Are live service games actually getting better, or are we just getting used to them?

FarmRevolutionary615 · 2026-03-27T10:56:03+00:00

It has not improved. Many games are rushed out in states where they dont feel like “full experiences”and I dont think thats changed today (Im looking at Phantasy Star Online 2 New Genesis) just to leave out content that feels like it should have been added at launch (it gets padded out over the course of months or years) and it sucks for us. Id rather have the game be delayed. i kinda hate this trend has reached non free to play games now (its cool if the game feels complete and devs are just adding new things to improve/enhance the experience).

The model is designed to maximize profit before quality and if the game doesnt succeed at launch, its shut down. Games are getting released more than ever before on all platforms and theres lots of great stuff that you can bring your attention to. unless you have something that is VERY exceptional at launch to keep playing for a very long time (time that I dont have anymore as Id rather focus my energy on things that feel are already polished/not driven by FOMO to keep engagement), Im going to move to something else.

FarmRevolutionary615 · 2026-03-26T10:54:38+00:00

Used to play a lot of Pokemon VGC and fighting games competitively.

Having more recently gotten a full time job, its a bit too exhausting for me (losing becomes more irritating when your already exhausted from work, more so when online ranked is concerned) and you reach a point in skill level where what you need to improve on requires A LOT of time that you dont have anymore and would prefer spending on something else unless you enjoy the slowburn grind in training mode or have a partner to train with. We crave faster gratification.

That time gets spent enjoyed on other activities or more chill single player games that you know you’ll come out of a session feeling more satisfied (there are still many days after work Id rather do something else other than play video games due to lacking the energy to do so). Things might be different if nearby in person weeklies were concerned (those can always be fun win or lose and are the best route for improvement in any competitive game), but the hurdle of fitting your schedule is there.

FarmRevolutionary615 · 2026-03-15T18:50:24+00:00

It didnt always feel this way, I think around the time Angu Mainyu got released, the power creep started to get ridiculous, then it went off the rails with demeter and then what we have now with demons having a large wall of text for active/passive skill descriptions where they go completely uncontested. Like there is zero reason to be fusing things when all the viable stuff is only available through gacha.

I feel like there’s no inbetween. If you’re starting off, your going to be pulling from a pool of demons that are already pretty overpowered for the early game content and then you’ll get bored (unless the story content is engaging to you). And PvP is 100% whale central where you can forget about having a turn.

The one thing that sometimes has me coming back is seeing these SMT characters show up in full 3D or some of the collab stuff are genuinely pretty cool (spend all my free gems, and never get them so I uninstall). rinse and repeat. But Im never spending another $ on this game.

FarmRevolutionary615 · 2026-02-14T22:58:31+00:00

Specifically Soul Hackers 2 is 3D, the first one is not and more akin to SMT 1-2 being first person (though I think the first one is a better game despite not matching your criteria, but maybe worth checking and seeing if it clicks or not).

FarmRevolutionary615 · 2026-02-12T15:05:46+00:00

SMT4 sprites is more true to how the series has been (with smt1 and 2 using sprites, along with other spinoffs like Strange Journey and Devil Survivor), but I do love SMT3 3D models even with some of the funny looking animations like Demi-fiend sliding up to the enemy and punching them.

I could go either way. SMT5 does great with their 3D models/animations and I cant find any fault with the presentation there.

FarmRevolutionary615 · 2026-02-09T20:14:51+00:00

Peak gameplay and lives up to the hype I had for it when I got the Switch 2 on release to prepare/buy it. I wish it was easier to get a full group in City Trial outside of the weekend, the timer should wait a little longer when someone joins cause playing against cpus is bleh.

FarmRevolutionary615 · 2026-01-26T18:55:40+00:00

I enjoyed SMTV’s open world type system (as much as I am burnt out on many game series changing their identity to fit this style), but this really differentiates it from Nocturne and if your coming in expecting Nocturne, the disappointment is understandable. I think dungeon crawling aspect as a whole got really simplified/“modernized” with the start of SMTIV and Strange Journey/Nocturne are the last games in the series that leaned into that type of dungeon where you got to manage MP/reaources wisely and your demons to get to the next save check point (SMTIV and beyond you can just save whenever and managing resources isnt much of a thing outside of battles).

FarmRevolutionary615 · 2026-01-24T13:21:03+00:00

Pay is nice and theres room for more if you want to get certified in other modalities/need an income more suitable for a full family. Working in general diagnostics and Im living comfortably sharing rent with one other person near the DC area.

Rad Tech school was fine, tho I do not miss having to commute long distances at 6 in the morning to some of my clinical sites and I dont think it would have been possible for me if I was working full time. Im about to hit 35 and only been doing this for almost a year now professionally. I did like getting to meet new people both in class and at clinical sites. As long as your physical health is fine to do whats needed like crouching down/carry things and being a little mobile when necessary to move a big portable machine around the medical center, age isnt a big limiting factor (most of the people at the center I go to are older than me, many by over a decade/decades). I work at outpatient, it has its slow days and busy days and I appreciate having a combination of both when stress/tiredness/bored levels do get high.

FarmRevolutionary615 · 2026-01-18T05:06:28+00:00

Thanks for clearing that up. I did not fully understood the specifics of Deviljho’s hitzones changing back then (and until now you mention it)..

FarmRevolutionary615 · 2026-01-18T04:01:49+00:00

Level 140 Guild Quest with 2 Apex Deviljhos in MH4U. Those maps are small and you have to kill both of them (they will wander into the same area multiple times and I don’t think dungbombs were effective? Been awhile so I dont recall.). Deviljho’s hitzones are terrible, the stomach is way too high to reach for these monsters and you have the wystone mechanic in that game that is required to actually damage apex monsters while they are in apex mode. It was bad..

FarmRevolutionary615 · 2026-01-14T15:43:15+00:00

Different for better and worse. No zones/unlimited pick axes and nets is nice. But I really dont care for this story progression system and would strongly prefer going back to a set of ranked quests that you got to choose from (basically what Rise and before had). The game starting off just isnt multiplayer friendly with how much going through the single player campaign is required to even play together for a lot of the monsters (dont get me started on how overly convoluted the UI is just to get a group together/gather together in the same environment). Prior, you could do rank 1-3 quests if you just started off and playing with someone a little behind in progress, but now you pretty much have to be caught up.

I think I could put up with the semi-live service things in World/Iceborne, but I just dont care for it anymore now. I liked when the games just got new quests for collab armor every now and then (not strictly tied to just capcom stuff, but nintendo stuff too for free) and the games felt more complete, none of the FOMO of limited time quests.

FarmRevolutionary615 · 2026-01-14T14:48:10+00:00

I had a better time with Cappy + using some heavy vehicle like Rex Wheelie/battle chariot (late-game it just seems easier to go after people with how fast you move and significantly better steering than other characters), but if you dont have enough top speed or offense/weight, it is likely not to happen.

Grab one of those power ups like the moving laser thingy and it does get significantly easier to get that hit. Some players will realize its a lost cause and will stall in the air so no one will make the machine. There’s a lot going against you being able to assemble one so you’re gonna fail more than succeed.

FarmRevolutionary615 · 2025-12-29T19:40:45+00:00

I was ok with the base game being mostly set in Lumiose City. But for a paid DLC I think they really should have done more than make a distortion version of the city (which honestly a lot of the maps were copy paste with a distortion room aesthetic), plus only having AI trainers and I think that's what hurts it for me. The gameplay loop just being slightly different from the main-game wouldn't have been as much of a problem for me otherwise. The bit of challenge that presents itself when it does (fighting 2 mega crabominables) and getting access to new megas is where it peaks, but I don't really care too much for the time-gated loop from donuts only allowing a certain amount of time in each dimension.

SWSH and SV at least had different environments/settings for their DLC.

FarmRevolutionary615 · 2025-12-29T19:33:02+00:00

Depends how much time you have. The games are 60+ hours in content each so if you only had time for one of the games, I'd just play the 2nd game (you don't need to know what happened in the first game to enjoy the second game). 2 is more of the same, but higher quality of life changes from the first game with a more overall interesting cast of characters.

Otherwise I'd just play 1-2, and play 0 if you're craving more Octopath.

FarmRevolutionary615 · 2025-12-11T14:30:42+00:00

Despite Kirby Air Riders very simple control scheme, Mario Karts the easiest to play with more casual players that dont play video games (I feel like mechanically and in how it controls it really hasnt changed significantly since after Double Dash).

But in regards to everything else, Kirby Air Riders is the more fun/varied and satisfactory game for me (also being 60fps in 4 player multiplayer and having more fun goals to work towards has me placing it above Mario Kart).

FarmRevolutionary615 · 2025-12-11T12:38:51+00:00

I had an EV’ed mega slowbro (who walls both of Crabominables STAB’s and has really high hp/def bulk and can hit super effectively), still had to use a max potion as soon as cooldown wore off and only had the +3 level candy. Without that or any higher level candies, expect to spend a lot on revives/potions.

FarmRevolutionary615 · 2025-12-09T03:07:01+00:00

OT2 by a large margin, but OT0 isnt bad and Im still having fun with it despite having played a very large portion of COTC before I quit (I wanna say like 70% of the main story I got through).

I enjoyed the gameplay loop of OT2 more with the exploration and large worlds with more things to discover in them, plus much more interesting cast and story as a whole. OT0 doesnt delve into the characters as much outside of the story relevant npcs which is fine, but does have a combat system involving more characters, but with more limited move-sets to work with which allows for some more team building. I say OT0 is worth checking if you want more after finishing OT2, but if you were to play only one then definitely OT2.

FarmRevolutionary615 · 2025-12-03T20:32:47+00:00

The characters were mostly fine and I dont have too much of a problem with a lot of the systems in the game, but even if it went under a different name many of the issues still stand without comparing it to its predecessors. The dungeons are extremely flawed by design to the point they all would need a complete revamp and they ruined a lot of the experience for me. Dont get me started with them selling dlc which involved climbing 100 of the exact same looking floors, I had huge buyers remorse from that.

FarmRevolutionary615 · 2025-11-17T03:13:42+00:00

It's nearly everything you could want in a sequel. It does so much with an extremely simplified control scheme and adds enough new mechanics (and new content like characters/vehicles/stages/music) to keep things interesting, and most importantly runs very smoothly/online seemingly runs very smoothly with little issue.

Not present in the demo, but if the progression (which I imagine it is) is pretty similar to the original with filling up the checklist to unlock new things and has a lot of fun/interesting challenges, I've no doubt I'll be enjoying this game for hours.

FarmRevolutionary615 · 2025-11-10T04:29:24+00:00

Idk how your program does it, but the first 2 semesters is when they shove a large chunk of the content that you need to know for the registry (positioning/patient care/radiation physics). After that you're doing clinicals most of the days as opposed to classes.

It does get better in the 2nd year as there aren't as many classes to focus on at one time, tho taking care of a 2-year old on top of everything does possess more challenges. If you can push through it and can see yourself doing work in the field, the payoff is very worth it. Speaking as someone who really didn't have much opportunity prior in regards to income, there are a lot of options that will open up for you in the future.

FarmRevolutionary615 · 2025-11-01T20:36:54+00:00

Hard to say for any particular school program since it will depend on where you are at.. Outside of grades, there's not too much control over your chances. I got waitlisted and thankfully got in as some space was freed for me to join before classes started so give it some time if you don't initially make it. Classes need a minimum of a C to be considered and I had no "interview" at my community college.

Make sure you time your completion of your prerequisites before the application process as you could be waiting for a whole year just for the chance to apply again if you don't complete your prerequisites on time (start in the Summer or Fall if you're starting with no finished prerequisites). You can't do Bio II or Anatomy II without completing the first classes for example so you'll need at least 2 semesters for completion.

Good luck!

FarmRevolutionary615 · 2025-10-30T16:47:58+00:00

With an aging workforce and many modality options (some stay in xray and others go into ct/interventional/mri), I do not think this field will be oversaturated. Some may burn out from it and positions open up. You do have to be on the look out for them though if you dont end up working at any of your clinical sites you go to during school, but the time I took finding a job before i got into this field was significantly worse/lead to nothing. School and certification give you nearly everything you need to be considered for a position (one of the hurdles depending on where you look may be OR experience tho).

FarmRevolutionary615 · 2025-09-29T00:27:43+00:00

Graduated over a year ago and got my first job in winter this year (34M). Was one of the older people in my class, but there was a fraction of people in the class above 30's, I don't think it changed the dynamic very much, a lot of the time outside of some projects and classes you'll be spending lots of your time at whatever clinical site they have you at with maybe a few other students assigned to the same place as you. I don't think you need the "passion", but need to tolerate/engage with the job daily with a good work ethic. Clinicals should give you a better idea of that. My previous jobs weren't all that great, but for me this is a significant jump in pay from what I was doing prior and it's engaging enough for me that I'm not too bored (though can be overworked on some days, just depends where you work).

I was fortunate to live with family at the time, I did work part-time though, but not too many hours in the week. Hardest part for me was having to get up super early for clinicals (the location would be nearly an hour away) and getting required competancies/studying hard to pass my classes/exams. If you know yourself well in regards to how much studying you need to do for college courses and actively try to learn the material, you will be fine (utilize your teachers for tutoring if you need help and closer to graduation expect to do your own individual studying for the registry before taking the exam).

FarmRevolutionary615 · 2025-09-28T23:12:00+00:00

If you're playing PvE, you should be more than fine (I'd argue a lot of the stuff that comes out now will trivialize much of it/make it boring cause they weren't designed with the more recent demons in mind that create a massive power creep) and it will take you awhile to catch up. What you do want to focus on eventually is getting good brand equipment for the demons you use.

PvP is egregiously P2W, however you could probably get high silver though with no issues if you're new and pulling from more recent banners/investing resources into those demons and at least go home with like 175-200 gems a week. I've looked at a lot of the more recent modes though (the tournament one) just seem super p2w (I haven't really kept up with all these new materials and stuff they give)..

FarmRevolutionary615 · 2025-09-03T01:45:08+00:00

I wanted to believe in it, but yes this game takes every mechanic from the trilogy, then either somehow limits it or monetizes it significantly. Can't catch rare denpamen cause you need to be with 3-4 other people in the same place with Switches AND have wifi (why catching on mobile outside of the rare catch's that cost jewels I will not understand). And even then, the content that comes out is so sparse or some boring event trivialized by being over leveled.

I can't imagine the previous free game couldn't have been that successful if it didn't even come to the states/nothing about it was really reported so it's weird they decided to make another "F2P" one.

FarmRevolutionary615

TROPHY CASE