#cozy observation playthroughs

[hydralisk98]

Vorbis "virtual realm" experiment

[ focused onto modded AI-only Civ 5 CE campaigns until I can fully move to a custom content threadmill that emulates such whilst tracking way more data and doing so very transparently. ]

* Always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth. -Colossians 2:8, Bible *

Done first for Firaxis' Sid Meier Civilization 5 Complete Edition with a hand-curated modpack (may also include or not my very own in-house tweaks and component upgrades), with plans to port elements of Civ 6 & Beyond Earth Rising Tide components and towards FreeCiv as well...

'Vorbis' reality specifications for 'Seraph', 'Feywild' & 'Octavia' meta-narratives

The twelve major Civilizations (excluding city-states, barbarians and observer slot):

( Shoshoni Union of syndicalist Republics, Commune of Samoa, Liquid Republic / Dominion of Sumer, Inuit Assembly of Nations, Heavenly Empire of Vietnam, Federation of Brazil, Theocratic Maya Unitary State, Tsardom of Poland, Monarchy of Assyria, Imperium of Portugal, Enlightened Despotism of Babylon, Absolutist Authority of Morocco; ) = Global Community of Angora [read as planetary]

36 (balance between complete edition vanilla & expansive overhaul modpack-tier), account for 1 slot for barbarians and 1 slot for active map observer; (~50-64 map processing "agents"/"players")

Enraged barbarians, complete kills, random personalities, new random seed, randomize map resources and goodies, abundant resources, high seas, a few map geographies from a fixed set of tectonics (yet to be entirely decided from a range of candidates) differing mostly in climate conditions (list to be expanded onto), several pseudo-historical scenario variants (scenarii list to be expanded onto)...

288x144 master hex map (to be redone entirely with external sources) enriched using 'QGIS'+'Azgaar' workflow and split into six sectors of 96x72 hexagonal tiles each (miniature workflow and workload to ease processing for Civ 5 & FreeCiv with 8 Civs & ~24-40 city-states per such sectors).

Existing mods (to bundle together with credits)

Colonialist Legacies and Senshi's Samoa

Colonialist Legacies' Inuit [tracking down last pre-merge files and assuring it works as intended within the modpack as well as backups]

Colonialist Legacies' Vietnam

Tomatekh Sumer

Ingame Editor & In-Game-Editor for Linux

InfoAddict

Tomatekh Historical Religions Complete (BNW)

Quiet Diplomacy

Artificial Unintelligence Lite

Water Tiles Enhanced

Enlightenment Era

Trading Posts Grow into (Renaissance) Towns

A Few More Terrain-Specific Buildings & Even More Terrain-Specific Buildings

Apollo Program Wonder

Better City State Capture

Faster Aircraft Animations

Early Eras Fix

More Active Religions

Late-Game Unit Pack

Tectonic Map Script

SQ Beliefs

Exploration Continued Expanded (BNW)

Separate Great People Counters (BNW)

Economics

Titans of Commerce Science and Industry (BNW)

Cities of Marble (BNW)

Industrial Combat Overhaul Mod

Resource Rebalance

Unique Cultural Influence

Revolutions

Cultural Diffusion

Macro Religious Pressure & Macro Religious Pressure Plus

Lunar Magister's Resolution - 'X' series

Eras - 'X' series

Buildable Missions

Wide National Wonders

DustJockey's Beliefs Revised

A Few More Recon Units

Slower Space Race

Fixed Trade

Grant's Heathen Religions

Jarcast's Some More City States

Low Resolution Units

Global Warming & Global Warming Congress

Small Continents Deluxe

Bison Resource

Faster AI Turn Processing

Faster Non-Aircraft Animations

Modernization

Race for Religion (BNW)

Reform and Rule (BNW)

No More Archaeologist Spam

Iconian's Rivers Yield More Food

Iconian's Improvement Changes

Iconian's Cheaper Ancient Units

Ideological Overhaul Unity Equality Prosperity

Era Settlers

Civ IV Leader Traits in Civ V

Religion - Beliefs Expansion Pack & Religion - Improved Customization & Religion - Early Piety & Religion - No AI Free Pottery

National Wonder Collection

Unique Building Collection

Unique Trait Collection

Barbarians Evolved

Valhalla Map Script

STSQ Beliefs

Units - Starting Scout

Example - Remove Giant Death Robot

Resource - Mint Includes Copper

Resource - Granary Includes Bison

Resource - Copper buff

Terrain - Poor Tiles Tweak

Promotions - Expansion Pack

Terrain - Tipi

Terrain - Terrace Farm Extension

Arecibo Observatory Wonder

Teotihuacan Wonder

Puukohola Heiau Wonder

More Buildings

Larger Cities

Covert Operations - Making Spies Great Again

Resolutions - XCOM Initiative & Resolutions - XCOM Initiative Lite

Reseed

Great Prophet Historical Names (BNW or GK)

UI - EditUnitNames

Modern Carriers

Seals for More Luxuries

Luxuries Revamped

Civilization IV Diplomatic Features

More City States

World Congress Reformation

City States Expansion (G&K + BNW)

Civ 6 City Loyalty

Research Agreements and Other tweaks

Dynamic Culture Overview

Coasts and Rivers Yield Gold Again

UN Security Council Resolution

Renewable Energy

City and Barb Camp Placement Fix

Food for Flatland cities (BNW or GK)

Better City Defenses

Scaling Great Merchant (BNW)

Cheaperer Guided Missiles

Observatory Rework

Iconian's happiness mod

RetroA's A Few More National Wonders & Even More National Wonders

PROMOTIONS PACK (no DLL required)

Utility: AI Observer Interface

Ethnic Diversity - Steam version

[v.4] Renaissance Era Revised

Caravan Range Extension

Barb Control

Less Warmonger Hate

Improved Air Recon

Iska's Additional Diplomacy - All in One + Putmalk's C4DF

Fredicten's UN Headquarters

Caravan Build Roads

City-State Diplomacy Mod (CSD) for Brave New World - no DLL

Speed Repacing

Optimized National Wonder Scaling

=Furious Turns=

Unwelcome Prophets

+Natl. Wonder Compendium+

+Policy National Wonders+

+Revamped Policies+

+Fast Animations+

+More Faith Buidlings+

+Resource Compendium+

+Pantheon Compendium+

Dynamic Towns & Dynamic Towns - Reform and Rule

Terrain Names Corrected

Early Production Fix

Nuclear Plants Can Meltdown

Advanced Air-Naval-Ground Units Megamod

Emigration

Redesigned Colors and Icons (RCI)

Dynamic Improvement Yields

Fall of Guilds

Scenario Generator Collection

Advanced Naval Units

JFD Rise to Power Collection

New and Enhanced Buildings Collection

Civic and Reform

=Combustion Fix=

+Religious Orders+

Mega Trading (Additional Trade Routes)

DynamicEras

Civ V Focused AI

Civ Balance & Balance Lite

(3UC) - 3rd Unique Component

(4UC) - 4th Unique Component

(5UC) - 5th Unique Component

Vox Populi?

Corporations?

S-Man mod author Collection?

Iska mod author Collection?

Arendelle mod author Collection?

Civilization 5 CE Engine & Runtime tweaks for the Win11 era.

LuaJIT dedicated version upgrade

DLL replacements where relevant

64-bit patch for all the major game executables

ModBuddy, WorldBuilder & LiveTuner fixups where-ever possible (and other overall SDK upgrades)

Xephyr's macOS + Linux port data revisions if possible

Enhanced User Interface "unofficial DLC"

The most popular 2K resolution 'Texture Pack' for Civ 5?

Making best use of every safe optimization out there ensure minimal disturbance and quality consistency.

External content, inspirations, materials and sources for the project

Yogscast Civilization YouTube multiplayer compilation channel

Overall YouTube content about everything Civ 5 (additional sources to be written in due time)

Must study & document my very own saved maps, recorded sessions and savegame state files (specific instances and related stories to be described relatively soon)

Existing multimedia, fandoms and shared universes I enjoy from all across the world wide web (yep, much is to be pervasively accounted for in the shared realm of "16^12")

My very own mod additions + tweaks

[ TO BE INSERTED IN DUE TIME ]

More constraints and additional parameters to account for

In-sync with my aesthetic themes on Linux, use version control software such as 'Git' or 'Subversion', may get other people / folks involved into a community branch of my project, get alot of testing & debugging done, windowed or borderless window display mode for Civ 5 (sticking to both 1440x900p, 1920x1080p [& 2560x1440p if possible ?] resolutions), integrations with several other playthroughs far beyond the baseline workload of Stellaris, FreeCiv and Firaxis' Civilization games (including Beyond Earth Rising Tide modded with Codex overhaul);

Take hints from history & fiction & suggested hypotheses, improvise & append & iterate content extras as needed, think ahead about the Azgaar to GPlates + GProjector to QGIS documentation pipeline, get as much mileage from InfoAddict as decent enough, keep some loose / leeway for a couple of topics but still go quite verbose / describe / suggest as much as it is comfortable to do so, think about how it source files render both in 'transparent & libre FOSS' & close-source software but a slight preference for open formats;

Don't forget to explain & demonstrate by "show not tell" as much as it is optimal, think about the sound design (soundscape, sound effects 'SFX', music tracker, voice tracks with closed captions... ), consider requests & contributions & commissions for slide illustrations / assets of the multimedia compositions, fail faster, don't forget to credit source material & respect licenses where applicable, be overt about the social contract, make sure to be strict with the people who don't respect the rules in place;

Simply a note before this announcement ends

As I am doing a quick pace yet long length worldly conquest on Settler on a experimental playthrough of mine, just wanted to note that as soon as such is done, I will be going onto the first contents as planned by the following post hyperlinked banner, which will indeed lead to the grand scale playthrough that this post actually announces.

Don't forget about how the content generated will be reused and expanded onto through the community and power tools, as somewhat announced here:

Thanks for sticking around for this post, I appreciate every second of it.

[squishysvt]

You Either Die a Hero...

Member: The8 (Seventeen) Genre: fluff (i guess?) Word Count: 1,020 AN okay so I thought about this quote in a shower, and made an au in my head with it somehow. Have fun playing video games with TwinBrother!Minghao! I realized that I made an unintentional batman reference, so there’s that  -Admin Ay Warning: A bit of spoilers for the game Dishonored (it’s stuff said earlier in the game so it’s not that bad), a bit of profanity, and the game is violent so…mentions of killing

   You busted through Minghao’s door, plastic case in your hand.

   “Okay, bro, get up! We’re playing this game I bought at the store!”

   Minghao looked up from his phone from the large red bean bag chair he was settled in. For some reason he never liked sitting in it as a normal person would. His feet pointed up in the air while his head rested on the floor.

   “Didn’t you tell me you were broke? What are you doing buying a game?” He raised his eyebrow.

   “Chillax it was like ten dollars, it’s not like I’m bankrupt.”

   Minghao sneered, “That’s not what you were saying back at McDonald’s when I had to pay for your dumb french fries.”

   “Anyway,” you shoved your twin brother off of his chair, “Let’s play, it’s called Dishonored. I watched a few playthroughs of it and it seems pretty fun.” You proceeded to say after claiming the bean bag chair as you own.

   You tossed the shiny plastic game case onto Minghao’s chest. His body still flopped on the ground from when you pushed him, not bothering to get up. “Pop the thing in the thing and let’s get started.”

   “First of all, it’s called a disk and a console, you dimwit.”

   “Yeah, whatever, less talking, more moving.”

   Minghao only sighed, finally obeying your demands. At this point, he had gotten used to your bossy antics. He had realized back when you both were five, when you had somehow gotten your parents to force Minghao to give you his single bag of his favorite gummy candies, that there was no winning over you. However, he had to admit, he was eager to see what the game you had gotten was. You had a tendency to pick the ones that kept him up all night trying to finish them.

   Once the screen had loaded and both you and Minghao had gotten comfortable, controller in Minghao’s hands as he layed sprawled out on the floor and you cozy in the seat had stolen, you decided to brief your brother on the basics of the game.

   “I know you’re slow so I’ll explain the goal as you play sit through this cut scene.”

   “Who the hell are you calling–”

   “Hush now child. I’m bestowing upon you the great elder’s wisdom. So yeah, you remember that girl?” Minghao confirmed with an irritated grunt, “You gotta save that chick. And I don’t remember if the game says this or not, but there’s two endings. If you kill a lot of people you get the evil ending and if you don’t you get the nice one,” You explained.  

   “How much you wanna bet I can go through the whole game without killing?” Your brother wiggled his eyebrows.

   “Yeah, okay Batman. Twenty bucks you don’t get the good ending.”

   Minghao stuck out his hands as he smirked. “Deal.”

   Like expected, Minghao had used the whole day to finish the game. Once he had gotten to the second mission, he was hooked. The only times he had stopped playing being for pee breaks. It was around the end of the third mission when he started getting frustrated.

   Your phone rang loudly, the name “Hansol” displayed in large letters on our screen.

   “Yo, what do you need?” You answered the phone obnoxiously. You had realized being a pacifist sucked in game, and wanted to express your disinterest in what your brother was doing loudly.

   “What’s up! Can I talk to your brother for a second? He’s not answering his phone.” Scoffing, you put the phone on speaker and hummed. None of your brother’s friends actually wanted you. Some of them actually seemed pretty cool to hang out with, but it was hard to get to know them when every conversation started with, “Where’s your brother?” At this point you were not even sure if most of them knew your name. Every time you were spotted in public you were addressed as “Hao’s sister.” Only Jeonghan really bothered to learn your name.

   “Hey, Haohao! Did you get that reservation yet for that resturaunt?”

   “Dang, I forgot!” You observed Minghao as his body flopped backwards, almost dropping his controller in the process.

   “Josh’s birthday party is in a week! What are you doing?!”

   Minghao hissed, whether it was in response to his friend’s tone or the fact that he just got detected, you were not sure. You assumed both.

   “Yeah, man. I got it. I’ll do it after, this missio– FUCK!” The guy Minghao was playing as, Corvo, had been fully detected by two bad guys, causing your brother to have to engage in actual full combat with them. There was no way he could get through these two without killing them.

   “What is it?”

   “Nothing, Hansol. I’ll talk to you later. (Y/N), hang up the phone.”

   Before Hansol could say goodbye, you hung up. “Yes, captain.”

   Even though the distraction of the conversation had long gone, you could tell Minghao was still disconcerted. He kept getting distracted by enemies, obviously thrown off of his stealth A game.

   “Maybe you should just fight them. Screw the good ending. This is getting boring.”

   “Yeah, and I’m sort of getting tired of tiptoeing around these dudes.”

   You smirked, “Then just kill them, bro.” You knew full well you were taking advantage of your brother’s frustration. Who could blame you, you had twenty dollars on the line. Minghao seemed to forget that, though.

   So he took your advice. Using his different in-game abilities, Minghao went through the game. Occasionally he’d howl in victory after beating difficult enemies using some of the cruelest means. Before you both knew it, it was way past midnight as the cut scenes for the evil ending flashed on the screen.

   “Welp, looks like I’m getting my twenty bucks.” You chirped.

   “No fucking way, (Y/N). You saw what happened! If I didn’t do what I did I would have died!”

   You lowered your voice slightly, “You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villian.”

   You laughed as your brother flung four five dollar bills at you. “Shut up.”

[ingloriousfanfics-blog]

All Smiles - Ch 1

SHIP: link x sidon / sidlink WORD COUNT: 2,785 RATING: E for everyone... for now ;) FANDOM: the legend of zelda: breath of the wild ONE-SHOT/MULTICHAPTERED: this is CHAPTER ONE, of an unknown number of chapters!

SUMMARY: inspired by my own playthrough/painful journey up to zora’s domain, in which link finds prince sidon to be incredibly obnoxious... at first! journeying to the zora’s domain in order to battle with the divine beast ruta, link’s injuries from the monsters speckling the path there result in him spending more time getting to know sidon than fighting ruta. this story WILL feature smut at some point, so be mindful of reading future chapters & whether or not they are nsfw tagged! anywho, happy reading! :D enjoy my work? help support me by buying me a ko-fi so i can keep on writing!

“You can make it, Link! I believe in you!” Clothes soaked through with blood and rain water alike, feet heavy, and eyes weighted from having been unable to sleep lest having a monster creep up, Link glowered down the bridge at the smiling Zora. ”Hm.” ”I’ll see you a little further down the river! There are some more monsters up ahead, but you will do fantastically, Link! I know this!” ”… Hm.” A short wave of the hand (dismissive, truly, in nature, without much of the friendliness that the Prince’s bore) he watched Sidon give his trademark smile, flipping back into the water and vanishing downstream. It had been completely his own fault for taking up the Prince, out of pity, really, when requesting his assistance at the Zora’s Domain. He hadn’t thought much of the distance, believing he could take his stallion with him, who stamped and shuddered in the rain.

 Sidon’s sheepish stare, after Link vowing to join him in Zora’s Domain and already being bound to his word, that revealed exactly how difficult the journey would be.

 Lizalfos stationed at every half mile, the cliffsides too slick from the unending rain to clamber up, and the path too treacherous for Ander, his horse, to navigate without break a leg. And thus he had begrudgingly sent Ander back off the closest stable so in the very least one of them could go without getting hypothermia, and donning the Sheikah clothes purchased in Kakariko, he set off with the goal of being as quiet as possible---and hopefully not being killed.

 And now, there Link stood, sopping wet and kept alive only by the mushrooms stashed away in his pouches, absently watching Sidon swim away. Idly did he wonder if the fogginess in his mind was from being sleep deprived, the blood loss, or a mixture of both. Gazing up the path ahead, and seeing an encampment of three Lizalfos, cozied up by a fire and out of the rain, he gave a low sigh, and reached for another mushroom.

  “Ah, Link! You made it!” Sidon’s smile was broad and showed off every sharp tooth lined up in his mouth, unflinching in the face of Link breathing hard. Perhaps Link had seen a tiny flicker of pity, maybe even guilt, in those bright yellow eyes as he tucked away his paraglider after having soared the last mile from the cliffside. It had been a merciful break from slashing and hacking his way through monster after monster, his life hanging on a thread at every moment.

 “Come, come. I wish for you to meet my father, but you clearly need to rest. Your resilience is truly admirable, Link!” ”Hm.” A low grunt was his only response, too weary to put the brain power into forming words and sending them down to be formed by his lips, only capable of mustering up a sigh when Sidon’s hands (surprisingly warm, he had always thought a zora would be as cold as the fish he would snag out of the rivers he had trekked along) clasped around his forearm. Sparing a quick glance around the Zora’s Domain, also victim to the endless rains, he observed the chattering zoras that gazed in his direction, and the next time he blinked, the world went dark.

  ”… Li… Link… Link!” ”Gah!” He had slept too long, they had finally gotten him, he couldn’t die now---

 “Link, Link, it’s okay! You’re okay!” With a slow blink, looking down at his hands, Link felt himself grow pale when seeing the sharp edge of a Lizalfos boomerang brushing against the damp underside of Sidon’s throat. Gentle hands clasped at his wrists, the sharp nails that could have so easily torn into them mindful of keeping away. ”You’re alright,” Sidon continued to soothe, and Link jerkishly glanced to settle his eyes upon Sidon’s face, rather than where he had kept his weapon. ”I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have startled you. As a man who has endured the same paranoia of monsters creeping up in my sleep, I should have known.” The blade’s edge was withdrawn, and with it, Sidon released a relieved sigh. ”Thank you.” ”Sorry.” Link’s eyes were downturned, voice a mumble as he slowly heaved himself up, and surveyed his surroundings.

 The room was washed in a soft blue, crafted from the same glimmering stone as the exterior of Zora’s Domain---or what he had seen of it before passing out, that is. A curved archway gave him view of the outside, but it was otherwise rather private, with curtains available to conceal the inside. The entirety of the room seemed rather luxurious, considerably spacious with a bed and desk, crafted out of materials Link had never seen, likely so that they did not become ruined from the water. Looking around further, absorbing every intricate detail, Sidon finally seemed to notice Link’s observant stare after a moment spent massaging his neck. ”Ah, that’s right! I was going to take you to the inn, but you had, ah…” Sidon rubbed at the back of his neck, sitting himself up. Noticing the faint red marks from where the blade had pressed against his neck, Link glanced back away, guilt causing his stomach to knot. ”Passed out. I did not wish to leave you alone, and so I had taken you to my private quarters. You’ll have to pardon the mess,” And quickly did he get up, offering him an embarrassed smile as he swept up some papers and tucked them into a desk drawer, “It isn’t often I bring esteemed guests in here.” ”I’m sorry for the burden,” Link mumbled, and nearly reached again for his weapon when Sidon jerked forward, grabbing his hands. ”No! I am the burden for asking you to come here, not considering how dangerous of a journey it would have been! No mere Hylian would have been capable of making it.” His expression bore a true hurt before bowing in shame. ”I only wish that I had accompanied you, that way, I could have given you some manner of protection. Rather than my… Particularly shoddy healing.” His eyes trailed to Link’s body, and in turn did Link gaze down as well. His shirt had been removed, leaving nothing but his tights, and the thick bandaging wrapping around his chest and arms. The spot where he had been struck by a shock arrow, right at the junction of his left shoulder and neck, had turned a light shade of red, and when attempting to move the limb, he grimaced. ”I am not much of a healer, like my elder sister, but I like to believe I have handled enough of my own wounds that I can now somewhat take care of others.” Smile soft and somewhat humorous, for a moment did Link think of how it suited his face much better than the obnoxious grin he had given him dozens of times as he had trekked to Zora’s Domain.

 “When you are feeling more rested,” Link didn’t even realize his hands were still held within Sidon’s until he let go, “I must request you to come visit my father and I in the throne room, where we may further discuss having your assistance. But I will not have you be doing anything until your wounds have healed.” Rising from where he had been situated upon his knees (Link was a touch startled by his height, having forgotten how truly tall he was), Sidon dipped into a low bow, and his head turned back up with that obnoxious grin.

 Link immediately grimaced.

 “If you need anything, Bisley, the guard posted outside, will happily assist you.” Sidon stood up proper, gesturing just outside of the archway. ”I have some business to be discussed with my father, but be sure to visit us both soon, Link! We have much to talk about.” Watching him depart, Link waited for Sidon to be fully out of view before slumping onto the bed, reaching for his Sheikah Slate. Holding it above his lap, he squinted, imagining Impa’s face upon it. ”I hope you’re happy,” he muttered to her, and in his mind’s eye, he could see her smile and playfully laugh. ”I will be certain to go to the Gerudo Desert next… At least there, it won’t be so wet.”

  Link slept for most of the day, exhaustion creeping back into his bones after changing his gauze. He hadn’t slept in a proper bed in weeks, dozing off by campfires, or on top of Ander, or one of the other horses he had stabled. In the case that Sidon may forget the last time he had made the mistake of awakening him, he left his boomerang at a distance, where his fumbling, groggy self could not grab it again and do harm.

 By day three of his stay within the Zora’s Domain did he finally emerge from Sidon’s quarters, but not before finding a place to wash away the grit beneath his nails and the hardened blood on his skin. Changing his gauze and redressing in fresh clothes, it was not longer before they became damp upon stepping out, his hair clinging to his wet cheeks. ”Ah, you are awake, Hylian!” Giving a slow blink, Link turned his attention to the guard posted nearby, eyes bright and attentive. ”Prince Sidon had said you had quite serious wounds---I hadn’t thought you would have pulled through. You must be a strong Hylian indeed!” ”…” ”Ah, my manners! That seems to be a little too forward of me to say.” Swearing he had caught the Zora turning red (could Zoras turn red?) in embarrassment, he cleared his throat. ”I am Binsley. If you need anything at all, please, let me know, and I will happily assist you.” Opening his mouth, having a request already in mind, Link’s eyes went wide at his stomach rumbled instead. Bursting out into laughter, Link flushed beneath Binsley’s understanding stare. ”If food is what you need,” He lifted a finned arm, gesturing behind Link. “You will find the mess hall that way.” Nodding a quick, slightly embarrassed thanks, Link was just as quick to turn around and dart out of the rain, shuddering as he ducked beneath an overhang, shaking off some of the water. After a moment to collect his thoughts, and let the rain water drip off his clothes, he meandered in the direction Binsley had pointed him in, taking his time in observing the strange sort of beauty Zora’s Domain held. He was certain he must have visited it before the Great Calamity, for it all bore a slight sense of familiarity that he could not quite put his finger upon. Yet, it remained refreshing and new, the architecture otherworldly and so much different than any Hylian establishment he had visited during his travels. Stepping past a broad pool, smiling down upon the Zora children splashing in the water, nearly did he stumble over himself at the smell of cooked bass.

 Rumbling again, feeling his stomach ache, his step quickened, until coming to a realization.

 Mere feet from the archway leading to the dining area, the smell of food thick in the air despite all of the rain, he reached down to his pockets. None of his pouches were with him, including the wallet kept inside one of his bags. Cursing his own stupidity and forgetfulness, his eagerness to eat rising above all logic of how to get the food to do so, he turned around, having every thought geared towards figuring out where his things had been left. Until his face squished right into a muscled abdomen, freezing up, mind going blank.

 “Oh, ah, Link!” Cursing Hylia for damning him to this situation, Link slowly took an awkward step back, and gazed up to see Prince Sidon, looking equally as embarrassed. ”Guess I should ensure my footsteps are louder next time, huh?” Sidon asked with a sheepish laugh, and Link offered a taut smile in return. ”When I had gone to my quarters and found you gone, Binsley had been quick to inform me you had headed in this direction. I am surprised you are not already stuffing your face with some smoked bass!” Opening his mouth to provide an answer, he shut it, deciding instead actions were stronger than words as his pulled out his pockets, revealing them to be empty. Sidon blinked, realization dawning upon him. Hands settling on his hips, waiting for Sidon apology in being so presumptious, Link gasped when his forearm was seized, hauled off into the dining hall. ”No problem!” Sidon chirruped, throwing a grin back to Link, who blinked in response. “I’ll have it handled!”

  While his hunger was considerable, it was certainly not feast worthy. Or so Link thought, seeing that Sidon had assumed otherwise for him, laying out a grand spread upon one of the tables. From smoked bass glazed with honey and given a sweet nuttiness from acorns, to roasted mushrooms upon boar meat, every inch of the table was covered in a delectable item Link could only imagine in his dreams. However, it was difficult to eat when at the other side of him was a beaming Zora, practically glowing from the excitement of bringing such fanciful meals to him. As he looked at him, Link noted that the way he appeared reminded him much of the dogs who took him to hidden treasures, looking so eager to please.

”Well? Is it not to your tastes?” Glancing between Sidon, and the fork he had been holding for well over a couple of minutes now without digging into a single item, Link cleared his throat, and looked around them. ”Um…” Sidon was something else to handle in himself, but to be surrounded by a multitude of other Zora, completely obvious in their staring (and drooling, as he noted one Zora in particular doing) at their Prince and companion. ”Oh. That makes sense.” Giving a sharp wave and scolding stare, Sidon set his sights upon his people, who all, near instantaneously, cowered down. ”Give us some privacy! You all have other things to be doing, and do not think I am not aware of this! Go, shoo!” A quick, shooing wave with his hands, and with muttered displeasure did the crowds disperse, Link’s shoulders slumping in relief. ”Sorry about that. And I apologize for my straightforwardness, but you are not one much for talking, are you?” Chewing down a piece of salmon, Link took his time despite Sidon’s eager stare. ”A warrior doesn’t need to talk much,” came his answer after swallowing, his fork reaching to try a bit of the boar he had seen. ”Ah, this is true! However, I feel like there is so much for me to learn about you! You are an outstanding warrior, but is there anything else you enjoy in your sparetime?” He talks a mile a minute, Link thought dryly, fork tapping at the edge of the porcelain platter until he finished chewing. ”I enjoy horseback riding,” he offered, and for a brief moment, Sidon’s eyes glowed. ”Horses are magnificent beasts! I am not one for riding myself, given my size and preference for water over land, but I have seen much of the wonders to it. You must show me how you are upon your horse---it was Ander, right?” His chewing stopped altogether, Link blinking in genuine surprise. ”… You remembered his name?” ”Of course! He is just as important as you are. I am certain any companion of yours is!” The horses he rode were often his only companions as he roamed Hyrule in seek of an end to Calamity Ganon, and beyond those who worked at the stables he visited, never had he met someone who bothered to recall the names of the animals who were his only company. ”He is rather important,” Link agreed after a moment, and offering Sidon a soft smile. For a second, he thought he witnessed the Prince becoming flustered, only to assume it a trick of the eye when it seemed to instantly melt away. ”When you show me your abilities on horseback, you will have to give me a proper introduction. A companion of the esteemed Hylian Link is a companion I must meet,” Sidon chirruped. For once, Link thought little of how obnoxious he had found Sidon to be, and instead discovered his cynical mind melting away in the wake of being able to have a pleasant conversation outside of his duties as a knight, the pair swapping stories and sharing food, their shared laughter echoing off of the walls of the dining hall.

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Shattered Memories and the fears in your ears

Utilizing sound to create a continuing state of terror

Final yr I began a brand new custom the place round Halloween, I’d escape my assortment of Wii video games and play what I contemplate to be the best horror sport in my assortment. Whereas I would not say I am the largest horror fan — and possibly that is why my favourite sport within the style is taken into account by most to be the least scary within the sequence — I do have a number of horror titles tucked away in storage. There’s a few the Resident Evils, Everlasting Darkness, ZombiU and a handful of others. They’re all nice video games, all scary in their very own approach, however none of them have caught with me, have festered into the very cloth of my being, like Silent Hill: Shattered Reminiscences has.

Launched for the Wii again in 2009, Silent Hill: Shattered Reminiscences is the second Silent Hill sport from Climax Studios. The sport went by way of a number of completely different iterations earlier than author/director Sam Barlow landed on the idea discovered within the remaining bundle. As an alternative of making an attempt to additional increase the mythos of Silent Hill, Barlow would supply avid gamers an alternate tackle the primary sport within the title, re-imagining the way it performs, the way it appears, and who the characters are. The story would nonetheless function Harry Mason on the lookout for his daughter Cheryl, however now his journey could be intercut with persona quizzes that give form to the trail at hand. Solutions right here, in addition to interactions on the planet, alter Mason’s search. Typically in little methods, like whenever you colour a home within the remedy session and the following scene incorporates a home painted within the colours you selected; different occasions in greater methods, like whenever you leap by way of the required hoops to get entry to the Good Ol’ Days Bar close to the start of the sport, as a substitute of the Diner 52 restaurant.

All of that is well-known by now, as is the twist ending. I’ve performed by way of Shattered Reminiscences 4 occasions, and regardless of the Ice World segments and Uncooked Shocks by no means providing up the scares they need to, I nonetheless discover my physique crawling with goosebumps each time I pop it in. How is it sport the place I do know every thing that is going to occur and when it occurs is ready to nonetheless spook me out after practically ten years? Throughout this most up-to-date journey to Silent Hill, I discovered the key to its scares lies in its sound.

Whereas the general scariness of the horror parts present in Shattered Reminiscences is up for debate, one factor even detractors can agree on is how excessive the manufacturing values are. For a Wii title from 2009, this sport appears and sounds wonderful. Its cutscenes are nicely animated, Silent Hill is ripe with particulars in each room or hallway you enter, and the sound and music consistently push Mason, and gamers, backwards and forwards between the road that separates dream from nightmare. I can perceive the complaints concerning the Ice World missing precise frights, as a substitute selecting a sort of overwhelming panic that comes with being misplaced in a maze, however when you actually need to really feel terror on this title, simply stroll round within the “actual” world for some time and take a take heed to the sound pulsating out of your audio system.

Early within the sport, Mason will get use of a smartphone that has a frighteningly small inside storage capability. The earpiece to the cellphone is represented by the speaker on the Wii distant. Once you place or take a name, the sound comes out of the speaker (clearly, that is completely different with the PSP and PS2 ports, however I do not personal these so I do not care). There are cellphone numbers scattered all through the linear path Mason walks and characters he meets alongside the way in which will message him every so often. The cellphone additionally picks up on imprinted recollections scattered concerning the land, and that is the place Shattered Reminiscences can chill you to the bone.

The imprinted recollections give form to the world of Silent Hill by detailing its residents and the horrible issues they do. There’s the woman who’s drugged and generally dies — relying in your decisions — the safety guard looking for a troubled younger teen, the creep who turns into irate when the highschool scholar he is sleeping with seems to be an of-age prostitute, and lots of conversations that spotlight Mason’s relationship along with his ex-wife and daughter. Whereas generally humorous, these recollections and the messages related to them paint a grim image of life in Silent Hill, one the place its residents are merciless, its girls are handled like whores, and its youngsters are sometimes the bane of their dad and mom’ existence.

Gamers are notified of a close-by reminiscence by a screech of Mason’s cellphone that grows louder the nearer they get to it. Now, let me make one factor clear: none of those recollections are scary. There’s nothing that is going to leap out at you. Probably the most scary factor that’ll occur is an image will fall or a ball will mysteriously bounce. I do know that going into every subsequent playthrough, and but that screech, that high-pitched howl from my Wii distant speaker, has my arm hair standing on edge and goosebumps overlaying my pores and skin the longer it goes on. 

This is not a response to annoyance. The one annoying a part of Shattered Reminiscences is the paparazzi portion of the varsity chapter. It is precise concern. Although I do know the one time I’ll face off in opposition to Uncooked Shocks is within the Ice World, the screech of a nearing reminiscence is nearly unbearably petrifying, a noise that dominates every thing else popping out of your audio system. There’s music, nevertheless it’s used sparsely. The sound results do the heavy lifting right here. The sound of Mason’s sneakers within the snow, the chilling wind of this limitless winter day, the howl of the Uncooked Shocks after they spot me, the cryptic interjections of Cheryl’s voice all through the sport; that’s how Shattered Reminiscences achieves scares. It isn’t by way of monsters or fight or operating away, it is the moments of abrupt audial assault that curls the toes and brings on the heebie-jeebies.

Even on my fourth playthrough of the sport, these cases nonetheless handle to shake my soul. Even when the concern I really feel instantly subsides, in these moments of absolute terror, as I frantically seek for the reason for this caterwauling, I really feel an immense unease that pushes me to the purpose of tears. I am not truly going to cry, however that mad hunt for the supply of this sound is an excruciating pressure that rattles me excess of any leap scare ever may.

There are various nice examples of how efficient this sound impact is, however two moments stand out to me most. The primary occurs early within the sport. Mason is deserted by Cybil after a automobile trip and units off on his personal. He comes throughout a ranger’s station and ventures into the woods out again. This part is a superb instance of all the parts of manufacturing coming collectively to create one thing terrifying. The forest is darkish and eerie, and the sunshine of his flashlight does not do a lot to dispel this overarching feeling of doom as he heads additional into the bushes. The sound of Mason’s ft stomping by way of the snow retains Akira Yamaoka’s otherworldly soundtrack to a minimal. There’s a path to observe, one that can lead him to a lake, however enterprise off the trail and the screech of a close-by reminiscence begins to emanate. Relying on which route he begins from, the supply of the sound will not be simple to search out. 

A great chunk of recollections you may come throughout in Shattered Reminiscences may be rapidly recognized. This isn’t certainly one of them. It may be simple to stroll proper previous it, and as you do, the howl of the Wii distant grows extra high-pitched. It eases off as you progress away from the goal, however returns full throttle whenever you flip round and head again within the route of this unknown entity. It’s the unusual gathering sticks that make a peculiar shadow whenever you shine your flashlight on them? May or not it’s this tree with the names of a number of women carved into it?

You search — or I suppose I search as that is me recounting my final playthrough — however you may’t discover the supply. Your pores and skin begins to the crawl because the screech mocks you want Poe’s titular raven. The hair on the again of your neck stands erect and also you begin to fidget and panic, questioning, “Why? Why will not this finish?” You backtrack your steps time and again, practically being pushed mad by the sound of this hidden reminiscence. It is virtually overwhelming you till all of a sudden, like the nice and cozy embrace of a mom’s hug, the concern exits your physique as you stumble throughout a wreath tied to a tree. It flaps within the wind for a second. The screeching stops and Mason’s cellphone will get a brand new message, dredging up a very darkish reminiscence. A younger boy is planning to affix his brother quickly. About 100 yards from that wreath, you discover out what occurred to the boy’s youthful sibling.

The second second happens later within the story. Mason is misplaced in Toluca Mall, wandering by way of the deserted shops of this closed down procuring middle. He calls a safety quantity and the individual on the opposite finish of the road tells him there’s an exit in Cine-Actual, a single display screen theater positioned within the mall. Although the remainder of the mall is draped in darkness, the neon lights of the marque are illuminated as Mason approaches it. Contained in the foyer, there are busted Galaga, Contra, and Rush’n Assault arcade cupboards, in addition to posters for the film that adjustments relying in your solutions for Dr. Kaufmann. As soon as he begins up the steps to the display screen, the screech of his cellphone beings to sound. It grows louder as he approaches the theater, drowning out the noise of every thing else as soon as he begins strolling the aisles.

In contrast to the occasion within the woods, and a lot of the different imprinted recollections, there isn’t a drastic seek for the supply of this sound. It is fairly apparent it may be the display screen, and but as a result of that is so completely different from previous occurrences, it is capable of generate the identical stage of trepidation because the hunt by way of the woods. As a result of when the noise lastly breaks and the reminiscence seems, it is not some small rustle of the wind or a paper falling off a wall. A shot of Mason or Cheryl is blasted throughout the display screen, relying in your psych analysis solutions. Seeing a terrified or probably drugged Cheryl is upsetting, however the picture that completely will get underneath my pores and skin is that of Mason, sporting a most unsettling grin for the digital camera. It is the kind of picture that will look regular if zoomed out however is totally disturbing as a two-tone close-up.

These are simply two however in actuality Silent Hill: Shattered Reminiscences is full of moments like these, moments that do not go for outright scares however relatively construct a pressure that grows extra terrifying the longer it lasts. It is a fully terrible sound, however the way in which it coaxes gamers into these little hunts for items of a puzzle that give form to Mason and the city of Silent Hill is extremely efficient. It makes what are largely unimportant bits of backstory resoundingly pressing as this sound may absolutely drive an individual mad the longer it goes on and louder it will get.

This essay actually solely scratches the floor on the brilliance of this sport and I may simply write one other 3000 phrases on the inspiring Ice World section after discovering the grownup Dhalia, or chasing the younger woman by way of the Tunnel of Love, however I’ll have to save lots of these for subsequent yr’s playthrough. If you need extra on Silent Hill: Shattered Reminiscences, try Stephen Turner’s piece on it from his retrospective on the sequence.

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