#I am grounded from playing the xbox :

[cupids-dreams]

POV I throw a snowball at you.

Snocub! My beautiful baby is here! I've loved this little ball of snow since the day I chose it as my starter loomian!

The background is a bit different from the last one of these I did, but that's because I forgot to save the background separately from the rest.

Anyways, here are the alternate versions!

[dior-luxury]

twst reactions

~ pretending to flirt with a guy online ♡ crack / gn. reader

[c]  ࣪⋆་ ˖ .  ︶⏝︶⏝  ୨ ♡  ୧ ⏝︶⏝︶   . ˖ ་⋆ ࣪

-[i] ⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯     း   " Sorry if this sounds kind of rushed besties, time and stress is a thing sadly... o(TヘTo). But enjoy! ☆⌒(>。<)."  ͮ     𑄹

pairing] Idia, Ace, Kalim, Vil cw] . (g/c): game of your choice. عزيزي: ‘Dear’ in Arabic. Amoureuse: ‘Sweetheart’ in French.

Idia Shroud:

It´s no secret that he´s used to people being flirty over video games before since he even went through this before. It happens more in games that have voice chat.

He usually is right by your side when your playing video games, either playing two-player or co-op games is his favorite.

Idia tends to have a fiery side to him that is only available at 3 am or and has a vast range of emotions. It was curious how he rarely showed it, and why it piqued your interest so much.

You then decided to test if you could maybe unlock the side of him.

You quickly texted Idia that you wanted to hang out and chill... it has been 10 minutes and you were currently playing on the new Xbox he got as Idia was chilling on his bed looking at his phone.

Finally, you felt like this could be the right time to prank him!

You put on the headset as you felt Idia glance at you. Then you went to play (g/c). As you finally went into the lobby, you then smiled evilly as you fake laughed.

The sudden laugh caused you to look as you confused mixed with curiosity... ¨Y/N, who- what are you doing?¨ He said as he put his phone down to then walk over to you.

You felt a guilt bubble in your stomach as you gripped the controller tighter than before. You then brushed it off as you went back to (g/c).

A few more minutes went past as you kept this whole act going. Then later when your (g/c) ended, Idia looked at you annoyed. ¨Y/n-shi, you still have to tell me who your talking to.¨

Idia groaned as he looked at you dead in the eyes with your startled face.

Idia pouted as you looked at him with your smiling features holding in your laugh.

Ace Trappola:

Ace is generally kind of a clingy person in general so it would be kind of hard to prank him without him knowing or even being by your side 24/7.

Not to mention, Ace could probably read through your actions like a book (yet he can't read through emotions. so good luck.

The moment you ever pass through a sly comment when you're talking to "someone else". his head darts over to you.

"Y/N, who are you talking to~' He'd say in a cherry monotone, then his mood shortly changes when he hears obvious flirts come from your lips.

Ace isn't one to become territorial real fast, but that comment triggered something in his brain. He is quick to action, as he makes his way over to your frame on the floor.

Then he takes the headset off your head mid-speech, and he then speaks into the microphone himself. For there only to be no answer.

he rolls his eyes handing the headset back over to you.

"Ace it's a prank," You say as you let out a chuckle to yourself. But Ace only scoffs as he then begins to lay in your lap.

"I know."

Kalim Al-asim:

Kalim seems to be on the more chill and forgiving side of the whole jealousy scale. During situations like this on the other hand... he's internally panicking.

He can't believe what he's witnessing! You, the most lovely, loyal, and prettiest person; flirting with some random guy!

This poor guy wouldn't even try to find the context of what's going on, in front of his eyes too!

He sighs in defeat as he flops on the ground near you, "عزيزيwho are you talking to? :(". Kalim then begins to stare at you.

With only your confused eyes meeting his. "Sorry, what did you say?" You took your headphones off your head.

Kalim then pouts as he runs to back-hug you.

In case you actually were genuinely flirting with the guy online, he would never think you would willingly do that because, as I said, he loves you with every fiber in his body <3.

As he pulls you closer, you gently rest your head on his shoulder. "I'm sorry Kalim, it's a prank :(".

He sighs, "I couldn't believe that you were 'flirting' with random guys online! What if he was serious? What if he wanted to take you out? Or get you to go out with him? Or something-"

You give him a soft kiss on his cheek.

"Kalim, you don't need to be paranoid. I wouldn't go out with random guys online." You chuckle as you look at the sad puppy in front of you.

"Okay :("...

Vil Schoenheit:

Vil for one isn´t one to encourage staring at a screen for anything under 15 minutes since he generally believes that it leads to lazy behavior.

But you were testing his patience right now, weren´t you? The sound of your laughter presumably talking to someone. He wouldn´t ever mind as much as if you two were just talking...

But, nope. You were occupied 'flirting' with someone over a video game you both were playing.

Now Vil never was the type to jump to conclusions... but he could tell you were just enjoying as much as the person you were talking to was.

A burning flame of jealousy filled his system as he eyed you from the current place he was standing in the room. Vil is an insignificantly jealous one only when his s/o puts compliments, praises, and flirty comments out there... when they are not for him.

He sighed as he went over to where you were currently sitting, extending his palm out for you to hold. ¨Amoureuse~, Sweet Potato... Will you tell me to who you are singing those praises?~ You are saying them to my face.

Vil said tenderly as he pulled a sly and jealous smile on display. You responded that you were talking to one of the people in the lobby you were in.

Vil´s smile seemed to get more conniving as he went to get up, ¨Well tell them that you have a boyfriend.¨

You chuckled as you pretended to say goodbye to whoever you were talking to, Then got up to calm Vil down who was fuming inside.

[saturniandragon]

Adra's Project Wingman In-Depth Review: Per Mission Experience and Commentary

(Caution: extremely long read. Please have snacks ready)

Project Wingman! Or so I've heard it more described as "a love letter to the Ace Combat franchise." Another arcade flight action shooter game similar to Ace Combat, and if I remember rightly, designed and developed by Ace Combat fans. Again I've spent years and years avoiding spoilers, although inevitably I began hearing a few things about it; it's like Ace Combat, it's set in alternate history, you can carry up to 4(!) different types of ordnance, and it's orange. So I guess like NFS Most Wanted (2005). Like Ace Combat 7 of course, I'm playing with my Xbox controller.

Which brings me to the first... quirk of the game. The menu interface. You control a cursor on the screen with your left thumbstick, and you have to carefully position it to the menu buttons that you want to access. The left thumbstick doesn't cycle through the menu buttons, you have to control a cursor with your joystick. Which I find to be a little on the negative side and I decided to just use my mouse to navigate the menu. Makes me wonder if this is a side effect of Project Wingman being developed as a PC game first and console second.

The last time I was met with this kind of UI controls was in the 2019 game "Observation."

However I am very impressed that the menu background isn't just a static image or a repeated video. It looks like a real time 3D rendered scene with planes flying above the treeline. Also what looks like a massive airship or a mothership trailing slowly across the sky. My hype level is up by 3 notches. I can't wait to start playing.

No fancy animation or a CGI video as the intro. Just a text that briefly tells the story about the game's world. Very much like David Szymanski's "Iron Lung" game. Seeing Sector D2 is not a massive game studio and just an indie developer, it's perfectly fine. And what I learned is that Project Wingman's universe is alternate history Earth that experienced some kind of massive natural disaster or calamity that changed the world forever, and new nations start to rise from the ashes. The game takes place 400 years after the event.

First briefing screen. Wow this orange tint really reminds me of Ace Combat Zero briefing screen. And I can also see the map of the Project Wingman world in the background. The continent of America has changed, not dramatically, you can see the general shape of the continent, but the west shoreline has practically split off from the rest of the continent. And a glimpse of what used to be Japan, China, Philippines and Indonesia, now reduced to just a few main islands, presumably the remains of the cataclysm mentioned earlier.

Apparently our protag is a mercenary pilot who goes by the name Monarch (as in monarch butterfly, I assume), who is a part of Hitman team, under the mercenary organization known as Sicario. And our client is the Federation? Is that a country, or a union like the one in COD Ghosts? Either way it brings me back to Cipher and Pixy, who were also merc pilots. In PW, apparently we're fighting a group of pirate pilots.

First mission, destroy some kind of research material that was deemed unsafe and fell into a group of merc pirates. A few ground targets, ships, and a few air targets. Alright, no big deal. My Ace Combat experience is more than enough for this.

I'm actually impressed with the voice acting. I've heard how difficult it is to voice act in a game or a movie that doesn't sound too cringey or too monotone. The guy doing the briefing actually does sound like he's done it probably a thousand times. I wonder if they hired a professional VA or just someone from the internal dev team.

Plane hangar. They give you 2 starter planes to choose. A T-21 (apparently a trainer plane that resembles MiG-21), and T/F-4 (a trainer plane that resembles F-4). I was going to use the Fishbed but the Phantom has slightly better stats, even though I'm bored with Phantoms, so I chose it. UGBL as secondary weapon, pretty standard.

First flight. Operation Red Current. AWACS Galaxy on station and OH MY GOD I HAVE A WIZZO. AND SHE HAS DIALOGUE LINES. The last time I had a wizzo was Ace Combat 2, but he just had generic repeating dialogues like missile lock/alert and stall warning. Your plane does form vapor clouds at Mach 1, something missing from AC7, so I loved that. Once again, for a small dev team, the voice acting is well done.

First set of ground TGTs clear. Ronin moving in. "Cordium" cargo? Never heard that before. They say it's too unstable, Federation orders to just clear it BOOM. MASSIVE EXPLOSION like an FAEB just went off. Mission complete, question mark? Another flight called Master Goose comes in the AO, flashing as friendlies. I don't really trust this but hey, I'm just a merc, not paid to ask questions.

If they turn out to be a fake squadron like the 8492nd, I'm gonna be... Well I don't know what I'm gonna be.

And there's a civil war in the Americas. Country of Cascadia being invaded by the Fed for natural resources. Our client is Cascadian Air Force now I guess. Is this like Belka trying to annex Ustio in AC0?

You know what, I'm too excited to have a wizzo. I'm gonna get another Phantom that isn't a Phantom (F/E-4). Big surprise, all of the SP weapons are available for use right away, no need to buy them separately. I like this game already.

Can I just say the explosions in PW from STDMs are so dramatic. Way more dramatic than AC7, it's like they hired Michael Bay. Not a bad thing though, it's giving PW identity. So it's not just a "Ace Combat we have at home"

Mission 2, all going well, fighting Fed border patrols until a massive airship came practically out of nowhere. At least this one doesn't have drones, just SK.27s and F/C-15s. A couple MLAAs later and it's down, but then no explanation as to what we just shot down. Oh well, at least we're with Cascadian AF now.

Mission 3. Rowsdower AFB. Once belonged to Cascadia now seized by the Fed on their conquest to expand their military (ala Belka), we're on a mission to take it back. Ooh, new aircraft for purchase. SV-37. I genuinely thought I unlocked a Flanker early in the game but it's just the Swedish dorito (Viggen). And it has MLAGs, if MLAA is Multi Lock Air to Air then I guess MLAG is this game's version of 4AGM. Only single seat though, I still want to hear more of Prez's dialogues. Maybe later.

Crosstalk squadron appeared, 5 Super Hornets. Grun Squadron flashbacks from Zero, anyone? Oooooh there's a health bar on the bottom of the screen for each enemy craft. I loved it. Wasn't much hassle fighting them, and we landed in Rowsdower.

Honestly I'm kind of impressed that as a band of pilot mercs, we have our own AWACS. Anyway next mission, aid Cascadian national guards from being overwhelmed by the Feds.

Two new aircrafts. CR.105 and SK.25U. I thought CR.105 is a Foxbat at first but it's delta wing design with no canards or tail surfaces. But its speed rating is off the rails, so I guess partly inspired by the Foxbat.

I'm buying SK.25U for Mission 4. Two seats and a boat load of A2G hardpoints. I sure hope there isn't any mission update where we suddenly have to fight an entire air force! (Thank fuck there isn't)

Really this game has the Frogfoot when Ace Combat 7 doesn't? Come on PA.

Next mission, Cascadian capital of Presidia. The Feds have taken over the city. Cover retreat of Cascadian armed forces. Multirole mission with tendency towards A2A. MG-31 and F/C-16 now available for purchase. Not sure if I trust a flying brick with wings for this mission, so Viper time. Guess I have to leave out Prez for this one.

Mission 5, over Presidia. WOW THIS CITY IS SO COOL with all the low hanging clouds. Though what's with all the needle towers/structures all over the city?

Thought we were done but the Feds sent out not just one or two other massive airships but FIVE of them to try and keep Presidia in their hands. I thought I shot all of them down but Mission Over text?? Did I fail??

Debriefing says Status: Success but Stardust said Presidia fell anyway. I guess it's supposed to be that way.

So far into this game, I'm developing the sense that Project Wingman is largely inspired by the classic PS2 AC titles (aka The Holy Trinity), I guess more towards Zero. The orange tint, no checkpoint system, the absence of aircraft tree, aircraft parts, merc pilot protagonist, but they also incorporate some modern QoL features like flares.

I think I would appreciate something present in AC but not present in PW; lock range indicator. You know the HUD in AC, just to right side of the pitch ladder, is a slider with a chevron that indicates the distance required for your ordnance to lock.

Mission 6, attack the Feds from the other front by crippling their energy production sites at Apodock Fracture, apparently in Yellowstone. Also they've been hunting for some material called cordium? Is that what caused the massive explosion in the first mission?

Two new aircrafts, Super Tomcat and Fulcrum! Two of my favorite aircrafts. But I had to choose the Tomcat because I miss Prez (cmon man I've been all alone in Ace Combat for years). Fucking hell it's expensive though. Better be worth it.

Yep they're hunting for cordium. We're ordered to destroy their containers. Fucking hell the SAMs in this mission are fierce, I got hit 3 times and was down to 23 health. And two more of those fucking Fed airships?? Just how many of these things are there??

Alright, mission completed. Almost. New blips on the radar, VX-23s and SK.37s. Federation Peacekeepers. Engagement Not Advised written in large text on my screen. I hammered the throttle and fly just meters away above the ground to avoid missiles and head to the return line. Reminiscent of the first time you face Yellow Squadron in AC04.

Crimson Squadron. Fed's top ace in Cascadia.

(I learned late that you have infinite flares in this game)

Mission 7. Cascadian Coast Guard seized a Fed battleship/cruiser off the coast of Cascadia. Just me and Hitman 3 this time. We're to provide air support although I kinda don't want to fly the SK.25U just to have its LASM. New aircraft for purchase called the... Accipiter. Whatever the hell that means. Apparently based on the Harrier. Not enough cash to purchase. Back to the Tomcat.

Think I forgot to read the weather report for this mission because it's stormy as fuck and the clouds are violent. I'm not sure who has the bigger balls to fly through such extreme turbulence, me or Monarch. It's actually very scary from cockpit view, everything shaking up around you and you hear the creeking and clanking from the plane's aluminum panels like they're going to break off at any moment. Oh well it's just an anti ship mission with a couple of air targets THE FED SHIPS HAVE RAILGUNS ON THEM WHY AM I FIGHTING MINI STONEHENGE AT SEA

Ok that's over now. New mission that's purely air to air mission. Take down Fed logistic planes while also avoiding shooting down civilian airliners. Weather cloudy. Two new aircrafts, Super Hornet-C and Flanker-B. But I'm still having way too much fun in my F/D-14.

Also I just learned that the seemingly random clicking noises when I'm flying is just a noise indicator of my missiles fully reloaded.

Mission 8, Briggs Mountain Range. Wait why is that civilian airliner the same as the Fed airship that I've downed multiple times before?

Doesn't matter. STDMs, HVSMs and MLAAs. One by one shooting down Fed Globemasters. Conservative with MLAA use because I totally didn't restart this mission because I accidentally shot down a civilian airliner. Then the true airship arrives. Airship Gladeus with two F/S-15s. The fucking AAM pods on the Gladeus are a nightmare to hit tbh, but mission done. More importantly no civilian casualties.

But I begin wondering, is there like multiple paths in this game like Ace Combat Zero? Like Knight, Soldier and Merc paths that are determined by whether you shoot N.TGTs or not. That's my goal for my second playthrough.

Mission 9. Raver mountains. Covert mission to take out SAM sites so we can push without losing planes. F/C-15 is now available for purchase.

But you know what, let's take the Accipiter for a spin. What was the last Ace Combat game that lets you fly a Harrier? None. Well, Assault Horizon, but that's not a true AC game. Woah, what is this, CGP? A shotgun gun pod?? Flechette rounds?? I don't fucking know how it works but I wanna try that shit out.

Alright, near CIWS units. Time to try CGPs, and... it's disappointing. Although I think my expectations were a bit too high. Well at least they didn't lie about it being a short range weapon.

And of course I did the tunnel runs in this place to destroy the containers. I'm an Ace Combat vet after all, tunnel runs are my bread and butter.

Mission 10, now the real deal. Solana Comms Array and the adjacent airbase... without Cascadian air force to help us. It's alright I guess, Monarch is already a one man army as he is. Or one man air force.

But I'm this far into the game and I still haven't found Project Wingman's equivalent of QAAMs. Maybe there will be a "HASM" (High Agility Standard Missile) or something. I guess it's time to try the Eagle for a spin.

And my thoughts? So worth buying the Eagle. Missed out on Prez, but when you attach second and third slots with MLAAs, you get 6AAMs in game. Awesome stuff. Fed is crumbling.

Mission 11, Bering Strait. Another purely A2A mission. The most expansive A2A battle ever committed, he says? We'll see to that WHOAA THIS IS LIKE THE MAYHEM MISSION FROM ACE COMBAT ZERO ON STEROIDS

And of course Crimson squadron shows up with a fuck ton of reinforcements. Totally reminding me of Schwarze squadron battle. But I'm not going down without a fight.

55 fighters, 3 SK.37s and 2 VX-23s downed by one humble F/D-14. I tried getting a close look at a VX-23 but couldn't make out what it resembles. My best guess is that it's probably something like Chengdu J-20 but couldn't see the fine details. Is there like a PSM mechanic in this game because those guys were pulling 90 Gs every now and then

Feds have issued retreat. Crimson 1 insists on staying, Crystal Kingdom order stands. Eventually Crimson obeys, and retreats the whole squadron.

If anything Ace Combat or movies have taught me, I predict Crimson is going to go berserk within the Feds. He's gonna think the Fed is too weak and just holding him back, he's gonna take Federation's most outrageous aircraft and weapon and use them to set a personal score with Monarch. I'm calling it.

I love Prez's reaction after Crimson retreated. Like yeah bitch, you better fucking run! I love her.

Alright, mission 12. Feds is absolutely crumbling after their airforce got decimated by Hitman. Multirole mission with heavy tendency towards A2A. Something about oil rigs facilities at sea.

It's railguns again, the same one that Fed ships were firing at me on previous mission with the Eminent Domain. Hitman 3 said something, why is this rig more heavily guarded than the comms array?

Mission update came up. Unknown target marked on my HUD, but I'm not firing yet. I fly close to the unknown to try get a visual but it's too damn dark to see anything, even with gibbous moon. Then something happened.

"Project Wingman is away."

What the fuck is that?? Project Wingman?? Something rapid just took off from one of the oil rigs. It's way too dark on my screen to see whatever it is, but it's roughly triangular AND IT'S SHOOTING RAILGUNS BACKWARDS AT ME WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK IS THIS THING

Apparently piloted by another merc named Frost? Monarch shot it down with HISMs and STDMs. Frost ejected but said something about releasing data pod. I suspect this is a Federation superweapon undergoing research. That will explain the amount of AA defenses all around it although of course the game's debriefing doesn't tell me anything.

Mission 13. There's a new Fed superweapon, an airship fleet by the name of Task Force 1. It's resting in a port, we're to destroy it before it's unleashing hell, I suspect. Although something about Kingdom of Sawaiiki, one of Fed's states, will probably get in the way.

Maybe I should expect neutral/N.TGTs.

Two new aircrafts. F/S-15 and... what the hell is this? "Chimera"? At the front it resembles Su-57 nose, but the way the wing blends into the body is a bit like F-16XL's cranked delta wing, and it also has a V tail like YF-23 (maybe that's why it's called Chimera). And it's 285k to purchase, I don't even have 100k credits. Why is this available to purchase right now?

Whichever the case I can't buy either of them. I'm going with the F/C-15, I'm gonna need its MLAG.

I think this mission is where the game can do with some optimization, because my frame rate was down from 80+ to 40 near the docks where there are a fuck ton of targets. But I don't want to compare this to Ace Combat 7 because this is a game from an indie developer. I'm sure they did what they could for optimization, and I'm not gonna blame them.

Mission itself was pretty standard. Nothing super interesting although the part where Hitman 2 had to radio out a long announcement to Kingdom of Sawaiiki that we have no beef with them, and telling Galaxy afterwards that it costs "2 bucks per word" is pretty funny. I love these conversations.

Mission 14. Grimwood coast, provide CAS for ground troops and prevent Feds from regrouping. But expect bad visibility he says from the forest fire nearby. I'm gonna gamble and take the SK.25U.

Oh shit, I guess we're working with firefighters as well now. I hope I don't have to protect them at some point because I'm essentially flying a tank. That has 40mm/65mm HE ammo for its main gun.

I forgot to say but the MLAGs in this game are phenomenal. The multilock ability of a 4AGM and the range of an LAGM? Slow reload speed but I'm sold. Who needs an A-10 anyway right

Feds in Grimwood have surrendered. They burned the forests for nothing. Also I keep hearing allies calling Monarch "The Crown" now, and in earlier sorties I also hear something along the lines of "how dare you take the name of a king as your own", "not all kings are just."

I'm developing the feeling that this game is fantasy medieval action adventure but with jets and airships instead of swords and magic. No hard feelings on that, I'm a huge fan of The Elder Scrolls series. So I'm looking forward to see how much this game plays into the mythological/medieval theme. Maybe like Ace Combat Zero, with how Cipher and Pixy did the aerial equivalent of jousting? We'll see.

Also there's this level of detail and touch of realism, that I think has never been done in Ace Combat before. When an enemy jet whizzes past you above Mach 1, you can actually hear the sonic boom from their wake. That's awesome.

Mission 15, Cascadian city of Prospero, the largest trade center apparently. Get rid of its air superiority elements and secure the airport. SK.37 is now available for purchase, yet I'm still under the required price for it.

I do have to comment on the way planes are painted in PW, or at least the default skins that you use. It's like plastidipped or cerakoted or something, like how guns are these days. Nothing really spells practical camouflage/camo pattern. But hey, maybe that's just how Monarch wants to look in the skies.

Liberate Prospero they say but they didn't say the Feds would be so desperate that they would LAUNCH 50 NUCLEAR CRUISE MISSILES JUST TO PREVENT CASCADIA FROM GETTING TO PROSPERO. THEY JUST BELKAN'D THE SHIT OUT OF THIS CITY. DID THEY JUST OPEN UP A VOLCANO FROM THE GROUND?

Hitman 3 just said Calamity. Is this what happened 400 years ago before the events of this game?

Fucking hell.

Mission 16, instant continuation from previous flight. Only me, Prez, Diplomat, Comic and Galaxy now. No idea if anyone else is alive. Flew over Rowsdower, no response.

Fuck, new blips on radar. It's the merc Frost from earlier. AND MASTER GOOSE FROM MISSION 1. I FUCKING KNEW THEY SHOWED UP TOO CONVENIENTLY

"You fired up? Come shoot me down." Yeah bitch I'll shoot you down in that fancy bitchass superplane you're flying. And don't you dare copy my boy Pixy's line from Ace Combat Zero.

(Just kidding, I love the devs for having her voice actor say that)

Fucking hell, I thought a swarm of MQ-101 drones was bad, but I never thought I'd be on the receiving end of an ADMM where each individual missile is a QAAM.

Stardust again. Contract to fulfill you say? Fuck you man, there's nothing else out there now. Everyone's got our number, even Diplomat and Comic's real name. Sicario is only 4 man band now, 5 if you count Prez.

Kaiser seems convinced after Stardust offered something to us. Whatever that is. Meanwhile I guess we're regrouping on an abandoned highway as a makeshift base.

2 months later.

Mission 17. Brite Fortress. One of the safe havens outside the whatever the fuck is happening out there.

I sold my Harrier to get some cash back. I'm done with the Super Tomcat. It's time for SK.37. It's only got AA hardpoints but I need to fly something else. Oh and an MGP. I've never used MGP in Ace Combat before but I'm gonna try this one.

Woah, what is this? AOA limiter? Replaces flares? Doesn't say what it is.

Alright, Brite Fortress. Railguns and airships as usual. At this point I've been desensitized to them, because I learn that the Feds is just Belka/Erusea hybrid. As in, a superweapon maniac.

Aw shit, they have a massive tank/train/land cruiser. This thing doesn't have any A2G weapons, but it has MGP. 4 of them. And AOA limiter, more like AOA unlimiter. Let's you pull off PSM-esque move while holding down L3 and turning sharp. I like it though, it replaces your flares but it doesn't restrict you to low speeds and a complicated QTE like Ace Combat 7, and you can perform it anytime as long as the indicator is ready.

Mission 18. Aw shit, we're back to Prospero now? I really don't want to.

Yeah, figured. Crimson showed up again. VX-23s and SK.37s again. But now I can at least match their crazy AOA maneuvers.

My first try I nailed AOA limiter module pretty quickly. If used right it's essentially a "teleport to enemy's 6" button. Well I didn't use it right. Got shot down.

My second try. If Crimson is calling it personal then so will I. I will spam this AOA limiter if I have to. Even Diplomat is absolutely fed up with Crimson's shit, telling him to shut the fuck up and turning off his radio. Learned that, other than spamming AOA, you have to firewall the throttle, make sure your speed never goes below Mach 1 even when turning. Got hit by a missile once, but this time I downed them. All 8 of them.

Crimson laughing maniacally on the radio as his plane falls. What a waste of pilot, Comic, I agree. But I'm feeling that won't be the last.

Mission 19, back to Presidia. Take out Federation's naval force.

VX-23 is now available for purchase. It is like Chengdu J-20/Lockheed F-22 hybrid. Well, more like F-22 with the wings swapped positions. Can't buy this one either even if I sell my SK.37. And I love this thing already because of its AOA limiter.

Naval force destroyed. Presidia is next.

Mission 20. Now I could really sell my SK.37 now to get the VX-23, I wonder if I should do that...

Fuck it. Yolo.

Presidia is liberated. Feds are surrendering. War is over. And then...

"KINGS"

....

No.

No, Sector D2. Please, don't.

Don't make Crimson 1 pull a Pixy on me for the ultimate mission.

I called it earlier. He's gone off the rails. He took the Fed's superplane and nuked everyone in Presidia with it except Monarch. Probably intentionally, to set a personal score with me.

But I'm not scared. Well, until he fired railguns on all directions, launched Project Wingman's equivalent of ADMM, and released force fields ala Arsenal Bird/Alicorn. When I thought this game would be like Ace Combat, I didn't think it would be "Ace Combat, but 150% more fucked up."

I employed the similar strat from before. Lock the third person camera at his plane, firewall the throttle up to Mach 2 and spam the AOA limiter. He's got 3 health bars in that superplane that's probably powered by cordium. If previous missions didn't emphasize on how orange this game is, well, this final showdown does.

Everything is orange. The skies, the ground, the sun, the missiles, the railgun trails, my HUD, half the time I couldn't tell if my missiles hit him or not because my interface was loaded with directional missile proximity indicators. Thank fuck the health bar is still perfectly readable.

"You signed this deal a long time ago." WELL I DIDN'T SIGN UP TO FIGHT YOU SPECIFICALLY NOW DID I. But you've decided that it's personal so bitch, COME THE FUCK AT ME.

"I'm Cascadian. You think I take joy in killing my own countrymen?" SO WHY THE FUCK DID YOU DO IT IN THE FIRST PLACE. YOU LET YOUR OWN PRIDE CONSUME YOU AND THOUGHT THEY'RE ACCEPTABLE LOSSES IN YOUR OWN PERSONAL BEEF WITH ME. FUCK YOU.

I danced with him in the skies for probably a good 15 to 20 minutes just trying to land one or two hits on him. A deadly aerial dance that involves jet fuel, multi lock missiles and nuclear railguns.

Three health bars depleted. My camera is still locked onto his PW.MK1.

"No, not yet..."

Then all my HUD element disappears.

He's not dead yet. Two health bars now on the bottom of the screen, one for Hitman 1 and one for Crimson 1. Fuck, I have to fight him again. I grazed my VX-23 on the railgun trail and took some damage. But I still have my wings. I can still fly.

Another 10 minutes of fighting. I'm gonna fucking joust him now like Pixy. Dozens of STDMs, hundreds of railgun projectiles and thousands of 20mm Vulcan rounds.

His last health bar is depleted.

...

But my camera is still locked onto his plane. The corpse of his PW.MK1 flailing through the clouds and trailing flames.

Why am I not seeing a chute?!

"Monarch..."

God damn it, Crimson, eject! Eject now!

"When you hear the thunder..."

There's no time for speeches, damn it! Eject!

"When the storm comes for you..."

Dying will not solve anything! Fucking punch out, god damn it!

"Remember me."

...

But he was a fighter pilot to the end.

Remember him, Monarch.

Because it's just you left.

No one else. No Prez, Galaxy, Diplomat, Comic,

It's just you.

As a final send off, I leveled out my VX-23 to the horizon, pointing towards the sun, and fly off into the distance.

Contract completed.

---

Project Wingman, completed. Wow. What a game.

The story, the gameplay, the graphics, the sounds, voices, visuals, everything.

I can tell it's all been made with passion and love. And it really is... a love letter to the Ace Combat franchise.

It may as well be an Ace Combat game on its own.

I never mentioned it, but the OST is also phenomenal. Especially on Mission 11. On par with Ace Combat. Maybe even better, for an indie game. Especially the credit song, the leitmotif that's been playing throughout the game since Presidia. I'm calling it Monarch's theme.

Wow, just wow. I nearly shed a tear.

You know I once read a quote, I don't remember if it was from this game or something else, but

War doesn't decide who is right.

Only who is left.

10/10. Phenomenal game. Sector D2, you are legends. Absolute fucking legends, you hear?

There are so many people backing this game on Kickstarter, on the order of hundreds. Maybe thousands. All their names are in the credits.

And it was all so worth the money you all have invested in the development of Project Wingman.

And for me, it was worth the money I spent on buying this game.

Enjoy your victory while it lasts, Monarch.

You may not have a throne, or anything left in your world.

But you are the king.

As for me, I'm gonna play the game again and try to understand the lore better. It seems that I have a tendency to hyperfocus on the task/quest/gameplay at hand. Probably gonna turn down the bgm and sfx a little bit so I can hear dialogues better.

[alicethepiper]

okay ive never really been much of a call of duty person, but i did play zombies. it went from just watching the older sibs and cousins playing to then participating and it being like this thing. i was basically there for the vibes, but it's not always super fun. Sometimes tho - I do get into it. anyways - i spent the weekend with a family member and to get to know their SO a little bit better, we booted up the Xbox and played zombies. This is our common ground. Bring up zombies (in general) and we're besties. Educate me on the call of duty lore and then I will tell you about resident evil - a fair trade. Anyways we're playing a little bit and then some of their online friends joined and honestly, it was a good time. The VIBES. But then I was like you know what would be even cooler (because I have brainrot and can't separate this stupid fucking franchise from anything in my life): zombies but it's not COD it's resident evil. I want mercenaries but multiplayer or something. I want all that fun shit. Does this exist?? I know there was like an online thing and also RE6 and RE5 have multiplayer mercenaries and the outbreak games are a thing (I've never touched them im sorry) but I want ZOMBIES. I want a fullblown zombies-like game with all the fun different maps and stupid ass banter between the characters and I want to be able to play it and then my buds can see that I'm online and hop on in. PLEASE. am I stupid? Does this exist? I want - no, I CRAVE.

capcom i want more resident evil thanks

[megamindsecretlair]

Get To Know Me Tag Game

Thank you for the tag @nerdieforpedro 😚 for anyone who cares, here's a bit about me! 🥹

General rule: I may overshare in dms and authors notes sometimes but Im generally a private person 🤣 to the point Ive lost friends over it. ive been working with my coworkers for 3 years and they dont know shit about me 🤣 I juss really love yall and feel safe with yall so here we go!

1. Were you named after anyone?

No. My mom didnt want our names to announce who we were on applications so we all got regular smegular names. My name is of Irish origin so my yt folks customer service voice got ppl thinkin I have red hair. I mean....technically yes but its buried under my braids 🤣

2. When was the last time you cried?

At the end of The Marvels. The first end credit had me in real, actual tears. On a more serious note, I last cried before my grandma died. Yall, its fn hard being a caretaker. I was not built Ford Tuff.

3. Do you have kids?

*ahem* 🗣🗣 fuck no! 🤣🤣🤣 I dont even have nieces or nephews. Kids make me nervous and Im pretty sure they can smell the fear on me. 🤣

4. What sports do you play/ have you played?

I played basketball and softball in HS. I love and miss softball all the time even though my big behind HATES running.

5. Do you use sarcasm?

Sarcasm is one of my love languages. I put that shit on everything 🤣 Physical Touch is my main one since we sharing.

6. What is the first thing you notice about people?

Ooof, tough. Depends. Some quirk like glasses, lisp, moles. How they walk/talk, the way they laugh. I am a lurker by trade. Overly shy kid and writer by nature will do that to ya.

7. What is your eye color?

Dark brown. When that sun hits 🫠🫠🫦

8. Scary movies or happy endings?

I am a HUGE scaredy cat. I dont do scary movies nothin! Happy endings over here! 🤸🏽‍♀️ I will enjoy a thriller but only behind my hands and mostly starring Matthew Lillard.

9. Any talents?

.....no? I have a bunch of useless knowledge or trivia that no one asked for but ya gonna get 🤣 . Juss realized writing is considered a talent 😭 so that too 🤣

10. Where were you born?

US, West Coast baybeee

11. What are your hobbies?

Obvs, writing. Reading, sewing, cons, tarot, tv, listening to music, video games (xbox, switch, PC girlie) , Marvel. Marvel is a hobby. I will talk your ear off. That is both a threat and a promise 😚

12. Do you have any pets?

I have two gorgeous Boston Terriers who run me into the ground every day. Idk why my mom thought two was okay 🫠🫠 my Black ass tide 🥲 👏🏽

13. How tall are you?

Fun sized 5'3 and a half 👏🏽👏🏽🤣 pear shaped. I got ass for days but in the itty bitty titty committee. 😭😭😭😭😭

14. Favorite subject in high school?

Definitely English. My English teacher was so fine 🥲🥲 thats not WHY it was my fave but can ya blame me 😩 I loved reading the books but I hated the themes they shoved down our throats. What if that wasnt MY interpretation of the book??? Hmmm? Some faves include: Their Eyes Were Watching God (Teacake 🥵🥵🥵), Brave New World, Bright Lights Big City (probably where my love of second person is from) , Bronx Masquerade, and The Outsiders. And FUCK the Great Gatsby. If I hear about that damn green light one 👏🏽 mo 👏🏽 fn 👏🏽 time 👏🏽😩😡 and FUCK Of Mice and Men, he aint have to do all that in the end. And DOUBLE FUCK I Know Why the Caged Bird sings. Turned my stomach when she described the SA. Lemme stop 🥴

15. Dream Job?

Writer. I will publish, I will be successful, and I will live the life I want. I claim it 😩 on my Octavia Butler, NK Jemisin, Danielle Allen shit 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽

Whew! That was fun 😭🤣

No pressure tags: @mybonafidefeelings @bratzmaraj @braverthanthenewworld @multiversefanfics @chaos-4baby @westside-rot @saturn-rings-writes @notapradagurl7 @wide-nose-and-wonderful @blowmymbackout @blackerthings @harmshake @targaryenvampireslayer and who wants to do one. I love learning bout my moots.

[hood-simz]

The mods over at r/sims4 fucking ✨suck✨

No doubt they are the same people from years ago that I had issues with but now, upon making two posts and being told they broke rule #4 for "not pertaining to the sims 4" i am certain they do in fact, suck

Post 1: "do we actually use curseforge?"

removed: rule #4, and fair enough- that makes sense in a way ngl

Post 2: Console players, why do you use console to play sims 4 opposed to PC?

not removed "yet": rule #4, and no- that doesn't make sense lol- tf are these mods on??

(im yellow and blue, mods are the red)

Bitches be pulling up fractions like aight?? you wanna do fractions, you gonna have to do it right- so I break down exactly how much of my post talks about TS4, and honestly the

"not a word about anything else is not true and you know that"

LIKE GIRL IF I KNEW THAT AND IF THAT WAS TRUE, WE WOULDN'T BE HERE, NOW WOULD WE LOL???

It's just amazing that they have the audacity to go in an earlier message "keep in mind your post hasn't been removed yet" like girl WHY DOES IT HAVE GROUNDS TO BE REMOVED AT ALL???

You know what irritated them about the second post?? Me asking if console players play console sims because that's what they started on and i made the mistake of giving an example about sims bustin' out via xbox and sims 3 via wii (my fucking bad i guess).

I would get if I was rude to console players but I 1000% wasn't and even said console was how I, a PC player, got into it in 2002 and was just curious their reasons for playing on console for this current game in the series.

Back in the day when I was banned for just mentioning that sims piracy existed, I was annoyed but this??? fucking irritated

[whit-doodle]

Path of Titans is one of those games that people either seem to love or they hate. There doesn't seem to be a middle ground for most people. For me, I find the game quite enjoyable.

It's one of the few games I actually bought the day it released on console. Even as an adult, I never outgrew my childhood "dinosaur phase" so I was ecstatic when I first found out about it.

The changes and improvements the devs at Alderon Games have made since its release have been astounding, honestly. Yes, there are things that definitely need to be worked on, but overall, it's really not as bad of a game as many people would want others to believe.

Plus, one of my favorite things about it is the cross-platform playability. The game is available on console, PC, Switch, and Mobile so unless you have cross-platform settings turned off, you'll find players from every device in a server. And kudos to those who only play on mobile because I have no idea how they do it. I have tried but I much prefer my Xbox and a controller.

One of my favorite dinos to play is the Amargasaurus. I lovingly refer to mine as the "walking buffet" because it's an instant target when spotted by carnivores. This is as screenshot from a couple nights ago. That Ceratosaurus followed me and let his buddies know where I was. In the end, 3 Ceratosaurus, 1 Sarcosuchus, and 1 Spinosaurus were needed to take down my Amargasaurus. I honestly laughed the entire time because 1) I am terrible at PvP and 2) The Spino was called in for backup because the rest of them couldn't take down my Amargasaurus.

I flew over Impact Crater on my Thalassodromeus, and the Hatzegopteryx was so high up I didn't even know it was there until it nearly knocked me right out of the sky. I flew for my life, but alas, my poor little Thal didn't stand a chance after the initial hit. I had just been passing through to see what was happening in IC because it's always either a bloodbath or everyone is gathered around the pond just chilling.

I don't know what it was with Ceratosaurus players the other night, but I ended up switching from Gondwa to the Panjura map after my Amargasaurus got taken out. I was in the server maybe 5 minutes before this Cerato in the background tried to make a meal out of my Latenivenatrix. They failed after I was able to outrun them, but I give them an A for effort.

Path of Titans is one of those games where people do get frustrated due to how many times they're targeted by other players. Global chat can be full of toxicity and sweaty PvP players. Then there are days where you'll find a large group of players hanging out in Hotspots, just chilling and chatting in global.

I personally don't mind being targeted by other players. It's a PvP game after all where the end goal is literally make it to adulthood then see how long you can last.

[misswoozi]

I've always wanted to play Saints Row growing up but didn't have an Xbox or PS back in the day. Tell me more about who in NCT/Ateez/EXID do you imagine fitting into this AU 😍 - 🌊

OP! Thank you for asking! Daydreaming about this silly little AU has been getting me through my recent shifts lmao

So! The AU (it needs a name so I can give it a proper tag but we can decide it later) is based on the plot of Saints Row 2.

Hongjoong is the leader of the 3rd Street Saints, or at least he BECOMES it after breaking out of jail (with the help of San) and rebuilding the Saints from the ground up. He's tough, he's a little crazy and he's a natural-born leader so he gains respect really quickly and a few lieutenants (namely Mingi, Jongho and Yunho.)

NCT makes up the Ronin, run by Taeyong, Johnny and Yuta. They exclusively drive motorcycles and make most of their money through real estate, casinos and fight clubs.

Seventeen are the Brotherhood, the car-obsessed punks overseen by Seungcheol. Jeonghan plays guitar in local rock group, Minghao does all of the gang's tattoos and Junhui keeps everyone in line. They own some junkyards, some chop shops and most of them compete in Stillwater's underground demolition derby.

The Sons of Samedi were taken over (by force) and are led by Solji (though she does typically get a lot of input from Minho and Hani.) Elly, a lieutenant, deejays for Stillwater's rap station while Key and Minho dominate the city's industry. (It's worth noting that Solji puts the fear of GOD into a lot of the other gangs' members and lieutenants.)

(The more I replay SR2, the more sure I am on these assignments.)

[faint-kitten]

I have played Minecraft today for the first time.

I had a Commander Shepard skin from when I downloaded it on Xbox years ago, so I was femme Shep. I punched the Tree because I know you're supposed to. Then I punched flowers. Then I punched bushes. Then I punched mushrooms. I got so many mushrooms.

Then I found a Dog, couldn't figure out how to pet the dog. Didn't want to let him out of my sight, but I saw a pig, and another dog. Then I found a big beautiful pit. I'm a bugger for a pit. I love a little hole in the ground protect me from everyone. Make a TV and a bed I'm good to go. I knew going in water protected you from fall damage, so I just swam down into the pit. It was so damp and beautiful down there. Then I met a cute skeleton. Then I tried to hug the skeleton. The skeleton made it VERY clear he did not consent to being hugged. I apologized to the skeleton and told him I didn't know the place was already spoken for I'd be happy to leave. But must have been an American when he was alive because he kept shooting. So I ran. I flock of Seagulls'd it. I ran back to the waterfall and in my panic jumped deeper into the pit. I landed in water which was okay, but I just kept sinking: I didn't know how to swim. I am not afraid of slenderman. I am not afraid of Pyramid head. I am not afraid of freddy Kruger: I am afraid of pitch black water, and confined spaces, feeling like I cannot escape. I do not want to abandon Commander Shepard, and her cute butt to an ever crushing eternally falling, black fathoms of nothingness by closing the game. Suddenly I was not having fun anymore. The music was still whimsical. It was indifferent to my terror. I tried jumping. I went up. I spammed the jump button. I zoomed the fuck out of there. I was fucking Aquaman swiming up a waterfall at 40 knots. Giving the skeleton a two fingered salute on my way out. I got out of the waterfall. I stood and realized I couldn't go any higher out of the pit. I either needed to dig my way out or settle my differences with Mr. bones below. I know you put things in shapes to make different tools. I had all this wood. But the more I moved the wood around, the more it made more wood. It was like that fucking episode of star trek. The trouble with Wood. My Wood Begat different wood. I just kept making wood, which begat more wood, which begat buttons and sticks. It occurred to me I needed more material.

I know you can make pickaxes out of wood, but the solution eluded me. I was like the worlds shittiest alchemist. If I was in Full Metal Alchemist, my name would be "The Bozo Alchemist" because I am a clown that can't transmute anything. I tried to punch rock and stone, farming for metals and ways to make a pick. But my digging left no blocks behind to harvest. Commander Shepard's might hands crumbled everything into dust. I saved, and logged out for the day. I don't know if I'll ever play again.

8/10 would recommend.

[dontmindme2600]

Things that have happened to in Fallout 3 so far as I go into the game not knowing anything at all about it, part 3 (part two is in the reblogs of the og post I just don’t want to make it any longer lol):

-Game just straight up crashed randomly (love u Bethesda) but thankfully it was like soon after I turned it on so I didn’t really lose anything important. What was weird though is that after closing it and reopening it, it was still crashing. Like it just froze with glitched audio on the title screen. Also somehow when I tried to open a whole other game to give it a break the glitching sound continued over to a whole other goddamn game for some reason. I am using past tense here but I actively write this stuff as it happens (I have this post drafted) and literally have no idea what to do rn because I’m playing on Xbox GamePass and like wha (I’ll figure it out)

-I found the mechanist and tried to do that speech thing on him where you try to tell him he’s become just as big of a problem as the AntAgonizer, the first time it didn’t work and he killed me. The second time it immediately worked, and after like 3 lines of dialogue he took the suit off and I completed the entire quest. Like. Like the whole thing. What the fuck. I don’t even know what the AntAgonizer looks like yet. I was. I was expecting a little more there

-Was hanging out in the Rivet city marketplace for the first time, got some pre-war clothes, gossiped with some NPC’s, all of sudden one of them starts running and I’m getting shot at, I leave and come back and everything’s normal, don’t know what that was about but I LIVED THIS TIME THOUGH HA

-Was going through hell in DC as you do and started repeatedly clipping through the ground with every step I took, had to reload a save to get it back to normal

-Whatever you do, do not take a left after you discover Friendship Heights

-Found an area that was full of raiders to practice my combat and the raiders just like. Hung a bunch of dismembered bodies from the ceiling of one room and I will not lie I was a bit aghast. Appalled if you would. Flabbergasted. Like have some class???

-Made it to the underworld, I’m considering killing Ahzrukhal to learn more about Charon without having to pay, but the people there already probably don’t trust me and I don’t want them to become hostile because I killed him lmao

-Found a glitched like,,, floating armor I think??? It was just a chest plate and mask floating in midair in some closed off area of an underground metro station, and I’m not joking it scared the shit out of me because it looked like a floating corpse staring straight at me alsjdhakksj. When I walked into it gravity kicked in and it fell to the ground, but when I went back into the same area again later it respawned, floating again.

-I’ve realized that there’s a counter for “pants exploded” in your stats and I am,,, very curious on when that will be a thing I can do

Notes:

-I still have absolutely NO idea how to use V.A.T.S. properly, so I avoid it, so I’m absolutely dogshit at any combat in the game. I kind of think that at this point I should probably work on it because I’m struggling to make any major progress with the quests. So I’ll make sure to practice sometime

-From now on I’ll tag these posts as “fo3 with Stupid” (the old ones are tagged with this as well)

[easternmind]

Oh boy, what do you think of the Silent Hill 2 remake trailer? I can’t speak for the other announced stuff cause I’m pretty basic when it comes to my appreciation for the series, but I do not care for the style change. There’s nothing wrong with the original’s graphics, and those FMVs in particular are still phenomenal! Do we really need to see every single strand of James Sunderland’s five-o-clock shadow?

I know the original source code was lost, and I know a game as old as SH2 should be played on modern hardware, but if Bloober are gonna remake it from the ground-up, I just don’t see a reason to make the new graphics so overly-polished, the devs of the original made the choices they did for a reason, it’s just detailed enough where each character has incredibly subtle details like Eddie’s dilated pupil’s and Maria’s slight stomach flab, but it leaves just enough room for your imagination to fill in the blanks.

I worry with these new graphics, it’s gonna be like those instances where some horror movies get so overly-remastered that you can see the imperfections that the film grain could hide. At the very least, why not recreate the FMVs to apply to the entire game? I think that could actually be interesting… so long as more of Team Silent were involved. I don’t know much about Bloober and haven’t played any of their games, but I hear they tend to have some major problems with their writing and horror.

We recently discussed Pathologic 2 as a great example of expanding on the original in a different way, but at least the original was a compromised vision so it makes more sense for a game like Pathologic Classic to be remade from the ground-up.

Am I coming off as too nitpicky with just this single trailer to go off of?

If anything you are being too tactful in describing the situation. The current popularity of video game remakes is symptomatic of a creative crisis at the heart of the industry, as well of the average consumer's expectations from technology. Players have allowed themselves to be persuaded by the unfinished thought that the best path to revisit the classic games they grew up playing is to have them reworked to look modern and pristine; paying little or no mind to the fact that their perception of the original game experience will irreparably be altered in the process. Certain studios, on the other hand, feel much more at ease with the prospect of developing a new version of a beloved game whose known popularity gives them a risk-reducing safety net, while also bypassing the strenuous work of developing an original concept. Just a few days ago in another comment exchange here, I repudiated the Bluepoint remake of Shadow of the Colossus, for me the foremost example of the perils this practice entails. To that, I would add that other atrocity that was the also recent Panzer Dragoon remake. I feel downright terrified by how the majority of players considers this to be entirely harmless. Silent Hill 2 is a game from its time and for its time. I remember that the slight resolution upgrade seen in the XBOX edition already exposed the fragile seams that stitched it together. The aesthetics were designed with a CRT TV equipment in mind. As you say, this specific visual style doesn't lend itself too well to modern displays. Adding sheen to its dull textures compromises its entire visual identity. Increasing the detail of character models poses impossible interpretative challenges, leading to the result we saw in today’s presentation, where there is nothing left of James' original facial features to be recognized in the remake. Paradoxically, we’re expected to summon the memories of something exceptional and familiar, use them to fill the credibility gaps of some high definition ersatz that will, in its turn, consume them and replace them by lesser ones. There was already enough information available to establish that Bloober was developing a Silent Hill project, namely the fact that a partnership deal was announced last year right about at the same time Tencent became a major shareholder for this studio. Their games are, for the most part, unconvincing. I played Observer and while it was fine as an independent project, it was clearly not a congruent experience. They also face-lifted it but a few years after the first edition, which I found suspicious, even though it’s their IP to do with as they please. The Medium isn't a complete failure, although it shows a poor lack of understanding of what constitutes horror in a video game experience. I never even touched Layers of Fear games because nothing about it seemed to deserve any attention. Although they are an already established studio, this will be their biggest project yet, with a potential target audience much wider than any of their previous titles. Nothing should distract us, however, from the fact that these are mere tradesmen foolishly attempting to recreate a work of art. I will say that Townfall, by No Code, has the smallest margin by which it may succeed in taking the base themes of Silent Hill and working them from an angle that fits the studio's own artistic direction, freed from the pressure of making the game look identical to its prequels. Their other games, Observation and Untold Stories, are sufficiently unique and inventive for me to preserve moderate expectations that they may actually be in the process of creating the first dignified sequel since the release of 'The Room'. 

[evas-apartment]

Man I'm torn. Cause like... my PS4 is giving me issues. And it is a couple years old, but consoles should have a longer shelf life than 4 years. They used to. But now everything is bad. I can't even get a PS5 cause they're like fucking cryptid sightings a whole TWO YEARS after launch. And I don't even really want a PS5 right now. I still have so many PS4 games I wanna play. And if I do get a PS5 I wanna keep the PS4 of course, cause I still wanna play it. I still have my PS3 hooked up, cause I bounce around a TON of consoles.

Currently I'm playing stuff on Wii, GameCube, GBA, PS2/3/4, not to mention emulators. I'm busy. And I don't wanna get rid of my PS4. But its not acting right and I don't know if its just cause its old or if Sony is fucking with me to make me buy a console that ISN'T IN STOCK. Like I'm not being stubborn this time, IT'S OUT OF MY CONTROL.

I wanna buy a new PS4. Cause currently, I'm experiencing an issue where all of a sudden my PS4 stops connecting to ANYTHING. It disconnects me from parties, from PSN, from the internet, and also disconnects all my controllers. And I can't connect any controllers until I fully power off the console and turn it back on. Its really frustrating. It doesn't happen all the time, but I'm not sure what triggers it. I can play most games fine, but I've noticed that it does it when I stream games off PS+ (formerly Playstation Now). And its like... why am I paying for this service if the games fucking brick my console?? And I don't wanna stop paying for it cause a TON of games come free with it, I think its a good service (not as good as Game Pass from what I hear, but I'll be cold and dead in the ground before I recognize Xbox). So is it worth it? I doubt ALL PS4 consoles are on the way out, that doesn't make sense to me. And there's a LOT of games on PS4 that aren't on PS5 (at least i think, that claim was made without research, I'm at work, get off my back).

Point is: My PS4 is being fucky. I still wanna play PS4 games. I wanna buy another PS4, cause they're like half the price of the PS5, and PS5's aren't available rn. I'm feeling feelings rn about it, and I'm at register at my job rn, and there's like nothing happening rn so I have the time and this post is stimulating my brain enough to keep me not bored. If you've read this, thanks! If you have any advice on this, let me know!

[nathank77]

8/10/24

2:27 p.m

Idk why I try to enjoy my shitty life. I moved my computer. Got up moved around a bit tripped a little on a wire and my Mac fell on the ground.

Through process of elimination. It still works thankfully and was not damaged... the ports on the mac still work. The Xbox port it was hooked up to still works.

I have two capture cards, neither are getting power. Power is supplied through the computer hook up to the capture card. It's unlikely that both capture cards are broken.

I tested the two different wires to the computer. And three different hdmi cords one of which went straight from the tv to the Xbox and that worked. It seems the HDMI to type c adapter got damaged when I tripped.

I'm lucky when you consider it could have been the macbook with a 200$ accidental damage fee. Or it could have been the Xbox needing repair.

But why I ask myself must I always suffer ramifications from simply walking around my room.... I didn't fall on the ground I'm thankful for that. My Mac being undamaged is great and I'm thankful for that.

But why must I spent another 20$ on another adapter bc I moved my foot.

I fucking moved my foot and a catastrophic event must occur that costs me money I don't have.

I already have to listen to a voice talk 24/7, you'd think I'd ever be given a break.

I can't fucking record my gameplay without this adapter. All I can do is stream directly from my Xbox to twitch. Which I don't want to stream on twitch for many reasons. It's depressing that no one watches. It's depressing that Elise unfollowed me. It's depressing that once it goes to 1 and then I check the viewer is already gone. It's depressing that it disconnects randomly and cuts out audio.

What's even worse is my watermark is gone and anyone on this earth can steal my gameplay... which limits me to play stupid games such as minecraft only cause ain't no one gonna steal Minecraft gameplay generally anyways.

Also I record/stream bc then I talk at the viewer which makes me hallucinate significantly LESS bc my brain focuses on MY VOICE. Instead of the shitty Brian damaged one it created. So no I don't want to game if I don't pretend i have a viewer.

I can't play anything I'm really good at bc my watermark is gone. My silent hill shit will be gone in the wind to someone who steals gameplay..

And now I got to pull 20$ out of my ass to TEST if it's the adapter. Logically and upon trial and error it sure seems to be my adapter.

But why must every day be shit on a stick? Why can't I just have one good day? Why do I have to suffer consequences bc I moved my foot..

I moved my foot and it's going to cost me 20$ if I want to record my gameplay and I do..... bc I don't like twitch disregard Elise and look at the fact sheet I listed above. I record. I don't stream for a fucking reason.. and now if I am to play at all for the rest of the day then I have no choice but to stream and idk if my voice will even come through bc I lose the ability to have a Webcam.

The watermark thing is a big deal. You can't steal my shit if I'm in the corner and I'm talking. But whatever my life sucks and it isn't worth living.

I can't even move my foot.

[alecbicheno]

Blog post 7 - Is realism worth the effort?

There are two factors to consider when discussing realism within videogames, the graphics, and the gameplay. Both of these have a significant impact on the overall quality and reception of the game which I am going to break down.

Different art styles

There are different kinds of graphics you see in games. There is the stylised kind which can be broken down into a few different types such as Cel- shading which can be seen in games like Borderlands (2009) and its sequels, giving a unique look to the characters and environment, or the exaggerated kind which you can find in games like Sea of Thieves (2018) where lots of aspects of the game look exaggerated. Then there is realism, which is what lots of AAA game studios strive for. An example of this would be Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III (2023) and the previous instalments of the franchise, which aim to have realistic graphics with each new instalment.

Is realism worth it?

There are generally two opinions when it comes to graphics, the first is that graphics should be as realistic as possible, and the other thinks that graphics are overrated. I’m of the latter opinion.

Good graphics are much easier to achieve nowadays, so having a good-looking game isn’t as much of an achievement as it used to be. So, there’s no need to waste time and effort on creating amazing graphics and instead the resources should be spent on crafting good gameplay, narratives, characters, etc.

Furthermore, it’s worth noting as technology evolves all the effort put into creating these incredible graphics could be obsolete by next year, as the constant hunger for detail will inevitably lead to better ways of making said graphics.

More to games than realism

It’s also important to consider the level of realism in the gameplay and how much it actually contributes to the overall experience. For example, Red Dead Redemption 2 (2018) was criticised for being too realistic, which I can attest to. There were many mundane tasks to complete such as cleaning guns to maintain them or feeding your horse to keep it in good health, as well as quality of life issues such as having to go to your horse to change weapons. This is essentially having realistic gameplay for the sake of it, instead of it contributing to the overall experience. It takes away from the fun of the gameplay by having to do these monotonous tasks, especially when we usually play games to relax, but instead get agitated by the very thing we are trying to relax by doing.

However, when we compare this to rockstars other game Grand Theft Auto V (2013), realism is out the window. While there is some sense of being grounded in reality, there are some ridiculous stories, weapons and vehicles all for players to enjoy, hence why the game is still played over 10 years later.

My practice

To re iterate, I think that the movie like quality of realism is an unnecessary thing to strive for. It does not need to be prioritized in game development, which allows efforts to be directed at other aspects of game development like the story or gameplay which would take the game further. Simply put good graphics don’t make a good game.

Bibliography

Anon., 2020. How RDR2 Prioritizes Realism At The Expense of Playability. [Online] Available at: https://screenrant.com/red-dead-redemption-2-realism-extreme-boring-controls/ [Accessed 5 December 2023].

Fox, A., 2019. Why Video Games Should Abandon Realistic Graphics. [Online] Available at: https://www.forevergeek.com/why-video-games-should-abandon-realistic-graphics/ [Accessed 5 December 2023].

GEARBOX SOFTWARE. (2009) Borderlands. [DISC]Xbox 360. Novato: 2K

RARE. (2018) Sea of Thieves. [DISC]Xbox One. Redmond: Microsoft Studios

ROCKSTAR GAMES. (2018) Read Dead Redemption 2. [DISC]Xbox One. New York City: Rockstar Games

ROCKSTAR NORTH. (2013) Grand Theft Auto V. [DISC]Xbox 360. New York City: Rockstar Games

SLEDGEHAMMER GAMES. (2023) Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III. [DISC]Xbox Series X. Santa Monica: Activision

Warner, N., 2021. Sometimes games that are realistic…are worse. [Online] Available at: https://www.destructoid.com/sometimes-realistic-games-are-worse/ [Accessed 5 December 2023].

Zentler, R., 2022. Game On: Video games don’t need to look realistic. [Online] Available at: https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2022/mar/17/game-on-video-games-dont-need-to-look-realistic/ [Accessed 5 December 2023].

[first-impressions-gaming]

Shadow Warrior 3

Developed by Flying Wild Hog

Published by Devolver Digital

Release Date 2022

Tested on Xbox Series X

MSRP 39,99 USD

Does this sound familiar to you, “it is so BAD that it is bloody GOOD at some point”? This is my experience towards the narrative of Shadow Warrior 3 in my two-hour playtime summarized in a single sentence. It is also notable to note that I haven’t played the first two instalments of the franchise before this one therefore I am not able to compare the third one to first two or point out improvements or downgrades.

Even though I haven’t played the previous games, the opening sequence and cutscene are welcoming to the players (who haven’t experienced prior games like me) in laying the ground in terms of characters, humour of the game and a little bit of backstory. 

The protagonist, Lo Wang, has a bombastic and charming personality which breaks the fourth wall and who is well aware of his shortcomings and full of himself, he is mixing arrogance with self-criticism which works well for his own portrayal for himself, rendering him likeable to players. This can be observed and witnessed in the very opening scene: we step into a location, a place on a hill between mountains and every little object and item feel out of place and space, such as Lo Wang’s dirty underwear, a wrecked car, stereotypical-looking mythical objects, Lo Wang’s storytelling about recent events and him saying he wishes to open a comic book store if this saving the world mission doesn’t work out.

Early in the game, you have flashback moments such as this clip, the mountain explodes when Lo Wang is wall-running and falls to the ground, crying out loud “I was supposed to win!”:

Another great scene is where Lo Wang attempts to jump across the platform and holds onto a corpse, stupidly fun B-movie vibes are real with this cutscene:

At first I got the impression that the game wanted a shot at making a Doom-like game with fourth-wall-breaking jokes and more approachable less-serious personalities with Doom-ish level design and combat flow, but Shadow Warrior 3 aspires to go beyond that, combat action is more like Serious Sam-type, you go guns blazing instead of calculated or strategic approach.

Shadow Warrior 3 is like a B-movie with full consciousness, it knows it is a B-movie and it builds on it with quality cheesy writing. It is not like “Okay, our writing is not top-notch, it may be B-rated,” it is like “This writing is high-quality B-rated with every detail built around it”.

In every action movie or game, you are the protagonist who prevails despite all the challenges and setbacks, Lo Wang is just another guy who tries to survive in the given situation and circumstances, look at this scene, Lo Wang is trying to get out of the dam before it gets destroyed and as soon as he gets out he witnesses the dam imploding, with side character saying “too close, man”. This line and recognition within it are precious to me, you wouldn’t encounter this sort of line in a Tomb Raider game.

Each weapon and character skill has three upgrades and the order of upgrades are not up to you, the first upgrade for guns is increasing ammo capacity by 50%, you get the cool stuff only in second upgrades such as headshots trigger an explosion to nearby enemies (for the revolver gun), bullets electrocute enemies (submachine gun) etc. Character skills aren’t gamechangers unless you play the game in hardcore mode, what you gain from those skills aren’t that indispensable to overcome enemies.

For upgrades and menus:

Level design-wise, you mostly depend on wall-running, dodging and double-jumping when you travel, these are types of mechanics any FPS player is accustomed to, if you aren’t, it is no brainer because it’s extremely easy to learn. During fights, if you don’t use your environment for your advantage you will see your health diminish pretty fast, you got to dodge enemy attacks often and try to put a reasonable distance between you and and enemies, for example make use of rings that float and allow you to grapple and move across in a location, thanks to this, you can set the tone of the fight.

[threenorth]

HeadSwriel-Headbeat-? #701

My head is spinning like a washing machine, with paints and colours instead of soap, staining my shirt of untrusive thoughts, in the colours I haven't seen in years, it's like the days I was on the run, seeing those mental colours of pain and suffering I long forgot, I'm in fear for my life,

Run, run to the beep, like your life depends on it, gotta be running from the truma of life, it's derailing my sanity.

give me, give me a loraza, l I need some loraza, I only have one left for an emergency and I keep telling myself it could be worse, and I have faith it isn't that bad.

The voice of treason speaks to me, when I need reason, is it actually worse then before or is actually bad now, I thought I asseseted the situation, but shit changes like that, so I cant use my loraza, and I need to hold off, wait a few more days to get more, I've gone through nine in 3 months, that's pretty good righhhht? Rigggghttt?

*wam-bam-octagon-commentary-boomge-rannger-orange- tangerine-anera- orangutan-*

Fuck my head, it's pulsing, it's palpitating, can you feel the rush of fear, lungs tighting, can't breathe, not getting oxygen to the brain, I gotta remember my training, something needs to ground me, ground me to the flat feet I have, that need to touch the souls of the land, what's the count.... 5 things I can se-.. *swuriel*

Head pulsing, head rush, it's a tie dye, psych colours, Can you hear the sweet sound of orange blissem of pain, the colours pain blue sharp pain of tinus, never going away but comes and goes, but you can you smell the colour of fear?

It reminds you that your alive, no rush of calming agents, it was only last week, you can't live in fear, you have to keep pushing forwards, regardless of the pains you feel, it's not here and this wasn't your place to have pain,

You'll say your an empath, and you can feel the discomfort in the force, and feel the aurua of pain and darkness, a kid lost his life, you still have yours, after all the times it could of been taken from you, you gotta keep that head up and be strong.

(FDR) there's nothing to be scared of but fear it's self.

Feeling like an Green Beret, sweep your eyes notice everything, see the people trying to get home, wondering when the next bus is coming, Feel your body checking your sides, checking your surroundings, something isn't right and you don't have to live in fear, you aren't on the run, remember the days of flight, of the fake outs truma jumps, the days of freeze are here and hopefully going away soon enough, but when it comes to fight, we gotta remember Doc said that I am a good man, and being once a weak man, I know and understand the power of strength, and compassion.

A flash into the past,

We now raise my skinny hands up mentally shield in hand, sword reday to do something I shouldn't,

Do you remember when you had to say, I can do this all day, just like the back end streets of a school ground back, in those side streets of Brooklyn, back then we had a heart of gold, and everyone wanted a part of it.

In the days we had to live with the pain, not telling people about the pains we face everyday, I got to meet MacDaddy, he was such a nice guy, but I told him I'm stuck in football camp, and loving his sound of number dos, had to ask him to go back to his roots, but I didn't know he was dealing with his daddy's death, and I too kind of know that second hand pain of having a dad die, I too had that guilt but I was dealing with my PTSD, and hearing the love of my life stuck in my head asking me if I'm okay when my life would worp slowly, numbing myself to the pains of Ian telling me I've got down the toilet bowl. I couldn't tell her, I couldn't, it had been only a year, and I'm worse off then when I left her that day in tears, but I'm going to be okay?

Gerard says that I know Audrey and play d&d like all the cool kids, using a math book grid paper, playing Xbox, those were the days I felt would last forever but now I have depression of yesteryear, and I shouldn't, and now I look back on all the times they fleeted into a memory, you don't know the power of a moment until it becomes a memory in a timeless soul loosing track of time, with no sense of direction miles gave me both directions at once, and I'm a salmon up stream.

We can do this, it's time to fight again.

I almost missed my stop, was in a it of mental trance, maybe this is healing... But I don't have a clue if I'm going up or down, but at least I'm starting to get back to my feelings, they said it's short term, 3 years short or is it now bipolar because I wasn't seen in enough time...

I don't know the answers, but I know I'm brave to get my diagnosis, she taught me how to be brave, I hope she had learnt the lesson of strength, I don't talk about my pains often, I don't want people being scared for me, because now she's back and everything is okay...

Her smile is still burnt in my memory, but her voice is the only medicine I need now, I don't need a loraza, I need a ren, but I'm playing my ren, because this was the art I wanted to make, before I lost who I was,

I tried making art about that time, but the sweet orange bliss found me, maybe I'll revisit those lyrics but for now it's just to much to bear. I wonder if I can read my words, I wonder if I'll be telported back in that bar, a hell of place... I'm going back to the place, maybe this time Jenny won't sing to me to run.

Home at at last, if you want to call this place home, but it ain't mine, my home, it's a place where her two arms wrapped around me, and I want to go home... Home to her, back to the mountains.