marelooke

Been mucking around with an alt in Final Fantasy XIV. Playing through the early game again really underlines how "heavy" the story becomes later. In Conan Exiles I've mostly been playing the new DLC map, Isle of Siptah. I'm still not quite sure how I feel about it. the entire map feels PvP focused, every resource is centralized in some way to maximize the chance you'll run into other players, but it is a new map, with new story to uncover Wild Surges only spawn low tier Thralls, T2 crafters are as rare from Wild Surges as T4 spawns are in the Exiled Lands oh yes, Surges are the only real way to get Thralls there's no Purge, so there's really no reason to build a defensible base in PvE (then again, the Purge is so buggy that even a defensible base doesn't help if they just spawn inside. So yeah, just ditching it was easier than fixing it, I guess) to get better thralls you have to grind a whole bunch of new resources to spawn a "greater" Surge, which only gives you a chance at better Thralls. A very low chance, if the CE forums are to be believed, and there's then even the chance that you'll get non-humanoids spawned too, which are entirely useless. there's basically nothing to do on the island until you get high enough level (45+) the various combat and healing nerfs that came with the expansion have made boss fights, and the early game, really painful (combined with the terrible hit detection and dodgy server code...well, combat's not the game's best side, imho) various crafting materials drop that you cannot use since the recipes appear missing from Siptah (but maybe just haven't found them yet) Since the last mod I needed updated for my Exiled Lands save has now been updated I might just go back to playingbuilding there for now. Still got a humongous pyramid to complete, after all

Thralls are literally dropped out of the air Always in groups of six, picking them off one by one is challenging with melee. Might need to start using a bow. There are only ever T1 crafters in these groups though. Haven't seen any named NPCs either. Ventured nearer to the centre of the island but need higher tier cold resistance gear since the area around the tower is freezing. Not quite sure how to get the crafters required for that though. Anyway, Saruman says "Hi!"

The Isle of Siptah, on a normal day This time you end up stranded There's definitely something not right here... Not sure if an Island should be doing stuff like...that...

Quick update on Isle of Siptah. Created a second character and started in the south-west ("easy" start according to the description), starting point was near a river and so I just hiked down that river and tripped over all kinds of resources, including Aloe (after fighting off packs of dogs and a few crocodiles) Seems the starting areas could use some balancing with regards to availability of truly essential resources (like resources for healing items...).

Spent some time on the new Isle of Siptah map for Conan Exiles, which is in "early access" (more on that later). Started off rather promising, and the setting is definitely different, no desert this time around. The reset back to the bottom of the food chain combined with new unexplored locations was definitely exciting at first. It will be fun to figure out what's going on in this place Combat feels like it had some tweaks, it feels slightly better than after the "rework" (but the rework had me basically give up on combat, so take that for what you will ), however, even the slightest unevenness in terrain (and the isle basically slopes up from the coast, so yeah...) means combos will miss and you'll get chewed up by enemies while you're locked in the animation. They also appear to sometimes just ignore my shield entirely. Not fun when fighting something that gobbles up 1/4 of your hp pool in one hit (and there's plenty of those mini-bosses even in the early parts, so even a "drive-by-hit" can ruin your day. See also next point) Which leads to the next problem: unless you get lucky and find Aloe early on there is no reasonable way to heal. Food no longer heals (ya rly!). Instead it now just gives you a "Sated" buff which heals like 2hp every few seconds (basically the passive heal from before this patch) and there appears to be no difference between different qualities of food (at least not between any that you'd have access to early game). As such it takes absolutely forever to heal any damage (I built quite the big base waiting for my character to heal up...). Oh, and I've been looking specifically for Aloe and I've found none so far. Yay. Combined with the mob density (reminds me of the area around the frozen lake in the North on the vanilla map, where you couldn't go two steps without aggroing something) this makes for really annoying exploration. On top of that I've so far not found a single human NPC, I imagine those are to be found further inland (further inland = harder, or so it would appear) so the only way to get thralls early on would be to tame beasts. This also means there's no access to improved armour recipes, or any of the other perks provided by crafter thralls (reduced material costs, faster crafting,...). I should note that there's different starting location options. I just went with whatever the game suggested (East, which was labelled as "safe") so other locations might have different challenges. Actually I might just create a new character and see how other locations pan out. Maybe find some Aloe that way... As for the "early access" status of the map. Well, the gameplay changes are foisted onto the "vanilla" map as well, so everybody gets to experience the "improvements" to food etc. (at least Aloe is common in the Exiled Lands starter area)

Since I managed to finally merge my disparate savegames. Imagine being newly exiled, following "the road to the city, any road road, all roads lead to Romethe city" and seeing this when you reach the edge of the desert... It's rather hard to get the entirety of this, well, city at this point, into a single screenshot as the games' LoS just doesn't allow for it. It's my first "home" in my first playthrough and I've been adding layers to it ever since, the latest of which being these watchtowers and multiple gatehouse entrance from the desert. While I did tweak the resource costs to build this (to 50%, iirc), everything was gathered the legit way (aka, not spawned in with admin commands) and built the legit way (no spawning in of building blocks either) in a single player game. Now I've merged it together with my "local server" games into a single save database running on my personal Conan Exiles server, this should hopefully allow me to acquire certain resources more quickly (fish traps "gathering" fish while not playing being a big one)

The official servers are basically "default" settings. If not part of a clan it's sloooooow, and the PvE servers often have trolls that block off resources and the like. Finding a well managed non-official server is probably your best bet, though very few of those are "stock". I've never tweaked combat, though I did make the Purge pop up faster (if playing solo on a personal server you're unlikely to ever be able to trigger it otherwise) and a bunch of building/crafting QoL changes (reduced material cost, mostly). Of course where the line is drawn for what's a QoL change and what is gameplay affecting is different for everyone

Combat is very "meh" imho, and since they revamped it and removed the "cheese tactics" (basically perma-stun on most non-boss enemies, combined with how hard bleeds hit) I consider it mostly a nuisance as it really pushes you to just be the cheerleader of your Thralls (which are *much* stronger than you, so letting them do the work make sense, it's just not very engaging. Though I think they were messing with remediating this. Somewhat, anyway). The exploration, world building and well, building aspects are great though. One thing of note is that due to how long things take it might be worth considering running your own server (if you have a PC somewhere that is on 24/7). If you combine that with some tuning of stuff for a more single-player experience (wish there was a way to decrease requirements of only "common" resources though, and leaving the "rare" alone, but I digress) it takes a lot of the slog out of it since you can just queue a bunch of work and let it process overnight. It has a few other advantages, or rather, it does away with some major disadvantages of single-player too, namely that everything despawns once you go too far from an area. This can, of course, be (ab)used to get the spawns you want, on the other hand it also means that if there's multiple desirable thralls in a location you can't really grab all of them since the rest will despawn while you drag the first to camp (even if you knock them all out). If you run a local server otoh, it really does work like a "real" server with all the perks as well (like stuff being actually persistent, at least until you restart the server) Of course, the major drawback is that the server software is a technical disaster and leaks memory like a sieve, so you kinda have to restart the thing at least once a week anyway. As for things I usually tune (off the top off my head): thrall breaking speed (think it's usually set at 0.25 of normal) resource requirements (0.5 or 0.25) how quickly the purge bar fills (if you want purges at all, if not, well, you can just turn them off. Worth noting the best Thralls can only be acquired from purges, and yes, they are better than normal "named" thralls) how often you need to drink (food isn't as much of a nuisance, the defaults for water otoh...) Of note, all the numbers in the server tuning window are multipliers, so 1.00 is 100%, so if you want to speed things up you don't make it 2.00, you make it 0.5 to double the speed.

Haven't really "played" Conan Exiles in a while, but I've been tinkering with my save-database-merge-tool. You know, for those of us that suffer from start-over-itis but want to merge all our big building projects into one save... I *think* I worked around the last hurdle I had for personal use, so gotta test that and then create something of a UI so you don't have to be a programmer to make use of it

As long as you can just launch the mission when it's done loading it's not too bad, that is, assuming the cinematic doesn't slow down the loading excessively... Which bring me to my question, how are the loading times? Mordheim's during early access were brutal and by now they're still not what I'd call "great"...

Finished NieR Automata, well, got the final set of endings (C, D and E), still have a bunch of achievements to go. Pleasantly surprised overall, once past the tutorial (dunno why they figured making the tutorial so hard/punishing was a good idea, the rest of the game is well easier) I didn't have too much trouble. Dodge (ab)use combined with decent chip setup (anti-chain damage and the auto heal thing) kinda goes a long way, and I finished all regular fights on normal difficulty. I did, however, switch to easy and equipped some auto-fire, auto-dodge chips to get past the obnoxious hacking sequences in the Soul Box, that stuff just wasn't enjoyable at all. Probably will finish up some more achievements, not sure if I'll do that before, or after, I get through the existential crisis... So yeah, I guess negatives: the tutorial, really, the no savepoint before that final boss was just kinda obnoxious. Then again, the no compromises on the creative vision is a good thing, so I guess I'll take this over making it palatable for everyone and their cat, or dog. So maybe not so much a negative after all? Soul Box hacking sequences. That stuff was just obnoxious, especially since there's really not much you can do to make it easier (eg. changing chip-setup) aside from dropping down the difficulty, thankfully that was an option, or that part would have been one hell of a rage inducing show stopper... too much of the story is "hidden" in content outside of the game (novels, live performance stuff, etc.) and only referenced in the game. To get the full picture one does need to dig around a bit (well, a lot, really). This includes some rather interesting stuff that happens after Ending E (the "real" ending) which I feel should just have been in the game, if only to give some additional closure to the player. some characters could have used more depth, I'm especially referring to And wouldn't have minded learning more about Jackass either. port isn't exactly great, and does need unofficial patch to get rid of some obnoxious technical issues (like the mouse cursor blinking in the middle of the screen all the time) The good: story (well, errr, duh?) character development, with less talking they made characters a hell of a lot more relatable than many other games that spend a lot more words, and time, on them. combat: while the game's combat kinda isn't really my thing, being someone who doesn't usually use a controller outside of race games. Even with my clumsy controller skills most of the game (see before for the exception) was playable without killing my fingers (despite rather, errr, long playing sessions), or leading to excessive frustration, on normal mode. Looking forward to the NieR Gestalt/Replicant remaster (hoping the PC version will be better, technically) and/or a follow-up to Automata.

Playing NieR Automata, made it through the second ending (Ending B) and now working through the third chapter. Been a while since anything has sucked me in like this, and that even despite that mechanically this game isn't exactly my shtick...

Got past the first ending boss in NieR Automata. Knowing what is coming rather helps one prepare. Who'd have thunk? Ending sure was worth sticking around for, start of next chapter was weird...

Playing NieR Automata, almost done with the first "chapter" but got trashed by, what I can only assume, is the last boss (of ending A, anyway). At least my hands aren't hurting yet, unlike with Remember Me, which I just gave up on as that game physically hurt my hands. I'd like to think I'm getting used to controllers more, but given that I avoid them except for racing games I can't really fathom when that would have happened...

Got started again on NieR Automata, still quite a ways to go before catching up to where I was before my savegame accident (which is just after "the signal"). Forgot how terrible I am with controllers and that the tutorial was this horribly long punishing thing where a death means a do-over. That wasn't fun. Got it second timer around by just spamming dodge, like a "pro" :D Oh, and that the PC port is an abandoned technical piece of crap. They're lucky the game is good. Anyway, back to exploring the desert. Need to grfind some levels since I ran into a boss double my level. Didn't quite like my odds with that one...

The Nier inspired raids in FF XIV have triggered a desire to finally finish Nier: Automata. Given how the game ate my savegame last time I think I'll look into how I can back that up automatically, kinda don't want to go through that again (and now, it wasn't the "expected" savegame delete) As for the raids, well, fighting robots alongside 2B, and a bunch of crazy dwarves. Could be worse as a set-up

Matoya, gotta love her Hmm, things look...off...? (but pretty) Ok, where the flip am I, and why am I here, serously. You there, give me some answers...! Mysteriously mysterious mystery guy Feo-Ui, the cute little branch to my adorable sapling Prettiest castle in the First (no real spoilers, just condensing post) Majestic (actual spoilers) Whatcha looking at? Who doesn't sleep full plate pyjamas?! Every ending marks a new beginning (major spoilers) Me-gasp!-ow!

Is that Tourette?

Would be nice if they'd get their hands on the EverQuest games (and roll back the last few EverQuest 2 expansions...). One needs to have dreams... *sigh* Have been playing some WH40K Inquisitor - Martyr. It's enjoyable enough, though I have my doubt of how it will hold up after I've finished the storyline.

I enjoy how the entire squad shows up in instance cut scenes, like here, at the start of one of the Crystal Tower alliance raids (24man raids) Alexander...one of the raids with a rather interesting backstory (the giant robot is the raid, as in, his inside) Everyone's favourite character (after Alphinaud ), in one of my favourite locations: the steppes. One of the few MMOs where the player character actually has downtime and socializes with the people around her, like here, on the steppes... Even time for some song and dance! Or just chillin' with the homies NPCs actually do useful stuff when you're not around... ...like saving your life, from a distance (and looking cool while doing it) Bucket list: duel on the hand of a giant statue? Check! Meet Tiamat ... (poor girl ) Was I the only one whose first thought was "Alistair Grout"?

I'll be interested to hear your opinion on the post-patches once you get through them Also, in case you haven't already, I'd suggest trying some of the newer raids and alliance raids, I enjoyed the entire Alma raid chain that starts in Kugane (the story of that raid, far less so) and they are really quite a bit harder than the early stuff (Crystal Tower, which I'd hope you've finished before starting Shadowbringers ). The Ghost Ship one from the Sea of Clouds has some interesting fights as well. The Eden's Verse raids are also pretty good once you get to the end of the final patch (not sure if you can even start that quest chain before you make it past the final patch). Gotta say though, Shadowbringers really cranked up the difficulty noticeably for levelling characters, both for the dungeons, as well as for the raids. Still have to try my hand at the Copied Factory (aka "the Nier raid"), watched a guide and ho-boy, is there a lot to take in... As for me, well, mostly beein playing FF XIV with a dash of Conan Exiles. In FF XIV I've been unlocking and completing older raids, dungeons and other stuff I'd missed while levelling. I've also finished my first Anima weapon.

Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun is 85% off

Sounds like they're throwing in the towel rather quickly to me. And this certainly won't help perception next time they launch a new, or competing platform to something, either. Ask Google about that one...

Rogue turns into Ninja at lvl30 (like most base classes specialize into something else at 30), so either is correct as far as I am concerned. Didn't play during WoD, but I remember kitty Druid being extremely hard to play well during Wrath of the Lich King, there was even an add-on that was borderline required for most "mere mortals" to get anything resembling decent performance out of it. Mage in current day WoW isn't fun, not glass, and not a cannon either. Then again, "not fun" is my opinion on WoW in general nowadays. I guess I really miss how you had to be on top of your positioning in "old" WoW, whereas now you can pretty much cast everything on the move. FF XIV really does bring some of that back, come to think of it.

The main downside of HW was Alphinaud, in my opinion. It's rather clear that SE was trying to figure out storytelling, throughout the base game and the first expansion you can really feel how your character really doesn't have much in the way of personality and just does as (s)he is told, and in HW it's mostly Alphinaud bossing you around, very little of what you do feels as if you have any say in it. I find that gets a lot less pronounced starting with Stormblood, and with Shadowbringers especially my Warrior of Light actually seems like a person of her own. While obviously you don't have much of a choice in anything that happens, you don't *feel* it as keenly (except where SE breaks the 4th wall and pokes fun at the Warrior of Light for being unable to say "no", and silently nodding all the time). I think that the fact that you're just swept up in events, makes it far less obvious, since well, events are kinda out of your hands, and it clearly works a lot better that way. The transformation of into Lyse was kinda unnecessary, the events leading up to it also were rather...meh. Might be different for other starting locations, but Yda and Papalymo were my introductions to the Scions, having started in Gridania. Not being able to deal with in a satisfactory manner to wrap up Heavensward kinda sucked as well. That said, I did enjoy Lord Hien and the entire steppe section. Though it becomes abundantly clear there that the player race is just window dressing since it's almost never even acknowledged (I play Xaela and one of the party said something along "Never had much contact with Xaela, don't know much of their culture", I was like "Dude, I'm right here!". That made it all the more surprising when during one of the Beast Tribe quests my WoL was referred to as "You, with the horns!", but that was only one of a very few times race got acknowledged. Heh, due to how "slow" the game already is (slow tick-rate, very long global cooldown) I imagined it'd be easier to play with higher latency. Shows what I know... For me (but I don't have high ping...) pulling off rotations feels easier than in most other games (eg. WoW) since there's an actual skill queue, so you can "pre-load" your next skill. Hell, "slide casting" is even built into the engine (it allows you to either pre-cast, or even move during the last ~15% of a cast), unlike in other MMOs where it's more a property of latency, and thus variable. The very long global cooldown also helps with this, at least until you get to the point where oGCD, off-global cooldown, skills become fairly commonplace (Stormblood, for most classes, iirc). The game also has a rather slow tick-rate, so if you're used to other MMOs where you can maximise efficiency by "standing in the circle" until the very last second: you'll die. It's something I've had to unlearn. It's just how the game is designed (also, dying to stuff you clearly were no longer standing in, and not just on your screen, either...yay, dem slow ticks) And indeed, rotations can get quite complex, depending on the class, but most of the ones I got to a high level have 3 action bars worth of skills, most of which at least see situational use.