|
Ash Rivers is basically a nod to several bits of Hollywood culture. The name is definitely reminiscent of River Phoenix, who famously died young (of a drug overdose), as well as “Ash” possibly being intended to reference, yes, the Evil Dead films (though it's nowhere near as strong a reference as Romero), while “Negative Zero” is clearly meant to invoke Less Than Zero, a movie where a main character dies of an overdose. Are we sensing a theme, here?
|
#
?
May 22, 2014 08:47
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 25, 2024 00:00 |
|
|
GrimRevenant posted:Ash Rivers is basically a nod to several bits of Hollywood culture. The name is definitely reminiscent of River Phoenix, who famously died young (of a drug overdose), as well as “Ash” possibly being intended to reference, yes, the Evil Dead films (though it's nowhere near as strong a reference as Romero), while “Negative Zero” is clearly meant to invoke Less Than Zero, a movie where a main character dies of an overdose. Following that thought, Negative Zero/Less Than Zero might also be referencing Robert Downey Jr who played the character who overdosed. And at the time of VtMB development had seen his career go into the crapper do to drugs. In the late 90's Downey was the guy everyone either said "Whatever happened to that guy? He was good" or he was near the top of your dead pool list. Also glad youre back Gatz!
|
|
#
?
May 22, 2014 10:38
|
|
|
I figured it was River Phoenix because of Asp Hole/Viper Room.
|
|
#
?
May 22, 2014 11:02
|
|
|
If we're gonna name every actor that went off the rails we're gonna be at this for a while.
|
|
#
?
May 22, 2014 12:13
|
|
|
Will Gatz, will you show the alternative option? It's got a bit of  toreador smugness.
|
|
#
?
May 22, 2014 12:34
|
|
|
double nine posted:Will Gatz, will you show the alternative option? It's got a bit of Sure, but you'll have to accept it in video format: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFlnfiGQiwg
|
|
#
?
May 22, 2014 14:14
|
|
|
gatz posted:Sure, but you'll have to accept it in video format: God that ending dialogue. He really nails the "pretentious rear end in a top hat" character.
|
|
#
?
May 22, 2014 15:46
|
|
|
GrimRevenant posted:Ash Rivers is basically a nod to several bits of Hollywood culture. The name is definitely reminiscent of River Phoenix, who famously died young (of a drug overdose), as well as “Ash” possibly being intended to reference, yes, the Evil Dead films (though it's nowhere near as strong a reference as Romero), while “Negative Zero” is clearly meant to invoke Less Than Zero, a movie where a main character dies of an overdose. Yeah, I just figured that even if the reference went no deeper than the name, it still bore mentioning.
|
|
#
?
May 22, 2014 16:43
|
|
|
The mythological phoenix rises from the ashes so Ash-->Phoenix, imo.
|
|
#
?
May 22, 2014 20:08
|
|
|
God, the melee combat in this game is so graceless. The one time I tried playing a Gangrel melee-monster with Protean I hated how slow all of my swipes came out. I get that the sledgehammer is supposed to be a big slow weapon but the area it strikes is so small it's hardly worth it. I always wind up with a certain late-game melee weapon and I always wind up with my sneaking skill so high I just backstab everybody with it.
|
|
#
?
May 22, 2014 23:37
|
|
|
Bobbin Threadbare posted:Yeah, I just figured that even if the reference went no deeper than the name, it still bore mentioning. If it doesn't go deeper than the name it's not a reference, just a coincidence.
|
|
#
?
May 23, 2014 00:01
|
|
|
MartianAgitator posted:If it doesn't go deeper than the name it's not a reference, just a coincidence. So the Ashley Williams in Mass Effect is a coincidence? I'm not trying to say it's this great big thing, I'm just wondering why you're insisting it can't even be a nod.
|
|
#
?
May 23, 2014 01:27
|
|
|
I mean, it's not unlikely that someone on the team said, "hey Ash is the name of that guy from Evil Dead, so we should use that." There's just...nothing else other than the name that I can see in the character. Bruce Campbell would be a bad guy to reference in this case as he's had a long, stable career in television and movies and has never had any flashy breakdowns that I know of, nor is he strongly associated with Hollywood. Bruce is awesome, btw.
|
|
#
?
May 23, 2014 02:29
|
|
|
I thought the guy in the graveyard was pretty clearly the game's nod to Bruce.
|
|
#
?
May 23, 2014 03:53
|
|
|
double nine posted:God that ending dialogue. He really nails the "pretentious rear end in a top hat" character. I dunno, it seems like he was just quoting his own movie.
|
|
#
?
May 24, 2014 16:42
|
|
|
Glazius posted:I dunno, it seems like he was just quoting his own movie. Yeah, he's just quoting his own movie. Remember, he's an actor who got vamped suddenly and is dealing with the fact that he can never do it again. The things that really mattered to you when you were human are going to be strongly linked to your humanity as a vampire, and I think even moreso for Toreadors like Ash.
|
|
#
?
May 24, 2014 16:45
|
|
|
Shugojin posted:Yeah, he's just quoting his own movie. Remember, he's an actor who got vamped suddenly and is dealing with the fact that he can never do it again. The things that really mattered to you when you were human are going to be strongly linked to your humanity as a vampire, and I think even moreso for Toreadors like Ash. I'm sure it makes him feel better, but I don't know if it's linked to his humanity in the sense of VTM's humanity score. What were those paths again?
|
|
#
?
May 24, 2014 19:05
|
|
|
Yeah I don't know how you'd attach it to the actual score, I just figure stuff that reminds you of when you were actually human and how you felt would be related to that somehow.
|
|
#
?
May 25, 2014 14:39
|
|
|
Yeah, this would be more of a touchstone in Requiem than a breaking point in Masquerade. Being in the spotlight and adored by fans might help you realize you're still human. If you have to go from that to hiding from the public in a mid-tier club, it could cause a rift.
|
|
#
?
May 25, 2014 16:51
|
|
|
One thing I've never gotten was the supposed cleverness of the name 'Asp Hole'. Does it reference something or is it just a bad pun on 'rear end in a top hat'?
|
|
#
?
May 26, 2014 18:39
|
|
|
They can't all be zingers.
|
|
#
?
May 26, 2014 18:44
|
|
|
It sound snappier than viper pit or rattlesnake hibernacula. Probably another movie reference.
|
|
#
?
May 26, 2014 18:48
|
|
|
Iceblocks posted:Does it reference something or is it just a bad pun on 'rear end in a top hat'? Probably this.
|
|
#
?
May 26, 2014 18:58
|
|
|
Isaiah 11:8: And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice' den. Probably another River Phoenix reference, though. Or possibly both, as well as rear end in a top hat. Multilayered references!
|
|
#
?
May 26, 2014 19:01
|
|
|
Good job, thread. I was wondering about that reference myself. With the holiday weekend (at least here in the US), I've been busy, but the regular update schedule should come back soon. Sorry for the wait.
|
|
#
?
May 26, 2014 19:29
|
|
|
 Ash mentioned that the 'Sin Bin' is the place to go if we want to learn more of Hollywood's more... depraved industries.  A question immediately springs to mind. Would kine really know of this tape? Certainly some would be aware of its existence -- as we've seen, Isaac interacted with a mortal distributor -- but do they understand its content? Those monsters on that tape are evidently supernatural in essence. Do mortals really understand what they're seeing when they watch that tape? What was the purpose of the tape's creation and subsequent distribution? Who or what created it? Why does whatever hellish force that seems to be behind it seemingly hunting those that watch the tape, as evidenced by our dead contact? These questions can only be answered in time.  For now, we'll ask around this place of transgressions.  All lustful desires are fulfilled here, even those that get off to particle physics and dead birds.  Only one man stands in the room, naturally behind the cash counter. Note that there are stairs downwards leading to a peep show. Whoever this is has no problems being associated with all of the store's happenings.  I can imagine how awful it must be for women to be, at times, treated as little more than objects to satisfy male sexual desires rather than true human beings with a worth of their own.  Keep it in your pants, rear end in a top hat. Hey, hey! Relax. Sounds like you're a little, uh, pent-up. You came to the right place for that problem.Hostility won't get us to that tape. Best move on. Whatever. Who the hell are you? Another proprietor working the night shift. Unlike Kilpatrick, Flynn here strikes a dissonant chord with me. The cheezey moustache, the 70's suit when it's 2004, the ponytail literally deserving of the name -- big enough to belong to a horse, in other words, the right eyeball that clips through his skin... Flynn is the physical manifestation of the products he sells: cheap and dirty. Tell me about this place. The Sin Bin? Oh, we've got filth of every flavor. Just tell me what makes your bits tingle, honey. I'll set you right up.Melissa only tingles to youtube ASMR videos. Nothing more erotic than hearing absolutely disgusting noises for 4 minutes. She'll have to be more specific. Yeah? Tell me about some of your, uh,  products. Mmmhmm. By the way, is that a small picture of Nic Cage behind him? Maybe I can use some of the stuff, show me what you got.Are you ready for this display of erotic content?!?    Okay, we can see that Flynn has nothing of value to purchase. Let's get back to business. What can I do to you, honey?Nothing, but you can do something for us -- give us information. Yeah? Whaddaya want to know? Tell me a little about Hollywood. We'll just go through the list. Tell me about some of the hot spots. The Asp Hole, for instance. The Asp Hole? It's just across the street... some uptight Hollywood club where the drinks cost too much and the girls put out too little. Which ain't bad for me; most of the drunk, horny assholes come straight to my place after last call.The age of the internet has rendered stores like these inoperable. How about Vesuvius? We got all you need right here, but if you like, uh, second-rate smut, head up the street to Vesuvius. One of the strippers actually owns the place. You should see the rack o' lamb on that one.   We'll head over there at some point. And the Chinese Theatre? The old Asian theatre? It's been closed for a while. Place gives me the freakin' creeps. Seems like everyone's got a Hollywood ghost story, but you walk by that place and look at it... you'll swear somethin's lookin' back.Like a Gargoyle, for example. Actually, I have a few more questions.Let's get to the reason we're here, the tape. Our best bet very well might be to mention the producers of the tape. You ever heard of Death Mask Productions? Those guys? Yeah... yeah, I heard of 'em. Why do you want to know? I'm looking for a tape they made and I'm trying to find out if it's real. That's right. What of it? Look, man, get the hell out of here, alright? I don't want any part of that scene. I hear people seein' that tape ain't been comin' home for dinner. I don't deal in that kind of stuff anyway, so just take it somewhere else.He suddenly got real nervous. No way we're letting up now. This is his weakness, somehow we can use it to our advantage. I'm not going to ask you twice, Flynn. Tell me how to find DMP. Forget it, man. I don't even know what the hell you're talkin' about. Huh? What? Who are they? Seriously, get the hell out of here. [Persuade] Look. I'm a collector. You can tell me what you know.We always manage to find a use for persuasion.  And then all you have to say is, "who walks the night with demons of dread". Supposedly, you'll be told where to meet the guy to pick up product. I don't know for sure. I, uh... I never tried it. It scared the poo poo out of me.We gained two experience by picking up that little fact of great importance. We've already interacted with the guy on the phone -- right away when we first arrived in Hollywood, in fact. But then we didn't know the password. Now we do, and we know what the callers purpose is. Perhaps knowledge of his intent will come in time. Thanks for the info. Don't walk home alone tonight. Notice that Flynn is no longer referring to Melissa as 'baby' or anything of the kind, now preferring to use the term 'man'. He has been since we asked about the tape. Fear excised the perversity from his personality. Go home and change your underwear. See ya. Just look at that ponytail. We can see that Flynn's still erect from thinking about the stripper that owns Vesuvius. Even bringing up the tape couldn't get him flaccid. I'm saying his ponytail is his dong, let's just get that out there. We now head back to the phone, this time holding knowledge of the passcode.   The Luckee Star motel. Room 2. Don't be long. I'll be there.Always the motels. Look to the motels if you want to know where poo poo goes down in the world of darkness.  Inside...   Did those creatures get to whoever was distributing that tape?  There's so much blood. Look at that splatter pattern, it looks like claws or something.  On the desk, we find a key to the internet cafe, the one we've already been to. What could this mean? Only one way to find out.  The employees only door isn't the one that's locked.  It's a door behind that one. What could lie behind here, in the back room of an internet cafe?     It's those things from the tape!   The porn studio behind the internet cafe is under attack!     In the distance, another monster breaks the camera, charges ahead, and kills the cowering man.  These monsters aren't much of a challenge. They're certainly quick, an they cause aggravated damage, but they go down fast.  Note the claw pattern. Likely these monsters did kill whoever was sent to distribute the tape to us. Why the monsters have been engaging in these stealth assassinations, however, is its own question entirely. How did they get in here and into the motel room without detection? Also note the zebra in the background. Whatever studio this is caters to a multitude of tastes -- even those pertaining to fake plastic animals.  Further along...      Good thing Melissa just stood there, rather than trying to help the guy. Actually, the room is locked behind a lockpick skill check of 10, so we couldn't have got in regardless.  We turn the corner, but the monster breaks the windows and jumps us. After taking it out, we continue forward.  D.M.P.? Death Mask Productions? Is this their studio? This lovely place behind an internet cafe?   The sets back here are all drenched in blood. Soon enough, however...  ...we find someone who isn't dead.   Yeah, yeah... I uh mean, uh, n-no. Uh... f-gently caress it! Yeah, I'm with DMP. You 5-0?No, but we don't even get the chance to deny it. What the hell is going on? Those are the same creatures on your tape. Flynn's hunch was right. What "house in the hills" could he be talking about? And why would someone be snooping around there in the first place? What mansion? Where is it? Please, please... jus-just get me outta here. OH NO! AHHHHHH!!!   Our man lies dead. We deal with the monster, and head to the left.  Through the open air vent.  And into the server room we previously passed.  Huh? It's here?  We received two experience from picking it up. Why the complete tape turned up here is a little suspect. Have they been making copies from back here? Is this the original? Or is this just a copy that they slapped the "devilspawn fleshfeast" label on?  Regardless, we've got to head back to Isaac now.  On our way out, we find the scene deserted. They might have heard the screaming -- I don't know. Back to Isaac.  Well, we already cleared up the Ash situation, but we might as well tell Isaac how it went. Ash is in trouble, there are hunters after him.Were.  Then there is nothing I can do. Involving myself would be... no, I'm certain Ash will find some way out of his mess. What? Are you scared of hunters? It would be foolish not to be. Once they've got your scent, they're like a murderous paparazzi.Isaac, being formerly of the film industry, uses suitable similes considering his past. Then won't they kill Ash no matter where he goes? I don't question the difficulty of escape, but I have faith in my childe. I'll say no more about this. Alright, well, another thing -- I found that tape. And the things on it -- they're real. Then this is no doubt the work of a fiend. Hand me the tape - there might be something on it that will give us some insight into what its motives are. Here, we get to watch the tape in its entirety. I'll just link to a video of it, for the full experience: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thIkFkD-vLg  Well, it's unfortunate that the prince needs you to see the Nosferatu, because it looks like this fiend knows how to get at them, and I doubt he's going to draw a map for you. Looks like King's Way is your only way in, unfortunately.Why create the tape in the first place? I suppose you'll be staying here. I can have a car drop you off when you're ready. If I don't hear from the Nosferatu within the next few nights, I'll tell LaCroix he's going to need a new leading lady and march a few of my own troops up there.Thanks for the vote of confidence. Thanks, but I'll take a cab. Who, then, should I trust? That's for you to decide. I only know who you can't trust. I don't trust you either. I'm out of here.So ends this quest -- this chapter in our Bloodlines experience. Another one is incoming. I apologize that this has been a little late. I won't lie: creating these updates is no longer fun for me. Instead, writing this LP has become more of a chore than anything else. I won't abandon this LP, though, since that would mean throwing all of my previous work away. By the way, we've got a few possible courses of action. I might hold a vote soon for what to do next. gatz fucked around with this message at 07:36 on Jun 1, 2014 |
|
#
?
Jun 1, 2014 05:41
|
|
|
The video's blocked on copyright claims, unfortunately.
|
|
#
?
Jun 1, 2014 06:10
|
|
|
I never knew about the gargoyle in the theater. Can you take him down? I played a gargoyle once in oWoD and it was a ton of fun.
|
|
#
?
Jun 1, 2014 06:11
|
|
|
Deadmeat5150 posted:I never knew about the gargoyle in the theater. Can you take him down? I played a gargoyle once in oWoD and it was a ton of fun. We'll just have to find out.  Pidmon posted:The video's blocked on copyright claims, unfortunately. Help me understand this:  Should I dispute the claim? I don't really do this youtube stuff very much. Who in the world is XMediaDigitalAggregator?
|
|
#
?
Jun 1, 2014 06:21
|
|
|
Flynn being a store must be a WESP thing, as I don't recall ever running in to it in my play through.gatz posted:Melissa only tingles to youtube ASMR videos. Nothing more erotic than hearing absolutely disgusting noises for 4 minutes. She'll have to be more specific. *EDIT* Did a little Google-fu for you. Most of the hits I'm seeing for X Media Digital are from 2011 - you can find rants about them on Youtube. Looks like it's bullshit. citybeatnik fucked around with this message at 06:30 on Jun 1, 2014 |
|
#
?
Jun 1, 2014 06:24
|
|
|
gatz posted:We'll just have to find out. So, X-media is a Russian youtube partner and pseudo umbrella group that is known for being trigger happy when trying to "protect" the LPers that produce for them. You are being hit by an automated system. You could try to dispute the claim and end run to someone at Google. Also, bug X-media and try to get them to reverse their claim, although who knows how that will work.
|
|
#
?
Jun 1, 2014 06:39
|
|
|
Can you see this one? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thIkFkD-vLg
|
|
#
?
Jun 1, 2014 07:06
|
|
|
Both videos worked fine for me. Sorry to hear you're not enjoying the LP anymore though, I'm enjoying reading it though.
|
|
#
?
Jun 1, 2014 07:42
|
|
|
gatz posted:Can you see this one? Video works for me. I'm really enjoying this LP, but if it's not fun or rewarding for you, go on and do other things. Life is short. How close are you to completing the game?
|
|
#
?
Jun 1, 2014 08:01
|
|
|
gatz posted:Here, we get to watch the tape in its entirety. I'll just link to a video of it, for the full experience: 
|
|
#
?
Jun 1, 2014 08:34
|
|
|
gatz posted:We'll just have to find out.
|
|
#
?
Jun 1, 2014 10:25
|
|
|
Funny, I discovered my first ASMR video recently. I wasn't sure what I was watching. We've already had Romero and few others so I'd bet Flynn is a reference to Larry Flynn. I'm pretty sure WESP didn't add a whole new character though like another poster was asking. He's been in my basic patch runthroughs.Automatic Slim posted:How close are you to completing the game? Not very, unfortunately. Thanks for going above and beyond the call, gatz. Do it at your own speed.
|
|
#
?
Jun 1, 2014 15:07
|
|
This poster loves police brutality, but only when its against minorities!
|
Tony SpaZ posted:I'm sorry, are they really claiming that single second of darkness is copyrighted? As in, literally one second? It's dumb and has been going on for years and will sadly probably keep going for a long while still. Edit: DeusExMachinima posted:Not very, unfortunately. Thanks for going above and beyond the call, gatz. Do it at your own speed. 
radintorov fucked around with this message at 15:20 on Jun 1, 2014 |
|
#
?
Jun 1, 2014 15:16
|
|
|
DeusExMachinima posted:I'm pretty sure WESP didn't add a whole new character though like another poster was asking. He's been in my basic patch runthroughs. Nawh, Flynn's been in the game since the beginning. What I'm wondering about is whether he was a shop/merchant in the original, pre-patched game or not.
|
|
#
?
Jun 1, 2014 15:31
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 25, 2024 00:00 |
|
|
I don't remember him ever having a shop. I haven't been to this part of the game since the game came out back in 2004 before all these fancy-shmancy fan patches and I'm pretty sure he didn't have a shop you could actually buy from.
|
|
#
?
Jun 1, 2014 16:09
|
|
