AEGIX_DRAKAN'S PROFILE

Oh man, the theme and images I got line up PERFECTLY with literally the exact kind of game I'm in the mood to work on.

Hype time.

author=Dyhalto
How did it go from 29 nominees to him?

Because the Powers That Be realized "shit. If we don't all immediately group up on a single candidate, Bernie has a semi-good chance of outright winning, and is almost guaranteed to take us to a contested convention, where we might see people angrily riot if we steal it from him. And if Bernie wins, that's the end of our gravy train! We need to consolidate ALL our power into ONE candidate, and Biden DID to the best in the previous state sooo..."

Then the day before Super Tuesday, everyone but Warren dropped out in one shot and backed him, giving him a MASSIVE boost. And Warren staying in siphoned some votes away from Sanders.

And the final nail in the coffin was the pandemic. Because not only was the party pushing for the primaries to be held without delays despite the risk to people's lives, but was pushing for them to be in person, thus putting people at risk. And local judges were out there going "YES, we will say you're not allowed to delay at all, you have to hold them now!".

So...Given that Bernie's chances of snagging a win were now quite low, and various groups were basically threatening to shoot the hostages (and by all accounts, several people died in the state they forced the primary to happen in as a result)...Well, it makes sense why he dropped out. No point having blood on your hands when you have no real shot at winning. :s

author=Dyhalto
Anyway, expect to be really voting for Hillary Clinton.
Again.

I understand that I can only say this as a Canadian who is considerably less impacted by all this...

But my god, if the month before the election they were like "SURPRIIIISE! Biden's been committed to an institution and we're replacing him with Hillary!" I will legit, no lie, roll on the floor laughing madly at the absurdity of the insane clown dystopia that the US has become.

Because that's when it goes from "My god, it's a depressing, deadly, corrupt dystopia" to full on ABSURD. It didn't work last time, she's massively unpopular (to an actual shocking degree. She's quite awful, but not as bad as some of the hate she gets) so why the heck would they think it would work this time?!

IMPORTANT EDIT: I feel like I need to clarify.

I wouldn't be laughing because it would be funny.

I'd be laughing because that's my psyche's natural defense mechanism when I'm in pain or encounter something incomprehensibly bad.

Have to get an IV inserted 3 times because it keeps failing? I laugh madly.

I'm stuck on a coding problem and it's been 3 hours and I'm right back to my starting point, only now my code looks like a tornado just hit? I laugh madly.

I see political parties do the dumbest possible move imaginable, thinking it's the best move, but really it'll just doom the world to 4 more years of a megalomaniac manchild? I laugh madly.

Because what else can I do to cope?

Just....Just finished it.

what. a. ride.

Expect a glowing review (and a PM with final questions) hopefully in not too much time. I am sincerely sorry you had to wait at all. Because oh...my....god, everyone who has the emotional fortitude to handle a story this dark NEEDS to experience it.

As someone who loves making boss fights...

I can't actually give you hard numbers or formulas here. Boss battles require a lot, and I do mean a LOT of testing and tweaking and forethought.

In fact, by focusing on raw stats before things like Status Effects or other "gimmicks" might lead to a less interesting boss fight.

While it's true you can make boss fights that are just beefier normal monsters, I find it's much more interesting to make the boss fight be more strategic, kind of like a puzzle you solve via battle by having the correct counter-strategy.

I'd advise you to think of what kind of attacks or strategies the boss will use. What status effects it will use, what kinds of attacks (double hits, party-wide hits, super powerful hits, magic, statuses) and on what intervals you'd like the boss to use them, to hit the player hard but give them the breathing room they need to plan around it.

After that, just come up with a decent estimate for stats, then test, test, test. As long as your boss is threatening enough to the player that a prolonged fight is difficult, and as long as they have enough HP and defense that fights take long enough for long term strategy to be important (but no so long they get boring), you're going to have an excellent boss on your hands.

The boss stats are secondary, for me. What weapons the boss will use on you, and what tools your player has to combat those strategies is far more important, in my eyes.

How'd I miss this thread?

I'm doing ok. Working from home, bought enough groceries on Monday to last me at least another 4 weeks without setting foot outside, I'm gonna be alright.

Also, in a shocking twist, the Quebec government actually has its head on straight about this crisis. I never would have expected it of the people we have running this province right now.

author=Addit
Canada’s trying to approve an 82 Billion Dollar relief plan right now (which is INSANE for this country) and just how are they planning to pay off that when CoVid19 either gets cured or slows down immensely in the future, raising taxes???

We'll figure that out. As Dyhalto said, currency these days is pretty freeform. I'm not suuuper worried. (Also a modest tax increase on large businesses, maybe with an exception if you hire a lot of permanent people would do it)

author=Dyhalto
I'm more worried about the precedent of mass shutdowns, quarantines, and bailouts every time there's a "crisis". The coronavirus is a big deal, no doubt, but we have breakouts every year or two, and epidemics roughly every ten. If the relief packages prove a little too lucrative, will this become a going concern in years to come?
Probably not, but this is the stuff I think about at night.

Considering the damage this did to the world economy, I'm not worried about these measures becoming commonplace. And hopefully we'll be better prepared next time so such wild measures aren't needed.