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The Phoenixian

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Posts posted by The Phoenixian

  1. Posted

    So, I just came across an interesting, early access indie Action RPG: CrossCode. And now I'm going to gush a bit about it.

    Looking around shows that it seems to be moderately well known, but I was immediately struck by the sheer level of polish in it, one beating many published games and which I've only seen matched among early access games by Factorio and AM2R.

    It's not finished, and lasts about 15-20 hours so far but what's done is very well done.

    To begin with you start as Lea, a character who is not so much "stuck" in an MMO, as traveling through it in order to recover her memories. And likewise not so much a "heroic mime" as fully able to put more personality and expression into three words than many characters get with a full vocabularies. Rather than being the player avatar, she stands as her own character, and one who both has a distinct personality and is very easy to engage with as a character.

    As far as actual gameplay goes, the combat system is quite well polished, even with numerous powerups still saying "not implemented yet", and only gets better as one progresses towards unlocking its elemental variants. It feels like a proper branching path, with the option to either make a balanced build, or aim for specialization.

    Setting wise the game itself does a very good job on selling the idea that the world is a popular MMO, Players run to and fro along thoroughfares, guilds and frustrated players hand ask for favors just as do NPCs, and folks you meet early on can be seen in the background progressing alongside you. (From both party members and rivals, to even simple running gags such as the girl who inexplicably sits on tables when there are chairs instead.)

    The music is good, and the art can only be described as "gorgeous".

    Lastly, I would be remiss not to mention the ice floors, which don't take up much of the game, but are notable in that sliding on ice + twirly dodge mechanics + fire element = flaming ballerina.

    [/gush]

    The Old Hack and PSadlon reacted to this

  3. Posted

    6 hours ago, Tom Sewell said:

    There's also a plot-hole kind of a mile wide here: What's so hard about keeping the money? All Sirleck has to do is marry a young bimbo, make her the old man's heir, and take over her body. As soon as he makes the jump, the old guy dies and it should look like natural causes to anyone not in on The Secret. Say, does this remind you of a real-world bimbo who married an extremely old man who kicked off not that many years ago?

    For one thing, one imagines that if Sirleck took over the body of just anyone, they'd have family and friends who would notice when their personality very suddenly changed. Especially if their wealth brings them into the public eye where such a change would be noticed by everyone. One imagines that "Rich dowager starts acting like her late husband after he dies" is something Immortals keep an eye out for.

    The fact that he can normally "take breaks from" his host also gives rise to the question of whether or not the host their own will restored when he does so. Which could be problematic for him if they have friends and family they can contact.

    Which is the whole reason he went for Magus. The guy is a complete unknown which helps him go unnoticed big time. And in the end, staying safe and alive is far more important than money.

  7. Posted

    2 hours ago, InfiniteRemnant said:

    i admit, i haven't finished reading the source material that was linked earlier, so i might have missed something, but it seems like altered state in this context specifically refers to "turns into something physically different from your default form"

    Like Hulk vs Bruce Banner. THAT kind of altered state.

    When it comes to canonical examples, you've got:

    Shadow Stalker: The living smoke person mentioned earlier: shifts between being human to a smokelike form that can pass through glass and thin walls.
    Fenja and Menja: Identical twins who grow to giant sizes, taking less damage from attacks the bigger they get.
    Legend: Shoots lasers as a blaster power, can also turn into an energy state that absorbs damage and grants him greater speed at the cost of cognitive functions.

    The general rule of breaker powers seems to be that it's a very specific state you shift to and back from.

    Non-breakers for contrast:

    Eidolon: Trump: At any moment will have three random powers appropriate to his situation. At any time one may be dismissed to gain another.
    Crawler: Changer, any time he's hurt by something his body alters to adapt to it. Changes are permanent and based in biology. Regenerates and spits acid.
    Sundancer: Blaster, creates a sun hot sphere that grows and moves on command, the notable "resemblance to a breaker" part of power is that she has an aura of normal temperature around her that keeps her from being fried to a crisp.
    Glaistig Uaine: Trump: As per Eidolon, has three powers at any given time, the difference is that she chooses which ones. Any time a superpowered individual dies near her she gains their power for her collection and can thenceforth call on it at any time.

    -----------

    Worm's a pretty popular fanfiction setting on some sites, so here's another resource, for those interested: the Word of God thread. I'll link all the specific posts I referenced.

    Be warned: there's quite a lot of stuff there.

    -------------

    On the other side of the original post, thoughts on how the PRT would set up in Moperville and what strategy they'd use.

    With the PRT you have the numbered departments, 1-67, for the 67 largest cities and thereafter you have the special zones with their own departments, either for purposes of quarantine or keeping an eye on a cape town, but the majority of cities and towns with at least one notable cape have PRT offices: Not fully staffed departments but there to keep an eye on things.

    Notably, Worm's main city "Brockton Bay" is a special, zone though it's never outright mentioned in story. Specially, it's noted to be a "hive of scum and villainy" (distinct from designation HOSV) and be a "cape town"

    Quanrantine zones are mostly for the really really important areas. Places where keeping things in order keeps the fate of the city, and far more, in the balance.

    In Moperville's case, the PRT might be in the midst of considering setting up a special office and calling it a cape town, but it isn't likely to be one yet. (Brockton Bay, notably, had over thirty capes between its various villain groups.)

    Still, due to a head honcho of the paranormal investigations department living there and a few paranormals such as Raven, you do likely have a branch office and as the energy clog starts to make the lake of magical power and Pandora starts triggering single power mages, it's going to start seeing a bit more activity.

    Pandora showing herself on camera may draw eyes, but I'd expect that the the new years "Not-Tengu" brainwashing incident and the following Griffon in the mall incident are probably the point where people really start talking about doing something.

  8. Posted

    2 hours ago, weirdee said:

    I think grandpa monster here is gonna bite off a bit more than he can chew if he thinks he can brainjack a halfimmortal

    I doubt he'll try: To my understanding, Sirleck has preference for people with few attachments and little past history. Which makes sense as such things make it harder for others to ping to the fact that somethings different.

    I'm guessing that Raven is too well known for that. This strikes me as him surveying a potential threat: Raven has a much broader authority to act when Magic is involved and the brain-jacking vampire likely counts.

    47 minutes ago, Kazzellin said:

     

    Panels 2, 4, 6:  *blink-blink* Just what database is Sirleck accessing right now? O_o Basic Google, or something more government-involved? Also, panel 6 really drives home the spider-vampire's mention of "giving up empathy," doesn't it? >_>

    Aye. Personally I'm aghast. Really, the greatest part of living 500 years is to see the effect you have on the world as the years turn.

  9. Posted

    3 hours ago, InfiniteRemnant said:

    I'm not disputing their character category, i'm saying relatives on raven's mortal side winding up in moperville, regardless of adrian's motivations for being there or whether or not the twins are included in said family, doesn't feel right. Not the end result, but the foundation the theory is built upon.

    It seems too easy. Extended families make more sense to me when they're scattered. though those expectations may be coming from my own family being spread across 3 continents...

    I would imagine that they are scattered... but they are also vampire hunters, and as such the favored prey of vampires. One imagines Raven, following rumors of his kin, praying he can find them in time to protect them. This time.

  10. Posted

    3 minutes ago, InfiniteRemnant said:

    as to your other theory... if this is what sibling rivalry looks like for immortals, i am really glad H&D get along...

    Honestly, it strikes me less as rivalry, and more as misguided but well meaning concern:

    "My sister is crazy and she needs to be stopped" mixed with "If I my sister dies, she'll be sane again." Logical, and consistent with Immortal biology but terrifying and crazy in its own way.

    6 minutes ago, InfiniteRemnant said:

    but at least it's not anywhere near as convoluted as the other theory floating around.

    Do tell.

  11. Posted

    Hence (great) nieces rather than grandchildren. Were it not for that fact, I'd still speculate they were nieces, but the relationship would be on Raven's Mother's side. But that's impossible so: More distant.

    In any case, It's makes some sense to me: He can't serve his country, so Raven instead took to following his half-sibling's family around. If he couldn't fight for his country like he truly desires, he could still stay by his family, and their magic allowed him some small degree of intervention.

    Although... going full on crazy train: What if Voltaire is Pandora's brother and he is Susan and Diane's father? It was mentioned early on that Susan has "Elf-like ears" and Voltaire's bangs bear a passing resemblance to Susan's father's (assuming he grew out the back), along with a passing resemblance to both sisters. It would also explain why the twins are blond when both their father and mother have darker colors. (He was transformed so as to live out a mortal life for a bit, but they inherited his true hair color.)

    Though it does raise one heck of a lot of questions on how Elves actually work.

  13. Posted

    I'm given to wonder if Susan and Diane aren't actually Raven's (X-fold great) nieces. Reason being that when Raven disguised Grace she noted that she looked a lot like Susan.

    And it makes some sense to me: Immortals would be more likely to involve themselves with a magical bloodline, like that of a vampire hunter. A younger, saner Pandora might well involve herself with, and fall in love with, a vampire hunter, leading to the birth of Raven, while the mortal side of the bloodline continued.

    Them being in the same town is entirely reasonable if we assume that Raven came to America following the records of his extended family and Pandora came after, following her son.

  14. Posted

    I must admit, when I saw the Dan mention the theory that many people thought Ashley was Pandora, I was both amused and disappointed.

    Disappointed because it meant that it wouldn't be new for me to throw out a well cited post about the utterly insane idea as a joke.

    Amused because it was prevalent enough to acknowledge.

  15. Posted

    9 hours ago, InfiniteRemnant said:

    er... yeah... the only way i can see that happening is if she was so oblivious to his methods that the ones she picked up were subconscious, and she doesn't even know she's doing it. otherwise there would be a shift in her behavior when no one (but the audience) is watching...

    Yeah, Like I said, I don't really see it... but it would make me laugh my head off.

    5 hours ago, The Old Hack said:

    Well, if anyone would be an expert on manipulation, it would be Phoenixon.:demonicduck:

    Good to see you, and welcome back, old friend.

    Thanks, it's good to be back.

  16. Posted

    7 hours ago, HarJIT said:

    (emphasis added) ... was that deliberate?

    No, but I can see why you'd think it is.

    8 hours ago, Scotty said:

    Gee, that'd even worse than the challenge rating 5 given to Pandora. ;)

    Well, that Trump rating is hardly the only thing Immortals are capable of. I put it low because they can only give a person one spell, only as relates to bloodline or yearning, and one spell at a time. (Though being able to awaken individuals would bump it up a little higher.)

    If it was just the Trump rating, you could probably defeat a great many plots simply by handing your government agents glasses that can see through clothing to find the mark. (Which makes you think about the paranormal investigations department's equipment...)

    The problem is that their invisibility, and everything else they can do, greatly compounds the effort of doing so. Which goes under all their other ratings, like the giant Stranger rating. So the Trump rating itself may be low, but it synergizes very well with everything else.

    (Which sort of breaks what I said earlier about having a single overarching rating... Though the prevalence of multiple, more diverse, powers absolutely warrants it. CURSE YOU DIFFERENT PHYSICS SYSTEMS FOR MAKING THIS COMPLICATED!)

    5 hours ago, Don Edwards said:

    An Awakened gaining a new power is a Breaker ability, not a Trump ability.

    And I'd rate it as Breaker 0 - at most - because there's so little control over both when the new power will be acquired and what the new power will be. Seriously, a shopping trip that includes at least one of {library, bookstore, hardware store, hobby shop, craft store} is a greater Breaker power.

    (This is just about the fact of being Awakened and the ability to gain new spells thereby. Not about the spells the Awakened individual might have - which may include some more-serious Breaker abilities.)

    What's your definition for Breaker abilities?

    My thoughts on Breaker abilities was that it was specifically about "breaking physics" especially (though not strictly) in regards to shifting into a form that interacts with the world differently. IE: Turning into living smoke in a humanoid shape that can pass through walls. Or cancelling momentum of a fast moving object that's going to hit you.

  18. Posted

    *Appears in thread, vibrating slightly, as if pulled in with great force and stopping suddenly.*

    Something to consider about the EGS verse as compared to the Wormverse, is that the PRT ratings are developed for a completely different system of magic. EGS works via completely different rules and so may need a different categorization system. In large part the PRT rating system deals with commonalities between people who's powers are literally unique to themselves. EGS has varied and individual powers, but there's more commonalities and the actual mechanism of everything is much better understood.

    For the sake of argument however, it's best to keep the ratings systems as they are rather than inventing something new.

    First off, it's worth noting that the specific reason for the PRT rating system is to designate the type of threat quickly. The greatest overarching power takes precedence and if it's heavily intertwined with another, it's given a slash, such as in Master/Stranger 5 (As opposed to Master 5 Stranger 4). Actual usage of a power seems to matter a lot to it's rating. Notably, normals can get the "0" rating in a given category if they're dangerous enough.

     

    The Trump ranting in particular is rare in the Wormverse, but in EGS it's going to apply to literally every Awakened, Immortal, and a few others. Anything that grants powers, changes powers, copies powers, or generally does anything to the powers themselves has a Trump rating.

    Awakened probably have low Trump ratings, likely Trump 2 as a general rule, as it takes significant time and effort to acquire new spells but it is something you need to be aware of in each successive meeting. Immortals are a little higher, say 3 or 4, as they can grant permanent powers if the conditions are right (which could be easily dealt with on its own, but the rest of their capabilities interfere with that). Wizards would likely be highest in Trump rating, as they can actively pick up new powers fairly easily, though not instantly, and do so with little regard for many of the common rules that both Immortals and Awakened Mages follow.

    Notably, Jerry specifically may well have previously had a higher trump rating than many Immortals due to creating the Hammer Statue. (Though it might be better to argue that that was not in fact a Trump effect but simply a very powerful, if relatively harmless, Tinker device.)

    Tedd, for the most part, is likely not a Trump but a Tinker with a transformation specialty. Thinker/Tinker is most likely to be his primary rating as his vision grants him insight into magic, which is integral to his tinkering with watches and the TF gun.

    Ellen's copy beam is likely grants her a low Trump rating at best: Say, Blaster/Changer X from her main general powerset with a "Sub Trump 1-2" from the copy beam: Combined with Nanase it's potent but that beam is specific in what powers it can copy and has other arbitrary limitations. (She wouldn't have been able to copy Not-Tengu for instance.)

    [/talking about the trump rating]

    On 5/3/2016 at 5:47 PM, KerPop42 said:


    By the way, these powers are rated on a scale of 1-10, if that provides more flexibility.

    Not quite: The rating system goes above ten, but it's rare. My personal take on it is that it goes from barely above average (1) to needing a trained well trained team or a typical cape (3) to city impacting (somewhere around 9-12: Master 9, according to the PRT quest documents, is the point where artillery is authorized.) to nation scale effects (Probably 14 or 16 given some of the background trivia regarding Sleeper's Stranger 14 rating) and so on.

    Incidentally, I should link the PRT quest google document as it details a fair amount of stuff on classifications between pages 33 and 38.

    Also: Hello again, good to see this place is back.