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lmttn · 1 year ago

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Gabriel Knight 3: Day 1 Complete

After my initial post about Gabriel Knight 3 (which was itself just me restating a few Tweets I made about the game), I figured I'd keep writing about it until I'm finished with it. I guess this will be like a really abridged camcorder let's play, but maybe less focused on the game itself (For example, I don't think I want to reveal too many huge plot spoilers.) and more on my own thoughts on the game and maybe also the graphic adventure genre as a whole.

Before I start, maybe I should first talk about my own history with the point and click adventure genre. It's not very long. When I was a kid I played a little bit of Nancy Drew: Curse of Blackmoor Manor (2004) with my mom, and I thought it was really difficult and none of the puzzles made any sense and then I went back to playing Battlefield 1942 (2002). Not long later, after getting GameTap (points to anyone else who had it), I tried a few of the many old adventure games on the service, such as the first couple King's Quest games and some of the Myst games. You could probably guess how well those went for me.

It wasn't until last year, at a point in time in which I really felt like I had played everything I thought I wanted to play, that I decided I'd give the genre another shot. It was a good opportunity to explore what I had realized was a huge blind spot; I love old PC games, and this was once a marquee genre for the platform. The first game I played in this excursion was LucasArts's Sam & Max Hit the Road (1993). I just thought it was okay. I really liked Sam and Max as characters, but I wasn't that invested in the world they inhabited or the mystery the game saw them solving. In addition, I really couldn't recall a single puzzle in the whole game. That might be a good thing, since that means none of them must have been particularly infuriating. Next, I tried Full Throttle (1995), also by LucasArts. I didn't finish it because basically nothing about its story, world, characters, or gameplay grabbed me. It's allegedly extremely short, so for all I know I might have seen the majority of the game before quitting.

Up next was Sierra's The Beast Within: A Gabriel Knight Mystery (1995), which I'm just going to refer to as Gabriel Knight 2 or GK2. I was interested in it because it seemed like the polar opposite of the other two games I played. For one, it was by the other major graphic adventure publisher. But it obviously ran way deeper than that. GK2 was very different in terms of tone and presentation as well, being a dark paranormal mystery in a contemporary setting, played by live actors.

I ended up finding GK2 to be immensely charming. Gabriel Knight and Grace Nakimura, the game's dual protagonists, quickly became two of my favorite characters in the medium. The writing and acting were campy, but nothing felt forced or insincere. A couple of its puzzles were pretty frustrating, but they were worth powering through to see the next part of the story. Also, it had to be among the most homoerotic games to be released by a major publisher in the 1990s. Metal Gear Solid wishes. If you're reading this and you haven't played it, I highly recommend it.

Which finally brings me to Gabriel Knight 3: Blood of the Sacred, Blood of the Damned (1999). I first tried it right after finishing 2, but was scared off by its interface, which may have been designed by aliens. I'm not going to retread what I talked about in my initial post about the game, but trust me: it's fucking weird.

One of the most confusing things about GK3 is how it starts. The game's opening cutscene gives absolutely no context as to why Gabriel is getting his ass on a train in France. That's because the actual intro is in a prologue comic, which was included in the game's box, but bizarrely isn't included as a digital extra in the Steam/GOG re-releases of the game. Thankfully, it has been uploaded elsewhere.

Heartbreakingly, Dean Erickson did not return to reprise his role as Gabriel. Instead, Tim Curry—who voiced him in the first game—was brought back to play the protagonist. Erickson knocked it out of the park in GK2. He had a more convincing Louisiana accent than Tim Curry ever will, and he was significantly more capable of portraying Gabriel at his most serious. Curry's portrayal, on the other hand, is really over-the-top. Unfortunately, Joanne Takahashi, who did a fantastic job as Grace in 2, didn't return either. I can't comment on her replacement (Charity James) just yet, as Grace has had very little presence so far in my playthrough.

As I said in my initial post about the game, Gabriel Knight 3 used a completely original engine. It was probably going to be used for more than just this game, but GK3 ended up being Sierra's final adventure game. It's a shame because it's a really fascinating engine that, weird interface aside, opens up a level of fully 3D exploration that other graphic adventure games didn't have. Instead of pre-rendered backgrounds, everything is 3D: characters, environments, and all the little objects that inhabit them. The level of detail is pretty surprising, as some of these areas are quite big. You have a freely controllable camera that moves independently of the player character. In the two images below, you can see the same area through two cameras. The first is the default angle you see when you load into this area. In the second, I pulled the camera back as far as it let me:

Obviously, the ground textures have not aged all that well, and some of the skyboxes depicting distant mountains don't look too great either. The level of detail, however, is pretty impressive. All signs and posters in the world are fully legible, and the texture filtering is good enough that they actually still look very smooth when you zoom in on them. I should've taken some pictures of them to illustrate this.

The interiors look (and run) way better, and they also do a better job of showing off the level of detail this engine is capable of. You can pick up that crumpled piece of paper in front of the trash can. It's so useless that it doesn't even get added to your inventory, but it still has a whole animation and voiceover dedicated to it.

Gabriel Knight 3's game sections are divided very concretely. The game's "chapters" are presented as days, which are split blocks of hours. For example, Day 1 of the game is split into 10AM-12PM, 12PM-2PM, 2PM-4PM, 4PM-6PM, and 6PM-10PM. Thankfully, there is no time limit or real-time clock. Instead, essential story progress is what moves you from one time block to the next. As the title suggests, I just finished Day 1 of the game.

Day 1 has the notorious cat hair mustache puzzle. It is, to put it lightly, fucking stupid. To make matters worse, it is the first major puzzle in the game. I can't even imagine how many people bought this game in 1999 only to never see past this part.

While its tale of vampires, missing babies, secret societies, hidden treasures, and seriously unconvincing Scottish accents has me intrigued so far, GK3 lacks the camp charm of its predecessor. Jane Jensen can obviously still write convincing characters, and her sense of humor still shines through occasionally, but this game is way more stone-faced than 2 so far. But all in all, so far so good. If I can get through a puzzle so bad it has its own Wikipedia article, I should be able to comfortably get through the rest of Gabriel Knight 3.

#gabriel knight #3dfx #adventure games #point and click #point and click adventure #sierra online #windows 98

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authortobenamedlater · 1 year ago

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My conclusions about Infinite, which I keep meaning to post and not posting:

Definitely more fun to play than Halo 4. But my old junky piano with a cracked soundboard was more fun to play than Halo 4.

For real, though, this was one of the more enjoyable games in terms of just playing for me. The grapple shot makes moving around and keeping up way easier and was handy when I ran out of ammo and needed to stun a few bad guys.

Jen Taylor should win an award for playing Cortana, Weapon, and Halsey in one game. I enjoyed Esparza’s Just Some Guy Forced To Rise To The Occasion vibe, though I do wonder why they were so cagey about his name until the final scene.

Infinite should have started with a doomed mission to defend Infinity so we can get an idea of just HOW BAD things have gotten. The last thing we saw was Lasky’s “we’ll run until we can fight” line at the end of Halo 5. Clearly they couldn’t fight, so let us see how desperate things are. Maybe drop some info about the general state of the universe after a year of Created rule. An explanation about how Infinity lost 11000 crew in one year (I have my Opinions about this number but this is not the place). I know things are rough under Cortana’s undid iridium fist but geez. Show us the Banished boarding and ripping through Infinity like she’s tinfoil. Bonus if we get Chief and Palmer both stopping Lasky from launching himself at Atriox. We all know this happened. Make us understand how Infinity fell in four minutes. THEN give us Atriox going Hulk on Chief’s Loki.

The game could be kind of…repetitive. The side quests were all pretty much the same: Liberate FOBs, find Spartan cores and audio logs, boss fights, assassination missions, take out propaganda tower. But it’s pretty. 4 was ugly and 5 was…alternately oddly dark and OK-looking.

I liked how Chief’s relationship with Weapon is sort of inverse to his relationship with Cortana. Cortana always knew more than the Chief, but in many ways Chief knows more than the Weapon. Like in CE it’s Cortana who tells Chief about Halo’s purpose and in Infinite Chief has to tell Weapon. And, Chief chooses the Weapon. Not the same way Cortana chose him, but he still chose her when she said “You should just delete me.” It’s a good way of doing the same thing over again without doing the same thing over again.

I wish the gameplay would pause during audio logs because they’re staticky to begin with and I only heard about half of the logs while I was fighting bad guys.

Big questions:

Palmer and Roland are conspicuous in their absence from any audio logs. Where are they?

I’ll ask again what will happen to the Weapon in seven years. I have ideas but just. Do not put us through another Halo 4. Please Microsoft.

All this Endless stuff makes me think we’re nowhere near done with the Master Chief’s story. Steve Downes is 73. I hate to be morbid but what are they going to do if he dies before the story is finished?

I don’t know what to think about Weapon naming herself Cortana. It makes sense and I’m not sure I want it. Also wouldn’t be surprised if that “I think I have the perfect name” line turns out to be a bait and switch since Microsoft has commitment issues when it comes to storytelling decisions.

How will those little time travel portals become important? Weapon didn’t talk about how they traveled three days into the future just for fun. Read on for my theory.

Are the Endless the new Flood?

Headcanons and such:

Esparza’s family is not gone. We’ll eventually find them and Chief will get adopted into the Esparza clan against his will.

Whenever the time comes Weapon will find a way to cure or delay rampancy. Or we’ll just exist in a 6.5 year time loop for the rest of the games. Because again, one Halo 4 is enough.

Infinity is either drifting aimlessly in space or crashed on Zeta Halo, but she will rise again.

Next game we’ll find a bunch of Infinity crew, notably Lasky, Palmer, and Roland, through one of those time travel portals. For them it’s only been a day or two and they’re all like “Wow, Chief, that was fast” and Chief has to tell them it’s really been more like two years. I have a fic idea or two about this.

#halo #halo infinite #authortobenamedlater plays halo

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radigalde · 1 year ago

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Okay, so, I started BG3. But this post is not about spoilers. It's about how it looks.

You see, I preordered it when it first became available, and participated in Early Access for most of its duration (except for two last patches). As you may know, during the development Larian abruptly changed the system requirements. And while my laptop with old GTX1050 was sitting comfortably enough in the middle of the old requirements, it's barely able to crawl under the minimum of the new version.

So, while the game was running smoothly with the medium graphic settings at the start of EA, by druids patch I couldn't even get to the first settlement because of the freezes, textures lagging in and out of their blurry existence, T-posing, etc. It was pretty bad.

Reportedly, the final game should have been optimized a bit better, so I decided to give it a shot and see how it looks like on the same laptop almost 3 years since the first download.

Yeah, I know that the cloud gaming exist. It costs money and needs a speedy internet connection.

And the game greeted me with this.

(Changed everything from medium to low except for the texture quality - it's still on medium. Had to say goodbye to the distance blur as well)

Compare it to this from 2020 (screen from another person with approximately same old settings, my screenshots of the old character creation room didn't survive):

Or this (mine 2020 screenshot outside of the character creation):

Same laptop, same graphic card, 3 years of development in-between.

Which is especially gutting, because the hair quality was really good during the first EA patches even on the lower graphic settings and older machines. But at some point the developers decided to change it, turning it into greasy looking pixelated something.

Larian, why :(

Some hairstyles managed to lag through into something decent.

Others did not.

The hair's reaction to lightning in this room/location is atrocious btw.

Even when the textures are fully uploaded.

It's a LED wig, I got it.

Comparison of the first model appearance vs after the textures loaded in is quite funny, though.

It jumped to the left version each time I moved the camera in/out even a tiny bit, loading the textures from the right anew. Each. Time. The same happened during the last patches of EA, except that back then the loading could take a few minutes. Now it's either ~15 sec or not loading at all here.

Tbh, after seeing all of that in the dressing room, I dreaded of what would I see during the main game.

But it's surprisingly better. Almost no jarring rounded pixelation, and no jumping between abyssmal low and normal version of textures.

The reaction to light still sucks sometimes. The hair pick too much from the light sources that are barely visible otherwise and don't light up anything else to the same degree.

As for the optimization: yes, it indeed became better. Still not the first EA release quality for me, sadly, but by far better than the latest EA patches. Textures are way more steady now: they still take a few seconds to load in during the big cutscenes, but it's like nothing compared to the previous mess. During the regular exploration gameplay character (and most of environmental) textures are always steady. I even managed to watch the full crashing cutscene as a, well, cutscene instead of three half-loaded frames that took 20 min to render. And I was running freely on the beach despite the falling ash and everything that almost killed my frames back then.

Also, it still doesn't heat up my laptop all that much, which is a pleasant surprise.

Well, stay tuned for more cursed images, I guess.

Isekai-d into a mobile game.

Oh, and Lae'zel is a fiery redhead on her character portrait for some reason, and other characters' hair is displayed like brighness/contrast +100. I think, something is deeply wrong with the dressing room specifically after all.

#baldur's gate 3 #bg3 #min graphic playthrough

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ellie-bygrave · 5 months ago

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FMP: Progress So Far

My Final Major Project is finally complete! I'll link the final videos on my YouTube channel in another post so they're all easily accessible.

To reflect on the project now it's done, I'm very pleased overall with how it's turned out. The cinematic especially is very close to what I'd visualised at the start of the project. The gameplay isn't quite how I'd like it to go if I continue this in the future but that's mostly due to limitations in my own knowledge and down to wanting to get something interactable that makes sense in the short amount of gameplay that I wanted to show.

I managed to complete all of the "deliverables" that I'd promised at the start of the project in terms of the 3D models I planned out. I also this I've mostly aimed the project towards my target audience. The timeline I'd planned worked well and I was able to keep to schedule and even was a bit ahead a few times.

For my own personal learning outcomes these were the main things I wanted to improve and gain more confidence in. Substance Painter was fairly broad as I’d never really touched it before as I mentioned earlier, but I found that after watching a few tutorials and then having a go it was quite intuitive to pick up. I already had a good foundation of texturing in blender and how to layer textures and use masks etc so it was mostly about transferring to a different software that was the struggle rather than the actual principles of it.

Using trim sheets and atlases was probably the thing I was most apprehensive about, as I had never used them and was a bit daunted by how to plan them out. It took me quite a lot of trial and error with the trim sheets to get to a point where I was happy with the layout for this project but now that I’ve done it successfully here I’ve found it a lot easier to plan out and adapt to changes for other attempts.

Project planning was something I really wanted to work on as I had a tendency to just jump in without really thinking about how much time and effort something would take. Once I’d made the plan I did find it really helpful to refer to, to make sure I was on track for time and didn’t forget any key elements that I’d initially wanted to include. I did fall into my old trap of deciding to add in extras kind of last minute which I’m trying to avoid, so that’s something I need to take forward and work on still.

And finally, asset optimisation. This is something I feel is quite hard to quantify if I’ve improved or not. I tried to make everything with as little “wastage” as possible in terms of extra polygons or blank texture space and it’s definitely helped me get into the mind-set of modelling for a game rather than just to make something that looks nice. I think I’d still find it useful to get more practice on this because there’s not really a right or wrong way of optimising things so I’m still a little underconfident that I’m doing it in the most efficient way or to the fullest extent that I can.

The 2 main things I would want to improve upon if I had time right now would firstly be the bathroom. I didn't plan for it initially and it was a decision I made to add it in fairly late on once I'd already done most of the modelling so it was quite rushed. I added it because I felt that the environment in the gameplay needed the extra little room and I wanted to try and incorporate a mirror. I would have liked to make the models and textures better in this area as I feel it doesn't reflect the quality elsewhere.

The second thing I’d want to improve upon if I were to redo this would be to try and stick closer to the aesthetic of the concept art, as that was what really inspired me and drew me in. Part of the reason why I deviated was because I had quite a clear idea of the how I wanted the short film to go in terms of shots and that didn’t quite work with the layout. Also because of the story I wanted to convey again I felt like I should make some adjustments in terms of colour and the implied materials and wear and tear of the concept art. I’d like to redo this but make it way more run down and almost to the point of full disrepair rather than the fairly new-looking environment I ended up with.

#FMP

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sublimeobservationarcade · 1 year ago

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I Asked AI About The Sydney Swans & Their Season

The Sydney Swans AFL team made the finals in 2023. This was an achievement, as for much of the season injuries and form conspired to make this look unlikely. In a hope that AI might have some answers, I asked AI about the Sydney Swans and their season. So, John Longmire, if you get the chance to read this, may there be something of use in what Chat GPT had to say on the matter. Personally, I was a bit impressed, as the copy was not mere waffle on the topic but had a few pertinent points to make. Of course, my question contained the necessary qualifications to hone a reasonable answer.

Questioning Chat GPT Regarding The Sydney Swans

“The Sydney Swans' journey through the 2023 AFL season has been characterized by a mix of achievements and challenges on the statistical front. To position themselves for a shot at the premiership, the team needs to strategically address key areas for improvement while capitalizing on their existing strengths. One notable strength of the Sydney Swans has been their defensive prowess. Throughout the season, their backline has consistently demonstrated a strong ability to intercept opposition plays, showcasing exceptional reading of the game and accurate disposal. This defensive foundation provides them with a solid platform to build upon. To maximize this advantage, the team should focus on maintaining defensive discipline, minimizing turnovers, and efficiently transitioning the ball from the backline to the midfield. However, a closer look at their statistics reveals potential vulnerabilities. One area that requires attention is their midfield performance. While the Swans' midfielders have shown flashes of brilliance, their consistency in winning contested possessions and clearances has been lacking. This hampers their ability to gain control of the game's tempo and dictate play. Strengthening the midfield will be crucial for gaining an edge in close matches, as it allows for better supply to the forward line and restricts opponents' scoring opportunities. Additionally, the forward line has been somewhat inconsistent in converting opportunities into goals. The team must address this by refining their forward structures, improving accuracy in front of goal, and enhancing synergy between the midfielders and forwards. Developing a deeper pool of scoring options will make them less predictable and increase their overall offensive potency.” - (Chat GPT, 26th August 2023)

I asked AI about the Sydney Swans

Swans Lose To Melbourne at SCG Round 24

Picking this post up following the Swan’s defeat in round 24 at the hands of Melbourne. Once again, Sydney could only stand up for 3 quarters. In those quarters they were mighty in many regards. Luke Parker was giving it his all. Errol Gulden was fantastic with 2 goals and 42 disposals. Chad Warner was at it all day. Callum Mills played one of his best games in 2023. James Rowbottom was mighty. However, the forward line let the team down in front of goals with a lack of composure. Isaac Heeney tried hard but was under enormous pressure all day. It was the old story, if you don’t take your chances and score maximum points it makes winning tough games unlikely.

More AI Advice For Team Sydney Swans “To enhance their premiership prospects, the Swans need to invest in player development and tactical flexibility. Building depth across all lines ensures they can weather injuries and fatigue that inevitably occur over the course of a demanding season. Moreover, having players who can seamlessly adapt to different positions and roles adds a layer of unpredictability to their gameplay, making them harder to strategize against. Team cohesion and leadership are intangible yet pivotal aspects of a successful campaign. The Swans should continue nurturing a positive team culture, fostering camaraderie among players, and empowering emerging leaders to take charge both on and off the field. Strong leadership bolsters morale during tough times and galvanizes the team towards a common goal. Lastly, the coaching staff's ability to adapt to varying match situations is paramount. Swift tactical adjustments during games can be the difference-maker, particularly against strong opposition. Analyzing opponents' strengths and weaknesses, as well as analyzing game data to identify patterns, will enable the coaching staff to formulate effective strategies that exploit opponents' vulnerabilities. In summary, the Sydney Swans have the foundation to contend for the premiership in the 2023 AFL season, but they need to address their midfield consistency, forward line accuracy, and cultivate tactical flexibility. Strengthening these aspects, coupled with a resilient team culture, adaptable leadership, and astute coaching, can propel them to the pinnacle of success. It's the holistic approach that integrates statistical analysis with strategic planning and intangible factors that will ultimately position the Swans as formidable premiership contenders.” Chat GPT - (Chat GPT, 26th August 2023)

Swans Vs Melbourne: Useful Takeaways From The Match It was better a performance at centre bounces by the Swans in terms of winning the ball by the midfield. Well, for 3 quarters it was anyway. Bigger bodies in Petracca and Viney won out in the end in that last quarter all over the ground. How did Bailey Frisch kick 5 goals and who was on him in that last quarter? It was a poor defensive performance by the Swans in this key regard. Tom McCartin and Dane Rampey gave their all and tried hard all day. Unfortunately, Harry Cunningham made a few poor disposal errors during the game, but he never gave up. Robbie Fox was good and gave his 110%. The Swans lack size and muscle in defence and around the ball. There were questionably umpiring decisions which went against the Swans in front of goals for Melbourne. The inconsistency around dropping the ball when the ball is knocked out in the tackle is galling. Razor Ray made several decisions against the Swans and did not penalise Melbourne players for exactly the same thing. It spoils the game, in my opinion. Are the Swans fit enough? Is this the issue in their going missing in last quarters? Is it physical fitness issues or mental concentration and application problems over the journey? Melbourne hounded them out of the game in the final quarter and Adelaide thrashed them in the last quarter the week before. There have been around half a dozen or more examples of losing last quarters where Swans players go missing in the contest.RSH Too many lightweight players unable to make their physical presence count when it really matters. Jake Lloyd has been a great player for a longtime and yet lacks size and power in key defensive contests. Dylan Stephens is an outside wingman but must put his head over the ball more.

Chat GPT Recommendations For Sydney Swans AFL Team To Win CB Ball “To enhance the Sydney Swans' midfield performance and win more ball from center bounces, several strategic and tactical adjustments can be considered: Positioning and Timing: Proper positioning is crucial for winning center bounce contests. Midfielders should focus on getting to the right spots at the right time. This involves reading the ruckman's taps and anticipating where the ball will land. Quick reactions and a strong sense of timing are essential. Ruckman-Midfielder Connection: Developing a strong understanding between the ruckman and midfielders is vital. Ruckmen should communicate their intentions to midfielders, indicating where they plan to tap the ball. Midfielders can then position themselves accordingly to take advantage of these taps. Variation in Ruck Taps: Ruckmen should vary their tap directions and techniques to keep opposition midfielders guessing. A mix of short, long, and taps to advantage can disrupt the opposition's setup and create opportunities for the Swans' midfielders to exploit. Contested Ball Focus: Winning center bounces often comes down to contested ball situations. Midfielders should be prepared for physical contests and focus on their body positioning to gain an advantage over their opponents. Good use of the body and positioning can help them gain first possession. Teamwork and Communication: Effective communication among midfielders is essential. They should signal their intentions to each other, such as calling for the ball or directing teammates to certain areas. This teamwork ensures they're supporting each other and spreading the opposition's focus. Quick Ball Movement: Once the ball is won, swift and clean ball movement is key. Midfielders should look to move the ball into space before the opposition's defense can set up. Quick ball movement can catch opponents off guard and create scoring opportunities. Second Efforts: Center bounces are often chaotic, and the ball can spill to ground quickly. Midfielders who follow up their initial contest with second efforts can win crucial ground balls and maintain possession for their team.Chat GPT Skill Development: Improving skills like clean pickups, effective handballs, and accurate disposal under pressure is fundamental. Midfielders should train to perform these skills consistently, allowing them to make the most of their possessions. Adaptability: Different opponents and conditions require adaptability in tactics. The midfielders should be prepared to adjust their strategies based on the opposition's setup and how the game is unfolding. Analyzing Opponents: Prior to matches, thorough analysis of opponents' center bounce setups and tactics can provide insights into potential weaknesses to exploit. The midfielders can work on countering these setups effectively. Fitness and Endurance: Center bounces are physically demanding, requiring high levels of fitness and endurance. The midfielders should be well-conditioned to maintain their performance throughout the match, especially during crucial moments like center bounces. Simulated Practice: Simulating center bounce scenarios during training sessions can help midfielders refine their techniques, practice contested situations, and develop their decision-making under pressure. By implementing these strategies and emphasizing skill development, communication, and teamwork, the Sydney Swans' midfielders can significantly enhance their ability to win more ball from center bounces. This increased midfield dominance will contribute to better overall team performance and set them on a path towards success in the AFL season.”

Who will be the next Buddy? Yes, some of the above is pretty bloody obvious stuff but the Swans do need to consistently win more ball from centre bounces and stoppages. Second efforts demand greater fitness, flexibility, and strength. I think that the side could focus more on second efforts at stoppages. Goal kicking is a reflection of mental strength. Confidence breeds composure under pressure. In my observations I see a lack of belief in oneself contributing to misses in front of goal. My advice, fake it until you make it – Isaac Heeney. Heeney is a beautiful kick of the footy but mental scar tissue from misses make him vulnerable to the pressure. Make your intention more powerful than anything else. Take a leaf out of Toby Greene’s book. All the Swan’s forward line must bite the bullet and make their intention unbreakable. Winning games of footy depends upon kicking straight. Winning the ball is one thing but kicking straight is the crowning achievement and one without the other is a waste of time. Go Swans! Robert Sudha Hamilton has been following the Swans since the bad old days when Gary Buckenara and, then, Barassi coached the team.

A Letter To Members From Sydney Swans Coach John Longmire

"Dear members and fans, Hasn’t 2023 been one hell of a ride. After a slow start and some personnel issues in the first half of the year we like to think we have played a bit better in the second half of the year. This year we have seen the retirement of one of the best ever in Lance Franklin and the evolution of some of our young guns. But now, it’s all about our finals journey. Our defeat to Melbourne has us finishing the season in eighth position, it’s a terrific achievement in such a tight competition to be playing finals once again. Our 18th finals series in 21 years. We have earnt the right to have another crack in September, and we all want you, the members and fans to get on board, when we take on Carlton in our first final. We hope you can join us in full voice at the MCG. Elimination Final Carlon V Sydney Swans Friday, September 8. 7:50pm MCG It’s time for the Swans to GO AGAIN … embrace the challenge of another finals campaign and crack in. Swans footy is tough and unrelenting, and that’s the way we’ll approach our first final. To you, our passionate members and fans, who were this year part of our all-time membership record of 62,000 members, you have once again ridden the wave with us this year and for that we thank you. Go Swans. John Longmire Senior Coach, Sydney Swans" - (https://www.sydneyswans.com.au/news/1418821/a-letter-from-john-longmire) ©WordsForWeb Read the full article

#AFL #AI #ChatGpt #football #JohnLongmire #SydneySwans

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deathbypufferfish · 2 years ago

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Updated the sims from my old sims story I did pre-simblr! It was a no-dialogue story I did on my finsta for my irl friends lol. It was called "College Mayhem" and I did story polls for my friends to make plot decisions.

Horatio Goodwin | they/them

Jasmine Hoyt | she/they

Enid Houser | she/her

Darion Bolton | he/him

Mia Xiong | she/her

Dakota Darling | he/him

before pics under cut

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curiousb · 2 years ago

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I posted 217 times in 2022

That's 79 more posts than 2021!

179 posts created (82%)

38 posts reblogged (18%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@curiousb

@tvickiesims

@frauhupfner

@suratan-zir

@pixeldolly

I tagged 216 of my posts in 2022

#sims 2 - 175 posts

#merybury - 131 posts

#gameplay - 124 posts

#de bourgh university - 27 posts

#jasper tilney - 24 posts

#benjamin bingley - 21 posts

#bennet tilney - 20 posts

#anna smith - 19 posts

#clara dashwood - 18 posts

#sophia wentworth - 18 posts

Longest Tag: 83 characters

#at least in the process i found the offending sofa that was overwriting a maxis one

My Top Posts in 2022:

Check-in tag

I was tagged by the superstar that is @pixeldolly - thank you!

Why did you choose your url?

CuriousB was the username I made up on the spur of the moment when I first joined GoS, all those millennia ago (there’s a story behind the name, but I’ll leave that for another day), and it became my go-to Sims-related username. I wanted to be recognisable as the same entity on Tumblr, so I recycled the name once again.

How long have you been on tumblr?

Ooh, I don’t know, about ten years? I had a hiatus of about four years in the middle there though.

Do you have a queue tag?

Good grief no, I’m not a planner by any means!

Why did you start your blog in the first place?

Because all the cool kids were here.

Why did you choose your icon/pfp?

It’s a very old shot of a long-gone Sim, but I like her expression, and her wild, pink hair.

Why did you choose your header?

It’s a screenshot of my custom TS2 neighbourhood, which was empty at the time, but is now bursting at the seams - I really should update the header accordingly, I guess!

What’s your post with the most notes?

It’s the post where I redirect people to my SimFileShare folder to find all my TS2 downloads - how dull! :D

How many mutuals do you have?

Honestly, I haven’t a clue!

How many followers do you have?

Apparently it’s 1308 - hello, everyone!

How many people do you follow?

803 - almost all TS2 Simblrs.

Have you ever made a shitpost?

I’m not really sure I’d know one if I saw one, so probably!

How often do you use tumblr each day?

Too much!

Did you have a fight/argument with another blog once? who won?

Err, no, not my style.

How do you feel about ‘you need to reblog this’ posts?

Just like with old-school chain letters, I ignore them - it’s my blog and I will post what I want!

See the full post

43 notes - Posted April 27, 2022

Under construction

I haven’t done much actual playing lately, as I’ve been on a bit of a building spree instead! (And experiencing my share of pink soup, for some reason.)

Firstly, Merybury has some new luxury waterside residences, just next door to Lydia and Henry’s beach house - so they’ll no longer enjoy their uninterrupted views of Lake Merymere (or the seclusion of their hot tub). These were very much inspired by @vimpse (here).

See the full post

63 notes - Posted March 26, 2022

CuriousB’s Question Time: Part 3

Today I built a house that I rather like. It has just one problem - the darned roof.

I really like the little turrety roof over the bay window, but unfortunately it doesn’t ‘cancel out’ the roof beneath it, like regular roofs do.

See the full post

72 notes - Posted November 22, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Wreckers’ Cove

@simsinlowspace wanted to see the vacation destinations I’m currently working on, so here’s a taster! I’m using @plumbtales’s wonderful Maxis makeovers, but adding a few twists of my own to the existing lots - as I’m a CC junkie - and building a few extra lots myself, such as this one.

This is Wreckers’ Cove beach bar, newly opened on Twikkii Island. I’m afraid there’s a lot of pic-spam, as I’m a little in love with it!

See the full post

91 notes - Posted April 30, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

#tumblr2022 #year in review #my 2022 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review

12 notes · View notes

bagadew · 2 years ago

Text

The Great Ace Attorney Playthrough: The Adventure of the Runaway Room (Part 2a)

Last Time: We stuck it to the Jury and snatched victory back from the jaws of defeat… only for things to start going wrong after an overcharging Beppo set our passenger theory up in flames! However, all was not lost! By simply calling Mr McGilded to the stand we were able to find out that we were right! …And that’s when the smoke bomb went off and I disappeared for a year…

Wow guys, it’s been a long time huh! Just over a year in-fact according to my notes. We’ve probably all learnt some things about ourselves during this time, for instance I’ve learnt that my kidney’s cant absorbed magnesium properly... which explains a lot. It turns out that your body and mind actually need vital salts to do a lot of things. Things like having the energy and brain capacity to play a lawyer simulator (to pick an example at random).

I’m now full of magnesium supplements, but while I’m getting back onto form and working out how much to take a day, I think I’ll be posting these once a week rather than my old schedule of: as soon as I can rattle them out. This way I won’t burn myself out!

Anyway, enough rambling on, let's play some Ace Attorney!

God it’s good to be back! I would say that I hope I’ve not lost my gameplaying skills, but looking at how many people I’ve falsely accused, I don’t think I had any.

Now, where were we… oh that’s right, evacuated from the courtroom because our client’s probably a murderer!

(I mean as I said, I’ve shot wrong before, so hopefully I’ve shot wrong again.)

What I really need to do though is talk to Mr McGilded. I’ve jumped the gun enough times this game I’d be happy to chalk my suspicions up to that...

So, we didn’t get that much time out of the courtroom, which begs the question: why drop the smoke grenade at all? There’s not enough time to ‘find’ more evidence, and from what I could see he didn’t try and make a run for it. So what’s it done other than raise a big red flag over his head?

I’ve got a hunch...

Ah. I think I know why the smoke grenade was let off now. And I’ll be honest it really doesn’t help in convincing me that Mr McGilded’s innocent.

We’d needed to produce the mysterious third party if we were going to get Mr McGilded off the hook. If Mr McGilded arranged for them to cause a scene and try and flee, they’d not only be found, but they’d have as good as confessed to the murder.

Yep, it’s the mysterious third party.

Yeah, there are a lot of things I want to ask him about too.

Oh, apparently he’s been summoned to the prosecutor's office.

Fucking typical, even out of the courtroom Barok still manages to be a massive inconvenience.

Also, what’s he doing there without me, his lawyer, anyway?

Wait, the third party’s in there too!

Again I feel like I, his defense attorney, should really be a part of this.

I have a terrible feeling she was bribed to be here...

I mean let’s face it, if anyone’s going to be susceptible to bribes it’s going to be the starving child who’s dependent on money to get her next meal.

Is it the fact that our client clearly singled for what happened?

Because I’ll be honest Susato, that's what’s troubling me!

Ah no, it’s the fact the money for the passengers is all accounted for now we know about Beppo’s swindling ways.

I’m guessing she was a stowaway then, hiding in that space under the seat.

Either way, we’re not going to know what the hell is going on until the prosecution decides to throw us a bone.

Ah well, let’s go see what the hell is going on in there...

She could definitely fit in the space under the seat. She looks about Mr McGilded’s height too, and she’s wearing a hat.

So she might have military connections then.

She’s not saying anything...

Her face is hidden, so I can’t work out if she’s just keeping her mouth shut, or if she’s too scared to speak.

Yes, speak Mr McGilded, and please make what you have to say good enough to convince me I’ve gone on another wild goose chase.

Please do.

So apparently, it connects to the events of the murder.

(Yes Ryunosuke, call them out on their bullshit.)

Anyways, Mr McGilded fell asleep at the back of the omnibus, before being woken up by a thud and a scream. Opening his eyes, he found Mr Mason collapsed on the floor, so he popped him back on his seat and saw that the scream had come from a child, curled up and hidden away.

...

Well there’s a lot to unpack here.

Like why was Mr McGilded’s reaction to WAKING UP TO A BODY to calmly pop it back in its seat.

And was the kid curled up in on the seat, or was she under it?

Also why is there no blood on the floor?

You know what, let’s start with this baffling reaction to a corpse.

Yeah that’s the right reaction.

Not when there’s been a murder! When there’s been a murder, it’s just tampering with the scene of the crime!

I can’t believe I’m with Barok on this one… I feel like I’ve reached a new low…

Remember when I addressed my dear client, whose case I (Ryunosuke) needed to win in order to be allowed to practice law? I said: Please prove me wrong, because I think you might have committed murder…

Well he’s currently doing the opposite of that…

Ok, this might be interesting. He’s talking about finding out the ‘whys and wherefores’ before trying call someone. I wonder if he thought there was something more going on than: someone with little regard for human life wants Mr McGilded out of the way.

My mistake! He’s just talking about the terrified 15 year old who was probably under the seat!

(Yep, definitely under the seat.)

Don’t worry Susato, I’ve already done it!

I’m sorry, YOU SAT HER NEXT TO A CORPSE!?!

That’s the right reaction!

I fail to see what this has to do with you sitting a kid next to a still bleeding dead body! She was already hiding underneath a gore free seat! Why not use that one?!?

Anyway, putting aside my outrage and focusing on the case at hand: Mr McGilded then heard Mr Furst scream, because he’d looked down to see the scene we spent the last cross examination picking at. Like we guessed, it seems that he saw our teenage stowaway sitting next to the victim, rather than Mr Mason, while Mr McGilded was sat in the seat at the back, out of sight.

Well that clears everything up! …except for the fact that stowaway girl still hasn’t said anything.

We’re only minutes into the second part of this case, and I’ve still got a nasty feeling about Mr McGilded I just can’t shake.

(Editor's note: Oh my god I can send things from my switch to my iPad, this is going to save me SO MUCH WORK! Anyway, these are all screenshots of my own gameplay now.)

I don’t think any of us did Ryunosuke. I thought I’d be getting a cheery romp of a third case to lift my spirits before things got serious… but that doesn’t look like it’ll going to happen does it.

(Also we might have to convict another terrified child!)

Ok, that was quite funny!

Hmm, Susato’s talking about investigating the omnibus again. I think I’ve pressed everything we should need clarifying on so maybe I actually need to. Besides, I haven’t seen the insides in forever, and while I’ve re-read my other live-blogging posts as a refresher, it’s probably a good idea to reacquaint myself with the evidence.

Ok, hold up… was that there before? I’m pretty sure the floor was spotless… but did I just not notice?

Like, I’m not a particularly observant person so perhaps… but something really doesn’t seem right here…

Yep, it’s new.

Oh shit. This was the reasons for the smoke bomb wasn’t it?

It wouldn’t have been enough to just have the kid bolt and be caught suspiciously. Mr McGilded needed the courtroom to be evacuated so the kid he’s controlling (or maybe even he himself) could tamper with the evidence.

Because it’s bad Ryunosuke…

Oh crap, he’s cleaned out the compartment too.

Why though? There already seemed to be space in there for the child to fold themselves. Unless there’s something incriminating in there? Maybe that button from the victim’s jacket was in there after all?

Well, there’s bugger all we can do now, so let’s just fall back on the Ace Attorney trick of pressing everything we can...

Ok, we don’t seem to have got much out of the pressing, except to get Mr McGilded to clearly state that the omnibus was empty when he got on. I feel like we already knew that, but nevertheless, I’m sure his certainty will come back to help us later.

Yes, let's move on and get to the good stuff!

Hern name is Gina Lestrade! A Sherlock Holmes name! If I remember rightly Lestrade’s was detective. I wonder if that’s the path Gina here will be on? Or maybe she’s connected to Herlock in some way?

Didn’t Sherlock Holmes have an urchin gang that helped him out sometimes? Maybe she does something similar for our Herlock?

Nope! She’s a pickpocket! Still, I suppose that doesn’t rule the second option out.

This does explain why she’s quite so good at holding her tongue though, especially in the face of the law.

(Also, it is very funny to watch her blank the Judge)

SHE’S GOT A GUN!!!

SHE SHOT THE JUDGE WITH A BATHBOMB!!!

Editor’s Note: Look my screenshots aren’t all going to be winners, OK?

AND SHE’S DISAPPEARED!!!

THIS IS AMAZING!!!

Oh no, she’s not done a runner, she’s just showing off!

Style Ryunosuke!

F them up Gina!

I love her!

Look, Kazuma’s dead, Hosonaga’s gone back to Japan, and I have no idea where Herlock is… Gina do you want this friendship bracelet I’ve made?

It doesn’t hurt people much Ryunosuke!

Oh my god she stole it from Herlock!

These hijinks have gone on for too long, the Judge seems to say. Go back to facing hard truths and probably defending the wicked, he seems to say.

Well fine! But I’m not going to enjoy it… except I will definitely do that…

(See, Gina gets me!)

So, it looks like the omnibuses were something of a regular haunt for Gina. Though apparently this time she got nothing from her efforts. I wonder if that’s because Mr McGilded was on top of her seat the whole time so she couldn’t get out?

Also, it was pitched black inside, and the sound of the body hitting the deck was loud enough and sudden enough to make her involuntarily scream.

To be honest, as much as I love Gina, I’m not sure I believe that the noise of someone falling out of their seat would be enough to startle her. Perhaps she saw the crime being committed? But then either she’s lying about not being able to see anything, or she must have been able to lift the seat when he hit the floor (ergo, Mr McGilded wasn’t sat on it).

Either way my suspicion of Mr McGilded is definitely growing, and his smug, confident face up there isn’t exactly filling me with confidence.

Come on Mangus, this is it! Endear me to you and show me literally anything that makes me feel better about defending you!

He’s not throwing her under the omnibus like I expected… and he’s actually using facts and reason to show her innocence.

Maybe there’s hope for my (Ryunosuke’s) future after all!

Aaaand we’re looking at the compartment he almost certainly cleared out…

I still come back to asking why though.

Like I feel like Gina could curl herself into that space, and we couldn’t find any evidence among the stuff that was there.

God I want to believe this. The problem is that I just don’t anymore. I really hope that this is just me crying wolf again, and that I’m going to have another beloved character I have to apologies to… but I really don’t think I am…

Also, if he is guilty where does that leave Ryunosuke?

He’s either going to have to let a guilty man who buys his way through life go free, probably convicting another innocent person in the process (I’d love to avoid another Adrian Andrews situation if I can)… or he’s going to have to find another bargain that will let him continue practicing law.

And he’s a Japanese immigrant, they aren’t just going to hand him one on a silver platter. Even if he is the main character, he’d probably end up stuck under someone’s thumb (Strongheart perhaps), or having to look for some back-door way in.

Either way it’s not going to be great for him.

Anyway, we’ve convinced Juror Number 1 to change his verdict!

I mean given that a slight breeze changes this man’s standing, it’s nothing really to write home about…

But still. One step closer to victory!

Wait, she’s changing as well! But doesn’t that mean…

Six for Six!

SIX FOR SIX!

SIX FOR SIX!!

VIIIIICCCCCTTTOOOOOOOORRRYYYYYYYYY!!!

(Well apart from the fact that there are still about a mile of questions, the killers still at large, and we feel nowhere near done…)

Leg SLAM!

Ok Barok let’s hear it.

Look Barok, if you’re going to say he’s a cad, we already know that…

Also, to be frank you’re the last person who should be calling people out on that.

Ok, so he’s also noticed the mysterious case of the missing luggage.

I would be mad, but frankly I knew this was coming when I opened the omnibus and saw it had been tampered with.

So right now, frankly, I just want to find out what the hell this is all about!

I mean we’ve come to the same conclusion; I’ll give him that much.

And to think, only last session he was barely able to follow our chat about the bloody gloves!

Now how do I answer this?

On one hand, I’ve played enough Ace Attorney to know that, ultimately, attempting to: conceal, mask, alter or hide from the truth, doesn’t end well. Especially when you’re a lawyer. It’s a bad time.

On the other hand, I (Ryunosuke) am a defence attorney. It’s my duty to defend my client in the best I can… but is the best way to lie though?

So, directly contradicting Barok is out, and anyway, if it comes down to my word against his… and let’s be honest here, I (Ryunosuke), the Japanese immigrant, am not going to win that one. I’ll just paint myself in a bad way and make everyone even more against me than they already are.

Maybe I could say I didn’t look though?

It’s less of a lie than flat out denying it (can they prove I did), and I wouldn’t be going directly against Judges favorite Barok, or my client…

I did look though…

Also, it’ll make me look incompetent.

… plus, I don’t think it’s a good idea and I don’t think we should do it…

Would Ryunosuke feel the same though?

I mean I am playing as him, so I’d like to act as he would.

Actually I just remembered the last case, and I think that he would. I also think that, unlike me he wouldn’t have hesitated as much.

Let’s do it!

Oh dear, Mr McGilded isn’t happy. Perhaps we can style this out enough for him to convince Strongheart he should give us a job anyway?

(She said hopefully)

And Barok’s, amazingly, not happy either.

Ok Ryunosuke, here’s your time to talk about truth!

Uhh… let’s try and inspire a bit more confidence Ryunosuke…

Yeah alright, that’ll do it!

Barok finds it interesting. I think that means we passed.

Mr McGilded however…

Yeah...

You know I thought the same thing myself.

(God I hope I haven’t screwed this up…)

He’s putting the squeeze on us!

Ryunosuke, you beautiful individual, there is SO MUCH THAT IS NOT RIGHT!

Oh Juror Number 5’s going to clear this up. I can’t believe he’s actually pulling his weight for once!

I mean, he was swindling his customers, and you’re clearly drinking in court… all I’m saying is I wouldn’t put much faith in the responsibility of your coach company.

Oh, and he’s changed his verdict to guilty!

Wonderful!

(I don’t even know if I’m being sarcastic now or not)

And there goes Juror Number 3 as well, closely followed by Number 4!

Oh, how quickly these people turn!

And Ryunosuke is as fed up with them as I am!

Yeah, yeah Barok. We know. We dug ourselves away from victory and snatched defeat from it’s jaws. Let’s just get on with it shall we!

The right thing? …Maybe?

I mean I think we helped. Quite a lot actually.

Anyway, back to cross examination.

So, Gina says that after she heard the thud, the seat above her lightened up because Mr McGilded had got up sit Mr Mason on the seat opposite. Apparently she knows that’s what happened because she immediately lifted the seat up a little so she could have a peak. (Or a ‘butcher’s’ if you're speaking in Cockney Rhyming Slang!)

Unfortunately for her, her ‘butcher’s’ meant that Mr McGilded could spot her and dragged her out into the open.

She’s also saying that she cleared out the coach gear and crammed it in there before the omnibus set off. Which is clearly a lie because we saw it there earlier. But evidence is everything and we have no proof.

Also poor Ryunosuke is really struggling to keep up with the Cockney Rhyming Slang. Something deliberately designed to make it difficult for anyone not in the know to follow what you were saying.

Like he is literally doing everything in a second language, and now the person opposite him is literally peppering her sentences with criminal code. I’m struggling to remember what some of these words mean and I am Cockney, I live in London, I studied this at school!

What I’m trying to say is: Hang in their buddy! I believe in you!

(I am finding it quite funny though that reading Gina’s Cockney Accent is starting to make the Cockney notes of my accent bob back up to the surface. I mostly grew out of it when I was a kid, so it’s really weird reading a fictional person’s dialogue can spike it up!)

Anyway, Gina seems to be claustrophobic, which raises the question of why she was in there at all, especially if she was squeezed in there amongst the rope and brushes and all that. She says that it’s out of necessity, so maybe that’s all there is to it. Still, it might be something it’s worth remembering.

Yeah… it definitely seems like I should remember it…

Anyway so let’s get back to how our dear client, Mr McGilded, dragged this child out of her hiding place, sat her next to a corpse, and then-THE CARRIAGE LURCHED THE CORPSE ON TOP OF HER!?!

OH GOD!

That’s it! Gina I’m taking you into care! Please come and sit next to me and my other child Sebastian. He’s a good kid, please don’t pick on him.

Anyway, we’ve now accounted for the bloodied hands Mr Furst and Mr Fairplay saw from the roof. They must have looked down while she was being interrogated by Mr McGilded.

Well that was nice of him wasn’t it!

And I’m sure you came along today, armed with a smoke bomb you dropped on his signal, because you wanted to pay him back for his kindness!

(If you can’t tell, I’m not buying it.)

I think it’s this whole damn affair Ryunosuke.

Anyway, I’m pretty sure Gina talking about small, cramped spaces made Mr McGilded over there swallow a lung, so let’s hop on top of that.

Sure you do.

Look, you clearly don’t relate to her enough to not use her. Which you are definitely doing. Like literally right now.

Yeah, this is exactly what he was trying on with us earlier.

(And Gina isn’t at all acting like she’s being steered.)

I’m going to be honest with you Ryunosuke, whatever she says will be 100% in Mr McGilded’s favour and probably contrived.

Look at him standing smugly next to her… prick.

I’ll be honest with you, I (me) have no idea what about her probably contrived statement is useful to us. But my god I’ve played enough Ace Attorneys to know the answer here!

GET THEIR ASS RYUNOSUKE!

(Catch me, trying to look like I haven’t been doing that since we got here.)

Well let’s press the new statement while I try and work out what it’s about.

I’VE GOT IT!

GINA SHOULD HAVE HEARD THE DOOR OPENING WHEN MR MASON BORDED!

But if she didn’t, and we can get her to confirm this, then the only option is that he got onboard with Mr McGilded!

Which both suggests that Mr McGilded purposely met with the victim, and means that, what with Gina also saying he got on alone, there’s a massive contradiction in her testimony.

Basically she’s definitely lied about something.

Get off my tailcoats van Zieks!

Anyway, now to simply present a picture of Mr Mason and I’m sure I can trust Ryunosuke to explain the rest.

GET THERE ASSESS RYUNOSUKE! (I knew I could count on you.)

Thank you for that obvious lie Mr McGilded, it has now been stated before the court and will come back to bite you in the ass promptly.

Well then, he should have said something before now shouldn’t he? Rather than expecting the defense to do the prosecutions job for him.

Wow that’s a silent rain of guilty there!

Editor’s note: and basically unscreenshotable, however I do it!

… I feel like Juror Number 6 has seen and done some shit in her time…

CAN IT JUROR NUMBER 1!

THANK YOU SUSATO I CAN SEE THAT!

SHUT UP BAROK!

Ok Ryunosuke, only Juror Number 2 is left. Frankly it’s a miracle she hasn’t changed her verdict already. Given that she is almost certainly going this way, I suggest we get ready to demand another summation examination so we can sway these thickle fucks back!

(Pluss it means we get to push the Prosecution Shut Up button.)

Ok, I’m pretty sure Mr McGilded just said something racist, so he’s still finding ways to limbo under that low bar I keep readjusting for him.

Also Juror Number 3 is back licking his knife again, while saying concerning things about loving carnage. So that’s also happening now…

Well Juror Number 2 looks like she’s about to unsurprisingly change her stance to guilty, and frankly this time I don’t blame them. Mr McGilded’s own defence just fired cannonballs through this credibility.

Oh, ok! Ryunosuke seems to think we can win this back before we get to summation time.

Fair enough I suppose, we were barley granted the first one.

Shut up Mr McGilded, can’t you see that I (Ryunosuke) am trying to wiggle you away from death now! Like fair enough it was me who put you there in the first place, but even so you need me to keep talking.

(Side not though, I find it curious that Mr McGilded doesn’t want me to pursue this line of enquiry even though the horse has well and truly bolted. Does he have some trick that will only work if they don’t know he got on with Mr Mason? Or does Gina’s lie actually revile more that I though?)

We stop her! Nice one Ryunosuke!

Ok!

Wait, none of these options are ‘he came in with Mr McGilded’?

Well I guess Mr Mason and Gina could have entered the cabin together? He didn’t look very well off and he was in debt, so perhaps the two of them were in cahoots? Like Mr Mason pays the money and then Gina immediately lifts it back again?

Ok I’ll go for the first one!

MOCKED AND PENALISED!!!

Fine then! Let’s try another one!

Let’s see, I’ve crawled all over every inch of that cabin and I don’t think there was a secret way in. So maybe the point I’m supposed to be getting at is that he was already dead?

Perhaps it was him, not Gina who was under the seat? That might actually explain why Mr McGilded had the contents removed, perhaps he was worried it had traces of body on them, and perhaps he was right and that’s where we’ll find the missing button!

Ok number 3 it is!

THEY’RE LAUGHING ME OUT OF TOWN!

(And also penalising me again, so now I only have three lives left!)

Ok, we’ll say there was another way in then.

I’ll be honest Ryunosuke you’re on your own with this one. I have no idea what your plan is.

ARE ALL THESE ANSWERS SOMEHOW WRONG?!?

Oh no, something new’s happening!

OH COME ON! WHY MEEEEE!

Ok, let’s just relax and think this through.

We know it can’t be the door because the door never opened. We also know that it was the only door in the cabin’s four walls. Perhaps my under seat theory could come into that, but that’s not really a way into the cabin. In fact the only distinctive thing on this drawing that looks vaguely entrance like is the skylight.

I might be wrong, but for some reason I was under the impression that it couldn’t open?

Ah well, it’s literally the only idea I’ve got right now so I might as well go for it!

SUCCESS!

Ooh, actually that’s a good point. I did think the sound of someone falling to the floor wouldn’t be enough to make someone like Gina scream, but the sound of a body falling through the roof is another matter entirely.

Oh yeah, they would have…

Well, I guess we should call them up as witnesses again. Maybe we’ll find something in their statements that’ll open up a new possibility?

(Though I can’t imagine what that could be)

I don’t like this…

Ok, is this whole thing just a way for Mr McGilded to get rid of two clients who weren’t able to pay up, while being able to make himself out to look like the victim?

They came back to the stand!

AND MR FURST IS READY TO THROW DOWN!

GET HIS ASS MR FURST!

LOOK AT RYUNOSUKE’S FACE! THIS IS AMAZING!

Mr McGilded is loving this, and to be fair he isn’t the only one!

LET THEM SPEAK!

I can’t believe I’m agreeing with Jack the Ripper here. Dark times everybody.

SHUT UP JUROR NUMBER 1!

Ok, so this is something all the jury want. Well good, they’re finally taking their roll seriously.

Oh, neat voice acting!

Tes-ti-fy! Tes-ti-fy! Tes-ti-fy!

(Quick Ryunosuke, try and look like we weren’t also chanting)

Anyways, let's get cross examining!

Ok, so their statement (as I understand it), is that they were the only two people up on the roof deck, and definitely would have noticed if someone else had been there. They had absolutely no reason to kill Mr Mason, the skylight was shut the entire time they were there and they couldn’t have opened it. Also, they want proof.

Ignoring the request for proof for the moment, I could see them possibly missing Mr Mason if he was laying down on the seat in front. It was dark when they got on, and they would have been preoccupied with how cold it was up there… also the longer they spend up there the more I begin to feel that there’s some sort of romantic spark between the two of them. I’m definitely not going to bring that before the jury because they have already proven themselves to be true products of Victorian London, but I can’t be the only one who think that… right?

As for the proof they requested, I’ve got nothing and I’m probably going to have to guess wildly before the day is out.

Juror Number 4 still pulling her weight I see.

Also, I’m pretty sure she’s not said anything hateful while she’s been up there, so my offer for a breakaway court still stands. We can gossip about the nature of the witness's relationship there if you’d like, but none of the others are allowed to come.

Anyway, my own feelings aside, Barok has apparently looked into them and they definitely didn’t know each other before today.

Much like Phoenix had to be beaten up, accused of murder and nearly killed to learn to not go with Murderers into a private room and tell them you have evidence against you; it’s taking a man like Mr McGilded to teach Ryunosuke what it is to be manipulated and played like a fiddle. It’s harsh, but really, it’s something Mr I’LL BE MY OWN DEFENCE ATTORNEY needs to learn.

(Nothing to add here, I just enjoy this image)

Ooh, Ryunosuke’s on the same theory that I am! Truly our hearts beat as one.

I mean, I’m not sure that rules out the factor of darkness, but I suppose sleep is a good point to rule out.

That’s London Baby!

GET HIS ASS MR FURST!!!

It is interesting that they knocked on the door though. I wonder if they saw Mr Mason inside?

They did!

YEAH GET HIM!!! I’M RIGHT BEHIND YOU!!!

(Damn I wanted to see Mr Furst fully snap)

Not the one I know.

Well, Mr McGilded coughed up another lung at this statement, and while I’m hesitant to give him any more speaking room I probably should so he can inevitably trip himself up over his own words.

Ok, not the best start…

Don’t rise to it you idiot!

Well, there you go Mr Fairplay. Wel done, you just gave yourself a motive.

Yeah, what do you want to do with our single helpful witness?

Don’t come for him and his bad hats!

Yeah, he’s only an apprentice! I’m sure he’ll get better with time!

>:(

Yeah, the customers like it probably! It’s modern probably!

Wait what

Oh god, he has one of his hats!

I just thought he wasn’t doing to well so he’d patched it up himself!

(… Maybe Mr Furst should consider a new like of work after all…)

Oh Mr Furst, your shining transparency and shining beacon of truth has come back to hit you in the face!

Up until two minutes ago I couldn’t picture Mr Furst being physically capable of quarrelling, but now that I’ve seen his dukes I’m a little more willing to believe it. (I don’t though, obviously.)

Well at least he’s stopped talking now…

Yeah, worrying isn’t it.

Wait, is the latch on the outside?!

I’m pretty sure, now I’m looking for it, I can see it right there!

(Is the out of context ace attorney blog still around? Because if so this is gold dust for it.)

… Mr Furst… why are you telling us this?

It sure is.

… again Mr Furst... I don’t think we need to know this...

I’m not really sure to be honest.

Oh thank god there is a point!

Well I think the problem here is that he was on the inside of the cabin, whereas (and I just went in to check), the latch looking thing is only on the outside. I.e. it can’t be opened from within.

Ok, I think I’ve pressed everything now, and from what Susato just said and Mr Fairplay’s demand for proof, I’m guessing I should be presenting evidence.

The only things I can think of though are the Ledger, which connects Mr Fairplay to the crime, and the Omnibus itself. I still can’t open the skylight, so I’ll go with the Ledger first.

Aaand be penalized for it!

Now I have literally one life left, so it’s probably an idea to make sure I’ve saved now before I try the omnibus… aaand it’s a good thing I did because I was just penalised again!

Well let’s return to the last save and not do that then. Side note though, it’s a nice touch how all the Jurors have their own spoken Guilty!

Right, I have literally no idea what to do now, so I’m going to scrabble around with the evidence for a bit, and probably get guilty a bunch until something happens. Because that’s not very interesting to write or read, I think I’ll end this write up here for now and pick the next one up once I’ve figured it out. Till next time everybody!

#tgaa #tgaa spoilers #the great ace attorney #the adventure of the runaway room #ace attorney #ryunosuke naruhodo #susato mikotoba #barok van zieks #gina lestrade #magnus mcgilded #bruce fairplay #lay d furst

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keoni-chan · 3 years ago

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Check in Tag

I was tagged by @lesyasun, thank you!!

Why did you choose your url? Well, back in the days of ancient, I went by keoni on the irc, forums, msn, and my friends would nickname me keoni-chan whenever we talked. When I went to make a Livejournal, keoni was already taken, so I went for my nickname, instead. Same story for my tumblr url.

The rest under a read more, because it’s long XD

How long have you been on tumblr? April 24, 2011! ... I missed my tumblr anniversary... I always do, lol >< I have been taking breaks though, so I haven’t always been on.

Do you have a queue tag? I used to, but then that weird thing with banning tags came around, so I stopped using them. All my gameplay posts run from a queue. I usually queue up downloads, too. Replies and WCIFs and stuff like this gets posted in real time, though.

Why did you start your blog in the first place? People were leaving LJ and most of them were migrating to tumblr. So I went, too.

Why did you choose your icon/pfp? I don’t change my icon that often. I sometimes base it on a challenge I’m doing. I used to have Bethany from my Midnight Sun Challenge for the longest time. And a Cowplant XD Before that, it was the Daenerys sim you can still see in my sidebar. Right now it’s Bekah from my VDSL, because I really liked that picture.

Why did you choose your header? My headers are usually gameplay shots I really like. Right now it’s my group picture from Angler’s Bay. I spend way too long on that, and I’m proud of it. It also fits my blog, because I mostly post about that these days.

What’s your post with the most notes?

Faux Fur Dress 3t2 with 1115 notes. Probably because some TS4 finds blogs started reblogging it XD

How many mutuals do you have? idk, there is no easy way to count this.

How many followers do you have? 7.456.

How many people do you follow? 847

Have you ever made a shitpost? Absolutely. Mostly about my game crashing XD

How often do you use tumblr each day? I usually have a tumblr tab open when I’m on m computer. So... a lot?

Did you have a fight/argument with another blog once? Who won? Not that often? I don’t really like drama, or conflict, so I usually try to keep my opinions to myself. I know I can have a mean streak, especially when I was younger, so I try to be civil about it these days. I don’t always succeed, but that’s life, I guess. Can’t please everybody.

How do you feel about ‘you need to reblog this’ posts? Whenever I come across those, I revert back into my edgy 13 year old self and my brain goes: “Oh yeah? Make me!”

Do you like tag games? Yes! I’m always happy when people think of me.

Do you like ask games? Yes! And I apologize to everyone sending me asks. I have can have a hard time converting thoughts and feelings into words, so I might take some time to answer.

Which of your mutuals do you think is tumblr famous? never really thought about that... I think @lesyasun, @deedee-sims, @mdpthatsme, @linacheries, @yandereplumsim, @whattheskell, @shastakiss, @kahlenas and probably more that I’m forgetting.

Do you have a crush on a mutual? Not crushes as in “omg we should date”, but I admire and am inspired by so many of them.

Tagging: @shastakiss, @elfpuddle, @emperorofthedark, @katrisims, @kahlenas, @katatty, @krabbysims, @taylors-simblr Feel free to ignore :)

#text post #long post

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lichfucker · 3 years ago

Note

I’ve always been super intrigued by your Survivor posts and you’ve made me want to watch! What series would you recommend jumping into? There’s so many it’s a bit daunting!

oh g-d this is a big question

usually I tell people to start with season 7 (pearl islands) or season 12 (panama/exile island). I started with pearl islands so I know for a fact it's a great introductory season, early enough that the game is very straightforward but not so early that the show doesn't know what it's doing. iconic cast, fun pirate theme, very enjoyable winner. panama is a little more complicated in its mechanics, as it includes immunity idols and introduces exile, but it's still very easy to follow. another iconic cast. I feel a lot more Whatever abt the winner but like it's fine lmao. I've also heard a lot of people say that 18 (tocantins) is a good introductory season! some enduring survivor legends in that cast as well. all three of these seasons feature people who will go on to be recognizable by first name alone

(you COULD start with season 1, borneo, but you probably shouldn't... neither the players nor the show itself knew back then what the game was supposed to be. it's interesting to look back on now, when things have been established as they are for the last 22 years, but back then it was very... unformed, like clay.)

just, y'know... keep in mind that the older seasons are... old. pearl islands aired in 2003. panama in 2006. the show itself is, in a lot of ways, a time capsule. every season has an air of being very much Of Its Time. there's a scene in season 3 (africa, also a good season but potentially kinda boring) where for one of the reward challenges, the host gives the contestants his credit card, and there's a close-up shot of the credit card with all the numbers completely visible. you'd be fucking insane to do that in 2022 but in 2001 nobody gave a shit at all lmao

basically with survivor, the single-digit seasons can be kind of up and down, but they're mostly fun and watchable if you know what you're getting into (I'm literally doing a rewatch of season 4, marquesas, Right Now). I watched season 8 (all stars) immediately after watching pearl islands, with absolutely no idea who any of these returning players were, and still had a fun time (despite one episode that, um, most streaming platforms don't air, for very legitimate reasons w/r/t sexual harassment. on a similar note, do NOT watch season 5, thailand. don't watch it). the teens are almost universally good (17, gabon, is some of the worst survivor gameplay in the entire 41 seasons, but of all the dumpster fire seasons it's one of the most entertaining). the thing about the teens, though, is that some of the seasons are TOO good, and if you watch them first you either won't appreciate them for their brilliance or you'll be disappointed by other seasons. 15 (china) and 16 (micronesia/fans vs favorites) fall into this category. seasons 20 (heroes vs villains) and 28 (cagayan) are also in that category, as they're largely considered to be two of the best seasons in the entire show. the twenties are REALLY hit-or-miss. 21 (nicaragua) is on the same level as gabon. 22, 24, and 26 straight-up suck. I have mixed feelings about 23 tbh. 25, 27, 28, and 29 are very good. I don't think you should start with any of them. and I REALLY don't think you should start with any of the thirties. the thirties are headache-inducing. we're two seasons into the forties now and under no circumstances should you start with 40 (winners at war) or honestly even consider it until you've watched... like. MOST of the seasons that those players initially won lmao. and if I'm honest, 41 just ended in december and I feel like I'm not far enough removed from it to judge whether or not it'd be a good introduction to the series. probably not, though. they kept talking about stripping things back but it was VERY complex

hope this helps!! and if you do start watching survivor then I hope you have fun with it :3

if you have more questions or wanna talk abt anything more specific hmu, though I don't know how coherent I will be considering it's nearly 6 am lmao

#greatnorthernsea #bluh bluh #long post

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c-is-for-circinate · 4 years ago

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Ok, Hades gameplay reaction time!

(Because I have been terrible this quarantine year about posting thoughts about stories I've been invested in, and I'm really enjoying this game, and I'm playing basically blind and I have theories, and what is tumblr for if not recording those things to look back on later.)

I love this specific kind of fantasy/speculative fiction, that straddles the line between 'allegory clearly designed to explore a real-world issue' and 'the themes of this reflect real-world issues but also everything is times one million for drama and setting's sake'. I love it so much. Because, look, this is a story about a teenager/young adult trying to gather up the skills and resources and help he needs to escape his controlling, possessive, emotionally abusive father's house. That's it. Strip away all of the trappings, and that's what the story is about. By comparison, I think about Star Wars. (I love Star Wars too.) That's also a story about a dysfunctional fucked-up family dynamic. But that family is fucked up because dad went on a magic-corruption-induced killing spree, and his twin children were separated at birth to be raised in seclusion with the intention of someday taking him down, and look, that's cool, but it's definitely not how people actually are. All of the dysfunction in that family is an outgrowth of the fantastical setting, which means it is fantastical dysfunction. It can occasionally mirror or remind us of real-life interactions, but it's a fantasy. Which is great and fun to watch and very comforting and so on, but I don't necessarily want that in every story, and I love Hades because it is not that, at all. When you extend out the basic 'kid trying to escape his toxic home environment', Hades is the story of Zagreus trying to get out with the help of his dad's estranged, complicated, wealthy and powerful family, who are absolutely part of the reason why dad is Like That in the first place, and may not be any more reliable in the long run but who he needs right now. And his stepmom and teacher, who love him enough to help him leave, unconditionally and supportively (ask me how many feelings I have about 'look, Hades can't hurt me for helping you, don't worry about me, I am going to take care of you and that means helping you get out of this house' coming from an adult authority figure, ask me). And his dad's employees, who like him but also have to fear the old man's wrath, and walk that line in different places the best they can. And stepmom's long-estranged parent, because this is a story about families and how they split apart and come back together. And all of that is so real, so grounded in actual, concrete, this-is-how-humans-work family dynamics. But it's also individual. The story works so well because Hades isn't just a silhouette of the controlling asshole father; he is clearly The Way He Is for reasons, complicated ones, good and bad alike. The Way He Is has details, particularities, paperwork, a dog he pretends not to love and rely on. He is specific. Nyx and Achilles are specific, not just generic kind stepmom here to be a trope inversion and cardboard cutout teacher. Nyx has backstory and personality of her own, Achilles has a complex history, opinions, a missing lover, and they BOTH have very particular relationships with Hades that aren't just boilerplate script. Yes, there's abstraction there, you meet these characters in brief visual novel-esque three-line conversations over the course of dozens of escape runs, of course there's abstraction--but there's the very real sense that all of these people have nuance, have good and bad days, that they've made choices to be who they are, even if we don't know what those choices are yet. And, like Star Wars, some of the ways in which this story is so specific rely entirely on the fact of the otherworldly setting! I've seen stories that go the other way, that try to use their setting entirely as window dressing, and they end up feeling so flat I can't even remember them right now because they don't let the environment lend complexity and nuance to their characters at all. The environment these characters live in matters. The absolute control Hades exerts over his surroundings is a divine power. The fact that everyone Zag runs into, for or against him, is either immortal or immortally dead, changes how the react to

one another and to the situation at hand. The shape of his attempted escapes (gauntlet combat with a variety of legendary weapons) might be an allegorical construct of the genre, true, but it doesn't work in any sort of real-world setting where there exists the possibility of authority figures above or aside from Hades and his extended fucked-up family. That's part of why the family is so fucked-up in the first place. But these changes still fit well within the realm of, 'yeah, if you took this extremely real-life dynamic and added these factors to it, I can envision people doing this thing'. I can envision these specific people doing this thing. They add to the specificity of these characters. Letting them be influenced by their unreal surroundings makes them more real. So hell yes for good storytelling!!!!

I'm still relatively early in the game (by which I mean I'm like thirty runs in but only just got past Meg for the third time, because I am not good at this game, although in my defense it's only the seventh video game and second button-mashing game I have ever played in my life so there's that), but I'm starting to develop suspicions about Persephone. Because, look, outside of Persephone's absence from the underworld, this story knows its Greek mythology, uses it, revels in it. And there is some kind of mystery still shrouding Persephone leaving in the first place. She left a goodbye to Cerberus in her letter but not to her own son. Nyx has warned Zagreus multiple times not to let the Olympians know she's his mother. He literally never even knew she existed. That's complicated! Add to that, Persephone left--the exact thing we are trying and failing to do again and again and again. She left with one note, which means either she managed a one-shot speedrun out of the entire realm or she had some other way to leave, because if she'd washed up in the Styx pool to plod back to her room and try again, she wouldn't've needed to leave the note in the first place. And, you know, she's Persephone. Really quite famous for leaving the Underworld! Also quite famous for being forced back. So. I'm wondering if Zagreus, so conspicuously absent from her goodbye, has something to do with it after all. Six pomegranate seeds condemned Persephone to six months, half a year, half her life. I wonder if a child that's half of her her constitutes a fitting trade instead. Which, of course Hades would be even more resentful and dismissive and cruel to the kid he got in place of the wife he loved (who he chased away by being cold in the first place). Of course Persephone would have difficulty saying goodbye to her son in those circumstances. It would make sense. The tricky thing here is how the Olympians fit into it, because I also suspect the rift between Hades and Zeus sprang from Persephone's departure. And yet, if the Olympians never knew Zagreus existed, let alone that he's Persephone's son--how can he count as payment into the deal in their eyes? So in that case, what does Zeus think is the justification for Persephone leaving, after the pomegranate thing? Or are we just not doing the pomegranate thing at all? It would be a shame to lose it entirely, out of a story that really seems to enjoy the myths it's playing with. And there should be something complex here, something more than simply 'mom fucked off and left because dad sucked and now I'm following her because same'. It feels more complex than that. 'Mom and dad had a baby to try and save their marriage, it didn't work, but when mom left she had to leave me behind because otherwise dad would have gotten the cops and her extended family involved' feels more right, while still just as grounded in reality as the story has been so far.

I sort of want to write some meta about how each of the six legendary weapons corresponds to their original divine wielder, but I haven't unlocked all of their codex entries yet (look I am very bad with ranged weapons in this game ok, I am working on it), and I still need to think about the details. Aside from, of course, fuck yes of course Hestia's the one with the railgun. Leave drama and elegance and traditional weaponry to her brothers and sister (Demeter, who knows how to get her hands dirty, gets a pass). Hestia is out here to get shit done. With a grenade launcher.

#hades #hades game #zagreus #hades spoilers #I do not know this fandom are there tags I should be using?#C plays stuff #long post #driveby meta attack

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