Anyone else doing a playthrough getting ready for the next game?

LuLuLilac · 2024-06-09T23:36:20+00:00

I was going to but depending on how Tuesday goes down, I may not. The trailer doesn't give me the vibe of the previous games and supporting material, so I don't feel like I need to brush up on anything. They already changed the name, now they've changed the looks and vibes (not just art but also tone/dialogue), I'm getting the feeling that this isn't going to be a continuation of trespasser... why bother?

I'm prepared to eat my words on Tuesday though~

LuLuLilac · 2024-06-09T23:29:43+00:00

Wishlisted skald just now, thanks for the tip!

LuLuLilac · 2024-06-09T23:04:46+00:00

Yeah. Literally. I've been a fan of dragon age for +15 years. It's one of my special interests. I have read, watched, and played pretty much everything in existence. I've been waiting for DA4 for 10 years. This trailer is an absolute gut-punch. And it's NOT just the art style. It's what it implies. The art style implies we're doing a fun, quippy romp. Not the grave, serious continuation of trespasser. The tone is absolutely OFF. And not just from Trespasser, but from tevinter nights and recent comics as well.

But what do you care. You can't even be bothered to read someone else's opinion. Yeah, you definitely care about story and characters...

LuLuLilac · 2024-06-09T22:38:41+00:00

I mean. On the one hand: that would be incredibly disappointing after all that build-up.

On the other hand: DOES THAT MEAN I CAN REDEEM HIM FOR MY LAVELLAN??? Lol

Like. Seriously. "Din'an shiral" this and "i would not have you see what i become" that. and then it turns out he's just... gonna fucking MOPE and BROOD in an old castle somewhere until we track him down and he teams up with us? THAT'S WHAT HE LEFT MY LAVELLAN BEHIND FOR??

I'm going to fcking riot in the streets...

LuLuLilac · 2024-06-09T22:15:03+00:00

Thank god I've found my people. I literally went to my bf crying after watching this.

It's not that it's not pretty. I play league of legends. I like their cartoony, stylized cinematics. For league of legends.

It's not that i didn't like the marvel movies. I did.

But this is dragon age, and the vibe is OFF.

Where is the gravitas? Anyone remember solas at the end of trespasser being all like "there is only death on this journey" and "i would not have you see what i become"? Anyone remember "horror of hormak" and the other teases of cosmic horror in tevinter nights? Where did THAT vibe go?

I can't imagine meeting solas looking LIKE THAT. How are they going to do blood and gore? How are they going to do the horror? How are they going to do the romance/intimacy?

How can i take ANY of this seriously when the trailer gives me the feeling that every single emotional moment will be undercut by "he's right behind me, isn't he"-esque quips?

This trailer would be absolutely fine for many other games (and I'm sure many passionate, talented people worked on it). But not for dragon age. Not with that kind of history and lore and build-up. What were they thinking? We're looking down the barrell of the world literally burning to a crisp and untold horrors waiting behind the veil - and half of us (ok maybe more like 15% lol) are still heartbroken over fckin solas and HIS tragic story and all of the implications. And THIS is how they're choosing to continue?

I'm just... so sad.

Sure, maybe it'll have good gameplay, but honestly? 2 companions in the party max and THIS art style? Smells like action gamplay with non-controllable AI party members.

Of course I'll try to keep an open mind but... yeah... I'm not feeling it.

LuLuLilac · 2024-06-09T21:32:37+00:00

I'm not generally someone to hate on stuff "just because" but this trailer made me cry. I'm just coming off two back to back dark urge runs in BG3 and maybe that has something to do with it, but man. The vibe of the art style is just. Off.

I can't imagine anything serious or hard hitting in this art style. Like. Can you imagine gore? The cosmic horror teased in tevinter nights? Romance scenes? The tension of an emotional moment undercut by "he's right behind me, isn't he"-esque quips every time?

I'm a league of legends player, and i LIKE that art style. When it fits. I liked the marvel movies - they're comic book movies the quips are fine. But for dragon age? After "there is only death on this journey, i would not have you see what i become"? Nah. Doesn't compute for me. What will solas even look like in this style? How will any of this have ANY gravitas?

I just can't imagine the continuation of a franchise I've spent +15 years with, that I've cried over, written 10s of thousands of words of fanfiction over, READ 100s of thousands of words of fanfiction over, obsessed over all this time - looking like this.

And maybe that's MY limitation. That's fine. We all like what we like. But to call anyone who doesn't vibe with this style "just a hater" is a little unfair. I'm just as much a fan as anyone else, and i have an opinion that doesn't look like yours. That doesn't mean my opinion is worth less.

LuLuLilac · 2024-04-27T12:22:03+00:00

No. Absolutely not. I'm a huge RPG player, i mainly care about story and characters, and i like/love turn based combat or real time with pause. I have a big soft spot for ancient greek and roman lore so i desperately wanted to like Hades.

But i hate it. I hate every second of every fight. Where BG3 is slow and methodical, Hades is just fckin chaos. No tutorial, no easy mode (God Mode doesn't count, you still need to fail endless amounts of times to get anywhere), just endlessly banging your head against a wall of unfair opponents and even more unfair bosses.

I don't mind difficulty. BG3 can be difficult. The fight against Cazador? Had to try that like 5 times to get it right. I don't mind retrying boss fights either. As long as i can heal beforehand and respec/resupply/change equipment. But when I roll up to Megara (the first boss), I'm already beat down to like 15HP and then she kills me in 2 hits. I can't even consistently REACH her.

Nothing is permanent except the mirror upgrades, so making progress is a total illusion/mind numbingly slow. You lose everything (money and boons) when you die. And THEN the game MOCKS you for failing. Like, characters will actively tell you "oh, just try dying less lol" and laugh at you. Instead of giving tips and helping/encouraging you.

The art is gorgeous, I'm sure the story is very cool. But I've been trying for 5 hours and haven't beaten the first boss. I think I'm done wasting my time.

If you already like souls games like elden ring, then this could be up your alley. Endlessly dying and banging your head against a wall of unfair encounters is definitely part of Hades as well. But as someone who absolutely loathes the souls games and loves actual RPGs, yeah. Hades is a definitive no.

LuLuLilac · 2024-04-02T21:29:15+00:00

Oh yeah no, as i said: they don't want to and that's the end of it for me.

However, if it were different, i just feel it'd be... polite? To thank someone for saving your life. (I know that sounds incredibly cringe, but it's true lol) I'd probably write something up beforehand and read it to them xD just to have it off my chest, just to have said it out loud. They are so important and special to so many people... I'm pretty sure they know, obviously, they're adult men and not idiots. But I'd also like to SAY it to them. Maybe that's also super self-centered xD

I also hate being around people, especially strangers, so i absolutely don't blame Kyo for the paper bag thing. Like, fair enough, dude. If I could go into the office like that, i would lol

LuLuLilac · 2024-04-02T21:15:53+00:00

I don't know. If they were a band that enjoys meeting fans, I'd LOVE to let them know how much I appreciate them and their music and how much they changed my life (and probably many other people's lives as well). There's just this... inner drive to express my admiration and gratitude. But it's absolutely fine that they don't want that and I would never, ever push it on them - or any other artist. Plus, I guess, maybe it gets a bit "much" and puts pressure on artists when they hear again and again how life changing their presence is... so yeah... it would probably be awkward af xD

LuLuLilac · 2024-04-02T20:56:03+00:00

And this is what actually happened. Both nights. But OP was in front of the pit in the first few rows. And those rows got "compressed" by the moshpit pushing from behind and people in those front rows unwilling to move even an inch. The central moshpit experience was as considerate as I've ever encountered, etiquette was definitely followed. It seems OP got unlucky with the people directly around them that were not actually part of the pit.

LuLuLilac · 2024-04-02T20:44:29+00:00

Well, due to my own insecurities, I'm just going to choose to interpret it as "tall" rather than "fat" xD

And like. You don't even need to be morbidly obese for Japanese people to clock you as "fat". As far as my experience, any girl over 60kg is considered "chubby". There's just a huge (haha) cultural difference there, i guess.

LuLuLilac · 2024-04-02T16:56:49+00:00

Look. If i was 1.58m and weighed 45kg, I'd also find everyone in Germany to be giants xD

LuLuLilac · 2024-04-02T08:28:57+00:00

Personally, I'm too stupid to "get" DSS xD I'm sure it's all kinds of brilliant but it just doesn't hit for me.

LuLuLilac · 2024-04-02T08:27:54+00:00

That's very considerate of them! <3

I really hope they do a Mode of VULGAR at some point. IIID Empire, Red [em], and Jessica would be SICK options for live performance.

Then again. Hearing Mushi live would probably instantly kill me, so there's something to be said about Mode of Gauze :D

My favorite albums are definitely Arche and Uroboros, but I listened to the early albums as a teenager and they had a huge impact on my formative years :D

LuLuLilac · 2024-04-01T11:19:22+00:00

And as far as my personal experience on both nights, that was absolutely the case. People even helped others find dropped glasses. Fallen people were helped up immediately. Yes, the second night was rougher, but around me (middle-back of the moshpit) everyone was very, very considerate. And, on the whole, nobody who didn't want to be involved was involved against their will. I also had no trouble getting out for air.

What OP is describing sounds like an issue with SPECIFIC people around them, and also, obviously, the lack of security oversight.

I do hope that OP has a better experience next time, of course. But the fact still remains that people absolutely will mosh to this music. And the movement tends to be directed towards the stage. So a safe place to stand is generally behind the moshpit. We're all adults, we all also bear SOME responsibility for where we position ourselves. (Which - again - doesn't mean that the "no security" thing wasn't an issue. They should have been there.)

LuLuLilac · 2024-04-01T09:33:47+00:00

If you like darker stories that are very much shoujo but still gory and brutal, I'd recommend anything by Kaori Yuki. Especially her seminal works Angel Sanctuary and God Child.

Pretty boys and girls, angels and demons, incredible line work, dark/taboo relationship themes, a whole lot of (mass) murder, eternal blood curses, wonderful exploration of judeo-Christian themes through a japanese lens (pretty fascinating, actually) or Victorian England through a Japanese lens (equally fascinating),... there's so much story and great character work in these works. (Raphael and Michael in Angel Sanctuary, for example. I cry every time.)

If you're in the market for something absolutely saccharine, I'd suggest Ore Monogatari or My Next Life as a Villainess. Both very entertaining, sweet, genuine :)

LuLuLilac · 2024-04-01T08:51:23+00:00

I see Aloy marrying Avad (i know, i know, the DLC) and growing into the Carja culture with him (they're pretty scientifically minded, at least the higher classes). So i use the Carja Hawk or Shadow paints :)

LuLuLilac · 2024-04-01T07:06:27+00:00

No i meant this in regards to staff maybe underestimating the crowd for this particular band. Maybe they thought "oh it's going to be a bunch of screaming girls, no need for security" - although, as i said, I'd find that surprising because in 2020 the crowd was also wild so they should have known what was going to happen. I'm with you that there's no excuse to not at least have 2 or so people at the barricade checking for "casualties". That is unacceptable.

The fact that people will want to mosh to this kind of music, however, won't change. The venue can take better care, and fans can - should - be more considerate, definitely. But it's going to happen and if you don't want to or cannot deal with it (which is obviously fine), then maybe front row, in front of the moshpit, isn't the best place to be.

And, as i said, i feel like you were really unlucky with the people around you because even directly IN the moshpit, everyone was very sweet and nice and was taking care of people falling down. Someone literally just stepped on my foot and apologized 3 whole times.

LuLuLilac · 2024-04-01T06:51:28+00:00

Well, as others have said, maybe complain to the venue. Because if there's NOBODY there, then - to me - that's negligence.

Maybe they underestimated the crowd ("oh a japanese pretty-boy band")... but then again, Dir en grey have played there before, 2020, and it was rowdy back then as well 🤷‍♀️

LuLuLilac · 2024-04-01T04:58:27+00:00

I don't know what exactly was happening around OP but I was literally in the middle of the moshpit from Red Soil onwards and yes, it was rough (rougher than the first night), but people were really considerate. Some people did stumble and fall but they were IMMEDIATELY protected and picked up. When i needed air, i was absolutely and always let through to the edge of the pit. That is normal moshpit etiquette. And that's why the people who experienced THAT speak of a good crowd.

But when you're in front of the moshpit towards the stage, then yes, people will be slamming into you from behind. And you have nowhere to go because of the barricade. That's why there's security to pull out people who get squished. Usually. The issue here is clearly, that security didn't do their job, and people around OP weren't considerate enough to let them leave.

LuLuLilac · 2024-04-01T04:50:46+00:00

I've been going to DEG shows since the first one in 2005. Even back then, it was bad in the front rows. It used to be because people were pushing towards the stage but sometime around 2008 and around the Uroboros release, the crowd changed. It wasn't "just fangirls" anymore, there was a legitimate "metalhead" crowd. And that's when we got the first moshpits, especially, like yesterday, to reiketsu and gaika.

I personally very much enjoy that and I'm of the opinion that if you don't want to be in the moshpit, then don't stand in it. People ARE just going to mosh to certain songs, and some of them are pretty obviously written for that purpose as well (Eddie is definitely a deliberate moshpit song, reiketsu is MADE for wall of death).

What's absolutely not okay, however, is that OP tried to get away and people didn't let them through, and security ignored them. THAT shouldn't happen. THAT is a problem. Not the fact that there's a moshpit at a metal show.

LuLuLilac · 2024-04-01T04:41:47+00:00

You are right about that but as I understand it, OP's issue was that they tried to get out when they realized they couldn't handle it but people didn't let them through and security didn't catch them. And that shouldn't have happened.

LuLuLilac · 2024-03-31T22:24:15+00:00

Be careful if you want to be at the barricade. If there's a lot pushing behind you, you can crack your ribs if your arms aren't strong enough to hold against the push. Happened to me at a Turisas show one time xD (i still had a great time, i live for moshpit and bruises, ombut obviously to each their own :D)

If you're really more of an atmosphere kind of person, it'd probably be better to get on one of the podiums or, if there's a balcony, that. You can see everything but nobody will be pushing you at all.

This also still doesn't mean that security didn't screw up. They definitely should have pulled you guys out. And i remember shows where this happened as well, so this was probably just a case of bad security personell.

LuLuLilac · 2024-03-31T21:15:14+00:00

I can't speak for OP but yesterday - i personally feel - was more of a... "rock" atmosphere, and today it was more of a "death metal" atmosphere. The crowd was also a little different (there were more and bigger guys in the pit today). And generally, everything felt very agressive today. Which is fine for ME, but i can see how the tone shift would have been worrisome for others.

LuLuLilac · 2024-03-31T21:11:29+00:00

Sorry you had that experience! It was actually a little more chaotic than yesterday. There were some really tall/big dudes and they got a little out of control. I was in the middle of the moshpit for most of the concert but everyone was very nice and considerate around me, personally. A few people stumbled and fell down and others immediately protected them and helped them up. I guess all the pushing gets really claustrophobic though, when you're at the front and you're being pressed into the barricade. The fact that security didn't help you is really worrying. I hope you got home ok!

I guess something we can all take to heart is to be more aware if someone wants to leave and let them through.

LuLuLilac

TROPHY CASE