9960 réponses à ce sujet

[Seracen]

Hah, always fun being designated driver on Halloween party night, for the blackmail material if nothing else!  To those of you still partying, have fun and be safe!

 

To the rest of you all, reading a forum post at 1AM, any suggestions for a good PC RPG (preferably good story, and fairly recent)?  I played every RPG known to man already, and don't have access to Skyrim ATM.  Still a few hours to go until my designated duties are over, and I have Steam bucks to burn...

 

EDIT: yes, I am being a bit antisocial, but I am all partied out for the night, and am only sticking around b/c I am what passes for "responsible" right now...which is a bracing thought, lol!

 

EDIT2: In the spirit of modding, I ended up going with a heavily modded version of Halflife and Halflife 2...might actually start playing it for a while...relive the pain of no HL3 yet again...sigh...

 

Say what you will about the ME3 ending fiasco, at least we GOT the final chapter.

 

Speaking of, fanfiction really helped me come to peace with the ME universe.  I am surprised the fan reaction and content hasn't been the same for HL3 (perhaps it was just a timing thing).

[MrStoob]

Hi all, not writing related but I thought this was bloody inspired in the year of 'celebration' of the great war:

 

If World War I was a bar fight

[Seracen]

Hi all, not writing related but I thought this was bloody inspired in the year of 'celebration' of the great war:

 

If World War I was a bar fight

Now they need to redo this with the Hetalia anime characters, lol.

 

Sort of reminds me of this one...

 

 

Now on to the lands of Skyrim yet again!  I am done with homework for the next few days.  Mayhaps I will even get some writing in.  I really need to bunker down and do some outlines for my stories.  They are fun to do, but seem just enough like work that I keep procrastinating.  Lord help me when I start needing to take "breaks" from my hobbies, lol!

[MrStoob]

There's a similar one to that about nations.

 

Heaven Is Where:

The French are the chefs
The Italians are the lovers
The British are the police
The Germans are the mechanics
And the Swiss make everything run on time

 

Hell is Where:

The British are the chefs
The Swiss are the lovers
The French are the mechanics
The Italians make everything run on time
And the Germans are the police

 

Edit: hmmm, I feel the urge to change avatar... to what, I know not.

 

There we go.  Yes, yes, it's another asari.  I saw some 'interesting' ones go by featuring Tevos and Aria, which was a bit odd, as they're sisters in mah fic (purely based on the ease with which Aria dismissed refugee processing).

[YurigirlzCrush]

that processing thing was one of my eyeroll moments that make me hate Aria so much. I didn't connect them as siblings. just looked at is as another way for the game to show what a boss Aria is supposed to be. *yawn*

[Seracen]

that processing thing was one of my eyeroll moments that make me hate Aria so much. I didn't connect them as siblings. just looked at is as another way for the game to show what a boss Aria is supposed to be. *yawn*

 

I think it was a case of "show don't tell," and a bit cloying.  I'm glad I'm not the only one who rolled my eyes at that scene.  Aria is an interesting enough character, you don't have to go out of your way to make her badass.  Kasumi and Zaeed managed to be badass by dint of having fun just being themselves (with relatively little screen time to do so).

 

I think that's part of why I never liked Vega either.  Pretty much every moment he was on screen was "engineered" to make him look badass (sometimes even trying to show up Shepard) or funny, but none of those scenes were presented in anything approaching a natural manner.  Hell, the same could be said of Kai Leng ("Look at me!  I'm an arrogant ninja, lemme write a snarky email to you.  Don't you hate me for being so much cooler than you?").

 

Saren (as opposed to KL): first scene he's in, he kills the first alien you've ever met in the game (and one who acknowledged Shepard's value to the SPECTREs).  His second scene was standard brooding.  But the next time you see him, he is successfully dressing down all of freaking Humanity to the Council!  That's three scenes within which we come to utterly despise this guy (in the right ways), and he did it in about 15 minutes of screen time!

 

Garrus (as opposed to Vega): We get a small intro into the ONE alien cop who believes us (engenders sympathy/camaraderie).  He then proceeds to help us accomplish a few goals (rescue Dr. Michel, take out Fist), thus sticking it to Saren...all while getting some badass moments and making a few amusing/snarky comments.  Yet he doesn't act like he's got something to prove, and that endears us to him.

 

I am going off on one of my rants again, so I'll stop myself with one more example.  Consider Mordin: they established a great backstory for his character before we ever even meet him (snippets here and there).  By the time my Shepard shows up and they share their first funny dialogue, I was sold!  This series (for the most part) has molded how I expect characters to be presented and written.  It is also why I obsess over getting the details right whenever I create OC's.

 

Rant end...

 

 

BTW: anyone have suggestions for new PC releases (preferably RPGs, anything with a strong story) coming out in the next 3 months?  I have a few game coupons that'll expire soon, and so far my list is Dragon Age (which won't be on Steam), Pillars of Eternity (which will likely release after my coupons expire), Witcher 3 (same problem with expiration), and Star Citizen (which I am unsure will have a story at all).

[MrStoob]

Happy N7 Day, (apparently  ).   I'll probably celebrate with a bit of ME3 MP.  Still got that manifest to fill... but I'm generally too lazy to play Gold if my Jugg isn't levelled up (which he isn't atm) lol.

[Fatiguesdualism]

Sorry about vanishing again folks it's just....work 

 

As for the Choice of Games thing?  Well, to be honest, few of them are as good as the old Fighting Fantasy books - they tend to be fairly linear (and shorter) experiences.  But for a couple of quid you can't really complain.  

 

@Seracen:  Can't really suggest anything I'm afraid    I'm trying to love Wasteland 2 but...I don't know...there just seems to be something not quite there for me.     The somewhat disheartening thing is - I'm not even anticipating DA (which is a first since Throne of Bhaal  ) not solely because of my disappointment with the last two games from Bioware - but also because I'm also a bit fed up with the whole fantasy (Dwarves, Elves, etc) setting.  

 

As for Kai Leng -- nothing and no-one was ever going to be able to make a sith-wannabe seem even remotely plausible outside of Lucas' Disney's sandpit.

[MrStoob]

Sometimes you just have to bite the bullet and abandon a chunk of the story.  I've been labouring over some stuff for so long now but I think I just have to concede that if it doesn't flow, then it probably shouldn't be in there.  I've mentally drastically changed some protagonists/motivations/plots that would probably work better (including dragging up some very old enemies in the overall scheme of my fic), and give Ash some 'me time' to be a Spectre in her own right and ponder her religion a bit.  Anyway!

 

On Kai Leng:

I gave him some credibility in my fic, despite him only having one scene (final fight with Shep).  Other than that he was mentioned in conversation as a formidable combatant who liked to get up close and personal with his sword, so Shep changes her mods to suit before a spar with Vega to prepare and they discuss him.  Basically, smoke and shadows to get away from the ME3 Kai Leng.

[MrStoob]

that processing thing was one of my eyeroll moments that make me hate Aria so much. I didn't connect them as siblings. just looked at is as another way for the game to show what a boss Aria is supposed to be. *yawn*

I know what you mean.  I suppose I wanted to give Tevos some more air time, Aria's always fun to write for, and it gave her a bit more depth.  No idea why/how I made the sisters connection other than 'that could be interesting'.  Though in hindsight, I wish I'd done something with the whole Wrex and Aria thing to weave further threads for future use.  Ah well.

[Seracen]

I know what you mean.  I suppose I wanted to give Tevos some more air time, Aria's always fun to write for, and it gave her a bit more depth.  No idea why/how I made the sisters connection other than 'that could be interesting'.  Though in hindsight, I wish I'd done something with the whole Wrex and Aria thing to weave further threads for future use.  Ah well.

 

I think we discussed this before, but I never made the connection that Aria could have been the merc that Wrex fought with back in the day.  There are a few such connections I made in my lore (for fanfiction, etc), but I tend to avoid making too many of them, lest the universe seem too small and full of coincidences.

[YurigirlzCrush]

*frowns* yeah. I don't like Aria actually. and I don't like that everyone seems to connect every asari with any skill anywhere in the universe to Aria. I've heard people say that the merc in Wrex's story was Aria but there has to be other asari with skill in the galaxy... I mean I don't blame anyone for their personal headcannon or anything and people who like Aria can imagine whatever they like. *smiles* I just refuse to hold Aria up as the only asari badass in the universe.

 

besides. the first time my Shepard met her, she could have killed her right then and there when everyone pulled their guns. Just saying... *grins* and come to think of it, during the Omega DLC, I'm pretty sure Aria ended up dead in almost every battle. I wasted so much medigel on that ******... *winks*

[MrStoob]

I did include a scene where Liara out-badasses Aria during the Revelation arc, using her own quips against her and causing her to flinch a little at Liara's bravado.  And yea, yea, coincidences, my Liara as a younger asari accidentally ends up on Omega so she and Aria have history in my fic.  To be fair, my Liara has a dark side that she bore during Shepard's absence(s), and she draws on that if she feels the need.

 

I'm a bugger for those kinds of coincidences.  Two of the 'pirates' that Liara encounters on her initial digs are Zaeed and Vido as they begin to form the Blue Suns (they take their name from Liara's barrier bubble as Zaeed describes it as like a shimmering blue sun).  She does some work for Eclipse when searching for answers on Shepard's death (cue Jona Sederis) and mentors Wasea (the asari Eclipse Captain from Samara's loyalty mission).

 

While discussing the Eclipse Sisters that Liara's dad had arranged for her:

 

"Elnora is their commander." Liara explains to Shepard.

"Little Elnora the mercenary?!"

"Yes. Is that a problem?"

"Hmm, I don't know. Not sure how I feel about that. I should have known she was the murderer back then; you don't wear the uniform if you haven't killed for Eclipse. She said she hadn't killed anyone and just pretended, bah! The uniform should have told me she was lying."

"Yes, they are usually quite strict about that."

"Usually?"

"Jona made an exception for me, but that's another story."

"You were an Eclipse Sister? When was this?"

"Oh in my early investigations into what turned out to be the Collectors. I wasn't really a member, but Jona thought it best if I looked the part."

"Aria, Zaeed, Vido, Jona, is there anyone you don't know in the galaxy? One day, Doctor T'Soni, you're going to have to fill me in on exactly what you did during my absence."

"To be honest, I'm not sure that I'd want to. They were some of my darkest times and I'm not proud of a lot of my actions then. That particular event with the Sisters did not go well."

[Seracen]

Oh for sure, such connections can be a lot of fun!  Indeed, that's why I like to use side characters from the games as my throwaway characters.  For scenes that don't require repeat performances, it makes for a nice cameo, and requires less establishing on my part.  Case in point, I needed an expendable information gatherer, and a one-time quest giver...cue Toombs and Parasini.  To the uninitiated, these are standard/rote characters that have no lasting impact, other than that they got the ball rolling.  For fans though, it becomes a fun Easter egg of sorts.

 

It just becomes problematic when there are too many such connections, as it strains credulity.  Still, I won't deny that the prospect that various characters having secret histories with each other would be imminently amusing.  Indeed, such moments can become poignant as well, providing some of the most captivating moments!

 

 

In other news, the Inquisition bug has finally hit me.  BW games usually have me chomping at the bit, this one took a little longer to hook me, lol!  Granted, part of it is the free voucher I hope to get from AMD, but still...

 

I'm just glad that I am finally excited for a game that isn't Skyrim (years old) or Witcher 3 (months away).  Alas, my PS4 is STILL likely to continue collecting dust, as I cannot fathom playing any of those games on anything but PC.

[Fatiguesdualism]

I don't really mind Aria too much -- just as long as she's only a ruthless, and capable, crime-lord (lady?  )  It's just when folk 'Big Up' characters I find it a bit erksome -- if you over-inflate something it's (usually) going to end badly!  The whole immigration scene in ME3 suggested (to me) that she had something on the Councillor, which was mildly intriguing, but it never led to anything so...   

 

As for Leng?  Like MrStoob I'm trying to rework the character, but a problem I've ran into is the whole win/lose ratio.  In my story Shepard and Leng have had three meetings so far.  Leng won the first by getting inside Shepard's head (suggesting that Miranda may be being indoctrinated by Cerberus).  Shepard won the second by getting to the Normandy before Leng could (thus preventing Cerberus' attempt at stealing the ship) but Leng's sniper round (Widow Rifle) would have killed Shepard if the Normandy's shields hadn't stopped the bullet; so that kind of evens out.  The third happened on Omega and was a clear win for Shepard, so the score's 'tied' at the moment.  So the problem is trying to maintain a kind of balance without; (1) tipping the scales, and (2) making my machinations obvious!     Still at least the sword's gone   kept the 'sunglasses' though (they were just too tempting not to mock! ) and as he's still a character in progress we'll see how it ends up! 

 

As for DA:I?  Saw a trailer yesterday; left me cold.   Admittedly it was one for the Xbone version and emphasising the 'Action/Smashing/Raargh!' with no real story/narrative sections shown...but at this moment in time (a fortnight or so from launch?) and I'm still feeling no urge to even check for previews.  Sorry Bioware!

[BronzTrooper]

Really, the DA:I trailers that have been released are more to draw new gamers in, hence all the action.  If you really dig into all the released info, you'll see that the game itself is Skyrim-levels of huge.  BW's really trying not to let any spoilers out and the review embargo ended 2 days ago, meaning that EA and BW are pretty confident.  And, considering how the lowest score DA:I's gotten is a 8/10, I'd say that it's going to be awesome.  

 

The Hero of Thedas trailer (which is probably what you watched, Fatigues) is more actiony, tbh.  The Enemy of Thedas trailer is pretty actiony too, but it does show more of the story elements.  Really, I'd suggest looking into the Twitch streams before deciding anything.  The trailers are pretty good, but they don't give much of a view into the game itself.

[Seracen]

Agreed with Gamer: I have only seen ONE video that details the tactical view for DA:I.  I can understand how such a view might not show well in a trailer, but they almost make the game come across as Fable 4 in their presentation.  Still, what little I have seen of the plot seems interesting enough.  It was Dragon Age Keep, of all things, that got the ball rolling for me.  Also, the story is similar enough to KOTOR that I can almost see how they'd have done KOTOR 3, lol!

 

As for KL, I think having well written banter and dialogue would have done wonders for presentation.  As it stands, the only moments we see him are "badass" moments where he is taunting us.  Conversely, we got to see Saren/Collectors/TIM actually do menacing things, or got to hear them have conversations that established character (obviously the convo with the Collectors was more reminiscent of the Reaper dialogues, but that established character too).

 

In the books, KL wasn't so bad a character the first time we met him.  He comes across as a determined, if flawed, and ultimately capable soldier.  His relationship with TIM might even be almost father/son, if developed further.  That last book though (cereal killer...[snort])...ugh.  Still, it didn't do everything wrong, Aria got a poignant moment of grieving over her dead daughter, then went cold again as she took revenge.

 

Funny thing is, such moments are often crafted as throwaway scenes, but I consider them crucial to establishing proper and compelling character.  The tricky bit is that such moments cannot be allowed to come across as canned or cloying.  One's character should feel natural, not come across as affectation.  That can be a hard line to walk as a writer.

 

Hell, whenever I "plan" such things, my notes are just: "Chapter 8: [character developement/banter],"  !  I prefer to let such conversations flow naturally/spontaneously, which can be a bit problematic when the creative juices aren't flowing...

[MrStoob]

That reminds me, that was one moment in my fic that I think really helped give Aria a 'human' side: Liselle.  Tevos gives her belated condolences, the only real sympathy/empathy Aria receives over the death of her daughter which she is actually thankful for, so it was nice to give her that.  Of course, it descends into Aria stating she will wreak havoc on Cerberus for everything they've done when she takes Omega back.

[MrStoob]

Hmm.  An interesting predicament, I think.  I have a bit of alien hate pop up occasionally within the fleet, old wounds festering and all that.  Now, Sha'li (OC asari, Williams' adopted daughter, around 38 years which I've taken to be around mid teens), is hanging out with some other service kids.  However, her new friend Scott's father isn't comfortable with this.  My intention is that he views her as predatory, that her years outweigh her maturity and that ultimately, he views it as paedophilia.  I wondered if this might be a bit extreme so thought I'd pose it here if anyone has thoughts either way.  To me, it seemed an interesting way to introduce further intolerance, as the prejudiced father would think he has reason on his side.

[BronzTrooper]

Hmm.... that seems interesting.  If you implement it well, I could see it being a very interesting twist.

[Seracen]

Hmm.  An interesting predicament, I think.  I have a bit of alien hate pop up occasionally within the fleet, old wounds festering and all that.  Now, Sha'li (OC asari, Williams' adopted daughter, around 38 years which I've taken to be around mid teens), is hanging out with some other service kids.  However, her new friend Scott's father isn't comfortable with this.  My intention is that he views her as predatory, that her years outweigh her maturity and that ultimately, he views it as paedophilia.  I wondered if this might be a bit extreme so thought I'd pose it here if anyone has thoughts either way.  To me, it seemed an interesting way to introduce further intolerance, as the prejudiced father would think he has reason on his side.

 

Sounds legit.  We had a convo early on in this thread about being carded in bars, and how different species might require different age limits (ie Salarians get in at an earlier age, since they have shorter lifespan, thus "age quicker").

[Fatiguesdualism]

Hmm.  An interesting predicament, I think.  I have a bit of alien hate pop up occasionally within the fleet, old wounds festering and all that.  Now, Sha'li (OC asari, Williams' adopted daughter, around 38 years which I've taken to be around mid teens), is hanging out with some other service kids.  However, her new friend Scott's father isn't comfortable with this.  My intention is that he views her as predatory, that her years outweigh her maturity and that ultimately, he views it as paedophilia.  I wondered if this might be a bit extreme so thought I'd pose it here if anyone has thoughts either way.  To me, it seemed an interesting way to introduce further intolerance, as the prejudiced father would think he has reason on his side.

 

You mean he hasn't?    

 

I would say it seems a legitimate concern (especially considering how 'Safe' things have to be now-a-days)    

[Seracen]

I posit that the father's concern could also arise from xenophobia rather than ageism, unless Scott was really really young.  Not necessarily carte-blanche xenophobia, just apprehension about certain social constructs.

 

I suppose how one views such relationships would depend entirely on the individual's view and circumstance, which isn't different from anybody really.  If you want a really uncomfortable analog, a 15-yr old dating a 20-yr old sounds really freaking creepy, but a 30 and 40 year old together isn't nearly so bad.  As humans, we have perspective into how screwed up the 1st relationship is (regardless of age/gender).  However, an immature asari might not see the difference.  Indeed, they might even argue that the 2nd relationship is the less healthy one.  Although I might add that a person in the Middle Ages might also agree with the asari, considering how long people lived back in those days.  Brr...still freaky to consider.  I know if it were my family, and a 100-yr old alien was with them, they'd damn well better be done with undergrad at least!

 

Back to social constructs:  a race as long-lived as the asari might come across as extremely callous in regards to certain relationships.  Remember how Erebe, the "Blue Rose of Illium," described potential paramours?  Basically it boiled down to you have relations with a short lived species, and outlive them, remove your tattoos, and then enter the Matron stage.  Again, she saw it more as a passing fling.  It's as if she was saying that she didn't mind "wasting a few years" with a relationship she didn't care about.  However, the reason she was having second thoughts was b/c krogans live nearly as long as asari, therefore making the "passing fling" scenario problematic.

 

But then you have the other approach, where Liara was saying how spiritual and personal each romance could be, how she would always carry her lovers with her (for all that Shepard would have been her first).  Compound with that the sheer rage and determination Liara felt when Shepard "died" in ME2.  Then again, I don't know whether Liara's values were adjusted by the writers to appeal to the audience (therefore deviating from asari norm), affected by how young she was (therefore adopting a more human perspective), or simply one facet of a multitude of viewpoints (like how there are different Justicar Codes).

 

Conversely, I imagine the salarian viewpoint would be more in line with Middle Ages humanity...you are basically an old-maid if you haven't married and had kids by your late teens, seeing as how you are dead when you hit 40's.  And krogan...I imagine krogan are all about reproducing however they can once they "Pass the Rite," considering the fertility issues that the Genophage created.  Indeed, that would be a case where a side-effect of the wars irrevocably change the social constructs of an entire species!

 

Bah, I ramble again...I should have been an anthropology major...

[MrStoob]

Indeed Seracen, part of the point, and to tie in other elements of the general 'intolerance' in the fleet, is that the father is indeed xenophobic.  His concerns lie more with his prejudices than his opinion on social norms.  It's something I laid the seeds for quite some time ago, and now Ashley is back in the fleet (an apt character to have to deal with this I think) it's time to 'pay out', as t'were.  In an added twist, the 'old enemy' I mentioned a few posts back is a preacher at a Christian church, using the pulpit to spread intolerance and to question the idea of a 'galactic social experiment' that will end in 'Rivers of Blood'.  Yea, yea, the rhetoric went a bit Enoch.  

 

It's funny with the whole 'maiden stage' thing.  Aethyta obviously has her ideas about young asari wasting their early years on frivolous activities and Liara would probably agree.  So I did do this little snippet in a conversation with Liara, Samara and not-Miranda, just to balance the books, so to speak.

 

...

 

*Samara has been speaking about her early life*

 

"So this dancing you were talking about, Sam..." Miranda begins.

"Oh I think Liara is the one to speak to about dancing." Samara grins.

"Thanks, 'Sam'." Liara replies, "I wasn't even doing the stupid maiden wanton abandon thing!"

"Stupid? A little harsh." Samara pouts.

"You know what I mean, Samara. Dad was certainly right about that."

"What?"

"That too many asari waste their maiden days dancing and joining merc groups, living the high life, getting themselves into trouble, when there's so much still to be done in the galaxy."

"Not all are as fortunate as you, Liara."

"What do you mean?"

"The maiden years of filled with unrest, hence why so many live chaotic lifestyles."

"So?"

"And what were you doing in the first days of your maiden stage, hmm, Liara?"

"Hm."

"Death, destruction, intrigue, strange new worlds, strange new species. Mating with strange new species..." she says knowingly.

"Samara!"

"What part is to be ashamed of?" Samara says, "Little more excitement could have been found anywhere in the galaxy for a young maiden."

"Hm... I'd never really thought of it like that. It was exciting though." Liara admits naughtily, then a little more coyly, "All of it."

[MrStoob]

Oh... and hindsight is a wonderful thing.  I always assume that no-one from the thread is reading my fics, I know you're all working on your own works and have a ton of other reading to do, and life, the universe and everything, so that's no prob of course.  BUT... if anyone is reading them, sorry I keep spoilering them here lol.  I should use spoiler warnings more, just in case...