Topic: The Chit-Chat Thread

This is my last somewhat quiet weekend before family wedding shenanigans and the Christmas/New Years storm, so I'll likely be less active than usual. Granted, I've intentionally pared back my activity a little lately except for on lazier days/evenings.

@MarioLover92 It did transfer over the apps I wanted to keep, along with some (though not all; I use a password manager for some things) of my login data for some sites. Since it is a Google-centric device, I had to fight it a bit to get it to use Firefox over Chrome lol.

Excellent Toad train drawing! Is that all in pencil? I love how you've done some of the shading. Very charming indeed! I've been wanting to start drawing again on occasion, but it's often hard for me to sit down and patiently work through something substantial these days. I do occasionally work on small doodles at work in stages when I need a brief thinking break though.

@AegisPrime I'm already attracted to concepts I've read about in 13 Sentinels, but Vanillaware does food well too? I might have to lock up my pantry while playing. XD

@TheJGG Decent soundtrack aside, from what little I know of the gameplay and story (Keeping away from spoilers here), I think 13 Sentinels is a title I'll thoroughly enjoy. I'll likely end up getting it on the Switch unless it's a muddy, chugging, buggy mess. Though it takes a lot of those types of issues to turn me away from a game.

I also believe I caught someone on YouTube Thursday evening while hopping onto Pokemon Shield for a bit (Early Friday for you).

@BruceCM I've also considered that it's network-related, or how my SIM interacts with the network. It's almost half a decade old, so I may petition for a new one in case that does anything. I'd attributed some of the issues with my previous phone related to the gradual 3G shutdown since it would only place calls in 3G (even though it was capable of doing it in 4G), but it's odd when similar issues still persist in a new phone that places calls in 4G and is 5G capable. The good 5G isn't in my area yet and likely won't be for many years. And the weaker 5G is arguably worse than 4G in some areas right now.

@tekoii I watched about fifteen minutes of TGA before turning it off. I got home from work later than intended, plus I had plenty to do Thursday evening. Doesn't seem like I missed much, though I am glad I cut in during part of the Hellblade II showcase. As for 13 Sentinels, I'm not fully against downloading retail titles if they don't take up a ton of space. However, part of the reason I mostly buy physical games is due to the fact that they're often cheaper through physical and digital store fronts off the eShop.

@Tyranexx Thank you! Yes, it is all in pencil. 3B, 6B, HB, kneaded eraser, blending stick, all that fun stuff. Yeah, I'm a bit retro, lol. A good chunk of my drawing was done in still life (namely Toad and the train), which I'm generally best at. I want to do a drawing for this year, too. I was thinking of Mario holding a present, or Princess Peach having hot chocolate - maybe even make both pieces if I have the time - what do you think? I would like to have one ready by Christmas if possible.

Yeah, it is quite a lot of work for making drawings like this. I tend to overthink things a lot, especially with objects that have a lot of detail. So I found myself drawing on occasion as well. I'd need to have multiple days to wrap up the whole thing, too, just to not overwhelm myself too much! The most recent drawing I made was of Anna from Frozen.

And yeah, I always used Firefox as my browser of choice, at least on PCs. Mostly by habit, lol. I haven't used Chrome as much, I just use it as an alternative.

@MarioLover92 Cool, I remember the kids in my class also played the game. I think I was the only one who had the link cable, which was also used for vs. races in Super Mario Bros. Deluxe.

Indeed, scratches are the only worry with DVDs. I'm pretty much the same way for most of the part. The most recent DVD stays in my bedroom player for convenience (Trolls: Holiday In Harmony is currently inside of it), just so I can put on something when I'm in my room. Most of the time in my room, it's usually YouTube on Switch (I have on a Christmas Fireplace stream right now, has instrumental Christmas music).

I think the OVA came out after Sonic CD. If I remember correctly, Toei Animation did the intro in Sonic CD, I always felt the OVA was adapted from Sonic CD to an extent. It just didn't have time traveling from what I remember. Is The Order A Rabbit is cute, it's about a girl named Cocoa, who goes to a small village to attend school, stays with another girl named Chino (cute thing, her full name is Kafuu Chino, everyone's name is a pun on hot beverages), who's shy and they work in a coffee shop called Rabbit House. It's a cute slice of life anime. (Tagging @Blooper987, I wonder if you ever seen this anime? Asking since I know you like anime.)

That Princess Peach picture sounds like an adorable idea.

I think Breath of the Wild 2 looks great, I can't believe Sonic is now in it! Joke aside, it looks interesting to see how they're going to do Sonic with an open world. The only Sonic games I played that have an open world-like area are the adventure fields in Sonic Adventure, and Sonic Boom on Wii U, since exploration was the focus in that one, which one of my favorite things to do in Boom was explore the world. That game was a bit slower-paced and a spin-off, Sonic Frontiers looks like the usual fast Sonic that we've always had. It makes me wonder will it be high speed with a world to explore. Just some thoughts, I'm excited for the game, between Switch and PC, I have two ways to play it.

@Sunsy seen the first 2 episodes. I stopped watching it cause I had other shows to watch, but it’s on my watchlist to finish at some point. It is one of the cutest shows I’ve ever seen tho

My watchlist has 600+ anime so it’s kinda hard to get through it all.😂😂😂

@Blooper987 Alright, glad you thought it was one of the cutest after two episodes. It's one of my favorites, and I hope you enjoy it when you get around to finishing it.

@Tyranexx Yeah, that's prudent, something I'd echo as well when I consider what games are worth getting. Game contemplation season is open now thanks to TGA showing some admittedly rad titles, plus demonstrations that some games I'm on the fence about are good enough for awards galore. I'm definitely considering Tales of Arise, NieR: Replicant, the Life is Strange game now.

And it was indeed Friday morning for me. Strictly speaking near five am. Doing these shows and whatnot takes a lot out of you when they're so darn early!

@WoomyNNYes ah getting your booster sounds like it was a hassle. That's too bad. Not to get off topic but the dearth of workers is really bad in my area. And honestly I can't wrap my head around it. The unemployment benefits for COVID have stopped in most cases (or at least aren't as exploitable), and so many places are doing sign-on bonuses. Like, where did everyone go?

@Sunsy
I still skeptic with Sonic Frontier.
With Sonic games aren't my forte, i wonder if i can make Sonic slowdown in Sonic Frontier.
I want to like the Sonic games but it seems hard to like them due to SEGA games i have are mostly not really fun to play for me. (Beijing 2008 PS3 was rubbish, London 2012 PS3 & Tokyo 2020 PS4 were okay but some sports still felt pretty hard to play, Sonic Generations PS3 & Lost World 3DS were pretty hard to play, Virtua Tennis 4 PS3 was pretty hard to smash the ball properly, Mario Sonic 2008 Wii was pretty hard in controlling, Mario Sonic 2014 Wii U was okay but i felt less engaged with the game)
So i was wondering about Team Sonic Racing PS4 that i have delayed to purchase for 1 year, is the controlling easy enough as Mario Kart or SEGA still like to twist up to make it harder (because of SEGA mindset being too edgy in my opinion) ?

@Losermagnet Yeah, pharmacies are suffering from being short staffed. My CVS at Target closed down for a week at Thanksgiving, I think so the few pharmacy workers there could have a well earned vacation.

Well, in VA, where my brother is (DC burbs), it's easy to get a vaccine/booster, no appointment needed. The closed down Sears at the mall was turned into a vaccination site. My brother told me how easy it was to get his booster, and also how easy it was to get his kids vaccinated, and it amazed me. I think the difference is, money was allocated to administer the vaccines in his state. I think in my state, that funding ended, or was slashed. Actually, that is what happened, now that I think about it. I remember the details were outlined on the news a year ago, and they listed covid testing sites & services that would shut down. Which blew my mind, knowing how bleeping busy those places were. ...back to my point, vaccines duties appear dropped onto already short staffed pharmacies of PA to save money. Well, I got a glipse of how that's handicapping our ability to vaccinate.

@Sunsy I never had the link cable for the GBC, lol. We did have one for the GBA, however. I recall my brother using it to trade Pokemon in all his Pokemon games.

Oh I see, I've been like that with my Switch. The game that's currently in my game card slot is Xenoblade Chronicles 2, since I came back to it after getting the Torna expansion on sale. I still have yet to beat the base game.

Yep, Sonic OVA came out after Sonic CD. I'd love to see ITOAR at some point but I'm not sure if it's on any of the streaming services I have. I really want to see Kiki's Delivery Service too, but it's not on stuff like Disney+, unfortunately.

Thanks! I'm best at still-life drawing, I find, and I do have a Peach figurine that I got from my local retro game shop. She has her hands together in that figurine. I could try to alter it so that she's holding her mug in the drawing.

Yeah, I'm thinking you can go fast while you're exploring that big open area. I wonder if it'll have similar controls/physics to the Sonic Adventure games, that would honestly benefit me. Always had an easier time with the Adventure games as opposed to the boost games, at least with controlling Sonic.

@Anti-Matter Let's be honest here, you're kind of expected to go fast in Sonic games - it's in his name after all. There are a few slower-paced levels here and there (Marble Zone and Labyrinth Zone from Sonic 1 come to mind), but generally speaking, it's the kind of game that encourages players to go at high speeds and learn the level layouts as they play. Also, you mentioned before that you didn't like Breath of the Wild and sold it, and Sonic Frontiers looks quite similar to that, only you're playing as the blue blur himself. I don't think you'd like the game, honestly.

As for Team Sonic Racing, I think the game controls quite well. The button layouts are a bit different from something like Mario Kart though - you'd hold down ZR/R2/RT to accelerate, for example. Also, you'll want to help out your teammates in TSR in some way, like passing around items to whoever needs them. You're gonna want to make sure that all your teammates get a high enough place when they finish, too, not just yourself. So yeah, there's a bit of a learning curve in TSR.

@TheJGG @Tekoii and anyone else,

GameStop just gave me $30 today. I feel guilty.🤣 Mainly guilty for the nice girl at the counter.

I bought BOTW (physcial) online from gamestop, on sale for $35 (black friday weekend). Turns out my brother doesn't want physical games. So, I returned it at a store. When they asked me to insert my card to refund the money back to my card, the card reader screen said $63 ($60 is regular retail +tax). I said, "You're giving me more than I payed. You're giving me $30," Smiling & sympathetic, "I can't take that. I'm making money. I bought it for $35, you can see right here on the invoice. .....I'm not in a rush. You can ring it up over again." The nice girl said, "they've made it so hard to accept returns from online sales, I don't know correct it.", confidently implying there's no way to correct it. I said, "are you sure??" a couple times. So, I grudgingly accepted the extra $30. I felt guilty for the girl, in case this makes problems later.

Anyway. Christmas miracle. I made $30. 🤷‍♀️🎄🎄

Oh, even funnier, when I walked out the door of Gamestop, there was a great Bald Eagle that circled, and landed in a nearby tree, and let out some raptor screech/calls. (as if the gods were smiling upon me)

@MarioLover92
Oh, about Team Sonic Racing.
Press R2 to accelerate looks same as Cars 2 (Disney Pixar) where R2 = Accelerate, Circle = Drift. It felt like Mario Kart too from fingers mapping but in opposite direction.
So the race in TSR is about teamwork in racing but how to make sure if my team will be win according from my and other two partners position ?
Never heard a requirement like that before.

About something like BOTW, Yonder the Cloud Catcher Chronicles was the only open world game I like to play and i have finished the storyline twice on both Switch and PS4 version. The game had a little bit BOTW vibes from the landscape, the way of character using a parasol to land to the ground from height, exploration to discover new places and collecting items, do the villagers quest, clear the murk to open new area, fix the Cloud Catcher machine and discover the truth of yourself. The game felt very relaxing, easy to continue the storyline, no combat, no violence, just exploration of beautiful world + some item colleting + crafting + do the quests.

@MarioLover92 I prefer still life too; it comes to my brain a LOT easier than abstract stuff lol. Generally scenes or objects, though I try not to do human-like subjects; I have a very hard time with hands. I'd like to see both of those ideas come to [still] life, so to speak, but I'd completely understand if you have time for one! Presents are cool, and I love hot chocolate...so it's hard for me to pick. XD

Overthinking = 100% me. With several (well, many) life aspects. I normally just doodle random lines and shapes. It's rare that I have artistic concepts stick in my head, but ironically a BotW-related one recently came to me in a dream and kept bouncing around my head for the rest of the day; usually a good sign it's a solid idea! I have the general concept noted in bullet points somewhere, but I haven't drawn anything yet...maybe eventually. I don't want to expand more just yet, but let's just say I'll need to spend some time studying the characteristics of a certain in-game race.

I use Firefox most of the time out of habit. Plus, while I don't dislike Chrome, it can be more of a resource hog in my experience.

@TheJGG I admittedly didn't watch much of TGA - I got off work late and the evening was a busy one - but I did catch up on news later. I did tune in during some of the Hellblade II segment, which was a treat; I still need to go back and fully watch it. LotR: Gollum intrigues me, but I'd need to see actual gameplay. I also liked the Sonic 2 trailer, though I (still) need to watch the first film. I was considering Tales of Arise post-TGA until I realized I mistakenly thought it was on Switch; I think I mixed it up with Vesperia. Definitely a consideration for other platforms should I get a capable PC or Sony console. Same case with anything related to the NiER series. For some reason, I thought you already had Life Is Strange?

Oof, that is early! You certainly have some dedication! It sounds like TGA was slightly better this year depending on who you ask, but I do think 3 1/2 hours is too long. Not to mention that, while I enjoy some of the trailer and game reveals that surface, I feel like the show should be more to celebrate and reflect on this year's achievements and innovations in gaming, not so much a fast-paced mini-E3 ad fest.

It's the Christmas season so what is everyone doing for the holidays?

There is a restriction from our government to not take a trip or having holiday during 24 December 2021 - 2 January 2022 to prevent COVID spread out. 😑

@Anti-Matter I think @MarioLover92 sums it up perfectly as Sonic's main gimmick is speed. The only slower Sonic game that comes to mind is Sonic Boom Rise of Lyric. The core gameplay is more like a platformer, with some speed areas, but most of it is beating up enemies, platforming, and solving light puzzles. This is mostly because the Sonic Boom stuff was a spin-off.

Team Sonic Racing controls a bit differently than Mario Kart, driving controls are done via L and R buttons, instead of A and B. Team racing is a gimmick, but I do find the game a little more challenging than Mario Kart.

IMO, Sega isn't as "edgy" as they use to be, it was a gimmick they did in the US in the 90's to help Sega look cooler than Nintendo. If you look at the US classic Sonic design vs. the Japanese one, Japan's Sonic looks a bit cuter compared to the US cooler look.

@MarioLover92 I remember the Game Boy Color link cable was interesting, it came with an adapter to link to the original black and white Game Boy systems. I used the GBA one a lot too, remember using it to play Kirby Nightmare in Dreamland mini-games, Jimmy Neutron vs. Jimmy Negatron (had a cool multiplayer mini-game inspired by Asteroids), various Sonic games, and Zelda Four Swords with friends and classmates.

In my Switch right now, it's Puyo Puyo Tetris 2. Have it in there for a few casual rounds of Puyo Puyo.

I first saw Is The Order A Rabbit on Crunchyroll. That's one of the movies I want to see, I don't know which streaming service has it, but I may consider getting a DVD of it to watch it.

You're welcome, and I see. If you can get Peach with a mug working, definitely try it. I do drawing as a hobby, but mostly just draw my favorite characters occasionally.

That what has me curious since both Forces and Generations are boost based, and I'm thinking an open world wouldn't work that way, unless you have boost and save it for certain speed sections. Weirdly enough, Sonic Boom's Excavation Site comes to mind. That hub had a lot to explore in an open world fashion, then there was that one section where it felt like a speed section that's more linear, and the gameplay changed. I'd like to see gameplay of Frontier to see how it works, it has me curious if some areas are dedicated to speeding through, and others have exploration while being fast.

@Atomic77 For Christmas, I'm going to my brother's. It's always super fun. The nieces are going to freak, because they are getting a white OLED switch (it's sitting in my closet, currently). They don't have a Switch, and they always play my switch when we visit eachother. They always ask to play Mario Odyssey, mario kart, Splatoon.

My brother has an xbox, and he's been waiting for me to visit so we can play Forza Horizon 5. We love taking turns with the races, seeing who can place better or get the best times.

What about you, for Christmas?

@Anti-Matter Sorry to hear about covid restrictions. Cases are going up here in the US too. Hospitals filling up, and so on.

@Anti-Matter Yeah, it's pretty much a brand new gameplay mechanic, as far as I'm aware. Ah yeah I do recall you talking about that game a few times, I never played it though.

@Tyranexx I could do one idea, then the other next month. It'll still be wintertime by then so I could do Mario's present this month, then Peach's hot chocolate on the next. I'm thinking the present drawing would be easier, since Mario is a bit easier to draw than Peach, I think. Though...I've been incredibly busy this month, so I haven't even started drawing yet.

Yeah, some parts on human subjects are quite tricky. Hands are hard for sure, and I can have a bit of trouble with noses. I have done portrait-style drawings, which does make things easier since I can really zero in on the facial features. That's cool you got that idea from your dream, that'd be cool to see once you make that a reality. I have been coming up with ideas for a game I want to make in the future too, I wrote them down somewhere. I do want to learn how to design games.

@Sunsy Oh that's cool, didn't know that. I know there was a universal game link cable that links GBAs to the older Game Boy systems. I mostly draw my favorite characters too. I do have a sketchbook so I can practice with that before I make the final piece.

Yeah, there's quite a few possibilities on how Frontiers would play. I could see them putting in those boost sections throughout the game. Yeah, perhaps it'll be part boost, part exploration? Since one half of Generations is Classic Sonic levels, the other half being Modern Sonic levels where you'd boost through everything.

@Atomic77 I did quite a bit of Christmas shopping and decorating, for one thing. Got my brother a Switch game too.

MAX MAX MAX SUPER MAX MAX!!! Jokes aside that F1 title fight was so depressing last night, so it's been such a difficult day in that I can't focus on anything else due to what an absolute joke the final lap was. It was so poorly managed and it was so obvious the FIA wanted a lap of racing. And the rest is history, Lewis had no hope in heaven of keeping his 43-lap old hard tyre-shod Mercedes ahead of Verstappen on fresh softs. Cinematic for sure and Netflix are on the verge of bursting with all that drama but good God it was awful as a fan.

Congratulations to Max Verstappen though, he was almost flawless this year. His driving was just so clinical that it was a matter of time. He's also not a sociopath for now; those victory cries left me shaking!

@Tyranexx Unlucky you didn't catch most of it but to be honest if I had less patience I'd only watch the last hour of the show. I'm glad I saw all the stuff live though, meaning I could share the hype with some of the cool guys from the NL community, such was @WoomyNNYes, a legend. The Sonic 2 trailer was so good. The movie looks amazing, and the character designs look as good if not better than the first. Tails' voice (already by Colleen Villard) is awesome. I loved his voice already and it is as good now. And Knuckles? Idris Elba should be thrown in prison for lying about how he was trying to tone down his sexiness. If he tried, he must have awful self control.

Hellblade was fantastic too but I won't be able to get it unfortunately, I don't have an Xbox. Whether the original Senua's Sacrifice game runs well on Switch or not will determine if I get it there or not. Psychosis is something it apparently nailed. As for LiS? Not quite. The Remastered collection drops next year so that's when I'll dig into it. I played the first episode of the first game on Steam and thought it was amazing, even if it nearly roasted my poor old MacBook. Warmer than a human being I'll tell ya.

@WoomyNNYes That is a darn good story. I'd feel bad for the lady too but thirty bucks is not something you should look at and just turn away. Welcome to America, the land of opportunity and dreams! The eagle was the proverbial cherry on top [of a tree].

To @Vortexeo and @tekoii Take a listen to this: my preliminary cover of a Xenoblade 2 song.

@TheJGG Wow, there are quite some videos in your channel. Also nice Covers! How do you do these? Like, is there a programm of some sort?