#hzd override

[system-threat-detected]

Horizontober day 18: Tarot

A flimsy excuse to make another Persona crossover!

#horizontober2023 #horizon zero dawn #persona #hzd #my art #aloy #horizon forbidden west #hfw #her persona is named after Will Scarlet #one of Robin Hood’s merry men #I wanted Scarlett’s mane to be blue like overrides at first but with the name and the curse type damage #well red seemed more fitting #I know technically Scarlett and Scarlet's names are different #but like #come on #red #it's red #her mane is red #I gotta #you may be thinking: spooky Yusuke already has a fox mask why did you give aloy one too #here’s my answer to you: I do what I want

[greybackpack]

The scene with Aloy and Elisabet sharing a drink/stories was going to be longer. I was going to have them drink until they were sloshed before quickly realizing that Aloy and Lis wouldn’t, especially right before battle/something important. Also, it was kind of out of character, mostly because I have no idea what drunk Aloy acts like.

It was going to go something like this:

Aloy, whispering like she was about to impart the world’s greatest wisdom to the woman who kept it alive, asked Elisabet a question that the scientist herself had spent decades debating with her work.

“Do-do you think, the watchers feel it when I stab them?”

Elisabet hiccups, chugging down some more ale. Her face is flushed but her expression serious. Her thesis was on this. She knows the answer.

“Probably-? There’s error codes and- and lost, loss of visuals.”

She knows the answer but the ale makes sure it comes out like nonsense.

“I don’t wanna- I don’t want to hurt them!” Aloy insists, eyes earnest and frown creasing her brows. “But- but they’ll call the other machines and I need, I need the salva-salvage. And, and Heph- He- you know, wants to keep them alive! They’re so cute. ‘S better to hunt the bandits sometimes.”

Elisabet sniffles. “I’m sure it’s- it’s fine. Margo- Margo definitely would have wanted you to, to stay alive. She didn’t want to hurt anyone… ‘cept for Ted. Fuck Ted.”

Aloy nods emphatically, ale sloshing.

“Yeah, fuck Ted.”

“Bringing shame to the cool name of Theodore. That’s like- that’s like a posh name, you know? Back then…”

#hzd aloy #elisabet sobeck #Elisabet sobeck getting drunk with her clone daughter and debating philosophy #by that I mean killing a watcher is like kicking a puppy #especially after you override one #but she’s in a culture that normalizes hunting the machines so she doesn’t actually feel that bad #but I sure as hell do #she also doesn’t feel that bad about downing bandits #none of that self hatred about murder #bc she’s a product of her culture (through Rost) #and that culture normalizes death #and the idea that some day you might be the one that brings it to others #bandits=watchers #but watchers are cuter #machines have feelings #I want Aloy to meet stabby the roomba #horizon zero dawn #aloy despite the nora #aloy is a babie

[robo-dino-puppy]

we’re twins!

#horizon zero dawn #hzd #aloy #watcher #nora lookout #obvs her headgear is from a BABY WATCHER #(the lens around her neck too) #maybe the watchers got bigger after the derangement lol #can you imagine a baby watcher? #(◕ฺω◕ฺ) #i'm just about to do the proving #i'll get a better shot once i can override these guys #this one was angry at me #maybe if they're remastering hzd they'll include this armor as an option? pls? #hzd pc #hzd watcher

[botwadtict]

Horizon: New Vegas

I think that if the Courier met Aloy, they would be friends, especially after old world blues

Imagine the Courier with the focus, and figuring out a way to connect VATS to it. Aloy seeing all of the energy weapons and anti-machine technologies that the Courier has found.

BIG MT.

A Yes-Man Courier seeing Vegas buried under the dessert, but still lighting up the sky. Aloy seeing the Old World in front of her, like a bubble in time.

#Courier 6 #courier six #aloy #hzd #hfw #horizon zero dawn #fnv #fallout new vegas #aloy seems like she'd be good with a shotgun or a sniper #Aloy could probably override a securitron #and she would

[signutai]

Big friend T-Rex who earns my fifteenth Blazing Sun for me.

#Jesse plays HZD #it also killed a passing behemoth for good measure #i'm cooing over the big death monster and somewhere HEPHAESTUS is screeching in frustration #these were fun trials because i Never Override Anything

[permanentlylatetotheparty]

frosty and friendly!

#horizon zero dawn #hzd #horizon #i am getting better at dealing with the big machines #i know where to hit glinthawks now to freeze them #but if there's more than one snapmaw around #i usually override one and let it fuck up the other #and then i feel sorry for the other machine and leave it to wander around #i love how if they're friendly their tails just gently sideswipe you #my screenshots

[discar]

HZD Terraforming Base-001 Text Communications Network

Chapter 14 | Prev chapter | Next chapter Chapter Index

Zo: Aloy, is everything all right? You rushed out pretty fast.

FlameHairSavior: Oh, just more problems to fix. Turns out that even though we have the other subfunctions, we can't actually get HEPHAESTUS, because it deleted the Alpha Override from its code! Which I didn't even know was a thing that could happen!

β: iut likely

β: it was likely only possible due to both its programming knowledge and its distributed nature over the entire caldron network

β: calkdron

β: cauldron

Zo: I actually already knew that. Beta and I discussed this.

FlameHairSavior: So now I have to go find the Omega Override, which hopefully is in Faro's bunker, which hopefully is in San Francisco after all, which hopefully the Quen can help me get inside.

Marshall Kotallo: The Quen are the invaders from across the sea, correct?

FlameHairSavior: Yes. They use primitive Focuses, about twenty years out of date. I only met the one who didn't try to kill me, but she seemed nice. I think she'll help me get what I need.

FlameHairSavior: Also, she might think I'm a goddess, or something.

β: what

FlameHairSavior: It's a long story, and has to do with the Quen religion, which I don't understand.

Zo: How long will it take you to get to San Francisco?

FlameHairSavior: I have no idea. Probably a while.

Zo: Then you probably have time to explain why you think she thinks you're a goddess.

FlameHairSavior: [Exasperation.png]

Zo: And I'll keep Erend from making any jokes.

FlameHairSavior: Deal!

ForgeLordAleMaster: HEY!

FlameHairSavior: Too late, no take backs!

ForgeLordAleMaster: I DIDN'T GIVE YOU ANYTHING TO TAKE BACK!

ForgeLordAleMaster: WHAT WOULD I EVEN MAKE JOKES ABOUT, ANYWAY?

HIMBO: Probably about how this is the second religion that's declared her some sort of holy person.

ForgeLordAleMaster: THAT'S SOME LOW-HANGING FRUIT.

FlameHairSavior: I don't know the full details, but apparently Alva recognized me as Elizabet Sobeck. Thankfully, she seemed to realize that I wasn't actually Sobeck, but she played it up for the soldiers.

β: why would that even matter

FlameHairSavior: Seems like they worship the Old Ones. Or something. I don't know. It reminds me of the Nora revering the Matriarchs, except they're dead.

FlameHairSavior: She talked about the “Ancestors” and “the Legacy” a lot.

HIMBO: Are you sure you should trust them at all? Didn't you say the first Quen you met shot on sight?

Marshall Kotallo: There has certainly been no formal attempt at contact with the Tenakth. As far as I know, no soldier has survived contact.

ForgeLordAleMaster: SURPRISED YOU'D ADMIT THAT.

Marshall Kotallo: Downplaying a threat does no good to anyone.

ForgeLordAleMaster: TELL THAT TO AN OSERAM.

Marshall Kotallo: I... believe I just did?

HIMBO: So, Aloy, what's Alva like?

FlameHairSavior: Inquisitive. Better with a bow than I expected. I think you'll like her.

ForgeLordAleMaster: AND YOU'RE GOING OUT THERE TO SOLVE ALL HER PROBLEMS AND BECOME HERO TO YET ANOTHER PEOPLE.

FlameHairSavior: What? No!

FlameHairSavior: I mean, she already got what she needed. Mostly, I think.

HIMBO: Was it because of you?

FlameHairSavior: I mean, I just helped translate a few files for her.

β: is this the part where we make bets i think im supposed to suggest a bet

FlameHairSavior: No.

ForgeLordAleMaster: YES!

β: then i bet all my shards that shes in love with aloy before the end of the mission

Marshall Kotallo: Hm, seems you have some fire in you after all. Very well, I'll take that bet.

FlameHairSavior: No! You're not allowed to bet on that sort of thing!

ForgeLordAleMaster: PRETTY SURE WE'RE ALLOWED TO BET ON ANYTHING.

ForgeLordAleMaster: I SHOWED YOU THE SPORTS, RIGHT? THE OLD ONES BET ON ALL SORTS OF STUPID SLAG.

FlameHairSavior: Beta, where did you even get money?

β: erend taught me to play machine strike

β: he is not very good

ForgeLordAleMaster: I LET HER WIN A FEW ROUNDS SO THAT I DIDN'T SCARE HER OFF.

β: no youre just not very good

ForgeLordAleMaster: DON'T YOU HAVE A GAIA BOX TO BUILD OR SOMETHING?

HIMBO: Erend, I never thought I'd say this, but I think you need an ale.

FlameHairSavior: This is going to be a long trip.

Chapter 14 | Prev chapter | Next chapter Chapter Index

#aloy #zo #horizon #varl #kotallo #horizon zero dawn #horizon forbidden west #erend vanguardsman #beta horizon #HZDBaseChat

[foibles-fables]

Where do you think Horizon 3 is going to go, both physically and narratively? Do you think they managed to save any twists for us?

Good good questions!!!

Physically, I am really hoping Horizon Three Dawns moves the story back eastward to include the maps from both HZD and HFW, plus The Claim as a new area in-between, with Meridian in the geographical center.

Unpopular Onion, but I wouldn't be as enthusiastic about the Quen lands being a part of the map, given the distance. That's kind of why I was/am hoping for a Quen-homeland-specific DLC--get some good narrative surrounding them, while keeping it both geographically sequestered and standalone.

And another Unpopular Onion: I kind of don't want to see any new tribes being introduced in the third game, especially when HFW had to shift the focus so far from two that were major players in game one. I think game 3 should be a culmination of what's been introduced rather than an attempt to break even more new ground.

Side note! I'm thinking Sunwing travel would be...kind of immersion-breaking to take away from the player (i.e. the way we lost overrides going into HFW)? And think it could be prime for a potential fast-travel mechanic. Aloy didn't really get any OP armor in HFW (like the Shieldweaver in HZD) so there's no real reason to take her toys away from her?

As for the narrative! It's clear that Ben McCaw is drawing a lot of inspiration from the Mass Effect series, and I'm betting dollars to donuts that game 3 will follow the structure of ME3 pretty closely. Here are a couple preliminary items I'm expecting:

A bifurcate story, very similar to ME3. First and overarching fork (comparative to the Reaper war) will be Aloy's attempts to collect war assets rally all the tribes for the impending conflict. Second but very-much-entwined fork (think ME3's Cerberus plotline) will be gaining control of HEPHAESTUS. I don't think he'll be handled in a DLC--or at least I hope he won't be, personally.

Little to no time-skip. I think it's a major possibility that the ending of Burning Shores will be a direct lead-in to game 3. Maybe weeks will have passed since the endpoint of HFW? Two months, at most. Time is prime real estate at this point and the narrative is going to need it.

The two major dangling threads left from HZD (and further mentioned in HFW) are VAST SILVER and Elysium. These will both be plot-integral. Especially since one can speculate that Elysium is located in the Claim, given the info the player can find about it being "miles away" from GAIA Prime. Twists are also almost-certain here.

Please give me the twisted persona of Elisabet from Tilda's digital conscience in Nemesis pspsps we need to fuck Aloy up one more time

#horizon series #horizon zero dawn #horizon forbidden west #preliminary spontaneous speculation

[ilikeyoshi]

horizon zero dawn: you have lots of tools at your disposal! your spear, traps, tripwires, overrides—

me: plink :)

hzd: er, yes, and your bow. but you should be using all of your arsenal together to get the most—

me: plink

hzd:

me: plink

hzd: you're only going to shoot the bow, aren't you.

#IVE GOTTEN BETTER BUT IT MIGHTVE TAKEN 20 HRS OF GAMEPLAY #yoshi talks

[system-threat-detected]

Horizontober day 19: Float

Expanding on Aloy’s Persona form yesterday’s Horizontober. Her head is not attached to her body, and floats around after her! The distance it floats is pretty locked, so it’s not super noticeable. It’s not like the head trails behind her or anything.

#horizontober2023 #persona au #horizon zero dawn #hzd #my art #honestly not much to say about her #the evil override cables work beautifully to show her curse type spells

[valasania-the-pale]

oooooooo please talk about "I Feel Your Blue Fingers on Me" and Trifecta Labs Lives! I'm so curious.

Will not lie, my reaction upon reading this was, "Oh, really? !!!" And then a smile with excitement haha.

Okay, so I'll knock out the easier one first; Trifecta Labs Lives was one of the WIPs I had no idea what it was about, and it turns out that that is because it's not actually mine lol. This was a set of notes I took for a friend's work (taking notation as they thought aloud in the position of helping them brainstorm, essentially) in their fictional world where a group of AI have gone rampant. It's really rather short, I think it wound up in my WIP folder because I just hit save, sent it their way, and forgot about it.

The other one, I Feel Your Blue Fingers On Me, is a Horizon Zero Dawn smut idea, oddly enough with another AI featuring.

Spoilers for Horizon Zero Dawn, specifically the Frozen Wilds DLC.

I never made it that far into this, but now that I'm reminded of it I kinda want to give it another go sometime. The premise requires a bit of background - the two featured characters would be Aloy (protagonist of HZD) and CYAN, an AI left over from the 'old world' who was supposed to just be an autonomous, psychologically stunted custodial system, but whose creators permitted a level of sapience beyond legal parameters, thus granting her emotions. Aloy meets CYAN over the course of the game, and learns that CYAN is really depressed and lonely after a few thousand years on her own.

So, the idea was based on the idea that loner Aloy would eventually form a relationship with CYAN, which by the point of the story's beginning would be comfortable enough for them to experiment with new things - in this case, playing with the idea of 'overriding' Aloy's Focus device, a concept in the HZD fandom I have seen like twice and never in writing, much less in smut.

Essentially playing with various kinks of corruption, subliminal messaging, dom/sub dynamics, hypnosis, etc., but in an ultimately wholesome consensual way.

The title would have been kind of playing on the idea of CYAN (whose projections are, unsurprisingly, blue) playing with Aloy mentally since physically doesn't work. The fingers are metaphorical; CYAN's projection is a large sphere if memory serves, not an anthropomorphic appearance. Funnily enough I'm pretty sure I last touched this idea before I realized I was asexual, and I wonder if my subconscious was trying to tell me something about not particularly being into the idea of the whole normal sex thing (I tend to vibe way more with the mental aspect of smut than the specifically physical, though they're often linked).

Idk, I just really liked CYAN a lot, she got a lot of good dialogue options and she's just so sad, you know? A thousand years of just doing complicated math problems to while away the time with nobody to talk to, knowing the whole world ended and you got left alone, not deactivated as you should have been. She and Aloy have the same vibe of being alone, so let them be alone together, y'know?

I think I fell off of the idea when my computer started slowing down and I couldn't play HZD on it anymore; I'm hoping to pick up a new desktop sometime in the next year that can, and I'd love to revisit the idea then. Maybe I'll do so before to plug the anticipation :)

Thanks for asking! This was way more fun than I expected it to be!

#My writing #The most fun ask I've gotten in a looooong time #It's gratifying to be asked about my writing

[elffees]

Damn I never thought of it that way but the comparison of Helis and Regalla vampires is a great one because you’re so right, their voices and authority and bloodthirsty align with that archetype, great observation! I’m also hoping for a remaster one day of HZD so we can see that Mo-capped goodness of all the original characters

Usually I’d be against remasters of a game that still runs and looks phenomenal, and even tho ZD was released all the way back in 2014, it still looks like smthg that could’ve been released only like 2 or 3 years ago as the graphics still hold up extremely well.

But with that said, I definitely agree with you that mo-capped ZD would be an excellent remaster (not anytime soon tho!) I just don’t know if it’s smthg Guerilla would actually do as I imagine it would cost a LOT of money they’d rather put to a new game. But it is a nice possibility to think about.

EDIT: Zero Dawn was actually released in 2017!!!!! Yeah no it does not need a remaster any time soon lol

Helis was already menacing, I can’t imagine how much more frightening he’d be if given more realistic body movement and facial expressions. (I have to say it already speaks to the talent of his VA that he was able to give Helis so much life in voice alone)

And yes! Their personas remind me of vampires very much!!

They’re both exceptional in power to the point it borders on unnatural. Helis’ build and bare handed strength is terrifying in how he was able to deadlift Aloy with zero struggle. Not to mention his forces almost took and completely demolished Meridian. Regalla overpowered Hekarro and his supporters TWICE and only failed both times because of Aloy’s intervention. Both of these people would’ve succeeded if the technologically advanced protagonist had not stepped in.

There is a slow, sultry confidence in their mannerisms. They’re incredibly intense and their deluded speeches are almost mesmerizing. Similar to a vampire extending its fangs, what they’re saying is horrible but the spectacle keeps you from looking away. I can’t be the only one that exhausted all of Regalla’s dialogue options after sparing her, or listened to all the Helis datapoints in the Eclipse Base, and felt like I was holding my breath as they spoke.

And if we really wanna lay on the vampire comparisons, we can point out how their most dangerous ability is that they can “turn” others. While both are strong, what actually makes them effective is when they learn how to override machines. Sending their new converts out into the world to terrorize their opponents.

All of it makes me wonder how things would’ve turned out if Regalla and her rebels had reached their peak while Helis and the Eclipse were at their full strength. Of course they’d hate each other as they’re direct ideological opposites. But they’re also so extremely similar that it would be two divinely horrific people butting heads with everyone else caught in the crossfire.

#smthg that’s interesting about Regalla tho #is that while I’m sure Helis wouldn’t care one bit if she killed Avad’s Carja #Regalla would likely be pissed if Helis killed any Tenakth followers or otherwise #for the principle of it #hfw spoilers // #asks #horizon: forbidden west

[robo-dino-puppy]

hzd: the frozen wilds | aloy 4/?

#horizon zero dawn #hzd #aloy #the frozen wilds #pretty lights #this is overriding the node-thingy in ourea's retreat #hzd pc #hzd aloy

[metalgearsolidexclamationpoint]

Finished Death's Door, The Dying Lands, and gained access to the Base. Subsequently climbed up the mountain and overrode a Sunwing, who is currently parked outside of Memorial Grove. I really hate to tempt fate, but… UH has not shown itself to be, like, ultra hard.

I think part of this is resource management. Supposedly HZD made it infamously difficult to get resources on UH. Merchants jack the prices way up, and drops are much more limited. I circumvented this problem by doing a whole-ass NG+ playthrough where I opened every chest, picked every berry and ridgewood, and used hardly anything but advanced hunter arrows so that when UH rolled around, I would have enough echo shell or crystal braiding or whatever. I'm also trying to be a little more conservative with my ammo, although it does feel like aiming is less forgiving -- perhaps there's some secret aim assist on Normal difficulty. Or maybe it's just more "realistic" in arrow trajectory? I feel like I'm going high with a lot of shots, and nerves definitely caused me to miss the stupid attachments in the Recluse Spider room. Luckily, Erik didn't actually do that much damage, and my outfit was my shock-absorption outfit (not to be confused with my anti-acid attire).

The Dying Lands was the first quest I had any worries about (assuming UH wouldn’t be overwhelmingly difficult from the get-go), and indeed, the first battle I died in was the Clawstrider bonanza. I remember dying to that fight a few times in my first playthrough. But I was also not great at strategizing (there are elemental pots/dead Bellowbacks all over the place that I didn’t use very effectively), and pretty sloppy overall. This time I played much more defensively and Berserked the Clawstriders in hopes it would give me time to pick off the stupid scroungers or whatever who apparently show up just to cause chaos. I need to be a little smarter about environmental assets, because I was trying to brittle them and wondering why Varl seemed to have an ice weapon, when in fact he had set off a little frozen pot.

The Grimhorn wasn’t bad (or the Leaplashers in the beginning of the cauldron), and Varl and Zo were much, much better at distracting and taking out the weaker enemies than I anticipated. They pretty much kept the Grimhorn’s companions at bay while I worked at taking down the big boy – much more so than I expected from non-controllable companions. I’ve always been diligent about placing traps around the arena every time it looks boss-like (the final override of a cauldron, obviously, but also the room where you meet Beta, the elevator where you fight Erik), but I haven’t used the tripcaster or ropecaster at all, and I barely use special stamina moves. Half the time I can’t figure out how to use them (how do you notch 3 arrows?? Do you keep hitting R1?? I get knocked the fuck over every time I try and it seems to all come to nothing!!). I really thought that I was going to suffer in UH based on how little of the new mechanics I bother to use – the aforementioned special moves, melee combos, shredder gauntlet/specter gauntlet (I can’t lock-on to an enemy then line up the aim to shoot it without getting fucked up for enough time to make the lock-on disappear – skill issue, sure, but my stupid hunter bow with advanced arrows has killed everything fine so far, and only takes a few shards (of which I have 60K) and ridgewood (of which I have 2.5K) to make new arrows)/boltblasters (takes waaaaaaaay too long to do anything), but so far it seems like I’m fine without it. And if I beat UH without it, why learn to master it at all? Sigh.

I finished The Fraud by Zadie Smith during the cutscenes. Fantastic read, and a great example of historical fiction being, basically, a parable for modern issues without being too winky or didactic (for the most part. There were a few moments that were too on-the-nose…). I had time to do this because besides the a few rebel back-stabbys, the Tremortusk, what is more or less an on rails section, and a Slitherfang that dies in a cutscene anyway, the next two chapters were basically just talking.

The Tremortusk was the imminent fight I was dreading the most -- I thought it would be the wake-up call (again…). It killed me a few times in my first playthrough. Funny thing, I’ve fought so many Dreadwings, Slitherfangs, and Tiderippers to farm upgrades that I’m not worried about those upcoming battles (in Demeter, the Kulrut, and Poseidon) even though I’m sure they can fuck me right up.

As it turned out, the Tremortusk was a simple matter of freezing and dodging it. The Kulrut was a simple matter of holding down the R2 button (my wrist is not pleased with me). And the Slitherfang was a simple matter of setting it on fire. Apparently there was a Tenakth giving me fire support, as she kept yelling at me to get it in range, but I saw no actual evidence of her hitting it. And I guess I just never noticed before that it dies specifically in the cutscene. I know that this is so it can collapse in such a way that it forms a bridge to get out of the arena, but it really gave me the impression that actually I only had to survive for five minutes and the fight would be over. Maybe it just felt that way because UH does feel a little like you are just chipping away at a huge and yet indeterminate health bar.

So now I'm worried about the Specters in the next mission. I think it will be my next potential wake-up call, followed by the Apex Thunderjaw in Faro's Tomb, plus doing the end of that quest in the stupid outfit. I'll probably be there in about three hours… it's kind of crazy how linear and quick the main quest line is. You know, if you already put 125+ hours in it so moving from point to point is a breeze.

#fox plays #horizon #hfw #text

[h0riz0nstuff]

Revisiting Claudine. (From this post)

#hzd #hzd photomode #horizon zero dawn #ps4 #guerrilla games #ps4 games #video games #horizon zero dawn pc #hzd pc #aloy #hzdedit #beyond the horizon #hzd sautooth #hzd override #claudine <3 #A girl and her sawtooth

[hzdtrees]

Horizontober, Day 27: Companion

#horizon zero dawn #hzd #horizontober2021 #hzd photomode #i wanted to override so many machines #but then i had this stupid idea of climbing a sawtooth #which refused to hold still for a second #so that kept me for about an hour #and provided me with surprise aloy expressions #not that i'm complaining