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queenofcrystaltokyo · 4 years ago

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My Spotify got DELETED this year so no Spotify Wrapped. Instead I’m just going to list all of the albums I bought on iTunes and go over my thoughts on them. No ratings; ratings are lame.

Cape God - Allie X

It’s no surprise I’ve been following Allie since Collxtion I. This year’s album from her is a natural evolution and a wonderful maturation of her music up to this point. Her previous work was already developed but I find this album just strikes to the center of your person. I feel like telling you there’s a collab with Mitski on here puts that into good perspective.

Personal Standout: Sarah Come Home

Future Nostalgia - Dua Lipa

I haven’t listened to this one much since the week I bought it. It’s a good pop album though with a lot of disco influence which was fun and was definitely a trend in pop music this year. That and metal.

Personal Standout: Don’t Start Now or Physical

SAWAYAMA - Rina Sawayama

I’ve been a fan of hers since we were orange hair sisters in 2017. But oh boy. This album. In many ways album of the year (although I can name three other albums on this list that also vie for that spot). Her use of rock music and the variety of topics (compare Comme Des Garçons and XS) shows the depth of her talent. Still upset I didn’t get to see her and Allie in April.

Personal Standout: Who’s Gonna Save U Now?

Fetch The Bolt Cutters - Fiona Apple

When I first head The Idler Wheel when I was 15, I think my world changed a little. It’s like when you hear The Hounds of Love for the first time. So it was no surprise her next album would be phenomenal. But it should be illegal for an album to be this perfect. Cutting to the core of every possible emotion in a way that only Fiona could do. Flawless is selling it short.

Personal Standout: Drumset

I Disagree - Poppy

I followed Poppy for a bit when she was that one girl who made weird experimental Youtube videos and had one EP. I remember getting 3:36 on her Bandcamp. But I sort of fell off. But THEN I was made aware of this album, gave it a listen, and bought it immediately. I love good, rich rock music and deeply miss it in the pop scene I’ve stationed myself in. This scratches that itch in abundance.

Personal Standout: I Disagree

Petals For Armor - Hayley Williams

Paramore is maybe the most important rock band of the last 20 years. After Laughter is probably my actual favorite album of all time even though I still say Miley Cyrus And Her Dead Petz. But Hayley’s solo work has proven itself to be a separate entity. It’s very deep and personal and is refined in a way that could only come from years of being deeply ingrained in music and understanding it thoroughly.

Personal Standout: Cinnamon

Flamboyant (Deluxe) - Dorian Electra

I was initially hesitant to get into Dorian Electra. I think I thought it was trying too hard. But I warmed up a little and found it speaking to my queer masculine side, which I often ignored in favor of the liberation of femininity.

Personal Standout: Adam & Steve

how i’m feeling now - Charli XCX

How Charli managed to make a no-skip in two months during quarantine is completely beyond me.

Personal Standout: anthems

spice²world - Spice Girls

Now I’m sure you saw this and thought “Wait, what’s that? I’ve never heard of that album.” Well this is actually related to the Spotify deletion. It’s literally just Spice and Spiceworld stuck together. I had it as a playlist on my Spotify and decided to recreate it in my iTunes.

Personal Standout: It’s the Spice Girls. Love Thing is my favorite.

Smile - Katy Perry

I’ve loved Katy Perry since fucking meanplastic posted a soundcloud post of International Smile. From there I delved into her back catalog and learned that One of the Boys is and will always be her best album, which is somewhat unfortunate because, presumably after Lady Gaga blew up, she shifted to pop music and we’ll never get 2008 pop rock goddess Katy back again. But don’t let that deter you. Her music has been evolving since Teenage Dream, which was written by God according to people on here who jump through hoops to hate her. And though Witness was like Artpop in that it sort of broke the facade of infallibility, Smile took what worked from Witness and refined it into a more introspective album that’s trying less hard to be commercial. I hate to admit that that post comparing Katy to Cyndi Lauper as a relic of her decade was right, but I’m okay with that because I feel like Katy is gearing up to be, in the words of Britney Spears, an underground star.

Personal Standout: Tucked

Chromatica - Lady Gaga

I’ve been a little monster since the very beginning. I remember preordering Born This Way at Hot Topic when I was 14. Since then I’ve always held that it’s her best album (though Joanne didn’t make that hard to argue). But Lady Gaga did the impossible. Yes, Chromatica is now Lady Gaga’s best album. The club pop with elements of disco is sheer perfection.

Personal Standout: Replay

Pang - Caroline Polachek

I know I really hyped this album up when it came out last year, but I only got around to actually buying it this year after my Spotify got deleted. But yeah, of course this album is great.

Personal Standout: Pang

Spirit Phone - Lemon Demon

A striking departure from the previous listings. Calling it meme music would not be incorrect. But it’s fun and it’s good. I listened to it all day Halloween but I’m still listening to it right now.

Personal Standout: I Earn My Life

Dreamland - Black Box

Do y’all like house music? If you do, then this album needs no introduction. It is THE house album. Stan Martha Wash.

Personal Standout: I Don’t Know Anybody Else. But you should definitely listen to Ride on Time first.

BONUS:

apathy + Vacuum Noises - Astrophysics

I didn’t buy these albums on iTunes. I got them off of Astrophysics’ Bandcamp. So that’s why they’re bonuses. But I love these albums so much. I only started following Astrophysics this year. You might know them for doing synthwave remixes of anime songs like Connect from PMMM or Komm Süsser Todd from NGE. But their music has evolved into more glitchcore/shoegaze (with a Soviet aesthetic that I love). It’s some of the best music I’ve heard in that field.

Personal Standout: The remix of Sometimes by My Bloody Valentine from Vacuum Noises. Listen to it here!

ベノマ - かいりきベア (Venomer - Kairiki Bear)

This one I also did not buy on iTunes. But I didn’t get it on Bandcamp either. I got it on mikudb, which is my go-to website for Vocaloid music. Venomer is a remix collab album by Kairiki Bear where he invited several other Vocaloid producers to remix his most popular songs. It’s a real who’s-who of the hottest Vocaloid producers right now.

Personal Standout: The Niru Kajitsu remix of Ángel (I have an audio post of it here!)

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stringnarratives · 6 years ago

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An Act of Shelf Discovery

[This post brought to you spoiler free and full of the blogger’s personal experience!]

In my third-ever post on this blog on March 23, 2017, I wrote about making the switch from physical books to e-books. For someone who loved (and still loves) the sensory aspect of physical books, it was a daunting challenge, but a necessary one: At the time, I would go on average 6 months between moves, had three shelves at my consistent disposal, and more books than I could count. Books lived in piles next to my bed, were stored in boxes in the closet, were forced upon my brother (who is also an avid supporter of this blog and probably reading this post: In which case, hi!) under the guise of “recommendations” so they could live in his space instead of mine.

Fast forward two years and that habit has set in hard - I purchase between 85 and 90 percent of my books digitally now, even though some of the circumstances that made it necessary have thankfully expired (For the record, infrequent moving is an absolute joy!). In addition to a more compact, generally cheaper library that I abuse less and finish more, e-books have also contributed strongly to another new book-buying habit I’ve developed: Preordering.

In 2019, I made it a goal to learn more about my own literary consumption by forgoing the majority of traditional book shopping and preordering any new release that piqued my interest. Tracking each of my pre-purchases via color-coded spreadsheet (as one does, and indeed, must), I’ve thrown myself full-force into the new, and learned a lot in the process, both about the function of preorders in the publishing industry and about my own taste in literature.

The Purpose of Preorders

Before this experiment, my main experience with pre-orders had been primarily in relation to video games (I’m a sucker for midnight release downloads directly to my console) or limited edition media that I’m unlikely to procure without being proactive. I didn’t really know much about them beyond the consumer perspective, but being the chronic researcher I (clearly) am, I wanted to know what my new purchasing habit meant in greater context.

To break it down, preorders serve two main purposes in the publishing industry. They are A) a promotional tool for authors and publishers to build hype for a book before it’s released and B) an indicator for stores to properly respond to a book’s demand.

A preorder’s promotional value could come from a few different avenues. As pre-order sales contribute to the release week sales total for a book (as mentioned in this Parnassus Musings post), they can be valuable fuel for books that rocket to the top of bestseller lists. For first time or less well-known authors, having a preorder page automatically create an additional searchable content and feeling of legitimacy for books in the promotional phase. The more people who pre-order the book are also potentially more people who would share about their pre-order with their friends.

For established authors, preorders often come from existing fans of a series or the author themselves, and serve as an indicator as to the activity of the existing fanbase, efficiency of an author’s platform for communicating with fans, as well as their interest in new work.

In 2016, the written script of “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” became Amazon’s No. 1 preorder for the year, according to CNET, and topped Barnes & Noble’s chart as well, according to Rolling Stone. While the exact number of preorders was apparently not released, it makes complete sense that the number would be a big one. Pottermore (which Wikipedia describes as a “digital publishing, e-commerce, entertainment, and news company from J. K. Rowling” not limited to the popular virtual Hogwarts experience) released a bulletin early last year that over 500 million Harry Potter books had been sold in the 20 years since the first book’s release.

In addition to their promotional function, preorders also serve as an indicator for a book’s popularity upon release. In a 2017 blog post to authors about the importance of pre-orders, Penguin Random House stresses that a high enough preorder number could “lead to retailers increasing their initial orders.” Last November, Barnes & Noble reported former first lady Michelle Obama’s memoir “Becoming” to be the most preordered book of 2018, according to The Washington Post. This article in particular points out how booksellers prepare for a book’s popularity based on a preorder buzz, “bracing” for enormous numbers of books to fly off the shelves by bulking up their orders ahead of time.

Preorders are a function of marketing in the publishing industry - an opportunity to get readers in the door early, and get them to talk about a book before its release. In return, readers get discounts, bonuses, the satisfaction of knowing they’ll be one of the first members of the public to receive the work, and, very occasionally, some insight into who they are as readers.

Getting Shelf-ish

In the four-ish months (at time of writing), around 22 books have come to me through the preorder method. With 13 books total read so far this year, about 7 of them were preorders, both they and the books between them have plenty to tell about how I read.

My taste is more consistent in concept than it is in practice.

Anyone who’s stuck around String Narratives long enough will know that, across mediums, I’m big on a few genres: Science fiction, horror and satire, primarily. When I started preordering books as a part of this experiment, I thought it pretty safe to assume that if a book fell into one of those categories, there was a good chance I’d enjoy it. Which, for the record, probably still holds true.

But one thing that I did notice early on in this experiment and didn’t expect at all was that I very, very quickly get bored with my own taste. I can get ahold of too much science fiction at once, too much horror. Both genres can get absolutely exhausting without a break between them - breaks I took naturally when purchasing books in a more traditional fashion without realizing. So, for all of those winter sci-fi reads I was so excited about started losing their appeal, I found myself turning to much different fare as a palate cleanser: YA fiction, books about food, and biography - three genres much lower on my radar which I ended up enjoying just as much.

Access to books is rarely the thing that keeps me from reading.

It is what it says on the tin. Where I’d previously easily blamed “not having anything to read” (a concept laughable to anyone who knows me, much less has lived with me and my books) for a lack of desire to consume printed work, I have to now own up to my truth. As books are on a similar mid-week release schedule as most other popular media, I get at least one book delivered to my e-reader most Tuesdays, which means there is always something to read. If I don’t want to read, it’s simply because I don’t feel like it. (Which is totally okay! Life happens and we roll with it.)

My library is built from recommendations.

Recommendations and reviews are my bread and butter when it comes to choosing what kind of media I want to ingest, and not always in the way you think. I typically rely on others to help discern the true atmosphere of a work when I’m easily caught up in cover art and promotional images. While books in the promotional stage are less likely to have a significant number of reviews, I still rely fairly heavily on Advance Reader Copy (ARC) reviews to estimate how much I’ll enjoy a book before preordering. Adding onto that, I get a lot of my book news from online outlets specifically dedicated to new book releases, including Verge’s monthly round-up of science fiction books and Book Riot’s whole entire site.

My new release discovery time is anywhere between 1 month and 10 months.

Was I absolutely stoked to find out that my book of the year 2018 - Semiosis by Sue Burke - was getting a sequel? I absolutely was. Did I preorder that sequel nine months and 11 days before it’s projected to come out? I absolutely did. For authors I already know, love and follow, I’m happy to be that fan that lets everyone know I’ve already made the preorder. For authors I’m less familiar with, or who are debuting their first book, that ten month window might actually shrink to something more like ten days. It isn’t a hard and fast rule, but there certainly is something to being in the know when it comes to favorite authors’ upcoming releases - a result of great communication and even better marketing.

The narratives we consume say a lot about us. They speak to our loves, our fears, the places we want to go between the hours of our waking lives. We pass them along to those around us, intentionally or not.

But as we become consistently more aware of how the stories around us shape our lives and mature in our understanding of how they fit into the world, we must also, I believe, recognize something else: The way we acquire narratives says just as much about us as the stories we choose to slip into.

#topics #preorders #books #book #ebooks #topic #preorder #a horrifying pun title

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preciousmetals0 · 5 years ago

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Senate Knows Best?; Sucker Bets on Jumbo Jets

Senate Knows Best?; Sucker Bets on Jumbo Jets:

Mo’ Money, Fewer Problems?

They did it. They finally did it.

By “they,” I mean Congress … and by “it,” I mean a stimulus package deal to combat the coronavirus.

The Senate and the White House announced late last night that they reached an agreement on a historic $2 trillion spending bill. (That’s trillion with a T.)

That’s wonderful news, Mr. Great Stuff! Now, what’s in this spending bill? Where’s my stimulus money?!

Well, reportedly, every American who makes less than $75,000 will receive a cash payment of $1,200 — $2,400 for married couples making less than $150,000 — plus $500 per child. If you make more than the specified amounts, your payout will be reduced.

And the rest?

There’s a $350 billion fund for small businesses to help with payroll and stem layoffs.

There’s $58 billion for airlines. I know from your emails that airline bailouts are very … um … “popular” with Great Stuff readers — especially since the bill won’t require airlines to pay back that money. However, the Senate says that airlines that take bailout cash will be prohibited from stock buybacks and CEO bonuses … so that’s something.

And there’s also the infamous $500 billion fund to help businesses hit by the coronavirus.

This one was a particular sticking point. In the original bill, there was no oversight on how this money was doled out. U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin was originally the sole proprietor of this cash fund, and companies that took money were allowed to remain anonymous for six months.

However, there will now be an oversight panel headed by independent counsel to help adjudicate (in other words, “make it rain”) that half a trillion dollars.

To paraphrase Chandler Bing from Friends: “Could we be any more stimulated?”

The Takeaway:

It’s important to remember that the Senate hasn’t actually passed this $2 trillion monstrosity yet. And, while the Senate is expected to vote to pass it today, the House is still in recess and probably won’t vote until Friday.

Until it’s actually passed, we won’t know exactly what’s in the bill. That means some of these figures and details are subject to change.

Now, I know what you’re thinking. Well … at least I hope I know what you’re thinking. It’s what I’m thinking…

Where’s the money to actually fight COVID-19?

It’s there, just in much smaller figures than the actual stimulus.

There’s reportedly $150 billion to aid states and local municipalities to fight the pandemic.

There’s also $55 billion for hospitals and the general health care system.

That seems like a relatively small portion of the $2 trillion. It has me worried that legislators were more interested in dumping cash into the economy than addressing the central issue.

And if you think I’m overreacting, just wait…

Tomorrow’s weekly jobless claims report will be an eye-opener. Next week’s report will be even worse.

Oh, geez … here he goes again. Mr. Negative Nancy…

I could be wrong — and Great Stuff readers are quick to point out when I am — but I don’t think Wall Street realizes the situation’s severity.

COVID-19 cases will soar. The number of U.S. infections will surpass Italy. It may even surpass China. (It definitely will if shelter-in-place rules are lifted too early.)

That means more jobless claims and economic woes. But for our portfolios, that means more market selling.

Sure, we have more than $2 trillion in stimulus sloshing around in the economy. But I don’t believe we’re out of the woods yet. The stark reality of COVID-19 is about to yank that nice, warm $2 trillion blanket right off of Wall Street, leaving many rushing to “buy the bottom” out in the cold.

Get ready for another dip.

I have just the solution for your COVID-19 fears. His name is Ted Bauman.

Ted knows the market will stay irrational as long as it dang well pleases … and you should prepare for any scenario. That’s why Ted’s readers in The Bauman Letter have diversification and disaster prep right at their fingertips.

If this ends up getting worse before it gets better, I want you to be ready…

Click here to get ready now!

Good: Take These Broken Wings…

Airline stocks soared today, and the stimulus eagle hasn’t even landed yet. (I’m a little creeped out by “stimulus eagle,” but whatever…)

American Airlines Group Inc. (Nasdaq: AAL), Delta Air Lines Inc. (NYSE: DAL) and others went vertical to the tune of 10% or more on the bailout news. The original offer for $50 billion in loans was tempting … but the new promise of grants that airlines might not have to repay? That has everyone in the sector just giddy.

Now, you may ask yourself: “Why are airlines ‘good,’ Mr. Great Stuff?”

And you may tell yourself: “Well, it’s good because airlines are less likely to go bankrupt now.”

But, if you invest in the airline sector right now, a few months down the road, you may ask yourself: “My God, what have I done?”

This bailout is good for the sector over the long term. But right now, my opinion is to let the days go by. (Let the water hold me up…) They most likely won’t go bankrupt now, but they are far from safe investments.

There will be a time to buy stocks like AAL and DAL, but now isn’t that time.

Better: Just Flu It

If you’re looking for a company that isn’t rallying because of $2 trillion in stimulus today, Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE) has you covered.

Sure, Nike could benefit from the added cash in consumers’ pockets, but earnings and projections are the real reason why NKE is up more than 10% today.

Nike’s third-quarter earnings topped the consensus estimate by $0.24 per share, with revenue beating expectations by $230 million. The coronavirus hurt profits, Nike said, but a resurgence of consumers in Asia appears very promising.

“Now all three markets are through what we’re calling recovery — that is, retail is opening back up — consumers are back on the street. And as we move into normalization, retail traffic is coming back,” CEO John Donahoe said in Nike’s conference call.

Nike reports that 80% of its stores in greater China are now reopened.

The company is sure to see some disruptions in U.S. sales as COVID-19 cases surge stateside, but Nike is looking a lot more stable now that Asian consumers are returning to stores.

Best: The Child Has Spoken

There’s been a lot of hype surrounding shelter-in-place companies like Zoom Video Communications Inc. (Nasdaq: ZM) and Slack Technologies Inc. (NYSE: WORK), but I’ve seen little hard data to back up the euphoria.

But there are some data emerging this week for Disney+ operator The Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) that you definitely need to see. According to a Forbes report, Disney+ saw sign-ups more than triple between March 14 and March 16 compared to the week prior — making it the most popular streaming coronavirus distraction by far.

Disney reported in February that it already had more than 28 million Disney+ subscribers, so we can probably expect major additions to this figure when the company releases official figures again.

Additionally, Hasbro Inc. (Nasdaq: HAS) — aka Disney’s toy division — is reporting strong demand for Baby Yoda merchandise and toys. Items like the animatronic Baby Yoda aren’t even available in stores yet, but preorders have already sold out.

Right now, many investors are shying away from DIS due to park closures and motion picture revenue concerns. However, if you already hold DIS or want a bargain in the COVID-19 sell-off, snapping up the stock for anything under $100 would be a steal.

It figures: Within minutes of seeing the “DEAL REACHED” headlines, posts started to crop up across my social media feeds, all mentioning what so-and-so plans to do with their stimulus check. (Hint: It probably shouldn’t be used to further expand your toilet paper empire. Probably.)

Unless the feds are leading up to one big “check’s in the mail” punchline … hold your horses, buckaroo!

Seriously, we haven’t seen the deal’s terms … we haven’t even seen the Senate’s vote on it, for Pete’s sake. Let’s not cash our stimulus eggs before they hatch. (Do hatched stimulus eggs turn into stimulus eagles? Perish the thought…)

By now, you know my side: I still see economic storm clouds fast approaching, and Wall Street just left its umbrella at home following a $2 trillion stimulus forecast.

With that in mind — it’s time to talk market timing in today’s Poll of the Week!

They say only fools try to time the market … so let’s all be fools today! I want to hear your perspective on these unprecedented trading days. I mean, what else are we going to do? We’re all stuck inside!

Have we seen the corona-crash’s worst? Or has it only just begun? Vote below and let us know!

Great Stuff: $&*% Adds up at the Bottom

I’m investin’ … lookin’ up to see the indices. And I have swallowed the stimulus check you feed me…

Whether or not the stimulus bill will scratch every economic itch that this virus is kicking up … it’s a start, at least. Frankly, I’ll take any legwork we can get before the virus ramps up stateside. (Progress from Congress? I digress…)

Regardless of what happens with the stimulus bill, I eagerly hope that it helps you. Yes, you! Dear reader, no matter the pessimism you may see in the coming weeks, just know that it’s you and the average Joe next to you who keep the U.S. economy a-turning.

I hope you’re hanging in there. Sincerely.

Until next time, good trading!

Regards,

Joseph Hargett

Editor, Great Stuff

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goldira01 · 5 years ago

Link

Mo’ Money, Fewer Problems?

They did it. They finally did it.

By “they,” I mean Congress … and by “it,” I mean a stimulus package deal to combat the coronavirus.

The Senate and the White House announced late last night that they reached an agreement on a historic $2 trillion spending bill. (That’s trillion with a T.)

That’s wonderful news, Mr. Great Stuff! Now, what’s in this spending bill? Where’s my stimulus money?!

And the rest?

There’s a $350 billion fund for small businesses to help with payroll and stem layoffs.

And there’s also the infamous $500 billion fund to help businesses hit by the coronavirus.

However, there will now be an oversight panel headed by independent counsel to help adjudicate (in other words, “make it rain”) that half a trillion dollars.

To paraphrase Chandler Bing from Friends: “Could we be any more stimulated?”

The Takeaway:

Until it’s actually passed, we won’t know exactly what’s in the bill. That means some of these figures and details are subject to change.

Now, I know what you’re thinking. Well … at least I hope I know what you’re thinking. It’s what I’m thinking…

Where’s the money to actually fight COVID-19?

It’s there, just in much smaller figures than the actual stimulus.

There’s reportedly $150 billion to aid states and local municipalities to fight the pandemic.

There’s also $55 billion for hospitals and the general health care system.

That seems like a relatively small portion of the $2 trillion. It has me worried that legislators were more interested in dumping cash into the economy than addressing the central issue.

And if you think I’m overreacting, just wait…

Tomorrow’s weekly jobless claims report will be an eye-opener. Next week’s report will be even worse.

Oh, geez … here he goes again. Mr. Negative Nancy…

I could be wrong — and Great Stuff readers are quick to point out when I am — but I don’t think Wall Street realizes the situation’s severity.

COVID-19 cases will soar. The number of U.S. infections will surpass Italy. It may even surpass China. (It definitely will if shelter-in-place rules are lifted too early.)

That means more jobless claims and economic woes. But for our portfolios, that means more market selling.

Get ready for another dip.

I have just the solution for your COVID-19 fears. His name is Ted Bauman.

If this ends up getting worse before it gets better, I want you to be ready…

Click here to get ready now!

Good: Take These Broken Wings…

Airline stocks soared today, and the stimulus eagle hasn’t even landed yet. (I’m a little creeped out by “stimulus eagle,” but whatever…)

Now, you may ask yourself: “Why are airlines ‘good,’ Mr. Great Stuff?”

And you may tell yourself: “Well, it’s good because airlines are less likely to go bankrupt now.”

But, if you invest in the airline sector right now, a few months down the road, you may ask yourself: “My God, what have I done?”

There will be a time to buy stocks like AAL and DAL, but now isn’t that time.

Better: Just Flu It

If you’re looking for a company that isn’t rallying because of $2 trillion in stimulus today, Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE) has you covered.

Sure, Nike could benefit from the added cash in consumers’ pockets, but earnings and projections are the real reason why NKE is up more than 10% today.

Nike reports that 80% of its stores in greater China are now reopened.

The company is sure to see some disruptions in U.S. sales as COVID-19 cases surge stateside, but Nike is looking a lot more stable now that Asian consumers are returning to stores.

Best: The Child Has Spoken

Disney reported in February that it already had more than 28 million Disney+ subscribers, so we can probably expect major additions to this figure when the company releases official figures again.

Unless the feds are leading up to one big “check’s in the mail” punchline … hold your horses, buckaroo!

By now, you know my side: I still see economic storm clouds fast approaching, and Wall Street just left its umbrella at home following a $2 trillion stimulus forecast.

With that in mind — it’s time to talk market timing in today’s Poll of the Week!

Have we seen the corona-crash’s worst? Or has it only just begun? Vote below and let us know!

Great Stuff: $&*% Adds up at the Bottom

I’m investin’ … lookin’ up to see the indices. And I have swallowed the stimulus check you feed me…

I hope you’re hanging in there. Sincerely.

Until next time, good trading!

Regards,

Joseph Hargett

Editor, Great Stuff

#Timor Invest

0 notes

goron-king-darunia · 5 years ago

Text

DotNW Remake/Remaster DLC - Marta: Wish of the Age/A New Journey and Richter: Never Ending Thought/Start of Tragedy (work in progress names)

Annon-Guy: Let’s go over some things about the Marta and Richter DLC ideas;

Marta 1: If there’s a stealth section, than Marta’s core headache would be put aside or won’t be immediate. Also, if Marta gets spotted, I think she would immediately run away and wait in a hidden checkpoint spot, allowing you to try again. It would not be fun if you get automatic game overs for being seen (and it would be too sad). (There would also be skits depending how many times you’re spotted. 0 is best and would impress Tenabrae, 1 is tolerable, 5 would be bad and 10+ would leave Marta disappointed and releaved she just got through that mess).

Richter 1: Would Aster and Aqua be playable during the DLC? Does Aster carry a stun gun? Also, I don’t think it would be an automatic fail with the zombies if Aster has HP to spare and Aqua’s helping you. If Aster’s KO’d than it would be a fail, but I think they would just fall back instead of it being a game over.

Marta 2: I think as soon as Marta gets on the boat, she would hide while Tenabrae tries to get it to work (say they have to take because there are Vangaurd soilders leading people out and Marta would get caught if she follows the survivors). Hawk, Alice and Richter would meet up and talk about what’s happening (let’s say Richter and Hawk are being kept in the dark by Alice). After they finish, Richter would suspect they’re on the boat (even before Tenabrae accidently activates the engine because it would probally be a Tethe'alla Noble’s boat). Marta would try to talk to tell about the canon and as soon as it starts, Marta throws one of Decus’ collonge bottles stunning them before Alice and Richter jump on. After Tenabrae gets hurt, Marta would use the palm strike sending the two into the water before passing out. The rest after Marta wakes up would be Marta and Tenabrae’s first month of the Journey proper. The final boss of the DLC should be Alice.

Richter 2: I think the final boss of the DLC would be Ratatosk in his original form. It would be slightly hard sense you won’t have Aster and Aqua helping you in this fight.

Marta 3: Should Tenabrae be playable in the DLC so Marta won’t be alone in the fights?

Richter 3: Should the story end as soon as you beat Ratatosk or as soon as you return to Sybak or Palmacosta?

Marta 4: Should she recap this story to Emil and the Regeneration Crew? (after Lloyd joins)

Richter 4: Should his story happen while he’s rembering how it all happened? If so, should it be after the Temple of Ice or after Alice saves him from Lloyd at Altimira?

Both 1: What sort of places would they go to and how many places? Would they be places from the main game or new unseen places? I think their stories would only be 1 or 2 chapters long.

Both 2: Should they be pre-order bonus’ or should Bandai Namco wait for a week or month to release them (to give players time to play and beat the main story). Although, there will be a warning bite if players try to go into the DLC before playing or beating the main story.

Both 3: Might be random but funny, but say if you get a game over and choose to continue, The Regeneration Crew and Aqua would give Marta and Richter a funny look about Marta and Richter biting it if they’re still alive telling them the story/still alive remembering it. If you choose not to continue, nothing happens.

Both 4: Would the DLC be free or cost $5?

Both 5: Marta and Richter would be locked between levels 5 - 10 in the DLC Stories. *~*~*~* GKD here, adding my response to the bottom because I have more to say than will fit in the tags. I like the idea of checkpoints as opposed to restarting the entire area because that’s always frustrating. However, depending on how far apart the checkpoints are, it may be impractical to have her physically run back. Waiting for a game over screen to pass can be frustrating, but so can waiting for your character to run back 3 sections because you messed up one button input or moved too far to the left or right. Warping back to checkpoints might be better with the implication that she’s running back. For example, have her begin a running animation and have the camera rapidly move back to the checkpoint to find Marta already there, catching her breath in a dark corner as guards walk past. Number of times spotted would also be a great mechanic because it trains you for the Temple of Lightning where the number of times you get struck by lightning has an impact on whether you get the normal or good ending. Especially if the number of times you’re spotted only impacts the cutscene/skit you get and not which ending you get, serving as a bit of a tutorial on “your actions even during gameplay have consequences, not just when we give you scripted choices.” I would LOVE if Aster and Aqua could be playable, but Aqua would probably function only as a party leader token and not as an actual combatant since Tenebrae himself says Centurions do not fight but have monsters fight for them. Aster should absolutely have a stun gun since he has one in Onshuu no Richter. All his artes are gag attacks. Party popper/ exploding beaker of mysterious science liquid for a fire attack. Smoke bombs for a darkness based attack that add a confusion debuff to enemies. Some other gross science slime that has a water element and a poison debuff. Throw stale donuts for a ranged attack. Trusty stun gun for electric element attacks at range. And his regular melee? Really wimpy slap that you can combo into a sequence of: weak slap, shove opponent, stomp opponent, then kick opponent and after the kick, he hops away clutching his foot because he is not adept at fighting and hurt his poor toes by kicking at the opponent wrong and jamming his toes. XD When not playing as Richter, he will, like Kratos, cast first aid on Aster any time he’s below 75% heath and will prioritize him over healing, say, the monsters, even if the monsters are below 50% health. Pontus and Enki from Onshuu no Richter would be constant battle companions since Aqua doesn’t routinely pact with monsters and she had both when Aster was still alive. Nice little Easter egg for fans if they’re named Pontus and Enki in the party roster. Aster getting KO’ed would probably be an auto fail, yeah. My issue with the second Marta scenario is... where would Marta get Decus’s cologne from? I agree with most of the rest though. A one-on-one fight with Alice would be fun. Richter 2 is a big fat yes. Good excuse for us to see Ratatosk’s Original form and another one on one duel. Marta 3: In the same way Aqua should be playable via monsters, Tenebrae should also be playable via monsters. Richter 3: The more Richter content the better, in my book. It would be interesting and heartbreaking to fight with a debuff all the way back to Sybak to show Richter is depressed. I love when game mechanics reflect the mental state of the characters. Marta 4: She could recap it, but I think it’s more interesting to have us play her scenarios as they occur at the beginning as a sort of Tutorial for the game. Richter’s could be played as a recap as he remembers it happening but Martas feel like they should be played in the moment. If Marta did explain to Emil and the others, it should be done as a fade-to-black scene rather than have her tediously explain everything.

Richter 4: Richter’s happening chronologically spoils a lot about the game, so I think playing Richter’s quest as late as possible would be best, definitely during a moment of reflection.

Both 1: Agreed that 1-2 chapters is best. They’d just be bonuses and not the main content, after all. I think some new locations would be fun, but I think there were a few more unvisited places in DotNW that could be added in. So maybe a combo of both new places and old places that the original didn’t let us revisit.

Both 2: I personally hate preorder bonuses. It rewards rich people for spending frivolously. I’d rather have it as a DLC released after the fact or come bundled with the game (with the game marked up, obviously, since we’re paying for bonus content.) Like how the Game of the Year Edition of The Elder Scrolls Oblivion came with all the expansions? Yeah. I’d like it to do something like that. If it comes bundled with the game, perhaps it’s unlockable as New Game + material and only accessible once you’ve beaten the game before.

Both 3: While I think that success is basically guaranteed since we know Marta and Richter have to make it out alive and I doubt neither of them would be retelling it and having your gameplay represent the story they’re telling, that is a funny idea. Richter just “Yeah, Remember when Ratatosk sliced me in the back and I died instantly?” and Aqua just “But... you’re alive right now.” and Richter just shrugs “It’s a figure of speech.” I imagine Marta’s playable scenario happening chronologically rather than told after the fact. Perhaps Richter’s scenario could be a nightmare? I doubt he’d tell anyone about that trauma, and retelling it to Aqua is pointless since she was there. Marta’s failures are construed as setbacks since she’ll never actually get captured no matter how many times you fail. Richter’s failures are construed as nightmares doing what nightmares do: being dramatic and not being reflective of real events. Both 4: If they’re reselling the whole game, I think the regular pricetag would be more than enough to cover the extra labor put into the game. That being said, I’d happily pay $5 for it if it was released as extra content and not packaged with the game. Both 5: While generally I hate level-locking, since these are one-off scenarios, I think that’d be fine to lock their levels low.

#submissions #submission #DotNW #Letters from Annon Guy #DotNW Remaster

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