Redwolf's Journal (continued)

 I feel like Mechwarrior 5: Clans is the result of someone asking "okay, now what if we made a game for Battletech lore fans?" It eschews the freedom of the previous MW5: Mercenaries in favor of a narrative game that is laser focused on some big, pivotal elements of the setting lore around the early Clan Invasion. I know enough that it's difficult for me to judge, but I feel like anyone not familiar with at least the basics of the Clans could easily be lost. Under the hood, the game looks better to me than Mercs - I believe there was an engine upgrade involved. As all the missions are crafted rather than generated, the maps and mission flow are easily as good or better than the best missions in Mercs. A lot of breadth is lost along the way, though. There aren't any random missions you can run. The mech roster available to the player is pretty limited by comparison (to the 16 front line mechs used by the faction at the time). The mech customization feels a little sti

So yeah, overall I enjoyed the game. I think it's good, though there wasn't anything that totally blew me away or resonated with me so much that it would feel a travesty for it not to win "Game of the Year" awards (as has been the case the last couple years with BG3 and ER). If this is comparable to Persona games, I might keep an eye on them going forward, but don't feel the need to consume the back catalog. The gameplay itself is fine - competently done, but a little heavy on menus. I still dislike the time slot management aspect because of how it taps parts of my psyche that feel a need to optimize everything, but I found there was ultimately more than enough time to do all the bond quests, raising traits, monster hunts, side missions, and arena fights. The story and characters were really the strength for me, engaging me for the lengthy run time. I liked almost all the friendly NPCs and most of the hostile ones were understandable. Several of the plot twists al

 Last night, we roleplayed a meeting! Whee! Actually, it went pretty well. Players seemed invested, including myself. We discussed the current situation, which was probably a good thing. And as an outcome, the group seems more on the same page and most have things to do. Man, if only real world meetings went so well. - And this morning, I woke from a dream... Military shooter dream. I'm part of a very small team meeting up with a couple others in some Middle Eastern-ish setting. The travel happens following an arrow on a map, then I'm in a town waiting for the other to show up and scheduling a helicopter extraction. One of the other two groups shows up, but the third doesn't. Something happens with the helicopter, so I call in some favors for a different pickup. A short time later, a beefed up looking Osprey shows up and we get in, landing in the street. We get in and take off before the pilot starts going on about being called off a different mission to get us... and then

 A challenge to see if I can actually collect my thoughts on this into something coherent... There is a person in my online RP circles since Furryfaire day who irritates me. I don't really dislike them, though I may have framed it that way once upon a time, but I do dislike being "around" them, and pretty much always have. A long time ago, my introspective self considered why. The answer I came up with was not that they diametrically opposed to me or anything, but that in their behavior I saw my own impulses writ large. I could empathize with the desire to take control of situations, shape the setting, and be important. From the outside, though, I found that all struck me as extremely self-centered and I was, frankly, kind of disgusted by it. This led to a period where I kind of beat up my own ego, working to convince myself to see less importance on scenes centered on my own characters in wider RP. Honestly, I sometimes wonder if I went too far, as I find it harder to sp

 I've never played a Persona game, but Metaphor Refantazio was pointed out, there's plenty of positive buzz, and it seems a good jumping on point for the "style" of games while being independent as far as setting and story. Time-wise, it means I'll probably be playing when Mechwarrior 5 Clans comes out, but that'll wait. The game part of the game is growing increasingly complex.  Characters can learn different archetypes (classes/jobs) that enable special MP-consuming abilities that are powerful in combat. Within a dungeon, MP becomes the limiting resource for the most part, with some small ways to regain. That coupled with elemental resistances and weaknesses is within bounds of "normal" I think. The time management portion outside combat is new to me (if trademark to Persona games). You have a finite number of days to mess around with before the next dungeon/etc. must be completed. You can use that time to increase certain stats or character bon

- Kosh Sorting some thoughts here on the current Stars Without Numbers game I've been in for a few weeks now... I hope I'm wrong, longer term, but I'm seeing early sign that usually lead to me stepping away from a Discord game. When I start to feel overwhelmed and left behind, that's typically a solid first hint. Looking in from time to time and seeing pages of stuff happening outside of official game time, whether it's moving plot or "side" roleplay between characters, has always made me feel out of sync or behind in things. It's become what might be my number one pet peeve in the gaming medium and, contrary to what some may thing, Discord has actually made it worse for me compared to a MUCK, where I wouldn't even see such activity. Knowing what I've missed rather than just missing something generates more of an emotional response. This is all one thing I try to have clear expectations of starting a new game and if I know outright that things