Grayscail's recent activity
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Grayscail Link ParentThis game came to my attention recently when I saw it in a list of "Solarpunk"-esque games, so when I saw your comment I decided to pick the game up yesterday. I like it. Its got a "Shadow of the...This game came to my attention recently when I saw it in a list of "Solarpunk"-esque games, so when I saw your comment I decided to pick the game up yesterday.
I like it. Its got a "Shadow of the Colossus, but just the collecting fruit and lizards" vibe.
I got the game for PS5, and the game performance limitations are noticable. When the framerate is high then gliding around the map is really nice and atmospheric, but more often than not its pretty choppy. Its not a huge problem though, since theres not much fast paced action to react to.
I am a bit torn on the art style. I think the MS Paint aesthetic works at times and looks cool, but Im not crazy about the color pallettes. Turning on high visibility mode helped with that, but at the cost of the few times where the screen gets all monotone like getting a new mask.
Im enjoying the exploration aspect of the game. Looking forward to seeing what else there is to find.
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Comment on What are your personal crackpot conspiracy theories about the world right now? in ~talk
Grayscail Link ParentI think 1 just throws things off. Its too skinny. Unless its paired with another 1 somewhere else.I think 1 just throws things off. Its too skinny. Unless its paired with another 1 somewhere else.
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Comment on What games have you been playing, and what's your opinion on them? in ~games
Grayscail Link ParentIf you ever finish all your old catalog and are looking for new additions, consider trying the Jak trilogy. Ive heard it said that the games, particularly the latter two, are similar to Rachet and...If you ever finish all your old catalog and are looking for new additions, consider trying the Jak trilogy. Ive heard it said that the games, particularly the latter two, are similar to Rachet and Clank, although I cant confirm since I havent played those.
But they are some of the best games of the PS2 era in my opinion. The core trilogy is a great story and the spinoff Jak X is a really fun kart racer.
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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 been replaying Megaman ZX. Its probably my favorite of the Megaman games. ZX is the 4th set of games in the timeline, starting with the Megaman games, followed by a timeskip to the Megaman...I have been replaying Megaman ZX. Its probably my favorite of the Megaman games.
ZX is the 4th set of games in the timeline, starting with the Megaman games, followed by a timeskip to the Megaman X games, followed by another timeskip to the Megaman Zero games, and now yet another timeskip to the Megaman ZX era. I always enjoyed seeing how the world changes in these different eras.
Megaman ZX introduces the concept of "biometals", where the main and supporting cast of the Megaman Zero games have been refactored into this new type of nanotech alloy that contains their cyber elves, or their "spirit", allowing them to fuse with humans as a robot exoskeleton, so the main character can transform into X, Zero, Harpuia, Fefnir, Leviathan, Phantom, or Omega from the Zero games. The different form changes are an interesting change from the old ability-copying mechanic. I think its a nice change, as in older games I would often unlock new abilities and never use them due to ammo limits and generally being less useful than the X buster. But here each form has some legiminate use case.
Z form has Zeros saber and gun combo, which is a good all rounder. X form has just the blaster, which means charging both attack buttons gives you a double shot, which is a nice way to differentiate X from Zero. Harpuia has a versitile air dash that gives mobility. Leviathan can freely move in water. Fefnir is not often used but is the only form that can fire straight upwards. Phantom has invincibility on his dash when overdrive is active. And Omega carries over some of Zeros Megaman X abilities. There is at least one point in the game where Im happy to have each one.
Megaman ZX expands on the change they started in Zero where rather than having a static set of distinct stages, its more of a Metroidvania where all maps are connected to one another and you can freely move wherever you want, other than keylocked doors. One of the major criticisms of the game is that the map is confusing as hell, and its often difficult to figure out where your assignments are. Like, your mission might be to go to the old amusement park, and the quest log will give you a hint that its in are L or something, but the map doesnt show you which areas connect to L until you have found it, and areas are not intuitively laid out.
The art and music is pretty on point. Most of the tracks are a bop to listen to, and I really enjoy the backdrops they use for each of the levels. Its pretty understated for the most part, but some of the last levels where you see warships dropping missiles on the city in the background is really well done.
The art style of the city and machines have a unique feel to them. Lots of neon strips and techno stuff, but mixed with some more organic aesthetic elements that make it less sterile feeling than brutalism can sometimes be.
I also love the worldbuilding you can see where the whole planet seems to slowly be hybridizing into a cyborg state. Just roamind around in the forest area you can see that the very trees and earth show panelling and wires within them, which is very fitting with the whole "biometals merging reploids with humans".
Its also cool to see the change in how reploids have become pretty normalized in society, in contrast to the oppression they faced in Zero.
One criticism I will give the game is that the story is kind of a weird bridge between series. The overarching plot ends up being a consequence of the end of Megaman Zero 4, so if you played that game it will make sense but if you didnt it will feel kind of random. However the following game kind of seems to retcon some bits of the story, and that series was never finished, so the whole game kind of feels detached from the franchise as a whole.
Still though, I think this is one of the best games in terms of balancing. There are not many situations where it feels like the game laid out enemies in unavoidable positions, and there is only 1 platforming section thats egregiously annoying, and an optional one at that. The final boss is pretty good too, I like the way that Serpent's attacks are designed to make you stay at a particular range of engagement. The final Model W fight is not the best ever, but its servicable and I like the setpiece.
Overall, highly recommended if you like Megaman games.
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Comment on Do we want to stop all crime? in ~society
Grayscail LinkWell every crime is a crime because somebody wants to do it. If nobody wanted to do these things we wouldnt have bothered making rules about it. There is no law about not being allowed to drink...Well every crime is a crime because somebody wants to do it. If nobody wanted to do these things we wouldnt have bothered making rules about it. There is no law about not being allowed to drink lava because nobody is out here trying to do that.
So these prohibitions we have in the world are a consequence of wanting to stop people from doing things they want, because it in some way affects other people in ways they dont want.
But if you can "get away with it", that sometimes means that the rule you broke didnt actually involve inconveniencing anybody. Like if you violate public urination laws because you peed on a bush in an empty park at night. Thats not really a big deal to anyone.
But if you then put a bunch of surveillance cameras in the park and record that guy, you are sort of manufacturing a problem that didnt need to be one. Which is undesirable.
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Comment on If you let AI do your writing, I will come to your house and kill you in ~tech
Grayscail Link ParentI guess the reason I think this is worth considering is that the answer changes how you should respond to the problem. Like, right now I have a problem with how algorithms on Youtube and Reddit...I guess the reason I think this is worth considering is that the answer changes how you should respond to the problem.
Like, right now I have a problem with how algorithms on Youtube and Reddit are supplying content to me. I dont like the things Im getting and Im not enjoying my time on those apps anymore.
One way to explain this might be to say that the mods or creators I was engaging with are doing a bad job, and thats why the content Im getting is not satisfying me. Another way to explain this might be to say that the platforms themselves are intentionally trying to keep me unsatisfied so I keep engaging with the platform as much as possible, and so this problem is inherent to what Im doing.
If its the former, my conclusion might be that I need to excise those particular creators or mods and once I get rid of those individuals introducing the problem, my problem will go away.
If its the latter, my conclusion might be that the only way I will be satisfied is to break my reliance on the platform and look for other ways to find entertainment and stimulation.
But if the true answer is the latter but I convince myself it is the former, I will be stuck in a permanent loop of trying to solve my problem in a way that will never work, and so I will permanently be unsatisfied.
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Comment on If you let AI do your writing, I will come to your house and kill you in ~tech
Grayscail (edited )Link ParentI think it really is a bandwagoning thing of people piling on to hating AI because its already a culturally accepted safe position to be anti-AI. A lot of what is being targeted by "AI-slop" is...I think it really is a bandwagoning thing of people piling on to hating AI because its already a culturally accepted safe position to be anti-AI.
A lot of what is being targeted by "AI-slop" is stuff that would have been slop anyways.
Are you mad that these AI generated self descriptions on a catering website are trite and uninspired? Those have always been trite and uninspired.
Are you mad that people online lose their unique voice when they use AI to generate responses? People already all sound the same because they parrot each others talking points incessantly.
Are you mad that AI might through out some random bit of information as a hard fact without actually knowing if its true? Thats just how people talk, they throw whatever random ideas they have out there to see what sticks, and half of the time it doesnt.
Of course all of this stuff is obnoxious, but thats a problem with discourse as a whole, not the AI introducing those problems. All of this stuff would be forgivable if you found out it was a live human purposefully wasting your time with nonsense, which to me says that its not really as big of a problem to anyone as they are imagining it to be.
Or, maybe put another way, this is stuff that has always bothered everyone, but everyone already accepted that this is just how the world is and theres nothing to be done about it. Except now that it is being reframed in the context of AI, it gives the false impression that there is a window of opportunity where something could be done about it.
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Comment on What did you do this week (and weekend)? in ~talk
Grayscail LinkA duck seems to be nesting right outside my front door. Its been a couple days so far Ive seen it chilling there, rarely seems to move, doesnt appear bothered when I walk by. Im guessing the best...A duck seems to be nesting right outside my front door. Its been a couple days so far Ive seen it chilling there, rarely seems to move, doesnt appear bothered when I walk by.
Im guessing the best thing to do in this situation is just not to try and interfere in any way. I was thinking of leaving out a bowl of peas or something, but I believe the common advice is not to feed wild animals, so Ill just let it be.
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Comment on 'The Boys' has ended. What are your thoughts? in ~tv
Grayscail LinkI dont really "watch" the boys because half of it is crude sex jokes and toilet humor, but I more or less follow the plot just from a bunch of clips on youtube. I thought the actors for...I dont really "watch" the boys because half of it is crude sex jokes and toilet humor, but I more or less follow the plot just from a bunch of clips on youtube.
I thought the actors for Homelander, Soldier Boy, and to a lesser extent Oh Father were all great and really carried the show with their performances even when the plot was lackluster. Its disappointing they didnt do more with Daveed Diggs.
I thought that Jensen Ackles character was going to have a bigger role in the finale, or rather any role. It felt like he really overtook the show near the end and was the main guy people were enjoying watching, and then they just put him on ice for the 4th time and thats the end of it. It almost feels like they wanted to keep him in reserve in case they wanted to make a sequel series, but at the cost of having no resolution to his character.
It was also pretty out of left field how he flipped on a dime because of a supposed romance with Stormfront when he was initially portrayed as being in a relationship with Crimson Countess. It felt like a contrived backstory to justify switching sides at the end even though he had no real reason to.
Homelander never really approached the levels of interesting he was in scenes like the Vought Lab reunion. I guess it was nice that he went out like a chump, but I think everyone was expecting him to have a more destructive meltdown before being killed off. I think it was a mistake to lean into the Trump allegory, he was a more interesting character when he was just a monster that was the product of the screwed up way he was raised and conditioned. The more they tried to make him a joke the less compelling he became.
I havent mentioned the protagonists because none of them were really interesting and I dont particularly care about any of them.
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Comment on What has changed as you've gotten older? in ~talk
Grayscail Link ParentIn my early teens I just wanted to play video games and laze around. In my 20s I was focusing on my career and having aspirations. Now that Im in my 30s I just want to play video games and laze...In my early teens I just wanted to play video games and laze around.
In my 20s I was focusing on my career and having aspirations.
Now that Im in my 30s I just want to play video games and laze around.
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Comment on What has changed as you've gotten older? in ~talk
Grayscail LinkAlgorithms have largely lost the ability to show me anything I want to see. I used to go to Youtube or Reddit and itd be kind of hit or miss but itd generally be the kind of stuff I might like....Algorithms have largely lost the ability to show me anything I want to see.
I used to go to Youtube or Reddit and itd be kind of hit or miss but itd generally be the kind of stuff I might like.
Now its more like Im being ragebaited constantly, I dont even know what Im looking for anymore.
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Comment on Was the creepypasta subculture as a phenomena already dead by somewhere in the mid 2010s? in ~talk
Grayscail LinkPsychosis was always my favorite creepypasta. Such a good slow build up. I wish they had cut the epilogue though. I prefer it being an ambiguous ending.Psychosis was always my favorite creepypasta. Such a good slow build up.
I wish they had cut the epilogue though. I prefer it being an ambiguous ending.
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Comment on What’s something that didn’t work for you? in ~talk
Grayscail LinkNot 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.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.
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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.
Yeah, I noticed that. It makes for some good moments with the change of contrast. Sometimes going from really high to low or vice versa makes a striking visual effect in some scenes. Its more when Im just out in the desert and my character is all faded out and beige that I didnt care for. Ill try that photo mode option.