#i love that map but there's not really much option. nothing to explore. only like one proper flank route

[renthewerecatboi]

honestly i really wish 2fort was just, bigger

#the frantic meows of a crazy person #i love that map but there's not really much option. nothing to explore. only like one proper flank route #if u wanna set up a nest somewhere. outside of ur own teams base there's only like two options #so engineer gameplay kinda becomes stale after a bit #trying to break from the mold only leads to ur nest being instantly destroyed #i think just about every CTF map is insanely small #which i GUESS makes sense but only if ur playing it how ur meant to #which no-one really does #i just want a CTF map with constant new nooks and cranny's and pathways to explore #places to experiment with nesting in #like anywhere except for the battlements to snipe from #i want an adventure man #i want every game to feel different

[blackbackedjackal]

please try to sell me gw2. i really want to like it and ive tried a couple times over the years to get into it, but every time my experience is like: walk for 5 irl minutes -> talk to someone -> kill 20 things -> random world events -> kill 50 things -> go back and talk to the person. rinse and repeat

and then i uninstall the game

Hard to sell it to ya when it's free to play ;0

As a new/returning player I honestly recommend going in with some friends. It's a game were you can absolutely solo PvE with the right build, but I always have more fun playing with my friends for the shenanigans. I also, 100%, recommend plopping an OC in the game. My first characters were both in-game and all their lore is based around GW2, but putting June in there has been hella fun to see how she would handle being in Tyria.

Your first 80 levels are basically to help get you accustom to the game mechanics and the story. Though the story is optional, I recommend playing it so you get more of a feel of Tyria and the history. The story also leads you through the game an the map rather than just taking random quests as you explore. It's really the only mode that gives you a bit of direction in the game.

If you happen to get stuck or have any questions about the game, it's pretty safe to ask the map chat and usually people will help you out, especially in early maps. GW2 is a game that doesn't really teach you how to play, you learn as you go. There's also plenty of YT vids on how to get started and tutorials if you get stuck or suggestions of things to try out as you level. They've also updated the game fairly recently where you now have access to the Raptor mount without needing to have Path of Fire or doing the expansion, which is a HUGE quality of life change while you explore the early maps.

Once your toon hits level 80, that's when you unlock your mastery tracks that will allow you to do more of the endgame content and continue through the living story. Fractals, Raids, Dungeons, Strikes, World Bosses, Meta Trains, Gold Farming, PvP, WvW, FASHION WARS!!, There's a ton to do once you're set up, and again, lots of resources available to help you out (TaCO, GW2 Efficiency, Crafting Guides).

The world is unique. It feels lived in and ever expanding. The lore for all the playable races in the game is really interesting and they do a lot to subvert expectations from typical fantasy stories. Some things are a hit or miss for a lot of folks but there's so much to love about the game even my least favorite parts are like just mid to me compared to the parts I genuinely enjoy. My favorite expansion is Path of Fire + Season 4. The desert maps are my favorites followed by Maguma (begrudgingly). Cantha had grown on me a lot after a million Leviathan Farms for gold lol. THE SEASONAL EVENTS AHHH like again there's just so much to touch on but yeah the long and short of it is it IS a time sink at minimum to get to the more favored content, but even as a old player I still love making new toons and taking them through the early game content again just for fun.

But yeah, free to play, no subscriptions, all expansions are a one time purchase. You've got 10 years worth of content to explore and try out. It's a relatively inexpensive MMO (the expacs can be up to 50% off during certain yearly sales). An overall very helpful community. Any paid content is mostly cosmetics and convenience items, but nothing that gives you an advantage over other players. Basically everyone is grinding towards a similar end-goal, so you can always get the same gear as people through grinding. Nothing is really out of reach and people are always willing to help others out with multiplayer content.

I've been consistently playing for 8-9 years now. It's one of those game where I'm IN it for like a few months then may take a few months off until a holiday event I love is coming up and then I play for a few months again. It's probably the only other game I've sunk as much time into as Pokemon or Skyrim over the years (I jokingly call it Skyrim Online since ya'll won't catch me playing ESO). But yeah just, it's a game I never expected to play for this long and this consistently and it always feels fun to pick back up. Genuinely I do hope you give it another try. I've honestly had the most fun I've had in years with the wave of new and returning players jumping back into the game c:

#guild wars 2 #that's a lot sorry I just really love the game hhh #they gave me fantasy Africa and did it WELL and that's all I ask

[apocalypticsinn]

Tears of the kingdom is bad compared to Breath of the wild in terms of the story…. I have many things to say about the story of TOTK, but here I’m just gonna ramble about one, the memories and like… laid out path the game wants you to take.

Like, it’s so weird having the master sword in my possession and going to see Riju (after having saved the Rito and Zora) and having her tell me “You’re looking for clues regarding Zelda’s whereabouts…” like no, I already know where she is, I know everything that’s happened :/. At this point we just need your support.

Unlike in BOTW where going to save the champions and learning the history pre-calamity is OPTIONAL, here they make it MANDATORY. And not only that, but they show you with GINORMOUS PICTURES BLAZED INTO THE GROUND.

I loved getting to hunt for the memories in BOTW. It felt fun, and let me, the player, curiously find answers to so many questions. You can choose to find out what happened 100 years ago or not. It was all up to you.

Here they… force you to do it. They force you to go to the different races and help them, that’s the game after all. And idk if I’m like,,,,, being too picky about being not happy about that :/…

It just feels like a step down from BOTW. Which one one hand, I understand, it’s a sequel. It only exists to have its own story.

But also it feels… I don’t know. Again, like a step back. They really lay out the path for you to take around the map instead of leaving it up to you again, and I guess for some people it’s a fun blast to the past of BOTW, but for me it’s kind of annoying. I know the map I know the locations. You don’t have to hold my hand, a majority of people playing this game have already played BOTW which was a game that was all about exploring in your own time and at your own pace.

And again, with the memories it’s like- at least in BOTW, if you got the memories out of order nothing was “Spoiled”. Each memory was a different event, a different time. Here, I was spoiled about Sonia’s death like almost immediately. A lot of us players wanted to run around and explore the updated Hyrule and didn’t follow your laid out path. So the story from the past didn’t affect me too badly :/. I didn’t feel bad for her death she was just a person I barely knew (and even in the memories we still don’t get all too much about her so she really didn’t shake me up all too much).

And again, this is all mandatory to see. We have to see what happened to Zelda, where she went and what she did. It’s a whole side story going on, that’s why they make it so blatantly obvious to find the memories, and that to me is so annoying :////….

Sorry when I said rambles I really meant I’m just going off quickly. I want to like this game but for so many reasons it feels so disappointing to me. This is just one thing that really bugs me.

K bye-

#totk spoilers #totk criticism

[moontheoretist]

Lo and behold, it finally happened.

Ladies and Gents and Nonbinary friends. Lo and behold, it finally happened. The magnificent Gale Bug manifested for me today. The issue is though that I heard they have fixed it, so why them fixing it for you all broke it for me? Unless, Gale silently pinning and saying nothing all this time was also a bug all in itself? Still I must say its timing is funny, because I just told Astarion that we can be together non-sexually if he wants, and then we went to explore the map a bit, finishing all the sidequests I had still hanging, met some Githyanki by pure accident, and then came back once again to Moonrise Towers just in case I missed something before going to Shadowfell, found some info about Ketheric's weakness which I didn't need, because I already knew about the artifact beforehand, and finally we went to camp to rest, because all of that wasted most of my spell slots.

And it was then, when the mighty dialogue "choose between me and Astarion" has appeared! I elected to ignore it and only ask Gale about the possibility of Nightsong saving his nice ass, and then ended the day. To my utter surprise, when everybody took off their armors and was wandering about in their pajamas, Gale suddenly wanted to talk and invited me for a magical night under the starry sky. And because I'm a sucker for him and I couldn't break the heart of a man that was literally sure this is his last night, and he is going to die soon, because next day we are going to the Shadowfell for the Nightsong, I was nice and romantic and reciprocated everything without ever saying "I love you too", and after that the romance was already triggered. Astarion, funnily, had no comments about it. And what's the funniest: "choose between me and Astarion" dialogue option disappeared from Gale's repertoire forever, so now I'm virtually romancing both of them. And neither has any comments about the other. I couldn't even mention Astarion during the very romantic "Imma tragically die, so I want you to know I love you" cutscene, that culminated with some astral sex.

Not during, not after. It's as if the other partner didn't even exist.

How was I supposed to say "no" to a guy who thinks he'll die?

Edit: I loaded a save before my romance with Gale got locked, and this time rejected Gale by choosing Astarion (I feel so bad still, OMG! Don't worry Gale, I have another Drow just for you, a nice little goody-two-shoes Paladin, I will give you the love you deserve in the next playthrough) and this time magical night under the starry sky was 100% platonic, not counting Gale throwing some googly eyes at my Wizard here and there. So I guess him being silent till now about his crush was a bug or it's how fixed version of the romance unfolds now. No idea. Anyway, this time Astarion had a reaction. I dare say that he was surprised but pleased that I chose him. Honey, I was the bestest Drow in Faerun, ignoring my Lolth-Sworn background, disrespecting Lolth at every turn and rolling my eyes at your silly disapprovals for helping people. If I stuck with you after / despite that, then there is nothing really that can change my mind at this point. You are stuck with this naive, big-hearted fool that you like so much now.

#baldur's gale 3 #gale romance #gale's bug #astarion #astarion romance #accidental polyamory #polyamory born from a bug? #Gale is strictly monogamous and yet he is silent #gale dekarios #gale of waterdeep #I love him but please why in this playthrough? #gale honey we didn't flirt since the beginning of Act 1 #I know you pinned all this time and needed this #but it was sprung on me in a very awkward moment

[szif]

ok so here's apparently all the games i've played in 2023 like as in actually finishing them.

[the cat lady dark souls 1 + dark souls 3 the first 2 spyro games +ECHO vn +tsukihime portal 1 pathologic classic disco elysium]

i also started half life then dropped it and some other games too but it took me days to compile this list cuz i really really cant remember a lot.

the cat lady was nice, easy little game, misled me on what it is like twice but i feel like it was nice. the fact that a gold ending exists that nullifies anything you experience is kind of bleh though. like that fucking sucks. and also some aspects of it were just over the top like the cradle thing. also that one parasite that's linked to that other game. honestly there's a lot about it that really just spells out "the creator is somebody who keeps making these styled games and desperately tries to string everything together and the fans eat it all up" but i only played this one so its all fine.

dark souls 1 was really cool, nicest graphics nicest map it was interconnected i liked the armor i liked the physics i liked how slow the gameplay was (literally just 2 mins of me holding my shield up so that i can just drink while having a fight and nothing happened haha lol) there were some real good areas after midgame like demon's ruins (absolute favourite!!) and i also liked tomb of the giants (well, i didnt really Like Like when i played it, i was kind of running around like a poisoned hamster with everything leaving me at the tiniest hp lol) but then the game started sucking with the crystal cave/duke's archives and all that shit it was just so fucking annoying having to go through those shitty places (...and hearing everybody worship them..) but i feel like overall it was still nice? i liked the optional areas to go through (those are my favs, the great hollow + ash lake!! they were sooo soo good and lower blighttown was also so cool!!) and it just felt like, enough of a "i dont like this part but i like this one" that i continued playing it. the flow felt good

dark souls 3 was bad and was the combination of everything i disliked about dark souls 1 and then took all the things i liked too. it was so fucking lame and on top of it confusing too so i really disliked it and i just got through it real quick. lame. sucked

oh yeah, i also have the remastered pack of spyro games - i never played spyro or knew about it or anything, i first saw that dragon on tumblr posts i honestly have not much to do with it, but i got them because they seemed fun and uh. they were cool. like it felt so smooth and i liked running around and i think the collecting gems part was also cool. its literally like, a children's game so what do i even say about it. it was fun somewhat but it had SO much in it that i finished most games with like, not exploring all of it because i literally didnt give enough of a fuck about it. and it didnt ruin my experience either so like, honestly, some things are really not needed. i might or might not play the third one with the dragon eggs and stuff, we'll see.. like sure i started it but am i motivated to go through the same motions with the same guy? idk...

portal 1 was so solid. great characterism of ms. glados, the sudden pronoun swap in the hungarian subtitles was so clever and i loved it even if the other aspects of the translation was a bit lacking. the puzzles were actually fun and i could figure them out on my own for the most part (literally looked up like, 3-4 puzzles?) and it was actually cool to play through them. i liked it it was nice and it didnt really think i would because i fucking hate(d) portal 2 but it seems like the first game is like, great.

pathologic was. holy shit the entire like, environment and all that about diseases and like the huge progression of like, everything going on? it was so overwhelming but also right at home it had such a great feel to it. i started playing with the haruspex but then i thought he was a fucking bitchboy and quit the game then started one with the bachelor and then i had actual fun in the game. there was this one questline at day 11 that i fucking hated and was confusing and it's 100% the developers' fault, but anything else? it was engaging, i was full focused on the game, i kept going back to it more and more, everything was just getting more and more intense and more fun. then the ending happened and its like, eh, who cares. like it was lame and i just felt like it was great to just like, let it go. if the start and the middle is good then i dont care about the end sucking that much. it didnt even "suck", it was just nothing. which is better than it sucking. huge fan i liked this

just finished disco elysium literally like, today, actually, since i sat down for like , 11-12 hours and played it with zero break. i got a genuine fever sickness and many days of worth of muscle stiffness from it. like this shit is dangerous. it was sooo sooo captivating, i didnt really think i would like it at first because i thought of it as those like, random supernatural roll-a-dice games with like, a very specific style that i loathe with all my being and since it had a similar structure i didnt really think i would latch onto it. you know, just try it out, then delete. but no, it really dragged me in. i am relieved it was like, a, mainly "you fail something and failure IS a part of the game so its fun to do that" type of thing. like theres nothing more sucking out the joy of something than just like, something just making you fail and thats a part of the whole thing but it feels pointless and unreasonable, but then succeeding all the time and going through it is also not really fun if you have to engineer success situations all the time. this game is good at like, not doing that. i was so fucking invested in the entire situ of the story and the environment and i liked reading the books and re-building communism with my shitty college buddies who made me write essays about books haha. it just had a lot going on and it was also like a super relatable game and it hooked my brainnnnn. i loved kim! i loved the tribunal[s]! i loved doing all the little things for everyone! it felt rewarding doing literally anything! i actually had a lot, and by that a lot of time where i couldnt do anything because i was talking to Everyone and so in the later days i didnt have Anything to do and it wasnt time to sleep yet so i had to re-talk and re-do books and it was sooo annoying. but its fine its really just a tiny thing. it was sooo good it was sooo nice i loved it. genuinely game of the year 4 me but only because i barely play games and when i do its not that big of a deal. huuuuge huuuge fan. #1 honestly

+i literally fucking forgot. right after i made the post. but i did read tsukihime + ECHO in its entirety. like all branches all endings. i saw. a lot. no im not putting them in separate entries. tsukihime was. it was a thing. i cant even tell if i liked it or not but it was interesting to see what other people like, i guess. echo was real good though and its going up to the games i really really liked list. from being the first game to actually make me feel anxious and have that real fucking awful oppressive atmosphere to actually making me care about the fuzzy animals. it had good writing and i also binged every single branch of it like i did with disco elysium and i kept waking up more and more fucked up barely unable to exist then i had to sleep for like, around a week and do nothing else for me to offset playing that game. it was soo much, honestly. but i was so hooked and it was so much fun (well, "fun",) like it was irresistible. absolutely amazing game. im trying to think of what i didnt like but like, honestly i dont really know. maybe the sydney parts in the flynn route? that wasnt exactly my fav thing. but thats it, really. i had fun

#dcmnt

[drifting-pieces-blog-blog]

Moon Phase Series - Waning Gibbous

Summary: Moments in the life of the Moon Knight system.

I don't know how many chapters this will be. Not really connected so if you pick one up randomly you should be fine. Mostly feel good, maybe a little sad, maybe a little comfort. I wanted to explore little moments of them just being.

Warning: Self depreciation thoughts. That feeling when things are too loud and fast and you've lost control.  

Word Count: 1604

Part 6:Marc goes to an interview. It's hard to focus when it's so loud inside. Sometimes your own voice gets too loud and you need a little help to quiet things down.

--

“Hello.” 

  A greeting. I need to respond. Good morning. Is it morning still? It’s almost noon. Good afternoon. Too formal. Repeat back a variance. 

 “Hey.” 

  Was that too casual? Not what they were expecting? They think less of me now. Not a good start. I sound like an idiot. 

 “How are you?” 

  Terrible. Tired. I feel miserable. I have a headache. I wish I was at home. I wish I hadn’t come. I hate being alone. What are they looking for? I don’t want to talk. Can’t they just know? This isn’t the point. Select filler option. Lie. 

 “I’m fine. You?” 

 “I’m good. Would you like a drink?” 

  Yes. Is it rude? Is it rude to say no? I don’t want to hold anything. What if it tastes funny? What do they have to offer? What if I want a juice and they don’t have it. They didn’t give me options. Water is safe. Will they put ice in it? Is it tap water? They’ll have to leave the room to get it then come back. What if they don’t come back? What do I do while they are gone? Will it come in a disposable cup? I'll have to drink it all to throw it away. Decline. 

 “No thanks. I’m good.” 

 “I wanted to talk to you about your application. It says here that you have no college degree and only a high school GED. Have you ever considered getting a degree?” 

  Fuck you egotistical ass doesn’t mean I’m not educated don’t need a degree to figure out your judgmental ass of course I’m not going to get this how do I explain this I shouldn’t have come I should just leave waste of time-

 “Ah, no. I joined the military as soon as I was old enough. After that I was privately employed in a job that let me travel around a lot.” 

  They’re going to ask about that. Privately employed. Might as well tell them I was dishonorably discharged because I’m fucking crazy then I went on a paid murder spree starting and finishing wars that I had no business getting involved in. That’ll go over real well. Oh and an Egyptian god manipulated me into carrying out his mission of justice. Real smooth. Should I have listed that in my resume? Easily enslaved in their work? Bet they'd love that. 

 “Oh I love travel. Where all did you go?” 

  Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck I hate this fucking hell I hate this stop asking questions just read the application and get to the point so you can decline me already. 

 “I can’t talk about it too much due to the private nature of my work, unfortunately, but I spent a lot of time in South America and the Middle east.” 

 “I see. I’ve always wanted to go to the Caribbean myself. Sit on he white sands, you know?” 

  Not a real question. Just nod and smile. Who wouldn’t want to sit on a beach? The Caribbean isn’t even remotely close to where I was. Bet they can’t even point to it on a map. Why do they keep talking about this? 

 “It is an impressive resume. You have a lot of very different talents. Honestly I’m a bit worried you have too much experience. You’ll get bored here. This is nothing like what you’ve been used to.” 

  I knew it. Waste of time. Just tell me no so I can leave. I don’t want to be here. Of course I’ll be bored. Who wouldn't be bored? Do I argue this? Do I beg? I don’t need this that much. Just a thing. Just something to do. What should I say? Do I respond? Do I agree? 

 “Yeah. I uh, I’m not really looking for what I’m used to. Just a job. Pay the bills and all that.” 

  I don’t need this. I don’t want this. Just thought I’d try. Try to go even. Go straight. This is what I can’t do. Of course. Of course of course of course. Didn’t think it would go any other way. 

 “I understand. Well, it is a very impressive resume. I have some things to consider and several more interviews to get through today. We will call you in the next two or three days with our decision.” 

  No you won’t. They never call. Won’t answer anyway. Fuck your dead eyed smile. Stop talking. Let me go. Sitting here too long without moving. I look like a statue. Try not to let the door hit me on the way out. Maybe a small chance. Stay polite. Might call. Just maybe. They won’t but what if… 

 “Thank you for your time.”  Do I stand? Am I leaving? Wait till they give a hint. Stand with them. Do they walk me to the door? Do I just go? What do I do? I’m staring. Blink. Look away. Not too much. How much do I stare? Eye contact? Shake their hand. Not too tight. Firmly. Not that firm. Gentle squeeze and let them lead. Release and smile. 

 “Of course. Thank you for coming in. I look forward to speaking with you again.” 

  Liar. Leave. Walk casual. Don’t leave too fast. Put your hands down. Where do I put them when I walk? Pockets? No. That makes me look like a punk. Remember what dad told you. Walk like a man. Stop thinking about it. You look so stupid. Just open the door and leave. I can’t do this again. How many more? Do I need this? Why do I have to do this. I was better being told what to do. Just tell me what to do. Just give me a focus. I can’t do this. I can’t don’t won’t. 

  Marc.

 “Hmn?” 

  No no no worthless why did I think I could. No no no no no no no I can’t. I can’t I can’t I can’t I can’t I can’t-

  Marc!  

 “Not now! Go away!” 

  Go away. Not in public. Remember what dad said. Not when they can see. Think you’re crazy. Think you’re broken. Lock you up again. Go away. Just ignore it. Just go away. I should go away. Let him drive. Useless after all. Just go away. Better off without me. Go away go away go away go away-

 “Marc! Hey. Just breathe. You’re alright.” 

 “I tried. It didn’t work. It’s fine. Not like I wasn’t expecting it to go well.” 

 “Marc. It’s alright. You know you didn’t need it.”

  Failure. All I do. Didn’t need it. Wanted it. Wanted to lead. To protect. To care for. Wanted to be worth something. Nothing. Just nothing. 

 “I just wanted…” 

 “Marc.” 

 “I wanted to take care of you.” 

 “Marc…” 

  I can’t even take care of you. Can’t take care of us. I’m supposed to protect you. I’m supposed. Supposed to supposed to. I’m the strong one. Worthless. 

 “Marc, it doesn’t always have to be you carrying us. It’s okay to take a break now and then. To relax. To let yourself be still.” 

  Still. Be still. Be still. Just be still. Still isn’t me. How still. Still breathing. Still moving. Still thinking. So fucking loud. Too fast. I can’t. Just want to stop and can’t stop just keeps going be still be still be still. STOP. 

 “Breathe! Just take a breath. Breathe in. One two three four and five. Breathe out. One two three four and five.” 

  Breathe. I can do that. 

 “Feel better?” 

  Breathe. 

 “Yeah. Little quieter now.” 

  Breathe . 

 “Gets a little loud in there sometimes, doesn’t it?” 

  Breathe. 

 “Bet it doesn’t get loud for you. You’re so together.” 

  Breathe. 

 “Who me? Hardly. The other day I couldn’t stop thinking about the different forms of Ra. There's the morning afternoon and evening and then the day all together and... Not the point. No matter what I did I couldn’t stop thinking about it. I stayed up all night looking up everything I could on it. I think I called Layla at four in the morning and left her a voicemail long enough to put anyone to sleep. Got a little manic maybe. Felt like crying but I couldn’t stop.” 

  Breathe. 

 “How did you stop?” 

 “Jake told me to go to bed.” 

 “That’s it?” 

 “Well… He may have phrased it a little more… bluntly. Said if I didn’t stop going on and on about Ra he was going to burn the flat down and move us to Chicago and eat hot dogs every day.” 

 “Harsh. You know it’s just a bluff, right?” 

 “Yeah. But then we talked and I realized I was tired and so focused that it hurt. Wasn’t healthy and there was nothing I could do about it. I needed him to help me stop.” 

  So tired it hurt. I’m tired. I don’t want to sleep. Can’t sleep. Stay awake. Have to stay away. Stay in control. Stay present and feel that pain. The pain means I’m here. The pain means I am real. 

 “You talked, huh?” 

 “Yeah. Wanna go talk? We can go get something to eat. Body feels a little hungry.” 

  My pain to have. Don’t put it on him. It’s mine. I deserve this. I need this. I can’t share. Can’t tell him. Can’t be weak Can’t- 

  Breathe. 

 “Yeah. Can we talk about anything? Does it have to be about… You know.” 

 “Wanna try to explain baseball to me again?” 

 “Hmmm… I ever tell you about the Chicago Cubs winning the world series?” 

 “I don’t even know what that is.” 

  Breathe. 

 “Steven, Buddy… Let’s get a sandwich. Have I got a story for you.” 

 “I’m all ears, mate.” 

#Moon Knight #Moon Knight Fic #Marc Spector #Steven Grant #Jake Lockley #Sometimes someone needs to tell your mind to shut up now and then #Hyperfixation can be a problem #Says the one who can't stop thinking about Moon Knight #I would listen to Steven talk about Ra's forms all day #I would love to hear Marc talk about baseball #I bet he gets all worked up at the games #This was a rough week and this was a weird fic to write #Hope it isn't too weird #Catharsis from my moon boys

[flameraven]

Misc Thoughts on Pokemon Scarlet/Violet

-The opening was definitely slower than I'd like, I was a little bored, but once you get let out to explore the world it's really fun! Very similar to Legends: Arceus but much improved. Key detail: you can pick up items while mounted! This was really annoying to not be able to do in PLA.

-I've been pretty lucky and not run into any major glitches. Sometimes the background is a little wobbly but the overworld has run okay. I definitely noticed some major lag as the game tried to load each item when I was shopping. -The world is big and exciting but still feels awfully empty. The towns have these huge wide streets and giant houses, but there's not really anything to do in them. You can't even go inside NPCs houses, there's only the shops -I feel like they split up the clothing shops in the main city to make it seem bigger and more full, but it just made shopping inconvenient. What's the point of a giant castle/city if there's nothing THERE? -I'm still not thrilled with the school uniform but it's not as ugly as I feared. Still hoping that we get some real clothes post-game, or possibly as a DLC option. (Why does the new kid get to wear her Eevee hoodie and I can't??) -that school is definitely not ADA compliant, wtf are all those stairs -I'm enjoying riding around on my giant motorcycle dragon a lot more than I thought, and Koraidon running with his legs looks a lot less stupid than it did in the trailers (he tucks his tail in to make the back "wheel"! What a cool detail!). Cannot wait to climb up walls. -Your dragon making a catlike "Brrrp!" noise when you summon it is perfect, A+, 11/10 -I do find the map a bit hard to navigate, it can be hard to find the bridges to cross rivers and such and figure out how to get to different areas. -I really really wish we could mark places on the map like BotW! I found a cool glowy sword in the ground I couldn't reach, and I know I won't remember where it is later. -The variety of pokemon available and how many new pokemon you can find are really cool. I do like that they didn't show most of the new mons because it makes them more fun to discover. I think there's also a good balance of Pokemon spread out in the grass, sometimes they clump up, sometimes they're single, but it's not obvious "sections" the way SwSh Wild Areas were. -I love that the game is like 'BTW the crater is SUPER DANGEROUS, don't go there!!' so we all know where the plot is going to end up. Spoilers on Pokemon/Evolutions below:

-I got spoiled on the starter evos and... yeah honestly not a fan of the final forms. Giant spooky crocodile is okay but not as cool as the idea I had in my head, Grass Cat is just kind of boring and similar to Delphox, and Quaxly is just... WTF. I heard "fabulous" and "peacock" before I saw the images, and I think an actual peacock would have been cool, but instead we got... that. D: Nintendo, please stop with the anthro starter evos, they're not good. -Paldean Tentacool is a horror show, I hate it. X) -Pawmi is ADORABLE, I love him. Although the 2nd and 3rd evolutions are awfully similar, seems like it could have just been a 2-stage pokemon. There are SO MANY new pokemon I want to try out, though, I keep switching things in and out of my team, it's really fun. So far my team is: Clodsire, Azumarill, middle stage Fuecoco, Pawmot(? the third one), the tiny fire megaman, and the Flamingo, which is WAY stronger than I expected. Bulbapedia says it has a base attack of 115?! That's huge! Also working on evolving the little floaty psychic thing because apparently it becomes an ostrich?! There are a lot of new bird pokemon in this game, I approve. May need to do another run someday with an all-bird team.

#pokemon spoilers #pokemon scarlet and violet

[captainsspnanon]

C3E35 reaction

I skimmed some things before hand, so stuff I knew before watching:

1) They interrogated Treshi some more (but no context for what about)

2) There was a skill challenge at some point that involved Calm Emotions

3) Ashton is confirmed to have chronic pain (no context as to HOW it was discovered, but that FCG was feeling Ashton’s body at the time, so I guessed the scene but nowhere near how it ended up playing out)

4) Keyleth brings them to Whitestone.

I’m glad the Treshi plot point is now wrapped up.  It was a fun impetus, but so much ended up happening all around the beat that it no longer felt like a driving force, but instead an anchor that was holding back their progress.  To have it resolved means that they are now free to travel and move fairly freely.  The time limit of a month could be up to another almost year of gameplay, so that should give them plenty of time to do things.

Skill challenge was super fun!  Also now gave a taste of the sinkholes, which should hopefully satisfy Travis a tiny bit about not being able to thoroughly explore the map and all the points.  (Though I agree with him, there are a number of places with very interesting sounding names!)

I’d seen somebody comment that they thought Thull was going to end up killing Eshteross because the Hells left, which had made me think that they never reported to him at all.  I’m very glad to be proven wrong, I missed him and his (justified) paranoia.  I’m relieved they gave him some detailed information about Thull’s fighting style, though this is one of the instances where I sort of wish they would just go “and we update Lord Eshteross about everything that happened in Bassuras” or some other narrative shorthand which would imply that they shared everything with him, and not just the parts that they actually roleplay through.

Yay for completing the bounty and getting funds!!  NO BEING BROKE THIS CAMPAIGN!  Checking now, M9 got about 8k gold in E30, and then no particularly large sums until E63.  They’d made just under 20k total by E35, compared to the Hells about 38.5k.  They’ve spent about the same though....maybe I just feel like the M9 was poorer because of the memes XD

The scene with Imogen and Fearne in Ashton’s mind was HARROWING.  Nothing new was found out during the memories, Milo had already told Ashton that they poured the potion in their head, but I guess Taliesin may have forgotten or misunderstood.  Ashton acted like he was just learning the information for the first time.  ON THE OTHER HAND - STRESS.  I cannot tell what Matt is planning with this, and it’s awesome and terrifying and I want more.

There’s been tons of speculation of chronic pain for Ashton, though at least among those that I follow the speculation had died out fairly early on.  It’s a hell of a thing to have it confirmed, and I wonder if it will ever come up again, or if it’s something which Tal has put out there but doesn’t really portray ‘loudly’, so to speak.

Mixed feelings on Keyleth appearing and the party going to Whitestone (TLoVM!Whitestone, at that XD), but Matt did seem like he was cutting off a lot of other possible options.  ...well, just Eshteross and Seshadri, I suppose.  Hexum could still have been an option, but I am glad they didn’t go with that.  (My mom was shouting at the screen for them not to tell Hexum or go to her XD)

I’ve read a lot of good posts about how it makes sense for PCs to be meeting high level NPCs around this point, and that we can just consider VM to be high level NPCs.  Personally, I still struggle with it a bit.  Again, mixed feelings.  Honestly, I think my feelings on this will really only be decided towards the end of the campaign when I will know how frequently or heavily involved VM is in the entire situation.  I really did love the fact that the M9 were so unrelated to C1 with only minor references tossed in until Allura, and C3 is being handled so differently just from the start.  It’s something I can’t decide until hindsight.

Either way........UGH HAVING TO WAIT TWO WEEKS INSTEAD OF ONE NOOOO

#critical role #cr spoilers #bells hells

[adamantineheart]

my final three hopes thoughts

AG >>>>>> SB >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> GW

anyway

The Good

AG is basically just dimilix fanfic. like we are either psychics or INTSYS/KT owes us royalties.

The character work in AG was phenomenal. They way they adjusted the characters for their situation but still made them feel like who they are? Fucking ace. SB went a little differently, where certain characters feel much different but I can forgive it because the eagle kiddos were always weird for characterization due to the route split. Which version of these characters you consider canon is up to you.

Whoever wrote the Duscur and Sreng paralogues… I love you. The Duscur paralogue is just so so so emotionally moving and really lets Dedue grieve as he usually isn't allowed and gave Ingrid a lot of closure she desperately needed. Meanwhile Felix gets to just really show what kind of person he is and drive home that what he needs is the present aka Dimitri to feel satisfied (instead of clinging to the past). Sreng was wonderful for the lore, political situation, and all that character work, especially between Sylvain and Matthias.

Monica is the character I didn't know I wanted. I love her…. I've already added background Monigard to two dmlx fics. She's just the perfect amount of unhinged. <3

Playable Rodrigue is one of the best parts of this game. THANK YOU!!!! It also means his optional death is the most impactful of the game, aided by it being centered around dimilix and not Shez.

Voiced Shez is an improvement, as is voiced Byleth. I also appreciate that Shez isn't anyone important and is a student instead of a teacher. Also thank you for only making some characters make romantic overtures toward Shez instead of almost all of them.

There are a lot of excellent paralogues in the game and most of them had a lot of thought put into their setup (which characters were chosen, the premise, the writing, etc).

Making my blorbos uber powerful is a lot of fun 💙Also Felix is such a fun unit (I loved the sword units the most tbf).

Supports are generally amazing. A lot of improvements to some original chains or new versions that add something to the relationship. All new chains altogether that fleshed out relationships we were denied before. Also a lot of ships I hate had reduced supports or had them removed altogether :) No one won as hard as me in the shipping department tbh. 🫡

A great OST again even if nothing hit quite as hard as some of the original final boss themes.

I actually love the setup of the story even if I take issue with individual routes or moments. But it was nice getting out of the academy setting and exploring Fódlan instead. 

Did I mention Dimitri and Felix? His Majesty and Duke Fraldarius? They are perfect and I love them.

The Bad

No fucking snow maps in Faerghus.

Edelgard's reunification scheme is 10x worse here than Three Houses because Rhea is willing to ally with her against TWSITD. As usual, Edelgard is stuck in her assumptions on what she thinks is true and refuses have an open dialogue with the Church and Dimitri, choosing violence because she believes she knows what's best for everyone. I've accepted this about her but it's still a hard pill to swallow that dangled her talking to Rhea and Dimitri above our heads and then took it away.

​​Zahras is badly written independent of route, just like Gronder Field. The desire to make the lords interact even when it’s nonsensical just needs to stop. It sucked every time.

IT’S SO EXPENSIVE TO UPGRADE STUFF (like weapons). LIKE REALLY EXPENSIVE.

Every route had issues, especially toward the end but the worst for me was GW. There was a lot of bad character shit, not just for Claude, though he was the plot instigator of everyone else being out for blood.

Almyra is a joke now I guess. Actually, it flip flops being a joke and completely awful. It’s true they were never great in FE3H but Cyril existed as a contrast. Him not being playable sucked. 🙁

Scarlet Blaze’s convient ending…….. Edelgard’s main enemies just kill each other……….. it just felt like “Why were we even there?” We accomplished nothing.

How dare I not be able to making Dimitri and Felix marry :( WHERE IS THE DIMILIX WEDDING DLC!

#few3h

[priconstella]

Scvi thoughts! Negatives and positives.

Tldr; I like the game despite its flaws

Things I like

The world feels alive, there's pokémon everywhere

Theres so many new pokémon I've yet to get near to finding them all

So far it seems that most of them don't have ridiculous evolution methods (unlike legends arceus)

The facial customization is so in depth it's great

Arven

The characters have nice designs, even the generic NPCs look nice

Raids have been massively improved, both with the timers, the lack of a turn system, the cheers, and the internet menu! I don't have to wade through other unrelated posts to find raids to join anymore

The map is so much better than swsh's map

Multi-player is massively improved now you can only see the few people you choose to connect with, not a random group of laggy strangers

Most things you can see others doing in multi-player. Battling, terastalizing, setting up picnics, and using the let's go feature can all be seen. I haven't had an evolution while on multi-player yet, but I'm pretty sure that can be seen too.

Multiple storylines give you many options

There's so many areas

I really love the general vibe of the world. I kept running off to fill up my pokedex and only progressed to the first titan because a friend told me I'd get a speed boost and I'd run quicker. Other than that and one gym, I haven't progressed the story at all and there's still plenty for me to explore.

The camera feature!

Being able to change your phone case is a really tiny detail that I like

You can go to classes! And actually learn lore tidbits! (I don't wanna put this in the negative section even tho it is but fuck that math teacher with the rigged question)

Exploring the huge school

And reading all the books in the library

And I've been told there's both midterms and finals so you actually have a reason to pay attention

Mystery (wtf are these stakes I keep finding.)

Things I don't like

No clothing customization

Still can't choose your pronouns, despite supposedly having no gender and only styles, whatever style you choose at the start locks in your pronouns

Shinies don't have noise

The lock on is very unintuitive and often doesn't work

Can't throw pokeballs to catch without battling like in L:A

Can't lock the minimap to north like you can the map

On that note. What the hell is up with the pokemon icons on the minimap. When you look different directions the map moves and so do the pokemon icons and it's clear they're supposed to rotate with it but they *don't.* They rotate strangely and end up in different spots on the map, so it's hard to find their actual point when they could be at any of them. Why don't they rotate normally.

While I honestly haven't had the game breaking glitches I've seen people online have, I have had lots of lag in the menus. The PC and clothing stores don't load models, so when I'm trying to look at things I have to wait for them to load in.

Speaking of, the PC is accessible a movement before it loads. You click box, it loads on top your current and you can move around, and *then* the screen fades to black and opens in the box with proper backgrounds.

And again, nothing gamebreaking or anything constantly or consistently happening, but why did all of the lighting give out and the background severely drop in quality when I choose my starter. I did the opening 3 times and all 3 times or did that. Why.

Sometimes when you start a battle the opposing Pokémon will be a low polygon model. It looks like they were taken from Pokémon rumble.

The camera feature. I can't move while it's open and I can't zoom in. Also, the menus I have to go through to change my profile picture is ridiculous when it should've been built into the camera as an option. Because you have to go to profile before changing your picture, you can't get a picture with all your pokémon in the picnic, because you literally can't open that menu during picnics. You can use the camera and take pictures, you just can't use them as profile pictures.

I hate convergent evolution so much or whatever it's called. I hate wiglett with a burning passion. Just because they have a real life excuse doesn't mean it's not just bad game design that they copy and pasted a Diglett and took away its spine and color

Everytime I leave a shop the camera moves causing me to reenter the shop

You can't use rare candies to evolve unevolved pokémon at Lvl 100 anymore, which seems like a pointless/backwards decision to take that away when they only implemented it last generation

Conclusion: I honesty really like the game. The performance issues are what's most glaring for most people, but I'm just questioning the many tiny decisions to made to include or not include. Why no set mode? Why can't rare candies evolve at 100? Why no shiny noise? So many why's. But I honestly so like the game so far, and I've barely progressed at all.

They removed set mode

There is no more pokerus, supposedly. I'll have to recheck that but I did read it somewhere that it's not attainable in the same anymore

#Scvi posting #Subconclusion: why are there so many fucking birds #Also that one bullet point IS supposed to just say Arven. I like him he's got near character design and he's nice #No spoilers on anything pls. No new Pkmn plot points or whatever is up with the stakes

[yanderefairyangel]

I decided to replay Fates and... Can I say this ? wasted potential. 

Fates suffers of a really bad execution comming from most of its concept, while only SOME concepts where really silly (I am lookin at you Conquest for having to conquer Hoshido only to expose Garon !!).

The main problem in my opinion is the fact that the Golden Route being Revelations whereas in both game Garon’s the main antagonist makes everything crumbles in a way that doesn’t make it like Corrin’s decision had to make them faces consequences with different result for the Fates lore, but it makes Corrin’s only RIGHT decision being Revelation path which... is quite lame about a game being about how not everything is black and white and how what is right or wrong depends on which side you are with...

One can argue that at least it makes Corrin’s decision to side with each kingdom have a different result whereas in Three Houses/Hopes peace was more or less achievied in their own ways, but that’s it. Peace in Three Houses/Hopes was achieved by different ways, but Fates ruined it with only ONE path and as someone who plays a lot of Visual Novel let me tell you, you have to make sure that whatever route your player is in, he nevers feels like there is only ONE good option. So choosing Valla should also have a ending that is not THE ENDING. Asides from the fact that I would have loved several endings for each routes but...

Asides from that, the fact that the game doesn’t focus enough on Corrin is the main reason why their writing as a character is so weak. Yes, because the decision one makes is always what shapes this individual, however the only path where Corrin actually face conflict is Conquest. Since Birthright is supposed to be a more peacefull side, it’s not a bad idea per se but the execution was not there either. Just like for Byleth and Shez, Corrin was the first protagonist to suffer from the fact that the writing did not explore enough how their decision changed them... You simply have no idea how much missed opportunities this game as, and I easily found 33 of them by just brainstorming!!

However, Fates was literaly the first game that took such a direction and they tried do things differently than from Awakening so... taking this into account Fates was just a guinea pig and while I see and still see the potential of the game’s plot, the execution just made it into...Awakening 2. While keeping in mind that Awakening’s plot was nothing exceptional, but at least it was... decent. Fates on the other sides have a lot of interesting things, except the writers looked at it and throw them out the window... and don’t get me started on how the localizer decided to mess up things (Japanese Takumi deserves the world when his localized version was just... unsufferable... poor pineapple boi) 

And that’s really a pity because there is some moments that are actually well done, and UNLIKE what others people believe, there is a lot of RELEVANT support conversation, notably regarding a CERTAIN CHARACTER. 

Still the gameplay is enjoyable and the maps are fun. Just like Awakening, do not play for the plot, but just to enjoys things.

If you remember F!Robin’s support rank A with Inigo, she calls him “wasted potential”. Replace Robin with me, Inigo with Fates plot, and there you have it : she could’ve say the same about Fates story

#fire emblem #fire emblem if #Fire Emblem Fates

[todayimgonnaplay]

Today I'm Gonna Play: Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of DANA

The only Ys game I've played so far is IX: Monstrum Nox, and I've heard lots of praise for VIII. I've been putting it off but had some folks recommend the game to me which finally pushed me to play it.

What seems to be a staple in Ys seems to be what this series is really good at. Fast-paced combat with barely any input lag, a bunch of monsters to beat up to your liking, and a range of (somewhat flashy) skills you can use to wipe the floor. I think it works great for people that are into beat em' ups and hack and slash. Both titles focus on exploration as well, but the difference between IX and VIII is that the latter is more of an open world, with a castaway island setting where the cast has to survive and discover the mysteries behind the Isle of Seiren. On paper, this sounds really exciting and it does seem to have success on practice. But personally, this has not worked out for me. The map is by no means massive to the likes of a triple A title like GTA, but I don't think small open worlds work either. Much of the map feels repetitive with it having a sprinkle of resources to find for crafting or side quests, maybe a specific area or two that could be designated as a landmark, which is really just for completionist purposes and nothing else (I think it would've served as a good way to use fast travel, since they're landmarks), and a BUNCH of monsters littered about. I'm fine with fighting them as that's the main aspect of combat, but I felt that this quickly started to get stale compared to IX. My biggest gripe with the map is its design, which can thankfully be remedied via the options menu. By default, the minimap has a dynamic compass feature that moves as your character moves and rotates. If you're not good at reading directions like me, this makes traversing extremely frustrating and you'll end up running around in circles wondering how to get to another area. I nearly wanted to quit the game until I found out you could set the compass to static, making it much more easy for me to progress. But even then, I could notice its minimap system is a little lacking compared to IX, which to me has now become the gold standard of navigating in JRPGs. But I can't blame the game since this is a previous title.

The story is intriguing, as it follows a classic formula of being in an undiscovered location filled with mystery, most notably about an entire civilization as well as creatures roaming about. It's perfect for those who love adventure which is what Ys is all about. It does have a couple hiccups though where there was a sudden tonal shift that didn't really add much to the overall story. Some parts about the reason of conflict/plot in the game didn't feel persuasive enough for me to support what the cast was fighting for. But as usual, Ys' endings leave a bittersweet feeling in my heart whenever I finish them. I can't seem to connect with the characters much in this title compared to IX, they seem to be a little more tropey (such as having a tsundere, or a pompous noble that gets barely any repercussions from others for the trouble they cause) although they do show some growth as the game progresses. There was also a weird part that suddenly introduced a murder mystery subplot, which I felt was unnecessary. It didn't really add much to the game other than just get rid of some characters that hinders the exploration part of the gampeplay. The character designs also seem to be really odd apart from a few. One would think (apart from Adol who does get a costume change) that characters may want to change clothes while being castaway to something more suitable for the situation and climate, but the game instead focuses on making their clothes fit their background/personality instead. This would be good as an introduction, but a wardrobe change wouldn't hurt, I think. A good example of a simple change could be from Persona 3 Reload, where the main cast now has access to outfits that look battle ready instead of fighting off Shadows in just their school uniform.

There are a couple aspects that I really do like about the game. One is notably the music. I've heard good things about Sunshine Coastline and it definitely doesn't miss! What I also love is the main theme of the game. It's been a really long time where a main theme impresses me from the first listen without some nostalgia factor being attached to it. Each track really fits the mood of what's going on; calming you in this mysterious yet serene island, or pumping you up to get into fighting off enemies. The second thing I like are the render images in the skills menu, showing everyone's serious faces with a dynamic pose gets me fired up when I equip new skills, It sets a nice example of UX in action.

Overall, I feel a little sad that I can't experience the joy that other players feel when they praise this title. But then again, I seem to like titles like IX which people seem to dislike, so it's interesting to see how opinions can differ. I'm glad to have given this a shot anyway, and wouldn't discourage anyone from trying it out. Heck, you might end up loving it.

#game analysis #game review #game reviews #youtube #gaming #jrpg games #nihon falcom #nis america #nisa #ys #ys viii #ys 8 #ys viii: lacrimosa of dana #Youtube

[legy]

random game roundup

Wand Wars - $11

Included in Bundle for Ukraine

this is pretty neat. wand wars is a party game about being wizards shooting a magic orb at each other and the last one standing wins. this has to have far more staying power as a multiplayer game but, alas, i am by my lonesome. i didnt love the control scheme (does really feel like it wants to be a twin stick shooter and not something played on keyboard). also it really bugged me that the projectile wasnt pixellated when everything else was. wand wars kinda fits the niche of a good boutique board game IMO, fun to break out with nerd friends at some nerd gathering

Baldi's Basics Plus - $10

Included in Bundle for Ukraine

my commitment to the premise of this project being vastly outweighed by how much i dont actually want to play baldi's basics. i could have hit random again and nobody would be the wiser

so i guess my take is roughly that im in the exact nostalgia bait audience for baldi's basics (i played tons of these edutainment games in elementary school) but its specifically aping so much of its aesthetic and presentation from sonic's schoolhouse which i cant imagine had a widespread school computer lab adoption. if someone made a off-color video game inspired by Disney's Adventures in Typing with Timon & Pumbaa or smth that would probably actually get somewhere. for me. also i hate jumpscares and YOU DONT EVEN SOLVE MATH PROBLEMS IN THIS ONE???? WHATS THE POINT

this is not a good review for baldi's basics sorry. i like that the camera controls are vertically locked even tho the game makes a lot of other concessions for a modern audience. and there really is nothing else in its genre that looks like this

Valfaris - $24.99

i cannot for the life of me figure out why i own this game.

ok first things first the art direction in this fucks insanely. it feels like a ps1 game in a way many other ps1 throwbacks don't. i really enjoyed looking at valfaris.

however this controls like SHIT and not in a way that i think would be fixed by a controller. i spent a couple minutes rebinding my controls so it isnt arrow keys to move and q/w for main attacks (this randomly reset to default at some point so that was cool) and i was still fighting for my life to actually accomplish what the game wants me to. there's a segment only a few seconds into the first level where you need to climb on ropes over some evil dogs to cross a ledge but 1. the dogs can jump up and attack you and 2. you can only aim your gun straight down. and the dogs respawn infinitely so you cant jump into the dog pit, slaughter them all and continue on your way. i legitimately could not get past this section because the controls were so ass. really unfortunate.

also the game has "wishlist the sequel" as one of its three menu options which: lmao

Thou Shalt Be Brave - $1

Included in Bundle for Racial Justice and Equality

this is a micro-rpg that is imo unfortunately hamstrung by its gimmick (the really small resolution). theres some really bad readability issues happening in this game. there is a manual on the itch page which helps a lot in combat but its really hard to excuse the "you sease lok s" message you see constantly.

this is pretty light on gameplay also but its generally a pretty fun timewaster. you explore the woods and fight guys and the ultimate goal appears to be maxing all your stats. i just wish i wasnt examining every button like it was a cryptic glyph to decipher

Planets Under Attack - $11.99

you know its bad when ive had this game on steam for over 10 years and have no idea what it is

i'm not sure how to describe planets under attack. it's a very minimalistic strategy game about spending resources to take over planets in each map. it seemed pretty chill but i did kinda feel like i was wasting my time playing it. the presentation is really competent and overall i think this is the strongest of the five games i played today

#random game roundup #wand wars #baldi's basics plus #valfaris #thou shalt be brave #planets under attack

[gikairan]

I've been playing Starfield properly for a week now, and some thoughts:

I think the most important thing to say is: I am having fun. I am enjoying playing this game.

But i do worry about the games... legs so to speak. I played Fallout 4 for like... a whole year. By the time i felt like i was running out of base game, the first expansions were dropping.

Starfield is... a different beast. It doesnt have one big, large, handcrafted map. Its got a lot of procedurally generated maps, with random bits and pieces. And so there isn't much exploring. And its the exploring i kinda like with Bethesda? The only other games i've played that have made an open world feel so alive are.... BOTW/ TOTK. Like, open world is a dime a dozen these days, but most of them are empty Ubisoft-likes (what i call "checklist open worlds").

But Starfield, by virtue of being a space exploration game, cant quite have that handcrafted touch I know and love from Bethesda. Like, theres only a handful of ways to do a space exploration game and thats: - you limit the exploration to a handful of locations, each with a handcrafted map. But you lose the feeling of the vastness of a galaxy (This is what ME: Andromeda and The Outer Worlds did) - You lose the open world maps, and go with more focused areas. You get a chance to show more planets, but you lose the exploration feeling. (.... This is what the first ME Trilogy did, and theyre not exactly exploration games) - You procedurally generate as much content as possible, and only add handcrafted touches when theres a specific quest. You get the vastness of the galaxy, but it loses many places of actual interest. This is what Starfield has done.

And so... one atmosphere-less planet is kinda the same as another? The colours may change, but largely youre only there because you have a quest there, or you need a specific resource that that planet has in abundance. The places of interest just arent that interesting. And most of them are atmosphere-less planets (Because... thats most planets we've discovered after all)

The game also does take a whiillle to start to open up. I've got over 24 hours of playtime clocked up (though i imagine a good 3-4 hours are just idling on menus as i do things like... cook) and i've largely just travelled between Alpha Centuri and Sol.... I've just made the trip to Akila, i've spent all of 5 minutes in Hope Town, and I have no idea where Neon even is. Theres nothing really between those places, its just fast travelling everywhere. And i'm usually a fast travel abuser, but sometimes the best moments in a Bethesda game are when you slow down and take the scenic route, yaknow? Locations needing fast travelling between them kinda ruins that a bit. And theres generally not 2 settlements on the same planet, despite that probably making a lot of sense (if Jamison is good for human habitation, why is New Atlantis the only settlement we can visit?), so theres not exactly any real random encounters on the ground maps.

My hope that the roleplaying in this game was better than FO4 because they ditched the voice protagonist was in vain. Theres kinda 2 options to continue most conversations, and anything below the first 2 (maybe 3) options are Questions to learn more - but not to move the conversation to the next part of the tree. I havent seen a huge number of skill related dialogue options, except like... medicine? Thats the one ive seen pop up the most.

Performance wise, i've largely not had any issues. Couple of crashes, but thats par for the course with Bethesda. .... But i noticed some obvious frame rate dips in Akila. Like, something in that location the xbox just did not like. But nowhere else. I also paid for a month of game pass ultimate so i could swap between my pc and xbox and see what i liked. ... I havent even tried to play on pc, because i'm happy enough on xbox. That, and the pc keybindings are... uuhh a problem. The game has so many different controls going on that i cant move WASD to any other controls without breaking some other system. Arrow keys are vital somewhere else. IJKL is vital somewhere else.... I'm not playing with WASD, because thats uncomfortable (i'm using the wrong hand for it!). And theres no point in playing on a controller on my pc, lol. I may as well play on the comfy sofa if i want to play with a controller. Will probably mess with my ability to play many mods, but honestly... i'm still uncertain about how much i'll care about the game by the time people start making some real good mods.

IDK man. I'm having fun, i'm enjoying the game. But it probably is a 7/10 game, yaknow? Theres a lot of things holding it back, but those things are also fairly central to the actual vision Bethesda had. Jurys still out on how much blorbo thoughts i can get out of this, mostly because I still dont quite know enough about the world to get a backstory going on. And thats going to be the thing that really makes everything else click. But even then, I could get an okay enough backstory out of The Outer Worlds and that never clicked, because the game just didnt have enough content for me to Really Care.

[dailyadventureprompts]

Any ideas for sky-based adventures? My players are building an airship and I’m not sure what I’ll put up there in the sky to challenge them haha

Alright, I’d love to do a single adventure prompt about this (expect atleast one next week) but I think your question deserves a broader, systematic answer... on that note...

DRAFTING AN ADVENTURE: TAKING TO THE SKIES WITH AIRSHIPS

I think we can all agree that of all the fantasy aesthetic tropes, airships fucking slap. Whether Practical dirigibles, fantastical floating galleons, or some other mad form of conveyance, there’s just something about taking some improbable platform and soaring it through the sky that trickles the part of our brain that feels wonder, no matter how jaded any of us may be. 

That said, actually RUNNING a game that has airships as more than just a niche conveyance can pose a lot of challenges to us as DMs, including: 

Upending the traveling/camping/exploration dynamic that most early games are built around, as the party can now fly directly to their destination.  

The scale and speed at which airships travel forces you to worldbuild on a much larger scale than you may be prepared for. Since the party can decide to hop in their vessel and “fast travel” anywhere on the campaign map. 

If something goes wrong with the ship mid air( like taking too much damage during an encounter, or if its destroyed by the machinations of your villain), your party has pretty much one option: fall to their death. A nerve-wracking question of balance when your party has their hearts set on daredevil areal  combat. 

Just how much mechanical crunch do you attach to operating this ship? Too much and you make it an extra level of busywork and alienate your players, too little and the ship just becomes a shortcut they can use to solve their problems, and disappoints those players who were really excited about leaning into their roles as airship crew. 

Just how common are airships? Anything more than wonderous rarities and you’re going to have to start making big considerations in your worldbuilding about how the nations of the world deal with one another, trade with one another, and defend themselves against aerial fleets and rogue vessels. 

“dungeon delving” becomes a lot easier when you can roll up to the ruin with a hold full of supplies and sail back to town whenever you want. This is to say nothing of shelling the villain’s haunted fortress from 600ft+ in the air while their evil minions take potshots at you with arrows.  

These are all considerations when introducing airships in your campaign, to be weighed against the inherent awesomeness of the trope. I learned most if not all of these when in my very first “serious” d&d campaign I introduced the idea of airships, and the 1st level party decided to completely ignore my adventure and beeline for the nearest skydock to perform their initial act of piracy.  They wanted an airship, and they were damned if they weren’t going to get it. The siren song of skyward adventure was so strong that it motivated a group of shy and otherwise disogonized nerds into a force that completely bowled me over and had me stressing out for MONTHS about how to construct a campaign around something I’d only ever considered as an end game touchstone. 

I’ve improved quite a lot in the years since that campaign, to the point where I think I’ve got a good handle on how to handle the leap from a previously terrestrial campaign to one of high-flying adventure.   Lets address all these issues under the cut, and then get on to some actual adventure ideas!

As much as airships seem like they’d be a way to shortcut the traditional adventure and skipping straight to the fun ( which they can be, if you’d like them to be) you can also play out your traditional “ overland travel” adventure by having your ships stay a couple dozen feet above ground, justifying it by saying the winds are less wild closer to the ground, that it helps with navigation. and that the ship is simply too heavy to rise much more than that. This helps you create justifications for dogfights around interesting scenery, and lets you have random encounters with areal predators that see your party’s vessel as a territorial rival. 

In many ways, upgrading from just their feet to a greater form of transpiration is a “graduating” moment for an adventuring party, where they cease to be sellswords wandering between towns scraping together odd jobs and begin to be true heroes going directly where the plot takes them. It shares a similar prestige as the party being awarded with a keep and lands to maintain, in that both are avenues you can use to take the arc of the campaign in brave new directions, while also giving something for your high level partymembers to sink their gold into. Don’t be afraid to embrace this change, and focus on adventures that take your party far far away from the comfortable bounds of their previous stomping grounds.

Ship to ship combat can largely be waged using the rules system of your choice ( consult your playgroup about which they feel might feel best to them before comiting, it’ll do you a favor) . Rather than having your ship reach 0hp represent the point at which the vessel crumbles into splinters, I suggest 0hp thematically represents “ the point at which we need to make an emergency landing”.  Have the ship need major repairs, perhaps leaving the party stranded in the wilderness or at the mercy of whoever shot them out of the sky,  but either is a far preferable fate to have your campaign come to a sudden end because someone had the bright idea to shoot their balloon. Hilariously,  I came up with this idea long after the pirate campaign ended and I wound up playing a cooperative online airship battling game called Guns of Icarus with my air pirate party.  

Again, plenty of people from D&D’s official ruleset to homebrewers, to the DMs guild all have ship to ship rules, and you really should check out a few before offering the best to your party. 

 Starwars is actually one of the best examples I’ve seen about how to include airships into setting, story, and world design. Most major settlements have a dockyard, and many places consider “ good air-ship trade route” as an important factor on determining where to place settlements in general. Flying freely is however constrained to the expansive wilderness, as Most nations would restrict air travel within their borders, and would amass quick moving air cavalry units to counter lumbering ships incurring on their borders. 

Related to that previous point: once airships become involved, it doesn’t take too long for the villains to develop a counter in the form of airborne minions or weather-affecting artifacts that can be unleashed to rip players from the clouds. Dealing with these anti-air measures becomes just one more step in undoing the villain’s schemes, allowing the party to bring their full warship weight to bear against their rival only after jumping through a few hoops.  Likewise, the answer to the party being able to fast-travel between towns and adventure sites is to put the adventure sites further away in grander, more fantastical locations. Two words for you my friend; SKY. RUINS. 

Now that we’ve addressed those concerns, lets go on to some  fundamental sky fairing adventure ideas for you to build your story around: 

Seeking out important pieces of your ship: This can be part of assembling the ship itself, but it can also be about finding technological or magical upgrades, recruiting skilled crew members, or repairing damage after a tough scrape and having to limp your way to the nearest ( shady) air dock. 

Misadventures with the crew: the party can’t fly this hunk of junk alone, and recruiting some new friends to help gives you a whole cast of characters to work with. Just what is the character of your airship crew? Pirates? Soldiers? merchants? Explorers? what do they get up to on their free time and how can it act as a hook to get the rest of the rest of the crew involved? 

Navigating: whether seeking out new charts for unknown destinations, performing daredevil challenges in order to overcome some great obstacle. Risking the ship’s safety as it passes through the lair of a dangerous beast or natural hazard. 

Finding a safe place to park the ship while you go off on other adventures: ( not to mention finding someone trustworthy to watch over it) 

Moving cargo and other valuables: whether for a reputable merchant, obliged authority figure, or scheming smuggler. 

Setting out for parts unknown: the whole horizon just opened up for your party, why not give them a heading, a cryptic diary and a strange signal and let them explore along the way? 

Art Source

#Anonymous #D&D #D&D adventure #Homebrew Adventure #Adventure #DnD #prompt postage #drafting an adventure #airships

[hopeamarsu]

Of potions and myths - Chapter 5

William “Ironhead” Miller x f!reader

Word count 3,1k

Warnings: Some insecurities, some angst, a lot of talking, mention of child abandonment

A/N: It’s decision making time!

Chapter 4 - Chapter 6

The man leaves the living room after he’s given you the news, promising to return once you have had time to talk. He stresses that you don’t need to make the decision now, but the sooner you come to the conclusion, the sooner preparations can be made.

You sit next to Will when you are finally alone. The air is heavy and suffocating around you as you turn the words spoken to you in your mind. A lifetime of heartbreak or a lifetime with someone you barely know but are inexplicably drawn to? 

“It’s your decision.”

Will’s words, spoken again in a flat tone, cuts through the haze and you whip your head up to gape at him. He remains as he is, shoulders set and his whole body tight, eyes set forward and his mouth in a grim line. He looks like a soldier headed for war, his feelings and thoughts hidden behind an iron wall and it makes you ache for him. You draw strength from inside of yourself and grasp his hand into yours. 

“Our decision. This needs to come from us both, not just one of us. It’s both our souls, both our lives and both of us here, together.” You emphasize but don’t look at him as you speak, instead focusing on his hands and fingers, tracing them with your own. The pads of your fingers discover callouses, smooth spots and rough skin as you watch the tendrils appear, complimenting his skin tone and bathing it in golden and silver light. 

You want to explore all his skin this way, you realize. Spend hours upon hours just mapping it all out, discover all his wounds and kiss them better. Trace the scars and heal as many as you can, if only through kisses and caresses. All his sweet spots and points that make him tick. But to get there you’ll need to agree on this. 

“Sweetheart, if our views don’t match, I can never ask you to change your mind. So in the end, it is your decision.” He tries to be gentle, tries to not influence you, but it only makes you more agitated. 

“So you decide that for the both of us? You don’t even want to talk about it, just resign yourself to whatever fate I choose? How is that fair?” You can’t help it, your voice raises as anger bleeds into it. You drop his hand abruptly and rise to your feet, forcing Will to look at you alarmed. You start to pace the living room, your arms flailing around you as you vent.  

“If I choose the option you don’t want, it’s going to cause so much pain in either case. If you want this and I don’t, we’ll have to spend our lives looking over our shoulders so as not to see each other again and you’ll hate me because I have forced us into it. If I want this and you don’t, I will force you to be bound into me and it will cause so much heartbreak and it’s not fair. You’ll hate me and I don’t want that.” 

Your voice dwindles as does your anger, just as quickly as it rose. There’s no use in being angry, you just need to figure out how to move forward now. You stop your movements and sigh. You pinch the bridge of your nose, trying to gather your thoughts and leave all your confused emotions out of the equation.

“There is so much I don’t understand…” You mumble to yourself. Why did he growl at the elder, but not at Ben? What do the colors mean? What does a werewolf bond even mean, will you turn into one? Will the bite hurt? 

You shake your head to rid yourself of the rambling thoughts; those can be answered later, if needed. There is only one important question on the tip of your tongue, wanting to come out. 

“If you had to make the choice, which option would you get?” You ask, focusing your eyes into the wall behind the loveseat where Will sits. The rigid body of the soldier stays completely still as he ponders his words and you wait for him to answer. The hum of the connection jumps with every breath you take, your chests rising and falling in sync.

“I would choose you.”

The words come out slow, calculated and in an undertone, but you hear them clear as day. You chance a look at his blue eyes, the iron wall still high up behind them, so you cannot discern anything from them so you are left guessing. You feel like you are spinning as they buzz in your ear. His conviction in his words sounds ludacris after only a day of knowing one another. But also so right at the same time.  

“How do you know? Are you sure this isn’t just the connection talking?” You need to be sure.  

“Maybe it’s my wolf, maybe it’s the connection, I don’t know.” Will offers, holding out his hand for you to take. A beat passes and he starts to withdraw his hand, defeated. Quickly you spring into action and grasp it tight. You share a small smile as skin touches skin, feeling better and more calm already. He pulls you next to him again, but this time he turns so that your knees touch on the small couch and he keeps holding your hand, ignoring the tendrils for now. 

“But I do know this; when I’m with you, near you, I don’t want to leave. I want to be here with you, do all this with you. I don’t know if that’s love yet, but I do want to explore it and I want you to be mine. I felt it the second our eyes met at the pub.”

“Will, this is crazy! We’ve known each other for A DAY!”

“I know, sweetheart, I know. But I can’t help it and I don’t want to either. My wolf feels the same.” He takes your hand and places it on top of his heart. The thump-thump of his heart is rapid, so fast under your fingertips and you have the sudden urge to make it calm, soothe it out and make sure it doesn’t feel like this erratic ever again. 

“Do you feel that? I feel this way as I’m close to you and I wouldn’t change this feeling for anything. You make me feel alive and it's why I don’t think you are nothing. To me, you are everything. My wolf agrees and that’s why he wants to reach for you, be with you. Because of all this, I will always choose you.”    

He lifts your hand away from his chest and brings it to his lips, kissing the back of your hand softly. His lips feel soft and plump against your knuckles and you let out a happy sigh. As he releases it, your hand twitches because you want it back where it was, against the warmth and affection you felt. You refuse to call it love yet, but deep down you know it’s only a matter of time. 

You look at the man in front of you, taking in the beautiful eyes, the single second they flash into red and back to blue again. The lips you have felt on your own, the coarse hairs above them that tickles when he kisses you but causes shivers down your spine, and the sharpness of his nose, the regality it offers him. 

You glance at his forehead and mussed up blond hair, aching to mess it up further before venturing lower, cataloging the strong jaw and cropped beard, remembering how it felt on your skin as he kissed you in your kitchen and in here. How you think it would feel when he kisses you lower. 

You take in the curve where his neck meets his shoulder and it looks delectable. You would love to kiss him there, nibble and lick and suck until he’s a puddle of goo under you. 

You keep studying him, his words echoing in your mind as you try to come into a conclusion. As you do, you realize it was the only choice there ever really was. Your heart had been made up long before, your mind just needed to get there too.  

He waits patiently for your answer, though Will feels his nerves ramp up. This is it, this will determine his fate and he has just laid out all his cards and his heart at your feet. As the ticking clock provides the only soundtrack, he takes a deep breath through his nose, willing whatever deity is out there that you won’t crush it. 

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven… He counts the seconds ticking by, growing more nervous as the number grows higher and you remain silent. Just as Will is about to speak, crush his own heart, your words come out. 

“Yes. Let’s do it. Let’s complete the bond and see where it takes us,” You say and Will cannot hold himself still any longer. He surges forward and claims your lips in a passionate kiss, pouring all his happiness and his desire into it. 

One of his hands grips the back of your head and neck, flattening his palm to keep you grounded to him and the other finds its place on your hip, kneading the flesh gently as he deepens the kiss by slipping his tongue into your mouth. 

You quickly lose the sense of place and time as he kisses you, the power in it devouring you completely as you surrender to it. His mustache tickles your upper lip as he molds your mouths together and your fingers tangle in his hair, gripping it where you can and scratching your nails across his scalp.

 A deep rumble, a purr almost, leaves his chest as you hit a particularly good spot and he tugs you in closer, your legs slotting on either side of his legs when he pulls you into his lap. 

Will is nearly fully gone now, his mind fully focused on pulling sweet moans from your lips as he abandons your lips in favor of nibbling you jaw and neck, trailing an inferno behind him as he moves up and down, aiming higher until he kisses the spot just behind your ear that makes you shake in his arms. With a low chuckle, he comes up for air, murmuring sweet nothings onto your lips. 

“Will - gah, Will, we need to…” You tug on his hair, relishing the rumble that leaves his chest. As much as you wish to disappear into him and into this, the nagging feeling that you are in his brother's house keeps you somewhat coherent. 

“We need to do what, sweetheart?” The man has a voice made of honey and sin as he traces your collarbones with his tongue. You really do want to throw caution to the wind and complete the bond here and now, on this small loveseat that barely fits you both. “Pope…” You manage to gasp out, his teeth grazing on your shoulder makes you nearly black out. 

The single word seems to sober him up quickly and Will rips himself off your body, the red eyes wide and predatory as a reminder of just how far he had gone. “You’re right,” he pants, eyes tracking the saliva on your skin with hunger. 

He can feel the desire to bite just under the surface and as he touches his teeth with his tongue, he feels them already changed a little, becoming more pointed and sharp. It takes him a second to pull himself back before he winks at you.  

“Can’t have you thinking of other men while I have you on top of me.” The grin on his face is playful and wolfish. You match his grin and place your palm against his cheek, stroking it gently. He barely avoids nuzzling into it and purring, but only barely. It feels too good and his heart is elated that you want this as much as he does. 

“I can assure you, he was not in my mind because what you were doing wasn’t enough.”

“Mhmmm, but I wasn’t doing a good enough job if you can still think.”

“Behave,” You tease him gently as you untangle yourself, rising up from the couch and he follows eagerly, his huge paw finding the sliver of skin that has appeared with your wonky shirt. 

He traces his forefinger on it, teasing the waistband of your pants as he watches mesmerized the golden swirls that appear. He tries to follow one, but it seems to swirl away from him as others appear to mix in on the joyous dance.  

“Will?”

“Hmm?” 

“We still need to talk with the elders on how to move forward. And I suspect your brothers are anxiously waiting just outside,” you nod towards the front door, something he hasn’t even realized was closed firmly. He agrees but not before pulling you tight into his chest as he buries his face on the crook of your neck, breathing in the scent he’s already addicted to to ground himself. 

“Let’s do this.” He finally releases you, but keeps you tucked in as you step outside the house together. Will’s eyes immediately hone in on brothers; Benny sitting on the porch swing, Frankie leaning over the railing and Santi with his back against the wall. 

They all jump up when the door closes behind both of you and turn to face you. The two older men remain neutral but Will can see a grin trying to break its way free on Benny’s face as he looks at how close Will is keeping you. His little brother always did have a romantic streak in him. 

“We are going to try and complete the bond,” he tells them bluntly, not wanting to hide anything from them. Benny lets out a small ‘whoop’ and barrels into him, making Will lose his hold on you as he hugs him tight. You step away discreetly, allowing them to have their moment as Frankie sides up with you.

“Are congratulations in order then?” The tall man mumbles as he settles into an easy stance, arms crossed loosely and feet planted wide. His tone is mild but you can sense the underlying curiosity and slight worry over this.  

“Mhmm, we are going to try. We still don’t know all the details or even how hard it will be, so…” You let your voice die down, he’ll catch the drift you hope. He nods, keeping his eyes forward at the two brothers.

“We are brothers and a family, but those two are related by blood, so their bond runs a bit deeper. Benny is younger and Will’s always been the one he’s looked up to. Their mother, Mrs Miller, she - uuuuhhh - she left when the boys were young, I don’t think Benny was even three. Their father came to us and asked to join our pack, since their previous one kicked them out because of the sins of the mother.” 

Frankie takes a small pause, warmth in his eyes as he looks at the two blond men together. “My grandfather, who was one of the elders then, was the one to welcome them in and we’ve been tight ever since. Santi, Pope, joined not soon after and we all trickled into the military and Delta one after the other as we grew up. It’s always been us and always will be us together.”

“So that’s why he didn’t growl at Benny,” You murmur, mostly to yourself. Frankie nods, having heard your words and goes on to explain that a wolf will growl and snap at anyone who they deem a threat to family and loved ones, ultimately attacking to protect if needed. Within a family though, touching and closeness is encouraged. That’s why they are so physical with one another, he tells you. Actually, having the pack scent mark you at some point might be beneficial, the older man muses.

All this pack business thrusted against your brain produces a lot of good images and fantasies that your mind is spinning. It feels a little too much too fast, so you steer the conversation back into safer ground by looking fondly at Will nudging Benny on the shoulder in a playful manner. 

“He's very lucky to have all of you.” 

“We are lucky to have him. And all their family in fact, a lot of Millers joined our pack after them and expanded it. Hence why it’s called Miller-Morales pack now, even if it was originally just Morales pack. There are other families also, like the Garcia’s,” Frankie nods towards Pope, who has now joined his two brothers on the porch and the men are talking amongst themselves. 

“The name is because we are the two biggest families around and Morales being the founding family, but the duties and responsibilities are divided equally among everyone. Each family chooses an elder and all elders form the council to guarantee fairness and voice for all.” You did wonder about that and it makes so much sense as Frankie explains it all. It also gives you a sense of just how big the pack is, since there are six elders.

He startles you then by grasping your arm into his warm one for a second. He looks you deep in the eyes, keeping the connection as he speaks. “He might not say it, but I can already tell that this bond means everything to Will. He’s been through a lot, too much in fact, and we all want only the best for him. The man deserves nothing more than happiness. I hope you realize that.”

“I do.” You whisper softly, your heart beating harder in your chest at Frankie’s confession and slight challenge. It makes you grin that they are looking out for Will and while you didn’t expect to have the talk with one of his brothers, having Frankie do it makes perfect sense. With a soft smile, the man tips his ball cap in your direction and steps to slap Will in the back softly, joining the conversation.

You take the moment of silence and begin thumping through your phone, adding things into your notes so you can keep track of the questions still swirling in your mind. You need to get to your workstation, you decide, after the list grows in length. Who knows how long it will take the elders to gather all the needed information? And you can’t just sit tight and wait, you decide, your inner researcher excited about the prospect of digging into a mystery. 

“Will?” You hate to interrupt the boys talking animatedly with one another, but you know you have to. “How good are you with books?”

*

Of potions and myths taglist: @mylifeisactuallyamess​ @luxmundee​ @innerpaperexpertcloud​

Everything taglist (I fully understand if you want to skip this one, please let me know and I’ll remove you!) @clydesducktape​ @wayward-rose​ @themuseic​ @miraclesabound​ @clydesfavoritegirl​ @a-true-janian-reply​  @10blurredsmoke10​  @caillea​ @mariesackler​ @princessxkenobi​

#william miller #will ironhead miller #will miller #will miller x f!reader #cw: mythical creatures #cw: werewolves #cw: dash of angst #will miller fanfiction #triple frontier #friple frontier fanfiction #my writing #charlie hunnam fanfiction