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Trivializing the SoulKeys boss:

09/16/2011 09:31 PM

After getting 2/2/2, I go for 4 in one stance before moving on to the next. As such, I will not have access to silence until level 11. I don't know what builds other people use, but I suspect people who read your blogs will do the same since you don't get any new ability at 3. Those who do get silence then have to actually use it, something that's far from granted since we're used at status effects being ignorable. I don't think it's strange nobody complained.

Aetherion

09/14/2011 04:46 AM

I finished the game. It was short, but good. I'll try an insane mode run next.

Edit: Finished it. It was way easier than I expected, although I may have been over leveled. Level 16 gives you some abilities which completely wrecks the last boss.

Difficulty

09/14/2011 02:36 AM

author=slashphoenix
I also think there's overlap between Complexity and Problem-Solving, seeing that problem-solving is created by the amount of complexity within the game's mechanics. Chess is more complex than checkers because all of the pieces have different abilities, and using them all together properly along with analyzing your opponents' position requires problem-solving.

I would say that the problem solving is created by (or influenced by) the complexity, but I would not say it has to be within the game's mechanics specifically. You toke Chess and Checkers as an example, but try Chess and Go instead. All pieces in Go has the same ability, but Go is still considered more complex by various ways to calculate game complexity and it's harder to program an AI that plays Go well than one which plays chess well.

Now, Chess is played on an 8x8 grid while Go is played on a 19x19 grid. Having a bigger grid means more available moves which is what makes it even possible for Go to be more complex than Chess. Just the same, a game with simpler mechanics can in theory archive greater complexity by giving the player more available moves per turn, for example by having a bigger skill set.

In practice, only a fraction of the available moves will be considered. Sometimes the situation eliminates moves, such as healing not being even considered if everyone is healthy. Sometimes moves are permanently eliminated like Fira obsoleting Fire and enemies you'd actually want to use status moves on being immune against status effects. So, only complexity that's actually relevant ends up actually contributing to problem solving. I don't think a complex game mechanic really helps that much in this regard.

Commemoration 9/11

09/12/2011 11:27 AM

author=Feldschlacht IV
It would be ridiculous to claim that 9/11 didn't change the world. An international vigilance against terrorism, a multinational coalition and presence in the Middle East, paranoia about being attacked, and the aftermath of the event, as you said, quite literally stamped an impression on society for everyone, overnight, in the civilized world to this day.

I mean are you kidding me?

Sure, it changed things. Heck, there are a lot of events which has a worldwide effect. However, most of us don't notice it as much.

Most of what I've seen looks far to familiar. A problem emerges and instead of trying to solve it, they run their own politics. A war is started that doesn't help the problems it was supposed to help. People decide that a problem can be simplified to match a simple solution such as "let's take them out in one swoop" or "bomb the shit" or whatever. Paranoia.

There has been changes, but it's very familiar and doesn't live up to the hype it got back then. Still, I did make a clumsy statement.

Edit: To clarify, I did not buy into the hype because those who claimed the world will never be the same suggested changes that I knew wouldn't happen and also didn't happen. Instead, what did change was typically things that people claimed would not happen.

Commemoration 9/11

09/11/2011 10:19 PM

I just happened to watch the news that day and got to see it as they aired it. It was horrifying to watch, but I did not buy into the "the world will never be the same" hype.

It doesn't mean very much to me. I care far more about the aftermath of 9/11 than the event itself.

RMXP stats

09/10/2011 10:21 PM

The INT-F value of a skill determines how useful INT is in determining damage or healing. INT-F percent of the actor's INT is used to compute damage, so if you set it to just 1, only 1% of the actors INT will be used.

Generally, you should set INT-F to 100 for offensive spells and 0 for skills that aren't offensive- or healing spells. For healing spells, try 100 or 50, whatever gives the best result.

Deus Ex 3 + Edumacation = Huge Distraction

09/10/2011 08:58 AM

1. My goals when I last played worked like this: Headbutt -> Rend -> 2/2/2 -> Lacerate -> 4/4/4. I finished the demo at level 7, so I didn't actually reach the last two goals. I do not really think in terms of **** build.

2. Most abilities so far does see use. The enemies are diverse enough to warrant changing up the tactics, so good job here. As for spells, the most common one is the healing one. Blindness also saw some use as did Regen on the currently last boss. I can't recall using any other spell. As for Finishers, TriDrill saw the most use by being available early and having a strong effect.

In general, I didn't find finishers that great. Often I used the abilities I found the most useful and let Marcus use whatever finisher those abilities leads to. Other times, I ignored the finishers entirely. As a rule of thumb, the stronger the enemies are, the less likely I am to use finishers.

3. No and no.