Not a bar, but plays one on TV

Derpy

9:35 AM

@vicky_molokh-unsilenceMonica..... I just noticed....

if I collapse now, I get 4.4e34 cardinals. If I collapse immediately after that, the second collapse gives 3.15e38.

What gives?????????

vicky_molokh- unsilence Monica

Aaaah.

As far as I understand, you were more than one kilosecond in your first collapse.

Which means you only get the cardinals earned in the first kilosec.

Then you collapse, and retain 10% FBs.

And then you earn the cardinals for those 10% accumulated FBs (which are greater than the FBs you accumulated in the first kilosec of the previous collapse).

Derpy

Oh, right, you are right, silly me.

Sorry.

vicky_molokh- unsilence Monica

Also, I think the system failed to ping me, maybe the handling of omitted spacebars is off in chat.

@Derpy I was puzzled by that at some point too.

Derpy

10:03 AM

@vicky_molokh-unsilenceMonica will be a long way to the incrementyverse, only to find out the author didn't know how to continue adding new mechanics and basically did another reset.

vicky_molokh- unsilence Monica

@Derpy I played the Incrementyverse beta. It had issues, but also some interesting ideas. It did essentially remove much of the older gameplay mechanic though.

Derpy

@vicky_molokh-unsilenceMonica to be fair, seems the game just loves making thing obsolete, and then sometime throwing back some annoyance for one time tasks where you have to click between tabs again.

vicky_molokh- unsilence Monica

@Derpy There's a lot less of returning to old tasks, but there is some clicking between tabs. Probably more because I didn't yet learn where everything is than because of a fetch design.

Derpy

10:29 AM

@trogdor oh, thank you Limited Run... scalpers already appearing on Amazon to resell the Shantae Seven Siren game that hasn't even shipped yet.

trogdor

eww

wow

Derpy

10:49 AM

Site still shows a "in production" status.

trogdor

that's kinda odd

if they haven't even built and sent any how are scalpers even getting ahold of them?

vicky_molokh- unsilence Monica

Preorders, not yet physically available for sale?

trogdor

I guess

makes as much sense as anything

Derpy

@trogdor that is the best part. The scalpers are selling preorders like vicky guessed....

But for some odd reason every "preorder" has the same date range.

Around October, 15

Where did they get that date????

It's like they have some info others don't.

trogdor

so they either got it last year or in the future,... that doesn't make sense XD

or did they all preorder them on the 15th of last year?

that kinda suggests it was either the same person or an organized group

Derpy

11:00 AM

No, I mean, the scalpers have put up preorders for the game, since Limited Run still hasn't shipped them after about... 5 months now? (yes, I know they make them on order, but I think that if they didn't have like 40 open "production" games at every time they would go faster.... They haven't shipped Seven Siren and they have preorders for Switch version of the first games.....)

what is weird is that the scalper claim they will deliver in a October 15 / November 1 range.

I mean, HOW can they be sure to get the game in that two weeks?

Limited Run said NOTHING yet...

They could also just be guessing... but why have they all guessed the same dates?

trogdor

ah ok

that is also weird though yeah

either they have insider information, or someone guessed and a bunch of people just copied that

Derpy

@trogdor I hope that they DON'T have insider information but that's basically my fear.

But IF that was true, it would mean that this artificially made scarcity (compare: FanGamers made numerous reprints of Undertale Collector edition and they do mostly books/plushes. Limited Run does mostly games but will almost never reprint... they have "Limited" even in the name. Selling stuff with the purpose of making it rare, to force you to buy as soon as possible) is even more weird.

I mean, if the scalpers have insider info, they I would conclude that the scalpers are also people from the company that make some more copies of the game to sell at an increased price after the game is sold out on the main site.

Hope that is not the case.

It feels weird anyway.

And more weird to have to see a preorder for the original Shantae game on pysical Ps4/Switch release while waiting for the previous one.

limitedrungames.com/collections/shantae/products/…

Not saying that I don't expect to get the game I already bought (at least, I will get it for Christmas if this goes on...) but I won't afford to buy another before I can confirm that the first one will arrive a) in good condition, b) with all expected content etc....

trogdor

11:27 AM

yeah that is definitely the worst case scenario

people working there making extra copies to sell for themselves at a higher price after the official printing is done

so you ordered Seven Sirens, which other one are you thinking of getting?

oh the origional?

huh, I just figured that was not ever being re-released, although honestly if it's anything like Risky's Revenge I feel like I'm fine passing on it myself

I didn't hate Risky's Revenge but it definitely feels dated now

oh

hmm

never mind I thought maybe I had an idea for another possibility but it doesn't make sense unless they have insider information anyway I think

Derpy

1:01 PM

@trogdor I would have considered getting the original if I had received the new game by now.

but I guess that I will have to just keep the digital copy instead

trogdor

1:17 PM

Ah

Derpy

Like I said, it is not that I don't trust I will get the game sooner or later but.... I don't like the idea of buying a second product from a store before getting the first one.

trogdor

1:56 PM

Yeah I can understand that

trogdor

2:06 PM

I would feel the same way honestly

Derpy

kinda the same feel I get from Kotobukiya starting variant colors rerun of the MLP figurine set... before finishing the set in the first place ^_^'

Derpy

3:30 PM

..... What I told you folks yesterday?

Totally as expected.

user15026

I'm not sure why everyone is surprised that their microtransaction filled p2w game is...just that

user15026

Like...thats why I stopped playing it

user15026

I'm sure they'll give you a way to pay to get the stuff, eventually.

Derpy

@Ash mostly because it started as a free game that basically was used to advertise the actual console one, with little monetization when compared to the horrible mobile Mario Kart game (the one with fake online).

Then they added some premium items that you could buy directly.

user15026

@Derpy I guess, but I mean...it was coming, they kept pushing that envelope

Derpy

3:38 PM

FEW items, and you got what you bought. Then, gatcha lootbox with the cookies.

user15026

at least Mario Kart is moderately fun, and I don't feel the urge to spend money on it nearly like I did with the Animal Crossing one

Derpy

yep, you are right, but I am not really talking about the fact they add to push the monetization even more.

I mean, people asked to be able to have villagers following you since the original GC game, and they added that option in the mobile game hidden behind a 3$ monthly subscription plan - in the meantime the MAIN game gets nothing...

nope... I am salty just because they are pushing on the gamers emotions there.

It is already bad to put "gambling" in a cozy game.

Now, they are trying to make people fell guilt because they can't give back gifts to their friends (and based on the reddit post, they are quite sucessful so far)

IF they will add an option to "pay to feel less guilty".... that is a totally new level of bad for them.

user15026

Yeah, but I mean....at the end of the day, their main non-monetized focus is the console game.

user15026

I guess I am just jaded because most mobile games end up like this and I always expected based on the structure of the ACPC one it would go the same

vicky_molokh- unsilence Monica

I think with these things, at some point one should cut one's losses and do whatever is most enjoyable/least annoying/worth the investment.
Find the rest of the game good enough? Stick around while ignoring the lootboxes (I've done like that with some games).
Find the game too annoying at this point? Quit, move on, switch to something enjoyable.
Find it still worth it even with the microtransactions? Well, there's a path to act in response to that too (but I am inclined to believe this is not your path).

user15026

3:45 PM

@vicky_molokh-unsilenceMonica Exactly. Life's too short to get stuck on a thing if it's not bringing you joy.

Derpy

@vicky_molokh-unsilenceMonica the point is that people probably don't want to stop playing the rest of the game because they find it relaxing. But they can't stop receiving gifts.

So either they don't reply, hoping that after a while people will stop sending them things... or..... no other option, really.

And the emotively vulnerable players, the one these moves are aimed at, they will feel bad.

user15026

I suspect maybe if they'd explained the mechanic better it wouldn't have been so bad, but that game is prone to confusing explanations

vicky_molokh- unsilence Monica

@Derpy What about writing (or copying someone else's) boilerplate reply about not engaging in the microtransactions, and sending it when receiving a gift from someone unfamiliar? And explaining one's stance in a more personalised form for someone close? Similar to how many people, me included, express/explain not generally drinking alcohol.

Derpy

@vicky_molokh-unsilenceMonica ahahaha.... you can't exchange text messages.

Send back a gift or no send back a gift. There is no message.

vicky_molokh- unsilence Monica

@Derpy You mentioned an inbox so I naïvely assumed you're talking about in-game e-mail-like systems.

Are there ways to signal each other at all?

Derpy

3:54 PM

nope. No way to exchange messages.

vicky_molokh- unsilence Monica

Gestures? Emotes? Signs put up? Ezio Auditore jumping in a Morse pattern?

Derpy

there are some emojis you can add to a player picture. None is a "please stop" signal.

And most are paywalled too....

vicky_molokh- unsilence Monica

How do people even get picked for gift recepients?

Derpy

Yes, you read right - you pay for emoji to use

user15026

@vicky_molokh-unsilenceMonica I am imagining that last one now and laughing

user15026

3:56 PM

@Derpy That's not surprising, cosmetics like that are usually the first thing to get paywalled

Derpy

@vicky_molokh-unsilenceMonica you have a list of friends, you can chose a friend from the list and send a gift.

vicky_molokh- unsilence Monica

@Derpy How do you get into someone's list?

Derpy

@vicky_molokh-unsilenceMonica If you are thinking to "play without friends", that's suicide

there are some monthly events that basically require you to have a full friend list

vicky_molokh- unsilence Monica

@Derpy I'm trying to understand how people befriend each other.

Derpy

@vicky_molokh-unsilenceMonica basically, the game has multiple areas. To simplify, there is a river, an island with bugs, a little "wood/forest" with fruits and a beach.

Every # hours in rotation a villager is available in each zone, and you can do up to 3 requests for each villager.

At the same time, the game picks a random player (remember, it is always online, they have your data) and puts them as an NPC in one of those zones

I think two zones get a player you know, two a player you don't know.

vicky_molokh- unsilence Monica

4:05 PM

'Know'? As in met before?

Derpy

sorry, that was unclear on me.

vicky_molokh- unsilence Monica

Or from your contact list?

Or from your real-life friends based on location data? ×_×

Derpy

> I think two zones get a player ~~you know~~ in your friend list, two a player you don't know.

here, made it clearer

vicky_molokh- unsilence Monica

@Derpy Thanks. And how does one get onto someone's friend list in-game?

Derpy

when you meet an NPC for a player you don't have in your list, you can send them a request. If they accept they will get added to your list (and you to theirs)

Now you will be thinking that the gift problem could be easily avoided by not adding friends.

vicky_molokh- unsilence Monica

4:08 PM

How many icons/emotes/&c. are available for free that one can put onto one's NPC model or the like?

Derpy

@vicky_molokh-unsilenceMonica about... 4 I think

vicky_molokh- unsilence Monica

@Derpy Seems like it's time to make an out-of-game protocol on four Most Important Signals and which of the emotes means which.

Derpy

Best picture I can find, sorry.

@vicky_molokh-unsilenceMonica Impossible.

The emojis work like facebook style reactions.

vicky_molokh- unsilence Monica

@Derpy I apologise, but I don't book my face and so have no clue how that works. Are they at all similar to Discord and Slack reactions? If yes, to what they can be posted in reaction to?

Derpy

@vicky_molokh-unsilenceMonica nor do I actually :P

You can add a "reaction" to the current player personal image (which is just a screenshot you can take with the game photo mode... at least this end up in some funny images, or people writing out BLM with flowers)

but the player will only see a list like "two hears, a thumb up, 5 happy faces"

he can't know what you sent and if you sent multiple reactions in a specific sequence.

The only way would be to find a community agreed upon way to signal that you don't want gift in your photo.

like "if the photo has the player with an angry face emote in front of a gift => please don't sent gifts"

vicky_molokh- unsilence Monica

4:14 PM

@Derpy So you can make a personal image spelling a TLA? That's great. Make up a TLA that is sufficiently unique in context (agreed-upon by a reddit community or the like, with the explanation stickied); hopefully upon encountering it often enough, a gift-giver will look it up, and know the TLA means you don't engage in micros.

Derpy

I know, they will probably end up doing something like this.

It's kinda a pity for the game. Mostly because it has some features the console version doesn't have.

don't think you could create this scene in the console version

or this...

user15026

If the furniture is there, you could in the photo area, but I suspect they have different types of furniture

Derpy

That's what I meant, even with the Photopia feature... some items aren't there.

Transcript for

Not a bar, but plays one on TV