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Is it ever explained how the rebels got their hands on an Imperial tank? Although it wouldn't be hard to believe they just found abandoned Imperial materiel...
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Nov 7, 2019 01:05
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HardDiskD posted:Is it ever explained how the rebels got their hands on an Imperial tank? Although it wouldn't be hard to believe they just found abandoned Imperial materiel... The leaders are nobles, as previously mentioned, so they're just rich I guess. They end up with all sorts of things that suggests they have quite a few scientists and engineers on their side, apparently. VC2 Spoiler: They also seem to be mostly against the Empire, so there's that too. They've got lots of tanks- I suppose most of them are reclaimed from the war.
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Nov 7, 2019 01:29
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HardDiskD posted:Is it ever explained how the rebels got their hands on an Imperial tank? Although it wouldn't be hard to believe they just found abandoned Imperial materiel... There is a fairly good reason for where they got their material support. One reason is a very minor story spoiler: the rebels are getting support from the Atlantic Federation. Another reason is that the nobles leading the rebels are based in South-East Gallia, near the Kloden forest. As mentioned in a previous lore dump, Gallia's Southern front was relatively quiet due to the difficult terrain and proximity to the Atlantic Federation border. Chances are that the noble forces in that area didn't suffer as many losses as the Central and Northern forces of Gallia's army, so they probably had a small stockpile of guns and ammo. There's also an incredibly anime/stupid reason for the rebels strength. Finally, there is some confusion about tanks. The rebels aren't using Imperial tanks, they are using Gallian. They have the same color pattern as the Imperial tanks did, but if you take a second look you'll see that the design of the tank in the last update is closer to Gallia's Light/Medium tanks. It also doesn't have the front armour "plow" that Imperial tanks are known for. I think the rebel tank in the last update is the Gallian Type 36, which went into mass production after the war and uses elements of the Edelweiss in its design. Gallia started making a lot of those after the war, although there still aren't many heavy types at this point. Now, as for how the rebels got their hands on state-of-the-art tanks that only entered production maybe 18 months ago, I have no loving clue. Gallia's industrial zone is in the north of the country and newly built tanks would definitely be deployed to the North and Central divisions first since that's where the heaviest losses were. It's hard to believe that very many new tanks would have worked their way down south that quickly. Psycho Knight fucked around with this message at 17:51 on Nov 7, 2019 |
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Nov 7, 2019 17:43
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Personally I'm still hung up on Avan's "determined/angry" pose having his knee in the frame and above his waist. Imagine what it would look like if someone just threw their leg up every time they needed to express strong emotion at something.
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Nov 7, 2019 21:15
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Kibayasu posted:Personally I'm still hung up on Avan's "determined/angry" pose having his knee in the frame and above his waist. Imagine what it would look like if someone just threw their leg up every time they needed to express strong emotion at something. I personally named it MEGAPUMP in my portrait files. I internally sometimes refer to it as piranha face, but I like MEGAPUMP more because I played way too much of Death Road to Canada. For added hilarity, imagine him kneeling on the ground instead or basically doing a Mario Bros. jump. Also the next update should be up by this evening. Gotta finish a few portraits and copy in all the image links. We get a lot of character development this time around, including an event with Marion.
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Nov 7, 2019 21:33
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Update 6: That (Depressing) Anime High School Lifestyle  Hey, we finally changed seasons! Now it we've only gotta do this like eleven more times! Woo! But before we do anything, we must see the ultimately engaging storywriting that is VC2's plot! -- Music: Everyday Life of the Class  I'd first like to take a moment to note that because of the way they use the background, Brixham spends all of his time teaching while at the back of the room staring into a wall.  : The leva-what, now? : A tournament, Cosette. Classes face each other in mock combat. It's a good test of class performance and one of Lanseal's oldest traditions. : That sounds pretty cool.   They could be worse. I've seen worse.   : If we win, the rest of the academy will have to respect us. Right?They could also dislike you even more for winning. Just saying. We'll kick their tails regardless, but still.   : That'd sure be nice. Yeah! So long as we're in it, let's go for the top! : There's no sense in competing otherwise. This once, I'll agree with you.: Heh heh. Well, I have a little present for you in light of your optimism.: Head down to the R&D building to collect it.I don't understand why we couldn't have had it sooner, but regardless,    Nope! Something much better is here! ???: Oh, wow. You're the chair of Class G, kid?  : What? Oh, you're the girl who's always in here, huh? Technically, we've already met, but whatever. It's very easy to do this out of sequence because they give you the store so early.  : What?! Hey! : Anyway, my name's Lavinia. Lavinia Lane. I'm Class G's tank pilot. : Tank pilot? Wait, we have a tank?! Although I'm happy we get our tank now, I have to express for a moment that all classes get a tank. The game directly shows that the other students have been here before us, so why did you not let us use it to fight an ENEMY tank? These kids literally could have died in that encounter! Sure, yeah, they're only kids and giving them a tank is a bit irresponsible, but you'll soon find that Lavinia is one of the most adult people around. I... just don't get it. Maybe it wasn't ready yet? I know they were holding back for gameplay's sake, but this is ridiculous plot wise. Whatever, I'm bound to go insane if I keep trying to interpret this plot. : I hear a lot of rumors about you Class G kids. None of 'em are good.This line only barely excuses the above if its true, because it sounds more like she's joking. Just gonna let all this slide for now though since Lavinia is in my experience, possibly the best unit available (provided she gets the right equipment).   : Gah! Fine, all right! Well, my name is Avan Hardins. Nice to meet ya. : Hardins? As in... : Never mind. Anyway, best of luck and all that....This suggests she has some past with Leon. Luckily she won't gush over him like everyone else does.  You heard the lady, folks. Time to come up with a name for our new tank! 6 letters like usual.  : What, I get to name it? : Hey, you're the chair. Just try not to pick anything dumb, okay?  : All right. You got any questions about the tank, you come ask me. Got it?: Got it. Thanks, Lavinia!I'll cover the tank when we do a mission. Needless to say, it's a strong unit.  It has it's own parts to outfit it with. I have a very specific plan of what to outfit it with when, mainly to make the game more painless. We'll see the pieces when they become necessary.  Sweet. I don't know if which ones we get are random, but I know I didn't get them in order before. All I know is that they just show up.   : I'm not a fan of messy social situations, so just leave me in peace.Chloe is an edgy artist who wears sunglasses. She's a scout unit with some potential, working best as a sniper in my experience. Her character details will be at the end of the update. --  Information overload. I likely won't be doing any of those VS missions because, well...who even played this game in multiplayer? Music: Winter in Lanseal  Get ready for  as it's time for events! (But not specifically for the characters you wanted. Those are coming, trust me.)First, let's do the tutorials, I guess. Tutorial - Evaluation: I've pretty much explained this by now, but go fast to get a higher rank. Credits are basically random and a pain to grind. Tutorial - Ace Soldiers: Some enemies have fancy, even more red uniforms and a name. These ace units have better stats, better weapons and usually drop a reward when taken out. Half of them are hiding in a corner somewhere. Tutorial - Special Units: Some enemies are wearing yellow helmets. Taking them down rewards crafting materials. They are more likely to be hiding in a corner or grass somewhere on the map and are usually very passive. Tutorial - Area Effects: Some missions have area effects that impact all the units taking part. There's nighttime or fog or heat waves, etc. I'll cover them when we see them, but most are easily nullified by certain tank parts or potentials.  Alright, well, let's go bother Chloe then. I'll just show all of these in succession, listing out where they happen on the map. --- Music: Everyday Life of the Class  : You're the class chair...: If you need anything, ask away, man. I remember what it's like to be new here.I think the units might arrive in random order, because otherwise Avan seems to think being around for about a month means you're not new. : Hmph. I need only one thing from you.: To be left alone. Avan, don't grab people without asking. That's rude. *Light footsteps*  : And what are you? : Oh, wow, it IS you! I am like your biggest fan ever! : That piece you had in the contemporary thought in paint show was killer! : What are you working on next? Is it another--? *She storms off.*  : Chloe! ...And she's gone. Dang, she's prickly. No, Avan, don't. Speaking as a person who used to have a "shell", that's incredibly aggravating. I don't know if this applies universally, but pushing usually makes them withdraw even more. Regardless, this is the first of where we see Avan's rash side pairing with his obliviousness making him completely incapable of understanding personal space or the idea of introversion. He will continue force himself as psychiatrist to every single person he meets without asking. Get used to it, I guess. This is one of his most annoying traits, in my opinion. ~* Plaza *~   : Yes. It's an unwanted distraction. : Why is it that Class A doesn't have a single Darcsen, but we--Soundbite: "How outlandish!" If you didn't read the character bios, both Helmut and Marion have the Darcsen Hater negative potential.  : Oh, they're all the same, Noel, dear. Doomy and gloomy, inside and out.Marion is a noble, just like Juliana and the leaders of the rebellion. The prejudice against Darcsens runs through all of them, it seems, likely due to the long standing misrepresentation. At least she isn't calling them inferior.  Helmut is from the Empire where they normally think themselves superior to Darcsens. His priorities seem a bit different, but who's to say at this point..  Alexis doesn't have the Darcsen Hater potential, but you can see public opinion of them isn't necessarily high everywhere.  : Mischlitt and Magari are both on the meek side, and not team-minded.  : But the new guy seems different to me. We'll find out soon, I guess.Noel is a nice person.  ~* Dormitory *~   : Why do we have to enter? All we're going to do is lose. : It wasn't thirty seconds into the last scrimmage with Class C I was shot.Ow. That's rough, man. I know how it is though. : It's hard to get motivated to face that again.That too.  If you didn't see the character info, Franca has the Nichol Hater potential. Nichol is her brother, by the way.  Sorry, Reiner, buddy. Today's just gonna be filled with pessimism I'm afraid. Strap in, folks. ...All the lancers I've had are cool people. Reiner's good guy who approaches situations better than Avan.  : If we keep training, we'll have a shot at winning! Let's stay positive.: You really think so? I can't imagine us winning at anything.: Me neither.~* Courtyard *~  If you were wondering, this game also subscribes to the psychic side conversations like Fire Emblem. Without Avan even being there, we see what's going on. Even with the villains. ...Also, is this optimism I hear?  : Whoa, what is it, Raymond? I don't think I've ever seen you this worked up. : E-Even if we lose the Laevatein Cup prelims, I'm not going to cry!That's good, right?  : That's great, Raymond! I actually promised myself something as well. ...I, uh... I guess that works?   : I'll prep in advance for interviews when we break our record for worst loss!...This line got a laugh out of me. Then again, Lotte's one of the more fun characters anyhow. : Good thinking! That will help things go a lot more smoothly, Lotte.: A-All right, you guys. Let's try our best to meet these new goals! *They leave.* They're a bunch of optimistic pessimists. It manages to be both endearing and incredibly depressing at the same time.    : I'll keep my beloved safe from harm. : Anyone who takes aim at him gets a bullet between the eyes. Melissa is a very dedicated stalker.  ~* Courtyard (Again) *~ Music: Winter in Lanseal This is a seasonal event, not like the one's we've been seeing which are based upon the story. These tend to be within the bounds of anime school shenanigans.     : Well, I found it... : But, dude! It's frozen under like a foot of ice!Soundbite: "Come ON!"  : I tried, but it's way too thick to get through.: Ugh, guess I'll have to come back in the spri-- *A smashing noise can be heard.* : B-B-Barehanded!: Wow, you've got a pretty small frame, but I guess you're still hardcore!: Heh. I'm glad to help. I'll see you later. This is a fun little scene. This game doesn't do serious plot well, but it does it's high school thing good though, I guess. That's something. Music: Everyday Life of the Class ~* Old Campus *~   : Tch... Can it, Randy. : I'm not gonna sit through a stupid music class.*He walks off*  : Erik! Come ba--Why do you have a music class at a military school? I mean, Anthem Corps, I guess, but he's a shocktrooper. The only person here who can be one is Sofia. I'd defend the benefits of a music class, but this just makes Lanseal look more like it wants to be a high school than a military school.   : I so don't have the patience for her jealousy. So I'm cutting! Buh-bye.: Sofia, wait!I mean, you're not supposed to be talking in class anyways...  : Mischlitt?! Why you, of all people? : What meaning is there in a class where students stand around and sing? : Studying in the library is much more productive. Now, if you'll excuse me.I'd argue, but this is a military school. The library will likely end up being the most productive long term if you're training soldiers. : Hey, wait! Mischlitt!   : Er, AHEM!: I'll have to hope the new class chair whips them into shape... Fat chance.This sounds a whole lot like ulterior motives, Randy. ~* Classroom *~ *The bells ring*  The who now?  : Coleen? Care to take a stab? Hey, we haven't seen you in a while! : Be sure to do all the assigned reading before class, hm? ...Anisette?  : Anisette! What is that you're writing? Let's have a look. : !: "Dear Sister, Last night's concert was packed to bursting...": If you have the time to hold imaginary concerts, you can do the reading. : Y-Yes, sir...I used to work with some kids that was an accomplishment if you could get them to write. She's not sleeping in class, at least. : Joachim? Can you help them out? : Totally, man! I was hoping you'd ask. It's simple...  ...This really is just a high school simulator isn't it? They just try to trick you into thinking it isn't by patching in a strategy game, right?  : Ugh, seriously?!*He practically falls out of his desk saying this*  Like watching a train wreck in slow motion? Feeling that right now, actually. --  We're free! Well, almost. There's some more main story beats to see, but I'll skip that for this update. Let's go check out the store, then finish up the missions from last month.  The store sells bonus missions and various extra reading.  This is the only mission we've got to buy right now, and we're dirt poor.  On the terms of papers, Gallia Times is a news report typically based on goings on around Gallia currently. The Lotte Insider is Lotte's handmade newsletter and it's the absolute best (and cheapest). Lastly, the encyclopedia just has that world background informaton we were all just dying to know. I'll buy all of them as they're mostly a pittance, and I'll put them at the end of each update. Anyways, off to do some other stuff before heading our on a mission.  Continuing to level up frontliner units...  This is the only thing we can afford because we're poor...  And here's the mission! This one's really easy- it's just shoot all enemies and the rewards are pretty poor money wise. Gives Mch Gun Stock A and Arms credits.  We get two units we can drop behind the lines a bit. I put Marion and Avan in there in case I need to pull out some assist attacks.  As for the home base, I said to hell with it and put in all the scouts plus Mischlitt just to hold the base. All this prep is really unnecessary, but it's whatever. Also, I can't deploy the tank on this map. Maps with vehicle allowance have an extra slot called the Vehicle Slot which is the only ones you can start tanks at. Music: Practice Battle   I send in Lotte first to scout the situation.  : "Gallian girl attacks!"  ...And by scout I mean shoot the first dude I see in the face. Point blank, preferably.  I leave her in sight of quite a few enemies.  Next action takes Melissa onto the other side of the guy for an assist attack he has no chance of surviving.   : "I'm on it Melissa!"I did this mostly to show that characters that are friends with each other have specific lines relating to one another for assists/unconscious recovery.  : Goodbye.There was a low chance to survive.   : "Taking action now!"Melissa didn't have any AP left, so I left her where she was at. Time to scout out this side.  Fun. Looks like they've got a shocktrooper up in that sniper tower. I'll take out the scout for now, though.  I wasn't even aiming for the head, but sure, you go Marion!  AP runs out at the base of the tower, but that's alright.  With a bit of an adjustment, I get this hail mary shot here. I expect most of these will whiff--   : "Thank goodness!"Thank goodness indeed! Marion's on a roll today.  This map starts the trend of hiding enemies in the grass. Luckily, I've caught onto their little scheme already.  Back to the scouts. I'm going to risk seeing if Lotte and Melissa can take this shocktrooper at this distance.  : "Let me help, Lotte." Almost! He doesn't get a counterattack either because I'm just out of his interception range.   Helmut, my man, let's finish this off. I'm trying to trigger is Rear Guard potential, but it doesn't unfortunately.  : "I'm afraid I cannot allow you to live."Well, I got a potential. I'll take it!  : "Target destroyed."The sound of three scout rifles at the same time is almost terrifying.    This guy nearly died walking around the corner.  Lotte didn't wait to correct that.   On the other side of the training grounds we've got this goofy encounter going on.  What did you expect?  The enemy is being really passive.    : "I see one, sir!"...I don't. But I know he's there anyways- there's just another scout around this hill.  : "I'm bursting with verve!"What an old-fashioned word. I'll admit I'd never seen the thing before this game and I've read a lot of classics in my time.   : "A clean hit!"First two shots are headshots. Marion's calling all the shots today!  She's pretty low on AP leftover, but I figured I might as well grenade this scout.  ...And was a little too close to the blast radius. Sorry about that, Marion!  Let's do a bit more of explosions. Melissa's up.  : "Die."Melissa's being all sorts of terrifying today.   Too far away to really do anything to this guy, so let's just leave it here for now.  Helmut's up next. He loves triggering Sighting today it seems.  : "I don't miss."Did somebody say: explosions?  I swear, if the other classes aren't dreading having to deal with Class G, I don't know what else to say. Maybe we'll earn a reputation for this.  Helmut's out of AP, but this is an elimination mission, not a capture one. The flag really doesn't matter.  ...But, uh... Where's the last guy?  A turn later I find the last dude hiding in the grass. It's good thinking, actually, but it really annoys me.  Don't do that.     Hey, look, we won. The money reward is garbage, but crafting materials are cool, I guess?  A new day! We'll be done with this update in a minute.  You'll see that message almost every time you're in homeroom. It means there's events to see, which there's always at least one.   Today's special though, because we get our first Marion event! Let's check out this daily one first, and we'll end on Marion's storyline. -- Music - Briefing  Soundbite: Oh, really!?  : I'm knee-deep in snow, and they want me to run a full marathon? It's insane!  : This is not a trip, dear! : Ooh! How about we be marathon buddies, dude?: Having company for the run would make it feel a lot shorter!That worked for me back in the day. : I'm so dreadfully slow, though. I wouldn't want to hold you back, darling.You've still got possibly the best offense out of all the shocktroopers, so that's something. : Aww, who cares? We're friends, arent' we?: Let's head for that finish line together!  : Listen up, maggots! I don't want to see any sandbagging out here!: The last ten to finish get twenty laps around the drill ground back home!: Uhh...: On your mark, get set, move your rears!  ...I think that line in the background is an emulation issue. Oh well. Let's go do Marion's now to finish off the update. Music: Everyday Life of the Class ~* Home Ec Room *~   : This is just some simple lace work. I'm knitting a gift for my mother.Hand done lacework is pretty neat. I've seen some folks do it before, but I'm terrible at any sort of knitting so I can't do it. : Wow, I didn't know you had such girly hobbies. I'm really impressed! : You always make the most unexpected observations, Avan. It's sweet.Avan is incredibly oblivious and states the obvious more often than not.  : I only know what I learned from my mother. I fear my work is a poor example.I'm sure she'll still appreciate the gift. Seeing kids take after you is a reward in its own respect.  : Shall I reattach it for you?: Wow, you don't mind? Yeah that'd be grea--Buttons are pretty easy fixes, though some can be tricky. I don't know why Avan needs the buttons on his jacket because he never uses them, but whatever-  Gah! Joachim?! What gives, man?He's here to ruin what was a perfectly nice little cutscene.  : No fair hogging her all to yourself, Avan!  : Hee hee hee. Watching you two is more fun than a day at the theater.: Hey Marion, you look a little under the weather. ARe you feeling okay? Ew, please don't. You're just coming off as a creep, dude.  For once, Avan is perceptive.  : Hello? Beautiful heiress to historied house, pure and fragile as a lily!: She wouldn't kill a fly! And you expect her to be fine out in the field?!She handles herself fine, dude. : It...It really isn't all that bad, actually...: So, did you get scouted before coming here, Marion? : Aaaah! Listen to you! You're too perfect, which is exactly what I expect! : Well, if you DO have any trouble, let me know. We'll figure it out.: A-All right, I will... Thank you.: If you'll excuse me, I should probably be going. Good day, gentlemen. ...I don't like Joachim very much. And seeing this scene never helps my opinion of him at all.  Well, at least it's over. Avan managed to not be awful, and we saw many words. Time to end the update. --- Next time on Valkyria Chronicles: Six Classes we do more supports. And probably a mission too. Vote for a tank name, if you want! New Characters! Tank Commander Lavinia Lane :"Heh, cute. I can take you all!" - On triggering BloodthirstyAge: 21 Class G tank pilot and mechanic. Plain-spoken but caring, she likes to help those in need. Potentials: Big Sister: Looks out for comrades on the battlefield, raising firing accuracy and attack power against infantry targets. (Very good potential that I can't complain about having whatsoever.) Bloodthirsty: Natural aggression lets them attack again before a counterattack. (Amazing ...when it decides to trigger. Nothing beats a tank firing twice in the same action!) Wounded Heart: Past regrets cast a shadow on their heart, lowering firing accuracy. (Not fun, but it doesn't trigger very often.) Scouts Chloe Blixen :"Needs more red!" - On attacking an enemyAge: 21 Class G scout. Up-and-coming artist who bases her work on the themes of night and darkness. Potentials: Moody: Fickle to the core, they even refuse to follow direct orders sometimes. (Awful potential considering it never goes away, but it is a price to pay for her very high accuracy.) Night Vision: Sight is unimpeded by the darkness of night, raising firing accuracy. (Great for nighttime missions. Useless otherwise.) Slump: The feeling that nothing is going their way lowers firing accuracy. (Bad, but it at least gets replaced.) Defensive Boost: Raises defense. (Good potential.) Nocturnal: Visibility at night equal as if in the middle of the day. (More night vision, can't complain. It's great if you make her a sniper.) Other People Shop Clerk (Welvar Glenn)  :"Hey there, Avan, how goes it today?" - Literally every time you enter the shopAge: 36 Storekeeper at Lanseal. He handles the store alone, and is well-liked by students. Papers: Gallia Times: Lanseal Admits 35 New Cadets Lanseal Academy announced on the 1st they had admitted 35 new cadets, bring into effect the enrollment system introduced last September. It is rare for them to admit over 30 new cadets at once, and some say this is a response to the rebel situation. The army, depleted in the 1935 war, has delegated peacekeeping duties for part of southern Gallia to Lanseal, and academ forces clash with rebels frequently. With activation of the militia forbidden, Lanseal will continue to play a key role. Still dumb if you ask me. Lotte Insider: Unraveling the Pointer Mystery Do you know why Class G's Professor Brixham always carries his pointer? Some say it's a weapon, or a conductor's baton. I decided to get to the bottom of the matter in a daring, tell-all interview. Here is what the professor had to say: "I only carry it with me in case I need to give an emergency briefing. By the way, waiting in ambush under my desk is not very professional." What can I say? There's no mountain high enough or desk low enough to stop me from getting my story!  Encyclopedia: The Principality of Gallia Full of nature and rich in ragnite, Gallia borders the Empire to the east and the Federation on its western edge. This small, central Europan nation is a constitutional monarchy ruled by House Randgriz, the hereditary sovereigns of Gallia. The house founder, a legendary hero of the War of the Valkyrur, built a castle on the site where the capital is today, establishing his rule. Area: 38,567 sq km - Pop: 432,00 - Currency: Ducat - Policies: Armed neutrality, universal conscription Encyclopedia: Lanseal Royal Military Academy Gallia's only military academy was founded 217 years ago when Gallia was a monarchy, thus the "Royal" in its name. It was constructed around an old citadel, adding residential and training facilities. Cadets all live in the academy dormitory. Under the credit system, the average cadet finishes the program in three years. Lanseal often recruits skilled individuals rom other schools and the militia. Ages range from teens to those i their thirties. Graduates are commissioned as officers. With the entire credit system being basically a dice roll, I could see it easily taking you 3 years to get that last drat MarchIIX credit. Encyclopedia: The City of Mellvere A trade city situated on the River Mais in southern Gallia, it has long prospered as a link between Randgriz and the southern grain-producing region. Sometimes referred to as the south gate of Randgriz due to its position on the main thoroughfare. As southern Gallia escaped the war with the Empire unscathed, its cities have developed rapidly, and Mellvere now serves as a major supplier to northern cities still recovering from war. Many casual laborers from neighboring towns have moved there.
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Nov 8, 2019 00:11
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Eeyup, Avan sure is the boisterous anime protagonist type with that scene with Chloe.
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Nov 8, 2019 00:32
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Let's be hones with ourselves. We all know what that tank really is. Taxi!
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Nov 8, 2019 00:52
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I don't even know why Avan gets upset by Lavinia's description. You might as well own it at that point. Also for the tank name I vote Reason. Because our enemies might not respect us, but they will listen to Reason. Seraphic Neoman fucked around with this message at 00:55 on Nov 8, 2019 |
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Nov 8, 2019 00:53
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We're Class Anime, you gotta name the tank Miku!! Exclaimation marks included.
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Nov 8, 2019 03:30
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Cooked Auto posted:Eeyup, Avan sure is the boisterous anime protagonist type with that Just correcting a little. Avan's pretty Shonen 101 in general, and it's a really odd fit for the genre. Like Andy in Advance Wars, you have someone acting as the greatest military leader alive show the IQ of tapwater in every situation where the player isn't making choices. I mean, I read enough Jump to appreciate the occasional idiot hero, but guys like Denji from Chainsaw Man tend to have traits of their own, something to say they're not just Naruto clones. Avan doesn't. He's dumb, but not in a funny way, he cares for his friends, but not in a way that creates interesting conflicts, and in general, he's just... blah. SSNeoman posted:I don't even know why Avan gets upset by Lavinia's description. You might as well own it at that point. This game is not a good place for reason.
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Nov 8, 2019 07:55
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chiasaur11 posted:Just correcting a little. Avan's pretty Shonen 101 in general, and it's a really odd fit for the genre. Like Andy in Advance Wars, you have someone acting as the greatest military leader alive show the IQ of tapwater in every situation where the player isn't making choices. Avan's secret to success is that his laugh grates on the soul so powerfully that everyone goes to great lengths in order to win as fast as possible and escape it.
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Nov 8, 2019 12:23
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chiasaur11 posted:Just correcting a little. Avan's pretty Shonen 101 in general, and it's a really odd fit for the genre. Like Andy in Advance Wars, you have someone acting as the greatest military leader alive show the IQ of tapwater in every situation where the player isn't making choices. This is why I love characters like Robin from FE: Awakening, or literally every other Valkyria Chronicles protagonist. The player only advances in the game by winning battles, so the protagonist should be shown to possess some prowess as a commander in the story itself. Avan doesn't have that. He's not fit for being given command of anyone. He's barely above "faceless grunt". The absolute only reason he doesn't get himself and the entire squad killed is because he is the protagonist/hero of this game. There's a moment way later in the game where the strength of his hero protection is even more ridiculous, but it'll be awhile before we see it. Psycho Knight fucked around with this message at 15:05 on Nov 8, 2019 |
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Nov 8, 2019 15:02
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Psycho Knight posted:This is why I love characters like Robin from FE: Awakening, or literally every other Valkyria Chronicles protagonist. The player only advances in the game by winning battles, so the protagonist should be shown to possess some prowess as a commander in the story itself. Robin, despite being amnesic, is already a talented battlefield organizer, Welkin inherits a lot from his old man and develops into a skilled leader throughout the course of the game. Avan has plot protection and never seems to get any leadership traits aside from having personal energy. I suppose the actions you make in the game are perceived as Avan's calls, but like you said, he's really shown as lucking through every battle without taking any specific tactical action himself in what we've seen so far. Oh, and on this note, the next update or two is already all recorded, but it'll take me a bit to get it ready. My schedule on these will probably slow down a bit, even after I finish my part in the other LP I'm in. I've got a few projects I'm getting to, and these updates take a good bit of time to get finished. On the up side, we get to see quite a few character events, including two for Marion. At the rate I find myself using the double shocktrooper combo, Marion's probably going to finish her story very quickly. E: The name I went with is Taxi! for reasons that will be apparent in the update. I'll poll to change our tank name alongside the team name after every season. The Flying Twybil fucked around with this message at 03:01 on Nov 12, 2019 |
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Nov 12, 2019 02:58
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Update 7: In Which Things Are Done, Not Unlike Last Time Welcome back to another episode of Mr. Brixham's Not So Happy Neighborhood where Avan made himself stand out as way too optimistic and Marion got harassed. This time we do story stuff and shoot people, like always.  That being said, let's go do story stuff. --  Music: Everyday Life of the Class  *Stomach growling*  : Do you ever stop eating? *Her stomach growls as well*  : Ugh. : Well, I know there's a campus store. Want to go check it out? : Everything from textbooks to personal hygiene... Impressive.I mean, this is basically a boarding school with strict exit rules. Where else do you expect to get that from?  Oh, hey, it's Alicia.  : Augh! this is AWESOME! You're killing me here! : Hee hee. I just got my certification, but I stand by my bread.: I didn't know the school store ran a baker. This is great!: I just opened shop here today. Come by any time you want a snack.I think her voice actor is different, because she sounds a good bit older than she did back in VC1. Offscreen Voice: Hey, Alicia. Here are those sourdough rolls.  Yep, here's Welkin too.  : I got waylaid by a ruby swallowtail. They only live here in the south...Ah, his naturalist shtick from the first game. I personally think they play it up too hard, but I'll let you form your own opinion of that. : Oh, that figures! Honey, my first customers are here waiting.  : Wait, Alicia and Welkin? Why does that sound familiar?You know, I'd figure everyone would recognize these two on sight. They're literal war heroes of the war two years ago, and their faces were definitely in the papers.  At least somebody is up to date on recent events. I'm in a very mellow mood today so I'm not going to bother getting worked up about things, but there's one thing that really stands out to me about all this...  : You're Lieutenant Welking Gunther and Sergeant Alicia Melchiott!: Ha ha! I think you might be exaggerating a bit, but yes, I'm Welkin Gunther.: I retired from the militia so I'm not a lieutenant anymore, though. : Gunther? The the two of you are...?: Yup, we got married. Just recently, in fact. : I took up teaching. My first placement is in a town not far from here....And now I'll cut in. I know you're both married now and retired from the militia and all, but why the hell are you not helping to fight the rebels exactly? I mean, I'd want to retire too after that brutal war, but these people are literally trampling over half of what you fought for, and especially the memory of Isara. Shouldn't you be doing something about any of this? They're sending high schoolers out to fight against a racist rebellion, does this not bother you at all? I just don't get it. While we're at it, can someone in the thread remind me why Alicia gave up her Valkyria powers again? Those would be really nice to have, y'know. I'm not going to harp on any of this though, it'd be best if I just ignored any semblance of seriousness in this plot. : Alicia and I just moved down south from Bruhl.It's also basically a warzone, y'know. Not the best of choices.  : You guys are just so lucky down here. Even counting beetles, the diversity...: The other day I went bug-watching at noon, and next thing I knew it was dark!: At no point stopping to think of your wife, who was worried sick!: Ha ha! Sorry about that. Ooh, the next batch should be just about done now.: Right. Well, drop by again soon, kids. I'll have some fresh bread waiting.: And if you ever have any questions, I'm always happy to answer them!*They leave* And if I remember correctly, that's the last we see of them for quite a while.  : And I had no idea heroes knew how to bake bread, too. Maybe I should start! This screenshot speaks wise words. Unfortunately I'm in too deep to stop now. ---  Well, we're done with that little moment. It's almost pointless plot-wise as well, since that has no bearing on basically anything in the future. Welkin's appearance is tied to two minor things in the future, and that's all. Anyways, mission time!  For this month, our tank will be named Taxi! Unless I can't count, there was no overwhelming vote, so I went with this one for a particular reason we'll see in just a second.  We're starting with the APC Exercise and we'll do the Night Combat Exercise next. The Cooperative Exercise is tied to multiplayer, and well, I doubt anyone really cares enough to see it. Part of me finds it strange this game has multiplayer functionality in the first place.   So, the APC Exercise is rather pointless outside of being a tutorial and is also kinda dumb because the APC replaces the tank you just got. Instead of giving us a mission on how to use the tank, they give us one on using the alternate and less effective vehicle. This won't be the last time they take our tank from us, as some future missions will require us to drive an escort APC which is just the forced minimal version of our APC. It's very annoying to me, and that's why I used Taxi! as the name. Luckily it's easy enough to manage without our tank right now, given that it's not very good in it's present state. There might be people out there who like using APCs, but I never found them useful in comparison to the tank. Music: Practice Battle  Custom Tutorial: The APC Unlike the tank, the APC is only capable of carrying light weapons and has easily penetrated armor. A lance will easily destroy it from any angle, and even bullets to the radiator can destroy it; this is in contrast to the tank that is nearly immune to any bullet. The game informs you it is a good idea to use vehicle units as bullet shields for your footsoldiers. This is great advice for tanks, but horrible for APCs as mentioned above. It's only advantage is large equipment space and the ability to ferry units about that climb in. It also doesn't take 2 CP points to move, but its lower damage and terrible defense makes it a liability for any units within it are also knocked unconscious when it explodes. Enough griping about APCs, let's get a move on.   I start by taking advantage of the APC's strengths- if I'm stuck with it, I may as well make the best of it. In the same way you can send to Standby at a flag, you can automatically stuff a unit into a nearby APC for no cost. Deploying them will start their turn, though. : "I'm rolling out!" Again, as beefy as this thing looks, bullets still chink bits of health off of it.  All vehicles can plow through sandbags, instantly deconstructing them like a grenade would, but they are also blocked by those metal barriers. We can also run over people.  It doesn't do any damage, but it does fling people around as if you hit them with a giant burst of air. If you park on top of them, they'll just spawn next to your vehicle. This can also be used to gently shove enemies and teammates alike into more suitable positions. Got a shocktrooper with too little AP to ever reach the flag in a reasonable amount of time? Just keep bumping them forward until they're standing right on it. You'll need to be careful of a tank's double CP cost though, or you'll just be wasting time.  Here's me flinging another guy out of the way.  The standard APC comes with what is a more accurate submachine gun with 30 shots- which is great at this point in the game, honestly, but when we have to do escort APC missions later, it'll still have this gun... and this gun will barely scratch people later on. If you note all the damage I've taken, most of it's been from the enemy APC here. Scout bullets do a meager 1 HP chip, but anything more powerful hits for quite a bit more. A shocktrooper swiss cheeses the APC with interception fire, as they can hardly miss with how big we are. I also avoided a landmine in getting to this spot, and even though it's only a personnel mine, it'll still take a third of the HP off the Taxi!. An anti-armor mine, a type we'll see later, will instantly wipe an APC of nearly any size.   APC radiators are stupidly weak as well. Trying to even drive past a shocktrooper would have you taken out quickly. Doing this to a tank radiator is pointless unless you're using something with anti-armor abilities.  For the sake of example, this is what that early game personnel mine does to us. These are pretty weak though, dealing only about 70-80 damage. This is all I really need to go into detail on in this mission, so let's start blitzing through it.  : "I've got it covered!" I probably should've tried to line up a double shot with Avan here, but whatever.  This works too.   Yeah, friendly fire exists, and this just nearly wiped Cosette by landing two shots into the back of her head with a pointless assist attack.  We'll just have to stuff her into the APC for the rest of the map, then. I could have her heal herself, but that's going to be more of a waste of time than anything.  : It's not me that- O-ooh... This is her wounded line. Sorry about that, Cosette. It was mostly my fault that happened.  I have her take out the remaining scout and then put her back into the APC. Avan's going to be more use during this mission anwyays. It's worth noting that Lavinia, our vechicle operator, doesn't get any credits whatsoever as she can't change class. Having her do things won't mess up credit distribution at all, aside from maybe taking a few enemies from the pool.  Let's move up.  : "If I'd been careful, they'd still be..."Lavinia has some unspoken past, and I can't remember if it gets brought up in any way. Regardless. this is a bad potential to trigger when using a tank. Early tank cannons have unreliable accuracy, and losing more is really bad because whiffing a shot that cost you 2 CP does not feel good. It's only triggered at random, but it seems to be pretty rare in my experience.   Also, wasn't this supposed to be just a training drill? I don't think these students aren't coming out alive if so.  Last enemy, let's bring Avan in.  For the sake of it, I throw a grenade right on the dude's head. Dodging a grenade is less common, but surprisingly still possible.  Ends as expected.  It's really an easy mission, though. Your APC isn't likely to explode given the weak enemy spread, even as fragile as it can be.    Music: Winter in Lanseal   After we sleep, we find we have some events to see, it seems. TITLES EARNED: Clockwork  Unfortunately, it's only a daily event and another story event. Let's go ahead and see. -- Music: Everyday Life of the Class  : Usually you have to get in mad trouble to be here. Whoa! Check this throne!Oh wow, I've never seen this event before.  : It's not even that dirty. Who'd know if we just left it like this?    : Are you blind? You should be ashamed!: That corner has cobwebs, there are prints on that vase. Carpet lint, people!Franca's more intense that the drill instructor, honestly. Keep in mind that she also has the Neat Freak potential, so this makes sense.  : T-there's no need to go that crazy cleaning!  : I told you guys we'd get in trouble.Yeah, you did. Well, that was something. Onto the story event at the classroom then. --   : This, from the guy who slept through class. And snored incessantly, I'll-- Question: Why do you have the window open during a snowy winter? Are you trying to freeze? : Hee hee... It's all round and cute.: Ooh, a bird? Really?! I want to see, too! Where is it? Seriously. You took quite a few rounds to the head yesterday and you probably still have a concussion from it. : Mm?*A bird tweets* Music - Are We A Spoiled Class?  Yes, here's Jarde, Avan's pet bird. More proof that this game really wants to be wacky high school simulator more than it wants to be a game about war. : Um, you know this bird, Avan?: Know him? He was my pal back at home!: Leon and I found him with a busted wing and nursed him back to health.: He's been my bud ever since. Right, Jarde?Ah, how very protagonistic of Avan. Keep in mind that Leon was mentioned again, lest we ever forget the bestest guy to walk the grounds of Europa. *Jarde tweets again*  : Goodness, there seems to be something in the tube strung around his neck. : "Jarde's been lonely since you left, so I'm sending him along to you.": "Try not to fight too much. And don't over eat like you do. Love, Mom." I thought he was from Mellvere, but whatever. : Crazy, right? Yeah, he's always been super good at finding me. : Their strong homing sense has led to their frequent use as carrier birds.: Wow, you sure know a lot about birds, Zeri! Is that a hobby of yours?: I started reading up when I heard that Lieutenant Gunther was a naturalist.If you want to be more like Welkin, then take over command of the class then. You're a more competent leader really. You're not the social type, it seems, but at least you make plans instead of charging forward. : Well, I say we all pitch in to help take care of him as a class! : That's a great idea. Caring for animals can be very therapeutic.: I-I'll be responsible for his food and water!Isn't that most of the responsibilities already? *Jarde twitters*  : Yaaay! Good to have you in our class, Jarde!*Jarde tweets a last time* Hey, uh, remember that civil war we were having? The plot forgets about that sometimes. -- Music: Briefing  Anyways, we've still got another mission to do!  There's two areas this time: Silo and Storehouse. We haven't seen the storehouse yet, but it's nothing that exciting. I end up bringing Noel out of paranoia left over from later in the game, because there's almost always a tank in here. (Not this time, though.) Music: VC1 - Battle Since this mission uses the Practice Battle track again, I thought it nice to spice up this update with a VC1 track.  After this, the game stops to give a tutorial on nighttime maps, but I've already explained it. It's just a sight range reduction is all.  : "Taking action now!"I send in Marion over here first to scout the situation. They give us the chance to start very close to the enemy's main base, which is nice since this mission is dead simple.  : "I'm simply aglow today!"Unfortunately only metaphorically. It's very dark in Arlem at this time of night, and it usually allows units to stay hidden easier- even tanks.  : "I shant lose!"Marion's triggering a lot of potentials tonight. Although it seems the game didn't want to give us a very quick victory as they barricaded this door off. I'll have to keep running to the next door.  Of course, the opposition really isn't very strong.  Partly down this pathway, I have to take another CP point thanks to Marion only having a shocktrooper's movement range.  Here's a better shot of the inside of the warehouse. In typical missions, enemies are scattered all throughout the inside, and these sandbags act as both much needed cover and unfortunate obstacles. There's not much here right now, so I run Marion as far up as I can and take out a scout.   Marion's reliability in this LP has been downright amazing. Her AP is really tanked from so much movement, so I opt to try and do some stuff on the other area. I could still end the map on this turn if I wanted.  : "Moving out."I opt to send Melissa in to see if she can earn credit for a few takedowns.  ...Still nothing.  This is just half a second later. Nighttime is very effective at hiding foes, but the same goes for you. It's easy to work past provided you don't turn a corner around a building and come face to face with a tank you couldn't see before.  Provided, one of the enemies I couldn't see was a shocktrooper and he shredded half of Melissa's health before I had substantial time to react. I take a shot from a slightly uncomfortable distance...  : "You asked for that!"And it pays off! If she'd missed more than one bullet, she would have been downed easily.  After that, I decided I'd had enough and put Marion back in motion to finish off the mission for me.  Not angle I was looking for, but it was hard to judge at this range.   Being incredibly risky, I leave myself only one CP to capture the base while I send Melissa to get that enemy scout leader. It goes perfectly fine. I'll miss this when we get to the point that grenades are no longer sufficient to one-shot weak enemies.  On her side, Marion handles the last shocktrooper well...  ...and just barely manages to cap the flag! Yeah!    I think we'll see if we've got any non-story events and then I'll call it for this update.  Yep, looks like we've got something to see! TITLES EARNED: Dark, Fortress  Hey, look! A Melissa event! -- Music: Everyday Life of the Class  : Avan, mind you manners. Talking or eating, pick one and stick with it.: Ah ha ha!So far this seems just like an ordinary event. : Mm? Leaving already, Zeri?: There's a book I wanted to get at the campus store.: Okay, we'll see you back in class then! : Hee hee...: Is something wrong?: What? Oh, no, just saw someone standing there. Was that...?What? I didn't see anything.  : What? Whoa, you're right. That was weird.: We should probably head out, too. Don't want to be late for class!  : Ha ha! Fifty laps around the grounds is tough.Fifty seems like a bit much, but thena again, I've got terrible lungs.   : !? What's the matter, Avan? Brain finally give out on you?: Z-Zeri! There! Her! Look, that's her! Yep, Avan's finally lost his mind.  : Huh?! But when did...?: What was that about not being tired? You dreaming of a girl in here?: What?! No! She was really there just a second ago! Oh, I guess this is actually about Melissa, then.  Yep, that's a pretty Avan type thing to do. --- I'll call it here for now, and use the rest for the next update. We'll get to do some real missions next time, alongside seeing a lot of character events. Join us next time on Hardin's Heroes where we do pretty much the same thing, although maybe more interesting! No wonder our ratings are going down! Yeah! New Characters: Jarde Age: 5 Class G messenger. A male Gallian swift carrier bird who is friendly with Avan. Welkin Gunther Age: 24 Former leader of Squad 7, he married Alicia when she passed her meister exam. Now a teacher. Alicia Gunther Age: 21 Belonged to Squad 7. Passed her meister exam after leaving militia. Loves to bake bread.
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Nov 14, 2019 03:06
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The Flying Twybil posted:Update 7: In Which Things Are Done, Not Unlike Last Time If I had to guess, since the militia can't be used against a rebellion, they left it and then moved south to Lanseal on purpose to help train new cadets. Looking at how generally incompetent the Gallian Army is, I wouldn't blame them wanting to skip actually enlisting and help the army without being actually beholden to the military.
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Nov 14, 2019 03:40
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HardDiskD posted:If I had to guess, since the militia can't be used against a rebellion, they left it and then moved south to Lanseal on purpose to help train new cadets. I mean, if he was a teacher at the school like Brixham, I'd get it, but the dialogue just suggests he teaches normal education in a town nearby. I mean, that's great and all, but he'd do a lot more good if he taught at Lanseal for a year. You might be right about wanting to stay out of military jurisdiction though, because he does show up later to sell orders like the old general from VC1. I'm not going to bother putting tags on that because it's really nothing major, especially since most of the orders are very situational at best.
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Nov 14, 2019 03:49
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Oh I thought he taught at the academy, because why else would he be in there? "Checking out my wife" is not a good reason for someone to enter a (kinda) private school grounds. Although "I'm a kinda of a war hero" might be.
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Nov 14, 2019 04:04
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I kinda like the apc a lot. The ability to shift multiple units between maps with 1 cp is handy and it's other weapon option is amazing. It even eventually gets upgrades that let it not fall over to a stiff breeze! Alicia gave up the whole valkyria thing when welkin proposed to her with a flower, convincing her that maximillian was better killed by bullets than a nuclear suicide bomb. This do not stop her from going "I am a weapon, no, a shield!" at every chance she had.
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Nov 14, 2019 04:54
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FoolyCharged posted:I kinda like the apc a lot. The ability to shift multiple units between maps with 1 cp is handy and it's other weapon option is amazing. It even eventually gets upgrades that let it not fall over to a stiff breeze! I'll admit I'm a bit harsh on the APC, as part of that is lingering frustration of having to use the Escort APC later. It won't let you use any of your APC parts, no siree, you've gotta use a completely standard, no upgrades APC on missions where a tank would be really helpful. "The enemy has 3 different tanks and tons of gatling bunkers" type of missions. I did get a taste of its usefulness here, but I've got a deep seated preference for the tank given how broken you can make it with the right gear. In the past I've often relied on a well equipped tank as a method to delete enemy tanks rather than using lancers, as anti-personnel is what I've got my land units for. Though, I'll admit I didn't know you could transfer multiple units between maps. I think I'll try and give it a fair chance, especially until I get the specific tank parts I need to trivialize the game. I remember the proposal part, and I get not going nuclear, but couldn't you have kept a lance and shield to help us out with? Their destructive as all get out, and their symbolic of Gallia's history anyhow. I feel like if she just went under a disguise and made a few public acts in favor of Darcsens, a majority of the rebel army would disappear. It's the lasting propaganda from the Valkyria that has maintained the racism, and if that got undone, the primary reason of the civil war would be null. I think the symbolism is enough to win people back and take the energy out of the rebellion. I suppose this is a conversation best saved for a later time, given there is some things about the Rebels that hasn't been shown yet, alongside a few other plot elements that would factor into this conversation.
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Nov 14, 2019 05:54
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The Escort APC is hot garbage and is often the only reason missions involving it are difficult. The actual APC can trivialize an absolutely absurd number of missions in this game and should not be underestimated. When the conditions for A ranks are just "go fast", the APC can ferry a couple of units over extreme distances in plenty of safety.
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Nov 14, 2019 06:33
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...why not give the player a proper armored unit? This way it has utility but comes with a mission-failing cost if abused.
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Nov 14, 2019 07:58
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Alicia never really wanted to be a magical girl, or even a soldier; she was conscripted into the militia, turned out to be pretty good at it, then her boyfriend's buddy shot her in the back and hijinks ensued. I'm glad VC4 has a good APC.
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Nov 14, 2019 11:47
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Agree we should drop vc2, but in vc1 part of her not so ditching the valkyria thing is Welkin being all "Escalation is bad! We will win this by HUMAN might alone!" like the colossal racist he is.  And yeah, if you never discovered it, units inside the apc get transferred with it when it redeploys to another area. So if you make use of the common deployment wedge that let's you load people for free, you can drive the apc across a map with one cp, have one of the guys inside bounce out, cap the point and hop back in, and then redeploy all the apc to leg it across the second map with a third cp. You then have a unit with a relatively full ap gauge ready to leap out and complete a second map. That said, the escort apc is trash you can't even load a person into(VIP needs their tea buddy, ok?) and especially coming from 4, the thing seems to be made of paper mache, especially from behind.
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Nov 14, 2019 11:55
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APC is a good little helper, but the escort missions will definitely erase a lot of the goodwill you might gain for it. VC2 has horrible escort missions, which are already bad as it is just as a gameplay function. I don't fault Welkin and Alicia staying out. Both of them sacrificed a lot for Gallia and deserve to live their lives as they wish. What's more, they both have a responsibility to their new family. As for Alicia specifically, her powers wouldn't solve anything. Part of it is story spoilers, like The Flying Twybil mentioned. Valkyria are definitely strong, but a lot of their power seems to come from shock and awe. Selvaria seemed unstoppable, until she got her rear end kicked by an unconscious barely awakened Alicia, or that time that the top idiot of the Gallian Army nearly managed to cap her. Not to mention that Alicia would definitely have concerns about misuse of her power. Those of you that played VC4 may know of the myriad of ways that governments found to utilize mentally fragile walking bombs.
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Nov 15, 2019 02:18
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Next update should be in a day or two. I've got recordings all the way up to the beginning of next month, when I'll need input again. I promised Marion events, and you shall have them! I've got a lot of character events and even a potential promotion coming for one of our characters.
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Nov 16, 2019 01:43
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Update 8: Avan Gets Attacked By A 13 Year Old Last time on Taxi!, our Taxi! nearly killed our engineer through wanton disregard for her resistance to bullets (that is, none). Oh, and we were getting stalked or something too.  Regardless, we've got story to see! Music: Everyday Life of the Class     You already lost Avan's bird? It's been like, one day- are you sure he just didn't bail on all of us? Would you believe this is a major plot event?  : Guess I'm not the only one who gets lost on this campus.: If he is lost, he must be frightened. Will you help us look for him? : Yeah, I bet he'd come if you called him!: All right, I'm on it. Heh, so much for those amazing homing instincts.To be fair, Lanseal looks confusing as hell from the bird's eye view we get on the map. If the room layout is as bad as some I've seen, the place is probably a nightmare to navigate. I'd say a bird wouldn't need to care as much, but they are prone to not understanding windows.    *A bird tweets in the distance* : That sounds like Jarde! It's coming from that direction.Sorry, Avan. That might take you a turn or two with your shocktrooper's AP. It might be better to send Magari.  *Another bird call*   *Yet another bird twitter*  Person, you're going to break that bird if you keep doing that. Also, how does this even work in first place? *Stretching noises, more bird tweets* : Jarde?!*Stretching noises, even more twittering* Listen, I thought this game was rated T. I don't think medieval torture methods qualifies as a T rating.  : Hey, what gives, man?! Let him go!  Well, that's a strange image, especially without context.       *He gives out an impressive cry of pain*   Riveting dialogue, as always. This is kinda funny to me, probably just because it's Avan this is happening to. : What's your deal? If you want a fight, you got one! : Huh? I don't really get this robe design, but I suppose that's not important.  : Nothing. I just came here looking for my bird, lady. : You're back, Mama! Did you finish your errand? : I did, though it went 18 minutes over schedule. : Uhh, okay? : What? You little brat! I find it interesting that Avan, of all people, picks up on something in this cutscene that few other characters will for quite some time. Well, at least from what I remember. It's also a spoiler, so I can't tell you what yet. Though, if you've played VC1, you probably already have an idea of what it is. --  What, you thought we were free of story events? -- Music: Faint Youth  : I never thought they'd send cadets off into the field!Game, don't remind me that you're trying to have a serious plot. : How did you do it? What was in your head as you fought? You thought we were free of the book, didn't you? There is no escaping the book! Also, isn't the best advice for a military squad leader. This is Avan's standard operating procedure, as well, so... : Works for me. I was never good with thinking anyway. Okay, let's get to work!  : His quotes? Is that what that notebook is?This cutscene is simply here to remind you about the book and how you got here in the first place, but nothing else.  : Yup. I wrote down every bit of advice he ever gave me.Which is to say, Leon was spouting out inspirational quotes like an HR manager all the time. I feel like this would be better done if he had remembered these quotes and had flashbacks to moments with Leon where he heard them, instead of constantly referring to this personal self-help book. Yeah, that's been done before, but it works because it would give us some actual characterization of Leon and a reason to actually feel involved with their relationship. I'm not spoiling anything by saying that this main driving point of the plot does finally bear fruit, but it comes out incredibly lackluster and without weight to me because Leon is never given any depth or anything to relate to. Who knows, it might actually make Avan interesting.  This still doesn't tell us anything, really. Leon's still basically a non-entity and all we know is that he was "the bestest". : I see. You really do feel a great deal of respect for him, don't you?: Heh, you could say that. So, you knew him, right?: What was he like? Here at the academy, I mean. : He was a star performer at the Laevatein Cup. His squad adored him.: Last year, he used a decoy tactic, then ran in solo to take the enemy's camp.What? You thought you were going to get any characterization of substance?  This is the only new thing we know about Leon: he wasn't immediately popular at the school. He was still absolutely amazing, it just took a little while for people to join the fan club.  : Wow, he never told me about that. That's awesome!: Lanseal has many talented cadets, but Leon was... special. Too special.: Do, uh... Do you know anything about this "special mission"? This right here is the only bit of actual development on this plot thread that we're getting.  : I figure if I can find out more about that mission, I might learn what happened.: I'm afraid I don't know anything.: Of course, even if I did, all that happens here is classified for security.: Even as a cadet, you don't have clearance to know much.Yep, this is code for we won't hear anything about this for a long time.  : Oof...: Just so you know, I'm serious about Class G winning that Laevatein Cup.: I expect the other classes may not agree. This is no easy competition Avan. Yeah, whatever. They're not actually that bad.  "I drank water without a cup. That was annoying." If you get the reference, congratulations. I also don't know why I made it, it just felt appropriate. : Heh heh. I'll be sure to clear my calendar.-- Music: Winter in Lanseal Finally. Let's go take care a few chores then move on to doing a mission. I'm going to try and cut the length of these updates down by about 40 or so screenshots, so let's see what we get into.  First up, I'm buying the lamp part for the tank. This is just one of many pieces of equipment that nullfies a certain area effect, i this case it negates the effects of nighttime for our team.  I level up scouts and troopers again. I try to do levels in intervals of 5, so when these two are done, I'll cap off techs next then engineers. Lancers are usually fine enough without too much experience investment.  We've got a lot of missions to do, and I'm going to do all of them, (minus the multiplayer ones,) before I progress to the next month.  As you can see, the game does not wait a second to remind us of how strong promoted units will be. We're already going up against snipers on some missions.  I'm going to go ahead and clear this skirmish out for now, since it won't be too difficult and I can try to prompt more character events to show.  This map makes use of the 3 areas we've already seen, with the final point being in the warehouse. I deploy my full six for no particular reason, but it'll be pretty easy to beat this mission fast regardless. Player Turn Music: Liberation Battle Enemy Turn Music: Return Battle   I waste no time using the usual strategy for this map. Avan scouts first, Marion follows, double team shocktroopers plow through everything.   There's a guy out in the distance, but he's no threat. While I move ahead, I go and take this trooper out before he causes issues.   Quickly burning through AP, I take Marion and follow Avan's steps forward.  She doesn't get much farther, but it's still good to play safe when there's bound to be enemies in our way.  : "Enemy sighted!"There's a single scout defending their camp in this corner. Somehow, I don't have a screenshot of it, so you'll just have to believe me. Enemy Radio: "They're not getting past us- stomp 'em dead!"  Unfortunately for the enemy scout, crouching does nothing in the face of Marion's gun.  This is probably the first we've seen of our tank, and I'm not likely to be using it this mission anyways. Unfortunately, the tank is only so good right now, and it's 2 CP cost is hindering given that it's not all that powerful yet.   : "Good."Just clearing out enemies.   : "Moving out." I've probably already showed this before, but the faster method across this map is up this ladder and into the silo/building.  : "I see you..."So begins the enemy's habit of hiding an enemy in the grass just feet from your base. If you left your base open for even a turn, they'd run in and cap your flag in a heartbeat. I brought Mischlitt to stand in place there and prevent the enemy from trying that cheating stuff on me.   There was a scout hiding up here, so Melissa takes him down as she moves along.  The flag's just around this corner.  So I take a risky chance and hope Melissa can one-round the shocktrooper standing there.   ...drat it. I expected this to happen.   : "It- it hurts..."That was a mistake. Sorry Melissa.   The enemy retaliates by wasting time attacking a crouched Helmut.  He even takes the fool down from a distance.  ...And that's all they do, apparently.  Time for Helmut to go in on a rescue mission.  I waste a bit of AP moving to the backside fo the trooper, but I don't want to take any more chances that I could miss and lose another unit. : "I don't miss." He doesn't.  This is my flag now!  ...And I run out of AP inches from Melissa.   : "MEDIC! Hurry, there's no time!"Helmut yells this very convincingly, though Melissa would be fine in a few rounds.  : *On radio* "Expand control of the field."On it Brixy. I told you he actualy talks over the radio.  Yeah, I can do this. 3 CP and either vantage point is more than enough. I'm still opting for the one in the upper right, because it's bound to have less enemies facing it.  : "Sure, dude!"See what I mean about placing an enemy right at the flag so they can recapture?  Of course he's laying down.  So I take the obvious choice.  : "What even is that, dude?!"Not really a problem given she triggered Evasion Boost right at the start.  : "Found one!"Enemy Radio: "Just spotted another customer..." I don't opt to do anything here, given that a Gallian-1 won't do jack at this range.  I can make this work, I think.  You can just lie down for a little while though. I don't want to have to re-cap this base if I can't get the flag this round.  I'm just going to hide Lotte behind Marion because there's no way possible. (Should've used Helmut.)  She lands one headshot, nothing else...  ...Before hiding behind Marion.   This turns out to be a profitable plan as the enemy immediately moves in on the two girls. This dimwit tries to take Marion, though, and gets the expected result.  3 Turns is still and A, so I'll settle for it, I guess.  Because I've used Marion so much, she's developed a new class based potential. These trigger based on how often you use a unit, and which list they pull from is different for every character and dependent on their class. Some characters, like Marion, benefit more from ones obtained in later promotions, while others, such as Anisette, get some of their best in their earliest class. Marion got one that sounds good in theory, but ends up kinda useless for shocktroopers. Clear Shot triggers when enemies are in sight, but far away, triggering a damage and accuracy boost. Unfortunately, this boost is lost on getting too close to enemies. It's a lot better to have on other classes.  I take the easy way out and shoot this scout.  : "Please, allow me!" Maxed out Morale just as I capped this. There wasn't anything immediately visible in the room for more credit gathering, so I ended it. This update's gone on long enough for my new limit.  What a shame, I missed out on 40 exp and 10 DCT. The reward for no fallen units is basically nothing.   Yep, we're gonna see some events now. That'll have to wait until next time, unfortunately. Cutting the updates at about 100 screenshots is plenty, and will let me put them out 30% faster, in theory. To make up for it, have these character bios and newspapers. Next time on Everybody Loves Leon, you get to see some of those character events I keep promising! Extras: Gallia Times   Lotte Insider   Why did Raymond subsitute for us? Did this happen before we got here or something? Clementia Foerster Age: 39 A woman in white who always seems to be with Aliasse. Seems to be a scientist, but the details are not clear. Aliasse Age: 13 Mysterious girl clothed in black, background unknown. She speaks and behaves strangely. The Flying Twybil fucked around with this message at 19:15 on Nov 22, 2019 |
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Nov 17, 2019 23:18
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I agree that Welkin and Alicia wouldn't sit by like this, but its such an absurd scenario that it might as well be an alternative universe or something. Nice to see the two of them again, though! I quite enjoyed those two, pretty rare for anime characters to actually end up together! They're usually stuck in will they/won't they purgatory!
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Nov 18, 2019 06:58
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As a bird lover I already hate that kid.
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Nov 18, 2019 10:10
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Doctor Reynolds posted:I agree that Welkin and Alicia wouldn't sit by like this, but its such an absurd scenario that it might as well be an alternative universe or something. Nice to see the two of them again, though! I quite enjoyed those two, pretty rare for anime characters to actually end up together! They're usually stuck in will they/won't they purgatory! The will they/won't they status was thankfully resolved back in VC1. Them getting married wasn't something that VC2 came up with. Which is good, because it protected them from VC2's writers. I'm convinced that VC2 would have killed at least one of them off if they could, for  emotional impact.Also, I hate Aliasse. That is all I have to say about this update. Psycho Knight fucked around with this message at 14:07 on Nov 18, 2019 |
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Nov 18, 2019 14:05
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Hmmmm. A child with blue hair who’s kept secret in a semi-military facility and doesn’t know how to interact with normal things. I wonder, oh wonder, what she could be.
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Nov 18, 2019 14:36
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OOrochi posted:Hmmmm. A child with blue hair who’s kept secret in a semi-military facility and doesn’t know how to interact with normal things. I wonder, oh wonder, what she could be. Hmmm... I bet she's a Baker! Squad 7 had one of those and she was unstoppable.
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Nov 18, 2019 14:43
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TheGreatEvilKing posted:As a bird lover I already hate that kid. Psycho Knight posted:Also, I hate Aliasse. That is all I have to say about this update. Aliasse brings with her much of the bad plot and design decisions, as well as being a good show of how this game can't keep it's tone straight at any point. Needless to say, I agree with this sentiment. Doing a LP in screenshots really seems to open up the eyes regarding these things. I have no issue with wacky plots or slice of life style things, nor do I have any complaints with dark stories about wartime- you could probably find a bearable way to put them together, it's been done before. It just feels like you have two different writers going at it all the time, with little regard to how much sense it makes. One of them watches school based anime non-stop and wants it to be just like that, while the other reads way too much about war crimes and wants the story to be dark and show a grueling fight to maintain a country under rebellion. At every turn they compromised about what they wanted to have happen and it creates this constant tone whiplash that is only bearable if you ignore one side of the writing. We're not to any of the big stuff yet, but we've already seen some of it. It makes me wonder how much better this would be if they had just made two different games instead and took their plot direction with them. We'll start seeing this with the characters as well, since some of them fit better into the wartime scenario while a lot more of them fit better into silly school life. One's about being part of a vigilante militia holed up in an old military institution, formed of people who are trying to keep their homeland from being destroyed inside out, while the other is about a kid who enlists in military school to be like his brother, getting way in over his head, but perseveres while trying to piece together the clues of tracking down his missing brother. On a side note, I've been playing an obscure little game that came out not but a year or two before this one, and it knows how to hold a tone well so far- and it was made almost entirely by one person. It's goofy, enjoyable, and it makes me realize how salty I've gotten towards this game. FoolyCharged posted:Hmmm... We will have a major plot point with development later about the amazing power of Bakers. For those who don't believe me, just wait and see.
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Nov 18, 2019 16:13
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The Flying Twybil posted:Aliasse brings with her much of the bad plot and design decisions, as well as being a good show of how this game can't keep it's tone straight at any point. Needless to say, I agree with this sentiment. I mean, that too. I additionally hate her because I don't like kids and I don't like loli-bait characters. The tonal divide in this game may have been an attempt to redirect the series to be more lighthearted, but either way the people responsible for the goofy slice of life stuff in VC2 clearly lost that battle. VC3 and VC4 went straight back to more serious tones. Revolution, despite being crap, also went with a serious tone. VC2 is the odd one out in this franchise, despite the framework it provided for the gameplay of future titles. I am happy with this, because there's enough goofy anime high school stuff around. I just started another LP of it. VC didn't need that kind if thing.
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Nov 18, 2019 20:48
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The design book in the last VC2 LP was...illuminating, to say the least. I'll leave it at that for now.
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Nov 18, 2019 20:49
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I tried to read that last update after reading through an Advance Wars: Days of Ruin LP and now I must sue you for whiplash
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Nov 18, 2019 22:49
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Hwurmp posted:I tried to read that last update after reading through an Advance Wars: Days of Ruin LP and now I must sue you for whiplash Cripes, if you can sue people for whiplash, then I'm gonna be losing a lot of money with this LP. 
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Nov 18, 2019 23:02
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The anime high school crap could have worked if it was explicitly presented as a facade the kids were doing to distract them from almost being run over by a tank. The writing doesn't reflect this at all - you'd need to have events where the kids confess to Avan their fear of dying, and Avan's goofiness would be a deliberate attempt to make them go "hey, what a doofus" rather than " a tank nearly ran over Anisette" or "are they going to ethnically cleanse my family next." Avan would be a well meaning young man who is in way over his head and is hiding behind a cheery facade to try to keep the gang calm.
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Nov 19, 2019 00:25
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Psycho Knight posted:I mean, that too. I additionally hate her because I don't like kids and I don't like loli-bait characters. Now, now. While we're not going to escape this without blatant fan service of children, surely the pre pubescent one won't be included, right? Right, guys? ... Ah poo poo, she's totally gonna be included in the beach scene or whatever this game does similar. Fake edit: And goddamn the escort apc just gets worse and worse as the game goes on. Why on earth doesn't it scale with enemies? This thing is made of tissue paper and it's only going to get worse.
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Nov 19, 2019 00:38
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TheGreatEvilKing posted:The anime high school crap could have worked if it was explicitly presented as a facade the kids were doing to distract them from almost being run over by a tank. The writing doesn't reflect this at all - you'd need to have events where the kids confess to Avan their fear of dying, and Avan's goofiness would be a deliberate attempt to make them go "hey, what a doofus" rather than " a tank nearly ran over Anisette" or "are they going to ethnically cleanse my family next." See, this would be a much better turn for the game. It doesn't fix everything, but it would keep the tone to where you always know this stuff is serious. Avan already acts as psychiatrist to everyone around him when we get to later character events, and the potential system works well with it- this would make it all flow better. Only some of the character stories are relatively serious in nature, and an even lesser number are legitimately serious. You can predict which ones are which by how far on the edgy/silly scale every character is. Avan's constant boisterous nature wouldn't be such a pain either, since you then see he's just playing it up for everyone. Unfortunately, the writers would never go for such a plan because there's not enough Leon. We must be reminded at every turn that Leon was awesome, the bestest ever, and a totally important plot thread. FoolyCharged posted:Now, now. While we're not going to escape this without blatant fan service of children, surely the pre pubescent one won't be included, right? Right, guys? It actually does scale in health, but by a negligible margin considering it's just a pinata for the enemy. I still don't get why they don't let you use your own APC models, considering later models have large carry numbers, but I suppose Mr. Highly Important Scientist Man has to have his entire tea party stuffed in a sub-par APC. Oh, and just wait until we get to summer. You'll get your answer.  I'll be trying to get these updates out every 3 days, and at that rate, it shouldn't take us much time at all to clear the month and get to picking out our characters again. I realized a fun thing about all of my recordings though- somehow they all recorded in .avi and without sound. I don't know how it happened, so, uh, I'll just be predicting the music links and character lines from here on forth. I've also got 70+ GB of VC2 footage on my hard drive now.
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Nov 19, 2019 01:03
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