Grayscail's recent activity
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Comment on What’s something that didn’t work for you? in ~talk
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Grayscail Link ParentOh that might be it. I thought it seemed like a weirdly conspicuous error but Ive never seen that alternate spelling before.Oh that might be it. I thought it seemed like a weirdly conspicuous error but Ive never seen that alternate spelling before.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Grayscail (edited )LinkI have started playing Triangle Strategy on Switch. It is a turn based strategy game in the style of Final Fantasy Tactics or Fire Emblem. The game is beautiful, which was the initial draw I had...I have started playing Triangle Strategy on Switch.
It is a turn based strategy game in the style of Final Fantasy Tactics or Fire Emblem.
The game is beautiful, which was the initial draw I had for the game. Its a Octopath Traveler art style, with 2d sprites walking around in 3D worlds that mesh together without looking discordant. I really appreciate the ability to freely rotate the camera. Its a small thing but it really helps you appreciate the environments they made.
There are three game modes: the turn based strategy combat, exploration maps where you can walk freely around an area and talk to NPCs, and cutscenes.
The strategy combat is pretty much what Id expect so far. Characters unlock new abilities as they level up so I havent seen what all people can do, but generally characters have slotted into typical swordsman/tank/mage/healer/etc roles you might expect from this sort of game. I am playing on normal difficulty, and as of around 1/3 through the game it hasnt been particularly difficult, I havent had much trouble with the stages so far. Units dont die permanently, which is nice. Stages have started inteoducing unique mechanics, so there may be more complexity to the battle system that hasnt been introduced yet.
It might seem odd to include cutscenes as a "game mode" but there are a lot and it takes up about 1/3 of playing time. This is honestly kind of a problem early on, the first chapter or two is kind of a slog with all the exposition they make you sit through before getting to the first few battles.
After some time though, the game really comes into its own. The heavy narrative exposition sets up interesting geopolitical conflicts that make each of the 3 nations involved seem like rational actors rather than pure good or evil.
The protagonist is controlled by player choices in dialogue, with each of the options being reasonable choices. Rather than choosing between being a good or evil person, its more like you choose between being honorable and standing by your obligations vs sheltering your people from being drawn into war. There are also difficult diplomatic choices you need to thread the needle on, such as maintaining diplomatic relations with a powerful nation that discriminates against the ethnic minority that your bride is a part of.
Im only on my first playthrough, but it seems like the game also offers you a few meaningful choices that will alter the way the plot unfolds. Im interested in seeing how much a repeat playthrough would be affected by different choices.
My criticism of the game would be that the 3 game modes I described could be integrated better. For example the exploration phase can seem like busywork, where you just need to just go around town and make sure you talk to every single person because sometimes you unlock valuable intel that way, but there is not much interactivity beyond that. On the other hand, the cutscene sections can be a lot, and I think the designers realized that too because a lot of side scenes are made to be optional, as if they realized people might get bored needing to sit through all of it at once.
I think maybe trying to combine the exploration and cutscene phases might help break things up a little.
I also notice a bit of sloppiness in the translation, like spelling "jail" as "gaol". Feels like someone should have caught that.
Otherwise though, I have been enjoying it a lot and would recommend it.
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Comment on What's something that you missed out on? in ~talk
Grayscail LinkIve never dated anyone. I dont really want to, but its a pretty big part of many peoples lives so sometimes I wonder if Ill end up regretting it.Ive never dated anyone. I dont really want to, but its a pretty big part of many peoples lives so sometimes I wonder if Ill end up regretting it.
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Comment on Ted Lasso | Season 4 official teaser in ~tv
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Comment on What's your dream job? in ~life
Grayscail LinkMy ideal job is one where I can show up, take care of whatever thing Im supposed to take care of, and go home. The biggest pain with working is all the check ins, the status updates, the tracking,...My ideal job is one where I can show up, take care of whatever thing Im supposed to take care of, and go home.
The biggest pain with working is all the check ins, the status updates, the tracking, the required collaboration.
Id like to do something that provides for the basic needs of average people. Maybe something to do with water or electric systems. Something that would feel like I was contributing to peoples lives in a real way.
Unfortunately I have not had much luck in pursuing such a career and Ive just about given up on trying.
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Comment on Did wokeness leave us worse off? (gifted link) in ~society
Grayscail LinkThis is a natural phenomenon for all kinds of labels, I think. Shitty antisocial people have a tactic of attaching themselves to positive sounding labels, as a way of preemptively deflecting...This is a natural phenomenon for all kinds of labels, I think.
Shitty antisocial people have a tactic of attaching themselves to positive sounding labels, as a way of preemptively deflecting criticisms of their personality.
So like Christianity used to be held in high regard as a moral authority in society, and as a result lots of mean spirited people become really intensely religious in order to associate themselves with that moral authority and assert themselves as a representative of that authority.
But of course this is just a superficial ploy, and most people understand that these people still suck. Because of this, at a large scale people start to correlate being intensely passionate about "virtuous" movements with socially intelligent bullying and douchebaggery.
This in my opinion is not a "woke" problem in itself, but the natural cycle of social branding. Moralism needs to constantly distance itself from the people who would aspire to be seen as moral, and movements need to constantly reinvent themselves to avoid being corrupted by the people they are composed of.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Grayscail LinkI have been playing the game Mech Arena on my smartphone. Its a PvP arena shooter where you control walking tank mechs and fight in a team against other players around the world. The first thing...I have been playing the game Mech Arena on my smartphone. Its a PvP arena shooter where you control walking tank mechs and fight in a team against other players around the world.
The first thing you notice about the game is its completely infected with monetization. Every time I open the app my play sessions start with 10 seconds of methodically clicking through like 8 pop ups trying to entice me with microtransactions.
This happens every single fucking time you start up the game.
This is incredibly disappointing because outside of that I actually really like the game. Its such a good 5 minute game loop thats perfect for sitting on a train or waiting for an appointment.
The initial format they give you is "Control Point Clash" where you have 5 beacon points around the map that 2 teams of 5 players fight over. This game mode is so fun I dont even bother with the rest of the game.
The mechs are all well designed aesthetically, and the game is balanced reasonably well. There are a handfull of mech types, each with varying stats but mostly are defined by a single special ability unique to that mech type. Generally, most of the mechs are balanced well enough that you wouldnt really say they are even in a 1v1 fight, but in a group every mech is somewhat useful.
The big caveat to this is that is only the case when you are facing mechs within your same "tier". Since you can buy mechs with real money, sometimes you will enter a game and one player has paid to get access to a mech from a higher tier they can easily steamroll everyone else. This is the big sticking point with matchmaking, which is otherwise pretty good and tends to give balanced matches, but it really depends on who is playing.
Tiers are ascended by buying enough mechs and weapons in your current tier to be promoted to the next and get access to better gear. One thing I like is that this is completely achieveable in F2P, you will get enough of all the resources through the standard lootboxes to eventually keep ranking up without buying anything. Certain items are only obtainable through monetary purchase, but those are not needed to progress the game.
Unfortunately I cant say the same for the rest. There are sometimes there events that happen over the course of a few days, and if you do enough tasks you get special prizes like skins or gear. But the really good mech that they offer as the best prize requires you to make a purchase at some point, so its really a trap.
There actually seems to be a ton of stuff in the game, lots of skins, lots of other game modes, maps, weapons, features I havent even touched like pilots and modifications. But I havent bothered with 90% of it because its clear that a bunch of this stuff is ultimately pay walled.
If they could just strip down the game to just the F2P mechs and Control Clash and took away all the monetizations, this would be an amazing casual pickup game. Its just a shame how often they ruin my good time on purpose to try and squeeze some money out of me.
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Comment on The Dealer's Tarot - Modern games to play with a tarot deck in ~games.tabletop
Grayscail LinkYou know what would be fun? Deluxe Poker. The minor arcana just plays like a normal deck, but also all the major arcana cards have their own unique effects that change the rules of that hand.You know what would be fun? Deluxe Poker.
The minor arcana just plays like a normal deck, but also all the major arcana cards have their own unique effects that change the rules of that hand.
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Comment on Fits on a floppy - a manifesto for small software in ~tech
Grayscail LinkI dont really care about file size, per se, but I like the idea of having your code being a complete repository that doesnt rely on fetching external sources or libraries. I want a single zip file...I dont really care about file size, per se, but I like the idea of having your code being a complete repository that doesnt rely on fetching external sources or libraries. I want a single zip file that I can run GCC or whatever and thats all I need. If I have a laptop with no internet access or I need an airgapped system, I want the source to be still usable.
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Comment on Framework reveals 13 Pro laptop with 20-hour battery in ~tech
Grayscail LinkBattery life is the big complaint I have with my current Framework, so Im glad to hear it.Battery life is the big complaint I have with my current Framework, so Im glad to hear it.
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Comment on Anyone else enjoying OSRS leagues? in ~games
Grayscail Link ParentPrayer armor means armor that has a high prayer bonus, and having a higher prayer bonus means your prayers drain your prayer points more slowly.Prayer armor means armor that has a high prayer bonus, and having a higher prayer bonus means your prayers drain your prayer points more slowly.
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Comment on Anyone else enjoying OSRS leagues? in ~games
Grayscail Link ParentHey, for what its worth I logged in today and I got given 1 free pact reset for nothing, so maybe you dont need the kill.Hey, for what its worth I logged in today and I got given 1 free pact reset for nothing, so maybe you dont need the kill.
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Comment on Anyone else enjoying OSRS leagues? in ~games
Grayscail Link ParentPersonally I didnt really like the Gods as characters either. Most of them I feel are a letdown. The only good ones were Guthix and Armadyl, and one of those is dead. But I was really disappointed...Personally I didnt really like the Gods as characters either. Most of them I feel are a letdown. The only good ones were Guthix and Armadyl, and one of those is dead. But I was really disappointed in Zaros and Seren, who I think were really cool before they actually got revealed.
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Comment on Anyone else enjoying OSRS leagues? in ~games
Grayscail Link ParentAs an RS3 player, what do you think of the gods returning storyline? I fell off the game around the time "Sliskes Endgame" came out, so I know the general plot synopsis from the wiki but never got...As an RS3 player, what do you think of the gods returning storyline? I fell off the game around the time "Sliskes Endgame" came out, so I know the general plot synopsis from the wiki but never got to experience the execution. But I always found the diverging storylines of the two games to be interesting.
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Comment on Anyone else enjoying OSRS leagues? in ~games
Grayscail Link ParentI kinda wish I hadnt allocated my early pacts so casually. It helped when I needed it, but now I need to get a reset to recover them, and I dont know if I can handle an echo boss. I managed to...I kinda wish I hadnt allocated my early pacts so casually. It helped when I needed it, but now I need to get a reset to recover them, and I dont know if I can handle an echo boss.
I managed to beat Amoxliatl once with just melee, but that was a pretty messy kill and the enhanced version will obviously be a lot tougher.
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Comment on Anyone else enjoying OSRS leagues? in ~games
Grayscail Link ParentYes, starting mage was difficult due to the lack of gear. Getting transmutation helped alot because just upgrading a bunch of runes to high tier let me autolevel to 99 while doing other stuff. How...Yes, starting mage was difficult due to the lack of gear.
Getting transmutation helped alot because just upgrading a bunch of runes to high tier let me autolevel to 99 while doing other stuff.
How I got through the fight caves was by using the thorns pact with the Air and Water rune pacts. The rune perks meant that casting water surge gives both hp and prayer recovery, and the thorns deal pretty consistent damage over time, so it worked really well for that particular challenge.
However outside of that Ive been avoiding any difficult combat until I get enough pacts to unlock the end of the skill tree. Ive just been meleeing in Obsidian gear otherwise.
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Comment on Anyone else enjoying OSRS leagues? in ~games
Grayscail LinkIve decided to go for a shadow tank build. I finished the fight caves to get the Obsidian armor, and took Desert as my first area for ancients. Im going to get the earth spell pacts which should...Ive decided to go for a shadow tank build.
I finished the fight caves to get the Obsidian armor, and took Desert as my first area for ancients. Im going to get the earth spell pacts which should give my shadow spells a guaranteed minimum hit as well as boosting my defence, and then pair that with the thorns pact. Im hoping the flat consistent damage will compensate for my lack of skill.
For relics the best one so far has been Transmutation. Really useful for dealing with the item availability constraints.
Im targeting Kandarin as my next region, I want to try and get that echo trident weapon.
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Comment on Which Linux distro do you use, and why? in ~tech
Grayscail LinkDebian, because I started with Ubuntu and never saw much reason to dislike it, but I just wanted a more paired down version.Debian, because I started with Ubuntu and never saw much reason to dislike it, but I just wanted a more paired down version.
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Comment on Looking for more pop / rock songs with sick sax solos! Got any ideas? in ~music
Grayscail LinkThe Collective Soul song "Better Now" has two versions, one of which ends with a sax solo that I like. Starts at around 2:35.The Collective Soul song "Better Now" has two versions, one of which ends with a sax solo that I like.
Starts at around 2:35.
Not necessarily something that works for "most" people, but I tried various kinds of antidepressants over the course of several years and most of them didnt do jack.