LadyCrimson

With the way melee animations work, I haven't had alt-itis like I do in some games. I've tried melee a few times and once I melee-thrust myself off a cliff. Technically I think using the staff to cast spells does the same forward/stuck in an elongated animation movement but since you cast it from afar it doesn't bother me. I might try the bows later. Of course, I'm still using mostly the easy settings, because after the first 20 or so hours, I'm just trying to rush to unlock stuff. Having to find/loot block varieties in "random" places is so annoying. Loot a chest, bang, "true sandstone fancy block discovered." Pffft.

It's already in the game. I've seen ppl on forums talk about it. It's mountains I guess. I've been focusing on exploring and seeing what one can do with building blocks (no gravity/structural integrity considerations, can "float" bases, like in NMS). I still haven't even tamed a cat/animal. Just like in real life these days, I don't really want to take care of one. Edit: I went without the larger backpacks for ages because that swamp FT spire annoyed me - I kept falling with those bouncy pads. Later I finally tried chopping a stairway into a tree and got to the top that way. I hated that swamp area.

Enshrouded: Well, I'll be dipped in .... I was making new chrs/saves/testing and realized that each save, even offline/SP, is still like creating a separate world "instance" of the game - which you can then enter/visit with any other character you create. Meaning you could take chr. #2 and enter chr #1's save/world and grab anything out of chests. leave and go back into chr #2's world/save. High level tools, gear, big storage boxes, working workstations, whatever. Keeping that join-server-like feature as part of offline/SP is nuts. Talk about sandbox-replay shortcuts. So that gives Enshrouded a few extra bonus points until a possible full creative mode. I think I'm lacking the snow biome. I'm not sure I care. I'm almost current max-clvl already, and the progression of shroud and dungeons are becoming more aggravating (platforming jumps, maze-likes, getting constantly lost/turned around, ugh). Plus I don't need snow-themed furniture, haha. My fave biome so far is the 2nd one (kind of a redwood/forest rainy biome) and it's probably the only one I'd want to base in, anyway.

Enshrouded: ---I'm 70% enjoying the game, I guess, but it feels similar to No Man's Sky, where as I unlock stuff and try things, I slowly realize 80% of the unlocks I have zero interest in/would never use. But NMS has the advantage of zillions of planets for random fresh starts vs. Enshrouded's static map and questing (even if it's pretty large). I think most (solo) people who get more than 100-200 hrs out of enshrouded are going to be the mega-builders, who want to make 5+ massive, 30hr+ to make each one, bases needing 1000's and 1000's of materials for both walls and deco (I swear 78% of crafting is deco, like spoons, plates, chairs, plants, lighting, etc). ---all I care about is block varieties (metal, wood, colors, styles), altar-placement-limit upgrades, backpack upgrades and storage upgrades. ---the farming is a cozy or mass production effort thing for those who like such. You don't have to do it if you don't want, you'll loot the minimums for main upgrades. ---the cooking/foods, far as I'm concerned, are too many and aren't that useful. Just like NMS. Maybe a few, or on hardest difficulties, but I mean, mostly it's a time-waster. ---weapons are mostly found/loot, armor is occasionally looted but is mostly crafted (but as a mage, don't really need a lot of that) ---the fishing mechanic reminds me a bit of FFXV. Although you can also put it on Easy where you auto reel fish in. >.> ---I could see myself replaying the game a couple times, "rushing" more to certain points and then just building, but that's probably about it (at its current EA stage anyway) Early on I found a pair of boots with 6% faster run. Since there are no mounts, I've kept those on forever. I have yet to see any more upgraded boots - crafted or loot - with that attribute. I'm at around 60-70 hrs probably, still haven't seen all biomes. I do get task-distracted a lot tho.

Yes. I assume it does some behind-scenes autosaving but you cannot manually save, outside of exiting/reloading. Flame altars are your base markers. They also function as FT waypoints, and when you exit game, it will load you into the last/closest flame altar you were at. Thus people make sure to always have one flame altar available they can still build, so they can temp-use for those purposes. You can't place them inside some dungeons or in "the shroud" (I think), but you can place them at/near POI's/mines etc you want to revisit. How many total flame altars you can place in the world depends on upgrading the altar - I'm up to 7, I think the max is 10. With general POI's, you can place altars so base area covers the POi and turn it into your base. Redesign a broken down castle or farmhouse, stuff like that. Or just anywhere you want. The base stops things from respawning within its area.

7 Days to Die - well I like the re-added smell system, although it's overtuned so I had to alter it a bit. The rest is kinda - well, it's still what it is. I've heard they're considering a semi-return to LBD - not fully but a combo + books. I didn't like their LBD back when. Not sure if I like the sound of that. Oh well, I can just play 1.0-b333 forever if I want. Enshrouded - I did cure myself of that curse, and then promptly disabled Curses in the options. I noticed that option when I started the game, but I just thought it would dictate whether enemy casters would do normal debuff spells all the time or rarely. Turning it off after being cursed only half worked - the visuals of it and mana regen not working remained (could be a bug). Anyway -- some other comments: ----I've come to the conclusion this is the kind of game where you cannot unlock all crafting/building options etc until you've basically .... finished the game. The questing/biome discoveries aspect anyway. So if one is looking for sandboxy in that sense, you'll be playing for 60-80-100+ hours before that truly kicks in. Unless there's rush method guides, which I don't "do" on first-runs. ----quite often a quest marker (NPC wants something, to unlock something etc) had me going in circles for an hour or more around that marker, trying to find the "way in." Blocked my castles, blocked by cliffs/valleys, blocked by "deadly shroud" I'm not of a level to travel through yet. I'm sure there's some lone ez path in but I apparently could never find it. Frustrating. ----turned off weapon/mining gear durability because the decay rate is ridiculous - at least early-middle - re: mining or longer dungeons etc. even with repair stations scattered around. Apparently there are eventually repair kits, but guess what, I don't have that ability yet. Shocker. I did loot one in what seems to be a "plains/grass" biome. ----I hear they may plan for a Creative Mode for full release. Maybe I should wait until then. I'm an odd duck sometimes tho, where the more frustrated a game makes me, the more stubborn I become. I mean, there ARE things I like a lot about Enshrouded. I think. Heh.

"What's in the Box" (Netflix, game show) - I saw Neil Patrick Harris' face and clicked. Silly game show with too much contestant drama and prizes of the new car, trip, expensive luggage variety. Oh yeah, and one year of free DoorDash orders. >.> Even Neil as host couldn't save it/make it watchable. I did skip to the last episode/end to find out the ultimate giant "surprise box" end-prize, so you don't have to:

Enshrouded: Ok, I've been cursed with something called Hemotoxin for hours (RT) that never wears off. Drains health and blocks mana regen. There was no apparent way to get rid of it once I realized it wasn't going away. So I just dealt with it, because EZ settings made it a little annoying but not major. Then I got around to getting more NPC's into my base and one could craft a remedy, but it requires a resource found in another slightly higher level biome of which I had zero notion of where to travel to get there. I finally googled it. What poor design for a new player (allowing that curse to take place so early, in "starter biome", before one may have found/gotten that NPC or multiple biomes). Made my way there, just got into it, then died exploring a POI, and game put me half way across my known map because the only "load if you die" becaon I'd seen/encountered was ages ago in a different POI. I have two tower-FT locations found, neither anywhere near where I was. You can use base-altars as FT (place, delete later) but it's a hinky travel workaround with limits. On one hand, rationally it really isn't that bad. On the other hand, between that and all the curse stuff, I semi-rage quit. Also, not liking the storage options or crafting station/options stuff too much (No Man's Sky is better on both fronts imo). And the combat is still terrible. I'd guess once I have everything unlocked I'd enjoy it more in the sandbox fashion but getting there - maybe later. I get why it's popular, mind. Just a little too MMO or whatever for me perhaps. Time to try 7 Days 2.5.

Well, Enshrouded for me seems to be one of those games where you're never quite sure how much you truly like the game, but every day you sit down and keep playing it. It's neither rpg systems enough, nor free-sandboxy enough to fully enjoy it in either fashion. Pros: ---Exploration really is the best aspect far as I'm concerned. Although like any larger open world type map, there are empty areas, mostly around map edges. Still, points of interest at least aren't super spread out, so density is decent. And one time I dropped down a barren ledge (ledge hopping to get down a cliff), saw a gravestone in the middle of nowhere. Wondered if I could break it with my pickaxe. I could - and there was a loot chest revealed. ---in the first area/biome, dungeons have been small but kinda fun. Nothing difficult but the climbing, jumping, traps occasionally make it feel like brief, simplified tombraider-ing. Kinda. The design/similarities might get repetitive tho. ---loot/chests enemies, areas etc seem to respawn, but takes an hour or two of real time spent in game (exiting game doesn't work with chests tho/patched out, I hear). So far areas don't seem level-scaled. eg, respawns feels like a cross between MMO and ARPG's but a slower pace perhaps. ---Since it's voxel, if I can't jump high enough, I can just pickaxe myself a few dips into a rockface and go up, if I want. Stuff like that. ---the Glider feature is nice. I keep forgetting I can use it to, say, shortcut-leap down a chasm, but it's a great traversal feature. Cons: ---Why do I have to literally kiss a tree or flower to chop it down/pick it up? Or nearly stand on top of dropped loot to pick it up? Does my character have three inch long arms? ---a strange sense of minor latency (even Offline) between actions and it actually applying or game doing its notification things, or sometimes re: comabt actions, like switching weapons. ---am still not fond of the progression systems (crafting, upgrading), which I've mentioned already. It's nice in theory/I'm sure it clicks with many, but I constantly feel like I'm going to waste my time doing anything until I have everything discovered/unlocked that might make early thoughts/work obsolete. ---combat is terrible. I don't mean difficulty, I mean auto-targeting is terrible, especially with the wands/staves. No way to turn it off completely that I can find and it means if I want to target something behind an enemy, I can't. Apparently this seems to be a common complaint. I tried melee and my chr. scoots forward 2 feet with every swing animation, which I hate. Luckily with the easy settings you can mostly just ignore how bad it is. Still, it's terrible.

I spent $60 on a pair (smaller, larger) of "titanium" food cutting boards, because they were on "sale" (Amazon). And popular. They're metal on one side, some solid "wheat grass" material on the other. Probably a fool parting with their money, but I've been meaning to get something besides the plastics I've always bought/used for years - because these days every time I use a plastic one, I'm thinking about how I'm probably scraping plastic bits into my food. Probably too late for me in that regard, my generation tended to love plastic/non-stick everything haha, but eh. Maybe at least non-plastic ones will make the daily thought go away. Or I'll start wondering if I'm scraping metal into my food. And no, I don't like wood cutting boards.

Yeah, I'm an idiot. It occurred to me after I wrote that post. >.> First time I tried to use it, it kept telling me I was missing stuff to use it, so I assumed I needed something special like another item or whatever. Guess you just need the mini blocks in hotbar. But looking at the shapes available, it's pretty lacking/limited where in some cases I could be more creative with the tiny blocks - 7days has like 100's of shapes (and doesn't need a "crafting hammer" wielded). But 7days type of voxel is "anything in a voxel square fills the whole voxel", so two things can't occupy the same square/space, so it's limiting in that fashion. Not a big deal, I usually don't go too crazy/fancy with building. Seems like Enshrouded I may just make basic bases and then leave it alone. I am becoming mildly annoyed with the building UI interface and other minor things tho. It feels awkward and clunky for some stuff. That said, the exploration has been great so far. I'll probably focus on that until I've done the whole map, which seems pretty large.

I see no such option available (pic), and Alt just switches hotbars. If it's an option later, I'd guess one has to acquire the ability from something first. Either npc/quest and/or building something which opens up another option. That part is confusing because you build a cheap sleep pad and suddenly game/menu lets you build an actual bed with the resulting mattress as material requirement. Kinda makes one feel forced to craft everything to see if anything auto-opens up. Anyway, started over. Which led me to discover that if you don't create a new character, the game actually starts a new game with previous/last selected character with all backpack/hotbars retained for a head start. A handy feature for later to avoid early grind I guess, but not what I wanted so I made a new avatar. And built another tiny-stone wall. lol

My main quibble is the early building, where you only have these really tiny "blocks" you can make. Takes 100's just to make a small house for the rested stuff, and too much time, placing one at a time. Too used to 7 Days and the bigger blocks/fast speed of making a large home box, so to speak. I get there's crafting larger (prefab?) wall/other pieces to use with crafting hammer but I barely started on that (just got the blacksmith - who keeps getting in my way with his wandering). The starter base spot, I kept being pestered by wolves, who would enter the base zone even tho game seemed to indicate you're "safe" in there. Finally got smart and built a short-height perimeter wall around the whole base-zone. Took forever with those tiny stones, but it worked. I like that there's climbing and grappling hook for traversal. Little pathways/caves to find. Still have to get the glider/flying thingie. EDIT: I have a feeling this is the type of game where I might start over after a few days of learning.

Enshrouded: for some reason I thought this was an online/MP-co-op focused survival/exploration/building and questing game, - also, early access - so I've ignored it. Then learned recently it can be Offline/SP. Then I learned you can customize difficulty/combat options a fair bit - including a setting where maybe 90% of enemies would ignore you until you attack first - or the usual reduce enemy damage/health while increasing player health/dmg etc. It was on a bit of a sale, bought it. So far it seems ok - the exploration/world aspect seems fun. Seems to be one of those games where it'd take quite a while to figure out how all the crafting, building works. Might even need a wiki for finer points, game doesn't really explain much re: certain things, learn as you play. Not saying it's complex, just a bit confusing here and there. Combat has dodge/parry but overall also seems to be more akin to general rpg then "souls like". Like, I made a 1st wand that has a ranged attack and so far (on my ez-cozy settings anyway) I've only had to spam its attack like it's Path of Exile. Building in the new-game start is a bit confusing/awkward but also would scratch the obsessive-brain tendencies if that's one's thing. At some point one needs npc villagers and workers to upgrade one's base/s. Or something. Tame pets (?), farm, all of that. Anyway - I made a first small base/did stuff in starter area and it was good enough I'll press forward. My main interest was the exploration/building factors.

My takeaway from this is that if you feel like dumping your bagel trash into the subway tracks, be considerate and tear it into several pieces first so it's easier to share. My other takeaway is that apparently many consider the tracks the recycle bin. (all the cans/bottles)

At this point I think the worry - if one is worried - should be about AI effect shrinking/replacing jobs all over, from low-tier to upper management - not just artistic creatives. Although with potential population replacement crisis in some countries (not enough generational babies), not having enough "replacement" workers in many areas in 40-60 years could be a serious issue in terms of companies/economy and possible restructuring of such infrastructure systems - and by then AI/robotics might help in some fashion there. Maybe it won't happen but who knows anymore. Then there will be another baby boom at some point and they'll have to make jobs again. On the potentially bright side, 300 years from now AI could be part of what moves humanity closer to no money motivation of ST:TNG. "You mean you don't get paid???" Either that, or Skynet. Either or.

I noticed Lee Pace plays McCone (I like that chr in the novel), which I can't decide if that's good casting or not. I have nothing better to do right now, perhaps I'll rent/watch it. And yeah ... wouldn't surprise me if they change the ending to be more positive re: main chr. I say that because I think it'd be hard to make it more negative than the novel. Unlike The Mist, the novel wasn't ambiguous. Haha. These films usually just make me want to pull books out of a box and reread them.

Peter Greene, 60 - chr. actor. Probably best recalled re: his unsavory role in Pulp Fiction, but for some reason I always think of his tiny role in The Usual Suspects or maybe The Mask.

^ Is it at least more like the novel? I liked the short novel a fair bit. It's not a total fave of mine but I liked it, especially the ending segments. But that Arnold film had almost zero resemblance/didn't like it much (ok, it had some 80's action-cheese chuckles and Richard Dawson was great fun). I was hoping the new version might at least be better than that, re: the actual King tale, but I didn't/don't have high hopes.

Turn-based counts me out - well, 98% chance of that, anyway. The only Divinity I played was Divine Divinity, anyway (GoG version ages ago), and I assume new Divinity wouldn't resemble anything like that, even if it wasn't TB. I don't think I finished DD. I remember really liking the early game/early dungeons, having a grand old time. But I don't remember why I stopped. I vaguely feel like I found the enemy power curve too high or something, like jogging two screens over was occasionally akin to exploring the "wrong" way in FONV and running into deathclaws. So at some point after much optional mucking about, gear etc, I followed MQ where I promptly died in some fantastic unexpected fashion, or ran into my usual "story commits choices, ugh" and I didn't want to bother. But maybe I'm mixing up memories again, heh.

Tempted to buy/try "Date Everything!" since it's designed by VA Ray Chase (he co-founded SassyChapGames with Robbie Daymond and Max Mittleman) and voiced by a plethora of VA's/actors, but the game itself - not sure I'd like it. I have liked, say, some otome's if they have a good/fun story but this comedy (?) dating sim looks a bit too absurd or overwhelming (100 dateables seems too many) for me. Although perhaps the silly would be the charm. But I wishlisted it - maybe I'll be in the mood for silly one late night. So for the moment I still stick with an hour or two of more Teddy's Heaven shop-keeping once in a while as a midnight-chaser. Although in a couple weeks I'll probably try 7 Days, 2.5. Maybe. Jars are apparently (mostly) back, which I don't care about - but other things they've changed, I might.

Last round of hubby's back stuff: so far, 4+ days after hospital visit, no result. It's the last non-surgical attempt (injections in various specific spine/vertebrae locations to target specific things), before they decide that nerve surgery is the only option. This last one surprised him by causing leg pain/numbess in one leg. He could barely walk to the car. Spinal nerve connections and all (not uncommon with this shot location, I guess). It went away/leg was fine after a day tho.

A new Kotor type game might be interesting. Let's see - "maybe" 2030? I'll be, what, 63ish (or 62ish?)? By then I might even have built a new PC! Most of those trailers do nothing for me, as usual. All I do anymore is look at the $20-$40 indie/small dev types where I feel I can still find games with gameplay mechanics I actually like. I'm beginning to loosen my notion of wanting to wait/how long to wait re: early-access. If it's cheap enough, screw it. I'll go back to the "if I initially get 30-50+ hrs out of it, good enough" mentality.

Re: Tim Cain news - well, firstly, that's awesome. Secondly - I'd rather it be a new IP. I almost always would rather it be a new IP. Because then there's hope that it could be the one that would reignite in me an interest in an rpg, again, if only for a short while.

You can just watch the first 80 seconds of this video. That's the section that amused me re: the video's title question. The rest is the usual "they ruined a beloved franchise/no longer aimed at original audience" type stuff. But yeah - in terms of promo posters and this franchise (which I didn't know existed until I saw this video) - imo it's awful. But hey, I'm not the target audience anymore so whatever.