legend

17 minutes ago, sblfilms said:

 

I think it mostly comes down to attacking ideas vs. attacking the holder of the idea. I don't have an issue getting into the nitty gritty of why a belief or action is wrong on any number of levels, it just turns out you don't have to call a person a "piece of shit" to challenge their beliefs or actions that you find contemptible. But I understand why insulting people is a favored way of dealing with such characters. It can feel very nice to land a proverbial haymaker.

I think I mostly agree with that, although sometimes some degree of attacking the person is unavoidable. For example, if you're trying to dissuade others from associating with someone or their organization because they're bad news, you can't really avoid calling them a piece of shit at least implicitly  

If you actually want to convince someone of anything insulting them is a bad plan the majority of the time.

But I also think not meeting contemptable positions with appropriate contempt normalizes their position and allows it to spread. Striking the right balance in the right situations is key.

15 minutes ago, Bacon said:

Well, yeah. I mean, this stuff that you guys are talking about literally makes no difference in my mind. I find it pretty hard to care that the "village here" map marker doesn't show up until you visit it as most places don't require you to search for them. You just track whatever quest and you know where it is anyway. The game still tells you where to go unless you are specifically not given the direction like with some of the shrines.

Yes, the game some times points out where to go. But that's not really a counter argument. In fact, BotW straight up tells you exactly where to go to "finish" the game after the tutorial area. It's not even subtle: you're directly told and It's the giant castle in the center of the map viewable by nearly everywhere. And you can in fact go right there and finish the game. This is in fact a strength that adds to the value of exploration and adventure. The interplay of what is communicated to you, what is required vs what is optional, and how things can be discovered is wildly important and you can't boil the analysis down to simple context-free bullet points "it does x" to properly understand it. Even if we have the deeper discussion though, it's still not going to make you like it, which is why I don't think having the extended discussion is going to be very worthwhile for anyone  

15 minutes ago, Bacon said:

I've never understood this. It's just an open world like any other. It even has viewpoints that fill in the map. If you like it, fine whatever, but a new standard? Hardly.

I've written a fair amount about why BotW was so different on this board in the past, but I'm not sure I have it in me to do it again  Suffice it to say I've thought a lot about why it was so different. If you didn't like it, those things might not stand out to you though.

1. Tears of the Kingdom. Not finished but nothing beats the adventure you feel in this game.

2. Breath of the Wild. Previously a new standard for how to do open world games, but TotK is just this but better.

3. Ocarina of Time. There are a handful of games that just felt like magic. This is one of them. (The two above it are, incidentally, also in that small list  )

4. Links Awakening. I only played the remake but was very pleasantly surprised at how well it held up. Just plain fun.

5. Skyward Sword. Not great, but solid.

For some reason, I have never been able to get into A Link to the Past. I don't know why, it seems like it should work for me. Will probably try yet again at some point in the future to see if that changes. I never cared for the Wind Waker games for some reason. I'm also the rare person that kind of hated Majora's Mask.

Sadly, this tracks.

25 minutes ago, MarSolo said:

How do I upgrade my battery?

You need to 100 crystalized zonite and then you can take it to the forger in the main Sky Island to craft into another battery third.

It sounds like there's ways to farm that better, but I still haven't reached it  

I have international travel in September, and that might be the right time to finally get one. @Rev has been telling me I should get one for a year now, and the price is looking good.

Everyone playing TotK

I think AI upscaling might look better than this.

50 minutes ago, nublood said:

And then my weapon breaks in the middle of said flurry

 

But when it breaks it's an instant critical!

I keep seeing videos of people with 8 fully charged batteries. Most of my time is above ground rather than under, but I *just* got one extra sliver. So 8 full batteries seems like a crazy number! Are these people.

1. Sinking every last moment they have into Zelda?

2. Using something you find later which makes it much easier to upgrade the battery?

3. Using a dup glitch?

If it's 2, I don't need to know how, just that here is an in game mechanic that makes it easier.

I'd like them to remake OoT but in BOTW's format, just to maximally piss off @Bacon

In all seriousness, I think the direction they're going with progressively more systems-oriented game design is the right path. Systems-oriented games almost always result in the most memorable experiences. One of the reasons BOTW was great was because of its systems and TOTK takes it to a whole other level.

The trick with that is your systems need simple rules, but when composed together allow for complexity. Thus far they've nailed that. If they can extend it further while maintaining that, all the better.

I apparently have asserted more self control than some of you, but I can't say I'm happier for it.

24 minutes ago, Commissar SFLUFAN said:

 

They're going to be similar to the current PvE-focused seasonal events.

I guess I don't know what these are either  I was waiting for news of the bigger PvE and haven't touched the game otherwise.

I read a lot of that article/interview and am still confused as to what "Story missions" are now.

On 5/10/2023 at 1:11 AM, TUFKAK said:

I’m claiming my Greek resident status for the duration of this nonsense 

Greece is who you're going with for the political high road? 

When I see rocket pieces in the shrine

17 hours ago, Xbob42 said:

Ascend is probably my most used power though, I use it any time I have a roof above me to check out what's above! Since you can cancel it you don't even have to commit!

I'm trying to get into the habit of just using it for kicks more, because while I'm still early, every puzzle that had me temporarily stumped was because I forgot about it!

17 hours ago, Xbob42 said:

Ascend is probably my most used power though, I use it any time I have a roof above me to check out what's above! Since you can cancel it you don't even have to commit!

I'm trying to get into the habit of just using it for kicks more, because while I'm still early, every puzzle that had me temporarily stumped was because I forgot about it!

RE4 Complete. Zelda download in progress.

It's a good time for gaming.

No. I don't understand it. It's more acceptable than just spitting on the ground though.

Which also makes me wonder if this is a smoker thing.

56 minutes ago, BloodyHell said:

Deplatforming is this weird thing that doesn’t really work. You fight bad ideas with good ideas, and bad policy with good policy.

What about the last 10 years of politics has made you believe this? We're not talking about a scientific audience. Good ideas and policy are important ingredients, but thinking that's all you need to change the country is a little myopic.

Fuck yes.

I have 2 levels to go in RE4 Remake. I'll finish that up before starting this, but I'm very much looking forward to it!