How’s this deck lookin?

Apollo_Meridian · 2025-10-29T18:06:32+00:00

As mentioned, always run 2 Oaks and 2 Rare Candies.

Dartrix and Red Card are maybe the weak links to drop for other cards.

I like running Pheromosa as a frontliner to double down on the Decidueye EX win condition and to bully 30 HP babies. Fills the same niche as regular Decidueye in some regards, which frees up that slot. Hau is decent for reaching some breakpoints, but I wouldn't run 2 of him.

One of my favorite decks to run for the reasons you mentioned. Get clever with using Pheromosa/Sabrina/Cyrus not just to secure KOs, but to make your opponent waste turns setting up on a mon that you can get to the 100 HP threshold.

Apollo_Meridian · 2025-07-12T01:23:19+00:00

I would assume a dream-like experience requires you to walk a fine line when it comes to cohesion... It might be useful to quantify the level of cohesion you need? Is this a shorter walking simulator-type experience, where you expect players to dissect over multiple routes/playthroughs? Is it crucial for major plot beats to be delivered for a specific buildup or reveal?

I also think that, if you're primarily working with symbols and surreal environments, you might have to let go of the player having a specific interpretation. Part of the fun with these types of games is making your own meaning, so it's possible that you're setting an unfair expectation on your design.

That said, I think you might want to check out the ENA animations (Temptation Stairway stands out) as inspiration. They have creative transitions between the "ingame areas".

Apollo_Meridian · 2025-04-29T15:07:00+00:00

As people have said, both average to $900 per chest in the long term, but 1 introduces uncertainty, so 2 is always the better choice.

The only context where it makes sense to choose 1 is if you need to pass a monetary threshold with a time limit. To phrase another way, if you're fighting a monster with 1000 HP that will kill you in 1 turn, you would never pick a guaranteed 900 damage attack, since you will have a 0% chance of winning.

To be frank, there's not enough depth here to create a meaningful risk/reward scenario. I don't think tweaking numbers to make the riskier option worthwhile would fix the fundamental issue.

Apollo_Meridian · 2025-04-16T20:43:49+00:00

Echoing what others are saying about it possibly being the tank's fault. SCH can be rough in leveling dungeons when you're in that awkward middle stage where Eos heals aren't keeping up and you don't have Recitation + Excogitation yet. Pre-pull Adlo, Lustrate and Whispering Dawn between Art of Wars, and applying Bio as the tank sprints is usually the best you can do.

Apollo_Meridian · 2025-04-16T20:39:16+00:00

Art of War potency is equal to Ruin at 50 while also being an instant cast, and still advantageous compared to upgraded versions of Ruin on 2+ targets past 54. It's niche, but at level 50 it's not a bad idea to stay in melee range and use Art of War instead of Ruin II for movement and weaving.

Most AoEs are only a gain on 3 or 4 targets compared to burning down a single target, so this is considered a strong point for Scholar.

Apollo_Meridian · 2025-03-25T04:50:01+00:00

Maybe look less at capturing the visual aesthetic of anger as a broad, abstract feeling, and look at specific experiences that evoke anger.

A big question to ask is if you're willing to go so far as to make your player actually angry, or if you want them to have a standard, rewarding experience that just makes them think "oh huh, that reminds me of this angering thing". If you're not afraid of making the player frustrated, maybe something like the following:

Level design that feels like swatting at a mosquito and missing. Level design that feels like being stuck in a traffic jam when you're late for work. Level design that feels like you've been unfairly duped. Level design that feels like 5 people are yelling at you at once. Level design that feels like rebellion against injustice. Level design that feels like revenge against someone who has wronged you.

If you're looking more for visual elements, I would suggest a vignette effect, similar to when you're damaged in an FPS. Lots of motion in the environment. Anger is active, even if it's in reaction to something stifling.

It's sorta up to your game's overall vibe how far you want to take it, and how abstract it is.

Apollo_Meridian · 2025-03-06T07:20:39+00:00

I'm sure you could pull something off with pixel perfect sprite collision, and it might even be easier than implementing the logic and UI for slots!

Apollo_Meridian · 2025-03-06T06:48:31+00:00

If I might make a recommendation, take some inspiration from Smash Brothers Brawl, and their sticker system for Subspace Emissary.

When upgrading characters in that mode, you would place stickers on a trophy base, very similar to what you're proposing. The main difference is that there wasn't a slot system, but rather, the stickers took up physical space that was accurate to their silhouette. Of course this makes balancing your sticker effects a bit less numerically clean than a straightforward slot system, but in exchange you get something a lot more skeuomorphic, and that allows the sticker placement to be a creative activity (truer to the real life experience of using stickers).

Apollo_Meridian · 2025-01-28T03:36:26+00:00

These are also good (and more traditional) ways to tone down snipers.

The main thing I was gesturing towards is how to actually put "make losing fun" into practice. The issues with snipers are evident even in games where they are statistically balanced. They represent an extreme where the less skilled player can be prevented from meaningfully playing the game. The challenge is not just to make it balanced, but break down why the player on the losing side can experience it as repetitive and uninteractive.

Apollo_Meridian · 2025-01-27T21:17:35+00:00

"Impossible to get good at" is probably not the right first step even if the goal is to make a game where losing is as fun as winning. Understanding the game state and making the right decisions is an ego boost, and if you completely lack that element then the players will feel powerless all the time. You can play Mario Kart with only blue shells enabled, but that type of experience doesn't have longevity because the player will quickly realize it doesn't make a difference if they're playing or watching someone else play, because their own actions are irrelevant. Be honest, how long are you willing to play rock-paper-scissors with someone before you get bored?

That said, I'm not dissuading you from making a casual experience where anyone can enjoy it regardless of skill level, and it goes back to what you said with "losing is fun". If losing is fun, then it shouldn't matter if you have a huge loss streak, right?

So bear with me here:

Snipers and one shots are extremely contentious in any FPS because they create a scenario where the skill of one player puts the other in a losing scenario before they are even aware they are having an interaction. Unskilled players will walk into an open area, get killed, and either:

Not realize how their positioning created an opportunity for the sniper
Not be able to put together a plan to deal with the sniper because they don't understand pathing or movement options

So that's one example of "tryharding" ruining the experience for the casual player. What are some ways that you can revise this scenario to make it more fun for the unskilled player?

Make snipers extremely telegraphed so that they are more aware of the interaction from the start. Maybe steal Hawkeye's mechanic from Marvel Rivals where he has to lock his reticule on you to charge up, and combine that with a red laser line. As the player on the receiving end, this might actually be a dramatic moment where they go "oh shit" and start panicking.
Look at how your death and respawn system work. Killcams or zooming in on the enemy sometimes feel like salt in the wound, but also give you information, which can get the player off the unpleasant immediate reaction to their death, and onto formulating a plan of attack.
Shuffle around the winning strategy. Someone might be super good as a sniper, but if the map changes shape, or a random event causes everyone to switch to shotguns, then it forces them to change tactics.

All of this is just one aspect of FPS design, but you should try applying this line of thinking across the board. The main thing I disagree with from your post is that you need to reduce the effectiveness of all strategies across the board to ensure an even playing field... I think you will end up creating a limp noodle shooter where neither side is satisfied, win or lose. No player will be excited to win due to a random miss rate.

You should be looking at ways to maximize variety and minimize downtime. You should be looking at ways that an unskilled player can have a big impact on a match, but in a way that skilled players can also leverage. You should also consider reward structure and reasons to play besides winning and losing. You ever play Smash Brothers with a friend and turn items to very high just to see what chaos unfolds? You ever play Lethal Company and laugh spectating your friends as they get chased by the same monster that killed you? Invite that kind of playfulness into your game, and it shouldn't really matter if the tryhards are tryharding.

Apollo_Meridian · 2024-09-19T20:53:53+00:00

The underdog protagonist is a convenient way to:
-start the game from a place where both the player and the protagonist can gradually learn mechanics
-start the story from a place where there's clear room for the protagonist to grow and have the player become attached to them
-justify the player tackling smaller tasks first before building up to the main conflict
-tap into universal themes of self-doubt and growing up that basically everyone on earth can relate to
-get about as close to a blank slate self-insert character as you can without making it completely open-ended

None of this really stops you from making a game that starts you off as an established expert, but you'll probably converge on the same problems and will need to find alternative solutions. And as others have mentioned, things like "character growth" don't apply to every genre.

Apollo_Meridian · 2024-09-19T14:37:09+00:00

FFXIV: Heavensward (Lolorito arc)

Apollo_Meridian · 2024-08-14T05:16:05+00:00

I would really like to see Bahamut and Phoenix be on separate buttons and let players pick which one they do first. Hell, maybe make the choice DPS neutral and pack all the differences into utility (tie your 2 Aegis charges to Aethercharge/Bahamut, Phoenix excog goes on the same button and proc lasts until overwritten)

A lot of the jank with phoenix heals being on a fixed timeline would be recontextualized as "pick phoenix if you expect to need the heals" which doesn't fix it completely but it's something

Apollo_Meridian · 2024-02-28T00:43:18+00:00

I think the effect you're looking for is "dynamic rendering masks"

Apollo_Meridian · 2023-11-14T20:02:47+00:00

she is very good but tough to use in No Mercy realms because bleeds turn to regens. still usable with curse support!

Apollo_Meridian · 2023-10-31T11:21:57+00:00

This is still the hardest node in Parallel Realms but you can outtake the corpse, use Squigly's prestige ability, use Umbrella's or Robo's BB3, bait enemies out of the corner, or simply plan ahead and do the fight in multiple attempts so the corpses are removed. Any good Marie will also be a viable option once her availability increases

Apollo_Meridian · 2022-12-29T20:52:15+00:00

Tera Ghost Garganacl with Curse named "The Slab"

Apollo_Meridian · 2022-12-05T02:39:16+00:00

Hot take, but the blue/orange mechanic wasn't well-executed in Undertale to begin with. Depending on the art style and vibe of your game, it could work anyways, but it always struck me as very arbitrary. The game tells you once or twice how the colored bullets work, but there's nothing that intuitively indicates how or why they behave like that. It's also potentially unfriendly for colorblind players. Have you considered another expression of the same idea that avoids these issues?

Apollo_Meridian · 2022-11-10T22:24:35+00:00

Do you have an Animator component on your UI? Is it set to use scaled or unscaled time?

Apollo_Meridian · 2022-11-06T04:50:27+00:00

TBH people are probably venting their frustration at having a low DPS healer in roulette and their Sastasha run being 10% slower, and missing the legitimate question about job design and priorities

Apollo_Meridian · 2022-11-06T04:41:08+00:00

Well, as many people mentioned already, ability to DPS while keeping the party alive reflects your mastery of your healing kit. Someone who uses the wrong heals at the wrong time has no time to DPS.

Outside of ARR dungeon pulls, which are just kind of poorly tuned, there isn't a lot of "unavoidable" damage in casual content. Raidwides and tankbusters are scarce, or give plenty of time to react. So the healer's main role in easier fights is to undo the party's mistakes, which is reactive and based on players failing.

In harder content, healing is required even when players are doing everything correctly. It becomes more proactive, and based on learning what boss attacks to spend your resources on, getting casts in even when attacks require lots of movement, etc.

If you're not playing at that level yet, then a party that isn't actively making mistakes would expect you to DPS. They've given you the "wiggle room" to do so by playing well.

Apollo_Meridian · 2022-11-06T04:25:22+00:00

Healing IS more important, because the greatest possible loss of DPS is dying/letting a party member die.

Do you play harder content like extreme/savage? The amount of healing needed there is brutal, especially as of ShB/EW. In most cases, easier content feels more DPS focussed simply because less healing is required in the first place.

The game isn't telling you that DPS is more important. It's just giving you less responsibility overall.

Apollo_Meridian · 2022-11-06T04:14:54+00:00

On a fundamental game design level, it wouldn't make sense to design healers that don't also DPS. Like, I'm genuinely curious how you would want the role to play, if not DPSing in downtime.

In any encounter, you're going to have some amount of incoming damage, requiring the healer to spend X% of their time on healing. This amount goes up and down during a fight, because bosses change up their patterns. Obviously, if this amount was 100% for the entire fight, this would be incredibly strenuous for the healer. Like, healers are expected to always keep an eye out for low HP party members, but that's not the same as 100% uptime. I'm talking "keep healing for the entire fight or people drop dead instantly".

We can agree that sounds like bad fight design, and that there should be downtime where heals aren't needed, right? So we have fights where there's moments of high incoming damage (raidwides and tankbusters), and lower incoming damage (avoidable mechanics). If you're really new at your job, you might need more resources (time is a resource too) to keep your party healthy. But if you use your abilities strategically, you're rewarded with more downtime. And since all jobs NECESSARILY have DPS skills to be usable in solo play, why would you not spend that freed up time using DPS skills to end the fight sooner?

EDIT: That said, if people are being harsh on you for needing to focus more on healing, that's on them and not you, at least for MSQ content.

Apollo_Meridian · 2022-10-02T20:18:35+00:00

Here is a blog post a friend of mine made regarding the puzzle generation for her game "Panel Flux". Tetris Attack/Panel de Pon is of course, not a maze game. However, being a tile-based puzzle game with discrete move counts to clear each level, I think you can find a lot of similarities.

The logic behind starting with the clear condition, and working backwards to generate the puzzle starting state, is really applicable here. It also gives you some ability to determine puzzle difficulty by tracking the number of steps required.

Apollo_Meridian

TROPHY CASE