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I finished Automata yesterday. Fuckin' adored the game. Combat is definitely not on par with MGR/Bayonetta, but I wasn't expecting it to be - partly because that wouldn't gel with Nier, partly because the developers said they weren't aiming for that level of complexity. Even then, it feels good to mash buttons, improvise combo strings and customize your character to do what you like doing better. Wanna perfect dodge everything a la Bayonetta? There's a chip for that. Would you rather just smash robots with a big-rear end sword? Pump up attack/crit and go to town. It's just right for an ARPG, and I wish more games gave you that freedom. Like, I've tried getting into Witcher 3 again recently and everything about that game feels plodding and stiff compared to how Nier does things. I mean, Witcher 3 feels like that compared to a lot of open-world games but I'm not here to throw shade on the overrated series Witcher. Just sayin' perfect dodges are cool and feeling good when hitting enemies is also good even if you're in no real danger during combat. Like, even people that found the game to be easy like myself were using completely different movesets and programs than I was. Another thing I've always felt was a strength of the original and didn't get lost in the sequel was the writing for the sidequests, more specifically how they work towards developing characters or themes in the game. I feel like lots of RPGs don't quite get that right, you get your mission, you do your mission, sometimes ~things aren't as them seem~ and you get a moral decision. Nier always had banter between the characters, either complaining about how stupid it is that they have to go fetch five rat pelts or considering what happened/most likely has happened, which makes the PCs feel more like...people. It's a chance to show off their personalities, motives, even foreshadow future events, and Automata does that extremely well IMO, better than Nier even. Nier hid a lot of cool sidestories under rare item scavenging BS, while I can count on one hand the number of Automata side-missions I couldn't finish in one go. I'm not a completionist and still I finished most sidequests just for the banter or whatever punchline the game was setting up. As for the main plot, it's strong, full of "what the gently caress" moments and some legit emotional blows. I can point to at least three times where I kinda sorta teared up or lost my wind for a bit: the first one was of course the start of Route C, which Microwave Corridors your main character so far while establishing that the bittersweet note A Route ends on isn't worth anything. Second time was Pascal losing his memories, and you meeting him at the village selling the core of robot children. Ooof. Last but not least, Ending E does something I loved Undertale for and maybe does it better. I wasn't expecting to finish a Yoko Taro game feeling uplifted and happy with myself, but here we are.. I'm a bit scared of people hearing that the game gets better on the later routes and taking that as a rationalization for playing 10-15h of a bad game, but from the get-go I was enjoying myself, it's just that it really ramps up on Route C. If I were to spoil people on something, I'd say don't worry about missing out on quests, there's always an opportunity to do it again and you really shouldn't get burned out before finishing the main story. Pace yourself. I wouldn't say this is a perfect game, but I think that's why I like it so much. Is the main character a goth loli bot with gratuitous panty shots? Yeah, she is. Does it maybe try out a lot of stuff that you might dislike - and I've seen people disagree on what that stuff is, by the way -? Yeah, it does. Is it basically a polished version of Nier's weirdness when you get down to it? Pretty much. Is it gonna be one of, if not the, best games I've played this year? For sure. Also I think I'm gonna be very upset when the end of the year comes and no one seems to remember this game because they were busy playing BOTW and Mass Effect: Andromeda. "Ah, I heard about it, didn't go past the first ending because I had to gently caress an alien, sorry".
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Mar 23, 2017 02:00
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Ciaphas posted:I don't really know Yoko Taro from Uncle Jim but I feel deeply like I should not trust that quote Oh, c'mon, look at that smiley face. He would never lie to you. Remember that Yoko Taro is with you always and don't give up.
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Mar 23, 2017 02:12
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Can you even die from the infection before getting to the end? I got smashed a couple of times, once down the hole, but I just spammed healing items until I could move away and gained enough distance every time to keep moving forward.
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Mar 23, 2017 02:31
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My 9S strat was "hack big things, bomb everything else". By the way Bomb is fuckin' dope, it melts stuff.
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Mar 23, 2017 02:54
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Hexenritter posted:You say that like it's a bad thing. I mean, it doesn't add poo poo to the game either. It's not worth debating because it gets the worst kinds of comments but it's just fanservice, and if it pushes someone away from a great game I'd feel bad.
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Mar 23, 2017 03:36
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beep by grandpa posted:I think it's an awesome, badass and classy as gently caress which imo adds something to the game if you like the main character's design? See what I meant? Not worth discussing. Move on. It's just a series of "but ~I~ like it" and that's garbage, I shouldn't even have mentioned it. Sorry.
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Mar 23, 2017 03:43
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beep by grandpa posted:No, I don't see what you meant. Add "but I don't mind it" to the last comment and it's all the clarification I care to do.
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Mar 23, 2017 03:46
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Hexenritter posted:Well it's been a while since I was the one who inadvertently opened a can of worms on here. That wasn't inadvertent as much as it was "maybe it's out of the system by now". I'm stupid, but not stupid enough to engage in a discussion leading nowhere.
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Mar 23, 2017 03:51
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Vermain posted:It's an understandably contentious topic. I feel like I ought to just write up a big ol' post discussing the game's themes/ideas surrounding sex, love, and violence, because it is easy to assume the outfits are just cheesecake pandering on a casual glance. It's only once you start getting near the end of route B that you get a broad enough picture to understand how the character design fits into the larger narrative. This is all I'll say about the subject, because the reason WHY I don't wanna engage is exactly this "but you missed ~the themes~" conversation and nah, I really didn't. I just think everything the game could have achieved doesn't necessitate BOTH main female characters - and actually just them - to be scantily clad. I think the game hits on those themes just fine even if you ignore the costumes, and I think them conversations about "we wanted boobs but the other guy wanted rear end so..." aren't as tongue-in-cheek as people pretend it is. I also think this leads to derails where no one is gonna change opinions on the topic, and the costumes really didn't bother me that much. It's just a quirk that I had to get over. edit: add a short underneath 2B's skirt and you hit all them points still because it's okay to like goth loli fashion, really.
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Mar 23, 2017 04:01
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Well, there ya go. CharlestheHammer posted:Wait do people really believe Taro is lying? He is a rather straightforward dude. Yoko Taro is a clever, pretty sincere and kinda broken dude. I think that's how everyone should read him. Also Drakengard 3 did the sex thing better.
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Mar 23, 2017 04:14
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Heroic Yoshimitsu posted:Actually, no on first glance I wasn't a fan of 9S' 1920's schoolboy uniform. But the look, and the character, grew on me. I felt like 9S tried evoking pre-transformation Emil before the game came out. It doesn't quite work within the universe established here, but...
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Mar 23, 2017 04:19
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CharlestheHammer posted:Basically yeah especially when he didn't want to talk about it. I just don't have enough patience to do it because I knew 90% of the answers would be "but it's good tho". I wasn't wrong. I wouldn't mind discussing the themes, but it just leads to a long-rear end derail and my point was more on how the designs can scare a lot of people out of the game even if you can argue it as a VITAL part of the game theming (and I disagree strongly on that as I do everytime fanservice is shorthanded as sexuality theming, but again). I shouldn't have mentioned it in the first place if I wasn't willing to argue hours on end about it, so that's on me.
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Mar 23, 2017 05:15
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Also legit last word on this, check the rap sheet on who you're engaging. Bye!
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Mar 23, 2017 05:20
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Vermain posted:Both of them have obvious nipples. Are you on a small screen or something? They have areolas. 
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Mar 23, 2017 05:24
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Ibram Gaunt posted:Is there any deeper meaning to the Bosses' names? I expected them being translated in B onwards would be important in some way, but unless they're all references to something that went over my head it wasn't really anything. They're all philosophers. Simone de Beavouir, Engels, Hegels, and the last set of bosses are Chinese dudes including Confucius. Vermain posted:Touche! That's a very Japanese thing also, they don't really do nipples for male characters. I guess it's because it's a weird thing to draw.
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Mar 23, 2017 05:31
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Vermain posted:Most of the uses appear to be fairly wry: Marx and Engels are both made out of industrial machinery, with Engels being defeated when his own parts are turned against him; Beauvoir is obsessed only with beauty and a man's love; Hegel is defeated by the merger of two polar opposites; and Kierkegaard is the pope of an organized religion. Yeah, it kinda subverts the themes their namesakes were known for. I can't quite remember Sartre's dialogue other than him being sort of a detached rear end in a top hat (also Simone's unrequited love, which is fitting), although I guess his attitude goes against the "know yourself through others" thing? Dunno if he changes stuff on a deeper level and I kinda can't go back to my save because...y'know...
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Mar 23, 2017 05:54
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RazzleDazzleHour posted:Was anyone else waiting for the dramatic return of Jean-Paul? Well, after the Route B thing during the Simone fight, I was almost sure dude would come back and be some sort of big-dick machine. Dude probably just got ganked by A2 and it serves him well, hunf.
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Mar 23, 2017 06:17
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Regy Rusty posted:Route B: Don't finish his quest and get to Route C. 
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Mar 23, 2017 06:23
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Snak posted:When does the game tell you this? I've never heard of that... Ganbatte!
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Mar 23, 2017 19:37
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Huh, I just realized Ending E is a very effective anti-piracy measure. Now I kinda wanna see if people make a workaround for the thing.
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Mar 23, 2017 20:34
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Snak posted:So I've got endings ABCDEGP. I know there are some quests I still need to do that are important, like Emil's quest, but I feel like I've done most of it. I don't know what people are talking about, all the final endings, C, D, & E, are happy! all of em! "Pretty effective" is hyperbole, but you need to be connected to the network to actually get the final ending AFAIK. Also C and D aren't so much happy as they are bittersweet. They both die in the end and the machines either decide to follow humankind to the Moon or just get exploded after all.
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Mar 23, 2017 20:39
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Josuke Higashikata posted:I'm not really sure what your point is because all of these things actively apply to the human beings alive in the real world today. Not all human relationships are capable of breeding. Some people go through the motions of being in love but never actually experience it. Being is love is something many people chase and fantasise over but never actually experience. Some people are incapable of breeding to pass on their memories through a want of not having children or physical inability to do so, be it infertility or being a relationship where it's impossible to have a pregnancy. In most relationships, there's not a lot to show for it once it's over. Love and Sex aren't especially linked in the grand scheme of things besides. You certainly don't need the other to have either. To me, machines have as much of a grasp on love or sex as the androids or even real life humans do. I feel like love in Taro's games tends to be very destructive. It brings about the end of humanity in Nier, for instance. So in a sense, much like the violence, it doesn't quite lead anywhere - it's just base instincts taking over. It's funny too, for all the fetishization of the androids (not making a judgement, it's just what it is) and machines dealing with ~feelings~, sex only comes up as a means for reproduction and violence is used as a proxy for carnal drive instead. 9S wants to **** 2B, 2B's entire existence is based on ****ing 9S, you could even make a point Nines hates A2 because she got there first.
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Mar 23, 2017 22:55
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OddObserver posted:She has the best approach to block puzzles at the very least. I utilized the Jackass' Razor to solve every problem in the game. If you can Bomb it, just Bomb it, you idiot.
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Mar 23, 2017 23:12
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Space Flower posted:become as pc gods It helps that Automata doesn't have to compete with BOTW or Horizon on Steam, I'm guessing there were a lot of PC gamers waiting for this and ME:A.
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Mar 24, 2017 04:13
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Snak posted:I think that it's okay for it to be complicated. Firstly, they aren't "actual siblings" no matter what, so it's not like it it's creepy or incestuous for their feelings to be a confused mix of platonic and romantic love. It's forbidden love in the sense that 2B knows that in the end, 9S has to die by her hands.
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Mar 24, 2017 19:38
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The answer to 9S Frustration is hacking only big (or annoying to reach) things and Bombing big groups of enemies. Actually, scratch that, Bomb everything. Spear is apparently his best weapon set for general combat, I just used fists and short swords. But really, just abuse pod programs.
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Mar 24, 2017 22:54
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Pesky Splinter posted:I'm lovin' this poo poo: Exactly my thoughts when it happened.
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Mar 25, 2017 00:45
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sunken fleet posted:I just got ending 'D'? But the last ending I got was 'B'. Is the only difference between C and D that choice right at the very end? I dunno if I wanna play all over again if it is - seems like a lot of hours to get an end I can pretty much guess with the info I have. I think there's a "true end" in there somewhere too? You can basically chapter select to the crucial choice after selecting your save. Take the opportunity to finish anything else you wanna finish too, it's a lot easier now that you can just warp to the first half of the game. Oh, and please connect to the network.
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Mar 25, 2017 01:53
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Oxxidation posted:Has anyone else noticed a weird "iris" effect when playing this? The corners of my TV during gameplay seem darker than usual, making it look like the game's being viewed through an eye or something. Don't know if it's just me being neurotic. I haven't noticed any vignetting. Well, one specific thing does vignetting but it's incredibly evident it's just that.
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Mar 25, 2017 02:24
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Snak posted:Oh man, this is so thematically perfect considering all the poo poo happening in the setting. In a sense it's data overflow, the more copies were around, the faster the machines were evolving and learning new factors, until there was a split between two valid but contradictory courses of action (learn more x kill the threat).
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Mar 25, 2017 03:01
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Avoid sidequests until you get the very evident fast travel thing.
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Mar 25, 2017 05:49
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I'm glad Nier Automata added a sequel to Fishing Issues with the opening sequence.
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Mar 26, 2017 08:16
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sunken fleet posted:Is the self-destruct actually even for anything? It doesn't even actually kill you when you use it iirc. Like is there any gameplay use or is it just pure story fluff? It's an AOE attack that sets you to 1HP and staggers you.
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Mar 26, 2017 08:24
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It's kinda weird because MGR was a solid PC port and I don't remember people complaining about anything in Transformers. I really shouldn't have to run it at 720p on a 950 when Witcher 3 is perfectly playable on 1080p, or at least I don't see anything that would hit performance that hard in this game. However, I kinda take the Dark Souls stance on this port, which is "better than not playing it at all".
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Mar 26, 2017 17:50
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Instant Grat posted:Have you tried installing the FAR mod and fiddling with the Global Illumination setting that comes with it? Some people have reported fairly chunky performance gains from turning that down one or two notches from the game's default. I installed it but didn't have the time to figure out WHERE exactly I should be fiddling about, hehe. RoadCrewWorker posted:After 300 hours in the DS1 pc port, i'm entirely desensitized at this point and get what you mean. But yeah, it's just so unnecessary and nobody should have to, the game deserves better than "bearable, mostly functional". Yeah, I'm just...it's nice to get a thing that I could have bet on being PS4-exclusive (and was already sad ahead of time), y'know? Even if the port sucks.
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Mar 26, 2017 18:00
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Instant Grat posted:In the menu that pops up when you hit CTRL + SHIFT + T, there's an option labeled "Nier Automata", it's under there. I think changing it in there resets when you close the game, but he might have updated that. The mod itself actually searches for updates when you launch the game, which is nifty. I decided to take that poo poo out for a test-drive on the intro sequence and what do you know, it makes a MASSIVE difference. I still can't do a steady 60 on 1080p, unfortunately, but it allowed me to bump resolution to 900p and get some AA and textures working with barely any frame drops. V-Sync gives me some frame issues but I actually dislike using V-Sync for action games so there's that. At 1080p it sometimes drops about 10fps on action sequences, so if you're able to deal with that and some jaggies, there you go. So if Platinum fixes fullscreen resolution stuff and the lightning issues, I guess the port goes from "bad" to "decent". It's not getting any awards for optimization, but I'll take an i3 and a 950 chugging a bit on a new release.
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Mar 26, 2017 18:52
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Fuzz posted:Finally got around to finishing C and D, inadvertently triggered E before going back and finishing all the missing quests (have 89% completion or somewhere around there. Just keep going. Also what that guy said.
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Mar 26, 2017 23:47
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RoadCrewWorker posted:I think they probably started with Bayonettas combat - there are abilities for various dodge techniques from most of their games including witch time - and then ran into the problem of an RPG context meaning a designer basically has no control over how strong a rushing or powergrinding player is or can be in encounters, also adding various progression systems. Which is an incredibly hard problem to solve and i thought they got pretty far. Yeah, I think expecting Bayonetta from an open-world RPG is...naive, even if Platinum could've just copypasted it into the game. The boss fights could've been more complex though, I think they missed some beats with those. I just wanted fun combat and I got that. Movement is fun, it has the best feeling on a dodge since...well, Bayonetta, and you have a lot of freedom when it comes to melting enemy crowds. I also agree on the twist parts - actually, a lot of Automata's plot beats felt like plays on the original game's stuff. Plus, I can't agree with dialogue being lifeless - maybe the Resistance members are kinda boring, but I liked 9S being an awkward nerd and everything relating to self-serious bot and Doofus having to deal with machines.
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Mar 27, 2017 00:45
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I'm pretty sure the pod starts yelling "DUDE YOU'RE LEAVING THE OPERATION AREA GO BACK" for those endings (I think I got M like that?), but yeah, joke endings don't checkpoint you and you should probably keep that in mind.
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Mar 27, 2017 03:54
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I mean, it's a style decision, and I don't think it really hurts the game. You're hitting save terminals all the time anyway, either because you're fast travelling or discovering a new area, and saving in this game is so fast anyway.
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Mar 27, 2017 05:08
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