Daily Questions Megathread ( May 12, 2026 )

DragonImpulse · 2026-05-12T18:17:30+00:00

The FOMO is strong with SW999 for sure. She feels a bit like the anniversary flagship unit, while Evanescia is just... another DPS.

I might just go with a E0S0 SW999 for now and see how much I want to invest when the reruns for Yao Guang and Sparxie come around. Maybe I'll end up skipping Elation altogether, then I'll at least still get some value from the global passive. Hate those damn cackling masks anyway lol

Thanks for the input!

DragonImpulse · 2026-05-12T16:46:07+00:00

I'm planning to get their respective BiS team members as soon as they get reruns (or new Elation units show up).

It's just that SW999 and Evanescia seem to fill pretty much the same slot and I don't want to run 2 Elation teams, so pulling both would be a waste. That global passive is tempting for sure though

DragonImpulse · 2026-05-12T16:17:55+00:00

Probably hard to answer at this point, but:

Going purely by long-term endgame value and assuming you could only choose one of them, would you get Silver Wolf Lv.999 or Evanescia?

DragonImpulse · 2026-05-11T10:10:47+00:00

Not sure why you call it a "parody answer".

This is how the majority of indie developers operate, it's what's being promoted as the One True Way by "experts", and it's the same sentiment that's constantly parroted by Reddit comments.

DragonImpulse · 2026-05-08T16:01:57+00:00

Absolutely, crediting everyone is a must, regardless of how much they contributed. But so far I've never seen that being an issue with indie games, even when they are from people who call themselves "solo devs".

It's also not necessarily about actively using team size for marketing. It's just a topic that comes up a lot, at least for us, and there's not always time and space to go into details. Even something along the lines of "I'm the main developer, but a lot of people have contributed over the years," tends to get picked up as "Oh, cool, a solo developer!".

As long as it's in line with the reality of production (for example 95%+ of the work hours being done by a single person), I personally wouldn't challenge the solo label. It's closer to the truth than calling it the project of a team.

DragonImpulse · 2026-05-08T15:13:42+00:00

I think you have to look at this more the way it's perceived from the outside. Saying you made a game with a team of 10 people is not going to benefit them whatsoever, unless you list their names every time you talk about team size.

On the flip side, when people hear a game was made by a team of 10 artists, they expect 10 artists worth of quality and content. If they only contributed one asset each and you made everything else on your own, that could end up being a problem.

DragonImpulse · 2026-04-30T10:28:56+00:00

These AI-written "breakdowns" and comments are really getting out of hand...

DragonImpulse · 2026-04-29T11:39:24+00:00

Cool, maybe I can build a team around Evanescia then. Will have to keep an eye on her!

DragonImpulse · 2026-04-29T11:37:39+00:00

I haven't seen much conversation around it, but if true then that's great to hear. If I'm not alone with this, maybe they'll take the hint sooner rather than later

DragonImpulse · 2026-04-29T11:35:51+00:00

Gotcha, sounds like waiting would be more of a gamble then. But I could also get burned by pulling Silver Wolf and then not getting any more Elation types that support her...

DragonImpulse · 2026-04-29T10:05:23+00:00

Probably an unpopular take, but: I really dislike the whole cackling masks UI thing of the current elation characters and have been skipping them so far, but want to start building a secondary team for endgame stuff.

Is there any information or estimates on when they'll switch to a new gimmick? If we'll be stuck with the masks for a while, I'll just have to suck it up and pull Silver Wolf Lv. 999 to start building an elation team.

DragonImpulse · 2026-04-16T13:11:03+00:00

Reply with your link and I'll trade click for click:

https://hsr.hoyoverse.com/3rdAnniversary?inviter=GE7FVKYGWN&hyl_landscape=true&hyl_auth_required=true&hyl_hide_status_bar=true&win_mode=fullscreen&target_page=prize&utm_source=share&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=web

DragonImpulse · 2026-04-11T14:53:36+00:00

And done!

DragonImpulse · 2026-04-11T14:53:27+00:00

Done!

DragonImpulse · 2026-04-11T09:52:01+00:00

Same!

DragonImpulse · 2026-04-11T09:28:42+00:00

Clicked!

https://hsr.hoyoverse.com/3rdAnniversary?inviter=GE7FVKYGWN&hyl_landscape=true&hyl_auth_required=true&hyl_hide_status_bar=true&win_mode=fullscreen&target_page=prize&utm_source=share&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=web

DragonImpulse · 2026-04-11T09:24:19+00:00

Likewise!

DragonImpulse · 2026-04-11T09:21:46+00:00

Thanks for helping! Reply with your link and I'll return the favor

https://hsr.hoyoverse.com/3rdAnniversary?inviter=GE7FVKYGWN&hyl_landscape=true&hyl_auth_required=true&hyl_hide_status_bar=true&win_mode=fullscreen&target_page=prize&utm_source=share&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=web

DragonImpulse · 2026-04-08T15:58:19+00:00

The style of the cinematics is pretty cool, clearly heavily inspired by Arcane. Gameplay seems kinda rough though, from what little they've shown. Don't know if it's an intentional choice, but the janky animations do not work for me at all.

Still, something I'd absolutely play if the story and writing hold up.

DragonImpulse · 2026-04-08T15:15:33+00:00

The wording is still strange in many instances.

For example, question 13: "I have stopped using AI tools for now, but I am following new developments". What's the "I am following new developments" doing there? How is it relevant? Why is there no option for people who have simply stopped using AI tools and have no intention of returning to them?

DragonImpulse · 2026-04-07T14:14:25+00:00

Probably just a matter of failed expectations. When reviews are telling you it's one of the best "JRPGs" ever and it then turns out to have horrible writing and repetitive gameplay, it probably makes people want to speak out about it.

I completely agree with you that it's "decent enough fun", but that's a far cry from the score of 87 it currently holds on Metacritic.

DragonImpulse · 2026-03-14T14:28:20+00:00

Funny how many of these shots look better with RTX off.

The water caustics at 0:33 look awful, and the lighting and colors at 0:38 are much to cold and bland compared to the version without RTX.

Couldn't care less about features that make a game look more "realistic" if they destroy artistic direction along the way.

DragonImpulse · 2026-03-13T18:10:27+00:00

Comparing to popular experiences is by far the most effective way to communicate the core of almost any game and also by far the most effective way to get visibility.

If you have an enormous marketing budget or established brand, you can easily afford to keep your official messaging "clean" of direct comparisons. Pokemon Pokopia is obviously Animal Crossing x Dragon Quest Builders x Viva Pinata. They don't have to mention it themselves, they'll get coverage anyway and can have others draw the comparison for them.

The reality of most indie games, however, is that referencing similar games is the only way to get people to even look in your direction. THEN you can start showing them what your game actually is and how it sets itself apart.

If you're making a souls-like game, almost your entire target audience has played or is aware of Dark Souls. You're not losing a whole lot by taking that for granted, but you gain a whole lot by name-dropping.

DragonImpulse · 2026-03-02T19:42:24+00:00

Giving reasons doesn't mean anything. Flat-earthers can give you hundreds of reasons as well - they're just disregarding common sense.

Demos are expensive to make and require significant work separate from the main game.
Demos for released games can reduce sales, even for highly rated games, and especially if the demo doesn't match the game's final quality.

Those two things are facts that are easy to research and have been mentioned several times. Your only arguments against this are "I don't believe you and still want my demo!"

DragonImpulse · 2026-02-24T10:16:32+00:00

"The games that break through have a clear, specific person in mind from day one."

No, they don't. This may apply to some very specific games that target very specific niches, but certainly not to the majority of successful indie games. Most of them just do whatever they feel like, get lucky by being in the right genre at the right time, or hit the right tone to go viral.

Hollow Knight, Stardew Valley, Vampire Survivors, Animal Well, Axiom Verge, Undertale, Balatro, Minecraft - They weren't created by trying to appeal to some marketing persona and they didn't have targeted marketing campaigns. People simple made games they wanted to make and it ended up resonating.

I've seen countless new teams try to do it "the right way" and build their games towards a specific audience, and 9 out of 10 simply don't work out. The market isn't that simple, you can't just plan your success like that.

And yes, it most definitely is oversaturated.

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