#so. modding could get weird. but eh

[moonstandardtime]

havent advertised my discord in a while. so here :D its mostly intended for ppl who read my fics but its not centered around that so anyone can join

[neko-loogi]

Heeeyy, I'm back with a new Helluva Boss opinion post thingy

Okay so, the Mammon episode- it was alright I guess? Tbh it didn't strike me as super awesome or anything, it's just kinda there?

Anyway, let's talk about it a little bit!

So I wanted to start off with Mammon himself, I'm gonna be honest I don't hate him but I don't like him either. I'll admit I do actually like his voice, I'm sure y'all might find it annoying but I dunno, I like his accent and the way he talks is kinda funny. His design tho? Eh, it could use some work.

For instance, his eyes are weird, like every time he was on screen my first thought was always: "Wow, he looks like Robin from TTG". I also hate how he's shaped like your typical "fat" character from cartoons. But for some reason they decided to give him skinny arms but a round body. He's weirdly disproportionate, which is disappointing because they definitely could make a better plus sized character design. But oh well, knowing Viv, she wouldn't even try.

I will admit his true demon form is kinda cool, except that I actually thought he was going to be a caterpillar or something but he's a spider? I swear, Viv has some weird design choices.

Moving on, the episode was cluttered as hell. It had way too much stuff in it, which made the episode feel eternal. Not only that but the episode has 4 songs.. FOUR FUCKING SONGS- When will Viv realize that not every HB episode needs a song? Like is this shit an animated series or a fucking musical? Make up your mind Viv-

Anyway, I'm glad this episode focuses on Fizz, but his character did feel a bit off in certain scenes, but aside from that everything else was fine. (I found that scene of Fizz talking to the deaf imp child while using sign language to be very endearing).

Alright, I'mma point out a few other things real quick:

Ozzie's relationship with Fizz is absolutely adorable and I love them so much. However I don't understand why they portray their relationship as a bad thing? Like, fucking Queen Bee is dating Vortex (who's a hellhound, and they are a lower class than imps) and nobody says anything and she's a sin- so why can't Ozzie do the same??

I also happen to noticed that Fizz and Mammon's relationship is similar to Angel Dust and Valentino's- I just hope they don't completely butcher my boy Fizz, because he's the ONLY character I genuinely like from this god awful series.

Edit: I find it outrageous that Fizz apologized to Blitzo in the previous episode for the accident and claims that yes, he was affected by it but he's gotten over it. Yet here, he's super insecure about it and seeks approval from Mammon. It doesn't make sense- I swear it's like the characters are evolving backwards (as in the character development just resets and they act like nothing happened).

I also just wanted to say that this character made me feel super uncomfortable throughout the episode (which I guess is the point, but honestly they didn't need to add him.) Like, was it really necessary to include this Reddit mod, Discord user incel with an obsessive personality to the episode? He doesn't really contribute much other than to probably trigger people who have dealt with some form of harassment like this, and to make Fizz look super helpless so that Blitzo can defend him.

Blitzo didn't contribute anything to the episode, they didn't need to add him either. Like we get it he's the main character but that doesn't mean he has to be in every fucking episode doing absolutely nothing other than saying a bunch of curse words or shooting someone.

In conclusion, I didn't like this episode that much. I was expecting more to be completely honest.

Sorry if this post was a little long- I wanted to write more stuff but I don't want to burden y'all with reading a lot of shit lmao. Anyway, that's all, love ya <3

[definitelynotshouting]

Okay, so, question I've had for a while but never got around to asking, what the FUCK is up with Grian's wings?

If all physical differences in players (like those particularly ascribed to 'Hybrids' in mcyt fanon) in Hunger AU are a result of conscious altering of your own code for the express purpose of achieving YOUR IDEAL BODY(tm) then what does that mean for Grian and his wings? No one seems to regard Grian's wings as "What The Fuck, You Can DO That?!?" so presumably wings aren't so big of a change from normal biology that players can't do that. If so, why is it not more common? Man, if I could have wings I'd jump on that in seconds. Especially with the sheer utility the ability to fucking FLY gives players. Are wings (and maybe other larger alterations) just like, REALLY HARD to code in? If so, that might add a really cool layer of "Oh wow! They must be a really good coder!" to players who meet people like that.

On a related note, Grian seems to have a positive regard for his wings, which is interesting because I would be willing to bet he didn't have that before *insert sounds of worm-bursting and non-consensual body modification*. I imagine seeing his wings would likely feel like a reminder of the Watchers and what they did to him. BUT, Watchers manipulate their own code when they change like Grian did to, y'know, not be a worm anymore so Grian probably specifically chose how he looked, right? So, unless he did so really rushed and somehow made a mistake while doing so (which he might not be able to risk the structural damage of correcting), keeping the wings was a conscious decision. Does Grian just not associate his wings with the Watchers or is it something else? Does he just really enjoy having wings?

HELLO I AM SO GLAD YOU'VE ASKED THIS BECAUSE I HAVE ‼️‼️‼️‼️ MANY THOUGHTS ABOUT IT ‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️

Okay okay so these are all SUCH valid questions, lemme go through them one by one. Wings are indeed something anyone could have if they wanted to code them in-- and in fact, i do believe many other Players have wings throughout the universe!!! As far as body mods go, i like to think of them as decently popular, so its definitely not anything too weird to see. In chapter 5, i even make a mention to Pearl having moth wings she occasionally codes in due to preference!!! So wings of many different types are definitely available-- but the catch is that they're real fiddly to code. You cant just give yourself wings, you have to code in the bone structure, the muscles, the tendons, etc etc, and then you have to change your entire body structure as well to work with and fully support them. They can be awkward and unwieldy, as ive tried to show in the fic itself, and i think that alone can be a big discouragement for Players considering coding in wings, along with the sheer coding effort needed to obtain them and make them functional

And the thing is, elytra already exist-- they're far more compact, they dont take up as much space, you can take them on and off super easily without having to mess with your coding, and they basically do the same thing. Sure, its a pain to get one, but a lot of Players really enjoy the sense of accomplishment, and i think theres a bit of cultural prestige too in that regard. Server milestones are a huge thing in Player culture, and getting your first pair of elytra is a big one!!! So it makes sense to me that people who just dont want to go through the effort of coding in wings (which can then in turn complicate how they code other future modifications) primarily stick to elytra.

And everybody is different-- some people prefer attributes that arent wings. I like to think everyone in hermitcraft generally is a mix of "jeez thats effort, i could be building my base instead of doing that" and "eh im fine how i am, i like it" and "well we have elytra shops everywhere so why bother".

So in short, yeah!! Wings are a bit complex to code in. They're still pretty popular, i think plenty of Players do choose to incorporate them, but it takes a lot of hard and thorough work to make sure they function right and wont bug you out when you use them. There are billions of Players scattered across the universe, so what you're seeing in the fic right now is truly just a drop in the ocean when it comes to Player body diversity :] and then, elytra basically already help Players achieve a form of flight without the hassle of recoding their entire body structure, so i think the majority of Players just prefer to use them instead.

AS FOR GRIAN'S WINGS IN PARTICULAR......

Well..... its complicated. Particularly his feelings about them-- in the fic, i referenced them as the only good thing the Watchers ever gave him, and thats how he sees it, i think: a thin silver lining. He's had many, many years to get used to them, and i think he goes through periods where he hates them and the memories attached, too. Ultimately, he's kinda stuck with them, so i think he hit a form of acceptance (as bitter-tinged as it may be) out of sheer necessity for his own sanity.

As for why he has them, and hasnt coded them out: i think of it as a particular quirk of biology/structural coding. Watchers have a more instinctive way of coding than Players, but a Player-minded Watcher is still going to think like a Player, and thats going to muddle things a lot. Grian essentially had to relearn how to code, in a way that satisfied both Player and Watcher-style coding, and the results at first were.... a little rough around the edges. Once he managed to finally take on his original former appearance, the wings from his true form just kind of.... stuck. I like to think it took a few increasingly desperate tries before he realized he just could not figure out how to get rid of them (bc of how different his new code was), and had to accept that this was just how he was gonna have to live for a while until he finally figured it out. And then, well.... you can get used to anything, if you're stuck with it long enough. I think after a while it just stopped being a huge priority, and then he reached a point where it would be more awkward to live without them than with them, and he eventually dropped the idea altogether. And i think sometimes, they function almost like a scar, to him-- a reminder of what he went through, yes, but a reminder that he did manage to escape. And, ofc, he also just really, really likes flying skdjskdjdj

So yeah, loads of complicated feelings there about his wings, and its stuff i do plan on exploring later in the fic!!! This got a little rambly, but i hope this makes sense and answers your questions!!!! :D its a fun little complicated knot that im glad someone has gotten curious enough to ask about!!!!

[valiant-if]

So listen.

I've been replaying Dragon Age: Inquisition, which I actually started doing before Veilguard's release date was announced, so it's just convenient that I've been doing so, but I've put a total of somewhere over 2000 hours into playing DAI since it came out in 2014, so I haven't been in any rush to get through it.

I'm petsitting this weekend, and I decided that I might want to play it, so I copied over my mods and the ReShade I was using onto a drive so that I could play the game on my laptop with the same mods and settings.

And I went to do Dorian's personal quest last night, and Halward Pavus walked down the fucking stairs, and I was like, "Who the HELL is THAT?" Because his face was totally different. Like, completely, staggeringly different. And I thought I had noticed that Loghain looked weird too, but I was like, eh, maybe I just imagined it. But then Halward Pavus absolutely threw me, I was like, no there's gotta be something wrong with my mods.

So I went hunting, right? Cuz I don't have any mods that alter the appearance of NPCS outside of one that changes Blackwall's hair, so I was like, wtf is changing these faces? I removed all my mods and still had the issues, so I was like, oh my god, is the copy of the DAI Mod Manager that I'm using laced with some mods without telling me? Did the official patch from the mod manager fuck up my game?

So I did a clean install of the game, and his face was still fucking weird. So I figured, oh well, it's not like it matters that much to me, it's just fucking strange, like, he looks like he's young enough to be Dorian's brother.

So I continued playing for a few hours, and then it occurred to me... I have never played DAI on this laptop before, so who knows what the graphics settings were set to? Sure enough, they were defaulted at medium even though this laptop is capable of ultra, so I changed the settings and went back to an autosave of the scene, and sure enough it was just the graphics settings causing the problem.

Which is still absolutely fucking wild, because lowering the graphics didn't just smooth some of the textures and use a lower poly count, it turned Halward Pavus into a completely different person. I have never seen graphics settings change how a character looks so drastically before. I'm still absolutely thrown by how fucking weird he looked.

If you have only ever played Inquisition on medium settings or lower, I beg of you to look at his screenshot on the wiki or something, he literally looks nothing like his lower-graphics self.

So anyway, I wasted 45 minutes trying to fix a mod issue that never existed. The end.

[remyfire]

Just wanted to chime in agreement re: fishing in video games. My friend introduced me to Stardew Valley and I basically did all of her fishing for her because I was obsessed, and then bought the game for myself so I could fish as much as I liked. It deeply confuses me that most everyone who plays sdv thinks fishing sucks, but, eh, skill issue.

I LOVE this for you!!! It's such a finicky, tricky system at the beginning that requires that tight concentration and I kind of wonder if it was giving my ADHD something to just hone in all my brain cells on if I wanted to do it really, really well. It scratches such a specific itch, right?

Like don't get me wrong, I'm all for people using mods to make games more accessible and ultimately more fun for them because that's what games are for—enjoyment—but it is admittedly very weird for one of your favorite parts of the game to be the one that everyone mods to hell and back fhkfsd

[you-hate-time-travel]

What are your favorite Felt headcanons? I see way too many headcanons for the Beta Cast/Alpha Kids and not nearly enough for The Felt.

God, the Intermissions are slept on so criminally hard…

Looks at you with my beautiful eyes Hiiiiii. tysm for this ask ^_^ okok here we go. theyre kinda hard to headcanon stuff for compared to the kids and trolls because like. theyre all weird fucked up adults and not teenagers who could feasibly play minecraft or something

itchy drives a pontiac firebird. its filled with empty redbull cans, pocket knives, things like that. hes not very tidy. also i have a lot of car headcanons they could have their own post tbh

^ that but probably yellow with racing stripes, modded to hell and back with chipped paint and bullet holes

stitch is blind in his stitched eye! the eyelid on that side is always a little drooped down too.

and deuce is hard of hearing. get this man some fucking ear protection jeeze

quarters is autistic but doesnt think so

biscuits is transfem! this one isnt actually very unpopular! well, ok. i have very low standards. i've seen it like three times

actually identities and such are their own whole post. my headcanons are fairly extensive

actually heres one for powers: eggs' clones arent him from the future, time-loop wise, theyre just Copies of him from whatever time they were from. its complicated and stupid and confusing. true to canon! except that i deliberately ignore canon with this one. peep my url.

all of these headcanons are just things i cant figure out where else to say. lol

also as i posted about earlier im CONSIDERING* crowbar ocd. *considering as in basically headcanon it already but im just shyly sliding it across the table to you guys

uhhh what else. AW YEAH CHARMS! still workin on my charm post but eggs and biscuits are in like. five or six charms together. thats Too Many. Thats Not Good. they somehow make it work though. godbless👍

that's all i got for now! ive got more in different categories but eh. these'll do for now. Thank you so much for asking!!! i'm no damn good at just starting talking so these asks are really nice to get ^_^ also hater moment but YEAH!!! NOT ENOUGH ATTENTION FOR MY GUYS IN THIS FANDOM!!!

[retphienix]

I like how I'm already seeing "Best trait" opinions for Abiotic Factor-

A game in early access with VERY FEW traits to pick and the volatility of potential balance updates

-that are almost on par with PZ opinions- where there are obviously some good choices, some bad choices, and then everything else is technically gameplay dependent but for some reason EVERYONE is opinionated and will say "Objectively this is garbage" when it's not or "Objectively this is the best trait" when it's mid and I think it's funny.

Anyways I think Fannypack is one of the worst perks because the hotbar weight mechanic just straight up doesn't matter and spending 10 points for 2 hotbar slots is stupid. I mean for 4 points you can have 15% more carry cap and +1 strength which I'd say is reasonably priced for what you get if weight management is what you care about.

But why listen to me because I ALSO think Lead Belly is worth 8 points because it takes an entire aspect of management out of the game + lightens that management for the team (doesn't matter for long but still nice) + It's funny as fucking hell to go "Ah, I'm thirsty" and then just start fucking CHUGGING chlorine water from the pool.

8 points for that RP value is so worth.

Anyways, I hope the traits get buffed out (as in number) over time, or that mod support gives them love, because making wacky character concepts in PZ is fun as hell and this game feels like it could benefit from that :)

As is, almost all of the positive perks are "Eh, that really, really doesn't matter" and the negatives are like "Oh that's annoying, oh THAT ONE just locks you out of half the game- oof" it's kinda weird.

You can make your guy really shitty and incapable of leveling their offensive skills, but then you can't spend those points on anything worthwhile because there just aren't any interesting positives.

Early access and also this is not where the fun is currently at lol

The game itself is fun as hell- I'm just thinking that it's funny to see "BEST BUILD" concepts for a game with like 4 reasonable choices that amount to "I can level up faster and need less food (in a game with infinite food)" at best lol

I mean two of the most impactful options that aren't the 20% bonus XP are "+3 damage on melee" which won't scale to anything that matters and "be slightly more stealthy" which is at the very least gameplay dependent- that COULD matter.

Give me more fun positive options >:) hehe

[gstdaisuki]

Part 2: A Discovery with Paul Hutchinson

In the middle of asking some questions via email, Paul discovered the source files for several modules that we had both assumed were lost. This was quite an exciting moment, so I wanted to share it separately.

the previous interview was formatted to remove the interleaved blocks of quoted text. this is presented in a more raw format, as I think that shows the discovery process better.

from anosci, Mar 11, 2024, 7:01PM

I had some more music questions.

The first two X-Men games had 33 and 45 RPM options for all of the music. Do you remember how that made it into the game? Because after hearing your tales of pirate radio and record shop digging, I feel pretty confident that this speed-select design was your idea!

Also, you previously shared the Amiga modules from X-Men 3, before the conversion to Game Gear data. I believe that X-Men 3 was your final Game Gear game. Was the "Amiga -> MIDI data" technique a new process, or did you do that for every preceding Game Gear game?

from Paul Hutchinson, Mar 11, 2024, 8:51PM

Yes, the 33/45 rpm option was my idea. :) Ed liked it. He keeps saying we should do a game together again, "before we die". And he said it should have a retro flavour, and have weird dance music in it. Maybe one day we will do that, I am up for it. (I am considering doing a Pico-8 title at some point here.)

Hmm. I don't think X-Men 3 was the only Amiga to MIDI data music I did. However, I don't remember when the cross-over was. I would have to go back and check over everything. I'll have a quick look and let you know if I actually find out, eh.

from Paul Hutchinson, Mar 11, 2024, 9:12PM

Ok, so I checked the ASM files. X-Men 1-3 all have music derived from Amiga MOD files. There is text denoting the MOD title, and names of the samples which were used in the MOD. If you are interested in more on that I can dig a bit more, and get you those names. They are samples from records I had at the time (Art Of Noise, Linx, etc.). Obviously, the Game Gear instruments were not the same sound.

from anosci, Mar 11, 2024, 10:12PM

I'm curious, at least! I'd love to hear the original MODs but I assume you were only able to find X-Men 3

from Paul Hutchinson, Mar 12, 2024, 9:04AM

Music! …

Ok, this is getting interesting. I see "babybeat" in the list of MODs used in X-Men 1. I found a playlist on YT with 10 tracks. In the menu of the game there are 8 tracks to preview. Track 10 on the playlist is 08 on the menu. Given the heartbeat type sound I hear, that is the most likely candidate for "babybeat". Obviously, since there are 10 tracks in the playlist, and there are 10 references to MOD in the code, all of the tunes in the code were used in the game. Now I am not certain about the connection of this particular tune to "Midnight (Live)" by Orbital. It could be that it is another track that I posted, because I posted quite a few. Hmm. It's what my memory says, but I could be wrong? In any case, it means that "babybeat" as a MOD was transferred from Amiga to PC. There is a chance I have it on the CD from 1999. I just need to find that, again. The MODs do sound quite different from the GG tunes, because it is samples vs sound-chip noises. I just tried to make something that sounded good enough when converted to GG format. There are no samples, for one thing, and the tempo is different. I had made some tunes on my Amiga, and then decided to present them as potential tracks for X-Men 1, and they were accepted (for subsequent X-Men titles I made tracks specifically, as denoted by the titles of the MODs). Normally, Sega would have a musician compose tracks for a game (in MIDI).

In-browser play of X-Men https://archive.org/details/gg_X-Men_1993_Sega Key 1 to start, arrow keys to navigate, and left-CTRL to play tune

Silence = 00

X-Men playlist, 10 tracks, (at 45 RPM?) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUmRxFtMhfI&list=PLw5ZGhvK7sSLqfx4HdldmkLPdFpM3pqFY Track 1 = 01 Track 4 = 02 Track 6 = 03 Track 5 = 04 Track 7 = 05 Track 3 = 06 Track 2 = 07 Track 10 = 08

So, Track 8 and Track 9 (in the playlist) are not playable via the GG menu. Hmm. Title Screen and Ending Theme. Maybe we left off the Ending Theme because it was supposed to be a reward for finishing? Unless you just get it anyway, at Game Over (I do not recall). The Title Screen theme is just there. Oh, well.

In X-Men 1 … ;MOD Title is: renaissancegg Samples = adamski2.raw ;chahihat.raw ;ahh.raw ;drum7 ;19hat ;tr909snare ;bassdeep.raw ;minor4 ;MOD Title is: babybeat Samples = shaker ;animate-bass ;aon-bongo1.raw ;GGbdrum.raw ;AoN-drm3.raw ;moog2 ;drumwack.raw ;SoSbass1.raw ;SoSstring2.raw ;SRdrm2.raw ;CHAhihat.raw ;MOD Title is: outgg Samples = drum7 ;BHbass1.raw ;BHbass2.raw ;cymbal-crash ;chahihat.raw ;crash.raw ;jb-hhmed.raw ;hypnobass.raw ;BHacid1.raw ;BHacid2.raw ;BHacid3.raw ;out_there.raw ;MOD Title is: itchgg Samples = linxvox.raw ;AoN-perc1.raw ;AoN-drm5.raw ;AoN-drm3.raw ;dancer-vox.raw ;dancer-synth1.raw ;scratch.raw ;KRAYScratch.raw ;cymbalong.raw ;hihat1 ;organ.raw ;drumanvil.raw ;MOD Title is: fishgg Samples = Freq5.raw ;crash.raw ;DT4AAdrum2.raw ;DT4AAdrum.raw ;Freq1.raw ;SBpiano2.raw ;cymbalong.raw ;model500-cymop.raw ;futuresnare2 ;wavehi.raw ;N-JOImindflux.raw ;MOD Title is: trouzgg Samples = DT4AAdrum.raw ;hihat1 ;DT4AAbass2.raw ;2U-4.raw ;hihatop1 ;DT4AA6.raw ;zoo7.raw ;where'smytrousers.raw ;zoo8.raw ;ere.raw ;yaseenem.raw ;theretheyare.raw ;MOD Title is: joygg Samples = N-JOImf1.raw ;N-JOI-5.raw ;N-JOIph1.raw ;N-JOI-2.raw ;JBdrum2.raw ;N-JOIrz1.raw ;N-JOIrz2.raw ;N-JOIrz3.raw ;jb-hhmed.raw ;MOD Title is: ramgg Samples = N-JOIph1.raw ;aon-drm5.raw ;model500-cymop.raw ;model500-cymcl.raw ;model500-clap.raw ;drumwack.raw ;2U-6.raw ;hold ;hold (offset tone) ;MOD Title is: turbogg Samples = beep1.raw ;beep2.raw ;beep3.raw ;beep4.raw ;gunshot ;2U-3.raw ;chahihat3.raw ;spliffclap2 ;snare ;stick.raw ;zoo1.raw ;2U-2.raw ;DT4AA6.raw ;MOD Title is: xravegg Samples = EBputv.raw ;JBhitme.raw ;shamen-guitar1.raw ;shamen-guitar2.raw ;SoSbass2.raw ;s&pcots.raw ;mtxpling.raw ;orch.hit ;bassdrum16 ;bassdrum7 ;breaksnareclap ;closehihat ;cymbal-crash ;tap.raw

Naming of samples … Adamski, CHA = Crown Heights Affair, AoN = Art Of Noise, BH = Bassheads, JB = James Brown, Linx (David Grant), KRAYScratch is a sample from "The Krays" film ("Stop all that scratchin', you're making me bloody itch!", "Where's my trousers?" is another sample from same, I think), N-Joi, Model 500, Shamen, SoS = S.O.S. Band, zoo = "Zoo Rave" compilation CD, 2U = 2Unlimited, DT4AA = "Don't Techno For An Answer" compilation CD

Bassheads - Is There Anybody Out There Adamski - NRG Model 500 - Sound Of Stereo

In X-Men 2 … ;MOD Title is: level1b Samples = akaiclosedhh ;bassdrum ;snare1 ;hihat-2ud2 ;808synth.raw ;amaski1.raw ;N-JOIph1.raw ;MOD Title is: level1 Samples = akaiclosedhh ;bassdrum7 ;snare1 ;hihat-2ud2 ;aon-vox6.raw ;amaski1.raw ;N-JOIph1.raw ;MOD Title is: level2 Samples = akaiclosedhh ;bassdrum7 ;snare1 ;hihat-2ud2 ;808synth.raw ;amaski1.raw ;N-JOIph1.raw ;BHacid1.raw ;MOD Title is: level3 Samples = akaiclosedhh ;bassdrum7 ;snare1 ;hihat-2ud2 ;808synth.raw ;amaski1.raw ;N-JOIph1.raw ;BHacid1.raw ;MOD Title is: level4 Samples = akaiclosedhh ;bassdrum ;snare1 ;hihat-2ud2 ;808synth.raw ;amaski1.raw ;N-JOIph1.raw ;BHacid1.raw ;MOD Title is: level5 Samples = akaiclosedhh ;bassdrum7 ;snare1 ;hihat-2ud2 ;808synth.raw ;amaski1.raw ;N-JOIph1.raw ;BHacid1.raw ;MOD Title is: level6 Samples = akaiclosedhh ;bassdrum7 ;snare1 ;hihat-2ud2 ;808synth.raw ;amaski1.raw ;N-JOIph1.raw ;BHacid1.raw ;MOD Title is: level7 Samples = akaiclosedhh ;bassdrum7 ;snare1 ;hihat-2ud2 ;808synth.raw ;amaski1.raw ;N-JOIph1.raw ;BHacid1.raw ;MOD Title is: level8 Samples = akaiclosedhh ;bassdrum7 ;snare1 ;hihat-2ud2 ;808synth.raw ;amaski1.raw ;N-JOIph1.raw ;BHacid1.raw ;MOD Title is: level9 Samples = akaiclosedhh ;bassdrum7 ;snare1 ;hihat-2ud2 ;808synth.raw ;amaski1.raw ;N-JOIph1.raw ;BHacid1.raw ;MOD Title is: level10 Samples = bassdrum28 ;animate-bass ;koto ;closedhi ;hihat-2ud2 ;snare25

In X-Men 3 … ;MOD Title is: x3l1 Samples = akaiclosedhh ;bassdrum7 ;snare1 ;hihat-2ud2 ;BHbass2.raw ;amaski1.raw ;eurostring.raw ;MOD Title is: x3l2 Samples = akaiclosedhh ;bassdrum7 ;snare1 ;hihat-2ud2 ;BHbass2.raw ;amaski1.raw ;eurostring.raw ;MOD Title is: x3l3 Samples = 909.ophi ;hip.snare ;breakdrum ;cymbal1 ;polysynth ;strings6 ;tubestring ;tricky.raw ;MOD Title is: x3l4 Samples = 909.ophi ;hip.snare ;breakdrum ;cymbal1 ;shamen-keys.raw ;tttt-bass1.raw ;goodpling ;inner ;funbass ;MOD Title is: x3l5 Samples = 909.ophi ;hip.snare ;breakdrum ;cymbal1 ;animate-bass ;sequencer ;pizza2 ;N-JOIph1.raw ;tricky.raw ;MOD Title is: x3l6 Samples = 909.ophi ;hip.snare ;breakdrum ;cymbal1 ;bassguitar.funk ;digdug ;exbells ;reflex ;MOD Title is: x3l7 Samples = 909.ophi ;hip.snare ;breakdrum ;cymbal1 ;polysynth ;strings6 ;bell11 ;digdug ;growl2 ;MOD Title is: x3l8 Samples = 909.ophi ;drum7 ;comadrum ;cymbal1 ;comasynth1 ;comasynth2 ;ex800bass ;hitbass ;MOD Title is: x3l9 Samples = 909.ophi ;hip.snare ;breakdrum ;cymbal1 ;dang ;dbassic.raw ;dbassic2.raw ;d-50.res1 ;d-50.res2 ;d-50.res3 ;d-50.res4 ;d-50.res5 ;junob3 ;sequencer ;synth1 ;MOD Title is: x3l10 Samples = 909.ophi ;hip.snare ;breakdrum ;cymbal1 ;koto07 ;bass37 ;Sample10_04 ;perco ;hitbass ;licks ;MOD Title is: x3l11 Samples = hip.snare ;breakdrum ;cymbal1 ;strings3majfl ;sinecz ;shamus ;pling ;tinewave ;synbrass

Probably more info than was necessary, eh. But I learned something! :D

from anosci, Mar 12, 2024, 4:57PM

this is interesting!

First of all, it's rare that game music has titles! They're not quite matched up with the order of the songs in the sound test, but that's still neat to know.

plus it confirms my interpretation that these were rave / dance inspired tunes!

I could believe that 08 in the sound test menu is "babybeat". It has a pretty soft melody, befitting of the title and theme, I think.

This also paints an interesting picture. Tell me if this lines up with your memories:

You had to write the music for Spiderman vs The Kingpin, so you hunkered down and used whatever tools you had.

Then when you learned you had to do the music for X-Men as well, you wanted something easier to work with, 

so you proposed converting the MODs you'd already written.

...and then you stuck with that process for the next two games

>  Unless you just get it anyway, at Game Over (I do not recall).

I checked, and you get the the (presumed?) "babybeat" track at Game Over

from Paul Hutchinson, Mar 12, 2024, 8:41PM

Yes, that's about it, as best as I can remember. I got pretty used to ProTracker.

Yes, at Game Over.

I listened to both tracks to try and compare. It's difficult, because the tempo is very different, the waveforms are very different, and the instruments are totally different. I really need to find that disc, because if I can hear my original MOD it will help clarify if my memory is correct.

from anosci, Mar 13, 2024, 12:31PM

I suppose the obvious follow-up question would be: do you remember how you wrote the tunes for Spiderman vs. The Kingpin?

from Paul Hutchinson, Mar 13, 2024, 3:07PM

Joergen Bech wrote the sound subroutines, we worked together at Inner Prise (I think he is Swedish). I am pretty sure that the music was just composed using those subroutines. As in, just typing it all up, into the assembler file. It was a bit laborious to say the least. There are no other tools to write the music. I looked at the code, and there is no mention of anything other than the code itself. Less than ideal, eh. But then, I am the type of programmer that will convert a C64 loading screen to an Amstrad loading screen, by typing in all the numbers defining each pixel (and getting it right). I did that for Druid (or Druid II, I forget which). Just brute forced it. I got Firebird to provide a print out of all the numbers for the C64 screen, and I converted them myself, and typed in the Amstrad equivalent. I think I got 250 quid for that, it was not fun, but maybe worth the cash, eh.

For Chakan, there was a composer who provided MIDI files. I wrote a conversion program to convert the MIDI into the format that the sound subroutines could use. Much easier, and I did not have to come up with the music myself.

Then for X-Men I added a MOD to MIDI converter, I think. Then ran that through the MIDI to sound subroutine format.

I am looking through the code some more ...

Breaking news ... I just found a bunch of MOD files inside the Sega > TC > Prog folder. OMG! Stand by for those ... (BabyBeat!)

from anosci, Mar 13, 2024, 6:17PM

Typing music straight into an ASM file was shockingly common back then, so I believe it.

> I just found a bunch of MOD files inside the Sega > TC > Prog folder.

!!!!

excitedly but patiently waiting to hear these!

from Paul Hutchinson, Mar 13, 2024, 7:43PM

Hallelujah! :D

Okay, we have the original pre-conversion MOD files for X-Men 1 & 2. They are not the original MOD files. These have been modified to fit the conversion process, in order to get a decent sounding composition on the Game Gear. I have removed some samples from being played, even though they are probably still included in the sample set. I have substituted some samples for others, in order to get a better result. However, you do get a decent idea of how it all worked. This might be as close as we can get, but I will keep looking, eh. I also included some MODs that were in the same folder, but are not mine. A couple from the "Jesus On E's" Amiga demo, as well as the "Coma" demo. Figured you might find them interesting too. I might have borrowed samples from those MODs to make my own.

I have to say I was quite emotional when I saw those MODs in the Turbo-C++ folder. Never expected them to be there this whole time. Hearing "Babybeat" again after all these years. Man. Thanks for getting me to look into all this, I would not have known they were there otherwise. Cheers! :)

3 attachments:

Xmen-Extras.7z

Xmen2MODs.7z

XmenMODs.7z

from anosci, Mar 13, 2024, 9:52PM

I cross-referenced the songs with the titles as they appear in smspower.com (here and here)

X-Men baby    -> Mandripoor fishgg  -> Brood Cave itchgg  -> The Savage Land joygg   -> Boss outgg   -> Morlock Tunnel ramgg   -> Game Over renaiss -> The Hellfire Club trouzgg -> Avalon turbogg -> Ending xravegg -> Title

X-Men 2 level1 -> Arctic level1b-> The Danger Room level2 -> The Hellfire Club level3 -> Genosha level4 -> Avalon level5 -> Egyptian Base Part 1 level6 -> Egyptian Base Part 2 level7 -> Stryfe's Moon Base level8 -> Boss level9 -> Ending level10-> Title

critically speaking, I think most of these start with a solid idea that then gets a bit buried. but it's an amazing piece of context. a lot of the rave timbre was lost in the gamegear conversion. it's amazing to hear it put back, so to speak!

I can see why you fondly remembered babybeat. I think that might be your strongest tune here. that and "OUTGG" (or at least, those two are my favorites)

I love seeing that you got something cool out of my barrage of questions and curiosity, too :)

digging around some more... "JOYGG" is an odd one: the pitch bends didn't transfer to the Game Gear. though I'm not sure my own playback is accurate... there's a lot of out-of-key samples that sound fine after the Game Gear conversion. Strange.

comparing babybeat to orbital's "Midnight (Live)"... the two have a similar push-pull rhythm rhythm in the bass, but I wouldn't call them the same. 

though I could easily imagine the similarities causing a fan of one song to raise their eyebrow at the other. 

from Paul Hutchinson, Mar 14, 2024, 8:26AM

Cool.

Yeah, the "missing link" MODs do not sound as good as either the originals, or the final GG version.

Oh, and I actually wrote a Pro-Tracker to GG format conversion program (DOS), no in-between conversion. I think there was, at some point, a dual set up, but I decided to make it simpler. The dual set up would have been a legacy from when I had to write a MIDI to GG format, for Chakan. I only have the final set of tools in my Turbo-C++ directory, none of the tools I used previously.

I agree with your assessment of the tune similarity. I think at some point I got it into my head they were more similar, and then that just became what I remembered. I am getting older too, so that is a factor. I am only human after all.

from anosci, Mar 14, 2024, 7:02PM

Never let the truth get in the way of a good story, right? ;)

from Paul Hutchinson, Mar 14, 2024, 8:39PM

Well, I am kind of big on telling the truth, tbh. I do acknowledge that I can (and do) get things wrong though. I remember when I was a kid, I swore that the words on a TV advert were "It's full of peppery goodness", when in fact, it was "It's full of Cadbury goodness" (the ad was for Cadbury's Finger of Fudge). I really believed that was what it said, and it did not matter what everyone else said it was. I was honest about my position, I was just completely and totally wrong. :D

[grapecaseschoices]

If u don't mind me asking how have u been finding bg3. I wanna get it for myself, so I would love to know how u r finding it so far. ❤️

Overall, I enjoy it. I think the art is beautiful and the characters are all interesting [even the ones I dislike or am eh about]. I find the villains - thus far - compelling. It is VERY easy to get lost in. And I love, love, LOVE the character creator. I can waste so much time on it [and whew discovering dyes and getting into part three and buying outfits??]

Mods make it more enjoyable, imo. Though I am wary about adding more [I don't know if I am just downloading too many - I only have three! - or if I made a booboo in downloading but it acts up my PTs at times. But not too frequently]. It does also take a lot of energy. I believe the new laptop I got meets most, if not all, of the best qualifications and my laptop still sounds like it is dying whenever I play it. My mom thought I had bought a fucked up laptop the first time she heard the fan running.

I do have my issues with it - mostly representation-wise. But also storytelling-wise ... and sort of coding-wise? But I feel weird saying the last one because the game already has so much going on ... and I'm not a coder, I feel it is easy to complain on the last part. I WILL SAY the things they consider never fails to blow my mind. I remember one time I had Kendis stack up some material to block out [redacted] and even when the camera zoomed out of it and focused on their face, you could see in the bg that the outline of their 'tower' was still the same.

I also love the various dialogues they have. I found out from youtube that someone made Shadowheart a bard -- and they have lines for her with vicious mockery [which I believe is something clerics don't usually have] and it is wild the thought and detail!

I feel over all it is very good, not perfect but dang good, for replayability -- hence why I have so many MCs. There are certain things that sorta happen the same - though that may be a limit of my imagination - but there are plenty of little [and big] details that crop up d/t decisions I've made as I RP my character, their class, their powers in some playthroughs that weren't in others. So you get surprised, you get variation. I think it is enjoyable. I don't know if it is worth the cost because 1. I don't know your status and 2. again i DO have some issues. But my only regret in buying it is how I've let it consume my time .... not that I was doing much before that lmao.

[evansblues]

Thanks you for that detailed retelling. She put her hand on his stomach? It angers me when other women, who know what it’s like to be creeped on, touch men in ways that would be over the line if it were another woman. Don’t put your hand on someone else’s stomach. That’s overly familiar and you wouldn’t think it was ok if someone did it to you. You���re right, he needs better boundaries.//

Yes Mod I agree, but that girl was young and not thinking. I just dislike how much Chris lacks boundaries. He lets people walk over him, give them an opening to use him and then is upset about it. There's pictures from 2012 Details magazine shoot bts where he's hugging and kissing the faces of his makeup artist and publicist. Then from 2014 or 2015 in SDCC where he's so physically touchy with Cobie Smoulders. Look I get those women weren't bothered but also I just kind find it weird, y'know? I even feel like an ass pointing these out because hey, if he's fine and the ladies are fine who am I to judge and act prudish? But this combined with everything about Tara makes me shake my head because goddamn BRO JUST REBUILD YOURSELF DON'T GIVE UP DON'T SETTLE YOU GOT LIFE AND OPPORTUNITIES AT YOUR FINGERTIPS! Idk man if he doesn't change his ways he will end up settling for some lady who is okay with him walking over her and won't question his behaviour and I just feel like he could do better and be better.

Eh, spirit isn’t going to let him settle. I’m getting a lot of annoyed frustration coming through in the readings and bravery in reverse or the fool in reverse are coming up often. It’s not like my cards to just regularly add in an unsolicited opinion and they’re doing it all the time now. He is meant to embody that north node in 8th house Leo energy and be the king he’s destined to be. I’m getting the clear message if he doesn’t start taking himself there himself he’s going to be “guided” there.

Coming into his own will help with him with seeking validation from the adoration of women. He doesn’t need that.

[modded-xcom2-aar]

The Tutorial: Part 2

With utmost priority, Commander began to organize Operation Necrotizing Key.

Dan's Notes: Due to a graphical glitch, two of the soldiers, both of whom normally wear modded-in clothes, appeared in clean-generation outfits. I believe there may be some mod conflicts, as some modded assets were determined to be clean-generation outfits anyways. At the time, I was not permitted to customize soldiers, but this will not be the case after the tutorial section is completed.

Excerpt from Commander Stumpe's Journal:

We were in such a rush to get the mission done that I just told the two closest rookies to slap on whatever the closest pieces of armor they could find lying around and hop in the Skyranger. They seemed a little cheesed off about it, but that's lesson 1 for you: If you wanna wear something besides the basics, you gotta make sure you've got it prepped.

Operation Necrotizing Key After Action Report:

Dan's notes: Not really sure why the game decided the "wilderness of New India" was in the "Greater Anchorage Area", but even without the mod I added that adds more locations, the game is weird about the names of mission locations, often going for a much more general area than wherever it appears on to be on the map.

Central Officer Bradford's Pre-Mission Briefing:

CENTRAL: Communications with resistance forces in the area have gone dark...which can only mean one thing. These people sacrificed everything to give us this shot. We need to recover that converter at all costs.

With the first priority of recruiting the Commander out of the way, the next major mission for reviving XCOM needed to be accomplished: Acquiring an ADVENT power converter needed for base operations.

Prior to undertaking Operation Gatecrasher, regional resistance cells were contacted to find the power converter. Serendipitously, they managed to block the ADVENT convoy meant to deliver the converter to the next location.

Operating in this mission were Squaddie Ranger Jane Kelly, and Rookies Cain Juntley, The Wanderer, and Christopher "Troopz" Taylor.

Dan's Notes: It was at this point going through my footage that I realized that the Steam overlay was on. Whoops! Disabled it between the first and second session.

Enemy forces included ADVENT troops, Officers, and a Sectoid.

Mission Control's notes on the enemy forces:

CENTRAL: The ADVENT Officers seem more capable than the grunts. We're not sure whether to chalk it up to training or stricter mind control. TYGAN: Although they bear some resemblance to the Sectoids first encountered during the invasion, their genetic structure now includes human DNA. They're stronger than ever with an even greater psionic potential. COMMANDER: Oh jeez, those sectoids are real scary now, eh? I miss the old ones, they were a lot cuter and way less of a threat.

The combat began with The Wanderer ambushing a Troop and an Officer by throwing a grenade at the pod while they were scouting the area on a rooftop.

Commander Stumpe's Notes:

Good old grenades. Guaranteed damage and great for destroying cover. Oldest trick in the book is to land an explosive grenade at a rooftop. If the explosion doesn't kill 'em, the fall will.

Unfortunately, just before Kelly could stabilize the Converter, The Wanderer was mind-controlled by the sectoid. While the sectoid hijacked The Wanderer's mind, The Wanderer was dragged over to Cain Juntley and fired on him, killing him in a single burst of fire.

Mercifully, once Kelly had stabilized the converter, she was able to kill the sectoid using her sword.

Commander Stumpe's notes:

Those fellas looked so darn frail. I'd say get 'em a sandwich but they probably eat people. I figure a good whack will hurt them way more than a gunshot.

Dan's notes: Sectoids have a weakness to melee attacks and can easily be oneshotted by any melee class.

With the converter stabilized and ripe for the taking, the mission was considered a success.

For surviving the mission, Troopz and The Wanderer were both promoted to Squaddie. Troopz decided to specialize as a Sharpshooter, while The Wanderer took the path of the Stormrider.

Bradford's Notes:

Just like it sounds, our sharpshooters engage enemy targets with pinpoint accuracy from extreme range. They're also trained in pistol marksmanship for the occassional close encounter.

Raze's(???) Notes:

We are the ultimate weapon, and we will not rest until every last alien is dead. The Storm is coming, Commander. Let's ride it together.

Dan's Notes: I don't utilize sharpshooters as much as I do other classes, however I find training a sharpshooter in pistol skills to be extremely fun and versatile. Sniping-focused sharpshooters are also handy, but when the game is designed to be focused on pushing forward, it's something I put less focus on.

As for Stormriders, I have only gotten to try them out while doing a test run I did during signup week, but they're pretty interestingly designed as a non-templar melee-only class. No idea who Raze is.

In addition to our key objective, XCOM managed to recover an expanded magazine. And as according to original XCOM procedures, bodies were collected and placed into cold storage.

Tygan: These items should prove useful in our ongoing efforts against the aliens. When you have a moment, Commander, I've made some interestesting discoveries as they relate to the implant we removed from you earlier.

Dan's Notes: Forgot to check the loot descriptions for the other pick-ups during the recording. Will see if I can find them later.

Tutorial Geoscape: Part 2

Personnel Logs:

The Wanderer and Kelly sat in the bar. While it was a nice place to relax, it also served as a memorial for all those lost in the fight against ADVENT. Osei, Rodriguez, and Juntley's portraits had been taken and placed on it. This wasn't the only memorial. There was another, much larger one that was dedicated to any original XCOM members that had been lost during the original invasion, which was kept off of The Avenger and in the resistance haven the Avenger was currently docked in, and many resistance havens kept their own personal memorials. Death was a constant risk for those who chose to deny the Elders. The Wanderer had gotten their usual headgear back on: A gasmask and a hat that was good for keeping the sun out of their eyes. They had a special tape deck they liked to use instead of speaking. Not because it was practical or tactical, they just found it aesthetically pleasing. If they needed to explain things more thoroughly, they had other means. Signing. Tablets. A whiteboard if absolutely necessary. Tactical signing was more handy when prepping an ambush anyways. Kelly had her head in her hands. Three operatives were dead in one night. It's not that she wasn't used to death, but on some level she was frustrated with herself. Scouting further away from the convoy, there was no way could've gotten to the Sectoid before The Wanderer started firing on Juntley. She downed another shot. The Wanderer tapped on her shoulder. They began signing to her. She was drunk, but she was familiar enough with signing that she could get the gist. Mind control was like a bad dream, they signed. You could see what you were doing and feel what you were doing, but you couldn't control it. With a dream, you could wake up and remind yourself there's no way any of that could've happened. When you were freed of mind control, you just had to live with whatever the controller decided on. "You know," she said aloud, for she was too sluggish to try signing herself, "I checked the reports and the footage and the stuff. If I, If I had tried shooting him, I don't think it would've worked. Would've missed, or it would've hit and that asshole would keep moving Juntley around. It's not your fault, it's not my fault, it's just," She readjusted her position so she could lean her back against the counter. "It's just like, circrumstatial bullshit. And that fuckin' sectoid The Wanderer nodded. They pulled out the tape record and pressed a button. "[Thank you for your time.]" Said the recorder. They offered her their hand. And then they started arm wrestling, because Kelly was drunk and didn't realize it was supposed to be a handshake.

Jane Kelly and The Wanderer developed the start of a friendship together.

Commander Stumpe was summoned to Engineering to speak with Chief Engineer Lily Shen.

Excerpt from Commander Stumpe's Personal Journal:

Shen's gone? Darn shame...well, I knew it wasn't particularly likely he'd survive 20 years of an alien empire. But his daughter looks like she's got a good head on her shoulders. Love those little robots she's got flying all over the place.

SHEN: I can't promise any miracles, Commander, but I should be able to put some of this stuff together in no time at all. I'd suggest we get started with a medikit, it'll probably come in handy sooner rather than later.

Dan's notes: Medikits are a massive boon in the battlefield. I highly suggest keeping at least two on hand, one for the combat unit and one for the reconnaissance unit. At this point in the game they're very limited, but that won't be the case once we get Specialists in our roster.

Commander Stumpe was quickly thereafter summoned to Research, where Tygan had made completed his research on the implant chip.

From Commander Stumpe's personal journal:

He's right. I can't really explain it, but it was like I was in some kinda endless war commanding endless missions. Every so often it felt like victory had been achieved only to find myself back at the beginning. Kinda like when there's only reruns on TV. I wonder if TV's still around? That's beside the point, I guess. When it was happening I couldn't really tell I was in a loop. It just sorta happened, ya know? Wonder how much of it was real. I remember we had mech troops and gene splicing and every so often you could get a psi soldier. Not to mention all those battles with EXALT. I wonder if they were just simulations or if I was really commanding alien soldiers with an XCOM paint job. Pretty scary stuff.

With the research efforts completed, the Commander went about ordering the next research project, Modular Weapons.

Commander Stumpe's notes:

The most important thing to prioritize are the guns. It's not good when a soldier gets shot to pieces, but the best defense is a good offense. If the enemy goes down before they get a shot in, that's a soldier that never got shot to begin with.

Shortly thereafter, the commander returned to the bridge, where more developments occurred.

Excerpt from Commader Stumpe's personal journal:

Ya know, one of the things people say when they're flying is "I can see my house from here!" Course, we didn't fly over Manitoba, and even if we did my house is probably a crater nowadays. But it was pretty exciting! We'll be flying all over the place now, so I'll have to get used to that. And the cramped quarters. Reminds me of the old days with the UN.

END OF PART 2

Dan's notes: Unfortunately, I accidentally set off another mod-based glitch during mission select that softlocked the game, so the first recording session ended here. Expect more updates soon!

[4ragon]

Eh fuck it, since we don't know how long Twitter is going to last, I'm going to start randomly posting my thoughts on random ass video games here. Here's all the shit I've been playing a bunch recently.

Portal Reloaded: I legit don't know if this is an official Portal dlc or just a mod, but it's free, and it's so much fun. Do you like Portal? Do you want Portal Hard Mode (TM TM TM)? Get this funky little game. It's not quite as funny as the OG, but man are the puzzles Tough.

Divinity Original Sin II: Have I played Divinity 1? No. But I am having a ton of fun with this thing. I was not expecting to enjoy myself so much, especially considering my hatred of games with the fucking hotbars, or whatever that little UI thing is at the bottom. At the very least, it's turn based and not real time so I don't find it nearly as obnoxious. I've also been A) doing Multiplayer, and B) using a mod so that I can take all 6 of the named characters with me, which unfortunately does have the tradeoff of making the game a little too easy at times. Also, since you're not suppose to be able to have all of the characters in one playthrough certain characters just straight up will not speak to each other? Which is kind of disappointing. Come on, guys, it's a 60 hour game at minimum, it doesn't have the kind of replayability you think it does.

Professor Layton and the Last Spector: Oh, so THAT'S why plvsaa is like that. I was not expecting to adore these characters as much as I thought I would, but they are just so much fun. I haven't technically been playing, since I'm watching my friend's playthough on twitch, but the puzzle difficulty range is so wild to me. Anything from "What color is the umbrella" to "do some fucking AP Geometry fucko," which I feel like I'd find a bit frustrating, though I guess the worst of it is optional.

Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask (Not Finished): Can't give my final opinions here, but at minimum, the 3D graphics are a huge downgrade. I hate when visual novels decide to switch to 3D graphics. It's never going to be as charming as the sprites! Story-wise, I'm still deeply invested, and theorizing to hell and back is so much fun now that I'm getting into the swing of How Layton Games Do.

Zero Escape 999: Guys. This game drove me absolutely bonkers. I'll love any murder mystery visual novel put in front of me of course, but something about this game... Admittedly, it took me a few hours to get invested. I found the amount of talking a bit exhausting, especially when SO MUCH of it was dedicated to things like "Let's walk through this whole room trying doors, talk about it, and then start trying new doors." Like I don't need to know the logistics of "we're locked in a boat." I don't need to know where everyone is at all times. But once I went through one full playthrough, and could skip a lot of those boring logistical issues, I got SO into trying to figure out what was really happening. They really did give us the exact right amount of information to start figuring out what the Actual Plot was.

Zero Escape Virtue's Last Reward (Not Finished): I'm enjoying myself so much, but somehow, everything kind of feels like a downgrade? The 3D graphics (especially the lip flaps) suck ass, and there's so much stuff that feels like it's pulled from Danganronpa. Guys, I liked Danganronpa. I liked Zero Escape because it WASN'T Danganronpa. I don't know, I've hit my first real ending, so I'm hoping that it's just still waiting to impress me, but the main conflict just feels less personal this time around.

Dragon Age: Origins: I love playing watching my roommate play this game and then letting me make all of the narrative decisions. I just. I hate the gameplay, but the story is fun as heck. There are some weird writing choices, clearly, but the characters are fun to talk to and that's all that matters. It doesn't give me as strong found family vibes as other RPGs, but I still love them anyway.

Disco Elysium: You all know my thoughts on Disco Elysium. I love you Kim. Mostly, I'm just wondering what the fate of a potential sequel is going to be. I both want it and don't, but at the end of the day, if the original creators aren't able to wrest control from that game studio, I just worry the heart isn't going to be in the next one.

[juniperberries-canisroot]

Okay so I leveled up a bit and figured out I can repair my CowBoy Repeater with more CowBoy Repeaters, explored some more and now things don't kill me as easily. I still hate bugs thou. They don't stay FUCKIN STILL.

Anyhoo, I now have a floating robot following me and Boone, both of which are cool but I've already lost ED-E at that Station Charlie place. He for some reason went back INSIDE the building while I was outside. Weird but okay. I activated one of his trigger words, I need to somehow figure out how to activate Posideon or Navajo or some other one. Maybe when I rescue that lady in the Vault she'll say somethin. Pretty sure she's probably dead or gone crazy from the plants and I'm gonna end up fighting her, which she will then be dead.

For some reason the old lady didn't activate anythin when she said HELIOS. Oh well. His quest is also bugged cause bringing him to the ScrapeYard doesn't actually do anythin.

Boone is a damn beast, he says he doesn't do good in close combat and to keep the enemy away from him but TWICE he's one shot killed a human enemy before I could run up to said enemy and use my lovely Chance's Knife. Gotta save bullets. 50cal and 357 aren't easy to find. Also I haven't given Boone anythin, he still has all his standard gear. I need to get him a badass rifle thou.

ED-E who's name I'm not sure how to pronounce, like Eddy or E D E, has insta killed a RadScorpion and somethin else. Also he keeps playing music when I go in combat? Also also he makes an annoying fuzzy static sound when he's nearby. But killing scorpions with a laser is pretty cool so I'll take it.

I still don't know how to fix or mod my guns. My repair is at like 40 and at this point I can't get JuryRigging cause the repair skill needed for that is WAY too high for my playstyle and gun repair kits are very hard to find. I'm near the level cap of 30, I'm at like 20 now and I'm gonna sink the rest of my points into speech, guns and somethin else. I love speech checks. I should have put more points in Intelligence at the begining. I need implants. I'm all vanilla so I can't cap out at 50 with all the DLC. I can't download the DLC cause the Xbox 360 doesn't connect to the internet anymore. Yes I am playing on a second hand XBox, I am amazed it still works. Thou I have noticed loading times are getting longer, considering I've barely explored the map.

I also got ahold of the ANTI MATERIAL RIFLE HELL FUCKIN YEAH! I'M GONNA SNIPE SO MANY BUGS WITH IT!!! I'm poor again but nothing a trip to GoodSprings and exploiting can't fix.

I'm still tryin to find 357 for my CowBoy Repeater thou. Now that I have the AMR I need to stock up on 50cal. I don't like how much the gun sways thou when you hold it. It's not like I don't have the strength needed for it, I have 6 and it requires 6. Maybe I need more guns skill, idk. It's pretty high thou, like 70 maybe. I also don't use VATS alot cause my chances are pretty fuckin low and I've sniped things farther away just using the sights on the CowBoy and Varmit Rifle. No scope cause I still don't know how to make shit. I haven't made anythin for my guns, I would love to make scopes, silencers, longer barrels and lighter stocks, but I really don't know how to do any of that and at this point in the game, I think it's too late. I invested too many points in Melee thinking I was gonna use that more often, cause I was in the begining. I sneak attacked a man with a god damn kitchen knife in GoodSprings and killed him in one hit, yet SOMEHOW my silenced .22 in VATS couldn't take half health off in sneak either. Which is why I put so many points in Melee, (55), cause I thought I was gonna use it more often. So I'm tryin to do that now.

I have a single house, the motel room at Dino-DeeLite in NoVac. There's another house I can get I think that's non faction but eh. I got my nice cheap little motel room, I'm good.

[veryflirtytransportalate]

< Previous > . . . < Next >

"Wow. This is going to be a great story! Just wait till you see this in print. You won't regret this, Blue." - Piper

Oh, Piper. Always there. Always chilling. Always ready for whatever. I cannot stand how she is about me stealing stuff, but other than that we get along great. She runs a newspaper with her little sister, although she's been following me because she wants to publish my story. In exchange, she takes some pics for me to post here. We all win.

She and Dogmeat get along really well. I'm actually kind of confused about Dogmeat on the whole. He's... I met him on the road one day out of the blue, and ever since, he's been following me. I'm not saying we met, got to know each other, I literally looked at him and went, "Hey," and he just made himself my dog. I don't feed him. I pet him, stab him with Stim when he needs it, but I don't know where he gets water from. I've never seen him poop. He can take a .303 round like a champ, too. He is also a vicious murderer who attacks anyone I get into a scrap with. That's true friend material right there and also, maybe, a, robot, I'm suddenly realizing. That's cool, actually, robo-dog. Why do Stimpa-eh they work on Nick too, funk it, like anything else makes any sense here.

Honestly, I get why people are falling over themselves to be with me (see: my legs, my torso, my face), but I'm sometimes weirded out by how into me they can get? And it does not take a long time. Preston made me dad of his local cub scouts after knowing me for fifteen minutes. All I'd done up to that point was get high, kill like two dozen dudes in a suit of armor (I think one of them turned into a dragonman but I was pretty up there), and insult his old lady friend right to her face. Hell, Strong Mad can't stand me, and he still spends all day riding my Red Rocket. ...okay hold on, I just meant he hangs out where I told him to, okay, me and Strong Mad aren't... we... well... let me go to the Red Rocket, and take a good hard look at him, and get back to you. There... may be potential there.

(Outfit credits, my thoughts, and a few more shots below the cut.)

< Previous > . . . < Next >

Cait is here too! I use Koozebane's Loving Cait mod (opens in new tab) to change her general vibe some. Piper's hat is Niero's CROSS_MojaveManhunter mod (opens in new tab).

Fallout 4 companions, dude. I've only ever gotten as far as Virgil's cave so I haven't met most of them, but like... bro, they are in rough shape.

Cait's storyline I think lays it out the best, which is to say, is one of the worst: it combines a desire to tell a deeply empathetic story of sorrow and trauma and regret and redemption, but that desire is so mishandled and poorly considered that it feels more like an insult to people who have lived experiences similar to her's - if you've ever been told 'you're so brave' by someone and suddenly felt a not terribly intense form of insulted, that's the exact emotional response I think this combination elicits. Her description of the physiological and mental effects of her intoxicated lifestyle feels like only a rough impression of what long-term functional intoxication feels like in the body, she doesn't follow the rules of addiction the player does, her story has to actively ignore the magical addiction cures around every corner*, but then plops a science-magic chair McGuffin into play with the same 'it's an instant cure' handwaving that the rest of the game already does as a deus ex machina to a story that could have been about the redemptive power of self-forgiveness, and there's not even time to mention that the story of the Vault you find the chair in implies that a group of addicts would turn kill mode over a single stash of drugs so fast that they'd storm in and murder an entire therapy group in their chairs, implying a discovery to murder timeline of less than an hour, and the fact that someone signed off on the only Irish character in all of Fallout just to have her be defined by violence and addiction and red hair and an accent feels funking nasty. Irish people in post apocalyptic Boston? Super fun. Thematic. Represents the reality of Boston and would have been an excellent addition! But Cait... the elements of her story could have been something really powerful to explore in a second person narrative, but instead, the writing placed on top of her damages the cohesiveness of the world in every place it touches.

We're all on the same page here**, and literally all of the characters are like this, although most other companions don't have narratives nearly so long or with nearly such personal themes (thank goodness). Nick is a hardboiled detective who smokes cigarettes. He does not have lungs. He also has memories of his previous life? I never do his quest. Piper is a scrappy reporter lady. She is upbeat and supportive and cares about her sister. The end. Codsworth is a robot who is a butler. Mr. Handycock is a ghoul dressed like a red coat, and, in his free time, something like a character. McGravy is a merc and a lazy Fallout 3 callback. Strong Mad is just Fawkes again but worse, which is ridiculous when we could have had Fawkes be the lazy call back, or another lazy call back, I guess. Danse is the words "semper fi" injection molded into a human shape (with a hot face). Preston is... actually a fun combo of dorky dude in a bad situation with good intentions, Preston gets... ugh, as much of a pass as I'll give anyone, even though he holds the terrible distinction of radiant quest giver. You never wanna be the radiant quest giver, okay, even Mike Rowe wouldn't do that dirty job. Lucky for him I kind of like the radiant quests, but that's only because the un-radiant quests usually have writing in them, and I have a hard limit on the amount of Fallout 4 writing I can stomach (I can't remember if I've ever through mods or whatever gotten to the Institute but I remember the cutscene with Father where you meet him and I Just... oh wow... if... if I was in a class, and someone presented that scene as a project, I'd be so embarrassed for them).

I downloaded a few mod companions (the super mutant lady, an Enclave general, and someone else, I forget), but they don't quite fit in with the general mood I'm trying to tweak Fallout 4 into: this Cowboy Bebop-esque colorful and bombastic adventure world with weird tech and sexy badasses.

I'm going to keep trying to Collect 'Um All! but... I don't have high hopes.

< Previous > . . . < Next >

*Addictol, which I carry on me at all times, doctors, who are in every town we stop at, a special tea from the chemistry station, or a funking omelet can cure addiction and if you don't believe me well than (opens in new tab) - your move, funko.

**Oh my gosh I just Googled "why is cait irish fallout 4" and the top answer suggested by Google was "The reason Cait has a (terrible, stereotypical) 'Irish' accent is because Bethesda didn't stop to think about how little sense it would make." YES, JUST RIP THEM APART. Oh, internet, you weird commercialized corpse of a thing - thank you so much, that made my day.

[turtlemagnum]

so, spent some time with fallout: new california (new vegas mod), probably about 15-16 hours judging by how long i stayed up that one night, so here's my review:

writing was better than that of fallout 3 or 4, but to me that's as much of a compliment as saying that a mcdonalds burger tastes better than literal shit. i liked the characters, there's a certain charm to most of them, but i wouldn't consider the writing to be exceptional. i also feel like the writing got significantly worse after leaving the vault, but that might just be that the companions i had basically had nothing to say after getting to safety. i will add that the voice acting was all around pretty great, even if in some areas the writing wasn't up to par. i'll also say that in some areas, their insistence on stuff being fallout lore friendly felt a bit.... repetitive, of previous games?? like aside from the enclave still existing (which to be fair, fallout 3 insisted it still exists too but i don't count that, the damn enclave was blown up in fallout 2), it's also a bit weird to me how there's also just another guy who's basically just the master, but again

some context is that i went relatively scorched earth, war of all against all type deal, which is something i rarely do in RPGs. it started with killing all the raiders in their mine area (side note but i wish you could free the slaves, though to be fair that's also a problem in vanilla new vegas so eh). but the way i played was essentially just... holding my ground?? raiders wanted me dead, i killed them. and when i got to the NCR dipshit, he threatened my life if i didn't work for him so i killed him too, thus pissing off the NCR and seemingly a few other groups (like gun runners). but it all felt natural, i normally don't like playing as a wasteland boogieman kinda guy but the way i naturally fell into it felt pretty nice. y'know how in jjba, pillar men are to vampires what vampires are to humans?? i felt like that sorta deal to raiders and other such miscreants, even moreso than in base new vegas. it felt natural, very very natural, and i didn't really feel bad for simply standing my ground, y'know?

i do like the update to the NCR uniform, it actually blends in pretty well with the worldspace and caused me to mistake shrubs for corpses and vice versa. made looting NCR troopers a bit more of a pain, but it was executed in such a way that made me appreciate the extra effort that they honestly didn't really have to do. like, with a lot of things i feel like they coulda left something untouched and it would've been just fine, but they tried to improve it and i appreciate that (like the 10mm pistol!! i actually really love the update to the 10mm pistol model, looks more like an actual gun)

i do like the relative freedom afforded by the game. right at the start of the "real" game, i immediately shot the siblings bragg in the face, and it just let me! sure, they got back up, even after i esploded their heads with my 10mm, but that just meant that i got more 10mm off their corpses (which also seemed to regenerate, weirdly enough). from what i've seen, doing the NCR main quest seems a bit railroady, but i've definitely seen new vegas mods do the overall concept of "NCR main quest for our quest mod" far, far worse. i also like that there comes a time where you're actually free to rearrange the brain matter of senator dickshitter (i don't remember his name). the whole empire of japanese immigrants thing felt a bit contrived, but i can't say that it wasn't cool, and to be fair i think that things can be a bit contrived if they're cool enough and it's not that implausible

the thing where one of the only main cities exclusively insists on NCR dollars is insufferable, mostly because gunrunners was there and they didn't even have any NCR dollars for sale. one of my favorite pasttimes to do in the base game is to lightly flirt major knight into repairing my shit for free and abusing that to get guns and armor i looted off of raiders all pristine and ripe for selling, and one of the best places to hawk my garbage is gun runners because they're A. rich as hell and 2. have a lot of guns and ammo and gun accessories, and as a gunfucker who literally learned to mod the game to edit how the guns work, that gets me off like you wouldn't believe (side note but i'm actually pretty sure new vegas was what originally set me on the path of becoming a gun guy, like in retrospect. i really appreciate the fact that this damn game gave me my strongest special interest, and that the devs went so far as to actually buy guns and shoot them to see how they should properly work, using (mostly) real guns and calibers and shit)

this is all to say that all in all, i liked new california. i wouldn't say i loved it, and after one extended play session and a second few hour one, i wouldn't say i feel compelled to keep playing. but all in all, i'd recommend it. now, does it compare well to vanilla new vegas? no. but that's like saying that this mcdonalds cheeseburger isn't as good as the best damn burger you've ever had, made just for you from a local joint. now, is it a nice change of pace? does it give you new fun to have in one of the greatest games of all time? absolutely. i'd recommend it, though to be clear i'd personally back up your game before installing it and then once you're done, delete the new california install and just copy and paste your original version back to where it was. or, like me, also back up your new california install because you might (might) wanna revisit it.

[fairlyqualityanon]

Oh my gosh, that’s… worse than I expected. Yeah Emma, you really need to open your own server. I wasn’t expecting people to be that toxic (I know Discord can be toxic af cause I used to be on there), but damn. If they knew what she did was fucked up, a) they should’ve nipped it in the bud before it could finish (especially since it was plagiarized) and b), say in the chat it was messed up. They aren’t your friends my dear. Everyone throws that word around so easily, but this is not what a true friendship looks like.

I’m happy some people reached out to you. I hope they turn out to be good people. And I feel you, I don’t have anyone to talk with IRL either. Hm, do you have any hobbies that calm you down? If you do take a social media break, you’ll have something to occupy yourself with.

Please stay safe. I don’t know what happens during your spirals, but I know what it’s like dealing with suicidal and self-harm urges. If you have one person you trust, please call them.

Ah man, we gotta get you some real friends.

(P.S.) It’s not just your blog, it’s all of Tumblr. It keeps wanting me to log in or sign up to ask an anonymous question. 😔

tbf they didn’t know it was plagiarized, the only person aside from Jane who knew the contents of my discussion (because I’d asked if they would review it to make sure it was civil and stuff) was the person (not a mod) who’d suggested I message Jane to begin with, and was the same person to send me screenshots (along with another person) of what she was doing in the server; the mods banned discussing it in the server not too long after that person tried explaining there was a ton of context people were missing (insert Bernie’s “coincidence, I think NOT!” clip)

Eh, I’ve got the writing and a ton of books and fanfics to read, plus various YouTube channels to peruse

I’m on too much medication to have full self-harm ideation, but there’s a lot of “I knew it! It wasn’t just paranoia, everyone did hate me and was only pretending to be my friend for their own sick amusement!” that went on. (If I had a nickel for every time that happened and was confirmed to have happened, I’d have 3 nickels, which isn’t a lot, it’s just weird that it happened 3 times) Then I start having even more vivid flashbacks than I normally do and sink into the “I’m worthless, not a person, undeserving of anything other than suffering” depression line of thinking.

thank you again for the comforting words; internal validation doesn’t happen often in depressive episodes but I feel too needy to ask for it externally

lmao I do have “real” friends, they’re just not nearby IRL and that’s why I have to rely on social media to stay in contact with them

Have you checked if it’s because of the app or which browser?