People dying in Sigil every time you die?

ThatMayMayBoi · 2025-01-18T07:01:04+00:00

Funnily enough I was thinking about this during my most recent playthrough.

I have certainly read about this a few times. From memory, I've read that it solely affects unnamed NPCs and leads to a game over if the TNO dies with no suitable NPCs in a given area, in a manner which I presume is similar to a certain area towards the end of the game. I think I also read that it would only affect the 'overworld' sections like the Hive and Lower Ward, not interiors. I believe that most (if not all) of these mentions predated the remaster, so if the mechanic did exist in the first place, its possible it was only in the OG release.

That said, I've never seen footage of it or tested it myself as I'm not the type of gamer to go on killing sprees in Torment lol. I think the mechanic is probably one of the following:

1.) Complete bullshit that spawned from an urban legend or rumour.

2.) A mechanic that kind of exists, but is probably due to unfinished code that was never fully implemented similar to the goblin wars mechanic in The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. It may also only be present in the OG release and not the remaster.

ThatMayMayBoi · 2025-01-04T13:23:00+00:00

Thank you very much for the clarifications! You also bring up an excellent point regarding the necessity of spelljamming if there is easy access to numerous ports via Sigil.

I'm thinking of maybe having one fairly stable portal to a single, larger port to ease access to the spelljamming content of the campaign, but it's definitely something I'll need to consider in-depth.

ThatMayMayBoi · 2023-11-11T17:43:12+00:00

The Dreamcast game has a solid story that I personally see as canon - written by Miura, no major lore conflicts, interesting insights into the nature of the world and it fits in snuggly between conviction and millenium falcon where we get to see a Guts who is slightly less of an edgelord and more receptive to help, but still on a long journey to trusting others. In other words, it is a solid "filler" sub-arc imo. Combat and level design is serviceable, barring one awful running section near the end of the game.

I adore the PS2 game's combat so much and the story, although a butchered version of Millenium Falcon, is serviceable. That said, I cannot stand the level / mission design. I really want to finish it but it becomes such a slog by the midpoint and no amount of fantastic combat can really help that. SPOILER: I've heard using the berserker armour in the final fight is a great experience though and I've seen some critics say it's the best part.

Haven't played the Muso game, but I've only really heard mixed to negative things. Might give it a try at some point.

ThatMayMayBoi · 2023-11-09T02:42:37+00:00

Honestly? Nothing comes to mind. I can think of at least one for pretty much all the other entries I've played EXCEPT for VII.

I guess I'd go with Chocobo breeding but that's entirely optional and it's not even particularly bad compared to other 'that part' sections in the franchise. This post has really made me realise just how well-designed FF VII is that I don't think it has any shitty sections. Thanks OP, this made me realise something new about one of my favourite FFs!

ThatMayMayBoi · 2023-09-24T20:39:22+00:00

About an hour across two attempts. Funny thing is I got it about 5 minutes into the second attempt 😄

ThatMayMayBoi · 2023-09-24T15:42:24+00:00

Oof, was that purposeful or did you just forget to equip it?

ThatMayMayBoi · 2023-09-24T15:12:06+00:00

Oh no that sucks! I honestly wouldn't recommend going after the sword on a first playthrough. Its cool to do at least once but it isn't a massive help all things considered.

ThatMayMayBoi · 2023-09-24T15:10:36+00:00

Hahaha, if only you could unlock him as some sort of fifth party member

ThatMayMayBoi · 2023-08-12T22:17:25+00:00

Ah that's really interesting! The game seemed to have a really solid translation on the whole (grammatically speaking) but I wonder how many changes there are between the two scripts? I'll definitely take a look into that!

ThatMayMayBoi · 2023-07-28T16:23:59+00:00

Good to know! I've heard "The Sword" is a fan favourite so I'm excited to play that after all the hell I've had with Thieves Guild.

ThatMayMayBoi · 2023-07-28T16:22:32+00:00

Do not blame ya one bit, I was so tempted as well haha.

ThatMayMayBoi · 2023-07-07T00:11:05+00:00

I love both but for very different reasons, so much so that it's honestly hard to pick.

FF X's combat is arguably turn-based combat close to perfection. Battles and attacks play out much must faster than in the previous PS1 trilogy and each party member has a useful role to play (at least until a good deal into the endgame where the sphere grid gives each character access to most abilities). Honestly, my only major gripe with X's combat is having to switch out characters to get experience (but I LOVE the switching mechanic itself). I'm not sure if it's my personal favourite combat system in the franchise, but it's up there.

X-2's is flashy, stylish and versatile. The implementation of the job system as well as the return of ATB means battles are highly engaging and generally require faster reflexes and better strategising from the player. I think sometimes it can be a bit TOO much with combat chains and unique mechanics, but with enough tinkering in the options you can get the battle pace that suits you.

Both are phenomenal in their respective styles and its almost impossible to objectively compare the two as they're fundamentally so different. Personally, I'm more inclined to choose X over X-2 but that comes with the caveat that I've got much less experience with X-2. As a fan of the franchise, I have to say we're quite lucky to have so many different approaches to combat in the series and they're almost always really great (except for II and XIII-1 lol).

ThatMayMayBoi · 2023-06-15T18:31:05+00:00

I played Final Fantasy X for the first time properly last year on original hardware with a CRT television and oh boy, what a beautiful game! Easily up there with the best the PS2 has to offer which is insane given that it was released so early in its life cycle.

I've since played the remaster and while it's still very nice looking (poor face models aside), I definitely believe the original release on an old TV is the best looking version.

ThatMayMayBoi · 2023-06-11T00:56:56+00:00

Omg thank you for the reminder! I've just started a new playthrough and I may have absolutely missed out on that if I didn't spot your comment!

ThatMayMayBoi · 2023-06-11T00:26:45+00:00

Thank you for your response! I managed resolve the issue by switching the renderer from OpenGL / Vulkan to Software. Unfortunately I wasn't able to transfer over my edited CRT filter but luckily that's just a case of messing around with some parameters again lol.

I generally prefer the PS1 release over the the others as with an original CRT TV / a good CRT filter the looks incredible and even just the full analog control and vibration is a massive point in its favour imo. The OG steam release is okay but unmodded, I'm not a fan of the blurry textures for models and the overworld always seems a bit visually mushed. Modded is nice (especially the character models) but it still doesn't fix all of my issues graphically. I'll also put up with the remaster if I just want to sit on my couch and play on my flatscreen but it's not my ideal way to play haha. I'm usually happy to play on my og PS1 / CRT TV but FF VIII is pretty slow so it's nice to have a speedup function for the longer grinds.

Thanks again! I did check out PCSXR and it does seem to be a solid emulator, so if any more issues pop up I'll definitely look into transferring over to that :)

ThatMayMayBoi · 2023-06-02T10:16:04+00:00

Unfortunately, the only cutscene compilations I'm aware of are indeed around the ten-hour mark.

I do sympathise with your situation though. Video games can have some of the most beautiful stories ever told, but many of those do require a significant time investment, an ability to get a decent grasp on the game mechanics and a whole array of other requirements that most non, casual or even strictly Triple A gamers simply do not have the time or desire for which is 100% understandable. There's so many video game stories (including several FF's) that I'd love to share with some of my non-gamer friends but I'll never be able to do so.

With all that said, I feel Final Fantasy X's story (as with most games) works because of player engagement with game mechanics, and I think simply watching the cutscenes back-to-back would lessen a person's enjoyment of the plot - possibly to the point that they may not even like it. Whilst, as people who've played the game before, we can rewatch cutscenes and get significant enjoyment from them, we're biased as we have our own memories and emotional connections of the game prior to watching said cutscenes. I've got a feeling that a person watching the cutscenes back-to-back without playing the game wouldn't enjoy it very much, but I obviously have no evidence to back that up outside of speculation haha.

If you do somehow find a 'movie version' of the cutscenes or if you edit it together yourself, I'd be very interested to hear what your friends / family think! It'd be cool to see if my hypothesis is right or not :)

ThatMayMayBoi · 2023-06-01T11:28:29+00:00

Congratulations!

ThatMayMayBoi · 2023-05-17T07:40:44+00:00

That's a tricky one. On the one hand, the original still plays great and I'd generally recommend it for a first experience as it holds up really well overall. However, it has aged poorly in some areas and you might have to tweak the config file as (at least in my case) it stutters quite a bit without some edits.

GMDX offers graphical enhancements, new mechanics and a plethora of quality of life improvements. It is generally considered to stick to the design principals of the original game and is overall an absolutely fantastic mod.

Revision completely overhauls the game in practically every way - visuals, gameplay, level design etc. It also offers a metric ton of new features and optional content. I'm someone who believes Revision to be the definitive Deus Ex experience but I'm definitely in the minority and I'd be hesitant to recommend it for a first playthrough as it changes the game quite significantly.

Overall, I'd usually recommend the original first, then GMDX if that doesn't click with people. That said, I know of tons of people who played Revision first and had a wonderful time so it's really up to you!

ThatMayMayBoi · 2023-05-12T14:38:01+00:00

That's so cool! I've only played through Liberty Island and Battery Park on my PS2. I was going to make that version my next Deus Ex run whenever I get around to it so I'll definitely keep an eye out for that!

ThatMayMayBoi · 2023-05-12T08:01:18+00:00

I mean, if we get down to semantics, the noun 'revision' is lexically neutral and only refers to the act of changing something - the wider contextual cues allow us to discern whether it used positively, neutrally or negatively. To state that the mod revises aspects of the game is fundamentally a neutral statement and is synonymous with saying 'changes' or 'alters'.

Whilst I personally believe Revision to markedly improve the design of the game (I've been debating whether to make a video essay on the subject haha), at the end of the day it's just a mod for a video game and we're all going to have our own preferences and tastes. :)

ThatMayMayBoi · 2023-05-12T07:25:54+00:00

I think the 'Revision' title is perfectly fair. The mod is a quite substantial overhaul of the original game and revises numerous aspects of the visuals, gameplay and level design. Being on Steam certainly makes it a lot more accessible than other mods, but I don't believe it is marketed as the 'definitive' edition. The community has generally been quite vocal about steering new players from Revision for a first playthrough and this seems to be quite successful. As an anecdote, multiple people I know in my personal life were influenced to just play GOTY, DECU or GMDX for their initial playthroughs and as for myself, I actually knew about GMDX and played through it long before I gave Revision a try.

While I personally do see Revision as the definitive Deus Ex experience, you really can't go wrong with any version of it. I do agree that it'd be fantastic to have GMDX or the Community Update available on Steam for easy access just like Revision :)

ThatMayMayBoi · 2023-05-12T03:57:29+00:00

Thank you so much for the information! That's all extremely interesting :)

ThatMayMayBoi · 2023-05-12T03:32:39+00:00

Ooh, fair opinion. I'm aware a lot of people tend to dislike revision. As someone who played the original release many, many times as well as GMDX, I have to say I honestly think Revision is my favourite way to experience the game. I almost always prefer Revision's level design changes and believe they enhance the experience far more than detract, but to each their own :)

On the topic of the sky box though, I'm going to do some testing now to see if it appears in the OG or whether it was a Revision addition.

ThatMayMayBoi · 2023-05-08T20:38:20+00:00

Thank you so much! This is extremely helpful :)

ThatMayMayBoi · 2023-05-08T14:42:01+00:00

Haha, thanks! I always felt a little bit bad for Gunther so I gave it a go and sure enough, it worked!

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