#terraforming is still something I'm not super great at

[derp-craft]

although in desperate need of some texturing I'm getting p proud of this island/mountain/hill/thing

[ursbearhug]

Ranting is activated;

I had this thought that (though mainly video) games are about creating memorable experiences.

Like, I love Terraformation of Mars and hate Talisman for the very reason. I have only negative experiences with Talisman, but have some great memories of playing Terraformation.

A long long while back I had this argument with this girl over what makes "Hades" such a beloved game. She said that people love it only for the story and the characters. To which I said I disagree because if I were to play for the plot, I would refund this game after my first escape. Like, plot is okay, I guess, but it's not ground breaking and characters are amazing but not enough to carry the entire game. I loved hacking and slashing hundred times with even more different builds. I have ancient greek brain in that hollow skull of mine; I love repetition of good standards. I'm doing the same thing but differently each time. It's cool.

If I were to survey some people I already talked to about Hades they'd say that they remember how Zagreus basically never shuts the fuck up, he's running his mouth 24/7 and is the edgiest baddest emo kid in all of Underworld. That's annoying after a while. They liked how he interacts with Gods for the first 100 times.

Because ultimately it's not the plot or the gameplay, but the memories you're left with. Like, yeah it was cool experience and is a fond memory.

A lot of people I know, at some point in their life, played some Harry Potter game (here, I'm talking strictly 1-4). And a lot of them remember struggling or just taking ages to finish the game. And yet the first PlayStation version is beatable in a matter of 2 to 4 hours maybe. So reality and their memories and experience are two different things. And that's okay. That's so cool too.

I personally liked gathering wizard cards because I liked the descriptions of them to an extend. I still own 4th game on my PS2. I remember it mostly as frustrating, yet super boring.

Same can be applied to some die hard souls fans. I haven't play any Souls games, but I'm in the minority that considers Nioh (and Nioh 2) to be faster harder Dark Souls, so I can somehow comment on the fact, that 1st game isn't what a lot of people remember it as. What they remember as tough as nails, just epitomy of gaming, game is really about good parrying and infuriating 4-directional dodge. But they have fond memories of the game (when you ignore constantly dying I guess).

Some players, that are not me, remember some games for the music. Like, musical and graphical prowess is a huge deal. Sometimes, it is more flash than substance, but regardless it is such a huge important piece of gaming. I listen to pkmn fr/lg remake of gym leader battles beat to this day because a) it slays and b) is very good for hyperfocusing.

Sometimes, as mentioned more focus is given to the flash and not enough to substance. I already shared my 1 cent on the diminish of graphical uniqueness, where some of 3A look exactly the same for no reason othan than the pretty aesthetics or something (yep, sweaty dusted rusted busted pores and wrinkles ain't my jam. I prefer something lighter and unique).

So after this not logically connected shit, my point is; games are about creating unique and memorable experiences. And if these experiences also carry some story or value, it's for the better,given that you work with some of the best medium out there.

[time-is-standing]

top 10 songs of march

the month where we are still doomed and every day gest a bit harder to survive.

1. King by XXXTENTACION

"leave me alone, I wanna go home

it's all in my head, I won't be upset if"

this song is so good, it hurts my heart to think someone feels just the way I feel about life and feelings. I could put every single line of the lyrics here and this statement would still be working fine. (I'm not doing the best mentally, btw.)

2. Star Shopping by Lil Peep

I had like 4 playlists this month. actually all of them were made for different purposes, and yet I still found my way to this one song that I've been listening to for the longest time ever. one night I was so desperate to fall asleep (but I was terrified because I've got triggered real badly and I knew nightmares were coming), that I started listening to this one. not only did I fall asleep real soon, the song got stuck in my mind so I continued to listen.

3. IDGAF (with blackbear) by BoyWithUke, blackbear

this is a recent find! I found this gem like a week ago and it's been on repeat ever since. I love it so much, the vibes are perfect for this time of the year. spring is just around the corner & I feel so much better just thinking about it.

the lyrics are so good, this song is gold.

4. Night Away (Dance) (feat. Tion Wayne) by A1 x J1, Tion Wayne

the feeling of nostalgia caught me off guard this month. healing and working with myself is suprising me every day. as I'm getting memories back from my childhood, I'm becoming more and more nostalgic and these songs/remixes are such a great way to think of some good memories. this song is super great for boosting your mood, especially if you have partied to the original as well.

5. Free by Tvilling

antoher gem from Benex's streams. I love this man so much. even though this was a long long month, I've listened to the EDM playlist a lot and I'm finding more and more favs from there. it's always great to feel like you're at home - and this boy makes me feel that way. any time I start the playlist, comfort and happiness are the only things in my heart. knowing every single song from the streams is so special, it makes them even more enjoyable! I'm in love.

6. Angels Don't Fuck by Insincere

this song gives me so much comfort. it all started when I was having a pretty bad mental breakdown and it helped me a lot. ever since I've been listening to it when I feel a bit stuck or when it gets too hard to even exist... and I needed support more than ever i these last two weeks (I've just gotten into a train accident - I wasn't injured, I just experienced something real disturbing)

sometimes music is the only thing keeping me sane and alive so yeah. this song is on the list.

7. Pigstep Freestyle by Prince Zuko

I've had like 2 days off work and I played a lot of minecraft in those days. I was listening to an old playlist called "memers" from my first mc phase back when pigstep and the nether update came out. it got me into the mood to grind a bit so I've listened to it on repeat and did a lot. (I'm super proud so here is the list of things I've achieved: I built a honey comb farm; I've bred my villagers; traded a lot to get diamond armour and tools, got loads of books; I upgraded my dia helmet and boots fully; I terraformed the front of my house; I've been adventuring and found a new village nearby; I've done some achievements too! I'm trying to collect as much as I can)

8. Queerball by McCafferty

there won't be a month where I'm not saying silly stuff about me having trouble to fall asleep and listening to this song. that's just how it goes, I don't even force myself to fall asleep anymore, I'm just laying down listening to music/streams and facing the consequences the next day. it's super annoying but I don't know what else to try out.

9. Koloběh lásky by Lafi

this was an accident. the one time I'm able to fall asleep instantly while listening to music, I pass out so hard that the next time I wake up is at like 4am with the song playing on loop. so yeah. anyways I still love this one and it always reminds me of that one tiktok about gnf.

10. HAUNTED by Isabel LaRosa

this is a big mood. I found it on tiktok, and that one video with bikes made me want to ride a bike again, until I remembered I'm terrified of them, lol. there is no thing in this world I'm not afraid of.

however the song slaps and is a great choice if you need to by hyped up! I'm loving it.

[pictureamoebae]

gosh your taiga sandboox zoo is amazing, i'm so blown away and it's been inspiring me to work on my own taiga franchise zoo. do you have any miscellaneous tips for the game? doesn't even have to be franchise mode specific, even building tips and whatnot would be super helpful :-)

Thank you, anon! I’m finding it very relaxing to play at the moment. My cat isn’t very well (not sure why, she’s in quite a bit of pain with her back and her right legs, x-rays have shown nothing so we’re assuming arthritis) and the last few weeks have been quite stressful. Playing Planet Zoo has been just about the only thing that has let me take my mind off everything for a couple of hours a day.

As for tips, hmm... there are the usual ones like “start out very slowly” in franchise mode, but you probably know that already. I saw recently someone had taken an in-depth look at guest happiness, and one thing I learned was that if they have far to walk between habitats their happiness drops considerably, so having things for them to do in between is really important. As is adequate seating, and here’s the interesting thing: picnic tables restore happiness a lot more than regular benches, so making plenty of little spaces for picnic seating wherever your guests have to walk a lot seems like a great way to help with happiness.

Another tip: of all the things you can compromise on in terms of animal happiness, plants are probably the best. I’ve had a couple of habitats where I placed more plants than the animals wanted, so the bar was in the red, but it doesn’t affect their overall happiness too much and doesn’t compromise their more important welfare stats. So while I try to keep within the acceptable boundaries, when I come across animals that don’t like many plants at all I’m not afraid to ignore that and add extra so the enclosure doesn’t look too barren.

Rocks: they’re amazing. Especially the 2 large and 2 small square cladding pieces. They’re great to sink into the ground at different depths to make rocky ground look more natural, and even in patches of grass. And if you have large mountains or hills created with the terraforming tool, sinking some cladding in from time to time helps break up the terrain paint patterns and make it look more natural. And of course adding the other rocks to blend in and create more natural outcroppings and so on. Rock work is probably my favourite thing to do at the moment. Trying to make it look natural and blend in appears to be my idea of fun.

The workshop: make use of it, and don’t worry about feeling bad that you’re not building everything yourself. I often download things and then use them as a base for things I build on to, or just use other people’s smaller blueprints as quick and handy filler for spaces. There are some great little things people have made for backstage/staff areas, like vehicles and electric charging stations and crates -- they really help add something extra.

Animals: use the animal tab from the main Zoo menu (bottom left corner) to help manage your animals. It’s quicker than clicking on the barrier each time and individually clicking on each animal, then back to the barrier. I also move animals to the trade centre from there, because it often helps avoid the bug that reduces their rating (I think this only happens in franchise, I’m not sure).

Cheetahs: my favourite animal in franchise because if you save up for a gold rated breeding pair each of their babies (and they have 3 or 4 at a time) can be released directly to the wild for around 1000 cc each.

Even though the temptation is there to stuff your zoo with all the exciting animals, sometimes it’s better to try to stick to those more appropriate for the biome you’re playing in. In franchise it will help you avoid heating and cooling bills, but it also helps tie the theme of your zoo together. Of course, if you’re going for a mega zoo, you can have themed areas, and perhaps utilise large buildings for some animals, which are easier to control the temperature of.

If you find your computer struggling once your zoo gets to a certain size, you can limit the number of guests. In franchise/challenge this means you’ll be bringing in less money, so use with caution. The game relies more on your cpu than a lot of games, because of all the constant calculations it needs to make about what each guest, each animal, and each staff member is doing at any one time. Limiting the number of guests reduces the number of those calculations, helping ease the load a little. Of course, if you do a lot of building, making things with lots and lots of individual objects will have an impact as well, because even though 10 planks smooshed together can look like 1 plank, the game is still calculating and rendering 10 planks-worth of polygons.

That’s all I can think of for now. If there’s anything in particular you or anyone else wants to ask let me know. I’m at around 350 hours now, but I’m still learning things myself. Check out the Planet Zoo reddit, it’s often full of great information. And of course there are some brilliant youtubers creating stuff. Search for Mike Sheets to be blown away by absolutely beautiful designs. His stuff is second to none.

[grazhir]

Wayrest [01]

Still not serious, because of that tile value issue with Stuffed Floors.

01. The initial design. I've always been wanting to build rooms around the dining/rec area, and I've just never done it. So I finally came up with something that more or less works.

02. Because of that biome change, traders would enter the map, get aaaaaalmost to the trader room, then bail on me. Good thing my highest social pawn is super fast and can catch the ones with decent stuff (cause you know I click on every pack animal and check their inventory).

03. My conveyors between the barn and kitchen. One hay farm feeds directly into the animal feed room, the other to the kitchen, so whoever is making kibble doesn't have to walk far. In turn, they dump any kibble they make on that 1-tile stockpile and it's yanked onto a conveyor to dump it ... in the animal feed room. And, of course, the auto-slaughterer thing feeds into that same conveyor leading to the meat grinder room.

Though, something's gone wonky. (I mean, aside from my cats no longer housekeeping, which is why I gave cleaning bots a go, and they work great.) PRF... some of the dropboxes aren't opening, some of the stuff isn't showing up (or maybe tab sorting hid it on me), and the underground conveyors no longer respond to the Q and E keys (though they do work with the on-screen icons). I'll have to poke around, I guess.

04. Another old granny trader sort. She died, yup. I didn't bother to rescue her. Instead, she ended up in the carnivore corpse locker.

05. And then, welcome news, a biome change. Cause, you know, I'm out of wood! And I keep forgetting to check orbital traders for any. Or even bother to skip over to another settlement to check.

Even so, having your non-mountain approaches deep freeze the enemy... Well, that's not so terrible, assuming you're set up good inside, with either hydroponics, sun lamps and terrain changers, or whatever. (Maybe I'll turn ice back on, even if most of my pawns are bugnuts over never going outside, as only one of them is an undergrounder, I think.)

06. So... These are people who deadpan their sales pitch on lubricants made from wombat fat? Or are they trying to sell me sex aides for the pets I don't have?

07. A look as the settlement is right now. I'm playing with fire in the animal "pen" area as I strip away the overhead mountain so I can terraform it into a "field" for them to wander in. (Which reminds me, I need to add in shields.)

Speaking of design. Earlier I'd heard of people using embrasures as vents between rooms to equalize temperature. Fantastic! And then I updated and the "royal" bedrooms no longer counted as bedrooms. Back to using vents.