Flashfall's recent activity
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Comment on Obsidian Entertainment reportedly lays off a quarter of staff, cancels multiple projects, and begins work on new Fallout game in ~games
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Comment on Obsidian Entertainment reportedly lays off a quarter of staff, cancels multiple projects, and begins work on new Fallout game in ~games
Flashfall Link ParentFar Harbor takes place in Bar Harbor in Maine, and the only place in the US further north than that would be Alaska. Unless you count Operation Anchorage (it's a simulation so not really), that's...Far Harbor takes place in Bar Harbor in Maine, and the only place in the US further north than that would be Alaska. Unless you count Operation Anchorage (it's a simulation so not really), that's the farthest north the games have gone.
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Comment on What have you been watching / reading this week? (Anime/Manga) in ~anime
Flashfall LinkFinished the last episode of Nippon Sangoku and damn what a way to finish the season, everything is just delivered with such gravitas. It really nails the romance part of Romance of the Three...Finished the last episode of Nippon Sangoku and damn what a way to finish the season, everything is just delivered with such gravitas. It really nails the romance part of Romance of the Three Kingdoms. There's some massive setups for the next arc in the story as well, so I'm hoping the sales do well and a second season gets greenlit because this was definitely my favorite watch of the season and that means a lot when you have Witch Hat Atelier as competition.
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Comment on What have you been watching / reading this week? (Anime/Manga) in ~anime
Flashfall Link ParentIt's not so bad if you view it more as a very expensive adoption for a very traumatized orphan.It's not so bad if you view it more as a very expensive adoption for a very traumatized orphan.
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Comment on Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2 is coming this fall in ~anime
Flashfall LinkI can't believe we're getting cyberpunk Sasuke before GTA 6. Jokes aside, this looks like it's going to be another wild and beautifully animated ride with a depressing ending. How are they...I can't believe we're getting cyberpunk Sasuke before GTA 6. Jokes aside, this looks like it's going to be another wild and beautifully animated ride with a depressing ending. How are they possibly going to top the emotional trauma of listening to I Really Want to Stay at Your House?
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Flashfall LinkPlayed the Breach of Trust DLC scenario for Frostpunk 2 and it was fun and a little challenging, albeit short. The premise of this scenario is that there are two colonies, the main colony built by...Played the Breach of Trust DLC scenario for Frostpunk 2 and it was fun and a little challenging, albeit short. The premise of this scenario is that there are two colonies, the main colony built by a volcano using geothermal energy for heat, and another built by a frozen lake with effectively unlimited food, which are dependent on each other, but the last captain of the main colony was a bit of a tyrant so the food colony revolted and seceded, and then the captain offed himself, which is how you assume the position of First Citizen. Your job is to get the colonies back together, whether that's by peace through trading, or by force through war, while also managing the threat of increasing unstable geothermal activity.
The closest comparison would be to the Fall of Winterhome scenario in Frostpunk 1 where you start off with a messy situation and need to figure out how to stabilize it, though I would say this one is easier than Winterhome once you learn what the proper "solutions" are. The trading and war mechanics are nice new additions but feel a little underutilized, as does the volcano, and the scenario's very front-loaded as you'll likely spend most of the run in the first chapter, while the second is pretty quick and the third has a short time limit. I managed to clear it on hard difficulty on the same day it came out, and then cleared it on very hard without any deaths the next day. Fun, but I hope any future scenarios they add last a bit longer.
Also tried out the new class in Warhammer 40,000: Darktide, the skitarii alpha primus (non-40k translation: they're techno-cultist cyborg soldiers). Some folks are relishing in the futuristic M1 Garand and ripping heads off with mechanical claws, I on the other hand have focused more on electrocuting everything I can in every way I can. Having a skill that's literally just aimbot is also nice since I can be lazier with my target acquisition and still quickly drop priority targets at a distance. Praise the Omnissiah.
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Comment on What have you been watching / reading this week? (Anime/Manga) in ~anime
Flashfall Link ParentWith how many people in this community seem to be well-versed in tech, you would think there would be a decent number of anime and manga fans among them, but there surprisingly aren't. That or...With how many people in this community seem to be well-versed in tech, you would think there would be a decent number of anime and manga fans among them, but there surprisingly aren't. That or they're all introverts that don't feel like putting in the effort of posting about it, which I can totally relate with because that's me on many other things.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Flashfall Link ParentXXI-PCT-Delirium (for some reason they won't let you start names with an actual number), in honor of the machine gun in Destiny 2 with the same name. I was also considering AAP07-BALTEUS and...What did you end up naming your character?
XXI-PCT-Delirium (for some reason they won't let you start names with an actual number), in honor of the machine gun in Destiny 2 with the same name. I was also considering AAP07-BALTEUS and G1-Michigan but I'm not sure how many people would get an Armored Core reference.
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Comment on What have you been watching / reading this week? (Anime/Manga) in ~anime
Flashfall LinkThere haven't been any comments here for a whole 8 hours, so I'm gonna use this opportunity to glaze Nippon Sangoku again. The writing in this show is just so damn good, it definitely feels more...There haven't been any comments here for a whole 8 hours, so I'm gonna use this opportunity to glaze Nippon Sangoku again. The writing in this show is just so damn good, it definitely feels more seinen than shonen but it's so refreshing to have intelligent characters that aren't joking or shouting all the time. Last episode is coming out next Sunday so if you haven't started it yet, wait til then and binge the whole season.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Flashfall LinkPlayed more Destiny 2 and ran some dungeons and raids with my old clan members, good times and much shit talking were had, as well as the abuse of a certain glitch that is letting players do...Played more Destiny 2 and ran some dungeons and raids with my old clan members, good times and much shit talking were had, as well as the abuse of a certain glitch that is letting players do enough damage to basically one-shot any boss. Classic Bungie stuff, now we just need Telesto to break the game for the last time.
I didn't play these last week but they're getting major updates tomorrow so they're worth shouting out:
Frostpunk 2's Breach of Trust expansion releases tomorrow and it's a standalone scenario ala Fall of Winterhome from the first game, but instead of a failing generator this colony is centered around a dormant volcano they were using for geothermal energy that has suddenly decided to be very not dormant. Will provide updates on the political hijinks and casual crimes against humanity I get up to next week.
Warhammer 40k: Darktide releases it's next class, Skitarii, tomorrow. The playerbase has been frothing at the mouth for this to happen for over a year already so they are understandably very excited, and the pre-release content they've shown us does look great so I am looking forward to expressing the full wrath of the Omnissiah on Tertium. The hard part will be coming up with a suitably fitting but funny name for my cogboy.
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Comment on How much of an echo chamber is Reddit/the internet, really? in ~tech
Flashfall Link ParentWell there's levels to this, you know? The huge and most-trafficked subs, especially r/all, are going to be massive landfills of bot posts, beaten to death memes, circlejerks, and very rarely...As far as I'm concerned reddit is an utter cesspool and I wouldn't trust anything I read there.
Well there's levels to this, you know? The huge and most-trafficked subs, especially r/all, are going to be massive landfills of bot posts, beaten to death memes, circlejerks, and very rarely something actually new and relevant. However, niche subs are still some of the best sources of up-to-date news and communities that are actually knowledgeable or passionate about a particular thing while still having better regulation than, say, a discord server. In that sense you can definitely put yourself in an echo chamber or three, but at least it's ones of your choosing and hopefully on less serious things like hobbies rather than politics.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Flashfall Link ParentThe dungeons are doable but very challenging for a solo player. Basically all of the dungeon bosses have mechanics where you need to complete a task to open up a temporary damage window and it...The dungeons are doable but very challenging for a solo player. Basically all of the dungeon bosses have mechanics where you need to complete a task to open up a temporary damage window and it takes notably longer solo since you can't divide the work and you're also drawing all of the aggro. They're the best structured content outside of raids though, and significantly less punishing if you make mistakes since there usually isn't a wipe mechanic outside of the whole team dying, so I'd say they're worth it.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Flashfall LinkSpent a bit of time on Destiny 2 to experience the final update and so far I'm not disliking what they've added, but as someone that hasn't played since Final Shape, I will say this - the UI is...Spent a bit of time on Destiny 2 to experience the final update and so far I'm not disliking what they've added, but as someone that hasn't played since Final Shape, I will say this - the UI is somehow even more convoluted than it was before and I've already had years to get used to it, so I can't imagine how incredibly lost a new player would be trying to find a specific menu or activity. Some positive things though:
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All activities are pretty rewarding now and the ability to customize them with modifiers to either make things easier or harder with an impact to the score multiplier is nice.
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The hugely increased vault space and ability to access vault from the inventory menu is nice. Still not as good as DIM, but a big improvement especially for console players.
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Sparrow Racing League's alright. It's brutally simple and lacks a lot of the things that most kart-racers would consider core features but as a barebones racing game mode it works.
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Being able to swap between different seasonal artifacts is huge for buildcrafting since some of those artifact mods are super strong.
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Weapon tiers as a replacement for crafted weapons with enhanced perks isn't bad. Armor tiers are confusing to learn though, including the tuning slot you only unlock at tier 5. Armor archetypes are alright, being able to target certain ones through a ghost mod is neat.
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Armor set bonuses are an improvement from seasonal armor effects and actually give you an excuse to use non-pinnacle armor pieces.
Overall, definitely more positives than negatives, though still not enough to keep me around for a long time. I picked up the two latest expansions on the deep discount they're offering and I'll play through those, the new dungeons, and the new raids at least once.
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Comment on Are there any games that had their development abandoned that you followed where you wish that continued/completed development? in ~games
Flashfall LinkI saw a trailer over a decade ago for Little Devil Inside, and was immediately charmed by the artstyle and animations, but it seemed to have disappeared off the face of the earth for a while after...I saw a trailer over a decade ago for Little Devil Inside, and was immediately charmed by the artstyle and animations, but it seemed to have disappeared off the face of the earth for a while after that. Since then there's been like one or two more trailers a few years in between but the game is definitely in development hell and I'm surprised it hasn't been cancelled already.
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Comment on What are your gaming idiosyncracies? in ~games
Flashfall LinkI'll choose the "hard" difficulty for my first playthrough (this varies a lot between games, some Japanese games literally won't let you choose hard difficulty until you've cleared normal because...I'll choose the "hard" difficulty for my first playthrough (this varies a lot between games, some Japanese games literally won't let you choose hard difficulty until you've cleared normal because it's actually A LOT harder), but then I'll be aggressively chasing down upgrades to make things easier. I'll also try to 100% on my first playthrough within reason and I might not even do a second playthrough, depending on how long and/or tedious playing through the game again would be. My personal justification is that I'm trying to get the most out of my initial experience while also having a bit of challenge, but part of me says that I'm just trying to prove I'm not a casual playing on easy or normal.
Also, I never, EVER use numbers or special characters in my name for a multiplayer game unless it fits the character. Trying to come up with an actual unique name in an MMO is a core part of the experience.
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Comment on Tildes Survey #8: What is your favorite video game? (Results) in ~talk
Flashfall Link ParentOh I am aware, I went and watched the remade version of the cutscene that got me to tear up. It was good to see it in HD but they changed the voice actors for Zack and Cloud, and the original ones...Oh I am aware, I went and watched the remade version of the cutscene that got me to tear up. It was good to see it in HD but they changed the voice actors for Zack and Cloud, and the original ones just cut deeper for me.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Flashfall LinkMy third and probably last update on Vintage Story for the near future since I've hit all of my goals and then some, and I've more or less reached the top of the current tech tree so I'm running...My third and probably last update on Vintage Story for the near future since I've hit all of my goals and then some, and I've more or less reached the top of the current tech tree so I'm running out of milestones. Last week's achievements:
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Didn't find a limestone biome but I scraped up enough lime to make plenty of mortar anyway
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Built a tier 1 cementation furnace and made just one batch of steel (it takes an absurd amount of coal)
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Maxed out my inventory capacity with sturdy leather backpacks, which was only possible after making steel pounder caps for my pulverizer to crush chromite into powder to make chromium sulfate
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Built a number of ceramic and langstroth hives from the "From Golden Combs" mod that expands on beekeeping, so I've got a very steady supply of honey and beeswax
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Planted a bunch of berry bushes and fruit trees, but it's going to take half an in-game year before they mature enough to produce fruit
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Made a full set of iron chainmail, and also bought a full set of broken blackguard armor from the treasure hunter trader and repaired it to pristine condition
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Built a three-speed gearbox for my windmill powertrain so I can adjust speed and torque depending on how much wind is blowing at the moment
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Built two more windmills because running any machines on third gear takes an enormous amount of torque and one windmill was just not nearly enough
I'll likely take a break once I get the sails built out on those additional windmills, and just in time for Destiny 2's final major update. My clan is planning on getting back on for a bit and enjoying all the stuff they're adding as a sort of last farewell to the game.
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Comment on Tildes Survey #8: What is your favorite video game? (Results) in ~talk
Flashfall LinkThis is basically an impossible question to answer because I've played a ton of games over the years and a lot of them have had different kinds of impact on me, but it's hard to pick one as a...This is basically an impossible question to answer because I've played a ton of games over the years and a lot of them have had different kinds of impact on me, but it's hard to pick one as a favorite or best.
Maplestory (2005) would be the easiest answer I guess, since it was a big part of my childhood and I still listen to the soundtrack while working even now.
Minecraft (2010) was a really fun and unique experience, especially back in the alpha days, and then playing with friends on a server with a ton of mods.
TERA (2011) was another MMORPG I sunk years into and did a lot of dungeoning and chilling with the small guild I joined there. Might be the closest I've been with an online guild.
Black Desert Online (2016) I only put 2 years into shortly after it released, but it was by far the most immersive experience I've ever had in an MMORPG. Met some fun people in that one too, we still chat and share things on discord.
Payday 2 (2013) still might be the most fun co-op shooter I've played with friends, not for just gameplay but how much we were clowning around in it.
Planetside 2 (2012) was a truly unique multiplayer experience and I loved being a small participant in actually large scale battles. I also joined a gaming community through this game back in 2019 and I'm probably one of the most active people in it now, at least if you're going off of discord posts. Shoutout to Voodoo Shipping Company, best NC outfit on the east coast bar none.
Monster Hunter: World (2018) was my first Monster Hunter game and it just blew me away. The graphics, the open world, the weight of the weapons, the music, the melodrama, the monsters? An absolutely perfect package (plus awful performance and a bunch of bugs on release but not enough to ruin the experience). Had a lot of fun going on hunts both solo and with friends, they weren't as into Wilds unfortunately.
Some notable PSP titles since that was definitely my favorite handheld, incredible little machine.
Ace Combat X (2006) was my introduction to the Ace Combat series and I still remember the music and missions pretty clearly, listening to some of the mission tracks sends a shiver down my spine even now.
Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker (2010) wasn't my first MGS game (that goes to Portable Ops, also on the PSP but a bit of a mess), but it was definitely the one that got me into MGS and Kojima's games in general.
Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core (2008) was my first Final Fantasy game though not my first exposure to FF7, which would be the Advent Children movie. That said though, playing this game first made me like Zack more than Cloud, even after I've played through the two recent FF7 remake games. This might also be one of the only times a game moved me enough to make me tear up, damn that cutscene was powerful.
Honorable mentions: Battletech (2018), Frostpunk (2018), Advance Wars: Dual Strike (2005), Rainbow Six: Vegas 2 (2007), Hunt: Showdown (2018), Recettear: An Item Shop's Tale (2007), STALKER: Shadow of Chernobyl (2007), and many other games that I no longer recall and can't just check my steam library to remember.
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Comment on Games journalist Jason Schreier has started a YouTube channel in ~games
Flashfall Link ParentIf it's any consolation, SkillUp actually managed to create a gaming news website based off one of the video series he had going called This Week In Videogames that's got articles written by all...If it's any consolation, SkillUp actually managed to create a gaming news website based off one of the video series he had going called This Week In Videogames that's got articles written by all the members on his team and it's actually doing quite well.
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Comment on What do you think about Destiny 2’s imminent death and games as a service? in ~games
Flashfall LinkI only started playing Destiny 2 when Shadowkeep released, and then I put some 2000+ hours into it until Final Shape, which just seemed like the best time to stop. I had no former experience with...I only started playing Destiny 2 when Shadowkeep released, and then I put some 2000+ hours into it until Final Shape, which just seemed like the best time to stop. I had no former experience with Bungie games, not Halo, not even Destiny 1, so there's zero nostalgia involved in this, it's specifically about Destiny 2 and honestly, Bungie did pretty good for the most part.
Very, VERY few other companies can boast that they created a live service PVE game that wasn't an RPG and kept it going and highly populated with regular non-trivial content updates for over a decade straight. Maybe that was because their core gameplay wasn't as good, and Destiny 2's core gameplay is EXCEPTIONALLY good. Maybe they just didn't have the cash to burn, and Bungie has some magical means of tricking publishers into giving them lots of cash to burn despite their track record of, well, burning lots of cash. Maybe they didn't have industry veterans that sacrificed their entire lives' stores of passion to create a truly unique experience and were ultimately discarded once the company was mismanaged to the point of insolvency.
Ultimately I think Destiny 2 as a game will be remembered fondly, and most of the retrospective scorn will be directed towards piss poor management and an incredibly unsustainable content cycle (seriously 4 seasons plus an expansion every year is mind boggling amounts of work) and some very strange and perpetually idiotic design choices like vaulting story and PAID content. Destiny 2 may die, and Bungie may very well die with it (let's be real Marathon is not going to save them), but the memories remain. Watching raid races or trying to learn raids and dungeons blind, getting god rolls or exotic loot drops, posing with your friends with the absurd amounts of emotes for screenshots, getting destroyed in crucible, getting destroyed in iron banner, getting destroyed in trials of osiris, getting destroyed in gambit (I'm not big on the pvp lol), clearing a strike on grandmaster difficulty for the first time, and getting a proper and glorious finale to the Light and Darkness saga.
It was fun.
Honestly I think I would prefer a CRPG at this point. As much as I enjoy the free-roaming design of all the games built on the creation engine, the actual gameplay has always felt a bit stiff, especially when it comes to interacting with NPCs.