Chemslayer's recent activity

  1. Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games

    Chemslayer
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    Besides Hades 2 (which I posted about under the other thread), I've been absolutely jamming Deep Rock Galactic Survivor. I threw it into my cart when I was purchasing Hades 2, as I had a lot of...

    Besides Hades 2 (which I posted about under the other thread), I've been absolutely jamming Deep Rock Galactic Survivor. I threw it into my cart when I was purchasing Hades 2, as I had a lot of love for DRG and it had finally hit 1.0 and was 6 dollars so I figured it was worth trying at least.

    And oh, I've been so blown away. It improves on the Survivor template in so many amazing ways. Note the main other survivor I have significant time in is the OG (Vampire Survivors), so most of my comparisons will be to that.

    1. Resource collection: adding resources to mine (gold/nitra) that you can trade between stages gives real reason to roam the map, much more so than finding small secrets in VS.

    2)Multiple objectives and goodies: tied into the above, the game gives you so many different things you want to do (Get minerals, complete secondary, get drop pod, pickup XP from slain enemies, kill the boss faster for better loot ) and also gives you little precious time to do it. Having to balance priorities, and decide when to be safe and give up things vs be risky to try to have it all is a lot of fun.

    3)Weapon upgrade system: you get 4 weapons over the course of a run, and upgrade them with various stats, which also increase their level, and at 3 different tiers you get an overclock, aka a powerful special upgrade, with the last being an especially powerful unstable overclock. You can also get generic upgrades, ones that apply to all weapons or stronger ones that apply to a subset (such as electrical weapons, heavy weapons, etc). One minor complaint is the system highly emphasizes matching types vs variety, but that may be the nature of the beast. The weapon system and especially the overclock feels awesome, much like evolving your weapon in VS, but here it's much more straightforward.

    1. Enemy balance: the enemies scale over a run to nearly match your power: while you still get the feeling of being a death machine that is the standard for survivor games, even at your strongest you still have to pay attention, which is nice (compared to VS where many late game builds you can just put your controller down for the last 8 minutes).

    Bonus) For any fans of DRG, there's lots of references, familiar voice lines, etc, as you'd expect. It's charming.

    Overall I want to give props to the team, for adapting the parts of DRG that made sense, and leaving out what didn't. For example, in DRG the Scouts grapple hook is a signature part of his kit, you can't imagine a scout without it. But it's entirely absent in Survivor, as it wasn't needed. I think people making a spinoff of existing IP tend to fall into the trap of needing to 1:1 the IP as much as possible, and try to shoehorn specifics into it rather than catch the vibe. I think DRG Survivor made smart choices for what would be fun and what wasn't needed, and captured the same feelings of DRG in a new format.

    Only complaints are the (apparently new to 1.0) gear system is overly fiddly, you get new pieces once or more per run, they have different slots and raritites and each has 3-5 stats and abilities and also can be upgraded and also can be different levels, it's just too much to care about. Thankfully the have a "smart equip" button that auto puts some stuff there (good stuff? I truly have no idea), but I hope that they can tighten and simply the system a bit, as the idea of building tailored "builds" is an interesting one, but as is a little too much for a Survivor.

    And, the game uses way more steam deck battery than you'd expect. Guess those 3D renderings and bug calculations take it out of you. I typically get like an hour 15 or hour and a half on full battery. Lack of a mid-run save option (or a game crash recovery save) has caused me mild distress a few times.

    Overall if you enjoy survivor games I heartily recommend the game. If you also enjoyed DRG that's just a nice bonus

    4 votes

  2. Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games

    Chemslayer
    Link Parent
    (Psst id probably spoiler tag part of this bit, as someone who eagerly awaited the release but didn't follow development the discovery of the topside run, what I've been lovingly referring to as...

    (Psst id probably spoiler tag part of this bit, as someone who eagerly awaited the release but didn't follow development the discovery of

    the topside run, what I've been lovingly referring to as "Hades 3"

    Was a big happy surprise.)

    But agreed, this game is amazing, it is more of everything that was great about Hades, but further refined and expanded and with so much content, really everything you'd hope for in a sequel. I've only beaten Chronos a few times


    and Typhon only once

    , but I really look forward to keeping on
    1 vote

  3. Comment on What have you been watching / reading this week? (Anime/Manga) in ~anime

    Chemslayer
    Link Parent
    Agreed on your first spoiler, which is why I was so surprised at my spoiler. But I guess we'll see how it gets handled, my guess would be each "adventure" will only involve a subset, to give them...

    Agreed on your first spoiler, which is why I was so surprised at my spoiler. But I guess we'll see how it gets handled, my guess would be


    each "adventure" will only involve a subset, to give them more time to shine. But that does mean I imagine the series will be hella long, not a bad thing but means it'll take forever to get the resolution, and you can only drag out the romance will-they-wont-they so long

    Re:your second spoiler, I didn't realize that was an actual thing, tbh I never really thought to think that it meant anything. Now I'm curious to find out more too!

    1 vote

  4. Comment on What have you been watching / reading this week? (Anime/Manga) in ~anime

    Chemslayer
    Link
    New Dandadan manga came out recently! Just wrapped it up, it was a fun one, spoilers for Dandadan inc this volume but I'm surprised we got yet another high schooler with a occult connection to be...

    New Dandadan manga came out recently! Just wrapped it up, it was a fun one,

    spoilers for Dandadan inc this volume

    but I'm surprised we got yet another high schooler with a occult connection to be presumably a part of the cast moving forward. She even got her own quirky spirit!

    Overall it was fun! And nice and lower stakes (well, as low as Dan gets anyway). Sad the mystery of the beginning wasn't expanded more this volume, but I suppose that's being setup as the next big "arc"

    3 votes

  5. Comment on After quitting antidepressants, some people suffer surprising, lingering symptoms in ~health.mental

    Chemslayer
    Link Parent
    An analogy I've found matches my experience is calling them "glitching", based on the first Spiderman miles Morales movie (don't remember exact name). In that movie the Spidermans from alternate...

    An analogy I've found matches my experience is calling them "glitching", based on the first Spiderman miles Morales movie (don't remember exact name). In that movie the Spidermans from alternate dimensions "glitch", which is shown as a sudden, disorienting, and mildly painful sensation that consumes them for a brief moment, and then leaves as soon as it came.

    If you haven't seen the movie, try looking up a clip. The nice thing is the movie was pretty popular, so a lot of people have seen it, so describing it in reference to the movie has been understandable for people I tell it to so far

    1 vote

  6. Comment on Humble Bundle: Martha Wells’ Murderbot and more in ~books

    Chemslayer
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    Hooray! I read the first one and enjoyed it tons, but the books being full-book price for 100 page novella length was a mental block I couldn't get past for the sequels. But now the price is right...

    Hooray! I read the first one and enjoyed it tons, but the books being full-book price for 100 page novella length was a mental block I couldn't get past for the sequels. But now the price is right and I can enjoy the rest of em :D

    9 votes

  7. Comment on Do you play games in a play by email format, and if so what are you favorite games? in ~games

    Chemslayer
    Link
    I researched this a few years ago, I was living on a bus and had spotty/slow internet, but still wanting to play an engaging game. Anything requiring synchronicity was out. Real time is out too...

    I researched this a few years ago, I was living on a bus and had spotty/slow internet, but still wanting to play an engaging game. Anything requiring synchronicity was out. Real time is out too obviously. But while any turn-based game can technically be played by mail, many have so many opportunities for decisions and responses that waiting for each would drag. As an example, a turn of Magic the Gathering has something like 24 priority passes that both players have to acknowledge. In person it's easy, as you usually just skip them or interrupt when you want to do something. But in PBEM, you have to check each time, which means there'd be a small part of doing things and a lot of emails just saying "pass priority" which is lame.

    So the game has to 1) be turn based in some form, and 2) has to have enough interesting decisions or actions to take between needing to consult the other player to be worthwhile. Also wanted 3) two player, as I didn't want to organize a whole thing, I just wanted to play with a pal

    The classic here is chess, since (rhetorical) you can get a lot of mileage analyzing the board and thinking about moves before you make yours. But I'm not much of a chess guy, I wanted something with a little more pizzazz.

    The pickings were slim, but I did ultimately settle on Codex: the Card Game. It's a weird card-based game meant to emulate an RTS of all things, with champions and factions and such. But it has a good amount of depth, and the interplay was fun, and it is actually designed such that each player doesn't need any response from their opponent during their own turn (ideal PEMB!). It's out of print, but you can still buy a digital copy and print your own cards to play via sending pictures to one another. When my friend and I played we also put together a complicated Google sheet that served as our boards, to digitize it further. Sadly, we only got halfway through our first game (and I took a pretty large upper hand) before my friend lost interest, so I didn't end up getting to explore too much :(

    2 votes

  8. Comment on What have you been watching / reading this week? (Anime/Manga) in ~anime

    Chemslayer
    Link
    Nearly finished with the currently available SpyxFamily manga, starting vol 14 now. Would recommend, fun slice of life with very goofy elements (relating to the main trio and their unique powers...

    Nearly finished with the currently available SpyxFamily manga, starting vol 14 now. Would recommend, fun slice of life with very goofy elements (relating to the main trio and their unique powers etc).

    I do want to say though, I'm worried. I'm fairly new to manga, but it seems to be a custom that at the end of each volume the writer (and artist if it's someone different) will write a little blurb about whatever, usually something random from their life, and it's endearing. The last several volumes of SpyxFamily the author blurb has been all about how he feels overwhelmed and overworked and has no time for anything but making the manga anymore. I really hope mr manga guy takes care of himself, obviously I want more issues but more than that I don't want him to burn out and hurt himself on something he loved :(

    5 votes

  9. Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games

    Chemslayer
    Link
    Been playing a lot of Astral Ascent, local co-op with my best friend. To be honest I wasn't very into it, it had too much going on (Basic attacks and 4 spells that you did in order but also...

    Been playing a lot of Astral Ascent, local co-op with my best friend. To be honest I wasn't very into it, it had too much going on (Basic attacks and 4 spells that you did in order but also there's a ton of different spells and 5 elemental types and each elemental type has 4 or 5 mechanics that intersect with each other in different ways and ahhhh). But I kept playing as my bf was very into it, and around the 20 hour mark something clicked and I started to really enjoy the game. We just got the "true ending" yesterday and plan to work through more ascension levels. Being local co-op is a ton of fun too, even if there's some annoying parts that don't seem super thought through (like only one of you can be looking at a pickup at a time).

    Overall, I still don't think I can recommend it, as I'm not comfortable reccing something that takes 20 hours to make sense. But it does turn into a fun and powerful rogue-like, and you can make some truly busted stuff, so if you decide to put up with the learning curve it's a good time esp co-op

    1 vote

  10. Comment on What are you reading these days? in ~books

    Chemslayer
    Link Parent
    I'm on book 5 ATM, and just a warning it only gets more sweeping lol. But it's been one of my favorite series, so if you're enjoying it now I'd suggest keeping on!

    I'm on book 5 ATM, and just a warning it only gets more sweeping lol. But it's been one of my favorite series, so if you're enjoying it now I'd suggest keeping on!

    4 votes

  11. Comment on What are you reading these days? in ~books

    Chemslayer
    Link
    About halfway through Stormlight Archive book 5, enjoying it greatly, I'm glad to see these characters' stories finally get sewn up after reading since 2020. (I know there's 5 more books planned,...

    About halfway through Stormlight Archive book 5, enjoying it greatly, I'm glad to see these characters' stories finally get sewn up after reading since 2020. (I know there's 5 more books planned, but there's supposed to be a big time jump, and while magic shenanigans might port a few characters over I have to imagine it'll probably take on a new cast).

    Also reading The F*ggots and Their Friends Between Revolutions, at the recommendation of a drag artist I saw. (Censored here as idk what Tildes stance is there). It's been interesting, identifying as the A at the far end of the alphabet I don't connect personally with a lot of the sexual release themes of the book, but it's still powerful to read the experiences of queers of yesteryear and see how things have changed and how things have stayed the same. It's nice that it's mostly one or two paragraph chapters with no narrative throughline between them, males it very easy to pick up and put down and gives is a more lyrical/poem-like feel.

    Besides books reading SFSX comic I got from the humble comic bundle (that another Tildes user turned me onto, thanks!), it's a near-future dystopia where a pseudo-religious puritan movement takes over the country (world maybe?) and enforces strict moral standards, and the sex workers and friends fighting against it in the shadows. If it didn't seem obvious Heavy sexual themes (and imagery). Only read the first 3 chapters so far, neat premise, hasn't fully sucked me in yet but enough that I want to continue. The third chapter changed artists, and I was really enjoying the more exaggerated cartoon style, and was slightly disappointed to peek ahead to chapter 4 and see the art revert. (The art is very well done! It's just more realistic (I'd compare it to Saga), and I personally preferred the tone set by the more abstract. But alas I respect the artists decisions, whatever those are).

    Also working my way through SpyxFamily, on volume 9. I've given my thoughts on the series in the Manga thread, very endearing and worth the read IMO

    2 votes

  12. Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games

    Chemslayer
    Link
    My best friend and I got into Ravenswatch, and it's been super great. It's a co-op action rogue like (think Hades) based on a "dark" version of general folklore (characters include red riding...

    My best friend and I got into Ravenswatch, and it's been super great. It's a co-op action rogue like (think Hades) based on a "dark" version of general folklore (characters include red riding hood, Aladdin, Wukong, etc).

    The game is fairly difficult, but really well put together. Each character has their own abilities, and there's an actual mechanical focus on teamwork in a lot of the abilities and upgrades which I really enjoy. And then you level up and get talents that can change your play style from game to game.

    One unique point that I've really come to appreciate is that the game has the classic rogue like "dash" available to all characters, but you don't get invincibility frames during it. What that means is dodging enemy attacks requires actual, y'know, dodging, instead of just treating it as a "ignore damage for the next second" button like games such as Hades or Sworn do. It honestly took some time (and damage received) to get used to, but is much more satisfying. Also, each character has a "defense" ability that in addition to whatever other effect does also provide a small invuln window, so you still get the panic button, it's just on a cool down and not necessarily as mobile.

    1 vote

  13. Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games

    Chemslayer
    Link Parent
    Afaik it's still in "beta" and uses its own saves separate from Repentance. You can always manually backup your saves before enabling it! (Just copy the save file to desktop or wherever, and if it...

    Afaik it's still in "beta" and uses its own saves separate from Repentance. You can always manually backup your saves before enabling it! (Just copy the save file to desktop or wherever, and if it gets messed up just put it back)

    1 vote

  14. Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games

    Chemslayer
    Link Parent
    If you do get the final DLC (which I would highly recommend, it more than doubles the number of characters and adds tons of cool new items and paths), id heartily recommend getting the Enhanced...

    If you do get the final DLC (which I would highly recommend, it more than doubles the number of characters and adds tons of cool new items and paths), id heartily recommend getting the Enhanced Item Descriptions mod from the steam workshop, it shows what an item does right on the screen so you don't have to alt-tab to wikis

    1 vote

  15. Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games

    Chemslayer
    Link
    Still playing Binding of Isaac (Repentance+). Got dead god a while ago, now just playing blue baby runs (+delirium most times) with my favorite character Cain. I love this game so much, crossed...

    Still playing Binding of Isaac (Repentance+). Got dead god a while ago, now just playing blue baby runs (+delirium most times) with my favorite character Cain. I love this game so much, crossed 1000 hours in rebirth not too long ago (and idk how many on OG flash), might be my favorite game of all time.

    Also picked up some games in the sales, and have been playing the Crash N-Sane trilogy. Given it's a pretty simple game I've decided to try and 100% it, but some of the time trials are actually real difficult and require some precise pathing & timings. Overall fun and easy time-spender, and at $4 it was worth buying over emulating IMO. (Sidenote: weirdly kind of a battery hog on Steam Deck, although tbf I may be spoiled by Isaac which sips almost nothing)

    5 votes

  16. Comment on Humble Comics Bundle: Return of the Leading Ladies by Image Comics in ~comics

    Chemslayer
    Link
    Thank you for posting this! I already bought the first 7 of Saga, but even just the last 3 for $24 is a big savings, and a lot of the rest of these seem really interesting. Sidenote: why are...

    Thank you for posting this! I already bought the first 7 of Saga, but even just the last 3 for $24 is a big savings, and a lot of the rest of these seem really interesting.

    Sidenote: why are comics (and these) so unoptimized size-wise? I was able to compress the file size of every book in this bundle by 80% without a noticeable change in image quality. Being 5x bigger than they need to be seems bizarre for everyone involved, but maybe there's something I don't know

    5 votes

  17. Comment on What have you been watching / reading this week? (Anime/Manga) in ~anime

    Chemslayer
    Link
    Wrapped up the (currently available) manga for Dandadan, and glad to say it's very good! With one exception/warning about the very first chapter (which I talked about last week) the rest of the...

    Wrapped up the (currently available) manga for Dandadan, and glad to say it's very good! With one exception/warning about the very first chapter (which I talked about last week) the rest of the series has been very cool and fun and honestly cute! I do appreciate how it leans into slight horror themes on occasion too.

    Started SpyxFamily, only part-way through volume 1 so far but I've very much enjoyed the hijinks so far

    3 votes

  18. Comment on What have you been watching / reading this week? (Anime/Manga) in ~anime

    Chemslayer
    Link
    Started Dandadan manga, not really knowing much besides that it's been trending lately. There's a particular scene in the very first chapter that almost put me off of it (cmon, man, why a child?)....

    Started Dandadan manga, not really knowing much besides that it's been trending lately. There's a particular scene in the very first chapter that almost put me off of it (cmon, man, why a child?). I googled if the series stayed "horny" the entire time, and results seem to imply it was all front loaded and gets much more tame quickly.

    Already owning the first volume anyway, I decided I'd at least finish that and see how it is, and I'm glad I did. It's a very cute and funny comic, and while there is a good amount of immature jokes about sex/genitals (which are handled in a fine and funny way imo) there hasn't been any level of graphic-ness beyond that first chapter so far. I've only just finished volume 2 as a disclaimer, but so far I'd recommend the series, just with the one warning for the start

    8 votes

  19. Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games

    Chemslayer
    Link Parent
    I also didn't realize this, but you gotta play the game 3 times (New Game+ and ++) to get all the best story hits. And it's worth it!

    I also didn't realize this, but you gotta play the game 3 times (New Game+ and ++) to get all the best story hits. And it's worth it!

    5 votes

  20. Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games

    Chemslayer
    Link
    Finally picked up No Mans Sky. The most recent update added fishing, and I love fishing, so I figured it was a good time as any to get in. I stayed away from the game for a long time, as while I...

    Finally picked up No Mans Sky. The most recent update added fishing, and I love fishing, so I figured it was a good time as any to get in.

    I stayed away from the game for a long time, as while I love scifi and exploration, I hate "make your own fun" type games (like Minecraft). I need direction and something to do besides build a cool base.

    Well, turns out there's so much to do, maybe too much haha. I'm still on the initial story thread to find a missing guy, and there's also so many technologies to gather resources for, and so many other systems that I've barely even seen or scratched the surface of. 9 hours in and still enjoying my time.

    As far as fishing though.... I can't really figure out what it's for? I can catch some fish, but they don't seem to have a use besides selling. The fishing mini game (if you can even call it that) is crazy simple too, literally just press trigger at the right time, so that's a little disappointing, I would've preferred something closer to stardew valley. If anyone knows a way to make fishing more fulfilling please let me know!

    5 votes