#one more area to go and then it'll be time to actually design the world map

[ellraiser]

closing in on final designs!

[pinkplasticfangs]

Ya got any other head canons abt the characters >:D?

I do!! I love worldbuilding, and forsaken has juuust enough vagueness for me to go a little crazy lol, ill make a rough lil list!!

- (partially inspired by the fact irl 007n7 is good at piano and acoustic guitar) 007n7 plays a little bit of music late at night on the balcony of the cabins, in the hopes c00lkidd will hear him and it'll lull him to sleep just a bit easier

- While Elliot would NEVER admit this, and 007n7/c00lkidd's hacking did long lasting tangible damage,,,, he sort of needed the break in his hellish schedule LOL

- Elliots gotta be the most straight-edge little nepo baby in Robloxia, he's probably never been to a club other than to deliver something gjkdhkdj. A rave might kill the poor bastard. He thought the first like, minute of 007n7/c00lkidd's hacking with all the flashing lights and blasting music was kind of mesmerizing and cool before the whole "oh shit the store is on fire" kicked in

- If Elliot really IS locked up somewhere like the ARG implies,,, maybe he’s specifically locked up in his own limbo outside of rounds, separately from the survivors, sort of like the killers

- C00lkidd and Mia would be friends, much to the dismay of their guardians

- We don't have a ton of info on how Noob got forsaken, but I imagine it was probably related to their drinking problem. Maybe it got a little out of control when their grief over Guest 666 finally hit?

- Noob is a party animal whose nature got them into the most strange, obscure places with the most strange, obscure items and people. They know a lot of stuff they probably shouldn't lol

- I'm kinda fond of ObliviousHD and Matt Animatez's interpretations of Guest 666, particularly with the Bloxwatch stuff. Combined with Forsaken it paints this picture of a young kid who died, came back fucked up and wrong, and is struggling to maintain normalcy and good relationships for several years until they fuck up every friendship they have, give up, and give into whatever pit has been beckoning them. Its tragic i love it lol

- I like to think Shedletsky and 1x1x1x1 are the result of Telamon getting his shit rocked and split in two by the admins in the Ye Olden Days. Probably over some typical greek god level drama too.

- All the admins are old as shit, just in different ways. Builderman is just straight up immortal while maybe Shedletsky (and 1x1x1x1 in extension) reincarnates over and over, changing a bit each time. I might flip this between the two bc Builderman has had sooo many design changes over the years but eh, i need to give it a bit more thought

- Jason kinda.... bores me as he is. I think with the context of what Area 51 might actually be in the world of Roblox (maybe just a fun scary experience in an amusement park kinda way, maybe an actual facility thats stored somewhere), maybe hes just this... robot, vessel, what have you, thats had these memories shoved in his skull and is acting on his programming, with no purpose outside of it. It'd be cool if we got more context to who Jason was in the facility and whatever the fuck happened there so we can connect to him a little more

- The Spectre's realm is this bizzaro extension of the Banlands, composed of banned and nonbanned (maybe duped?) items/maps/servers. If you look around for long enough you could probably find weird contraband stuff. If the Spectre isn't the one supplying the survivors food, then they probably gather in groups to go find and live off of it

I probably have more but that's all I can remember teehee

[doodlesdreaming]

Shin Megami Log 4(After Game Thoughts)

Finished SMT V during Christmas, and I have THOUGHTS.

I'm gonna put all that under the 'Read More' bit, so if any of you are interested in this game, then scroll past and no peeking.

Right then, final thoughts:

Brief history lesson first, I knew very little about the SMT series or the spin-offs like Persona. Of course, with how incredibly successful Persona 5 is, it's hard to miss any sort of info. But even then, my knowledge of the entire franchise was very limited. All I know is that it's basically the "Dark Souls" of RPGs with character driven stories that have of ingredients than a Final Fantasy title. At least, that was the vibe I was getting.

But even then, I never have been interested enough to want to give any of the games a try. I did get Persona Q2 back when I first heard of the 3DS dying out, but it mostly because I didn't want a Persona game with Joker's face on it to be forever lost. Weird I know, but that was my train of thought, at the time. But after clearing the first boss(and realizing that prior knowledge of Persona 5's story is an absolute must) I got bored and haven't touched the game since.

Fast forward a few years later, when Shin Megami Tensei Nocturne was announced with a HD port to current gen consoles. I was genuinely excited by the announcement. This meant that if I ever decided to give Nocturne a try, it'll be alot easier for me to do so now. Then after that came the biggest surprise of all; Shin Megami Tensei V.

Now this....this caught my attention. Though I can't really explain why. Was it the character designs? The gorgeous looking world? "D" all of the above? All I can say is that something 'clicked' and I was very interested. Even though it would take two years later until I actually got it.

And I'm so glad I did.

I was invested right from the start. From the silent "show don't tell" protagonist, all the way to Lufcier himself, the story, even with its swiss cheese holes in plot at some points, had me hooked from start to finish. The combat never got boring. I was constantly thinking of strategies and building up my demons that suited my needs and my playstyle. The world was incredibly fun to explore, even though the lighting choices, in some areas, made my eyes strain a bit. It would take me up til the big boss of the area for me to finally adjust.

And the bread and butter of it all, The Law and Chaos mechanics. A stable, I've come to understand, in the SMT series. Yet an important take away from all this is that nothing is as black and white as it seems on the surface. SMT is a franchise that makes you think. It makes you question yourselves and you inner most thoughts. And SMT V had me rolling in so many thoughts, that when I reached the 'alignment lock' of the game, I had to take a break because I was starting to get overwhelmed.

Of course, this could very well be a really weird quirk of mine. But when I get into a really good story, I REALLY get into it. And the choices I make would impact the ending I would get.

By all accounts, the Law ending would naturally mean the good ending, right? Well sure...if you can live with a Law that discriminates all other forms of thinking(a.e. free will), will not hesitate to punish they see as 'unfit' and the willingness to become corrupt yourself, just to prove a point. Sure. Law is the way to go.

The Chaos ending usually entails victory for the bad guys. And yet, there really isn't a clear "villain" in this case, other then the absolute obvious ones(f you Lamau). In Chaos, there is diversity, the freedom to choice your fate, to be yourself. And yet with so many possibilities, there will be disagreements, arguments of what is right and wrong, and power competing against power. No one really wins, and there is constant strife. But hope is just as abundant, with the capability that anything is possible.

The Neutral ending is well...the Neutral ending. You don't pick a side. You're that little kid that asks, "Why not both?" A balance of law and chaos. So understandably this would the best choice. Yes...except the neutral path follows a man who has been brought down low by both law and chaos. He lost everything precious to him, to the point where he belittles his fellow man if they show any sort of weakness. So the solution? Make humanity the leading power of the universe, but take away every viture and sin that exists in the heart and soul. And by extension, all the angels and demons in existence. Never to be even a story told by campfire light because it would never be allowed to cross through the mind. Humans would be free of woe and fear, and grow abundant in their everyday lives. But will it truly last?

You could probably guess which ending I ended up getting. And quite honestly, I'm satisfied with it. Plus it lines up perfectly with my ever growing headcanons of the Nahobino. So I'm taking it as a win.

I honestly can not recommend SMT V, especially if you're like me who enjoys a good rpg that I can sink my teeth into. It has it flaws, yes. But they feel so small that it doesn't really bother me. Some of them I can just 'fix' with good old imagination. And it's definitely inspired me to play Nocturne next, for sure. But first, I want to see if I can beat the Demi Fiend himself in combat....

There's so much more I'd like to talk about, but I think I rambled long enough.

The main takeaway? I LOVE THIS GAME. Definitely gonna be alot of fanart for sure. And I'm gonna get my hands on some merch when I can. It probably won't exceed my growing Darksiders collection, but it might come close in time, lol.

The other main takeaway from all this is that I get it now. I get the appeal and why this series is standing as strong as it is. HEE-HO!!!

[gaybd1]

Reasons Taipei 101 is the coolest building in the world

Yeah, locals say it's a tourist trap but I will go to my grave defending it. It was the VERY first thing I did when I first came to Taiwan. I've been to the top four times and it's not nearly enough

1. Just LOOK at it! So beautiful!!!

The entire design of the building is chock full of symbolism, but that would honestly take a whole other post.

2. It's really tall!!!

More than half a kilometer tall! It was the tallest building in the world from its completion in 2004 until the Burj Khalifa was finished. The only building outside of Asia that is taller than Taipei 101 is the One World Trade Center in NYC. It is STILL the tallest LEED-certified building in the world.

3. It also used to have the fastest elevators in the world!

You can get up to the observation deck in 37 seconds!

4. It's really tall AND was built in a VERY Earthquake-prone area, which is just badass

It was built only 200 meters away from a major fault line. It was built with a TON of innovations to withstand earthquakes up to a 9 on the Richter Scale. There are videos online of the observation deck at the top rocking during typhoons and major earthquakes, but the building is TOTALLY stable because...

5. It has a GIANT METAL BALL at the top to keep it from falling down in earthquakes and typhoons

It's called a mass damper and it's one of the reasons I'm so obsessed with this building. This thing has a diameter of 5.5 meters and weighs 660 metric tons (that's 728 American tons or whatever they're called)! Typhoons and earthquakes make this thing swing around (it moved a meter during a typhoon in 2015!) and that keeps the building itself from moving too much

6. The damper has mascots - Damper babies!

There's mascots for everything in East Asia... But these guys are a hit. There are four different babies in four different colors, all with their own personalities. There's so much merch for them too, and even comic books.

Look at these guys!

7. The entire building lights up on New Year's Eve!

Okay, this might actually be the coolest fact. In America, you go to Times Square and see the ball drop or something for NYE. In Australia you see the fireworks over the Sydney Opera House or whatever. But in Taiwan, Taipei 101 LAUNCHES FIREWORKS OUT OF ITS SIDES! AND the countdown clock is just the entire side of the building and there's a cool light show during the fireworks! Check it out!

8. The top of the building lights up in different colors depending on what day of the week it is!

It's a nice touch. It'll also do special light things for special events (like pride or the war in Ukraine), but generally:

9. It has a vertical marathon every year!

I almost forgot about it, but yeah. You can run up the stairs all the way to the top. Wild!

[19thperson]

19th's Steam Next Fest Impressions Jun 2025 Edition - Day 4

Day 1/Day 2/Day 3

Platypus Reclayed

A claymation shmup.

This is apparently a remake of a 2002 shmup, one which I've never played or heard of, so I won't be able to judge this on it's accuracy.

This is very much a classical style shmup. Powerups, No focused movement, no bombs, and large hitbox low density bullet patterns. The scoring system is also simple, based on the percentage of a wave killed and score items. That isn't an inherent knock against it, but I'm somewhat out of my element here.

The enemy placement and bullet patterns seemed mostly sound, but there's an element of memorization here. Enemies that drop score items will often spawn from behind the player, and if they're near the back wall it can be a surprise kill. It was only consistently a problem when I messed with the hardest difficulty (and didn't make far) but it still feels slightly unfair.

If you're a claymation lover, someone cravign a very specific style, or a fan of the original, I can see this being worth it. But I also have a lot of other shmups I need to get to.

Karaneko

Dark Bullet Hell RPG, taking cues from Undertale and Omori.

You play as a troubled and depressed teen who los their mother in a fire. The only thing keeping them going is taking care of their brother. During a seemingly normal day, you suddenly collapse, and wake up in a fantasy version of the world, wearing different clothes and surrounded by unfamiliar people, your brother nowhere in sight.

This game needs work.

The actual bullet hell design is actually pretty good. It's the standard "dodge for set amount of time, then talk or attack to end the fight" sort of deal. The devs are willing to throw some tricky stuff early on, you can tell they're severe Touhou heads.

While I'm not the hottest on the character designs, It has some undeniably good pixel art. Even the individual enemies have nice high resolution talk sprites when you go for dialogue options. There's legit effort here.

The problem is threefold.

On the combat side, the fights can last too long. It's both "the bullet segments drag on slightly too long" and "the menu transitions are too slow." a bunch of small things that add up.

On the writing side… it desperately needs a second pass. I'm pretty sure this is a translated script, but that only half explains the repetitiveness and stiffness of the text.

Lastly, once the game gave me a wide open area… the ability to navigate went to shit. I was given an objective, go to the fisherman's shop, but I accidentally spilled the bit of dialogue explaining where it is, and couldn't find any secondary way to get that info. After a good amount of wandering, I gave up.

I stopped before it got to the nightmare turn you see in the trailer, so there might be more of a hook later, but I was done with it.

Windswept

A duck and a turtle on a platforming adventure.

This is a very deliberate homage to Donkey Kong Country. From the percussion heavy soundtrack, to the two character health system, to the letter based stage collectables, to the launcher barrels, to the level gimmick mounts, it's all there. Thankfully this is a Very Good DKC homage.

Each character has different abilities, and you can freely switch betwen the two. The duckair glide and toss the turtle like a koopa shell. The turtle can groundpound and cancel the groundpound into a spinning attack. When you have both characters it gives you a lot of different ways to approach each obstacle. Getting hit means losing whoever is in the back, but they can be recovered, once again like in DKC.

The amount of movement tech on display means it'll probably be great for speedrunners, and while the "main path" pretty handleable, the optinal stuff really pushes you. An stage I found for collecting enough medals felt like a Celeste B-side, demanding a really specific amount of precision. I wasn't able to finish it, but I was impressed with what I saw.

SSR Wives: The Murder Of My Winter Crush

Anime Styled Classic Survival Horror.

I am not sure why it is called that aside from "There are anime girls in the cast." But that gets into an issue I'll expand on later.

I'll get this out of the way first: there is a lot of good craftsmanship going on here. This is some of the best use of tank controls and fixed camera angles I've seen in the indie survival horror scene. Playing it gave me mild vertigo (positive).

The UI design is also great, making heavy use of the "You wouldn't steal a car" font and deliberately evoking the era of the ps1/2 demo disc in the menus. The distorted anime look is bringing to mind classic denpa horror. Not much plot at all here, though. Just going through a Fucked Up Apartment and doing survival horror stuff.

On a gameplay level, I wish the demo had more difficulty options. Ended it with my pockets bursting with resources.

My main concern... let me show you the character select options.

I want to be clear, I'm not writing this off yet. I don't know anything about the devs, and don't want to make split judgements. Without any plot to contextualize these designs, I'm left wondering...

What level of irony are we working with here?

Tamashika

Psychadelic Speedrun Shooter.

This is an overstimulation game, same as the likes of PUSS! or the works of Jeff Minter. Do a precise task while being overloaded with flashing lights and sound.

The task here is a simple corridor shooter. Use your pistol to shoot at little green guys and use your knife to cut them down when they close in or to parry back a bullet. Death drains if you stand still, and refills upon kills. Keep moving and keep killing.

The difficulty of these actions is a little...uneven. There seems to be some degree of aim assist going on. I am not good enough at FPS to get the chain shots I was getting. You do need to find the right time to reload though, which can be hard considering the harsh time constraint you're under. The real precision comes from the knife work. The timing to get kills or parry bullets is strict, and it's a one hit kill if you mess up.

There's an aspect of memorization to all this, especially early on. Its a "die over and over until you perfect the run" type game, and the level will throw some blind turns without warning. If you don't mind that frustration and can get into the trance it's offering, it's great. But I can easily see someone bouncing off if they aren't in the right headspace.

EDIT: So some new information has come out that has made me rescind my recommendation.

I suggest playing Post Void, the game that Tamashika is iterating on, instead.

[enarei]

the levelling experience in retail WOW is so mind numbingly dull. like I understand that they have a complex problem in their hands and leaving it unchanged wouldn't work. I understand the game has literally two decades worth of content, and just forcing new players to go through all of it as close as it was on release would not only be extremely technically challenging to balance, but also an insurmountable task to anyone with a job. but their solution to it shows such an utter disregard for the very core of what makes MMORPGs fun, and all the work they put into previous expansions.

it's actually sad to me to go Outland and see that everything scales to my level. that the bonechewer orcs on the cliffs to Hellfire Ramparts are the same level as the ones that patrol the road proper. that the handcrafted experience of surmounting each tier of orc progressively through questing, until you are powerful enough to climb the Hellfire Ramparts and take on a dungeon with a group of friends, and so on for each new area of TBC, all that has been sacrificed in the name of "current content". all of it has been homogenized such that it doesn't matter which area you do first, which class of enemies you choose to pick fights with, what quests you prioritize with each new level, it's all rendered equally (un)challenging so that players can speed through all of it to get to current expansion without a care in the world. there's zero incentive to care about the world besides the promise that once you're close to the end of your levelling journey, it'll get really good.

people might say that's always been the case since expansions became a thing, once new gear comes out, the old world is irrelevant. and I don't have a reason to disagree, except that I'm still presented with meaningful choices when levelling in classic WOW. the level 65 quest rewards might not be remotely relevant to {current max level content} Ice Crown Citadel in that game, but just being in the overworld itself is fun because the journey feels authentic instead of merely being there as "legacy" content to fulfill the requirement of some levelling experience in an RPG.

it's quite ironic that in an attempt to 'free' the player of the burden of being forced to level through every expansion linearly, so they can Have Their Own Adventure, they completely ruined the sense of autonomy that encourages you to actually do that. you wanna do a really hard quest 6 levels higher than you so you can skip the boring gathering ones appropriate to your level? or maybe you'd rather go to this other place that is full of beasts that you can skin and ore you can mine, so you can train your professions at the same time. have a friend close by? try to do this insanely stupid escort quest and get suckered into world pvp for half an hour when the Alliance shows up to ruin your day. like you get this very organic interaction between game and social systems by virtue of level ranges providing irregular bumps to perceived difficulty and thus how seriously you need to engage with your class's mechanics, how efficiency you need to use your cooldowns to survive an encounter — you get to pick the difficulty, and it turns out it's incredibly fun to challenge yourself.

In retail that barely ever happens, because every single enemy you'll fight in the overworld will be scaled to the same level as you, its health and damage output will never allow them to be exceptionally trivial or meaningfully challenging, which means you barely have to change your tactics.

I know the carrot is real. I know the class design has considerably more depth and the gameplay has the potential to be much more fun just by virtue of dungeons actually having interesting mechanics when they never did in classic. But it baffles me how much of a slog they expect you to push through to get to it as a new player. I find it very hard to believe I'd have gotten into WOW if this was my first experience with it and I didn't have friends telling me how awesome Dragonflight is.

[megashadowdragon]

the greatest akainu theory @bottlepiecemuses

youtube comments

Personally I’ve always felt it was clear that his idea of “absolute justice” will be born of a sacrifice of a loved one, like every other backstory. I assume that, by compromising on something, someone close to Akainu died, and he vowed to never let any death go in vain. During Ohara he would have said, if one person lives then all of the others who we killed would have been in vain and that’s disgusting to him

A cool thing to mention is that in the official song Red Dog Red, sung by Akainu’s voice actor for a one piece album released quite a while back, the main chorus has him repeat the line “Battle without honor!”. A cool callback from Toei to their earlier series and a fitting line for a character who will rain down hell from above, swim under the ground, and blast a hole through you to get to what he wants.

Great video, a deep dive on the hottest man in One Piece. I appreciate you actually discussing the filmic influences behind all the admirals. Before the Imu reveal, that long stretch of real world time after Marineford but before Reverie, it was always difficult to square which of the two Big Bads, Akainu and Blackbeard, Luffy would punch first, since they both represent the apex of opposition to him in vastly different ways. This analysis helped me to answer that question, even taking Imu into account, but we reach different conclusions. Instead of MarieJois echoing Marineford, it'll reverse things in a way. Blackbeard will arrive to steal what he wants, but this time he won't be the one to kill the king at the last minute, because the dog will have already bit his face off, leaving the empty throne actually empty. Then Blackbeard mercs Akainu leaving his victory a hollow one, because black holes get it? or because magma rapidly cools after finally erupting get it? Then I guess like, Luffy vs Blackbeard happens shrug. My imagined scenario is obviously not as well thought out as yours, hope it wasn't too annoying to read.Show less

admiral akainu being the guard dog puts him in the position to bite their throat out

I think Akainu is really gonna snap back on the world government in some way. When I see him, I think of the story of Sensui from Yu Yu Hakusho. Light/Dark and no grey, but something happens that snaps that line. I don't know what that will be exactly though.

Akainu is Oda's pawn for killing what Luffy won't. Eliminating the World Government from within. Thank you for the video this was great!

What if Akainu is actually the real leader behind Sword? Remember how he's revealed as "an insurgent in the Marines" by Spider Squard when he explains who told him about "Whitebeard's betrayal"? Could've been a subtle nudge of things to come. Then we have the fact that Sword members act without having to be worried about orders from the upper echelon because they're "about to get fired". The fact that Jewelry Boney managed to get away even though Akainu personally came to pick her up, means he likely let her go. And then we go back to the tattoos that Akainu has. No, not the Yakuza one on his left arm, but rather the one on his right that completely stands out: A simple sword.Show less

Interesting! I had never considered that Akainu could only have accepted the fleet admiral position because he didn't want to serve under Aokiji, who he doesn't like. But it does make sense, as I can't really see any other reason for he to be doing paperwork instead of fighting on a battlefield.

Great video and analysis. Another things interesting about akainu’s post time skip design is his snipped ear, which is something that people do to their guard dogs to make them more intimidating. This tiny design change just further emphasizes the fact that he really is the WGs dog

kizaru's "unclear" justice can also be translated as "grey area justice". fwiw i think this gives another perspective on things. it's less that he applies his justice in an inconsistent or unclear way, but more that his justice deals in the grey area of what is legal or "just"

I think nothing would be more interesting than finding out that Akainu's Home Island is none other than Hachinosu. For a man that dreams of Justice, being born on an Island that is the definition of anarchy and chaos. Seeing Piracy be revered as the Way and seeing countless attrocities done to the non-pirate population (mostly slaves, but also traders and other dark deals) Yet the population keep flocking, including his own parents. Corrupted by the desire of wealth and fortune. Akainu being a survivor of Rock's Island during his prime. Would explain why he's the way he is. He probably became somewhat of a vigilante, killing Pirates at Hachinosu. But at the end of the day Rocks always knew, and never did anything about it because he found it amusing. And with a single display of power, shows Akainu that only the Strong can change the world. He even fueled his hatred by letting him live and continue to do his thing. Eventually during a raid by Garp, he manages to catch Garps attention and becomes a Marine officially. But the words Rocks said to him that day and his display of power made him realize, that if he is to change the world to his views, then he needs to have the power to make it happen. Would be interesting. Blackbeard got inspired by Rocks, while Akainu got traumatized by Rocks. But at the end of the day his Will is the one they inherited. Truly painting Rocks as the villain that even dead still affects the world.Show less

Given the implied closeness of Dragon and Sakazuki I've had the idea that Sakazuki was raised by Garp's assistant Bogart

Maybe if doflamingo gets out, sakazuki will come to his realization while in battle with dofi and literally has to cut the strings of a celestial dragon while coming to terms with deciding to not be a puppet to them anymore

I think saka is going to betray the world gov to keep pursing his own justice more, his only equal did it, His thematic animal is constantly threatening to do it His movie characters do it He has every reason to do it Makes the story more interesting to do it It makes senseShow less

[eorzeanflowers]

now that its been nearly a full day since the last fanfest, i'm just gonna put my thoughts on Dawntrail as a whole out.

Jobs

Viper is cool. I like the idea of another scouting class. I'm a ranged phys main so sharing jewelry with another job is a plus.

The aesthetic of Viper is really really cool. I love the swashbuckler look that the AF gear has. I cannot wait to put Marisol in something similar. The twin blades into a double blade is also very appealing. I used to play Sith Assassin and Jedi Sentinel in SWTOR and its like a marriage of the two.

So in conclusion, Viper is just cool and its gonna be a lot of fun to play. Just like how Reaper is pretty fun to play still.

BUT Pictomancer is just more exciting to me. I LOVE RELM so much. Its been forever since I played VI so I might go do that sometime.

AND THE SPELLS ARE SO CUTE. They look so fake and painterly that I just can't help but fall in love with them. The AF gear is also so cute and I cannot wait to put it on Lily.

Archie is also going to main this class (I had decided that before the reveal, when it was still in the air between green mage and pictomancer.) Its so cheesy and cute and goofy and feels like it would fit my Doctor Who-like character a lot better than the raw powerful Black Mage.

Pictomancer is just gonna be good healthy goofy fun and its the job I'm more looking forward to!

Fem Hrothgar

I'm so so so so happy that they went big and buff over cutesifying Hrothgar. Cause we know they could've and it would've not looked good at all. I'm still not the biggest fan of the dimorphism of Au Ra. (even tho I main one. ^.^;)

My biggest complaint with Fem Hrothgar is that their starter gear looks so much better than all the others. Like the wrist guards! They look sooooo good. (I also really dislike Au Ra starter gear, that doesn't help.) But you can see the new graphic update with them and just their general design feels better than the OG 5. I felt this way a little about male Viera, but I was not super likely to make a male Viera so it didn't matter to me that much.

I don't know if i'm gonna make a Fem Hrothgar... They aren't my style per say, but I'm not gonna keep that door closed. I'm not the biggest fan of more animalistic faces, but that's a personal problem.

All in all, they look fucking fantastic and I'm glad they went the route they did.

Graphic Update

It looks great and its gonna be good when we get it. I'm very glad they actually showed us dark skintones this time too. They all got such a glow up! Can't wait for the gear to follow.

Now give us more character creator options for everyone, and hats for Viera and Hrothgar!!

Tural

The areas look really pleasant, I do like the whole brand new adventure feel. Its a lot better than the feel of the start of the void quests, that kinda had the same feel but got a little dreary once in the void proper. I dunno. Even as a fan of IV the Void Arc was kinda, meh. I like Zero and Golbez as characters, but the rest was kinda whatever. The world lore was also good but eh.

The new zone designs are just breathtaking. I'm the biggest fan of the Western town and South American highland zones. They are just so different from what we have currently it will be great. Solution 9 and the cave zone (that appears to be under it) are.... really fucking cool. Its so far away from what we were expecting I just can't help but be estatic. (And I can take pics of the Linnaeas twins' home shard there. Since I headcannon it as a cyberpunky shard.)

The dungeons all look pretty neat, I like the thunder crystal mountainside the most so far.

Its gonna be a fun story I think, a nice palette cleanser from the heaviness of Endwalker.

The Arcadian

I have no idea what to expect from a raid that is taking place inside a graphics card. By name alone and the fact its in the cyberpunk area does give me good hope. :D

Vanadiel

As I haven't played XI I'm indifferent. It'll be a fun raid and I'm likely going to enjoy the fights, but its just another FF in XIV. Pretty standard tbh. It'll be fun and I'll enjoy the story but there is no anticipation for me.

Ultimate Eden

Its gonna be bonkers and I'm gonna enjoy watching the full fight once its figured out. (I'm not a savage raider lol)

Other Content

The field zone has potential. Since we know nothing else, that's all I've got. I did miss having a field zone in Endwalker tho. It was the perfect place to while away hours working on relics. (let's hope the next relic grind is as tedious as just gather tomes.)

Cosmic Exploration is going to look flashy and great, but I don't do a lot of crafting/gathering so I dunno how much I will enjoy it past its story. Its gonna just be relegated to going there once in a while like Island Sanctuary for me likely.

Deep dungeons are only fun the first time solo and ok with friends later. I've completed both PotD and HoH but my friends still haven't finished EO so....

Hildebrand is Hildebrand. Perfection in humor form.

I will likely enjoy the Variant dungeons, I've enjoyed the first 2 (haven't done the newest cause I was taking a break from the game) and I like the lore that comes with them.

I can't think of anything else really rn but those are my immediate thoughts! Its going to be fun and refreshing and I cannot wait till summer to play it. (tho we must)

[ellraiser]

Mudborne Deblog #7 - World Building

Hey friends! Another month whizzing by, but I managed to get a lot done for Mudborne - here's what I've been up to.

Cold As Ice

Towards the end of last month I started designing the 4th region, where things are a bit colder. 

At the start of this month I finished up that area, spending some time to make the snow look pretty, or add some details like the player breathing or skating around on the ice. 

I then decided the colors and plants for the 'dream' version, I wanted to keep the more turqoise color and boost the saturation, and then make the ice more of a lilac color to match the dream "white" i use a lot already.

The main mechanics of this area (apart from yeeting around on the ice) is using heaters and coolers - heaters so you can melt frozen paths or objects (or frogs), and coolers so you can create new ice.

As you might have noticed in the screenshots above, the deeper water has ice too, which normally isn't passable by the player. By freezing the deeper water you can then cross over to areas you couldn't access before and find all sorts of places and secrets!

There'll be a few puzzles to work out using the heaters/coolers, but they also affect the nearby environment, allowing you to make the extreme ends of temperature for your mushrooms to find some new species.

This means I can 'gate' off a few types of mushrooms and trait modifications until you've come to this region and gained access to the machines.

I also wanted a way to let the player turn on/off weather, as it does have some uses and although you can sleep until the next day for a different weather pattern, I like to give players full control over stuff like that as they progress.

It also fits within the theme of the region, which is very much like a sort of 'climate control' type area - plus the idea of changing weather fits with the existing climate control machines. I tried to design the machines to be similar, but still have their own unique style.

I finished up some other bits and bobs and then that area was good to go! Now it was time to move onto what I thought would be the last area...

===

Central Hub

After getting past the 'tutorial' region of the Spawning Pools, you end up in a large central area that leads to all other areas, and it's where your main goal of the game is that you have to come back to. I wanted this one to be more unique and stand out to the other areas, and seem much more important (because it is!), so I went with a more purple palette to emulate some feelings of it being more 'connected' with the dream world.

I've tried to make all regions have some unique characteristics but I wanted some extra stuff with this region, hence the large purple lilypads and special pink trees, and the light pink pollen falling over the area. This is also the area that will have the large central 'temple', that is a giant version of the smaller gates you use in the game - will take me a while to finish drawing it, I reckon it'll probably still be one of the last things I'm tinkering with right down to release...

===

Yet Another Region

I thought I was done at this point with adding regions and was relieved as there's a lot of setup involved in getting everything in and working - there is a 6th area but it felt like an extension of the central region at the time so I thought I'd use the same region style. However at the same time of doing all this I was also working on designing the full map for the game, and realised that this area would actually be a bit bigger than I thought initially, and also connects with the starting area so I wanted to make sure it had a different style to make it clearer that its not just part of the central area.

This region has a lot of different research labs, and is focused more in the dream area with lots of 'dream' research being done - there's a few different machines for this area but I don't want to spoil them too much so I'll just show their designs instead.

There's also quite a few big important lore things here, so you can't actually access it right away and instead have to come back later when you've progressed enough. With this region done I did some last little tests with each of the regions to make sure I was happy with how they looked - this is how my "developer" map looked by the end of it:

With that done I was about halfway through the month - now it was time for the biggest task of the entire game's development, actually designing the full world map.

===

​Game Cartography

Trying to start tackling this was definitely one of the harder parts of making this game for me - I had all the pieces, the mechanics were all done, I knew roughly what each area would have and do, but trying to put that alltogether in a giant interconnected world is very daunting. I decided to do this all on paper first so it'd be quicker to iterate, starting with really rough sketches of each region and the things that should be there guiding me on what the structure should roughly be like.

I then taped together a bunch of grid paper so I could have one 'main' map rather than keep swapping between what was already like 7-8 sheets of sketches, and started to pencil out the first couple regions together.

After sketching I then started to color in the areas, which was some nice screenbreak time but also let me think more about the regions and how the player would progress through them all.

As a final step I then went over the area with a pen to mark some key stuff - where lilypad crossings would be, gates, doors to rooms etc. I could then use this later for mapping the actual content or paths.

I didn't really need to color in all the darker water for most regions, but tbh it was just fun to do and baby ellraiser used to draw custom rayman 1 overworld maps when they were young so who am I to deny my inner child!

​It took me about 8 days but eventially I had the final map! Technically it's still not the final map as there's a couple areas I didn't want to put on the map for spoiler reasons and I knew I'd be taking photos of it and posting it around. However its good enough to keep me on the right track and remind me of what goes where - I'm also really happy with some of the routing of the areas, I think it should be really fun to explore and unlock and backtrack!

​With that done I could start plugging it into Tiled - I tried to not be too strict with blocking out the areas, at first I was doing like exact square by square, at great eye-straining cost, but then I realised really I just needed to make sure the regions were roughly where I expected them to be and got a bit more loose with some island shapes. Just this blocking stage along took some time, as I was first just blocking in the islands and water, then I was going and doing the 'proper' tiles, then the stone tiles and the grass/mud on top - this was so I could stop having to keep looking at the bigger map all the time.

Blocking out all the other regions took me all the way to pretty much the end of the month, on paper (lol) it doesnt sound like much to have a 500x400 map, but after actually drawing it all I can say it really is!

With all that done there was still lots to be done - for each region I need to add all the stone + grass "decor" (cracks, bricks, grass patches, posters etc). Then I need to add the actual flora objects to the islands (grass, shrubs, trees), then add all the water plants for both the shallow and deeper areas, add all the world decoration, and then block out all the rooms! Then I need to do the collision layers for the bottom and top floors...

It took me about 2-3 days to go from the blocked out version of the first area, to a 'finished' area (that still needs a few last bits added to it) - to give an idea on the scale, there's about 15,000 objects in the screenshot below, including all the plants and grass and decoration, all placed by hand. I'm not going to do every single decoration and scenery piece for every other region right now, as thats something that can be done later - the main thing is making sure it all fits together and is walkable and all the doors lead to the right places.

Adding all the extra decoration and scenery is something I can do quickly at the end while doing playtesting/qa/localisation, so I don't want to spend too much time on it, but I wanted to get at least the first area fully finished off so that it's clear what each area will look like when finished up!

===

Big old month really! I'm a lot further ahead in my rough plan than I expected to be, I was thinking I'd be deciding the last 3 region designs in November and had expected to do all the final designing in December - but with this approach I'm finishing an entire area at a time and the first one is nearly done now, so I'm feeling a bit less stressed than I was, just a 'normal' level of stress now :') Next I'll be going through the other regions, roughly placing some of the scenery (but not all), and just focus on the actual gameplay and the routes the player will take so that I can start doing some internal playtesting! ~ Ell

[the-firebird69]

World's first flying bike is straight out of Star Wars | #shorts #yahooa...

Our son and daughter are proposing open class competitions with a weight limitation there's going to be other design parameters and I have to be a certain size and using electric motors and they don't have to specify or the battery if you do it open class you're going to find out which ones are the fastest and handle the best real quick our son and daughter say this arrangement is not that efficient and it looks like it weighs way more than it has to and people agree if there's something up with it yes and they say it's just not enough power but the power is coming off the individual turbines and you can make a blower a lot more powerful than you wouldn't have to do that and people have they can't keep it stable we know how to do that and there are some that are and it would catch on

Hera

There's a lot of these out there and nobody uses them they're too dangerous they don't use the blown air and it's like these grinding machines and people think it's disgusting and it really is you have that on the other one but it's enclosed and protected and it's one main turbine and it goes really damn fast and they are going to start racing and it starts the pond races which is similar is skin along the ground they can fly up in the air but when they're on the ground they have more left and they can go really fast and it's for evading people if you go up there they can just shoot you

Thor Freya

You use the natural area for cover and the backdrop confuses people and makes it hard to hit a lot of times just strange winds on the ground they're different and up in the air the wind stops after a while but yeah you're kind of a sitting duck it's never obstructions and a lot of people figured it out your fly car has to be able to go across all sorts of terrain and Aaron started driving that jeep around the tracks Jeep and other people are driving that kind of thing this works real well by the way if you have this concept is the flying motorcycle or small car and stuff and use a turbine it works great this particular type isn't the best doesn't work so great but it works and it stays stable and people like it

Hera

We have a whole bunch of them where the propellers tuck away but that's all it does

Trump

Jesus steak after it already you annoying prick. There's a whole bunch of these out there they're all kind of suck and people don't use that much and the other type is not prevalent but you guys should race and show that you are better at than others and there's a lot of them they use this for outrig propeller and you'll defeat them all and show them they're wrong and you should have regular races until it turns into a real race and this kind of thing has slowed down he used to have all sorts of flying races want to enter one and you have a certain horsepower propeller a single propeller and they want to use an impeller and I suppose you can do that and I put it in the middle like a MIG and use that design with the Windsor going up in a curve and he wants to build the thing thinks it'll be the fastest and we think so too you're going to be flying on a tube of air I'm kind of vacuum but that vacuum will help you move along it will have lift and it will be up to glide if you run out of power but you'll be charging with solar cells considered a very light and you charge some batteries and you use other ones this is a great idea it might actually catch on and people will fly private planes like that so people might build it because of trying to get sales the impeller is a great idea you can feed it through vented channels that are protected that a whole bird can't fit into and the other channels will still work it's a good idea sometimes you run into the flock of them this thing's going to be great it's a good idea

Thor Freya

That's a weird idea but it will work

Trump

He did that before but we see people are getting up to try and design it

Apollo and Goddess Wife

We need this attention too yeah it's a great idea and the swelled wings of their idea and the structure of the ship so we can glide this is awesome and it will work it'll be really fast you just turn the RPM off and it would be like a geared motor and just have a whole bunch of years it probably go very fast just too fast for you to believe we're getting ready and we're going to start prepping out there for work and to deter people from attacking the cities there's a lot of people there already and more I'm moving in with equipment every hour

Nuada Arrianna

Olympus

[cavewretch]

captains log #755680 i don't remember how many numbers i used to put

been a while since i wrote one of these so it's Long

day 355 of the genocide in gaza. 500+ people killed in one day in lebanon. my neighbors put an israel flag in their window. hinds hall 2. i started watching this guy on youtube who does "gaza war sit reps," essentially summarizing events and the resistance's actions. he also does "tankie therapy sessions" with other ml journalists which are helping me keep it together. my mom said i looked down today and i said it's been a rough news week. she asked why. i'm trying not to let the rage and despair and biting indignation seep into my every interaction, but it'll be day 365 soon, and majority of people around me callously keep their heads firmly in the sand. how are you not also fundamentally different? how do you ignore this? aren't you at least ashamed?

no doctors will listen to me about mast cell activation syndrome. i don't almost die when i get a reaction so it doesn't count for them. i fear im getting more sensitive to triggers. i didn't get to go outside much at all this summer because of dust and pollen counts, and we didn't even have many wildfires this year. my pt said i should still do design for theater, and that i fit the vibe. "cool, chill, sure of yourself." that felt nice to hear :3 i tried to explain that i would love to, i desperately want to, but like. i get a migraine from other people's detergents. scented air fresheners force me to leave an area. i can't be in that environment anymore. not to mention my physical limitations.

i miss stimulants. pharmacies love to make you do a little dance before u can get meds. i hate being Dependent.

i can feel myself spinning out a bit on photosynth. i feel like i need to have something new every week to show to my professor, when i used to sometimes not even have a new note or idea for two months at a time. i think i need to turn the creative soil but i don't know that i have the energy for it.

i told my dad im a communist, and his first reaction was to tell me to talk to my grandfather about "living under communism" (former yugoslavia) (he left in the early 60s tho. and he lived on an island. his village has 6 houses to this day. he did not see socialism. i digress). this was a fascinating response considering my grandfather disowned my father in a fit of rage in april. do you still not think your father might be wrong about some things?

anyway. we bickered for a half hour, and the next day he informed me he downloaded the communist manifesto. probably the last thing i expected to happen but i'll report back if he actually reads it lmfao.

i've been watching a lot of documentaries on natural disasters and storm chaser videos on youtube recently. i've always had a fascination with extreme weather but i'm watching a lot lately. if you'll allow me to psychoanalyze myself. it's awe with weather and how the earth works. it's also a reminder that the world is bigger than humanity, we're part of an ecosystem. it's also a reminder that not all damage comes from us to each other . and that we can't possibly control everything. and it's nice to see people help each other. idk. it feels a bit twisted. but isn't it incredible that wind and temperature and water can mix up and spin and do all that?

writing about lesbians is very difficult. writing about lesbians under the (albeit lax) supervision of an older man in a position of authority over me is even more difficult. every time i feel the horror in the pit of my stomach i remind myself of that tweet that was like u have to write for u & ur dick (something like that) . and it actually Isn't perverse and evil . it's actually fine. (gritting my teeth)

ok thats all i got for now . disjointed wretched brain sample . good night 🤙

[fadebolt]

The funny thing is, this isn't the first time we're doing a bit of region comparing through a 1v1 Tumblr poll. Remember @rain-world-region-showdown? I'm guessing many of you don't, that one has stopped posting about a year ago, but it was a pretty fun blog, and it's nice to have region duel, like the ones we saw there. Gives me some sweet nostalgia.

What's also funny is that both Shoreline and Shaded Citadel were knocked out immediately, on the very first round (and in case you're wondering, Shaded lost to Chimney Canopy, while Shore lost to Outer Expanse). And since there weren't any 'looser brackets', they never really got the chance to face off against each other. Back when that showdown was running, I had a bit of a format that I used, to rate the contestants. I'm gonna bring that format back, but I will not copy-paste the stuff I've written for these two regions. It's been almost a year, and I've played a decent chunk more, since then (which were mostly Expeditions). Have I had any overly drastic opinion shifts? No, but my feelings have likely changed enough to warrant a fresh look (while I also still stand by pretty much everything I've during the showdown... I hope that makes sense).

Anyways, time for some ratings! (I'm not gonna put in another explanation for my system. I hope it'll be clear enough, as is xd)

Shoreline: Music - 4/5 Game Design - 3/5 Visuals - 3/5 Core Identity/Gimmick and Importance - 2/5 (Would be 4/5 in vanilla, but DP has added in not 1, but 2 cooler versions of it. Ofc, WF is technically the same area, and SS has a couple core differences, but they still caused Shore to not stand out nearly as much as it did before) Enjoyability - 4/5

Overall Average - 3.2

Extra comment: I know Shoreline is one of those areas most people don't really care about - and if someone does like it, it's usually because LttM is there. But I'm one of those who are slightly positive leaning. It's an area that doesn't have a lot, that's amazing about it, but it also doesn't have much, that I'd consider to be overly terrible. It's mostly just... there, but I think the game is better off, for having it, even if it has parts I don't particularly like. (And yes, I do actually considering it to be a rather enjoyable area. The navigation is fun, its platforming rooms are nice, and Jetfishes/Jellyfishes are a blast to use. Sue me.)

Shaded Citadel: Music - 5/5 Game design - 3/5 Visuals - 4/5 Core Identity/Gimmick and Importance - 4/5 Enjoyability - 2/5

Overall Average - 3.6

Extra comment: Yeah, I know it's a little ironic, but I do view Shaded in a much higher regard than Shore, even though I find it to be a lot less fun. It just has a lot going for it, that really makes it stand out, even if it's also technically one of those 'unimportant' areas that doesn't have much 'story relevance'. I'm not an exactly much of a horror guy, really. But something about the atmosphere of this place really works for me, in ways that many other areas just don't. Not to mention, how radically different its gameplay, and its creatures are, and how the tools it requires feel actually rather good to use (the satisfaction of hitting a giant group of Coalescipedes with a Flashbangs... it's something else). Still, the region suffers from many rooms having... not so great layouts (hence why SC rooms rarely got votes in the room showdown), and the general structuring of the region is also little iffy, at times. It could be worse, sure, but there are many areas I'd be more excited to visit. But at least, it's an area I love thinking about. And I do enjoy the feels it gives me, whenever I'm using it for a route - which happens quite a lot, especially thanks to the GW karma gate, of Downpour!

So, the overall winner is - Shaded Citadel!

Shoreline or Shaded Citadel?

[ya-bug-boy]

PLEEEASE WHEN YOU HAVE TIME I AM HOOKED!! i would love to see more aware reader!! i inhaled everything you've written and it is. so good.

ahh thank you!! The Self Aware Reader x Submas has been so much fun to write thus far. I'm so glad you enjoy it!

Submas x Self Aware Reader Part 5

After a lengthy conversation of you answering questions for the boys and a shared meal of roasted meat, you decide to go to sleep. To the twins they just see the outside of the tent that they made in the mini game they participated in. But to you, their character models are standing directly outside the tent. It's a little unnerving at first but because this entire world is a strange game, you come to the logical conclusion that they can't partake in certain things; considering neither of their characters actually ate the meal you shared. Sleeping must be considered one of the things they can't physically do, since Emmet and Ingo are viewing this world through some certain kind of special lenses. When you lay your weary eyes to sleep, time immediately passes by, turning night into day. You swear you've only laid down five minutes ago but at the same time, you feel like you've received plenty of rest. Daylight peeks through the tent flaps so you put your clothes back on and exit.

When you appear out of the tent, the twins in unison in real life exclaim, "Good morning!" You smile then ponder for a moment if they've always talked to you prior to your sentience.

"Good morning," you respond back. "Now that we're deeper inside the forest, this seems like a good time to use this lure." From your backpack, you reveal an incense that's designed like a spiral. "Using this, we can attract the Killer Bee scouts to come out of hiding. There's a trick to finding their hive."

"A trick?" Emmet asks aloud.

"Scouts are indistinguishable from each other, however they tend to attack in groups. If you defeat all but one, and leave that one injured enough but not dead, it'll flee. From there, we follow it to the hive. It's a cruel tactic, but at times a necessary one."

"I was never aware of this! Bravo!" Ingo exclaims.

"However, doing this trick comes with a risk. It all depends on how many scouts we're able to defeat prior to doing this plan. If you defeat enough scouts, the hive will be left defenseless. However. Do this trick too soon and the hive will have itself enough scouts to outnumber any band of heroes. Since it is spring, the scouts are very protective of their royal honey since they need to establish who the next queen will be."

You can hear both twins hum in thought as they listen to your explanation.

"The Queen herself is rather harmless. She is completely immobile. But she does have the power to call back any remaining forces to the hive. So we need to reduce the number of scouts in the area as much as we can, without completely annihilating them all."

"So defeat as many as we can, and when the numbers start to look thin, we spare one and follow it. Does that sound ok with you two?" A "yes" or "no" box appeared for both twins. Upon clicking on the "yes" button, both of their character models nod. "Good. I'll light the lure now. Please be prepared for what happens next."

While holding the lure, with your dominant hand you snap your fingers. Immediately like akin to a blowtorch, a flame appears from your index finger. You light the lure and snuff out the fire from your fingertip, setting the lure down on the ground. The smell of incense begins to waft in the air. What starts off as silence with the sound of the forest breeze becomes tingling with the sound of loud buzzing, Killer Bee Monsters.

You ready your hands to equip your bow, you see both twins preparing their weapons as well. Ingo is armed with a magic staff adorned with a fire crystal on the top and dagger whereas Emmet dons on a pair of enchanted gauntlets, the metal gloves tingling with electric energy.

Closing your eyes for a brief moment, you tune in your senses to the forces of nature before opening them wide, "To the west!" you exclaim as you prepare an arrow.

The sounds of buzzing drowns the air, you hear the wings of numerous beasts approaching. There is nothing you can do but fight for your life.

Enormous bee monsters flood the area, taking up the forest path before you. The three of you rush forward, striking the enemies as they attack you. Because of the twins only participating in this world with a proxy, their characters don't flinch or express any sign of pain when injured, attacking and evading with reckless abandon. But you are not the same. If you get injured, you will feel the pain. Your lifespan may be many times more than the average human but there were still consequences to your mortal body. With this in mind, you do your best to keep a distance from the monsters, knowing if you were to be attacked by their poisonous stingers, it could mark the end of your journey.

The twins are even more ferocious in battle than you could ever imagine. Emmet is a quick fighter, running up to one enemy in a 1 v 1 combat, punching and tearing them apart, before running to the next. Ingo is excellent with crowd control, taking on multiple enemies at once. With your archery skills, you land critical and super effective hits to the Scout's weak spot, pronouncing them dead the moment your arrows lands their mark.

Dead monster bodies begin to pile up, carcasses trying to feebly attempt to flee before they expire. The number of scouts has quickly dwindled down, to just two left. With your arrow, you land a critical hit on one of them. With another, you hit the survivor near its stinger. It immediately turns around to try and flee. "Chase that one!" You yell, as you run past the twins, glancing back only once to see if they were following you.

The last scout tries to flee into the forest maze, but you're able to tell where to go because of its distinct buzzing sound. You go through twists and turns, not daring to look back at the twins, unless you wanted to lose track of the scout.

Then you see it. The enormous hive mounted on the cliff side, its hexagonal honeycomb walls protruding outside. You give mercy to the scout by finishing it off with one last arrow to the head. Its body jolts and stutters before falling still.

You look at the queen, nestled up high on the cliff side and stance yourself into another fighting position. It gives a deafening sharp thrill that echoes into the forest, you ready yourself to fight some more but no one appeared. You look at the queen sadly for a moment, feeling an awkward connection to the beast. But she was not real and technically, neither were you.

You reach into your backpack and pull out a glass jar. "Boys, I'm going to grab the honey." You walk up to the hive and hear the queen hiss, but otherwise she is completely powerless to do anything to you. You look at the honeycomb walls and see it, a segment of the hexagonal walls that's dripping with glimmering, golden honey, it shines by reverberating a radiant light. You fill up the jar with as much honey you can grab, reaching into your backpack to get another jar. Because of how much you've taken, there won't be another queen, which is a consequence for this world.

With your three big jars of honey, you stop to think of the ramifications of your quest. You were essentially condemning an entire species of monsters to die without this honey, it could be considered a genocide. Though Killer Bee monsters were extremely dangerous and have been a constant threat to the people who lived near the border of this forest in the mountains…did this matter? This was a game. But this was also your whole entire life. But your life was also fabricated entirely for the sake of entertainment. You're not sure how to feel about this, it doesn't sit well with you. You sigh and walk back to the twins.

"You two have done an excellent job. Wonderfully so. I could not ask for better heroes to aid me. With this quantity, I am able to produce the potion's curing traits."

"Our journey here is now over. Let's leave this forest." You walk forward but give the queen one last look, you can hear her continue to cry for help. It doesn't feel good. But you needed as much honey as you can get in case you fail to produce a working potion. Without any scouts or royal honey, she can't produce a new queen. You have essentially subjected her to perish alone; she is immobile and can't fend for herself. But she is also a monster, Killer Bees have been responsible for the deaths of many.

"One moment," you say as the twins pause. You raise your bow and fire one last arrow to the queen. She lets out a gasping shriek before she collapses.

If your actions have actual consequences to this world; Killer Bees will never appear again. But there was also the chance that could simply come back. If this is a game, then there needed to be enemies for Ingo and Emmet to fight against. You did not know. You do not want to know the answer.

When you leave the Hive, your vision fades for a brief moment. This was another cutscene. You find yourself at the train station, at the mountain stop where you last left it when you blinked. It's hard to adjust how this world and game works.

You go home.

[twodollarhero]

More like "that demo was sick"-min 4

So I just got done playing the demo for Pikmin 4 and it was like... REALLY cool!

My relationship with Pikmin has always been kinda weird. I've always merely liked the series a lot, when I've always felt that I should love it. On paper, it's exactly what I love about Nintendo: weird, interesting perspectives on a genre that takes a well-worn concept and makes it clean and accessible. Splatoon is the "Nintendo-ified shooter" just as Pikmin is the "Nintendo-ified RTS" or whatever... so why don't I love Pikmin in the same way that I love something like Splatoon? I really haven't ever been able to put my finger on it. My best guess is that I've never really vibed with the world, the story or the characters. Not because the games have been completely devoid of those things, but there's just enough of a wall of glass between it and me to leave my handprints on the windowpane, begging to be let in. Couple that with one or two too many unfriendly design decisions that have long been innate to the franchise and I think I always come away feeling that Pikmin and I would always be like the couple who date, break up and keep trying because - hey, maybe this time it'll work out.

Like any toxic relationship, Pikmin has done a lot of work on themselves and I really think they've changed this time. Playing the demo for Pikmin 4 has graduated my excitement from a tepid "ah shit here we go again" to actual, factual hype. While it isn't a completely frictionless experience, it solves practically every major problem I've ever had with the franchise and - for once - the glass wall has been shattered and I'm able to tip-toe around the shards on the floor.

First of all, the story setup is actually pretty fucking cool this time around? Look, I get it: diehard Pikmin fans are annoyed that it seemingly retcons the scraps of connected lore the series has had leading up to this point. I can sympathize with that, actually -- it would annoy me if that happened to a franchise whose story or lore I was really invested in. But, looking at it from the outside? I genuinely feel like taking our familiarity with Olimar and using his rescue - and possibly "death"? - as a narrative device to set us out in this new entry is a pretty cool idea! I think it gives people a great jumping on point for Pikmin, which I think absolutely feels like Pikmin 4's mission through-and-through. To the point where they even let you just play as your own character this time around. And while the character creator is simple, I really liked being able to make my own weird little guy for a change. All Pikmin characters look like gross, fleshy homunculi, but this one is mine!

So yeah, I like having my little weirdo here and I'd love to see yours. But it's the new gameplay additions that really turn my crank. The core of it is still very much Pikmin, but they've added some really nice quality of life stuff into this one in addition to just putting together a really pleasurable loop. You aren't just trying to survive and you aren't even really just trying to rescue -- everything you're collecting feeds into satisfying, measurable improvements. Honestly, just the feedback loop that Oatchi alone provides is satisfying enough to carry it for me: rescue enough lost members of your Rescue Corps (or stranded civilians), earn a point of "Pup Drive" and spend those points to make Oatchi even more useful than he is as a baseline, which is already very fucking useful. Uncover raw materials in the world for the weird scientist dude to turn into interesting traversal applications, puzzle solving applications AND player improvement applications, like new pieces of gear that'll allow you to withstand elemental effects. Rather than needing to forage for food every day, you're instead gathering household items in the name of "Sparklium" to repair your ship, which ultimately just rewards you with new cool areas to explore, i.e. it rewards you with more Pikmin 4. And even just in the demo, you've got an expansive little mini open-world to play in that feels super tight and well designed! But that's before you even touch on the caves.

Oh man, the caves. Apparently this is a returning feature from Pikmin 2, but it's been like 15 years since I've played that game so it feels super fresh to me. Even still, according to Pikipedia, Pikmin 2 only had like 14 caves in total. These feel like Pikmin 4's versions of Shrines in Breath of the Wild or Tears of the Kingdom. Little sections of the game that are ripe with rewards, but also super concise little puzzles and challenges that are off the beaten path. And, like Shrines, the sense of elation from seeing one of those blue lids makes me want to stop everything I'm doing to go explore them. The game knows that you'll want to explore them too, by slowing the day's time counter to 1/6th speed. Pikmin 4 has also integrated a system where you can straight up rewind the clock back a few minutes if you want. Like, the game is autosaving every 2-3 minutes and if something crazy happens, you can just rewind back to that previous save state. It's one of those accessibility things that hardcore fans can totally choose not to engage with, but someone like me is happy to have it when I accidentally got all of my Red Pikmin killed and would've been soft locked. It's the little things!

SO ANYWAYS, TL;DR... I really, really dug the Pikmin 4 demo in a way I wasn't expecting. And as someone that was kind of disenfranchised with AAA games - even Nintendo ones - for the first half of 2023... it feels really good to be excited about big budget games again. I love loving stuff.

[ptolomeia]

can you share more about being/becoming an elevator mechanic? i've been idly daydreaming of working in a manual trade for years now and your response to the "i don't want a career, i want to do crafts" post just kind of... snagged a hook in me and won't let go.

Ooooo! Welcome to the wonderful world of elevator mechanicking! Though I should warn you, it has its ups and downs :P

Okay, now that that obligatory pun is out of the way, first thing you need to know is that it depends on where you are. If you are anywhere else in North America than Quebec, what you're gonna wanna do is contact your local International Union of Elevator Constructors chapter and ask them how to go about it in your area. If you do live in Quebec, the two routes are through the Labour Pools (check out the CCQ website for more info on that) or getting a DEP at the only trade school to offer it in all of North America, which is located in Montreal. Though, the program is only offered in french, so you'd have to speak French.

If you live in one of the very many places outside of North America, unfortunately, I have no idea.

Okay, onto what it's actually like doing the work.

So far, I don't have any actual work experience, just class experience, though I am hoping to get a job soon. Just taking a bit of a break during the summer.

So, what's it like? Challenging, eye opening, empowering, incredible, fascinating, and so much more.

I've gone from thinking +/- 1/16th of an inch was an impossible tolerance to meet, to regularly meeting +/- 1/64th of an inch tolerances. I've learned an insane and empowering amount. Whereas before, electricity and mechanical work were something of a mystery, because I'd been denied opportunities to explore, I've now changed all the light switches in my apartment to dimmer switches, and I'm currently working on building a trellis cage I designed for my plants.

My physical health and mental health are both WAY up. It can be hard and exhausting, and you need to eat so much food to keep yourself fueled (seriously, I need to eat 4 meals a day and it irks me because I have to remember to eat 4 meals a day, anyway), but also incredibly rewarding. Because I'm exercising much and meeting clear and concrete goals every single day, my mental health has improved spectacularly. I spent 6+ years of my life pushing through intense depression and elevator mechanic school was the first time in all those years where I would wake up and want to take on whatever the day offered.

In terms of physical health, I'm in better shape than I've ever been. It's easier to move in my body than it's been in years, and my body is much more capable of doing more tasks. It's wonderful to experience.

There's definitely discrimination. If you are a woman, or if people will think you are, be prepared for that. It's definitely gotten better over the years. It's also definitely still an issue. For me, the benefits far outweigh the idiots, but I can't promise it'll be the same for you.

Honestly though? I'd been daydreaming about being in the trades since I was 14. It took me 12 years to finally get my ducks in the correct rows to allow me to take that step, and my only regret is that it took me that long.

If you've been day dreaming about it for years, go and give it a chance. The worst that will happen is you'll find out it isn't for you, and you'll have more information to find something that is. If you are looking for permission or a sign from the universe, this is it. Go go go. You might find yourself happier than you ever dreamed possible.

Feel free to send another ask if you have more questions, or to update us if you take the leap! We wish you all the luck in the world on your journey!

[jdw-man-123]

A Guide on How to create a TMNT Search & Rescue Iteration!

Hello again! :D

This is TMNT Search & Rescue, this is the last variant of this idea that I have currently, I decided to put it in Canada because I have four different cities in Canada that I want to use for mythologies so I decided to throw it in here, and why did I decide to mix rise in with this? Because I mix the normal Mythos all the time, may as well spice it up. With that being said let us Dive Right In.

DISCLAIMER: Disclaimer, these are not strict rules, these are just suggestions, a good way to use them and still be creative is to find a way to bend the rules and find creative loopholes around them, would that being said disclaimer over.

TMNT: Search & Rescue!

A guide on how to create a TMNT Search & Rescue iteration.

This Mythos has a heavy leaning into the fantasy side just like Rise with all the Mystic stuff, but the other elements still exists here in small quantities. Primarily stories will focus on the individual Turtles in their new lives and their friends and father on the search for them. Where exactly all four of them end up after presuming each other dead can depend on the iteration, they could either all still be in Winnipeg just in different areas, or they can end up all around the country, or all around the world, or maybe even possibly throughout the Universe. And it is possible that they could find each other on their own without April, Casey, or Splinter, but that's optional, more than likely it'll be Don because he's the kind of guy to put tracking devices on his brothers. What exactly caused them to presume each other dead and split up can depend on the iteration, maybe a big battle with a great enemy like The Shredder, or Baron Draxum, or maybe some new big enemy, or maybe an Alien invasion that happened all of a sudden, or maybe something else, it depends on the iteration. And how exactly they end up finding each other can depend on the iteration. Maybe it's something similar to The Last Ronin where they were picked off individually, but instead of actually being dead they are presumed dead, maybe something like their first fight with Baron Draxum but they all get out in different ways and don't know if each other all made it out of the lab explosion, or maybe something like when their Lair got destroyed at the end of season 2 but they all get split up and presume each other dead, or it could be anything, it depends on the iteration. They must be split up long enough for character development to happen, unlike Turtle Tracks and lost and found where they can be lost for 6 years, here 3 years at most because unlike other mythologies the Turtles are not all the same age as each other meaning it's possible that one or more of them could age out of being teenagers if they're lost for too long, they must be teenagers when they split and they must still be teenagers when they reunite because it's in the title, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Unlike the Turtle Tracks Mythos where they could get split up on their first Adventure up on the surface, here they must have already been doing this for a good little bit, meaning just like Rise April and probably Casey (if he exists in your iteration) are already there from the get-go and already know them.

Design Elements and aspects. Their skin must be Green despite whatever species they are, and species markings are required. They can have three to four fingers, and two to three toes, and they must have the same amount of fingers and toes as each other, and their toes must resemble fingers like the Rise toes. Because this is like Rise you can make them big and hulking if you want, just not too big and too hulking, they can be anywhere between 3 ft to 7 ft tall, depending on their species. They must all be different species from each other like Rise, Leo must be a type of Slider, any kind of Slider, but usually a Red-Eared Slider, Donnie must be a Soft Shell Turtle, any species of Soft Shell Turtle, Raphael can be any kind of Snapping Turtle, either an actual Snapping Turtle like the Common Snapping Turtle, or the Alligator Snapping Turtle, or he can be a Turtle that just has Snapping in its name, because there are several Turtles that aren't related to Snapping Turtles, but have Snapper in their name because of their similar Snappy tendencies, and Mikey must be a Box Turtle, any kind of Box Turtle, just like the Snapping Turtle there are several unrelated Turtles that have Box in their name, and Mikey can be any of these. Gear. They must have different gear from each other just like Rise, and Donnie having a battle shell is required, also Donnie's gear should be Purple or Purpleish despite whatever color his mask is in your iteration, even if you give him a Gray mask the rest of his gear should be Purple. And clothing is optional, but not recommended. Masks. I think the first iteration should have them in all White/Off-White because they're in Canada where it snows a lot so it would help them blend in with the snow, you could also give them their traditional Blue, Purple, Red, and Orange, Or Teal, Indigo, Light Red (not Pinkish Red), and Yellow, but I think the standard should be Leo in Cyan, Don in Gray, Raph in Light Black, and Mike in White/Off-White, but you could also put them all in Light Gray, or all in Gray to also help them blend in with the snow just a little bit, but it's up to you. Powers, they must have Mystic Powers just like Rise. Because they are in Winnipeg and not New York they have Canadian Vibes instead of New Yorker vibes.

Origins: They must be made on purpose by Baron Draxum to be used as Weapons Against Humanity. They must start out as Turtles not Humans. They can be made by a mutagenic substance, like Ooze, Mutagen, Mutagenooze, ect, no gene splicing, & no Mystic Crystals. Additional Turtles are optional, and highly recommended.

The Foot Clan: They are the exact same as in Rise, they are a cult that wants to resurrect their Shredder God, that also does crime on the side. If they are not led by The Foot Lieutenant and The Foot Brute then they could be led by Oroku Saki, Chris Bradford, or someone else, it depends on the iteration.

Splinter: Hamato Yoshi is Optional, Lou Jitsu is mandatory. Hamato Yoshi can exist with Lou Jitsu just being his stage name, or Hamato Yoshi can be Lou Jitsu's sensei and they are two different people, or Lou Jitsu can just exist without the existence of Yoshi. He can start out as a normal animal that got mutated or magically transformed, or he could start out as a Human that gets mutated or magically transformed, or he could be a Mystic, Yokai, or Alien Rat. If Splinter is not Yoshi/Lou Jitsu in your iteration then he could be Yoshi's/Lou Jitsu's pet, or a student of Yoshi's/Lou Jitsu's, or a adopted or biological child of Yoshi's/Lou Jitsu's. He must have a personal connection to Shredder & Baron Draxum in order to give the story weight, what exactly that beef is can depend on the iteration.

How to write this Splinter. The same as Rise Splinter, becomes depressed and stops really training his kids and kind of becomes neglectful in certain ways, but after losing his kids and now he's on the search to find them that's what causes him to straighten up and become a great Splinter, throughout the time looking for his lost kids he becomes a wise old man, a great father figure, and more spiritual. You must have him go through character growth and development and have him become a great character, if you don't do that then your iteration has failed.

The Turtles: They are the exact same as their Rise selves, with all the same Dynamics. Leo and Donnie got something going on between them, Raphael is a big cinnamon roll, ect. Just like what actually happened in Rise they could develop to become similar to their normal selves, or just more developed versions of their Rise selves, or you could take it down a completely different direction, depending on what you decide to do, how do you imagine the Rise Turtles would react to getting split up and thinking each other are dead?

April O'Neil: She is sassy, and crazy like Rise April. Other than that she must also be a expert Detective. Beyond that you can add any character trait you want, you can make her any age, or race you want.

Casey Jones: He is Optional. He is the exact same as the Rise Casey II aka Future Casey.

The Foot Recruit: She is mandatory. She is the exact same as her Rise self, you can make her Cassandra, or Karai, or come up with a new character, it's up to you. You can make her any age or race you want. And she must get reformed by the end.

The Space Thief: He is Optional. He's the same as his Odysseys self.

Baron Draxum: He's the exact same as his Rise self, he can be the first main antagonist, or the second main antagonist, he must always come before Shredder. And he must always get reformed. And he must have personal ties to Splinter.

The Shredder: Oroku Saki is optional, if you want to have Saki exist in the past then in present day The Shredder can be anyone, like in Rise The Shredder can be The Dark Armor, or be whoever is in charge of The Foot Clan seeking out The Dark Armor, Oroku Saki, Chris Bradford, or a new character, it doesn't matter as long as they have some personal tie to Splinter in order to give the story weight. It's possible that Shredder is the thing that caused the Turtles to split up because their battle with him was so intense. So the battle left them split up, nearly dead, and mistaking each other for being dead. But if you don't want The Shredder to be the cause of them splitting up then you could have Baron Draxum, or another main antagonist be the one to do it, and the Turtles can beat Shredder before they split up, or they can face Shredder after they reunite, depending on the iteration. The only character trait that needs to stick no matter who you make The Shredder is that he's prideful, other than that you can do whatever you want with him, you can either kill him off, or have him get reformed, it's up to you.

Other main antagonists: Optional. This is only if you don't want it to be The Shredder or Baron Draxum that caused them to split. You can have one of the other main antagonists from the other mythologies, or use another minor TMNT villain and turn them into a main antagonist, or you can make up a new character entirely, or if you have more than one Shredder in your iteration then you can have this next main antagonist just be another Shredder, but one that is worse than the first. It's up to you. You could have this extra main antagonist be the first main antagonist, then Baron Draxum, then Shredder, or Baron Draxum, then extra main antagonist, then Shredder, or Baron Draxum, Shredder, then extra Main antagonist, depending on the iteration.

TMNT Search & Rescue Mythos.

Their skin color must be Green despite whatever species they are, and species markings are required.

They must all be different species from each other like in Rise, Leo must be some kind of Slider (Unanimously always a Red-Eared Slider, but you can make him something else, if you want), Donatello must be some kind of Soft Shell Turtle, Raphael must be some kind of Snapper (Either a species of actual Snapping Turtle, or just a Turtle that has Snapper or Snapping in it's name despite not being an actual Snapping Turtle), and Michelangelo must be some kind of Box Turtle (There are many species of Turtle that are unrelated to each other that are classified as Box Turtles, he can be any one of these).

Takes place in Winnipeg, Canada.

Raphael is the leader, but Leonardo can take over as the leader by the end, but that's optional.

They can either wear all White/Off-White. Or all Light Grey, or all Gray. Or Blue, Purple, Red, and Orange. Or Teal, Indigo, Light Red (Not Pinkish Red), and Yellow. Or Cyan, Gray, Light Black, and White/Off-White.

Leo: Cyan Don: Gray Raph: Light Black Mike: White/Off-White

Weapons

Leo: Twin Okatana Don: One Tech Bo Staff Raph: Twin Katar Mike: One pair of Nunchucks

Ages

They can be anywhere between 13 and 19.

Raph: Oldest Leo: Second oldest or second youngest Don: Second youngest or second oldest Mike: Youngest

Depending on the iteration.

Strongest to weakest (muscle wise)

Raph Leo Don Mike

Or

Raph Don Leo Mike

Depending on the iteration.

Strongest to weakest (ninjutsu skill-wise) This may or may not change as the story progresses, depending on the iteration, but starting out.

Don Raph Mike Leo

Or

Don Leo Mike Raph

Or

Don Leo Raph Mike

Depending on the iteration.

And there we go. That was TMNT Search & Rescue. Just like Lost & Found I just took Turtle Tracks, but I threw it in a blender with Rise instead of the normal mythos. With that being said until next time have a Turtlely awesome day! :D TURTLE POWER!!!! :D