Topic: The Chit-Chat Thread

Well, superficially, I tend to like girls in games more than guys, @TheJGG .... But since they usually tend to look good, there has to be something else to make them memorable! Then, there's obviously some guys that manage to stand out, too

Phantasy Star Online Episode 1 & 2 (along with the other games that i've bought.) has finally arrive today. can't wait to try them all out. mostly excited for PSO though.

@Aozz101x Just want to say have fun with PSO. I haven't played the GameCube entry, but I do remember playing the Dreamcast version, albeit offline. Hope you enjoy it.

@Tasuki Thanks. Much appreciated. I usually do still lurk around here, though. Just don't have the energy to dive into making my usual snappy comments anymore...

@Zuljaras Yeah, I know. Just add it to the list of "yet another example of why I am SO tired of COVID"...

@TheJGG I actually like most post PS1 Tomb Raider games. I never liked the "tank movement" mechanics of the old games, who reminded me too much of Resident Evil, and where they truly added to the tension in those games, I've always found them highly annoying in Tomb Raider, because it didn't feel natural for an adventure game which was supposed to give you the feeling of being able to freely move around in a 3D world.

As for the cosmetics/looks of them: I've never felt any kind of excitement for 90's Lara, or any kind of game character for that matter, so I can always VERY easily look past that outer shell, to focus on the actual mechanics and inner workings of a game, and as long as the gameplay is solid and the journey that the game offers me is more than entertaining enough, I'll be a happy camper...

EDIT:
Having said that, I do actually think that the new games look pretty good. She's now more of an "actual" person, and more realistic than the socialite, elitist sex bomb that she used to be, and this current image is far more relatable for a far larger group of gamers, so that's never a bad thing.

It’s now officially April’s Fool Day in the UK. Let’s see what fake news they’ll be today.

Mario turned into Cie'th !!!
He became a Marie'th.

Blame Nintendo (Fal'cie) for turned him into L'Cie and given him Focus to be purchased with limited time. He fails his Focus and now he is a wandering Cie'th.

Busy, busy, and busy! With work and adulting + house stuff mostly. Worked from home this afternoon since I had to be present for a plumbing estimate (Nothing serious, just need an outside spigot replaced; it hasn't work since I've moved in!) and...worked late. Good news is the local health department opened up three Covid-19 vaccine clinics for all state residents since they still had some spots open. I signed up for an appointment late yesterday afternoon. Drive-through only. My arm is a little sore and I've had a bit of fatigue, but no other side effects. In fact, the fatigue may not just be related to the shot, but I'll spare you all the details. XD I'll live. I anticipate the second dose (Moderna) to not be as pleasant from what I've heard/read.

Also, April Fools Day is tomorrow. Beware of anything and everything you read on the internet! I both enjoy and dread the day. XD I love it for the clear, nonsensical pranks, but also secretly dislike it as some of the pranks hit close to home for games and so forth that I really WOULD like....

...I would actually try that sans the fries. Though I'd certainly share with others, then proceed to only eat salad and whole foods the rest of the week. While exercising constantly. XD

@TheJGG There are certainly some family trademarks too. Bad ankles on dad's side and not the most amazing teeth (I had braces for four years and retainers before that). Heart problems on one side of my mom's family and skin cancer on the other. At least the latter is pretty treatable in most forms.

The Mount Kenya hike certainly sounds like an awesome experience! Very picturesque, and I'm sure it afforded plenty of photo opportunities to capture many moments. Though no picture, at least in my humble opinion, can ever quite replace the actual sensation of experiencing an awesome part of nature in person. I can relate on mountain sickness, to an extent; I've been on a couple mountain peaks (that you could drive to the top of, admittedly) and have certainly experienced breathing difficulty and lightheadedness.

I certainly would love to see many parts of the world, though there are certainly areas of the US I haven't been to either. New York City is definitely on my bucket list, though I certainly wouldn't live there lol. Due to where I live, I've been to many of the Midwestern, Southeast, and Plains states, but I have little experience with either coast or Alaska and Hawaii. I have been to both coasts - Los Angeles/Southern California on one side of the country, some spots between Miami, FL and Philadelphia, PA on the other - but I certainly cannot say I've been all the way up and down them. I'd particularly like to go to the Northwest and Northeast (Funny you mentioned the wonderful autumn scenery; I'd like to see that too!), and there are parts of the American Southwest I'd like to get to as well. I've seen some of the latter from the air, including the Las Vegas strip, but that's nowhere near the same as going in person.

On Fantastic Beasts: I think Mads Mikkelsen will fit into the role quite well. I didn't realize he provided a voice for Death Stranding, but I've enjoyed what I've seen of his performance of the titular doctor in the Hannibal TV series. Just checked his filmography, and apparently he voiced Chick Hicks in the first Cars movie as well?

I've been listening to some of XC2's soundtrack over the last couple days. Incoming! now is part of my regular list, and You Will Remember Our Names (sound familiar? XD) has earned a spot as well. Cliffs of Morytha/Old Factory still remains my favorite. I hadn't found Letherian yet though; thanks for providing another decent track to listen to!

On Lara Croft/Tomb Raider - Another series I'd like to play, but haven't. So I can't really comment much on it. But I do feel like her modern design and personality (from the footage and images I've witnessed) are handled pretty well. She's definitely more than just pixelized boobs.

@ThanosReXXX Some similar issues lately, though I've just been busy in general now that spring is rolling around here; I did my first mowing on Monday. Glad that all seems to be well with you! Though that is a bummer about the missed Falcon/WS display. That Captain America shield looks very, VERY cool!

@MarioLover92 I'd have to also say Cat Mario! Besides all the wonderful reasons you mentioned, I'm also a huge fan of felines in general. Runners-up in no particular order would be Cape Mario from SMW, Tanooki Mario from the various installments, and Acorn/Flying Squirrel Mario. (Which is kinda like Cape Mario, now that I think about it....Eh, at least Mario gets to wear an actual fur suit!)

@Tyranexx
Have you heard Mario turned into Cie'th on 1 April 2021 ? 🤭
Take a look above. ☝

@Tyranexx Best of luck on your vaccine. Hopefully we will see the end of this pandemic in due time! I've been busy with some things too, namely with online classes and house work. Those are all good choices for your favorite power-ups. I do like Flying Squirrel Mario quite a bit as well. I finished Super Mario 3D Land recently, I just felt nostalgic for that game lol. Especially since it's now been 10 years since the 3DS came out! It's not quite as good as 3D World, but it's still a good one and it's the best Mario platformer on the 3DS.

Remember guys, everything that happens over the next 24 hours should be doubted. This is your reminder!

@Nintendolife there is this game called knockout city and its having a open beta today make a article please. (Not a April fools joke trust me)

Rest in Pasta, Mario ;__;

A true tragedy

Well that's it, Mario is no more. It was a good run.

Oh well, there's always Super Princess Peach to play. I await Peach's 35th anniversary Nintendo!

@Blooper987 Can't wait for Poketubers to cover april fools leaks as "100% true", not even understanding everything that happens tomorrow is fake. They'll try to defend it because "Pokemon Let's Go leaked on April Fools".

@Blooper987 That also includes your warning itself. How do we know that's not an April Fool's joke, huh? HUH?

Some fascinating outlooks on Tomb Raider indeed, so I'll respond to those now, and handle the meat of the posts within twelve hours. No, it's not an April Fool's joke, I really will.

@BruceCM I have to agree, I too prefer women in videogames. It's strange, because it still feels like modern AAA video games still have relatively small female hero representation. And the times women do have leading roles their chests are spilling out of their shirts. That's primarily why I'm excited to get further into Tomb Raider, because this element, at least after the first hour, isn't present, and focuses on a strong, realistic heroine.

With male design in videogames, every male character seems to fall into very specific categories; namely the very buff one that's comedic relief (Reyn, Riki, Wakka, Barrett), the one with girly features (Shulk, Cloud, Luminary), and the wise but stoic one (Dunban, Auron). There's of course outliers that are a combination of both, like Yusuke from Persona 5, who's comedic relief and somewhat girly.

With female characters there's more subtle characterisation. Of course there's strong ones who do the talking in their natural environments (Aloy, Lara Croft), the seductress, or very little character outside of objectification (Jade from DQXI, Ann Takamaki), the sassy ones (Veronica and Sylvando (he's extremely feminine) from DQXI), and the prim and proper ones (Melia, to some extent Tifa and Aerith, Serena from DQXI), but there's many more, more so that other characters will be difficult to categorise in just one area.

@ThanosReXXX I hadn't even been alive when the original Tomb Raider came out of course, so it never entered my gaming peripheral vision through sex appeal. I like Uncharted, it's a fun blend of exploration and combat (though I suck at the combat, a lot), so something like that with a female protag is exciting. Plus, when someone walks in when I'm playing, I won't have to explain the risqué designs... because there aren't any! That luckily never happened when I played Xenoblade 2, perhaps because I zoomed out the camera to focus on the landscape.

The movement in games like Ghost of Tsushima and Uncharted feel like you're skating on ice. The controls feel a little delayed and the jump animation and move pattern looks like an acrobatic movement, or a Mario long jump. In games with the Decima Engine; Horizon Zero Dawn and Death Stranding, movement is extremely responsive, and things like jumping feel solid. It feels like both in Tomb Raider, the movement's nice and things like climbing are a bit Uncharted like.

So far the game's pretty good, though the menu and HUD elements really make it feel like an EA game, or something like that. I prefer a 2D menu that's simple, rather than flowing animation and fancy 3D backgrounds. The quicktime reaction stuff caught me off a bit so I had to watch Lara get her skull smashed in a good three times before I finally realised what to do. The voice acting is very good as well, and heightens the immersion.

@Tyranexx The Tomb Raider games from Square Enix are meant to set you up for the PS1 Lara Croft: Tomb Raider games, at least that's my reckoning. It starts with a bang, and you begin the game clutching your side after getting stabbed by a nail so it hits home the fear and the tension.

And pixelised boobs? They're in HD now baby! In all seriousness I like her design a lot. I don't play the game and I kinda detest it, but I really like her Fortnite design a lot too. Makes me think about how she could play if she got into Smash.

I didn't tag you initially @MarioLover92, but I feel that you could bring some decent insight. What are your thoughts on Lara Croft's Square Enix design?

@Blooper987
Oh, btw.
I heard Mario has turned into Cie'th.
Take a look above. ☝

Well, there are still plenty of good female characters in games, @TheJGG .... I'll admit I don't mind if they happen to be rather scantily clad, though It's certainly something they have been working on, since there's more girls getting into gaming & being vocal about it

@Ryu_Niiyama Hello there friendly astro-people (person)! After a year of pandemic stasis, my personal situation has improved a bit... which means I haven't been able to sit down long enough lately for anything as substantive as real conversations, not even online. But I see that you might be awake. I hope this doesn't mean that you're sick, though...

I was sorry to read about your experience at the end of undergrad. Did your department and school help? Or care? Unfortunately, I am not so surprised. Of those I know personally, or have worked closely with, I don't believe I know anyone who earned a physics-based degree that went through a four-year program unscathed, and that includes a couple of working astronomy professionals, in my country and yours. (I remember one now-prominent prof from MIT, then newly hired, who rather casually mentioned to us in a departmental visit that "physics kicked my butt". Little did I understand how I should have heeded him...)

So, anyhow, it may be a "standard" story, but hardly a SOB one, to my mind. I admire your attitude, though. I sincerely wish you all the best in returning to the institution (haha, that's how I came to think of it, if you will pardon the language).