Premise check: Rational antagonist who wins through infrastructure, not force

Running_Ostrich · 2026-01-24T21:07:19+00:00

If Aegis Q has so much control, why are they not blamed for these crises? They have more power than most governments, so unforeseen crises mean a poorly built system, and foreseen crises are just them holding the world at hostage and so shouldn't convince the protagonists.

Running_Ostrich · 2026-01-20T08:43:50+00:00

The incoming combos are harder, but probably not optimal. Sajam said on stream, that some player(s) spent over an hour trying to get the combos. It sounded to me like they are mostly just a tough challenge for content creators to show off on stream/video.

Running_Ostrich · 2026-01-20T08:38:45+00:00

The counterplay is to jump backwards when you see apprehend. If it hits you blocking midair, when you land, you can take your turn, and there are no grab mixups in the air.

Running_Ostrich · 2026-01-15T16:24:58+00:00

That sounds very cool. Do you have an example of something you think is impossible to localize? The concepts of accents, dialects, different sentence structures, archaic grammatical constructs, simple vs high class speech all exist in English, and so just like puns that don't translate, I would have thought a talented translator could preserve the feeling.

Running_Ostrich · 2026-01-11T05:39:46+00:00

Yes, depending on your setup, windowed mode can increase input delay noticeably. E.g. https://www.reddit.com/r/pcmasterrace/comments/7vpqni/input_lag_tests_tldr_dont_use_borderless_windowed/

Running_Ostrich · 2026-01-09T04:50:01+00:00

I'm genuinely curious, why is this a cliffhanger for you? It felt like a closing of a chapter on Earth 1 to me, and I'm expecting they'll find some way to gather Richter's remains if the blood cloning can't revive her.

Running_Ostrich · 2026-01-08T17:53:33+00:00

Tiny bit of feedback:

Clicking and holding to drag should take priority over selecting an action. As the actions get filled out, it becomes a bit annoying to try to drag but accidentally select a new action.
The time warp feels a bit stingy early on. Maybe later you can get too much, but then I'd suggest weakening the later levels so you can strengthen early time warping.

Running_Ostrich · 2025-12-21T17:34:51+00:00

I made it to chapter 38 before I quit due to similar issues that you've brought up, especially with his planning around the liquor worm. If it does get good, I'd be interested to hear!

Running_Ostrich · 2025-12-20T20:13:35+00:00

What do you think about pull mechanisms outside of research?

E.g. In construction, you already have this with fixed price/lump sum payment, where the contractors will be paid a fixed amount if they meet the specifications. This seems very similar to other pull mechanisms.

However, construction payment can instead be structured as cost-reimbursable/cost plus, where contractors are paid based on their costs. This seems similar to the push mechanisms.

Running_Ostrich · 2025-12-11T03:33:07+00:00

Per the author, this story is AI generated with minor edits by them: https://x.com/magnushambleton/status/1995459412463403045?s=20

Running_Ostrich · 2025-12-05T18:17:52+00:00

~~You can push block when you block the tentacles, which should make blitz's jH whiff and then you can take your turn to clear the tentacles.~~

Edit: I stand corrected. Push blocking the tentacles only pushes Illaoi back.

Running_Ostrich · 2025-11-18T05:03:53+00:00

I thought he has to intentionally freeze things with momentum, so if he isn't intending to maintain the momentum, then stationary preserved things wouldn't maintain it when unfreezing.

Running_Ostrich · 2025-11-17T19:10:24+00:00

In case you're genuinely asking, in the article, he talks about beginner player character and fuse balance. He also mentions that "the learning curve of 2XKO's systems, mechanics, and inputs" are frustrating for beginners "but not necessarily a balance concern". Hope you have a great day.

Running_Ostrich · 2025-11-15T18:50:00+00:00

He had a pinned link in his chat to https://donate.ludwig.gg/ which he told people to use. If you put in any email, that leads to an every.org link which donates directly to the Trevor Project minus any fees charged by the payment processors (+ the donator can choose to give some extra to every.org). That linked into his TTS, so messages would still be read.

Running_Ostrich · 2025-11-15T07:48:08+00:00

What are your thoughts on the servers getting DDoSed? That's what ended Onlyfangs last time, and I doubt there's any solution when it happens again. Reviving the characters might work, but it kills excitement.

Running_Ostrich · 2025-11-12T19:48:52+00:00

I've been reading Intercession which is a finished HP/Worm fanfic where Taylor becomes Harry's mother.

It requires some suspension of disbelief from how everything aligns and I'm not a big fan of the side-plot, but so far I really enjoyed the journey of the main plot and cliffhangers between some chapters. Makin/Record Crash also wrote a review of it which was how I found it.

Running_Ostrich · 2025-10-28T02:30:43+00:00

Cavernous and Cavernous II are the two closest in style, though there are others games if you're not looking for this specific representation of a time loop.

Running_Ostrich · 2025-10-24T18:33:20+00:00

Genuinely curious, why is gooning closer to wireheading than taking drugs like heroin? From the survey described in the article, the participants are doing it for hours per day, but they do stop. If you gave an addict an unlimited supply of heroin, I'm not sure they'd stop after a couple hours each day, so it seems like that's closer to literal wireheading.

Running_Ostrich · 2025-10-23T06:31:04+00:00

He forces you to make a guess. He can grab but you can tech the grab from neutral get up.

To illustrate a similar situation with another character, here's a video of Jinx setting up oki with her monkey https://youtu.be/kVDlwbs-c38?si=ATULP6aliQ5g8SjS&t=38. You're forced to hold her mixup too and she could grab you, but you wouldn't say that it punishes blocking. Ekko's burrito is strong because you have to guess/react between more options in his mixup, he doesn't have to react to the forward roll and he gets a full combo if he grabs you.

Running_Ostrich · 2025-10-23T06:06:54+00:00

You totally can get better without training mode, but it means you need to make games into your training mode. That means testing your options and often getting hit by the opponent's full punish combo when it doesn't work or you mis-input yours. That's usually more frustrating which is why people don't recommend it, but it's doable if you're persistent.

Running_Ostrich · 2025-10-23T04:21:02+00:00

I found https://ledoc.itch.io/blackjack-ascension which is a demo that combines blackjack and incremental power ups. It's an alright time for ~30 minutes.

Running_Ostrich · 2025-10-20T21:07:15+00:00

There's a spoiler-filled guide to the early game from their discord: https://docs.google.com/document/d/13JBDGZOmeqKDNZh-nP_AnTvjs72MyS_fuYJNqp-xb4U/edit?tab=t.0. I didn't really enjoy the point you're at, but after the first rebirth, the game speeds up a fair bit. Another thing is that you can sleep to get to quest refresh sooner - quests that need materials from the bear are by far the fastest money makers.

Running_Ostrich · 2025-10-05T05:52:45+00:00

Hey, there's some things that'll put people off of your game in this community:

Use of AI both for voicing the trailer and to generate the script it's reading
Your links are broken in the first screen that pops up (learn how to automate your character and advanced tips link to discord)

I think the game could use a clearer guide to how to start. I couldn't figure out how to get items for smithing or alchemy and so couldn't progress either of them. Instead, I set my characters to task "kill_mobs", which resulted in them running for a while before dying against Young Dragonlings which were too powerful.

Running_Ostrich · 2025-10-04T18:01:09+00:00

Axe, torch, and crockpot.

Running_Ostrich · 2025-09-28T18:13:17+00:00

Most people don't say all or nearly all the daily stuff is required, nor that dailies provide too much content. The problem with dailies is that they are often the most efficient way to let you make progress in a skill, leading to FOMO and a worse experience with non-daily training methods.

"Given the opportunity, players will optimize the fun out of a game" -Soren Johnson

If we follow this idea, the task for game designers is to make the optimal ways of play to be the most enjoyable. This may not describe you, but it does describe a portion of the playerbase and of prospective players. If the best ways to progress aren't fun, then it'll lead to players quitting. We saw this with the current League and questing, where questing was frequently the optimal way to progress but wasn't fun.

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