Topic: The Chit-Chat Thread

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Taking a bit of an internet break tomorrow. I will resume interneting this weekend!

@MarioLover92 Unity is awesome, it can be quite a fun (and at the beginning, overwhelming) sandbox to mess around with. As for computer art, until college I didn't know about any decent editing programs besides PhotoShop, which had a paywall. I certainly messed around with computer art and worked at it...in MS Paint lol. I wasn't too bad at sprite recolors and creating Pokemon maps for a forum I used to be a part of, but all that used existing assets, mostly open source, out on the web. Shading, blending, and creating my own stuff, however...I was terrible at lol. I did take a mod class for PS and a couple other Adobe products in college, but that was a long time ago. I've forgotten pretty much all of it by now. XD

I'd kind of like to try real golf at some point, but to be honest I'm not sure if I'd have the patience for a full set of holes. I'm not a fan of sports in general, in real life or in video game form. I do loosely keep track of the MLB when their playoffs really start, but that's more for the standings than anything else.

Neat! Even I've heard of Sonic '06! That's one I'd like to try just because it's supposedly so bad, it's good! Honestly, the DS's library likely would have pulled me in more than anything the Xbox 360 had. Though I think the previous franchises I mentioned, plus other series like Uncharted and Fable, would have also kept me quite busy if I'd had normal access.

@BruceCM We'll see how the monastery stuff goes. At least I know it's skippable should the time come! I did actually enjoy some of the My Castle stuff in Fire Emblem Fates, though a lot of it felt like filler.

@bimmy-lee No felines currently. I'd love a couple of them, but I'm not overly fond of the idea of having a cat indoors due to previous foul experiences when cat sitting (Not at my place, at their places of residence; I was just checking on them, taking care of them, playing with them if they weren't stranger-hating recluses, etc.). Outdoors is out of the question where I live as the risk of coming home to a flat cat is extremely high. I've thought of getting something smaller that can be in its own enclosure, but some smaller animals like reptiles and rodents can come with their own fair share of issues.

Puppies are indeed a lot like toddlers! Not to mention they get into just about everything. And you should REALLY be worried when it's strangely quiet.

@HeavyArms55 I've played the two main routes of Fire Emblem Fates. I'd sort of understand the ire at the "Pokemon" approach if the games only had a few differences between them. However, past the first few chapters, the plot is completely different. They aren't the strongest FE games I've played, but there's certainly plenty to enjoy on both routes. The only thing that bothered me about the whole thing was how limited (and, therefore, scalped) the triple game cartridge was at the time. As it's purely DLC, I haven't played the Revelations path. Micro SD space issues aside, I've also heard that particular route is a bit of a mess, both mechanically and story-wise. Can't say I'm as eager to play it as the other two. Conquest is my favorite route of the two I did play thanks to its maps and more enjoyable characters (Effie, Arthur, Charlotte, Elise, Leo, and Keaton to name a few), though I agree that Birthright's story is better.

As for fan service in FE...I'm mixed on it all. I have no problem with attractive characters in games, as long as that isn't their only defining trait; a decent characterization in my eyes works wonders. Really, the only FE character I have an issue with in this department is (like I need to list her lol) Camilla. In either main route, even the Conquest route, there really doesn't seem to be much to her femme fatale personality besides "I dote on/love my siblings and retainers; everything else dies". Heck, I'd call her obsession with Corrin (on either route) borderline unhealthy. Granted, it's possible I've missed a vital support conversation. Not to mention there are a couple of moments where I feel that there's a little too much focus on her...assets in cutscenes. The fact that she has voluptuous features is fine; it's the dragging focus and waste of a character that bother me. With how decent some of the other characters are written on the Nohr side and how they progress - in the main story and especially with their supports - I feel like her character is a letdown.

Edit: I should mention that she isn't the only FE character whose characterization could be better; others like Kellam from Awakening and Setsuna from Fates come to mind.

Also can't speak to the Corrin in Smash thing other than the Fire Emblem character hate. But I'm not involved in the Smash community at all, so it doesn't concern me.

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@TheJGG They've started allowing minors ages 12 and up to get one of the three vaccines in circulation here (Pfizer). I still have some minor misgivings related to any potential long-term effects, but I also understand how critical it is to start building up herd immunity to this ever-changing bug. Some incentives for people to receive the vaccine, besides scenarios like those laid out in cough that mess of an article we both commented in, being allowed to travel to other countries and not having to quarantine (depending on destination) is also a huge motivator for some here. Contrary to the negative reactions of some Americans that hit the news waves and social media, the vast majority of the population is getting vaccinated.

Honestly, to an extent...I'll miss some of the isolation. I'm not a hermit by any means, but admittedly I'm perfectly happy spending several days in succession just to myself; I have more than enough things around the house in both the "Have to do" and hobby departments to keep me busy. Part of me will miss having less things to get dragged off to lol. Conversely, I've resolved to try to spend a little more time with the people in my life as, unsurprisingly, such interpersonal relationships have really suffered during the past while.

No prob! I can tell a lot of work has went into what I've listened to so far. Honestly, while the Link's Awakening remake played most things a little safe, the retooled soundtrack was one of my favorite aspects. They even kept in the nods to Totaka's Song! Hmm...I've just been listening on my laptop spearkers so far. I bet the tunes would be even better with headphones! I also need to get a decent sound bar at some point....

In coding, you're constantly learning. Moreso if you need to stay on top of more than one language! The field, like technology, is constantly changing. I've heard of Scratch and know of it as a decent learning tool, though I haven't tried it. As for Arduinos, I've seen those in action but haven't messed around with them; I keep meaning to experiment with those or a Raspberry Pi at some point. An acquaintance in the field likes messing around with robotics and has used both of those devices for small projects. It's been a bit since I've talked to him, but he was wanting to try to create an automatic watering and irrigation system for a small indoor garden. Tech is fun to dive into (most of it anyway), but I wouldn't say anyone is bad at it. Practice makes perfect!

Game Builder Garage looks like a fun tool, one of those sandbox creation games that has a TON of potential. If I didn't have plenty of other games to get around to, I could see myself sinking a lot of time into it. I'm pretty much the same way with games like Minecraft and Super Mario Maker. Excellent concepts where your imagination is the limit in most cases. If I were younger and had less disposable income and more time on my hands, I'd certainly go to town!

On FF VII: I'm curious to see in what direction SE takes the remaining two Remake games. There's a ton of potential there. Knowing how dear the original game is to so many, I imagine they're very careful about the changes they are making. They won't please everyone, but aiming for making the vast majority happy is a noble goal!

BotW didn't give me too much trouble at the very beginning until I encountered my first major Bokoblin camp. It's laughable to think about now, but the weapons I had the time were...not great, and those blue variants definitely had some meat on their bones. I think I finally one through some well-timed explosions and attrition lol. I'd probably join the broken controller crowd when it comes to any Souls game lol. I do agree that, outside of a few enemies, BotW became a lot easier even with scaling. Especially when one gets the max 27 (Maxed out the stamina meter) hearts. Though I don't think I ever tackled the strongest Lynel type.

I'm mixed on fan content, at least the content that isn't asking for a profit. A lot of it isn't as great as the real thing, but there are some fan pieces that are genuinely amazing. At the end of the day though, it technically isn't their property to do anything with. I do wish Nintendo would make a couple of exceptions, such as with AM2R, but the problem is, then I could see them coming under fire for being selective about what content they allow. On one hand, I understand not wanting to cheapen some of their brand recognition with cruddy knockoffs. But on the other...some of these fan projects are just crying for official acknowledgement.