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Maybe have a unit veterancy system, and for the Aztecs any basic unit can be sacrificed for a small amount of favor but for the big favor bucks they need to sacrifice their veterans.
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May 14, 2017 12:00
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| # ? May 11, 2024 08:19 |
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Hey, everyone, many of you probably already know this but I posted episode 14 on Monday: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3QotXQHtp4 Now I have internet access at home at last, so I can tell you about it. And post the next one much more easily in due time.
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May 25, 2017 01:59
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Oh man, I just got why Poseidon is on the enemy's side. Because he's a Cyclops. Like Polyphemus, he must be one of his sons.
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May 25, 2017 06:08
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Huh. It strikes me that one problem with having a throughline story through the mythologies is that Atlantis boy's got to be there for the whole thing. And will end up getting captured or disabled so some other mythology's units have their time to shine.
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May 25, 2017 21:49
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When I tried that mission on titan the first time I sent wave after wave of units at the sons of osiris and still lost so I eventually did the wall hop with Amanra.
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May 26, 2017 12:17
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Asehujiko posted:When I tried that mission on titan the first time I sent wave after wave of units at the sons of osiris and still lost so I eventually did the wall hop with Amanra. The trick is that you don't HAVE to make myth units. You can totally use your giant horde of starting peasants to slam down a couple of Migdols and easily train an army of chariot archers, petsuchos, and maybe a few siege towers. It doesn't actually take me more than a few extra minutes to win that way.
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May 27, 2017 01:48
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But why would you ever NOT use laser crocodiles? 
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May 27, 2017 01:53
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Slaan posted:But why would you ever NOT use laser crocodiles? So you can play Norse and use FIRE GIANTS! But yeah as Egyptians, of COURSE you want to use laser crocodiles, that's why they're part of the army I recommended! Just keep your precious crocs safe with a barrier of chariot archers.
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May 27, 2017 04:22
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Slaan posted:But why would you ever NOT use laser crocodiles? When their fire speed is too slow and their damage too weak(They do 1/4 damage, before his own Pierce armour, which is base 50%) to take down a chain-lightning spewing demigod with a massive damage bonus against laser-crocodiles and protections against the same. Up to 300 damage(60 base, x4 vs myth) chain-lightning is not to be trifled with. Even a human army is going to suffer terribly. And the enemy has 3. It's almost hilarious, really. Titan is...really, really ridiculous and don't think it's actually kinda easy because Melth makes it look like a joke. Even if you know what's coming, dealing with it is...oy. Bloodly fucked around with this message at 05:30 on May 27, 2017 |
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May 27, 2017 05:26
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I just started this LP a few days ago and am finally caught up. I usually don't read/watch ones for games I haven't played (which is why I gave it a pass when you first started it) but I enjoyed your previous three so much that I eventually came around. It isn't always possible for me to tell which elements of your victory are strategic (i.e., the army you'd built would always win that fight) or tactical (i.e. you are a god of micro) but I can definitely appreciate the obvious strategic parts. The summary of the Osiris myth you told doesn't actually match the version I was familiar with--in that one, Isis impregnated herself with Osiris' dismembered penis, and Horus was born while he was still dead. And, since this is all new to me, not several months old like it is for everyone else in the thread, I definitely understand why Awakening doesn't match what you enjoy about Fire Emblem but I think it's a mistake to write off the series for it. I can do an effortpost or PM for which games you haven't played (or am not aware you've played) that I think match your sensibilities, if you'd like.
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May 28, 2017 09:27
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cheetah7071 posted:I just started this LP a few days ago and am finally caught up. I usually don't read/watch ones for games I haven't played (which is why I gave it a pass when you first started it) but I enjoyed your previous three so much that I eventually came around. It isn't always possible for me to tell which elements of your victory are strategic (i.e., the army you'd built would always win that fight) or tactical (i.e. you are a god of micro) but I can definitely appreciate the obvious strategic parts. Well, as always, I'm flattered that I have so many fans like you who like my work on this stuff ^^ I've heard very many versions of the Osiris myth and about a dozen specific origin stories for Horus. In some of them Horus was outright born before Set killed Osiris and it's some totally different useless kid who's conceived after Isis puts him back together. Although I'm very stubborn and you're unlikely to change my mind, I certainly wouldn't say no to hearing your thoughts on good Fire Emblems.
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May 29, 2017 21:03
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Sure, I'll go ahead then. Writing off future FEs is definitely plausible for you--of the five games released since Awakening, only two of them are even plausible for you, and both of them come with caveats. I just want to challenge the idea that previous games in the series have nothing of value for you. FE1-3 are old games that have received enhanced remakes and there's really no reason to play them anymore FE4 (Genealogy of the Holy War) has one of the best stories in the franchise but ultimately has little tactical depth--most encounters are decided by figuring out which of your invindible god units is best against that enemy formation and watching the waves crash upon the shore. There's some strategic depth with how the pairing system works, and deciding who gets what weapons, but I suspect you want to give it a pass. FE5 (Thracia 776) is your ideal game (or your ideal Fire Emblem at least) given form. There's a wide variety of challenges instead of a series of samey maps, you have a large selection of extremely powerful tools all of which have very limited uses to force decision points, and you can in nearly every chapter make tactical concessions in order to gain more strategic resources. Most maps have side objectives (though unfortunately the game documents them poorly), there's a ton of micro-optimization to be gained by ensuring that your units all have the correct items in their inventory when they level up, and the fatigue system forces you to think ahead about not only which units you want to use on this chapter, but also which units you can't use this chapter because doing so would prevent you from using them later when they're more useful. The story is around FE7-8's level (though I'm a bit more down on FE7's story than you and this is more subjective so it's hard to be sure you'll have the same opinion), but unfortunately there's no professional-quality fan translation like there is for FE4, 6, or 12, so the prose will inevitably suffer. It does feature the best gameplay-story integration I've ever seen as well. All in all, I would definitely say that Thracia is by far the most Melth game I have ever played. In the interest of fairness, I'll list the main downsides: ambush reinforcements, an over-reliance on fog of war maps, and slightly more RNG than the GBA games (though ultimately not that much more). FE6-8 you've definitely played and formed opinions on. FE9 (Path of Radiance) I think you've played but I'm not sure so I'll give my pitch. It's basically the fourth GBA game. Maps have variety, and usually have side objectives. Shoving joins rescuing in terms of movement options a clever player can use to get ahead. The story is competent and much more grounded than usual, which makes it a typical favorite among the english-released games. FE10 (Radiant Dawn) is weird. The story is full of holes and stupid even on its face, but there's definitely Melthy gameplay elements in there, which might be enough to offset those concerns. Shoving and Rescuing are back. Maps often force re-evaluations on which unit types are good (e.g. indoor maps give mounted units -2 move). Many, many maps have a limited cast available, forcing you to decide which of the clown squad is least bad. The absolute biggest strike against it though is that hard mode features the most boneheaded changes I've ever seen in my life--the weapon triangle gets removed and you can no longer check enemy movement ranges so you have to count squares manually. FE11 (Shadow Dragon) is plausible. The graphics are kinda hideous and the plot is a barely-touched-up NES game plot (meaning there's many characters whose only line is their death quote) but the gameplay is mostly solid. There's a few stinker maps but most of them are quality, and a number of them feature fast-paced side objectives like you prefer. They're all seize maps unfortunately, and the optimal strategy is to use your copious piles of warp staves to skip the second half of the game. The gaiden maps also require you to play poorly intentionally to get them which is a shame. FE12 (New Mystery of the Emblem) is probably the game I'd recommend second-most highly for you. It has the same ugly graphics as Shadow Dragon but the plot is a barely-touched-up SNES game instead of NES game, and it shows. (Limited) supports were also added to give everybody a bit more character. On a gameplay note, it hits many of the things you love about Fire Emblem. Many maps have side objectives, and many have elements forcing you to rush forward or fight on two fronts (usually either to outrun a thief or escape reinforcements from behind). The warp staff is removes if you're playing above normal mode, but the rescue staff remains and is available early--and playing cleverly with it is often the only way to accomplish your goals on lunatic. The biggest strikes against it gameplay-wise are ambush reinforcements (above normal mode), and that upwards of 50% of the cast are completely unplayably worthless even on the chapter they join (on lunatic). You're practically forced to use the same army as everybody else who's ever beaten lunatic, with maybe one or two substitutions. FE13 you've formed your opinion on and I agree it's not your kind of game. FE14 BR (Fates Birthright) isn't your kind of game. FE14 CQ (Fates Conquest) is definitely something you might like, but with very heavy caveats. Most skills in Fates are static modifiers rather than percentage procs like in Awakening, but proc skills still exist. Pair up no longer has RNG and there's a lot of cleverness deciding you want the defensive boosts of pairing up or the offensive boosts of standing next to each other. There's a lot of tactical depth in the new pair up system and the new weapon system (weapons don't have uses; instead, weapons better than iron have static disadvantages) which many people find exhausting but I'm sure you'd revel in. There's some bad parts too, though--there's basically no strategic depth beyond choosing who to give experience to. Everything is a tactical challenge. And, with a few specific exceptions, chapters aren't even holistic tactical challenges--each enemy group is a separate obstacle, and after you overcome it you have all the time you need to heal up and regroup. In addition, the story is by far the worst in the series, and everyone who reads it gets dumber for having exposed themselves to it. Ultimately this is only a game for you if you decide you like the series again enough to put up with some very substandard elements--but it does have parts you'd like alongside them. FE14 RV (Fates Revelation) is a bad game. Don't play it. That goes for anybody reading this thread, not just Melth. FE15 (Echoes: Shadows of Valentia) is a very good game that doesn't match your tastes probably. FEH (Fire Emblem Heroes) is actually not as implausible as you might think for you. The main advantage it'd have over playing a full-sized game is that it can provide bite-sized tactical challenges that you finish in a few minutes when you don't have time to play something more substantial. It's a gacha game of course so if you're f2p there's RNG in even getting the units you want but you're almost guaranteed to get something good, and it can be interesting to try to figure out how to beat challenges when you don't have any of the pieces that perform best against them.
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May 29, 2017 21:58
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cheetah7071 posted:FE4 (Genealogy of the Holy War) has one of the best stories in the franchise but ultimately has little tactical depth--most encounters are decided by figuring out which of your invindible god units is best against that enemy formation and watching the waves crash upon the shore. There's some strategic depth with how the pairing system works, and deciding who gets what weapons, but I suspect you want to give it a pass. The only way you can get any difficulty out of this game's second half is if you intentionally don't pair anybody except the Sigurd/Deirdre pair that the game makes for you, in which case you get to have fun managing an army of actual mooks against an army that was built around you having real characters. And that's just for the second half, the first half is invalidated entirely by the presence of Sigurd, the single most broken Lord in the entire series. cheetah7071 posted:FE9 (Path of Radiance) I think you've played but I'm not sure so I'll give my pitch. It's basically the fourth GBA game. Maps have variety, and usually have side objectives. Shoving joins rescuing in terms of movement options a clever player can use to get ahead. The story is competent and much more grounded than usual, which makes it a typical favorite among the english-released games. Have fun finding this one by the way, this is probably the single hardest-to-find Fire Emblem outside of the Satellaview scenarios for Mystery of the Emblem. cheetah7071 posted:...Many, many maps have a limited cast available, forcing you to decide which of the clown squad is least bad. The absolute biggest strike against it though is that hard mode features the most boneheaded changes I've ever seen in my life--the weapon triangle gets removed and you can no longer check enemy movement ranges so you have to count squares manually. Sordas Volantyr fucked around with this message at 23:00 on May 29, 2017 |
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May 29, 2017 22:54
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There is no Japanese easy mode in Radiant Dawn. The difficulties were just straight up renamed from normal, hard, and lunatic to easy, normal, and hard. You're probably thinking of Path of Radiance, which had the Japanese maniac mode removed, an easy mode added, and hard mode made a bit harder to compensate for no maniac mode.
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May 29, 2017 22:57
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cheetah7071 posted:There is no Japanese easy mode in Radiant Dawn. The difficulties were just straight up renamed from normal, hard, and lunatic to easy, normal, and hard. Whoopsie-doodle! Fixed that, although I mentioned the Path of Radiance bit (but not the part where English Hard mode is a smidge harder to make up for no Lunatic).
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May 29, 2017 23:01
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Sordas Volantyr posted:Have fun finding this one by the way, this is probably the single hardest-to-find Fire Emblem outside of the Satellaview scenarios for Mystery of the Emblem. Really? Good thing I picked it up back when it came out, I guess.
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May 30, 2017 00:26
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malkav11 posted:Really? Good thing I picked it up back when it came out, I guess. Same here The Tellius FEs are my favorite in the series
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May 30, 2017 04:04
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKzSamVdGUg Bam!
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Jun 6, 2017 05:15
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*mutters furiously* How do you do it? You just trounced this mission with a bunch of villagers and spearmen. It's almost a shame you beat it this quickly. There's a bunch of random stuff in this map that has no real purpose but is nice to look at.
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Jun 6, 2017 05:56
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Are there supposed to be a bunch more enemies you skipped by going fast? Obviously you skipped the guards outside the prison, but other than that, there's nothing but a few towers and three anubites between you and the final battle--what's supposed to be the factor that forces you to slow down and care about playing this as an RTS instead of a beat em up?
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Jun 6, 2017 06:12
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cheetah7071 posted:Are there supposed to be a bunch more enemies you skipped by going fast? Obviously you skipped the guards outside the prison, but other than that, there's nothing but a few towers and three anubites between you and the final battle--what's supposed to be the factor that forces you to slow down and care about playing this as an RTS instead of a beat em up? see the "time until osiris piece is moved" timer? If you don't get control of it before then they put it much deeper into their base. But I really doubt that the developers even imagined that anyone would just rush the piece, not build a base or an actual army e; looking it up, that timer is apparently triggered by looking at the box, so... just don't do that. Mazerunner fucked around with this message at 06:55 on Jun 6, 2017 |
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Jun 6, 2017 06:50
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Encore, encore!
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Jun 6, 2017 07:17
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Hmmph, you missed several seconds because the Osiris piece wasn't properly microed. More seriously: that's totally nuts and you ruined that mission with basic units. I love the part at the start where the prison has a heavily defended front door and also a back entrance that's just... totally undefended and open. Taking the base early with snake powers was also a great time saver.
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Jun 6, 2017 07:29
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Got the Osiris piece quickly with the help of those not aligned to Set. The Melth method was truer to the opening cutscene than building a base would have been...
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Jun 6, 2017 08:16
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Bubba Joe is an amazing name for a pharaoh.
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Jun 6, 2017 08:56
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So normally on this mission, there's a side objective where you have to break through an enemy village on your island, and go through an armed guard to destroy their Lighthouse. Doing so gives an amusing scene where the enemy Navy crashes into a bunch of rocks. (Or rather they sail into a rocky area and their kill commands are activated)
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Jun 6, 2017 10:29
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cheetah7071 posted:Are there supposed to be a bunch more enemies you skipped by going fast? Obviously you skipped the guards outside the prison, but other than that, there's nothing but a few towers and three anubites between you and the final battle--what's supposed to be the factor that forces you to slow down and care about playing this as an RTS instead of a beat em up?
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Jun 6, 2017 10:29
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Ha, that serpent trick was great.
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Jun 6, 2017 13:23
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You would think if the developers were going to give the player certain hero powers to begin with they would test to make sure those powers can't cheese the entire mission.
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Jun 6, 2017 13:40
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Why? Nobody but speed runners want to cheese single player games. And that population is tiny. Other bugs and balancing issues would have to take priority.
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Jun 6, 2017 17:35
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Ra Ra Rasputin posted:You would think if the developers were going to give the player certain hero powers to begin with they would test to make sure those powers can't cheese the entire mission. Using the snakes to get an early start to your base building is hardly a game breaking exploit.
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Jun 6, 2017 19:04
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It's far preferable to very rigid railroading into doing what the devs intended to be the one and only true way to do a mission.
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Jun 6, 2017 19:08
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Poil posted:It's far preferable to very rigid railroading into doing what the devs intended to be the one and only true way to do a mission. Yeah.
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Jun 6, 2017 21:38
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As a few notes, if you're not speedrunning then you don't really WANT to do the snake trick. See, the challenge on this mission is that both enemy bases actually attack you hard very fast, so if your entire army is not home to defend then you will lose your base. More problematically, they will attack you in about 8 minutes with an absolutely overwhelming naval force of myth units and siege ships, so you won't be free to travel around after that. As a result, if you DO want to destroy the enemy lighthouse, the best way is actually to just sail over there immediately from the prison. It's right next door. With good micro you can take out the heavy guard there with 0 casualties, wreck the flimsy lighthouse, grab some free relics, and then set sail to claim your base. This doesn't actually make much difference though, the lighthouse thing is kind of buggy. Sometimes the pirate base still sends naval forces at you, they always still send their annoying Petsuchos land forces at you, and the other base is actually the main naval threat anyway. In conventional play I found that I could actually obliterate the pirate base, destroy the lighthouse, grab the osiris piece, and get to the gate with it in about 12 minutes or so- well before the osiris piece would be moved deeper into the giant enemy base.
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Jun 7, 2017 07:41
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Melth posted:In conventional play I found that I could actually obliterate the pirate base, destroy the lighthouse, grab the osiris piece, and get to the gate with it in about 12 minutes or so- well before the osiris piece would be moved deeper into the giant enemy base. Not on titan difficulty of course. 
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Jun 7, 2017 09:35
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Give me a micro strong enough and a place to stand, and I shall move the earth. Nicely done.
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Jun 8, 2017 03:36
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Due to a bunch of computer shenanigans, I'm actually going to need to redo this week's video entirely, which will take me an extra day or two it seems.
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Jun 19, 2017 04:39
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16 is over with at last. That was way more time-consuming to edit than it was supposed to be: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDujkAsajqg
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Jun 27, 2017 00:51
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It's been a while, so I might not be remembering this right but I think that the evil versions of Chiron, Ajax and Amanra aren't named, but have some sort of alternate title, but I could be wrong.
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Jun 27, 2017 02:55
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| # ? May 11, 2024 08:19 |
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And finally we have our villain revealed: the ever-despicable Cronus! But of course, as Melth pointed out, his villainy really does depend on your source. More broadly though, have a "return of Cronus" as the plot goes against the nature of the Greek mythic cycle. Fathers are overthrown by their sons, not vice-versa. Once Cronus dealt with his dad, the Sky never tried for a comeback. Instead, if Zeus is to be defeated, it is to be by his own offspring. Both the son borne by the Titan Metis and the child of the nymph Thetis could have had the proper mystic mojo to become the next king of the gods, but Zeus nipped both of those into the bud. He ate Metis before she gave birth, and so bore Athena himself, and married off Thetis to the mortal hero Peleus so that her son would "only" be the greatest human ever, Achilles. On the other hand, Poseidon as a villain is pretty in line with the myth. He and Apollo did try to overthrow Zeus. Of course, they lost, and in punishment were forced to build the walls of Troy.
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Jun 27, 2017 03:03
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