Serenes Forest's Teehee Thread

[Saint Rubenio]

5 hours ago, Lightcosmo said:

Imagine a char having 40% growth rate total. XD

And being Endgame Ready all the same.

5 hours ago, Sooks said:

I finished my first event for Partitio’s scent of commerce. I just spent $6000 on a shit ton of lore. When I’m supposed to be saving up for my boat. Pain.

I wonder if there’s a practical benefit to all of this? I mean, some of it seems like it could be related to a side quest or something… and then part of it is on which of the desert clans perfected the craft of bottle making.

Eh, there’s probably a reward for doing all the Scent of Commerces. Maybe it unlocks the secret golden ending where you vanquish capitalism.

You find the game's super boss: Jeff Bezos.

5 hours ago, Sooks said:

Anyway, on to Winterbloom.

Have fun Castting.

5 hours ago, Sooks said:

Also, because of this game’s exp’s nature, I’ve been exploring without fighting any random encounters for the time being. Yikes…

I probably should've done that, but killing caits and octopuffs is just too satisfying.

5 hours ago, Sooks said:

In other news, I wonder how Ruben will feel when he learns that there is now an LP that will spend half of its time simping for him and the other half of it cursing his name.

I already knew. Only problem is, he started in the dead of night because timezones, and also went and picked the one day I'm going to be away all day long. No way I'm replying to three LP updates with Phone Serenes. He will have to wait for me to notice him.

[Sidereal Wraith]

7 hours ago, joevar said:

Why is almost everyone shocked that Engage manga could be good?

Because they got an actual writer to do the spin-off manga, unlike the multi-million dollar game it’s based on, because reasons.

[joevar]

47 minutes ago, Sidereal Wraith said:

Because they got an actual writer to do the spin-off manga, unlike the multi-million dollar game it’s based on, because reasons.

fortunately manga adapatation that have its own writer, that also not tied to the game direction is very common. i would be more shocked if thats not the case with engage

but, its not like its hard to write something better than Engage in-game story anyway, lol

[BrightBow]

Added a Light Crossbow to Sylvis' inventory simply because she uses one to cripple Graff in her introduction scene. Just couldn't help myself but try and fix that inconsistency.

But despite her being terrible with Crossbows, it turned out to actually be an interesting option for her. 9 base crossbow skill + 70 from the Light Crossbow + 10 from Reese' Commander skill + 10 from the Steel Arrow+ results in 99% accuracy without even using Aim. Really nice to use with Overwatch too.
It's just that in the vanilla game, it's difficult to justify giving her a Light Crossbow early on, since Chris drops like a rock the moment they run out. And later on Sylvis's terrible Crossbow skill does render that option rather pointless, unless you want to use Overwatch at range 1.

[Sidereal Wraith]

1 hour ago, joevar said:

but, its not like its hard to write something better than Engage in-game story anyway, lol

But why didn’t they get actual writers to pen Engage’s story in the first place? Why didn’t they put any effort into the damn thing? Why was it an afterthought of an afterthought of an afterthought? Who…?!?

 

[joevar]

1 hour ago, BrightBow said:

Just couldn't help myself but try and fix that inconsistency.

But despite her being terrible with Crossbows, it turned out to actually be an interesting option for her. 9 base crossbow skill + 70 from the Light Crossbow + 10 from Reese' Commander skill + 10 from the Steel Arrow+ results in 99% accuracy without even using Aim. Really nice to use with Overwatch too.
It's just that in the vanilla game, it's difficult to justify giving her a Light Crossbow early on, since Chris drops like a rock the moment they run out. And later on Sylvis's terrible Crossbow skill does render that option rather pointless, unless you want to use Overwatch at range 1.

I forgot that she actually uses crossbow when appeared but actually bad at it.

Chris really fall hard at the end. Keeps getting OHKO with terrible HP and def, also just plain in mortal danger once the horse dead with low avoid

Overwatch at range 1 doesnt seem that bad i think, since its crossbow and easier to hit usually. But fail to intercept enemy unless the ememies actually aim to hit that unit make it less useful

36 minutes ago, Sidereal Wraith said:

But why didn’t they get actual writers to pen Engage’s story in the first place? Why didn’t they put any effort into the damn thing? Why was it an afterthought of an afterthought of an afterthought? Who…?!?

Honestly i want to know why too.

Anyone that play the game once will know its bad even at structural level. If who to blame, then its surely the director. Its still their call how the game narrative will be structured regardless of the actual overall story script

[Sooks]

4 hours ago, Saint Rubenio said:

Have fun Castting.

Not exactly, I’m actually going to keep following the Scent of Commerce, while picking up secret jobs and personal skills.

4 hours ago, Saint Rubenio said:

I probably should've done that, but killing caits and octopuffs is just too satisfying.

Probably luckily, I stopped encountering those.

4 hours ago, Saint Rubenio said:

I already knew. Only problem is, he started in the dead of night because timezones, and also went and picked the one day I'm going to be away all day long. No way I'm replying to three LP updates with Phone Serenes. He will have to wait for me to notice him.

RIP Ruben’s #1 fan.

[Armagon]

Nice.

6 hours ago, Sidereal Wraith said:

Because they got an actual writer to do the spin-off manga, unlike the multi-million dollar game it’s based on, because reasons.

I mean they also got an actual writer to write Fates and look what happened.

2 hours ago, joevar said:

Anyone that play the game once will know its bad even at structural level. If who to blame, then its surely the director. Its still their call how the game narrative will be structured regardless of the actual overall story script

Narrative weight is still a thing. Engage's writing is overall fine because it did what it set out to do. It was always meant to be a vehicle for the gameplay. 

This doesn't mean you can't criticize it but criticizing it for not being grander is not really the play.

[Sooks]

Holy shit Partitio’s Winterbloom Scent of Commerce is so much fun. And the game actually acknowledges that you just started up a new industry, like it’s actually something you can interact with. And one of Partitio’s exclusive skills is called Negotiate Schedule, as part of his crusade against capitalism. He’s going to be my favorite, isn’t he…

In other news, while exploring for this Scent of Commerce event I found enough money to buy the boat. So I’m going to do that.

Edit: Apparently merchant’s hire skills work for buying the boat. I need more money so I can save a bit.

Edited March 4, 2023 by Sooks

[Lightcosmo]

I looked at this the first time and was like... what? XD

[Lightcosmo]

Also, Micaiah actually good now?! XD

[Sidereal Wraith]

55 minutes ago, Armagon said:

I mean they also got an actual writer to write Fates and look what happened.

It was overly ambitious and poorly implemented but at least they tried!

57 minutes ago, Armagon said:

Narrative weight is still a thing. Engage's writing is overall fine because it did what it set out to do. It was always meant to be a vehicle for the gameplay. 

 

[Sooks]

I got the boat and spent a million years trying to decide what cosmetic options to give it. Nice. It looks like you can get it changed, although it costs a ton of money for no good reason.

What’s disappointing is that the ocean has random encounters and they’re like, endgame level, which severely limits exploration for the time being since my party can just be decimated. It’s funny that the first area you can go to in the ocean is very blatantly Partitio’s last chapter’s location, they’re not even trying to hide it. But anyway, it’s time for Throné mother route.

[joevar]

1 hour ago, Armagon said:

Narrative weight is still a thing. Engage's writing is overall fine because it did what it set out to do. It was always meant to be a vehicle for the gameplay. 

This doesn't mean you can't criticize it but criticizing it for not being grander is not really the play.

im critiizing the structure, not the concept like wraith so many other people . i mean, you already see me liking the story before.. 

for clearer distinction let use example:

• i dont mind what happen with lumera, veyle, or alear in the course of the game. but i dont like when and how it happen. the pacing makes it lose impact/intended dramatic tone.
• the backstory of the four hound villain are good. but cramming it all in the last minute is not.
• having set of rules is good, but dont go saying one thing then rebuke it in the next minute for the sake of cool/shock factor. (cant revive > suddenly revive twice in just one chapter, not want to waste anymore time with elyos > spend years on elyos again in bad ending, etc)
• Dying character from both sides is expected, but why and how can you talk while dying for so long... are they dying or not. almost like they want to be naruto with long falshback story in most crucial time
• Chapter 10 to 11 transition. the events are good, but its like theres missing part in between.

those among other things. I believe you can still make it a wa better story without even changing the story, just tweak it. almost like they didnt ask "does this makes sense?" when playtesting. hence why i said its also direction fault.

[Sooks]

That information… really shouldn’t be missable and should be in her chapter 1 but okay.

@Saint Rubenio Remember how this chapter has a recommended level of 7? There’s… no gameplay. Not a single time you go anywhere with random encounters or have to fight anyone. Which begs the question why they put a recommended level at all just to make players feel like they were overleveled. I guess the level comes from the fact that you can head straight there out of Throné’s chapter 1 without having to worry about fighting anything and just enjoy your VN, but it still feels weird.

Anyway, the story itself was surprising. It was arguably darker than her first chapter, Primrose wishes this were her. And the use of Throné’s theme was really good. There’s one plot point added in at the very end that seems pointless, so we’ll see where that goes.

Next is probably Temenos 2.

[Sidereal Wraith]

40 minutes ago, joevar said:

im critiizing the structure, not the concept like wraith so many other people .

 

[Sooks]

Dancer Castti has a pretty outfit and a flower in her hair, but she lets down her hair in the merchant and scholar subjobs… which one to pick….. uh, for objective statistical gameplay benefit, obviously.

[Lightchao42]

15 hours ago, Sooks said:

I just spent $6000 on a shit ton of lore. When I’m supposed to be saving up for my boat. Pain.

Lore? Sounds like money well spent to me.

13 hours ago, Armagon said:

The year is 2974. I still have not gotten past Twilight Princess' opening. I got to the first Hero's Shade duel and decided to call it for the day.

I think i might actually prefer Forsaken Fortress 1.

TP is the only 3D Zelda I never played, so I'm interested in seeing how you think it stacks up to the other games. But it's not the only one I never finished, since I never got very far into Skyward Sword.

Somehow OoT 3D was the first Zelda game I played, despite playing Nintendo consoles for a decade before it released. Maybe I vicariously experienced Zelda through my friends before then?

10 minutes ago, Sooks said:

Dancer Castti has a pretty outfit and a flower in her hair, but she lets down her hair in the merchant and scholar subjobs… which one to pick….. uh, for objective statistical gameplay benefit, obviously.

Broke: choosing classes for gameplay reasons.

Woke: choosing classes because they make your favorite character look pretty.

Edited March 4, 2023 by Lightchao42

[Sooks]

9 minutes ago, Lightchao42 said:

Woke: choosing classes because they make your favorite character look pretty.

Exactly.

There’s that and picking classes for characters when they really fit their personality. It’s why I’m giving scholar to Temenos and cleric to Hikari, because they just fit so well, even though cleric!Hikari is probably a bad idea.

I think I’m leaning to scholar Castti, because I just like long hair too much. But scholar Temenos is great too, so I need to hurry up and get a 2nd scholar license. I’ll at least leave the class on him for the time being.

[Acacia Sgt]

Alright, time to course through the Underwater Highway.

[Acacia Sgt]

You, it might be a thing with how Steam keeps track of it, but there's something amusing that the achievement scores for

Spoiler

Defeating Jawsum and Pluto Expanded

... do not actually match.

[Sooks]

Temenos 2 was very interesting. I fought the boss with 3/4s of my team slightly underleveled, which was fun. I’m a lot more sold on the mystery now. I also figured out where it was going 2 seconds before Temenos did, so I’m basically a certified genius. There is something kinda suspicious here that the game hasn’t mentioned, tho…

And, hey, I unlocked a shared side quest! Nice. Time to go see what that’s all about.

Edited March 4, 2023 by Sooks

[Acacia Sgt]

I wouldn't be surprused if Goyle the Crab is a Harry Potter reference.

The yellow submarine definitely is a reference though. lol

Edited March 4, 2023 by Acacia Sgt

[Sooks]

2 minutes ago, Acacia Sgt said:

The yellow submarine definitely is a reference though. lol

To what?

[Acacia Sgt]

2 minutes ago, Sooks said:

To what?

The Beatles. The mermaid names also seem kinda suspect.

Eleanor (Rigby)

Lucy (in the Sky with Diamonds)

It starts to look like too much of a coincidence.

Edited March 4, 2023 by Acacia Sgt