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MH Knights posted:I played TSW way back when but got stuck in the "New England" zone and gave up. The zone went on for way too long for my tastes. I went with the Dragon faction and got a laugh about how my character was uh..."Initiated" into the faction. Yeah, that scene was an... interesting choice, though talking with that professor guy was kind of interesting in the Dragon intro. But yeah, combat was terrible (not just being bad at it, but having literally no way to even understand it before getting dumped into the game and getting mauled a bunch by basic mooks), so my one attempt died very early. When I can't even tell HOW to play your game you've got issues. Too bad, the lore seemed kind of intriguing, although I got the general impression no matter what factions you worked for you were with the bad guys (against the even worse guys, admittedly).
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May 8, 2021 08:45
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| # ¿ Apr 26, 2024 12:58 |
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The puzzles definitely are impressively done; I particularly liked they used game mechanics (i.e. dying to see the next clues and the emote systems) fairly decently in the design. But if anything though they might be a little too good since as you mentioned everybody hits the wiki to solve them. No surprise really, there's a ridiculous amount of real world knowledge needed apparently and the game seems to suffer D&D's problem with puzzles - namely that it's too easy to write one that makes sense to the writer but not the person trying to solve the puzzle and if you don't grasp the logic you're screwed. Internet legend Illuminati priest is definitely a funny idea (the shitposting must be terrifying stuff indeed), also justifies him helping members of other factions de facto rob the Illuminati's graves since he has just enough info to be a true idiot. I do love how the Templars remark the stuff you take was likely stolen from them by the Illuminati in the first place, and thanks to how the modern ones have embraced being bastards the historical murder of one of their leaders is only worth using to poo poo-talk them at the next faction meeting (and possibly wouldn't work then because they lack shame). I assume Illuminati players get some comments from their faction on the stuff they dig up here (mocking remarks most likely from what little I recall of my play attempt). Do the Dragons and/or Templars get similar zones/quests in different areas where your faction has more to say because it's related to something they've done previously? The main bad guy does need a better beard to hit evil sorcerer tier. And boy, as a bad guy he needs to learn a lot about casually antagonizing allies against him by being contemptuous, little miss sex kitten's inevitable betrayal is practically signposted now. I do like that the characterization is pretty clear that she's actually smart under the "sexy" facade; wonder if she'll pull a "replace the big bad as the final enemy" here, or just a "smart enough to hit the road when the PC comes and avoid getting beaten".
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Jun 2, 2021 00:58
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I think the thing that makes Cassie especially nasty hitting on people is it's very obvious it's about sex as manipulation tactic. She doesn't even seem horny per se given how quick she turns it on and off, it's straight up "you look like somebody I could manipulate with loving" which is always creepy since it de facto says she sees you as a puppet and a brain dead thing she can just order around with that particular carrot when you get down to it. Mission definitely proved she has far more going on than "manipulative sex kitten" though, especially given the whole cursing a magic bee person into paralysis just like that (actually do they specifically mention if she's like the PC? Would explain the easy resurrection ability unless that's a typical escort mission thing). Dungeon seems to be definitely focused on bosses more than trash fights (assuming bosses are the ones with loot chests anyway), unless all those pods you were popping are normally more of a pain to grind through. If I gather the story right - the Polaris is some sort of Orochi ship that crashed when the fog came up, and they send you there to investigate it, and the final boss Cthulhu thing is the final form of the draug/their leader? Nice touch making it attack when you're "leaving", was wondering why the mission was ending before the video did. Interesting "hide from the monster" dynamics in that one stage, I assume if he sees you it's a one shot kill, right?
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Jun 23, 2021 01:44
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Antilles posted:I remember playing TSW at launch, and so enjoyed this first dungeon that I ran it several times in a row (helps that it's a fairly quick and breezy affair). One of the times I ran it with a bunch of goons who hadn't played it yet, and managed to convince them that the dungeon was finished after the fourth boss and that the initial chopper ride was the exit cinematic. Was priceless, having them go "Oh that was it? Yeah it was alright, nice and quick... WAS THAT loving CTHULHU?? WE'RE FIGHTING HIM??" before being dropped into the final boss fight. Mean, but understandably irresistible I suppose  .
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Jul 2, 2021 05:03
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Dark Argatha - if I read right, it's part of the central/travel zone that got killed/corrupted by the Cthullhu equivalents who seem to be the big bads? Interesting, but man that final boss was pretty BS how fast it drained you to near zero HP before finishing the job. At least it didn't heal up afterwards to full. As for that anniversary boss fight, oof that was busy as hell; I gather you don't have to be in any sort of party/raid group for it? Given all the effects on the floor and how many monsters seem to use "stay out of the bad stuff" as a mechanic in this game, it seems like it must be a pain seeing where you need to not stand during large fights. That Gatekeeper that summoned with the little guys running in and doing a ritual was kind of cool, I must admit OK, Vikings and local Native Americans vs. MAYANS is what happened in the past of this place?! I'll give them credit for going crazy big in ideas, though I suspect they didn't do justice to that premise in-game. Then again, it's weird/cool enough maybe no one could. I figured the draugr had to be a reference to Vikings coming to the New World though for obvious reasons, but the why is more interesting than I thought. Zombie movie with love as cure - Warm Hearts, FYI.
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Jul 4, 2021 23:10
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I do read the debriefs, and yes they are very good. I must say Edger's little bus to drive all the civilians to safety is suddenly making me imagine a draugr Lord Humungous standing outside saying "Give us
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Jul 8, 2021 06:51
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So, Hell is basically ruins and Wicker decided he'd Make Hell Great Again? Definitely an interesting take on it, though I'm not sure where it's going. I do like that Wicker (and I'm guessing his friends like that demon girl) is a faction that may or may not be hostile, which is a definite twist on the usual "everybody in Hell is pure evil" schtick in fiction (I really like Wicker's little speech about "losing your humanity" involves dumping a lot of evil too). Also I gather Hell invading is less "Rahrr spread evil!" and more a Mad Max society trying to loot what it can from Earth. Final boss in the dungeon had a cool look, I can't fault their designs thus far really.
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Jul 14, 2021 06:28
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Cythereal posted:I also looked up the turn-in dialogue on a wiki, and the Illuminati confirm that this place wasn't their idea. They have more efficient ways of harvesting anima with fewer side effects already, thank you. Ah, so the rides are either basically sacrificial altars to gather power via human sacrifice, or because the park isn't up to OSHA paranormal code all the magic energy it's supposed to be gathering has occasional leaks which make people die. Or possibly both, I suppose. I wonder how much energy it actually gathered considering that Illuminati comment; it has to have been somewhat effective to get the Phoenicians interested I suppose.
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Jul 29, 2021 04:15
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| # ¿ Apr 26, 2024 12:58 |
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Interesting, I guess Innsmouth Academy is one of those "better anima batteries than the amusement park" the Illuminati mentioned. Both seem to run off killing people at least, I guess the difference is how it's done and what you do with the bodies afterwards. And one wonders precisely what Loki is doing, since this whole mess seems to be leading towards the end of the world at the tentacles of Lovecraftian horrors; you'd think he'd want to avoid that fate, especially since he apparently outlived the Aesir and Vanir and Ragnarok to boot. Guess he's gotten foolish in age; doesn't kill off the PC (which apparently is possible? Though I assume they don't do it and force you to make a new character for obvious reasons) and decides to abuse little Miss Sex Kitten despite knowing drat well just what kind of damage a resentful subordinate can cause to one's plans from long personal experience. I can see why everybody I've heard talking about this game loves the characters here, they're pretty awesome. Another strike against the idea of "everybody here is doomed", it's a colossal waste of good writing. Hope that isn't a default of every world location (well, Tokyo I can buy going to Hell at least, or somewhere worse really given we've seen Hell). DreadUnknown posted:It seems like bees were pretty rare before the events in the game, given its a major shitstorn so Gaia is kicking bee production into overdrive. I wonder how much the factions really know what they're doing with bees. They obviously know what they are, but I have to wonder if they're really prepared to deal with a ton of immortal superheroes, especially since I get the vibe all of them want the PCs under their thumbs which seems... a trifle risky. Kidnapping/bullying such people is something I think could backfire easily, especially since the work they're setting the bees to is making them only stronger at kicking the rear end of people they don't like. Or perhaps future storylines will explore this little problem. One possibly spoiler-ish question; do we get to meet any significant NPC bee people, or is it a PC-only gig?
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Aug 14, 2021 06:57
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