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I recommend not deliberately grinding alchemy spells beyond the first few levels unless you want to break the game completely; offensive alchemy is broken because the damage scaling doesn't matter-- averaging 500 damage or 999 damage to every enemy on screen means the same thing when enemies will have less than 300 HP each; what matters is how convenient it is for you to do so. With that said, you should definitely use Hard Ball as it is among the most powerful offensive spells in the game through sheer efficiency. It'll one shot enemies just the same as other spells, but you can cast it 99 times, it has a fast animation, and most importantly its ingredients are cheap, easily available in most areas of the game, and aren't used in other alchemy spells you'll be using often. Flash is trash because its extra damage is meaningless overkill on enemies Hard Ball will kill just as easily, is known to glitch out and not hit enemies, and its ingredients cost more for less castings and competes with spells you're more likely to want to use.
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Mar 5, 2016 08:15
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One nice thing about the run mechanic in this game (compared to the Mana series) is that if you repeatedly tap A you can run pretty much indefinitely. It looks weird but you move just as fast without depleting the attack meter much.
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Mar 5, 2016 16:44
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Oh, so that's just... some random dude who decided to live out in the Bugmuck and be an alchemist there. You keep doin' you, brother.
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Mar 5, 2016 20:19
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Update Five: Thrashing Thraxx Hey, everyone! We're back with another Secret of Evermore update; last time, we started our trip into the Bugmuck, where we found an alchemist, learned Hard Ball, and then saved our game. Today, we're going to finish off the Bugmuck and find Strong Heart, so let's boogie.  I'm glad our new alchemist friend was so cool with us.  Hey, look, a mosquito!  May as well try out our new spell.  It seemed to take that fella a moment to realize he was being murderized.  Moving along, let's see our other spell in action.  Neither spell is particularly powerful, right now, but as we get them some levels, they'll get stronger.  If I remember to use them like I should. There's a good chance I'll forget.     In other news, I tried Nutella for the first time last night.  And, dear God, is it tasty.  My wife had me try it with pretzel sticks, and I had to actively fight not to finish the bag and open the second one she had.  I imagine Nutella is tasty and delicious on many other things. I'm thinking of trying it on donuts.   Over to the left, we find some more Clay.  For now, we're going to skip past the entrance to that structure and keep exploring.  Over here, I use and grab another Petal.  And our dog hits level 5.   Looking at it, does that structure remind anyone else of a giant bug?  This entrance could be the mouth or something.  Maybe I'm reaching.  These slides are on either side. If you're running this place for the first time (or if it's been a while and you're not using a guide), you will probably be quite familiar with them by the end of it.   There are maggots and Tar Skulls littered around here, but they're basically just annoyances at this point.  Another annoyance here, and the main gimmick, is that when you cross over certain paths, they will crumble and disappear. I've also gotten my rear end kicked a bit here.  So here's a Petal in action. 40 HP recovered, and you don't take damage until you've been healed.  That path just above us crumbled before we even stepped on it.  As did this one.  At this point, frustrated at these stupid paths, I also realized I had a good bunch of money, so I hoof it back to the village.  On the way back, our Bone Crusher hits level two.  What does that mean, exactly? If you look at our stamina, you'll notice it's now replaced with a bar. At 100% stamina, we can hold down the attack button to start charging our attack.  Which leads to a big ol' pimpsmack with our Femur of Fury, which will deal a bunch of damage.   Let's buy some armor!   We walk away with a Grass Vest, Grass Hat, and Vine Bracelet. I would have bought Zach the Leather Collar, but I didn't have the money for it. The Vest and Hat have a defense bonus of 2, while the Bracelet has a bonus of 1.  And Zach has a ton of defense anyways. The Leather Collar has a bonus of 5. And if we're patient, we can get a free one later.  And back to the Bugmuck!  Where we hit level 7!   Alright, let's get back to this poo poo.  Just gotta navigate our way through and--  ...We're left with one option. Let's accept our fate with dignity!  THAT DOESN'T LOOK LIKE DIGNITY  Alright, so, I would like to guide you through this place and show you the path to take, but that'd be boring as gently caress in screenshots.  And somehow, seeing me hit a maggot with a bone is more interesting.  Let's probe deeper into the lair of the giant bug.    This looks like a maze, but it really isn't. The upper paths crossing over the lower makes it look confusing, but there's no criss-crossing or anything like that with them.  There are these paths leading outside, though.  This one leads to nowhere.  On the other side, we can get somewhere.   And not just to this Petal. Though, you probably will want all the Petals you can get.   Dashing on through (nothing interesting was missed), we come out the other side.  Leading to another Petal. But we're full up on Petals.  So I use a Petal on York, head south, and go back into the lair.   Being able to dash is so very nice. It helps with speeding past enemies that aren't worth fighting.  And for reaching Biscuits.  From there, we head north, to the boss fight.   This fight goes on waaaay too long and I could have done better, but don't judge me!  Sweet Christ, look at that fuckin' guy.  And, yes, that is the same boss from the box art. I'm not sure why Thraxx is on the cover, but I suppose he is a good eye-catching monster.  So, there's a lot going on in this fight. Thraxx has alchemy to use, two arms that hit like bastards, and he can drop maggots into the arena, so you have to fight them, too, in addition to staying out of range of his strikes and wondering if he's going to blast you.  And you can see his heart behind his ribcage; that's his weakpoint. If we want to do any appreciable damage, we've gotta get in there.   Just wanted to show off smashing a maggot with our charged attack. Any damage above 50 pops into those big numbers.   If you get hit by one of his claws, it'll do a bit of damage and fling you backward. If you're not careful, you can get caught in a loop where you try to attack the claws and keep getting smacked around.   Thraxx has 600 HP to his name. Until we get at that heart, we'll not be doing much more damage than this.  In case you didn't get the point just yet, alchemy is magic by another name. Bosses and some enemies can use it, and I'm not sure how Thraxx here is throwing ingredients together.    If you lose track of your HP, Acid Rain can easily end your poo poo. It's nothing to scoff at.   It's hard to see it, but I'm smacking the Heart with a regular attack.  The Heart takes damage quite poorly.  After striking the heart, Thraxx lets out a shriek that sends York and Zach flying back, across the arena.  It's not unusual to see Zach fall at least once during this fight, so that Biscuit will come in handy.  We get some big, green, fancy sparkles to bring our canine companion back.  And then I throw a Flash at the heart.   Alchemy passes through the ribcage, but I prefer using physical attacks to take care of it. Alchemy is kind of expensive at this time, since ingredients are kind of costly, and when you get a charged hit off on the Heart, it does a shitload of damage.  Throwing fireballs at a giant bug's heart is pretty kickass, though, so I keep it up.  And Flash hits level 1!   After taking out the 250 HP that each arm has, Zach gains a level!   And then we blow off the other arm, getting York to level 8!  Now that we're in there, let's hit it with a charged attack.    And then our dog rips Thraxx's heart to shreds.   Now that's a nice amount of cash. Be able to afford a lot of ingredients with that.  I'm not sure why the giant bug (spider? Is Thraxx a spider?) explodes, but it's pretty  , so I'm not going to complain. And, even better, we get a new, stronger, weapon after the fight! Our first axe is the Spider's Claw (I guess Thraxx is a spider), and it has five points of attack over our bone, and it can cut down certain foliage. Plus, it's an axe, and that's just metal.  So let's free whatever poor bastard is locked in here.   You're welcome and alla that, but who the hell are you?  Oh. Hey, we've been looking for you!  Nobilian? I wonder if we'll ever meet someone from that place or go there ourselves.   : I'm very happy to meet you both. I was searching for alchemy ingredients when I stumbled upon that monster. If you didn't come along and save me, I would have been eaten alive! Please take this gift with my thanks. I'll never turn down free ingredients. Sure, they're common and scattered hither and yon, but free stuff is free stuff.   And that was Strong Heart. He'll be heading back to the village now.  So let's hoof it after him. No place else to go, y'know.  The Spider's Claw is a nice boost over the Femur, like I said.   Oh, neat, a couple of Crystals!  I forgot this was here, so I could have skipped buying the Vine Bracelet.  But, on that same ticket, I never found it harmful to have a little extra defense.  We're taking the cliffs back to Fire Eyes' Village.  And finding some goodies along the way.  See those plants there? We couldn't pass them before.  But, with our axe, we can now cut through them and walk past.   And we can get into another area, that doesn't have much of interest.  Zach can level his attack up, too, for a charged attack.  It's just a longer range, harder hitting, version of his regular attack, but still cool at the same.  And it hits like a son of a bitch. Much like Zach does.  Alright, back to the village. There's a side area to visit, but there's only some alchemy ingredients hidden around there, and I don't think that's interesting enough to show off.   That'll wait until next time, York. For now, let's take a break. Next time, we'll go chat with Fire Eyes and Strong Heart. Stay tuned!
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Mar 5, 2016 21:37
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Thraxx is one hell of an opener boss because he can wreck you if you don't have enough healing. I think my younger self grinded on those weird turtle things for a long, LONG time because the first time I fought Thraxx he kicked my butt. Have you tried walking around with the Dog? He moves very slowly, but he has some neat mechanics.
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Mar 5, 2016 21:56
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Leavemywife posted:
Broken image when I read the update.
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Mar 5, 2016 22:03
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The 'entrance' to the big bug is the rear of the bug. Look at the wall behind Thraxx after you blow him up: two eyes and a large mouth  It's kind of surprising that Strong Heart went into the big bug for alchemy ingredients because the place is actually pretty lousy for them. Bugmuck itself is way better for that. Thraxx pro strat: if you wedge yourself to the left or right (and hitboxes cooperate) you can keep yourself from getting tossed out of his ribcage, allowing another hit on the heart. You can theoretically do this indefinitely until he dies and leave the maggots to your dog (who should be killing them in one hit, if not you're way underleveled) although it kind of relies on the ribcage's hitboxes cooperating. I think my highest streak is 3 hits on the heart before the game decides that's enough and I either get stuck in the ribcage itself or pushed out. The arms generally aren't worth it despite having a lot of XP, they're a royal pain to hit with anything except alchemy and with 250 hp combined with your weak alchemy formulas it's far more likely you'll run out of ingredients before you kill them.
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Mar 5, 2016 22:04
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You going to grab Acid Rain? I mean it's not the best spell but there's still stuff to loot there too.
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Mar 5, 2016 22:08
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Very nicely done with the long and difficult first boss fight. I'll also say thanks for appeasing my curiosity as I did not know whether or not it was possible to level up during that fight. One other thing that might help it go faster is that the ribcage is targetable and can be damaged with Alchemy or weapons, and damaging it causes it to open more frequently. If I recall it can be forced open for the whole fight if it takes enough damage. Also of note, you can take some control of Zach's AI and instruct him to use the charged attacks or stick with regular attacks. What is especially nice is his ability to retain his charge while sprinting if he is AI-controlled. The downside to this of course being that he attacks far less frequently as he will not attack if he does not have a full charge. Oh, and Nutella is nice with toast, but perhaps best in some sort of crepe or with pita chips.
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Mar 5, 2016 23:01
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Leave, check your PMs, I replied to you. Also, Nutella goes great on graham crackers, I've found, but it's tough to dip since you can break the cracker in the jar, leaving you to dig it out with a finger or other utensil.  Thraxx is a good first boss, and this elegantly shows us how the fight typically goes. It's a tough, brutal slog that sets the stage for all the future bosses. This one can kill you through attrition alone. The screenshots don't depict how difficult it really can be; Acid Rain and the claws can do some damage, the constantly-spawning maggots can get in your way, but the real kicker is that every time Thraxx roars, it pushes you "down" the screen, and deals some damage. Frequently you'll fight your way to the ribcage, get yelled at while waiting for an opening, and despair when it effectively resets your position. The Maggots can actually be a lifesaver, though. They still give experience points and they can drop Petals during the fight, giving you a nice edge. If you can arrange it so an item drops, you can sorta catch yourself on it when the bug bursts your eardrums and keep some space. If you're really lucky, you can get a one to drop some loot right at the ribcage, giving you a semi-permanent wall to use to stay on the heart for the rest of the battle. You shouldn't need that to win though. There's an easy way, though. As mentioned, the claws, heart, and ribcage are all separate targets. You can kill the claws (though I think after some time they may respawn) and sorta-kill the ribcage; doing enough damage to it keeps them open for a good length of time. The heart is extremely vulnerable to any kind of damage you throw at it. If you've trained Hard Ball a little before this fight (Level 1 or 2), you can very easily make the fight a cakewalk if you can spare the ingredients for it. A Level 2 Hard Ball can do 80~90 ish damage if my literally dying memory is accurate. Also, you missed a secret! Luckily, it isn't that far to backtrack to now that you have the Spider's Claw. Not sure how you feel about secrets you've passed-by being called out, and I'll omit this if you want, but unless otherwise noted, I'll share what I know when these things happen. Leavemywife posted:
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Mar 6, 2016 00:34
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Nutella is good on pretty much everything peanut butter is. Try it on hamburgers!
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Mar 6, 2016 00:50
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ModeWondershot posted:Very nicely done with the long and difficult first boss fight. I'll also say thanks for appeasing my curiosity as I did not know whether or not it was possible to level up during that fight. Pretty much all the boss fights with adds will give XP in the middle of a fight. Same with boss fights that have separate bosses like the Raptors way back when. Granted, it's not quite as useful as you might think since (1) it can be hard to time and (2) in some cases you're better off killing the main boss rather than wasting time on his minions (though not this one due to the ribcage mechanic).
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Mar 6, 2016 01:08
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Seiren posted:Leave, check your PMs, I replied to you. Also, Nutella goes great on graham crackers, I've found, but it's tough to dip since you can break the cracker in the jar, leaving you to dig it out with a finger or other utensil. Well yeah, you're not supposed to dip the graham crackers into the Nutella. You're supposed to melt a couple of marshmallows on top of one cracker, then spread Nutella on a second one to make smores.
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Mar 6, 2016 01:49
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Once Upon A Midnight Dreary, I Became Super Fat: Let's Play The Secret Of Evermore.
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Mar 6, 2016 02:16
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Personally I avoid Nutella like the plague. But then again not only am I a weirdo who doesn't like chocolate, I'm also allergic to hazelnuts.
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Mar 6, 2016 02:25
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I don't like Nutella. It's a bastardization of choclate. Also, I don't like hazelnuts. Or most nuts.
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Mar 6, 2016 03:20
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Seiren posted:
Keldulas posted:You going to grab Acid Rain? I mean it's not the best spell but there's still stuff to loot there too. Yeah you don't want to miss out on the Acid Rain alchemist. It's a crappy spell but he's the cheapest ingredient merchant in the entire game, so he's worth remembering.
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Mar 6, 2016 03:49
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Seiren posted:Also, you missed a secret! Luckily, it isn't that far to backtrack to now that you have the Spider's Claw. Not sure how you feel about secrets you've passed-by being called out, and I'll omit this if you want, but unless otherwise noted, I'll share what I know when these things happen. As always, if I miss something, let me know. If I can't go back, talk about it as much as you can. I'm not great at this LP thing, but I don't want to appear completely incompetent.
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Mar 6, 2016 04:16
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I literally cannot tell the difference between Nutella and chocolate. I mean, it tastes good, but it also makes me feel like I'm about to die if I eat a lot. Leave is already farther than I ever got in this game. I only got it when I was about to graduate high school and I had a lot more poo poo to do than sit around and play old video games. Good to see it getting played, it seemed like fun when I tried it out.
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Mar 6, 2016 06:49
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Broken Box posted:Yeah you don't want to miss out on the Acid Rain alchemist. It's a crappy spell but he's the cheapest ingredient merchant in the entire game, so he's worth remembering. Plus at this point he's not really worth it.
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Mar 6, 2016 06:52
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I Missed A Formula: Acid Rain I missed it during the recording, but some people informed me that I had missed Acid Rain during the last update. Frankly, I'm not surprised, and I appreciate those who pointed it out. I'd like to say this is the last formula I'm going to miss, but we all know that isn't the case. There's a formula coming up much later that I know I'm going to miss, because you have to navigate a special path through a pain in the rear end maze. But we'll get to that when we get there. For now, let's snag Acid Rain.  It's on the path leading away from Thraxx, after you smash his oversized behind.   There's a hidden path here; it's kind of subtle, or maybe not. Either way, I walked right past it without thinking about it.  There's also another bit of Clay, a Biscuit, and some Water in these gourds.  Further to the right, we get the formula proper.   Considering what he was up to before, this probably qualifies as a hell of a big day for York. Zach doesn't seem to be that concerned.  You're not wrong. Things are getting better, though. We have an axe now.   Lava!? I don't want to go through any lava!   It's not a new spell, as Thraxx used it, but it's now in our hands!   We've found an assload of Water, yeah, but that still seems a little costly for a spell. Ash isn't hard to find, either. But a 3:1 mixture seems a little cost-heavy on the one side.  Still, it's another alchemy formula, so why not equip it?  This guy also acts as an ingredient shop.  Where I take the opportunity to stock up on Crystals and Clay. And, yes, I have 54 of each, so that is 54 castings of Hard Ball.  But before that, let's jack those two gourds.  We also snag four parts of Ash.   And I bid you adieu, Constant Reader. See you next time, for a real update.
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Mar 6, 2016 09:16
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So in order to make acid rain, you first mix a handful of ash into a shitload of water. You then throw the mildly dirty water at someone. Okay, sure.
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Mar 6, 2016 09:21
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DoubleNegative posted:So in order to make acid rain, you first mix a handful of ash into a shitload of water. You then throw the mildly dirty water at someone. I thought ash is alkaline?
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Mar 6, 2016 09:31
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DoubleNegative posted:So in order to make acid rain, you first mix a handful of ash into a shitload of water. You then throw the mildly dirty water at someone. (yes, ash is alkaline. Consists of unburnt mineral residues, including carbonates, which are alkaline in aqueous solution)
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Mar 6, 2016 09:39
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No Gravitas posted:I thought ash is alkaline? Simply Simon posted:I'm a chemist and I see no problem with this logic. I'll be damned. Wood ash + water = Lye. I honestly didn't realize that. Pretty cool!
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Mar 6, 2016 09:45
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And on the topic of Acid Rain...
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Mar 6, 2016 09:53
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I've come to realize something about that magic system in this game that I hadn't realized before, but explaining what would be spoilers. So I'm making myself a mental note to come back to this when it's timely.
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Mar 6, 2016 09:54
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Huh. I went back and looked, and the alchemy merchants' stock seems to be expanding as you learn new formulas. Does the one back in town offer all of those things for sale now, too?
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Mar 6, 2016 14:16
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There are a lot of formulae that can be missed in this game, and missing early-game ones can kind of suck as there is no way to get back to some of them after certain points. The ones you can go back for also require you to wait until you get a certain awesome mode of transport. In the interest of providing some advanced warning the next most easily missable ones are probably Defense in the village and Cure from Strong Heart back in the jungle you started in. After that, Speed in the volcano is one you can screw yourself out of if you finish the volcano stage before getting it.
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Mar 6, 2016 16:39
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Glazius posted:Huh. I went back and looked, and the alchemy merchants' stock seems to be expanding as you learn new formulas. Does the one back in town offer all of those things for sale now, too? No. An alchemist stocks whatever they stock regardless of whether or not you have a formula that uses it. So it's really just that not every alchemist stocks everything. Most notably, one future ingredient that's required for both a solid attack spell AND the Best Defensive Spell is ONLY sold by one guy in the entire game (a fairly accessible guy, but still). Edit: Also, the prices for each alchemist are set, though they might differ between alchemists. Water in the village is twice as expensive as from the Hard Ball alchemist in the swamp. MagusofStars fucked around with this message at 17:38 on Mar 6, 2016 |
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Mar 6, 2016 17:35
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For me, this is what I always think of when the topic of acid rain comes up.
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Mar 6, 2016 19:50
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Update Six: Strong Heart Loves Our Doggie Howdy, folks, and welcome back! Last time, on Secret of Evermore, we thrashed Thraxx, and then I had to go back for Acid Rain. Which I could have skipped as...It's Acid Rain. Eh is a good descriptor for it. Anywho, today, we're going to find out about another crisis, find out how Fire Eyes got her name, and hit up Strong Heart, so let's boogie.  I gained a level on my way back from getting Acid Rain.  And we learn that things have gotten pretty lovely. I guess the volcano provides all their heat. I'm...Is that possible?  Some more dialog around the village has changed, so let's go chat it up.  The Vipers? Who the hell are they?  I can't imagine there's much else going on to talk about. Besides the heat disappearing.  We'll get our reward in a bit. We've something else to get done first.   There's a formula available over here, past the armor shop. I think that's the only one around here, but if I missed one, just let me know.  We've gotta head into this hidden alcove thingy.  'sup, duder?  T'weren't no thing, sir.  "Granny's recipe for brick bread always knocks 'em dead!"   Well, I suppose if it were the right kind of clay, this could provide some sort of benefit.  I know one poster mentioned he was a chemist; I'm curious about how many of these formulas, so far, are viable. Simply Simon posted:I'm a chemist and I see no problem with this logic. Acid Rain seems to be good enough. Hard Ball is, too, since you're just putting a stone in some clay and winging that poo poo at someone. I suppose Flash works well enough, since the Wax looks like a candle, and assuming it's lit, mixing Oil with it would light some poo poo on fire. I'm starting to think that most of the formulas won't work out exactly, but if there is some element of truth to the composition, I'd like to hear about it.  We also find a Biscuit and four parts of Clay.  Alright, let's go visit Elizabeth.   More Ash can never hurt.   What's shakin', Miz Liz?  Well, we did kill some horrific, pants-making GBS threads monstrosity.  Coming up is one of my favorite lines.  Fire Eyes hardly gives a poo poo.  Yeah, you're welcome, by the way.  I heard. A volcano cooling down just seems...Awful. Especially when it provides the heat for your village.  What does the sun do here? Does it just provide light? The sun is a giant ball of nuclear hellfire, right?  I mean, that's terrible and all, but  York has a point. We are trying to find our way home. We didn't come here to solve the village's problems.  How the hell is that going to help?  Uh-huh...  So it's his fault we're here.  I'm not even sure what to say to this.  Who are you, fuckin' Ross?    Just a boy and his dog being abruptly dropped into the world?  Dear God, they've discovered the thermostat!  Mm, gotta love that alliteration.  ...We'll be burned alive?  How the hell does that make any sense!?  Well, York, what do you think?  ...Goddammit, I knew you would say something like that.  Alright, I'm with you so far.    I'm glad you have the self-awareness to realize that.  Once again, Fire Eyes proves that she is awesome.  And so, she gives us the alchemy formula for Cellular Communication. You take two parts Crystal and one part Root, and we can call on her at any time.   These could come in quite handy.  I'll be sure to show them off, and I might get a chance sooner than you expect.  Well, now, that's not very progressive, York.   : Let me show you why they call me "Fire Eyes."   Alright, let's see what you've---    Yes, ma'am.  There goes a truly frightening child.  What? Don't look at me like that. Free Ash!  Alright, let's go see Strong Heart. He's got something for us, too.  Two somethings, actually, and one I'll probably use more than the other.  The Spider's Claw is pretty fancy, but mostly because it's stronger than the Bone Crusher.  There's some different goodies hidden around here, but I won't show them all. They're mostly just alchemy ingredients.  Zach's attack sprite tends to scare the poo poo out of me.   Though, I should mention the axe will be outclassed soon enough.  Hey, speaking of outclassing things, we got a new helmet.  Not a ton better than our Grass Hat, but I'll take what I can get.   And this is Strong Heart's place. For being the village alchemist, he certainly lives a bit far from the place.   Hey, how's it going, Strong Heart?  No side effects from being sealed in that cocoon?  No baby Thraxx's planted inside your guts or musculature?  Or no weird bug viruses going through your veins?  He took what happened pretty calmly. Seems like he would have been a good choice for the Nostromo.  All in a day's work, bub.  Cure never sounds like a status healing spell to me. Final Fantasy does that if you play it long enough.  Hmm...Well, Roots are supposed to be good for you, depending on the Root, and if you mix it with the right Oil, you can rub it into your skin and purge the toxins. Oh, my God, Strong Heart is a goddamned New Age healer.   And he has ingredients for sale, too.   I stock up on Roots and Oil, just in case. Plus, it doesn't hurt to have a good stock of ingredients.  He can also save our game.  Real quick, let's switch over to Zach. We can choose to play as him; he's a bit lumbering, and powerful, and I don't see much reason to not play as York.  Big is kind of an understatement; I'd put Zach at around 160 or so. He's a pretty sizable creature.  "I also don't want my thighs to become your next snack."  Oooh, a treat for a good boy!  This is part of why I didn't buy the Leather Collar sooner.  Five points of defense isn't a ton, no, but hey, I won't turn it down. Alright, let's get back to the village.  Just wanted to make sure to include this as hell shot.  Let's take a sleep and pick this up later.  For those of you reading, you have a good night as well. Sleep well, dream even better, and have the best day that you can. Character Stats  
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Mar 7, 2016 07:30
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Huh. Wasn't expecting that plot point to happen quite so soon, or so anticlimactically. Anyway. The thing I realized earlier: the reason alchemy works the way it does is because the people using the machine wanted it to. They probably could have gone with words of power or rune magic or something if they'd preferred, but instead we get 'mix nightshade and mandrake root to cast In Quas Wis'.
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Mar 7, 2016 08:00
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FredMSloniker posted:Huh. Wasn't expecting that plot point to happen quite so soon, or so anticlimactically. Anyway. The thing I realized earlier: the reason alchemy works the way it does is because the people using the machine wanted it to. They probably could have gone with words of power or rune magic or something if they'd preferred, but instead we get 'mix nightshade and mandrake root to cast In Quas Wis'. I can sure try to provide some extra info on the chemistry of things when it comes up, but obviously, don't expect wonders from me - most of alchemy is basically magic, that should be clear. Clay is, like many natural materials used in building, a complicated mixture of various compounds that happen to find themselves geologically; I once look over the entry for Calcium in the big lexicon of inorganic compounds, that had ~2 pages for where to find it, how its properties are as an element, and ~4 pages on the chemistry of concrete and lime. To be specific, clay mostly consists of sheet silicates, which are silicon oxides (like sand is) that are slightly malleable because of their crystal structure, especially when hydrated. Remove the water, remove the plasticity. I don't think slightly raising the pH (making it more alkaline) by adding ash would do much, and a quick look on clay brick techniques didn't reveal me any where you add ash into the mix, so maybe it's a shorthand for a fire connection and you bake yourself a clay armor on the spot. Or it's a gameplay conceit because defensive spells are situational, so they give you one from common materials. For Heal, I'm even less of an expert, that's pharmacists' business. Generally though, natural cures can have some validity to them, because there tends to be a reason why people used this leaf or that root to chew on when plagued by headaches/gastrointestinal problems/severed limbs. Many modern drugs are derived by correctly identifying the compounds in the plants that are responsible for the healing effect, extracting them and maybe modifying them. For example: salicylic acid is found in the bark of the willow tree, and that was forever known as a remedy for various ailments. The acid itself, however, has side effects it taken directly, but if you modify it free hydroxy group by coupling it with acetic acid, most of those side effects disappear. You might know acetic salicylic acid as Aspirin. So some root, some oil to cure various problems? Sure, why not.
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Mar 7, 2016 09:13
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Volcano's do give a lot of ambient temperature and considering the made-up nature of this world it's likely that is keeping things nice and muggy for Prehistoria. Heck, the world's made up, who knows if there's actually a sun or if the whole thing's like the Truman Show Dome. Didn't know Strong Heart gave a free leather collar if you talked to him as the dog, then again, 5 points isn't much for him at this point. Those stats should be solidifying the party dynamic at this point: the boy is the all-around mage type while the Dog wrecks things by barking and pouncing on them. Ah, Defense. The first game-breaking formula. If Leave chose so he could take 1 damage from defense-caring attacks for the rest of the game due to an underflow glitch. When you save the game and do a soft reset, the game has it's normal save data and such but because of the soft reset it's also keeping track of buff/debuff timers on you. So the game thinks you still have those buff/debuffs on despite not having their effects active. So after the normal duration of Defense it'll wear off and the game will lower your defense by however much it was buffed, causing you to take more damage. If it takes away more defense than you naturally have... Well, the game wraps the integer around to it's 16 bit value, giving you a defense of over/around 60k. This is best done without armor as said armor works normally and can often wrap the value back around. Leveling can also wrap it back around at which point you'll have to save and reload the game properly in order to restore your actual defense value before trying to underflow it again.
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Mar 7, 2016 09:25
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Well, for defend, clay and ash go a long way towards making cement. In reality you need some lime too, but  I doubt cement makes a very practical armor, though.
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Mar 7, 2016 14:53
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EponymousMrYar posted:Volcano's do give a lot of ambient temperature and considering the made-up nature of this world it's likely that is keeping things nice and muggy for Prehistoria. Heck, the world's made up, who knows if there's actually a sun or if the whole thing's like the Truman Show Dome. Even without abusing the glitch, Defend is still extremely good. Leavemywife posted:
MagusofStars fucked around with this message at 02:03 on Mar 8, 2016 |
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Mar 8, 2016 01:59
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Thraxx is an rear end in a top hat. It would be one thing if the game as a whole were that difficult, but with one or two exceptions nearly every boss fight in the game is easier. (If only because your resources have increased.) Then again, if every boss were that hard I might never have finished the game.  One thing I do recall making that fight much easier was immediately blowing all my alchemy ingredients chain casting at the arms until they blew up. Like, you don't have to wait for Flash & Hard Ball to finish casting--you can bring up the menu right away and use the spell again until you run out of ingredients.
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Mar 8, 2016 02:34
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Castor Oil is a classic old-timey purgative/cure for what ails you, so, yeah, oil in the cure poison spell? Good enough.
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Mar 8, 2016 02:42
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Mar 8, 2016 07:21
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