Oops, got sidetracked by various stuff again.
*deep breath* this is totes off-subject, but I just need to rant a little...
I can't remember if I mentioned that I got Alien: Isolation from my little sisters for Christmas, but I did. and I have to say that whoever developed this game did a lot of things very well. it builds tension extremely well. from the music to the sounds to the environments, after a half hour of playing, I'm jumping at every little thing and scrambling to find cover every time one of the automatic doors opens as I pass. I like the main character, the acting is mostly good, and the alien is unscripted and cray smart. it learns what you do and doesn't fall for the same tricks over and over, forcing you to mix things up. these are all positives in my book. *another deep breath* however, there is one major major downside to the game.
manual save points.
this is a horrible, horrible idea. you can't pause and save from the menu, it doesn't autosave whenever you accomplish a major task, you have to access machines on the wall to save your game. why is this a problem, you ask? because I've had the game since Christmas. I play it fairly regularly. and I have been stuck on mission five for two freaking months! two months! that's insane!
That's incredibly frustrating. I'm not that good at playing games anyway, so I rage-quit if I have to go through an entire mission over and over and over, finally almost reach the last step, and have to start over again. If they're not going to add autosave points, then they should add a manual save feature. It's not like that would take an option away from players who actually want to try running through the game without saving, and it'd make the game a lot less frustrating. Glad you finally got past that mission, but being stuck on it for two months is definitely a mark against the game's developers. A game should be enjoyable, not something that makes your blood pressure skyrocket.
As for the game itself, I was kind of interested in it until I saw some gameplay footage. I understand why they made the tech look like the 1979 movie, but I've never been able to get into "retro" stuff. I mean, if people are still using monochrome CRT screens and cassette tapes in 2137 or whenever, then something has gone horribly wrong. 
EDIT: ooh...on the subject of bothersome game checkpoints...
One of my friends had to bring over her game save for Mass Effect 3, so I could get her past the final battle sequence before hitting the relay beam at the end. She'd somehow managed to remain spoiler free all that time. It was both refreshing and distressing to see her reactions to the ending.
We went through original, then extended cut (and the multiple main endings for each). Then we spent an hour looking at fan created endings. At the finish of our run, she turns to me and says: "well, no wonder you wrote your own!"
LOL! Good times...
That must've been quite a conversation. First time I played that game, I couldn't even bring myself to try out all three "endings." Just couldn't subject myself to it again. However, having played it a few months back with the MEHEM and Citadel Epilogue mods, I can say it's a huge improvement. I still think the entire first section, with the Reapers invading, was a complete misfire, and there are bits throughout the game that were just bad, but those mods gave the game replay value. I can play it without the sheer dread at what's waiting at the end. I still don't consider it the real ending, though. 
But the mods might be an option for her if she wants to actually enjoy the game.
On a random note...I am utterly bamboozled by one of my recent reviewers. I don't know whether they are being arrogant/ignorant, or if they just speak in a manner that I occasionally find abrasive. I don't think I've ever been so passive-aggressive in my replies before, but I have to strike SOME balance between "hey, that isn't cool" and "thanks for the feedback."
I'd say more, but I'd start rambling. Also, I am unsure if they'd try to find me on this board just to badger me into responding to their reviews, it's that kind of situation. Who the heck replies to a comment you made FOR ANOTHER PERSON'S WORK, all to get you to reply to their review that they left ON ANOTHER WEBSITE?!
Admittedly, I've added to the situation by engaging in such a protracted conversation, but I don't want to be rude either. I also have to be wary of it leaking into my mood when replying to other reviewers. At this point, I just find it odd. Endearing, in a way, and perturbing in others, but just...odd. I daresay, if I weren't a dude and over 6 ft tall, I might also feel more threatened, but it takes a lot to push me into panic.
It's a shame when someone thinks it's okay to try something like that. I hope it's blown over by now.
I don't recall having anything like that happen with a reviewer before, though I do occasionally get a comment that just confuses me, as I think I've mentioned before. The latest one is a quick comment someone on AO3 left on one of my TFP fics: "Dear God! All-Spark!" I just sat there and wondered what the hell it even meant. Haven't replied to it yet for that reason. I just have no idea what to even say to it.
ohhhhh.... I am suddenly feeling a little disappointed in game companies!
so... I was just looking at the available DLC for my Alien: Isolation game. there are already a handful of DLC add-ons out there, mostly for Survival Mode, and each one costs about $8. there's also a season pass for $20. now in the past when I got a season's pass for a game (I only ever got one season pass before), it meant I was able to download all of the DLC for that game free (and got early access to them) which was an awesome deal. so I was about to just buy the season pass. then (thank god!) I read the details: 25% off all of the current and future DLC released for the game.
so.... there are four major DLCs so far, and I can get $2 off of each one, for a total of $8... and it only costs me $20 to take advantage of this amazing deal! *stares* seriously? just the idea makes me want to find someone that works for the company and kick them in the junk. unless they plan on releasing another 6 DLCs at the same price, you won't even save the amount spent on the pass!
on a whim, I went and looked at Assassin's Creed 4, which I got for free with my XB1 but haven't played yet. and found yet another season pass that offers a discount on DLC, but not enough total savings on DLC to cover the cost of the pass! this is getting awfully shady. *frowns* I will officially never, ever buy a season pass again unless the season pass comes free with my game purchase (and thus all the savings are cost-free), allows the free download of all future content, or it at least provides enough of a discount to cover the cost of the pass itself plus a minimum of 10%!
I am now seriously annoyed with both game companies. seriously. this borders on theft! I certainly don't see how it could be described as anything less than a scam...
Ugh. 
I've only bought a season pass once, with Saints Row IV, and got a pretty good value from it. But if this is a thing the companies are doing now, then I won't buy another one. I'll just wait for the DLC to go on sale super cheap on Steam, if they're ones I'm interested in. That's just a huge ripoff.
Yeah, the "Season Pass" hasn't been a good value for a long time. I got screwed on my fighting games. It's appalling that I could buy the damn thing at launch WITH THE FULL PRICED GAME, and still not get all the content. YET: someone who simply waited 6 months gets everything for $40. Disgusting, and indicative of why DLC practices are so reviled, and so many companies are suffering financially (in the long run). Personally, I've boycotted buying anything from specific vendors (or whenever I see such practices), barring used or deep discount. Rarely do I buy anything at launch anymore. Incidentally, from what I understand of the Alien: Isolation DLC, very little of it is worthwhile, unless you are a big fan of the multiplayer.
In other news, I had a long drive again tonight. So I decided to play some music while driving, and work on one of the present stories in my head. I just got finished putting my brainstorm to word processor a few minutes ago! This is the most significant amount of work I've done on my story for months. I daresay the hardest and most "boring" part is over with (for me anyway, it ranks up there)! Now if I can only stop being lazy and get to chipping away at those chapters, haha!
What really bugs me, in particular, is when essential content is taken out of the game and sold as separate DLC ... Javik, for instance. It'd be another thing entirely if the game is complete and then sometime later optional DLC is released with a low enough price tag. "Okay, this looks like fun, I'll spend three or four dollars on this." When I started looking at the DLC for Saints Row: The Third, I did pick up a few of the spendier ones, but those were worth it, for me at least. They added to my enjoyment of the game immensely, and I had enough fun with it to keep playing the game over and over for two or three years, and every now and then I load it up and do another playthrough. But when they carve out parts of the main game to screw us out of more money, or put out DLC that doesn't add anything to the experience or is an outright disappointment ... then they must not want my money very badly. And they're certainly not getting any of it.
I've only pre-ordered three games. ME2, which I loved so much I kept playing it for two or three years. ME3, which ... yeah, you already know how that turned out. And Saints Row IV, which I was completely happy with and was another one I kept playing over and over because it was so much fun. But I tend not to pre-order games unless I'm absolutely certain it'll be worth it ... and even then, I could still get burned. If there's another Saints Row game someday, I'll probably pre-order it unless I'm still trying to get by on $5/hour, then it'll have to wait until Steam does one of its 90%-off sales. But ME4 ... no pre-order -- no order at all, in fact, because I just couldn't care less. If I find out from actual players that it's a genuinely good game, I'll still wait until it's in the bargain bin before I fork over any money.
Right now, the only game I would've pre-ordered if I had the money for it, is the PC version of GTA V. And then I would've gotten really antsy because the release date keeps getting pushed back. First it was at the end of January, then sometime in February, then March, and now it's sometime in April. From everything I've seen, it's an amazing game, but after expecting it to be released in January and then having to wait until April, and then not being at all sure if the release will be delayed again, I probably would've wanted my money back. I'm still planning to buy it, but again, given my income, and unless something changes drastically, I might have to wait a few more months for it to go on sale.
Speaking of games ... particularly bad ones ... a few days ago I discovered something truly glorious. On YouTube I found a Let's Play of Ride to Hell: Retribution. I didn't even know this game existed until a few days ago, but from what I've seen ... I just have no words. The Let's Play is one of the funniest things I've ever seen, and the game is so bad, so completely broken, so poorly written and poorly acted, it really is "so bad it's good." I'm dying to play it, now. It's like the video game equivalent of Plan 9 from Outer Space. If I can ever get my hands on a copy, I'll probably record my first playthrough and lay down a commentary track over it ... which will probably consist mostly of me laughing my ass off mixed with comments like, "Wait -- what the **** just happened? Why did that tree explode?!" It would just be beautiful. 
And finally, I've gotten some good news on the publishing front. My novel that was accepted two years ago has finally been assigned an editor. I'm hoping it's not too much longer before they email me the requested edits so I can move on to the next stage.
Game Over, which I've mentioned before, has gone live on a bunch of different sites -- Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, Google Books, and iBooks. The rough draft was given the 2015 Editor's Choice Award on Textnovel back in January, so I actually have some hope that it sells.
And the anthology I've mentioned before, which includes my story featuring the scarred character I've talked about a few times, is on its way. Final edits have been done, the ebook was formatted, and advanced review copies are going out. There's even a form to fill out for people who want to read it and then post a review when it hits Amazon on March 17. I'm told already that one of the people who have signed up so far loved it and is eager to review it.
I admit I'm a little bit nervous. As mentioned before, it's a romance anthology, and I don't think my story fits in aside from having a relationship developing between the protagonist and the guy she meets early in the story. There are no hot-and-steamy sex scenes. It's more of an adventure with a lot of humor and some horror elements that come up late in the story. So what I'm wondering is, will reviewers find it a pleasant surprise and think it stands out? Or will they be disappointed because they're expecting a lot of sex and finding none?
Either way, I had a hell of a lot of fun developing this character and writing a story around her. 
I've already got ideas for expanding it into a full novel so I can add in more characters who appeared in Game Over (as this is kinda-sorta a sequel, but focuses on a new protagonist), add more character development, and cycle the POV through all the main characters instead of focusing on just one for this story. So whether or not my story is a success with the anthology's intended audience, I now have another novel waiting to be written, and it all started with that surprising and perplexing invitation I got last month.
So, anyway, if anyone wants to get hold of the review copy and then write a review on the 17th, just click the above link.
Took long enough, but things are finally coming together for me and my writing ....
Retour en haut
with no heart-warming conclusion. Not sure how I feel about that...
And I think I'll take a moment to stroke my ego by quoting said review ....
