|
 Metal Saga is an interesting little RPG. It's a 2005 game for the PS2, and it really never got a ton of success in the States - possibly because it was the second-to-last entry in a five-game series that we never saw any of. The graphics were dated when it came out, the plot is difficult to actually find because the game is so open-ended, and if you don't know how events are triggered, you will spend hours wandering around doing nothing. On the other hand, it's an extremely charming game, with a great sense of humor, and it actually does have a plot - it just, well, takes knowing how to trigger the various events. Fortunately, I do know how to do this. I hope to show off all of the endings; certainly I will show off all of the endings I know of. There are a lot of permutations on them. Now, it's kind of hard to avoid some spoilers - the game spoils a lot on its own. But please, try to avoid spoilers for character backstories and future events. You can mention that some events exist, but please try to avoid details, and definitely use spoiler tags if you really have to bring it up. I will be getting as many of the collectible tanks as I can; there are a few that are mutually exclusive. In the case of mutually exclusive tanks or other things, I will leave the decision to you guys. (I will always show all options if I can; all mutually exclusive things that I know of can be exchanged for each other fairly freely.) Can you tell me anything about the Metal Max series? No. This is the only Metal Max game I have ever played. I don't read or speak Japanese, so everything I know about the rest of the series is based on Wikipedia. Do you recommend this game? If you can take JRPG standard combat systems, sure. It's got some innovative tricks going on, largely related to the tanks, and it is very charming. But it is not a game that is easily playable without a guide - several events have very specific triggers, and the game really doesn't believe in handholding when it comes to showing you what you're meant to be doing. But if you're okay with that? Yeah, I'd say it's pretty okay. It's no Operation Darkness, that's for sure. The Metal Saga Field Manual posted:In this game, you assume the role of a boy who wants to be a hunter like his father. You are not at the mercy of fate, nor are you destined to be a hero of legend. You weren't born with mysterious powers, nor were you blessed by the gods. In fact, you're basically on your own in this harsh world, and where you go is completely up to you. Table of Contents Update 1: Game's Over, Go Home Update 2: My Home Town Update 3: Oops, I Died Update 4: Marriage Is What Brings Us Together Today Update 5: gently caress Mine Detectors Update 6: Dogs Update 7: On the Hunt Update 8, Part 1: The Time Has Come, The Walrus Said, To Speak Of Many Things Update 8, Part 2: Of Shoes And Ships And Sealing Wax Update 9: Back to the Grind Update 10: Snakes Update 11: No Disassemble Update 12: gently caress Eagles Update 13: Journey to the West Update 14: This Episode Brought To You By The Letter M Update 15: New Faces Update 16: The Great Khan Update 17: Muscling On Update 18: Ultimate Muscle Update 19: Wait, It's Been How Long? Update 20: Beautiful Lorelei Bay Update 21: Revenge of the Old People Update 22: Grinding on the Waves Update 23: No, Really, I'm Alive Update 24: That Took Longer Than I Thought Mors Rattus fucked around with this message at 21:11 on Feb 20, 2015 |
#
¿
Mar 19, 2014 05:17
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ Apr 25, 2024 18:37 |
|
|
Cast of Characters  Max: What it says. Nicknamed Grease Monkey.   Misha: Our childhood friend and a mechanic. She's happy to marry Max if asked. The daughter of Nikolai and Martha. Kiriya's younger sister.   Kiriya: Our childhood friend and a mechanic. The adopted son of Nikolai and Martha. Misha's older brother. His biological father is the Disassembler.   Rashid: A swordsman who can dodge bullets.   Charlene: A gunslinger of immense skill. Used to live in Alice One. A former member of the Rouge Rogues.  Iggy: Our faithful dog! A Boston Terrier, designated BD3. Found in a microwave in an old biogenetics lab.  Nina: Dear old Mom. Wishes that we'd just settle down and be an engineer.  Emily: Our little sister. Likes the color pink. Always wanted a Boston Terrier.  Eddy: Our dad. A hunter; otherwise fairly mysterious.  Jack: A friend of the family and a bartender. Father of Rachel.  Rachel: Our childhood friend. Angry all the time. Has a thing for Max. Works at her father's bar.  Scarlet: An experienced hunter. Thinks Max is just adorable. Always looking out for herself.  Dr. Solomon: A retired hunter who studies monsters. Can only bench 440 lbs now.  The Medal Collector: Collects Big Medals. Hare Head:  Knows a lot about the history of the world. McKinley: A traveler and a friend of Eddy's. Knows a lot about towns.  Dr. Mortem: A genius who performs experiments that might be able to revive the dead. Not the sort of man who can live with half a heart.  Igor: Dr. Mortem's assistant. Collects materials.  Alex: A man in a suit who works for an organization that wants to restore human civilization. Eddy doesn't trust him.  Clive: A short, fat man in a suit who works for Alex.  Connie: A tall, thin woman in a suit who works for Alex.  Martha: Nikolai's wife. Mother of Misha and Kiriya.  Nikolai: Nina's friend and a mechanic. Husband of Martha, father of Misha and Kiriya. Very excitable.  The Curry Guru: A mysterious man who sells delicious curry.   Rosa Beldaire: A hunter and tank collector. Rich. Sister of Carl Beldaire. Hates being called Princess.  Sebastian: Rosa Beldaire's butler.  Carl Beldaire: A mechanic. Brother of Rosa Beldaire. Quiet.  Catherine: A girl who wants her teddy bear, Gluttony, back.  Arthur Beldaire: The leader of Beldaire. Father of Rosa and Carl, friend of Eddy.  Mad Maxwell: An outlaw and a captain of the League of Uncivilized Barbarians.  Colonel Blueberry: An outlaw and commander of the Blueberry Army. Lazy, but rich.  The Disassembler: A strange outlaw mechanic that lives to destroy tanks. The biological father of Kiriya. Also known as the White Terror.  Murasame: A mysterious swordsman who lost a duel to Rashid.  Fredrick: An outlaw and leader of the Daltons.  Shasta: An outlaw and member of the Daltons.  Roberto: An outlaw and member of the Daltons.  Sodam Insein: A mysterious map salesman. Tried and failed to ambush the party.  Gorou: The head of Torikami. Husband of Suzu, father of Kaede. Worried about Orochi and his daughter.  Suzu: Wife of Gorou, mother of Kaede.  Kaede: Daughter of Gorou and Suzu. Potential sacrifice to Orochi.  Leon: A researcher into the past. Friend of Eddie.  Wayne: A rope-using bounty hunter on the trail of Derringer Jack.  Granddaddy Kong: An outlaw. Also, a giant talking gorilla.  Dr. Zeus: An ape swordsman. Worked for Granddaddy Kong.  Jared: A traveler. Eldest and leader of the orphans of Forever Land. Elder brother of Remi.  Julie: A traveler. Eldest girl of the orphans of Forever Land. Jared's assistant.  Zed: An outlaw and member of the Daltons.  Francine: An outlaw and member of the Daltons.  Danny: An orphan of Forever Land. Kind of a punk.  Gaspar: Youngest of the orphans of Forever Land. A girl.  Patricia: An orphan of Forever Land. Younger sister of Patrick. Wants to be a hunter.  Patrick: An orphan of Forever Land. Elder brother of Patricia.  Remi: An orphan of Forever Land. Younger sister of Jared.  Robby: An orphan of Forever Land. Really really (really) likes tanks.  Syd: An orphan of Forever Land. Weird.  Golem: Bodyguard of the orphans of Forever Land. Formerly Fang of the Rouge Rogues.  Shaka Khan: An outlaw and leader of the League of Uncivilized Barbarians. Slaughtered most of the Rouge Rogues.  Father Muscle: An outlaw and the spiritual leader of Gluteus Maximism.  Thursday: A robot that lives with Dr. Palm. Kind of an rear end in a top hat.  Dr. Palm: A man who wanted a friend. Likes tanks.  The Puppetmaster, AKA Joe: An outlaw who was being controlled by his puppet.  Marceau: A talking, mind-controlling outlaw puppet.  Man o' War: An outlaw that wanted to become human.  Professor Marilyn Grey: A cyberneticist.  Oliver: An orphan who was being used by criminals to pick locks.  Helga: An aged outlaw who wants to protect the old.  Olga: A retired hunter.  Wheelchair Willy: An aged outlaw who wants to protect the old.  Wilco: An old man that wants to fly.  Doc Optica: A man who loves lenses. Mors Rattus fucked around with this message at 21:12 on Feb 20, 2015 |
|
#
¿
Mar 19, 2014 05:18
|
|
|
Update One: Game's Over, Go Home (Click here to watch the intro video!) Well, that's promising! I like Atlus games, usually. They've published a lot! However, they were just the publisher here.  That's less promising. Success developed Metal Saga, and...well, they also developed the last game I tried to LP, Operation Darkness. And that game sucked so hard that I literally could not finish it - the final mission was just too tedious, combined with some recording issues I had. However! This game does not suffer from the same issues, at least. It has some issues, but they are new ones! Besides, they were not the sole developers.  Crea-Tech and Success have been working together on the Metal Max series for a while! Metal Saga, known in Japan as Metal Saga: Sajin no Kusari, which Wikipedia tells me means 'Chain of Sandstorm', is the only installment of the series that has ever been localized, and the only one I have ever played and know anything about.     Metal Saga is a post-apocalyptic RPG about tanks. It is very open-ended, far moreso than most JRPGs, and this is our main character. He has no official name in English; in Japan, the default is 'Syu.' You guys will get to name him when we start on our second run.     In case you're wondering, this is not what the game looks like. These anime graphics are solely for the intro video. This is one of the Mechanic-class party members, Kiriya. We won't be meeting him on our first run. Mechanics are relatively weak in combat compared to the main character or the Soldier-class characters, but can repair things. And being in a tank makes combat weakness less relevant.     And this is Misha, the other Mechanic. We won't be seeing her on our first run, either.  Or any of these guys except the main character. They are not party members.     We won't be meeting Rashid, the melee Soldier.     Or Charlene, the ranged Soldier.    This is what the game actually looks like. Not that we'll be going there until after the first ending.     So, with all those teasers out of the way, let's get started.   All games start with the options menu. Smart Park is 'automatically exit your tanks if you go somewhere tanks can't go.' Everything else should be obvious.   (Click here to view the cutscene!) We join our intrepid hero, whom I have named Hunter, as he is being lectured by his mother.  There's a lot of headshots in this game - characters change expression fairly often.  : Well, I think it's a bad idea. It's a terrible, needless job. Lots of changing camera angles, too! There was effort put into this, for all it's pretty early PS2 rendering. : ...Most people don't have a very high opinion of hunters... : If I had my way, your father wouldn't be a hunter, either. This is Emily, the main character's little sister. She's...well, she's present.  : Now, there's still plenty of time for you to train as a mechanic in order to inherit the family business. I think you'd be really good at it, and not just because you're my son. And now, we have a choice.  But really, how could we disappoint Mom? I think she's right.  : You are my son, after all, so it only makes sense that you'd become the best mechanic around. I've always believed in you.Then, we cut to our dad and sister.   : Yeah. You'd think he was born to be a mechanic.  : You know, Dad, Hunter is working really hard.  : the best mechanic around. But, he's my son, too... I always thought he'd make a good hunter. : ......: What?: Are you actually jealous?: Huh? Well, how can I say this...? I guess I'm jealous. ...Maybe a little. When he was a kid, he always ran around saying, "I wanna be a hunter like Daddy when I grow up!" ...I guess I just got my hopes up.: ...... : It's his life, though. He can make his own decisions. Being a hunter is far from easy... As a parent, it's nice not to be worried about him dying. ...I guess.The main character has a very supportive family. On the other hand, Eddy's being kind of weird there at the end.  spending his life a a mechanic. He would never fight a giant flying manta ray... Nor would he find a pet dog with heavy artillery on its back. No, he wouldn't even encounter a cult of body-builders obsessed with ab toning and proper waxing techniques. Truly, Hunter lived one of the most boring lives ever imagined. Sure, he eventually gets married and has a few kids, who go on to lead equally dull and boring lives. And, of course he dies quietly in bed. But every man dies--not every man truly awakens an attractive female robotic weapon, designed long ago by scientists that time forgot. Hunter didn't, anyway. That's for sure. And...roll credits!  We got none of the bounties! But we do get to see my favorite Special Thanks entry.  The JSDF. Now, let's see our perfect 0% run!       So ends run #1! Total gameplay: a single menu choice. You guys get to choose a name for Run #2's main character! Up to 8 characters, and I'll choose whichever one I like best! Mors Rattus fucked around with this message at 19:00 on Mar 30, 2014 |
|
#
¿
Mar 19, 2014 05:19
|
|
|
dijon du jour posted:Question: how many confusing-dialogue hilarities would be gained from naming the main character Hunter? Not a ton, though there are a few spots where people spend a fair amount of time talking about hunters.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 19, 2014 05:38
|
|
|
SilentW posted:Who run postapocalyptia? Master Blaster run postapocalyptia! Eight character limit, but we do get to name our tanks.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 19, 2014 05:58
|
|
|
I should note: we're going to ending the LP with significantly more than one tank. We will be getting one tank very soon, though. Well, I say 'tank.' It's close enough.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 19, 2014 06:25
|
|
|
Tupperwarez posted:Also, Rattus, do you have the game manual by any chance? You should add the blurb at the start of the manual to the OP. I think it sums up the game pretty nicely. I'll have to dig around. I think I might. And I plan to show off all the endings I know about - I'm pretty sure there's a few I don't, but I will be experimenting. E: Crap, looks like the manual may have been thrown away at some point, I can't find it in my game drawers. E: Wait, no. It fell between drawers. Which blurb do you mean - the prologue, the objective or the world of Metal Saga one? Mors Rattus fucked around with this message at 07:07 on Mar 19, 2014 |
|
#
¿
Mar 19, 2014 07:02
|
|
|
Sure, I can add that in. And I haven't decided what I'll be doing with that stuff yet! Fortunately, saving and reloading shouldn't be too big a deal for me.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 19, 2014 07:23
|
|
|
From the manual:The Metal Saga Field Manual posted:In this game, you assume the role of a boy who wants to be a hunter like his father. You are not at the mercy of fate, nor are you destined to be a hero of legend. You weren't born with mysterious powers, nor were you blessed by the gods. In fact, you're basically on your own in this harsh world, and where you go is completely up to you.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 19, 2014 07:27
|
|
|
Update Two: My Home Town I decided to go with Max. Mad Max was tempting, and there were a lot of other good suggestions! But I like Max. Nice and simple.  (Click here to watch the cutscene.) : (Why's he thinking about this all of a sudden?) Well, I think it's a bad idea. It's a terrible, needless job. It's dangerous, you don't have a steady income... ...Most people don't have a very high opinion of hunters...: If I had my way, your father wouldn't be a hunter, either.: ......: That's just how I feel, Max. Now, there's still plenty of time for you to train as a mechanic in order to inherit the family business. I think you'd be really good at it, and not just because you're my son.: So? Will you try out something more stable than being a hunter? We're not ending the game so fast this time! : *sigh* ...I should have known. Just do whatever you want... : If you're serious, then you need to find yourself a vehicle. The only thing hunters without vehicles find is trouble.: Do you know where the Hunter Office is? That's the first place you should go--it's across from us diagonally. At least buy some equipment, OK honey? Mommy worries about you. The store's next door and has that convenient sign; you can't miss it. And, be sure to speak with Nikolai if you go to Newfolk... He's a great mechanic, and could probably teach you a few things. Newfolk is pretty far to the northeast from here.I know the player needs some direction, but this is the town Max has lived in his entire life. I guess he never really looked around. Thanks, Mom!   : Ohhhh, I'm so jealous. You are gonna have SUCH a good time! I'll be rooting for you, Max! Good luck!: ...... You chose the life you wanted, so you have to stick it, understand?: But, if you do get tired of being a hunter, you know you can always come back. This is your home, after all.Which is completely true. At any point in the game, you can return home and retire to become a mechanic. This is not the same ending as becoming a mechanic before the game actually starts, either! So, now that we have control, let's take a look at things.  We're dropped right outside our home - Mom's garage in the town of Junkyard. This is our menu. We start the game with 200G, our currency. Item is self-explanatory. We have four Healing Capsules, which restore 50 HP each. Items are our main source of healing in the game - there are almost no healing skills in the game, and most of them are unreliable, not cost-effective, or both.  Unlike most games, we start with no equipment whatsoever - we're going to have to find or buy all of it. We have slots for a weapon, a hat, some armor, gloves, shoes and a second, ablative piece of armor. Weapons can be melee or ranged, which effects what enemies they are good at targeting. For now, though, it doesn't really matter. The rest is standard equipment, except the abalative armor. This slot, the Protector slot, is not gear that will last. You wear it, it reduces damage a lot, and then it breaks, becoming Scrap. Scrap is useless as equipment, but it has a purpose.  Max starts the game with only one skill: Remote Laser, which is a direct damage skill in which he summons a satellite laser. However, its cost is so high that we won't be using it for some time. See, there is no MP or skill points in this game. Skills are fueled by cash. You pay the cost in cash and the skill happens.  This is our Satcom. Satcom provides us with a lot of information. We can look up the stock of the main Item and Equipment shops of any town we've ever visted with Shops. Remote is useless until we get some tanks, but eventually we'll use it to move them around remotely. Info is useless until we do some stuff, but it's the same information we saw at the end of Run #1. Hunt and Wanted are useless until we visit the Hunter's Office. Mail will be, well, emails that we receive. We can use Alert for cash grinding - it sends us a notification when we hit a certain amount of money. Music and Games are currently unusable because we don't have any. Config is the options menu. Diary...  Diary shows us various notes. This is all we have for now - Hunter's To Do List. We'll get on that in a moment. As the game goes on, we'll get more entries. I'll try to check regularly. The Help menu is various tutorials and help topics. Now, let's talk to that guy who was wandering around outside our house.  (Click here to watch the cutscene.) : You're usually already gone when I stop by...... Huh?   : ...Nah, I'm just playin'. Full grown men don't just shrink.  : Man, sorry about that. I totally thought you were your dad. : I travel around the world alone, but I try to stop by whenever I'm in the area. But, as I expected, he's not around today. I trust that Eddy's doing OK, though? I remember when you were just a baby, heh, you sure have grown. I guess you're a hunter now, just like your old man, huh? We'll probably meet again sometime. Good luck in the meantime, OK kid? And he runs off. We'll be seeing a good amount of McKinley, which I'm okay with. He's a pretty good guy. Having talked to him, we are now going to ignore our to-do list and head back inside.  If we had a tank, Nina would be able to repair it for us. But we don't, so we just came to say hi. This is the main garage floor, and it is one of the few buildings that tanks can fit into. There are two basement levels, neither of which we'll be looking at until we get a vehicle. : ...Oh. Well, that wasn't very nice. It is good to see you, though. You should stop by more often. Make sure to visit Emily, too. She's always worried about you...I think Nina doesn't like being bugged at work.  While we're home, we can stop by Max's room. It is...well, it's very empty. But we can use the bed for free healing!  We can also stop by Emily's room, where we steal her towel. I'd like to say we have a use for it, but my memory is telling me that it is solely for item collection purposes. When used, it provides the message 'It's soft and cuddly.'  It was supposedly taken back when they were all traveling in the West. Jack's our next-door neighbor and a friend of the family. We'll meet him in a bit. While we're here, we steal Nina's handkerchief. (On use, we are informed that it's Mom's handkerchief.) This, too, has no purpose. However, we can also steal Eddy's shirt. The Father's Shirt is a vitally important item and we will be hanging onto it for actual reasons, rather than because Max is a kleptomaniac. (Max is, however, a kleptomaniac.)  Emily takes care of the house, and whenever we enter this upper floor where the family lives, she will be doing some random housekeeping task. This time, she was doing the laundry, but I've seen her vacuuming, knitting and working in the kitchen. It's really a very nice touch. We could talk to Emily and retire right now, but we aren't going to do that quite yet. So we'll be honest: we're here to see her, because we're saying our goodbyes for a while. : Hm? R-Really? That... oh, you don't have to say that. *blush* Japan. This is the Hunter's Office, exactly where Nina said it would be. We can talk to the woman at the window to save our game.  This is what we get if we head inside. This guy has no face at all! Hunter: Still, you're not a real hunter until you have a sweet ride. I mean, you can try rolling into hostile territory without a vehicle... but don't whine to me when you're dead. : ......Outside of dialogue choices, this is pretty much all Max ever says in the game. But dialogue choices give him a pretty solid character. Hunter: You know about Junk Mountain, right? Out back behind town? I bet there's a vehicle stowed somewhere in there. ...Worth checking out, anyway. I sure as hell don't need it. I'm fine without a vehicle, thank you very much! If yer still alive later, maybe we'll meet up again. And he leaves. I honestly do not remember if we ever meet him again. The game's handholding does exist - and only exists in Junkyard. The game really, really wants to make sure you get a vehicle. It won't stop you if you try to leave without one, mind you - you'll just get your rear end killed by the monsters outside town. The woman to the right, meanwhile, will save our game. I am going to show you her dialogue just this once, because it's pretty fun. Memory Center: This is the Memory Center, where hunters record their battles.  Memory Center: ...And that's it. We're done saving. Are you going to keep on playing?  Memory Center: Good luck, and have a wonderful day full of leveling up! ...No offense, but it kind of looks like you'll need it. I am fairly sure her dialogue changes based on our level and title. Now, we can head to the right to talk to the Hunter Office official. (The old lady just tells us we should find some friends to help us out. She'd do it herself, but she has a bad hip.)  At the Hunter Office, we can get bounty information on hunt targets and Outlaws. If we had hunted any of those, we could turn them in for cash rewards.  Today's hunt target is the Spider Tank! A Cyber-class enemy that is, in fact, a gas can on legs. Get used to enemies being this ridiculous. It will remain the target until the system clock ticks down long enough. If you take too long, you won't get your reward, but there is no upper limit on how many target monsters you kill.  Outlaws, on the other hand, last until you kill them. The only Outlaw we can learn about right now is the Trash Heap. We get 1000G for killing it. Metal Saga posted:Monster that lives at Junk Mountain. It's unclear whether it's a machine made of scrap or a living being covered with junk. When we leave the Hunter Office, we are always addressed by our current title - right now, Newbie. We can also check the postings board to look at Wanted posters for Outlaws again.  Nearby, we find these two tents. These are the Scrap Shop and the Black Market.  In the Scrap Shop, we can take the Scrap we get from destroyed Protectors and trade it in for stamps. Once we get enough stamps, we can exchange them for various useful items. It's handy, since we will be going through protectors - they're useful survival tools.  The Black Market buys certain rare items, then holds them and lets you buy them back. I'm not entirely certain what makes them buy certain items, and neither is anyone online that I've been able to find. They sell the items back for anywhere from twice to ten times as much as they paid you. I honestly almost never make use of the place. The running theory I've found is that it's for if you somehow run out of both inventory space and space in the storage area. (We'll see that after we get back from Junk Mountain.) We head out and poke around town, finding an item called a Big Medal. There are three in town, and we get all of 'em. One is in a barrel across from the Hunter's Office, one is by a church to the north and the third is inside that same church. We also meet this kid.  Boy: Crap, then I need to hurry to that secret place and get the treasure there. So far as I know, this doesn't trigger anything - it's just a hint for later that there is treasure in Junk Mountain.  McKinley is back. This is his main job - he provides backstory for each town. We take a listen. : Ok, this junkyard formed when groups of people set up camp to trade junk. They would salvage it from Junk Mountain, just over there. Since a lot of the junk was scrap from before the Great Destruction, the trade system quickly developed into a bustling economic system. Today, these people have become known as Traders. And, since so many folks are interested in the West these days, this town has been dubbed the frontier town of the East. Nobody really knows how long Junk Mountain's been around. The most popular theory is that it was a dumping ground long, long ago. Lastly, only hunters visit anymore, since the monsters settled here. That's... really about it. See you again in some other far-off place!He runs off again.  We, meanwhile, are headed to the bar next to our house.  The bartender is our family's friend, Jack. Now, the fun thing here is that there's a lot of dialogue with incidental NPCs that, while it has no actual purpose, cannot be repeated and has some player input. They worked hard on this! For eample, we'll go talk to the nearest man in the red bandana.  Transporter: Not good. I've been getting a lot of flat tires lately. And it's so expensive to get them fixed... I kinda feel bad about blowing all my money on booze... : ......Transporter: What, this? No, you really shouldn't steal water from here and sell it for cash. Why? Do you need cash to buy booze? Man, you're such a punk! Shouldn't a hunter like you be making enough money to buy booze!? The other guy knows our dad and will tell us not to drink the water so we don't get sick. He also tells us about his business moving potatoes. He's just a farmer who does cargo transport in the off-season. He also tells us that there's more money to be made in the north, but that it's really dangerous, so he doesn't do it. For this game, that's handy information to have - the monsters up north do drop better goods for us to sell. And then there's this guy...   His companion is a Hunter. Hunter: Got something toi say, kid? What? You're a hunter?  Hunter: Yeah, it'll be a long time before you start making as much as me. You got any questions about being a hunter? He'll tell us about some good places to make money. For easy cash, we want Junk Mountain - the monsters there are fine, as long as we gear up first. He also tells us we can scavenge junk and maybe trade it with the other people out there. This is a valuable hint - you won't hear about it anywhere else. He does warn us not to go out of town without a vehicle, too. But once we get one, we can go hunt Iron Slugs outside. They're good for money, better than other monsters, and can be found west of town. If we want to make mad bank like him, we want to head northeast, across the bridge outside town. It's a dangerous place full of Magnum Cycles, but it's good money if we can handle it. Right now, we absolutely cannot handle it.   We can use the Jukebox to change the music until we exit the screen...but instead, we'll grab the MP3s, unlocking all of the songs on the jukebox to our Satcom, which lets us do the same thing anywhere. We also grab the game, Crossfire. We can now play that on our Satcom, but won't right now.  These are the songs we've found. Links will be provided at the bottom of the post.  Let's chat with this lady. : Hmmmm... I see... Yup, I get it now.: ......?: You're a hunter, right? Er... you just became one. Right? : Huh, what is it? Why the 'wandering loner' look?: ...Huh? I didn't think I was glaring. You must have imagined it.: ......Whatever. : I'm a hunter, like you. Well... Not like YOU, but yeah...: ......  : Newbies are so cute.: ...I do see the fire in your eyes, though. You'll be pretty strong one day... ...Hee hee.Now we'll chat with Jack.  : I know Eddy's probably thrilled, but your mom, not so much... I'm not sure whose side I'm on, there. The world's a tough place. But, I guess you've already decided, so not much can be done. I'm proud of you, kid. Oh, and why don't you go see Rachel, hm?Rachel is Jack's daughter and our childhood friend. If we talk to Jack again, we can access the bar menu.   This is where we'll be selling vendor trash items we get off monsters. We can also order nacks or drinks, though we're short enough on cash that I won't...yet. We can choose to buy a round for the bar, but I don't have the cash for that, either. Each drink causes Max to have a unique reaction, so we'll see 'em eventually. As for buying a round...well, it makes everyone like you, but as far as I can find, it has no other effect besides draining your cash fast. Still, if you're rolling with dough, might as well be a nice guy, right?  We have no real reason to do this, but each room at the inn has its own rate, based on how good the room is. We'll probably stay in the rooms later, because some inn rooms actually have items in them, and you can't get to those without renting the room for a night. It heals you, too, but in Junkyard we have our own house for that. There's also a guy up here who will tell us a little about the towns of Newfolk and East Zero, but nothing especially interestng other than that they exist and are bigger than Junkyard. Once we head back downstairs and head for the back to talk to Rachel, we get an event.  (Click here for the cutscene.)   You can turn her down. Don't do it - it locks you out of later events! Scarlet walks over to talk to us.  : I'll send some advice to your Satcom later, OK? I have things to do, so I guess I'll see you later. Take it easy. Scarlet leaves, and we're free to raid Jack's kitchen.  Why he keeps a tank repair item in the sink is a mystery for the ages. We can also get a Healing Capsule out of his bedroom dresser.  This is Rachel's room. After stealing her lipstick - which, yes, is just another item with no purpose - we can talk to her. (The lipstick tastes of strawberries, the game helpfully informs us, and is vibrantly pink.)  She reacts poorly to the funnier option, sadly, and I'd prefer not to piss her off immediately. : Wha-What!? What are you thinking!? Being a hunter is dangerous! Why would you want to do that? If something happened to you, I'd... ...... Forget about me! If something happens to you, Nina and Emily will be heartbroken! Did you even consider their feelings!? J-Just promise me you'll be careful, OK? Whenever you're in town, you have to come visit your family! And... hunters go to bars, right? Then... you have to talk to my dad, OK? J-Just don't worry about me... I'm too busy to talk to you...*sniff* ...... U-Umn... What? I thought you were done here. Just go do whatever it is that you hunters do... Go! Well, that went well! If we talk to her again, she seems to be over it. : Becoming a hunter was your dream, wasn't it Max? : ......? We leave and head for a pair of nearby warehouses, where we get a tank repair item, the Repair Kit, another Healing Capsule, and a pair of Sandals - basic foot armor. And we meet this guy.  : Now, the things can be found lying around, in boxes or chests... Basically, they're all over the place. If you find any Medals, please bring 'em by. I collect them, y'know.If you talk to him again while you have a Big Medal, he gets excited. : *sniff* Something smells an awful lot like Big Medals...! : *giggle* Now I have 1! If you come across any more, please let me have them!It gets them out of my inventory, so we will be. However, this sidequest is broken. There are supposed to be 80 Big Medals in the game. However, it is impossible to get 80 Big Medals. There are no rewards for partial Big Medal completion. There are 80 Big Medals in the game...but because we got the one in the barrel here in Junkyard, one of the others has now disappeared. If we'd gotten that one, the one in Junkyward would disappear. No one has ever been able to complete the Big Medal quest...but someone did contact the QA Lead at Atlus. There is no reward for the Big Medal quest. There is no prize. You just give Big Medals to the Medal Collector. Believe it or not, this entire thing was a huge source of drama online! Anyway, we head out and raid some guy's cupboard for Stick-On Armor - the lowest level of Protector, which blocks ten damage and then breaks. Then we head to the biggest house in town, where we get a pair of Tile Pack S and some Work Gloves - basic hand armor. We also get the Drill Claw Memo, an item that talks about how to make a later weapon. Then we talk to the biggest person in town.  : I used to be a hunter like you. Now, I research monsters. I used to be well-known for my monster-slaying abilities. Retirement isn't all it's cracked up to be, so I decided that maybe I'd catalogue monsters and their various special powers and such. ...But, my strength isn't what it used to be. Why, I doubt I could even bench more than 440 lbs. nowadays. So, since I can't record monster data myself, I was hoping you could. : Thank you so much! You do have a Satcom, correct? When you encounter monsters, their data is recorded automatically. So, I just need you to show me your Satcom from time to time. ...I sure wish we had gadgets like that when I was a hunter. Just find as many monsters as possible for me, OK? Since you agreed to help, I'd like to give you something. It's on the shelf to the right of the sink--see it? It helped me out a lot back in my hunting days... Good luck!The item, Solomon's Glove, is far too large to wear. It will come in handy eventually, though.  Next door, we find the teleporter.   (She says this either way.) Anyway, this is a fast travel system, but we can't use it yet. We head up to the town church.  ...yeah. Welcome to the church. : I, Dr. Mortem, a leading researcher in the field of revival. That is, bringing back the dead. It's becoming too peaceful back home, so it's hard to ...collect samples. And so, after traveling around the world, I decided... This town is the perfect place to set up a new laboratory! I research during the day and rob graves at night! Hee hee hee hee! You're a hunter, right? I f you come across any dead bodies, or become one yourself (even better), by all means, stop by! : My job to find fresh samples to help Doctor's research...If we ever die, Igor will drag us back here. We can also take dead party members here. Mortem will do an experiment on them and bring them back to life! The game implies that he can fail, but I don't believe he actually can. Thus, it's not actually possible to get a game over by dying. We raid the church for the aforementioned Big Medal, a Repair Kit, and also some Sticky Cells - a vendor item.  I leave town and then come back immediately, to spawn an event. This also gets me some email - see the bottom for the email. But the event is Hare Head! His job is to provide backstory on the world.  : All of a sudden, the ground shook, the sea roared, and poison rain fell from the sky. Amidst the chaos, the computers of the world began their revolt. Missiles launched without warning. Communication networks shut down. Riots plagued the cities. People killed and looted. The entire civilization crumbled in the blink of an eye. This came to be known as the Great Destruction...And then he just vanishes. We stop by the item shop.  This building, with the convenient signs Nina mentioned. We pick up the armor we hadn't been able to get - a Hard Hat and a Denim Vest. This leaves us just shy of being able to buy the stronger of the two available weapons, the Butterfly Knife, so we grab the ranged Slingshot, instead. We now have every armor slot filled. There's one other place in town to look at before we head out, though.  The vending machine. There's one of these in the garage, too.  It sells Healing Capsules in 1 or 3 packs, as well as Tile Packs in the same amounts and basic Protector gear, too. Each time you buy, you get to play a minigame where you try to light up the center of the lights. If you manage it, you get a bonus item, but it's not the easiest game in the world. Next time: We head out to Junk Mountain. We will be grabbing a vehicle out there - something light and fast. What should we call it? Tanks get up to ten characters. (I will also consider the names already posted.) Emails       Music Track 01: Joining Forces (English)/Call (Japanese)  Track 02: March On (English)/My Footstep On This World (Japanese)  Track 03: On the Waves (English)/Let's Go By Ocean Liner (Japanese)  Track 04: Nothing Like Home (English)/Theme of Love (Japanese)  Track 05: Fort Gears (English)/Caterpillar Pires (Japanese)  Track 06: Machinegun Tears (English)/Tear of the 7mm Engine Canon (Japanese) 
Mors Rattus fucked around with this message at 19:10 on Mar 30, 2014 |
|
#
¿
Mar 19, 2014 21:01
|
|
|
Mehuyael posted:Do you only have the one tank and you just upgrade it, or do you find more tanks to roam around in? If this is the only tank we'll get then go with Payne, but if it's just the first of some/many then go with Power for a start, leaving Payne for one of the later tanks. There are multiple tanks, all of which can be upgraded. Our first one, however, will probably end up left behind after a while. We're going to have a stable of something like 18-20 of them by the end.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 19, 2014 22:05
|
|
|
I've never actually seen that show, so...as long as you don't get too annoying, feel free?
|
|
#
¿
Mar 20, 2014 04:01
|
|
|
your evil twin posted:They should have had the "name your character" thing be first though, since it's a bit silly that when you mother is trying to persuade you to become a mechanic she keeps calling you Hunter, as does your sister and father if you choose that option. Though I guess it's nicely ironic that your parents actually named you Hunter and you didn't become one. You do name your character first. I just named him Hunter on the first run. In the second run, she calls him Max.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 20, 2014 14:54
|
|
|
dijon du jour posted:BTW Mors in the future are you going to let us see what each new tank looks like before you open up voting for a name? 'Cause if we know what the tank looks like it'd probably be easier to come up with a fitting name other than random tank references or puns. Probably! Certainly once I get access to the town where I can rename them.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 20, 2014 16:01
|
|
|
 For the record: this is what our new tank looks like. Well, before we strap the main gun to it.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 20, 2014 16:05
|
|
|
Updates fast this week because I'm on break. Update Three: Oops, I Died  Okay. Let's head to Junk Mountain! You can get there via Junkyard or the World Map. Once inside, we find a kid who is very important right now.  Boy: There's not much left, so you'll really have to look around. Lemme know what you find. I'm willing to trade for some good junk. This kid is correct - there isn't much treasure to be found in Junk Mountain. He's also important for when we finish. We'll be trading Junk to him for items.  Soldier: Don't bother me... I'm trying to plan my revenge. This is a hint: if you run into three Junk Zombies, run the gently caress away. They are the only mob that shows up in trios, and they will kill your rear end dead. Speaking of fighting, let's take a look at it!  System's fairly simple. We can attack, defend to reduce damage, run the hell away, use items or use skills. Drive is grayed-out because we have no vehicle. It would toggle whether we are in or out of the vehicle. This enemy is a Psycho Cycler. It is a robotic kitchen knife on a unicycle. In the upper right, you will see icons. The icon furthest right is the person who gets the next turn.    It is the weakest enemy in the game and is not even able to break our Protector, which reduces the damage to 1.   On death, it explodes. Every enemy explodes. Even the biological ones.  And we get our rewards! We head on and take a fork early in the dungeon. There is no map for Junk Mountain and the place is a giant mess of brown, so I won't be trying to chart my path here at all. We find this guy.  Hunter: Th-There's no treasure past here, OK? Just turn around, already! We can't get past him now - Max is too polite to shove him out of the way. So we turn and go. For now.    This is what treasure in Junk Mountain is. You find chunks of rubble that are slightly different than the ones that make up the walls, and you shove them in your pocket. After we get through the place, we'll return to the kid at the front of the dungeon and trade them for items we can use to make things later. We head through the dungeon, fighting monsters. Most are simple enough, but some are annoying. Monsters of Junk Mountain  Giant Slugs are your best bet for farming cash in Junk Mountain. They have one attack: Spew. They spit damage at you.  Spider Tanks aren't - they might be the bounty mob right now, but they're very annoying before you get a vehicle. They can take two hits from Max on foot, see. This is a problem, because they don't attack. Rather, they either use Wander About, which makes them walk in place, or Flee, which gets them out of the fight without any rewards.  Psycho Cyclers are, well, trash.  Scrap Zombies are also trash. They can attack, but they also often use Groan, a move that makes them do nothing.  Their recolor, the Junk Zombie, is much more dangerous. Do not face them without a vehicle. Eventually, after fighting monsters and gathering Junk, we find this guy.  Hunter: Well, if I were you, I'd turn around right now. Seriously. : ......Hunter: Trash Heap's over there, y'see? You've heard of it, right? I thought I'd make some extra cash by killing it, but there's no way I can do that all by myself. Now, if I could just find a vehicle, it'd be a different story. I could equip it with the cannon I found back there a ways and... ...Well, I don't have a vehicle, do I? So it doesn't look like I'll be killing Trash Heap any time soon. Not with that attitude, you won't! We head on further in and find a tank.  It's completely busted. SPECIAL BONUS EDIT: If you examine the busted tank again... On second inspection... It's still a scrapped vehicle. And again... It's junk, OK? That isn't going to change, no matter how many times you look at it. And again... It looks more run down each time you look at it. And again... Staring at trash is kind of a stupid way to waste time. And again... Maybe you could use it to build a fort! And again... No, wait... It's just junk. And again... There's nothing hidden in there, so you might as well stop looking. Well, that's no good. As I head further, though, we have a problem.  (Click here for video!) I ran into some Junk Zombies. They got the drop on me, too - Max is usually fast enough to go first, but sometimes you don't get lucky. Especially since I haven't healed yet, so I am in prime position for these guys.    They manage to reduce me to exactly 0, between three Scrap Guns. The screen fades to black.   But Igor is there to save us!    : Would you look at that... It actually worked!: I respect Dr. Mortem. He continue research no matter what people say. He is not type to live with half a heart.Surely so, Igor. We head back to the mountain, making our way around again. This time, we make it to our goal.    I went with Sam because the Buggy is going to be our little buddy! It's fast, light, not very good at taking hits compared to other tanks and it kills things pretty dead. To get into it, we use the Drive option from the pause menu.  We can have one tank per character, plus one tank we drag behind our actual driven tanks. Let's look at tank equipment!  Tanks have a Chassis, an Engine, a C-Unit, a Sub Gun and a Main Gun. (Some have other slots, but this is the simple version.)  The Chassis determines what slots it has for weapons and how much ammo the main gun has. That Durability determines how likely the thing is to break in combat. Like all tank gear, it has a weight in tons. It also gives us +5 Defense while in the tank. Handy!  The Engine determines how much the tank can carry. The Donkey provides 8 tons of Load. That means it can carry total tank gear up to 8 tons of weight. Durability applies to each tank part seperately.  The C-Unit is the computer that runs the tank, which is why each tank only needs one crewman. Its main job is to provide bonuses. In this case: +19 defense.  The Sub Gun is your main weapon for most combats - it has infinite ammunition. The 7.62mm Gatling is significantly stronger than our Slingshot.   He's a beauty, that car. Let's see him in action.  The armor is good enough that none of the enemies can deal damage to us - not even the Junk Zombies.  And we can kill any of them in a single shot.    Catharsis! Now, we backtrack and head down another path.  This is our new main gun.  Unlike the Sub Gun, it has ammo - 20 shots, total, before it needs to be refilled. It also has a higher weight and a much higher Attack value. Putting it on has made us overweight and rendered Sam unable to move.  So we dump armor tiles. Every armor tile is one HP for the tank. Tank HP is there to absorb damage before it can get to your tank parts. As long as you end an attack above 0 SP - that's what they call tank HP - then your tank parts are safe.  And it looks cool, too. We head on now, to confront Trash Heap.  Soldier: You'd better be really sure that you wanna fight that thing. By my estimation, you'd have to be at least level 3 to even survive. ...Any lower than that, and you're just asking for trouble. I value my life, though, so I'm gonna head back. See you... I hope.  Wimp. We move on and find Trash Heap.  (Click here for the boss fight.) Trash Heap is a very simple boss. He hits things.  Like so. He goes first, and that's all he does for a bit.  Now that we've got a Main Gun, though, we have an option, too. That 20 is our ammo tracker. We have 20 shots. More than enough.  Even if it's not the most impressive gun. Eventually, Trash Heap will do something new.   I believe what this means is that he is now willing to use his special attack. However, I've never been sure what it is actually telegraphing. I defended a few times in case he was about to launch it, but no luck.    He does throw rocks, but thanks to my defending, it doesn't do anything. Eventually he does for the special, though, Super Strike.    While I get lucky for a bit, he eventually manages to take out all my SP.  I got lucky, though - he only damaged the C-Unit, he didn't break it or damage a gun. So, yeah, I get fewer benefits from the C-Unit - I've never been sure how much it degrades, but there is some. I got lucky - none of his later hits damaged anything else, so I could pound him down. I'd still have been able to if he head, but I might have had to get out of Sam. Max would be at risk then.   But he goes down, right enough. Monsters  On the way back, I decide to show off Remote Laser. 200G is only a handful of fights, after all.  Not too shabby, but not usually worth the cost of renting the death laser.  This is the area that guy stopped us from entering before. It contains a Shotgun and some Camo Fatigues. I put the fatigues on Max immediately, but hold off on the Shotgun. It is actually weaker than the Slingshot...but it hits every enemy on the field. Since we're going to be inside a tank, that's not that useful right now. Now, let's head back to the garage.  : Oh, Max. You found a vehicle already, huh?: ......: Now that you have a vehicle, you're a real rookie hunter. ...I guess I should explain how to use the garage. Most towns oyu come across will have a garage. Some have Repair Shops where you can fix damage to your vehicles. Or, there may be a Service Station where armor tiles and shells can be replenished. There are also Mod Shops to upgrade chassis and other parts. The garage is an important facility for hunters to use, so look for one whenever you enter a new town. Our garage has something called a Parking Lot. You can park vehicles there. It should be pretty obvious. If you park here instead of outside, you won't end up with bird poo and mushrooms all over your vehicles. Your father says you can use it freely, so make good use of it. I'll send an eMessage repeating everything I just told you... ...In case you forget. In any event, good luck!Yes, we can get bird poo poo and mushrooms on our tank. Bird poo poo is no real problem, but mushrooms add additional weight to no benefit. If we get them, we have to remove them down at the Tank Wash. Now, let's get repaired.  I ask for repairs.    : *sigh* Son, nothing in life is free, you know that. Besides, if you can't afford things like this, you should probably think twice about this whole hunter thing.God, fine, Mom. I'll pay! We get the C-Unit repaired, but we still have no SP.   The Service Shop is where you go for that. They can reload your main gun ammo and replace your lost tiles, which provide your SP. You can refill them all, as I did, or you can custom-order less if you want. Always be sure to do this last at a garage - changing up your tank gear will usually mean shedding some weight, and that's a waste of cash.  Speaking of shedding weight...this is the Storage Room. You only have 64 Inventory slots, see - and you can't store tank gear in them. Tank gear must be carried on a tank, where it adds weight even if unequipped. Thus, we'll be offloading anything we don't need here. I drop off the stuff we grabbed in last update, plus what we got for the Junk - a mix of Claw Blades, Drill Sheaths, Drill Blades and Assault Barrels. Those are all parts to construct items later. We head downstairs next and grab a Healing Capsule, then visit the Mod Shop.   Here, you can pay cash to alter the stats on your tank parts. All mods increase weight at least some. You can icnrease Durability and Ammo on a Chassis, Durability and Max Load on an engine, Durability and Attack on weapons, and so on. Right now, we won't be changing anything - Sam's good to go for a little bit.  Once the intro is over, we can also come to Rent-a-Tank to get preloaded tanks, if we need any. We won't be renting too many tanks unless we have to.   Tank Wash: Dirty vehicle? Not a problem for Shiny's Tank Wash. Bird poo got you down? Not at Shiny's Tank Wash! Is there fungus among us? There isn't at Shiny's Tank Wash! Come back whenever duty calls!  On the other side of the garage, we can head down to the Parking Lot. Looks lonely right now, but we'll fill her up eventually. Now, off to the Hunter's Office!  Oh, right, we can't drive tanks indoors.   Not a bad haul, all things considered. Next time: we finally leave Junkyard. Emails   
Mors Rattus fucked around with this message at 19:12 on Mar 30, 2014 |
|
#
¿
Mar 20, 2014 22:35
|
|
|
Matthews posted:You didn't show off the extra text for the busted tank. I only examined it once - I forgot it had any. I'll go back and grab it. E: there. Mors Rattus fucked around with this message at 23:40 on Mar 20, 2014 |
|
#
¿
Mar 20, 2014 23:33
|
|
|
Sadly, we haven't gotten that track on our Satcom yet - if we did, I'd be playing it all the time.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 20, 2014 23:52
|
|
|
Glazius posted:Yeah, what does the Doc's resurrection do for you, exactly? Does it take half your money or something, or are you just kicked out of the dungeon? You just get kicked out of the dungeon (or wherever you are) to Junkyard. If you had a vehicle, it would get left behind and you'd have to go get it unless you had a way to recall it to your location. You lose no money or anything - Mortem just really enjoys his work.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 21, 2014 02:31
|
|
|
I personally am poo poo at the customization tool, but I am pretty sure I can import custom tank patterns you make if you can provide me with the save file for the paint job. I think. I'd have to test it?
|
|
#
¿
Mar 23, 2014 17:44
|
|
|
Updates will come over the weekend - my brother's birthday is coming up and I don't have time right this second, but will afterwards. Those are some great pictures - how'd you do it? Just taking the time to erase out all the non-head parts? That's the only way I could figure out and I decided it'd be too much work for the benefits provided.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 25, 2014 21:55
|
|
|
GIMP wasn't cooperating with the magic wand - every time I tried, especially with Nina it would keep selecting her face or hair along with the cruft.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 26, 2014 05:50
|
|
|
Update Four: Marriage Is What Brings Us Together Today When we leave Junkyard, we get an email. You can see it at the bottom, as usual. We head southeast from town to find a new area.   Currently, there is nothing in the Impound Lot, but if we leave a tank sitting around outside too long, it will show up here. This also happens if we somehow lose a tank in a place we can't salvage it ourselves. The place has no cover, so tanks left here will get bird poo poo and mushrooms on them. Bird poo poo is purely cosmetic, but mushrooms have weight and therefore reduce your tank's maximum SP. From the Impound Lot, we follow the remains of a highway northeast, towards a river, where we find a new area.   This is a Trader Camp. They have various shops and can be very handy when you're grinding. Our actual destination is Newfork, that blue dot on our minimap. While here, we check out the tents. In the first is a free slingshot. In the second is a guy.  Trader: Well, no matter what it is, you'd never be able to find it on foot. ...S'gotta be some way to find out. This is a hint to find one of the other tanks, but we don't have the item we need to get it yet, and if we did, we have no one to drive a second tank yet anyway.  Be careful when you roam the world map - tanks can't enter forests, and it can be very dangerous on foot if you don't have good armor and levels.  While you drive around, you can mash X to occasionally find items like this. The Sharp Rock, Smooth Rock and Beautiful Rock are all items you can use in battle. We've found a Sharp Rock here, and I never manage to find a Smooth Rock...at least, not so far. We've headed west along the riverbank - we need to cross the river to get to Newfork, and this is the easiest way to find the bridge. Just south of the bridge on the other side is another trading post.   The last one only had one shop, which sold the basic gear that Sam started with. Not much there for us. Here, there might be more. The trader in back sells tank gear.  One piece of it. It's a decent upgrade for our sub gun, and it deals electric-element damage, but the weight is noticeable and with our current engine, a bit too high. We'll come back for it later, once we upgrade from our basic engine.   Here in the only tent we can get into, an item shop sells Healing Drinks, which are the next step up in healing items - 100 HP per shot - and Thunder Grenades, which deal electrical damage in battle. We grab one of each. From here, it's a straight shot east to hit Newfolk. On the way, we run into various new monsters. I'll talk about them in a bit, though.  Once inside, it's time to do what we always do when we find a new area: talk to people! McKinley, of course, is waiting for us.  : Well, you see, before the Great Destruction, Newfolk was part of a large city. You can tell because the pavement is nicer than in other towns, and the buildings are better aligned. These days, since the desert north of the city is overrun with monsters, including several on the wanted list-- many hunters like yourself use this town as their base of operations. That's about all I can think of to tell you, so I'll be on my way. Hope to see you around!Once he runs off, we talk to the guy standing nearby.  Mercenary: This... is Newfolk! Oh... OK. ...thanks?   Woman: That's good to hear. The elder used to run a soda shop back in the day. I would buy sweets there with the money I earned salvaging junk. Well, that's nice! I like learning more about incidental characters. The elder was the old guy standing outside the entrance to Junk Mountain. Now we head into the first of the two garages in this town.  Rent-a-Tank is open for business and has two rental tanks ready, but we have no one to drive them yet. Once we do, we'll be stopping by.  I'd forgotten the first Assembly Shop was so close! I left the gear I need to assemble a new weapon back in Junkyard. We'll be stopping by later this update, though.   The Tianov is a great upgrade from the Donkey, so we grab one. We also upgrade to the 75mm Cannon for our main gun and grab a Teleporter. Teleporters are weightless and don't even have to be equipped - just on your tanks. They're cheap, so I put 'em on every tank I get. They are also very, very useful - they add a new option to the menu when in dungeons or the field. We'll see it in a bit.  The Shell Shop sells special shells for our main gun. This one sells spare shells, which are identical to normal ammo and electric shells, which deal electric damage. I've never really needed to carry spare shells, and I don't need electrical ammo right now. We head next door, to the other garage.  Nikolai is the guy that Nina asked us to talk to. : How have you been? I heard from Nina that you became a hunter.Don't ask me how he did it. Maybe McKinley told him. : Congratulations on fulfilling your childhood dream! If you're looking for a mechanic, consider my son or daughter. They still need more training, but they can repair most vehicles. I'd go with you myself, but I'm too old to be on the road. Besides, I can't just up and leave this garage behind. : I guess I'm just set in my ways, hahaha! Well, I'm sure I'm just boring you. Anyway, those kids are around here somewhere... Why don't you try talking to them?We could, but I'm going to talk to Nikolai again.  See, Nikolai handles tank painting. He'll paint any tank you own, but not rented tanks - he could get in trouble doing that, see. Let's take a look at tank painting.  We could mess around with the custom paint job editor, but I suck at using it. If you want me to use a custom paint job, make it yourself and upload the save file containing it for me. There are, however, a number of automatic paint jobs we could get.             Please feel free to vote on which you want for Sam, if any!   This garage also has a supply shop for armor and ammo, and a repair shop if we got damaged. But let's talk to the girl in pink wandering the floor.  : Haven't seen you in a while. There will be no vote about naming party members - I'm going with default names. Misha is one of our potential Mechanics! We'll be using both, at various points, but for now we will be voting on which one we want. We've been friends with Misha for years, despite the fact that she lives across a monster-filled wasteland from us. I guess Eddy took Max to visit.  : My dad has been training me to be a mechanic.: ...... : So, what brings you here?: ......: Oh, you have a proposition for me?: ...... : Ok, fine with me. I'm not busy. That marriage offer is tempting, though...she seems nice! Anyway. We head upstairs.   : Did you really become a hunter?: ...... : Hey, don't tell me you forgot who I am! C'mon, you remember my name, don't you? Kiriya is Misha's older brother, and has also been our friend since we were kids. He's our other possible Mechanic.  : What? Are you serious? Well, if you change your mind later, don't expect me to go with you.He totally will.    In the meantime, we steal Kiriya's baseball bat, Misha's lightning rod and Nikolai's insulator. The former two are decent melee weapons, though Max can't use the Lightning Rod, but the latter is just an item. Then it's off to great Nikolai's wife.  : Feel free to drop by when you're in the area! I worry about you!We grab a Big Medal and make our way out, heading to the bar next door. Once inside, it's time to meet three more important people.    : So far, we've uncovered nothing but trivial information.: I see. This area is still untouched. There's no need to rush things. Take as much time as you need.: Understood.: OK, Boss.Wonder what that's about. We go talk to the lady at the bar. She sells us information - we can pay 100, 200 or 400G for it. For 100G, she'll just mention that Dragon Choppers drop eyeballs worth good money. For 200, she'll mention they're east of here, between the river and the mountains. For 400, she says she used to hunt them years ago, when there were a lot of Dragon Choppers, and that there's a convenient camp near their area. Furthermore, she adds, they'll die to a single Thunder Grenade. Next, we head to the bar. I need a drink.   Good stuff!  Trader: I've been waiting for my friends, and they're still not here. Their camp's just northwest of here, so it shouldn't have taken this long. Don't they know that time is money in the business world!? Argh! This is a hint about some trouble later.  This guy is actually just explaining durability. No matter how powerful your main gun is, if it breaks, then it's useless! So upgrading your gun's durability at a mod shop and making sure it's powerful are both important.  Guy: the League of Uncivilized Barbarians. They've been making a name for themselves in the West. People say they're fearless, attacking traders even criminals wouldn't mess with. They've been wreaking havoc everywhere, except in towns, thankfully. Sounds like trouble. His drinking companion, though...  (Click here for video!) Man: Oh, really? Then let's see who can drink more! If we had multiple party members, we could pick who plays the minigame.  We have one minute to down five drinks. Milk is the easiest. You drink by mashing X, which makes your Drink meter go up and the amount of liquid in the glass go down. Milk raises the Drink meter slowly per push of X.  This bubble tea raises it faster. When you hit the Danger area on the drink meter, best to lay off for a bit - if you max it out, you will cough and sputter and lose time you could be drinking in. Vinegar is the hardest we'll run into in this game. It's still easy.  There is no reward whatsoever. The old man at the bar will drop the name Red Fox but won't tell us anything about it. We grab the game off the arcade machine and grab the MP3s from the jukebox. We'll look at our games in a bit. Now it's time to talk to the man in the suit.   : Mankind once flourished in a way the people of today can't even imagine. But one day, their prosperous civilization suddenly collapsed. The reason for this is unknown. What seemed a horrible nightmare quickly became people's daily reality.: ......: However, not all of mankind resigned itself to this harsh life. There is an organization working to restore the prosperity of the past. I am a member of that organization, and these are my subordinates. I've been asked to research the technology of our predecessors, and if possible, to obtain samples. So you see, our interests coincide with those of hunters like yourself.: ......: If you head north through the desert, you'll run into some interesting ruins. Also, northwest of there, but south of East Zero, is a facility rumored to have been built before the Great Destruction.: Are you sure it's OK to trust this kid, Boss?: It's not a concern. There are many monsters in these areas. It's a perfect opportunity for a hunter to make himself useful.: Good point, Boss. We don't get paid by the kill...: Yes, thank you for "clarifying" that. Now, back to business. The technology from before the Great Destruction is often beyond our immediate comprehension. If you find anything that seems promising, please inform us. In return, we'll provide you with information on locations that a hunter such as yourself would profit by searching. That's what I meant when I said our interests coincide. So, what do you say? You scratch our back, and we'll scratch yours.: ......: You hunters are quite a resourceful breed. We'd appreciate any help you can give us. That said, we'll be on our way now. I'm certain we'll meet again. Well, that was...interesting. We head out and talk to another guy.  Repair Shop: Even so, he's like a god to us mechanics. Does that surprise you? Okay. We head to a nearby house.  Girl: Isn't that cool!?  Young Father: Now, I'll have to work even harder! In the next room, we steal the family's Camo Cap, a good armor upgrade for our hat.  Boy: No dustbunnies, either!  Young Mother: I feel like royalty!  Off to visit another man, who is outside the local teleporter.Soldier: He got rich working as a hunter, built a town, and named it after himself. It's just north of here. I hear he's retired now-- livin' la vida loca. Lucky bastard...    The town teleporter serves as a fast travel system between any teleporter units we've been to before. Very handy! Here in Junkyard, we get another email from Eddy and pick up some of the items I left behind. I notice, however, that I don't have the Junk I need to complete my assembly. I head back to Newfolk anyway. A man there warns us to be careful in the northern desert, and that the safest route is to follow the river, where we'll find trader camps. He also warns us not to go north of the desert, which is far too dangerous. Good advice! We head to a nearby house and steal a bugle and a photograph.  I feel kind of bad about this. Oh well! Time to talk to Hare Head!  : How far you've traveled, and how many people you've met... That's what determines your worth in this world!Vaya con Dios, Hare Head. We stop by the Hunter's Office and find the new hunt target and update our Outlaw roster.   The Dud S is not worth our time to grind. And now, there's an item we need, so it's time to head to the inn. We take the Economy Room for 30G. However...   Our sleep is briefly interrupted by a very annoying buzzing noise.  This is the real reason we stayed in this room. The Mine Detector is an item we'd otherwise have to purchase for more than 30G, and it is vital for finding hidden items! We also take arest in Normal Room #2 for another item.   ...the Gideons have been getting weird lately. Anyway, it's time to leave and find our Junk!   The Mine Detector looks like this. It will flash if an item is in its radius, and you can then pick that item up.   This is back near the first trader camp we visited. The Leather Jacket's a good armor upgrade, and the Uzi is like the Shotgun but twice as powerful. It hits everyone, and is about half as powerful as the Slingshot.    Sharp Rocks are usable in battle and deal poor damage...better than other rocks, if they hit, but they are extremely inaccurate, because they're hard to throw.    Beautiful Rocks are more accurate, but still can't deal much damage. Monsters  These things are chumps. They're fast and shoot missiles out of the sunflower face - the back actually has a missile launcher attached to it - but they can't even scratch us.  Iron Slugs would be worth hunting if they didn't run away all the time.  Magnum Cycles are nasty on foot, but in Sam, we can trash them easily.  These things are just annoying - they're bombs, and they fall on you, and then they explode. The explosion can be painful. Anyway, eventually we got that Junk we needed.    The Teleporter adds this to your menu. On the field, it lets you warp to any town you've visited. In a dungeon, it will warp you out to the field. No cost, you just have to be in a tank with a Teleporter.   Back at the Assembly Shop, I put this together. We got the first three items trading Junk to the kid at Junk Mountain. The Drill Claw is a melee weapon that's almost twice as powerful as the Slingshot. I equip it to Max immediately. Then it's time to play some games.  (Click here for video.) Frog Race isn't much of a game. You pick how much you want to bet, pick a frog and off they go. You cannot influence the race.   It's pretty cute, at least.  Crossfire is a game. It costs 100G per play, even downloaded, and it's pretty simple. You control a tank, and have to fire on enemy tanks and vehicles as they cross the screen and shoot at you. You can move horizontally and press X to fire.   Each enemy you hit drops a powerup you can get. I don't know what they all do.   If you get hit by a bullet or hit an ambulance or civilian running around, you take damage.  There is no reward. Anyway, let's go talk to Misha again, I'm feeling ready to settle down.  (Click here for the cutscene!)  : ......: ......: ......: ......: Ummm... Alright, count me in. : OK, if that's what you want.: ......: ......: I see. Basically, it's the "Please let me marry your daughter" scenario. : Oh my, I never knew that.: ...... Anyhow, I'm OK with it, but it's not what I think that matters. What's really important is that you two truly want to be together. Right, dear?: I agree. But, shouldn't we consult Max's parents too?: Yes... Leave that to me. : Hmm, I have no reason to object. If those two have made up their minds, then it's fine with me. You've already given them your blessing, right?: Yes, we have. We're very excited for them.: Nina, what do you think?: I don't know what to think. It's so sudden.: There's nothing to worry about! Our daughter is a very hard worker! She could be your apprentice!: I'm sure that's true, with you as her father.: She's well-trained. I guarantee it. Misha and Max would make a great team! She can work in the shop, while he manages the business.: I'm not worried about that... I just want them to be happy.: Well, it's decided then.       Misha became Nina's apprentice, and Max took over managing the garage. Their business grew, and they started a franchise known as Spiffy Tube, which boasted a 10-minute ammo change that left the competition in the dust. Spiffy Tube grew rapidly, popping up across the landscape, until it was the subject of a news expose titled "Crooked Arms Dealers" which sent the company into financial ruin. Max once again resumed his role as a hunter, this time training a new generation the subtle art of garbage picking.  Did you know that if you hold down X, the credits go by really fast?      Next time: Vote on which mechanic to take! Misha begins play with the title Novice Mechanic and the default skills Repair I (which repairs broken tank parts), Crash Landing (which makes high-flying enemies come down) and Cheer (which boosts Attack). Kiriya begins play with the title Mechanic's Son and the default skills Quick Fix I (which repairs tank parts in battle) and Crash Landing. Also, vote on what pattern you want to see on Sam. Emails   Music Track 07: Route 99  Track 08: Battle  Track 09: Hell's Keep (English)/Canon Eyes (Japanese)  Track 10: The Unforgotten (English)/The One Who Cannot Forget (Japanese) 
Mors Rattus fucked around with this message at 19:20 on Mar 30, 2014 |
|
#
¿
Mar 29, 2014 22:48
|
|
|
FredMSloniker posted:You have a duplicate image around 'be careful when you enter the world map'. Ninja edit: also around 'one piece of it'. Fixed!
|
|
#
¿
Mar 30, 2014 00:02
|
|
|
All the duplicates should be fixed now, and I clearly need to get my mouse and keyboard checked because my copy-pastes were not going through properly.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 30, 2014 00:11
|
|
|
FredMSloniker posted:Sad to say, you still have dupes around 'I'd forgotten the first Assembly Shop was so close!' Looks like you caught the rest, though! God dammit. Fixed.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 30, 2014 01:04
|
|
|
I have gone through and replaced all headshots with new, transparent versions. (Not the example ones - thanks for those! But I decided to use the ones I made, even though they are less good, because making 'em was a learning experience. Future headshots will hopefully be better, but these are the ones I am sticking with because replacing them through just four updates was a hassle.) Igor has the same headshot as before because the green background that takes up the entire thing is his shoulder.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 30, 2014 19:21
|
|
|
Sadly, only two. There totally are scenes for several other girls, just no endings.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 1, 2014 15:29
|
|
|
I don't think it's ever answered if all of the teleporter network predates the Destruction, but it probably does. Part of it certainly does. Update Five: gently caress Mine Detectors Since someone asked for it, this is the dialogue if you ask Misha to marry you while Kiriya is in the party. : What the hell!? You never said anything about this!: ......: ......: ......: ......: Ummm... Alright, count me in.: What!?And from there it is identical to the other one.  : Sounds like fun. I'll join you. The Will of Goon has spoken. Misha starts out only level 2 and notably weaker than Max. We give her the Lightning Rod, which can be equipped by mechanics, as well as some basic armor. (She starts out with Sneakers, though, which are a step up from Max's Sandals.)  I also grab some Pot Lids, the next step up in Protectors. Which does seem to imply that Stick-On Armor was basically a thin layer of paint or something.   At Rent-a-Tank, we grab Misha a tank to use. Tank rentals cost you 20% of all battle earnings, but have no up-front fee. They just drain your cash. Then, it's time to head out.  I grab the Thunder Blaster and shove it onto Sam. Now that the little guy has a new engine, he can handle the weight.  Electrical cannons look like this! Very nice damage, too. The main goal of this expedition, however, is back across the river and up north.  Right here.    We will have a vote to name this tank later, when I get to the tank renamer. I decided I didn't want to hold the update up, especially since it's not the only tank we'll be getting today.  The Demag is actually not strictly a tank, either - it's an ARV, possibly based on the German Bergepanther of World War II. Wikipedia claims that it is a Sonderkraftfahrzeug 251 Hanomag - an armored vehicle but not a tank, designed for troop tansport. In accordance with thread votes, Sam got Cold Steel paint - it won the coinflip - and the Demag got Snow Cat as the second place. The Demag, now equipped with guns after a trip back to Newfolk, will be Max's new ride. Misha will be taking Sam.   Beautiful, no? Now, we set out to head north towards the abandoned ruins that Alex told us about. Monsters of the Desert   Pocket Rockets are one of my favorite enemies. They can, in addition to kicking you, shoot missiles. They're not much of a threat.  Gatling Bees are a threat, primarily because of their annoyance value. They can fire their machine gun, but they like to use an attack called Pilebunker, where they stab you with their stinger. This not only does damage, but can damage or destroy tank parts. This is why Misha is probably the best choice here - Repair I is costly, at 200G per shot, and can only be used out of battle...but it will repair any tank part one step. Quick Fix, on the other hand, is usable only in battle, I'm fairly sure. One of the Gatling Bees broke my C-Unit on the Demag, rendering Max useless for the rest of the fight. If your C-Unit breaks, your tank can't do poo poo, since that's the computer that runs the entire drat thing.  Gatling Bees like to hang out with Black Hawk Flies. They aren't much of a threat, and the Eyeball is good loot. (Just be careful how much loot you have on hand when you enter a dungeon - 64 item inventory limit, remember. Best to offload your vendor crap to bartenders whenever you can. I do not always do this.)  Eventually, we make it here, to the ruins. They're pretty much a straight shot north of Newfolk. When we enter, we find Connie and Clive waiting for us.  : Well, we should still check it out... This place definitely predates the Great Destruction, don't you think? I say it's worth lookin' into.We drive up to them. : Oh, it's you. So, are you checkin' this place out? We're probably gonna be here for awhile. So let me know if you find anything worthwhile. We might even be willing to buy it off of ya.When we regain control, we can talk to them again. : Oh, hello there. I assume you heard the rumors and came running, huh?They don't have much to say. You can get Thunder Grenades at the local vending machine, incidentally. I wouldn't unless you have some room - they aren't really needed right now. We start out with the furthest building of the three we have to explore.    Just downstairs, we find our next tank, the Mosquito. As with the Demag, we'll get a vote to name it once we hit a town with a renamer. It won't be too long. The Mosquito, according to Wikipedia, is a Wiesel Armored Weapons Carrier, another non-tank. This one is a West German weapon, not a Nazi one. The moment we grab the Mosquito, a cutscene starts.  (Click here for the cutscene!)  : ...Nice to meet you. I'm Rosa Beldaire. Who're you?: ......: So, you're Max. I assume you're a hunter. I am too, though you probably couldn't tell by looking at me. I became a hunter because tanks really get my motor running. I'd rather collect big tanks than waste time fighting monsters. : That tank there is a Mosquito, by the way. There's supposed to be a tank somewhere around here, but...: ......  : Well... I don't NEED that tank, really... It's not anything special.: I guess he did find it first, so let's let him have it.: ......: Oh, sorry! You're still standing there... If I really wanted that tank, I'm sure you would have given it to me. But, I'll give you a break this time and we'll just say you owe me one. See you again soon! And they leave as unceremoniously as they arrived. Rosa's a Beldaire, of the Beldaire Beldaires. She's very, very wealthy.  I am quite pleased to find the Mosquito - it's not equipped, but it's a great mule right now. See, since tank equipment can only be carried on tanks, it's good to have a mule. A tank that's being towed doesn't get involved in battles and can be overloaded without any problems. The Mosquito's powerful engine is ahead of the curve, but its weight for a frame is also ahead of the curve - it's going to be low on SP for a while. until I take the time out to upgrade it. So it'll do nicely for carrying things, at least for now. We grab an Ingram Frame, a part for later assembly, at the glowing spot you saw before.   The other reason we're here is because this building has working tank elevators. We head up to the third floor to get some Large Ore and a Big Medal. Large Ore is another assembly item. This place does, incidentally, have monsters. Monsters of the Ruins  Rice Crookers can help each other escape battle, but they are otherwise not very notable.  The Grain Gunner is encountered mostly in the more on-foot parts of the buildings. It's still not a real big deal - it can hit hard, but it's not very accurate.   While most of the building has these helpful tank doors, tanks can't climb stairs. We head up on foot, grabbing a Revolver and Ski Mask and finding this. The Revolver's about on par with the Lightning Rod, but it's a ranged weapon, so it's a bit better.  ****: Security system activated to locate intruders. ...Boot up complete. We then immediately turn it off, because that deactivates the security but leaves the power on. ****: Security system has been deactivated. ...Process complete. We head back to our tanks and loot some Unknown Ore from the first floor.  Then it's off to this building. Right inside, we get the Strange Hilt.  Oops! You really have to pay attention to your inventory! I use up some of my consumables to make space. They're there to be used, and because of the space concerns, the game does not play well if you try to hoard them. I'd taken some damage so far, so I patch that up. There are some consumables to loot, but I ignore them - they're wasted space right now.  Now that the power is on, these elevators are running, too. This building has 3 floors but no basement. Up at the top floor, we pick up a 75mm Cannon, which goes onto the Mosquito for transport. We also get some sneakers. On the second floor...well, there's a Big Medal.  And bird poo poo. We head to the building next door, where we can get out of our tanks and go behind the counter for a Pot Lid and a Flight Jacket, which is an upgrade for Misha's armor. Max's is already better.  Time to head in on foot. We head up two flights of stairs, then down another, to find a switch.   Downstairs, we get the Boomerench, a mechanic-only weapon that hits everyone on the field, is ranged and does extra damage to flying enemies. Misha takes it and won't be letting go for a while. Not that, ideally, she is outside her tank much, but still.  Back to the other door, we find some gloves, and then head upstairs to the door that used to be locked.  This one. Inside is a Strange Sheath, for assembly. Upstairs is a Zapper, which is exactly like the Revolver but dealing electric-element damage, so it's better.  We get back to the tanks and head down the nearby ramp to the parking lot, where we get an Assault Slide. Also for assembly. Once we leave the building...   : Aha! Just as I thought. There wasn't much left in here, anyway.: Tch... What a waste of time.: At least we didn't have to do anything.If we talk to them again... : Oh, hello there. Did you find anything of value yet?: Oh, hey. So... didja find anything good? ...Hmph. I guess we're not really that interested in any of that. If you do find anything, let us know ASAP, OK? See ya later.And they leave. There is no bossfight at the ruins. However, on the way back...  (Click here for the outlaw fight!)   Buggsy, like Trash Heap, is a very simple fight. You shoot him with your Main Gun, over and over. He does have a few more visually interesting tricks, though. Mostly, he uses Missile.    Missile can take a few different paths towards the party, but it always deals minor damage to everyone. He can also use Headlights.   For some reason, this lowers Defense. Lastly, he can Tackle.   Tackle is very inaccurate, but when it hits, it does large damage and damages a tank part, much like Pilebunker did before. The loot is another Special Junk. I take it to Newfolk, where I use the teleporter to stop by Junkyward and drop poo poo off at the storage facility, then sell my crap at the bar.  We also turn in the reward for Buggsy. 1500G is pretty nice. Then it's back to Newfolk to paint the Mosquito. I go with Twilight, since it was the third place vote.  And now, I suffered.   These were twelve minutes of my life. The first one wasn't so bad to find, as the guide I'm using found a good landmark to use to tell where it was. The second was ten of those twelve minutes, as I scoured the desert with my Mine Detector for a little blip. The first one is probably more worth it, since the second can't be mounted on any tank we own. The first is a good gun for tanks. Both went onto the Mosquito for travel. But seriously, folks, gently caress hidden items. I have no idea how anyone found these without a guide. They are in the middle of nowhere, with no sign that they might be there until you use a Detector in the right area, revealing the glowing blip for a moment.  Anyway, off towards East Zero, to the northwest. There's a trader camp out here. I am avoiding it now, because it contains an event we are not equipped to handle at the moment. We'll be back for it later. It'll keep. But first, we have some more hidden items to find. Yay.  This one gave me little trouble, at least. It's good armor. I took a break to head back to Newfolk to offload some crap and learned that there was a new bounty!  I think I avoided seeing these at all by turning off the security system. I head back to find the last hidden item before East Zero, but...  poo poo!  SShitshitshit! I got really lucky here - if this thing gets an attack off, it will tear through at least one tank. It will eat the entire SP bar at the moment, plus at least one piece of gear. I ran for my life and headed north, away from that thing. The best way to avoid this unstoppable killing machine at the moment is to stay out of the desert and stick to the rocky or grassy areas on the edges.  I haven't even used the Shotgun or Uzi yet and I already have an upgrade for thme. This one's a bit more powerful than the Uzi but not much. Monsters Near East Zero  Speed doesn't really matter when you can't hurt a tank. Pogo Cadets can't.  Punks can take a hit, but my tank guns can still beat them easily.  The Bazooka Pooch is good for grinding cash - its drop is good as a sale item. And yes, it's a dog with a bazooka on its back.  Dragon Choppers are basically the same as their recolors earlier.  Mr. TNT is a pushover if you have a tank.  We finally reach East Zero. Our first stop, of course, is McKinley.  : OK. Well, the first thing you should know about East Zero is that there's a Continental Railroad station here! If you're looking to travel west, this is the place to come. For that reason, it's a lively town with a lot of opportunities. At the same time, you should watch your back. That's really all there is to tell. I've gotta get going now. See ya around!We head up near the station to talk to another guy.  This man is vitally important. If you don't talk to him, then you will not be able to start the events that will eventually get you an amazing tank. Hunter: By the way, this is my new baby... I hired a tank broker to find it for me, heheh. It wasn't cheap, but every serious hunter has got to have one! Anyway, the guy's name is MC Hamir. He's probably still at the bar. If you're thinking of getting another tank, then why don't you have him look for you? See ya around, buddy! He drives off, and we go talk to someone new.  Cowgirl: Well, the saloon's always lookin' for waitresses. It's not a bad job... ...as long as you don't mind gettin' your bottom pinched by the regulars. : ......Cowgirl: Oh yeah, there's a forest southwest of here. Folks say they hear strange sounds there at night. : ...?Cowgirl: I hear tell it sounds somethin' like a howl...  Cowgirl: You're despicable! You want me to fill you full of lead? ...Oh yeah, I forgot... This gun doesn't have any bullets in it. If you're polite, she'll mention that she thinks it's dogs. I couldn't get the text for that, though, due to forgetting to save beforehand. Now we head into the station and talk to a family that I wouldn't consider important to show if they didn't vanish right after.  Rich Mother: You'll love going to school in Lorelei Bay. Rich Kid: Yes, Mother. I'll be sure to study hard so I can be smart like my brother. Rich Dad: Now, you be careful, son. And remember, if you like it, you can stay longer. More important is an old woman.  Rich Old Woman: I wonder where she went. The poor dear is probably looking for it right now. We head out and go to the warehouse next door.  Transporter: I hate going there, there's nothing fun to do once I get off work. Newfolk's such a poor town, too. I'd make more up north or out west... I need to hurry up and get my own vehicle. His buddy nearby has more tourist info we might want. Transporter: I usually go to Beldaire, it's a nice town with a lot of rich people. I love making personal deliveries there because they give such big tips. Actually, the real reason I like it there is because it's filled with beauties. We grab some goggles and head out next door.  : ...?Lady: Oh, you're not from the market. I beg your pardon. We sell our turnips here. Unfortunately, all the turnip leaves turned yellow from the acid rain. Our entire harvest failed to meet standards. So, now we're forced to sell it per lot here.  : ...?Trader: You see, out west, there is a trade council that regulates and restricts the amount of goods that can be bought and sold throughout the area. They don't want supply to exceed demand because then their prices would drop. If we shipped these goods, they would revoke our right to trade out there. Those same guys also regulate the trains and the fuel supply.  : ...?Trader: Well, it's not exactly a secret... These goods are being held up here to increase prices out west. If these goods were shipped now, we would still earn a fair profit. Then, the owner could get rid of these goods, and I could go back home. But, those guys out west want to make as much money as they can... I'm insulted by their blatant attempt to price gouge our loyal customers. We also grab a Jambiya, a decent melee weapon, and head out to talk to a great new friend.  : Curry is good for you; eating it will make you happy. Please try some. As a hunter, you need a strong body. Curry will keep you healthy. Then, you will be able to capture many outlaws and make lots of money! : Namaste. Would you like a Curry Lunch? You can have it to go. It's only 150G.We buy one. It's a decent healing item and not too expensive. Then it's off to see another important new character, if a faceless one.  Master: Skills are special techniques that can be learned by hunters, mechanics, soldiers, and even dogs. They can be used during battle or while on the overworld map by selecting the "Skill" command. However, not every skill will be useful in every situation, and using a skill costs money. The exact amount varies by skill. Each party member can learn up to 6 skills. After that, they must first forget a skill to learn a new one. That's where we Masters will come in handy. It won't cost you anything to forget a skill, but there will be a fee to learn a new one. Ah, and one more thing... There are two types of skills: Auto and Action. Auto Skills automatically take effect when you enter battle, and thus, their cost is automatically deducted at the beginning of a fight. Action Skills, on the other hand, must be selected to be used. Note that some skills can only be used with certain weapons. ...Phew. That's it. I'm sure you're tired of listening to me, but I'm tired of talking too. We'll look at skills later, though, this is getting long enough. We loot some Bug Spray and Big Medals, then head to the bar.  Soldier: I saw one being transported to Beldaire a long time ago. I guess they need that sort of thing over there. I wouldn't be able to equip something like that to my vehicle. If only I had an anti-aircraft tank like the Gepard... : ......Soldier: I hear that there are some troublesome monsters near Beldaire. Supposedly, they can shoot at you from outside your normal range of attack. You'll need to equip some serious SE to defeat them. It may cost a lot to reinforce your vehicle, but it'll be worth it. We have no tanks with SE weapon slots, though. So let's talk to that man in the hat.  ...huh. : I am gaining much richness because of my tank finding! Cha-ching! Easy money, it is!Waitress #1: Wow, that's incredible! Waitress #2: Is it that easy to find a tank? : It is not being easy, baby! But, with skill such as that of my own, it is like taking the candy from the child!Waitress #1: I'm so impressed! Waitress #2: Wow! : Hahaha... Huh? What is it that you are wanting?We could ask him to get us a tank, but we don't have the cashflow to work with MC Hamir. Yet.  : Then, take the hike.We can then talk to a hunter and ask him to tell us a story. Hunter: A story....? Well, I guess I could tell you about my first job as a hunter. I never met my client face to face, but I was told he used to own a soda shop. He sent me an envelope filled with 100G, and a note instructing me to buy a butterfly knife. Had I more experience, I would've smelled a rat, but I was young, like you. When I arrived to make the buy, some punk stuck a pistol in my ribs... ...I made it out alive--with both the 100G and the butterfly knife... But to this day, I'm still looking for that man who used to own a soda shop. Funny, didn't the Elder used to run one? Not that we can do much about it. Anyway, he'll also tell us that that if we get a Shock Absorber, it will make us immune to bombs (but can break from non-bomb damage). And now, minigame time!  (Click here to watch the dancing!) If we accept, we get to have a level 1 dance lesson.   It's pretty simple. There's no rhythm to it - it's just a memory game.  It can get long, mind you.   Success gets us a synchronized dance and the Dance Earrings, which I am fairly but not completely sure have no use. We sell off our poo poo, then wind down with a drink.   Next time: Man's Best Friend. Mors Rattus fucked around with this message at 19:17 on Apr 4, 2014 |
|
#
¿
Apr 2, 2014 01:36
|
|
|
Oh, right. I thought I mentioned that! But I didn't show it off in video, even if I did. If you hold down L2 while in a battle, it skips all animations and moves at like ten times normal speed.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 2, 2014 02:01
|
|
|
FredMSloniker posted:Your 'click here for the cutscene' link is broken. Fixed. I can't manage to actually get an update done without some kind of fuckup, can I?
|
|
#
¿
Apr 2, 2014 04:59
|
|
|
Insert name here posted:You also messed up the [img] tag for the first screenshot in the warehouse after you leave the train station. Of course I did. Fixed. Hopefully this is my last screwup here.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 2, 2014 05:16
|
|
|
Nick Buntline posted:Also, a question: how much are you going to keep to the "correct" sequence of events? Specifically, are you getting the fourth party member as soon as you have the cash, or is that being left until everything on this side of the train is done? Either's fine, I'm just curious. The latter. For one, the tank renamer's on this side. I may change my mind if I get bored, though.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 3, 2014 00:22
|
|
|
Siegkrow posted:So, this convinced me to try out the game. But, well, I'm trying out the mosquito and it's quite good if you upgrade it's engine, use the Storm cannon and the Tap dancer (Since you can configure it to use SE isntead of Main Cannons), upgraded both weapons nad it's kicking rear end all the way from here to monroeville. Hell, even did that camp you didn't want to do without any major problem. Yeah, the Mosquito is actually quite good - I'll probably start using it soon. I'm playing cautiously, but I probably don't have to be as cautious as I am.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 4, 2014 20:20
|
|
|
This is not an update! But expect an update around Monday. These past two weeks have been a bit unpleasant for me, but I should finally have a chance to do stuff then.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 17, 2014 17:49
|
|
|
Update Six: Dogs We've got a short update today, since we have a major decision that came earlier than I remembered!    With Bug Spray, mosquitos are no problem!  We grab this, and then it's time for a night in the Deluxe Suite.    When examined...the Royal Soap is a luxurious scented soap with a silky feel and a princely smell. The Royal Robe is a luxurious robe of fine fabric that feels good on the skin. The Royal Slippers are luxurious slippers, soft and comfortable, that feel nice on the feet. None have any use.  The thread also reminded me of a feature I'd forgotten aobut: the ability to set up the Satcom config menu to use the unused buttons to automatically do various things. One of them is 'use detector', making metal detector spam that much less annoying. Very handy! We take our tanks over to the local part shop.  With the Bull, we now have the ability to use the Mosquito rather than just drag it around. The massive Load increase makes for a huge upgrade over our last engine. I also take the chance to swap out some of our guns. The Demag gets an upgrade to its subgun and main gun.  The Mosquito has a similar layout, but is using the Storm Cannon sub gun, an all-targeting electrical attack. Sam has become our mule. We head over to the Hunter's Office to see what's new there.  We get a name for the local shark problem - the Hammer Hydra. Time to get an equipment upgrade!  The weapons are nothing new - we're fine as we are. But the army is important. We're going to need the new armor for our next trip, so I upgrade both Max and Misha to Goggles, Kevy Shirts, Brass Knuckles and War-Torn Boots. I also pick up a Dog Cannon for later. Then it's time for a short trip home.  With the Bull engines, we now have parts worth modding.   The Mosquito gets its gun and engine upgraded fully on Load and Attack. The Durability can sit where it is for now.   However, I decide to upgrade the durability on the Demag's engine and not fully upgrade the attack on its gun. It has a higher-damage gun to begin with, see, and a lighter frame. This was actually mostly a mistake on my part that I didn't feel like fixing - the damage would be more valuable right now, but I need my cash so that I can finish my new tank shopping trip.  Specifically, by loading up on massive amounts of armor plating. Then it's back to East Zero and southwards.  To reach our next destination, that red spot on the minimap, we have to enter the forest. A dangerous place!   Fortunately, we can handle dog assaults with our new armor, even if we can't ignore them.  This abandoned facility is a very important place! As we enter, we run into Connie and Clive again.  : But, what in the world could they have been researching?: Wasn't it called the Bio-Genetic Engineering Lab or something like that?: OK, and why would be interested in a genetics laboratory? Honestly, Clive, how did I let you talk me into this?: Ahhh, c'mon! I don't think it'll be completely useless... What if the machinery inside still works?: Well, that's not very likely, but... We might as well check.And they head into the ruins. There's nothing much in the first few rooms, but...  We can grab this in the corner.  All right. We'll head upstairs, then.  As we make our way up, though, we get ambushed.  We'll get a full list of the monsters I find in the ruins next time, but for now, these guys hit pretty hard.    Fortunately, so do we.   Further up, we find a room. In this room...  (Click here for video.) ...is a bunch of dogs in microwaves.  PA System: Accessing Plant No 1.   The microwaves hum and vibrate as they release each dog.  With each dog, we are given a choice: take it with us and name it, or not. The first dog, default name Shiba and default title Loyal Friend, is a Shiba Inu. Shiba begins the game with the Foxhunt skill, which can draw out-of-range enemies closer, and has the unique ability to learn the Shooting Star skill, a powerful jump attack. It should be noted: I don't get to control whichever dog we pick. It will use skills and abilities based on its own AI, which we can improve but not really control.    As you might notice, the dogs wander around the room once released. The second dog, default name Tosa and default title Yokozuna, is a Tosa - a Japanese fighting breed. He begins the game with the Headbutt skill, which charges an enemy and does damage. Tosa has two unique skills he can learn: Headbutt EX, which does damage to all enemies, and Sumo Stomp, which stuns an enemy.    The third dog, default name Terry and default title Mystery Mutt is probably a Boston Terrier. He begins the game with the Eye Beam skill, which does laser damage to one enemy, and can uniquely learn Fire Breath, which does fire damage to one enemy, and Transparency, which causes him to enter stealth and become immune to most damage until that stealth is broken.    The final dog, default name Bernie and default title Rescue Dog, is a Saint Bernard. He begins the game with two skills: Medicine Keg, which restores 250 HP to one character, and Revival Keg, which restores 200 HP to all characters. They don't even cost a lot. Very handy, when he decides to use them. Bernie can uniquely learn Medicine Keg 2, which heals 500 for one character, Barrier, which increases his defense, and Epidermythril, which automatically increases defense on entering battle. Please vote on a dog name and which dog you want to bring! We will only be using the other three to see Emily's reactions to them. Next time: Exploration and Hunting! Mors Rattus fucked around with this message at 20:20 on Apr 22, 2014 |
|
#
¿
Apr 21, 2014 19:49
|
|
|
Sir Unimaginative posted:Wait. How does the eye laser dog power his eye lasers? This is important. Money. (Not a ton of it, but money.)
|
|
#
¿
Apr 21, 2014 21:26
|
|
|
Glazius posted:Oh, good lord. Can the dogs drive tanks? CAN THE DOGS DRIVE TANKS? Unfortunately, the dogs refuse to drive tanks. This because they are roughly on par with tanks themselves.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 22, 2014 05:11
|
|
|
Blackunknown posted:Is Boozedog the only healer? If not is he a good healer, or is he quickly outclass by other healers? Other characters can learn healing skills. Bernie's a pretty good healers when he feels like doing it and will remain usable throughout the game...if he feels like doing it. The main issue he has is that he is run by the AI, not me.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 23, 2014 03:36
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ Apr 25, 2024 18:37 |
|
|
Current Votes Bernie: 22 Terry: 19 Shiba: 2 Tosa: 0 I am going to be cutting off the vote at noon, EST, tomorrow. And I'll pick whichever suggested name I like best, as always.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 23, 2014 20:24
|
|