TRPG General Chat

12:00 AM

It's like when your kid finally moves out of home :P

Honestly if you had told me before taking either of them "one of your cats will have something wrong and the other will be fine" I would have expected the opposite as this

He's way more active, has a healthier weight without I think being under, and she has more trouble moving around

But I will take arthritis over kidney failure

Ben

May parent's dog is an active one, and unfortunately keeps injuring herself. It's gotten to the point where she needs surgery :(

trogdor

Pretty much any day

@Ben :(

But now I have to convince my dad that it does matter what we feed them both

I don't think he is gonna like the interruption of his cat feeding routine

Or the fact that they should be getting different food

Ben

@trogdor Yeah... I actually learned recently that you should wean animals onto new foods. Not just switch.

It can be a case-by-case. Sometimes the food they are on isn't as great as the new stuff, so the switch can be faster.

trogdor

@Ben for health reasons or to get them to eat it easier?

Ben

12:06 AM

Bit of both. Digestion, and just favouritism

trogdor

because the other cat isn't a picky eater, and we actually have weaned him onto the dry kidney stuff

but I spoke with the vet about it and she can have the dry kidney stuff and normal wet food or just normal wet food

he needs the dry kidney stuff and kidney wet

I don't anticipate my father liking to hear that

Ben

@trogdor imgflip.com/i/2zxpdk

trogdor

yes

that's why I have to talk to him about it

because he seems to think the normal wet stuff with the dry kidney stuff is fine

but the whole point is to restrict protein and the normal wet stuff has a lot

Ben

Go all Fran Drescher and ask if he has a PhD in veterinary science :P

trogdor

I have a couple strategies

it should be ok, but it's stressful having to think about confronting him about this

Ben

12:20 AM

roll to persude

d20

Dice Service

16

Ben

Nice

@trogdor I feel you there. I just sort of get the adrenaline going a bit - that can help haha

trogdor

for me that's kinda part of the problem

adrenaline in small dosses is nice, in high ones it just adds to stress

Ben

In the meantime - go have a scroll through the corruption chat room. Take your mind off it :P

BESW

Supportive Gandalf art on ebay, starting at a penny.

linksassin

12:37 AM

@trogdor Man I feel you on so many levels. My wife is a dog trainer and vet science major at uni. She knows her shit. But her parents give her the "we've had dogs longer than you've been alive" shit. They got their dog from a puppy farm supporting pet store and now he had major hip and back issues. She tried to warn them but they wouldn't listen. So she paid to get x-rays done to prove it.

Then while he was on rehab for his back they kept feeding him like he was still fully active and he put on 10kg. Which is a lot for a border collie. It's a constant stress trying to get them to take good enough care of him.

Ben

DX poor thing!

linksassin

His ok now (mostly) but it took way more fighting than it should have.

Ben

I'll say :(

linksassin

He ended up needed stem-cell therapy because he was badly bred.

Puppy farms are the absolute worst.

Ben

I am lost for words

linksassin

12:43 AM

Luckly the state government is cracking down on bad breeders but it takes time. And too many people don't understand the difference between a pet store dog and a quality breeder dog.

BESW

Boonie dogs all the way for me.

Growing up, most of our dogs were strays that literally followed my dad home.

Our only "we actually know what breed this is" dog was a black lab that flunked out of seeing eye training for being too timid.

linksassin

@BESW That's alright, adopting them is fine. So long as money isn't going back to the irresponsible breeders.

BESW

When I'm next able to get a dog, it'll be a shelter dog.

Preferably an older one.

Ben

@BESW That's adorable

linksassin

@BESW If you're willing to put in the work to retrain them that is the best way. Too many people go for "but I want a puppy"

Shalvenay

12:47 AM

@linksassin yes, this. even the big chain pet stores where I'm at are moving towards basically being satellite adoption centers for pet shelters

@linksassin and yes, shelter animals all the way

BESW

@linksassin Thank you, but I wasn't asking for approval.

Shalvenay

both our prior cat and our current cat fall into that category

linksassin

@Shalvenay That's the law here now. They aren't allow to sell cats or dogs for profit anymore.

BESW

@Shalvenay I like that.

Ben

My sister is apparently trying to adopt all the dogs. She has 5 currently. The only reason she's stopped there is financial reasons, but future may change that haha

linksassin

12:50 AM

@Ben She sounds like my wife. We'd have like 10 if I let her.

BESW

Our local attitude toward dogs is more of a rez dog situation, but there's very little support for it in terms of infrastructure or laws.

It's very sad because the dogs usually wind up with the worst of both worlds.

Ben

The other downside is that unfortunately 2 of the dogs just don't get along. One or the other needs to be locked up/separated at all times

linksassin

@BESW That article is an interesting read. It seems to say "rez dogs are ok" but then goes on to say "but a lot of them suffer" so I'm not sure which side I agree with.

BESW

It's okay for the situation to be nuanced and complex without a "I completely approve of exactly what is happening" or "None of this is okay at all" response.

They talk about both challenges and potential solutions; "alright" clearly doesn't mean "everything is perfect."

Shalvenay

@BESW yeah, it's a relationship that seems to favor a "take care of the dogs in their current habitat" approach vs. a "relocate the dogs" approach

BESW

1:00 AM

Yeah. I think it is unquestionably wrong to just walk into someone else's culture and assume we know what's wrong and how to fix it.

Much less just doing the thing we think they need instead of asking them what they need and how we can help.

V2Blast

grandpa's flight from India landed today

BESW

Ooh.

V2Blast

helped him unpack, then visited my grandma in the hospital (she's had severe leg pain for a few days - I think she's coming home tomorrow)

linksassin

@BESW Absolutely. The article does pose a few good compromise solutions.

BESW

And the main thrust of the article is simply, "stop stealing dogs, you're not helping. If you want to help, talk to us. We know what's going on and what could help that we don't have the resources for ourselves."

linksassin

1:06 AM

It's similar to the reasons I like Engineers without Borders. Instead of sending in resources and building 1st world solutions to 3rd world problems. They send in the expertise to understand the problem and come up with a maintainable solution the community can implement themselves.

Ben

@BESW 99% of the worlds problems could be solved with this approach

linksassin

Not that I'm imply rez conditions are 3rd world. I just realized that is a terrible parallel. Just saying understanding the local culture is a prerequisite for solving the problem.

BESW

Yes, sustainable solutions anywhere generally involve empowering local populations to take control of their local reality.

It's something I've seen again and again with the Ruhi Institute.

Shalvenay

@BESW yes, this. (as an example close to my heart, it's why the telco-lobbyist-trash bills trying to restrict/ban muni broadband are so terrible)

BESW

Trust the people in a region to be invested in their own welfare, and empower them with the skills and resources to improve their communities.

trogdor

1:15 AM

@linksassin :(

Miniman

@BESW I can't tell if this is expressing that something is awesome or the opposite.

Shalvenay

@BESW yeah, in general, positive guidance beats nanny-state-ism by and large.

trogdor

@BESW those are definitely the only type of dogs I would want yeah

Ben

@Miniman True. I for one am not overly excited by kraft singles... yet I snack on them rather vigorously if we have them

BESW

@Miniman It's Unity, so she's pretty excited.

Miniman

1:19 AM

Ah, cool. I'll leave my own feelings towards Kraft singles out of things :)

trogdor

@Miniman yeah Unity,... Think of her dietary habits as like a really gross dig

Except a little worse

Ben

@Miniman played Sekiro yet?

BESW

@Miniman Full context.

trogdor

Oops dog, dog phone not dig

You continue to disappoint me

Ben

@trogdor ya dig?

Miniman

1:32 AM

@Ben Yeah, just making my way through the palace.

trogdor

@Ben lol

Ben

How you finding it? The general response people have had is very 50/50. They either like it or hate it. I haven't played much (my controller died - won't charge), so I only got up to the first boss - the dude on the horse

trogdor

Yeah it's weird

It looks cool, and like it has some nice new ideas added into the formula they usually have

Although the platforming stuff does seem not entirely well executed

Miniman

@Ben I'm loving it. It's crazy hard, and I kinda suck at it, but I fully expect to play this game over and over again.

@trogdor Say what?

Ben

@Miniman Fair. I'm still on the fence really. The direction is all over the place - you get tangent paths at weird times that are too OP for you when you gain access to them... but I am enjoying the more specific RP style. One Character, one fighting style, one weapon.

Miniman

1:41 AM

In a world where every game of every genre assumes they can just add platforming elements and it'll be a good experience (spoiler: it's generally not), Sekiro is really nice. It doesn't focus on platforming, it just makes it really fluid and fun, so you can do it as much or as little as you want.

Ben

I do agree with that.

Miniman

@Ben I don't know how much the too OP bit is true - it certainly feels that way when you run into something, but the game doesn't really scale all that much.

Ben

I will say that this is a whole new game. I am having the same response to it that I did when I first played DS1. I've restarted multiple times, because my first few attempts were so clunky it really ruined my progress

Miniman

Yeah, it's definitely not a Souls game.

I genuinely can't tell if it's a harder first playthrough than DS1, because it's so different.

Ben

The lack of shield is a big contributing factor

It'd be like if the Shield in DS1 didn't do anything unless you were parrying

Miniman

1:49 AM

Disagree - blocking in Sekiro is so much more effective than shields in DS ever were.

And for cautious movement, stealth works just as well as shields did.

Ben

It's all about timing though, isn't it? You can block but you still take (minimal) damage, unless you successfully parry?

Miniman

Especially since Sekiro has a lot less "gotchas".

@Ben You lose posture, but not health (I think).

Otherwise I'd never have survived a boss fight.

Ben

Haha yeah. I completely forgot, after the Ogre, that parrying bosses was a thing

Miniman

Yeah, there are bosses who it doesn't really work on.

A good rule of thumb seems to be that any edged weapon is fair game.

BESW

> If you keep making that face it'll stick that way. By contorting your face and body, you can effectively disguise yourself as another person. When you do this, fill your lowest consequence slot with an aspect describing your new appearance and gain a free invoke on it at the beginning of every scene. You retain the appearance until the consequence is removed.

Ben

2:00 AM

@BESW I just got an image of Popeye

BESW

hee.

@Ben Popeye the Sailor Moon?

Ben

V2Blast

why

Ben

@BESW that reminded me of this one - which was a Bday present for one of the guys at work hahaha.

But Popeye Moon trumps it haha

@V2Blast why not

trogdor

3:07 AM

@Miniman yeah, not very much, except of course all the grapple hooking

But there is a little bit of jumping stuff?

It's weird even as someone who hasn't played any From Software stuff

Ben

You can scale buildings etc.

trogdor

Yeah

It also seems not entirely optional

Ben

@trogdor It's as optional as combat is.

trogdor

Which means not at all

You definitely get locked in rooms with bosses and fogwalls

Ben

And, by exclusion, entirely necessary haha

Yeah. Combat is forced at times, but only for bosses.

You can play the entire game killing only bosses and sub-bosses

trogdor

3:13 AM

True

You probably shouldn't but you could

Ben

Though, you could simply just run past everything. You don't need to use the scaling for all of that

trogdor

Yeah I mean someone beat it in less than an hour?

If you are some kinda hardcore speed runner

But if you want to, I dunno, actually play the game XD

Ben

3:31 AM

Lol

Miniman

Yeah, not counting bosses, you can sneak past everything, or run past everything, and pretty much ignore combat completely.

trogdor

Yeah

Miniman

But by the same token, if you're happy to fight everything, you can pretty much ignore stealth and platforming completely.

Ben

Whereas with DS, you either fought or ran. Platforming just helps dodge all aggro

Miniman

Now, sneaking past everything without heavy platforming you probably can't do.

trogdor

3:33 AM

I do personally like the stealth, but it also looks a liiiiitle finkiky

Miniman

I don't know if finnicky is the word I'd use. Unpredictable, certainly.

trogdor

Yes fair

Miniman

I've definitely done exactly the same thing twice with wildly different results.

In terms of who spotted me, I mean.

Ben

I do like the fact that you can hide in the bush, and people who wlak past can actually see you. Lol

trogdor

Because sometimes it makes it too easy and sometimes it seems like the person I watched did everything right to sneak and it still didn't work

Miniman

3:38 AM

@Ben That varies from enemy to enemy.

trogdor

Also a couple times I felt sorry for him simply because he pressed the attack button too early and took a swipe at the Target instead of taking out one of thier red orb HP things

Miniman

@trogdor Oooooh, yeah. That one happens a lot.

trogdor

@Miniman I thought that might not just be one person but I wasn't sure

Ben

My friend came up with "when in doubt, mash L1" haha

Miniman

@Ben It's true, you can sometimes get the backstab in after you hit them but before they notice you.

...somehow.

Ben

3:41 AM

I'd say it's that "huh?" split second before the "oh!"

trogdor

Oh wow

I didn't Know that was a thing

Ben

It's not. I'm just speculating.

Haha

Miniman

@Ben It kinda is, though - yellow bar vs red bar :P

trogdor

(the guy I watch just gives up on the stealth as soon as it happens, very understandable honestly, it's what I would do XD)

@Ben I meant in response to Mini

Ben

Yeah.

@trogdor Oh right haha

trogdor

3:44 AM

Has anyone like, run far enough from someone who totally saw them that they no longer knew where you were?

Ben

@trogdor Yeah.

Enemies have a patrol range. You can run in, gain all the aggro, bolt, and everything will de-aggro

trogdor

Because I wonder just how much they made it uncheeseable

Miniman

@trogdor Yeah, or just waited long enough hidden somewhere nearby.

Ben

For the subbosses though they regain all health when you do

Miniman

@trogdor If you're patient enough, regular enemies are enormously cheeseable.

trogdor

3:45 AM

So what about the double red orb guys? Can you double stealth them?

Ben

I did that with the spear dude

trogdor

@Ben ahhh ok

Makes sense

Ben

@trogdor Nah they get their orbs back if you run away

trogdor

@Ben oh he looked nasty

Ben

He is.

trogdor

3:46 AM

I bet

Miniman

@Ben It definitely works better on some bosses than others.

trogdor

A lot of reach

Ben

But I felt like such a bamf when I got the spear parry ability.

Miniman

A lot of them basically auto spot you the moment you enter their arena, no matter what.

trogdor

@Miniman I do like to hear that honestly

Ben

3:47 AM

"Yeah? Whatchoo got?? Bring it!" Hahaha

trogdor

Lol

Miniman

@trogdor It's not really about the reach - spears are just way more dangerous than any other weapon in this game.

trogdor

I would totally play it if I had a computer that I thought had a chance in hell of running it XD

Ben

Though that was following about 17 attempts to take him on without it. Haha

trogdor

@Miniman they do seem to have like, extra moves and stuff

The guy I've been watching had real trouble with one

Ben

3:48 AM

It's like in D&D. you have 5ft reach, they have 10

trogdor

Until he figured out how to some stuff that he promptly forgot after killing the spear guy XD

Miniman

@trogdor Ooooooh, interesting. Cos you've never really been interested in playing Dark Souls, right?

Ben

One of us... one of us...

trogdor

@Miniman not especially

Stealthing down normal enemies is appealing though

And then boss fights are boss fights

Fighting them is fine

Ben

There was one little conflict I really liked, even though I did it repeatedly. There's two enemies near the first subboss, and you can strike one from above, then parry and quickly kill the second. Total encounter last about 10 seconds tops

trogdor

3:51 AM

It isn't that I totally hate DS but like, adding a stealth mechanic is just the right amount of extra spice to get me interested

Ben

That's like realistic stealth. You're not going to sneak up on everyone, but you can quickly silence them

trogdor

@Ben and yes honestly? The combat looks more fluid once you know what you are doing than in DS

Miniman

@trogdor Well, if you ever decide to try DS1, let me know - because I owned it before the remaster came out, I got a discount on it. Which is nice enough, but then I discovered that the discount appears to last forever and works even when I'm buying it as a gift.

trogdor

@Ben I do also like that you can technically get away with taking down a couple enemies from stealth even though you only get the autokill on one

@Miniman I will if that ever interests me as much

Miniman

@trogdor It is! Although sometimes it feels very reactive.

trogdor

3:54 AM

It's possible learning in a newer game might raise my application for the older ones

@Miniman more than DS or Bloodborn?

Cause it seems like in those you definitely had to be aware of what everyone was doing

Ben

Yeah, the enemies seem way more aggressive than in DS and BB.

Miniman

@trogdor I...don't know. I find it impossible to compare Sekiro and DS, although it doesn't stop me from constantly trying.

And Bloodborne is still stuck in closed beta unfortunately.

trogdor

There is definitely plenty of both comparison and contrast

Ben

@Miniman Wait, BB is coming out on PC??

Miniman

@Ben No, it's stuck in closed beta :P

Ben

3:57 AM

Sekiro combat is very much about parrying the enemy.

trogdor

Lol

@Ben I'm actually cool with that

I feel like that's something I could actually get good at

Miniman

Although, I don't know if you heard - after 12 years in closed beta, they're finally releasing Halo 3!

I'm pretty excited.

Ben

@Miniman But to be clear, that beta is on PC?

trogdor

I wouldn't have the experience from parrying in previous games but I think I could handle it

Ben

@trogdor It is a different system.

You block and parry with the same button - it's entirely about timing

Miniman

3:59 AM

@Ben The joke is that console exclusives are closed beta.

V2Blast

podcast time

About to stream our D&D 5e actual-play podcast in less than 10 minutes: https://www.twitch.tv/events/xedxwDvQQ5ikDBIIw7RZ4w

In a universe adjacent to our own lies a world known as Runia. This world, once peaceful and idyllic, is now threatened by a monstrous being from its prehistory. A group of adventurers known as Whiskey Company have risen up to do what they can to fight this entity known only as Nagat. They have trekked far across the mortal realms in search of the shards of Barrinoth, the Titan of Justice, in hopes of returning him to his full power.

Ben

Ah.

trogdor

@Ben Yeah I've played games like that before then

Even better

Ben

Which I feel adds an extra element of realism to it. You can't predict what the enemy is going to do, or when, so you need to be on your toes.

Miniman

@trogdor Yeah, that's like saying Ori didn't give you the bash experience to sword bounce in Hollow Knight.

Wait, that doesn't quite work, since you have to bash to beat Ori, whereas parrying in DS was completely optional.

But other than that, one is a quick time event that lets you basically pause the game before executing a specific move, and the other...isn't.

Ben

4:02 AM

Same but different

Miniman

It'd be even better if they were named the same thing, but I feel like it's still a pretty great analogy.

trogdor

@Miniman well hey I've never played any From Software stuff so I don't intrinsically know that XD

Ben

Bloodborne would be a better comparison. You could parry at the right time, attack, or dodge

trogdor

But yeah I mean if it's literally down to timing I am all over that

Miniman

@trogdor I'm not making fun of you! It really is a lot like the difference between Ori bash and HK sword bounce.

trogdor

4:04 AM

@Miniman :P

Ben

cough play bloodborne cough

Of all of them, it is my favourite

trogdor

I was half tempted by Bloodborn I gotta admit

Miniman

@Ben I would if I could but I can't so I won't.

trogdor

Also same as mini

No PC equals I can't

XD

But on top of that I would need a better gaming PC anyway

@Miniman I didn't think you were I just meant like, when I said that I didn't realize how different they actually were

It sounds like they are more different than they look

Ben

Uhh… I think you can actually? kotaku.com.au/?r=US

trogdor

4:06 AM

And they do look different

Just,... I thought it was more superficial I guess?

Ben

You need PS Now... but... yeah

trogdor

I don't have a working PS

Miniman

Your link doesn't work, but anyway I looked at the PS Now thing ages ago, and...no.

trogdor

In fact maybe I even gave it to someone?

Ben

PS Now is like Xbox Gold.

trogdor

4:08 AM

@Ben ewww so much ewww

V2Blast

come watch our stream, starting now :D

Miniman

Streamed games are a terrible idea, and we're talking about Bloodborne here. It's way faster and more precise than DS, and I wouldn't want to play DS streamed.

@V2Blast I wasn't responding to you, I swear.

Ben

@Miniman Hahaha awkward XD

@Miniman Yeah true

trogdor

@Miniman too late we all see how it is XP

Ben

[throws minor tantrum] People need to play it! Lol

trogdor

4:13 AM

But really I think I know what you mean

Streaming a game sounds like the most stressful thing

In fact sometimes I think in the middle of a session" what if I were streaming this and everyone saw that time I died 20 times 10 minutes ago?"

Ben

[Something about an appropriate "will" meeting a required level of "way"]

trogdor

XD

Miniman

@Ben I want to play it! I wanted to play it even before I played like 5 minutes at a friend's place.

Go yell at Sony.

Ben

@Miniman Haha yeah if anything it was aimed at them. Lol

I was half considering allowing people to use mine haha

Miniman

@trogdor Nonono, I'm talking about PS Now. You play games that are streamed to you. Essentially the server sends you video and audio and you send back your actions.

It's what Google is trying to do with Stadia or whatever it's called.

Ben

4:16 AM

Ping plays a huge part in that

trogdor

@Miniman oooooh ick

Miniman

@Ben Yeah, playing BB with latency just doesn't sound feasible.

trogdor

@Miniman goddamn it Google

Ben

Or more specifically, does not play with that. Lol

@Miniman Yeah

trogdor

I hadn't even heard of that, that's a disaster

Didn't they hear how much people hate always online?

This is worse than that XD

Ben

4:19 AM

"Oh but dedicated servers--" I DON'T HAVE INTERNET

trogdor

Plus out here I can barely even watch streams

I don't want my game to act the same way streaming does when it isn't feeling like working

@Ben also this

Ben

Or, in Australia; "NBN"

Miniman

For some reason that reminds me, @trogdor where did you get up to with Celeste?

trogdor

I finished the Hotel,... And then I got stuck on the Golden Ridge

Miniman

(Never mind, the Celeste soundtrack I'm listening to is what reminded me. I suspect you'll appreciate that it's the level 2 theme right now.)

trogdor

4:21 AM

I've been avoiding going back to that stage

Oh yeah! I did finished the mirror area

Miniman

@trogdor Ah, right. Sorry, been a fair while since we talked about it.

trogdor

I don't remember how far I've gotten in the Heya place

@Miniman gooooood

But I have not finished it yet

I am glad I beat the base game though

Miniman

@trogdor The mirror bside was pretty cool.

trogdor

But the Golden Ridge is what drove me to pick up Stardew Valley

@Miniman it was great

Miniman

@trogdor Yeah, I've been alternating between intense and relaxing games a lot lately.

trogdor

4:25 AM

I I think I told you when I beat it I just threw Theo at it

@Miniman I can't remember ever not doing that

Miniman

@trogdor I dunno, sometimes I play games that are somewhere between relaxing and intense.

trogdor

Celeste is great but after all I accomplished in it being legit stuck on my least favorite area for the B-side is a bummer

@Miniman I guess that is actually a thing for me too, but I mean in between intense games I need something more laidback

Like, I would totally classify at least some strategy games as sorta in-between

You definitely can't just sit around but the action isn't always on full dial

And if you start doing well enough you don't have to babysit your units anymore

Miniman

@trogdor I don't actually remember which c-side I flamed out on.

trogdor

Stardew also has some combat stuff but you can literally ignore that or only do it when you want, and it's mostly basic anyway

Miniman

I suspect wallbounces were to blame, though. Man, ****ing wallbounces.

trogdor

4:32 AM

Yeah I don't know if I would have liked those or not

I wish it only required most B sides

Instead of literally all

And I was almost done with it too

But that one last area is too #_-_$& much

There is not only nowhere to rest once you start but you have to hit a lot of spots perfectly

Miniman

See, that's one thing that streaming games would be cool for - it'd be great if you could help other people out.

trogdor

Like show em how to do stuff?

Miniman

I mean, or beat a particular bit for them. Hypothetically.

trogdor

Oh

Hmm I didn't realize that would be something you could even do with it

Anyway yeah, if there is one thing that irks me about Celeste it's that I've done most of the B-side work but I still don't get to try for no hit levels

I would at the very least be able to Ace stage 2 that way

I've done it practicing speedrunning it

I feel like that's something you should get after beating the base game

So not everyone who wants to do it has to finish every B side stage

Or heck let people try from the start

XD

I might give it another shot soon though

I've had a lot of Stardew

Miniman

4:52 AM

@trogdor ...that makes it sounds like some serious narcotics.

Or possibly a brand name for a fruity alcohol of some kind.

Ben

My friend work in a restaurant, and they are complaining about boxes being frozen together.

I suggested introducing themselves... break the ice

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