by Phoenix | Dec 17, 2021 | Journal, Space Engineers
My head is too full today. Even after a good nap I couldn’t come up with anything to write about, nothing there’s any real news on at least.
I suppose there is this:
Space Engineers Warfare 2: Broadside
It’s nice that they’re finally adding some more ship weapons to the game, but after all these years and all these mods–stable ones I might add–even I have to wonder if this next paid dlc is going to be worth it.
As always, the worth in the dlcs for Space Engineers is that they’ll always be compatible and up to date with the latest version of the game. Mods on the other hand can just fall off at random if the author disappears without letting people know they can update them if they want. Some of the most interesting mods have gone the way of the dodo because of that little problem.
While I’m on the topic of Space Engineers, I did manage to poke around with both the Heinrich and that new ship I started on. The former is almost ready to present, but first I want to see if I can’t streamline the outside of it, first. Compared to the new ship, the Heinrich is looking kind of short and chubby. She needs a bit more work but then I’ll get a presentation up. In fact, if I can do this right, maybe that update will be good enough to count as the first blog article for this month.
Yeah, sure. Why not? It won’t lack for quality or length, and I’ll even squeeze in a short video if I can get a tour done in one take.
That’s all for now.
by Phoenix | Dec 16, 2021 | FV, Journal, Writing
Nonfiction Woes
I should have made Fleeing Victory #16 a part of this month’s goals, too. I was trying to go easy on myself this month by only needing three done instead of four, but swapping fiction writing for nonfiction actually makes this more difficult. Nonfiction writing is a completely different beast for me. You could say I haven’t found the joy in it, yet. I’m slightly worried I never will, but I’m still going to do those two articles, just as soon as I figure out my topics.
I mentioned before that I was going to make two blog articles this month. They’re the kinds of articles you see all over the place, giving advice on topics, covering the latest news, or just good old fashion listicles. That third example would be a last resort for me, something I wouldn’t even consider until around the 27th or the 28th. I’m going to make two of these articles to try and gauge myself and see if I’m ready for the next big phase for the Praedian Records (and a few other things).
The next phase is making good on those two categories: Blog, and Journal. Posts like these are just journal entries. I like these the way they are, but I’d also like to find unique and interesting things to write about. Presentation is important, too.
The more I think about it, the more it feels like I’ll just have to start throwing things at the wall until something sticks.
January is going to be a messy month for the site, I can already tell.
Another Idea
I also had another idea that needs development, another one of those 2022 items. A long time ago an acquaintance of mine said I should turn the events of an RPG we were both part of into an actual story. The setting it occurred in was made in a hurry so looking back on it I absolutely loathe it when looking at it too closely, but he had a point about the story. There’s a way to do it justice, though there’s a lot that needs to change, the setting most of all.
Unfortunately, I doubt that particular story would fit into any of the ZAP project’s three main settings.
Fortunately, that really doesn’t matter. ZAP has three main settings: Zion, Aeon, and Praedia.
Praedia is usually the best bet for fantasy stories, but even then it has its own history, tight theming, stringent lore, and not a lot of wiggle room for multiple large countries that didn’t already exist. I’ll poke around after the Zavodia map is finished and see if this is just an issue of being on the wrong continent, or if a story like that requires a completely different world.
As a side note, Artorius is also an adaptation, though this one is an adaptation of character arcs. Thanks to that, it fits neatly into the Aeon setting.
Anyway, that’s all for now.
by Phoenix | Dec 15, 2021 | FFXIV, Journal, PSO2, WoWs, Writing
Clan Battles (World of Warships)
I got to test out the Bourgogne and overall she’s a fantastic ship. She’s not as tanky as what I’m used to, but the added maneuverability and extra three guns really makes all the difference sometimes.
I think it was my first clan battles match in the Bourgogne where I thought I’d killed myself when I angled against an incoming salvo and slammed into an island while trying to get behind a Petropavlovsk. He came out of hiding with his guns aimed right at my citadel, but like some kind of classic western, we both fired, I got the citadels and he got the overpens. That Petro disappeared in a plume of fire and the match ended right there. My HP bar barely nudged.
Other situations were worse, since Bourgogne can’t take a lot of focused fire for very long. If the team wasn’t quite on top of everything that was happening, or they were too occupied with their own match ups, it was very easy to get taken out early in a match.
Even so, I’m loving this ship. I prefer the look of the Jean Bart more, and not having a third turret eliminates the temptation to give enemies too much of my broadside, but unlike most battleships, this extra turret houses four guns, not just three or two. That’s a third of the overall firepower you’ve got to consider when positioning and angling in battles.
PSO2: NGS
I really want to write about the games I play in my free time, but World of Warships is the only one where I’ve got any kind of comfortable format down. It’s also the only one I’m consistently active on. Even so I’ve got to get into the habit. I’m in the process of eliminating as many hobbies that aren’t relevant to the Praedian Records and the ZAP project as possible. They’re fun and all, but if they’re not directly serving in some capacity, even if that just amounts to having something to write about, then what’s the point?
At some point this month I’ll try to give the new Retem region a good deep dive and put my thoughts up here. For now my first impressions are mostly good. The setting is interesting, the new mobs are actually dangerous now. I can’t goof off during fights like I normally do, which is a good thing. Part of what makes NGS so fun is how interactive the combat is. That and the depth of character customization is the only thing is has over Final Fantasy XIV Online (and there’s a strong argument to be made that limited customization is better for the game).
There’s one more thought I’ve got on PSO2 but I’ll include it below since the same idea applies to FFXIV.
Final Fantasy XIV Online
Pretty much the same vein as PSO2, though I can safely say FFXIV gets more of my time these days. There’s about … five hundred times the amount of content, not including the expansions, and sadly I am not exaggerating on that point. I might even be lowballing it since it’s just the impression I get from the content I know about but haven’t bothered touching. There’s a lot of stuff to do in this game. That doesn’t mean it’s all interesting or enjoyable, but it makes you feel like you’re in a world and not an island.
So I’d like to do something interesting with this one, not just write about what I’m doing (HeavensWard by the way), but actually try something fun and creative. Maybe a retelling of events with actual dialogue from the Warrior of Light. That could be interesting. I should do that with all the games I like that have silent protagonists, actually. Before I even attempt something like this though I’d need to make sure I can store all the photos. I’ve got plenty of space now, but that’s not necessarily going to be the case in three to four years.
That’s all for now.
by Phoenix | Dec 14, 2021 | Journal, WoWs
I wasn’t sure what I was going to put up today. Luckily the coupons for steel ships reset today in World of Warships.
I had plenty of choices but I passed on the Ragnar, Stalingrad, Plymouth, and Austin right away. For me, Tier 10 ships are primarily for Clan Battles, and since I’m not a cruiser main, it’s not a good idea to invest in them just yet. That just left the FDR, a ship I have mixed feelings about, and the Bourgogne. Carriers are banned this season anyway so FDR was already at a disadvantage. In the end I decided to pick up the Bourgogne because I’ve heard great things about her and she’s similar to the Jean Bart, a ship I really enjoy playing. We’ll see how she holds up in Clan Battles with me at the helm, but as far as her stats and handling go, I’m satisfied.
I also picked up the Immelmann with my coal since I wasn’t too thrilled with my other choices. These ships might warrant separate and more in depth posts, but that’s going to have to wait until I’m ready to write more about World of Warship’s actual gameplay and stats. So not today but maybe sometime in 2022 if the game isn’t heading in some crazy new direction.
by Phoenix | Dec 13, 2021 | FV, Journal
I gave it some thought earlier and decided that I wouldn’t hem myself in by having no more or no less than four chapters per turn. It makes it harder to develop things organically, which kind of works against the pantser style of storytelling I’m trying to experiment with.
The length of chapters is easy enough to manage, but the number really shouldn’t matter as much. I ended Fleeing Victory #15 a scene early since it was about the same length as other chapters. FV#16 will either be a couple of scenes longer or everything for Sable’s turn will conclude with #17.
Both of those are issues for 2022, though.
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