#its like those anime dating rpg game vibes

[lil-beanz000]

~"Its okay, Take my hand"~

#rottmnt #rise of teenage mutant ninja turtles #rottmnt raph #rottmnt future raph #unpause rottmnt #rise of the tmnt #rottmnt fanart #my art #-sweat- #roses are cool #LOL the caption tho #its like those anime dating rpg game vibes #new brush again #in a small art block #nothing is vibing #i didnt even really like this in the end #wife

[thenoseofdeath]

This is a blog of my replay of the Uncharted series. I'll give my thoughts for each game as I go through them.

Apart from Uncharted 1 which I played a few years ago. I haven't replayed the others since they first came out so this'll be interesting

This entry gets a lot of hate and I can see why. The story is simple but decent and the game has good dialogue and solid Voice acting. The gameplay and controls however are a problem.

Aiming can be a pain, movement isn't as tight as you would want and climbing can be finicky. Now these weren't too much of a problem back in 2007 but they stick out like a sore thumb in 2022. Adding to those problems is the insane amount of combat encounters and you're left with a game that is very frustrating and annoying to play.

That being said. Combat was somehow still fun so it's not too bad I guess but I think I have a higher tolerance for these things.

Music was great, the game has nice sound design, the old PS3 era vibe is still there (I miss that) and the visuals are still really nice.

So even though the game annoyed me to a degree. I still enjoyed myself and I definitely wouldn't consider this a bad game. It's just old and dated.

This honestly should've gotten a remake instead of TLOU. It would've seriously benefited from it.

What can I say? Huh? What can I say?

This game is among my top 10 greatest video games of all time for a reason!

Top to bottom, from beginning to end. This game was insane all the way through. A god damn roller coaster ride!

My only complaint that this game is SO good that 13 years later, I STILL remember most of it. So the chance of re-experiencing those epic moments for the first time again just couldn't happen unfortunately.

Also had play on easy for final boss coz it was annoying but IDGAF

Regardless. This game is just as amazing as I remember and 60fps just elevates it further. Felt like it never left, man.

Story, characters, dialogue, voice acting, gameplay, level design, visuals, combat and set pieces.

I don't care if it has flaws. I love it all!

So I was never a big fan of this entry but this time is a bit different.

I enjoyed this a lot more than I did back on PS3. The first half didn't leave a great impression but it got better once you reach Yemmen and then it was fantastic from the Shipyard onwards. I absolutely loved the 2nd half and it pretty much saved the game for me.

That being said. I do have some problems with it. Particularly in the first half though some of those do show up in the 2nd half. It just isn't as noticeable.

-The way the levels are laid out

-Enemy placement

-How the guns feel

-Stealth feels very restrictive

-Hate the crosshair

-The A.I.

-The vibe

-Unfair Difficulty

It all just felt off and I wasn't feeling a lot of it.

Even things like Drakes animations which aren't always accurate to the present situation.

For example. Drakes running animation during combat or chase sequences are too relaxed and slow looking or during stealth he isn't exactly moving as stealthy. He's almost walking casually. Its like he does some of his actions half assed.

The other big problem was the difficulty. Look I'm all for a game wanting to challenge me and even make me feel overwhelmed as that can heighten the tension and make things more exciting which UC3 does but man do they go overboard with it.

Uncharted 1 & 2 had a system. The enemies were in front of you, others would creep on the side trying to flank you and then a new wave would come from behind. You were always behind cover and were able to defend yourself while they tried different tactics to lure you out. It was simple and effective.

Uncharted 3 said fuck all that. Lets have everyone come at you from all sides, then ramp up the difficulty to artificial levels by throwing 3 snipers, 3-4 armoured shotgunners, 2 unarmoured shotgunners, an rpg guy, a missle projectile guy, 3 fucking tanks and barely any cover. Call it a skill issue, I don't care. That shit is straight up unfair. A lot of times I felt like I got through that shit from just pure luck.

If they had just cut it down a LITTLE bit and gave me a bit of breathing room then I wouldn't be complaining as much.

With all that in mind though. I kinda liked it. Managing to take out huge waves of powerful enemies while being put in such an unfair situation is quite satisfying. It really makes you feel like a badass.

It works for the plot too. Drake being way in over his head is shown through gameplay and adds to the narrative so thats pretty cool.

Now onto the positives.

-Visuals are beautiful

-Set pieces are awesome

-Hand to hand combat is great

-Dialogue is still great

-Funniest entry so far

-Charlie is a great edition though you don't see him after the first quarter and he only appears in this entry so thats a bummer

-Music is good

-Puzzles were really good

Another thing I loved was all the subtle details to make the world feel more alive.

Drake put his hand on the wall while walking, parts of the environment would react to Drake's touch and that shit would vary in many ways. Granted they only happen once but it's still cool.

That 2nd half was just amazing and it really made me think more positively about this entry. I think when I first played it back on PS3, I was just so gutted by the negatives that I couldn't see the positives.

Is it UC2 level? No but its kinda close.

Good game!

I gotta admit. I really enjoyed this one. I wasn't a big fan of this entry back when it first came out. Had a lot of problems with it like the vibe, aspects of the story, no Chloe or Charlie and even things like gunplay and difficulty. Now Im not so sure why I wasn't feeling it.

The game is great. Controls are fantastic, and responsive, guns feel really good, level design is brilliant and parkour (as basic as it is) is really fun. Oh and the stealth is great. I'm so happy they fixed it. Uncharted 3 was so restrictive. Its like they looked at Uncharted 2 and thought "lets do this but better". Now you can actually stealth through many sections and not be forced into a gunfight. The areas are so well designed too so you have a ton of options to take em out.

Love it!

Now for the story. I really like the darker and more mature vibe they went with. Drake's decisions have actual consequences so its not your typical action hero story this time around and thats good. I personally wouldn't mind it if it was but its good that its different.

They put a bigger focus on the characters too and provided them with more depth than in past entries. Made them feel more down to earth rather than movie action heroes and I like that. It's good stuff.

I really like Sam too and I think he's a great edition to the cast. Rafe is also a really good villain and the best written out of the bunch. I still prefer Lazarevic from Uncharted 2 by miles.

Now as for problems? I don't have much tbh. I wish Chloe was in this but I can't see how they could've included her in so I get it.

I miss the supernatural aspect but I guess that would've worked against the more grounded take they went for here so it's fine I guess

I also hate that I couldn't get at least one hit on Nadine. I just wanted one good satisfying punch but nope. She walks away unscathed. I mean dude. You can't just have her kick me about like that and not give me the opportunity to enact some revenge. I want some payback god damnit!

Small spoiler but I wasn't really liking the whole destiny thing they were going for during one of the flashbacks. The whole "it runs in the family" thing kinda bothers me

It's not a big deal of course and it does make sense why Drake and Sam are so into history but still.

Anyway. That's about it with the negatives. There really isn't anything to complain about. Naughty Dog provided a solid and nicely paced ride that delivers on (almost) all fronts.

It's a fun action packed adventure with good puzzles, fantastic set pieces, gorgeous visuals and a really good story accompanied by some of the best performances in the gaming industry. Its the perfect send off for Nathan Drake and I had an absolute blast replaying it.

#Uncharted2 #Uncharted3 #Uncharted4 #UnchartedLostLegacy #Playstation #Playstation3 #Playatation4 #Playstation5 #PS3 #PS4 #PS5 #Gaming #Games #Video Games

[zehecatl]

rec post for @f-eef that got too long for its own good, and is now just. a general rec post i guess

(as of writing, today is the steam summer sale! writing this before that goes live, so no guarantee everything on here is on sale, but! most of these are older games, so it’s likely. keep them in mind~)

- Iconoclasts my absolute favourite game, ever (along with OFF, but shh), if you check out one game from this list, let it be this one. it’s a genuinely almost flawless package, with gorgeous pixel art, fun gameplay, a really good story, and a cast of characters i just. adore. it’s so so so good, and three years later, i’m still not over it

- The Binding of Isaac so there’s this genre called roguelikes, wherein the whole gimmick is that, when you die, you gotta start from the Very Beginning; and the ‘point’ is getting better and better at the game, until you win! it’s super easy to just, play a few runs (they generally don’t last that long!), and then go on with your day, so it’s a really fun game to just waste time in, if you just wanna chill with some game. and, in my personal opinion, Isaac is the best roguelike game, with so much stuff to unlock, a whole slew of items to play with, and so much content it’s kind of unreal. i definitely think the DLCs are worth picking up, but it’s mostly for more content than like. actually being necessary

- Terraria it’s minecraft, but 2D. unlike MC, it’s got a bit of guidance, which i personally prefer, with bosses to fight and such. an absolutely BLAST with other people too

- A Hat in Time a 3D platformer, ala Mario, that’s just. super charming. it’s also really fun to play. i haven’t actually played the DLC’s, since i played it way back, but i’ve heard good things about Nyakuza Metro, which does look super slick, so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

- Slime Rancher you are a slime rancher. you ranch slimes. it’s honestly just wholesome as hell, and just exudes happy vibes. mostly for running around and collecting slimes, ngl

- The Messenger really funky retro game, wherein you play a ninja on a mission. it’s primary draw is definitely in its gameplay, but there’s a surprising amount of story for this kind of genre? i honestly really just like this one. it’s neat

- Underhero you play as a cute minion, who kind of like. managed to kill the hero. and whoops, guess you’re doing his job now? it’s got that undertale vibe, though i’d say it’s less polished than it. HOWEVER, it’s absolutely lovely and it’s climax is REALLY good

- Hatoful Boyfriend bird dating sim. trust me. the ‘secret’ finale route is just. *chef’s kiss* fantastic

- Night in the Woods if you don’t mind having a very poignant sad time, oh my god, i could not recommend NITW more. it perfectly captures that period when you’re done with school, and suddenly your whole life is stretching before you, and you feel so so fucking lost, and overwhelmed and pained with it. it’s just. so good. a sadness worth experiencing 

- Shovel Knight another retro game! this one is, pretty much, the king of the genre, and for very good reasons. the first one (shovel of hope) doesn’t have much story, but the latter ones really add on it. they’re honestly just, really solid games! with funky knight characters!!!

- Hyper Light Drifter man, it’s just a masterpiece. everything about it is perfect. it’s been like, five years, and it’s still one of the very best indie games

- Tell Me Why it’s currently free for june! and it’s a story game! plus, if you like the genre, the devs got the ‘Life Is Strange’ serie(s) to delve into!

- Cat Quest honestly, i just really like this little game. the gameplay is SO much fun, and everything else is just. really charming :’)

- Yoku’s Island Express metroidvania, where you play as a dung-beetle post officer, and the gimmick is that it’s pinball-y! it’s really fun, and very cute and just an all around good time :)

- Owlboy you play as an owl boy! named Otus! and you can fly around, and there’s GORGEOUS pixel graphics, and a neat story, and just. the BEST cast of characters. it’s delightful

- Yuppie Psycho + Count Lucanor just gonna bundle these two together, because they’re both REALLY GOOD. YP is the newer one, and is therefore probably ‘the better one’, but i like them both a ton! they’re 2D horror, but i wouldn’t say they’re that spooky? though that might just be because they’re pixel games! you explore spooky place, and weird stuff happens around you. just a really fun time :)

- Angels of Death my FAVOURITE rpgmaker game, it’s main draw is, a 100%, the main characters and the relationship that develops between them. i just love it a whole lot, and it’s got that lil’ tinge of horror that i, personally, fucking adore. there’s actually an anime based on this, but i haven’t seen it myself!

- Celeste curve ball! it’s a 2D platformer! it’s really good, got a ton of accessibility features, and has like. the tightest gameplay- and, on top of that, surprisingly emotional story! 

- Bastion putting Bastion here, because it’s actually the only one i’ve properly played, but you could probably buy any of the Supergiant Games, and come out satisfied. Bastion is the oldest of the bunch, and is definitely a bit less polished for it, but i personally adore it; the gameplay probably hasn’t aged that well, but i think the story and presentation more than makes up for it

- The Darkside Detective funny point and click adventure, with great wit, and a pair of characters i kind of simply adore. it’s main draw is definitely its humour

- Littlewood very wholesome and chill farming game, that feels more like an RPG than something like stardew valley- i’d not recommend it over SV, but if you want more of SV, Littlewood might scratch that itch!

- Pony Island + The Hex absolutely adore both of these, though if i had to rec only one, it’d probably be Pony Island? they’ve both got that undertale-off vibe, though Pony Island definitely leans harder into it. very interesting plays, both of them

- Oxenfree another horror-ish game! primarily story-focused, but oh boy, what a story! i’m a BIG fan of this game, and the sequel was recently announced too! definitely worth a look if you like ghost shenanigans

- Creature in the Well wasn’t a 100% sure if i should rec this, but beside the finale boss, i really enjoyed my time with this! it’s this weird pinball inspired hack and slash, with some amazing vibes

- Kindergarten 1 + 2 they’re just fun little games okay. the 2nd is much more fleshed out, but the 1st one is really fun too

- the Henry Stickmin collection I JUST... LIKE THESE GAMES A LOT... i think you can find the old versions somewhere on the internet, if you wanna check them out first? idk, they’re fun!

- LIMBO + INSIDE personally, i like INSIDE more, but both of these are classics, and also they’re made by a danish team, and i like them a WHOLE LOT

- The Final Station i could not tell you why i like this game as much as i do, but oh my god. i love this game? it’s got a dying world, neat pixel graphics, big zombie apocalypse vibes, and a weird little story

- Year Walk i love Year Walk :)

- Smile For Me if you liked undertale’s lovely cast of characters, oh boy, you’d likely LOVE this game! it’s really, really, fantastic, and the epilogue (not in the actual game lol) hit me right in the feels

- Pikuniku just a fun little game! there’s not really much there, in the grand scheme of things, but it’s a wonderful little play, one of those games that just sets out to give you a good time, and absolutely success. i like it a lot :’)

- A Short Hike wonderful game, where it’s more about exploring the island than actively finishing the game. it’s real wonderful

- ULTRAKILL ANOTHER CURVEBALL! no idea if you like FPS, but oh my god. ULTRAKILL is so fucking good. just an absolute blast to play. there’s a demo to check out, and i’d definitely recommend it, because if it’s a genre you might like, you’ll love this one (OH also it’s in early access, which means it’s not finished yet! personally, i don’t mind that, especially considering this is more gameplay focused, but ya’ know!)

- My Friend Pedro it’s honestly just really fun to play, and sometimes i still think about the implied lore, and go all !!!!

- Little Misfortune another point and click! this one is pretty short, and is set within the same universe as their other game, Fran Bow, which is much bigger, but idk. i like this one. it’s dark cute

- This Strange Realm of Mine i honestly dunno how to explain this one, because it’s kind of weird and a bit odd, but i really like it, in all its weird poetic glory. it’s neat!

- Donut County you’re a terrible racoon who’s ruined the whole city with holes. it’s great and i love it

- OneShot another ‘gives me undertale vibes’, though this one was in development before UT, if i recall correctly! it’s so good, and it’s got some fantastic meta bits, and i love Niko. i love Niko so much

- Inmost gorgeous vaguely spooky game with a neat story... my favourite genre

- Sayonara Wild Hearts i’d call this more of a spectacle than anything else, but oh my god. what a spectacle it is! the OST is amazing, everything about it just hits right, and even if you suck at the gameplay (which i did), it really doesn’t matter, in my opinion? it’s just great all around!

#ze.txt #the sale likely just went live so #steam sale #hope there's something here to your taste feef! #i honestly haven't been playing any 'real' games in. A WHILE? so all of these are older-ish #and there's a bunch of good new games out there! #but here's my little rec post of older games :') #that i have. actually played #i think inmost is the only one i never finished? plus TECHNICALLY oneshot since it got a BIG update after i played it but shhhh #also TECHNICALLY also ultrakill but that's in ea so it doesn't count okay #i just love ultrakill so much. i had to rec it. I HAD TO #also keep in mind some of these probably require a mouse!! i know ultrakill DEF does #but you might have one?? i usually play on my big pc so i. would not know #oh also DST does have a single player version which is very good also

[rubyjcat]

[Behind-the-Scenes] HELIOS Rising Heroes: Animation Showcase

“HELIOS Rising Heroes: Animation Showcase” is an English voice fan project I worked on all by myself (barring voice actors) that took five months to make.

The original plan was to make just one video, but it ended up being eighteen of them!

Link to YouTube playlist:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0UbdFyWSx0n_ewcd-t0iAB0adGe5lghH

In this write-up, I’ll be discussing details about the response to the project, recording all the footage, video editing, voice acting + audio processing, script translations + rewriting, which fonts were used, and even the emulator used. I’ve organized it into sections to make it easier to find certain things. Also, this is directed to English-speaking readers since I’m not gonna bother translating the entire thing to Japanese.

THE DREAM

I wanted to make this fandub ever since the game was released (in Aug 2020). I just knew that English voices would be extremely fitting to the world of HELIOS with a setting inspired by America and characters, places, and terms mostly in English. I was disappointed to hear that the studio behind the game, Cacalia Studio of Happy Elements K.K., had no interest to localize their games outside of Asia, which meant the chances of an English dub, let alone a global release were close to zero.

I was able to understand how to play the game thanks to the fan translators, some of which came from other Cacalia Studio games, and got inspired to continue learning Japanese (there was a previous attempt to translate Japanese lyrics years back).

What I thought was just the silly dream of one overseas player’s became something much more!

THE TIMELINE (BRIEF OVERVIEW)

I played the game for about two months prior to working on the project. Before starting the project, I had to sort out graphical and technical issues on my end first as I was unable to play the game smoothly until November.

November 2020

Finding all the in-game battle lines

Writing transliterations (romaji) of lines by ear

Learning and translating lines to Japanese

Started recording footage

December 2020

Further translation revisions

Held a casting call

Script rewriting and finalizing

January 2021

Completed casting

Started video editing (learning process)

Started audio processing

Recorded more footage

February 2021

Recorded more footage

Japanese script revisions

Finished working with VAs

Finished audio processing

Continued video editing

Published Preview video

March 2021

Recorded the last of the footage

Japanese subtitle revisions

Finished Showcase video

Finished Individual battle clips

Gave recommendations to VAs

The exact start and end dates were Nov 1st, 2020 to March 31st, 2021. Pretty neat.

RESPONSE TO THE PROJECT

I was absolutely shocked with the response to the preview video, which at the time of writing has just hit 10K views and almost 600 likes on Twitter and YouTube combined. Not bad for an unpaid hobby fandub (a joke only I find funny...) of an otherwise “niche” Japanese-only mobile game.

As of Apr 4th, 2021 - Thank you so much. This is more than I could’ve asked for.

The preview video blew up way more than anticipated, setting up for a bit of disappointment when the Showcase video was released.

The amount of views I expected for this project within its prime were a couple hundred views, so I’m content that the Showcase video reached that amount (it had ~500 by the end of March).

The expectations for the battle clips were an average of 100 views and a handful of likes - and each one got roughly that amount (or more) - so I’m also content with that, especially for something that’s just “bonus material”.

I tried my best to promote this project on Twitter with three main tweets. My one regret with promoting the project was making the second tweet after publishing the Showcase because the Japanese I wrote there was pretty terrible (as I was all worn out from editing and was in a haste to tweet about it). I tried to make up for it in a follow-up reply the next day, but it was too late. I was satisfied with how my third and final tweet and thread of battle clips turned out, but it sadly didn’t garner much attention. A reason for this was probably due to bad timing. I knew that the timing of the last tweet was awful as HeliosR did something special for April Fools’ day, plus the Easter event was being hyped around the same time, but I really wanted to finish up the project within March (my timezone, at least. It was already April 1st in Japan).

It was important to also make the videos accessible to the Japanese audience as they were a large portion of the viewers. This proved to be a challenge as my knowledge of Japanese is limited - at least for me, it’s easier to translate grammar-correct Japanese than it is to write my own sentences.

I ultimately decided against posting any of the videos on NicoNico because I wasn’t sure about Japan’s laws regarding copyrighted material. I knew it was already risky enough posting on social media and didn’t want to take any additional risks.

ABOUT THE FOOTAGE (1) – HEROES & ATTACK ORDER

HeliosR uses a gacha system, so to be able to even make something like this, you’d first need access to all 16 ★4 OG Heroes in the game.

I had them spread across five different accounts, four of which were reroll accounts. Asakou from the Cacalia RPG server gave me two of those accounts, and I rerolled myself for Keith and Ren during their Birthday Orders (one free 10-pull per account). Every account is also given a free ★4 selector ticket which I made good use of.

3,000 rubies (in-game currency) were sacrificed to pity the ★4 OG Dino when he was released in December just for the sake of the fandub!

Besides covering all of the Heroes, I also needed to play through each account to unlock certain story chapters, event stages, and evolve the Heroes for their shiny evolved CG art. Some of the Expert event stages (that had the Nighttime backgrounds) proved difficult to clear with a new account.

When using skills, the order of the Heroes were edited such that everyone was able to have the majority of their lines used at least once. All Heroes had two “receiving support” lines, two or three “supporting” lines, and two or three “skills against the enemy” lines. Some of the extra lines didn’t make it into the Showcase, so they were used for the individual clips instead.

I should’ve used Gray instead of Marion for the account that had Billy because you can see Marion’s sprite in Billy’s image. xD

In the Showcase, you may notice that the "Union Attacks" consist of all the ★4 CG images. These were spliced together; I never had all four Heroes of the same sector on the same account. For example, I would have Gray, Asch, and Jay on one account and Billy on another account, recorded their ★4 Bursts separately using the same background (from unlocking the Expert stages on both accounts), and then edited all the footage together.

Jay’s Burst was later re-recorded with a different attacking order so that he wouldn’t link to Billy.

It was also important to keep the same order of Bursts as well as use all four Bursts in the same turn. The ★4 Burst order was usually determined by who didn’t link skill with one another (with the exception of East sector as I was still figuring things out) because I didn’t want the link skill activation getting in the way of the animations.

As a little bonus, I also showed off the exclusive damaging skills of the Chapter 6 and 7 ★4 frames that I was lucky enough to pull from the gacha: Marion’s "Invitation To The Dance“ (roses), Faith’s “Synthetic Vibes” (beats), and Dino’s “Crow Mark Dead End” (claw marks).

ABOUT THE FOOTAGE (2) - BACKGROUNDS

Since I didn’t want to use the same battle music and backgrounds for all of the videos, I decided to use some of the themes from the limited-time events which went as far back as Nov 2020.

Each background has three variants (Daytime, Afternoon, Nighttime) and so I carefully picked them based on the colours. I ended up using mostly Expert stages - or Nighttime backgrounds, since Daytime versions were only used for Normal difficulty stages (which are too easy to clear).

The backgrounds used for the Showcase, all from limited-time events.

I decided to mix up some of the Heroes from other sectors in the individual clips for fun, basing it off of their relationships with each other. Using South sector’s background for Gast’s clip was a purposeful choice because I already used the North sector’s background for the other three North sector Heroes. I made sure to include Akira and Will of the South sector in Gast’s clip so it didn’t feel too random!

The only default background I didn’t use was Chapter 2’s because I already made use of the Casino theme for OG West sector’s individual clips. (...Plus I didn’t really like that background :p)

Here’s a list of all the backgrounds I used:

Escape the Prison (Nov 2020) - used for Showcase [EAST]

Mission of CASINO (Nov 2020) - used for Junior, Faith, & Keith clips

HAPPY NEW YEAR SHOW! (Jan 2021) - used for Showcase [SOUTH]

Help! Cooking Hero! (Jan 2021) - used for Will and Oscar clips

A Sweet Spell Garnished With Chocolate (Feb 2021) - used for Showcase [WEST]

Grandiose Chinoiserie (Mar 2021) - used for Showcase [NORTH]

The Hero Is A Detective!? (Mar 2021) - used for Billy and Jay clips

Default backgrounds: Chapters 1, 3, 4 (shared with 7), 5 (shared with 6) - used for all other clips

The Christmas event was the only event that went unused during the Nov 2020 - Mar 2021 period.

I didn’t record the East sector event (Christmas) in Dec 2020 because I was actually too busy with the casting call! I also didn’t think I would make use of it after already recording the Prison event intended for East sector. The project ended up taking so long that it actually benefited from having a wider selection of events over the months, which also showcased the beauty of the game.

ABOUT THE WORK & VIDEO EDITING

Hardware:

A decent computer.

A pair of no-name earbuds I found while cleaning out some junk.

Software:

All FREE!

*There’s a catch

NoxPlayer* emulator (debloated, read more about in its own section) and Open Broadcast Studio were used to record game footage and sounds.

Davinci Resolve was the main tool I used to edit the videos. A very demanding program that I only recommend using if you have a mid to high end computer.

MediBang was used to edit some of the art like the logos, but I ended up using Resolve for the majority of the graphics, including the thumbnails.

Audacity and Cakewalk were used to edit audio.

Many aspects for this project took longer than I had hoped because there was a learning process with using Resolve for the first time. I’m also a bit of a perfectionist, re-exporting videos tons of times just to fix small mistakes. Lastly, the time it took to make all the fancy effects was longer than I’d estimated. As the project dragged on, there was pressure to not delay the release of the videos any longer than I had to. A lot of this was self-imposed though.

There were days where I just did something else other than work on the project, which helped re-fuel my motivation when I decided to pick it up again.

Pretty much everything in the videos were taken from the game itself. The only graphics that were taken from the official website instead were the Substance symbols (the pictures with HERO at the bottom).

Additional overlay graphics were custom-made. It took two whole days to make the 3-second long sector intros and another two days to create and animate the arrow graphics for the credits. These were made using Resolve’s fusion and colour features. Much of the edit was inspired by the official HeliosR designs.

Left: Official in-game graphics // Right: My fanmade video (sector intros)

Sector intros were inspired by the four Heroes version of Union Attacks in-game.

Left: Official HeliosR video // Right: My fanmade video

The Preview video took after the ★4 Burst mini-previews as part of HeliosR’s promotional campaign, uploaded before the game was released.

Left: Official HeliosR video // Right: My fanmade video

The credits at the end of the Showcase were inspired by a different video, this time being the Half-Anniversary video.

The Showcase - which had a duration of 29:07 - was 11.5GB large in size. It took almost three hours to render (which I re-rendered to fix things) and two DAYS to upload to YouTube because I experienced multiple uploading interruptions. It’s a good thing you can re-upload the same video to continue where you left off without having to restart the entire process.

The individual hero clips didn’t take as long to make (but they took a while anyway as I re-uploaded some of them to fix minor mistakes). The recommendations for the VAs that were given alongside the publishing of each clip also spanned over another five days as I wanted to personalize and think about each one carefully.

A pretty frustrating part of the project was the prevalent lag when recording footage, which may have been due to the emulator and/or some technical things on my end. The Prison event used for the Showcase was the very first one I recorded when I wasn’t as aware about the lag, and so it suffered a bit as a result. The Union Attacks were the worst offender. I re-recorded the same battle scenes several times each just in case, then went through the footage frame-by-frame in Resolve and chose the ones with the least amount of lag. If all of the recorded footage suffered lag at different parts, I would even compare and splice together parts of them that didn’t lag. There was also audio lag (a known issue of NoxPlayer) so I had to move all of the audio forward by 1/3 of a second.

By the end of the project I had over 200 videos of game footage with a total size of over 24GB and a total duration exceeding 9 hours, not even counting all the ones that went unused.

The Heroes weren’t the only ones who evolved. MS Paint not recommended for thumbnails.

Overall, (despite the few mistakes here and there that nobody other than me would notice) I was happy with how everything turned out, down to the gorgeous thumbnails! I am an artist, after all~ :^)

I also have much more respect for video editors. They should be called VIDEO ANIMATORS!

ABOUT THE VOICES & AUDIO PROCESSING

When making a dub, it doesn’t mean we want to replace or best the original language, we just want to give it a new interpretation. In fact, the characters’ voice descriptions and direction provided in the scripts were heavily inspired by the seiyuu (Japanese VAs) and how they performed their lines.

Honestly, this was THE dream cast!! Some of the VAs had comparably similar voices to the Japanese ones which was an amazing coincidence. The ones that may not have sounded as similar had unique interpretations that I felt still suited their characters well. I also chose actors based on their performance, and everyone delivered!

Voice actors were not expected to imitate the Japanese voices and lines. They were provided direction and reference videos to help time their lines, but were otherwise given liberty when it came to their own interpretations.

You shouldn’t hear any jarring differences between the voice actors’ microphones and setups. That’s because I took the time to process the audio. Faith’s audio was submitted to me post-processed so it was used as a guideline for what the audio quality should sound like. Some of the others had comparable quality to Faith’s, so I only added compression to balance their volumes. Most of them benefited from equalization of various levels - this took some experimenting back and forth with the frequency spectrum. Lastly, a couple more benefited from clip fixing, noise gate, de-essing and/or click removal. It was very important for VAs to have at least decent room treatment; while small differences between mic frequencies can always be altered, echoes are difficult if not impossible to remove completely.

I feel that audio engineering is highly underrated and more important than ever as voice actors continue to record from home studios.

And in case it wasn’t already clear, this was purely voluntary work. No VAs or myself were paid to contribute anything for the project. Though, the experience alone was worth more than any amount of money.

ABOUT THE SCRIPT & TRANSLATIONS

HELIOS Rising Heroes「エリオスR」English Translation - Battle Lines

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ImWrAfvS_hgp6qr5qt30vCP63uHEk2o79uqY0h-3wL4/edit?usp=sharing

This spreadsheet consists of the literal translations for all the battle lines I could find in the game (it still isn’t done -yet-, plan to finish it when I get the chance). These are only fanmade and are not guaranteed to be accurate, especially as I wasn’t able to find another translator to help or proofread it.

After translating the lines, I made many additional revisions from the literal meanings such as changing the intention of the line slightly to flow better, having extra words added in to provide more context, or changing them completely. Thus, the lines used in the video are NOT literal TLs!

Another thing of note that may not seem apparent, but is what I feel an important aspect of character writing, is to remain completely unbiased towards all the characters. Personal favourites aside, I ensured that every Hero had their own spotlight as well as lines written in a way that remained faithful to their personality, no matter how unlikeable they were (looking at you, Asch Albright).

Even after giving voice actors their scripts, I made another revision in February after the release of the aforementioned Half-Anniversary video with the transcriptions for the ★4 Bursts, which is when I discovered a couple of mistakes with my transcriptions. This resulted in me having to edit out a part of one of the voice actors’ lines (Billy’s “String Show” line in his ★4 Burst) because of a translation mistake! I’m really glad I was able to double-check the correct lines before releasing the Preview video, or it would’ve looked pretty silly to Japanese viewers.

The last set of revisions were just minor edits to the subtitles (such as using kanji instead of kana) while I was working on subtitling all the videos.

Notable changes included:

WILL SPROUT

During attacking combo

Original line:

tanonda zo... ike! / “Counting on you... Reach!”

Rewritten line:

“I’ll become stronger... For everyone!”

The rewritten line is a condensed version of one of Will’s ★4 Evolved CG lines (“For everyone... I’ll become more and more stronger!”). He had “Reach!” in both his attacking combo and regular Burst, so I gave him an extra unique line.

★4 Burst

Original line:

warui kedo... kore de oshimai da! / “Sorry, but... it ends with this!”

Rewritten line:

“I’m sorry, but... it’s over for you! HAAAH!”

There were a couple of oversights I made with the script, and this was one of them that didn’t fit the animation properly. Props to Ryan for coming up with the extra shout at the end! So yeah, we kinda winged this line.

OSCAR BALE

When using skills against the enemy, during attacking combo, and in the ★4 Burst (repeat line)

Original line:

osoi! / “Slow!”

Rewritten lines:

“Too slow!” / “You’re slow!” / “Over here!”

Rewritten simply because I wanted to minimize repeated lines and change things up.

GAST ADLER

When supporting an ally, and during attacking combo

Original lines:

tetsudau ze / “I’ll help (you).”

itchouagari / “All done.”

Rewritten lines:

“I’ve got your six.”

“Target eliminated.”

I wanted to add in a few military terms to reflect Gast’s background.

FAITH BEAMS

★4 CG line (for the credits)

Original line (literal TL):

“It’s not terrible or evil, right? Surely this isn’t punishing... I guess?”

Rewritten line (with “mistake”):

“I’m not doing anything horrible or evil, alright? This is just business as usual... I suppose?”

Faith’s CG line had a mistake when I first translated and handed it off to his actor. I accidentally wrote “oshigoto” (work/business) instead of “oshioki” (punishment). The original has him pretty much saying the same thing twice anyway, so I would say the intention was still retained.

KEITH MAX

When supporting an ally

Original line:

gambare yo~ / “Do your best~.” or “Hang in there~.”

Rewritten line:

“Stay alive, would ya~?”

I know Keith’s meant to say “serious” things in a sarcastic or snarky way, but I just had to add in this fun line!

DINO ALBANI

Using skills against the enemy

Original lines:

haa! / “Haah!”

hei! / “Hey!”

Rewritten lines:

“I can do this!”

“Leave it to me!”

The Japanese lines for Dino’s offensive skills were rather basic, with the third and unchanged line “Here goes!” being a repeat line Dino also says when attacking. I wanted to give him some more lines - as standard as they are - to show his personality a bit more, along with having an additional fun West sector interaction. The changes fit the animations better too. (I actually had his VA say the "Haah!" line, but ended up using a different take of “Here goes!” in place of it.)

ABOUT THE FONTS

Fonts were taken from various sources and were either FREE for personal use or had an open font license. I didn’t have access to the commercial fonts (such as Futura) used in-game, so these were the following fonts I made use of:

Techna Sans looked similar enough to Futura when capitalized, and still looked decent in lowercase.

Jost* is a font that was derived from Futura. Some of its uppercase letters are sharper than Futura's, but it worked pretty well for the text in the credits.

Gau Font Over Drive was used for the ANIMATION SHOWCASE text.

Gen Jyuu Gothic LP was used for the majority of the Japanese text and its English letters were also used for the battle clip subtitles on Twitter.

Meiryo UI (default font) was used for the Preview videos’ subtitles.

Noto Serif JP (default Google font) was used for the serif Japanese text in the credits.

ABOUT NOXPLAYER ANDROID EMULATOR

ETA: AS OF VERSION 1.1.18 (04/23/21), EMULATORS NO LONGER WORK WITH HELIOSR (AS WELL AS OTHER CACALIA STUDIO GAMES). THE BELOW INFORMATION IS OUTDATED.

If, for whatever reason you’re interested in using NoxPlayer, you should take caution when installing it onto your machine. I don’t advocate for or recommend installing Nox. I had to resort to emulation so that I could record the footage and sounds directly from my computer using OBS. The reason why I used Nox specifically is because Cacalia Studio doesn’t like emulators, blocking most of them from running their games. I found further instructions on how to run the game in Nox from the Cacalia RPG Discord (via Twitter @HeliosR_en).

First, not all Nox versions are safe. It should only be installed from the official website, Bignox. More recent versions (I believe from 6.3.0.6 and up) may contain malware such as Segurazo and Chromium packaged with the installer which can be annoying to remove. The version of Nox I used was 6.3.0.0 (you can install older versions, then just don’t update it), which has Android 7 and doesn’t contain packaged malware (AFAIK).

Second, NoxPlayer may be “free” to use, but it comes with bloatware and profits off of its users’ data by collecting and sending it to many different servers. The below guide is what I used to debloat Nox and minimize communication to these servers. Scroll down the comments for additional domains to add to the hosts file.

Debloating & Optimizing Nox:

https://gist.github.com/Log1x/12d330ef7685d6fbc611d1d57efb5c29

This is another good guide that makes use of command prompt to remove additional bloatware from the emulator.

How to Remove Bloatware on Nox and LDPlayer Emulator:

https://codefaq.org/emulator/how-to-remove-bloatware-on-nox-and-ldplayer-emulator/

ENDING NOTES (TL;DR)

Images of the first and last video for the HeliosR project. We’ve come full circle!

One very tired and average person decided to translate, script, cast, direct, and edit an ambitious project all by herself using only FREE tools, and ended up taking too long to finish it. But at least she finished it, right?

Translators = RESPECT

Voice actors = RESPECT

Video editors = RESPECT

Audio engineers = R E S P E C T (their work is especially behind-the-scenes)

Hell, I even like Asch now.

During my time working on this, there was one question I always had in mind: “What would the fans want?”

I hope this follow-up has given you a bit of insight into the makings of the HeliosR project. Thank you for reading!

~RubyJCat

#heliosr #helios rising heroes #animation showcase #english #fandub #dub #voice #voices #voice acting #fanmade #fan #behind the scenes #my projects #english translation

[mahimadedha]

Top 7 Seven Fighting Games For Android

These days people love to play games. The popularity of playing games on android devices is very high amongst all age of people. There are many genre games available on android devices. In this article, we will be talking about the top 7 best fighting games in 2021. The fighting games genre is no more amongst the most popular genre games anymore, but there are still a lot of people who love to play fighting games. On Android devices, there are not many splendid fighting games options available, but we tried our best to choose the top 7 most amazing fighting games for you so you can play and enjoy these games without trouble.

So here are the top 7 best amazing fighting games for android:

1. Call Of Duty

Call of Duty Mobile (also known as Legends of War) is the first installment of the 'Call of Duty' saga that attempts to transfer the PC and game console gaming experience to Android smartphones. In other words, just like Modern Warfare or Black Ops, this is a multiplayer FPS in every sense of the word.

Controls in Call of Duty Mobile of War are perfectly adapted to touchscreen devices. Use your left thumb to control your character's movements and your right thumb to aim. Double-tapping on the right side of the screen gives you access to a viewpoint system to check your scope. And, just like in many other Android games, your weapon shoots automatically.

Call of Duty Mobile of War includes two main game modes: 'zombies' and 'multiplayer'. Both are popular modes of the franchise as they challenge you to face other online players, as well as collaborate with them hand in hand to take down the undead. Nuketown, Hijacked or Killhouse are just a few of the most popular maps there for you to enjoy.

Call of Duty Mobile of War is an outstanding game that offers you a multiplayer FPS experience for Android. The game also includes extraordinary visuals, a bunch of maps and weapons and the charisma that's become so popular of the Call of Duty franchise.

2. Fatal Fury Special

Fatal Fury Special game is very popular game amongst every age of people. This game is an arcade port. Fatal fury special game series is big in the 1990s but now it’s on mobile devices. Fatal fury special game contains retro graphics, a group of 16 characters, and many more. This game is based on fatal fury 2. You can update this game with a certain time limit. There is also a new combo system. You can play this game with multiplayer. There is no in-app purchase with this game.

3. Twilight Struggle

You might be familiar with a board game version of the game. Twilight Struggle is extremely fun game, all about the tumultuous years of the Cold War. You can learn about the key events of the historic era as you try to keep the different parties satisfied and prevent nuclear Armageddon. The game has been transferred on mobile quite well. However, due to the interface it does look best on an Android tablet rather than a smartphone.

The game can be downloaded after a one-off payment. You can make further in-app purchases as well but these are not necessary for a good gaming experience.

4. Shadow Fight 3

Shadow Fight 3 is the latest entry in the silky-smooth fighting series for Android and is a huge step up in quality. That's saying something because Shadow Fight 2 was pretty incredible in its own right.

Whereas the second game had a 2D art style where you controlled a silhouette shadow fighter, Shadow Fight 3 delivers 3D-rendered arenas packed with a surprising amount of detail. Your fighters have emerged from the shadows, so to speak, and look great.

Shadow Fight has always had buttery-smooth controls and animation and those return here. The physics are spot-on, too — a well-timed heavy attack with a sword can make your enemy drop their sword and send them flying. There's a full campaign to play through and a ton of weapons, armor, and special attacks to unlock and customize your fighter with. There's no multiplayer here, except for playing other people's AI-controlled characters, but the focus on delivering outstanding graphics and smooth gameplay pays off.

Best of all, this game is free, although there's an in-game currency that you'll need to buy new weapons and other upgrades, along with in-app purchases available if you need an influx of coins.

5. Fighting Tiger

Fighting Tiger is a really fun fighting game, despite looking like it came right out of the late 90s/early 00s (especially with its title). The story is weak and dated, but it's not all that important. You're here to practice your kung-fu on bad guys, and you can do that here.

If you care about the story, you're trying to escape your gang, but they aren't going to let you go. It's up to you to survive and save your girlfriend. It's not bad for a game of this caliber.

You can pick up a variety of items — swords, guns, motorcycle helmets, etc — as you go head-to-head with multiple opponents. Combos and choosing the right fighting style are the name of the game here and you'll be doing it a lot as you fight off the bad guys. It's just good, mindless fun.

6. Skullgirls

Skullgirls is something different. It's a fighting game, but it's also an RPG. I say it's a fighting game with RPG elements, but others might argue the opposite. Regardless, Skullgirls is a super cool game. You collect new characters, build them up, and send them into battle to earn victory.

It's an over-the-top game, even as far as fighting games go. The art style is amazing and I absolutely love the character design, animations, and backgrounds. The sound effects are also fantastic and they really draw you into the battles.

Online PvP is only OK, but you don't have to engage in it to enjoy the game. There are plenty of modes to choose from, including a story mode, and you're bound to stay entertained for quite some time. There are in-app purchases, though, asking you to buy relics to summon new characters and coins to level up your characters.

7. Final Fighter

Final Fighter gives off some strong old school fighting game vibes and as someone who was raised on Tekken, that's a serious plus. You could easily go so far as to say that a number of characters in the game are blatant rip-offs from other franchises (Sgt. Kane is clearly Jack-2 from Tekken, Kui is obviously Sakura from Street Fighter, etc), but that's honestly part of the game's charm.

This classically-styled fighting game has some darn good graphics, and characters' moves have a nice amount of impact backing them up. Controls are intuitive, which is saying something for a mobile fighter, and the range of common commands like grabs, low, mid, and high punches and kicks, and special moves are all accounted for here. To execute commands, you've got a virtual analog stick on the left side, which allows you to move forward, back, crouch, and jump, and then you've got a few virtual controls on the right side for heavy and light attacks that you can string together with to form devastating combos.

This is an online game that requires a network connection to function, but you have a number of cool modes to play through, ranging from classic arcade, to 1v1 online matches, all the way to 3v3 team matches! Final Fighter is free with ads and in-app purchases, so add this one to your list if you're on the hunt for your next fighting game fix.

#art #my writing #writers on tumblr #writing #gameblog #tumblr #lovewriting #like for follow #android games #tumblrpost #tumblrgirl #aesthetic #likeforlikes #text post

[twitchesandstitches]

I have an idea for two new factions to play parts as antagonists, but I need suggestions since I’m sort of operating a bit outside my usual series and I don’t want them to become like super over-saturated with just a few specific series.

Opening up suggestions for characters for two other factions, and I really would appreciate it if you send in suggestions ASAP!

First group is the Ringers, a warlike faction that’s intended to be a lot more morally darker than the Cobalts and serve as ideological opponents to the fleet, though they have some ulterior motives that make what they do reasonable, if not sympathetic at all. Their goal is to plunge the multiverse into endless war and conflict, in a fashion similar to Talon from Overwatch; they believe that warfare and conflict force people to evolve and become better people, and also seem to know something about an upcoming disaster or terrible shift in the multiverse that will make it necessary for people to be hardened in order to survive it.

Their overall themes include: Conflict Is Good, War as desirable or natural (with possible social darwinism), the craving of bloodshed and warfare in general, frowning upon idealism and notions of honor, building character through strife, and in terms of moral alignment, being a lighter shade of black; they’re not pure evil (for the most part, and those that are may be tolerated) and they’re better than the uncertain forces they have foreseen, but to those affected by their rampages and plots, but not by much.

Generally they go about stirring up conflict or engaging others in massive battles, attempting to attack people and force them to build alliances or exaggerate rivalries, and are usually plotting to find some relic or secret to do the one thing to make everyone start fighting.

Alternatively, they may be out to conquer the multiverse, or much of it as they can, in order to safeguard it from this unknown threat, and have a mentality that only they have the authority to do so and the will to do it. They may also have different sub-factions with different views, but in the end it comes down to the same methods.

I have some characters in mind, and may switch around others from various factions if they might fit better here, but i mainly need more Big Lady characters. Generally I would appreciate suggestions from some of the following fandoms: Marvel, Disney, DC, RPG-style games I can update for the setting, but I’m good for stuff I’m not familiar with. Just suggest whoever and I’ll see if they fit!

Some possible characters for this group of endless battle: Javik from Mass Effect, with elements of Doomfist from Overwatch (giant gauntlet that amplifies powers, the same motive, and goals). Azula from the Avatarverse, in full Evil Overlord lady mode, and perhaps Kuvira from Legend of Korra as a more straightforward warlord queen?

Airachnid from Transformers Prime, with characteristics of her IDW incarnation; less sadistic and more experiment-minded, and interested in psychological experiments on a vast scale. Also the Combaticons, all female here, as rough and tough soldiers that are like anti-Dinobots.

Maleficent from Disney, playing up her fae aspects to the full; she may have little interest in the actual purpose behind a multiverse of endless war, but is going with it for her own plans or amusement. Depends on how the Disney stuff interacts with this? She might be a dark goddess of magic backing them, too

The Condesce/Meenah Peixes, from Homestuck. In this continuity she was originally doing her endless war against all the multiverse in an attempt to build a homeland for the trolls, after their lost their homeworld of Beforus. After eons of endless war, she’s become incredibly bloodthirsty and perhaps a little addicted to slaughter, and may be losing track of her original goal in favor of slaking her bloodlust. (Alternatively, I may choose to put her into a criminal organization as part of the Midnight Crew and other groups that are criminals but not, y’know, total bastards. Depends on whether I want to play up her canon traits, or soften them.)

Ghazghkull Mag Uruk Thraka from Warhammer 40k: he’s the embodiment of ‘orcs as warlike brutes’, how could i not?? Maybe a girl version for Ork Amazon fun?

Yellow Diamond: I previously implied that she, White and Blue were captives of Megatron and mere jewelery for him, but I might have it that she has become freed and joined up with these guys, embittered and coming to believe in their cause, desperate as she is to save her people.

Hel from Marvel, but with more traits of her mythical inspiration (perhaps she shifts between two extremes, one cold but fair, the other rather playfully malicious and hungry for death), acting as a divine backer for them?

General demony characters associated with battle and warfare: no specifics here at the moment, but characters that fit this motif would be good

In general, blood knight-types, femme fatales that can be read as warriors, and anyone that has a big character emphasis on strength would fit well here!

The second faction is a variant on the Suicide Squad/TAsk Force X from DC; an elite group of agents working on behalf of mysterious benefactors. Their true numbers are in the millions, but this refers specifically to a squad that is a recurring set of characters. They are not normally antagonistic, though their goals may bring them into conflict with the Fleet, and certainly they don't like the militant guys up there and the Cobalts fight with them….. A Lot.

This task force consists exclusively of anti-heroes, reformed villains, and characters who were once straight up pure bad but have since reformed. They are people looking for a chance to find a new life, atone for their misdeeds, or simply are looking for a better cause and were never bad to begin with.

They are run by Amanda Waller of DC, who may either be part of, or answer to, a governing assembly of big multiversal figures trying to bring some stability to the cosmos. They might also have divine backing; some of their agents are people who are definitely dead, but are still looking for a second chance.

Some possible members:

Reaper/Gabriel Reyes from Overwatch, playing up both his ghostly qualities and the idea that he is a double agent. Most likely the leader and role model for them, and is a straight up ‘anti hero that kills bad guys who deserve it’ character here, rather than the vengeful wraith he is in canon at present.

Blue Diamond: Assuming that its the same case with Yellow, she’s come to regret what she has enabled over the eons and come to conclude that Pink/Rose Quartz had been right all along. Note that her true form is likely planet-sized here. A good chunk of her loyal gems may attend as the squad’s brute muscle.

Shockwave: From Cybertron, mostly using his IDW characterization. Specifically, this is Senator Shockwave. Once this famously cold, heartless and logical ‘Con was a hopeful idealist until the corrupt leaders of his homeworld took his face, his hands, and his ability to feel anything but cold logic. Following recent events, though, his mind has been freed, and he is in shock at millions of years of horrifying cruelty, and he would like nothing better than tho put his scientific acumen to work helping the multiverse.

Bucky Barnes/The White Wolf: He’s Wallers’ attendant, representative in the squad, and something of a political officer, muddled by his tendency to be everyone’s obnoxious brother.

Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy: A two-for-one deal, both of them usually giant ladies or even a full on fusion, and their canon tendency to become better people by being around each other has blossomed into full on attempts to go Good. Harley’s actual job is to be an on-team psychiatrist, while Ivy has transformed into a full on plant monster lady who sees it as her job to restore devastated worlds to full health again.

Lust, from Fullmetal Alchemist. Honestly undecided if she belongs here or with the warmonger faction; either way, she is mostly akin to the canon Lust from the manga and Brotherhood, but with the motivations of her first anime counterpart. Big, busty and largely embodying bloodlust, she has somehow incorporated most of her fellow homunculi and gained their powers, most obviously Pride and Gluttony, becoming absolutely ravenous and death to all that face her, and she is called in to devour entire planets and absorb their souls if there is no other way to save them from otherwise certain doom. They can then be extracted from her and given new bodies at some later date.

Giganta, from DC. Drawing on the more benign or ‘hey, being a baddie is just a job, y’know?’ takes of her. With a bit of the friendly valley girl vibes she had in the DCU!

Slade Wilson/Deathstroke and DEadpool: Considered as one unit here because this version of Deadpool is a flawed clone of Slade, who was a highly skilled super soldier for hire. The squad dealt with Deadpool’s frustrated actions his makers forced him to do, and subsequently recruited both Slade and Deadpool into their ranks, with the latter being treated as an obnoxious little brother to Slade. This Slade is heavily based on his Arrowverse actor, and Deadpool looks like a melted version thereof.

Any additional characters are, again, highly encouraged! Generally I’m looking for characters who were anti-heroes or reluctant villains at best (think Mr. Freeze types; ones that felt they had no choice and they made you REAl SAD) or you could see them regretting what they did and wanting to atone for it.

Generally speaking, these guys aren’t antagonists except in the most genuine sense; they might have opposing goals to the fleet, but they are more likely allies than not. Occasionally their purposes might run counter and a fight starts, and they should ideally be so skilled as to pose a serious threat to even the most extreme numbers.

I’m rather lacking in Sexy Lady-Types for this faction, so I especially welcome suggestions on that score. Send ‘em in, please!

#/ #// #/// #//// #///// #crossthicc AU #this was originally drafted before i fully realized the first of these factions #so some of this is a bit outdated

[postgamecontent]

The Summer of Adventure: Threads of Fate

Original Release Date: October 14, 1999 (JPN)

Original Hardware: Sony PlayStation

I'll open this article with a little honesty. I had trouble with Threads of Fate, both playing it and writing about it. As with Legend of Mana, this was my first experience with the game. Unlike Legend of Mana, Threads of Fate wasn't better than I was expecting, or even as good as I had imagined. Fortunately, it's also not a bad game by any means, but it lacks a certain something. In reading up on the game's development, it became clear why I had trouble investing myself in this game. It's not meant to be a deep game or even a very serious one. The intended vibe was something like a cartoon for kids, and with that knowledge in tow, its lack of narrative substance or mechanical complexity makes complete sense. Still, this is the Summer of Adventure. I made my way through the game and am now trying to get this write-up together instead of just ignoring it and playing Chrono Cross.

I'm not sure where I got the idea that Threads of Fate was done by the same team as the 1998 action RPG Brave Fencer Musashi, but I was completely mistaken. Given how close their release dates were, I suppose that's understandable. Instead, the development team was largely filled with veterans of Chrono Trigger and Xenogears, along with a surprising amount of new faces. Even among those with experience, many team members were taking on new roles. Chief among them was Koji Sugimoto, the game's director. Sugimoto had only done programming work for the company before this game, with his debut being in the role of a visual programmer on Chrono Trigger. He was just 20 years old when that game was released, but somehow only a few years later was given the reins of a fairly major production. Threads of Fate would be the only game released where he served as a director. After that, he returned to his programming duties on titles such as Final Fantasy 10 and Crisis Core.

There are a number of notable staff members who contributed to the game. Makoto Shimamoto is credited with the original story idea and the event planning. He would be among the developers who left Square to continue the Xeno series at Monolith. Shimamoto was one of the main designers of the battle systems found in Chrono Trigger, Xenogears, Xenosaga, and Xenoblade. Like many members of Monolith, he also made contributions to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, though the exact nature of his work on that title will likely remain a mystery. Threads of Fate's scenario was written by Daisuke Watanabe. At the time, he was a fresh face, but he would go on to earn writing credits on the entire Kingdom Hearts series, along with Final Fantasy 10, 12, 13, 13-2, and Lightning Returns. The soundtrack was composed by Junya Nakano in a rare solo effort. Nakano can frequently be found collaborating with Masashi Hamauzu on games such as Front Mission: Gun Hazard and Final Fantasy 10.

With all of that talent and more on board, you might expect something big from Threads of Fate. It's important to remember, however, that many of these future stars were still near the start of their respective careers. There's a sense of tentativeness about Threads of Fate that may well spring from that. It's not so much that the game lacks confidence, so to speak, but that it almost seems afraid of attracting too much attention. Indeed, as Square games of this era go, Threads of Fate might be the most forgotten. It's not the most thrilling or epic, nor is it memorably terrible, or even particularly unique. The interesting or unusual things it does do have failed to make much of a mark in the general gaming consciousness. As an example, one of the heroes of the game, Rue, wields one of those ridiculous-looking pizza-slicer weapons, but whenever that particular Square quirk is brought up, it's always in reference to Luso from Final Fantasy Tactics A2. 

According to an interview that director Sugimoto did with Gather Your Party a couple of years ago, Threads of Fate was built to satisfy three major goals. Like others on the team, he was just coming off of Xenogears, and he couldn't help but wonder if kids would be able to understand or enjoy games like that. He felt that kids were future customers that weren't exactly well-served by many of Square's games. Sugimoto wisely believed that for the sake of the company's future, they ought to start addressing that audience. As a programmer, Sugimoto really enjoyed doing 3D coding. Very little of Square's output at that time was in full 3D, so he wanted his game to cover that, as well. Finally, since this was his first shot at the director's chair, he wanted to come out of the gates with something exciting and lively.

Did he accomplish those goals? Well, to an extent, I guess he did. There's no denying that Threads of Fate is more kid-friendly than things like Final Fantasy 8 and Xenogears. The story certainly has some characteristically Square-like twists to it, but the tone is closer to a children's anime than the usual angsty teen adventure Square was largely turning out at the time. There are plenty of silly jokes, goofy expressions, and bits of physical comedy that help maintain that cartoony mood, and the game's true ending is really just an open-ended bridge to the next adventure. The gameplay is similarly light. Overall, there aren't many systems to grapple with, and each of the two heroes will only have to deal with a portion of them during their playthrough. Map designs are largely straightforward, and the combat system doesn't go much farther than stick-and-move. The difficulty is somewhat low in all respects. A single playthrough runs 15-20 hours or so, but you'll have to reach the end with both characters if you want to see an extra scene. That's a little on the longer side for an action-RPG, but I could imagine someone enjoying bashing things around for that length of time, even if I didn't.

For a fully polygonal game, Threads of Fate looks and runs quite well. Square was generally fond of using a mix of 2D and 3D assets in this period. Using 2D backgrounds freed up resources to make the 3D main characters look better than you would expect from the PlayStation, so it was a pretty good choice for the kinds of games Square was making. Threads of Fate went all-in on the polygons, and it's fairly impressive in that context. Comparing Threads of Fate to Brave Fencer Musashi makes it seem like the former is almost an entire generation ahead. While it's not quite as attractive as Mega Man Legends, it has a similar sort of appeal to its visuals. Come to think of it, the sense of humor isn't far off from that game's, either. The game makes good use of its 3D visuals with dynamic camera angles and combat mechanics that take the added visual depth into account.

While I won't go so far as to accuse the game of being dull, I think it's in the director's third goal that it stumbles the most. If the aim was to make something exciting and lively, I'd say that the team only halfway accomplished that. Amusingly enough, its main failure can be found in one of its notable selling points. The game has two protagonists, Rue and Mint. While they are both working towards the same goal, their narrative paths are quite different. The stories frequently cross over with each other, but the tone of each is quite distinct. Rue is seeking a relic that he hopes can bring his friend back to life. He ends up on a typical Square quest for identity once his origins are revealed. Unfortunately, his personality is exceptionally boring. The game is aware of that and hangs a hat on it often, but hanging a hat on something doesn't remove it from the room. Mint seeks the same relic, but for totally childish and selfish purposes. She wants to show up her younger sister and take over the world. She's a total brat, and she only evens out a little bit over the course of the game, thank goodness.

From a story standpoint, Rue's quest seems to be trying more, but it ends up being far too cliche. It also drags you through some really awful existential speeches. By contrast, Mint's story is a breath of fresh air. It's silly, shallow, and not afraid to be completely stupid if it thinks that will earn a chuckle. She's a princess who likes to jump-kick first and ask questions later, and she has an acute phobia of pumpkins that the game milks for all it's worth. I'll go as far as to say that the optimal playthrough of Threads of Fate is to play Mint's quest first, and then just leave it at that. Your only reward for doing Rue's side of things is an avalanche of Pinocchio winks and a brief cut-scene that sets up a never-to-come sequel.

It extends to more than just the story, though. Rue and Mint also have different gameplay styles. Mint can cast a variety of useful magic spells. Her repertoire constantly expands over the course of the game, and the only catch is that you need to keep an eye on your MP. Those points will slowly restore as you whack away at the enemies with physical attacks, giving the gameplay a nice balance between safe ranged strikes and risky but necessary close combat. Rue is a little different. He can change his shape into the forms of the enemies he fights. Unfortunately, he can only change into the last five enemies he has encountered, which makes that ability very unreliable. Rue has to depend more on his trusty weapon. Given the general lack of zip in the melee combat, it makes for a long slog. I suppose it's cool on paper, and I can't deny that it's an innovative way to introduce some puzzles outside of the normal action-RPG stuff.

Threads of Fate is at its best when it's being goofy. Its serious moments have been done many times before, and far better. But when it starts parading out its cast of bizarre NPCs, it's hard not to smile a little. Characters like the star-obsessed Duke, the self-absorbed Rod, or the garish Fancy Mel are not only weird and wonderful in their own right, they bounce off of the heroes really well. Especially Mint, who is frankly having none of this foolishness even as she is cranking up the absurdity all on her own. The game's localization doesn't try very hard taking any of this seriously, and although it comes off as rough and amateurish in places, neither of those qualities are particularly out of place in both this game and its era. The overall courseness that the English script is prone to is practically a perfect match for the bratty Mint, who isn't nearly as elegant or amazing as she thinks she is.

Had I encountered the game in the right time or place, I might have liked Threads of Fate better. It has charm to burn and it's certainly competent in most regards. I guess the problem is that it doesn't seem all that interested in being anything more than that. And while it's not a terribly long game in the grander scheme, any enjoyment to be gleaned from the gameplay is exhausted well before the credits roll on even the first playthrough. That's a long ride on silly jokes alone. That said, it's not hard to find people who absolutely adore the game, and it certainly got its fair share of positive reviews in its time. It's also probably unfair to expect so much from a game that was explicitly designed to appeal to children. Again, it's not a bad game at all. I'm not displeased that I played it. But I also didn't take much away from the game, so it's hard to say if people with no existing connection to it should bother diving back in time to give it a go. 

Previous: Legend of Mana

Next: Chrono Cross

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#gaming #retro #summer of adventure #threads of fate #square enix #playstation #rpg

[aurimeanswind]

Post Microsoft E3 2017 Write Up

Another E3 press conference, another write up of my thoughts and opinions, feelings, all the things.

Shoutout to the IP Boys and some special guests who got together without me to discuss and breakdown the Xbox E3 briefing. You should definitely check it out!

So let’s get into it.

Xbox One X

So personally, as I said in my predictions piece, I thought they’d go the Xbox One Elite route for things, since it’s consistent with their branding up until now, especially with the Xbox 360. But the Xbox One X is a fine name. It sounds kind of cool, it plays into that whole “X is cool” branding which I think is a little bit old school. It feels very much in the vein of a “my system is better than yours” branding philosophy, almost harkening back to Sega vs Nintendo. It at least gave me those vibes without being overly patronizing or talking down to the consumer. I get frustrated when I see people saying that they wish it’d been named Scorpio, that that was a cooler sounding name. It really wasn’t. It was a name we’ve been used to, and as people on the inside of things, codenames appeal to us. It’s like spies: they have that secretive nature, making them feel more like exclusive or secretive ideas. But that name means nothing to the consumer that doesn’t follow along with these insider pieces of news and rumors. The Scorpio, as a public product, would be confusing and branding. The “X” sitting alongside the “S” is easy to understand, and makes one stand as an elite or stronger piece of hardware, and I think it’s easy to see and understand.

As for $499. Yeah, it’s expensive, and it’s a bummer, and I feel the same way about the PS4 Pro. At the very least I feel like I’d get a significant difference out of the X than I would from the Pro. Also, I’m not disappointed because this has what I’ve thought the price would be from the absolute beginning. It’s a tall ask, and obviously I think it’ll not sell as well as the Xbox One S, but I feel that after the protracted opening to the conference, Microsoft made a good pitch as to why you should just get in on the Xbox ecosystem of consoles in general.

The Games

I really loved the series of games that came through. There were quite a few that I am very interested in, and I know there has been a lot of lukewarm talk around the games they showed, but many of them are what I’d call “Alex O’Neill-ass picks”. I don’t want to go through all of them, but I’ll discuss the ones that stick out.

The top two are the Life is Strange Prequel and a new Ori game. Seriously, hearing there is a new Ori game coming is maybe the best announcement, for me personally, from that conference. That is a game that genuinely touched my soul, and is one of my all time favorite Metroidvanias. It skyrocketed itself to the number two spot on my favorite games of 2015 list, a year that was very competitive. It even outpaced The Witcher 3. Life is Strange was the number one for me that year, so just going back to that story with Chloe and Rachel this time has me so excited. It’ll be interesting to see that world through the lens of a new character without superpowers, but boy am I excited to see it at all.

After that is Tacoma, which is one of my most anticipated titles now that we’re out of the Persona 5/Zelda torrent that was early 2017. Gone Home wrecked me and hit me in ways that I’ve never seen in a game before, and Tacoma is so within my realm and I’m just endlessly excited to see not only what Fulbright has learned from Gone Home itself, but the several games that have followed in its footsteps in the years since. It’s so close too, and it’s one of those titles that I just want to lock myself in a room with and not speak to anyone until I’ve finished.

Assassin’s Creed Origins actually looks interesting to me. The combat looked like a big step up for that series, and loot/RPG mechanics, while generally overplayed in most modern games today, do still have a strong appeal to me. I’m really interested in what a new, take-your-time AC game looks like in this day and age. Still a lot of unknowns there, but a Bow is a big get for me.

I am all aboard the Anthem bandwagon. Like, all the way. As a complete and total Destiny-convert, I got both Destiny vibes of that, with a little big of wide-scale Titanfall feel to the way the exosuits looked and feel. While I can only hope the game plays as well as it looks, and it looks outstanding, I wonder what the story of that world will be. Bioware are obviously infamous for their design, narrative, and storytelling, but we only got such a small taste of that in this Anthem demo. It looks, at its most base, like a game I want to get lost in and explore with friends, something I love doing in Destiny, and hopefully there is something very deep behind that too. This was a total showstopper for me.

All those games super appeal to me, and here are some quick fires:

Metro looks amazing. At least, graphically, and a possibly-open-world Metro could be good for that series. It makes me wish I had taken the time to get into it, but we’ll see what happens.

Forza is real pretty. Still don’t care about cars.

Sea of Thieves still looks incredibly promising. I don’t want to get too excited yet, but man does it appeal to my swashbuckling adventurer side.

I really, really want State of Decay 2 to be good. I reeeeeally do. I hope it is.

Player Unknown Battlegrounds is a massive get for Microsoft. Xbox Games Preview is working in their favor here. Can’t wait to play it.

Cuphead has a date, let’s hope that game is dope.

Dragon Ball FighterZ, at least visually, looks INCREDIBLE. Man those Guilty Gear folks know how to make anime in motion.

I am now more interested in Crackdown 3 than I was before, even if it was still, overall, underwhelming.

I will play Black Desert Online, if only to make a bunch of anime-ass characters.

Super Lucky’s Tale looks SO FUCKING CUTE OH MY GOD

Looks like Shadow of War got quietly delayed?? I’m really bummed about that, since I thought it’d be a perfect summer game. It had a ton of personality though, and I can’t wait to play it.

The Pitch

I think the pitch for Xbox One X is rough. It’s just another higher-end version of a console you can get for cheaper, and as much as I do want it, it’s always a hard sell when you know you can save a bunch of money for games by buying the weaker, more affordable piece of hardware. But this appeals more to me than the PS4 Pro does. I think it was just presented better, announced better, and utilized in a Presser better. And that honestly goes a long way.

The pitch to get into the Microsoft ecosystem of consoles was really strong. Microsoft didn’t lean on any of their easy-hitters. No Gears. No Halo. Nothing cheap, nothing big on crowd pleasing, and they even said their brining original Xbox games into the backwards compatibility program. It really unifies their consoles into one thing, and I imagine that compatibility will continue on forever into the future. They look poised, and consumer-friendly, and I think they had a game up there for everyone.

Even if the Xbox One X doesn’t appeal to you, I think generally they strengthened the appeal for the Xbox in general. While I agree with some sentiments out there that there was no “home run” here, save for maybe Anthem, I think Xbox really kicked ass as a show in general.

Stay tuned here for all my written thoughts on all of the press briefings, and come back Tuesday where I am finally going to do a Sunday Chats, just on a Tuesday. I’m off to go watch Bethesda’s conference now!

#e3 #e3 2017 #microsoft #microsoft e3 2017 #xbox one #xbox one x

[genocidaltophattedoharo]

What did you guys get for Christmas??? Anyone get any deals on Steam???

I myself received JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Manga, all of the Part 1 volumes in a set <3 from a friend of my mother’s and a headset that we had to return because it just wouldnt configure to my computer its the most confusing thing ever everything would work except for i couldnt hear sound out of it whatsoever, but its fine cause my best friend irl hooked me up with an old headset of his thats still in good condition C: So im happy 

I had also bought quite a few things on Steam with steam gift cards I received and some from my own money

1. VA-11 Hall-A Cyberpunk Bartender Action : I was craving a bartending game for some reason and thought it would be a shot in the dark to check if Steam had anything of the sort but damn if i was surprised. VA-11 Hall-A or as its said Valhalla is about a bartender named Jill working in a semi-mediocre bar in this cyberpunk futuristic setting, there’s robots and humans for the most part of what ive seen but i also heard from other character dialogue that there’s even some type of animals that are characters. In short to keep this from being a super long ass post the gameplay is you creating drinks for customers that come in and order and you chat with them and get to know their character sometimes things they say come up later on and each one of them is memorable as fuck dude like even the cynical ones are interesting to talk to :^T. The dialogue is REALLY FUNNY and not TOO futuristic, without rambling on and making ppl read too much its DEFINITELY worth a look.

As someone who usually would be turned off by the thought of a bartending visual novel game, I can assure you dude, its not what it sounds like. If i had a complaint about this game my only sole complaint would be that the Steam description is a misleading intentional joke but i almost dashed it off as one of those dating visual novels if i didnt take a closer look into it. though i guess people who judge books by their cover typically are the only ones missing out hehe

2. Skullgirls :i LOVE skullgirls, cerebella is my favorite to play as

3.Suits : This game is literally less than a dollar like clocking in at like literally 70 cents on Steam right now and even then its SUUUUUPER cheap. If you like OFF like me, you’d get a similar vibe from it like i did. I havent played much but its worth atleast a look at the trailer if you dont like rpg maker games then i dont think itll be up your alley imo

4.Tomb Raider 2013: One of my friends recommended this to me and DAMNNNNNN THAT INTRO WAS BRUTALLLLL, i plan to play this at some point but it seems like a big game to complete so I have it set aside for now but man did it get my attention

5.Papers, Please: Literally havent touched this game yet just heard its good

6.Ultimate Chicken Horse: THIS GAME IS SOOOOO FUN TO PLAY WITH FRIENDS, make sure you’re playing with multiple people though! its definitely more fun with more people. its a cute little game where you create obstacles on the course and whoever can overcome them and get to the goal a number of times, wins. you can play as a cute little sheep,chicken,chameleon,raccoon,horse or bunny as characters too!

7.Grim Fandango Remastered : I really have wanted to play this for some time, i like it a lot so far the cutscenes remind me of like old 90s cgi and for some thatd seem canny by todays standards but i love it, i love that you can physically see the game’s age while at the same time are able to enjoy it remastered.

8. ASTRONEER :This game is really nice to look at and I am dying to have someone to play it with someday soon :DDD I really was interested in playing a space game and Astroneer features you being able to explore planets with friends and do space exploration and such :T. 

9. Psychonauts: I heard this game was underrated, I initially dont know a thing about it other than it was released on the original xbox as an exclusive and that it was 90 cents on steam

10. Dangan ronpa trigger happy havoc : I love the art style for this game’s characters, Ive known about this series since like what 2014?? Was that when these games were made, i saw some shitposts from the fanbase they were pretty neat too, a lot of my friends like it as well but i never actually sat down to play a dangan ronpa game at all. A friend of mine had tried to get me to check out the series by saying you solve mysteries like Ace Attorney, so I had seen half an episode of Dangan Ronpa The Animation back then but I lost interest very quick sadly. Unfortunately at the time I hadnt heard that was the worst way to get a first impression of the series lmao, but anyways, who knows, this could even kick off a whole new type of game content on my blog, the fandom seems to be a fun bunch as well. 

11.Hyper Light Drifter : NEVER BEFORE HAVE I SEEN SUCH SWEET SAVORY GLOSSY BRIGHT COLORFUL PIXEL ART IN A MANNER SUCH AS THIS GAME HAS PRESENTED. it really seems like a game i need to play soon, infact i plan to play it after I beat Valhalla (Even though it has multiple endings HHHHHHH this game keeps getting better). If you dont know what hyper light drifter is my guy, check it 

And that wraps up every game I got from 2016 Steam’s Winter sale. But ive been talking a LOT, what have u homies gotten yourselves over the holidays

#oharo talks #genocidaltophattedoharo talks

[entergamingxp]

World of Warcraft and Apex Legends • Eurogamer.net

Hello and welcome to the second of our Clash of Fans write-ups. This week we’ll be getting together in pairs (virtually) and forcing each other to play a beloved game. Then we’ll chat about what we made of it all. Next up is World of Warcraft and Apex Legends!

World of Warcraft

Emma: The idea with Clash of Fans is for everyone to play a game they haven’t tried before, but I must admit I have somewhat bent the rules on this one. I was actually introduced to World of Warcraft in a university games history seminar, of all things, as an example of an MMO with a declining player population – something which I’m sure horrified Oli when I told him.

Anyway, it’s been good to revisit the game on my own terms, and with more time. I used to be a big Star Wars: The Old Republic player a few years ago, so I’ve enjoyed having a look at where all those MMO mechanics came from.

I suppose we’d better start with character creation so you can judge my choices: I’m really sorry Oli, but I couldn’t bring myself to pick Horde. They seem like they’re trying very hard to be edgy. I also wanted to try out the Worgen race, who seem like they’re troubled but come out fighting for the “good” side, and therefore achieve a more balanced level of moodiness. I’m sure there’ll be something in the lore to disprove that point.

Even though the character creation is pretty limited compared to current-day titles, I do love how you end up getting so invested in your player-character, and almost put a part of yourself into them. I got inspired by the Worgen race to imagine my character as a sword-wielding, brooding she-wolf warrior – which is unusual for me, as I usually go for sneaky types. Now all I need is a proper cloak.

Fun fact: when I was about 14 and the Cataclysm expansion released, I used to draw fan art of those moody Worgen… even though I wasn’t allowed anywhere near World of Warcraft at the time. Maybe it was meant to be.

And here’s what inspired that fan art.

Oli: So, yes, I do feel very old right now, thanks. Even “games history” being a thing makes me feel old. But while WOW’s player population may have been declining then, and certainly still is, the game is still massive and has seen off every challenger in the interim, including The Old Republic. In your face, student Emma and her stupid stuffy games history professor.

Sorry. Nothing, maybe not even Nintendo, makes me come over more fanboy than this game. Is that a self-justification mechanism to defend the literal years of playtime I have sunk into this MMO? Probably, but that’s not just it. It’s telling, I think, that you felt so invested in your character and the Worgen race so early on – it must be something about the game’s art and simple but effective storytelling style that really hooks you in and encourages role-playing. In my head, my first character, a troll warrior, was a sort of clumsy eccentric who didn’t really want to be a warrior (because I didn’t – I was asked to roll one by my friends). You’re probably right about the Horde being the embarrassingly emo choice, but it is the choice I made 15 years ago and I live by it now. These people – orcs? zombies? cow-folk? – are my people. They’re my brothers and sisters. The sense of belonging is just so strong. Humans disgust me. Don’t even get me started on gnomes.

Every time Wes and I have a fun, nostalgic chat about WOW, there comes a point where I remember he played Alliance and I just feel very disappointed in him. It’s sad.

Anyway, how did you get on once you started playing? I remember the Worgen starting area being pretty action-packed and fun – a far cry from the pre-Cataclysm dustbowls where you had to kill boar for a million hours to get to level 10. (I should have made you play WOW Classic, shouldn’t I…)

Emma: I’m with you on the humans – the other choices are so much more imaginative, why on Earth would you pick something so bland?

My feelings on Gilneas are decidedly more mixed. The rainy setting and Victorian London vibes are fantastic, even if the whole lockdown situation is a little close to home right now. I love how deliciously chunky the art style is, the scale means you feel quite small next to everything, and I spent some time just wandering through houses to admire the interior design. There’s also something rather magical about how the areas transform once you’ve handed in a quest. That square you were once strolling through? Poof! It’s now a battlefield, and everything’s on fire.

On the flip side: good lord that’s a lot of fetch quests. I know this is like complaining a beach has too much sand, as MMOs are built on grind, but it’s made me realise SWTOR did a better job of disguising the fetch quests behind story beats – or at least providing big narrative pay-offs at the end. There weren’t really any characters I cared about in the starting area for WOW, so when the area flooded and it was supposed to be this big narrative moment, my reaction was “meh”. Although I did burst out laughing at the wild camera movement to convey the drama of the invading armada, it was just so charmingly clunky.

Images that precede unfortunate events.

Oli: Yeah, I can imagine that stuff is quite a lot more gauche than I remember it. At the time it was a big leap forward for storytelling in the game. A strange part of this game being such a big part of my life – and just so big – is that I really struggle to see it in the context of other games. I just see it in the context of itself. Recent expansions will make Gilneas look as old-fashioned as Gilneas made the game at launch look, but that doesn’t mean they actually feel modern.

And if you’re looking for characters to care about, you might be looking in the wrong place. The game has some lovely quest lines and the grand sweep of the story is quite exciting in places, but it doesn’t have a lot of room for characters.

As for fetch quests… I’ve played so much WOW I find the repetition soothing. I love the grind, I don’t need it to be disguised. It annoys me when I’m just walking backwards and forwards, but give me 10 monsters to kill in a metronomic fashion on the way and I’m happy. I am Pavlov’s gamer.

One thing I will say is that the starter area isn’t all that representative of what’s beyond it. Not that there’s less grind – there’s more, so much more. But the slightly awkward way the storytelling and quest mechanics sit next to each other gets smoothed away, and the delivery feels much more natural. The game becomes much more about exploring its vast maps, too, which is one of the things it’s best at.

Emma: I think the fetch quests would also be much more bearable if I was playing with someone else – soloing WOW isn’t exactly a natural way to play it, so I’ll give it the benefit of the doubt for that! It’s a shame I couldn’t get to the stage where I could try a raid party, as I always wanted to have my own Leeroy Jenkins moment.

We haven’t talked about the actual combat mechanics yet, although I think I only really tried the most basic moves of all, which were varieties of bonking people on the head with a mace. It does get to the point where you figure out an order for your moves, and it feels great when that clicks: charge in, lay down a few smacks, and then bring out the more powerful moves and a finisher. I can understand how this makes the grind feel far more satisfying, particularly as one of my moves worked from jumping quickly from one battle to the next, and I had to figure out that time window. It turns out MMOs are part rhythm game: this is my take for the day.

Oli: That is a good and correct take. And yes, although it’s very basic at the start of the game, you’ve started to get a sense of what makes the game so hypnotic, and so good. Above all WOW has brilliant RPG classes, with expertly designed skills that are really satisfying to use. So once you get into the groove with your rotation, and start to learn how to optimise it – and learn to use situational skills as well when things get a bit more complex – it’s super rewarding.

WOW’s dirty secret is that most people, most of the time, are playing it solo. The dungeons and raids are definitely the game at its best; large-scale raiding is seen as the pinnacle of the game, but I think it’s the five-player dungeons that are better dynamically. If you can hang on to level 15, you’ll get to try one. I think they’re some of the best co-op gaming ever, even if players tend to rush through them a bit these days. But yes, questing is mostly done solo and is tuned as such.

That said, the best times I’ve ever had in the game have been questing with one friend. There’s just so much to discover, such a varied and exciting world, and it’s great doing it in company. If I could persuade you to keep playing, I’d say this: try a dungeon, and get to a point where you can really start to explore the landmasses. The environment art is incredible in its simple, colourful way, there’s no loading, and the world just goes on for ever.

I’d love to know how dated it feels to you. I think Blizzard has done a great job keeping a 15-year-old game feeling slick and playable, but that’s got to have its limitations.

Bleiddast means she-wolf in Welsh, according to the Welsh-English Online Dictionary. (‘Character names are serious business’ – Emma.)

Emma: Alas, I must have stopped just before reaching the first dungeon – I think the quest which involved killing a bunch of spiders finally finished me off. I’d always thought of myself as being a bit of a weird loner when playing MMOs by myself, so it’s reassuring to hear most people aren’t playing as part of huge organised clans.

As for WOW feeling dated, it’s probably the cutscenes where the game suffers most, as the older graphics and animation are more noticeable there. At one point you get bitten mid-quest and your character just flies across the room, which was both confusing and hilarious. The voice acting also gave me a chuckle, as it sounds so theatrical: particularly when the human version of a Worgen politely tells you you’re out of range, and the werewolf version sounds like a chain smoker. I also heard that particular line way too much.

Despite all this, the art style is strong enough to stand the test of time, and the core gameplay loop still feels solid – so that’s the most important thing for me. One of my university friends has offered to take me under her wing and teach me the ways of WOW, so I may be returning to it sooner than I thought. Time to try out one of those dungeons.

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Apex Legends

Oli: I’m scared. What’s happening? It says ‘Season 5’ everywhere. It boots up with a trailer of a lady fighting some robots while having apparently Significant Flashbacks, but the game itself shows no evidence of having any kind of story. The UI is a confusing mess and keeps shouting at me about Twitch Prime. My character’s lobby idle animation is all jerky. My PS4 Pro sounds like it’s going to die in the next five minutes.

I don’t do battle royale – I played Fortnite, like, once. In fact, I don’t really do multiplayer shooters in any form. I have bad aim and I get performance anxiety. I don’t find them relaxing or fun, I find them stressful. Apex Legends isn’t really helping me get over this.

I get why the game has been set up like this – it’s all about reducing the number of button presses between the player and a match. But it makes for a bewildering first impression. The tutorial covers the controls but otherwise isn’t very helpful, and I have to root around to get basic information such as what each character’s abilities are. It doesn’t feel welcoming at all. Also, while the characters look cool, I find the game’s art style in general very hard to read. I’m squinting at pickups to figure out what they are, and one part of the map looks much like all the others to me.

I’m sure it’ll click soon, but as someone who usually plays very different kinds of games, it’s remarkable to me how unwelcoming this is to a first-time player.

Following your advice, Emma, I picked Gibraltar, the tanky one, for my first match. I was matchmade with a Bloodhound but for some reason the third member of our trio never joined. I just followed Bloodhound around like a total liability, getting shot, staring blankly at pickups for ages and not knowing what my abilities were for. I felt bad for my partner. We managed 6th, though!

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Emma: I can’t imagine how confusing it must be to drop into Apex Legends’ lore right now. Because it’s a battle royale and nothing is permanent, Respawn mainly develops the story through trailers and tidbits on the website, all of which means it’s harder for new players to catch up. I’d recommend a trip to a wiki if you want to read up on the latest Loba/Revenant drama (it’s pretty good), but you can absolutely survive without. Although you should absolutely watch the video where Forge gets… introduced.

Apex has definitely caught a lot of flak for not being particularly beginner-friendly, in part because it’s just so fast and the encounters are super intense – although I believe Respawn introduced skill-based matchmaking to try to help new players. I’m hoping the in-match UI will click soon, too, as I think it takes a few games for your brain to figure out, and then things suddenly seem rather simple. Although it may take you far longer to figure out how to use the abilities tactically. I think I’m still figuring it out for some characters.

Saying that, please do keep trying new legends, as there’s a playstyle for everyone. My personal favourite is Pathfinder, as flinging yourself through the air and bursting into battles via zip-line is just so much fun. I love that chaotic energy.

Although you’ve been having issues with the UI, I’d be interested to hear your thoughts on the ping system: it’s adaptive and means you can communicate without the need for voice chat, which is such a life saver (particularly for women – no more toxic conversations, hurray). How have you found it?

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Oli: Ping is absolutely brilliant. It’s a masterstroke. I’m not using it with confidence myself yet, but having teammates use it to point out pickups and enemies, or just set waypoints, is awesome. I don’t love voice chat at the best of times, but I often can’t use it at home, so I love that Respawn has found a way to make that level of teamplay available without voice. That’s a big plus for accessibility.

I’m feeling much better after my second match, mostly because WE WON. This is now the best game ever.

I still wasn’t any good, especially at the shooting – we were totally carried, by a Bloodhound again – but I used my abilities at sensible times, got a couple of kills and a revive, and it felt good, man. Partly we were just lucky and didn’t really encounter anyone for a long midsection of the match. I haven’t got used to the pacing of battle royales, yet – often, you’re not really doing much, and yet this is helping you win as the other teams wipe each other out. It feels weird.

The game handles beautifully – no surprise from Respawn. I love the mantling and the slides and the guns feel great to fire. And yes, encounters are fast, but you’ve got the bleeding out mechanic to give you a bit of a chance to rally as a team, which is a nice touch.

I have mixed feelings about it being teams only. To begin with this stressed me out, as I prefer to learn a game without the pressure of strangers depending on me. But actually, it makes it much easier and more accessible if you can spread the load a bit, doesn’t it? And it adds a nice sense of camaraderie to what would be a pretty alienating experience otherwise.

Emma: The sliding is so good! I love it so much, in fact, that I’ve inadvertently started sliding around in other shooters – my squad mates noticed me doing this around corners in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare a couple of times. Apex seems to be one of the few battle royales where there’s no fall damage, which may seem like a small thing, but it means you don’t have pointless (and annoying) deaths from accidentally falling off things. It’s much more exciting to be shot by someone, right?

Funnily enough, Respawn actually tried a solo mode for Apex as a limited-time event a while back, and for me (and Respawn) it really didn’t work. Without teammates you lose the communication of the ping system, which as you mention, somehow wordlessly forms bonds between you and your squad before the fighting has even begun. You also end up dying quickly in situations where you can’t even react, which is particularly annoying in a battle royale where you have to re-queue rather than just respawn. No second chances.

Having a team means you have the added drama of revives, and also respawns – a system which Apex was first to introduce among the big battle royale games, with Fortnite and Warzone later doing their own versions. I don’t know if this has happened to you yet, but on occasion you can find yourself collecting the respawn banners of your two dead squadmates and sprinting to the nearest respawn beacon. It becomes a tense game of parkour and stealth at that point, and adds another layer to the storytelling in each match. It just makes it so much more memorable.

And congratulations on your win – now you’ll always be chasing the next one. Particularly as Apex puts your name in flashing lights around the arena.

Do you come here often? Yes, unfortunately.

Oli: I noticed about fall damage and breathed a sigh of relief, yeah! I haven’t clicked with the map for this game – it doesn’t feel like a place I’m excited to be – but they have made getting around it feel liberating and fun with the ziplines and stuff, and I appreciate that.

I have been respawned but I haven’t done it for anyone else yet. I don’t think I could take the responsibility.

After feeling like I had got somewhere with Gibraltar, I tried Wraith. Having an alarm when you’re targeted is a really clever idea for a passive skill – I am digging the skill design in this game. If anything is going to get me to come back, it will be experimenting with all the different legends. I didn’t get on so well with Wraith though, and had a couple of strange matches where nothing happened for ages and then our squad got wiped out in a flash. It feels really frustrating. It also feels like it’s going to take me an age to get any good at combat, because it actually forms only a tiny proportion of the time you spend playing a match.

This probably appeals to me the most of the battle royale games – it’s got that slick Respawn feel and the kind of refined design I like, with strong characters with interesting abilities. I also feel like I understand the appeal of battle royale much better after my win! But I don’t know if I could dedicate serious time to these games. They’re too much of an emotional rollercoaster for me. Too much stress. Now I need to go and soothe my cares away with a spot of repetitive grind in World of Warcraft…

from EnterGamingXP https://entergamingxp.com/2020/05/world-of-warcraft-and-apex-legends-%e2%80%a2-eurogamer-net/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=world-of-warcraft-and-apex-legends-%25e2%2580%25a2-eurogamer-net

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Android Shadow of the Beanstalk Review

I grew up in the 80s, but I was a latecomer to cyberpunk. I loved Blade Runner, and read a few Philip K. Dick short stories, because at one point in the 80s I think 98% of all movies were adapted from one of his stories (this figure may be slightly exaggerated). But I didn’t read Gibson’s Neuromancer, and I never got into the crop of cyberpunk RPGs that I saw popping up in Dragon Magazine over the years. Shadowrun was that game that my friends learned without me when they went off to college.

In fact, what finally got me into cyberpunk was reading collections of Transmetropolitan in my late 20s. When I later picked up on a few more of the staples of cyberpunk, what struck me about Transmetropolitan was that it could be very cynical and grim about its world, and yet have some glimmers of hope in the stories. Life could be terrible and strange, but it could also still be strange and wonderful.

Having set the parameters of my primary interface into the subsystem of science fiction indexed as cyberpunk, let’s plug into the specific coordinates of my vector for this review run, the Fantasy Flight Genesys supplement Shadow of the Beanstalk, a sourcebook for playing in their Android setting.

How Much Chrome Does It Have?

This review is based on both the PDF of the product as well as the hardcover. The product is 258 pages long, with a two-page index in the back. Both formats are in full color, and there are full page pieces of art introducing each chapter, as well as several half-page images, maps, and illustrations of gear throughout the book. Like other Fantasy Flight products, the artwork is high quality, and many of the images may be familiar, as they appear in multiple product lines associated with the Android IP.

Most of the pages are shades of blue, with darker “file folder” sidebars to call out special information. A few sections, such as the section on the net, have a different color scheme, with the net pages appearing almost black, and the adversaries’ chapter being largely in golds and orange.

Introduction

The introduction sets the stage for what this book is, what it details, and what else you will need for a campaign. As a supplement to the Genesys RPG, this product is assuming you will have a copy of both the core rules and at least a set of the narrative dice that Genesys utilizes (experience tells me that you may need more than one set).

Fairly early into the introduction, the book suggests that for a more detailed look at the setting, you may want to pick up a copy of the Worlds of Android art and setting book. This immediately made me wonder how “table ready” this book was going to be, but we’ll revisit that later.

The rest of the introduction outlines the core concepts of the setting. Some of this information is delivered as online articles complete with digressions from a character that is currently hacking into the site. The actual date is never mentioned, but the setting revolves around New Angeles, a mega-city in Ecuador dominated by multi-national corporations, and home to a massive space elevator that provides access to the lunar colony of Heinlein and allows for shipping to Mars.

Why is the setting called the Android setting? One of the defining aspects of future society is the invention of androids. Androids are a term used for competing technologies, fully synthetic mechanical constructs called bioroids, and genetically engineered, purpose-built clones, neither of which have full rights as citizens.

While the setting clearly has cyberpunk elements, including multi-national corporations and a world-spanning computer network, the wars, colonies on Mars and the moon, and social issues like clone and bioroid rights also remind me of science fiction stories like The Expanse series of novels.

Chapter 1: Character Creation

Character creation unfolds in a manner similar to the process outlined in the Genesys core rules, but this section addresses changes in the process. The main points of divergence are the setting specific archetypes, careers, skills, and talents, and the introduction of factions and favors.

Factions are important for the favor economy because they will determine who you owe, and who owes you. Favors are divided between small, regular, and big favors, and you can owe bigger favors to get more resources at character creation. It’s not entirely unlike Obligation in FFG’s Star Wars Edge of the Empire, except the discreet favors and their size are tracked, rather than creating an obligation score that can be triggered.

Archetypes include the following character types:

Natural (unenhanced humans)

Bioroid (synthetic constructs)

Clone (purpose-built biologicals)

Cyborg (mechanically enhanced humans)

G-Mods (genetically enhanced humans)

Loonies (humans native to the lunar colonies)

The careers specifically detailed in this book include the following:

Academic

Bounty Hunter

Con Artist

Courier

Investigator

Ristie (rich heirs to the corporate elites)

Roughneck (blue collar space workers)

Runner (people that stick their brains into computers for fun and profit)

Soldier

Tech

Since Edge of the Empire is my favorite expression of FFG’s Star Wars RPGs, I’m not surprised that I really like the concept of favors and the rules surrounding them. I did find it a little ironic that the rules note that you can reskin the Animal Companion talent from the core Genesys book to account for drones, but the rules also subdivide the core Genesys computer skill into Hacking and Sysops. While I realize that in the real-world computer skills are definitely more granular than a single skill, I’m not convinced that they need to be broken out for an RPG. There are a few more details on what each skill gets used for later on in the book.

Chapter 2: Equipment and Vehicles

This section has a few more details on the favor economy but also details a slew of cyberpunk style equipment for the player characters to interact with. This chapter is also the home of the single most 90s piece of equipment I’ve ever seen, the charged crystal katana. Most of the weapons skew more towards monofilament blades, flechette guns, mass drivers, and masers.

There is a section that details various substances that may have addictive properties. There is a sidebar that discusses treating this topic with care, and being mindful both of real-world issues and any concerns players may have at the table, and I appreciated that inclusion.

Because this is a Genesys game, various pieces of equipment have hardpoints that allow for equipment to be customized in various ways. If you are familiar with cybernetics from the Star Wars RPGs, one way that cybernetics differ in this setting is that strain threshold is very important to their installation and operation. Augmentations lower strain threshold, limiting the number a character can have. Additionally, various special effects are triggered by spending strain.

The good news is that Shadow of the Beanstalk avoids old school concepts like “humanity” or “essence,” and doesn’t imply that enhanced people lose hold of their humanity with too many augments. There is just a limit to how many major augmentations a character can reasonably utilize. Unfortunately, there are still a few lines of text that imply having an altered emotional state is “creepy,” and the tone feels overly harsh and judgmental.

Chapter 3: The Network 

Since a large portion of the setting is based on cyberpunk vibes, we have a chapter on The Network, and what it looks like to hack into various systems. This chapter gives a history of the global Network, as well as details on evocative things like God Code (programs that spontaneously write themselves in the Network), “ghosts” of runners that lost themselves while submerged in the Network, and religions that have arisen from these quirks of the virtual world.

There are also rules for hacking. This is not shocking for a cyberpunk setting. While they are a little more involved than I would like, a big benefit of how the rules work is that everything is framed in a manner similar to other aspects of the rules. ICE programs have a program strength that operates in a similar manner to character health. Icebreaker programs work in a manner similar to weapons in the “real world.” Remember earlier in the book where they split the computer skills up? If you are intruding on a system, you are using hacking. If you are defending against intruders or acting against someone entering a computer that you are “supposed” to have access to, you use sysops.

What I really appreciate is that there is a simplified version of hacking included in this chapter as well, which the GM is encouraged to use in situations where a more involved run would be cumbersome, which still gives benefits for having icebreakers and ICE installed.

Chapter 4: New Angeles and Heinlein

This section goes into more detail on the setting. While it briefly mentions a few areas outside of New Angeles, the Beanstalk, and Heinlein (the lunar colony of New Angeles), the main focus is on those core areas of the setting.

Each of the main districts of New Angeles is detailed, and each of them is essentially a small city in its own right. The various districts have information on the undercity, plaza, and penthouse levels of the area, and most of them follow a format of presenting general information, then providing a specific example location, and NPCs native to those locations, rather than giving exhaustive details on every major business and location.

In addition to the city districts on Earth, there are sections on Midway Station (the space station halfway up the space elevator that dominates the city), the Challenger Planetoid (a rock towed into geosynchronous orbit to facilitate the shuttles launched from the elevator), and Heinlein, the lunar colony that provides Earth with He-3 from its mines.

Despite mentioning the additional details in the Worlds of Android setting book, there are plenty of setting details in this chapter, with a ton of adventure hooks. There should be more than enough for multiple campaigns worth of material in what has been provided.

While I really like these details, I would much rather have a few more out of setting sidebars discussing potential issues with introducing topics like war, labor disputes, and slave labor that is a constant part of the setting with bioroids, clones, and even AI. Players may even be playing characters that don’t have full rights as people, or characters that are marginalized as being on the losing side of a war, so a little more discussion on safety would have been appreciated.

Chapter 5: Adversaries

The adversaries chapter gives a whole range of stats for security guards, drones, cyborgs, gang members, animals, and criminals that PCs might run into in the course of a game. These are organized in the standard Genesys groupings of minions, rivals, and nemeses, meaning that the NPCs work better in large groups, are fairly similar to PCs, or are more formidable than any single PC, in broad terms.

By far, the best entry is the teacup giraffe. Not because it’s a fearsome beast, and not just because it’s adorable. The Too Cute and Way Too Cute abilities are just too good not to enjoy.

Chapter 6: The Game Master

The Game Master chapter opens by explaining the mindset of people that live in the setting, and how that mindset changes based on the character’s position in society. It also includes advice on descriptions, the importance of social encounters and capitulation, referring to the social encounter rules in the core Genesys rules. It then wraps up with the Android Adventure Builder, a section that has several base jobs, escalations, and climaxes. While the hooks have a fairly linear outline, the escalations and climaxes can be mixed and matched with different hooks to create different adventure progressions.

I normally like a setting book to have a sample adventure, but in this case, I think the Adventure Builder is a solid toolkit for outlining what adventures should look like in the setting, with enough flexibility that it can be used multiple times. What I do think was lacking in this section was a discussion on how groups get together. Most of the hooks broadly assume PCs that are sort of outlaws, maybe mercenaries, but I would have loved to have had a few group templates to give examples of how the disparate archetypes might come to work together.

There is also some discussion on how there isn’t much discrimination based on nationality or ethnicity in the setting, with the exploration of similar topics being focused on android and clone rights, and societal stress between loonies and humans on Earth. That said, there are definitely some nationality-based stereotypes that echo in the setting, including Russian, German, and Japanese companies and neighborhoods that both feel a little too one dimensional in places, and belie the concept that only the manufactured prejudices are present in the setting.

There are a handful of paragraphs about creating micro-cultures in the setting, neighborhoods that are based on cultural backgrounds, religious affiliations, or other signifiers. There are examples of these in the setting chapter, and the book encourages players to use those as examples to make more, but three paragraphs of discussion feel really thin to fully convey the care you would have to use in creating a micro-culture based on any existing modern-day signifiers. I feel like this section would have been better served with advice on keeping these micro-cultures based on unique setting elements or exercising care and collaboration with those that understand the real-world foundations of such cultures.

Strong Signal

 While the setting draws heavily from cyberpunk tropes, it also draws broadly and allows for a wide variety of campaign styles. 

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While the setting draws heavily from cyberpunk tropes, it also draws broadly and allows for a wide variety of campaign styles. The setting information is concise enough for campaigns, but evocative enough to inspire further research. In general, rules for limiting cybernetics avoid some of the pitfalls of other cyberpunk games, and the mechanics for gaining benefits give similar items in this setting a different feel than, for example, cybernetics in the FFG Star Wars games. There is some very solid advice on structuring jobs in a manner appropriate to the genre, and while the opening scenarios are very specific, the twists to be introduced later are broadly applicable. This is a deep mine for campaign material.

ICE

The only real content warning in the entire book is about addiction, but the setting has many points that could cause safety concerns, including politics, religion, class, and national origins coming into conflict. The section on creating micro-cultures introduces the concept of creating a micro-culture and is especially thin and potentially fraught. While it is great that the setting is wide open for many kinds of stories, there isn’t much time spent examining how to bring together disparate character types, or examples of what different teams of player characters may look like, beyond assuming they will be criminals doing jobs, defaulting to one of the most common cyberpunk tropes.

Qualified Recommendation — A product with lots of positive aspects, but buyers may want to understand the context of the product and what it contains before moving it ahead of other purchases.

The setting really speaks to me. It manages to be grim and dystopian without being so cynical that it doesn’t allow for some feeling of hope. It leaves room for more heroic goals, instead of painting a life of endless jobs for the sake of survival. It does fall into the same pattern that many setting books fall into, presenting the setting without diverting enough to discuss how the various parts can be used at the table.

The GM advice is solid but could be fleshed out more, and for a cyberpunk setting, there isn’t nearly enough discussion on safety and the potential problems that could come up when introducing elements of the setting at the table. Because of that, anyone bringing this to the table should know that they will be doing the safety work on their own.

What are your favorite cyberpunk settings and games? What cyberpunk media informs your enjoyment of the genre? We would love to hear about it in the comments below!

Android Shadow of the Beanstalk Review published first on https://medium.com/@ReloadedPCGames