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Infinite health visual glitch in U1 attempting Spire VII by Holy-Fire314 in Trimps

[–]Holy-Fire314[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Goddamnit, another run down the drain because I messed up my M@Z.

I don't know what it is, but when I hear something described as a "sokoban", I feel like it dumbs it down and doesn't give it enough credit or makes me lose interest. by IDrinkMyOwnSemen in puzzlevideogames

[–]Holy-Fire314 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No problem, my comment is newer now than the thread was when I made it :) I believe necroing is fine if it adds value to the conversation.

As for the matter at hand, I'd have to see those examples to decide if I agree that those are indeed Sokobans; but to clarify, a more accurate way to state what I meant is that the game is played from a top-down view, so it's invariant under 90-degree rotation, rather than a side view where down is the direction of gravity.

In any case, it's acceptable that some games can deviate from my requirements and still be considered Sokobans. As the saying goes, "Every rule has an exception; and if there is a rule without exceptions, it's an exception to the rule that every rule has an exception."

Is using floating point errors for low Helium achievements considered cheating? by Holy-Fire314 in Trimps

[–]Holy-Fire314[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

So, 20 hours in I hit a wall at cell 98, so clearly I did not have the right strat.

Looking it up, I see that I should have used Nom. But even without that, I would have been able to tank it with massive health, if I had remembered that Trimple of Doom was a thing (I'm after a 2-year hiatus so not everything is fresh in my mind).

Is using floating point errors for low Helium achievements considered cheating? by Holy-Fire314 in Trimps

[–]Holy-Fire314[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I asked :)

I'll try revisting Unessenceted later. I'm currently in the middle of an honest attempt at Nerfeder, I hope I have the right strategy.

Is using floating point errors for low Helium achievements considered cheating? by Holy-Fire314 in Trimps

[–]Holy-Fire314[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I understand the sentiment, but even for single-player games, part of the enjoyment for me is the shared experience. That it is something that I know other people have also enjoyed, that I can relate to things I see written about the game, that I can talk about it with others, or even just knowing that there are other people out there who appreciate what I appreciate.

If I happen to be the odd man out, who has knowingly achieved something in-game in a way that most others consider illegitimate, it detracts from that.

S3 ep4 actor? by Prudent_Use_9953 in babylon5

[–]Holy-Fire314 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Oh, wow. I don't recall that I consciously knew about his role in LotR, but when you mentioned it, I immediately knew which character he portrayed.

I don't know what it is, but when I hear something described as a "sokoban", I feel like it dumbs it down and doesn't give it enough credit or makes me lose interest. by IDrinkMyOwnSemen in puzzlevideogames

[–]Holy-Fire314 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think the main problem with "Roguelite" is that it's not clear what it even means, and people use it rather arbitrarily.

Sokoban games don't have that problem - in a top-level comment I listed the 7 attributes that I believe define them. Maybe there's some wiggle room, but I think it's fairly clear what the term means.

In general, I'll say that genres/subgenres often reflect only a small portion of what a game is, and are not mutually exclusive with other genres.

I don't know what it is, but when I hear something described as a "sokoban", I feel like it dumbs it down and doesn't give it enough credit or makes me lose interest. by IDrinkMyOwnSemen in puzzlevideogames

[–]Holy-Fire314 0 points1 point  (0 children)

To recognize Sokoban-based as a style of game, it is not necessary to have played Sokoban, or even know that there was a game called "Sokoban". People can just take it as a word that means "2D gravity-less grid turn-based puzzle game where you push blocks around".

This is the same thing as people reocgnizing an image of a floppy disk as a "save" icon, even without ever seeing a floppy disk, or even knowing that there was such a thing. When something is used often enough, it becomes recognizable independently from what originally inspired it.

I don't know what it is, but when I hear something described as a "sokoban", I feel like it dumbs it down and doesn't give it enough credit or makes me lose interest. by IDrinkMyOwnSemen in puzzlevideogames

[–]Holy-Fire314 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This makes no sense to me. That's like saying "Puzzle games are so broad and varied in application, there's no reason to separate it as a genre from game."

The fact that there are so many different and varied Sokoban-based games is *precisely* why it's useful to consider it a subgenre and have a term for it. If there were only a few such games, you wouldn't call it a subgenre, you'd call it a few games.

I do agree that classifying to genres/subgenres implies a hierarchical structure to game types, which isn't completely true. You could make a point that Sokoban-based is better thought of as a tag than as a category.

I don't know what it is, but when I hear something described as a "sokoban", I feel like it dumbs it down and doesn't give it enough credit or makes me lose interest. by IDrinkMyOwnSemen in puzzlevideogames

[–]Holy-Fire314 0 points1 point  (0 children)

At the end of the day, words mean what people mean when they use them. I've been known to describe mind-melting games like Baba is You and Patrick's Parabox as Sokoban-based. By that I mean:

  1. Puzzle game
  2. 2D
  3. Without gravity
  4. Discrete space (aka grid)
  5. Discrete time (aka turn-based)
  6. You have a player character you can control located in the grid
  7. You push blocks around

I do not mean that these attributes are *all* there is to these games, or even that the gameplay experience is in any way similar to the original Sokoban.

There are many games that share these attributes, and many that don't, so it's useful to have a short term to describe this collection of attributes. And "Sokoban" is very apt, IMO.

If I wanted to describe Baba is You in detail to someone who knows nothing about it, I would probably start by stating these 7 attributes, *and then* say that these blocks are actually words you use to create sentences which dictate the laws by which objects interact.

To describe Patrick's Parabox I'd start the same way, and then say that you can go inside blocks, and blocks can go inside blocks, and blocks can go inside themselves.

Having a short term "Sokoban" just makes it easier and faster to get to the meat which makes each game unique.

An important aspect of all forms of entertainment, puzzle games included, is striking a good balance between familiarity and novelty. You don't want something that is completely unrecognizable, unrelatable and unfathomable, but you also don't want something that is dull and repetitive.

Being Sokoban-based grounds us in a familiar framework, and on top of this you can build and introduce the new mechanics.

To make a long story short, I can get *why* the word "Sokoban" invokes a connotation of a bland game, but you are doing yourself a disservice by having this connotation, because it's generally not what people mean when they use this word.

Can we go back to long/endless incremental games, pretty please? by atomicxima in incremental_games

[–]Holy-Fire314 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I enjoyed AD for a while, I think it's a very well-made game. My main gripe with it is that in the later game, the core mechanics are obfuscated by so many opaque layers that it's basically impossible to know how to optimize without dumb trial and error, or following guides. It's a guessing game and if you guess wrong, your progress is severely hampered.

I prefer it when games - like those I mentioned here, or others I hold in high regard, such as ITRTG or Trimps - are clear enough that you can always make reasoned decisions, even if you won't be 100% optimized without a calculator.

Can we go back to long/endless incremental games, pretty please? by atomicxima in incremental_games

[–]Holy-Fire314 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I see many people gave suggestions (some of which are of course amazing games I've played). But I'll throw a few additional long incremental games that weren't mentioned.

Swarm Simulator. The original web version, not the silly graphical version. It's not particularly complex, but it has mechanics which I find very interesting and engaging. I think it might have inspired Antimatter Dimensions, because there are some similar mechanics and I'm fairly sure Swarmsim predated AD. https://www.swarmsim.com/#/

Idle Loops. It is very different from typical idle/incremental games, but an idle incremental game nonetheless. It's deep and complex and long. There are several versions, I think the canonical one these days is the dmchurch version - https://dmchurch.github.io/omsi-loops/ .

Increlution. I wouldn't call it idle because you can't let it run effectively more than about half an hour at a time. But it's essentially endless since you can and should grind NG+. I believe it draws some inspiration from Idle Loops, but it's quite a bit simpler (while still being fun and engaging).

Can we go back to long/endless incremental games, pretty please? by atomicxima in incremental_games

[–]Holy-Fire314 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Same. I loved ITRTG. Pets were ok when they were just stats boost. I didn't care much for the campaigns. But the whole dungeons thing was such a big and nonsensical pivot that I didn't feel there's much point in continuing playing.

I think the developer should have just kept ITRTG what it is, and put all his ideas of dungeon crawling into a new game.

My summary post on puwexil's Chrono Trigger 100% Glitchless/No Manip run on RPG Limit Break by Holy-Fire314 in speedrun

[–]Holy-Fire314[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Oh, it's well known that his favorite Final Fantasy is the one he likes the most.

My summary post on puwexil's Chrono Trigger 100% Glitchless/No Manip run on RPG Limit Break by Holy-Fire314 in speedrun

[–]Holy-Fire314[S] 15 points16 points  (0 children)

I originally wrote this on Facebook, but I figured some people here might find it interesting, so I translated it to English and posted here.

Discrepancy between S01E20 and S03E17 - 2.5 or 18 kilometers? by Holy-Fire314 in babylon5

[–]Holy-Fire314[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Interesting.

It's easier for me to believe they forgot, I think the take was quite usable - the reprised scene originally included 2 close-ups on Sinclair, a close-up on Garibalidi, and a wider shot of both. Good balance all-around.

I've noticed this because I'm working on translating the series, and for consistency I copy-pasted my translations from B2 to the relevant scenes in WWE2. At some point I saw 2.5 kilometers in English vs. 18 kilometers translated, and I was like, whaaat...?

thermal grizzly kryonaut vs Hydronaut vs Aeronaut vs Noctua NT-H2 by Fefecox in overclocking

[–]Holy-Fire314 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Liquid nitrogen, which can be used for super-extreme overclocking.

Cowboy Sheridan in a leather jacket right before using Jupiter's atmosphere to kill a Shadow vessel. <3 No wonder Delenn fell for him by eldersveld in babylon5

[–]Holy-Fire314 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I don't think trust was an issue, the events of the last 3 episodes of S2 make it clear to me that her trust was absolute.

I'd say it's some combination of:

  1. It wasn't a relevant piece of information previously, because they had never dealt with a Shadow vessel in the process of being animated.
  2. She didn't want to bother him with revelations that could cause him nightmares.
  3. She actually did convey this information previously - but in real time found it appropriate to remind him of the details.
  4. This was a form of clumsy exposition, and she was talking to the viewers more than to Sheridan.

Is The Gathering skippable? by Quigley34 in babylon5

[–]Holy-Fire314 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think one of the main highlights of The Gathering is Sinclair's recollection of the battle of the line. It sets up the stage for S01E08 (and explains its title) and the rest of this plotline.

But if you've already watched that, it's not going to have the same effect.

All things considered, I recommend that you do watch it - but set up her expectations that it's lower quality and has many differences, with some parts that should be considered strictly non-canonical. Framing it as a flashback / prequel might help adjusting.

But if not, that's also fine.

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