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Easy Allies |EZOT2| Love & Respect

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A

Auctopus

Member
Fou-Lu said:
The detective mode discussion in the podcast made me hate the idea of detective mode less, but I am still very much not a fan of it in open world games. It's even worse when combined with waypoints and map markers and what have you.
Click to expand...

Horizon makes use of it far too many times, it's almost parody. However, at least it implements the mechanic with one press of the button and the trail is there (ignoring the fact this is then repeated multiple times through a side quest.)

The one little change that could've made Witcher 3 less frustrating when using Witcher Sense would be to make it the same one button-press. The fact that you have to hold it down throughout the highlighted objective means the beautiful world is covered in a horrible filter for half the mission and the player is now completely un-immersed. Whereas they could be happily following the trail whilst admiring/immersing themselves in the world around them.
 
Ultimadrago

Ultimadrago

Member
I'm looking forward to this podcast discussion on Detective Mode. I actually really like Detective Mode. My only real issue with it in Witcher 3 was that is warped the visuals, thankfully an option was added to eliminate the filter. I also wish that there were a few more quests that put a twist on it or made it a red herring. Aside from that, I'd take it over most of the alternate "Open-World Detective" ideas I hear/read online any day.

Mista Koo said:
I have a question: is Damiani's silence a deliberate choice or was he always like this? I've only seen him do this recently. It feels like he doesn't wanna be there?
Click to expand...

I wanted to lift this up since I watched the Frame Trap recently, but yeah. I know not everyone will blow up on a panel. I'm understanding of Damiani not usually lifting his hand-above-head to splurge about something unless he has an active interest and/or what he considers enough knowledge to give an at least somewhat educated response (while, of course, this can come off great in practice and always on paper). I've made comments on this in the past defending the silence.

However, this is starting to irritate me a bit. In such a long discussion, he should at least have more questions as others spout off thoughts and stories. You can see that he does at times, but I'd love him to hear more from him especially on topics he may not be the most up-to-date on. No, not just asking ho-hum questions for the sake of it, but there must be a few inquiries about some of the titles others are spouting about on the panel. Props to Ben for actively trying to pull Damiani into the discussion several times.
 
A

abrack08

Member
For some reason, I thought the Gundam stream was today...

catherine_screens_42.jpg
 
A

Auctopus

Member
I can't remember who I was talking to the other day but I think Catherine is a good argument for the next Persona game to have a written MC.
 
V

Visceir

Member
Ultimadrago said:
I wanted to lift this up since I watched the Frame Trap recently, but yeah. I know not everyone will blow up on a panel. I'm understanding of Damiani not usually lifting his hand-above-head to splurge about something unless he has an active interest and/or what he considers enough knowledge to give an at least somewhat educated response (while, of course, this can come off great in practice and always on paper).

However, this is starting to irritate me a bit. In such a long discussion, he should at least have more questions as others spout off thoughts and stories. You can see that he does at times, but I'd love him to hear more from him especially on topics he may not be the most up-to-date on. No, not just asking ho-hum questions for the sake of it, but there must be a few inquiries about some of the titles others are spouting about on the panel.
Click to expand...

Could try to put Damiani into the first seat if they wanted to make the effort to "fix" the situation, maybe.

For Frame Trap there can also be at times an hour long lull if one of the panelists talks about their games that the others haven't played and have little interest and would probably require them to make a conscious effort to engage in the conversation (which Damiani didn't seem to be interested in before he even arrived to the garage, going by the anecdote Ben told about how Damiani arrived)

It might make for a better dynamic for the podcast if Ben bounced from panelist to panelist, letting them cover games one at a time, rather than having one panelist talk for the first hour. Since they already seem to cover which games they'll be talking about before the podcasts starts it should be easy enough.
 
E

Elfforkusu

Member
Every time y'all complain about Damiani on some podcast, I go in expecting something egregious. And every time, itsfuckingnothing.gif

He's fine. The flow of conversation was good. I don't understand the perceived problem.
 
T

Tankard

Member
Elfforkusu said:
Every time y'all complain about Damiani on some podcast, I go in expecting something egregious. And every time, itsfuckingnothing.gif

He's fine. The flow of conversation was good. I don't understand the perceived problem.
Click to expand...

You are looking at the wrong perspectives then.

People are not complaining about something egregious that he did, but his lack of interest for being there and participating in most conversations.

If that is really lack of interest or not i don't know, i don't like to make judgements on someone on a level this personal because i don't know what's going on in his mind, but i understand what people are talking about.
 
H

Holundrian

Unconfirmed Member
I had a EZA rubbing off with their sensibilities moment just now.
And it's just noticing that clearly different characters in/across the Trails games share the same name. Super small detail but I think it makes the world feel bigger in a weird way. Cause of course people are sometimes going to have the same first name in such a gigantic world.

Haha something that I would have just subconsciously acknowledged in passing before but now this little detail just stuck with me enough to form into a fully expressable observation.
 
B

Budi

Member
Elfforkusu said:
Every time y'all complain about Damiani on some podcast, I go in expecting something egregious. And every time, itsfuckingnothing.gif

He's fine. The flow of conversation was good. I don't understand the perceived problem.
Click to expand...

Haven't still watched the episode in question this time, but yeah I can second what you're feeling from few of the earlier instances.

In other news, I'm having kinda hard time getting into the Witness. I just don't have the patience for it. I've been playing it a bit over 4 hours now. Started two lasers and done some other puzzles. First few hours I really liked it, the artstyle is beautiful, the island is interesting to explore, the progress of learning was satisfying. But now that satisfaction feels more like a relief because of the frustration. The learning seems to happen much slower, I feel lost in the island because there's no map, still love the look of the game though.

I guess I will still keep going, maybe I've missed some puzzles that would click a bit faster with me and would help me to go on. Brute forcing those puzzles isn't really fun either.

Edit: Oh yeah, I'd really like if this game had a story :/ For the type of puzzle game it is, I think it would have worked great. Still appreciate the game and don't mind spending money on it. It's a high quality game. I'm just more of a Lucas Arts puzzler kinda guy.
 
A

Axass

Member
I wish Don tried to be on Frame Trap at least once, I'd love to know what he likes to play.

Budi said:
Haven't still watched the episode in question this time, but yeah I can second what you're feeling from few of the earlier instances.

In other news, I'm having kinda hard time getting into the Witness. I just don't have the patience for it. I've been playing it a bit over 4 hours now. Started two lasers and done some other puzzles. First few hours I really liked it, the artstyle is beautiful, the island is interesting to explore, the progress of learning was satisfying. But now that satisfaction feels more like a relief because of the frustration. The learning seems to happen much slower, I feel lost in the island because there's no map, still love the look of the game though.

I guess I will still keep going, maybe I've missed some puzzles that would click a bit faster with me and would help me to go on. Brute forcing those puzzles isn't really fun either.

Edit: Oh yeah, I'd really like if this game had a story :/ For the type of puzzle game it is, I think it would have worked great. Still appreciate the game and don't mind spending money on it. It's a high quality game. I'm just more of a Lucas Arts puzzler kinda guy.
Click to expand...

It's my favourite game from last year honestly, but I do understand you. It can be frustrating for many people. I, on the other hand, love both cryptic stuff and the artstyle, so the game hit all the right notes for me.

I can say that there is a map of the island. Not one you can check at all times, but at least it gives you an idea of what is where (tell me if you want to know where it is). Don't brute force puzzles: it's no fun and you won't learn anything, so you'll eventually end up stuck. If you feel you're going nowhere with a puzzle, go somewhere else, there are sooo many that you'll find something you understand sooner than later.

Which lasers have you activated?
 
B

Budi

Member
Axass said:
I wish Don tried to be on Frame Trap at least once, I'd love to know what he likes to play.



It's my favourite game from last year honestly, but I do understand you. It can be frustrating for many people. I, on the other hand, love both cryptic stuff and the artstyle, so the game hit all the right notes for me.

I can say that there is a map of the island. Not one you can check at all times, but at least it gives you an idea of what is where (tell me if you want to know where it is). Don't brute force puzzles: it's no fun and you won't learn anything, so you'll eventually end up stuck. If you feel you're going nowhere with a puzzle, go somewhere else, there are sooo many that you'll find something you understand sooner than later.

Which lasers have you activated?
Click to expand...

I've activated the maze and the one with the twin lines, some kind of cliff. And sure where can I see the map?
 
M

mishakoz

Member
Budi said:
Haven't still watched the episode in question this time, but yeah I can second what you're feeling from few of the earlier instances.

In other news, I'm having kinda hard time getting into the Witness. I just don't have the patience for it. I've been playing it a bit over 4 hours now. Started two lasers and done some other puzzles. First few hours I really liked it, the artstyle is beautiful, the island is interesting to explore, the progress of learning was satisfying. But now that satisfaction feels more like a relief because of the frustration. The learning seems to happen much slower, I feel lost in the island because there's no map, still love the look of the game though.

I guess I will still keep going, maybe I've missed some puzzles that would click a bit faster with me and would help me to go on. Brute forcing those puzzles isn't really fun either.

Edit: Oh yeah, I'd really like if this game had a story :/ For the type of puzzle game it is, I think it would have worked great. Still appreciate the game and don't mind spending money on it. It's a high quality game. I'm just more of a Lucas Arts puzzler kinda guy.
Click to expand...

I feel the same way about the witness. I much prefer "environmental" puzzles like Portal rather than these boards and lines. Its okay, and I might finish it one day, but I definitely think the game has major problems.
 
Ultimadrago

Ultimadrago

Member
I liked the latest Huber Syndrome. Mostly because there is never enough on-screen interviewing Don action! But yeah, just a fun episode all around.
 
B

Burt

Member
I mean, I appreciate the effort, but yeah, I have no idea why that is or ever was a segment on the podcast. It feels like some holdover from an edgier time. I just... can't think of a reason why anyone would need the EZA podcast to tell them which service had the better games for the month, let alone a running tally of it.
 
P

Primethius

Banned
Burt said:
I mean, I appreciate the effort, but yeah, I have no idea why that is or ever was a segment on the podcast. It feels like some holdover from an edgier time. I just... can't think of a reason why anyone would need the EZA podcast to tell them which service had the better games for the month, let alone a running tally of it.
Click to expand...

I think the big issue is just that most games that appear on the service are ones that most of the group hasn't played (which isn't a slight against them, that's just the nature of the games being provided).

It would be interesting if certain games that appear could be used as a launching pad for discussion in that month but I don't think it needs to be a recurring segment for that to happen.

This month had Abzu/Tales of the Borderlands on the Plus side. I think an interesting take would've been to use those titles as a way of checking in on said games so much later and where the general sentiment is at.

I dunno, just spitballing ideas. I think it's a hard concept to make work given the nature of it.
 
A

Axass

Member
Budi said:
I've activated the maze and the one with the twin lines, some kind of cliff. And sure where can I see the map?
Click to expand...

Between the starting area and the cliffs with the mirror lines there's a glass factory, go there and finish the puzzles to find a map... and something else.

Also the desert and the temple (in front of the castle with the mazes) are good places to go, because they require no prior knowledge as far as I remember.
 
B

Budi

Member
Axass said:
Between the starting area and the cliffs with the mirror lines there's a glass factory, go there and finish the puzzles to find a map... and something else.

Also the desert and the temple (in front of the castle with the mazes) are good places to go, because they require no prior knowledge as far as I remember.
Click to expand...

Thanks! Will check those out.
 
M

Mista Koo

Member
Servbot24 said:
They work as seen in the post you're quoting.
Click to expand...
I don't see how "I don't get your opinion" is an opinion. But hey, that's your opinion :p

Budi said:
In other news, I'm having kinda hard time getting into the Witness. I just don't have the patience for it. I've been playing it a bit over 4 hours now. Started two lasers and done some other puzzles. First few hours I really liked it, the artstyle is beautiful, the island is interesting to explore, the progress of learning was satisfying. But now that satisfaction feels more like a relief because of the frustration. The learning seems to happen much slower, I feel lost in the island because there's no map, still love the look of the game though.

I guess I will still keep going, maybe I've missed some puzzles that would click a bit faster with me and would help me to go on. Brute forcing those puzzles isn't really fun either.

Edit: Oh yeah, I'd really like if this game had a story :/ For the type of puzzle game it is, I think it would have worked great. Still appreciate the game and don't mind spending money on it. It's a high quality game. I'm just more of a Lucas Arts puzzler kinda guy.
Click to expand...
The game might not be for you. The game frustrated me a lot and I hated parts of it, but it still was my GOTY because of the impact it had and how strong I thought it was. However I liked the panel puzzles when they're not absurd. Before you quit I'd suggest checking out
the puzzle on top of the mountain
because you might be into that part of the game (I skipped it entirely).

The game has the pretentious audio logs masquerading as a story. I think the game would've been much better without them though.
 
A

Axass

Member
Mista Koo said:
The game has the pretentious audio logs masquerading as a story. I think the game would've been much better without them though.
Click to expand...

This has been brought up by many last year, however the audio logs are almost all quotes from real, famous, people. I fail to see how presenting someone else's words in quotation is pretentious. I do agree that the game wouldn't have lost that much without them though.
 
M

Mista Koo

Member
Axass said:
This has been brought up by many last year, however the audio logs are almost all quotes from real, famous, people. I fail to see how presenting someone else's words in quotation is pretentious. I do agree that the game wouldn't have lost that much without them though.
Click to expand...
Because the designer is plastering intellectual philosophical "narrative" on top of a game that has nothing to do with any of that, which is something I can't see other than him thinking his game is smarter or "higher art" than its medium and is lecturing us. Although to be fair my feelings have to do with Blow's previous public opinions and personality

In fact the game
is self-aware and straight up acknowledges that
in a hidden audio log which is pretty clever.
 
A

Axass

Member
Reaction Shot soon, so I watched Brazil: man it's one of the best movies I've ever seen 9/10. That ending is worth the admission fee alone.

Mista Koo said:
Because the designer is plastering intellectual philosophical "narrative" on top of a game that has nothing to do with any of that, which is something I can't see other than him thinking his game is smarter or "higher art" than its medium and is lecturing us. Although to be fair my feelings have to do with Blow's previous public opinions and personality
Click to expand...

I think that has to be the case, or that it's simply a matter of personal point of view (well, of course). I honestly never felt lectured throughout the game, maybe challenged or inspired by what was presented in the audio logs, but not lectured. I think that Blow simply wanted to present a vast spectrum of opinions and beliefs about the world and creation itself, leaving to the player the task of choosing what he agrees with or not; it's just a different meta-layer of the game that one can forgo completely if he wishes so. I do understand that people can perceive it differently though, especially if they link it with the developer, just like some people can't stand Phil Fish and that reflects on Fez as well.
 
H

Holundrian

Unconfirmed Member
Finished Trails in the Sky the 3rd. What a game. With some speedhacks the game holds up really well. Since Persona 5 came out last year for me I'm not counting that in my personal list as a disclaimer in advance but currently Nier:A and 3rd are really at the top of my list of gaming experiences in 2017 so far. Not sure yet need to mull over 3rd a bit more but the way it shines a new light on characters is amazing. It's basically Y0 on crack in a way when it comes to character development/recontextualizing them.
That said really Y0 and Nioh are really only the tiniest step behind Nier:A and 3rd for me.
Both are massive fun but when it comes down to it the reason they fall the tiniest bit short is the emotional/mental/intellectual attachment wasn't as strong for me for those games.
Special mention also to the little games like Hollow Knight, Specter of Torment, Severed love those smaller games too they let me refocus after these massively big experiences.

People might grow sick of hearing how fucking insanely amazing 2017 is, but can't help it, it just is that good. And there's only more to come.
Trying to get to Horizon next. Made my peace with skipping FE Echoes.
 
L

LiquidSolid

Member
From the April Q&A:

Ian: "I don't even remember who made Horizon but they were like... They knew. They knew. They were terrified. They were like, please hype this up in the week we've got, before Zelda comes out and destroys us."

Reality: Both games sold extremely well, there's no evidence one hurt the other because they were on different systems with different fanbases. Hell, Horizon outsold Uncharted fucking 4's first month in the US.

I like Ian and his hot takes are often funny but it's cringeworthy when he pulls shit like this. No regard for facts, just make shit up to try and prove a point.
 
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