debleb's recent activity

  1. Comment on What is your favourite cutscene/cinematic in any game? in ~games

    debleb
    Link Parent
    That scene with Venat has gotten me several visits to The Unending Journey I must say!

    That scene with Venat has gotten me several visits to The Unending Journey I must say!

  2. Comment on <deleted topic> in ~games

    debleb
    Link
    Try some of the older Final Fantasies with the active time battle system, maybe. While it's in normal gameplay effectively turn based, it does add a little bit of pressure and heat that might help...

    Try some of the older Final Fantasies with the active time battle system, maybe. While it's in normal gameplay effectively turn based, it does add a little bit of pressure and heat that might help you find it more interesting.

  3. Comment on I spent a week alone in the Metaverse in ~tech

    debleb
    Link Parent
    I think maybe a contributor is that there really isn't any social space made for kids on the internet anymore, while it's only become more difficult for children to socialise face-to-face. In the...

    I think maybe a contributor is that there really isn't any social space made for kids on the internet anymore, while it's only become more difficult for children to socialise face-to-face. In the late 2000s and early to middle 2010s games/social hangouts like Club Penguin, Animal Jam, Moshi Monsters and Movie Star Planet were prevelant, popular, and easy to access. And while a couple of those are still around, they've practically fallen into total obscurity. The only major children's social space on the internet now that I can think of is Roblox, which has a laundry list of controversy to say the least.

    If a preteen isn't allowed or doesnt have places to meet with friends in real life, and they also don't have anywhere online to, platforms like this and mainstream social media just become the only option.

    5 votes

  4. Comment on I spent a week alone in the Metaverse in ~tech

    debleb
    Link Parent
    The child predators wouldn't go there if there were no children, I suppose, and 10am during the summer is a pretty appropriate time for mostly children to be playing video games.

    The child predators wouldn't go there if there were no children, I suppose, and 10am during the summer is a pretty appropriate time for mostly children to be playing video games.

    1 vote

  5. Comment on I spent a week alone in the Metaverse in ~tech

    debleb
    Link Parent
    I don't find it that shocking that it would be mainly children. Functionally metaverse stuff like this is essentially just Club Penguin with less to do and a higher barrier to entry.

    I don't find it that shocking that it would be mainly children. Functionally metaverse stuff like this is essentially just Club Penguin with less to do and a higher barrier to entry.

    3 votes

  6. Comment on Any popular game genres you just can't get into? in ~games

    debleb
    Link Parent
    This too. Even if you only get them by playing the lootbox mechanics that are prevelant in them are just tiring.

    This too. Even if you only get them by playing the lootbox mechanics that are prevelant in them are just tiring.

    1 vote

  7. Comment on Any popular game genres you just can't get into? in ~games

    debleb
    Link
    Deckbuilders for me. Nothing particularly wrong with most of them but I'm just not a fan of trying to have a video game and a card game at the same time. Feels kind of indecisive to me. Unless...

    Deckbuilders for me. Nothing particularly wrong with most of them but I'm just not a fan of trying to have a video game and a card game at the same time. Feels kind of indecisive to me. Unless being a virtual card game is the entire concept like Hearthstone or it's a simulator for a real-life card game, I just can't really see the point in mixing them.

    2 votes

  8. Comment on Do you look up words while reading a novel? in ~books

    debleb
    Link Parent
    Don't worry too much about it; until I was about 13, I thought the word "melancholy" referred to bone pain.

    That did lead to some problems. Like, for example, knowing that chrysoprase was a type of colour, but not quite being sure what colour it was.

    Don't worry too much about it; until I was about 13, I thought the word "melancholy" referred to bone pain.

    2 votes

  9. Comment on Square Enix announces Dawntrail, the next Final Fantasy XIV expansion (roughly Summer 2024) in ~games

    debleb
    Link Parent
    The glasses slot is probably one of the things I'm most excited for that isn't, you know, the whole new story and battles and stuff. I wear glasses IRL so I like to give my character glasses too,...

    The glasses slot is probably one of the things I'm most excited for that isn't, you know, the whole new story and battles and stuff. I wear glasses IRL so I like to give my character glasses too, but up until now the only vanilla options were to never wear a hat again or use the practically useless fashion accessory system that's only really good for standing about in Limsa and has exactly 2 options for plain glasses. I think it's the kind of addition where you probably won't care if you didn't already want it, but you'll REALLY care if you did.

  10. Comment on Final Fantasy XVI is driving me nuts (no spoilers) in ~games

    debleb
    Link
    I liked the game a lot myself. I didn't really mind the cutscene-heaviness personally; I loved the story and characters, and after a couple hours I kind of saw what kind of game this was going to...

    I liked the game a lot myself. I didn't really mind the cutscene-heaviness personally; I loved the story and characters, and after a couple hours I kind of saw what kind of game this was going to be and started thinking of it more like a movie with combat sequences. To be honest eventually I was just wanting the gameplay segments to be over with so I could get back to my cutscenes. But if you can't bear a lot of cutscenes, I can see this game being hell to get through.

    The boss fights were really the highlight for me, especially the ones in which you play as Ifrit. They must be some of the coolest boss fights I've ever done, and I think Bahamut must solidly be my new favourite boss fight of all time. They're absolutely stunning visually, for one, especially on a 4k HDR display, and I personally thought the music was great and added a lot to the fights. The Phoenix battle could never have been that intense feeling without the music. Even at times when the rest of the gameplay or the story was feeling like a bit of a slog, I would keep going because I knew that there would be an awesome boss fight coming up. The combat might not have been particularly complex (in the whole game really, but especially as Ifrit), but they make playing the eikon battles feel so great that you can ignore that what you're doing is essentially just mashing a couple buttons and dodging every now and then.

    Overall I think XIV had the better soundtrack; XVI's big budget is definitely evident in its soundtrack but outside of the boss battles and ending song (which still gets a tear out of me nearly a month after beating it :,D ) nothing is particularly interesting or memorable sounding. There isn't any song from the game I didn't like, nor did I ever feel the desire to mute the music and put a song or video of my own on, but there's only a few tracks I really liked enough to want to put on a playlist or something, while even some plain old overworld music from XIV has made it into my personal favourite songs.

    One major issue I have with the game were that there really isn't very much to do outside of the main storyline. Most of the sidequests aren't anything special and there aren't any minigames or anything. You can go for the best weapons, but what's the point if there aren't even any optional superbosses to use them on? There's absolutely no reason to revisit a finished save file in 16.

    Another problem is that it really shows that the people who made this game are the same ones who worked on XIV, and rarely in a good way. Sometimes it feels like playing offline XIV with a bigger budget and action combat. The side quests are very MMO fetch quest, and the dungeons are structured in almost the exact same way; corridoors with a few twists and turns to mask the fact that you're going down a straight line filled with trash enemies that are fought in the exact same way as literally every other dungeon's enemies and a couple forgettable minibosses (but at least XIV's forgettable minibosses are different each time!). It works fine in an MMO where anything with more than one possible route or tangents to go on can, will, and has been optimised down to one most efficient route, but a dungeon in a single player RPG should have more substance to it than "meat grinding hall".

    2 votes

  11. Comment on Final Fantasy XVI is driving me nuts (no spoilers) in ~games

    debleb
    Link Parent
    Loved it too but this is definitely my main issue with FFXVI. There is absolutely nothing to do except story quests and sidequests that scream "we're the same guys that did XIV". No reason to come...

    But the biggest thing it's missing is variation. You're either fighting, travelling, or watching a cutscene. Where's my random card game? Where's the DDR dance sequence?

    Loved it too but this is definitely my main issue with FFXVI. There is absolutely nothing to do except story quests and sidequests that scream "we're the same guys that did XIV". No reason to come back to the game after beating the story outside of a second playthrough.

    It almost feels more like a movie with occasional playable sequences, especially with the hours of cutscenes. I don't mind that approach too much, because I thought the cutscenes were mostly awesome and liked the story, but they could've thrown in a minigame or something...

    2 votes

  12. Comment on Final Fantasy XVI is driving me nuts (no spoilers) in ~games

    debleb
    Link Parent
    To be honest all of ARR's story was about as generic JRPG as you get and not even in a fun way. Gaius is just one of many of example of ARR having about as few original ideas as is possible for a...

    To be honest all of ARR's story was about as generic JRPG as you get and not even in a fun way. Gaius is just one of many of example of ARR having about as few original ideas as is possible for a JRPG story.

  13. What is your favourite cutscene/cinematic in any game?

    ~games Ask (survey)
    For me, it's the intro cinematic to Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn. I never played the defunct 1.0 version of FFXIV, whose final moments are what this cinematic shows if you aren't aware, but...

    For me, it's the intro cinematic to Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn. I never played the defunct 1.0 version of FFXIV, whose final moments are what this cinematic shows if you aren't aware, but there is something about seeing all the bloodshed and destruction while Answers plays in the background that makes an incredibly strong melancholy mood in the trailer and really sells the feeling of this being an end of an era for Final Fantasy XIV, both in-game and in real life. I have to imagine that it's only more poignant if you were one of the people there for the end of 1.0.

    46 votes

  14. Comment on What game is your current addiction? in ~games

    debleb
    Link Parent
    Awesome, I'll be sure to keep a look out for you in my duties :-)

    Awesome, I'll be sure to keep a look out for you in my duties :-)

  15. Comment on If you went to a game-type fantasy world and could take one skill back to Earth, what would you choose? in ~talk

    debleb
    Link Parent
    It's fine; their ATB bar won't fill during that time

    It's fine; their ATB bar won't fill during that time

  16. Comment on YouTube is testing a three-strikes policy for ad blocking in ~tech

    debleb
    Link Parent
    Plus I feel like the people that use less popular, more "techy" platforms like these are generally more likely to produce certain kinds of nicher content that just won't have wide appeal. Because,...

    Plus I feel like the people that use less popular, more "techy" platforms like these are generally more likely to produce certain kinds of nicher content that just won't have wide appeal. Because, let's face it, as they are right now if you're using fediverse stuff you're 99% some sort of geek. Which is fine, but it also means that Auntie Ruth looking for casserole recipies and little Timmy who's learning his colours will have absolutely no reason to use your platform. That also means that people won't go there to post that kind of content, and the cycle continues until someone manages to break it.

    3 votes

  17. Comment on If you went to a game-type fantasy world and could take one skill back to Earth, what would you choose? in ~talk

    debleb
    Link
    I'd want something like Final Fantasy's summoning abilities. They would be practically useless in daily life, unless you're planning to have Shiva function as the world's most overkill drinks...

    I'd want something like Final Fantasy's summoning abilities. They would be practically useless in daily life, unless you're planning to have Shiva function as the world's most overkill drinks cooler, but also it would be awesome to be able to summon a Bahamut at will. Plus, you would never have to worry about getting mugged or attacked ever again, because what the hell is some thug with a pocket knife going to do against your huge magic fire demon?

    1 vote

  18. Comment on YouTube is testing a three-strikes policy for ad blocking in ~tech

    debleb
    Link Parent
    Same here. I've come to realise recently that Youtube offers me basically nothing of value I can't get (or get a replacement for) elsewhere. Most of what I use Youtube for is background noise. I...

    Same here. I've come to realise recently that Youtube offers me basically nothing of value I can't get (or get a replacement for) elsewhere.

    Most of what I use Youtube for is background noise. I stop listening to what's being said really quickly because I'm almost always just doing something else. I'll also listen to music, for similar background noise reasons, and Youtube is nice because it has uploads of covers and soundtracks and stuff that are hard to come by on other platforms.

    But I also have 35 gigs worth of digital music on my laptop, and my 3DS which I carry more often than my phone makes a handy MP3 player. With just that I can replace 95% of what I use Youtube for, and the rest of what I'd use it for (tutorials, clips, etc) I look for infrequently enough that I could sit through the ads if they manage to get through uBlock.

    It's a different story for most ordinary users. But for me personally, it's not a case of "get a paying Premium member" but of "lose a user who's using Youtube as a slightly more convenient Windows Media Player"

    13 votes

  19. Comment on YouTube is testing a three-strikes policy for ad blocking in ~tech

    debleb
    Link Parent
    Youtube is a handy place for music, especially older soundtracks and stuff that may not be available to stream except on Youtube uploads, but ultimately if Youtube becomes too ad-riddled or...

    Youtube is a handy place for music, especially older soundtracks and stuff that may not be available to stream except on Youtube uploads, but ultimately if Youtube becomes too ad-riddled or inconvenient for me to use to listen to music... I've got Windows Media Player and 35 gigs of FLACs and MP3s. Most people probably got rid of their physical and/or digital music collections years ago, but frankly, Youtube offers me next to nothing I could not replace with my trusty media player.

    1 vote

  20. Comment on YouTube is testing a three-strikes policy for ad blocking in ~tech

    debleb
    Link Parent
    They don't pay their creators much (and I agree they probably should be paying creators more) but imagine how abysmal any online creator's reach would be without services for hosting and...

    They don't pay their creators much (and I agree they probably should be paying creators more) but imagine how abysmal any online creator's reach would be without services for hosting and aggregating their content like Youtube- not to mention that hosting your content yourself would likely add a layer of cost and labour that may discourage people from trying to share it in the first place.

    Youtube may not directly offer much monetary value, but nearly none of the people who have made careers and followings from their videos would have been able to do that without Youtube or some alternative that might have risen to popularity instead. In that regard, Youtube does offer immense value to its users.

    1 vote