Milisen blir klar och RP börjar bygga en svinstia. Index uppträder. RP har hört rykten om en märklig farkost som enligt ryktena sägs innehålla en skatt. RP bestämmer sig för att åka dit i Arkens gummibåt.
Danko leder vägen och plockar upp lite patroner och artefakter (sakletar-talang) och RP anländer till platsen efter åtta timmar. På platsen ser den en rostig gammal roddbåt. I roddbåten ser de en död man som är skjuten med ett flertal pilar. Från båten går en stig. Index känner zonen och ser ett fotspår som har en hyfsat mänsklig form, men det skulle isf vara en väldigt konstigt formad människa.
De följer stigen lite avsides och kommer ut och får syn på en metalltub som ligger på stranden. Kvark förstår sig på och förstår att det är en atomubåt från forntiden. Danko bestämmer sig för att springa upp på den och då attackerar reptilmänniskor. Danko misslyckas med att fly och blir spetsad av en treudd. Han blir bruten och Index vårdar honom. Kvark använder sin mutation och skjuter projektiler på dem och alla fem faller ihop och dör (It's super effective!) Jony går fram till ubåten. Danko käkar. Innan de kommer fram till ubåten, så kommer ett stort fartyg fram ur dimman på vattnet. Det är ett gammalt kryssningsfartyg. Från båten hörs ett bom och sedan ett bom till i skogen. Index gömmer sig bakom en sten. Danko och Kvark gör samma sak. Jony hoppar till båten. Han träffar skrotpiraterna på båten och de presenterar sin ledare Ossian. De förklarar läget och piraterna följer med Jony tillbaka till stranden. På stranden förhandlar de under en längre tid och under tiden kryper ett flertal reptilmänniskor ut ur ubåten och börjar skjuta på piraterna. Medan de skjuter så fortsätter fler reptiler att krypa ut ur ubåten och det blir snart uppenbart att reptilerna är fler än piraterna. RP bestämmer sig för att hjälpa reptilerna. Ossian drar sig tillbaka från striden.. Index springer efter och hugger med sin katana. Kvark krypskjuter Ossian som faller ner död.
Fullt ut krig. Kvark blir bruten men reptilerna dödar majoriteten av piraterna. Index helar Kvark och Kvark springer rakt in i striden och skjuter projektiler på resten som faller ner. Efter striden sänker reptilerna sina vapen men de är fortfarande misstänksamma. Jony vill prata med dem men måste förstå förstå sig på för att förstå deras språk. Han lyckas och reptilerna presenterar sin ledare Dante. Jony förhandlar med Dante som förklarar att han är villig att ge dem det som piraterna var ute efter om de gör honom en tjänst. Reptilerna föds alla som honor men ledaren är alltid hane - en hona som bytt kön och utmanat den förre ledaren. Dante vet att en hona har gått iväg för att göra det nu och han vill att de dödar henne innan hon utmanar honom. RP går med på detta.
Kvark reparerar alla vapen och äter mat. De går ner i ubåten och hittar Septina. Danko går på med sin katana men missar. Septina går tillbaka med sin motorsåg. Danko tar 3 skada. Index boostar Danko. Kvark förstår sig på och får reda på Septinas stats. Jony slår med slagträ och Septina tar 4 skada. Danko attackerar med sin motorsåg och Septina är död. De lootar rummet för skrot och går sedan ut igen. Dante håller in sdel av avtalet och ger RP dykutrustning, kikare, sjökort, rökgranat, och torpederna om de kan få loss dem. Torpederna har rostat fast och både Jony och Danko försöker. Danko pressar och lyckas få loss dem. Kvark bär en och Danko den andra. RP lootar de döda piraterna. Sen tar de Rammaren (piraternas skepp) tillbaka till Arken.
Sunday, 19 May 2019
Saturday, 11 May 2019
Dealing with backlog: Mystic Messenger
This is a smartphone otome game tbh. I played it for the first time in 2017 and for my first time I did it all on instinct and I chose my responses as how I personally preferred to answer and I ended up with Yoosung. The guys in the game represents all the common tropes/stereotypes of otome games, but tbh I actually really liked the whole mystery/detective/thriller theme to the game that's underneath all the dating stuff.
When I played Yoosung's story it became obvious that 707 was the heart of the story, which usually means getting his ending would mean getting the true ending. Unfortunately for me 707 was part of the Deep Story, which only unlocked after getting to the ending of the three characters in the Casual Story. At the time in 2017 this felt like too much of a hassle, but here I am two years later and now I've spent two weeks with this game playing through all the routes!
Casual Story
The game starts with you finding a phone with a messenger app and a person shown as Unknown in the chat room asks you to go to a certain apartment and give this phone back to its owner. He can't do it himself for whatever reason. If you persistently decline this invitation you'll get a bad ending. Be the gullible fool and go along with his proposition and you find yourself in an apartment chatting to 6 guys and 1 woman. All of whom are part of an organisation called the RFA (Rika's Fundraising Association) who does charity work and funraising events. The messenger is confidential and you've been allowed access by a hacker. Nobody knows why, but since the messenger and a lot of the information held by the RFA is confidential everyone suspects foul play. But since you're now in and have access to all of this information you get enrolled as the new party coordinator and tasked with organising a new RFA party. The first one in 2 years. The last one was held before Rika, the founder and former party coordinator, killed herself.
Yoosung: Yoosung is a 21-year-old college student who absolutely loves gaming. He's representing the young and cute trope. He's very innocent, very sensitive and very emotional. Basically he's very young. And throughout most of his route he's a fun and happy person, until it becomes apparant that the PC is in danger and he steps up, mans up and grows up a lot in a few short days. He joins 707 on his personal quest to find the hacker responsible for everything and while doing so Yoosung finds a lot of questionmarks concerning 707´s past and current life. Questions that makes the player keep on playing to find the answers. Yoosung is a cousin to Rika and they were very close. He was more devastated than most when she killed herself and so a lot of the things that get uncovered while playing has a very big effect on him.
Zen: Zen fills the trope of the super-handsome narcissist. He's a budding actor and model and his romance is by far the steamiest and most passionate and lovey-dovey. I had absolutely the most fun playing his route. Except for the actual romance parts this route plays out pretty much exactly the same as Yoosung's route when it comes to the main story. The main difference being that while Yoosung and the PC don't get to meet until the actual party, the PC actually gets to meet Zen and stay with him while things are at their most dangerous. Zen's personal story is one of celebrity scandal and how he decides to deal with it. It seems exaggerated at times, but perfectly fit the image that tabloids try to sell us every day IRL. In every single other route from Zen's, Zen always makes sure to ask the PC if she's being treated well and that nothing untoward is being done to her. He's 100% gentlemanly with her both in his own and everyone else's paths, and still manages to be the steamiest and most passionate route of them all.
Jaehee: Jaehee takes the spot for the friendship ending. Most otome games have a friendship ending, but I don't understand why since nobody I know plays these games to find a friend. Jaehee is overworked by her boss and with the PC's help she manages to break out of it and quit her job and start doing something she really enjoys. Jaehee is my spirit animal, but her route is the safest and most boring to play. It also plays out exactly like Yoosung's route where the main story is concerned.
Deep Story
The Deep Story starts off the same way as the Casual Story but soon changes rhythm and becomes more fastpaced, while keeping a lot of the core elements from the Casual Story. It also offers a lot more clues to what's really going on in the background concerning V, Rika and, of course, 707.
Jumin: Jumin is the rich boy trope. As I didn't get a bad ending I can't be sure, but his path gives me hostage situation vibes, and it feels a bit like mild Stockholm Syndrome or setup for abuse to play his path. I like Jumin in the other characters' paths, but in his own he becomes possessive, suspicious and overbearing. What happened to the Jumin I know and like? This isn't him! The main story in Jumin's route offers shock value as the final pieces of the puzzle start to fit together.
707: Seven, my sweet adorable Seven. I was right in thinking that it all came down to Seven in the main story. In Seven's route he decides to come over to the apartment once things become dangerous and spend most of the route in the same room as the PC. However he's reluctant to let himself fall in love or even be loved due to his life situation. It all comes together in the end. Seven is funny and a total joker and also a complete genius. When he loves he loves deeply, but never sacrificially so. Seven's route ties together the main story and it all falls into place. This route is 100% worthy of being the true ending and this is absolutely my favourite path of them all.
Another Story
This is unlocked after you complete the Deep Story. This is an alternate version of events which takes place 2 years earlier. Only 6 months after Rika's death. Many of the events in this version are the same as in the original version but they play out completely different. The PC is approached in a messenger by a hacker originally called Unknown, but who later goes by the name of Ray. Ray claims himself to be a game developer and would like her to go to a certain place and stay there while she's testing a game. The objective of the game is to host a party and to romance the guys in the game. She's added to the messenger and things go from there, with the added twist that the PC is convinced that all the people in the messenger are pre-programmed AIs until the game's 4th day.
V: V fits yet another trope; the pained one. He has a pained past in being Rika's fiancé up until her death. But he's involved in so many complicated things that he's keeping hidden from the other members of the RFA. Getting him to open up and confide in the PC is hard work. He's very philosophical and artsy and tbh I got sick and tired of reading all his philosophical ramblings. But beneath that he's very sweet, but unsure how to go about life and love. Rika was his only previous experience of love and as both the Deep Story and this route tells us Rika was mentally ill and V unequipped to deal with it properly. It feels very rewarding to finish this route and get him to move on and be happy.
Ray: Ray is dangerous and mentally disturbed due to the circumstances of his life. Which is another trope. Ray suffers from a split personality, but both personalities are aware of each other. Ray's route plays out pretty much exactly like V's route but from the opposite perspective. Ray is an odd option for a romance. One personality is childlike and invokes the desire to shield and protect, while the other is aggressive and threatening. The incessant care of the PC brings the two personalities together and basically cures him and lets him become a whole person. He's an interesting character, but really an odd choice for a romance option and I much prefer him the way he is in 707's path.
I decided to not play any of the DLCs because I actually regretted playing Another Story. 707's path was a perfect ending to the game and in hindsight I would've preferred to keep it that way.
When I played Yoosung's story it became obvious that 707 was the heart of the story, which usually means getting his ending would mean getting the true ending. Unfortunately for me 707 was part of the Deep Story, which only unlocked after getting to the ending of the three characters in the Casual Story. At the time in 2017 this felt like too much of a hassle, but here I am two years later and now I've spent two weeks with this game playing through all the routes!
Casual Story
The game starts with you finding a phone with a messenger app and a person shown as Unknown in the chat room asks you to go to a certain apartment and give this phone back to its owner. He can't do it himself for whatever reason. If you persistently decline this invitation you'll get a bad ending. Be the gullible fool and go along with his proposition and you find yourself in an apartment chatting to 6 guys and 1 woman. All of whom are part of an organisation called the RFA (Rika's Fundraising Association) who does charity work and funraising events. The messenger is confidential and you've been allowed access by a hacker. Nobody knows why, but since the messenger and a lot of the information held by the RFA is confidential everyone suspects foul play. But since you're now in and have access to all of this information you get enrolled as the new party coordinator and tasked with organising a new RFA party. The first one in 2 years. The last one was held before Rika, the founder and former party coordinator, killed herself.
Deep Story
The Deep Story starts off the same way as the Casual Story but soon changes rhythm and becomes more fastpaced, while keeping a lot of the core elements from the Casual Story. It also offers a lot more clues to what's really going on in the background concerning V, Rika and, of course, 707.
Another Story
This is unlocked after you complete the Deep Story. This is an alternate version of events which takes place 2 years earlier. Only 6 months after Rika's death. Many of the events in this version are the same as in the original version but they play out completely different. The PC is approached in a messenger by a hacker originally called Unknown, but who later goes by the name of Ray. Ray claims himself to be a game developer and would like her to go to a certain place and stay there while she's testing a game. The objective of the game is to host a party and to romance the guys in the game. She's added to the messenger and things go from there, with the added twist that the PC is convinced that all the people in the messenger are pre-programmed AIs until the game's 4th day.
I decided to not play any of the DLCs because I actually regretted playing Another Story. 707's path was a perfect ending to the game and in hindsight I would've preferred to keep it that way.
Monday, 29 April 2019
My last 5 books: Three YA fantasy, one dystopian future and one classic
2. Red Queen, by Victoria Aveyard. I had heard a lot about this book and so I decided to read it. It's been a long time since I've disliked a main character this much. Cal is much too good for her. The author really did try to make us believe that the bad guy was a super good guy, but all my warning bells were going off every time he was mentioned. I found very few likeable things in this book. I liked Julian and Cal and Kilorn (the author writes very agreeable boys), but Mare is a selfish douche who doesn't think about how she and her actions affect others until it's too late and all she can do is to apologise. She does it over and over and over again in the book and she's so frustrating! None of the plot twists came as surprises because obvious story is obvious. This book gave me nothing and seeing how the reviews decline with each following book I won't be picking up the sequel.
4. Six of Crows, by Leigh Bardugo. Give me thieves in a fantasy setting and I'm a happy girl! I absolutely loved this book and I loved Kaz to bits. Nina and Matthias had me sighing "Just kiss" at the book. Inej broke my heart when she turned down Kaz even though I absolutely understand her reasoning. It took me two chapters and then I didn't want to put the book down. The twists and turns came by so quickly that I didn't have time to anticipate them all and the fast-paced plot kept me on my toes. I adore every single one of Kaz's crew, but Kaz is the glue that keeps it all together. Kind of like Kelsier in the first Mistborn book, although I'm afraid to make that comparison; if something happens to Kaz in the next book I'll be so mad. As soon as I finished this book I went online and ordered the sequel as well as the other three books in the Grishaverse. I'm in love.
Sunday, 28 April 2019
Dealing with backlog: The Town of Light
This game is a work of art. It isn't very long, just around three hours. The story is amazing and terrifying.
The game starts with you standing in front of the gates to the ruins of an old mental asylum. You walk around trying to find out what happened to Renée, a girl who was sent to the asylum in the late 1930s. As you go you discover her memories and her diary and slowly start to piece together the puzzle of what happened to her while she was there.
The game starts with explaining that a lot has happened to mental institutions in the last 80 years and that this game shouldn't be interpreted as a representation of what it's like today.
The game is heartbreaking and while it's categorised as psychological horror on Steam, I don't agree with the horror part but it's definitely psychological. And terrifying.
Renée went through everything possibly imaginable in that asylum and when the doctors ran out of options they did what every doctor would've in the 40s - they gave her a lobotomy. She arrived at the asylum at the age of 16 and was lobotomised at 23 after she tried to kill herself after finding out about her mother's death.
The game takes place in Italy and the game ends by explaining that lobotomy really took off in Italy - more so than most other countries.
This game was amazing and heartbreaking and it made me so sad. Play it. It's a work of art.
The game starts with you standing in front of the gates to the ruins of an old mental asylum. You walk around trying to find out what happened to Renée, a girl who was sent to the asylum in the late 1930s. As you go you discover her memories and her diary and slowly start to piece together the puzzle of what happened to her while she was there.
The game starts with explaining that a lot has happened to mental institutions in the last 80 years and that this game shouldn't be interpreted as a representation of what it's like today.
The game is heartbreaking and while it's categorised as psychological horror on Steam, I don't agree with the horror part but it's definitely psychological. And terrifying.
Renée went through everything possibly imaginable in that asylum and when the doctors ran out of options they did what every doctor would've in the 40s - they gave her a lobotomy. She arrived at the asylum at the age of 16 and was lobotomised at 23 after she tried to kill herself after finding out about her mother's death.
The game takes place in Italy and the game ends by explaining that lobotomy really took off in Italy - more so than most other countries.
This game was amazing and heartbreaking and it made me so sad. Play it. It's a work of art.
Saturday, 27 April 2019
Dealing with backlog: Sherlock Holmes The Devil's Daughter
When this game was announced I had just completed The Testament of Sherlock Holmes and so I was really excited for it!
The game is a set of five cases which aren't connected to each other or to the main story. The overall story is connected to Holmes' daughter Kate; the little girl he adopted at the end of Testament. Kate gets a close relationship with Holmes' new neighbour Alice and Watson keeps nagging Holmes' about telling Kate the truth of her origin.
Of crouse Holmes doesn't, because he's afraid of losing her if she finds out the truth, so in the end she finds out about it in the most horrible way. Depending on your actions in the end you can either save her or lose her. In a very Dishonored fashion.
I really enjoyed the game mechanics of collecting evidence, connecting clues and making deductions to solve the cases. That was really enjoyable.
They got a new voice actor for Holmes in this game which suited me fine, because the VA in earlier games has had a really fine acquired pronunciation that just nagged at me when I listened to it for long. Of course it didn't hurt that Holmes in this game looks like Jon Hamm, or that Watson looks like Jude Law.
My favourite case was the one involving the American actor Orson Wilde and how much Holmes rolled his eyes at him and groaned at his actions. That was hilarious! And I also enjoyed the ending with Holmes all fired up with care and worry and fighting his new nemesis. It was so epic :3
The game is a set of five cases which aren't connected to each other or to the main story. The overall story is connected to Holmes' daughter Kate; the little girl he adopted at the end of Testament. Kate gets a close relationship with Holmes' new neighbour Alice and Watson keeps nagging Holmes' about telling Kate the truth of her origin.
Of crouse Holmes doesn't, because he's afraid of losing her if she finds out the truth, so in the end she finds out about it in the most horrible way. Depending on your actions in the end you can either save her or lose her. In a very Dishonored fashion.
I really enjoyed the game mechanics of collecting evidence, connecting clues and making deductions to solve the cases. That was really enjoyable.
They got a new voice actor for Holmes in this game which suited me fine, because the VA in earlier games has had a really fine acquired pronunciation that just nagged at me when I listened to it for long. Of course it didn't hurt that Holmes in this game looks like Jon Hamm, or that Watson looks like Jude Law.
My favourite case was the one involving the American actor Orson Wilde and how much Holmes rolled his eyes at him and groaned at his actions. That was hilarious! And I also enjoyed the ending with Holmes all fired up with care and worry and fighting his new nemesis. It was so epic :3
Wednesday, 24 April 2019
Do I Have That Book challenge
Hannah did this on Youtube and I decided to do it myself, but as a blog post :)
Here we go~~
1. Do you have a book with deckled edges?
I do! The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman is the first one that comes to mind.
2. Do you have a book with three or more people on the cover?
I don't actually have a lot of books with people on the cover and I really don't want to say the Swedish version of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire... But looks like I can say either first or last book in The Belgariad. Swedish version.
3. Do you have a book based on another fictional story?
Any of my game novels I presume? But I'll keep on the literary route and say Anno Dracula by Kim Newman, which is based on Dracula and a myriad of other vampire stories.
4. Do you have a book with a title 10 letters long?
Norra Latin by Sara Bergmark Elfgren.
5. Do you have a book with a title that starts and ends with the same letter?
Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo.
6. Do you have a Mass Market Paperback?
Yes. Too many to count. They're easy to carry and I mostly read while going somewhere on the bus/train/plane. But I can give you Midvintermörker by Lars Wilderäng as an example.
7. Do you have a book written by an author using a pen name?
The entire Cormoran Strike series by Robert Galbraith a.k.a J.K. Rowling.
8. Do you have a book with a character's name in the title?
If I don't go with Harry Potter... Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer.
9. Do you have a book with two maps in it?
Svavelvinter by Erik Granström.
10. Do you have a book that was turned into a TV show?
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood.
11. Do you have a book written by someone who was originally famous for something else?
Brain Droppings by George Carlin.
12. Do you have a book with a clock on the cover?
This one was really hard! The Strange Affair of Spring-Heeled Jack by Mark Hodder has an open pocket watch behind the title. That counts, right?
13. Do you have a poetry book?
I'm not big on poetry, but The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy and Other Stories by Tim Burton should do.
14. Do you have a book with an award stamp on it?
I don't. I think. I prefer to buy books with clear covers. I have Pulitzers, Nebulas and even Nobel laureates on my shelves but not one of them has an award stamp!
15. Do you have a book written by an author with the same initials as you?
Nope. 90% of my family have the same initials as me but I apparantly don't have an author with my same initials!
16. Do you have a book of short stories?
Several. Trigger Warning by Neil Gaiman is one.
17. Do you have a book that is between 500-510 pages long?
Necroscope by Brian Lumley is 505 pages.
18. Do you have a book that was turned into a movie?
So many. Let's avoid the obvious Harry Potter and go with I Am Legend by Richard Matheson.
19. Do you have a graphic novel?
Take your pick of Sandman volumes.
20. Do you have a book written by two or more authors?
Good Omens by Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett or The Long Earth by Terry Pratchett & Stephen Baxter
Only two I couldn't do! And that was entirely due to my own preference and that my name seems to be a weird combo. What's in your bookshelf?
Here we go~~
1. Do you have a book with deckled edges?
I do! The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman is the first one that comes to mind.
I don't actually have a lot of books with people on the cover and I really don't want to say the Swedish version of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire... But looks like I can say either first or last book in The Belgariad. Swedish version.
3. Do you have a book based on another fictional story?
Any of my game novels I presume? But I'll keep on the literary route and say Anno Dracula by Kim Newman, which is based on Dracula and a myriad of other vampire stories.
4. Do you have a book with a title 10 letters long?
Norra Latin by Sara Bergmark Elfgren.
5. Do you have a book with a title that starts and ends with the same letter?
Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo.
Yes. Too many to count. They're easy to carry and I mostly read while going somewhere on the bus/train/plane. But I can give you Midvintermörker by Lars Wilderäng as an example.
7. Do you have a book written by an author using a pen name?
The entire Cormoran Strike series by Robert Galbraith a.k.a J.K. Rowling.
8. Do you have a book with a character's name in the title?
If I don't go with Harry Potter... Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer.
9. Do you have a book with two maps in it?
Svavelvinter by Erik Granström.
10. Do you have a book that was turned into a TV show?
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood.
11. Do you have a book written by someone who was originally famous for something else?
Brain Droppings by George Carlin.
12. Do you have a book with a clock on the cover?
This one was really hard! The Strange Affair of Spring-Heeled Jack by Mark Hodder has an open pocket watch behind the title. That counts, right?
13. Do you have a poetry book?
I'm not big on poetry, but The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy and Other Stories by Tim Burton should do.
14. Do you have a book with an award stamp on it?
I don't. I think. I prefer to buy books with clear covers. I have Pulitzers, Nebulas and even Nobel laureates on my shelves but not one of them has an award stamp!
15. Do you have a book written by an author with the same initials as you?
Nope. 90% of my family have the same initials as me but I apparantly don't have an author with my same initials!
16. Do you have a book of short stories?
Several. Trigger Warning by Neil Gaiman is one.
17. Do you have a book that is between 500-510 pages long?
Necroscope by Brian Lumley is 505 pages.
18. Do you have a book that was turned into a movie?
So many. Let's avoid the obvious Harry Potter and go with I Am Legend by Richard Matheson.
19. Do you have a graphic novel?
Take your pick of Sandman volumes.
20. Do you have a book written by two or more authors?
Good Omens by Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett or The Long Earth by Terry Pratchett & Stephen Baxter
Only two I couldn't do! And that was entirely due to my own preference and that my name seems to be a weird combo. What's in your bookshelf?
Thursday, 4 April 2019
Elder Scrolls Online: Happy 5 Year Anniversary! Here's a history lesson!
I can't believe ESO has been around for five years already! And I thought it would be fun to do a looking-back post. I've been around since the beginning and although I may not have been well-versed enough in MMOs to actually notice all the changes while they happened I've definitely noticed them afterwards!
I was in the original beta back in January 2014. I pre-ordered the game and was thus given Early Access in March 2014. That was when the first change happened! In the beta only three player-classes had been available: Sorcerer, Nightblade and Dragonknight. With Early Access Templar was added. For years I've been telling people that Templar wasn't around for beta and was added with original release, which, to me, it was because Early Access was imho original release and not beta. But other people see it as a prolonged beta rather than original release. So we agree to disagree.
Originally the game was very divided. The Alliance you chose when you created your character would dictate who you could play with and which other players would be seen in the PvE zones. Also the world was locked. Originally you only had access to your Alliance's zones and it wasn't until after you beat the main quest line that you would gain access first to one other Alliance's zones and when you finished with those, the third Alliance's zones. This created a long string of quests having to be completed before you could actually get anywhere. It didn't help that Molag Bal, the final obstacle of the main quest, was really effing hard to defeat in these early days and I was stuck on him for about a month before a friendly soul crafted me a set of equipment that helped me defeat him and unlocked the rest of the game for me.
Originally the zones in the game were divided by level and the zones' levels didn't scale. Which was amazing to me because back in 2014 I adamantly played ESO as a single-player game. Since the zones didn't scale, neither did the dungeons. So as max level (which was veteran 14 at the time) I went around all the dungeons, soloing them and clearing them one by one. The only dungeon I couldn't solo was Blackheart Haven due to the final boss's pesky ability to turn you into a skeleton and strip you of your abilities and so I had to ask for help for that one, but only two people were more than sufficient for Blackheart Haven.
Craglorn was the first zone to be added to the game, in a free update, which also extended the max level from veteran rank 14 to veteran rank 16. I will confess that I never got to veteran rank 16. Veteran rank took so so so very very very long to level up that I just couldn't bother with the last rank. Vampirism and lycanthropy were also added around this time. Vampirism was originally much much more detrimental that it is now. The weakness to fire was a lot harsher.
In March 2015 Tamriel Unlimited came around which made the subscription optional rather than mandatory and it created the Crown Store, an in-game cash shop using real money. The Crown Store is almost exclusively cosmetic. The things that aren't are the DLCs. But in making the subscription optional they also created the premium account ESO Plus for the people who kept subscribing or chose to subscribe. ESO Plus members get a craft bag (where all looted crafting mats go, I have no idea how I survived without one before), an experience buff, and access to all the DLCs for free.
Around this time (maybe even before Unlimited) is also when they added a second version of certain dungeons, i.e. Banished Cells 2, Elden Hollow 2, City of Ash 2... These dungeons had a story that was a continuation of the story in their respective dungeon 1. These dungeon 2 were made for max level player who wanted harder content. These dungeons were tough, really tough, in the old days. Even now when everything has scaled you can still notice that these dungeons were made tougher than their partner dungeons. They still require a bit more tactics and have a bit more mechanics in them.
After console launch in summer 2015 is when they started adding DLCs. In 2015 we had Imperial City and Orsinium. Both of which haven't recieved as much attention from me as maybe they should've. In 2016 we got Thieves Guild, Dark Brotherhood and Shadows of the Hist before Update 12 came around.
Update 12 was when everything changed and ESO became what it is today. Update 12 is also called One Tamriel and this is when they ripped ESO wide open. They completely scrapped all the limits that Alliances put on players. Now the Alliances don't matter one bit (except for large-scale PvP) and the whole world is open to players from the get-go. The whole world is scaled and they scrapped veteran ranks for something called Champion Points or CP. No more blundering into high levelled areas, no more blocked content due to level or quests. Dungeons are scaled, trials are scaled, the whole world is scaled. Which we've proved time and again trials can be completed on low levels. Dungeons and large-scale PvP is still locked until you get to level 10, but the first 10 levels are quick. Molag Bal has been nerfed and from being some of the toughest content for a non-veteran character the main quest line is now considered some of the easiest content in the game all-around. Vampirism has been reworked and fire doesn't hurt as much as it used to anymore. Even Craglorn was revamped from being a purely group-based end-game zone.
Late 2016 and Update 12 was also when they added duelling and the Festivals. New Years, April Fools, Summer and Halloween are the four Festival seasons. Before duelling large-scale three-front all-out-war PvP was the only PvP action in ESO. In early 2017 housing was added (how did we live without housing before this?)
Then there was Morrowind in 2017 and the whole game was turned upside down again. Not as much as Update 12 maybe, but there was so much new stuff. A new class was added for the first time since Early Access 2014; the Warden. More PvP alternatives were added in the form of different Battlegrounds and all of Tamriel cheered. And come on! It was Morrowind! Every ES fan's fondest dream: to rediscover Vvardenfell in modern graphics!
ESO then slowed down a bit with DLCs like Horns of the Reach, Clockwork City and Dragon Bones, before Summerset arrived in 2018 and turned the meta upside down - for healers for the first time since Imperial City was released 3 years previosuly. Summerset also added Jewelry Crafting which had been fervently requested since the game launched.
Since Summerset released we have received two dungeon DLCs, Wolf Hunter and Wrathstone, and one story DLC, Murkmire. Wrathstone is the first installment in the 2019 year-long season called Season of the Dragon, which will feature a multi-DLC story across two dungeon DLCs, one Chapter and one story DLC. It's the first time they've done something like this!
This year also gave us Update 21, which featured a huge amount of changes! Most notably changes in the Race passive skills, which otherwise have remained completely unchanged since launch. They have finally given the Guild Traders (market) a search window, so now there's finally no need for an addon to be able to search for a specific item! (That's long overdue tbh). Also really impressive is the Zone Guide system, which helps players track zone completion. In the early days when the game was zone-locked in a specific order and you couldn't progress to the next zone without having done a specific quest this wouldn't have been necessary. But now when the whole world is 100% open and instantly accessible it could be really helpful to help players find their way to content they may have missed before.
All we need now is a grouping tool that won't stop working after every other patch...
I was in the original beta back in January 2014. I pre-ordered the game and was thus given Early Access in March 2014. That was when the first change happened! In the beta only three player-classes had been available: Sorcerer, Nightblade and Dragonknight. With Early Access Templar was added. For years I've been telling people that Templar wasn't around for beta and was added with original release, which, to me, it was because Early Access was imho original release and not beta. But other people see it as a prolonged beta rather than original release. So we agree to disagree.
Screenshots from 2014. Top left from Early Access.
Originally the game was very divided. The Alliance you chose when you created your character would dictate who you could play with and which other players would be seen in the PvE zones. Also the world was locked. Originally you only had access to your Alliance's zones and it wasn't until after you beat the main quest line that you would gain access first to one other Alliance's zones and when you finished with those, the third Alliance's zones. This created a long string of quests having to be completed before you could actually get anywhere. It didn't help that Molag Bal, the final obstacle of the main quest, was really effing hard to defeat in these early days and I was stuck on him for about a month before a friendly soul crafted me a set of equipment that helped me defeat him and unlocked the rest of the game for me.
Originally the zones in the game were divided by level and the zones' levels didn't scale. Which was amazing to me because back in 2014 I adamantly played ESO as a single-player game. Since the zones didn't scale, neither did the dungeons. So as max level (which was veteran 14 at the time) I went around all the dungeons, soloing them and clearing them one by one. The only dungeon I couldn't solo was Blackheart Haven due to the final boss's pesky ability to turn you into a skeleton and strip you of your abilities and so I had to ask for help for that one, but only two people were more than sufficient for Blackheart Haven.
Craglorn was the first zone to be added to the game, in a free update, which also extended the max level from veteran rank 14 to veteran rank 16. I will confess that I never got to veteran rank 16. Veteran rank took so so so very very very long to level up that I just couldn't bother with the last rank. Vampirism and lycanthropy were also added around this time. Vampirism was originally much much more detrimental that it is now. The weakness to fire was a lot harsher.
In March 2015 Tamriel Unlimited came around which made the subscription optional rather than mandatory and it created the Crown Store, an in-game cash shop using real money. The Crown Store is almost exclusively cosmetic. The things that aren't are the DLCs. But in making the subscription optional they also created the premium account ESO Plus for the people who kept subscribing or chose to subscribe. ESO Plus members get a craft bag (where all looted crafting mats go, I have no idea how I survived without one before), an experience buff, and access to all the DLCs for free.
Screenshots from 2015. Top right is the common werewolf bug, when the transformation wouldn't complete and your character would be stuck as a screaming banshee with too long arms.
Around this time (maybe even before Unlimited) is also when they added a second version of certain dungeons, i.e. Banished Cells 2, Elden Hollow 2, City of Ash 2... These dungeons had a story that was a continuation of the story in their respective dungeon 1. These dungeon 2 were made for max level player who wanted harder content. These dungeons were tough, really tough, in the old days. Even now when everything has scaled you can still notice that these dungeons were made tougher than their partner dungeons. They still require a bit more tactics and have a bit more mechanics in them.
After console launch in summer 2015 is when they started adding DLCs. In 2015 we had Imperial City and Orsinium. Both of which haven't recieved as much attention from me as maybe they should've. In 2016 we got Thieves Guild, Dark Brotherhood and Shadows of the Hist before Update 12 came around.
Update 12 was when everything changed and ESO became what it is today. Update 12 is also called One Tamriel and this is when they ripped ESO wide open. They completely scrapped all the limits that Alliances put on players. Now the Alliances don't matter one bit (except for large-scale PvP) and the whole world is open to players from the get-go. The whole world is scaled and they scrapped veteran ranks for something called Champion Points or CP. No more blundering into high levelled areas, no more blocked content due to level or quests. Dungeons are scaled, trials are scaled, the whole world is scaled. Which we've proved time and again trials can be completed on low levels. Dungeons and large-scale PvP is still locked until you get to level 10, but the first 10 levels are quick. Molag Bal has been nerfed and from being some of the toughest content for a non-veteran character the main quest line is now considered some of the easiest content in the game all-around. Vampirism has been reworked and fire doesn't hurt as much as it used to anymore. Even Craglorn was revamped from being a purely group-based end-game zone.
Screenshots from 2016. Top left is from Orsinium DLC. Top right and bottom left from the Dark Brotherhood. Bottom right is from the very first New Years Festival at the end of the year.
Late 2016 and Update 12 was also when they added duelling and the Festivals. New Years, April Fools, Summer and Halloween are the four Festival seasons. Before duelling large-scale three-front all-out-war PvP was the only PvP action in ESO. In early 2017 housing was added (how did we live without housing before this?)
Then there was Morrowind in 2017 and the whole game was turned upside down again. Not as much as Update 12 maybe, but there was so much new stuff. A new class was added for the first time since Early Access 2014; the Warden. More PvP alternatives were added in the form of different Battlegrounds and all of Tamriel cheered. And come on! It was Morrowind! Every ES fan's fondest dream: to rediscover Vvardenfell in modern graphics!
Screenshots from 2017. Top left is from Shadows of the Hist DLC. Top right is the first house I bought. Bottom left is Vivec City!!! Bottom right is from Clockwork City DLC.
ESO then slowed down a bit with DLCs like Horns of the Reach, Clockwork City and Dragon Bones, before Summerset arrived in 2018 and turned the meta upside down - for healers for the first time since Imperial City was released 3 years previosuly. Summerset also added Jewelry Crafting which had been fervently requested since the game launched.
Screenshots from 2018. Top two are from the Summerset Chapter. Bottom two are from the Murkmire DLC.
This year also gave us Update 21, which featured a huge amount of changes! Most notably changes in the Race passive skills, which otherwise have remained completely unchanged since launch. They have finally given the Guild Traders (market) a search window, so now there's finally no need for an addon to be able to search for a specific item! (That's long overdue tbh). Also really impressive is the Zone Guide system, which helps players track zone completion. In the early days when the game was zone-locked in a specific order and you couldn't progress to the next zone without having done a specific quest this wouldn't have been necessary. But now when the whole world is 100% open and instantly accessible it could be really helpful to help players find their way to content they may have missed before.
All we need now is a grouping tool that won't stop working after every other patch...
Wednesday, 20 March 2019
Game completed: Far Cry New Dawn
Immediately after I was done with Far Cry 5 I picked up Far Cry New Dawn. And the reason I picked up Far Cry 5 last month was because I really wanted to play Far Cry New Dawn xD It all comes back around :D I felt like I had to play Far Cry 5 first because they both take place in the same area. New Dawn is just 17 years later.
I enjoyed New Dawn a lot more than Far Cry 5 and I think it was due to New Dawn being more of a survival RPG than pure FPS. I'll always be an RPG girl at heart. New Dawn still had the mechanic of taking over outposts and the option to redo them afterwards at a harder difficulty. In earlier Far Cry I have mostly ignored that option because there is no real point to it, but in New Dawn there was most definitely a point. Retake the outposts to gain more ethanol so you can upgrade your base - yes, please. With an upgraded base comes upgrade weapons, more health, better medpacks, more info on the map etc etc. Doing the work to upgrade the base made the game better. I also really enjoyed going on expeditions. Small missions to far away places all over the (former) US to collect rare mats. It was great!
The story centers around some of the previous inhabitants of Hope County who emerge after fives years living in their bunkers to a world they barely recognise. They start rebuilding but all of that is ruined when the Highwaymen come along taking over everything. They are led by the twins Mickey and Lou. The settlement of survivors is called Prosperity and they seek help from outside, from a man who has helped settlements all over the country. The train is intercepted by the Highwaymen on the way to Prosperity and from there our adventure starts. The twins and the Highwaymen have the upper hand for the first part of the story, and the survivors are eventually forced to seek help from the New Edeners. Basically the surviving Peggies and Joseph from Far Cry 5. The Peggies now live in a kind of stone age settlement, but they have a drug that makes them kind of superhuman (leftovers from the Bliss).
The most haunting moment in the game for me was when I found Dutch's Bunker, where Rook and Joseph took shelter during the fallout in the end of Far Cry 5. Reading the notes inside the bunker I realised that the companion you get from joining the Peggies, called The Judge, actually is Rook (the player character from Far Cry 5). The Judge doesn't speak, just like Rook, and from the notes you realise that Rook was overcome with guilt, blaming themselves for the nuclear fallout, and eventually starts to believe in Joseph as a prophet and following his word. And I was so sad discovering this!
Towards the end there are several life and death choices you get to make. First regarding the twins and then regarding Joseph. I entered New Dawn ready to kill Joseph for what he did in Far Cry 5. I finished New Dawn feeling sorry for him, and decided to let him live even though he literally begged me on his knees to kill him.
The most common criticism I've seen towards New Dawn is complaints that it's too much RPG and not enough FPS. That's something I actually like about this game, so no complaints from me! I really enjoyed New Dawn, but Primal still remains my favourite! And New Dawn was probably the most visually stunning of the Far Cry games and definitely the most colourful!
I enjoyed New Dawn a lot more than Far Cry 5 and I think it was due to New Dawn being more of a survival RPG than pure FPS. I'll always be an RPG girl at heart. New Dawn still had the mechanic of taking over outposts and the option to redo them afterwards at a harder difficulty. In earlier Far Cry I have mostly ignored that option because there is no real point to it, but in New Dawn there was most definitely a point. Retake the outposts to gain more ethanol so you can upgrade your base - yes, please. With an upgraded base comes upgrade weapons, more health, better medpacks, more info on the map etc etc. Doing the work to upgrade the base made the game better. I also really enjoyed going on expeditions. Small missions to far away places all over the (former) US to collect rare mats. It was great!
The most haunting moment in the game for me was when I found Dutch's Bunker, where Rook and Joseph took shelter during the fallout in the end of Far Cry 5. Reading the notes inside the bunker I realised that the companion you get from joining the Peggies, called The Judge, actually is Rook (the player character from Far Cry 5). The Judge doesn't speak, just like Rook, and from the notes you realise that Rook was overcome with guilt, blaming themselves for the nuclear fallout, and eventually starts to believe in Joseph as a prophet and following his word. And I was so sad discovering this!
Towards the end there are several life and death choices you get to make. First regarding the twins and then regarding Joseph. I entered New Dawn ready to kill Joseph for what he did in Far Cry 5. I finished New Dawn feeling sorry for him, and decided to let him live even though he literally begged me on his knees to kill him.
The most common criticism I've seen towards New Dawn is complaints that it's too much RPG and not enough FPS. That's something I actually like about this game, so no complaints from me! I really enjoyed New Dawn, but Primal still remains my favourite! And New Dawn was probably the most visually stunning of the Far Cry games and definitely the most colourful!
Monday, 11 March 2019
Game completed: Far Cry 5
Far Cry 5 is absolutely gorgeous and the story was interesting and at least Joseph's part was somewhat realistic (which is pretty scary). But a zealot religious Christian cult taking over a community in the US? Yes, seems pretty plausible. I was originally against the idea of having a Far Cry set in the US, mainly because it was too familiar. Other Far Cry games have always been exotic and taken place far away on some forgotten island or isolated region. Far Cry 5 was smash-bang in the middle of familiar territory and it seemed odd, and not in a good way.
But having it in Montana was actually pretty nice - there were no alligators in the waters for once! On the downside I have no idea how many times I died because of misjudging a jump during mountain-climbing. Montana is seriously mountainous. Or at least Hope County is.
The first order of criticism came from the disruptive cutscenes. I didn't get this at first. I started with John's region, to the southwest. He kidnapped me twice (before the final showdown) and always made it obvious that he allowed me to escape. Because he enjoyed toying with me. I didn't think that were too many disruptive cutscenes. Then I moved on to Faith's region, and her cutscenes were literally not disruptive as you actually had to interact with her apparition to see the story sequence. But then I got to Jacob's region, and then I understood. Holy hell, can you just let me do one thing?! Would you please let me finish this... oh, no, alright, I'm back in a cage, so how am I getting away this time?. Jacob's whole brainwashing thing was creepy af and ultimately heartbreaking. While I in the end felt sorry for Faith, and while John was just a nuisance needing to be dealt with (like a bug), I actually enjoyed dealing with Jacob and finishing him off. He was a creepy psychotic bastard. So yes, I can understand this criticism. But unless you start with Jacob's region, it isn't all that noticeable until the end and when Jacob's cutscenes keep interrupting your game you've played it for so long that you might as well stick it out.
The second order of criticism came from the fact that Rook, the protagonist, had no voice. This made me laugh so hard because I just drew parallells. Dragon Age fans who complain that BioWare won't go back to the Origins model of having a mute protagonist because they like roleplaying. Same goes for Fallout fans who were outraged by the fact that the protag in 4 had a voice. But Far Cry has always had a voiced protag and now, when it doesn't people are outraged about that? I'm aware both DA and FO are RPGs and FC is a FPS (with RPG elements, though!) so they probably have very different player bases, but still it's hilarious. Devs seem stuck in a Catch-22, nothing they do is right in the eyes of the players. There was a nice little Easter egg referencing this point. Personally I like voices in any game that isn't entirely text based. It feels so odd to have other characters talking but your own can't/won't. I would've preferred a voiced Rook tbh (but I also would've liked a voiced Warden).
Far Cry 5 changed a few things in the old formula that has been around since Far Cry 3. For example there are no more hunting quests and you don't need to gather animal skins to be able to upgrade your inventory. Just do more things and get more perks! And amazingly your wallet can't get full anymore! Hallelujah! However, Far Cry 5 added an element that I just thoroughly dislike in any game - fishing. It's just so boring. And frustrating.
I did every side mission in the game except for the Clutch Nixon ones. I was so relieved to discover that there were no races in Far Cry 5 (because I suck), but then I happened upon Clutch Nixon, which are daredevil hardcore race things. And after failing about 12 times at the exact same spot on the very first one I happened upon I decided to just not do them.
The final showdown against Joseph was such a cool fight, and honestly, the adrenaline in the car fleeing from the nuclear fallout was such a high.
Sunday, 10 March 2019
Rollspel: Mutant År Noll - del 8
Jonys hund drar iväg till Arkens ingång och när RP öppnar så ser de en ung kvinna ligga på marken. Hennes rygg och nacke är täckta av växtlighet. Danko närmar sig och hon vaknar till och säger "Rör mig inte". Index frågar varför och hon säger "Jag vet inte ifall Grönskan kommer påverka er också". Index frågar vad hon gör här och hon säger att hon var utsänd av Grönskan för att Grönskan vill sprida sig. Men när hon kommit så här långt så kunde Grönskan inte nå henne längre. RP frågar vad Grönskan är. Kvinnan vet inte hur det började bara att Grönskan bor i botten därifrån hon kommer och de som bor med Grönskan kallas Underlevande. Blommorna är en infektion av Grönskan. Det är så det börjar med Grönskans hivemind.
Kvark förstår sig på och inser att de kan försöka skära eller bränna bort blommorna men rötterna kommer sitta kvar. Det enda sättet verkar vara att "rensa ogräs" - dra bort med rötterna. Danko tar på sig skyddsdräkt och gasmask och börjar rycka. Hon skriker och Index ger henne smärtstillande. Jony ger henne vatten. Danko rycker tills allt är borta och Index tar hand om henne. Kvark frågar om hon är smittfri och hon säger ja. Danko bär in henne i Arken. Index frågar hur Grönskan smittar, hur det börjar. Hon vet inte. Hon vet bara att där hon bor så var det alltid väldigt mycket växtlighet. Men på senare år började den ta över folk. När hon sansat sig ber Danko henne att visa dem varifrån hon kommer på kartan. Efter en längre diskussion bestämmer sig RP för att åka dit. De sätter sig i sin bepansrade buss och åker.
När de kommer dit hoppar Jony upp på taket (mutation: grodben) och de andra går runt ett hörn och hittar en bevakad ingång. Jony träffar klan Marak på taket och de andra träffar klan Ohori. Båda sidorna förklarar vad som hänt vid Arken och båda klanerna går med på att skapa en expedition tillsammans med RP och den tredje klanen.
De går ner tillsammans. När de är på fjärde våningen faller en från Ohori genom golvet och dör. De fortsätter ner i grönskan. När de kommer ner ser de Underlevande som verkar vara på stand-by. De reagerar inte när RP närmar sig. De går framåt och en pil kommer farande och träffar Danko. Index känner zonen och märker att det finns fler Underlevande men de syns inte. Kvark förstår sig på pilen och den är definitivt manmade. De fortsätter framåt och en pil till kommer farande mot Jony som hoppar undan. Längre fram tänds ljus och Kvark förstår att det är ett flackande ljus som tyder på facklor. Danko smyger sig fram och ser en glänta med fem facklor i en cirkel. Det är ingen där. Jony skickar iväg sin hund som pekar ut trädet som pilarna kommer ifrån. En varelse hoppar ur trädet. Hon har en gång varit mänsklig men nu är hon naken och hela kroppen är täckt av en ljusgrön mossa som liknar päls. Danko skjuter och hon släpper ut ett moln av sporer och försvinner. Jony skickar iväg hunden igen. Varelsen kommer farande mot Index men missar henne. Index hugger och träffar, kvark skjuter och hon faller ihop. Danko tar pilen hon skjutit och kör in den genom ögat på henne. RP lootar och åker tillbaka till Arken.
(Det här var en himla fummelrunda för mig. Grönskan var skapad som en supervillain med flera mutationer,vapen, HP och en massa mutationspoäng. Problemet blev ju då att jag fumlade vartenda slag jag slog så RP besegrade henne på två röda -.-')
Kvark förstår sig på och inser att de kan försöka skära eller bränna bort blommorna men rötterna kommer sitta kvar. Det enda sättet verkar vara att "rensa ogräs" - dra bort med rötterna. Danko tar på sig skyddsdräkt och gasmask och börjar rycka. Hon skriker och Index ger henne smärtstillande. Jony ger henne vatten. Danko rycker tills allt är borta och Index tar hand om henne. Kvark frågar om hon är smittfri och hon säger ja. Danko bär in henne i Arken. Index frågar hur Grönskan smittar, hur det börjar. Hon vet inte. Hon vet bara att där hon bor så var det alltid väldigt mycket växtlighet. Men på senare år började den ta över folk. När hon sansat sig ber Danko henne att visa dem varifrån hon kommer på kartan. Efter en längre diskussion bestämmer sig RP för att åka dit. De sätter sig i sin bepansrade buss och åker.
När de kommer dit hoppar Jony upp på taket (mutation: grodben) och de andra går runt ett hörn och hittar en bevakad ingång. Jony träffar klan Marak på taket och de andra träffar klan Ohori. Båda sidorna förklarar vad som hänt vid Arken och båda klanerna går med på att skapa en expedition tillsammans med RP och den tredje klanen.
De går ner tillsammans. När de är på fjärde våningen faller en från Ohori genom golvet och dör. De fortsätter ner i grönskan. När de kommer ner ser de Underlevande som verkar vara på stand-by. De reagerar inte när RP närmar sig. De går framåt och en pil kommer farande och träffar Danko. Index känner zonen och märker att det finns fler Underlevande men de syns inte. Kvark förstår sig på pilen och den är definitivt manmade. De fortsätter framåt och en pil till kommer farande mot Jony som hoppar undan. Längre fram tänds ljus och Kvark förstår att det är ett flackande ljus som tyder på facklor. Danko smyger sig fram och ser en glänta med fem facklor i en cirkel. Det är ingen där. Jony skickar iväg sin hund som pekar ut trädet som pilarna kommer ifrån. En varelse hoppar ur trädet. Hon har en gång varit mänsklig men nu är hon naken och hela kroppen är täckt av en ljusgrön mossa som liknar päls. Danko skjuter och hon släpper ut ett moln av sporer och försvinner. Jony skickar iväg hunden igen. Varelsen kommer farande mot Index men missar henne. Index hugger och träffar, kvark skjuter och hon faller ihop. Danko tar pilen hon skjutit och kör in den genom ögat på henne. RP lootar och åker tillbaka till Arken.
(Det här var en himla fummelrunda för mig. Grönskan var skapad som en supervillain med flera mutationer,vapen, HP och en massa mutationspoäng. Problemet blev ju då att jag fumlade vartenda slag jag slog så RP besegrade henne på två röda -.-')
Thursday, 28 February 2019
Dealing with backlog: Three short games
Monkey Island 2 Special Edition: LeChuck's Revenge. I've really enjoyed the Monkey Island games that I've tried and so I decided to play this one as well. While not as hilarious as the original (when is it ever?) I did really enjoy this one too. The characters weren't as memorable, although Stan made a small comeback, along with the main duo. The most annoying part and interestingly my favourite part of the game was in the end when Guybrush is in LeChuck's fortress and getting through that labyrinth and later being chased by LeChuck while trying to defeat him. This game probably has the most wtf ending I've ever seen.
The Raven Remastered. I played the original years ago and really enjoyed it. It's one of those games that I never imagined would get a remaster, so imagine my surprise when I casually open up Steam one day and I have the remaster in my library. Totally free and completely out of nowhere. This game was just as good as the last time I played it. It's kind of like three Agatha Christie novels turned into one with the end presenting a twist you don't see coming. There is the end and then there's the ending that comes after the end. I remember the ending cutscene being a big surprise the first time I played it, but this time I remembered it and so I just enjoyed seeing the pieces come together towards that very ending. I'm a little disappointed that several of the bugs from the original game were still there in the remaster, but those bugs were never game-breaking, they just made achievements a little harder.
Root Letter. This is a visual novel kind of game. All the voices are in Japanese but with English subtitles which I really enjoy. Japanese games should be in Japanese. Trying to catch the same feeling with English voice actors as they had with Japanese almost always fails and sounds cringy. Anyway. this is a story about a man who had a penpal in high school by the name of Aya Fumino. When he's packing up his things to move he finds a letter without a stamp from this girl that he hasn't seen before. The letter has seemingly arrived 15 years too late and the contents is a confession of murder. The man decides to go and find his penpal and find out what happened. He arrives in her hometown, only to find out that the girl named Aya Fumino died 25 years ago. This obviously doesn't make sense and so he sets out on a quest to find the classmates mentioned in the letters and to find out the true story. The game has five endings. The first ending "The Cursed Letter" is pretty much a horror story. The second ending "The Princess of Himegamori Forest" is creepy but definitely my favourite because it makes sense while still being unusual. The third ending "Crossing Paths" didn't feel like an ending as it just created more questions and hardly answered any. The fourth ending "A Government Plot" seemed pretty much like an X Files episode. The fifth ending "The Bond of Marriage" is supposedly the true ending, but it's the most boring one. The whole game is a murder-mystery with a lot of unexpected humour. The most obvious one to me being the characters Morita and Sugari who were 100% based on Mulder and Scully. And they work at the UFO Research Lab! This game was so much more than I expected and I thoroughly enjoyed it!
The Raven Remastered. I played the original years ago and really enjoyed it. It's one of those games that I never imagined would get a remaster, so imagine my surprise when I casually open up Steam one day and I have the remaster in my library. Totally free and completely out of nowhere. This game was just as good as the last time I played it. It's kind of like three Agatha Christie novels turned into one with the end presenting a twist you don't see coming. There is the end and then there's the ending that comes after the end. I remember the ending cutscene being a big surprise the first time I played it, but this time I remembered it and so I just enjoyed seeing the pieces come together towards that very ending. I'm a little disappointed that several of the bugs from the original game were still there in the remaster, but those bugs were never game-breaking, they just made achievements a little harder.
Root Letter. This is a visual novel kind of game. All the voices are in Japanese but with English subtitles which I really enjoy. Japanese games should be in Japanese. Trying to catch the same feeling with English voice actors as they had with Japanese almost always fails and sounds cringy. Anyway. this is a story about a man who had a penpal in high school by the name of Aya Fumino. When he's packing up his things to move he finds a letter without a stamp from this girl that he hasn't seen before. The letter has seemingly arrived 15 years too late and the contents is a confession of murder. The man decides to go and find his penpal and find out what happened. He arrives in her hometown, only to find out that the girl named Aya Fumino died 25 years ago. This obviously doesn't make sense and so he sets out on a quest to find the classmates mentioned in the letters and to find out the true story. The game has five endings. The first ending "The Cursed Letter" is pretty much a horror story. The second ending "The Princess of Himegamori Forest" is creepy but definitely my favourite because it makes sense while still being unusual. The third ending "Crossing Paths" didn't feel like an ending as it just created more questions and hardly answered any. The fourth ending "A Government Plot" seemed pretty much like an X Files episode. The fifth ending "The Bond of Marriage" is supposedly the true ending, but it's the most boring one. The whole game is a murder-mystery with a lot of unexpected humour. The most obvious one to me being the characters Morita and Sugari who were 100% based on Mulder and Scully. And they work at the UFO Research Lab! This game was so much more than I expected and I thoroughly enjoyed it!
Wednesday, 27 February 2019
Kingdom Come Deliverance
When this game was announced I was so excited. It was described as Skyrim but without magic and that sounded too good to be true.
It was.
It's also described as a hardcore old-school RPG. But even in old-school RPGs you get to choose a class for your starting character and that starting character gets a few (3-5) skill points to dole out according to their class. So at least you're good at something when the game starts. Not the case in Kingdom Come. Henry knows absolutely nothing, it's a miracle that he can walk and talk. A blacksmith's son should at least know some rudimentary smithing, sword-swinging and letters, right? At the very least the smithing. But Henry knows zilch.
*rant start*
The story could be interesting enough, but when the cutscenes stop there are the missions where you have to do stuff. Like there should be in RPGs, except it's almost impossible to complete quests without any skills at all. Lockpicking and pickpocketing are sort of mini-games that are extremely frustrating. I failed at lockpicking so many times that I ran out of the few lockpicks I had, which meant I couldn't complete the quest, and surprise, surprise! I need to complete the quest to get access to the fence who sells more lockpicks. And I can't get better at lockpicking because I can't practice because I have no more lockpicks. Catch-22.
The sword-fighting mechanics are made to be realistic but they are mostly just frustrating and incredibly clunky. Same mechanics apply for fist-fighting. When almost every quest in the early game involves sword-fighting and/or fist-fighting every single quest becomes a chore.
I tried to explore the map instead. Find some quests that I could feasibly complete without too much frustration. But fast-travelling worked very much in the same way as Dragon Age Origins, meaning that if you tried you would get interrupted and attacked and almost always by at least four attackers. The game's targeting mechanism made it a hassle to fight more than one enemy at any given time, meaning that while Henry was preoccupied with one enemy, the other three hit on him until he died. So I got to travel everywhere by horse and the distances are soooooooooooooooo vast. It takes forever to go anywhere by horse. I think half my playtime is travelling by horse, and I haven't even explored a fourth of the map. Big maps are good, but it should feel like you can cover the distances without too much of nothing in-between the settlements/cities. There's so much nothing in Kingdom Come.
Archery was easier than sword-fighting but still a hassle because Henry sucks and can't aim. Literally. He can't aim so the player can't aim. I think I wasted 10 arrows per rabbit during the hunting quest with the noble arse whose name I can't remember. And then I had to rescue his ass. There were two enemies. TWO! And it took me about an hour to find a way past them. And it wasn't by fighting, because they were two, and Henry can only look at one person at a time. In the end I hid in the bushes close to their camp and waited until they went to sleep and then I choked them. Too bad that most quests in Kingdom Come can't seem to be completed by stealth.
The next quest was that I had to steal a key from the executioner. I decided to go with stealth because that worked so well for me last time. Except Henry is about as discreet of a pickpocketer as a raging bear so ofc the executioner woke up and literally chased me from his property with the dogs running after. The dogs stopped following after a while so I turned around and resolved to knock this dude out. Fist-fighting it is, because I had been a fool and tried to equip a sword that was too high level for poor little Henry (my bad, but it really isn't obvious). After two in-game night-day cycles (TWO) I gave up and continued running until the executioner stopped following me.
Asking the gaming community about tips and tricks about how to manage the game's crappy clunky controls was worthless. Because all anybody got from anyone was "git gud". Oh gee thanks! Why didn't I think of that!! -.-
I put 10 hours into this game and I got nowhere. When I quit I was still in the starting city. During those 10 hours I think I died more times than I ever have before in an RPG. Because Henry is a fragile little flower who dies if someone pinches him.
*rant over*
It was.
It's also described as a hardcore old-school RPG. But even in old-school RPGs you get to choose a class for your starting character and that starting character gets a few (3-5) skill points to dole out according to their class. So at least you're good at something when the game starts. Not the case in Kingdom Come. Henry knows absolutely nothing, it's a miracle that he can walk and talk. A blacksmith's son should at least know some rudimentary smithing, sword-swinging and letters, right? At the very least the smithing. But Henry knows zilch.
*rant start*
The story could be interesting enough, but when the cutscenes stop there are the missions where you have to do stuff. Like there should be in RPGs, except it's almost impossible to complete quests without any skills at all. Lockpicking and pickpocketing are sort of mini-games that are extremely frustrating. I failed at lockpicking so many times that I ran out of the few lockpicks I had, which meant I couldn't complete the quest, and surprise, surprise! I need to complete the quest to get access to the fence who sells more lockpicks. And I can't get better at lockpicking because I can't practice because I have no more lockpicks. Catch-22.
The sword-fighting mechanics are made to be realistic but they are mostly just frustrating and incredibly clunky. Same mechanics apply for fist-fighting. When almost every quest in the early game involves sword-fighting and/or fist-fighting every single quest becomes a chore.
I tried to explore the map instead. Find some quests that I could feasibly complete without too much frustration. But fast-travelling worked very much in the same way as Dragon Age Origins, meaning that if you tried you would get interrupted and attacked and almost always by at least four attackers. The game's targeting mechanism made it a hassle to fight more than one enemy at any given time, meaning that while Henry was preoccupied with one enemy, the other three hit on him until he died. So I got to travel everywhere by horse and the distances are soooooooooooooooo vast. It takes forever to go anywhere by horse. I think half my playtime is travelling by horse, and I haven't even explored a fourth of the map. Big maps are good, but it should feel like you can cover the distances without too much of nothing in-between the settlements/cities. There's so much nothing in Kingdom Come.
Archery was easier than sword-fighting but still a hassle because Henry sucks and can't aim. Literally. He can't aim so the player can't aim. I think I wasted 10 arrows per rabbit during the hunting quest with the noble arse whose name I can't remember. And then I had to rescue his ass. There were two enemies. TWO! And it took me about an hour to find a way past them. And it wasn't by fighting, because they were two, and Henry can only look at one person at a time. In the end I hid in the bushes close to their camp and waited until they went to sleep and then I choked them. Too bad that most quests in Kingdom Come can't seem to be completed by stealth.
The next quest was that I had to steal a key from the executioner. I decided to go with stealth because that worked so well for me last time. Except Henry is about as discreet of a pickpocketer as a raging bear so ofc the executioner woke up and literally chased me from his property with the dogs running after. The dogs stopped following after a while so I turned around and resolved to knock this dude out. Fist-fighting it is, because I had been a fool and tried to equip a sword that was too high level for poor little Henry (my bad, but it really isn't obvious). After two in-game night-day cycles (TWO) I gave up and continued running until the executioner stopped following me.
Asking the gaming community about tips and tricks about how to manage the game's crappy clunky controls was worthless. Because all anybody got from anyone was "git gud". Oh gee thanks! Why didn't I think of that!! -.-
I put 10 hours into this game and I got nowhere. When I quit I was still in the starting city. During those 10 hours I think I died more times than I ever have before in an RPG. Because Henry is a fragile little flower who dies if someone pinches him.
*rant over*
Thursday, 21 February 2019
My last 5 books: Lots of Swedish horror and one OwlCrate!
2. Hanteringen av odöda, av John Ajvide Lindqvist. Zombies. I Sverige. Hur awesome är inte det? Fast inte de klassiska zombierna. Dessa äter inte på folk, men samla ihop tillräckligt många på ett ställe och man kan höra andra människors tankar. Coolt och creepy samtidigt! Flora och Elvy fungerade riktigt bra som huvudkaraktärer, men den karaktärs öde som slog mig hårdast var Anna och hur man överhuvudtaget kommer över sin sons död, bara för att sedan se honom vakna upp igen som något annat. Människoödena i den här boken var riktigt kraftfullt uppbyggda. Det enda som drar ner betyget är avsaknaden av ett riktigt slut. Slutet finns sedan i novellen Sluthanteringen, men denna fokuserar endast på Flora och Elvy och man får aldrig riktigt veta hur det slutade för de andra karaktärerna i den här boken.
4. X - Den sista platsen, av John Ajvide Lindqvist. Jag tyckte om den här boken när jag läste den, men jag vet inte vad jag faktiskt tycker om den. Till att börja med så är det mer än deckare än en skräckhistoria och jag och deckare har aldrig varit särskilt bra vänner. För det andra så ska det här vara upplösningen! Boken där alla svar ges på frågorna från Himmelstrand och Rörelsen och den ger mig absolut ingenting! Jag kände mig bara tom när den var slut, liksom "That's it?! Är det allt du kommer ge mig?!" Slutet skapade fler frågor än det besvarade. Om Lindqvists mål var att lämna sina läsare "wanting more" så lyckades han, för jag vill definitivt ha mer! Vad hände sedan? VAR ÄR MIN UPPLÖSNING?! Godammit...
Monday, 11 February 2019
Dealing with backlog: Beyond Good and Evil
When I first met Toni he told me how great this game was and I started playing it a little bit on his old Xbox 360. But I rarely work well with consoles and controllers and so I dropped it. When Beyond Good and Evil 2 was announced last year I bough the original on Steam and finally got around to playing it on the PC.
The story is about Jade and how she works as an action journalist to bring down the corporation that runs and "protects" the planet by uncovering the corruption and their cooperation with the forces that are continuously attacking the planet.
The use of the camera as a part of the gameplay mechanics was interesting and there were a few puzzles that were slightly complicated, but mostly the game was very straight-forward and a lot more childish than I thought it would be.
I noticed early on exactly how straight-forward it was and decided not to worry about collecting every single pearl, because the game kept giving you the exact amount needed to continue the story. There was no need to do the races etc except for completionist purposes and the game didn't catch my interest enough to make me go all completionist on it.
I enjoyed the game but it wasn't a wow experience. It's something to file away as done and not think anymore about. I will be playing the sequel (which is a prequel) althought the original failed to wow me.
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