LadyCrimson

Became slightly fed up with HUD and downloaded the Nexus mod to toggle it on/off. It also removes game menu elements, hence toggling it constantly, or only off when you want screens/videos. Anyway, combat is still visual chaos but at least you can get a few combat animation shots now and then without the GIANT TEXT of skill name plastered over them. Or the mini-map. Or ... But without a photomode, normal combat stuff is mostly dull to screen (plus I'd have to cheat hard so I could observe it). Too far away, not visceral enough for me. Mostly they'd look like below, and that's taking stills from sifting thru 4k video frame by frame. Oh well, plenty of nice scenery and stuff here and there, instead!

Wait, there's a new one? .... oh, a sub-channel. Based on clips doesn't seem like it'd be any better than the old one, just prettier. One of those books that I think will never be able to filmed, any medium. Well, maybe a 60 episode animation could. Maybe. I love Greg Kinnear but I can't personally picture him as Glenn Bateman at all, even after watching a few clips. Ray Walston was one of the few things about that 90's series that was perfect imo (also Gary Sinise).

I want my own owl. Also: The enemy might be in there somewhere. Yeah, I'm cherry-picking one second of a moment, but it's one of those "really busy" combat UI/effects graphics, along with a constantly moving camera and often short FoV/PoV. The gals are both ranged and they're constantly tossing big-effect spells/attacks on top as well as any "big" enemy ones. It looks cool, don't get me wrong, but it's pretty visually chaotic, even more than FFXV was, imo. Sometimes feels like I'm just mashing buttonsy hoping I'm hitting something. Maybe it'd be better to play one of the gals and stand back, and let AI control the melee. But I like playing Alphen. I think you can tell the AI to not use certain attacks if you want (like flashy ones) but haven't played with that stuff yet.

I've rewatched this several times and it gets funnier to me every time. William Shatner's self-aware straight-faced humor/trolling (or whatever you want to call it) always cracks me up. I can't believe he's 90. Live long(er) and (continue to) prosper, dude.

Tales of Arise: Reached the point where I get a third party member, so still fairly early I think. Still overall/casually enjoying the game. Couple "not seriously negative but not overly positive" observations: ---at first I liked the skits. But there are so many of them and I keep playing them thinking I might miss something "good." (some you cannot choose when to play, they are triggered by events instead) More and more they feel a little like info-dumps vs.interesting convo's with campy vitality. So now I read quickly and click thru faster, not waiting for the VA's. It's not that I dislike them - it's just there's too many/too long winded for me. ---on Normal difficulty, early combat becomes too easy too fast. You don't even have to bother with dodging/evading. Which doesn't really bother me in my "old age" ways, but it makes me feel like I'm still in tutorial mode and thus I'm afraid to up the difficulty, certain that the next "act boss" is going to 3 second whomp me without warning as a "here's the REAL combat, don't you wish you'd spent time mastering that dodging/evading!" taunt. To balance that out: ---I have yet to feel a need to "grind" for anything, just to keep going/do the few early weapon upgrades, so that's nice such doesn't feel required. Seems well balanced in that regard. ---I really do like the graphical look (well, most of the time). It's not cutting-edge super high fidelity but that sorta cell-shading or watercolor softness or whatever it is, is pleasing. ---the owls, man, the owls. Must...find...all the owls.

Just showing some scenery. Also, you can switch "party leader" at any time, meaning that's the one you control/skillset you use in combat and will see while running around. eg, you don't always have to be staring at only one character's behind outfit.

Yeah, I know, there are "solutions" and workarounds for such that people use. I don't think/find any of them easier on me, personally. Like I don't want to open a 2nd account, have a 2nd card, and maybe pay fees for not having a huge amount in that account all the time, or remember to transfer/set up auto-transfer of funds to it all the time, that might change as what I sub to goes up or down etc. Fraudulent CC use not being liable (by me) is one reason to use them online. Cashback is ok too, if you use it a lot. Occasionally I just put those "points" as a payment back into it. I use debit/ATM card to pay for day to day things in person like groceries or at Home Depot (vs. writing paper checks constantly like I used to) but don't use/have never used the "as a VISA/CC" option of ATM cards, since if I want to use a CC, I just pull out ... my CC. Hubby hasn't either. He's still a cash person most of the time, when possible, actually.

Moah costumes/thingies, plz. Also: hot potato sword.

I guess HBO no longer will go through Amazon Prime. Meaning I'd have to sign up with HBO-Max directly, giving them my info/CC etc. Yet another thing to keep track of. They're all going to go like this, right? Amazon Prime will soon be all Prime originals. And no, I'm not concerned about my viewing habit privacy re: media. I just like my CC/billing to be one thing as much as possible vs. spread out/given to 101 places (that I have to keep track of to boot, ofc). It's the same reason I still don't like using anything but Steam and GoG even as years/times change. Sigh. *grump*

Tales of Arise - bought it. First 2-3 hours is a long set-up. After that you feel like the gameplay actually starts. Five hours in doing simple early story and side missions. Dialogues (English VA) are sometimes so ... cheesy? over the top, shouty, dramatic? ... that I snorted good-naturedly several times. I hear it becomes better/more significant later. Very linear. Wandering maps/dungeons are so far small but serviceable. That arena combat becomes a little annoying as a system - the constant am-walking but then interrupted feeling - but at least "mobs" are quick even without being a master of timing dodging or artes. I hear some bosses are tough - but I always have Wemod if I get old-fart stuck. Haha. Kind of feels like a cross between a virtual novel (with the storyboard like dialogue method for some of them) and an action-rpg. Silly as some of them are, I'm actually rather enjoying the party dialogue bits, whether while out and about or during campfires - the back and forth. Haven't skipped any yet. Graphics are pretty charming/decent overall, it's like anime and Borderlands had a baby. Anyway, enjoying it as a light romp, like I thought I would.

...what kind of game did I get myself into.

Matrix plot rumors/speculation floating about: --maybe Trinity is actually the new One

Ah, I suppose that makes some sense. I only stayed in the starter area to get the idea of basic combat/minor other things. Didn't follow the quest. Do you have the full game? Does it have a manual save system at all or is it all checkpoints? I know about the $20 worth of certain costume DLC that have Titles/skills or traits or something, which feels a bit extra greedy but whatever - not sure if I'd want those. Maybe only min/maxers would care about them. Still can't fully decide but since I'm "game bored" I might say screw it and just get it....

Tried Tales of Arise demo. It doesn't save so if you exit it you start it all over. It's just to give you an idea of mechanics/gameplay. I could make the audio language Japanese so that would take care of the Noctis "problem" but there's a lot of wandering party dialogue bits I might not notice that way because the subtitles for them are small pop-ups in one corner. Hm. You have a party but when roaming you only see/use the chosen party leader so you feel alone, just their voices pipe up now and then (they appear in cutscenes/storyboards). They show up actively during combat with AI. When your leader gets close to an enemy, game teleports you into a combat set piece arena or something. Not sure I like that method - it's not bad or anything, just not what I'm used to. Combat isn't complex, like I prefer these days, but there's so much on-screen numbers/words/display it looks messy. Still, kinda mindlessly fun. I like the (click shinies) gathering/grinding collectables, seems like a lot to gather. Supposedly there's fishing too. And a lot of story but I don't really care about that a ton. I'd probably like it as a fun time-waster, but from demo don't see it as becoming a big favorite ... can't make up my mind. ...it was nice to discover tho, that during a random wilderness camp, the party could still make ice cream for dinner. Must be a magical freezing spell.

Pig-bunny? Can I have one?

Encased? Maybe I'll ... "turn-based" .... sigh, never mind, again. Maybe one day I should get past that but after 20+ years, I doubt it/don't even try anymore. I also looked at Tales of Arise - it was on my check-it-when-released wishlist cause in some ways it reminds me a bit of FFXV (note: I've seen but never bought any of the previous Tales), but after watching some videos I realized something: ----the VA for the male lead is the same as the male lead in FFXV and this time he didn't sound any different. I recognized the voice immediately (some of the VA's other work, like in BL3, it's way less obvious). So everything the chr says (including the overbearingly constant/similar battle-cry lines) I couldn't get past thinking Noctis! So in some early serious cutscenes I'd keep laughing. Not the VA's fault, usually I can get past/don't mind - I just played XV too darn much I guess, lol. Anyway, I think I'd find it very bizarre. I may try the demo at least tho. Maybe I can learn to ignore it.

I wish I'd had a last minute growth spurt - even just a few more inches would've been nice, so I could be a little over five feet at least. I think I basically stopped growing when I was 11-12. Ok ok, maybe there was a 1/4 of an inch, no clue, but clothes-wise, nada. Well, maybe hips/bust and shoulders grew a bit after puberty but that's the wrong direction.

Sorry, posting another one of these. Just love what Kiffness creates (original cadence "viral video" is on YT as well). Drill instructor cadences are awesome enough on their own, the added beat/music just makes it even more so. Great to aerobic to. I had to of course watch a lot of cadence/drill videos. Is there a requirement that a drill sgt./instructor has to have a decent cadence-tone/voice? Is there ever a drill person who sounds utterly terrible? I kind of doubt it.

My waist continues to shrink bit by bit, even tho the scale keeps saying I've hardly lost any weight. So weird. I can fit into some very old pants/shorts again. In another month or two maybe I'll fit into those zippered-leg snow/ski pants I wore that were a little loose when i was 13 (mid-20's they were slightly snug). Yes, that's right, I kept snowpants for 40 years. Only wore them a few times. Waste not!

...wait, it's been that long? I remember posting ss's on this forum when I played it at release. *Google* ... released in 2006. ...crap, I/we got old.

@Malcador I can't remember, did you play Pharaoh already? I always meant to replay/finish that one. I liked it well enough but my memory is that the issue became that I'd "finish" everything but the larger/multiple monument building requirement and I'd be waiting and waiting and waiting .... I don't like waiting. It was a good (very) similar game tho. Are you going to try Caesar 4 one day? The 3D graphics make it feel a bit more clunky or claustrophobic in some respects (especially the minimal combat) but it was all right/worth a once thru imo. Edit: unrelated -- just realized wemod has DeathStranding cheat for materials. Maybe I'll use it for materials for the roads solo so I can not use the stupid DS/social-online gimmick. Might inspire me to finish the game on PC.

He was my main motivation for renting that movie (that and it being "sci-fi/fantasy"), because I liked his performance a lot in Les Miserable as was interested in keeping an eye on his career for a bit. Sadly I haven't really liked any of the movies (that I've seen, or lack of interest in the topic so I didn't watch) that he's been in since. Including Fantastic Beasts (only tried watching the first one). Edit: and yeah, I guess the art/design was ... eye-catching, at least. I totally agree with this. First few notes played and I was all "Perfect!"

Oh yeah, I think I did that a few times as well. Build a warehouse, connect one road to one side, connect another road that isn't connected at all to that first road, to the other side. That kind of thing? See, that was part of what I found fun in those age old games - trying to figure out ways around the (limiting/extra simple programming/pathing, lack of QoL options) limitations. Either for ease or for giggles. Now there's rarely any of that type of extra "challenge" and it's just plain old gameplay and outright game-stopping bugs that modders have to fix. How boring! Edit: those "market lady road block" thingies and buying restrictions they put in later games, they were useful sure, but it immediately made those games more dull. Haha

I've heard that was a joke quote from a whole back and forth, with the single line/reply taken out of context. But I haven't read Twitter. That said, she seems like the type to be backlashed-disliked by a lot of folks these days.

Haven't been playing anything other than tablet-slots for days now. My PC and large TV aren't portable and lately I want to sit in the garage and outside. But Patron has had a lot of updates - they added a map editor, which I think at the moment is limited to being able to edit a map you're actually playing, like add trees/change terrain? Not create new maps. Haven't really looked into it/unsure. They plan on a lot of changes from feedback, most sound like good things. I like the game but it definitely needs some QoL and some late-game/high population balance changes still. I'm beginning to wish I could sit in a chair and watch while you play.