinting at, and the time shifting mechanics are pretty neat both for exploration and combat, but I just don't really enjoy playing the game very much.
Society has advanced beyond the need for random encounters, but Cris Tales has not. Good thing it has irritatingly long load times for each one, at least on the Switch, and it has to do it again going back from the battle screen to the main overworld. And I really am not into how the combat encounters are balanced. Even basic trash enemies a few hours into the game can do absurd amounts of damage, like 40+ when your characters barely have over 100 hp. You can reduce that with timed button presses like Paper Mario/Mario RPG games, but the animations while pretty are really bad at conveying the actual correct timing for stuff.
Basically I like most things about the game except for actually playing it. Well, it's fine in towns I guess, but there's too much other stuff I'm not into for that to make up for it. Oh, and the voice acting isn't terrible or anything, but it's definitely worse than most things I've played this year with voice acting and didn't really do it for me. Also it has the most basic and obvious bug that I'm mildly surprised I've never seen in anything else: it counts the entire time the game is suspended while the Switch is asleep toward your play time. I apparently spent 60 hours on the game, when really it was about 3.
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