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Nimsant posted:I'm Russian, and this is obvious to me, but I thought it may be not to some others. This word means "Gold" It wasn't obvious to me so I appreciate your post. Now the question is, is there any deeper meaning to this name? She's not even blonde.
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Jun 3, 2018 20:46
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Nimsant posted:I'm Russian, and this is obvious to me, but I thought it may be not to some others. This word means "Gold" Possibly an alchemical thing, but I like to think it's because there's nothing left to make her feel small, luck has left her standing so taaaaaaall! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntG50eXbBtc&t=46s
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Jun 3, 2018 21:15
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Kase moch posted:Now the question is, is there any deeper meaning to this name? She's not even blonde. Edward tells about the glint in her eyes immediately after. And maybe blond is farther from the actual gold color than Koudelka's general palette Mraagvpeine posted:Did it say what Alicia's power was that people feared? No. I just listened again. The best hint are (1) Alicia's mother cried "Stop! this girl doesn't know anything!" (2) Koudelka summarized the vision "This girl had powers that people don't have". Also, I have searched how many parts does the Drama CD have, and found the info on the shadow hearts wikia. It lists the actors, and one actor is cited as " Alicia Iasanto (Koudelka's mother)" Alicia can't possibly be anyone's mother, since she obviously died as a kid and her surname is not mentioned. It is possible that the same actor voiced her and Koudelka's mother, or maybe Koudelka's mother name is Alicia as well.
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Jun 4, 2018 09:13
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Probably mean that when she was born, her mother thought her to be as precious as gold, which would make her subsequent attempt to kill Koudelka even more heart-breaking for the woman.
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Jun 4, 2018 13:50
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Episode XXVII: Onward to the Endgame.jpg) Welcome back... presumably like at least an hour or so later since Koudelka and Edward have sobered up between scenes. Now that we have the nitroglycerine in our possession, it’s time to put it to good use... .jpg) ...By stuffing it into our inventory with the remaining .jpg) So the Gargoyle... The recommended level for facing this thing is around the mid-to-upper 60s. We are a wee bit short of that. That would take a good two plus hours of grinding and I’m not feeling that. So we’re going to put our timer unlocked items to good tactical use. First of all, we’re going to shift the formation slightly to have Koudelka start hanging out directly behind Edward in the front row. James is fine hanging out in the rear where he has been.  We’re also going to employ the Gargoyle Killer. Which will help quite a bit but won’t actually kill the Gargoyle in three hits at our current levels. Again, for the Gargoyle Killer to work as intended we’d have to grind up to Level 60+ and pump Edward’s strength about 40 or so more than where it currently is standing. Fun fact: HP values top out at “9999 HP” but it can actually exceed that. The game is just incapable of showing those values. Edward actually has somewhere around 12-13,000 HP with this weapon equipped. So that’s neat. Though we most certainly needed to take a pit stop at a permanent save point to top off Edward’s newly buffed HP. .jpg) The game gives us a warning and we have to hit a prompt to enter because there’s a gargoyle inside and that dude SUCKS. But hey, maybe if all three of us don’t immediately haul rear end and run this time we can take him. Isn’t that right, Edward...? .jpg) .jpg) We actually need to run clear across the church to trigger the Gargoyle boss battle. Which is kinda annoying since there’s still random battles that we’ll just have to immediately run from to keep our party Gargoyle ready. It’s the same trash mobs from when we were briefly in here at the end of Disc 2.  New Music: Waterfall ~ Live (It just actually plays the usual boss battle theme. But hey, here’s some spice.) .jpg) Gargoyle! Round 2! Here we go. It’s been a few hours since the start of All Saint’s Day so Gargoyle’s powers have waned... kinda... At least he’s no longer invincible/able to dodge absolute everything and effectively immortal. The creature does, however, have... 31,684 HP... Which is more health than every boss on Disc 3 and a healthy chunk of the ones on Disc 2... combined... So that’s problematic! Just for a future reference, the final boss of Koudelka only has 22801 HP. .jpg) The Gargoyle is no longer an idle boy. He is very active little fella now and will frequently take turns to attack. Particularly, the Gargoyle now comes packing a haymaker and a flying headbutt physical attacks. Both of which would normally do around 3000+ HP of damage. .jpg) However, Edward is in the front row so he’s the only one Gargoyle can hit with melee attacks. He’s also equipped with the Gargoyle Killer which grants +99 Vitality. Vitality is both HP and physical damage resistance rolled into one stat because Koudelka is a weird game like that. So instead of getting wrecked for several thousand damage, Edward will just completely no-sell it taking 0 damage instead. Even though Edward won’t actually lose any hit points from taking the hit, it’s still considered a strong enough attack that it will send Mr. Plunkett flying back one grid space... UNLESS, we have a party member directly behind him. Then he’ll just go flying straight up and land in the same space. Which is why we stuck Koudelka behind him before getting started. .jpg) We do NOT want the Gargoyle advancing in the field. Remember, if a monster advances on the grid past a downed party member, then we can no longer revive them and they’re effectively dead for the duration of the battle. Gargoyle is specifically programmed to immediately use his next turn (and he has a ton of Agility so he can always move after performing an attack) to advance past a downed party member like a jerk and take them out of the battle permanently. Real dick move! .jpg) So our strategy for taking out Gargoyle is not very exciting. But what else did you expect from Koudelka’s battle system at this point? Our chief order of business is going to be buffing the poo poo out of Edward’s strength stat. If we used Gargoyle Killer right now with his current stats, even with the tremendous boost he’s gotten he’d only do around the range of 5000 HP of damage. We’ve only got three hits with Gargoyle Killer. That’d only get us half way to beating him. .jpg) So instead we’re going to have everyone put their efforts into buffing Edward’s strength until he can at least do around 7500 HP of damage. Even Edward himself can chip in with this endeavor since even an idiot who barely knows what magic is will still do at bare minimum a +3 AP buff with any Fortify spell. Buffs last the duration of a battle so there’s no worry of it fizzling out unless the character in question gets KO’d or an enemy specifically casts a debuff. Gargoyle is not one of those enemies. .jpg) Koudelka can also contribute minimally with magic casts. They only do around 500-600 HP of damage. But it’s better than nothing. This is the solitary enemy where Roger’s Staff would have been remotely necessary. But we’re fine without it. You’d be surprised how much difference a few hundred HP of damage output can make. .jpg) Speaking of damage output, if we’re gonna use Gargoyle Killer we may as well use Chekhov’s Magic Scroll while we’re at it. Charlotte’s Book has been sitting in our inventory since 4:44:44. A Scroll is an extremely rare drop (a single enemy type, those Mars bobblehead looking aliens in the Library has an extremely rare chance of dropping ‘em) when used will cast a Level 4 version of a spell at max stats regardless of who is using its actual abilities. .jpg) So if Koudelka were at 99 Intelligence and Mind, this would be her damage output with Flare at Level 4. So that’s a decent chunk of his health burned off. Thanks, Charlotte. Hope we didn’t drat you to an eternal maelstrom of agony for lost spirits or anything when we forcefully exorcised you!  While Gargoyle will attack with physical strikes the vast majority of the time, he does have one magic attack that is quite an issue. Brace yourself when he turns into a spinning boy! .jpg) Gargoyle has a tornado attack. This will only do around 1400-1500 HP of damage to Koudelka or James. Edward will take a 3500+ damage toll. The major issue with this attack is it tosses on status effects. All the status effects. Paralysis, Poison and Silence are all rolled into the Gargoyle’s Tornado. .jpg) That character is effectively out of the battle if it gets hit with this unless they’re cured with a Panacea. Unfortunately... we’re only carrying three of those at this point and the only enemy that drops any is clear across Nemeton Monastery and it’s a very rare drop from an enemy that is only in one of about five potential mobs. So that’s a pretty severe issue we have here. A bit of a race against the clock because Gargoyle uses two rounds for physical attacks and the third round is its tornado again. .jpg) So coming down to the wire, we’ve got Edward able to dish out around 7500 HP of damage three times. Plus that 6800 or so damage Charlotte’s Book did. That leaves us just shy of what we need to beat Gargoyle with all our trump cards played. .jpg) As soon as Gargoyle Killer is broken, Edward’s stats return to normal levels meaning he’s down to only 3721 HP and can no longer face tank Gargoyle’s blows. As a result... .jpg) .jpg) Edward is instantly obliterated by the next Tornado cast. Though thankfully, he’s the one who took that hit since Edward is COMPLETELY worthless now and we’re out of panacea by this point. You were the MVP of this fight even if you’re not going to be conscious to see it through to the end. .jpg) I was quite worried this was a wasted effort and I’d have to go grind for a couple hours to do this “right” since the next two attacks would certainly murder the hell out of James and Koudelka. However... I went for one last ditch magic cast and... .jpg) Wouldn’t you know it! Old Gargoyle only had less than 350 HP left. I’ve never been so relieved to have just barely cheesed a super boss after a fifteen minute fight. Eat poo poo, Gargoyle! .jpg) So remember how I said it was fine that Edward was dead, despite this game doing the obnoxious thing of awarding zero experience points to characters KO’d at the end of battles? Well guess what? Gargoyle doesn’t give out any EXP. He’s by far the hardest boss in the game. If you can beat him you can beat anything! Why would you need to be stronger? What? To make the extremely tedious battles go by faster? Pfft... Nonsense! You clearly loved them enough to put up with this bullshit fight! .jpg) The Gargoyle does randomly gift the party a new item type as a reward – an Idol. Idols are a permanent three point stat boost consumable. There’s one for every single stat. Gargoyle drops a random one upon death. But there’s a couple enemies in the final stretch of the game that will also drop ‘em. I think Edward earned this one, even if he got knocked the gently caress out in that fight. .jpg) Even though Gargoyle itself didn’t give up a reward of much note, there is one to be had for defeating the super boss. We need to return to the far end of the courtyard to find it. .jpg) Minor note: We can re-enter the execution chamber where the... unpleasantries with the Hartmans transpired and have a good look at their corpses/get around to the lower levels. As with most things, the party has no comment. .jpg) .jpg) Anyway, returning to the main gate if Nemeton Monastery, you may recall there was a statue holding aloft the “Sacnoth Sword” but it wasn’t giving it up anytime soon. But now that we’ve proven our worth by slaying the Gargoyle, we can now take that Soul Edge rear end looking sucker for our own! .jpg) The Sacnoth is the strongest sword in the game barring the Gargoyle Killer. Unlike that glass cannon, this one lasts 100+ strikes so it could effectively be used for the entire rest of the game. The whole hour and change left of it, at least... Sacnoth grants +70 Strength, +24 Dexterity and +10 Agility with zero drawbacks. It’s pretty good! .jpg) Not worth wasting your time beating the Gargoyle since there’s exactly one challenging enemy left in the game. But not too shabby otherwise. .jpg) .jpg) In any case, that’s all the optional content of Koudelka out of the way. All that’s left is finishing the game now. Which means once more returning to the Church Vestry and using that nitroglycerine that’s been jostling around in our inventory this entire time. Returning to the locked gate and clicking on the door results in... .jpg) A nice overview of the final area of the game. Remember how the westernmost part of the monastery map went up to the 7th floor? Well, time for that to come into play shortly... .jpg) .jpg) I’m disappointed they didn’t show the discussion where Edward convinces everyone that having him shoot this nitro bottle is absolutely the best way to handle the explosives. The fact that only Edward is present in the room leads me to believe James and Koudelka just went “fine, blow yourself up, idiot” and left him to it...  Real missed opportunity for Edward to be fine from the explosion but his eyebrows are totally singed off the remainder of the game. .jpg) Against all odds, an aging bishop using his barely remembered college chemistry expertise to craft a bottle of nitroglycerine and having an idiot shoot the bottle to blow up a locked door was the correct and successful solution to the problem of this particular locked door. .jpg) Edward has magicked up a lantern from the same Convenient Light Source Dimension™ that Ashley Graham obtained that flashlight between loading screens in Resident Evil 4. .jpg)  It’s amazing... I’d use blasphemous. An abomination... Yeah, you would. What about you Koudelka?.jpg)  I can’t believe you set off a bloody explosion while I have this big of a hangover... Tch. You should have just done like me... And what exactly did you do? <groans> <pulls out flask and takes a swig> Kept drinking. Hic. .......jpg) See, this guy gets it! That’s a statue, Edward. Yeah... He’s like me. A rock. I just soak up that whiskey. That... does not work on multiple levels... Not with that attitude. Could we stay focused, people? Yeah, I’ll focus you, old man..........jpg) .jpg) Tune in next time for the final area of Koudelka -- The Tower. It’s ALWAYS gotta be a frikkin’ tower, doesn’t it...?    Video: Gargoyle Battle  Video: Episode 27 Highlight Reel (You should watch this.)   Edward Concept Art – The backpack was key. The Dark Id fucked around with this message at 17:26 on Jun 7, 2018 |
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Jun 4, 2018 20:48
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Fun fact, the Drake Sword in Dark Souls is a reference to the Sacnoth Sword. (I may be mistaken, but I remember reading that though.)
Accordion Man fucked around with this message at 21:17 on Jun 4, 2018 |
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Jun 4, 2018 21:14
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Maybe the real final boss is a real pain so deliberately seeking out an obscure fragile weapon to defeat an overpowered boss early and get a more durable bitchin sword was actually totally worth it? Makes sense from that perspective.The Dark Id posted:Or chief order of business is going to be buffing the poo poo out of Edward’s strength stat.
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Jun 4, 2018 21:49
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This is all a big game to you ed isnt it
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Jun 4, 2018 22:01
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I dunno, if I'd had to deal with a third of the otherworldly horror poo poo they've seen in this game, I'd start drinking like a fish too.
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Jun 5, 2018 00:38
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Malachite_Dragon posted:I dunno, if I'd had to deal with a third of the otherworldly horror poo poo they've seen in this game, I'd start drinking like a fish too. "If I can just drink enough, liver failure will kill me before the monsters do!"
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Jun 5, 2018 02:27
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DGM_2 posted:"If I can just drink enough, liver failure will kill me before the monsters do!" "Evil shhhpirits? *hic* I'm FULL of Spiritssshhh, so they can... they can't do SSSHIT to meee!" *throws bottle at his own shadow* "Sssshee.... shEEE... sssshit... seee?!" *falls over, vomits, passes out stone cold* Neddy Seagoon fucked around with this message at 11:44 on Jun 5, 2018 |
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Jun 5, 2018 11:42
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Out of curiosity, how do you detonate nitroglycerin? Somewhat safely I mean, any fool could simply
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Jun 5, 2018 12:39
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Omobono posted:Out of curiosity, how do you detonate nitroglycerin? Something like a blasting cap with a long fuse is likely best. Or even just a fuse with a small pile of black powder at the end. A gentle underarm toss could work but I wouldn't recommend it
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Jun 5, 2018 14:19
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For those that don't know, Sacnoth is a reference to the sword of the same name by Edward Plunkett in his work, The Fortress Unvanquishable, Save for Sacnoth, - from which Sacnoth the company gets its name also. As in the item description, it's from the bones of a dragon, with one of its eyes affixed to the hilt. And it's the most powerful sword in the world. Short version of the story is; --- Every two hundred years, some space magician called Gaznak arrives on a comet and establishes the Unvanquishable Fortress, and uses his magic to twist mens' souls to send them to hell. He's also invulnerable, execpt for the legendary sword, Sacnoth. Oh, and Sacnoth isn't actually a sword yet - it's the spine of the man-eating, dragon-crocodile, Tharagavverug who is made of metal, and also invulnerable...except for his nose made of lead, and he can't be shot, stabbed, drowned, burnt, hanged, blugeoned or die by any other means than starvation. The hero Leothric sets out with a stick in hand, finds Tharagavverug, and pesters the poo poo out of him for three days by thwacking his nose with the stick to lure him away from villages and people. It takes three days, but he finally dies of starvation. Leothric hauls the body back to his village, where they chisel out both eyes (which are the only things that can sharpen the sword), and melt the body in a furnace, leaving on the spine - the blade, Sacnoth. One eye is used to sharpen the blade, and the other is affixed to the hilt, where it can twitch the sword left and right for directions or where an incoming attack is from. Anyway, Leothric sets out for the Fortress, and enters it via The Porte Resonant, the Way of Egress for War (that's its name, I kid you not), and proceeds to murder his way through the rest of the fortess. It's very much repeats of; Leothric enters a room. "Ah ha! Foolish man! Gaznak demands you be slain!" "gently caress you it's Sacnoth." "gently caress." Followed by decapitation. Sacnoth is so loving metal that some bards try to play a deathspell, and Sacnoth just deflects it by existing. Gaznak is waiting for him, with his own super-duper sword (although it's described as only the second-mightest sword in the world after Sacnoth), and they duel. Leothric loses all his armour, and Gaznak's sword has big wedges cut out of it where it's crossed slashes with Sacnoth. Leothric tries to cut off Gaznak's head, but he lifts his own loving head out of the way, so it cleaves through empty space, before magically reattaching it. This goes on for a while, until Leothric feigns a neck-slash, Gaznak lifts off his head again, but instead Leothric aims for the hand holding the head and slices it off. And then Gaznak's magic stops, so he drops dead - his severed head and hand falling beside him. So he's dead, and everyone's happy, the end. --- Gargoyles are mentioned in the story, but are never fought. The inspiration for the story came from when he was stationed in Gibraltar, and worked under the shadow of the Rock of Gibraltar - which served as the inspiration for the Fortress.  It's interesting as an example of pre-Tolkien fantasy - I personally find it a tad too wordy at times - and it was a massive influence on Lovecraft and his Dream Cycle series - to tie him back into things. Pesky Splinter fucked around with this message at 15:24 on Jun 5, 2018 |
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Jun 5, 2018 15:22
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That sounds like the ultimate 8-year old's power fantasy. "So there's this wizard and he rides on a comet and he's invincible except for a sword made from a dragon who is also invincible and then he fights the dragon and he wins and makes the sword then he fights the wizard and he wins the end." E: I had accidentally spelled it "wizzard." drat you Pratchett! 
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Jun 5, 2018 16:22
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Jagged Jim posted:That sounds like the ultimate 8-year old's power fantasy. "So there's this wizard and he rides on a comet and he's invincible except for a sword made from a dragon who is also invincible and then he fights the dragon and he wins and makes the sword then he fights the wizard and he wins the end." Welcome to early 20th adventure literature, a slightly less sophisticated take on the "kill big mammoth with best club" genre than what we have today.
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Jun 5, 2018 18:09
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Yo I’m not 8 anymore but that still sounds pretty loving rad.
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Jun 5, 2018 19:47
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I tried reading through it when first mention, and he makes Lovecraft look like Hemingway
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Jun 5, 2018 20:03
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I just love how forthcoming all the villains in that story are about the only weakness of the big bad. His fortress is literally called "the Fortress Unvanquishable, Save for Sacnoth". All the baddies he comes across are like, "you fool, our master cannot be harmed, except for the blade Sacnoth". It's the literary equivalent of a glowing red weak spot.
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Jun 5, 2018 20:39
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BioMe posted:Welcome to early 20th adventure literature, a slightly less sophisticated take on the "kill big mammoth with best club" genre than what we have today. welcome to storytelling in general. tales like that have existed since people started telling stories.
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Jun 5, 2018 21:08
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Attitude Indicator posted:welcome to storytelling in general. tales like that have existed since people started telling stories. See also: The Epic of Gilgamesh. It would not surprise me if Original Character, Do Not Steal is the oldest archetype in human culture.
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Jun 5, 2018 21:36
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Schwartzcough posted:I just love how forthcoming all the villains in that story are about the only weakness of the big bad. His fortress is literally called "the Fortress Unvanquishable, Save for Sacnoth". All the baddies he comes across are like, "you fool, our master cannot be harmed, except for the blade Sacnoth". It's the literary equivalent of a glowing red weak spot. They may be Big Bads, but they aren't liars.
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Jun 5, 2018 21:45
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Ack, I'm really late for everything, but I created a comic for the previous updates where James becomes somewhat redeemed, and everyone is friends.  Stand-alone version without text.  Nimsant posted:Parts III and IV are from Edward's point of view. The dialogues from the game are repeated: (1) the time he met Koudelka and told she is like an angel (2) the time he killed Alias and cited Shakespeare (3) the time when Elaine's ghost talked to them and James said he wants a minute. This is really interesting being able to hear about what's going on, thank you!  Now that I think we're past that part mentioned, was there any additional info mentioned on the CD, or does it mostly cover what the game already said? Also would it be okay if I add in some of this info to the youtube descriptions?Pesky Splinter posted:"Edward's Cool Sword Story" 1908 version. I love the historical context you've provided, it's awesome! There's something about older stories that are just wild with writing decisions that wouldn't have been done now days (e.g. Victor Hugo and his ability to jump through the mediums of novel, epistolary, and newspaper journalism in a single conversation between two characters is impressive but confusing), but knowing that it was being written while in a military context I can kinda see how writing a fantasy story in the vein of familiar old epics and fireside stories could provide a bit of stability in tough times. Going through old books and having their context has always been the funnest part about learning about history and literature because I think that's where a lot of the human intrigue comes into play. Perhaps that's how Hiroki Kikuta felt too when he was reading up on old historical texts and finding what human stories could be made from them.
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Jun 5, 2018 23:33
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oh my god that standalone panel 
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Jun 6, 2018 01:44
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Leraika posted:oh my god that standalone panel Confession: I set everything up for that standalone panel. 
EagerSleeper fucked around with this message at 04:05 on Jun 6, 2018 |
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Jun 6, 2018 02:00
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Koudelka’s face lol.
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Jun 6, 2018 04:32
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Out of curiosity, was the nitroglycerine a key item that took up inventory space? The Dark Id posted:He is very active with fella now and will frequently take turns to attack.
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Jun 6, 2018 06:38
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James looks like Hank Hill and I can hear him going "Bwaaaaaaaaaaah!"
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Jun 6, 2018 23:50
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Episode XXVIII: Patrick’s Vine.jpg) OK... So we’re technically not in The Tower yet. We’ve still got some busy work to get there. But we’re close to the final area. If we walk forward from the blown up entrance to the Sanctuary, we find... .jpg) This casket seems like it has been moved at some point. The trio pushing it out of the way is out of the question and we’ve already played our explosive trump card. The only bottle in all of Wales that can hold acid has been destroyed, after all. So obviously, there will be some convoluted unlocking mechanism that will push this obstacle out of our way. Unlike that literal gate no different from any other door that just had to be blown to bits. .jpg) Perhaps there are some answers further up in the area. But before we explore that, let’s take a quick peak at the edge of this giant ominous plant growth emanating from a sinister rear end looking tower. .jpg) Looking beyond the stained glass, you see a sheer cliff rising from the ocean. .jpg) Don’t ask me how you can see a sheer cliff edge past a massive gap out some window on the back end of the area. Or anything about the Tree of Life. Just roll with it as we climb upstairs... .jpg) You think Patrick would have mentioned the six story tall plant that started growing in the back of the monastery at some point during his notes. I feel like that’d be important to document in-between all the victim butchering and lamenting about the only woman he ever scored with almost two decades ago. That man had peculiar priorities... .jpg) .jpg) At the top of the staircase we find a pipe organ. Naturally, this must be connected to that mysterious sliding casket below. So let’s start jamming on it and praying for the best. .jpg) It looks like there are only four keys that can be pressed; the runes on these keys read: People, Secret, Pain, and Light. If you say so, narrator. Don’t ask me how this was deduced. But here we have the final puzzle of the game. In true Koudelka fashion, there are no hints present in this room whatsoever as to the order of the keys that must be pressed. .jpg) That’s because we received the hint to completing this puzzle like eight hours ago back early in Disc 2. Remember that stuffed bear Koudelka tore open and found an Old Letter in a couple rooms before Edward straight smoked that thief dude? Yeah, that was the hint for this puzzle. And by “hint” I mean it is literally the solution. .jpg) Finally the rare Koudelka gameplay synthesis of key items acquired hours and hours beforehand alongside a puzzle with its solution immediately dumped in the player’s laps. Secret-Pain-People-Light. .jpg) .jpg) As if there was any doubt, the casket slides aside giving way to a hidden passage beneath the Sanctuary. Granted, the game gives no indication this happened and it’s very easy not to notice you can click on stairs right after the entrance and walk up to this coffin in the first place. But details... .jpg) .jpg) Oh good, Edward has reacquired his FMV Lantern. We need some mood lighting for the discovery down in the depths... .jpg) .jpg) Hey, Patrick. How’s it hanging? You really hosed this whole thing up, huh? Like tremendously so in every conceivable way AND you managed to get killed in the process. I guess those proto-Umbrella Incorporated remarks were not unfounded. .jpg) <shakes head> Patrick... Poor Patrick... <hic> Who the hell is Patrick!? <deep sigh> ...Are you serious right now? It was the guy responsible for all of this. <quizzical look> Elaine’s husband...? ...Who? The ghost lady. Oh... that lovely kid!? Gross! No... Edward, the OTHER ghost woman... Ohhhhhh! Right. So we gottasta kill this guy, eh? He is already dead, Edward. All right! Job’s done. <takes a flask swig> Lord give me strength... OK. We really need to sober you up before continuing this. Agreed... Tch. I can shtop any time I wants! <belches>.jpg) .jpg) OK. Fine... It’s been like an hour. I ran out. I’m sober now... You said that as soon as you ran out of liquor and then immediately proceeded to trip and vomit on James’s shoes. <glares> Indeed. Yeah, well I am REALLY sobered up now. So are we just going to sit here all night, or...? Come to think of it, how is it NOT morning yet!? It was sundown like thirteen hours ago....jpg) After chilling out for a bit, James O’Flaherty comes to a decision... .jpg) The contents of this canister is an old timey term for alkane, a flammable, whitish, translucent, waxy solid consisting of a mixture of saturated hydrocarbons, obtained by distillation from petroleum or shale and used in candles, cosmetics, polishes, and sealing and waterproofing compounds. Also it’s spelled “paraffin” with two Fs. Patrick Heyworth – good (questionable) at science. poo poo at spelling. Deplorable at ethics. .jpg) .jpg) Hey, what are you doing...? What’s that—no, DON’T! I said I’d finally sobered up and now you’re gonna break out the moonshine. Which way do you want it, old man!? That is not what this is....jpg) I’m not asking for your help. This is my problem. None of you need to die with me here..jpg) Yeah... So, Koudelka. Have you found another way out of this crazy place yet? Cannot say I have. So....jpg) There is no option for Edward and Koudelka to bail. There is, however, one final chance to go explore Nemeton Monastery one final time to go grind for items, finish off the Gargoyle if you hadn’t yet or... Well, that’s kind of it. But we’ve done all there is to do of note, so no worry of that. .jpg) Clicking on the Cauldron of Life is the definitive POINT OF NO RETURN locking us into the endgame. Seems we’ve decided it’s definitely got to be fire that sorts this whole thing out. It’s a big ol’ tree. They HATE fire, right? .jpg) Are you sure?.jpg) I-I’m not sure what to take from those looks. Hungover and wishing this night was over. Same..jpg) Let’s proceed..jpg) Saint Daniel Scotius, protect us from these evil spirits and grant us inner strength! .jpg) Amen! <drops the arm into the cauldron>.jpg) And so James casts the mummified arm of the fictional sainted brother of a 9th century Irish philosopher poet into the depths of the Cauldron of Life. The same arm that was encased in a statue of the same man in question and we only acquired because a random thief armed with a gun decided shooting down a chandelier was the best use of his firearm to murder intruders. .jpg) .jpg) So remember kids, if you ever find a severed limb, no matter how ancient and decaying, you best shove that immediately into your backpack and hold onto it for safe keeping. You never know if it might be imbued with holy power. Note: This advice only applies to Wales. In most other cases carrying around a human limb is highly frowned upon and probably some degree of a crime. .jpg) .jpg) The Tree of Life HATES Daniel’s Arm. Sure, the guy was a saint and this is some unholy abomination of science, magic and Welsh malice. But more pressingly, that was Daniel Scotius’s masturbating arm and that’s an intensely hosed up thing to toss into a homunculi creation kit. .jpg) .jpg) The gang didn’t think too far ahead about a bunch of tree sized vines thrashing about and how that might make escape from the church sanctuary a wee bit difficult. But look on the bright side: at least James didn’t set the place on fire while they were still in it as well. This could have been way worse! .jpg) In its thrashing, one of the vines smashes open a stained glass window in the back of the sanctuary. OK, we just need to wait for it to smash one of ‘em on the sides so we can climb out there and not be trapped on the backend cliff side of the mona— .jpg) Go!.jpg) Oh, we’re just going to run back there anyway? We’re just going to forget that was a dead end with only a dive off a cliff...? .jpg) .jpg) Welp... OK. I guess they can just walk around the edge to escape and it’s fine. Just so long as nobody does anything rash. .jpg) Thou who were created and born out of dust....jpg) ...now go quietly and return to thy MAKER! <chucks lantern>.jpg) .jpg) Ah, gently caress... I can’t believe you’ve done this. James, we’ve still got to climb the tower you just set on fire. You were just eager to smite some poo poo, weren’t you? Fess up! Why did it even explode like that? You only poured some kerosene in the basement. .jpg) In any case, welcome to the final area of the game -- The Clock Tower. Tossing Daniel’s Arm into the cauldron was the point of no return because the way back is literally on fire. .jpg) So the only way up is climbing the rickety wooden scaffolding around the perimeter of the tower. Remember back in Daniel’s journal, he mentioned he and Ogden were working on repairing the tower for... some reason. I guess to make it look like he was doing something besides murdering peasants and jacking ancient documents from the Vatican for the last 18 years if he did succeed in resurrecting Elaine. Seems they didn’t get too far. Nor do we, for that matter. As soon as we make it across the first wooden walkway, we face... Music: Incantation Again .jpg) Vines! Seems the Tree of Life is none too happy about James tossing holy relics in its drinking water and setting it on fire. Three vines, in fact. All of which come sporting 5329 HP. .jpg) .jpg) That said, it’s just some frikkin’ vines. They’re not a big deal... even if they are able to somehow move about the grid. The vines all got together decided their biggest beef is with Edward, the punching idiot that didn’t do anything. Not James, who actively set them on fire to begin with, or Koudelka... .jpg) .jpg) ...who is now currently setting the vines on fire. And look, the vines were kind enough to line up in a row so she could roast them all at once. How thoughtful. Music: ENDS .jpg) .jpg) From here on out the game starts giving Idols out like candy. The Vines mini-boss also gave us another Agility Idol on top of these two. I suppose it’s nice they made a point of no return and an easy way to boost stats if the player were somehow vastly under-leveled but made it to this point. All told this LP’s playthrough has maybe done 90 minutes of additional grinding outside just fighting everything that came our way. It’s kind of hard not to be a powerhouse by the end. .jpg) .jpg) That aside, we can now continue our increasingly ill-advised ascent to the top of the tower. This isn’t even the fire doing any of this. This was just plain shoddy workmanship at play with these scaffolds. Patrick couldn’t do a goddamn thing right with his life, could he? I’m glad he’s dead and gone. .jpg) There are still random battles on the way up the clock tower. Particularly, the Giant has a vine textured cousin stomping around here. These guys are noteworthy because they drop a guaranteed random Idol when slain. But we got an interesting final weapon drop out of one of these guys. Well... at least it dropped while fighting a mob including ‘em. It could be the weird spiky sphere dude that coughed it up for all I know... .jpg) A magical girl rod! Delightful! The Rod grants +9 Intelligence, PIE and Mind. It’s all fitting that James is granted this divine gift for the final stretch of the game. .jpg) Speaking of weapons, we’re just going to go ahead and give Edward the Lifedrinker sword here for a time. This is the one that steals HP on every strike in addition to probably being the third strongest sword in the game. It might make our lives somewhat easier. .jpg) For you see, once we reach the fourth floor of the tower, it’s time for yet another boss battle against a familiar foe... Music: Incantation Again .jpg) The Vine is back and it’s still quite upset we’ve set the Tree of Life on fire. But that’s not all. This time it’s brought a celebrity guest star to accompany it. .jpg) Patrick’s Vine! The corpse of Patrick has been ensnared in a vine. It’s not like Mr. Heyworth has come back as some grim plant-zombie hybrid. It’s literally just his ragdolled corpse flopping around caught up in an angry vine. Nevertheless, this somehow has near doubled its health to 10201 HP and upped its attack power. .jpg) Patrick’s Vine has the same tentacle swipes as its predecessor. Only this time it strikes multiple times for 1500+ damage and guaranteed poisoning. That is... if we didn’t have Edward up front with a magical sword that just negated physical damage from a jobber like this. .jpg) .jpg) Boy, Patrick. You really couldn’t do anything right. Even providing a boss fight worth bothering any sort of strategy on beyond hit with swords and set on fire. .jpg) .jpg) It’s not even worth it to use buffs for either of these Vine battles, so we just had James contribute with some spells. He’s still Level 1 at everything but he’s got enough magic stats that even that does decent damage. And fittingly he struck the killing blow to this utter dipshit gently caress-up of a... college acquaintance he hadn’t spoken to for twenty years...? That’s not exactly what I’d call an active friend, personally.  Rest in Piss, Patrick Heyworth. You were just... the worst... No redeeming qualities. It’s actively good and cool you’re double plus dead now. But now that he’s finished, nothing is stopping us from reaching Elaine now. Tune in next time for the first “ending” of Koudelka. Pfft... Who needs a stupid Pendant anyway?  Video: Episode 28 Highlight Reel (You should probably watch at least the beginning of this.)  Nemeton Monastery Concept Art – Yep... Done is lousy with that there Tree of Life infestation, I'll tell ya what. The Dark Id fucked around with this message at 16:45 on Jun 9, 2018 |
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Jun 7, 2018 17:24
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Oh boy, here it comes.
Accordion Man fucked around with this message at 20:36 on Jun 7, 2018 |
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Jun 7, 2018 19:20
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Hey, don't do that, please.
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Jun 7, 2018 20:29
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Leraika posted:Hey, don't do that, please.
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Jun 7, 2018 20:37
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EagerSleeper posted:This is really interesting being able to hear about what's going on, thank you! Sure, do whatever you like with my texts. I actually took some time and typed out the part III of the Drama CD. Let's see how it goes. Critique welcome. The narration is voiced by Edward. I wanted to copy his words from the updates, but they turned out quite different, actually. I only copied some poetry quotes. At that time the door to death appeared before me. In the monastery in the unknown land, I was attacked by a monster. What a mess. I took seriously the words of some criminal and found myself at a place like this. For a man like me, it may be an orderly death. Although, at that time, before my eyes appeared... What, an angel? I don't expect you would take me to heaven, but can you at least pray for me? Too bad. To pray for you? Excuse me.Having said this, This woman healed my wounds with a strange power. Judging by her face, she is like an angel. But inside, far from that. A bitch that isn't likely to be friendly, I thought. The people I met at the monastery, is the bitch that saved me, and one is the disgusting monk. We acted together only because we had the same goal. And there was one more that we couldn't allow to join us. His name is Alias, he said.  Please, Mr. James! It wasn't me. Help! As if we can trust you! A criminal. I believe this guy. Thieves can be exceedingly honest, you know? Just for caution. Not to be relied on. Edward, you are one of these criminals Yes. Criminals understand criminals feelings. Do you forgive me? Thank you! And, this too is just for caution. <shoots> You! What? If our lives cease being threatened, then it’s a victory for God and all his glory, right? But if we go on letting them attack us, then the filthy godless pagans win. Which you would like to bet on? Would you go to hell? Good idea. I want to do that. Having no money. What a terrifying man... Say whatever you like, it's pointless. “Do all men kill the things they do not love.”“Hate any man the things he would not kill.” Shakespeare? You're smarter than you look... Say what you like.Many things happened since then, and so we gradually understood the mystery of this monastery. And one woman, that guided Koudelka... The midway point was when we met her ghost. It was the time the goals of the three people became one. And as for James... Elaine! Elaine ! Why? Why?Elaine, the wife of the owner of this monastery, Patrick Heyworth. She was killed by thieves and is not in this world anymore. I don't know what she was to him. But I understand only this: when she died, everything he cherished was gone. James... Please, Leave me alone for a short while. Koudelka, let's go. Alright.<the two leave the room and are apparently outside> What's going on? He prays for Elaine, and for Patrick It's not like it's his grave. It doesn't matter. They are here. The dead people, everyone. Oh really? But I don't understand: why pray? You have heard it: to resurrect Elaine, Patrick sacrificed dozens of people. People who had nothing to do with all this. Patrick understood that he won't be forgiven. But he couldn't stop. He believed it was all for Elaine. Elaine wanted to save him. Maybe that is why she called me. You are so kind! For me it is absolutely.. More, importantly, you. Me? Yes. I thought you are a barbarian when you killed without hesitation. But then you cited Shakespeare and Byron. I thought you wanted treasure, but you don't look at these things. Who are you? What is your motivation? I am searching. What for is a secret. But, more importantly, I like it here. It is close to the world I desired. The world you desired? As a kid, I had dreams. Exploration of the wild west, unknown jungles. Glorious adventures. That's why I left home and wandered this land. But I got to know only one thing: the land of adventures is not anywhere in this country anymore. However, somehow, only here is different. How is it different? There are adventures here. Thrills. What makes a man. In the world I lived in before, I couldn't have a taste of that. Comparing to that boring place, its' good here. <laughs out loud> What's funny? The world you desired? Here? But it suits you. For you, who thinks nothing of a human life. I will give you an advice how to stay here forever: die! <continues to rant in the background>This voice that mocked me, I felt sadness in it. It made me think she knows everything about this world, looks at it everyday and came to know many griefs and distresses. That's it! You can just die. Wait! What? Come closer. Something is here. What is it? You feel it too? This feeling... What????: <Zombie-like growls> Whhhaa... You. .. You! It can't be! <human voice> I don't understand. Am I alive? My body hurts. It doesn't move. My body. Why? AAAh! My hand. <zombie voice> Oh, I remember! <human voice> You ... me! His body falls apart! <zombie voice from here on> That's it. It was you. I thought you gave up, but you became a monster! No way, its... <Starts having a ghost vision stroke> <shoots> Aaaah! poo poo! poo poo! <shoots more> I thought you gave up, but you became a monster! <mumbles something in her vision> Koudelka? <mumbles> It's dark. Where am I? Cold. Someone... (her voice fades in and out of a human Alias voice)<Edward tries to make Koudelka escape, she mumbles he can leave her and run, he tries to move her anyway> At that time I understood. The glorious adventure that I imagined in my heart, a shining romance. When it becomes a reality, a bigger thing emerged to grasp my heart. It was not a dream or a hope. Fear. Yes, fear. Nimsant fucked around with this message at 22:29 on Jun 10, 2018 |
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Jun 7, 2018 21:26
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Nimsant posted:
Edward needs to aim for the head when it comes to Zombie!Alias. Although this could have been a cool plot point if it was implemented in-game. There was a similar thing near the end of Vagrant Story, and it worked given that game's emphasis on atmosphere. re: The main game, I'm surprised how you would figure out the right runes to press on the organ from that note. Is that something you have to do manually or another puzzle the game solves for you? The Dark Id posted:So let’s start jamming on it and hoping for the best. The first one should be, "hope." The second should be, "lighting." And I'm assuming you meant to say, "weird," instead of "word."
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Jun 8, 2018 03:23
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EagerSleeper posted:Ack, I'm really late for everything, but I created a comic for the previous updates where James becomes somewhat redeemed, and everyone is friends. These are Fantastic EagerSleeper posted:Going through old books and having their context has always been the funnest part about learning about history and literature because I think that's where a lot of the human intrigue comes into play. Perhaps that's how Hiroki Kikuta felt too when he was reading up on old historical texts and finding what human stories could be made from them. It certainly helped him get the atmosphere of this game across - he clearly put a lot of effort into referencing actual historical events (ignoring the obvious fictional elements), and picked up something from the various turn of the century novels he read. Incidentally, Dracula and Frankenstein were among his influences on this, as well as Carnacki the Ghost-Finder - which I feel has the most direct influence on parts of this game. The gist of Carnacki is that he's an occult detective and often encounters the supernatural, but in a twist, some of his cases are Scooby Doo-esque fake ghosts, some are full blown supernatural, and others have supernatural elements that are unrelated to the stories. It's like in this with the very earthly Alias trying to murder you all, but also Charlotte is floating around in the background doing her own murdering attempts. They're worth a look either way - unfortunately, there's not that many of them, as the author died during WWI. Also, those transcriptions and explanations of the audios are really neat  Shitenshi posted:re: The main game, I'm surprised how you would figure out the right runes to press on the organ from that note. Is that something you have to do manually or another puzzle the game solves for you? It's Koudelka's half-arsed puzzle approach; all the options are in English at the bottom (SECRET, PEOPLE, ETC, ETC) and you just have to select them in the right order. I'm not sure if it's a result of Koudelka's compromised development - but there's so many places that with a little tweak they could have put a puzzle there. For example, those runes, I'm pretty sure are the same ones as on the giant statues from earlier. It's kinda frustrating. --- Just as another little reference, I think James is paraphrasing Genesis - "for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return". And I'll be interested to see the reaction to the next part for people who are going in blind.
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Jun 8, 2018 05:17
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Pesky Splinter posted:And I'll be interested to see the reaction to the next part for people who are going in blind. Lord Burroughs is waiting for us at the top of the Clock Tower, isn't he? Is Koudelka a Rooder?
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Jun 8, 2018 13:57
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cirus posted:Lord Burroughs is waiting for us at the top of the Clock Tower, isn't he? Is Koudelka a Rooder? Koudelka, James, and Edward all become Magical Girls and have a rematch with that pirate-looking motherfucker from the start of Disc 2.
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Jun 8, 2018 14:59
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Part 4 of the Drama CD. Are you awake? Where are we? Just as you see: an execution chamber. It's no place for a sleeping beauty to wake up. An execution chamber. The monster? Where is it? Don't shout! It will find us. It is still here. And just what is it? The gun is of no use. Very unlike any monster we have met before. You know it, right. This place, before becoming a monastery... Was a prison, right? Many people were executed. Not only them but also the people Patrick killed. They became spirits and are wandering here. What do you mean? Do you not understand? That monster is gathering them. I heard, with the voice of the monster, their cries of sorrow. I couldn't bear it. A bundle of grief and rage, right? I wonder how James is doing. He is under the protection of the God. Now is not a time to worry about others. We are waiting to be killed if we stay here. We need to do something. It's same, any way. If we stay in the monastery, soon or later... So what? That's no joke. If we stay here, we will die for sure. Are you not afraid? Afraid? What scares me most is this world. And humans. What do you mean? You live as you like. You have powers people don't have. I don't understand. I am just jealous. If you want this power, I give it to you any time! Because of this power this world is hell for me. Everyone, who came to know about this power, started to hate me. Even mom and dad. Many times I thought to die and go to where mom and dad are. But I knew. Even if I commit a suicide, I will just wander this world. There is no salvation. <crying> Koudelka... <sobs> At that time, I understood finally why she is sorrowful. She has not only just seen the world of the dead. She couldn't stop seeing it. Even if the soul is in this world, it has no place to stay. For her, the power was only a burden. Koudelka... Don't touch me! <starts having visions> What? It can't be. Stop it. It came. Leave without me! Let's run. Together. <growling> There you are! You are late, monster Whao-whaooooh! Run away! Leave me. I am not a villain who leaves girls behind! Idiot! It's no time to play cool. You will die for real! Whao-whaooooh!<Edward shoots a lot. Then he is out of bullets and the monster smashes him. Koudelka shrieks. The monster comes closer and starts strangling Edward.> Stop! Run, quick! Stooooop!<Exorcism spell sounds, like the one with Alicia> What happened? A light? Where from ? Uh? Aaahh..The underground room, where even a dimmest light did not exist, at that time was filled with a blinding light. When I was loosing consciousness I saw a monster, out of power, and her shape, giving a thoughtful prayer. I am sorry. I can do nothing but this. <human voice again> My body... falls apart. But, it is soft. A light.. Are monsters cleansed when they rise to heaven?... Edward! Edward! Am I on the other side? I see an angel. Why didn't you run? I wanted to show you my good part, being a living human. Anyhow, did you do that? I don't know. I just prayed without thinking. Huh? A real angel. That's handy. Too early to die. If the world is a gamble, my life before was full of losses. But now its different. This gamble is real, huge, gamble. I will make sure I win. I finally found what I really want to protect. Nimsant fucked around with this message at 22:31 on Jun 10, 2018 |
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Jun 8, 2018 21:26
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Yep, Edward definitely needs to shoot for the head. And if Koudelka can exorcise superpowered thief zombies with holy magic even after all the hell she's been through, then maybe Alice from Shadow Hearts could stand to take lessons.
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Jun 8, 2018 21:44
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Thanks again for the drama CD.
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Jun 9, 2018 02:06
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