Games you're playing: The 2009 edition.

[Grefter]

It could be worse, at least it doesn't break all the time so you are in a perpetual cycle of rage and apathy.

[Dark Holy Elf]

Re Excal's FE6 remarks:

The better way to own Scott is to never be in his attack range at the end of his turn, and attack from range 2. He starts with his range-1 axe (Killer?) out, so you can snipe him with magic/arrows/Light Brand/etc., then rescue/drop the attacker, and repeat. It's still quite a wall to get past, but he's more manageable that way.

-Allowing your player to get caught in random encounters two steps in a row is a crime and perpetrators should be drawn and quartered.

That never happens.

However - and I assume you realise this - FF1 has fixed encounters on certain panels. They in no way influence your ability to get in a random, so you could get a fixed encounter, then the very next step you take, get in your scheduled random encounter.

In FF1's defence, most fixed encounters occur in pretty obvious places (e.g. just inside/outside a door, or in front of a treasure chest.

[Excal]

Eh, that involved using people of questionable accuracy and little damage (outside of Lilina/Lugh).  This way I got to smash him in the face repeatedly with a Killer Sword.

[Dark Holy Elf]

Yeah, I mainly recall doing it with the mages, myself.

[DjinnAndTonic]

I wanted my two cents without crowding up the topic. So here. Enlarge it if you want to see.

Honest to God, the distinction between genres, and, really, the general feeling of superiority that certain people seem to lord over speculative fiction for god knows what reason, is absolute bullshit. Absolute, unmitigated, unquestionable bullshit. As a writer who likes fantasy, everytime I hear the general breakdown of science fiction or fantasy in some snobby "oh I am so far beyond that garbage" tone, I really wish I could cram copy of Waiting for Godot down their gullets and let them choke on that for a moment.

Look. Define this shit as you want, but the fact is that genre boils down to a collection of aesthetics/tropes/stylistic choices that ultimately define the general categorical sense of belonging. That is, ultimately, the difference between genres. That's all. The problem, of course, is that people have taken this one step further and feel the need to categorically sequester the "bad stuff" off in the corner under the label of science fiction or fantasy, while cherry picking other material to label as literature.

This is shit, and its frustrating, because it establishes this ridiculous bias against speculative fiction writers, and it is continuously perpetuated by the idea that the speculative fiction genre is for the "bad stuff."

You know what? If you want to talk about the bad stuff, talk about the fucking bad stuff. No, I'm not going to pretend you are simply talking about the bad stuff, because you presented your argument in a generally shitty and insulting way (hey, there might be one or two good fantasy novels, whatever!). I am tired of this sort of crap, where my ability as a writer is demeaned due to the aesthetics and such I choose to use in my writing. You wonder why this pisses me off to such a degree? Because I'm tired of the generalized sneers I get when I say I write fantasy. There's a lot of unnecessary elitism about the whole damn thing, and it annoys me to no end.

What I think really ticked me off about Djinn's statement is that the lack of any sort of context made the entire argument particularly irksome. You set this basic distinction of "good" without really doing anything to quantify what it actually is. This is slap worthy, in my obviously humble opinion, because it directly and thoughtlessly demeans the efforts of a lot of very talented individuals who have a lot of skill.

What this shit boils down to is that you should not make stupid blanket statements, you should take a minute to actually define your own terminology to avoid setting up various sorts of false assumptions and you should actually spell out your grievances so that there can be actual discussion instead of shooting your mouth off with oh-so-fun and quippy jabs.

In other words, don't be a fucking genre elitist.

Since apparently our argument should be hidden from sight:

Oh god, stop whining. "Hey, *I* write fantasy, so it's not okay to make fun of it!"

Seriously, there's been a number of times I've seen comments on this forum like "LOL JRPG PLOT!!" and no one seems to blink an eye when it happens. Similarly, these people don't go out of their way to explain their grievances, define their terms, etc. I just assumed it was standard procedure to make blanket statements for the sake of humor. "Oh-so-fun and quippy jabs" as you put it.

When pressed, I explained my thoughts more thoroughly. I also explained that I don't even dislike fantasy as a genre. I understand that what I said was phrased in an insulting way, but considering that I see this kind of snarky comment here all the time, I didn't think I needed to assuage everyone's feelings for making a blanket statement.

Honestly, I'm normally the person who says "You know, this or that JRPG's story isn't really -that- bad." Do you really believe that I don't have the acuity to find the good points in the fantasy genre? But it's easy to criticize something, and Rob was being snarky and trying to separate the oh-so-precious-and-sacred 'fantasy novel genre' from the lower-than-dirt 'JRPG' in the same manner you accuse me of making blanket statements about genre. I was just on the side of argument that 'JRPG' and 'fantasy novel' are pretty much equal in quality, and deserving of the same types of 'quippy jabs'.

-Djinn

[Grefter]

Well how often is lol RPG plot and snarky comments from me though?  How often do they escalate into stupid arguments?  It goes with the territory and you just need to up the irony level a bit or something so even if people cry themselves to sleep because they have wrong ideas and like shit games they at least know it is a joke.

[Dark Holy Elf]

I was just on the side of argument that 'JRPG' and 'fantasy novel' are pretty much equal in quality

And this is where you would be wrong. Horribly, dead wrong.

The reason a good number of us mock RPG writing is because it really is bad; nobody would even touch it if it didn't have a game attached. The stories and writing found in 80-90% of RPGs are, I would suspect, unpublishable in fiction. It's a fact of the genre. It's frustrating because games have the potential to tell good stories but rarely do it. The overreliance on tropes is hardly video game writing's sole failing; inconsistent pacing and a slavish devotion to telling a single kind of story (epic quest to save world from madman!) with a few variations are bigger failings still. Not to mention it's the only genre of fiction where having your protagonist be as blank a slate as possible can be a virtue. (Not to say good stories couldn't be told with such a protagonist, as P:T perhaps does, but 99% of RPGs don't seem up to it, or succeed DESPITE it, such as Suikoden V.)

By comparison, fiction has to stand on its own as a story, and even the narrowest genres of fiction (murder mysteries?) have infinitely more varied options for storytelling, and substantially more for characters. The use of language in even most literature aimed at children is far more impressive (some of this is due to most RPGs being translated works, but I don't think that's nearly all of it).

So yeah. I for one do not see them as comparable as quality. And I do agree with Andrew's rant; within fiction, speculative has just as much merit as any other, and it's easy to see why a speculative author such as himself would be annoyed by your remarks.

[DjinnAndTonic]

Yeah. Okay, actually, you're right. This isn't worth it. I'm realizing that if I argue anymore, it won't even be because I think I'm right, it'll just be because I'm being defensive.

I want everyone to understand my point of view, but I don't think I can convey it correctly. I feel like my responses were a pretty logical reaction to the kinds of statements that were made, but that doesn't excuse how incomplete my thoughts were on the argument.

For what it's worth, I agree with the idea that things shouldn't be bashed as a medium/concept. This goes for fantasy novels, jRPGs, movies, anime, whatever. When I was making my initial comment, I wasn't intending to be taken very seriously, and I reacted harshly to the more personal nature of the snark that I received as a response. I said "LOL good fantasy novels", Rob said "YOU like shit and are proud of it"... I got defensive.
I should have said "LOL Rob likes to LARP" instead of trying to defend a position where I'm bashing something as a 'concept/medium', since I don't even actually believe that.

[Sierra]

-Allowing your player to get caught in random encounters two steps in a row is a crime and perpetrators should be drawn and quartered.

That never happens.

I assure you that it does happen, at least in FF Origins. I'm fully aware that FF1 loves putting fixed encounters in front of chests. There's no justification for it happening on the overworld, though, or in totally random hallways of dungeons that are nowhere near the fixed encounter points. I suffered through both of these scenarios repeatedly during this run through the game.

---

Play Torment.

Did you miss the part where I played Torment and said it was totally awesome? Or is this just Grefter being Grefter?

[Jo'ou Ranbu]

Grefter being Grefter.

[Dark Holy Elf]

Hard to believe they'd screw that up in FFOrigins. That said, there might be a few fixed encounter spots on the map, too, for all I recall. (Some seemingly random spots in dungeons do have them, despite my previous comments.)

Whatever, FF1 sucks, why am I defending it?

[Jo'ou Ranbu]

Arguing is fun! Past that, I have no freaking idea.

[Captain K.]

Just a reminder:

Starting this Sunday the 8th, you can get Shaymin downloaded into Pokemon Diamond and Pearl from Toys R Us stores in the US.  You will need this particular version of Shaymin in order to use his Sky Forme in Pokemon Platinum.

It's available from the 8th through the 14th.

[DjinnAndTonic]

Out of curiosity, how does the whole 'downloading a legendary pokemon' thing occur? Do you just go there and while you're connected to the wi-fi you magically get a pokemon in your pokemon center or something?

[Captain K.]

The store sends out a wi-fi signal that your game detects from the main screen ("Mystery Gift").  After you get the download, start the game and go into any Poke Mart.  A guy there will give you the Pokemon when you talk to him.  You can soft-reset abuse for good IVs/nature if you're so inclined (although many downloaded Pokes have fixed natures).

They've been using this method for the last few giveaways and it works well (...except the Dragonite giveaway when my Toys R Us never got the download cartridge... grr...)

There will also be a special Regigigas download a few weeks after the Shaymin one.  If you use this particular Regigigas in Platinum, you can unlock the other 3 Regis ingame.

Also, if you're gay for Pokemon like me and Meeple are, the new movie featuring Giratina and Shaymin will be on Cartoon Network next week (think it's the 15th).

[hinode]

I really hope that they don't find some way to mandate the US TRU Shaymin to activate the Glacidia flower instead of the JP one. Not that I think that's even possible with the way the game checks, but it'd be annoying to have to try and trade for ANOTHER one.

[Anthony Edward Stark]

Did I ever give anyone the impression I like to LARP, ever, or is Djinn just making a straw-man argument here? I think the only P&P games I've ever played are MW3rd and Paranoia!, neither of which lend themselves too well to LARP. Too much set work.

[Ryogo]

-Allowing your player to get caught in random encounters two steps in a row is a crime and perpetrators should be drawn and quartered.

I feel the same way in DDS. Multiple times has it happened to me right before I reach a door, a switch, or a save/heal point.

Anger flows through my veins when it happens. I mean, COME ON. I was 3 steps away from the healing point. Then a fight hit me. Acceptable enough. Then two steps later, another fight. And am I healed? Nooooo, because healing magic always costs more then healing health in games, and I was RIGHT GODDAMN THERE. I COULD TOUCH THE STUPID THING AND IT STILL.... GAHHHHHHHH 

On a completely related note, Bat is a douche. I'm fighting him on the ship. He keeps turning me into bats, all the while doing stupid rape attacks, and I can't do anything to him because of his guard. And when he doesn't guard, I need to heal. Stupid Psycho Rage and it's "1 turn magic-ed into 4". And just when I think my debilitating effects are doing something, he uses regular Rage to get a 2-for-1 turn, cancels all of my effects, and then uses Psycho Rage on his other half turn left to get 4 more damn half turns. GAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. That's just not right.

I just can't win

[Dhyerwolf]

Earth magic gets past Guard.

[Ryogo]

Yeah, I just read that one GameFAQs. I just never tried it because, you know, nothing else seemed to work, why waste the two turns attempting other stuff.

Also, according to the walkthrough, I'm a little underleveled. By like, 6-10 levels.

[Grefter]

Welcome to SMT.  It will only get harsher from here on out if you play other games.  If you want to punish yourself like testacles attached to car battery, SMT3 is the way.

Edit - Assuming you don't FAQ the ever loving fuck out of it that is, which sounds like it isn't your thing.

[Captain K.]

I really hope that they don't find some way to mandate the US TRU Shaymin to activate the Glacidia flower instead of the JP one. Not that I think that's even possible with the way the game checks, but it'd be annoying to have to try and trade for ANOTHER one.

Good question.  I assume they check secret ID number to activate the Flower.  If the number happens to be different for the US version, it's certainly possible.  But I think in the past they've used the same secret IDs for both Japanese and American giveaways, so it should still work.

[Xeroma]

SMT3 has some hardcore followers here that can help you out Ryogo. Go bug OK, he's a walking encyclopedia.

[Veryslightlymad]

Heroes of Might and Magic 3:
Got this today, and BOY do I suck. I think I lost within 30 minutes of starting a new game. The really sad part is I managed to have (And lose!) two Cities during that time. I lost two cities and two heroes in two turns to a combination of two different computers. Jesus.

NBA 2k9
Actually, my new Jazz team isn't so bad. I searched through my bench and found a really good rookie that has above-average stats across the board. He was just crammed onto the bench by the previous management. Kid has good starting stats and a decent Potential rating, which, after I play him constantly, I'll up in the off season to turn him into a power. Maybe. He IS kind of old. That could be a waste of a potential booster.
So basically, I've relegated the old farts to the bench/trading block, and I'm trying to build an uptempo team with some skilled big men that aren't exactly elite scorers, but can rebound and move their feet. I am going to run. I'm pretty sure I can turn this team around, although, not to the extent I fixed the T-Wolves. We'll see.

[Talaysen]

Also, according to the walkthrough, I'm a little underleveled. By like, 6-10 levels.

Which means you're probably about the right level.