Topic: The Chit-Chat Thread

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@TheJGG The drive-through setup was intended to enforce social distancing without packing everyone close together inside a building or even outdoors. Though I wouldn't have complained about getting a free Happy Meal out of the deal. I don't eat McDonald's (or most classic fast food) often and try to stick with healthier eateries and options the 1-2 times a week I do have a meal out, but kid's meals are a nice way to satisfy those cravings without going completely nuts lol. There are some fast food staples I can deal with, but I do quite like skinny French Fries. I've tried making my own, but they just aren't the same. Not gentle at all eh? Just business? I get wanting to be speedy and efficient, but we're talking about ramming something up almost to a person's brain here....

From what I've since learned about No Man's Sky, especially from Link-Hero's mentions, the studio should be commended for sticking with the game and delivering on it as best they could. A procedurally generated soundtrack, you say? I was gonna say I'll seek out some music from the game since I'm curious now, but finding an actual solid "track" per se might be a taller order than I thought! Seven years is about what I'd expect for some games these days, but all that from an indie studio is pretty impressive indeed. I still believe their deadline should've been pushed back. Again, I disagree with the "Release now, patch later" mentality of some publishers.

I don't put up a fuss when going through security screening, though it makes me very uncomfortable. I'm also one to make good-hearted smart@$$ remarks when I'm nervous, but I have to hold them back. The problem is I have a dry sense of humor at times, so any "serious" delivery gets fully overlooked. There are also masking inconsistencies involving flights that I'm concerned with. Should I need to fly when mask mandates are still in place, I'll refuse to take mine off even to eat in fear of the crew or a fellow passenger misunderstanding my intentions. I've never done an early morning red eye flight, though I've done a couple of late flights in my time. You're pretty on the mark with how generally quiet those times can be.

It does seem as though your work in progress has grown since I last checked the page count! I'm afraid I still haven't caught up, but that will technically be a true statement until you finish. Xenoblade's pacing is indeed spot on for the most part, though I also agree the High Entia Tomb was a slower section. Valak Mountain, beautiful as it was, didn't have much there either other than a piece of story that could've easily occurred elsewhere. No rush, especially since I get the impression your schedule is filling up too.

The big eye-openers for me were both the Wii and PC, respectively, though my cousins' PS2 also played a minor role. I didn't realize how large game worlds could BE in terms of scope and length, since most of my game console experiences were either on handhelds or older consoles like the Sega Genesis and NES/SNES before that point. Maybe that's some of my problem; most of the racing games I've played feature arcade elements. There are a couple of arcade racers I'll still play on occasion if I see a cabinet, like California Speed or Hydro Thunder (this deals with boats however). I was considering Rocket League even before it went FTP. Seems like a bit of a slap in the face for those who actually brought copies of the game however.

I usually prefer seamless transitions in open world games too. Some older games, classic though they are, do it pretty abruptly. I put some of that up to hardware limitations and capacities at that time. Snow would indeed be hard to find here during the summer unless you head to a really high altitude or there's a freak weather incident lol. Have I camped before? I went to summer camps as a kid, but that was in cabins with electricity (though no A/C) and with plumbing nearby in a separate building. I've never done tent camping or slept out under the stars. I'd like to try the former at some point, but even with proper precautions I'd likely get eaten alive if I attempted the latter.

I've since caught more about the Disney vs. Johansson debacle. That's...a hard one. I agree that suing is abused worldwide daily. It's also fairly easy to see where both parties are coming from. Johansson was promised a deal, but a pandemic quickly upending the fabric of society isn't something that's normally accounted for. Conversely, while I like Disney properties, Disney as a company is slowly digging itself into a corporate hole. Like you, I'm not rooting for either party, though it'll be interesting to learn how it all plays out unless it's settled privately.

Trying to hone those photography skills? I admit I'm normally not one who takes a lot of screenshots in my games, due in part to having little fondness for social media and me not feeling every second of my life is worth broadcasting lol. While I pity your poor internet connection, I'd be interested in seeing some of the better results of your screenshot project.

As for my birthday: Thanks! Yep, I'll be hitting the big 3-0, which makes me old enough for Over The Hill merchandise lol.

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@Tyranexx Well that by all accounts worked a treat. Here it felt much more “you’d-better-have-done-it-otherwise-we’d-riot” because of the terrible outdoor conditions naturally but it all worked out in the end. I’ve only been to a fast-food once in the last seven years, and that time I had a particularly bad burger, that, true to fast-food service form, had stuff on it I didn’t want. I’ve since spent my time making up for it by eating quality burgers.

My recs for 65dos’ soundtrack for No Man’s Sky would be Asimov, Supermoon and Heliosphere. Their style is so experimental, and I saw a video of them released by the PlayStation channel of one of their recording sessions. Taping their guitars, trying out different drumming styles, you name it, they’ve done it. The game’s story is classic Hollywood though. So glad I stuck with it instead of getting a refund. Speaking of, the hotfixes for Cyberpunk have still gone on this whole time. And a raft of unfulfilled promises still exist.

Well that’s a relief; causing a scene would have been an unmitigated disaster. Despite my caution with safety I didn’t have any problems eating on the plane. Unfortunately almost every time I’ve been on a plane during this pandemic I’ve been at the aisle seat, meaning I’d need to cramp my elbows in unless I want to hit everyone passing through. Also having to get up so strangers can get into their seats… eugh. Though the policies have been absolutely rock solid. And ultimately… I prefer the late nights and early mornings. Less babies.

It has grown, exponentially. So much so I had to switch to an A4 doc size so it wouldn’t brick every time I loaded it to write! Eleven chapters done, and I’ve managed to add Sharla into the cast. It got boring with just two characters but now the fun part begins in terms of characterisation and story. On the bright side if you wait to take time and read it… it’ll have grown in the meantime! My time’s running short though but I’ll try and update it when I can. I am nerfing the Ether Mine though, as soon as they reach the central pit I’m gonna get them in an elevator that gets all the way to the bottom. Or something like that.

Final Fantasy X was the earliest-published game I played (not the first of course, I only played it last year) that had the makings of a game that could challenge and beat modern games today. The graphics are a bit on the rough side but overall… not that bad. Music’s great, combat’s great, and the story is next level goof. Twilight Princess is another, that game has better world design than most games today. Anything before the 64-bit era (excluding some SNES games) feels clunky and limited. But then it opened up and games began to enter the realm of greatness. Open world games like the ones on PS4/5, plus the inkling choices on Xbox, have been a breath of fresh air for me lately. I’ve gotten used to being able to fast travel within three seconds on PS5 that whenever I get onto Switch I start fidgeting while I wait for the game to load. Same with anything running at 30 frames per second. It now feels so choppy. I’m falling into the framerate master race trap.

There’s this thing going on with celebs called… “glamping”. Camping in really fancy tents and all. I think that’s pretty silly, it’s no substitute for the real thing. I’ve done a variety of camping types, with big tents, small tents, a cabin with absolutely zero power and even in a communal bunk room. Do try it one day. Ironically even better during this pandemic because of the sheer solitude it’ll provide. The Boy Scout motto is… be prepared. As a former Scout that’s the one thing I’ll take from it.

I’m a bit irked by the lawsuit in general. On one hand it’s easy to point the finger at Scarlett, call her a selfish attention-seeker and move on, but at the same time Disney inked a very specific deal. Something on both their terms naturally, so Scarlett would have responsibility there, but Disney could have tried to solve it when the movie was closer to release. You could make a strong case for either side actually. But it’s one actress and one major company that nearly has an absolute monopoly on the film industry now.

Wait, poor internet? Did I suggest that? Actually my internet’s great, the best I’ve ever had throughout years of cities and power cuts. Downloading a game as big as… I dunno, Ghost of Tsushima, would take three days in France, but here three hours. And as a 60GB game you can’t take a download like that lightly. But yeah I’ve had a ton of photos and they won’t do any good sat on a drive. I’m no social media boffin either, but Twitter’s the only way to get them off the console since I don’t have any drives that the console supports. I committed to the decision that I’d use it solely for photos at the moment… I put it in my signature again, so hopefully you’ll enjoy what you see. No useless commentary, just the photos! And believe me, I’d only share stuff I’m proud of.