Random Babbling Thread CXVIII

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The only reason she had a chance to shoot the puck in the first place is because the linesperson interfered with the Canadian defenseman (defensewoman?) and prevented her from getting the puck. If that shot had gone in the net it would have been a travesty. (Well, OK, maybe "travesty" is overstating it a bit, but you get my drift.)

Anyway, gold in men's hockey too. They have my yelling at the TV to thank for that.

 

Boring final. Canada apparently won. Read a book halfway during the second period....

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Olympics are over, next regular sport unless they release a good new game. (no, not an old one re released that I already have played several times)

 

So what you're saying is, you were conditioned by society to enjoy watching a sport? That's some serious programming.

 

I don't think I've been conditioned in any way, I just choose to love Canada because it's a beautiful country and it makes me happy. I don't watch hockey that often but I'm proud our hockey teams did so well in the Olympics.

 

Not really different from any other form of entertainment where you're not actually a participant - watching TV, going to a play, reading a book, watching a movie, listening to music, looking at art, etc. In fact, for some people, watching sports is a result of participating in the sport (either currently at a lower level, or previously in our younger years), and thus perhaps having a greater appreciation for the skill involved in that particular sport.

 

It was a joke, clearly. I'm not so self-absorbed that I wouldn't realize people have different tastes.

Watching sports does nothing for me though (even those I participate in), and these periods when the media and every conversation are flooded by sports annoy the hell out of me.

 

I seriously dislike watching team sports. Football is big around here (i.e. Europe), but whether a team does well or not seems to depend more or less on random chance and I just don't want to get all worked up over something I have no influence over.

Individual sports are more interesting to watch, but I don't have the patience for it. I can watch cycling or something like biathlon for a while though. Doing sports myself beforehand is a good motivation to watch something, too. Nothing like cycling for three hours to wear yourself out so that I can actually stay still on the sofa while watching someone else get tired too.

I understand the Netherlands did quite well at the olympics as well. Scoring nearly two-thirds of all the ice skating (speed skating? not sure on the terminology in english) medals, having been responsible for four out of eight podiums that consisted of only one country on the first through third place.

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Speaking of the olympics...

 

I've just finished Castlevania: Lords of Shadow on insane difficulty (or "paladin" as it's called there) and I gotta say, I haven't had this many problems with a boss fight in at least a decade. I must have reloaded 50 times before I got it right.

I can't tell if it was designed really well or really poorly. You spend the whole game learning how to block attacks, use your magic powers, and utilize secondary weapons. Then you get to this boss and all the attacks are unblockable, there's no time to use most of your powers, and all your secondary weapons are completely useless against it.

Also, in the chapters introduced in the DLCs (where this post-final boss is added), the video sequences go from beautifully rendered 3D graphics, to poorly animated, hand-sketched cartoons. Feels like a ripoff for those who actually paid $10 for each of the two chapters, and it totally breaks your immersion. Even one of the writers said the DLCs were a mistake. Would have probably been better if that part of the story was revisited in one of the sequels. Then again, money.

 

Let me help you out there: it's designed really poorly.

A boss should be an exam of all you've learned so far in the game. Someone else said that, but I do agree that that's what makes a well-designed boss and game.

 

On the other hand, it pushes you out of your comfort zone and forces you to re-examine your routines. Although, I agree that the final boss is hardly the time or place for such antics.

Overall, I enjoyed the challenge. I feel like I'm ready for Dark Souls now.

 

You have a point that it's good to have to re-examine your tactics every now and then, it keeps things fresh.

Certainly when I first encountered Draconis, I had to rethink how to fight dragons (especially since that was a solo run).

But reloading until your Harm sticks and you manage to also hit him before he heals himself is not necessarily a test of skill. It's something that does work on the next boss you meet, though (i.e. Abizigail).

Overall though, I still think you Castlevania boss is bad game design

 

Well, the difference between D&D and most action adventures is that when you fail at the latter, you can only ever blame yourself and not poor dice rolls. Well, that and bad game design. Out of the 42 hours I've currently spent on the game, I've spent at least half of it yelling at Gabriel for doing something retarded in spite of my best efforts. While I found the story and atmosphere quite enjoyable, the mechanics of the game would have me pulling my hair out in frustration if I had any.

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I saw Frozen last night, now I can't get the songs out of my head again.

 

Well, random chance is a big part of many games, not just D&D.
My general tactic for Jagged Alliance 2, for instance, is to reload until I at least hit something. Same for Fallout 1&2.
I remember rolling my eyes at my PC in Morrowind who came fresh off the prison boat, ran up to a mudcrab and proceeded to miss it for a dozen time before actually hitting it. Once. That was pretty retarded at times.

Watched Frozen with my girlfriend, managed to restrain myself and not walk away during the singing bits. I'm not a big fan of musicals, to put it mildly. With the exception of the Blues Brothers, that movie is amazing (and most of the singing is not too out of place).

 

I'm a real sucker for musicals and a good fairy tale, especially one with a female protagonist.

 

I have the soundtrack for the blues brothers on my playlist. Loved that movie, what a classic.

 

I have the soundtrack as well, along with a couple of random songs of the Blues Brothers as a band (not from the movie). Even though it's not really my preferred genre of music, not even close, but I still like these songs a lot.

 

I have 4 Blues Brothers CD,s: Soundtrack, Best of, Made in America and Briefcase full of Blues.

 

That movie is so old, I don't even remember if I liked it anymore.

 

SSD malfunctioned. The one with Windows on it.

No panic. Bought a Lian Li testbench to match the new one.