#pathea critical

[theharlotofferelden]

Harassment within the My Time At Sandrock Community (and Pathea’s enabling of which)

For those who aren’t a part of the Pathea server or any related fan server, it’s a rather well known fact that Pathea is weirdly inconsistent about enforcing the rules with their server. I say “weirdly” not because it’s beyond understanding, but because the reasons I’ve been given are so utterly bizarre that they wouldn’t even be in the realm of something I would assume just based on my personal experiences with poor moderation.

As someone who has been a part of several Ye Olde Internet forums, I’ve had my share of bad mod experiences. When the issues weren’t the mods themselves, it was mods overextending themselves when the forum got too large (which usually happened when the forum was a part of a more “official” entity that didn’t want to hire more mods). The lack of mod oversight would often lead to extensive user harassment, as not having enough mods meant some folks just fell through the cracks.

Neither of these, to my knowledge, are the issues with Pathea’s server, but rather with the culture they’ve allowed to propagate in their community. I’ve spoken with a number of people who have confirmed that the real reasons they are neglectful is because of the relationship they have with certain users, namely the fear of “controversy” or “bad PR” from said users.

This has lead to a toxic environment within Pathea’s own server as they’re reluctant to ban certain users that have been targeting others within the community. And although the people being targeted aren’t all queer creators, a lot of them are.

This might not be anything new to folks in the know, but I figured I would talk about this on Tumblr because I haven’t seen anyone mention it yet. I also feel compelled to speak out on a related issue as Pathea’s issues with regulating their server extends to the enabling of user harassment across their socials.

One of my friends, Snowy, is being targeted by a user popular within the Pathea server. This person has been harassing them on Tumblr — starting earlier this year and persisting throughout — up until Snowy turned off anons. These are the receipts that Snowy posted to the Eufala Outback as proof that this has been going on for the last several months:

We all know who is doing this but are reluctant to name them, because they have somehow convinced a number of people close to them that Snowy is the one harassing them. And they’ve been working at this for a long time to where Snowy has repeatedly found themselves quietly blocked by folks they thought they were friends with.

More specifically, before anons were turned off, this situation was escalated by a person Snowy trusted with the knowledge of who this person was, thinking they were trustworthy enough to speak with them about the harassment they’ve been dealing with for several months. Instead, this person turned around and told the person who’s been harassing them about what they said, and then proceeded to spread lies that Snowy was the one harassing the person who’s been sending them anon hate.

Interestingly, being tangentially involved in all of this resulted in me being removed (and I think, banned considering I can no longer find the sever when I search for it on Discord) from a fan server I signal boosted a while back. I genuinely do not know what was told to the people in charge of this server, but seeing as they were unwilling to speak with Snowy to corroborate the story, and decided my mere association with them was enough to have me removed from the server, I don’t feel I’m being unfair by saying they’re complicit in the harassment of Snowy.

In any case, this has escalated further to where now these people recently got Snowy suspended as mod of Pathea’s official subreddits. The reasons being that the mods were receiving multiple complaints from different users claiming — without any evidence, mind you — that Snowy was harassing people.

When Snowy tried to appeal the ban by showing the Pathea mods that it was actually them that was the target of harassment, they responded that they wouldn’t repeal the decision because “they didn’t want controversy,” and, in Snowy’s own words, “Pathea didn’t even want to read my receipts.”

I’m making this post because I feel that this will not end here. I feel that logically the next step these people will take is to get Snowy banned from the official subreddit as well as the Pathea server. They have already made it a point to ostracize them from a number of people within the community, and Pathea being complicit in this makes me doubt that they’re willing to prevent that from happening. And so my only recourse is to make a post about it on Tumblr to make people more aware of this is going on.

To the folks who are involved: I think you should reconsider what you’ve heard regarding this matter. I’ve spoken to a few friends who are not a part of the MTAS fandom, and they all agree this is probably the worst case of harassment we’ve seen in a long time. The person spearheading this is literally employing DARVO tactics to mislead those around them while simultaneously making them complicit in the harassment of my friend. And all over a (harmless) fictional ship from a video game (that happens to be of a gay couple. I mention the ship being gay because that seems relevant to the reason for the harassment.).

With that said, I’m pretty much done with Pathea. I might still talk about and create fanworks for Sandrock, but I’m not playing Evershine until Pathea fixes the culture on their Discord server.

[sandrockianblues]

Fang: how do I gatekeep myself?

Fang: some of you motherfuckers don’t deserve me.

[adelle-ein]

my sister bought me my time at sandrock for hanukah on switch bc she's a sweetheart (as my disabilities have worsened it's become very hard for me to game on pc)

as someone who started playing portia very early on (i want to say late 2017-early 2018, since it was around the time i started seeing my current therapist? pretty early. i'm one of the people who campaigned to have the menu option to turn off weather effects!) it's nice to have all the qol features right off the bat instead of needing to claw through early access. still definitely got them pathea rough edges, esp on switch, but at least the characters look a LOT nicer haha. and the quicksave feature is a lifesaver. and cosmetic outfit options!! instead of needing to unlock a damn sewing machine!!!

it is also so funny how they've clearly tried to make the bachelors more conventionally attractive and appealing. as always farming sims need more butches/diversity in their bachelorettes but at least it's more balanced this time. overall everyone looks a lot less bobbleheaded too which is nice. no idea who i'm gonna marry yet i'm only on like week two. also it starts on the first of SUMMER?? the conventions! the conventions!!

the mines really feel fixed up and much more like...probably what portia's were intended to be. a lot of clear listening to criticism, some of the redrawn icons are especially funny to me, the worms are no longer weird, no more piles of poop lying around in the fields, etc. translation is better even if "telesis" is still said way too much. i did turn off the voice acting again though. i like how they're trying to give sandrock its own identity as a desert region instead of just being reskinned portia, the town feels kind of clunky rn but i think i'll get used to it (and tbf switch graphics are a factor in this, not much to do about that) (the minister keeps t posing her way around town which if she turns out to be evil is gonna be REALLY funny)

my one significant complaint aside from the general bugginess (pathea) is that the chest/organizational system seems lacking compared to portia's, i'm not sure why you can't just sort all items in your pockets into your chests automatically? that was a fantastic feature and it appears to be missing for some reason

but yeah it's been really fun and nostalgic, i loved portia but btwn life and health i really couldn't follow early access sandrock and i'm having fun. as someone who loves farming sims but actually isn't suuuper big on the farming itself (i'm so weird) portia/sandrock is such a fun fit. especially if you like automating production and stuff like that. for me stardew is king but portia is really up there and we'll see if sandrock can dethrone it!

[osarothomprince]

Cinema attendance is picking up again — Actuhebdo

Guillaume Canet’s film, Asterix and Obelix: The Middle Empire took the top spot at the French box office in February. PAthea ANALYSIS – In February, 18.2 million French people went to see a film on the big screen, ie 5 million more than a year ago. To say they have come under fire from criticism… Cinema attendance is picking up again — Actuhebdo

[portia-reacts]

Real-ness Arlo HC

I feel there is more to Arlos personality than what we see. Flaws and all. So here are my real ness hcs.THESE ARE DARKER HCS! I just feel that having flaws and problems make characters more real. And how it can help build a bond of trust in relationships when showing your inner most fears. And how love and support can help fight off inner demons. I’m not apart of pathea so of course this isn’t real.

⚡️Arlo is a very jealous man.

⚡️he tries to be the perfect leader of the civil corps. A role model to all citizens but it affects him sometimes. On whether his thought are his own or leader of the civil corps.

⚡️being 28 and still not in the flying pigs at times causes small episodes of depression. Of course he tries to remember age doesn’t define success but the negative thoughts still linger.

⚡️(dating realness) a small part of him dating you is an excuse as to why he didn’t make it into the flying pigs. He truly cares about you, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t also see a chance of being able to mentally free himself from himself. You helped him come to terms with staying in Portia and being just the leader.

⚡️he supports his fellow civil corps members but he hates the story of Sam being able to hold her own against him.

⚡️he uses Nora as a way to feel good about himself. A way to feel more like a man as she validates him, and fuels his ego. He gets to tell her how brave and strong he is, and how excited she gets hearing his stories makes him feel like top dog in Portia. That he’s Keeping all the citizens safe.

⚡️he trains hard but he has a lot of self-doubt, self-hatred and criticizes himself harshly. It’s like a double edged blade for him. He wants everyone to think he’s strong and amazing, but at the same time he doesn’t believe it to be true and how he’s letting everyone down.

⚡️in the morning before he starts his day as leader of the civil corps he stares at himself in the mirror as he tries to prepare himself to put on his persona of perfection. As he feels people don’t love him for him, but love him as the leader.

⚡️this one is super dark so don’t read if you don’t like darker than what’s been written so far. (Not dating Arlo HC. Or pre-dating depending) The reason Arlo is so self-righteous and all about saving everyone without question and jumping into battle without second thought is because at times he feels that dying as a hero is all he has left.

⚡️I feel that the builder can help Arlo come to accept himself for who he is rather than what everyone (including himself) expects him to be. That it is okay to not be perfect.

[chaoticsweetstimemachine-blog]

Why I loved My Time At Portia

My Time At Portia is a vibrant life simulator in a huge fairytale city, developed by the Chinese studio Pathea Games and released on PC in 2019. Most recently, the final version of the game 2.0 was released, which, among other things, acquired official localizations, which was not at the start. Also in this version, optimization has significantly improved compared to what was in Early Access. In general, updates for Time At Portia are released quite regularly (several times a month), and you can track them and all the changes they brought in a special main menu journal. I want to start right away with the obvious and main advantage of this new game - its amazing cartoony three-dimensional graphics and relaxing music, which together create a fabulous atmosphere in the spirit of old animes. The world here is not very large, but open to exploration, presented by the funny island city of Portia.

Game plot

The plot of the game begins with the main character staying on the island on a small boat of the midshipman named Uwe. Once on land, a guy (or girl, depending on the player’s choice) begins to get acquainted with the local people. And Presley, the representative of the local branch of the Trade Guild, is the first to pay his respects to the dear guest. He introduces the hero to the course of events around the events and reports that his father left him his own workshop along with an explanatory letter, and he disappeared without a trace. After this, Presley kindly guides the hero to his apartments, which are part-time of this same workshop, which is not in very good condition. From this moment, the hero is left to his own devices, having only a basic, very generalized goal - to bring his new economy out of deep desolation and begin to carry out craft orders from the administration and residents of the city. But this, of course, is not the only entertainment available here, which number in the tens! But more about them later.

Character editor

Before embarking on an exciting journey called My Time At Portia, the player ends up in the character editor. There are not many settings here, but betraying a certain personality to your virtual alter ego with their help is quite possible. The editor allows you to select the gender of the character, his voice, customize facial features and hairstyle, as well as give him a name. As you can see, the set of features is quite modest, but given that this is not an online game, it does not cause any particular complaints.

You can also choose your birthday here and this is not an empty formality. The fact is that a dynamic change of time is implemented here and a real seasonal calendar is present: the time of day changes, the seasons spring, summer and so on change. And on the calendar are marked all sorts of important events and holidays, including the birthdays of city residents who congratulate each other and give gifts.

RPG Elements

They are expressed in the following features:

the presence of equipment with unlockable slots for coins;

the hero’s presence of parameters changed by the equipment (health, energy, stamina, defense, critical strike chance, and so on);

active pumped skills, divided into 3 categories: combat, craft-mining and communicative;

game currency;

workshop rating;

the scale of relations with each of the inhabitants of Portia.

Friendly and intuitive user menu

For ease of navigation in the open world, there is a global map, a list of familiar characters with the most important information about them, and even a special notebook that acts as a training manual on the game and allows you to create all kinds of production machines and machines. There is also a full calendar with notes and reminders, and a window with character settings.

Other nice features of this great role-playing game

Craft. As already mentioned, a huge number of different machines are available here, on which you can create all sorts of useful and beautiful things.

Looted items. To do something, you first need to develop the necessary material and details, and this process is implemented very interesting.

Funny characters with whom you can interact in different ways: talk, play in the KNB, give gifts, sparing and so on.

Dungeons in which you can collect parts of relics and other rare and valuable objects.

The ability to fish.

Interesting holiday events tied to a calendar.

The opportunity to furnish and decorate your workshop (it’s also your own home), as well as improve it and the entire garden with all the buildings and machines.

Presence of mounts.

You can grow crops and breed animals.

Cooking!

Conclusion

One of the best games in 2019 in the genre of life simulator, very similar to the legendary two-dimensional project Stardew Valley, but with its lore, attractive three-dimensional graphics and unique fairy-tale aesthetics.

[sandrockianblues]

Lately I’ve been seeing a lot of talks about the sandrock builder customization and how people been wanting more body types, although I’ve seen people being rude about it tbh, just the way talk about the female builder’s body is leaving a bad taste in my mouth. how do you feel about this?

Hi anon, thank you for asking me my opinion on this 💜💜

While it’s been more than a year of people vocalizing their desire in having sliders/ options/ different presets- only recently has the female builder’s body been complained about to the extent where I think a larger issue needs to be addressed.

Body shaming is still body shaming.

To pull some quotes I’ve seen:

“…small and childlike”

“…body types are definitely something that looks like an adult.” (In ref to Grace and Heidi bodies)

“…give us more mature body types too”

“I’m a baby.”

“…really awkward”

“Downright comical”

“…would love my builder to look more adult.”

“my builder looks like a toddler being walked to school by her husband haha.”

“I’m not a fan of looking like a child.”

“general proportions” (in ref to what the “issue” is)

“currently is kinda twigy”

And in discussion for future installments or advancements within the game:

“it’d be great if they got rid of that look.”

“I do hope they move away from it in the future.”

*this is about the female player body- I cannot speak on behalf of the male player body completely*

As someone who is personally significantly shorter than the builder myself and has a petite or smaller frame- this was very degrading to read comments of.

While I’m a huge advocate for any sort of character customization implements that can be involved such as height sliders/presets/ weight sliders/ whatever else, and I believe that you should have the right to vocalize your wants-

What I don’t believe is that it should come with mocking and criticizing the current female body of the player.

And I truly hope that this look isn’t just scrapped and gotten rid of.

Those under 5’2” are already misrepresented or just not represented enough as adults in games a large majority of the time. We often get stuck with characters that have larger or more curves than we do. Characters of average or taller height. Modelesque to curvaceous characters.

I’m not saying these physical wants for characters shouldn’t be implemented or that they should be ignored. I’m saying you can ask or wish for them without putting down those who do have smaller builds. Those without an hourglass figure or who legitimately are a foot or two shorter than the person they choose to become romantically involved with.

While this is something that me, family, friends, etc have dealt with our whole lives- those of us who have fallen on the very shorter side of the scale, I’m not going to standby and watch it be incorporated into a game that has quickly become one of my top two favorites in the past year of playing it.

Criticizing- not critiquing, there is a huge difference- the female player body as it stands right now and making harsh jokes about it is seen by those who happen upon these posts or threads and can identify with the body themselves. I know a number of short and petite people who are playing My Time at Sandrock, and if I’m being completely honest, this may be the first time we had a more comfortable experience with a character that can be customized for ourselves.

The builder is in their early 20s and also created by a small Chinese indie game company called Pathea. Think of how many of those who are more prone to those heights or body frames have been criticized alone. This game is possibly more prominent in China right now given that they have an online website we ourselves can’t translate. They’re aware of new merch and such we’ve yet to receive official news on.

Also for reference:

Yes, average height.

It may be fun to joke about how it looks to you, but for some people… this is our reality.

No, not all short people have dwarfism. No, not all petite people are just not eating enough. And yes, some of us may not have the ample assets that most women do have. And it’s something we’ve had to deal with our whole lives.

Implying that a taller height and a curvy figure or an incredible bust size is what makes a “mature” and “more adult” look is beyond insensitive. To imply that it is “what makes a girl a woman” is horrifically humbling to read.

And I do mostly see this body shaming of short or petite stature and height coming from mostly women. One cannot preach for body positivity if they continuously exclude and demoralize a body type. It’s hypocritical, it’s demeaning.

Comparing the female player body to the likes of Grace or Heidi or Jane- beyond saying it’s just the type of build one may want, as in, using them as a comparison to further degrade the current body, is yes, still body shaming and something a lot of us have worked hard to try and not compare ourselves to.

Does this have to do with me writing short female characters? Beyond the fact that I am short myself? Yes. Because it’s gotten to the point where if it’s not body shaming, it is fetishizing or glorifying the idea of being smaller than the average short height. And I want some readers to be able to read of a short character that isn’t “gremlin” or “closer to hell evil” or “feral” sometimes. Because that’s stereotyping. And we’ve been stereotyped our whole lives.

The female builder is in her early to mid 20s, around 5’2”, taller than some characters (that aren’t children), has a notable ass and chest- and yet while that’s how some of us look or it’s a bit more, “she’s not a woman”?

I have dated and befriended men from 5’ to 6’5”- and shockingly, men have been less prone to making me feel as less of a woman than the comments from my own gender have. I have shown and read these comments to my father, male friends, brothers and such only to see them become irritated that women are body shaming this body type. Pointing out the hypocrisy and some of the shallow remarks.

This is akin to a post I saw:

Unrealistic and far fetched right? How do you think we felt- those of us who were 5’2” or below.

Someone who is quite literally the same exact height as Andy irl and in my twenties.

I could go into the whole aspect of having to reanimate or rig the characters and players for cutscenes and interactions. I can dive into the whole deal with the “baby face” expressions (and yes, some people just do have a “baby face”). I can stand on Pathea’s side who has worked tirelessly and with several issues they had to work past. The deadlines and due dates they’ve had to push back while early access fans still cheered them on for support. Or I can point out that this game is rated with an E10+ rating.

But this post isn’t about that.

Preach for what you want or options you’d like to see. But no, let’s not make callous remarks and harsh jokes on the player’s body. Let’s not just suggest they get rid of it entirely.

Women are supposed to support women. How about we stop deciding bust size and height is what makes you a “real woman”?