SteamHammer Posted October 8, 2012 Report Share Posted October 8, 2012 If it's a game you can pause at any time then yes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mako Posted October 8, 2012 Report Share Posted October 8, 2012 Probably wise to avoid long cutscenes too I imagine! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mister Shine Posted October 8, 2012 Report Share Posted October 8, 2012 Borderlands 2 all day every day Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteamHammer Posted October 8, 2012 Report Share Posted October 8, 2012 I'm slowly getting through that although just like borderlands 1 I never see an orange or pearlite weapon. Stupid multiplayer bias. #grumble# Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mister Shine Posted October 8, 2012 Report Share Posted October 8, 2012 Theyre just.... really rare in BL2. I only have seen 6 on my playthrough 2 character >_> plus side, rarity isnt directly tied to goodness anymore! I love my white tediore launcher. Oh tediore, went from my most hated company to my favourite Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteamHammer Posted October 8, 2012 Report Share Posted October 8, 2012 I do love throwing the guns on reload. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mister Shine Posted October 8, 2012 Report Share Posted October 8, 2012 I usually have a tediore (gun im not using) so i can just chuck the ammo directly into bandits' faces Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dustcrusher Posted October 8, 2012 Report Share Posted October 8, 2012 Can't access that file, kinda curious now... Fantasy game? Still block regiments? Odd, it worked for me. Try Googling "Hordes of the Things download" and it should come up. HotT has scaling for 25/28mm too. Yep, fantasy game with simple block units based 2-4 on a 25x50 base, or on 50x50 for monstrous creatures, cavalry, chariots, etc. Since people play Hordes of the Things already, I went with 40mm width bases because that seems to be the standard. As long as both players are based the same frontage it's all good. MA has some nice perks besides playing fast. It's cheap to get into- $30 for a full army, rules are $12 plus shipping hardback or $10 PDF. It only needs 2 square feet of playing surface- much easier for playing at home. Additional units are not needed to play at tournament level- the starters are all the same points cost in-game, too. Extra units just add more options or allow you to play bigger games. I don't know if it's feasible, but I'd love to see the Malifaux starters balanced against each other points-wise out of the box when they redo the metal ones. Wouldn't it be great if every starter was guaranteed playable at 25 stones? The only thing that bothers me about this is that I've noticed how much I'm enjoying these simpler games- I spend less time learning the rules and more time on getting good at them. ---------- Post added at 12:01 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:58 AM ---------- Also, I apologize for sounding shill-y when I talk about games I like. I am so used to having to pitch them to get people to try it that it's second nature now :-/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edonil Posted October 8, 2012 Report Share Posted October 8, 2012 Odd, it worked for me. Try Googling "Hordes of the Things download" and it should come up. HotT has scaling for 25/28mm too. Yep, fantasy game with simple block units based 2-4 on a 25x50 base, or on 50x50 for monstrous creatures, cavalry, chariots, etc. Since people play Hordes of the Things already, I went with 40mm width bases because that seems to be the standard. As long as both players are based the same frontage it's all good. MA has some nice perks besides playing fast. It's cheap to get into- $30 for a full army, rules are $12 plus shipping hardback or $10 PDF. It only needs 2 square feet of playing surface- much easier for playing at home. Additional units are not needed to play at tournament level- the starters are all the same points cost in-game, too. Extra units just add more options or allow you to play bigger games. I don't know if it's feasible, but I'd love to see the Malifaux starters balanced against each other points-wise out of the box when they redo the metal ones. Wouldn't it be great if every starter was guaranteed playable at 25 stones? The only thing that bothers me about this is that I've noticed how much I'm enjoying these simpler games- I spend less time learning the rules and more time on getting good at them. ---------- Post added at 12:01 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:58 AM ---------- Also, I apologize for sounding shill-y when I talk about games I like. I am so used to having to pitch them to get people to try it that it's second nature now :-/ Eh, no worries. Does sound interesting, though. My only problem is that I don't like block regiments...gotten too used to modern tactics over the years. Hey everyone, how goes? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mako Posted October 8, 2012 Report Share Posted October 8, 2012 S'ok Dust, i get that feeling every time i mention DzC. But then in some ways I am a shill for them! I'm with Ed though, block infantry drive me mad. Only for the painting aspect, but still... Afternoon Ed, it's not too bad here, working on the third section of HD. What you been up to? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edonil Posted October 8, 2012 Report Share Posted October 8, 2012 Sleeping, lol. Got a decent amount, if not a ton. Working on homework now, trying to figure out what to eat cause I'm hungry. ---------- Post added at 03:01 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:38 PM ---------- So, realizing why a whole bunch of novel advice guides don't help me...at all. Apparently a serious bit of advice is 'Have your villain pull out her high school yearbook. Write some of the notes she finds in it.' ...High school yearbook? Really? This is what people do? I just...I don't understand that kind of writing prompt at all. I need to see if someone bothered to do these kinds of resources for fantasy writing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mako Posted October 8, 2012 Report Share Posted October 8, 2012 Sleep is good. Hmm, what to eat, the eternal conundrum. You could try the old standby plan of grab random stuff from the cupboards and throw it at a pan, whatever goes in, you cook! ---------- Post added at 08:03 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:02 PM ---------- That is possibly the crappest advice I've ever seen! How does that do anything except give you a whiny confused angsty creature!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edonil Posted October 8, 2012 Report Share Posted October 8, 2012 Exactly! But a whole bunch of advice is like that, like they expect everyone is writing modern setting stuff, and is only doing teenage dramas and mystery... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mister Shine Posted October 8, 2012 Report Share Posted October 8, 2012 Have your villain use one of your protagonist's key moral points to forcethem into a situation where they have to break their OTHER key moral point. Taunt them during this. Alternately, give your villain an opinion that is not wrong, just contrary to the protagonist's. The best villains are just heroes on the other side Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edonil Posted October 8, 2012 Report Share Posted October 8, 2012 Villains are a topic I've been thinking about a lot lately. It's an interesting situation, trying to write good ones. Watching Gargoyles lately, and Xanatos is becoming a fascinating villain, although I'm not sure I could write an analog for him. But yeah, complex villains are a lot of fun. Motivation is a real important thing, but part of the problem that I keep seeing is that they're just given crappy motivations. Like the villain from the one Bond movie, where his whole reason to start a world war is higher ratings for his media empire. The thing that I'm trying to figure out is if an absolute monster can be just as compelling as one who truly believes they're the hero. Kimblee, if you know FMA, is a good example of it. Hm. Random poll- what do people look for in a good villain? What makes one seem compelling and interesting to you? And what do you dislike? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mister Shine Posted October 8, 2012 Report Share Posted October 8, 2012 Dislikes you've already hit on, I hate contrived villains. "Im doing this to be more villainous". Good villains can be buttholes but in THEIR eyes their actions are justified. If you're sadistic, killing a town for a couple million dollars is worth it, because you dont care about people. Good Villain. Calculating out per person how much a town's value is in dollars then destroying it for that amount? Great Villain. Pointing out how the hero killed a village of people in nam and on a soldier's pay he was doing it for pennies a person and YOU'RE doing it for no less than 10,000 per person so you are a much better person? Best Villain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mako Posted October 8, 2012 Report Share Posted October 8, 2012 I thin the best villain I've seen lately is Loki in the Thor and avengers movies. He's start raving bonkers, but there's a logic and a genius to his behaviour that's irresistible. And his monumental ego just makes it even more epic. A man who will kill you to achieve something, but leave you alive to know he beat you if he's trying to prove a point. Not an ideal character for every case tho ---------- Post added at 09:26 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:23 PM ---------- Also, for the money is a really contrived reason. Unless its a soldier, who happens to be brutal and ruthless, money is such a dull standard motivation. Makes me sigh every time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mister Shine Posted October 8, 2012 Report Share Posted October 8, 2012 Throw a curve ball then. WHen the protagonist is yeling why would you do all this for money, have the villain show off his plan for world peace that requires having the right people in the right political places at a cost of $Texas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FearLord Posted October 8, 2012 Report Share Posted October 8, 2012 Exactly! But a whole bunch of advice is like that, like they expect everyone is writing modern setting stuff, and is only doing teenage dramas and mystery... I think you may be taking it too literally - whilst a "High School Year book" is very American concept and not something I would use, the purpose is to know more about your character than makes it into the novel. The best characters are not just well described, with realistic motivations and goals, but they are consistent. Knowing how your character would react in a given situation (even an situation that is totally at odds with the setting of your novel) is an extremely useful tool for giving them a consistent point of view. The year book thing is not literally about your character having a high school year book and reliving their teenage angst (although it could be) - the purpose is to hone your mind in on some key questions: -What were they like when they were younger? -Who were the people that shaped them during their formative years? -How were they viewed by others? How did they view others? -What sort of upbringing did they have? The point of putting it into a hokey format like the year book thing is to free your mind from answering a list of questions - it allows your character to react more organically rather than just a shopping list of questions about them. It may not be directly relevant to the novel (for example, you character's favourite cheese is unlikely to come up in the plot), but knowing more information than you tell the reader is extremely useful in creating a well rounded and believable character, who reacts in a consistent way, like a normal person would... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mako Posted October 8, 2012 Report Share Posted October 8, 2012 The long project I keep making very little progress on (despite Sophie's repeated hints and suggestions) has several protagonists, several antagonists, some of which are the same person, and none of which are particularly heroic. They're deluded, hypocritical, sociopathic, guilt ridden, and several other things, and not in the obvious order. Really, it's more about people being vicious or pleasant to each other for their own personal reasons that may or may not make any sense to anyone else ---------- Post added at 09:53 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:50 PM ---------- If your characters are your subconscious, what does that say about me? Fearlord, I see where you're going with that, but I've met a fair few people that are nothing like their high school selves, for various reasons. Including in one case a psychotic break, but that's a fairly exceptional case I admit! I'm just not sure how much use it would be, for some characters it would work but for a fair few of mine their younger lives are far overshadowed. Although I guess if you expand it to be a kind of psyche eval sheet, it works well enough. Hell of a corny way to say it though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FearLord Posted October 8, 2012 Report Share Posted October 8, 2012 (edited) Fearlord, I see where you're going with that, but I've met a fair few people that are nothing like their high school selves, for various reasons. Including in one case a psychotic break, but that's a fairly exceptional case I admit! I'm just not sure how much use it would be, for some characters it would work but for a fair few of mine their younger lives are far overshadowed. Although I guess if you expand it to be a kind of psyche eval sheet, it works well enough. Hell of a corny way to say it though! Its a single tool in a writers tool box and it certainly doesn't work for everyone and it is far from the only method people use. I would not use it in isolation to tell me everything I need to know about a character, but it is a snap shot into what makes them tick. Real people are all a product of our experiences - that also goes for people that are nothing like they were in high school - why aren't they like that any more? Some experiences reinforce who you are, some change you. Sometimes that change is in school, sometimes its meeting the love of your life in your twenties, sometimes its the brutal murder of your parents when you're 5... The point is just to hone in on the experiences of your character - how did they get to where they are now? This is especially important of villains, who readers are often asked to believe will do terrible things, things that most people would consider to be unacceptable from both the point of view of society and their own moral compass. What events would shape someone in this way? There are common 'themes' that are to an extent, overused, but only because they work well: - Money (or greed of some kind) - a strong motivation for many to be sure, but there is a limit to the extent that we can believe a person will go to for money - they still have to live with themselves. - Psycho - derranged to the point of not considering themselves bound by society or morals - no limits, but much harder for a reader to empathise with them. - Fanatic - belief in something greater than them self I'd say that most villains combine these elements to some degree, but the best do it in a way that is believable and a big part of that is being able to understand what has got them to this point. In my opinion, one of my favourite villains has got to be Magneto from the X-Men. When he's written well, he makes compelling arguments and the reader is often left wondering if he isn't actually right... But yeah, the year book thing is a bit corney... It is best just to think of it as a tool to learn more about your character - you could also ask stupid questions like "What job would this character have if he worked at a circus" or "What kind of animal / boat / plant would he be?" - they don't have to have any bearing on the novel itself, just inform the way you view the character... Edited October 8, 2012 by FearLord Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mako Posted October 8, 2012 Report Share Posted October 8, 2012 Ah, I forgot about Magneto, possibly some of the best villain writing ever perhaps. He's even hard to call a villain at times, he's that well written! Yeah, I think the corniness kind of made my brain rebel. Looking at it as a psychological assessment does a similar thing but without the cringeworthy bit! tend to try and establish the characters mental state first, then if i want them to do something i have to put them into a situation where that's how they'd react. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edonil Posted October 8, 2012 Report Share Posted October 8, 2012 Fair enough, Fearlord, that's definitely another way of looking at it that isn't so bad. I guess I don't tend to think of my characters that way, honestly. I find the bits of motivation for their lives and stick to them, and figure out a few other aspects of the personality, but I'm very much an organic writer, so my understanding of the character grows the more I write them. Magneto is definitely a good example of a well done villain, I will admit. And Loki in Thor was a great villain! I actually found him to be the most sympathetic character in the movie. Definitely goes further off the deep end in Avengers though. Shine, that's actually some pretty neat ideas that I hadn't ever thought of. Would make for one hell of a bastard villain, though, lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mako Posted October 8, 2012 Report Share Posted October 8, 2012 Yah, I liked the way he got even more nuts as he went along, lost his privileged life and was given a chance to get revenge, power and generally be an ass to Thor. His grasp of reality was slipping somewhat by the end! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edonil Posted October 8, 2012 Report Share Posted October 8, 2012 Yeah, just a little bit. Although, I personally liked Red Skull better out of the lead in villains. They did a good job with him, especially with him following the Evil Overlord list! Favorite moment of the movie was him going 'I'm sure you could do this all day, but I am on a tight schedule,' and pulling out his gun to shoot Cap. I cheered for that, lol. Shooting is not too good for an enemy of an evil overlord. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts