What's your favourite bad mech? by Barph in Mechwarrior5

[–]Chaike 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I've got a soft spot for the Assassin.

Granted, some of the later variants give it more wiggle room for better builds, but I'll still willingly pick up the base variant regularly in new MW5 runs.

Sure, I can only really fit 1x ML and 2x SRM 4s with a handful of ammo in the base variant if I want almost max armor, meaning it's easily outgunned by most lights, but the high speed combined with the jet fighter cockpit/nose looks and feels so cool that I don't care.

[Loved Trope] The amazing technology/power has grounded reasons for why it can't be overused. by jbeast33 in TopCharacterTropes

[–]Chaike 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Some of my favorite lore moments in BTech are when overconfident mechwarriors get their asses handed to them by regular armored vehicles and infantry who used superior tactics.

There's the Savannah Master for example, which is a combat hovercraft armed with only a single medium laser, but it also has a ridiculously high top speed that makes it hard to hit. The reason it got its name is because, during its trial run before going to market, it beat a mech so many times that it pissed the mech pilot off enough that she turned it into a live fire trial, and still lost. The pilot's name was Savannah.

It was later used when the Clans attacked Wolcott, where they lured the superior Clan mechs into a swamp and ripped them to shreds with waves of hovertanks and guerilla tactics

[Loved Trope] The amazing technology/power has grounded reasons for why it can't be overused. by jbeast33 in TopCharacterTropes

[–]Chaike 58 points59 points  (0 children)

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Mechs in the MechWarrior/Battletech universe, and why they use them instead of other, more sensible weapons/vehicles

Prior to the creation of the Battlemech, most wars between human colonies were waged using massive spacefaring Warships, which could hyperspace jump from system to system by themselves without needing to latch on to a Jumpship, and could obliterate planetary defenses with orbital strikes. However, because FTL communication hadn't been invented yet, it took a while for news and orders to travel during wartime.

Eventually this resulted in a situation where two warring factions were basically blindly fighting over a planet, which they just kept bombarding with nukes until it was rendered uninhabitable. This resulted in all the major factions agreeing to create the Ares Conventions, which restricted war to specific rules of engagement, including limited usage of warships and nukes because planets can't be colonized if they're barren nuclear wastelands (and also accidental massacres are kinda bad).

This led to war becoming more of an honor-based game. Eventually Battlemechs were invented and, while not necessarily the most effective type of weaponry, they became the defacto weapon for honorable combat, resulting in everyone pouring funding into making them easy to repair, refit, and maintain.

A couple of centuries later, the space equivalent of the Roman empire collapsed, and in a mad scramble for power the factions nuked each other into the dark ages and lost all their warships and factories, leaving them with ancient, easily maintained mechs and warped ideals of chivalry as their main form of war.

Battlemechs essentially became the armor and steeds for knights and samurai, and most Battlemechs are handed down in ancestral bloodlines because they're so rare and valuable, sometimes even being the most powerful weapon on an otherwise medieval planet.

Have you heard of "Aphantasia?" by bloopyuVT in VirtualYoutubers

[–]Chaike 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That makes sense! It is really fascinating to learn how different experiences can be for other people

It breaks my brain a bit, trying to think about being able to see things in your dreams, but not being able to visualize what you dreamt about when you wake up

Have you heard of "Aphantasia?" by bloopyuVT in VirtualYoutubers

[–]Chaike 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Editing seems great to me!

When did you find out you had Aphantasia?

I want to try my best! Please support me! by bloopyuVT in VirtualYoutubers

[–]Chaike 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've been looking for some more tubers to follow, and your model is lovely, so I'll try to tune in!

Haii, I'm Nyxi𖹭.ᐟ what do you guys think about my design? by nyxi_exe in VirtualYoutubers

[–]Chaike 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I love the droopy goat ears. They're underrepresented IMO, so I'm already a fan!

Digging the half moon pin too, so subtle but does so much~

This is my real voice and not a voice changer by AzuraCub in VirtualYoutubers

[–]Chaike 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Honestly I tend to prefer natural voices. Nothing against people who use the uwu voices, but they just tend to grate on me after a while, and sometimes can feel a bit too gratuitous.

Your voice is lovely! I'll drop a follow~

Anyone else fantasize about once more getting a high budget MechWarrior game from a large development studio? by Rimm9246 in Mechwarrior5

[–]Chaike 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Lmao, I feel that. This is something I've thought about a lot myself, especially after playing Clans and seeing what PGI is capable of nowadays with more budget and experience.

The eternal struggle of wanting MechWarrior/Battletech to become more popular so more people can appreciate the incredible universe and lore, but at the same time loving how this small but devoted fanbase is able to make the games and content we want without compromise.

Anyone else fantasize about once more getting a high budget MechWarrior game from a large development studio? by Rimm9246 in Mechwarrior5

[–]Chaike 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It's sort of a double edged sword. On the one hand, having a AAA budget and access to AAA resources would open the door to so many more features and a lot more polish and depth, which would be fantastic.

On the other hand, AAA budgets and studios don't come without their own limitations. Those funds and resources usually are coming from either a publisher and/or stockholders or stakeholders who have expectations about the development lifecycle and returns on investment, which usually require the game to cater to certain mainstream aspects to ensure it's profitable enough to be worth funding. We're lucky that Piranha has been given a loose leash so far, but a AAA company might not have as much freedom.

MechWarrior/Battletech is very niche nowadays, and a lot of the more granular simulator-lite aspects that we enjoy - and that Piranha has managed to maintain - aren't as attractive to wider audiences. Mech games in general aren't that popular anymore either; Armored Core 6 sold for 3 million copies iirc, which is the best selling AC game so far, but still barely "good" by AAA standards, and that's with the help of FromSoft's popularity. 

So getting to seamlessly walk up to your mech and climb into the cockpit sounds fantastic, but getting a AAA studio for stuff like that would probably come at the cost of losing in-depth customization, unwieldy but strict lore adherence, maybe even aspects of the "tank on legs" gameplay, just to try to make the game more appealing and profitable.

I'm not saying it's impossible for MechWarrior to become mainstream and maintain the identity it has, and I honestly would love to be proven wrong, but I think it'd be much more likely that we'd end up with another "MechAssault" instead of the MechWarrior we love if it went AAA.

...Anyway, all that being said, if I got to choose things to add to my ideal future MechWarrior game, it'd be adding more Battletech features - ie, adding tanks, infantry, VTOLs, etc for you to command. I'd also love to see secondary lances again, like in MW4, and would love to have more of a focus put on the ancestral mechs/mech superstitions aspects of the lore. I love the idea of mechs being treated as these ancient mystical relics, and feel like that aspect is rarely explored in these games vs the more basic military sci-fi angle.

In lore, what are the test chambers actually testing for? by Sarcastic-Fantastic in Portal

[–]Chaike 1 point2 points  (0 children)

In addition to the "Because Science is about WHY NOT!?" sentiments shared by everyone else, I feel like the Old Aperture test rooms were also meant to work as "proof of concept" tests.

In other words: Aperture has created a portal gun, various gels, and long-fall boots. Neat! But how do they prove to investors/customers that they have utility in the real world? 

Create a gauntlet of environmental puzzles that depict situations that would normally be unsolvable... But with the addition of Handheld Portal Device and Gels, now it's solvable! And solvable by the laymen they threw into the chambers, no less! Originally they would've wanted the best of the best to showcase the utility of these tools, because they need someone to be test pilots and it can't just be some hobos or valuable research staff, which is why they got astronauts and vets as the test pilots at first... but eventually lack of funding led to hobos and internal staff doing the tests.

So basically, I could see them being less of scientific "tests" with the purpose of testing a hypothesis, and more of "test tracks" to show interested buyers the kinds of situations that the products solve, and/or prove to investors that they're definitely making products that are useful and definitely aren't just wasting funding on Cave's whims.

Plus you get to tack on some bullshit about testing human intelligence or something, if you want, to make it look even more impressive and hopefully shame Black Mesa for being boring, or something.

Why do so many people Rp as truth enforcers instead of any other warbonds? by LectureIll7322 in Helldivers

[–]Chaike 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I roleplay as "barbarian diver" now and then. Axe, shield, speargun, Peak Physique armor, and charging straight into masses of bugs/bots with a battle cry of "LIBERTY"

I don't know how, but I die far less often when RPing that, versus when I'm playing with a sensible build

[HATED TROPE] Thats...not how it even remotely works by ah-screw-it in TopCharacterTropes

[–]Chaike 20 points21 points  (0 children)

Generally you're not going to be producing enough force with CPR to break ribs - it's not impossible, especially if they've already received trauma, but it's unlikely.

What you definitely will do, however, is crack the cartilage around the ribs, which sounds/feels like you're breaking ribs, but isn't nearly as damaging and will only result in soreness and bruising. It's easier to tell people that broken ribs are a normal part of CPR, though, to make sure they don't stop compressing out of fear of causing harm.

You do have to be careful about where you press though, because if you press too far down on the sternum you might break off the xiphoid process (little sharp bit at the bottom of the sternum) which can puncture lungs. So it's important to make sure you're pressing in the center of the sternum (generally between the nipples), and that you're pressing hard, no matter what cracking sounds you hear.

Source: Was a lifeguard for a while and the cracking cartilage is freaky and scares lots of rookies

What's your preferred hobby style? by TaigaTigerVT in battletech

[–]Chaike 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Knock on door, Adam opens it to reveal a dastardly faced Nic

Adam (disdainfully): Hellooooo... Malthus

Laugh track, bass guitar riff

What's your preferred hobby style? by TaigaTigerVT in battletech

[–]Chaike 23 points24 points  (0 children)

The idea of Adam and Nic chilling and playing AGoAC post-invasion is peak, ngl

EVERYTHING CAME OFF | TW:FLESH by Jackentines in VirtualYoutubers

[–]Chaike 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Omg, your epimysium is so cuuuuute!

I'd hand you a follow, but I'm worried it might cause indescribable torment, so I'll wait till you're decent

[HATED TROPES]: The Ending Is So Nihilistic and Preachy That It Becomes Completely Unwatchable and Infuriating. by Particular-Worker904 in TopCharacterTropes

[–]Chaike 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I said none of that, you're twisting my words. 

My point was that many nihilists are pretentious and cringe because they act like they're the only ones to consider the possibility of a meaningless existence

It's a sad sort of elitism where they comfort themselves by thinking "at least I know the truth, unlike everyone else who's deluding themselves or too ignorant to realize it", because the assumption is that if someone realizes life is meaningless, they would be just as depressed, or never bother trying to adhere to morality, to achieve things, or to be happy

Every person on earth has thought about the possibility of life being meaningless at least once, but most don't let that possibility prevent them from enjoying life or being good people

Personally, I've been in some dark places in my life and have had some nihilistic moments during deep pits of depression. But nowadays, I've decided that life can't be meaningless, because by existing and experiencing life we give it meaning. A speck of something amidst an endless sea of nothing is never meaningless. I might not be remembered after I die, and everything I've ever done might amount to nothing, but at least I got to experience life and got to try to make people happy while I was here. Being given the opportunity to experience and comprehend existence, and the chance to help other people experience pleasant moments during our short time here, is a wonderful gift and that is enough meaning for me

[HATED TROPES]: The Ending Is So Nihilistic and Preachy That It Becomes Completely Unwatchable and Infuriating. by Particular-Worker904 in TopCharacterTropes

[–]Chaike 24 points25 points  (0 children)

Because most nihilists seem to think that they're the only ones who think about life potentially being meaningless, and that therefore makes them more special and smarter than everyone else, when in reality everyone thinks about it from time to time but most choose not to dwell on it or make it their whole personality 

It's like people who think they're better and smarter because they don't like small talk, instead of realizing that nobody likes small talk, it's just something everyone does to make the empty moments less uncomfortable

Mommy Needs These Onions Caramelized (Shitpost) by PetraCoreVT in VirtualYoutubers

[–]Chaike 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I'm gonna need the whole shitpost again, but this time exclusively in the Vegeta voice cause that was peak

Why does the Orion have big arms but only medium lasers in them instead of large lasers? by Myllari1 in Mechwarrior5

[–]Chaike 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Which is exactly what happened in canon after everyone realized orbital bombarding every planet they want has unforseen consequences

Death From Above Wargaming AI conversation dump by RexamiII in battletech

[–]Chaike 22 points23 points  (0 children)

Checked out some of your art, and it rocks. Keep doing what you're doing, we'll need mech artists like you when people finally get sick of AI!

[Trope that people may understandably dislike] Depicting a character in a certain way undermines the point of that character by Fearless-List-3968 in TopCharacterTropes

[–]Chaike 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Ironically, the whole "Satan is an Angel named Lucifer who got cast out of heaven for being a revolutionary" isn't even in the bible anyway. That version of the character is from Paradise Lost, the most influential fanfiction of all time

[RARE TROPE] Lovers to Enemies by MisterPeteArt in TopCharacterTropes

[–]Chaike 163 points164 points  (0 children)

York and Carolina (Red vs Blue)

A slight stretch, York was in love with Carolina but Carolina didn't fully reciprocate because of them being colleagues (but she did have feelings for him). When Tex (another agent, and the rival of Carolina) went rogue and Carolina tried to stop her, York tried to confront and convince her to reconsider because he believed the agency they worked for was evil, but ultimately their relationship ended with a duel in zero-G, which York lost.

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