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Wow, I've never seen the 'Dys blows up the virus' events.
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Sep 27, 2023 02:29
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 Huh. I kinda doubt Gardeners would accept human joining them, I thought Dys just decided to live in wilderness, hermit-style.  Found a crystal! It will be useful because...   it's Nomi's birthday and they like crystals. Also I would definitely prefer hopeye-sized unisaur. (reminder, they are basically reptilian unicorns)  Not talking to you. (also now I cannot unsee that she really kinda looks half naked here)   Huh, somehow I never notices Nougat has a tail.   And no sugarcoating here, capitalism sucks, kid.  Just don't tell her about WTC, Clarity.   Explore Nearby is the only one with "all events respawn" so let's check it.    Another piece of dialogue obviously meant for younger Clarity. I guess game didn't expected us to go back here.  Gosh, I hope I will be true explorer one day!   Just take a gift and answer my question, please.   What? No! You were supposed to like these!  More cute animals!  Can we keep it?   Of course we can!  No, they are all stupid and unfunny.  Unlike this piece of comedy gold.  We have two pets now!   Moment of truth - is it smut?  It is not!   And we actually make money of it!   Guess what, Tang has some great news to you!  Happy b-day, anyway.  More logs to our furry boi.  Enough to unlock new conversation!   Heya, Clarity! Things are going great in here, thanks to you... it will be done in no time!  I'd love to see it!  Code 31! Code 31! Officer in need of asisstance...  ON THE DANCEFLOOR!  There was a chance for Clarity to learn how to play photophone (or something like that, a musical instrument), I wonder if we did it back then we could play in Rex bar?  Anyway, we missed our chance to be world's best musician, back to being teacher.   Normally I would say "of course", but I am not going to help you with your little mass genocide business, sorry.   gently caress no.    I don't know why I even care.  Or perhaps enough Vace approval will unlock some new conversations that will give him some more depth?  Oh, baby. You think you are badass?  You ever watched Faceless killing your friend?  Witnessed horde of xenos destroying your home?  Faced the risk of starvation? Explored alien ruins? Twice?  You loving amateur.  Holy poo poo, it is literally the first time I see Vace saying something positive about us.  You think you are a real hotshot, huh? Of course. What do I have to be humble about.  loving seriously, he slaps her rear end?  Ugh.   Let's talk to someone decent for a change. Find anything good? Noooooo... Not since I finished all of Maid Stalker Aries! I can't believe it ended on a cliffhanger! We have enough Empathy to understand that it is much deeper issue than just anime ending with cliffhanger... but also enough Creativity to write a fanfiction. Maybe we can make up a new ending! Really? You'd do that with me? Tell me all about Maid Stalker Aries ...and then Aries and Sagittarius embrace just as the light from the interstellar portal engulfs them... and the camer pans back to a ghostly image of Gemini's face smiling down at them from the spirit realm!Nomi claps their hands excitedly It's perfect! Soooooo much better than just leaving it right before the climactic battle with the Agents of the Stars(I guess Maid Stalker Aries is some sort of Saint Seiya expy? I used to watch it when I was a kid, it was pretty cool) Thanks, Clarity. I was feeling so bummed about the cliffhanger because... it just reminded me that even though everything ends... sometimes it's a lot earlier than you can handle There will be more good experiences Yeah. That's a good way of looking at it, Clarity More teaching.   And more time with Nomi.  Well, it won't be easy, but we can fix it.   Although it seems pretty obvious that Nomi's heart isn't really in hard science. C'mon, Nomi, you are Vertumna's best writer!   Just few points more to REasoning second perk!  And apparently we ran out of events.  Another Glow.  And another perk!  I'm certain Sym is already waiting for us with more cryptic nonsense.  Told ya.   Hello again, sugarbug. You are getting pretty good at navigating in the dark. Have you come to ask me more questions? What's with the Faceless I saw? Ah. Constellation. You've seen her? That's very lucky, you know. Don't ask me how she does it, but she manages to sneak around these woods like a ghost. The Faceless weren't exactly designed with subtlety in mind. But she's something else, now."Designed", huh? So much about "nature". Don't worry. You'll only see her around in Glow - she doesn't like the sunlight. And, unless you breathe in her spores, she's harmless. It was quite the upset when she broke away from the whole and went to seed. But, as you humans say, life finds a way.So Faceless are almost certainly sentient and perhaps sapient (notice that Sym uses "she", not "it") and some of them are able to break "from the whole".  What, afraid of your boss?   I have no clue what is going to happen here, if anything.   Another happy return.  Well, no reason we stop putting ourselves in a middle of shitstorms right now, right?   You know, the "don't mess with nature" message kinda gets watered down when you know that you are attacked by genetically engineered, sentient creatures forced to serve by their masters, not xeno animals.   It's still better than destruction of entire ecosystem, tho.   Just think how we went from "wild animals trying to break the fences" into literal siege.    Oh?  Friends, I think we've just met another Gardener.  And perhaps, for the first time in history of Vertumna, we have chance for actual peace talks?  Dude, I see your point, but it's not like we can pick up and leave, you know?  Okay, so you know about us and Sym. Great.  But hey, we have established contact! It's something, right?  ...or did we?   For gently caress's sake, at least try to cooperate with us!    I wouldn't be surprised if at some point Rhett starts a coup against Lum.    Surely it's just a dream.  Two years till the end.
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Oct 2, 2023 15:25
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Szarrukin posted:You know, the "don't mess with nature" message kinda gets watered down when you know that you are attacked by genetically engineered, sentient creatures forced to serve by their masters, not xeno animals. Yeah that's kind of the thing, right? Like the point that hippies make all the time is that there isn't really any foreign relations with nature: there is just cause and effect. If you kill all the things that make food, you no longer have food, it doesn't matter if you displayed your strength and skill or whatever. And also it does seem like that's being signaled. Lum is an absolute clown, and he doesn't rule through electoral tradition or broad acclaim or long-standing tradition, he rules through the loyalty of the military, and he is being a little free-spending with that loyalty.
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Oct 2, 2023 17:40
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Yeah, the anti-colonial and anti-exploitation messages are of the right place, but kind of muddled because it looks like the Gardeners are in a way exploiting these creatures in their attack, and that the colonists really can't leave - they're stuck. And Lum is definitely a buffoon, like a lot of the third-rate tinpot dictators that end up getting on the wrong end of their personal guard's bayonets - he wields his power, but isn't wise enough to learn the lesson of not pissing off your powerbase.
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Oct 2, 2023 17:49
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Szarrukin posted:
 If we get too many Delusions cards in our deck (by, say, telling people about time travel visions or talking aliens), there will be increasingly unpleasant consequences.
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Oct 2, 2023 19:04
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Tulip posted:Yeah that's kind of the thing, right? Like the point that hippies make all the time is that there isn't really any foreign relations with nature: there is just cause and effect. If you kill all the things that make food, you no longer have food, it doesn't matter if you displayed your strength and skill or whatever.
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Nov 29, 2023 17:05
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I had new update almost ready then lost it all because my computer crashed. Then it happened again. I do remember about this LP but it will take a moment.
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Dec 13, 2023 08:27
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No worries. I'm enjoying this!
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Dec 13, 2023 13:36
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Yeah, this game seems neat and I'm willing to wait for the next update. Good choice for an LP
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Dec 13, 2023 21:13
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Thanks, I hope that my rudimentary grasp of English does not make this LP much worse. Here we are, basically grown-ups now   The gently caress?  I feel like there's something missing here...  A-HA! There it is, running late with a piece of toast in mouth, classic anime trope. I like to think that they did it on purpose for reasons that will become clear soon.  Your enhancement isn't super agility, huh? Oh! Ah... that's a complicated subject... I actually don't know what my genetic enhancement is, or, um... even if I have one at all! My parents decided to lock my medical files from when I was a baby, because they had this wild idea that they wanted me to grow up without feeling like I had to be, um, perfect. They think it's rude for parents to make that choice for their kids.Having your child being the only one without (visible) augmentation is definitely a choice. Having your child constantly guess whether they are enhanced or not is even more a choice. It's not all it's cracked up to be (did I picked up this answer because I had no idea what this phrase means? Perhaps.) That's easy for you to say, Miss I Have Cool Superpowers! The rest of us have to get by on our wits and charm! Maybe I'm just like Galactic Cyber Prince Umiyama, and one day a talking hopeye will come tell me I have to defeat the Mecha Ultra Netherbeings! I know my parents just wanted me to know that I can be anything I want to be when I grow up, and I don't have to be super strong or super smart in order to be happy. They always told me: nothing and nobody knows what's good for Nomi except Nomi! And I really think that's true.  Everyone sucks at first! It's the first step to being kinda good at something! That's from a show I used to watch. And I guess I don't suck at everything... I'm really good at Laser Fable! Pew, pew!See, I don't want to be armchair psychologist, but I think that they being insecure and uncertain about their enhancement paired with being an outsider on Heliopause is one of the reasons Nomi lives so hard in anime fantasy world.  Anywho, perhaps there're some more tutoring events this year?  Nope.   Turns out being a psychic sucks, who would've known.    I don't like surprise parties either. Also look how small Nomi is compared to rest of the band.   That being said, friends support is always cool.  I'm pretty sure they weren't invited.  Told ya.   You tell them, Cal!  KICK THEIR ASSES  Sadly, moral advantage isn't enough. Well, at least you tried, Cal.  And the greatest warrior in the universe didn't bothered to fight.   Say what you want about Marz, she knows how to party.   Lets'a go.  Beeline to the main event...  ...with a small break...   Clarity! Come here! Everyone, Clarity's been workin' in this area a while, and I'm sure she's got plenty of information on what's out here.  Okay, so Convergent Domain went to poo poo twenty thousand years ago. I guess that what we saw so far is either remnants... or Gardeners, Faceless and all that vat-grown monsters are some sort of automated defense system that survived Convergent Domain collapse. We already know that at least some of xenos aren't natural animal, but artificially created beings, what if Gardeners were not original inhabitants of Vertumna but more like guardians, left on "kill all intruders" mode? We can ask our friend Sym what happened, but I'm pretty sure he'll throw some variation of "it's classified" as an answer.  Now back to...  ...uh...   Where's my exclamation mark event? I feel scammed.   At least we've gained a new perk.  Let's see... we are close to second Toughness perk.    And nothing's better for gaining some muscle than hard and honest farm work. We need 5 Toughness and we still have Heroic bonus from last xeno siege...  ...so of course we got 4 Toughness.   More logs to our canine friend on his birthday.   And we unlocked new dialogue!    Friendly bear hug it is!   Let's do something fun! Like what? Do you wanna skip work and hang out? Aw man... Normally yes, for sure, but I'm actually super stoked to work on the build today! If you want, you can come see what we're working on?  Okay, one more time   Should be enough   Yes. Now we can upgrade our cards!   ...oh   Ok, Valley of Vertigo, I'm counting on you!  That's more like it.  I know, I know, laws of nature, manticore has to eat too (unless it is another vat grown bioweapon? Nah, we've seen it reproduce)   But hopeyes are so cute!   And nobody got hurt.  Let's see if there's something else to do here...  Oh look, our favourite Gardener.   Do you have piece of toast in your mouth too?  Oh, c'mon!   holy gently caress this wound looks serious.  I love like there is no information about colleges or museums in Vertumna database, but anime and cheesy action movies are ubiquitous.  You are in the what now, Sym?  I can see the future, too! See, I'm special!  I'm pretty sure we already did and this is supposed to be a hint to Transcendence ending. Now, there was another exclamation mark event there...  Oh no, no loving way. Tang is going to use them to create some genocidal poo poo.  Let's just go home instead.   Time to rest.   I think it's one of these things we were supposed to unlock long time ago.   Girl, just dump him.   I bet he forgot too.  New banter.   C'mon, it can't be that bad  Not yet, Auntie! It's important to keep your strength up, my love!  I'm fine. Just like I was yesterday, and last week. I don't need you to manage me.  Once again I don't like either of these answers, but I think the second one is slightly better. While I understand why Auntie is worried about her, Nem is basically grown up.    "Oh no" indeed. At least it can't get any worse.  Welp.  I'm pretty sure Antecendent never said anything about being a stay-at-home housewife and I think that she mentioned Nem having babies at all, like, once? But on the other side, I can understand why Nem is getting tired of her mom trying to protect her all the time.   I honestly have no idea whether it is supposed to be sarcastic or not.   Apparently not. Also, I might be biased, but this entire exchange somehow makes Vace even worse, obviously taking advantage of Nem and her parent issues.   Back to school. I think we ran out of events for good.    Yay.   I guess it's one of the main themes of Exocolonist - we were supposed to run from Earth problems, but we brought them with us instead.   Motherfucker.   So the mask of humanity has finally fell off.  Oh look, totally not fascist purge is coming.   At least we stopped pretending we are friends, I guess?  Of course we are not partying with fascists.   You guys were the most humane beings back there.   That's an interesting question, how many of Stratos people has joined Lum? The only one we know of is Nem.      poo poo is getting serious.
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Dec 15, 2023 13:47
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You are doing a great job, and I'm sorry that the LP curse is messing with you.
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Dec 15, 2023 14:10
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Rogue AI Goddess posted:You are doing a great job, and I'm sorry that the LP curse is messing with you. 
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Dec 18, 2023 08:58
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 Nomi is one of few people using Marz full name   Another birthday gift unlocks us new conversation   A League of Legends expy?  Nope, local World of Warcraft equivalent. Or FF14, I would say that Nomi is more like Final Fantasy person when it comes to MMO  Although "massive" multiplayer online game would be an overstatement. With Nomi being the only nerd on Heliosphere and Stratospheric crew being rather small, I don't think there are many active players. Game is probably more like co-op than MMO.  Let's see, warrior is probably a tank and I don't like tanking, we already have enough magic in our lives, so let's go with rogue! I'm a little bit surprised there is no healer class What do you think, which class would rest of Vertumna kids pick?  I can definitely relate to having minor existential crises while naming characters.   Hey, no ERP please! And why couldn't I pick a race, do I have to unlock it?  Nice!   Fear my bow, meddlesome creatures! The forest will not miss your presence! Sure, RP servers are fun!  Thou shalt no see thine death approacheth from the shadows! Free stuff!   Yup, it's mostly PvE Our bond is greater than any evil that may befall this land! The power of true love conquers all! I don't feel comfortable with that.  Heavy "UNLESS?" vibes here.  Thank you for respecting my boundaries.   You sure?   Honestly, that changes everything about our previous ingame interactions. Nomi wasn't just horny, they were acting like they thought people are supposed to act. As a person on asexual spectrum I can totally relate.   It would mean that Nomi is demisexual and/or demiromantic which is probably making them one of the first demi characters in history of video games. Cool! Like RexClarity!!!! aaaaah, it's so complicated!!!!i really like Rex but he's soooooooOOOOOOooooi mean he's SO REXi don't think i could. um. keep up.Best summary of Rex in one sentence. And I really like that Nomi and Rex have their brother-sibling relationship without any romantic and/or sexual undertones.  And new card for us  Anyways, back to work. Time to max out our Toughness with...  ...glorious dirt shoveling!   Don't we have machines for this? The construction crews already claimed all the hoverlifts. But they'll break down in a few years anyway, and we don't have the materials to fix them. We're planetside now. Use your muscles. Nature's hydraulic pistonsYeah, dirt shoveling is one of these jobs you are supposed to take early on, some lines are weird in late game context. Where do I move it again? From over there... She points to a dirt pile ...to there. She points to an identical pile ten meters away. We had some very precious soil from Earth on the ship, full of all the nutrients and bugs and bacteria our plants need to grow, but it was lost... in an accident. Now we have to make more from scratch using Vertumnan soil. Why not use hydroponics? On the ship we grew most of our plants with their roots in the water, and it's true it was more hygienic that way. But hydroponic systems use too much energy. Here, we have to grow as much as we can the old fashioned way.  Honest work.    Cal's birthday.  And new conversation.   I think that's the first time we see one of Cal's dads.   Don't knock it until you try it! Bruh, I'm around it like literally every day? I'm pretty sure I'd know if it is for me or not. More shoveling   This time without event.    And yet another birthday.   Aaaaand a little bit more shovel duty.    I bet that after lifetime on spaceship being outside is either terrifying or wonderful, no middle ground.    Almost there...  It's time for another birthday! I wonder which of our wonderful friends is the lucky one this time...  ...oh.   You are welcome, rear end in a top hat.    And finally, 100 Toughness. The perk is...   ...okay, I guess?  Meanwhile I totally forgot that we are finally smart enough to have some quality time with Tang. also jesus christ, you guys have some serious sibling issues.   Never change, Tang.  All this talk about human supremacy sounds much harsher now that we know about her little secret project.   Again, what I like about Tang is that, while she hates asking for help, she never gets angry or jealous when someone turns out to be as smart as her.   We've earned some rest after all that shoveling.    More cryptic bullshit incoming.   Hello again, sugarbug. You are getting pretty good at navigating in the dark. Have you come to ask me more questions? Is Nocticulent the one attacking us? Ah, so you've met. My condolences. Their views are... difficult to hold within myself, though I understand them implicitly. Nocticulent is responsible for invasive species management. So yes, repelling you falls under their domain. The mos obvious method, as you've noticed, is the yearly attacks - though there are other, more subtle methods to discourage growth. Plague and famine, for example.I have already mentioned that, but I really don't like how game manages its "man vs nature" message. First it turns out that we are attacked not by local wildlife but by genetically engineered monsters, now we learn that both famine and plague were not an effect of irresponsible colonization and exploitation of unknown planet, but merely another aspect of Humanity vs Gardeners conflict. My take is that entire story would work much better if Gardeners weren't sentient beings, but more like immune system of Vertumna. I would get rid of Sym character, as they add nothing important to the story beside being walking loredump dispenser, leave Gardeners as incomprehensible force of nature that cannot be reasoned with and have Clarity learn all the lore details from Convergent Domain ruins. It doesn't need to be that way. Well, that's enough for now. The trees have ears, you know. Well, at least it wasn't cryptic (besides the enigmatic "It doesn't need to be that way" sentence)  Someone has to keep an eye on Nem, right?   Because it's not an attack, it's culling.  Nem, I really don't think Kom would like those Helios guys. Especially your boyfriend.     This sounds like a trap.   But apparently it wasn't? Perhaps they were waiting for someone stupid enough to just walk right into their maws, but who would...   Oh, right.   Yeah, even Helio military seems to realize that Lum is an idiot.     And another year survived.
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Jan 30, 2024 00:39
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Yay, we survived and so did the LP!
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Jan 30, 2024 01:02
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I agree the nature vs man is so very clumsily handled, if they went with a straight colonization theme - the gardners being alien people and not what they actually are in, or as you suggested more autonomous defense systems without the theme-break genetic engineering and forcing the critters to attack, it'd gel better.
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Jan 30, 2024 02:06
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One possible interpretation is that Sym's "nature vs invader" rhetoric is as much a part of that autonomous planetary defense system as Noctilucent's monster rushes. Sowing doubts is a perfectly appropriate tactic for a Gardener, after all.
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Jan 30, 2024 02:53
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I wonder if they tried to go for a link between colonialism and ecosystem destruction (justified when analyzing real world issues), but had the central narrative concepts already nailed down, and didn't manage to adjust for social philosophy well enough. The game ends up with a weird mess of conflating artificially maintained ecosystems, assumed independent ecological stability of a planet-wide system, and social conflict. This is made worse by the fact it's entirely unclear from the rest of the game's writing whether assigning the moniker of "invasive species" to a group of barely surviving refugees was at any point thought through.
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Jan 30, 2024 22:52
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I will reserve most of my thoughts about the game's overall message until we've completed at least one playthrough, but for now I want to point out that, while quite a few characters use (and misuse) highly charged political rhetoric, none of them speak with authorial fiat.
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Jan 31, 2024 00:36
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Oh, for sure. My annoyance comes not necessarily from what the characters say, but from what you're allowed (or not) to push back on. There's a number of conversations that add up for me to a suspicion that authorial fiat is expressed through what the player character is allowed to ask/argue about.
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Jan 31, 2024 11:02
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I think this game suffers heavily from Clarity's inability to say more than one sentence at a time, making any meaningful discourse impossible. And, like Lokapala said, sometimes all possible answers seem to be biased.
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Feb 1, 2024 09:46
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If you press more on Nomi's ingame flirting, they mentions the point that sexuality can be fluid throughout life. They're Ace now but that doesn't mean she might be forever - but is also clear that "waiting for someone to come around" is insensitive at best. They flirt ingame simply because they think it would be a fun character relationship to act out - their character is allosexual but Nomi is not. bewilderment fucked around with this message at 12:29 on Feb 1, 2024 |
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Feb 1, 2024 12:25
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Szarrukin posted:I think this game suffers heavily from Clarity's inability to say more than one sentence at a time, making any meaningful discourse impossible. And, like Lokapala said, sometimes all possible answers seem to be biased. Yeah, having done a few playthroughs, and trying not to say more on specifics, what you can and can't push back on is kind of telling what sort of arcs the writers intend.
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Feb 1, 2024 15:46
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Szarrukin posted:
It's a bit hard being limited to the classes listed there, so I'll just use regular class types based on my limited knowledge of MMOs: (Like, really limited. Believe it or not, I've never played an MMO.) Anemone - Tank Cal - Healer (of course) Dys - DPS Marz - Summoner Nomi - Summoner (The archer character in the update was an alt, right? So... I think they'd like summoning weird creatures to see more art; the weirder the better.) Rex - Tank Tammy - Healer (don't know much about her obviously, but that sounds about right) Tang - Crowd Control Vace - DPS
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Feb 3, 2024 06:23
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Antistar01 posted:Tang - Crowd Control oof
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Feb 3, 2024 06:28
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Antistar01 posted:Tang - Crowd Control guilty kek
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Feb 3, 2024 18:37
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 We are loving ripped, at least according to our bio.  I think I never showed you a Vertumna map? We aren't going to see Subaqueous Swamp in this run, unless we decide to join hunters. Let's go to the Ridges instead, it's been a while and I remember we found some Domain labs we never really explored?    What, no loredump today?    Dys! At least we know he's OK.  What are you doing out here? Living. For the first time in... probably my whole life. Uh-oh.  ...what? Like... what the gently caress?  "Wasn't my idea" my rear end. Who told him that turning into Gardener is even possible, huh?   Remember the Faceless? Remember how we found out they are sentient and Gardeners are using them as cannon fodder? Do you really think they are going to treat humans any different?  "He's so lonely, with us he will be happy, it's his decision". You literally lure him into the cult, you asshat. Honestly I do not know what happens if Sym likes us enough to unlock the first option. Either we can save Dys or we get elaborate "yes, but actually no" (we'll see an example of latter soon)  Because I'm going to miss you.I'm going to miss you too. You are probably the only person I'm gonna miss. Well, technically Dys will become a part of the planet itself, as I am. You are a part of the ecosystem, and therefore... everything you are will be within Dys's domain. And when your physical form fails and you return all that you took from the planet, you'll be together, forever.Just... shut the gently caress up. Please, shut the gently caress up. There's only one problem. The process, ah, hasn't been done in thousands of years. We're going to need some raw materials to repair the interface.Are you kidding me? I've done everything you guys have asked me to do, and now I've gotta do more?Yes Dys, that's how scams and cults work. Perhaps reconsider this entire "join the enemy" business? Well... it is better I tell you this now, rather than having you find out mid-upload, when your body has already been processed into a liquefied slurry of proteins and waste matter, correct? It is metamorphosis, little one, it's not prettyJesus gently caress.  Just loving take it. Oh, well, isn't that convenient. And you just... carry them around on your person? Then I can take you right now! This way, please... Oh, Domain labs. I wanted to see them but... not like this.  I really don't like it, but I won't leave Dys alone.   Now it's kinda too late for this, don't you think?  I really think you could talk with your sister because, you know, if there is anyone who would understand being uncomfortable with both the body you were born with AND the role assigned to you by society, it's Tangent, don't you think?   Goodbye, DysWhatever happens, I'll find you again. No matter what. You'll always be part of me.  What now? Oh, nothing. The only thing we can do is wait for the interface to do its job. He'll be fine. Probably. And the next time you see him, he'll be a Gardener.Hold the gently caress up, what the hell do you mean by "probably"? Probably? The future is unknown to me. Perhaps your people will annihilate all life on the planet before he emerges. Who can say.I mean, they're right but still they don't have to be so smug.  That will be an improvement.   This definitely wasn't boring expedition.   Of course we are following it.     Visit the cottage.  Not unsettling at all.    I see that my subconsciousness is very subtle.  Totally not a foreshadowing.       Not much time left.   We are close to max out Reasoning.   And I love every scene with Nougat.   Wonders of being a teacher.       I think that was the last of tutoring events.    But it's the most efficient way to grind Reasoning.       And with that we unlock final Reasoning perk.  Perhaps we'll meet Gardener!Dys there?   Nope, just this dude.    Well, how about that.   I have no idea why am I doing this, but to hell with this.   Are you okay? I am fine. I feel pain, but it does not control my behaviour as much as it seems to in humans.  Oh hell no. I would rather kiss Vace.   I'm almost glad they interrupted us.     Yes, that's the "yes but actually no" situation. It looks like challenge we won didn't changed poo poo except giving us a chance to kiss Sym.     They were an rear end in a top hat, but I think they didn't deserve it. This feels... random? But I guess irl death often feels that way.    This year's expedition are really poo poo, aren't they?   Wait, what?  The hell you mean?   "Loved one"??? We barely knew each other! What is this, Baldur's Gate 3?   Anyway, perhaps we have some Humanities events left?   Nope.    Pioneers of Vertumna! We stand here today not shivering and quaking in fear, but with our hands around the neck of the planet herself! I kinda hosed up this screenshot, sorry.  That was... extremely short coup. As I was saying... you can trust me to lead this colony - and humanity - into a new era. An era of peace and prosperity, where we no longer need to fear the creatures that come out in the nightHe raises his fist to the sky This planet is rich. It is the Earth we were promised, unscarred by the mistakes of our forefathers! Here, we will become what humanity has always strived to become - caretakers of a new garden! Children of a new Earth! Pioneers, we're so close. Soon, this planet will be ours... and all her riches and wonders with it. But first we need to adapt to the harsh realities of our current world. I know you all love your Council, but it's time we thought about the future. We need to guard the colony leadership against sudden upheavals. Deaths, imprisonments, and the like. I've decided to instate a second position for each seat on Council.   With Dys gone, there is no one that would be suited better than us to be Second Surveyor.         I really don't know what to think about Dys story. On the one hand, I have a feeling devs wanted to paint a parallel between Tangent gender reassignment and Dys metamorphosis; both hating their "old" body and feeling unfit to their social roles (gender for Tang, species for Dys), both sacrificing themselves for the Cause (science for Tang, nature for Dys) and finally "fixing" themselves being the first time they are really happy. On the other hand, it's at least implied that Dys was basically brainwashed into metamorphosis by Gardeners and it's at best unfortunate analogy and at worst it's unintentionally transphobic. I really wonder how they are going to proceed with this. At first I was also slightly disappointed that Flulu and Geranium are almost nonexistent in late game... but isn't that what happens in real life, kids becoming more and more distant from their parents?
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Feb 14, 2024 18:17
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As a trans person with a complicated and not entirely human identity, I see the stories of Tang and Dys in contrast rather than in parallel. Whether now or in exocolonist future, not all differences and changes are treated equally. Some are cherished or at least accepted, while some are met with revulsion and horror. The line between humanity and the Other is blurry and ever-shifting, and in this particular timeline, the two twins got caught on different sides of it. That said, I also see it as a bad ending to Dys's story. I much prefer the one where the aging Dys knowingly becomes a Gardener after living a full and happy life with Sym and/or the main character. Szarrukin posted:Honestly I do not know what happens if Sym likes us enough to unlock the first option. Either we can save Dys or we get elaborate "yes, but actually no" (we'll see an example of latter soon) Rogue AI Goddess fucked around with this message at 19:30 on Feb 14, 2024 |
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Feb 14, 2024 19:05
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Szarrukin posted:
I suspect this is so they don't have to write too many variables of "if Flulu is alive but Geranium isn't, Geranium is alive but Flulu isn't, Both are Alive, Both are Dead" Sym is such a frustrating character, I can see where they're going for him but I really think it's not really executed all that well.
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Feb 14, 2024 19:26
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Robindaybird posted:Sym is such a frustrating character, I can see where they're going for him but I really think it's not really executed all that well. (My personal read on Sym? He's someone else's player character. Everyone else has their arcs and scripts, but Sym and the MC are the only ones who can be anyone.)
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Feb 14, 2024 19:35
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Feb 15, 2024 01:22
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I've been uneasy with this game's writing for a while, and this has reinforced that something fierce.
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Feb 15, 2024 01:24
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Dys thinks being an alien is cool (well, it's the humans who are aliens to the planet, but you get it) and wants to be one. Seems cool to me, I genuinely don't see what the issue is - assuming the process works, of course, but generally we seem to have at least a pretty good idea that it does. It's also a pretty good shot at just generally staying alive, since whatever Lum has going on probably is not going to end well for the humans, since the genocide-virus got blown up. Szarrukin posted:Remember the Faceless? Remember how we found out they are sentient and Gardeners are using them as cannon fodder? Do you really think they are going to treat humans any different? Most beings on Vertumna have a multistage life cycle and the line between flora and fauna is very blurry compared to Earth. What do you think the life cycle parts of a Faceless are? Well, what's the other sapient native being on Vertumna that we've met? bewilderment fucked around with this message at 10:04 on Feb 15, 2024 |
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Feb 15, 2024 10:01
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It does feel like at this stage that Dys is being manipulated, especially as the risk/process isn't mentioned until after Dys agrees. The most charitable reading is Sym is a ditz and forgot it might be unsettling/different for a human, less charitable is he deliberately withheld the info. I think one of the things that is an issue with Sym is lot of the Gardner info is locked behind him (which makes sense) but the writing kind of automatically assumes you keep seeking him out of romantic interest, even if you as shown here push him away or don't flirt, the game acts as if the MC had that interest.
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Feb 15, 2024 15:59
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I'm really worried about Marz right now, ngl.
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Feb 15, 2024 17:25
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Marz as revolutionary leader didn't seem real likely at the start of the LP i gotta admit.
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Feb 16, 2024 03:01
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Given what Sym and the Gardeners are, I don't think they're capable of manipulation, in the sense that they don't understand how humans work well enough to manipulate them deliberately. I certainly never got the impression that Sym/Nocti brainwashed Dys, but the writing around the Gardeners and what they are is shaky enough that I can't say I'm certain whether the writers meant them to be read as limited in their understanding and capability as I perceive them. I would agree that this is a "bad end" for Dys, but there's no way to talk about it without any of the important background stuff that makes Tang and Dys the central figures of the story about the colonists' relationship with mental health, and that would be spoilers (for another playthrough, we won't be able to learn it this time around).
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Feb 16, 2024 12:59
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thatbastardken posted:Marz as revolutionary leader didn't seem real likely at the start of the LP i gotta admit.
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Mar 28, 2024 20:38
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Rogue AI Goddess posted:I have never regretted befriending Marz in any of my playthroughs, but she does not have a good introduction. i got the game because of the lp and went and befriended marz. i'll second this
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Mar 28, 2024 20:47
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