Lurker > azuarc

Slowly migrating north...

no spreadsheet link? Not that we especially need it. Just thought I'd look at the compiled picks for the week.

Brought to you by this day in U.S. history.

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Recent top results:
Day 741: Silksong (36%)
Day 740: Big Show (23%)
Day 739: 4-D Chess (18%)
Day 738: Dark Chocolate (34%)
Day 737: The Itsy-Bitsy Spider (17%)
Day 736: Blank Spaces (20%)
Day 735: Space Jam (27%)
Day 734: Of Course (22%)
Day 733: Wizard of Oz (28%)
Day 732: S**t Happens (21%)
Day 731: Holy S**t (16%)
Day 730: Happy Anniversary (29%)
Day 729: That's Just The Way It Is (15%)
Day 728: Giant Growth (11%)
Day 727: Grow Up (51%)
Day 726: Make My Monster Grow (34%)
Day 725: The Bird is the Word (17%)
Day 724: This Guy F**ks (24%)
Day 723: I'll Have What She's Having (38%)
Day 722: Shut Up and Dance (15%)
Day 721: New User (27%)
Day 720: Message Board (10%)
Day 719: Thesis (10%)
Day 718: Outside (20%)
Day 717: Sharp Objects (16%)
Day 716: Buckwild (17%)
Day 715: If you give a mouse a cookie... (14%)
Day 714: 21 Jump Street (28%)
Day 713: Giant Bomb (25%)
Day 712: House Rules (21%)
Day 711: Lucky Star (23%)
Day 710: And Then There Were None (36%)

Past results:
https://board8.fandom.com/wiki/Fill_in_the_Blank_(Series%29

My response: feels like cheating for me to say World Trade, so....Micro

Secret of Mana
Dishonored 2
Guitar Hero III
Mario Kart 64
Goldeneye 007
Perfect Dark
Seiken Densetsu 3
Stardew Valley
Celeste
Ghost Trick
Fallout 4
Borderlands
It Takes Two
TES IV: Oblivion
PW:AA
SimCity 2000
Bastion
LoZ: OOT
The Outer Worlds
Daytona USA

apologies for the lack of alphabetical order. I was trying to rank them as I went down the list so I knew where #20 was.

Cardinals

A seems like the obvious, brainless answer. The dart's not going to do enough. I don't expect a second illusion to work while it's being shot very painfully in the back. My concern is that even if Vaela's landing 23 points of damage, there's still a long way to go, so even getting in a good sneak attack is still not enough. We need to do something clever. An owlbear is just going to maul the shit out of the group.

Pint has the chain, but I doubt it would do any good. We're not doing a Monster Hunter routine and swinging up onto its back. First move to Minor Illusion the Kruthik worked great, but got any other clever ideas? Tanking a couple rounds with Patient Defense still sounds pretty dicey, and does require getting the owlbear's attention.

I didn't realize they were also nerfing Moorwing. That was one that I died on a bunch, but I was mostly mad at myself when I did, except when I got contact damage from colliding with the boss.

Regardless of how you might understandably justify it, I'm not voting for Batman. I'd have an easier time justifying some of the famous defense lawyers like Matlock and Perry Mason.

Sherlock
Colombo
Poirot
Encyclopedia Brown

HeroDelTiempo17 posted...

It's way harder than the boss almost immediately after it, which is really weird and maybe wasn't intended?

I died on both several times getting the boss down, which is to be expected, but I think I died more on the follow-up boss. I really didn't have any major problems with the boss being referenced.

There are bosses I think could be toned down, but if I had to choose out of the ones I've fought so far, that wouldn't have been my pick. It feels like a fair boss, like I have the ability to control the circumstances of the fight.

Chaeix posted...

but if we ask the question whomll reply?

That's not the dative case, so it wouldn't use whom, but for whom'll it matter?

Mobilezoid posted...

Saw some upcoming patch notes on reddit, they're apparently nerfing the boss who made me quit Sister Splinter so maybe I can try again once that's out.

For as much as I've been complaining throughout this thread, I don't know what was a problem with that boss.

I legit was not even thinking about Silksong when I put this up. It was just genuinely the next prompt in the queue.

Nominated by Leonhart -- note that, like yesterday, we've done "The ___ Song" before.

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Recent top results:
Day 740: Big Show (23%)
Day 739: 4-D Chess (18%)
Day 738: Dark Chocolate (34%)
Day 737: The Itsy-Bitsy Spider (17%)
Day 736: Blank Spaces (20%)
Day 735: Space Jam (27%)
Day 734: Of Course (22%)
Day 733: Wizard of Oz (28%)
Day 732: S**t Happens (21%)
Day 731: Holy S**t (16%)
Day 730: Happy Anniversary (29%)
Day 729: That's Just The Way It Is (15%)
Day 728: Giant Growth (11%)
Day 727: Grow Up (51%)
Day 726: Make My Monster Grow (34%)
Day 725: The Bird is the Word (17%)
Day 724: This Guy F**ks (24%)
Day 723: I'll Have What She's Having (38%)
Day 722: Shut Up and Dance (15%)
Day 721: New User (27%)
Day 720: Message Board (10%)
Day 719: Thesis (10%)
Day 718: Outside (20%)
Day 717: Sharp Objects (16%)
Day 716: Buckwild (17%)
Day 715: If you give a mouse a cookie... (14%)
Day 714: 21 Jump Street (28%)
Day 713: Giant Bomb (25%)
Day 712: House Rules (21%)
Day 711: Lucky Star (23%)
Day 710: And Then There Were None (36%)

Past results:
https://board8.fandom.com/wiki/Fill_in_the_Blank_(Series%29

My response: Sing, Sing a

I love how the rolls are 25, 26, and...seven. Poor Gideon. And now, poor us.

There's nowhere to retreat to, so D, I guess? Unless anyone has a brilliant alternative.

I just clung to the wall. Why make it difficult?

Xiahou_Shake posted...

there are entire attack sequences that are designed for you to be able to dodge by healing now

Explain, please.

The only thing that I find easier about healing in this game is that it can be done in mid-air, which might lend itself to what you're referencing. One of Widow's attacks is a time waster you can climb to the side and heal. Is that what you're referencing?

Kotetsu534 posted...

The difference... between 5 health and no quick heal and 7 with it is massive.

Sure would be nice. So far I've only found like 1 mask shard. And there's one on a vendor that I can't afford. Don't know anything about a quick heal, either.

DeepsPraw posted...

I don't know why so many people have a bug up their butt about the 2 masks damage. Hornet heals for 3 masks at a time and healing is WAY easier than it was in Hollow Knight since you can do it mid-air.

The rest of the difficulty discourse being about the Ant section doesn't make a lot of sense either. I immediately recognized it as an optional challenge route.

• Healing for 3 doesn't mean crap when the enemy hits for 2. A heal is still only one hit because you either cap out on health, or you heal from 1 to 4.
• Healing is not easier. You have to find a safe time to use the heal, or you blow your entire meter on nothing, and have zero chance to heal again until you manage to get 8 hits in on enemies, which might be impossible if this is a boss you're learning, you're surrounded, or you're staring down an environmental hazard that's giving you trouble. Even if you do get the heal, at best, you're dead even with HK -- a full meter for 3 points of healing -- but the lack of granularity makes it harder to manage.
• There are aspects of the game that screw with your healing. I won't go into details because spoilers.

And as for the ants, I went through that way because it was the way I found. It clearly looked like progression.

Spock
Data
Picard
Q

A. Sounds like it's eating.

tazzyboyishere posted...

Highly encourage anyone who bounced off and who is on PC to try that out.

Is the game hard to mod? I've never looked into it, but some games are a PITA to mod.

Nominated by Leonhart -- note that we've done "The ___ Show" before.

I'm going to fold the 5-D answers into 4-D to split the triple tie since they're effectively the same thing.

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Recent top results:
Day 739: 4-D Chess (18%)
Day 738: Dark Chocolate (34%)
Day 737: The Itsy-Bitsy Spider (17%)
Day 736: Blank Spaces (20%)
Day 735: Space Jam (27%)
Day 734: Of Course (22%)
Day 733: Wizard of Oz (28%)
Day 732: S**t Happens (21%)
Day 731: Holy S**t (16%)
Day 730: Happy Anniversary (29%)
Day 729: That's Just The Way It Is (15%)
Day 728: Giant Growth (11%)
Day 727: Grow Up (51%)
Day 726: Make My Monster Grow (34%)
Day 725: The Bird is the Word (17%)
Day 724: This Guy F**ks (24%)
Day 723: I'll Have What She's Having (38%)
Day 722: Shut Up and Dance (15%)
Day 721: New User (27%)
Day 720: Message Board (10%)
Day 719: Thesis (10%)
Day 718: Outside (20%)
Day 717: Sharp Objects (16%)
Day 716: Buckwild (17%)
Day 715: If you give a mouse a cookie... (14%)
Day 714: 21 Jump Street (28%)
Day 713: Giant Bomb (25%)
Day 712: House Rules (21%)
Day 711: Lucky Star (23%)
Day 710: And Then There Were None (36%)

Past results:
https://board8.fandom.com/wiki/Fill_in_the_Blank_(Series%29

My response: Slide

5

It's a silly game, but I wouldn't say I really enjoyed playing it.

Didn't see it happen, but a win's a win.

I feel like our DM will serve us up the Owlbear regardless of what we do. The metagaming answer is C, but realistically, A.

Dels posted...

also i think people aren't talking enough about the sidequest system either. like, one of the perks of the metroidvania genre is that you don't have to spend time doing menial chores, it's 100% just exploring and finding new things. the first game nailed this! why does this one have "go kill 10 birds" "go gather 6 plants"????

The worst was that spine quest. Collect 25 spines and I was getting like one per 3 kills...until I accidentally attacked one in the ground and found out you have to spawn them. Until then, I was just doing laps around that area killing the enemies, wondering why the game was so damn grindy.

Well, like I said, I'm down with D, and if Stan wants to throw in E for good measure, then sure I guess.

Robazoid posted...

Enough to I think form an opinion.

Silksong is significantly worse than Hollow Knight.

I finally gave it a thumbs-down on Steam last night. In my review, I basically said what I said here: It's a good game...for someone else. Someone who doesn't mind being challenged/frustrated.

Nominated by Anagram.

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Recent top results:
Day 738: Dark Chocolate (34%)
Day 737: The Itsy-Bitsy Spider (17%)
Day 736: Blank Spaces (20%)
Day 735: Space Jam (27%)
Day 734: Of Course (22%)
Day 733: Wizard of Oz (28%)
Day 732: S**t Happens (21%)
Day 731: Holy S**t (16%)
Day 730: Happy Anniversary (29%)
Day 729: That's Just The Way It Is (15%)
Day 728: Giant Growth (11%)
Day 727: Grow Up (51%)
Day 726: Make My Monster Grow (34%)
Day 725: The Bird is the Word (17%)
Day 724: This Guy F**ks (24%)
Day 723: I'll Have What She's Having (38%)
Day 722: Shut Up and Dance (15%)
Day 721: New User (27%)
Day 720: Message Board (10%)
Day 719: Thesis (10%)
Day 718: Outside (20%)
Day 717: Sharp Objects (16%)
Day 716: Buckwild (17%)
Day 715: If you give a mouse a cookie... (14%)
Day 714: 21 Jump Street (28%)
Day 713: Giant Bomb (25%)
Day 712: House Rules (21%)
Day 711: Lucky Star (23%)
Day 710: And Then There Were None (36%)

Past results:
https://board8.fandom.com/wiki/Fill_in_the_Blank_(Series%29

My response: 5-D, followed by Battle

The only one I have any memory of for non-infamous reasons is OoT vs Undertale.

Different kind of grind. I don't necessarily mind the JRPG grind.

On topic, I beat Widow and decided I wasn't really enjoying myself, so I got right back off and I dunno if I really want to continue. I feel like my pituitary gland is just pumping out nothing but cortisol the entire time I'm playing.

Dels posted...

there's no way it's on the harder side. I mean, there's no parry. Parry games are my #1 enemy

Don't get me started on parrying. Parries turned Clair Obscur from an amazing experience into a frustrating grind.

TLDR: Just read bold.

So, okay, I've had this theory about your skill at a game as it develops. Let's say that if you have never played a game (even if you've played similar games) your skill at it is 0/10, and if you have genuinely mastered every conceivable aspect of a title, it's 10/10.

Typically, once you complete the tutorial, you automatically shoot up to at least a 2/10 because now you know how to move, attack, jump, etc. And by the time you finish the first chunk of the game, you're operating by necessity at a 3/10. At least, an average player would be. Maybe you're amazing and wonderful and learn games really quickly. I've seen people that will progress much faster. But let's pretend I'm talking about the norm, and you can substitute every time I say "you" with referring to me instead. In Hollow Knight terms, this would be learning your way around the Forgotten Crossroads. I've seen people who are not very skilled try to play HK, and they die repeatedly in the XR because they're still playing at a 2/10 level. You won't get through False Knight, etc, without learning to play at a 3/10.

Now, 3/10 will carry you for a little while, through the easier parts of the game, but at some point the difficulty spikes. When you hit the Moss Knights and then Hornet, you have to be better. That's 4/10. Of course, you don't just magically level up in discrete numbers. You're sliding along a number line. And you might have reached a skill level beyond what is required for that portion of the game. But we'll say that this is roughly the benchmark for what a 4/10 represents in HK.

Here's the thing: A typical game will let you coast on 4/10, right up until the end. Something late in the game will be harder, and you'll have to demonstrate 5/10 skill to get by. But that will be it. A typical game of typical difficulty will be beatable when your skill at it is 5/10. If a game is "easy," you can beat it at a 4. If it's "hard," you need to be a 6. And rarely does a game escape those bounds.

For Hollow Knight, you might be able to say you need 6/10 skill to finish the game. Perhaps not the first ending (though I personally found Watcher Knights maddeningly difficult,) but for the additional challenges posed by the true ending, it's certainly arguable that 6/10 is required.

But HK doesn't stop there. NKG, exploring Godhome, finishing the Path of Pain. These are tasks that are going to demand you learn the game better, to a 7/10 level or maybe even 8. If nothing else, finishing the Pantheons is certainly going to be 8/10 territory. That doesn't make you the best Hollow Knight player ever. There are plenty of speedrunners and rando runners who will still put you to shame -- those are the 9's, and maybe a rare few are even a 10 -- but you have to really take your mastery of the game to a pretty high level.

And again, a title that only expects 5/10 mastery from you by the end is the average. So because just the base game itself is pushing past this, I would argue that Hollow Knight is a borderline hard game. Of course, these checkpoints are subjective, know-em-when-you-see-em type stuff, but I think the general argument holds, even if some games don't allow for skill expression that could be categorized on the same scale.

This post is already long enough, so I won't talk much about Silksong, but the one thing it definitely lacks in this discussion is a fluid on-boarding process. It basically assumes that you've played Hollow Knight, that you'll transfer those skills over, and that you'll hit the ground running at basically a 4/10 right away. The Marrow feels like Fungal Wastes to me. Imagine playing HK and skipping straight to having the fireball and the dash, and having to begin the game by descending through Fungal. And then fight a really souped-up Massive Mosscharger at the end that hits for 2. And then Brooding Mawlek for good measure.

edit: Some folks posted while I was writing this. The platforming of HK is generally trivial, so any comparisons to something like Celeste would need to be relative. And I've never played a Soulsbourne game, so I can't compare there, but obviously my idea here of talking about mastery of a game in relative terms breaks down when you start comparing games with radically different skill ceilings or perhaps even genres. I dunno, maybe I'm full of crap. If I am, just say that.

did not think that was part of white privilege, but here we are.

Ironic that our first elimination is literally (Doctor) Football.

All these spoilers, and I have no idea which of them I can click on. =x

Continued to clear out the old, old prompts. I think I was saving this one for an appropriate day, but I don't feel like waiting for Halloween.

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Recent top results:
Day 737: The Itsy-Bitsy Spider (17%)
Day 736: Blank Spaces (20%)
Day 735: Space Jam (27%)
Day 734: Of Course (22%)
Day 733: Wizard of Oz (28%)
Day 732: S**t Happens (21%)
Day 731: Holy S**t (16%)
Day 730: Happy Anniversary (29%)
Day 729: That's Just The Way It Is (15%)
Day 728: Giant Growth (11%)
Day 727: Grow Up (51%)
Day 726: Make My Monster Grow (34%)
Day 725: The Bird is the Word (17%)
Day 724: This Guy F**ks (24%)
Day 723: I'll Have What She's Having (38%)
Day 722: Shut Up and Dance (15%)
Day 721: New User (27%)
Day 720: Message Board (10%)
Day 719: Thesis (10%)
Day 718: Outside (20%)
Day 717: Sharp Objects (16%)
Day 716: Buckwild (17%)
Day 715: If you give a mouse a cookie... (14%)
Day 714: 21 Jump Street (28%)
Day 713: Giant Bomb (25%)
Day 712: House Rules (21%)
Day 711: Lucky Star (23%)
Day 710: And Then There Were None (36%)

Past results:
https://board8.fandom.com/wiki/Fill_in_the_Blank_(Series%29

My response: Milk, followed by Hershey's

All I saw was "you got a dash. You can now reach new places."

WazzupGenius00 posted...

When you unlock it, like every other ability?

And when would that have been?

WAIT YOU CAN SPRINT IN THIS GAME??? When were they gonna tell me that?

Hollow Knight is not an "easy game." It has a reputation for being a "hard game," and it's also not that. It's a game with difficulty all over the place. But mostly it feels fair, regardless of how hard each section is.

My general vibe is that Silksong, even outside the massive difficulty spike mentioned earlier, is elevated in difficulty compared to equivalent parts of the original. Whether or not it's fair is something I'm still trying to decide, because while my survival is still mostly in my control, there are times where I feel like the game is being unreasonable.

Does Pint still have the bottle after all this? Definitely D. If the bottle's an option, sure, I guess?

What's the plan with the chain? Gideon presumably wouldn't have any idea how to use it, but would anyone else?

9

Was more fun to watch someone else play, tbh, but seemed like a pretty good game.

Happy Silksong Day.

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Recent top results:
Day 736: Blank Space(s) (20%)
Day 735: Space Jam (27%)
Day 734: Of Course (22%)
Day 733: Wizard of Oz (28%)
Day 732: S**t Happens (21%)
Day 731: Holy S**t (16%)
Day 730: Happy Anniversary (29%)
Day 729: That's Just The Way It Is (15%)
Day 728: Giant Growth (11%)
Day 727: Grow Up (51%)
Day 726: Make My Monster Grow (34%)
Day 725: The Bird is the Word (17%)
Day 724: This Guy F**ks (24%)
Day 723: I'll Have What She's Having (38%)
Day 722: Shut Up and Dance (15%)
Day 721: New User (27%)
Day 720: Message Board (10%)
Day 719: Thesis (10%)
Day 718: Outside (20%)
Day 717: Sharp Objects (16%)
Day 716: Buckwild (17%)
Day 715: If you give a mouse a cookie... (14%)
Day 714: 21 Jump Street (28%)
Day 713: Giant Bomb (25%)
Day 712: House Rules (21%)
Day 711: Lucky Star (23%)
Day 710: And Then There Were None (36%)

Past results:
https://board8.fandom.com/wiki/Fill_in_the_Blank_(Series%29

My response: Trapdoor

I doubt that. The delay hurt the Eagles more. Not only did they lose the momentum of the turnover, but Dickerson wasn't really able to play when the game resumed. Their offense seemed lifeless for the remainder of the game, and they're just lucky they managed to hold on. The Cowboys at least were doing things, even if it didn't result in any points.

They showed a graphic that he had been in, but had 0 targets. Would be the first of his career.

I should go back to playing Silksong. I just know I'll miss the re-start if I do.

UltimaterializerX posted...

Regular Radiance is easy.

I wasn't making progress after however many attempts. Was able to get the fight to phase 2, but I find two-mask bosses incredibly frustrating. If you make a boss hit for 2 instead of 1, it becomes more than three times as hard. And it gets into my head. It felt like there was just too much going on for me to process and keep track of. When I watch someone else do it, it looks very simple, but when I try to do it myself, there's a projectile I didn't count on or spikes that appear unexpectedly or I just don't get the spacing between the nails that I wanted. And with double damage that can also knock you into a pit, you don't get a lot of leeway.

Again, I think if I went back, I'd do a better job. Keep in mind, the first time I played this game, I died to Watcher Knights something like 30 times, and on replays, I've just gone in and one-shot them easily. But banging my head against that wall wasn't rewarding to me, so I didn't.

UltimaterializerX posted...

Wasnt talking about that one. Who cares about flexing over someone.

I'm not against the idea of trying to improve sportsmanship by calling people for taunting, but it needs to actually be in your face. If he had turned the other way and done that flex, they wouldn't have called it, and it wasn't directed at the guy on the ground. So yeah, that's the kind of thing that puts the "No Fun League" in NFL.

I don't understand what Blankenship was supposed to do there.

But finally there's a possession that doesn't end in points.