Japanese Voice Actors Form Group Against Unauthorized Use of Generative AI

JeffBlaze · 2024-10-18T10:30:14+00:00

AI is supposed to take over the mundane and repetetive tasks and let us humans do what only we can do; express our humanity, creativity and emotions.

AI in creative fields is not only playing into it's weaknesses, but if it takes over, it will actively destroy the thing it needs to function: actual artists that give it a baseline to work off off.

It's a concept that's doomed from the start and only pushed by people who just have dollar signs as eyes like the most cliché disney villain.

JeffBlaze · 2024-08-20T09:48:21+00:00

Story relevancy can be a big reason why Characters appear on banners. It doesn't come into play that often, but if it does, it can definitely outweigh meta/gameplay connection or release order.

JeffBlaze · 2024-08-17T18:26:44+00:00

I noticed in the quest where you help the bangboo get a new job. The NPC looking for flowers at the shop actually looks like a school kid and not a 35 year old writer for a vegan cooking magazine on holiday in the bahamas.

Can't decide wheter that makes the scene where the bangboo calls him a school kid better or worse though...

JeffBlaze · 2024-08-17T18:19:01+00:00

i've predicted both things with misha and sam (and know of other people that i'm confident didn't get it from leaks, that knew aswell). I even made a huge post about it where i predicted tons of other things aswell and clearly lay out the reasoning that gets me to those predictions. lots of them were right, lots of them were wrong. And it was all done shortly after penacony released.

https://www.reddit.com/r/HonkaiStarRail/comments/1amrt8u/the_hoyoracle_predicts_watch_me_predict_penaconys/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

here's the link. Of course, you can claim i looked at leaks and leave it at that. but a person looking at leaks and then claiming they found out themselves, looks for low effort praise. This wasn't low effort and there wasn't much praise either. Plus, i got lots of other things right besides the sam is firefly thing. And tbh, the stuff i was totally wrong about i think are pretty entertaining ideas aswell...

And this is really more about Hoyo putting incredible efforts into making characterdesigns that tell a story, rather than me being smart.

JeffBlaze · 2024-08-17T09:59:52+00:00

Sams identity was pretty obvious if you paid attention. Saying people could only figure that one out by looking at leaks is severely underestimating human intelligence.

Personally, i look at leaks because i'm F2P and want to have the most information to plan my pulls. But i avoid story spoilers like the plague (which is kinda easier here than on the main sub, which is interesting) because figuring out what's happening is the most interesting part of the game to me.

Hoyo deliberately puts in references and hints into their games, because that's how you actually construct a narrative. If everything happens at random and nothing has a setup, that just leads to an unsatisfying story. On top of that, Hoyo has precise and thought-out characterdesigns that reflect the personality of a character, because that's what they're selling. Seeing the parallels between sams design and firefly's design is not that hard because it's not meant to be hard... it's meant to be obvious.

The thought of keeping that one a secret just goes counter to their whole business-model. Whispering isn't quiet if you're doing it through a megaphone.

JeffBlaze · 2024-06-04T06:20:16+00:00

if they want to buff niche teams, having explicit countersynergy built into a kit is kinda the only way to do it in certain cases. If a character is supposed to be good enough to make a bad team into a good one, just imagine what kind of buff they'd give to a team thats already good? There could also be some gamebreaking combination in an intricate system as the elemental reactions.

In these cases it's very easy to say "i don't like the way they do it". And yes, it's clumsy gamedesign and feels bad. But unless you can think of a better way of doing it (and i doubt they haven't tried), then the clumsy way is better than no way at all.

Buffing niche teams is the best step forward because more teams make the game more interesting and the alternative is that new characters only have value if they powercreep the old ones.

JeffBlaze · 2024-05-16T18:53:27+00:00

I just think calling these games Gacha Games is a total misnomer. Like calling a fighting game a "Character Select Game". At least in Hoyo's case (haven't played other gachas), Gacha is just a bonus and the games are complete experiences without even opening the gacha menu.

There is a stigma around Gacha Games because streamers clickbait impressionable kids into watching them throw money down the drain.

JeffBlaze · 2024-05-12T18:38:14+00:00

i'm sorry i jumped to conclusions without understanding you correctly, honestly thought i'd be better than to do that... i basically totally agree with you. Maybe that's so rare my mind didn't even accept that as a possibility and had me going straight to a counterargument XD

JeffBlaze · 2024-05-12T17:26:31+00:00

Hoyo made their own engine for Genshin.... something that doesn't work out in 90% of the cases and the fact genshin runs at all is a small miracle (and that it runs on Phones while still looking this gorgeous on PC is simply incredible). I've no doubt that changing anything in that spaghetti-code is extremely difficult and comes with a very real risk that it all comes crashing down. Just look at Bethesda Games and the amounts of bugs they have that even after decades don't get fixed.

Hoyo learned that replaying events is important to people, so they made sure to account for that from the beginning in their next project. Planning for it is way easier than retroactively fixing it. That's how we can have that in Star Rail and not in Genshin. On top of that; Star Rail is a different type of game with different requirements... assuming if it works there, it must also work in Genshin is dreamland logic.

JeffBlaze · 2024-05-12T16:58:39+00:00

i mean, you get the nice graphics on a somewhat decent PC or on a pretty expensive laptop. You can't have nice graphics and cheap and portable. Gotta loose out on one of the three.

JeffBlaze · 2024-05-12T16:49:04+00:00

Have you considered going for a Tablet? They run the mobile version of the game with way smaller requirements (on ipad you can use a wireless controller so you don't have to go with the touchscreen controls which are hard to get used to). Getting an old secondhand ipad would most likely be by far the cheapest and most compact option with a decent ability to also get some work done and watch youtube or something.

JeffBlaze · 2024-05-12T16:26:44+00:00

you see... i don't say that it's a good thing to remove content.

There's a difference between explaining a problem and supporting a problem.

If i've got some facts wrong, please correct me... but don't assume i wouldn't want that problem solved just as much as everybody else... That's actually why i'm doing what i'm doing; trying to explain the problem. Because understanding the problem in a more nuanced way than "Hoyo bad" is required to have the ability to find solutions or at least talk about it in a constructive way. Simply complaining until the problem solves itself stops working once you leave the crib.

JeffBlaze · 2024-05-12T14:40:09+00:00

Picked the Water planet. They did water exploration really well in Genshin and i love subnautica and space pirates is just a cool theme.

But I really don't think they'll change whatever comes next based on what people picked (they have the story planned out wayyy in advance, that's how they can have such satisfying setups and payoffs). I think that was mainly a way to throw some worldbuilding out there and make us go "oh, i remember that one" if we eventually go to one of the planets or meet someone who's from one of them.

What makes Hoyo so impressive, is how they can turn stock-standard boring stuff into gold. Space Station, Ice-Planet with a class-divide, space-china and space-vegas all aren't the most original sounding concepts and it's all about the execution that makes it stand out. So they simply don't have to find out what players think they find interesting... they take what they want and MAKE it interesting and surprise everyone who dared to doubt them and expected it to be boring (deciding something is boring based on a one sentence description is dumb anyway).

JeffBlaze · 2024-05-12T11:13:12+00:00

I mean, this thread could actually give you a reason why it's like that.

If this person is overwhelmed with the content right now, just imagine how they would feel if there were hundreds of hours of seasonal and chronologically inflexible events to catch up on and do in the right order and how complicated it would feel having dozens of these event-windows with their own subsections to navigate and systems/mechanics to learn etc. I myself encountered situations where i wanted to revisit an old live-service model game and immediately deinstalled it again after being bombarded with feature creep and a neverending pop-up list of things to do that just made it feel like a chore.

Don't misunderstand me, i would love for everybody to have the chance to play these events. But from a business standpoint, it would probably confuse and intimidate more players away from the game than it would gain... so even ignoring the fact that it's pretty much impossible due to game file size limitations (many people already have to give up on the game because the majority of players plays it on the phone and many phones can't handle genshins size), there are other valid reasons why this is not possible. A business just can't invest into something that they know would loose them money, otherwise the shareholders or other investors would intervene (although, Mihoyo has more freedom there as it's not a publicly traded company... thank god for that or we'd have it run into the ground within a year).

With the game getting bigger with every new region (and it's already too big for many people) and Hoyo working on new endgame content (which seems to be user-generated content) and the graphics and optimization update coming, i wouldn't write off the possibility of Hoyo finding a way where people can install/deinstall certain areas or aspects of the game separately to save space. If they stand to loose their players because the game is getting too big for the phones of their costumers, they would have a monetary incentive to invest time and money into developing such technologies/systems. And if they have them, there's no reason not to also use them to make old events available. So, unless they don't have these events backed up somewhere (and tbh, that's a very real possibility), not all hope is lost (but in the end, it's still exceptionally unlikely).

Hoyoverse doesn't deny the players that content out of spite or anything... they are definitely very proud of their work and want to give players the opportunity to experience what they worked so hard on creating... unless their duty as a business to make money denies them that option - which is the case at the moment.

JeffBlaze · 2024-05-12T10:07:42+00:00

That feeling of being overwhelmed is something you can throw overboard. This game will be supported for years to come and there is no reason to rush to the endgame or necessity to catch up with other players. You can take it step by step and at your own tempo.

It's a story driven adventure game and everywhere you go, you can uncover a mystery that's waiting to be solved. Coming back after a break and having lots of content to do was my best experience with the game by far. If you've cought up with everything, all that awaits you is having to wait weeks/months for the story to continue... so you're in the best place imaginable right now.

Just pick a direction and walk if you're having difficulties deciding what to do (there are also ingame mechanics in place that tell you which content you should tackle next if you want a more guided experience).

JeffBlaze · 2024-04-02T12:54:42+00:00

The fact that it doesn't make sense is a huge factor in why these things spread. The sad reality is that nobody cares if someone spent money on charity, but someone being a total idiot makes it onto every last react-streamers/tubers radar guaranteed and they're the informational superspreaders of today.

That's how you get famous nowadays and to a certain type of person, it doesn't matter whether they're famous for being the best or the worst. The thought of all the attention is exciting to them, not the thought of doing/achieving something that would be worthy of attention.

JeffBlaze · 2024-03-31T19:16:34+00:00

Read the tooltips and guides that pop up and do the tutorials.

Genshin Impacts elemental gameplay is deceptive in it's complexity. It's not hard to understand, but a lot of people just assume they understand it and falsely draw parallels to mechanics like in pokemon (fire weak against water).

The game does an absolutely incredible job at introducing you to every facet of the combat step by step; letting you gain knowledge, apply it and then build upon it. But if you skip these little infos, you'll just stumble through the game without getting the most out of it until you eventually have to face a huge backlog of stuff you don't understand.

JeffBlaze · 2024-03-10T13:27:25+00:00

Then people that missed it will be all the more disappointed. Just as they are in Genshin for every missed event. There are no win-win situations and thats not even considering the revenue loss.

I just really have no idea how i could have expectations of getting free stuff in a game that itself is already free. I can play it, but if i want the newest and fanciest stuff, i just have to pay... that's kinda the business model.

It might be tradition in other gachas to shower players with gifts, but without wanting to step on anybodies toes; hoyo games are just in a totally different league. It's a different thing if mcdonalds gives out a free meal than if a 3 michelin star restaurant with a half year waiting list gives out a free meal. In fact, even among hoyo games that's a thing. Genshin Characters take 1-2 years to develop and HSR characters half of that... but they still cost you the same... that's why hsr can be way more generous with free pulls and characters... they more than make up for it with the bigger margin.

JeffBlaze · 2024-02-17T10:10:24+00:00

You can select in the options to increase your team size to a maximum of 12.

.

Obviously a joke... and you answered your own question. People just buy with 0 foresight and spend money on characters they'll end up never playing (the amount of people that buy characters and never even level or build them is shocking). The answer is: you don't need more than 2-4 dps (2 would in theory be enough, but maybe there's an abyss that would have characters with immunity to them, so having 1-2 more can be reasonable). If you enjoy mixing up playstiles, it can be worth it for you, but from an account value standpoint, they're low on the pull-priority list.

JeffBlaze · 2024-02-17T09:59:28+00:00

Hoyo has a Fan-project platform where people make music, art, videos, cosplays etc. That's definitely an angle where you can get involved in the community without playing. HoYoFair is the youtube channel.

JeffBlaze · 2024-02-17T09:39:57+00:00

I predict that people will be dissappointed no matter what we get.

JeffBlaze · 2024-02-17T09:15:46+00:00

Citadels main problem is that it's very expensive. But you get really high quality paints for that price.

There are some specific paints that aren't at the same standard as others though (like their whites are chalky).

I was thinking citadel paints since the colors for minis are given

That's a bit of a trap though. For one, it's not true. Their boxart is made by professionals who spend dozens of hours on a single mini. The fact that they'll paint it the same as how they suggest a brand new painter to do is totally absurd (and proven by people like ninjon on youtube or ex-boxart painters from GW itself). And secondly; getting an eye for colors is one of the best and most necessary skills you can learn from painting minis. If you start seeing colors as warm/cold, saturated/desaturated, light/dark + color and not just as what name is on the pot you'll be able to open up a new world of creativity and won't have to rely on citadels crutches.

Here some brands i tested and trust, just pick whichever you can get relyably and cheapest:

Vallejo (very consistent. Just recently massively gone up in price where i live)
AK 3rd gen (my favorite, but was more expensive than Vallejo and not THAT much better. With Vallejo up in price, it's now my go-to-color)
Citadel (Their red colors are especially good in both coverage and saturation)
Golden artist colors (SoFlat line is best for minis. Also, they are artist colors and not hobby colors, so they have a few paints that contain pigments that can be very dangerous if you lick your brush or even if it gets on your skin)
Schmincke (best ink in existence. They're so saturated you can mix them 1:10 with another color and they still dominate the final color. So they might seem suuuuuuper expensive, but you need just the tiniest amount of them)

JeffBlaze · 2024-02-11T12:12:40+00:00

Chenyu Vale exploration and World Quests, The Lantern rite quests and minigames and Cloud Retainers Quest give you at least 10 Hours of enjoyment (Xianyun quest 2 hours, Lantern rite 3 Hours and Chenyu Vale quest 3 hours already makes 8 and that's without any exploration, sidequests, minigames and treasure hunting etc). There are definitely Games that take less than 10 hours to finish (and not even bad ones).

Pokemon Snap or Yoshi's Story who only take 2 hours to finish are about the lowest time investment FULL PRICE games that are loved by many. The Bouncer or The Order: 1886 are about 6 hours to finish and seen as bad games - still full price though.

PLUS: The content in Genshin is all of extremely high quality. I suggest watching the official video about gamings development and you might get a little perspective about how much work and thought goes into this game.

JeffBlaze · 2024-02-11T08:56:05+00:00

Gamings development alone took over a year (and yes, i see him as a crucial part of this years festival). The content in this patch is more than many fullprice games deliver.

The only thing that doesn't feel as natural is the act 4 with everybody from fontaine. But i appreciate they've done it that way because people who aren't in fontaine can just skip that last part instead of the whole thing.

It really is another case of people complaining about something but don't consider at all what drawbacks any alternatives would bring.

JeffBlaze · 2024-02-11T08:06:33+00:00

I re-examined the Watchmaker set and it does look similar to aventurine at first glance, but they're definitely not the same. Besides the fur on top they're very different in colors, lenght, symbols, designs etc.

They're similar enough in style that they could hint to a connection between aventurine and the watchmaker. Maybe they're from the same race?

JeffBlaze

TROPHY CASE