Serenes Forest's Teehee Thread

[Sooks]

9 minutes ago, twilitfalchion said:

Congratu-freaking-lations, lol. Big props to you for sticking with it.

Such is the way of the completionist 😎.

But thank you!

6 minutes ago, Eltosian Kadath said:

You don't need a guide if you know the game. Needing to learn about and get good at a game doesn't make it bad.

Well, if learning is permanently losing someone from not knowing the specifics of that specific chapter or having to redo the entire thing then it’s not the greatest application of the idea imo... but I also haven’t played Thracia yet. I heard about warp tiles today though... they sound like one of the worst game mechanics I have ever heard of, but again, haven’t played it.

6 minutes ago, Eltosian Kadath said:

Congratulations Sooks, sounds like it was a huge accomplishment!

It was! The others here can attest to my 3D World posts, 3D World 100% is pretty rough because there are five playable characters and you need to finish every level with every character (including the super hard final challenge level, which I’ve spent the last two days on). The max amount of players at a time is four, so even if you have three friends willing to run through the entire game so you it will still take two play throughs.

2 minutes ago, Armagon said:

I missed this the first time but

I love that gif. Thank you. Sooks 100% achieved.

[Eltosian Kadath]

4 minutes ago, Armagon said:

I would agree under normal circumstances. However, Thracia has a lot of surprise bullshit that no blind player would ever see coming. The game pretty much punishes you if you try to play blind.

There's a reason why basically every Thracia fan says "oh it's actually easy if you use a guide".

There are plenty of ways to become less blind other than a guide. Watch someone play, talk to someone knowledgeable about the game, do a practice run of a map which you intend to reset, just feeling out the aspects of the map you need to learn. I think there is room for games that don't focus on the blind experience, instead focusing on making the game more rewarding for those who become more experienced with the game.

 

1 minute ago, Sooks said:

Well, if learning is permanently losing someone from not knowing the specifics of that specific chapter or having to redo the entire thing then it’s not the greatest application of the idea imo... but I also haven’t played Thracia yet. I heard about warp tiles today though... they sound like one of the worst game mechanics I have ever heard of, but again, haven’t played it.

Honestly, they tend to be a bit overblown, they only trigger if you use the wait command, so any other way a units turn ends prevents them from triggering, almost all the ones in 16b don't send you to anywhere dangerous, the death chamber of 24x sounds bad, but dealing with the warp staff mages in there, and spawn blocking the enemy that appear there tend to make the map easier, although it does take resources to get people out of there. Also of note you can avoid both those maps if it they really scare you that much.

[Armagon]

5 minutes ago, Eltosian Kadath said:

Watch someone play

That's..... that's the same as using a guide.

6 minutes ago, Eltosian Kadath said:

talk to someone knowledgeable about the game

This is actually valid so it gets a pass.

6 minutes ago, Eltosian Kadath said:

do a practice run of a map which you intend to reset, just feeling out the aspects of the map you need to learn

Not sure how you would do a practice run of an SRPG. You say practice run, I just say that's attempt number 1.

7 minutes ago, Eltosian Kadath said:

I think there is room for games that don't focus on the blind experience, instead focusing on making the game more rewarding for those who become more experienced with the game.

 

I think that's most games. But at the same time, the player should not be punished for not seeing the future if they didn't want to. I dropped Vestaria precisely becomes my mostly blind run ended up getting punished hard.

I have nothing against using guides or anything but there's a difference between rewarding the player for being more knowledgeable about the game and "lol fuck you, should've seen this coming".

[Eltosian Kadath]

1 minute ago, Armagon said:

That's..... that's the same as using a guide.

It really isn't. Guides are focused on informing the watcher, and as such tend to give you more specific information on all portions of the map, whereas watching someone play only gives you specific information on what that player focused on, and even then it can be easily missed as the display of this information tends to be incidental to the act of play rather than the focus. Although watching someone play can give you a better idea of the ramifications of map design that aren't always immediately apparent from a guide, and a hint at AI behavior that might not be well documented. On the other hand guides often have better information on diverging events, as the player you are watching only plays through one of those versions of events.

 

1 minute ago, Armagon said:

Not sure how you would do a practice run of an SRPG. You say practice run, I just say that's attempt number 1.

I mean going into a run not trying to complete the map with the results you want, but trying to learn about it. Testing how the AI behaves, looking at the kinda threasholds you might need for how the enemy ends up clustering, watching for the time limits you are on with side objectives, seeing what events are out there, seeing where and what reinforcements show up, etc.

[Acacia Sgt]

I've recently learned the British were the first to reach the North Pole.

But there's still this!

Here's the thing about the Congo Free State. There's a few ways to let it develop as a colony, with different outcomes. For now, I'm going philanthropic endeavor...

[Acacia Sgt]

Took a while to finally get the full conditions, but now I can...

It had to do more on Denmark's end than mine, but well, it's finally a thing.

On the other side of the spectrum...

The mod includes a few disaster events... and the SF earthquake is one of them. Since I have SF... yeah. The biggest knockbacks is losing the fort, port, and railroad built there. All it took was one playthrough to build the port somewhere else in California. So at least I don't lose it. Nothing to be done for the fortifications and rail system in the province. WIll have to rebuild from scratch. Oh well...

[Lightcosmo]

42 minutes ago, Armagon said:

lol fuck you, should've seen this coming".

Actually alot of FE games have this though.

For example: FE 9 and 10 have the bridge pothole traps that require prior knowledge to avoid, which could easily end in a reset. 

The same chapter In RD has Leanne appear once you cross a specific spot, well if you have 0 units left, bye bye Leanne. And that's just one of the many.

[Acacia Sgt]

Victory!

[Lightcosmo]

Also FE9 has the chapter where you save Geoffrey where the BK appears and if you have someone in the wrong spot (near the beggining I think) they are obviously dead. Ofc prior knowledge would help avoid that fate as well.

Edit: and ofc Stefans recruitment in both games.

Edited April 27, 2021 by lightcosmo

[Acacia Sgt]

Had to change the ruling party myself, but I could finally enact:

There are actually three routes here. The other two are Integration and Suppression, each with their own outcomes. I went for Protection, since it adds them as Accepted Cultures:

There's advantages to having accepted cultures. The ones that I'd care more is that I can now turn Soldier POPs of those cultures into Guards, as the mod restricts them to Primary/Accepted POPs only. And in those states where I have cores with those cultures as Primary (which aren't that many), now I don't have to fear Tensions arising from them.

The "Natives' Status" decisions are something all countries in the Americas have access to (and those in Oceania too, I think). Which cultures get added as accepted depends on which ones are located in one's country cores. Like, if I didn't bought Alaska and added Mexican cores there, then the Inuit wouldn't be added to the list. 

Edited April 27, 2021 by Acacia Sgt

[Benice]

Great job, @Sooks!

Now 100% Yakuza 5.

[Acacia Sgt]

Oh, just noticed on Steam. Victoria II playtime: 1111.1 hours.

Nice!

[MisterIceTeaPeach]

Mario World 3D hit has 290 green stars!?

I just have hit 200.

shrugs

Edited April 27, 2021 by Zan Partizanne

[Benice]

Yo, @Sooks, Death Stranding is 60% off right now, so if you were interested in it, it might be a good time?

[Armagon]

 

29 minutes ago, lightcosmo said:

Actually alot of FE games have this though.

For example: FE 9 and 10 have the bridge pothole traps that require prior knowledge to avoid, which could easily end in a reset. 

Deadass the pits were a non-issue. Everyone was like "ohhh the bridge maps are garbage because pits" and I went in not knowing where the pits are. Zero problem, those pits were just a minor inconvenience. Especially in RD, where that's a Griel Mercs chapter so lol.

26 minutes ago, lightcosmo said:

Also FE9 has the chapter where you save Geoffrey where the BK appears and if you have someone in the wrong spot (near the beggining I think) they are obviously dead. Ofc prior knowledge would help avoid that fate as well.

The Black Knight takes a while to show up in that chapter. It's kinda your fault if he manages to catch up.

I will agree that Stefan's recruitment in both games is stupidly obscure tho.

[Acacia Sgt]

Honestly, in PoR the only really obscure requirement is having to send Lethe or Mordecai there. Even if it's your first FE, a Base Convo tells you you will find items under the sand. And Stefan's location is in a very obvious looking yet suspiciously empty alcove on the map that just screams "Something's definitely there".

At least you don't leave empty-handed if you find him with a non-Laguz.

Edited April 27, 2021 by Acacia Sgt

[Benice]

1 minute ago, Acacia Sgt said:

Honestly, in PoR the only really obscure requirement is having to send Lethe or Mordecai there. Even if it's your first FE, a Base Convo tells you you will find items under the sand. And Stefan's location is in a very obvious looking yet suspiciously empty alcove on the map that just screams "Something's definitely there".

I actually agree about this. I dunno if it's a good idea to make the player scour each tile that far out, but at least there is a degree of "Hm, something's prolly there."

[Eltosian Kadath]

31 minutes ago, lightcosmo said:

Also FE9 has the chapter where you save Geoffrey where the BK appears and if you have someone in the wrong spot (near the beggining I think) they are obviously dead. Ofc prior knowledge would help avoid that fate as well.

The first BK map is far worse, as he is an ambush spawn, that uses their full movement if someone is within range. I remember one time where I got forced into a position that map where it was impossible to avoid two death because I didn't look up the exact conditions that trigger him to spawn before playing it.

[Acacia Sgt]

Okay, not just screams it, the game actually tells you in another Base Convo:

Servant
Oh, yes, picnics are indeed nice. Oh, but a word of caution. Studying the ruins from afar is one thing, but you would be well advised to keep your distance... For safety's sake! It's said that there's a bandit stronghold near the northwest ruins. And we hear occasional reports of strange figures wandering the dunes in the northeast. Be careful!

So you're told beforehand something's going on in that northeast alcove.

So yeah, it's just the Laguz bit that's not told to you outright. The only clue there could be is that since you're in Laguz territory, then perhaps sending your own might be worth a shot. More so since you're told about figures, not items. But admittedly it's tangential evidence at best.

Edited April 27, 2021 by Acacia Sgt

[Eltosian Kadath]

4 minutes ago, Acacia Sgt said:

Okay, not just screams it, the game actually tells you in another Base Convo:

Servant
Oh, yes, picnics are indeed nice. Oh, but a word of caution. Studying the ruins from afar is one thing, but you would be well advised to keep your distance... For safety's sake! It's said that there's a bandit stronghold near the northwest ruins. And we hear occasional reports of strange figures wandering the dunes in the northeast. Be careful!

So you're told beforehand something's going on in that northeast alcove.

"dunes to the northwest" is a bit vague to really indicate a single specific unmarked tile...

[BrightBow]

So I suppose this is basically the ending to Monster Hunter Rise

 

Well, not really. It just ends with a series of battles where no one actually dies because shut up.
Feels like if you want to end the game on the threat of Ibushi and Nagwa joining forces, it would have been more appropriate for Ibushi to actually interfere in that final battle.

It's a really wonderful game, though. Love having all that information about drop rates and weaknesses actually available in-game.
I also would have imagined this game to be essentially a pseudo-Switch port of Words, but seeing how it's on the RE engine, they would have had to work from the ground up with a new engine. Really amazing that they were able to make such a large game under such conditions.

[Armagon]

12 minutes ago, Eltosian Kadath said:

The first BK map is far worse, as he is an ambush spawn, that uses their full movement if someone is within range. I remember one time where I got forced into a position that map where it was impossible to avoid two death because I didn't look up the exact conditions that trigger him to spawn before playing it.

He also shows up a lot earlier than the second time.

If it wasn't for the fact that this part of the game is memed to death, I think I might've ended up in a similar situation.

[BrightBow]

The Black Knight spawn was bullshit.

But I did have the luck that he immediately went for Ike in my case, and I loved the battle conversation and death conversation well enough that I wasn't even mad. It most certainly succeeded at making the BK feel like an intimidating antagonist. Continuing that sense of vulnerability he first created when he killed Greil and derived you of two of your strongest characters by extension. It's great that this is something that's also expressed through gameplay.

There is also even some alternate dialog after the fight and at the end of the chapter if Ike somehow manages to survive an engagement with him. Because Path of Radiance gotta Path of Radiance. It's wonderful.

Edited April 27, 2021 by BrightBow

[Acacia Sgt]

12 minutes ago, Eltosian Kadath said:

"dunes to the northwest" is a bit vague to really indicate a single specific unmarked tile...

True. Should've been more than one tile the trigger. Still, it's only like 12-14 desert tiles in that region. Bad the first time through, but afterwards you'll know and can beeline to the one anyway.

[BrightBow]

It's okay for a game to have secrets.