Mikodesu wrote: ↑Jan 10, 2024 11:39 pmThe sheer MASS of 90s/early 2000s memes and references is insane. Early game they would show up ever so often, I would chuckle and move on. Now sometimes there are two in a sentence. I think maybe they'd be cuter if there was some reference to them taking root in society BECAUSE that's the media period that was unearthed from the 'old world' and has taken root. But I don't think that's it... I think it's just...the age range of the writers, and that there aren't that many strong writers on the translation team.
The English writing might not be a translation at all. Pathea did a sort of casting call for their writers. They weren't asking for translators, but for writers. I remember the call for them on Twitter, to send in their writing samples, and I saw loads of people going in for that. So we don't know how much of the
original writing is in English. Pathea does a lot of research and marketing in English from very early on, so I suspect there's a fair bit of English-speaking within the team itself as well, or maybe they have a branch for that. English is supposedly the international language of the business world, for some reason.
The English writing is so filled with character that I kind of doubt it's a translation at all in many places. That or they were given a
lot of leeway, say to achieve the same
mood rather than the same meaning. But I didn't care about the references anyway. I would vaguely see they were there and just skip along without liking or disliking it. Plus I think a Chinese person could as easily put in various pop culture references as a native English speaker, since things like movies and music tend to be one's first introduction to another language/culture. So I'm not clear at all on who really wrote and/or translated what in Sandrock.
I thought the writing was fantastic overall, though, for video game writing. (Which imo is usually utilitarian at best.) The characters are really interesting. Even side ones are pretty interesting. I talked to them just because I wanted to, and that's really rare in games, for me. I'm having a hard time separating the character writing with the story writing, though. I think it's the characters that are really strong, more than the story, though I do love 'save the environment' stories. One could probably fairly call them my favourite/most motivating.
Bluie wrote: ↑Jan 10, 2024 9:11 am
As for item level, you can get the best in expansion for normies (meaning people like you and me who don't do savage raiding) via Rowena who has assistants known as 'representatives' in every major city. You trade tomestones to them that you get from doing literally anything in game via the duty finder.
Thank you

This is the poetics thing? I know I got some of those allagan poetic tomestones, but I believe I got them from the tribes. Can't remember now, this game is SO BIG. I think the Duty finder is all multiplayer stuff, right? I did go into Halatali with an unrestricted party (aka: just me.) Not sure that counts. But I don't do any multiplayer stuff so if the Duty Finder is all that, it's not something I'm gonna be getting. I'll have to look into it some more.
I'm still on the Free Trial, though the game is on sale 50% off until January 18th, which is very tempting, since I then have to buy a subscription as well and my budget this year is tiny. Just 6 AAA games-worth. That'd take a huge amount of it! I'd probably snatch a 6 month subscription. I
think you get one free month subscription when you buy the game, though I'm not sure about that. But between the subscription and the game price, that'd be 25% of my entire year's gaming budget. 42% if I decide to re-subscribe at the when the 6 months runs out.
I really do want to buy it now while it's on sale. (And while it's winter and I have much less to do IRL.) I don't want to run into the money cap of 300,000 Gil. And I want to be able to use the market board and get access to a stable. And I need retainers for the extra inventory space! But it's a pretty big decision. I'd prefer to play as much as I can on the free trial but I'm already over 200,000G and I haven't even finished ARR...will probably do the very last quest of it today or tomorrow. (Not including the ARR to Heavensward transition stuff.) The game will probably go on sale again in half a year, but I made this 200,000+ Gil in just a week or two, so...
Of course, my budget is arbitrary. I don't HAVE to stick to an average of no more than $40 per month. I can afford the same budget I had last year since I have no social life and so don't spend on anything
else, lol. But I felt it would actually improve my game-buying choices and tame backlog growth in one fell swoop and it was downright
easy to stay in budget of $80 per month in 2023, so I figured I had to up my game. Or down my game.
I'm debating it mightily.