Wayward Winds

Seconded! That's one thing that made me double take in Ch. 8A. It's one thing importing portraits from Shadow Dragon, it's quite another making your own. Attention to detail I'd say!

I wouldn't allow my minions to pass their weapons/items to the heroes on defeat. Seriously, your friends managed to turn their weapons to dust when they died, why couldn't you? Now I've got a nuisance with an armorslayer attacking my lieutenant. Who's a General. ...Time to experiment with necromancy. A warning to all surviving minions; do that again, and being dead won't save you from my distinct displeasure!

...I think I'll hijack/adapt Eclipse's template. You wanted a big one? Well here you go! Genre: RPG first, because they tend to take a good length of time to finish, and have nicely detailed worlds. Length: Already mentioned but, a good length single player game! If the game ends in 5/6 hours and I paid £40 (US $64 or 47 Euros), then I am not going to think that this was money well spent, no matter how enjoyable those six hours were! Preferably at least 20 hours of main plot, and I don't mean ten hours of fetch quests! Setting: Something unusual. I don't necessarily mean a completely new setting idea; it could have just one key gimmick that causes everything else in the setting (that otherwise would be 'meh, seen it before') to shift in interesting ways. And I'd like variety; don't sit me in a monotonous city for ten hours, no matter how colourful. Unless you do the Final Fantasy 7 route and shove us through several completely distinct areas within the city (Mako Reactor, Slums, Train Graveyard, Support Column, Wall Market, Shinra HQ). Storytelling: Alternate paths, but not with stupidly obscure unlock conditions. I'm thinking of Valkyrie Profile 1 there, where one wrong step locks you out for good, and you get no real hints in game. Something that did it better; Tactics Ogre. A good few interesting plot shifts, and not just the usual ones every game seems to pull out of the bin. See Persona 4 for an example of better twists - particularly, who the villain really is. Gameplay: Not too far between save points. I don't want to see two dungeons go by without an option to save my progress, nor do I want the save point hiding in the room after the boss. Also, difficulty spikes. If there's going to be one, I'd like it to be suitably foreshadowed, and not popping up immediately after a point of no return. Character forcing; please no! I'm fed up of seeing Cloud/Squall/Zidane 15/20 levels ahead of the rest of the party simply because they can't be swapped out except in very limited plot related circumstances! And, while I don't mind linear games, give us some opportunity to veer off the beaten track every now and then, and don't lock off two thirds of the game once we've passed through (Final Fantasy 13, I'm looking at you! Although weirdly, I preferred it to the more freeform 13.2, just as I preferred the linear 10 to the freeform 10.2. But 10 never limited most of the areas to one off visits the way 13 did). Sound: Ambient music, and not too much techno even if it fits the immediate setting. Singing (ala FF13.2) kept to a minimum and limited to cutscenes or particularly climactic battles, because it usually wrecks the atmosphere. Also, the option to adjust sound effect/music/speech volume independently so I can actually hear that music over the gunfire/shouting. Or the voices of characters outside of a few metres away. Graphics: Nothing too realistic. I use games as escapism, and that means right out of realism. I don't necessarily want cheerful Spyro/Ratchet and Clank stuff, I just want it to be distinguishable from real life by something other than less well detailed. So fairly colourful, emotive environments, and occasionally in an unusual style (e.g. as Okami did). Extra Features: No filling up the disc with random garbage that just gets looked at once. Command and Conquer, Red Alert 3 on PS3 added in 'hint videos' and previously aired via television 'preview features'. Not necessary when most of that stuff can be gleaned in 5 minutes of playing, and the space would have been better used filling out the main game. If the main story finishes in 6 hours and you've got 20 hours of garbage in the 'bonus' section, then something is seriously wrong! That said, I'm partial to concept art, development notes (such as canned ideas for story and setting) and I absolutely must have a sound room! If significant DLC is going to be produced later (in other words, extra story in the manner of Bioshock Infinite's Burial at Sea, not just random map/weapon/skin packs that don't really add anything meaningful), then a) I want to be warned before buying the game, and b) I want an 'ultimate edition' that includes these features on disc ala Elder Scrolls fashion. Not all of us have the internet capacity to download that much data! ########### ...Yeesh I'm demanding!

Bother. Well that's twenty (?) turns of damage absorption with Bellona that I could have avoided. (I don't do LTC runs, but that doesn't mean I don't care about my turncount.) ...If my hunch is right and Zephyr ends up in our hands eventually (as the last scene of Onduris seemed to indicate), then it being unbreakable might be a... gamebreaker. So if that is the case, give us another version! ...I'm going to file this away under 'possible disinformation'. It seems a bit of a large plot point to 'reveal'. And besides, who said Farrel can't do a backstab at the last minute? Or be backstabbed. That's the problem with villains; they always try and off each other.

...How do you 'lock a forest' anyway? Completely surround it with a wall of chains and padlocks? Those poor squirrels...

...I vaguely remember the FEE3 video not pointing out reinforcements as they spawned. Didn't MK404 have to go hunting for the new arrivals every time "I heard SPAWNS!"? With that Alch's Glove, I suspect that's not going to be a possibility in future patches. There was a big discussion on the matter (before I even joined Serenes, but I have skimmed a fair bit of the thread) where I think the end conclusion was the whole affair was going to be fiddled with. It was a bit vague though, and Astra's last comments on the matter sounded like he was cracking jokes, so don't hold me to that. But if the possibility is removed, there's the incentive with progressing with existing save files! (Thread Page #155 if you want to go read it yourself). ...I'm not commenting any more on the healer matter, I think everything's been said that needs to be said. Pixelman: Will the Gold Edge ever be explained in story? Ezio: Yes, not explaining anything else. ...I'd also like to know this, but I can hazard a guess. I suspect it will follow the vanilla FE7 approach of the main lord (Renair) forced promoting through plot related reasons, and the other two getting items. Especially as Astra's given a definitive time for Renair to promote, but only a vague "Ch.18/19ish" for Seymour/Arcus. (Thread page #174).

I don't play for low turn counts, but I'm also in the 'slow growth healers' camp. I think the problem is that they only tend to get ten or so exp a turn from the basic Heal staff, or 15ish from a Mend. That's all they get, because they can't exactly counterattack during the enemy phase (well, Do5 priests and sisters can, so Lia's the only one in Do5 who falls under this). Hence, around 7 - 10 turns to level up, at best. Not helpful for letting them keep up with more combat orientated classes. ...But this happens with virtually all FE staff spammers, so I'm taking the matter no further. (I did get Lia to 20/1 by the end of Ch. 14, but it took a whole lot of work. Even I start thinking about promoting earlier than lv. 20 with Troubadours).

Meh, people don't really do Halloween in my neighbourhood. Except for the ones with the rotten eggs. So what am I going to be doing? ...hiding.

Well, if people guessed my appearence based on my 'avatar', then I can only assume they'd pick something like one of the following... That version of 'God' from Monty Python and the Holy Grail... An elemental being of no corporeal form... ...That 'baby sun' from Teletubbies (...shudder). ..or something even worse.

1) I'll teach you to laugh at me!!! (Works best with Fae) 2) Any last requests? 3) So I underestimated you. It won't change a thing. 4) Mother Earth and Father Sky, see this wretch doomed to die!

So, uh, is anyone calling dibs on that Abomasnow?

Yes, things would be different. You wouldn't have to read my annoying comments! (And I wouldn't be amusing myself with FEditor)

Bus first for when I've got the cash, or if I don't mind an hour's slogging out to the outskirts, I'll walk. ....Stupid 'no student fares for over 22's' rule...

Uh, no problem here. Never had one. I was the 6/7 year old who could find the way back to the station when neither parent could, or reeled off routes to directionally confused visitors to the London area. Nowadays I get lumped with any and all navigation tasks, while everyone else all but switches the route finding part of their brain off. Which makes it all the more annoying when I do lead us into a bog...

Yeah, he was somewhat aggressive back in Ch. 6 wasn't he? And one of my more persistent niggles for the revealed Ch. 17 screenshots happens to be "how many greenies?". It sets the alarm bells ringing....Meh, we'll find out when we find out. I think we've already established Astra's a master of revealing things without actually clearing plot related stuff up (and that's a good thing).

...Am I the only one to have noticed Astra's Let's Play/Walkthrough over on Youtube? Complete with locations of secret items and when/where enemy reinforcements will pop up? Granted, he hasn't done every chapter, but... ...Waits for inevitable backlash over ruining everyone's fun...

Right, he's on my list as well! Tactics Ogre was one of my favourite games of all time... even if I never finished the Palace of the Dead before my PSP kicked the bucket. Missed out on most of Coda as well... ...What happened to the series anyway? It seems to have gone quiet...

...I don't have names, but... whoever the smeg in Sega is responsible for not localising Valkyria Chronicles 3. And I'll be taking a fully armed commando squad to that meeting. I would advocate a similar meeting with the Half Life 3 'development team', but I think they're well aware of our disgust on its lack of progress/official closure. Seriously Valve, enough is enough! Admit you aren't actually working on it and give us some closure instead of six plus years of "no comment"!

Varkade, what the smeg are you up to now?....I just saw the Ranseur as a renamed Wing Spear. Aka, an anti horse/armour weapon that, by its nature, will be locked to a class/character. That was the end of my thoughts on the matter, just as I've never really thought about the Wo Dao being limited to Mymridons/Swordmasters/Lyn with no more explaination than 'boosts critical hits' (or in Shadow Dragon 'an exotic blade'). ...Actually, the Wo Dao of Shadow Dragon is the worst because there's literally nothing else about it, and it doesn't even come attached to an obligatory Swordmaster. It's in a chest, in one of the infamous 'casualty gaidens'. FE players starting with Shadow Dragon just don't get a break. ...Houses aren't always just background fluff. For example, Shadow Dragon Ch. 11; one house contains Anna who promptly tells you that Jake (an enemy ballistician on the map, on the seize tile) "can't resist a pretty face". So, you can recruit him with Shiida/Caeda (this was the first time those of us without access to Jap. only releases could recruit supposed bosses. Lorenz was another recruitable 'boss' later in the game). Visiting houses often means less bumbling around later. (...That bit's not contributing anything.)

What RPG class/archetype do you typically play or is one you're most likely to play? Paladin, generally. I'm not really an 'evil' player anyway. So in Skyrim I'll suit my character up in steel plate mail, take a mace (or Dawnbringer) and a glass bow for dealing with those pesky dragons, and keep a good few elemental spells handy (as well as candlelight for those Draugr Barrows). ...And then vampires come along and massacre me. Typical. Worst part of Dawnguard, considering how often they're popping up as random encounters in the overworld. Dragons are less hassle! Have you ever preordered anything? Personally I don't usually even consider preordering. It's the game I want, not all the miscellaneous incentives they try to offer just to draw you towards that £20 extra price tag. The thing is, most of them are either 'extra skins/maps for multiplayer!', which I can't do anyway (lack of sufficient online capability), or 'special weapon for campaign!' which either removes all difficulty or can be obtained anyway, just with more work. And such incentives can also often be picked up later as regular DLC. That said, art books are sometimes a little tempting. Soundtrack CD's less so, because OST's usually turn up on Youtube... As for books; if even Harry Potter failed to sell out in my local bookshops on release, why do I need to preorder? Discounts are usually pitiful to non-existent anyway. So, no. Preorder is not for me.

Hmm. Assuming I can't get out of this one by announcing I'd avoid all combat like the plague... Sniper rifle or spear. Both weapons that keep your enemies away from you. Plus a revolver or dagger for emergencies. Mind you, I could always use blowdarts tipped with hyper strength sleeping concoctions. Quieter, wouldn't give my position away, and doesn't have to be lethal. And it's low-tech, so pretty much guaranteed to be available...

...I'm a bit odd in this respect, because it isn't so much that I have a preferred film genre as a preferred film style. In general, if it has epic setpieces, majestic or inspiring scenery or backdrops that get plenty of attention, and a generally atmospheric soundtrack, then I'll like it. This normally ties in with fantasy or sci-fi, but I've seen a few outside those genres that also match the criteria (e.g. Gladiator). Honourable mention also goes to certain parts of the comedy genre as well. In particular, The Big Job, Clockwise, Rat Race, Monty Python's Life of Brian... and Monty Python's Holy Grail. Particularly that last one. All older ones; comedy today has generally moved away from my tastes.

...If only I'd known this before diving blindly in. Anyway, @Dondon. For the record, that last post was mostly just defending my playstyle, and nowhere there did I attempt (at least deliberately) to attack yours. It is possible to do one without the other, and I don't really see how a non-aggressive post (that actually put points towards your playstyle) warrants an angry response. Arguments happen when two opinions meet, and neither will back down. Message received; I like late promotions, you prefer early ones. Fine, opposite opinions, but nothing worth fighting over. Live and let live; it's not as if this has a serious issue at heart, like politics or religion. Therefore, I'm backing down. I concede I was wrong to get involved in the first place, and I won't pursue the argument any further. ...I hope that's an acceptable enough conclusion to the matter.

I wouldn't leave the Fire Emblem under my throne. Face it, the heroes are due here any day now. Why hand the thing to them on a silver platter? On second thoughts, I'll leave a few mines under there. I never liked Kenneth anyway.

Bother. Time to switch signature and profile pics (not)!...I'd personally fix things so a topic wouldn't show as 'updated' just because someone voted in a poll, but would register such if either the first or last post were 'edited'. Particularly after Kitty of Time's latest League of Champions patch creeped into the thread with no fanfare whatsoever (I'm not so bothered that it took weeks to spot the questions in edits I made; they weren't essential and I knew they'd be seen eventually). ...Roast the staff? Yeek, looks like cannibal cult of Markarth have uprooted from Skyrim and moved over here!