Flashfall's recent activity
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Comment on The ethics of buying, playing military, war or games inspired by them? in ~games
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Comment on Yakult ladies are an icon in Japan in ~life.women
Flashfall Link ParentThis immediately set off a whole bunch of middle-marketing red flags for me. I guess if it's just older retired ladies getting some extra scratch while they travel around their neighborhood it's...Yakult ladies aren’t classified as full-time employees, but kojin jigyo usha (roughly “sole proprietors”), essentially making them owners of bicycle-sized franchises. They purchase product from Yakult and make a profit based on what they can sell. Yakult says the average earnings of a Yakult lady are roughly $682 USD a month, compared to an average of $1,774 per month for Japanese women broadly. In Yahoo Answers forums, Yakult ladies claim wildly different profits: Some say they work only three hours a day and make more than the company average. Others claim to work far more, selling roughly $2,700 worth of product in a month to take home about $600, roughly a 22 percent cut.
This immediately set off a whole bunch of middle-marketing red flags for me. I guess if it's just older retired ladies getting some extra scratch while they travel around their neighborhood it's not so bad, but the American skeptic in me says that probably isn't the case.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Flashfall LinkI tried the demo for Windrose in Steam's NextFest and I haven't made much progress yet but it already feels like a better thought out pirate adventuring game than Skull and Bones. You've got the...I tried the demo for Windrose in Steam's NextFest and I haven't made much progress yet but it already feels like a better thought out pirate adventuring game than Skull and Bones. You've got the usual trappings of a survival crafting game with resource gathering, base building, etc., and then there's also your ship which you can improve as well, and conveniently summon to the nearest shoreline at the press of a button. I haven't had any naval combat yet, but on-foot combat is rather awkward and seems to be heavily intended for a co-op experience, as dealing with multiple enemies at a time when solo just turns into an exercise of poking the closest enemy and running away lest you get jumped. I very much intend to play this with a friend when it does come out though, and it's still a pretty solid package overall in spite of that, so I'm looking forward to release.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Flashfall Link ParentYeah the weakest part of The Alters is definitely the gameplay since it's more of a discovery puzzle rather than a dynamic challenge, so once you've seen it once and figured it out that's it. As...Yeah the weakest part of The Alters is definitely the gameplay since it's more of a discovery puzzle rather than a dynamic challenge, so once you've seen it once and figured it out that's it. As for the characters, some of them are a little over the top caricatures and the crisis event does feel forced, but I enjoyed the little back stories each of them had.
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Comment on The tiny details in Red Dead Redemption 2 you weren't meant to notice in ~games
Flashfall Link ParentThe shooting in Max Payne 3 is pretty solid, but it is largely due to using bullet time as much as possible, which is encouraged due to how incredibly cinema it is.The shooting in Max Payne 3 is pretty solid, but it is largely due to using bullet time as much as possible, which is encouraged due to how incredibly cinema it is.
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Comment on What have you been watching / reading this week? (Anime/Manga) in ~anime
Flashfall Link ParentI haven't read or seen any version of the original folk tale but I don't think any prior knowledge is needed to get the full context. The folk tale is mentioned and briefly summarized in the movie...I haven't read or seen any version of the original folk tale but I don't think any prior knowledge is needed to get the full context. The folk tale is mentioned and briefly summarized in the movie dialogue itself so you won't be left wondering what it is if you have no idea at all.
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Comment on What have you been watching / reading this week? (Anime/Manga) in ~anime
Flashfall LinkSaw the Cosmic Princess Kaguya movie and I'm not a big Vocaloid fan but it was a pretty good time. Great animation, simple story, fun characters, and modern covers of a bunch of fan-favorite songs...Saw the Cosmic Princess Kaguya movie and I'm not a big Vocaloid fan but it was a pretty good time. Great animation, simple story, fun characters, and modern covers of a bunch of fan-favorite songs as well as some solid originals. If you're into Vocaloid then it's a must-watch just for Saori Hayami's cover of World is Mine alone, if you're not then it's just a fun movie.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Flashfall LinkPut some more hours into Starrupture and I have a nice and very compact omni-factory that can make every item currently available, the only issue being it's basically impossible to scale up any...Put some more hours into Starrupture and I have a nice and very compact omni-factory that can make every item currently available, the only issue being it's basically impossible to scale up any individual item's production because of how densely packed it is, so I'll probably end up making a whole new, much more spread out factory later on. I think I've otherwise exhausted all the content currently available, which is pretty good considering I put a couple dozen hours into it. Looking forward to more updates.
Also tried No Rest For the Wicked since they had a free weekend and sale to celebrate the launch of their co-op mode, been playing that with a friend and it's been a pretty good time so far. This one's a third person soulslike (yes I know that term's overused but this game really does lean into the difficulty) from the studio that made the Ori series. There's a good weight to attacking and moving, stamina usage is hefty and enemies are punishing. Haven't run into too many bugs yet, mainly loading issue things. The game also recommends you play with a controller, and after trying KBM and controller out I can confirm that controller is indeed a much better experience.
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Comment on Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s speech to World Economic Forum in ~society
Flashfall Link ParentI know basically nothing about Mark Carney and this might just be an overreaction due to the grade-school quality of dialogue being provided by our current head of state, but damn if that isn't...I know basically nothing about Mark Carney and this might just be an overreaction due to the grade-school quality of dialogue being provided by our current head of state, but damn if that isn't some poetic writing that nails the point. Whoever's writing this guy's speeches deserves a raise.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Flashfall Link ParentIf you already cleared Sinner's Road then you clearly didn't remember the most important rule in a Team Cherry game - hit every single wall, ceiling, and floor that even looks remotely suspicious....If you already cleared Sinner's Road then you clearly didn't remember the most important rule in a Team Cherry game - hit every single wall, ceiling, and floor that even looks remotely suspicious. I recommend you give it a revisit, since that pathway into the Citadel also comes with one of the best fights in the game.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Flashfall Link ParentThat's not too surprising, Bilewater's pretty out of the way and just getting to it in Act 1 requires going through another rather painful zone that I'm sure is meant to act as a deterrent for...That's not too surprising, Bilewater's pretty out of the way and just getting to it in Act 1 requires going through another rather painful zone that I'm sure is meant to act as a deterrent for most players anyway.
Also minor spoilers of sorts, I found the final boss of Act 2 to be similar to the Radiance in many ways but definitely easier, especially once you get the hang of all the new mobility options Hornet has. You'll see what I mean once you unlock Clawline.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Flashfall Link ParentIf you're looking for another RPG specifically, I can strongly recommend the FF7 remakes. There's an option to choose between real-time and more turn-based (classic) combat so the pacing doesn't...If you're looking for another RPG specifically, I can strongly recommend the FF7 remakes. There's an option to choose between real-time and more turn-based (classic) combat so the pacing doesn't have to be overly intense if you don't want it to be. The maps, characters, music, side quests, minigames (my god there's so many minigames), and story are also all excellent. I personally found Remake to be a bit too linear for my preferences but Rebirth is a lot more open and flexible, so if you want to start from Rebirth that's totally fine, the game provides a recap of past events to catch you up.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Flashfall Link ParentThis is probably just the nostalgia blinders talking but reflecting on Bilewater several months after beating the game, I think it's kind of brilliant thematically and also difficulty-wise at the...This is probably just the nostalgia blinders talking but reflecting on Bilewater several months after beating the game, I think it's kind of brilliant thematically and also difficulty-wise at the point you discover it (unless you decide you want to explore every inch of map available before fighting Last Judge and end up wandering there by accident while still in Act 1). Bilewater serves as a sort of optional final challenge of Act 2, being a notable increase in combat and platforming difficulty that's reflective lore-wise of how awfully the place was treated and how much the locals want to kill everybody else as a result.
It's also a decent warmup for the absolute CBT that is Act 3, so enjoy those moments of bliss while they last haha. I'm serious though, do as much as you can on the map before Act 3, Team Cherry really makes people earn their true endings and this is no exception.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Flashfall LinkBought the early access of Starrupture which launched last Wednesday and it's probably my first proper factory-style game (not including Minecraft tech modpacks, though I've made some mighty...Bought the early access of Starrupture which launched last Wednesday and it's probably my first proper factory-style game (not including Minecraft tech modpacks, though I've made some mighty conveyor systems there). So as someone with no experience with Satisfactory, Factorio, etc, I'm having a pretty good time exploring and redesigning my production line to be more efficient while trying to keep it as neat as reasonable.
The most unique feature of the game is the regular ruptures that occur, which is when the star in this system briefly scorches the entire surface of the planet you're on, killing any living creatures not in the safety of a habitat and overheating all the machinery outside the range of a functional cooling tower. There are certain resources available only shortly after a rupture occurs, and vegetation and water quickly regenerates after 10 minutes or so, along with the resources that appear during the planet's lush stage. It's an interesting feature so far, giving a very clear indicator of when resources respawn and adding some tension to exploration while encouraging the construction of little safe houses across the map to ensure you're not totally without nearby shelter. However, it does get annoying when I'm in the middle of just working on my megafactory since it interrupts me for several minutes, usually when I'm in the middle of building or planning.
There's also combat in the game, with the enemy being some crawly aliens of a few different varieties, and currently there's a pistol, AR, shotgun, and machine gun available as self-defense options. The gunplay's fine and doesn't feel jank, the enemies go down pretty easily and usually rely on sheer number to present a threat. It makes exploration a bit more interesting and sometimes a few waves of them will attack your base after you've upgraded your base core once so you need to take a bit of time to set up some basic defenses there too.
Currently the game has a decent level of polish but it is a fresh early access title, so naturally there's some bugs that need fixing and not a huge amount of content in terms of story progression, but the factory building alone should last you a few dozen hours if building bigger, better factories is what you're into. Lots of potential here.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Flashfall Link ParentThe story for Space Marine 2 is largely fan service for fans of the first game. Titus is still an incorruptible badass that's just terrible at communication, Gadriel is a subversion of Leandros,...The story for Space Marine 2 is largely fan service for fans of the first game. Titus is still an incorruptible badass that's just terrible at communication, Gadriel is a subversion of Leandros, Leandros is still, well, Leandros, and we get to see an animated Marneus Calgar being an absolute unit, not to mention that one dreadnought that really hates Magnus. It's good B-movie popcorn action that serves its purpose of making Titus relevant again and little else.
As for the whole parrying and blocking, it's VERY weapon dependent, especially in Operations when you can choose your loadout and unlock higher quality weapons. It's awkward to do in the campaign but if you pick the right weapons and/or class you can parry like crazy and massacre everything around you in melee while taking little to no damage.
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Comment on What have you been watching / reading this week? (Anime/Manga) in ~anime
Flashfall Link ParentHave you read the latest work by the author of Red Hood? It's called Otr of the Flame, currently serialized in weekly jump. Feels like it's got more lore and runtime than Red Hood while keeping...Have you read the latest work by the author of Red Hood? It's called Otr of the Flame, currently serialized in weekly jump. Feels like it's got more lore and runtime than Red Hood while keeping the author's narrative style, though it's still far from a long-running series.
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Comment on What video games would you say have the best stories? Feel free to suggest more than one. in ~games
Flashfall LinkRed Dead Redemption 2, especially if you get the high honor ending. Arthur Morgan might be one of the most well written characters in gaming, though the rest of the van der Linde gang aren't...- Exemplary
Red Dead Redemption 2, especially if you get the high honor ending. Arthur Morgan might be one of the most well written characters in gaming, though the rest of the van der Linde gang aren't lazily written at all by any measure. It's a real emotional journey to follow a man who struggles to hold his dysfunctional found family together while knowing there's no longer a place where they belong in the current age.
All of the mainline Yakuza/Like a Dragon games are also great. Kiryu's a legendary character at this point but Ichiban, the protagonist of the 2 most recent titles, is also fantastic. The plots can be somewhat contrived at times and there's goofy things going on especially in the side stories, but they all tell a solid and emotional story in one way or another.
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Comment on Anime: Your personal year in review for 2025 in ~anime
Flashfall LinkMedalist - It's cute, it's wholesome, it's very inspiring, and it's getting another season this winter. Also kind of a surprise, had never heard of it nor read the manga before, but this is some...Medalist - It's cute, it's wholesome, it's very inspiring, and it's getting another season this winter. Also kind of a surprise, had never heard of it nor read the manga before, but this is some gourmet stuff.
Call of the Night Season 2 - Better than I expected, it starts off kinda slow but redeems itself in the last few episodes when everything finally comes together. Would still say the absolute banger of an opening is doing half the work though, Creepy Nuts are legends.
To Be Hero X - I don't really follow donghua but this one was highly recommended to me. The story itself is alright but the animation's really good. Like, mixing multiple styles even within the same episode, good looking 3D CG characters and movement, and it's all clean as hell. A fun and easy watch.
City the Animation - I love Kyoani. I love Keiichi Arawi's humor and art style. I love Nichijou. This show is so much fun. They really go all out with the creativity in it too, you can FEEL the love.
Dan Da Dan Season 2 - It's great how wacky this show can get while somehow still telling a cute and unforced high school romance. You can tell the director and animators were going all out on this one too. It's wild it aired at the same time as City, man that was a reaaally good season.
Lazarus - Worth mentioning just because of Shinichiro Watanabe. Is it anything close to Cowboy Bebop in terms of storytelling, character development, or vibes? No. Is it still a good show? Yes, just not super memorable.
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Comment on Anime: Your personal year in review for 2025 in ~anime
Flashfall Link ParentSomebody else knows this show exists?? It's been a while since I saw this one, but Kakushigoto was kind of charming and sad at times. Note that it's a comedy first so it'll have a lot of gags, but...Somali to Mori no Kami-sama
Somebody else knows this show exists??
It's been a while since I saw this one, but Kakushigoto was kind of charming and sad at times. Note that it's a comedy first so it'll have a lot of gags, but it's still a sweet story.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Flashfall LinkHopped back on Monster Hunter: Wilds after a half-year break to check out the performance improvements and Gogmazios and here's my impressions after a dozen hours and a decent number of hunts:...Hopped back on Monster Hunter: Wilds after a half-year break to check out the performance improvements and Gogmazios and here's my impressions after a dozen hours and a decent number of hunts:
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Performance is definitely a little better than before on my machine (5600x, 3070, 32gb RAM), especially in the camps where it used to sometimes tank to below 20. Now it'll usually sit pretty solidly between 50-70 on mostly medium settings, which still isn't ideal but it's acceptable.
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Gogmazios is a cool fight, pretty straightforward once you learn the mechanics of it though it's not hard to cart on it if you're careless or underprepared, especially if you're using a ranged weapon. Last phase gets pretty cinematic, a little slinger-heavy though.
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Gogma artian upgrading adds yet another layer of RNG for min-maxing. On the one hand, it gives people super rare god rolls to chase. On the other hand, all the monster weapons are totally left in the dust. Artian IS the endgame, and even when the expansion rolls around I expect they'll have some upgrade for artian there too.
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I still hate flying wyverns (swaxe main). Stupid rathalos land you dumb lizard, I only have so many flashpods to knock your ass to the ground.
Also picked up The Alters on sale and I've got about a dozen hours in that too, currently mostly through Act 2. I'm enjoying the writing so far, mostly the interactions between the alters themselves. It's an interesting thought experiment, seeing how you'd interact with different versions of yourself that went down different paths in life, and I think the game does a reasonably good job of portraying that. As for the gameplay outside of the narrative stuff, it's a pretty simple but polished resource management game with a little bit of exploration and some hazards. It's definitely not for everyone but having put a lot of hours into Frostpunk 1 and 2, it suits me just fine.
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I'm pretty sure Lockheed Martin's made more from a single sale of an F-35 than all the licensing fees for ALL games that have used their planes combined, never mind just Ace Combat. When it comes to supporting them monetarily, these licenses are probably such a small drop in the bucket that I wouldn't feel guilty about that angle at all.
If these games were to make a real impact that might be ethically dubious, it would be how much they inspire or motivate their players to actually join the military and inflict violence in real life. A not-insignificant number of actual military pilots in the US and Japan are fans of Ace Combat and may have been inspired to become pilots through the series, but that doesn't necessarily also mean they were inspired to become warmongers that approve of LockMart and the military industrial complex.
I myself am a fan of the series but definitely not a pilot, but I love the planes as marvels of modern engineering, less so as killing machines. Ace Combat lets me appreciate that without hurting a fly. I have no qualms with buying more Ace Combat games, but I won't buy LockMart stocks.