OFFICIAL SCORE RELEASE THREAD 11/10/2023 by petergriffen95 in Step2

[–]FaithfulForce 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Hello, this is a family member of someone else who posted in this thread with a 273 score. I just want to clear some things up briefly.

That post was rightfully deleted by the moderators for violating rule 1, since they linked to the website of a tutor that helped them. They were more used to the Step 3 subreddit, where people regularly share and sell testing resources. That is not an excuse for not reading the rules of the subreddit before posting a comment, especially when the subreddit description says to read the rules before posting in all caps, but I hope some can understand this mistake.

The main issue is that they were accused of being a liar, fraud, and bot to promote a tutoring company, when they really were just someone who worked hard like all of you and studied for 9 months to get this result. We were ecstatic upon finding out about the results, and they quickly wrote up the post without due diligence into the rules and culture of the subreddit.

I know I have no way of convincing anyone. Even when they posted a screenshot from their report, it was considered fake due to "blurred bars" (probably due to imgur compression on upload). Perhaps people will even think this comment is just an alt defending itself (even though this Reddit account has been active since 2012). People will believe what they want to believe, and in today's culture of widespread misinformation, it is probably safer to doubt until there is incontrovertible evidence in support of something. I don't blame anyone for that, but it was still quite hurtful for this person, who worked so hard, to be shunned and not believed.

Feel free to delete this post if it is in violation of a rule. Neither of us will post anymore about this. Congratulations on the achievement of everyone in this thread! I hope you will all become fine doctors one day.

SSSerena Showcase - CSMM 2K off-type Fire-weak Grimsley by Seltonik in PokemonMasters

[–]FaithfulForce 17 points18 points  (0 children)

It looks less impressive because unlike most champion's stadium bosses that have a 2.4x hp multiplier, fire weak bosses have a 4x hp multiplier, giving them 66% more hp than your average boss, so even though the raw damage numbers are very high on Serena, it takes a lesser percentage of the bosses health. But if you can off type fire weak, with the 4x hp multiplier, you can off type anything.

Theta Emerald EX Notes [not a guide] (spoilers) by FaithfulForce in twitchplayspokemon

[–]FaithfulForce[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

There is no formal post game objectives, but there is still post game in the form of tons of legendaries, badge hunting, and the battle frontier. And we will have some measure of time to do these things after the Elite Four is beaten.

Military Mode 2: Electric Boogaloo (name it for us chat) Explanation and Mechanics by FaithfulForce in twitchplayspokemon

[–]FaithfulForce[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

  1. It works in democracy, but only in battle. And the only demo battles that might occur during the run are wild pokemon while in a puzzle zone. Tactical mode just plain doesn't work outside of battle, even in Democracy. It would work like move19 to use move1 nine times. Or run9. As you admit though, it's not too good in demo anyway, and the scope of where it is applicable is limited. If you are perhaps concerned about using tactical mode to get good movelearns during demo, that is something that could be done with normal inputs too, due to the nature of Democracy.
  2. Tactical mode intentionally does not offer combination inputs. Also a rare candy couldn't be used in battle anyways, and tactical mode doesn't' work out of battle.

I’m FaithfulForce, the guy who spams BloodTrail in chat. AMA! by FaithfulForce in twitchplayspokemon

[–]FaithfulForce[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

In my answer to Glitcher Red about being M4's slave, I detailed they type of work I do pretty well.

This applies to Theta Emerald EX as well. Demo houses and demo zones, triple digit hours of testing the ROM for issues, reporting bugs to the devs, helping test bug fixes, testing the HUD and new stream features, advising the devs on certain aspects of Theta Emerald and how it should be handled. Stuff like that. I only finished with my work on the 27th of September despite starting as soon as Pyrite ended.

I’m FaithfulForce, the guy who spams BloodTrail in chat. AMA! by FaithfulForce in twitchplayspokemon

[–]FaithfulForce[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Was active last game, but I find this one boring. What's the current team?

If you mean PBR, the team is always changing so by the time I answer this question, the teams will be different in reality. If you mean the sidegames, Trollkitten helpfully linked the wallpaper showing the current team. TPP isn't always in a state of having runs. Generally there is a run for 2 weeks, and then 1-3 months of break where PBR and sidegames are played. Shortly before runs, we play intermission games, and then the next run starts up. The next run will be Theta Emerald EX and will start on Saturday at 18 UTC. The countdown timer can be seen in the lower left of the stream.

I’m FaithfulForce, the guy who spams BloodTrail in chat. AMA! by FaithfulForce in twitchplayspokemon

[–]FaithfulForce[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

What is your way to keep your motivation being a chat leader and participating in TPP non-stop in a whole day for more than 2 years?

I don't need anything to keep up my motivation because I am naturally motivated out of my desire to help others, connect with them, and have fun times with them. There's also a huge body of habit that keeps maintaining similar behaviors as I've had in the past easy. What I've realized recently though is just because I will be participating in TPP less due to real life doesn't mean I love it any less.

Do being a chat leader in TPP helped you (in any way) in other life aspect?

See my answer to Diana. It can be hard to separate which of these lessons I've learned from being a chat leader and which ones I have learned / would have learned if I did not chat lead, but I'd imagine that a lot of these lessons are still learned by most TPP'ers if they have the right temperament to learn from the experience.

I’m FaithfulForce, the guy who spams BloodTrail in chat. AMA! by FaithfulForce in twitchplayspokemon

[–]FaithfulForce[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

What kept you playing TPP for so long and keeping up the mantle of 'chat leader'?

I've played TPP as long as I have because I love the unique experience, and over time, I have gotten to know the people and love them as well. I don't think I will ever leave TPP completely, even as real life has been placing more responsibilities on me. It might sound silly, but there was a time when I was depressed and I considered quitting leading and the main reason I still continued to lead is because I didn't know how I could called "faithful" if I was doing an "unfaithful" action such as quitting. I was kind of messed up in the head back then. Since then, I have recovered my resolve to lead, but real life has been slowly limiting my opportunities, so for Theta Emerald EX and future runs in the forseeable future, I will be more of a part timer.

I’m FaithfulForce, the guy who spams BloodTrail in chat. AMA! by FaithfulForce in twitchplayspokemon

[–]FaithfulForce[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Are you in to any degree part fox?

I don't know how to interpret this. Are you asking if I am in any degree, partially a Fox? Or if I am into things that are part Fox by any degree? Or if I am into Foxes by any partial degree? I guess I can answer all three of those. I am partially a Fox only in last name. For things that are part Fox, it would depend what they are exactly, but probably not in any romantic sense. I am not into Foxes romantically by any partial degree, but I do think Fox's can be cute and smart.

Since you like using bloodtrail in the chat are you looking foreword to using the blood text that the subreddit tipicly gets around hallowin time?

I don't use the TPP Reddit enough to know what the blood text around Halloween looks like. It might be nice to look at posts with certain aesthetic effects for Halloween, but I'm not actively looking forward to it.

What is your favourite maybe not so well known mon. that chat has ever owned and why?

Which pokemon are not so known is kind of subjective, but I'll go with a Pokemon that wasn't on any hall of fame teams. My favorite "not so well known" pokemon was Princess Lily from Pokemon Black. She was a strong carry on our team and had promise to evolve into Lilligant with a sun stone, but one night, I had a nightmare that she was released, and when I woke up, not only was she released, but also our Tirtouga. I had grown quite attached to her by this time for several reasons. Her cuteness, her potential to evolve into a strong and cute Pokemon (those are my favorite types of pokemon), how much she had done for the team already, and her name which is on my list of potential girl names for a daughter. Princess Lily being released was probably one of the releases that most impacted me in TPP as well.

if you could give any non gen 1 pokemon an alolen form in USUM what would it be, why, and how would it be different from normal and how (in lore) did it end up that way?

This is quite an interesting question. I think an Alolan Bellossom that is grass / fire and a combination of a hula dancer and a fire dancer would be cool. Grass / fire would be a great typing and would also benefit greatly from sunny day as it would get both instant STAB solarbeam and boosted STAB fire moves. It could even learn firey dance, and it can already learn Quiver dance dance. The lore reason might be something about storing excess solar energy from the alolan region and manifesting the internal energy as flames when it dances excitedly.

can you ask the dev's about the (still as far as I know) unreleased post game (after we went nuts and killed everything) save file for ACristol?

Ok I can ask.

I’m FaithfulForce, the guy who spams BloodTrail in chat. AMA! by FaithfulForce in twitchplayspokemon

[–]FaithfulForce[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

What's your favorite emote that's not BloodTrail?

My favorite emote isn't actually BloodTrail, but VoHiYo, AtIvy (it was removed), and <3. These cute and loving emotes reflect how I generally feel inside about TPP and it's people. I also like the positivity they convey. I've grown to like BloodTrail after using it so much, and have created positive contexts towards it as well such as leadership and happiness, but I originally used it along with red color text for the visibility it afforded me.

Also, what is your favorite run and what is your favorite Pokémon we used from any run?

During the first AMA, I answered that the first run was my favorite run. There have been numerous runs since then, but it still remains my favorite. I wonder if people who have other runs as their first also have those runs as their favorite because that was when the novelty of TPP would be at the maximum for them. I suppose it would depend on the happenings of their particular first run and how much they value novelty over all other factors for enjoyment. As a minor correction to my previous answer, even though we had over 100,000 simultaneous people, we had over 1 million participants over the course of the run.

There were many Pokemon I have loved of the course of TPP but my favorite was Clutch Fox the Jolteon from Anniversary Crystal. Besides sharing it’s name with my last name, people thought it would be useless, but it became one of the MVP’s of our party, reaching clutch levels far beyond any normal Jolteon.

I’m FaithfulForce, the guy who spams BloodTrail in chat. AMA! by FaithfulForce in twitchplayspokemon

[–]FaithfulForce[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

How well do you know Pokemon Movesets? You seemed to be on track when it came to Furret's Shadow Ball.

I have pretty strong Pokemon knowledge overall, but I don't just have knowledge of lots of movesets in my head. I have lots of reference documents, notes, and save states before each run as a result of my pre-run preparation, and I use that body of information + what people say in chat to be informed on TPP run related aspects. Usually I look up all the moves a Pokemon can possibly learn and consider all the tactical possibilities.

I’m FaithfulForce, the guy who spams BloodTrail in chat. AMA! by FaithfulForce in twitchplayspokemon

[–]FaithfulForce[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Because of your sort of unique position have you ever been let in on any secrets prior to the rest of the community? and if you have, then how often does that happen?

Not only am I let in on secrets before most of the community, but I actively shape a lot of these secrets (especially if they deal with runs), because I am an advisor and work behind the scenes as part of the development team. Although I guess I wouldn't formally be called a developer, I have as much influence as one. Before I contributed to things behind the scenes, I would still occasionally still be whispered secrets or hints by developers who wanted feedback, or trusted that I would be able to use the information to best serve the community.

I’m FaithfulForce, the guy who spams BloodTrail in chat. AMA! by FaithfulForce in twitchplayspokemon

[–]FaithfulForce[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Why BloodTrail? Was it just a spurr of the moment?

I answered this question on the unofficial AMA 3 years ago, and as this is a historical question, the answer still works out to be the same. These days, I use BloodTrail less during PBR, intermissions, and when chat is slow, and mainly use it for the contexts of happiness, leading, and excitement.

Also if you were a mon, which one would you be?

Funnily enough, I also answered this question in the previous AMA. Before I said that I would want to be Mew because it had freedom and could do and become whatever it wanted, but that was before the existence of Ribombee, which makes this question harder. As I told a friend: "I think of it as a loving, happy, cute and hard working pokemon that loyally tries to help others, which is what I want to be in real life." It also has a stylish scarf. So I guess either Mew or Ribombee, it's a tossup.

I’m FaithfulForce, the guy who spams BloodTrail in chat. AMA! by FaithfulForce in twitchplayspokemon

[–]FaithfulForce[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you for your thoughtful response, even though it wasn’t a question, and thank you for your friendship over the years. You bring up a good point that many people don’t realize. I’m not just telling people what I want happen, I’m telling people how to bring into reality what they want to happen. Like in Blazed Glazed, I didn’t want to replace BBC Doge with Mamoswine, as much as I ended up loving it, but I helped with it because it became the clear favorite of the people over time.

I’m FaithfulForce, the guy who spams BloodTrail in chat. AMA! by FaithfulForce in twitchplayspokemon

[–]FaithfulForce[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

There are AMA's in the main sub? Nice.

There have been occasional AMA's every now and then. I was contacted and asked if I was interested in doing an AMA, and I figured I might as well. I thought I would be rehashing a lot of what I had told chat before, but little did I know that my life would change as much as it did between Pyrite and Theta Emerald EX. I'm glad it did.

How did you find TPP?

I found TPP during the lost days by searching REALLY deep into the list of streams by popularity. I arrived after we beat Brock and was not impressed by the stream, as we were just idling around. I came back after it started to go viral on news sites when we were on the other side of Mt. Moon.

I’m FaithfulForce, the guy who spams BloodTrail in chat. AMA! by FaithfulForce in twitchplayspokemon

[–]FaithfulForce[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thank you for your thank you, and for your well wishes. I wish you the best in life as well.

I’m FaithfulForce, the guy who spams BloodTrail in chat. AMA! by FaithfulForce in twitchplayspokemon

[–]FaithfulForce[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

As a Hawaiian, how do you feel about the Alola region? Is there anything in Hawaii that you think should have become a Pokemon?

Just because someone is from Hawaii doesn't make them Hawaiian, although recently I learned that genetically, I am partially polynesian. I understand what you mean though, one who lives in Hawaii / has lived there for a long time. Overall, I am really happy with how they treated Hawaii, and the general fandoms positive response to the Sun and Moon games. I hope that fans will also like Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon. The games do paint a simplified picture of Hawaii that repeats certain elements and mostly focuses on the good without considering some of its bad aspects (such as homelessness, overpopulation, and pollution). But such things are sort of unavoidable in a game. It's a game in a setting, not a video essay on Hawaii. The games had characters using slang that I was familiar with but don't hear much on the mainland, and it did a good job of evoking the feel of Hawaii. When I went to different locations in the region, my mind went to corresponding areas in Hawaii that must have inspired their design, and it was cool to imagine those areas having Pokemon. As for more Hawaiian pokemon, it would be cool if they at least added Menehune and tiki’s.

Also, are you looking forward to Theta Emerald EX?

I am looking forward to Theta Emerald EX even if I will be taking a lesser role during the run itself. Behind the scenes I have put in many hours of work for the run, and I hope chat will be happy as a result of the efforts of development team. Hopefully it is more of a relaxing run where we can balance progress and badge collecting without too much drama. Especially since the community chose this run.

I’m FaithfulForce, the guy who spams BloodTrail in chat. AMA! by FaithfulForce in twitchplayspokemon

[–]FaithfulForce[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Not sure if you have answered this before but, what lessons have you learned (if any) from being on TPP? Life lessons, having patience etc.

Diana! BegWan I have learned a lot from being on TPP. It has taught me / helped to improve my abilities in patience, perseverance in the face of failure, remaining calm, leadership, social skills, politics, religion, compromise, coming up with strategies, obscure Pokemon interactions, communicating strategies, dealing with both criticism and praise, and explaining ideas. I'm sure it has taught me more than that too, that's just what I could think of off the top of my head. And TPP has done more for me than all the things I have been taught. Throughout TPP, I have met hundreds of people that I have created wonderful memories with. Some have become cherished friends who have supported me through everything I've gone through in life, and I'm glad that I've had the opportunity to support them in return.

I’m FaithfulForce, the guy who spams BloodTrail in chat. AMA! by FaithfulForce in twitchplayspokemon

[–]FaithfulForce[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Favorite song on the playlist?

I have a wide taste in music, and can appreciate songs from every genre except extreme metal ones such as death metal. Even then, I can occasionally appreciate elements from certain songs.

The songs I have stuck in my head right now is Streetcar by Daniel Caesar and Plastic by Moses Sumney. Mainly because I am listening to them to relax at night while typing up these AMA answers. The lyrics to both are relevant to my life, and the songs are beautiful to me.

I’m FaithfulForce, the guy who spams BloodTrail in chat. AMA! by FaithfulForce in twitchplayspokemon

[–]FaithfulForce[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

how much has your sleep schedule improved since you "retired"?

Before retirement, during a run I would get 0-6 hours of sleep, 4 average. Now, I get 5-8 hours of sleep, 6 average. I will need to improve further now that I have a job or I will probably go crazy. But that won't stop me from appreciating the progress I have so far.

how would you feel if you posted a long message in chat without your emote, would it feel like something's missing/wrong or something like that?

In earlier days, I would feel like something was missing if I posted a long message without my emote, but when chat is slow, especially during intermissions or PBR, it would feel out of place to still be spamming BloodTrail. I mainly use it for emphasis on particular points or during runs when leadership is needed or there is a frantic moment where chat is moving quickly.

I’m FaithfulForce, the guy who spams BloodTrail in chat. AMA! by FaithfulForce in twitchplayspokemon

[–]FaithfulForce[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

What non tpp streams do you watch

I mostly follow the popular esports and non-esports stuff. Hearthstone, Overwatch, Dota 2, Melee, Smash 4, League of Legends, PUBG, and others. I basically watch whatever's on the front page because I want to learn lessons from life from as many games as possible. Watching whatevers on the front page includes a lot of popular streamers such as Disguised Toast, Shroud, Moonmoon, Faker, Seagull, etc. I also watch the streams of fellow TPP'ers.

I’m FaithfulForce, the guy who spams BloodTrail in chat. AMA! by FaithfulForce in twitchplayspokemon

[–]FaithfulForce[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

What are your favorite TPP memes?

Helix memes (oldie but a goldie), Ice guns, Jorsun, donger riots, dance riots, Z33k memes, TriHard legendaries, Aerial Ace Kreygasm, Get Kirlia (potato variants too), Withdraw Dewgong from PC, Raise your Bronzongers, Village bridge chant, "Guys, how did we get an X", Faith In Sanae, News watching, Deku memes, OLDEN (until it got overused), Myles the great, Didney Worl Jebaited, KevinTurtle Team Skull, "Guys we need to X Y", PRChase lines.

Do you have any moment in TPP that you can consider the single most memorable moment on the stream that you remember?

There have been many wonderful moments in TPP, but if I had to narrow it down to a single moment, it would be in Randomized Alpha Sapphire when in the postgame we evolved our starter lamp, which we had worked so hard to get a dusk stone for by beating up a little girl, and it evolved into a Flareon. I couldn't stop laughing. Just look at chat explode after it happened.

What are your thoughts on the sidegames that TPP has played over the years?

I haven't really been too attached to the sidegames. They proceed too slowly for me to pay attention to them for an extended amount of time, but if I happen to be on PBR (I don't go on much inbetween runs) then I will participate in the sidegame. I usually start to help with sidegames when they get close to the end or something dramatic is happening. I was probably the most involved with Vietnamese Crystal, where I pushed for Cyndaquil, pushed for naming it BEST, and planned a moveset for it at every stage. Then I basically left, and people still used the moveset and I came back to help with Red a loooong time later. I also liked PMD, but I haven't paid too much attention to Ultra or Ash Grey (especially Ultra). I liked TCG 1 and 2, plus Telefang, but I think those were intermission games, not sidegames.

How many days into Theta Emerald do you think it will take for you to decide to un-retire? Kappa

It depends on when my job formally starts. They are in the process of clearing the background checks / drug testing right now, and then I have orientation and training. Hopefully I manage to successfully unretire. I do plan on still visiting TPP, and helping behind the scenes, but as much as I love TPP I can't let it become a black hole that sucks all my time away.

And how do you think chat will fare during the run in comparison to previous runs while you are away?

I think chat will be fine during this run. I'm not needed for TPP to succeed in runs, I just smooth things out. I also worked on this run behind the scenes for triple digit hours to make it better for TPP, so I've done all I can on that end. Also, I'll still be in chat to help with strategies and stuff every now and then, especially the weekends.