asaltyrat

[asaltyrat]

The Death of FUN and FLAVOR in MMOs

I remember a time where every little action was hammed up for the sake of ham in online gaming. Runescape of course was the master of this, with certain skills being leveled up equates to tiny little improvements that are nowhere near ‘meta’ or ‘helpful’ towards the end of the game. Level 42 Cooking? Congratulations, you can make wine now! Is anyone going to use that wine to heal, since that’s the whole point of food items in runescape? Absolutely not. But it’s there! An entire quest about bacon and being able to stack bacon ontop of eachother? Excellent! Useful? Nope, but the whole questline has a fully voiced vocal track that’s as unhinged as it could be!

But modern MMOs tend to be forgetting their roots, steadily and slowly with focus going towards ‘useful’ skills and items rather than a little badge of honor you have for reaching a certain level or cap on wealth. Final Fantasy 14 is heralded as a masterful storyteller with boundless quests, hours upon hours of content even before you get to endgame, and some of the best graphics in the industry. But with the game being mostly about combat and less about downtime, there’s really nothing outside of mechanics that set classes and players apart aside from pets and housing. Sure Warriors get Axes and Blackmages get Staves they hold at a slightly different angle than Whitemages. (The angle makes it aggressive!) but where’s the fun little perks of being those classes?

Blackmages could easily dabble in juggling fireballs or conjuring runic symbols on the ground, Whitemages could cast a little spell to light up an area. Sure bards get access to a steadily growing swathe of instruments to play and the Bluemage can self destruct on command! But there’s so much missing from it’s earlier entry that made classes interesting, like Blackmages being able to teleport their party anywhere they had a scroll to, or Puppetmasters being able to command their little pet to dance with them.

World of Warcraft was one of those MMOs that had a growing swathe of neat concepts built around their classes, and thankfully a lot of those spells and nick nacks haven't left. Warriors can jump over gaps, Mages can summon portals, Engineers can make an insane amount of fun little toys and tools to make the journey more interesting, and thankfully enchanting still has a bunch of fun little wands for illusions, but the trim is even happening here. Alchemy barely provides anything more interesting than buffs. Engineering itself has lost a lot of their little neat gadgets they can put together, and we really are missing -more- flavor outside of combat for the various specializations. Do I think MMOs are getting boring? No, The adventure and fantasy are still there. I’ve been sufficiently impressed with both FF14 and WoW that it took me a bit to decide which one to ultimately subscribe back to, but I fear they are becoming less and less imaginative when it comes to what they give us little peons and players between dungeons and quests.

While World of Warcraft’s “Midnight” Expansion is going to launch hard with some extremely excellent features, including the long awaited Player Housing? I’m not sure if they’ll shake up the crafting and class system enough to let us have flavorful downtime or for roleplaying purposes. Shame that, But I remain hopeful that the devs don’t forget players aren’t always on that grind.

Stay Salty~

If you liked this, you can discover this and more over on https://patreon.com/saltyrat, or follow me at twitch.tv/asaltyrat

[asaltyrat]

Broadcasting from your local arm of the Galaxy

It's time for more TNT.

Pain is real, and it comes in a convenient chaingunner package.

[asaltyrat]

horny

[asaltyrat]

Yakuza 3 // Taking Care of Business

8:00 PM EST // https://www.twitch.tv/durasoup What kind of business does Kiryu do?

[asaltyrat]

Civilization 7 and the Fleeting Wow Factor

I’ve said this before, I’m a giant fan of strategy games.

Civilization 5 has a couple hundred hours put into it. Civilization 6? It didn’t feel nearly as !FUN! As 5, and I’m entirely unable to put my finger on exactly why Civ6 didn’t cultivate the same sort of excitement and ‘one more turn’ FOMO as some of it’s earlier titles. Granted the graphics were stellar and the game itself ran rather well without many defects. But there was a lack of wow factor I think Sid Meyer’s longest running franchise depends on to make it a truly good game.

 The experience was largely the same, which was pretty much what a lot of Civ players want. A ponderous, thoughtful experience where players can take their time and make the exact right play they want to in order to progress, grow their cities, and enjoy the banter of other players, if they were anything like me sitting in a voice call with six other people. But somehow the experience in six didn’t have the same punch as five did.

 It wasn’t the fully animated, somewhat cartoon-like representations of world leaders. I thought the eccentric displays of some of these notable names were perfectly on par with a alt-history spanning experience like civilization. I’m a particular fan of Teddy Roosevelt and Ghandi, both having extraordinarily expressive faces, broad movements, and some of the crisp multilingual dialogue i’ve heard in a game.

 It wasn’t the gameplay. I rose cities, sent my scouts out, and complained about barbarians. Every note in the game hit the mark perfectly for it to be an outstanding civilization experience. I was particularly impressed with how smooth of a transition it was between games. There were a few notable quality of life improvements with combat animations and interesting changes to the map layout, but it wasn’t anything that held me up for any appreciable amount of time.

 It was something about the whole package. Cities were lovely to look at and interesting to see, but they didn’t feel like they were growing or improving as ages went by. Landmarks seemed to be a little out of place. And of course I don’t mean in the historical sense. No, in fact it wasn’t the great wonder builders of Egypt that built the great leaning tower of Piza next to the Oxford University. That’s just par for the course.

 There was a distinct lack of ‘wonder’ in Civ 6 that made it fall flat, despite the game’s attempts to really drive home that concept with unexplored regions of the map showing up as old sea charts and vague sketchy details. For a 3d game it felt flat and uninteresting. But if you were to look at screenshots of the game, you’d wonder what the hell I was talking about. The game itself is bombastic and vividly colored with the developers making full use of cell shading and bright, complementary colors to make structures and units really pop.

 Now we have Civilization 7 to look forward to. I’ve seen the trailers, the overview of the new game, sat down to watch and dissect the gameplay and I’m starting to get a little impressed. Part of my complaint with Civ 6 is that cities really didn’t look like they were expanding and changing, but with the new experience in 7, we’re looking at tile improvements that expand the borders of the city and overall empire in new and exciting ways, with buildings, roads and facilities rendered in what feels like a more organic urban spraw. The new system Feraxis is calling “Ages” where you can willingly change the empire you represent as time progresses feels less like a major shakeup and more an expansion on the old system we saw in 6, where Civics can be hot-swapped to pivot an empire’s focus to readily fit the gameplan.

 I’ll be keenly watching this for a time longer, as we still have a good while before we see it’s full release in Febuary of 2025 and see what features get expanded, if the graphics are improved or reeled back. With GoT’s Gwendoline Christie narrating our empire-building experience, it will at least sound regal and grandiose. Cross your fingers to see if CIV7 brings back that wow factor I’ve been missing.

Stay Salty~

[asaltyrat]

Doom 1993 | Why does it play good?

I played the original DOOM when I was 10 or 12 in my Aunt's Dusty Ol' Office with her Dusty Ol' Computer running Windows 95.

I probably shouldn't have been playing it.

But I did, got to plow through hundreds of angry demons through space bases and huge pits of hell. I learned to understand pain-states and got so excited when I finally beat the first chapter in one sitting. Then something strange happened. I kept playing DOOM.

It wasn't like I had a habit of not revisiting my old favorite games. Legend of Zelda, Starcraft, Quake. These games are burned in my brain and I love picking them up for a few days and enjoying a good ol' fashioned adventure, despite that the games themselves havn't aged well with the times. But DOOM is something I would happily actively stream again. Play through again, dive into the dedicated modding community again. Over and over, and I have absolutely no idea WHY it's like this.

Doom is an OLD game. Not exactly old as dirt, old as the land itself, but it celebrated its 30th anniversary not too long ago and it slaps me in the face that this game is nearly as old as I am. And yet it still keeps offering gameplay I'm dedicated to. That I want to keep enjoying and toying with. I've even considered trying to Speedrun the game a few times.

What is it with DOOM that keeps it's fan base positively frothing for new releases? Not just the overhauled, high intensity action that was 2016's DOOM or DOOM Eternal, but even the older fan .wads and, even still. SIGIL from John Romero, and now Legacy of Rust from the folks at Nightdive and a few extremely dedicated veteran .wad makers.

The Ultimate Doom Steam Port is stellar (sans a few strange sound issues) and people are still remixing E1M1 with some very exciting results. I had a variable amount of whiplash when I found out that OCRemix's "Dark Side of Phobos" started back in 2004, 11 years after the game's release.

I don't need to review the game or give a solid opinion. This is more just me absolutely out of my mind because the DOOM Train hasn't stopped, and I don't understand why.

It's no wonder I'm hitting up the full Vanilla release for the next few upcoming streams while making Crass commentary through it.

Stay Salty~

[asaltyrat]

i cannot stress enough how much of an impact changing the way you talk to yourself can have on your mental health. swapping out self deprecating jokes and changing unhealthy sentiments like "i hate myself" and "i want to die" to kinder, more forgiving ones like "i need a break" and "i'm trying" can make such a difference to how you view yourself. the things we say to ourselves become a part of our lives and so we deserve to me kinder to ourselves in our heads.

[asaltyrat]

SOMEONE ON TWITTER REFERANCED SHADOW THE EDGEHOG AS "gun husband" AND I'M LOSING IT

[asaltyrat]

I legitimately don't understand people's problem with fat characters.

Like legit, chill. They're living their best lives ya'll ain't gotta be jealous.

[asaltyrat]

Just a Little Force (Durasoup's Request)

It wasn’t the first time she had used this ploy.

 A threadbear cowl pulled over her shoulders and a wrinkled shirt a layer too big to cover her chainmail. The bandits didn’t even take the time to frisk her before putting her into a rusted out cell in Fort Dutrede, just a few hours' march from Tortege, Port City of the Free Cities. The helpless ‘Oh I’m just a poor defenseless maiden’ act was just a bit too alluring for a group of men who had barely seen a glimpse of a bare ankle for them to check to see if she wasn’t armed.

The scent of musty air and tarnishing copper hung in the cell as night fell, and the unorganized watch had started their midnight rotation, generously distracted by stale ale the boys had brought back from a wagon they knocked over the night before. With tipsy bandits and a guard no where to be seen, the Vulpish woman started her work as she usually did. A deft hand pulled free a thin pair of picks from her chain-clad bosom, and she gently dropped the act, and her cowl to start picking at the cell door.

“A rotten twine tied ‘round the bars woulda been more secure than this one-tumbler piece o’ shite.” 

She muttered to herself, the faint rolling click of the lock slipping open didn’t even echo in the fort’s disused walls. It swung open and the woman adjusted her belt and sword harness, making a quick turn away from the ruckus of the bandit’s canteen. She had to stop herself from whistling as she made her way to the back of the fort, where their ill gotten gains were waiting, ripe for the plucking.

To her dismay she found a guard idly whittling away the wood on a bench. He was a sturdy looking fox, the matted stains on his fur screamed he was in desperate need of a wash below the ill fitting helmet that hung lopsidedly off his skull. Annah was a lot of things, but sneaky when surprised isn’t one of them. The fox perked up, and stared at her for a few moments, disbelief, then shock as he took to a stand. “EY!... What are you doin’ here?” The guard sputtered out, already reaching for the dagger on his belt.

“... Lock Inspector?” Annah mustered a cheeky little grin, putting her hands in her pockets and offering a shrug that seemed to be a half-hearted mutter of ‘duh, of course’.

The bandit stared at her for a few seconds, puzzling the concept out in his head… before he startles, and shouts. “Wait a bloody moment! We don’t pay for shi-.” His voice was cut off by a skull rattling clang.

She had drawn her chipped and scarred greatsword from her harness, and swung it wide and broad at the man’s head, leaving a dent in the rusted helm and sprawling him out onto the straw strewn cobble below him. He was out like a light.

“... aye that coulda gone better…” Her steel plated jackboots clicked on the stone floor, hurrying towards the lockbox in the back. No time for picking, as the sounds of bandits mustering their way to the treasure room filled the halls with shouts and ill-tempered rattling of swords on wooden shields. With a swift kick, she cracked the wood with the heel of her boot, revealing a small stash of silver and a few worn rings.

Her disappointment was palpable, thick sour custard on an already slim-pickings day. It was then the bandits filtered into the room, turning on her in an instant. She could have a little fun at least.

“I ‘ad t’ pick the worst bandits in th’ Free Cities, y’know? Nae a scant bit of gold t’ ya name and now y’ lot are going to fight over it?”

She readied her stance, bracing her sword forward in a practiced swing that kept her guard up and her feet splayed, sturdy and steady. It was a beast-killing guard, one she learned well. Her greatsword was aged and stained, sharpened by rough hewn stone and missing it’s killing point, it was hefty, ugly, and only fit to cleave with the jagged edge of it’s point missing several inches of steel, ending on a wicked looking crack.

“Alright Lads! Let’s have a show of it!”

[asaltyrat]

The First Fursona I've ever made tbh >_>

[asaltyrat]

Age of Wonders 4 is a Masterclass of Dynamic Storytelling

I cannot stress enough about my love for 4X games.

I'm not extremely good at them, but I adore the slower, contemplative pace of games like Civilization, Endless Space, and Stellaris. These games can run for hours and days at a time. There's a special place in my heart for games where you're given even more creative freedom. Stellaris is the best example of this, so far, where you craft a whole stellar empire and play it from the moment they implement faster than light travel.

Age of Wonders 4 is the Fantasy equivalent of this concept. You play a Godir, or a fledgling Godir, a sort of divinity where you've ascended in some way, shape or form. Your Godir can be a Champion of the People, An ancient Wizard King, A Dragon, and with the newest expansion, a child ripped directly from the void. (Hey Lovecraft, we see your influences still).

The amount of features and traits you can put onto your empire is staggering. Ranging from their lineage, racial traits, their culture and little features like being adept spies or master craftsmen. There's enough fantasy races to make whole homebrew tabletop campaigns jealous, with Halflings and dwarves, Elves and Sirens, Anthropomorphic animals of all sorts. Your kingdom is yours to play with and that's right before turn one, and all of them are lovingly rendered in 3D. Ontop of that, during the game you can pick magical mutations that can transform your entire species, turning them into giants or living plants.

Age of Wonders 4 is just as much of a strategy game as it is a world building tool, and I'm all here for it. It didn't surprise me when a good friend of mine, Nikky had mentioned almost casually that he's made 60 whole empires just with the create a faction tool. It didn't hit me until far later that I -should- have been surprised. Sixty factions is a LOT of work, and I don't think he's even started a game with even half of them. And this is before you get into the dedicated modding community that Paradox games seem to happily cultivate with their games, adding new features, quality of life additions, and even whole new factions to the game.

Age of Wonders 4 gets a solid recommendation from me, If you enjoy strategy games of all varieties, you'll very likely enjoy this one. Stay Salty~

[asaltyrat]

Fable 4 - A Frightening Proposition

Fable has always been one of my favorite gaming franchises.

Ever since Peter Molyneux introduced us to Lion Head Studio's Crasser Parody of Albion, I was immediately hooked on every little aspect. The gameplay was simple and satisfying with the staples of Melee, Ranged and Magic being there for players to utilize without any limitations.

The morale system was campy but serviceable and novel for the time, with no glaring defects with how it worked and operated. It was a mechanic that did what it said on the tin, If you do good, you get a little halo, if you do bad, you sprout horns and become generally more evil looking.

Fable would go on to mature over time, with Fable 2 being my favorite entry in the series, doing a lot of what Fable 1 did and put in exciting and interesting features like online co-op and mini games galore. (Plus an excellent dog to accompany you on your adventures, and that was genuinely lovely.)

However as jaded as Fable 3 made me, the story telling for all three games was spot on. It was comedic, painfully British and witty. It was the perfect Parody of an RPG in every way, down to the last nook and cranny. This is, however, what brings my worries.

On April 16th, 2016, Lion Head Studio was dissolved, Good Ol' Peter Molyneux went on to create a quirky, but ultimately doomed "Godus" and made people wonder about a strange magic cube you could tap on your phone. With the studio dark and Microsoft owning the rights to fable, my favorite action RPG was cast adrift in a sea of 'Maybe So' after a quirky brief teaser at 2020's Xbox Live Showcase. We got to see a fairy get eaten by a frog in a very tongue in cheek (Pun? Maybe?) way of saying "FABLE IS BACK BABY!" before we heard nothing for another four years.

Now the stagecoach driver is Playground Games, who's stellar track record is... Forza. Well, the game is off to at least a pretty and polished start. Forza's a solid racing game with some of the best graphics and simulations in the industry. An RPG it is not, however, and the Forza series isn't exactly known for it's stellar story line or quirky comedy. That's about when my potentially unfounded fears began.

Fable is only half gameplay and graphics. The charm of the game is what got me into it in the first place. It was surreal, grim, silly, and strange with titles like "Chicken Chaser" and "Arseface" being utilized by townsfolk and dark and sinister cults making poker and bingo nights on Fridays. They might worship a decaying old God of malice but they're still human after all (Virgin Chicken Sacrafices in all).

This year came about and we got two gorgeous trailers featuring a retired, jaded hero and a farmer who thinks he's better than any hero. The graphics are incredible and the voice acting is exactly on par. The two snippets into this new fairy-tale inspired world got my spark and excitement up but, really? Will any of that flat, English wit carry over into the games? I hope so, I can't wait for some piss-drunk commoner to call me Chicken Chaser incredulously after I killed a giant wasp that was about to murder him.

Just Albion things.

Stay Salty~

[asaltyrat]

It's been a hot minute!

Streaming, writing, hopefully art, hopefully music.

We'll see how it goes.

Also I might start posting shit off my Hrothgar too

[asaltyrat]

Stream Live!

Got a busy day today, so just chilling out.

Gonna get stomped in StarCraft 2 Multiplayer, and maybe hit up Spelunky before anything else goes down today!

Broadcasting from your local arm of the Galaxy!

[asaltyrat]

Vintage Story Midnight!

We're coming back into Stream! Happy Midnight nerds I'm smithing Iron and making a windmill!

Broadcasting from your local arm of the Galaxy!

https://twitch.tv/asaltyrat

[asaltyrat]

Late Night Kobolds!

Alright, I got caught up with too much and Started things up again.

Vintage Story, late Nite Kobolds!