Messages

76

General Chat / Re: NBA Thread: Season Suspended Due To Pandemic And Gobert Dumbassery

« on: April 01, 2020, 12:05:17 PM »

Having all teams in one location, with maybe a couple of venues active so that they could play an abbreviated, maybe almost college-like playoffs could be really exciting.

I hope they don't jump right in though. The play would be sloppy to start, and I'm really worried that conditioning issues would lead to injuries and/or problems. That said, any basketball would be good basketball at this point - even if filled with sloppy and lazy play.


Anyone planning to watch the 2K tournament coming up this week? My team doesn't have a representative, but it still might be interesting. Depends on how much trash talk is allowed through. It would be kind of awesome to have commentators instead of keeping the players on mic all game though.

77

NWR Mafia Games / Re: Mafia LXXXV: Metroid Dread. Dead Thread.

« on: March 31, 2020, 04:41:31 PM »

What was the first Metroid game that people played?

I remember there used to be Nintendo arcade games where you would get a set amount of time to play for each quarter, and could choose from a handful of different titles. Super Mario, Metroid, Punch-Out, etc...  It was probably one of these: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PlayChoice-10

Anyway, when I was a kid we didn't have enough money to buy the NES console, but I had tried some games when visiting friends. But seeing Nintendo games in an arcade was really intriguing - after begging for a quarter of course I'd give it a try!

Picking Metroid probably wasn't a good choice... not knowing you had to start out going left, or how to get into morph ball form meant that most of my 4 minutes was spent just jumping around. Not the best first impression, especially when stacked up to a more straight-forward Mario game!

Still, I was intrigued. Years later - just after the SNES was released - we did end up getting a Nintendo, and I had a chance to borrow and play through Metroid. Without a timing counting down while playing, I was absolutely thrilled to explore the caverns and search out hidden power ups. Finding secrets all over the game world, and even some weird and cool bugs. It took a lot of time and effort, but eventually I beat Mother Brain and escaped before the planet self-destructed.

Oddly, I never had the chance to play Super Metroid until getting it on Wii virtual console, but I was hooked on the series and eagerly played through all of the portable entries on GB/GBA. The series lost me a bit when going to 3D though; I didn't own a GameCube, and have never really gone back to it. What can I say? 2D is my life.

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NWR Mafia Games / Re: Mafia LXXXV: Metroid Dread. Dead Thread.

« on: March 31, 2020, 12:31:05 AM »

Thanks for the clarification; all sounds reasonable.

Metroid Dread... or Metroid Dead... amirite?
Oh no, it's just us that are dead. I guess the Metroid is still doing fine. Oh well.

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NWR Mafia Games / Re: Mafia LXXXV: Metroid Dread. Dead Thread.

« on: March 31, 2020, 12:20:51 AM »

By the way, what are the rules for the dead thread?  I assume we just don't say anything pertinent to the game and make jokes?

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NWR Mafia Games / Re: Mafia LXXXV: Metroid Dread. Dead Thread.

« on: March 31, 2020, 12:12:59 AM »

I figured that was going to happen.  At the very least I made this a game to remember Go Dark Samus!!!

Hahaha.. me too. (The guessing part, not making anything memorable. Your super bomb exit was a sight to behold though!)

I was moderately confident that I'd be taken out, as mentioned in PM to someone, and so it came to be.
Oh well. It was fun-ish while it lasted. 

81

General Chat / Re: Gender and Sexual Minorities: An overview and living in the world as ourselves

« on: March 31, 2020, 12:05:35 AM »

Hello in support!

I'm old and a bit ignorant about the topic, so don't know much of the terminology. I also might be slow to learn, so if I say something weird or stupid or offensive (here or elsewhere) then please call me out on it in a friendly way. I won't be offended and will hopefully learn a lesson.

That said, I think it's really good to have threads like this just so that we can all talk and try to better understand each other. Even when we don't totally understand, hopefully we can at least respect each other.


Bonus question: What pronoun do you prefer we use when talking about you?

82

General Gaming / Re: What is the last game you beat? Thoughts/impressions?

« on: March 30, 2020, 06:39:24 PM »

I remember playing the game all the way through, and feel like we probably got everything... but don't recall this roguelike part. Might have to go back and replay, because that sounds like fun. (Captain Toad in general was pretty fun and creative; I didn't find the main game to be difficult though, so it was kind of an "empty calories" experience as far as I can remember.)

It was called Mummy-Me Maze Forever.  You had to collect all the Super Gems for each level, and do all the Bonus Objectives for each level as well to unlock it.  It's this games equivalent to Perfect Run or Champions Road, but I'd say it's even harder since you can't memorize it since the block layout always changes, and you can't use a certain character or Tanooki suit to help.  It's also a lot longer then the other final levels since on average a successful run will take around 15 minutes to complete.  So if you've spent over 10 minutes and have reached the 40's then die, it's back to the first room.

I'd say about 1/3 of my total playtime on Captain Toad came from this level alone.

That does ring a bell... but maybe we didn't actually play it very much after unlocking it.
By that point, I think we were all Toaded out.

83

General Gaming / Re: What are you playing?

« on: March 30, 2020, 01:44:31 PM »

**For what it's worth, The Swindle is one of my favorite roguelikes on Wii U - but that game had serious crashing issues in later levels that made it almost unplayable.

Swindle is a great game. The port was super shoddy though, crashes, bugs, interminable slowdown. Super addictive loop. I'll put Tallowmere on the list based on that comparison, although I gotta agree it looks hideous.

The sale price right now is quite attractive; something like $1 USD? 
If you don't like it, you really aren't out much.

That said, don't give up on it too quickly. Most people who enjoy roguelikes probably don't mind dying a bunch of times and understand that's part of the learning process... but not everyone does, for sure. If I judged the game after my first 5 or 10 deaths it wouldn't have gotten so favorable an opinion.

84

General Chat / Re: The COVID-19 Virus is Coming For Us All Thread

« on: March 30, 2020, 10:31:14 AM »

Yeah I wouldn't be surprised if the reason so many of the most at risk elderly I was talking about early were acting like this virus wasn't a big deal is because of the crap they saw on Fox news.  ...

I saw one poll where they made a statistically significant correlation between watching Fox News and either downplaying or outright ignoring the COVID-19 threat... however, that poll came from a liberal-leaning source. So even though it seems like an obvious connection, and reported poll numbers seem to confirm the idea, I can't vouch for how fair the polling process actually was.

Unfortunately, reporting on just the news and relying on actual facts instead of mixing in opinions for entertainment value is a bit of a lost art.

85

General Gaming / Re: What are you playing?

« on: March 30, 2020, 09:56:14 AM »

Tallowmere (Wii U)

So this game looks pretty ugly and controls seem kind of janky when you start playing. Honestly, my first impressions aren't great. It's also got the typical roguelike feature where you will die quick and foolish deaths often when not used to the game.

However, if you stick with the game for an hour or two then things start to come together pretty nicely. Controls are odd, but consistent and responsive. Understanding the environments and enemies allow you to progress deeper into the game and see some of the non-randomized events and bosses. Everything becomes a bit more enjoyable.

At this point I've probably played for close to 2 hours an am rather enjoying the game. It's still not the best** roguelike you can get... but it's unique and interesting and the whole package works pretty well. Not a game for everyone, but I'm pretty happy with it.


**For what it's worth, The Swindle is one of my favorite roguelikes on Wii U - but that game had serious crashing issues in later levels that made it almost unplayable.

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NWR Mafia Games / Re: Mafia LXXXV: Metroid Dread. Day 3.

« on: March 30, 2020, 09:52:54 AM »

...
If a player with night actions gets voted out in the day such as a Samus, Omega Pirate or Godfather then their hit action will not happen at night. Because they died in the day portion, I do not consider that player alive or active to participate at night.

Thanks to K for confirming (and BS for prompting).
This was the logical assumption of timing between day/night actions.

However, the real question is what happens if there are two kills at night. For example, if Omega Pirate kills Samus on the same night that Samus kills Mother Brain, will Mother Brain still die or does killing Samus at the same time prevent her night order from being successful? I assume both kills go through.


The game will get harder from here. A recommendation to my fellow space pirates is that staying silent and/or abstaining from voting is NOT helpful. Federation members and bounty hunters love isolation, because it elps to give them anonymity and security.

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General Gaming / Re: What is the last game you beat? Thoughts/impressions?

« on: March 30, 2020, 09:18:20 AM »

...
Of course be warned, if you 100% the game you'll unlock the final level which is insanely difficult.  It consist of 50 rooms that are randomly generated each time you play so memorization will not help you.  It basically becomes a Roguelike at this point and the later half of rooms are intense because you have to think fast because they have a lot of enemies as well as those mummy's chasing you the whole time.
...

I remember playing the game all the way through, and feel like we probably got everything... but don't recall this roguelike part. Might have to go back and replay, because that sounds like fun. (Captain Toad in general was pretty fun and creative; I didn't find the main game to be difficult though, so it was kind of an "empty calories" experience as far as I can remember.)

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NWR Mafia Games / Re: Mafia LXXXV: Metroid Dread. Day 3.

« on: March 30, 2020, 12:07:46 AM »

Here is why you should keep me around...  How many of you have a clue as to who could be Dark Samus? 
...
What do you say?

Even if you had access to more information, and/or were better able to piece things together, we can't trust you. With your cover blown, it's only a matter of time before you are eliminated.

...
It's a Samus hit day, and Samus doesn't have any items because the first kill was the x-parasite. The only way Dark Samus could benefit is if Samus made a kill tonight and got a power-up.  Now, if Samus chooses not to make a hit (because B-Shy would rather not play anyway or would be willing to make a deal on the way out) then Dark Samus may not waste the hit on Samus.  The only gain for Dark Samus is the extra hit, which is valuable, but at the very least, it'd buy us some time before Dark Samus got too many power-ups.

It's a Samus hit day, so removing now Samus means one extra person (maybe good, maybe not... but odds are it would be a townie) stays alive until tomorrow if Samus gets voted out first.

Splitting power-ups between two people might not be a bad idea, but voting out someone who you know is going against you is almost always a better idea.

Finally, I submit that it's really key for the mafia to find and eliminate Dark Samus quickly - as that person is the biggest threat to their success.  Edit: I am guessing they know that, and that's why we've seen multiple early recons as they try to gather as much info as possible; but it's hard to say how long that patience will last, even if it is the best long-term approach.

...

However, IF people have a really good idea of who else to vote for then maybe this is a good situation for the Omega Pirate action to come into play? I'm not clear about the timing rules for night actions (if we kill someone who was going to kill someone else, do both kills still go through or does one get cancelled?) so this could be a bad idea.

My assumption is that all night kills still happen, so we're probably better off voting. Also, there is the worst case scenario where Omega Pirate gets voted out and then we kind of screw ourselves... so, yeah.

89

NWR Mafia Games / Re: Mafia LXXXV: Metroid Dread. Day 3.

« on: March 29, 2020, 11:54:08 PM »

Serious question for folks.  Who would you of voted for had I not made that post today?  I am genuinely curious.

You were a top 3 on my vote list anyway. Some of the language in our messages was odd, which started to convince me you were a bounty hunter. I would've guessed Dark Samus though, and give you a bunch of credit for turning the Day 1 mistake into a reasonable cover story.


As for why I think we should vote out BeautifulShy, despite that making Dark Samus a greater threat to gain power-ups, it comes down to one point: it's better to remove a known threat than to risk losing another townie with an uncertain vote.

Keeping a bounty hunter who is ready to make a hit that night in the game doesn't benefit us in any way, and there are no contrite bounty hunters. Making "deals", as someone hinted at earlier, is a pretty terrible idea - we have no leverage at all to enforce how things will play out, and it's not in the bounty hunter's benefit to follow our suggestions. Trusting what a bounty hunter says on the way out is also fraught with peril; again, what incentive is there to tell the truth at that point?

Sure, it might "pressure" the mafia to do our dirty work instead; but they are just as likely to keep doing recon so that they can (a) find the Metroid and (b) figure out who the other bounty hunter is.  That's probably more effective for them than removing a known threat, since their real issue is identification and not action. The rationale there is very spotty... 

However, there isn't really any benefit to doing it quick versus trying to let more information leak out - unless someone is trying to delay the final majority vote because the quick timing would make it hard for their team to submit night actions? Townies have probably already lost that "opportunity" though.

People should think carefully about why different positions are being taken.

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NWR Mafia Games / Re: Mafia LXXXV: Metroid Dread. Day 3.

« on: March 29, 2020, 07:15:27 PM »

With B-Shy outing herself, the smart play is probably not voting her right away?  I know Samus is the killer role, but there's two of them, and Dark Samus can get pretty OP with one kill a night for the rest of the game PLUS the chance of getting something in the day vote.  The X-parasite is out, so Dark Samus will not reset (assuming there's only one).
...

This is true and a good point.

It creates an odd situation though. Do we force BeautifulShy to live through a couple extra, unwanted days for the benefit of the townies? Normally IRL things take precedence. It does kind of throw the game off kilter, whichever choice is made.

Dark Samus doesn't have any items yet, and we'll be 3 days in. The Metroid is hidden again.  This would almost be like starting over with fewer people. The only people who have benefited from non-public information at this point are the mafia.

I'm letting my vote stand.  (Also, could Dark Samus kill Samus and take her accumulated items anyway? If so, then maybe voting Samus out before the night kill is our best action anyway.)

91

NWR Mafia Games / Re: Mafia LXXXV: Metroid Dread. Day 3.

« on: March 29, 2020, 11:35:27 AM »

Vote BeautifulShy.

Best of luck getting plumbing in hand. That kind of IRL stuff always sucks, and the timing right now is horrible with everything else going on.

A day 1 kill order probably would have your best chance to win if you hadn't submitted early. But it's hard to call it a mistake; who could've guessed that Pokepal would've done an full reveal like that? Guess we got really lucky you did submit early, because otherwise this could've been a short game for everyone.

92

NWR Mafia Games / Re: Mafia LXXXV: Metroid Dread. Day 3.

« on: March 29, 2020, 01:01:57 AM »

I normally vote early looking for a reaction... but want to think things over first this time.

However, after a stressful end to Day 2, I'm pretty satisfied with the results. The Metroid is hidden again, and if Kraid dies at the hands of a bounty hunter (which would result in a huge power-up) we'll know pretty much right away. I like those results.

That said, 2 of 2 losses so far have been townies. That trend has to stop.

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NWR Mafia Games / Re: Mafia LXXXV: Metroid Dread. Day 3.

« on: March 29, 2020, 12:54:38 AM »

Khushrenada can you tell us if the second kill on Pokepal was from Dark Samus or the Federation?
...

From earlier posts, I don't think he can and that seems ok.

However, since mafia can take useful night actions without attempting a hit and Dark Samus can't, it seems pretty reasonable to make an assumption here. (Otherwise we're dealing with an inactive bounty hunter, which works just as well for the townies, so I'm ok with that too.)


...
Oof - and I see that Khushrenada just posted to confirm it was Dark Samus.

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Nintendo Gaming / Re: Switch Parental Controls - HELP NEEDED!!

« on: March 28, 2020, 09:08:46 PM »

Yep... that sounds like Nintendo.

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NWR Mafia Games / Re: Mafia LXXXV: Metroid Dread. Day 2

« on: March 28, 2020, 11:06:33 AM »

@Mr Bungle: Sorry - I had edited and removed my vote for you before the ending time, thinking that I'd vote Luigi Dude also to force a tie so that we know we aren't losing Kraid to the vote... but then Steefosaurus swapped his vote from Luigi Dude to you - probably to also force a tie since he didn't know I was in the midst of changing, so I swapped back.  My rationale is really thin though...

Ugh. I don't feel good about this day at all.

96

NWR Mafia Games / Re: Mafia LXXXV: Metroid Dread. Day 2

« on: March 28, 2020, 11:02:42 AM »

Vote Mr Bungle  Reasons to come after

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NWR Mafia Games / Re: Mafia LXXXV: Metroid Dread. Day 2

« on: March 28, 2020, 10:57:01 AM »

So interesting choice for the doctor today, either protecting the voted out person or saving Pokepal from a night kill. Will the bounty hunters/mafia risk losing their action by targeting Pokepal at night? I'd guess not, at least not until they think the doctor has been removed... but the risk is high.

I don't know. I don't love my vote, but don't see a clear choice who to move it to... at least not yet.

98

NWR Mafia Games / Re: Mafia LXXXV: Metroid Dread. Day 2

« on: March 28, 2020, 10:54:27 AM »

Any questions in particular you think haven't been addressed or still need info on?

Yeah, where can a bloke get some mulligan stew around here?

Why do you need a mulligan?  Are you Samus, and feel bad that you didn't grab the Metroid on the night one kill?

99

NWR Mafia Games / Re: Mafia LXXXV: Metroid Dread. Day 2

« on: March 28, 2020, 10:09:15 AM »

So there is about 4 hours and 15 minutes left in the day and here are the votes as they stand now.

Mr. Bungle-1
Steefosaurus-2
stevey-1


ejamer voted for Mr. Bungle
ShyGuy and BeautifulShy voted for Steefosaurus
pokepal148 voted for stevey.

So we've got 4, maybe 5, votes to work with and things are about to end? Yuck.
I was wondering if it's better to switch votes and try for a tie so that at least we know a townie makes the final choice between targets, but (a) maybe we already have one, and (b) I'm not sure if that's better or worse anyway given how little information we have...

Rough.

100

TalkBack / Re: Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics Deals Up June 5 Switch Release

« on: March 27, 2020, 10:33:07 PM »

..., like Renegade (Go), ...

Renegade is the generic name for Othello, not for Go. Sadly, it doesn't look like Go is included at all.
Still, this is a pretty good selection of classic games. Seeing Hex and Mancala added is great.

The DS game remains very fun and playable years later, and was a really well-made piece of software. Pricing seems high, but I can see how many people would get enough value over time to justify it.