PancakeCats's recent activity
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Comment on At the end of our ropes in ~health.mental
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
PancakeCats Link ParentI have also been playing Skate. through the PlayStation 5 version, and while I agree the stick controls are frustratingly inaccurate, they are not quite at the level you describe. All the basic...I have also been playing Skate. through the PlayStation 5 version, and while I agree the stick controls are frustratingly inaccurate, they are not quite at the level you describe. All the basic tricks I can pull off fine, and the game hasn't misinterpreted those at all yet, so maybe its the controller? On my end, the more complex tricks, like the laser flip and hardflip, which involve sharp and precise changes in stick direction are the ones I that I find nigh impossible to pull of reliably. The game seems to autofill for the easier tricks far too much, and I find that halfway through the motion for a complex trick, the game already selected the gesture for a Pop-Shuv-it and plays that animation instead. Maybe its just a skill issue, but I think that if I'm making an incorrect gesture nothing should happen, so i can try to learn the proper motions, but instead the game chooses the next closest option, making that process much more difficult.
That said, I do find the game to be fun on the base level of skating. It feels good to nail grinds and sequence a bunch of tricks and motions together in a really satisfying way when the game actually does feel accurate to your intent. I think they make grinding slightly to easy. You definitely magnet on to rails and corners, which I don't mind too much, but I do think it would be better to have more of a balancing act to do to continue holding the grind. The physics can still get a laugh or two from me on particularly bad wipe outs and the world is fun to poke at the corners of and find new places to skate at, as lifeless as it may be. having the world be populated would definitely add to the experience imo.
That's where the nice-ish things I have to say about the game end, because I definitely agree the game feels artificial, cringe, and soulless. The choice to make the main speaking role a basic and forgettable AI personality, which is shitty on so many levels, but especially feels like a direct manifestation of in-authenticity in a game that on paper is supposed to be about authentic skater culture. In reality, it feels more like it was designed as a predatory trap to bring in longtime fans of the old games and fans of skating, then bombard them every manipulative live service grind set tactic they can get away with. And the worst part is that this is the best they could do, a game whose premise feels like it was spit out by the same crappy AI they chose to make the main character. Thankfully you can just mute the dialogue and turn off gameplay comments from the AI in the menu, and every line of dialogue and cutscene can be skipped through, so you can essentially avoid engaging with any of that, but it still leaves an icky feeling playing the game. I feel for the devs who made it, and i think on the pure mechanical gameplay end, they have the chops to get the game to a good place, though I think that the games live service nature will put it in an early grave before that could ever happen. But the story and entire premise feels like it was mandated by a boardroom more than any creative.
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Comment on Horror games to play during October in ~games
PancakeCats Link ParentI feel your pain lol. The game does do things like that from time to time, i think keeping you from getting too comfortable in your space. It is frustrating having to get my workspace back in...I feel your pain lol. The game does do things like that from time to time, i think keeping you from getting too comfortable in your space. It is frustrating having to get my workspace back in order and clean up all the junk each time something extra kooky happens, I definitely get your frustrations there. For what its worth, there is a hammer and nail system I havent experimented with much as of yet, but maybe you could nail down the essentials? To hopefully keep them from being tossed around so much.
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Comment on Horror games to play during October in ~games
PancakeCats (edited )Link ParentWoah, I must have missed that. I definitely remember them saying at launch that they skipped the disc to avoid production costs and space limitations. Maybe they went back on that after launch?...Woah, I must have missed that. I definitely remember them saying at launch that they skipped the disc to avoid production costs and space limitations. Maybe they went back on that after launch? Either way, glad to hear its more reliably preserved.
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Comment on What game is your personal "Silksong"? in ~games
PancakeCats LinkIf I had to go with just one, probably Last of Us 2. This is a very controversial game, and while I agree with some critiques, I disagree with most. Last of Us was one of my favorite games, it was...If I had to go with just one, probably Last of Us 2. This is a very controversial game, and while I agree with some critiques, I disagree with most. Last of Us was one of my favorite games, it was a game me and my dad played together when I was a teen, and means a lot to me as a result. I remember we got it a day or two after launch when the buzz started to pick up, and after playing the intro bit that night, we played the rest of the game in the next day, utterly enraptured by the story and characters. I also just really enjoyed the game mechanically, and have completed a Grounded and Grounded+ playthrough in the following years. So when TLOU2 was announced I was stoked, and would often come back to watch the initial reveal trailer. Then they dropped the gameplay trailer with the Seraphites in the woods, and I was ravenous. The game looked so beautiful and dynamic, and seeing a grown Ellie in action after I had grown up a bit was a really interesting familial feeling. Then the game came out, and not only was just as fun to play as it looked in the demo all those years ago, but took some of the biggest narrative swings I had ever seen in a game. Those are of course the controversy that surrounds this game, but I think most people's opinions are still tainted by the misinformed 4chan threads on the leaks of the game, as well as by an unwillingness to separate themselves from their love for a major character and meet the game where it was at with the story it was trying to tell. Its by no means perfect, I can agree there, but I do disagree with most of the critiques I see. Obviously I am not discounting any thoughts anyone had on the game, so please share your feelings if you felt otherwise.
As a quick bonus 2nd place pick, Red Dead Redemption 2. RDR1 is another GOAT for me, and the sequel was amazing. Literally everything I wanted and more.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
PancakeCats Link ParentThis experience mirrors my own in frightening similarity. I agree that it was a good move to have cut our teeth on the original prior to playing this new one. Its definitely more challenging off...This experience mirrors my own in frightening similarity. I agree that it was a good move to have cut our teeth on the original prior to playing this new one. Its definitely more challenging off the bat, which makes sense considering it was (presumably) an expansion for the end game of Hollow Knight, before it ballooned in scope so far they needed to make it a standalone game. Even still I quite enjoy the games ramp in difficulty. I too have yet to reach the citadel because I keep finding more zones and things to do leading up to it, and I feel so far the difficulty has felt very fair and a good fit for the moveset upgrade we are given playing as Hornet. And the movement and platforming is far more enjoyable than Hollow Knight, so I find myself constantly pushing the edges of the rooms using my full movement kit and being rewarded for it constantly. Hollow Knight was very slow, steady, and precise, which is good but i didnt care for it as much compared to how fun it is just to move in this game, and how rewarding the explorationg feels. So far, very much a masterclass in its genre.
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Comment on Making DND maps in ~games.tabletop
PancakeCats Link ParentI imagine not. Plus it would make fall damage a real issue to work around, interesting positioning requirements, all of which is tough for melee users. Gonna have to check out Out of the Abyss to...I imagine not. Plus it would make fall damage a real issue to work around, interesting positioning requirements, all of which is tough for melee users. Gonna have to check out Out of the Abyss to see if there is any other neat things to snag.
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Comment on Making DND maps in ~games.tabletop
PancakeCats Link ParentWow the vertical beholder fight sounds like such an interesting challenge environment I dont often see in d&d. Would you be interested in sharing more on that one?Wow the vertical beholder fight sounds like such an interesting challenge environment I dont often see in d&d. Would you be interested in sharing more on that one?
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Comment on Horror games to play during October in ~games
PancakeCats LinkYou seem like a survival horror enjoyer, so I am going to propose Alan Wake 2. Its a very good survival horror game with an amazing narrative and sense of style and uniqueness you don't often see...You seem like a survival horror enjoyer, so I am going to propose Alan Wake 2. Its a very good survival horror game with an amazing narrative and sense of style and uniqueness you don't often see in a high budget production. It helps that you dont really need to have played the first game to jump in, because the first game and the time gap between the release of the first and second are part of the story. Its good at catching you up to speed on any of the important stuff you should know from the first game. Unsure of your platform, but its getting added to PS plus on October 1st, and is available on Xbox and PC as well, but be warned on PC its requirements are mighty indeed. Also, criminally, its digital only on all platforms, so take that into account if thats something you care about.
Another reccomendation in a similar vein but on the opposite end of the spectrum, I have also been enjoying Look Outside. Its a 10$ indie survival horror game on steam, that plays in the top down rpg maker style. The basic premise is that an unprecedented cosmological event is effecting the planet, causing anyone who looks outside and observes it to be changed physically and mentally. Its told to you that it will last for fifteen days, and so for fifteen days you have to pass time in your apartment and explore the building. Its got unsettling encounters galore, limited resource management, crunchy but evocative art, and a truly amazing soundtrack. Highly recommend if you have a pc or steam capable device.
Additionally, for whats it worth, I found Silent Hill 2 to be worth the 70$ in my eyes, a very good experience that has only minor issues with pacing in some sections. I enjoyed the original but never finished it, but i was pretty hooked on the remake till the end.
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Comment on Horror games to play during October in ~games
PancakeCats Link ParentHell yeah, happy to hear you are enjoying it! Its really a perfect horror game to slow burn through the month, especially as the game is more often unsettling than plainly scary. I find myself...Hell yeah, happy to hear you are enjoying it! Its really a perfect horror game to slow burn through the month, especially as the game is more often unsettling than plainly scary. I find myself thinking about it often, pondering the mysteries and scraps of lore I have found, even as im taking a short break to finally dive into Silksong. I do plan to go back and dump more time into it before spooky month is over. Also, Im desperate for discourse on the game that isnt from people who have already seen all there is to see, so if you feel the need to yap about anything from the game, please do send it my way.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
PancakeCats Link ParentSome of the vibes are definitely similar, especially as the conspiracy vibes of Firewatch ramp up towards the end, and the often extemely unsettling feeling of being alone in the woods, especially...Some of the vibes are definitely similar, especially as the conspiracy vibes of Firewatch ramp up towards the end, and the often extemely unsettling feeling of being alone in the woods, especially at night. I have also been thinking a fire watch setting would be a good alternate fit for the framework of Voices of the Void lays down. But beyond that, I'd say they are very different games, mainly in that Firewatch is a super narrative heavy and narrative forward game. There is a story being told directly to you, so Firewatch is a little bit less of a sandbox, and to my knowledge is entirely scripted in its events. Plus you are talking to the woman in the other fire watch tower most of the game, and your character's and that character's relationship are a central aspect to the game.
Voices of the Void is more focused on an emergent experience. You are given the same baseline for every playthrough, but the signals you get and events that trigger are mostly random to my knowledge, beyond a few specific things happening on specific in game days. Beyond the daily tasks the game gives you, there is no overarching mandate from the game on what you should be working towards. Rather, you have a lot of threads popping up that you can pursue if you want to, like mysterious locations around the map and some mysteries that youll start coming across in the first few days, but its all entirely self driven.
It's also far more solitary and isolating than Firewatch, with the only communication being over notes or emails, and only a few times a week are the emails anything more than perfunctory work talk. And while you do play a predefined character in Voices of the Void, its more a Gordon Freeman type, which is a mostly defined backstory that is doled out in minor ways here and there, but otherwise is just a vessel character for the player, and thus never speaks. More a canvas with some of the background painted in, but you filling in the rest from your personal experience with the game.
All that to say, they are going after a similar unsettled feeling of being alone in the woods and trying to solve a conspiratorial mystery, but the structures they deliver those qualities through very different. Good call as a comparison point though!
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
PancakeCats Link ParentWhen Silksong dropped its release date, I started a playthrough Hollow Knight to actually finish the game. Today I just started Silksong after finishing most of the base game. Personally I think...When Silksong dropped its release date, I started a playthrough Hollow Knight to actually finish the game. Today I just started Silksong after finishing most of the base game. Personally I think it was very much worth it to have played it in preparation. Lots of questions i have based on information from the first game.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
PancakeCats Link ParentOuter Wilds is on the GOAT list for me. Its the coldest take on the planet because everyone who plays it feels this, but I wish i could wipe my memory of the game and play it all over again. An...Outer Wilds is on the GOAT list for me. Its the coldest take on the planet because everyone who plays it feels this, but I wish i could wipe my memory of the game and play it all over again. An amazing narrative mystery wrapped up in a mini solar system with a groundhog day loop is such a potent combo. And its all so expertly done, its almost frustrating that its so unique. I cant say I have found anything that really matches the high the game gives. Cant wait to hear your thoughts when you finish.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
PancakeCats LinkCurrently, I have been dumping an unreasonable (still not enough) amount of time playing Voices of The Void. Its a free itch.io pre alpha of an actively in development game, but honestly the game...Currently, I have been dumping an unreasonable (still not enough) amount of time playing Voices of The Void. Its a free itch.io pre alpha of an actively in development game, but honestly the game has a lot of content already and is stable enough that I think its worth engaging with already.
The game is a slow burn isolation horror game set in a satellite array in the Swiss mountains, and as the sole employee of this array you have the job of finding, downloading, and processing signals from space. You do this from a detailed and involved workstation in a dilapidated concrete base in the middle of the valley. In the downtime while waiting for signals to download/process, you are expected to maintain the radar towers, by manually going out to them and doing a simple math minigame, and do a daily status report on three randomly picked sattelites out of the 24 or so in the array, performed by doing some basic commands at the terminal in the satellite tower. The game runs on a day night cycle, and the campaign is currently built out for two months, so you have a good amount of ingame time on your hands. When you arent working you can fill said time by cleaning up the base and grounds to make it feel more homey and less run down and filfthy, or pursue other mysteries scattered about the large but managable map. All the while, events will fire off at certain triggers or randomly, such as a meteor shower overhead, or having a rock thrown at your window in front of your workstation in the dead of night, ramping up to more direct spooks which I will not spoil here. The events are often fairly sporadic, which I think is the magic trick here. The game is masterful at provoking a false sense of security, setting you in a routine, then at the perfect moment, it drives a knife straight through it. But even beyond the horror of it, the games central loop of collecting these signals is so satisfying because of how analogue the game is.
Each day at midnight, your boss will contact you over email to give you the three random satellites you need to report on and a number of signals to send off via drone. To get those signals you will use your signal processing workstation. The signal processing station is large, with four different terminals and screens that almost surround you sitting at the main desk. One terminal for searching for signals, one for homing in and downloading the signals, one for listening to the signals, and one for processing the signals, refining their sound quality to be able to gather more data from them. You interact with the chunky retro interfaces most often by physically using the knobs, buttons, and dials, on them. For example, looking at the dial that shifts polarity, holding a button, then scrolling your mousewheel to change the value in a positive or negative way. Or physically grabbing and slotting in the chunky hard drives you work with into a terminal to save a signal onto them. You are almost always directly doing the work, even as you eventually automate some tasks in small ways, however it never feels too tedious. Its often a case of setting up the parameter to the right values using the buttons or dials, then stepping away to do other tasks while the signals do their thing. And since its all so manual, it makes you feel like you are actually doing a basic version of the job, not abstracted but you are physically doing the work, which fully sucks me into the game and has me in a "just one more day" kind of mood.
Its important to note, the game is played entirely in first person, and runs on the Unreal 4 engine thats modified to mimic the Source engine. That shows in small ways like the sound effects in game, but mostly in that the game is fully physics based. You can fully decorate your base as you please, buying furniture and appliances and placing them where you see fit, stacking your food supplies in just the right way, of setting up your work desk in a way that flows well for you personally. It really lets you make the base feel like yours in an organic way, cleaning it to make it habitable, then sprucing it up to make it feel like home. That plus the excellent sound design and atmosphere the game puts on makes for a very immersive experience that can be quite cozy at times.
Which makes the unsettling and horrifying moments all the more effective. After spending a day organizing my kitchen in between processing signals, hearing the sound of tearing flesh beneath the floor or knock at the door from inside my server room is so much scarier than it would be otherwise. Dont get me wrong, the game has a lot of direct scares that are very effective, but the little scares peppered throughout are what make them so effective. Its the routine of doing a fun job, making your work space into a home, cleaning up the grounds and maintaining the towers, and then a metaphorical rock is thrown through your windows, shattering any sense of peace or security to make room for increasing paranoia and unease. And when the tension crescendos, it leads to some of the most visceral terror I have felt experiencing a piece of media in years.
I highly recommend this game if any of the above interests you. I think its best experienced as blind as possible, to keep the mystery and spooks unknown. The game also has a slight learning curve. The tutorial covers most of the game fairly well, including the somewhat unique control scheme, but some things are left out, and there is a fairly detailed wiki to consult for instances like that. If anybody else here has played it I would love to hear your thoughts/experiences.
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Comment on Give us your hot takes on the latest Nintendo Direct in ~games
PancakeCats Link ParentNo moral judgements on piracy from me, but i will pass along a friendly reminder to be sure you fully strip your account out of your old switch, assuming you are using the same one. Depending on...No moral judgements on piracy from me, but i will pass along a friendly reminder to be sure you fully strip your account out of your old switch, assuming you are using the same one. Depending on the model, you could even do a full factory reset and still be able to mod it. All it takes for nintendo to identify your switch as modded is one connection to their servers, which normally only results in a console ban. However, Nintendo seems to be getting more spicy lately and did put a clause in their Eula or TOS that they can brick your switch 2 if you do things they don't like. Not worth the risk in general imo
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Comment on Colossal Game Adventure: Voting topic in ~games
PancakeCats Link ParentFor me personally, I liked a nice spread of gameplay styles and genre. Tetris is a personal favorite of mine and a landmark in the medium, and I would be delighted to engage in thoughtful...For me personally, I liked a nice spread of gameplay styles and genre. Tetris is a personal favorite of mine and a landmark in the medium, and I would be delighted to engage in thoughtful discussion about it. Seaman is such an odd experience that could really only happen in video games. I think it is certainly worth analyzing and was a great pull, thanks to whoever nominated that.
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Comment on Colossal Game Adventure: Voting topic in ~games
PancakeCats LinkThe Grue That Binds (3) Kaeru no Tame ni Kane wa Naru (The Frog for Whom the Bell Tolls) (2) Populous (2) Crystalis (2) Tetris (4) Seaman (3) Threads of Fate (1) Uplink (1) Fighters Megamix (2)The Grue That Binds (3)
Kaeru no Tame ni Kane wa Naru (The Frog for Whom the Bell Tolls) (2)
Populous (2)
Crystalis (2)
Tetris (4)
Seaman (3)
Threads of Fate (1)
Uplink (1)
Fighters Megamix (2) -
Comment on Tildes' Colossal Game Adventure: Inauguration and nominations in ~games
PancakeCats Link ParentAll my suggestions have already been offered up, namely ZORK and Tetris, so im just trying to get on the notification list. Thanks for organizing this :)All my suggestions have already been offered up, namely ZORK and Tetris, so im just trying to get on the notification list. Thanks for organizing this :)
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Comment on What are you reading these days? in ~books
PancakeCats Link ParentI will admit, I have not read much classic literature. Im in my mid twenties, so by the time I would be reading them in highshool, the curriculum had opted for slightly more contemporary...I will admit, I have not read much classic literature. Im in my mid twenties, so by the time I would be reading them in highshool, the curriculum had opted for slightly more contemporary literature (Night, 1984, The Things They Carried, Things Fall Apart, The Road, In Cold Blood etc.), but even in my AP classes, we never touched anything near russian literature or Moby Dick. Honestly, McCarthy is probably the closest thing to that level that I read.
Digression aside, its been just shy of a decade since I read blood meridian, so forgive any mistakes here. I remember interesting commentary on the US Military and their relationship with the Natives on the land. A lot of the group the Kid travels with is or was military, and it might be that I was reading "The Things they Carried" and "All Quiet on the Western Front" around the same time for school, but I found the depiction of the other members of the group and that aspect of their characters very fascinating. Seeing different depictions of the military in differnt historical eras, but seeing the same rot and callousness of the military on the display in all of them. I could see lumping this in with violence in terms of pondering, however. And it might be something that is largely personal to my own experience and not really supported in the text.
I do agree the Judge was by far the best part of the book. His description is one that immediately produced haunting visual imagery that has stuck with me to this day. He has an otherworldy presence throughout the book, silver tongued and manipulative to everyone around him with unsettling ease. He has stuck with me as one of my favorite antagonists in literature.
I think your last sentence is something I feel with all of his books I have read so far. They really inspire me to analyze them deeper and I often keep thinking about them long after i finished reading. I still think about moments and the themes from the Passenger frequently, despite having finished the book years ago. I have even been considering doing what is essentially a book report for the Border Trilogy, assuming i find enough there to write about.
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Comment on What are you reading these days? in ~books
PancakeCats Link ParentIm a fan of McCarthy, having read "The Road", "Blood Meridian", "The Passenger", and am now starting "All The Pretty Horses." Its been about ten years since I read it in highschool, but I...Im a fan of McCarthy, having read "The Road", "Blood Meridian", "The Passenger", and am now starting "All The Pretty Horses." Its been about ten years since I read it in highschool, but I definitely think that the lack of internal monologue in Blood Meridian is intentional. Mostly to keep you on edge and not exactly comfortable or rooting for any of the characters barring maybe the Kid as the focal point character. And partly because I think McCarthy's characters tend to speak through their actions more than anything else. We dont get to know these people on an internal level, so it puts the onus more on us to suss out their values, intentions etc. Its down to interpretation and your personal values and beliefs to inform you on characters. I can definitely see this being a con to some, but its something I really love about his books.
Something I love about McCarthy's dialogue is how odd and specific the subjects of conversation are, and especially how much is always left unsaid. A recent example that springs to mind is the conversation between the father and son at the start of All The Pretty Horses, where its dripping with words left unsaid and a conversation dancing around the true subject. In the end, the dad is unable to communicate sincerely, and shares a gambling anecdote instead. There is something so real and sad about this moment. I feel like most of us can relate or are close to someone who can, as a failure to communicate is all to common. Its like McCarthy plucks stories of people from real life and puts them on the page, in a prose both flowery in vocabulary and brutalist in tone.
But this feeling is most prevalent, in my experience, in the Passenger. It was one of the last books he wrote before he died, with a sister book releasing shortly after. I haven't read the sister book yet, but the passenger was a great blend of conspiratorial mystery and the hyper specific conversations I love. There is just something so Real about the way he writes them. Its impressive how defined the voice of each character is, often carrying pages of conversation without ever telling you " ___ said, ___ exclaimed." Most often you just know intuitively who is talking. The main character and the choices they make, the consuqences of those choices, the relationships they have with their sister and family, all are bizarre and tragic.
Its a really good read, highly recommend you give it a shot when you next have the energy for one of his books. Would love to hear your thoughts on Blood Meridian when you have had time to process. The plan is to read the border trilogy and then circle back to Blood Meridian for a proper reread.
Gonna add to the chorus here, but definitely get a second opinion. This truly does scream ADHD to me as someone who had an early life diagnosis. Him being able to focus on things he likes should not disqualify him from having the condition because as another commenter said, I can focus on things im interested for hours straight without breaks. I have played games I like for 12 hours straight before, only taking a few bathroom breaks here and there. Hyperfocusing is a real part of the disability, especially when its to the point of affecting other aspects of your life. Was your psychologist older or been in the field for a long time? ADHD is still often ignored/dimissed by older providers, so maybe try looking for someone a little more recently accredited or something? Either way, best of luck getting this figured out. I feel for you both having lived a similar experience.