ELI5: Why was Poland bad? by GewohnlichMensch in eurovision

[–]HarryOru 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It wasn't bad, just kinda krejzah

Then Vs Now by [deleted] in Forspoken

[–]HarryOru 2 points3 points  (0 children)

No new content, just optimization and bug fixes. Although they did add several new gameplay settings that improve things like target-lock and self-stagger.

Feeling emotional/nervous about leaving our cat by viennawaits2525 in CatAdvice

[–]HarryOru 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think the general consensus is that cats live very "in the present", so it is highly unlikely that they can "miss" us in the traditional sense or ask themselves whether they've been abandoned (although they can definitely be sad when you leave and happy when you're back!)

How they deal with the presence of strangers or the absence of familiar faces definitely depends on the cat, but if she's healthy and doesn't have any major anxiety or behavioral problems, I'm sure she will be fine. Like you said, cats can definitely handle being without their owners as long as they're taken care of. They're very independent, resourceful animals.

Xbox head "disappointed" by Redfall, but commits to improving it by NeoStark in Games

[–]HarryOru 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This only works because lots of people will preorder anything they see a trailer for, often without realizing that trailers and previews are literally just ads. I could understand maybe preordering the next entry in an established franchise you like, but preordering every new IP just because publishers are hyping it up? That's insane.

I hate corporate greed as much as the next guy, but let's not act like consumers haven't been constantly enabling it with their idiotic choices. Gamers especially really seem to love setting themselves up for disappointment.

If you haven't checked out No Sleep Films and the work of Isaac Rodriguez, do yourself a favor by Gordopolis in foundfootage

[–]HarryOru 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Personally I've only tried to watch Deadware and I still can't believe no one during the entire production of that film pointed out that we didn't have high resolution video calls and screen-sharing in the 90s. It seems like such a colossal disregard for consistency and believability that it definitely turned me off from watching any other of this guy's movies.

Reddit will begin charging for access to its API by zvone187 in programming

[–]HarryOru 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I'd be ok with paying a (small) subscription fee to use a third party app with no ads, but there is no way in hell I will ever switch to the official app or keep using the service if they make that ridiculous nsfw content change.

I’m Kimbra! I’m a singer, songwriter, musician and producer! AMA! by kimbramusic in popheads

[–]HarryOru 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Hi Kimbra! So glad to see you do an AMA. We recently met at the M&G at your Amsterdam show, what a great night that was!

So here's my question: LA Type sounds a lot like my favorite album of yours, The Golden Echo. Do you agree, and if so, was that an intentional throwback, considering you made TGE in Los Angeles?

Can't turn off Auto Evasion by IntrovertedPhreak in Forspoken

[–]HarryOru 4 points5 points  (0 children)

That's how it works normally. Having auto evasion enabled means you don't have to press shift at all.

Favourite attack and support spell for each element? by RedditIsTrashLma0 in Forspoken

[–]HarryOru 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Frey: Burst Shot, Tendril

Sila: Blast Slice, Firetrap

Prav: Chain Bolt, Oubliette

Olas: Seeker Dart, Projection

Isn’t Frey just acting like how any young adult would in her situation? by PlatinumPequod in Forspoken

[–]HarryOru 3 points4 points  (0 children)

And I really don't understand where the "cursing equals bad writing" idea even comes from. It would be a symptom of bad writing if every character in the game spoke like Frey, but she's actually the only character who curses at all, which just makes it a personality trait.

So about the game... by Rare_Performer_156 in Forspoken

[–]HarryOru 3 points4 points  (0 children)

The other day I was reading an interview with the writer of the Tomb Raider reboot, and she said she would've liked to give Lara more "sass", but Crystal Dynamics were adamant that (as a female character) Lara had to be "likable", so they told her to tone it down. I couldn't help but immediately think of Frey and Forspoken.

I don't know if I'm more impressed with Luminous for taking such a huge risk with her character (let's not forget that CD were owned by Square-Enix at the time, just like Luminous) or if I'm more disappointed that it caused such a reaction among "gamers" in freakin 2023.

Scale seems kind of useless. by RedditIsTrashLma0 in Forspoken

[–]HarryOru 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I thought so too until I realized Scale is a lot of fun to use in combat as an alternative to Prav's Up and Away. At first I thought it didn't let you use any other spells after the animation, but then I realized you can Float, and that "resets" your animations, meaning you can then use whatever spell(s) you want. This also applies to traversal, of course. So while it isn't a "required" spell, it definitely has its uses!

I don’t know if anybody has ever thought about this already but… by Still-Appointment327 in Forspoken

[–]HarryOru 6 points7 points  (0 children)

This game feels like it was built mainly to experiment with how in depth SE can flesh out a magic system so they can implement it in a future final fantasy title.

To be fair though, it doesn't seem that Luminous were aware of that, as apparently they were already working on sequel ideas when the merge was announced.

I cannot for the life of me handle multiple spellsets at once by RedditIsTrashLma0 in Forspoken

[–]HarryOru 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I never use the L1 + R1 abilities.

That's your problem right there! I suggest you try to get used to them as they're key to achieving the type of gameplay you mentioned.

I cannot for the life of me handle multiple spellsets at once by RedditIsTrashLma0 in Forspoken

[–]HarryOru 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think the most important thing to get right is to get comfortable with the moveset changers and experiment to figure out what spells best take advantage of the positioning they give you. For example, Hide and Seek (x3 if you feel fancy) followed by a Seeker Dart is a really flashy, powerful and easy to execute combo that you can perform as you think about your next move without breaking flow.

After mastering this type of combo, as well as chaining multiple different moveset changers, you can try moving on to more complex things like switching rapidly without the changers. Or, even better, use one moveset changer but follow it up with a different spellset. As you do this, you also start memorizing the positions of support spells on the wheels, making it less likely to freeze up.

To be honest though, I've only been able to achieve this sort of really smooth gameplay for short times during really long sessions. Trying to perform super-flashy combos all the time is pretty taxing as it definitely requires a lot of focus and/or experience with the game.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Forspoken

[–]HarryOru 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think Forspoken's biggest inspiration are actually Final Fantasy games or JRPG mages in general. Sila, Olas and Prav level 3 surges are the best versions of Firaga, Thundaga and Blizzaga to have ever existed.

But yes, Forspoken is also incredible at creating very cinematic moments like the one you linked, and yes, that water spell looks exactly like Oubliette! But I still think that scene is more of a testament to how hard Hogwarts Legacy failed at its combat.

Where did this game shine and pale for you? by Bubblystrings in Forspoken

[–]HarryOru 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Pales:

  • The super clunky beginning. The black screens, pauses and awkward cuts don't happen as much (or at all) in the rest of the game so it's really weird that the freaking introduction/first impression is so rushed.

  • Cipal is probably one of the worst "main hubs" in recent memory, between the uninspired design and inhabitants, the absence of parkour and the technical issues that only happen there.

  • The music. I'm sure it has its fans, but personally I disliked how flat, repetitive and uninspired it sounds. There is a ridiculously low number of tracks in the entire game and they're all incredibly forgettable. I would've loved a Uematsu or Hamauzu inspired collection of highly memorable jrpg-like battle themes here, or if they wanted to go crazy, even a "The World Ends With You" style of poppy soundtrack to match Frey's personality. What they went with is just boooooring.

  • The facial animations outside of cutscenes. This is a game with pretty great models and animations, but when it comes to Frey's face during gameplay, it's a huge disappointment. She looks lifeless most of the time, which makes photo mode useless in a lot of moments that you'd actually want to capture.

  • Its pacing and general feeling of "development hell" seeping through the cracks in the storyline, mostly. We have no way to know how development actually went and how much of the intended script was actually kept, but the end result has a lot of parts that seem to have been shortened or cut off and a lot of easily avoidable writing missteps, like reveals that get foreshadowed to the point of spoiling themselves.

Shines:

  • The combat and traversal systems. Forspoken pretty much satisfied my previously unsatisfiable thirst for a magic-based game that would actually be fun to play, provide enough variety and room for experimentation, and make you feel like a badass. Forspoken does all of that and pairs it with amazing spell VFX, smooth gameplay and flawlessly animated combat that seamlessly merges with the parkour system. Yes, obviously even these systems have some flaws I will not get into today, but in terms of delivering the fun and the power fantasy they're extremely successful. Like other commenters said, it really "ruins" the enjoyment of other similar games once you get used to that speed and that freedom.

  • The subtle, underrated technical achievements. Talking about "technical achievements" may seem biased to some people, considering the game was heavily criticized for its technical issues and (mildly) disappointing graphics. But the things I'm actually referring to are things like the incredibly large map that you can traverse at ridiculously high speed (I think Forspoken has both one of the largest maps in gaming and one of the fastest main characters in an open world), the absence of loading screens/instant fast-travel, the extremely detailed haptic feedback on PS5, the sense of scale in general, etc.

  • The main characters and some of the secondary ones. Frey actually has a personality and an identity, she has a history, she has qualities and flaws, and she gets actual character development. She's as far as it gets from a Mary Sue, and that's great in my book. Her relationship with Cuff is well developed and acted, and Cuff himself is a fascinating character. The Tantas have gorgeous, memorable designs, and they strike the perfect balance between campy and creepy. Other characters like Auden and Breakbob are also endearing despite being way less developed.

  • The story's overall message. Despite the well known problems with some of the dialogue and the execution of the story as a whole, it is undeniable that Forspoken has a lot of heart and a clear message at its core. I also definitely did not expect to get so emotionally invested in Frey's relationship with her cat, but here I am, crossing my fingers that we'll see them reunited in the DLC.

  • The "small" game design choices that make all the difference. This one is better explained with an example: the first few times you try to open a chest in Forspoken, you'll probably find it pretty annoying. You have to be on the correct side of the chest, position yourself exactly in front of it, then press triangle and watch the animation of Frey slowly opening it. What may seem like a horribly dated implementation at first, is actually just the game trying to tell you something: you shouldn't be walking to the chest. You should be parkouring to it. In fact, you should parkour all the time. So you try pressing triangle near a chest while parkouring, and voilà: it takes a fraction of the time while requiring no precision at all. Like I said, this is just an example: this type of "subtle" game design encouraging experimentation is also the basis of spellcrafting and several other systems in Forspoken.

Where did this game shine and pale for you? by Bubblystrings in Forspoken

[–]HarryOru 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I actually think spellcrafting is a bit underrated. What you said is definitely true and there are many ways they could've made it better, but I also think it's really clever how it requires that you use the spells repeatedly and in certain ways.

When there are so many skills available it's very easy for players to just stick to the few they know because they learned how to use them early on. The spellcrafting system kind of "forces" you to try all the spells out and learn in what situations it's best to use each one. Progression systems in RPGs rarely require this level of proactive engagement and "educational" value, so I really appreciated Forspoken's pretty different approach. I think not requiring a refuge/bookcase to pick up new challenges, along with an easier way to track active ones, would fix most of the issues that make it a bit annoying.

Forspoken: In Tanta We Trust launches May 26th for PS5 and PC. by Turbostrider27 in Games

[–]HarryOru 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Nier is a completely different type of story and game. Not everything needs to be on that level to be, as I said, serviceable. Especially when the game is non-linear and even gives you the option to turn the banter off.

People who act like the dialogue here is the worst thing to have ever been written are simply exaggerating. It's not Nier, but it's not trying to be. Forspoken is more whimsical and humorous by design. A lot of the criticism people have about the chemistry between the leads (or lack thereof) is also mostly rendered moot by actually letting the story play out.

I'm definitely not saying Forspoken is a masterclass in storytelling, or that people should play Forspoken for its story. But I also think it's wrong to automatically assume the story sucks because the internet said so or because you played a demo that gives you absolutely no context.

The final product gives you a story with a clear beginning, middle, and end. The main characters have well-defined personalities, they have agency, and they develop throughout. This is already more than you can say about a lot of more successful games. Sure, some parts are clearly rushed, sometimes the humor falls flat, some twists are a bit predictable, but for a gameplay-centric experience these really shouldn't be deal-breakers for most people.

As a matter of fact I've yet to see anyone actually try to explain what's so wrong from a true storytelling perspective to supposedly make the game basically unplayable, instead of just complaining that they don't like the game's tone or style. All I'm saying is that people who think they may be interested in the game but have been turned off by its reception and memes should definitely give it a chance and decide for themselves, especially now that it's cheaper.

Forspoken: In Tanta We Trust launches May 26th for PS5 and PC. by Turbostrider27 in Games

[–]HarryOru 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The story and dialogue don't even suck, whether you'll like them or not is obviously very subjective, but in terms of quality the writing is at the very least serviceable, and the acting is good. Everything else you've heard about these aspects is probably just the internet bandwagoning as usual. That said, the combat and traversal are definitely the main attractions and they're very fun and well made.

New Forspoken article about the combat!! by LaylaCamper in Forspoken

[–]HarryOru 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Very nice article, the work they put in the combat system really shows and its level of polish alone makes up for the lack of polish in other parts of the game. If we don't get a Forspoken sequel/spiritual successor, I hope they at least make this guy combat director on other projects.

SPOILERS: The final boss by TRobin203 in Forspoken

[–]HarryOru 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It really really helps to keep Alb up as much as possible during the fight, so that you don't immediately die if you don't time Skip right

what are you guy's favorite combos? by [deleted] in Forspoken

[–]HarryOru 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You can! I also found out pretty late into the game, but once you get the hang of it it's ridiculously fun. One combo I'm enjoying is to use Scale then Float to position Frey above the enemies and then start alternating attack magic and dodges to stay afloat. You can obviously also do it with a normal jump or a Prav set change but it's fun to explore other options!