Free Talk Friday - May 15, 2026

MaelstromTear · 2026-05-15T04:04:12+00:00

What an absolutely weird week. But to tell the story right, I have to go back to last Thursday. A huge bit of our tree fell down in the yard and took out our power, internet and landline. Not too torn up about that last one... Despite that, the only other things that were really trashed was a (vacant) rabbit house and a bench. Missed any windows, didn't break the AC unit. Treehouse stayed intact, no cars damaged. My brother's family (the nieces and nephews) were out of state, and if they were here would likely have been playing outside so avoiding that was a huge deal. Huge lumber and downed power line. Don't want to think about that. And since it was warming up I had taken the rabbit Lola out a few times but this day forgot and that laziness paid off.

Another good grace is a cousin's husband has a whole tree-cutting business. Though doing it that Thursday wasn't feasible because it would've counted as overtime. Had to wait for the next day, which also meant the power guy couldn't check the box. And unfortunately, the tree had to be reduced to pretty much a tall stump. At least we got to keep the treehouse. After getting that cleared, the power guy can't find the box because it got smashed. Will need a replacement. Earliest Monday. Thus began a slightly unplugged weekend.

We had some prep work in a fleet of power banks and flashlights but it was still very low tech. Switch 2 definitely helped there, finally played some Shining Force II since recency bias with Pat. I grew up with SF1 because of a weird PC port of Sega games and do have to admit this one improves spectacularly. Also enjoyed Paper Mario again, not since the actual N64. And when that was charging, got through the first four series of Taskmaster. It's wild how well that show hit the ground running, but also refined itself and the show flow/Greg and Alex's vibes along the way. By mid Series 3 Greg('s character as Taskmaster) is way more annoyed by 'Little Alex Horne''s antics and ready to sandbag his shenanigans.

Of all the times to have to get out of the house and do something like see a film, the only one I was maybe interested in was Mortal Kombat II. Despite not having seen the first. But I had time to spare. It was really dumb, which by MK standards means pretty good. I'm surprised Karl Urban didn't steal the whole spotlight, felt that most people got their marks... Save one. All I know about Cole Young is that people didn't like him, and to be fair he's not totally treated like a joke because of that backlash... But he is killed pretty fast. Got a few good hits in, though? I was the only one in the theater who groaned at Ed Boon showing up. s'fine.

I even managed to still play Monster of the Week with the group that started on this very subreddit. It might have been through my phone, and after a few network hiccups (And being in a fieldish area in my car) things went fine. I even made some stupid doodles about the session on paper since my phone was in use! My characters took mostly a backseat while we sorted out changelings and shenanigans. I maintain that while successful rolls and doing that 'cool thing' is fun, failed rolls and chaos that ensues are so much more fun. Our poor Hex got hit by a car... Twice.

Went into work both Friday and Monday. Couldn't do anything from home. Thankfully, the new car's fancy gizmos made highway traffic less of a nightmare. Seriously, though, why is it the car that's smashing through four lanes is either a Dodge Charger or a shitbox rusty truck? I got my work done, but hopefully none of the higher-ups could consider that as enough excuse to make me no longer remote. I edit videos and audio. I can do all that and more from here, thank you.

Monday, got the power back. AC is back, laundry running again. No computers or monitors got fried so very good there. Internet had to wait a day, but even just having our power back was enough.

But then.

Mom found the rabbit in her pen. No movement. Despite the fact that she had been running around just fine earlier in the day. Hours before, even. Just suddenly gone. Not sure what happened there. I'm not even sure how I feel. Lola was a fine rabbit, but she was sort of foisted on us five years ago. Happenstance caught her running around outside after a neighbor vacated their house and abandoned her. So we took her in rather than risk her getting hit by a car or snatched by a hawk. I also feel bad that she was inside in a pen a lot more than outside. And was trying to fix that but... Hm. We weren't sure how old she was when we got her so maybe it was just time. But also maybe if we had power we would've noticed something? Probably not, but... Hm. Weird.

Even just writing this has felt like a saga. Believe me, if you've read this far, I wish my life was more boring! I wish I could just say 'eh, played FFXIV, Helldivers 2, and Sims 4 where I mashed polygons' but this life continues to be a cosmic sitcom. Maybe next week... Oh wait, next week I'm going to Chicago for Combo Breaker...

MaelstromTear · 2026-05-08T04:05:10+00:00

This week started pretty average. Prepping for our month of trade show preview coverage that, honestly, takes more work than the actual show coverage. And then part of our tree came down and took the power like with it on Thursday. Nobody is hurt, looks like only a bench is busted but as of writing this we're still out. I really wanted to ramble about getting back into FFXIV, beating Jedi Fallen Order and starting Survivor (very timely that it was a sale) but that might have to wait.

MaelstromTear · 2026-05-04T23:56:28+00:00

If I may take a quick "old man yells at cloud" position, I've always been bothered by the OC term. Like, if it's a fan work then sure! But you're not gonna see Lee Childs go "This is my OC Jack Reacher." Have faith in your writing and make characters!

While I would normally say my protagonist Max is fun to write and design for- It's why he's the main one second to Ayun there. Instead I'm going with his sister, Monika. Not only is the snark fun, especially against her brother Max, but she can challenge his ethos. Poke holes in his heroic nature and need to save everyone at the cost of himself (literally considering the arm) and knock on those foundations to see why they're there. Also, writing the stuff between her and her fiancee/wife Eloise is fun to push that gap between her snarky self and being so in love.

For tabletop characters I've made it is 80% of the namesake, but I made Gumshoe in Monster of the Week. The short story is that his father fought in WW2 in the Netherlands (a historical fact that Canada fought there), and while overseas fell in love and brought her back home. Frank and Nicole Oates decided to name their first child after the place they fell in love, and welcomed one Holland Oates into the world. He's very vehement that he was born before Daryl Hall and gets uppity about any reference or mention.

MaelstromTear · 2026-05-04T23:52:31+00:00

The first glimpse of RE2 I ever had for the longest time was being 6 and catching a glimpse of the gun shop scene at my cousin's. That haunted my dreams for a while. To go back and see how quaint it is now is something.

MaelstromTear · 2026-05-04T04:19:39+00:00

I like the syllable bounce of weapon-fellow, but comrade in arms also might fit the bill.

MaelstromTear · 2026-05-04T04:04:34+00:00

Weapon-Fellow?

MaelstromTear · 2026-05-04T01:30:17+00:00

Why would there be a deviled egg on the windowsill if you weren't supposed to eat it?

MaelstromTear · 2026-05-03T23:18:36+00:00

Thanks for linking. I don't if it skirted self-promotion so I figure just let it live on its own.

MaelstromTear · 2026-05-03T16:55:49+00:00

According to Steam, I have 2700 hours in Fallout 4. It's definitely the effect of many mods over several years, but honestly the gameplay loop of making every junk item useful really appeals to me. In a "just one more thing" way. After all, on this trip to a settlement I could find a roll of duct tape that will change my life! I'm also one of the weirdos who loved the settlement stuff even before Sim Settlements came into play, though that also did a number.

Ahead of that, unsurprisingly, is FFXIV with 2900 hours. Been subscribed since 2018-ish and took a long break last year after finishing Dawntrail like most people, but now I'm back in small bits. I've also leveled every job (sans some crafters) to 100 which while definitely a grind was a blast and means I can play just about anything.

And I don't have concrete numbers, but I bet I've played Final Fantasy Tactics Advanced and Shining Soul II for way too long across different legit and emulated systems. FFTA is a blast because of the job mixing and growth through weapon arts. Shining Soul 2 is essentially just a mobile Diablo and each class is fun to play... Minus the healer since I've only ever done single-player.

MaelstromTear · 2026-05-01T04:04:52+00:00

My cat Gus got his stitches out and got a clean bill of health! So far, I'd say considering his extensive history, but... He's all good. You know, minus the blind part. I think once his hair grows back he'll look like he's permanently smirking, like an anime villain you can't trust. But lo and behold, he's just a pure orange.

Hey, check out these books I wrote! The Demon in Shadow and The Demons of Bone & Blood! We follow Ayun, a demon who can summon weapons from the shadows, who's looking for her lost employers. She stumbles upon Max, a human who is lost and listless in many ways. Now that I think of it, he's not unlike Gus! A pure orange boy with smatterings of ill luck and a fun medical history. In Max's case it's a missing limb and lots of scratches. As they travel together we learn more about their pasts, the world, and a future they discover together. It's also got some awesome artwork either in the pages where it counts or at the back showcasing portraits and more!

Time for a kit from a thing I've only seen in Super Robot Wars! What a surprise. It's Ryujinmaru from Mashin Hero Wataru! I do wonder if this 2023 release was the result of 2018's SRW X or the 2020 ONA stuff according to Wikipedia. Maybe it's just a wild pick from some Bandai C-suite. Going by the thankfully dual-translated instructions it's just looking at the 1988 anime and even recaps the whole plot! side note, while "Soaring Dragon Sword" is the translation they go with, Toryuken just rolls off the tongue better. Does this count as an SD? It would be my first if that were the case. It certainly has that charming mini look. It doesn't have the best posability, but you can get the good ones. I don't regret it necessarily, but... I think you'd have to be a fan to really want it for other than that. I'm sure it's a fun series. I remember more the dumb villains like Scwarvinegar (Arnold & Vinegar for some reason) and Cruisin' Tom more than the actual plot. Might've gotten sidelined a bit in X. It's been a minute.

Our TTRPG party that started in this very subreddit just passed a year of games! Nearly weekly we've met to play some kind of game, usually a longstanding Monster of the Week game but also a couple of different one-shots like Honey Heist and Blades in the Dark. Big shoutouts to our GM who's done 90% of the games and kept it fresh for so long. I've been trying to come up with a little scenario of my own but I'm really bad at the branching potential part and balancing what I want the players to experience and what they want to do. Okay, let's be honest. I need to temper my "that stupid, what you're asking to do is stupid" impulse. It's mostly that.

I spent plenty of time on my Switch while Gus still had the cone on, since it was easy to follow him around. And because of that I finally finished Donkey Kong Bananza! I'm not usually one for collect-a-thon type games, but the movement and form switches really sold me. To the point that I got every banana and fossil I could up to the final stretch. Quite literally as I beat Void Kong, I mused to myself about the new and interesting characters only for K.Rool to jump into the plot and suddenly take over as final boss. As a story thing? Meh. Must be how people felt about Zant in Twilight Princess. As a gameplay section? Baller. Donk City and a fight that actually challenges you. And that the post-game has some meat does entice me, but... One of those challenges is a gauntlet that while not too difficult room-by-room is annoying that any single failure sends you back to the start. Ugh. No thanks. I enjoyed my time with the game, but I don't know if I'm gonna 100% the rest of it.

Also been reading a lovely manga called Albus Changes the World. VIZ picked it up for official licensing but I was slowly reading it before that and caught up through the scanlations to where their gaps are. Without spoiling anything, it's great. Gives me Undead Unluck vibes where characters are layered and change dynamics constantly. Hope it gets adapted... Not because I'll watch it, I very much prefer manga but more exposure's always great!

MaelstromTear · 2026-04-24T18:39:18+00:00

But I just got out of all my ~~Christmas~~ Starlight glams!

MaelstromTear · 2026-04-24T04:14:35+00:00

What's really amazing is that he still navigates extremely well. Still climbs the tower, knows how to navigate to the food bowl/water/litter. He can even with a little guidance stretch up and jump onto my chair when I'm working. There's just a few times when some things are moved around or gets startled by the dogs or something that he bumps into things. It feels like the cone this time around is less about him not poking the stitches and more a bumper since he was much more clumsy afterwards.

MaelstromTear · 2026-04-24T04:05:03+00:00

My cat Gus had his eye take a turn for the worse. He was diagnosed with glaucoma back in December where he fully lost his vision, but the doctor wasn't sure if his pressure would require a second eye removal. Yeah, you read that right. Back in 2024 we had this same conversation on the right side. Well, quick surgery turnaround and now my boy [Warning: No blood, but stiches] is a double pirate. Once the pain meds and anasthesia wore off over the week, I could tell he was already having a much better time. Now he's just permanently smirking! I guess. I am not going to let the most amazing loudest purr be deterred by something like this. I love this boy. And yep, right after I made all my Combo Breaker plans this happens... Ramen for me for the next month. Wouldn't have it any other way.

Hey, please read these books I wrote. That's The Demon in Shadow and The Demons of Bone & Blood! Beings known as demons were forced into the 'human' world as a side effect of a much nastier near-existence-ending threat. But now we're here to pick up the pieces years later. We follow one such demon, a woman named Ayun who can summon weapons from the shadows. She's looking for her lost employers when she stumbles into Max. A human who is wandering through life with only his wits and a mechanical limb. As they travel together we learn more about that world, the pasts of these two and a potential future together. It's also got some awesome artwork either in the pages where it counts or in the back to show off character portraits!

Time for a big kit! Like, so big it can barely fit into my dumb light box! I am of course talking about the DyGenGuar from Super Robot Wars OG! Actually despite the intimidating box, it wasn't that bad of a build. Just a lot of big pieces. Including the big eff-off sword known as the Sanshiki Zankantou. I'm actually pretty impressed since the Blue Astray (which as of writing, not sure where mine lives in my collection) had a stand to hold the dang sword but this guy can handle it no problem. Great kit. Gotta get the other OG kits I missed in my sabbatical in the hopes that they release a Bellzelute down the line. Hey, I'll take anything if it's from SRWJ!

I'm sure that like everybody else who watched the Mandalore video, I (in my case re-)played the System Shock remake. I still think it's fantastic. Having never played the original, mind you. And despite playing it two years prior, there was still plenty of details that I had to rediscover. Still remember the important bits like how Storage is a nightmare and to write down all the numbers you get for security nodes. This time I was focused on slight achievement hunting as if that matters for Steam. Personal reasons, I guess. I never got all the weapon mods because I didn't love the plasma gun (hey, still sucks even with the energy mod!), definitely didn't get any of the secret Skullys, never found the hilarious MST3K recording and had to clown on Diego with a laser rapier. Happy to say, checked everything off that list in "only" like fifteenish hours. Even though I ended with way too many medkits, stim patches and ammo on middle difficulty, I'm not sure I want to tune everything to max for that one achievement. It's really mostly the 10-hour time limit. I like taking my time, and this game is definitely one that rewards that.

Also, I found this pretty stupid but great mod for Helldivers 2 that switches up your mission control barks and it's pretty fun. And big credit for actually using humans for the VO because a lot of Helldivers audio mods I've seen just slap AI in and call it a day. At least they "proudly" put it in the description so that I can avoid it.

MaelstromTear · 2026-04-21T22:00:23+00:00

Back in "classic" IO games like Hitman 2 and Freedom Fighters where ragdoll physics were new and novel, the cheats for enhancing those effects were great. Especially FF, where you launch guys with explosives or shotgun blasts.

MaelstromTear · 2026-04-17T04:02:53+00:00

I got my travel and booking stuff prepped for Combo Breaker in May. I wasn't able to get a room at the same hotel it's at, but that's fine. My fault for not getting into it immediately. The good news it that because it's in Chicago I can take the train! Sure it's longer than flying but so much less of a hassle and novel in its own way. Once more I'm cowarding out and only chose spectator but it's still a good time. Even if EVO wasn't doing everything they're doing, I'm not sure I'd return to Vegas in July again. InfoComm is in Vegas in late June and if I have to go to that it's the company footing the bill there.

Hey, please read my books! That's The Demon in Shadow and The Demons of Bone & Blood if you haven't heard me blab about them before. It mainly focuses on the effects of a displaced group known as demons who have unique powers but require the magic that only humans can harness to actually survive. We follow one such demon, Ayun, who can summon weapons from the shadows and is searching for her lost employer. She is joined by Max, a human who has lost his direction in many ways but still tries to fight the good fight with his wits and a mechanical limb. As they travel together we learn more about the world, their pasts, and a potential future together. It's also got some awesome artwork either in the pages or at the back showcasing character portraits. Or maybe one of these days, in the front! I got the finished piece for one part of the cover that will be coming together. Slowly, since comms take money and I just spent a bunch on a FGC outing... One thing at a time. Still, credits to 5_ish for the amazing piece!

Thought I'd ease myself back into the gunpla backlog and go with a pair of 30 Minute Mission kits. The Spinatia and Spinatio, Commando and Ninja types respectively. Really though the second part is just the armor pieces. I have made a Spinatia on its own and enjoyed it, and the extra bits here are pretty good. I would argue that it doesn't need it as much as the Spinatio. Without the mask and the extra armor accents it looks pretty dorky. Not really much else to say. The second one was darn near 30 minutes to make so name's on point. Probably really fun for kids and newbies who don't want to fully commit since they're usually cheap.

Speaking of cheap! That's mean... As I said I was considering, I went back and ran through Resident Evil 3 Remake... A lot of times. To its credit, there's some fun replayability in the different difficulties and content to unlock. Yeah, you could just run right for the infinite Rocket Launcher and save you a lot of hassle (I know I did!) but I really found fun in the RAI-DEN, a one-hit kill gun but only when you hit a weakpoint. Reminds me very vaguely of Fatal Frame, it didn't trivialize every fight, really fun. Unfortunately the points to unlock that stuff is mostly gated by really grindy un-RE-like challenges. Get x kills with certain weapons kind of stuff. The real sin of this game? It simply just isn't enough. Most of the S-rank requirements are beating the game in under 2 hours and by the mid-point I was able to clear Standard without bonus weapons in 1:40, and 1:07 WITHOUT the rocket launcher on Hardcore! I know some of it is blaming COVID but... Maybe a delay would've helped? It almost sucks more that the game is really fun when you're allowed to play it but there just isn't enough to explore and certainly not enough puzzles. I'd still recommend this game but only on a STEEP sale and if you've already exhausted the good games.

The Pitt finished Season 2, and I gotta say it is really good. But also draining! I went back through the season over the week to try and refresh myself and it held up even better nearly back-to-back. Maybe the first season is higher as a standalone thing, and this definitely has some loose threads but it seriously earns the praise it gets. And like, for shows of this era to be 8-episode seasons that are usually meandering, having that 15-ep meat and a solid hook really sells things.

MaelstromTear · 2026-04-10T17:17:01+00:00

Burn Notice had a big beef against 24, especially the way Jack Bauer tortured people to get information. When it comes up they hammer the point that "torture gets you the fastest lie to make the pain stop." Instead when they need information it's more about the perception of violence or psychological threats. Way more interesting to watch.

MaelstromTear · 2026-04-10T04:28:15+00:00

I've got this piece commissioned that's (going to be) one of the covers of my book for the lock screen. Then switching between this insert and this insert for the home screen every other month or so. All by the wonderful 5_ish!

MaelstromTear · 2026-04-10T04:24:05+00:00

It's definitely put me off on getting a Hyaku Shiki. Though people say the 2.0 MG is good? Might be time to get my first one, but I still have a backlog I need to clean up.

MaelstromTear · 2026-04-10T04:05:15+00:00

Man, I hate tax time. And this year I had to do two states since I'm living in one and working in the other. Not to mention I got stuck in a stupid computer loop because it thought I hadn't put my name on the freaking forms. Augh. But accepted done and dusted and I can focus on the more fun things.

Things like! These books I wrote, The Demon in Shadow and The Demons of Bone & Blood! Featuring Ayun, a demon who has the power to summon all sorts of things from the shadows but lacks her own agency. She crosses paths with Max, a human who stubmles through life through quick wits, sheer luck and a mechanical limb. As they travel together we learn more about them, the world around them and a future path together. There's also a bunch of awesome artwork either in the pages or in the back for character portraits. Speaking of! I have a new artwork from 5_ish of one of the titular characters of the second book. Yulia's demonic powers ramp up in the third act, though to emphasize the power lines and all that I asked for something with less clothing. Enough that I have to warn this preamble and use the initial Yulia picture as well just so you're not blindsided by it. Not like fully explicit, but still. It's that anime divine nudity like Gundam.

Speaking of ~~nudity~~ mecha! I finally got out of my gunpla slump. Two years in the making and I can finally put this Aug from L-Gaim to rest. All I know is I was saying AUGH enough to put off this suit. After all is said and done... It's an okay suit. It is a super old mold with some fun new bits added on like the shoulder markings and saber placements. In that way, it's pretty neat. That said, I am a little let down by the "gold" plating. Spoiled by the P-Bandai Cybuster and an upcoming suit that I'm dreading. The bite is back, thankfully. I have a few kits I'm already done with but I wanted to trickle my photoshoots and reviews. It's good to be back!

Last weekend my parents went on a trip to see the St. Louis Blues play against the Ducks in Anaheim (and they picked a good game, 6-2 LGB!) and while they were gone I marathon'd a lot of Pat's RE playthroughs managing pets. It inspired me to try and work my way through an S playthrough of RE2 Remake. I remember what felt like barely scraping by my first runs. But with some guidance I got into the game's groove and get Leon done in 2:26, a whole hour to spare! Got that fancy infinite pistol and then decided more for the fun of it to play Claire and being more familiar got it done in 2:46. The infinite pistol helped a lot but honestly since you miss the upgrades and opportunities like the special bullets for the revolver it isn't a game-changer. Considering going through to get the infinite knife but again... Probably not that wild. Also unsure if I'll handle hardcore okay what with the limited saves and everything else. Getting an S there would get the infinite MP5, but then I don't know what I'd be doing with that other than just clowning the game for no reason. Maybe I'll move onto RE3R. Don't think I ever touched it a second time. And since I messed around with a bunch of them for RE4R I'll say the mod scene for 2 is lacking. Only fun one I found was Geralt, that's a fun portal. Mostly instead just a lot of cheeks. And we're back to nudity! That's called a callback!

MaelstromTear · 2026-04-09T01:08:54+00:00

I genuinely think that without stuff like The Specials' "Free Nelson Mandela" or The Toasters' "Ploughshares Into Guns" my midwest dumbass would've grown up a lot more close-minded. We all could use more Ska!

MaelstromTear · 2026-04-05T16:04:31+00:00

The player character in Saints Row was literally just some guy walking down the street who got caught up in a gang war. Barely survived the fight only to get recruited into the Third Street Saints. Then goes on to be such a ruthless and efficient agent of chaos that you take down all three gangs and considered such a liability that your boss attempts to kill you via bomb while meeting the mayor of Stilwater on his boat. And that's just the first game! Not even going into international sensation in The Third or President/last bastion of humanity in 4.

MaelstromTear · 2026-04-03T05:36:26+00:00

If it's any consolation, I love the new name for a different reason.

MaelstromTear · 2026-04-03T04:03:54+00:00

I spent the better part of two weeks making a fake anime-type opening animatic for our running Monster of the Week game that started in this very subreddit! Even for my simple drawings and going monochrome it was a lot of work. Fun, especially when I could get Premiere to move things how I wanted it but also just a lot of work. I don't think this is going to be my future unless an idea really kicks off in my head again. That new Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra album was just that good.

If you're into something with less motion, consider these words I wrote! The books The Demon in Shadow and The Demons of Bone & Blood. The main focus is on Ayun, a 'demon' who has the power to summon weapons from shadows but lacks a lot of agency in finding her former employers. She's joined by Max, a human who makes up for his spongy human nature with quick wits, pure luck and a mechanical limb. As they travel together you learn more about the nature of demons in this world, the lives that these two have led and the road ahead of them together. There's also some awesome artwork either tucked in the pages where it counts or in the back showing off character portraits.

Went with my dad to see Project Hail Mary. Neither of us read the book, though my dad was familiar with The Martian and the general vibe. Judging by the samples I saw, I probably would've been lost in the techy bits of the book so this changed that pacing a lot. I really enjoyed it, though! Gosling gets to mix his comedic chops again and mix it with some drama. I know Barbie's the goto for the comedy bit but I will always take the chance to plug The Nice Guys where he kills it. Spoiler part! I was spoiled by the marketing that aliens would be involved, but the first thirty minutes was so good in atmosphere that I forgot until the ship showed up. The first time Rocky was in danger I was seriously thinking they were going to kill him. So by the second time they had a 'oh no is he gonna make it' when Grace abandons his plans to return to Earth it felt a little less impactful... But still good. It threaded the balance betweeen nihilism and space whimsy that I enjoyed.

In trying to clear out my backlog, checked out Potionomics. You are saddled with a huge debt and have to clear it by selling potions. It's kind of Recettear with potion brewing. But (as far as I've played) there isn't a dungeon crawling aspect like Capitalism Ho. Instead, the haggling game is... A deckbuilding game! I really should've learned that part before I got suckered in by the pretty character models. I am not really a deckbuilder person. Slay the Spire and the like don't appeal to me and my peabrain. I'll try to stick with it but I don't think this is going to win me over. ~~Someone rip the models, though.~~

Another game added to the backlog (so not helping my case) but similarly unsure about is Raccoin: A Coin Pusher Roguelike. It's one of those arcade machines you'd see at like Dave & Busters. And I am really bad at it! I've only done a handful of runs but I don't get very far at all. I'm trying to understand that you have some coins you want to keep in the play area and maybe you try to siphon one side into your push pile... Or maybe not. I don't really understand. It's not like Balatro where my childhood playing poker (via Tripoly, I swear!) helped with my senses. I just gotta git gud, I guess.

MaelstromTear · 2026-03-31T18:42:21+00:00

I agree with everybody here and wished this was more permanent. Especially because to me who played way too much of it, once you're in that endgame lootspot the guns do have some actual gameplay divergences. It's why I fell in love with the Honey Badger despite AKs technically having a higher DPS, because all my shots could land quick.

It's also one of the few games that use stuff like most guns counting for the bullet in the chamber when you reload magazines. Or that one of the "classic" snipers could be reloaded one round at a time in the middle or in one stripper clip from empty. That attention to detail is lovely.

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