LadyCrimson

*looks up Elden Scrolls* ...hmm, Dark-Souls is often referenced. Ugh (for me). But it looks nice. Maybe there will be a wemod or other cheats. ...if it is "Dark Souls like" then it would feel odd if it's too open world ala Skyrim, I'd agree. That said, it could be more akin to Tales of Arise (except somewhat more expansive so you can showcase leaping off cliffs with a horse) ... where areas feel open world-ish while you're in them, but is still very linear (a lot of that scenery looks like inaccessible backdrop, tbh) with a lot of loading screens and separated areas etc. ...on Steam's page: the game supports a unique asynchronous online element that allows you to feel the presence of others. ...Death Stranding like? You'll see signs of others horses or trails or camping or who knows what? Will it help you out in any way like someone can leave small gifts for other players to find/use, or just there visually?

I don't watch enough anime to recognize tons of voices...that said, I am pretty good at recognizing voices (if the VA does not ever change it up, or if they're not super vanilla VA's...) but even if I recognize a voice, it does not imprint a character onto another character. A character remains a separate entity for me if there is no facial imprinting. Hearing James Earl Jones does not make me unable to view an animated chr as anything but Darth Vader. Seeing a live-actor's face after 2 or 3 movie roles ... he later then never becomes Neo, Bill, or John Wick - he's always Keanu. I love Tom Hanks, but yeah...he is always just Tom Hanks and what I'm doing while watching the movie is loving Tom Hanks performance, not a character.

^ I think the main appeal of animation to me (outside of visual/imagination things you can't do w/live action) is that you do not really encounter the "Al Pacino is always Al Pacino in every movie" syndrome. Even those actors that are not quite as extreme cases as that become overly familiar in their common style/mannerisms after a long while. Sure anime faces are often similar in basic shape or form but there is no live-actor association for you to get bored, annoyed, or expectant from. Thus they feel like fresh characters, not a famous face.

I think it's more to do with material and whatever fantasy elements there may be. Some thing just work better with the wilder artistic freedom of animation vs. what live actors/cinematography could do. Like, I could easily picture Grave of the Fireflies being a live-actor film. Would it feel different? Sure, but I could see it still working. Maybe even Sword of the Stranger, since it's closer to straight up fantasy-action/drama. But Howl's Moving Castle? No. At least, I can't picture myself liking any live-action attempt at a film like that.

I should clarify it's not specifically "female" but more the way writers write "female." Especially ensemble female. Character traits for ensembles tend to have similar patterns regardless of gender - there's the comic relief/maybe a little stupid one, the strong silent one, the "average/normal" one, the heart of gold one, the "fanservice so at the least we can make fanservice jokes" one, etc. Doesn't matter if they're male or female, those tropes will still be there. But I mean more ... writers go "we're trying to specifically appeal to a female audience with this show/film, what conflicts/drama/plots and concerns will do that." And apparently most of the time, what most writers (yes even female writers) think will appeal to female audiences, is not what appeals to me. I don't care at all about the characters "concerns" and get bored. No different than me getting bored whenever the drawn out "parents-in-law" subplots come on in some c or k drama drama and I FFWD through those segments. Just total disinterest. I do like equal gender mixing, where the interaction/relationship conflicts between differing male and female perspective (no it doesn't have to be romantic) can be interesting/amusing etc. if done well. And of course there are individual female chrs. I've liked a lot. It's just not all that common for me and I sorta gave up trying/avoid most "aimed more towards female audience" stuff.

I sadly have no nostalgia re: anime, unless you count US Eng. dubbed versions of Speed Racer ( a few episodes that I recall) and Transformers (a "season" or two maybe?) back in, maybe, '78-'83. I knew of anime and some memes/tropes ofc but it wasn't until Netflix had a bunch of anime - 11-13 years ago? - that for some reason I decided to try a series or three. So my attractions towards any anime are/were colored by the fact I didn't watch any until I was 40ish and already jaded re: media overall. I'm also someone who generally doesn't find heavily female-dominated cast shows/films very appealing (in general not just anime) - for whatever reasons I almost never relate to such - so that tends to remove a large section of animes/shows from the equation. I feel like I've tried a lot of anime series the past 12 years or so, from action to romance to teenager to sci-fi/fantasy or period settings (enough to recognize/know about most of the common "tropes"), but most of them I don't finish all available seasons or they were enjoyable at the time of watching but not so memorable that I remember their names.

By the time all their patches, dlc and whatever other plans come to fruition, I might be in the mood to try finishing the game. Maybe. Then again, maybe I'll wait until the 6080ti, so I can play it on max ray tracing at native 4k/60fps.

The most fun I had in my several hours of Skyrim was taking screenshots and inserting FO:NV characters into them. Oh, and making the FoV extreme so I could see my wonky arms/hands as I cast spells.

Slayers, Hikaru No Go and Samruai Champloo being three of the early anime that I watched probably kinda ruined me for other anime, because I kept looking for anime that I would like as much. Which is very rare. Most of the time since then most anime I've tried I've only liked for the action and/or humor. Although...that's mostly what I liked Slayers for truth be told - that old series is pretty comical. Lina Inverse and Xellos (who didn't appear until the 2nd season), however ...they're the main things. Anyway, I became bored again and continued watching that basketball show. In the 3rd season they finally had more episodes re: chrs. backstories that get you all wrapped up for the final game showdown between certain chrs/teams. But then that final game went on and on for multiple episodes (maybe five?) which wears ya down. Then it had an epilogue episode that was all chr/bonding stuff which was good, again. Overall it's an ok watch, for the type of genre is it, it just goes overboard with the game "suspense" and players talking to each other mid-game as if they're Bond villains. One thing I did appreciate about it - vs. Prince of Tennis, say - is that they did stay fairly focused on the main players and there wasn't tons of multiple side-story chr. hijinks/distraction. If you're going for the action and showcasing competition stressors, just stay there, imo. Also, for kids, the emphasis on the "power of teamwork" wasn't a bad message. Oh, and did ya know? Apparently in basketball there's a Zone within The Zone, the true zone!

Yeah...which is too bad because some of them are actually quite good/entertaining at first, including manga. Not that I've seen tons of anime-anything, but out of those I have seen/read. Sometimes it's just a case of letting a series run too long I suppose, too. Where they really should just create a 1 season story arc and leave it there. Superhero stuff (or zombies...) often has the same power-creep aspect where enemies have to get stronger every season/film sequel, so they have to keep coming up with more ridiculous solutions etc. Which for me is why superheroes become too dull/absurd after a while, too. If I like some characters enough I don't mind putting up with power-creep, just depends, but when they pulled out "THE ZONE" as some kind of only the chosen-ones magical player ability (and I knew it would then be featured in every single game episode...) I laughed and ...

When you finally have to renew your drivers license in-person (vs. mail) and you put it off and off ... and you haven't been inside one in years... "I want to renew my license." "Real ID?" "No." "You need to get a number, walk past the panels, there will be green boxes, fill out a form, write the number on this piece of paper, come back here with number." ...what panels? What boxes? There is no green anywhere... "Hi I am lost and confused..." "Go over there where those green screens are and..." "What green screens?" "Over there (vaguely pointing), input your info." (a couple more vague exchanges) "Those computer screens? (that are white and yellow, btw). Do something with those?" ...finally go back to original line with number in hand... ...guy behind booth says next, I walk up. Guy starts talking to someone else (random customer), then walks away with that person. wtf? ...I stand there for a while (the line I was in has grown long), wondering if he's coming back. ...a while later, lady at counter with very heavy accent. Everything she says I'm "What?" "What?" "What?" To be fair, actual time spent waiting wasn't very long but j.f.c, I hate the DMV.

Yup ... midway through the 2nd season of that basketball anime, the power creep starts to really ramp up. Maybe by the 3rd season the star-player 2nd lead will be able to jump to the moon to make a basket/dunk/block. Each game shown may last 2-4 episodes. I think those are done pretty well in terms of action/cheesy fun. There's a few supporting player chrs. that are interesting/you maybe want to know more about them (but probably never will) but like most ... shounens? whatever that word is? ... it begins to all be a bit too much. And basketball players or not, I'm guessing most chrs. are supposed to be 15-18 but ofc most look like 28 year old NBA's or something, haha. Anyway ... it was fun for a while but movin' on now.

I'm not typically into sports-themed shows of any kind, but I started watching Kuroko's Basketball (2015, I think) on Netflix. It's reminding me a tad of a live-actor series Prince of Tennis, except it's basketball, and anime. Y'know, where the superstar players are almost magical in their playing abilities, there's an underdog team, winwin, loss, win, growth, a little humor, etc. I like the style I guess. Anyway, dunno if I can take the endless rounds of "suspenseful" who'll win back and forth for three whole seasons, but I like the first season, with it's introduction and setup of main players, quite a bit. A nice way to pass some weekend time, anyway.

Hm...Biomutant is 34% off, or one of the few otome VN's I've had in my wishlist is 15% off. What to try, what to try... ...for the mood I'm in this week, I think I made the right choice. Has the typical otome cliches/eye-rollers and there were some video bits that weren't Eng.sub translated (boo) but it did make me laugh quite a few times, plus the boi route I picked was great at least. Romancing a hitman with a past! ... the bad ending was surprisingly dark/tragic, too. Love me some tragi-romance. I could see a short anime version of it working. Still nowhere as good as Hakuoki, but I've accepted that nothing ever is/will be.

You know you come here too often when WoT makes "Way Off Topic" the first thing/phrase that pops into my head, which in this context made no sense at all. Then ... "oh....".

I need a new game again. Someone finally made a halfway decent speedo-mod for Ignis/FFXV, so I could play a NG+ of that with the level scaler mod to make all enemies 100+ and romp around with swimwear bro's, but ... nah. What I need is a similar level scaling table for Tales of Arise, so NG+ would start with lvl 90 enemies and go to 100 rapidly. What is with JRPG's having these NG+ modes where enemies remain lvl 6....I don't care if I can carry over my kill-counts, what's the point of that.... Edit: oops, I meant to put that in What Are you Playing Now. Someone can move this post if they want. Or not.

I have had this older anime series in my Amazon Prime watchlist forever. Called Vatican Miracle Examiner it's a series like ... well, imagine x-files or something similar except transferred to religious faith-miracle proving/skepticism. Two priests who are sent to investigate/verify if miracles are really miracles. It has a serious/drama tone with minor horror elements, yet occasionally still feels a bit Scooby-Doo. Anyway, it has an art style I rather like and the two priests are interesting characters, so I keep trying a couple episodes occasionally. Each "case" goes on for 2-3 episodes. Today I watched a couple more episodes. I'm not sure how many are left, but I think I'm going to finally just un-list it. If that Tom Hanks movie Davinci Code or similar was one of your favorite things, one might like it, but it's just a little too plodding (or maybe just takes itself a little too seriously) for me overall.

All I seem to care about lately (besides cats) is what the main character tropes are (if they are per-determined vs. just an avatar ala MMO chrs). ...if I'm going to spend 60+ hours with a lot of story characters, I want them to be tropes I enjoy. I've had my fill of macho/barbarian, gun-ho/military or medieval knight types. No more of those please.

Temps are why California is perfect for someone like me. Live in the fairly temperate zones, but have almost every climate/environment within short or at most half a day driving distance. Because there are tons of environments I love to visit for a day or two, but utterly refuse to live in. Especially as I age and seem to feel extremes in either direction more and more. Irritating.

I love a good open world, or at least a lot of open-ish sections, whether rpg, arpg, sandbox. But there has to be some kind of motivation for me to want to explore it. I don't care if it's hidden shinies to be found, crafting materials to hunt for/grind, looking for the perfect flat place to make a home, beautiful scenery etc. just something. Plus there is a limit on how "huge" I want the world to be. I don't want to literally spend an hour running through empty repeated terrain tiles going from one town to another with maybe a couple wolves or tiny cave encountered during that time. Doesn't have to be chock full of stuff every 10 feet either, but gotta pace things. After Morrowind I just found Beth's games to feel lifeless and dull. Even with all that world to explore, I felt like there was little purpose for it, and the "I wonder what's over there" motivation only lasts so long, so I would get bored fast. Types of open worlds like Beth or similar make me think of ProZD's classic bit:

Morrowind had a plot? ...I do vaguely recall being asked to join a faction... But yeah, I agree with Ametep - Beth games are more for that open world/exploration, crafting, experimenting with "stuff" gameplay, not main plot/story. I mean some may/could argue that but ... that's my opinion. Oh and mods/customization at this point, ofc.

But did you get/like the dog? Surely you give a few cares for the adorable dog? ...there was this point very early in FO4 not long after you get your first mechsuit contraption. Main quest said something about meeting someone in a town/vault. I found the place, entered, looked around for about 10 seconds, then turned around and left. I never went back and the rest of my time in FO4 was building forts, and randomly exploring what I could whilst playing with/dressing up that dog. I eventually forgot there was even supposed to be story/questline. But FO4 was a pretty good post-apoc. pet and fort-design simulator. Edit: oh yeah, I never used the mechsuit again. I left it on the side of a road I think.

Apparently having fast fiber 'net makes uploading to YouTube a faster than light process. I remember when it would take 15-20+ minutes to upload 100MB videos or whatever. Now it's 2GB in like mere seconds. Thankfully the house we bought also has ATT fiber available. Going back to "low speed" after you're used to uber would be stone knives and bearskins. One day I may have to be moved into a "retirement" hospital care place and I will complain endlessly about their terrible wi-fi until the nurses get fed up and take all my toys away.

When you think you're done with a game and then ... "hmm, wait...this has...POTENTIAL." Guys, I've been up all night, dying of laughter. Four Do's destroy everything (and they cast heal on each other). And it's workable in a new playthrough (Cheat Engine table), even in the sections where you haven't picked him up officially, yet.

Just to report: I did finish Tales of Arise. I also finished every side quest and post-game thing. There really isn't much post-game specific content at all, actually. I think technically it's just one multi-dungeon run and one other gauntlet. Which I suppose was a little fun but the thing is it's so Monty Hall and required almost no effort (on Moderate). Since main story won't get you anywhere close to max-lvl, you expect post-game is going to have some grind if you want to hit that, right. Nope. No grind at all - you just get all of them in one giant fast boost - which isn't a bad thing in of itself but point is what's left is so short and the elevation is so rapid it feels anti-climatic as heck. (edit - this post-game rushed feeling design is likely partially a side-effect of the XP system, which = almost zero XP gained once enemies are a few/several levels below your chr. lvl). NG+ does not change enemy scaling or anything like that. You can up the difficulty setting if you want and it's nice if you want to carry over the enemy encyclopedia stuff or maybe outfits, but if you carry over gear, proficiency, skills etc. then ... utterly pointless. Not sure what I want to do now. Since I could skip all cut/skit scenes/have foreknowledge, starting completely over would be much much faster and I could try it on Hard or Chaos, but ... not enough motivation. Outside of occasionally firing it up to giggle at Full-Auto combats, I think I'm done with the game, unless they add more content DLC. I do think Normal/Moderate difficulty is pretty well balanced for those that want lower stress but occasional challenge. I've tried it on Hard occasionally and that increases sponge and damage taken - ppl used to Dark Souls/Sekiro would in the long run probably still find Hard too easy overall and you don't unlock Chaos until later. (the patch that added Unknown difficulty, not sure if you can pick that from get go or not).