Flashfall's recent activity
-
Comment on What's your go-to hot sauce? in ~food
-
Comment on What's an RPG? (video game) in ~games
Flashfall LinkWhen it comes to video game RPGs, aside from what everyone has already said about it being very much a "you know it when you see it" kind of thing, there are a general few guidelines that a video...When it comes to video game RPGs, aside from what everyone has already said about it being very much a "you know it when you see it" kind of thing, there are a general few guidelines that a video game RPG adheres to:
-
A notable emphasis on the narrative/story and how your character influences/is influenced by the events that unfold. Your character/party should be having a real impact on what's happening story-wise, and should also be going through emotional or growth arcs throughout. Even in games where you can create your own character, they should still feel like they have a real place and emotional stake in the setting.
-
A leveling system with skill choices that allow you some freedom in how you want your character(s) to engage in combat and/or non-combat skill checks, such as dialogue or bypassing obstacles that require a specific skillset. Many other game genres have co-opted skill trees from RPGs but usually purely for combat and not for interaction with the world at large.
-
Story-gated progression that limits you from skipping important events or going straight to areas you're not meant to be in yet that are likely beyond you or your party's current level. This ensures that you actually experience the full story, or at least enough of it for it to make sense. Open world RPGs like the Bethesda Fallouts and the Switch Legend of Zelda games do ignore this to a degree and sometimes reward players that are up to the challenge, but more often than not you're blocked off and bypassing these gates through not intended means like glitching out of bounds doesn't count.
Or if we're going by a real simple vibes explanation of it, everybody plays generally the same story, maybe with a couple different branching points and endings, but they get to customize their character(s) on how they get through said story.
-
-
Comment on Helldivers 2 – Into the Unjust | Launch trailer in ~games
Flashfall LinkJust a heads up for any prospective or returning helldivers, the game is very buggy right now, and I don't mean just the Terminids. Big new update means big new errors, so if you can't wait to...Just a heads up for any prospective or returning helldivers, the game is very buggy right now, and I don't mean just the Terminids. Big new update means big new errors, so if you can't wait to jump in then expect some crashes, performance issues, and even more in-game physics wackiness than usual. Otherwise, I'll see you in the caves to kill some bugs! Rock and Sto - I mean, for Super Earth!
-
Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Flashfall Link ParentRegular warbonds are 1000 super credits, or 10 USD. This one is the first legendary warbond though, so it's 1500 super credits. There's nothing particularly unique in the ODST warbond weapons-wise...Regular warbonds are 1000 super credits, or 10 USD. This one is the first legendary warbond though, so it's 1500 super credits. There's nothing particularly unique in the ODST warbond weapons-wise though the weapons are pretty solid, so most of the value is definitely more on the nostalgia and fashion side. That said, the drip is immaculate.
Honestly though, I would wait a little bit before buying the game if that's your intention. It's quite unstable after this latest major update and you'll likely have a much better experience once they push out some hotfixes for the most egregious issues, especially the crashing.
-
Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Flashfall LinkHelldivers 2 released for Xbox last week along with the ODST crossover warbond, and we have finally ended the console wars. Very wholesome vibes all around with PC and PS5 veterans welcoming the...Helldivers 2 released for Xbox last week along with the ODST crossover warbond, and we have finally ended the console wars. Very wholesome vibes all around with PC and PS5 veterans welcoming the new divers with open arms, and it's great to see them discover things for the first time. They've also reinvigorated the community, just in time for the next major update happening tomorrow, Into the Unjust, where there will definitely be way too much "Rock and Stone" being spammed in game chat as we take the fight against the Terminid menace underground. For Super Earth!
-
Comment on What's your current PC wallpaper? in ~tech
Flashfall Link ParentComplete shot in the dark, but is it the Talos Principle?Complete shot in the dark, but is it the Talos Principle?
-
Comment on What's your current PC wallpaper? in ~tech
Flashfall LinkI've been listening to Touhou Project music on Youtube for well over a decade and when I see a picture in a video that I particularly like, I find it online and use it as my wallpaper until I find...I've been listening to Touhou Project music on Youtube for well over a decade and when I see a picture in a video that I particularly like, I find it online and use it as my wallpaper until I find another that I like enough to replace it with. I'm running dual monitors so I use one picture for each. These are my previous and current wallpapers, I used the last one for a couple years and only recently switched to the new ones a few months ago.
-
Comment on What's your current PC wallpaper? in ~tech
Flashfall Link ParentThe rare Land of the Lustrous mention that only appears once every 10,000 yearsThe rare Land of the Lustrous mention that only appears once every 10,000 years
-
Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Flashfall Link ParentIt's definitely really solid as an FPS but personally I was a bit disappointed they didn't show off a map in the beta that really gave that sense of awe from the scale or destruction. BF3's beta...It's definitely really solid as an FPS but personally I was a bit disappointed they didn't show off a map in the beta that really gave that sense of awe from the scale or destruction. BF3's beta had Caspian Border and collapsing the radio tower; BF4's beta had Siege of Shanghai and leveling the skyscraper (though that did make the map worse for the rest of the game from the reduced framerate, haha); BFV beta didn't have a huge map with a massive destructible feature but it did have the V1/JB2 rockets and watching those things land never got old. Fun, really well made pvp shooter, yes, but not exactly what I wanted from a Battlefield game. I'm going to see how launch plays out and wait for a sale.
-
Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Flashfall LinkWent on a hunt for some co-op survival crafting games to play with my brother and we tried these two: Generation Zero is an open-world sci-fi FPS made by a subdivision of Avalanche Studios, the...Went on a hunt for some co-op survival crafting games to play with my brother and we tried these two:
Generation Zero is an open-world sci-fi FPS made by a subdivision of Avalanche Studios, the folks that made the Just Cause series, and unfortunately this game did not come anywhere close to the levels of excitement that Just Cause did for me. It just feels overwhelmingly amateur in so many aspects - the shooting is serviceable but not particularly fun, the mech enemies have interesting enough design but are extremely limited in variety, the story and voice acting are barebones at best, the weight and storage system is very cumbersome and limiting, the map locations aren't particularly interesting and also become repetitive, the base building and base assault/defense mechanics feel like an afterthought, the skill tree's very underwhelming, etc, etc. At least we got it at a very steep discount.
Enshrouded was the next thing we picked up after we gave up on Gen Zero, at full price no less but oh boy has it been worth every dollar so far. This one's an open-world third person fantasy RPG where exploration is only really limited by patience, pickaxe durability, and the "enshrouded" zones, which you can only stay so long in before you die. The game has a voxel terrain system so you can dig your way through most things, with structures being a major exception (can't just tunnel through the walls in a house). See a cliff that you can't really climb? Just dig a path up the side of it. The terrain outside your base building area does reset after a while though, so it's not permanent but that also means the resources respawn.
It's also just very forgiving and flexible in general, where there isn't a weight system at all but just inventory slot limitations, you can't die of starvation or dehyrdration though you can get hungry, you drop loot when you die but it either doesn't expire or lasts a very long time and there's no real penalties otherwise, items have durability but don't disappear when they break, just become unusable until they're repaired, which is free. The skill tree is more like a skill web but not nearly as daunting as something like Path of Exile's, and some skills can be very transformative for overall gameplay. Respeccing skills is also dirt cheap so it encourages experimentation. The story's nothing amazing and mostly delivered through reading quest dialogues or various books and notes in points of interest (in other words very quickly skimmed over), but it's all decent enough quality. We're only about 20 hours in, we've rescued 5 survivors and wandered into zones with enemies many levels above us that kick our asses, and we're having a great time so far.
-
Comment on EloShapes, a site for comparing computer mice and other gaming gear in ~tech
Flashfall LinkI was initially going to put this in a reply to a comment in this <$10 mouse post but figured it would get more visibility and thus help more people out if I just made a fresh post. I found this...I was initially going to put this in a reply to a comment in this <$10 mouse post but figured it would get more visibility and thus help more people out if I just made a fresh post. I found this site a while back while looking for a mouse with a similar profile to a Logitech G9x, and while I ultimately ended up deciding on a new mouse through other means (they have no MadCatz mice for some reason), I figure it should be a good resource for anyone looking for a more conventional shape or brand. Since I last visited it, they've also added sensors, switches, and encoders, and are adding mousepads soon too.
-
EloShapes, a site for comparing computer mice and other gaming gear
14 votes -
Comment on My favorite mouse costs less than USD 10 in ~tech
Flashfall Link ParentI feel you with that last sentence. My go to mouse for the better part of a decade was a G9X, and once that started falling apart they didn't make them anymore. Fortunately for me, MadCatz of all...I feel you with that last sentence. My go to mouse for the better part of a decade was a G9X, and once that started falling apart they didn't make them anymore. Fortunately for me, MadCatz of all companies had a line of mice, the RAT series, with a similar profile and button layout, so that's what I'm using now. They've already gone bankrupt once since I started using their products though, and I'm probably SOL for a similar mouse if they do go under completely.
I get the appeal of simple mice, especially for casual users or work, but my current RAT 6+ has a little scroll knob close to my thumb and I've tied it to volume control and I can no longer go without it.
-
Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Flashfall Link ParentGood news, they've announced we'll be getting one new map (and some other new things) in the next weekend, and chances are it's going to be a proper full-scale map. Might be damn near impossible...Good news, they've announced we'll be getting one new map (and some other new things) in the next weekend, and chances are it's going to be a proper full-scale map. Might be damn near impossible to stay in the air as a helo though, if they're annoying enough every engineer is going to be carrying a stinger as their secondary.
-
Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Flashfall LinkI spent about 12 hours in the Battlefield 6 Open Beta this weekend and I gotta say, it looks like DICE is finally back on track. The graphics are as good as ever with surprisingly smooth...I spent about 12 hours in the Battlefield 6 Open Beta this weekend and I gotta say, it looks like DICE is finally back on track. The graphics are as good as ever with surprisingly smooth performance, the destruction's back and as gloriously over the top as ever, the gunplay is solid, the sound design is phenomenal as always, the movement is fluid but not too twitchy, the new drag and revive feature is actually incredibly fun and a great addition, and the existence of a class-weapons-locked conquest playlist gives me hope that we'll have those options for other gamemodes in the full release too. It's not perfect of course, with the biggest issues being auto-spotting where so much as looking near an enemy even if you didn't actually see them will spot them, thus making people just way too easy to find and shoot, and some of the current maps just being awfully balanced in different gamemodes, especially Liberation Peak. The UI is also kind of mediocre and not very intuitive compared to the older titles. Still though, the foundations are very strong, so barring EA doing something catastrophically stupid for their PR, this game is going to sell like hotcakes. But remember, DO NOT PREORDER.
-
Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Flashfall Link ParentMagic-focused builds have surprisingly huge variety in ER, especially compared to melee builds that focus just on powerstancing status weapons and going full unga bunga. I did my second...Magic-focused builds have surprisingly huge variety in ER, especially compared to melee builds that focus just on powerstancing status weapons and going full unga bunga. I did my second playthrough when the expansion came out as a sorcerer, and by the end I was using half the damn spellbook, from swinging giant magic swords to shooting a giant magic greatbow to throwing giant rocks (with magic). Remember that some staves have an innate power boost to certain spells, even when wielded off-hand. If you're not using a shield, it's basically free damage. Also, don't sleep on Carian Slicer. It might have almost no range and doesn't do poise damage at all, but the low fp cost and rapid cast speed makes the potential DPS kind of nuts.
-
Comment on Sony has seen enough: Three years after acquiring Bungie, Sony says the days of independence are 'getting lighter' and its future 'is to become part of PlayStation Studios' in ~games
Flashfall Link ParentThere isn't much brand left to preserve. Bungie made sure of that themselves by firing almost everybody from the original Bungie team, as well as most of the Destiny development team. The Halo...There isn't much brand left to preserve. Bungie made sure of that themselves by firing almost everybody from the original Bungie team, as well as most of the Destiny development team. The Halo fans haven't been with them for ages, the Destiny fans have mostly moved on since The Final Shape, the Marathon fans (all 3 of them) hate them now, and anyone left either has nothing else they want to play or are huffing a lifetime's supply of copium hoping Bungie makes a huge turnaround somehow. No matter which AAA publisher acquires them, whether it's Microsoft, Activision, or Sony, Bungie will continue to terribly mismanage itself until they no longer want anything to do with them.
-
Comment on Made in Abyss anime to be continued in new series of movies in ~anime
Flashfall Link ParentFound a polygon article covering this: https://www.polygon.com/made-in-abyss-anime-movie-2026-release/ If this is accurate then the upcoming movie will have Tepaste and Cravali, so that's...Found a polygon article covering this: https://www.polygon.com/made-in-abyss-anime-movie-2026-release/
If this is accurate then the upcoming movie will have Tepaste and Cravali, so that's progressing the story rather than just recapping the last season. Maybe Tsukushi's secretly got a bunch of stuff already storyboarded for the movies and it'll come out a bit faster over the next few years?
-
Comment on Made in Abyss anime to be continued in new series of movies in ~anime
Flashfall Link ParentFaster than Hunter x Hunter for sure, I don't think Tsukushi has health issues like Togashi does so it's not that causing the slow release pace. As for current Berserk, it's similar to that, but...Faster than Hunter x Hunter for sure, I don't think Tsukushi has health issues like Togashi does so it's not that causing the slow release pace. As for current Berserk, it's similar to that, but the Berserk team has also delayed the release dates on some of their chapters so that's inconsistent. I don't think Mars Chronicle followed any kind of release schedule at all, but it's completed at least.
-
Comment on Made in Abyss anime to be continued in new series of movies in ~anime
Flashfall LinkIs there going to be enough progress made in the manga for them to be able to produce a series of movies though? We're lucky if there's more than 2 chapters released in a year now and barely...Is there going to be enough progress made in the manga for them to be able to produce a series of movies though? We're lucky if there's more than 2 chapters released in a year now and barely enough's happened between the end of the second season and the latest chapter to make one movie, never mind a series.
It's not a vinegar-forward sauce, but Los Calientes Verde strikes the right balance for me of just a little spicy while being also bright and a bit tangy. It's just really tasty even by itself, and it'll compliment most proteins well.
You mentioned that Tabasco is kind of mid and I'd agree with you for the original flavor, but the chipotle-sauce can add a nice touch of smokiness to things. Still watery though.