LadyCrimson

Great, ran into the Take the Biscuit quest bug which I didn't know about before hand. The spot it's in has this giant (empty if you don't have quest) cage and while exploring I cleared the baddies and unlocked the lock, wondering if it did anything. When I got around to taking/doing the quest, the baddies respawn but the lock on the cage does not. Cannot open and rescue. It was probably hours and hours and oodles of stuff after my original visit of that spot, so not going to reload some ancient save. I think you could solve with a sql editor plus a user-created save editor or something but too much fiddly bother. Those creatures will just remain forever in their cage unless the dev's retroactively fix it.

Oh I know. Most of the costume mods on Nexus for ffxv were reshade ones for some reason, but in that case I knew it was possible without it so I only used stand alone mods so to speak. I'm not sure what the dependence on reshade for things outside of lighting/color is, it's become so dominant lately, but eh, I'd just rather not. Needing tools to create mods is a given, but I'd rather the resulting mod not be dependent on the user having it installed as well. It's funny because I do like moddability and will use a few mods here and there, but it's rare I use very many. I generally like as vanilla as possible. More often I'll just mod myself if it's simple enough, because most ppl don't create ones that fit my likes/desires. Or in some cases I deconstruct a mod and tweak it to suit.

Last of Us, episode 6 - well they finally changed something re: the game that I didn't like overmuch. It's not a big thing and it doesn't detract that the episode was still quality. And it's not that the change didn't work. I simply preferred the story/chr method of the game over the change. I don't know where they filmed the show, but man some of those scenics they shot were gorgeous. By the end of this series I am going to fall in love with Pedro Pascal, if I haven't already. I've known his name/face from articles but the only things of "significance" I think I've seen him in were Equalizer 2 and The Great Wall, which I barely remember.

Oh, also, that requires Reshade, which I don't and don't want to install/use. More than half of the "mods" on Nexus seem to require it. >.> Edit: there's no special reason I don't want to use it outside of just not wanting more programs install clutter and generally having no use for it to begin with etc. - although if it unlocked Ansel I might. Might. Haha.

FFXV has Denuvo/they've never removed it. The unlocker someone made for it was an .exe that I assume injected/altered the game exe with that stuff. When FFXV patched, Ansel lockout would reset, but I'd just run that unlocker script again on the new game .exe and it would work again, lol. But yeah, I'm sure it's different per game and I don't know if newer version of Ansel would even allow for the same method of tweak or not. Never know they could've blocked it somehow.

Other non-Ansel/hex'ing of Hogwarts: --why oh why didn't they put in a disable all HUD toggle so one doesn't have to constantly uncheck 10 (whatever) things, then recheck them again?? --if you want to rescue caged beasts, stand as far to the side of the lock/door as much as you can before unlocking it, or the beast pathing may bug/glitch and it won't exit the cage, meaning you can't then rescue it via capturing it. If it doesn't exit its cage you can try to move far around to see if you can trigger it.

There isn't anything specifically for Hogwart's. There are mentions re: FFXV and Hitman 2 and 3 and some others, where I was thinking one could take that info and spend a lot of time looking for the right offset or calls or whatever terms, in Hogwart's exe (they would be different I'm sure). This one is theoretical removing of restrictions for anything by disabling checks and creating a sort of toggle? This would require an nvidia/github account (I think) to access Ansel SDK tho, which I have never tried to get yet. https://gist.github.com/FransBouma/a322a80ed9f51114371ca32c4db4808e For games like FFXV/hitman etc, they tell you what offset to change in that particular game's .exe. I don't know if you could figure that out "alone" or if it's a code you'd find via the method above. Or if any of this would even work currently/new games. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1325152608

Me: Go outside for a bit, come back inside, walk to fridge and wrap my hand around the handle. *a little time passes* Hubby: Walks into the kitchen, sees I'm in the way/standing there, asks what I'm doing Me: "uhh..what, um...I had a soda in my room and I think I was trying to decide if I wanted to grab another now, so I wouldn't have to come back out in 10 minutes, then I guess my brain shutdown" ...such is my life since the diabetic "coma" stuff. Edit: on the bright side, the weather has been really nice. Almost spring-like. Still cool but the sun is warm and pleasant.

Without Ansel in combat, one can disable most (or all) UI elements and then record dozens of very short videos and hope you get lucky, but mostly, you do not. From that tho, there aren't that many combat animation variations anyway. But it'd be nice if you could see another angle other than mostly your chr's backside. Oh well!

If only I knew how to hex edit I could possibly unlock the Ansel camera in Hogwart's by finding the right "offset". Maybe. But since I don't, there's 0 chance, haha. I keep googling and there's pages saying it's potentially so easy but I look at their instructions and yeah...nope. lol Dangit I want an unlocker.

@Keyrockhttps://www.nexusmods.com/hogwartslegacy/mods/398?tab=description ..haven't tried this one either, but there it is. Since the VA is nothing head-turning for me, I just turned dialogue volume way down (since I use subtitles anyway) and I've gotten almost used to it by now, lol. I mean, honestly, I'd need a mod for almost every throwaway line in the game at this point. Even the main character. And the clothing shopkeeper. And ...

I can now fly best-boi. The pre-order dark version is almost too dark for my liking. Although to be honest, the broom still feels easier to use/land and sight-see with. As Bokishi already pointed out, can't use Ansel with either, tho. Boo. Finally got some cat-beasts. I am going to dedicate one vivarium to them and fill it with only cats. Then I will put out the yarn ball toy and watch them all chase and play. It was so cute with just three, I bet max will be even better! I spent too long watching/running around trying to get pictures (not easy, they're too fast).

Hogwart's - I like how they incorporate many spells into the quest problem solving. It at least keeps me from forgetting some of them even exist. Stealth-killing is still my favorite thing in the game. Again, it's not the best thing to try in some situations and some enemies it won't outright kill but I put stealth-dmg. enchants on half my gear and it's a bit OP (at least on Normal) but I find it more fun that direct combat. I am a little annoyed how many times you go to pick up coins and it's 1 or 3 gold, not even 25. Like why even bother.

Hogwart's - game save says I'm at around 39 hours. Decided 20 gear inventory finally a little too small (the 6 pieces you wear count towards that 20, too, pfft) so I spent a while doing enough Merlin Trials to get it up to 32. I'm not sure I'll do the rest. They're not hard or long, just repetitive and annoying after the first 3 or 5 and you have to do a lot of them. You can do even more than I did, for a couple more increases. >.> Also did some side quests, got the first third or half of map exposed/explored but didn't do everything possible. Not sure I want to do some treasure stuff until I'm closer to end-game cause higher gear stats. I think I'm ready to move on to the next Main Quest and the lower half of the map now. I know we have a flying broom, but I still haven't even flown over it yet.

I could make a joke re: capturing a unicorn but I shall refrain. Haven't found/caught a "cat" yet but this will do. Random NPC activity scenery.

https://www.nexusmods.com/hogwartslegacy/mods/95?tab=description I haven't tried it. The creator is taking requests/thinking about others to remove a few other notables. So many requests. lol. "It seems all roads lead to Hogsmede!"

I'd definitely watch it in one fell swoop. Which was my original plan, to let finish before watching more, but then when I see a "REACTION TO NEW EPISODE" thumbnail in my YT algorithm, I go "oh, a new one's out now?" and run to turn on HBO. I haven't felt very impatient tho, weirdly enough. Maybe because the episode-ends typically aren't mega-cliffhangers? They're almost self-contained in a way, so far, albeit with plot threads/goals weaved throughout.

That was maybe another 10%. IIRC After the Jackie thing I looked up some cutscenes and the like and none of it really inspired me. I still keep meaning to retry it one day (it's still installed, but untouched/unpatched) because there were elements I did like in the game, but I think mostly I just prefer something simpler/relaxing like ... Hogwart's (or in the vein of) FFXV, or Tales of Arise these days.

Jackie dying on me was maybe 30% of the reason I didn't get much farther. I was annoyed, lol. Being as slow as I am with games, and how I like companions of a sort, I liked him as my sometimes-buddy and then ... pfft. Speaking of slow, I've been trying to collect these sidequest items as well as lockpicking tons of rooms, and capturing more beasts, in Hogwart's, for both cuteness and enchantment materials. And farm more creatures for potion ingredients. It all takes forever and really pads out the game time if you bother with it all. I've finished a couple enemy collections so they give 0 XP now. It's just their drops I want to amass. Also, eventually, catching Beasts and selling spares is far more lucrative than gear selling cause you can do it over and over. I went broke a couple times buying all the seeds/upgrade summoning books at the store etc. I must have/find ALL the Requirement summoning/deco before I finish/quit the game.

Yes. I think at a certain super-far distance the color tone changes making it look like fog, like in this screen. Or it's the clouds. Or it's the r.DepthOfField.FarBlur that I set to 1 instead of 0. No idea. Mostly I try to angle or zoom/in-out the camera so the too-sharp/clear isn't in the shot much. I also tried to get rid of the general vignette/edge blurring by putting r.Tonemapper.Quality=1 under [SystemSettings] - it seems to "mostly" work but it's hard to tell at times. At least the private room isn't all fuzzy with the Moonlight light. No fog doesn't seem to apply to the Beast vivarium tho. Separated from main game. I haven't done much deco in the private areas. For one thing I haven't found very many deco items to use, and I was waiting until I had all the rooms. I think there's more than what I currently have.

...Deek is an argument for why some NPC's shouldn't be given idle lines. He stands in your "personal rooms" 100% because you have to talk to him if you want to change the room's mood lighting, and he spouts a few things depending what you're doing the most of. If you're in there for a minute, no biggie. If you're in there for an hour.... ...at least I finally got my Beast taming/collecting ability. Time to collect more.

12 pack cans, Diet Mt. Dew: ...a few weeks ago it was $7.50-ish. ...yesterday it was $8.20ish. Any bets on when it'll reach $10? I'd guess 6 months. I should probably quit caffeine soon.

Oh, I just meant something like a cross rib beef or giant pork shoulders like from CostCo, alone, no sides. My mother would toss in cross ribs on a slotted broiler pan, or a simple metal V holder, at some really low temp - 150? 175? I forget - at 8m and it would be done at 5pm, that sort of thing. When I used to do them a lot I'd raise the temp to 225-250 so it would cook faster and it was fine. We're not very picky, just don't want it to chew like leather or something. The small pork shoulders from the grocery store I was doing in a crock pot since it's intended mainly for my soup and some casual hubby-sandwiches but the ones from CostCo are huge and won't fit in there so... The oven in this house, that convection fan goes on every time it heats up to temp, even in bake mode. It doesn't stay on the whole time in bake mod, but I find that weird. Don't know the workings of 'em tho, never had one before. I tried using the convection setting but it was browning way too fast so I put it on bake mode. ..at any rate, I think I'll stick to the smaller ones from the grocery store. Just thought I'd try it ... it wasn't all that much cheaper per pound at CostCo anyway.

If you want to slow cook a giant roast in the oven, is it better to leave it on traditional bake or does that convection-bake setting work ok and if so how does it affect cooking time? Traditional thought was faster/higher temp = tougher but dunno what it is with these supposed convection ovens now.

I don't mind some reading in games, but this is exactly how I feel about lengthy voiced dialogue cutscenes that won't let you even advance line by line (I read subs much faster then VA's talk, or if a replay). Occasionally I like a VA enough to listen just because, but most of the time...