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sneakyscarab · 5 months

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hello! it's been a while since ive written out my thoughts about touhou! part of the reason why is that i've been working on a website of my own, which now hosts all my grimoire of nina entries with enhanced bonus features! plus a lot of other things on other pages but this is the relevant part to this post. i'm not sure whether i want to continue making tumblr versions of the posts now that i've set this up, but for now im gonna do both a tumblr edition and a neocities edition. with that out of the way lets get started on...

Touhou 1-5 PC98 Extravaganza!

after finishing the main series (and taking a probably needed break from bullet hells for a bit) I went back to the beginning and checked out the first wave of Touhou, the 5 PC98 games!

putting this up front, while i absolutely respect what these games did to kick off the series and get things going, i cant say i was very fond of them, so the overall tone of this writing is on the neutral to negative side. just something i feel i should note. with that said, let’s get started.

Touhou 1 - Highly Responsive to Prayers

Highly Responsive to Prayers is a weird game. contrary to what one would expect, the First Touhou Game is not a vertical scrolling shooter like others. HRtP is instead a sort of breakout/arkanoid type game, where you control a miko-shaped paddle named Reimu running back and forth bouncing a giant yin-yang orb that clears up tiles, beating a stage once you’ve cleared the screen. it does actually have whispers of the series’ future though, with turrets in levels that shoot bullets towards you, Reimu having a amulet-shooting ability (influence the orb's movement), screen-clearing bombs, and menacing boss fights.

you heard me right, this breakout clone has boss fights, and theyre kinda wild. every 5th stage is a boss, which have big hitboxes and shoot out tons of bullets and other attacks which you have to simultaneously avoid while also manipulating your orb in order to hit the boss (because only the orb does damage). After beating the first boss youre given a branching path between Makai or Hell, and either choice gives you 15 more stages for a total of 20.

overall HRtP is a very bizarre and not particularly great game, but its uniqueness makes it really stand out, and if you're in the market to play a weird breakout/bullet hell game for whatever reason you should try it out.

Touhou 2 - Story of Eastern Wonderland

now This is a Touhou game! released alongside HRtP at Comiket 52, Story of Eastern Wonderland is what i would say is the true first Touhou game, being a vertical scrolling shooter with 6 stages, fancy boss fights, and ridiculous characters.

right out of the gate SoEW shows off how wacky the PC98 era lore is, with the first stage containing not one but two military tanks as boss fights. the third stage's boss as well is a weird metallic wall with 5 "eyes" and innumerable laser cannons. its wild. as for gameplay, it's pretty much what you would consider Standard Touhou, although with some features missing that havent been invented yet, notably the movement-slowing Focus mechanic.

one interesting thing about this game is the colour choice: likely due to palette restrictions pretty much the entire game is a combo of red+purple, with the occasional blue+green sprites. even marisa is not immune, having bright red hair only in this game alongside a purple robe+hat.

its very surprising how close SoEW already is to the modern gameplay loop, although i guess it shouldnt be Too surprising considering scrolling shooters are like one of the first game genres ever made. its a pretty fun time, but also pretty rough around the edges.

Touhou 3 - Phantasmagoria of Dim. Dream

if you thought we would stablize into the regular style now that we've seen SoEW, you'd be off the mark. Phantasmagoria of Dim Dream is actually a VS game in the same style as the later PoFV and UDoALG titles! it was really surprising to me seeing just how much experimentation was going on with the series this early in its lifespan, but I suppose that happened a lot back then.

in terms of gameplay PoDD plays surprisingly similar to PoFV, with the same enemy combos, sending spells at each other through a charge meter, and summoning yourself as a boss fight on the other guy's screen as an ultimate move. it even has the same insane boss summon rebound mechanic and the same cheating bastard final boss ai!

one funny difference is that, since faeries hadnt yet been established as go-to mooks, the enemies during duels are a variety of random things. besides ghosts you just have star, moon, or heart shapes with ' ' and ^^ faces. theyre so abstract I kinda love it lol.

like SoEW its surprisingly functional for its age, although also like that game it still lacks features like focus, leaving it being unpolished in comparison to newer variations of this formula. unless youre a PC98 enthusiast id recommend playing PoFV or UDoALG instead, especially since the multiplayer on this one is local-only.

Touhou 4 - Lotus Land Story

now things are starting to standardize. Lotus Land Story is another vertical scrolling shooter and adds in a bunch of features not in SoEW that would go on to be series mainstays: focus, boss phases, boss item drops, and most notably having Marisa as a deuteragonist! if SoEW was a standard touhou missing some features, LLS is taking steps to a full on touhou game, missing just a few mechanics from EoSD, notably the spell card system and point-of-collection line.

LLS is also notable for a few other reasons, one being the character Yuuka who is one of the few PC98 characters to get remade in the windows games, and the other being the origin of the iconic song Bad Apple!! which got remixed by nomico and memed half to death.

Its pretty good, albeit still rough around the edges and missing the sort of spark thats found in later entries.

Touhou 5 - Mystic Square

Mystic Square is where we settle in, playing identical to LLS, which means theres not much to talk about. there are 2 more playable characters than LLS, with both Mima and Yuuka. Mystic Square also includes the 4th and final PC98 character to get remade later in the Windows canon, Alice Margatroid. besides the name and the blonde hair though theres pretty much nothing connecting the two Alices together. if you liked Lotus Land Story you'll probably like this too, i dunno.

alrighty with all those games out of the way its time to talk about the characters of note. and of course if theres one name thats synonymous with PC98 its...

Mima! appearing in four of the five games of this era, Mima is the most consistent character besides Reimu and Marisa, and yet she has never been seen since Mystic Square. this may be a hot take, but i think Mima is emblematic of a lot of the qualities of this era that make it hard to get into from a story perspective. for starters, Mima is incredibly inconsistent. She shows up 4 times and is basically a different character each time; being a random Hell boss in HRtP, a vengeful spirit bent on destroying all humanity (except Marisa i guess?) in SoEW, a woman of few words and a short temper in PoDD, and a snarky bully who tells blatant lies just to see how people react in MS. she also has a weird conceptual design and wack power scaling, being a ghost who was never alive, always been a ghost, who also for some reason has like dragon wings but only when she gets angry (Marisa also has these in PoDD which is really bizarre) and shes able to simply escape being magically sealed away as if she was cracking the seal on a pickle jar and casually beats up everyone in Mystic Square without even blinking. While i do like elements of her character (her lying bastard personality from MS is pretty funny and I see why people would want that back) i think its for the best that she stays in the PC98 era, the one seal she cannot break free of. If she were to come back, so much would have to be rewritten either of the world around her or Mima herself that she would basically be a different character entirely, which i think would cause way more drama than her return is worth.

moving on, lets talk about Genjii! this old fart is basically Reimu's grandpa who is also a magical flying turtle. since Reimu doesnt know how to fly in these games, her pops Genjii gives her a ride whenever she needs to go solve an incident. He also acts as a straight-man to Reimu's comedy in her storylines, often questioning the bizarre things that she says or weird noises she makes. he's just a funny turtle grandpa and i'm here for it. while Genjii has never officially appeared in a game in the Windows era, ZUN has stated that the reason is that he's just enjoying his retirement. Reimu can fly on her own now, so he's just resting in the pond out behind the shrine, doing whatever it is grandpa turtles do in their free time. good for him :>

the last character spotlight is for Meira! she's a cool samurai lady from stage 2 of SoEW who was also Reimu's gay awakening :P (for context, Meira and Reimu's pre-battle conversation is a bit where Meira claims to seek the Hakurei Maiden [for her power] but Reimu assumes that Meira's hitting on her. After clarifying that Meira wants to fight Reimu and take her power after winning, Reimu counter-offers by implying that she'll take Meira as her girlfriend if she wins.) this was almost certainly just intended as a joke, but considering that Touhou Project is basically a yuri wonderland its very funny to see gay implications in literally the second spoken conversation in the entire series. besides that, Meira also has cool attacks utilizing her sword where she makes huge slashes in the air that explode into bullets after a second, which were probably inspiration for Youmu's sick swordplay five games later.

and thats the PC98 era! with these games under my belt ive now played each whole-numbered entry in the series, woo~! so having played them all, what are my thoughts on the origins of Touhou?

i'll start by clarifying that i am generally not a 'Retro Gamer'. while i acknowledge the importance of early entries into series, they are very frequently rough, unpolished, or just straight up unfun because the devs are still working out the kinks on how they want the series to go. this is doubly so for games from this pre-2000s era, where game design in general was still a new concept and most games were working off arcade standards of high difficulty to steal quarters. early Touhou is not exempt from this, these games are missing a lot of features added later that make the games more fun, and the difficulty is much higher with a lot more 'bullshit' design like bullets that spawn on your character or a lack of proper resources given on respawn leading to a cycle of death.

all said, i cant say i really enjoyed my time with the PC98 titles. you may have noticed that i didn't mention 1cc runs so far in this article, and the reason for that is i couldnt find the motivation to keep trying for more runs like i did with the future games. mix that in with the bizarre, nonsensical, and often self-contradictory writing and you have a recipe for mediocrity. PoDD in particular is an absolute dearth of writing and worldbuilding. most character interactoins are like one sentence long, and the plot involves two scientists on a "Probability Space Hypervessel" who somehow invited in the characters from Gensokyo to the real world so that they could capture them and steal their magic for clout. In Marisa's route after she beats them up they give her a weapon as a reward which is a ICBM with a smiley face that Marisa names Mimi-chan and rides around instead of her broom. like its all so ridiculous you can just tell that these were like student projects done by a dude in his free time and not a serious attempt at making a world or story.

overall i just really have trouble finding passion for these titles compared to the later entries, to the point that i had to shove all 5 of these games into a single article and its about as much writing as Subterranean Animism alone. im sorry if youre a big PC98 and/or Mima enjoyer but theyre not for me, and i have to say im glad that Touhou moved on and evolved past this point.

thank you for reading, and i'll see you next time, whenever that is!

#grimoire of nina #touhou #touhou pc98 #touhou 1 #touhou 2 #touhou 3 #touhou 4 #touhou 5 #touhou project #highly responsive to prayers #story of eastern wonderland #phantasmagoria of dim. dream #lotus land story #mystic square #wow thats a lot of tags lmao woops

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myfaveisfuckable · 9 months

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Rants!

Vera Misham/Wocky Kitaki: theyre the combo of girl who doesnt talk with guy who talks a lot, they never met but were both in the hospital by the end of the game, so theoretically couldve met then and talked to each other while recovering!! i just think they're neat and would get along, plus the fanart is super cute which is always a bonus :3

Setsu/Yuriko/Raqio: if remraq was rare this combo is legendary +1. they are BOTH a crackship and a rarepair:

1) although they are all affected by the premise-induced timefuckery at some point, likely all come from extremely fucked up backgrounds (no way setsu isn't a child soldier + yuriko did extremely messed up neurological operations as a teen and is on the run from the shadow government AND has a bounty on her head + raqio is from a hypermeritocratic caste society where if you aren't smart enough you aren't considered a human being. every single one of them should get a 50% off therapy coupon) they never get a story cutscene together. diversity loss

2) in all my 1.5 years in this fandom i have met ONE (1) person who also shipped this. one. this isn't a shippy fandom in general tbh but i've seen more people draw a character hitting a boof than saying a peep about s/y/r

additional arguments:

3) it's nonbinary yuri (nb/f/nb) come ON there is nothing better than nonbinary poly yuri

4) i want to see them get into an argument

5) setsu can defo easily bench press the other two (please)

6) they look niceys together even though their designs are pretty different and not in the "intentional contrast" way

7) the aforementioned timefuckery makes this an uniquely delicious bond

8) if this gets in people will hear about this ship and these 3 deserve so much more :)

Cecil Gershwin Palmer/Carlos Ramirez: I have seen *one* crossover fanfic with this pairing and it is absolutely genius.

So, Welcome To Night Vale (WTNV) has a main canon pairing, darling Eldritch radio host Cecil and lovable scientist Carlos. For the longest time, Carlos didn't have a last name and backstory. Also, as a STEM girl, let me tell you, his 'science' doesn't make sense.

So the genius author decided: okay, let me just grab a random Carlos from a different medium and put him in there. Except it's not random, and works super well! Enter: Carlos Ramirez, from the Dresden Files, and urban fantasy novel. This Carlos is a wizard. Who now has to somehow pretend he's a scientist. While secretly battling the Eldritch horros lurking in Night Vale.

The two of them are super cute and happy together, and it just makes waaay too much sense, the worlds and characters mesh super well. I can never unsee it. There is literally No content besides that one fic. It is perfect.

(1: gnosia. 2: welcome to nightvale. 3: Dresden files.)

#poll #tournament #ace attorney #wtnv #dresden files #gnosia

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tf2workbench · 2 years

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Look over there!

In the game files, there’s an unused attribute called “look velocity on hit.” It knocks the target around, with the direction determined by the way the attacker is looking; in short, usually straight backwards.

When I first saw it, though, I thought it applied velocity to your camera - in short, the way you were looking. I figured it would make you look toward the sky or something like that. And that’s what this post is about.

One thing is for sure: I’m not going to make it work exactly like that. The player’s mouse is something they always have control over, and that should remain that way (see my discussion on the tranquilizer gun for a little more info).

This was what I came up with as an alternative. Rather than playing havoc with your cursor, it tilts your screen a bit - heck, it could go upside down if you like. As long as it can be dealt with fairly by any player and doesn’t feel annoying, I’m comfortable with it. Although I do kind of want to see the camera do a barrel roll.

Overlooker Iteration 1 Scout melee (+) On hit: Tilt opponent’s camera for five seconds (-) -30% swing speed

We’ve started with the Scout, who’s disruptive enough to fit this weapon very well. A good move would be to run in from a side route to bonk an enemy with this, setting them off-kilter for you or your team to deal with.

The problem here is the wide variety of other melee weapons the Scout can bring to bear. For example, the Fan O’War and Boston Basher both work similarly to this one, encouraging hit-and-run tactics. This is to say nothing of choices like the Atomizer, which don’t even need to be swung to get their bonus. I feel like camera disruption is just not potent enough to justify using this weapon, and making it that potent makes it very annoying to play against.

Overlooker Iteration 2 Medic melee (+) Expanded field-of-view on wearer (-) While active: Tunnel vision

I knew that, in order to function, this weapon had to be more than just a weapon; it had to change the Medic’s playstyle, which usually revolves around the medigun.

This is admittedly a very gimmicky idea, playing with the field-of-view to change the way you see the battlefield. TF2 normally caps field-of-view at 90 degrees (minimum, and default, is 70 degrees), so I’m assuming this would be somewhere around 105 degrees - enough to give a slight fisheye effect on most monitors.

It also, unfortunately, doesn’t bring a whole lot to your gameplay. It mostly serves as a danger detection, a little like how side-facing eyes serve a prey animal. While that might make you more aware of threats, it doesn’t mean that you have new ways to engage with the game.

Overlooker Iteration 3 Sniper melee (+) On hit: Tilt opponent’s camera for five seconds (-) -30% swing speed

This iteration goes back to normal-ish ideas, this time focusing on the Sniper. His melees are almost always pulled out in self-defense, meaning that this is less of a hit-and-run weapon than the Scout’s version.

Frankly, a weapon like this isn’t particularly interesting. The Sniper’s kukris are more-or-less just different ways of hitting people and don’t usually affect your game that much. Although the Bushwacka brings some combo mechanics with it, it’s still just a knife. And so’s this weapon - it eventually boils down to whether you want damage or disruption. Weapons that are just personal preference don’t bring unique gameplay.

And of course, there’s still the issue of whether players find this annoying to deal with. That would have to be figured out through playtesting, but honestly, I’d prefer to have a more interesting design before moving there.

#tf2workbench #tf2 #team fortress 2 #scout #medic #sniper #melee

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crystalelemental · 2 years

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The final Anniversary unit is upon us, and Raihan and Flygon are here to do weather things until you die. Truth be told, I do think weather is super significant, especially with the upcoming Moltres, but is Raihan actually worth pulling beyond his single obvious matchup?

General Overview The short answer is "kinda, yeah." I gave the guy a hard time on datamine, but I'm coming around.

His main gimmick is Sandstorm, where he gets some pretty nice effects. All stats are boosted 30% in any weather, speeds up the move gauge under any kind of weather, and gives a stack of special and physical moves up next to all allies when a status move is used. His grid also offers a ton of good stuff, including extending the duration of Sandstorm, something critical in any non-Moltres fight to keep those multipliers running. If the foe is under a status change, he can lower special defense by one stat rank as well, which is fantastic synergy with Fire Spin to deal consistent debuffs to a foe. He gets Aggravation 2 on Twister for flinch. And he's a Dynamax Pokemon, so he can set sun with Fire Spin, lower all foes' attack by 1, or block all damage for one ally once. He even gets a node on the grid to give yet another stack of special moves up next to all allies when he uses his Max move. And on top of all that, his trainer move gives a use of Supereffective Up Next to the entire team. He's got a lot of great tools going on!

And then the problems roll in. First and foremost, Dragon sync nuker, it's not a great time. We have tons of Dragons, no one is happy about this. His move damage per turn is also low, although passive damage can be nice, and he's more about disruption than pure power. But the big issue is grid. He has great options, but can't take everything he wants. If you want him dealing any kind of damage, Sharp Entry is needed, since his trainer move doesn't cap it for him. That's a lot of energy to part with. Any Sandstorm build has trouble making it to Mind Boggler, so his debuff often doesn't apply in Sandstorm. Raihan has great tools, but can't access all of them reliably. In fact, his grid is so weird that I legitimately think his best play is Sun.

Sandstorm gets duration extension, which is fantastic, sure. But it does little else from "be sandstorm," and you're left to cobble together whatever works with it. Sun feels custom-tailored to be fantastic support, giving an extra stack of special moves up next and easy access to Mind Boggler to debuff foes' special defense. This is fantastic with SS Red and Leon, who love everything about what he's doing right now. Hell, with Leon, you even have a nice status combo for Uxie, getting trap on Fire Spin and burn on Inferno. He just doesn't synergize as well with Sandstorm abusers. Maybe Zinniquaza, but Zinniquaza only works with Ingo and Lucas for damage, and even that team's questionable. Which, on that note, Ingo. Ingo is just better at Sandstorm. He's a spectacular buffer with Potion support, who also debuffs accuracy of the foes, and offers tons of benefits to those who need it. Raihan trades in really good support for some damage and wonky effects, and it’s questionable how good a trade is. I think Ingo’s overall much better for support, but Raihan’s got a pretty odd mix of potential effects that make him really unique and pretty easy to include on a wide variety of teams.

Team 1: Raihan, SS Red/Leon/Serena, Sabrina/Falkner/Kimono Jasmine What I think is his best combo. Raihan's sun support comes from his Max move and sync move, once each. He debuffs special defense and grants stacks of Special Moves Up Next to the boys and their ridiculous special offensive presence. Sabrina and Falkner are the general players who can help buff them up to minimize setup phase.

I think it’s also worth noting, though, that Serena loves working with this guy too. Just like Blaine, he’s able to apply both Sun and Trap, which is tremendous. Getting 30% bonus stats while that weather is up, and giving Supereffective Up Next and potentially Special Moves Up Next to her is tremendous. Honestly, he works with about any Sun-based damage dealer. Hilda could work great with him and a physical buffer. He’s in a great spot as a Sun setter.

Team 2: Raihan, Classic Blue, Jasmine Sandstorm focus. Classic Blue is a great partner to Raihan for Sandstorm, because Classic Blue utilizes both forms of Moves Up Next that Raihan provides, but prefers Hyper Beam. Jasmine can be the frontline tank supporter, offering defense buffs, negation of stat debuffs and crits for the team, and can heal herself each sync. Blue's more a move damage kind of guy, so Jasmine can easily take sync for Recuperation.

Though really, he could probably work with any of the Sandstorm options too. Olivia and Emmet have great sync potential, and Supereffective Up Next is tremendous on a striker’s EX sync. Classic Blue is just the most interesting option because he benefits from every single part of Raihan’s kit.

Team 3: Raihan, BP Zinnia/Zinniquaza, Hop/Sabrina Two Zinnias, but different approaches. BP Zinnia has good flinch. Raihan has good flinch. Together, they flinch good. Zinniquaza just likes the Sandstorm and extended weather condition effect. Both benefit from Hop, you can at least get Zinniquaza's Outrage set rolling. Alternatively, Sabrina could work to get her the buffs she needs for Draco Meteor, and Raihan can attempt the special defense debuffs.

Team 4: Raihan, [Redacted], NY!Sabrina You know the one. That one. That one gets stacks of special and physical moves up next as well. That one has 550 offenses at 20/20, and a 160-192BP attack. All Raihan has to do is hit Sandstorm twice and his Max Move on the final action to stack those numbers to the moon and back. I would love to see the Champion Stadium fight that survives that must Special Moves Up Next effect at once. And the idea that he gives Supereffective Up Next? Incredible.

Final Thoughts The more I look at his kit, the more I like him. The double weather is a cool gimmick, but I think that’s just the tip of the iceberg for him. Flinch on Twister is a high rate for 1v3 matches, and that’s really helpful in a ton of Gauntlet matches. Fire Spin is another great disruptive effect for bonus damage. Being able to apply Special and Physical Moves Up Next is huge, especially as the first unit to be really consistent about it, and getting to do it more than once if desired. Supereffective Up Next is another great effect he gives, and while not as frequently as Classic Red, sometimes all you need is that one stack for an EX Striker to blast a Champion Stadium match into powder. Adding in grid effects like the special defense debuffs, the extended Sandstorm; he’s got a really interesting blend of tools that aren’t necessarily synergizing to a clear game plan, but make him valuable on just about any team. I kinda love it?

And as if that wasn’t enough, I thought for sure his grid needed 3/5. But frankly, I’ve started to lean into a lot of his supportive tools, and he gets everything 2/5 for that. Sandstorm MPR, Mind Boggler, Sharp Entry. It’s pretty great. You miss out on extended Sandstorm duration and Solar Sync, which is a bit of a problem, but he’s honestly not bad at 2/5 either. I’m really impressed.

#pokemon masters #anniversary raihan #unit teambuilding

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demifiendrsa · 4 years

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Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2 remake - Announcement Trailer. It’ll launch for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC via Epic Games Store on September 4, 2020. Pre-orders include access to the “Warehouse” demo.

The standard edition will cost $39.99. The digital deluxe version that includes unique content and in-game gear will cost $49.99. A collector’s edition that includes the digital deluxe content and a limited-run Birdhouse deck will also be available for $99.99.

logo

Key visual

screenshots

Comparison screenshots between original and remake

Overview

Dropping in on September 4, 2020, Tony Hawk Pro Skater 1 + 2 is set to bring back original levels, pro skaters, tricks, modes, and songs from the iconic soundtrack, as well as amp up the experience with new ways to play including online Multiplayer.

Same Tony, New Tricks

Tony Hawk Pro Skater 1 + 2 will feature the full original roster of pro skaters from the turn of the 21st century. That includes Steve Caballero, Geoff Rowley, Bucky Lasek, Elissa Steamer, Kareem Campbell, Andrew Reynolds, Bob Burnquist, Eric Koston, Rodney Mullen, Jamie Thomas, Rune Glifberg, Chad Muska… and of course, Tony Hawk.

These skaters all come with their own Special Moves—from Geoff Rowley’s Darkside Grind to Tony Hawk’s legendary 900—and have learned a few new tricks over the past two decades, including the Revert, Lip Tricks, and the Wall Plant, allowing you to pull off incredible combos like never before.

The remaster will also feature all the original levels from the first two games in the franchise, from the Warehouse to The Bullring, as well as many of the songs from the original games to amp you up while you go for that Sick Score. Those levels can be played solo with goals old and new, with a buddy for local co-op, or online with original multiplayer game modes.

All of this will be presented in stunning 4K resolution* with updated and enhanced graphics, running at a frame rate crisper than a perfect 50-50 grind: 60 frames per second.

Create-A-Skater and Create-A-Park Return, Revamped

Rather carve up your own park with a skater you created? Create-A-Skater and Create-A-Park are back with some dope features added in.

Create-A-Park will feature a robust editing suite, enabling an incredible level of customization to create the skate park of your wildest imaginations. These parks can be shared online with friends.

After you create a park, why not create yourself—or a friend… or one gnarly looking poser—in Create-A-Skater? With plenty of customization options, including some that feature iconic skating and street brands, you’ll be able to express a crazy amount of creativity just in your custom skater alone.

The Limited-Edition Birdhouse Deck

For the ultimate fan, a collector’s edition will be available for the suggested retail price of $99.99 in the United States, complete with the digital deluxe content and a limited-run Birdhouse deck.

The deck features the iconic Falcon 2 design, reissued exclusively for the collector’s edition. Although the deck is fully skateable, you may not want to hit too many gnarly grinds with it, as it also features a printed autograph from the birdman himself.

Pre-Order Information

Digital Pre-Order Incentive – Those who digitally pre-order Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2 will receive access to the Warehouse Demo ahead of the games’ official launch. Expect to catch some air in the Warehouse level during the Summer, with an exact date to be announced later.

Physical Pre-Order Bonus – Those who pre-order a physical copy of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2 from select retailers will receive a limited edition gift with purchase, the Tony Hawk Mini Fingerboard, at launch. This gift with purchase is available exclusively at GameStop (in the United States), EB Games (in Canada), and select retailers in LATAM, Europe, and Australia, while supplies last.

#Tony Hawk #THPS #Tony Hawk's Pro Skater #Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 #Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 #Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 and 2 #Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1+2 #Activision #Vicarious Visions #video game #PS4 #Xbox One #PC #Epic Games Store #long post #Metacritic's 2nd highest rated game of all time getting remade #These companies really need to know the difference between a remake and a remaster...

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iamproductstech · 3 years

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10 Best Gaming Laptops Under Rs 90K in India 2021

If you are looking for a decent machine and portable, a gaming laptop is the best option you have. This is the Best Gaming Laptops Under Rs 90K pick right now , the one that I would buy for myself. Today I have compiled a list of the ten best gaming laptops available for purchase in India under the mark of Rs 90,000. Enough to download one portable gaming computer that can handle a host of other tasks at hand and offer the benefits of full functionality with the added bonus of consistent travel and solid build quality. Before I go any further I would like to lay out the basics on which laptops were chosen on what basis as we talk about the big investment here :

Things Are Remembered While Making This List

2021 towards the end of September. 1) The picture card should be about 1650, 1650ti, 1660 Ti or RTX 2060 6GB best. 2) The screen refresh rate should be 144Hz or 120Hz, according to the IPS panel preference. Although some have an LED screen. 3) A good SSD is required, with fast start times as the HDD slows down over time. 4) We've tried to get the Ryzen 5-4600H more, as it can compare to the i7, but there's an intel mix with Ryzen on the list. 5) Decent RAM, Backlit keyboard, good quality built-in priority. Tip: Bookmark this list, cos you won't find another one like this!

Best Gaming Laptops Under Rs 90K

1) Victus by HP Ryzen 7 5800H ( Ryzen 7 5800H , 4GB RTX 3050Ti , 144Hz , 512GB SSD , 16GB RAM , IPS , 100% sRGB )

Victus by HP Ryzen 7 5800H This is the best pick right now , the one that I would buy for myself. The new HP offering comes with an excellent combination of 4GB RTX 3050Ti and Ryzen 7 5800H, which is enough to put this animal on top of the list from September 2021. A portable computer looks stylish, like a high-quality portable computer with a strong build and retains weight (2 kg 480 g). While playing you can expect a good backup of up to 3 hours. HP has done well to keep fan noise low and heat well, even when playing high performance. Provides a comfortable, unobtrusive, no-bleeding screen. The start time is quite fast with a 512GB SSD and 16GB RAM. You will enjoy typing on this machine, the keyboard is set back (static). The only part I didn't enjoy was the weeding and cultivating. See Cheap Price: Amazon 2) HP Omen ( Ryzen 5 4600H , 1660ti , 512 GB SSD , 8 GB RAM , IPS display 45% NTSC )

HP Omen There are so many laptops out there, we just need some research. That's how I find these hidden treasures. 1) Now, tell me where you can get Ryzen 5 & 1660ti for this price. 2) Obviously this would be our only number one choice if the display (60 hz) and battery would have been much better. As a measure of better refreshment perhaps. 3) Highly speaking, the built-in quality is very decent and the thermals are good in this laptop, which means less heat. Yes! Yes! 4) This laptop is often compared to the ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 which is much better than this screen-friendly HP option, builds quality etc but is more expensive and can go out of your budget. If your blast with a 60 hz screen you can also look at the Hp Omen 144 hz, but it is very expensive. Only if the Refresh Rate was better than this !!! See Cheap Price: Amazon 3) ASUS TUF Gaming FX505DV ( The Best Laptop Right Now with RTX 2060 6GB , Ryzen 7-3750H , 16GB RAM , 512GB NVMe SSD , 120Hz Refresh Rate , IPS-level Panel 45% NTSC )

ASUS TUF Gaming FX505DV The market has great potential by introducing new beast laptops every month, going out with older ones as soon as possible. This laptop from ASUS will blow your mind with great features at this price. The bottom line is that Asus as a laptop manufacturer has taken the Indian market by storm and laptops are a real beast. Let's talk about some of them. 1) It comes with an RTX 2060 6GB Graphics card at this low price, which you probably won't find on another laptop in this price list. 2) Comes with storage expansion options and RGB ofcourse. 3) Works well with most AAA games, as you would expect with an RTX 2060 6GB. Note that the trackpad is very large and very smooth. 4) You will love the solid quality built. 5) One pin that the Ryzen 7-3750H, will bottle RTX 2060 6GB. See Cheap Price: Amazon 4) HP Pavilion Gaming ( Ryzen 5-4600H , 512GB SSD , 8GB RAM , 144Hz , 1650ti 4GB , IPS display )

HP Pavilion Gaming Although it is 1650ti and not 1660ti, I agree but this is what we have now from HP in this price range. I hope they will introduce a different 1660ti soon. 1) The best thing about this laptop is that you get a Ryzen 5 with a 144Hz refresh rate on a portable computer for less than 80k. 2) I would say that thermals are better compared to playing Dell G5 and a few other laptops, these HP games have increased air flow and a larger operating area down just before. 3) It has 6 cores of power processing, integrated with 8GB DDR4 RAM, which can be expanded up to 16GB. 4) Everything on this laptop offers stiff competition in our choice of ASUS above considering the huge price difference and other good features you may not find on other laptops. See Cheap Price: Amazon 5) Lenovo Legion Y540 ( i5 9th Gen , 8GB RAM , 1TB SSD , 6GB GTX 1660 Ti , 144Hz , IPS Panel )

Lenovo Legion Y540 Another great thing out there, which is not a lot of laptops can compete with! 1) With a 1 TB SSD, you can expect some faster start times with all the best operating systems. This laptop has an amazing design. 2) The problem with this laptop is that it can overheat and the battery drains quickly with a strong stream. So remember that. The 3) 144 Hz upgrade and GTX 1660Ti (6GB) are two things that keep this laptop in the gaming laptop race on our list for less than 90k at the moment. Read also: Laptop Purchase Guide: How Can You Choose the Right Laptop? 4) Powered by Dolby Atmos speakers and reusable keyboard, I mean most people use good gaming headphones and never need built-in laptop speakers. But you still have it here. See Cheap Price: Amazon 6) Acer Nitro 7 (1660 Ti , 8GB RAM , 9th Gen Core i5 , 1TB SSD , 144 Hz , IPS display 72% NTSC )

Acer Nitro 7 Also the highlight features of GTX 1660 Ti 6 GB Graphics and 144 Hz refresh rate. Although the 9th Gen Core i5 may be bottlenecks. Few temperature problems. Well this laptop has odd numbers and has a higher value than our picks above, which is why it is number 5 on our list. As you can see the 144 hz screen and 1660 Ti graphic card, that is already a game made in heaven for many players. Here we have a 1 TB SSD and as in our Lenovo Legion Y540 pick above, deeper if you are a lover of SSD than this is the way to go. This really does make boot ups and all programs faster. Read also: Best Gaming Headphones Under Rs. 5,000 in India This laptop is said to look good with a metal lid and the perfect quality of construction is decent, depending on your expectations. IPS shows 72% better NTSC compared to many others on the list. Few things like battery capacity, thermals can be upgraded. But that can be true of all other laptops. See Cheap Price: Amazon 7) ASUS TUF Gaming A15 ( Ryzen 5 4600H , 144Hz , 1650Ti 4GB Graphics , 8GB RAM , 1TB HDD + 256GB NVMe SSD , IPS-level Panel 45% NTSC)

ASUS TUF Gaming A15 The combo for this season is 1650Ti 4GB Graphics and 144Hz band rate. By that means this is our second choice of ASUS TUF on the list, some people may say it is an expensive laptop. Probably so, prices are always volatile. Another unique feature of this laptop is the 1TB HDD + 256GB NVMe SSD combination, while the SSD provides sufficient speed for applications that require faster processing. HDD gives you enough flexibility for file storage. Ryzen 5 4600H, still rigid. Some people find it much better than the i7 on the benches. Keyboard lights are great with RGB elements. All in all, I would say it is a decent choice for this price point. See Cheap Price: Amazon 8) Asus ROG Strix G ( GTX 1650 4GB , 16 GB RAM , 512 GB SSD , 120 Hz Refresh Rate , LED Display )

Asus ROG Strix G You might be thinking that this laptop should be way above in the list and maybe you are right! You might think this laptop should be at the top of the list and maybe that's right! But one sad note is that this laptop comes with an LED display and not a single IPS, let me tell you that the IPS display has better color and viewing angles. While the refresh rate is 120 hz, which sounds good but is not the same as the one chosen above our 144 hz above. Mainly from Lenovo and HP. Some would argue that while the GTX 1650 4GB is large, it is still lower than our 1660ti and 1650ti options. One unique thing is that this laptop comes with 16 GB RAM which you don't see in most of the above options. So if you are thinking of the ASUS ROG, this might be for you. See Cheap Price: Amazon 9) MSI Alpha 15 (AMD R7-3750H , 16GB RAM , RX5500M GDDR6 4GB , 1TB + 256 SSD , 120Hz IPS-Level )

MSI Alpha 15 We know that MSI support has not been high in India, but if you are still looking for a pick from MSI in this price range. And then now this is it. This comes with AMD R7-3750H and 120 Hz screen refresh rate. Now you can imagine that 120 Hz sounds close to 144 Hz and there shouldn't be much difference. But there is a real difference, 144 Hz at another level. This laptop has high build quality and is designed to be very fun, with good keys and strong sound quality. You can be sure the performance of the RX5500M GDDR6 4GB + AMD R7-3750H has enough power in most of your AAA games. The MI dragon center works like a charm, the thermals are also beautiful. It also comes with an Ethernet system that can get you better internet speed. See Cheap Price: Amazon 10) ASUS TUF Gaming (FX505DT) Laptop: ( 120Hz , Ryzen 5-3550H , 8GB RAM , 1TB HDD + 256GB PCIe SSD , IPS-level Panel 45% NTSC )

ASUS TUF Gaming (FX505DT) Laptop One of the lowest price options on the list with decent features. The CPU model is the AMD Ryzen 5-3550H with a core speed of 2.1 GHz to 3.7 GHz. The speakers are down, so you may not enjoy the sound without the headphones. RGB background light keyboard with bright ‘WASD’ keys. It has 8 GB of DDR4 RAM with a bus speed of 2400 MHz This laptop is made of plastic material, which also helps to keep it lightweight and easy to carry. Read also: Top laptops for less than Rs 40,000 in India Additionally, this one has 1 TB of HDD and 256 GB of SSD storage space. The display of this monitor comes with a refresh rate of 120Hz. You can find fans sounding great at times, even though thermals can only be considered central. The trackpad can be upgraded. On top of this, you will receive an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 GDDR5 (4GB VRAM) graphics card. Which is better for this price. See Cheap Price: Amazon I have down around 48 hours of research on various forums , searched through 50 plus laptops and picked these 10 gems with amazing features for today July 2020. As you know newer models might come out tomorrow and these models may get outdated pretty quick. My suggestion is go from top to bottom of this list and think deeply which laptop or brand are comfortable with most.

Does Color Accuracy Matter?

I would say only if your doing professional work of color editing , working at a CGI studio. Otherwise not much , in this budget these are best picks one can get for now. If your coming from a potato laptop then you will find huge positive change in these latest laptops. I will recommend buying an addition monitor for deep professional work. Good Luck! Next : https://productstech.in/4-best-laptop-brands-under-rs-25000-in-india/ Read the full article

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starbuck · 4 years

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All of Armitage’s Looks: Rated

Well, this was inevitable, wasn’t it? Being someone who very readily admits to having Armitage’s entire wardrobe memorized (and who will not apologize for how weird that is), I feel that I’m the perfect person to make this post, although perhaps not the most objective...

So, without further ado, allow me to present to you: every single one of Armitage’s Looks in chronological order: Rated.

#1 - Enjoying The Birthday -- 11/10

Unlike most named characters, Armitage does not appear until episode 4 but oh what an entrance it is... Look at that smile!!!! Actually, take an extra good look because you’ll never see it again.

Outfit-wise, this is just his normal steward uniform but I like those boots. Probably not unique to him but they’re very nice and remind me of a pair I own.

Bonus points for being the second person on the tackle-pile, following Tozer.

(You could accuse me of rating too high right off the bat, but look at his smiling face again and tell me I’m wrong.)

#2 - “Mr. Armitage, what do you report?” -- 8/10

And thus we are introduced to Armitage by name. Appropriately, he is partaking in his most consistent character-defining activity: protecting Tozer from harm (which, in this case, is the Not-Bear which has just come out of nowhere and ripped part of Heather’s skull off).

I’m gonna be honest: I don’t like how this style of coat looks when it’s fully buttoned-up. I think it’s awkward and boxy (see Gibson’s coat in the mutiny-planning scene at the beginning of ep 7 for a better idea of what I mean) and this is before Armitage figured out the belt trick that corrects the problem so I’m deducting points for the coat.

Luckily for him though, his hat is of my favorite variety in the show so I’m delighted to see it despite it just being his uniform. Also loving our first look at his blue sweater (peeking out beyond his coat-sleeves) and his gray gloves.

Further points added for this being the first of many scenes where he carries a gun, endlessly confusing the fandom at large about what the hell his job is.

#3 - tfw You’re Responsible For This -- 5/10

So I’m just gonna come right out and say that this is one of my favorite images of him in the entire show but, just as Look #1 was rated higher due to the context of the scene despite the outfit itself being average, this one’s rating, in turn, must suffer.

Things I love about this: the hat (obviously), the fact that the coat looks worlds better just because it’s slightly unbuttoned, the delicate dusting of snow, the way his face looks at this angle.

Things I don’t love about this: literally Everything Else.

Aiding in the racist kidnapping of an innocent woman and then not owning up to it twenty minutes after your introduction is not a good look, no matter how emotionally conflicted about it you are.

#4 - Who the Fuck is This Guy? -- 6/10

October 20th, 2019 was not the day that my obsession with Armitage began, but it was the day that I took a screenshot of this exact moment because I had no idea who this man was or why we were getting a close-up of him. It would take me two more months to figure his identity out.

But, to the point, not much to say here since it’s just his normal uniform again except that this is our first proper look at his hair which I absolutely adore. Also loving the little anchor buttons on his jacket - very cute!

Once again, points deducted for the unfortunate context.

#5 - Slops! -- 7/10

This look is noteworthy for a few reasons. First of all, we see his tan slops for the first time! Slops just sort of look horrible by default unfortunately but I’m enjoying the hat + slops combo here... it works for him. Secondly, Armitage disappears for the entirety of episode 5 so this is the first time we’ve seen the man since the lashing scene. I guess it was so traumatic to witness that he had to take a break.

He has a gun again though, so things can’t be all bad.

#6 - Big Carnivale Hours -- 8/10

I have given up on trying to figure out what the hell is going on with the marines and their costume theme. Are they knights.... with crowns? That’s all I’ve been able to figure. Who’s idea was this? (Despite having no evidence, I blame Pilkington.) So what does that make Armitage? Is he a squire? Or a knight that just doesn’t have a crown like the others because they ran out of them? Whatever the case, he’s clearly a part of their theme despite not being a marine himself which I think is adorable regardless.

Speaking of adorable, let’s just forget everything that happens for the rest of this episode and appreciate how he’s hanging out with Tozer and Heather. Isn’t that nice? God I’m distressed.

Taking a look at the costume itself, you’ll see that it’s essentially a cut-up burlap sack and a sheet over his regular uniform but realism is not the goal here and the DIY vibe is actually quite nice imo.

#7 - Enter: The Belt -- 10/10

The belt has arrived on the scene! Note its success in not only making the coat itself more appealing but making the coat + slops combo work against all odds.

We really get it all here: belt, (unbuttoned) coat, hat, welsh wig, gloves, and slops! What more could I possibly ask for in an outfit? It’s both stylish and practical.

And plus, I like his attitude in this scene - optimistic-leaning realism about the dangers ahead. I can get behind that.

Overall, no complaints from me - this is a perfect look.

#8 - tfw You Allowed This -- 7/10

This is a Significant Look mostly because we see his hair again, for the first time since episode 4! It’s a bit longer and more unkempt but still maintains a pleasing shape overall. Honestly, I think it looks good this way and its a pity we didn’t get to see it more in the transition stages (assuming it was steadily growing out since ep 4 like most people’s). Additionally, there’s a bit of stubble going on here which I respect.

Rated lower than it might be simply because, as has been established, slops on their own are just kinda ugly. I don’t have a lot to work with here outfit-wise. His face is lovely but this screenshot is a sepia-toned nightmare.

A bonus point for his desperate “please explain this clearly illegal thing we’re doing in a way that makes sense to Little” glance at Tozer, who is already on it.

#9 - Agony -- 8/10

It took me awhile, even after becoming aware of who Armitage was, to appreciate how truly miserable he looks in this scene. And I mean, why wouldn’t he be miserable? Tozer, a man who Armitage risked his own life to drag to safety at Carnivale, is about to be executed for something that’s arguably just as much Armitage’s fault and there’s not a thing he can do about it.

So... that’s depressing.

But, looking at the outfit itself, we see that it’s pretty similar to some past Looks. In fact, it’s identical to what he was wearing when the Tuunbaq attacked Heather with the exception of the belt which is, of course, a new addition since then! And look at the difference a belt can make... You almost don’t notice that the coat is buttoned up all the way.

#10 - The Same Outfit But Now He’s Saving Tozer So Its Cooler -- 9/10

Y’all ever think about the fact that, when things went to shit, Armitage’s first instinct was to grab a gun, find Tozer, and rescue him? I mean you probably don’t but I do. Constantly.

Obviously I love this part and the outfit is still solid (note how well the belt shows off his figure!) but it loses out on being a perfect 10/10 because he must have dropped his hat while picking up the gun so we never see it again. A necessary sacrifice but one that I mourn nonetheless.

RIP Armitage’s cool hat, ??-1848.

#11 - The Blue Sweater -- 8/10

It’s warming up so that means we finally get a look at the lovely layers that have been hiding under Armitage’s coat. It’s important to me to bring special attention to the sweater because, although (as I’ve mentioned) he has it on all the way back in ep 4, this is one of only two scenes in the entire show where we get a proper look at it.

Further, not only is he wearing the blue sweater, but he also has a blue vest on over it! Now, I’ll admit, these aren’t exactly complimentary shades of blue but it still works for me.

Note also that the belt he had around his coat has been repurposed to aid in holding up his slops-pants over his normal pants (which are held up by the suspenders). Does this man’s resourcefulness ever cease?

As much as I’d love to give a higher rating for the blue sweater, I can’t ignore the new beard which is... it isn’t... it’s Not Great. I don’t have as much animosity towards it as I used to but I can’t pretend that I love it.

#12 - Let Us Fly These Deadly Waters! -- 9/10

I’m not sure why but I’ve always found this outfit very appealing. The tan slops-pants go nicely with the white shirt and blue vest. It’s a solid look - I’d wear this irl honestly.

And bonus points for his trying to convince Tozer to leave Hickey, even though he was ultimately unsuccessful.

(P.S. - yes, the title for this one is a Moby-Dick reference... Did you really think I would make it through this entire post without one?)

...and now, last but not least, I present to you my absolute favorite Armitage Look™... all the other times I said some other outfit was my favorite, I was lying because what I am about to show you is truly the cream of the crop. Without further ado:

#13 - Kidnapping is Bad So At Least Look Good Doing It -- 12/10

Are y’all seeing this? Are you SEEING this????? It is episode fucking 10!! Everyone is dying!!! And yet here’s Armitage waltzing up in his best outfit of the entire show. What the fuck!!!!!!!

Do I even need to explain why this is exceptional? Just look at it! Look at how the vest is buttoned up and tucked into his slops-pants! Look at the suspenders over top which match the slops-pants in color! Look at the gun and keyring that look like they were made to accessorize this outfit specifically! Heck, even his hair and beard look much better from this angle.

Now, I’m not trying to discount the fact that Armitage was absolutely miserable throughout this entire episode, and understandably so, but, even with that in mind, I can’t bring myself to rate this look any lower. It’s just That Perfect.

If one must inevitably die horribly in the arctic, this is an excellent outfit to die in.

Well, that’s that! Thank you all so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed this! I’m glad that my ridiculous opinions about Armitage’s wardrobe finally came in handy for something other than my own amusement.

#the terror amc #the terror #thomas armitage #hell yeah let's tag this nonsense!#tbh i'm very proud of this post tho #it literally did take me all day #12 hours from conception to completion (with many breaks of course!)#and worth every second!#I love this man and his exceptional fashion sense #and i need you all to appreciate it as well #like i said - i hope y'all enjoy and thanks to those who read through my rambling!#love y'all!

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utopia-game · 3 years

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Strategy Corner with FFW: Kingdom Setup

Strategy Corner by FFW: Picking Your Kingdom's Setup

Every start of the age, we go into discussions about what is the "best" setup. How do we truly define what the best is? We're joined by Dowla of Hipmunks, Smiles of Warbirds and myself FFW of Merciless in a forum of how to pick your kingdom's setup and be a more successful warring kingdom. We've also got a special guest Peetah who has co-led many kingdoms to numerous crowns over the ages. Let's talk about setups and is it truly important to have a setup? Peetah: Yes, this will help leadership to coordinate efforts to win the war. Running a lot of different races and pers will give leadership a hard time to make builds. Set certain times to “nuke” a prov with ops. Dowla: It is absolutely important to have a setup to achieve anything it is you want to achieve if it requires your kingdom to do well in the game. You can achieve screwing around without a setup. Smiles:Setups are make or break and a lot of things simply won't work well. That being said, all the things that do work, are pretty similar FFW: I think we can all agree that setups are important. All successful kingdoms will have a proper setup but not all kingdoms with a proper setup is successful. So let's go into the finer details of picking a setup. Before we even start talking setup, let's talk strategy. How important is it to think about the win conditions before even deciding what to pick? Peetah:There are different ways to win a war and a setup will make it a lot easier to achieve victory if it’s in line with your idea on win conditions. Par example with a smash setup you want to win at mintime. After that your chances of winning go down. While a setup based on econ can easily go war for a week. Do realize this will be a burden for leadership as well. You need to plan according to what you got available. Smiles: I don't think you have to be super specific about the strategy. A general idea is enough since there are lots of things to think about and some assumptions to make but the early age is pretty consistent FFW: Let's talk about the some assumptions in strategy for the age since you've brought it up Smiles. I normally like to assume that early advantages are the most awful for a successful warring kingdom since you want to be consistent through the age and not just win for the first 3 weeks and suck the next 6. Do you agree with this? For the record, I'm not saying you throw away the early age either. Smiles: For the most part the early strengths can let you steamroll certain things but generally you can assume some early easy wars, leverage your later age bonuses since most early advantages don't scale well but some do. FFW: What about you Dowla? I hear that you have got a unique perspective on this topic. Dowla: We do not pick a setup with a focused effort on selecting a win condition usually. We usually just go for a good setup that works for us.The base line is creating something that the enemy simply cannot control anymore. There are ages where win conditions are very important and there are ages where we want to do well all around. FFW: That's interesting Dowla, so you would rather pick a comfortable setup and then decide strategy on a war to war basis? Dowla: That's how we operate. We agree on a setup start of the age, and a general way of how we'd play it. The dynamic of warring changes every war. We pick what works for us and it's usually something we're comfortable with. Something that wars well. FFW:So would it be fair to say your strategic approach to setup picking is oriented around balance so you won't be too badly matched against anything the server throws at you? Dowla:Yes. That is exactly how we pick our setup. Something that works well and can work against anything. FFW: Let's talk about what worked for us in the past as to give examples What's your most successful strategy that you've run with thus far? Peetah:I think I played with most combos and won crowns with all. I’ve also seen all kind of setups win crowns and even multiple crowns in one age. Most kingdoms develop a style they seem fit and chose a setup accordingly. Smiles, Dowla and FFW can probably give more insight on what makes a certain setup a HM/Merciless/Warbirdies setup. Smiles: comfort strat, 2-4 pure mystic, 4 rogue 4 hybrid mystic synced core with the view of hybrid casters provide ET support and duration coverage of spells your TMs don't want to have to cast. They also work as a buffer where people might hit them instead of pure TM. The outcome is that you end up with more mana, more attackers. Dowla: Tried a few different ones, but what works best for us is hybrid turtles that become UB and then steamroll from there. FFW: I like having a big offensive fist so that core can create space for our TM to work a later war economic advantage and always assume you have to win on a 50% double networth win. Picking the racial and personality choices. What works and what order do you pick in? TMs first or Core first? FFW:I prefer picking core choices first since they are normally the majority in the kingdom, so it helps us to decide what our battering ram will be then decide what type of supporting actors we want to support the core. Peetah: First, you need to find your balance! How much TMs how much hitters and do you need support? Smashing setups want at least 16-18 hitters. Plus do you wanna run hybrids or just pure hitters and pure TMs. Smashing kingdoms want pure TMs as they need to cover all thievery and magic operations. Your hitters you want to build to make sure you can hit enemy TMs bring down the winning condition of your opponent. Going for the econ play you want provs that are able to hold out and sustain their off. While you work on creating land on UBs and slowly convert to hitters. UBs mostly are your TMs. Basically circle back to the strategy you've chosen to play for the age. Dowla:We usually agree on T/M choices rather quick and then keep on deciding on core picks until the last minute. First of all I want to say it's not me personally picking the setup. It's a group of us doing it. Usually the whole LS team decides on it. A few of us make a setup we'd play, then we all comment on each others setup and we work from there. So we incorporate a bit of everything or we create a totally different setup than anybody proposed. For T/Ms there are always a very limited amount of choices that are playable, and by this I mean combos that work the best. While for attackers it's much more complicated. A super heavy attacker can mean more T/Ms, an econ based attacker can mean less, do we want long wars or do we want to zerg rush, it all depends with them. So, we set the T/Ms and they set the dynamic. What kind of attackers we need and then we pick what works for that type of strategy. Or simply we're comfortable with this many T/Ms and this many attackers. That's our go to if we have troubles agreeing on what we want. Smiles: As stated before, in my head the most generic setup is: 4 mystics 4 rogues 2-4 paladin/cleric/PF caster depending on what the age needs. 15 synced core I usually start there ask, is it a heretic age? If heretics, what am I cutting to stay in that 8 Pure TM range FFW: There seems to be a lot of focus on picking the right TMs so let's talk about that next Picking Your Kingdom's TMs. What works? FFW: I see you didn't put much emphasis on heretics Smiles? What's up with that? Smiles: It's fine to have 1 heretic just for access to blizz/fg depending on the age but I don't think they're bad. I just rarely have that 1 tick sync for NM and I in general am not a fan of NM like I used to be. With the exception of high GS+WT+dpa tanks, I don't ever think you NEED NM because it just makes chains go deeper, rarely adds additional chains and rarely allows you to hit TM+Chain as is the classic desire for NM. So really you're trading significant TM mana just to take chains a little deeper. Deep chains don't matter as much anymore anyways. I chain to secure UB, if it doesn't go deep enough, but trims their offense, good enough for me FFW: What about you Dowla, what do you value in picking TMs? Dowla: Most usually it's bonuses in TPA/WPA. We value it over anything else as in the event of a dragged out war it allows us to try raining fire over enemy T/Ms with out own. Or in any war. T/M supremacy is what it's all about. FFW: I can relate to that. I love population bonus on my TMs since it leads to better raw numbers which leads to much better modified numbers to have TM supremacy late age. Smiles:Generally for TMs, all TMs my order of priorities >UB, Defense mostly >T defense >wpa>tpa>eco/offense. Recently, I prefer the safest easiest possible rogues. Since if a rogue every gets chained/massed out, they're basically unrecoverable although wpa and honor recovery isn't possible for the most part. Mystics, I like TOG paired with +1 mana but I am more willing to pick the mystic I expect to be strongest at its peak FFW: Before we close, what's the single most important advice we can give to aspiring war kingdoms out there? You go first Smiles Smiles: Pick a kingdom you admire or setup you think is strong and just copy. Add a small spin for what you like and don't be original. When Warbirds formed and we were ready to run a top tier setup for the first time, we essentially straight copied Hipmunks from the age before as we had warred them twice, lost twice. FFW: Dowla will be pretty happy to know Hipmunks inspired Warbirds to an extent. Let's hear from him next. Dowla: If you're unsure on how to play it and what exact setup to pick then pick something simple. Start with something simple as two types of T/Ms with 3-4 of each, 3-4 clerics and pick the rest as heavy attackers or ditch the clerics and everything else can go into attackers. Keep it simple until you start feeling comfortable with changing it and doing things a different way, a way that suits you. Do know that every single one of the best warring kingdoms has a usual way they pick setups and each one of those setups works for them because they've gotten good at playing with those setups. FFW: Be bold and brave. Don't hesitate to experiment with choices since all the best strategies and setups have been called retarded or silly once upon a time. Your new idea could be the next top strategy but be sure your entire kingdom is on board with it. Consensus is important. Editorial Section: Wrapping up this session, it is clear that there's no one best approach in picking your Kingdom's setup and strategy. What is truly important is that you choose a strategy that works for you and remember that mastery over a particular strategy would cement your place as a top warring kingdom. When it comes to the finer details of picking your race and personality choices, pick a combination that is most comfortable for what you want it to do. The key important takeaway is the concept of objectives and whatever combination you pick should conform with the objectives of your kingdom. PS: Dowla volunteers to help people struggling with choices if you PM his retired ass on discord since he inspired Warbirds. Link to his interview on his honor crown achievement below

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satoshi-mochida · 4 years

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Publisher Activision and developer Vicarious Visions have announced Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC (Epic Games Store). It will launch on September 4. Pre-orders include access to the “Warehouse” demo.

“The original Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater series is a big factor in the evolution of modern skateboarding tricks and inspiring many of the pro skaters you know and love today,” profession skateboarder Tony Hawk said in a press release. “I’m excited to help inspire a new generation of skateboarders and gamers—and existing fans—to grow the sport even further.”

Vicarious Visions studio head Jen Oneal added, “Getting the chance to bring back the original two games which had such a meaningful impact not only on gaming, but on an entire sports genre, has been an epic experience for our team, many of whom worked on the original series. We’re taking what you knew and loved from the original games and mixing that with enhanced creative tools which will allow gamers to invent brand new ways to play the game they love. We’re confident it will be the ultimate Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater experience fans have been asking for.”

Here is an overview of the game, via the Activision Blog:

Same Tony, New Tricks

All of this will be presented in stunning 4K resolution* with updated and enhanced graphics, running at a frame rate crisper than a perfect 50-50 grind: 60 frames per second.

Create-A-Skater and Create-A-Park Return, Revamped

Rather carve up your own park with a skater you created? Create-A-Skater and Create-A-Park are back with some dope features added in.

Create-A-Park will feature a robust editing suite, enabling an incredible level of customization to create the skate park of your wildest imaginations. These parks can be shared online with friends.

The Limited-Edition Birdhouse Deck

Pre-Order Information

Watch the announcement trailer below. View the first screenshots at the gallery.

youtube

#Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2 #Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2 #Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater #Tony Hawk #Activision #Vicarious Visions #Gematsu

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prettycottonmouthlamia · 4 years

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F/GO 1-Star Tier List

I’ve decided to make a tier list, because...I’m bored. :)

Feel free to ask any questions or open a discussion of any of my rankings, Tier Lists are pretty subjective and I like seeing what other people’s opinions are. I’ve given my opinions here as well, so the post is fairly lengthy.

Of special note, my 1-3 Star Tier Lists will be also factoring in Grails. Grails aren’t super important for 4 or 5 stars, but budget units greatly appreciate the extra stats due to their lower bases.

1-star Tier List

This tier list will look at the 1-star Servants in the game and rank them based on overall usefulness. This includes both general content, farming, and Challenge quests. This list will also not look at these units in just budget teams, but also in teams will higher rarity units. There will also be a separate ranking for certain units if they are given grails, as stats are the overall limiter to the general usability to using 1-stars.

S-Rank: Top tier units that are very useful overall. Often have specific niches that are not seen in other units, or do what they do so well that they outclass almost every other unit.

A-Rank: Units who are very good at what they do. They are not at the pinnacle of usefulness as other Servants and may face some competition, but they will do their jobs well.

B-Rank: Units who are good, but may not be usable in every team or may be outclassed by other units. Do their jobs generally decently, but often have viable alternatives.

C-Rank: Units who are mediocre. They generally don't have a useful niche or have a lot of Servants who outclass them. Usually require support to be good.

D-Rank: Servants who are simply not good. They may have some usability, but are nonviable the majority of the time.

S-Rank Mozart: Mozart is by far and away the best 1 star. His 44% Arts card boost is very good, but it is his 50 critical star bomb that solidifies his niche, enabling a very large number of Servants to do a lot more damage than they normally will, especially Arts-based critical Servants. His second skill is total bunk and his NP is mediocre, but his other two skills really help hold him together and make him incredible. Mozart is not particularly boosted by Grails, since he's a support and support Servants don't rely on HP or ATK all too much.

A-Rank Mata Hari: Mata Hari is a very overlooked Servant, but she is one of the only 1-stars that truly shines regardless of stats. Her main niche is in simply damage boosting, with her skills providing a 40% Defense down to the opponent and her NP potentially providing an additional 20-30%. She can also potentially Charm, although its inconsistent, and inflicts Skill Seal, a decent debuff. Mata Hari can benefit from Grails if you want to use her for more overall damage, since her NP gain is good and she can rather easily get off multiple NPs, but it doesn't change her rank.

Spartacus: Spartacus is more of a low-A rank, but he's a very good unit for farming. He's an easily accessible Berserker with an AoE NP and a NP charge skill, making him very good for farming. He can be useful in general content and some Challenge Quest because his NP also ignores defense buffs. His myriad number of heals and his Guts do provide him some survivability. Grails do help Spartacus with survivability especially, but he doesn't get a large enough bonus in his damage to raise him up a rank.

Arash: Arash is the premier farming Servant since his release. He has a good NP charge on his 3rd skill and a very powerful NP that gets even stronger with Overcharge. Even better, however, is that Arash's NP will kill Arash, allowing another Servant to come in without requiring the use of Plugsuit. This can be used as strategic times or to simply make farming easier. The main thing holding Arash back from being S-rank is that without any buffs, Arash's damage may not be enough, but Grails boost his damage enough to put him in S-rank if you decide to Grail him.

B-Rank Asterios: Asterios is quite possibly one of the most lop-sided units usability wise. Many newer Masters will probably find him to be overall very weak and have difficulties using him effectively, but with the right set-ups and certain enemies, Asterios may be a complete game-winner on his own. All three of his skills are good, but his NP is where he truly shines, massively reducing opponent's ATK and DEF. Asterios, however, relies on outside support or an enemy that has a high number of hit counters in order to be effective, which hampers his overall usefulness.

Grails boost Asterios' bulk and power, which not only makes him easier to use against more enemies but also allows him to do a lot of potential critical damage with his three skills. A grailed Asterios hence is low-A rank with Grails.

Sasaki Kojirou: Sasaki is an Assassin with a pretty decent power output. His NP will hit decently hard with its good damage numbers and a 20% Quick performance up, and he can do a fair amount of crit damage as well. Due to being a launch Quick servant however, and his low overall stats, he doesn't overly excel at this role compared to other Assassins. His most notable trait is his ability to ignore Evasion for 3 turns because of this. Grails, however, will massively boost his damage and make him a solid A-rank Servant, with both some survivability and damage.

Paul Bunyan: Bunyan was a little difficult to really pin down a ranking for. Bunyan isn't a particularly unique Servant in what she does, providing support and some damage potentially, but she doesn't really excel in either of those areas. Her potential with Buster crit Servants, providing three 20% buffs to their damage in Def down, Buster up, and Critical damage up, is rather notable, but it limits her ability to be used in different team comps. In addition, her very poor survivability makes her very difficult to use as actual damage. She's a high B-rank because of her support potential. Grails giving her extra HP and ATK pushes her into a low A-rank because it makes it more likely she can be used for farming and deal good enough damage.

Bartholomew Roberts: Bartholomew is similar to Bunyan in that he performs two roles: support, and damage dealing. Support wise he has a number of good tools, including Voyager of the Storm, a 40% crit buff for the entire party, and a crit rate down + 20 stars skill. His crit buff also reduces his crit star weight, meaning he can make Berserkers getting crits more consistent too. His support is a little scattered, however, which limits his usefulness there. He can do decent damage to Caster enemies and Bronze enemies thanks to his effective damage on his NP, which makes him a potentially useful farmer, but in specific scenarios.

Grails don't boost him enough to raise him into A-rank because of how specific Bartholomew is. This would change if he got an NP upgrade, however, since it would boost his damage to the point where he could consistently farm Bronze enemies of any class.

C-Rank Jason: Jason is pretty much the epitome of C-rank. He can either be used as a support Servant, and while his 3rd skill is very good, it only works on a very select group of Servants, and to adequately do any farming he'll need support and probably a team in which to enable 3-turn looping. His skillset is decent otherwise but nothing extraordinary. He does very mediocre damage on his own, only doing decent damage to Lancers.

Grails will boost Jason to a low B-rank. His damage will still not be very good, but he'll require less support to be usable and the Arts AoE Saber niche is very underfilled. An NP upgrade would help solidify Jason as a B-rank with Grails.

Charlotte Corday: This one really hurts me, but its the best place to rank her. She's better than Jason because she's at least capable of doing things on her own, but the problem isn't her own usability and more that her niche is oversaturated and she is outclassed by other Servants, more severely than Sasaki. She has a good survival skill with a 2 hit evasion, has the coveted combo of Pierce Invul and Ignore Def for 1 turn, can remove evasion buffs, and has the potential for high crit or NP damage. Corday's 3rd buff is very inconsistent, however, and because of this she benefits having a team built around any three of her buffs procing instead of just one. Her Atk up also has bad downtime which limits her face card damage. It wouldn't take much to make Charlotte B-rank, but she still faces stiff competition regardless.

Grails will boost Corday to B-rank, stabilizing her damage and giving her more HP to tank with. She can be a good boss killer, especially with support, but she still isn't noteworthy enough to compete with the other good Arts Assassins.

#fgo #fate grand order #fate series #1-star tier lists are always fun

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tf2workbench · 3 years

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MvM upgrades, part 2

My Thursday post about MvM upgrades got a lot of positive feedback, so I decided to release a suite of weapon upgrades. If you’re interested in why MvM is the way it is, you should check out the companion to this post, too - ideally right above it in your dashboard. But if all you want is cool changes, keep reading!

Back Scatter The Scout has no real “best” primary weapon in MvM, although the Force-a-Nature and Soda Popper tend to see a lot of use. His main goal is to collect cash, but it’d be interesting to give him a primary that dealt good damage.

Crits when it would normally mini-crit $500 One level This is, make no mistake, a powerful attribute. That’s why it costs so much. The main utility is against Medics, which you can take down before they deploy their Ubercharge; while this is usually a Demoman, Pyro, or Sniper’s job, giving the Scout some more utility isn’t a bad choice.

Degreaser The Pyro actually has several primaries that are viable in MvM, but the Degreaser is not one of them. Combo attacks are good against lone players, but as I mentioned in my segment on the Axtinguisher, they don’t work well against hordes of robots. With that in mind, I’ve worked to make the Degreaser the one you use if you want to airblast.

-20% airblast cost $200 Four levels

25% faster airblast fire rate $300 Two levels

25% larger airblast radius $250 Three levels

These attributes are all designed to make your airblast an impenetrable wall, deflecting projectiles and robots alike while your team cleans up. Actually, if fully upgraded it might become too powerful, keeping giant Soldiers completely locked down. Maybe only one or two of these should be available.

Quickiebomb Launcher This sticky launcher has to compete with the stock launcher and Scottish Resistance, both of which are insanely powerful weapons in MvM. The fast detonation isn’t as useful against bots, which don’t dodge stickybombs; similarly, the clip size penalty really hurts your sustained fire capabilities. How do we remedy that while simultaneously playing to its strengths?

25% faster charge rate $300 Two levels This capitalizes on the Quickiebomb’s unique charge rampup to deliver high-speed, high-damage shots. As it upgrades, you can launch powerful stickies with almost no delay.

+100% clip size (from +50%) $200 (from $400) This puts the upgrade on par with the stock launcher’s, giving it an edge on low-cash missions. For $400 you can get your Quickiebomb 12 shots, while the stock gets 12 for the same price; for $800 your Quickiebomb reaches 20, while the stock hits 16. Ultimately, the stock goes higher, but this gives a slight edge.

+20% reload speed $200 (from $250) A small discount, just to make your Quickiebomb Launcher better at sustained combat, which it desperately needs.

Natascha Although its slowdown is useful on paper, the Natascha usually only hits one or two targets at once, even with projectile penetration. And -25% damage really hurts, becoming more pronounced the longer you fire. Could we do something to make it good for the Heavy who likes to support their team?

Projectile shield $400 Two levels Simply put - it’s like the Medic’s projectile shield, although it charges via damage done and is probably a bit smaller. A great way to be a defensive anchor for your team and damage approaching robots.

+20% damage resistance while spun up $300 Three levels Overall, this makes you a lot tankier, although you have to be revved up to get the bonus. Unfortunately, it may not end up being all that powerful - being a stone wall is not much use if the robots get past you. Still, it’s a handy all-purpose resistance.

Gunslinger I mentioned this one in the other post, talking about how its damage is far too low to make it viable in MvM. Buildings also have deployment bonuses, and upgrade canteens make Level 3s very easy to come by.

+1 disposable sentry $300 (from $500) Three levels (from 1)

These disposable sentries fire slower than mini-sentries, so their DPS is about 20% lower than your main gun. Added together, all four of them can actually outdamage a Level 3 - but you’ll need money, and they’re not very bulky.

One thing that’s worth exploring with this one is whether upgrades to your sentry (firing speed, health, etc.) apply to disposable guns. I think they should, since the disposable gun is so weak already - it can’t even be reloaded or repaired. That would make the Gunslinger a potential investment that could yield you massive damage at the cost of frailer guns.

That’s about as long as I’m comfortable making this post, but I hope you enjoyed these upgrades! If this post gets a lot of positive reception, I’d be happy to make some more - heck, it’s fun enough that I might make some more anyway.

#tf2workbench #tf2 #team fortress 2 #mvm

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commandertheory · 5 years

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As a defense of Morophon, a lot of people who needed hound/crab/elk/miscellaneous tribal commanders are probably playing pretty casually and won't be bothered by its high cmc. I don't get the feeling it was designed to make waves in games of the power level you generally discuss here.

Long post incoming.

My criticism of Morophon is less that it’s expensive and more that cost reduction doesn’t make sense on a 7 mana commander, in the same way that haste-granting doesn’t make sense on an expensive commander; the cards that would benefit have already come down by the time you cast it. But really, my gripe with Morophon is not that it isn’t good enough, but that it’s just not well-designed. I actually think that a more successful design (successful in the sense that it achieves the stated goal of supporting obscure tribes) for Morophon would be less broken than what we actually got. In the second half of this post, I’ll discuss a powerful combo deck that is made possible only because Wizards wasn’t thoughtful about what abilities Morophon needed to make random tribes viable.

First off, here’s what I liked about Morophon: Wizards recognized that this commander needed to have a color identity that was all five colors but be playable in as few as zero colors, and they solved this problem with Morophon’s cost reduction ability. However, Morophon has some problems, and its high CMC isn’t the only one.

The buff that Morophon provides doesn’t scale well to Commander. +1/+1 to your team might win games of limited, but it doesn’t make much of an impact in a 40-life format with multiple opponents. That’s especially true if your tribe doesn’t have access to token generation so your +1/+1 bonus is only going to be spread across a handful of creatures.

Also, the sequencing of play doesn’t really make sense. Why would you want a cost reduction ability on a 7-mana commander? Most of the tribes you would want to play with him have an average CMC that’s much lower than that, so you’d have to make the choice not to cast them every turn before Morophon comes down in order to make use of that ability.

The two bonuses that Morophon grants are useful, and factor heavily into the decklist below, but the problem keeping most tribal decks from being successful isn’t that their members need one more power and toughness or their members have too many color requirements; it’s a broader problem affecting all nontoken non-Voltron aggro decks in Commander.

Most tribal decks tend to default to aggro unless the tribe (or the tribal commander) is really good at producing resources (e.g., elves and mana).

Unfortunately, most of the obscure tribes that Morophon is intended to help don’t have much in the way of token production, so developing an aggressive board requires drawing members of your tribe, committing them to the board, and then pumping them up to Commander proportions. This strategy is really vulnerable to board wipes because your tribal army can easily trade for a single Wrath of God, leaving you down cards relative to the rest of the table.

I think what Morophon needed to really work as a universal commander is an ability that could increase the impact of each member of your tribe that you drew. Some sort of changeling token generation that functioned like Krenko, Mob Boss, Najeela, Marrow-Gnawer, or Brood Sliver would allow any tribe to easily build up a board presence without having to commit a ton of cards. I also think the cost reduction ability isn’t the best way to get WUBRG on the card for color identity purposes; you could use twobrid mana as an activation cost for some sort of splashy aggro-enabling ability as a way to push the card into a five colors without making it unusable in tribal decks that are concentrated in fewer colors. I’m thinking something like this would be much more helpful for tribal decks that are not currently viable:

Anyway, back to reality:

Although it doesn’t work as a universal tribal commander, Morophon the Boundless does build into a unique deck. If you run 50 or so creatures of the same type and use Morophon to make it so that all of those creatures cost zero, then you just need a draw engine like Guardian Project, Beast Whisperer, Vanquisher’s Banner, Kindred Discovery, or Glimpse of Nature to draw through your deck and combo out.

Scryfall has helpfully provided a list of all creatures that have their cost reduced to zero by Morophon. By searching within that list, we can find which tribes have the most Morophon-compliant members. The top tribes are:

Human: 324

Wizard: 95

Soldier: 91

Goblin: 83

Elf: 79

Warrior: 78

Cleric: 69

Shaman: 58

Add 2 to all of those for the 2 known Morophon-compliant changelings.

Obviously, Humans are in a different class compared to everyone else. Having more than three times as many options as the next best type means that you get more Humans that are also Wizards (17), more Humans that are Legendary (16), more Blue Humans (26), and more Humans that have two or more power (47).

“Why are those characteristics relevant?” you ask. Well, having a large number of Human Wizards allows you to use Azami, Lady of Scrolls as an additional draw engine. Having a lot of Human legends allows you to use Reki, the History of Kamigawa. Having lots of Blue Humans turns on Dire Undercurrents. Finally, having lots of humans with two or more power means you actually have lots of humans with three or more power, thanks to Morophon’s buff. This allows you to make use of Elemental Bond and Garruk’s Packleader to keep the combo going (unfortunately, there weren’t enough Humans that had enough power to make Kavu Lair, Temur Ascendancy, and Kiora, Behemoth Beckoner worthwhile).

All this means that you’re waaay less likely to fizzle if you’re running Humans compared to any other creature type, as you have access to more draw engines because of your deep card pool. Once you have one draw engine, you’re likely to keep going long enough to assemble a pretty large board state. Once you have two engines, you’re likely to cast your entire deck.

I’ve built a rough list that goldfishes pretty well; see below for a link. Be warned, however, that if your opponent has a counterspell or instant-speed spot removal open the turn you cast Morophon, you’re going to have a bad time. If they don’t, you’ve got a good shot at winning.

Morophon Human Combo

#spoilers #commander #edh #mtg

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the-real-xmonster · 6 years

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Some Qs on Air Position

Hi Alice. I read somewhere saying that Boyang's in air position is ugly because of his turtle neck. Do you mind clarifying how it's 'ugly'? Because I thought a good position means straingt axis and tight rotation, legs crossed together closely, which Boyang did pretty well. I even find his unique form quite endering, since people can recognize it right away. I can be wrong so please correct it I am. Though, I guess a text book air position can be demontrated by Yuzu?? I absolutely love his form!

Hi! There’s one thing about the Amajin Boyangman’s air position that I noticed while rewatching the slow-mo of his 4Lutz3Toe: although he keeps his legs tight and crossed at the ankle (unlike Shoma, who crosses them at the knee) his arms tend to be very loose around his chest. Shouldn’t that result in a sloppy air position and as a result to imperfect landings or under rotation? Likewise, shouldn’t Janny’s loose legs and Shoma’s crossed knees have the same result of under rotation or fall?

No I don’t think there’s anything “ugly” about Boyang’s air position. There’s absolutely no ISU regulation on how the skater has to position their neck and head. As far as I can see there’s no practical implication either, i.e., Boyang’s rotational speed would be the same no matter if he tilts his head back like he’s doing now, if if he keeps it straight.

I’ve discussed air position before in this post, using Boyang, Nathan, and Yuzuru as examples, so feel free to have a look if you are interested in more details. Basically I am of the opinion that in evaluating air position, the focus should be on the placement of the skater’s legs rather than anything else.

Perfect air position, 10/10 would recommend:

For the position of the arms in particular, I think what matters most is for the skater to find a placement that feel natural to them, so that they can get to it as fast as possible: ideally, the skater would aim to bring their arms to that position in roughly the same amount of time it takes to cross their legs. In order to establish and then maintain a good rotational speed as well as a stable rotational axis, it’s very important for the skater to keep all of their body movements in sync. You definitely don’t want your upper body to continue moving after your lower body has assumed its rotational position. Again see the example from Yuzu here and check out how he moved his right arm and leg in two perfectly parallel arcs:

So to sum up, IMO, a good air position is one in which (1) the legs are straight and tightly crossed at the ankles, (2) the skater’s upper and lower body move in sync, and (3) the skater is able to get to their maximum rotational speed as fast as possible.

Shoma’s leg wrap does result in slower rotation and increase the risk of his jump being either off-axis, or under-rotated, or both. You can see its effect most clearly on his quad loops.

Not sure what you mean about Janny’s air position because hers is actually quite good :)

She took less than a revolution to get her legs straightened and crossed at the ankles there. The example I picked was one of her strongest jumps, the triple loop, but you can check the rest of her jumps and you’d see the same. If she has any slight issue it’s with the Axel only.

Hi Alice, hope you are well. I have a question about leg wrap during jumps. You've talked about it pertaining to certain skaters in relation to leg wrap during their quads. But, is it also not good for when they only do triples? I ask this because I notice that some ladies, for example A Kostornaya and G Daleman (esp in her latest insta post of a rippon 3Lz), tend to have this leg wrap issue, but their jumps seemed kinda ok? Thanks!

Leg wrap during jump is always a bad thing, be it on quads or triples. Alena’s issue, which is more pronounced on her flip and Lutz, does slow down her rotational speed and makes her more prone to under-rotation on those two jumps. It might seem a minor issue right now because her body is not yet fully developed and her natural rotational speed is still fast enough to counter the effect of the leg wrap, but if this persists, it could become a serious problem for her in the future.

Gabby also has serious leg wrap issue on her flip and Lutz and it does affect her performance on those two jumps. Her takeoff is powerful enough that she still gets a decent height on those jumps, but her landings are usually quite shaky due to the unstable axis. This is the reason why she has been sticking to the 3T-3T as her only 3-3 combo even though it puts her at a sizable disadvantage in terms of BV compared to the other top ladies. She used to practice and attempt a 3Lz+3T in competition, but it didn’t work out: her Lutz landing was not secure enough so she would end up under-rotating her 3T.

Hi! I was watching videos of Mao and Yuna and noticed that they would execute Tanos with the arm completely straight, while most ladies nowadays have the arm bent. Why do they do that? According to the British uncles, it doesn’t make the jump more difficult bc the crooked arm doesn’t change the axis, so I’m genuinely curious. Many Russian ladies have totally straight arms in Rippons but really bent arms in Tanos. I LOVE their Rippons, but I think their Tanos look a bit ugly and flailing...

I’m not a fan of Tanos done with the arm really bent either (Maria Sotskova is a prime example. I so wish that she would just stop doing it altogether). One, because it doesn’t look pretty at all. Two, because I do agree with the BEsp uncles: the lower the arm is positioned relative to the skater’s body, the less it influences their center of gravity and the less impact it has on their axis. I mean, yes, I guess Tano with a very crooked arm is still somewhat harder to do than no Tano at all, and it still technically counts as “varied air position”, but to award it the same bonus (1 GOE bullet) as that of a well-done Rippon (which is both more difficult and more pleasing to the eyes) or a delay in rotation (which is way more challenging to perform compared to most varied air positions) is... questionable.

#replies #figure skating #tech talk

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clairdelune-mods · 6 years

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CCC/MLD Trinket Design Process

So I said I’d do some more posts explaining my design process, so this’ll be the first of those. I’m going to use this as a way to explain my general trinket design philosophy, then follow it up with a post specific to the HWM’s stuff. This is basically the reference post for my overall philosophy on trinkets.

My design philosophy is pretty heavily influenced by something Magic Rabbit Hat (coder for S-Purple’s mods) said, which, to paraphrase, is that lower tier trinkets should be less complex, not less useful. I also took some influence from things like the Librarian higher-tier trinkets, which entirely change how some of her skills work. Aside from that, I went in with a general philosophy of how different rarities should work of my own making (note these are for class trinkets):

Commons: One buff, one small debuff (or even no downside), in most cases. Absolutely no effects, only buffs; effects are too complicated to hand out like candy. My upsides are bigger than vanilla; for example, MLD’s Accuracy Stone gives 10 accuracy, not 4. I also try to stick to relatively weird buffs for these.

Uncommons: A couple buffs, 1-2 debuff, maybe an effect if warranted, but most won’t have effects. These tend to reinforce typical stats or roles the class uses. I also tend to slip my PROT trinkets for classes that don’t have ways to generate PROT in here.

Rare: Take one skill or highly specific aspect of the character and play it up at the expense of others. Effects are semi-common.

Very Rare: Take one role of the class and bolster it at the expense of others, usually a role they don’t normally fill but are capable of; alternatively, for heroes who can effectively fill multiple roles at once, completely remove one to power up another. Sometimes this tier is also used for interesting ideas that don’t fit a set. Effects are common here.

Ancestral: Reinforce the hero’s main role but in a unique way. Effects are very common for this.

Sets: Generalized buffs to an aspect of the character, like slightly less hyper-focused Rares; some sets will add an entirely new role or ability to a character or enhance one that isn’t really feasible without the set. I also like to make sets that force heroes to be played in unorthodox positions, but only if they still have 4 skills usable in that position; this is, for example, why I killed an early concept for a position 4 HWM set. He has Pistol Shot, Tracking Shot, and Duelist’s Advance there, which is not conducive to interesting decision-making. I’m also trying to make these less reliant on the set bonus to be useful and open up new comboes, although some sets are fully designed around their set bonus by necessity.

CC Sets: While none of my changes to these are released yet, as a general rule I made them less generalist and more specialized. Generalist sets are, by definition, either the best trinket choices or worthless depending on how good the stats are. You either end up a jack of all trades, or a master of none.

CoM trinkets: This is where things get weird and I make really crazy, experimental trinkets. I also use this for some silly ideas like replacing a hero’s bleeds with blights. They’ll also come with the tradeoff of not being usable together without massive debuffs, contrasting them with sets, which are designed to pair with each other.

For general trinkets, my philosophy is similar overall, but there’s a few things to note:

First off, way less effects. Effects are tricky to balance across heroes so I don’t like giving them to trinkets that anyone can use; it’s sort of similar to how Martyr’s Seal is silly on Flagellant and how Tempting Goblet has very little downside on him because he can’t Virtue anyway and his Affliction isn’t that bad.

Second off, rare and higher trinkets are not so specific, since they’re not tailored to a class. They tend to have more buffs and more debuffs than lower tier trinkets, or have a stronger buff for a harsher downside. My goal is that no high-tier trinket completely invalidates commons and such, whether because the debuffs make it a legitimate tradeoff (more upside for more downside) or because the commons have some weird buff you don’t get on the higher tier ones.

Finally, general trinkets are made to fill in obvious gaps, while class trinkets fill niches. General trinkets should mostly fill the common roles, not have many conditions attached to them, and exist for generalized builds that don’t want to commit heavily to one role. There are exceptions, like with anything, but overall these trinkets should be simple and give stats that many heroes can utilize.

Well, that’s it for this post. TLDR: Trinket rarity is no longer about power, but complexity. I’ll follow this post up with a design postmortem on the HWM trinkets, and follow up with more posts as each hero reaches 100% completion.

#moonlit dungeon #darkest dungeon #MLD #clairs-collection-of-curiosities #CCC

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