#pc mechanics suck btw

[dol-dee]

Yeah okay I couldnt resist it

I think the third one in the top row is probably the final version but feel free to tell me which one you like best! :D

Also dont smoke people, the coolness factor is NOT worth it lmao

I'm considering doing a lil mock up (as in packaging design) for the cigarettes Dee smokes. Ive already kinda settled on a name and it might be fun!! ....I'll put it on the pile..

[ranticore]

reading your pern fic (OBSESSED btw) and you seem to have a really good grasp on flight / flight dynamics & the physics of it. and it's incredibly hard to find a resource for more realistic dragonriding - would you mind sharing some of your knowledge, terminology, that sort of thing? i guess this is me asking you to infodump about dragon flight/riding to your heart's content lol

>:) I waited until I was on pc to answer this one

Background information about me is that I've a long history with horse riding, a love for birds, and a special interest in.... aviation (in case that wasn't obvious)

to write a dragon riding scene I kind of synthesise all of these elements - to know what it's like to work alongside a steed (balance, cooperation), to know what it's like for a bird to fly (responding to the shape of the air) and also to know basically how flight at speed affects people (g-forces, air pressure, hypoxia) as well as essential flight mechanics (the basic 'how do wings work' thing)

So for a wing to work, the air must be flowing over its surface at a speed which creates a pressure difference which then causes lift. That's very simplified but u get it - the low pressure that develops on top of a wing kinda sucks the wing upwards. That means that in flight, you have a minimum speed where lift can persist. Dropping below that speed will cause a stall (lift stops) because that pressure difference won't exist. When you climb, you lose speed, which means at a certain critical point, the wings stall. Diving back down again will increase speed, increase lift, and then you'll go up again. I recommend looking up some videos or something because i'm not the best at explaining it haha

The air itself is also important to consider and i think it's the key of what brings it all together. Air is always spinning around the margins of a wing. It's why I always use descriptions like "whirling" and "churning" and stuff like that, it's to evoke the spirally vortex that generates in the wake of a flying object. You can see the vortexes sometimes when the low pressure over a wing changes the dew point in the air, causing condensation to form:

this "tube" of air is a rapidly spinning vortex which forms when lift is happening - it's always there, but only this condensation makes it visible. next time you're on a plane coming in to land, watch and see if you can spot one, and notice that the moment the spoilers come up on the wing, the vortex stops, because lift is no longer being generated. The wingtip vortices cause drag which is why many planes have devices at the wingtips that point up, it reduces the vortices and saves on fuel!

Big wings make bigger vortices and this is what causes wake turbulence.

you can see here really clearly the shape of the air in the wake of the plane, two big churning vortices that grow and spread out with distance until they're negligible. But flying directly into these vortices will cause a smaller aircraft (or dragon) to experience that turbulence, think of it like the wake of a large boat causing waves that might capsize a kayak. Turbulence, wind shear, etc these are all fluid dynamics in the air. Something that bores me in flight scenes (and sooo many flight scenes are guilty of this) is "dead" air, air which doesn't exist as anything other than an empty medium for something to basically levitate weightlessly through. It takes power and effort.

Back to birds - unlike planes, birds have a great degree of flexibility over how they approach the air, but their wing mechanics are convergent. Birds also extend high-lift devices to fly slowly without stalling (their alula). They can catch and exploit many of the wind forms which would throw a plane of similar size out of the sky. Thermals are an obvious one to write about, these are columns of rising air that form over a warm surface. Soaring birds use high-lift devices on their wings (the slotted primary feathers) to catch the thermal and ride it without having to flap at all. This is how the bronzes work.

Queen dragons in my story fly at the bottom of the column when in battle, really close to the ground - they actually exploit the ground effect to fly that low. Within one wingspan of the ground, the high pressure zone that forms under the wings acts as a cushion, because there's nothing under it but solid ground. This means lift can be maintained in conditions where normally it would not work - low in the air, the air pressure is dense and drag is a major factor.

Air pressure is another thing to consider but that's relatively intuitive. More pressure, more drag, slower flight, more energetically-costly flight, etc. The ceiling for 'breathable' air is about 10,000 feet. Now we have to think about the rider - have you ever stuck your head out of a car window at high speed and tried to breathe? If you've ever cornered fast on a bike you'll know how it feels to bank, more or less. Your weight increases the more Gs you pull, because gravity is intensifying for you. For the physical effects on the riders I looked into fighter pilots, stuff like G-lock, what kinds of forces someone can withstand before their body starts hurting lol.

in short: flight is a complicated battle against gravity and the air is alive

[godteri-takk]

Im soooo stoked to be playing GGG, I'm immediately enamoured by the soundtrack and animations and art, oh how i truly love Yugos art style it's just so breathtaking! The blush, the eyelashes, the wrincles in the clothes! aaaa!!!!! the backrgrounds and objects look fantastic too, love the spirtes and the animations, so smooth, and perrfect lights and silly sound effects, and the craftmanship in the puppets is on point, love them!!!

incredibly charming characters i love all of them! Iv'e seen a lotta art of Inspekta and the Bizzyboys and i see why, they're amazing! so cute, like little dogs! i wanna pet them!!

Marsha and Robart my beloved

Inspekta so silly but also seems genuinely competent and smart, a perfect mix! Love that he taped a tail to his uniform, ig his old tail didn't follow him to Godhood. the lore is AWESOME BTW AAAA!!! Also love the PC, their walk animations and random lil things they do when they stand still for long is soooo enjoyble <<3 the game mechanic w nodding and shaking head is a feature i loved in SfM and the whole thing w sucking up speech bubbles, THAT'S BRILLIANT! love it so far!

[themetalvirus]

btw ur fucking pen colors are so pretty i love when u post art and theres like a pink ghost behind the lines

THAMK YOU :pleading: i like the colors i choose too... it's fun using different colored pens for sketching, adding detail, and then cleaning up. it makes the drawing more visually interesting

pencil may be erasable. but it looks boring. and colored mechanical pencil lead sucks so i don't use colored pencils (thumbs up emoji) (i am on pc to test out my new monitor) (it's attached to my old crusty laptop) (still fun)

[asoulofatlantis]

Games I currently "own" digitally Part 3

So this is GoG... mostly "old" games that either I or my Dad have been playing when I was a child. My Dad actually had that one "Leisure sweet Larry Game that I actually finished" and I wanted it again so badly that I bought the bundle set even tho I do not like to play any of his other games ^^' (As you can see on Steam I did buy his newer game but it is just... not my game. Playing it - as most of the games here - is really just for nostalgia...)

Do not ask about "Hunnie Pop" I do not know what I was thinking ^^'

My Dad played "Biing" when I was a child and sometimes I played it too because I didn't understand why the woman were having big brests and always naked at all anyway... and I rebought it because I sucked at the game so much back then and I was sure THIS TIME I will get it - spoiler: I did not! XD

BTW in my eyes, Sim City 3000 was the best Sim City.

Anyway: This is my EA-Account:

It looks like I only own Sims 4 the original game but I own A LOT of Addons and Kits and Game-Play-Packs or however all this stuff is called these days. 59 to be exact XD I also owned ALL of them back in the day for Sims 1, 2 and 3.

What you also need to know: This is not the real "Need for Speed most wanted" the original was unmatched and so I never actually played whatever this game is, even tho I bought it ^^'

I also like to mention that I managed to finish "Dead in Bermuda" in one go without anyone dying by pure utter accident XD

Now you get a look at my Steam Wishlist:

I WILL get "Metaphor" soon one way or another because a lot of people like that game and its getting harder to avoid Spoiler at this point and I kind of want to play it blind. I am waiting for the next big sale at the end of November tho and hope it might maybe a little bit on sale by then ^^'

I also would like to get all 3 Kingdom Hearts Games in that Sale but my Budget is small and Square Enix does not like to give huge sales to their big titles no matter how old they are ^^'

"Coral Island" is supposed to get a "Wohoo" - Update so I probably should get it eventually at some point ^^' But I am not in a rush. There can only be so much Farming Games on my list of games still to play or to finish.

I REALLY should play "NEO TWEWY" at some point but I want to play the original here first and its so hard to do. Because the Final Remix Version is only out on Switch and I do have it there and I should play it there because the controls on the Emulator (that is not there anymore anyway...) just suck but how to make and post screenshots now that it can not even access Twitter anymore? It would be such a shore to get the screenshots to my computer or at least phone... but I feel like do to its mechanics hoping for the game ever to come out on PC is pointless.

I was looking forward to "Reynatis" but I've heard it turned out to be really bad... so I guess it can wait.

Fun Fact: I loved "Black and White" and I was hoping they would bring it out on EA-Store or Steam or even GoG but they never did so I was looking forward to Fata Deum but they are very silent there and just postponed the release to next year so I am not sure if it will ever really come out...

Not high on my list. I am not in a rush to play the Ys Games but I think I will one day.

"Romance SaGa 2"? I never played 1 to begin with, but I thought that SOME DAY I might try this one out at least. But once again, I am not in a rush here.

So... that was the list of the games I am currently owning and/or wishing for. If Steam still exists by then, we do that again in 10 years. ALSO let's see how many more Sims4-Addons I have added by then XD

And then we will also check out how many of the games I still needed to play or finish I REALLY did end up playing and finishing ^^'

[veritymysticmagic]

Squeeenix vent post thingy

Ok this is just a ah let me complain sorta post about how bad Square Enix is. I'm sure this will just piss of all the Square Enix fanboys lol

Now I will say every game dev has problems. Some more than others (I'm looking at you Atlus) but seriously Square Enix has soooooo many and it feels that alot of people, news outlets included, bend over backwards and do back flips to defend the studio.

They don't need your money and honestly they are the AAA game you're complaining about.

This list may change as I gather more info or hear more bs

Enix has stated several times that NFT gaming is the future, like you have to purchase your game as an NFT?? Like in an era where cloud services are trying to not let you own the game (DRM free discussion is a whole other thing) Square Enix is literally going full into it.

GOD AWFUL PORTS. For every one good port they have there are like four god awful ones. Remember the FF mobile ports? They were literally the best ports until the more recent remake ones. Secret of Mana? Awful port. Oh can we get a remaster of Chrono Trigger? Nah. (aside but Nintendo spearheading the remaster of Mario RPG was a very wise decision because Nintendo has a much better track record with remasters)

Pandering to "fanboys" by adding and CHANGING Cloud and Sephiroth in EVERYTHING. I get it FF7 is a very magical game. It was one of the first jrpgs I ever played back on the original PC (a story for another time) but the changes they did to Cloud to make him more edgy and appealing is just gross. Now they are making a Sephiroth game which ok but... it really weakens him as the main villain idk. Also the lack of anything for their other games really sucks. Which leads to the next point...

An immediate reversal of an old studio decision that coincides with what I think is the steady decline of the FF series. (my source here is Final Fantasy Union on youtube - great vids btw) Originally the rule was that no game story should be reused in another product ie. no side games. The reasoning was to ensure each game was its own product and not riding on what the fans want. This was until that developer left after the development of FFX. Once he left they immediately made X-2 a side game. Literally pandering to the fans. Yes this led to a better Final Fantasy movie in Advent Children (as opposed to The Spirits Within) but I honestly think this is the turning point of the FF games going into decline. Yes while 14 is considered incredibly amazing and yes it is good, the rest I feel have departed further and further from the original 10 FF games. This goes on to my next point

(eh may not be a negative) The change in Final Fantasy going from turn based JRPG to action based JRPG to just trashing that style and going straight into the DMC studio's style of game - ie Final Fantasy 16. I am of the opinion that the action based JRPG is not great as it tries to be two different systems at once. Yes Xenoblade does a great job of this but it may just be one of the few outliers. This has not been a JRPG style that has led to a lot of great games - if anything it feels like a one or two series and done sorta mechanic. And to the FF team's credit they immediately jumped away from it for FF16. What I don't like is that it kinda removes FF from its identity. Though this may be seen as a positive instead of a negative

Cloud Save PC ports. I am so sorry Kingdom Hearts 3 you don't deserve it. Speaking of Kingdom Hearts

Purposefully confusing story so that you buy more low effort media related to said story. Kingdom Hearts, FF 15, FF13, etc. etc. All of these games have purposefully confusing lore so that you want to buy more media to get more info. And usually this media is in the form of quick games, web books, dlc, and so on. Whether or not this extra media means anything or is any good is questionable and are usually only purchased by the die hards.

RELEASING AN INCOMPLETE GAME. Ok seriously this is the meat and potatoes and it all revolves around Final Fantasy 7 Remake/Rebirth. Yes that game. Yes the game that we have waited DECADES for. And I being a fan of the original Final Fantasy 7, I who went through the streets of Midgar and saw Jenova for the first time - was utterly disappointed. A game with that much anticipation and yet it was split into a TRILOGY to milk it for all its worth. As of right now what we have in FF7 Remake is just the first half of DISC 1 OF 3 from the original game. And yet this is ok? Its ok to remaster a game and not release the whole thing?? And it hasn't been a short wait. It has been 4 YEARS FOR THE SECOND TRILOGY GAME. Based on this that means we will need to wait 8 YEARS TO GET A GAME THAT IS ESENTIALLY A SUPER REMAKE. And honestly it did not get all things right. My greatest disappointment in the game is the change in how Jenova was presented to us. It is a shocking scene in the original game and to be honest it influences me as a writer to this day - it is completely stripped from FF7 Remake. Now you could say oh but Remake is a complete game, and Rebirth is a full other game. Its long enough to be considered a full game. But just the fact that it is a known and anticipated remake but not the full game disappoints me - and the fans who are waiting for the full game to just come out at a discounted price (btw this is exactly what happened when Kingdom Hearts came out as a pack deal). Meanwhile the fans who want the game at release are paying at least $60 x3 to get this game. That's a $180 game split into three. I bet the instant the whole game is released it will be in a pack deal for $80 and get even lower due to Steam sales. Also hilarious that they had to remaster a remaster by adding an interlude (FF 7 Remake Intergrade)

Now not everything at Square Enix is bad. Actually they did make some decent decisions such as

Leaving Dragon Quest TF ALONE. Unlike Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest does not have the issue of too many pander-y side games. Infact they have a great legacy of side games that are just solid (DQ Monsters, etc.)

Decent support but also not enough advertisement of their other IPs - They have alot of IPs that just fade into obscurity despite being good (Octopath Traveler, SaGa, the latter Life is Strange games) However these IPs suffer from poor ports or poor optimization (mentioned above under ports)

[wyrmzier]

My dragon age reviews:

Dragon age origins: probably the worst of the series, all the models look the same which I suppose you cant help since it was made in 2008, uncomfortably white, like darker skin looked terrible in the way the game was rendered. The voice acting was...ok... the way they pronounced elvhen words was hilarious and sad I'm glad they changed it. Female armour looked disgusting, so much 2008 sexism for no reason. Combat wasnt too bad, just slow, multiple injury kits and health potions were annoying, took up inventory space. Boring bosses, pretty cool monster designs, super super long, it's the second longest game and it feels so so slow. Epic lore tho I loved checking out orzammer. Desire demon designs make me uncomfortable. Sex scenes the most uncomfortable and cheesiest thing I've ever witnessed 5/10 would reccomend playing if you were a diehard fan if not...dont even worry abt it

Dragon age 2: THE BEST GAME, phenomenal voice acting, same monster designs as origins but some of the npcs looked different, QUNARI WERE SO COOL the arishok was a really hard and tedious boss fight but it was still epic. Really hard battles, and good combat. Incredible banter, I loved ALL the companions. Disappointing you could only play as a human. Better armour designs, annoying you couldnt customize your companions armour. I really enjoyed the friendship/rivalry instead of the approval/disapproval system for companions. Literally the coolest boss fight I've ever done, meredith was rad. Shortest game :(, timeskips were annoying imo. I really like being able to play as a blue/purple/red Hawke, the visuals on the wheel really helped me, I dont always know if the choice I'm making is unintentionally rude until the PC actually says it out loud so that was helpful. Definitely not a new player friendly game which is sad. You were stuck in one city which was >:/ but understandable. Finding companion quests confused me, you had to bring certain companions to certain areas to trigger quests, I also thought having a non camp approach to talking to companions was annoying I'm glad they switched it back to how origins approached it. 10/10

Dragon age inquisition: probably the most beautiful game, incredible scenery and armour and npc designs, facial animation was a little odd but not as gross as origins. Very new player friendly! Epic companions and you learn more of the qunari from the iron bull. TRANS CHARACTER!!!!! companions had really confusing morals and ideas probably to assume bioware's """""grey morality""""" (like sera hating elves despite them being the little people she helps). Option to side with the templars sucked. Cullen was in there even though he SUCKS. Really fun quests tho, I loved crestwood and the winter palace. kind of a boring main plot compared to the others but what can you do, I really liked learning more abt the divine. Largest areas to explore, and longest game in the series though it doesnt feel that way. Disgustingly boring bosses and enemy designs. Combat and mechanics were so easy it was almost boring. The game feels rushed, theres loop holes and like empty words.... the trespasser dlc had such important content pertaining to the main and next game that it should have been a part of the game and not a DLC 8/10

[ars0nism]

im usually really anti gatekeeping but something about people who play genshin and nothing else calling it a good game... i hate you

[graciousgamefowl]

75 Gaming Asks: 2, 3, 7, 8, 19, 24, 25, 38, 47, 51, 60, 70, 74.

2. First game you played?

I’ve been playing computer games as long as I can remember. I guess the first one I remember playing is the My Little Pony CD rom game from 1999. In that one, you got to raise your own pony until she was ready for...pony college, I guess? Anyways, I had a whole adoption center thing. I’d print off their jumping certificate and put a picture of them on top of it and pretended to try and find them a good home. 

3. Favorite childhood game?

The Nancy Drew series! I still remember beating Last Train to Blue Moon Canyon with my best friend in middle school. The joy was just so pure. 

7. Most disappointing game you’ve played?

I think it’s a tie between Xenoblade Chronicles 2 and Octopath Traveler. Xenoblad had good gameplay mechanics but a god-awful story, whereas Octopath Traveler had a wonderful story/atmosphere but there’s a huge level curve that either requires lots of grinding or some ability that some random character has. 

8. The game with the best atmosphere/scenery?

I’m going to cheat and pick two again. Stardew Valley has amazing scenery and atmosphere. The distant train horns, the thunder, the beautiful trees and butterflies, and frogs! And the game just keeps getting better. Also the atmosphere in Nancy Drew: Ghost of Thornton Hall, is spooky and sad and perfect for the case. Haunting music combined with mysterious sightings of ghosts and other supernatural things. And the fact that even Nancy, a skeptic, is scared of the ghosts adds a layer of creepy. 

19. Hardest game you’ve ever played?

I’m not very good at games lol so almost every game is kind of hard for me. I guess the hardest one is Cook, Serve, Delicious! 3?! In the second game, I was a perfectionist. But not only was I not able to maintain that in the third game, I can’t even beat the last levels because of how tough they are. Some of it feels a little unfairly tough, but I won’t get into that. 

24. Ever cried because of a video game? Which one(s)?

To The Moon is about an old man at the end of his life, and an agency that specializes in fulfilling wishes. They do this by going into someone’s memories and altering them so that they remember doing their life wish, even if they didn’t in reality. I won’t spoil the ending but I cried a lot. A happy cry, btw. 

25. Proudest accomplishment in gaming?

I have 100% completed Skyrim. Every achievement on steam. Done. No mods, no unofficial patches or anything. At one point I had to reload my game because it glitched out and I couldn’t do an essential quest. But I did it son!!!

38. Have you tried a game, hated it, then tried again, and loved it?

When I first tried Skyrim, it was on an old laptop, and I didn’t really understand the first person perspective, or the combat. I died in Helgen Keep, quit, and thought I’d never play again. Until my then boyfriend (now fiance) insisted I try again, on a better PC. And I haven’t stopped playing since. 

47. First person or Third person?

First person was always kind of confusing for me. It’s not so confusing to me now, but I still prefer third person. I spent all these resources making my character look good. I want to see it!

51. First character you’ve had a crush on?

There was this free dating sim called Re: Alistair. It was about an MMO player who falls in love. The dorky love option was my favorite, especially since he turns out to be a mod of the game and kicks out your antagonist lol. 

60. The game you are best at?

Again, I suck, so that’s hard. I guess Cook, Serve, Delicious! 2!! is a game that I’m pretty good at. At the very least I have a lot of ‘gold’ medals on it. Another game is Pikmin 3, which I’m currently playing on Ultra-Spicy mode to get a challenge. 

70. Do you play any mobile games?

Yes, all the time. I didn’t have a console for a while, so that was my only way to game. I recommend any game by NimbleBIt, if you don’t mind the whole free to wait mechanic. 

74. Which game has the best lore?

That’s a hard one! I love story-driven games. I guess maybe Skyrim? That might be cheating, because Elder Scrolls games already have so much lore in them. But that’s my choice. 

[blobsreviewsofgame]

Sonic Generations (consoles/PC)

Sonic Generations is a platformer by Sonic Team. Why do I start with this game as my first review? It’s the game I have the most experience with and there’s a lot to talk about. Classic Sonic, the level design, the boost, what I thought about when I first played it… but let’s start from the beginning with the story.

An undefined purple halloween ghost called “Time Eater” kidnapped Sonic’s friends, froze time itself. Sonic (alongside himself from the 90s) can restore time and save his friends by running through the various places of Sonic’s past. That’s pretty much it.

Classic Sonic, the one with black eyes, plays a bit differently compared to what the early Sonic games played like. Sure, he’s still 2D, can jump, roll and attack enemies as always… but it does feel a lot more heavy. Except for the spindash which is overpowered and lets you chain together enemies in a lot of levels. It almost feels like it was intended that way. But if you can get used to playing as him, you’ll be able to pull a lot of tricks with that spindash. It’s the one mechanic that makes him a lot more interesting than just a slightly wrong adaptation of the old Sonic games.

Modern Sonic plays similar to Unleashed and Colors but unlike those games, he’s more controllable and not slow either. Shortcuts are easy to accomplish, drifting feels tight and the stomp stops Sonic immediately for precise platforming or if you just want Sonic to immediately stop.

If you don’t like how the characters handle though, there’s a solution to that: Abilities called “Skills”. Do you want the characters to move a bit faster or lose less speed while running up hills? How about a speedboost at the start? A shield? More boost energy? Slowing down time to have more reaction time? No problem. Just earn points by finishing levels and buy the skills in the skill shop.

 The levels are made to get replayed over and over again. There’s shortcuts to get a better time, collectables, multiple routes and so on. Back then, I thought the game got a big difficulty curve at Seaside Hill Act 2. The levels suddenly got a lot larger and obstacles were a bit harder to avoid. However, by practicing, these levels will become a lot easier and more fun. Specifically when it comes to Modern Sonic’s levels. Don’t get me wrong though, Classic Sonic’s levels will become a bit more fun to play through too but the levels that are in 2D just aren’t as fun as the ones in a 3D space. Mostly because it allows for much more improvement and getting better and smarter at the game. Planet Wisp still sucks though. 80% huge empty levels with spike traps pasted everywhere and lots of stuff that slows the Sonics down, ugh.

The boss battles in Generations are a fun distraction too. Mostly those that focus on Sonic running are the fun ones. I especially like one boss that basically just is another stage for Modern Sonic. But the other ones are fine too… except for Death Egg Robot. He’s mostly a waiting game where you wait until you can attack him. The other ones are fun though. They all have a hard mode too so there’s even more replayability here.

Speaking of replayablility, there are the 90 missions (half for Classic, half for Modern) which have various objectives that mix up the levels a lot. Some even change the levels completely.

I also really like the graphics and music of the game. It looks detailed and sounds good. Not much to say here. You can look up gameplay, screenshots and the OST yourself.

So, would I recommend Sonic Generations? If you want a platformer that is short but also has a lot of replay value, yeah! But if you want something really simple�� sorry but this isn’t Mario.

Sonic Generations is available for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Steam. I believe it’s also available on PS Now but don’t quote me on that.

My recommendation is the PC version. It has some minor button input failure here and there but it’s not as bad as the console versions. It also doesn’t have the 80th version of Sonic 1 but it does have a much better framerate on good PCs and a big modding community. Custom levels, characters, menus, etc.

Btw: This review was only talking about the console and PC version, not the 3DS version. When will I talk about the 3DS version? Not today, that’s for sure.

[sharkshavebeenknowntosneeze]

Sorry to insert myself since idk if you actually want replies but you can drink alcohol with some meds. I've been taking sertraline (Zoloft) and lamictal the past few years and drink whenever i want. I actually looked it up after reading your post and it turns out zoloft and alcohols biggest side-effect is making you sleepier. Which explains a lot but i usually drink liquor with soda so its not like i automatically collapse if i don't want to. (BTW to avoid hangovers just drink water alongside your alcohol, it's seriously that simple. If you forget just down a couple glasses before you sleep because dehydration is the enemy.)

Back to antidepressants. The amount of difference between dosages can be significant. I take 100mg once a day and whenever I've tinkered with it up or down as little as 25 it felt horrible.

Recently i started wellbutrin in addition to the others mainly to boost my sex drive, as SSRIs do unfortunately affect it. Though again, not all. A side-effect of wellbutrin can be that it makes caffeine taste bad enough to be undrinkable. I didn't learn this until I upped the dosage a little. I need to sip an energy drink through most days so it was a problem. But I went down to my original dosage and the issue went away.

Something they don't really tell you is that for most people, most antidepressants noticeably wane after a year as the body kinda gets used to it. Like any drug really. When that happens you can try increasing the dosage or trying something new, which is what I originally planned to do with wellbutrin.

Withdrawal is a real issue. However if you decide to stop taking them you will gradually reduce dosages and intake until you're off. There have been a couple times my prescription ran out and I had to wait weeks to get a new one. Dropping them cold trkey fucked with my sense of balance badly. I could get dizzy just by sitting in a chair and thinking of turning really fast. It was like my brain was smashing into my skull every time i stood up.

I WAS able to manage it some, even enough to go to yoga, though i let the trainer know i was having dizzy spells beforehand and not to worry if i had to take a break to sit down and hold my head, which i did a few times.

There’s a post on my page about ways to get meds cheaper if you lose insurance. Its very long and a good thing to bookmark.

Finally, I can't stress enough how important a good Dr is. I've had some that made me feel like a failure or lazy. I was ready to eschew them altogether when I was lucky enough to find a good one. I know it's a hassle but if your psych makes you uncomfortable tell your physician and they should be able to recommend a good referral program so you don't have to go around calling separate clinics. If that doesn't work call your insurance. Some are better than others at mental health options but they should all have connections.

Under certain situations my insurance even covers round trip transportation once every five business days so distance shouldn’t be a limit. (They've started just scheduling me lyfts. Bur. But if you're uncomfortable with lyft/ uber let them know when you call.)

Extra finally >.> in my experience psychiatrists are more like mechanics than therapists, interested more in plugging and shifting stuff around so that it clicks than discussing day to day difficulties - obviously those come into play, just not as in depth. I saw a lot of therapists. The one before I found someone I really trusted and connected with once got angry and was huffing like a bull and shouting at me. The next time I saw her I asked why she got mad and she denied it. So fuck that gaslighty bullshit. Some really really suck. They're basically relationships and finding one that fits is as important as a the right gf/bf/whatever. At this point I can usually tell in the first session if we'll click. I still try for a few but man, if I told you some of the shit they've done... But this is long enough already. And even if it starts out okay it may only be for a bit, same as dating someone for a while before realizing it won't go any further. If things don't work out its not on you and it doesn't mean its not for you. And look, I'm 31 so I've had time to gradually learn this stuff. Its a lot to deal with and take in at once. I didn't have insurance from 21 to 28 and had no drs or anything during that time so when I got it back I appreciated the fuck out of it and was going to my hospital a couple times a week, I saw everyone. If you don't want to do it now, or you do but take a break, or completely stop its fine. You (usually) have the option of trying again when you want to.

I’m just scared at the thought of me not wanting to be on them anymore and having withdrawals after not being on them

Or the fact that you can’t drink alcohol on them and I don’t even drink but the thought of WHAT if I wanna and I have to be people’s dumbass DD 🥺

Or like if my moms insurance stops funding the antidepressants and I have to spend a lot of money to get the pills forever ♾

It’s like literally a commitment and it freaks me out cuz I got commitment issues LOL

[gaijinhunter]

Dauntless Feedback/Pre-Alpha

I am pretty excited and supportive of Dauntless, a new Monster Hunter-like game being developed for the PC. They are showing off gameplay for the first time at PAX and I have been watching the user feedback coming from footage. There is nothing wrong with negative or constructive feedback, but I feel a lot of people who probably have legit and valuable comments may be going at it the wrong way, either they misunderstand what pre-alpha is, or how to best give feedback.

So, I decided to write this blog post about it! ^o^ BTW I am planning on writing my own FB on the pre-alpha showing, although I was not there and I think they are looking for more hands-on FB than spectator comments.

What is Pre-Alpha: One thing that is misleading is that pre-alpha, alpha, and beta are not just brushed up versions of the same thing, they are very different. Here is a quick explanation of what pre-alpha usually means in game development, although definitions do vary by studio to a certain degree.

Pre-alpha is the long phase between the first working prototype (last stage of “pre-production”, that is, before you have a larger team of people put on the project and start really getting down to work) and the alpha state. Games can be in this phase for years since Alpha is "feature complete" (major features are fixed but usually implemented with placeholder assets as crude as texture-less boxes).

In this phase, the studio is trying to create the core mechanics defined by the game design they drafted, and this is the stage where they start to figure out what does and what does not work as they implement it. The game can change dramatically during this phase.

Pre-Alpha builds are buggy, missing tons of features that will affect the overall gameplay, and are generally not shown to the public unless a developer/publisher is looking for specific feedback on a particular feature or concept. Most of the feedback users give will be just affirming what the developers already know, but that could be a good thing if they want validation of their concerns.

Giving Feedback: Understand that we are getting a literal glimpse of the gameplay, a slice out of a greater pie. As a direct consequence of that, sometimes our feedback will be meaningless since we do not see the whole picture. But many times it is not.

Good FB: Comments on concepts and big direction is crucial. Do you like the general size of the stage, how big the enemies are, the stages of a fight that you go through? Do you like the general concept of item usage from what you can see? What are some ideas you see hints of that you like, or really feel would be bad if fleshed out to something larger? And most importantly, why? Don't just share negative FB but also give comments on what you like and want them to explore further.

Bad FB: Emotional outbursts or barbed impressions on assets. Remember, pre-alpha is about the core mechanics, not the assets. While it’s good to note “i like how it seems you are going in this direction with XXX, I think that what you have for YYY doesn’t work work because of [reason], please consider changing if that is what you plan to go with”. Comments like “the maps are dull” should provide a reason why. If the reason is that there should be more monsters, the developer can rest assured it will be addressed later as they create the game, but if there are other concerns they haven’t considered like “it will discourage going off to collect an item during a hunt because the action would only get further away” then maybe they will consider that if gathering during a hunt is what they were hoping players would do.

Some examples of FB I have seen and how to more constructively look at it:

“Weapon SFX sucks”. I agree it bothers me too, but this type of comment does not provide a reason at all. Perhaps “the cutting sounds get really repetitive and annoying”, “the weapons don’t sound/feel powerful”, “there should be a bigger difference between the sound effects for small and large attacks so that they convey damage better” etc. would be nice ways to address it. Some people are so general to say “sound design sucks” well do you mean - the monsters, effect, slayers, music, etc. WHAT don’t you like and why?

“animations are shit”. Need a lot more info. Do you mean the Behemoths or Slayers? What is it that you don't like? Do they feel like they go against normal physics? Lack inertia? For me, perhaps “more work should be put into frame delay so that the slayer attacks have more weight” or “some of the slayer attack animations need to be a bit more smooth, they feel a bit choppy”, "monsters seem to idle for too long between attacks at times" etc.

“art style sucks”. There may not be much they can do as each game has an art direction and it’s human nature for it to work for some but not for others. But if there are reasons you can give they might be able to find some neat middle ground.

I see so many comments focused on the assets (effects, sounds) and not enough around the concepts. It would be interesting to see what people think about:

Open maps without loading

Usage of flares to alert fellow slayers

Aether gather spots around the map you can buff by using

Changes we see in Behemoths when they are enraged

Concept of using a potion to help a KO’d friend but only a small window to do it in

General types of attacks we are seeing on the hammer and sword

Overall length of hunts

Camera perspective/overall size and scale of the game

Etc.

Anyway just some ramblings from an interested gamer.

-Gaijinhunter

[asoulofatlantis]

I needed some time with a game that is not making me fight or follow a plot or think strategically. Or do... anything really, aside from dealing with my poor Sims slice of life decisions. A few good mods added and the game is entertaining enough to get me through two weekends following (mostly) the path of one of my unwritten Fanfiktion and now that I have almost reached the end of what is possible for my Sims-Family I have to think were to go back to and all I want  is still not going back to ANY of the games I have started playing lately. Seriously, can’t remember when I was last so damn unlucky with games.

After playing all available Trails-Games (aside from Nayuta and Kuro, as there is no translation for them yet) going back to Sky is rather difficult. The game is missing some seriously helpful game-mechanics that makes the game a bit faster and... well easier and then the pacing is not very good, to add insult to injury the story is just not as interesting anymore the second time. So this was my first choice of a non-motivating game.

When I got the news that Final Fantasy 7 Remake would be released on PC I thought the timing was perfect. I didn’t like the game much when I played it for the first time, but I seemed to be (almost) the only one who didn’t like that game, so I decided to give it a second chance as (some but not all, as I just recently learned) games often get better the second time you play it. But as you know... the game still sucks for me. So no motivation here to continue playing it either.

All I could think of is how badly I want a nice game I actually like and want to play... so I thought of playing Persona 5 Strickers, as playing P5R was really helping me getting through FF7R - since I followed the rule to switch between them whenever I took a break and being able to continue playing PR was a good motivation to continua playing FF7R. I was thinking about trying that trick again. But quickly decided otherwise, because P5S is also not a really fun or interesting game. So... it doesn’t motivate me much either.

Aside from my little trip to “Ys Lacrimosa of Dana” which had me fighting for motivation through a far too long and boring chapter two, but then got really good and interesting. I haven’t played a very interesting or good game since replaying Fire Emblem 3 Houses. And if my cheap capture card wouldn’t be as slow as it is, I can assure you, you would be watching me starting this game again now too.

If anything...I really want to go home to Erebonia at this point. I really have to fight myself not to just start CS3 and then CS4 again to just finally play a game that I freaking like, with characters that I really care about and a plot that still is interesting enough to go through it for the third or even fourth time.

As it is... I will try to go back to P5S again next week (if the new Universim-Update isn’t getting in my way, t hat is) but I don’t make any promises.

BTW... this is how the spreadsheet for Kuro currently looks:

Of course, no matter what, Kuro no Kiseki has the highest priority right now and thus I will warn you that whatever game I am playing when the spreadsheet is finally done (currently estimated around April, but I hope it will be a bit sooner) I will put to the side to play this one.