Plyem

Accidentally stumbled into the Glowing Sea after hearing about it for awhile. Shocked and a little disappointed to learn that it was not an actual sea, as far as I can tell. Looks fantastic from the brief glance I got tho. I was hyping myself up for some sort of radioactive spooky Sunless Sea style adventuring out there I'm realizing more and more that I want more spooky eldritch H.P. Lovecraft horror in this Massachusetts setting, despite how that likely wouldn't jive with the rest of the world.

The different elemental types in a game like Persona (Why be more polite to Rise rather than Naoto? They're both your kohai!) is pretty much the solo thing that separates the characters in gameplay terms other than "Are they better at magic or physical attacks?". The names and fluff around the different elements don't reeeeeally matter and could just be Element A, B, C, and D as far as the gameplay is concerned. However, in the particular case of Persona they do fit in with the characterization. Ice Princess Amagi and fiery Chie-chan and whatnot. I'm not sure if I would want the different elements to have different status effects paired with them. I think I would see that certain status effects were 'useless' and then not use any element that was paired with them and thus not use those characters. I like the status effect spells being different than the elemental ones. It also makes me choose between dealing direct damage, or softening the target with status effects for later. As for a game like X-Com I think tons of different types of damage can really lend itself to tactical turn-based gameplay. I enjoy seeing a robot show up and thinking "Ah yup, gonna need a heavy with special ammo for this guy." I think that enemies being resistant to certain types of damage can also increase immersion in a way. If a giant goop monster shows up, making it resistant to regular weapons makes it much more frightening and intimidating than if it was simply distinguished by being a bullet sponge. Its similar to the way a tank showing up in a mostly infantry based fight can instantly turn the encounter on its head.

Waiting for the mod that lets me harvest bones from the very plentiful and natural resource that I encounter in every dungeon. Until then bones can most commonly be found in those gross blood bags that the supermutants mark their territory with. Maybe the nukes did something to everyones bones to make them unsuited for crafting and thats the fluff? The same thing that makes skeletons retain their shape and stay attatched dispute having no muscle or tendons to connect them.

I've got seven sets of power armor stored at The Castle. I built a two story docking bay for them. In fun bug news, I encountered the "teleportation scope" bug I read about earlier today. I went to sight an enemy with my recon scope when everything went white and the loading icon appeared in the corner. After a little bit of loading a was dumped into the world about 5 minutes walk northwest of my original position. Also, I fast traveled to Lexington to find that I was dropped into the exact same spot as a super mutant behemoth. I was dead before I could finish shouting "what the fuck".

The first settlement that I really build was at the Red Rocket Gas Station about 20 hours ago. Finally got my first raider attack there and I realized that the '"junk wall" piece I was using for most of my defensive perimeter was the "junk wall gate". The raiders were able to open up 90% of my protective wall. orz The Castle is a fortress though. I should take some pictures of it when I get home. Looking forward to the mod that removes the cap on how many items we can place.

You can join any of the factions in the game free of consequence. They won't automatically hate you so feel free to join up. There is a point where you have to choose your side, and the game makes it VERY clear that the other side(s) will not be happy with you after it. I was worried about joining the Brotherhood too after Danse told me I wasn't going to be a mercenary anymore and that I would have to follow his orders but none of that is ever enforced in a gameplay way at all. Danse is now farming in his power armor back at Sanctuary. Screw that guy. I put Nick into one of my spare suits of power armor and we stomp around the Commonwealth as the Unstoppable Double Robot Death Duo Oh and that second set of power armor I mentioned was actually from joining the Brotherhood, don't know if it counts but it felt like the "Main Plot" to me.

I saw a crashed vertibird sticking out of the water west of that town that administers the SAFE test and decided to see if there was anything cool down there. Found a suit of rusted power-armor just sitting under water next to it. Hopped in and stomped my way out of of the lake and into glory. Parked it at The Castle next to my other 4 suits. You can buy the frames in Diamond City if you like and full suits can often be found near military checkpoints. Main quest gives at least two that I'm aware of, but I'm not to far into it.

I've started digging into Lovecraft myself, starting with the titles I recognize the most. The first was At the Mountains of Madness, which I originally thought was going to put me off all his writing due to its glacial( ) pacing at the start, but then it turns out that the slow start only helped make everything crazier when it finally hit the fan. I'm glad the narrator's final assessment of The Elder Things was "Ehhh they weird aliens but they seem to be okay guys) as that was how I saw them in the story. The Colour out of Space actually got me pretty scared, and I was reading it in the middle of the day at work surrounded by people. Very effective.

I've put a ton of hours into Fallout 4 so far. It's a ton of fun but feels a bit off in some places. Not really in a "Bethesda Jank" kind of a way, but more in a "I'm comparing this to the past too much" kind of way. The new dialogue system doesn't really seem that good. While I like the more freeform camera and the departure from past "Locked in place" style system, it's sometimes hard to tell when dialogue is actually happening. I ran past a few NPCs several times wondering why they wouldn't stop repeating some line, only to later realize they were attempting to start a dialogue with me. For all its flaws the "locked in place" system made it very clear who was an NPC with something to say and who was a generic NPC. I also lament the lack of skill checks in dialogue and a random chance persuasion system that is very opaque. Also the settlement tutorial is really poorly done, or, rather, not done at all. That being said I've been enjoying building my little tree-forts around the world, even if the game isn't really telling me why I should want to build them or tell me how any of it works. It's a nice break from wandering and scavenging. Edit-- I just had a good idea for a mod. Are there any high-quality scans of the Thumb's paintings? Can we convince Daniel to do some voice-acting? Edit Edit-- This is a good and fun game.

I did a Space Engineer / Chief of Maintenance thing inspired by Harry Dean Stanton in Alien. Ended up going to Shibuya after a party in Ebisu and it was pure chaos. Drunken party goers consumed Shibuya and essentially turned it into New York City for a night. Halloween has only really existed in Japan for a few years now (3?) and it kinda seems like Japan is still getting a feel for what it is. Apart from home made stuff and regular cosplay all the costumes seem to have come from Don Quixote. Infinite Marios roamed the street. Countless zombie nurses move in gaggles and groups. A surprisingly large number of Tenga stumbled around in their oversized body suits. Also of note, group costumes were the rule, not the exception. Not group as in "Lets go as a collection of characters from X" but "We will all be the same thing". It was like the gang meeting scene in The Warriors out there.

According to this map I'm the only listener living in Asia? I'm kinda surprised, I figured for sure there'd be a few others. I've tried my best to get some other locals to listen to the show but I guess it didn't take.

I've been playing this a lot on the trains and I really, really love it. I'm surprised that I'm as engaged with the story as I am, it doesn't seem like just fan-service to me. PQ was WAY more of that in my opinion, all the characters were reduced down to a single trait and everything they said was in reference to that trait. It really took me out of this game. DAN seems to be actually a proper sequel and I'm happy to see it reference things from previous games in a natural way, instead of an elbow to the rib and a bunch of winks. I was also fully prepared to hate the new idol (She NEEDS to stop saying "1, 2, 3!" tho) and the manager but they're growing on me. As for the gameplay, I really do find that 'fast notes' helps a bit. Sometimes everything is just too slow. I feel like 'fast notes' puts everything on the beat better.

I think there is a remixed version used in the in-game shop but not a dance-able song. Is this the first game where Tanaka was actually voiced? I heard some of his English VA and he didn't sound sleazy enough for me. Very excited to get this game though.

I looked up "Secret of the Magic Crystals" to see what it was. Turns out I bought it for a friend as a gag gift about 2-3 years ago.

I don't think you can avoid that. I picked the two dialogue options that indicated he was fine and it still happened. I really liked waiting in the mine cart for her to return. The pause in between the 'look' options felt very natural. Like Conway was sitting there, maybe a little nervous in the dark, waiting for her to return and to keep himself busy he just slowly looks at whats around. It reminds me of waiting for someone to get changed or come out of the bathroom in a house you've never been to and you aren't comfortable in, and kinda silently standing in one spot just looking around the room. Thats my vibe I get though. Can't wait for the rest of the series.

The Less-Idle Thumbs (Link: http://ftcy.me/6QBCwy) As well all know, many video games only involve running, jumping and being active on a digital level. Apart from the 'workout' games of the Kinect and Move, most games can eventually turn us into the dreaded Zelda-playing couch blob. Since we want to lead a long, healthy life, full of video-gamey goodness it may be wise to keep a mind to fitness. But getting to the gym and working up the encouragement to get moving can be pretty tough. If ONLY there was some way for your fellow thumbs to help you out! But wait! Haven't you all heard of Fitocracy.com? I'm sure many of you had, and some may even have accounts. Fitocracy is basically a work out log with added leveling progression to act as encouragement to continue working out. There are quests and achievements for completing certain sets of workouts and hitting milestones and you can give 'props'. Its the Facebook 'Like' button except it's icon is two fists bumping (Which is actually much better). There's a news feed that posts your workouts and displays those of the people you follow & who's group you are in. I'm quite a novice myself and using the website has allowed me to keep track of what I'm doing, see what others are up to and find new ways to work out. The thrill of watching numbers get bigger as your muscles get bigger is only a click away! Join us, get fit, and when the Big Dogs come you'll rest easy knowing your time as a Less-Idle Thumb has prepared you to work in their oppressive robotic salt mines.

Roadside Picnic by Arkady & Boris Strugatsky. Roadside Picnic is a 1971 Russian Sci-Fi novel which is the inspiration for the film Stalker (Andrei Tarkovsky) as well as the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series. It follows the story of a man named Red over the course of several years as he struggles to feed himself and his family by smuggling artifacts out of "The Zone'. The Zone is a large area of altered land (and seemingly reality) left in the wake of an alien visitation, which is also an incredibly dangerous place. Set after the aliens have already come and gone, the book shows how humanity tries to understand and live with this new phenomenon in the world. I read this a few months ago in March. The S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series is one of my all time favorites & the Stalker film is too. I highly recommend it both for the fans of these other series and also for fans of science fiction. While reading the book I found many clear points of inspiration for both film & games; Red throws bolts, anomalies are encountered that are clearly replicated in game (Not so much the movie). Descriptions of artifacts found clearly match those in the game, and even the inspiration for the 'zombie stalker' faction can be seen. After playing so much of the games and reading the book I found myself clearly picturing what the characters were holding and discussing, and it was pretty exciting. Even those who are not fans should pick it up, the book is pretty short and a simple read. The writing does have the slight "translated Russian" feel to it (Which I love) but (un)fortunately there are no "HI-DEE HO BROAH!" or "If you've got something GOOD then SPEEL THE BEANS!" to be found. But what strikes me most is how the people in the world treat the discussion of the artifacts, and even how they work. I believe it has been discussed on the podcast (or its something that would be discussed) how games & other media treat science fiction stuff. Often times when some science phenomena is encountered or a macguffin picked up there is a long drawn out explanation of just how it all works. Looooong tracts on how the doors open, or the engine works, or the gun fires, or the liquid substance magically transforms the D.N.A. blahblahblah. In Roadside Picnic the usual version of this is "Well here is this weird thing we found. No one knows what it is supposed to do but after messing with it enough we found out we can power cars with it (somehow)", or "Oh this artifact? Its a perpetual motion machine. How? Dunno. Why? Dunno. Makes a nice bracelet though!" Even in the dialogue is refreshing as there is very little expeditionary "Well as you know:" type speech. Characters will use slang to talk about the artifacts and then never explain exactly what they are, other characters will argue over the correct terms for them (Scientists vs Stalkers usually) and as the book progresses everyone eventually begins to just accept the nearby zone as a fact of life, speaking of it almost as if the local tourist attraction had always been there. Though little of it is explored, there is a lot of hints that one can infer large changes to how society works post-visitation (at least, society on the edge of a zone.) At any rate, its a fantastic book and I cannot recommend it enough. Although the book is not free, and I cannot guarantee it will bring happiness for everybody, I am certain that no one will go away unsatisfied.

All I have is my itty bitty iPhone camera but here are two I took that I've always liked.

I just finished it playing last night and had a great time. I even did A LOT of the collection diversions which is very rare for me. The mini-map upgrades helped a lot with that I guess. I was expecting to go on more dates with the girls but maybe thats just because I was comparing it to GTA in my head. The game ran pretty good expect for this audio crackling & popping I had for the entire game. Couldn't get rid of it no matter what I did, hardly listened to any of the radio at all. Oh, but I guess the Vivienne Lu songs Yellow Fever & Fly were recorded for the games maybe? Thats pretty cool. Now I really want to listen to a lot of chinese indie rock, rap & C-Pop

There is certainly greed throughout the book, but it is mostly Buzzard and his small criminal empire he has set up. Red stalks at first semi-legally to help out his scientist friend as well as to make money to feed his wife and daughter, he even . He also stalks because it is who he is, there is a section where he mentions how that the Zone was more dear to him then all of Europe & Africa, how he would picture himself living a normal life like everyone else and how it made him sick and tired of everything. The scientists are mostly just trying to figure out what the hell is going on with the zone and everyone else is just getting by with their lives. He ponders greed at the end of the book, but ultimately when it comes time for he chooses to

Thanks for that link Chris! It was a good read. The article mentions the book Zona which I read about a month ago. I had it shipped to me shortly after its release and that is also an excellent book to read for the hyper-fan of Stalker series (Stalker idea, stalker concept, stalker collection? To include Roadside Picnic?). The game and the book share the most common elements, whereas I think the game and the movie share the most common atmosphere. In the book the zona can pretty much be ignored. Apart from the scientific discoveries, the occasional moulage who wanders out, and the implication that anyone who experienced the original visitation and moves away has horrible stuff happen the zone is mostly self contained. The citizens living on the edge of the zone don't have to worry it. Even the moulages just go about their own buisness, not hurting anyone, just being creepy. Red goes into the zone to get some cash, and that at the end goes back home. He may as well be commuting to a particualry dangerous mine. Whereas in the movie, we spend the fast majority of it inside the zone itself. There is no explicit danger but it could be anywhere and Stalker sure is incredibly nervous. He moves in certain paterns and tests routes in ways only he can understand. His compainons are annoyed. If you were playing the game and showing it to a friend who'd never seen it before, he may question why you take such erratic paths through the environments. Why not simply run down the road and under the bridge? Well, you may say, because that path is not safe! It is clearer in the game because it is a game and thats what the mechanics require, that you can tell where the danger is and navigate around it. In the game you also spend your whole time inside the zone, with no outside civilization to rest in. Sure there are some 'safe' areas or simply 'safer' (I'd say there is a noticable difference in the relative levels of zone safe-ness between SOC & COP) to be found but the fact remains that you are forever trapped. As the article says, you take long walks and survive, the game is about your life in the zone just like the movie is (partially) about Stalker's life in the zone. I have the Metro2033 book, its pretty good! Much longer then Roadside Picnic. Nothing mind blowing but an enjoyable and dark adventure. The game does a good job with keeping with the themes and style of the book, instead of the typical book-to-game style of "This box is the same as every other box we just painted Dune on the outside".

I just figured it would be nice to have a well written post at the beginning, before descending into the usual forum banter. I usually lurk on the SomethingAwful forums so I guess I just got used to that style of first post when it comes to "selling" stuff. I have it, its really good! I've only run with the GPS mode once and that was pretty cool. You don't have to be a good runner to use it, I'm pretty sure there are settings to pace out the events and zombie chases with you moving at a 'Walk' speed. And the zombie chases only require to speed up from whatever you were going at when it starts, which is a problem when you're already going pretty fast. It has a pedometer function too if you aren't able to get to GPS or 3G or whatever it uses. That's the case at the moment for me but I still enjoy taking a good 30-40 minute run with the app.

I picked this up this month and have been waiting for it to finish downloading off Steam ever since. A 25Gig file with 20-100kbs D/L speed do not work well together. Better yet, since I have an extremely restricted bandwidth cap of 1 gig an hour for two consecutive hours, I'm too nervous to let it run over night for fear of a sudden 1.5MB/s burst that kicks me off the network (Again). Never played a Total War game, but I'd love to play some Online or CO-OP when I finally, one day, get the game downloaded.

LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLADIES. .