Cassylvania's Miserable Little Pile of Platinums

[AJ_Radio]

13 minutes ago, Br1ste said:

I completely agree that these generational titles should be every 10 years or so and not every 20. According to Wikipedia...I just sneak in as generation X in 1981. For me, the cutoff is probably around 1994-1996 and coincides more with the 'participation trophy' birth. I think it is too bad that people aren't allowed to feel or experience failure anymore. All of my best lesson's in life came from a time I failed or when someone told me I couldn't do something. I felt motivated to work harder and prove them wrong. These days, people aren't allowed to experience that same failure. Everyone gets a trophy and everyone is special. I think we are setting kids up for failure by not letting them experience that sometimes in life, things do not go your way and you have to bounce back. By failure, I'm referring to thinks like being cut from a sports team or not making the cast in the school play. By letting everyone do everything, I think we are going to end up killing ambition and we're truly going to be headed for a Wall-E future.

 

This is a prime example of how modern parents are putting safety pins and safety precautions on their children far too much.

 

I spoke with someone else on another thread on this website regarding this and he is simply not allowed to let his kids go somewhere without a cell phone. I don't know how the laws work regarding looking after your children and them having a cell phone. But instead of letting your children experience life for themselves (and only intervening when necessary) people have to be overly sensitive about what they're doing.

 

There are parents who went with their children for a job interview. If that isn't being extreme I don't know what is. But it's sad.

 

We're letting our children sit in front of the TV or computer and not teaching them the fundamentals of life. That's not parenting. Parenting is teaching kids to learn from their mistakes, understand the world doesn't revolve around them, understand that people have differing opinions. A lot of parents are doing this to their kids but there are a lot of parents who aren't.

 

I guess in 10 - 20 years time most of us are going to sit in our homes and do everything online. It's a dangerous path to follow.

 

21 minutes ago, Br1ste said:

I'm not sure I understand what you are trying to say here. I think there are certain things that happen in life where it is ok to be 'triggered'. I was a junior in college on 9/11 and the world stopped for at least a week in the US. For many people, it was the first attack against the US on US soil since Pearl Harbor. As Cassy pointed out, we were pretty insulated from that kind of thing in the 90's. There was the Gulf War, but that had a very different feel back home than Vietnam. There was no draft. The people fighting had volunteered and I think even though there was a war going on in Iraq, nobody in the states really felt like they were any real danger. 9/11 proved that we were emphatically not safe. My best friend was going to school at Montclair State in New Jersey on 9/11 and could see the smoke rising from his campus. I don't think any of us ever thought we would see something like that in our lifetime. I almost went to Annapolis for college. I was semi-recruited to play baseball there and my father had graduated from Annapolis. I really wanted to go there since I felt like I could use some more structure and discipline in my life and my mother pretty much forbade me from going. She didn't want me to end up in a war. I told her "Ma, it's peace time...don't worry I'm sure it'd be fine." Never in my wildest dreams did I think something like 9/11 would happen.

 

It was fine to feel this way for the first week or so. But the media just kept on reminding us over and over. 9/11 was what got America to go after Iraq and Osama bin Laden. It was clear George W. Bush didn't know what the hell he was doing. But I'd take Bush anyday over Donald Trump.

 

There was such a reaction to 9/11 that it changed the way airport security conducted their business. To this day I don't think everyone has gotten over 9/11 because there are still families that feel the scars of those who died while they were working at the World Trade Center. The way the government handled 9/11 was a disaster.

 

I agree in that 9/11 was the event that blew away all the innocence kids had in the '80s and '90s. But to me it was a catalyst that sparked many to go to their social media pages and speak out in mass over their bewilderment. Any controversy or tragic event these days is going to spark and trigger many into going onto social media.

 

This website is the only one I really use for social media in general. I've considered terminating my Facebook account, as I have grown absolutely disgusted with what that website has turned into.

[Cassylvania]

Yeah, I hadn't heard the word "triggered" being associated with 9/11 or any other terrorist attack. I've always thought that was more for people getting upset by somewhat trivial things, like Chief Wahoo or football players taking a knee during the national anthem. Personally, I think it's just the new way of refusing to accept someone else's opinion, like "Talk to the hand" or "I know you are but what I am." And, yes, it comes across as just as juvenile to me.

 

It doesn't help that our current president is a walking meme when it comes to this stuff.

 

Even so, that's one of the few things I'd actually agree with Trump on, if he wasn't so easily offended himself. I've NEVER understood this "tough guy" image of him. I honestly believe a lot of his supporters don't realize how closely he mirrors the very people they try to attack with all this SJW stuff.

 

But I don't want to get into politics here. For me, 9/11 represented the end of my childhood, and not just in a figurative sense. And my memory of it was very different, I think. I never saw it as an overreaction. Yes, the resulting war was senseless, but for at least up to a year after that event, it amazing how united this country was. Nowadays, it's easier to attack everybody else than it is to fess up to your own shortcomings. That's why I have a growing resentment for Trump. He doesn't want to take responsibility for his mistakes, but he's willing to take credit for anything that goes right. That's the new norm. It's, "My view is right, yours is wrong, and anything you say that would suggest otherwise is ridiculous because your opinions don't matter."

 

I don't know how that changes going forward, because the internet has made it so easy to act tough behind a keyboard or screen. What's really tough these days is to make your voice heard if you just want to be a good and honest human being, and that's a shame.

 

Well, at least I should be able to finish HZD tonight.

[Briste]

3 hours ago, Cassylvania said:

Yeah, I hadn't heard the word "triggered" being associated with 9/11 or any other terrorist attack. I've always thought that was more for people getting upset by somewhat trivial things, like Chief Wahoo or football players taking a knee during the national anthem. Personally, I think it's just the new way of refusing to accept someone else's opinion, like "Talk to the hand" or "I know you are but what I am." And, yes, it comes across as just as juvenile to me.

That's pretty well said. Those examples are exactly what I equate "triggered" to be associated too. I find that people who tend to be easily triggered expect full support for whatever their issue is and if you aren't all hands on deck, then you are against them. It makes it really hard to root for those groups when they are so closed minded. The irony of the whole thing is that they feel they are being progressive due to the genesis of their cause being righteous, but they are being every bit as close minded. There is no such thing as a middle ground or conceding a point. I hadn't made the connection to those other sayings, but you're absolutely right.

 

3 hours ago, Cassylvania said:

But I don't want to get into politics here. For me, 9/11 represented the end of my childhood, and not just in a figurative sense. And my memory of it was very different, I think. I never saw it as an overreaction. Yes, the resulting war was senseless, but for at least up to a year after that event, it amazing how united this country was. Nowadays, it's easier to attack everybody else than it is to fess up to your own shortcomings. That's why I have a growing resentment for Trump. He doesn't want to take responsibility for his mistakes, but he's willing to take credit for anything that goes right. That's the new norm. It's, "My view is right, yours is wrong, and anything you say that would suggest otherwise is ridiculous because your opinions don't matter."

I'm sure coming from a military family, your memory of what happened would be different than many. For me it was different since my father died two days after 9/11 for a totally unrelated reason. I felt anger and an immense need to fight back those who attacked us and seriously considered dropping out of college and enlisting in the immediate aftermath but after my father died, I was in a different head-space and ended up spending many months reflecting on everything going on. It was really amazing to see how united the country was (unless you were a Muslim I suppose). There was a new sense of patriotism and a very tangible sense of country. There was so much empathy that poured out for the victims and it was a fascinating time to be in college. Sadly, that patriotism has devolved into what we have today where the country is so divided on some of the dumbest things. There is a hard line in the sand on almost every topic and, once again, you are absolutely right with what the new norm is but it goes further. Not only is my view right and your view wrong, but your view isn't even real...it's "fake news." With how cavalier people are with that term, it is quite easy for actual fake news to enter the conversation via social media. My dad used to tell me, "you gotta learn to pick your battles son, not everything is worth fighting over and sometimes you just have to let shit go." Nobody let's shit go.

 

3 hours ago, Cassylvania said:

I don't know how that changes going forward, because the internet has made it so easy to act tough behind a keyboard or screen. What's really tough these days is to make your voice heard if you just want to be a good and honest human being, and that's a shame.

I think we're past the point of no return on that. Keyboard warriors have perpetual beer muscles and no filter. It's dangerous, it's obnoxious and sadly it works...my wife's motto is "The squeaky wheel gets the grease." I hate this saying because the squeaky wheel also tends to be a pain in the ass and right now we are full of squeaky wheels. I'll get off of my soap box now!

 

3 hours ago, Cassylvania said:

Well, at least I should be able to finish HZD tonight.

Good luck! I'm almost done farming souls and tomorrow night will probably tackle Blighttown.

[Cassylvania]

33 minutes ago, Br1ste said:

I'm sure coming from a military family, your memory of what happened would be different than many. For me it was different since my father died two days after 9/11 for a totally unrelated reason. I felt anger and an immense need to fight back those who attacked us and seriously considered dropping out of college and enlisting in the immediate aftermath but after my father died, I was in a different head-space and ended up spending many months reflecting on everything going on.

 

I'm sorry to hear that. I considered enlisting too, but my father wouldn't hear of that. He was always very strict, but I remember him becoming extremely distant and angry all the time after that. That's one of the reasons I left home as soon as I was able. So, when I get nostalgic for the '90s, it comes from a few different places. That bubble will always represent a time in my life where I -- and most of the people around me -- were happy most of the time.

 

Not to say things are bad now. I'm actually doing much better. Things were a little dark for me in high school and my freshman year of college, but leaving home opened my eyes to a different world. I think I have a better outlook on things than most people, and I try not to be bothered by all the negativity that surrounds me. I eat healthy, I sleep (mostly) regular hours, and, if I ever find myself a decent paying job, I'll pretty much be set. I don't expect things to ever be as great as they were twenty years ago, but I've found it better to be an optimist than a pessimist, if only because one leaves you happy at least some of the time.

 

Like Elisabeth Sobeck says, "being smart will count for nothing if you don't make the world better. You have to use your smarts to count for something, to serve life, not death."

 

Platinum #102 - Horizon Zero Dawn

[Briste]

5 minutes ago, Cassylvania said:

I think I have a better outlook on things than most people, and I try not to be bothered by all the negativity that surrounds me. I eat healthy, I sleep (mostly) regular hours, and, if I ever find myself a decent paying job, I'll pretty much be set. I don't expect things to ever be as great as they were twenty years ago, but I've found it better to be an optimist than a pessimist, if only because one leaves you happy at least some of the time.

I think over the years I've come to a pretty similar place in life. I don't really let myself get angry anymore. Being angry and mean takes a lot of work and energy and most of it is wasted energy. It's much easier to treat people fairly and try to see the sun from the shade.

 

7 minutes ago, Cassylvania said:

Like Elisabeth Sobeck says, "being smart will count for nothing if you don't make the world better. You have to use your smarts to count for something, to serve life, not death."

lol well timed from HZD. Congrats on 102!! You're making this look easy in the last week or so!

[Cassylvania]

12 minutes ago, Br1ste said:

lol well timed from HZD. Congrats on 102!! You're making this look easy in the last week or so!

 

Thanks! I fell one trophy short of my goal (reaching level 60), but I should be able to get that during my NG+ run...which I guess I'll begin tomorrow. But at least we can momentarily celebrate me reaching 99% trophy completion for the first time in forever. We've come a long way from eight active games!

 

Looking forward, I think I'll start a new game soon. I'm going to avoid anything lengthy or RPG-y, but I could go for a simple platformer or side-scroller.

 

(Actually, the credits of HZD just finished and put me back into the main game. I saw I literally only had 1k xp to level 60, so I killed a few robot buffaloes and now I have that trophy.)

[donut_plz]

Jeepers you killing it on finishing up games lately Cass. 99% is crazy. I was happy I just crossed over the 50% mark. ?

[Briste]

13 hours ago, Cassylvania said:

Looking forward, I think I'll start a new game soon. I'm going to avoid anything lengthy or RPG-y, but I could go for a simple platformer or side-scroller.

Looking over my trophy list for a recommendation...none of them are really quick games. The fastest probably being the God of War series, but those are on the PS3 except for the remastered GoW 3. I had fun with the new south park game which was 100% stress free. You seem to have a more diverse library so I'll be interested to see what you come up with. The PS+ March games will be announced later today, so maybe there will be something good there to pick from.

 

Did you pre-order Dark Souls Remastered? I know you said you were going to be planning for that game soon...were you going to attempt a speed run with that game? I'm hoping to complete the Souls series by April 20th so I can play GoW 4 on release. Probably a little to aggressive of a goal for me considering my limited playtime. I did take two days off from work in March to watch the first few rounds of the NCAA tournament. I will be able to make some good headway on those two days in whichever game I'm playing so maybe I can get it done.

 

Also...random question...I feel like in post you made around the Super Bowl you said your birthday was coming up soon. Did it happen? Did you have fun if you did?

 

 

edit...looks like they released the PS+ free games and they are pretty sweet. I'm psyched about Bloodborne since I'm doing a Souls run of games and now I don't need to buy it. Ratchet and Clank looks good too.

Edited February 28, 2018 by Br1ste

[Cassylvania]

5 hours ago, Br1ste said:

Did you pre-order Dark Souls Remastered? I know you said you were going to be planning for that game soon...were you going to attempt a speed run with that game? I'm hoping to complete the Souls series by April 20th so I can play GoW 4 on release.

 

I didn't pre-order Dark Souls because I'm not sure when I'll get around to playing it. Because it's a remaster (and a game I know very well), I might just wait until I know what's fully involved (i.e. glitches, changes to the original game, differences in trophy requirements, etc.). I honestly know nothing about the remastered version at this point.

 

I don't like speed running, so I won't be doing that unless a trophy requires it. But I like other kinds of challenge runs. For Dark Souls, I always thought a low level run would be fun. Not level 1 -- that's too bare essentials for me -- but maybe a level 10 or 11 run. Just high enough to equip the gear and spells that I want, you know? I'll wait until a trophy list comes out before making that decision, though.

 

I don't think your goal is realistic. It's doable, I guess, but are you really doing yourself a disservice if you're going to rush through DS1, DS2, and DS3. You'd basically have to beat each game in two weeks, including NG+ and NG++ runs in each game. Since Bloodborne is a free PS+ game next month (epic), might I suggest just playing Dark Souls 1 and Bloodborne before April 20? There's really no reason to jump into Dark Souls 2 immediately anyway.

 

5 hours ago, Br1ste said:

Also...random question...I feel like in post you made around the Super Bowl you said your birthday was coming up soon. Did it happen? Did you have fun if you did?

 

My birthday is Valentine's Day, so it happened and I had fun. And, hey, I turned 29 again. How about that?

 

Tonight, we...find something good for dinner. Then HZD. And The Office.

 

At least two of those things better happen.

[AJ_Radio]

I never meant to stir up the pot or make either of you upset over this. I just felt that 9/11 did in fact start a lot of fear that was instilled into the American people and that is being felt and applied to this day.

 

Most of where I get my news from is from neutral sources on the internet. Yes, there is a lot of shit on here, a lot of websites base their angle entirely on the conservative or liberal spectrum. I don’t trust either of them, so I base my own opinions off of neutral outlooks. That’s what most of us should be doing. Instead, we blindly follow what one politician or president says. We blindly follow what Congress does, and anymore it’s a shit show of old farts who are completely out of touch with the real world. 

 

The current game I’m playing (Mafia 3) tries it’s best to portray a turbulent and violent 1960s culture in America, when social values were being debated to ultimately carve a better future. It’s an eye opener for us who never saw what had happened in that time. We as people and our children could learn a lot from this time period, and while some of us have learned and appreciated what came out of the 1960s, there are a good majority who don’t know anything about what happened. As the old saying goes, “Those who don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it”.

 

These days a lot of people are openly ignorant to the going ons in the real world and we have reached the point where most of us are completely clueless with how we came to be as Americans. A lot of young people have no idea what happened just 15 - 20 years ago. I think history is a very important subject that all kids should be taught to in order to get an understanding of their country and values. For the most part that is being tossed aside to make way for subjects that don’t particularly apply to the real world. 

 

We do a terrible job teaching our kids to prepare for the real world. My generation is often referred to as the “Boomerang” generation. It’s not uncommon to see people in their late 20s and 30s move back in with their parents because they do not have a steady income. Much of this has to do with the job market gradually moving overseas and a lack of adequate training for the jobs these people work. I have met plenty of people in their 30s with Bachelors Degrees who were very smart and inspired as college and university students. But sadly they work a dead end job because of the degree they pursued, and a lack of available jobs and careers in their field. And since a lot of today’s children may ultimately end up in the same boat, we are setting them up for failure. 

[Briste]

5 hours ago, Cassylvania said:

I don't like speed running, so I won't be doing that unless a trophy requires it. But I like other kinds of challenge runs. For Dark Souls, I always thought a low level run would be fun. Not level 1 -- that's too bare essentials for me -- but maybe a level 10 or 11 run. Just high enough to equip the gear and spells that I want, you know? I'll wait until a trophy list comes out before making that decision, though.

I don't like speed running either, but since you had mentioned a plan for Dark Souls earlier, I wasn't sure if you had something special in mind for the Remaster. If you could beat the game at only level 10 or 11 that would show some serious skill. I'm up to skill level 40 already and still get my ass whupped. Most of the games I play, I tried to do everything as I'm going, which usually makes me overpowered due to the extra farming or side quests I do before the main story in games. The only game I can remember where I had a challenge like that for myself was the original Final Fantasy for NES. I beat Chaos at level 18 (I was level 33 the first time I beat the game). It was more luck than skill and even thought I was psyched I did it, I didn't really have fun because I had to run from almost everything to keep my level low. I could see how a game like this would be different though.

 

5 hours ago, Cassylvania said:

I don't think your goal is realistic. It's doable, I guess, but are you really doing yourself a disservice if you're going to rush through DS1, DS2, and DS3. You'd basically have to beat each game in two weeks, including NG+ and NG++ runs in each game. Since Bloodborne is a free PS+ game next month (epic), might I suggest just playing Dark Souls 1 and Bloodborne before April 20? There's really no reason to jump into Dark Souls 2 immediately anyway.

So there isn't any real continuity between the games and their story? If that's the case, I may just play Bloodborne first since it will be free. In general, I try to play games in their release order so that was my original plan...but if there is no benefit to it I might as well. I'd rather enjoy these games anyway I guess than rush for GoW 4. I put off South Park and Shadow of War even though I had pre-ordered them since I was in the middle of other games. I guess we'll just see where I'm at.

 

5 hours ago, Cassylvania said:

My birthday is Valentine's Day, so it happened and I had fun. And, hey, I turned 29 again. How about that?

 

Tonight, we...find something good for dinner. Then HZD. And The Office.

 

At least two of those things better happen.

Well happy belated! You only get to turn 29 several times so I hope you made the best of it! Were you able to make it a hat trick with all three on your schedule for tonight or did dinner not go so well

 

4 hours ago, Spaz said:

I never meant to stir up the pot or make either of you upset over this. I just felt that 9/11 did in fact start a lot of fear that was instilled into the American people and that is being felt and applied to this day.

I was never upset by your opinion, I just have never heard anyone frame it that way and I wanted to make sure I understood what you were talking about. 9/11 is one of those sacred ground areas and I would never tell anyone how they should feel about something like that...I just don't think our definition of "triggered" was the same. My idea of the word was the same as Cassy. I agree with you that instilled fear into our culture and that the media (social and traditional) have fed into that fear for attention or ratings or whatever, but I think some of that fear is justified considering how it all went down.

 

4 hours ago, Spaz said:

These days a lot of people are openly ignorant to the going ons in the real world and we have reached the point where most of us are completely clueless with how we came to be as Americans. A lot of young people have no idea what happened just 15 - 20 years ago. I think history is a very important subject that all kids should be taught to in order to get an understanding of their country and values. For the most part that is being tossed aside to make way for subjects that don’t particularly apply to the real world. 

I honestly feel it has always been this way. When I was growing up in the 90's, I didn't really have a great understanding of what happened during the Cold War or Vietnam. My friends and I weren't sitting at the lunch table talking about current events...we were talking about the girls we liked or where we wanted to ride our bikes. I was more interested in playing sports and video games.

 

I think the biggest difference now is that people who do not know anything have a platform to spread ignorance and people are savvy enough to see it so the scale is bigger. I love people that post these Meme's on Facebook that say stuff like "I road in the back of my dads truck, didn't wear a seat belt, drank from a hose, ate peanut butter and survived...like and share if you did too!" Of course the people who died falling out of trucks, or from lead poisoning or from peanut allergies aren't here to like and share...they died because it wasn't safe...people take their good luck for being the way it should be and any changes to make things safer for people is a sign of weakness. Ask those parents who lost a child due to one of those situations if they wish they knew better ahead of time and could have possibly avoided losing a loved one. It's ass-backwards thinking, but because it's written 'cleverly' it spreads like wild fire and breeds more contempt among different groups in our country. But...like I said...I think this has always been the case, just in a smaller scale until social media. Sure our parents used to feel safe hitchhiking perhaps, but that's because every time someone went missing or was murdered hitchhiking it wasn't national news. Today all of those stories are known.

 

Well I'm off to tackle Blighttown...wish me luck!

[Cassylvania]

1 hour ago, Br1ste said:

So there isn't any real continuity between the games and their story? If that's the case, I may just play Bloodborne first since it will be free. In general, I try to play games in their release order so that was my original plan...but if there is no benefit to it I might as well. I'd rather enjoy these games anyway I guess than rush for GoW 4. I put off South Park and Shadow of War even though I had pre-ordered them since I was in the middle of other games. I guess we'll just see where I'm at.

 

The Souls games are so loosely connected that there's no real reason to play them one after the other or even in chronological order. At most, each game has references or homages to other games in the series. And you're not really missing out by waiting to start Dark Souls 2. People say that game was developed by the "B team," while the other folks from FromSoftware were working on Bloodborne. That may be true -- and DS2 gets a bad rap because of it -- but I think it's a good game in its own right.

 

As for my challenge run... It's only because I know that game so well that I'd try it. That's how I'm kinda handling this new world of remasters and reboots. Rather than playing the same old game the same old way, I'm trying to mix things up. Gotta keep it fresh! That's my motto.

 

1 hour ago, Br1ste said:

Well happy belated! You only get to turn 29 several times so I hope you made the best of it! Were you able to make it a hat trick with all three on your schedule for tonight or did dinner not go so well

 

Dinner was good, I finally reached season 6 of The Office, and I believe I only have...11 more main story missions before I finish NG+ of HZD. The game goes by really fast when you skip all of the dialogue and ignore literally everything.

 

1 hour ago, Br1ste said:

I think the biggest difference now is that people who do not know anything have a platform to spread ignorance and people are savvy enough to see it so the scale is bigger. I love people that post these Meme's on Facebook that say stuff like "I road in the back of my dads truck, didn't wear a seat belt, drank from a hose, ate peanut butter and survived...like and share if you did too!" Of course the people who died falling out of trucks, or from lead poisoning or from peanut allergies aren't here to like and share...they died because it wasn't safe...people take their good luck for being the way it should be and any changes to make things safer for people is a sign of weakness. Ask those parents who lost a child due to one of those situations if they wish they knew better ahead of time and could have possibly avoided losing a loved one. It's ass-backwards thinking, but because it's written 'cleverly' it spreads like wild fire and breeds more contempt among different groups in our country. But...like I said...I think this has always been the case, just in a smaller scale until social media. Sure our parents used to feel safe hitchhiking perhaps, but that's because every time someone went missing or was murdered hitchhiking it wasn't national news. Today all of those stories are known.

 

Nostalgia can be blinding. It's just more of the same denial -- people convinced that the way they were raised was the "correct" way, that they had it good (and times were tougher, because somehow they have to have it both ways), and kids today are spoiled rotten. It's the same thing every generation has gone through. And it's so much easier to point the finger at the other side when you start drawing lines along political boundaries or differences in opinions. If you're a liberal, you're as extreme as they come. If you're a conservative, you're as extreme as they come. Nobody can be a moderate anymore, because that gray area no longer exists in a world of memes and slogans. And yet the vast majority of people are IN that gray area.

 

I would never say that my childhood was more right than anybody else's. I was lucky in many ways. I had a roof over my head (usually) and a family that loved me. I played outside and got into trouble, but I remember just as often playing inside and having fun there too. I was homeschooled a lot, so friends were hard to come by, but I have good memories of the places I lived and the people I met and even the times I spent alone. But I also fell out of trees, got attacked by wild animals, broke my wrist and my ankle, got lost in the woods, hitchhiked, nearly got swept away in a monsoon, and almost drowned multiple times. I did a lot of really stupid things that I wouldn't want my kids or honestly anybody to do. Those aren't character building moments. Those are very real, you-actually-could-die-here moments.

 

There has to be some kind of middle ground that people need to reach. Some kind of realization that, "Yes, parents shouldn't coddle their children, but they also cannot let them run free. Children should be disciplined, but they must be able to learn from their own mistakes." That isn't happening because both sides are so convinced the other is to blame.

Edited March 1, 2018 by Cassylvania

[Briste]

15 hours ago, Cassylvania said:

The Souls games are so loosely connected that there's no real reason to play them one after the other or even in chronological order. At most, each game has references or homages to other games in the series. And you're not really missing out by waiting to start Dark Souls 2. People say that game was developed by the "B team," while the other folks from FromSoftware were working on Bloodborne. That may be true -- and DS2 gets a bad rap because of it -- but I think it's a good game in its own right.

 

As for my challenge run... It's only because I know that game so well that I'd try it. That's how I'm kinda handling this new world of remasters and reboots. Rather than playing the same old game the same old way, I'm trying to mix things up. Gotta keep it fresh! That's my motto.

Good to know, we'll see what I'm in the mood for. Who knows...at this rate, maybe I only beat Dark Souls before GoW4 is out. Rickety bridges are rickety in Blighttown and there were several times that zombies came from behind while I was exploring to eat my brains. It was pretty cool exploring down there, but I guess I need to move a little slower to avoid several of those bigger zombies sprinting at me. It took me three tries just to get to the bonfire down there before I called it a night. Honestly, the hardest part for me with this game is finding a good stopping point. Since there is no pause button and the PS3 doesn't have a sleep mode, I end up not playing as long some nights since I don't want to start over from the last bonfire. I like the no pause button due to the added difficulty, but it does make it harder to take a break when you're in the middle of something.

 

15 hours ago, Cassylvania said:

Dinner was good, I finally reached season 6 of The Office, and I believe I only have...11 more main story missions before I finish NG+ of HZD. The game goes by really fast when you skip all of the dialogue and ignore literally everything.

Yeah, I was able to go pretty quickly through the NG+ run also. I did stray away from the main story to do some cauldron runs. I liked being able to remove a hard enemy by overriding them and thought it might be useful at a few points. The only really difficult parts for me were at the end when you are using that gun to stop the onslaught and the very last boss. I foolishly went into that last mission with no healing items and nothing to make healing items with. It took me several tries to do it without getting hit. Fortunately there are check points throughout the last mission so it could have been much worse. I did it when level 50 was the cap. I wonder if it will be much easier for you at 60 with the extra skills learned.

 

15 hours ago, Cassylvania said:

Nostalgia can be blinding.

This reminds me of the South Park episode when the kids are trying to go back in time to the 3rd grade. They hate their new 4th grade teacher Ms. Choksondik and Cartman convinces them of how awesome 3rd grade was and how they should go back. After they spend the whole episode trying to get time travel to work, Ms. Choksondik gives that speech about not living in the past and Stan has the epiphany that 3rd grade sucked too and that they should look forward instead of back. People tend to sensationalize to extremes and things were always way better or way worse then they actually were. I think Joe Paterno once said something like, "You're never as good as you think you are when you're winning and you're never as bad as you feel when you lose." I think that's pretty true in all aspects of life. People love hyperbole and for some reason it always gains traction. Nothing new as people have been talking about their glory days for generations...I just wish people would see it for what it is instead of it being a mechanism for divisiveness and vitriol.

Edited March 1, 2018 by Br1ste

[Cassylvania]

3 hours ago, Br1ste said:

Good to know, we'll see what I'm in the mood for. Who knows...at this rate, maybe I only beat Dark Souls before GoW4 is out. Rickety bridges are rickety in Blighttown and there were several times that zombies came from behind while I was exploring to eat my brains. It was pretty cool exploring down there, but I guess I need to move a little slower to avoid several of those bigger zombies sprinting at me. It took me three tries just to get to the bonfire down there before I called it a night. Honestly, the hardest part for me with this game is finding a good stopping point. Since there is no pause button and the PS3 doesn't have a sleep mode, I end up not playing as long some nights since I don't want to start over from the last bonfire. I like the no pause button due to the added difficulty, but it does make it harder to take a break when you're in the middle of something.

 

Yeah, the no pause thing is both a blessing and a curse. I honestly only think I've played through Blighttown once. If you chose the Master Key as your starting gift, you can actually open a shortcut that allows you to bypass that entire area...which is good not only because Blighttown is tough, but the frame rate is awful. That's one thing they better fix in the remastered version.

 

One thing I really like about Dark Souls that you may or may not have experienced yet (but you're about to) is how connected the world is. It's pretty cool how you can go almost anywhere without a loading screen popping up. It just makes the world you're in feel so much more grand. (And it's one of the reasons I much prefer the Souls series over Skyrim.)

 

3 hours ago, Br1ste said:

Yeah, I was able to go pretty quickly through the NG+ run also. I did stray away from the main story to do some cauldron runs. I liked being able to remove a hard enemy by overriding them and thought it might be useful at a few points. The only really difficult parts for me were at the end when you are using that gun to stop the onslaught and the very last boss. I foolishly went into that last mission with no healing items and nothing to make healing items with. It took me several tries to do it without getting hit. Fortunately there are check points throughout the last mission so it could have been much worse. I did it when level 50 was the cap. I wonder if it will be much easier for you at 60 with the extra skills learned.

 

It's ridiculously easy at level 60 with the DLC weapons and Shield-Weave armor. I've barely even been paying attention to the game, and I think I only have five quests to go. Might just pop the last two trophies tonight.

[Briste]

17 hours ago, Cassylvania said:

Yeah, the no pause thing is both a blessing and a curse. I honestly only think I've played through Blighttown once. If you chose the Master Key as your starting gift, you can actually open a shortcut that allows you to bypass that entire area...which is good not only because Blighttown is tough, but the frame rate is awful. That's one thing they better fix in the remastered version.

 

One thing I really like about Dark Souls that you may or may not have experienced yet (but you're about to) is how connected the world is. It's pretty cool how you can go almost anywhere without a loading screen popping up. It just makes the world you're in feel so much more grand. (And it's one of the reasons I much prefer the Souls series over Skyrim.)

I'm not sure I'll be in a rush to go back to that area. I spent about an hour last night creeping through the shadows and winding through all the bridges and ladders. I went slow enough where I was able to pick off most of the zombie's one at a time and was able to make it through without dying. I got down to the swamp and stopped when I found the bonfire down there. Those blow-dart guys have insane range. I was made toxic before I even saw one shooting at me. Tonight I should be ringing that bell so it'll be my first trophy in like four days.

 

I really like the connected world experience as well. I'm still trying to figure out the quickest way to move around from the Firelink shrine to the different areas. I feel like I've taken the long way several times. I'm sure I'll figure it out soon enough.

 

17 hours ago, Cassylvania said:

It's ridiculously easy at level 60 with the DLC weapons and Shield-Weave armor. I've barely even been paying attention to the game, and I think I only have five quests to go. Might just pop the last two trophies tonight.

I noticed you weren't able to get through it last night. Did you hit any snags?

[Cassylvania]

4 hours ago, Br1ste said:

I noticed you weren't able to get through it last night. Did you hit any snags?

 

Nah, I got it. My internet was out the whole night because of -- you guessed it -- the weather. But it was fairly easy, except for the last couple of fights.

 

With that, we're finally down to only two active games. I'm going to try to have no more than FOUR ACTIVE GAMES going forward. Once I finish Batman, maybe we'll knock that down to three.

 

So, what's next? Well, after the shitty week I just had, it's not going to be something that will make me want to pull my hair out. I have a lot of games on my backlog (both the ones listed on the front page and the ones already downloaded on my PS4/on my wish list). I'm going to look for something short and easy. Maybe one of those games without a platinum. I really just want to relax tonight, and maybe watch some more of The Office.

 

I'll be interested to hear how the fight against Quelaag goes.

[CJ_Mystery]

Well, this thread has turned into a hotbed of political debate.

 

Not gonna add to it but I feel sorry for the past week you had, Cassy. Surely the next will be better.

 

Just got a new keyboard and mouse to replace the crappy ones I had for over a year. Hopefully I won't get any hairs or food in the keys.

 

Great job on your current plat! I was thinking about HZD myself but, ya know, DLC trophies. ?

 

 

[Briste]

18 hours ago, Cassylvania said:

Nah, I got it. My internet was out the whole night because of -- you guessed it -- the weather. But it was fairly easy, except for the last couple of fights

Did you guys get hit by that Noreaster as well? We lost power for a couple hours last night. Now that you finished, what did think? I've seen a lot of comments from people that thought it was a little overrated, but I really enjoyed it. I'm looking forward to seeing what they do with Aloy next. I wouldn't mind seeing them make it a little more challenging, but it was a nice change of pace from a lot of the games I've been playing.

 

18 hours ago, Cassylvania said:

So, what's next? Well, after the shitty week I just had, it's not going to be something that will make me want to pull my hair out. I have a lot of games on my backlog (both the ones listed on the front page and the ones already downloaded on my PS4/on my wish list). I'm going to look for something short and easy. Maybe one of those games without a platinum. I really just want to relax tonight, and maybe watch some more of The Office.

Sorry to hear that you had a shitty week. Maybe an easy, fun game and some Michael Scott will be a remedy for you. Hopefully the weather cooperated for you and you got your wish of a relaxing evening.

 

18 hours ago, Cassylvania said:

I'll be interested to hear how the fight against Quelaag goes.

With the power outage, I wasn't able to play as much as I hoped. Yesterday was Read Across America Day, and my wife is the literacy consultant at her school, so it was a big day for her. She was exhausted last night and went to bed at 9:00...which should have meant several hours of gaming for me. Instead, we lost power around 9:15. The good news was it made me pick up my Vita and give Super Meat Boy another crack after a few month hiatus. I made some headway and definitely feel like I'll be able to get Dark World Hell no death run completed. I can't speak to the rest of the trophies, but I felt a little better about that one at least after a couple hours last night. 

 

Our power came back on just after 11:00 so I had about an hour before I needed to go to bed. Instead of taking on Quelaag, I got distracted down in the Great Hollow and Ash Lake. That Hollow was really annoying...twice the camera bounced off a tree limb while I was running, causing me to turn unexpectedly and jump of the tree branch to an untimely demise. The Hydra in the lake was a pretty cool fight. The guide on here says you don't have to fight it for any trophies, but where's the fun in that? It took me a few tries to figure out how to kill it. The first time I aggro'd seashell looking guys that were behind me when I was trying to dodge the Hydra's water jet attack and they smoked me. I figured out that a ranged approach wasn't going to work out so I tried close up. The first couple of tries I did that, the head thrust attack was taking all of my stamina and some health. I figured that I could kill it that way, I just needed to learn the positioning so I was only blocking one head thrust instead of multiple. On my fourth try I was able to kill it. It was a pretty fun fight and I would switch between the shield and two hand hacking at the heads and it finally fell. I didn't get the bell trophy, but I did get the Dragon Covenant trophy ending my drought. Provided the kids nap schedules align today, I should be able to get a couple of hours to try and kill Quelaag.

Edited March 3, 2018 by Br1ste

[Cassylvania]

5 hours ago, Br1ste said:

Did you guys get hit by that Noreaster as well? We lost power for a couple hours last night. Now that you finished, what did think? I've seen a lot of comments from people that thought it was a little overrated, but I really enjoyed it. I'm looking forward to seeing what they do with Aloy next. I wouldn't mind seeing them make it a little more challenging, but it was a nice change of pace from a lot of the games I've been playing.

 

It wasn't bad. It was like a mix of Tomb Raider and Far Cry Primal, which were both good games. If I had any complaints, it'd probably be that I'm not really into sci-fi stuff, so the later parts of the game weren't as interesting to me. I did like some of the early game twists, though. But, as always, I want to keep this topic spoiler-free -- especially for a big title like this one.

 

5 hours ago, Br1ste said:

Our power came back on just after 11:00 so I had about an hour before I needed to go to bed. Instead of taking on Quelaag, I got distracted down in the Great Hollow and Ash Lake. That Hollow was really annoying...twice the camera bounced off a tree limb while I was running, causing me to turn unexpectedly and jump of the tree branch to an untimely demise. The Hydra in the lake was a pretty cool fight. The guide on here says you don't have to fight it for any trophies, but where's the fun in that? It took me a few tries to figure out how to kill it. The first time I aggro'd seashell looking guys that were behind me when I was trying to dodge the Hydra's water jet attack and they smoked me. I figured out that a ranged approach wasn't going to work out so I tried close up. The first couple of tries I did that, the head thrust attack was taking all of my stamina and some health. I figured that I could kill it that way, I just needed to learn the positioning so I was only blocking one head thrust instead of multiple. On my fourth try I was able to kill it. It was a pretty fun fight and I would switch between the shield and two hand hacking at the heads and it finally fell. I didn't get the bell trophy, but I did get the Dragon Covenant trophy ending my drought. Provided the kids nap schedules align today, I should be able to get a couple of hours to try and kill Quelaag.

 

Yeah, I forgot about the hydra (and that whole area). Every time I've played Dark Souls, I've played as a mage, so I never got to fight that thing head-on. I think I'll go for a more standard sword-and-board character on my next playthrough, like I did with the later Souls games.

 

Sounds like you're making good progress, though. Quelaag shouldn't present too much of a problem.

 

As for me, I started a new game called Heroes of the Monkey Tavern, because it was like $2 on one of the holiday sales. And...well, it plays like a $2 game. Clunky controls, repetitive combat, and I'm not even sure there's a plot. Just explore a dungeon and kill shit. I'm all for that, but I'm basically forced to save after every fight because there always seems to be a 50/50 chance that one of my characters will die in any given combat situation (which basically means I need to reload an earlier save).

 

Is it Spy Chameleon bad? Well, no, but I'd rather be playing Legend of Grimrock.

[AJ_Radio]

I rarely see you post anywhere else but your own thread. 

 

That’s completely fine, I’m just curious why you aren’t on other threads. 

[Cassylvania]

@Spaz I pretty much just bounce between here and the site help forum. Other than that, I don't really check the other forums, unless I see something interesting under Recent Topics. No real reason -- I just say most of what's on my mind in this thread.

 

And, boy, do I have something to say this time...

 

Fuck Monkey Tavern. This piece of crap game glitched out on me on level 7. My save file got corrupted or something because I wasn't able to move, so I had to load a save from three hours ago to continue. I'm finishing this crappy game tonight and getting back to real games next week. This was NOT what I needed to de-stress myself.

[AJ_Radio]

Point taken. 

 

I’ve started to not be as serious about having high completion. 95 percent completion is probably the best I can muster. 

 

But I have a lot of online to do if I truly want a 100 percent account. And it just isn’t worth it for me if I’m going to spend so much time boosting. 

 

It’s a shame I never got around to the Uncharted multiplayer. Sure, it’s DLC but since Uncharted games are exclusives, I can imagine there was a lot of online activity back in 2010 - 2012. 

 

Now we’re an entire generation past and to get those 73 trophies I have to boost for over 200 hours. That to me is complete torture and there’s no telling how reliable the other players are. 

 

I had to boost for the platinum in Red Dead Redemption. With it’s shitty servers and fair amount of hackers that was bad enough. 

 

But then there are those stupid trophies like Kingpin that require NINE players who are coordinated to properly get the trophy. 

 

I have no plans to get those games fully complete. As much as I enjoy the Assassins Creed storyline the games are a complete chore of checklists. Do these side missions. Find all these chests. Replay missions for 100 percent synchronization. So damn repetitive. 

 

Worst of all is Grand Theft Auto V, which has one of the worst fan bases possible. And I can’t even do the PS3 version. Run Like the Wind is unobtainable, so there’s no point in trying. 

 

It’s good to know your limits. 

 

So if Monkey Tavern is frustrating you then it’s generally good to play something else and come back to it later. Unravel frustrated me, so I put it on hold for another time.

[bentenigan]

I love this thead so far. Really cool to hear people's thoughts on game difficulty and stuff like that. 

 

Spoiler

 

[donut_plz]

1 hour ago, Spaz said:

So if Monkey Tavern is frustrating you then it’s generally good to play something else and come back to it later. Unravel frustrated me, so I put it on hold for another time.

I just finished Unravel in the wee hours this morning. I can relate to a few frustrating trophies in that one. Plenty of chapter replays to get the no death trophy. 

[Cassylvania]

@Spaz That's why I avoid multiplayer games. Not only do I hate competitive play in general, but MP trophies are usually the worst kind -- hard, grindy, and impossible to do without boosting. The only reason I even played Paladins was because I knew it was an easy platinum that I could do on my own. But if I ever had to do the multiplayer trophies for Uncharted 2 or 3, I'd just accept being at 99% completion forever. It really isn't worth it.

 

@bentenigan Welcome to the patch! Enjoy your stay.

 

@donut_plz I played through Unravel last year. For me, the hardest level was the snow one, because I kept getting blown off that hill. But at least the levels were fairly short, and I remember the game being beautiful to look at.

Know what else is beautiful to look at? Monkey Tavern at 100%. Wham, bam, thank you ma'am, I'm going to get drunk now.